Silly things people say

For the most part, the prying questions and different unsolicited advice that people have given to me since I have begun showing during this pregnancy haven't bothered me much. I recognize that people are interested, or want to pass along things that they think would be helpful information, and really, talking about baby does make it more real and exciting! Recently, though, there have been a couple of things that really bug me. They aren't major things, but they get under my skin. No, it's not "Wow, you're HUGE! Is your due date tomorrow?" or " Are you sure it isn't twins?". Nobody has been bold or cold enough to say those things to me! They are a bit more subversive and here they are:

"Are you so excited to be having a boy?" I tell them, well, I would be, but I am having a girl and I'm excited about that, too. I think if that was the end of it, then it wouldn't bother me, but the exchange continues from there." Are you sure? Because that belly is ALL boy!" Nope, it's a girl. "Well, my sister/cousin/neighbor was told that it was a girl but she looked like you and it was definitely a boy, so you never know!" Well, that sure would be a surprise, but we have had several ultrasounds and they all confirmed that this is a sweet little GIRL. " Really?" they continue, "You never really know until they are born though, I bet you are in for a surprise because that belly is (and can you guess what that belly is? Yes, that's right) ALL BOY." Ok, well thank you for that stellar input woman on the card aisle at the BX, cashier at Taco Bell, person in the commissary, lady at the pool.... I'm certain that you know more than any health care professional that has done an ultrasound, a very clear ultrasound might I add, of my tiny human, so I'll go ahead and return all the pink things I've purchased and redecorate. Because my belly is all boy. I feel like I need to add to this, not a single, kid you not, SINGLE person has told me that I must be carrying a girl because of my belly. Well, one girlfriend in Ohio did, but in all fairness she DID already know :)

"Have you started cleaning yet?" or "Ohhhh I see we're nesting!" when I purchase a cleaning supply at the store (side note: WE are not nesting, just like WE are not pregnant. I am pregnant, and she will be B and my baby girl not community property. Anyway.) Now, I realize that there is some real human intuition basis for this comment (unlike the previous nonsense). And perhaps, when the time is truly immediately around the corner, I will regret being bothered about this. But it is just about all I can do to not reply back, "No, I'm living in a pit of filth as per usual." I typically respond, " Well, I'm doing my normal cleaning routines, you know, dusting, vacuuming, and whatnot. We have company coming soon so I'm trying to be prepared." Why this qualifies for a discussion point, I do not understand, but for whatever reason I get a knowing "Ohhhh you are going to have that baby within 48 hours you just don't know it yet! You are nesting!" Don't think so. You can ask B to verify if you need to, but me cleaning isn't anything out of the ordinary. I like my home neat and organized, so I do what needs to be done. Unloading the dishwasher isn't anything note worthy, people.

I suspect my irritation at these comments MUST mean that I'm coming to the end of this 40 week (maybe even 42 week) long journey. One can only hope, right? Ha :)

38 Weeks

How far along? 38 weeks

Total weight gain:Still down 2 pounds from the last doctor visit. This visit, the doc said, " Well now you're losing weight, we don't want you to do that, what are you doing?" I told her I had just stopped eating poptarts and powdered donuts for breakfast, and I could start again if I needed to. She said no :)    
Sleep: Hasn't been great. I'm ridiculously hot at night which stops me from sleeping.
Best moment this week:  Hanging out with CeCe 
Miss Anything? Too many things to really list out here 
Movement:  OH yeah.
Food cravings: Not much. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: No .
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: No
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Ehhhh. I've been all over the place this week. I've been so hot I can hardly move (yes I know last week I was commenting on how cold it was, now it's been over 90 with no A/C or air movement and a squillion flies). Also, NBC tape delays the good Olympic stuff to prime time in the US, which means the middle of the night here. So instead of watching Ryan Lochte win gold in the 400 IM, I got to watch table tennis and ladies basketball. Talk about a big fail!
Looking forward to: B's brother, Brian, is coming to visit on Friday! Can't wait to see him!

Never underestimate the power of MAIL!

