Another Day Of Spoiling

The fun continued from one party to the next! I had my awesome NY baby shower with friends and family back home and our fantastic neighbors here in Michigan threw us another great baby shower/diaper party. We’ve lived here for just a little over a year now and we have accumulated a really great “family” that is always watching out for us.

We had the baby shower with all the ladies in our home and all the men gathered at the neighbor’s house for the diaper party. It worked out perfectly and I got SO many presents (once again!) I never thought I’d be so excited to open presents for my future children and not for myself. Ha! Who knew!

Harley even wore his fancy new collar which he got as a present from the first baby shower (Thanks Aunt Addie and Uncle John!) He was lovin hanging out with all the ladies!

Granted I am now the size of a beached whale but my hostesses kept it organized and not too long which was great for me! I have zero energy these days and immediately had to nap after the party was over. I loved showing Toblerone all the new things we got and the adorable outfits people gave us. I mean…little khakis!! Can you get any cuter! The boys also got a few German-esque things geared towards their Dad’s favorite soccer team, FC Bayern Munich. Whether they like it or not, they are going to be fans 🙂

We can’t wait to read them books in English and in German and sing lullabies in both languages. It’s going to be a really fun experience to get them to be bilingual. Nothing cuter than kids speaking in German!

A rubber ducky with lederhosen! I mean….how cute is that?!

Only 8 more days until their arrival! It may take me some time to get back here to write again but lo and behold…I will be back!

Until next time, Readers!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Settling Back In To America

It’s been a minute since I actually found some time to sit down and write. Toblerone and I have been slowly re-acclimating to all things American and the process has been fun so far!

We no longer are in the company apartment (THANK THE LAWD!), purchased a new home, and moved in! Everything happened so fast – literally 2 weeks time. Check out our new digs:

 

The neighborhood we are in looks like Wisteria Lane (for you Desperate Housewives fans).  The people wave and are friendly and our direct neighbors are just incredible. It makes the world of difference to just feel like we would have someone to help us if something was wrong. In Germany, the neighbors wouldn’t even return a “Good Morning” until after 3 years! It was crazy.

I’ve already stored our Thanksgiving turkey in someone’s freezer while we waited for our fridge to arrive, and another one brought over her carbon monoxide detector after she learned we were having potential issues with our fireplace. We also got a quick visit and a bottle of wine on Thanksgiving from our other neighbors. I mean, where am I? Oh yeah…America! 🙂 But seriously, Michiganians (say that ten times fast!) are reallllllllllly nice people. We got so lucky!

I worked frantically to get two of the guest bedrooms finished for our very special guests (THE PARENTS!) I learned I forgot how to paint on walls here in the US so that took me a little bit longer than I expected! But they are mostly done. Need a few more things like end tables for one room and more pictures for both, etc. But we are ready for unexpected and expected guests alike!

 

Thanksgiving was great! My parents and Toblerone’s mom came to visit us and we had a small yet very festive Turkey Day! It was so fun to host my first Thanksgiving here in the states in our new home. I wish the entire family could have been with us but some year we will host everyone. This was definitely a scale down from doing it in Germany for 15+ people!

We went to a Christmas tree farm with my parents in search of the perfect tree. As you know, previously, my experience with Christmas trees wasn’t exactly easy for me to adjust to! At the farm we went to we didn’t bring any cameras, just our memories and it was the greatest memory I’ve had in a long time!

We put the tree together and it was really wonderful to have our parents here to be apart of the first Xmas in Michigan.

Harley is adjusting and after going through a little bit of Reactivity (Fear Aggression) from being in a completely new place, he is finally starting to be more like himself.  We are all adjusting just fine and although we miss parts of Germany, I think we are happy where we are in this moment. We are where we are supposed to be. Which reminds me of my favorite quote from Max Ehrmann’s “Desiderata”

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

The universe is unfolding as it should…profound if you can just believe it and let it.

Until next time, Readers!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

 

 

 

How Do You Really Feel?

Someone asked me the either day, “What do you not like about Germany so far?” I had to sit and think about this one because there really isn’t much! However, I did compile a list of things that I find strange or quite different from what I’m used to. This is not to say that I will not be used to these things in a few years! 

