A Few Odds and Ends

Last Sunday was the first English Church where both of my children wanted to go to their perspective children's program. Johanna kept saying she wanted to stay with me and made it through about 10 minutes of worship music and prayers and then she asked to go downstairs to play with the kids. Happy Day.

Other cool things that happened last week:

We finally got together with the Aussie-Swiss family I met through Bible Study. The kids played with an English speaking kid for the first time since we've been here. And can I just say how really cool I think it is that I am friends with an Australian? I've always had a little bit of a fascination with the country/people, so this is just neat-o. I promise I enjoy her company for more than just the cadence of her voice, she's a really great person to be a around.

We (Johanna, Eli, and I) now meet up with Jackson about half way between kindy and our house after school. He has even hinted at maybe me not walking him into the classroom when we drop him off. Oh, what independence! I was pretty sure we would get to this point, and I'm glad it is here. *BTW- Night terrors are still happening occasionally, but they have definitely come down in intensity and decibels.

Jackson and I made “white mud.” (toilet paper, ivory soap, and water mixed up) I wish I had pictures but the camera was acting funny and wouldn't take. We made a snowman and “splat” balls- that's the sound they make- and Jackson did a lot of squishing. A great activity for a 4 year old.. Thanks Aunt Mickey for the recipes, they are handy.

This most recent Sunday was a a non-church Sunday. (The Amish are on to something with that). It was a beautiful, mild day, so we went for a hike. There is a narrow road just above our house (If you saw how steep the yard is, this sentence would make more sense) that we have never walked on and I wanted to give it a try. What a great idea! (pat myself on the back) We had such an AMAZING view- out across Lake Constance to the North and East and of the Alps to the South. We could even see the Saentis! I was led to believe it was not visible from St. Gallen. The kids were really great on this hike, its usually a lot of whining and complaining from them, but they had a good time- until Jo face planted, but she got over that. Eli, of course, slept.

   Kenny took some much better pictures with his tablet through instagram. He has uploaded a couple to facebook, I can't figure out how to get them from there to here. I will try to work on that.

Things the kids are doing:

Eli is rolling over and scooting around. I put him down in one spot and am amazed to see where he ends up. He is so smiley! Still no tooth.

Johanna has taken to hiding out in one of the kitchen cabinets. Sometimes she hides things in there. Mischievous little house elf.

Today she counted to 10 in German, with no prompting. I wish I could capture some of the things she says. Rain is bibble bop and stars are twinkles. She talks to kids: “Hey kids, watcha doin'?” “Stop that, kids!” Eli is her sister or brudder, depending. She has yet to claim Jackson has her brudder, he is Jackson Richawd Stice. She plays check mark (I see a tree, check mark. And then she repeats it) And she loves singing songs, particularly bingo. She usually gets through one verse and then she declares that bingo is on grandma's 'puter.

  Jackson is getting crazy tall. Pants that he was stepping on just a couple months ago, now fit.
He's about to bust out of his snow suit.

Both Johanna and Jackson have become obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I asked my mom to bring her portable dvd player in October so I could get the laptop back from the kids, but they have taken it over again wanting to watch MMC on youtube!

I began writing this post on Monday, it is now Thursday and it is snowing again. Snow here seems to be all or nothing so far.  Well over 6 inches and still falling!

Food: part dairy

So a long while back I wrote a post that I never published about one of my favorite topics, food.  I never published it because I thought it needed pictures and I didn't have many. I'm going to try again but take it in parts. Today I am focusing on dairy.
   Dairy is a big deal here, you can imagine as (at least) 2 of the national dishes revolve around it- fondue and raclette. More on those later.
So a few interesting facts. Milk is sold in 1 liter containers.

 I have seen 1.5 liter containers, but it is rare. It is not fortified with calcium or vitamin D unless it specifically says so on the container. I have yet to find skim milk. It is mostly whole or 2.5%. I have seen 1-1.5%, but it is rare.  There are a LOT of brands of milk. And the other dairy products, come to think of it.  Even the butter has several options. And there's only a few brands of margarine. I think milk here tastes a bit sweeter than milk at home.  There is also the option of UHT milk, which is shelf stable for a relatively long time.

