Today I had the babysitter again and I used that time to organize and pack. I think I did pretty good. It wasn’t at hard as I first thought, but I always do worry that I’ll forget something. What I did was stand in every room and look at every corner thinking about how often I use things there. I think it’s a pretty good method.

I continued packing and doing laundry through the night. The kitchen is the hardest. Just because you have to take one of almost everything. I made sure to write down things that need to be done in the morning so that I don’t forget. I can’t wait for this to be over. To keep me company, I watched old episodes of Lost. What a great show! I already forgot what happened in the 2nd season and I’m looking forward for the 3rd. Shucks, I just checked and the season doesn’t start until October 4th. :(

Tonight I read something on “Blogging Baby” that I thought was a good idea - mom cards. There are so many places (well, not *that* many) where I need to give out my address/phone number, especially babysitters, child care places, other moms that I meet and I don’t have a pen or paper or something, or I do and then I lose it. So, I created my own business cards and had them printed. I put the last studio pictures I did of Rowan and Elijah (man, that was almost a year ago now) and put “Kris Stanton, photographer, web developer and mom to Rowan and Elijah”. That way it can also be subtle advertisement for my photography. I used the same printing company that I used for the boys’s first birthday cards since they’re really good and cheap. I’m sending them to my friend in California who is coming up to visit us in a month and can deliver it for me. What perfect timing!

BTW, I measured the boys today and Rowan is 83 cm’s tall (32.7 in) and Elijah is 81 cm (32 in) and they both weigh about 29 pounds. That puts Rowan in the 25 - 50th percentile (yay!) for height and Elijah in the 10 - 25th. I think I was worried because they slipped into the 5 - 10th. But as long as they remain in the 10 - 25th, that’s good. They are also in the 50th - 75th percentile for weight. Hmmmm… is that bad? Not sure if they should be in the same percentiles for height and weight. It’s really hard to keep them still on the scale and not have them touch anything. That means another 2 cm’s this month. I think they hit a growth spurt and have now slowed down again.

I finally gave the boys pizza today. Not just regular pizza though, ORGANIC pizza, which means it’s good for them, right? :) Like usual, Rowan loved it and ate his share + some of Elijah’s and Elijah just played with the toppings and only ate it when I broke it up into small pieces. So picky!

This morning I had an appointment to do my “vitality check” at the health club. I was running late and decided to just get a bottle of milk for each of them with a cracker to snack on as their breakfast. It took forever to get them together! I changed their diapers and Rowan decides to poop immediately in the new diaper - why does this happen??? So I had to change him again. Then I look outside, it’s raining. Great!

I have to walk a little ways to the tram stop, since it’s not the one close to our house. The UBahn doesn’t go close to the gym - it’s at least a 10 minute walk. But the tram comes relatively close to our house and then drops us off right in front of the club. So, I walk over there and wait in the rain. There was a sign at the bus stop, something about construction and I couldn’t figure it out. I waited and waited and finally I decided that maybe the sign says that the tram doesn’t stop there because of construction. So, I went to the tram stop across the street to wait for the tram that goes by our house (instead of walking back in the miserable rain). And so right when I got to the other tram stop, the one I was waiting for shows up! Geez. I thought about running back, but then decided not to. By the time I would’ve gotten there, I wouldn’t have time to put the boys comfortably in the day care and I can just see a nightmare happening. So I just waited for the other tram. I went back home and cancelled the appointment.

In the afternoon, we went to Basic and the Japanese store. I took the tram because I didn’t want to walk in the rain. Lots of tram riding today. I walked back though because geez, I’m not lazy. My latest craving is for yakisoba! Ever since I saw that the Japanese store carries it, I’ve been eating it almost every day.

For dinner today, I broke down and gave the boys pizza! It was their first time. It’s bio-pizza (organic), so it’s not completely bad. And it’s spinach and cheese. I think when I gave it to them, Elijah said “peeeda”, but he could’ve just been sayin’. As usual, Rowan loved it and ate it up and Elijah refused at first. I pretty much had to shove some in his mouth before he decided he liked it. And even then, it was really hard to get him to eat it. He started “hiding” the pizza under his leg. Rowan saw that and started doing it too. So when I got Elijah out of his chair, he had pizza stuck to his butt. I also started feeding them Kiwis. Again, Rowan LOVES it, Elijah won’t have anything to do with it. He’s so weird.

This morning Alex came and I thought I would have a leisurely morning, maybe go out and find a dirndl or something. But nooooo, lots of weird things to do. First off, I went to talk to the management about the apartment being too small. They said they will try to do something, but I think they can’t. It sucks.

Then I called and signed the boys up (completely in GERMAN) for a montessori class that teaches them about “exercises in practical life”. Should be interesting. I was proud of myself for doing the transaction all in German! It was really hard, but could be done.

