Here are a few scenes to give you a feel for (my) daily German life.
Vignette 1: Marktkauf
I’ve already blogged about Tengelmann, an expensive German grocery store with unhelpful (by American standards) employees. But to be fair, the rudeness you encounter at Tengelmann is the higher class sort of rudeness, or the, ‘Oh, very well, if I must,’ sort of rudeness. Today we'll take a look at Marktkauf, an enormous supermarket with reasonable prices that also has clothing and household items. Marktkauf offers its own special brand of rudeness.
Yesterday the whole family headed for Marktkauf to stock up our sadly empty larder. The Jambalaya I made earlier this week tapped out our provisions and thank goodness K liked it because it was pretty much all we had. Also, next week Ralf is headed for the mother ship in California (a.k.a., our company’s headquarters) and a friend of mine asked me to buy her some German make up. So after we had loaded our food into the cart I browsed the cosmetics section with no luck and the kids were getting tired.
Seeing a Marktkauf employee go by I waved and said, ‘Entschuldigung, haben Sie Jade?’ ('Excuse me, do you have Jade?'). Not my best German sentence but perfectly understandable. Without breaking her stride she replied, ‘Schaun Sie. Ich hab’ auch keine Ahnung,’ ('You look, I don’t have any idea either'). Alrighty then. When I stared at her she sighed wearily and called out to a colleague: ‘Oi! Haben wir Jade?’ ('Hey! Do we have Jade?') and I was escorted by the colleague to the appropriate aisle with much hair tossing and eye rolling.
Ralf thinks I exaggerate about German rudeness but the fact is that he rarely encounters it. Cashiers, bank clerks, mechanics, travel agents, doctors, handymen and everyone else immediately size up his height and maleness, register his boyish charm and confidence and for all I know smell his testosterone and suddenly all these helpful people materialize out of the woodwork. When they see me coming, they take in my shortness (5’8’’ is nothing here) and register my femaleness, mousy looks and lack of confidence that I will be helped, as well as various linguistic imperfections that mark me as foreign, and write me off as someone they don’t have to do any extra work for. Of course not everyone is like this but I encounter it a lot and remember I’m an LA girl so I grew up coddled in the milk of insincere human kindness. On rare occasions when I felt my children’s lives to be in danger I have successfully imposed my will on the odd reluctant German but you really have to be in the zone.
I sometimes wonder if New Yorkers have an easier time?
Vignette 2: ‘Ich moechte Deutsch reden!’
I remember when I was first learning German it took about 8 months of intense language training before anyone would bother speaking to me in German, even if I spoke German to them. I would say something in German, even something as simple as ordering a beer, and the answer would invariably come in English. Finally after 8 months I’d had enough and vowed that the next person I talked to would speak German to me. As it happens the next person I talked to was Claus, a very sweet German consultant I worked with, one of those good-looking, ambiguously gay types that always marry a supermodel and have three kids.
Anyway, I asked him something in German and he answered in English and I responded in German and he came back in English and so on and so forth until finally, blushing with the strain of continuing to speak German to someone who was ignoring my efforts I glared at him and said, ‘Claus, if you don’t speak German to me I’m going to smack you!’ He looked surprised, as if he hadn’t even noticed me speaking German, then shrugged and said in a kind voice (in English, of course), ‘Well, I would, Laura, only your German is so terrible.’ This was a long time ago and there did eventually come a day when Claus and I switched to German but it left its mark.
Vignette 3: Threading the Bobbin
Now that I have a sewing machine it is expected that I can use it to sew things. And to a limited extent I can – I just made a third pillowcase, this time with ribbon trim! But now I’m starting to get helpful suggestions from various people about what I ought to sew next, including my husband. While in California for a conference not too long ago Ralf and I bought a ski suit for L. Although it’s supposed to fit a six year old and she just turned three it’s a bit short so Ralf asked me to pluck out the Velcro patches on the shoulders and move them up a bit to give it more length. I reached for the suit but he was strangely reluctant to let go of it. ‘Do you think you can do it?’ ‘Well,’ I answered honestly, ‘it does mean threading the bobbin.’
Threading and re-attaching the bobbin is still something of a challenge for me but I gamely reached for suit again, which continued to be withheld. ‘Do you know what a seam ripper is? Do you have one?’ he asked, holding the suit away from my outstretched hands. Well that was just insulting – after 4 sewing classes I can’t do zippers but I know what a seam ripper is! I grabbed the suit and glared at him.
Two triumphant hours later I had successfully moved two Velcro patches a whole inch.
I can't believe how much I rule!
January 3, 2009
January 2, 2009
On the mend again
I think this is the third time I’ve announced I’m getting better but this time it might be true. My meds seem to be working. I have heavy-duty antibiotics, probably the strongest I’ve ever taken, pills to completely dry me out and a course of Cortisone to heal the damage caused by letting this insane cough go too long. Again, no kudos to that first doctor who gave me nothing but sage tea but at least I have some serious #!@ now.
