 One of the restaurants at the Stadttheater tram stop brought out a slushie machine in the spring. The kids always look at the churning ice longingly whenever we pass by. I tell them, we’ll buy one when Auntie is here. She loves that stuff.
Everyone’s dream came true this afternoon.
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Thom and Vinnie each made a loaf of bread when they were on their school trip. When they brought the loaves home on Wednesday, they both refused to have it. "We want to eat it with Auntie."
We cut into Thom's tonight, and it was a hit.  Making signs is apparently a poor equivalent to being awake when very special guests from America arrive.
 Germany is out of the World Cup. We had some stunned, sad sweethearts tonight.
Errol’s plane took off right before the news broke. The kids were very concerned that he was unaware of Germany’s fate. I reassured them that their father would get on his phone as soon as he possibly could when his plane landed.  While their siblings are away, the twinnies are enjoying their time in the sun.
Until Wednesday afternoon, we’ll see how it feels to be a family of four. I left Thom and Vin this morning at the train station with their teacher and classmates, ready for a trip to the farm. Frau Hoffmann explained to me on the tram that this is usually a highlight of the year for her students. The kids spend most of the days outside playing on the farm with a few chores sprinkled in. Even though Thom and Vinnie were fairly confident they were going to be staying up all night, Frau Hoffmann said usually the kids are so tired, they fall asleep immediately. For her sake, I hope she’s right.  Outside the tooth drama on Friday, we had a restful weekend. Errol cancelled our family day trip to Heidelberg. He was just there and is suffering from travel fatigue. He leaves again for England on Wednesday...
Thom and Errol went to the Blau-Weiss Wiehre end of the season celebration, and Thom was asked to play one last game Saturday afternoon. They won! While the men were occupied, Vinnie and I ran some errands and spent time packing for their school trip this week. It was tough to prepare for a three-day trip away with a Monday morning departure. We had to go over the packing list and what we needed early Saturday since stores aren’t open on Sunday. Hopefully they have everything they need! Errol practices excellent preventative care parenting. He checks the kids for ticks each night from May to October and always researches their ailments to make sure it’s not something terrible. I enforce a lot of handwashing, but that’s about it. Unless someone is in real pain, I figure everything is fine. Errol came home on Thursday. After he brushed Neddy’s teeth, he asked: “When did Ned’s abscess come back? It looks really bad.” Ummm…. I didn’t notice…. He never said anything…. But, Errol was right. The abscess above his front tooth that we first noticed in Cologne in September was back. It had come and gone since the fall, and the dentist then advised to wait and see. It didn’t look good on Thursday night or yesterday morning. After school, the twins and I rode our bikes to the dentist. The dentist took one look and said, “It needs to come out.” Errol rode over to pick up Lee. Ned was a champ and breezed through the extraction. Just like when Lee was there last, the dentist prescribed strawberry ice cream for the cooperative patient. Neddy willingly complied later that afternoon.  On Wednesday, the kids and I tried another Freiburg pool. We had heard tales of the glorious Strandbad. It was quite the sight. Whenever a kid sees a waterslide, her happiness goes through the roof. There was also sand volleyball, trampolines, a playground, and an extensive kiddie pool. The downside of all these great amenities, was the crowd. We met our Virginian friends there, and we hardly got to talk since it was so difficult to keep track of our littles. We will definitely return to Strandbad, but I won’t go again with that adult to kid ratio. Thom has Sporthalle (gym) on Tuesday mornings, and the kids are disincentivized to take their backpacks to the gym. I usually take Thom’s bag and go with Vinnie to the school building. The last two Tuesdays, I couldn’t since Errol was away. My solution was to put Thom’s incredibly heavy backpack in my grocery hand cart, and Vinnie drag it to school from their tram stop. The horror on her face! “We usually just see old ladies with those.” They’re right. I have since noticed that they’re not a trendy accessory. But, it’s incredibly helpful when you purchase lots of liquids from the grocery. Vinnie was forced to get over herself and took my hand cart to school the last two Tuesdays. Today I took my appreciation for the hand cart to a new level. It’s perfect when you have to leave your bike in town and grab groceries on the way home! No doubt, Vinnie would have been proud.  |
Anne Thomsen lordWritings on our year abroad. Archives
September 2018
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