Merry Christmas!!

Just told Grandpa Justin, Wella and Pop, and Aunt Kirs and Uncle Jake. I held up the ultrasound and someone asked "What is that?" and I think it was Kirsten who said "It's an ultrasound." Dad said "Keeley are you pregnant?!" And Wella just had her mouth open wide catching flies! After a delay (where Matt and I held our breath) we finally got the "OMG Congratulations!" and "That's the BEST Christmas present!" And apparently Poppy had a dream about 2 weeks ago about my getting pregnant- weird eh?

Merry Christmas and Frohe Weinachten- the Barr's are becoming Parents!!!

Tonight we told Grandma (Mary- she claimed the name. Thats what Mom and Suzette get for saying they've got 8 months to think of one!) ;-) and Uncle Cody and Uncle Colton. At first we were just chitchattin then I put Matt on the phone and he said "Hey Grandma!" And Mary said "Uh uh I better not be Grandma...am I a Grandma?" So I told her yup and then it was dead silent for a good 20 seconds (that felt like FOREVER!) We thought she'd had a stroke! Then we got a WHOLE BUNCH of "OH MY GOD"s every 10 seconds for about a minute or two. THEN we got the scream and congratulations and the laughter. She was sooooo excited. But honest- she is sad she won't be here and as she said she won't see me get fat (thanks alot Mare!) Then she claimed Grandma and asked about names. She couldn't wait for the boys to hear (they were out hunting). Later on Cody called us to say Merry Christmas and he asked Matt what he got and Matt told him "Blu ray player, football, softball glove, cologne, some movies, a pregnant wife" and there was silence. We thought he didn't hear but then we got the "What?! WHOOPIE!!!" LoL Uncle Cody LOVES babies :-) He was soo happy and now he REALLY thinks Matt's a stud haha. Apparently Colton overheard Mary telling Granny T on the phone so we couldn't surprise him but I heard he jumped up and down and squealed haha. I'm so mad Matt wouldn't let me wait and tell them on the webcam!! Oh well.

Today has been so much fun. Now all the family knows and they were all excited (or pretended to be haha). So that fear of them being angry is gone. I don't know why I was so worried. I've been married for almost 3 years, I'm a college graduate, Matt (and I) have good jobs and benefits...I guess my family still makes me feel like a kid lol...I think I was more scared that they'd be upset to not be around for the birth. And they are sad but not angry. Phew! Now I can't wait for my first trimester to be over with to make the announcement to EVERYONE (Facebook- haha).

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Officially Preggers: First Sickness

Merry Christmas Eve! The baby decided it wanted to celebrate by causing explosions out of Mommy's mouth while she was brushing her teeth. This kid is grounded before he/she is even born!



Today we told Grandma Kelly and Nana and family. They reacted by screams and tears and open mouths and laughter and smiles :-) Everything I could have hoped for! First I had them open all their gifts from us on the webcam and then after everyone was finished I had Nana and Mom get on the camera so I could see both their faces and then I held up the ultrasound photo to the camera. At first they said "Whats that?" And it was Grampy David who first realized what it was and said "It's a baby!" Thats when the gaping and screams started lol. Now they are allowed to spread the word to the rest of the TX clan but are forbidden to say anything online because tomorrow I tell the FL brood! Can't stinking wait!!!

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1st OB Appt!

Yesterday we went to our first OB appointment at the hospital. My OB is the head OB at the largest hospital in the city. I chose this hospital over the nicer, newer hospital because this one has a NICU and full pediatric staff (just in case). My dr is the same that 2 friends have/are using and she speaks perfect english. Plus she's very nice and reassuring. She also lives in my village (small world)! Ok so the appointment. It was long. First a midwife (hebamme) took down my info and a urine test. Then after more waiting the dr did a PAP and other woman tests down there. Next she did a vaginal ultrasound. The first attempt was unsuccessful because my bladder was too full (even though I had peed 2x in that hour!) but then we got to see our "peanut with a pulse"!! She said everything looks good but the baby is too small for 7weeks. More than likely I am 6 weeks and a few days but she's not going to change my due date until I am a little farther along. The baby was 4.5mm and is on the left side of my heart shaped uterus. Yup you read right- heart shaped uterus. Apparently its not "normal" but not a problem. I have a septum down the middle of my uterus and the baby is in the left chamber but she said has he/she grows you won't even see the right chamber anymore and it won't be a problem. I also have a cist on my ovary but again she said this is normal. After the ultrasound she took some blood and issued my "Mutterpass" which is basically my medical records in regard to the pregnancy. They fill out all the information of every visit in this pass and its advised to carry it everywhere just in case. My next dr appointment is January 11. We don't know why so soon but if I get another ultrasound I'm not complaining ;-)

Overall it was very reassuring to see our baby and very exciting. I didn't cry like I thought I would and Matt just had this goofy grin the entire time! We could see the pulse but it's too early to hear it. Maybe next time!!

That's our Peanut with a Pulse!!

Not sure what this is? My ovaries??

That's Our Baby!!

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Telling Daddy!

I had wrapped the Daddy books, tshirts, and the pic of the tests (right on top) in a Victoria Secret box. He was of course oooing and ahhing VS and then he opened the lid and saw the pic and just stared... then he lifted it and saw the shirt and read it and shouted "Im gonna be a DADDY!" and he just grinned and almost cried!! He covered his face with the shirt so the camera wouldn't see. I have it on video but he said I'm not allowed to show anyone (HAHA as if!) He hasn't shut up with questions and suggestions since! I was a little nervous- yeah we had talked about it but actually having it happen is a lil more scary! First thing he did was say it better be a boy haha then he went and looked at his "Man Room" and said goodbye and started planning how we could arrange everything LOL. And he's just like me and wants to tell everyone but agrees it would be more fun to do it on the webcams on Christmas. We haven't decided when to make it public info yet...I was telling him all the horror stories of women miscarrying 14 weeks or even 21 weeks! He just told me not to think about the bad stuff and be happy :-)

Adri also called last night and she was so happy she cried- it was so sweet! I think she's a little shocked that she's "Aunt Adri" lol. Aunt Monica also knows as well and is also super excited!

We just got done telling Grandma Sue lol she freaked. She said "I'm too young to be a Grandma but I'm happy" she also told Jera (Matt's 6yr old sister) "You're going to be an aunt" to which Jera shouted "I dont WANNA be an Aunt I want to be the mommy!" LOL So cute! She said she just wants to help hold the baby- aww. Matt's mom immediately wanted to get off the phone and spread the news so we're waiting to hear back from her about everyone's responses!

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First Bad Night

Well Saturday night was my first bad night...hopefully not too many will follow but I'm not holding my breath! After tossing and turning for an hour and a half I of course had to pee plus I had to do a #2 and it felt like I wasn't going to make it all the way to the bathroom! The cramps were SO BAD! On the way there I was hit with such bad nausea. After sitting in the bathroom for 30 minutes I was STILL not done but I was also sweating soooo bad I think that was making the sickness worse so I had to strip down. Now mind you I had my windows open and (though I didn't know it) it was SNOWING outside-- and I'm SWEATING?! Ugh talk about hormones. I'm only having to get up 1-2 times at night to pee but I'm sure that'll get worse...Today I am 6 weeks! Still cramping and no morning sickness...it could start this week but maybe I'll be one of those lucky few! Although I've read if you DON'T have morning sickness it could mean you have a boy...

Last night I babysat for a 17 month old. I realized my boobs ARE sore- they're just not messed with so I haven't realized it! Having a 17month old crawl around you and head butt you DEFINITELY makes you realize it! They haven't quit hurting yet. I'm even sleeping in a sports bra now to ease the pain (and hopefully keep them from sagging even more than they do!)