It's Mary mail! I usually don't get 3 in one day, but sometimes the service here backs up and I get a deluge of mail in one day.
Mary is a good friend of mine who is currently deployed. She left on her 6 month tour to the desert around Memorial Day, and I've been lucky enough to stay in close contact with her. One of the perks of having an APO mailing address is that APO to APO mail is free (thus the "FREE MAIL" written where a stamp would normally go)! She is a fantastic pen pal, and I LOVE getting mail from her! Usually, it's a card with a witty comment on the front that makes me laugh my head off. I have a collection of them currently on the bar in my kitchen. Mary is also a blogger, so if you are interested in following her deployment, you can do so here. Her sense of humor is very similar to mine, so if you find me entertaining (or really annoying!) you will probably feel the same about her :)
Letters from Mary brighten my day, and illustrate my larger point that real, paper, physical mail does wonders for a person! This isn't a plea to send me cards, but consider sending a card or letter to SOMEONE. Seriously! The United States Postal Service isn't maybe the best run government system (or maybe it is, there is a scary thought for you) but I think it really provides something that email or FedEx can't. For less than 50 cents, you can say "hello" or "thank you" or "happy birthday" in a way that the recipient can actually hold on to. I'm not a pack rat, in fact I have a tendency to throw things away a bit too quickly, but I do love to save meaningful cards and notes. I still have many from my parents stashed away in my nightstand.
Anyway, enough bossing from this eternal Big Sister. And thanks, Mary, for being a fab friend :)

Pregnant in Germany- and the silver linings!

When I am asked the unavoidable question from people I have just met here of, "How do you like it here?" my response is usually followed up by the person telling me that once I am no longer pregnant, it will be so much better. I recognize that there is probably a lot of truth in that, and not just because I'll be able to enjoy the beer and wine of the area. I think, for me, this is mainly true because of the things I had always imagined of my first pregnancy- certain expectations of what life would be like or the things I would "get away with" using pregnancy as an excuse. I was talking with my sister last night about the bitterness I have about not getting to enjoy those things, how I blame Germany for robbing me of this experience, but that led to me reflecting about it on my morning walk. I started to see some silver linings for these things.

1. When I have a craving, I'm going to get whatever "it" is! ~ This has been one of the harder ones for me to deal with. If you've read my blog, you know that Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A have been the very hardest for me to not have access to, with Dairy Queen not too far behind. If you met me when we were in Ohio, you might not know that in the 2 years before getting pregnant, I had lost and successfully managed to keep off about 40 pounds through exercise and Weight Watchers (cannot say enough good things about this program, and am very excited to rejoin after baby, by the way). Keeping a healthy weight has been a constant- let me emphasize CONSTANT- struggle for me. I have a feeling that if we had been in an area where I had access to restaurants and foods that I enjoy, I might have really packed on the weight. As it is, I don't like the local food so we rarely eat out! Sometimes the fast food munchies really get me, which results in either a) a temper tantrum of sorts because I'm too lazy to drive to base or everything is already closed for the night OR b) the commitment to drive the 20+ minutes to base (depending on how many tractors or elderly Germans you get stuck behind), wait in what is usually a good sized line, and then the 20+ minutes back. If you've ever eaten fast food that has been sitting in your car cooling off while you drive home, you know that it kind of kills how delicious you were imagining it would taste. Room temperature McDonald's double cheeseburger and soggy fries, anyone? Yeah, me neither. Eating at the food court is an option of sorts... imagine the food court at your local mall at high school lunch hour combined with it being one of the few places in the area that has an indoor play place for small children... you get the idea. SO! Silver lining: I haven't packed on 50+ pregnancy pounds!

2. Baby clothes are just SO cute, my little girl is going to be my dolly! ~ Target seems to do an especially good job of having the most "aw" worthy little outfits displayed along their main aisles. Even when making a mad dash to get just one thing (ok, who really ever makes it out of Target with JUST one thing? Not this girl). I really looked forward to wandering different baby clothing stores, picking out The Perfect Coming Home Outfit. This would be followed later by The Perfect Fall Photo Ensemble, The Perfect Halloween Costume... and so on. Here's the thing though. Baby clothes are expensive. Like, woah, expensive. If I had been able to lay eyes on it, feel it in my hands, see it on my baby, I probably would be rather inclined to buy those perfect outfits, regardless of the price. But- not in Germany! The selection at the BX ( base department store, sort of, for those who are not familiar with the military lingo) is limited, and not changed out on a regular basis. I don't really love shopping online, and some places don't ship here anyway. And, from what I've seen of the local kids wear, baby clothing here is not my taste. I don't want a mini, female version of Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, don't love a ton of embroidery or crochet, and definitely don't want her in shirts that say things in German that I don't understand. Silver lining: I can't break the bank dressing my baby in the newest, cutest fashion!

