Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Pickin' her butt, watching it snow (with the dog)
Oh, and the Christmas lights are now her night light, as her bulb burned out in the lamp... anyone know where to find a 15 watt light bulb?!?
I know, I know, lacking in the update department!
Well, even though this was 2 weeks ago at 13 weeks, I thought I'd share it anyway! This kiddo already has daddy's cheeks, and I thought I saw a little "something" on the ultrasound, but we'll have to wait until the 27th of December!
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Oy... busy busy
Hi all-- sorry for the extreme lack of updates, it's been really busy around here! Let see, last weekend we were running lots of errands yada yada, Monday I had another u/s, Tuesday I was visiting my friend in the hospital with her *new* baby girl (congrats Laura, and welcome baby Isabella!), Wednesday is a blur (aka not sure what I did on Wednesday!), Thursday found out that I have a lovely bladder infection, and didn't know it, and Friday and today we had kid's birthday parties galore to attend...! Whew! My main problem is that now when I'm at the computer Abbie insits on "helping"-- and if I tell her to find something else to do or ask her not to type while mommy does, I am met with hysterical screaming for nothing short of 20 minutes (minimum)... therefore the computer stays locked tight in the cabinet most of the time lately!
Everything here is good though-- it is seriously winter in Germany now-- everything is all frosty by 10pm, and stays that way til noon. We are supposed to get a whole buncha snow next weekend... YAY! I can't wait to take Abbie in the snow, hopefully she'll like it this year (unlike last year... "mom, I can't move my arms"). All is well in pregnancy land too... bambino looks like a little alien, and hopefully we might be able to find out what it is (duh, of course it's a baby... I mean boy or girl) at my appointment on the 28th-- I will be 14 weeks, so if it's a boy it may be evident by then (and yes, I do think this one has boy bits).
Anyhoo, that's about it for now. I know, I'm horribly boring.
I'll post ultrasound pics too.
Everything here is good though-- it is seriously winter in Germany now-- everything is all frosty by 10pm, and stays that way til noon. We are supposed to get a whole buncha snow next weekend... YAY! I can't wait to take Abbie in the snow, hopefully she'll like it this year (unlike last year... "mom, I can't move my arms"). All is well in pregnancy land too... bambino looks like a little alien, and hopefully we might be able to find out what it is (duh, of course it's a baby... I mean boy or girl) at my appointment on the 28th-- I will be 14 weeks, so if it's a boy it may be evident by then (and yes, I do think this one has boy bits).
Anyhoo, that's about it for now. I know, I'm horribly boring.
I'll post ultrasound pics too.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
He's Back!
Yay! Andrew got home last night around 8pm-- Abbie was totally pumped! She did not want to go to bed last night... she wouldn't leave her daddy's side. She spent the entire hour before we made her go to bed climbing all over him and bringing her toys to share with him. The downside is that she isn't used to his morning noise anymore, and was up EARLY this morning thanks to his shower! I tried to get her to take a nap, but she's in there awake. I guess I should go get her outta bed!
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Forgot to mention...
Andrew is coming home soon! YAY! Hopefully sometime mid-next week! YAY! He can't come home soon enough, things have been tough down there.
Any of you praying types, keep one of our Army spouses in your prayers (I really shouldn't include her name, I don't have her ok)-- her husband was killed in an autobahn accident on his way back up here from the training area with a supply shipment on Thursday. He worked with my husband, and was a fantastic guy. She is doing I guess as well as can be expected, as no one up here was prepared for something like that, I mean they're training, not at war yet! No one has the thought in the back of their minds that a chaplain may show up at their door in a class A uniform to inform you that something has happened to the one you love-- at least not until next year.
The truck driver that hit him while they were checking their truck on the side of the road was from the Czech republic... I hope they let the German govt punish him.
Any of you praying types, keep one of our Army spouses in your prayers (I really shouldn't include her name, I don't have her ok)-- her husband was killed in an autobahn accident on his way back up here from the training area with a supply shipment on Thursday. He worked with my husband, and was a fantastic guy. She is doing I guess as well as can be expected, as no one up here was prepared for something like that, I mean they're training, not at war yet! No one has the thought in the back of their minds that a chaplain may show up at their door in a class A uniform to inform you that something has happened to the one you love-- at least not until next year.
The truck driver that hit him while they were checking their truck on the side of the road was from the Czech republic... I hope they let the German govt punish him.
Throw Me a Par-tay!
