Adventures in Deutschland

Who's the worst blogger ever?

2009-10-29T08:48:00.000-07:00

Me. Sorry if you keep checking to see if there is anything new. I'm sure that must be frustrating! We're very sporadic bloggers. And, as we take more and more Greta pics, it becomes too much to upload them everywhere we'd like. This blog host, in particular, takes forever to upload pictures. I've been trying to put recent Greta pics on my Facebook (often as my profile pic) and uploading ALL of the pictures we take to Snapfish so that we can order prints and other neat things. SO, if you're checking this blog to see if there are any new Greta pics, I'd suggest you do one of two things: If you just want to see a recent shot to see how she is growing, you can create a Facebook profile and send me a friend request. OR if you want to see LOTS (I'm over 400 for this month, people!) of Greta pics, send me an e-mail to add you to our snapfish distribution list to kvictor@urbanhouseliving.com. I generally send out each months' pics at month end, but sometimes more frequently, so you can also let me know how frequently you'd like them sent and if I'm sending out a batch, I'll include you.
-Kirsten

Greta Dancing The Night Away

2009-09-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

Last week we drove from our home in Germany to England for our dear friend Tracie's Wedding in Cambridgeshire. Greta got two more countries stamped in her passport, the UK and France, well traveled 8 month old I would say. A long drive and ferry ride across the English Channel and we finally arrived in England. Tracie's wedding was at the manor house of Oliver Cromwell, of English Civil War Fame and was a wonderful time. As you can see Greta loved it, but I told her not to get any ideas for a very long time. Dad, signing off for now.

A Visit To All The Houses We Lived In While In England

Red Riff on Bulstrode Way, Gerrards Cross

My Picture-Taking Disorder

2009-09-14T06:24:00.000-07:00

Taking a walk seemed like a good idea. Thank goodness for the UppaBaby rain cover!

Her "Who Loves Baby" photo album (Parents, aunts & nephews: we need 3x5 or 4x6 pics of you as couples, family unit for this!!)

Cute chubberly cheeky profile
True Blue Babe
Bud

Yay Baby food Prunes! Next to bbf apples, the only food food I like
I'll play with the spaghetti & meatballs w/ my hands, but I won't put it in my mouth
Yay
My little Moppet, before MOPS

First day of "school" (MOPS) outfit

Morning cuddle time in our bed is the best!

Oh my, last blog entry was August 11. So sorry blog followers. It's just that it takes so flippin' long to upload photos to this thing! Well, that, and the addictive, but time sucker that is facebook (I post a lot more pics on there, sometimes a new Greta pic every day, so if that's why you're a follower of this blog, GET YOURSELF A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT and you'll get your Greta fix a lot easier!). Anyway, I digress. I wanted to post the pictures I took, JUST TODAY so you can see why we have so many photos on snapfish (e-mail me if you'd like the link to our snapfish account) of the first 7 months of G's life. If you're a random stranger trying to follow a blog about Americans living in Germany, sorry to disappoint. As of Jan. 2, 2009, this spot became an occasional report of living in Germany, and more often a Greta update w/ pics. So be it. Oh yeah, and after just adding all those pics, the thing I hate most about uploading pics to this blog (and that I forget every time it's been a while since I've done it) is that they go in opposite order of how you put them in (and it's a royal pain to change the order) and always at the top of the page. So, it's the day in reverse. Urgh.

Still finding cool new things here!

2009-08-11T02:38:00.000-07:00

Nicely landscaped Stadtpark, Kaiserslautern

Wayne explained the physics of this plaything, but I forgot what principle is at work here!

Cool teeter-totter and fun swings (I can attest!)

Typical German modern construction

Many of their parks have "water features" for the kids to play with

I took pics of pretty buildings lining the park

Look closely: This guy is walking on a tightrope hung between these two trees!

Cool apartment, no?

Fun ropey thing for the kiddos to climb

Ping pong, anyone?

Sculpture or kids' plaything?

Kaiserslautern's "Bean!"

Rhubarb!

This building houses the awesome tapas restaurant!

So, we can't believe that we've lived in Germany for close to a year now. It's been an eventful 10 months so far, we traveled to Kiel and England, Greta was born, visitors have been with us every month since January (and if Susan comes in December, it will be every month this year!). I've been to Trier four times. All that to say, we haven't just been sitting around the house. But, there are so many cool things just outside our door that we're still discovering.

For instance, we finally took the boys for a "walk in the woods," which is how Germans walk their dogs. Awesome! Next time we go, we'll bring the camera and share the scenery with you. Outdoor German pools, also awesome. And, the pics above are from a great park in Kaiserslautern right next to a GREAT tapas restaurant (thank you Tracie for my birthday dinner there, and for introducing us to this wonderful haunt!). If you'd like to drool at the menu, here's their link: http://www.tamarillo-kl.de/html/kontakt.html That beautiful building just above is the restaurant, a surviving structure not bombed in WWII. We've also discovered another great traditional German restaurant in a hotel in Quidersbach, the next town over, well actually Graham and Myra did when they were visiting. They were so impressed that we went there the next night too! Dads, we'll go there when you visit again. Also, with my mommies group, I learned that there's a neat Naturwilpark and zoo nearby. Not really counting as a discovery, but this summer I've very much enjoyed sitting on our balcony with Greta after she wakes up from naps watching and listening to the chickens/roosters, cows, sheep, horses, magical flock of birds that mysteriously fly over our village, and tractors.

Sittin' Pretty

2009-08-11T00:48:00.000-07:00

Such a big girl sitting up by myself!

Sitting pretty at the park in my pretty dress from Heather C.

I just love my toes!

Tired in the morning time. A few moments after this pic was taken, I figured out how to unscrew the lid of this travel mug!

Such fun to sit up and play with my blocks!

Mommy thinks I'm cute from the back!

Would you like to play with me?

Aww, ma more pictures? I'm just trying to play with my farm.

These peek-a-blocks are really neat.

What a neat circus train mom found for me.

,
Isn't my Hungarian dress from the Cavallos so cute?

I love you too, Heiney. Daddy, stop putting letters on my head!

This "wasserball" sure is neat! I like to try to eat it like it's a big apple.

Greta recently started sitting up on her own, and this has opened up a whole new world of toys for her! Also, cousins Amy, Lloyd & Luke sent her a fun foam alphabet mat, so it's the perfect place for her to sit and play (plus now we don't feel like we need an oriental rug to fill that expanse between the family and dining rooms!) She turned 7 months on August 2 she's just so much fun now. She's got quite a personality--funny, laid back, sometimes demanding, a bit persnickity (mostly when she's teething). "Talking" up a storm--still working on her "B" sounds. Bahh, Ba Blah, Ba woo bah. Brett, I think she's working up to saying your name! And a sound I don't know how to type, using her lips and sometimes throat. Know those yellow plastic canaries you filled up with water as a kid and blew through? Like that in her throat.

Chicago Girl

2009-07-14T08:36:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Ken's girl

Daddy's girl

Chicago girl!

Funny faces

This one has nothing to do with the content of this post, but what a cute outfit!

So, Grandpa Ken sent Greta a White Sox bib and here are the obligatory pictures. And, if you're wondering, a little more about little G's eating habits. She started out on rice cereal, and we thought she liked it. I then tried squash (recommended as the first in the progression of vegetables & fruits by the doc she saw for her 4 month check-up). She made a "yucky" face and gagged. I know, I know, babies and toddlers can take up to 10 times trying a new food to like it.
Whew, that sounds fun! Then she nixed the homemade sweet potato baby food, and then went on a baby food eating strike, so we let it rest a few days. Then I tried baby oatmeal and pears and she likes that, I think. We try to feed her when we're eating too. She says "Mmmm mmmm mmm." But, as you'll realize that's a sound made with one's mouth closed. At least she eats it, when I put spoonfuls in her mouth when she has it open for another purpose (is that force feeding? I hope not!).

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Greta!

2009-07-02T01:29:00.000-07:00

Greta, our little blue eyed girl!

Kelley & Greta: Oldest and Youngest Cousins

Greta & Daddy on July 4, "Cubby Americans"

First bite of Mommy's homemade Sweet Potato baby food. Yuck!

Finally united with storknester buddy, Melissa (w/ her sign & balloons I'd brought to the airport twice trying to pick her up!)

Magical rainbow over Bann

There was a double rainbow, but I didn't get to my camera in time

We met Fred & Jackie, the Dels & Cavs in Mainz as their Rhine River Cruise stopped there

Great "Aunt" Pat and Great "Uncle" Mike Del Guercio

Happy as a Daisy!

With Mama in the Moby Wrap

Grandma 'Nita reads Greta and Heinrich a story

The "Golden Girls," Greta & Grandma Jackie

Breakfast on the ship

Grandma 'Nita & Greta at our fav cafe' in Trier

Greta & Cousin Luke Kirchner

Luke explains his lego boat to Heinrich

Couldn't get this one to turn, but it's so cute! First bite of Rice Cereal.

First time eating Rice Cereal!

Tired in the morning

Ladies who Lunch

Mommy, Greta & baby peacocks at the Siegelbach Zoo

Greta & Melissa

Fun in the Exersaucer

Holding "hands" with Heiney

So today (when I wrote this part of the draft) is the day, July 2, 2009. Our little Greta bear is 6 months old. Happily, though my inclination to want to freeze her in time and not let her grow out of the newborn phase, or the 3 month old...has been trumped by the fruition of what everyone says, which is that it just gets better and better and you love your kids more and more every day. So. True. So, our little bear has been doing so many new things lately, it's thrilling. She ate her first rice cereal the other day. Rolls over fully from her back to tummy. Is very engaging and giggly when you pretend to eat her up (good thing since her cute cheeks necessitate such behavior multiple times a day). Exercises her chubby little legs "jumping" in her Exersaucer. Puts her hand out to pet her doggie brothers whenever they pass by (they, by the way, are equally smitten with her. Heinrich lays under her crib when I'm putting her down to sleep and has twice left his ball at her door for her "to play with" overnight. Who would have thought that our jealous little dachshund would turn out to be such a good big brother?).

At her 6 month well-baby appointment, well at her maybe she has an ear infection (she didn't, apparently just likes to tug at her right ear when nursing) appointment during which Mommy asked nice Dr. Vega if she could do the check-up part of the 6 month well-baby (w/o the shots, will probably have to go on the German economy to get those), these are her stats... 22 lbs and 26 inches. Yes, our big little girl is now wearing 12-18 month clothes. We think she'll be tall. She was 20 inches at birth and has grown one inch in height each month since then! Wayne and I filled out the 6 month assessment of Greta's Cognitive, Behavioral, Social, Gross and Fine Motor skills. We had to choose whether Greta "Always" "Sometimes" or "Not Yet" does things such as pass toys from one hand to the other, smiles and reaches for her likeness in the mirror... Glad to report she's above average in all areas, with the Gross Motor being the slowest area of development, go figure for such a big kid!

Yesterday was July 4 and we went on base for my first Fourth of July on a military base. G would have liked the carnival rides and jumpy castles if she were a bit older, so we just walked around a little and showed them to her. She was pretty blase' as not much excites this child to the point of squeeling (other than the eating-up game, see above). The fireworks here don't start until 10:30 pm because that's when it gets dark, so needless to say, we did not attend this year. After a quick snooze in the car substituted for her last nap of the day, Greta was asleep by 6:05 pm last night. Of course, she wakes up at 5 am every morning, so she's taking her first nap now (7:45) as I'm letting Wayne sleep in and I start my days quite early. Also on July 4th, Greta's first tooth finally showed itself!

