Life: Idiotropic

Today was the big day -- the day that Luci has been waiting for for more than 6 months -- the day of her 4th - oops - 4 1/2 birthday party. Yeah, her birthday was in September, but we had visitors, and then Kirk was TDY, and then there were holidays and more visitors and vacations planned and busy weekends and more TDY's... until, at last, at age 4.5 and two weeks, we finally pulled it off. One princess party with a houseful of friends.

The invitation information was printed on really cute pink princess paper. Here's the info as printed (without our contact info):

Here Ye, Here Ye…

Due to a dreadfully busy schedule in the Palace Stahlbaum at the time of Princess Lucienne’s 4^th birthday, the old Queen neglected to organize a party. In order to properly mark the joyous occasion of Luci’s birth, she is throwing a royal bash in Luci’s honour to celebrate the Princess’ 4 ½ birthday.

Your presence is now requested on behalf of Queen Tiffany to celebrate the momentous occasion of Luci’s 4 ½ birthday in grand style.

The celebration will be held at the Palace Stahlbaum on 21 April 2007 from 10:00 until 1:00.

The palace is located in the quaint village of Gillrath at...

Please call in your acceptances or regrets to the Queen herself or send an email to tifany74@yahoo.com.

So, the my girls all dressed up in their princess dresses. I had the table set with pink roses, and pretty crystal bowls to hold the treats. The cake was a castle with ice cream cone turrets.

Most of Luci's friends dressed up. They made wands, crowns, and beaded jewelry. They colored and played. We had sack races in the courtyard. Once the yard was cleared of tree debris, they played on the slide in the garden.

The one part that I never like is the present opening part -- it's boring for the other kids. This year I had all the kids sit in a circle around Luci and then the quietest ones went first to pick out their present from the pile, and hand it to Luci. Luci would open it, say thank you, and then I'd get a picture of Luci with her friend. I'll probably print out the photos to put in the thank you notes. It also is helping to keep track of who gave her what for thank yous AND it got the kids up and involved a little more so it wasn't such a boring process. The Italian's open presents as they are handed to them as guests arrive, so it is totally out of the way and not an event at all. I like that too and may try that for the next party.

I wasn't as organized as I usually like to be. Some things planned just didn't happen, but the kids all played and had a good time. Tiara painted faces and made the girls extra pretty with dress up stuff and everyone stayed at least until 1. Some stayed until 2 and then we all rushed off to ballet practice.


It was a nice evening. Luci was at dance for about an hour, then we came home for play time. Tiara had a sleepover to get to and the evening remained pleasant. The sun shining always helps.

I took these pictures tonight when I drove home from taking Tiara to her sleepover. Without our trees, it is still strange to drive into our driveway. I don't like it. It is open and brighter, but very sparse. The birds were flocking tonight in the few trees that remained inside the yard. They seemed skittish - and after losing 12 trees, I can't blame them. I'm sure we have several homeless birds pigeons here now. This is the year for changes here. No more trees and no more windmill views. The road is in now and I'm sure that in no time, the 40 new houses where yellow and purple floral fields stood last year will be built to block our view of most of the 29 windmills that Tiara can see from her bedroom window.

Today I parked across the street at the bank because a huge truck with a crane on it was parked in my spot behind the garage. They removed the 12 50+ year-old pine trees that lined part of my driveway and yard today worried that they could cause too much damage in a storm. I kept peeking out the window to see the crane lifting large trunks and carrying them over the top of the garage roof into the bin on the other side. Six hours later there was still a mess to carry over into Saturday, but all 12 trees were down and chopped up. It looks strange.

Tonight we went to a friends house for a BBQ and we made some fabulous grilled veggies together - sliced zucchini, asparagus, olive oil, sea salt, and fresh garlic tossed together and then put into a grilling basket to steam on the grill. Delicious!

