I’m so glad that September is over. It was a busy, messy, box-filled, work-filled, travel-lacking month. Darin worked long hours and I did the rest of the stuff which included avoiding rooms and rooms of boxes. Oh, and piles and piles of laundry. It was clean laundry, so I should get points for that much.
Finally on Thursday Darin took a “use or lose” day and we unpacked a room of boxes! I think it was when he saw my face and knew he’d better “use” it before I “lose” it. I felt so accomplished, when I was inside the room, but as soon as I stepped out…BAM! met with multiple messes as a result of 1 clean room. Moving stinks. Big!
Friday, another “use or lose” day, so we took out the van seats and loaded 3 kids in the van and headed to that wonderland called, IKEA. We wondered and wondered. I got multiple ideas for reinventing the wheel. That is my term for what I am doing because you see, closets and drawers exist, and I know the beauty of them. They just don’t exist in my German home, however, so I am trying to reinvent everything. Lets talk junk drawer for a minute…everyone has one. Dump it out. Now, where are you going to put all that necessary junky stuff without a drawer? Where do I put the flashlight or the stray battery? Tape, scissors, a handful of paperclips and an old keychain? Necessary junk. In bin and basket all over the place, that is where. Now I feel like it is put away, but I also feel like junk drawers are everywhere. Ugh. Back to IKEA…we picked up a bunch of shelves for the bathrooms and bedrooms, so that I can get towels and clothes off the floor and onto something useful. We got a van full of stuff, but plan on making another trip in the near future to fill in the holes that pop up every time we open a box and I’ve got rooms of boxes left.
The weather has been beautiful, an Indian summer my landlord said. But by Mittwoch (Wednesday) it should all change. Mittwoch is the answer that all Germans give. The weather must always change on a Wednesday. One of the only neighborly phrases that I know is “Beautiful weather today, isn’t it?” (In German of course…I’m practically fluent) Whenever I see my cute little old man neighbor out in his amazing garden (his gardening reminds me of my grandpa Davis, but he smiles more than grandpa did and I don’t think he goes to a pool hall for lunch) I talk about the weather. He then says something about Mittwoch and how it is all ‘a changing. My landlord, Mittwoch. What is it about Mittwoch? I asked Darin how they all know that it will be getting bad by Wednesday and that funny guy told me that they probably watch TV. OH, TV! I have totally forgotten what TV is. I forgot that you could watch things like weather and news. Mittwoch, another reason for me to get a TV. Darin is always working, but I really miss TV. Hopefully by Mittwoch.
A note on how we watch conference because I know that my grandma is wondering about it. We are 8 hours ahead of live conference, so we watched the Saturday morning session on the computer while eating dinner. We didn't watch the Saturday night session. Sunday morning Darin and Davis went to the church for the rebroadcast of the Priesthood session. I thought that they should have gone at 2 AM and watched it live, but I'm not a guy and don't get to vote. While they were gone the kids and I watched another session. We watched the Sunday morning session during dinner again and we'll have to try to fit in the other sessions. It all came in rather well, but occasionally it would cause the speakers to repeat themselves or stutter a bit, which would cause Jag to laugh and then repeat it over and over interspersed with laughter. That kid! He was also the first to point out when he was SURE that a person wasn't a native English speaker. He is smart as a whip. We really enjoyed being able to watch conference, but to be able to watch it at our time of choosing was pretty awesome as well.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Another Week Sept. 19-25
Last weeks procrastination has rubbed off on this week. I completely forgot to "remember" my week. I think that I need to post more often to keep in the habit...
We really didn't do much this past week at all. Darin was still gone on his TDY. Oh wait, he was back, but we didn't notice because a side effect of TDYs are the work that needs to be caught up takes a weeks worth of time. It didn't help that the office secretary decided to take a vacation (the nerve!) and Darin took over secretarial duties as well. Her job all day, his job all night. One Lt. Col even had the nerve to come and ask him for a #5 folder tab...HELLO! He went to law school just like she did! As he quickly got the "are you kidding me" look off his face, he showed her the supply closet, found it for her, and explained that was where he usually GOT HIS OWN. I so wouldn't do well in the military, you just can't talk bad to those of a higher rank. Speaking of rank, this is Darin's last week as a Captain. He pins on Major on Monday!
