EuroTrip 2009 - Part 3

Day 7 was a stay-near-home kinda day. We took the girls into downtown Gengenbach for a little looking, a little shopping, and a little eating.

This is one adorable town. Beautiful, clean, quaint.

After an hour or so of shopping (and the accompanying whining of "can you by me this"), we met up with Meike's sister Silke and her new husband Michael. We caught up on old times over coffee and pastries at the local bakery.

Later, Lisa and I took the monsters grocery shopping. They each got their own kid-sized shopping cart with which to haul our goodies and bruise the shins of innocent Germans.

That evening was a birthday party for Mieke and Silke's dad at their house. Delicious food. Poorly behaved children (ours). The usual.

Next morning... pack, jump in the car, and off to Basel for our flight home.

The flight to London was mercifully short and uneventful. We negotiated the sprawling Terminal 5 at Heathrow much better this time since we weren't suffering from sleep deprivation. We killed time by having lunch at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in the terminal. Good and pricey.

Our flight home was on a new(ish) 777 rather than on the old(ish) 747 that we flew out of New York on. A little less cramped if you ask me. Dinner. Movies. Sleep (for the kids). Marni actually slept through the landing.

Luggage. Car service home. Bed.

All in all I would call the trip a total success. The girls had a wonderful time (as did we grownups). Our hosts were fantastic and took excellent care of us.

The girls are still getting up at 4 a.m. due to jet lag. But this will pass. So let's do this again!

In a year. Or two.

EuroTrip 2009 - Part 2

Ok, not soccer. Badminton. These people love badminton!

We pulled up in front of the "sports pavilion" in Offenburg. Meike asked us what we called such a building in America. My answer was that we didn't have such a building in America. But, then again, we live in the big city. Maybe in the real America there are such places. The fascination with sports and fitness in Germany is amazing.

We walked into a giant building filled with badminton courts (?) from end to end. Two of the Discher boys were competing in this championship. In between watching the matches we ate delicious food and practiced badminton ourselves. The girls liked learning a new sport except when daddy whacked Marni in the mouth with the racket. Moving on...

A short drive later we were at the foot of a small mountain topped by a ancient castle. Access to the castle was via a precipitous path covered by slippery wet leaves. Deep breath. The sure-footed Dischers helped us up the path with no fatalities. Once up top the girls ran off in search of new dangerous places to be. They ran up spiral staircases that ended at breathtaking views and breathtaking danger at the top of the crumbling castle walls. Despite my anxiety, the girls enjoyed themselves to the maximum allowed by law.

At the foot of the mountain was a quaint restaurant where we ate a late lunch outdoors amongst geese, chickens and snails. The girls devoured their soups as I ate possibly the most delicious and unhealthy meal of my trip. And so ended the official program of day three. Once the kids were asleep, Meike, Claus, Lisa and I slipped out for a drink in downtown Offenburg. I ordered a traditional Long Island Ice Tea.

Day four was a doozy. We met up with more Dischers and with the Schmid family in Freiburg for a day on a farm. Chickens, pigs, cows, horses, goats, cats, dogs and bunnies. All on a working farm. It was great fun watching the six new children, who didn't exist during our last visit to Germany, all play with each other despite the language barrier.

After terrorizing the barnyard residents, we made our way to a fantastic playground in the back of the farm. We spent hours there playing and eating. Stella and Marni even ascended the 10-foot high, inflatable "bounce mountain". Without exaggeration I believe that 90% of the playground would be deemed illegal in the U.S. due to safety concerns. Which is why this playground was so much fun.

After the farm we visited the Schmid and Baier family homes where we ate (of course) and where the ladies played with their German counterparts without international incident. Beautiful homes and wonderful families.

Day 5 was kid-free as Lisa and I slipped out of town and headed for Paris before the girls awoke. While we were away, Meike took the girls on a train to an indoor swimming pool. Later in the day was a nature walk and art time.

On day 6 Meike bravely took the girls grocery shopping. This is never a pleasant experience. Later, a trip to another farm where Stella and a goat butted heads (almost). That evening the girls came to pick us up at the train station as we returned from Paris.

Today was Europa Park! The Disney World of Germany.

This place was huge! And fantastic. We were accompanied by Meike, Samuel and Simon. The girls worked their was across the park from ride to ride to ride. At one point we brought the girls to a giant indoor playground. Inside the building was a large play structure, several stories high. Kids could go in, but parents had to watch from the sides. So the girls headed in.

And this is where we lost Marni.

