Oktoberfest in Munich

Well, it is that time of year where the beer steins are running over, and over, and over! Oktoberfest is in full swing. We decided to attend with another expat family we know. Marco even dressed the part, he shelled out the money for lederhosen (and looked darned handsome in them too, I might add). Kalynn finally got to wear her dirndl that her Opa bought for her awhile back. (Maybe I will get a dirndl for next year...) They looked so adorable together so I was happy. Kalynn was just happy to be going to Oktoberfest with her best bud Joshua. They were so cute holding hands while walking to the U-bahn and while on the train. We didn't stay long but it was still a neat experience. (I will spare you the tales and pictures of all of the drunk people we witnessed! All I can say is...WOW!).

Thats a load of garbage!

Literally! Today is one of the many "trash" collection days that I have yet to keep up with. The reason is, Germany is HUGE on recycling so we don't have just the one size fits all 'trash can' to worry about. At home we have 3 different bins for different types of trash and they each are picked up on a different schedule. Today (and I think every Friday) is Restmüll day. This is the black bin that apparently everything else that has not been already sorted goes into. Uhhh, simply put, it is the rest. This could include diapers, napkins, hygiene items, gum, cigarette butts, paint, dirty packaging, wallpaper, etc. The Bio-Tonne is for kitchen and garden biodegradeable type waste. Egg shells, leftovers, grass clippings, weeds, cat litter, and the like go into the brown Bio-tonne container. (Ewww, cat turds and roses, not a designer fragrance I want to smell). The third container we have is Papier-Tonne. This one is for waste paper products. As long as the paper products are not heavily soiled, this one is pretty easy to master.


There are also 'community-type bins' for collection of other waste. On either corner of our street are about 4 bins for different colored glass and metals. I don't know how frequently these are collected but it pretty cool watching the crane lift these huge container up to empty them into different spots on the back of the massive truck. Also there is a container for old clothes. This is distributed to the poor. Unwanted household objects such as old frying pans, curling irons (that reminds me... I sooooooo need a perm), mixers and such are "recyclable bulk waste", and are taken either to a local recycling center. It is no wonder the landfills here are so small!

Heck on Wheels!

With the exception of the first day, Kalynn rides her bicycle to school everyday. She loves it. She is getting better at manuevering and such. She still has some work to do by way of paying attention to where she is going. She has a habit of looking in a totally different direction than she is riding. So far she hasn't taken any spills but I know it is only a matter of time. She likes to put the lock on her bicycle when we arrive at school. She is a creature of habit and parks her bicycle in the same spot everyday. Today there was another bike in "her" spot and she tried her darndest to get her bike as close to "her" spot as possible.

This week, so far, is not going as smoothly as her first week back as far as tears shed. She has cried both days when I dropped her off. Most of it is 'show' (remember I told you she is a true drama queen), but then she gets so worked up she makes it all too real for herself. She doesn't cry for any more than 5 minutes, though. And... here's the thing... she cried both days when I picked her up because she didn't want to leave yet! I am waiting on that happy medium.

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

This morning Kalynn and her daddy sneaked off to the Munich Aquarium while I yielded to sleep. (I love that he lets me sleep in on the weekends!). They left at about 10:30am and I waved to Kalynn as she passed by our house on the 140 bus to Sea-Life. Of course she got to bring home some souvenirs (her daddy is, afterall, tightly coiled around Kalynn's tiny little finger). Nemo and a shark were her whimsy of choice today. These tiny little plush animals will hold a very special place in Kalynn's life for about 37 minutes I am sure. Notice she is wearing the tutu that she did not want a day or so ago. She loved wearing it to the aquarium and being "the only princess there". I think that every little girl should own a tutu. They are so cute and fun and makes 'em feel special. Who can't help but smile at a little one in a tutu?

Tutu cute!

Okay, I had to share some things that were too, too cute today. Recently I told Marco about a friend of mine that has a daughter that just turned 3. My friend said that her daughter tells her all the time "Mommy you're looking good today!" and that that always seems to come at the right moment. Well Kalynn has never done this before. In fact she is quick to tell me that my hair is "a hot mess" more times than I care to hear. Well, apparently my dear husband wanted me to feel good so he was with Kalynn downstairs while I was upstairs coaching her to say something like 'I look pretty today'. Obviously the trip upstairs was a bit taxing on her memory. She marched up to me and said... "Mommy, you look round today!" Well, at least we all got a good laugh out of that one. I politely said, "Yes, Mommy is round. Round is a shape. Therefore Mommy is in shape"! (A desperate attempt to downplay the obvious, lol).
The other tutu cute item I wanted to share is this precious little tutu I made today. I made it for Kalynn but being true to her tiny little fickle self, she decided she no longer wanted a tutu. "Give it to Didem" she ordered. By the end of dinner today she was talking about HER tutu. Did I mention she was fickle and darn cute!