The Not Throwing Things Away Disorder

2009-07-02T01:07:00.001-07:00

Heard of it? Otherwise known as hoarding? Well the Rasmussens seem to have a genetic predisposition toward this delightful habit. I won't name any names, but I've witnessed a few out of control basements. Used to have one ourselves, until Wayne hired the super dumpster that supposedly they go through and properly recycle the non-garbage. Hmm, either I can believe him or suspect he may have said that just to allay my objections to his tendency toward what he calls "Republican Recycling." Not a term flattering to his political party of choice, but I hear it a lot around here. In Germany, though, to their credit that's not really an option. Because as I've blogged about before, the garbage cans they pick up every other week are miniscule compared to the Bio (composting material) and cardboard ones. So, anyhow, I digress. I headed down to our storage room to hunt, once again, for the MacLaren stroller organizer to hang from the handle of the awesome UppaBaby stroller we've now switched to using as G has grown out of her infant car seat (that we stuck in a Graco frame). We had so many empty boxes in there further cluttering the room, that having put G down for a nap, I decided to break them down for recycling. Success, I found the stroller organizer! As well as cables for the satellite box we still hope to receive German TV on, halves of 3 sock pairs of Wayne's that I was apparently going to throw out. Why?? The last time I did that, I found, a few years later, the match for a sock I really didn't want to part with, but did in the name of not succuming to The-Not-Throwing-Things-Disorder. See what feeds the disorder? It ALWAYS happens that I finally strip away my natural inclinations and get rid of something that would be considered ridiculous to hang onto and a few months later, low and behold, I NEED it. No joke, then I kick myself mentally over and over for throwing it away, and the cycle goes one. But, I married a Thrower Away. Extreme on that side of the spectrum, much to my chagrin. I married a I'll Buy That, Find It Doesn't Work Out For My Purposes But Not Save The Receipt And Return It guy. Drives me crazy. At least I've found the wonder that is RamsteinYardSales.com. I currently have 15 items up for sale, have only gotten e-mails from prospective buyers about one of them, and have bought countless things already for Greta and this big house that we live in a host many guests in, but still I'll sing the praises of that local military-style craig's list. Also down there in the basement I found the pole that is supposed to attach to paint rollers, but bent hence becoming useless not far into our paining-the-big-room project. It was in a big box of saranwrappy stuff and cardboard recycling stuff. My Rasmussen gene kicked in and I said to myself, "this could be useful for something sometime, though I don't know what that might be, so I'll save it." Then my rational, I'm not gonna succum to that demon kicked in and I chuckled at myself and was about to throw it away, when I realized it was the perfect Garbage Pusher Downer. You know? I'd been putting packing paper in the recycling bin and needed to make room for more, so I really needed a way to get that stuff down. So, now you know our dirty little secret.

Ah, don't you love the sound of flies buzzing?

2009-07-02T00:52:00.000-07:00

What's that? You don't? Really? Well then you must not be German, because apparently these folks love that sound. They must, considering they don't do air conditioning or window screens. We have a fly swatter and have killed a few (though my favorite method is sucking them up in the mini Dyson--I don't apply Zen/Karma thinking to flies, they have to be exempt). But, that's just a losing battle. At any given point we must have 5 or so of the buggers exploring our place. Mostly in the kitchen. Ew? I guess the Germans are more at peace with all that nature brings. A German cashier at the gas station told me the other day not to worry about bees because if you don't bother them they don't sting you since the KNOW they will die afterward. Really? They know? Maybe instinctualy, but I don't think a bee pauses to weigh its options before his kamikazee mission. The reason I worry more than average about bees is that in my bathroom (you have to open the windows to vent after a shower) I found a bee that was 2 inches long and 1/2 wide. I am not even exaggerating. I had to go somewhere (even if I didn't I wasn't about to go near that bee) so I shut the door and didn't check on him for hours. When I did, I found him lying dead one inch from a LIVE normal sized bee. So, I became more afraid of the garden variety sucker. I mean if it somehow killed that big scary guy what could he do to me OR MY BABY who sleeps with her windows cracked or open? So, I somehow talked myself into believing that the BIG bees don't sting. Didn't I hear somewhere that the cute really fat bumble bees that buzz around pretty flowers don't sting? My father in law debunked that myth by asking "Was it yellow and black? Then it stings." Fab-u-los. One more thing for this new mother to worry about. Then my friend from Turkey shared that a really big guy was stung by one of those really big bees and he cried because it hurt just that much. My new biggest fear has arisen. But, otherwise, Western Germany is wonderful in the summer.

Storknester Buddy/Obama's Visit/Military Ways

2009-06-06T05:31:00.000-07:00

Waiting for Melissa

Sign reads "Welcome to Germany Melissa & Baby"

So, I was finally matched with a Storknester--a pregnant woman stationed in Turkey that is flying here to have her baby at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (where I had Greta). I'm her Buddy, someone to get her off base to do fun things every once in a while, take her to the commissary, and pick her up from her flight--if it ever arrives! Originally, she was due to arrive yesterday at 4:40 pm. No problem, pick her up, check her into her room, swing by the commissary to get some groceries, bring her to our house for dinner. I call and find the flight has been delayed to sometime between 1800 and 1900 hours (6-7 pm). Presumably an hour span is convenient enough to let people know when a flight is due to arrive when you're in the military. I assumed it was maybe to prevent an attack on an incoming flight--harder if you don't know it's specific arrival time. Now I'm convinced an hour is as close as the military might get to knowing when their planes are due to arrive. As you'll read, in this case, they don't even know where their planes are.

Bad thing about that timeframe is, that's the same time President Obama is scheduled to arrive at that airfield and taxi to Landstuhl. Now it made sense why when Mom, Greta & I were out in the car earlier there were vans of German police every few hundred meters. So, I drive my normal way to Ramstein, and am blocked after I've driven all trough the town of Landstuhl. Ok, I'll turn around, drive almost all the way back home and get on the Autobahn to get there. Yeah, no, ALL of the autobahns in the area are closed. People are driving backwards at a snails pace to back up the entrance ramp to the autobahn to exit, and waving their arms to warn you not to get on. So, finally, I see one of the helicopters hovering above switch position and fly off. They open the road and I proceed. Of course when I get to Ramstein Air Base, the West Gate (the one I always use, the one I know where it's located) is closed. So, I find my way to the East Gate and find my way to the Airfield (amazing that I could get there consdering the President presumably just recently arrived and left there). So, I park, go in, and wait with some others waiting for the same flight. It started near Afghanistan, stopped in Turkey, and was supposed to arrive at Ramstein. So, now it's 7:30 and still no flight. No one seems to know anything about it. Rumors are it was diverted to Lipzig (4 hours from here) or that it never left Turkey. A Major who had a squadron on the flight was throwing around his rank a bit and asking for the Flight Commander. Apparantly the Flight Commander was on the plane and unreachable, as was everyone else by cell phone or other means. Does the military lose its planes like this often? So, though my cell phone battery was almost dead, I'd been in contact with Mom at my house and knew that Greta was not taking the sippy cup and was crying hysterically for me to come home and feed her and put her to bed. So, I'm more than flustered. As soon as I heard that the flight was definitely not coming in that night, I left for home to get to my baby. I try driving to the autobahn, and guess what. Closed. Since I left the East Gate, I don't know another way home from where I am. Fortunately, we have a Navi, so I typed in Home and it gave me a non-autobahn option. Of course, it would take much longer, but at least I'd get home. I thought I knew this immediate area pretty well, but it took me through villages and mountain roads I never knew existed. If I wasn't so frantic to get home to Greta, it could have been a neat sight seeing drive.

So, I get home, Greta has fallen asleep on Mom. I wake her up, feed her, she doesn't fall back to sleep until late, but at least I made it home. I'm too tired to call the Airfield back for more information and resolve to do it Saturday.

This morning I call and find out the flight it due to arrive between 1200 and 1300 hours. Ok, fine, that works. I call again at 11:40 before leaving the house to make sure the flight is still scheduled to arrive then. The person on the phone tells me, yes, it is. So, Greta and I are off again to the airfield to pick up Melissa. There are people getting their baggage from a flight that's just arrived. It's from the States. I get Melissa's sign and balloons ready and wait. Then I start to wonder why I'm not seeing any of the other people that were there to pick up people from this flight last evening. Or, in fact, why I'm the ONLY one waiting for anyone. So I ask a man that's working there and he's nice enough to get someone who knows something to come tell me that, AGAIN, the plane is broken and has not left Turkey. Could they not have know this at 11:40 when I called? Could they not have told me this then? So, once again, I will call tomorrow and probably go through this whole rigamaroll again. I sure hope Melissa has somewhere comfortable to sleep at night as all this transpires as she is about 33 weeks pregnant and does not need this stress, to be sure!

Summer Fun in Germany

2009-06-04T10:45:00.001-07:00

Summer is beautiful here and there are lots of fun things to do. So far we've been to two pools, the one on Ramstein base, and Azur pool. This weekend, I think we'll go to another. Greta is so laid back in the water. She got accidentally dunked and didn't cry or anything. She likes looking at the other kids and kicking her little legs. Yesterday we went to the Natur Wildpark in Friesen with my mommy's group. It's also nice just to sit on our balcony and enjoy the sun that is up from before 6 am to after 10 pm.

Chicago trip May 2009

2009-05-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Great Grandma Mary meets Greta

Uncle Brett meets Greta

Great Grandpa Mel meets Greta

Lindsay & Greta

Greta with Godparents Russell & Lindsay Jahnke

Greta take a bottle (well, kind of) from Lindsay

Kirsten & Lindsay at Panera (miss it!)

Sittin on Heinrich with my tummy sticking out of my Dubai jammies

Mommy & Greta

Jenn, Alec, Kirsten & Greta

Kirsten, Greta, Kristine & Stanley

Greta's first haircut (does our hair color match? Good job, Gina!)

Eating the salon gown

Ladies in Red

Greta's first lunch at Portillos

Kirsten, Greta, Fiona, Kiera, Ian & Martin

Kirsten, Greta & Wayne

Kirsten, Greta, Tejal & Kiera

Greta & Mommy ready for Lilly's and Megan's Birthday Party

Megan's, Courtney's & Jenny's kids at the kids' table

Ella Ermshler & Karen Matthys

Lilly, the Birthday Princess

Ready for a walk around Mommy's old 'hood

Greta & Great "Aunt" Louise

Chillin' on the Patio

Very interested in "Pat the Bunny" read by Great Aunt Arlette

White Sox Fan Grandpa Ken holds Cubs Fan Greta

Grandma 'Nita, Greta & Heinrich

"My new doggie brother is soft!"

What??

Tired on the trip back from Kankakee

Purple Kirsten, Greta & Great Uncle Lyle

Grandpa Ken with sleeping Greta

Greta with Great Grandma Mary

4 Generations: Greta, Kirsten, Anita, Mary

Ken, Mel, Wayne, Anita, Mary, Kirsten & Greta (4 generations w/ husbands)

Cubs fans Daddy & Greta

Aunt Megan, Uncle Brett & Greta

Greta with Aunt Megan

Loving taggie friend Elsie the Elephant from Megan & Lilly Boyter

Ella Ermshler with Greta & Jack Ermshler

Abbie Deuter, Lilly Boyter, Jane Ermshler, Jack Ermshler, Ella Ermshler with Greta and Carolina Deuter

Thanks to Mom & Dad (Anita & Ken), we got plane tickets to Chicago for a nice visit in May so that everyone (especially Great Grandma Mary and Great Grandpa Mel) could meet Greta and so that we could bring the dogs back to Germany with us. I was a bit anxious about how Greta would do on the trans Atlantic flight outside of the womb and how she'd adjust with jetlag and our busy schedule visiting as many friends and relatives in the Chicago area as possible, but I needn't have worried, as she was a champion world traveler. We were also worried about how the "boys" (dogs Buddy and Heinrich) would fare on the flight (especially sensitive worrier Bud), but they seemed to do well as well. It was just a bit harry for us at the airports with baby, luggage, dogs and their big crates!

It was very neat for everyone to meet Greta, including her Uncle Brett and Aunt Megan (plus many of Megan's family!), Great Aunt Arlette and Great "Aunt" Louise, Godparents Lindsay and Russell Jahnke, plus many other family and close friends, some of whom are in the pics. I'll have to add Mom's pics to a later blog as we were so busy at the open house Mom & Dad hosted for us, to which over 50 people came, that I wasn't able to properly photo document it!