3. The air conditioning in my house will be set to no warmer than 60 degrees for the last 2 months of my pregnancy, and probably closer to 55 at night. ~ In Colorado, we did not have a/c, but once we got to Ohio, it was a luxury that B and I both really enjoyed. He, however, liked the a/c a good bit warmer than I did and usually ended up sleeping in long sleeves under all of the blankets in the summer while I slept in a tank top with just a sheet. We would compromise with the thermostat at 70, which meant that while neither of us was at prime comfort level, we could both live with it. I planned to throw compromise to the wind, though, during the last 2 months of pregnancy and at least be able to sleep at a chilly temperature, even if I couldn't be comfortable in other ways. In Germany, there is no air conditioning! Usually it's not warm enough to really need it, but like I said, I am one of those people that likes it really REALLY cold when I sleep. We have the windows cracked open, but it doesn't get that much colder at night and the mosquitoes keep me from opening all of the windows, all of the way (Germany also doesn't have screens on their windows. Not sure why?). So, I sleep with a fan pointed directly on me and am still hot, and B pulls up the covers and is pretty comfy Silver lining: I've come to realize that I'm going to be uncomfortable no matter what at this point. If we had a/c, I would probably insist on it being frigid and NEITHER of us would be comfortable. At least this way one of us is getting good sleep!

4. The baby's room will look like something out of a Pottery Barn catalog ~ We bought beautiful furniture for her room, and I looked forward to finding all sorts of perfect little things to make it just right. I hadn't been able to paint (or rather, we weren't in a place long enough to justify it in my mind), but this time the baby would be coming right as we were settling in for 3 years, so it would be worth it to cover the walls in either a cool gray, or maybe light pink thick vertical stripes with a chair rail.  Well, as we found out when we got here, people don't really paint in Germany. I also hope to be moving into a place on base next spring/early summer, meaning we possibly won't be in this home for the whole 3 years. so it would be sort of pointless to put the full effort into getting the room picture perfect. Decor is very different, and a lot of things are hand crafted and I don't like the style. We have the big things that we will for sure need (crib, changing table, shelves, lights, dresser) and that's all I really should worry about. Silver lining: I haven't really stressed about the nursery because I can't really do a darn thing about it!

5. I'll have lots of visits with family and friends! ~ This has been a tough pill for me to swallow. I am actually very, VERY fortunate that my mom, my mother-in-law and my brother-in-law will be visiting us in the next month. My mom and MIL are making a special trip across the ocean to help me out and meet the new baby, and I cannot wait to see them. I also have CeCe here, who has truly helped keep me sane on some rough days. However, I really am missing all of the wonderful friends I have. I saw several friends expand their families in Ohio, and I loved how our group would come together to bring meals, love on the new baby, take care of pets if it was needed, and just in general support each other through a new stage in life. I realize this will not be quite the case here, and I am a little (ok, a lot) heartbroken about it. They gave me a beautiful shower before I left, and I will never forget it. My sisters who will be first time Aunties won't be able to fly in to meet her right away, my dad won't meet his first grandbaby until she's at least a couple of months old, my father-in-law will have to wait a bit longer still, my best friend in Chicago won't be only a Southwest flight away... sometimes when I think about it, it is too too much to take. Just typing it all caused a mini breakdown that resulted in Thumper pushing the computer out of my lap so she could snuggle up to me (have I mentioned I love my dog?) The silver lining on this one is much thinner than on the other clouds. B and I have had to rely more on each other than ever before, and I think it's been really good to spend time together as our family gets ready to change. I've had to be more intentional about my relationships and friendships, and that has made many of them really grow. I also would not have started this blog, which I think I will probably enjoy looking back on as I document the many life changes we have coming up. So I guess I'm counting on the silver lining on this one before it happens: I will have better relationships and friendships and a really good journal of my life.

