Grocery Shopping

Just wanted to give you a glimpse of what shopping is like for us. I pick up things just about everyday but when we have access to a car we load up at one of the big supermarkets outside of the city. Here is us loading all of our groceries in our tiny elevator!

River Walk

Last weekend we checked out the flee market along the river - not much to speak of but we had some fun with Max.

Circus

This is going back a bit but here is a video form our trip to the Circus with cousin Ole, aunt Sabine and Oma Daggie near Hamburg.

Misc Pics

Here are a few pics for you. My new hair cut with "monk" bangs, Max's new night light, and Max's daily get up for going to school!

Back in Business & Race Car

It has been a while since I posted. Max and I both came down with Strep Throat 2 weeks ago. He never seemed to feel bad but I have been pretty under the weather for 2 weeks. Yesterday was the first day I started to feel a bit better. Hoping to shake this thing soon because I need my energy back!

Max's week at school went really well. He is now going full time until 2pm. One of his classmates had a birthday and Max was so excited about having cake and singing. When we talk about birthdays back home he get really sad because he wants to go to the parties. His class took a field trip to a natural history museum last week and he loved it. They had a frog exhibit which was a big hit. This Tues his class is going to a wildpark (natural setting zoo). Max is super excited especially since we need to get him a back pack to carry his lunch in.

We met 2 families at school who speak English and ran into one of them on a playground after school one day. We ended up playing with them, going for ice cream and then they came over for some late afternoon play. Max was trilled to have kids in the house. We are trying to set up a weekly playtime just like in ATL with the kids. Our first one is this wed!

We had a major success this week. Max is finally sleeping on his own again! Ever since we had to sleep together during the packing up of the house he has wanted one of us to sleep with him. We told him if he slept for a week by himself then he would get a special game he has wanted. We went and got it yesterday. Needless to say we have been playing it non stop.

I did go and take my German placement test and got placed in the 3rd class - scares me a bit but hopefully it isn't too advanced. They said I spoke pretty well but my grammar was terrible and I have a limited vocabulary. I start morning classes 3 times a week in mid May.

Max has been testing me like crazy - laying down in stores and refusing to move. I had to drag him home kicking and screaming (a 10 min walk). I am sure we are now famous in Mainz. We had several incidents like that last week so I was pretty burnt out by Thurs last week. We took the bus to the pool Thur afternoon and yet again i got yelled at. This time by the driver who screamed something at me when I tried to pay while he was driving (interesting since every other time I have paid while the bus was moving and the last time I waited a sec I got a talking to by a secret bus controller man who wanted to fine me for not paying). It was the straw that broke the sick and tired momma's back. SO momma had a breakdown on the bus (even more famous now in Mainz). It was very cathartic and I felt much batter afterward!

Our car is still being modified to fit German regulations. We hope to get it this week and then start exploring more on the weekends.

Stephan heard he was going to be assigned as a project manager on a project in Macedonia which would mean 2 weeks away at a time. This made my heart stop but it looks like they have found someone else for the position. So Stephan should just be doing his regular weekly travel to various places in Eastern Europe.

Max got a little book about soapbox race cars from his Oma Stella. We got it out yesterday and made his own version of a race car. Check out the video. He looked in the book and gave me directions on what to draw. Then he went and got his bike helmet and scarf so he would look like the drivers in the book. Too cute.

We have a car, sort of!

Stephan and his dad spent most of Friday dealing with various German authorities to get our car from customs - proof of insurance, tags, this letter and that. In the end the customs people didn't believe Stephan had actually lived in the States. All of our documents just proved we owned property and paid things here not necessarily that we lived here. Customs let us drive the car from Hamburg back to Mainz and gave us 5 days to get ti straight with customs here in Mainz. Luckily, our awesome friend Carla happens to be a council woman in Atlanta. She wrote us a quick letter over the weekend confirming that she personally knew we lived here. Stephan took it in first thing on Monday and was in and out in less than an hour. Yea, success! Well that is just the first part. Now we have to take the car to another German government entity to have them tell us what needs to be change don the car to make it conform to German standards (could be lights, blinkers, emissions stuff, get the work done and them apply for regular tags. Stephan has tracked down a company that helps people through the process and is taking the car to them tonight so who know how many more weeks it will be until we can actually drive the car!

