Happy Kids

This weekend we decided to get Maddox out of the house and take him to one of the indoor child play houses in the area. There is one called JumpInn and one called Happy Kids. This came up in a conversation I had with Ben's 1st SGT's wife and she persuaded us to try Happy Kids. Apparently, JumpInn is in a huge building and targets more of the older children. There is a play area for toddlers, but there is a lot going on and she said we would most likely be chasing him all over the building. So today, Sunday we piled into the car, joined by the Dukes' family, and headed to Eppelheim. We picked a good day to go because it's rainy, cold, and an all around gloomy day.

Eppelheim is a small German community just minutes from Heidelberg. I guess it would be like a suburb, but it is just a couple blocks of housing area (mostly apartment buildings several stories high) a little downtown/business district, and surrounded by farm feilds (OH - they started plowing and fertilizing the feilds around our housing area this weekend and BOY does it stink like cow manure!) Since we invited friends along on the journey we drove around yesterday to make sure we could find the place. It is in an industrial area, with drabby looking buildings and grafiti, but the inside turned out to be much nicer. There were beautiful murals on all the walls with tropical flowers and birds.



We walk up to the register and I asked the lady "Sprechen sie english?" "No," she replies shaking her head. OH no. In anticipation of this I had looked up how to say "two adults and one child" in german, but choked under pressure and couldn't remember how to say adult. So, I turned to her and said the german word for two, then pointed to Ben and myself, then said the german word for one and pointed to Maddox. That worked well enough, we paid the fee and entered the play area.

There were two seperate play areas, one for chidlren under 4 and one for older children. The older section had a giant blow up slide in the shape of an alligator. You cimb in through the mouth, then slide down it's back. Every couple of minutes the mouth closes and it looks like the kids are getting eaten by the alligator. It was entertaining to watch.

Maddox's section had a ball pit with a slide that went into it, a bounce house, a bunch of little cars and trikes to ride around, and several other things to play with. He had a great time mostly riding the cars around and ramming into something every once in a while. He pulled his typical bully behavior by chasing a little german girl around and tried to steal everything she played with. Once we noticed that we put a stop to it. So, he found another little girl to chase and made her cry while she was going through the tunnel.

Ben was in the feild with Maddox most of the time while I took care of Carson in the table section.




He had fun playing with the toys too.


You could tell we were American by the Red Sox sweat suit Ben had to dress Maddox in. The German children were definitely dressed differently. They wore very tight pants and most of the time I couldn't tell which was a girl and which was a boy. Cultural differences I guess.








And Carson was chilled out most of the day. He's such a good baby :)

The German Driver's Test

Ben came home from work early today and picked me up to take me to take my driving test so I can get a USAER Liscense. The class started at 12:30, went until around 2:15 and then we started the test. They went over the german driving laws, some are different, others the same in the US. There is no speed limit on some parts of the autoban here, but the reccommended speed is 130K (80mph). Because of the high speeds your tires have to have a certain amount of tred and you have to have winter tires to drive from Oct - Easter (it's against the law if you don't). You also have to keep a special first aid kit and warning triangle in your car - but not in the trunk. The person going straight through the intersection does not have the right of way. Whoever is to your right goes first, if there is no one on your right then you can go. Another thing that I was raving about on a previous blog is the fact that you have to get two liscenses in order to drive out of Germany (just like we need two passports to travel out of country.) Apparently this is not the military's fault, it is the rest of Europe that is the problem. Certain countries won't accept a USAER driver's liscense, you need an international liscense. One example: England accepts the USAER Liscense, but France does not. You have to drive through France to get on the boat to England. Therefore, you need the international liscense to travel to England but not in England. I guess there are hefty fines involved. Similar to this is a safety vest that you have to keep in your car, not in the trunck. If you must get out of the car to get the vest you get fined.
So, I take the test and finish by 3, get a 92% and go to my eye exam.

My vision has gotten worse since having had my boys (yes, I am blaming it on pregnancy, not age) and my eye exam isn't until March. I have been stressing about wether or not I will be able to pass my eye exam so before I left for my test, Ben stuck his glasses in my pocket. We have come to the moment of truth. The examiner tells me to cover my right eye and read line B. It looked like a long black blob on the white paper. Well, not exactly that bad. I could distinguish a few letters, but not enough. Reluctantly I pulled out the glasses, put them on and read the line. So, the examiner marked "corrective lenses" on my liscense. That was the first step down from my high of passing the test.

