Aren't they cute?!?
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
starting May busy
I think I posted not long ago that Monday was my favorite day of the week, because of no outside activities?
Today: to begin with, I was quite pleased with myself for remembering at 11:30 this morning that since the children were starting swimming lessons in the afternoon, it would be good to check if they all have swimsuits that fit. Jacob has two that fit, Lukas about five, Katie and Helen between them a dozen or so (almost all of them fit both of them), and I'm sure at least a couple of the dozen or so that are too small for Katie and Helen will fit Elisabeth, but she's not taking swimming lessons, and when we go to the beach, I don't care if she wears a swimsuit or not, so we didn't try any on her. (Helen isn't taking lessons, either, but no way was she going to miss out on the fun of trying on clothes. Strange child.)
Marie's, however, didn't fit, which wasn't exactly surprising, as it didn't really fit her last year, either. I called a friend to ask where one buys a swimsuit, as we bought this one two years ago at the thrift store after looking at a bunch of other stores and not finding anything she liked. My friend recommended Marks & Spencers, where I'd never been, but I was desperate. I left Katie home with Jacob and took all the others and off we went. And she found a swimsuit that she liked and that fit!! €25 first seemed like a lot, but when I realized that there were others for €40 and for €65, my attitude changed to one of, "Wow--that's so cool that the one she likes best is also the cheapest!" On the way home we stopped and bought a fourth bathing cap, also pleased that I could still locate all three from when the older three took swimming lessons last year.
Home again, lunch, then five children into the car. (Katie couldn't go to the swimming lesson today because she has extra rehearsals this week for her play on the weekend.) I filled out all four forms, able to put in the children's names and birthdates and address (I wrote the address in Greek, but their names in Latin letters), but I left "school" blank and more or less made up their grade-levels. And then I signed and dated the forms, wondering just what I had signed, as it had a page and a half of text, all in Greek. I did glance over it, and some was about paying and some was about the days and hours, but mostly, I haven't the foggiest idea what it was about.
My friend Heather was busy signing up seven of her eight children as I arrived, and then her husband called to say that the baby was awake. Her second-youngest, who might or might not end up participating but didn't want to today, also didn't want to go home with her, so I offered to keep her. So with Elisabeth in the sling and Helen and Joanna on each hand, I went to make sure that all nine children had found their classes (they all had), and then we hung out in the shade for awhile.
In the meantime, Jörn had taken Katie to Antidote (the theater) for her rehearsal, and stayed outside waiting, as she'd been pretty hyper today and has acted up during her class in the past. After swimming I stopped by the house, as Lukas had forgotten a change of clothes (and left Marie at home so she could sweep and mop the kitchen in peace), and then took Lukas to Discoveries (it used to be on Wednesdays, but as of today, is Mondays) and Jacob to his extra rehearsal for his play in a few weeks. Katie was finished not long after I arrived, so I hung out with Jörn while waiting, then Jörn and Katie went shopping and Helen and Elisabeth and I went home to try to straighten up the living room before guests arrived in the evening.
About five minutes after we arrived home, a friend who owns a canning factory dropped by to give us four kilos of strawberries. They had been rather squashed and weren't going to last long, so instead of tidying the living room I started cleaning strawberries. When Jörn got home I put Elisabeth back in the car and we went to pick up Lukas. Came back home, finished the strawberries, then called a friend to get a phone number I needed. (Four kilos ended up being only about 1.2 after getting rid of all of the moldy ones and green parts and all the snacking that everyone did everytime they walked through the kitchen, but that's just about exactly right to make a batch of jam. I put them in the freezer, though, as I don't foresee time to make jam in the next couple of days.) While on the phone I texted Jacob (he bought himself a cell phone a couple of days ago...we're now a family with FIVE phone numbers...) to ask if he wanted to walk home or if I should pick him up. He wanted to be picked up, so I put about five minutes into straightening the living room and then as I was going out the door to get Jacob (about ten minutes late), the first guests arrived. (Two couples and one more lady--Jörn's colleagues. We generally have a shared meal every other week, but it used to be Fridays, then Tuesdays, now Mondays, and hasn't happened regularly in the last few months at all because of different people traveling or being ill, so it didn't "feel" like a regular activity.)
