Summer Vacation

So summer vacation is almost over...I have mixed feelings about this as it means I will be returning to the grind and I can't just chill with the kids all day. But I'm also looking forward to being on a regular, "normal" schedule. Teachers will tell you that children crave dependability, routine, and schedules. Well, I've realized that I do, too! I'm happiest and most relaxed when I know what to expect out of my day--when I can plan. The first couple days we were back in our own house, the kids were ecstatic, playing with their toys, spending time tearing up their rooms and seeing their friends. And so was I! It illustrated just how much we love it here, that after visiting with loved ones "back home", partying it up in Disney, frolicking on the beach, and soaking in the mall...Well, this is still where our hearts are. Not even the impending start of the dreaded W-word can keep me away :)

Aaaah...

Back home after a 2 month crazation in the States. Spent time in WA, WI, VA, CA and various airports--ha ha! We had our first family vacation at Disneyland in Cali, and we had such a wonderful time that I'm sure it's the first of many :) I'll resume blogging here once I get my feet back under me! But in the meantime, oh yes, it's good to be home!

Mother's joy

Okay, I saw a sad news story today about this 10-month old girl who is a medical mystery because she is shrinking within her own skin. Things like this make me feel extremely grateful and--frankly--lucky that my children are healthy, happy, and safe. I'm no one special that I should've been so blessed and this other mother so burdened with sorrow. I take this state of well-being for granted much of the time amidst the daily grind of life. Aiden is reflective of the emotional, frustrated, pissed-off side of me at times. While Ava is the little "B" in me come to life. At times, like these when my children are irrational, selfish, and spoiled, I think What have we done? What have we created?!?!? But these moments are nothing, insignificant, when I think of little girls like the one on the news. My frustrations and fears become insignificant in light of the realization that what we have going on here in our little family is just about as close to perfect as we could wish. You never know what can happen in life, so I do ocassionally remind myself to love it now, as it is. That's my mother's day gift to myself.

Whine

So have you seen that mom? The frazzled mom dragging a whiny toddler around the store--clearly weighing the equally unpleasant choices between dropping all her hastily selected items and making an immediate exit, or ignoring the whinings of her child that have every minute gotten louder and more persistent and embarassing so that she can complete her purchase? Yeah, that's me right now. Well, when I'm out with Ava (Aiden's an angel comparatively right now). It's gotten to the point where I suspect that Ava just whines for the sake of whining. Like it's a habit. When I try to ascertain what it is that will stop the god-forsaken noise ringing in my head, the exchange usually goes like this:
Me: You want wa-wa?
Ava: Yeah. No.
Me: No wa-wa?
Ava: No wa-wa.
Me: Are you hungry?
Ava: Yeah. Noooooooooooo!!!!!!
Me: You want to go nigh-night?
Ava: NOOOOOO!!! No nigh-night!
Me: You want pretzels?
Ava: Yeah. No pretzels!
Me: Shush...
Ava: Stop it!

Yes, this is Ava's current favorite phrase. Accompanied with a smack on the arm nearest her. I am so frustrated with her. At this point, we've decided that when she hits she needs to have a sort of time out, which for her is basically being put down and not paid attention to for a moment. That frustrates her and escalates the whining to a full-out tantrum, but it stops the hitting. Then, she's calmer when we pick her back up to continue the interrogation and we usually can figure out some compromise between us. At any rate, I've figured through this process that she doesn't really know what she wants and is whining for the sake of whining...a form of expression if you will.

Today, at the Mexican restaurant she was doing it again but this time I knew it was because she wanted to pour the sugar into her cup of water and I wouldn't let her. So when I dared to put the sugar out of her reach, she regarded me with a half eye-roll and half closed-lid I know you didn't look--completely silent. It was as threatening a look one could get from a soon-to-be two-year old. My friends saw it and busted out laughing because it was so teenagerish they couldn't believe it. Radley and I asked for the check immediately, but it was too late. The entire restaurant was privy to the drama at our table within seconds and we were instantly the parents of the out-of-control toddler. See ya! Until 2011!!!

Soccer

So we went to Aiden's first soccer game of the season today. Yeah...Aiden and his two friends got the coach a bit frustrated. So it was a cold, rainy day and as usual, Aiden was not that into getting the ball or making a goal. He and two other similarly disinterested friends proceded to chase each other in circles and whatnot...on the field, as the game was being sadly lost while about two dedicated boys tried to regain the ball and make a goal. I was somewhere between mortified and like, "Well, boys will be boys." I do think that Aiden needs to learn the value of working on and for a team. In this aspect, he has not learned enough yet. However, he is having fun...

As I said, it was rainy, and at one point, Aiden ran over to us and requested an umbrella to take with him back to the field...

On another note, since the game was played at our "home" team's town (Frauenberg), we soccer moms were expected to bake goods to sell. I decided I was going to go All-American and give those Germans something new to try. I made rice crispy treats. A truly foreign affair for any other than Americans. Radley overheard some of Aiden's teammates asking him what they were and his explanation centered around the marshmallows, so the boys responded, "Oh...Marshmallows..." In all, I think three people may have been brave enough to pay the 50 euro-cents for one. HA HA! Oh well, more for us, as Radley pointed out!

Bats!

Every spring and summer evening around 9:00, my bats come out. Tonight, I spotted them for the first time and ran to the window all excited to welcome them out of hibernation. It's weird, I know. I almost think of them as my pets. They're so cool and they eat the bugs--especially the mosquitos that eat my Aiden--so they're cool with me. And, it's a sign that spring is definitely here! Tonight, the two (or three or eight--hard to tell when they flit around so fast!) eating their first buggy meal of the year appeared to be fighting and I found myself chastizing them not to argue, as there is surely enough bugs to go around. This might be a sign of craziness? Anyway, I'm sure they'll work it out. And now, I get to watch my nightly display of death-defying jerky flights around the backyard. They come right up to the window, on what appears a repetitious convoluted, diving pattern around the yard. It's really amazing to watch when you realize they can't see jack squat and that they're using sonar to figure that the windows about to smash into their furry faces so they can make a sudden twist and dive for a bug at the same time.

There are two things that concern me a bit. First is, where do they live? Like, where's the bat cave? It certainly must be nearby...And second, I hope they use their sonar for avoiding objects realiably in case I'm out late one night chilling with the friends on the back patio. I'd hate to have one of my furry friends tangled up in my hair. I might not be so enthused about them after that.

9 Lives

Uh...The black cat is not dead. It was an imposter! Repeat. The black cat is NOT DEAD!!!!

I was getting Ava out of the van today and was turning around to go into the house, and lo and behold...A little black head was peeking around the corner. I just stared at it for a second thinking, "I must be more distraught about this than I thought." He came bounding over just like he was never dead! I actually got down and started cooing at him and scratched him a bit, I was so happy to see him alive again! (I'm normally reserved around him after receiving ringworm from a stray I'd taken to in college).

So yes, cats do apparently have 9 lives! Sorry for the false alarm, y'all! HA HA!!!