Happy Halloween!

Unto Us an Angel is Given

Last Sunday, October 12th, our baby, Gavin, was born weighing 6lbs, 12 oz. He takes our breath away, as well as our sleep, and we couldn't be happier.


Contrary to my earlier fears, he does not resemble my internet baby but a pretty fair bit of both of us. We can't quite see straight yet or remember the last time we felt so utterly confounded but we wouldn't have it any other way. In lieu of a bunch of words which I don't have the energy or inspiration to write anyway, enjoy some photos of the newest Brave Berliner.

Speaking of Friends

Do you hear that sound?


It's the white noise that has been occupying my brain cells as of late. Lots of information goes in and nothing sticks. I have moments of sheer blogging genius where I'll have something to write about, something that updates you on what's going on in our lives or something that has made me laugh, and then I'll completely forget it just as fast as the inspiration hits me. For this, I say "I'm sorry"....or maybe "You're welcome" is more appropriate depending on what you think of my musings. Two obvious things that happened last month that I wanted to share with you were my showers. One real, one virtual. Both equally unexpected and moving gestures.



First came the virtual shower. One of the best things about it was that I didn't have to leave the comfort of my own home...heck, I didn't even need to change out of my pj's...to attend. There was no need to squeeze my cheeks into an unflatteringly tight maternity outfit or shade my makeup to hide the ever darkening insomnia-induced bags under my eyes. The door bell just rang one morning and my secret lover, the DHL delivery man, came with a package for me. When I read the return address, I found that it was my dear friend, Tia, who is always sending me care packages, and figured it was just another unexpected baby gift from her. But when I read the card, I discovered that she had organized a shower in a box from all of my closest friends back home. Before I even started opening the presents, I was bawling. I couldn't even get past the first line of the card that reads "Everybody loves you and we don't even know who you are." Uh, so, so sweet and so, so needed at that time. I couldn't believe that so much love and attention had been paid for little old me.


This package is probably one of the sweetest gestures any one has ever made to me. Inside was a baby book, baby album, baby lotions and soaps, an adorable frog pacifier from my godson, a few blankets, and a precious baby shower plaque that Tia made for me. Although I would have preferred to have them here with me, I felt their love and support through this shower. I am so blessed to have such true girlfriends.

Then came my other shower which my friends Sandra, Yvette, and Frances threw for me at the Russian Teehaus in Mitte. I'll admit to opposing the idea of a shower initially because baby showers are a foreign concept in Europe. But my arm was twisted and I am so glad it was. We had a beautiful afternoon at this little jewelbox of a place drinking tea and listening to our only veteran, Yvette, share wisdom about childbirth and labor. Afterwards, everyone placed a bet on when the baby would come and offered to buy a prize for the person who comes the closest. The last thing I expected when I became pregnant was to get a baby shower so knowing that so much thought and love went into the planning of this day really meant alot to me. I am so grateful to have such good friends on both continents! Gummy Bear is lucky to have so many auntie's waiting to greet him when he arrives.

Best Mate's Guide to Labor and Delivery

J has many good friends. It is a bonus if said friend is also funny, honest, and willing to give advice when needed.

His friend, Kevin, is one of those people and it is just icing that he married a jewel of a wife, Jennifer, as well. Having just welcomed their second son into their family this summer, the trauma--I mean--adventure of having a new baby is fresh on Jenn and Kevin's mind. To that end, they have been an endless stream of helpful and practical advice. The following post is perhaps my favorite, however, for it's wit and man speak that only a Martian can give a Martian. It's a classic for many reasons, the main being that although men have a completely different take on this labor and delivery thing they, too, can benefit from tips. They really pay attention when it's given by another man. Heck, anything or anyone that/who can persuade my husband to pack his "bag o' crap' is welcomed by me. Enjoy!

Please allow me to give the good husband some basic pointers and helpful suggestions for the coming main event:

1. Pack your personal bag of crap you want at the hospital now and stick it in your trunk.

2. Include in your personal bag of crap: change of clothes, shoes, socks,tooth brush,deodorant and MOST IMPORTANT not less than 3-5 meal bars (cliff bars, special k bars, granola bars…). Assume you will not be permitted to EAT or leave the bedside for at least 8 – 12 hrs after labor begins. Besides, I will be unable to run to the deli and bring that sandwich, which your wife who is not permitted to eat during labor will not allow you to eat anyways since you are "in this together."

3. A list of everyone your wife demands that you email and call the moment Triple X comes out. Blackberrys are very difficult to compile address lists on.

4. Laptop, cord for laptop and blackberry and a couple of DVD movies that Nik will also watch (you will look at this and think you don’t need these items, especially the DVDs. To that I say – Du kannst alles was du willst, wenn du nur willst was du kannst.

5. At all costs during delivery, stay north of the Mason Dixon line remember history, the north is safe and free, to the south is danger). Best advice is to block out some space where you can maintain eye contact with your beloved and not pay any attention to what the doctor is doing or saying (not that they will be speaking in english anyways).

6. Anytime Nik is about to kill you for something, go and get her a cup of ice. She will be eating ice and placing ice strategically for days. Note to self: you cannot have enough ice on hand for the first couple of weeks, you may wish to being stockpiling.

7. Remember better delivery through medical science = ask for the drugs early and often (this includes Nik).

8. Bring candy for the nurses. Bribe the hell out of them and then they will help you steal as many swaddle blankets, diapers, ice packs, and baby wipes as humanly possible to carry out.