This afternoon I took Tiara over to the AF North International School in Brunssum to complete her 7th grade registration. She was both excited and nervous. I had no idea what to expect, but was pleasantly surprised. The large building houses preschool through high school classes, but it's divided into colored pods which shrink the building down quite a bit when most of Tiara's classes will be in one place. 7th grade occupies the red pod. Her locker will be one of many that outline the perimeter of the large open space. All the 7th grade classes branch off from that space, so getting to classes is quick and easy. As of now, it looks like she'll be leaving her pod just twice a day - once for high school French (she'll get high school credit for it!) and once for 8th grade math (she's totally capable and it will save her from the narcoleptic 7th grade math teacher - no joke).

I was there to sit and smile. The guidance counselor talked to Tiara 95% of the time. She asked Tiara questions and went over a survey with her. Tiara was nervous, but I think she feels good about moving to a different school.

I'm mixed. Excited for new opportunities that Tiara will enjoy. Excited for change and the newness of it all. But... it comes with new challenges. I know that academically, this year will be difficult and, there is more that I will want to shelter her from - but with less control. While I was with the counsellor, a 9th grade boy came in upset because he got in trouble for reading a Maxim magazine at school and then made his oil lamp in the shape of a bong. Tiara wouldn't know what either is at this point. Some things she just doesn't need to know - not yet. May be not ever... come to think of it... I don't know what a bong looks like either... and I'm doing just fine!

Anyway... the school is big and looks nice from the outside. The entire school is surrounded by fences and there is a security gate there, so you need an ID to get on the school grounds. It is probably more secure than the school she's at now even though it's separate from the base.

While we were getting registered, Arianna was at the Visser Chocolate factory in Schimmert, NL. She and her kindergarten friends went on a field trip there for a tour of the factory. They all liked the cute white hair net caps that they wore and they all came back with a large tablet of milk chocolate. The chocolate was ok, but not anything spectacular enough to make the drive there. Rousseau in Sittard is better.

Not long after the busy afternoon was International Women's first Spanish night ever! The Spanish have never had enough people here to really do their own night, but this year they started and put the rest of us to shame. There have been a lot of great nights, but this one was the perfect combination of great food, entertainment, fun, and conversation. A slide show with music played while we ate dinner and visited with friends.

Serrano ham and delicious cheese sat on the tables with sliced baguettes, alioli, and green olives. Just before we went to get our food, two men came out carrying one of two LARGE paella pans filled with a delicious paella to show the crowd. A finished paella is like art with the giant prawns and shellfish placed carefully around the edges with lemon wedges in between. With our paella, we had a slice of Spanish tortilla (a potato/egg pie), and one of the best sangria's I've ever had.

After dinner, two of the Spanish ladies, dressed especially in costume, came to do a traditional dance from the Feria de Abril. They danced beautifully for about 10 minutes - enough to entertain and not bore, to share their culture and not squelch our conversation. After the entertainment, coffee and interesting anise flavored cake donuts (rosquillas) were made available while the Spanish ladies all danced together.

Soon it was our turn to learn the flamenco. So with our right hand we were told to "pick the apple, eat the apple, then throw it away," and our hands clumsily tried to mimic the elegance of the Spanish ladies with no success. Still, a few sangrias later and we were all having a great time dancing together. The funniest moment was towards the end of the evening when I was the only American dancing in a large circle of mostly Turkish women. One Spanish woman was there and a Spanish song came on. My friend, Mel, kept looking to Maria for the movements to the song, but Maria didn't know them, so Mel, a beautiful Turkish woman, ended up teaching the entire group the hand movements to this Spanish song!

The door prizes were all very special - embroidered scarves from Spain, Spanish wine, and other treasures. I, like always, left prize-less, but the night was fabulous and I'll look forward to their next one in January.

With the bread and other treats on the table was a bowl of Alioli. Noemi made it and it got rave reviews from the ladies at my table. Here's her recipe:

I really don't have the time or brain capacity at the moment to sit and editorialize this one, but I think, on it's own, it says enough. I'm an not sequestered to the house nor forced into old fashioned attire, but there is a tangible awareness in certain situations of one's womanhood - and not in a sexy way, but in that "I'm not a man" kind of way that is sometimes a bit limiting.

