It's not my fault!

Yeah, I know, I failed miserably at sticking to my commitment for this week, but it honestly isn't my fault. Monday just wasn't happening, and yesterday the internet wasn't working. But at least I'm not waiting until Sunday, and I still have a chance to finish out the week strong.

Let's start with Monday. Monday was just a long, busy, waste of a day. Kind of an oxymoron, I know, but it's true. To start the day off, Esther couldn't get the car to start in the morning when she was leaving to take the kids and go to work. The battery had been dead all day on Sunday (or so we think, but more on that later) and Sunday evening Markus helped Olaf jump-start the car and Olaf drove around for half an hour to charge up the battery for the next day. No such luck. Esther rang the doorbell of one of the other neighbors across the street, and she helped us to jump-start the car again. This time, however, I had to drive so that I could stay in the car with the engine running while Esther walked the kids into the Kindergarten and wouldn't have to jump it again to get to her office. So we threw Amelie in the car since I needed to take her for a walk anyway, I delivered everyone to their destinations, and then I took the car to the shop next to Esther's office so they could check it out and figure out what was draining the battery. Oh, by the way, I already had discovered that the little light above Gustav's door was on when we got to the Kindergarten, and may have been on all weekend for all we know, but Esther still wanted to have the car checked out. Anyway, I left the car there and then headed home with Amelie.

Once I got home I had to gather some papers and other important items (i.e. my wallet) into my purse and head straight back to the train station. I had intended to go straight to Köln in the morning after taking Amelie for a quick walk because I needed to go to the University to talk to someone about the possibility of me studying there. Other than the fact that I have to take the TestDaF, I have really no idea what is required of me as far as the application process goes, and we need to get that all figured out so that the test is the last thing I have to worry about. The reason I was wanting to go so early, however, is that the office I needed to go to was only open from 10 until 12. After the whole ordeal with the car, and walking with Amelie, and then riding the bike to the station, I ended up not getting to the S-Bahn until 10:50. That means I would be arriving in Köln at 11 and would still need to make my way to the University (which I had no idea how long would take since I don't know those train schedules) and wait until someone was available to talk to me. I had my fingers crossed just hoping that I would be able to talk to someone. Luckily I didn't have to wait very long, and was able to sit and have a talk with the woman I had spoken to before. What did she have to tell me? That I need to take the TestDaF. Great. I already knew that. The only other thing she was really able to tell me was that I needed to speak to the department I was interested in (the Philosophische Fakultät) to find out what I am able to study based on my previous education and their openings, and then determine what I need to do for the application process. So I walked down the street, managed to find my way around the building (with a little bit of help, because I couldn't tell my ass from a hole in the ground) and went to the advisory office of this department. What I found when I got there was a list of about 25 people who were sitting around waiting for the opportunity to talk to the adviser, who was only going to be in the office until 1. It was currently 12:15. I put my name on the list, and then I realized that there was no possible way I was going to get in there by 1. Even if they managed to get to me right before they closed, the earliest I would be able to take a train back home from the Hauptbahnhof would be 1:30, which puts me at home at 2, and that might have been too late for when I needed to pick up Pauline. So I left, bought myself a book in Neumarkt to help me with my writing, and headed home.

When I got home I called Esther just to double check what the deal was with Pauline, since we were unsure how long Frau Pfeiffer was going to want her to stay, or what was happening with the car. The car wouldn't be finished until 4, but I needed to pick up Pauline no later than 3:30. That didn't really leave me with enough time to take Amelie for a long walk like I wanted to, so I took her into the field with the bicycle. That way she got a lot of exercise and we went pretty far, but it didn't take so long. When we got back to the house I had to wipe off Amelie's feet, grab Pauline's helmet and the scooter out of the garage, and head to the Kindergarten. When I got there Pauline had just gone outside to play after waking up from her nap. Now that she's in Kindergarten and everything is so overwhelming, she's allowed to take naps again, for the time being. Anyway, I grabbed Pauline, explained to Gustav that Esther would be there in a little bit to pick him up, said bye to Christina (she was there to pick up Florian, and she had little Marie, who just so beautiful!) and away we went.

I had just enough time to hang a load of laundry out to dry in the garden and make a pot of tea for me and Esther to enjoy before I had to go to school. At least, that's what should've happened. Instead, I got a phone call from Esther saying that she was going to be later than expected because. . .the car wouldn't start. She was stuck at the Kindergarten with Gustav, waiting for the guy from the shop to come and get them and bring them home. By the time they got back to the house, it was time for me to leave. I had to grab my bag and hop on the bike to go to class.

So now I'm on the train heading into Köln, and we're sitting at the station in Ehrenfeld when the speaker comes on and the driver informs us that there is a disturbance of some kind on the track at the Hauptbahnhof. At first we were told it was going to last 5 to 10 minutes. That quickly turned into an undetermined period of time, and we were told to leave the train and take a different line to the Hauptbahnhof. So everyone got off the train, headed to a different track, and waited. While we were waiting they apparently got everything cleared up and we had to go back to the original train and get back on to continue our journey. It was a little ridiculous. Plus, it meant that now I was going to be late for class, and the teacher gets really irritated when people come in late, and there often aren't any seats left because the class is so full. I almost didn't go, but I did.