Dinner went pretty well, Helen went to bed immediately afterwards (Jörn was gone putting her to bed for about 90 seconds, and two-thirds of that time was just waiting to be sure she was really asleep), Lukas and Katie went to bed an hour and a half late, and Elisabeth fell asleep just as everyone was leaving. (And incidentally, after dinner we just stayed at the kitchen table, so I'm glad I hadn't taken the time I didn't have anyway to clear off the piano and coffee table and dust, since that will have to be done for sure by Saturday anyway, and if done today, would STILL have to be done on Saturday.)
Then as I sat down at the computer, Marie asked me if I wanted to play a game, so we played six or seven rounds of Triominos, but without keeping score. She won the first three games, neither of us went out on the fourth, and then I won one and she won another one or two.
And I just looked at the clock and realized that it's four minutes into Tuesday. I'm finding it difficult to keep track of the days of the week. I didn't go to church OR the playground yesterday and we had all sorts of outside activities today, which isn't a "normal" Monday (but it will be from now on--Discoveries and swimming lessons will continue through June, swimming through July, Jacob's extra rehearsal just for a few weeks). Tomorrow won't be a normal Tuesday (no get-together with Sue, as she's in England at the moment, and Katie DOESN'T have Antidote tomorrow, but will have a make-up swimming lesson, and I have Greek in the evening, and Jörn's going to skip his prayer meeting to stay home with the children this time); Wednesday Katie has an extra rehearsal and the boys DON'T have Discoveries anymore; Thursday I'll go to Tots in the morning, all four children have swimming lessons in the afternoon, Jacob's Antidote class starts an hour earlier than usual, Katie has a rehearsal, and I have Greek in the evening; and Friday...I think Friday will be almost normal, with just Jacob's guitar lesson and Marie youth group, just no house group.
Then Saturday is Jörn's birthday. Marie will have her violin lesson as usual and the living room WILL get straightened up, and at 5:00, as our first guests are arriving, I will take Katie to her dress rehearsal. At some point during dinner, I guess, I'll go pick her up. Her play is Sunday, and after that she'll go back to just once-a-week Antidote classes.
Whew. It almost--not quite, but almost--makes me look forward to August, when ALL outside activities stop. Well, almost. No Greek, no swimming lessons, no drama class, no music lessons, no Discoveries. Marie will probably still have Youth group (and Marie and Jacob will both go to Youth camp for a week, then in September Jacob starts Youth), there will probably be a holiday club (VBS) or two, we hope to go up to the mountains as a family for a few days or even a week, our friends will be home so we'll hopefully be seeing lots of them, and we'll be going to the beach out of sheer necessity whenever possible.
In the meantime, I guess I'd better go to bed, as it's now half an hour into Tuesday! And sometime during the course of the day, I ought to do my Greek homework. It was only assigned last Thursday, so of course, I haven't even started it...
Today: to begin with, I was quite pleased with myself for remembering at 11:30 this morning that since the children were starting swimming lessons in the afternoon, it would be good to check if they all have swimsuits that fit. Jacob has two that fit, Lukas about five, Katie and Helen between them a dozen or so (almost all of them fit both of them), and I'm sure at least a couple of the dozen or so that are too small for Katie and Helen will fit Elisabeth, but she's not taking swimming lessons, and when we go to the beach, I don't care if she wears a swimsuit or not, so we didn't try any on her. (Helen isn't taking lessons, either, but no way was she going to miss out on the fun of trying on clothes. Strange child.)
