Michael with Ari and Matt

This morning we took it easy and just milled around the house. When it was the boys morning nap time (around 11:30am), we packed up and went to Garmish to visit our friends Matt and Ari, who we haven’t seen since our first weekend here. Matt went on a 5 week trip to Patagonia and then they had lots of other stuff going on and we were sick, etc. But we finally made it out there.

We visited with them for awhile at their house. It’s a really neat house, looks like one of those pensions that you stay in, very european. We tried to put the boys down for a nap, I think they did nap some, but most of the time played around. We tried speaking in German some, but Matt speaks really fast so it was a half German half English conversation. It’s great that I can follow along for the most part though.

In the afternoon, we went to a picnic with some of Matt’s collegues from the hospital. It was a really fun, there were lots of people and kids and toys. The boys were scared at first but quickly opened up. They had fun walking around and playing with the toys. They had their first Wurst experience, it tasted like those little breakfast sausages. Rowan couldn’t get enough! They are also getting better at drinking out of a cup, and they really liked juice. They usually don’t have any so it was a real treat for them. It won’t be long before we can all sit at a table and eat. Can’t wait! I wish we could’ve spoken more German, we talked with some of the people, but felt rude to just kind of barge in and start speaking English when everyone else is speaking German. So, we just talked with others when they wanted to talk, which was fine. Elijah is getting really good with body parts, he knows where is head, ears, mouth and toes are. Rowan isn’t as consistent with pointing, most of the time he ignores me!

They got tired at around 7pm, so we left then. It was a fun day. We were so tired when we got home that we didn’t bother making dinner. We were also already so stuffed from eating so much good sausage.

Today I went to class late again because I had lots of stuff to do at home (dishes and getting the kitchen in order). I should’ve done it last night, but, well, I was knitting and you can’t disturb me while I’m knitting. I got the ear parts done and started on the main hat body. It’s pretty cool. I miss knitting.

I went to Michael’s work to pass some time, I didn’t want to walk into class 10 minutes before break. Since he wasn’t there, I talked with his office mate, Stefan. He is a nice guy and it is always interesting to talk to people and ask how long it took them to learn/speak English/German. I also always ask what helped them learn faster. The conclusion is - speaking to strangers(duh), reading, and watching TV.

Class was really hard today, we learned a lot of hard concepts - reflexive verbs and verbs with prepositions. It makes no sense. Also, the school was giving away some free books and everyone took what was available. Me and this guy from my class, Andrea were milling over what was left (most stuff was Japanese/German), and then this lady popped out and said that she had more in her office! We totally made out like bandits! We took anything of value that she had left. When we walked into class, everyone was super jealous of us and we caused the whole class to walk out and see if there were more (which there wasn’t). Woohoo!

After class I went to lunch with Michael at the Japanese restaurant. I can’t get enough of the tori karaage. It’s really good.

I was going to go shopping for more stir fry stuff but Michael suggested that he come home early and we do it by car. So we did. The boys didn’t nap in the morning so almost right when I got home I put them down. That left me enough time to finish knitting the hat. Well, when I say finish knitting, I just mean that the knitting part is done. There’s still a lot of “finishing” to do. Weaving in the ends is the no-fun part of knitting, ask anyone. Then I also have to add an edge around the whole thing, but I have to wait for my circular needle to come in.

Michael came home and we took the car out. On the way out, I thought I would try and see if the Mariners baseball hats that we have would fit them. I put them on and both of them LOVED it, they looked at each other and laughed and touched each others hats. It was so funny, they would walk around with it with a big smile.

We went to HIT market at the Rosenheimer platz, because it’s right across the street from the library. I had an overdue book that I needed to return too. Even though we had a car and all, it wasn’t like it was easier. First, you have to pay for parking. Second, we had to bring the umbrella stroller, which I hate. Even though the big stroller is a little (?) wider and heavier, because it has a narrow front, it’s easier to move around in. I had so many problems getting stuck in narrow places with the smaller stroller because the front wheels would always catch. The boys were not happy in that stroller, so we also had to deal with them being mad. But somehow we made it through it all.

When we got home, I was so tired, I wanted to rest a little bit. But what ended up happening is that I fell asleep watching “Back to the Future” in german and then waking up at 2:30am. I was super hungry so I made some ramen noodles and watched “Just Like Heaven”. Michael woke up as well and we watched it together. It was a really good movie, I haven’t seen one that I liked in awhile. We stayed up until around 5am and then went back to sleep.

My mom called me this afternoon and told me the news that our friend, Stacy Kaneaiakala, committed suicide yesterday (4/19/2006). It is a total shock to all of us and I think she is the first person that I really knew who committed suicide. For those of you who don’t know her, she was the main person who helped me plan the boys’ first birthday party last November. She is the kind of person that you can’t stop talking to because she is so much fun to be around. Everyone she comes in contact with instantly likes her. She is such a good person, always trying to better herself and learning from others as much as she can. It brings me great sadness to know that such a special person is no longer here. Please send positive thoughts out to her daughter Elena, her son Jonah and her husband, Ben. She will be truly missed.