I picked up lots of info from the New Parent Support office on post since I work during all the orientations. They even gave me my first diaper bag (one of those black similac bags hospitals normally give out)! I'm about to read through their info and iron on Matt's shirt!!! I am SO ready for him to get home!!! We're going to get our tree Friday and depending on when we get it all set up and decorated is when I'm going to tell him ;-)

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Christmas Party and SNOW!

Well my first teacher's Christmas party was pretty good. The atmosphere of this restaurant was amazing and the food was great (even if it did take 2.5 hours to get everything!) I sat next to an interesting character who was full of advice and trivia. My date was another wife who's husband deployed a few weeks ago- she was awesome! She even walked me to my car and when I realized I left my wallet at the restaurant she rode her bike back there and grabbed it for me- Thank you Gina!
Today I woke up to SNOW on the ground :-)

After a horrible night's "sleep" it was just what I needed. I even had a few minutes to play in it before church. At church today the Christmas play kids performed the first song (Joy to the World) at each service (9, 10:45, 12:30).

They did so great! I was such a proud Mama bear lol. Between performances I played out in the snow with a few of the kids and had lunch at McDonalds with my FRG leader and her kids. Very nice morning indeed! I just finished getting my house clean with the exception of the floors which I'll wait til the night before Matt comes home. Now I'm going to take a much needed nap before babysitting my Baby Gadi tonight so his parents can go watch New Moon!
Matt must be enjoying WLC as he's "forgotten" to call me a lot this week! I'm glad he's enjoying it and it sounds like he's learning alot. He's really spoiled to 3 full meals a day which I already warned him to enjoy it while he lasts lol. He'll be home in 5.5 days!!!

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Am I really pregnant??

Today I didn't even "feel" pregnant. No symptoms except for extreme exhaustion (I almost fell asleep in the library). Am I really pregnant? I feel this heavy pit in my stomach of worry that something is going to happen. I know I need to give it to God and I trust He'll do what's right...but what's right may not be what I like...

In good news: my friend Amanda designed my Daddy tshirt to surprise Matt with! She also made a matching Mommy one for me- it's so cute! She also designed my announcements which I can NOT wait to mail out!! I'll add those to the photo album right now!

Haha I just remembered that tomorrow is our staff Christmas party at a resteraunt downtown and I had preordered a mimosa. Whoops! Guess they'll have to make that straight OJ for me- hope noone notices me asking...not sure when to tell the ladies at the school yet...

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Tis the Season

Well this has been a long week! I am so exhausted all the time! But the kids have been great. Just been coming home and crashing so sorry I haven't posted! Matt on the other hand seems to really be enjoying WLC (although today he had a 5 mile run so he may think different). Right now he's the First Sgt. and loving the "fun power trip"!
We are so excited for Christmas. We keep arguing over who has the best gift for the other person. I win hands down but can't say in case he reads this!! I'm so ready to see all the families on the webcam! I mailed out ALMOST everyone's gifts by now (sheesh shipping for all that stuff is NOT fun!) just a couple more people tomrorow and I'll be DONE!

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1st OB appt Scheduled!

Went to Tricare today and got my first OB appt. scheduled. Two of my friends recommended the head OB at the hospital I'll deliver at AND she's a PreNatal specialist which apparently I have to see because I had a previous miscarriage AND because of my mother's history (and lack of both of our father's histories). I see her on Dec. 22 so I will be telling Matt before then because he should be off and able to come with me!!! I MAY even get an ultrasound *fingers crossed* (I still hope there's twins...)

I am also doing alot of research on BabyCenter.com which is great because some of it has reassured my mind (like the fact I'm cramping) but its so scary to see ALLLLL these women who have miscarried- and even in their 12th week! The question was when to tell your family and alot of responses were to just forget about previous miscarriages and celebrate the JOY of this miracle. Let your family feel Joy too and tell them when you feel ready. IF you were to miscarry you would want their support so why expect their support in your sadness when you can't trust them with your joy? By Dec. 21 I will be 7 weeks. I will talk to Matt of course but I really want to surprise our families on Christmas via webcam. I want to see their faces!! Trusting in God means you have to "ready your fields" and I feel like if I DON'T tell my family and close friends then I'm not putting my faith in Him to care for this baby.

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Symptoms?

The last few days I had been very nauseated but today I was ok for the most part. Maybe it was just those boogers at school makin me sick! It's so hard to talk to people and not tell them! Today my mentor teacher for next semester made a comment how she'll be in Italy up til Aug. 20 and she may need me to come in and help her rush to get ready for the beginning of the year and all I kept thinking was....I'll have just had the baby!! Or yesterday at the Christmas play practice a lady had made Tuna Mac for us. Normally I love it but a) it did NOT smell good last night and B) I don't think you can eat tuna when you're pregnant? Anyways she just kept asking "Are you sure you don't want any? Just take some. Do you not like it?" and of course I didn't want to lie- especially in church!- so I kept saying I wasn't hungry and that I couldn't eat tuna. Bah!

Today I also walked through the miniscule (literally- one aisle) baby section at the PX and almost started crying... I can't believe that I will be buying that stuff soon!! Oh and too bad there's no Parents Choice diapers here...I hope my baby can wear the Select (PX) brand lol. Phew. I started reading "What to Expect" and couldn't put it down last night. Oh and I'm still waking up around 5ish and not being able to fall back asleep! That coupled with the no-caffenine is killing me! No wonder pregnant women are so tired- its not the baby its the other factors.

Anyways this blog was supposed to be about symptoms. Ok is it normal to be cramping this much?? I asked the doc yesterday and she just said "It depends" and then proceeded to say she wanted to test me again. I googled "pregnancy cramping" and the March of Dimes site said in the first month it said it can be normal because your body is stretching, etc. I hope so...it REALLY feels like I'm about to get my period at any moment. The stomach cramps, back ache, diarrhea...I keep running to the bathroom just to make sure I haven't started. I thought I'd be glad when the first trimester was over and I could breathe with relief BUT I just heard of a woman miscarring at 21 weeks!!! EEK! I guess I should get used to the worrying...Moms do that alot ;-)


Gender Predictor:
Ok 4/6 (2/3) of the gender predictor tests I've takin say Girl...which is what I feel like to! Whenever I think about baby I think in terms of her/she...Idk why maybe (hopefully!) it's mother's intuition again! The old wives test aren't very helpful yet because I'm not far enough along...I'll try them next month (or whenever I start showing).



Man I should be studying for my certification test...its so hard to focus on the boring material when there's so much INTERESTING stuff I want to read about!!! Like pregnancy??

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1st Dr. Visit

No not the OBGyn but I went to meet with my regular dr. I needed a form signed for work so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and get my referral going to see an OB. Here in Germany there are no OBs on post- they refer you to a german OB. I've heard they're better: more thorough and take their time with you at each appointment. My dr. recommended I get the H1N1 shot so I got that done as well as a TB test I needed for that work form. I also took another pregnancy test for her and (shock!) it was positive as well! So I got a folder full of OB information and such. I am possibly due Aug. 9 but that could changed based on the ultrasound. Speaking of they want me to see the OB by or around Jan. 7 (10 weeks). I am 5 weeks and 1 day today!!!

She confirmed that I should quit caffenine but that I should do it slowly-cutting back half a cup every two days. I think I'll be ok though. Today I was very tired but I didn't get that killer headache I was dreading. Maybe my body knows I can't have it and its going on easy on me (maybe..). If the headache comes tomorrow I'll do just half a cup of soda or coffee. Oh and she told me I can't take any meds BUT tylenol!! Benadryl is ok as well but my wonderful Tylenol Severe and Allergy and Multisymptom are a no go because they have phenalsomething in them. AHH! Guess I need to go read my What to Expect book I just bought!

