A too-busy weekend

Posted on November 27, 2011 by admin

Thursday being Thanksgiving, Dan took Thursday and Friday off (like we used to do at home) so that we could take a long holiday weekend and enjoy the beginning of the Christmas season (even here in Vienna, today is the first Sunday of Advent, so Thanksgiving or no, it’s Christmastime now). It was a great idea, but, as often happens with these lofty and overly rosy images I have of time off as a family, we’re at the end of the weekend, exhausted, off our schedule and a little grumpy.

We had a great time this weekend (really). We visited some Christmas markets, we all got to take naps (on at least a few of the days), we went out to eat for Thanksgiving, we got some chores done around the house (not as many as I’d hoped), some of us got to sleep in a little (Dan and Liam did — I’m not bitter) and even went to the zoo today (and saw the pandas for the first time, which was amazing). It was a fun, packed weekend. The boys rode on rides at the markets, I did a little Christmas shopping, and we got to spend a lot of time together as a family, which was wonderful.

Really, we had a good weekend. Really. But we did too much (and we didn’t even do all of the things we had planned — we do a pretty good job of sticking to a schedule unless it’s labelled “vacation” or “holiday”, in which case everything goes out the window). So, here we are, trying to get ready for our upcoming week and it’s an hour past the kids’ bedtime and they’re just getting out of the bath. We got home from the zoo this afternoon completely exhausted and frozen (never trust a Viennese weather report) and by 8:00 we had two kids (who refused to nap earlier) passed out on the couch — too late to be a nap, too early for bedtime. Benjamin and Liam are still hanging on to the colds they had last week, and now I think Dan & I are getting sick, too.

I’m really glad we had some time off, got to spend so much time together, and took a break from our normal routine to explore and do some fun out-of-the-ordinary things. But this was not the recipe for a restful holiday. I think I need a vacation to recover from my long, holiday weekend.

Advent

Posted on November 26, 2011 by admin

Advent calendars are big in Vienna — they’re in many shop windows: card shops, paper shops, toy stores, candy stores, book stores — even one tobacco shop seems to sell them. Everyone seems to sell Advent calendars this time of year. I’ve always loved them. I have very fond memories from when I was younger of sitting on the floor of the Cricket Book Shopin Ashton and selecting my very favorite. As I was about so many things (pumpkins, Christmas trees, Easter eggs) I was very particular (I always liked it best if the pictures in the windows told some sort of story, or were related to the exterior of the advent calendar — like opening up windows onto a scene inside of a house, rather than just random pictures of cute Christmas things) so the process of selecting one took a while, and I would secretly lament that I couldn’t bring home several. Now that I’m a mom, I get to do just that . . . one for Benjamin, one for Liam and one for me (and Dan can share, too)!

The Rathaus (city hall) here apparently decorates one of its actual windows every day of advent — I can’t wait to take the boys over to check that out each day. It’ll be like a real life advent calendar!

I sent my parents and siblings Advent calendar Christmas cards this year, so we could all open them together, even though we’re far apart. I’m really excited about this tradition — familiar for me, new for my boys, shared with my family, and different here in Vienna. It’s almost time, and we’re all looking forward to it.

Stroller shopping

Posted on November 25, 2011 by admin

Yesterday, our stroller died. Trying to lift it up into the restaurant where we went for dinner, the whole top section, including the handle and the place where the top of the canopy attaches, snapped off. As frustrating as it was for that to be the beginning of our “Thanksgiving” dinner, I was immensely grateful that it broke in such benign circumstances, not while crossing the street, getting onto or off of a train, or while being carried up or down stairs — all of which are daily occurrences here. We had that stroller for over 3 years, it carried both of our children on two continents, and it served us very well. I’m very sad to see it go. But, much as it’s too bad to be without our daily stroller (and it made getting home last night a little tricky) it really could have been much worse.

I used that stroller every day to carry Liam to Benjamin’s school for pick-up time, as well as for my daily walks around the city. We have a larger double stroller, but it doesn’t fit easily into our elevator, and is a little big for every day use on the train, so we really needed to get something new . . . preferably before Monday morning. So today, we shopped.