Marie's, however, didn't fit, which wasn't exactly surprising, as it didn't really fit her last year, either. I called a friend to ask where one buys a swimsuit, as we bought this one two years ago at the thrift store after looking at a bunch of other stores and not finding anything she liked. My friend recommended Marks & Spencers, where I'd never been, but I was desperate. I left Katie home with Jacob and took all the others and off we went. And she found a swimsuit that she liked and that fit!! €25 first seemed like a lot, but when I realized that there were others for €40 and for €65, my attitude changed to one of, "Wow--that's so cool that the one she likes best is also the cheapest!" On the way home we stopped and bought a fourth bathing cap, also pleased that I could still locate all three from when the older three took swimming lessons last year.
Home again, lunch, then five children into the car. (Katie couldn't go to the swimming lesson today because she has extra rehearsals this week for her play on the weekend.) I filled out all four forms, able to put in the children's names and birthdates and address (I wrote the address in Greek, but their names in Latin letters), but I left "school" blank and more or less made up their grade-levels. And then I signed and dated the forms, wondering just what I had signed, as it had a page and a half of text, all in Greek. I did glance over it, and some was about paying and some was about the days and hours, but mostly, I haven't the foggiest idea what it was about.
My friend Heather was busy signing up seven of her eight children as I arrived, and then her husband called to say that the baby was awake. Her second-youngest, who might or might not end up participating but didn't want to today, also didn't want to go home with her, so I offered to keep her. So with Elisabeth in the sling and Helen and Joanna on each hand, I went to make sure that all nine children had found their classes (they all had), and then we hung out in the shade for awhile.
In the meantime, Jörn had taken Katie to Antidote (the theater) for her rehearsal, and stayed outside waiting, as she'd been pretty hyper today and has acted up during her class in the past. After swimming I stopped by the house, as Lukas had forgotten a change of clothes (and left Marie at home so she could sweep and mop the kitchen in peace), and then took Lukas to Discoveries (it used to be on Wednesdays, but as of today, is Mondays) and Jacob to his extra rehearsal for his play in a few weeks. Katie was finished not long after I arrived, so I hung out with Jörn while waiting, then Jörn and Katie went shopping and Helen and Elisabeth and I went home to try to straighten up the living room before guests arrived in the evening.
About five minutes after we arrived home, a friend who owns a canning factory dropped by to give us four kilos of strawberries. They had been rather squashed and weren't going to last long, so instead of tidying the living room I started cleaning strawberries. When Jörn got home I put Elisabeth back in the car and we went to pick up Lukas. Came back home, finished the strawberries, then called a friend to get a phone number I needed. (Four kilos ended up being only about 1.2 after getting rid of all of the moldy ones and green parts and all the snacking that everyone did everytime they walked through the kitchen, but that's just about exactly right to make a batch of jam. I put them in the freezer, though, as I don't foresee time to make jam in the next couple of days.) While on the phone I texted Jacob (he bought himself a cell phone a couple of days ago...we're now a family with FIVE phone numbers...) to ask if he wanted to walk home or if I should pick him up. He wanted to be picked up, so I put about five minutes into straightening the living room and then as I was going out the door to get Jacob (about ten minutes late), the first guests arrived. (Two couples and one more lady--Jörn's colleagues. We generally have a shared meal every other week, but it used to be Fridays, then Tuesdays, now Mondays, and hasn't happened regularly in the last few months at all because of different people traveling or being ill, so it didn't "feel" like a regular activity.)
Dinner went pretty well, Helen went to bed immediately afterwards (Jörn was gone putting her to bed for about 90 seconds, and two-thirds of that time was just waiting to be sure she was really asleep), Lukas and Katie went to bed an hour and a half late, and Elisabeth fell asleep just as everyone was leaving. (And incidentally, after dinner we just stayed at the kitchen table, so I'm glad I hadn't taken the time I didn't have anyway to clear off the piano and coffee table and dust, since that will have to be done for sure by Saturday anyway, and if done today, would STILL have to be done on Saturday.)
Then as I sat down at the computer, Marie asked me if I wanted to play a game, so we played six or seven rounds of Triominos, but without keeping score. She won the first three games, neither of us went out on the fourth, and then I won one and she won another one or two.
