15 weeks and a shameless plug

it appears that my belly has officially popped. which is just weird and seems way too early. it's especially weird when people i see once a week start commenting on it.

a mom in bella's dance class was like, "wow! you really popped! how far along are you!?" and when i responded "15 weeks", i could almost see the regret flash through her mind.

seriously. 

i don't mind really. apparently that's what happens when it's the third time you grow a person.

so far, it's been tiring, but pretty easy going. i haven't had morning sickness so to speak, but more all day slight queasiness. and i absolutely can't think about, say, see or eat avocados. weird.

i have, however, had 3 sinus infections since finding out i was pregnant. if you think a sinus infection is bad, having one while nursing AND pregnant is a mild form of torture. there is absolutely no medicine i can take, and while i generally prefer home remedies anyway, if you don't jump on it, it gets out of hand real fast. this last time, at the fist moments of post nasaliness (yes, i made that up), i took hourly shots of apple cider vinegar followed by several runs with the neti pot, and a hot hot shower for about 45 minutes. the whole thing ran its course in about a week, and wasn't nearly as bad as they have been.

the most entertaining part of this go round has been discussing baby names with bella. so far, if we have twin girls, which is her preference (we are not having twins, btw) she will name them clementine and lemon drop. if it's just one girl, she wants to stick with clementine. apparently, that's a real winner.

if it's a boy, his name will be side effect. yeah. it's better than motorcycle boy, i guess which was her other offering.

in other exciting news, my mom will be here in 2 months. we will be heading to paris for my birthday and taking the girls to disney while we are there. i could not be more excited, partly because my momma is coming for 2 weeks and partly because DISNEY! prior to that, we are heading to a small island off the coast of spain for a week of sun and fun. we have been trying to cram in as much travel as we can, because we will likely be sidelined for a few months around september.

---------

in non us news, my amazingly talented mother in law is quite the hand crafter. she has an etsy site called EarthyDesign, where she posts her handmade beads and jewelry made from those beads. she is currently having a spring sale for 40% off all items in the shop! check her out!  

the secret is out.....

finally.

i have been not blogging, even though i have wanted to, for weeks now, because i am really not that good at keeping secrets. i guess i kind of am, but not my own secrets. 

so, here goes.

we're pregnant! 

strangely, and i am not sure if it's a germany thing or a my dr. thing, i do not have an official due date. according to everything i have ever known about fertility and calculating due dates (which is surprisingly more than i probably should), i am due on the 10th of september. however, my doctor has given me dates a week to either side. so...i don't really know what to do with that. 

based on science that isn't my doctors, i am approximately 12 weeks along. or 13. or maybe 10. but i am going with 12 because i know. 

admittedly, this one has been easy so far. no morning sickness, only a little bit of food aversions, and mostly a desire to eat very salty foods. completely different from the last two. take from that what you will. 

without further ado, the announcement pictures we took.

so far so good. we had our second ultrasound today, saw and heard the heartbeat and the little nubs that will become arms and legs soon. everything is healthy and going smoothly and bella is ready for another sibling. 

bella: mommy, i want to name the baby. i think we should call him....let's make him a he, ok?? i want him to be named superman bubbles.

so. maybe. 

have kids, will travel

traveling is tiring. traveling with children? let's just say it's good i love it (and them) so much.

this weekend was a four day for joel, so we headed to prague. we decided to take the train so we could get a compartment and the kids could run around, and it was only when we went to book the tickets that we realized we would be on a bus for part of the trip. and it was only on the night before we left that we realized we would be on that bus for 4 hours.

i'll let you recover from falling on the floor.

four hours, on a bus, with two very energetic children. i might have cried a little.

in their defense, they were perfect on the train and for the first 3 hours on the bus. it was that last little bit, getting into the city at 6 that they started to come unglued.

but i digress.

prague was a beautiful city, full of amazing, old buildings, many of which were gothic style, which i love so much.

