Margaret in Grandpa's Cradle

Google Images Tell All

So, in response to www.bloomingtonautica.blogspot.com 's post, I did a little google images search for "Comcast". The funny-faced person and the monkey don't seem like very confidence-inspiring images.

And look, a protest! Can we join?

" Thank you for calling Comcast, how may I be of service?"

Happy German Reunification Day! (Oct. 3)

Who can forget Temporarylibrarian's birthday while living in Germany? It is a national holiday - the entire country gets a day off! Hooray Germany!

A few random pictures to appease the grandparents.

What's so funny?

Everybody is ready for bed and cuddling on the couch.

Happy Birthday, Temporary LIbrarian!

Dear TL,
Hausfrau and family love you very much! Keep taking those pain killers! Happy Birthday!

Fussball!

William went to his first soccer practice on Friday ( with Darien!) . He seemed to really enjoy himself.

And everybody got their own ball!

Piano!

This week, Claire gave us a piano just because she is nice! We have all been playing it, but lately I'm the one enjoying it the most. I've become obsessed! I've been playing 2 or 3 hours a day ( thank goodness it has headphones!) and now my hands are sore and I'm going around singing dorky little tunes all the time ( you aren't the only one, Ineke!). Thank you, Maestro Claire!

Oktoberfest is in September!

This evening, we went to Oktoberfest - it is a relatively small affair in Konstanz. William and Sean went on the bumper cars.

The whole family went on the gigantic Ferris wheel!

William's eye still looks rather embarrassing...but I'm hoping the swelling from his bee sting will go down in a day or two!

Margaret wasn't sure what to think of the Ferris wheel....

William drove a race car ( a main theme of this blog!).

And Dr. Hausfrau actually wore a Dirndl !! Parents Hausfrau are planning on drinking the beer now that Thing 1 and Thing 2 are finally asleep! Prost!

Heartfelt Observations at 3:32am.

As I was changing Margaret's diaper last night at 3:32 am, I heard William's voice. "Sajdbfhawyubob, " he said. "What was that, William?" I asked, and he repeated himself, "sdafhboaebnbkzd." "That's right, dear. Now go back to sleep, " I responded hopefully. Then, more clearly, he said, " I can feel my heart beating." "That's a good thing, William. It means you're alive. Just feel your heart beating and let it rock you back to sleep." "Can I feel your heart beating, Mama?" " I suppose. Here you go.", I said as I leaned over his bed and he put his hand on my heart. " That's what doctors do, " he declared and then rolled over and went back to sleep.

Let's Have Some Reality on the Blogosphere

Today, as I was picking Margaret's half-chewed grapes out of my asparagus soup ( from a packet), I decided that it was a good day for an infusion of reality on the blogosphere. We really DO have wonderful children and live in a beautiful place and are happy, fortunate, grateful people most of the time, BUT some days are better than others. Mother Therese's dirty laundry has been published in a book, so I figured, why not join in? I got dirty laundry, too, and some of it molds before it gets to the washer. Like Mother Therese, sometimes I'm not sure who my saviour is, and sometimes, when I get a flash of truth and for an instant KNOW who my saviour would be ( a very nice-looking gay man with a super-powered vacuum cleaner and all the attachments who would give me fashion tips and clean my apartment), I feel somewhat embarrassed to declare it to the public.

William, Margaret, and I all have colds. Nights of coughing fits have been shown to have a negative influence on mood. Sean, lucky man, had been at a conference for the last few days, and came home last night to a trio of grumpy, snotty, short people with hacking coughs. For some reason, Sean has become very dedicated to his work lately. We love you, Sean...please come home, we promise it's safe! :^)

This morning, Sean gave me a break and let me stay in bed while he took a loudly tantruming William to Kindergarten and took Margaret on a walk to the pharmacy to get some good drugs for the family. A few hours later, the Kindergarten called to tell me to come pick William up, he had just gotten stung in the face by a bee and was very upset. It was nothing a DVD and getting to eat lunch on the couch couldn't resolve, but the boy ain't looking too pretty today...

...Margaret also isn't looking so great today...she HATES having her nose wiped.

...unless she can do it herself. YUM!

The house looks like this. Margaret and Emory (www.theplesspeople.blogspot.com) could get together and have a lot of fun these days. Margaret is very interested in books, and their relationship to gravity. Now I, the proud daughter of several librarians who used to shelve books with gusto 10 hours a week, just shove the books to the side with my foot before meals so we can eat without getting them sticky when the food starts to fly.

The kitchen looks like this, and the main motivation to do dishes is to reach the coffee pot more easily. Some things in life should always be easy, and getting to the coffee in the morning is one of those things.

This is how I fold and organize Margaret's clothes in her closet. She removes all the clothes daily, so I don't bother with the details anymore. Life is a process of learning to let go. I just wash the clothes and throw them in, saves a few steps.

And I know it's not all about looks, but sometimes how we look and how the space around us looks is a good reflection of what's going on and how we are feeling. Bad hair days only come when the other things in your life are also askew; when the Dr. Hausfrau, neither an exemplary doctor, nor even an approximation of a decent German housewife, starts to consider changing her blog-identity to "Oscar the Grouch". This is how my hair looks today, and today we are just getting by. I'm pulling the shades to shut out the sun, and we're watching the "Cars" video as often as we want while eating gummi bears.

Gotta go, the doorbell is ringing. Hey! It's a guy with a vacuum cleaner! He says I should part my hair instead to the right! Brilliant!

Pictures of Marga's Playgroup

A few weeks ago, Marga started going to a playgroup at the University. Since William was there, they have renovated the whole area! Check out these pictures of her new school.

A play kitchen is always a big hit.

She is a lot braver than William was - and has no respect for gravity. ( help!)

She likes to drive Bobby cars, just like William did.

Somewhere to hide.

Gigantic soft building blocks!

Her group, of ten children and two teachers, is called the "Wawuschels", or the "Pom Poms". Here she is, checking out the class mascot.

Hoppe Hoppe!

Another day, another playground. This playground is on the Island of Rheichenau. Beeba took this picture.

Nothing Exciting Happened This Week

But two weeks ago, Margaret went to her first day of school! Here she is sitting on the step waiting to put her shoes on.

...William and Beeba made chocolate chip cookies!

... And I got to play on all kinds of playground equipment and ride on a real live kiddie-train!

Klettermous

William, as Himself.

Margaret takes her baby for a walk.

oops!

Buurehof zom Aaluege

Yesterday we drove to Tufertschwil, Switzerland ( near Wil) to tour a little farm. For 3 Sfr per adult, you can explore the entire farm - they had chickens, goats, pigs and piglets, cows and calves, ducks, and even a fish! We learned about hay and straw ( there is a difference!) and we observed bees making honey ( from our sandwiches and apples).

But more exciting was the playground at the restaurant down the street! They had motorcycles!

Carousel in Tufertschwil