hilarious!

i received an email today letting me know someone was interested in one of my photo's on flickr to put into a Denver map online.. it has been short selected which means if i agree they will put it in the short list and choose it from there.. how neat would that be if one my pictures were published?! granted it's only for a map of the Denver area.. but still that's pretty darn neat if it happened.. i hope they do pick it.. this is the picture they might use.. i took it last January when we went to the Denver stock show..

today is and will be a depressing day.. it's 6am here..  david has to go back home.. even though i love visiting, i am sort of wishing i had to go back with him too(together).. he is in the bathroom getting ready and all i want to do is bawl my eyes out.. i suppose it's bittersweet.. hopefully i will be over it in a few days..  the thought of him not being here upsets me a lot.. two whole weeks without him.. i seriously have no clue how i am going to survive.. he does everything for me.. now i will be on my own.. i don't remember being so emotional about leaving him last time i was here by myself.. or the year before that when he went back earlier than me and i stayed a WHOLE month.. maybe it's because i am pregnant and filled to the brim with hormones.. i don't know.. but the thought of him leaving is literally making me sick to my stomach.. plus the fact he is on a plane.. well.. we all know how i feel about planes.. i will be thinking about him non stop praying over and over God blesses him with a safe flight back home..

because i am too tired to do MORE than one Paris picture tonight (midnight here).. i will post a belly picture of me in Paris..  

david has been learning how to properly use my camera.. as in shooting in manual mode.. he has really picked up fast.. i was suprised how many shots he took that actually looked good (i.e. exposure correct etc). anyway, me (and ashton) infront of Notre Dame. 25week belly shot

hello my name is anne marie and i can not stop buying baby clothes/crap!!!! 

ashton = obsession.. everything david and i do is about ashton.. i even bought more clothes online in America a few days ago.. (tanna.. remember those overalls i wanted from potterbarnkids? the ones on sale? i was going to order them and have it sent to davids parents house right before i left for Germany? well.. i decided to force myself to wait.. after almost two weeks i was STILL thinking about them and finally bought them.. isn't that ridiculous?!). i am also in the process of figuring out how to order some German baby clothes online and have it shipped here in Germany.. i found a cute little website filled with unusual stuff you never see in the states that i just have to have..

it gets worse.. david is a complicated person when it comes to spending money.. when it comes to spending money on me david is more willing to give out.. but he still has hesitation and sometimes tries to talk me out of the purchase if it happens to be over $100 by saying, "we can't really afford it right now.. but if you want it.. i guess you can buy it" ::gives me sad pouty look::.. when we finally got pregnant david did want to buy some baby stuff ASAP.. mostly stuff that was a NEED rather than a want.. like the carseat..i mean we NEED the carseat.. it's not really a want.. david also enjoys all the baby clothes we have been getting.. a week before leaving for Europe he realized we had a pretty good collection going on and mentioned that maybe i need to slow down now.. (HAHAHA the thought is laughable)......point is.. david is not mr.moneybags and he doesn't just throw money away on the whim.. there has to be a good reason to buy whatever it is.. 

now that i have explained davids complicated way of spending money.. here comes the kicker.. david has all of a sudden turned into a, "LETS BUY EVERYTHING FOR ASTHON RIGHT NOW!" mode.. example? he wants to spend almost $200 on a teddy bear.. A TEDDY BEAR PEOPLE! okay.. so it's a steiff bear.. they are expensive and they are wickedly awesome.. i want ashton to have a steiff bear too.. it would mean a lot more getting it here in Germany since they are German bears.. but the fact that david is so excited about plopping down $200 for a normal size teddy bear is astonishing! he has NO BUYERS REMORSE OVER IT! nothing.. is that not NUTS?! not to mention he wants to get an original steiff bear plus a soft CUSHY one for ashton to carry around (cheaper than a original bear but still).. ashton has become a huge obsession with us.. i thought how lucky we were to have a boy because a girl would just get EVERYTHING from david and i would spend way more money on girl clothing than boy clothing (omg baby girl clothes are the FREAKING CUTEST EVER right now!!). 