There are a crazy amount of different types of cheese here. Every little area has it's own type of cheese. Most of the cheeses made in the Eastern region of Switzerland- which is where St. Gallen is, I describe as "farty."  (I know, how old am I? 12?) I just don't know how else to describe the flavor/aroma, it reminds me of being in a barn.  These are not my favorites. I've actually discovered I really like Manchego, which is a Spanish sheep's milk cheese.I only just this week found a "mature" cheddar cheese at the store.  Cheese is mostly sold in blocks, very little is pre-shredded.
   Again, not a whole lot of low fat cheeses (or any dairy, really).
Not much to say about yogurt, except that it is REALLY good- full fat will do that :) We eat a lot of it. We always have a tub of plain and berry in the fridge

Cream cheese is not used as much here (I think).  You can find a product called quark, which, if my cheese making knowledge, is accurate is sort of a yogurt cheese. It is eaten like cottage cheese- with fruit or vegetables.

Trip to the Saentis

After a week of fake outs, the sun came out for real on Saturday. And, at Kenny's suggestion, we decided to hit the road and venture up to the highest point around- the Saentis. The highest point in what specific region, I don't know, but it's kind of a big deal. So I'm told...

   The trip there was pretty uneventful, except that we had to do an exceptional amount of waiting.  We spoke with a lady at the ticket counter because we weren't quite sure the best route to get there (we usually just buy tickets from an automated kiosk). I don't know what the lady was thinking when she handed us the itinerary because we had clearly missed the first train on it.  Many of the local trains run every hour or so many minutes, which was the case with this one, however, everything else on the itinerary was thrown off and added close to 3 hours of waiting at various places.  It did allow us to indulge in Starbucks. I truly believe that the pumpkin spice latte should stay through Christmas. We eat pumpkin pie at Christmas, why not drink it too?  Oh well, Toffee Nut it is.  A little too sweet, but tasty.
   We traveled well, we waited well. Go kids! Go parents!  Kenny and I even read a little- each on our own device.  (side note: I was finally able to download a couple of books onto my kindle!!  I went with the Niemerg Book Club December pick- Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris and the new Ken Follett book.)
  The mountain was beautiful and the view from up top was just breathtaking. It was so quiet too. Even with the visitors around talking, it was so peacefully quiet. Nerve wracking as all get out, with the ice and snow and jagged rocky cliffs, but peacefully quiet.

 Another family photo!  Eli is sleeping in this one, too

 See what I mean about nerve wracking?

 Yay for food!  It is amazing what a little spike in the blood sugar can do for Jo. She went from tantrum throwing to playing duck duck goose by herself (on the gondola) in a matter of a few minutes.

Eli woke up so we had to get a picture with him awake

Just good lookin'!

The Lanternli Weg

I am kicking myself. Jackson's kindergarten had a traditional Swiss event and I forgot my camera. I thought for days how I HAVE to bring it, but I forgot.
   I am loosely translating the event title to be: The Little Lantern Way.  All the kindergarteners in the 3 local kindergartens made paper lanterns in school this week. Last night all the kids and their families gathered at their perspective classrooms and processed through the neighborhood. All the kindergarteners led the way with their lit paper lanterns leading an amoebic horde of parents.  Eventually, the route of each class converged with the others and we all ended up in a courtyard in front of one of the school buildings.  It looked like a magical gathering of gnomes.
  The children sang a few songs, none of which we recognized or understood.  Jackson had told me all week how they sang songs in class, but he did not join in with the singing. He took that opportunity to blow his breath out in long streams, so he could watch it.  He did this with and in the face of one of the boys in his class.  I think both boys were having fun with this, it was definitely hilarious to watch.
    And then we had snacks.   It was very dark so I couldn't see what we were eating very well. One little treat tasted like a lemon flavored cake donut (the kind you buy in packs at gas stations). There was a gingerbread like cookie, a coffee flavored cake, and the kids' favorite (ok, mine too) a roll filled with nutella.  Kenny really enjoyed the rum flavored punch (nonalcoholic).
   When we got home, we made Jackson pose for a picture, so you can get the gist.

A couple of things that struck me about this event:  Four and Five year olds with swinging candles encased in paper- somewhat unsupervised. All went well, but I don't think this would have gone over in the states. At least not with the walking part.  Few cameras. PreK events that I have attended previously back home almost require sunglasses to protect from the camera flashes.
   It was a nice little outing. We saw stars!  I rarely go out at night, and we are in extra cloudy/foggy season so stars were a real treat.

