I Could Write a Book

    Cowboys. When you think of the word "cowboy" what do you think of ? Where do you picture them in your mind ?

    When I think of cowboys I think instantly of "wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and hats". Oh yeah, good looking bums, too. Where I picture them is in the country, maybe out West, but definitely not in Vienna, Austria. Yes, I said Vienna, Austria. 

    Six years ago, my eldest son celebrated his 2nd birthday in Vienna. It was freezing cold as his birthday is in March. One of the places we went to on his special day was to the Vienna City Park. I pushed him around in his stroller a bit and let him look at some of the statues and such. Well, on this trip with it being a bit warmer, I decided I wanted to go see what the Vienna City Park looked like "green". It was beautiful with some unexpected surprises.

What a surprise, huh ?

     This picture was taken in Vienna, Austria. Do you see what he has sitting besides him ? His hot sauce. When I first saw him sitting on the bench I thought that maybe he was a tourist, but he started speaking fluent German to a couple who asked him a question. I honestly do not know that many cowboys from this neck of the woods who can speak fluent German. Everyone else in the park was dressed in traditional clothes. Long black pants, leather shoes, nice top, etc. They definitely weren’t carrying around their "Coke and hot sauce." It still cracks me up. He was completely out of place.

    I didn’t ask his permission to take the photo and I did my best to not seem like a dork when I did take it. Lol. I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by. Just goes to show, you can find a cowboy anywhere.

    Here is another cute photo I took in Vienna. This one was taken at a "Thanksgiving" festival. The minute I went to the take the photo the guy whipped up a picture frame and I started laughing uncontrollably. I’m glad he was so nice about having his picture taken.

"Say Cheese".
 

Dear Son,

I can’t believe 6 years have gone by since you were born. I remember your birth vividly. Wow. Some of it wasn’t so good. It was a long labor. You had decided you were going to be a handful before you even entered the world.

When you were born you looked like a little monkey. Yes, I know mothers are not supposed to say things like that, but it is the truth. I think you were born too little and just hadn’t had time to fully fill out. It was the Doctor’s decision to take you that day. I can’t say I’m happy about that, yet.

You were what they call a "high needs baby". Omgoodness. You’d cry and scream and had the most horrible reflux. Your first year was not an easy one. I wish I knew back then what I know now. You probably had some food allergies and I wasn’t aware of that at all. You’d nurse and then promptly projectile vomit. My poor baby.

The only time it seemed that you weren’t crying was when I would rock you to sleep at night time. Every night I would pray to God that he would let me bond with you like I had with your older brother. There were many times during that first year when I asked myself if I had made the biggest mistake of my life by having a second child. I definitely had not.

God answered those prayers 100 times over and now I can’t imagine what I’d do without you in my life. You’ve grown up to be (so far) the biggest "ham and character" in our family. You can make me laugh and smile during my darkest moments. It is rare that I can properly discipline you because you always crack me up. And oh my goodness, you are one handsome little boy. You’re going to be a heartbreaker one day.

I hope that one day when you are 46 that I am still here to write you birthday letters. I love you so much and I am so incredibly thankful that God gave you to me as my son.  You are definitely my "sonshine".

~~Happy 6th Birthday, Baby~~  You light up my life.

Love,

Mommy 

    Sometimes, I think it might be best if we couldn’t call home when we are away from our children. My eldest son is having a very difficult time with me away. sighs. It broke my heart when he started crying on the phone with me. He said he is sad. ugh. He is having a difficult week at school. Thankfully, he only has 2 more days of school this week and then he hits the weekend. I think he will do better then.

     Our poor nanny was about to have a breakdown yesterday. It is not funny, but I can’t help laughing. She told me, "mothering is a full-time job". Yes, it is.

     I’m off to an "organ concert" tonight. I’ve already seen the "Exhibition of the Body" today. Wow. So educational and neat.

     I’m counting the days till I am home. I miss it greatly.

     I’m on a borrowed computer, so I have very little time to write, but wanted to say Prague or Praha, as it is called here, is absolutely the most beautiful city I’ve ever been in. I feel as if I could take one million photos everywhere I turn.  The Czech food is just delicious. I think I will probably be sad to tell this great city goodbye when I go, but I know I will bring my children here one day. I can not wait till I can show them.  Czech has some wonderful history. ack. I could go on and on, but my time is very limited.

     Have I mentioned that I’m freezing ?

I can’t believe it ! I made it here safely. I’m exhausted. It is soooooooo busy.

When I have more time I have a million things to tell.

I’m flying out in less than 9 hours. Wow. It seems so surreal that this time has come. It seems as if I’ve been thinking about this trip forever. 

The nanny made it in safely today. I was afraid with the bad weather that her flight might have been delayed. It wasn’t  I’m sure I have overwhelmed her this afternoon. She got a lot of information to process.

I"m done with everything except packing. Can you believe I haven’t packed yet ? Sure you can. I absolutely hate packing. I don’t have a clue which shoes I am going to wear. Ugh. I hate when I am packing for the opposite climate that I am living in at the time. However, I figure if I get there and I need something I’ll go buy it. Right ? Simple solution to an anxiety-filled event.

I’m going on a "Franz Kafka and Jewish Community" walk. I’m looking foward to it. Oh, I bought some neat things to read on the plane. Go me.

Well, this blog is going on vacation for a while. If I get a chance to post while in Prague believe me I will. Stay safe. 

Peace out, Babycakes and Dudes and Cowboys and girls.  

    Alright dangit, I’ve finally decided that I want to be a writer when I grow up. Can I write very well ? Heck No. You all know that . Well, if you read my blog you know I can’t really write. sighs.

