A recent blog post of a friend of mine gave a run-down of a typical day for her. Here's a sample of mine:
5:30/45 a.m. Alarm goes off, get up, go for run or do pilates/yoga in the living room
6:30 a.m. Shower
6:45 a.m. Wake MK up to get ready for school, start making breakfast: MK likes toast w/2 eggs over-easy and some fruit. ME likes toast, 1 hard-boiled egg, and fruit. HR has toast/cereal, 1 hard-boiled egg, and fruit (if I force it on her). GE goofs off and annoys her sisters while occasionally taking a bite from her yogurt/scrambled egg/toast/banana with Nutella.
7:00-7:30 a.m. Hassle MK to get ready to go--she must brush her teeth, hair, put on socks and shoes, repack her backpack for each day's different course schedule, making sure she has her Sport bag if she needs it, art supplies if she needs that, as well as weather-ready clothing depending on the forecast for that day. "Don't forget your helmet!" Meanwhile, I'm making the sandwiches and apple slices for the girls' Frühstuck boxes.
7:30 a.m. MK heads out the door with a blessing ("Go in Love for Love alone endures, Go in Peace for Peace is the gift of God, Go in Safety for you cannot go where God is not."). HR and ME start getting teeth brushed, hair brushed, socks and shoes on. I finish up their Frühstuck boxes and keep trying to get GE to eat some breakfast and leave her sisters alone.
7:45 a.m. Send the other 2 girls out the door, same blessing; must make sure to send Sport bag with HR on Mondays/Thursdays/Fridays. ME needs Schwimmen bag on Weds. and Sport bag on Thursdays.
7:45-8:15 a.m. Finish eating my own breakfast, drink my tea, clean up the kitchen, get GE to go potty, put her clothes on, socks & shoes on, teeth brushed, hair brushed/braided/pony-tailed per her almost-4-years-old-desires. Throw on my shoes & coat, grab her Kindergarten knapsack, my shopping bags/back-pack, purse, keys, cell phone...
8:15 a.m. Get the bike out of the garage and load GE and her bag up OR head to the nearest bus stop for the 612/614 and take the bus down to the street nearest her KG and walk from there (this is if it's pouring rain or otherwise miserable weather for biking).
8:30 a.m. Drop GE off at KG, helping her hang her jacket up in the right spot, take off her shoes and put on her Hausschuhe, hang up her knapsack and greet her teachers, "Guten Morgen Frau K. and Frau J.!"
8:35 a.m. Head to the store(s)/Markts for that day's grocery needs. Thursdays I hit the open Fish market for fresh fish from the Nordsee. Friday I try to make it to the Okömarkt (Organic market) in Bad Godesberg where there's a huge veg and fruit stand, cheese stand, bread stand, and meat stand. I get as much as I can carry on the bicycle and my back. Other days I head to Aldi or Netto for discounted bulk foods and some fresh items (they have a bagged mixed greens, Feltsalat Mischung, that I particularly like; they also have organic ground beef for my Bolognese spaghetti sauce). If I've taken the bus then I go to the Lidl that's next to the return bus stop. Another favorite place is Der Leyenhof (http://www.derleyenhof.de/ ), an organic farm and grocery in our "village", Friesdorf. There are wandering chickens, a couple of pigs, huge rabbits, and other organic food items. Found my favorite no-sugar-added natural nut butters and applesauce here. If it's a harder to find item like frozen unsweetened berries, frozen spinach, or frozen kale, I have to go to the larger Rewe in Bad Godesberg or the Edeka in Friesdorf or wait to go with my neighbor to Kaisers.
9:30-11:30 a.m./12:30 p.m. Here's where I have some flexibility: Either I'm still shopping, having tea with my neighbor, meeting with a new acquaintance, going for a run (if I didn't go in the early a.m.), doing laundry, cleaning the apartment, preparing a recipe for later, practicing (theoretically, somehow this happens less often than I'd like), or catching up on email/blogging/logging, or running other errands (post office, bakery, pharmacy, etc.) Sometimes my neighbor calls and says she's headed to a larger grocery store and do I want to tag along. When I do this, I've learned to buy a whole crate of sparkling water, boxed ultra-heated-long-shelf-life milk (not my favorite item but the kids don't mind it and then I'm not having to buy and carry milk every day), boxed orange juice, and canned/dry goods which then leaves just meats and fresh produce for me to buy on a daily basis.
