Donnerstag update

So I haven't written in a few days but a lot has happened. It was my first official week with the kids and everything so I have been busy trying to make sure everything is right. I've also gotten into Breaking Bad which was a poor decision because it is all I have been doing!
I went on a run the other day and it was like the perfect time of day, perfect temperature, perfect amount of sunshine. It was amazing. It kicked my ass but I stopped every few minutes just to enjoy the views. I started going down the hill and I should have realized that I was setting myself up for quite a workout. I ran into the woods and then the trail took me straight uphill but then on the way back out I was able to look down and see the trail I had taken up and it was really cool to see how high up I had run. Once I was out of the woods I had to stop and do some crunches right in the middle of the path because I wanted to just stare at the view. It was amazing.
Last night was nice because the kids had been really big headaches all day. Eva invited a couple girls over to watch the Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging movie. I had read all the books when I was younger and had no idea there was a movie. It was nice to hang out with people more my age, even if I couldn't understand them, and do something I would have done with my friends at home. Afterwards, I walked home and walked up to the top of the hill, which is behind the house, and just sat and looked at the clouds fading into the dusk, the moon was really bright. I have been comforted by the idea that whereas the moon is not usually visible at home when it is here, it is still the same moon that you all are looking at. Anyway, If i find that I want to start doing yoga outside when I'm sad or lonely or stressed out, I found the perfect spot with an amazing view.

Bennet and I went on a bike ride on Tuesday which was fun. It's nice when I get to spend time with the kids without one of them. I get to see more of who they are without the other one. When they are together they are usually just trouble. 

...well, most of the time :)

Anyway, Yesterday they went with Nina to take Sissi to the vet, she scratches above her eye and it bleeds so she needs allergy shots. Kind of like Payton! I didn't go though and I just hung out in the back yard and layed in the sun enjoying the breeze. It's just so pretty here. 

Today is gloomy but I think I'm going to Zumba tonight at 1830. I've been pretty good about working out but I think it's either cause I'm bored, lonely, or restless. Or just excited to do it? No that can't be right....I wish I could go to spin with Todd tonight instead. I miss the Ray....

Tour of my Room

Many of you, people I have skyped with, have asked to see my room and the internet connection is not very strong down there so I'm not able to pickup my computer and move it around without losing connection so I thought I would just post photos of it here.

this is my room when you first walk in. They got a bigger bed for Josée because she was falling off the small one so that is why the conforter looks small, because it is! 

this is the desk/vanity that is across from the bed

then next to the vanity is my dresser and a little table. My book from Katy that many of you made pages for (thank you!) is on display there :) then the door and next to the door is like a free standing closet. They don't have closets here like we do in the states. 

then this is the wall above my bed. You can kind of see the closet here. I made a calendar and a little poster with a quote on it....obviously. 

Hope you all enjoyed the tour! haha

This morning was rough. I had a hard time falling asleep last night. I felt very lonely because yesterday we went to Nina's sisters and it was just all German all day so I barely spoke, just listened! So I felt veryyyyy out of place even though her family was all very nice. So on the kids first day of school in first grade here they get these cone things that are decorated with their names and whatnot. Today Liv was supposed to bring hers for a class picture and we forgot it. I felt so bad! I had to send her on the bus crying! I brought it up to Oma's hoping she can get it to Liv before the picture! I don't have a car to get down to the school otherwise I would have gone. I thought about the bike but its all downhill there and the brakes don't work very well. There is also no sidewalk and it's a very winding road so it is really not safe to ride a bike to town. I hope Oma can get it to her! I'm already failing! My forgetfulness will be the end of me....

Felix caught a mouse last night so among my list of things to do today, I must pick up the dead mouse sitting in the driveway, lovely. Anyway, rough day but hopefully it will get better!

THANK GOD 8tracks works here. 