So, we were talking to Luci's dance teacher about the stage set-up on Sunday when they will have a big performance and she told us that it changes year to year and she tries to tell them what they require to perform (which is basically a cleared off/safe stage area)... and here's her quote:

'Tis the season for wandering fields of bright yellow flowers and kleenex. While we were in Normandy, the raps began to bloom there and when we returned the fields around our house were vibrant with gold.

Sniffles or not, I'll enjoy the next month or so of yellow blooms before they are gone.

Everywhere I go here there are fields. And they are all beautiful.

Raps is abundant here as it's used to make bio-diesel - an oil that they use for their tractors and other things and although a recent German study said that rapsol is more carcinogenic than petroleum, it's still a much supported industry here.

Today was our second of Federica's birthdays and the third Italian birthday that we've been to and I always look forward to them. The food, company, and atmosphere are always so special. There is no clock, itinerary, or watch. No rush, no stress, no fuss. Just great people, and amazing food at a party that could last 2 hours or 5.

So this year I asked if Kirk would take Luci as I had things to do at home and wanted to have a stay-at-home day. He took her and within 5 minutes of arriving, my phone rang. It was Kirk. "They're wondering where the rest of the family is. They want you all to come." I should have known. Unlike some American parties where you don't want to step on toes by bringing siblings, and the entire family is usually not invited, here, it's all family. They had the party at the IYA on base (International Youth Activities building) - a place with a big playground, so the kids played for hours and the adults sat around the picnic benches drinking very sweet Italian iced coffee - like the coffee version of Southern iced tea. It was delicious and I usually don't like sweet coffee.

Inside was a table filled with different chips and sodas. Another table had two trays of Marilena's amazing panini - one with ham and cheese and the other with spinach. All delicious. The third table was completely covered in trays. A cheese cake with a strawberry gelatin top, a chocolate cake with a powdered sugar decorative top, a large pan of the most delicious tirumisu I've ever had, and a mountain each of chocolate profiteroles, vanilla profiteroles, and two flavors of cannoli -- ALL baked/hand-made by Marilena the night before. Those were just the snacks. All home-made - all phenomenal.

An hour into the party, she came in and brought out the ice cream cake that she also made and served that to everyone. I thought that was the birthday cake. I was wrong. Another hour and then the real cake comes... a beautifully decorated Italian cream cake covered in candles and a sparkler and we all sung happy birthday in Italian and English.

And then the party continued with talk and play. The dads got into a water balloon fight. The ladies tried to stay dry. And, eventually, the bottle of Asti was opened for all to enjoy a toast. The usual boring present-opening ceremony doesn't occur at an Italian birthday. Federica opened her gifts as her guests arrived and handed them to her. The gifts were appreciated, but they weren't the focus. I like that.

So we ended up leaving after about 3.5 hours of party... the last of the Americans to go. The Italians who'd all arrived a little over an hour before we did for a lasagna lunch were all still there enjoying the sunny day.

I was sent home with a tray filled with profiteroles, cake, tirumisu, and cannoli. Then, just as I turned to go, I saw her come out with brand new, trays, heaped with even more cannoli and profiteroles. She must have baked hundreds. Amazing. I'll get the recipes.

This is one special lady, loving my girls as if they were her family. She talks to them and plays with them, sits with them in the courtyard, and walks them over to see Bonzai, the miniature pony next door. And they get excited to see her at the window. They run to see if she's home when we come home. They take her treats and sit at her kitchen table telling her stories as if she understands every word. And she smiles and speaks back to them just like they've known each other forever.

She is our family away from home.