This is another one of those things that would be a little frustrating at home (“I didn’t really plan to spend my Friday morning stroller shopping, but no big deal, let’s go to Babies R Us and pick up a new one”) but is really daunting here. We didn’t have the first idea of where to go or what would be available (we can’t really wait for an ordered one to arrive). We also haven’t shopped for a single stroller in over 3 years, so we weren’t really even sure what was out there, or whether the brands we know would exist here. We also knew it was possible, if not likely, that wherever we went, we’d be conducting the entire transaction in German — this is another one of those things people don’t really do when they’re on the tour (“Oh, we’re visiting Vienna, let’s buy a stroller!” doesn’t seem to come up a lot).

The internet helped us out — I found a website that recommended a few places for stroller shopping, and we opted to check out the one that offered used as well as new strollers, and even advertised that they could do some stroller repairs. So, this morning, we headed out to Kinderwagen Sedlak to to some shopping. (Note: as of January 2013, this shop has gone out of business.)

They weren’t able to repair our stroller (which didn’t surprise us) and after a bit of looking around, we settled on a new Chicco stroller. It has a lot of storage underneath (essential, as we’ve been spoiled by our Graco), can be steered with one hand (which I do every day — because when you’re crossing the street with the stroller and a preschooler, the stroller can’t use up both of your hands), will fit in our elevator (it’s actually a bit smaller than the Graco was) and came with a bunting and a rain cover (neither of which we had for the Graco). This particular one doesn’t seem to be available in the States, so I’d never heard of it. It’s orange, which couldn’t be more opposite of our black & beige Graco, but it will stand out in a crowd. The wheels are smaller than the Graco, which means we’re having to adjust to it being a least a little harder to hop up on curbs and trains. Its smaller size makes it a little tougher to get on and off of trams, but it weighs less and takes up less space on the train itself, so that evens out, but I wonder how long Benjamin is going to be comfortable in it.

I think it was a good purchase, and we managed to buy it without spending a ton of money, and we did it using our German (the saleswoman spoke almost no English except for “rain cover”). Both Liam and Benjamin have ridden in it so far and seem to like it — Liam fell asleep in it on the way home from the store, which I take as an endorsement. It’s another one of those little victories in our big adventure.

I have my iPhone back!

Posted on November 23, 2011 by admin

My iPhone suffered a tragedy last month at the hands of Liam (in the form of a very cracked screen). It actually had handled dozens of worrying tumbles, onto restaurant floors, out of the stroller, and even once onto a cobbled stone pathway, with little to no damage. The one that finally got it didn’t seem worse than the others — in fact, I was shocked to find, after recovering it from the floor, that the screen had been shattered. Liam had batted it out of my hand onto our hardwood floor, and I had expected it to survive, but it didn’t.

Well, after a month of “refurbishing” (which actually came out in our favor, they either couldn’t or didn’t actually refurbish it, apparently I got an all new one) and the addition of a new, expensive and very tough case, I have it back.

I don’t think I’ve ever become so dependent on any kind of technology so quickly. I had already become accustomed to being able to check my email while holding a sleeping baby, check the weather on my way out the door, navigate anywhere from anywhere else, translate anything I needed to and always have a camera in my pocket. It’s a miracle I survived the month without it.

I am so glad to have it back.

First snow in Vienna

Posted on November 22, 2011 by admin

Walking to pick Benjamin up from school today, I got to experience my first snow in Vienna. It wasn’t much — just enough to put a thin coating on the grassy areas and fallen leaves, but I got excited anyway. I love the snow. I love how it covers everything over with a sparkling white blanket, making even familiar landscapes magical. I love how sounds change when there’s snow on the ground, or when it’s falling — everything is a little more quiet. And I guess I still associate snow with getting to have an unexpected break in my normal routine — even though I haven’t had a real “snow day” in years, I tend to treat very snowy days a little differently, as days to play more than I work, to drink hot chocolate and read a book, to not worry about whether everything gets done.

People seem to think of Vienna as a snowy city, but it’s really not. Vienna is a pretty dry place, compared to where I come from (even in the winter). I guess it’s the image of Alpine Austria that puts everyone in that mindset. It’s certainly cold enough for snow here (I think we’ve been a few days in a row now without going above freezing). As I understand it, Vienna is cold all winter, with regular, but pretty small, snowfalls. We actually get about half the winter precipitation here that got at home (but more “wet days”, so it’s just spread out more).

