While You Were Sleeping . . .

Oh friends in America, did I have quite the adventure yesterday morning while most of you were snoozing half a world away.


I woke up at 6:00 a.m. like I usually do (actually many of you back home were probably still awake for all that...that's only 10:00 p.m. in Colorado).  Anyway, there I am showering, dressing, packing the boys' lunches and snacks, texting with a friend about meeting up at the new TK Maxx (yes, "K" here), and as a final before-we-head-out-the-door I'm checking that my backpack has all I need for my day, I discover my entire wallet is missing.


Folks, German deodorant just isn't cut out for situations like these.  I was sweatin' it.  I think my stomach fell out and I was suddenly shaking as I tried to think back on yesterday through the panicky fog taking over in my brain. 


Y'all, I never lose anything.  I really don't.  All my things have a place and I pretty much always put them in their place and if I didn't, it's because I had a very good reason and I could tell you exactly where it is.  But, I couldn't tell you where my wallet was.  And it was time to leave as it was one of my days to take the kids to school.


I rewound my fairly accurate memories of the previous day and was able to remember the last time I knew I had it: Autumn and I had visited a drug store after we stopped in a mall and a specific Asian market (to get brown sugar!).  We'd had a little more time before we needed to get the boys so we walked down the road a ways to a "Rossman" (which is like our Walgreens minus prescriptions, you have to go to an Apotheke for scripts). 

Okay, anyway, Rossman.  I bought gum, hand wipes, and the closest thing I could find to cotton balls: cotton pads.  I used my "EC card" (like a debit card since hardly anywhere takes credit cards) to pay for it, stuffed my things in my backpack (since they charge for plastic bags), and we were on our way.  I know I never took my wallet out again after that.  I was stopped to show my subway ticket twice yesterday--which I keep in my wallet--but both instances were before my Rossman transaction.


I had no reason to take out my wallet again. 


Other than Rossman, there was no other place I could have accidentally left it.  The only possibilities were that it fell out or that someone else took it out. 


So yeah, if it had fallen out in the house, it could only be in a few places.  My backpack was only in the kitchen yesterday when I unpacked groceries and hanging on it's regular hook in the hall.  Under the hook in the hall is a couple of suitcases with some clothes and blankets from mini storage.  I had been digging through those yesterday pulling out a few things to wash and/ or hang.  I dug through those for a bit to no avail. 


I'm sure most people would look through the rest of the house for possible ideas.  When Jason lost his keys the morning before, that's what we did: 'what pants were you wearing when you took out the trash?' But, I knew that was pointless as there really wasn't anywhere else my wallet could be.  Really, there wasn't.  I didn't put it anywhere else.  I knew if it wasn't somewhere in those suitcases, it was gone.


Jason handed me his subway pass and the 5€ he had and I walked out the door with the kids.  Jason said he was going to look around a little more and check our credit cards for any unusual activity.  I told him he could dig through those suitcases again but that if it wasn't there, there wasn't any point looking around. 


My plan was to ask at the subway station about a "lost and found" and to go back to that Rossman after dropping the boys off.   Jason texted while we were on our commute that he'd checked our accounts and nothing weird had been going on so that was encouraging.  Very encouraging, actually.


We switch trains at a stop called "Nollendorfplatz".  At that stop there is an info desk between platforms.  We come down from "our" platform to get to the next one but on the "landing" between the stairs to the two platforms is a glassed in "info" desk.  We have 2 minutes till our next train leaves so I decide to stop over and ask a guy through his little hole in the glass.  Except it was spur of the moment so I don't really have words for "lost" or "where is a lost and found?" or "what the heck do I do next?"  And he had no English.  So even when I could come up with "black" in Deutsch and "portemonnaie" (wallet -- port a money, get it?) he shook his head, handed me a transit map (gee thanks, mister) and we went on our way to catch our next train. 


While I was travelling I was able to text with two different friends, one German and one who has lived here for more than 8 years, about what words I needed.  Autumn and I dropped off the boys and no one at the school came running up with, "Frau Zetser! Frau Zetser! Ich fand die Tasche!" so we continued on to re-visit that Rossman as planned.


We got over there at, like, 8:23.  It opened at 9:00.  It's chilly and it's not like I have money to go get breakfast or even stop at a bakery or coffee shop.  So Autumn and I went back to the mall we were in the day before. All the stores are closed and the escalators are off, but the doors open and we walk up the unmoving elevator to sit on a couch to wait.  We pray together and she opens her purse and gives me all her money. <3 <3 <3  Her little coins--some American, some Euros--just sitting there on the leather.  LOVE HER!! 


I continue to text with Jason and my two friends who live here.  The one friend has lost her wallet twice before and both times it has turned up.  "Without cash...but everything else was there..."  Again I feel encouraged.  My wallet had my driver's license, two Visa cards, my EC card (the debit card we use here that doesn't always require a pin--eek!), my two-days-into-a-month's-worth subway pass, the newly-received health insurance cards for me and all 3 kids, a Target card (ummm, why did I carry that or my Kohl's card?  Neither are here but I do still use them online), I also had maybe 15€-25€ in cash.  I couldn't be sure and I know it was definitely less than 40€. 


It gets closer to 9:00 so Autumn and I make our way back over to the Rossman.  They have just opened, no one is even at the register.  I ask the first woman I see if she speaks English.  She says, "A little" and I tell her that I was there yesterday afternoon over on that register over there and I think I might have left "my black...schwarz wallet...tasche...portamonnaie" while doing hand gestures.  She calls over to another lady about it and that lady disappears for a couple minutes before coming out empty handed that she couldn't find my "suitcase".  I know she means wallet though.  Bummer.  I felt like that was my only hope.  It was the only time I'd had it out.  Otherwise it probably meant someone took it out . . . and that meant it was long gone.


Autumn and I start our trek back home.  I planned to switch trains at the Zoologischer Garten which is a fairly major stop and while there I decided was going to ask at an info desk.  I can't find one so I stop in a tiny convenience-type store in the station that says they sell transit tickets and ask.  She tells me (in Deutsch) where to go so we head over there.  While I'm in line, a different employee comes over and I tell him the word both my local friends have told me: "Fundbüro".  The lost property office.  He whips out a lil card for me:




Then he pulls out a map and marks an X on one of the stations (a station on "our" line so I know it fairly well) and then tells me it's a five minute walk from that station.  Autumn and I set out. 


We make it. 




I wait my turn in a short line and then ask the man if he speaks English.  "A little".  He asks me a few questions:
"When did you lose it?"
"Yesterday"
"Oh, it's too early."  What?? 