too bad the baby doesn't want or need camera equipment lmao.. david leaves in two days.. booo hoo.. i am so sad.. i hate not being around david.. two weeks will fly by though.. i am just happy he was able to be here for two weeks with me.. trip is going by fast that's for sure.. 

i also received my extra action set today.. whoooohooooo.. i can't wait to use it.. i plan on processing more Paris pictures today and posting them later..

we are back from Switzerland.. it was beautiful but freeeeezing.. we stocked up on a bunch of Swiss chocolate.. right now i am suffering from an upset stomach/heartburn thanks to all the junk food i had on the drive home and the pure thought of all the chocolate we purchased today makes me want to vomit.. 

i was hoping to have all the Paris pictures to share with everyone.. however.. after reviewing the Paris pictures i feel overwhelmed.. almost to a point where i don't want to process them.. i think i am going to post a few posts about our Paris trip instead of just one big one to make sure i don't burn myself out on processing these images.. the stress of taking over a week to process the Paris pictures on top of any other pictures i might take in the future is too much for me to handle at this point.. :o)

our flight to paris was delayed 3hours thanks to weather in germany (severe fog).. 

in front of the arc de triomphe

windy and cold

the arc is massive

you can hike up to the top of the arc but we skipped it this time to save energy on my poor legs

you can see La Défense from the arc.. it's the square building in the center.. our hotel was right next to it.. i have pictures of it as well but that will come later..

arc de triomphe in the back ground.. crossing streets in paris is serious business.. you have to be careful and alert .. most cross walks make you stop in the middle of traffic before making it to the other side.. scary!

metro station.. thank goodness for these or i would have never survived in paris

waiting for our train.. we headed back to the arc for a night shot right around midnight

the best i could do without a tripod lmao.. 

i will post more Paris pictures later this week.. hopefully i will be able to get them all done in two or three more posts..

BACK FROM PARIS!

we had so much fun in Paris.. the plane ride on the way there was a bit freaky.. turbulence galore..  i was sitting in between david and my mother and totally flipping out (holding both david and my mothers hands as tight as i could and tears coming down my face type of flipping out.. not pretty).. a flight attendant walked past us and stopped to ask my mother if she was okay and that the plane was going to be fine.. my mother was confused.. wondering why he was asking HER if she was okay.. when we finally landed (thankfully safely) in Paris while unloading the plane the same flight attendant asked her if she was positive she was okay and that, "see everything was fine" blah blahblah.. LMAO.. omg it was so freaking hilarious! how the flight attendant figured it was my mother flipping out is beyond me.. we had many great laughs over it..  my mother also swears she will never sit next to me on a plane again.. too bad so sad since she has to on the way back to the US.. bwahahahaha

i have over 800 images from Paris to go through and process, so i don't have any ready to share today.. we went to Nuremberg the day before we left for Paris and i processed them this morning.. we leave for Switzerland to visit my cousin stefanie tonight.. so i have no clue when i will be able to share Paris pictures..

best nuremberg bratwurst ever!

a bunch of yummy meat i am not allowed to have.. :o(

nuremberg also makes the best lebkuchen.. it's a christmas tradition but thankfully their store is open all year.. i stocked up on dominos my absolute favorite.. 

a mischievous cherub on "the beautiful fountain" in Nuremberg

my mom watching some nutso climb outside one of the towers at the nuremberg castle

if anyone makes fun of my pose i will kick your butt.. i will never ever pose like this again (i also pray that i did not pose like this in any of my Paris pictures).. but i love the background so much i am going to post it anyway.. 

david and the beautiful castle

overlook of nuremberg.. i hiked all the way up thankyouverymuch

he is so handsome.. 

making a wish at "the beautiful fountain".. you turn the ring around 3 times and apparently all your dreams come true..

i asked david what he wished for today when i saw this picture and he said, "i was supposed to make a wish? i thought it was for good luck".. lol..

this was interesting.. we went to the nazi party rally grounds in nuremberg.. this is the unfinished german stadium.. very interesting place..

