A Ball Of Pink Fluff

I thought I would always be a boy mom but the Universe had one last big surprise for me and granted me the most beautiful little ball of pink fluff and tulle! She literally arrived wearing a pink tutu, I swear!

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our German-American family

 Aurelia Margaret-June

 

Is she just not the most stunning thing ever?! No really, even the nurses at the hospital took her from me to go show her off to the other nurses. And others came in to get a peek of “The Most Beautiful Baby on the Floor!” #proudmommoment

 

I tell everyone I worked really hard on her considering she almost took my life those first 6 months of pregnancy. Seriously, the sickest I have ever been and for the longest period of time that I can remember. IT. WAS. AWFUL. Our parents are literally angels walking this crusty earth because the Mother-in-law came and stayed for several weeks and literally the day she left, my mom arrived and took over for forever. I could not get out of bed, I was throwing up 5 or more times a day, I rarely ate anything outside of rice, oyster crackers, and toast. Wouldn’t recommend doing that again but knowing myself, I’ll do it 4 more times! (HA! Kidding…maybe…?!?!?)

 

Anyways, her hair is out of this world and sticks straight up. It cannot be tamed and I hope that speaks to her personality once she’s able to show it a bit more. She sleeps through the night with one feeding at 4am and she’s quite literally the easiest baby ALIVE! I honestly, do not know how I even survived the twins. In all seriousness, that was the most difficult thing I had ever done in my life and I am surprised I made it out alive without too many scars.

 

So what’s in a name?

Aurelia – meaning “Golden” (Obviously, she is the golden child! She can do no wrong!)

The story behind this name is quite simple actually. Before there was ever a breath of Toblerone I watched a movie and one of the characters was named, Aurelia. I knew at that moment that this would be my daughter’s name should I ever have one. I’ve been holding on to this since 2003. Literally, right after I graduated high school. (Hint: I’m almost 35 so that should tell you how long I’ve held onto this.) For anyone who has seen the movie, Love Actually, the girl that plays opposite of Colin Firth is the “Aurelia.”

 

Margaret – In honor of Toblerone’s beloved Oma who we lost when we arrived home after seeing her over Christmas in 2015. She was such a strong woman who was extremely intelligent and I hope Aurelia takes that quality from her.

June – In honor of my sweet, sweet Grandma who we lost in 2013. She was this nurturing bundle of wit and I hope Aurelia gets her sense of humor and compassion.

You’ll be seeing the likes of this little lady often on here. I make no apologies! Now off to get in my baby snuggles before she grows again!!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

A Newborn Photo Shoot

As painful as it was to go through this after 10 days of being home with twin boys, I’m so glad we did. A photo shoot to remember all the itsy bitsy pieces of our precious boys! We arrived at 10:00am and didn’t leave until about 4:00pm!!! LONGGGGG Day!

Without further ado….take a look at some of the beautiful images captured! (I’m a little biased of course!)

I mean…how could I not?!?! 🙂

 

Hope you liked them! Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxo

Off To Italy We Go! (Part One)

I finally have a moment to share with you all our Easter trip to Italy this past April with Toblerone’s family. I was just looking through the pictures again and I am have a serious withdrawl. Looks like we need to plan another trip! (Hear that Toblerone…:-))

We left the house so early it was still dark out. I normally hate mornings that start off like that but we were all just SO excited about this trip that I could have left any time of the day and would have been ok with that! 6 hours of driving on the Autobahn and finally up into the Alps and on very curvy roads. It was a beautiful sunny day for traveling and we arrived in the early afternoon to our hotel, Alpen Tesitin…also known as, Heaven.

 

Since there were six of us (Toblerone and I, his parents, his brother and sister-in-law) we took two cars up. One car (ahem…his parents) took the wrong exit so naturally while we waited I plopped myself down in the lobby and allowed myself to be waited on. A fresh glass of Italian red wine would do the trick!

 

We also checked out our room. I just love the way that they make up the beds. I mean…how cute is this?! With our little spa robes and slippers. Just perfect! For those that don’t know, this is a typical Alpine Hotel and the room decorations show it. Really quaint and adorable. This hotel is quite modern but they definitely tried to keep the appeal of the Alpine style.