It's KILLING me not to be able to shout the news to everyone I see!!!! Matt needs to come home NOW! I wanted SO BAD to call everyone last night...I swear I want to tell you so don't be mad when you finally read this!! I have to tell the "baby daddy" first! :-)

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Wow there's a plus sign!!

So I just literally took the test. About 10 minutes ago to be precise. I saw the plus sign and clamped my hand over my mouth and nearly threw up (which I've been fighting not to do all day). Then I just kept saying "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" over and over. The dogs looked at me like I'm crazy. My first instinct was to call Matt of course but he is in WLC (Sgt. School)...plus I REALLY want to see his face when he hears the news. I'm thinking of wrapping the test up and giving it like a present on Christmas...if not the day he returns. I don't know if I can keep this a secret. Well after all that flashed through my mind I went to call Adri. As the best friend she is the next in line (well technically she comes first but for this matter- she's next in line). She didn't answer!! Then I tried to call Jen. SHE didn't answer. Next I cried for a few seconds. And thanked God. And thought- "omg am I ready??? I always talk about it, I've imagined soo many things, but now that there's a plus sign- am I ready?? Is Matt??? What was I thinking!!!" Then I thought: "what if I miscarry again? I can't handle that." Now I'm rambling. I don't want to tell anyone until Matt knows. And that won't be until the 18th at the earliest. Plus I need to see the Doctor. Like tomorrow.

(after the 1st paragraph I kept coming back and adding new thoughts. Not like I have anyone to discuss all this with- but now that all of you know- you will know exactly what was going through my head. Each new paragraph is another time I came back to add something)

Why did I take the test? Well I wasn't going to until tomorrow or Wednesday (when my period should have ended) but then I've just had this gut feeling, like I've NEVER had before, that I was pregnant (the beginning of Mother's Intuition?). So I recounted my calendar and what do you know but I should have ENDED my period yesterday but it never came. I recounted all my previous 3 periods and they were all exactly 28 days apart. Plus this last week my boobs have been SO sore to the slightest touch. And like I said earlier I've been fighting back naseau all day (like gritting my teeth to prevent it!) So with all of those factors and the fact that EVERYONE is either about to have a baby or just found out they're expecting (and Amanda W's facebook status really made me go hmmm maybe I should just take it...her status said she'll never forget Dec. 7 when that blue line showed up and now she has 2 miracle babies) well now I'LL never forget Dec. 7 either... Speaking of Amanda...what if its twins? OMG I would be so excstatic! Matt would die....

I went off the pill 3 months ago after I had missed 3 periods in a row and kept getting negative pregnancy tests. I was convinced I must be pregnant but all the tests said no- even the blood test. So my doctor wanted to do a blood work up on me to test all sorts of things- thyroid, hormones, etc but to get the best readings she said it would be best to be off the pill for at least 2 weeks before taking the blood work. After discussing it with Matt we decided to go ahead and go off the pill and just let things happen as they're supposed to. The bloodwork came back fine but since we had already had the pregnancy "scare" we had really started talking about it and planning it and it was somehting we both just really wanted. I know my family and Adri (who is family) are not happy to hear that but it was a decision that was only for my husband and my own. For the both of us this was good timing. I would be done with student teaching before a baby came and Matt is not expected to deploy until May 2012 (but may get out of that since we PCS in June 2012). Omg....how am I going to be a married single mom? Matt may be getting OUT in 2012 (or whenever his ETS date is)...I don't know about the single mom life. Granted thousands upon thousands of military wives do it all the time and if they can I can. Wow rambling again. I really wish my husband were home so I can talk to someone about this!!!!!!!!!

How am I going to tell people? There are so many people that would want to know "first"- how do you do it? It's not like "normal" families for me. I have 2 people who are my "Mom" plus I'm super close to BOTH grandmothers. And then there's Matt's mom! I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings :-( Maybe I just mail everyone the sonogram at exactly the same time?... AH! I shouldn't be worrying about this but I am.

OMG I'm going to have a baby in a foreign country. Someone PLEASE come be with me!! Nana, Mary, Wella, Mom...someone????

OMG I can't have caffenine anymore...well screw it I'm finishing my diet green tea I'm in teh middle of drinking...what am I going to DO in the mornings??? Coffee is my life. Is just one cup bad? Maybe just the smell of it will wake me up...but then halfway through the day when I'm crashing and I have a major headache that only a coke can cure- then what? Caffenine headaches are the WORST and they don't go away!!!

OMG I drank wine this weekend...

Yup just took another test (7:25pm). This time it was a Clear Blue Digital (first time it was EPT with a plus sign). Pregnant popped up just about as soon as the urine hit it. Hahaha just thought about Juno seeing the test "That little blue plus sign is so unholy"...well I think it's pretty dang holy. Scary as all get out but holy none the less. Lord give me strength...



WebMD.com says:


Week 4
Baby:Your baby is still very small, only about 0.014 inches to 0.04 inches in length. The embryo, probably in about its second week of development, has multiplied to about 150 cells. Your baby is being nourished by secretions from the uterine lining. Layers of cells already are specialized according to functions. The outer layer will become the nervous system, skin and hair; the inner layer will be the breathing and digestive organs; and the middle layer will become the skeleton, bones, cartilage, muscles, circulatory system, kidneys and sex organs.

Mom-to-be:You're probably expecting your period this week, and if it doesn't occur it might be one of the first signs that you're pregnant. You may also notice light spotting as the embryo implants itself in your uterus. You might not feel any different yet, but the amniotic cavity, which will be filled with fluid, and the placenta, which will bring oxygen and nutrients to nourish your baby, are forming in your uterus.

Tip for the Week:Try to eat healthfully, which means choosing a variety of foods from the recommended food groups and drinking at least six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. But you don't really need to "eat for two." You need only an extra 300 calories per day during pregnancy. And don't worry if your food intake drops a little in the beginning because of morning sickness. If you've been eating right already, your baby will get what it needs.

What’s Happening Inside You?
As the fertilized egg grows, a water-tight sac forms around it, gradually filling with fluid. This is called the amniotic sac, and it helps cushion the growing embryo.

The placenta also develops. The placenta is a round, flat organ that transfers nutrients from the mother to the baby, and transfers wastes from the baby.

A primitive face takes form with large dark circles for eyes. The mouth, lower jaw, and throat are developing. Blood cells are taking shape, and circulation will begin.

By the end of the first month, your baby is about 1/4 inch long - smaller than a grain of rice!

I'll be going to buy "What to Expect" tomorrow...although I read it with both my mom's pregnancies and scimmed it when my stepmom was pregnant with my youngest brother. I think I'll get way more out of it now!



OMG I am going to get SO FAT! I know that sounds dumb but I've been so weight conscience my WHOLE life (literally- when I was 6 I refused to go out in my bathing suit because I thought I was "fat"),,, Skinny girls who get pregnant are cute. Fat girls who get pregnant are just fatter. :-( I hope people will know that I'm pregnant...and that they can actually FEEL the baby when I'm farther along...

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Sinterklaas!

Tonight is the night in Germany and many other European countries when children will be leaving out their shoes in the hopes that Sinterklaas will leave presents in and around them! Don't forget to leave your shoes out!

Google Sinterklaas or check out these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=78

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J'ADORE PARIS!