And I just looked at the clock and realized that it's four minutes into Tuesday. I'm finding it difficult to keep track of the days of the week. I didn't go to church OR the playground yesterday and we had all sorts of outside activities today, which isn't a "normal" Monday (but it will be from now on--Discoveries and swimming lessons will continue through June, swimming through July, Jacob's extra rehearsal just for a few weeks). Tomorrow won't be a normal Tuesday (no get-together with Sue, as she's in England at the moment, and Katie DOESN'T have Antidote tomorrow, but will have a make-up swimming lesson, and I have Greek in the evening, and Jörn's going to skip his prayer meeting to stay home with the children this time); Wednesday Katie has an extra rehearsal and the boys DON'T have Discoveries anymore; Thursday I'll go to Tots in the morning, all four children have swimming lessons in the afternoon, Jacob's Antidote class starts an hour earlier than usual, Katie has a rehearsal, and I have Greek in the evening; and Friday...I think Friday will be almost normal, with just Jacob's guitar lesson and Marie youth group, just no house group.
Then Saturday is Jörn's birthday. Marie will have her violin lesson as usual and the living room WILL get straightened up, and at 5:00, as our first guests are arriving, I will take Katie to her dress rehearsal. At some point during dinner, I guess, I'll go pick her up. Her play is Sunday, and after that she'll go back to just once-a-week Antidote classes.
Whew. It almost--not quite, but almost--makes me look forward to August, when ALL outside activities stop. Well, almost. No Greek, no swimming lessons, no drama class, no music lessons, no Discoveries. Marie will probably still have Youth group (and Marie and Jacob will both go to Youth camp for a week, then in September Jacob starts Youth), there will probably be a holiday club (VBS) or two, we hope to go up to the mountains as a family for a few days or even a week, our friends will be home so we'll hopefully be seeing lots of them, and we'll be going to the beach out of sheer necessity whenever possible.
In the meantime, I guess I'd better go to bed, as it's now half an hour into Tuesday! And sometime during the course of the day, I ought to do my Greek homework. It was only assigned last Thursday, so of course, I haven't even started it...
Friday, April 29, 2011
Jacob's friends
When Jacob was five and a half, we had a social worker visit us in Germany because of Marie not being in school. (While the end of that story is long and complicated, the end of that visit was that the social worker said, "These children are lacking in nothing, and if the school authorities have a problem with it, that's their problem: this is not a case for social services.") While speaking with the children, he asked Jacob if he had any friends. Jacob rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, I have so many friends I can't even COUNT them! There's Jakey and Susan and Margaret and Florian and Konstanze and Judy and Daniel..." The social worker was reassured that Jacob wasn't isolated, and I was smirking inside.
What it hadn't occured to the social worker to ask was the AGES of any of the people Jacob listed. If I remember correctly, the youngest he listed was about two years old, the oldest probably mid-60s. Several were even his own age. But for him there was no difference: friends were friends. I've always had friends of all ages, as well, but I think I was more consious of that not being entirely typical, at least, not for a child. (Especially since friends of my own age were a rarity in any case, two of my closest for a long time being three years younger and 65 years older than I was, respectively.) Jacob was, at five and a half, and still is, at nearly 12, utterly and completely un-self-conscious of there being anything even slightly unusual about his closest friends being nine years old and 50-something.
One of his friends was Patricia, the 86-year-old mother of one of Jacob's sailing buddies, Tim. I first met Patricia at the anniversary party of mutual friends last summer, and as soon as she realized that I was Jacob's mother, her eyes lit up and she couldn't say enough good about Jacob. I hadn't even known that he'd met her! Turns out, he'd had lunch with her several times and enjoyed good conversations. As long as that's the kind of person my son is hanging out with behind my back, I'm not too worried about him. :-)
When I told Jacob the next day that I'd met Patricia, his eyes likewise lit up and he told me about the lunches they'd shared and how they talked about South Africa and baking and I don't know what else. But it was clear that Jacob had found a kindred spirit.
