So, here it is... My last day in Northeim. I've been sitting here looking at my pictures and old blogs I've written. And while all the evidence of an amazing year is right in front of me, I can hardly believe that it is over already. It went by way too quickly. There are so many things here that I am sad to leave, but I know I'll be coming back some day. At the very least, to visit my host family again. I set Maren up with Skype, so we'll be able to keep in contact... It'll be very strange to watch the children get older through the computer (especially little Miri!), but it is better than nothing, I suppose!
I have had such an amazing time not only with my host family, but with everyone across Germany I got to know during my stay. The friends I already had, the friends I made along the way, and especially my hiking group! I will miss everybody so much! I hate saying goodbye, so I'm not going to... I know we'll all be seeing each other again some day.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Can't wait to get on the road again...
So, we're back home from the 4 week vacation! I don't think it was long enough ;)
We started off in the early morning of June 27th. Claudia and Marit, who had been with us for the skiing vacation in winter, came this time as well, but only for the first week. Claudia's husband, Roy, had to stay in Northeim for work, so it was just a bunch of girls and Marten! We signed all the kids up for this Island Circus, where they would learn circusy things like tight-rope walking, riding a unicycle, juggling, and so on, in the mornings. Claudia and I took rode our bikes with the kids there, dropped them off, did some shopping or sight-seeing, and then picked them up again at 1pm when the lessons were over. We'd then make something small for lunch (usually preparing some sandwiches and wrapping them in aluminum foil), get all our beach stuff together, and spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach. Normally, our "big meals" are at lunchtime, but we switched things up a bit and made dinner our warm meal, because we were always very hungry after coming back from the beach. Maren stayed home most of the time with Miriam, but when she decided to come out with us, we would rotate baby duty, kid duty, and sunbathing duty. I preferred sunbathing duty over the other two :P
Michael came up for the weekend after Claudia and Marit left, but then he went back to Northeim again to work. He and Philipp (his oldest son) drove up together on July 16th, and then stayed for the rest of the vacation. Merit continued to partake in the Circus for the entire 4 weeks, but Marten had had enough of it by the 3rd week. So our last week there, he stayed home with us in the mornings. He and Merit both got to pick out a new sport that they wanted to try, and then we alternated between going to the beach and going to the sport lessons in the afternoons. Marten did "mini motocross"... He looked really adorable on those little motorcycles. Merit, who had been asking forever to do this, finally got to try out horseback riding. She loved it a lot, and now wants to continue doing it here in Northeim, as well.
The weekend after Philipp and Michael's arrival, I took a train down to visit one of "our Germans", Kristian. Since the last time I had seen him, he got married and had a son named Tizian. Tizi had just turned two in June, but since his parents are both giants, he's already the size of a four year old. It was a really great, relaxing weekend. I really enjoyed getting to know Tizi, who is just as goofy as his father. Kris and Meike got matching tattoos to celebrate the birth of their son; a cursive "T" that Kris has on the back of his upper arm, and on Meike it takes up her inner wrist.
One day, right in the middle of our vacation, it rained so horribly that we were basically under house-arrest from the moment we woke up to the time we went to sleep. It was just me and Maren at the time, and of course it was a weekend, so the kids didn't have the relief of getting out of the house for circus training in the morning. Around 4 in the afternoon, the clouds lightened up and the sun slowly began to peak out from its hiding spot. Overcome with the idea of breaking out of our prison, Maren and I threw shoes and jackets on the kids to go for a little walk down the boardwalk for some ice cream. As soon as we turned the corner off of our street, we looked up at the sky and gave each other looks of dismay. The calm that we were experiencing was only the "eye of the storm", and we both knew it. The color of the sky was exactly that which I had seen growing up on the East Coast; a threatening green. The clouds were still a slight distance away, and we had promised the kids ice cream, so we picked up the pace and trotted to the cafe. They, too, recognized the looming storm and a hectic feeling filled the ice cream stand as the workers simultaneously filled our orders and closed up shop. Maren, waiting outside with Miri in the stroller, had a look of panic on her face when I came back out. The winds had picked up drastically, and the clouds were now storming down on us, pun intended :P "We have to hurry!", she shouted, as I handed out the ice cream and put on my coat. We walked as fast as we could, but it wasn't fast enough. As soon as we got to the main road, the skies opened up. It poured down harder than it had before, and with a startled scream, Maren started jogging ahead with the unprotected stroller. I opened up the umbrella, bundled Merit and Marten underneath, and walked outside the umbrella's protection. Because of how panicked Maren looked, the kids started worrying about what was going on, so I slowed down my pace to help calm them. Maren turned around once she was about 20 meters ahead of us to see how we were doing. She and I made eye contact, and we both just lost it. She threw her hands in the air as if to say "I give up" and waited for us to catch up with her. We then all walked at a leisurely pace, and after they finished their ice cream, Merit and Marten ran around in the thundering storm instead staying huddled under the umbrella. We jumped into puddles, danced, and sang the rest of the way home. We then stripped down into our underwear as soon as we reached the front door, wrapped the kids in their bathrobes, and then went to change our clothes. I came into the living room in my PJs, to find Maren already in hers and attempting to hang out wet clothes up to dry. I noticed her shirt was already wet, mentioned it to her, and she said "Yeah, I know. Its because of my bra... I washed my other one yesterday and hung the laundry outside on the clothesline, to dry." We both started laughing all over again at the irony.
