Trips, Slides, and Pre-Shopping Lectures

So, looks like I am past due for an update. The visit with Christina, Jared and Tabitha was great. We saw Neuschwanstein castle (the one that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella's castle after), spent a day in Munich, enjoyed some great waterslides, visited a large lake called Chiemsee that contained a beautiful island with another castle modeled after Versailles in Paris and built by the same king that built Neuschwanstein. I really enjoyed driving through the Bavarian countryside, probably the only place that you will see cow crossing signs, and yes, we did have to stop for cows in the road . . . twice. Of course, I had to tear Tabitha and Jared off of the Wii Mario Kart game so that they could take in the sights!

Cooper is a wild man. He is walking everywhere and he is fast! Now that he is able, he wants to walk everywhere and the once novel and exciting grocery cart has apparently become a torturous restraint for this man on the move. We have a short conversation before we go into any store now and it goes a little something like this: "If you want to walk you have to hold mommy's hand and walk in the same direction as mommy. If you don't hold mommy's hand and don't look when mommy calls you, you will have to get back into the cart/stroller." Not that Cooper really comprehends it, but I have to inform him of the rules nonetheless. Sure enough as soon as he is down he refuses to hold mommy's hand and, if loose, breaks into a high-knee march/trot in the exact opposite direction of where we are going (usually accompanied by a high pitched squeal that must be intended for dogs hearing). At this point he is like a deaf horse with blinders, not even a turn, pause, or flinch when I yell his name. True to my word, this means that he has to go back into the cart/stroller at which point he performs what Jared calls the "limp kitty" pose. Letting his whole body go limp so that he flops around on the floor and although he weighs somewhere around 27 pounds, it feels more like 40. Then as we approach the cart/stroller, the thrashing and screaming starts. Birth control, anyone? Luckily he recovers quickly and this whole episode doesn't last long. Still though, makes me wonder what the upcoming 10 hour flight will be like.

Aside from strong-willed toddler shopping episodes, Cooper is a great little boy. In general, he listens when we tell him "no" and has started to enjoy handing us random objects in order to receive a big smile and a "Thank You". So, if you are idle in a room, you may end up with a collection of a pen, phone, remote control, socks, shoes, books, papers, DVDs, pillows, etc. all courtesy of a sweet little boy with a huge smile on his face. It's actually kind of fun until you have to put it all back. He is now tall enough to reach the light switches and controls for the floor heating in our house, so I am constantly going through the house turning off lights and checking to make sure the heat is set correctly. And I can't believe it, but today I noticed that he is tall enough to open the top kitchen drawers, stand on his tip toes and look at what is inside. His favorite thing to do in the living room is to climb onto the back of the sofa and stand up in the window sill. From here he can pull down the external window shades (it's a German thing) and he has now learned to open the window, which is actually a horribly dangerous skill considering the lengthy fall at risk. I've attached pictures at the bottom of the man in action. He is also skilled at opening and closing doors.

He still enjoys the slide and swing in the backyard, and when we are playing in the front driveway with the other little boys, he will sometimes decide that is where he wants to go. So he will walk over, open the gate, walk up the steep hill to the back and start pushing the swing back and forth. I was working in the yard on Sunday morning and Peter announced that Cooper was now capable of sliding on his own without us holding on. I skeptically asked, "Are you sure?" To which Peter set Cooper again at the top and sent the big boy on his way (unassisted). Cooper flops backward with legs flailing and flies in the air off the end of the slide right onto his butt on the grass. He gets up for another go, and Peter and I bust out laughing. No, Cooper is not quite ready to handle the slide without a little help.

Cooper and I will be flying October 8th back to our hometown and Peter will come over the week before Thanksgiving. We will return to Germany on December 1st. It's actually quite fun to tell folks here that I am going to be in the states for 7 weeks. I love my job! Can't wait to see you all!

Relationships

This has nothing to do with Cooper, but I will put it on here because it is important to me. I like to think that I am a happy person most of the time, and usually pretty lighthearted. I care about my friends and family, and I genuinely want the people I care about to be happy. Very seldom in my adult life have I had bad relationships. Most of my friends I have been friends with for several years, and as an adult I have learned that good friends are hard to find. The friends and family that I have now, I hope to have in my life for a very long time.