We had a great weekend with Stephan's family in Hamburg. While Stephan and his dad were dealing with the Car we went with Oma Daggie, Stephan's sister Sabine and her eldest, Ole to a really neat family circus. Max was afraid at first but once I wrapped his head with his scarf so it wouldn't be too loud he agreed to go in. Luckily it was nothing like the super loud circus we went to in the States. This one was just one ring in a little tent. They had lots of animals (tiger, elephant, hippo, rhino, horses...) and some acrobats. Just right for a 3 and 4 year old. We got to visit with Stephan's Mom and step dad too for some great lunches/dinner. They gave Max a shirt that says in German "if momma and papa say no, ask grandma and grandpa". Max loved the shirt and immediately understood the meaning. We took a trip to an indoor play ground on Sunday with Patci, Martin and Martin's daughter Antonia. Ole had an ear infection so had to stay home. The kids had a super time but never played in the same spot. The only time we got them together was jsut before we left when they sat down for an ice cream!

Max has his first full day at school by himself tomorrow. They are going on a field trip to a natural history museum a block from school with a frog exhibit. He is excited about the trip so hopefully all will go well. He was there on his own until 12:30 today so waiting till 2 shouldn't be too much more.

I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon to test a language placement test so I can start taking German classes in mid April. With my status as a wife of a German citizen I can actually work here and get to take subsidized German classes. We went for our Green Card type interview on Monday so they could determine if I was really Stephan's wife. it was much easier than the one we had to do in the States for Stephan to get his green card. While we were there we were able to pick of Max's new German Passport! We have to check the details but he should be able to keep both the US and the German passports until he is 18 and then he needs to decide which country he will use going forward.

Stephan and I both got hair cuts this week. I made appointments for us both at one place but when Stephan came back Monday night with spiked hair I decided to check out another place that is in our building just below us. Luckily they had a cancellation and they let me bring Max along who was a saint! So now I have a short bob with a set of tiny bangs (less than 1/4 inch) under my longer bangs. It is hard to describe. I'll have to get Stephan to take a pic. i am still getting used to it. The little bangs remind me of a monks haircut but they are not that obvious form a far.

We got to do our first video Skype with my parents today. Max loved seeing Mama and Opa Bobbob on the computer. Unfortunately they couldn't see us for some reaosn so we'll have to work on that!

Well if it 6 pm and Max is still asleep from his 3 pm nap so I got to go and wake him up or we'll be up all night. More videos soon...

Our week

We had a lazy weekend since the weather has been rainy for days. We did go out for a traditional dinner at a brewery. On the way there we found some great places for Max to test out his bike - a cool curvy playground and a street ramp which scared Momma to death. In the brewery there was a group of guys on a bachelor party. In the video you can see a really tall tube which is filled with beer. They bring this to your table and you can serve yourself! After our dinner we came home and built our first fire since it was cold and rainy outside. Unfortunately we could not get the smoke to go up the chimney. We tried everything and ended up totally smoking up the house. Day later everything still smells like a campfire. We called the landlord on Sunday to figure out what was wrong and found out there is an exhaust fan for the chimney that has to be turned on so we made another fire and turned on the exhaust. unfortunately this time the exhaust didn't work. So we smoked up the place again. After checking breakers and getting into the wall where the exhaust switch is Stephan finally got it working and we enjoyed our first fire without smoke billowing into the room and burning our eyes!

Stephan's birthday was yesterday. He is traveling for work so we had a little celebration on Monday night before he left. I had planned on hidng a few gifts in his suitcase but Max told him that we had presents in his suitcase so we just opened them early.