 

Every day they place out a “lunch” snack of sorts. They had a large salad bar (much better than in the states), cold salads, hot soups, and of course….CAKES!!!!!

Complete heaven…is it not?!?!

As we got settled in, we got ourselves situated. The Germans in the sun, per usual, and I wandering around checking out the “grounds.”

 

Eventually, I couldn’t take it anymore so I headed down to the pool and eventually into the spa. Yes, you know the kind of spa I’m talking about. The NAKED SPA!!!! My favorite!

 

This pool connected to the outside pool with a view. I could sit out there forever just staring at the view. WiFi was limited so it really was great to “disconnect” and just be in the moment. I think we definitely needed this to recharge!

More on the trip later!! I’ve got lots more to share with you all! 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

Spice Gets Married (AGAIN!)

Don’t let the title fool you. Two weddings, same man, under 2 years 🙂 Yup! Thats how life works sometimes when you are in a multi-cultural relationship like ours. I got double the wedding fun! And ever so fitting is that in 10 days we will be celebrating our 2nd year anniversary from our first wedding. A lot of people have asked us which day will we celebrate and the answer is both! Something German for our October 26th anniversary and something American for our August 18th anniversary. We’re lucky enough to have two awesome days to remember…why not celebrate both! 🙂

Hit play on the video below and listen to the song I walked down the aisle too. This song is more of a party song from the 80’s early 90’s but this version lets you actually hear the lyrics. It was beautiful and made a bunch of us cry! Even Toblerone! But how cute is it that a man that has been with me for 6 years, married for 2 would still cry when he sees me walking down the aisle. Beautiful moments all around, people!

During the past two years I have had MANY expats ask me about the wedding planning process from 3,000 miles away. You want my advice? DONT. DO. IT.  Not only did things come out a bit differently than if I had actual time to do things but the amount of stress compressed into the few days before the wedding is just not healthy. Weddings are stressful but imagine seeing your decorations and things you ordered online for the first time one week before the wedding day. If I had a month to go home and organize all wedding things, I would have in a heartbeat. It would have saved us all from combustion!

We held our wedding in a house we rented for the week in Cape Cod, MA. It was the most beautiful setting for our wedding day. It wasn’t on the beach but I didn’t really want that necessarily. We just wanted it to be in our favorite place on earth.

We had over 65 guests and every single person there came from out of state or out of country. Think about that for a minute. 65 people (including kidlets) that came for this moment. This special day. It’s this kind of feeling that just can’t be described but that fact that our destination wedding pulled in that amount of love and friendship was just jaw dropping. We were speechless.

My darling cousin did my hair and makeup and surprise!!!!!!…… My dress is PINK! Wouldn’t want it any other way! We took wedding pictures at the gorgeous Mass Audubon Nature park and wildlife sanctuary. It was a perfect spot. We had the ocean, we had sand, we had forests, we had ponds. So many different cool aspects for a great backdrop. One would even say magical.

It was 78 degress, sunny (hot in a massive dress), slight seabreeze, and little tiny bugs just LOVED getting up in between the layers of pink tulle I was wearing! My groom looked crazy handsome in his blue suit specially bought in Germany. Our wedding party looked fantastic! It all turned out well considering this was all primarily discussed through email before hand. Everyone looked perfect for the part!

The morning of our wedding I woke up around 7am and asked Toblerone to walk with me around the yard to take it all in. That was the one and only moment of “calm” that I felt! lol…but I suppose thats normal! Everything was slowly getting set up and we had lemonade and iced tea set up for our guests as they arrived. They got “fan” programs, noise makers, some got rice butterflies to throw in honor of our grandparents who were looking down on us.

Alot of what I did was DIY. I found a bunch of templates online and the real deal of it is…no one cares about the paper products at a wedding. The name cards, escort cards, programs, all of that gets thrown out or drinks spilled over it. I knew that going in so I did ALL of that myself. Even our invitations. I found a lot of great stuff over at weddingchicks.com. But doing a simple search for “templates” is very helpful! Don’t spend a dime on stuff if you don’t have to!

