AUSFAHRT

Not much to report today...Just had to add this because it cracks up the whole family. The exit signs on the autobahn (picture 2...yeah, not too clear, I was in a moving car okay) say "Ausfahrt" pronounced the way you read it. The kids will be in the car fighting, reading, singing or whatever and all stops to say "AUSFAHRT" as soon as we see an exit sign. Fahrt is also used in about 5 other words Einfahrt, zufahrt...ya see "farts" everywhere here! It's awesome! Gracie has also dubbed the little Euro cars you see everywhere in Italy "chubby cars". So we call those out as we see em too. (Picture one actually means resident parking only.)
Jack went to preview his school yesterday. It was great. The school is like a huge house. Each room is designed for different play or projects. He has a painting room, wood working room, blocks/dinosaurs/truck room, reading room, circle room, and more but I can't remember. The school has about 80 kids but there are only about 10 kids in his class (the crocodiles). His teacher speaks great English, but she will speak German to him. She's great. OHHHH, best part...there is no summer vacation for his school. He gets 2 weeks off in May and then 3 weeks off in Aug/Sept. I wonder if they will take Molly and Gracie too...I'm kidding!
That's all for now...no school tomorrow...teacher planning day, ugggggg

MR. WONDERFUL VISITS!!!

Our first visitor came for the day today. Mr. Wonderful (obviously self-dubbed) visited us for the day. He figured out a way to get over here on the Navy's dime, however the conference he is attending is about 3 hours North of us. So he arrived at 8am and we took the train to Stuttgart for the day.
The kids were excited to see him, but Erika, Liam, Finn and Addy were missed:(
I had to include the picutre of the toilette because it cracks me up....50 cent Euro to pee!!! I vowed I would not use it for our three year stay. Yea, that didn't last. German beer goes right through ya...It was not a pleasant experience. The lady folk need very strong quads.
Notice the picutre of Rook and the girls on the ride...I really don't know who was having more fun!
No idea what is up for next weekend. Michael won't get home from his trip he's going on tomorrow until Sat. Hoping for a ski day??!! I know you are all on the edge of your seat waiting to hear what's next for us..:)

Our first castle

The day started with my need to go to Breuningerland (the mall) so I set out by myself to go shopping...seemed like such an easy task. Well every other German had the same plan. Once I got there they had parking guards at every lot directing traffic. People parked blocks away to try to get into the mall. Worse than Christmas shopping in the states...forget that! I'll go next week, it will be another adventure for the blog.
When I got home Michael had come up with the idea to see our first castle. And so we set out to see Hohenzollern Castle. It was only about 45 minutes away which was great! The castle fell twice to attacks. The castle was first built in 1267, then rebuilt in 1453, and 1867. It is still technically owned by royalty. I thought that was pretty cool. They also do weddings and Baptisms there. Thinking of renewing my vows there, but I'm not sure Michael would show up:)
Our first sight of the castle was so cool I told Michael to pull over so I could take a picture. While I am in awe of the beauty that you will see, taking in the history, comtemplating what has occured over past centuries, I turn to see my husband appreciating another view...hmmm, what's he doing????
You have to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up (15 minutes). We tried our best to make it a game for Jack so we wouldn't have to carry him the whole way up. It was a steep hike, but we made it up.
UNBELIEVABLE!!! It was amazing! We paid to go in for the tour which was all in German, but we picked up on a couple things (plus we got an English pamphlet that followed the tour). You were not allowed to take pictures inside the castle. Germany showed it's love for children again by giving each child a royal cape to wear throughout the tour. So cute! Ohhh we also had to wear these nasty wool slip on slippers over our shoes so you didn't track in dirt...ewwww...One size fits all, you can imagine how well it fit the kids feet.
After the tour we went underground into casemates (like the catacombs in Italy). Where weapons and explosive material were kept. The kids loved this part..
Overall, awesome experience and we look forward to our next castle...
Next up...Rookie comes tomorrow for a couple hours...next week...skiing????? Our stuff that was sent by the movers the day after Thanksgiving that was supposed to be here before Christmas is supposed to be here Sunday...we'll see, they have our skis!!!

Things that wouldn't fly if dad was home...

So here it is...the first trip for Michael. He won't be gone too long and believe me he's not suffering where he is. It seems to me that my kids wait until he's gone to do the craziest stuff. I am trying to talk to my sister on the phone and I hear in the other room Jack's little voice saying, "oh yeah, dad is NOT going to like this". So of course being the attentive mother that I am I go in the other room to find Gracie painting Jack's nails pink with a smirk on her face. Knowing that dad would not approve. So we all agree that yes, dad would not approve.
They go about their day playing and might I add, being VERY GOOD. Hmmmm...so I give them the 30 minute warning for reading time to start. After 30 minutes I head up to the girls room with 2 books to read. I sit on the bed and wait for them to come over and then I see what you are looking at right now. I'll give you one guess who did it, and he was the only one with "tattoos" all over his face...God help him make it to dad's return date!

