Another One Bites the Dust

Today, I took my sick child to the doctor with no hat on. So as not to appear to be a total ass, since I was wearing a jacket AND a scarf, Evans got to wear Mama's cashmere scarf on his head! I have to say that I laughed out loud when I saw what he looked like but he didn't seem to mind. Poor thing woke up this morning with a fever (surprisingly, and after day #5, I did not) and I decided to be on the safe side and take him to the pediatrician. I was really taking him because I thought that he might have an ear infection but as it turns out, he has bronchial pneumonia! Geez. I wasn't expecting that one. But the doctor (who is fabulous) told me that babies his age don't get the flu and that he probably did get sick from me, but this is how it manifested in him. The doctor took an ultrasound of his lungs and while they were inflamed they weren't bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital for a chest x-ray. Thank god. Evans is on antibiotics and we go back on Friday for another ultrasound to decide if he has to take the meds for 7 days or 10.

I took a picture of this the other day because I thought y'all would get a kick out of it. This is how Deaner made us sleep the past two nights.With my nice decorative throw pillow wedged in-between our pillows. He thought this would prevent him from getting my funk and he called it the "germ blocker". I'll let y'all know in a few days how that worked out for him. :)

And finally, on the way home from the doctor today we had to stop at the base to get gas. While I was pumping my gas, THIS is what pulled up next to me.Seriously? Do you think this guy knows he drives a VW Beetle with a WHALE TALE on the back?? Better yet, does he really need a spoiler of that MAGNITUDE for his 4 cylinder bug? I laughed out loud when I saw it. And so did the guy at the cash register at the gas station. Then I went out to my car, got my iphone and snapped these pictures while the owner watched me from inside. I wonder if he knows his ride is famous now!

I'm off to read for probably the ten more minutes Evans might sleep. The poor kid is exhausted but the coughing keeps waking him up. I think it is equally painful for both of us, considering I'm nowhere near 100% yet!

Surely death would be preferable?

Supposedly, according to my doctor, two people in Germany have died from the flu this year. I believe it. I actually can't believe that it isn't more. As of yesterday, I was pretty sure I would become number three. I NEVER get sick. Yeah yeah yeah, I know I had all those issues with my c-section but that doesn't really count as getting sick. The last time I had the flu I was a freshman in college and the time before that I was a freshman in high school. I don't even care to mention how long ago that was. On Friday night I told Deaner that I wasn't feeling well and I thought I would go to bed early. All night long I had dreams that I was sick with the flu and in my dreams my whole body was in excruciating pain. I can't say I was that surprised when I woke up on Saturday morning and realized it wasn't actually a dream. Tomorrow is Wednesday and if I have a fever again, it will be the fifth day of sickness. I have decided though that today is the last day that I am allowed to be sick. Tomorrow I will be better. If I think it hard enough it will happen, right? It's just that simple. Tomorrow I will be fine. I have to be because Deaner is leaving for Brussels so he can't stay home and take care of Evans and me anymore like he has been doing since Saturday. I have to say that Deaner has really stepped up to the plate. He has made me soup, done the dishes, kept our child fed and relatively clean (there was a stretch from Thursday to Monday when Evans wasn't bathed but it isn't like he is out playing in the DIRT!). I have really appreciated it. I mean, would I have cleaned the kitchen up better?? Probably. But I'll take what I can get!

So I'm off to bed. At last check Evans was running a low grade fever and his coughing was sounding eerily like mine so I'm hoping and praying that a trip to the pediatrician tomorrow isn't necessary. Keep us in your thoughts!

Clones?

