Baby update

Well, it seems Paula and Kelly will not have babies on the same day again.  Baby Stepp did not have any intentions on coming out on his/her due date.  If nothing progresses this week, Paula will be induced Friday, December 7. 

"I'll be home for Christmas"- next year.

So, our plans to be home for Christmas this year did not work out.  In a perfect world, Baby #2 would be born around Dec 1st giving us 3 weeks to get baby's passport- landing us at the grandparent's door Dec 25th.  After working with the passport office on base, the only way we can expedite the passport is via a Red Cross emergency.  Since we are military, we have to process the 10-14 week application paperwork through the military office, no exceptions.   Not even I can talk our way out of this one. Surprising, huh? 
 
When Carter was born, we were able to work with the Embassy in Turkey because the base was much smaller.  We got Carter's passport in about 4 weeks allowing us to leave the country while on Paula's maternity leave.   Paula's plan for Baby #2 was to take 8 weeks off work, spending alot of her maternity leave in the States.   Since it's not an option, she's considering taking 6 weeks off work, go back to work for about 2 months and then we'll fly home.  Tentatively, we are looking at being home February 21-March 6.   If 6 weeks is not long enough for maternity leave, we'll likely prolong our travel home until later Spring. 
 
There's the short of it.  It's been a long and frustrating couple weeks as we've been battling passport roadblocks, no potential job interviews, daycare for Carter when the baby is born, blah, blah .   But, as Ellen from Christmas Vacation would say "It's the holidays- we're all in misery".   Just kidding.  Though we are completely bummed we won't be home this year, you all will simply have to buy your Christmas trees REALLY late and keep them up until February.  

Stuttgart Oktoberfest

When you live overseas, nothing makes you happier than seeing a familiar face.  It brings a comfort of home, rejuvenating you to delay home sickness.  My dad's cousin and his wife, Jim and Fran Poe, were attending a work conference in Italy and decided to come to Landstuhl, Germany.    The main military hospital of Germany is located in Landstuhl- where Jim was born in 1954 and our son/daughter will be born in a few weeks.  Though I can recall only meeting Jim and his family once, it was nice to meet up with them and feel the presence of family in Germany.    

After meeting up at Landstuhl area, we spent the day with them at Stuttgart Oktoberfest, the 2nd largest annual fest in Germany.   It was a great trial run to prepare for planning our '13 Munich Oktoberfest adventure.   Thanks Jim and Fran for taking care of us!

Maastricht, Netherlands

Took us 9 years, but we finally returned to Maastricht, Netherlands.   Maastricht is a city that had great impact on our lives.   At 21, we truly became "adults" there- we learned what it was like to live in a foreign country, made many traveling mistakes touring around Europe, learned to survive without our immediate family/friends, and got engaged.   Maastricht is a big part of the reason Paula joined the military, enabling us the opportunity to get back to Europe once again. 
 
2 dogs, 1 kid, and 1 kid on the way- Needless to say, our time visiting Maastricht this past month was much different than years before.  Despite the rain, it was awesome to see all our "hot spots" and travel back in time of our college years. 

     

Maastricht is 3 hours from our home in Germany.   We decided to drive home at night and unfortunately got rear ended.  9 o'clock at night we're trying to figure out (1) how to call the police internationally? (2), how to communicate with the other driver who doesn't speak English and is convinced I was was "backing up" at a stoplight (3), how do we notify our insurance.  Luckily, a Dutch lady stopped and helped us tremendously regarding our communication barriers and how to fill out the appropriate international forms.   Though there was damage to the rear, we could still drive home.   En route, we found out that our gas card does not work outside of Germany and it is common for gas stations to close at 10:00pm.  It's midnight and we're driving around these small German towns looking for a drop of gas.  We learned alot that night--especially how frustrating it can be living overseas and the need to always be prepared!!   Regardless, everyone's ok and glad to have made it back home. 

New job

Alot has happened over the last month.  We are still getting familiar with our new German life, just finding the time today to sit down and respond to emails and update the blog. 

Most of my emails I need to respond to somewhere include "Curt- did you find a job?".   Short and sweet- No.  Before we left Turkey, I was diligently applying for jobs weekly.  Many of them were the same type of job I was doing in Turkey- routine and less than challenging.  I have since pulled my application for many of the jobs and searching for something that better suits me and my desire to have my own career back.   Though the job was fine for Turkey, it just isn't going to work for Germany.   As most of my friends know whose spouses are in the military, many jobs offered for us are just that- jobs.  Something to keep us busy and out of the house.   Since Paula is in the military, I get a 1-time "Military Spouse Preference" to be used to apply for a government job while in Germany.    Since I can only use it once in our 3 years, I have decided to wait and only apply for jobs that relate to my interest and where I can potentially build a career.   Time will tell, but for now my life is a full time Stay at Home Dad. 

Let's first change that title "stay at home dad."  For anyone who knows me well, knows that I can barely sit through a 30 minute TV episode without getting antsy.  Staying at home probably isn't the best option for me.  In the 1st month of my new job, I've developed quite the schedule.  May not last as the days are getting colder (and Carter's probably getting sick of being on the go).

Paula works with over 30 other dentists.  In that mix, I was sure to find some dads to hang with and get Carter some time with other kids.   Our first "dad" meeting was at the Kaiserslaughtern zoo.  

Colton, Carter, Gaige

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Carter and I meet Paula at the pool on base for lunch.  The pool is awesome and Carter loves it.   He is very independent in the water and goes down the big waterslide in the kid area all by himself.   It's also a great break for me to swim some laps.
  

 

Our last few months in Turkey were primarily spent saying goodbye to our friends we made.  We did little but go to each other's houses, have dinners, etc.   With no traveling or no other Turkish stuff to buy, I saved almost 4 months of my blow money and bought a new Kona bike and bike trailer for Carter.   It is quite the ride.   2 days of the week we hit the bike trails and come home exhausted and usually muddy.  There's a horse ranch in our town  we stop at that has 50+ horses.  Carter particularly likes Pinocchio and feeds him hay.   Donkeys, chickens, goats, ducks, turkeys, and sheep also graze the ranch area.  Carter's really learning his animals- I was proud he was able to say his animal sounds to Grandma Schu Schu the other day on skype. 

 

To Paula's disgust, we made our 1st mini-van purchase.  It's nice to have 2 cars again- some days, Carter and I take out with the GPS and just explore the neighboring towns.  He's probably more interested in Elmo playing on the DVD player, but it still makes for a good ride.  We have taken the van to a couple weekend festivals- now we just need some of you to come visit and fill this van up!

 

Wine Festival in Bad Durkeim

Pumpkin Festival in Hitscherhof

CeCe enjoying the dog bar