on my own

Max, Tom, and I have spent the last 31 hours together without Nils and Sabine. Not only was it my first time on my own with the boys, but it was also Nils and Sabine's first time leaving them with their Au Pair. In the past, Sabine's sister has been able to stay the night, lending her helping hands. Yesterday morning we met Sabine's sister and mother at the Heidelberg Zoo. The boys paid no attention to the animals. Instead, they searched for any and every surface with enough snow to make a snowball. There hasn't been any notable amounts of snow in Heidelberg since the boys arrival; hence the excitement over one centimeter of snow. Sabine's mother made steaming hot Kartoffelpfannkucken (potato pancakes) with homemade applesauce for lunch. It was a wonderful treat after being out in the cold for several hours and helping the boys make snowballs with only my cotton gloves on. After lunch, Sabine's mother and sister hit the road and the boys hit the hay. After their nap, we made sugar cookies with cookie cutters in the shapes of all the animals at the zoo. After that it was the regular routine - showers,dinner, "Fang mich doch!" (tag), Duplo and Brio Eisenbahn (railroads). We finished the evening off with Shrek. Sabine has needed to attend to Tom alone eight times in one night; I was obviously hoping that last night would not be a record breaking night. Luckily, Max and Tom only woke up once in search of some water. Tom did scream "Mama!" early this morning and it was louder than any alarm I have ever set. I must say that I prefer to wake up naturally to sunlight; unfortunately, there wasn't any at the time to startle my sleep before Tom got to. This morning we made raisin pancakes together. The boys enjoy helping with the cooking of pretty much anything that involves flour, sifting, and mixing. Although they weren't sticking, there were lots of snowflakes flying through the sky this morning. As the house has floor to ceiling windows, the boys were excited to go outside. We geared up to ride bikes to the monastery where we checked out the inhabitants. Once we got too cold, we went to the Hofladen for heisse Schokolade to help us warm up a bit before our ride back home. The afternoon was simple - lunch, naps, and building a Christmas tree. Because there is no Thanksgiving, all of the stores have already prepared for Christmas. And with the recent snow, the boys have Christmas on their minds which is why we constructed a temporary Christmas tree out of paper and watched a holiday film, Mickey Mouse's Christmas. It was a wonderful weekend!

Frankfurt

I spent Saturday in Frankfurt with Hauke, another friend from the german exchange that I was a part of in highschool. I have flown in and out of Frankfurt at least half a dozen times but I have never seen more than the airport. Due to the global financial crisis, the Frankfurt skyline is in the papers nearly every day because it is the "financial district" of Germany. It was exciting to finally get to see it for myself. I saw the Bull and the Bear in front of the Deutsche Boerse (German stock exchange), the European Central Bank, the Opera House, the Fachhochschule, two wonderful eateries - Cafe & Bar Celona, Zimt und Koriander. I got to see it all again and even more from atop the High Tower. Best of all, I showed my Maryland student I.D. and saved money on the ticket. There are no dates on the I.D. - issue or expiration - so I plan to use it forever. Hauke was a fantastic tour guide! He even introduced me to my new favorite show on Saturday evenings which covers all of the day's highlights from the Bundesliga (Fussball league). Hopefully, next spring I will be able to find tickets to a TSG 1899 Hoffenheim match. They have been top of the league this season and will move to their new stadium after its completion in January 2009. A perfect combination for a good time!

Martinstag

Last Tuesday was a holiday - Martinstag. It is not a national holiday, more a holiday for kids although adults usually enjoy a goose dinner with friends. The holiday derives from a knight who lived in France. He had a really big red coat and when he saw a cold homeless man outside the castle, he used his sword to cut the coat in half and share it with the man. This act of kindness granted him the title St. Martin. Max, Tom, Moritz, Sabine, Isabelle and I went to the Kindergarten to celebrate which includes a parade with lanterns and songs. There are also special cookies which are in the shape of a man. They are not like American cookies, they are big, fluffy and taste like challah bread. It is also the start of the Gluehwein season so there is plenty of that to be found. Lots of fun!

Obama hat gewonnen!

While I think that being in America on Tuesday night at 11 o'clock would have been memorable, I think that celebrating in Germany was wonderful. I did not attempt to stay awake the whole night. Instead, I woke at 7 o'clock (1 a.m. EST) to a massive number of bbms informing me of the event. That, of course, started my day off on the right foot. I had to fetch my VISA an hour and a half later and I was excited that I would only need it for one year, not for the next four. Throughout my day, I was more than surprised by the personal attention I received for Obama's victory - I received two congratulatory texts, one hug, and one rose. It felt like my birthday!