Strasbourg, France

This weekends adventure was to Strasbourg, France. It was about 1 1/2 hours in the car. Not too bad. We started our adventure by checking into our hotel and using the parking lot there. Parking in the hotel lot was 19 Euro ($28) for the day. We headed to the tram to take it to the town center. Once we got there we found out the machine only takes coins the hard way. We needed 11 Euro and we only had 6 Euro in coins, so Michael had to walk around looking for a place to get change.

The tram was a favorite for the kids. It was interesting being surrounded by French and actually finding almost comfort when you heard German. Not that either of us are anywhere near fluent in German, but German made alot more sense to both of us.

Once we got to the city center the coolest part had to be the cathedral. Breathtaking. We tried to capture the beauty, but pictures didn't come even close to it. Once inside we tried to get a little history lesson on it, but the kids only allowed so much...Here's what we learned in the time alotted by the kids

1. The stain glass windows in the Strasbourg cathedral are some of the oldest in Christianity.


2. The first version of the church was built in 1015.


3. The church stands at 142 meters (at one time was the tallest building in the world)

4. other stuff, but the kids wiped away all recollection when the whining started...

Inside we all lit a candle. Of course a couple for Soxsie and one for our friend Coach Kav who is doing well now we hear. We all also took our "three wishes" for once inside a new church. Michael's still has not come true..you can take that however you want...

We continued to walk around, enjoyed an AMAZING lunch, and did a little shopping. Michael enjoyed a plate of 7 different meats, I had risotto, Jack and Molly had type of flatbread pizza, and Gracie had voll a' vent. Gracie's was the best! It was a puff pastry with chicken, mushrooms and a cream sauce...soooo good.

When we finally got back to the hotel I strongly encourage Michael to get some beers for us down at the lounge and handed him 20 Euro. He came back with 3 Euro and two draft Heinekens!!! 17 Euro for 2 beers!!! Yikes!

While waiting to go down to dinner (the restaurant in the hotel didn't open until 7) some of the most enlightening things happened. It all started with Molly in the bathroom. She screamed and walked out drenched. When we asked her what happened she said, "that low sink in the bathroom had a fast faucet"... we laughed so hard and tried to expain that the fun little sink looking thing is not a sink, it's a bedet. The facial expressions were priceless when we tried to explain how some people use them. Molly stripped her clothes off faster than I have every seen anyone change.

Next up...Jack. While back at the restaurant for lunch Michael took him into the bathroom. When they came back neither of them said anything. So back at the hotel Michael told Jack to tell me what was coming out of the dispenser in the bathroom. So my innocent sweet little boy while jumping on the bed smiling deadpans me and says, "shit tickets". The toilet paper at the restaurant was like a single sheet dispenser and Jack asked Michael in the bathroom what that was and my mature husband tells him, shit tickets...yea that's gonna come back and bite us in the ass.

We enjoyed a great dinner at the hotel and then all 5 of us turned in for the night. The Murnanes are cheap so we got one room with one king size bed. Yea, not alot of sleep, 1 bloody nose from a kick from a sibling and lots of whining. I suggest bringing sleeping bags or splurge for another room.

Got up and tried to go into Le Petite France, but it was raining and everything was closed (Sunday), so home we came...

Next weekend...Rookie possibly comes for a visit!!!

Saturday morning waffles

So all we are trying to do is make some waffles...is that too much to ask? Here is the transformer neede to make waffles. We use a similar one for the DVD/VCR player and used to use one like this for my long lost friend the treadmill. The thing may not look like much, but it weighs about 25 pounds. Oh this is also the one I have to use for the vacuum (getting a good workout carrying it around!)

Morning adventures of daddy and his girls...

So every morning now Michael has been driving the girls into school. There are 4 different bases here and Michael and the girls both go to work/school on the same base and they both have to be there around the same time. Since the bus comes to pick up kids at 6:55 we decided this would be better.

Each morning Michael and the girls pile into "the green machine" (Michael's 20 year old BMW that he bought here...it's a peach let me tell ya) and they are off. The girls are already familiar of the stau (traffic jams) every morning and know they need to leave by a certain time to avoid them.

Michael has been walking the girls into school each morning just because they are new. The second day Michael walked Gracie to her line he was given directions. He tends to call both girls baby (of course as a term of endearment)..and so you know where this is going. Gracie told him not to call her that and there would be no kisses, just hugs, because "it's embarassing"...keep in mind she's 6!! Molly would hold hands, let you carry her whatever she doesn't care.

So this morning Michael walked the girls in and accidentally said to Gracie, "Have a good day babe". Technically this is not "baby", but she did not like it. She turned, growled at him and walked on without a wave or a goodbye. For some reason I dont' think I have to worry about that one and dating someday...

On another note, Jack and I went to Breuningerland today. It's the mall. First of all there is more food there than clothes. There were probably 10 bakeries at least and even more restaurants. But the best part and the thing that will save many German marriages...right in the middle of the mall pretty much throughout the mall there are dining areas that have servers who yes...serve beer. All day. Business people in their work clothes hanging out haviin a beer at noon! It was great! I did not have a beer, but I'm sure if I ever drag Michael there that will save our marriage as well as enhance our shopping experience...