"Where you lose it?"
Ummm, if I knew that I wouldn't be here.
"On bus or . . . "
"Oh! It would be the U-Bahn (said Ooooh-Bahn).  Ooooh zwei (U2) or ooooh vier (U4).  Or I guess it could have been ooooh neun (U9)."


"It's too soon" again.  With a doubtful look on his face.


"You have your name in it?"
"No, well, yeah on all my cards."
"What is your name?"
I tell him.  And write it.  He goes to his computer and types. 


"It is found." 
"FOUND!?!?! IT IS!??!" 
"With driver license" and he shows me his screen where I can see my birthday and then a bunch of Deutsch and I'm like, "Yeah! That's me! I just turned 36 in July!" and I can see him calculate a little in his head. 


"Fourteen hour"
Huh?  It was found fourteen hours ago?  Come back in fourteen hours? 
"Are you telling me to come back at 14 Uhr? Two o'clock?"
"Yes.  14 Uhr."
"Where is it now?"
"Not here.  It in transport.  It be here 14 Uhr."  He writes down a reference number on the paper where I'd written my name.
"It will?  Okay.  I'll come back at 2 o'clock" and then I do a big Praise Jesus move and it makes the worker and the guy behind me in line have a laugh. 


I have NO clue what is inside my wallet, of course, other than my driver's license but "it is found". 


I call Jason and text my friend and we go home since we have no money to do anything else. 


Just before 2:00, we head out again for the Fundbüro.  It is a different worker.  She can't find it.  I show her my number on my paper and try to figure out the least complicated ways to communicate that "The guy this morning said it would be here at 14 Uhr" and gesture at the clock that it's, like, 2:30 so that's why we're here. 

She talks to some other people and I see the guy from the morning and then they look in their computer and they're like, "It's at Nollendorfplatz" (the station where I started this whole thing this morning when the guy handed me a map!!!).  I confirm: "I go to Nollendorfplatz and it will be there?"  "Yes, there is glass in middle."  "I know just where it is.  I was there this morning." :)  (This is all said happily, mind you, I'm excited that my wallet is found--and anxious to see what might be inside).   "Yes.  It is there."  "Okaaaaaay." I tell them doubtfully and I jokingly shake my fist at her like, "If it's not...." and she laughs.  Off we go.  On the way I get stopped for directions.  The gal is heading the wrong way and it's crazy to me a.) how I know all this and b.) it's crazy that other people don't have maps on their phones or something.  But I'm able to be like, "Ne, Bülowstraße this way" with my big traffic-controller gesture on "this way" and I say, "eine Straße this way.  I go to Bülowstraße" and do a "follow me!" gesture. 


Nollendorfplatz is just one stop away and also where we'd switch to get the boys anyway so it's no biggie.  I go back to the little window in the glass and again, no English for them, no Deutsch for me so I'm doing my best and showing my number and my name and telling them, "Fundbüro says it here. Schwarz.  Portemonnaie.  Tasche. See number?"  I whip out my passport proving I'm me and press it to the glass because I don't know what else to do.  Finally the three guys working back there get out a big mail sack full of things people must've lost that they have to send over to the Fundbüro.  It is sealed shut with a zip tie (ready for transport, oops) and they cut it open and begin pulling out all sorts of parcels wrapped in their brown envelopes and I want to shout, "No, that one's too small! That one's too flat!" but I don't.  I just wait.  Then they hold one up!  And they bring me around to the side door where they buzz me in to their little secure office.  He says a bunch of Deutsch to me and gestures for me to sit.  I do.  I show my passport again to show it's me and because I don't know what else to do.  Eventually we are able to get that he wants my address here in Berlin.  So I write it and then he has me sign for it.  I'm like, "Can't I see it first before I sign?" but that doesn't get communicated so I sign.  And then he pulls it out!  There it is!  Meine schwarze Portemonnaie!!


I unzip it to peek at what might be left.  All of the cards are out of their slots and in a big stack in the middle but I rifle through them and I gather that most of the cards are there!!!  They're there!  I pick out my driver's license from the stack and hold it next to my face and do the same smile and show the guy, "See?  Me" and I thank him and go catch the train. 

On the train I confirm what's there.  Every single card is there!  Even my subway pass (worth 78€ = $100 and able to be used by anyone) is there!  My coins are there!  The only thing missing is my cash bills.  Autumn and I say another prayer together thankful to whoever turned it in.  Even if it's the person who took the cash. We pray for whoever took the cash that they are able to get what they need.  Thankful that we have plenty of money ourselves (plus I found that 5€ on the ground a couple weeks ago), thankful that what could have been a huge headache was over, thankful that Jason was sooooo understanding this morning and didn't add to any of the stress I was already putting on myself.


Jason thinks I still may have been pick-pocketed for the cash and that whoever first took it tossed aside or turned in whatever wasn't really useful to them.  It could've fallen out of my backpack too.  It has always made me nervous carrying it on my back like I do.  I've switched it to a different pocket and we're going to both streamline what we carry in case something like this happens again.

Sorry for the long story about, "How I lost my wallet but got it back" but there ya go.  It's another "Day in the life" really. :)

A Day in the Life

This was a day about a month ago now. 8/12, I think it was.   I did two other days around there because this wasn't all that representative of a "real" summer day for us but, since I didn't blog it at the time, now I can't remember what all my little notes to myself meant.  I'll have to do another day soon. :)


7:57 open my eyes, Jason is already up, I throw a pillow over my head but not going to sleep anymore so I say some quick morning prayers
8:00 the clock across the Allee starts its long morning chimes, I reach for my phone to read my Bible for a bit. Psalms 6-10 today.
8:08 move to more prayers
8:12 use my phone to check any emails (2 spam), What's App messages (0), and any Facebook notifications from overnight. It's a "lite" morning in that regard :(
8:14 Jason comes in to say farewell for the day
8:16 my feet hit the floor, stop into the bathroom, decide to throw the bath mat in the wash, round up the hand towels from the WC (water closet = powder room/guest bath) and kitchen to throw in with the bath mat and hand towel from the bathroom. Easton comes to see me in the hall for a morning hug. Get washing machine started.
8:25 Go greet my other babies in the living room where they are playing with doll accessories.