I deserve a party... the kitchen and the living room are sparkling clean, and the "dining room" (more like the other half of the living room), is almost there!
Google moogles
I have seen this on a few other blogs, and it's pretty funny. Go to google and type in your name + needs-- aka "Amy needs", and see what comes up!
Amy needs to either wake up or start getting some extra will-power.
Amy needs to get out the monkeysicle and do some tests on him and what not.
Amy Needs Help!!!
Amy needs a drug-dealer's testimony to free a teenager wrongfully accused of murder.
Amy needs to decide if this fits her idea of a good relationship
Amy needs to mend her ways and be more of a team player.
Amy needs a new pair of shoes
Amy needs to be found.
Amy needs a flu shot - like really really needs a flu shot.
Amy needs a loving, committed family who will provide structure and stability and have the ability to understand her growing process
Amy needs to generate schemas for these documents because schemas are more powerful that DTDs and are the recommended way of describing XML documents.
Amy needs to hit the sack
Amy needs to take off
Thursday, November 03, 2005
Happy Birthday Martine!
Hehe, I am sneaky-- I may not be up at midnight (yes, Tine is 6 hours older here in Germany!), so I changed my post time to be on her actual birthday!
Have a great one Tine!
Have a great one Tine!
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
31 October 037
My little grumpy monkey was not happy with me about the whole daycare situation while I went to take a peek at her little brother or sister-- she wouldn't smile for the camera all night long (well, my camera, she smiled for other cameras!). She loved trick or treating and got lots of good candy for mommy though!
Monday, October 31, 2005
Nearly 10 weeks old already... awwwww!
Here is the ultrasound photo from this morning, I will be 10 weeks tomorrow! Belly bean is finally starting to look like a real baby! YAY!!
Now if only Abbie wasn't so mad at me for taking her to daycare...
Now if only Abbie wasn't so mad at me for taking her to daycare...
Sunday, October 30, 2005
I no longer need a sitter... now I need a maid.
Grrr, I'm bored, but completely lack the motivation to clean my house. It's not nasty dirty, just toddler tornado of monkey-ness cluttered dirty. Really the biggest problem is that I have done no laundry (with the exception of puke laundry for 4 days straight) in like, 3 weeks. Or more. The weather changed, so it hasn't really been necessary-- I have lots of essentials. Abbie's clothes went in with the puke stuff. She has clean clothes. I, do not. Although, my clothes don't really fit right anymore anyway. I am down to my "fat" pj pants, and jeans that I leave unbuttoned. Even my "athletic" pants leave an imprint of the waistband on my gut... I mean baby. No one else can tell, but I can. Maternity pants are still far too big, but my fat jeans are too snug when I'm sitting... what to do?
On the plus side, Abbie and I went to bingo Friday night, and won again. She must be lucky. This time I won a bowl... much more useful than the heart shaped plate that I still haven't figured out what to do with from last time. I think it will become a Christmas gift. Ooops, shouldn't have said that.
And on the downside, I now know the date Andrew will be going to Iraq, pinpointed within a range of a few days that it could vary on either end. Unfortunately, I cannot share that info with the cyber world-- sorry guys-- Operational Security. Grrr. It makes the fact that he is going to go much more real. Is it too late to move to Canada?
On the plus side, Abbie and I went to bingo Friday night, and won again. She must be lucky. This time I won a bowl... much more useful than the heart shaped plate that I still haven't figured out what to do with from last time. I think it will become a Christmas gift. Ooops, shouldn't have said that.
And on the downside, I now know the date Andrew will be going to Iraq, pinpointed within a range of a few days that it could vary on either end. Unfortunately, I cannot share that info with the cyber world-- sorry guys-- Operational Security. Grrr. It makes the fact that he is going to go much more real. Is it too late to move to Canada?
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Yay! The puke has left the building!
We are now working on a few days puke free-- let's hope it doesn't suddenly decide to show up now that I have put all her bedding back in the crib (instead of the bare minimum, now she has her pillow and comfoter back). She is totally afraid of being in the car for more than 5 minutes now, I guess since she has puked in it 2x in the last 2 months. Makes sense to me, I would be afraid of the car too. I just hope she decides one day to eat mac n' cheese (dinner the first night of evil bodily emissions) or chicken alfredo again! The chicken alfredo has been refused since she had a stomach bug way back in February! Eeek, what kid can live without mac n' cheese?!? I don't think I can live with her not eating it-- it's a quickie dinner staple in this house (homemade w/velveeta, not kraft)!
