Biking

I forgot to say that I gave Tara her first haircut last Friday. Curly hair is pretty easy, I just got it wet, combed it and chopped straight across the back and her bangs, she no longer has a mullet, but she does have the generic haircut that all little kids have when their own parents cut their hair :) I think she looks splendid, if I do say so myself!
So the weekend Nate goes away everyone in the complex seems to make it a point to take care of us. Yesterday Hans and his mom brought soup over so the kids could eat diner together (which as a parent you would know is great since both kids will eat competitive style), then I decided not to eat dinner with the family after Tara was in bed because there were "Battlestar Galactica's" to watch. I finished season 2, but tonight when I went to load season 3 it was not there :( That is why I'm writing in my blog, I have to find another show I'm interested in watching.
Today the Hugarian (by way of Sweden) neighbors asked if Tara and I would like to go on a bike ride. They have two boys, one of which was born the same day as Tara. I did not know at the time what I was getting myself into. We went on a 20K bike to a castle and then had to bike home. We started at around 10:30, biked 11K and stopped at a biergarten for lunch, this was great, lots of playthings for the kids and good food. We set out again, and by early afternoon we parked our bikes and walked up a path to the castle, collecting snail shells as we went. The castle buildings were beautiful, it was called Dornburger Schlösser, go check it out on the web!
So we wandered around for an hour or two and then we were ready to return. It was 4PM! Tara and Momo had only taken about 1/2 hr nap earlier in the day, so about 10 minutes into the ride Tara fell asleep on the back on my bike (no droopy head protection there) I stopped to prop her up a bit and then went the wrong way (up a hugh hill :( and had to come back down, thank goodness Zsolt, pronounced Yort, had my cell phone number and called to tell me I was lost). We were able to get Jamby, the four yr old, to trade seats and Tara and Momo slept for a while. We got home at 6PM. We were all tired, but quited pleased with ourselves.
Nate will return from the UAE tomorrow and he'll get to be on poopy diaper duty again for a while :) However, if Tara has her way, she'll be out of diapers by the weeks end, she is practically potty training herself. We ask if she wants to go, and if she goes we just do a little dance and give her a kiss. That is all the reward she needs! She's a keeper.

Weekend without Nate-part II

Nate ran off to the UAE to a seminar/conference for the weekend, and we're home trying to stay away from the neighbor boy who beats Tara up. Last night he scratched her face. I'll try to be a bit more vigilant. Our only other tragedy was a ruined soup. I now know that #2 on the stove is not simmer, it is still hot enough to boil rapidly, and that I probably won't keep cooking things while I put Tara to bed :) Other than burning the bottom the soup might have been good had I not bought this grain that looked a bit like qinoua, but it did not absorb the flavor of the soup. I guess I should translate the name and see if I want to try eating it in some other way :) Ahhh, gold millet, I think I'll give this to the compost unless someone facebooks me with the BEST recipe for its use :)
Tara is trying to stop taking her afternoon nap, the last two days she has cried for over 45 minutes, but once she falls asleep she sleeps for her 1.5 to 2 hrs. So I don't feel like I can let her give them up just yet.
We are finally having good weather again, it is around 70 today and sunny and beautiful, it is a nice weekend to spend outside.
I started writing but now I can't think of anything I want to say, so I should go take a nap before Tara wakes up

Life of a house wife

I have so much time to think about what I'd like to write but no time to write. Such is the life of the 'stay at home' mom. My neighbor, Savoyenne, keeps saying, and I quote "all those people that think we just relax at home all day, if they only knew".
We've been staying busy, with daily life stuff as well as making new friends. Our neighbors are great, we always have something to do. I was invited to go to the grocery store with them last Monday (this is exciting b/c they have a van) so we got to buy lots of heavy things, like soy sauce, diapers, beer, mustard, onions...all the things that I think about buying and then don't b/c I don't want to push a really heavy stroller up the very large hill :) Now we have spices on our rack and sugar to bake with.
Last Saturday evening the neighbors all got together for a pot luck with the excuse being three birthdays to celebrate as well as a guest, a brother and nephew, in town. It started at 16:00 b/c this is the traditional time to get together for keks und tee (cookies and tea). We grilled and drank and talked, then put the kids to bed and have beer and wine together until late. It was quite fun and necessary b/c when you have kids around there is never any time to visit and get to know each other. The evening ended with a discusion about going mushroom hunting the following day.
Here is where I should have guessed that trying to get that many people away from our houses together would be too much to handle. Did I tell you that Tara got carsick on the way to IKEA? Well, it was not that much fun. So I had decided not to go when Savoyenne says that we are going just out of town, just a few km's. So, I pack up and don't think about bringing anything to change Tara into or wipes to clean her up if she gets carsick again :( We ended up driving over an hour, Tara got sick five min's before we got there and everyone in our car was grumpy b/c we'd passed "so many great mushroom forests". We did however have a very nice walk in the forest. I found a beautiful bettle (kefer) and a little toad. There were many mushrooms to look at, but very few edible ones. Tara actually walked in the forest, to my surprise she was not even cranky when branches whipped up to smack her. She liked pointing out holes and we talked about who might live in them. And, I was greatly relieved when the drive back was uneventful.
So on to housewifely duties. Does anyone still iron? I thought not. MPI gave us sheets and towels to use until we bought our own, but they are to be returned cleaned and pressed. So today I got out the iron. Hmmm, I must have learned how to do this at somepoint in my life, but I think my grandmother always took over when we made our first permanent wrinkle. I spent about 45 mins pressing two pillow cases and one sheet, I think I'll take the rest to the dry cleaner, even if this means lugging it down and then back up the hill.
Tomorrow is my next joint english/deutch lesson with Anya, my neighbor, and her 12 year old Johanna. I feel like I should make a lesson plan for what I'd like to accomplish with Johanna over the next couple of weeks. So there is it, my busy life. It is 14:00 and Tara is calling me, she just awoke from her nap. Lots of love from this part of the world.