Corn-y

Last night in the car I said to Radley, "Man, that corn on my toe really hurts!" and Aiden piped in from the back seat, "Mommy, why you got corn on your toes?????"

Poor Aiden puked at Aunt Jill's tonight. His kindergarten had been shut down a little over a week ago to be disinfected because so many people have been sick. I knew it was just sitting in his little body, incubating...Argh! He got in the car to go home after being sick in the bathroom and growled, "I hate throwing up! Throwing up is stupid!" Yes, baby, it is.

Earlier in the night, Ava was looking out the open window in Jill's dining room and looked down, commented on something forgetting that her nuk was in her mouth and it fell down, down two stories to the grass below. She was all concerned and Aunt Jill suggested that she tell Uncle Ryan to go get it for her and Ava didn't hestitate, yelling, "Wyaaaaaaan!" Hysterical!

In love with a teenage vampire

I just spent the last two weeks of my life obsessed with the impossible and tragic love story of a teen vampire. It all started with Facebook and the constant and passionate mentions of Twilight. My curiousity was piqued, but I was still sane and scoffed at the premise of a girl and vampire falling in love and fighting against all odds to be together...Forever...PUHLEEZE!!!

Then, Radley brought the book home from the library because, though we had never talked about this strange phenomenon occuring amongst the Facebook youth, he too was wondering what all the fuss was about. He just overcame any shame a grown adult would be facing in checking out the book (well, not really--he can check it out to himself from the school library and remain incognito). Anyway, the book sat around for awhile. But eventually, I decided that I would just find out what all the hype was over and read it--at least the first few pages before I got so irritated or embarassed of what I was reading that I tossed it aside...

Now I'm only slightly chagrined to admit this: I read the entire 4-book saga (each one, comparable to the thickness of a Harry Potter novel) with white-knuckled intensity. I rushed through each day so that I could get to the part of the evening where the kids were in bed and I could settle in to read for at least 4 more hours. I literally had to force myself to put the book down at midnight or 1 am. Radley would come up to the room, see my enraptured expressions and chuckle. I didn't care. Let him poke fun! It was the most fun I've had reading in--ever! Even when I was just starting a book, I was already sad knowing it was going to have to end. Anyway, Radley did eventually read the first book when I would let it go, and even he admitted the writing was intense (though he thought the story was "stupid"--Whatever!) So, I was trying to drag out the last book in the saga (though I really couldn't) and was just dreading the idea of the story being over for me. And now, it is. And I'm sad that that experience is over. It was a great escape from the stress I've been immersed in lately. But at least the ending was satisfying and I did feel a sense of closure. So I can move on. With bittersweet memories of my Twilight experience. And if you're laughing at me and/or rolling your eyes at my love of the teenage vampire love story...I dare you to read it and resist the transformation from rational, sensible grown-up to giddy, guilible teenager falling in love with a teenage vampire...

Europe livin'

So when I first moved to Germany, never a day went by that I didn't think in awe to myself, "Wow, I'm living in Europe!" For the first few years. Little things, the half-timber houses, the groups of people volksmarching, the view of a little village in the distance, the street cafes...all tickled me. The more significant differences, like the slower pace of life, the appreciation for family and leisure reflected in the everyday workings of the society, the great work situations we appreciated, made me feel grateful. Though living in Europe has changed my views, beliefs, and perspectives irrevocably, I've slowly lost my awe. I've known it was happening for a while with a certain sadness, akin to losing your innocence. I would realize whenever we had a visitor--especially first-timers--that I recognized their awe and amazement at all the little things that I had begun to take for granted. And I would feel it renewed, but in a more reserved way...

Last night, I went to a small reunion dinner with some old friends at a gasthaus I'd never been to before. It was a crooked half-timber house, with the restaurant on the 3rd tiny floor, run by an old man with his granddaughter as the only server. We had a delicious traditional meal. After a couple hours, a visiting American group that had come after us and was now leaving, commented on how long we were lingering. We explained that that's just how you eat out here; your table is yours for the night and you relax and drink and conversate for hours. They didn't appear convinced. Anyway, when we were finally leaving, the gray-haired owner overheard us commenting on wine and he simply said, "wine cellar" and beckoned for us to follow. He led us down to an amazing collection of premium wines and proudly boasted about the amazing collection he had. He invited us to come back anytime and we could first select the wine we'd like to drink from his cellar before we ate again. He explained that his building was built in 1390 and still retained most of the original wood beams. We talked to him and got to know him and his place and as we were chatting, one of our group leaned in and said, "This would never happen in the States." And I got that thrill I used to get, knowing this was true, and I was so lucky to experience this night on a regular ol' work night 10 minutes from my home. I'm living in Europe!