Now I just need to find out if I can find someone to watch Abbie for me tomorrow night-- it's polish pottery bingo again. Not that I really go for the bingo, but everyone is there and it's great to have a night with the girls (even if you are doing something usually reserved for nursing homes and first grade classes). There is so little to do here, you take what you can get! Anyone want to come over here and babysit?
I guess that's really all that's going on here-- Andrew finally comes home in about 2-2 1/2 weeks, so not too much longer. At least his being gone has kept me so busy that this first trimester is flying by! I have another doc appointment on Monday (oooh, halloween!) to see the bellybean, so of course I will post ultrasound pics again so you can see how big the little tadpole is getting!
Now I just need to find out if I can find someone to watch Abbie for me tomorrow night-- it's polish pottery bingo again. Not that I really go for the bingo, but everyone is there and it's great to have a night with the girls (even if you are doing something usually reserved for nursing homes and first grade classes). There is so little to do here, you take what you can get! Anyone want to come over here and babysit?
I guess that's really all that's going on here-- Andrew finally comes home in about 2-2 1/2 weeks, so not too much longer. At least his being gone has kept me so busy that this first trimester is flying by! I have another doc appointment on Monday (oooh, halloween!) to see the bellybean, so of course I will post ultrasound pics again so you can see how big the little tadpole is getting!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Puke sucks.
Well, as you can tell by the title, there's been a lot of puke in my house. Not mine. Abbie's. At night. Twice a night. For the last 3 nights. Yuck. Thank goodness I have a lot of crib sheets. It really sucks since Andrew's not here, and I am thick in the throws of morning sickness (aka all freakin' day sickness). The constant queasy-ick state of my innards does not help when wiping puke off the walls. We have waterbased paint. Double yuck.
Anyhoo, there may not be an update until the Abbs stops puking. I thought she was doing better today, so we dared to leave the house. She puked in the car. Carseats have lots of little parts for puke to hide in. 'Nuff said.
Anyhoo, there may not be an update until the Abbs stops puking. I thought she was doing better today, so we dared to leave the house. She puked in the car. Carseats have lots of little parts for puke to hide in. 'Nuff said.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Water logged
Grrr... our dishwasher isn't working right... there is a bunch of standing water in the bottom, and I don't think that's normal :-(. I hate handwashing dishes, it takes me back to after dinner as a kid having to wash all the dishes :-(.
It is really cold and starting to rain here, which sucks since the weather was beautiful for the last week or two. Thankfully I got some pics of Abbie playing in the leaves on Monday while the sun was still out and the sky was that crisp blue that can only be found in October. I actually had to turn the heat on in the apartment, which for those of you that know me well, is unheard of! I love it chilly, it makes the best sleeping weather (especially when you share the bed with 2 85lb labs!)!
I keep waiting for the people on the other side of the building in the 2nd floor 3bdrm to get their moving orders-- as of right now all they know is December or January, and since we are going to be trying to get their apartment once I hit 12 weeks in November, I would kinda like to know when they're leaving so we can move over there! If they go in January, there's a chance we won't be able to move until after the deployment starts, in which case it will be Abbs and me moving all our crap to the other stairwell-- somehow I don't think a pregnant woman and a (then) 21 month old will be very effective... unless we strap our stuff to the dogs and make them carry it all over! Actually, it will probably mean me having to bribe the rear-d (the guys that stay behind) with beer and pizza for a weekend of services. The good news is that my dad is in the process of fencing his yard so he can take care of the dogs in the US for the deployment. I love those dogs and will miss them like crazy, but I can't really handle them while hugely pregnant and taking care of Abbie, let alone with a newborn and psychotic toddler in the house. I guess the only consilation is that I will be there with them for about 5-6 months of the deployment.
It will be really weird living in the other stairwell, since I am so close with the people over here. I love to just walk across the hall to visit one of my best friends here-- although one of my other great friends will be just above us in the other apartment. If housing even gives us crap about getting that 3bdrm they will be dealing with me... not pretty if you get on my bad side with all these hormones! We refuse to leave the building, my social life and support network would crumble if I actually had to leave my building to see my friends, since the baby monitor probably won't reach a few blocks. And, winter is cold here. Very cold. (I know, Jody, yours is colder, yada yada yada)
On the plus side, I got my birthday gift from Andrew in the mail yesterday... an iPod Nano! It is so cute and bitty and freakin' awesome! If only the apple store would ship to an APO address so I could order a case for it... guess I'll have to do it the long way and ship it to my mother in law and have her send it to me :-(. As of now, I still have the factory protection glooble on it, because the second I take it off I am guarunteed to drop it in a gravel parking lot and kick it while trying to retrieve it, of course all taking place with the screen side down to bear the brunt of the rocks. Happens with every single new cell phone. I don't even have a gravel parking lot, but I'm sure when I take the film off of it, I will be in one.
