The major good thing about this virus? The fever kept her angelically good on the plane. At one point, she was sitting up in my lap playing when she just leaned back against the pillows (I was in the window seat) and slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep. So my nightmare trip to the U.S. was anything but (excluding the 3-hour delay in Charlotte due to thunderstorms). We are now all jetlagged, and G is still getting over that roseola and letting her poor grandpa know that she is NOT sure of him and he should keep his distance (poor grandpa). Ah, and she's started a few new things since we got here:

• whining if she is with someone else and sees me, insisting on going to me by reaching towards me.
• rolling over and over in one direction until she (yup) falls off the bed. ouch.
• resting her head on our chests in an almost-cuddle

pictures at some later point. it's too much of a pain to mess with it on a mac, and the colors on this monitor make me cringe...(as does using PS7).

Current Earworm: nothing! we've not been listening to our kid cd's and my head is blissfully clear of songs!!

Well, Miss Mae has started rolling from back to front and front to back, she doesnt actually get anywhere, because she rolls back in the direction she rolled into to begin with, but it is definetly progress. My darling is doing everything by the book, but in her own time, and very deliberately. There is no rushing that little girl!

Because she watches with such interest when we eat, I have tried her on poatotes (boiled) , apples, and bananas. Potatoes were good. She even managed to pick up a bitty bit and feed herself. Apples are okay. She makes a 'sour face' and shudders at first, then sucks on a bit happily until it eventually falls out (no swallowing yet) but bananas? Nope. No way, no how. she doesn't like the way it feels on her fingers and doesn't like the way it feels in her mouth AT ALL. She gives me a LOOK and then proceeds to leave her mouth open and let the banana fall out.

She has not eaten carrots for a good 3 weeks and now I'm paying. She is no longer constipated, doesn't make the "I'm pooping" face, and has gone back to super soft poos that leak. Yes, leak! I thought we were done with leaky diapers. Imagine my surprise (and dismay) when I picked her up off OUR bed, where she was sitting playing while I packed for the trip, only to find she'd made a puddle! Ugh. Then, while I was changing her, I noticed the phone was on, oops. Had let her play with it and she'd turned it on. So I turned it off, put it in its stand and was stripping the bed and scrubbing the mattress with domestos non-bleach bleach when the phone RANG. I answer it, thinking it might be Liz, whom I'd called a little earlier to find out whether she was home and how things were, when an unintellible voice says something about my daughter. Finally figure out it's a sleep deprived Grandma telling me that my daughter had just called them (at 2am!)!!! Grandma had answered and heard Georgia and me in the background before Georgia hung up on her. Then she called Georgia and G actually picked up and answered the phone without it ever ringing or me knowing anything had happened! I don't know how she did it. We have a push button phone, but I don't even know how redial works, and mom is not on a speed dial (don't have any that I know of) and even if she had used redial, I had called LIZ last, not Mom! So there ya go. Maybe I can't let G play with the phone anymore after all. Sorry Mom!

After the phone-capade and G's lunch (pumpkin so that diaper stays nice and soft...) I went to see about the mattress. Still wet and bleachy. So I got out the hairdryer. G was quite interested at first, and then I turned it on her and blew a little air at her (something her daddy has done countless times before with no ill results) and she freaked. She looked like someone had just taken away her favorite toy (or her mommy), her face screwed up into that: OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING face and she bawled. She then proceeded to be terrified of the hairdryer (which was drying my mattress) and insisted on sitting in my lap while I dried. She kept turning to me and grabbing my face, as if my face could save her from the big bad hairdryer...

Put her down to sleep at 1pm, it's almost 2 now, so I'm guessing she'll be up any time now and Liz called. Home from the hospital, for all of an hour now and facing her first full night alone with Julia. I'm sad that we are leaving now and won't be here to help if she should need it. Then again, she has two grandmas and a midwife and her husband to help, so I doubt she needs me, unless for moral support, since I went through the same thing only 8 months ago!

And now may I share a very updated list?! AW YAH!