The ceremony was perfect and personal. Private and intimate. Everything we wanted. AND…done in two languages thanks to our very good friend who did the whole ceremony for us. Just perfect! We had a “stone and time capsule” ceremony.  On each seat we placed gold painted stones that each person was instructed to hold tightly and say a blessing, prayer, wish, and simply put their love and energy in to while Toblerone’s Dad and brother serenaded us with a trumpet duet. These stones were collected and placed into a box with wine and a love letter for us to open on our first anniversary. This was my absolute favorite part of the whole ceremony.

The reception started off with me sobbing basically while I thanked everyone for coming all this way just for little old us. Our Cape Cod Clambake was fantastic and people raved about the meal. It was a lot of food and for a great price. More importantly kind of fun! I literally was cracking a lobster in my wedding gown. I highly recommend it!

As for the music, I did it all myself. I spent WEEKS….no make that MONTHS working on a playlist long enough to keep the crowd going! I used an app on my phone called Wedding DJ which was great through all the testing but suddenly stopped working by cocktail hour. Thankfully I had the playlists on my computer in iTunes and we used that the rest of the night. I never left the dance floor. For some reason I felt like if the bride was on the dance floor…people would always dance. No one wants to leave the bride alone up there! Right?! I also didn’t have a sip of alcohol. I was sober through the COMPLETE thing! It was awesome! 🙂 Nothing classy about a drunk bride!

The party ended around 2am and I ended the night with two of my best friends in my bed talking about the day and life in general while Toblerone hung out with the late-late night crew in the tent. Catching up and just loving the moment. It was the most stressful day of my life and I would NEVER do it again but it was the greatest thing in the world to have everyone we love there (and a few missing!).

So again for all other expats out there planning a wedding from afar…take the time to sort out the big stuff as best as you can and be prepared for nothing and everything to go wrong on your special day. I received one piece of advice from everyone and that was “Just enjoy the day.” But as a perfectionist, that’s impossible and I wish I could have enjoyed it more. Looking back at it now though, I wouldn’t have changed a thing! Wouldn’t be our story if it wasn’t a little bit crazy and out of hand!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

 

Counting Down The Days

We can almost count on two hands the days we have left here in Germany. It’s been slightly hectic but not too much that it feels as if everything is spiraling out of control. I’ve been packing to keep me busy since I left my job at the end of July. The wedding came and went and now here we are. Next chapter! Just like that!

I’ve been actively searching for homes and there is a massive amount to choose from! Our Realtor sent me over almost 90 properties to start sorting through a while back and we’ve finally figured out what we are looking for. Location is key for work and also easy to get to stores, city, etc. And my number one main “must-have” is a fence for our dearest Harley Noodle Jones Butt Butt. I just want to be able to let him outside so he can run free around his “own space.”  Waterfront is also ideal but not a necessary factor at the moment since there are so many lakes around us!

Today Harley and I ventured out to our favorite spot, “The Butterfly Field” and through the woods…which is also a mansion for ticks and other such things! He had a little bit of a photo shoot and loved all the snacks he was getting! Living it up in the place we called home the last three and a half years.

There are many new houses being built directly behind us blocking our entire bedroom and bathroom windows. In a year from now, our house won’t be the home we once had. This town won’t be what it once was. Things are changing, people are coming and going and that’s just how life is!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxo

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Window

I just love this picture. Flying home from the US back to Germany. Got a glimpse of Switzerland as she wakes up in the early morning with her blanket of fog still covering her up. Snug as a Switz in a rug!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxo

Our Christmas Break In The US

We’ve made it back to Germany after spending 2 weeks in the US with family. It was INCREDIBLE! I don’t know what was so different this time but for some reason I was way more relaxed and not so stressed out. I was feeling like I had seen everyone enough and wasn’t rushing around trying to get things done like I usually am. I sort of just let it all happen the way it should. Maybe that is my queue to stop being such a organized snob and live a little bit more spontaneous like I used to do many moons ago!

