Life: Idiotropic

Happy Mother's Day to all those amazing women out there! I have truly come to the conclusion that motherhood is the hardest job out there. One 24/7/365/until-death-do-us-part and then some job with no real vacations. (I'll save that for another rant...) But, beyond the challenges like sibling rivalry and disdainful bodily fluids of all colors, I am rewarded daily by immeasurable love and humor, and the hugs and kisses of little girls. So, I took pleasure in today. My day.

Luci and Aria had made little gifts at school. A "Best Mom" pillow and a felt tulip from Aria, and a cute little yellow flower pot full of grass from Luci. The woke me up with their treasures. Elise hugged and cuddled. Tiara avoided me a little embarrassed that she didn't have a gift for me, but I understood and I didn't need the gift - it was nice to know that she cared. It was a nice morning. We went to church - an experience that showed a) the generosity of my girls or b) how much they don't like me.

Instead of a story before children's church, the pastor told all the mothers to stand up, then gave the children all long-stemmed red roses to pass out to the moms in the congregation, reminding the children that there are some mothers whose children were not there to give them roses, so they will be able to give roses to more than one mother. I stood there proudly waiting for my two girls, Aria and Luci, to argue a bit over who got to give me my one rose. Arianna got hers. I smiled and watched as she turned and ran down the aisle towards me, then started looking around at other ladies, veered to the other side of the aisle, stopped, and gave her rose to another mother! Luci - my beacon of hope - the one who I hoped would not only appreciate me, but also save me from the embarrassment of standing there - turned beaming in my direction. Yes, I'd be able to sit. Finally, appreciated. No. She ran right to me, then reached over me to give the rose to my mom. Fine. That's appropriate. So I got one more shot. Arianna was already back for her second rose. I, again, was hopeful. And, again, Arianna found another woman to give it to. So, finally, being one of the last women standing, a nice child (not mine) came and put me out of my misery with a red rose. Children. Happy Mother's Day to me.


An uneventful church service followed. Luci and Arianna made hand print art during Sunday School that was still goopy wet when it came home and the kids were lined up telling their mother's what they were thankful for. Luci mumbled. Arianna, I think, thanked me for feeding her. They're such little ego boosters, aren't they?

Cafe Rodebach in Stahe was our breakfast stop. I'd heard about their cakes, but hadn't eaten there. It was a little dingy and small, but ok. The minimal smoke made it bearable. The cakes and ice creams look delicious. The breakfast was nice, but there was no menu which felt odd. I, at least, like to know what I'm getting myself into. Instead, I just ordered fruhstuck for 2 adults and 4 kids and hoped that what came would be enough. It was. Mom and I both got coffee and orange juice. The kids got kakao (hot chocolate) and juice. Then we had a large assortment of brotchen and breads, cheeses and meats, and jellies and nutella to eat. It was good. I ordered a 1/2 strawberry kuchen to take home for later. Then, in spite of impending rain, the 4 girls walked the mile-ish home and mom and I enjoyed a few minutes of quiet at the house before they arrived. That, in and of itself, is a gift greater than any church rose. Looking at my watch and fretting, I opened my door to look for them and saw them coming with a big bouquet of wildflower weeds in their hands - queen anne's lace and buttercups.

The day continued with quiet and a little bit of peace. Tiara kept the little ones quiet long enough for me to doze off which is one of the greatest Mother's Day gifts ever. Kirk was in Italy, so it was just a day for moms and daughters which was very nice.

Below are photos from the sunset that evening. The light was so bright in the windows, it lit up the staircase. There are 13 windmills visible in the photo on the left.

Today was Elise' 3rd birthday.

As usual, the girls all got up and stumbled into the playroom. Aria and Luci started getting dressed and ready for school. And, as usual, Elise plopped herself down on the bench ready to watch morning cartoons - a VHS recording of PBS cartoons that my dad made for us.

"Happy Birthday, Elise!" This was my cheery morning greeting to my special birthday girl.
"No! Don't say that!!!" That the grouchy reply complete with furrowed brow and terse tone.