11:30 a.m./12:30 p.m. Meet HR at the Grundschule. This week we are working on walking home alone. Each day I meet her a little further away from the school and closer to home. Yesterday it was the corner down the street from the school. Today it was down the street and across the cross-walk. Tomorrow I'm meeting her at the "white house" half-way down the last stretch to our building. Thursday and Friday she should just come all the way home...
12:45 p.m. Make lunch for HR and ME.
1 p.m. Help HR get her homework started, then leave her to it. ME pretty well does that on her own and only occasionally needs help translating directions.
1:30 p.m. MK gets home some days and eats lunch. Sometimes she's already eaten at school, depending on her schedule.
2:00 p.m. Leave to pick up GE from KG.
2:15 p.m. KG doors open for pick-up time. GE greets me enthusiastically, fruit snack in hand (they get fresh fruit in the afternoon: an apple, banana, pear, or today: Kiwi). Help her change from her Hausschuhe into her regular shoes, put on coat, cap, scarf, bike helmet... pick up her knapsack and load onto the bike for home.
2:30 p.m. Get home and prepare a healthy "snack-lunch" for GE (she's still not eating the warm lunches provided by the KG).
2:45-5 p.m. Help any of the older girls with homework needs. Catch a moment to myself with a mug of tea and my Kindle?! Or... laundry, straightening up, reading to girls, catching up on email/blogging/logging/researching weekend outings/vacation plans/facebook....
5 p.m. Start working on supper prep: Mondays is pasta night (spaghetti or rotini), Tuesdays and Wednesdays we have traditional German Abendbrot, Thursdays is fish (because I can get fresh fish from the fish market). Friday is chicken and rice/potatoes (because I can get fresh local free-range chicken from the organic meat stand). Saturday night is pancakes if we're home or a restaurant if we're on an outing. Sunday is Abendbrot and popcorn (a carry-over tradition from home). Since I eat less meat and bread, I typically also have some sort of salad and bean/lentil dish on the side, steamed veggies for everyone, and fruit. I also keep a steady stock of either a curry or soup in the fridge for my lunches or a warm dinner option. With everyone coming home at different times with different levels of hunger, I sometimes feel like I'm in the kitchen from 12:45 until 7 p.m.!
6/6:30 p.m. Dinner is served.
6:45 p.m. Get GE ready for bed, read a few books to her, sing some songs, read to myself in the corner while reminding her to stay put and hold still (she is SOOO tired by this point from her day at KG and not having a nap, that adrenaline causes her to twitch, sing, sit up, and squirm. J and I have been taking turns either lying down with her or sitting in the room to help remind her to shush up and go to sleep! Doesn't take long once she holds still!)
7:00 p.m. Finish cleaning up the kitchen, start getting the older kids ready for bed, read to them, hang up the wash to dry overnight...
8:15 p.m. Kids are all in bed. Finish cleaning up the kitchen, hang up the wash.... um, didn't I do that already?! Oh yeah, make a cup of tea, sit at the computer to read/catch up on email/blogging/logging...
Watch a little T.V. in German, read my Kindle, hang out with hubby... breathe.
10:00 p.m. Sleep. Oops, it's 10:30.
Oh, and of course, spattered throughout I'm solving problems, settling spats, running interference, and generally keeping the masses from strangling each other.
September 26
Today was richtige Deutsches Wetter (proper German weather): rain, 50's, gray. A bright scarf, rain boots, and a hot mug of tea were in order. GE stomped happily through the puddles to the bus stop. On weekdays, the bus comes every 10 mins in the morning and afternoons for school children. Convenient for me! It's a quick ride (just 4 stops) and a short walk through the drizzle, past the Haribo factory shop (oh my, am I glad it's not open when we walk by in the early a.m.!) to the KG. GE sings "There's my Kindergarten" when the yellow building with the big painted smiling sun comes into view. I had a coffee date later in the a.m. with my neighbor and another American friend and a British woman who I hadn't met yet--she has a 1st grader and 4 year old. The 1st grader is at the same school as HR. I'm sure we'll meet her again. I could only visit for about 45 mins before I had to leave to meet HR, but we all discussed the possibility of having a German conversation group with some German friends who also want to have an English conversation group--maybe an exchange of some kind can be worked out. Woot! Friends, coffee/tea, and conversation... what more could I want?