Everyone in Deaner's family is convinced that Evans looks exactly like him. I mean, when you look at them together, they do look identical. I am 99.9% sure that Evans will have Deaner's exact shade of reddish/blonde hair and it is almost frightening when you see Deaner holding Evans, how much they resemble each other. For about the past month and a half I have been saying that Evans is looking more and more like me. No one seems to pay attention but there is no denying the big blue eyes and more predominately the big bald head. I've been bugging my dad to scan some baby pictures of me so that I can prove to Deaner's family once and for all the Evans DOES in fact look exactly like I did when I was a child. Today I remembered my mother sent me an album when Evans was born of pictures of me. And this is what I found. If you haven't already figured it out, the picture above is of me (I know I know, did the lovely green plastic deathtrap I was sitting in tip you off that it wasn't 2011?). Still, I think it looks just like him. As well as these....I am in the blue (no wonder people thought I was a boy).And finally, nice glasses dad!I just wanted to prove my point. The kid does look just like me. Yes, we know he looks like Deaner too but really? There is no denying we could be twins! Ha. Moving on......

Dear Neighbor,
(the one who lives BEHIND us in case there is any confusion). Clean up your backyard. Really. It is a dump. There is no need to leave your blue summer tent up most of winter, only to have it collapse under the weight of the snow and rain that it has been subjected to for the past 6 months. If you were apart of a neighborhood association than they would have burned down your house to erase your memory by now. ALSO, when your backyard looks like this.....there is really no reason to be so concerned about the BRANCH that fell in your backyard overnight that you must cut it up with a CHAINSAW in the middle of the day during my child's nap time.When you have left a moldy gross bright blue TENT in your backyard for six months that has collapsed on top of folding tables and that I have had to look at every time I look out my bedroom window since this summer (he seriously removed it about 5 minutes before I took this picture) please don't feel the need to jump on this downed limb with such a vengeance. I mean, what was another 5 or so months of waiting? It really had to be done at that exact second that I put Evans down for his afternoon nap?

Deaner is home from England and it is a long weekend. We were going to go to Rome......we were going to go to Berchtesgaden......alas, we planned nothing so we will be home. Probably for the best. Evans' tooth is JUST about to break through his gums. God help us all if he doesn't start sleeping through the night again soon. Mama is TIRED. Happy Thursday!

A Little Eerie.....

Since I was so awful at uploading my pictures the past few days I am going to give it another try. I actually managed to get Evans in bed and get into my bed by 9:15pm tonight! That doesn't happen often but when your awesome friends Steph and Jon invite you over for dinner, there is no mess for me to obsess about cleaning up!! I seriously cannot leave a dish on the counter overnight. Which is probably why when I go to bed on a Friday or Saturday night with a clean den and kitchen and wake up the next morning to whatever disaster Deaner has made, it makes me insane. Anyways, I digress. So, about these pictures......I can't recall if I mentioned these were part of a "Kissing Booth" Valentine's Day deal. No, Deaner and I don't normally pose for pictures kissing this much, NO we are not trying to tell people that Evans is going to have another brother or sister and NO please do not suggest that we "get a room"! :) Just a few of the comments I have encountered since posting these! I could care less because I LOVE them!Did I mention how cold it was outside? I felt a little bad about not having a hat on Evans' big bald head but anything for the sake of the pictures, right?It was so cold that I can actually see Evans' eyes tearing in this picture. This picture isn't one of my faves because I think it looks a bit awkward but I can't help posting it because Evans' eyes are SO blue!! I might add that our photographer does not photoshop her pictures and that these are really the color that they are. Since Deaner and I both have blue eyes we knew Evans would too but these are way better than mine!! Plus, that look on his face is so freaking cute. The next couple pictures I love too and can't wait to get our prints of them. I told Deaner I felt like we were doing engagement pictures or something (which we never actually did when we got engaged).I mean, we love each other and all but don't normally go around making out in fields!And the last one because I'm honestly getting sick of uploading.......Thanks for everything Jessica! What a fun Valentine's Day present to ourselves! We can't wait to do it again so don't plan on moving anytime soon!

In other news, something a bit eerie happened today. Something that has never before happened but was still pretty cool. I was actually recognized by someone that reads my blog on a regular basis. Someone that I don't know, have never met and wasn't told about my blog by anyone I know. I was a little shocked at first but she found me online exactly the same way that I found Steph's blog online. Pretty fun. Unfortunately she is a LURKER so Heather, I'm calling you OUT! All this went down at the monthly Spouses Club Luncheon on the base. I have been a total slacker about going since we had family in town at first when Evans was born and then I was home for 6 weeks. I'm really glad I went back today because I had a great time. Sometimes it is too easy to stay at home in this dreary weather and lounge around but it really does feel better to get out and do things. I just sometimes need that little extra push!