These are the typical painted eggs that one can find in every grocery store and every bakery counter not only during Easter, but all year 'round. They are especially popular during Karneval, but people here eat a lot of hard-boiled eggs and so why need eat pretty ones? Last year we found these hidden among the flowers at the train station. Children were picking them up to eat. I still have my American aversion to any egg that's been out for any length of time, but people here do eggs differently. My girls didn't like these. They like the eggs I make. But, I still had to buy some and take pictures.

I've mentioned before how beautiful the roadside crosses and chapels are here. When we first got here, it was a beautiful contrast to my own country where Christian images are being pushed out of public space. Here, religion is part of the culture and is still accepted as such. People pay taxes to the church, religion is taught in schools, and crosses are mounted on the sides of people's homes. Catholic blessings are written in chalk above most doorways. I like the crosses here. They are abundant - and always beautiful and well cared for. And, I think no matter what religion one is, they can be simple reminders of the many blessings in our lives.

In the Netherlands, obligatory school starts around the age of 3 or 4. In the US, of course, our obligatory kindergarten starts at age 5 and, upon entering kindergarten, they are considered 'going to school.' Today Arianna saw a girl at the playground and told me that she was at her school. The mother of the girl said, "No, it must be another girl. My daughter is three. She does not go to school." This morning I saw them at Aria's school. It's just verbage, but the Germans do not consider Kindergarten to be school. And why should they? It's really just daycare. They play. They eat breakfast and wash their own dishes. They do a lot of art. The do not learn letters or numbers or any American style learning. School, in Germany, begins at 6. That will be an interesting experience. I am already saving my pennies for the German backpack, that, according to my sources, is obligatory and starts at 100 Euros. That thing better last forever!

The play ground was fun today. Arianna did play with her German kindergarten friend and it was fun for me to listen to her talk. Her friend offered her something and she replied with "Nein, danke." Then they started throwing sand from the play structure saying, "futter Tier" meaning feed the pets. I'm enjoying Arianna's progress. She loves her school and is learning very quickly.

Some days are simple. Not enough, of course, but as the weather improves, I revel in those few days when there is nothing going on. They kids play outside. They run. They climb the bushes. They bike and rollarblade and laugh and make all sorts of racket. Tiara decided to teach Arianna to rollarblade on this day and Arianna had a great time. Luci and Elise ran up and down the sidewalk excited to be with the big girls. And Luci helped Arianna safely on and off the curb when Aria needed help. This was one of those calm, sweet summer days when everyone is relaxed and content - until, that is, it's time to go in for bed.

When I need a good recipe and I don't have time to scour cookbooks, I go to one of three sites on the internet: www.epicurious.com, www.foodtv.com, and www.allrecipes.com.

I'm sure there are other great ones, but between these three, I always find something great. And many found recipes have become regulars in my cooking repertoire.

Last night I wanted to make chili and cornbread - easy enough. This cornbread recipe, discovered on epicurious, is definitely one that I'll add to my favorites and tweak a little to make it mine.

Corn Bread with Basil, Roasted Red Peppers, and Monterey Jack Cheese
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/4410


Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 9x9x2" baking pan (I used two 8" round pans and it worked great). Melt 1T butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium-low heat (I used cooking spray), add 1 cup chopped onion and sautee until tender, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Combine 1 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 T baking powder, 1 1/2 t salt, and 1/2 t baking soda in a large bowl.

Add 7 T chilled butter and rub into dry ingredients with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups buttermilk and 3 large eggs into dry ingredients and stir until blended. Mix in sauteed onion, 1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese with jalapenos, 1 1/3 cups frozen corn kernels thawed and drained, 1/2 cup drained chopped roasted red peppers from jar, and 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil. Mix well and transfer to prepared pan.

Bake until golden and tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes on rack.

Serves 12.