A couple of months ago, Patricia wasn't well and ended up having surgery. Jacob bugged me again and again to find out how she was and whether he could visit her, and I finally followed up and he was able to go see her. A week and a half ago she had surgery yet again. Two days later Jacob wasn't patient enough to keep waiting for me to be able to drive him to the clinic where Patricia was, so he rode his bike to see her, enjoying another visit. He didn't do it "to be nice", but because he wanted to, to spend time with his friend.
At the beginning of this week, Patricia had to undergo emergency surgery, but to everyone's surprise, wasn't recovering as quickly this time, and Jacob was looking forward to visiting her later in the week. However, Wednesday evening Tim phoned and said that his mother was only expected to live another hour or so, and would Jacob please come. So Jörn took Jacob to say goodbye to Patricia, something very difficult for anybody, but I couldn't help being immensely proud of my son. First of all, he was someone that they wanted to be there, someone that they knew was important to Patricia. That's pretty cool. Second, he went. He didn't stay long and didn't say more than her name, but he went. Several hours later, Patricia died.
This morning was Patricia's funeral. Obviously, I was feeling for Tim and the rest of his family, but Jacob is the one who is my son, the one I was hurting for most. I'd only met Patricia twice myself, and while I liked her quite well, I can't say that I really knew her. When we told Jacob yesterday morning that Patricia had, as expected, died in the night, he didn't look at me for awhile, just sat crying, quietly. But when I asked if he wanted to go to the funeral, he turned and looked at me full-on and said, "Of course!" as if he couldn't understand why on earth I would ask. He gave me more reason to be proud of him this morning, as he read aloud from First Corinthians 13 as part of the service, with a clear and steady voice.
Jacob isn't stingy with his friendship, but he is picky. He has no use for talking-down or false flattery, no interest in being popular or ever doing anything just because someone else does. (Hmm...he reminds me of someone.) Treat him like a generic such-and-such-aged boy, and you'll be lucky to even get monosyllables from him. But when he's respected as a fellow human-being and just plain liked, he really responds. I'm glad he got to know Patricia, and I'm glad Patricia got to know him.
What it hadn't occured to the social worker to ask was the AGES of any of the people Jacob listed. If I remember correctly, the youngest he listed was about two years old, the oldest probably mid-60s. Several were even his own age. But for him there was no difference: friends were friends. I've always had friends of all ages, as well, but I think I was more consious of that not being entirely typical, at least, not for a child. (Especially since friends of my own age were a rarity in any case, two of my closest for a long time being three years younger and 65 years older than I was, respectively.) Jacob was, at five and a half, and still is, at nearly 12, utterly and completely un-self-conscious of there being anything even slightly unusual about his closest friends being nine years old and 50-something.
One of his friends was Patricia, the 86-year-old mother of one of Jacob's sailing buddies, Tim. I first met Patricia at the anniversary party of mutual friends last summer, and as soon as she realized that I was Jacob's mother, her eyes lit up and she couldn't say enough good about Jacob. I hadn't even known that he'd met her! Turns out, he'd had lunch with her several times and enjoyed good conversations. As long as that's the kind of person my son is hanging out with behind my back, I'm not too worried about him. :-)
When I told Jacob the next day that I'd met Patricia, his eyes likewise lit up and he told me about the lunches they'd shared and how they talked about South Africa and baking and I don't know what else. But it was clear that Jacob had found a kindred spirit.
A couple of months ago, Patricia wasn't well and ended up having surgery. Jacob bugged me again and again to find out how she was and whether he could visit her, and I finally followed up and he was able to go see her. A week and a half ago she had surgery yet again. Two days later Jacob wasn't patient enough to keep waiting for me to be able to drive him to the clinic where Patricia was, so he rode his bike to see her, enjoying another visit. He didn't do it "to be nice", but because he wanted to, to spend time with his friend.