I've got my papers...

Today we went to the Führerscheinstelle (uhhhhh, DMV) and I finally have my German driver's license. Technically I don't have the actual license in hand, I have a temporary one until my 'real' one is ready. They do not make the licenses on site like in the US. I will get a letter in the mail in a couple/two/three weeks when my license is ready to be picked at which time I will have to go back to the Führerscheinstelle and 'take a number'. (Some things don't change no matter where you are, lol). This license allows me to drive, legally, anywhere within the European Union. Hooray for International driving privileges. I am glad that South Carolina is one of the states in the US that has a reciprocal recognition of driver's licenses which meant that I was exempt from taking the written and road tests here. That saved me a big headache and about €425. (currency converter) You are allowed to drive for up to 6 months on your US license... but my time will be up in a couple of weeks!

It is OFFICIAL!!!!

It is official. As of today, Kalynn is a German citizen! She now holds dual citizenship in the United States and Germany. Hey, as a dual national she could work in any European Union nation without having to secure permits now. (Anybody know any companies hiring 3 year olds? We are applying for her German EU passport soon... how cool is that!?!
I really need to start working on my german language skills... the Germans are taking over! I'm being outnumbered... its a good thing I love 'em.

School is back in session!

Well, the school year is back in session for the little people of Munich! While I am putting on my dutiful Mommy face on the outside...(*oh, my baby is leaving me... yada yada yada... she's growing up... blah blah blah...*) I am celebrating on the inside! (*hello-o-o-o, Can you hear that???... the sound of silence! If only for a short while.) Most of you know that my child is a little chatterbox with a broken "off" switch, so no big shocker that I sometimes crave quiet. Anyway, we just walked to school about 30 minutes ago. I love that her school is within walking distance. Kinda cool. She wanted to ride her bike this morning but I think we will try that tomorrow since first days can be kinda hectic and off putting. I am so proud to say that at least on this first day she did not cry. Her friend Didem came out to greet her and Kalynn was off. Sadly, my dadgum camera died right after I took shots of her leaving our house. (Yes, I said 'dadgum'... I'm from the south and have a God given right to say it). What you don't see in the picture is the coat I put on her afterward since it is a cool 40 degrees here right now. I had to get Marco to bring down one 'installment' of Kalynn's fall/winter clothes. (I say installment because it is only about a 1/3 of her clothes and was 'pert near' 100 pieces!!!).
I will be going to pick her up in a couple of hours and I have the batteries charging so I will snap a couple of more pics. Until then... "Love, Peace, and Hair Grease"!


***UPDATE***


Okay, as promised, I took more photos when I picked KO up from Kindergarten.

She had to stop and pick up a leaf and then inspect a schnecke (snail). They are really rather pretty with the designs on their shells. When it rains there are many along the walkway... and she thinks she has to stop and look at each one. (Even has the nerve to ask me to pick 'em up).


Just for the record, german Kindergarten is basically like US preschool. In Kalynn's class there are children from ages 3 up to 6. After that age they go to Grundschule (equivalent to primary school). It is great to have children of different ages in one classroom so that they can learn from each other. What is even more awesome is the number of different cultures & ethnicities represented in her class. American (she is the only one in the school), African, Turkish, French, Spanish, German (of course... we are in Germany after all), and Austrian. I love that!


A little bit about her school. We enrolled her in German Kindergarten, opting out of putting her in an english speaking kindergarten at the International School. So naturally, they speak german. KO is fortunate enough to be in a class where the teachers speak a little bit of english. When the children come to school in the morning they must change out of their street shoes and put on house shoes. These shoes are only worn inside the school which is great because who wants to play in dog poop that was wiped on the floor from the bottom of a shoe that walked to school and detoured into a mound of great dane doo? They also have gym shoes which are unlike the 'typical' gym shoes you may be thinking of. They're more like ballet shoes. They are soft and a bit fitted and the sole is flexible. They look like this. This keeps children from getting injured by hard shoes on flying feet. She takes her own snack to school (the kids that stay all day have lunch provided but KO only goes for a few hours). She must have been hungry today because practically all of her snack was finished when I checked her lunch box!


There are more pictures in our photo gallery. You can link to it from our home page!

Yay! We are finally blogging!!!

OK... We have been in Germany now for 5 months and I am just now getting a blog up. You know what I am about to say... "better late then never!" It was a great day today, albeit rainy, but fun just the same. We participated our first ever Expat BMW Family Day at Legoland Germany! Kalynn was still getting over some ick she picked up from another sick friend but that did not stop her from having a ball.



She started out riding rides with her buddy Joshua (she loves playdates with him) and ended up taking Hannah Claire along for the rides. You can check out photos here!.
Well, I am tired/sleepy right now (it is after midnight following a long day). I will check back in later.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog. Hopefully we will get things cranked up pretty quickly. Please check back soon for new entries