Don't Try This at Home

Enjoying our last days as a family of two, we did a few things that good parents can't do with children:

1. We played with our food. As we were eating our evening bread, Eva noticed that my half eaten piece of bread looked like Africa. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the Africa-shaped bread to post. However, if we find a piece of bread that looks like the Virgin Mary, we will take pictures, sell the bread on ebay, and retire.

2. We drug dirt into the house...lots of dirt. Ok...maybe not that much. We bought some new pots for some houseplants, as well as some new dirt and plants after work today. It was dark and raining outside, so Eva decided to plant the plants inside.

...now I'm feeling really domesticated. I hope our child didn't see this poor example that we set this evening as parents.

All Quiet on the Western Front

Well, the projected date for the birth of our child was yesterday. Now the waiting game begins in full force. We're getting really good at twiddling our thumbs.

Eva is doing really well and is back to normal after a spell of the flu.

The (Long) Word of the Day

As earlier mentioned, from time to time, I'll post some really fun (and long) German words. They always look rather ominous, but they are usually just a bunch of small words stuck together.

Today's word is: Breitenmarkteinführung

Roughly translated to: Broad based market launch

Breiten + Markt + Einführung = broad based + Market + Introduction / Launch

Girl's Weekend

While I was off in the States a few weeks ago on a business trip, Eva took the chance to have a 'Girl's Weekend' with her close childhood friends, the Ischen: Babsi, Susi, und Ecke.

They went up to the Fränkische Schweiz just north of Erlangen and booked a weekend at a 'Wellness' Hotel...complete with sauna, spa, and massages.

Of course, the girls celebrated a bit, but Susi and Eva had non alcoholic champagne.

...and between all of the 'wellness' they had some time for a hike...

Preparing for the Change

January and early February has been filled with excitement and preparation for our 'new arrival'. As we get closer and closer to the calculated 'due date' of the 25th of February, I get more and more jumpy when I get a call on my cell from Eva.

Below is Eva on her last day in the office, taken around the 12th of January. The social structure is built pretty well for the family, and the mother gets 12 total weeks of paid maternity leave - 6 weeks before and after the birth of the child. There is also an additional ~ 10 months of subsidies for the parent staying at home and a bonus 2 months if the other spouse stays at home as well.

Time will tell if I can and will take this 2 months of government subsidies and time off of work to be a full time dad.

Sounds good...until you hear that the sales tax here is 19%.

Eva had a great going away party with her co-workers...and got some really nice flowers.

We wanted to see if the socks we bought would fit. They seem so small...
Despite a relatively warm winter, we finally got a few inches of snow.

The word of the day...

One of the many beauties of the German language is its ability to take little words, stack them together, and make a really big, ominous word. A word with 30 letters can relatively easily occur.

So, from time to time, I thought I'd share a few words that I get to stumble on in my day to day life.

The word of the day is: Geburtsvorbereitungskurs meaning 'birth preparation class'. Geburt (birth) + Vorbereitung (preparation) + kurs (class). See how easy German can be!

Speaking of Geburtsvorbereitungskurs, below is a picture of Eva and the rest of the gals in her birth prep class.

Preparing for the new arrival...

As those of you with kids know, there is a very distinct phase that a pregnant woman goes through...some call it 'nesting', others call it 'we'd better get that kid's room finished, or we're in big trouble'.

This phase started for us in November. After going to various furniture stores, we found what we wanted, with better service, online. The crib and the diaper changing station came in about 4 weeks (the furniture store quoted 12 weeks for the same stuff)...which was just in time for my parent's visit to Germany in December.

My dad and I started putting things together...

... otherwise known as quality time with my dad (Hold the light!...only my mom and dad will understand that one).

Here I am mid progress. The crib is about done.

Now we have to paint a wall. Four white walls are just not kid friendly. Eva did a great job with the rag painting after effects.

Now the real magic: the woman's touch. The room with the finer touches...ala Eva.

The diaper changing station with both German and English books...and our olive tree that is hibernating here during the winter.

Now the waiting game begins...