Ugh. The Shearer’s have been on the Struggle Bus. The germs that have been making their way through many households struck us pretty hard. Things have not exactly gone according to plan, to say the least. We are all hoping that we will be mostly recovered by the time we fly to Portugal on Saturday. Fingers crossed…. With every experience in a foreign country – good or bad, there are new things to learn. While this isn’t a “feel good” post, it’s real life – and in our case real life is truly an adventure.

Lily has managed to stay mostly healthy. She missed a couple days of school but seems to have been able to fight the gunk the best. She was able to join some of the school fun – Crazy Hair Day!
Everyone – I’d like you to meet Lana. She is an Alpine Haflinger. I think she looks like a mini Clydesdale. Lily has been taking riding lessons for several months. She normally rides a beautiful reining mare named Gucci, but Lily is starting to learning how to lope. Lana is a great one to learn on.
Jay’s college roommate, Jon, stopped by to visit us for a few days. This guy has the most adventurous life of everyone I know. He travels the world like a champ. His stories…. Unfortunately I barely saw him. I joined him for dinner his first night in town, then had a work event, then poof, he was gone. Hopefully he can stop by again in his next European excursion.

That was the last smile on Jay’s face for several days. Ty succumbed first. Then Jay.

Kaycee doesn’t mind the fact that dad is sick.
Time to bring in the Chicken Noodle Soup. Y’all. Most of you know that cooking is not really my thing. I’m not good at it. I don’t understand the people who can just “throw something together.” But my sick boys needed me. At home, I know exactly what I need to buy at the store to make this. Here, it takes a little extra thought. Our store doesn’t have chicken broth (or at least not that I could find) so I had to make my own. Reames egg noodles? Not available in Germany. I picked up some powdered hünchen stock and a random bag of egg noodles, mixed it all up, slow cooked all day, and hoped for the best. Judging by the devoured crockpot, I think it was a success!!
I held out long enough to join some coworkers at the Mannheim Christmas Market and a goose dinner with friends before I fell victim. Last year Jay joined this crazy crew for goose dinner when he was here before we moved. This year he was passed out on the couch so I made a solo appearance. I wasn’t so sure about the goose when I ordered it, but I had to try it. Er-mer-gerd! It was delicious!!
This is the perfect advent calendar for me – one box of puzzle pieces each day
A new store opened up in Königstein. Ladies……it is sehr schon! So beautiful! Melissa is the owner and artist. She collects vintage materials and uses them to create new designs. And, she’s a gem of a human. I couldn’t resist the temptation of this gorgeous coat. Merry Christmas to me!!
I mean……. Seriously.
Check out her social sites. You can see videos of the alterations of my jacket – so fun!! If you have materials that you want to give new life (maybe grandma’s old coat???) she can work her magic on it.
We definitely couldn’t fit our Christmas tree in the air shipment, and Jay’s allergies can’t handle a real tree in the house. So we improvise!! Shout out to Kirk for the light design idea. Some of these presents will be packed in a Portugal suitcase, and some will be opened Friday night before we leave. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

Jay started feeling better Wednesday evening, so about 1 week of misery.

And then I crashed. Hard. Jess called and she said I sound like a man. I have gone through 2 boxes of Kleenex. It’s disgusting and exhausting. Once again, at home I know what I need to survive. Here, not so much. I think I have shared with you all that I hate the toilet paper here. It is not soft. The facial tissues are just as bad – some might argue worse because of the constant rubbing on your nose.

So I think “Amazon to the rescue!” Praying that they have Puffs Plus with Aloe. Um…. Germany Amazon thinks I either need dog spray or anti-aging drops. Yes, I feel like dog poop and a 90-year old lady. No, I don’t need those products. Thanks.
This is my favorite. Back home, Vicks Vapo Rub is an essential to rub on your chest and under your nose when you are sick. Amazon was closer at understanding what I needed on this search. In German, the letter “w” sounds like a “v”, and a “v” sounds like an “f”. To keep the same sound of the name, they changed the spelling for the German product to “Wicks”. Funny that they didn’t change it to Wicks WapoRub, though…. Hm.
Ok, if Amazon and the pharmacy can’t get me what I need, I will just have to make it myself. One of my coworkers send me this home remedy, which I will now call the Hexe Trinken (Witch Drink). Jess makes something similar, so I thought I would give it a try. Nurse Lily (still healthy!!) prepared the concoction for me last night.
It looks nasty. It tastes nasty. But if it helps make me healthy enough to get on that plane on Saturday, I will drink it.

Last night I slept hard. I slept all morning, and plan to sleep all afternoon. Time, rest, and the Hexe Trinken are what I need. I also want my mommy ;). Nothing makes me feel better when I am sick than my mom, but she’s kind of a long way away, so…. Yes, I am a grown woman in her mid-40s. A girl always needs her mama.

Please don’t send me Puffs, Reames, or Vicks. 🙂 I will survive. Just think of this post the next time you go to HyVee and pick up all of your go-to feel-better products. 🙂