Halloween

Halloween is a holiday that could pass without being noticed in Germany. Within the last 10 years it has grown to become more popular but it is still virtually nonexistent. But of course, we celebrated! We began preparing for the holiday by carving pumpkins with Moritz, the son of family friends. Only Tom was really keen on pulling out the seeds. The other two boys were content watching Isabelle and me do all the work. Tom and Moritz insisted on scary pumpkins while Max requested a silly. They all loved the end results, especially with the glow of a candle. On Halloween, we dressed up in last year's costumes which were big then and now are quite perfect. We had a playdate in the afternoon so we dressed Vania up in the new costumes which are again too big but just perfect for Vania. We went trick-or-treating along the street and collected some goodies. Sabine always has plenty of Schokolade und Gummibaerchen in the house so the treats really didn't compare. But it was all in good fun!

My first package arrived today! Stefanie sent me lots of Halloween treats. Max noticed that I had a big box and asked to help me open it. He couldn't believe all the candy that he found inside! He loved the ghost marshmallows and when he asked what they were I said, "Peeps!" He thought I was using a bathroom word and started laughing which of course made me laugh. Then he found Mallomars. I should preface this story by explaining that cookies are not popular in Germany; instead, everyone prefers to buy fresh cake from the bakery. Therefore, the process of obtaining cookies is a little foreign to a 3 1/2 year old. The conversation went as follows:

Max: Can we eat them?
Me: Of course, they are cookies!
Max: Do we have to bake them?
Me: No they are already cooked.
Max: Did your mom cook them and send them to you?

I couldn't help but laugh. These are packaged cookies preserved in a nonorganic fashion in a box that was developed by some marketing team and Max thinks that my mom could have simply done the same. I love the innocence of kids!

German + English

Tom went on a three hour walk/hike with the "big kids" in Kindergarten on Thursday. Usually they don't take kids that are still in diapers. Naturally, Sabine didn't sign him up or send him to Kindergarten prepared but Tom found a way to convince the teachers to let him go. He's much more independent than Max when it comes to trying new activities. He had a great time but was totally worn out and fell asleep on the couch at 7:30 while the television was still on I should mention (television usually keeps Tom awake). That left Max and I to plan all sorts of adventures. We pretended to be animals and built ourselves a cave. Max and Tom both love to help Sabine bake; they love Apfelkuchen. Max had a wonderful idea and decided we should make the imaginary Blaetterkuchen (leaf cake). What fun! The best part of the evening was listening to Max talk. He and Tom both only use cool English words like "fire station" and "asparagus" and "ellow" (that's the color). But Max has taken on a new approach to the language. He has combined the two. It might not be as enjoyable of a story if you do not understand the German language but I will quickly try to explain. When using the past tense in English, you add an 'ed' at the end of most verbs. When using the past tense in German, you add a 'ge' at the beginning of most verbs. For example, the verb 'to make' is 'machen' and the past tense is 'gemacht'. Max now uses the English verbs BUT forms the past tense as though they are German verbs. When I told him not to burn our Blaetterkuchen, he replied, "Ich habe den Blaetterkuchen nicht geburned" (I didn't burn it). Haha!

Alison, the former Au Pair of the Herzberg family, send the boys Halloween costumes and we had great fun last night playing in them. They are super cute monkey costumes made by Old Navy. They even have a banana sewn into the pocket. It makes me miss being a kid!

missing photos

I miss the first two days when the weather was warm enough to wear sandals! But now I can wear scarves which are also great accessories! This is a picture from one of my first days. Sabine took it of me and the boys at a playground and I have just gotten my hands on it. I love these swings; they are at every playground. I think it is a cross between a birds nest and a hammock.

There are so many things that I wish I could take pictures of but it just wouldn't be appropriate. I have two examples. One morning while I was jogging I passed a man with an athletic stroller (you know, the one with three wheels and a big cushy handle). The odd part was that he was rollerblading behind it! He would shove it ahead a few feet then glide after it and do it again! I also recently saw a man riding his bike. But, he was wearing a suit and had a briefcase in his little basket! Maybe I'll hide in a bush and try to capture these moments.