Our trip was packed full of fun things! Even a surprise bridal shower for me!!! Naturally, I didn’t know about it so I didn’t bring the camera. Sadly, I don’t have many pictures to document it but I promise, it really happened!! It was great to have a few of my favorite people in one place. I felt like a princess!

Christmas is for me the best when I am at home with my mom. I never want to have Christmas anywhere else. She just makes everything feel so homey and she’s the best gift giver!!

Christmas morning…or…afternoon actually!

My stocking contents! Santa knows me well!

Tobes got Cape Cod Beer Tap Markers!

Hanging out in my penguin onesie!

Entering nostalgia land, we went to see the Lights on the Lake (bunch of Christmas lights set up on a drive through portion of a park. Beautiful!) And it’s still as exciting as it was when I was a little girl.

And mom got us all tickets to see DISNEY ON ICE!!!!! Freak out moment! I was so excited I wanted to curl up and cry! I used to LOVE going to see the Ice Capades when I was a little girl and I got to go again!

We spent New Years at home drinking adult Rootbeer floats and playing monopoly which ended up being a great idea!

And Toblerone got to hang out in the jacuzzi (just like home) and played soccer where the dude literally was smiling non-stop for 2 hours. Something I have never seen him do when he plays soccer in Germany. It was so sweet!

All in all, we had a blast! We made a pact that we would fill each day with things to do no matter how minor and we did just that! I hope you all had a great Holiday season and your New Year is off to a great start 🙂

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

The Most Gorgeous Town In Germany

Now and again I browse through my travel board on Pinterest and I come across pictures of places that I know must be in the area. The greatest part about where I live, I’m surrounded by Switzerland, France, and Austria. Literally, just a short drive away. Ahhh the greatness of being an expat! One of the pictures that recently caught my eye was of a town called Rothenburg ob der Tauber:

I did a little more research and found out it was a touristy area but for many reasons. I usually try to avoid those type of places but there was so much about this place that was drawing me in. Documents date back to the year 950 for this town which is just mind blowing! There is a town wall that goes around the entire village which makes you feel like you’re going back in time.

This town has incredible museums which Toblerone and I loved! We started off at the Christmas Museum made our way to the Medieval Museum, and ended with the Doll & Toy museum. Because I loved these places so much and I took so many pictures, I decided to split this blog up a bit. So today, I’m sharing with you just the quaint little town.

Thanks to our good friend wikipedia.org I learned this town has been the stage for many movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2. I mean, walking through this place felt like I was walking through a movie. Or another time. It just didn’t feel real.

I’m not sure where these little balls of joy came about but the Schneeballchen (snow balls) are special for this area. I wanted to say they were like fried dough but it’s more like a fortune cookie in a giant ball of yarn form. Toblerone got a nuss-nougat and I a chocolate filled one. Nothing to be excited about. I would never get them again and I think that’s the consensus from most that have tried them.

There were souvenir shops all over the place selling over priced Christmas decorations,ornaments, and of course beer steins. Cute to see but nothing I would be willing to open my wallet for! But pass the tourists, through the streets of quaint little shops came suddenly the place I was searching for. The reason I drove over 200 kilometers. The house from the picture. Sadly it was a cold, gray day but nonetheless. Still really cool to see. One of those moments you say to yourself, “check!”

This place was very quickly made my top favorite town in Germany. There is more history than I can even wrap my head around and full of Christmas shops which are open year round. I found my heaven at last!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxo

Crazy Famous Germans

We know of the big ones like Albert Einstein, Beethoven, or Anne Frank but sometimes there are a few famous Germans who slip through the cracks! I’m here to enlighten you on the famous Germs who are still alive and kickin today! And since Halloween is right around the corner, maybe some of these will be your inspiration!!

Karl Lagerfeld
No one knows when he was really born but the assumption is somewhere between 1933-1938. Regardless, the dude is old. A German who is a staple to the fashion industry working for Chanel and Fendi as well as front running his own label. This dude actually changed his name, originally Lagerfeldt (with a “t) to Lagerfeld (without a “t”) because the latter sounded more commercial. Oh boy.

