Well, it seems that we are finally getting what we wanted, just not how we wanted it or when we wanted it or as smoothly as we wanted it, but we rarely ever get what we want in life anyway, right?
We have known our time in Germany was coming to a close for awhile, but we just didn't know when it would be. Originally, we were supposed to stay here until November. Then we were told July, then we were told March and then July again. After we found out we were having twins, we knew we needed to have a concrete moving date because you can't exactly just fly across the world when you are 36 weeks pregnant with twins like you can when you are pregnant with 1 baby. During the height of my all day sickness in late January, we were told that we needed to move back to the States in March, giving me about 3 weeks to get the house ready to be packed and because we have to move again 5 months after we move to the States, we would be moving again about 2 days after my due date. That wasn't going to work. So we moved heaven and earth to try to get a different move date.
After tons of paperwork and way too much drama, we finally did get a different date date, and even the date we wanted. So here is the plan: The kids and I are moving back to the States in about 3 weeks. We will go back to CA and stay with my parents until after the twins are born and after M is done with this next assignment next year.
Before everyone starts speculating and talking, let me explain a few things, just to squash the inevitable rumors:
1) Our marriage is not in trouble. We are just fine, I promise. There's no need to send us inspirational emails or books on marriage. Yes, we are making a choice to be separated, but we aren't separated.
2) We are doing this purely because of logistics. M can't leave Germany until June and by then, I'll either be way too pregnant to move, in any sense of the word, or worst case, I could be holding my 2 precious babies instead of gestating them. I can't fly past the end of April, given my history of preterm labor and (EARMUFFS, boys!) early dilation, so I need to go now. I don't want to spend 2 months alone at M's next assignment with 2 kids, waiting for him to get there, so that is why we are going to CA.
3) CA is our best option for numerous reasons. The kids have a fantastic doctor there, there is a team of specialists who know and understand our history of GI problems should one or both of these babies have the same problems, W loves the preschool there and I'm sure CB will too, and can we say LIVE IN HELP?! Um, yeah. There you go.
4) This decision did not come lightly or on a whim. We have talked about this and agonized over it since the day we found out we were having twins. I am completely at peace with it, as is M. I mean, there are a few things that bother me, like I'll be missing out on Cracker Barrel and Braums, but I will be in the land of In-n-Out and REAL Mexican food (I'm just gonna say it, TexMex is NOT Mexican food, sorry!) We are going to be ok. M can fly in to see us on his long weekends and we will be able to call each other whenever we want to. Now that is a strange idea given the fact that we just went through 15 months of once every 3 week phone calls and once a week emails.
There is so much to do in the next few weeks though. The movers aren't coming until after the kids and I are gone, so I have to have the house organized by what I want in what boxes. I don't want to open up our boxes when we pull them from storage in 10 months and find the bathroom mats in with the kitchen dishes or the extra office supplies packed with the garden hose. And because all of our house hold goods are going into storage for 10 months, I need to have all of the curtains, cushions and mats washed and perfectly folded before they get boxed up. Not to mention that the customs dude is so anal that there can't be a speck of dirt on any shoe, flower pot or outdoor toy that you pack, so all of those have to be cleaned and the holes in the wall have to be filled... and the walls have to be painted... and I need to sort out what we are going to take to CA and what is going to be packed... and go through all of the baby stuff...
As much as I'm going to miss living in Germany, I'm excited to come home. I'm ready to have options where to grocery shop and be able to get my hair and nails done on a regular basis. Ok, that is SO not going to happen with twins coming. What am I thinking? Now comes the really big decision: Do I want an iPhone or a Blackberry???
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
on the homefront
CB's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and her present arrived yesterday. I got her the Fisher Price My First Dollhouse and all of the fun accessories. She was so excited when she got it and her eyes lit up like never before. This is really the first time her dad and I have gotten her her "own" toy. She normally just shares everything with W, but she was really ready to play with something else besides trucks and train tracks.
After I had opened up the three thousand packages that came with this thing and had untied the ninety million twisty ties, she immediately went to work setting up the house and putting everything where she thought it should go. Once she had the rooms set up, she put the mom in bed and the dad in the kitchen. She told me the mom was sick and the dad was doing the dishes. Um... oops? 3 months ago I'm pretty sure she would have put the mom in the kitchen because that is where I was all the time, but since I have spent the past 12 weeks laying on my fat butt, she now thinks that moms just lay down all day. I am not setting a very good example, am I?
In my defense, I am getting better. I had a great day yesterday, even made gumbo (from scratch!) for dinner and took the kids outside to play. But then I spent this morning laying on the floor in front of an open door to get some air between crawling to the fridge and microwave to get the kids their breakfast and whatever else their little hearts desired. I did finally get anti nausea meds, BUT, we are pretty sure the instructions say you have to take them with food and you have to chew them-- 2 things that aren't really possible when you want to do nothing but puke your guts out so they aren't really working for me! I'd go for the regular "American" anti nausea meds, but those make me sicker so I guess I have to suck it up and tough it out.