We also loved doing typical American things that we'd previously taken for granted such as shopping at Target, eating at Cheeseburger in Paradise and Portillos, having Vito & Nick's pizza and watching TV...WITH A REMOTE (hopefully we'll eventually be able to do that here in Germany too).

I found readjusting to living in Germany after being in the States like going all the way back to square one when we first moved her in October. I was really missing family back home and went from being in a house with, at times, 8 other people, to just me and Greta. So, my caring husband found a cheap flight and my supportive Dad paid for it and Mom flew here on Monday and stays until June 12!!

The hardest part of living in Germany remains not being able to share Greta with family and friends back in the States. There's a reason for the saying "it takes a village to raise a child" and I've come to believe that babies are made for sharing with others. The biggest hurdle for me decide that it was ok for us to move to Germany was that I knew that Mom & Dad had waited a long time to become grandparents and when I told them I was pregnant, I'm sure we were all thinking that there would be at least weekly visits with the baby as we lived about 40 minutes from each other at the time. We thought we were so smart moving back to Chicgo from North Carolina before we had kids, and then the opportunity came up to move to Europe. How could we pass that up? So, it's hard, but the traveling is a wonderful opportunity, as well as Wayne's nice secure federal government job.

Also, we've had or are having so many visitors here that it's easy to forget that we live so far from everyone when we have loved ones in our home! So far, Mom & Dad (Anita & Ken) were here for the month of January (including Greta's birth and first month of life!) then Mom & Dad (Jackie & Fred) were here for a few weeks, then (Greta's) Aunt Susan spent her spring break with us. Now, Mom (Anita) is here again for about 3 weeks, then we will get to visit for the day with Fred & Jackie, Mike & Pat Del Guercio and Tony & Kathy Cavallo during a stop on their Rhine River Cruise. Then Fred, Jackie, and our nephew Kelley will visit for a few days. Then a few days after that my cousins Amy, Lloyd & their son Luke will visit for a few days. Then in mid-July, family friends Graham and Myra Jones will visit from England and in September Arlette and Louise will stay for a visit after their Rhine River Cruise, and hopefully in September Blaine Vajda will also visit. If you're reading this (and you got the blog address from us!) you're welcome to stay at Pension Victor too! Just let us know when you're thinking so we don't overbook or plan to travel during that time.

Easter 2009

2009-04-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

Greta's first Easter basket

Greta & Aunt Susan

Greta & her bunny & duckie bib on Easter

Yummy lamb cake

Lucky pig cake?

Nigel & Connie

Cheryl & Heather

Leigh, the hostess for Easter dinner

Greta in the dress Kirsten's Grandma Coletta and Grandpa Werner brought back from Hawaii which Kirsten wore 33 years ago (at 9 months, Greta is 3 months!).

Greta w/ Easter flowers

Daddy & Greta Easter morning

Sunrise Easter morningChicks in sunglasses

Greta ready for her first playdate.

Tristan (friend she had her playdate with).

Greta's jammies that Daddy bought in DubaiPajama time, Mommy & Greta

Down Range In Kuwait

2009-04-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

Wayne here, finally writing about my many travels to Kuwait. Kuwait has sort of become my home away from home as I have to travel there, and other parts of the Middle East, about every six weeks, although Kirsten wishes it were less.
As I am sure you remember from the 1st Gulf War, the country of Kuwait is directly South of Iraq and since our liberation of Iraq has been an important staging ground for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Kuwait is considered "Down Range" by the U.S. Army, this means that it is a war zone so I get hazardous pay for being there, although Kuwait it not too dangerous.

I would say my time in Kuwait could be summarized into two experiences. Kuwait City, which is a vibrant, modern 21^st century city and Camp Arifjon, which is our largest Army base in the middle of the Kuwaiti desert. Without going into too much detail, Camp Arifjon is our main staging area for all units going into forward operating positions or FOB’s in Iraq. Unfortunately, due to regulations, I was not able to take any photos of Camp Arifjon, just think of a 21st version of the M*A*S*H camp. All branches of our military are housed there, tents and temporary structures including a Post Exchange. The troops call it Camp “Arifjail”, due to the fact that the Kuwaiti government will not let any of our troops off the base as Kuwait has no alcohol and is fairly conservative in their Islamic beliefs (Unlike the Las Vegas of the Middle East, Dubai)

The other experience is that of Kuwait City, beautiful blue waters of the Gulf, skyscrapers and every American chain restaurant you can think of. A little background on that; in 1957 Kuwait was given its independence from the British and in 1962 oil was discovered creating an overnight boomtown from what was a humble port town. This whole region along the Gulf does not have any permanent tradition like that of Jordan, Syria, Iraq or Iran. Those living along this part of the Persian Gulf had and have to deal with the Arabian Desert, and where mostly Bedouin tribes traveling over the region. So, that is why I have eaten at Chili's, TGI Friday, McDonalds, Burger King, Applebee’s, The Hard Rock Cafe, Hardees, Little Casers, Popyes Chicken, Krispy Kreme and even Nathan Hot Dogs. (That is Bold for a Chicagoan)

Kuwait has money, and each Kuwaiti receives about $70,000 per year from oil revenues, keep in mind I said each Kuwaiti, not all citizens of Kuwait. There are many Palestinians, Indians and Filipinos living there in relative comfort doing the service jobs. The thing I like about Kuwait is it is a cross section of the Arab world, you have very conservative Muslims in which the woman are wearing the full Burkes, they will not get into an elevator with you and you never want to touch them even by mistake. Then there are the Arabs that dress like they live in Chicago, Jet Ski and go swimming in the Gulf.

Even though Kuwait feels pretty safe one must stay ever vigilant to the surrounding as you are reminded by all the barricades and metal detectors. Nevertheless, it is an interesting place to be, people are extremely hospitable and the sun is always shining (Well not always, as you can see by the car when we had a sand storm) That’s all from the Sandbox for now

Downtown Kuwait.

Main Mall Advertisement in Kuwait with a Blond Haired woman??

Kuwait Fish Market

Car After Sand Storm

Trier, Germany April 2009

2009-04-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

Porta Nigra (Roman city wall, late 2nd century AD)

Oops, forgot to rotate, city sewer manhole cover

Craftsman's fountain

Don't know why this guy wore his fairy outfit today?

We couldn't quite figure out what point this poster was trying to make?

Wayne showing what he thinks of Karl Marx's birthplace

Viking at toy store

Spiel means 'play' Maybe they give out Monopoly money here?

Judengasse translates as "Jew Ghetto"

Look hard in second floor rounded windows...possibly the most subtle golden arches anywhere.

Kirsty & matching flowers in front of the Rhenish State Museum (& cafe we patronized).

Fountain of St. Peter on the market square

Flowers for sale in the market square

I bought some tulips

Pretty building in the market square

Market Square

The Cathedral (Dom)

Spring in Europe, ahhh!

Courtyard to/of Liebfraukirche (from Dom)

Reminded me of Westminster Abbey

Greta's first cathedral, 3 months old, priceless

A guy who has been dead a long time

Dom (cathedral) interior

Palais Walderdorff at Domfreihof

Liebfrauenkirche--Gothic in style (right next to Dom--Romanesque)

Liebfrauenkirche

Cute restaurant

She's sure our favorite!

Sleepin' during our coffee break

Lovely park cafe

Time for kase kuchen, cappuchino & Coke

Sleepin' and holding on to Daddy's finger

Imperial Roman baths 3rd century, from above

Imperial Baths caldarium

Baths, underground

There were so many tunnels...

and it was much colder down there than above, in the sunshine

Someone painted Constantine's pinky toenail red!

Ah, daffodils-a sure sign that spring has sprung!

Medieval city wall

Similarities?

Rhenish State Museum & Medieval gate

Electoral Palace & Statues by Ferdinand Tietz

We did not put the flowers there!

Constantine Basilica & Electoral Palace

Electoral Palace

Kirsten & Flora

Entrance portal to archbishop's complex

Red Tower

Greta's first time in the Baby Bjorn on Daddy

Clark Griswald

Karl Marx will show you around Trier

Sight seeing bus

Sight seeing Tram

3 months old: pics

2009-04-03T03:14:00.000-07:00

I should be hawking some product w/ this cute pic!

Preppy dress showing off my pretty blue eyes.

All American baby...

Got my (redo) passport pic in this outfit.

CUTE outfit from Aunt Carol & Jacqueline

I hope everyone has a happy Easter!

Mommy should have combed my hair before she took this one!

Bathing Beauty

2009-03-16T07:40:00.000-07:00

Looking at Mommy

Playing with her "Greta Bear"

"So what's your story, Butterfly?"

Grabbing a toy (new skill!)

Looking at her "friends"

Greta & bunny

"Baby Victor" outfit from Julie Chapman

Greta & Grandma Jackie

Hug Me!

Ready for church

Cute girl in a cute dress

Living in the Moment

2009-03-12T13:36:00.001-07:00

I realized something the other day. I was a playgroup chatting with a mom that I was "clicking" with and feeling bummed that she's moving away from here in April. It's all too common that I find someone that could become a good friend and find out they're moving away in the next few months. It already happened with a family we met shortly after arriving here. They had us over for dinner when we were in temporary housing and they moved back to the States in January. Anyway, being sad about it is not my point. As Wayne said, "now you know how I grew up." It's a way of life in/around the military. People PCS (permanent change of station) all the time, it's a transient community. Anyway, I realized that I was trying to set up a predictability for what I think of as "my 3 years here (now already much closer to 2 1/2) that is contrary to what an experience living abroad should be. It reminded me of the main principle in Eckart Tolle's book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose on which I took Oprah's class, which is the importance of being fully present in each moment. It's true that we miss so much of what life if offering us in each moment when we're thinking forward to other things or our mind is on past events. Living in Europe should be about living in the moment and experiencing new things, even if it's spending one day with someone interesting. I'll take away things from that conversation or chance meeting. So, though it's still very sad to not be able to share Greta with everyone back home on a regular basis, I resolve to try to make the most of the relatively short time we'll be living in Germany.

Greta's Gallery of Cute Clothes and Funny Faces

2009-03-08T11:30:00.001-07:00

Cute cardigan I wear all the time

Tongue out face

What'cha gonna put in your pockets, little girl?

Greta-Bear in elastic waisted jeans!

Eyore overalls & sheepskin booties

Kimono-inspired footie onesie

One of many all-pink outfits!

Cute little piggie!

Love this lavendar outfit

Mommy, I'm cute but not happy in my "old lady pocket in front pants"

Lavendar footie onesie (jammies) that I've now grown out of!

Hot stuff in pink, again

Giraffe feet onesie from Grandma 'Nita

Mommy LOVES this hat on me!

I wore this pretty outfit to church today, and am about too big for it already even though it says 3 months and I'm only 2 months old!

Just 5 of the onesies I've already grown out of (I'm a baby, I can end a sentence with a preposition!).

Sweet face

Happy face

Sleepy face

Pouty face

Paci face

Fist in front of my (tired) face

Asleep chubby face

Alert face

Happy face

Sleepin' on Daddy face

Mad face

Curious face

Sleeping cheeks face

Funny hair face

Engaged face

Annoyed face

Sly face

Yawny face

Dreamy face

Aw Mom, another picture? face

When people gave me such cute outfits for Greta, I thought I'd take a picture of her every day so they could see her in their gifts. Well, that did not happen, but here's as close as I got to that idea... I'll add more pics to this post as she grows into more cute outfits. Also, I think that Greta can look so different in different circumstances and moods, so that's why I added the funny faces section.

Growing and changing are what this little girl is about lately! Greta had her 2 month well-baby doctor appointment the other day (fortunately someone cancelled as we're on "Space-A(vailable)" now for well-baby doctor appts. at Landstuhl hospital) and she's now 12.6 pounds and 23 inches long. At birth she was 6 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 inches, so that's a lot of growing for 2 months! She is in the 90th percentile for weight (meaning 90% of baby girls her same age weigh less than her), the 80th% for height and 30th% for head size.