We are absolutely in LOVE with Paris! It was amazing. I will blog the details tomorrow...exhausted! Yesterday I had school (and was there til 5:30 preparing for the week-and still didn't finish) then we had to get Matt home and packed up to leave for Sgt. School (WLC). After that we wanted to cuddle and watch one last movie together. Facing the Giants. It was amazing- very powerful as Matt said. Today was school again, faculty meeting, then CCPP. I'm pooped! Tomorrow I just have school so when I get home I can relax and share all the Paris details. Check back soon!

December 5, 2009

Ok so I've been to busy/tired to post any sooner. Our adventures in Paris started off with us getting off an hour later than planned and then when we got 30 minutes away we realized we forgot our camera and turned around. So 2 and half hours late we were on our way to Paris. The drive was dull- the autobahn doesn't have great scenery, or really anything to look at as its got trees on both sides. We payed nearly 30euros in tolls on the way there- crazy! One toll alone was 13euros. Luckily the rain that was supposed to happen stayed away and we had a pleasant drive. About an hour into France I started driving and I was the one who drove in Paris- including the CRAZY Paris traffic circle. Needless to say we have video of me saying not such lady like sayings!! It was awful. Paris roads have no rules, signs, or lanes. Its a free for all where the weak don't survive.

Our first night we walked down to the Louvre which was only a 2 minute walk down the street! The Louvre was so beautiful at night. We decided to go in- it's cheaper on Friday's after 7pm. We saw the major things: Mona Lisa, Madonna of the Rocks, Venus de Milo, and others that I recognized but don't know the name. We were very bundled up so in the Louvre we were sweating our butts off- plus we didn't realize how far apart things were and how many stairs were involved! Make sure you're in shape before visiting. We spent 2 hours in there and still saw only a small fraction. I am dying to go back with my art expert Adri and walk through it all! Well after the Louvre Matt was hungry and we had seen a McDonalds so we went there. Actually we went to McDonalds for random things about 3-4 times on the trip and it was ALWAYS packed. I was pretty tired and so was Matt and we also didn't know where anything was so we decided to go back to the room. We tried to watch Twilight since we were going to see New Moon the next night (and Matt has yet to watch it all the way through)...we were too tired so he still hasn't seen it all LOL.

The next day was suuuuuper busy. We got up early- but not early enough to make it to get in line for the Eiffel Tower before it opens- and we went to enjoy a Starbucks coffee...which was disappointing to say the least. We then went to get on our Hop On Hop Off bus.

Quick note about the Hop On/Off bus: for the first visit it was neat because you could go on and off as much as you wanted plus there was commentary BUT you stop at every place for like 10 mins (which when its freezing or sweltering is miserable). The Metro (subway) is SUPER easy to figure out AND cheap so I recommend getting a map of the lines and using that! We will from now on (oh yes- we will be back!).

On our way to the bus stop by the Louvre we were hit by our first scam artist. LUCKILY I had read in Rick Steve's about the lady who pretends to ask if you dropped this gold ring- when you say no she looks at it and tries to convince you there's markings that mean it's real gold and then she tries to sell it to you. As SOON as she walked up with a gold ring and tried to talk to Matt I jerked him away and we kept walking. We saw her every.single.time we walked to that bus stop!! Once a girl was screaming at her about it and another time we sat there and watched her go after several people...it was funny to watch. Anyways we rode the Hop On/Off bus around a full time to see all the sights. It was freezing!!!!!!! But you couldn't get good pix/views from the inside bottom portion so we stuck it out and rode on the open air top part! After the tour we went back to the room to change into warmer clothes, including Long Johns for me (Christmas idea people!!). On our way we stopped at the Cafe de Comedy right beside the Comedie Francais which was also next door to our hotel! We both had different paninis so we could share and we shared a side of FRENCH fries. Matt had an amazing beer that tasted sweet and fizzy like cola and I had a very VERY dry warm glass of red wine that had me feeling PURDY good for 1pm...I was tired the rest of the day from it! Phew.

Next we went to Notre Dame which was amazing but full of beggars right outside- including a muslim woman who asks if you speak english then shows you a paper that says something like she's a refugee here and trying to get back home...I don't know I walked away but Matt read it. We did some shopping right beside the cathedral then headed to see the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero (the best viewing spot). No we didn't go up the Eiffel Tower because it was too cold and windy. When the wind blew it felt like you were being burned alive! We decided to save that for when we go back after it warms up a bit. This was filled with African or Jamaican people pushing anything and everything on you. After this we went to try and get to the Musee d'Orsay by 5pm to get in right before closing when supposedly you can get in for free. We got in line five minutes til and a guy came out and said no one else could get in- bummer. We stopped in a cafe and bought a cafe au lait and warmed up a bit. It drizzled most of the day and was again- FREEZING! Then we got back on the bus to do the tour again but this time after dark when the City of Lights comes alive! It definitely lives up to its name! It drizzled the whole time but the first two seats of the top part of the bus were covered so we could enjoy the views. I fell in love with the city that night. After a very very cold ride we went back to the hotel. We attempted to find some of the restaurants from Rick Steve's on our map but no luck. And the GPS wouldn't come on- go figure. So we opted for McDonalds and then walked down Ave de l'opera (isn't that much prettier than Oberfarhtgetzen or anything else in German??) The opera is my favorite building and even prettier at night. When you get to the front of the Opera you go right and one block down there's a movie theater. It was playing New Moon (Tentation) in english with french subtitles. MUCH better than Twilight AND I picked up more french watching those subtitles!! When we got out of our movie it was after midnight but unlike Germany everything was still hopping. We walked around some more and window shopped then went back to our hotel (Hotel Montpelsier) and crashed. From our hotel room you could see the spot light flashing from the Eiffel Tower (the "batman beacon" haha).

I'll stop right here and explain the hotel. It was 6 stories- and we were on the top. Our room looked over a courtyard type area. The rooms are SMALL. But we were expecting that thanks to Adri's heads up about European hotel rooms. You literally had a foot around 3 sides of the double bed. There was free WiFi in the lobby and we luckily booked a room with a bathroom. Some rooms at the hotel- the cheapest ones- don't have restrooms in them. Some have just toilets but no showers and some have nothing. They use community showers/toilets on the floor. We looked in one for curiosity and it was NASTY! So paying an extra 20euros a night was well spent. But honestly the size was no big deal considering you're never in your room and when you are you're sleeping. Nothing could beat the location though!!! We were a 2 minute walk to the Louvre, the Opera, and so much other stuff!

Ok our last day in Paris we checked out of the hotel with no problem. The problem came when we were walking with all of our luggage and trying to find our parking garage. We tried tracing our steps but no luck. And the signs LIED ugh. We were sweating- even though it was cold- hungry and pretty pissed when we finally found the garage. We were more pissed to find the lift broken and we had to go down 3 flights with our luggage. Oh well. We dropped off our luggage and went back the Louvre where we bought our first crepes. We bought one sucre (sugar) and one ham and cheese. The sucre wasn't impressive but the ham and cheese was to DIE for!!! I wish we had tried them sooner- we could have eaten those the whole time! We got the bus again and went to the Musee d'Orsay and stood in a long line to get in. Luckily it was only about a 20minute wait. Then we walked all around that confusing museum and couldn't find what we were looking for. Finally we realized they had free maps. I did see some of Degas' ballerina paintings but not as much as I thought. We also saw many Van Gogh's but never my favorite- Starry Night. Oh well. The modern stuff like from the 60s was pretty cool as well!! After the museum we were going to go get falafels in the Jewish Quarter but it was too late so we went back to our car. Our GPS STILL wouldn't turn on (it has a habit of doing that now right when you need it) but luckily I had printed map quest directions. Unfortunately they were from the hotel and it wasn't easy to figure it out. I had Matt drive around following traffic and we ended up by the river. THEN I was able to find a familiar place on the map that matched Map quest so we basically followed the river out of Paris. Matt was lucky enough to not have to battle the evil traffic circle that I had to! Ugh.

