Round One of Nana/Papa

Round Two will start on Sunday, but it will just be my mom who comes back. My dad has to go back to work, pesky ole' job...

May Contain Disturbing Images

I can't decide how I feel about these pictures...

When I first saw them I laughed out loud on the S-bahn and people looked at me.

It still makes me laugh to see them. It even makes me laugh to think about them... but if I look too long it makes me sad because little Poozie was genuinely scared. Poor Poozie.





She was happy for a few rounds... then started to look unsure. Scotty held her hand and she lasted a few more rounds... but then she was trying to escape. I can't believe the weenie running the ride didn't stop it, but I was able to snatch her out as she passed by me.

...no there wasn't any seatbelts. They don't do that here in Europe. :)

Weekend Guests

Since my mom and dad took off last Friday in a CAR for their journey across Europe in a desperate attempt to make it to their cruise ship in Barcelona... we needed some more guests.

(P.S. My parents made it on time and last I heard they were sitting in Pisa happily eating ice cream.)

Anyways, my favorite Swedish friends from Denmark came to visit us last Friday. :) Their family is great, we like them! :) They have two girls the same ages as Michaela and Sierra and a boy who is a few years older than Scotty, but the perfect age to love wii just as much as Scotty does.

I was SO HAPPY that they drove to come and visit us! It was great to have friends around and take a break for the endless organizing that has overtaken my life. :) We all just hung out and did "stuff"; then we met another family at the Hamburg Dom.

Nope, this is not a church, although Dom means church so I don't know why this carnival was called "Dom". :) For a while my friend thought we were headed to church. :) The Dom was a HUGE fair type thing with the biggest portable rides I've ever seen. We spent the evening there; eating and riding rides... This Olympic Roller Coaster was Michaela's favorite ride; she was SOOO happy to discover she was tall enough!!

I can't believe this ride is NOT permanent... it arrived in Hamburg, in pieces, in a truck, and then someone put it together like a piece of IKEA furniture.

I miss my friends. I'll just tell myself that... I'll make new friends and they will be special too. Making friends takes time and making good friends takes even longer than that. ...At least this is what I tell the girls, but I know it's hard to believe. It is true though because it happens everywhere I go... I have a friend collection all over the world. :)

I went on a date with another mom today. I wonder if she likes me? :) I was going to email her and say I had a nice time, but I think I should wait at least a couple days... :) :)

For the record one night in the Happy Hotel will cost two jars of Hellman's mayoNNaise. Ingrid rocks and brought me four jars of the REAL Hellmans mayoNNaise. She also taught me how to spell it. :) I can't believe I'm importing from DENMARK!!!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...

My parents left today. I dropped them off at the airport... and then the train station... and then the airport... They just wouldn't go!!! I couldn't get rid of them!! They really wanted to stay here in Hamburg with me. They love me...

Not True. :)

So. Every flight from Hamburg has been canceled today. Airport is closed. Every train leaving Hamburg is full. All because of a Volcano in Iceland. It's hard to understand why though because I'm sitting here looking at a clear, blue sky. It's not like it's raining lava on us or anything.

My parents were supposed to fly to Barcelona today to be ready to leave on a Cruise on Sunday afternoon... That wasn't working out so they re-booked their flight to leave tomorrow afternoon... but who knows if tomorrow afternoon would be any better... AND it wasn't worth risking since a 7 day Mediterranean Cruise is on the line. :)

So we went to the train station and tried to get a train. Everyone else beat them to it though. The train station was full of people trying to do the same thing.... resulting in no available trains.

Now their two choices were to wait and see if their Saturday flight would leave or... drive.

Better to be safe than stuck in Hamburg for a week being bitter at Iceland and Mother Nature. ...so they rented a car and decided the 16 hour drive could be a fun adventure. Wheeeee!!!! Hey, why not swing by Switzerland on the way there? :)

No cars left at the train station, so back to the airport...

I finally said goodbye to my parents for real and now they currently on route to Barcelona... by car. Let's all hope they make it there by 3:00 pm on Sunday!

Just another adventure huh? :)

Came and Went

Nana and Papa came to Hamburg... but now they are gone. :)

After a short 26 hours of traveling from California my parents finally arrived in Hamburg. Don't feel too sorry for them though because they crossed the ocean in first class lying on big comfy beds. :)

They arrived Friday afternoon. We had a nice relaxing weekend and celebrated Easter yesterday with an egg hunt and a visit from the Beloved Easter Bunny. That rabbit even hid the eggs outside this year! He was just lucky our killer cats didn't get him! So Easter was fun. Next year I will deprive my children of candy for the five months prior to Easter though, this way they will be excited to see all the candy! We always have candy around the house and it's made my children immune to the "excitement" of it. :) Guess that is kind of good...

