Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Froopy Gets Wheels
Little Anneke has been content to watch siblings on bikes for 7 weeks now. She seems to understand that she really isn't quite big enough for real bike riding. However, there has been the occasional wistful comments of, "When I get bigger I can have a BIKE!" and "Everyone has a bike. Just not me." These pathetic little statements have pulled enough on our very weak heartstrings that we did a little looking for a used pre-bike. These push bikes are very popular here and are indeed in the states too, just very expensive. We hoped that they would be so prevalent in Germany that they would be cheap! Sure enough... we visited a "Fleamarket" in a neighboring village. This was probably my best day ever! Can you say massive streets of garage sales against the backdrop of cobblestones and quaint houses? Yes! We were meandering along and sure enough, came across this little used pushed bike for only a few euros. Yay! She fell in love with it and rode it and rode it. For 2 days. At which point both the exterior tires and interior blew out, on both wheels. We couldn't very well say, "Gee. That was fun. All gone!" We completely failed that class at parenting. So, the replacement of those... well.... lets just say we will be bringing this bike home. And leaving JB's clothes here...
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Mother's Day
JB and the kids organized a tea party on Mothers Day.
The menu included stuffed mushrooms, waldfrut tea and STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CHEESECAKE! I'm sorry, did I just yell that? Rhubarb is all over the place right now and I even have some and some strawberry rhubarb tea that is amazing... yummm. I will be bringing some back for my mom!
After the tea party the boys went for a bike ride and the girls did pedicures. Very fun.
And we will be leaving the cute little blue hydrangea plant planted in the yard somewhere as our mark on our stay. That and the broken light post... and pencil marked table... and two broken mugs... and marker'd sheets.... shhhh....
The rest of this mother's week has also been filled with excitement.
On Monday Anneke announced that when "I grow up, because," (she added in parentheses) "you only grow UP, not DOWN. When I grow up, I am going to have a penis. Because. I really love them."
All righty then.
Emma was rolling on the floor. Sam began the explanations. These conversations ended in a song sung by Sam regarding sizes of various family members body parts that I wont fully disclose. I excused myself to another room....
On Wednesday I took the kids on our main weekly grocery trip. This has been a habit hard to break for me. I am used to a big trip once every 7-10 days with a mid week produce fill up. The grocery carts here aren't even made big enough for our weekly stockpile! The check out counters do not have bagging areas so you need to slide your groceries back into the cart immediately and bag at your car... and most people there are not buying the amount of food we are so we really clog things up. But, I find we spend so much more money going to the store once every few days.... getting that extra few things that just look good every trip.. Anyway.... I packed up the kids to do our trip- two stores.. But about halfway through the first store I started really having to go to the bathroom. I hoped the urge would dissipate. It did not. I looked for a restroom. No luck. I knew it was getting urgent. I cut the trip short. Checked out. Started throwing groceries into the hatch. And looking for a bush. It was getting that bad. My head was beginning to explode. I wanted to make it to the larger store I knew had restrooms. Wasn't going to happen. Ive been known to pull over in my driveway on my way home from a trip to town because I couldn't make it the short rest of the distance to the house... Sigh. I succumbed to the inevitable. A crouch and pee next to the wheel of the car in. the. grocery. store. parking. lot. Needless to say, we went home. Landon was dully impressed and the next day launched into a big description of it to a little boy he was playing with at the park... the little boy didn't speak a word of English though, so that was good. And I am sure Landon will have forgotten in 6 weeks. Actually, no, he will not, so I am just telling you now.... :)
On Friday we made a fun plan to meet JB at school for lunch in his cafeteria. He had a half day at school and we wanted to check out a local second hand store and poke around town a tiny bit before heading to the Wildpark all together. I decided to brave a new route. I had been avoiding this route because it involves FOUR roundabouts. I would park in a mall parking lot that has a pay lot with bars to get in and out. I am not used to these ticket and pass systems and frankly, they make me a little nervous. But it was close to our destination and free parking, when you are validated in the grocery store. I made my plan. Carefully got us there. Entered the lot. Parked. We did our shopping, ate lunch, timed it all correctly to make a purchase at the grocery store within the timeframe (almost didn't make it due to a train crossing) and loaded the kids up- said goodbye to JB to meet him at home- and drove up to the gate. Inserted the ticket. Waited for receipt. (I think that was what I was waiting for) and then heard Emma- "Mom, you waited too long. The gate closed." Great. We were now in the parking lot with no ticket. Gate closed. Cars behind us. I motioned for them to back up. We backed up and parked again. Hmmm. What to do? Get new ticket I guess. I walked over to the entrance and pushed the button. No ticket. I remembered JB telling me you have to have a car register the sensor to get a ticket at some of these places. I wasn't going to be able to get a new ticket. I was truly stuck. In a parking lot. With my four kids. I texted JB. "Stuck in parking lot." He replied, "How?" Me, "Gate closed before I drove out." Him, "BHWAHHHAA" I was still thinking about whether to fully spell out the words of my reply or just use standard text abbreviations when he texted, "I'm on my way." I didn't know if the grocery store was going to be of help or what? There had to be a back up system here! JB arrived and tried to get a ticket on his bike. No luck. So, he did what any reasonable person would do, and zipped the car out on the tail of another car going through.... Right. Because the gate is open for such an amazingly long time... Good grief.