While I try to be honest with all, there are only a few people in my life with whom I can really express my deepest feelings. Peter would probably attest that this isn't always a good thing. I can be relentlessly intense, and sometimes don't hold back. I think that this is a result of seeing what secrets can do to a family and to relationships. I tell the truth, even when it hurts people. I don't think that this will ever change, and I am not sure that I want it to. If you are ever the recipient of this from me, you can be assured of a couple of things. You are among those that I hold closest and most dear. I wouldn't put the time, energy, and emotions to try to express myself this way if I didn't deeply love that person. There are some people, some relationships, with whom I cannot be satisfied with superficiality. If patterns hold true, I am only this way when I desperately want to make a relationship better and whole again.

It may not be the right way, but it is my way and I don't want it to be misunderstood.

Neurotic behavior, anyone?

My friend, Kelly, put a quote on my facebook recently. I loved the quote, but more importantly, I love that someone saw something and was reminded of me. It just feels good. Anyways, here is the quote, and I must say that I am honored to be associated with it. It is so me!!!

"I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?"

By the way, I am completely infatuated with facebook and have reconnected with so many old high school pals. If you aren't hooked yet, get hooked.

OK, so on to the neurotic stuff. I am sick sometimes, I know I am. I have all kinds of neurotic behaviors, some of which drive me and others crazy (like my list making, which I must do everyday, and if feeling especially neurotic, I make lists for Peter . . . and then I put little times beside each item of when they could potentially be completed . . . I do the same for myself and get so excited when I am ahead of schedule that I reward myself with a little piece of chocolate . . . LOVE the lists - I digress).

Some of my neurosis do make me laugh at myself, especially those that remind me of my mom as if they are a secret bond that we share or a personality trait imbedded in both of us. For example, I must completely use up an item before I can open another one. I hate to have more than one open jar of mayo in the fridge. It taunts me each time I open the fridge door. Peter gets a stern lecture when a new toothpaste or deoderant is opened before the last one has been thoroughly depleted. Can you imagine the "discussion" we had when we lived in our bigger house in Evans with lots of bathroom cabinets, and upon cleaning out said cabinets there were not 2, not 3, not 4, but 8 (gasp!!) partially used men's deoderants in various locations? My heart is racing just recalling the vision and I am feeling a little tense thinking about it. In fact, just last weekend we were at Peter's parents and upon using the last part of my deoderant, the stick came out, tumbled into the sink and broke into about 8 pieces. I actually picked them all up, mushed them into a ball, shoved it back onto the applicator and continued to use it until finished (with a few reshapings in between).

Now, I am not up to my cousin Melissa and aunt Brenda's standards when it comes to toothpaste (Melissa gathers all the very nearly empty toothpastes in the house and puts them in Brenda's bathroom, Brenda then cuts open the tubes to scrape out the rest . . I am not there *yet* but I am dully impressed with the notion). I do, however, have several tactics to getting my money's worth out of each tube. I squeeze from the bottom, then I use a toothbrush handle to scrape from the bottom up to push more remnants to the top. Then I rub the tube along the side of the sink or counter to make sure there isn't anything left. Then, I fold the tube to push out more. This continues for several uses until that doesn't produce anymore. After that I do the whole thing again, fold at the base, then fold the sides in from there. You can get at least 2 more uses out of the tube by doing this . . . and a couple of blisters on your fingers. But hey, I must be saving at least half a cent with each tube of toothpaste by doing this, right?

When it comes to shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, I use it till you have to stand it upside down. There it stands for at least a week, and only after I try three times without getting anything do I give up and throw it away; those are some bad hair days in there. There is also make-up. I hate buying make-up. I think it is way too expensive, and so I do plan to get my money's worth out of that as well. Just take a look at the current condition of my powder and blush at the moment. Mere crumbs, but I am convinced that there are still a good 10 uses out of them to go. Therefore, it would be just plain wasteful to throw them away. Never mind that I spend 5 additional minutes each day trying to gather up enough to apply to my face or that I have to use the end of a hair barrette to crush the little clumps into a fine powder to gather onto the sponge or brush, most of which ends up falling into the sink or onto the floor as I apply, which then means that I have to clean both more frequently. I simply cannot bring myself to throw them away and start with a fresh package.

I told you, I am sick. I didn't understand why mother got so upset when we opened a new ketchup bottle, but I totally get it now.

I would love to hear from you all about the crazy things you do. That would make me feel better. Otherwise tell me that it is OK to throw these things out and buy new, although I doubt I will believe you.