4 months and still enjoying it

This weekend marked our 4th month of living here. By our lifestyle, we must be adjusting. First, my weekend menu of zwiebelkuchen (onion cakes), Federwiesser (wine), and kurbiscremesuppe (pumpkin soup) was also the menu of many restaurants downtown. We have had our car now for  2 months and have put only 776 miles on it. Eric and I guess about 40% of the miles are from going to church on Sundays. 

Monday afternoon, we attended a puppet show, Der Froschkoenig (The Frog Prince), with Melanie and her girls. The children all sat in the front of the adults as they had little chairs just for them. The girls had a fun outing, even though they did not catch everything the puppets were saying. 

This upcoming weekend we are meeting Eric in Munich for Oktoberfest. Adeline saw the drindl I picked up for her and thought it was the best dress ever. She loves how it has a little apron, just like Cinderella's dress.  Saturday you might be able to catch us on the Oktoberfest webcam. Click for Oktoberfest webcam and information We are looking forward the weekend family adventure that starts Friday with the train ride to Munich.

New Discoveries

An Indian summer week brought new discoveries for the girls. We throughly enjoyed being out  and about in the warm sunshine, but I forgot to take my camera along the way to capture the moments.

Tuesday afternoon, we visited the Lotz family. Philip and Titus were very excited to show Adeline and Emmie Pirate Island. Near their house is a little river with a small island on it. The children had a fun time pretending they were pirates, crossing back and forth on the rock bridge, climbing through the trees, and walking along the shoreline. By the time we left, the bottom of their pants and socks and shoes were soaked.

Wednesday afternoon the girls both had play dates with their friends. They each a had a fun afternoon playing with friends from their school. Adeline taught her friend the American games of , "What Time is it Mr. Fox? and Mother May I". Adeline waved to her teacher who was driving by on a motorcycle when she was coming home from the playground. She found this exciting that her teacher was driving a motorcycle. 

Thursday afternoon, we walked through the fields to the local farm with Melanie and her girls. At the farm, we found fresh  apple cider. They set the cider out in a large plastic container and it is self- serve to fill your own bottles. Luckily, they had 1 liter  bottles for us to fill, so we could get some. The girls are already planning to go back with bigger bottles this weekend for more. On our way home, we watched the tractor collecting the potatoes from the field. Adeline found this neat how the machinery separated the dirt and grass from the potatoes as they went up the conveyer belt. As we continued walking along the fields, the girls discovered the farmer left little potatoes behind, so they each proceeded to gather a handful of baby spuds for us at home.

This week in school was International Walk to School week. It appeared more parents walked this week, but it may have also been due to the nice weather. On Wednesday, Adeline's school hiked up to the forest to visit the wild pigs and deer. The children fed the pigs noodles and enjoyed the warm sunny weather. Adeline is starting to sing the German songs she is learning in school and in turn, Emmie is also picking up on the lyrics.

Emmie is enjoying school even though she got a few bumps and bruises this week from playing on the playground. She makes it a point to say and wave good bye to her girlfriends before she leaves the classroom.

My German class is going good. The teacher also gave us a pop quiz at the end of one class. I did good though as I received a smiley face on my paper.  The interactive conversation is helpful as I now have small conversations with Adeline's friends before school. The girls think this is fun as I will ask them something in German and then inform them what is is called in English. Animals and their corresponding sound seem to bring the most giggles from them as animals even have their own language depending on their country.

Apples and Pumpkins

We spent the weekend gathering apples and enjoying fall flavors. The Indian summer days started cool ( low 40's), but by mid afternoon, when the sun shining bright, it warm and enjoyable.

Emmie gathered apples with her class Friday morning, so the girls made apple crisp for dessert. The aroma from it cooking was a nice welcome home for Eric from work.

Saturday morning at the market, we picked up a pumpkin and Federweisser along with our normal items. Click to read about Federweisser The tasty Federweisser reminded us of the Esslingen Onion Festival and how we had onion cakes with it. Next week, my grocery list will consist of onion cakes, Federweisser, and another pumpkin.

