backyard play

gregor (3 soon to be 4 in may) and i have been playing a lot of fussball in the backyard lately because the weather has been great, and gregor i have come to find out is super athletic. and has energy to spare (so i often take him to the garden to expend the energy much like you might run a dog, in the most loving sense possible) we usually start by trying to pass the ball through each other's legs. we started to get pretty good so he told me to back up and kick it as hard i could through his legs. no problem kid... i passed it as hard as i could to him, and just before the ball got to him it must have hit a bump or something because it bounced right up and hit him in his boy parts as he was spread eagle. to my surprise, no tears. instead he busted out in laughter, "leigh leigh you hit my visi visi!" (although probably an overshare, 'visi visi' is what the boys use to refer to their man parts.)

Paula and the terrible twos

It’s not terrible, but rather sassy. When I first arrived Paula didn’t really speak. She could understand pretty much everything in English, and German of course because she had 5 people constantly talking at her in German. On her 2nd birthday, on December 1st, Paula decided she would change things up. It was like she learned 50 new words over night (English included). Lately she repeats everything I say, and a lot of what Gregor and Julius say. Since Gregor and Julius attend English kindergarten they subconsciously speak only English to each other – it’s pretty amazing, and rather funny to hear them converse. Paula has now joined the conversation, and can now say phrases she hears all the time.
She can say, “Please push me on the swing.”
“Cheese, please.”
“Ya, funny!”
And thanks to me she can say, ”Happy girl!” “You silly goose.” and can sing “Down by the Bay.” She even called Anna (her mother) a ‘silly goose’ the other day in the kitchen when Anna dropped something!
Naturally she knows how to scold in German as well, because only when we need to speak very fast or get a point across do we speak in German. So she often says, “Hör auf!” or “So geht’s nicht!” But my 2 favorite Paula phrases are, “Leigh, Leigh immer noch weh tan!” Which (in terrible German grammar means, “it’s still hurting!”) and “Nur ein bissi.” Which means (in German Kinder talk) “just a little bit” when she is begging for sweets or more food.
Paula is now attending a "Kinder Gruppe" in a close by Montessori preschool once a week on Wednesdays. Every time I ask her, "How was Kindergruppe? What did you do?" She says, "Pretzi essen!"

Sick day

Hey Deutschers, we need to talk.
You're brilliant, obviously. World renown for your inventions and quality products: BMW, Gutenberg's press, X-ray, Siemens... you catch my drift, right?
However, there's a problem: I'm sick. I need the drugs. Tea and honey are not going to cut it. Because tea and honey will not reduce my fever, allieve my monthly girl issues, lessen my hangover headache or temporarily stop my nose from running.

I ain't never had too much fun...

Too much fun, whats that mean? Its like too much money, there's no such girl. Its like a girl too pretty, with too much class, being too lucky or a car too fast.

Leonhardi

Nov. 7th, 2011:
Long story short, another Bavarian festival (oh but the story is so much longer than that). Leonhardi is a procession in honor of the holy horse and livestock patron,Saint Leonhard. Hundreds of decorated horse-drawn carriages carry people adorned in traditional Bavarian clothing through the town and then to the top of the hill where the church (St. Leonhard’s chapel) is. The most famous Leonhardi “ride” takes place in the one and only Bad Tölz. Breakfast consisted of weisswurst and weissbier. I was told I need to eat as much weisswurst as I could because “I needed a good bottom layer.” Then with Maria, and friends, we hiked to the top of the hill to the chapel. After the being in the meadow for a couple of hours, the festival and carriages winds back to down to the city center where celebrations continue long into the day and night.

success!

julius and i have been practicing his biking. we live next to pasinger stadtpark so there is lots of room to practice. today was only our 3rd go at it, and he said "let go, let go!" i skeptically let go and he was able to bike all by himself! generally he has an awesome sense of humor so when he crashes (which he only did twice), he just starts cracking up. at first he looked like a drunk driver but each time he was able to go straighter and longer distance! it was so cute! he was so excited. after he got really stable, i said lets go home to mom and show her. the whole family came out to the street to watch julius bike! and as he showed off his new skills, the entire family ran down the street with him cheering (and preventing him from running into any mercedes and bmws that line our street). it was such a joyous moment for the "our" family! they were not only proud of julius, but me too!

enjoy it!

drawing inspiration from walt disney classics!


Enjoy It!

Why cry about bad weather? Enjoy it!
Each moment is a treasure, enjoy it!
We are travelers on life’s highway, enjoy the trip
Each lovely twist and byway, each bump and dip

If there’s a complication, enjoy it!
You’ve got imagination, employ it!
And you’ll see roses in the snow,
Joie de vivre will make them grow,
Voila, that’s life, enjoy it!

Since I must do the cooking, I’ll enjoy it!
This humble tree smells gorgeous, you’ll enjoy it!
Hurricane comes your way, enjoy the breeze
Your stranded in the jungle? Enjoy the trees!

If there’s a complication, enjoy it!
You’ve got imagination, employ it!
This world’s a cornucopia,
Why it could be, Utopia?
Voila, that’s right, enjoy it!

Why cry about bad weather? Enjoy it!
Each moment is a treasure, enjoy it!
We are travelers on life’s highway, enjoy the trip
Each lovely twist and byway, each bump and dip

If there’s a complication, enjoy it!
You’ve got imagination, employ it!
And you’ll see roses in the snow,
Joie de vivre will make them grow,
Voila, that’s life, enjoy it!

party hard

julius after saturday's harvest festival...

we had a long day, full of excitement, games and junk food. when we got home julius and i went to read a book on the couch, while we waited for dinner. i said "let's pretend to sleep, to trick mom and dad." attempting to calm him and gregor down. (meg and i used to "fake sleep" all the time, learned it from our dad, not sure why we thought it was so funny.) i got up for 1 minute, when i came back he was still face down. at first i thought he was just really good at the sleeping game, but then i saw a pool of drool. he was passedddd out, balloon still on wrist and all.

hallo from egensperger kinder

there's not weather in California...

So I have the kids figured out, but what I have not figured out is the weather... we don't quite get along yet. It has been so nice, up until Thursday night when it started to rain. When I woke up Friday it wasn't bad, just some light sprinkles - I thought, "I can handle this." So, I decided to bike to lunch. Just like in the movies, as soon as I got to the end of my street, there was a booming crack of lightening and thunder and then a sudden downpour. I kid you not. (Mind you I am wearing cotton leggings, and cheap flats from Target.) I did not turn back, and continued into town - I was instantly wet I figured it couldn't get worse. It got even more Hollywood when I was locking my bike and it began to hail. In town, I compared my outfit to everyone that I saw, all the Germans so practically dressed. When I got back home (soaked), I was talked to my au pair mom (Anna) and we decided we would look through my clothes, and see what I should purchase and for her to teach me how to properly dress.