Down on the (formerly East German Military Base) Farm

  Firstly, I think this is my favorite blog post title yet.  Secondly, if Lindsey and Tobi read this they will probably roll their eyes at how frequently I mention the fact that their current home was formerly an East German Military Base. But it was so cool!  And mind boggling. I don't think I have ever been on American Military Base (excluding old historical forts) so for that first experience to be communist related is just wild to me.

   In my last post I did more complaining (I'm good at that). This post will be much more upbeat, promise.  I am so glad we decided to use our 4 day weekend to visit the Dorn's. Traveling with 3 young'uns is nuts but being able to stay in someone's home where there is more space than a hotel room (way more space) AND where there are kids our kids' age makes the experience SO MUCH BETTER.  I would love to do more sightseeing and historical exploring, but it just doesn't fly for long with little ones.

  Just sticking this shot in. Look at those cheeks!

 A little back story, Kenny and I have known Lindsey since high school, we met through New Hope Church/180. (Kenny and Lindsey knew each other before I met either of them).  Lindsey happened to be attending a Bible School in Dallas the same time Kenny and I were living in Waco, so we have a (short) history of going to visit her.  As a part of her schooling, Lindsey went to Germany to a sister school where she met her husband Tobi. Tobi and Lindsey work for/with a ministry based in East Berlin called Zukunft fur Dich!  (Future for you!).  The ministry purchased the farm, which is located about an hour East of Berlin, to create a place for rehabilitation- a place to get away from negative influences and connect with God. The Dorn's headed to the states a couple days after we left so they are now in the Effingham area. They will be speaking at a missions event at New Hope Church next Sunday, the 18th, in the evening.
   So what did we do?
   Kenny got to help (Kenny says he hopes was helpful) Tobi with some manual labor type stuff, which was a nice change of pace for him.  Jackson and Johanna got to play with Zechi and Noah. Lindsey speaks English with her boys so they understand English, but they will only speak German. The kids all got along really well.

Johanna and Noah were hilarious to watch. They were beating on each other and giggling the whole time.

We got to explore the farm and check out several bunkers.

We were blessed to share their table, which is something they do a LOT.

  Their lives are lived somewhat communally (and I mean that in the best sense of the word). The Dorn's eat almost all their meals with the other ministry workers who also live on the farm, plus whoever else is currently staying at the farm.  Lindsey told us there is almost always someone staying "with" them. Lindsey and Tobi have an apartment on one end of big building on the property, there are several other rooms in the building that are fixed up for visitors. Everyone on the farm also gathers each morning for corporate worship and prayer. It was really beautiful and inspiring.
   One custom they have on the farm (and Lindsey assures me it is common in Germany) is cake and coffee in the afternoon. We definitely liked this practice. Cake everyday? Yes, please. As a flour milling family, we heartily approve.
  I also learned that the German word for the evening meal is abendbrot (evening bread).  I really like that- so quaint.  Being around German speaking/English understanding kids was very helpful for me and my German learning attempts. I picked up on several words.  And if we had been there for a few weeks I think Jo would have been almost fluent. She picks up on the language so fast!
   On Saturday, we drove into Berlin with Lindsey and Zechi for Kid's Club- the ministry's outreach to children. (pics are of mini kids club, bigger kids were doing cool things too, no doubt, but they didn't get to play with a parachute, talk to a puppet, or jump in a ball pit)

After only a few repetitions, Johanna knew the memory verse in German! Since coming back from this trip, the only word she uses for "no" is "nein"- the German word.
  On Sunday, all of the Dorn's took us into Berlin for some brief sightseeing. (Being a part of ministry that owns a van that seats 9 has its advantages.)  We did a little driving tour of a handful of major sights-Brandenburg Gate, Merkel's office, other Government Buildings- and then ate lunch in an Australian restaurant. Kenny had a kangaroo steak- it's a little gamey.  After lunch we walked around a Christmas Market set up in Potsdamer Platz. This area was exactly where the Berlin wall used to run so it used to be a kind of "no man's land" with barbed wire and land mines. When the wall came down, this area developed FAST. There were a few pieces of the wall on display. There was a booth on the other side where you could get your passport stamped with the "official" GDR stamp.