Being her mother, I couldn't just let it go and allow her to be a grouch on her birthday, so I sat gently next to her and hugged her and explained that she isn't two anymore but three and now when people asked her how old she was, that she should say, "three." Then I had to test it.

"How old are you, Elise?"
"I'm two."
"No, you're three now."
"I don't want to be three! I WANT TO BE TWO!!!!!"

I got the hint and left her alone. We finished the morning routine, got the sisters off to school, then met with some friends and went to a absolutely fabulous cafe in Beeck for an all-you-can-eat (which is VERY rare in Germany) breakfast. While sitting next to me eating her toast with nutella and chocolate cereal decorations, my friend asked her, "Elise, how old are you now?"
"Four." A completely deadpanned response.

So there you have it. Three is not possible here. She is two or four, may be even five. Who knows.

The rest of the day was good. We played. We baked cupcakes. Then late tonight, after Tiara's 3-hour dance rehearsal, we decorated our own cupcake, sung happy birthday, then opened presents. She was very calm about the presents - no emotion or excitement. But as soon as she was done, she sat down to play with one and handed the other two to Arianna and Luci to share, so they each could play with something new. It was nice. We'll do a "party" in a couple weeks with friends, but Kirk is still in Italy, so we just did the family thing today.

Photo: All my girls with their cupcakes. Mom is here visiting and she brought these 4 darling silicone cupcake cups with feet, so I baked the cupcakes in those and the kids decorated them. They enjoyed the silliness.

Unrelated: Today Tiara, along with the rest of her 6th grade class, spent the day with the 7th grade at AFNorth International School in The Netherlands. She took the bus from our house and rode with some older friends in our neighborhood. She was REALLY nervous, but came home happy and excited. She just got her hair cut yesterday so she'd feel good today and I let her wear a TINY bit of eyeshadow - something that always makes her feel more grown up. So, my first baby is growing up... and I couldn't be more proud of her. She's a great kid.

Elise and Misha are kindred spirits. They've always taken to each other and remain both gentle and loyal. This afternoon I walked into the living room to find them resting together - quite a sweet pair.

Last year on April 30th, we had just had guests arrive that day jetlagged and ready to sleep when the tractors sounded off all night. The following morning our guests awoke grumbling about our loud "alarm clock."

This year we went to the May Day party downtown with some German friends and saw a lot of the craziness first hand.

May Day is two things - first, it's German Labor Day, a day off for most people which is great because many are hung over that morning. Second, it's, well, some old-fashioned mating ritual that involves beer and uglified trees.

So we met our friends just before 9pm and walked to downtown Geilenkirchen to the market square where the party was going on. We went first for some vorspeisen (appetizers) at a little restaurant right on the markt and people watched. Kids and adults of all ages were out and about walking around and enjoying the evening. We shared a large table with another couple outside. Just 10 feet from us a group of 8 young boys were sitting on benches with1-2 6-packs of beer each, drinking and having a good time. A couple large trucks (not Ford - think large farming work truck that can hold several tons of sugar beats or about 20 drunk boys) went by full of drunk boys and music. One had a party ball spinning in the back. It was shocking to see young boys drinking openly like that. Even our German friends shook their heads frustrated by the abuse of alcohol and drugs that is becoming a growing problem among the youth here.

After our snack, we paid our 3 Euro entrance fee into the party area - a fenced off area with a big stage, live music, and tons of food. There we could buy tickets for drinks and great food cooked on a giant hanging grill. I had bratkartofeln (tiny round potatoes cooked with bacon and onions). My friend had pork and saurkraut. It was crowded - the kind of crowded where you really have to push your way to get anywhere. Again, these things are reminders of personal space rules and the lack of them here with people brushing past without even a glance. We ate a little, got something to drink, then got up close to the band and watched.

The band was amazing. A Night In Paris has 4 lead singers! Each had a distinct voice and a range of styles he/she could do. They all took turns singing American, British, and German music from the 60's until now and they nailed each one. Most of the time I tried hard to catch a mistake and couldn't even tell they were German singers. Then one song came on that was so wrong, it was laughable. I can't now remember the title, but I knew it and started to sing along only to find that the singer was singing completely wrong lyrics. We all laughed. The local hits, of course, got the crowd singing along.