9. Remember that my wife is the most thorough researcher and gatherer of information in the world. When Nik is in pain, Jenn will know a trick; when the baby won’t sleep, Jenn has a schedule (Baby 2 is sleeping through the night at 7 weeks); when there is anything going on that Nik has a question, Jenn has already worried about it, asked a thousand people, consulted a doctor, read a book and tried it on Baby 1 and/or Baby 2...you get no bonus points for pain and suffering!

Peace!

Kevin

Be still, my heart

Run, don't walk to your nearest Dunkin D%nuts for these beauties and you can thank me later.

I'm not sure what they're called in English but I think they are the seasonal chocolate maple
doughnuts.

I'm not a huge doughnut person to begin with and even then I usually go for the standard chocolate glaze or cinnamon sugar varieties but people, for these lovelies, I make an exception.

I don't know if it is the baby growing or the--hmmm?--12 maple doughnuts I have eaten over the course of the last 14 days that is to blame for the kilo I put on since my doctors appointment two weeks ago but lemme tell ya, ya'll, it hurts so good. They are to die for, which given the calorie count of each one is a real possibility, but it is worth the risk. Believe me.

So, you heard it hear first, folks. I highly suggest you wake up 15 minutes early tomorrow to treat yourself and your arterial walls to a steaming cuppa joe and one--or a dozen--maple doughnuts. You won't be sorry.

Fon-due-be-doo-be-doo

Two Saturdays ago, the hubs and I went to a Swiss restaurant in town for fondue. It seems the appropriate thing to do when the weather gets unseasonably cold, unwelcomely early. Cold weather has compensations of its own--almost all of which are culinary.

The fondue was delicious. Cheesy, aromatic, and appropriately gut-bomby. Just what the sadistic proctologist ordered. We were so satisfied that we decided we could eat fondue once a week and not tire of it. It was 15 Euro a person bill, though, that snapped us back to reality. Although the meal was scrumptous, it was only melted cheese, some white wine, and a splash of kirschwasser. I wouldn't call ourselves brillant chefs but even we could find a cheaper way to satisfy our cholesterol laden cravings. So, we decided to find a traditional recipe, buy a pot, and make fondue our damn selves. Never had a smarter plan been hatched...on that day, at least.

So, on Saturday, we did our research on traditional recipes, picked the brains of the cheese ladies at the grocery store counters about the best mix of cheeses, and purchased our pot. Then yesterday, we commenced with the fondue preparation and consumption.

Honestly, folks, it was better than the restaurant meal. I can't say that there was a reason for this except that it was really, really good; really, really easy; and really, really inexpensive. We ended up forgoing the nutmeg and adding a fourth of the flour in spite of the cheese lady's advice and buying four different types of cheeses to get the right balance between sharpness and mildness. Other than that, though, we stuck pretty closely to the recipe below--tasting as we went along. I should note that traditionally the Swiss drink black tea with fondue, the Germans--you guessed it--beer, and the French dry white/red wine. They all agree, however, that regardless of what you eat or drink with fondue it shouldn't be overtly cold as the cheese will congeal in your stomach creating an unpleasant gastro-intestinal (ahem) blockage. So be warned or warmed, as it were.

Traditional Swiss Fondue (serves 2 hungry people)

1.5 cups shredded gruyere

1.5 cups emmenthaler (Swiss) or Vacharin-Fribourgeois (French)

1/2 cup Appenzeller

2-3 tbsp. flour

1 garlic clove, halved

1 c. dry white wine (e.g.,Chablis)

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 dash kirschwasser (cherry brandy)

1 pinch nutmeg

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

1. Rub the inside of your fondue post with garlic clove and discard clove

2. Add wine and heat over medium heat until hot but not boiling

3. Stir in lemon juice and kirsch

4. Combine cheese and toss with flout

5. Add a handful of cheese at a time, not adding more until the cheese has melted

6. Stir constantly in a zig-zag motion for a smooth consistency

7. Remove pot from stove and place over sterno to bubble gently.

8. Serve with boiled new potatoes, rye or french bread, blanched broccoli or cauliflower, garlic sausage, and/or crisp apples.

9. Swoon, faint, and thank your lucky stars you took my advice!

Mad Science

I had a sneaky feeling that I was playing with fire when I logged onto MakeMeBabies.Com.


I mean, any website that claims to be able to predict what your yet unborn child will look like must be a either cursed or at the very least cruel. Or maybe it is the person doing the searching who is the cursedly cruel one. Either way, it ain't natural but it is oh so tempting.


Before pushing the send button, "Please wait while we make your baby," it reads, I did have a fleeting thought that if my computer generated child was ugly I would be filled with the same amount of regret and remorse as I fear is possible if the actual Gummy Bear is, shall we say, unforgettable in the looks department. I've wondered if I might be the first mother to recoil in horror at the sight of my slimy newborn when he enters the world should he inherit the very worse physical qualities of JB and I. All of my friends tell me that it is impossible to look at your child and think they are anything less than perfect but I have my doubts. I can be pretty ruthless when it comes to judging whether a baby is cute or not. Part of me, I guess, fears that all my days of talking trash about other people's kids is going to come back and slap me in the genetic face. And well, if I use this website's photo as any clue, I'd be right.


So, here is the picture I put in of my self: (Don't I look eager and motherly?)




And here is the one I used for J: (Looking equally eager and Bill Cosby like in his protectiveness)




And here is the science experiment gone wrong that is our computer generated child:




What do you think about my little new baby Braving Berlin ?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?


Eee-Gads! Does that even look like a child to you? I mean come on. It's a bit offputting but for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. And yes, I typed "boy" but doesn't he look like a girl with an overactive thyroid? He/She has a mustache, for God's sake! I'm sorry but that is just disturbing.