So here in no particular order:

1. Shake it!

On many occasions I have met many different people and just like the rest of the world, a hand shake to say hello is common. I made a conclusion. Women CLEARLY do not understand the importance of a good handshake! It shows confidence and in business matters, it’s your first impression. Usually the men shake with power, but every woman so far has given me the dainty-barely-touch-your-hands shake. It’s like shaking with only your fingertips like an alien. I don’t like this as I am a big believer in women going forth in the world…you’re not going anywhere with that! Put some love into it, ladies!!!

2. No Freezer?

Why would I ever want a freezer in my fridge? Oh maybe because I like ice cubes and ice cream readily accessible. Or how about when you just bought beer, vodka, or wine and need to make it cold quickly. You get my drift? Precisely. Lo and behold…..the fridge with no freezer. Thank you Germany. Well done.

Even Harley hates the idea....

It’s ok, we will spend a trillion more dollars to make our lives more complicated. Yes, I will buy a freezer…put it in another room completely so now I have to walk 5 feet to this room to get my meat. I can no longer talk about this issue. It upsets my bones.

3. Say No To Church

This is not a bash on religion – Remove panties from bunch and continue reading. Per my previous post you should all known that I’m not religious however, I’m all for people being one with the big cheese above. Like the majority of Germany, minus the travellers that have invaded, Toblerone is Catholic. I might have mentioned that our land (or 5 feet of yard) is owned by the Church and we must pay rent for our yard. Don’t even get me started on this. So, as someone not religious, I don’t see the good in this. I smell corruption! Anywho..moving on. During a drive the other day Toblerone mentioned he wanted to pull out from the Church. Que???

I guess there is some weird thing where if you are a registered Catholic, each paycheck the Church takes out 80Euro a month….people…do the math…thats 960Euro…which means $111 USD a month and $1300 USD a year, goes to the Catholic Church. STOP THE MADNESS!! THE HUMANITY!! I can’t even believe it. So, I told Toblerone to pull from the church via his paycheck and go as he pleases, as it should be. Again, I stress that I am not against religion and what they do to stay afloat…but here…it’s different.

4. Luck o’ the Irish

I’m freckled, stubborn, and a heavy drinker. You get my drift? I’m thick as blood Irish and damn proud of it! Christmas is great…Halloween is great…Cinco de Mayo is a good time too but nothing..and I mean NOTHING can compare to the greatness of St. Patrick’s Day. It’s all about commradery and competition. All wearing the same color while we see who drops to the floor first. In all seriousness, I know the real history of St. Patrick and why we made a holiday of this man. I know America in general has lost or is not educated on the true meaning of this wonderous holiday but what does it matter? The fact that everyone comes together for the same mission is fantastic!!

Deutschland…you dissapoint me. I would say 90% of this country doesn’t have a CLUE what this holiday is! So, this year I will do nothing. Nothing whatsoever and I’m hurt. I can’t possibly celebrate this day wearing only green underwear (yes…yes I did) and sipping wine on the couch. Gag me. I’m certain I will change this country. One person at a time. Rivers will be green. St. Spice is coming!!!!

5. Shhhhhhhh

It’s taking me some time to get used to the fact that people talk so LOUD here. You know when you’re hungover and even the slightest whisper makes you say, “ugh…please stop talking so loud”? Yeah…thats me…all the time. Voices are constantly echoing and inducing strange angry headaches. Not only are they loud but it sounds like they are yelling!!

6. Cha-Ching

Debit Cards, Credit Cards, plastic of any kind…there’s no place for you here! Many times when I first arrived I tried to pay for lunch/dinner/what have you with my cute little red credit card and it was declined. Words were yelled said and the wallet they arrive at your table with was waved back and forth. When you go out to dinner here, the waitress will come to your table tell you how much it all was and wait for you to hand her the cash right then and there. Oh and tipping? Barely exists. You give 26Euro cents, no more than 1Euro. Crazy right?

So this will conclude my “things I don’t like” list but I still feel this as a list that I’m not used to yet. It’s just different and maybe in some cases the better way of life. I just haven’t figured that out yet! Tomorrow is the 2 week mark. Can’t believe how fast it has gone!

xoxoxo