There was dancing up front and the oddest mix of people. Our friends' 10 year-old daughter was walking in with a group of friends after 11pm as we were walking out. Kids were there. Older folks in their 60's were there. It was a crazy mix with everyone singing and having a good time.

As we entered our village driving home, I saw a large (12') birch tree walking down the side of the road. It was horizontal, elevated above the ground, and had two sets of legs whose bodies were completely covered with branches. A truck was parked further up.

Families are warned to put potted plants in and BBQ's. The groups of boys start around 11 cutting off large birch limbs or cutting down entire smaller birch trees and filling their trucks driving around all night long with loud music, flags waving, and disco balls swirling. To me, it seems very American redneck - drunk guys in the back of a tractor or truck waving flags and cutting down trees. Silly. But, it's here. We heard them go by several times in the night.

I was awakened at 0630 with more loud music that wouldn't go away. They were parked across the street. I watched them unload a couple large branches, tie crepe paper streamers onto them, then hoist them up Paul Bunyon style and carry them down the street towards some poor girl's house with friends behind carrying ladders and rope. They put the tree by the house - I saw some sitting in the top of chimneys, some tied to pipes on the side of the house, some up on the top floor, some sitting on the ground, some tied to other trees making them look like they were also planted. They were all big and garishly decorated with streamers.

Our friends also have a 15-year old daughter. She'd been out to a party that night. She expected several trees and hearts at her house. Her mom said she had to get up early to cook breakfast for all the boys. I asked how many and she didn't know. This won't ever happen at my house. There is no way that I'm going to get up at the crack of dawn to cook breakfast for a bunch of hungover hoodlems who just happen to have a crush on my daughter - no way.

This morning coming home I saw three girls dragging a large decorated birch down the street behind them. The trees and hearts will be up for about a month as will the giant May Poles in most town centers.

It's always a bit sad when childhood starts to slip away... the first time a child realizes who Santa is, and who to hint to when those last couple teeth fall out. All three of my little girls just recently had one of those slightly sad moments when reality wins over whimsy.

When Kirk was in Korea he told us about the giant Korean Marshmallows that he saw all over the fields there. That stuck and when we moved here, the girls would get excited over the huge white plastic covered bales of hay. "Marshmallows!" "Look, Mom, marshmallows!" They'd all start shouting in unison as we'd drive by a field.

Then a friend of theirs, a very level headed young girl, told my head-in-the-clouds, Arianna that they weren't marshmallows, but bags of garbage. It was a sad day and Arianna was upset.

Now the girls all properly state that they are bags of hay. It isn't quite as charming to hear, "Look, Mom, big white bags of hay!" when driving down the street, but I do still enjoy their excitement over the little things in life.

This day we had a special treat when we drove home. A tractor was in the empty field next to our house creating a giant Korean marshmallow right in front of our eyes, so, with childlike wonder and excitement, we all stood to watch until the tractor finished and drove away.

A Canadian friend just got this to me, so I thought I'd post it now since I'll forget by Christmas. This infamous Canadian beverage is best served on cold wintery days - a wonderful treat for a little adult get-together.

• 40oz Light Rum
• 26oz Kahlua
• 26oz Grand Marnier
• 4 liters of vanilla ice cream
• 6 eggs (well beaten)
• 2.4 liters of milk

This afternoon with all windows open, we heard voices from the courtyard and seconds later all three of my small ones ran shrieking in joy to find their German friends' - our landladies granddaughters - playing there. And that was our day. They played from 1:30 until about 7 outside in the sun, rollerblading, hula-hooping, bicycle riding, and going down the slide on burlap sacks.
The whole family was here for Gillrath's schutzenfest with Hardy and Beret walking in it - Hardy with his nice green suit and feathered cap, and Beret with her beautiful purple and blue irredescent formal gown and a bouquet of Lily of the Valleys.