1. A Thorough Clean
2. Finish CJ's (sign in cards)
3. that one bday card and another one and the just because cards for 3+ weeks
4. turn all .psd files into high-res jpegs for possible printing
5. burn jpegs to CD
6. burn all recent photos of G onto CD for Mom and Kylene
7. pack for G
8. pack for me - including sbing stuff needed - waschtasche, pj's, sweaters, last minute stuff etc.
9. pack for S - waschtasche and pants, the rest is his own deal
10. laundry
11. finish AAM 'homework' - not gonna bother. it's emailed. that's that.
12. Email AAM homework to myself so I have the file in Seattle
13. a congratulatory card
14. tupperware party on Monday
15. Mom's Group on Thursday
16. sleep
17. pack an arsenal of entertainment for plane
18. clean out fridge so nothing is molding and gross when I return
19. water neighbor's plants
20. visit Liz in the hospital
21. remind S to call airport park&ride service
22. gather all passports together
23. get info on SSN for G - call consulate in FRANKFURT
24. finish tax forms - bringing with
25. dust
26. mop
27. vacuum (not in that order)
28. clean up ipod
29. remember all the nitpicky things that need writing down on this list and WRITE THEM DOWN
30. find out details about Jessica and Alice's visit they are coming on the 17th
31. plan trip to Victoria
32. get a carseat for G
33. babyproof apartment...
    1. get rid of cable salad in hall
    2. clear out the bottom level of the coffee table
    3. clear out the corners of the living room
    4. remove all short garbage cans to a higher surface or completely
    5. make sure all drawers on her level are empty of dangerous equipment
    6. move cleaning supplies to an inaccessible area (I don't have an inaccessible area)
    7. remove rug in hallway
    8. lock tv and storage beneath eaves
    9. clean floor space in scrapcorner
    10. finish this list tomorrow

Current Earworm: "...just for a minute or two. I'll just turn around and return to your town, when I fly over, wave out your window..."

Hospital visit today (and in the process totally flaked on returning baby stuff to Kereth) to visit Liz and baby Julia. Aren't they sweet? My friend Cara was in the hospital this week as well, visiting with her friend who just had a baby. Cara said that it made her long for a little bitty newborn all over again. I went in there with those thoughts from Cara and was able to say with assurity, that I do NOT want another itty bitty newborn all over again. Not yet. Julia is adorable, don't get me wrong! And at first, she slept, and was soooo peaceful (although somewhat heavily clothed for almost-90° weather - IMO, but then I'm also the one who carried G around in the hospital without a blanket at all because she felt so hot, so what do I know?) that all you could do was look and sigh and think: oooooh!

Then she cried. She was overwhelmed. It was her second day of life in the big, cold, bright world. Who knows what she wanted? just snuggles from mommy? Something to eat? Drink? Suck? She reacted well to my shshing, at first. But I wasn't her mommy, and she knew it. and I found that when she cried, I was automatically shushing georgia and rocking georgia. um? duh. Those mommy reflexes haven't died yet. Georgia looked on with big brown eyes and at the point where Julia started screaming bloody murder in my arms, Georgia reached over and patted her head. Or maybe she was just reaching for the tiny squawling thing to make it stop, who knows?

What I think mostly scared me away from another baby that age (besides the fact that despite her high-needs personality, I now know what to do for her when Georgia cries, and the thought of that NOT KNOWING phase makes me shudder) was Liz's new-mommy uncertainty. I HATED that. I hated not knowing what to do. I hated the newness, the confusion, the despair that I was a bad mommy who didn't know how to take care of her baby. The next time I see Liz (in 4-5 weeks) she'll be an old pro at the whole baby thing. Rocking her Julia to calm serenity, nursing without a problem and then it might be different. Fun? It's just so weird. When I met Katharina for the first time, she was only a week old, but I was in love with that little baby. She screamed as much as G used to, wouldn't be soothed, but for some reason (maybe because I had no experience myself, maybe because Beate made it look like she knew just what she was doing) I wasn't scared of having a baby when I met Katharina.

Well anyhow. Those are some of my never-ending-circling thoughts on new babies. I am not of the same mind as Cara (and we have soooooo much in common, this is somewhat unusual), the next baby can wait a bit.

