The Daily Goettsch

I will admit right here and now that I take way too many pictures of Anneliese. No one will ever be able to accuse me of not taking enough pictures of my second child.  (Those of you who I have textlationships with can testify to that.)

In fact, when I got my new phone and really went text-berserk, I sent so many pictures of Anneliese that one friend teased me about not being able to let a day go by without sending one. So now if I take a pic of her that's so cute I can't stand it and I have to share it by text, I (jokingly but notsomuch) call it the Daily Anneliese.

Yeah, I'm totally That Mom.

Then our friend Mary went to Yale for a month this summer, and of course she needed support and updates, so I became intentional about sending messages and pictures from our family every day.

And then I stopped to think about it, and I realized that taking a picture of your kids every day is probably a really good habit.

I mean, they change so fast, right? And if dooce can do it with her dogs, then I can definitely do it with my kids. So I am pondering making it a regular blog feature. Maybe not every day. But lots of days.  Days when I don't feel like writing, or don't have much to say (yep, that really does happen. sometimes. occasionally).

And not just Anneliese -- Nathan too.  Of course!  In fact, I'll even get you started with him. 

Your Daily Nathan: swinging!

We had some professional family portraits taken a few weeks ago.  We're still sorting through them and picking our favorites, but in the meantime, here's one from that day.  This may be my favorite picture of Nathan, ever.

I want him to feel and act this joyful every day for the rest of his life. Really.

(Grandparents, don't get too click-happy; we can get you a better print than this screen capture.)

Virginia Beach Neptune Festival (by Nathan)

This past weekend our family made a quick getaway to Virginia Beach for the Neptune Festival.  But please don't ask me exactly what the Neptune Festival is.  Even after spending two days there, I honestly can't tell you.  All I know is they had a fancy (international!) sandsculpting competition, a parade, a beach with a regatta of fancy sailboats going by, and a battleship in the vicinity.  So... we went. 

And as Nathan and I have been sitting here looking through pictures from our weekend and talking about them, I realized that his stream-of-consciousness is probably the best way to write this blog post.  So... here we go. :) 

(Those of you who don't speak Nathan-ease, be warned: he often makes statements in question form.  And he still confuses pronouns, like the difference between I and you.  Good luck.) 

Is that a big sand castle? Is that Mommy's favorite sand castle?  Is that a really big tower? What kind of sand castle is that? Is that Mommy and Anneliese? Did we see a lot of sand castles?

Is that Nathan? That's the hotel! You maked a big mess. Was that a little bit naughty? Did you sleep in Mommy's big bed? Did you snuggle with Mommy?  And then mommy moved away from you.  Anneliese waked up and cried. Was that a little bit naughty?

There's a big boat! Is that a battleship? Did it have a four and six on it? What's its name?  (Wisconsin.) Wisconsin is a state.  Dr. Z* comes from Wisconsin.  Is the battleship swimming?  Where's it swimming to?

What kind of ladder is that? Did Mommy go down that ladder?  Is Mommy going swimming with the battleship?  Is that a little bit naughty? Did you get your feet wet?

There's Daddy and Anneliese! Is she sitting on Daddy's shoulders?  There's a N on Daddy's shirt!  Look at those motorcycles!  Are they watching a parade?  Was there a big double decker bus with propeller airplanes?  Don't say plane, Mommy, say airplane. Did we hear a fighter jet?  It was really loud!! I heared two** fighter jets!

*our church choir director
** more like twenty

For more pictures of our weekend in Virginia Beach (including more really awesome sand sculptures), click below on our family with the battleship.

by mgoetts

Nothing Can Ruin This Day

A Monday list:

1.) For the second afternoon in a row, there is a lovely thunderstorm going outside that's just loud enough to be enjoyable, yet just quiet enough to allow my kids to continue sleeping.

2.) This morning, for the second time in the last week, Anneliese decided to get extra-snuggly and give me some a.maz.ing. hugs for upwards of half an hour.