Anyhoo, Abbie's nap is ending and I have to go check the mail (I should say drive 15 min to check the mailbox) when she gets up... I should probably go put on something other than my pajamas.
It is really cold and starting to rain here, which sucks since the weather was beautiful for the last week or two. Thankfully I got some pics of Abbie playing in the leaves on Monday while the sun was still out and the sky was that crisp blue that can only be found in October. I actually had to turn the heat on in the apartment, which for those of you that know me well, is unheard of! I love it chilly, it makes the best sleeping weather (especially when you share the bed with 2 85lb labs!)!
I keep waiting for the people on the other side of the building in the 2nd floor 3bdrm to get their moving orders-- as of right now all they know is December or January, and since we are going to be trying to get their apartment once I hit 12 weeks in November, I would kinda like to know when they're leaving so we can move over there! If they go in January, there's a chance we won't be able to move until after the deployment starts, in which case it will be Abbs and me moving all our crap to the other stairwell-- somehow I don't think a pregnant woman and a (then) 21 month old will be very effective... unless we strap our stuff to the dogs and make them carry it all over! Actually, it will probably mean me having to bribe the rear-d (the guys that stay behind) with beer and pizza for a weekend of services. The good news is that my dad is in the process of fencing his yard so he can take care of the dogs in the US for the deployment. I love those dogs and will miss them like crazy, but I can't really handle them while hugely pregnant and taking care of Abbie, let alone with a newborn and psychotic toddler in the house. I guess the only consilation is that I will be there with them for about 5-6 months of the deployment.
It will be really weird living in the other stairwell, since I am so close with the people over here. I love to just walk across the hall to visit one of my best friends here-- although one of my other great friends will be just above us in the other apartment. If housing even gives us crap about getting that 3bdrm they will be dealing with me... not pretty if you get on my bad side with all these hormones! We refuse to leave the building, my social life and support network would crumble if I actually had to leave my building to see my friends, since the baby monitor probably won't reach a few blocks. And, winter is cold here. Very cold. (I know, Jody, yours is colder, yada yada yada)
On the plus side, I got my birthday gift from Andrew in the mail yesterday... an iPod Nano! It is so cute and bitty and freakin' awesome! If only the apple store would ship to an APO address so I could order a case for it... guess I'll have to do it the long way and ship it to my mother in law and have her send it to me :-(. As of now, I still have the factory protection glooble on it, because the second I take it off I am guarunteed to drop it in a gravel parking lot and kick it while trying to retrieve it, of course all taking place with the screen side down to bear the brunt of the rocks. Happens with every single new cell phone. I don't even have a gravel parking lot, but I'm sure when I take the film off of it, I will be in one.
Anyhoo, Abbie's nap is ending and I have to go check the mail (I should say drive 15 min to check the mailbox) when she gets up... I should probably go put on something other than my pajamas.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Everything was perfect!
Yay! Everything was perfect-- nice strong heartbeat, measuring right on time (7w6d)!!! Wooohooo!!!
On my way...
to my next ultrasound (it's in an hour)... wish me and the bellybean luck! I will update later with ultrasound pics!
Sunday, October 09, 2005
The details on Abbie's announcement!
