It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas.....

I love Christmas. I love the whole season - the sights, the sounds, the tastes. And don't you think that Christmas just smells better, too? I mean what's better than the smell of Evergreen and Cinnamon?? This is also the time of year that I miss Germany the most. No one does Christmas more beautifully than the Germans. Christmas is much less commercialized in Germany than it is in America. There is no crazed shopping season, no people running over other people in their haste to buy the latest "thing". There are weekend festivals throughout the month of December called Christkindlemarkts, or Christmas Markets. They basically consist of tons of little booths for you to wander through in the town square. Now in this country, every single one of those booths would be selling some "awesome gift for Christmas", trying to make as much money as possible. In the German markets, 90% of what they are selling is food. Special treats you can only get at Christmas time, along with the usual favorites such as bratwurst and - in Rothenburg - Schneeballen. And of course, who could forget my all-time favorite, Gluwein. If you've never experienced Gluwein, you are missing out. It's a hot, mulled red wine spiced with cinnamon and other spices. It will warm you right down to your bones on those chilly, snowy days. The point of a Christkindlemarkt is not to spend a ton of money on pointless gifts, but to bundle up in your favorite coat and hat, grab a mug of Gluwein, and stroll the ancient, cobblestone streets breathing in the atmosphere of the season. The streets are lit up, there are trees and wreaths and holly berries everywhere, and the centuries-old cathedrals are decked out in all their Christmas splendor, beckoning the faithful to Midnight Mass. There is just something perfect about it.

But, since I'm not in Germany anymore, I'll have to settle for Christmas in Georgia. I'm going to make my own Gluwein (with non-alcoholic wine, of course!), get some real evergreen wreaths for the house, and do my best to remember that the Christmas season is best celebrated outside the walls of a department store.

T Minus Three and Counting....

Yep, Saturday was my birthday. 27. That means I am officially getting close to 30 and climbing fast. I'm not really sure what happened, because a few days ago I was 16, and now I'm 27 with a husband, 1 1/2 kids, a dog and a mortgage. I think there were supposed to be some more years in there somewhere, but I guess I blinked. Oh well, I have a feeling it's only going to get faster from here! And I just remind myself that even though I might be getting older, Chris will always be older than me (he'll be 29 in January)....Love you Honey!! :-)

In other news - we went shopping on Black Friday, we made it to Kohl's about 20 minutes before they opened at 4 AM, and there were already hundreds of people in line! There were some ladies who were threatening the beat-down to some people who tried to cut, these were some serious shoppers! We got lots of great deals though, it was worth the hour we waited in line. Actually, my Mom waited in line, I started feeling sick from the heat of all the people and went and sat down and waited for her to get to the front. The perks of being pregnant....

After that we hit Starbucks and went to a craft store and stocked up on yarn and scrapbooking supplies (yarn for mom, and scrapbooking stuff for me). Speaking of Starbucks, we also went to the new PX on Benning over the weekend, and there is a real, honest to goodness STARBUCKS inside!! Somebody at AAFES finally got some sense!!

Anyway, on Sunday we just recuperated from the craziness and pretty much did nothing all day. Now I'm back at work, listening to the pouring-down rain (Hallelujah!), and counting the days until my Christmas vacation starts.....

Happy Turkey Day!!

Well, I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! I hope you all enjoy your holiday, and of course tomorrow's shopping opportunities! My mom, sister and I will be hitting Kohl's at 4 AM tomorrow (yes, we are crazy, but they always have great sales!), followed by Christmas decorating at my house.

I also want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our soldiers who can't be home with their families this year. We are thankful for you.

Funny

I bought Aiden some washable markers the other day, as he's really getting into coloring lately. He's been having a good 'ol time with them, and we noticed yesterday that he was drawing on his face. Nice. So my Mom and I decided to help him out a little bit...don't you think this will make a good picture to send to Daddy??

Phone Call

Just a quick update - I got a phone call a little before 6 this morning, and it was Chris. He finally got a chance to call, and he knows I don't care what time it is! Aiden even got to talk to him, since he was sleeping next to me at the time. He was jabbering away for a few minutes, and then every 30 seconds or so he would lean into the phone and say, "HI!!!" I asked him to give Daddy kisses, and he kissed the phone, it was so sweet. He told me they should be headed up north soon, so I'll let everyone know when they get settled.

Baby Uh Oh....

Yes, you may have noticed that the ticker at the top of the page has changed from pink to blue. I had my detailed "fetal anatomy" ultrasound this morning, and it showed that everything looks great and the baby has all of it's parts, plus one. This baby is most definitely a boy. So now I'm back to square one with the name game. I literally have no idea what to name him. We had picked out Sydney for our "little girl", I guess that's going to have to wait until the next kid, huh? Good thing I've got a few more months to figure it out!

Anyway, I also have undeniable proof that the male preoccupation with the penis begins in the womb. During the ultrasound, he was actually playing with his willie. There you go, I thought, that's my son. I shouldn't be surprised....

I'm so outnumbered.....

I also have an updated due date, so the ticker now reflects April 13th as "D-Day". I have some pictures to post, hopefully I can get those up tonight or tomorrow. I hope nobody bought anything pink!

