Bandit

The short story is we went for a drive on a very chilly and sunny Saturday and came home with a dog.

Below is the long version.

Eric and I have been discussing the idea of getting another dog, a Labradoodle, after our summer trip to the US. Initially, we thought it would be great if we could pick out a puppy while we were in the US and bring it back with us on the plane. After speaking with a few Michigan breeders, most summer puppies would not be able to go home till September. This would be too late for the puppy to come back with us and I did not want to put a puppy in the cargo area. When we found this out, we started looking into our options of obtaining a dog here.

While searching for breeders in continental Europe, we discovered the Labradoodle is not a common breed here and the wait list can be up to two years for a specific type. Our other option was to find a breeder in the UK as they are more common there; however, we would have to find the travel time to pick up the dog and bring the dog back to Germany with the proper paperwork.

Surfing the web earlier in the week, we came across a picture of two apricot 16 week old F1 mini-Labradoodle puppies for sale - one resembled a Poodle and the other a Labrador Retriever-  from a breeder within a few hours of us. Eric contacted the breeder to find out more information about the puppies and her future litters. She informed Eric she plans on having a chocolate litter in the late summer as she breeds chocolate labs, sent him her website, and then said the one puppy was spoken for, but the other one was still available. 

Friday morning, the breeder emailed Eric saying the people backed out and both puppies were now available if we were interested. After some discussion and obtaining more information about the puppies, we told her we would come and look as it was a good time for us to become familiar with the feel of this breed's coat because it can vary so much and the potential size.

I immediately called our landlord, Alex, to ask for permission for us to have a dog. I quickly explained the situation and apologized for not asking in person as the circumstances came about quicker than planned, but we wanted his approval if it all worked out and we were to get one of these puppies. He said we could have a dog as long as he could play with it.

It was a cold, but sunny Saturday, so we went for a drive to look at the dogs. We told the girls we were going for a casual drive to get out of the apartment as they asked where we were going. The puppies were older than what we were looking for, so I was not getting my hopes up. I did put a little box with a blanket and the camera in the trunk just in case. When we got closer, we informed them we were just going to look at some dogs and not to get too excited about bringing one home. When we pulled up in the field the breeder asked us to meet her in, he ran to our car. I immediately noticed he was cuter than the picture. When Eric opened the door for Adeline to get out, he tried to jump in the backseat. While we were standing around and talking with the breeder, he came and sat at our feet while the other dogs continued playing around. At that moment, I knew we were not leaving without him. They called him JoJo (YoYo).

She took the dogs back to her house as it was very cold out. Meanwhile, we returned to our car and discussed if he would be coming home with us.  We then asked the girls which puppy they liked if they could pick. Both girls stated the one that looks like a baby Colby. 

We joined her inside to see the dogs again. This is when she shared with us this was the last litter from her older chocolate lab who had great mannerism. The father of the litter, a chocolate mini poodle with apricot around his nose, arrived, so we saw his size and his disposition. She was in no hurry to sell him even though the people who put a deposit on him backed out as she felt he was a good dog for future breeding. After some more conversation and a quick trip to the ATM, the transaction was complete.  Before we left with him, she said her good-byes to her JoJo and sent with us a starter kit containing a leash and collar, and huge bag of dog food.

We were super excited to have him be part of the family and relieved she would care for him during our summer vacation. Our 18 week old 14 lb. puppy settled into the box between the carseats and rested his head on the box's edge as we drove away.

On the way home, we discussed his name. Adeline has several friends named JoJo in her class, so it was not an option for her. Adeline suggested Max, but the Wendel's son has the same name along with some of Emmie's friends. His official name is Jesse James of Funny Paws, so we brainstormed off of this and came to an agreement on Bandit. It fits him perfect as his facial hair characteristics create an outlaw-like mask appearance.

We quickly stopped in the large grocery store to get treats and dog dishes when we got closer to Hofheim. When we were pulling out of the parking lot, I noticed a pet store sign pointing in the direction of the store which was at the end of the road.  I quickly ran into the pet store to find better dog dishes and a few toys. The entire time, Bandit, stayed in his box while the girls petted him.