8:26 Go to make coffee, see that Jason has cleaned out my French press for me so it's all ready to go
8:27 Start water boiling in electric hot pot, add coffee to bottom of press, head to bedroom to send J a "thanks for cleaning out the French press <3" text, reset bedroom clock that is off by 2 minutes and bound to mess up this "day in the life" post
8:30 pour water into French press and head to make everyone's bed which is folding the duvets for the kids and pulling up the duvets on mine and Jason's side, arranging pillows






8:34 there is an empty cereal bag on the kitchen table, add it to and tidy up the recycling sitting on the kitchen counter
8:35 push the plunger in the French press
8:36 Easton comes in seeking to dry his hands on the towel in the kitchen since there isn't one in the WC.  Oops!  Replace all hand towels.
8:37 head to bedroom with cup of coffee to check in on computer with everyone's Facebook updates from their day that is just ending half way around the world
8:39 Dalton comes in to ask if they can play Xbox because they read yesterday and never ended up playing any video games.  I tell them no, we need to read every day
8:42 Dalton comes back in to ask if they can read for less time.  I ask if Easton is putting him up to this.  He is.  I call Easton in.  We make deal that they can read for 5 fewer minutes today.  They leave to get started.  I watch a slightly disturbing video that doesn't make me feel so good about me and my skinny children taking trains multiple times every day
8:53 peek in at reading boys, thank goodness for our library back home and Kindle apps, :) Autumn is playing dollies, refill my coffee and head back to bedroom to do some Duolingo
9:00 boys are done reading, I give permission to play Xbox
9:12 done with my Duolingo lessons, Autumn wants to try some pineapple juice. 
9:16 I check in on Pinterest.  Everyone's back to school pins remind me I need to look into the backpack situation here.  Coffee is taking effect.  Head for pit stop then kitchen for the pineapple juice Autumn wants to try.  She likes it.  I give her a bit more and refill my coffee.


9:24 Set Autumn up on PBS Kids online next to me, read on the boys' new school's website about "how to buy a rucksack", it is different here.  I've seen the strange looking backpacks in the store and read on the school site about how they need to be this way because of all the heavy books they are responsible for and how they need to be reflective so cars don't hit the school-goers and such.  Peek on Amazon.de.  Cut and paste a few things to run through Google Translate.  Holy cow those special backpacks are expensive! Post a question in the Berlin Expats Facebook group asking if these "Schulranzen" are truly necessary.
9:52 Leave computer.  Ask gamers if they're ready for breakfast. The answer is "no".  Decide to clean bathrooms I didn't get to over the weekend because we were so busy.
10:11 Finish bathrooms minus the shower/tub, Autumn calls me in to see the "Dalton" she made on Dad's tablet
10:12 wash my hands, the boys step down converter on the Xbox overheats (it does this after about an hour all the time).  Because gaming is over, they're ready for breakfast.  The boys join Autumn at the tablet while I toast everyone's bread 2 at a time. I miss my 4 slice toaster oven from home. :( Empty the no longer efficient fruit fly traps we had around the kitchen.
10:21 something is beeping in the living room, call the boys to help
10:23 fill up everyone's water bottles with cold bigger bottle of water
10:25 everyone's breakfast is ready, call everyone in
10:26 it's "Autumn's day" so she says the breakfast prayers


10:28 washing machine beeps to say it is done (dude, that was even longer than 2 hours!), I hop up to take the stuff out, hang bath mat over the balcony railing outside and the hand towels on the drying rack in the kitchen, bring a pile of whites to the bathroom that were hanging in the kitchen to de-crunch in the dryer
10:30 join the kids back at the table, a fruit fly is buzzing around, I regale the children with the tale of one falling into my eye last night, the boys talk mostly about Disney Infinity stuff, Autumn is crying because Easton "sometimes says Dalton is the cutest thing in the world" and her feelings are hurt (even though they say this about her frequently)
10:33 Dalton is still hungry, pour some "Bobbles" on his plate.  Easton follows suit.
10:36 Autumn wants more Nutella toast, Dalton asks to be excused, I toast more bread for Autumn and swallow my daily meds while I wait on toaster
10:37 Easton asks to be excused
10:38 Autumn's toast is ready, I start loading up the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher, empty the sink drain trap (gag!) since there are no garbage disposals here, scrub the kitchen sink
10:50 kids are trying to get back on Jason's tablet, I say not now, they're getting loud and crazy and coming down the hall.  I start dishwasher and warn, "Guuuuuuys!" and .2 seconds later Dalton is crying from being accidentally shoved into the wall with their rambunctiousness, comfort Dalton, ask kids to lay quietly on their bed for a few and then we'll finish watching the Harry Potter movie we started last night.  Dryer beeps.  I turn it off so door will unlock in a few minutes
10:52 wipe down table and chairs, we're going to need more of these pseudo-Clorox wipes
10:54 sweep the entire kitchen
10:57 head to the bathroom to sweep in there since the bath mat is out of the way, Autumn is in there finishing up and singing one of her beautiful made up songs about God and forgiveness
10:59 empty dustpan, head to dryer, fold and/or lay flat the clothes, put away the folded ones for drawers (undies, pajamas, hand towels), I'll get to hanging the others some other time
11:04 grab more dry clothes from the kitchen drying rack to de-crunch in dryer
11:05 head to bedroom and call kids in for movie
11:08 finally logged in on Amazon streaming and movie begins
11:09 I look on Facebook for responses to my rucksack query, 7 responders say my kids will need these special pricey backpacks.  Great.
11:44 Harry Potter is over
11:45 boys go to play more Xbox, Autumn plays more on J's tablet
11:48 I get stuff out of dryer and fold and put it away, gather another small load to de-crunch
11:49 clean tub and shower
11:59 take shower myself, Autumn wanders in with Jason's tablet asking how to pronounce the random string of letters she's typed in as a character's name.  I tell her not to walk around with the tablet.
12:06 done with shower, put in contacts, brush teeth, deodorant, sunscreen
12:11 dryer is done again, turn it off so door will unlock in a few and comb through and "do" my hair while I wait for it to unlock
12:13 get dressed
12:16 fold and put away stuff from dryer
12:19 round up a new load of laundry to wash
12:21 start washing machine (it takes 2 hours!!!), put away sponge and cleaner I left in the bathroom, it goes under the kitchen sink, notice kitchen sink is mostly dry from earlier scrubbing and decide to Windex it to get it extra sparkly even though it won't last and no one but me will notice, get make-up bag out of my backpack in the kitchen (I put my make up on in the subway station yesterday while waiting for our train before church, we were very tight on time as Jason was at church early to play in the worship band and I had to ready the kids with clothes and breakfast, wrap presents for a party later, make dinner so we had something to come home to eat after the party, pack up stuff we'd need for the day and ready myself.)  Where was I?  Oh yeah...
12:24 put on make up
12:27 done with make up
12:28 sneak a small square of chocolate in the kitchen, get my water bottle, smack a fruit fly dead on the wall
12:29 dig through clean laundry pile and set out outfits for today for the kids on their beds
12:31 sit to start this blog post with Autumn still on the tablet next to me (Super Why) while I wait for the boys Xbox to overheat yet again
12:48 boys overheat and come join Autumn at the tablet, Easton is hungry and eats a croissant he finds in the kitchen
12:57 I hear dishwasher signal in the kitchen that it is finally done, Easton comes back, the boys are annoying Autumn and I'm annoyed they went from one screen to another so I send them out
13:01 ("They" usually do 24 hour clock time here.  Luckily, this is one small thing that is not hard for me to adjust to at all as you do 24 hour time in hospitals and such and I once worked the 3-11 shift (or 15-23 ;) ) so I've got 'em all down.)  J texts to see how day is going, I continue this post to get all the way current,
13:28 Easton asks if we can have lunch
13:33 open the dishwasher to vent the steam, take lunch orders
13:34 realize we don't have a lot of lunch choices, kids vote to get dressed and run up to the grocery store for a little food before we eat
13:37 kids dress and hit the potties while I load up all our plastic and beer bottles to take with us