I hope if anyone out there is suffering from depression or has suicidal thoughts please, please, PLEASE get help! Depression is not just “the blues”. It’s a chemical imbalance in your body that needs fixing. There is no shame in seeing a professional! Life is precious!!

After that news, I was kind of in a stupor all day. I went grocery shopping with Riki at Basic and picked up lots of stuff. It was fun to walk with someone there and back. It was her first time there, I don’t know if she necessarily liked it. It is more expensive. She is getting some pressure to buy organic stuff for Frederik now that he’s starting to eat solids. But really, I’m sure the normal stuff is ok. Sometimes people go overboard like “you’re not feeding him THAT are you?” Geez. There was a time when organic food didn’t exist, and we all lived!!!

I rode my bike to class today. Or I should say Michael forced me to ride my bike today. It took forever because the seat wasn’t comfortable and it felt like I was sitting on a metal ball. I also didn’t like riding in the thin bike lanes and also had some car honking his horn at me to go faster. How traumatic! The ride coming back was much better and easier than the ride going into the city. I think there is a slight incline going in.

In the evening, I picked up my knitting needles again. I’ve got the bug to knit! I took apart a wool blanket that I was knitting for the boys about a year ago (I only got 1/8 done) and I’m going to make a hat or two out of the yarn. I’ve been wanting to make/design cool colorful hats! We’ll see…

At the playground

Today was a regular day. Went to class, learned more German, or it’s more like getting confused with more German. The test sucked, I think I did badly. This test was different from the others, it didn’t have as much multiple choice as normal. So, I’m hoping I still get a “1″, which is like an “A”. But it is realistic that I would get my first 2. :( Oh well. Just gotta study harder.

This afternoon I was supposed to meet a friend, but our lines got crossed and ended up being a day just with the boys. We first went to the San Francisco Coffee Company (Munich’s Starbucks) and got a Mango smoothie. The boys really liked it a lot. Then we went to the park playground across the street. This is the first time they have been there where I just let them do whatever. The last time we went, we usually held them and didn’t let them really roam. But now that they can walk pretty good, and they have shoes, I let them loose. They had lots of fun! Rowan was a little whiney, but we had a good time overall. Their favorite is the slide and because I can only do one person at a time, the other one would sit on the side and cry. I got stares from everyone there, probably thinking “I’m glad I’m not her”. I think I have the least dressed babies in Germany. C’mon people, just because the sun isn’t out, doesn’t mean they still need to wear hats and jackets!

After the park, we came home and they were pooped. That’s another good thing about the park. I should take them there more often, at least twice a week. They tok a nice nap and I had to wake them up (they weren’t happy about that). The bad thing is that we got sand everywhere!

They are both learning new words and every once in awhile know where their toes and noses are. They definitely know where their head is. Also, while I was feeding them dinner, Rowan pointed to Michael and said “Dad-ah”. Wow! A couple of days ago, he patted me on the head and said “Daddee”. So I think he thinks everyone is a Daddy. It’s too cute! Elijah LOVES the song “Head and shoulders knees and toes” and has a big smile everytime we sing it. He can only do “head”, but he does it very well.

For dinner I made Chicken Katsu again, yummy! I also got a care package from Shari, she sent a whole bunch of Easter stuff for us. Thanks, Shari!

It was hard to stay awake in class today after all that Lost watching and homework, but I somehow managed to get through it. We have a test tomorrow that I’m not prepared for.

After class I was supposed to go to lunch with Michael but he had a meeting so I went to buy some pens and laundry detergent instead. Pretty exciting stuff! I got colored pens so that I could make flashcards with them. Red for feminine nouns, blue for masculine and green for neuter. I hope it helps me remember stuff better since in German, everything hinges on the gender.

I also remembered to call the heart center today to get an appointment for Elijah. He is due for a checkup. I saw their website and they are one of 5 hospitals in the world that has a low (less than 3%) mortality rate. I think Children’s in Seattle is another one of the 5. How lucky are we that we live next to such great hospitals! Our appointment is next week, hopefully we can muddle through everything. I’m not too worried though, Elijah is very healthy and strong so I’m guessing everything will check out a-ok.

Michael made dinner of pork and apples again and it was delish! I watched Lost with him and he is now caught up to me. Glad this marathon is over since we’re not getting enough sleep, but now we have to wait a whole week in between for new episodes.

I stayed up way to late studying for my test and doing homework. I hope things get back to normal tomorrow!

Quadruplets!

OK, so today I am finally caught up with the current season 2 episode of Lost. Man, it’s a great show! We didn’t do much today because everything was closed since it’s Easter Monday. I did have enough food supplies to last throught the weekend.

Around noon, Riki, Arne and Frederik came over for pictures. I promised them that I would take some of Frederik and I managed to get some good ones. They told me that it’s not normal for German people to take baby pictures at a studio. Usually people go for family portraits once a year, if even that. They were really happy with the results and I’m glad that I got my lights set up and working.

I played with the boys on our deck and an American family passed by and I talked with them a bit. They live in the building next door and we’ll probably see them a lot. They have a daughter the same age as the boys. Cool!