I think the biggest thing of all, is that I've had to realize that all of the things I looked forward to are really minimal compared to the most important part of all of this: a healthy baby. Being pregnant itself has been the easy part. Yes, it's sometimes a little uncomfortable and I don't love that I knock things over with my stomach and backside, or that it takes me forrreevvvver to get anything done right now because I'm slow moving and can't lift a lot. But, really, I can't complain. It's been a cake walk.

Ok, well I think that's about as much sunshine as I can spew for the day :) Sometimes it takes a little while for this Negative Nelly to see the positives in things, but given time, I can get there!

37 weeks- Full term baby!

As of this week, Baby Girl can come when she wants without being considered to be premature! This doesn't mean we expect to meet her any time soon. In fact, I fully believe she will be sharing a birthday with her Aunt Ellen since that will be 10 days after her due date and the last possible day that the doctors will let her just hang out. I guess we will see! As you'll notice in the picture, the belly has not dropped down at all yet so I still have to be reclined any time I sit on the couch so I can breathe. Also, I am wearing a turtle neck. In late July. Because it is entirely necessary. Brrrrrr.

How far along? 37!

Total weight gain: Down 2 pounds from last week actually, I really think most of last week was water weight from having too much salt and I wasn't REALLY up too much, but I'll see what the doctor thinks at my appointment this Thursday  
Maternity clothes? I'm taking this question out next week. I wear maternity jeans and a pair of maternity khakis, but as far as pants go, I wear my regular Target yoga pants and Nike running shorts (when it's warm enough). Exclusively in maternity tops, though.
Sleep: No problems here
Best moment this week:  Finding Blue Bell Cookies and Cream Ice Cream at the commissary :) 
Miss Anything? Being able to breathe comfortably when I sit 
Movement:  Yes
Food cravings: Chick Fil A. This has been consistent throughout the whole pregnancy. I hate hate hate the food in this country, it truly just disgusts me. 
Anything making you queasy or sick: No .
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: The heart burn has been a little stronger this week, but really not too bad. Just bugged me for a couple of days and now gone again
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.
Looking forward to: THE OLYMPICS START ON FRIDAY!!!! Seeing what the doctor has to say this week! The following week, B's brother will be here for a couple of days which I am already looking forward to :) 18 days until my due date, AND until my mom comes for a visit!

An Unexpected and Most Welcome PERK!

While I do my fair share of complaining (more than my fair share perhaps one could argue!) about the things I miss while living in Germany, there is one thing I am certainly NOT missing that is happening in the US right now. Anybody have a guess?

Click here for a hint!



I watch the NBC Nightly News when it's on here in the mornings at 7, and so I know how ugly it's getting. This isn't to say that I don't plan to vote! B and I have both requested our absentee ballots from South Carolina, and we read up on our (separate) interests. BUT- I haven't had to see one ugly, mud-smearing, nontruthful commercial! Fancy that :)

36 weeks

How far along? I can't believe it- 36 weeks

Total weight gain: Enough that at my doctors appointment this week I was told to shoot for no more gain the rest of the pregnancy! I was totally expecting this though, no hurt feelings here  
Maternity clothes? Yes, although I did put on a pair of skinny jeans from when I was bigger before pregnancy yesterday and they were still too big!
Sleep: Pretty good
Best moment this week: American Date Night with B last night. I spent the day cleaning up the house, and then we went to church, dinner at Macaroni Grill, walked around the "mall" at the BX, got Baskin Robbins, new Sperry shoes, picked up fresh flowers, and watched a movie together on the couch in pajamas :) It was pretty awesome! 
Miss Anything? Not having to drive 20 minutes every time I forget something at the store. Or need to go to the post office, pool, etc 
Movement:  Yep. Even the doctor at commented on how wiggly she was for the ultrasound
Food cravings: Iced Tea
Anything making you queasy or sick: No .
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: Still that bruise that comes and goes. I'm also surprised at how dark my veins are becoming in the most random spots, like on my chest!
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.
Looking forward to: Friday night B's coworkers are hosting a baby shower for us. We told them that we really didn't need anything, but they insisted and I think are getting us a giftcard we can use at the BX for the baby monitor, onesies if she really does fit into newborn clothes when she first gets here (I suspect she won't so everything I've bought is in 0-3 month) or food from the food court for the nights when I can't get dinner together. Mainly I'm just looking forward to hanging out at a group BBQ!