Besides, I'm way too in love with this one (esp. when she's asleep like this!) to even consider sharing my affection with another!

The updated list:

1. A Thorough Clean
2. Finish CJ's (sign in cards)
3. that one bday card and the just because cards for 4+ weeks
4. turn all .psd files into high-res jpegs for possible printing
5. burn all recent photos of G onto CD for Mom and Kylene
6. pack for G
7. pack for me - including sbing stuff needed
8. pack for S
9. laundry
10. finish AAM 'homework'
11. Email AAM homework to myself so I have the file in Seattle
12. a congratulatory card
13. tupperware party on Monday
14. Mom's Group on Thursday
15. sleep
16. pack an arsenal of entertainment for plane
17. clean out fridge so nothing is molding and gross when I return
18. water neighbor's plants
19. visit Liz in the hospital
20. remind S to call airport park&ride service
21. gather all passports together
22. get info on SSN for G
23. finish tax forms
24. dust
25. mop
26. vacuum (not in that order)
27. clean up ipod
28. remember all the nitpicky things that need writing down on this list and WRITE THEM DOWN
29. find out details about Jessica and Alice's visit
30. plan trip to Victoria
31. get a carseat for G
32. babyproof apartment...
    1. get rid of cable salad in hall
    2. clear out the bottom level of the coffee table
    3. clear out the corners of the living room
    4. remove all short garbage cans to a higher surface or completely
    5. make sure all drawers on her level are empty of dangerous equipment
    6. move cleaning supplies to an inaccessible area (I don't have an inaccessible area)
    7. remove rug in hallway
    8. lock tv and storage beneath eaves
    9. clean floor space in scrapcorner
    10. finish this list tomorrow

     

Georgie-lein:

Current Earworm: "When I was a baby, a baby, a baby, when I was a baby, 123"

The blog has been suffering. I apologize. I am tired. I don't get enough sleep, I can't find a happy place, I have so much to do and no desire to do it, oh I could go on and on and on with excuse after excuse, but I will spare you.

Photoshop kicked my butt again. Deleted ALL my actions and me, dummy that I am, had not saved the ones I created. And now for some reason, it won't open up my .psd files as a composite image (without layers) because I it says there was no saved composite image. Well, how the heck do you save your .psd so that it has a composite image? Beats me! Then there were printer issues, hard drive space issues, extreme slow DVD drives and and and.

We are leaving on FRIDAY. I have to clean. I have to pack. I have to finish the CJ's so I can mail them when I get to Seattle. I have to remember to pack Tara's address. Oh hell, let's make a list that I can come back to and cross off when (if) I get the stuff done.

1. A Thorough Clean
2. Finish CJ's (sign in cards)
3. that one bday card and the just because cards for 4+ weeks
4. turn all .psd files into high-res jpegs for possible printing
5. burn all recent photos of G onto CD for Mom and Kylene
6. pack for G
7. pack for me - including sbing stuff needed
8. pack for S
9. laundry
10. finish AAM 'homework'
11. Email AAM homework to myself so I have the file in Seattle
12. a congratulatory card
13. tupperware party on Monday
14. Mom's Group on Thursday
15. sleep
16. pack an arsenal of entertainment for plane
17. clean out fridge so nothing is molding and gross when I return
18. water neighbor's plants
19. visit Liz in the hospital
20. remind S to call airport park&ride service
21. gather all passports together
22. get info on SSN for G
23. finish tax forms
24. dust
25. mop
26. vacuum (not in that order)
27. clean up ipod
28. remember all the nitpicky things that need writing down on this list and WRITE THEM DOWN
29. find out details about Jessica and Alice's visit
30. plan trip to Victoria
31. get a carseat for G
32. babyproof apartment...
    1. get rid of cable salad in hall
    2. clear out the bottom level of the coffee table
    3. clear out the corners of the living room
    4. remove all short garbage cans to a higher surface or completely
    5. make sure all drawers on her level are empty of dangerous equipment
    6. move cleaning supplies to an inaccessible area (I don't have an inaccessible area)
    7. remove rug in hallway
    8. lock tv and storage beneath eaves
    9. clean floor space in scrapcorner
    10. finish this list tomorrow