Our ride home was a long one. Besides the fact it was raining and that slows up the autobahn tremendously half way through the trip our GPS comes on so I put in the Home directions and then it tells us to exit meaning we had to pay another toll. Well after driving around small towns and back roads for an hour and a half with the estimated arrival time saying noon on Monday I finally remembered the GPS was set to pedestrian!!! UGH! So we finally find our way back the autobahn and get going. We stopped just inside Germany to get gas with our ration card and grabbed some not as delicious german sandwiches. We FINALLY got home at 11:30 (we left at 2- we should have been home at 8:30) after going to pick up my friend's dog from their babysitter. Luckily Elvis' babysitter offered to keep him another night so we could get home sooner.

Well that's Paris! I wish I could remember much more details but I was in such a daze! All we kept saying was "I feel like I'm in a movie!" For pictures see our albums on facebook. I always have problems loading pix on Blogger!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033892&id=202500066&l=c6e8944e0e
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033889&id=202500066&l=2c31f31f70

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Lots of Learning!

This last week was wonderful. Of course there were a few moments of frustration with some kiddos- especially since I didn't have much of a voice the first half of the week!- but for the most part the kids and I enjoyed each other. I even had several who didn't want to go home for the weekend- they wanted to stay in school with Mrs. B! That's always a good feeling.

The previous teacher had left me lesson plans for last week and that was a help because I was able to focus on getting to know the kids and their learning styles and behaviors and not stress about what to teach. However this week I am on my own! I went in to school today to work with my mentor teacher but instead the previous teacher happened to be there so she talked with me for awhile. I got lots of insight into why the class is the way they are. I think the teacher was a very nice woman and her heart was DEFINITELY in the right place but, and she agreed, our styles and philosophies are way different. She also informed me about other teachers in the hall and the way the administration is- from her point of view. Some of it I had already figured out and others...well... that's her point of view. I did NOT like when she told me that she was ok with a handful of kids not being able to read at the end of first grade!! She said this happened every year and she was ok with that because they just weren't ready to learn to read and hopefully they picked it up later but if not that's ok because there is plenty of adults in society today who are just fine and can't read!! WHAT?! Not ok with me. But overall I really liked chatting with her and it broke my heart when she started to cry- she really loves teaching and her kids. I think she is sad that she is retiring and she even told me she envies my youth but she hopes I will understand her more when I am her age. I told her I envy her experiences!! Teaching is such a fine balance- yes experience is a big part to a successful teacher but you also need to stay young at heart and stay abreast in new theories and willing to try new things. A teacher should always be learning how to be better! Needless to say it was an eye opening few hours.

So instead of working on lesson plans and learning about the 6+1 writing traits I talked with her. Tomorrow and Tuesday I'll go in after lunch and get some actual work done. It's only a 3 day school week because of parent teacher conferences but luckily the principal is conducting those for me. I also have to give a unit test because the kids just finished the end of unit 2 in the curriculum the previous teacher used. I'm excited/nervous/overwhelmed and all kinds of emotions to have so much responsibility! I'm going to be bored in student teaching the first couple of weeks when I'm supposed to just be "observing"!!

Matt is doing great. He had a wonderful 24th birthday. Thursday I picked him up from work and I had brought clothes for him to change into (instead of going all the way back home). After he changed I took him to his favorite (well, the only one we've tried) chinese restaurant. We bought everything he wanted so we would have plenty for leftovers (and boy did we)! After that yummy dinner we went home where I surprised him with an acoustic guitar (a Fender)! He had NO idea that I had bought him that. I ordered it 2 months ago from guitarcenter.com and it has been SO hard to keep it a secret!! Especially when during one conversation he was saying he hated that brand and all sorts of stuff (he claims he was talking about electric guitars). I had the guitar shipped to our friend's house and it got here while Matt was gone- thankfully, because lots of times the two guys check their mail together and he would have seen it! I also had made him a cookie cake which turned out yummy if not so pretty. Overall I think he had a great day- even after a bad day at work. Yesterday we bbqed and the Barreto's stopped by and ate with us. Ribs, burgers, chedder dogs, corn on the cob, baked beans, buffalo chicken cheese dip, and of course more cookie cake! We stuffed ourselves and then he had to go to guard duty =-( Luckily it was only 12 hours 6-6 but that still stinks for me- I hate going to bed alone!

So now both Barr's are working hard and staying busy. Little Barr (Elvis) is doing what he does best- sleeping! We are dogsitting 2 dachshunds for this lady at church so he'll have some buddies for a few weeks. Good practice for Matt who swears he wants another dog even though he complains when he has to walk this one!! Oh and no Paris for the Barr's this Thanksgiving. Army stinks but oh well. We've got great Thanksgiving plans with two other families and a couple of singles soldiers and we plan on seeing the new "Christmas Carol" which comes out here that weekend. Matt is planning on taking leave so we can travel without problems with the Army!

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Long Term Sub

Today I was asked to be a long term sub in 1st grade. Originally I thought I was headed to a 5th grade class for 2 days but they decided they needed me in 1st. So what is a long term sub? Well just like it sounds a sub who is in the same classroom for a "long" term! The first grade teacher resigned for personal reasons and they do not have a replacement so I will be subbing until they find one. This could mean this week or for the rest of the month or semester! Unfortunately I can't sub any longer than this semester due to student teaching. Several teachers and I agree that UTT should allow this to count as student teaching! Grr. Oh well its more experience and I am grateful for it! Today the class seemed pretty good. There are some definite kids who are used to being "babied"- when if they just listened the first time instead of talking then they'd know what to do! Then I have other kids who are GREAT helps- couldn't do it without 'em! :-) There are a few minor things I am going to slowly restructure beginning tomorrow (well I started today with seating arrangements on the carpet!) but for the most part I want to keep it running as is. I'd hate to change them now then when the permanent person takes over it get changed again! But in the mean time I can think of a couple of things to make the class run a little more efficient as well as teach the same material but in a different manner. I don't think the old teacher would mind- she seemed like a great lady!

Today I went to the Dr. For those of you who spoke to me this weekend you know how awful I was starting to sound. Well last Monday my throat started hurting. By Friday I was coughing/having chest pains. Unfortunately it was a 3 day week so the clinic was closed and I was not about to wait in the ER for 8+ hours for chest congestion- especially not here where they're so quick to admit you for any tiny thing!!! So I saw the Dr. right after school and he scolded me for waiting so long yadidadada because now the crud has gotten in my lungs and I have early signs of bronchitis. I could of told him that- I seem to get it at least once a year! The main reason I went to the doc was because my ears were beginning to hurt (they're fine- its just the pressure) and because the mucus has been so bad its literally choking me, especially in my sleep! So he gave my a antibiotic, a pill that will stop the cough so my throat won't hurt (it's so raw that touching the OUTSIDE of my neck hurts!), and an albuterol inhaler because I can't breathe. Plus he said I can keep on the tylenol severe multisymptom and mucinex (however that just seems like WAY to much to me so after today I'm not taking that stuff). Through all this I haven't "felt" sick i.e. tired, etc but I took it easy this weekend hoping I could rest it away (so such luck).

Matt is doing fine. He's still waiting on seatbelts for his car so he's annoyed at "me" right now ;-) Naw not really just annoyed that he's got to shower/change at the gym after PT since I have to get to work as well. However I think he'd rather do that then have less money and an unpleasant bored wife! He's sluggin his way through 2 college classes this term and trying to get them finished before he goes to WLC (see below). We've been watching Christmas movies every night and he's super excited that "Jingle All the Way" has arrived in the mail today! (Why this and not the seatbelts???)