Ok, I know I probably caught you off guard, but I had to wait until our families knew to put the news on the blog! Anyhoo, the details: Bellybean is due on the 30th of May (that's a Tuesday). I am 6 1/2 weeks, so I only have another 5 weeks until out of the "danger zone". I had my first OB appointment on Friday (Andrew was actually able to be there), and saw a fabulous heartbeat (then she turned up the volume so we could hear it!) at 130 beats per minute. The heart starts beating sometime in the 5th/6th week, so that is a great reading for 6 weeks, 3 days! The baby that we lost back in March had a heart beat of only 118-120 at almost 7 weeks, so this is a huge improvement! Baby is measuring right on target (about the size of a grain of rice) and my OB says everything looks perfect! For those of you who know my horrible experience with the German docs when I had my miscarriage, I finally found a GREAT doctor! The practice is all women, and all she wants to do is reassure me that everything is going as it should! She has me scheduled for ultrasounds every 2 weeks until I pass the 12 week mark just to show me that everything is perfect and ease my fears! She is also perfectly ok with Abbie coming to the appointments so I don't have to find childcare-- they even keep gummy bears in the reception! YAY! We are super excited-- this kiddo might allow us to see eachother on our 3rd anniversary (we haven't had one together yet!)... Andrew's parents had their 2nd child on their wedding anniversary! Oh, and I don't know yet if I'll be delivering in the US or here in Germany-- depends on whether the Army hospital 1 1/2 hours from here is going to be taking patients once the guys deploy. That will be determined in January/February. Anyhoo, that's all for now! I need some name ideas, so we can decide before Andrew goes to Iraq (we will know if it's a girl or boy as early as mid-november!). In the pics, the baby is in between the two "+" signs (on the first one).
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Never wanna see another dessert again... well, maybe for a week or so...
Well, I successfully made all my desserts-- and they were a hit! They were for a surprise baby shower we were throwing for my friend Laura-- I didn't want to give it away, since I don't know if she has seen my blog or not :-). She was totally shocked, and since I was the only dessert-bringer, most of my stuff got eaten. Here's the inventory:
24 mini cheesecakes (12 cherry, 12 blueberry)-- I hate cheesecake, but I hear these are good!
1 dual layer straight up normal cake-- that I made my neighbor Michelle frost so I wouldn't screw it up (she made it purty)
25-ish chocolate chip cake bars (yummy!)
1 Angel Strawberry Bavarian Cake-- a recipe experiment... turned out well, but too complicated!
1 big ole' bunt pan of monkey bread (the best thing ever to bake for the smell in your house-- smells like a cinnamon roll factory!)
My kitchen afterwards was a war zone. No kidding. 2 bags of trash to even begin doing dishes (which was 3 diswasher loads, plus handwashing a sink full-- and I ran the dishwasher as I filled it while I baked!)-- it is really hard to make that much stuff with an 18 month old monkey trying to "help" by screaming at you and grabbing stuff off the counters; running up to the 4th floor (we live on the 2nd) with said monkey in tow to decorate before the oven timer goes off; running back down to grab whatever out of the oven while holding the monkey back from the facinating inferno that is a 400 degree oven; sneaking off to the PX to pick up about 65 pink balloons, while hiding from Laura who was expected to be going to the PX around the same time (involved sweet talking the balloon folks to meet me at the loading dock in the back), and then having to cram all those helium filled vision blockers into the jeep and driving home totally hunched over the steering wheel (thank God it's only a few blocks!). Finally finish the baking, manage to get on some real clothes that aren't covered in icing (thanks monkey), manage to get most of the icing out of my hair (again, thank you monkey) since I have lost the time to shower, and run over and try to find a creative way to tell the guest of honor that she shouldn't come to dinner in her old tshirt and jeans-- never found a way fyi... thought of a great idea later... too little, too late! Managed to surprise the crap out of her, and then she ran home to change (well, as fast as someone 8 months pregnant can run anyway)! All in all, the shower was a great success! We had such a great time putting it together and sneaking around trying to pull off a surprise, I would do it all again tomorrow (well... maybe give me another week to recover!)!
This is really jumbled and kinda rambles, and for that I apologize. The child was very briefly released of her previous demon, and without warning it returned last night (and decided to stick around all day, oh joy!), so I am tired and going to bed early. Good night all, and if you know of a good exorcist, please leave the info in the comments section!
24 mini cheesecakes (12 cherry, 12 blueberry)-- I hate cheesecake, but I hear these are good!
1 dual layer straight up normal cake-- that I made my neighbor Michelle frost so I wouldn't screw it up (she made it purty)
25-ish chocolate chip cake bars (yummy!)
1 Angel Strawberry Bavarian Cake-- a recipe experiment... turned out well, but too complicated!
1 big ole' bunt pan of monkey bread (the best thing ever to bake for the smell in your house-- smells like a cinnamon roll factory!)