The Nerve

Is anyone else irritated about this whole State Department controversy involving forced assignments to Iraq? If you haven't heard about it, let me explain quickly. In a nutshell, the State Department will have a bunch of open positions at the Baghdad Embassy soon, and if they don't get enough volunteers to fill the positions, they will be handing out mandatory assignments. The FSO's (Foreign Service Officers) in the State Department are all up in arms about this. They had a town hall meeting in which some very ugly things were said, including the sentiment that a forced assignment to Iraq is a "potential death sentence".

I have something to say to these outraged FSO's. You don't want to go to Iraq? Let me take this opportunity to not care. I do believe that you volunteered for this job, considering that there is no forced labor in this country, and that when you took it, you agreed to serve your country wherever they may need you. That includes the places that you don't want to go to. And I wouldn't worry about that pesky "potential death sentence". All you are going to do is sit at a desk in the air-conditioned Embassy, surrounded by Marines, drinking turkish coffee, while all those bullets and bombs that you apparently think are meant for you will be caught and diffused by all of our WILLING soldiers who are actually in the line of fire everyday.

God bless our volunteer military.

Finally!

No, I didn't drop off the planet in the last week, things have just been a little crazy around here! for starters, Chris came home last Friday for his week-long visit before deploying. He got to spend the whole week at home with Aiden, so that was good for them to spend some Daddy/Son time together. Also, Chris' mom flew in on Saturday for a few days with her daughter, Aslynn. They left on Tuesday, and then my parents and sister finally pulled in on Wednesday! Chris left on Friday and we just spent the weekend recovering from the craziness.

An update on the deployment, they did leave and are en route to Kuwait. When I get more information, I'll let you know. I have Chris' address so if anyone would like it, just send me an email and I'll give it to you. If you would like to send him any letters or packages, keep in mind that you will only pay domestic-rate postage, the same as if you were sending it somewhere in the States. Here are some ideas on things to send him: white ankle socks, tea, sugar, candy (if you send chocolate, please seal it in a ziploc baggie to prevent a mess if it melts), Jack Links Beef Jerky (spicy or original), BBQ sauce, and pretty much anything edible. He would also love to get pictures and cards from his friends back home. If you have any questions about what to send him, just shoot me an email or call me.

And last but not least, here are some pictures from when we took Aiden and Aslynn to the park last weekend. Enjoy!

The Rest of the Story....

Okay, so here's what happened on Halloween. I left work at 4:30 to go pick up Aiden and get home, so that we would have plenty of time for dinner and stuff before we went over to Brandy's for trick-or-treating at 6. I get on the freeway after leaving the daycare, and realize that the traffic is not moving. At all. Great! So we crawl forward for a while until we finally reach a point where they are diverting all traffic onto 2nd Avenue. For those of you not familiar with the area, 2nd Avenue runs through downtown Columbus. It's already a mess at rush-hour, but when you add in all the freeway traffic, it's a downright nightmare. Not only that, but it goes in the opposite direction of where I want to go. SO, I join the parking lot of traffic on 2nd and proceed to sit there for the next 2 hours. Aiden is not happy. He's hungry, bored, and he wants out of the car. I know how he feels, cause I'm all of those things too, and I have to pee. Really bad. Pregnant bad. We finally turn into our subdivision at 7:00.

Now, the trick-or-treaters are out in full force by this time. There are children and cars and people all over the place. I can't believe the amount of parents who are actually driving their lazy kids from house to house. They are about to consume 50 pounds of candy!! Let them walk!! Anyway, as I maneuver my way up to my driveway, there is a lady whom I've never seen before standing at the base of my driveway, and she is directing traffic. Apparently she has appointed herself the trick-or-treat police. I roll down my window to ask her to move out of the way so I can pull in, and she tells me that I have to park on the street to make room for kids. I politely said no, this is my house. She tells me that "I have 2 choices, park on the street, or come back later after trick-or-treating is over." Now, let's reflect for a minute. I am not exactly in the best mood at this time, having just spent the last few hours going nowhere in heavy traffic. I'm tired, I have to pee, and my kid is screaming. I can see my house finally, and this lady tells me I have to come back later?? I don't think so. So I look at her and I say, "listen lady. I just spent the last 2 1/2 hours in bumper to bumper traffic with a screaming toddler. Now I'm 50 feet from my house and you are the only thing in my way. So YOU have 2 choices. You can either move, or I can run you over. Your call."

Needless to say, after muttering some choice words about me, she moved. I was kind of disappointed, I was looking forward to running her over. It probably would have gotten out some my pent-up stress and aggression. Besides, I have a big truck, I doubt it would have caused any damage. To the truck.

After getting Aiden some food, he calmed down enough for us to go over to Brandy's and let the kids play for a bit. I bought this stinkin' costume after all, he's GOING to wear it! I was surprised to come home later and find out that my house had not been egged in retaliation. Even if it had, telling that lady off would have been worth every bit of it.

Happy Halloween!

Aiden was a pirate for Halloween, here are a few pictures of him and Maddy. I don't have time right now, but there is a whole story associated with Halloween this year, and I'll post more about that later. Let's just say, Buffy got to come out and play....

Enjoy the pictures!