13:38 Easton asks if he can pull the new shopping trolley, I gather up keys and money
13:41 we leave our apartment for the elevator
13:43 we walk out of our building
13:48 arrive at grocery store (it's called "Rewe" which sounds sort of like Ray-va but with the more glottal "R" sound that I can't quite do), we put our trolley full of bottles into the machine to get our deposit
13:50 head through the store picking up things from the bakery, some yogurt, some fruits, some new pseudo-Clorox wipes
13:58 we load our groceries onto the belt at check out, there is a 30 something-ish couple two places behind us that are making out quite inappropriately for my tastes, the kids don't notice
14:01 we walk out of Rewe, Easton is pulling the trolley again, the little two run ahead, they know not to run too far, know not to cross any streets, know to stay out of the bike lanes, it makes me smile


14:07 enter our apartment building
14:08 we enter the apartment, I wash my hands and put away the groceries, Autumn removes her dress for some reason
14:11 I'm done putting away groceries and start on lunch


14:30 lunch is finally ready:
Easton: Balsamic chips, vanilla yogurt, pineapple; Dalton: PB&J on a croissant we just got at the Rewe bakery, strawberries and pineapple, Balsamic chips; Autumn: vanilla yogurt drizzled with honey, strawberries, Balsamic chips; Me: cheese, tomato, avocado and mustard on a croissant, cantaloupe, strawberries, and pineapple, Balsamic chips.  Easton had been watching a bit about the Titanic on Brain Pop and we all talk about it.  I silently lament that we're not going to Homeschool anymore.
14:45 turn on Oobi on my phone for the kids to watch while they finish up, go get laundry out of washer to hang on drying rack in kitchen
14:54 done hanging laundry, unload dishwasher, clean up after lunch: put away leftover fruit, load dishes, wipe table & chairs, counters, and front of cabinets, sweep crumbs
15:14 head into bedroom with boys to do some math practice
15:16 both boys are logged into our IXL account from Homeschooling to do a little review.  They are rusty from so much time off.
15:40 Dalton is dismissed, Easton has mostly been whining and flopping around and requiring me to hold his hand through every little bit so he has to keep going
16:20 Easton is dismissed, the boys run off to play more Xbox (ordinarily they would never get this much video game time, not even every day let alone multiple times per day but these are very extenuating circumstances).  I sit to blog this day some more.
16:25 Autumn comes in to watch where they left off in Oobi.  I check the weather for the week so we can think about making fun plans rather than playing Xbox and the Surface so much and only going to the grocery store.  I message a local friend about trying to meet up at the strawberry farm, another person about rain forecasted on a day we're supposed to meet up, and another friend about backpacks.
17:00 still at computer looking at various things, messaging with a friend, and Autumn is still watching Oobi next to me, Jason messages that he's on his way home


17:28 wrap it up online (again, it was rare for me to be on the computer so much--blogging this, go figure, and therefore for Autumn to be with the tablet so much as well), head in to pick up the living room for J's arrival
17:32 boys console converter overheats again, J arrives, we're still picking up living room, I take out my contacts they bug my eyes they're so old, and let's not forget a month ago J wore them for two days so...yeah.  Glasses time.
17:38 I start on dinner, for J and I it's mostly fixed from yesterday (chilled quinoa salad) but I make plates of other stuff for the kids including heating up 2 potato pancakes for Dalton on the stove
18:00 we sit down to dinner
18:35 done with dinner, begin cleaning up, kids clear their things and Easton starts to help Dalton wiggle his front teeth that aren't coming out, Jason does dishes (he always does dinner dishes <3, always has) and I wipe down the dining table and chairs, sweep the floors,
18:40 help Autumn locate some clothes, kids go potty and put on shoes, Jason empties kitchen trash, I empty all the others and try to put a new trash bag in the kitchen can without it splitting at the seam (I split the first one but succeed with the second).  Text with a local friend about possible plans for tomorrow.
18:49 I load up the kids with the recycling.  Jason loads himself up with trash and more recycling and I unlock the door with the keys and put them back in J's pocket, after taking down the trash and recycling he's taking all three of them to the park
18:50 The rest of the family heads to the park
18:51 I sit to get this post current yet again
18:59 connect to a encrypting website, log into my mom's Netflix account (hope that's okay, Mom!) and watch 30 Rock.  Wishing I had one of my tiramisus.  Oh wait, I have a generic one.  BRB