on our first day, we took a tour through sandemans new europe tours. we do this tour in each city we visit, because they are free tours that are incredibly informative and usually hit the highlights of the city, allowing us to get our bearings and figure out what we really want to go back to. you would think that a 3 hour tour would be a no-no with kids too, but ours are suprisingly tolerant and both were fabulous during the tour. cora slept int he ergo, and bella is at a great age, where she was able to walk along and listen, seemingly enjoyed seeing the sights (though maybe not the ones we were interested in), and when she did get bored, she was easily satisfied with a bite of chocolate (i am not above bribery/rewards) or sitting on a step talking to a random stranger. a couple of times, we even busted out her tablet.

this tour took us through the main tourist areas, including a very preserved jewish village. i thought the history behind this area was possibly the most interesting thing of the weekend.

if you are traveling around europe, i highly suggest taking a tour with this company.

later in the afternoon, we went up to the prague castle to walk around. there is a beautiful gothic cathedral up there and we walked around the grounds and through the cathedral before heading back down through a vineyard.

day 2, we headed back to the old town and towards the charles bridge. it was significantly colder so we had to stop for hats and gloves!

the views from the bridge were beautiful, but admittedly, the cold had us not stopping very long in any one place. we booked it across and perused some shops, checing out all the amber jewelry and crystal, before heading back across the bridge to get lunch.

prague has several american restaurants, and while i used to scoff at people going to a european city, only to eat at american establishments, i ate some crow so i could eat some fried pickles and chicken wings with RANCH DRESSING (i cannot contain my excitement at that fact. real, american style ranch dressing!) at hooters. yes. classy.

in the afternoon, we headed to the vyserhad cemetery, which is in a walled in village high up on a hill. there is another beautiful gothic church there, along with stunning views of the city from the wall surrounding it.

our last day, we went back to climb up to the top of the astrological clock in the middle of the old town. we had a minor set back when bella threw her first breakdown tantrum of the trip. but after a little reasoning, we worked it out and headed up. more spectacular views and bella even found and named her own landmark-a spire seen from all around, which she named "the moom castle". the people around us were entertained by her overwhelming enthusiasm over seeing her moon castle. she even asked me to take a picture so she could show her friends. that girl is all kinds of special. love her.

we finally made our trek back to the train station to board that 4 hour bus. i dreaded the worst, and was pleasantly surprised when cora napped nearly the entire way and bella sat quietly beside me, playing her games. of course, that all changed once we got on the, but you can only expect so much out of two weary little girls, right?

now, off to take a nap......

birthdays

the girls birthdays are almost exactly one month from each other. this year, i was really lame and tired. 

we decided to "just do cake" for cora's birthday. i ordered a huge cake from a friend, invited all of the people who have been an integral part of cora's first year, and made some simple decorations. no gifts, just hanging out. 

it was fun, because there was very little stress. and the cake was yummy. 

for bella, i felt like i had to put a little more effort into it, you know, because she knows. but i was still feeling birthday lazy and so we went for an indoor playground with her 5 closest friends. 

for the lack of effort i put into it, it was a hit. 

i made their "chalkboards" and now they are hanging in their rooms. and i love it. i hope it isn't awkward when bella is 15 and i am still making these for her. 

the thing i hate most about political ramblings on facebook

file this under "how to lose friends and alienate people".

but i don't care.

i get so tired of one sided articles being pushed as truth. too many people on my friends list need to go to journalism 101 and learn how to figure out if something is a legitimate news outlet or simply rhetoric, whose main purpose is to stir emotions and get you crazed.

inflammatory articles. put out by "news" agencies. yep. i put quotes around that. because real news reports fact with no opinion. they let you look at something and use your brain to assess it for value.

it doesn't stop at political ramblings by left or right wing nuts (they do exist on BOTH sides, by the way). it's the articles that are quickly dispelled if you look any.where.else.

i call them incendiary articles, because they start fires. they prey on your emotion, stir you to action-post this on facebook!!! tell your friends!!!! a great wrong is occurring!!!! and you do, because, well, the internet told you to! the internet doesn't lie!

yes. yes it does. it lies all the time. 