Yesterday I felt so much better I cooked, cleaned and even made a small dent on the laundry pile up. Mind you, we still have the tiny washing machine we owned in our chic pre-kids Bogenhausen apartment so it only fits about 4 pieces of adult clothing and each load takes over an hour to run. So it’s sloooow going. On the other hand, it matches the pace at which I get around to putting away laundry pretty well.
I also mastered my new sewing machine. After no fewer than four sewing classes in the US I can now laboriously thread my sewing machine while heavily referencing the user’s manual and sew extremely simple things. Yesterday I sewed two Little Mermaid pillowcases and a shiny, silky scarf that my kids have unfortunately fallen in love with so I’ll probably never get a chance to wear it. I even did a fun project with the kids – I bought a bunch of colorful iron on decals at Joann’s in the US before we moved back (hearts, butterflies, etc.) and yesterday we decorated all of their plain t-shirts and turtlenecks together. The decals are also great for covering up those mystery grease stains that have magically appeared on all my staple long-sleeve Target tees.
In addition to being sick and working full-time we haven’t had childcare since about a week before Christmas. Can you hear the violin playing? The Kindergarten takes a full-blown two week Christmas vacation and the kids got sick about a week and a half before that started so we’re at two weeks now with another week to go. We’ve had some much-appreciated help from Ralf’s parents on the days when I had to lie in bed or go to the lung specialist but working for money has been a challenge. So far haven’t let any deadlines slip but it’s been a hard road.
Also, I have to admit with all the love in the world, annoying. The kids are sweetiecakes and I think staying at home with Mommy and Papa has been good for them. Even when I was deathly ill they seemed to like having me around all day. That’s the beautiful side, the side that finds you humbly worshipping your biological empire. The annoying side is the constant, ‘Mommy this, Mommy that,’ which literally doesn’t let up for more than 30 seconds at a time. All day, every day. This can range from simple announcements (i.e., ‘Mommy, I’m going upstairs now’) to calls for service (i.e., ‘Mommy, I’m thirsty’) to sisterly disagreements (i.e., ‘MOMMY LENI TOOK MY BUEGELPERLEN!!!!’) You can only say, ‘Don’t talk to me unless you’re bleeding!’ and ‘Don’t make me come over there!’ so many times.
So the countdown’s on to next Wednesday, when I will supposedly be 100% fit again and the kids finally go BACK TO SCHOOL.
Knock on wood.
Yesterday I felt so much better I cooked, cleaned and even made a small dent on the laundry pile up. Mind you, we still have the tiny washing machine we owned in our chic pre-kids Bogenhausen apartment so it only fits about 4 pieces of adult clothing and each load takes over an hour to run. So it’s sloooow going. On the other hand, it matches the pace at which I get around to putting away laundry pretty well.
I also mastered my new sewing machine. After no fewer than four sewing classes in the US I can now laboriously thread my sewing machine while heavily referencing the user’s manual and sew extremely simple things. Yesterday I sewed two Little Mermaid pillowcases and a shiny, silky scarf that my kids have unfortunately fallen in love with so I’ll probably never get a chance to wear it. I even did a fun project with the kids – I bought a bunch of colorful iron on decals at Joann’s in the US before we moved back (hearts, butterflies, etc.) and yesterday we decorated all of their plain t-shirts and turtlenecks together. The decals are also great for covering up those mystery grease stains that have magically appeared on all my staple long-sleeve Target tees.
In addition to being sick and working full-time we haven’t had childcare since about a week before Christmas. Can you hear the violin playing? The Kindergarten takes a full-blown two week Christmas vacation and the kids got sick about a week and a half before that started so we’re at two weeks now with another week to go. We’ve had some much-appreciated help from Ralf’s parents on the days when I had to lie in bed or go to the lung specialist but working for money has been a challenge. So far haven’t let any deadlines slip but it’s been a hard road.
Also, I have to admit with all the love in the world, annoying. The kids are sweetiecakes and I think staying at home with Mommy and Papa has been good for them. Even when I was deathly ill they seemed to like having me around all day. That’s the beautiful side, the side that finds you humbly worshipping your biological empire. The annoying side is the constant, ‘Mommy this, Mommy that,’ which literally doesn’t let up for more than 30 seconds at a time. All day, every day. This can range from simple announcements (i.e., ‘Mommy, I’m going upstairs now’) to calls for service (i.e., ‘Mommy, I’m thirsty’) to sisterly disagreements (i.e., ‘MOMMY LENI TOOK MY BUEGELPERLEN!!!!’) You can only say, ‘Don’t talk to me unless you’re bleeding!’ and ‘Don’t make me come over there!’ so many times.