Hope everyone else is doing well! Please keep the families of Fort Hood in your prayers as well as the families who's soldiers are about to deploy from here. Also the families who's soldiers are returning now! People don't realize that they still need your prayers when they get home- it's a tough transition (I always thought that was silly but it is SO true!)

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Christmas Cheer!

Yesterday I finally got Matt out to Rothenburg ob der Tauber and it is now his favorite city just like me! Unfortunately we forgot how early it gets dark now (4:30!) so we only got to see the Christmas stores but that's ok. Matt was in HEAVEN (as was I)! We even gave in and bought a few more items. After a doner and a schneeballen (a traditional Rothenburg desert) we were headed home only to hit HORRIBLE traffic on the autobahn. Silly me hit the detour button on our GPS..never again at night! It sent us through pitch black twisty roads and lots of villages- probably beautiful during the day but terrifying at night!

Today we were lazy (well, I am sick- sort of). I skipped CCPP because I didn't want to be coughing all over the kiddos and instead Matt and I watched Eagle Eye- Awesome movie! Then Matt was dying to put out the new Christmas items and seeing as how he was in Iraq the last 2 Christmas's and this is our first Christmas together since 2004 AND since he'll be gone most of December I gave in and while listening to Christmas music we decorated our house. The house looks great and we can't wait to get our tree!! Now we are watching The Grinch and I am enjoying a cuppa (cup of hot tea- it's what my British friend Lisa says)! Here are some photos of the Christmas decor- but see Facebook for everything!:

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I fell asleep at Taco Bell!

So I am physically and emotionally exhausted so this is going to be brief:

Matt had to go 5 hours away on Tuesday to drop off Ammo. On the way there his humvee ran out of gas (broken gauge). They spent 4 hours on the side of the autobahn and were never "rescued" so finally the other humvee left got a tank of gas and came back. After getting to the barracks room he shared with 3 other guys- all on cots- at midnight they were woken up at 5am to begin the day. They got to the ammo place at 8 but weren't seen until 1pm. They never had ANY food thanks to a Sgt. who wanted to get going (yes, hurry up and wait). At 4ish I called Matt and they FINALLY stopped at a McDonalds for food. He got home at 9:30pm and crashed. So in my book he was gone 2 nights because I didn't really see him last night. Thankfully they didn't make him come into work until 10am today so he got to catch up on sleep.

As for me well a friend of mine is out of town for the week leaving her husband with their 4 kids (10, 8, 6, 2). He called Tuesday night and asked if I could help him with the kids this morning because he had a doctor's appointment in Heidelburg. Of course I said yes! So this morning I got up at 4:45am (yes shocker for me I know I know....LOTS of coffee) and got to their house at 5:30am. He left at 6am and I had the 3 bigger kids getting dressed, eating, etc. About 6:45 the 2yr old was up as well. The big kids took the bus (I offered to drive since I was going to their school anyways but they took the bus) and I took the 2yr old to his babysitter then went to school. It was great for me- felt like I was home with all my rugrats!!

Today I subbed in the same class I had on Monday. It was 90x better than Monday and I hate to say it but partially because one student was absent so it just made the whole day less stressful and easier to focus on teaching and not disciplining. Don't get me wrong- its still a tough group but I'm pretty tough too ;-) I am very proud of myself though- even when the kids were being SO loud I just talked in a quiet calm voice and one or two kids would hear me and they would start quieting others and it was a chain reaction! So you DON'T have to yell to get what you want *hint hint* It may take a little longer (we were late to library because of certain chatter boxes) but the kids and I were certainly less stressed. At the end of the day one boy told me I was "like the best teacher EVer" and then the 5 around him agreed hahaha :-D I saw their actual sub after school and told her the good report and she agreed that one student CAN make a huge impact on the day. She also agreed that while they are a handful it is fun being challenged every day AND it makes the day FLY by!!! I'm going to be so bored next semester in my student teaching class- they are SO "easy" and good!

Well at about 1pm one of the girls I took care of this morning came to tell me she wasn't feeling well. I don't know why her teacher sent her to me- its not like I could leave school and take her home?...but we called her Dad and he picked her up. Then later he called and asked if I could get the other kids picked up and brought home (he was pretty medicated from his doctor visit). After going to ACS and getting the ball rolling on becoming a Respite Care Provider, the library to pick up some books, and SATO to get info on our Paris trip I went and got the little one from his babysitter and the 2 remaining big kids from their daycare. Got them home safe and sound and then had to go pick up MY big kid from work.

On the way to get his haircut (and some Taco Bell because I was/am too exhausted to cook-and yes I dozed off in the food court of the PX eating my crunch wrap- and later while Matt was finishing eating!!!) he broke the "good/bad" news. First off is that tonight he has duty from 10pm-2am so another night I have to go to sleep alone. Second is we wouldn't be able to attend the marriage retreat because he was going to be gone for 18 days in December. Why is this good/bad? Bad because there goes most of Dec. when I wanted to travel to all the Christmas fests with him. We have not spent a Christmas together since 2004- senior year of HIGH SCHOOL!! Yes I know we'll be together for actual Christmas but we had big plans of Christmas fests, Christmas movies, and Christmas decorating/baking to fill up the month of December. Ok so that's the bad. The good is he's going to WLC (Warriors Leader Course) which is "Sgt. School." No he's not being promoted but he has to have WLC to be a Sgt and this also adds to his promotion points towards making Sgt. He still has to get his points to cut off AND pass the PT test.

Ok good night one and all I am soo stinking tired its not funny. Oh one more thing- props to my little brother Cody for being the only sophomore to make VARSITY BASEBALL!!! You are AMAZING and I am SO proud and happy for you :-D !!!!!!!! One step closer to making the Longhorn Baseball team ;-)

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1st Day Subbing

Well first day at SES. I've subbed before but MAN I forgot how much kids like to say: "But Ms. SoandSo does this or that or doesn't let" BLAH! I even told the kids at the beginning of the day: I am NOT Ms. SoandSo. We will do things my way today and there will be no arguing. Ha. Some kids were so bad with this the other students were getting annoyed and reminding them to quit saying that! I can handle "bad" classes but today there were several moments I wanted to put my hands on my ears and sing "LALALLALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU" because these kids act so helpless/argue with ME/annoy each other/stay off task!! Thankfully I did NOT do this ;-) In fact the principal was in the room for about 20 mins in the morning helping schedule conferences and I thought the kids were acting so bad while she was in there (that was one of the times I thought about covering my ears and screaming) but that afternoon, in front of me, she told the secretary that I did wonderful in that class and that I even handled a certain child very well. Props! Still, I HATE having to make kids be silent but I hate repeating myself 10000000000 million times even more. Even though we ended on what I thought was a bad note- having to scold the kids for behavior problems right before I dismissed them- and as I was dismissing them!- I still had 2 kids say that I was a very nice teacher :-) I will be back in that classroom on Thursday- wish me luck!

Sorry this is short- dinner's almost ready and I am STARVING!!! All I had today was some grits this AM and a PBJ for lunch. I was going to start going to the gym after school but I forgot how exhausted I get. I figured that I'm barely eating and walking/standing all day so that's good enough for me ;-)

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Glückliches Halloween!

Today was a great day! In fact this was a great week!! I volunteered at the school Mon-Thurs and it was awesome. Friday I didn't go in so I could prepare for Matt to come home. I had the house spotless and even made him Mexican Casserole and chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately though he and the guys got on the wrong train so they were kicked off in a small town- had to take the train back- and then get on the right train! But he got in at 7pm so not too late. We had a great night!