The second step down (actually, the FALL down) from that high was when I pulled my phone out of my purse and turned it on (they made us turn our phones off for the test.) When it powered up it asked for a PIN. I started to panic. The first pin - wrong. The second pin - wrong. Two tries left before it locks me out. Wrong. Wrong. A message that says this phone can only be used for emergency calling appeared. Great. Did I have the house phone number or any phone numbers written down? Of course not (this is a bad habit that my generation has gotten into thanks to cell phones.)

I remembered calling Ben before the test to find out his office phone number because I had to fill it out on the form. I found my form, asked the examiner if I could use the phone and started calling hoping someone would answer and have my husband's number and could call him. If they couldn't call him maybe they could call the LT or our friend who works there and they could get in touch with Ben. I tried three times with no answer. There was noone in the office. Well, I thought, I'll just take the bus back to PHV (housing). I asked someone in the lobby where the bus stop was and headed out. The sun was shining, but it was still a little chilly. I got to the stop and checked the schedule. The next bus was supposed to come at 3:09. What time was it now? I had no watch and the clock on my phone was not visible because it was locked.

I walked into the USO to check the time and out the window I see the bus! I ran out of the buidling and across the parking lot to try to catch it. I didn't even come close to making it. I walk back into the USO and ask them if they have the phone number to the MP's on post. Maybe one of them will have my husband's number or someone elses number who has it. While she was searching for a number I saw another bus outside. I ran out and asked the driver if he was going to PHV. No, he was going to Manheim. As I was walking away, dissappointed, he yelled out "Next bus 5:08." By this time it was almost 3:30. Two soldiers got off the bus as he was yelling that and pointed out the spot to wait at. They told me that sometimes people will stop and give you a ride if they see you are sitting there waiting for the bus. They attempted to unlock my phone but couldn't. They told me I could go to the inprocessing center and they would probably have a number for the MP's. So, I walk over there and the friendly man at the counter and I start calling operators. We try several numbers and someone finally picks up. I asked if they had my husband's number. No, but they know who he is. What about our friend who works there. Yes! I write down her number, call it, it rings....and she picks up!! Yay!!!

I tell her what's going on and she said she will call my husband and tell him to pick me up. Finally! What a life-saver she is. I stand outside for what feels like eternity waiting on Ben to get there (it takes a while to load up the kids, drive up there, and get through the gate.) He gets there around 4:15 or so. What an ordeal. Some may call this an adventure, but I call it a headache.

At least I can drive!

Next, off to our first FRG meeting were Maddox was the loudest child in the room and the crankiest by the end. Yes!

Household Goods

We have been here for about a month and finally our household goods have arrived. We shipped it two months prior - must be a slow ship (as my grandmother said). The Army had lended us furniture while we were waiting for our things to arrive. Unfortunately they couldn't come and pick it all up before our things were delivered. So, we stacked it all on top of each other while the movers set up their tarps and prepared to unload the truck.

Here is the first truck with our Household Goods on it.


It was rainy and icey. They insisted on putting rock salt outside our entrance, so all day they were tracking in mud and giant granules of salt. Our floor was white by the time they were done.



The stacks.





The movers broke for lunch around noon for an hour. Right before they got back witht the second truck, the government showed up and loaded up all of their furniture. We were greatful to have had it, but glad it was finally out of the way. It's taken two weeks but things are mostly put away.

Here is the entrance.




The living room with our family photo wall,



The rest of the room with my Four Old Men painting, and Ben's Drill Sergeant Hat.



The dinning room.




Hallway




Maddox's room, which was clean 5 minutes ago. He is hiding behind his barn because he just went "number two".



The toddler bed that I put together with a can opener and a knife because I had no tools (quite proud of myself).



Germany is known for it's beer, but I was surpriesed to see that we are surrounded by little vineyards here, so last night we tried our first bottle of German wine. It was very good.




Today the weather is decent enough to take the boys out. It is still a little chilly when the sun isn't shining, but getting Maddox out of the house has got to be a priority. He had a great time playing on the little kid playground near our apartment.


I ran around the side of the playground and scared him.



ROAR!


Scared him again. He jumps, but he laughs so hard!



Loves the slide.



Carson was a good sport.





Pooped out early and taking up all of mommy and daddy's bed. This could be a problem....I think we need a king size.


They are the cutest!