19:09 back with my definitely-not-as-good tiramisu.  I won't even buy this one again in a pinch.
19:12 shoot, I got chocolate on my dress, that's okay, I was ready for my p.j.'s anyway, head to the kitchen to put my spoon in the dishwasher and throw away my trash, decide to take bath mat off the balcony railing and throw in the dryer to de-crunch-ify, get some stain remover on my dress and leave it on the machine and put on those pajamas.  Ahh.  Okay, unpause 30Rock.
20:09 the rest of my family comes home after trips to "two and a half parks", Autumn tells me she has sand in her hair.  I walk her straight to the shower and we take off her clothes while she stands in the tub, she takes her shower, and afterward Easton hops in
20:18 I comb through Autumn's wet hair 
20:20 help Autumn brush her teeth, also put paste on the other kids' toothbrushes, listen to all sorts of Easton's big ideas for future plans and inventions with "E.D. Industries" that he's been planning with Dalton for months.
20:33 all the kids are done with their showers and teeth brushing
20:39 Dalton is finally dressed for bed and we start our prayers in the kids' room then I read aloud for about 15 minutes from Harry Potter #3
20:59 kids are all tucked in, Jason and I come into our room, we discuss the rucksack situation and eventually get on our own computers to look at them which turns into looking at other things like apartment hunting for J and Facebook browsing for me
21:45 Jason heads to buzz his head and take a shower, I read through the various links I've clicked on through people's Facebook posts, respond to a message from our new pastor, and send a quick message to a friend I was thinking about in Colorado
22:13 Jason is back, we chat for awhile, read a little of the Bible together and say our nightly prayers
22:52 I get up to wash my face and brush my teeth and such, Jason gets out his clothes for work the next morning closes up the windows and drapes for me like he usually does, we say goodnight, he generally stays up later than I do
22:59 I'm back in the bedroom, I set one of the "decorative" pillows from the bed on the floor near me to block the power light on my laptop and catch my phone when I inevitably knock it off the bed in the night, I turn off the lamp that was on over on J's side
23:01 read some more Bible (I'm back in Genesis right now)
23:12 done with the Bible, decide to Google Mark Driscoll as I have no idea who he is or what the controversy with him lately is
23:25 done with my Driscoll research
23:26 turn on an "Everybody Loves Raymond" rerun on YouTube on my phone and put in one ear bud, I fall asleep easier if "the TV" is on, I plug the phone in to my computer USB to charge for the night, lay it on the bed next to me (hence needing the pillow on the floor) and get comfy to fall asleep.


The End


I'm a little embarrassed to even hit "Publish" on this one as it isn't quite a true day: we didn't go anywhere on public transport.  We always go somewhere!  Seriously, not even a whole handful of days have we not gone somewhere on public transport.  As a result, the boys would not have played quite that much Xbox if we had done other things!  Don't judge. ;)

The First Week of School

Monday



The boys started school on Monday the 25th. They were eventually excited about it. Easton is desperate for some friends. Even if his #1 playmate of choice is his own brother, he's always had bunches of friends.

So, Monday morning, the Frau Principal had a "welcome to the school" address at the school's main campus (we do not go to the main campus). Anyway, it was at 9:00 a.m. so the 5 of us headed over there on the subway, Schultüten in hand.





What's a Schultüte?

Schultüten are a fun German tradition. They're "school cones" full of treats for one's first day of school. The true tradition is for your VERY first day of school so the first graders would go parading through the neighborhood on their way to school with these giant knee-to-chin Schultüten as the first day of school is a very big deal. Inside I think you'd typically find various sugary treats and also school supplies like crayons or erasers or what have you. Obviously it wasn't our boys' first ever day of school but it was their first day of school in Germany. Apparently lots of families continue this fun tradition on a smaller scale every year. So, that's what we did. As we don't like to do much sugar, each of their cones had a single, illegal-in-the-United-States Kinder egg, a fun eraser, a pencil sharpener, a mechanical pencil with an added eraser on top, a new Skylanders figure, and some other tiny toys. It is like a Christmas stocking for the first day of school! Anyway, they opened them on our subway ride to school.



Once we got to the school's Aula (auditorium), we listened to Frau Principal's ramblings. Much of her speaking was in German and never translated. But, when she called for the boys' grades to come sit, our boys went and sat. She saw small lil Dalton and told him, "Oh, not yet honey, you're going to start next week" because he is 1st grade sized. He gave me a look and I was like, "Just sit down, you're a second grader" and he did. But for some reason she called every single new student's names which took forever and was confusing. Even "God is Awesome" and "Praise God" were called. Yes, those are actual names she called. As this is a very international place, I can only guess that the name is hard to spell/write/etc in their native language and so that is the translation. Just a guess though, as I have not yet met Praise God or God is Awesome.

Anyway, because of calling everyone's names and trying to figure all the things out, Dalton got a little bored:





But, Easton began making a new friend right off the bat. This friend is from Scotland. Easton kept looking over at us like, "Do you see me? Do you see how I'm already making a friend over here?" Cute. :)

After the very very long assembly. They asked us to take our children over to their actual campus ourselves. It is a 30 minute walk for an adult, so we bid Jason adieu and got on the subway. We were with another small group heading our way as well. There was a mother and 4th grade son who were German but just spent the last 6 years in Shanghai so they spoke fluent German, English, and Chinese. They were also accompanying another 4th grade boy whose parents didn't even come to the assembly and left him to his own devices so the German mother/son took him under their wing. He is from France and his name is the same as a cereal Jason used to eat back home. :) He spoke English with a perfect American accent due to spending 3 years in Michigan.

Eventually we get over to the school and climb up to the classrooms. Dalton's class is on the German 3rd floor/American 4th floor. No lift and remember: ceilings are high in Germany so there is a lot of stairs. A lot. We got Dalton into his class and I parked him next to Easton's Scottish friend's little brother because this little brother was in tears. :( His dad was still there but I wanted Dalton to be friendly so I told him to talk Scottish Crier about Angry Birds because the other kid had them on his shirt. Dalton was fine.



Then we took Easton up to his class on the German 4th floor/American 5th floor. My thighs! Ack! We get there and the teacher I'm giving him to doesn't speak English. At all. At an international Deutsch/English school. Great. So the Scottish family has told Easton and her son to stick together as seemingly the only two non-Deutsch speakers. I'm unable to talk to her about anything including school supplies, etc. Oh well. Easton is fine with me leaving. He knows how to say, "Toilette?" Big boys!





I go to hunt down the school secretary even though she doesn't speak a lick of English either. She's not there. Really? On the first day of school there is no administration or support staff? Not the best choice. Then I hear from someone that we are able to pick up our children several hours early since it's the first day of school. Would have been nice to know that ahead of time. They said we could pick them up at 1:00 but Jason and I were signing the lease contract on the new flat in another part of town at 1:00. It was made clear that there would be care until 4:00 but that we just had the option to get them early. I then went to each boy to let them know that I would not be picking them up early when other kids were leaving so they knew I didn't forget about them. Autumn and I also stopped into the bathroom for our journey across town. It smelled disgusting and the "vestibule" where the sink was in between the hallway and the room with the toilets was pitch black. No lights. No light switches we could find. No window. The toilet room has a window so we were fine in there and then there wasn't any T.P. I got some for Autumn and then helped one of Easton's classmates by holding the door so she could see to get to the toilet room and back out to wash her hands. Ugh, sure hope that the boys' bathroom is better. Speaking of, I decided to make sure Dalton knows where the toilet is. So we went back into his class to get him and show him.

