Yeah eBay!!!!

Remember how I said eBay was bad? Well I was wrong because I got these Tigerente lovelies:


So, the baby will not being wearing the t-shirts until the 3rd or 4th grade (maybe later).
But they were soooooo cute and I had to have them - and yes Fritz is right, this is more for me than the kid. And check out the little reisetasche!!!

He will have the cutest little travel bag for when he goes to Nana’s for the weekend…and the cutest little rucksack ever!!!!

I am losing it.

do you hear what i hear...?

It was Christmas! Did you hear? Yeah….love that time of year when you have to discuss about whose family you are going to go visit…

About 1 month ago:
Mar: So, are we going to your folks for Christmas? It is their year since we did my folks last year…
Fritz: I don’t know. Driving to West Virginia…it might snow.
Mar: Well next year there is the baby, so if we blow off your folks on their year then we have to drive 6 hours to West VA next year. Instead of 4 hours to mine?
Fritz: Uh – huh…
Mar: With a baby…and a crib…and diapers…and all that other stuff they come with.
Fritz: Like hats?
Mar: Yeh, hats.
Fritz: I’ll think about it.

(If you ever watched WEST WING – then you might get the hats reference – ‘cause babies come with hats)

2 weeks before Xmas:
Mar: So what’s the plan for x-mas?
Fritz: I guess we can go to your mom’s… what are her plans?
Mar: The usual. You know, decorate tree on Christmas Eve, eat Chinese food, light the menorah, alcohol is allowed and you can smoke. Movie on Christmas day…The usual Greene Family event of loud Italians and Jews…
Fritz: Hmmmm
Mar: I need to know ASAP, ‘cause I have presents to finish and I need to know who’s get finished first – yours or mine?
Fritz: So West Virginia this year? How about we have Christmas at our place next year?
Mar: With both families?
Fritz: Yeh….
Mar :………………..( many many minutes later) we’ll have to get a tree? And they might not be into the Chinese food….does your family go to movies?
Fritz: Ha! Ha! Maybe not. Well, we’ve got a year to figure it out.


It is so easy to be a married couple without kids – because then you can bounce around and not have to stick to any real traditions. Not ever be xpected to host. That is coming to an end my friends...
Fritz’s family is definitely Christian (like New Testament all the way baby!)– And my family? Well, they are mostly lapsed Catholics with a few Jews thrown into the mix – so we truly have our own traditions – oh! and an Atheist or two – so the winter holiday season is more about just getting together and getting crazy, eating lots, trying to steal the cookie dough before it becomes cookies and the nieces and nephews. And fighting over what movie we will see on Christmas Day. Last year it was SYRIANA – good movie, but not really a “holiday movie.”

So we went to West Virginia – as per my usual standard – I left my SIL’s present back in Maryland (2 years ago, I forgot the grandmother-in-law’s present). And it was a lovely time had by all. My MIL is quite sweet – she even remembered no pork in any of the dishes – which for southerners is not easy to do (just ask my husband – or any Bavarian :) for that matter). And had a lovely time…(well until I stuck my liberal foot in my mouth about politics...I will never learn)


FYI – I am taller than all those people! (nephew, niece, Fritz, sil, fil, mil, bil)

this is a test

okay i haven been trying to blog for days now.
and i have been trying to post on other people's webpages - but if you are blogger realted, i can't.

so here is a test to see if blogger has gotten over it....

if this works, expect a bigger and better entry tomorrow :)
fingers crossed or daumen druecken!

fabulous things!

My Godmother is just THE coolest person ever! First of all, she taught me to knit while getting a blood transfusion and she makes the beautiful Dale of Norway Sweaters. As you can see above, as sported by Classic Winnie the Pooh, is both a fabulous sweater and hat for the boy to be. IN the basket was also: pacifiers, little bottles, washclothes and drying towels for baby, those little pads you stick in your bra for leaking, this adorable duck with scented bags for diapers on the go...what else? lots of stuff and a very cool diaper bag all by Avent - My aunt has an in :)

And the last picture is the Duck Mobile - I had one when i was a baby and so did my Niece and Nephew - so Max gets one too! I was so excited about it - Fritz thought i was crazy about it - but he just doesn't understand the cuteness of the little guys. And if you look closely, Walter is eyeing them with much interest from behind.

Everything is so cute when it is little!

crap! i am getting sucked into the parenting/baby thing - the dark cynical me is being taken over by the alien - QUICK somebody say something sarcastic or negative or cynical....

how the hell i am i going to afford daycare! (there you go....okay feeling like myself now)....back to work :)

why having a day off is bad...

because then i go on ebay and want this:














all of it!!!!! Now without shipping I can buy this "sofort" on eBay.de for 1095 euros! You get the changing table, the crib and the 2 door wardrobe. Of course you have to buy the mattress and the canopy (which is called a himmel or "heaven" in german) seperately.....well they only ship in Germany and Austria and they don't take PayPal...oh well :)


but i did buy a few Tigerente items yesterday and i didn't break the bank - i am so proud of myself! Though Fritz keeps reminding me that this is not really for the Baby, but for me and it won't care. True - but it makes ME happy and that is what it is all about! :)

happy monday!

mmmm...pie!

a little late thanksgiving yummy-ness-
I like to say that i don't cook or clean...
but i do bake:
















is that not a yummy lookin' apple pie? here it is with whip cream:

















okay now i want more pie...maybe apfelstrudel....guess i will have to bake some more

That's not Vienna....that's a sweater!

Okay there should be a post about my trip to Vienna here – but I cannot find the disk that the pictures are on! You see I had forgotten the digital camera – so I got one of those disposable cameras (they still make those!) at the Niedermeyer on the Ringstrasse and got it developed straight to disk when I got home…did I download the best pictures to my computer?....of course not! That would make sense....

So instead of a babbling entry on how much I ate and drank and loved my favourite city, I bring you the saga of Jill’s sweater!

You see Jill, has this beautiful Alice Starmore sweater a close friend knit for her – but alas, it was about 12 inches too big. Wish I had taken a before picture – but here is the “how to” and the after:

I pinned the sweater on Jill, and then thread marked the new stitching line with a smooth contrasting yarn:



Then I cut! That is where you hold your breath, say a prayer, light a candle, sacrifice a chicken, whatever you are into....





This is wear my trusty sewing machine comes into play (depending on the yarn- I will use the overlock machine, but not with pure wool – personal preference). I ran two rows of zig-zag stitch about ¼” and 5/8” from the new seam line.



After that, I hand stitched the side seams as if no alteration had been made. And here is the finished result:



Okay, I promised Jill I would block out her head since she had forgotten to put on makeup – but she looks so happy in her sweater that I HAD to post it…so I lied :)