Probably the most boring post ever....

This one might put you to sleep...just warning. Here is what's going on in our crazy world.

Just 4 days left in our little German apartment. Overwhelmed isn't even the word!

Today we're cleaning out the fridge and doing the very last of the laundry. The military is coming to pick those appliances up tomorrow morning. We'll spend the weekend doing last minute cleaning and creating donate or chuck piles. I imagine we'll be taking many loads to the thrift store and dump.

I'm absolutely dreading Monday morning because everything is going to happen at once. It's going to be a very stressful day. We have our temporary furniture being picked up. This is what we've been living on the past 5 weeks and consists of about 13 large pieces.

Overlapping with that is our express shipment pickup. This is our remaining personal items that we've kept back. Hopefully these 2 pickups go smoothly (no one forgets to show up) because our landlord and military housing representative are coming over shortly after that to do our final walkthrough. I haven't even thought about what I am going to do with these cats during all this activity. Their poor litterbox room is in need of some serious attention as well.

We paid almost 5 grand for our security deposit and it would be devastating not to get that back. My mom did some miracle work on the wall our cat damaged. You can't even tell which is just fantastic. Thanks Mom!

Once we check into our hotel on Monday afternoon I will breath a huge sigh of relief! The next step after this is checking out of the Army Garrison as well as shipping our car. I think the apartment is the one thing weighing on Brad and I the most because of the third party involved (German landlord).

In other news, just 10 days til we find out the sex! I am so bad and asked the Dr to look between the legs at my last appointment. There was an umbilical cord in the way so she really couldn't see. She did take a guess at the sex but made sure I knew that it was not an accurate guess. We'll find out for sure soon!

I am the only one who is still sick over here. My flu turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. This is miserable only because I can't take any decongestants and because I've been blowing my nose so much that only blood comes out now. Ugh. I feel like a crazy person from such sleep deprivation. I am going to avoid sick people like the plague the next 5 months. I don't ever want to get this sick again, especially while pregnant.

So, I've made it my priority to be lysol crazy and practicing handwashing like no tomorrow. You can probably imagine how freaked out I am about that looong plane ride where I can't escape people's sneezes and sniffles. Ugh.

That's it for now!

Flu central

After my mom's arrival last Monday we had about 4 days to catch up before a nasty flu struck our household. And when I say flu I mean a high fever, chills/body aches/hot flashes, diarrhea, headcold, etc. It's been 2 years since I've had the flu and I think yesterday was the sickest I'd ever been in my life.

Yesterday would have been comical to see us all because we just sat on the couch for hours and moaned. I'd imagine we sounded like a bunch of trapped animals. There were many times we would all just look at each other and laugh at how pathetic we all looked and sounded. When one person started coughing it would cause a chain reaction of coughs throughout the room.

I couldn't help but express my jealousy when I'd see my mom or Brad knock back some Dayquil. My mom and I haven't left this house in 3 days now which goes against ever fiber in my body. But, you know when you are truly sick because you just don't care.

Here are some random comments/conversations you could have heard at any point the past 3 days at our house.

-"Now I know why cancer patients smoke dope"

-Q:"Is it coming out like water?" - A: "no, more like cream of potato soup"

-"I didn't know my eyes could have the flu too"

-"It feels like little men are in rafters floating down my body. They have to pause at every joint to stab it before moving on."

-"Now it looks like vegetable broth"

- Q: "What would you do if you were a truck driver and got this?" A:" Guess you'd have to wear Depends and keep on trucking"

-" I had no idea that there were joints in my back bone. I can feel everyone one of them."

-"My teeth feel like they're wearing sweaters from all those cough drops.

-"Don't these kids have parents?" (referring to the 100th episode of Little Einsteins)

Photography

A few weeks ago I attended a small photography lesson at our MOPS group. It was so informative! I learned so much about my camera and photography in general. Afterwards, the instructor sat with me and showed me many tricks with my specific camera. I was thrilled!