We started off in the early morning of June 27th. Claudia and Marit, who had been with us for the skiing vacation in winter, came this time as well, but only for the first week. Claudia's husband, Roy, had to stay in Northeim for work, so it was just a bunch of girls and Marten! We signed all the kids up for this Island Circus, where they would learn circusy things like tight-rope walking, riding a unicycle, juggling, and so on, in the mornings. Claudia and I took rode our bikes with the kids there, dropped them off, did some shopping or sight-seeing, and then picked them up again at 1pm when the lessons were over. We'd then make something small for lunch (usually preparing some sandwiches and wrapping them in aluminum foil), get all our beach stuff together, and spend the rest of the afternoon at the beach. Normally, our "big meals" are at lunchtime, but we switched things up a bit and made dinner our warm meal, because we were always very hungry after coming back from the beach. Maren stayed home most of the time with Miriam, but when she decided to come out with us, we would rotate baby duty, kid duty, and sunbathing duty. I preferred sunbathing duty over the other two :P
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| Their vacation home, with Marten out front |
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| Marten and Merit at the beach during low tide |
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| Marit and Marten playing in the water |
Michael came up for the weekend after Claudia and Marit left, but then he went back to Northeim again to work. He and Philipp (his oldest son) drove up together on July 16th, and then stayed for the rest of the vacation. Merit continued to partake in the Circus for the entire 4 weeks, but Marten had had enough of it by the 3rd week. So our last week there, he stayed home with us in the mornings. He and Merit both got to pick out a new sport that they wanted to try, and then we alternated between going to the beach and going to the sport lessons in the afternoons. Marten did "mini motocross"... He looked really adorable on those little motorcycles. Merit, who had been asking forever to do this, finally got to try out horseback riding. She loved it a lot, and now wants to continue doing it here in Northeim, as well.
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| Marten on the motorbike |
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| Merit prepping for horseback riding |
The weekend after Philipp and Michael's arrival, I took a train down to visit one of "our Germans", Kristian. Since the last time I had seen him, he got married and had a son named Tizian. Tizi had just turned two in June, but since his parents are both giants, he's already the size of a four year old. It was a really great, relaxing weekend. I really enjoyed getting to know Tizi, who is just as goofy as his father. Kris and Meike got matching tattoos to celebrate the birth of their son; a cursive "T" that Kris has on the back of his upper arm, and on Meike it takes up her inner wrist.
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| Kris with Tizian on his shoulders |
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| Sharing a piece of banana bread, because friends share! :) |
One day, right in the middle of our vacation, it rained so horribly that we were basically under house-arrest from the moment we woke up to the time we went to sleep. It was just me and Maren at the time, and of course it was a weekend, so the kids didn't have the relief of getting out of the house for circus training in the morning. Around 4 in the afternoon, the clouds lightened up and the sun slowly began to peak out from its hiding spot. Overcome with the idea of breaking out of our prison, Maren and I threw shoes and jackets on the kids to go for a little walk down the boardwalk for some ice cream. As soon as we turned the corner off of our street, we looked up at the sky and gave each other looks of dismay. The calm that we were experiencing was only the "eye of the storm", and we both knew it. The color of the sky was exactly that which I had seen growing up on the East Coast; a threatening green. The clouds were still a slight distance away, and we had promised the kids ice cream, so we picked up the pace and trotted to the cafe. They, too, recognized the looming storm and a hectic feeling filled the ice cream stand as the workers simultaneously filled our orders and closed up shop. Maren, waiting outside with Miri in the stroller, had a look of panic on her face when I came back out. The winds had picked up drastically, and the clouds were now storming down on us, pun intended :P "We have to hurry!", she shouted, as I handed out the ice cream and put on my coat. We walked as fast as we could, but it wasn't fast enough. As soon as we got to the main road, the skies opened up. It poured down harder than it had before, and with a startled scream, Maren started jogging ahead with the unprotected stroller. I opened up the umbrella, bundled Merit and Marten underneath, and walked outside the umbrella's protection. Because of how panicked Maren looked, the kids started worrying about what was going on, so I slowed down my pace to help calm them. Maren turned around once she was about 20 meters ahead of us to see how we were doing. She and I made eye contact, and we both just lost it. She threw her hands in the air as if to say "I give up" and waited for us to catch up with her. We then all walked at a leisurely pace, and after they finished their ice cream, Merit and Marten ran around in the thundering storm instead staying huddled under the umbrella. We jumped into puddles, danced, and sang the rest of the way home. We then stripped down into our underwear as soon as we reached the front door, wrapped the kids in their bathrobes, and then went to change our clothes. I came into the living room in my PJs, to find Maren already in hers and attempting to hang out wet clothes up to dry. I noticed her shirt was already wet, mentioned it to her, and she said "Yeah, I know. Its because of my bra... I washed my other one yesterday and hung the laundry outside on the clothesline, to dry." We both started laughing all over again at the irony.
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| A beautiful sunset; the result of the terrible storm |
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
My friends say I should act my age... What's my age again?