She also had to have 5 vaccinations at that appt--one oral and 4 shots. Mommy and Grandma Jackie did not like that part. Mommy had to hold Greta's arms down and look into her face as they gave her the shots and Grandma Jackie stood in the corner out of the way, not having to see Greta's little face when she got the shots.

The nurses asked if I wanted them all at once or one after another. I chose all at once, so the two of them each had 2 syringes in their hands and had them in 2 spots on her chubby thighs. They counted to 3 and put all 4 needles in Greta at once. When they did that her eyes got so big like "how can anyone hurt me so much?" and she screamed. Mommy did not like that, but brave little Greta only cried for a few minutes and was then ok. Grandma said it was a good thing her daddy was not there to witness the shots.

The doctor prescribed infant's Tylenol saying Greta might be feverish, sore and cranky for the next 2 days. I gave Greta the first two doses of Tylenol as a preventative measure, but she didn't need any more after that and has been her usual self since then.

15.50 Euros

2009-02-20T02:54:00.001-08:00

One of the things I've learned from living in Germany so far is that, as Americans, we often take for granted or just don't know how cheaply we can buy so many things in our country. We have a very high standard of living compared to those in a lot of other countries and I think part of that has to do with being able to buy things so cheaply. I'll give a few examples. I ran out of my Paul Mitchell Awapuhi shampoo and wanted some more. Now, if I was still in the States, I could go to Ulta, and if I hit a sale, could probalby buy two big bottles for $20 or something like that. My parents and I were shopping in Heidelberg and I saw a shampoo store, so I went in to see if they had any. They did, just a 10 oz. bottle and it was 15.50 Euros. In today's rate, that's $19.59. That's expensive for that size, but I bought it because I wanted it, and then thought, I'm gonna have to order it from ulta.com or some beauty supply place in the US that will ship to APO addresses (I know someone who is very unhappy with Sephora, because they will not).

So then, our car ran out of windshield washer fluid. The Germans use some kind of road salt that gets all over your car if the roads are wet at all and necessitates cleaning the windshield every few minutes. Wayne said they were out of windshield washer fluid on the base he went to, and I found they were on the bases I went to also. So, I thought, I'll just stop by a German gas station and pick some up. So, I drove into an Esso station and grabbed the big (5 Liter) bottle of the stuff and took it in to the cashier. Guess how much it was, that's right, 15.50 Euros. $20 for windshield washer fluid! But we needed it, so I got it, and told Wayne to stock up the next time they had it on base. He only bought 2. Guess how much they were on base? $1.95. BIG difference. Possibly the German ones include lots of environmental taxes? It's supposedly a law here that you can't wash your car yourself at home, but I did see a (German-looking) guy doing it when I was on a walk in my village. That's for environmental reasons. But, the car washes are closed on Sundays here, of course, like all the stores, so you really have to plan ahead! So, there's an environmental/consumerism lesson there too. In America, we can get so many things so cheaply that we buy them and then readily discard them when we don't want them anymore. You wouldn't do that so much here.

Actually, it's a lot harder to throw things out here. The black container in the picture above is for regular garbage (not recyclables or compostable materials). For perspective, the brown one next to it is about the size of our garbage container in Lombard, which was taken every week. Here, that small black container is only picked up every other week! The bigger brown one is for compostable things, there's also a separate bag for plastic and aluminum, and another container for paper and cardboard. Then, you separate glass and take that somewhwew else. The size of the garbage container you get is based on the size of your family. Luckily there are separate bags you can get for diapers, or that's all we'd have room to throw out! With parents visiting us for a month at a time each, we're definitely ready for garbage pick up every 2 weeks!

2009-02-14T06:45:00.000-08:00

I'm cute!

Cute Eyeore overalls from Claudia and booties from Eric

Little girl in a big chair

Tired girl with Daddy

Helpin' Mom do the laundry

Greta & Grandpa Fred

Sly Smile

Big Yawn

Blue Eyed Girl

Tired, on Grandma 'Nita

Growin' and Smilin'

2009-02-13T10:05:00.001-08:00

Smiling at Grandma Jackie

In her pink outfit at 3 days

Same outfit at 6 weeks!

Greta-bear sleeping in her "portable bassinet" (a.k.a. expensive stroller!)

Since we don't have a crib yet, we put her mobile on this, she loves it!

Cuddle bug likes to sleep like this on Daddy

With Grandpa Fred in her "teeth are overrated" onesie from Dentist friend CarlaPumpkin head

Grandma Jackie & Greta-bear

Sweet baby girl

Greta turned 6 weeks old yesterday (well, actually last night at 11:24 pm!). We cannot believe that it's been 6 weeks already since she was born. That was such a special night, I think back to it and wish we'd gotten video of those first precious moments. She has a cry that starts with a face and progresses to mwaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! that Wayne remembers she's been doing since birth. I remember holding her little bum in my hands with her on my chest. We can't believe how much she has grown! When she was born she was such a little peanut and now she actually feels heavy when we pick her up. On Wednesday we have an appointment with the lactation consultant, so we'll get to see how much she weighs now. Our bathroom scale is one of those things we wonder what the movers did with--lost it, put it in storage and we'll see it again in 3 years??

The best thing Greta has been doing lately is smiling at us! These are genuine smiles that start with her eyes and spread all over her face. I've had a hard time getting them on film. The one above Grandpa Fred took while Grandma Jackie was holding her. I've grabbed the video camera a few times when she was smiling, but then she stopped. So, whenever I get a smiling session on video, I'll post it to the blog.

We keep wearing all of our cute outfits, even just around the house, as we know she'll grow out of them too soon. In the beginning, I felt like I didn't have enough clothes that were small enough to fit her, and not she's grown out of about 5 of her onesies.

Greta Bear is now 5 1/2 weeks old!

2009-02-10T01:45:00.000-08:00

Greta & "Pink Doggie"

Sleepin' on Dad

After a bath

Greta Bear--she got this nickname from this outfit. It has Teddy Bears on it. That, and she grunts like a bear.

Hangin' out on the Boppy

Sleepy girl!

What 'chu talkin' 'bout Momma?

Onesie say's "I'm the cutest ever." Must be true then!

Here are some recent pics. There is a cute story about the first one. I used to babysit for Carson & Trevor Real. When I started they were 4 and 2 1/2. Trevor (the younger one) had a "Blue Doggie" that he had to have during naps and carried him around whenever he needed comfort or a friend. Rachael (their mom) e-mailed me that Trevor picked out a gift for Greta and that I'd laugh when I saw what it was, so I was thinking it would be something boyish like a Thomas the Tank Engine bowl or something like that. But, when I got the package, I was so touched to find a "Pink Doggie!" What a thoughtful gift for a (now) 4 year old to pick out for a baby girl. He loved his so much that he wanted Greta to have one too. As you can see from the picture, she took to it right away, and it even let's her cheat a little having her head up for "tummy time."

Mom & Dad (Anita & Ken) left about a week ago after being here for Greta's first month. It was very sad as they'll not get to see her in person again until she's 5 months old. But, we have a video camera on Skype, so they can at least see her kind of live. Plus, we'll try to keep uploading pics and videos on this blog. Video camera battery still needs to be charged (Wayne!), so I haven't even seen yet the video we made of Greta smiling at Grandma 'Nita. Now, she smiles with her whole face, starting w/ her eyes and it's SO cute. I'll have to work on catching that on video!

Since Mom & Dad left, the household has gone a bit to pot. Mom had been doing so much cooking and laundry doing and they both did some cleaning (who knew Grandpa Ken vacuumed!?) and also Greta-holding, so I could at least do some things in a day besides hold and feed her. But, I've finally gotten her in the Baby Bjorn w/o screaming--briefly. We vacuumed the family room rug yesterday. That was the big accomplishment while "baby wearing." I'm still trying to figure out how to carry Greta in the Hot Sling w/o crying, but that hasn't happened yet. With a 3 story house with trecherous stairs, it's so hard to do laundry when Greta isn't sleeping b/c I can't carry her and a laundry basket up or down the stairs (same goes for about anyting). She'll sit in her little swing long enough for me to take a shower (sometimes) w/o screaming and I got her a second Boppy Chair for the other level, but this is one baby who prefers to be held when awake. I'm gradually learning to get a few more things done in a day alone w/ her, but it's still so little! Thank goodness Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Fred arrive tomorrow!

Greta's Third Week & Heidelberg

2009-01-22T06:09:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pics of Greta. We're continuing to thoroughly enjoy dressing her up in all the cute outfits people gave her andseeing her cute little body when we give her baths. Wayne had to go back to work this week. That was sad, but that is why we're here in Germany and what's allowing me to stay home with her. Her grandparents love being with her every day and will miss her terribly when they go back to the States at the end of this month. I'm sure she'll miss them too. Luckily her other grandparents will be here to meet her in February. We decided that while Ken & Anita are in Europe, they'd better see more than the inside of our house, so yesterday, we took Greta on her first all-day outing to Heidelberg--a cute city an hour from here. They have a great pedestrian platz with much cuter stores than Kaiserslautern, an awesome castle, and neat homes along the river. We ate at a nice traditional German restaurant in the Hotel Ritter. Dad enjoyed his assorted game entree and half of both Mom's and my Schnitzel platters. Greta was a good little traveler. She slept most of the time until the car ride home when she'd scream anytime the car was stopped. It was nerve-wracking getting out of the city (b/c of all the traffic lights) and during a stau (traffic jam), but after that she went back to sleep for the rest of the ride home. We were all tired when we returned, but had a good day. Mom and Dad are very excited to be going to another country this weekend. Graham and Myra Jones invited them to help celebrate Graham's stepmother's 90th birthday. We told them what a wonderful time we had with the Jones family when we were there for Myra's 70th birthday.

Greta! Labor & Delivery

2009-01-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

Little Greta Charlotte Victor

Mommy & baby

Happy Grandma 'Nita

Happy Momma & sleeping Greta

Baby burrito

Daddy & tiny Greta

Who knew her clothes would be too big?

Grandpa Ken & Greta

Sweet Pea!

Awww

Our own room w/ a bed for Wayne to stay the night!

Baby Lojack

Bundled in her car seat for the trip home!

Sweet baby sleeping on Grandma

Sleepy girl!

Little Peanut

There are those elusive blue eyes!

Daddy Finishing the Nightshift w/Greta

Sleeping all the time (well during the day!)

There's the crying face

Sweet angel

Little girl in her big girl pants

So, now that you've seen the adorable pictures of Greta, I'm going to get into the blow-by-blow account of the labor and delivery, so if you're male or weak of heart, you may want to stop reading now...

Mom & Dad (Ken & Anita) were obviously sad when we told them we were moving to Germany when their first grandchild was about to be born, so we decided they should come stay with us for a month surrounding the birth so they could at least not miss that. As you may know, it's normal for a baby to be born anywhere from 38 to 42 weeks of gestation, and the due date, at 40 weeks is simply the average between the two. I was due Jan. 6, so we had to take a bit of a chance when booking their flights. Grandma Anita put in a request to the little one to stay inside until after they'd arrived. Well, it turns out she was a good little girl. We picked up Mom & Dad from the airport on Jan. 1. The next morning Mom & I set the dining room table for a dinner party I had planned for that night. We walked around the town of Landstuhl and bought some taper candles to complete the table and I had the lasagna I'd previously baked thawing in the fridge and mint chocolate chip Oreo dessert in the freezer ready for our friends who would soon be moving back to the States. I laid down on the couch around 1:30, not feeling so well (but not telling mom so she wouldn't get worried). I think I was saying that we'd forgotten that we still needed to make some more iced tea and then my water broke at 2 pm. I called Landstulh Army Hospital to make sure they had room for me and that I wouldn't be diverted to a German hospital. Then I called Wayne at work and told him that my water broke and he seemed a bit stunned and said "Really?" I was a bit surprised too, as I'd read that only 8-15% of women's water actually breaks on it's own, but also relieved that I knew for sure it was time to go to the hospital. I asked Wayne if he could come home from work and he said sure. Then I called my friend Robyn and said that I was pretty sure we'd have to cancel our dinner plans for that night. Mom was so anxious that she kept forgetting things and stood in the hallway upstairs when I took a shower to make sure I was alright and didn't need anything. About an hour later when Wayne got home from work, we packed up the car and went to the hospital.