Meanwhile, Sarah returned my phone call while I was in the pet store. I quickly rambled about how we just acquired a puppy and wondered if she still had her pet cage that she was not using and if we could borrow it. Thankfully she still did have it and would bring it over in the evening since they were planning on joining us for dinner already.

We arrived safely home and the girls took Bandit for his first walk down the street. When they came back, Alex just pulled up, so it gave him the opportunity to meet Bandit along with our other neighbors who were returning home.

In the house, he sniffed around, checking everything out as I quickly picked up stuff off of the floor. The girls offered their furry rug for him to lay on, established his dining area, and Adeline took him out frequently in the backyard.

Sarah and Jorge joined us for dinner and could not believe how calm he was. They were amazed at how quiet he was and that he just laid on the floor while we ate and conversed. After they left, I made room for the cage in our bedroom and prepared his bed with a blanket the breeder gave me.

The girls said good night to Bandit before going to bed and were sad he was not sleeping with them, but we explained why it was better for him to be near us right now. He easily went into the cage and whined a few times when the lights went out, but after a couple of reassurances we were still here, he fell asleep.

Cold start

February has started off cold and the weather man predicts it will only get colder for the next week. We have been hearing about the deep freeze in Eastern Europe and now we are starting to experience it.

Unfortunately, Eric has learned February first will not be his new start date at McKinsey &  Company as his work permit is not ready yet. Two work permits were being processed at the same time for him - one for his current company and one for the new company- in mid January. When his current firm called to cancel their permit because he gave his resignation notice, both permits were stopped. After a few phone calls, the new company's work permit for him was put back into the system again. This process normally takes about two weeks, so the relocation company has been informing Eric it should be here any day as the status states it is being worked on. We are praying it arrives sooner than later.

Thursday morning, I cashed in my Groupon gift to escape from the stress and craziness from the past few weeks. My hair and make-up were professionally done for a studio photo shoot. The large loft was sectioned into various areas with different themes at each location. Although there are few more wrinkles in these photos than my senior high school pictures, I had a fun time and felt reenergized after the experience.

Friday morning, we picked up an Audi A4 to test drive. The wagon was nice and gave us more luggage room, but it did not fit as well in our garage parking spot. Plus when the girls sat in the backseat, they did not have as much room for their legs like in the SUVs. Driving around in it,  just helped us to eliminate one of our options. 

Emmie brought home a note stating the Kindergarten would be reinstating the classroom Fasching parties in a few weeks. Each class would celebrate on a different day and two of the days two classrooms will be partying. We are unsure how a weeks worth of partying throughout the building is better for the faculty to handle than one day of 160 children dressed up and celebrating. We are happy for Emmie and her friends as we know they will have a ball.

Friday afternoon, we attended the last happy hour at Eric's former office.  This was the last one in the office, as the office was moving to a high floor in the large PWC building the next week. They were not allowed to bring the various beverages and snack items, so it was a cleaning out the kitchen themed party. It was a nice time and it gave us the opportunity to say farewell to everyone.

Testing

The last day of the month has tested the family's physical and mental strength. Tuesday we can rest a little bit after our busy Monday. However, this week, we kept going right through Tuesday. 

Before school, Adeline and Emmie had their dentist appointments. The hygienist did not perform as many steps on the girls as us, but she did show them techniques for improving their brushing. The flouride was not flavored, so when we were out of the office, Adeline stated she is never getting her teeth cleaned here again as it was awful.  She was only 10 minutes late getting to school as I had raced through the back streets to get her there and there was no issues when she informed the teacher where she had come from. 

Emmie went directly after Adeline and was a good patient for the hygienist. She enjoyed picking a treasure from the toy chest. She was disappointed like her sister that she did not get a new toothbrush.

We then took Emmie to the city building as she was scheduled to be seen by the city doctor. All of the children who are planning to enter school are required to be examined by the government doctor. It is with their recommendation along with school's approval they can attend school. Eric and I were nervous because Emmie is one year younger than the upcoming class, so we are unsure what the outcome will be. In addition, they do not want you to teach children at home, so everything I do with Emmie is in English. 