Today I woke up and went to the Children's Christmas Play Practice (here forth called CCPP) and there were alot of kids out. It turns out 2 of my boys from school are in the CCPP though! I think they like seeing Mrs. Barr in flipflops, jeans, and a hoodie lol and I met their moms (but already knew one from PWOC!) After practice the Barretos and us went to Bamberg. I found a pair of black boots for 24euros! And a white hat I've been wanting but unwilling to spend $20 on! I got it for 4euros.
Then we walked to the farmers market and bought what we think are Idaho potatoes for only 1.50euros! Oh and we also got roasted chestnuts just to try them- that was so fun. Now when we sing "roasted chestnuts on an open fire, jack frost nipping at your nose" we really know what it feels like! It got COLD while in Bamberg!! Lucky for me I had put on real shoes and Matt's jacket. The chestnuts weren't bad. The first one was weird but then we developed the taste for them. We'll try making our own one day and adding some salt to them! Oh and fyi they look like little brains hahaha.
After the farmer's market we stopped in C&A for the Barretos but Matt also found a nice sweater for only 9euros so he got a treat too.
Next it was off to Real aka Walmart! We had a mission to only spend 50euros on Christmas items. Mission accomplished! We got 59euros worth of stuff but got 10euros back with our VAT form. We are definitely going back next paycheck though..had our eyes on the penguin cookie jar, gold/silver decorated wreath, and the Santa on a crescent moon light up thing! OMG Mary I found the PERFECT gifts for the boys while in Bamberg- I'll tell ya next time we're on the phone (just in case they read this).

Well I'm watching Meet Me in St. Louis and waiting on Matt to get home from school. We're going to have a drink and watch "Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" Matt brought up an excellent point...why haven't they done a real life movie of Charlie Brown? They've turned so many cartoons into real movies like The Grinch, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scoobie Doo...just something to ponder lol

Oh and for those of you wondering, no Germans don't really celebrate Halloween. A few more "Americanized" people do but we've only seen 2 houses decorated. Crazy! Although we did see 3 trick or treaters when we pulled up (one wearing a Spiderella costume that I once wore...crazy). They are more into All Saints Day. While in Bamber we saw two kids dressed up as Jesus.- or one Jesus and another a saint? And tomorrow at the catholic service I heard the kids are dressing up as their favorite saints. Apparently today is the day Martin Luther nailed the 99thesis to the church doors so that's what the Germans celebrate. So it didn't really feel like Halloween for us- though they had a kids carnival on post. Boo for not having kids! Poor Elvis..we already had him wearing BOTH of his costumes today! A bumblebee and a hotdog. If anyone sees cheap dog costumes in small or extra small get one for Elvis!!

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Time flew by!

Wow the last two days have FLOWN by!! More proof that I'll be better when I have a full time job! Yesterday I volunteered in the class that I will be student teaching in next semester and it was great. I really like the teacher and according to her I have a very calm demeanor and the kids responded great to me. She even told the principal that :-) I left the class at 12:30 and worked on my background check again, but she still found more things wrong with it lol. After that I went and got my fingerprints done. Then I went home to walk Elvis and take a breather lol. BUT in the middle of my breather I remembered I had forgotten to go by Matt's school and tell them he'd be absent and get his syllabus and lab sheet for him. Thankfully I got there before they closed. After that I went to Jen's where I had a wonderful dinner with her and we just hung out with the baby- who wasn't in the best form for once- and talked and watched Grey's.

Today I went to the school again until 12:30 then I met up with 5 other wives for lunch. It was SO GOOD to hang out with other wives and just chat. About everything. It was such strange grouping lol. We had 2 enlisted wives (myself and another), 4 officer wives, 1 was a doctor and the other a nurse, 1 a former teacher, only 1 had kids (shocking!), the other works at the daycare, everyone has their degree, the age range was 22-34, and 4 of us were in the same unit- 3 in the same company! I loved it!! It will definitely have to be a reoccurring event lol. The food was excellent and not expensive and the service FAST! Especially for a restaurant in Germany lol. After the lunch I went back to the school for a faculty meeting. It was funny because they were going over how make their objectives with higher thinking verbs like in Bloom's and we did that SO MUCH at UTT- especially in Dr. Packer's curriculum class! My mentor teacher was shocked to hear that and actually asked to see my school stuff because they've never done this at their school! However I was not impressed with this meeting because some women were very rude and talked the whole time. Ugh! It's amazing that teacher's complain about students who do this in their class but they don't practice what they preach! After the meeting I had another short breather at home and then went to church to volunteer for the children's Christmas play. It was the first practice and it was a little chaotic but I think it will be very cute.

I've been so busy I haven't had time to miss Matt- except at night. He's doing good. He likes the class and he's got a couple of friends there for different reasons so he's hanging with the guys.
Tomorrow is PWOC and then I'm going to school for the afternoon and then Jen and I will be hanging out again!
Hope the rest of you are having as good as week as I am!

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This will be a long week!

Saturday Matt and I went to Bamberg. He had been to the PX there and I toured it with my SNAPS group but he hadn't seen the sights. We parked at the train station and walked the same route that my SNAPs class did. Thankfully I have a good visual memory and there are city maps every where! I showed him the market square where a farmer's market was going on. Ohhh we wish we had Euros!! Everything looked SO fresh and yummy! There was even a cart selling roasted chestnuts :-) We even looked in a few stores including a music store and an awesome shoe store! I'm going back there and getting myself some scrunchy black boots for only 19euros!Whoop! Matt was really impressed with St. Jakob's. He asked "Why do catholics have such big churches??" LoL he'll really like the church in Frankfurt when we go! Now THAT's a cathedral! He wasn't as impressed with the crypt like I was but he did think the Pope's body/sarcophagus from the 1500s was pretty cool!

After the tour around Bamberg which only took us 2 hours we started to head home. On the way out though we saw the Real store which used to be Walmart. Apparently all the Walmarts in Germany were bought out by Metro (Real). I guess Germans didn't like the American ways of working (no dating superior employees) and the customers didn't like other people bagging their things! Weird! Anyways Real was just like Walmart (minus baggers lol) except it didn't have an outdoor section for Matt...however it did have a HUGE bike and rollerblade section lol. But just like a true Walmart you could buy produce/meat AND tires in ONE store!! :-) Yes we were so excited. We went down every aisle hehehe

Today we went to church and while pulling up at exactly 9am we were wondering if church had been cancelled because no cars were there. When we got out of the car another man from church rolled down his car window and asked "Did you forget to set your clocks back too?" DANG!!! Today was Germany's daylight savings time. Whoops! So we killed an hour grabbing breakfast. After church Matt got packed up and I took him to the train station. He's going to Vilseck for the week for a HazMat class. No bueno :-( He's only been gone 3 hours and I've already cleaned the house spotless. Just waiting on the clothes to dry and then all the laundry will be done as well! I already miss him...

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Busy Day!

Wow so today FLEW by but that's because I was SO busy! This morning I went to PWOC and it was so much fun chatting with all the girls. I'm going to miss them next semester! Maybe I can convince them to attend the Monday night PWOC as well...

As soon as that wrapped up I went straight to the school and did my background check. At first the secretaries were saying I had to wait until one but I made it clear I wasn't leaving so they finally sent me to the library where the aide helped me with the computer. Man she wasn't kidding when she said I'd be gray headed before I was through! Even having that packet filled out it still took an hour and a half! And in the end I didn't even have to do it right then! Ugh she said I had 14 days but she just needed it before I actually started. Oh and the whole needing 10 years of addresses- even after telling her that I was 12 ten years ago- psssh I only needed 10 years OR until I was 16yrs old!! Dang that's annoying. But she highlighted the things I missed like dates, etc and I'll go back the day before I start to fix it. I also have to have my fingerprints scanned and printed.

