Funny Stuff

Being a new parent has consumed me and the kid isn't even here yet.  I'm trying to prepare myself by learning as much as I can about childbirth and parenting.  I've been trying to get Kevin on the bandwagon, but my husband's weak stomach has him cringing everytime we start taking about labor.  He turns a little white in the face, gets quiet, and I'm pretty sure he starts zoning out.  FYI-I'm about 90% sure he is going to hit the floor when I am in labor.  So much for having a tough hockey player as a husband.  

A girl can only read so much about natural childbirth, vaccinations, breastfeeding, and tummy time...I eventually start zoning out myself.  Since I'm sure you would rather not hear about these things either, I've decided to post some funny stuff about parenting instead.  Enjoy!

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Treat yourself and check out some of Dave Engledow's pictures of him and his daughter, Alice Bee.  Here are two, but make sure to check out the links to see more.  They are hilarious!

 Dave Engledow's Fotoblur Gallery 

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If you've ever been pregnant you know this to be true...

River City Rubber Works: Pee (clipped to polyvore.com)

Our Little House Guest

Last week, I went out to the sunroom to put something in the recycling and something ran in front of me.  I wasn't sure what I had seen, but I was betting it was probably a mouse.  I decided it was best to turn around, go back in the apartment, and shut the door.  For hours, I kept an eye out to see if I could catch our little house guest wandering around.  And sure enough, he made an appearance.  Turns out, our guest isn't a mouse; he is a lizard. 

He likes to sunbathe when it's warm out and I think he is living behind a closet out there.  He was a regular for a few days and then he disappeared.  I thought he was gone so I went back to keeping the sunroom door open (occasionally).  Then this morning, he scared the shit out of me when I was cleaning. 

I've tried to keep the door to the outside open hoping he'll go out, but I'm pretty sure he's content in the sunroom since it is freezing outside.  I'm thinking he is probably pretty hungry and might need some water.  Lizards need that type of stuff, right?  So, I'm going to have to do some Googling in order to make our house guest comfortable.  And I'll be keeping the door to the sunroom closed for the time being.

I definitely chased the lizard around in order to get some pictures of him. 

Maybe I should name him??

Getting Legal is Hard Work

Getting a visa in Italy is nearly impossible.  I started the visa process in August 2011 and throughout all of last year Kevin and I went to appointments, filed papers, and thought we were on the right track.  We had a local guy (one of the team investors) helping us out and he always seems so optimistic so we just followed his lead. 

Well, needless to say, I went all of last year without a visa.  And then in July, Kevin got an email saying that my visa had been denied because our house wasn't suitable for two people.  We live on hotel property and have the same address as the hotel, which is unacceptable to them.  But keep in mind we live in a completely modern apartment with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom with both a shower and a tub, and have more space than we need.  So, we started the process all over again. 

At the end of September, my visa status was no clearer than it had been in August 2011 so we decided for me just to come over to Italy and get a "permit to stay" based on me being pregnant.  My friend, Debbie, did it last year and had no problems.  I figured since the team had gone through the process once, I would be fine.  WRONG!!!

The guy that was supposed to be helping us slacked off.  He told us everything was being taken care of, but we found out about 3 weeks after I arrived that he hadn't done a thing.  Thank God for the team GM, his wife, and the head coach.  In the past eight days, we have gotten everything done and I am finally legally here...almost. 

I got my tax number last Thursday (which is apparently something important).  Then, we had our second trip to the police station/immigration (our first one was not productive) on Monday and I applied for and was granted a "permit to stay."  I was fingerprinted and then given a piece of paper to carry in my passport showing I was legally here.  The funny thing is I am only legal until my due date.  Apparently, once this baby exits my body, I have to get the hell out of Italy.  Not really, but I found it odd that they didn't give me a little extra wiggle room in there.  

Permit to Stay

Today, we needed to complete the last step of our process...get my insurance book.  We headed to the hospital and when we were there, the guy making my book pointed out that my "permit to stay" had the wrong date on it.  Initially, I thought he had just noticed that I was only legal until my due date, but nope, that wasn't it.  My "permit to stay" has the wrong year on it!  It says it is only valid until March 14, 2012.  That was 8 months ago!!!

My insurance book.  This book is like gold here.  You have to have it to get treated at the hospital.  

 

Valido sino al: 14/03/2012 (the month and day are opposite of the States).  That is definitely the wrong date. 

The hospital still gave me my insurance book, but now I have to go back to the police station to sort out the date on my "permit to stay." Silly me for thinking that this was going to be easy. 

Enjoy Typical American Food!

This week at one of the local grocery stores here in Vipiteno, it is American Week.  Basically, they will be carrying American (or what they think is American) foods until they are all gone.  Kevin and I got the ad last week and we were cracking up at some of the stuff they were carrying. Most of the foods belong in the American sale, but some we don't even carrying in American.  Or if we do, I've never seen them. 

First off, what is hamburger sauce?  In America, we use ketchup and mustard...not some type of sauce.  And our hot dogs DO NOT come in a jar.  That is disgusting!  Another weird thing was the chicken nuggets and tenders are served with a curry sauce.  Isn't curry an Indian food?

But needless to say, Kevin and I hit up the sale today.  We grabbed some cookies, dried cranberries, and chicken tenders.  I'll let you know if I feel like I'm back in America when I eat them. 

Chris Rock the Vote!

Republican or Democrat, I think we can all agree that Chris Rock is hilarious.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo!

Apparently, Honey Boo Boo is making her rounds in the hockey world.  One of Kevin's helmet painters posted this picture this week and I had to share it.