3.) I am blogging not from my chilly basement rec room like I usually do, but from the warm cozy comfort of my den, with my handsome hubby reading (and, let's be honest, watching tv) beside me.

4.) I am eating a frozen pizza of the bacon cheeseburger variety.  The sauce is made from ketchup and mustard mixed together.  That's right: delicious and classy.

5.) I had a great weekend (to be blogged later) in Virginia Beach with my family. Here's a teaser pic:

My three favorite people

6.) I am stocked up on chick-lit from the library.  Don't judge.

7.) While at the library, I saw two signs that simultaneously confounded and amused me: the first was a notice about October 17th being Read to a Dog Day (ummm... whaaaaa?  I don't even know what questions to ask to clarify that) and the second was in a bathroom stall saying It is illegal to consume alcohol in a public library.  In a bathroom stall.  Really?  Is that actually a problem?  Ha!  :)

8.) Britney Spears will be on Glee tomorrow night.  The combination of Britney and Glee might just be my happy place.  Just sayin'.

9.) I just got word that the entire cast of The Sound of Music (well, Julie, Chris and the kids)  (yep, I call them Julie and Chris, we're pretty much hardcore besties so we're on a first-name basis) will be reunited for the first time in forty-five years on Oprah on October 29th.  (And the real Von Trapps will be there too!) 

10.) I have a date tonight!

Nothing can ruin this day.

Five Things You Need to See

I'm having a Day. 

But no one wants to read about my pissiness, and honestly I don't feel like articulating it for the blogworld even if people did want to read it (so there). 

So in the absence of real writing, I'm sharing  five nuggets of internetty goodness which are totally amusing me and helping reverse my mood.

1.) All you other BSC fans out there (you know who you are, the ones who didn't need to google what BSC means) -- this slideshow from The Frenemy is hilarious.  (Read far enough to get to Jessi; hers might be the best.) 

2.) This picture from failblog makes me like thirty-five kinds of happy.  Serious win.  (Even if you don't live with a Nathan, it's a win.)

3.) Astronauts tweeting pictures from space?  Yes please.  Can you imagine looking out your window and snapping a picture like this (Hurricane Earl a few weeks ago)???  And the rest of the pics are equally stunning. 

4.) For all of us who grew up in the IM and texting generation (yes, I count myself in that us! What? I'm not even thirty* yet!), this video is funny because it's true:

5.) I'm internet-famous again.  (In some internet circles anyway.)  I wrote an article a few weeks ago for a site called The Cloth Diaper Whisperer.  (Yes, that's really a website.)  The content will seem familiar, since it's mostly recycled from a couple of posts I've written here, but you should go read it anyway.  Because getting comments on other people's websites makes me feel even more important and loved than getting them here.  You want to make me feel important and loved today, right?  Especially today. 

So there you have it.  Today's post: lazy blogging at its finest.  You're welcome.  :)

*Brace yourself, I plan on saying this as much as possible over the next month.

Whoa, There's a Tiger Paw! -Nathan in Death Valley

Eighty thousand people, two friends, junk food, loud music, tiger paws and orange everywhere!  What more could Nathan ask for at his first college football game?

Sometime this summer I decided I wanted to take Nathan down for his first game in Clemson.  Last week's game vs Presbyterian College provided the perfect opportunity for a couple of reasons.  First, the game would not be stressful (easy win), so I could make sure my attention was focused on Nathan without worrying too much about what was happening on the field.  Second, I knew that after halftime the crowd in the stadium would probably thin out a bit, so we could have a little more freedom to move around if we felt antsy.

A few weeks ago, one of my best friends, Jeff, decided that he would bring his two oldest sons, Matthew and James, along for their first game experience as well.  So all five of us piled into the car, flew our team flags on the windows, and made our way down to Clemson.  We were all decked out in orange and tiger paws and were ready for the game.