For the occasion, Tinny baked her famous sour cherry cake with a thick cake layer that is almost as light as angel food cake, but flavorful and not too sweet and a cherry layer that is absolutely delicious and just tart enough. They also had a large apricot cake from the bakerei with a traditional latticed top. They invited me to sit, so my "list of things to do today" quickly became my "list of things to do tomorrow" as I sat, listened to the conversation, drank coffee, and ate cake. I thoroughly enjoyed my generously thick slice of Tinny's special cherry cake. It was delicious liberally topped with freshly whipped cream. I was completely stuffed when I'd finished it, but apparently it is not acceptable to stop at one piece of cake. After all, it's food and Hardy sitting across the table had already consumed three large slices. "Neee, Ich bin dicker mit viel kuchen." (basically, my 2-year old way of saying too much cake will make me fat since my German language skills are so pathetically weak) Yeah, didn't get away with that. Essen. Gotta eat. So I accepted another delicious slice of apricot cake. No whipped cream this time. I'll be good. Arianna came up to me to ask me something and I turned just for 10 seconds or so to talk to her. When I turned around to take the second bite from my cake, it had been liberally topped with a thickness of whipped cream equal to the thickness of the cake. The rest of my afternoon was sunning my fat-soaked self in the backyard talking a little, watching the kids, and trying to follow the German conversations around me. It was very enjoyable - much better than the chores I'll be doing no-doubtfully tomorrow - and I learned a few new German words in the process.

Plus - we've been invited to a party on the markt in Geilenkirchen tomorrow night - should be interesting.

... is driving around with a camera within reach.

This morning I accidentally left my camera at Noemi's, so in the next couple errands that followed I absolutely felt that I was missing an appendage. It was horrible... so many pretty things and no camera. So when I picked it up at 4, I tortured my kids by stopping every few minutes, jumping out of the car or rolling down the windows, and snapping a few photos.

So, here are some photos of the area where I live and things I see every day... nothing special, really, for the area, but I am so enjoying spring. Everything is beautiful. The flowers are at their fullest, and the horses are all out now and as regal as ever. Last year I seemed to notice more traditional horses with the long sleek bodies. This year the majority are work horses - magnificently muscled, thick, with gorgeous long hair at their ankles like the Clydesdales. They are so people oriented too - like the local cows, that if you walk up to the fence - or even park your car nearby - they will walk right up to you looking for a treat.

Photographs: Schloss Zwiebruggen - a small castle with large stables sitting out on it's own in a tiny village about 10 minutes from my house. A row-house in Ubach-Palenberg with a beautiful row of wisteria in bloom across it. A horse in Niederheid. Clematis in the parking lot by Arianna's kindergarten. Two ladybugs - one is black with red spots. A boy watching the train go by... the light was flashing bright red. He hopped down and ran off as soon as the train was gone. Horses in Gillrath - the sun was behind them, so I couldn't get a good photo of them, but they are my favorites around here and they are very friendly. I got nettles for this photo walking into the tall grass near the fence.

This morning was a Spanish morning and one during which I looked forward to learning Noemi's recipe for Madalenas.

I arrived just a few minutes early, walked into her kitchen, and was surprised and intrigued to see a swine leg propped up ever so elegantly in front of her window. I think my shock surprised her as much as the piggie toes surprised me. "Everyone in Spain has a ham holder," she tells me. These lovely porky gams are hung for months to cure and then can be kept in one's kitchen for up to a year. She said the flavor is destroyed if it's pre-sliced, so if you want some ham, you just slide out the little drawer from the bottom of the "ham holder," pull out one of three knives stored there, and slice away bits of ham from under the layer of salty fat that protects it. My friends' Maria and Joana arrived and they all had a chuckle at the funny American who'd never seen a ham propped up in some one's kitchen this way. I took photos when she'd moved it and they told me about the markets in Spain where the ceiling is covered with hundreds of hanging portions of curing meat. When I go to Spain, I'll definitely have to go there for photos - and a little taste too, of course!

Anyway, the morning was delightfully relaxing, drinking our coffee, munching on Noemi's Madalenas, and sunning our pale legs outside on her patio. The Madalenas are delicious and very light - a wonderful summer treat. The key is whisking the eggs until they almost double in size.