We had FHE with another family from the ward. Who invites a family of 7 over for dinner? Another family of 7 (again). So nice to get to know another bunch of people with kids of similar age. I spent over an hour lost trying to find their village only to find it 15 minutes from my house. I hate GPS somedays. Seeing 2 houses now that are put together and settled makes me hate that mine isn't all the more. Darin is supposed to take some leave this week to help, so here's hoping that it happens.
The van, with the new battery, was dead again this week! I was so mad. Darin was so certain that it wasn't the battery in the first place and something all together wrong. We got it running on Saturday, only after the horn blaring everytime we tried to put the cables on the battery. I screamed and laughed, Darin didn't think it was funny. Turns out that the boys like to read in the car. Good. They don't remember to turn off their lights. Bad. After a couple of busy days, I didn't go out and start the van or go anywhere. SO we ended up with a very, very dead battery. The boys are only allowed to read with flashlights now. The hassle with the van prevented us from going anywhere on a beautiful Saturday. We did go to a German store and wonder. I LOVE to wonder German grocery stores! I HATE to grocery shop. I also got a crock pot, vacuum, and a DVD player. We now get to have movies on a TV with a screen larger than 7". Still no TV programs, which sadly I am missing more than anyone else, but a step closer to feeling normal.
The pictures are from our Sunday walk, another beautiful day in this freezing country.
We really didn't do much this past week at all. Darin was still gone on his TDY. Oh wait, he was back, but we didn't notice because a side effect of TDYs are the work that needs to be caught up takes a weeks worth of time. It didn't help that the office secretary decided to take a vacation (the nerve!) and Darin took over secretarial duties as well. Her job all day, his job all night. One Lt. Col even had the nerve to come and ask him for a #5 folder tab...HELLO! He went to law school just like she did! As he quickly got the "are you kidding me" look off his face, he showed her the supply closet, found it for her, and explained that was where he usually GOT HIS OWN. I so wouldn't do well in the military, you just can't talk bad to those of a higher rank. Speaking of rank, this is Darin's last week as a Captain. He pins on Major on Monday!
We had FHE with another family from the ward. Who invites a family of 7 over for dinner? Another family of 7 (again). So nice to get to know another bunch of people with kids of similar age. I spent over an hour lost trying to find their village only to find it 15 minutes from my house. I hate GPS somedays. Seeing 2 houses now that are put together and settled makes me hate that mine isn't all the more. Darin is supposed to take some leave this week to help, so here's hoping that it happens.
The van, with the new battery, was dead again this week! I was so mad. Darin was so certain that it wasn't the battery in the first place and something all together wrong. We got it running on Saturday, only after the horn blaring everytime we tried to put the cables on the battery. I screamed and laughed, Darin didn't think it was funny. Turns out that the boys like to read in the car. Good. They don't remember to turn off their lights. Bad. After a couple of busy days, I didn't go out and start the van or go anywhere. SO we ended up with a very, very dead battery. The boys are only allowed to read with flashlights now. The hassle with the van prevented us from going anywhere on a beautiful Saturday. We did go to a German store and wonder. I LOVE to wonder German grocery stores! I HATE to grocery shop. I also got a crock pot, vacuum, and a DVD player. We now get to have movies on a TV with a screen larger than 7". Still no TV programs, which sadly I am missing more than anyone else, but a step closer to feeling normal.
The pictures are from our Sunday walk, another beautiful day in this freezing country.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Random Forgotten Pictures
Trier
Another Week (Finally) Sept12-18
I'm done procrastinating this post. I wouldn't want to have 2 weeks piling up like all the dirty laundry. Then I'd really run from it all.
Darin spent his week in Florida, sitting at a posh resort, drinking fancy drinks that contained umbrellas. Maybe it didn't really go like that, but from this end, that is how it felt. He was in Orlando for the Goverment Ethics Conference, sounds like a vacation to me.
