movie's about and where I am right now) but today is seriously going to be a long day. I had to get up at 4 this morning to take Olaf to the airport in Dusseldorf. He's on his way to Denmark and then Sweden for the rest of the week on business. It would've been really cool to be able to go with him, but obviously I couldn't because I have to help Esther with the kids. Anyway, he had to be at the airport by 5:45 so we had to leave here before 5 am, and I didn't find this out until 8 last night so I didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare myself for an early morning. It wasn't too bad because I just brewed us some coffee to take with us, and Olaf drove to the airport so I had time to wake up before I had to drive back home. And there was absolutely no snow on the Autobahn, so it was a really smooth and easy drive.My intention was to go straight to bed when I got home, but I thought it was probably a good idea to just take Amelie for a walk instead, since I was already up and dressed to be outside. We were out in the field for about 40 minutes, and it was one hell of a workout. It's been really windy, so all of the snow had been blown all over the field, filling all the little dips and leveling the surface. At times I was walking through ankle-deep snow because of this, in addition to fighting against the wind, so it was hard work. Amelie's always crazy out there when it's dark, too, so she was barking at the wind for a good part of the time, but she had a lot of fun.
When Amelie and I got back I still didn't get to go to bed because it was so close to the time Esther and the kids needed to get ready to leave that I figured I would just stay up and help get them ready. It's a good thing I did, because Esther didn't hear her alarm this morning and they would've been late if I wasn't there to get Pauline dressed and help them put on their coats and stuff. We have to dress them up like Randy from Christmas Story every time they go outside, so it definitely takes some time. Then, since it was almost 8:45 and the hot water turns off at 9, I had to take a shower before I was stuck with ice cold water. I don't really have any thing to do until 3, though, so there's still plenty of time for me to take a nap and get rested before I have to go to my class tonight.
Yesterday was a really easy day. I didn't really have any actual work that I needed to do. Esther needed the car, so she took the kids in the morning and all I needed to do was walk Amelie and then get the car from Esther's office in the afternoon to pick the kids up. So to pass the time I got my nails done. It's something that I've been wanting to do since I got here, partially because I can (now that I'm not working for Starbucks) and partially because I've always had really ugly, unhealthy nails that, in my opinion, make my hands look ugly and mannish. So anyway, now I have pretty nails, and the woman who runs the studio here in Koenigsdorf is really cool and sweet, so even though it's a little expensive I'm going to keep going to her. Besides, she's done a better job than anyone else ever has on my nails, so it's worth it.
After I picked up the kids I took them to the retirement home behind Gustav's Kindergarten to go sledding for a little bit before we went home. It was already 4:30 in the afternoon and starting to get dark, so we weren't there for very long, but the kids were tired so it was ok. Gustav went by himself each time now that he feels comfortable going down the hill alone. That was a big thing for him when he did that this weekend. After going once with me, Pauline wanted to try going alone, too. She was so proud of herself when she got to the bottom of the hill. She wouldn't even let me help her drag the sled back up the hill because she wanted to be a big girl and do it by herself.
Olaf got to the train station at 6:30, so Esther stayed at her office to meet him and they walked home together. In the meantime I made some cocoa for the kids, got both of them ready for bed, put dinner together, set the table, and put Sandmeanchen on for the kids to watch. Esther and Olaf were both really happy to see everything done and ready when they got home. The little ones didn't give me the slightest bit of trouble, either. None of the drama started until after Esther and Olaf got home, as usual. Apparently they feel they need to act like little turds around their parents, because they don't do that for me. Once they were in bed, though, everything went smoothly.
The package that my parents sent me for
Christmas finally arrived yesterday, too. It took an entire month to get here (don't ever use the USPS to deliver packages!!) and I had to pay 6,81 Euro in taxes on it, but it made it here. Amelie loves her little squeaky toy that "Bailey" sent for her, and there was an adorable little necklace that Mom sent me from Tweek. She even drew a little kitty paw on the tag, which said "To Mama, From Tweek." She is too funny. Aside from the orange that my mom had, according to family tradition, placed in my stocking, everything made it here in good condition. We still don't know for sure, though, if my package ever made it into Egypt.I keep forgetting to mention a discussion that the kids had amongst themselves a few days ago. Last week one day Gustav asked my why I say "Hi" every time someone says "Tschuess" to me. I explained to him that what I was actually saying was "Bye" because that's how we say Tschuess in English, and I really emphasized the B so he heard the difference. A couple days later I was upstairs in my room and I could hear Gustav and Pauline downstairs talking. Gustav asked Pauline if she knew why I always said "Hi" when they said "Tschuess." Pauline's response was "Nein, man sagt nicht hi, man sagt Tschuess" ("No, you don't say hi, you say Tschuess"). Then Gustav gave Pauline the same explanation that I gave him, so now they both know what I'm saying when I tell them goodbye. It was really freaking cute to hear them, by themselves, having a discussion about English. Another thing that I love is that when I say something to Gustav that he doesn't fully understand, you can see the concentration in his face as he tries to process it. He doesn't always get it right, but he tries so hard and that's a huge difference from 3 months ago when he didn't want to hear it at all. By the time these kids start school when they're 6 they will be so far ahead of everyone in their English. Esther is really excited about that, and I am too.
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