In the afternoon, we went over to Gustavo’s and Kristin’s house (the people we met at IKEA). It was a really great visit, we had so much fun! They are such nice people. Their son Tyler is 2.5 and he had lots of toys that the boys could play with. What the boys really liked though, were all the mirrors in their house. We haven’t had to use mirrors to make a room look bigger but now we’re thinking of doing it since the boys liked it so much. Also, the way their apartment was set up, they could run around in circles and they had fun doing that too. We stayed quite awhile, like 3 hours and the boys did really well. We didn’t bring anything other than snacks (no diapers), so whenever they got stinky was when we had to leave. We really liked their neighborhood since they are 1 block away from a huge miniMAL. I told Michael that the next place we move to will have to be close to a big store like that. I am tired of these tiny Tenglemann’s that never have anything when you want it.

I was super tired so I fell asleep early while Michael caught up on watching Lost episodes. I woke up at around 2am and did my German homework, as well as watch the last Lost episode that we downloaded (SOS). This no-sleep madness has to stop soon!

So, all we pretty much did today was watch the boys and watch Lost. Michael was out of it because he stayed up late getting caught up with me. So I let him sleep in while I took care of the boys. In the afternoon, he took them out for a walk while I cleaned up the library room. That room has been a complete mess ever since we moved in. Since I’m taking pictures of Frederik tomorrow, I have proper motivation to clean it up. I did a pretty decent job, at least you can see the floor now. I also went down and got the supplies that I needed. I’m kind of bummed that I can’t set up my paper backdrop since it’s too wide and the room is too small, so I’ll have to continue using my portable setup. One of these days I’ll get to use my new equipment!

We thought about going to some Easter Egg hunt but decided against it. Big crowds and the weather wasn’t that great. If we thought they would really enjoy it we would go, but I think they’re still too young. Next year…

I made chicken katsu again tonight and it was damn good! I cleaned out the loose panko flakes in between batches so that it didn’t burn the chicken unnecessarily. Michael fell asleep while I managed to watch a bunch of Season 2 episodes. Sadly, we have to watch it on our laptop! Man, it gets really good!

Happy Easter everyone!

I spent the day with the boys and they were so good. They are so cute now, so much personality. Rowan is a real talker and Elijah does this funny thing where he’s starting to walk with his hands behind his back like he’s pacing. Sometimes he’ll pick up a shirt and carry it behind him.

In the afternoon, we went to Basic to pick up some last minute supplies - lots of milk, jogurt and fruit. Right when I came home, Michael also came home so he helped me with the boys for the rest of the evening. I don’t know how I got through the day without taking a nap.

In the evening, Michael got caught up with me with Lost episodes while I slept peacefully at his sides. He also is totally hooked on the show and said that it is the best show he’s ever seen. Wow, that’s a real compliment! It’s cool that I recognize places too, like the wedding scene is the place where my sister got married (Kahala Mandarin).

This is the first time they’ve played with balloons and they totally cracked themselves up! A surefire crowd pleaser!

Holiday today - Good Friday, or as German’s call it, Karfreitag. So, no school and no work! We also have Monday off too, Easter Monday. Woo hoo!

OK, so I have been pretty good last week about updating my blogs only a day or two behind. And then, I go and ask my sister to get me “Lost Season 1″ on DVD. It arrived on Tuesday (thanks, Shaun!), and we have been watching it non-stop since. Now we understand what all the hype is about. It is a reallly good show and each one begs us to watch the next immediately. I don’t know how you people do it, waiting a whole week in between. Since I was home alone today (Michael left super early to go on a ski touring trip with his friend Josef), I managed to watch 3 DVDs worth!!! Talk about couch potato! I couldn’t help it, it was so good. Now, Michael will have to catch up. Can’t wait for Season 2 to arrive. Or we just might end up downloading it from iTunes. Dang, why does that show have to be so addictive???

Anyways, we stayed at home today and just hung out. The weather wasn’t very good and it was a holiday, so no stores are open. The boys have been getting pretty rascal with running around on the couch when I tell them not to, and then it all stops when Rowan falls off the couch. But he was ok. Then, they managed to move their blue foam chair away from the wall, and Rowan decides to play on it and threw his weight on the back of the chair, which made it fall over. He fell face first onto the hard floor. I didn’t think it was that hard, but when he looked up, he had blood all over his mouth. I was a little panicked and wasn’t sure what to do in an emergency - do I call an ambulance? Do I “rush” him to the hospital taking the UBahn? I got a paper towel and wiped up the blood and he stopped crying soon after. I had a hard time seeing what exactly was cut, since he didn’t want me to touch his lip. I managed to sneak peeks in while he was crying and it looked like his teeth cut into his upper lip, but not majorly, just enough for it to bleed. Poor guy. I was wondering how I’m going to get the bleeding to stop since he wouldn’t let me put pressure on it. But it pretty much stopped on it’s own which made me think it’s not too deep. I gave him some milk and he was up and playing around again.

In the evening, I blew up some balloons for them and they have not put them down for one second until they had to go to bed. They were having a ball playing with it, and so that was today’s daily video. Warning, cuteness factor is very high on that one!