While he was away I was spending my Monday reliving 7th grade, but with 5 bored and hungry kids in tow. It was the Middle School open house, and they wanted us to go follow our child's schedule and sit in each class...for 2 hours! As if that wasn't torture enough, when I got out of the (hazing) meeting I found that the van battery was dead. So dead that I couldn't open or close the sliding doors or lock it using the remote. Dead. I instantly felt helpless. Darin was gone, everyone was tired and hungry, I don't know any phone numbers from church or work, and who was going to help me figure out this mess? To make matters worse, it was 15:20 and the auto shop on base (only one I could have thought to call) closed at 1500. The van needed to be jumped, but the parking stalls are so tight in Germany that I had to have one of the neighbor cars jump it. I sat for an hour waiting for the owner to return. During that time I wondered around thinking of possible solutions, none of which ended with us getting home at a decent hour. I wondered, I prayed, I cried, I cursed Darin and the TDY. Had he been home, he'd have been 30 seconds away from me! Finally a police man came and asked me a bunch of questions that were irrevelant, but at least felt like "doing something." During the time, the owner showed up and we got the van running. Someone tried to give me directions to a nearby village that may have an auto shop that may have a guy working late that may be able to order me a battery tonight. Thanks, I smiled, and then drove straight home. Backing in so that I could beg someone else to jump it in the morning after sleep and food gave me a clearer head.
My birthday happened to fall while Darin was gone again. If he has anywhere to go during September, it is going to be over my birthday. It just is. In the past I'd had Davis make me a cake/cheesecake. This year it all kind of got forgotten. [On a note, Darin's birthday is usually lousy as well. We are usually in transition somewhere.] I quickly started making phone calls only to have the auto shop tell me that the first opening they had was on the 21st. A really nice Chris, said that he'd work me in if I could get a battery and get to the shop. I had to email a ward friend that lives over the mountain from me (no phone numbers) and hope that she would see the email AND be able to come over and jump the van. She did and as soon as I got the van running, we too had to be running. I drove to several shoppets (gas stations on base) leaving the van running and trying to find a battery. The BX had 1. Only 1 in the store that would fit the van. I had to beg another person to jump the van in order to get to the shop. Why don't they sell the parts at the auto shop?
My plan B for the birthday was going to be get the kids from school and then eat dinner and ice cream before spending the night sitting at the church waiting for scouts and mutual to be over.
The school ruined plan B. They didn't ever tell Christian (even though I called at 10 AM) not to ride the bus home. It didn't matter that I called 3 times! I was waiting for him, Davis was waiting for him. Christian was on the bus and they wouldn't let him off (he knew something was wrong). I had to chase the bus home to get Christian. A 30 mile mistake. Christian was very upset, but I got home 10 min after him. *We don't even have a phone and he doesn't have a cell, he had no idea what had happened or what was going to happen.
Scrap the eating out idea and throw together sandwiches before heading back out to scouts. Thanks for coming to my pity party. The van was fixed and I was grateful for the auto shop for taking pity on this poor old lady. I didn't want to have a birthday anyway.
I watched some extra kids, had a primary meeting and invited a friend over to visit/play. I got Davis ready for his awesome campout in the Frankstein castle, then Darin came home. He came carrying shoes, so things are going better. We went to a huge Christmas bazaar and I found tons of things that I want to purchase over the next 3 years. The sun came out and the rain stopped, so the end of the week was much better than the beginning.
The kids finally gave me gifts on Saturday night, as Darin and I were preparing our talks for Sunday (see how awesome this week was). They gave me lots of candy and chocolate. Some of their favorites in fact. Christian bought me a Polish bowl at the bazaar. We still have boxes around and even though I had high hopes of getting it all done while Darin was lounging, I didn't do a thing. I dumped a bunch out looking for a scout handbook, but only made a bigger mess. I really need to get things put away so that I can feel more settled. I also need to make a job list, so that the boys realize that we are really home.
Darin spent his week in Florida, sitting at a posh resort, drinking fancy drinks that contained umbrellas. Maybe it didn't really go like that, but from this end, that is how it felt. He was in Orlando for the Goverment Ethics Conference, sounds like a vacation to me.
While he was away I was spending my Monday reliving 7th grade, but with 5 bored and hungry kids in tow. It was the Middle School open house, and they wanted us to go follow our child's schedule and sit in each class...for 2 hours! As if that wasn't torture enough, when I got out of the (hazing) meeting I found that the van battery was dead. So dead that I couldn't open or close the sliding doors or lock it using the remote. Dead. I instantly felt helpless. Darin was gone, everyone was tired and hungry, I don't know any phone numbers from church or work, and who was going to help me figure out this mess? To make matters worse, it was 15:20 and the auto shop on base (only one I could have thought to call) closed at 1500. The van needed to be jumped, but the parking stalls are so tight in Germany that I had to have one of the neighbor cars jump it. I sat for an hour waiting for the owner to return. During that time I wondered around thinking of possible solutions, none of which ended with us getting home at a decent hour. I wondered, I prayed, I cried, I cursed Darin and the TDY. Had he been home, he'd have been 30 seconds away from me! Finally a police man came and asked me a bunch of questions that were irrevelant, but at least felt like "doing something." During the time, the owner showed up and we got the van running. Someone tried to give me directions to a nearby village that may have an auto shop that may have a guy working late that may be able to order me a battery tonight. Thanks, I smiled, and then drove straight home. Backing in so that I could beg someone else to jump it in the morning after sleep and food gave me a clearer head.