Thanks to Blink 182 for the title of the blog :P
Today is my 24th birthday! Woo! We're still vacationing on Sylt, but I promise as soon as we're back I'll write an extended blog about everything that has been going on. I just wanted to stop in real quick to talk about my birthday :)
I woke up this morning and Maren and Merit were already up. Merit presented me with a hand-made note and a glass whale that she had picked out from a local art store. At the same store, I had been oogling a scarf that was baby blue silk with black lace hand stitched on it. Little did I know, that Maren went back a couple of days later for my birthday present. I don't remember how much it costs, but it was definitely over €75. It is from a designer out of Paris... Very classy! Marten gave me a kiss for my birthday after he woke up, and then we all spent a couple of hours at the beach. Now we're back home and getting ready to go out for a celebratory dinner!
I hope everyone is doing well, and know that, even though I can't celebrate with you all, I'm still having a great birthday!
Love,
Brittany
Today is my 24th birthday! Woo! We're still vacationing on Sylt, but I promise as soon as we're back I'll write an extended blog about everything that has been going on. I just wanted to stop in real quick to talk about my birthday :)
I woke up this morning and Maren and Merit were already up. Merit presented me with a hand-made note and a glass whale that she had picked out from a local art store. At the same store, I had been oogling a scarf that was baby blue silk with black lace hand stitched on it. Little did I know, that Maren went back a couple of days later for my birthday present. I don't remember how much it costs, but it was definitely over €75. It is from a designer out of Paris... Very classy! Marten gave me a kiss for my birthday after he woke up, and then we all spent a couple of hours at the beach. Now we're back home and getting ready to go out for a celebratory dinner!
I hope everyone is doing well, and know that, even though I can't celebrate with you all, I'm still having a great birthday!
Love,
Brittany
Friday, June 18, 2010
'54, '74, '90, 2006; Ja so stimmen wir alle ein! Mit dem Herz in der Hand und der Leidenschaft im Bein, werden wir Weltmeister sein!
The title of this blog comes from a very popular song about the World Cup... I've heard it so many times it isn't funny... And not just because the World Cup just began. The radio stations play it at least once a day during soccer season here, and it is played at every soccer game. Especially if it is a game that we have won! :) It translates to: '54, '74, '90, 2006 (in 1954, 1974, and 1990, Germany won the World Cup. The song was made in preparations for the 2006 championship, with the hopes that they would win once again); "Yes, we all join in! With heart in hand, and passion in the leg, we'll be the 'World Champions'!" Weltmeister (or World Champion) is what they call the winner of the World Cup. And the entire tournament is called the Weltmeisterschaft (World Championship).
As you all (hopefully) know, the World Cup started on June 11th. So far, I've only missed two games... And only fallen asleep during one! :) Honestly, though, there really is nothing better than a World Cup Nap. The lulling sounds of blow-horns are oddly soothing for me. Maybe because I'm a World Cup Baby :) In the beginning, I was not at all impressed by the competition. Most every team seemed sloppy to me, and I even described the Grecian team as looking like soccer retirees attempting to play against a fresh team. But enough of the shop talk... If you're following the games, you don't need me to update you. And if you aren't following them, it is obviously for a reason :) ... Although, please let me know if you are not watching the World Cup, so I can delete you from my address book.
Yesterday was my mommy's 50th birthday! Yes, 50!! Can you believe it?! Kristina and I sent her some flowers to her office to celebrate with her, since we can't be there in person. Unfortunately, our adventures abroad are poorly lined up, celebration-wise. Joey turned 16 earlier this month, Mom just turned 50, Dad will be turning 50 in September, and PopPops will be celebrating his 80th birthday in October. (October, right?) Tess officially moved away from the teen years with her 20th birthday in April, and Mommy graduated with her Masters of Science just last week. My cousin Megan and my bestie Ashley are both getting married, a close friend of mine bought his first house, and on top of all that I'm missing out on everyone else's birthdays and personal accomplishments. I've got to be honest, sometimes it is hard watching all of this go by... Knowing that if I had stayed, I could be a part of all these essential moments in my family's and friend's lives. But what I am doing here is giving me a lot of amazing experience; both in what it is like to run a household, and in opportunities to travel and do things I normally would not have been able to do. Life is give and take, after all. And while I'm here, I'm taking all that I can!! Which unfortunately means a lot of giving up, as well.
The baby is doing wonderfully. If she is awake during the day, she is almost always calm and peaceful. She only cries when she's pushing one out (if you know what I mean), or dying of hunger. We have her on a pretty normal schedule, so she has been sleeping consistently through the night. Maren puts her to bed between 11 and 12, and she doesn't wake up until 5 or 6, sometimes even 7 in the morning. (I just realized... I have blogged since the baby was born, right? I know I wrote a little note on FaceBook about it... I'm sure I've told all of you guys about it, too... Well, if I didn't, her name is Miriam and she was born on May 24th!) Until this week, I had never seen Michael (the father) hold her. But Maren is finally forcing him to take part, as well, and in the last couple of days he has been officially a part of the Taking Care of Baby Shift. I know he hates it, but he's the dad! He's supposed to take care of the baby! One time, he made a joke when Miriam was crying about how I should do something about it, and I almost said "hey buddy, I didn't get to partake in any of the fun, I'm most certainly not going to take over all the responsibility!" but decide that 1) that would be fairly rude, though funny... and 2) it might have been construed as flirting... And I like to stay far away from anything of that sort. Creepy.