So, no more grocery store parking lots for me. And that's the honest truth... :)
PS- I told my next door neighbor with all the kids my story when she came over to collect her two boys who were playing here. She got a good laugh out of my story but did tell me that when they first built this system she didn't shop there for a long time because she didn't want to deal with it, and the first time she did she got stuck there too. They were having problems with the machine and it wouldn't take her ticket. Apparently there is a phone button you can push for help and discuss your situation with someone. I cant imagine that would have gone very well either, although they probably would have opened the gate just to get me out of there....
After the tea party the boys went for a bike ride and the girls did pedicures. Very fun.
And we will be leaving the cute little blue hydrangea plant planted in the yard somewhere as our mark on our stay. That and the broken light post... and pencil marked table... and two broken mugs... and marker'd sheets.... shhhh....
The rest of this mother's week has also been filled with excitement.
On Monday Anneke announced that when "I grow up, because," (she added in parentheses) "you only grow UP, not DOWN. When I grow up, I am going to have a penis. Because. I really love them."
All righty then.
Emma was rolling on the floor. Sam began the explanations. These conversations ended in a song sung by Sam regarding sizes of various family members body parts that I wont fully disclose. I excused myself to another room....
On Wednesday I took the kids on our main weekly grocery trip. This has been a habit hard to break for me. I am used to a big trip once every 7-10 days with a mid week produce fill up. The grocery carts here aren't even made big enough for our weekly stockpile! The check out counters do not have bagging areas so you need to slide your groceries back into the cart immediately and bag at your car... and most people there are not buying the amount of food we are so we really clog things up. But, I find we spend so much more money going to the store once every few days.... getting that extra few things that just look good every trip.. Anyway.... I packed up the kids to do our trip- two stores.. But about halfway through the first store I started really having to go to the bathroom. I hoped the urge would dissipate. It did not. I looked for a restroom. No luck. I knew it was getting urgent. I cut the trip short. Checked out. Started throwing groceries into the hatch. And looking for a bush. It was getting that bad. My head was beginning to explode. I wanted to make it to the larger store I knew had restrooms. Wasn't going to happen. Ive been known to pull over in my driveway on my way home from a trip to town because I couldn't make it the short rest of the distance to the house... Sigh. I succumbed to the inevitable. A crouch and pee next to the wheel of the car in. the. grocery. store. parking. lot. Needless to say, we went home. Landon was dully impressed and the next day launched into a big description of it to a little boy he was playing with at the park... the little boy didn't speak a word of English though, so that was good. And I am sure Landon will have forgotten in 6 weeks. Actually, no, he will not, so I am just telling you now.... :)
On Friday we made a fun plan to meet JB at school for lunch in his cafeteria. He had a half day at school and we wanted to check out a local second hand store and poke around town a tiny bit before heading to the Wildpark all together. I decided to brave a new route. I had been avoiding this route because it involves FOUR roundabouts. I would park in a mall parking lot that has a pay lot with bars to get in and out. I am not used to these ticket and pass systems and frankly, they make me a little nervous. But it was close to our destination and free parking, when you are validated in the grocery store. I made my plan. Carefully got us there. Entered the lot. Parked. We did our shopping, ate lunch, timed it all correctly to make a purchase at the grocery store within the timeframe (almost didn't make it due to a train crossing) and loaded the kids up- said goodbye to JB to meet him at home- and drove up to the gate. Inserted the ticket. Waited for receipt. (I think that was what I was waiting for) and then heard Emma- "Mom, you waited too long. The gate closed." Great. We were now in the parking lot with no ticket. Gate closed. Cars behind us. I motioned for them to