I'd rather be beat

This is what Radley used to say about his parents' lectures. And I'm sure this is what my kids will be saying about me when they're grown. But I like to think of my lectures, not as lectures, but more as counsel...I counsel Radley on the benefits of being romantic (which--thanks to his ODD--always has the opposite of the desired effect), I counsel my students on the benefits of taking responsibility for using their "new" speech sounds so I can stop banging my head against the wall after doing 100 initial /r/ word drills, I counsel my kids (Okay, just Aiden, but Ava's not far behind) on why it's not a good idea to tell Mommy "no" (ending up with them landing in jail because he told a policeman "no" all because Mommy let him say "no" to her!) It's a reflex, much like when the doctor taps your knee and you kick. If he tapped my larynx, a lecture--I mean, counsel--would come out. Even as I go on and on and on, I think to myself, "Man, he's surely had enough." But there's always one more point to make, one more important life lesson to impart...And what do I get for my long-winded attempts at enlightening people? A reaction such as, "Uh, can we play now?" or "Don't you have some laundry to do?" Geez! The ingratitude!

My talker

Ava is SUCH a girl. She's not even two yet and is already putting 3 and 4 words together--always talking. Maybe it's cuz I'm used to working with children who are language delayed, but I'm so not used to her precociousness in the language department! I get SUCH a kick out of it :) Even when she's sassy. At Chili's the other day (there's one on Ramstein Air Base), Rad was trying to get her to move back to her high chair from my lap, and she said, "NO, I sit Mommy!" I swear, I have witnesses. We all just looked at each other, like whaaaat?!? She also walks around the house looking for me and asking, "Where are you? Mama! Where are yooooooouuu?" Today, before her nap, she was entertaining herself with her Elmo doll and talking. Now, when she's saying a lot or trying to sound like a mommy/grown-up, she just babbles. And that's just cute. Unfortunately, she frequently has her nuk (pacifier) in her mouth still--she's very attached to it--and tries to talk. So I tell her, "Ava, you have to take your nuk out cuz I can't understand you." And then she takes it out and restates herself. So funny!

Yowsers

Well, I hit the pavement today! I've been running on the treadmill at the gym since it's been so freezing cold and icy/snowy here. But this morning I wanted to go earlier before Rad had to coach another basketball game and the gym doesn't open until 10. Since it was decent and up to 30 degrees, I loaded on my cold-weather running gear and headed out! The whole farm road I run was treacherous with icy patches and my nose was running from the cold and exertion from running on real hills again. Don't let that treadmill fool you into thinking you're getting a real-life outdoor running experience. Those "hills" it throws in to keep your heartrate up are no match for the real thing! I was so exhausted after running today, I have been laid out and popping ibuprofen for my sore muscles already.

Well, I'll be heading back to the gym since it's supposed to snow again in the next couple days. But now I've reminded myself of how hard I normally push it, so I'll have to up the intensity on the ol' treadmill. I'm just glad I haven't totally quit running this winter like I have before. I definitely haven't been able to go as much as I'd like, but no worries...I'm still losing weight! My secret? Extreme stress and time deprivation. Don't feel like eating and don't have much time to anyway. Ugh. Things should be more chill in a couple weeks, though, so maybe I can get back into a more normal running schedule soon. And as soon as it is up to 45, I'm headed back out to nature so I can breathe in some clean (though frequently manure-scented) air and enjoy the views of the open country around me!

Long time, no blog...

So wow, it's been a while...Let me catch you up here...Since I last wrote, I wrapped up work a bit early and boarded a plane with my family to VA to spend the holidays shopping, celebrating, and chillin with family and friends. Sike! I boarded a plane with my family to VA to spend the holidays nursing myself and children through two nasty, nasty viruses in a house full of sick people, celebrating whenever we got to step foot out the front door of quarantine. Yeah. So now we're back to normal life and work. Which, I make it my priority not to blog about work for a variety of reasons, but let me just say one thing...I have never wished for summer as bad as I am right now. If you only knew...But that's enough of that.

On a lighter note, we're all healthier now! Aiden is super-excited about the new police unit happening at his kindergarten and the police coming to visit them on Friday. Yeah, from a big city and everything! So they can talk about more exciting things than busting cow-tippers. And Ava seems to be jumping straight into full conversation mode from one-word utterances. I don't know how she got to the 3-word combo stage, but she can express her sassiness in a whole new way now. Though two single words are still her faves: "No" (complete with sassy half-turn) and "MINE!" (complete with witch-like screeching). Rad has been gone at "jail". Aiden now gets the joke. Everytime I tell someone that Rad's at JLS they inevitably respond, "JAIL?" Heh...Not yet. So this year, Aiden has been entertaining himself with the idea that Daddy's in jail. JLS is Junior Leadership Seminar and he runs the program that teaches budding middle-schoolers how to be better leaders for a week up at a castle-turned-youth-hostel on the Rhein. Tough gig.

Anyhoo! It's a three-day weekend coming up and you know I'm excited! Plan to get my running shoes back on and hit the rubber! Been too icy to run outside so I'm using the gym, which is actually alright for the time-being. And that reminds me, I have hit my pre-Ava weight--YAY! However, my body is still irrevocably damaged and does not look like my pre-Ava body, let alone my pre-Aiden body. Recall the infected stretch mark. Well, there are many similar humiliations I face alone in the mirror. But yay pre-Ava weight!