So the countdown’s on to next Wednesday, when I will supposedly be 100% fit again and the kids finally go BACK TO SCHOOL.
Knock on wood.
January 1, 2009
Smokin' New Year Jambalaya
Wishing you all a happy, healthy, peaceful, Cajun New Year.
2 lb beef sausage, cut 1/4 inch thick
1 lb diced boneless chicken
1 1/2 lg onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups water
2 1/2 tbs Cajun spice (salt, hot red pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and some other mystery ingredients so if you can buy it ready-made all the better)
1 tbs salt
3 bay leaves
6 oz tomato paste or ketchup
1 lb peeled shrimp
3 cups raw rice
Saute sausage, chicken, onions, bell pepper and garlic until sausage and chicken browned. Add water, Cajun spice, salt, bay leaves and tomato paste. Bring to boil with lid and add rice. Stir and lower heat, simmer and stir periodically until rice cooked. When the rice is about half done toss in the shrimp. Enjoy!
2 lb beef sausage, cut 1/4 inch thick
1 lb diced boneless chicken
1 1/2 lg onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups water
2 1/2 tbs Cajun spice (salt, hot red pepper, garlic, onion, paprika and some other mystery ingredients so if you can buy it ready-made all the better)
1 tbs salt
3 bay leaves
6 oz tomato paste or ketchup
1 lb peeled shrimp
3 cups raw rice
Saute sausage, chicken, onions, bell pepper and garlic until sausage and chicken browned. Add water, Cajun spice, salt, bay leaves and tomato paste. Bring to boil with lid and add rice. Stir and lower heat, simmer and stir periodically until rice cooked. When the rice is about half done toss in the shrimp. Enjoy!
December 31, 2008
Ghost of New Year's Past
A tribute to New Year’s Past:
Tobi and the Fish
The girls, me in the middle with the stogey
Ralf
Moi in my short red hair days
Gesine and Bine
The Boys - Ralf, Tobi and Christian
No New Year for Me...
I’m taking a page out of Naturelady’s book to pay tribute to some past New Year’s Eve parties because… sob… there will be no New Year’s party for me this year. The reason? Tonight I will only have been on antibiotics for 36 hours and that’s not long enough to stop being contagious. Although I’ve presumably been contagious for several weeks, and Ralf and the kids haven’t (knock on wood) caught anything, I can’t in good conscience invite 30 people with children into my house after the doctor told me point blank that I’m a danger to the community.
Soooo... the party has been moved to a friend’s house and I won’t be going. Ralf and I are really bummed because we’ve been celebrating New Year’s with the same friends since 2000, when only one couple had kids. Over time, more kids have come to bless our lives and now we pretty much all have kids so although our NY parties aren’t as wild and decadent as they used to be, we kind of get two parties for the price of one because the kids all disappear upstairs and have their own party.
It’s still up in the air if Ralf will go. I think he should get out and have some fun after watching me be sick for three weeks, but he doesn’t want to leave me alone on New Year’s Eve. Also he’s in a bit of a funk about this and doesn’t quite have the right party spirit. I'll try to persuade him.
It’s frustrating because if the first doctor I went to had given me antibiotics I’d be all better now and could have been spared 10 days of sleepless misery. Somewhat ironically (unlike Alanis Morissette, I actually know what ironic means), I always resisted giving my kids antibiotics when they were sick in the US because I believe the body can usually heal itself and avoid the personal and community costs of antibiotics. I also believe in being sure of your diagnosis before throwing broad band antibiotics at anyone who coughs twice. But although I haven’t needed antibiotics since I was a kid, I knew two weeks ago that this wasn’t going away on its own so what with the ruined New Year’s Eve and everything, it’s a bummer.
On the other hand, all is not lost. I have a couple of things that I am deeply thankful for that lessen the blow of missing New Year’s Eve with our friends:
1. My cough is being defeated by the antibiotics! I slept an entire night without coughing once. In my book, after a month of suffering, there can be no higher joy.
2. I wouldn’t have been able to drink anyway since I’m taking antibiotics.
3. I’m an introvert and a party without drinking is generally a party where I hide in the corner. Although I like to party as much as the next person, I am also happy as a clam snuggled up with old friends like Harry Potter, Buffy or Jane Austen.
4. We don’t have to clean our house now. Wahoooo!
5. I’m still 8 pounds down from the flu – although that’s actually sad because now I don’t get to flaunt it.
December 30, 2008
Taking your medicine
I have proper medicine now: I have antibiotics, codeine in capsule form (no more drops!), and cortisone, again in capsule form. Yay! Last night I woke up coughing so badly I got something like an asthma attack and we had to call an emergency doctor who makes house calls. He didn't find much wrong with me - clear lungs, no sinus infection, no throat infection, just this damn cough and slightly inflamed lungs. So he gave me something to help me sleep - I won't mention how it was administered - and told me that after 3 weeks of chronic coughing I need to go see a lung specialist.
