Home, Sweet Home... Almost

So after months of stressing about the overseas trip and temporary housing and house-hunting, I'm finally sort of settled in Saratoga, NY.

How'd it go? It was better than I thought. But then again, I was expecting the worst...

Plane Trip Overseas With Cats:
They were a lot better than they were on the way over. I think they actually slept, and even when they were awake, the noise of the plane drowned out the meowing. The only hitches? The mean-looking man across the aisle who was apparently a cat hater, and when one of the cats bit my mom (who was awesome enough to fly all the way across the ocean to help bring the cats back) through the carrier. Apparently animal bites are pretty painful, though that was a week ago and my mom is now fine.
I think I was more upset about being on the plane than the cats. I was uncomfortable and the baby kept sticking feet in my ribs and I had heartburn and my left leg swelled up so I looked like elephant woman.

Temporary housing:
Awesome. With air conditioning. But no computer or business center. Pardon my lack of posting, but the iPod is NOT a computer...

House-hunting:
Stressful. The second day here in Saratoga I looked at a lot of condos we had seen online, but nothing lived up to my expectations. The last place we looked at, which hadn't really been on our radar was perfect! Things moved super fast, bit we're on our way to having our perfect new family home!

Bob gets here Friday and I can't wait for him to see it.

While we wait to get in to the house, I'll be working on paintings and sheets and other projects for he nursery!

Q

Pregnancy Brain?

So I've heard rumors that when pregnant you are off balance (makes sense, you're carrying a watermelon in your stomach) and clumsy, and maybe a bit forgetful.  I wasn't really sure I believed the last two...

However, in the past few weeks, I've turned into a mess.  I drop things everywhere, breaking glasses, plates and exploding soda all over the kitchen.  I trip over my own feet, fall up the stairs, and run into anything with sharp corners.  And I forget everything.

Even when I go to the store, list in hand, somehow I end up unpacking the groceries wondering "where did that milk go?" only to realize I never bought any... despite it being on my list AND crossed off.

I decided to make cinnamon rolls and spent two hours on the recipe, preparing it a day ahead of time.  When I took them out of the fridge to bake them, they seemed to look funny.  I forgot the cinnamon.  REALLY??? Cinnamon rolls without cinnamon?  What is going on in my head??

People ask me questions and I respond with answers that don't make any sense- words are mixed up or I change my mind halfway through...


I'm just not really sure how pregnancy brain is a useful trait for expecting mothers... At this rate, I'll have my baby, forget I had it, bring it home, leave it somewhere, hear it crying and think it's the neighbors and probably forget I'm a mom all together!

I just hope it's like the swelling in my feet and it goes away after the baby gets here.  Otherwise, I apologize to my baby in advance...

The Effects of Construction...

by MissKris
Last week we saw a sign on the elevator door about something going on in our building.  This happens pretty frequently, and I usually stare at the sign, pick out a few words, note the dates and just assume what's going to happen.  Usually that works out alright for me.

Like the time I figured out electricity, meter, please be at home + date and time.  The meter reader came and all was good.

This time, however, I didn't do quite as good a job, and this is probably the one time I really needed as much time as possible to process the information in said sign so as not to lose my schnitzel.

I figured out construction, noise-intensive, sorry for the inconvenience + date.  This lead me to believe that Monday would be a day of loud construction noise.

If only I'd read a little further... Monday starts the day of loud construction noise, which will likely continue until the middle of August.  THANK GOD I'm leaving in 20 days.  So far it has been 3.2 days of construction noise and I'm ready to throw myself out the window.

Let me explain...

In Germany, the walls are built of reinforced concrete and brick.  This must be the most effective sounding board ever, because though the construction is two doors down, it sounds like it's right here in my apartment.  Pair that with our 6 story staircase (also concrete and brick) which acts as a giant megaphone (that's one of those cone things you yell through, right?) and you have the same noise but once right after each other and twice as loud.

This is NOT ordinary construction.

It begins at 6:30am.

If I had to be at work at 7:30, maybe this would be incentive to get out of bed.  But such is not the case.  Currently, I am pregnant and trying as hard as humanly possible to save up my sleep for after the baby comes (okay, I know it doesn't work that way, but let a woman dream!).  This means I get up in the morning and usually decide it's too early and go back to bed for a few hours.  Or maybe take a nap in the afternoon.

Not. Anymore.  Thank you construction men...

From now on I will be up at 6:30 and will not sleep again until nighttime.  For a normal person, this is probably fine, but I'm TRYING TO SAVE UP MY SLEEP!

In addition to the ungodly hours these men work, the noise is reminiscent of road construction.  No ordinary hammers, nails and drills here.  They're going all out with jackhammers and other vibrating power tools.  Plus some sort of industrial sized sledge-hammer that sounds like an army is about to pound through the wall of my kitchen.

