In SHOCK

I am back home visiting my mom and am going through all my things sorting them into keep, give, throw. I also decided to go throw my old baby things to see if there is anything that I could perhaps use, and oh. my. gosh.

MY MOM KEPT EVERYTHING.


and



IT IS ALL AMAZING.



No joke. Gorgeous knitted items that you would pay a bundle for nowadays, gorgeous diaper covers- I am using cloth so this is incredibly perfect. Honestly this was one of the most wonderful surprises I've ever experienced. I think if we have a girl we won't have to buy a thing. I mean I still will because shopping for tiny clothes in incredibly fun but still. What a great day. So ladies make sure to check at the parent's house to see if they don't have any hidden treasures there!

I am only a quarter of a way through box number one and have already found so many gems! Of course I have also found some very cheesy eighties style items but that is part of the fun:D

Birthday!

Tomorrow my lovely, sweet, and wonderful hubby has a birthday. He turns 28. Unlike me he doesn't really enjoy getting older, he has a lot of responsibilities and he really sees it as one step closer to death. I know, I know, so depressing!

I love getting older so far every year has just gotten better and I can't wait for more. Especially considering that if we are lucky an adorable little baby will be joining us in the future.

Tomorrow is also a big holiday here in Germany. It is Christi Himmelfahrt Day (otherwise known as Ascension Day) and Fathers day here. What this means is that the men all start drinking in the morning and especially in the country and suburbs walking around in big groups with wagons full of alcohol with no real destination. Of course many ladies also join in on the fun and overall the day has a great feeling.

However I have no ideas for what we are going to do. I have his presents but since it is a holiday we can do anything we want for the whole day, and I have no clues. Any ideas what we could do together?

We will end up eating together, working out, and...... help me out ladies!:D

Getting healthy

Growing up I used to drink about 3-4 cans of pop a day. Yep that’s right pop- I’m a Midwestern girl. My mom raised me well but once I hit about 14 she let me make my own food most of the time since that was what I wanted. I was a super skinny active stick so she had next to no worries about my health. This allowed me to subsist off of nachos, pizza rolls, toaster strudels and pepsi adding in some cookies or other unhealthy treats when I felt like it.

Of course this meant that I was destined to marry someone who finds butter disgusting and who recently tried 0% fat cheese. I am sure you are all getting hungry just thinking about that.

That’s right my husband who started bodybuilding at the age of 14- not professionally but there are some pictures of him from his late teens that make me go Whoa, is a huge healthy eater. No oil, if possible no added fats, and diet everything. He still lifts weights at least three times a week and although he has thankfully moved on from his muesli and creatine days he still likes to eat incredibly healthy. So I do too. Which is OK. I mean in the long run it is great for me but I do of course still like to make a plate of nachos for myself, as I am not good at discipline and denial.

This gets me to thinking about all the things I will have to give up during the pregnancy.

Booze- ugh I don’t drink much anymore but I love German beer. It’s amazing- really. I will be sad to give it up but have thought about buying an alcohol free one if I end up getting a strong craving.

Coffee- I didn’t start drinking this until a year ago in Spain, but now I am in love. Thankfully I only drink about a cup a day, so if I start drinking half a cup every other day I think it will be fine.

Diet Coke- Uhm can I even drink any kind of coke? I am under the impression that the only thing which is OK is caffeine and sugar free- but that sugar substitutes are also bad. What I am supposed to drink? Water? Don’t answer that LOL.

Excederin- I hope I don’t get headaches like I do now. Ugh I cringe just thinking about it.

Sauna and Jacuzzi- We belong to an awesome health club that has a few of both of these and I LOVE them. I am naturally cold- like ice according to the hubby. So I actually used to use the sauna in the winter to warm me up a bit when I left the cocoon of my sleeping bag. I am hoping being pregnant makes me –normal- and that this isn’t such a problem.

Skiing- A few ski trips are planned for next year and I will be staying home for one and going Nordic skiing while the others race down the pistes for the other. I don’t mind too much about this one though-due to the whole hating being cold thing.

Smoke- I quit smoking long ago, and 99.9% of the time I don’t miss it. Unfortunately our friends like most Europeans did not get the memo that smoking is bad and dangerous for your health. A lot of bars and restaurants here didn’t get the memo either which means that some parties and gatherings with friends will be out once I am pregnant. This is of course sad for me. Thankfully we do have some good non-smoking friends who I will still be able to hang out with.

Because getting pregnant could take awhile I have decided not to cut any of it out until after ovulating each cycle and then going with my gut until a pregnancy test confirms a BFP. Are there any things you all are giving up before getting pregnant? Or things you gave up or would add to my list?