Before Mom & Dad arrived, we visited the security office at the hospital and gave them Mom & Dad's passport numbers so they could get on "the list," which was supposed to allow them to get on the base without us having to be delayed at the gate (since they don't have military ID's). When we got to the base, Wayne told the German guard that they were on the roster, a term he evidently didn't understand, so we had to pull the car over to the security checkpoint, all get out and stand against the wall while the security guard and German shepherd checked out the car and Mom & Dad's passports were called in. Fortunately I wasn't experiencing painful contractions yet, but since my water was continually leaking, it did mean having a soggy bottom going into the hospital. Oh well, that's military life!

When we got there, I learned that I'd have to be put on pitocin, the one thing I didn't want, because I knew it would make the contractions stronger than what my body would have done on it's own. I also knew that I wanted an epidural. I think it was about 5:30 that they started me on pitocin. Then an anesthesiologist came in to put in the line for the epidural. I don't know if it was having to have my head bent for so long while he positioned the line, or if it was that I was nervous that he'd miss the spot and I'd be paralysed or something, but I started feeling really strange--sounds seemed distant, I got dizzy and felt like I was going to faint. I guess my blood pressure dropped quickly too, but the strong baby inside me was unaffected and her heart rate stayed normal. They gave me oxygen and laid me down. I was scared, wondering if something bad was happening to me from the needle in my back, but after getting some oxygen I was fine. The anesthesiologist was so great and comforting during that episode. Then a few mintues, maybe a half hour? later another anesthesiologist came in, the first one hadn't told me he was going off duty! I'm guessing this one was having a bad day because she almost bit my head off when I was unsure whether to start the epidural now (as she suggested in case of some rare clotting thing the nurse said almost never happens) or wait as the nurse suggested so I could still walk around and use the birthing ball if desired. When she left in a huff, the nurse was very apologetic for the anesthesiologist's behavior and the next time it was the head of the anesthesiology department that came in. We never saw the grumpy one again. I didn't think it was that big of a deal, my beef with anestheology came later. So, she started me on a low dose (level 2) explaining that as the contractions got more painful, I could push a button every 20 minutes to release more medicine, and then they could up the dose later. So, it got a lot more painful when I was in the transition stage and the button wasn't bringing relief, so the nurses paged anestheology to come back to up my dose. They never came back. So, my last two contractions of transition were very painful and then it was too late to get more medicine. So, the pushing phase was excruciating.

Wayne somehow thought that he'd be up by my head the whole time, so he was a bit taken aback when the nurse, Captain Rowles, ordered him to grab one of my legs and help when I had to push. I pushed for an hour and the doctor kept telling me I was so close and I told her that she'd been telling me that for a while and I didn't think I could do it. I was begging her to "just get it out" and use the forecepts, but she refused (thankfully) and said I had to push her out myself. At one point when I was so frustrated, she told me to reach down and feel the head and I felt a head full of hair. Somehow, I did get the energy to finally push her out and it was such a relief when I felt the head and then the shoulders come out. I got a level 1 (the mildest) tear when the shoulder came out, but I didn't feel it or the stich(es?) and still haven't felt pain from that. Thank goodness she was a peanut! 6 lbs. 13 oz and 20 inches long. Wayne got to cut the umbilical cord. When she was finally out I wanted to make sure that she was a girl--we have so many cute girly outfits and really only one that would have worked for a boy. When I saw the umbilical cord stump, for a second I wasn't sure, but was so happy to find out it was indeed a girl. Then they toweled her off and put her on my chest. I was holding her cute little bum in my hand and after the nurse helped her with her sucking reflex Greta did nurse a bit right away. They let me hold her for a while (maybe a half hour?) before they took her to put the vitamin K drops in her eyes and such. Greta was born at 2324, or 11:24 pm, so from water breaking to delivery was 9 1/2 hours.

Greta got her first bath while I took a shower. She screamed through it. They put a "baby lojack" on her leg, which you can see in two of the pictures above. If anyone tried to take her out of the mother & baby ward, it would go off and alert them at the nurses' station. Wayne, Greta and I also each had an arm or leg (in Greta's case) band that had a matching number on it. Any time the medical staff did anything with Greta, and before we left hte hospital, the number had to be compared to make sure she was our baby and didn't get switched--like we wouldn't notice if they brought a different baby back in the room!

Except for that one anesthesiologist, all of the doctors and nurses were wonderful. Wayne finds it interesting that my favorite nurse on the mother & baby unit, Zane, was an Army Ranger before becoing a nurse. He was talking with the anesthesiologist saying that his next rotation he'd like to do in that department and maybe get a masters degree in that field. Of course, like any hospital, you'd get to really like one and then they'd go off duty. It was fine, but at first I found it a little funny that the two nurses that were helping me most with the latching on and breastfeeding were male. Maybe that's an military thing, mabye not. Of course being an army hospital, they have some dumb rules that have to be followed. They require all new moms (really all babies of new moms) to stay at least 48 hours. Since Greta was born so late at night on Friday, they made me stay until Monday. Since the neonatal doctor did late rounds and their was a snaffu with the pharmacy, I didn't get to leave until late Monday afternoon. I was really upset on Sunday when I learned this because I found it really hard to sleep at the hospital with so many interruptions, and with Mom & Dad at the house, I really wanted to go home Sunday as my OB said I could. But, also since Greta was born late on a Friday night, it meant I didn't get to see the lactation consultant all weekend, so being able to see her Monday morning was the silver lining that made it not so bad to have to stay. The lactation consultant was amazed that Greta only lost 1 % of her birth weight upon dismissal from the hospital. On her 5 day well baby visit, the doctor didn't look at her birth weight and told us that she wasn't gaining enough weight each day. I was so upset because I thought that after a very stressful day of engourgement at home when it was hard to feed Greta that we'd finally gotten a hang of the nursing thing. He asked the lactation consultant to come back in. She weighed Greta again and realized that the doctor hadn't looked at her birth weight and assumed she still needed to gain that back. So, Greta was fine and the nursing was going great and he got me all upset for nothing. At Greta's 2 week check-up, she weighed 7 lbs. and 9.8 oz! She's definitely well fed.

We're all enjoying litlel Greta so much. She does keep us up at night with her fussy time being anywhere from 9 pm to 4 am (usually around 11 pm). But, luckily, there is usually a grandparent awake downstairs willing to take her for a few hours so we can sleep in between feedings. Wayne will go back to work on Tuesday. I'll be sad not to have him here, he'll miss Greta terribly, and he's anxious about having to perform at work on reduced sleep, but I'm sure we'll all figure it out. Despite the sleep disturbance, I love this newborn phase and don't want her to grow out of it! I find it so sweet when she roots around looking for food, but will suck your nose or cheek or neck because she doesn't yet understand the source of her nourishmet. We all adore her little squeaks and other noises, and relish the little time each day she has her eyes opened and looks at us. We'll try to keep the blog updated, at least with picures, when there isn't much time to write. As you can imagine, it's a bit hard to accomplish much in a day compared to pre-baby times. Fortunately, we have Mom here cooking most of the meals, baking cookies like a true Grandma, and doing laundry; and Dad to watch Greta in the wee hours of the night and do the occasional vaccuming or other tasks. I think the little one is waking up to eat again, so I'll sign off now.

The Tapestry of Amman Jordan

2008-12-11T12:39:00.001-08:00

Oliver Wendell Holmes said of ones perception that "Simple people... are very quick to see the live facts which are going on about them." I believe this to be true when thinking about other parts of the world.

As many of you know I have traveled mostly to China in the last couple of years. One of the reasons I was hired for this position was the very fact that I have done business in a culture that is 180 degrees from our own. My future boss asked me in my interview: Do you know any Arabic people? I answered that I only knew one, a dear friend of my named Lilly from Egypt that I have not seen in years.

Well, that problem has been resolved, as I have been treated as family in Jordan. I must say that the Arabic world is not what I expected it to be. The people are proud of both their Muslim and Arab traditions, they are very friendly, and go out of their way to show you their hospitality, also they are very hygienic, as the Quran tells them to be. So, that said, I enjoyed my time in the Middle East, I must admit more then my time in China. A quick observation and a pleasant one is that I would like to convey to all back home, everyone I met was Muslim and follow the word of the Quran that is the real work of the Quran; this includes many of the tenants that we believe as Christians. They denounce terrorism fiercely and want everyone to know that Islam is a faith of Peace. Now, those are just words, and someone might blog me and say this about themselves, but I can honestly say the people I met seemed genuine, trustworthy and had no malice toward us, many liked to remind me that Jesus is one of their most sacred profits, they to believe he rose and like us, they are also awaiting is second coming.

That rose colored account not withstanding; there are many cultural differences which created both comedy as well as frustration. Many people in Amman speak English; however it is not as prevalent as in Europe. I learned the customary hello, thank you and the such, but Arabic is entirely too hard to wrap ones head around on the first pass. My nephew is studying Arabic at Columbia, so I will be interested to hear his thoughts if I should tackle it or not.

Comedy of Errors

The first day we arrived in Amman it was night, and we had to go to the Avis desk to get our car and our driver. One does not drive the streets of Amman as the traffic laws here are merely suggestive and subjective at best. We found that our drivers name of Casey, not sure how you spell that but he was Jordanian none the less. Long story short, we had to change a tire out, get gas and take a trip of about 20 miles into Jordan this took about 1 ½ hours until we got to our hotel.

I know I have described Amman as a nice place, but that does not mean it is safe by any means. Pulling up to our Hotel, named the Bristol, you find yourself in a bunker zone. The hotel is surrounded by concrete barriers, spikes protruding from the cement and two Jordanian Army guards with Oozie Machine guns 24 hours a day. Upon going into the hotel, all bags are x-rayed and all must walk through a metal detector as well as get frisked.

Iraq: An Explosive Market

So, many people ask me what I am doing selling advertising in the Middle East. Our customers are Iraqi businessmen of which most had business in various regions of Iraq. The US Government encourages Iraqi nationals to bid for contracts to rebuild their own country. The problem is that the insurgents do not like them doing business with the United States. As and example of the danger they face, a prospect of ours named Nasser, who builds and manages water reclamation projects, had his business outside of Bagdad only last year. His building was hit with a suicide truck bomber killing his whole staff, of which he missed being there by only five minutes. Nasser wanted to make sure that we would not put his name on our website or anywhere the insurgents might look as feared he would be targeted again. The moral of this story is we have to be particularly careful how we present our advertising as lives are at stack. In the last four years Stars and Stripes has lost four of its Iraqi delivery drivers to ambushes on the road from Bagdad to Erbil in the North.

Treated Like Family

That might have left a bad taste in your mouth, so now I will talk about the wonderful food and hospitality that I experienced in Jordan. Ali Salamin is one of our customers that have actually become a good friend of my sales representative assigned to Jordan. He invited us over to his house for a traditional Iraqi fish dish called “Masgouf.” This is a cod type fish that is put on a spit, encased in pita bread and cooked for hours. Ali’s wife also made what I can only describe as Tapas type sides full of lamb, beef and beans, they were wonderful. If the food was not wonderful enough the conversations was absolutely fascinating. First I must preface by saying that our dinner was men only, we met Ali’s wife and kids then they summarily went back into the kitchen to eat. That left us at the table with myself, Eric my sales rep, Ali his friend Achmed, who I am going help get a job with Eastern Accents in Chicago, and finally and most interestingly, Ali’s father Ahmad who is a doctor. Ahmad talked as passionately about Iraq as we do about America. It was fascinating here him recount the rise and fall of the Bathe Party and Sadam Husain. The point that struck me was that he did not necessarily think Sadam was good or bad, just that Iraq is his home and that was just the way things were. He concluded by telling us that, although he knows Sadam is an evil man, he wished that America never came as it turned their families life upside down.

