Emilie Grace's Birthday

Just four days after Micaela's birthday, it's Emilie's turn. Things have been busy this month, so we've promised both girls they can have parties in June. For now, they need to content themselves with picking dinner, eating cake and opening gifts. Not a bad deal.

For dinner, Emilie chose pizza and here blows out the six candles on her princess cake.

An Equestrian Barbie and...

...Enchanted DVD are nice, but...

...a new featherbed and pillow are the best!

Micaela Marie's Birthday

Twelve years ago today......the kids love hearing the stories of the days they were born. Today was Micaela's 12th birthday and all during the day we reminded her of what was going on at exactly that time twelve years ago. Since things got going at about 4:00am and she was born just before midnight, there's a lot to tell.

For her birthday meal, Micaela picked chicken fried rice and I found frozen spring rolls that weren't as good as what you find in the U.S., but were better than nothing.

I haven't been able to find American-style cake mixes and frosting, but a little frozen chocolate cake from the supermarket was perfect for the six of us.

Still not too old for a kiss from Dad. That's Guinness, by the way, at Micaela's side, just hoping she drops a fork full of cake.

Micaela feigns surprise over her gifts. You see, she picked out most of them at IKEA on Saturday, but makes her Mommy happy by expressing shock at the big stack of presents.

Micaela requested a carpet and some bedding for her room. She got an ultra-shaggy carpet and then a pillow, featherbed and featherbed cover.

The featherbed is rather ingenious. What we got Micaela was a set -- a lighter-weight one for warm weather and a heavier-weight one for cooler weather. In the winter, you snap the two together for extra warmth. Then, you put them inside the cover, which is like a huge pillow case. You can have many different covers, so you're not tied to the same comforter or quilt all the time.

And it's easy to make the bed. You have a fitted sheet on your bed and then directly on top, the featherbed. No extra sheet or blankets to fiddle with. Just give the featherbed a fluffing and you're done.

Here's a typical pillow.

Happy Birthday, Micaela!

Transient Synovitis

The last few weeks here in the Nylund household have been full of illnesses. A severe stomach bug made its way through the family, then, I had a sinus infection, Rebecca got croup which turned into bronchitis and Emilie had a few days of fever. But this week, we had the strangest illness yet.

When we picked the kids up Tuesday, James was sitting in the cafeteria reading, instead of practicing soccer with him team. He could barely limp over to me to tell me that his leg hurt, that he could barely walk. He swore that he didn't strain or pull anything. The only way he could walk was to bunch his pant leg up into a ball and lift his leg by lifting his pants. It took forever for him to get out to the car.

We kept assuring James that he would feel better the next day. He must have pulled a muscle and all would be well soon. He was in tears at bedtime, though, saying that he couldn't climb the stairs. We thought he was carrying the drama a bit too far.

The next morning, James flat out informed us that there was no way he could go to school and he wouldn't listen to us telling him that it must just be a strain or pulled muscle. So, we told him it was either school or a trip to the doctor's.

An hour and several piggyback rides later, we were at the pediatrician's office. Rebecca and I stayed in the waiting room while David and James saw the doctor. When James and David came to get us, James' face was all aglow. "I have to stay on the couch for 3 days, Mom!" he announced excitedly, clinging to his Dad's back.

David explained that the doctor, remembering that we were just in last week with Rebecca's croup and bronchitis and had mentioned the stomach bug, knew right away what the problem was. A quick blood test confirmed that James had transient synovitis, more commonly known as hip flu. Whatever virus or viruses that have been lurking around our house settled in Jame's hip joint, inflaming the lubricating lining, or synovial membrane around the joint and making moving the leg very painful. This condition occurs in children (usually those aged between 3 and 10 years) and is more common in boys than in girls.

The cure is bed rest and James also got a prescription for a strong pain reliever. By the next day, he was much better, but the doctor wanted him to come in today for a check. A quick ultrasound showed that the hip was still inflamed, so two more days of rest. Two more days of David and me hanging our heads in shame over doubting our son.

At least James' fingers are getting exercise -- he's never played so much Nintendo DS in his life.

America- Week at Lidl

One of the three grocery stores we have within walking distance is Lidl, a discount supermarket chain. You'll always find the basics, but if you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary, such as Mexican ingredients, a certain spice, or better-quality diapers, you need to go elsewhere. Along with food, they'll have other household items or clothing, but it changes every week and you never know what you'll find. One week there are men's dress shoes, electric mixers and Barbie DVDs, the next there is scuba gear, vacuum cleaners and paint sets.