I'm off to read. Deaner comes home tomorrow evening. Hooray! Something about having a child makes me feel the need to have a drink around 3pm. (don't worry, I NORMALLY wait til after 4!). And when Deaner is in town at least I have something to look forward to at the end of the day. Next week he is away again ALL week, sucky, but I will be home setting up for Steph's baby shower. I can't wait to post pictures and show y'all my plans but I'm not sure I can trust Steph not to peek if I do. I'll have to stew about it. Happy Hump Day!

Happy (late) Valentine's Day!

I'm so excited to share our pictures that our fantastic photographer Jessica took with us last Thursday. I know some of you have seen them on facebook already but I got the CD yesterday and I can't help but sharing this one. I'll have to post more tomorrow but when Deaner is out of town, these days slip between my friends quickly!

So sorry....

I'd like to personally apologize to my mom since she apparently doesn't like my blog that much if it doesn't include enough pictures of Evans. Despite talking to him on Skype everyday. So much for what is going on in MY life! HA! The picture above was taken a few weeks ago but Deaner, Evans and I had our pictures taken this morning with our favorite photographer, Jessica Ceason, and Evans wore this outfit. Of course I will be posting more pictures from our "mini-session" when they are ready this evening but I thought y'all might like a little preview. Plus, I need my mom to quiet down. We met Jessica this morning at Domane Mechtildshausen which is an organic farm of sorts in Wiesbaden. The Domane Mechtildshausen actually dates back to the 12th century and was a beautiful site for our photos. I'm not sure how we have never been there since it is so close to the airbase but alas, it was a new experience for us. They supposedly have a great restaurant on site serving all organic food (maybe this is why we have never been there, I'm guess they don't serve bacon?!) and we actually got a gift certificate from our friends for Christmas. Now that I know it is there, I am definitely looking forward to checking it out! There aren't very good pictures online of the main building but this is one that I found.Evans was on his best behavior, despite not taking a nap, and I am really excited to see how the pictures turn out! The weather was supposed to be nice but being Germany, of course it was NOT. It was COLD and GRAY but I know Jessica still did a great job!

After our little session we had lunch with Deaner before heading home. We are so happy that he got back from England last night! We aren't looking forward to him leaving again next week but someone has to earn the money, right?? I was able to stop and check the mail but our mail guy wasn't there yet so I wasn't able to pick up the THREE packages that were delivered! I've been on a bit of a buying spree lately and I'm waiting on something like 17 packages. It gives me something to look forward to! Let me know if you would like to volunteer to send me something!

Anyways, I'm pretty boring today but I'm just trying to keep up with the blogging! I have to go put Evans down for a nap. He is getting a little antsy on his floor palette. I have no idea why? Perhaps it is because Baby Einstein is on for the 3rd time in a row! I'll post a few pictures on way out! Happy Thursday! Happy baby in his Bumbo seat. And no, I didn't walk away from him while he was in it. And yes, I do know that baby's can flip themselves out of these seats. But thanks in advance for the warnings! :)Evans' first time sitting in a highchair in a restaurant. We were in Rothenberg and when we walked in the waitress automatically brought us a highchair before I could explain that he really can't sit up that well. He managed though much to our surprise!He did like it a little bit better sitting in Daddy's lap though. Deaner thinks he is smiling because he is sitting with HIM but I am pretty sure it is because he is looking at ME!Looking very cute in his sock monkey outfit. Why do they even make shoes for little babies? It isn't like they can walk AND all they do is fall off!Evans and Mama in Rothenberg.And last but not least, looking super cute in his blue bunting. LOVE how blue his eyes are!! Ok, thats all for now! Tomorrow I'll have the good pictures up!!

I'm Happy to Report....