it's called manipulation. "make us famous! here is a story, made to make you fear the very thing you love. we came up with it. no one else is reporting it! (because it's not true!) but we are breaking this story and you should love us now! look how we protect you from fears you never even had."

so here is how you don't fall victim for their traps. start using that thing that is in your head. i hear that it is meant for forming individual thoughts.

listen to me when i say this, things are very rarely as they are presented. there is always another side to the story. always. 

i think, if you have siblings, you probably can understand this more than anyone. remember when you were a kid, and your sibling would pick and pick and pick. and then you would get sick of it, and you would snap and yell, or scream or throw something, or (gasp) hit them? and who got in trouble? you. because you were the one who got caught. your sister or brother were crying foul, and mom, bless her tired, overstimulated heart, believed them. you. go to your room. (ugh. bless my tired, overstimulated heart. i do this all the time.....)

but....but.....but......that's not the whole story!

exactly.

i heard once, there are 3 sides to every story, your side, their side and the truth. so, if your favorite shock jock provides you a story to make your blood boil, and "their side" provides the explanation, you can assume that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

i write this, because i have a headache from all the eye rolling. please friends. i love you. i just want what is best for you. don't stress yourself out over the lies that are out there to draw you in. use your giant, working brain! it is amazing!

plus also, i hear that if you think about things a lot, you live longer. yep. i made that up. but it feels good, right? let's go with it.

10 things i've learned from being a military spouse

1. learn to open you mind, but protect your heart

this can be true of any situation, but especially in the military. you are going to encounter so many different people, from different backgrounds, different lifestyles, different parts of the world, different races, religions, with all different thoughts on life. if you believe that your way is the only way, you will be very lonely. 

however, there i a time to know the right people to open your heart up to, and not everyone is that person. military families have a way of opening up faster, and giving away a lot, quickly. it's part of the process. make friends fast. you only have a few years, at most with them. just be careful you chose wisely. 

2. things can always be harder. 

and they will be. for you. for others. and usually when you least expect it. we've had multiple deployments,  lost family members while we lived far away, have been separated from our families and each other, and yet, the hardest thing for me so far has been this weird work schedule he is on. he is here, but barely. cora only sees daddy on weekends, and bella for a few minutes before bed. we are living like a deployment, but not really. 

3. goodbyes will not be the hardest thing you have to do. 

when i was a kid, i would cry every time i left my grandparents house. i hated goodbyes. now, we say goodbye, what seems like daily. i've gotten good at it. it's not goodbye. it's see you later. and when people are constantly coming and going, saying hello can be much, much more difficult. 

4. home is not the same for everyone.

as much as we move around, "where are you from" can be a tricky question. and even then, the place you were born may not be home. while we call charlotte home, hawaii really feels like home. we spent our first 4 years of marriage there. bought our first home there. got duke, "got" bella, and pretty much started everything there. 

5. you (and those other spouses) are stronger than you ever thought.

don't count people out. that neighbor who seems to not have anything together, is probably holding it together a lot more than you think. there are days where i look disheveled and may or may not be fully appropriately clothed. occasionally, i look like i am about to fall apart at the seams, however, things are going pretty well aside from a sleepless night here or there (oh, who am i kidding, every night is sleepless). we military spouses go through a lot. we are asked a lot of, without little actual input. we sacrifice a lot, we put up with a lot, and we learn how to keep everyone fed and together on top of it all. 

6. not everyone loves this life, just as not everyone hates it. 

i hate hearing, "that must be so hard" or "you poor thing". don't pity me. i knew what i was getting in to. and i love it. this life suits us just fine. but i also know that the military life is not for everyone. the constant upheaval, no say in where you go or when you go there, no roots. it's not a life for every one. 

7. "family" will become a very complex word.

some of our friends are as close as our blood family. and some closer. we have met people who are completely estranged from their actual families and who have adopted themselves into other families. holidays are spent with whoever is around and you live life together. it all gets very extended. 