When I pestered him a bit for more information he opined that I probably have some sort of chronic lung weakness that is preventing me from kicking this cough on my own. Lung weakness? Isn't that for people with asthma that are short of breath when they have to climb stairs?? I am a hearty person. Sort of. When it's not winter. But he stubbornly maintained that uncontrollable coughing for three weeks is not normal. He also said I probably should have already been on antibiotics for such a persistant, uncontrollable cough.
So today we saw the lung specialist. I was deeply annoyed because it's the day before New Year's Eve and no one has office hours, there's one clinic serving all of Munich today. I also couldn't help reflectng that there's nothing much wrong with me that antibiotics couldn't have cured a week ago and even if I do have some lung thingy I could have made a proper appointment in the New Year to check it out properly, rather than shuffling downtown in a weakened state to sit for two hours in a small enclosed waiting room with all the contagious respiratory emergencies in Munich.
As it happens, however, the doctor was able to see us right away without an appointment, although they conducted a longish series of tests and the whole thing took over an hour to complete. That, my friends, is the beauty of private insurance in Germany. It costs the earth and you better hope your employer picks up half but you get in right away and they don't stint on the tests.
So. . . they took my blood pressure, had me breath in two mystery machines in different ways, took some blood, took a chest x-ray (my first ever unless I got one at school years ago) and put some burning cream on my ear lobe before piercing it with something that felt like an awl and squeezing blood out of it for what seemed like ten minutes. That was the suckiest part - no one leaves that office without a bandaid on their ear.
The results of these various tests were then presented to Dr. Friedrich and told him what I already knew: I have a light but persistant infection that can be treated with antibiotics (with a tiny but unlikely chance that I've contracted whooping cough) and I am pale. I probably also have some underlying non-life threatening condition such as an allergy that explains why my colds tend to turn into chronic bronchitis three years running but to find out more I'll have to come back and get a CAT scan and goodness knows what else.
Now we're home and I've taken my first antibiotic tablet, which is sitting a little uncomfortably but triumphantly in my stomach, and poor Ralf is upstairs exhausted and trying to catch up on his work. I am making him coffee and grandmommy eggs (soft-boiled eggs over broken up toast with lots of salt and pepper) to try and make up for my poor health. Tonight he has late calls catching up with his team, or his 'bitches', as I jokingly refer to his superstar all-male team of technical software designers since we watched 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan' the other night.
I'll probably have to come up with something else if he ever hires a girl.
Speaking of Zohan, if only Middle Eastern problems could actually be solved by Israeli counterterrorists becoming hair dressers . . . here are a few Zohan quotes that made me laugh despite my sadness for that war torn part of the world because they are so absurd:
(Zohan the Isreali counterterrorist upon being shot at by a Palestinian terrorist): "OK, I get it. You don't like my country."
(Zohan's mom over dinner): "They've been fighting for 2000 years. They're probably almost finished."
(The Hizballah hotline): "Terrorist support operations are temporarily suspended due to peace talks. Normal operations will resume as soon as the peace talks break down."
When I pestered him a bit for more information he opined that I probably have some sort of chronic lung weakness that is preventing me from kicking this cough on my own. Lung weakness? Isn't that for people with asthma that are short of breath when they have to climb stairs?? I am a hearty person. Sort of. When it's not winter. But he stubbornly maintained that uncontrollable coughing for three weeks is not normal. He also said I probably should have already been on antibiotics for such a persistant, uncontrollable cough.
So today we saw the lung specialist. I was deeply annoyed because it's the day before New Year's Eve and no one has office hours, there's one clinic serving all of Munich today. I also couldn't help reflectng that there's nothing much wrong with me that antibiotics couldn't have cured a week ago and even if I do have some lung thingy I could have made a proper appointment in the New Year to check it out properly, rather than shuffling downtown in a weakened state to sit for two hours in a small enclosed waiting room with all the contagious respiratory emergencies in Munich.
As it happens, however, the doctor was able to see us right away without an appointment, although they conducted a longish series of tests and the whole thing took over an hour to complete. That, my friends, is the beauty of private insurance in Germany. It costs the earth and you better hope your employer picks up half but you get in right away and they don't stint on the tests.
So. . . they took my blood pressure, had me breath in two mystery machines in different ways, took some blood, took a chest x-ray (my first ever unless I got one at school years ago) and put some burning cream on my ear lobe before piercing it with something that felt like an awl and squeezing blood out of it for what seemed like ten minutes. That was the suckiest part - no one leaves that office without a bandaid on their ear.