We leave in one week for our vacation, and I'm not sure if I will have much internet availability there... So just a head's up, I might disappear until August. But I'll do my best to hack into the neighbor's internet account, so I don't have to leave you all high and dry :)
Other than World Cup and Baby, I don't have much to update on... I hope everyone is happy and healthy on this gorgeous summer day!! Any exciting summer vacations planned? I know most of the Karmans will be spending their vacation days at Meg's wedding in two weeks... I'm so excited for you all!! Have an amazing time!
As you all (hopefully) know, the World Cup started on June 11th. So far, I've only missed two games... And only fallen asleep during one! :) Honestly, though, there really is nothing better than a World Cup Nap. The lulling sounds of blow-horns are oddly soothing for me. Maybe because I'm a World Cup Baby :) In the beginning, I was not at all impressed by the competition. Most every team seemed sloppy to me, and I even described the Grecian team as looking like soccer retirees attempting to play against a fresh team. But enough of the shop talk... If you're following the games, you don't need me to update you. And if you aren't following them, it is obviously for a reason :) ... Although, please let me know if you are not watching the World Cup, so I can delete you from my address book.
Yesterday was my mommy's 50th birthday! Yes, 50!! Can you believe it?! Kristina and I sent her some flowers to her office to celebrate with her, since we can't be there in person. Unfortunately, our adventures abroad are poorly lined up, celebration-wise. Joey turned 16 earlier this month, Mom just turned 50, Dad will be turning 50 in September, and PopPops will be celebrating his 80th birthday in October. (October, right?) Tess officially moved away from the teen years with her 20th birthday in April, and Mommy graduated with her Masters of Science just last week. My cousin Megan and my bestie Ashley are both getting married, a close friend of mine bought his first house, and on top of all that I'm missing out on everyone else's birthdays and personal accomplishments. I've got to be honest, sometimes it is hard watching all of this go by... Knowing that if I had stayed, I could be a part of all these essential moments in my family's and friend's lives. But what I am doing here is giving me a lot of amazing experience; both in what it is like to run a household, and in opportunities to travel and do things I normally would not have been able to do. Life is give and take, after all. And while I'm here, I'm taking all that I can!! Which unfortunately means a lot of giving up, as well.
The baby is doing wonderfully. If she is awake during the day, she is almost always calm and peaceful. She only cries when she's pushing one out (if you know what I mean), or dying of hunger. We have her on a pretty normal schedule, so she has been sleeping consistently through the night. Maren puts her to bed between 11 and 12, and she doesn't wake up until 5 or 6, sometimes even 7 in the morning. (I just realized... I have blogged since the baby was born, right? I know I wrote a little note on FaceBook about it... I'm sure I've told all of you guys about it, too... Well, if I didn't, her name is Miriam and she was born on May 24th!) Until this week, I had never seen Michael (the father) hold her. But Maren is finally forcing him to take part, as well, and in the last couple of days he has been officially a part of the Taking Care of Baby Shift. I know he hates it, but he's the dad! He's supposed to take care of the baby! One time, he made a joke when Miriam was crying about how I should do something about it, and I almost said "hey buddy, I didn't get to partake in any of the fun, I'm most certainly not going to take over all the responsibility!" but decide that 1) that would be fairly rude, though funny... and 2) it might have been construed as flirting... And I like to stay far away from anything of that sort. Creepy.
We leave in one week for our vacation, and I'm not sure if I will have much internet availability there... So just a head's up, I might disappear until August. But I'll do my best to hack into the neighbor's internet account, so I don't have to leave you all high and dry :)
Other than World Cup and Baby, I don't have much to update on... I hope everyone is happy and healthy on this gorgeous summer day!! Any exciting summer vacations planned? I know most of the Karmans will be spending their vacation days at Meg's wedding in two weeks... I'm so excited for you all!! Have an amazing time!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
With no words at all, so tiny and small...
Last weekend was a holiday in Germany (something to do with religion), so everyone had Sunday and Monday off of work. We decided on Sunday to barbeque with some of our neighbors, but had so much food left over that Maren suggested we should do it again the next day. We all agreed, opened up another bottle of Champagne, and made a menu for tomorrow's barbeque.
The next morning, I heard Michael and Maren in the kitchen at 5 in the morning, and then someone left the house. They weren't having an argument by the sounds of their voices, so I just assumed they were going out to get some fresh breakfast rolls from the bakery before it closed up again for the holiday, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 8 I woke up and went upstairs to find the kids watching TV in the living room and the breakfast table not set. That was kind of weird, because Maren had clearly been awake for hours and the first thing she does in the mornings is set the table, but I went ahead and set everything out for us and then went to go sit with the kids in the living room. After about half an hour, I hadn't seen either Michael or Maren, so I asked Merit where her parents were. Merit said that her mom was in the hospital, but her dad was upstairs sleeping. My goodness, did I feel like the biggest idiot, for not realizing that that was the reason Maren was awake at 5 am. Apparently her water broke around 4am, but she had enough time to shower and finish up packing her emergency bag before leaving for the hospital. Michael stripped her bed, carried her mattress out to the trash, and dropped her off, but came back so he could sleep a little bit longer. He came down for breakfast at 9, and I asked him if he should go alone or if we should all go in together, and he said we should all go together, but suggested driving separately so I could leave with the kids whenever they started getting bored.
