Collar Bones, Driver's Exam, and Preschool Pics

Last night, Samuel fell off of Benjamin's bed during story time. I have told the boys a gazillion times NO jumping on the beds in fear that they will get hurt. Well, last night Samuel was NOT actually jumping on the bed and still managed to get hurt. ugh. We often refer to Samuel as our "accident waiting to happen child" because he is so accident prone but this is his first broken bone (but he's already caught up to Don and I who have each only had one bone broke in our lives).

So, as the boys sat listening to me read them stories, Samuel apparently got too close to the edge of the bed and fell backwards off the bed... as if doing some sort of backwards flip in slow motion. And BOOM... WWAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! He cried for quite a bit (in Samuel standards because he usually takes a fall and keeps on truckin). But once we got him calmed down he seemed to be doing just fine... only he kept grabbing at his neck. At the time, Don was comforting Grace as she has been a bit fussy lately (she must have read my blog post bragging on what a good baby she is). So, after tucking Benjamin into bed I said to Don, "Do you think he could have broken his collar bone?" (I remember my cousin as well as my nephew breaking their collar bones about this same age). So, Don felt around his collar bones comparing the two sides to each other and declared "Yep, it's broke."

That realization is not one you generally want to make. But then you compound it with the fact that it's almost 9 p.m. which is well over the hours that the clinic on the military

installation here has closed... which leaves the German hospital. Don made several calls to figure out our next step... should we take him in? would they do anything? do we wait til morning? then, where do we go? how do we get there? will they speak English? While Don figured all this out, I packed up a diaper bag and got things in order for their venture out.

Before we knew it... he was heading back from the ER with confirmation that his collar bone was broken. Don reported that all went well, he found the hospital fine (thanks to our new GPS), they took an x-ray and that the doctor did speak English. They sent Samuel home with a little sling that they made out of some strips of gauze and told Don to follow up at the clinic today.

So, this morning we leaped into a busy day...

Although Grace slept until 10 a.m.! A new

record! I had been impressed when she slept through the night for the first time on Sunday and then Monday slept until 8:30 a.m. But 10:30? hmmm. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

We got Samuel into an 11:00 a.m. doctor's appointment. The clinic is close by (on the same military installation that Don works at). The doctor confirmed the break but said he wouldn't do anything for him. He should heal up nicely on his own in a few weeks although the bump he has on his collar bone will get bigger before it heals up. But the doctor said if they were to take an x-ray, a year from now that you probably would not even be able to tell that he ever broke the collar bone. He is doing well and doesn't seem to be in much discomfort (although he is tired and crabby today after staying up late for his trip to the ER last night!).

I took the driver's test so it's officially legal for me to drive here! (Although, we will be sharing the car until Don's car arrives). I was a little nervous because I have heard that some people do not pass on their first try and that you only get three attempts to take it before you have to wait a period of time to take it again. Don only missed 4 questions out of 100. The pressure was on! I was hoping to do that well but I missed 8 questions. You are allowed to miss 15 questions. Phew! Mission accomplished. My next challenge is to actually drive here... that will happen tomorrow when I take Benjamin to preschool.

Benjamin had picture day today at school. Our things have still not arrived so we're a little limited on clothing selections but I was able to put something together for him and he looked pretty cute. He told me he looked "handsome but not cool." I told him that "sometimes it was good to look handsome and that he didn't always need to look cool." He was okay with that.

While I was taking the drivers class and test (from 12:30 -3:30 p.m.) Don dropped the three kids off at Child Youth Services where Benjamin attends preschool and where the younger two are able to go for hourly care. It was Samuel and Grace's first stay there and they did fine. Samuel had been so excited to go to "school" for days now and was asking every time his big brother went if he was going to get to go too. So, although it was hard to think about him staying since he wasn't 100% today, I think he was glad to go.

Overall, our day seemed a bit crazy. But everything seemed to fall into place. Tomorrow is a new day with new challenges but hopefully a lot more low key than today.

