Today we worked out in the morning together (a rarity) and Michael left for work from the gym and I took my sweet time and then went home. It is so nice to have that time to exercise, I’m really starting to enjoy it. I think I used 2 hours today! Woo-hoo! I did cardio and then the full set of weights plus abs. I was going to do the stomach and butt class but chickend out at the last minute. The pain!

In the afternoon, I had my German class and it went really well. I really feel more comfortable speaking German, but I’m still not very good or fast. My teacher said that I have a really good base and I need to build up my vocabulary. I totally agree.

In the evening, Michael and I went out to dinner (Sushi Sano) mmmmmmm! And then we went to this concert that was performed by a guy he sat next to on the plane last year. It was in a church and was improvisational music with the organ and saxaphone/flute/digiridoo. It was … interesting. I had no idea how much different tones the organ can put out and our favorties was when he played a really low note that came out more like a “pulse”. We walked out after they finished and before the encore because it was getting late. Our shoes made lots of noise and we were so embarrassed leaving so early.

We just missed a bus and it was cold so we just started walking. We walked two stops and then decided to stop since we didn’t want to miss another bus. It is so much fun just hanging out with Michael, nothing to distract us and in no hurry. We always laugh and tell jokes and/or make up new jokes.

Nothing to report on the boys except that they completely destroyed their tent now. I guess it’s time to trash it. At least it was only 7 euros and it was worth about that.

This morning we went to our Montessori class. This time I made sure to bring the camera so that Michael can see a little bit of what they do in this class. He hasn’t been to one, but I sure wish he could. The boys are almost always on their best behaviors and they just love all the activities.

After that, we didn’t do much else. We just stayed home. It’s definitely not summer anymore! :( It was so nice to have the sun out and not have to bundle up. Now I have to go out and buy winter clothes for the boys, since all they have are thin pants and shirts that show their belly.

Elijah bit Rowan today, which was very unusual. I don’t think he’s bitten or even tried to bite him in at least 2 or 3 weeks. I think he was just tired and hungry. He’s gotten into the habit of playing with his lunch or dinner food (unless it is pasta) and not eating it and then trying to load up on snacks - crackers or pretzel. Now I’m offering rice crackers and he is not happy with that. Rowan doesn’t mind though, he’ll eat them just fine.

We’re also starting to punish Rowan for not helping to clean up. Elijah has been really sweet and cleaning up all the mess and Rowan just sits in a corner and plays with a car or something. I did try to reward the people who clean up with a cracker but he’s too smart for that. So now we put the people who don’t clean up into the bedroom where they have to wait until the cleaners are done to come out. That is excruciating torture for Rowan. We’ll see how effective that is.

Some new words that they say are pineapple (popo), cracker (kah-kuh), noodles (noo-noo), cookie (coo-coo), star (dah), dog (doh), cat (kah), birds (boh), poi (poh), botcha (bo-bo), and they are starting to voice out “please” (pee) and “more” (mo).

Here are some video clips from their Montessori class. Sorry the lighting is so bad, there are no lights on, just the light from the window. But you can still see how cute and well behaved they are! :)

Playing with a wooden toy:

Elijah putting beads in a glass bottle:

Rowan playing with a little bottle and cap:

Playing with paper bags:

We finish up with brotzeit:

This morning as we were getting ready to go, I asked Michael about the car. I remembered last week that he set an appointment for Monday in the morning but I wasn’t sure if it was today or next week. Turns out it was today. Luckily, they said he could still bring the car by. It has been hard to get the car serviced, mainly because I can’t do it with the kids and Michael has a hard enough time getting away from work.

So I went to our Kinderturnen class all by myself. It was ok, the boys did well. There was one part where she had the kids run between her and the parents with our arms spread out calling them. The boys both loved this, and ran to anyone who had their arms open. It was so cute! And then they would run to me with a big smile on their face. Elijah did pretty well, only once did he push a girl, but not very hard. She didn’t cry or anything, thank goodness.

After class we went to Tenglemanns for dinner supplies and then went home. I was supposed to work out but because the car was in the shop, I couldn’t go with the boys. But Michael and I went in the evening and did cardio. I also did some crunches using that ab roller type contraption and it did make crunches less painful on my neck. I REALLY realized how little muscle I have on my stomach!

Having fun on the air bubble

We were supposed to go on a hike with Riki, Arne and Frederik, but as we were driving, we hit major traffic and so we decided to detour. The detour also had major traffic so I suggested to go to this tierpark that was nearby Aying. They reluctantly agreed. I think Riki really, really wanted to go on a hike, but it was just not in the cards.

We had a lot of fun though. The boys enjoyed being carried in the backpacks (Elijah protested at first). The animals were very tame and we got to feed some. But the best part was the play area and it was great! There was this big air bubble thing that is like a trampoline and we all got on it. Elijah especially liked it, Rowan is still undecided. Riki had so much fun running around and jumping up and down, I think she had way more fun on it than all the other kids. Michael thought he took a video of her bouncing up and down but he didn’t press the button hard enough. Too bad, because it would’ve been awesome! We spent most of the time playing in the play area rather than looking at the animals. The boys didn’t nap all day and we didn’t want to venture far from the car. We’ll come back though, it’s a fun place. This guy even came up to me and said that he liked the sherpani backpack. I told him we were selling it and I think he’ll buy it. Woohoo!

We all took a nice nap when we got home, we were al sooooo tired! Then we went for a bike ride to Schwabing, then over to the English garden and came home. It was a nice ride on the streets because Ludwig/Leopold have a nice large bike lane that’s separated from the pedestrian area so you don’t have a large line of people blocking the whole dang area like in the park.

