Whirlwind Weekend

We were all over the place on Saturday, but we got a lot done. We bribed the kids by promising that we could go to their favorite store if they were good. The store is kind of like the Disney Store, just run by Public Television. Anyway, the kids were so dead that Jay actually fell asleep in Nils' stroller before we got there. And Nils was all over the place, as usual. Was it bad that we promised we could go there but not actually get anything?

Today we went to our good friends, the Hirschbergs, for the afternoon. I know I've mentioned this before, but I really love their place. And the company there is pretty good too! Anyway, the kids (ages almost 2, 3, 4 & 5) all play pretty well together and we got to relax and have fun on a (finally! somewhat...) sunny day.

Blogger finally has an option to post video directly to the post- yay! But, of course, it keeps saying I have an error and need to contact help with an error number. Well, needless to say, you cannot contact help, only send them a pre-selected message. So I will have to keep trying and post a bunch of video for you all. Until then, here are some photos from today.

Finally a Family of Four Again

Michael came back yesterday (after a week-long business trip) much earlier than expected- yahoo! Originally, he was going to return today. However, he decided to come yesterday evening and I was expecting him home around 10:00. You know, traffic... But at 7:30, right when I was about to go upstairs to bring the two into bed, I heard him rapping on the window for me to unbolt the door. The kids were out of control excited to see him and bedtime didn't happen for a while.

My friend Liz says she loves being a family of four but hates being a single mom of two. I agree wholheartedly. But sometimes life (work) gets in the way. And I am happy to say that I can do it! I always had my doubts that I could take care of both without melting down for a whole week without help (Oma). I had a throat infection, the basement flooded twice, and the phone and Internet went out for two days. But I am healthy, I mopped the basement, and I fixed the phone line. Supermama title, her I come! I'll try to make another entry this weekend. :)d

I think I know why I haven't posted photos in so long. I've been really bad at taking them! Anyway, here are a few from our visit last weekend to the zoo. For once, we actually had more photos of Nils than Jay!

Jay likes his new Kindergarten. He's been going two weeks now, so it's still a schedule adjustment. He doesn't really speak or play with any kids yet, but he is also a pretty cautious kid. He does most of his interaction with the two teachers (a German male and an American female).

Nils has gone to Kindergarten for a week (just two mornings a week) and I think we may have a crying incident this week at drop off: he knows what's coming. He likes playing and the toys, but I think he doesn't like being cooped up inside too long. So when he sees the bigger kids playing outside, he wants to go too. And, of course, that is the one time the little ones are not allowed out there.

The other photos are of Jay eating Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread) toast and of the two of them playing. I had tp scrape the barrel here to post these, so you know that I really don't have some good pictures. Maybe soon! I have to give photos of them to their Kindergarten for projects and the daily circle time.

This Week in Review

Still no photos, I am slacking lately. We will try to take some over the weekend!

Speaking of weekend, we had a great photo op last weekend (Sunday), but didn't have the camera. We went swimming to a pool club and the kids (even Jay!) had a blast. We did too, we switched off the kids between each other so each got mommy time and daddy time. There was an outdoor pool, indoor pool, indoor wave pool, a HUGE baby pool with a pirate ship and slides, and a bunch of other stuff. I really liked that it had a lot of indoor stuff so the kids weren't constantly in the sun. I hated how expensive it was just to get in- EUR51!!! So we will probably do it again, but only as an extra-special treat.

It's been a long week. Michael got very sick with a stomach virus on Tuesday. He was supposed to fly on a trip Wednesday morning (4 am wakeup!), but couldn't do it. I was up at 4 too, and unfortunately I don't get to nap like Nils... But Michael's a lot better now and left yesterday evening instead. It is really unlike Michael to call out sick, even when the Doctor writes a note. I've basically had less sleep and all the household/kid duties since he was sick. I'm not blaming him, I'm just done for the week and hope that I can get a bit of rest this weekend.

Jay started Kindy on Monday and the teachers wanted to take it way slower than I. I finally took the reins and on Wednesday said I'd leave him there until noon. And Jay didn't want to leave! He's had a full week and loves it. Nils got a spot in the same place and will go Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9-1. Wow, free time, what will I do??? I'm sure I can think of 100 things.