The first exam was an eye exam. She did good until the numbers got larger and she stumbled in German what they were on the last two. For the hearing exam, the lady put the earphones on Emmie, but did not remove her thick hair between her ear and the equipment on one side. Then she quickly told Emmie what to do with a local accent. I felt she did not provide a very focused environment until she had Emmie sit directly in front of her. It was obvious to us Emmie did not do well on this portion as we watched, so we would have to visit our pediatrician for further testing to see if there is a complication. 

Finally, we visited the doctor. The doctor first had Emmie write her name and copy basic drawings. She then had her look at matching and what is missing pictures. The degree to which the images were drawn I think were on a higher level than for a six year old, but we were thrilled when Emmie was able to answer the questions correctly. Finally came the physical exam where Emmie showed her she could hop on one foot and do the other things she asked her to perform. After reviewing everything, the doctor informed us she agrees Emmie is ready for school next year and will send her recommendation to the school. She did warn us we need to understand Emmie may not be the best at everything because she is younger and a little smaller than the average child entering school in the fall.  We are very thankful the doctor has passed Emmie and we can continue moving forward in her learning. The school has the final say if Emmie can attend, so we will now wait for the meeting with them.

In the early afternoon, I immediately called for an appointment to see our pediatrician. He managed to fit Emmie in. Emmie's hearing was just fine, so he was able to fill out the paperwork for us. This appointment also allowed him to check out Emmie's eyelid. He prescribed some medication for the bump to go away and we were on our way home.

Today is Eric's official last day. Last Friday, he went into the office to formally say good-bye to his colleagues since majority of them would not be in today. It was an emotional day as the relationships made will not be forgotten. 

He has been on vacation for the past week, so we have not been on a rigorous schedule. His list of to do items around the place has been accomplished the place and he even found time to relax. We have had lots of family time amongst the girl's schedule which has been great before he starts his new job.

Star Wars Weekend

This weekend we started watching the Star Wars trilogy.

I noticed it in my friend's DVD collection when I visited her earlier in the week. Eric was thrilled when the girls showed him the three DVDs. These movies we cannot rent online and he has been talking about them with the girls. Since it was a cold weekend, it was perfect for starting with Star Wars IV, "A New Hope".

The girls enjoyed Episode IV very much and are looking forward to watching the next one.

Memos + Tylenol

This week I have received a new memo every day from the kindergarten and my visits to the dentist office have just added to the continuous headache from the school.

It began on Monday with the first memo informing us we how we should treat the clothing and accessories that were exposed in the Gartenhaus. I felt this was three weeks late in getting us the information as I normally throughly wash everything, except her backpack when she brought it home weekly due to it being a school environment. For me, it just confirmed my mom instinct to disinfect and sanitize when possible.

My Tuesday morning was spent in the dentist chair. Initially, I thought I was going in for one minor filling until the dentist continued to work on the second tooth. Finally, I stopped him before the third one. He explained to me at this time what he was doing. I was now at ease as I now understood he had done it as a preventative measure to reduce the possibility of future cavities on the second molar and would do the same for the third one. He did tell me it would be the last one and it was.

Tuesday's kindergarten note outlined the schedule change for the Gartenhaus children. The change came as result of them confirming a new location for the children to occupy. For three days of the week, the children who will be attending the elementary school next year are together at Steinberg school, where Adeline attends school. They will utilize the small building next door to the elementary school which is used for after school care. The other two days will remain the same as before and they will remain with their normal groups. All of the children begin and end their day in the kindergarten building. I think this is a great idea as we have informed both schools we would like Emmie to start elementary school next year, so she should be included when they go to the new location.

On Wednesday, we received a status update from the parent board and a reminder about an inspector coming on Friday to take a look at the Gartenhaus. It has also been brought to our attention that our parents board has had to fight to get new toys for the class as the city just wanted us to use the ones out of the old  classroom. I am very proud of our parents board fighting for new toys and books since it is also an airborn issue and are contaminated as well. However, this has caused some anger within the kindergarten since our class is getting funding for new toys and the other classes are not.