My kitchen afterwards was a war zone. No kidding. 2 bags of trash to even begin doing dishes (which was 3 diswasher loads, plus handwashing a sink full-- and I ran the dishwasher as I filled it while I baked!)-- it is really hard to make that much stuff with an 18 month old monkey trying to "help" by screaming at you and grabbing stuff off the counters; running up to the 4th floor (we live on the 2nd) with said monkey in tow to decorate before the oven timer goes off; running back down to grab whatever out of the oven while holding the monkey back from the facinating inferno that is a 400 degree oven; sneaking off to the PX to pick up about 65 pink balloons, while hiding from Laura who was expected to be going to the PX around the same time (involved sweet talking the balloon folks to meet me at the loading dock in the back), and then having to cram all those helium filled vision blockers into the jeep and driving home totally hunched over the steering wheel (thank God it's only a few blocks!). Finally finish the baking, manage to get on some real clothes that aren't covered in icing (thanks monkey), manage to get most of the icing out of my hair (again, thank you monkey) since I have lost the time to shower, and run over and try to find a creative way to tell the guest of honor that she shouldn't come to dinner in her old tshirt and jeans-- never found a way fyi... thought of a great idea later... too little, too late! Managed to surprise the crap out of her, and then she ran home to change (well, as fast as someone 8 months pregnant can run anyway)! All in all, the shower was a great success! We had such a great time putting it together and sneaking around trying to pull off a surprise, I would do it all again tomorrow (well... maybe give me another week to recover!)!
This is really jumbled and kinda rambles, and for that I apologize. The child was very briefly released of her previous demon, and without warning it returned last night (and decided to stick around all day, oh joy!), so I am tired and going to bed early. Good night all, and if you know of a good exorcist, please leave the info in the comments section!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Ugh
I guess I will be holed up in the kitchen all day, baking my tail off-- I have a reason to bake like crazy... I need to make 5 desserts by tomorrow afternoon! At least the oven will be warm.
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Ok, I know I've been boring
Ok people, I know... I haven't updated in a while... weeeeel, I've been busy! I have some things that have been going on here that I am not ready to blog about yet...so you'll have to be in suspense for about another week, until that information is made availible to all. At least it'll give ya a reason to come back!
Really, things have been pretty boring otherwise... Andrew is still gone, Abbie is still a psychotic tornado of destruction (with a really freakin' cute monkey costume for halloween!), and the dogs are well... the dogs :-).
I will be pretty busy this weekend,
but I will try to post something (although it will probably not be very interesting!)!
To hold you off, here's a really cute pic of Abbie and Aidan (her abusive boyfriend 5 months older than she is)-- they were watching Dora together on the couch, not making out or beating eachother for once!
Really, things have been pretty boring otherwise... Andrew is still gone, Abbie is still a psychotic tornado of destruction (with a really freakin' cute monkey costume for halloween!), and the dogs are well... the dogs :-).
I will be pretty busy this weekend,
but I will try to post something (although it will probably not be very interesting!)!
To hold you off, here's a really cute pic of Abbie and Aidan (her abusive boyfriend 5 months older than she is)-- they were watching Dora together on the couch, not making out or beating eachother for once!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Most of these are so true...
You Know You're From Cincinnati When... |
Your idea of a three-way is chilli over spaghetti topped with cheddar You know what goetta is - and you've eaten it You hate Cleveland, but you don't know why, and you've never been there You think Pete Rose and Marge Schott were railroaded You say "Please?" instead of "Excuse me?" You think Northern Kentucky is part of Ohio You've been to California, Wyoming, Coney Island, and Over-the-Rhine in one day There are less than 100 murders a year, and you still think you're in Detroit You think Dayton is a Third World country What groundhog? It's the St. Patrick's Day parade leprechaun that forecasts how much longer winter will last. Losing football teams draw more fans than winning baseball teams. Indiana is about 20 miles away, but it takes about four hours to get there. It's too cold in the winter, and too hot and humid in the summer, to ever stay outside for very long. You drive to Columbus or Louisville to avoid the prices at the Cincinnati airport. City council members hold debates on whether or not they should debate in the first place. Tourists still flock downtown to catch a glimpse of cast members from "WKRP," even though the show hasn't aired on network television since 1984, and the show was filmed in LA anyway. You ask lifetime residents where the President Taft house is, but they don't know either. If you do something -- anything -- in public long enough, sooner or later it will be banned. Your low-fat diet is