What? It’s Halloween already? The holiday came and went without any bravado. What a wonderful mom I am, eh? Halloween is celebrated here, but not the trick-or-treating. I think they just have parties. What’s the fun in that?

Anyways, just wanted to tell you about something I read today:

…according to all kinds of recent studies, dark chocolate is full of flavonoids, chemicals found in fruits and vegetables that have positive effects on everything from blood vessels, heart and brain to endurance and longevity. In fact, dark chocolate has higher antioxident levels than green tea, red wine, and even blueberries.

A number of studies (discussed in the article) have shown the many positive benefits of dark chocolate. The bad news is there probably won’t be a lot of dark chocolate in your kids Halloween candy hordes. Most candy is made from milk chocolate that contains 50 percent less cocoa, which is the source of the health-increasing flavonoids. And that milk chocolate is often partnered with sugar and saturated fat.

cool! Send me some dark chocolate! My favorite is Green & Black’s organic (British). My SP8 spoiler (Ingrid) got me hooked on it!

It’s kind of weird to not be running around in the morning trying to get to class on time. I forgot what it was like to have unscheduled mornings. Michael got up super early to go climbing at the gym, which is something he hasn’t done in awhile. Since the time changed, it seems like it’s dark all the time. It is pretty much dark at 5:30 now. So sad.

We went to the health club this morning and the boys protested as usual when we got in the kids area. But the women there know the boys and could deal with them crying and know that they will be ok once I leave. The other woman on Sunday was like “maybe you should bring them back when they’re not so upset”. I worked out really hard today, seems like almost too hard. I think I need to work out at a lower intensity to get some of that “fat burning” going. If only liposuction was available in a pill…

I also started using cloth diapers again. I stopped for awhile because we’re going out so much, but then I figured I really should use them because now is when it’s important. My reasoning is that the more they hate their diapers, the more they’ll want to use the toilet. They certainly notice now the differences between a cloth and disposable. The cloth is more bulky and they pull and tug at it when I put it on. But then they get used to it and toddle off to playing again. This also means I have to remember to do the diapers every night (oh joy!).

Oh yeah, about that detergent. I really like this one brand, Ariel, because they have a “mild und rein” version of their detergent (for washing clothes) and it has no smell. We went to all our usual places and they didn’t have it anymore. I think we checked like 5 stores. Luckily, the Schlecker at Michael’s work had some and he bought a box. Now I need to find a “natural” detergent to wash the diapers with. Oh yes, I need a special one to prevent detergent buildup. I think I can buy it at Basic, but it’s on the 2nd floor and they don’t have a elevator.

A few days ago, Elijah had what looked like a rash on his chest and I debated about going to the doctor because it wasn’t super visible. It didn’t get any worse and today it is almost completely gone. I wonder if he was allergic to something. But I haven’t given him anything different than usual. Oh well, I’ll just have to keep an eye on it.

The boys are getting more active and are finding new and exciting ways to climb up onto things. Today I walked into the living room after making their lunch and saw both of them on top of the dining room table dancing around and enjoying the sheer thrill of being so high up. They didn’t like their time out when I came in and they never attempted it again. Rowan is really good at opening doors now. Elijah still can’t reach, but he knows to grab a stool. The bathroom is a really exciting place now and their most favorite time of the day is when Michael comes home and he lets them watch him pee. They open the door, turn on the light, flush the toilet (they scream with delight seeing all that water), then turn off the light for him. The only bad thing is that the toilet brush is such an attractive toy. Yuck!

They really like watching videos of their dad on the laptop and always have a big smile. It helps a lot during the day since they love their dad so much and miss him.

This week we have no classes because it’s a holiday on Wednesday. This morning we were getting ready to go to class and as I was coming down the stairs, I remembered that we didn’t have a class (thank goodness). But I had to go to Karlsplatz anyways to get more diaper wipes (we were sooooooo low) and other misc. stuff. So we biked there together, Michael pulled the boys.

We went into dm (drug store) and picked up diapers and wipes. They have a water fountain that we stop at and get water. They have these paper cones that are used for cups. I gave Elijah his cup and held onto it and drank from it like an adult. He was so cute with his cup. But after a minute he got tired of it and dumped it all over himself and the floor. At least it wasn’t a whole lot of water. By the way, I forgot to mention that the boys look so grown up in their new winter clothes. I don’t know why that is.

We then went to Tengelmann’s to get our groceries. I can’t believe the groceries and the diapers all fit in the chariot. It is awesome. And it is awesome to be able to bike home and not walk. Don’t want winter to come!