Hubbelfest

Tonight was Hubbelfest. It is basically a party on the hill. There was a big tent with food and a bar and lots of tables and a stage for the band, which was and irish band btw. They played and we all drank. lots. I went with Nina and Anja who I really like. We sat and chatted and I am just trying to listen to the German all around me to pick it up. Bit radler is one of my new favorite beers here. It's like German summer shandy so it is much better and not as sweet. Anyway we sat and then a couple girls I met at Josée's goodbye bbq were there and so I went and sat with them and met a few other people. Then when they went home and I was still there I was sitting next to this kid named Niko who was drinking beer like he was 21 and I came to find he was 18! So funny, I forget that you can drink when you're 16 here. Anyway, I felt old but age is really not a big deal at all here which is weird. Like I was hanging out with 30 year olds then 18 year olds and although I felt weird about it, it was not weird as I looked around and there were much larger age gaps in the tables of people.
We left and walked to the edge of town to look at the stars and Nina said that it still has never gotten old for her. I can see why. I literally have never seen anything like it. You can see every single star it seems. I wish I knew more constellations. We could even SEE the milky way. Like actually see it. Its nuts. I think that if there are more nice nights, not cold like tonight, I will definitely go sit outside and just look up.
We even saw 2 shooting stars like right in a row almost. I made great wishes.
But I can't tell you guys what they were.....

guten nacht!

Week of firsts.

So the last couple days have been full of firsts. Thursday night I went to a workout class in town and that was funny. Anja (Florian's sister) was the teacher and it was sort of a mix of zumba, a crunch class and yoga. It felt good to be working out though. We started with the zumba part and it was funny cause I am NOT a dancer so I was laughing at myself the whole time. Oma was there as well along with just 2 other ladies so it was a small class. It felt good to sweat though. After that I came home and ate left overs from dinner which I missed due to the class but it was delicious. I guess Florian's friend from work went hunting with his family and was selling the meat which Florian bought. It was delicious spiced pork and Nina made homemade mashed potatoes which obviously I loved. 

Josée had never seen E.T. and I guess her and Anja had been planning to watch it for a long time now and they had never gotten around to it. So Anja, Florian, Nina, Josée and I drank wine and watched E.T. which was like a little bit of home so that was nice. 

Friday was Josée's last day so we got the kids ready and she walked them to the bus. She came back with tears in her eyes so that was cute. I got to skype with Mueller which was really great. It is good to know she is also far from home but we are in such different situations so we can't really relate to each other as much as I thought. She can't walk outside alone and we can even leave the doors open here with very little risk. Anyway, Anja then came over with Aiden, her youngest son, to hang out for a bit and say bye to Josée. We helped then helped Josée pack her bags into the car with Oma and Opa, she was staying at their house for the week. Nina then drove her to the airport. Apparently she had to pay 300 euros because her 2 suitcases were so overweight! 

I came back and made myself breakfast and did my cleaning. I went on a run which was crazy. I went into the woods and was so afraid I was going to get lost. There are so many trails and if you don't know where you're going, you can end up running allt he way to Ahrweiler! I made it back out of the woods okay and I was dyyying. The hills are killer and I am so sore today! I am also not used to the altitude so it was hard to breathe. I will get used to all that though. 

Another weird thing is that when I went to hang the laundry it started raining halfway through so I took it all down and hung it in the basement then when I came upstairs it was sunny again! Florian later told me that there is a saying here, "if you don't like the weather around here, wait 5 minutes" and it is so true. It's verrrrry bipolar. 

When he got home we chatted for a little bit and he told me about all the drama with their first au pair that led their sour relationship which was good to hear. Both him and Nina are very honest which is good. I will have to get used to it and hopefully will be able to feel comfortable enough to talk to them the same way. 

I got to facetime with Coll which was nice even though my phone died halfway through. Today Nina and Florian sat down with me and we went through Josée's German books a little. The class starts at the end of the month but as of now there are not enough people signed up. So if they have to cancel it I will have to wait till Oktober till the level 2 starts and I will have to catch myself up which will both be a lot of work and very difficult. I know that Oma will probably help me with it but still it will be hard. So im crossing my fingers that they don't cancel level 1!

Anyway, we are going to "hubbelfest" tonight which I think literally translated means bump fest. It is a party in Ramersbach up on the hill so it kind of really means hill fest. Anja is coming in an hour to have some drinks before and then we will go. I hope I make friends? haha 

Real Housewives of Ramersbach

So the tupperware party was tonight and it was quiiiiite an experience. There is a group of moms that get together and do these every now and again and Nina is one of them. She used to sell tupperware and the house is STOCKED the fuck up on tupperware. Its nuts. She literally has everything you could imagine. Besides that though it was crazy to meet these ladies after hearing so much about them. Everything was in German obviously and so I was just sitting and listening to it all, not understanding most of it but just absorbing the language. I'm still in shock about being surrounded by it. I hope to start picking up on more things and tomorrow Nina and I are going to call about the class I need to take. I am excited for that.