When I left the school I went straight across the street to the commissary and bought the ingredients to make my friend Melissa dinner. She just had a baby a week ago so we've all taken turns cooking her dinner. Then I went home and cooked her dinner as well as started cooking my pumpkin spice muffins. I got the dinner done and one batch of muffins then I had to take the food over to her house and rush to Ledward for our FRG meeting. After a very brief FRG meeting, Jen and I ran to the commissary again while waiting on Matt to get off.

After all this I finally got to come home. And make us dinner and the remaining 3 dozen muffins. And clean the kitchen. Whooo I'm enjoying sitting here :-) Friday I am babysitting a 4 yr old girl for the afternoon and on Monday I'm going to volunteer in the classroom I am going to be student teaching in! I figure I'll volunteer there every day until I begin subbing and when I'm not subbing. The more the kids get to know me now I figure the more comfortable they'll be with me student teaching.

Speaking of student teaching I've confirmed with my supervisor, gotten registered for my content test the first week of December, and had UTT send me the supervisor handbook/rubrics. WhooooO!

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Happily Tired

Baby just left. We had a busy day full of blocks and reading and playing outside. And lots of poopy diapers lol. I'm happily exhausted and I still have to clean up all the "toys" (hahaha at my house his toys are my cooking utensils and trash like boxes and empty juice jugs. oh and my exercise ball- he doesn't seem to mind). Barreto is out of the hospital and goes back tomorrow morning to get a biopsy and the results of his stomach and allergy tests. They are also going to test their home to see if there's any toxins there.

I want to go somewhere this weekend!! Playing outside with the baby for an hour in actual SUNSHINE made me want to be out of this house even more! The last week its been cold and overcast. I don't mind the cold but would like the sun to make an appearance every now and then! Today it was so foggy I couldn't see out my windows at home- scary since our backyard drops off into a straight down hill lol. We're going to drive over to Bamberg and Rothenburg since Matt's never seen either (except the PX in Bamberg) and sight see. Maybe we'll pack a lunch since the euro rate is so bad...

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Words of Affirmation

You know its so amazing to be told that you helped someone- even when you thought you didn't! In the book I'm reading- "First Days of School"- he said years from now the students you thought you didn't reach will come back and tell you that you impacted their lives. It's so true and I'm not even a teacher yet!

In the last couple of days I've gotten 2 random posts on Facebook thanking me for helping them. One was a woman who I took Intermediate Math with freshman year that I "tutored" with the help of another girl. She said if it wasn't me and the other girl that she wouldn't have passed math that year. And then a guy I had as a freshman the first time I was a Freshman Mentor just thanked me for helping him his freshman year getting acquainted with the school and everything. It just feels so good!

For too long I was friends with such negative people and constantly being surrounded by people like that makes YOU be like that too. In fact one girl in particular once told me I was mean! I've NEVER been called mean! Matt also told me not too long after I started living with this girl that I was becoming more mean like her. Now THAT hurt. But when she told me that I called my BFF Adri who reassured me that I was one of the "nicer" girls in our group in high school lol. I think being told that by this person and then remembering Matt's words led to my slowly backing away from her- and not quick enough! Ever since we quit speaking (her choice, I wanted to remain acquainted but after a few things she said and did that could never happen) I have noticed such a change in my life. I met other people that I used to not speak too because they weren't "cool" enough for this girl and ended up making such GREAT friends!! I regret not spending all of my college life with these new friends but it was a learning experience. The other day Adri reminded me that I've always been such a positive person and to remain that way through this time in Germany. It's true- before and after this girl I was and am a positive person. It's amazing how carried away you can get without even knowing it!

I guess the lesson of this blog is always choose your friends wisely and remember to surround yourself with the type of people you aspire to be. And to always be helpful and nice- you never know who's life you're touching!

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I Want a BABY!

Ok so Jen called me at about 4 and told me Barreto was having another allergic reaction and that if it got worse she wondered if I'd take the baby. Not 10 minutes later she called and asked for the ambulance phone number and to ask me to come for the baby. I guess the rash spread quickly and he was having other symptoms I won't disclose so it was bad. Anyways I got to hang out at her house with the baby for about 30 minutes then I took him to pick up Matt for dinner. In the car he was so cute, he was bobbing his head to Trace Atkins =-) We got Matt and then went to Conn to get Matt burger king but they had closed earlier so we tried Popeyes but they had just closed so we were forced to go back to Ledward. Matt got practice taking the baby in and out of a car seat as well as feeding one in public. Oh and changing a poopy diaper in the seat of a car lol. The baby and I came back and he played for an hour or so with Bedtime Elmo in the background (I've gotta get that kid some Barney!) and then about 8 I put in Lilo and Stitch and he snuggled up with me and watched it for an HOUR before getting fussy! He drank a bottle but was still awake so I took him in the bedroom where it was dark and cold and rocked him. 6 minutes of playing with my hair and he was passed out. Jen picked him up at about 10...I almost cried when he left! Was hoping to have a snuggle buddy for the night. After he left I just watched the rest of the new Gossip Girl episodes- so good! Now I'm gonna go read some more of "First Days of School" by Harry Wong. I can't wait to start teaching!!!

Barreto has to stay the night in the hospital and here in Germany people can't stay the night with you without paying a $50 euro "hotel" fee- crazy right?!?! Hopefully he'll see the doctor and get this figured out! I know Jen is very frustrated because it's hard to understand the German doctors plus not having her family there with her so please keep them all in your prayers.

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Digital Scrapbooking

Thanks Amanda for your help ;-)

I made these to practice with Photoshop and to possibly use as the header on the blog. Tell me what you think!

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God speaks in many ways- even Blogs!

Wow so I just read through this incredible, inspiring, and heart wrenching blog.

www.bandssullivan.blogger.com

PLEASE read it- start from the very beginning.

Synopsis: 29yr old air force wife is diagnosed with breast cancer while they are stationed in Japan. Removed tumor in Hawaii and then moved home early from Japan to San Antonio to do chemo. After finding out she had cancer she also discovered she was pregnant. There are ups and downs during the pregnancy but the ending is just....the baby was blessedly born 3 weeks early and after 1 week in the NICU was able to go home. The family of 3 spent the "happiest days of our lives" the next 2 days and then the mother began having seizures due to post partum angiopathy (?). Sadly she died 4 days later.

Where's the inspiring part in this?? Just read the blog.

This family truly lives through the Lord. They are doing exactly what PWOC is preaching in our bible studies in Philippians 4:8 to "honor what is true, etc" Throughout all this horrible HORRIBLE stuff they continue to thank God and praise Him!! If only we could all be so wonderful...

This hits really close to home for me. This couple is military, stationed far from home, childless (at time of prognosis), started a blog in Korea, etc. This weekend with raging homesickness on our minds Matt and I joked about what could we do to get sent home before our 3 years is up. We heartlessly laughed that even if one of us got cancer the Army would keep us here. How horrible are we? Pretty dang horrible. Thank God that MY God is a forgiving one. Sara and Brady LOVED being in Japan (and were in Korea before that) and they "lived life to the fullest" while there. They were DEVASTATED that they had to be sent home 18 months early.

Well I'm sorry family and friends back home but I am now officially feeling blessed to be here with my husband- and for the fact that both of us are so healthy. I am publicly pledging here and now to ALWAYS praise God- even during the horrible. I don't think ANY story has hit me so hard. Is this what being "Saved" means?....

PS. Thanks Mom for pushing me to read this ;-)

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