Howdy folks!!
The weather here in Germany is like a pregnant lady in a blizzard...can't decide if she's burnin' up or cold. And it changes about every 15 minutes.
Lately I've been busying myself with to do list since the days recently have been better as far as my Fibromyalgia is concerned. I'm still working with sleepiness issues but hey, I'll take what I can get and be grateful.
My first Egg is getting Alayna enrolled into our town's Kindergarten. She'll be starting September 13th and they'll put her in the 1-2.5 year old class!! The more I hear about this program the more I love it. I know I want to homeschool when we get back to the states but as for now Alayna needs to be socializing with kids her age and learning to let others besides me take care of her. She freaks out lately if there is any interaction in which I'm not involved. Heartwarming but also as most mothers know...frustrating!
I get to choose her hours that she attends and even the amount of days. They get Bible study lessons and I'm sure she'll also pick up some Deustche as well. A tri-lingual kid, could you imagine?! I've continued vigorously with the ASL however beyong single word formation, we aren't getting anywhere. I think it has something to do with the fact that she can talk and she's just now beginning to form spoken sentences. So it stands to reason that stringing signs together may take a little more time and effort.
This Kindergarten has everything tiny for little people. Little potties and sinks, hooks and shoe benches at their level. Alayna would have a special pair of shoes specifically for wearing "indoors" at the school. (House shoes in essence)
The community and staff makes it their mission to help the child thrive and grow in all areas, spiritual, education, mind and even how their body grows. I'm hoping to pick her up from school on my bike since there aer bike trails. It's about a mile away. Alayna will be going with the cute little son of the Battalion Commander. His wife, (haven't decided a nickname) helped me through the paperwork, and there's a lot of it! They take this sort of stuff very seriously. Which is a good thing I guess. Don't get me started on school shopping...I know it's sort of like Day Care yeah but it really IS so much more than that. They have great structure and are taught in multiple subjects. From what I hear, there may be a member of the staff that knows American Sign Language! So I'm sure that person will help me in contributing to my efforts. That's speculation of course. But that would be so great!
Germany is really starting to grow on me. That scares me because I could really see myself climbing the fence of decision and sitting on it about moving back to the states right away when Adam deploys. I know it's still far off but that may be more time for me to realize all the things Germany has brought to my life. There is a LOT I'm going to miss if I leave. I'm terrible homesick for the people in my life back "home" though too. Living overseas has forced me to grow up more and become more independent on my immediate family unit. We are a family and we come first. I have been trying to take the reigns and think about what's best for our family as a whole instead of what I want to happen or any outside influence. This is a very good thing. Builds my confidence for sure!
My 2nd Egg is transforming Alayna's room from a nursery to a big girl room! I agonized over how to do this because I want to make as few changes as possible as she gets older and her tastes change. I know sinking hundreds of dollars in bedding, rugs, curtains and such to deck her room out in Tinkerbell is just silly. She'll grow out of that in two years and then I'll be stuck doing this all over again. So I decided to feed off of her absolute obsession with flowers and nature. She loves grass and leaves so I pondered a neutral but still "garden-esque" bedding and linens and turn her sanctuary into the Secret Garden! I love that movie and there are so many ways to make subtle changes as she grows. And if she ever wants to overhaul it completely...well I've got a ton of decorations for Spring or even a breakfast nook. Yep, thinkin' with the ole noggin. :) So I found 2 small wicker chairs and an armoire at IKEA. I'm excited to get down to the foliage!! Little here, little there.
Egg number 3: I'm still in the midst of the Left Behind Series by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B Jenkins. I am between books and waiting for the next one "The Mark" (#8) to arrive. In the meantime I read "Against Medical Advice" by James Patterson and Hal Friedman. It's about the obstacles faced by a boy (and all those around him) who suffers with Tourette's Syndrome. From doctor to doctor, pharmacy and daily life, this book was a quick read and kept me very interested. I was able to connect with the boy in some aspects although he was recounting his childhood whereas I didn't develop a chronic illness until I was 22. The frustration, suspense and the courage of Cory and his family were inspiring. If you ever get a chance to read it you should. I read it in 3 days. Not a very long book but a really good one none the less! Now I'm trying to decide whether or not to wait on my next book or move onto something else in the down time. It's driving me nuts because this series is just phenomenal!! I was so impatient waiting for 2 books when I blew through one that I read them online before they got here! I had never been so much into reading but as an adult I'm just loving it!!