At the beginning of this week, Patricia had to undergo emergency surgery, but to everyone's surprise, wasn't recovering as quickly this time, and Jacob was looking forward to visiting her later in the week. However, Wednesday evening Tim phoned and said that his mother was only expected to live another hour or so, and would Jacob please come. So Jörn took Jacob to say goodbye to Patricia, something very difficult for anybody, but I couldn't help being immensely proud of my son. First of all, he was someone that they wanted to be there, someone that they knew was important to Patricia. That's pretty cool. Second, he went. He didn't stay long and didn't say more than her name, but he went. Several hours later, Patricia died.
This morning was Patricia's funeral. Obviously, I was feeling for Tim and the rest of his family, but Jacob is the one who is my son, the one I was hurting for most. I'd only met Patricia twice myself, and while I liked her quite well, I can't say that I really knew her. When we told Jacob yesterday morning that Patricia had, as expected, died in the night, he didn't look at me for awhile, just sat crying, quietly. But when I asked if he wanted to go to the funeral, he turned and looked at me full-on and said, "Of course!" as if he couldn't understand why on earth I would ask. He gave me more reason to be proud of him this morning, as he read aloud from First Corinthians 13 as part of the service, with a clear and steady voice.
Jacob isn't stingy with his friendship, but he is picky. He has no use for talking-down or false flattery, no interest in being popular or ever doing anything just because someone else does. (Hmm...he reminds me of someone.) Treat him like a generic such-and-such-aged boy, and you'll be lucky to even get monosyllables from him. But when he's respected as a fellow human-being and just plain liked, he really responds. I'm glad he got to know Patricia, and I'm glad Patricia got to know him.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Jacob's garden
We don't have much in the way of green space around our house, as most of it is covered in concrete. So last year Jacob built a garden box, after a lot of research about square-foot gardening, and which plants should go next to each other, and all sorts of stuff that I know nothing at all about. He didn't harvest much last year, as it gets VERY hot in the summer and everything more-or-less burned up. He sold and gave away a lot of tomato and pumpkin plants last year, and was pleased to have the feedback that other people, at least, did get a nice harvest!
This year he moved his planter (it's one meter by two meters) to a shadier area, and also rigged up an irrigation system with old irrigating lines he found lying around the property when we moved here. These are all photos that I found on my camera--apparently, Jacob was pleased with is project and wanted to document it, so I figured I'd post them here!
Last week, Jacob traded two cucumber plants to a neighbor for a two-year-old strawberry plant which had one strawberry on it. He's been carefully sprinkling salt on the ground around the planter to protect it from snails and slugs, and has been researching other (perhaps friendlier) ways to keep them away.
Last Friday he had his first harvest: two beans. Ironically, Jacob doesn't eat beans, or for that matter, any of the other vegetables he's planted! However, Jörn ate the two beans, and Jacob was very proud. (Unfortunately, Jörn made a crazy face while eating the beans and won't let me publish the photo, so all I have here is a photo of the beans about to be salted and eaten with lunch!)
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Jörn's and Lukas's week in Germany
Jörn and Lukas had a great time in Germany. They didn't take a whole lot of photos (having too much fun!), and I generally don't post photos of other people without their permission, so most of these photos are of Lukas.
Jörn and Lukas arrived in Düsseldorf Thursday evening and stayed the night with our friends Margaret and Phil. Friday morning our friend Barbara (who also happens to be the mother of Andrea, who stayed with us for five months and only just returned to Germany in March) picked them up in order to collect a suitcase full of things that Andrea had left here, as well as to take them to Mülheim, where Lukas had an appointment with the orthodontist. From there they walked to the home of some other friends, with whom they got a ride to the church retreat of our home church in Düsseldorf. That was from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon Jörn met with the lady renting our flat in Mülheim, had dinner with our friend Peggy, and then left Lukas with Peggy (and incidentally, her son Florian, who is Lukas's best friend) and returned to Düsseldorf to stay with Margaret and Phil. I didn't ask them if I could post this photo, but it's such a nice one that I couldn't resist!
Monday through Wednesday Jörn had various meetings with people (including his diabetes specialist), and late Wednesday morning picked Lukas up from Peggy's massage practice and shop.