Max stayed at school for 3 hours on his own yesterday and ate lunch with the kids. He said he didn't want to stay for lunch but when I got there he was happily eating his chicken nuggets and potato smiley faces. It was a good day for him to stay. Today they are having cauliflower soup. We'll see how that goes over!

I took the time to do a little shopping - it goes so much faster alone! I also finally set up hair appts for Stephan and myself. Stephan goes on Monday and I go on Weds so if Stephan's is terrible then I can cancel! I basically have just been looking at salons as I walk around town and seeing who is in there getting their hair cut. The place I picked looked kind of modern and had relatively young clients in there. So no real basis for the choice but it is all I have to go on.

Our car has arrived in Hamburg! Stephan is traveling this week so he will fly into Hamburg on Thurs evening. Max and I are going to make a big (6 hour)train adventure and arrive there Thurs afternoon. Stephan's dad is going to pick us up and then go get Stephan. On Friday Stephan and his dad are going to get the car (we are not really sure what all that involves) while Max, Oma Dagmar and I join Stephan's sister Sabine and her 2 boys at a circus! Sounds like we got the better end of that deal. Then we'll visit with Stephan's mom and on Sunday we will go with the cousins again to an indoor playground - probably something like the Jumping Bean. So we have a really great weekend planned and are really excited.

On another note, Max has started sleeping with the lights on so I bought a super cool night light for him and we tried it out last night. It is a little orange man. Will post a pic soon.

Grant Park Album

Here is a quick video of Max enjoying the photo album his Grant Park friend put together as a going away present. He has looked it often and loves to tell stores about many of the pictures!

Last Weekend

I am catching up on post since Max is sleeping late today. Last weekend we went to visit a friend of Stephan's from college

School, Travel and Cupella

Max spent his first hour at school without me yesterday. I stayed for the first hour and then left for an hour to go to the grocery store. I thin it went great. They brought him to the window so he could wave goodbye and then he checked out some puzzles. When I got back they were in a circle singing a song about a penguin. He seemed totally fine but when the song was over and we needed to get ready to go home he had a total breakdown about putting his boots on to go home. I tired several times to get him to put them on and then just put him in my lap to put them on myself only to get a strong slap in the face. So he got popped and set in time out until he would put his shoes on. This took several time outs and he cried all the way home about wanting to leave a ball he brought to school at school. Kids are only allowed to bring a toy from home on Thurs so we couldn't leave. Needless to say it was kind of a rough day but he slept for 3 hours at nap time so hopefully he was just completely exhausted and we won't see much of that behavior again. We go again today and I am supposed to try to leave after a few minutes so he'll be on his own for almost 2 hours. Here is a video of his first couple of days. At the end you see them singing the penguin song and you can see how small he is compared to the other kids. The class is mixed with 3-6 year olds so it is very different from his old school where he was one of the oldest and biggest.

We were planning on coming back to the states for 2 weeks around Easter but since Max will probably only have been in school full time a couple of weeks by then we are afraid to take him out for 2 weeks. So we are looking into coming back mid July when he has school break and Stephan can join us. I am pretty bummed we won't get a trip home but am more afraid of having to start all over with the school transition.

I got my first 2 Cupella samples this week and hope to run home today while Max is in school to make detailed notes on revisions since I have a call with the production company this afternoon. I tried doing this yesterday morning but couldn't concentrate with Max begging me to play cars every 2 minutes. In general the sample look pretty good but the support is not there so I feel like I am going back several months in terms of getting fit correct. Hopefully it won't be as much work as I think to get them right. It just seems pretty difficult to do this over the phone instead of doing a live fitting.