That this gorgeous, beautiful, handsome and priceless Noah's Ark piggy bank is still in once piece. My rib cage might not be fully intact but have no fear, this bank, bound for Evans' bookshelf, is still in perfect condition. No thanks to the three stairs by my laundry room. Maybe I should back up. I received a package in the mail today from my mom (who started asking me the day after she mailed it if I had received it yet, apparently she thought that $30 meant a magic carpet would deliver it to me) with all the things that Deaner and I either forgot at home over Christmas or couldn't carry back with us. Including this lovely Lenox Noah's Ark piggy bank that my Uncle gave to Evans for Christmas. As I was carrying it out of the kitchen and starting up the stairs I had a bit of a mishap. I was talking on my iphone in the other hand to my friend Jen and apparently I misjudged the step. I mean, it was either the bank, my iphone or my ribcage. Let's be honest, we all know I wasn't going to let the phone go and some sort of protective instinct took over saving the bank. Oooof. I'm going to be sore for days. I think I pulled every muscle in my stomach while landing right on my ribs. I may or may not lose a toenail. But the phone and the bank are safe. Thank god. And while I was down there gathering my thoughts and trying to explain to Jen why I suddenly lost my breath, I noticed an awful lot of dust bunnies around the edges of the floor. Guess I know what chores I need to be preforming more often!

Today has been a pretty uneventful day. Funny how even uneventful days still seem to slip through my fingers these days. I still feel like I always have something that I have left undone at the end of the day. I need to have some sort of list system (or something) to get it together. When I was working I had a Coach planner that went everywhere with me. It was pretty much my life. I've quit using though because I couldn't really justify the refill this year to write things like "go to the commissary" or "check the mailbox" as my "main" events. I used to have super cute Whitney English note paper that I did my grocery lists on but I ran out and would you believe that it is nearly impossible to find a piece of paper in this house? My past three grocery lists are on this piece of paper that my doctor wrote me a note on this past summer regarding a bill. Thanks for providing my one and only piece of paper doc!

Off to nurse my hurt toes and rib cage and read my book. I'm currently taking book suggestions. I have a big shipment on the way and I can't wait to get started. I've recently read all The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo books (LOVED), Water For Elephants (LOVED), Mini Shopaholic (just the same as all the others but still made me laugh), and books 1-3 in the Tales of the City Series (VERY GAY, semi-entertaining but need a break from), Hotel New Hampshire (just plain creepy) and re-read one of my all time favorites A Prayer For Owen Meany. So I've been busy. I just ordered The Hunger Games trilogy, Her Fearful Symmetry, A Short History of a Small Place, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and the sequel to Eat Pray Love. Oh yeah, I just read Eat Pray Love too (sometimes wanted to strangle the narrator but ended up liking it enough). That's all! Happy Tuesday and Evans, please stay asleep all night!

Evans In Belgium

So I think that things are about to change around here for the time being. Deaner has A LOT of traveling coming up and I think that Evans and I are going to stay put for a few trips. Not that it isn't a total blast hauling around a 5 month old and all his belongings AND sharing a hotel room with him but I think that Evans might be sick of traveling for a little bit. He just wants to stay home in his nice cozy crib and hang out with Mama for awhile. Deaner and I took Evans to Brussels last week from Monday to Thursday. We actually had a really good time and Evans was really good while we were there. We just had one tiny problem. Evans practically refused to eat while we were there. This is very interesting coming from a child who will pretty much eat on demand. I mean, I'm not worried about him starving or anything but he does get a little cranky when he is hungry. And why wouldn't he eat? We already knew that he doesn't like the powdered version of his formula AS MUCH as the ready made but we weren't staying in our normal hotel in Brussels so we weren't sure if we would have a fridge in our room or not. Thus, he gets powder. I typically make his powder bottle with bottled water but we also had no microwave and no coffee maker (which is how I normally make it hot in hotel rooms). So I was forced to use warm water from the tap. GASP! Tap water? We found out the hard way that our baby is a water snob. I'm not lying. He would NOT drink the bottles made with tap water. So every time we had to make a bottle Deaner would have to go to the lobby coffee/espresso/hot chocolate machine and get a cup of hot water, dump it in the bottle, fill up the cup again and dump the second cup in the bottle. Only then was it full enough. I might add that it is nearly impossible to pour boiling water from a coffee cup into a bottle without getting water everywhere. Which is what we did. Every. Single. Time. I doubt the receptionists were sad to see us go. It's back to the Marriott for us next time. When there is a next time. Who wouldn't want to deal with all that??