They had lunch with some more friends who have a large garden, where Lukas had a blast helping clear the grass and generally getting dirty. (I spoke with Jörn and Lukas on the phone that evening, while they were in the middle of a "discussion" about whether or not Lukas was going to have a shower. I suggested that Jörn tell Lukas he didn't have to take a shower, but then he was going to have to sleep on the floor, instead of in the nice clean bed, shared, by the way, with Jörn. Lukas had a shower.)
Tuesday Jörn had moved to the home of the C family, where he and Lukas also stayed Wednesday night. Apparently, they were having too much fun to take any photos! Thursday another friend visited them there, then drove them to the home of the T family in Viersen, where they stayed most of the night, leaving at 4:30 a.m. on Friday for the airport in Weeze. (They had flown with Condor to Düsseldorf International Airport, but returned with Ryanair from Niederrhein.)
One of Jörn's visits during the week was to the A family, to visit with them, of course, but also to visit their attic, which still contains far too much of our stuff. Jörn brought back the baby books of the four older children (I had Helen's here, as she was only four months old when we moved to Cyprus, and Elisabeth of course was born here) and our photo albums from 1994 to 2000. (No, I do NOT know what logic was operating when I only brought the albums from 2000 onwards when we moved here, and I've missed Marie's and Jacob's baby photos many times since!) Here are our photo albums from 1994 (the year we were married) through December 2009:
I've technically started the next photo album (which starts on December 31st, the day of my brother's wedding), but all that's in it so far is the invitation to the wedding, as I haven't gotten any more photos printed yet. This is the furthest I've ever been behind in having photos in albums, and is a little frustrating. But I haven't figured out yet just where I'm going to put more albums once they're finished, nor have I found a place yet for the few other miscellaneous albums, such as a collection of my siblings' school photos and a small album from when I was 12...
Oh, and very importantly, Jörn also brought me my new sandals, which Barbara had ordered for me for less than half of what they would have cost in Cyprus:
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Four down, four to go
Halfway point: not by hours or even days, but by bedtimes. Jörn and Lukas flew to Germany last Thursday evening and will be home again this Friday at lunchtime, which makes a total of eight nights. Helen especially was really missing Papa tonight and took ages to settle. We've had an arrangement ever since Jacob was born that suits me very well: at night, the baby is my responsibility, anyone older is Jörn's. I might help put them to bed (and since October last year we've started a new bedtime routine which has me involved every night), but once I've finished my part, it's Jörn's job.
Thursday night I was at my Greek class (I took Elisabeth and Jacob with me--Elisabeth fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed asleep the entire time, so Jacob had a very easy babysitting job) and Marie put Katie and Helen to bed. Actually, that was pretty cool for me, coming home to a quiet house, although Elisabeth counter-balanced that with screaming for the next several hours (I took her to the doctor Friday morning, and sure 'nough, an ear infection), not to mention that I had to wait up until 1:00 a.m. until Jörn and Lukas had arrived at our friends' house in Düsseldorf and phoned me. (That's not usually all that late for me, but we'd had several bad nights in a row already with the developing ear infection.)
Friday night was the most difficult, as Marie was at youth group and Jacob went to the YWAM worship evening. That can't have been the first time I've had to get three small children to bed by myself, as after all, eight years ago I ONLY had three small children, and Jörn was regularly out at evening meetings. He even went to Uganda for almost two weeks when Marie and Lukas were almost exactly the ages Katie and Elisabeth are now, and Jacob was a year older than Helen is now. Of course, I do remember that as a fairly night-marish time, especially the night that ended for me at 3:00 a.m. when Marie threw up and continued to do so for the next several hours, joined after a few minutes by Jacob, and after another bit, by Lukas. At 4:00 a.m. I put on the first load of laundry. (And my friend Aileen drove half an hour one way to come pick up three loads of washed laundry, take it back to her house, dry it in her dryer, fold it, and then bring it back to me. Friends are so cool.) But strangely, I don't specifically remember bedtime being challenging.