So it's been 3 months...

When we first arrived here, I had many people tell me that the first three months were the hardest, and after that things would improve vastly. Well, July 4th marked that 3 month mark, so I'm hoping we're over that hump! Those first few months certainly were more trying than I could have imagined. I have learned so much about myself, my relationships with family and friends, and my wonderful husband, so I thought I'd try to mention a few of the things I've learned here. I'll likely do this at 6 months as well, since that is the point people tell me I'll actually start to like it here! We shall see :)

Set realistic expectations- After B found out that he had been assigned to the coveted Germany slot out of his last assignment, we heard nothing but wonderful things about living overseas. It would be a dream location, most everyone speaks English, the military community overseas is so tight knit that they are family, it's like living in the States but with easy access to Europe, travel would be cheap and easy, we would love every minute and never want to leave... Deep down, I knew that not all of this could be true. When we found out we were moving to Dayton in 2010, people couldn't stop talking about how terrible it was and how fortunate that it was only a year and a half assignment. Well, we LOVED it (I, in particular, found it to be near perfection) so I should have learned then not to necessarily listen to others opinions about a location. Setting the bar so high for a location only sets up failure when it inevitably falls short of expectations. Next time, I will try to just be excited to be moving, and not have a preconceived notion of what it will be like when we get there.

#1 Dream Sheet Jobs do happen- It seems like throughout the military there is this (false) understanding that you will never get your #1 choice on your Dream Sheet job list. B is living proof that it can and does happen- he has received his #1 selection for all 3 assignments where he had to turn in the Dream Sheet, so be prepared that if it's on that list, it really can happen! So shoot for the stars on those sheets because you might just end up there!

Sometimes, the people who will keep in touch with you will surprise you- In the age of the internet, cell phones, internet based phones, facebook, facebook video chat, gchat, video gchat, blogger... it's really pretty easy to stay in contact! Quite a few people that I didn't know if I would chat with much after moving have made it a priority to check in with me, give me words of encouragement when Lord knows I needed them, and stay in contact. I have been so thankful for that- hint, if you are reading this then you are likely who I am speaking of! I've really been touched by the emails and messages I've gotten on facebook from friends, so thank you very much for making me smile.

I can be a happy person, even if I'm not happy with where I am- I've struggled with this some since getting here, and it took me a month or so to figure out how to be a happy person, despite being less than thrilled with my location. I'm not going to lie- every morning when I wake up, I stay still with my eyes closed and hope that when I open my eyes, we will be back in the States. But, the reality is that's not going to be happening for awhile, so in the mean time I'm going to continue to appreciate all of the good things in my life, because there really are so many good things.Maybe in time I will start to see where we live as one of those good things I've learned how to cut off my pity party early, and move on with life!

Recycling should be mandatory everywhere- Now, I am certainly NOT saying that I appreciate the idea of my trash being "audited" and fines assessed for not doing a good enough job. In Ohio, I looked out my window to find a neighbor digging through my trash and recycling looking for coupons and it really made me irritated- boundaries, people! However, after seeing how much of what we throw out could really be recycled, it's quite disturbing to think of how much extra waste there is out there. Realistically, I could keep our trash down to our 40L per every 2 week limit right now if we had a garbage disposal or a more frequent pick up for "over sized" garbage (like the piece of junk fan we bought that lasted just a month). I keep thinking there has to be SOME way for the recycling pick up in the US to not actually cost people extra money, and instead let them earn some sort of "green credit" to encourage recycling....wishful thinking, I guess, right up there with personal responsibility.