Autumn and I finally left to go meet Jason to sign the contracts, we ate lunch, and then we headed back down to get the boys. They were the only two children left!!! It was maybe 2:30 or 3:00. They were playing on the playground together supervised by teachers but seriously, they were the only two! Oops!

We collected the boys and were on our way home hearing all about the boys' short first day. Easton had to beg to be allowed to get his lunch box at lunch time. They were like, "Why? Why can't you just eat this? Why do you need to go get your lunch?" but they eventually let him. Dalton was elbowed by a bigger boy who didn't want him coming over by the 4th graders. Dalton sort of just took it. :( I hate sending them out into the world for such treatment. It's hard to let go and let them figure out what to do in this great big place.

Tuesday

Second day of school and Dalton's got cold symptoms. Never takes long. This day we had to be at their regular campus at the regular start time: 8:00. Ouch. We have about an hour commute and we did it on a subway and two busses. It was okay enough. It was hard to find which stop for our first bus and then once we did, there was construction happening in front of it so we had to cross the street again to catch it but it worked out and we got to school on time.



Autumn and I then caught a bus route that takes us by touristy places.







We ended up having to "de-bus" at a major train station but we went in and got a Dunkin Donut and then shared a chai Frappacino to remind her that I can still be fun. She had been sad her bubbas were off to school because I am so boring and am "always cleaning or on my computer" according to her. We had a great morning seeing the sights as we got the top front of the double decker bus and then eventually caught a train to Alexanderplatz where our favorite store is. With her birthday two days prior, she had a little money she was wanting to spend so we headed to their toy department and also got a few groceries.



We headed back home to "our" subway stop and stopped for a few more groceries at two different stores and then walked home for lunch and playing for a bit before we went to go check out a KiTa (daycare/what German children do before they are ready for Grundschule). The woman spoke decent English but had thought I was German based on my name and my excellent Google Translated email. :) She wasn't sure she could take on the burden of yet another non-Deutsch-speaking child but she thought Autumn was super awesome and had a "light" in her and said she'd talk to her colleague. That evening I got an email that, when translated, said that Autumn indeed had a "square" at their KiTa if we wanted. I don't. I hope I have other options. :/

Anyway, back to the boys. After we left the KiTa we went to get the boys. Easton had a bit of a rough day. His Scottish friend was absent most of the morning while he was visiting the doctor. He ate lunch by himself because the tables were all full and he was saving a seat for his brother (who never came but they had eaten together the day before). He was having tummy troubles as he can be a bit anxious like his mama and had to run in to quickly take care of some surprise business. When he was done, there was no soap in the bathroom he was in. So he climbed 3 flights of stairs to get to one that did have soap. It broke my heart hearing about his day but he was relatively fine with it and still happy to go back.

Wednesday

We tried to do our same bus trick again but we got on a bus going the wrong direction at first. I caught it immediately (this time) and I changed the plan on the fly and so we went to a different subway to catch it. Buuuuuuuuuuuut, that subway line was down. Great. I can't understand the overhead announcements in Deutsch and I had no idea what was happening and why we all had to disembark. It turned into this big mess and the boys ended up being an hour late to school.

Later when we picked the boys up I learned that they didn't blow (or Easton didn't hear) the whistle to come inside at recess. So Easton was left outside. Eventually he realized his class was not there and went in to join his class again (who was not in the classroom). Lovely. They lost my kid for a bit. Anyway, the kids and I headed over to the main campus for an extra curriculars fair. Basically all the offerings had booths and you were able to find out more. They have some that take place during school hours and some right after school. None of those ones were offered at the boys' campus, however, and it would be my responsibility to somehow get them over there and, well, it was stupid.

We went home and as soon as Jason arrived I had to turn right back around and go back to the kids' school for a meeting with Dalton's class parents and teachers. I was going to try yet another route to get there but, gah!, another subway line was suddenly down and I had to reroute and ended up a few minutes late to the meeting. We learned about their schedule, about how we need to give money so they can buy a computer (there is not a single one in the building), about how the 140 euros we paid for books will eventually get us books, blah blah blah. It ended a little after 9:00 p.m. and I had my journey home.

Thursday

We got to school the way I had tried to go last night. At the stop where we changed subways, we ran into another mom and son from Dalton's class and rode and walked the rest of the way in with them. That was fun. I forget where the woman was from but I know her husband was Japanese and they spoke that and English and probably something else.

I deposited the boys in their classrooms and then some of the parents were in the halls being like, "Are you coming to the meeting today at 3:00 before we pick up the kids?" and I was like, "Oh I didn't get the message" and they're like, "no no, it's us parents needing to have a meeting about some of the things going on here" and I was all, "Oh, okay, what am I supposed to be mad about?" and I kid you not, it is like WCS Part Zwei. WCS is the school we were at before we began homeschooling the boys last year. It was seriously the exact same stuff: security issues, cleanliness issues, poor communication, lack of organization, feeling misled about what the school wants to do vs. what they are actually doing. I felt a little sick, honestly. Like, I was feeling all of these things, however, I know for a fact that school security here in Germany is just not the same as we expect in America. But also, people can't just get guns here. Children younger than Easton ride the subways by themselves all over town. It's just different here and I was thinking I would just have to change my thinking that school buildings aren't secure. I was surprised to see that all these international parents are just as up in arms about some of the issues we had at our American school, to be honest.

A woman who just moved back here from England began talking with me and Autumn and said she knew of a KiTa I should talk to. She gave me the number and then she was like, "You know what? It's five minutes away, I'll take you there, I've been meaning to stop by and see my friend anyway." So . . . (car seat people plug your ears...er, cover your eyes...) she put me in the front seat of her British car (so we were on the left) and Autumn was on my lap! Ack!!! But anyway, she took us to check out a KiTa which is full and also is only English speaking, neither of which is going to work for us but oh well, it was nice to start getting to know yet another friend.

So after the KiTa, Autumn and I spent the day meeting up with another new friend and then we went over to the school for the parent's airing of grievances at 3:00. On our way in, I saw Dalton on the playground near the fence and he noticed us. He told me, "My teacher told me I can't bring lunch from home anymore, I have to eat what they have here." And I was thinking, "Gosh, I sure hope he misunderstood" and told him I'd pick him up after our meeting. We headed into the Mensa and I was the only American in this particular group. In fact, I was the only North American even. But the meeting was in English and we all shared and what not. Someone brought up a Facebook group possibility and sooooo many of these people are not on Facebook. Especially not the Germans. Anyway, on a show of hands of who was on Facebook, when I raised mine I heard an all-in-fun "of course she is, she's an American" jest. :) One German man explained to me that this anti-sharing everything about your life on Facebook is a fairly common German attitude. Fair enough.