Coming to Jesus, Literally

Finally, we took a detour from our selling efforts to take a trip where it is believed John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. This is about 40 minutes from Amman near the Dead Sea and was a truly moving experience. When we go to the gate to enter the holy site we were told by the Jordanian army that it was closing in 30 minutes and we would not have time. I don’t know if it was divine providence or Ali’s skillful haggling, but they let us through. Upon entering the gate, one of the guides got in the car and led us to the Jordan River. His name was Achmed and he loved everything American, so he gave us a private tour of the site. What was so special about this was that there were no other pilgrims in the area and he let us walk under the ropes cordoning off the baptismal and let us actually go into the baptismal. This baptismal was built in the 5^th Century by some of the first Christians along with a church apply named the Church of Saint John the Baptist. We asked why the river was not longer in the path of the baptismal our guide told us that the Israelis rerouted the Jordan River to allow for more water for the West Bank settlements. He also told us that is was rare to ever see any water in the baptismal, but a spring was producing a little bit of water. We wasted no time getting our plastic water bottles out and took this holy water which I shall cherish and baptize our daughter when she is old enough. A couple of people have asked me: How do they know that is where Jesus was baptized? My answer is maybe it is not the exact spot, but over the ridge is Jericho and on the way is the supposed spot where Elijah’s ascension to heaven. Enough said.

So as I head to Kuwait tomorrow, I feel that this experience has given me some incite into the Arab and Muslim culture. Not everyone is a terrorist, they don’t all hate Americans and Alkita is not behind every bush.

House Stuff

2008-12-06T07:51:00.000-08:00

Wayne taping the ceiling over the fireplace.

Test patches

We made it home with the mattress and box spring still on top of the car!

So, we're finally both in town for a weekend, so we had some house stuff we had to accomplish. First, my parents will be here in less than a month (yay!) for a month, and then Wayne's parents come in February (yay!), so it was a priority to find a queen mattress set to put in the bed frame we have for the guest room. There's a website, Ramstein Yard Sales, where Americans buy and sell things they no longer need and I have alerts out for a lot of the things we need for the house. I was pleased to find a nice mattress set, so we went to get it today. We were so fortunate that we went when it wasn't raining (it was this morning, as it usually is this time of year, but stopped in time for us). We were a bit hesitant about tieing it to the top of the station wagon, but luckily Wayne knows knots from his time in the Boy Scouts and the Navy and was able to tie it very securly to the car and we made it up the mountain to our house and everything. Now we just need the furniture to arrive this week before Wayne goes to Kuwait!

The other thing we wanted to accomplish this weekend, before the furniture arrives, is painting the huge, ugly blue room. Yesterday I went to a hardware store and got tape and some paint samples in preparation. I was able to tape the floor boards and around the windows and fireplace and had to leave the ceiling taping to Wayne. I took the German-English dictionary that Marika gave us to the store and was quite proud of myself for being able to get that errand done. Today we went to a better hardware store, Hornbach, which Wayne thinks has to be owned by the same company as Home Depot because it's all the same orange signs and looks very similar inside. We wanted a shade in between two of the samples I had and one of the store employees came up to us to ask if we needed help and was so helpful. I think we'll like the color we chose. It'll be a nice backdrop for a variety of fabrics and our current furniture and pictures. Anything would be better than the hideous blue it now is!

I'm one month from my due date today. Wayne goes to Kuwait,Bahrain, and Dubai this coming Friday through the next Friday. He forgot that it's normal for a baby to come 2 weeks before or after the due date, but 2 weeks from today is still the day after he gets back, so I think we'll be ok. Things so far have been very by the book, so I'm not worried.

Visit to Wayne's Relatives in Kiel

2008-12-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Michael, Peter, Marika, Renata
Wayne, Kirsten, Uncle Ernst

Michael & Marika's house (and a little snow coming down).

Michael looking out his dining room window.

LOVE this room!

Upstairs

Neat building from 1775 (if you look closely at the top you can see those numbers)

Rathaus (city hall) Kiel

The Nord See (North Sea), Kiel

The "Boat House," I took this one because Graham and Myra's house in England is called The Boat House

Homes along the shore--all different styles

The beach (im Winter)

A cute house I wanted Wayne to take a picture of.

Kirsten, Michael and Marika in front of church

Cute church I wanted to see--on an angle??

Myself, Wayne & Marika in the church

U-995

Markia, Wayne and myself in the U-Boat

Me under the spikes--there to deter invasion (the spikes, not me!)

This past Friday we drove up to Northern Germany to visit relatives of Wayne's. His great uncle Ernst Victor (his father's uncle) turned 102 in November, and we wanted to visit him as soon as we could. Ernst was featured in a clip on the local news and an article was written about him in the local newspaper, as he has witnesses a lot of interesting Germany history in his lifetime. The news broadcast focused on the German Revolution of 1918, where Ernst narrowly missed being hit by a stray bullet as he ran away from the fighting. The newspaper article pointed out that Germany still had a Kaiser when Ernst was born. He is amazing for 102, but he is bothered by the fact that he can't really see anymore. We had a very nice visit with him.

Wayne looked up Kaiserslautern to Kiel on MapQuest and reported that it was only a 5 hour drive. Great, no problem. We rented a car because the BMW isn't THAT great of a car and the Audi hadn't arrived yet. We got a late start, partly because it was hard for me to get up in the morning (tired stage of 3rd trimester pregnancy and just 2 days back from our trip to England), and partly because of the way military/government benefits are handled. Let me explain...gas in Germany is much more expensive than in the US. One of our benefits is that we can buy gas here at American prices--on a military base, or at an Esso station with a special gas card that has to be preloaded with money. Each car that is eligible for one of these special gas cards has to be registered to us or with a rental car, we have to get a special document and gas card saying that we're eligible to use the card at Esso stations with this particular rental car. We found out where to do that on Ramstein Air Base (the closest one to where we live), so we rented a car from Hertz, which is right by the entrance of the base. I thought, no problem, we'll swing by that office on the base and get the special document and gas card, load it with money at the gas station on that base, and fill the car up. Well, that process took TWO HOURS. So, we got a late start and after 3 staus (roughly translated as traffic jam, but Wayne swears the words aren't equal because a German stau can last for an hour) it took NINE hours to arrive at our destination.

Michael (Uncle Ernst's son) and Marika were so gracious, waiting for us with a wonderful lasagna dinner when we arrived. I'll take this opportunity to tell you about their house--I loved it. It was originally built in 1776, yup that's the year our country was founded. It was renovated first in 1922, and then again about 10 years ago by Michael and Marika. They did a wonderful job, as you can see from the pictures. I commented that it could be in a magazine in one of those articles about how to live beautifully in a small space. Wayne had said that Kiel (the biggest city near all the relatives) would be somewhat like Norway, where I have relatives because it's so far north and right on the North Sea (and Ost or East See). Their house definitely had elements of Scandinavian design, which I loved. In general, I thought the houses in that part of Germany were much cuter than here. They use mostly brick and tend to be smaller in scale. Here most houses are of stucco (with REALLY thick walls) or an ugly siding and are bigger and often duplexes.

The next day we had our visit with Uncle Ernst and then Peter and Renata (Michael's sister) showed us around Kiel. We went to their Wienachtsmarkt (Christmas market--most cities and many small villages too have them) and ate lunch at the Ratskeller (Rathaus is city hall and keller is like basement). It was a nice restaurant with traditional German food. I tried the duck and Wayne had a plate with sausauges, fat back, and grunkoln (kale). We then went to a cafe/chocolate shop for kuchen (cake) and coffee. Then they pointed out an apartment where they used to live in Kiel and where Andrea (Wayne's sister) lived when she was a student at the university there. We also went to the restaurant where Andrea was a waitress and had drinks. Wayne's family jokes that in Germany it's always essen und trinken (eating and drinking) and this day proved that right! Renata pointed out that there's also laufen (walking), which must be how they do that and stay fit. We also got to see the Ost See and where the Olympic sailing events took place in 1936 and 1972. They dropped us back off at Michael and Marika's that evening, and we were very grateful to have time for a little nap before dinner. Marika made Wayne one of his favorite German dishes for dinner--Rolladen, beef roll ups.

Sunday Michael and Marika took us to a nearby village where there was a tiny Wienachtsmarkt and a castle, which was closed for renovations, but we liked seeing some of the neat buildings in that village. We went and walked along the North Sea and went inside a German U-Boat. Wayne was thrilled because we missed going in the captured U-Boat that they have at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, so he finally got to see the inside of one. We had lunch at a fish restaurant and really enjoyed our white fish meal--see something, I've already forgotten what the fish was called. Then we relaxed a little back at the house and enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken with tomato sauce and rice. We enjoyed so much our time there with the family, that we were sad to have to leave on Monday morning. After our late arrival on Friday, and having to have the rental car back by 4 pm, we left before 7 am on Monday. We made it back just in time to return the car, and even spent a half hour in an IKEA on the way back, picking up a few essentials for our house.

Myra's 70th Birthday in England

2008-12-03T06:44:00.001-08:00

Myra opening her gift from Nick & Loren

Graham

Nick

Loren

Alex with Charlie.

Abbey in Crowland.

I liked the spikey detail on this arch.

One of Wayne's artsy photos.

Ditto.

Graham and myself. It was VERY windy cold that day.

Old graves in the abbey yard.

The Hotel setting for Myra's special birthday lunch.

Lake & Hotel Gardens

Hotel Gardens

Chris, Tom, Maddie & Otto

Maddie & Otto shamelesly in Leo's bed

Oh Leo! He got the ribbon off of Myra's flowers.

Since Wayne was going to be near London for "terrorism school," I decided to take my last opportunity to fly during my pregnancy to visit Graham and Myra and their family in England, also not far from London. What I didn't realize what that I'd picked a very special weekend. Myra's 70th birthday was that Friday, the day I arrived, and the weekend was packed with special celebrations for her. They graciously welcomed both myself and Wayne as added guest to all of these festivities.

On Friday, Graham picked me up from the airport as Myra got ready for a surprise tea with her sons, Nick and Chris, at Claridges, THE posh place to have tea in London. Graham and I had lunch at a nice cafe and tea room in Crowland, where they live. That evening, Nick and Loren hosted a dinner at their house to celebrate Myra's birthday. I'd met Nick and Loren when I visited Graham and Myra in 1996, during the semester I studied in Vienna. Now I finally got to meet their sons Alex (9) and Ben (5). I cannot believe that I didn't get a picture of Ben! It must not have come out on the camera. Alex played Happy Birthday to Myra on his guitar and we all sang. Loren made a wonderful chicken and fennel dish. I had a sip of champagne to toast the occasion. Wayne was to finish Centurion that day at 4 pm and Graham suggested he get a train from Hampshire to London, then to Peterborough. Wayne thought that sounded like going out of his way, so he found what he thought was going to be a great deal on a rental car and decided to drive instead. He didn't factor in the horrid Friday night traffic around London, so at dinner we were beginning to wonder why we hadn't heard from him, as he didn't have Nick & Loren's address. Our cell phones didn't work at all in England, so I knew Wayne would have to stop somewhere to call us. As the evening wore on and we hadn't heard from him, Graham became convinced that the leaders of Centurion had formulated a brilliant plan to kidnap the class members when they thought the class was over so that the experience would be realistic in the sense that the family members would be worried about them and not know where they were. Fortunately, Centurion has not adopted this technique and Wayne was just waiting until he got to Petersborough to call us. He missed a wonderful evening at Nick and Lorens, and arrived at Graham and Myra's at about 11 pm.

The next day, Graham followed us to return the rental car and on the way back we stopped to see the Abbey in Crowland. On Saturday, I also finally got to meet Myra & Graham's other son, Chris, and his partner Tom. They brought their dachshunds Maddie & Otto also. Graham & Myra also have a dachshund, Leo, and Wayne and I were so happy to be around dachshunds again, as we miss our dogs who are still in the states. Chris and Tom treated the family to a wonderful dinner at a tiny restaurant run by the wife of the chef, who is the only one in the kitchen. I was amazed by this fact because the food was amazing, and everything is made solely by him. I had the most wonderful chocolate and mint ricotta cheesecake for dessert.