Saturday afternoon, the Lotz family came over. Our two families went for a stroll along the fields at the edge of Hofheim. We picked more apples and then fed some of the apples to the horses on the way back home. We came back to our house for doughnuts, apple pockets, and drinks. Unfortunately, they have only apple orchards and no cider mills for an afternoon outing of sweets to go along with the apple picking.

Saturday evening, I made pumpkin soup for Sunday's dinner. It was a good thing I made a large batch as 1/3 of it ended up all over the kitchen when I was pureeing it in the blender. Everyone else found the the pumpkin explosion in the kitchen to be funny when I screamed as it started exploding out of the blender. I was just happy to have it cleaned up quickly and the pumpkin raviolis did not overcook meanwhile for our current dinner. However, I should have taken a note with the blender incident, as I then burned the pumpkin seeds because I forgot to turn the oven temperature down when I put them in. Adeline did not mind though as she initially questioned why we were having pumpkin seeds even though it was not Halloween.

Sunday afternoon, I took a break from the kitchen and went to a Tupperware Party. I was Melanie's quiet guest as I did not have much to say. I was able to understand about 85% of what the consultant and many of the other attendees were talking about due to my German class and helping Adeline with her schoolwork. Eventually, I will comfortable with the conversation part.

I came home to enjoy the 1st batch of simple Pumpkin soup. Everyone ate a bowl of it, so that is a good sign.  Now I just need to find a few more easy recipes that make it a little more creamy and with a little more flavor for the next batch.

Batteries not required

This week was a week filled with simple and fun extra-circular activities. Adeline is in ballet class on Monday afternoons, so she is enjoying the poses and techniques she is learning. Emmie likes it when she comes home and shows her how to do them.

Tuesday afternoon, the school had a spielmobile (cargo van filled with outdoor toys) come to their playground area. The girls had different  riding toys to try out, plus test their eye hand coordination at tetherball. Adeline did a good job whacking the ball back to her friend on the other side of the pole. Some of the different riding carts had the kids pedaling with their hands, pedaling tricycle style with a rider on the front like a shopping basket, and a round saucer on a scooter for the kids to pull one another on. The most challenging toy was the Pedalo Classic, a balance and coordination trainer.  Click to see image of Pedalo Classic toy Adeline thought it was fun, but it took her a few tries for her to get the hang of it. Emmie had a fun time using her hands to maneuver it around the school yard. The girls also had fun playing Sjoelbak (indoor shuffleboard) and a few other games with wooden pucks and strikers.

Even though it rained early Wednesday morning, we were able to go walking in the  fields on the outside of town with our neighbors in the late afternoon. Judith and Zoe showed us where there are public apple trees, so we could pick some apples for our snack. We also passed an area where they conduct horse lessons, so all of the girls enjoyed watching the horses parade around.

Eric surprised us with an early return home on Thursday as his Paris meeting was rescheduled. I was thankful with his early return home since there was a bomb alert at the Eiffel tower earlier in the week. He did inform me he had some tasty USA food to make up for the tunafish pizza Lufthansa tried to serve him before he landed in Chicago on Monday morning.

In school, Adeline is answering math questions and enjoying the variety of teaching methods presented to her in learning the alphabet and its phonics. Although we do not think US school standards would be okay with having a picture of a filled beer mug on a worksheet, but here bier (beer) rhymes with vier (4), so it goes.

Emmie had a better week this week despite Monday's morning fall into the thistle bush on their return walk from seeing the wild baby pigs and deer. She appears to be Miss Popularity as all of the girls want to help her out and are having fun playing with her.  When we leave class, they all say, "bye-bye". She said this initially to them when  she left class the first three weeks of school, but now she says, "Tschuss".

The stores are starting to advertise and stock the shelves with Christmas treats, chocolates, and drinks. I, along with others, think it is too early to see these treats in the store, since we are just starting to enjoy the pumpkin, squash, and apple flavors of the fall season. 