After class I went back to the Hauptbahnhof to catch the next train home, which leaves at 9:30. Well, it's supposed to leave at 9:30, but this one was going to be 20 minutes delayed, according to the info board. So I waited, and waited, and waited. Then I looked at the board again, and this time it said 30 minutes late, which then quickly turned into 45 minutes late, and then again an undetermined amount of time. Plus, the next train home, which is supposed to leave at 10, was also going to be at least 15 minutes delayed. I was definitely not the only one that wanted to punch somebody at this point. By the time I got on the train, it was 10:20. By that time I should already have been and home and done walking Amelie, but instead I was just getting started. Then, when I finally did get home and went outside with Amelie, she decided that she didn't want to go poop, she just wanted to go for a stroll. I was out with her for almost half an hour. By the time I was able to get into bed it was about 11:30, and I was exhausted.

So basically, I spent the entire day on Monday running around trying to get things taken care of, and in the end I learned nothing at the University, the car was still broken, I hadn't even finished one load of laundry, and I wasted a good amount of time waiting for the stupid trains. Like I said to one of the guys in my class when he asked me about my day, "Ich habe ganz viel gemacht, aber gar nichts geschaft."

Yesterday was more like a normal day. Britta took the kids to Kindergarten since we still didn't have a car, and Esther and I looked after Jette in the meantime. Britta had to take Malta to his speech therapist (he has a stutter) and she couldn't take Jette to the Kindergarten because their Kindergarten was closed. Some punk-ass kids (at least, everyone is thinking it must've been teenagers) broke in Sunday night through the roof window and sprayed fire extinguishers all over the place. Now the Kindergarten is going to be closed for 5 to 7 weeks so they can get it all cleaned up and in usable condition again. Plus, a lot of the toys and things like puzzles have to be replaced because they're completely ruined. Anyway, when Britta got back she took Esther to her office and I went about my day. It basically just consisted of laundry, ironing, walking Amelie, picking up Pauline, and enjoying the rain. In the afternoon after I picked up Pauline (on the bicycle, because Jörg gave us an adapter for the child seat) I left her on the bike so that we could take Amelie for a longer walk again. As we were riding through the field, where they had just spread a whole ton of manure, Pauline says, "Hey, *sniff* es riecht nach *sniff, sniff* nach Schinken!" Really, Pauline? The shit in the field smells like ham? And then to top it off she declares, "Lecker!" I just had to laugh.

The only other significant thing that happened yesterday was that we learned what was wrong with the car: Nothing. The problem is actually Esther's key. For some reason the car thinks that her key doesn't belong to it, and therefore it will not start with her key. So now, if we backtrack, we see that Esther was the one who discovered the dead battery Sunday when she tried to move the car, but Olaf's key was the one that was used to jump it in the evening. Then again, Esther was unable to start the car Monday morning, but we used my key when we jumped it. When Esther picked up the car at the shop Monday afternoon they had my key at the shop, which she used to drive to the Kindergarten, but then she used her key to try to drive home, and failed. So, there may never have really been a problem with the battery at all, just with Esther's key. What a pain in the ass!

Today was another long day, but it wasn't bad. The Kindergarten was closed today because it's some local "holiday" for people in the service industry, or something to that effect. Anyway, the kids were both at home all day with me today. They kept themselves pretty much entertained, we baked muffins together, and then I made lunch for when Esther came home at 1. After lunch the kids and I took Amelie for another quick walk and then we went to meet up with Britta and the kids at Mühlenhof, the little farm in Pulheim. I had never been there before, but I really like it. They have 2 playgrounds for the kids, a big courtyard and several little toys for the kids to peddle around on, a barn with straw on the second level for kids to play in, and of course animals. The chickens were just kind of roaming around all over the place, as were the peacocks. This was actually the first time I'd ever seen a peacock family, with babies and everything. The pigs, bunnies, turkeys and cows were in stalls, and the goats, sheep, ponies and donkeys were out in the fields. Plus, there was a little cafe there where Britta and I had some coffee while the kids played, and we ordered some waffles for the kids. They serve food and various types of cakes there, too. I think I'd actually like to go back sometime without the kids, so that I can enjoy the farm and all the animals without having to stay with them at the playground the whole time. It was a really neat little place.

So, now that I'm caught up for the week, there are a few little things I wanted to mention about last week that didn't come to mind while I was writing that entry. First of all, Esther bought me flowers last Thursday, just because she likes having me around. It's a bouquet of beautiful, multi-colored roses and for the greenery they used peppermint, so it smells delicious. Second, Pauline has started saying "yes" and the other night when she was going to bed she said to me, "Gute night," which was the first time either of them have said that. And, finally, this past weekend I was sitting at the table with Gustav and he looked over and asked me, "Bleibst du für immer und ewig bei uns?" (Are you staying with us forever?) I asked him if he wanted me to stay here forever, and he said, "Ja, weil ich mag dich so gern." (Yes, because I like you so much) How freaking sweet is he?! You gotta love these kids.