Anyways, this morning Nana and Papa stole my two oldest daughters and off they went again... to Berlin. They took the train to Berlin and will spend two days there seeing the sights. I stayed home with the two little ones because... well, they are a pain sometimes. :) The girls were excited to get a special trip away with Nana and Papa and I'm sure they will all have fun.

As for me and the two little "pains". :) ...we will be headed to IKEA, the store I curse every time I return from it. I will buy the eight things I want and quickly leave. ...Maybe stopping for dinner if things are going well. I have to get some sheets for my friend, Ingrid, when her and her family comes to visit us this weekend!!! (YAY!!!!!!!) Ingrid laughs at me that I only own one sheet and just use duvet covers, a practice that even confuses my mom. I must admit I'd never thought of owning a duvet until Paul came around. I think it was mUm who started it. :) BUT... Did you know in Sweden when you go to visit a friends house you BRING your OWN sheets!!!?!! If Ingrid brings her own sheets to my house I will feel offended... so I HOPE SHE DOESN'T. :) :)

Scotty says...

Scotty said, "Loving someone one means not sending them to their rooms".

He said this out of nowhere, he had not been sent to his room, he wasn't in trouble. He was just sitting on the couch and obviously thinking some pretty deep thoughts about what love really is. :)

He just wanted to let me know that if I love him I wouldn't send him to his room... which happens far less than it probably should. :)

EGG HUNT!

YAY!!!

I was so happy to find an American Egg Hunt here! It was done through the American Womens' Club and it was just like an American Egg Hunt, plastic eggs and all!

I'm trying not to be sad and miss the multiple egg hunts we would go on Easter Weekend in California. It's funny how it's the holidays that make you miss home... and when you are at home you don't really think the little "holiday things" you do are so important. That's why only someone who understands would pay $40.00 to send me some Easter supplies. (Thanks again Holly....SOOOO MUCH!)

I'm not going to be greedy and be bummed out because I didn't rush from one egg hunt to the next this year. I'll just be happy that Scotty and Andrea finally got to go do a real egg hunt. :) This was really even Scotty's first one. The Easter before we left the states we were in Oregon and we did an Egg Hunt in the forest at a rock museum. It was fun, but just not the same as hundreds of plastic eggs laying everywhere. Plus, he fell and then cried the whole time. :)

I'm sure the Easter Bunny will find us in Germany too. :) ...on the 11th, after my parents show up to watch the fun!

What I want for Christmas...

I want plastic Easter Eggs for Christmas. :)

Our first European Easter I didn't have any plastic eggs... and I'll never forget the family that did and didn't share. :( My young kids looked for little yellow chickies (in Berlin)... But they had a just fine time. :) No big deal.

The second Easter we were in Poland and did a scavenger hunt with our friends since that is their tradition. We had a few plastic Easter eggs and lots of saved Kinder Eggs (the inside Egg that holds the toy in a Kinder Chocolate Egg)...

It's taken me three years but I've acquired some plastic eggs from random places and different people along the way. They are a treasured and coveted item. (which I'd be happy to share.) :)

Things like Easter Eggs and other different holiday items are hard for me to get because when we come home for our Summer Trip the Easter Aisle is usually shut down. :) I can get Fourth of July things though!

I should probably step up my online ordering I guess... and collect it when we arrive.

BUT to answer your question, eight months in advance, I'd like fun holiday things.... from all the holidays. :)

I yelled

I tried to call the phone company today. That was a special treat.

I get the automated answering service which wanted to direct my call to the correct department... I think... because sure enough it was ALL in German with no English options. I've run into these before and can usually push "0" or "*" or "#" and get through to a real person... Not with this one. It wanted me to TALK to it. It wanted me to SAY what department I wanted to be transferred to! It didn't give me any number options to push. Wheeeee....

Out of the five German choices it gave me I picked the one that sounded the easiest and tried to repeat it. I must not have done very well because it gave me all the choices again. I tried another one. I thought I did pretty well, but not good enough for the computer to understand what I was saying because it gave me the options a third time. I tried "German Option" and it worked! I was feeling pretty proud of my German skills as the phone started to ring...

A person answered and I asked if English was okay. He said, "Nein". That's it. He didn't say anything else. I asked "Sprechen sie English?". "Nein". That's it. He STILL didn't say anything else. As always I just kept speaking English, "Is there anyone else there? Do you have a friend?" "Boss?" "Colleague?" He kept responding with German that I didn't understand at all. Then he hung up on me.

I was so mad. ...as Scotty would say, "He was a poo head."