Then I got a notice in the mail that said that I was rejected for my private health insurance. So I had to call my insurance guy and ask him what the deal is. He was kind of surprised that happened because we did all the paperwork right. There is this “pre-qualification” deal that you have to fill out before you do the actual signing up and we passed that, so there should be no reason that we got rejected. So frustrating! I’ve also been kind of disappointed in our insurance guy because he’s been so non-responsive to me. I pretty much have to call him to pin him down, email doesn’t work. And I live on email.

Then I got a notice in my mail about my phone/internet being shut off at the end of the month. I panicked for a second and then read further and it said that they are transferring my phone/internet to the other apartment. Didn’t know they could do that. Since it took a month to start our internet service, I’m kind of surprised that they do this. I’m totally expecting it to not work though.

So I pretty much used up my babysitting time to make phone calls and run to the grocery store. So sad. Michael called in the afternoon and he could “talk” to the boys. They are so funny, they just like listening to him talk. They don’t say anything. And then when I take the phone away they get so mad.

This evening I was so tired that after dinner, I fell right asleep - at around 9pm. WOW! I got up periodically, but mostly slept through the night. What a miracle! I think my body stays up for days and then one or two days a week I just crash. Tonight was one of them.

So today was pretty much like every other boring day I write about. For their nap, they went down as usual, but after awhile, I heard Elijah crying. Normally, Rowan might get up for a minute and moan, but then he goes back to sleep. This time it was Elijah though, and the cry was kind of weird. I waited a little bit to see if he would go back to sleep, but after awhile, his cry got weirder (like when he was sick). So I went inside and found that he was playing with the piano key cover and slammed it on his fingers. I’m actually kind of surprised this hasn’t happened before. But no big deal, he was more scared and surprised I think than hurt. I took him out of the crib (big mistake) and held him for a little bit. He calmed down until I put him back in his crib then all hell broke loose. Not only did he start crying but Rowan then woke up and started crying too. Hmmm…they were only in there for maybe 45 minutes. I debated whether to keep them up or not, but decided to give them more milk and let them sleep more. That did the trick.

After they got up, we went to Marienplatz and met Riki and Frederik there. We were shopping for rubber boots for the fall/winter. Can you believe that they didn’t have any? They had a size 20 (too small) then a 27 (too big). We also tried H&M but we couldn’t find it and it was really crowded there. There was another shoe store that we looked at but again, no sizes. Oh well. After that, we went to MiniMAL and got some groceries then went home. It was really nice to get out, even though it was raining.

When we got home, I fed them dinner then we went up to Riki’s place to hang out. She bought this drink called “new wine”. It’s wine that’s still fermenting, so there’s hardly any alcohol (a minus), and it’s sweet and slightly carbonated (a plus). It was pretty good. She also had some mangos. They were ok, not nearly as good as my Uncle Moris’s tree (in Hawaii)!

The boys had sooooooo much fun in their apartment. Riki’s bed was a big hit with them. It’s low enough so they can all crawl on it by themselves (all 3 of them were screaming and having fun). I’m surprised that with all the running around that no one got hurt. They loved climbing all over the pillows and blankets. Elijah was so cute - whenever he saw that Frederik dropped his pacifier, he would immediately pick it up and try to put it back in his mouth. Sometimes Frederik took it, other times he walked away. Elijah would follow him and try again. It was so cute, like it was his job. They loved just running through all the rooms and they were really good with Frederik. Frederik just wanted to be with them and followed them around. I wish I had the video camera. I’ll be sure to bring it next time.

In the evening, I got on ebay to look for boots. Sure enough, I can probably get some for under 5 euros. Much better than paying 15+! And they have a way better selection. I am now ebay crazy and can navigate around all the german. I ended up getting an extra pair of lederhosen, but that’s ok because I think I can resell it pretty easily next year. I can’t wait to see the boys in their lederhosen!

I want to find a knitting pattern to make the cool trachten (traditional bavarian) jackets. They are really nice, but expensive. I haven’t found one I liked on ebay, and in the stores a lot of them are over 100 euros. I’ll have to check the yarn stores to see if they have anything.

This evening I whittled the time away. I made dinner (hamburgers) that didn’t come out so good so I ate some and threw the rest away. I made a big batch for lunch/dinner tomorrow. So I’ll just have to think of something else.

I also tried working on the widget, but the whole cross browser thing is getting me down. It’s so irritating to think that you’re done with something and then you find out you’re not even close! Argh! That didn’t stop me from staying up late though. I seriously am a bat.

I’m celebrating with 3 cute videos!

Here are the boys doing Ring Around the Rosey all by themselves.

Here is my Elijah, cute as a button!

And lastly, here is Rowan, laughing at seeing himself on the computer.

