European Travels: London, England

April 17-20, 2012

April 17, KR and I left Germany and headed for England! We were so excited about this trip, because we were seeing at as the honeymoon we never had. His mom watched the baby, and we were able to run around like crazies to see all the things we wanted to see.

Our flight left at a bitter 6am, which meant getting up at leaving the house around 230am. We got to the airport, and boarded our flights. We took a Ryan Air flight, which is basically a small airport with cheap flights, and strict baggage rules. We both had simply a backpack.

The flight went so smooth, we can't believe we didn't try this sooner! Although, it would've been beyond challenging to do with an infant. We managed to find the bus that brought us into the city (since we flew into London Standsted Airport), and from there we headed to pick up our London Pass.

This was our lifesaver! We bought a 3 day pass with transportation. The London Pass is pricey upfront (about 98 pounds per person), but includes entry into many London attractions - and the transportation gives you unlimited Tube rides within the city of London. And at 4 pounds per person per ride, we figured we'd easily get our moneys worth for that alone.

I don't even know how we managed to see as much as we did. But London is a FANTASTIC city. I fell in love with it! It's such a perfect blend of historical and modern, traditional and chic, I could imagine how awesome it would have been to live in England!

Our hotel.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, a newer hotel (it wasn't even on google maps yet!) with a prime location. It was just over Westminster Bridge, from Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, & Parliament. It was also a block away from the London Eye, Starbucks, and 2 tube stations.

So the first thing we see is of course Big Ben. And we got to work! We toured Westminster Abbey (How awesome it was to be in the same building Prince William & Kate Middleton were married!), walked around the Parliament building, and then headed to the hotel because we were starving!

April 17, 2012. Westminster Abbey

Honestly, from there it was a blur, and so I will simply just add a collection of pictures from our adventures! The only "fail" of ours? We didn't eat anywhere authentic or exciting, but mostly because by the end of the day we just wanted to grab some food and eat in front of the tele!

Parliament & Big Ben. April 17, 2012

London Eye from Westminster Bridge. April 17, 2012

Buckingham Palace. April 17, 2012

View from Tower Bridge over the River Thames. April 17, 2012

Tower Bridge. April 17, 2012

Tower of London. April 17, 2012

Tower of London, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge. April 17, 2012

This is what London Bridge looks like... April 17, 2012

Millenium walking bridge - this is the bridge the Death Eaters destroy at the beginning of Harry Potter 7.1

We got to tour St. Paul's Cathedral. April 18, 2012

Entrance to St. Paul's Cathedral. April 18, 2012

Yup. We had to go here, too! April 18, 2012

Walked where the Beatles walked! April 18, 2012

Visited King's Cross to see Platform 9 and 3/4! April 18, 2012

Shakespeare's Globe Theater. April 19, 2012

Plaque for the site of the original Globe Theater. April 19, 2012

Kensington Palace. April 19, 2012

We went to the London Zoo to check out the animals! April 19, 2012

So, there you have it! That's not everything of course - many places you could not take pictures inside, but a good taste of just the surface of London!

So thankful we were able to make this trip, however short!

How to Survive a PCS: Final Countdown

Welp, the chaos continues.

The rest of our stuff has been picked up.

May 25, 2012

The temp. furniture is gone.

[Echo! Echo!]

We are living in temp. housing, which is pretty nice - and only on the 3rd floor, instead of the 4th.

We have the other one to clean, still (tonight's festivities), and a handful of random objects still to get rid of.

Then we just have our final appointments, some planes to catch, and we're back home for vacation!

I'm a Bitch, I'm a Lover, I'm a Child, I'm a Mother

Last night, the hubs and I went through Zune going through old 90s music (and some way earlier), and we reminisced the music of our childhood, our adolescence, singing, dancing, enjoying ourselves... and as I sit here, listening to Meredith Brook's "I'm a Bitch" I realize how this song is so completely true, I can't help but forget how much music used to be a part of my life.

It was my life, my emotions. I used to belt out Britney and Nsync, and then bust out to Nelly, Blink-182, and Bon Jovi all in the same listening session... I grew up listening to "oldies" and can appreciate Elvis, The Beatles, and countless others, but still love anything that can make me dance, no matter how shameful it may be. (Selena Gomez, anyone?)

