Uh Oh! Watch Out Europe!

So I took my driver's test today. I have been studding the last couple of nights, and today was the day. I have been putting it off for awhile now because we didn't have our van anyway. No need to worry about a test that has had the reputation of being hard. Since our van was due to arrive on Tuesday (and it did!), I figured I had better get to it.

The whole process was long. I was having trouble concentrating due to the heat in the room and being hungry. My husband said I'd be done between 1:30 and 2:00, so not a big deal. Well, I didn't start the test until almost 2:30.

I was the first one finished, and even though I didn't do as well as I would have liked, I still passed. That's the important thing. So, watch out Europe, I'm legal!

Yikes! A Test!

We have now been in Germany for over a month. It's been more like a month and a half. I didn't really worry to much about my driver's test because we had no van. No van equals no driving. I wasn't about to jump in someone else's car and take off down the road. So, the time has come. I am finally taking my driver's test tomorrow.

It is a long test due to some instructions and a video/class on the test before hand. I was told that you have to study. You can't just go in and expect to pass from what you know from driving all those years in the US. Last night I did study questions 1 to 81. Tonight was 82 to 154. I didn't do too bad. I still would like to do better, but I think the video/lecture will drive home the things that I missed when taking the test. The signs are kind of tricky, but I will make sure and go over those tomorrow.

If you saw my last entry, you know that I have been reading the Twilight books. I read the first two, and I was waiting on the second in the mail. They really shouldn't have been here until next week, but they came in the mail today. I about died when I saw my husband walk in with a box from Amazon. I was so excited. I told him I shouldn't start them until after my test, or that I might be thinking about them during the test. He took me serious, and he has hid them from me. I can probably guess where they are, but I cannot reach them. I'm too lazy to take a chair back there, so I better pass so I can get my books.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed. I'd like to have my license tomorrow so I don't have to do it again. I have never failed a driving test, and I don't plan on starting now.

Hurry Up Books!

Have you read this book? My friend, Lacy, is responsible for me not having a life the past 5 days. She had been telling me that she had been reading these books. I had no clue what she was talking about, and I didn't really care at first. I'm not a big reader. The main reason I'm not is because 1) I'm slow and 2) I have a hard time with reading comprehension. I always have, and that in turn is why I am a slow reader. I could go on and on about how that makes it hard for me, but case in point is that I really have to be pushed into a book, and if it is a series, I have to really like it to keep going.

Anyway, I had been looking for a few books to read for awhile. Just because I don't always enjoy it doesn't mean I don't try. I was cruising online at Amazon looking for some books. I started out thinking I'd get a biography. I had it in my cart ready to go, and then I remembered that Lacy had told me about these books. I went back to my email and did a quick search to find out what book it was. It took a couple of different searches on my part, but I finally found the name Twilight. I typed it in the search bar at Amazon, and did a little reading. Let me say right now, I didn't know how popular they were when I bought them. I just thought it was another book :p I decided to give it a go. If I hated it too much, I could give Lacy a hard time then.

While looking I realized there were 4 books in the series. I decided to go ahead and get book 1 and book 2 and have them shipped. Both books were cheaper than the one book I had wanted before, so I didn't see the harm. I thought it would take awhile for me to finish the first one, but I'd then have the second to start on so I could order the rest. I hit the confirm button and waited for the week it takes to get the books here.

I got my books at the end of last week. I think I got them on Wednesday. I started off reading just one chapter that night (usually a couple of chapters a night does it for me). The next day I read during nap time and while the kids were being good. When I looked at the book again, I was almost half done. Realizing how fast I was reading and the fact I was enjoying it, I went to visit my lovely Amazon site and got the other two coming this way. I still had one more book to read, and I knew I'd slow down, but I thought I'd better be safe. Yeah right!

I finished the first and moved right to the second. In two days, the second was finished. Now I sit and wait for my books to be here. If the shipping trend continues, I should have them the middle of next week. I can't believe that I'm going through them like this. It's nuts!

I guess the good part about the delay in the books being here is that I need to study. I have my driver's test on Friday, and I need to do good on that. I want to pass the first time so I can start driving again. I will have to take my hubby to work to have the car in the day, but that might not be such a bad thing.

Needless to say, HURRY UP BOOKS!

Very Late Night Ramble

So it is one of those nights. Before you go on, know that what I'm about to say could, or probably will be a little off or not make sense. How is it different from any other time you ask? Well, it's late...as in almost 1 am late. After reading that, you may wonder why am I still awake at almost 1 am. Well, I'm about to tell you in what I am calling my "Very Late Night Ramble."