I had to call back and go through saying a German password to get in again! I eventually made it through but not by correctly repeating a German word, because I tried three times with no luck so now I'm pretty irritated and tried telling it off in English for a while. I was pretty rude to the answering machine. I got out all my frustrations though and it worked. Soon I heard the "waiting music". I did it!

It didn't matter because the woman I got didn't speak English either. She seemed to know that it was me and I think she was probably sitting next to Guy #1 I just talked to.

I eventually hung up with her, went online and found another number to call. I called it and got the same dumb German answering service that wanted me to speak German again. Using my new trick I told it off in English. I got through to a new voice, but when I asked if she spoke English she just started laughing. I was not as amused as she was, but I really needed to talk to someone! She felt sorry for me I think and found a guy who was willing to speak a little English.

He told me to write a letter to the customer service department. I'll try it, but I think this will be a job for Happy's assistant. :) ...because we obviously need some assistance!

April Fooled Ya'

Did anyone believe my freezing children were warm?

:)

The girls were bribed with candy to put on their swimming suits and go outside in the freezing cold for my April Fool's "Warm Picture". :) It started to rain as we all ran back in. Brrrrr... At least I didn't taunt anyone with the possibility of a Target like last year. That would just be mean! (I just re-read the comments... hee hee I tricked you all.)

I had a really hard time figuring out new tricks to do to the kids this year... I had already used up all my super best ones. I came up with a few. :)

#1 - I woke the girls up saying I just finished translating the letter I got from their school last week and it said there was school today to make up for the extra snow days they had!! "Hurry and we won't be late!!" :) Hee Hee. They jumped out of bed and got ready... then I told them there really wasn't school. I should have made them walk the whole way there! That would have been funny.... :)

It was on. Now they knew it was April Fools Day.

Sierra reciprocated by pouring coke and milk together and telling me she made me coffee. :) I was surprised it was coke and milk. It was quite the unique taste. :) Good job Bear.

Then Sierra tricked her sister by replacing the 1.5 percent milk with the 3.5 percent milk that Andrea drinks. :) I still smile about this one... just because it was funny that she would think of it! Drinking Andrea's milk is a huge deal to them. :)

My #2 joke was breakfast. I cut a hole in the middle of their toast and cooked their egg in it. Not really a trick, just amusing and something I always wanted to try. Scotty was mad about this one. :)

My #3 joke was lunch. I made them grilled cheese sandwiches... real ones, right in front of them, with Sierra staring at me the whole time to make sure I didn't do anything "weird". Of course at the last minute, I served them my pre-made cake and orange frosting sandwiches. :) Scotty was okay with this.)
My #4 joke involved eating dog poo. We are babysitting a little dachshund for some friends. I started yelling and saying he pooed on the kitchen floor... but it really was a melted chocolate concoction I had made and then put on the floor... As I was getting mad at the girls for not paying attention to the dog I "tasted" it. :) I couldn't help but laugh as I dipped my finger in the "poo", and then they figured it out.

My #5 joke was dinner. I made some Chicken and Mozzarella Italian BBQ sandwiches... I was impressed with myself actually, they looked just like the picture on the magazine. (KP would have been so proud!) The kids, however, were not excited about eating this and whined as I made it. ...BUT I secretly had Paul pick up McDonalds on the way home from work. I left a big pot at the front door for him to fill with the McDonalds food... Then when I served dinner I brought up the pot and they were happy to see Cheeseburgers and Chicken McNuggets! :)

No more jokes, I'm all out. I have no idea what to do next year... but I guess I have a while to figure it out.

Scotty played jokes on me all day too... but they were "throw-the-banana-peel-behind-the-couch", and "barricade-mommy-in-the-kitchen", and "put-cheese-on-Andrea's-head" jokes... Still cute. He's trying. :) He loved being "tricky" all day.

I'm still surprised how much our family enjoys this holiday! Guess I should step up my tricks now that the girls are getting older... watch out next year!!!

Easter Sun!!!

I LOVE THE SUN!!!!

The last few days have been fairly warm and today when we woke up we noticed it was bright and sunny and REALLY warm! Now that it is almost noon the temperature is almost 30 degrees C!!! That is almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit! Go Global Warming!

Maybe this is why there was a huge lightening storm a few nights ago as I was talking on the phone to my mom. No thunder really... just tons of lightening! So strange! Sierra couldn't go to sleep for hours because she kept watching it.

So anyways... it's so warm I have found a hose and a sprinkler and sent the kids outside to play in their swimming suits. Scotty went in his underwear since I just realized we don't even own a swimming suit in his size anymore! Andrea prefers to be stylish in only a diaper and is loving her new naked freedom. She was meant to be a California girl, she LOVES this warmth!!!

I think we'll head to the beach for a super Easter Picnic!!! THIS IS THE WEATHER I'M USED TO!!!! :)