We watched them run into the play area and saw Marni scamper up and up and up to the higher floors. A few minutes later Stella came out. Alone. She told us she couldn't find Marni. We were sure she would show up soon, so we waited. Several minutes later, no Marni. We looked and looked but couldn't find her. Now we were beginning to worry. Lisa described Marni to a worker and then persuaded her to allow Lisa to go into the structure and search. Lisa took Stella with her and began the rescue mission as I stood by the entrance. A minute later I looked down and saw two boys holding Marni's hands and bringing her to one of the workers. The boys spoke English and explained that they found her crying on one of the upper levels and brought her down to safety. I asked Marni what happened and she told be that she got scared. Lisa and Stella returned and we were reunited at last.

We ate and played our way through the park for a few more hours and made our way out just as the fireworks began. Marni hooted and howled. Then we shoved her in the car and took off for home. Day 6... another success.

Overheard #24 (International Edition)

We were walking around a farm in Germany and came across a gaggle of cows standing outside a barn. Stella took a look at the largest cow (pictured on the left) and said "that cow is a girl". We thought it was "utterly" understandable how she figured this out. But when we asked her how she knew, she explained, "because it has long eyelashes".

EuroTrip 2009 - Part 1

I was anxious beyond belief about this trip. Packing. Security. Plane boredom. Lost luggage. Lost kids. Language issues. But off we went to Germany to visit Lisa's longtime friends, The Dischers.

The kids were perfect on their car ride to the airport and all through security. They ate their way through their airport wait. Luckily, British Airways boards families with kids first, so we lucked out. Once we reach our "steerage" seats we made ourselves at home. Takeoff was exciting for the kids and soon we were watching movies on the individual t.v. sets.

After dinner the kids went to bed. There were occasional territorial disputes involving which kids could sleep with their feet where, but for the most part they slept until landing in London. That was 2 a.m. New York time. We groggily made our way through security again and through the labyrinth that is Heathrow's Terminal 5. Then onto the short hop to Basel.

The pressure changes at landing did a number on Stella's ears, so she was not a happy camper. Soon we were in Basel in the most underutilized airport that I've ever experienced. Lisa's friend Claus was waiting for us with candy and snacks for the kids and we set off on the 90 minute drive to Gengenbach, Germany.

The girls and I slept on the way. Lisa and Claus caught up on life.

Once in Gengenbach the Dischers finally got to meet the Shepards. Within an hour the girls were off with the boys, trashing the place.

Bedtime was at 9 and the girls were bone tired. They slept straight through until almost 9. Waking up was slow, but soon both girls were back in rare form.

We finally got our act together at about 2 and headed for Schwarzwälder Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof. The girls had a great time experiencing what appeared to be the German equivalent of Old Sturbridge Village. Grist mill. Cider making. Wool spinning. Pottery making. Geese. Cows. Goats.

My favorite part was the authentic Black Forest meal of mashed potatoes, sausage and sauerkraut. And beer. There was an accordion player and a table full of locals singing (I believe) authentic German songs. Marni found this all very satisfying and even attempted to sing along.

Our next stop was the alpine slide just down the road. To summarize: Marni yes. Stella no. Stella would absolutely not do it. So Marni got to do it twice. And loved it.

Both girls napped on the way home. When we got back to the Discher's it was Stella's first chance to see boyfriend Philipp. Luckily, the magic was still there (at least from Stella).

Dinner. Play. Bed by 8.

Tomorrow, soccer and a visit to a castle.

Jailbreak

This past weekend there was a major jailbreak. And by "jailbreak", I mean an unauthorized exit from the kids' bedroom.

We've had jailbreaks before. For the past 2-plus years, Stella has been getting up in the middle of the night (not every night) and calling for me to come down and bring her up to sleep in our bed. But last weekend's jailbreak was unique.

It was about 6 a.m. and still dark outside. We were all asleep.

I heard the bedroom door open downstairs. Not unusual. But then the door closed again. Did someone peek out and realize that it was still night time? Weird. So I went back to sleep. A moment later I thought I heard some rustling downstairs. And then more.

"Lisa, I think one of the animals has escaped."

We continued to listen as more little sounds came from the blackness downstairs. Then, footsteps coming up the stairs. What the what!

We peered through the darkness as a little form appeared. To our surprise, it was a mop-topped form. Little Marni had broken out of jail, left her sister behind, and ventured upstairs to sleep with mom and dad. Or play.

She hung out in bed with us for another 30-45 minutes and then went to play quietly in the walk-in closet.

So Marni has gone where no Shepard girl has gone before. Upstairs, without waiting for permission. To this date Stella still does not come up on her own. But is anyone really surprised that it would be Marni to push the envelope?

Overheard #23

Today I am wearing one of my more "flamboyant" shirts.

When Marni caught an eyeful of it she remarked, "Daddy, why are you wearing a girl shirt?"

Then Stella chimed in, "Actually daddy, you wear a lot of girl shirts."