It has been a long couple of nights. Samuel just is not sleeping well. He is crying a lot. He will cry forever. I will go in after a bit and pick him up. He gets mad about that. He pushes me away like he wants nothing to do with me. I lay him back down, and he is more mad than when I went in. I just can't win. It is getting old, and I don't know what to do about it.

I guess the thing that really bothers me the most is sharing walls, floor, and ceiling with others. When we lived in Oklahoma, we were in a house. No one was really bothered by our noise. We could walk, run, skip, or hop through our home. We could turn the TV up if we liked. Here it isn't as easy. The people below us can hear us move through the place. We can hear our neighbors upstairs all the time. However, the noise on that level does not bother us much.

I have seen online people asking about babies crying all the time. What should they do, they ask. A lot of people wonder if they need to call the cops or CPS. I always respond with, "you never know what is going on, so maybe a visit to the home." It's that or something like that. Anyway, I feel like I'm that person now. My poor child seems to cry all the time, and I don't know how to fix it. I'm worried that someone is going to get upset by it all. Should it bother me? Probably not, but it does.

So, if you have any solutions or things to try, I'm all ears. I need some sleep again.

Oh Happy Day!

My husband got a wonderful email today. It wasn't the best news in the world (our van arriving), but it is the next best thing. We found out that our advanced shipment has arrived. We just have to call and set up an appointment to have it brought here.

When you move overseas with the military, you are allowed to pack two sets of items to go over with you. The first is your advanced baggage, the second is all your other goods. When you get all the paperwork, they tell you what can and cannot go in those shipments.

With the early shipment, they put it on a plane (at least I think) to get it this way quickly. There is a certain weight limit and certain items you can bring. The description I remember was something like this...You will want to pack items that make it hard to live without for a long time. This will not include furniture, beds, big TVs, or appliances. It can include children's bedding such as cribs. Now I don't know about you, but the things that are hard to live without are my bed, sofa, and things like that. What I wouldn't give for our King sized bed and feather mattress right now. The TV thing doesn't bother me too much since we only have 8 or 9 stations to watch.

I made my husband look at our inventory this weekend (before we knew it was here) to find out some of the things we put in our shipment. I am starting to miss those little comforts that I never even thought about before. Something as small as our microwave. I am so tired of having to heat up everything on the stove top or in the oven. Something small and simple like Genevieve's chicken nuggets now take 15 mins instead of the few in the microwave. Small snacks that you can heat in the microwave and have ready in just a short amount of time can now take over 30 to 40 mins. Oh how I miss that.

Hopefully when my husband calls it will be with good news. Hopefully it will only take a day or two to get the items here. I cannot wait to see a little piece of home. I have not seen our things since early March. It will be like Christmas is already here. No need for gifts this year...just our stuff. :p

Fall Is Here!

I have blogged in the past about how much I love Fall. It is my favorite season of them all. I know a lot of people say they don't mind Fall, but the idea of Winter being just around the corner makes them not care for it as much. Not me!

I love the cooler weather, the trees changing, the leaves on the ground. I love it all. I like being able to put on a big pot of soup and let it simmer all day. I won't do that in the Summer due to heat, but in the Fall, it works out great. I love drinking Hot Coco at night and curling up in my blanket. I love it all!

So I am happy that here in Germany that the weather is Fallish and the trees are changing. When I call home and people ask about the weather, they always tell me it is cold here (in the mid 50s). I think it is just right. The skies are dreary, the trees are changing, and I am loving every second of it!

Can Anyone Tell Me?

So I don't want to tell you what this is, I want you to guess. I did look up the words on the German to English translator, and it something like a money voucher or something like that. I don't want to know that part. I want to know if you know where you get them. Leave a comment in the comment section, and I will let you know who got it right. :)

The Big Big Big Big BIG Play Park

So the title is a little redundant, but that is where we went yesterday. Yesterday we were invited to travel with two families to Playmobil Fun Park about 2 1/2 hours away. As you can tell from the site, it is like a Lego Land or something like that. There is one of these in the US as well.

Anyway, we went to the Fun Park yesterday. It was so much fun to see Genevieve have a great time. She would run and play. There were a few things that were a bit too big for her still. You could tell some things really scared her. I think next year she will love it even more. I took a few pictures, and we will end with those :)

At the start of the day with one of the direction guys

Samuel's ready to go

We're Off!