I know I am back to being a slacker. I tend to go in spurts; 3 days of being good about communicating and then a week or more of not. My average time for returning an email this spurt is 10 days and that is really not acceptable but it is what it is. We have so much going on right now, from trying to get the house organized and ready to pack should the Army ever give us a move date to trying to get CB's evaluations for Occupational and Physical Therapy for her sensory issues and her motor skill development done ASAP. The evaluations require me to clean the house like a madwoman because the Therapists come to our house and I don't want them to judge me. W has taken to waking up at exactly 5:13 every morning so by the time the kids go to bed and I have a second to sit and relax and/ or catch up with the people who live in my computer, the fatigue and heartburn kick in and then I just sit and groan all night about how miserable I am. M is so totally in love with me right now, it isn't even funny.
The good news is that I can officially say that the snow is gone and it is warming up! Let's just pray that we don't have one of those "Late winter freak snowstorms" anytime soon.
After I had opened up the three thousand packages that came with this thing and had untied the ninety million twisty ties, she immediately went to work setting up the house and putting everything where she thought it should go. Once she had the rooms set up, she put the mom in bed and the dad in the kitchen. She told me the mom was sick and the dad was doing the dishes. Um... oops? 3 months ago I'm pretty sure she would have put the mom in the kitchen because that is where I was all the time, but since I have spent the past 12 weeks laying on my fat butt, she now thinks that moms just lay down all day. I am not setting a very good example, am I?
In my defense, I am getting better. I had a great day yesterday, even made gumbo (from scratch!) for dinner and took the kids outside to play. But then I spent this morning laying on the floor in front of an open door to get some air between crawling to the fridge and microwave to get the kids their breakfast and whatever else their little hearts desired. I did finally get anti nausea meds, BUT, we are pretty sure the instructions say you have to take them with food and you have to chew them-- 2 things that aren't really possible when you want to do nothing but puke your guts out so they aren't really working for me! I'd go for the regular "American" anti nausea meds, but those make me sicker so I guess I have to suck it up and tough it out.
I know I am back to being a slacker. I tend to go in spurts; 3 days of being good about communicating and then a week or more of not. My average time for returning an email this spurt is 10 days and that is really not acceptable but it is what it is. We have so much going on right now, from trying to get the house organized and ready to pack should the Army ever give us a move date to trying to get CB's evaluations for Occupational and Physical Therapy for her sensory issues and her motor skill development done ASAP. The evaluations require me to clean the house like a madwoman because the Therapists come to our house and I don't want them to judge me. W has taken to waking up at exactly 5:13 every morning so by the time the kids go to bed and I have a second to sit and relax and/ or catch up with the people who live in my computer, the fatigue and heartburn kick in and then I just sit and groan all night about how miserable I am. M is so totally in love with me right now, it isn't even funny.
The good news is that I can officially say that the snow is gone and it is warming up! Let's just pray that we don't have one of those "Late winter freak snowstorms" anytime soon.
Friday, February 20, 2009
i live in a snow globe
It is true. I officially live in a snow globe. A snow globe from hell, that the devil likes to play with when he is bored and needs to get some kicks by torturing the people who live in it. Just when we were seeing signs of spring-- BAM-- we get hit with a 3 week snow storm that will. not. stop. This is not of God. My God would not do this to the people he loves. Godly snow is pretty and melts after a few days, it is inviting and makes you want to go out and play in it. This snow just sucks. It sucks so bad that it won't even stick so you can make a snowman out of it. It just sits there and accumulates.
We do have a few minutes of reprieve here and there but when it isn't snowing, it is freezing. Not like, "oh, it is cold outside" freezing. No, literally FREEZING. 7 degrees, if we are lucky. It is so cold that even the kids refuse to go outside to get in the car. The second I open the door, they simply shake their heads and say no and turn around to get back under their blankets on the couch. "Ice is for penguins, mommy. I am not a penguin." is something I hear on an hourly basis from W. That and, "Snow is for polar bears. I am not a polar bear." He is a smart kid and definitely my beach baby.
I promise you that if this snow lasts much longer, the majority of us stationed here are going to go out of our minds. This should be considered a hardship tour and we should get a heck of a lot more money for living here than we do. I have decided that if you are stationed where we are, you should automatically get Hawaii as your next duty station for a minimum of 3 years. It is really the least they could do for us. My toes are permanently frozen and my skin is so dry that I look like a snake. It is really not attractive and really quite uncomfortable. If I have to be peeling, I'd much rather be peeling from having a sunburn... just sayin.
