Yes, folks, I got sick again! It’s a head cold, lots of snot and mucus and coughing. I’m sure I got it from the boys since they have the same thing. Yesterday I was really tired but today I seem to have a little energy back. So much has happened and since I’ve started the knitting blog, I’ve been pretty lazy with this one.

Last Saturday, Michael went climbing and I got a babysitter so that I could go shopping. I went all over Munich. I keep forgetting that the more I shop, the heavier my load gets. Luckily I did most of the grocery shopping on a separate trip, and that’s the heaviest stuff. First I went to Marienplatz to C&A to get the boys some new socks. Their old socks are waaaay too tight and I’ve just never been in the neighborhood to get more. I ended up spending 90 euros, but I bought a lot - 2 light jackets, 4 shirts and 2 pants. After that, I went to Ludwig Beck to get some wool wash and a set of dpns which I now realize is the wrong size. I got back on the train to go to Sendlinger Tor to the Wollkorb yarn store to get some Noro yarn. It’s expensive yarn but perfect for what I want to make (a felted bag). Then I hopped back on the train and went to Hauptbahnhof, where I went to Hertie to get some spaghetti noodles (they are the ONLY ones I know of that carry the #3 barilla noodles), then I walked through Hertie to get to Karlsplatz, where I went to dm (drugstore), and Idee (craft store). After the craft store, I went to the ATM to get out cash and when I got there, I noticed my bag was half open and my wallet….GONE! I went into a panic!!! All of a sudden there were suspicious characters all around me, seemingly laughing at my demise. I thought that maybe, just maybe, it fell out at the craft store. So I had to go all the way back and on the way, I was thinking about how much work it’s going to be to replace everything in my wallet, especially my driver’s licence. How am I going to get that back??? And credit cards, and it’s a Saturday evening, etc. I went back to the craft store and asked if they’ve seen it and they said….YES!! Imagine my shock that they actually had it, someone had turned it in. Only in Germany. I went back to the ATM, got my money and ate at McDonalds. On the way home, I realized that I left my blocking sticks (from the craft store) somewhere. Where is my head? I went back to McDonalds and the ATM to see if I left it there. Nothing, I asked around too. I probably left it back at the craft store. I was tired, my feet and back were hurting and I didn’t feel like embarassing myself again over 1.50 worth of stuff. So I just went home.

I haven’t gone shopping like that in awhile and 4 hours of carting around bags really takes it’s toll. I hurt everywhere - my shoulders, arms, back, feet, hands… I must be old!

The boys have been talking a lot, it’s a little difficult to decipher what they’re trying to say. Elijah really likes confirmation that he’s saying it right. If he says “clock”, you can’t just say “yes” or “uh huh”, you have to say “yes, it’s a clock”. Rowan is really into reading too, which is strange because it used to be the opposite. He is always bringing me book after book to read. Elijah loves to draw on his magna doodle. And he always asks us to draw him a house for some reason. So all day I’m reading books and drawing houses.

I have been increasingly frustrated with how much mess they make all the time. I feel like “noo noo” and following them around cleaning up all their messes. They like to do stuff like turn over their lego bin and spread around the pieces. So one by one I’ve been taking away things. Now our living room is kind of empty. :) I also put away a lot of books because they just like to spread it all over the floor. Now that they only have 2 little rows of books, they haven’t done that too much.

Elijah also taught me how to deal with his tantrums. He is increasingly throwing them, mostly when he doesn’t get his way. Before I would just ignore them and he would get so frustrated that he would bite - me or Rowan. This last time he bit me really good on the leg and I realized that this method isn’t working. I remembered from Love and Logic that you need to empathize with them. So now when Elijah is crying or throwing a tantrum, I still don’t give in but instead offer a hug. He usually hugs me back and 90% of the time the tantrum ends. It’s made a huge difference, his tantrums don’t escalate to the point of biting anymore. I think sometimes he feels really insecure and just needs some reassurance.

As for the Kindergarten search, we didn’t get our first choice and it was really sad that we didn’t even make the 1st cut. I was so sure that they would call. It’s been kind of depressing. I’m not sure if it’s because we can’t speak German very well, or if it’s because the boys are not yet 3. It could be a combination of both. I can’t believe how competitive it is. We have another open house this Saturday but the place is kind of far away, so we probably won’t go there. The most likely case is that we won’t even get called.

Other than that, I’ve just been knitting and knitting. And knitting more. I just learned how to felt - it’s basically knitting something - usually a bag, and then putting it in the washer and it shrinks and becomes a felted material. It’s a really cool process that I’ve always wanted to do but wasn’t sure how. There will be lots of felting in my future!