I miss the therapy music provided, the escape, the energy, the company while doing boring jobs around the house... chores, homework... I miss actual CDs!

Actually, as soon as we move, I'm taking all mine back and going back to buying CDs.

What do you expect?

This is the girl that bought the Grease Soundtrack on record at an antique shop.

Evelyn is 1 Year Old!!!

Can't believe we've gotten to this point so quickly!!! Evelyn is 1 year old!!

May 13, 2012

This will be her last update for a few months, how sad. =(

Evelyn:

Dances! (She can now shake her hips, too. I swear we didn't teach her that!)

Stands >1 minute.
Stand up without using something to pull up on.

Takes about 8-10 steps, unassisted.

April 25, 2012

Can walk holding only one hand for balance.

May 9, 2012

Uses a walker - and can control the direction it moves.

May 11, 2012

Feed herself, though she's still working on the chewing thing.

Uses a bottle & eats baby food & adult food, but we are starting the transition over to solely adult food.

April 29, 2012

Hates using sippy cups... But she's more open to it if she's drinking juice.

May 8, 2012

Talks a lot - though still no real discernible words, but she's definitely trying.

Nests and stacks cups.

Loves to read books!

May 4, 2012

Loves any kind of attention and play time.

You could totally have a conversation with her in laughs, she'd be content with that.
She must think people live in computers - she still visits her grandparents and aunts & uncles through skype!

April 29, 2012

She has 7 teeth now: 4 on the bottom & 3 on the top, and I'm pretty sure 2 molars are starting to push up.

Her personality is definitely growing and showing through!

She can be really fun, but definitely is starting to test boundaries.

If you tell her to "turn around" from the kitchen or put her hands down from something she shouldn't be climbing on, she might grunt or screech, or even throw a mini-tantrum to show her displeasure.

She gets cranky when it's time for a nap or bed.

Daddy had to get one last cuddle with his baby... May 12, 2012

We are def. working on giving warnings, and baby sign language to help give her the words she needs.
She can use the sign for "more" and starting to use "all done."

She has moved into the next car seat!

April 27, 2012

We are back to 2 naps a day - 1 was not working. She takes about 1.5 hour nap between 1230-130, and a short catnap about 530.

She gets 3 meals a day, though lately, we are giving her a dinner with us and she still her dinner (she doesn't eat much with us).
We are in the process of moving, and is taking the changes so far like a champ!
She loved having Gammi with play with!

I love Gammi!!

Evelyn weighs 24 pounds & 5.77 ounces (92%) and stands 30.7 inches tall (91%). Her head circumference is 17.9 inches (62%).

10 Day Challenge: 7 wants

No, I have not forgotten I started this blog series like, half a year ago... so onward!

Seven wants, in no particular order!

7) Continued good health & safety: for myself, and my family. 

6) A job: after we move, that doesn't completely deplete my energy, and allows me to still get everything else done. That I like. (Too much?)

5) Motivation: to do the things I know I need to, want to, and have started but need to finish.

4) To be well-rested after 4 hours of sleep: This won't happen, but I sure wish it could! I do not, and cannot function with little sleep... And no, you don't "get used to it" - at least I don't. Ask my husband.

3) Dependable friends: So can't wait to meet new people, make new friends, and be nearer to the friends & family back home.

2) More time: to do everything, enjoy it all more, and actually keep up with life.

1) Happiness: Nay, I want to be content with life. No stressed and crazy, not bored and lonely. Content. To me, that's just as awesome as happiness. 

European Travels: Paris, France

KR's mom (Gammy) got here April 1. We didn't do too much for the first week cuz hubs still had to work, and we were letting the baby get adjusted to her new playmate. But in a spur of the moment, we decided to book a hotel and head to Paris! For the 3rd and final time, we'll be making the (expensive) drive through France.

Crossed the border to France!

On Thursday, April 12, 2012 we hit the road. I should note that France has tolls (not fun stickers) on the way to Paris, and so it's quite a shock to pull up to a toll booth and see "21,20" as what you owe - and that's just one toll! In one direction! And in Euro!