When I got to the school and met Benjamin in his classroom, he took me over to the glass doors so he could show me that it was snowing outside. He was so excited. We went outside, and he immediately bent down and started scooping snow out of a leaf to make a snowman. When I explained that we’d need a little more snow for that, he put the snow in his mouth so he could “catch it on his tongue”. I also explained that it’d probably be better to actually catch them from the air, instead of eating them off of a leaf.

It snowed on and off all day, and we found ourselves out in it several times. Benjamin was equally enthusiastic each time. I’m as excited as he is, and I’m having a lot of fun watching him enjoy it. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a lot of snow this year in Vienna . . . especially between now and Christmas!

Sick kids who don’t take naps

Posted on November 21, 2011 by admin

I thought sick kids were supposed to be sleepy? Not mine, at least not today. Both of my boys are a little under the weather — Liam much more so than Benjamin (who has the sniffles but still went to school today). After a morning of wrestling with a fussy, snotty Liam and an afternoon that started similarly but with the addition of a slightly-more-whiny-than-usual Benjamin, I was really, really ready for nap time.

But, no luck. B went into his room without complaint, but asked me if it was time to get up every 10 minutes. Liam didn’t even pretend — he didn’t close his eyes, nor did he cease in flailing and crying. After about an hour, I gave up and let them get up. We Skyped with Grandma, and then (per Benjamin’s request) we watched the first part of Cars.

Other than ending the day completely worn out, we all really had a pretty good day. We watched a movie, we cuddled, we played trucks. Which is all pretty impressive. When I think back to the limits I’ve been stretched to, mentally and emotionally, since we’ve been here, I realize it’s a big accomplishment to have a day like this, where the boys are sick, no one naps, and I don’t freak out — not even a little.

I’m hoping tomorrow goes a little more smoothly, that the kids are feeling better (or, if they’re not, that they sleep, at least) but today I’m appreciating being able to handle it, however it goes.

Shopping struggles

Posted on November 20, 2011 by admin

Before we moved here, we asked people who lived here already what we should make sure to bring — not the obvious stuff, but the things we wouldn’t think of on our own but would kick ourselves that we hadn’t brought along. One of the top answers was clothes, especially for kids. This made no sense to us — we weren’t moving to the north slope of Everest — surely there would be plentiful clothing in Vienna? Even not totally understanding, we stocked up anyway — we tried to anticipate which things we would need the most and bought some extras. I went crazy at the end-of-winter sales last spring. But, of course, there were things we couldn’t get.

Now that we’re here, we understand. Of course there are lots of clothes to be purchased in Vienna, but most of them are outrageously expensive by our standards. There are lots of expensive dressy clothes, but even the jeans, the t-shirts, the every day kid clothes that you don’t want to spend a ton on because they’re either going to get stained, ripped or lost, or they’re going to be outgrown in about a week (think: Old Navy) are significantly more expensive than at home — and that’s BEFORE you do the dollar/Euro conversion.

I’ve just started doing some Christmas shopping online, and I’m running into the same problem — a lot of what I could buy relatively inexpensively and easily online at home is either two to three times as much purchased here (again, that’s before the currency conversion) or it just isn’t available here. There are also very few US retailers that ship to Austria — at least when it comes to toys.

It’s adding a frustrating wrinkle to shopping. We’re having our family mail some things over, but that’s an imposition and a pain for them, and for some things (a few items I really want to get the boys for Christmas) just impractical because of what it would cost to ship them. (And that doesn’t even mention the fact that we’ve had things take nearly a month in transit from the US to here, so I’ve almost used up my window to ship things from the States for Christmas.)

I’m just going to have to be creative for the rest of our winter clothes, and for Christmas shopping. I’m so glad we stocked up as much as we did before we moved, and I’ll have to bring an empty suitcase and plan for some shopping when we go home. And if someone asked me what they should bring when they move here, I’d say lots of clothes, especially for kids. Go to Old Navy and buy it all.

Handy Mom!

Posted on November 19, 2011 by admin

When I was younger, my dad made sure I knew how to do certain things around the house — hammer a nail properly, use general household tools, measure twice, cut once, that kind of thing. I’ve always been glad I knew how to do that kind of stuff (and other useful things, like change the oil in my car, or change a tire on my own) but I’m not really that good at being “handy” around my own house. It’s easy to be intimidated by household fix-it projects — I’m usually worried I’m going to make the problem worse or electrocute myself, so I generally avoid doing anything more complex than changing light bulbs, flipping fuse switches and cleaning the lint filter in the dryer.