back up. We backed up and parked again. Hmmm. What to do? Get new ticket I guess. I walked over to the entrance and pushed the button. No ticket. I remembered JB telling me you have to have a car register the sensor to get a ticket at some of these places. I wasn't going to be able to get a new ticket. I was truly stuck. In a parking lot. With my four kids. I texted JB. "Stuck in parking lot." He replied, "How?" Me, "Gate closed before I drove out." Him, "BHWAHHHAA" I was still thinking about whether to fully spell out the words of my reply or just use standard text abbreviations when he texted, "I'm on my way." I didn't know if the grocery store was going to be of help or what? There had to be a back up system here! JB arrived and tried to get a ticket on his bike. No luck. So, he did what any reasonable person would do, and zipped the car out on the tail of another car going through.... Right. Because the gate is open for such an amazingly long time... Good grief.
So, no more grocery store parking lots for me. And that's the honest truth... :)
PS- I told my next door neighbor with all the kids my story when she came over to collect her two boys who were playing here. She got a good laugh out of my story but did tell me that when they first built this system she didn't shop there for a long time because she didn't want to deal with it, and the first time she did she got stuck there too. They were having problems with the machine and it wouldn't take her ticket. Apparently there is a phone button you can push for help and discuss your situation with someone. I cant imagine that would have gone very well either, although they probably would have opened the gate just to get me out of there....
Sunday, May 11, 2014
And mooorrre playgrounds...
We may be the only American family to travel Germany from playground to playground.
(no, I know we aren't from reading other mommy blogs about this area of Germany. "Here is where you will find the castle. The free parking is slightly outside of the city. Public bathrooms are $.50 and the PLAYGROUNDS are located here___ here___ and here__)
And I know I have already mentioned our fun times discovering various new parks. Ziplines, sand pulleys, extreme sport climbing structures and super high slides abound. We have been so grateful for these fun spots to visit and the weather that has allowed us so much outside time.
I have mentioned, we love the "exercise park", with its obstacle course and calisthenic equipment.
You have seen the zipline video and these are at several more parks we frequent.
Another favorite is a disk style swing suspended from four corners that is woven and allows for laying down and/or piling multiple people on.
The wildpark recently completed this fantastic castle themed play structure.
It has rooms with themes and little toys.
Huge slides, multiple levels including a basement underground and is a perfect place for losing small children... I mean...for the kid in all of us...
Truthfully, though, the place is kind of a nightmare. It is impossible to have a visual on any child at any vantage point and having already lost Landon once at this Wildpark, I prefer not to do that again. So far, though, there is enough attraction that he stays inside the "boundary". And I roam it catching glimpses of one of my four occasionally.....
This particular playground was a find of Opa and Oma.
I really like all the climbing and balance options, so great for working on gross motor skills!
My theory is, and maybe I already mentioned this, that the culture here may not be as prone to lawsuits over say an injury occurring, because these awesome structures are not exactly of the OSHA standards we might expect in Oregon! :) No rails!
But they do the job, at the end of the day we have met the objective:
(no, I know we aren't from reading other mommy blogs about this area of Germany. "Here is where you will find the castle. The free parking is slightly outside of the city. Public bathrooms are $.50 and the PLAYGROUNDS are located here___ here___ and here__)
And I know I have already mentioned our fun times discovering various new parks. Ziplines, sand pulleys, extreme sport climbing structures and super high slides abound. We have been so grateful for these fun spots to visit and the weather that has allowed us so much outside time.
I have mentioned, we love the "exercise park", with its obstacle course and calisthenic equipment.
The wildpark recently completed this fantastic castle themed play structure.