So I got the kids and myself ready, we got to the hospital around 10:30 am, and had to wait for awhile before going in to see Maren. Merit and Marten were the first ones in the room, and you could immediately see the concern on the kids faces when they saw their mom. She was breathing heavily, the way you're supposed to, and hooked up to all these machines that measure not only her vitals, but that baby's as well. Marten asked if she was going to die, and Maren laughed and told him that everything was fine and she would be better than ever in a couple of days. The baby's heart rate increased drastically once we arrived, so Maren said we should only stay for a couple of minutes before heading out again. (The kids kept complaining and arguing, so it was only adding stress for her.) So I took the reluctant kids back home, promising them that their mom was going to be ok. Once we got home, I settled down with my book while the kids jumped off the trampoline, and not a half hour later I got a text message from Michael saying that the baby had just been born. Her name is Miriam, and she weighed 3,040 grams upon arrival and was 49 centimeters long. (aka- adorably tiny!!)
Later that day, Maren's parents came over to visit with their daughter and granddaughter, and to take Marten to stay with them for a couple of days. Maren stayed in the hospital until Thursday, but we kept our barbecue date that evening with the neighbors. Everyone joked about how rude it was of Maren to not attend.
Today is Sunday, so they've only been here for 3 days, but it already feels totally natural to have a baby in the house. She's very calm and quiet most of the time, and only starts to whine when she's hungry or has gas. She usually sleeps between 3 and 5 hours at a time, (Maren puts her to bed around 11:30 and usually has to wake her up between 4 and 5 for her next feeding!) and is given lots of love and attention by her big sister, Merit. Marten still hasn't come home yet, so I'm sure the dynamic will change once he is back. He demands a lot of attention himself, since until now he has always been the baby in the family and is used to having at least one adult give it to him. In fact, any time his mom is having a conversation with someone else, he starts saying "Mama!" louder and louder until she actually turns away from the other person and listens to him. So this should be interesting... But I think he'll learn pretty quickly that he can't yell anymore and can't always have attention. Hopefully, anyway :P
(During a Skype session with Tess, Miriam started to cry a lot, so this is me attempting to calm her down. I've decided that Miriam doesn't like her Aunt Tessie very much, because now every time she sees Tess she starts crying...)
The next morning, I heard Michael and Maren in the kitchen at 5 in the morning, and then someone left the house. They weren't having an argument by the sounds of their voices, so I just assumed they were going out to get some fresh breakfast rolls from the bakery before it closed up again for the holiday, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. At 8 I woke up and went upstairs to find the kids watching TV in the living room and the breakfast table not set. That was kind of weird, because Maren had clearly been awake for hours and the first thing she does in the mornings is set the table, but I went ahead and set everything out for us and then went to go sit with the kids in the living room. After about half an hour, I hadn't seen either Michael or Maren, so I asked Merit where her parents were. Merit said that her mom was in the hospital, but her dad was upstairs sleeping. My goodness, did I feel like the biggest idiot, for not realizing that that was the reason Maren was awake at 5 am. Apparently her water broke around 4am, but she had enough time to shower and finish up packing her emergency bag before leaving for the hospital. Michael stripped her bed, carried her mattress out to the trash, and dropped her off, but came back so he could sleep a little bit longer. He came down for breakfast at 9, and I asked him if he should go alone or if we should all go in together, and he said we should all go together, but suggested driving separately so I could leave with the kids whenever they started getting bored.
So I got the kids and myself ready, we got to the hospital around 10:30 am, and had to wait for awhile before going in to see Maren. Merit and Marten were the first ones in the room, and you could immediately see the concern on the kids faces when they saw their mom. She was breathing heavily, the way you're supposed to, and hooked up to all these machines that measure not only her vitals, but that baby's as well. Marten asked if she was going to die, and Maren laughed and told him that everything was fine and she would be better than ever in a couple of days. The baby's heart rate increased drastically once we arrived, so Maren said we should only stay for a couple of minutes before heading out again. (The kids kept complaining and arguing, so it was only adding stress for her.) So I took the reluctant kids back home, promising them that their mom was going to be ok. Once we got home, I settled down with my book while the kids jumped off the trampoline, and not a half hour later I got a text message from Michael saying that the baby had just been born. Her name is Miriam, and she weighed 3,040 grams upon arrival and was 49 centimeters long. (aka- adorably tiny!!)
Later that day, Maren's parents came over to visit with their daughter and granddaughter, and to take Marten to stay with them for a couple of days. Maren stayed in the hospital until Thursday, but we kept our barbecue date that evening with the neighbors. Everyone joked about how rude it was of Maren to not attend.