Anyway, we had the meeting and then picked up the kids. Dalton's teacher told me, "Yes, about the lunch, we are trying to have the kids eat all the same thing". Based on my face she added a few things about 'unless he is very fussy' and I was like, "Uh...yeah. Dalton throws up if something bothers him." He gags watching other people eat their yucky-textured food, good luck. Plus, I don't want to have to pay for this food my kids will not eat. They won't. I asked them. They are disgusted with the idea. Well, after that conversation she then tells me about my older son being upset at lunch. What? Just then Easton comes in and yep, I can tell he is super uncomfortable but putting on his best nonchalant face (and failing miserably). I don't make him tell me about it then in front of anyone but eventually he tells me that they wouldn't let him get his lunch box today. They weren't exactly denying him food, because he was welcome to get the "hot lunch" but he took a look and didn't want any of the "disgusting lumpy green soup". So, apparently they changed the schedule on him and he didn't know they wouldn't be coming back to their classroom before lunch. If he had known, he would have brought his lunch box outside. I know he would have. But they came in and went straight to the Mensa to eat and when he asked to go get his lunch box, the teacher told him no. So he stood--starving--against the cafeteria wall and had to wait for everyone to finish their lunches and recess before they all went upstairs and he could eat what we'd packed. He was miserable. They don't eat till 1:30 so he had to wait till well after that. Yes, they have a morning snack and I pack a fairly substantial one, but he ate his less substantial afternoon snack in the morning by mistake so he was hungry. He was trying hard not to cry because he's in 4th grade and all but he was so upset. :( Breaks my heart. Apparently my children and one other are the only "weirdos" that bring their lunch. The parents were actually making it sound like it's the law here: that everyone pays for and eats the form lunch. If we're vegetarian, they have to accommodate that, but it sounds like we're really not supposed to be sending lunches which blows my mind. At our previous school, most kids had packed lunches from home. Don't I have the right to feed my children what we want them to have???

In talking with Dalton's teacher, it sounds like I can continue to send lunch for both boys but I have to send Easton's with Dalton so it's downstairs already or something? I don't know. It's confusing but I shall do my best and hope that people above this teacher don't change things on us. My poor hungry boy. That would never happen in America. I think my sweet children are also worried about how they don't have any money on themselves to pay for this lunch. They don't know that I would get billed or set up an account with the kitchen. It's like the first time I flew as an unaccompanied minor on an airplane with my sister: I didn't know the food was included. I looked in my purse...my puffy, hot pink purse with hearts all over it, and I had enough money to buy a dinner for her. I remember the stewardess bringing the trays and me asking her how much it cost. Awww. Anyway, I feel like that probably worries my boys too. Like, "I can't eat this lunch, it looks gross, my parents are picky about what goes in our bodies, and I don't have money." :(

I also learned that a boy was throwing balls at Easton when Easton was in a tree. He said, "He used to be my friend but I guess maybe he was never really my friend". :( Dalton said, "He's a foe."

Friday

Thank the Lord that Fridays are short days. I can pick them up before lunch. Hooray! So, I didn't even have to pack a lunch in the morning. However, at school the parents were standing around gossiping and I heard from more than one parent that they'd heard about Easton being upset and denied his lunch box. Great. Kids are going home and telling their parents. I hate that Easton is now infamous for this. Enough where they go home and tell their parents. One mom said her son offered to the teacher to go with Easton, though, like, "if he can't go by himself to get his lunch, maybe I could go with him?" and the teacher still said no. But isn't that so sweet?

Autumn and I spent the morning with our friends and then they came with us to pick up the boys from their school. Good thing too as she is listed as one of our emergency contacts since they won't even take down my American number to call. :) We picked up the boys who had much better days and I felt a little better going into the weekend with a good day under our belts. The kids are handling this fine, they're not hating school, they actually don't mind going, even with some of these issues. Easton is really enjoying learning about the Aztecs and Dalton is desperate to start learning anything. He hates how slow things go in the first weeks of school. The first graders had their big ceremonies all over Berlin on Saturday (we didn't go, Dalton said, "I think I might sit this one out" when we asked if he wanted to go (as a 2nd grader) to this welcoming ceremony. But, that means the first graders will be joining the 2nd graders in their combined class starting tomorrow and hopefully things will start getting figured out.

I'm anxious to hear all the latest from the "parents-with-problems". I'm hoping for a smoother week with balancing sleep and chores and family time. Smoother commuting, better meal planning. We haven't been in this sort of a routine since we pulled them out of public school in early February. We're all adjusting again! And before, I was able to take them to school in my p.j.'s., unshowered with no makeup. The kids always ate breakfast on plates in the car and I'd have my travel mug of coffee. None of that happens anymore when you have to take a subway. Still getting used to our new normal but I'd really appreciate some prayers for my boys as they navigate a new week of school.

We Chose . . .

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the . . .
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Grocery-Less Flat!



Apparently there was lots of interest in the flat and the owner chose us! The other interested parties must've had, like, more kids or a big dog or something. Seriously, we got the flat?!?! On paper I wouldn't have thought us to necessarily be the best candidates.

Once again, this really couldn't have gone any smoother for us. We got to choose-- choices weren't made for us (by someone else swooping in with a more attractive application). We didn't have to this whole German "Schufa" credit report thing that most renters have to do. And the lady who owns it wanted us! Us!

We get the keys at the end of September so we can start moving things over that last weekend of the month. Our contract will officially start October 1st.

So, let me tell you a little more. This particular building isn't all that exciting. Berlin is full of beautiful buildings and architecture that I love to look at. I enjoy it very much. I don't necessarily want it for myself however. Remember that first flat which was beautiful outside and had the amazing frieze on the ceilings? Like, it's so nice and quaint to go look at clothes drying across a line in a small Italian village


It is slightly less exciting when it's you having to get those clothes out there day after day after day and there are 5 people in your family who live in a dirty city. At the end of the day, I am a modern woman who would prefer modern conveniences. So I don't need the pretty building if it means the floors are torn up and the fuses don't work and there's no freezer or elevator etc. Sure, it'd be great if I could have it all but if I have to choose, modern wins:



Let me refresh your memory with a little floor plan action here:



You see in the top right there you can either take the lovely spiral staircase in a bright atrium sort of thing or you can take the elevator. We're on the German 3rd floor (American 4th floor). So when you come in there is that "Diele"/hallway except it's really more of a foyer/entry way/mud room in my head. I expect we'd put our bench from my old laundry room there with the kids shoes stored in it. Perhaps some hooks on the wall, a coat rack, etc. It's also where our little buzzer is to let visitors in the building and I always feel like Seinfeld. (It's this "phone" thing on the wall.)