Thursday morning, Eric got his teeth cleaned.  Everything was normal until they wrapped a towel around his head, gave him safety goggles to wear, and performed a high water pressure cleaning. He survived it, but felt he needed another shower after it. The hygienist lectured him during the half hour she cleaned his teeth and then handed him the sheet which explained it all in detail. When I refer to detail, I mean the toothpaste she recommends for him and where he can buy it at, etc... His teeth were clean and he came home with some trial mouthwashes as she wants him to use these when he cannot brush like when he is at work, but not a new toothbrush.

Thursday's memo canceling Fasching parties in the kindergarten angered many parents. They are very upset because this is the one traditional party everyone looks forward to with wearing costumes and the festivities. It saddened me because it is very fun for the children and I do not understand why it cannot occur in a place where the children already play.  I plan to find other ways to celebrate with the girls.

Friday morning, I was back at the dentist's office getting my teeth cleaned. Since Eric went first, I knew what to expect and understood what she was talking about. This was only because I was able to prepare from Eric's visit and there were no surprises for me this time. She also sent a paper home with me with her recommendations, but no mouthwash samples or a new toothbrush.

Friday's memo was from the kindergarten teachers. It was a nice memo from them giving us insight on to how the first week went with the new schedule along with helpful tips.

I

Construction girl

Saturday morning, Eric and Emmie accompanied Thorsten and his daughters to Halligalli. Emmie was so proud of the tall tower she built all by herself. 

A new greek restaurant opened in downtown Hofheim, so we tried it out for dinner. Even though we were not on the beach, it was still a nice evening out as we reminisced about our trip to Greece last year while indulging in the traditional meal.

Sunday afternoon was our church small group gathering, so Katerina updated us on her knee situation. Unfortunately, she did tear her ACL. She has already started therapy and is making progress.  She is planning to have surgery in  March and was told they cannot do it any sooner as this is the high season for these surgeries due to the ski and indoor soccer season. She is staying positive about the situation.

Little A to Big Q or X

We started with the Audi A3 as this would accommodate our family and is practical for maneuvering around the city. Fast forward 15 plus months, the girls have gotten bigger and we know a bigger vehicle will be better for vacations. 

At Adeline's seven year check-up, the doctor confirmed Adeline is a healthy growing girl. She has hit the 128 cm (51 inches) mark and weighs in at 22 kg (48 lbs). To celebrate her birthday at school, we made cupcakes and frosted half of them with  yellow frosting and the other with purple frosting. The purple was a big hit with the boys and they have already put a request in next year for purple again.

As we were sitting in some bigger vehicles over the weekend, it was apparent the girls need more leg room in the backseat; however, I am still uncertain about driving a bigger vehicle. Thursday was my opportunity to test drive our possible next vehicle. 

In the morning, Eric and I obtained a BMW X3 to test drive on a rainy day. We first parked it in our house garage spot. We then went to the mall parking deck. It took a few extra maneuvers, but we both managed to get the SUV in one parking spot. I then drove him to downtown Frankfurt for work. It was a nice drive, but for me  I worried about taking the sideview mirrors off. I felt like I was a driving a full size van on the narrow streets. It was a safe trip and I returned the X3 after picking up the girls from school so they could experience the bigger backseat.

An hour later, I jumped into an Audi Q5. The test drive vehicle was a hybrid, so it took me a while to get the hang of it. I have gotten over the size of the vehicle, so I was more at ease driving it while I did my errands and did the same parking maneuvers as I did with the X3. In the evening, Eric took it for a quick spin around town. After taking Eric to work Friday morning, I returned the vehicle to the dealership. Even though the A3 felt small after driving around in the SUV's, I was relaxed driving home down the narrow street.

Next week, I will test drive the A4 and we cannot test a BMW 3 series wagon as the dealership does not have any of the new models yet. For now, we have our comparison sheets with prices for conversation. This is good because I am getting confused with the letter and number combinations as we discuss the various vehicles.

Kindergarten is what it is for now. The teachers have created a weekly schedule where three days of the week, the two classes are together in the gym and then the two other days the classes are separate doing their individual breakfast or an outing. Majority of the children are now back in school because the teachers requested this in order for the city to see the situation is not good when all of children attend class. Emmie is enjoying playing with her friends, so we are making the best of it.