this fountain cracks me up!! it was david's favorite for obvious reasons.. i would love to know the history  behind this fountain.. 

another view.. lol.. i bet a guy made this fountain.. 

by the way, walking around pregnant for the entire day, four days straight is harder than i thought it would be.. i survived though.. (my legs, feet, and butt have been sore since the day we arrived in Europe!) i even hiked up to sacre couer (a cathedral on top of a huge ass hill).. we didn't get to see everything we wanted but we saw enough.. we went to the top of the eiffel tower the last night we were there.. amazing.. i love Paris.. love.love.love.. i didn't have as many crepes as i would have liked either.. and zero ice cream.. in fact david and i had a hard time finding anything to eat in Paris.. french food isn't something i am a fan of.. snails.. horse meat etc just isn't my thing.. and as a pregnant girl overseas, i had to be careful what i ate so i wouldn't get sick abroad.. which meant.. no cheese (didn't know if it was pasteurized).. no fruit (didn't have a clean place to wash).. no sandwiches from the deli (listera anyone?).. i had a lot of pastries though.. in fact that's pretty much all we had (i'm not complaining though.. the french pastries are the BEST).. when we arrived back in Germany last night my oma cooked us dinner (aka. real food). i scarfed it as i hadn't eaten in ages!

ashton has been an active little thing.. his kicks and movements have become stronger and i am starting to feel them way up high.. david and i went to jacadi in Paris and got him two outfits.. oh they are so freaking cute.. i love that store! too bad it will probably be the only two jacadi pieces we own.. 

Europeans have this weird thing where they don't want pregnant women walking through metal detectors.. makes me wonder how safe they really are (in America they claim they are safe for pregnant women) lol.. i was felt up at the airport like never before.. in America when they pat you down they are pretty good about not "touching" you.. they touch but it's quick and not very thorough.. here in Europe, i have had hands/fingers up in my butt/crotch.. boobs tenderly squeezed.. she made sure not to miss an inch.. they don't take you to a private room either.. they do it in front of everyone.. no big deal.. i just thought it was interesting how different they are compared to American security..

jet lag hit us hard this time around.. we had to keep busy all day to make sure we didn't pass out too early.. we went to the city and walked around.. i have been having some strange but painful belly button pain.. after some research online i found out it's ligament pain.. stretching the belly button (wtf right?) lessens the pain.. however, stretching the belly button = a really sore belly button..

the weather was beautiful today.. warm enough for shorts.. i was pinching myself for not listening to david and at least bringing one pair.. he gave me the, "i told you so" look every time i mentioned how freaking hot i was.. ::rolls eyes:: i can't wait for it to rain so bad he needs his rain jacket and i can play the, "i told you so" game..  LOL. i was actually in the mood to take some pictures today to share with everyone..

rathaus (city council) in schweinfurt.. 

such a beautiful building.. 

our first ice cream of the trip.. trust me there will be many more ice cream shots lol.. 

david ordered some hawaii thing.. david doesn't speak german so i ordered for him and the waitress almost didn't let me get it.. claiming i was pregnant and not allowed to have liquor.. who knew ice cream could have liquor and who knew a german stranger would care for the well being of my unborn child haha! 

i always get the spaghetti ice cream.. omg so delicious! it's vanilla ice cream.. strawberry sauce.. topped with white chocolate shavings and whipcream.. heaven!

my mother ordered some kiwi, raspberry, and strawberry cup.. it look delicious.. i might get that next time..

farmers market in downtown shweinfurt.. i could eat salads everyday here.. 

we toured the old wall in schweinfurt.. i felt the need to be "creative".. the point is i tried.. 

my mom peeking over the old wall.. 

david finishes every single day with a beer.. no matter where we are.. 

made it to germany safe and sound.. we had an awesome flight.. arrived an hour early.. too tired to post anything else.. just wanted to update.. 

you will never believe where i am blogging from.. Macy's the department store in Chicago! this place is freakkiiinngg huge.. 9 floors!!!!!!!!!!!! the building is BEAUTIFUL! they have a wine cellar.. everything you can think of.. it's crazy! david and i have gotten lost looking for a new backpack.. our old one broke.. TWICE in Dallas on the way to the airport (we took the train).. david has had to carry allllll the carry on himself.. so it sucks.. 