First Days of Preschool and Update

Max started preschool this Monday. We have gone from 9-11 each morning and I stayed with him to see how he was going to take to the new environment. Monday we arrived and put our things in their spots and changed into house shoes. All the kids have a cubbie box and a hook with symbols so they know where their stuff is. Max inherited a flower symbol - not sure he was so psyched about that.
The teacher set up cars and a parking garage for Max to play with. It was perfect since that is one of his favorite things. There are 24 kids in his class and it is mixed with kids from 3-6 years old. He did pretty well sharing with the other kids which is amazing since he has had our undivided attention for over a month now. After some play time the kids go in a circle for singing time with the teacher playing guitar. Then we all went outside to play on the playground which was completely crazy at first. All the kids have to put on these plastic overalls that look like fishing waders, rain boots and their coats and hats. They have a few tricycles that all the kids want to ride. Max really wanted to ride but we were one of the last to get out to the playground so everything was taken. Luckily one really nice little boy (Luca) let Max have a test spin. That was the end of our 2 hour visit so we headed home but Max wanted to stay and eat with the other kids (a good sign).

Yesterday Max rode his bike to school and really likes the thought that he can ride to school. The day was similar to Monday with some playtime, music time and then out to the play ground. There are 2 rooms of kids that do things together during the day. Max is kangaroo and the other class is bears. Every morning in the bears classroom they have drinks and cups out and the kids can bring their breakfast with them. When they get hungry they can pick up their lunch box and pour themselves a drink and sit for a bit to eat their breakfast/snack. I brought a snack for Max so he could practice. He liked the fact that he could do it when he wanted. Max got officially introduced to the class during music time and they sang a song where all the kids say their names. The teacher told them that Max speaks English but understands German and if he says something they don't understand then it is probably in English. Then they went around the circle and said what languages they spoke at home. I'd say 90% of the kids speak another language at home. There was Polish, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Gypsy, and several Eastern European languages. So most of them are in the same boat as Max just a little farther along with their German. Then they did a dance song since I had told them about the Cabbagetown "if you name is X get up an dance" song. In this song you get up and dnace like a butterfly until you pick a friend to dance with. Then the 2 dance aorund for a bit and the first person sits down. The second person then becomes the butterfly and picks a friend to dance with. Max loved it and one of the boys picked Max pretty early on so momma didn't have to worry about him being picked last.
After singing they went outside this time just with jackets and tennis shoes since it was nice and sunny and not so muddy.

In the afternoon Max and I had a big adventure. We decided it was time to try to visit Gigi and Greta who just moved to Frankfurt too. Greta was in the class above Max at Cabbagetown. We took the bus to the Mainz train station then caught a train to Frankfurt main train station, Then we got a trolley car to Gigi's house. It wasn't too hard but it did take us 2 hours door to door. Greta lives near the convention hall in Frankfurt and has a really nice walking path just beside her place. We took the kids on the path and stopped at a couple of play grounds. It was awesome to get to chat about how each of us are dealing with the transition and laugh about different things that are making our lives difficult. We coordinated with Stephan for us to be on the same train back to Mainz but when he didn't get in on the first stop I was worried. After a few calls back and forth we realized Max and I were on the wrong train heading in the opposite direction. It was just a 30 min mistake and eventually we did connect with Stephan who got off his train and waited till we came along the tracks to get back on.

I forgot to write about weekend. We had a great trip to visit one of Stephan's college friends (Frank) an hour south of here. Frank and his wife Tina, their 10 year old son, Joey and their 3 month old, Emily live in the countryside so we had a nice walk along the fields with Max and Joey on their bikes. Max loved hanging out with a big boy and I REALLY enjoyed hanging out with some adults. On Sunday we stopped by a little wildpark to check out some animals with Max. They had a nice playground too that we spent some time on. Sunday night we had our first babysitter come over - Pauline from from Melbourne. Max was great and didn't make a peep when we left. He was showing Pauline his photo album that we got as a going away present. Stephan and I went to an awesome Thai restaurant and checked out an Irish pub. It was a little dead being a Sunday night but we enjoyed getting out on our own and are so excited to have found someone Max likes to come over and stay with him.