The results of these various tests were then presented to Dr. Friedrich and told him what I already knew: I have a light but persistant infection that can be treated with antibiotics (with a tiny but unlikely chance that I've contracted whooping cough) and I am pale. I probably also have some underlying non-life threatening condition such as an allergy that explains why my colds tend to turn into chronic bronchitis three years running but to find out more I'll have to come back and get a CAT scan and goodness knows what else.
Now we're home and I've taken my first antibiotic tablet, which is sitting a little uncomfortably but triumphantly in my stomach, and poor Ralf is upstairs exhausted and trying to catch up on his work. I am making him coffee and grandmommy eggs (soft-boiled eggs over broken up toast with lots of salt and pepper) to try and make up for my poor health. Tonight he has late calls catching up with his team, or his 'bitches', as I jokingly refer to his superstar all-male team of technical software designers since we watched 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan' the other night.
I'll probably have to come up with something else if he ever hires a girl.
Speaking of Zohan, if only Middle Eastern problems could actually be solved by Israeli counterterrorists becoming hair dressers . . . here are a few Zohan quotes that made me laugh despite my sadness for that war torn part of the world because they are so absurd:
(Zohan the Isreali counterterrorist upon being shot at by a Palestinian terrorist): "OK, I get it. You don't like my country."
(Zohan's mom over dinner): "They've been fighting for 2000 years. They're probably almost finished."
(The Hizballah hotline): "Terrorist support operations are temporarily suspended due to peace talks. Normal operations will resume as soon as the peace talks break down."
December 29, 2008
More German medicine
OK, so I kicked the plague that kept me in bed for nearly a week but haven’t yet managed to shake a very persistent cough. Ralf, who usually refers to me as Sweetie or Schatz (‘treasure’), has started calling me ‘Pestilence’. I can’t really blame him since my nocturnal coughing has kept him awake for three weeks.
Remember the EUR 200 inhaler the doctor prescribed that I didn’t buy? It turns out that wasn’t such a weird recommendation after all. When my German friends heard about my lingering cough I was showered with offers to loan me these amazingly expensive hospital grade inhalers. We ended up borrowing one from Berndt and Elizabeth next door. It jets medicine right into your lungs where it can supposedly do the most good. Unfortunately, the medicine gives me a splitting headache and has so far been about as effective as killing a chicken while muttering incantations would be.
Last night I was introduced to a new German medicine: Capval Tropfen. No idea what’s in it but it’s supposed to be the king of slime melters. We got it from Ralf’s mom, who works in a doctor’s office. When I took my first sip I gasped in horror and croaked, ‘Your mom must really hate me!’ Seriously, I joked about the repulsive taste of German medicine in a previous posting but it turns out I had only scratched the surface of vileness: Capval Tropfen tastes like toilet cleaner. Word - it’s unbelievably disgusting. On the other hand, within minutes of forcing myself to drink it my nose started running uncontrollably so it at least seems to be melting something. No change in my coughing status but whatever’s been lurking in my nose is finally on its way out.
L has a bit of a lingering cold as well and her nose has been running non-stop for two weeks but she has a natural advantage because she can lick her own nostrils. She’s very cute so this is not quite as disgusting as it could be but we have nonetheless been trying to discourage this habit.
I have another doctor appointment tomorrow and we’ll see what nasty, useless concoction he or she prescribes this time.
I will kick this cold. Maybe not until summer or next year but it will happen. Someday. I vow this.
Remember the EUR 200 inhaler the doctor prescribed that I didn’t buy? It turns out that wasn’t such a weird recommendation after all. When my German friends heard about my lingering cough I was showered with offers to loan me these amazingly expensive hospital grade inhalers. We ended up borrowing one from Berndt and Elizabeth next door. It jets medicine right into your lungs where it can supposedly do the most good. Unfortunately, the medicine gives me a splitting headache and has so far been about as effective as killing a chicken while muttering incantations would be.
Last night I was introduced to a new German medicine: Capval Tropfen. No idea what’s in it but it’s supposed to be the king of slime melters. We got it from Ralf’s mom, who works in a doctor’s office. When I took my first sip I gasped in horror and croaked, ‘Your mom must really hate me!’ Seriously, I joked about the repulsive taste of German medicine in a previous posting but it turns out I had only scratched the surface of vileness: Capval Tropfen tastes like toilet cleaner. Word - it’s unbelievably disgusting. On the other hand, within minutes of forcing myself to drink it my nose started running uncontrollably so it at least seems to be melting something. No change in my coughing status but whatever’s been lurking in my nose is finally on its way out.
L has a bit of a lingering cold as well and her nose has been running non-stop for two weeks but she has a natural advantage because she can lick her own nostrils. She’s very cute so this is not quite as disgusting as it could be but we have nonetheless been trying to discourage this habit.