As far as we know, he’s not married but would prefer to marry his cat if it was legal. He’s not really setting the stage in a soft light for the Germans. lol…he’s a bit of a pill! But a German nonetheless! And I just found this picture of him with his glasses off! YIKES! But did anyone else notice how his “eyes” are still on the sunglasses in his hands. Look and you’ll see what I mean!

Harald Glööckler
I don’t even know where to begin with this guy. I don’t even know why he’s famous and I actually had to do some serious research to figure out his name. Originally I had him listed here as “chocolate dude with make up” for my notes. That doesn’t give me a lot! So, after reading a bit more about him. This is what I learned. Thank you wikipedia.de!!

Apparently this guy was the inspiration behind Sasha Cohen’s “Brüno.” Now I didn’t see the movie myself but I heard it was pretty risqué…so, now it all starts to come together! He’s a German fashion designer however, I’ve never see his stuff and quite frankly…I would NEVER buy from someone this whack!! Plus he has his own chocolate pralines!! Oh lord…

Dieter Thomas Kuhn
You’ve seen my post about him and his fake chest hair and shiny bell bottoms. To read up on him again click here.

Heidi Klum
We all know her. Who doesn’t?! She’s a wild thing! And it’s always fun to watch her host on Germany’s Next Top Model. I feel like she’s a totally different person when she’s in her homeland and speaking in her native tongue. Nonetheless, this spunky lady makes it on the crazy list!

Daniela Katzenberger
Playboy bunny material with her bleach blonde hair and large chest. She has her own show and its actually super entertaining. She’s funny and real which I enjoy. I think she plays the dumb blonde sometimes but she really is pretty intelligent, in my opinion. She’s a nude model…sooo….shes liked by all sorts!

Uto Lindenberg
I’m not exactly sure how this guy became famous. He sounds like a chain smoker when he sings…probably because he is. But back in the day he was a stud with the ladies and made loads of money. Now, he does a few appearances from time to time and doesn’t own a home. He lives in a hotel, probably for the housekeeping and bar!

Know of any other Germans that you think should be added to the list?!? Leave your pick in the comments below!

Until next time, Readers!!! Xoxoxoxoxoxo

This One Is For You, Grammy

Yesterday, I arrived back in Germany after a short unplanned trip in the US. Some of you may have figured it out by reading my facebook blog page and the rest of you know me personally and knew that way, but for those of you who do not know…I lost my grandmother. My beautiful, witty, kind-hearted, Grammy at 81 years old. It was something that happened kind of suddenly and I didn’t get a chance to really tell her goodbye. Which I’m ok with. I have these great memories of her in my mind and I want to keep it that way.

I started this blog for one reason and that was to share with my family about my travels here. The blog grew and I now I have followers around the world which is incredible but today’s post I’m going back to the root of it all. While I was home and after the calling hours my cousins and siblings sat around the “kids table” and we told stories of Grammy. This for me was really special. So for my family, for my Grammy (if she can figure out how to use the internet up there in heaven), I wanted to share some of my memories and stories.

Just to give you an idea of my relationship with my Grandma, I lived with her for about 1 year, I think (correct me if I’m wrong, Mom) while we were changing locations and moving into a new house. I was with my Grandma EVERY DAY for that time period and it was fantastic. Some of the most colorful and greatest memories are from that time.

1. Handling awkward situations with grace
When I was about 4 or 5 years old I remember sitting in the dining room with Grams and I said quite matter of factly, “Grandma, you are fat.” Cut me some slack. I was young and didn’t know back then that it was a mean thing to say! And my grandmother replied quite simply back to me with, “I prefer the word ‘plump'” and she smiled at me with her sweet smile and let my comment roll right off her back. She wasn’t actually that heavy! She was just Grams! Snuggly and such!

2. Protecting the world from illnesses
I was one of those sickly kids. Constantly had some kind of illness I was carrying around. Well, during one particular sickness, my Grandma had to take me out in the world while she ran some errands. I remember going to the bank and sweating to death in my car seat. She had bundled me up in my onesie snow suit, complete with the hood up over my head. It was a warm sunny day and as we pulled up through the bank drive through Grandma did her business and said what she needed done to the bank teller. The woman behind the window saw a mass of purple move in the backseat. With shock in her eyes she asked my Grandma if I could have a lollipop. Grams replied, “Oh most certainly not, she’s too sick for sweets!”