Today is Sunday, so they've only been here for 3 days, but it already feels totally natural to have a baby in the house. She's very calm and quiet most of the time, and only starts to whine when she's hungry or has gas. She usually sleeps between 3 and 5 hours at a time, (Maren puts her to bed around 11:30 and usually has to wake her up between 4 and 5 for her next feeding!) and is given lots of love and attention by her big sister, Merit. Marten still hasn't come home yet, so I'm sure the dynamic will change once he is back. He demands a lot of attention himself, since until now he has always been the baby in the family and is used to having at least one adult give it to him. In fact, any time his mom is having a conversation with someone else, he starts saying "Mama!" louder and louder until she actually turns away from the other person and listens to him. So this should be interesting... But I think he'll learn pretty quickly that he can't yell anymore and can't always have attention. Hopefully, anyway :P
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
When its Springtime in Alaska, it is 40 below...
Winter is never ending. Seriously. We've had little shimmery moments of hope when the sun peaks through the clouds for an hour or so, but then the next Armageddon-style cloud attacks and we don't see sunlight again for 3 days. I would like some summertime weather, please.
My thoughts are super jumbled right now... Between thinking in a strange German/English combination and constantly writing status updates on Facebook in third person, my head is very confused. Hopefully this blog will be understandable the whole way through, haha!
The due date is May 28th, but we're all hoping the baby will decide to come out sooner. My host mom had a doctor's appointment this morning, and was very disappointed to hear that the big day won't be any time soon. She mentions about three times a day how ready she is to hold her baby (aka- have it OUT!) and I think the hormones are starting to get on my host dad's nerves. Well, all of our nerves, really :P
Because of the upcoming birth and following newborn baby, I don't have anything planned for the next month. I'm hoping to get away for a weekend in June, maybe finally visit either Olli or Kris! But we'll see what happens... Plans don't seem to get carried through very easily here... Especially when Iceland keeps spewing ash all over the place. Yeah, I'm still bitter about that. Oh, it just occured to me that some of you might not know what "that" is reference to! Haha :) Kristina and I had a really wonderful 5 day weekend planned for me to go visit her and meet her family. We had picked the dates carefully, since it was just before the "danger zone" for the pregnancy, where we thought the baby might come at any moment, and it was one of the only convenient weeks for Kristina's family as well. But then the volcano in Iceland exploded all over Europe, grounding air traffic for 4 or 5 days. We thought about rescheduling for the next week, but it never ended up working. Between our nerves about a premature baby and previous plans that Kristina's family had made, it just wasn't going to be possible. So now I have to wait until September or October to go visit her :( And if I end up coming home after my contract, that means I'll only be able to go once! So, let's all take a moment and glare at Iceland together. *GLARES*
I know this topic doesn't interest many of you out there, but it is really the only thing on my mind right now. LOST. Yes, the television series. It is unfortunately coming to an end this season, and things are starting to get intense!! Only two episodes left, I believe, until there shall be no more! Sad day. I don't want to throw any spoilers out there for those who might be a little behind, but I will say this: Jack = Jacob. Confusing, right?! Ok, that's all my TV talk for now :P
I'm switiching back to the baby talk... There are three name options for this little bundle of joy: Miriam, Merle, or Maybrit. Yes, Maybrit is a legitimate German name. Michele looked it up. Haha! If they decide to name her Maybrit, I am going to be a very confused aupair. Not just because it is a hideous name, but also because I'll be thinking they are talking to be every time they say it. Seriously... I was voting for Mena or Mia... Neither of which made the final cut.
We are also looking into buying a bigger house... Moving with this very neurotic mother will be quite the experience. Stay tuned for more updates...
My thoughts are super jumbled right now... Between thinking in a strange German/English combination and constantly writing status updates on Facebook in third person, my head is very confused. Hopefully this blog will be understandable the whole way through, haha!
The due date is May 28th, but we're all hoping the baby will decide to come out sooner. My host mom had a doctor's appointment this morning, and was very disappointed to hear that the big day won't be any time soon. She mentions about three times a day how ready she is to hold her baby (aka- have it OUT!) and I think the hormones are starting to get on my host dad's nerves. Well, all of our nerves, really :P
Because of the upcoming birth and following newborn baby, I don't have anything planned for the next month. I'm hoping to get away for a weekend in June, maybe finally visit either Olli or Kris! But we'll see what happens... Plans don't seem to get carried through very easily here... Especially when Iceland keeps spewing ash all over the place. Yeah, I'm still bitter about that. Oh, it just occured to me that some of you might not know what "that" is reference to! Haha :) Kristina and I had a really wonderful 5 day weekend planned for me to go visit her and meet her family. We had picked the dates carefully, since it was just before the "danger zone" for the pregnancy, where we thought the baby might come at any moment, and it was one of the only convenient weeks for Kristina's family as well. But then the volcano in Iceland exploded all over Europe, grounding air traffic for 4 or 5 days. We thought about rescheduling for the next week, but it never ended up working. Between our nerves about a premature baby and previous plans that Kristina's family had made, it just wasn't going to be possible. So now I have to wait until September or October to go visit her :( And if I end up coming home after my contract, that means I'll only be able to go once! So, let's all take a moment and glare at Iceland together. *GLARES*
I know this topic doesn't interest many of you out there, but it is really the only thing on my mind right now. LOST. Yes, the television series. It is unfortunately coming to an end this season, and things are starting to get intense!! Only two episodes left, I believe, until there shall be no more! Sad day. I don't want to throw any spoilers out there for those who might be a little behind, but I will say this: Jack = Jacob. Confusing, right?! Ok, that's all my TV talk for now :P
I'm switiching back to the baby talk... There are three name options for this little bundle of joy: Miriam, Merle, or Maybrit. Yes, Maybrit is a legitimate German name. Michele looked it up. Haha! If they decide to name her Maybrit, I am going to be a very confused aupair. Not just because it is a hideous name, but also because I'll be thinking they are talking to be every time they say it. Seriously... I was voting for Mena or Mia... Neither of which made the final cut.