This week is Amerika-Woche. I couldn't wait to see what foods they would have for America-Week. Would there be items I haven't been able to find, like Fresca, Raisin Nut Bran, Cream of Chicken soup for casserole/crockpot recipes, decent salsa and Taste of Lime tortilla chips, or at least a close equivalent?

In the end, I was not displeased by the selection. Everything was from the red, white and blue Lidl "American" brand -- McEnnedy. There were things I have never seen at this store, such as microwave popcorn, marshmallows, cranberry juice, chocolate chip cookies and bagels. There were pasta and cheese packets, which I think were supposed to be like mac-n-cheese, but were not particularly tasty. We fared better with the red beans and rice packets. There were American-style hotdogs in a jar, apple and raisin cookies and beef chili potato chips, among other things.

If only they would have Campbell's Soup, Kraft, Chik-Fil-A and Frito-Lay week!

A Quick Trip Home

Rebecca and I just returned home from a whirlwind visit to the States. We left Friday afternoon and arrived back in Germany today. One nice thing about working for an airline is the free (or almost free) flights and often being able to fly in business class. Yes, the food is better in business and you get your own personal movie screen and can watch the film of your choice, but there's nothing like being able to stretch out when it's time to get some sleep.

Bex and I stayed in Marblehead, MA with my mom and dad and brother and his family. The jet lag took a toll on me the whole time and letting everyone else take care of us and do all the cooking was such a treat.

In Marblehead (above) we visited with my Aunt Mary Margaret and Aunt Anne. Then in Beverly (below) we had a very nice visit with Aunts Jane, Maureen, Nobby and Uncles Teddy, Bernie and Robbie. And that was far from all my aunts and uncles.

And, I got to go shopping! James needs to build an Aztec house for social studies class and with no stores like Michael's or even a decent craft section in Wal-Mart-type stores in Germany, I didn't know where we were going to find the necessary materials. I found everything I needed in a craft store here and then I even got to step foot into a Target! You have no idea what that meant to me. In one stop, I stocked up on clothes for the kids, contact lens solution for Dave, toothpaste, barrettes, snacks, shoes...it was absolutely wonderful.

We're already looking forward to our next visit back to Marblehead at Christmastime.

Driving Test

All the tears and tantrums have paid off. I am the proud owner of a German driver's license. And the good thing is, once you have your license, you never need to be re-tested unless you accumulate too many driving points. Most people here have a picture of their 18 year-old selves on their license and will have that same photo and license for the rest of their lives.

Two weeks ago, I took the written test. I did have a major panic attack that morning as I was quickly reviewing mathematical formulas and realized that I didn't have everything down pat. It didn't help that the test was much shorter than I expected - only 30 questions. That meant I didn't have the luxury of getting several questions wrong. I did have to guess a few times, but the gods were smiling on me as I usually guessed correctly.

This morning I took the 45-minute road test. There were a few moments of panic: one when the floor mat worked it's way on top of the brake and accelerator and I couldn't figure out why the pedals felt funny, but I casually fixed that at a stop light. The other was when I bumped the curb while parallel parking and having my instructor do a loud gasp at that moment didn't help. The fellow administering the test couldn't have cared less and said, "Good enough." In the end, the only criticism that I received was that I sometimes don't drive fast enough. I was told, as my instructor has told me in the past, that I should drive as close to the speed limit as possible. That's what all the other drivers are expecting of each other. Otherwise, there could be a problem. The one thing I was not asked to do during the test was to back up into a parking spot -- not parallel park, but do a direct backing in to a spot. I know it's easier for pulling back out, but I'm still not comfortable with that way of parking.

A tremendous weight, an eight-month long one, has been lifted off my shoulders. Some evening, David and I will celebrate at a Mexican restaurant I spied during one of my driving lessons. I deserve a nice, tall margarita.

We also recently bought a car. We bought a Toyota Corolla Verso which is smaller than a minivan, but still has 7 seats. I don't think you can find this car in the U.S., so it's doubtful we would bring it back with us. Repairs would cost a fortune. Yes, it's an automatic and we have named it Fresca for its muted silver color and one of our favorite beverages, which you cannot find here. Bye, bye to our rented subcompact clown cars. The neighbors must have gotten a kick out of seeing us pour out of that tiny Ford Fiesta everyday. The lowest point was when we had a week with a two-door car. Getting Rebecca in and out of the middle of the back seat was a major chore.