I was supposed to go to the gym this afternoon but didn’t feel like it. I’ll go tomorrow morning. Michael is so mad because we have our fitness watches and it will give you a trophy if you do all of your workouts, and he hasn’t had a trophy last week and he won’t have one this week. But I’ve had a trophy last week and this week too!!! It’s only because I am willing to wear my heart rate monitor for everything, esp. bike rides. The little things are what keeps you motivated.

Rowan did something really great today, I told him to hold his arms out wide and give a big hug and he did. It was so cute, for about 4 or 5 times in a row, we both opened our arms really big and hugged each other and laughed. When Rowan has a big smile, it just melts your heart.

They have been getting really bad about cleaning up lately, don’t know why that is. We still make them do it, just now I try to make it easier by gathering up all the toys into one spot so they don’t have to run all over to get things. But when they see a particular car, they just want to play. I think they know that it means they are going to nap/bed and they don’t want to.

By the way, I forgot to mention that Michael cooked dinner tonight as well as 3 nights last week and they were all really good. We found these seasoning packet deals that we like and you just add meat, bell peppers and for one of them rice and the other potatoes. It’s really good and easy. He is so proud to make so many dinners! I am happy too! Now if I can only get him to take out the garbage and recycling…

The boys love hanging out in the kitchen because that’s where I am fiddling with the computer. They love looking at themselves as well as watching old movies, looking at pictures, etc. A new thing that I do with the boys is emphasize certain words in books like “Ouch!” or “Shoo!” or “Bounce Bounce Bounce” and they love to copy me, especially Elijah. It makes storytime more fun!

Hi all! Sorry it’s been more than a week since I last posted. We’ve just been so busy. With exercising and all of the boys classes, we have hardly any time at all. I’ll try to be better.

Let’s see…so last week we had our Kinderturnen class on Monday, which I went to alone again because Michael had some emergency at work. The boys really like it a lot better when Michael is there because he’s so much more fun. But it was a good class, no biting or pushing. Then on Tuesday we had our Montessori class and it was another good one. They really enjoy that class a lot and are so well behaved. Wednesday I had my German class and did awful since I had to cram all my homework in the night before. Thursday we had our first Musik class and the boys hated it so much. I thought it would be like the other one where they would get to play with instruments, but it was more sitting around and singing and they didn’t like that at all. They like running around and moving, none of this sitting stuff. Friday I took them to the Gymnastic class again. I made the mistake of going to the later session and it had sooooo many kids. I will only go to the early one from now on. I rode my bike there (last time I took the train) and it took me 20 minutes, but that’s because there were a few blocks in the bike lane that made me get off my bike and walk around. It was fun to bike around instead of taking the train. Hope this weather lasts awhile! I don’t want winter to come!!!

On Thursday evening, we went to Riki’s parents house (with Riki and Arne of course) and had a really nice dinner. We got a babysitter and left the boys at home. Riki’s mom made like a 4 course gourmet meal and it was really good. She must’ve spent the better part of the day shopping and cooking. We also met Riki’s American host parents. They are German, but live in the US and 1/2 the time in Germany since they are retired now. It was a wonderful meal and we had lots of interesting conversation (in English). Their house is really nice too, a mansion by German standards! And they have lots of artwork hung on the walls, big and small, and lots of books. It was nice to see where Riki grew up.

Michael left Friday night to go climbing in Italy with Daniel, so it was just me and the boys on the weekend. Saturday we went shopping for food, and then at the last minute Riki invited us over for cake and tea at her parents house. They were going by UBahn, so we came along. That was fun and the boys enjoyed being in a house, trying to pick up all the little trinkets everywhere, and tried to get the cat to come over and get petted. They were also little gentlemen when eating their cake, they both said “cake, please” before every bite. “kay peeees!” so cute.

Sunday we went to the gym (imagine that) and the boys were really against staying in the childcare place. They cried and cried and didn’t want me to go. I stayed a few minutes and they pretty much cried the whole time I was there. I told them that I’ll leave and check back in 20 minutes. If they were still crying, I’d go home. But as soon as I left, they were fine. And they let me work out 2 hours!!! Sunday is crowded though and I think they freaked out at how many kids were there. They were older and the little girls seemed very concerned that the boys were crying and one of them picked up a book and sat next to Rowan and “read” to him. It was really cute. But Rowan still cried.

That’s pretty much our week. No big whoop.

Rowan just can’t keep his hands off bikes. He loves watching the wheels go round and round.

Here we are at the beer garden and Frederik is fast asleep. Elijah was so cute petting him:

We are slide experts now!

We love playing with dad all the time and at the same time:

We made it!