Off the Diele is also where you find the entrance to the "WC"/guest bathroom. I didn't post a pic of it before so I had some "new" things to show you in this post but here it is:



Also off the Diele you can enter the oddly shaped room with aaaaalllllll the windows:



We had initially thought of this being the master bedroom. However, being inside the room with it's odd shape, I saw absolutely no way to make it work as a "master". In fact, because of that, I stopped really considering this flat as an option initially. Jason asked for measurements and we cut out little beds to scale on a tiny model floor plan and placed them in the room and I basically said, "I will not consider this flat if this is my room". Jason said things like, "Yeah, that's not ideal" in regards to the 30 cm (about 1 foot) of clearance to walk between the wall and the foot of the bed at one point. :) So . . . I brought up the idea of making it the boys' room. With their twin bunk beds I could maybe see it happening that way. Indeed, this will be the boys' room:





The "Wiga" is short for Winter Garden and the only access is from the boys' room but the family still gets access to it somehow. We'll work it out.



I can see maybe growing a small container garden in there or perhaps putting my laundry drying rack in there. We don't actually have a balcony here but that's okay because I've been on the balcony in our current flat, like, all of two times. Okay, it's been more that than to supervise the kids at the recycling bins in the courtyard, to hang laundry, or to cut the kids' hair. I've never once sat out there and just enjoyed looking at the backs of the buildings across from me or anything. :) And, as vegetarians, well, we don't exactly do a whole lot of grilling. Our grill lives with my mom now anyway. :)

Moving on.

The last door way off the Diele would be the Wohnzimmer (Living Room):



That is taken from what will be where the dining table goes. There is no room in the kitchen for any sort of table in there. You can see the windows out to the street below and up in the left you will notice the glass double doors to the boys' room and WiGa. We will perhaps have to do something about the see through-ness of the doors. Not for the boys, necessarily, but more for late night football watching/bill paying/beer drinking taking place in the Wohnzimmer.

This is near the double glass doors we were just talking about looking towards the dining area and the kitchen.



The door to the kitchen actually slides closed. What a space saver! ;)



Looking even closer at the double doors to the boys' room:



And from this corner you can also see a bit of the door way back to the Diele on the far left there:



Where should we go next?

Ah yes. Kitchen.





The fridge is the narrow door to the left of that microwave there. The freezer is below the fridge.





We are very excited to have a microwave again. Jason has been missing his nightly popcorn. Or heating up leftovers.

I'm also excited to have a double sided sink again:



And this pull out drawer to keep our 16 billion different types of recycling sorted.



Right now we like to keep our waiting recyclables attractively displayed on the kitchen counter. Oh! You can also see the dishwasher to the left of the under sink recycling spot in that pic.

Okay . . . last part of the flat:

In that above pic where I'm showcasing where the dining table will go and you can see into the kitchen? Remember it up there? Well, off to the left you can see a glass door separating off the main living quarters.

But go through it and that's where you'll find the hall to the bedroom Jason and I are claiming:



Autumn will get the smaller one:



In between them is the main bathroom with a tub/shower and the space for a stacked washer/dryer:







This bathroom's door is different than drawn in the floor plan way above and the door actually swings right into the toilet sitter's knees. Good thing there is another bathroom where maybe not as much bathroom time-sharing will have to go on.





I only took a picture of that because I'm excited that the tub drain is not right under that shower head like it is at our current flat. I realize that's the way it is at most American homes, but at our current flat, it is constantly being unknowingly stepped on for some reason and the tub fills with soapy run-off. I'm glad that won't happen any longer. I also hope this tub holds water. It quickly leaks out at our current place whenever I've attempted a bath.

Finally, just between this main bathroom and Autumn's room is a small storage space (see floor plan as I didn't take a pic even though I'm really excited about it). It's not closed off with a door or anything like a real closet but I'm thinking maybe a small curtain on a tension rod or something but I'm super stoked about some in-flat storage. You will notice on the floor plans that there's not a single closet, linen cupboard, or pantry. So this is nice to have. In addition, we have a small locked storage unit in the basement or "keller" (you know, a cellar but you pronounce a hard "c"/"k" here). I imagine that's where we might store out of season clothes (in bags because I think it's also quite moist down there), perhaps holiday decorations, maybe our suitcases, etc. The building also has a locked room inside for our bikes. Our current building offers neither of those things. Perhaps they're standard in "most" flats around here but we never saw any in the other 4 we visited nor do we have that here so I just made my assumptions. Anyway . . .

Yay!

As I mentioned before, while this unit comes outfitted with a way better kitchen than we would've paid for ourselves, we've got to still do things like the light fixtures:



That's in the living room.

This is the boys' room, with both ceiling and sconce-type fixtures being needed:



And there you have it!

We'll be in quite a touristy part of town which I wasn't thrilled about but it's not the worst ever. Especially since I'm so frequently stopped for directions. :) We're near quite a few hotels, lots of shopping, not too far from the zoo, we've got a pretty "main" subway stop about as close as we are to "our" subway stop at this temporary flat. But, not so much in the way of groceries. Especially not the "Bio" groceries we prefer. There are options, however. Like one friend gets her groceries delivered for supposedly not all that much money (I think she said seriously only like €2 or €3!?!?) I can see getting some of the bigger staples delivered and supplementing with filling my backpack with produce and bakery items like I've been doing lately anyway. I haven't shopped with my grocery trolley since last weekend but I've been to at least one grocery store every single day for something or other. So it's do-able. I really made up my mind after talking to some of our new friends. They just found a fifth floor flat . . . without a lift. If they can get groceries up to their place, I've got to stop feeling like "it's too hard" for me. :)

We're super close to one subway stop on one line and still quite close to the bigger stop I mentioned above with 3 lines running through it. Our new favorite restaurant (the burrito place similar to Chipotle) is also an easy walk away! We are roughly 1.5 miles (2.4 km) due north of the boys' new school. That's possibly do-able on bikes. There are the subways still too though. We are going to be within walking distance of Jason's job. Maybe about 15 minutes or less as his office is about a half mile (.8 km) north of the flat. His walking would largely depend on weather, of course, but Germans are all-weather folks. Just dress appropriately and head on out. We played at the park in the rain this afternoon. (Very mild rain but still! It's a start!)

So there it is. So sorry I took "so long" to fill you all in. This week has been quite crazy with school stuff. More on that some other time. Thanks for tuning in!