     

Georgie-lein:

and yes, that's my girl. I honestly try not to have her in front of the TV. If I've got it on, I sit her in front of it with her back to it, facing me. Cut me some slack man, this girl refuses to hang out on her own, she won't stay in the room by herself, and she won't stay very long by herself in the same room with you before she's fussing for attention and entertainment. That means I spend great good chunks of my day sitting on the floor across from her. I have managed to do quit ea bit of scrapbooking this way. I finished 5 projects from SAG (only shared 3), and completed my milestone album. The living room is trashed, but I got some work done. Don't know what I am going to do a month from now when she is quite likely mobile and I can't sit on the floor with her and just put things she shouldn't have out of her reach. Have a feeling I'll be running after her all day long making sure she doesn't get into stuff she shouldn't get into, try and pull herself up on rickety end tables, eat the books in the bookshelves, chew on cables, crawl under beds, get into garbage cans...oh, I just thought of a bunch of stuff to add to the list...

I have got to go to bed. I just had an Email commanding me to get my arse out of this chair and into bed. so that is where I am going. Good night!

Current Earworm: "Oh I love me, I think I'm grand! I sit in the movies and hold my hand!"

So I'm sitting here in my bits of freetime doing my homework for the album that I am planning to scrap when I get to Seattle with my Mom and Sister (yes, they both agreed to scrap with me, Mom who doesn't really *want* to, and Kylene who has refused to have anything to do with scrapbooking herself, both of whom, when they read that there is 'homework' for the album, are probably going to flat out refuse to do it) when I came upon this annoying bit where you have to write paragraphical memories about your friendship(s), childhood, schooldays etc. I got kind of stuck on the first one (friendship) and once I finally got going with it, I remembered one particular event (the week I flew to Scotland with Kim) and that I had made a very rough 'scrapbook' of the experience. This was back in 1997, and basically, it was a little journal that I wrote in, and then pasted in all the ticket stubs and brochures I had from the trip. The next question: do I still have it? Do I know where it is?

Yes! I haven't read through it (I expect a laugh when I do) but I did flip through and find the bits that I was remembering for my homework (our insane trip to Loch Ness) as well as our youth hostel receipt and tickets to the movie we went to see while in Edinburgh (As Good as it Gets) and even a banana sticker. Can we say future-scrapbooker? (it's a much nicer way of saying 'packrat', don't you think?!)

Georgia had a quick check-up yesterday. She weighed in at 9kilos, but they decided they didn't need to measure her becasue they had in May. Um, hello? Haven't they ever heard of scrapbooking mommy's who like to keep a monthly tally of their baby's growth? I wish I had asked him to measure anyway.

Her eyes were funky (he said). She blinked rapidly and squinted in the pinlight he shined at her (who wouldn't?). So he pulled out a ring stack and pulled off the rings and tried to get her to play with them so he could judge her eyesight through her ability to grab. Well, Georgia doesn't like things that you GIVE her, and she doesn't like it when you take the rings off the ringstack, she would much rather pull them all off herself with a dramatic flourish! She did eventually pick up a ring though, and pass it from hand to hand to show the doctor she could.

Her hips are weak, the reason she isn't crawling yet. He has no worries about it though, and thinks she'll have a spurt in a few weeks. I agree. I think she'll catch on at her Grandma's where she can roll around on the nice carpeting and not be restricted to a blanket on the floor.

He was impressed with her sitting ability. She's quite good at that. As well as her hand-to-hand coordination. She has lost her baby reflexes and is doing just grand.

On Sept. 4th she gets her next set of vacciations, MMR and possibly chickenpox. And guess what? I get to be vaccinated WITH her in September. We're both getting the Rubella vaccination. Ouch!

Liz came over yesterday afternoon. Still pregnant. Belly is huge. Seeing her (now 2 days past her due date), I am suddenly glad that I didn't go over, and that G didn't make me wait and wonder and grow, and grow, and grow! Sending you labor vibes, Liz!