We are also looking into buying a bigger house... Moving with this very neurotic mother will be quite the experience. Stay tuned for more updates...
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Deutscher Fußballmeister - FCB!!!
I had an ammmaaaazing trip to Berlin yesterday! My host dad invited me to go to the last game of the German Championship, which was Bayern vs. Berlin. Our tickets were in the Bayern fan section (the part of the stadium where all the loud, obnoxious, and drunk fans act as constant cheerleaders during the entire game). I've been in this section before, and it is a lot of fun because of all the energy that the fans give out. But last time, I dressed completely inappropriately in my ballet flats and a sweatshirt (my feet were soaked with beer by the end of the night, and I was sweating so much I thought I had definitely lost 10 pounds in water weight). So this time I put on my old and dirty tennis shoes and one of my thin and loose H&M t-shirts. Four of Micheal's friends were coming along with us, one of which had a birthday the day before so Micheal invited him to the VIP lounge with him. The two of them were dressed as though they were going to the Opera, and not a soccer game. Haha :)
So we started off leaving at 9 in the morning, with the hopes of doing some sight-seeing before the 3pm game. I got stuck driving, of course, so Micheal and his friends could drink some beers on the way there. Yes, that is legal. I could technically drink too, as the driver, as long as I didn't go over the limit. I didn't, though. Duh. That'd be weird.
So we got to Berlin right at 12, got our parking spot in the VIP section (thanks to Micheal), and went to one of the fan bars near the stadium. As we're sitting there, thousands of Bayern fans dressed in any red shred of clothing they could find (mostly fan scarves and flags wrapped around their bodies) march down the streets of Berlin and head towards the stadium. In an hour I saw more drunk people than I've seen in my entire life. Everyone was shouting and cheering and the top of their lungs, and there were still three hours to go before the game even started! It was awesome. An hour ahead of time, we started walking towards the stadium, and Micheal's friend told me that he wanted me to go to the VIP lounge in his place, since it would probably be my only opportunity to experience it. I was shocked, needless to say, and refused at first, mostly because of my soccer-mom appearance. But he insisted, and so did Micheal, so I took him up on his offer. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was in the VIP lounge in Berlin during the final for the German Championship. It might not sound that amazing to you guys, but it was AMAZING for me.
We got to go through our own little entrance on the side, where there was no half-hour long wait and security didn't even ask to search my purse. It was super cool. So we walk into the lounge, and it is at least 5 stories high. Its like this secret chamber between the regular entry way and the field. I never even knew it existed! Haha! The lighting was very cool... This purple, blue, orange combination at a candlelight setting. Very moody. We walked around for a bit, checking out the buffets of free food waiting for us to consume them, and then found Micheal's friends at an exclusive table near the Player's Lounge... That being the area where the soccer players hang out and eat. I was about 100 feet away from them. *dies*
After the game, we went back to our awesome little cool-persons table. We had another drink, and as I was finishing mine I noticed someone walking towards us. As he got closer, people kept stopping him and asking to take pictures with him... I was staring at him, trying to figure out who he was, but didn't recognize him at all. I'm pretty good at the celebrity game, but the fact that this guy was under my radar bugged me. I kind of shrugged it off, and continued on with my drink, until I realized that he had taken the seat next to me, and was talking to me. Whhhhaaaaat?! Apparently he was friends with one of the other guys at our table. As we're chatting, people keep interrupting us to ask for his picture... WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?! Finally, I gave up and confessed that I had no idea who he was (thank you, wine, for making me an idiot). He kind of laughed, gave me a pat on the back, and told me that he wasn't anyone important. Micheal was sitting on the opposite side of the table, and took a picture of the two of us as this guy was getting up to leave. After he left, I asked Micheal who he was, and apparently he was Germany's champion boxer. I've been trying to google for his name, but I'll have to ask Micheal again. Hahaha!
(UPDATE! I remembered the name "Abraham" and googled that... And found him! Arthur Abraham... Ring a bell for any of you boxing fans out there? I still have no idea who he is... Hahaha! Here's his wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Abraham)
After that, we left and met up with the other people in our group (the guy who was supposed to be in the VIP lounge ended up in the fan pit, and looked like a total mess. *guilty*) and drove back to Northeim. It was an aaaaaammmmmaaaaaazing day!!! I kept a lot of things from the VIP lounge that I probably wasn't supposed to, and Micheal bought be a little flag with original signatures from all of the Berlin team.
Throughout the entire evening, I couldn't help but remember all the catering jobs I did working events just like that one. I'd watch the waitresses and busboys chatting politely with patrons, while holding heavy trays of dishs, and then turn and disappear through the kitchen doors. And I knew as soon as they passed through those doors, they'd start cussing and complaining about the idiot who was making them stand there while dying under the weight of the tray. I know, because I've been there. For five years I was on that side of the kitchen... And I almost prefer it. Sure, it was fun to be one of the elite, but it simply isn't where I belong. Not right now, anyway. And especially not while I was looking in a scrub in my tennis and t-shirt. It was an amazing evening, and it won't be one I forget soon. Such a memory!!! :) But for now, I'll stick with being the waitress and not the waited upon.