September 27
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| View from the dining room door looking west towards the woods. |
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| From the dining room balcony looking north over the Friesdorf neighborhood. |
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| View from our balcony with the sycamore trees turning yellow. |
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| View down the street from the Kindergarten. |
Note: The fish was exceptional! The salmon was probably the best I've ever eaten and certainly the best I've ever cooked myself. I just chopped up some fresh tomatoes, sprinkled some herbs on top, spritzed some lemon juice on and wrapped it up in foil. Melt-in-your-mouth good!
Later in the morning I had an appointment to meet with the mezzo/voice teacher who lives down the street. We had a great time talking "shop"--although I found this particularly difficult because I don't have the vocabulary for things as simple as "auditions" or for explaining vocal technique! Learned some of it, of course, as we talked. She has 2 small boys (20 months and 2.5 months) who were underfoot and doing the usual--I so remember the days of juggling my singing with mothering, trying to eek out a few minutes to practice something between kids needing to be fed, changed, paid attention to, etc. She asked if I wanted to plan a little program together--her accompanist wants to do something fun in the spring. Would I like to sing some duets with her? Of course! If she hears of someone looking for a soprano for a quick gig or a substitute in case of illness, would I be interested in that? Of course! Wonderful. We have plans to meet again for coffee and sing some together after the fall break. Cool.
HR walked all the way home from school by herself. MK went home with a friend. ME went home with a friend. HR had a birthday party invitation. And so it goes!
September 28
Happy Birthday to my little sister!
Short version to today: hit the Okömarkt in Bad Godesberg for fruit & veggies and got a whole roasting chicken again--this time a little bigger variety that the butcher said was ideal for roasting rather than soups and such. MK said it was the best chicken she's ever had. Have to say, I thought it was pretty excellent too. That'll be a repeat! The rain cleared off and made way for some sun and a little warmer temps again. HR and I walked to a second hand shop I'd been eye-ing in our neighborhood after I picked her up from school. Sisters-in-law, you'd like this one: felt like I was in a German version of St. Mary's! Someone likes to buy and re-sell scarves. Had to keep myself from buying several--too many already! After I picked up GE, I dropped her at home with J and the older girls and rode bike with HR to her classmate, E's, house (in a neighborhood near MK's school). They played for a couple of hours while I visited with her mom. Turkish family. Sweet kids, very friendly mom. Was able to understand her after I got used to the Turkish accent! She grew up in Germany so her German is quite good, but accented. E will come to our house next week sometime after school. ME and MK have a friend spending the night. They were busy playing already when I got home with HR. GE was running wild. Fed her an early supper, stuck her in the bath while the other girls ate their dinner, then plunked her into bed. Hopefully she'll sleep in a bit tomorrow--this a.m. she was up at 6:30 before everyone else!
One week until Herbstferien (Fall Break)!
September 29
Early morning run, stopped at the Biobäkerei on the way back to pick up fresh Brötchen and croissants for the girls' breakfast (I only buy the white ones for Saturday or Sunday morning; their overnight friend likes croissants better, thus I got both.) After their friend left late morning, MK and I hurried out the door to go to Bad Godesberg to shop for some pants. She's already outgrown the ones we brought--all of a sudden too short and tight in the rear! She's getting so tall... Also needed to get the regular groceries for the weekend. I did notice last Sunday when I was out for my run that some bakeries and fruit/vegetable stands are open in the early Sunday a.m., but apparently only between about 8 and 10 a.m. So, in a pinch I could get some stuff then but the regular grocery stores are all closed. So, MK and I raced to town on our bikes, went to H&M and discovered there was a sale on so it was crowded, but also a good deal. 3 pairs of pants, 1 shirt, 1 cardigan, and a belt for the pants she already has along that are just too loose in the waist (all the biking + eating mostly at home + shooting up taller = skinny waist on an already skinny girl!). Home just in time to shovel some food into myself before taking GE and HR to see "Der Gruffelo" (http://www.junges-theater-bonn.de/ ) at the Junges Theater in Beuel with our neighbor, RP, and her son, T. She lent us the book ahead of time so we could read it through and know the story. Very well done production! Sweet and funny with singing and dancing and silliness plus audience participation. The girls enjoyed it even though they didn't understand it all. I thought it was wonderful. Hopefully we'll be able to see something in the Spring that's a little more complex once the girls' German is better.