Dan is just as bad (maybe worse). In our lives together, he has broken a doorknob (which nearly prevented us from being able to leave the house), broke a faucet (actually cracked part of it off), tried to fix a slow sink and succeeded in backing it up and nearly overflowing it, and once shattered the top of a toilet tank. Years ago I barred him from doing any type of home repair after dinner time — most of his repair disasters were prefaced by the phrase, “I’ll just take care of this before we go to bed”.

We generally leave things to the professionals. (Or to our parents, but they aren’t around right now.)

We have radiators for heat here, which is new to me — I’ve always had forced-air heating (except for freshman year of college, and it isn’t like I was doing any radiator repairs at Sweet Briar). The radiators in the boys’ rooms haven’t been working well. We thought that they just weren’t getting as hot as the others, until it got really cold this week — they aren’t really working at all. Last night, it was frigid in Benjamin’s room. I got up about 18 times (no kidding) for him last night to help him fix his blankets on his bed. Poor guy was cold. (I offered to let him come sleep with Dan & I, but he wasn’t interested.)

Getting things fixed here is harder than at home. Typically, the people we have in to do our home repairs don’t speak English, and I don’t speak enough German to know plumbing or heating terms. It’s also Saturday, so it would be difficult (and expensive) to try and find someone to come out.

I know nothing about radiators, but I was hoping maybe it would be something simple — like they had been turned off, so I did some Google searches, and we also emailed our landlord to see if he had any answers. We ended up deciding that they probably had too much air in them. Well, I fixed it. All by myself! I let the air out of the radiators (and only got a little bit of water on the floor).

For those who are good at this kind of thing, this probably seems like nothing. But for me, it’s a pretty big deal. Not only did I successfully execute a home repair, with just the help of Google, but my kids are warm in their rooms tonight. I feel great.

Christmas carols

Posted on November 14, 2011 by admin

I love to sing. In high school and in college, I sang a lot, but there’s less of a market for it as an adult. I still would sing along with songs in the car, and at a very occassional karaoke opportunity, but that was it. I miss it, especially around the holidays — Christmas music is my favorite.

I have found two new fans, though: my boys love for me to sing to them. As little babies, of course, there’s plenty of opportunity to sing them pretty much whatever comes to mind, but even as they’re getting bigger, I’m grateful that they’re remaining enthusiastic. A few weeks ago, I started singing Christmas songs to the boys while they were in the bath, and they LOVED it. Liam smiles, transfixed, or giggles. Benjamin starts to learn the words (and even the melodies) almost immediately — he now has a favorites list (and if I vary the words at all, he notices — I can never remember whether Santa Claus knows who’s “naughty or nice” or “naughty and nice” and he calls me on it every time I switch it, and when I finally looked up the last line of the first verse of “Good King Wenceslas” he corrected me because it was supposed to be “la la la la la la la la la la la la la la”).

I love catching Benjamin singing little pieces of the songs I’ve been singing to him — this evening, he kept singing the 8th day of Christmas, over and over. I am really enjoying singing for them. It’s nice to have an outlet for that part of me, and it really adds to the feeling of Christmas.

Things you never thought you’d say

Posted on November 13, 2011 by admin

When you become a parent, you know you’re going to end up saying things like, “Finish eating dinner or you aren’t getting dessert”, or “If you guys can’t settle down, we’re going straight home”, or “If you throw that one more time, I’m not going to pick it up again”.

But there are a whole host of other things you hear coming out of your mouth that, upon further reflection (if not at the moment) are pretty funny. This is a selection that I’ve caught myself saying over the past 6 months or so:

Stop bludgeoning your brother with that bread. You’re getting chocolate on the radiator! That snake is not a weapon. Power cords are not good toys for babies. If you run over the dog one more time with your bike, I’m not going to let you ride it in the house anymore. Please don’t put your foot in your brother’s ice cream. Do not run over your brother with that piano! No pull-ups on the oven door! Stop hitting your brother with that cow. Don’t use the hammer on the dog. No throwing computers at anyone’s head! Don’t sit on your brother’s head. No, space shuttles don’t crash in to dogs. Stop trying to get your brother to eat his Halloween costume. Don’t crash that plane into his head.

Seriously, I’ve said all of those things. Recently. Parenthood is a wild ride.

A Mommy Abroad

Our big adventure, as a family of three.

Category Archives: Kids and Parenting