I have another doctor appointment tomorrow and we’ll see what nasty, useless concoction he or she prescribes this time.
I will kick this cold. Maybe not until summer or next year but it will happen. Someday. I vow this.
December 28, 2008
Mommy's Helpers
I wanted to share a few of my favorite mommy tips (books, movies, recipes) and hope some of you will do the same. Note that most of these are more appropriate for little girls than boys but I think there's some crossover.
Favorite Books
Zen Shorts – Stillwater the panda bear meets Addy, Michael and Karl and changes their lives by telling them stories. Beautifully illustrated.
Pinkalicious – A little girl eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink! Very cool and unusual artwork.
Are You My Mother? – A classic. Only a few colors used in the pictures but my kids love them. This was L’s favorite book for almost a year when she was 2.
The Costume Copycat – A surprising find at Pottery Barn. Fun story about a little girl who always copies her big sister’s costume from last year, until finally she finds her own style.
Dora the Explorer – I expected to hate these but a friend gave me a couple and I love how they encourage the kids to listen and respond to questions interactively.
Where is Baby? – I just love these books for babies. They have wonderful, glittery illustrations and simple words geared to attract babies. The boxed set is my go to baby present.
Room on the broom – Terrific book, even dads like it. Fun rhyming and illustrations and a good story to boot about a kindly witch and the friends she picks up while flying on her broom.
Asha and Clara – Full of creative fantasy and amazing illustrations. A little girl’s adventures with her imaginary friends.
A Fly Went By – I remember this one well from my own childhood. A little boy tries to help some animals who are all running away from something scary. Fun rhyming, great story and great illustrations.
The Little Red Hen – What a classic story about reaping what you sow!
Honorable Mention
Zen Ties – The second story in the Zen Shorts series. More beautiful illustrations and life lessons.
The Kissing Hand – This is a very nice book about Chester the raccoon, who is afraid to go to school until his mother gives him a kissing hand.
The Gruffulo/ The Gruffulo’s Child – Same author and illustrator as Room on the Broom, these stories are lots of fun.
The Cat in the Hat – Well, of course. Actually, my kids don’t like this book as much as I feel they should.
Purplicious – Part II of Pinkalicious, it didn’t get such good reviews as the first book but I liked it a lot.
Chicken Little – Not sure where the attraction of this book lies but it’s somehow addictive. Follow Chicken Little on his humorous journey to tell the king that the sky is falling.
Favorite Movies and TV Programs
I'm not going to mention the obvious ones like Blues Clues but I did want to highlight a few that are less well-known but big hits at our house.
Totoro - Satsuki and Mei meet a fantastic forest creature name Totoro. This movie is a real achievement - everything from soundtrack to animation is perfect.
Christmas with Callou - Our kids got this for Christmas this year and it turned out to be a real winner.
Bugaloos - This was one of the Sid and Marty Croft Saturday morning shows from my own childhood and my kids love it as much as I did.
HR Pufinstuf - Another Sid and Marty Croft show. Witchipoo is kind of annoying when she screeches but the kids love it. And Jimmy is any little girl's dream boat.
The Parent Trap - The original with Haley Mills, if you please! What a classic.
Recipes for Picky Eaters
Popsicles - Blend vanilla yogurt, organic berries, a banana, and some organic spinach. Add sugar to taste. Freeze. Yum!
Broccoli Brownies - Chocolate can hide almost anything. I throw a packet of frozen organic broccoli (blended, of course) into a package of brownie mix, bake and my kids yum it up.
So, what works for you? Share!
Favorite Books
Zen Shorts – Stillwater the panda bear meets Addy, Michael and Karl and changes their lives by telling them stories. Beautifully illustrated.
Pinkalicious – A little girl eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink! Very cool and unusual artwork.
Are You My Mother? – A classic. Only a few colors used in the pictures but my kids love them. This was L’s favorite book for almost a year when she was 2.
The Costume Copycat – A surprising find at Pottery Barn. Fun story about a little girl who always copies her big sister’s costume from last year, until finally she finds her own style.
Dora the Explorer – I expected to hate these but a friend gave me a couple and I love how they encourage the kids to listen and respond to questions interactively.
Where is Baby? – I just love these books for babies. They have wonderful, glittery illustrations and simple words geared to attract babies. The boxed set is my go to baby present.
Room on the broom – Terrific book, even dads like it. Fun rhyming and illustrations and a good story to boot about a kindly witch and the friends she picks up while flying on her broom.
Asha and Clara – Full of creative fantasy and amazing illustrations. A little girl’s adventures with her imaginary friends.
A Fly Went By – I remember this one well from my own childhood. A little boy tries to help some animals who are all running away from something scary. Fun rhyming, great story and great illustrations.
The Little Red Hen – What a classic story about reaping what you sow!