3. Waiting ages for world wonders
A couple years ago we had found out that Grandma had Parkinson’s and also Dementia. It was hard to see her getting smaller and that in some ways, she was no longer there. This past summer in June she was visiting all us kids at my mom’s house. For years, she loved when we would sing and play piano for her (we’re like the Partridge family with better style). My sister who is an incredible classical music piano player usually didn’t feel like playing whenever anyone asked her. Grandma always asked to hear her play something but musical geniuses are finicky like that. This one summer day after lunch my sister offered to Grandma that she would play a few songs for her. Grammy’s eyes opened wide and she said in her usual wit we had been missing, “Well….wonders never cease!” It was just hysterical. For that one moment, we had her back.

4. Dementia may take some things but it would never take her wit!
Grandma has a birthday at the end of August a few days after me. This year I called her to wish her a happy birthday. I was talking away and said, “Grammy! Happy Birthday!! Make sure you celebrate!” and with her usual funny responses she said, “Well how many do I have to have?!” That was the last time I got to talk to her and I’m so glad I got to hear yet again, a piece of who she truly was.

5. Nurse June
Whenever I’m sick or Toblerone isn’t feeling well I use the old ways of healing that I learned from Grandma, passed through my mom, and now to me. Grandma was the greatest nurse. I was always sick when I was little, like I said, and when I lived with her I made sure I used up most of my sick days with her. She would crush up ice for me to suck on and swish coke back and forth between two cups to take out the fizz for me to sip on. I swear, it cures whatever ails you and I can’t wait until one day when I have children of my own so I can take care of them just like she did with me.

6. Old movies are all gems
I have this ridiculous love for old movies. Grammy had this great collection of old musicals that we would watch over and over again. Anytime a movie came on TNT she would have to tape it. There are a million VHS tapes in her house. The classics like Easter Parade, Meet Me in St. Louis, and my favorite The Harvey Girls. I’m so glad my Grandma introduced me to this old world. I loved sitting with her and watching the girls twirl in their gorgeous dresses and sing about a time I will never get to experience. And to this day, I can’t understand people who don’t have a collection of these movies at home to share with their family.

7. Pucker Up
This is story from my mom but I just think it is so classic Grandma that it needs to be shared. The last week that she was in the hospital she was sleeping mostly. My mom would go and sit with her and take care of her. Grandma’s lips were a little dry from lack of fluids so my mom wanted to put chapstick on her. Well, my mom needed her to pucker up a little bit so she said, “Mom, I’m going to put your lipstick on ya.” And Grams puts out her lips and waits for her “lipstick” to be applied. Still down to one of the last days of her life, she was still concerned about looking good and presentable. Grammy always had lipstick on! This was just hysterical to me.

8. Bunch of Bologna
Every time I went to Grammy’s house the first thing I did was walk to her fridge. Without fail, she ALWAYS had German Wunderbar Bologna. Which looking back is kind of funny since I live in Germany now and that kind of bologna does not exist! I would open the fridge, open up the deli store bag and go to town on about half the package. I would eat her out of house and home and it didn’t matter to her. She wanted to fatten us right up! And if we wanted to have a sandwich, she always had Potato bread. No matter what kind of sandwich we made, she always made sure to butter the bread first. Such an Irish gal!

I realize none of these stories would be funny to a majority of you since most of you didn’t have the privilege of knowing her. I’m so proud that she is living on in many things I do. We shared a passion for genealogy, old movies, and helping others. Before she left us I kept willing her in my heart to “please just stay here”…but now I think I’ve finally found peace knowing that she can finally be herself again. I left her a letter of love and a piece of my baby blanket and a piece of my wedding gown. She was there from my first moments as a baby and I know now that she will be there on my wedding day. I miss her so deeply but somehow am looking forward to the day I get to be with her again. To get to hear her say, “I love you ducky” once again.

Until next time, Grammy. xoxoxoxoxo