obviously, we stayed in Chicago overnight.. or i would already be in Germany.. we volunteered our flight (the flight was overbooked) we received $1600 in flight vouchers.. a hotel stay.. and $40 in food vouchers.. our flight is leaving tonight at 7:30pm (hopefully).. so we figured we would spend a few hours in downtown Chicago.. the weather here is awesome.. perfect! anyway.. here are a few pictures i was able to snap last night.. i was going to get the Internet at the airport but Macy's has it for free.. so this will be my only time to update it before we leave for Germany... we are having a great time already!

cheap backpack = crap.. david showing off our now worthless backpack

waiting for the sky link at DFW airport.. 

smoothie stealer!

david kept saying "ashton is going to wonder why you never have pictures of yourself in public places while pregnant with him".. so.. now he can shut it.. yes.. i am huge.. yes everyone has noticed.. yes it's starting to make me feel fat.. and yes.. i hate this picture.. and yes.. that is my lovely/sexy tush-cush coccyx pillow that has been a huge relief!

one of the reasons why i love david sooo much, david begged me not to post this on the Internet.. last time we flew into Chicago (summer 2006) i was amazed how the toilets change the seat covers themselves.. i was soooo amazed i vowed if i ever found myself at the Chicago airport again i would snap a picture of it.. lol.. i pleaded with david to pose funny and he said "i am going to only do this once.. so make sure it counts".. lol.

the long underground tunnel at the airport in chicago

waiting for our flight.. that we ended up volunteering on.. tanna i am on the phone with you as i snapped this picture.. feel special! :o)

the hotel american airlines hooked us up in.. not as nice as the last one they hooked us up in but still nice never the less.. 

tons of freebies at the hotel.. thankgoodness.. considering we left our luggage at the airport so we wouldn't have to lug it around.. i am in clothes that i have worn for two days.. i feel gross.. dirty and i want a hot shower and nice clean clothes.. but for the $1600 vouchers it was totally worth it.. 

bye bye..

i wanted to properly update this blog before yesterday.. you know.. in case the plane crashes and what not.. :o)

but i am running out of time..  i still have tons of stuff to do.. we are taking the train to the airport so that means we have to leave like two hours earlier than we would if we had someone drop us off..  we already have to be there two hours before the flight leaves.. so we  are travelling around 5hours before we get on our plane for the 10hour plane ride.. oh well.. what can ya do? that's the downside for having family that lives across the big pond.. but other than that i am SUPER EXCITED about this day finally being here.. my mom and her husband, mike, are already there.. and i can't wait to see my family! it's much cooler there than here in texas.. which i  think is going to be a shock to us.. especially david.. he was freezing a few days ago when a cold front of 75f came through here.. lol..  it's around 60f in germany right now.. we leave for paris on september 11th.. o__O i don't like travelling on that day ..i am not sure where else we are going just yet (other than germany, obviously).. but wherever it will be it will be awesome.. and i will be sure to blog about it when i can! 

please pray for a safe trip.. i know flying is safer than any other form of travel but it still makes me nervous.. 

nicole and stefanie.. do you (or someone else) want me to bring something?  let me know here or email me at david-laney@sbcglobal.net

hope to see both of you soon! 

anne marie

i promised a belly picture and here it is.. i had some issues taking the picture this evening.. for one.. my camera is freaking heavy with my new flash and lets just say it's a workout holding my camera with one hand now.. i told david he could just buy me a bunch of new fancy camera stuff and i will be in shape in no time.. and second.. i used my flash and had to reset all my settings (yet i still failed at getting it just right.. i was a)sweating and b)exhausted after a hundred shots.. so, i decided to give up).. then while downloading my pictures to the computer my camera died. i had to wait to charge the battery.. what a pain in the butt.. i need a vacation from taking a silly uncreative belly picture.. lol... i want to get some creative belly shots in sometime.. i just need the right props.. hopefully germany will inspire me.. until then.. 