Then on Sunday, Graham hosted a lunch for 14 in honor of Myra's birthday at a special hotel. We got to meet Graham's brother, Malcolm, and his wife Kay, and their good friends Frankie (who taught the boys music when they were children) and her husband, Viv, a well known cello player. The hotel was lovely, with the decor being the epitome of an old English country estate. Again, the food was very fancy and very good and we enjoyed talking with everyone.

Monday Graham and Myra took us to a shopping mall to pick out something for our little girl. We chose a few books, one of them a British classic, "The Tiger Who Came to Tea." Myra thought it would be nice for her to also have some music for falling asleep to, so we picked out some Baby Einsteins CDs. We relaxed a bit that afternoon as we prepared to leave early the next morning to head back to Germany. There was a bit of angst trying to figure out the luggage situation as our flight was on Ryanair--a cheap airline that makes their money off of added charges. Each person is allowed only a 10 kilogram carry on for free. Each person can check luggage only totaling 15 kilos, at an added charge. On the way over, I packed what I thought was a carry on. It ended up being 11 kilos, so they charged me 20 Euros at the airport. Wayne had all his heavy gear for Centurion, so I was not sure how we were going to accomplish the baggage limits (for each kilo over the limit, it would have been 12 British Pounds--about $180 for one bag). Luckily, Graham found an old bag that he said we could take with us so each Wayne and I would have one bag to check that was under 15 kilos. Using their bathroom scale, it seemed like we'd be over, but luckily when we got to the airport we found that we weren't. We were so happy to find that the return flight was quite empty, a rarity these days, probably because it was a Tuesday. Wayne took advantage of the small extra fee to get priority boarding (otherwise it's everyone dashing into line and picking their own seat, an amusing spectacle I participated in on the way to London on a packed flight), and we sat in an exit row, which was good b/c the seats are tiny and Wayne's knees would have been jammed up against the seat in front.

Baby Shower

2008-12-03T06:17:00.000-08:00

Leigh, the fabulous host

Tracie (our sponsor), animated as always

Connie & Cheryl

Me, Tara, and Samira

Leigh & Heather

A cute hot pink mini skirt for our little girl

So, as I reported in an early post, shortly after we arrived and met, Leigh (Wayne's HR manager and our friend) invited me to a baby shower in my honor. It was wonderful. She made quite a spread and I got to know the women from Wayne's office better. We had a nice afternoon, and of course, got some more cute things for our little girl--and some nice gifts for pampering the mommy too! It took place on the day that Wayne left for Centurion ("terrorism school") in England.

Working In The Big Sandbox

2008-12-03T03:34:00.000-08:00

Wayne here,
finally contributing to Kirsten's fine literary collection of our adventures in Germany.

As many of you know, my new career takes me to many far flung parts of the world. In my previous job is was all about going to China, this job is all about the Big Sandbox, the Middle East; Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and yes, Iraq (Green Zone Only.)

As a quick recap from what Kirsten has told you, I am the Business Development Director for the Expeditionary Edition of Stars and Stripes Newspaper. What does this really mean, I am the advertising man on the ground in the hot spots of our armed forces.

This simply means that I get to go where ever the U.S. Military is firing loud metal projectiles out of long sophisticated weapons. Really, our mission is to support the troops in the field, what we call "Down Range" with a hometown newspaper. Stars and Stripes has been around since the Civil War and since then has not been published anywhere in the United States and has the sole purpose of serving our troops overseas. However, in good old American fashion, there is still advertising, I mean what would these guys be fighting for if there was no advertising :) So, if you would like to check out the U.S. Military Stars and Stripes Newspaper just follow the link: www.estripes.osd.mil and you can see all our daily editions.

I thought you would like a little insight on why we moved here, crazy enough, but I feel I am doing my little part to help the troops as much of the money goes to the MWR sort of like the USO to help service members and their families.

I hope will have the time to keep adding my contributions to the blog of the places I have gone and people I have met.

Snow Day

2008-12-03T02:28:00.000-08:00

This is the scene we woke up to today.

A shot from our snowy walk.

Our neighborhood in the snow.

View from our dressing room window.

Our house in the snow and the car that isn't snow-ready that's making us shut-ins today.

Wayne "shoveling" our steps with the car scraper since our shovels aren't here yet.

Ready for our walk!

So, we woke up today excited to finally go pick up our POV (Personally Owned Vehicle). Wayne had been checking the website for days to see if our car made it over the ocean, and then finally yesterday afternoon, he called me with the news that it had finally arrived and we could go pick it up this morning. So we got up and got all ready and then opened the Rolladens (like outside blinds that German houses have on them and put all down at night) to see the snow coming down. No problem, you say, wait for the snow plows. Yeah, those don't come here. That's why everyone is supposed to have snow tires on their cars from O to O (October to Ostern=Easter). When we bought the BMW second car, there were supposed to be 4 new snow tires included, but when we went to get them put on we learned that 2 of them have dry rot and you cannot put 2 snow tires on and 2 regular tires by German law, so we don't have a good snow car in our driveway yet. BUT the Audi station wagon that is waiting for us to pick her up has 4 wheel drive (and we are hoping all weather tires, or else we need to buy 6 snow tires instead of 2), so if we'd gotten her one day sooner, we probably wouldn't be shut-ins today. Well, no one ever said snow days were all bad. Wayne is having to take a comp day, but I'd rather know he's safe and not sliding in the snow. Now, tomorrow is another matter. I don't think this is a one day snow, so we'll have to reassess in the morning. Oh, also playing into the decision was that our friend, Leigh, totaled her Saab station wagon last week going down her hilly road on ice. Our neighborhood is hilly too.

We do have our wood fireplace in use, which should over the course of the winter, save money on the oil used to heat the floors on the first level and radiators on the second floor. Plus, a fire burning is always a nice touch to a home.

As I write this, the snow continues to blow rather diagonally past the windows. It's a good day to catch up on blogging as we'd been in Northern Germany and England the past few weeks and I didn't have a chance to blog. Also, Wayne is also needing to blog about his trip to Amaan, Jordan, and "terrorism school" in England. So, stay tuned, the next few entries will take us back over the past few weeks of travels...

1 month in Germany

2008-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

So, today is 11/16, one month from the day we arrived in Germany. We have definitely made progress in getting settled, but are still not there yet. I'll move out of temporary billeting on Thursday, but we won't get temporary furniture into our house until next Wednesday, so we won't really move into there until then. For 2 gap nights in between when I'm/we're here without furniture, we'll stay with Leigh.

Wayne got back from Jordan Friday evening and left this morning (Sunday) at 8 am for England to attend "terrorism school." He'll learn what to do if kidnapped by terrorists--hopefully knowledge he'll never need to use. I'm flying to London on Friday to visit family friends, Myra and Graham Jones and their family. Wayne will take a train out after he's finished Friday afternoon to join us. As it turns out, it's the weekend Myra turns 70, so we will be joining (crashing) some wonderful family celebrations. Now I need to work on finding a nice maternity dress to wear to the fancy hotel meal (not an easy task here).

Today, Leigh threw me a baby shower with guests that Wayne works with. It was really nice. She put on quite a spread (including homemade cheesecake and carrot cake) and I enjoyed getting to know the women better, and of course it was fun to open presents for our little girl.

I've gone to two water aerobics classes so far. The pool is fabulous. It just opened about 2 months ago. It's on Ramstein Air Base, which is not far from where we'll live. It will be a nice place to take a toddler in the yucky cold months. Also, Wayne and I enjoyed the Chili's on the base last night. The food tastes just the same as in the states and the atmosphere is great for homesick or nostalgic Americans.

Again, a post without pictures. Sorry about that. We'll get our act together sometime, but for now I think the cable that runs from the camera to the computer is with Wayne in England or packed and at Leigh's house? The memory card slot on the laptop isn't really working. Also, Wayne didn't get around to doing his blog about Jordan during the one day he was here, so you'll have to wait for that too.

Here by myself

2008-11-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

So I'm kind of lonely and bored. I was listening to Christmas music and thinking how festive it would be to stroll through Crate & Barrel at Oakbrook mall this time of year. Wayne is on his sixth day in Amaan, Jordan. He'll have a lot to blog when he gets back, but I'll report some of the highlights. Today Wayne got holy water and some mosaic tiles from the place that Jesus was baptized. Right now he's at an Iraqi's house (in Amaan) for dinner, some special traditional dish, I forgot what it is. He ordered French toast and bacon for breakfast and got a stack of toast with the crusts cut off and a slab of meat. He is really enjoying his time there and the people he has met. He also reports that Royal Jordanian Airlines is a fabulous airline.

Yesterday, I went with Leigh to Decathlon, a discount sporting goods store, to buy Wayne the clothing and boots he'll need for terrorism school next week in London. Of course he already owns most of the stuff I had to buy him, but no one told us to pack that stuff separate from our household goods which are still on a boat somewhere in the Atlantic. I can't wait 'til they arrive, because I really miss some of our stuff! Also, I can't wait 'til our car gets here. Wayne likes his '90 BMW, but I'm not such a fan. Of course, we really miss the dogs too. They're keeping Mom and Dad company and entertaining their guests in Homewood.

I had an appointment today at the housing office, but of course, nothing happens on the first try, so I have to go back tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have a signed rental contract and will have arranged for temporary furniture to be delivered to the house, and will then have the date I can move in there. I finally got to a water aerobics class today. The pool is fabulous, just opened two months ago. But, I got to the class 25 minutes late after getting lost on Ramstein Air Base--it's huge! As I said before, on a military base the buildings all look the same and are just numbered. Plus, the limited map I have of it doesn't list things in alphabetical order and picks weird things to list over others. Great to know where the Popeye's is, but not the Chili's. Glad to know where the Auto Recycling Center is, but not the pool. I ate at the Chili's there for lunch, which was great, but got lost again on the way out and actually drove over the runway for those huge cargo planes. It was an actual street, but I was still scared! I took the LONG way out and it took FOREVER. I was so happy when I finally got to the main gate. I am more confident about driving myself places since Wayne bought the Navi (navigation system--everyone uses them here).

I am so sick of AFN (American Forces Network). I actually watched "The View" and "Dr. Phil," shows I wouldn't watch at home if there were anything better on. Also, since there's so little else, I see SO much cable news. Didn't the election end over a week ago? Can't they think of anything else to cover 24-7? Well I do a lot more computer and reading now anyway.

Third weekend here

2008-11-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

So, Wayne is in Amaan, Jordan right now. He wanted to blog from there, but forgot the cable to transfer the pictures from his phone, so he'll have to do that later. I also don't have any pictures for this blog, sorry!

Yesterday I went to the holiday bazaar at the army post in Heidelberg with Leigh, Wayne's HR manager. Her son is a boy scout and had to bus tables there for a while. There were a lot of vendors selling hand made pottery, ornaments, cheese, chocolates, antiques and such things. I just bought a hand painted bunny rabbit Christmas ornament from Casimir, India for the baby. Then we had dinner in Heidelberg in a restaurant on their pedestrian platz. Heidelberg is a pretty city and I'm really bummed I didn't get to take pictures to share with you. By the time we got off base, it was dusk and the pics weren't taking. Wayne and I will definitely want to go back and spend a day there. Plus, the nearest IKEA is near there. There's a river with beautiful houses on the hill on the other side of it. There is also an old castle up high on a hill overlooking the city, and the pedestrian platz is so much nicer than in Kaiserslautern, with cute stores and lovely apartments. After dinner I had some pretty good gelato which made me happy.

This morning I had Sunday brunch on base. Among other things, I had a biscuit and gravy, but the gravy was labeled "meat sauce." I thought that was funny. Then I went to an American church with Robin Hinson and her family (friend of a friend of a high school friend, we hooked up via Facebook). I'm tempted to jump right into women's ministry groups, but I'd also like to check out the other American churches in the area to see which we'd most like to attend.