Egg number 4: A New shiny egg or in my case, a scuffed busted one. I bumped into an old blue VW in a pretty hairy parking situation with my van teetering in a gutter/storm drain and a car trying to pull passed behind me in a tiny space. Great, so he "thought" I'd pull out of his way in enough time to go by but in reality I was making such a sharp turn I had to back up a little to pull in clearing the car next to me. Well he wouldn't stop and I thought he'd hit me so I nudged on the gas ever so slightly to just squeeze out of the way and scraaaaape. Super. I got out of the car to asses if there was any damage and need for me to leave my information and of course there was. More on my car than the other ladies. Her's had a tiny mark of white on it. But still, I got back in the car to find paper and something to write with and I almost didn't notice her fixin to pull out and leave! She snuck in her car pretty silent like! So I jump out and wave at her window. She doesn't understand me so I wave her to "come here" or get out of the car so I can show her what I did. She could've been my grandma so of course I'm embarrassed and feel really bad that I have to tell her I hit her car. We exchange information written and try to "talk" and communicate as best we can. She was trying to tell me that it wasn't a big deal and we'd work something out, nothing worth getting in a tizzy over. Then she told me a little bit about her grandchildren. She has a granddaughter about Alayna's age that goes to the Kindergarten in a neighboring town. It was a relief that she was so laid back about it. RED was the one I was afraid to tell. Mainly because in my mind I can see him turning Red... Yes I backed into (and BARELY touched a stucko wall) and it left a few itty bitty dimples and no paint damage. So this would make the second time I've run into something in the last 6 months. And it's the ONLY times I've ever hit anything since I've been driving... So I guess that's not too bad but talk about timing!! Not such great luck with that. lol. I was able to take a Magic Erasure to the paint and all the blue came off so the damage is minimal to the van. It looks a lot better. I'm not trying to down play it, of course, I should've been more careful. Or perhaps even more careful than I was already trying to be. I never set out to ram somebody that day. Who does that? It's just THINGS. I do my very best to care for them because yes we work hard for what we have BUT to me...it's just things. Things can always be replaced and my treasures aren't here on Earth. There are things and people I treasure of course but that's different.
Needless to say RED finally got over being peeved at me but I haven't heard the end of the bumper car jokes. I'm sure that'll continue for oh...the next 5 years or so.
Egg numero funf. (that's 3 languages!) ha! It's beautiful living in Germany but can we say expensive?! Last Friday we had our oil tanks topped off because they were half empty and it took about 2000 liters. We could've filled it more but we had to sortof guesstimate. All in all it's going cost us $1988 and some change. whew. Keeping warm, driving and having the lights on in your home doesn't come cheap. So that'll put a nice dent in our bank account. I hope we might still be able to go to Italy or France for our anniversary next month!
There is so much more but I'm done "collecting for today so to speak. And since I don't have as much time to sit down and write one blog, it ends up in pieces over the course of a week and some of it ends up irrelevant or sincerely OLD news....
Happy Monday, Be safe!
(does anyone know why inserting links doesn't work?? It hasn't in any of my posts!)
I'm trying to institute a "sign of the day" type deal in my posts. I can't embed with SigningSavvy.com and the links aren't "linking". So stay tuned while I handle this technical difficulty.
There will also be a recipe inserted into every post :)
Today's Recipe is one I think you'll really enjoy with the last fruits of Summer.
Lemon Creme Fruit Dip
1 pkg Instant Lemon Pudding Mix
1 Cup Cold Milk
1 Cup of Plain yogurt (vanilla might work too)
Mix the pudding powder and milk together and let stand one minute. Fold in the yogurt until mixed well. Serve with Berries, Grapes and Melons. Enjoy!