Florian was warning me at dinner tonight that these ladies are very nice to each other but talk so much behind each other's backs. It's crazy to know that once you have children the drama does NOT stop. Especially in such a small town. That is a concept that is very foreign to me.
To sum up though: crazy moms and their wine.
Now that is something I understand.....
It's late.
Guten nacht!

Oh and the stars here are unlike anything I have ever seen. It's unbelievable. Millions and millions of stars up there and I've been missing out on the view.

This place is beautiful

Guten Tag!
Today has been nice. Josée sort of sat back this morning and let me handle the kids. I think I will be okay but I still just need to get used to them and feel more comfortable being mean when I need to. So I got to get the kids ready today for the first time and obviously Liv walked out the door in white pants and a french braid :)

Tina was the Schüele's first au pair and now lives in Ramersbach with her fiance, Benni. They live just down the road, although everyone in town is just down the road because it's so small here. We went over there after the kids went to school and the 4 of us drove up to Maria Laach for a bit. It is this area in the hills about 30 minutes from here. There is a church and a convent all next to where a volcano or vulcan, once erupted and now a lake has formed over the remnants. We were able to take out a paddle boat and lay out in the sun in the middle of this lake. It was so nice. Today is the first day that it is not too hot out which was wonderful. I found myself laying there thinking that hidden things like that are the wonders in life that make it worth living. It was peaceful and for the first time since I've been here I felt like I was where I was supposed to be. It's a nice feeling.

I will have to add photos of my room soon. It is nice, I have a big window and my own bathroom downstairs with my room. Obviously I miss my bed soooo much but there's no bed like it. It's the best. 

I got to skype with Kolod last night which was so nice. It was really nice to see a familiar face. She was at work so that was funny cause people were walking behind her and she was clearrrly not doing work. 

Tonight we are going to a tupperware party with Nina which should be interesting because again, I'll be the only one not knowing what is going on. It's egall, thats life now!

The kids should be getting back from Oma and Opa's soon!

Tschüss!

First Impressions

Hallo!
So I have been here a few days and things have been crazy. This year is going to be so much crazier than I even imagined. I really have no idea what I have gotten myself into. All in a good way but it is so different here than I thought. I am actually in bumble. Ramersbach is surrounded my hills and fields and woods and wine burghs. All very cool and completely different from anywhere I have ever lived. There are only 600 people living here and there is a convenience store, a church, and 2 bars (Halfen Hof and Waka Waka). To go grocery shopping and do basically anything else, it is about a 10-15 minutes drive through the woods on this crazy windy road to Bad Neuenahr- Ahrweiler (bat.noy.ne-ah.vi.leh). They have Aldi! It is different but I thought that was funny. That is where Liv and Bennet's school is as well.

Speaking of the kids.... I am very nervous for when Josée leaves because I think that they will be difficult with me for a few weeks to test me and see what they can get away with. Commander Khak will have to step in (thanks Culver). They are lots of fun though and I think that I will get along with them very well. Liv (5) is in first grade and she is a lot like me when I was little. She cries and whines a lot but she is also so silly and weird. She loves coloring and seemingly likes dressing up. Her little German accent is so cute. Her English is very broken, she will use English words in German sentence structure which is very funny. Today she was asking for Josée's help with her shoes and yelled "Josée! I am needing you!". It's pretty cute. Bennet is also going to be lots of fun. He loves cars and can also be very silly. He is very smart and knows very well how to be tricky which will be hard for me because of my extreme gullibility. He plays Soccer in the town so I will be excited to get my lax sticks and teach him.

So far we went to a wine fest in Heimersheim, about 20 minutes away, and Josée and I walked around Bad Neuenahr and Ahrweiler today which was really fun for me because I was just in awe that I now live in a place so beautiful. We also went up into the burghs the other day with Nina and the kids and hung out at this hidden restaurant/ winery in the hills. That was very cool. The building was very Alice In Wonderland-esque.
I need to get to sleep now as I have to wake up at 6am everyday. I never thought I would see the day I had to become a morning person.....
Here are some pictures so far so you can all see what the hell I am talking about.
Guten Nacht!

not sure how to turn this around but Bennet really liked my Hunters

This is Bad Neuenahr- Ahrweiler from the hills

Livvy looking out on the wine burghs from the restaurant we went to.