No other big outings this weekend. We have an invite to Kaffee und Kuchen tomorrow with the brother (MH) of my father's friend (we met them already at the pizzeria in Kessinich a few weekends ago). They live quite close to us so we'll probably go on bikes to the Kindergarten, then walk up through the woods to their neighborhood. We'll have enough outings to last for a while when we leave for the Herbstferien (fall break) next weekend! The plan is to pick up the rental car Saturday morning, drive to the Ahrtal (http://www.ahrtal.de/en/index.php) nearby for a day of walking through the red wine region, visit a Trachtmode (traditional clothing) shop we learned about, and enjoying the region. Then Sunday morning we leave for France, heading to the Loire Valley just south of Paris for most of the week, exploring the various Romantic palaces and Gothic cathedrals, then on to Paris for the weekend before coming back to Bonn for a few days. The last weekend of the break we plan to spend in Hamburg with some old friends.
Lots of good stuff this week! Had some moments when I thought to myself, "I love this culture! I want to stay!" Particularly when the sun was out and I could ride my bike through the cool autumn air, admiring the way the light has changed and the leaves that are beginning to color. Also felt that way when I was standing in the cold waiting for my turn at the Fleischwagon at the farmer's market despite the fact that my toes were freezing but folks were visiting with each other, chatting with the butcher, and enjoying the Erntedank (harvest thanksgiving) sunflowers that were being offered for free to all the customers.. and then to tuck all my goodies onto my bicycle with my sunflower poking out of the child's seat in the back and ride back through the brisk air!
September 30
Where did September go?!
The church was full of families this morning for Erntedank (Thanksgiving). The OGS (an afterschool program at the school) performed some songs. The Kindergarten kids (from the KG associated with this church) processed down the middle of the sanctuary carrying in baskets of fruits and veggies...There was a Flohmarkt to raise money for the youth's trip to Holland over the Herbstferien and a Wildschwein goulash dinner with traditional egg noodles, bread and applesauce (no greens or vegetables in sight!). I wandered through the fleamarket tables after I'd gotten the younger girls set up with food and as I came to the end suddenly noticed a small used Yamaha keyboard! Bought it on the spot and they threw in the metal folding music stand for free. Hallelujah! ME sat down at it with her piano music that we brought along and soon the sounds of a "piano" drifted out to the kitchen where I was cleaning up. Set up my music when she was done and will get some real practicing in tomorrow!
At 3:30 we all headed out into the glorious sunny afternoon to ride bikes to GE's Kindergarten and then walked up through the woods to MH's house. Sat out in the garden to drink up the last of the afternoon sun while enjoying fresh coffee, tea, and an assortment of cakes. KH asked the bakery what they had that was dairy-free, so even I was able to enjoy some cake! The girls played outside and in with their daughter, M, while we enjoyed a Denglisch conversation--we spoke mostly Englisch last time we met with them, so this time we tried to stick to Deutsch, but occasionally resorted to Englisch to get an idea across quickly.
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| The hill up through the woods to the H's house. |
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| The view from their back porch includes two of the castles/ruins of the Siebengebirge that dot the hills along the Rhein. |
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| One can also see the ruins of the Godesburg from their back yard. |
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| A lovely little tree house! |
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| Daughter, M (age 10) |
Lovely to catch up with the family activities! Your blog is so informative! Hope you are getting the opportunity to sing too! You would recognize just about everything on our Xmas program. Love & hugs! - Virginia
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