We woke up this morning to an unexpected dusting of snow. Not enough to make it tricky to get around, just enough to be a little pretty. As soon as Benjamin saw it, he suggested making a snowman. I explained that it probably wouldn’t be enough for that, but that we could go out onto the terrace and play in it a little, anyway. He was excited, so we went (my only additions to his pajamas were boots and a coat — we didn’t stay out long). He “skated” around and caught a few flakes on his toungue. Liam came out and wandered around, too. Then we all got cold and went back in.
Category Archives: Kids and Parenting
To the ball
After a lot of deliberation (and a lot of shopping for accessories for both dresses) I ended up deciding to wear the first dress. Even though it still didn’t quite fit properly (after 3 fittings — seriously?) it just seemed like the more appropriate one. Besides, I liked the jewelry that went with that one better. So, this evening, Dan & I got all fancied up and went to the ball . . . me in my blue dress. We got the boys through an early dinner and bath, and our downstairs neighbors came up to watch them, while we went out.
Bonked head
Both of my boys are currently of an age where they get lots of (thankfully minor, so far) injuries. Liam is great at walking, so now he’s trying more ambitious things, like running, jumping and climbing on the furniture. Benjamin has entered the phase of maleness where he believes he is invincible (which, as I understand it, will last until he’s nearly 40, at least). Consequently, they get their share of bumps, bruises and bonks. Just a few weeks ago, B had to go to the Emergency Room (the Accident Department here) for an x-ray to rule out a broken nose, and today, Liam fell and got a bad bonk to the head.
It’s supposed to be hard
I remember the first few days and weeks (and even maybe months) after the birth of each of my boys. I remember being overwhelmed, emotional and stressed (and a lot of good things too). I felt like I’d never be able to manage everything. After Liam was born, I posted to Facebook something like, “I have no idea how you other moms all do this with more than one child. This is so hard!” and the first response I got back was a friend of mine from college who has two kids: “It’s supposed to be hard!”
The cold and the warm
Reply
It’s cold here now. Really cold. (I’ve heard, though, that it gets colder. I know, what was I expecting? I moved to Vienna.) This is the kind of cold I’ve only had a passing acquaintance with — as in, once every few years of my life I’ve experienced cold like this, only for a few moments, on the way from my house to my car or my car to wherever I was going, and on very few occasions, for longer — when I would have to do something for one of the horses at the barn (but I usually avoided the barn when it was this cold).
On the other hand
I love sharing the fun, adventurous experiences we have here, like going to Innsbruck and sledding down a mountain. I share all of this in part to document the experience, and in part to encourage others to do this kind of thing — to travel with your children, to push the envelope of what you think is possible, to explore the world. But, it isn’t all sweetness and light, and I want to share that part, too. I was so euphoric from our trip to Innsbruck when I wrote about it the other day that I didn’t include the other side of the trip, and I think it’s only fair to capture that part, too. Travel with kids is challenging. There are going to be moments where you think, “Why did we do this again? Wasn’t this supposed to be fun?” But those moments will pass, and it is fun, and you’ll be glad you did it (I am).
Just go
Innsbruck was wonderful. We had a good time, we played in the snow, we explored, we saw the Alpine part of Austria. I now feel comfortable saying “I like Austria”, rather than just “I like Vienna” (I’ve been saying, “I like Austria” but I really didn’t have much data beyond Vienna). We’re already planning for the next time we go to Innsbruck — what we’ll see again, what we’ll do differently. I want to go again in the winter and also in the summer, but I also have a long list of other places we want to explore, so we’ll have to see exactly how it works out.
Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy
We had another great day in Innsbruck. We took the funicular, and then two cable cars, up the Nordkette — the massive mountain to the north of Innsbruck. It was snowing today, and while that was fun and very seasonal, it obscured what would have been a breathtaking view with clouds and fog.
Toboganning in the Alps
One of two things I wanted to be sure to do while in Innsbruck was to go sledding. I had inquired about it at the hotel before we came, but when we stopped by the front desk to get more information this morning, the receptionist was only kind of helpful, and when we got to the bus stop she directed us to, we found that the route number she gave us didn’t go to the right place. So, we took a gamble and picked another bus. We asked the driver, who was very patient with our Germenglish, about sledding (“rodeln” in German — my new word for today) and he assured us he could get us there and then helped us load the stroller in the bus. Off we went.
Benjamin’s first mountains
Later this week, we’re taking our first multi-day trip outside of Vienna, to Innsbruck. Innsbruck is in western Austria, 5 hours from Vienna by train, in the Alps (and probably most famous for twice hosting the Winter Olympics). We’re all very excited about seeing the mountainous part of Austria, and about getting to (hopefully) play in some significant snow.