With the King and Queen (Giving the Queen a kiss)

Arrr!

The Pirate Ship

Ring that bell

Behind the wheel

Trying one more time

Playing with Noah's Ark

Daddy's getting into it too

And Mommy "milks" the cow

The big outdoor castle

Indoor play area

I'm Not Unique Today

I have been very tired the last few days. I know that my kids are somewhat sleeping all night, but I still am not. The bed we have is horrible. My back is killing me, and it keeps me up. I usually get up in the middle of the night and hit up the sofa for a bit. Last night was no exception, so I am going to use a questionnaire my cousin did and call it good. I might have wished when this is over I would have just blogged about something else instead :p Here it goes anyway. Feel free to take it if you wish.

I am: many things in life. I am also very tired.
I think: nap time will be awesome.
I know: how blessed my life is.
I want: to be the best wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, cousin, etc I can.
I have: a lot to be thankful for.
I wish: I could get some good rest on my good bed.
I hate: Feeling like I could do better on a lot of things.
I miss: being able to pick up the phone in the morning and calling people.
I fear: Dying in a fire or drowning (this IS my biggest fear in life)
I feel: decent considering the lack of sleep and bad bed.
I hear: Stupid AFN commercials, the dishwasher, and Samuel trying to nap.
I smell: Some air freshener I just sprayed
I crave: a real Coke...The carbonation here isn't right. Makes everything taste funny.
I search: for my purpose after my kids are in school. I have no idea what to do with my life.
I wonder: if people really can see God in me or if I am just talking and not walking.
I regret: some of the things I have said to my friends, family, and husband.
I love: how my friends, family, and husband love me anyway.
I ache: because of the loaner bed
I care: even when I shouldn't.
I always: try and live a life pleasing to God.
I am not: able to take the stuff I use to in stride.
I believe: I am the best wife, mother, sister, daughter, cousin, and friend I can be.
I dance: when Genevieve goes to the potty...it isn't pretty :)
I sing: to my kids when they get tired.
I don't always: do everything I can.
I fight: for my family and friends
I write: as much as I can. I really like to, the kids just keep me busy sometimes.
I win: when my husband lets me...unless it is at Mario Party. That I can do on my own.
I lose: my cool when my kids are having a bad day. (I'm sorry babies...it's not your fault)
I never: want to compromise.
I confuse: a lot of people. Sometimes what I say only makes sense to me.
I listen: most of the time.
I can usually be found: around or on my cell.
I am scared: I am a bad mom and my kids will think so too.
I need: more confidence
I am happy about: finally planning both my kids a birthday party

Better Than Ice Cream!

Have you ever heard that song that goes, "Your love is better than ice cream. Better than anything else that I've tried."? Well I found out what that is for me, and it's not love (at least in this blog). I can finally tell you all that for the first time since I got pregnant with Samuel, I was able to pretty much sleep through the night. I had to get up with Genevieve a time or two, but she is much easier to deal with being able to tell me what is wrong.

The whole process started when we moved into our apartment. When I was staying in Kansas, I wasn't able to put him in his own room. So after a long day, he'd just end up in bed with me because it was easier to co-sleep than to mess with all the up and down. I didn't like the idea so much, but I was so tired I didn't care. So when we got here, we had many things to work on. We had to get use to the time change, have him start to sleep on his own, and get him to sleep through the night.

The first two were pretty easy. I was able to get us all on the time change before we left the hotel. It took us about a week, but after that we adapted, and we were good to go. Samuel was the only one that didn't really seem phased by the time change. He usually slept all night and even through the times the rest of us were up. That was one thing down.

When we moved to our apartment, for the first time ever, Samuel finally had his own room. The first night was hard, but we put him in his room to go to bed. He had gone to bed on his own (in the room I was in, but just alone) before, but never stayed alone all night. The first night he cried for what seemed like forever (probably only 30 or 45 mins). I'd go in and check on him after 20 mins or so, and it seemed to just make things worse. After 3 or 4 nights, he went to bed like a champ. I can tell when he's getting tired, and he just goes down. There is a little crying, but nothing major.

At his 9 month check up, I talked to the doctor about sleeping through the night. I was sure I could stop nursing him at night, but I just wanted to make sure. Sometimes I think my brain went out the window. I mean I have had one kid already. I should know all this stuff. Anyway, I asked the doctor about him, and she said it was fine for him to stop nursing at night.