Last night Jacob was out again (such a party animal--this time at an island-wide worship event taking place in Limassol), but I had Marie, so it went pretty well. She took Elisabeth for awhile while I read to Katie and Helen and sang to them, then when Elisabeth got too antsy, Marie took over and cuddled Helen until she was asleep. Jörn is generally out one or two bedtimes a week anyway, so that's not unusual, and Marie is a great help.
Tonight, however, Helen had apparently had enough. Four bedtimes in a row without Papa was too much. She actually told me to go away and that she wanted Papa to come cuddle her, and then said that she misses Lukas. Marie took over for a bit, then I went in again, and then it was Marie who finally got Helen to sleep, while I finally got Elisabeth to sleep. (She misses Papa, too. Last night she was crawling around the house saying "Pa-pa-pa-pa", and this morning when she woke up she sat up, grinned, crawled over me, stared at the empty other-side-of-the-bed, and burst into tears.)
Four more bedtimes to go...I don't know if Jörn was planning to go to the YWAM worship night this Friday, but if so, I'm going to lobby for him to take Helen with him.
Thursday night I was at my Greek class (I took Elisabeth and Jacob with me--Elisabeth fell asleep in the car on the way there and stayed asleep the entire time, so Jacob had a very easy babysitting job) and Marie put Katie and Helen to bed. Actually, that was pretty cool for me, coming home to a quiet house, although Elisabeth counter-balanced that with screaming for the next several hours (I took her to the doctor Friday morning, and sure 'nough, an ear infection), not to mention that I had to wait up until 1:00 a.m. until Jörn and Lukas had arrived at our friends' house in Düsseldorf and phoned me. (That's not usually all that late for me, but we'd had several bad nights in a row already with the developing ear infection.)
Friday night was the most difficult, as Marie was at youth group and Jacob went to the YWAM worship evening. That can't have been the first time I've had to get three small children to bed by myself, as after all, eight years ago I ONLY had three small children, and Jörn was regularly out at evening meetings. He even went to Uganda for almost two weeks when Marie and Lukas were almost exactly the ages Katie and Elisabeth are now, and Jacob was a year older than Helen is now. Of course, I do remember that as a fairly night-marish time, especially the night that ended for me at 3:00 a.m. when Marie threw up and continued to do so for the next several hours, joined after a few minutes by Jacob, and after another bit, by Lukas. At 4:00 a.m. I put on the first load of laundry. (And my friend Aileen drove half an hour one way to come pick up three loads of washed laundry, take it back to her house, dry it in her dryer, fold it, and then bring it back to me. Friends are so cool.) But strangely, I don't specifically remember bedtime being challenging.
Last night Jacob was out again (such a party animal--this time at an island-wide worship event taking place in Limassol), but I had Marie, so it went pretty well. She took Elisabeth for awhile while I read to Katie and Helen and sang to them, then when Elisabeth got too antsy, Marie took over and cuddled Helen until she was asleep. Jörn is generally out one or two bedtimes a week anyway, so that's not unusual, and Marie is a great help.
Tonight, however, Helen had apparently had enough. Four bedtimes in a row without Papa was too much. She actually told me to go away and that she wanted Papa to come cuddle her, and then said that she misses Lukas. Marie took over for a bit, then I went in again, and then it was Marie who finally got Helen to sleep, while I finally got Elisabeth to sleep. (She misses Papa, too. Last night she was crawling around the house saying "Pa-pa-pa-pa", and this morning when she woke up she sat up, grinned, crawled over me, stared at the empty other-side-of-the-bed, and burst into tears.)
Four more bedtimes to go...I don't know if Jörn was planning to go to the YWAM worship night this Friday, but if so, I'm going to lobby for him to take Helen with him.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sunbonnet
No, I'm not putting a photo of myself in a sunbonnet here. However, here's a photo of Elisabeth wearing the sunbonnet and the skirt that my mom made for my doll, Rebecca, to match my own sunbonnet and skirt.
And if you look close, you can see the tulip pattern around the edge, which my mother's cool sewing machine does. So not exactly authentic 19th century, but pretty!
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