The Ride Over (Part 1)

I had a hard time getting over here. 3 fulls days of delays, 1 in Baltimore and 2 in Germany. Made for some interesting times. As a benefit however, I met some cool people and had some interesting conversations.

The view from the Ramstein AB passenger (PAX) terminal - I spent A LOT of time looking at this view

After the first day of not leaving Germany, they put us up in a hotel...which happened to be 1.5 hours away at what used to be Bitburg AB. Bitburg used to be a big US Air Force base back when you couldn't throw a rock in (then) West Germany without hitting a couple US military installations. The base has been turned back over to the Germans who have curiously turned the old Officer's Club into a techno dance club. There were even (unconfirmed) reports that the old base chapel had been turned into a strip club...hmm? The picture above is taken from my room.

The second day, we sat around again, until they finally kicked us out of the terminal. Starving and pretty well convinced we weren't leaving that day, a few of us ventured over to the gi-normous AAFES exchange at Ramstein. The place is huge! Bigger than a Sam's Club...and tax free! They had several food choices. I chose the weisswurst (below) and of course ein bier (above). Just one...for now. Prost!!!

The view from my room in Darmstadt...second layover night in Germany. Funny thing was, I had stayed in this hotel in 2007. Nice place.

What a difference a week can make...

I've been having trouble getting my pictures to upload since I got here so I apologize for being a bit behind. It's amazing how much one's scenery can change in a week.


The picture on the left was taken last Tuesday and the picture on the right was taken this Tuesday. Snow to barren wasteland in just a few days.

Day 5 :: The Shuffle

Austin wasn't really himself yesterday. Had a rough play date after school with a buddy of his... rough as in they kicked the junk out of one another. Hey, at least he'll know how to defend himself.

Sleepy T on the couch.

Hannah misses dad too.

Dinner :: Vegetable soup... new recipe, just so-so. send me yours if you have a good one.

We just kept moving yesterday. It was one of those days where you just don't feel like you stop until you drop at the end of it. I had class last night and typically Chris is home to take care of the kids. They love their special nights with daddy... I'm sure they get a little extra attention when he's with them. Last night we welcomed a new nanny into our home. Courtney is a perfect fit for our babies. She understood them straight away and was still smiling at the end of the night. The kids can't wait for Courtney to watch them next week :) always a relief to find a good sitter.

Well that's about all the news I have from day 5. Today should bring a bit more... root canals, doctor visits, my mom and step-dad arriving.... the possibilities are endless ;)

Love to all. xo Liz

Day 4 :: LOVE

Happy Valentines Day! Austin kept saying, "I can't even believe today is Valentine's Day!" like it's something I've been hiding from him... he also thinks any holiday is a great reason to ask for a new video game. Alright, you got me buddy, I let this one sneak up on you on purpose :) because I knew you would love the book I got you as your Valentine, much better than some silly game.

Both the kids had lots of unexpected fun handing out and receiving Valentines. We even got a few deliveries from friends in the neighborhood. I helped out at Austin's school party this afternoon and was able to get a few shots of Austin and some of his classmates. He sits next to Jule, a new student from Germany, and he just adores her... finds her language and culture fascinating.

Austin won BINGO at the party and he just cannot wait to inform Daddy of the news. After school, Austin and I headed over to the dentist and discovered my wonderful news :/. After that we went to pick Taylor up from school and over to swim lessons. These swimming pictures are hilarious. Austin's cap is not even that tight, but it pulls his face up so much he looks like an entirely different boy... and I think it might freak Taylor out a bit now looking at the pictures.

Well I am going to bed, enough writing and posting for one night. The pain in my mouth/head/jaw/ear has finally subsided after taking a Hydrocodone pill. It won't last forever though, so goodnight everyone and good morning Chris. You will be up soon. I love you and have a great day. We'll talk tomorrow when you're off work. xo

Day 3 :: Eats

As I drove Chris to the Airport (the first time) I was thinking of how the kids change so quickly and worrying that he might miss out on something, god forbid a growth spurt, so I jokingly told him that I would only feed the kids really junky-not-good-for-you foods to stunt their growth until he came home. Well, there's no way I could really bring myself to do that and even if I did, it probably wouldn't work. He'd end up coming home to kids with acne and greasy hair, bags under their eyes and... well you get the point.

Yesterday though, we made a few exceptions. We started with edamame and eased into Valentine's Day cupcakes, then ended the evening with a few of our favorite neighbors, some sugar cookies and RED frosting. Good thing we ate a healthy dinner.

As for me, my sweet tooth is not-so-sweet right now. Here's the long and short of it. I am getting braces to correct my jaw and its misalignment. Before fitting me they want to touch up any gray spots that could potentially turn into cavities while I am wearing braces. I had one 'filled' over a month ago and ever since it's hurt. Two days ago it began throbbing. So I called the dentist and they brought me in today, took one look at the x-ray and could see that my new filling just grazes the top of my nerve, shooting pain into my jaw, temple and ear. So to fix it they will be doing a root canal, drilling out the nerve and then filling it and putting a cap on it... FABULOUS! I wish I could say that stuff like this happens when Chris is gone, however, he had been telling me to get it looked at since mid-January, so it's my own stupid fault.

Have more pictures to crop down for you all so I am signing off this post to begin another one. Enjoy the pictures :) :: Liz ::

Hello from an "undisclosed location" in Southwest Asia

Well, I finally made it in. Arrived at about 130am local time today and was able to get through the customs/inprocessing process pretty quickly. My "people" here took good care of me and made sure I have my own room and am not living in a tent. I'll post some pictures of the area around where I work and live but I am having issues uploading photos so they'll have to wait for now.

The weather is actually quite nice. Upper 50's and breezy at night and in the 70's (and breezy) in the day. Hopefully I'll be on my way home before the real heat starts to ratchet up. The base hit 140 degrees with about 90% humidity over the summer...no thanks. That's all for now. Off to the gym....

Day 2 :: Party Time

The kids and I headed to Philadelphia yesterday for a party celebrating our two favorite babes. I got to spend some time with two of my dearest friends in the whole world, Abbey and Leah, and we all got to love these two incredible, beautiful, simply amazing little boys. Oakley and Tobias were born on opposite sides of the country just a few days apart, they are so different and beautiful in their very own unique little ways yet they operate in harmony side-by-side and I just feel so lucky to know them.

Austin and Taylor both LOVE the boys and talk non-stop about "baby-Bias" and "baby-Oakwee." I never get enough time hanging out with these two little families, but hope that changes now that we are in closer proximity to one another.

After partying it up with the boys we headed over to Haddonfield for a great dinner with my Aunt Alice and cousins Tori + Will. Austin and Taylor idolize their big cousins and it is always very sweet to see how my kids light up when they are with them. On out last visit, Will and Austin were glued together and we managed to not get a single photo of them. So this time I made it a point to get the 4 cousins together for a picture that I am certain Austin will have on his bedside table as fast as I can print it. Thanks Allie so much for hosting us. It's always so great catching up with you, Tori and Will and always very hard for us to leave. I can't wait for our next visit!

Enjoy the pictures. xo Liz xo