The Kid Ain't Right

I believe it was Hank Hill who once said of his son, "the boy ain't right". I'm not quite sure why I think of this line every time I see Marni do her thing. This video was taken at Stella's P.S. 39 Pot Luck Dinner. Marni had just witnessed a salsa performance and was, I guess, inspired. Is she "right"? You be the judge.

Party Girls

Last Saturday the Shepards attended Aunt Toots' birthday bash at a restaurant outside of Boston. Lots of friends. Lots of food. Lots of fun.

Three particularly cute things happened at the party.

First, Stella gleefully tap danced for Toots right in the middle of the festivities. A lot of guts for a shy girl. Maybe we have some progress here.

Second, Stella decided that that everyone at the party needed to Purell their hands. She took Lisa's little bottle of Purell and went around to every single person at the party (about 20) and asked if they wanted to clean their hands. And every person did! Then, before I could stop her, she went to three tables that weren't part of our party and did the same thing. Every person smiled and then complied.

Finally, at about 8:30 the kids began to get tired. Lisa created "beds" by putting two chairs together for each of them to stretch out on. By 9 pm they were sound asleep in a corner of the party room. They slept through everything except the cheers after Karen's birthday song. At which point Marni got startled and had a heart attack.

A Crummy Thing To Do

Thanks to Uncle Glenn the girls have now shown up on their fourth professional website. Check out the "Celebrations" page at crumbs.com. Celebration #546 is pretty cute.

Can you guess the other 3 websites?

Overheard #22

Stella, Marni and I upon opening a package of gummy candy:

Daddy to Stella: Make sure you share with your sister.

Stella to Daddy: Only if my brain says.

Marni to Stella: Your brain says!

Stella to Marni: You don't know what my brain says!

This is Serious

Tonight I activated Stella's account on a thing called ARIS. It's an online service provided by the NYC Department of Education that allows parents to track their child's academic progress.

Ok. She's 5!

There's not much there except for her attendance at this point. But looking at this site and working with Stella on her homework earlier this evening really had me thinking. Things are going to start getting a little more serious in the not-so-distant future.

Up until now it's been all fun and games. Coloring books and dolls. Now, the world is expecting Little Miss Stella to step up and apply herself. She doesn't realize this, but I do.

As I helped Stellie with her homework tonight I was struck by how, maybe for the first time, she really had to put her mind to work. Not that she didn't do great. She's a wiz at detecting patterns. And she completed her whole week's worth of homework in one day.

What does this all mean? I'm not sure. But I'm getting the feeling that a little bit of carefree innocence has been lost. Just a tiny bit.

Homework

Did we have homework in kindergarten when we were young? Anyone? Hello?

Well now we do.

Stella came home today with her first homework assignment. And yes, it did confuse me. But we put on our thinking caps and thought our way through two pages of exercises.

When we were through, Marni complained that it was now her turn to do homework. Soon enough Marni. Soon enough.

And Now... Tap

It's time for a new season of dance lessons at Sherri's Creative Arts Studio. This year, Stella is in "Taps & Tutus". Get it?

Marni is in a completely different class, "Creative Movement 1".

Two kids, two different classes.

Would they do it? You bet!

Marni danced up a storm (with teacher Storme Sundberg). And Stella tapped like her new favorite movie star, Jimmy Cagney.

Later in the evening, Stella gave me a recap of what she learned.

Overheard #21

Here is a wrap-up of interesting words and phrases that have come out of the mouths of our babes:

• "Humongous", both
  
• "Awesome dude", Marni
  
• "What the heck!", Stella
• "Super" (as in "super, super heavy" or "super fast"), both
• "I'm only" (which actually means "I'm lonely"), Marni
  

So You Think You Can Dance

This is what I came home to last night. Two very cute girls doing their interpretive dance to The Little Mermaid soundtrack. Nothing much more to say. Just watch the videos and enjoy.

Kindergarten

Today was Stella's first day of Kindergarten. After a rocky start, we are cautiously optimistic that Miss Stella is going to do just fine.

Lisa, Marni and I all accompanied Stellie to P.S. 39 where we met up with all of her former Pre-K buddies in the playground. A lot of clinging and shyness, but ok.

We moved into room 106 with Ms. Diaz and settled in. Actually, Marni settled in better than anyone, but that's just Marni. Pre-K friends Lucy, Adam, Sean, Zachary and Henry all joined Stella in the class.

Her favorite Pre-K teachers Ms. Cassens and Ms. Henry came by to say hello. Big smiles for that!

As it became time to leave, the waterworks began. After several minutes, Stella was pried off of Lisa and sat down with Ms. Diaz. Lisa, Marni and I went outside and a few minutes later Ms. Henry came out to tell us Stella was just fine.

Day 1 was just a half day and Lisa and Marni headed back a few hours later to pick up our big girl. So what did Stella have to say about her first day?