My notes:
1. Room temperature butter stirred in with a spoon worked great.
2. I didn't add the corn or the red peppers because I didn't have them and it was delicious without, but I'm sure it would be delicious with them also.
3. I used plain Monterey Jack cheese instead of Pepper jack - both are yummy in this recipe.
4. This is a great recipe to play with... next time I'll add some chopped bacon and jalapenos. You could probably even add some chili beans to it and make it a meal.
5. I NEVER have buttermilk. So, when a recipe calls for buttermilk, I measure the required amount in regular milk, then add a bit of vinegar to it - 1/2t to 1t depending on the amount of milk. Mix the vinegar into the milk before adding it to the recipe. It turns out great every time.

Life for Arianna at the St. Maria Namen Kindergarten couldn't be sunnier. Life is good. School is fun. She is happy. And... she is learning German schnell. Yes, quickly. Everyday she comes home with new words learned. She had friends and seems to get along ok. One teacher in her class speaks enough English to help her if she's really confused.

A couple weeks ago the older kids in the school took a field trip to the police station in Geilenkirchen. They walked to the bus stop and took the city bus there and back. At the police station they got to see a jail cell and a police car. Arianna was the brave volunteer who got fingerprinted and actually sat in the police car.

I finally got all the paperwork filled out and I had help with the translation, so Jennifer, a German with excellent English skills, read the long document and filled me in on what it said - the basics - emergency contact information, health insurance information, allergies, pick-up and drop-off times, basic rules and regulations... and breakfast. For breakfast we are to send in a well-balanced, nutritional meal of bread, fruit, and yogurt. Cheese and crackers are highly discouraged. They don't like American lunchables or string cheese. Packages snacks are verboten. It's good to know. I guess I shouldn't have sent in that left-over pizza with Aria the other day. Oh well... live and learn.

Last October 16th, I got flashed by the annoying temporary tri-pod camera set up by the local school by the police. I knew eventually I'd get a ticket. In January, the ticket finally arrived. Wow. I didn't know such a morph was possible. It was morning. It was dark. I was photographed in poor light behind the wheel of my car with an obnoxiously bright flash. The photo is horrific. Seriously - it looks like a bad combination of Sean Penn and ALF. Based on that photo alone, I think I should seek therapy. It makes all others Hollywood glam.

So, here's the breakdown. I had to pay a 25 Euro fine which isn't nearly as high as I thought, so that was a relief.

The ticket was wonderfully detailed.

gemessene Geschwindigkeit (the speed I was caught doing) 45km/h
abzuglich Toleranzwert (the tolerance over - not very tolerant!) 3km/h

zulassige Hochstgeschwindigkeit (the speed limit in that zone) 30km'h

Geschwindigkeitsuberschreitung 12km/h
(the speed over minus the tolerance)


Keep in mind that this is all in km/h - much slower than mph speeds. And so 12km/h is more like 6mph over in a zone that is PAINFULLY slow... like 15mph-ish.


So, the paperwork all arrived with a little 4x5" yellow and white payment slip pre-filled out with their bank information, so all I had to do was take it to my bank and pay it. Kein problem.

NOW someone on their end doesn't know that we've paid it and I have to play secretary and track down all my receipts to prove that I paid it so that I don't have to pay it again. Apparently this is a common problem here - lesson learned - keep ALL receipts ALWAYS. They come in handy more frequently than I care to admit.

Sittard in the spring is particularly beautiful. After months of scurrying to the bagel shop to escape the cold, today the girls and I walked along the narrow path between the homes of Putstraat and the little fenced off gardens hiding behind.

We hadn't walked back there since late fall, so it felt good in the sun to see something other than the usual concrete. The chickens and sheep were out and people were working in their gardens clearing out old branches as they pruned their trees. Pruning is as common here as buying a pumpkin on Halloween. It's just something that anyone with a tree or bush does. And many of them are polarded (chopped off entirely to a fat little ball at the top from where it will fill out in the spring) or espaliered (with certain branches fanned out along wired creating a flat fence of tree).

All the bare sticks now have little tiny buds and soft green leaves emerging from them. I enjoyed seeing the contrast of this hydrangea - with the dried blooms from last season existing along side the new leaves of spring.