We like the extra room, the navigation system, the ipod connection, leather seats, and the back-up sensor that beeps to let you know if a small child is behind you or if you're about to hit another car while parallel parking. That last bit should definitely come in handy in Europe, where parking can be a tight squeeze.

Learning to Drive Stick

I finally began taking driving lessons in January, with the assurance by my instructor that it should only take a few weeks of daily lessons and then I should be prepared to take both the written and road tests. It looks like David has lucked out and should get an exemption from both tests. Along with learning the rules of the road, I would need to learn to drive stick.

As with other things about living in Germany, at first glance, things seem very similar. They have stoplights like ours, you'd recognize stop, yield and figure out the speed limit signs. But once you scratch below the surface, you'd realize that most things are different. For instance, would you know the meanings of these common traffic signs the first time you saw them?




The yellow diamond means you are on a priority road (you get right of way) and the road curves to the left. You must use your indicator if you're following the priority road.








End of speed restrictions. Be prepared for people to put the pedal to the metal.









Give precedence to oncoming traffic










No stopping (no parking either)







My very first driving lessons consisted of me wanting to hit my instructor upside the head. Learning stick came first and instead of taking me to a parking lot or quiet street, he took me to a commercial area loaded with traffic, parked cars lining both sides of the street, where 2 cars had trouble passing each other. I was very uncomfortable to say the least, but figured millions of people all over the world drive stick. Surely I can learn, too.

But we were only doing 1 lesson a week, not enough to become truly comfortable. Constantly running through my mind was the thought that if I didn't shift properly, I could be putting my 4 children in harm's way. By lesson 4, I was still not feeling very confident and I found myself constantly glancing down at the gear shift every time I needed to shift to be sure I put it into the right gear. And don't even get me started on down shifting. There were so many rules about when you down shift and into which gear, I just couldn't keep it straight. Then, during lesson 4, my instructor threw me a curve.

One huge difference in Germany, actually through most of Europe and possibly other places in the world, is the right-before-left priority rule. That means that unless otherwise indicated, a person coming from the right has priority. You can be driving down the main road in a town and someone coming from a side street to your right has priority. They won't even slow down to see if you will stop for them. They will just dart out in front of you and you had better stop. A few months ago this happened to us in the IKEA parking lot (I didn't know about right-before-left then) where we were driving down the main lane and some idiot darted out right in front of us. Didn't even hesitate. What a jerk!! Turns out, of course, that he had right of way.

So, learning to look for drivers and bike riders coming from the right was one thing. Thank goodness the right-before-left rule usually applies in areas with low speed limits. My instructor, however, wanted me to learn to be the person coming from the right, who barely glances over her shoulder before darting out in front of a car approaching from the left, assuming that other driver will stop. Oh, and all the while doing the necessary shifting. It did not go well. I could not get my American head wrapped around the idea of pulling out in front of someone who hasn't even begun to slow down and then I'd forget to shift and, well, it was just a mess. My instructor insisting, "Go! Go! Don't stop! Why did you stop?!" wasn't helping. Halfway through the lesson, I was in tears and knew that if I was going to get my driver's license soon, it was going to have to be on an automatic.

In Germany, if you take your driver's test on a stick, you can then drive either stick or automatic cars. If you take the test in an automatic car, you are only allowed to drive automatics. The big problem was that I would not be able to drive our minivan. I have been driving tiny subcompact automatic rental cars since our arrival. David would need to drive the big, not-particularly impressive minivan and I would need to get a new automatic. But David understood and even my driving instructor encouraged the switch to automatic. He could tell how uncomfortable I was and he admitted that I made him nervous.

Time was ticking away. I needed to get my license soon (you only have 6 months to get one) and my instructor was having a hard time getting a hold of an automatic car. Two weeks later, he suggested I switch to a different driving school that always had an automatic on hand and so I was dumped by my first instructor.

My new instructor was very excited to teach a student in English for the first time and was very patient with me. Just being in an automatic made such a difference. With 2 or 3 lessons a week, I am now close to taking the driving tests.

So, the excessive length of this post was to try to justify myself on not learning stick to all those nice people who said, "Stick is easy! You won't have a problem!" Thanks for the encouragement, but it just didn't work out.