Spoiled Children

Today, for lunch, I served Thomas and Toby leftover mac-n-cheese from yesterday. Thomas declared that, "I don't like this mac-n-cheese today, it doesn't taste so good." To which I replied, "Well, that's probably because it's leftover from yesterday." To which Thomas replied, "What's 'leftover?'"

Until later,

Emily

All Thomas Wants for Christmas...

May 22, 2009




May 25, 2009




Until later,

Emily

A New Family Pic

June 27, 2009

Schloss Linderhof
(Linderhof Palace)

Located in the Bavarian Alps.

Ice Age III

Today, I decided to take both of the boys to see Ice Age III. I was taking Thomas to see kid movies at the theater much earlier than 2 1/2 but we all know Toby is not Thomas. However, they were showing it at 4:00 PM, so I thought we'd give it a try. Since I was going alone, I knew buying the popcorn and drinks and keeping track of Toby was going to be tricky. So, I threw on his little monkey back-pack, which is actually a harness and leash for kids but looks much cuter, and I managed.

Once the movie started, the boys seemed to be happy with their drinks and popcorn and I thought, "Well, Toby's doing better then I expected." Until about half way through when he got a little antsy. Luckily, we had about 20 empty seats all around us and he still had his monkey on his back. So, I allowed him to wander around the length of the tail. He'd wander around a bit, then would come back to his seat.

So, would I do it again? Probably, if it was a definite kids show and probably if it was showing at 4:00 PM. I think the 7:00 show was probably more crowded and because of bed time, things could get even more interesting if he started to get cranky.

Until later,

Emily

We Officially Have One Year to Go!

July 9, 2010 we will be boarding a jet plane back to the United States.  That's right exactly one year from today.  Now, I  REALLY don't know the exact date that we will leave...but it will be right around there.  I can't describe it accurately but oh, what a relief today when I realized that today was July 9th.  It was hard last summer when we made the decision to extend an extra year, it was almost like that first year counted for nothing and we had to start the clock over.  But of course, it wasn't for nothing and I hope one day it will pay off for James' career (because it surely hasn't paid off in the short-term, it's actually hindered his career--but that's a whole other story!).  

So, for the next year, we will focus on the traveling that we can get in and all of the "lasts" that we will do.  Our last Fall driving along 455 (the most beautiful leaves I have ever seen), our last Lamplighter Fair, our last Christmas markets, our last spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks, etc.  I know it will go by fast and I will probably be sad when it is time to leave.  But more sad to leave friends behind and sad that we didn't get to do "more".  I have grown to really love the neighborhood we live in, it will be hard to leave Thomas' school and it will be hard to say goodbye to the extra money that this assignment gives James.  And none of us are looking forward to James' DC commuting again, although his commute isn't that great here either, but at least he gets to go at a decent speed and not barely moving along the spur and up 270.  But, beyond that...I think we will all be ready to leave here next summer and move onto the next chapter in our lives.

Until later,

Emily

Way Too Hot!

We arrived back in our part of Germany on Wednesday night.  More about that later. Apparently, the "heat wave" struck a few days ago.  I have always considered myself to be a summer girl, I love the sun, I love getting a tan...but I do not like being in a hot house.  In Germany, *most* homes do not have A/C...some businesses do, some stores do, but many do not. We open the windows, turn on the fans and we even have 2 portable A/C units but they don't do much more than take the temps down a few degrees in the rooms they are in.  I haven't been able to sleep for the past two nights.  Although it's not because I'm hot because one of the A/C units is in my bedroom--the hottest room in the entire house.

The first night we got back, Toby slept the night in his room but Thomas joined us in our room shortly after midnight.  Tonight, Thomas couldn't fall asleep in his room because it was just too hot.  Again, Toby fell asleep in his room, but I was surprised to walk into my room and find Thomas on the floor in a slumber bag and Toby sleeping in the pack-n-play.  Apparently, James decided it's just entirely too hot for any family member to sleep in this heat so everyone is fast asleep in my bedroom--except me--not quite sure what my problem is but I can't sleep.  And it's not like I'm stressing out over something yet my body says it is...I hope it's just the heat making me a little nutty.  

This is my first whole summer here in Germany (and MY LAST--I'm getting so giddy, it's kind of funny--I think I am getting that first glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel), last summer, I spent 2 months in Utah, came back to Germany and we were wearing jackets within a week.  I ran into a friend today at the commissary and she said it's usually like this for 2-3 weeks.  I'm going to try to find a wading pool for the kiddos today. Although the 5-day forcast does show slight cooling and quite a bit of rain...I can't believe I'm looking forward to rain but I am...

And all of this does make me realize how hard it's going to be stepping off that plane next July in Washington DC...(but here I go again...getting excited!)

Until later,

Emily