Current Earworm: "...when I fly over, wave out your window!"

In TWO weeks we are flying to Seattle. Just two weeks. That is a terrifying thought. Not because I don't want to go, I do, I do, but because of all that needs to get done before then! And I don't even know what all needs to get done, because I haven't taken the time to sit down and think it out.

We are having possible carseat issues. Does anyone have any advice? How do they work? Georgia fits in her current one here in Germany until her head pops over the edge. Then we have to change it. At least, I think that's how long she fits. There might be weight issues, I'll have to check. The one she used over Christmas has a limit of 21", and G was 28" the last time we measured at the doctor's. That seat though, is very similar to ours, so I'm not sure why she can't use that one now. So what happens when she outgrows the first little seat that faces backwards? Does she graduate to a forward facing seat? And if she spends 4 weeks this summer facing forward while we drive, will we ever get her back in her backward facing seat when we get back to Germany?

We are considering taking our seat with us, the only problem is, it does not have one of those bases, you know the kind you buckle into the car and leave, then you can just snap the actual seat in and out of the base? Well, ours has no base, you have to buckle the actual seat into the car and the seatbelts in Mom's volvo don't fit around the carseat. oops.

Once this obstacle is over, I think we're homefree. I've gotta do some shopping, Ben & Jerry's new flavors are calling my name, as well as sbing supplies. I bought none over Christmas, and didn't even have the urge. Now, finally, I'm ready to shop again. and create and play. Besides, I gotta get some of those colorbox cat's eye fluid chalks (thank you to everyone who reminded me what they are called!) to use!

Oops, babydoll just woke up. I'm out!

Current Earworm: "...goodness how delicious, eatin' goober peas!"

In other news, just a bit later (as i've only now had the chance to snap these photos and upload them, and btw, if you're wondering why I'm not scanning - because a scan would look so much better - it's because my scanner is not hooked up to this computer and I have no desire to scan 12x12 layouts and stitch, esp. 12x12 layouts as involved as the ones I shared yesterday and as for the 9x9 layouts, well, I'd have to stitch them as well and these HS layouts are pretty bulky as well...) I finished my pre-designed Urban Lifestyle layouts from SAG yesterday. This was a 3-day album class, rather 3-hour, as we had only 1 hour each day. We received an awesome Heidi Swapp spiral album and tons and tons of HS STUFF to play with and were then taught HOW to play with it on 5 layouts. Those are the 5 layouts I have finished, and while working on them yesterday, I came up with the theme for the album and that should make the rest of it fairly easy to do.

The thing about this album, totally not my style,not something i'd ever sit down and just do. This is like, 100% HS Style. I love HS style, at least when she does it. So these 5 layouts are going to look cool in the album, any other layouts, ones that I do myself, well...that might be another story and don't be surprised if you never hear about it again. What I love about it, it is computer-free. That's right, my handwriting, lots of accents, older (nonperfect) photos (except the ones of Georgia) that I had from film cameras and therefore do not have to print out myself. The feel of the album is loose, imperfect is okay, play. So I hope I can!

I need to get my hands on some of those chalk ink pads, you know what I mean? Cara does. We used them in our class. I've never seen them before and I don't remember what company they were, so anyone who knows what I'm talking about, please drop a comment and tell me the name and where I can get them? They are awesome! I also wish I had more HS masks, but everyone is SOLD OUT.

Anyhow, without further ado, here are the 5 pages:

Current Earworm: "...getalong little doggies, you know that Wyoming will be your new home!"

Look no further. This girl is going to keep us on our toes...

Current Earworm: "Go tell Aunt Rhody, the old grey goose is dead..."

Remember we went to that Factory Outlet near Ingolstadt on Saturday? Well, the only thing we bought, or rather I bought, Sven got a whole lot of nothing, was a caramel macchiato and a caramel hazelnut muffin at the San Francisco Coffee Company and this purse. Felt a sudden need to be stylish when I'm hauling around diapers. It's big enough, but I ask you: WHY don't they make purses with long straps anymore? You know, the ones you can hang across your chest and don't have to worry about losing them?