Then for Christmas, Brad upgraded my lens to a super zoom. I am ready for my African safari now! :)

Unfortunately now I irritate all my friends and family because I'm officially one of those people who has to stop and change out lenses. Oh and my giant backpack? Forget snacks and juice...It's all camera stuff. :)

So this morning, Miles and I went to the zoo and I really got a chance to try it out.

This picture I was practicing the apeture feature. The higher the number- the blurrier the background. I was trying to make Miles' lego house in focus while he stayed out of focus. Fun stuff to practice!

16 weeks!

So, I have to be honest...my mind is just not on this pregnancy. I realized today that I've made it to 16 weeks and there are days I completely forget I'm expecting. This is funny considering my pregnancy with Miles felt like 2 years long. I really want to try and re-route my mind and enjoy every stage because it could very well be our last! I know that once we get to CA it will be a different story.

*How far along?: 16 weeks and 2 days

*Weight gain: 4 kilograms...however much that is?

*Sleep: About 5-6 hours of broken sleep. Both Miles and I have a terrible cold and neither one of us can take anything for it. We are up together all night.

*Stretch marks: I have a ton from Miles. Not sure I can even get anymore!

*Best moment of this week: A Navy officer decided he wanted our apartment. It is going to be a smooth transfer.

*Worst moment of this week: Saying goodbye to my great friend Shelly. I cried and cried. I will miss her so much.

*Movement: I've had a feeling I've felt him/her a couple times but I'm just not sure...

*Food cravings: No cravings. I just want food to appear before me without having to prepare it. I SO can't wait for fast food in the States.

*What I miss most: not much yet. Oh, I guess I wish I could take some Dayquil. My pants are starting to get awfully tight too!

*What I'm looking forward to: well, it's no secret I want to just get to the States already. I'm sure once we make it to CA and get settled I will start to get into a baby mode. Oh, I am looking forward to finding out the sex soon!

*Measuring: I just have no clue with the way Europeans measure things, especially since it's all in German.

Ok, first baby bump photo!

Just kidding. I feel like I am at that awkward stage of a thick middle but no definite "oh she's preggo" baby bump. But, I don't want to rush it because I know the days feel like months once you get big.

Favorite memories from 2010

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve! It sounded like WW3 here last night but we enjoyed all the fireworks. I'm really excited about 2011. I've been dying for December to just be OVER! We have so many exciting changes coming up and I am ready to get the ball rolling. Taking a look back in 2010, I picked some favorite big memories.

We started the year off with a trip to Venice with a group of great friends. Venice was exactly how I pictured it, a city on water! I only wish we could have gone back.

In March we took a road trip to Prague, Czech Republic.

We were so excited when Spring arrived and could wear shorts again. I'm sure my obsession with weather will die down in 2011 when the summers aren't just 6 weeks long!
We picked up the hobby of biking this year. We biked all Spring, Summer and Fall. Miles loved it and it was a great way to stay in shape.

My parents came out to visit in May. We took them to Edelweiss. Everyone had a blast. We all especially enjoyed staying in the tiny cabins in the Alps.

In the late Spring we took the cruise of a lifetime. My family flew to Europe and joined us while we cruised the Western Mediterranean. We went to 3 countries and 6 cities. I will never forget the great time we had.
Shortly after the cruise we decided to go home for the summer for 6 weeks. I will always love Michigan and the quality family time. Living this crazy military lifestyle that keeps us so far away makes me appreciate this place so much.

Fall came quick in Germany. This is my favorite picture of Miles and his best buddy. I just ordered this as a goodbye gift for Jonathan's Mom.
We also had some visitors in the Fall. I know Hyatt and Jeanne had a great time. We enjoyed having them.
In October we went to London. It was amazing and everything I pictured it to be. I enjoyed having no language barrier and found the Brits to be the most polite people!
Shortly after London we found out that I was pregnant! That was very exciting news to us considering we had been trying for so long!

I don't want to bore you with repeats of the same pictures that I've posted the past 2 months. We finished off the year with lots of German fests, snow and Christmas markets.

Here's to 2011! We're moving home to America and welcoming a new baby in the late Spring. It's definitely a year to look forward to.