I will see Paris- and it is likely I will see it several times! Five years of French might come in handy after all :)

Last but certainly not least, I have learned that we are very spoiled as Americans, and I am just great with that. Our country is fantastic. It has it's flaws, sure, but I think for every flaw there are about ten things to make up for it. I will certainly be making the most of our time in Europe, but there will be a big circle around APRIL 2015 on my calendar- our estimated return!

3-5-weeks... 5 left!

How far along? 35 weeks

Total weight gain: Still at 30.  
Maternity clothes? Yes, I'm sort of between the 2nd trimester and 3rd sizes right now which makes it hard to fit anything right
Sleep: Sleeping a lot better now that I have a fan pointed directly on me all night!
Best moment this week: Hands down, 4th of July with the Perrys! I really think it was the first time since we've gotten here that I've gone more than 2 hours without wishing we were back in the States. 
Miss Anything? Being able to bend over to dry my hair. 
Movement:  Still moving, a little less than last week though which is nice
Food cravings:  Poptarts.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No .
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: I have a substantial bruise by my belly button where she is constantly exerting pressure. It hurt for a few days, and then sure enough, a big purple bruise showed up!
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy I think. I had a few moments this week, but otherwise, good.
Looking forward to: At this week's doctor appointment, we should be able to find out if everything is still looking good to go for an Aug 9 due date

Happy 4th of July!!

One of my very favorite days of the year is here, and it really snuck up on me this year! The base had a few things planned, but it's surprisingly low key over here. I think I just expected with such a concentration of military folks that celebrations would be over the top, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Thankfully, we have good friends to celebrate with, a fireworks show to sit under, and a red, white, and blue door hanger compliments of my mom! It's hard to believe that last year, I woke up extra early, threw on my running shoes, and ran my best 10K around Wright-Patt AFB for a 4th of July fun run! This year is definitely starting out a bit slower- no sub 10 minute miles for this girl for awhile, and my shirt from last year that was plenty roomy sure does fit differently this year!

As hard as the changes from last year to this year are for me to wrap my head around, the changes from this year to next year are going to be incredible. We will have an almost one year old for the 4th of July next year! I'm so excited to create memorable holidays for her in the same way my mom did for us growing up. When we were really small, the 4th of July meant a parade around our neighborhood with friends, dressed up in red, white, and blue of course! I remember wearing sparkly leotards, pulling Beth in a wagon, U-S-A sandwich boards with my sisters... so many fun times. The only picture I have with me right now is of the talent show at the end of the parade. I'm in the middle up front, singing songs with Julie McPherson as Mrs. Voos holds the microphone for us. It was really a rather large parade for just something around the V-7 neighborhood!

The parade faded out as we got a bit older, and we started spending 4th of July evenings with our family friends that lived just two doors down from us. Their son had a little water canon that made the most fantastically loud BOOM, and now that I'm getting to be an old fuddy duddy about noise in the neighborhood, I try to remember how much fun we had setting that thing off, and how patient all of the neighbors were with us. And of course, whether we were small children, awkward middle school kids, blossoming high schoolers, returning college students, or newly married 20 somethings, there was always, ALWAYS the Krempleys barbeque! My sisters and I would run around with the Krempley and Stromer kids, and a variety of other friends from the neighborhood shooting each other with Nerf guns, or sneaking more desserts than we should (ok, I think that might have been just me, darn sweet tooth), playing in the clubhouse built by our dads, and sitting in the cool grass in the shade. My childhood 4th of July memories are idyllic, and if I'm lucky and put in the hard work that I know my mom did, maybe one day my kids will be able to look back as happily.

We had a beautiful day for the 4th, which was rather surprising since most days here it rains for at least a few hours. With not a cloud in the sky B grilled out beer bratwursts while I prepared snacks to take to the Perrys, and we enjoyed lunch here before hitting the road. While B was at the commissary that morning picking up a few last minute things, he surprised me by grabbing some corn on the cob- a special treat since corn is not something that is grown here in Germany!

The Perrys are friends of ours from our time at Wright-Patt AB, and are now stationed an hour up the road from us at Spangdahlem AB. Their little boy had a due date of Aug 10, and since baby girl's due date is the 9th, I love to watch him because he gives me a general idea of the fun we will be having next year. He is just such a snuggly, sweet guy! JP and B share a general love of being in Germany, while CeCe and I share a general distaste for it, so we have a great time getting together and supporting each other through this acclimation experience. An afternoon and evening with them was the perfect way to spend the Fourth of July!