So, today was the boys’ 21 month birthday. 1 3/4 years old. Man, time does fly. We didn’t do anything to celebrate. I did, however, sing Happy Birthday to them, just so that when it is their birthday, they will know the song and not wonder “what the?”.

We had a fun day at home, playing around. I was going to take them to the playground but the weather wasn’t all that great. My idea for the harmonica/diaper time is working out well, especially for Elijah. He can’t wait to get a diaper change! I’ll say “diaper change and harmonica time” and he’ll roll down on the floor in front of me. What a difference! And when he’s done, for the most part, he hands the harmonica back. Rowan though, still hates diaper changes, harmonica or not. 1/2 the time he is ok, but the other 1/2, he just wants to do something else. And then he doesn’t hand the harmonica back. I do have to corner him and he realizes he won’t win while I’m standing there, so he’ll hand it back. At least I don’t have to take it.

I also taught the boys how to say “I’m sorry” with signing (fist going in a circle on chest). They don’t know what it means yet, but when I ask them how to say it, they do the right sign. I’m sure Elijah will learn the meaning before Rowan. I always make him say sorry to Rowan after an attempted bite. He never says it on his own, so I have to force him to do it. And all is well in their world again.

It was pretty lonely today, weekends are usually dad-time or at least partial dad-time. They don’t seem to be missing him yet, although they do have a lower (or is it higher?) “fussy” threshold. I have been letting them watch the big tv upstairs to prepare them to sit still and watch something, so that we can go to the movies, or go to some kids show. With the laptop, they still run around, do whatever and watch only the parts that they want. This way, it trains them to sit still for a little while. Today they did 30 minutes, which was pretty good. They still get up and walk around, but then I tell them to sit back down and they do. I think they really like it, it makes them feel so grown up. They hardly ever get to see the big tv, and any tv in general, so it’s a real special treat for them.

I also had some great moments with Elijah, I think we are bonding better. I notice that when both Michael and I are here, Rowan will tend to go to me and Elijah will go to his dad. If you look at pictures, a lot of them have me with Rowan and Elijah with Michael. It’s not by choice, I think it just happens that way. While Michael is gone, I want to change that and spend more time with Elijah. I’m hoping that it will help with the whole biting thing, but he still attempted 2 bites today, which earned him timeouts.

Last night I signed up for two classes for them starting next month. They are both German classes (ack!), one is a gymnastic class and one is a movement class. I was going to sign them up for a more “creative” class, but I think at this point, anything that will allow them to run and play and move is better than sitting. Let’s hope I did the registration correctly (all in German). I am really excited to start because German classes are way cheaper than English ones, I think because they are subsidised by the government. One is really long - until February, the other is just 5 weeks. So, between that and their Kindermusik class, they will be really busy this fall.

The big thing today was that I bought the boys lederhosen from ebay! I think it might be too big for this year, but hopefully they will fit them “enough” to take our christmas picture. I wanted to get 3/4 length brown lederhosen, and brand new they are about 100 euros for the nice ones. I got one for 30 and the other for 35. Of course they are used, but those things last forever. I probably can sell it for what I bought it for, so it’s basically free. Now I have to find a hemd (shirt) and jacke. For our Christmas picture, I want all of us in our traditional Bavarian clothing with a mountainous backdrop (Garmisch maybe). Hopefully I can pull it off this year!

Michael woke me up with his phone call to let me know that he’s arrived safely and started walking. He sounded so happy! I think he really thought his week in the mountains was never going to happen. The weather was really nice at the time, so I’m hoping it holds for the week. He is planning on hiking from the Matterhorn to Chamonix, France. Pretty cool!

I was so happy that he called because I was totally asleep and the boys were really quiet this morning. Oh yeah, and also so that I know he’s ok.

We had a quiet day today. In the morning, Rowan really wanted to go Bobby Car riding, so we did and I videoed it (finally). Then in the afternoon, we went to MiniMAL to pick up some last minute stuff. The boys are so happy when they’re out that they are really well behaved. I wish I could walk around more with them, but for shopping, it’s impossible without the stroller. The only place I feel comfortable taking them w/o the stroller is to the park.

Some cool things happened. Elijah was playing with Hector (this “Cotton Monster” stuffed animal) and he looked at me, grabbed Hector’s hand and waved it at me and said “haaaiiieee”. Too cute! Michael and I both make Hector wave at Elijah and say hi, this is the first time he’s done it back. He won’t wave himself, god no, but at least he’ll make others wave.

We also had a lot of fun tickling and laughing on the couch. Elijah usually doesn’t like to sit in my lap except to put his shoes/pants on or read a book. But today he actually sat on my lap and we had a long tickle sesson. His laugh is so contagious! I like to “poke tickle” and say “Does this tickle? Because I don’t know, I still have to do some research.” And they laugh and laugh and laugh.