We went to the Bergtierpark in Blindham today and the boys enjoyed the animals but mostly the fun playground!

On the way:

Petting the goats:

The air bubble that we all jumped on:

Riding the round-about:

The aftermath:

There is nothing sweeter than boys making cookies.

This morning we went for our bike ride and it was a lot of fun. The boys enjoy it so much. We stop at the lake and feed the swans, geese, ducks and birds. They both learned how to throw a piece of bread to feed them. Sometimes Rowan would eat his piece though.

The rest of the day we didn’t do much. We were planning a trip to Wal-Mart, but Michael called and said that he doesn’t have his EC card, which sent us into a panic. I had to check online to see where the last time he used it. I had to search around through all his clothes and luckily, it was in some pants. Whew!

We just went to Karlsplatz where I bought a gift certificate from the Hugendubel bookstore (learned that it’s called Geschenk Gutschein) for Arne - it’s his birthday, went to get more diaper wipes and some groceries. Of course I ended up forgetting a few things so I had to have Michael pick it up. It’s always scary to tell him to pick something up that he doesn’t know what it is. For example - cabbage. The normal person would say “what kind”. But Michael says “hmmmm…I don’t exactly know what that looks like”. Also, I am very particular about the brands of stuff that I want. So the poor guy is always nervous coming home and seeing my expression if he got it right or not. But he did fine today.

In the evening, we watched our first German movie without English and no German subtitles (none available). It was really hard, but we get the gist of what’s going on. We didn’t finish it since we had to go up and visit with Riki and Arne and give him his birthday gift. Michael finally met Riki’s parents, I can’t believe this is the first time. I’ve seen them like 5 times. They are so nice! Arne really like his birthday card and gift. He promptly pulled out a magazine that had a review of a book that he wanted to get so he will put our gift to good use.

The boys are coming down with a cold. So far it’s just a snotty nose and mucousy breathing. I hope it doesn’t get worse than that! Seems the cold season already started, several people we know are sick! Ugh! I went out and bought a multi vitamin, hoping that it will help me avoid some colds. We’ll see…

This morning I went to the health club without Michael. We were supposed to go together but because of yesterday’s mishaps, he figured he needed to work more. It went fairly smoothly, Rowan cried some whenever I left, but he quickly busied himself with all of their toys. I did some cardio, then did the “bauch und rücken” (stomach and butt) class. It was brutal. I haven’t worked on my abs since before the boys were born, so it was incredibly tough. I had no idea there were so many ways to do crunches. Towards the end, only my head was going up and down. I hate it because my neck hurt more than my abs (which I found out later was a sign of not doing it properly and/or my head is just too heavy). After that I finished up the weights that I didn’t do yesterday and then we came home. It is nice to see them again after I’m done because they come running to me to say hi (much like they do to Michael when he comes home).

In the afternoon, I got some babysitting and I was so tired that I used 2 of those hours to take a nap. It’s been a full week and I haven’t had the time to really sleep. After that, I went to Karlsplatz to pick up the three trash cans to replace the ones that we lost from the move. Who knew trash cans could cost 100 euros? I didn’t even buy fancy ones, just exactly the same ones that we had. So far, the total that they owe me is 160 euros! And I think they will owe me a little more from the phone move.

In the evening we hymned and hawed about what we should do tomorrow morning. Go to the health club? Go for a bike ride? Michael leaves early to come home early? We finally decided on going for a bike ride since we haven’t done one in awhile.

This morning it was fairly relaxed, not the usual mad rush out of the house because we got up too late. Michael took his bike and we rode the train. We actually got to the class a little early, which was nice.

The boys did great again, this time only 1 timeout for Elijah. He didn’t bite or anything, just pushed a kid down out of excitement. It’s getting better. They really enjoy the class and having Michael there. They like to clamber all over him and they both cling to him when he looks like he’s going to leave. Rowan takes it especially hard when Dad is no longer around.

After class, we went to Tengelmann’s for dinner supplies and then to dm for toilet paper. Can you believe that I’ve been wanting to get toilet paper for a month (we’re not completely out, but oh so close) and just never had the chance. Every time I’m at the store, I always want to get some, but the stroller is too full or I’m not going right home or some other excuse. This time I made room!

After their nap and lunch, we headed out to Elixia (health club). It takes a lot of effort to pack up and remember everything. And getting the boys in the car takes some work. Since we can’t open the car doors on both sides in the parking garage, I put one guy in, then I put the other in the passenger side seat temporarily. I back the car out, then put him in. This was their first time to be in the childcare by themselves! And they did great! I was a little worried that it might be crowded because of being so late in the afternoon, but to my surprise it was almost completely empty. I just dropped them off with diapers and snacks and then went to work out. The good thing about the childcare is that it makes me work out more. I finished my usual 30 minute cardio on the treadmill but then I thought, “man, I’m wasting my childcare time!” I’m allowed up to 2.5 hours. So I got on the rowing machine, then the cycling machine. In total, I worked out on cardio for an hour, which is unheard of for me (in the gym). And all because I want to get the most for my 2 euro childcare. When I have a class, I will be able to use it even longer. But for the first time, it was enough to just do regular cardio. When I picked them up, the childcare lady said that they stink (both had poopy diapers) but they were super sweet and good. I guess either they don’t do diapers (which would surprise me) or she didn’t know where they were.

Then we came home, had dinner, and Michael came home early. We were supposed to do a video chat with Michael’s parents but they forgot about it. When they’re working on the yard, Michael’s mom won’t stop until it’s all done. But she promised that we’ll do it tomorrow.