[For those of you who live in states with toll roads, I know how much it sucks to pay them just to get to work or when driving on a road trip. But I have never been so sticker-shocked by tolls as in France! And this is from the person who paid 6 bucks to drive across the San Francisco Bay Bridge!]

In all, tolls costs about 60-70 euro round trip - plus the fill up of gas (at over $8/gallon) needed before you come back.

[Yes, gas in Europe checks in at over $8/gallon. Americans: do not complain! We could be there.]

We stayed around Disneyland Paris - because you only make the mistake to drive into the city of Paris once. It's a small room, because that's what you get in Paris, we unpacked and then hit the road again to see The Palace of Versailles.

What should've taken only an hour took 2 because of traffic, and then after we parked, there were ZERO bathrooms anywhere, and after 2 hours in traffic, I was urgent. This kinda ruined the experience. The palace was already closed so you couldn't go in, but the grounds were still open, and gorgeous as ever.

The palace grounds viewed from the back of the palace. Photo from  here!

All I remember, though? The fact that every single bathroom was closed, even though it was still light outside, and only about 6pm, people were still everywhere, and the grounds seemed to never stop in any direction. Each facility roped off. The restaurant closed, nothing. Do French people never pee or something?!

We wandered around for a while, half marveling the beauty, half bursting at the seems with pain & frustration. We've all been there.

We wandered back to the car, and finally! Found a facility, one of those at the side of the road they have all over Europe. About damn time!

Then we couldn't pay for parking. The machine broke. We waited. And waited. Finally help arrived. Ugh.

Anyways, we hate France. France clearly doesn't like us too much either.



We attempted to sleep. Close quarters & a sleeping baby doesn't work too well, though, and she woke us up at 5am. We couldn't get breakfast until 9am, and then after that loaded up the car, and headed for the city - by train. It was 7 euro per person each way to the city from Disney. We hit the major places, the Arc de Triumph, Eiffel Tower, The Lourve, and Notre Dame. We screwed up train tickets on more than one occassion...

Arc de Triumph

Eiffel Tower

The Lourve

Notre Dame - where we got engaged!

And then we headed back to the hotel, changed, and hit the road and headed back home... All in 2 days!

How to Survive a PCS: About a Month to Go!

Well, the majority of the hell is over!

A couple weeks ago, we got our car detailed, and shipped it off! And like we had hoped, it should arrive where we sent it while we are on leave, and so we can save ourselves a couple extra flights back and forth. Thank God!

We are currently renting a little Ford Fiesta, which is cute, a little cramped, and a stick shift so I can't drive anyways, but we can say that it's too small for us - at least with a child who still sits rear-facing. It's definitely awesome having a car that actually fits comfortably in those tiny German parking spots, though!

After the car was sent off, it was time to get these organized and packed up - for reals! I honestly don't think I've been quite that stressed in a long time. And to top it off, we all managed to catch a bug that slowed us down and made our attitudes a little less enthusiastic.

I am pretty OCD, and I have an issue with other people touching my stuff, so I wanted this to be as organized as possible for the movers.

What needed to be done:

1) Had to decide what we were keeping, and what we were getting rid of.
2) Paperwork organized & set aside
3) Bags packed for when we move
4) What is going in unaccompanied separated from the other 2 piles

In addition, I also wanted:

1) Just about everything out of all cabinets/drawers so they just had to pack what was out.
2) Clutter/papers organized, sold, or otherwise GONE.
3) Electronics/other delicate items packed except the final strip of tape.
4) Pictures of serial numbers and items of value


This is what our place looked like 2 weeks before the movers:

This is what our place looked like 2 days before the movers:

This is what our place looked like 1 day before the movers:

This is what our place looked like a couple hours before the movers:

This is what our place looked like while the movers were here:

This is the living room, though - not our bedroom. My camera got stuck in a cabinet behind a pile of boxes most of the day...

And this is what all your stuff looks like as it gets put in a truck:

And the truck as it prepares to drive away... Not to be seen - or it's contents - for likely 2 months.