Girls, Girls, Girls

This weekend started out with us welcoming a new baby girl into our family. Hannah Marie Kammer was born to Katie (Eric's sister) and Carl Kammer on Friday morning. She weighed 8lbs and 11oz and was 20 3/4" inches long. Katie and Hannah skyped with us so we could see her tiny button nose and little toes and wish them all the best. I am happy to report they are home from the hospital and adjusting to having a precious baby in the family.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and enjoying the warm sunny autumn air. Saturday afternoon, our neighbors invited us a to a new local park. We took the girls' bikes with us as they asked us to. As the girls started to ride their bikes, we quickly noticed how they have both hit a growth spurt as the bike seats were too low. With the rain and from us using the trailer and wee-ride on our daytrips, we did not realize how much they have grown since we adjusted the seats in June. The park was great for the kids, as the playground equipment was age appropriate for Adeline, Emmie, and Henrik.

Sunday afternoon, I took my first driving trip to the Frankfurt airport. The time it takes to get the airport is only about 20 minutes via autobahn, but it is getting around the construction at the airport which is the challenge. We successfully dropped Eric off in the departure area amongst the taxis and temporary parked car chaos. I made it out of the airport and back onto the correct highway as the navi guided us home. Eric will be in Chicago to start the week and then mid week he'll fly to Paris before heading back to Hofheim for the weekend. Unfortunately, he will be working the entire time, so this will not be a sight -seeing trip for him in either of the big cities.

As for us girls, this week brings us homework from our classes, playtime with friends, and hopefully some continued sunny weather.

I can't stop the rain

I can't stop the rain showers or the cool temperatures, so we must continue on with our daily tasks and events during the week. One day this week on our morning walk to school, Emmie even commented it was cold out and asked where her mittens where at. We have been experiencing mids 40s at night and high 50s during the day. These temperatures are 10 degrees below the normal temperatures.

On Tuesday, we strolled downtown for Emmie to get a haircut. All was going well until she fell asleep in the chair. With my help of holding her head, the stylist was able to finish cutting her hair. She slept in the stroller on our walk back home and was a cheerful kindergartener when we arrived home.

Henrik's birthday party we were invited to on Wednesday afternoon changed locations from the park to their apartment across the street due to the rain. Henrik and Emmie are in the same kindergarten group, so this also gave me an opportunity to meet some of the other parents in the class. His mom did a great job entertaining the ten 3 year old children she invited with an agenda consisting of sweets and games.

Adeline is doing a good job keeping up with her homework from school. It is tedious since she has 2 or 3 papers everyday. She and I are improving our German conversation skills we talk intermittently in the house.  Her classmate, Clara, is also learning English since she hears everything Adeline is told during class. It appears the 2 of them are forming a nice friendship along with a few other girls in class. This week Adeline translated a simple German sentence to English for me when we were reviewing her reading lesson. Hurray!

This week's mornings have started off rocky for Emmie, but once class is over with, she is happy she attended class. She is very happy to tell me about what her and her friends have done during class time or the snack they have eaten. Even though it is rainy and cold outside, she ate every bite of her chocolate popsicle.

The pasta lady at the market now knows me. It is always a surprise to see what flavorful filling she has created  and I am enjoying sampling all of the fresh ravioli she makes. My favorite to date has been the lemon and thyme flavor in the summer, but now with the fall here, I am looking forward to some pumpkin ones.

The weatherman is predicting sun and warm temperatures for the weekend. I hope he is right.

"P" Weekend

Friday afternoon we walked with Adeline's class and their parents to the Meisterturm in the forest. It was a class social outing before the Parent's meeting in a few days at the school. The parents will apparently vote to elect a few parents to be the communicator between the class parents and the teacher and with any school events that will occur.

Saturday morning, Adeline had her basketball practice. She is enjoying the different games and drills they do throughout the session. Each time she attends, she is getting better dribbling the ball and getting the ball closer to the rim when she shoots it. Even though they lowered the nets, most kids can get the ball to hit the bottom of the net, very few actually make a basket.
 In the afternoon, we visited with some new friends in downtown Hofheim. We had pleasant conversation and just enjoyed sitting downtown in the warm afternoon sun. Adeline and Emmie ended up getting soaked in the fountain, so this canceled our plans to go to the park afterwards, but they had fun wading in the water and playing around the fountain.