Farmers for the last couple weeks have been out in full force. Every field is sprinkled with tractors of all kinds. Just last week the spargel (asparagus) rows appeared. Then - 7 days later - the snow fell.

So, here's the contrast - photos above from last Monday when it was warm. I wore a light sweater and sandals with my jeans. It was comfortable. This Monday is snowed and now it's bitterly cold snowing, hailing, or sleeting a little bit every day.

This was the third snow of this winter, but the first time I've had a chance to photograph it. So, below are a couple photos of the snow covered spargel rows. I wish I'd had the chance to photograph the daffodils bowing under the weight of small piles of snow balancing on their heads like white knit caps. They were funny to see and would have captured the true feel of this season when one can go from warmth to snow in such a short time with no rhyme or reason.

This morning at approximately 1026 European Central Time, I mailed off a manila envelope containing some paperwork, 5 compact disks, and two checks totalling $3576.

The GKES yearbook, a project that's monopolized my last few weeks, is out of my hands for now and that feels good. Yesterday morning I wasn't ready. I moved the entire collection of photos and files over to another computer and went through it again. By the afternoon I was ready to let it go - for now.

Next I'll get a proof to initial and sign. Then it goes to print and by June we should receive 2o0 copies of our 60-page full color yearbook. That will be a great moment. Yes, I ordered one for myself. I'll have my student staff sign it for me.

Ahhh... so last night late I enjoyed an iced coffee with Bailey's to celebrate quietly by myself. Kirk is in France this week. Last week he was in Italy. Next week he goes to London. Rough life he has, huh?

Anyway... I'll be back on blogger now a bit. Nothing too huge looms in the future, so I have some time to relax just a little. -- Oh, and the art up top is one of about 200 scanned pieces of art that students K-6th grade made at school and we included in the yearbook as borders. It's all gorgeous and sure does add some zing to the pages!

In an effort to experience life to its fullest, I've taken on the role now as taxi driver taking vacations only in miniature by looking out the windows of my van and dreaming of walking through the fields that I can only speed by now at 50Kph.

This is the last week. Though I will still be the official Stahlbaum team bus for my family as they scurry off in all directions to various lessons and play dates, the yearbook (something has consumed more than a bit of my time this last few weeks) will be over next Tuesday for the most part and I will be able to enjoy the metamorphosis that's going on without me right outside my window.

Last year we were still enduring snow and ice. This year Spring has arrived with arrays of daffodils and crocus littering up the green spaces along the roads and in the roundabouts. The pheasant are in the fields again. The bunnies are out in small groups. The birds are happier - everyone is happier. It's amazing what a good dose of sun can do. Everyone is smiling, feeling lighter on their feet and in their hearts. All is well in my community this week and the feeling in the air is almost tangible. And, it's affecting me too - at a time when I might normally be a bit stressed, things are just flowing now and I'm feeling great.

I can't wait to be able to sit and write or blog or paint. The sun is inducing some rather fun avenues of thought and artistry that I'd like to explore. It would be a good day to walk barefoot through the mud or to create a rock garden.

Even the bakeries are changing. Nothing here is ever static. The bakeries and flower shops mark the seasons with more frequency than the fields. Farmers in their tractors litter each field now as they prepare for this year's crops. And my sweet bakery just brought out it's first batch of strawberry tarts. I was so excited to see them that I momentarily forgot the German word for strawberry. The tartlet filled with a sweet vanilla custard and piled with a tee-pee of strawberry wedges with a wreath of toasted almond slivers on the side was as beautiful as it was delicious. I'd intended to take a photo of it, but it sadly disappeared too quickly for that. I guess I'll just have to go buy another.

Either I'm a mom, or the shoemaker's elves have gotten loose again. This evening, late and after a very busy day, I walked into the living room to find my perfectly beautiful mango - the one I bought this morning as an indulgence to treat myself tonight in a moment of quiet - gored unabashedly with a chopstick and sitting like a shocking piece of modern art on my windowsill for all to see.