  There were a lot of food booths in the Christmas Market and Tobi was kind enough to share some of what he considered to be excellent local treats including candied almonds, fried quark(kind of like cream cheese) dough balls (think funnel cake/donut), a sort of gingerbread, and Dunkin' Donuts. They were all excellent, my favorite were the quarkli.
  On this trip we went through the Zurich airport and Berlin (Tegel) and it struck me that the Zurich airport seemed designed to make money (shops EVERYWHERE) and Tegel seemed designed for efficiency. So telling of their perspective countries. Our trip home was a little rough and it marked the first time we ALL ate McDonald's- I don't miss it.
I posted a bunch of pictures from this trip on facebook so if you want to see more, check there!

After the 4 day trip (trip post to come!)

   Okay so my last post was about night terrors and I just want to say thanks if you read it and thanks for your prayers and positive thoughts.  I am happy to report that the episodes have decreased in frequency, in fact, he hasn't had one in over a week!  Not having people with whom to share things like this is definitely something that is hard about living here.  It's easy to let small concerns (or even big ones) get blown out of proportion. I suppose that is easy to do no matter where you live. I find that if I can talk about these things with other moms and/or family that it helps to normalize the worries.  So here is my plug for community- live in it, be a part of it, share one another's burdens. No matter what it is that you face, you are not alone, but you will feel like it until you open your mouth and share.  Totally missing my MOPS girls on things like this :)

   Change in subject!  Before we arrived here in Switzerland, I envisioned us doing more traveling than what we have done. I've already shared my frustrations in our outings so you know that we haven't traveled too far. After this past weekend's jaunt to Berlin, I have to say that I REALLY don't think we could handle much more traveling.  All Saint's Day is a national holiday here. I don't think they do much other than close everything down, but it did mean Kenny and Jackson were off school Thursday and Friday.  We took advantage and booked flights to Berlin to visit a friend from the states and her family.  (I will write a separate post about our adventures.)
   Maybe you are like me and think of Europe as somehow all being fairly close to itself.  I have this mindset because a) it's over "there" - I don't live there so I don't really grasp it's geography b) I'm only really aware of the major touristy areas, and c) it's so well connected by trains that I think I get from any point a to any point b with just a train ride and train rides are shorter than plane rides.  Well, I am very wrong.  Zurich to Berlin is an 11 hour train ride. Not happening! (I would do an overnight train without little ones). And, somehow, travel by plane requires more work and stress.
  The other thing that makes more (lengthier) excursions daunting is that they are so much work in general. Before and after. Packing for 5 people, leaving the apartment in such a condition that I won't find a stinky fridge/clothes pile/bathroom/kitchen when we return, the LAUNDRY when we get back, restocking the fridge- I have been shopping 4 times this week.  Tuesday was a trip to the second hand store, but I stopped at a gas station and bought bread on the way home. (side note: at a gas station in the states you might find a few bags of cheap, white, presliced bread, but here at any decent gas station you will find a small selection of fresh baked breads. true story.) I know this is true when you travel no matter where from/to, but my visions of us going off for the weekend here and there and everywhere are totally busted.
  So I am apparently in a bit of a "nesting" phase- trying to stock up on dry goods, buying the extra warm layers I am finding we need, creating this awesome stroller set up.

 Thanks to my Aussie friend for the use of the stroller "muff" and "new" coat (20 CHF for a used coat. I wouldn't pay that much for a new coat for a baby. The new one I found was 80!) for Eli we can now step out in the wintry weather.  I've tried it both to school and the grocery story and it has been a success so far.  He even napped in it at the store. I haven't tried pulling the shopper and pushing the stroller, that test is next. The plus on the stroller is that Jo will sit so I don't have to worry about her running off.
   I am totally taken with the strollers here- they look so cool! and practical.  But I think this will get us through, as long as the somewhat busted hinge holds out.
   I also found a lovely little walker for Eli. And in T-town colors to boot! He loves it, even though his feet don't touch. (I stick a pillow under him to give him something to push against.)

  I would also like to take a moment to publicly announce my intention to get back to my pre-pregnancy size.  I have pants back in Illinois I want my mom to bring with her at Christmas, but they won't fit yet.  I am tired of wearing maternity pants! I even went shopping a couple weeks back to buy normal pants that fit. I found a pair and then I realized they didn't have a tag, so I grabbed THE SAME SIZE off the rack and bought them. When I got them home, they didn't fit.  Second time that has happened to me at H & M. Lesson learned, buy what you try! Anyway, I have six weeks. I am now accountable to you on this.