God Bless America Rap

Don recently gave me a new Apple Mac Book Pro (laptop computer). It has a lot of fun features including a program called Photo Booth. The boys love seeing themselves and tonight they were their own entertainment as they danced and sang and watched themselves on the computer monitor.

My mom had recently given them a book with the words to "God Bless America" in it and it has become a fast favorite here. Both the boys have it memorized and request the book nightly at bed time.

Here is their rap version of "God Bless America..."

All Smiles

Here's a photo of our happy little Grace that I took yesterday morning. She's been such a trooper with everything going on around her. We have been blessed with such a good baby.

She continues to get up about once a night which is actually usually just very early in the morning. Some days I am just getting back to sleep when the boys are waking up at around 6:30 or 7 a.m. It can make for some long tiring days but such is life with little ones. Overall, she's such a delightful happy lil gal which makes it all so worth every lost wink of sleep.

The Preschool Adventure

Benjamin started preschool yesterday! It has been somewhat challenging to get him enrolled due to the fact that we haven't had a car yet and hauling three kids on a bus is not ideal. But we did it! There is a bus that goes from each Army installation here and stops nearby the Child Development Center (where he will attend preschool). He is enrolled in an afternoon preschool 5 days a week from 1 - 4 p.m. The center also offers hourly child care so I plan to take advantage of that as well. We have both Samuel and Grace enrolled in the center so that I can drop them off from time to time and get a little break when I need to! I'm excited about this prospect (for me, of course) but also look forward to Samuel having interaction with other kids his age.

So, in order to take the bus over to where the preschool is we leave the house around 11:35 a.m. to catch an 11:46 a.m. bus. Thankfully, the bus stop is close by to where we live. Where we live is a housing area and, apparently, was blended with the Germans until after the events of 9/11 eight years ago. After that, they fenced in the housing and we are in, let's say, a gated community! The housing we're in is manned by security 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I have to say, it does give me a good sense of security even though our place is right along a busy road.

As I mentioned earlier, Benjamin's preschool does not start until 1 p.m. however, the bus arrives there around 12:15 p.m. So, we have a little bit of time before school. There are numerous playgrounds nearby though and yesterday we had an orientation to take up some of the time before he started. It is also about a 10 minute walk (with 3 kids) to the center.

The biggest challenge right now is that the buses don't run as frequently during the time frame of Benjamin's school. So, Samuel, Grace and I are kind of stuck there at Patrick Henry Village (the installation where the preschool is at). Fortunately, there is a lot to offer at Patrick Henry Village (PHV). So, after dropping Benjamin off yesterday, we hiked over to the commissary which was actually a short

distance. We were able to pick up some non-refrigerated groceries and haul them in the basket under the stroller. After a brief stop at a playground, it was time to pick Benjamin up. Phew! He got out at 4 p.m. and the LAST bus of the day runs at 4:16 p.m. So, we picked up the pace and headed back for the bus.

The kids do not seem to mind taking the bus and probably are actually amused by it in a lot of ways. While we wait for the bus, Samuel loves to shout out "Motorcycle!" every time he sees one. And during the bus ride, Benjamin pointed out corn fields and a pumpkin patch.

This all happens during Samuel's nap time! ugh. He tends to get a lot more energetic and unruly when he hasn't napped. But once on the bus he passed out! He slept for about 15 minutes on the bus ride and I tried to wake him before our stop. But he was out cold. So, I managed to get the stroller stocked with groceries, Grace and Benjamin off the bus then hopped back on and carried Samuel off as well. Luckily, people on this bus are all in the same situation (well, most are not hauling around 3 young kids) but they have just arrived here and are awaiting their personal vehicles. So, people riding these buses are usually very helpful and jump up to assist with the stroller or ask how they can help.

Today we will head back to preschool shortly... and today there is a play group at the center from 2 - 4 p.m. for Samuel's age group! He may be tired but I'm sure he will enjoy having the playtime.