 B and JP split a few different beers- how do you know it's your favorite if you haven't tried them all, right?

 A perfect spot for swinging! Jack sure seemed to love just hanging out with mom in the shade :)

 This little boy LOVED the fireworks! Even if it was the middle of his sleeping time, his eyes were wide open as he watching the good show put on by Spangdahlem

 B's quote of the day as I had him change clothes- "I never thought I'd see the day where my wife dressed me up for a holiday." Yep. That day has come, and there are many more ahead so be prepared!

I was just so happy at this point in the day, or night since I think it was actually close to midnight! It didn't get dark enough for fireworks until almost 11, so we were out late! We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate with fireworks, friends, food, and freedom. I am reminded of that even more than usual this year. A big HELLO, THANK YOU, and WE LOVE YOU to my friend Mary, and all of our friends in uniform spending this holiday serving overseas. CeCe and I chatted about you often, and you were certainly on my mind when I decided to wear a giant statement necklace :)

I hope everyone out there was able to spend the day celebrating how you wanted to, and Happy 4th of July from Oberstaufenbach, Germany!

34 weeks

How far along? 34 weeks

Total weight gain: The big 30.  
Maternity clothes? Yes, thankfully got some new ones this week from Gap
Sleep: Yes, but no more napping
Best moment this week: Heidelberg with B. It really hit both of us while we were wandering around that our time as family of two is running out so rapidly, so we have really committed to making the most of every day together. 
Miss Anything? Being able to roll over in my bed without waking up to do so. 
Movement:  Yes. B likes to talk to her or give me a gentle belly shake like a giant Magic 8 ball which really gets her moving!
Food cravings:  Breakfast.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No .
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No.
Symptoms: My veins are starting to become really visible which is a bit strange, and you can feel them popping out in the tops of my hands. Not sure if that's pregnancy or not, but it's different for me.
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy.
Looking forward to: B's friend Jared is possibly going to be paying us a visit sometime this week, which will be fun! We haven't seen him since he was a groomsman in our wedding 3.5 years ago. We'll also get to celebrate the 4th of July, German style, hopefully with CeCe, JP, and Jack.

Heidelberg

Heidelberg is one of the closer cities to us that we were encouraged to visit soon after arriving. It is a little less than two hours away by train or by car. It isn't as old as Trier (not much is!) but has been beautifully preserved! Home to an internationally renowned university, it made it through World War II unscathed due to it's relative lack of participation. When the Allied Forces made their way into the city, they were told they would be met with no opposition and in fact almost all homes were flying something white outside their doors in show of peace. Because of that, we didn't see modern structures that had popped up to replace the bombed out buildings. That isn't to say that the atrocities of the war didn't touch Heidelberg. There are several stumbling stones or stolperstein on the sidewalks throughout the city, and if you don't know what they are you can read about them here . We arrived by train at around 9:15, and toured the city and then a castle with a guide until just after 1 when we were turned loose to have lunch and explore on our own until rejoining our group for the train back at 4:35. As I mentioned in my previous post, there are good and bad parts about taking the train. For the purposes of a midsized tour, it was great because we could travel together, but it wouldn't have been a large enough group to charter our own bus so this worked out. The train seats themselves were grouped into little bays of 4, and people were really very courteous about not using cell phones or doing things that would interfere with others while riding which was a nice change from American public transportation. We only had one seat mate that listened to his iPod so loudly that we could join along to the beat of his music. Anyway, I detailed most of that experience before so I'll move on. This will be a very picture heavy post, and I'll try to do most of the narration of our tour through the pictures. B was the photographer for this trip and, and besides the pictures where he is in them, took all the photos. He did a great job!

 The above picture is our first view of Heidelberg castle. As you can see, only one part has really been preserved. The rest of it was given up for ruins in the late 1700's after being torn down and rebuilt many times, and finally being hit by a lightening strike that burned down the most recent remodel.