This morning I went with the boys to get some pretzels for breakfast and on the way I saw Riki. We chatted for a little bit and then she said that they were going for a bike ride so we decided to go with them. We were planning to do one anyways, so this just made it more fun. We haven’t yet been biking with them but I feel kind of bad because they would have to slow way down for me.

We got all of our stuff together, packed the boys up and set off. I wore my heart rate monitor because I wanted this bike ride to “count”. It turns out that it was a good idea because I found out that I burned 800 calories on the bike ride alone! It took about 55 minutes to get to the beer garden and then 40 minutes to come back. We rode 20 km, but it felt way longer than that. It was the longest I’ve ever ridden. Mostly because I didn’t have a baby on the bike. We attached the trailer to Michael’s bike and he carted all of our stuff and both boys. I could pretty much keep up with everyone except for this big hill. It was killer. About 1/2 way up I said forget it and walked it. Even walking it was no fun.

This is probably one of the last times we will eat at a beer garden, so we bought beer garden food. Riki and Arne of course were organized enough that they brought their own food. I really love the chicken that they have and can’t pass that opportunity up. I got sausages for Michael and the boys and normally I would get 2 orders but the last time the boys spit most of it out. So I got 1.5 orders (6 little sausages). Turns out the boys were in the mood for sausages so they ate almost all of it. Michael got one small piece and a little bit of my chicken. Poor guy! We played at the playground until they were overtired (oops!) and they both cried and cried for a few minutes but then fell asleep to the rhythmic humm of the bike tires and the gentle bouncing of the trailer.

After that, since it was such a nice day, we decided to take our christmas pictures today in Garmisch. We got our traditional bavarian clothing on and set out. We were hoping that the boys would fall asleep in the car since they haven’t had their nap yet (except for the short one on the bike ride). But sadly, they didn’t. They were a little grouchy when we got there, but not too bad. We went up the Wank on a ski lift. The boys liked it a lot and Rowan sat in his chair very seriously. It was so cute, especially in his lederhosen. We got out, walked a little bit and set up shop. Getting the boys together and not fuss and look at the camera was extremely hard. We didn’t have anyone taking our picture - I had a tripod. The boys were pretty fussy by this point and luckily when we bought our tickets to the ski lift, they gave us 2 little packages of gummi bears. What a life saver that was! Michael would give each of them one and they would sit happily for a minute or so chomping on their bear. Sometimes they would look at the camera, sometimes not. Mostly no smiles. But that’s the best we could do. They are still cute though! You’ll see!

We saw the movie “An Inconvenient Truth” with Al Gore. It was amazing. I am a super huge fan of Al Gore now, I have so much respect for him. I can’t imagine how much better our world would’ve been had he been elected. The movie was mostly about him presenting the scientific data about how global warming is affecting our earth, but there were a few personal stories intertwined in. If you have a chance to go see it, please do.

Can you believe I actually got up early and went to work out? I have to go to the gym 4 times a week and I only went 3. I figure it’s so easy to go when it’s just me, so I might as well do it. It was so fun to just walk in, do my thing, walk out. I don’t have to put boys in car seats, I don’t have to put one in the front seat, back the car out a little (can’t open the door on one side because our parking garage space is so small), take him out of the front seat, put him in the rear seat. Then doing the opposite coming home.

We also met with our insurance guy to get the whole medical thing started again (8 months waiting period) and also to get legal insurance. Normally we wouldn’t get that, but we’ve heard about so much litigation here and as foreigners we feel a little vulnerable. It’s more of “piece of mind” insurance. After that, we went for a bike ride into town to go shopping for diaper (we were down to 2 and that’s not good) and weekend grocery shopping.

Then we went to our friends wedding in Garmish. Matthias and Ari have been together forever, have been engaged forever (since 1998?) and are finally getting married. Ari was a beautiful bride and it was so sweet that when she walked into the church, she was already crying! :) The service was in German and we could understand about 1/3 of it. Sadly, we couldn’t understand the jokes. Our climbing friend, Jeff, was there and he gave a little speech in English. Matt asked me to take some pictures after the church ceremony, so I did just that. Since there were so many people, I only had a few minutes here and there and I got some good ones. I really hate static posed shots, and go for more fluid, natural poses.

We went to the reception at the lake and had some cake. It was delicious! We didn’t socialize much, we talked to Georg (a friend of Matt’s that we met in 2002) and his girlfriend and also to Jeff and his girlfriend. It’s hard to really break the ice with strangers, especially when they speak a different language. We thought it was rude to just go up to people and start speaking in English, so we just kind of sat quietly eating our cake. We also had our traditional bavarian clothing on, and felt a little out of place. A few oher people were wearing lederhosen too, but they were German. We didn’t go to the pub after that because we had to get home to the boys. It was a really nice wedding and I’m glad we got to witness it!