We do have a few minutes of reprieve here and there but when it isn't snowing, it is freezing. Not like, "oh, it is cold outside" freezing. No, literally FREEZING. 7 degrees, if we are lucky. It is so cold that even the kids refuse to go outside to get in the car. The second I open the door, they simply shake their heads and say no and turn around to get back under their blankets on the couch. "Ice is for penguins, mommy. I am not a penguin." is something I hear on an hourly basis from W. That and, "Snow is for polar bears. I am not a polar bear." He is a smart kid and definitely my beach baby.
I promise you that if this snow lasts much longer, the majority of us stationed here are going to go out of our minds. This should be considered a hardship tour and we should get a heck of a lot more money for living here than we do. I have decided that if you are stationed where we are, you should automatically get Hawaii as your next duty station for a minimum of 3 years. It is really the least they could do for us. My toes are permanently frozen and my skin is so dry that I look like a snake. It is really not attractive and really quite uncomfortable. If I have to be peeling, I'd much rather be peeling from having a sunburn... just sayin.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
psa for oprah's guests
I don't know why Oprah has moved to having her "guests" chat with her via Skype. Has she gone broke? Can she not afford to fly people to her show anymore? I mean, I understand being all "with the times" and stuff, but really? Skype?? It is so annoying to me and I personally can't stand it. The picture quality is horrible, the sound is bad... the only slightly redeeming thing about this new feature of the show is that it can be fun to look at what is in the rooms that the people decide to set up their camera in. People have some pretty weird stuff on their walls... Honestly though, Oprah, is it really necessary to inform us that, "Boaz is joining us today from his kitchen." Um, would there be a giant subzero fridge in any other room? Thanks for making this clear for me. I was wondering what room they were in.
As annoying as all of that is, the number one peeve I have with the overuse of Skype on her show is the position the people place the webcam for their interview. I don't want to look up your nose or at your crotch! DO NOT put your freaking laptop on the coffee table and then sit, most often in a reclined position, on your couch! All I see is stuff that I could have gone my entire life without seeing. It's like someone bending over in front of you of your face while you are sitting down, but way worse. Gross. For real, gross.
How do you not realize that you look a carnival special when the camera is not at the same level as your face? Why not put the laptop on a stack of books and then turn on the camera? Why not put it on a desk and then sit on a low chair? Do you think it is attractive to have the top of your head appear to be 6 inches narrower than your jawline? Do you not see that your hands look like they are 3x the size of your face? It is not aesthetically pleasing!
Here is the PSA of the day: People who join Oprah from their kitchens or living rooms or wherever via Skype, please, for the love of God, position your camera so I don't have to see your family jewels and/or the treasures in your nose. PLEEEEEEEASE! And if you insist on placing your webcam lower than your face, then at least pull your pants down before you sit so there isn't "bunchage" or "pulling" where there really shouldn't be and blow your nose a couple of times before you go live. The rest of the world would greatly appreciate it.
As annoying as all of that is, the number one peeve I have with the overuse of Skype on her show is the position the people place the webcam for their interview. I don't want to look up your nose or at your crotch! DO NOT put your freaking laptop on the coffee table and then sit, most often in a reclined position, on your couch! All I see is stuff that I could have gone my entire life without seeing. It's like someone bending over in front of you of your face while you are sitting down, but way worse. Gross. For real, gross.
How do you not realize that you look a carnival special when the camera is not at the same level as your face? Why not put the laptop on a stack of books and then turn on the camera? Why not put it on a desk and then sit on a low chair? Do you think it is attractive to have the top of your head appear to be 6 inches narrower than your jawline? Do you not see that your hands look like they are 3x the size of your face? It is not aesthetically pleasing!
Here is the PSA of the day: People who join Oprah from their kitchens or living rooms or wherever via Skype, please, for the love of God, position your camera so I don't have to see your family jewels and/or the treasures in your nose. PLEEEEEEEASE! And if you insist on placing your webcam lower than your face, then at least pull your pants down before you sit so there isn't "bunchage" or "pulling" where there really shouldn't be and blow your nose a couple of times before you go live. The rest of the world would greatly appreciate it.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
observations
According to W:
Fish don't talk.
He is a bear, not a horse. Horses have tails and he doesn't have a tail.
The Second Hand on the clock is the one that moves fast. The First Hand is the big one that moves slow. (It took me a couple of seconds to get that one... I had no idea he knew what "first" and "second" even were.)
This kid is really starting to blow my mind. I know kids see the world differently, but it is amazing to actually hear how they see it. This age, despite all of its frustrations, is so much fun! Every day there is something new coming out of his mouth that just amazes me. I love that little brain of his.
Fish don't talk.
He is a bear, not a horse. Horses have tails and he doesn't have a tail.
The Second Hand on the clock is the one that moves fast. The First Hand is the big one that moves slow. (It took me a couple of seconds to get that one... I had no idea he knew what "first" and "second" even were.)
This kid is really starting to blow my mind. I know kids see the world differently, but it is amazing to actually hear how they see it. This age, despite all of its frustrations, is so much fun! Every day there is something new coming out of his mouth that just amazes me. I love that little brain of his.
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