Anyways, when it wasn't raining and Evans wasn't watching Sponge Bob Square Pants in French (yes, I did resort to that one afternoon in desperation) we were exploring the city. We have been here many many times but it is still such a pretty city and I think that Evans really liked being outside so much. Evans and I ate breakfast together every morning in the hotel (I would eat bacon and he would munch on some giraffe leg) before we went exploring.I took him to see the Mannequin PIs and some nice Japanese man offered to take a picture of both of us.In fact, I had to tell him that was enough because on about the 8th picture he took of us my eyes were tearing from the wind whipping in my face. I think he thought we were doing a photo shoot. However he was much nicer than the Italian man that we ran into later that night when we were back with Deaner who I thought was offering to take our picture and he was really telling me to "get out of his way". Some people. I took a few more shots of Evans in the Grand Place but I was hesitant to walk too far away from his stroller because I could just imagine someone running up and stealing him (they would probably return him though when they realized he won't drink tap water!).Deaner and I took E out for dinner all three nights we were there and as usual he was really good. The last night we may or may not have had several margaritas at Chi Chi's (the same place where I may or may not have had several margaritas right before I found out I was pregnant with E!) and we took Evans walking around the city at night. He was happy as a clam.We had another photo shoot at the Mannequin Pis with Daddy (really, why IS this tiny little statue so famous??) because Daddy couldn't stand it that Evans and Mama had a picture there together!And one last picture of Daddy and E on the Grand Place. One day Evans will thank us for dragging him all around Europe and taking all these pictures!I think we all had a pretty good time but we are still going to be taking a break. Sleeping in a strange bed really throws Evans off and therefore it really throws me off. I really value my sleep and I just don't get enough of it when I am in the same room as my child. Deaner has been in England the past two weeks, is there now and will be there all next week. Ugh. Steph has been great and E and I have been having dinner with Aunt Steph and Uncle Jon once a week. I'm hoping that this stint of traveling won't last much longer. It is allowing me to be better about blogging since I can get in bed at night with my laptop!! Happy Monday to everyone! 2 days til my husband returns and 4 days til the weekend!!!!

Things That Annoy Me

I have been feeling pretty complainy today so I might as well go ahead and make a list of all the things that annoy me. Then perhaps I will get over them and let them quit bothering me. So, here is goes, in no particular order, things that annoy me.....some more than others........

1. Germans who freak out when I pull over for less than one minute to let Deaner jump out of the car and buy a stamp. I do not need you to show me that the street I am on is one way and that I should continue on down the road. I am not hurting you by sitting here for 45 seconds, there is PLENTY of room to go around me AND there is currently no one behind me. MYOB.

2. Germans who honk at me because they are forced to turn their steering wheel 3 inches to go around me while Deaner is out of the car for 45 seconds buying a stamp. It's really not necessary. And while I'm not positive if it is legal or not to pull over like this,it's not hurting you and it is DEFINITELY illegal to honk your car horn at me inside the city limits. Especially since I am not imminently about to hit you. MYOB.

3. When people (I cannot say "Germans" here because I am not 100% sure they were ALL German) disregard the LINE at the customs desk at the airport. It's a line. Get at the end of it. Oh! You thought you could just go to the front?? Well that is not how it works really.

4. When I put together my son's exersaucer and 10 minutes later he has pooped all over it. (of course, I don't blame him I just find it annoying).

5. When my husband watches me change Evans' diaper and then asks me if I used a wipe. WTH? No honey, I put our child's dirty butt into a clean diaper! Seriously?

6. When I go to the German equivalent of Home Depot, ask someone to help me only to have them tell me that what I need to accomplish is "IMPOSSIBLE". I didn't ask you if thought it was impossible. I asked you where the carpet glue was. (just for the record, it was NOT impossible)

7. When a waiter/waitress takes my order, doesn't write it down and then gets my order wrong. This mainly happens in the States because Germans don't make mistakes. :) If you write down my order and make a mistake, I will forgive you. If you don't write it down and make a mistake I am irritated.