Over dinner she told us she was getting used to it. She mentioned that she better get a lot of sleep tonight because the teacher said it was going to be a busy day tomorrow. She also was excited about eating in the cafeteria for the first time (where the big kids eat). She said she sat next to some new kids which was fun.

Tomorrow is another half day and I'm beginning to think that this Kindergarten thing won't be as hard on Stella (or me) as I thought it might be.

Stay tuned.

Beach Wrap-Up

When Stella gets hurt, she says "ouch". When Stella gets really hurt, she says "ouchie".

Well all I have to say is this... ouchie!

And, with that, I shall wrap up my usual end-of-summer gloom-fest. Closing up the cottage and not seeing the kids the last few days was torture as usual. But let's move on.

August 2009 was fantastic! Great weather, an extra week, and two amazing kids. Plus, I increased my OOB vacation time from one week to two.

In the past, I would always have to brace myself a bit in anticipation of day-after-day of kid time. But either they got easier or I calmed down (or both) because every minute with Stella and Marni was wonderful. They got right back into the OOB swing of things in no time.

Some of their highlights:

• Stella and Marni sleeping in a big bed together. They loved it and so did we.
• The girls bonding with cousin Janet.
• The girls bonding with cousin Rachel.
• Finding and loving the outside shower.
• Losing their fear of the water.

And this year's guest book at The Cottage B&B:

• Nana Bev and Papa Art
  
• The Rapps
• Nana Audrey
• The Hoffmans of NJ
• Lisa Stefanoff
• Laurie and Ricardo

And special thanks to Lisa, who makes it all run smoothly.

Only about 262 days left until we start it all over again.

Sheppie's Choice

I found myself in a Meryl Streep moment last week when I had to choose between saving Marni from drowning or keeping my beloved iPhone dry.

Hurricane Bill had whipped up the surf at OOB and we were keeping the girls close to shore. Stella and Marni were happily frolicking in the ankle-deep water. Lisa and Nana Audrey had things well in-hand nearby, so I decided to make a call to Nana Bev.

No sooner did I start to chat with my mother than a rogue wave knocked Marni off her feet. The surging water was tumbling Marni end-over-end up to the dry sand, but when she stopped tumbling, she was face down on her hands and knees in the water.

The moment I dreaded was upon me. Do I save my child, or do I save my iPhone? Evidently instinct overruled reason. The next thing I knew I was scooping up Marni with one arm while trying to hold the iPhone out of the water with the other. But the scooping action resulted in the iPhone taking a dip.

I brought a sputtering Marni up to safety. After making sure she was ok (not even crying), I glanced at the iPhone. Not good.

Power off. Dry as much as possible. Search the Internet for solutions.

After a day packed in a container with a commercial dampness-ridding product, the iPhone mostly came back to life. But it was mute. No sound.

I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to send the phone into the shop for repair or replacement. Even more horrible was the realization that I would be the first nincompoop in the company to ruin their iPhone.

And then... "click, click, click". A miracle! After a day of use, sound began coming out of the phone.

What a lucky guy I am. Not only did I save my Marni, but I also saved my iPhone.

Now, Marni has a great tale to tell all who will listen about the wave that knocked her over. The dad that scooped her up. And the phone that got broke during her rescue.

So the Sophie's Choice question of Marni or iPhone has been answered. Next up... Stella or the GPS, and Lisa or the DVR.

Overheard #20

The American flag is known to both girls as the "Barak Obama Flag".

Beddie Buddies

One of the social experiments we have undertaken at the cottage is the "share the bed" experiment.

Last summer, Marni was in a crib. Earlier this year she graduated to a big-girl bed. So the plan has been to have the sisters sleep together in a real big-girl bed. It's never been done before. Would it really work?

We warmed them up to the idea a few weeks prior to moving up to the cottage. Night 1 went without incident (almost). We read them some books in the bed and then turned off the lights and laid down with them. But Marni went ballistic when she realized that she wouldn't get her usual few minutes in the rocking chair. There is no rocking chair in their cottage bedroom. We faked it and rocked her in the bed.

So far so good until about 3 a.m. when Stella came into our room and climbed in bed. Just like what she did all last year. So I moved next door and slept the rest of the night with Marni. She's cute.

No rocking chair meltdown on night 2. But instead of one visitor in the middle of the night, both girls came into our room and climbed into bed. No room for daddy, so I went next door again and had the whole pretty pink room all to myself.

Night 3 went smoothly also. But I had a little chat with Stella before lights-out and asked her if she thought she could sleep all night in her bed. She said ok. I didn't really expect my request to work, but we haven't had any midnight visitors since then!

We're up to about night 21 now and, without exception, the girls have slept very well together. They sleep soundly all night and come out of the bedroom together usually between 7 or 8 a.m.

I would have to rate Operation Beddie Buddies a rousing success.