While Benjamin was attending preschool yesterday, Don was taking his drivers license test! And, he passed! Just in time, because we just got word that our Ford Expedition arrived and he has arranged to pick it up tomorrow. So, ideally, I will get my license next week and things will go much easier. But, in the meantime, we will keep busy with our bus adventures!

Benjamin did report that he likes his new school and that he made two new friends. His teacher said he enjoyed playing blocks and didn't want to finger paint. That doesn't surprise me! Later I asked him why he didn't want to finger paint and he said that his fingers would get too dirty.

Today, I have requested that Benjamin bring us home some new artwork for our refrigerator so we'll see how that goes!

Out of the Mouth of Benjamin

After blowing Benjamin's nose the other day he matter of factly told me, "Sometimes my nose doesn't have boogers but but then it grows new ones."

Not sure where he comes up with stuff but he's always keeping us entertained!

Grace at 8 Weeks

Grace turned 8 weeks old today! And with everything going on here I feel like I have neglected blogging about her and how much she's growing and changing.

She continues to be a great baby and has been such a trooper with everything going on around her. She seems huge but without a scale in the house we have no idea just how much she weighs. Her cheeks keep getting chubbier (is that a word?) and her smiles keep coming more frequently! She now smiles in response to us which has the boys trying to entertain her more. And Benjamin told me the other day that

"Grace must like Daddy better because she gave him the biggest smile ever."

Exploring the Heidelberg Area

On Sunday, we spent time with our friend Autumn, whom we met about five or so years ago while in the D.C. area. Don and her both worked at the Army's Health Facility Planning Agency. Anyway, she has been living here in Heidelberg for the past two years and we have been keeping in touch through Facebook.com

She offered to show us around but we didn't link up until Sunday afternoon and by then it was nap time so Don stayed home with the two little ones

which gave Benjamin and I the opportunity to explore the Heidelberg area. Autumn picked us up in her Mini Cooper and we were off but not before she showed me some great websites that have already helped me out with getting to know this area and services the military provides.

She took us through downtown Heidelberg past the Neckar River then out into the countryside on a beautiful drive up into the mountains and forest. She lives about 20 minutes away from us on

the local economy and we made a stop by her place. It is really nice and she's done a great job adding lots of potted landscaping. She also let us borrow a bunch of blankets because it's getting cooler here and we have yet to receive our household goods

(hopefully soon!).

We made our way through lots of towns on the outskirts of Heidelberg. Benjamin seemed to just be taking it all in and had lots of comments and thoughts to share throughout the drive. When we first started out and we were approaching the downtown area he pipped up and said "These buildings are old."

There were lots of highlights for Benjamin along our first journey out including his first German eis (ice cream), seeing hang gliders off the mountains, and getting to sit on Autumn's Harley Davidson. Overall, a great time for him as

well as me!

I am so thankful for Autumn and the time she took to spend with us. We're looking forward to sharing lots of more adventures with Autumn while we're here in Heidelberg.

Our Trip to Heidelberg, Germany

We made it to Heidelberg, Germany on September 1st. It was a long journey but all went pretty well. We all managed to sleep on the flight over. The flight is about 7 hours from D.C. however there is a strong tailwind and even after leaving a little late out of Dulles we arrived a little early. 

The boys were good at the airport and were excited to board the plane and look out the windows. We had five seats on the aircraft all in the same row... two near the window then three in the center of the plane. Grace was a bit cranky at first but not totally miserable. I'm sure the other passengers nearby were dreading having our crying baby on the flight over. But she calmed down and slept most of flight... content in her car seat.