Truthfully, though, the place is kind of a nightmare. It is impossible to have a visual on any child at any vantage point and having already lost Landon once at this Wildpark, I prefer not to do that again. So far, though, there is enough attraction that he stays inside the "boundary". And I roam it catching glimpses of one of my four occasionally.....
This particular playground was a find of Opa and Oma.
Friday, May 9, 2014
Our house and neighborhood
I'm realizing I may not be doing a super job describing our home, neighborhood and daily life to our friends and family back home! My approach to this blog is mainly that of a photo scrapbook that I can have made later for the kids as a memento... but just as fun is having a chance to tell/show everyone what we are doing! People are wondering what our house is like, what we are eating and what the general feel of our town is like.
Our house is a very typical house for this particular area. It is large with three levels- we are in the middle area. The basement consists of several large rooms, several garage/tool/storage rooms and a laundry room. The up-upstairs is inhabited by the son of the owner. We have the middle level. There is a common entry that then goes to a set of stairs up and down and our front door.
Here is a little video of our house!
The neighborhood is cute and very garden oriented. Many people have back and/or front yards of raised or terraced garden beds that make up most of their yard space.
The entire area is very rural. The bike path to Bad Margentheim has fields on both sides, and along the path appears to have leased? garden plots. I have seen several of our town neighbors out working in their gardens- just a few minutes walk away.
We walk/ride this path regularly, our route is about 3 miles round trip. And yes, we do stop to watch the occasional snail race. :)
Or stop to blow puffers in this field that is a certain 3 year old girls idea of heaven!
Or view a profound moment of a beautiful blue butterfly perched on sheep poo. Which begs the question; do you see the butterfly or the doo? I see the butterfly, how I truly see the butterfly, but I am terribly distracted by the poop.
We have just returned from a trip on the bike trail and the kids are playing in the back yard. They have done schoolwork this morning and I am about to make dinner. We are having chicken and dumplings. The state or "province" we are in is very meat oriented. And bread. I can get a loaf of fresh artisan seedy bread for a couple dollars. The fruit and vegetables are a little more spendy than home. We are learning what types of different and yummy things we like to eat and grocery shopping is getting easier. In fact, we just discovered last night that the grocery stores radically discount perishable produce on Saturday evening at 7pm. They are closed on Sundays and do not cool the produce section so lettuce, asparagus and other greens go to a few pennies per head!
See! I told you the excitement was more than you could handle!
Our house is a very typical house for this particular area. It is large with three levels- we are in the middle area. The basement consists of several large rooms, several garage/tool/storage rooms and a laundry room. The up-upstairs is inhabited by the son of the owner. We have the middle level. There is a common entry that then goes to a set of stairs up and down and our front door.
Here is a little video of our house!
The neighborhood is cute and very garden oriented. Many people have back and/or front yards of raised or terraced garden beds that make up most of their yard space.
The entire area is very rural. The bike path to Bad Margentheim has fields on both sides, and along the path appears to have leased? garden plots. I have seen several of our town neighbors out working in their gardens- just a few minutes walk away.
We walk/ride this path regularly, our route is about 3 miles round trip. And yes, we do stop to watch the occasional snail race. :)
Or stop to blow puffers in this field that is a certain 3 year old girls idea of heaven!
Or view a profound moment of a beautiful blue butterfly perched on sheep poo. Which begs the question; do you see the butterfly or the doo? I see the butterfly, how I truly see the butterfly, but I am terribly distracted by the poop.
We have just returned from a trip on the bike trail and the kids are playing in the back yard. They have done schoolwork this morning and I am about to make dinner. We are having chicken and dumplings. The state or "province" we are in is very meat oriented. And bread. I can get a loaf of fresh artisan seedy bread for a couple dollars. The fruit and vegetables are a little more spendy than home. We are learning what types of different and yummy things we like to eat and grocery shopping is getting easier. In fact, we just discovered last night that the grocery stores radically discount perishable produce on Saturday evening at 7pm. They are closed on Sundays and do not cool the produce section so lettuce, asparagus and other greens go to a few pennies per head!
See! I told you the excitement was more than you could handle!