Feel Good Songs

I love dancing. Really truly love it.

I took dance lessons from 3 years up until high school and while my motivation sometimes really dwindled- who wants to spend Mon, Wed,and Sat doing ballet and jazz when they are 14? Not me. The lessons imparted a love of a good song, and a good beat and turned me into a girl who loves to go dancing till the wee hours of the morning.

As I have gotten older the late nights out have slowly dwindled- although my husband assures me that this is because I am 50 year old trapped in a young twenty somethings body- as he and his 30+ friends still regularly go out till the early hours whereas I head back home around 1 because I like my sleep too much to miss it.

But all this doesn't keep me from dancing in my living room with the music blaring. Or cleaning with the headphones on and my head in another place.

I also can't wait to dance with my kids or at least introduce them to all the music I love. Sure by the time they can really appreciate it they will think it is lame but eventually they will come around. I know it only took me until I was 19 to appreciate Joni Mitchell and understand why my mom loves her.

This song is a current favorite of mine. I've always loved Res but just recently found this track on youtube.

What are your favorite songs to listen to when no one is home and you get your boogie on?

Confession Time

I am a bit of a planner. And by a bit I mean that I once created a 23 page schedule for a week long trip to Ireland and Scotland.

It was organized by hour.

That we managed to stay together after that trip is a sign of my husband’s resilience and love. Had there not been strongholds, ancient prisons, and beautiful scenery to take away from my overbearing presence who knows if I would now be happily married.

But I learned my lesson. I no longer plan our trips; we tend to stick to all-inclusive partially for this reason. And when I do plan- Mexico in July I am looking at you. I try and stick to the absolute bare minimums- rental car, place to stay, one or two places to visit, maybe a restaurant suggestion or too, and that is it.

This has not crossed over to the pregnancy and baby world however. I have been looking forward to having a child for at least the past 2 years, and seriously wanting to start for the past year. So I can’t be blamed for having a bookshelf that looks like this.




I just thought you all should know;)

How we got Here

The music is blaring and my eyes are watering from the smoke. He reaches for his beer and I drink from mine. We have been dancing for hours and I no longer know where my friend is. Probably in a dark corner somewhere, the club is huge with lots of little dark nooks for getting to “know” others better. We however prefer the coolness that breezes by right outside the club doors. The bouncers are less impressed with our stopping point and we are forced back inside to the heat and sweat. He is unconvinced that I am 19, saying with authority- no you’re 21. Apparently 24 year olds aren’t interested in 19 year olds where he comes from. I shake my head no and he seems to accept my answer although if he will remember it this way the next day is questionable. After a very long night of dancing and drinking and very light conversation we exchange numbers when my friend shows up complaining of an upset stomach. I go home with her with the promise of meeting up for a picnic and a ride on his motorcycle on Sunday.


1 week later

We have finally connected after our first night together and this time no alcohol is involved. He picks me up on his motorcycle. I’ve never ridden on one but for some reason I am not impressed. I mean it is fine but I would just as rather ride in a car. I don’t tell him this though since he seems to expect a big reaction. We watch a movie that I will never forget Hass- Hate, he said it was “nice”. It isn’t nice. It is powerful, moving, funny, and sad. A movie I never would have picked for a first date but the man seems to be full of surprises.


3 years later

We have been living together for 2 years and life is splendid. OK the first year living with his parents was not always easy but who says life is easy. We had our own separate living quarters at his parents house but that is no comparison to the incredible flat which we now own. We live in a beautiful part of the city and I wake up every morning happy and go to sleep every night blissful. He takes me out to dinner for our anniversary and I know not to expect a proposal. We have agreed to get married but when he proposes is up to him and as he told me- proposing on an anniversary in a restaurant is cheesy. When he takes me to the roof top of a building after dinner I am still expecting nothing. When he gets down on one knee, saying that the world lies at my feet and will I be his wife, I am in shock. I am crying so hard and just saying yes over and over again. It is the most amazing night of my life. Absolutely perfect.


3 years and 6 months later

We are in a room filled with our friends and family saying our vows in Germany. We are married. It is just as nice as I expected.


3 years and 6 months and 1 day later

I want kids. Now. My husband had an inkling this would happen but he thinks Why now? Why me? Whatever happened to waiting until I am 30 in 2 years?


Right now

We are married and happy. We are also newlyweds so this is perhaps not such a great surprise. We are having an American ceremony to celebrate our wedding with my American relatives and we are also finally on our last cycle of using protection. In a few days my period will come and we will be officially trying to have a baby. Of course we will probably be on separate continents at the time but that doesn’t change the fact that we are trying to expand our family. And I am happy.