Sunday morning started with an American pancake breakfast. We use our Bisquick mix and syrup supply sparingly, so we can enjoy the taste of USA. Eric cooked up the girls some Mickey Mouse faces, so they were delighted when they sat down to eat.

After church, we went to Königstein for a parade. The city was hosting their annual Burgfest (castle festival). The parade theme was of the medieval era which is when the castle was occupied. The girls had a great time watching the parade floats of carriages, wagons, and carts pass by them. They were surprised when we saw two cows pulling one of the floats and found it funny that sheep and chickens were riding on other floats. Adeline and Emmie marveled at the costumes worn by the men, women, and children. Each one pointed out their favorite dress as the different groups passed. The parade appeared to be quick as they were given candy, chocolate, and flowers from the various parade participants as they strolled by us. When the final float with the current crowned princess passed by us, we followed it into town and to the castle. On the castle grounds, the girls played some simple games and listened to one of the past festival princess tell a story. Even though the castle is ruined and there is not much to see of it, it is built on a hill overlooking the Taunus Hills so the view is beautiful.

We wish all of our families with children starting their first day in kindergarten or returning to school good luck, a wonderful 1st day and year to come, plus safe travels to and from school. We hope everyone has a good beginning as they start the new school year and an easy transition from summertime to school days.

Changes in September

This month has already brought about many changes, so every day I just wait to see what new challenge will come about that needs to be addressed or adaption will need to occur for us to keep peace and happiness within our home.

One of the newspapers big articles on September 1st was how Frankfurt had record setting high temperatures in July, and then abnormal rain amounts in August. Normally, the area gets 180mm (7 inches) of rain, but this August brought 250mm (9.8inches) and cool temperatures. The first week of September we have had highs in the mid 60's during the day and in the mid 40s at night. Even Emmie said it was cold one morning walking to school. I hope we have an Indian Summer as most of us are still waiting for the warm sunny days. The news anchors and radio announcers are comically stating it will come in 2013.

This week started Adeline's first week on her daily school schedule. She also changed seats in her classroom as one of the girls asked if she could sit next to her in school. Tuesday, she had her first choir practice. Adeline and Emmie saw each other for the first time when they were both outside at their schools, so they gave each other hugs through the fence. By Thursday morning, the girls were dragging as school begins now at 8am Tuesday-Friday, so it is an adjustment from the 8:45am start time the past 2 weeks.

In the afternoon, Adeline has also tried out two different dance classes from friends' referrals. She was very excited to attend them both. I just need to decide which suits  her better and fits in her schedule. Unfortunately, Emmie is too young for dance classes, even though she wants to participate. She has been pouting and wishing to go to an activity. I inform her when she is four she can start an activity as this seems to be the age when all activities for children begin.

Eric and I  picked up our German driver's licenses. It was a weird feeling handing over the Michigan license to the lady to put in our file as we cannot carry them both. We are here longer than 6 months, so our Michigan license is not valid for our entire stay . The nice thing about this process was we did not have to take any tests to get it and it does not expire.

 My German class started this week. I attend two days a week while the girls are in school. The class is the second level as I was able to test out of the first level. The class started with 3 hausfraus (stay at home women), 3 Russian au-pairs, and myself. Throughout the class, I was able to answer simple questions, read some of the articles, and also get corrected numerous times on my speech. Of course, I cannot roll my r's  like the Germans, just as the Germans have a hard time with ths and ws as in world wide web (www). The teacher and I joke about this now. In the second class there were only four of us who showed up to class.  I had to stay focused with so few of us participating and by the end I was mentally exhausted from this session. Just like Adeline's class, the teacher has sent us home with homework after every meeting. Adeline thinks this is cool that I have homework like her.

At the end of week, Adeline and I have also gotten our hair cut. After having to change the appointment twice due to conflicts, we finally made it into the salon. This came at just the right time as lice has been discovered in Adeline's school this week. Between hand motions and simple directions, I managed to get Adeline's hair cut into a cute bob for her.