never low enough to exclude Graeter's ice cream. You get through winter listening to Marty and Joe's broadcasts from the grapefruit leagues. Big Red Smokies are a ballpark treat, not cause to dial 9-1-1. If necessary, the city could easily be sliced into two new cities: East and West, and it would take 20 years for anyone to notice something happened. Chocolate and cinnamon, not peppers and beans, are in your chili. You can drive 30 minutes in any direction to hear a different accent than your own. You can accurately judge people's social status by which Kroger's store they frequent. You can go to any church festival in any neighborhood on any weekend and see at least five people you either work with, went to school with, or dated. Even the slightest mention of former baseball commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti makes your blood boil and your ears steam. If the temperature hits 45 degrees, and the sun comes out in any month between November and April, people walk around downtown wearing shades and no jackets. The top stories on the local 6 o'clock evening news look suspiciously like the articles you read in the newspaper that very morning -- and even use the same quotes. Any carbonated beverage is a "coke." Your favorite convenient store sounds like a labor union. You can't hear the words "Mike Brown" without getting angry. You honestly believe that Pete Rose should be in the Baseball Hall Fame. You have more stadiums, coliseums, and arenas than you know what to do with. It doesn't seem weird to you that everyone has an Uncle Al. Your favorite Coney Island isn't in New York. You like Nick Clooney better than George Clooney. You know how Jerry Springer got his start. You know what a pony keg is. You have friends and neighbors with names like Machenheimer, Guckenberger, Schlottman, Schoenling, and Schweitering. You know that cars (like eggs) are cheaper in the country. An all-boys or all-girls school doesn't seem that odd to you You think a mixed marriage is when an East Sider marries a West Sider. You know the difference between Hudy and "Who Dey." You know what cream ale is, and you think that cream soda should be bright red. You think Kentucky is only slightly more civilized than Afghanistan. You know in which state the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located. You actually understand the word, "CRAVE" and white castle burgers. You can almost name the seven "hills" minus one or two. You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from Cincinnati. |
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Why do the terrible 2's start so early?
Well, Alex is gone, and I am exhausted. Currently I am being ruled by a 30-something inch (will know her real height tomorrow) version of satan, so when she is exorcised of the demon I shall return. Thank you for your support. I'm going to bed.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Bier! Bier! Bier! (oh, and Weinerschnitzel too!)
Well, we made it back from Munich! Abbie was a trooper the entire time (well, ok, most of the time!)... in fact, Alex was a whole lot whinier than she was! "My feet hurt!" "We're walking?!?" "I want to eat now!" "Are we done walking yet?" "I'm tired, I'm going to sleep" (note, this one was appx 9pm-- waaaaay before Abbie was in bed!) "Oh, she won't wake up if I slam the door!" (this was disproven soon after this statement was made). It was like travelling with 2 toddlers-- one happy one, and one with an advanced (well, better anyway) vocabulary! Eek, I'm glad the trip is over, but it was worth it!
We spent about 5 hours on trains on Thursday... a little longer than planned because Alex was "dying and starving" and had to run to McDonald's during the 15 minute train transfer-- cause it was so close to the platform. I gave him the benifit of the doubt, thinking, he's almost 20, he knows I have told him to take no more than 10 minutes, and I repeatedly told him the platform number (not to mention we got to the new platform before he left)... what happened, you ask? I talked the train guy into holding the train for an extra 2 or 3 mintues (Germans are really punctual) to give Alex a chance to show since our tickets were a special and non-transferrable to other trains. Alex didn't show. The train guy tells me that we will be able to switch the tickets to the next train, that it should be no problem. About 5 mintues after the train took off, Alex comes up to the platform, "well, ready to get on the train?"... umm... Alex, it's gone already. He claims he went to the wrong platform and was waiting there for us to meet him (Abbie and I hadn't moved from the spot he left us), and the McDonald's chick was slow. Luckily, the woman at the ticket counter bought my story of a "baby related emergency" and gave us a free transfer of ticket to the one 20 minutes later. Grrr... never again does that boy get trusted to get food and return within 10 minutes (although the 10 had a 5 minute buffer).
Abbie on the train:
Friday we went to Olympic Park and saw the Olympic stadim and tower, and the BMW museum (well, the temporary exhibition, as the museum is being renovated). That stuff was pretty cool, when Alex wasn't asking to sit down or change his shoes (yes, he made me put his other shoes in the stroller so he could change them every 1 1/2-2 hours because they hurt his feet-- not my fault he buys crappy shoes!). The park was gorgeous and the view from the tower was awesome!