Off to walk into town to pick up the girls from their hour long bus ride home!!! Starting German lessons March 1, we'll see if the instructor is up to the challenge!

What I've learned this week...

1. Do NOT talk on the phone, eat, drink, chew gum or even think about anything else while trying to plug in your treadmill. I plugged it in directly to the wall instead of a transformer and without even turning it on...GONE...Damn! BIG spark, a good friend gone :(

2. Do not expect plows to come to neighborhood streets. People are anal about shoveling their sidewalks, but the roads are crap. Yesterday I got so tired of our street I started to shovel it myself.

3. Always drive with a GPS. Missed the exit to the base and tried to get out of the mess myself. Wasn't pretty...thank goodness for GPS!!

4. Always allow your child to put on his own shoes to expedite departure. However, keep in mind that he may be leaving your house with one boot and one light up tennis shoe in an effort to look more like a Pirate. (you probably didn't know pirates wear one boot and one shoe did ya?)

5. Don't expect your clothes from the States to fit here. They all tend to shrink as you travel through the time zones. I will however keep them for when I come home in 3 years, I'm sure it works going that way too.

More posts after the weekend...going to Strasbourg France

School for the little one!!

Yippee!!! With much help from my German neighbor (who speaks 6 languages) and three visits to the Rathaus (town hall), Jack will be starting German kindergarten (preschool) in town on Feb. 1st. He will be going everyday from 8 to 1. It starts at 7am, but mama doesn't do mornings that early!!
It's interesting because I have no idea what we will pay. Tuition is based on how many kids you have. Here's the sticky part...the more kids you have the more money you get from the state. Yes, that's right, Germany will pay you to have more kids! There is a bit of a concern of the low number of kids in the country (due to how expensive everything is, people can afford one maybe two kids) so they are trying a financial incentive. Most people use the money to help pay for school. Because we don't get that money, I have no idea what we will be paying...
Jack says about three words in German as of today. The lady at the Rathaus asked him in German if he spoke any German and he just looked at her. I have no idea if any of the teachers speak English, but we'll find out soon. If someday Jack needs therapy, I'm sure we will be able to pinpoint when his "issues" started..."my mom stuck me in a school with a bunch of people who didn't understand a word I said at age 4".
My newest adventure is trying to find out how to work the damn dishwasher...it's all in German! eeekkkk!

Black Forest

OK...weekend number three..
This weekend Michael and I decided to take the kids sledding at the Black Forest. There is about 5 inches of snow here in Nufringen which is considered alot for this area. There are no snow plows on the residential streets, so it's fun to try to get out. The Germans are amazing at salting the autobahn, but that's about it. No help in the neighborhoods.
So we decided to try something without really knowing what we were doing. Looked up an address punched it into the GPS and set out. The drive there was amazing. I don't even know how to explain what we saw. We drove into a valley and the roads would switch back 180 degrees 10 times within 2 miles. It was beautiful. Jack and the girls were freaked out because there were times you would look out your window and it was a drastic drop straight down. Freaked me out too!
So we finally get to where we are going (with no sleds, because the idiot movers sent our boogie boards for the beach instead of our sleds...idiots..another story for another time. won't get much use out of the boogie boards). so we get there and i have to pee so bad. Now i swear to you, Germans almost encourage public peeing. you either have to pay to use a bathroom or pee outside. And so i found friendly tree and did the business, 5 minutes later, Molly was there, then Jack. Whew...
Then it was time to find a sled. Michael set off to find out how/where to get one and no one knew anything. Ended up going into town to a rental shop to get three sleds (thank goodness).
The hill was small that had a small ski slope and sledding. Sledding was free, not sure about the skiing. It was in the middle of a residential area, cute little find. The kids had a blast. Michael is convinced that Jack is going to be into luge someday, cause that kid laid on his sled everytime and it was never fast enough...should have put a helmet on that kid...
Love you and miss you all...France is next weekend we think...
Sage

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Rothenburg

Hey everyone...went on the first real family excursion today. Drove to Rothenburg (about 2 hours away, unless you are driving with Michael on the Autobahn, then it's 1 hour and 40 minutes)
It's a walled in city that dates back to 930...Amazing and beautiful.
Molly and Gracie tried pfannkuchen for lunch. It's a german pancake, but not really a pancake. Molly liked hers with ketchup and Gracie liked hers with Nutella (chocolate). Michael and I had pfannkuchen too, but mine with spinach and his with all sorts of meat. So good!
Tried to go to the Crime museum (museum with all sorts of devices used for punishment back in the day...aka torture). We got to it at 3:45 and it closed at 4 so we couldn't get in. the kids were bummed but we got pics outside..we will go back, kids loved it!
Love you all...Sage and company
Oh forgot the best part...got all the way to Rothenburg and realized Jack didn't bring his coat...hmmm it's 23 degrees. So I took off my sweater and belted it around him...worked just fine!

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