I bought it anyway. I had birthday money to burn. Was mean to be spent at SAG, but for some reason, the stuff in the stores wasn't 'speaking' to me. I seem to buy better online when I can't really see what I'm getting and therefore can't tell myself that I don't really need it...

Speaking of SAG, I finished up some of the projects (layouts) from the event. Might as well share, right? The first two are from Karen's Classes: Transparancy Techniques and Memory Art. Brilliant, that woman. The coolest thing though? She taught us techniques that can easily be transferred to other layouts, cards or paper projects. She taught three classes, but unfortunately, my HS classes conflicted with her 'scrappin' on the wild side' class. Bummer. Here are the two layouts from her other classes (click on them to enlarge them):

Transparancy Techniques - Closed I know the photo looks awful, but I wasn't about to scan a 12x12 layout as involved as this!!!	Transparancy Techniques - Open
Memory Art - closed	Memory Art - detail of popup

I know, that doesn't seem like a lot, considering how many classes I took. Let me just say, I finished up the Scrapworks Layout and my Think Pink album is done except for one photo which I need to take this summer (I want one of Mom, Kylene and Georgia) and the cover. I'm balking at the cover because the sample album was stamped with HS foam stamps and acrylics and despite having taken that paint class, I'm still not jumping for joy when it comes to acutally USING paint. Plus, won't it flake off of the plastic?? Oh, and I don't have any pink paint, I have red and white, which means I have to actually mix. More messy work that I cannot do while sitting on the floor across from G. nottachance. I also finished 4 of the 5 layouts from the Urban Lifestyle album, and even better, came up with an overall theme for the album, which made both finishing up the pages already started easier, and should make it easier to create more layouts later on. Yes, later. I'd love to keep going, because I'm having fun creating a layout WITHOUT the computer, I'm even handwriting and using photos that don't have to be printed out first, but I don't think I can sit on the floor and actually think of layout ideas, not with Miss Mae demanding 75% of my attention!! That just leaves the KI Photobox, which I am not going to finish because 1., I never got the photos for the finished project and 2., it seems such a shame to use that gorgeous Green Color Theory on a plastic blue box that will never be filled... and my bazzill album. I have no idea what my bazzill album should be about. anyone else have ideas? I think it has like 6 or 7 pages? Each one longer than the last.

I joined the FlyLady again yesterday. That makes today Day 2, so don't be expecting much of me, especially since I can't even shine my sink with bleach. Maybe, when we do our weekly shopping spree this weekend, I will remember to look for that Domestos stuff Barbara mentioned. That's the closest I am going ot get to bleach because I am not going to bring bleach over from the states. Not a chance! I joined the FlyLady three years ago when I got pregnant the first time, thinking I needed to start learning some good habits before the baby came along so that my baby would grow up in an organized house and not a cluttered one. Then I got MS and couldn't get myself off the couch, let alone cleaning...and we moved and and and, just give me a second and I can give you a million excuses (for anything). So Cara decided to jump back on the flywagon and I trotted after her like a faithful little puppy. Wish me luck. It'd be a good thing to get a new routine down before Georgia starts crawling.

Speaking of Georgia. Miss Mae refuses to sleep more than 30 mins at a time and then complains becuase she is tired. Before Holland she was taking two long naps a day and sleeping 12 hours at night, waking only twice! Now she takes as many 30 min naps as I can squeeze in during the day and sleeps about 10 hours at night waking up a good 5 or more times. I suppose Seattle will throw her off again, so no use in forcing her to get back on a schedule.

And I think I can now safely say, it is the water that is irritating her skin and making it dry and scaly. The week we were up North, her skin cleared up amazingly fast. Since we've been back, it's slowly reverted to ugly scaliness. This is bad. I don't think there is anyway to fix the problem, unless we bathe her in evian!

Ah, and there we go. my 30 mins are up, G is awake and, you guessed it, CRYING!!

Current Earworm: "...and that is why I'm cracked you see! I'm a nut, in a rut..."