Alex and Abbie picking flowers in the park:
Olympic Hall:
Part of the park:
The view from the tower(squint and you can see the Alps...aka the shadowy looking lumps in
the far background):
For the afternoon we wandered around Munich for a while (as long as Alex could stand it) and saw the Glockenspiel (aka worlds largest cookoo clock on their government hall):
Very, very pretty. The next day there was a stuffed cow (like cotton stuffed, not taxidermy stuffed) hanging in protest of animal slaughter yada yada right in front of the building... not so pretty then :-).
Random pic of downtown:
Saturday was the reason for going: Oktoberfest! The parade was definitley the best part, cause that's when the rain was lightest! The parade was awesome, and Abbie was allowed to stand up front thanks to some really nice women that let us up there even though we didn't wait for 3 hours for our street position in the cold damp misery. Abbie was allowed to stay up there until she tried to lunge out and pet the horses... then she was relocated to Alex's sholders, where she couldn't reach. She and I both got smudged on the noses with black gook by a jester in the parade though-- it took a lot of baby wipes to get those off! Here are just a bunch of pics from Saturday:
All in all, it was a good trip-- I didn't get to drink a beer at Oktoberfest though, cause you can only drink in the tents, and the tents were packed with lines longer than anything I've really seen before-- especially in the rain and cold, but, maybe next year (hint hint Jody-- and anyone else that wants to play while watching old men run around in knee socks when it's 40 degrees outside!)! I am glad we're back, although Munich is a great town, it's good to be home! I may update more tomorrow, but for now, good night!
We spent about 5 hours on trains on Thursday... a little longer than planned because Alex was "dying and starving" and had to run to McDonald's during the 15 minute train transfer-- cause it was so close to the platform. I gave him the benifit of the doubt, thinking, he's almost 20, he knows I have told him to take no more than 10 minutes, and I repeatedly told him the platform number (not to mention we got to the new platform before he left)... what happened, you ask? I talked the train guy into holding the train for an extra 2 or 3 mintues (Germans are really punctual) to give Alex a chance to show since our tickets were a special and non-transferrable to other trains. Alex didn't show. The train guy tells me that we will be able to switch the tickets to the next train, that it should be no problem. About 5 mintues after the train took off, Alex comes up to the platform, "well, ready to get on the train?"... umm... Alex, it's gone already. He claims he went to the wrong platform and was waiting there for us to meet him (Abbie and I hadn't moved from the spot he left us), and the McDonald's chick was slow. Luckily, the woman at the ticket counter bought my story of a "baby related emergency" and gave us a free transfer of ticket to the one 20 minutes later. Grrr... never again does that boy get trusted to get food and return within 10 minutes (although the 10 had a 5 minute buffer).
Abbie on the train:
Friday we went to Olympic Park and saw the Olympic stadim and tower, and the BMW museum (well, the temporary exhibition, as the museum is being renovated). That stuff was pretty cool, when Alex wasn't asking to sit down or change his shoes (yes, he made me put his other shoes in the stroller so he could change them every 1 1/2-2 hours because they hurt his feet-- not my fault he buys crappy shoes!). The park was gorgeous and the view from the tower was awesome!
Alex and Abbie picking flowers in the park:
Olympic Hall:
Part of the park:
The view from the tower(squint and you can see the Alps...aka the shadowy looking lumps in
the far background):
For the afternoon we wandered around Munich for a while (as long as Alex could stand it) and saw the Glockenspiel (aka worlds largest cookoo clock on their government hall):
Very, very pretty. The next day there was a stuffed cow (like cotton stuffed, not taxidermy stuffed) hanging in protest of animal slaughter yada yada right in front of the building... not so pretty then :-).
Random pic of downtown:
Saturday was the reason for going: Oktoberfest! The parade was definitley the best part, cause that's when the rain was lightest! The parade was awesome, and Abbie was allowed to stand up front thanks to some really nice women that let us up there even though we didn't wait for 3 hours for our street position in the cold damp misery. Abbie was allowed to stay up there until she tried to lunge out and pet the horses... then she was relocated to Alex's sholders, where she couldn't reach. She and I both got smudged on the noses with black gook by a jester in the parade though-- it took a lot of baby wipes to get those off! Here are just a bunch of pics from Saturday:
All in all, it was a good trip-- I didn't get to drink a beer at Oktoberfest though, cause you can only drink in the tents, and the tents were packed with lines longer than anything I've really seen before-- especially in the rain and cold, but, maybe next year (hint hint Jody-- and anyone else that wants to play while watching old men run around in knee socks when it's 40 degrees outside!)! I am glad we're back, although Munich is a great town, it's good to be home! I may update more tomorrow, but for now, good night!
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