8. forget your pride when it comes to having nice things. the movers will just break them anyway.

for our wedding, i registered for 2 sets of nice dishes. in our very first move, just weeks later, several pieces broke from each set, leaving us with a bunch of random dishes. most of our stuff is ikea, refurbished or built by joel, because we have seen some real doozies when the furniture comes off the truck. so we try not to get too attached to anything. or spend too much money on anything.  

9. sometimes it's fun to take the road less traveled. until you realize you aren't the only one who has done this before and there is a reason this road is less traveled. 

whether it comes to shipping an animal, using a certain mover, taking a certain driving route or living in a certain area, there is usually a reason when you find out no one is using that company, or doing things that way. sure, sometimes the road less traveled offers a brighter view. and sometimes, it's a one way road along side a sheer cliff, with cars going in both directions. (that happened) 

10. expect the unexpected. 

because there is nothing else to expect. people always ask, "where are you going next"? and we never ever know. not really. we found out very late we were coming to germany, and even then, weren't 100% cleared until like, 3 weeks beforehand. things get dicey when you try to plan too much, too far in advance. 

thanksgiving

we spent our thanksgiving in the netherlands this year. 

i highly recommend it. 

we stayed in a little ocean town called katwijk, on the corner of the street, looking right into the waves. i could have stayed there forever. living pretty far from the ocean, i have learned that my soul yearns to be near crashing waves. each time we have set foot on the shores of some sea, i feel home and happy. 

this trip, specifically was very enjoyable, to say the least. we went with some friends who also have a baby, just 2 months younger than cora. it's so fun, at this stage, watching the babies interact. 

our first day, we took a walk along the canal, and down the beach walk. it was super windy and down right cold, but the smell of salt filled my lungs with "i don't care", and we pushed on for an hour or so. i couldn't get enough. 

that's us, right at the end of the street. 

we got back to our apartment and got ready and went into delft. a small town in south holland. it was quaint and perfect. nothing spectacular or overwhelming, but pretty and easy. we ate lunch of the square-grilled sandwiches and soup, and strolled along the canals, with no real aim but to see. we shopped a bit, and stopped in a couple of cheese stores. we ended up buying beers from one of the shops and goat cheese from another to take back with us. on our way out of town, we found a place that boasted 200 different beers on the shelves, and stopped in to get a sampling. 

the next morning, we woke up and headed out for another city, called den haag. there we found beautiful buildings and more of a city like atmosphere. there was an english book store we ducked into to escape the cold and i found a traditional folk story translated into english that i got the girls for christmas. they won't understand it this year, but i hope one day they realize just how spectacular of a childhood they have had. 

den haag was amazing. it is home of peace palace, which is a beautiful building, but is also home to the permanent court of arbitration and the hague peace conference. 

we headed back home for our thanksgiving dinner, which was....inventive. 

we had no oven in our apartment, but we had brought a crockpot and so we put the turkey in the crockpot. we cooked the ham using a double boiler technique on the stove, while we cooked the potatoes on the back burner. it actually all came together really nicely and was delicious. 

that is, until we tried to cook the pumpkin pie in a frying pan. i don't recommend that. 

friday, we took the train to amsterdam. amsterdam was exactly what i thought it would be. it was a beautiful, old city, full of character and charm. we saw the anne frank house, ate at a pizzaria on a canal, went on a boat ride, and even saw an event where the king of the netherlands unveiled a new exhibit at one fo the museums. we hit the christmas market, drank gourmet hot cocoa and blushed through the main drag in the red light district. there was even a bar with NFL and NBA games showing. 

on our last day, we headed out of town, stopping a couple of times to snap some pictures of windmills.

all in all, the netherlands might be my second favorite place in europe. it's clean, beautiful and charming. the people are friendly and helpful and gracious. and it doesn't hurt that they speak english! 

living in a place where my language is not the first, and sometimes not even the second, is rough and gives me a whole new appreciation for people who move to the states without knowing the language. we have a buffer, since we are a part of a bigger, english speaking community and we have stores and restaurants available to us that take american money and are familiar. i can't imagine the isolation and frustration people must feel when the come to the states and are thrust into an environment where people get angry at them for not knowing english. 

and that is all for my little soapbox spiel.