Yes, I'm Obsessed With Fall

Alright, I know I keep posting pictures of the leaves changing colors here in Germany, but it's not my fault I'm so taken with it! In New Mexico there are very few leaves to watch change so this is just overwhelming! Perhaps I'm a little anxious for what Fall and Winter are bringing us too! These are pictures from my walk to the Lake today.

Nesting

Hello to all - here is a general update on our lives. I have one week left at work, for which I am extremely grateful. You never realize how much time you spend bending over and picking things up when you work with kids until you can't bend at the waist anymore! I have also been getting a number of comments from the kids which range from amusing to to downright outrageous.

"Mrs. Megan - you're still pregnant??"
"Why do you have a job if you're having a baby?"
"You shouldn't yell at us - it'll kill the baby!" (I swear I didn't make that up - an 8-year-old told me that.)

I've also gotten a number of uncomfortable questions regarding birth and conception, which I have had to redirect to parents (I always feel a little guilty for exposing them to "the talk" before they might have been otherwise).

Anyhow - speaking of the baby - Jack Ethan is moving around more than ever, sometimes making it rather difficult for mom to sleep. His kicks and other movements have gotten so powerful that they can make me motion sick. Most of the time, it just feels like he's as restless as I am - I think he feels as ready as his mom to start on life outside the womb. (*sigh) All in good time I suppose.

Cody is doing well. He was recently transferred to a new shop where he is more involved with the coordination of deployments done by his squad rather than the branch that actually goes out into the field. It is a "temporary" assignment lasting for the next 18 months during which time it will be very unlikely for him to be deployed on missions or sent on TDY. On the upside, it is almost guaranteed that he will be present for the birth of his son rather than providing comm support a few countries away.

As Cody says, I have gotten a bit "Camera Happy" since I started this blog. I recently got into my "nesting" instinct full-blast and cleaned and organized the entire house. One of Cody's first questions was "Are you going to take pictures?" I laughed and asked why I would take pictures of it. He said, "I don't know - you take pictures of everything."

Well, of course I had to prove him right.

Fall is creeping across the vine covering our house.

Above is our living room post-organization. Note the beautiful vase of lilies Cody got me for our 3-year wedding anniversary. Cody keeps the fans in the living room for the sake of cooling his big TV and his XBox. We have a stand-alone AC unit, but because of the dramatic weather changes, it was packed up in the attic for hibernation about a week after my return from the States.

Above and below are pictures of the new and improved "baby" room. The only thing that makes it a baby room at the moment is the presence of the changing table and a cozy "nursing corner."

Above and below are pictures of some of our baby loot!

I took these last two pictures to show-off my organization. (Do you think he has enough clothes? Hahaha. Seriously - those are all his - they range from "Newborn" to "18 months").

This concludes the update for now - I'll try to get another update post on here before our next appointment on October 20th.

Lost in the Fog

Driving to work this morning is very seriously the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. I leave for work at 6:30 am - in Germany at that time in the morning, it is still pitch dark outside. This morning, I opened the front door of the house and froze - on top of the darkness, I literally could not see more than 10-15 feet in front of me - the fog surrounding us was so think I felt like I could have cut it with a knife!

I debated silently with myself for a good 30 seconds before deciding that "fog" probably wasn't an acceptable reason to call in to work while living in Germany. As I said - it was a very scary drive, but I was very proud of myself in the end.

Here are some pictures taken after my morning shift was over - please note the *after* part of that sentence - that means that the sun had already risen and burned off the worst of it. The pictures don't even come close to what I was up against at 6:30 am in the dark!

Beautiful Babies...

I've been very curious lately about what our little boy will look like. I know most of my family and friends have seen my baby pictures, but I wanted to post a few of Cody so you'd have some for comparison. What do you think? Will Jack Ethan look more like Daddy or Mommy?

As for me, I hope he gets Daddy's eyes and smile at least :)

St. Johannis Labor & Delivery Ward

This evening we took a tour of the Labor/Delivery/Maternity Ward of St. Johannis Hospital. Here are some of the pictures we took.

Above is the reception desk - to the right of the stork is the Nursery.

Just past the reception desk, you'll see a sign that says "Wintergarden" - this is the visiting area for the new mommies and their families so that you can't bother your roommate. Cody and I are hoping to get a "family" room so that we don't have roommates and we can have visitors stay overnight.

Above and below are pictures of a couple of the delivery rooms - they are all very nice and offer a variety of birthing options.

Above is one of two birthing tubs (which I won't be using :).

Above is the nursing room where mothers can go with their babies - the midwives were joking around that many new moms use this room to get away from their husbands and visitors.

Last but not least, above is one of the maternity recovery rooms - all rooms are set up the same way - in a family room, we would have the option of pushing the two hospital beds together so Cody could stay overnight.

We did have an ultrasound today, but as usual, we didn't get very good pictures - we did get to see some great shots of his face and absolutely confirm (again) that he is a he. He is growing really well and everything looks great.

Our next appointment is October 20th.

Megan's Little Kitchen

In an attempt to make healthier food and have a more diverse culinary repertoire, I have started a cookbook blog - I feel that this will force me to consistently try out new and healthy recipes. This week's experiment was Ratatouille:

If you would like to be emailed each time the new blog is updated, let me know - otherwise, I'll keep my cooking adventures to myself :)

Here is the address: http://meganslittlekitchen.blogspot.com/

Fall is Falling

Fall is creeping into Kindsbach - the vines outside of our house are changing color as are the woods surrounding our little town.

Here are some of the prettiest houses in and around our neighborhood.

I have received repeated requests for pictures of our house with our furniture inside of it -
here you go!

Below is the "Baby's" Room - all of the shower gifts are spread out on the guest bed.

Here is my preggo belly at almost 7 months along.

And since there haven't been any pictures of Cody on this blog for months, here is a video of him playing the drum set for Rock Band.