Honorable Mention
Zen Ties – The second story in the Zen Shorts series. More beautiful illustrations and life lessons.
The Kissing Hand – This is a very nice book about Chester the raccoon, who is afraid to go to school until his mother gives him a kissing hand.
The Gruffulo/ The Gruffulo’s Child – Same author and illustrator as Room on the Broom, these stories are lots of fun.
The Cat in the Hat – Well, of course. Actually, my kids don’t like this book as much as I feel they should.
Purplicious – Part II of Pinkalicious, it didn’t get such good reviews as the first book but I liked it a lot.
Chicken Little – Not sure where the attraction of this book lies but it’s somehow addictive. Follow Chicken Little on his humorous journey to tell the king that the sky is falling.
Favorite Movies and TV Programs
I'm not going to mention the obvious ones like Blues Clues but I did want to highlight a few that are less well-known but big hits at our house.
Totoro - Satsuki and Mei meet a fantastic forest creature name Totoro. This movie is a real achievement - everything from soundtrack to animation is perfect.
Christmas with Callou - Our kids got this for Christmas this year and it turned out to be a real winner.
Bugaloos - This was one of the Sid and Marty Croft Saturday morning shows from my own childhood and my kids love it as much as I did.
HR Pufinstuf - Another Sid and Marty Croft show. Witchipoo is kind of annoying when she screeches but the kids love it. And Jimmy is any little girl's dream boat.
The Parent Trap - The original with Haley Mills, if you please! What a classic.
Recipes for Picky Eaters
Popsicles - Blend vanilla yogurt, organic berries, a banana, and some organic spinach. Add sugar to taste. Freeze. Yum!
Broccoli Brownies - Chocolate can hide almost anything. I throw a packet of frozen organic broccoli (blended, of course) into a package of brownie mix, bake and my kids yum it up.
So, what works for you? Share!
December 27, 2008
Quintessential you
I have a pretty high IQ. I’m not a genius or anything but I’m bright. However, unless I’m doing higher math or something it really doesn’t show – in fact, quite the opposite, because I'm a total klutz.
We’ve been back in Germany since mid September and in that time we’ve had to change the vacuum bag twice because it was full of broken glass. At least twice a week I drop one of our spices and it shatters on the floor and I have to vacuum up fiddly little bits of glass and powders while yelling at my kids to stay out of the kitchen. About every other week a glass of spaghetti sauce meets its destiny in my kitchen and you’d be surprised how far that stuff can travel on impact. We have dark red flecks all over kitchen ceiling and Ralf has threatened to paint the entire kitchen brown if I don’t mend my ways. If you come to dinner at our house, expect to eat well but don’t come into the kitchen while I’m cooking because the tornado of spilled wine, tomato stains, broken glass and piles of glass and parsley on the floor might put you off. On one memorable occasion I cut my finger while making a salad, spraying the walls and kitchen window with blood just as a friend who was over for dinner popped her head in and offered to help.
I couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t eat any salad.
Last night I went rummaging in the medicine cabinet for something to put my lingering cough to rest, at least for the night, and emerged triumphantly with an almost full bottle of Sinupret, which is a German mucus dissolver (my best translation for ‘Schleimloeser’). I was holding it tightly by the lid, which inexplicably separated from the rest of the bottle. Needless to say, the bottle with its entire contents plunged to the tile floor. It erupted spectacularly, depositing its sticky load all over the floor, the walls, the mirror, the husband and my pants. A few gluey drops even found their way into my hair.
Ralf’s comment as he grimly helped me wipe up the worst of it? ‘This is quintessential you!’
We’ve been back in Germany since mid September and in that time we’ve had to change the vacuum bag twice because it was full of broken glass. At least twice a week I drop one of our spices and it shatters on the floor and I have to vacuum up fiddly little bits of glass and powders while yelling at my kids to stay out of the kitchen. About every other week a glass of spaghetti sauce meets its destiny in my kitchen and you’d be surprised how far that stuff can travel on impact. We have dark red flecks all over kitchen ceiling and Ralf has threatened to paint the entire kitchen brown if I don’t mend my ways. If you come to dinner at our house, expect to eat well but don’t come into the kitchen while I’m cooking because the tornado of spilled wine, tomato stains, broken glass and piles of glass and parsley on the floor might put you off. On one memorable occasion I cut my finger while making a salad, spraying the walls and kitchen window with blood just as a friend who was over for dinner popped her head in and offered to help.
I couldn’t help noticing that she didn’t eat any salad.
Last night I went rummaging in the medicine cabinet for something to put my lingering cough to rest, at least for the night, and emerged triumphantly with an almost full bottle of Sinupret, which is a German mucus dissolver (my best translation for ‘Schleimloeser’). I was holding it tightly by the lid, which inexplicably separated from the rest of the bottle. Needless to say, the bottle with its entire contents plunged to the tile floor. It erupted spectacularly, depositing its sticky load all over the floor, the walls, the mirror, the husband and my pants. A few gluey drops even found their way into my hair.