8. When my DVD player that is less than a year old quits working while Evans is watching Baby Einstein. It is CRITICAL that the DVD player work expressly for this purpose. Even if it only cost $29, I'm still annoyed that we have to buy another one. STAT.

9. When deciding where to go to lunch or dinner anywhere in Wiesbaden, I have to consider if there is parking or not. What does everyone in Europe have against parking lots anyways? I don't even mind paying as long as it is AVAILABLE!

10. When there is no where to park at the commissary. Evans' carseat is HEAVY and I don't like having to haul it all the way to the grocery carts. Then it doesn't even fit in it properly.

I really could go on but I'd rather not sound like such a grouch. And believe it or not, I am not really annoyed by any of these things right now! Maybe my post worked!! I hope that everyone has a great weekend. My good friend Emory and her husband Bradley will be welcoming their new addition, Anna Claire, to the world today! Keep them in your prayers! I would like to leave y'all with a picture of things that DO NOT annoy me!! Happy Friday!

Finally.......

What can I say? I have been bad. A very bad bad blogger. I want to do better. I've been receiving death threats from family members about the state of my blog lately. But really, if you were out visiting places like this, would you be able to make time for YOUR blog?? Yes. I know the answer is yes because no one else could possibly be THIS neglectful. It is weird to me because things used to happen in my life and the first thing I would think is "oh, I can't WAIT to write about that on my blog". Now, the only things that happen to me are baby related and I feel like most people don't really think that sort of stuff is all that funny! But I am going to try harder. Much harder. I promise. It's just that it is sooooo cold here in Germany and my bed is sooooo warm when Evans goes down for a nap.....

ANYWAYS, turning over a new leaf! Deaner, Evans and I had a fabulous time over Christmas break spending time with our family and friends. It is always sad for me to come home but this time with Evans it was especially hard. Of course I cried like a baby (ok, well maybe most babies don't cry THAT hard) when my mom dropped us off at the airport to fly home. My dad couldn't make it to the airport with us so we dropped by his office on the way to the airport to sign our wills (to divide up our vast fortune) and say goodbye. He rode down the elevator with us down to his lobby and I could hardly look at him because I knew if I did I would start crying. This time I made it all the way to the curb at Hartsfield before having a nervous breakdown. I think everyone was sad to see us go and we have certainly missed everyone over the past month of being back in Germany.

So what have we been up to? Deaner has been pretty busy with work lately but we managed to sneak away for MLK weekend. We left Wiesbaden early on Friday and drove to Rothenberg for the night. We stayed in a sweet little hotel that was a converted stable. The town was pretty much deserted since it is winter (we have both been here before separately and in the summers it is crazy busy) and we had the whole place to ourselves. Saturday afternoon we continued south to Garmish where we stayed until Monday. We took Evans to the Zugspitz, the highest peak of the Alps in Germany, so he could experience the Alps for himself. Not bad for a 5 month old. I think he liked his form of transportation as well! Once we figured out how to put him in the backpack securely I wasn't even afraid that he would fall out! :)How can you not love that face!? And his new Patagonia snow outfit too!! I had to put him down in the snow just to see if it worked properly! Evans is not so sure of what to think!All in all it was a good trip. Evans was so good that we took him to Brussels with us last weekend for Deaner's work trip. Tomorrow I will post pictures of Evans out on the town during that trip. We really couldn't be luckier to have such a GOOD baby. Sometimes I find myself thinking that something is bound to go wrong and that he is going to "turn bad" one day when I go to get him out of his crib. For now, I am thanking God for a sweet, friendly, easy going baby! I do enjoy writing this blog so I promise that I will be better! And I'll try and keep the baby yakkity yak to a minimum. Oh yeah, maybe someone can help me? It is possible to upload pictures straight from iPhoto to Blogger? I've been having to move them to my desktop and upload from there and that is sort of annoying! Happy Thursday!