I also have decided to make “Harmonica Time” the same as “Diaper Changing Time”. They hate changing their diapers so much and it’s always a power struggle. Today I hid their harmonicas until it was time to change diapers. Then I took it out and let whoever’s getting their diaper changed have one. The other one has to wait. When I’m done changing them, then they are also done with the harmonica. I let them lie there a little while longer if they’re having fun. They didn’t like it when it was taken away, but I think that’s the only way they will continually show interest in it (it will become the “special” toy) and also they are learning to give things back, even if they are having fun with it. I did this with the toothpaste. For some weird reason, they both like holding the toothpaste tube, so when I’m brushing Rowan’s teeth, Elijah gets it, and when I’m brushing Elijah, Rowan gets it. At first they ran away with it and screamed when I took it away, but now they gladly give it up because they know they will get it again. Rowan is sometimes reluctant but Elijah will always give it up very easily. I also do ask them nicely for it - “Can I PLEEEAAASE have the toothpaste back?” and I always say “Thank you” to them.

This evening was a little lonely. I will probably get a lot of stuff done this week. I keep forgetting how productive I am when Michael isn’t here to suck up all of my free time. Let’s keep our fingers crossed. The only bad thing is that this move will suck up free time instead! Damn!

So I’ve been talking about “riding Bobby Cars in the basement”, but never bothered to video it. Today I bought my laptop down and recorded it, since they do this all the time. They love riding and I’m glad we have a space for them to do it, even in the winter.

What a busy day today! In the morning, we had the apartment management lady come to talk about the move. It turns out that the apartment is totally unfurnished (it does have a kitchen, thank goodness). Not sure if that means lights and everything. Damn, I forgot to ask. So I will basically have to move TWICE. Ugh. I have to pack the stuff we need before Friday, on Friday, they will move whatever over to the temporary place, then I have to unpack it. Then, two weeks later, we’ll have to pack up everything again, and move back into our place. No fun. We took forever unpacking the 1st time we move in, it’ll probably take us longer this time! So now I have to figure out what we need for those two weeks. It’s a little difficult when you’re moving into a completely unfurnished place. I need to remember stuff like toilet paper, dishes, microwave, etc.

After that, we went to Kindermusik. The fall classes started. Carl was there (the kid from the summer class) and there was a new girl Rachel. The boys forgot the place and they spent a few minutes standing outside, not wanting to go into the room. Finally I had to just push them in and close the door. They whined for a minute and then remembered the cool room with all the mirrors. Then they couldn’t stop running back and forth and screaming. It was embarrassing that they were so loud and out of control and the other two were pretty much sitting and participating. Carl joined in with them sometimes so the 3 boys were all running around and the sweet girl was there really listening and doing everything she was asked. Showoff! I think they were a little tired since I usually put them down for a nap at around 11:30. Elijah was really distant and preferred to stay in the back of the room, near the door. If he cried, he went running for the door. Carl came over and wanted to give him a hug, but Elijah started charging for him, looking like he was going to bite. I was so surprised he was going to do that. He usually only bites when someone takes something away from him or has something that he wants. But Carl was just standing there trying to get close to him. When Carl backed off, Elijah still was trying to bite him. I was holding him back, of course, in total shock. Then later on, Rachel was just standing next to him and Elijah tried to bite her. Luckily I was close by and could stop him just in time. It is so embarrassing for him to be “that kid” that all the parents don’t like because he bites. :( I’m wondering if it has to do with Michael not being there. Michael usually joins me for the class, but today he couldn’t get out of work. In fact, pretty much the last couple of weeks since he’s had to fill in for his boss, he’s hardly seen them at all. Maybe a few minutes in the morning, and sometimes he comes home early enough before they go to bed. I think they really miss seeing and playing with their dad.

The afternoon was pretty standard, nothing too exciting. When Michael got home, we went to the store and I was waiting outside for him. He was in there forever and it turns out the guy in front of him in line went crazy. He had all this stuff but didn’t have enough money, so he started yelling at the cashier. Then she had to have the manager come and bring the key so she could remove some things from the total. But then, oh, he had enough money to buy something in the pile that was taken out. So he was in there awhile. He actually felt bad for the cashier!

Michael decided to go on his hiking trip to Switzerland today. I was hoping he would stay so that he could help me pack up for the move, but it’s more important that he do his trip. He’s been looking forward to it all year long and the weather has just been so crappy. If he waits one more week, he might not have the chance to go at all due to the weather. He left the house at around midnight so that he misses all the traffic in the morning. Call him crazy, but he’s driven through enough traffic jams here that he’s willing to drive at all hours to avoid it!

Didn’t stay up too late this evening, I actually headed to bed at around 2am. Believe me, that’s early.