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Rothenberg
Rothenberg is located about 40 minutes away from us. It is a huge tourist attraction but one that is special enough that we had to make the trip. The city dates back to 900. It was significant during World War II when Hitler made it a "model" city. First he cleared out the Jewish people. Then he gave tours to important diplomats as a showcase city. When bombing started an American commander leveled a significant portion of the wall, however, realized what an ancient piece of architecture it was and ordered the bombing to cease. He sent several American soldiers by foot to the city wall, holding a white flag and asking for the Germans to surrender the city peacefully and thereby save it. Although the commander there had been ordered by Hitler to defend the city at all costs, he too wanted to save the unique city scape. Consequently, he surrendered and these two officers were instrumental in the preservation of what is Rothenberg today.
Rothenberg was the second largest city in Germany in the middle ages. The city is surrounded by a high wall. A post and beam rail, as well as roof was built and it is possible to walk the perimeter of the entire city on this wall.
We walked about half. Sam had really wanted to see the canons which the kids are still calling canyons. We stumbled on them at the end of city, hidden away in a steep winding tower that begged to be used in a motorcycle chase movie starring Tom Cruise.
The interior boasts cute shops and quaint old buildings. Oh, and this...
We enjoyed an ice cream and a traditional "snowball" pastry. The kids enjoyed the horse drawn carriages and antique cars as well as a bubble blowing teddy bear.
They were great and enjoyed our mini half day tour... any longer requires finding a permanent solution such as this:
Monday, May 5, 2014
May Day- Labor Day
May 1st is also the German Labor Day holiday. Prior to that, on April 30th, the Germans like to bring in May with some degree of festivity. Our little town, for instance, had flyers up on community bulletin boards around the neighborhood advertising a May Pole and food and drink at 4pm on the 30th. The larger town was having a dance to "dance in May". Both May Poles and dancing are high on Emma's list of things she loves so we put these events on the calendar.
Mid morning of the 30th our neighbor across the street with the trampoline and the kids, came over and called up to our balcony, "Stephenie!". Would we like to come on an annual Labor Day walk and BBQ at another garden plot they owned the next day? Four other families would be coming. The usual, bring a dish to share, own meat to BBQ. Yes! The kids were excited. I was fighting off jitters. A BBQ with friends in America has the potential to make me feel nervous... what was this going to be like? Stores would all be closed the next day and we had festivities to attend later that day, so the kids and I did a little more schoolwork and then headed to the grocery store to get supplies. Hmm. Salad to share.. not potato salad! Broccoli Bacon?
We raced back just a few minutes before 4 and I grabbed little containers of yogurt and rolls for snack and threw Anneke in the backpack and we took off toward the city center to see the May pole festivity. We arrived just as the truck was leaving the fire station after putting up the poles. :(
Two poles they need for May? Hmm. Not what we expected. Where is the party?
Apparently this is it, and it is mainly for adults... later that evening... OK. Well, we finished our snack and headed home. Later that evening JB took Emma to the larger town to watch a throwback of Lawrence Welk dancing. Emma had fun. He also had to pick up sausages for the BBQ which I had apparently left at the store. :(
The next day was Labor Day. We were scheduled to leave the neighborhood at 10:30 for an hour walk to the garden. We met several other families and Emma quickly walked ahead with a couple of the older girls. The trail was steep. We winded up and around and back... pretty much to where we started! And then veered off again... taadaa. This family owns another couple acres literally in sight of our street but up the hill. The have fruit trees, a garden and a fire pit. The first order of business was to make stick bread! To do this, you need a stick, cleaned. Then you wrap a yeast bread dough around it and roast it over the fire.
Yumm! Then you begin roasting various meats and feast on yummy salads. The kids all played a version of soccer in which you just randomly kick the ball in various directions and no one is quite sure who is on their team or what direction their goal is.
Our kids were right in the middle of it. We did get rained out, though.
The party headed back down the hill for German cheesecake and rhubarb custard. Emma asked if she could go up to the park and play more soccer with two other kids. They came back awhile a later and these three, Emma and Darian and Sophia, joined the large group of teenagers- incl one exchange student from France- playing UNO.
I could not possibly be more proud of my little Emma who joined everything, laughed, had fun and was comfortable being "out of her comfort".
It was sure an honor to be invited to this family's tradition, their garden and home.