Upon arrival we waited and waited and waited for our stroller which we checked at the gate. It should have been brought up shortly after the plane landed. However, it didn't turn up and we were told to proceed to baggage claim and that we'd find the stroller there. So, off we were to baggage claim with three tired kids and what seemed to be a gazillion carry-on bags (which had previously been stacked on our double stroller). Somehow, we missed baggage claim so the kids and I found a spot to sit and Don went back to baggage claim and found our stroller, most of our bags and our somewhat stressed out dogs. The Army liason was at baggage claim and helped pile all our stuff (including the crated dogs) on baggage carts and take us to a secured area where we could park our stuff while we waited for our bus that would take us to Heidelberg. The US military have a few rooms at the airport Sheraton and the Army liason took us to the "Family Room" where there were DVDs for the kids to watch and enough toys to entertain them for awhile as well as a couple of couches. We were the only ones there at the time so the kids and I parked it there while Don went back and walked the dogs. We were exhausted as it was still the middle of the night in Ashburn, Virginia! So, with Grace sleeping and the boys content playing and watching a DVD I crashed on one of the couches. 

At one point I took the dogs as well and we moved on to another room down the hall for soldiers where the dogs were also permitted. I kept track of the kids and dogs while Don ran and grabbed us a bite to eat from a nearby McDonalds. Before we knew it we were heading back for our luggage and loading up for the bus to Heidelberg. The military buses make the trip twice a day to Heidelberg (as well as other bases in Germany) and on that day we just happened to be the only ones on the bus. Probably a blessing because we had a ton of luggage that filled a good portion of the stowaway area under the bus.

The bus ride was probably about an hour and a half from Frankfurt to Heidelberg. And I think we were all asleep within about 5 minutes of leaving the airport. Grace had some awake time which kept me awake as well but I did manage to squeeze in some sleep on the bus ride.

Once we made it to the Guest House (an on base military hotel) on Patrick Henry Village (which is one of the military housing areas here) we were dropped off with all our stuff and settled in. We were across the street from a huge playground which the kids loved. So we spent a lot of time exploring that playground during our four days at the Guest House. We were in walking distance to plenty of things to keep us busy... restuarants, shopette, etc. Overall, our experience in the Guest House here was pleasant. 

Everyone has been extremely welcoming and friendly. The morning after I arrived I awoke with a mission to get Samuel diapers. We had already checked the shopette which was in walking distance and they didn't have the diapers we needed so we really needed to get to the commisary which was not as close as most things. But I found a map and planned on packing the kids into the stroller and hiking it til we found it. 

First, I had to get through breakfast which was offered directly downstairs from our room. I woke up all the kids around 9 a.m. and headed down for breakfast which was closing at 10 a.m. It was about 9:45 a.m. when me and my crew arrived. Our sponsor (the soldier that helps get you and your family settled when you first arrive) picked Don up early that morning. So, I was on my own and we were all tired. I had my hands full in the crowded 

little kitchen area we were trying to eat in that morning. Grace was requesting a bottle and crying out whenever I took it away to attend to the boys' breakfast requests...so the employee there, a nice older German woman, took pity on us and asked if she could do something... even hold the baby. So, she ended up giving Grace her bottle while I scuffled around and got the boys settled. Eventually, I took Grace back into my arms and began to scarf down my breakfast. Then Benjamin ended up gagging and tossing his entire breakfast back onto the table.  Yuck. By this time, the breakfast area was closing up so it was me, the kids and the lady who works there. She scurried over and reassured me that it was not a big deal and was kind and patient with Benjamin who had just hurled all over her clean kitchen. 

As that fiasco was winding up, I asked her how close the commisary is and she said it would be a long walk with three kids. I told her I needed diapers and she said she would take me in a little while... I kindly declined... I felt like she had already done so much for us... but she didn't give up on me. She swung the kitchen door back open and asked the cleaning lady if she would help get me diapers. So, the next thing I know this lady was running to the comissary for me, on her break, to get diapers. 

Overall, we have been blessed in so many ways...big and small. We are still missing two of our checked bags from the flight over which includes a suitcase of Grace's clothes and a suitcase full of both of the boys' things. But we have been making do and are thankful we at least had a laundry bag with some of the kids' dirty clothes in it that we have been able to

 wash up and make do with. Hopefully, it won't be much longer and the kids' bags will show up. 

Things are falling into place and it has been a long and tiring road but a good experience so far in so many ways. Looking forward to sharing more of our adventures soon.