My birthday happened to fall while Darin was gone again. If he has anywhere to go during September, it is going to be over my birthday. It just is. In the past I'd had Davis make me a cake/cheesecake. This year it all kind of got forgotten. [On a note, Darin's birthday is usually lousy as well. We are usually in transition somewhere.] I quickly started making phone calls only to have the auto shop tell me that the first opening they had was on the 21st. A really nice Chris, said that he'd work me in if I could get a battery and get to the shop. I had to email a ward friend that lives over the mountain from me (no phone numbers) and hope that she would see the email AND be able to come over and jump the van. She did and as soon as I got the van running, we too had to be running. I drove to several shoppets (gas stations on base) leaving the van running and trying to find a battery. The BX had 1. Only 1 in the store that would fit the van. I had to beg another person to jump the van in order to get to the shop. Why don't they sell the parts at the auto shop?
My plan B for the birthday was going to be get the kids from school and then eat dinner and ice cream before spending the night sitting at the church waiting for scouts and mutual to be over.
The school ruined plan B. They didn't ever tell Christian (even though I called at 10 AM) not to ride the bus home. It didn't matter that I called 3 times! I was waiting for him, Davis was waiting for him. Christian was on the bus and they wouldn't let him off (he knew something was wrong). I had to chase the bus home to get Christian. A 30 mile mistake. Christian was very upset, but I got home 10 min after him. *We don't even have a phone and he doesn't have a cell, he had no idea what had happened or what was going to happen.
Scrap the eating out idea and throw together sandwiches before heading back out to scouts. Thanks for coming to my pity party. The van was fixed and I was grateful for the auto shop for taking pity on this poor old lady. I didn't want to have a birthday anyway.
I watched some extra kids, had a primary meeting and invited a friend over to visit/play. I got Davis ready for his awesome campout in the Frankstein castle, then Darin came home. He came carrying shoes, so things are going better. We went to a huge Christmas bazaar and I found tons of things that I want to purchase over the next 3 years. The sun came out and the rain stopped, so the end of the week was much better than the beginning.
The kids finally gave me gifts on Saturday night, as Darin and I were preparing our talks for Sunday (see how awesome this week was). They gave me lots of candy and chocolate. Some of their favorites in fact. Christian bought me a Polish bowl at the bazaar. We still have boxes around and even though I had high hopes of getting it all done while Darin was lounging, I didn't do a thing. I dumped a bunch out looking for a scout handbook, but only made a bigger mess. I really need to get things put away so that I can feel more settled. I also need to make a job list, so that the boys realize that we are really home.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Boy's Eye View-Davis
**First time I ever wanted to be a scout!**
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Anya walking
I'm trying to get up the umph to blog about this past week. It was quite a week, and it will take some time to stop the flow of negative thoughts. I am going to post this instead. I'll face the past week, after a good nights sleep.
Anya decided tonight that she wanted to walk. She has been taking a few steps for quite awhile, but she prefers to scoot. Tonight she just started walking to get to places. When she would fall, she would stand up and start again. She thinks that it is fun and funny. Her brothers think she is amazing. What a combination.
Anya decided tonight that she wanted to walk. She has been taking a few steps for quite awhile, but she prefers to scoot. Tonight she just started walking to get to places. When she would fall, she would stand up and start again. She thinks that it is fun and funny. Her brothers think she is amazing. What a combination.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Boy's Eye View-Jag
Yep, Jag again. He spends so much time with me it is just too easy.
Moving.
The movers (moovrs) are taking toys in my room and they call my room little boys room. wah, wah, wah, that stinks.
Moving.
The movers (moovrs) are taking toys in my room and they call my room little boys room. wah, wah, wah, that stinks.
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