So we started off leaving at 9 in the morning, with the hopes of doing some sight-seeing before the 3pm game. I got stuck driving, of course, so Micheal and his friends could drink some beers on the way there. Yes, that is legal. I could technically drink too, as the driver, as long as I didn't go over the limit. I didn't, though. Duh. That'd be weird.
So we got to Berlin right at 12, got our parking spot in the VIP section (thanks to Micheal), and went to one of the fan bars near the stadium. As we're sitting there, thousands of Bayern fans dressed in any red shred of clothing they could find (mostly fan scarves and flags wrapped around their bodies) march down the streets of Berlin and head towards the stadium. In an hour I saw more drunk people than I've seen in my entire life. Everyone was shouting and cheering and the top of their lungs, and there were still three hours to go before the game even started! It was awesome. An hour ahead of time, we started walking towards the stadium, and Micheal's friend told me that he wanted me to go to the VIP lounge in his place, since it would probably be my only opportunity to experience it. I was shocked, needless to say, and refused at first, mostly because of my soccer-mom appearance. But he insisted, and so did Micheal, so I took him up on his offer. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was in the VIP lounge in Berlin during the final for the German Championship. It might not sound that amazing to you guys, but it was AMAZING for me.
We got to go through our own little entrance on the side, where there was no half-hour long wait and security didn't even ask to search my purse. It was super cool. So we walk into the lounge, and it is at least 5 stories high. Its like this secret chamber between the regular entry way and the field. I never even knew it existed! Haha! The lighting was very cool... This purple, blue, orange combination at a candlelight setting. Very moody. We walked around for a bit, checking out the buffets of free food waiting for us to consume them, and then found Micheal's friends at an exclusive table near the Player's Lounge... That being the area where the soccer players hang out and eat. I was about 100 feet away from them. *dies*
After a couple glasses of beer (or wine, for me) we decided to move on out to the field. We had an amazing view. I was so close to the field, it was incredible! And of course the game was fabulous... Bayern won 3:1. The first goal took me by surprise, and I didn't even get a chance to take out my camera before Olic had scored. For the second goal, I had my camera already in place and got a shot just as the ball was passing the goalie. (see picture below) It was amazing. Their third goal happened just after Klose had taken the field, so I was anticipating it. I had my camera in my hands, aimed at the goal, but when it actually happened jumped out of my chair, threw my hands in the air, and screamed and cheered until I realized that my camera had been flung out of my hands and landed a couple of chairs to my right. (Daddy, ignore that last sentence. Of course I'm taking impeccable care of your very lovely camera!) The guy who handed it back to me was a very unhappy Berlin fan, but he managed to give me an ironic smile in return for my apologetic one.
After the game, we went back to our awesome little cool-persons table. We had another drink, and as I was finishing mine I noticed someone walking towards us. As he got closer, people kept stopping him and asking to take pictures with him... I was staring at him, trying to figure out who he was, but didn't recognize him at all. I'm pretty good at the celebrity game, but the fact that this guy was under my radar bugged me. I kind of shrugged it off, and continued on with my drink, until I realized that he had taken the seat next to me, and was talking to me. Whhhhaaaaat?! Apparently he was friends with one of the other guys at our table. As we're chatting, people keep interrupting us to ask for his picture... WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY?! Finally, I gave up and confessed that I had no idea who he was (thank you, wine, for making me an idiot). He kind of laughed, gave me a pat on the back, and told me that he wasn't anyone important. Micheal was sitting on the opposite side of the table, and took a picture of the two of us as this guy was getting up to leave. After he left, I asked Micheal who he was, and apparently he was Germany's champion boxer. I've been trying to google for his name, but I'll have to ask Micheal again. Hahaha!
(UPDATE! I remembered the name "Abraham" and googled that... And found him! Arthur Abraham... Ring a bell for any of you boxing fans out there? I still have no idea who he is... Hahaha! Here's his wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Abraham)
After that, we left and met up with the other people in our group (the guy who was supposed to be in the VIP lounge ended up in the fan pit, and looked like a total mess. *guilty*) and drove back to Northeim. It was an aaaaaammmmmaaaaaazing day!!! I kept a lot of things from the VIP lounge that I probably wasn't supposed to, and Micheal bought be a little flag with original signatures from all of the Berlin team.
Throughout the entire evening, I couldn't help but remember all the catering jobs I did working events just like that one. I'd watch the waitresses and busboys chatting politely with patrons, while holding heavy trays of dishs, and then turn and disappear through the kitchen doors. And I knew as soon as they passed through those doors, they'd start cussing and complaining about the idiot who was making them stand there while dying under the weight of the tray. I know, because I've been there. For five years I was on that side of the kitchen... And I almost prefer it. Sure, it was fun to be one of the elite, but it simply isn't where I belong. Not right now, anyway. And especially not while I was looking in a scrub in my tennis and t-shirt. It was an amazing evening, and it won't be one I forget soon. Such a memory!!! :) But for now, I'll stick with being the waitress and not the waited upon.
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