Here's the recipe:

Let these photos be a warning to you. Yes, without warning, this blog, come July or August, will become my own personal whining space. Readers will be bombarded with original statements like, "It's hot," "It's horrifically, miserably hot," and "It's probably cooler in Africa." I could even go into some editorial rant entitled, "Why in land's sakes is there NO air conditioning anywhere in Germany????!?!?!?"

Yes, unless I am able to successfully escape to somewhere cooler like, say, the Arctic, I think I may just go mad.

And, I won't be the only one. My poor neighbor is already complaining. It's hot and it's still APRIL! The man in the pizza place was griping too. If you've planned a trip to Germany for the summer, well, think again. Unless you enjoy listening to an endless barrage of fussing over the weather. I think that's all I'll be hearing - and doing.

April 23rd is the day on which the Republic of Turkey was founded and it is also celebrated as children's day. Attaturk, a Turkish commander and elected president at the time, loved children and declared the day a holiday where people exchange gifts. It is much like Christmas for the children, but they also celebrate cultures from around the world. It is a day of peace.

So, each year on the base, the Turkish here put together a celebration for all the children and their families. Luci, with her dance school, performed two times. Now Luci is perfectly capable of dancing. If she wants to dance, she looks fantastic and knows the movements better than most of the girls in her class. But, she's stubborn and hasn't wanted to dance these last few weeks. She especially didn't want to dance today on the stage, so while she was up there, and she did all the movements correctly, she was very robotic and performed a very emotionless, flat performance. Still, I have to be the silly mom taking photos. So, the first dance, she wore a colorful skirt and did a really fun jazz dance. The second dance she wore the white tutu and did a nice little ballet. Both times she was adorable in spite of herself. And... the photo with the thumbs up? Yes, that was on stage in front of a packed auditorium, during the performance, looking right at me.




When the long kick-off talent portion of the day finally ended, we all headed outside into the sun. Food was cookin' -- burgers, hot dogs, and cotton candy. Large inflatable jumping toys were set up with kids crawling, jumping, and climbing all over them. A simulator had a long line of kids waiting for their turn to try it, and the adults of all nationalities stood around in clumps visiting with each other.

A karate demonstration began and Kirk was happy to show the martial arts to the girls. Arianna, especially, was really excited about it and now wants to sign up. After that outdoor demo, a group of young German carnival dancers came out to do a silly dance dressed as animals and the 7 dwarfs from a very popular German comedy. Then, came my favorite part - the Turkish fold dancers. They wore the same costumes as last year and did the same dances, but it was still beautiful. The women danced well, but calmly. The true "bam" of the dancing came from the men, whirling, jumping, and dancing with such flare. I watched from behind my camera clicking constantly to capture as much of the movement as possible. (Check out the guy in this first photo - both his feet are above ground and the long part of his jacket is flying! The girls in the wedding dresses did most of their dancing on their toes wearing silver high-healed mary-janes.)







(The colorful costumes of the women in the second dance somehow looked absolutely brilliant. Looking closely, you can see colors and pattern juxtaposed that you'd never dare set foot from the house wearing, but somehow, they worked and looked terrific. Truly, it was a little bit of Turkish embroidery mixed with a few oversized florals from the 1960's grandma's closet. Add some crazy bright wool socks and you've got it. The young girl looking over towards me in the photo above was so sweet and fun to watch. Every time I had my camera poised near her, she'd look at me and smile.)

After the dancing, the food, lots of jumping, and a lot of play, we took the small train ride around the base hoping that it would lead us to the AWACS that was open. It didn't. Instead, we just did a big boring circle and missed the plane except for a brief view as we drove passed it. The kids still enjoyed the ride although Luci was so hot, she leaned her head on the train car door and starting absentmindedly licking her salty arm. Just before we left the girls got cotton candy - a sweet end to a fun, but exhausting day.



During the the entire post-dancing fun, Tiara had been having big girl fun at an ice-cream shop with one of her friends. We picked her up and the kids played for a bit on the trampoline before we left for the night.