These are things that those without children will never experience. These are things that I wouldn't have experienced if I'd had the sense to stop at 2... but... I didn't, so the myriad of modern art expressions by my dear #3 continue.

Since before we even moved here, Kirk and I discussed the possibility of putting our kids in the German schools. There were reasons to do it and reasons not to. First we wanted to wait and let the kids adjust to the big move. Then we just loved the school where they were and, I think more than anything, I was just nervous and unsure.

In January, we made the decision that we should try it, so I took applications for Arianna, Luci, and Elise in to St. Maria Namen Kindergarten in our village of Gillrath. There was no room at the time, but we'd be put on the waiting list. Then I got a call that there was space and paperwork would arrive in the mail. Two days later we got an envelope in our mail slot. I was excited to see some official paperwork of admittance and opened it to find that there was nothing inside addressed to me. Each girl received a letter addressed just to them... "Liebe Arianna..." The letters told them that they had a place at the school "010807." Kirk and I were so excited that they had places that for several days, we completely ignored the date and told all our friends that the girls would be starting that month! Then, it dawned on me that we'd forgotten to switch the dates. Here, the day ALWAYS comes first. So, instead of the 8th of January, our girls will start the 1st of August!

Then, just a couple weeks ago, I got a call saying that there was a place for Arianna. Since Aria will be at the age to attend the Greunschule next year, they wanted to bring her in now so that she can adjust to the language before the bigger school. Here, kindergarten is for children ages 3-5, and it is more of a Montessorie-style play time to learn socialization than a true letters and numbers learning environment. Then, at age 6, they go to Greunschule and learn what our kids normally learn in kindergarten.

Wednesday was Arianna's last day at GKES - the American school she's been attending. I baked cupcakes for her class and she smiled ear to ear that she was going. She was so excited and happy to be starting a new school. Yesterday was her first day. She was there from 8-12, and from 2-4. In the middle is mittags pause - the lunch break - when mom's take their children home and feed them. She took her breakfast in the morning. They sit together at a nicely set table with their food on plates. They serve themselves milk, kakao, or juice and then they wash their own dishes and dry them with their own special towels.

Arianna is in the Froschgruppe, but she has the freedom to go anywhere in the school. She just has to move her photomagnet on the board to the right place to show her teachers where she is. Her teachers are Frau Hildegard and Rebecca - both are very nice.

I brought her in with the required items: hausschue (house shoes that are worn when they are in the building), shorts and a t-shirt for gym time, and gummi pants and jacket for playing outside in the muck and rain so they don't get their regular clothes dirty.

Yesterday she came home happy and bouncing. I heard her playing in the playroom pointing to things saying "das und das." She also learned the word: orangen. Today; however, she melted. We faced a morning of tears and kicking, fighting and hiding in the corner resolute not to go to German school. She said that yesterday kids were talking to her and she didn't understand them. It took a lot of talking, but we got here there and when I picked her up, she was playing happily outside with a couple other kids. It's hard to see her unhappy, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. She just needs people and it's hard for her to be in this place where she doesn't understand. Hopefully, that will give her the impetus to listen and learn quicker. She already is, really, we played in German phrases all afternoon and she was doing very well.

We finally got the adult "formulas" yesterday, so we can officially register her and find out how much it's going to cost. The kindergarten is pro-rated according to how much you make, so we have her there with no solid idea on how much we'll end up paying per month - kind of scary, really... but we'll see.

I have SOOO much to blog... the Austria trip and Arianna's first loose tooth, Aria's first day of German kindergarten which may seem rather sudden, but it's something that's been brewing, this whirlwind week full of odd little bits of trivia, and my weekend in Heidleberg which starts tomorrow... but, of course, I'll be gone all weekend, and next week I'll be drowning in yearbook stuff... that will last another two + weeks and then I'll be sane again, if only for a short time. So... hang in there. I have SOOO many photos to share! They'll be up slowly, but surely.