Even though that was the answer I wanted, part of it was sad. I mean my baby is growing up very fast. It took about 2 or 3 nights for me to muster up enough courage to tackle dealing with him crying at night. I finally made up my mind it was time. I mean I knew in the end the few nights would totally be worth the few that I'd be up. So I just decided to go for it.

The first night was horrible. He was up a lot. I'd go in after a bit and get him to calm down (of course when I left it made it worse), and he'd sleep for a bit. Then after what seemed like 10 mins, we'd start all over again. I was so tired by the end of that first night, I was ready to give up. A girl on a message board I frequent told me to hang in there and not give up. She reminded me if I gave in just once, I'd have to start all over. I sure didn't want that.

Night two was much better. He was up a few times, but nothing like the night before. I could go in, pat him, and leave. He'd get really mad and cry for about a min. Then after that, he'd go to sleep. When he went back to sleep he'd sleep for a few hours at a time. It felt great.

Last night was night four. I have to say that he slept all night (from 6:45 pm to 7:45 am), and it was the best sleep I've had in awhile. It was so nice to be able to just get up once with Genevieve, get her what she told me she needed, and go right back to bed. At 7:45 I nursed him, and we both went back to sleep for another hour or so. Like I said, I hadn't slep through the night since before I got pregnant with him. That is about 18 months now. That is a long time without a full nights sleep. I hope we can keep it up because I can totally get use to this!

All You Get...

Have you ever seen those shirts that you get from those locations that everyone seems to go to or want to go? They usually say something like, "My Mom and Dad went to Disney World. All I got was this stinkin' shirt." I remember getting something like that as a kid, and I have seen that saying on post cards, shirts, buttons, and many other things. It always makes me chuckle when I see it. Well today is YOUR day! This weekend my husband and I went downtown for a Fall Festival and all you are getting is a picture of our beer mugs in my blog. Honestly if I would have remembered my camera, I would have taken pictures, but we were in a hurry that day. We also didn't take ourselves, so I couldn't just turn around. You are going to have to settle for the picture of the mugs and what you read. I promise I will be more careful about bringing my camera from now on.

Our morning went quick at the house. We woke up about 3 hours before we were to leave, but it was very busy. We decided to make a good breakfast not knowing what the day would be like. That took up a bit of time there. After we ate, we cleaned up, and got everyone ready. By that time, it was time to head out the door. We got the seats in the SUV we were going in, and we got the stroller in another person's car. They told us they were not going to drive all the way downtown because of how hard it was to find parking, and it was very expensive. We decided to go to another post that was right by a train stop.

We took the train downtown and headed down the street. It was so full. There were people everywhere. The street was narrow, and there were vendors on either side of us. I saw things for sale like baby dolls all the way to bags, glasses, wooden figures, and things like that. It was your typical stuff you would expect to see at something like this.

After a few steps down the road and passing a few booths, a wonderful aroma hit my nose. It was amazing. It made me so hungry I just had to find where it was coming from. As we passed food place after food place (none of which were producing the wonderful smell), I almost wondered if it were actually around. Then as we hit a clearing, I found it. It was a bratwurst place. They cooked different kinds of dogs, and they put them on a hard crust roll. I told my husband that is what I wanted, and he should go get me one. He emerged with the best tasting smoked sausage (it wasn't a bratwurst, but it was good anyway) I have eaten. I cannot begin to describe the party that went on in my mouth when I took a bite.

As we were eating, he spotted the beer joint right by where we were. He left to get a beer and returned with a beer and Coke in hand. I was surprised that he brought the drinks in a glass glass. In the states we are use to the paper throw away glasses that they serve us at our local drive thru. Here they are more delebrate about recycling. What you do is get the glass and a paper, coin, or something to show that you got the glass there. When you are done with the drink you bring them back. You pay a deposit for the glass when buying the drink, and when you bring it back, you get your deposit back. You don't have to take the glass back, but you don't get your deposit back either. (Hints the glasses you got a picture of)

After we were finished with the meal, we headed down the road. It was more vendors and more things to eat and see. As we neared the end of the road, you could tell there was a clearing. We pushed the stroller into the clearing and towering over us was a castel. It was amazing. Genevieve kept saying, "Look Mommy! That's where the princess lives!" She was so excited to see the castel.

After we had made it all the way down the road and back, we caught the train to head home. It was a long day, but a fun one. We were told by the people we went with that they do something like that every month. I can't wait. We might not be able to go to them every month, but it sure will be fun to catch one every now and then. Next time I promise to take a camera.