Ralf’s comment as he grimly helped me wipe up the worst of it? ‘This is quintessential you!’
December 26, 2008
The Day After
Ralf has no words. He is disgusted with the lameness of his family. Today was sunny so we decided to make a nice family excursion to the wild animal park in Poing, which offers what the Germans refer to as a refreshing winter walk and various exotic animals like stags, boars, and even a baby bear. In the spring there are goslings and piglets, too. So, we all bundled up in our warmest jackets and headed out.
Once there we were confronted by gale force mountain winds and it turned out that I had put the wrong shoes on L so her feet were cold. She also refused to wear proper snow gloves so she was all primed to be uncomfortable. K, dressed by Ralf, had the right shoes but complained that her mouth was cold and was quite put out by this. And I had unthinkingly put on my trainers, my default shoes that are more than adequate for California winters. Ralf stared at my shoes in disbelief that I thought these shoes would work for a winter walk. ‘Even you. . .’ he began, but was too overcome by negative emotion to continue and had to fall back on making helpless hand gestures. I could actually see him questioning the wisdom of bringing an ignorant warm climate girl to Germany.
Although he was prepared to make me tough it out he was not equal to the combined female power of his entire household so we aborted the mission and headed home again. On the bright side, it gave him a chance to practice his, ‘There’s no bad weather, just bad gear, blah, blah, blah’ speech. I let the lecture flow over me (totally undeserved – I mean, it’s sunny so how was I supposed to know??) and looked out the window at all the exotic Teutonic families with children dressed like puffy marshmallows and babies wrapped in down sacks and stuffed into insulated perambulators. It all looked very unnatural to me, like living on the moon.
Of course, when I expressed this sentiment out loud Ralf pointed out that the entire Northern hemisphere is like this. I guess he has a point.
Note to self: no trainers ‘til spring.
Once there we were confronted by gale force mountain winds and it turned out that I had put the wrong shoes on L so her feet were cold. She also refused to wear proper snow gloves so she was all primed to be uncomfortable. K, dressed by Ralf, had the right shoes but complained that her mouth was cold and was quite put out by this. And I had unthinkingly put on my trainers, my default shoes that are more than adequate for California winters. Ralf stared at my shoes in disbelief that I thought these shoes would work for a winter walk. ‘Even you. . .’ he began, but was too overcome by negative emotion to continue and had to fall back on making helpless hand gestures. I could actually see him questioning the wisdom of bringing an ignorant warm climate girl to Germany.
Although he was prepared to make me tough it out he was not equal to the combined female power of his entire household so we aborted the mission and headed home again. On the bright side, it gave him a chance to practice his, ‘There’s no bad weather, just bad gear, blah, blah, blah’ speech. I let the lecture flow over me (totally undeserved – I mean, it’s sunny so how was I supposed to know??) and looked out the window at all the exotic Teutonic families with children dressed like puffy marshmallows and babies wrapped in down sacks and stuffed into insulated perambulators. It all looked very unnatural to me, like living on the moon.
Of course, when I expressed this sentiment out loud Ralf pointed out that the entire Northern hemisphere is like this. I guess he has a point.
Note to self: no trainers ‘til spring.
December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas to all
The kids made a good haul this year. Although Ralf and I only bought one present for each child, they somehow ended up with books, princess paraphanelia, clothes, skis, Melissa and Doug craft kits and those little plastic beads that you arrange on a special little form then iron into totally useless shapes. On the downside, the room fills with carcenogenic gas when you iron them, but on the plus side it keeps kids busy for hours on end.Ralf and I made out well, too. We finally splurged on a flat screen TV after four years of discussing it with no action and I got a real 2nd hand Pfaff sewing machine that I haven't yet figured out how to thread, but I will, and then look out! I predict that my kids will be wearing lots of sleeveless sun dresses next summer. We also got tickets for the whole family to Circus Krone next week and Ralf's sister got us tickets to the Harlem Gospel Singers, babysitting included.
And Ralf made me a new CD with my favorite songs of 2008 so as I write this I'm listening to 'Where You Gonna Sleep Tonight' and fantasizing about being a Scottish rock star.
Anyway, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas!
December 24, 2008
Red Dwarf
In honor of this special day I'm going to treat you to a clip from one of my favorite BBC comedies Red Dwarf. It's about the last human traveling through space with a hologram of one of his old shipmates, a mechanoid and a creature that evolved from the ship's cat.
Anyway, it's not for everyone but if you like quirky British humor give it a whirl:
Anyway, it's not for everyone but if you like quirky British humor give it a whirl:
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