Today was a “down” day, although it didn’t feel like it. I was going to work out in the morning, but I got on the video phone with my mom and the boys got fussy so we ended up going in the afternoon. It was good though because my new fangled watch got delivered today so I could track what I’m doing now more reliably.

We went to the health club and I only did cardio. My workout for the day is the “normal” one, which is 40 minutes in the 129 - 147 heart rate zone. Since the watch is keeping track, my warm up doesn’t count, so I actually end up on the treadmill for about 50 minutes. I can convieniently upload the data via a “sonic link”. It’s really cool and it works a lot better than you would think. I have to hold the watch up to the microphone and it uploads it to the web. It sounds like a modem in the old days. Remember those? Do they even ship computers with modems anymore?

Michael stayed at work late today because he had no traction on any of his work items. We were supposed to have a sprach duo session with Angelika and Stefan, but she cancelled because she was tired from having to be at the hospital with her Grandmother all day.

Anyways, that’s about it. We got “Remember the Titans” in the mail today (rental) and it’s pretty good. I usually like Denzel’s films. I saw it before several times, but it’s one of those movies you always forget what happened and then when it does happen you say “oh yeah”.

The boys are saying “shoes” (shoo) and “boot” (boot or boo). Rowan has separation anxiety a little when we go places, but he cries for a minute and then he finds something to busy himself. But it’s so much harder to walk away now, since they are so much more aware. Rowan has such a sad and hoarse cry, it’s really heartbreaking and cute at the same time. It’s kind of funny because I always think of Rowan as the more adveturous one, but lately Elijah has been excited to explore new surroundings and Rowan hangs back. I guess it’s just one of those things that will go back and forth.

This morning we left in a frenzy because we had an early gymnastics class to go to. Our friend, De, took her son there before and he really liked it and it was relatively inexpensive. Her boys are a little too young right now, but she met me anyways. The boys had a lot of fun. There was a song and group activity with hoops in the beginning. They were supposed to go in and out of their hoops, but the boys didn’t understand. Then we all lined up and made the hoops roll across the gym and the boys chased after it. They loved that so much. The smiles on their faces were so precious! Then after that it was “free play” and there are a bunch of different activities that they could do - things to climb over, on top of, jump on, climb, whatever. The boys really liked the trampoline and this set of foam thingys that they could climb on. It was also good to see De and talk to her, I never run out of things to talk about!

Another reason that we met was to switch strollers. We want to buy the chariot stroller (for our bikes) but we don’t have the room to keep both strollers so we would have to sell our Mountain Buggy. De was in the market for a new stroller since her boys are getting heavier, her stroller doesn’t go straight without some effort. So we swapped for the weekend. She just walked out the door and said “I’m sold”. I, on the other hand, was struggling to get the boys out of there. I could’ve sworn the breaks were on or something because it was just hard. But no, it was just the stroller. I couldn’t believe the difference! De couldn’t either. The whole way back, she was practically prancing around moving all over the place, just amazed at how easy it was to walk and navigate. She felt so much energy! I showed her how to use the stroller on the escalator and at first she was a little afraid, but I assured her that it was really easy. She had no problems. I hope she buys the stroller so that we can get our chariot! And also because it makes her happy and more mobile! :)

Truth be told, I was really frustrated with the stroller that I got and didn’t want to use it anymore. I talked to Michael and we decided to just get the chariot today. We’re not too concerned about being able to sell the other stroller, even if De doesn’t buy it. And we also didn’t want to spend Sunday without a good stroller. So, I went ahead and bought it. Cost a lot. a lot. But I took the boys out for a ride to Michael’s work, we turned it into a stroller and then went shopping. We have to go to Matt and Ari’s wedding tomorrow and we need to buy a jacket for Michael that matches his lederhosen. We found a jacket that matches his pants perfectly and it looks great on him.

The chariot is amazing, I really like it. People give me more space, cars give me more space and it is easier trailing both of them, then it is having one of them in the child seat on my bike. But, it’s not as good of a stroller as the old one. Going down the escalators are especially hard because of the way the break meachanism is. It is a little bit wider than the old stroller, which is also not good news. But I figured the boys will be walking more and we’ll use it as a stroller less and as a bike trailer more. The boys were not too happy in the trailer mainly because they sat around all afternoon waiting for me to get all my stuff together and then sitting in the trailer and not being able to get out and play. They cried and cried. We tried to get them some pretzels to eat, but that didn’t help at all. We made it home somehow, but it was sooooo stressful.

Finally watched the new Lost and Office episodes! Woohoo!