Bilingual life and more

or … how to kill lice!

Yes, our girls got head lice. They did not get them in school or camp, but from a friend they were soooooooo excited to see after 5 weeks in Germany. We had a fantastic time there, but they did miss their friends at the end. So, we get back and get one lousy reception (I had to get that pun in!) Keep reading →

I am sitting here, a glass wine beside me, thinking about the past day.

We had our meeting about Anna’s test results. Anna was in the hall. I was trying to see how that made her feel. She had been there, she knew all the people. They had probed and prodded and tested her, so to say. And now her mom and dad were behind closed doors with these people collaborating, while she was supposed to sit out there, do her homework, read, have a snack and just be happy. She certainly showed that she was quite unsure about the situation, did the homework with one of the counselors, who was not in our meeting and read for a bit. She also went around the office to check it out. Keep reading →

The test results are in. Anna just brought them home today. I thought I would be looking at a package inches thick, but it is actually a reasonable big, but thin envelope. I quickly scanned over the results and am surprised they are even readable to a normal human being. No big wordy mumbo jumbo, but actually understandable results. The meeting will be on Wednesday after school. Lilly has Girl Scouts, but I am still trying to find a place for Anna. I don’t really want her to sit outside the door wondering what is going on while we are collaborating about the future of her education. Keep reading →

I love a child’s logic.

Anna was telling me about their recess time yesterday and ended with: “There was a tomgirl, too.”

I asked her what she meant, to  which she replied that girls who like to do boyish things are tomboys, so boys who like to do girlish things - like jump rope - must be a tomgirl.

yippieh, yeah, we just booked Michaels flights as well. He will be in Germany from the end of May to the middle of June, for 2 weeks exactly. How exciting!!!!

He will land in Amsterdam and take the train to Rotterdam, just like last year, so that we can pick him up and start a wonderful week in Holland. Biking, walking, good food, fun activities, awesome sights, windy weather and great fun with great people will await us. That is for sure and we are all so excited. Sorry, but there is just no other word I can describe this. Anna and Emily have asked if we will be going back this year again as they also very much enjoyed this time . Keep reading →

Whew, I am done, uhm, almost!!!

Done, finito, finished …. Keep reading →

Ok, like I don’t have enough on my plate ….

We had Anna’s and Emily’s doctors appointment on Friday - the yearly thing. Both got immunizations - already a BIG drama with Anna. She was off that day, I can only say. Then blood had to be drawn from her arm. Oh boy. The waterworks the walking backwards. She really worked herself into a pretty good tiff. I felt so bad for her, but coming back was not an option. It would have been even worse. It took three people to calm her, to let the lady do her job and then she was amazed how easy it was. And truly, that lady deserves a metal - there is only a dot, not big blue and green spot like I have had to endure so many times after blood was drawn. She did an awesome job!!! Lilly had it tough. All she could do was watch her sister flip and three people trying to calm her down enough to have blood drawn. Keep reading →

So, here I was thinking that life is calming down, after birthday parties and work on the house being done and then my father writes me a message. My grandmother is in the hospital with heart problems and a possible stroke. Keep reading →

I have been tagged by My Autistic Boy and Other Adventures in Fatherhood.

The rules:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Alright, here goes nothing:

1. I LOVE Seinfeld. I started watching it when I first came over as an Au-Pair in its first season. When Michael moved down to Atlanta, and I was still in Boston, he would call me and we would watch it “together”. We love watching the reruns now.

2. I am a Trekky.

3. Uhhhh, hard to believe this one: I was very shy and timid when I was growing up.

4. I like it rather cooler than hotter, because I can still get out and run around. Hotter weather paralyzes me, and I really don’t like that feeling of being cooped up inside. I love the saying: There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.

5. I make my own liquors, my favorite ones being Limoncello and Baileys.

6. I am not sure what this says about me, but before we had kids - I was already married, mind you - my favorite cartoon was Calvin and Hobbes. After kids, my favorite cartoon is For Better or For Worse.

7. People, who know me, are very well aware of this - If I have more than three steps to take, I run them. I’ve always done it, and don’t think anything off it, but it gets pointed out when I meet someone new. It just shows how much of a busy body I am, I guess.

8 . Last, but not least: I am a geek at heart. I love my computer. I admit it. I love the Internet. How can I not? The Internet has helped me stay in touch with my beloved family in Germany and so many friends through e-mail, instant messengers and now Skype. We see each other through our web cams. Grandparents and uncles get to see Anna and Emily grow up - literally! Anna and Emily are totally thrilled, because, finally, they can just say “Look what I made!” or “Look what I can do!” and it works. The computer opens up so many possibilities for my photographic adventures as well. I love looking at the photographs every so often, something I never did with printed pictures as I don’t have the patience for scrap booking. I also like to hog too many pictures that would never go in a scrap book!!! And I’ve started to play around with them on Photoshop. So much to learn! The Internet is also my learning tool for everything. I am totally dependent on it from most of my recipes (bookmarked, certainly) to anything I ever wanted to look up and learn about. Well, that would also explain why my work is computer and internet based - that is a chicken and egg dilemma, though.

So, now I have to tag some people here:

Mary Maloof

Strohmeyers

Tales from the script

Wannabe Nerd

Biewerblog.de

Yes, I know I am supposed to tag 8 people, but these ones are the ones I felt comfortable with tagging. We’ll see who plays the game, or if it takes some almost a year, like it did me to put some funky facts together.

Needless to say, we have a snowball in our freezer. Anna’s first mission was to get a snowball and put it in there. Then she proceeded to go outside, loving to run around in the snow, play with the neighbors kids and have fun. She finally came bck in to put her gloves on. I am sure she was so excited, she did not even feel the snow. Lilly on the other hand was more interested in the hot cocoa than the snow. When we then opened the front door and she saw the blanket of snow covering everything and we started to pick it up and throw at each other, she got sooooooooooo mad, because she wanted the perfect blanket of white intact when she woke up in the morning. Unfortunately, snow became snow and rain, then sleet and by morning, we still have some white covering the ground, but it is not snow, but ice and it is rather patchy. Oh well, we enjoyed it while it lasted and there might be more coming Saturday night. As you can see, we have BIG jackets, warm slippers and hand warmers to keep us warm.