I might be okay with the noise if it was constant.  Maybe I would get used to it.  Like the noise the refrigerator makes, or that weird humming you hear when you have a new electronic item and it bothers you for weeks until you figure out what it is, but then you forget about it.

But to add to the fact that I'm not a super huge fan of loud noises and I would probably be driven batty even if it was constant, IT ISN'T.

It's a BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz (the little z's are the echo) BZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz BZZzz BZz .....          ... BZz BZz BZz BZz BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz .....  ....  BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzz.... BZZzz.  (approximate 5 minutes of jackhammer noise)

Seriously.  This.  Is.  Freaking.  Ridiculous.

If I were not a pregnant woman I would be driven to drink.

Wait.  I think it stopped.  Shh... don't let it know I know.  Maybe they're on break.  Maybe I can sneak in a 15 minute nap.  Or do the dishes in the kitchen without wearing earplugs.  Or think clearly without my thoughts being inter--- never mind...

The Fun of a Visit to the Doctor in Germany

by MissKris

For any of you out there that have been to the OB/GYN, you know that this is not a particularly fun and/or eagerly anticipated event for any woman.  In fact, I believe the majority of us despise this visit.  It might be a tie with going to the dentist.

But really, when you think about it, what could possibly beat going to a pre-scheduled appointment where you wait in the waiting room 30 minutes past your scheduled appointment time, are ushered into a room where they weigh you, are told to strip down and re-dress in only a paper gown, wait another 15 minutes on a cold table in said paper gown, only to have a person you've met a handful of times in your life shove a cold, duck-shaped metal object in places you don't want things shoved?  I mean, what isn't fun about that? Right?

Well... let me tell you about something even MORE fun.  Doing the same thing, but in Germany-- where rules about nudity, privacy and cleanliness are something a little different... 

Imagine this... 

Not only do you arrive at the office and wait in the waiting room for 30-60 minutes, but before you are allowed to sit down you must use the WC (restroom) -- which is convieniently a one-room toilet with an old rickety door with a lock that works sometimes and is right across from the waiting room so everyone can hear ALL noises coming from with in -- and pee in a cup.  BUT, not just any cup; a small, white, plastic dixie cup with your name written on it in Sharpie.  Which, after filling you do not cover or leave in a special door in the wall, but on the back of the toilet alongside many other white plastic cups.  Really??

Then, after waiting your allotted time, you are weighed (ugh), get blood taken, blood pressure, etc. 

Then you wait some more.  Finally, you go to see the doctor, who asks you to kindly go into a small changing cabin and remove your shirt.  BUT, once in said changing cabin, you realize there is NO PAPER GOWN.  WHAT??  So you walk out of the cabin shirtless to be felt up by the doctor.  Fun. 

THEN, you are asked to put back on the shirt and remove the rest of your clothes.  Again... where is the paper skirt??  What is going on here?? 

Not only are there no skirts, but the office is on the first floor of a HOUSE, and even though the blinds are down, you can clearly see a man in the yard next door MOWING HIS LAWN.  REALLY??  And still, there comes the metal duck.

I must say that of all the things I will NOT miss about Germany, the visits to the doctor are right up at the top of my list.  I just want my paper clothes...

My First Mommy Post

by MissKris 


Okay, so technically I'm not a mommy YET.  But I will be.  In 4 months.  I already have a blog about me and my travels and my artwork at www.misskrisart.blogspot.com.  But I figure in the coming months (and definitely years) I will have less time for stuff about ME because it will all be about NewBaby.

Basically, I need a NEW blog to share all sorts of cute and adorable photos of NewBaby, but also because I want to try (try being the operative word here.  I know for all you veteran parents out there, you're going to read the next part of this sentence and start rolling on the floor because you know I won't have time for what I'm going to say- I'll be lucky if I have time to sleep more than 5 hours or take a shower... but let me have these next 4 months of unrealistic expectations...) to share mommying experiences, fun and easy food, and artistic and creative projects that will (hopefully) be part of NewBaby's everyday life.

Of course, the next 4 months of not actually having a baby will not include things about having a baby, but might include some thoughts on upcoming mommyhood, some strange new recipes, or artsy projects I have planned for NewBaby's room and things I want to make for NewBaby (that is if I ever decide to un-glue my expanding butt from the sofa or the comfy computer chair).


And hopefully after 4 months I'll be adding lots of fun and exciting tales about NewBaby, ways I figure out how to squeeze food into my new life, and projects that NewBaby and I can do when s/he isn't sleeping, eating or pooping.  For those of you with new babies of your own, these will be super awesome, extremely fun and inevitably messy things to keep you and your baby entertained.  For those of you without new babies, sometimes we all need some simple art projects regardless of how old we are.  So maybe you can try them on your own.  Think of it like "art therapy".

That said, I'm going to go eat some cookies and lie on the couch.