:-(

Poor Pauline is so miserable. Esther had just walked out the door to go pick up Olaf at the train station when Pauline started coughing. I went into her room to check on her, and she started vomiting all over herself. She was on her back, so of course the first thing I did was put her on her side, and when she started crying I lifted her out of her bed to get her out of her vomit. She threw up again when I had her out of the bed. It was all over her shirt and in her hair, the poor little thing. I had to take her and give her a shower, and I had her in the shower when Olaf and Esther got home. Her ear is so red. She is in so much pain right now, and I feel so bad for her. They're definitely going to be taking her to the doctor; she hurts too badly not to. Esther thanked me profusely for taking care of Pauline. As if I would just leave her there, crying and covered in puke. If someone did that just because they were "off the clock" I'd be so pissed. I'm just glad that, even though all she really wants is her Mommy, Pauline understands that I'm here to help her and she doesn't fight with me when I do. If this had been Gustav, I'm not entirely sure that he would've let me help him. He probably would've, though. He likes me well enough, and I think he trusts me. I just wish there was more I could do to help her (but I'm sure Esther and Olaf do, too).

"Don't see me, Papa!"

After I picked up the kids this afternoon, I had them sit at the table to have some chocolate milk. They started drinking what I gave them and then decided they wanted it warm, so I warmed some more milk for them. I let them each scoop their own chocolate powder into their cups because it makes them feel better that way. Gustav did exactly what he was supposed to, and Pauline decided it was easier for her to shovel it than to scoop it, since she still only has the coordination of a 2 year old. I held the cocoa container near her cup so she could reach it with the least potential for a mess, and just when it seemed like she had about the right amount to push into her cup, she quickly stuck her spoon back in and scooped out enough to fill her cup half way with chocolate powder. She had already used the cup, and both of the kids have been sick, so I wasn't about to put it back in the container. She just had a really chocolaty chocolate milk.
Anyway, I went back to the stove to check on the milk and make sure it wasn't too hot (have I mentioned that they don't have a microwave?) and I looked over at the table to make sure everything was ok. Gustav looks at me and says "Guck weg, Manda," ("Look away") as he opens the chocolate container. I just kept looking at him, so he said it 2 more times. I looked away for a second, and when I looked back he had a spoon full of chocolate powder in his mouth and he was grinning from ear to ear (like I didn't know that was going to happen). I told him "Gustav, I can see what you did," and he said "Uh, uh, du hast nichts gesehen." Meanwhile his teeth and mouth are completely covered in chocolate. It was classic. Of course, having seen her brother do this, Pauline then did the same thing with the chocolate that was in her cup. They looked so rediculous, I just loved it.

Before the end of the night, Pauline started complaining about her ear. It came out of nowhere, and I thought that she had hit it on something, but it got worse and worse. So poor Paulinchen has an earache. I don't know if Esther's going to have to take her to the doctor tomorrow or not. Hopefully everything will be ok while I'm in Cologne (I start my language course tomorrow!) and her ear gets better soon.

Look at all the pretty colors!

The trees are getting more and more beautiful everyday. It's really obvious to me because I see the same trees at least once a day when I walk Amelie, and every time I look at them they're less and less green. A lot of them will probably be losing their leaves pretty soon, since it's been so cold and windy. In the meantime, though, it's nice to just look around and enjoy all the colors.

I drove into Frechen again this afternoon to see if I could find my coffee tumbler. I missed a turn somewhere and got lost in downtown Frechen, but it's kinda hard to get really lost so it was no big deal. I went back to the store that I thought I had left the tumbler in, and not only was it still there, but it was still sitting in the basket, along with everything else I had put in it to purchase, and the basket was in the exact same spot where I left it. Seriously? What are the odds? I couldn't buy the stuff I wanted though because the store only took cash and I have no money right now. I still haven't been paid for the month because it's taking a while to get everything sorted out with the bank. It's ok, though. I just have more time to get ideas and look around before I buy stuff.