Found a house

2008-11-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Front of house & Wayne's "beater" in the driveway

Back of house (fence will be built for the boys)

Lots of crazy stairs for the dachshund to tumble down

Upstairs Bathroom

Master Bedroom w/ Balcony

Upstairs Bedrooms and Baths have pretty wood ceilings

View out to Terrace with church in background and roosters

Main Room Fireplace

Entrance

1st Floor Bathroom w/ urinal

Basement Guest Room

Basement Bathroom

I know, I know, a blog update is overdue. So, here goes...

Yes, we found a house, but it's not official yet. Surprise, surprise. Like everything else here, there are quite a few bureaucratic steps that need to be followed for it to be so. Even though there were Americans living in the house before, the housing office needs to reinspect it because the landlord bought the house from his brother, so there's a different name on the contract than the one they have on file. That is supposed to take place Monday. I'm supposed to move into the house a week from Monday, but I have yet to arrange for temporary furniture to be delivered. Tomorrow Wayne's HR manager is taking me to a bazaar in Heidelberg, so I'll find out everything I need to do for that from her. Plus, even though I got power of attorney from Wayne, we'll see if I can actually arrange all of the financial stuff on the house such as getting approval for the utility payments and rent payments.

Right now Wayne is in Amaan, Jordan, for a week. Then he'll be back here for 1 1/2 days and off to London for a week for terrorism school. I tried to get something important accomplished today in his absence, but of course, it didn't happen. Here you're supposed to have snow tires on the car from October til' Easter. There are 4 snow tires in the car we bought from a soldier in Wiesbaden in the car (2 in the trunk, and 2 in the backseat--you can imagine how eager I am to get those OUT of the car!). They're supposedly new, but the mechanic today said that 2 of them have dry rot, so we need to buy 2 more because Germans do not allow mix and match tires (i.e. not 2 snow tires and 2 regular tires or 2 radial and 2 bias. I don't know what those are, but it was on my USAREUR license test, so I know it). All 4 have to be identical. Also, he noticed something else that needed to be ordered and fixed on the wheels, so I got an estimate, but Wayne will have to do the rest. See why it's annoying for him to be out of town for 2 weeks in a row?

Ok, so the house. It's big. But, Germans use space differently, so whereas in an American house that extra square footage (or meterage in Europe) would be put into say a living room on the first floor, here it's in the basement. So, there's a huge (guest?) room in the basement--along with a full bath, and a huge laundry room and storage room, but that's not how I'd dole out the space if I were designing the house. But, for those of you that were in our house in Lombard, it will be a BIG change. About 3 times the size (but again, over 3 floors). There are roosters just outside. That will be interesting. You can see a church built in the middle ages from windows in the kitchen and some bedrooms. The kitchen is not typical at all of a German kitchen. As Wayne says, the house was build for Americans, although without our penchant for closets and bathroom cabinets. Wayne will have to paint the family room/dining room because the blue has got to go. It is a very large room, but as you can imagine, with his design background and our furniture, the blue does not work at all. There is a urinal in the first floor bathroom, but also a nice fish tile mural.

Musings on "military life"

2008-10-29T02:45:00.001-07:00

I have gotten used to seeing soldiers and airmen in uniform on bases and have enjoyed seeing the huge military aircraft that fly over and land at Ramstein Air Force Base.

When we were driving on the Autobahn the other day, a C-5 Galaxy (Wayne knows all the planes) flew over us and it was BIG and low and cool to see. "The Galaxy is one of the world's largest aircraft. It is almost as long as a football field and as high as a six-story building and has a cargo compartment about the size of an eight-lane bowling alley. The C-5 is the only aircraft that can transport any of the Army's combat equipment, including the 74-ton (66,600-kilogram) mobile scissors bridge, tanks and helicopters." (Text taken from http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/c-5.htm). Ok, the stupid upload picture button is doing nothing now, so if you'd like to see a picture of the C-5, go to that link. We also routinely see C-130's and C-17's. Also big, but smaller than the C-5.

In our room, we get AFN, Armed Forces Network on T.V., plus a few local channels in German, a few BBC channels, CNN international, and one channel in Spanish. AFN is kind of funny to me. People describe it as having no commercials (which Wayne's employee says he misses--can you imagine after finally being able to fast forward through them with DVR's?), but it has PSA's and military updates. They tend to be on topics like fire safety, remember to vote (but if you're in the military, don't be spreading your political views), get help if you're a drunk, that kind of thing. It seems a tad bit brainwashey to me, but I'm new to the military life. AFN broadcasts certain selected shows after they air in the U.S.--sometimes the day after, sometimes seasons ago. I can pretty much always watch yesterday's CNN and Fox News shows, so we're very informed about what's going on in the U.S. Probably more so than when we lived there b/c with so few channels in English, there often isn't anything better on. There are about four ESPN channels on AFN, so if we were sports fanatics, we'd be set. Many people rent previous seasons of shows and watch them all in a weekend. But, Wayne's employee is tech savvy and TV-addicted like Wayne, so once we get into a house and buy some TVs, he'll set up a catch system from which we can get Comcast from my parent's TV (Mom & Dad, we'll talk to you about that!) and buy a DVR thingy here, so we can record current season shows and watch them when we want. Hooray! I'd watched the first two episodes of Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters and after seeing the first of Kath & Kim really wanted to watch that too, but have been left hanging so far. Not to mentioned that we missed the last two episodes of Project Runways (no spoilers, we'll download it and watch it when we have time). I do sometimes try to watch German TV to add to my language ability, but the dialog in sitcoms is so fast that it's hard to catch anything but a word or two--even ones like old Still Standing episodes that I already know some of the dialog. Newscasters speak more slowly, so sometimes I'll try that, especially to try to get an idea of the weather forecast. CNN international posts weather around the world and Frankfurt (closest big city) is right after Chicago. Interesting.

Ok, I'll end todays posts with the quote from my Dove chocolate wrapper because I thought it was good:

"Think without limits."

More Drama

2008-10-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

So, remember me saying that the military ID is important for EVERYTHING here? Well, yesterday Wayne and I visited the ID office for the fourth time to get new ID's with his correct SS # on them (fabulous that our SS#s are right on the cards). It took about an hour, but we got new corrected ID's and even liked our pictures on them better than the last batch. So, yesterday afternoon after looking at some houses (more on that later), we stopped by the dry cleaners on base, dropped off some movies in the drop slot, then went to dinner off base. After using our ID's to get on base, Wayne handed them to me and then when we were in the parking lot at the PX/Dry cleaner, I handed Wayne his ID. After dinner, we got in the car and Wayne went to get his ID out of his wallet to prepare to get back on base to our room. NO IDEA where it was. We searched the car, his pockets, went back into the restaurant, dry cleaners, looked around the parking lots of the movie store and PX/Dry cleaners. ID is no where to be found and we're completely dumbfounded as to where it could have gone. This is not a good thing. So now, after spending time with the military police back on the base where we're staying, Wayne is at the ID office AGAIN and has to go to a Saturday class on how important it is not to lose your ID.

Yesterday we looked at three houses that were on the housing office list. The housing office here on base provides a list of properties for rent, but there are no pictures, as there are on the immobilien web sites. We learned yesterday just how important pictures are. I should have taken pictures of the first two houses we looked at to share with you, but thought it would have been rude. The first one was behind the landlord's shop, which appeared to be a junk shop for cars? So, great views out the front windows. The back yard still had a chicken coop from when he had his chickens there. The house was huge--8 bedrooms, but so cold and unwelcoming. Not a homey house at all. So, no way on that one. It was in the mountains and a pretty area, but not that house.

Next we went to a nearby village to a house where a military family was currently living until they PCS out (go to their next duty station) next month. When we got out of the car it stunk like farm animals and the house across the little street had chickens. The house looked so crappy from the outside that Wayne said "we're don't even need to look at this house," but we had an appointment, so I said we needed to go in and it would continue our education about the housing options here. The woman inside was very nice and normal and they felt lucky to have found a house with so much room for their family of five, but it just wasn't for us. Many of the houses here use oil for heat, which smells and is very expensive to refill the oil tanks. We'd REALLY prefer a house without oil.

Next, we saw a house that was very cute and had a lot of positives. The landlord was great. She lived there with her family previously, but her husband died and her children grew up and she works at a university in Saarbrucken, not so near to the house. She would be a great landlord, and she spoke much more English than most. Since arriving, Wayne and I realized that the German we know is quite inadequate for much of what we've had to do and are thankful that the locals speak so much English. The house had parquet floors in the family and dining room--such a nice change from most other houses that have all tile, mostly white, sometimes grey. The family room has fabulous built-in bookcases and a great view out to woods in the back. There are plenty of bedrooms, more than we'd probably figure out what to do with. But, the basement seemed a little bit creepy in some areas. It actually has a few bedrooms down there that are fine, one even has it's own kitchenette. But, the laundry room and other storage areas are kind of, well creepy. And, we'd have to go down there to let the dogs out as the family room/main level, is one level up from the access to the backyard. We're hoping that one of the houses we see today that we saw on the internet will be a clear-cut yes because it's so hard to decide as this house had some big positives and some negatives.

As we were driving through the little village away from that house Wayne spotted a vermieten (For Rent) sign on a cute house, so he called the number and the owners must have lived right next door as they said they could show us the house right away. They were a cute little couple that spoke only a little English. Wayne was proud of himself for being able to converse with them mainly in German. They laughed when he walked in the door b/c the doorways and ceilings were very low and he's 6'4". They'd redone a lot in the house as it was built around 1900. But, because it was built in 1900, it was full of tiny rooms all chopped up. I'm still not sure there was even a family room? No yard for the dogs, and Wayne would seriously develop back problems ducking through all of the doorways. It was a fun experience, though to meet the people and see their old renovated house.

Also, we still really need a second car. We're paying for a rental for each day we don't get one. An automatic, because even though Wayne's trying to teach me to drive the stick, there are so many differences in driving here that I think it would be too much to handle to not have an automatic. So many of the roads here have really steep hills with very tight curves and are very narrow. Plus, the road rules and signs are so different, that even though I passed the USAREUR license test, it still doesn't come automatically what to do, I have to think back to the right of way rules and translate signs and such. I haven't driven at all yet, but I have an appt. with the RN on Monday when Wayne's at work, so I'll need to drive myself there. There's a '92 BMW that Wayne really wants. And we were supposed to go see in Wiesbaden today, but with the ID drama, we may miss the small window of opportunity. Whenever there is a reasonably priced older car, there are multiple buyers that want it and it's whoever contact's the seller first that gets it. Like that first house we saw and fell in love with and didn't get, there have been cars that we've gotten excited about from the ads and found they were already sold. Wayne does have an advantage as he works at the paper and now gets the classifieds before they're published, but yesterday's didn't include any good prospects.

Sunday Walk

2008-10-29T01:11:00.001-07:00

Again, problems. I meant to keep typing after the pictures of our room in the previous post and couldn't figure out how, so here's another entry. And I don't know why this is all underlined. Ugh, I'm a blog moron.

So, as I said it seems the locals like to spend Saturdays shopping and enjoying the Pedestrian Platz, on Sundays they go for walks. In the woods, in parks, everywhere. In family groups, as couples, groups of friends... So, Wayne and I decided to do what the locals do and we were out driving in the Landstuhl area (because I like it there, it's cute and mountainy, so I was scouting the area to see if we'd live there) and put Park into our Navi and drove to the nearest one. It turned out to be Ohmbachsee (a lake), so we did a lap around it and took some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Kuhs

Wayne was surprised to see what looked like
Black-eyed Susans, native to the U.S.

Very moist plants growing on the side of a hill.
You can't see it, but there was lots of dew on this
grass and it was afternoon.

A fun slide down the hill with some children enjoying it.

This was a neat kids' play area. In nicer weather, there
would have been water coming out the top and following
the hollowed out logs down to the bottom.