Mid morning of the 30th our neighbor across the street with the trampoline and the kids, came over and called up to our balcony, "Stephenie!". Would we like to come on an annual Labor Day walk and BBQ at another garden plot they owned the next day? Four other families would be coming. The usual, bring a dish to share, own meat to BBQ. Yes! The kids were excited. I was fighting off jitters. A BBQ with friends in America has the potential to make me feel nervous... what was this going to be like? Stores would all be closed the next day and we had festivities to attend later that day, so the kids and I did a little more schoolwork and then headed to the grocery store to get supplies. Hmm. Salad to share.. not potato salad! Broccoli Bacon?
We raced back just a few minutes before 4 and I grabbed little containers of yogurt and rolls for snack and threw Anneke in the backpack and we took off toward the city center to see the May pole festivity. We arrived just as the truck was leaving the fire station after putting up the poles. :(
The next day was Labor Day. We were scheduled to leave the neighborhood at 10:30 for an hour walk to the garden. We met several other families and Emma quickly walked ahead with a couple of the older girls. The trail was steep. We winded up and around and back... pretty much to where we started! And then veered off again... taadaa. This family owns another couple acres literally in sight of our street but up the hill. The have fruit trees, a garden and a fire pit. The first order of business was to make stick bread! To do this, you need a stick, cleaned. Then you wrap a yeast bread dough around it and roast it over the fire.
It was sure an honor to be invited to this family's tradition, their garden and home.
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Heidelberg- By Emma
Today's post brought to you by guest blogger Emma van Hecke!!
On Wednesday, the 23rd, Sam and I went with my dad on a college excursion.
The first delay was when I woke up 20 minutes before 7:00 and 7:00 was when the bus was going to leave. Sam, on the other hand, was up by 6:30. He and Dad were already ready. But we made it in time.
The bus we rode on was very cool. It had food, a bathroom, even window shades , and a tv.
Our first stop was in Heidelberg at the biggest technology company. There we saw a future telling video game. Our next stop was still in Heidelberg but in the real city. We took an hour long lunch at a restaurant. We all had a schnitzel. Then we got a guided tour in English. It was a long walk around the town.
Some interesting things
1. Finding out that I was standing on a bridge that was built 8 times with wood and all 8 times a flood had knocked it down so they finely built it out of stone.
2.Going to a church and hearing that the French stole all 8,000 Catholic books but a few years later they returned 38 of the books. Only the ones that were in German. The French still have the remaining books today.
3. The castle there was never finished and nobody ever actually ruled in it .
4. Heidelberg has been on fire 3 times . The French were ordered to burn down the village twice . The other time lightning struck Heidelberg. So Heidelberg dose not have any old buildings except three churches. 5. The churches have shattered windows because of the shooting in World War 2.
6.The American army used Heidelberg as a base and is still using it now so it did not get bombed.
Sam, Dad and I had a fun time but we were very tired!
By Emma
On Wednesday, the 23rd, Sam and I went with my dad on a college excursion.
The first delay was when I woke up 20 minutes before 7:00 and 7:00 was when the bus was going to leave. Sam, on the other hand, was up by 6:30. He and Dad were already ready. But we made it in time.
The bus we rode on was very cool. It had food, a bathroom, even window shades , and a tv.
Our first stop was in Heidelberg at the biggest technology company. There we saw a future telling video game. Our next stop was still in Heidelberg but in the real city. We took an hour long lunch at a restaurant. We all had a schnitzel. Then we got a guided tour in English. It was a long walk around the town.
Some interesting things
1. Finding out that I was standing on a bridge that was built 8 times with wood and all 8 times a flood had knocked it down so they finely built it out of stone.
2.Going to a church and hearing that the French stole all 8,000 Catholic books but a few years later they returned 38 of the books. Only the ones that were in German. The French still have the remaining books today.
3. The castle there was never finished and nobody ever actually ruled in it .
4. Heidelberg has been on fire 3 times . The French were ordered to burn down the village twice . The other time lightning struck Heidelberg. So Heidelberg dose not have any old buildings except three churches. 5. The churches have shattered windows because of the shooting in World War 2.
Sam, Dad and I had a fun time but we were very tired!
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