 B snuck this photo at the beginning of the day, when I was still pulled together and not so hot that I felt like the sun itself. This was probably the hottest day we have had in Germany yet, and that combined with being on a walking tour, as well no German facilities (to include restaurants and the train) offering air conditioning, turned me a mess by the end of the day! You can also see the cobblestone streets, which are the street make up for the whole of the tour.

 Just a pretty picture B snapped of the church in downtown Heidelberg. Usually tour guides have encouraged us to go in and enjoy the beauty. This one, our guide, Sandy, told us to skip because it wasn't really anything special.

 While the inside of the church above wasn't anything special, B really liked the gargoyles that adorned the outside.

 If you look closely, you can see the little "Vettre" sign on the right side of the picture, which is where we would return later for a beer for B. The gateway you can see is the customs gate, where people bringing goods for sale would enter into the city center and pay taxes on the way in.

 Starting to melt, and it's only ten in the morning. Uh oh...

 Charles Phillip or Karl Phillip, standing over the bridge to the city he helped make great. The bridge was ordered bombed by Hitler in WWII, but it didn't happen.

 The structures supporting the castle gardens in the background, foreground is just a rooftop garden.

 Monkey sculpture by renowned sculptor Professor Gernot Rumpf, who also created the Emperor's Fountain in Kaiserslautern.

 Become the monkey!

 Reminders of the Jewish population that used to be very prominent in this area.

 Resting in the remembrance courtyard to the Jewish synagogue, destroyed in Kristallnacht 

 Why this was not listed as one of the highlights in the USO handbook I do not know, but I was so excited when Sandy told us we would be stopping here to use the facilities and get pick-me-ups if we needed them! We don't have a Starbucks in our area, and it's about an hour to the closest one. It was such a treat and I was a very happy girl, as you can see in the picture below

 My photographer relaxing for a few minutes in Starbs.

 Jesuit church.

 Inside the church, listening to beautiful music.

 On the tram, waiting to go up to the castle. It was nice and cool in our car, but it a very short 1 minute trip up to the top.

 From inside the castle courtyard. You can see the portion of the castle right in front of us is the best preserved. The pictures you will see later of the decorated ceilings and renovated rooms are from this portion of the castle.

 Model depicting the castle in it's early years. Even this model shows the castle with additions, the original structure was very small.

 The castle after additions and the gardens. It never quite reached this point, when it was months from being completed lightening struck and burned the gardens and a lot of the castle.

 For this picture we are standing in the original moat of the castle. The picture is of the original castle outer walls, and the rectangular outcropping you see in the middle of the photo is the original toilet that dropped straight into the moat. Later the bottom was closed up, and the moat was turned into a balcony over a much larger moat, that also served as a game pen for elk.

 B getting artsy with the camera :)

 Window into the castle.

 Castle clock.

 Top floor of the restored part of the castle.

 The rooms were "restored" to what they might have looked like. The painted ceilings were beautiful, as were the furniture pieces in the rooms.

 Lots of elk artwork, mounted heads.... clearly a large part of the sport of the time and area.

 The castle also houses the world's largest barrel of wine. We climbed the staircase to the top!

 Views of Heidelberg from the castle balcony.

 The collapsed Fat Tower of the castle, brought down by the French in 1693.

 We would have liked to have spent more time walking around the castle grounds and gardens, but were both SO hungry as it was after 1 in the afternoon and hadn't had lunch yet. We had a granola bar a little earlier in the morning not realizing it would be so long until lunch, but after taking this photo we caught the tram back down to the village and found an Italian restaurant to dine at.

 Trying to cool off with a cool beer. As I mentioned, no where offers air conditioning so it was downright stifling in every place we visited. The options were to sit outside in the sun where you might get lucky enough for a small breeze every now and then, or sit inside where there was no breeze at all but you would at least be out of the sun. We tried both, and found out it was cooler to be inside.

 We walked to the middle of the bridge to see if maybe there was a pleasant breeze and get some more pictures. It was a little cooler, and we spent 20 minutes listening to an accordion player and violinist play lovely music.

Finally time to go home. We were ready to go home as soon as we had a bite of lunch, but had to wait another 2.5 hours for our group trip back on the train.