    Want to know what is frustrating me tonight ? I’m trying to post a comment to another blog and for the flipping life of me I can not figure out how. Now, how in the world am I going to be a writer when I grow up if I can’t even figure out how to post a comment ?

    Have any idea how long it took me to figure out how to post pictures to my blog ? LOL. Go look at the first date of a normal picture and that will tell you. Look for the first "you tube" video and I bet you can figure out how long it took me to get one of those on here. But, the most important thing to realize about me - I didn’t give up.

    So, when I grow up, I’m becoming a writer. I might be 90. I might be in the nursing home (yes, my kids have permission. I don’t want their lives to revolve around taking care of me), but I will be a writer. Mark my words !!!!

Today would have been my father’s 62nd birthday. Gosh, he meant the world to me. You can’t imagine how badly I miss him.

    A tisket, a tasket, a trip turnover basket. I am no longer going to Spain. That trip was totally scraped today. Am I upset ? Not in the least. Where am I going now ? Austria and Prague. Am I excited ? Yes. Why ? Because of Franz Kafka.

    I am a pretty avid reader. I’m definitely a biblioholic. For those of you who have no idea what a biblioholic is, it means one who is a lover of their books. Some people can read a book and give it away or turn it in for a fraction off their new book. I can NOT do that. A book holds way too many memories for me. In the majority of my books, I write when I start reading it, when I finished it, where I was and who gave it to me if I didn’t purchase it for myself. I think the greatest gift anyone can give me is a book. When people ask me "what do you want for so and so?" I always tell them to buy me their favorite book and for them to sign it.

   Do I have that many books in my house right now ? No. Why ? Well, Hurricane Katrina is to thank for me losing my books this last time. I’ve replaced a lot of them. I’ve had friends give me copies that they knew I loved. They will come back. It is fun getting them all over again.

   Back to my trip and Kafka. In Prague, a place I’ve never been, I might be staying in a hotel across the street from where Kafka lived and wrote. Do you hear the pitter-patter of my heartbeat ? Do you know that I got beyond excited when I found out that tidbit ? Does that make me completely weird ? Want to know what one of my souvenoirs will be from Prague ? I will buy a copy of The Metamorphosis there. That will be a highlight of my trip. I think I’ve loved Kafka because of his style of writing. The famed "German" style. Yet another reason to be proud of my German heritage.

   For some reason, I feel very relieved not to be going to Spain. I do not know why. I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. I keep trying to figure out why I feel so comfortable going to Austria and Prague. Maybe it is because I will be flying into Austria and staying in Vienna for the first two nights. This will be my 4th time in Vienna. (I was there once when T was two years old and he lost his favorite lovey. His Elmo. I had to go out shopping to find something that he would sleep with while there. He picked up this little stuffed, fleece lamb and to this day it sleeps on the end of his bed.)  I will take a train from Austria - thank the good lord it is not a sleeper train - and ride to Prague. I’m very comfortable with all of that. Again, I’m thinking it is because it is something that I am already used to. Ah, the control freak in me just keeps raising its ugly head.

   I’m very excited about this trip. Instead of short-sleeved shirts and capris I’m trading them for long-sleeved shirts and pants with a jacket. The high is supposed to be 60 while there. It is going to be so nice. A break from the heat here.

   So, this week I’m off to a little opera, Mozart, Kafka, castles and rum balls (chocolate). I am truly looking forward to it.
 

LSU vs VA Tech !  I can not wait to see this game. The first LSU home game. So much excitment. I love the atmosphere on these days.

I can’t wait to go walk around after "tailgating" some. I can’t say that I’m overly fond of tailgaiting. I’m not a drinker and it does seem that a lot of people use tailgating to see how many beers they can drink before they get into the game, but the food is delicious.  You ought to see some of the spreads people do. Wow. I love smelling everyone’s cooking.

Well, I’ll off to root, yell, hollar, cheer and just have a grand ole time with my Tigers. LSU. LSU. LSU. Geauxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tigers !!! 

There’s a "Tiger" from tailgating today at the game. I had a blast. What a great first home game. Yes, it was a little bit lopsided, but hey, the Tigers won !!! 

    Spain. It’s a beautiful place. It has lots of culture, beautiful cathedrals, people, weather, etc. I’m going there next week. Am I excited ? Heck to the Nth degree - NO ! People think I am absolutely nuts when I tell them that. They say , "I would love to travel." Go right ahead and be my guest. Why am I not looking forward to this trip ? There are a couple of reasons with the main one being my children. I have absolutely zero desire to leave my children. I never thought I would be this way as an adult or a mother. I am absolutely terrified that something is either going to happen to me or to one of my children. I would feel tremendous guilt either way. sighs.

    Right now, I am ammending our will. Getting it a little more up-to-date. It makes me want to throw up. I’m making "emergency lists" with numbers for everyone from the dentist to the lawyer. sighs. I have a headache.

    What I do not understand is why don’t fathers feel the same way as mothers in regards to leaving their children ? All he can think about is how much fun he is going to have. All I can think about is "will they remember everything they need for school ? Will the nanny drive safely with my children in the car ?" I have about come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth it for me to leave without my children. I worry continuously. I will be a nervous wreck the entire time I am there and all I will think about is "I can’t wait to be back home." So, what really is the point of going ? Please don’t tell me "you’ll get to spend time with your husband without the kids."  Joy. I can do that here. I don’t have to be overseas to do that.

    Thankfully, I have another week before I go. I’m hoping that I can pray myself into some sort of "calm" before I go. I’m trying to think of all the small details of things to have ready before I go. Other than me worrying about going to Spain, life has been good these last days.  (Thought I would add something positive to this post. LOL)