23 week belly

 

11week ::: 14 week ::: 18week

i want to start off this post praising david.. this weekend i broke down in tears telling him how overwhelmed i felt.. he showed sympathy and laid off the to do list.. he spent all day yesterday finishing his own to do list and more than half of mine! leaving the things that i can only do.. like go find a coccyx cushion for my horrible coccyx (tailbone) pain.. he cleaned the entire apartment.. did all the laundry.. he did so much yesterday on his paid holiday.. he didn't have to.. but did because he wanted to make sure i wasn't stressing out too much.. is that not the greatest husband or what?! 

i don't show him enough appreciation.. i was overwhelmed on saturday and became quite agitated with him because he was trying to help me while i was getting ready to meet up with his college friends.. i am very particular when it comes to things.. he doesn't do things the way i normally would want them done.. after about 10mins of me stressing out i realized.. what's the point?! he is only trying to help.. he's only trying to make my life easier.. just because he doesn't do things the way **i would** have done them, doesn't mean i should stress out about it.. i was just overwhelmed and felt like everything was closing down on me.. today, not so much.. i should be oh so grateful i even have a husband who does so much housework around the house without making me feel like i complete failure as a housewife.. david has never once complained having to do the dishes.. or laundry.. he does it with a smile and lots of affection.. he does it because he cares. (just for the record.. i hate how he loads the dishwasher lol.. but i have gotten better about accepting it and leaving it alone.. if i wanted the dishwasher "properly" loaded i should have done it myself.. nuff said). the point is.. i need to sit back and relax when he does my chores for me.. the fact he doesn't have to do them and does them with a smile on his face means i should get over it the petty crap and be thankful that david cares enough to help! same with our kids.. i know for a fact they won't clean like i want them too.. i don't want them to feel like i don't appreciate their help.. i will just have to be happy they are helping and secretly redo what i didn't like lmao.. 
 
i still have lots to do on my to do list.. thankfully it isn't as much as it was before.. we canceled our gym membership this weekend.. i was shocked how sad i was about it.. when our kids are older and can enjoy the gym, we will rejoin.. until then, we save $100 a month!  

FOUR more days until we leave for germany!!!! i would be lying if i didn't admit that i am still freaking out about flying :o). i know why i am freaking out more than usual this time.. it's because of ashton.. i feel like it took us for-ever to get pregnant with him and now that i am more than half way done with this pregnancy, something is going to happen (i.e. a plane crash) where i will never get to meet him and be a mom.. it's an irrational thought, no doubt about it.. but i can't help the way i feel.. i am still more than excited to be heading to germany though.. omg i can't wait.. my family makes me feel so calm and put together.. plus the food.. omg.. i can't wait for the FOOOOOD! baby ashton can't wait either lol! it's the perfect time since his taste buds are working now.. he can taste my food through the amniotic fluid.. i love this boy so much.. i wish he was here in the outside world to experience our trip with us.. but there will always be other trips for him to enjoy and explore! i am just impatient! it will be our last vacation together without kids..

baby ashton is still as active as ever.. always moving.. yesterday while watching DEAL or NO DEAL i felt him have hiccups for the first time.. david felt it too.. so stinking cute! (btw can you believe someone FINALLY won the $1million?! crazzzzzzzy).. david put together the baby's amby bed yesterday afternoon.. he wanted to see it all put together.. we decided to just leave it up and not take it down.. so, now we have the empty amby bed sitting in our bedroom.. we had to put our bedroom chair in storage to make room for it.. david loves messing with it.. i have a toy that makes noise hanging from the bar as sort of a mobile for ashton to focus on.. david is always messing with it lol.. he is so excited.. i can't stop messing with it either.. this amby bed seriously rocks.. i wish they made adult size amby beds.. 

i think it's time to finally do a belly shot.. i haven't done one in forever! i have a real baby bump now! it's awesome. i am going to be HUGE when the 8th month rolls around.. lol.. i started off slow but now my belly is getting bigger by the day! my clothes still fit, so neener neener! i promise i will post a belly picture TO-DAY..