Anyway, more news and hopefully photos will come soon. Have a good weekend!

First Day of Kindergarten

Yesterday we went to Jay's new preschool for his first day. I can drop him off anytime between 6:30 and 9:00 and pick him up between 12:00 and 12:30. I decided to drop him off at 9:00 for his frist day so that we would have as little chaos at home, and at the school, as possible.

When we approached the street, it was eerily quiet. The preschool is at the end, with very little else on it, so the calm was unnerving. As we got to the school, we saw it was dark and no moms or kids were around. Another bad sign... I though perhaps today only the new kids were starting since all of my friends sending their kids to Germany Kindy were starting today too... Nope.

The place was closed! I asked a construction worker and he told me nobody was there but the renovators and that school starts on Monday. I went home and double-checked my contract and notes- both said start date August 1st. I also recall saying to his teacher "see you August 1st" and he never corrected me. Poor Jay, he was almost in tears that he couldn't go to school. He even asked again today if he could go.

I also checked the transition protocol and it stated that new kids never start on a Monday. So when will he actually start? I don't care- I am bringing him Monday anyway. The papers also say that I can't actually leave him until the second week or else it's too traumatic. Pah! Jay has been going to preschool for over a year now!

So what happened? I don't know. I tried to call and leave a message, but, as usual, their answering machine is not functioning. My doubts that were laid to rest have suddenly resurfaced- I trust my child with people who cannot even get dates straight???

Vacation Photos Part II

The second half of our holiday, we went and stayed with Oma and Kurt. They live in a city not too far from the place on the North Sea where we were. They even visited us one afternoon during our holiday. Jay and Nils love it there- there are so many things to hear and see. They have a bunch of chiming clocks that they have staggered by one-two minutes so they don't all chime at once. They have some really interesting and beautiful artowrk on the walls as well. Of course, Jay and Nils' favorite is one of a cat.

The first photo is one of my favorites. It was taken the day we arrived. Jay had been having a hard time while we were away and was/is in a very whiny phase. I was a little worried about extending our trip, but decided to anyway since they know Oma and Kurt, as well as the house and they are a great help to me as well (Michael was working a lot since it is his busy season). But as soon as we arrived, Jay asked Kurt to go into the garden with him and they ended up on a bench in the back, talking and laughing.

The Sunday of our visit was a big event for children in a well-known local park. It started off with thunderstorms, but got beautiful afterwards. I had Jay and Nils in their Wellies (rain boots) and Jay in his ruber play pants. I didn't put Nils' on- but should have! He loves the water and got himself drenched in a water play area. Luckily we had enough with us to give him a warm, dry outfit at the end.

Jay also climbed to the top of an observation deck and yelled Hello, look at me! Can you see me Mommy? for about five solid minutes. He didn't take the slide down- I didn't think he would. If Nils had seen it, though, he would have screamed to do it.

Finally- Vacation Photos!

Well, here they are- our long awaited vacation photos! Sorry for taking so long, I hope they're worth the wait.

These first two photos are when we went to the beach in our town, Horumersiel. http://www.blogger.com/www.horumersiel.de The town is known for it's therapeutic air and, I think, water or mud. Anyway, during ebb tide, there is no water for hundreds of meters. It just disappears, leaving a bunch of mud. We literally had no fear that the kids would drown, so we could let them play on their own. The worst that happened was Emma's jellies (plastic shoes) got stuck. Oh, and the cleanup....

You can see Jay and Emma playing in the mud and showing off their muscles. Cleaning off the mud was traumatic though- there was only COLD water from an outdoor tap and Jay was not happy. Later on, he told me his favorite part was jumping (see next) and his least favorite the mud because he had to get cleaned.

Next we have some photos from the beach in the neighbroring town, Schillig. The beach there was larger and had more to offer. There was a playground, trampolines (1 EUR for 5 minutes!!!), and a bunch of other stuff for kids. We prefferred this beach and the drive was only 5 minutes. Here you can see Jay jumping on the trampoline- yes, I was suckered into paying that horrific price. More than once.... and Nils taking a nap under our umbrella- I love how his lips get so fat when he sleeps!

I will post photos at Oma's in another entry- I was rather verbose this time!