The boys were kind of in awe with all the people walking around as we entered the stadium.  Nathan kept saying whoa, there's a tiger paw! whenever he saw another one (which was frequently).  We got settled in our seats just in time to see everyone go wild when the team ran down the hill.  Nathan wasn't really sure what was going on and where the noise was coming from, but he got a smile from the folks around us by spelling Clemson at the end of Tiger Rag.  It took him a while, but he finally caught on a little bit to all the cheers. 

(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch it on youtube.)

I'm not sure that Nathan (or any of the boys) got much out of the game itself, though.  He enjoyed the punts and kickoffs because he could actually follow the ball for a little bit.  But I'm sure the highlight of his day was eating popcorn and cotton candy and washing it down with blue powerade. 

We made it through three quarters of the game.  Not bad for two 3-year-olds and a 4-year-old.  I think we could have made it through the whole thing, but we decided not to push the boys' limits, so we left before they got miserable.  Nathan enjoyed the car ride back, sitting between two friends, watching the movie Cars and eating a cheeseburger.  A rare day full of junk food, but a fun one for Nathan.

It was a great experience, and I can't wait to take him back again  next year.  I'm glad we could share the experience with our friends, and I hope we can make it through the whole game next time so we can run on the field together with the boys afterwards.

For more pictures of our dad-son trip to Clemson, including pics with Grandma and playing t-ball with the Jones family, click on the thumbnail below.

by mgoetts

Nay-Nay

When Mark and Nathan got home from Clemson last weekend, Anneliese was pretty much giddy to see them.  Legs kicking, arms waving, huge grins.... and a steady stream of nay-nay-nay-nay-nay waiting for her big brother. 

(And no, you may not call him Nay-nay.  The only person who can say it without making me cringe is Anneliese.  Period. End of discussion.)

Here's the promised video footage:

If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch it on youtube.

Anneliese had said nay-nay once or twice over the last few weeks, but it wasn't until last Sunday afternoon that we knew for sure she was trying to say Nathan's name.  And apparently that day opened the floodgate.  It's been constant since then.  And Nathan loves hearing it.

On the way home from school today, Anneliese kept reaching for Nathan's fingers and saying Nay-nay, and he would reach back and laugh.  Which made her laugh.  Which made him laugh more.  So basically it was fifteen minutes of Nay-nay... descending into giggles from the two sweetest voices I know.

It made me so happy I almost cried.

Preschool Homework 2, Erin 0

Guess what.  I got to do preschool homework again this year. 

Guess what else.  It was the same assignment I did last year.  And if you'll recall, I wasn't too thrilled about it then.

I said that if we got assigned the same project this year, I would just let Nathan color whatever he wanted on the paper and turn it in (I still stand by my statement that any age-appropriate assignment for a kid is one he can do by himself, or with extremely minimal supervision -- not me doing it for him).  But I was a good sport and I didn't do that.  Here's the proof:

Yes, I made another collage all about Nathan.  With nary a complaint. (There are only one or two people that might argue that, and neither one is much for commenting, so... that's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

I don't care this year that it's not A+ work.  It's a marginal B at best, plus I'm turning it in late (not because I did it late, I just forgot it yesterday... I promise*).  But you know what?  It's good enough. 

And you know what else?  My favorite parts are the spaces where Nathan took a crayon to it (after I took this picture, obvs).  Well done, kiddo.  Well done.

*Not a sarcastic comment.  Really!

Farm Deliveries

I don't think I've written about this yet, but halfway through the summer, I took on some tiny eeensy weeensy part-time work for the farm share we joined.  That's right, I'm officially gainfully employed again.  Weird!  (Right?)

It doesn't really feel like a real job, since it takes probably less than ten hours a week.  They set me up with an email address, and I answer questions from buyers and do some basic customer service stuff.  And once a week I deliver a carload of produce for the farm.  That's it.

So I spend most Wednesday mornings with my car looking something like this:

No, the kids are not buried under there, I can't believe you even thought that.*

I keep joking about how it's a good thing I spent all those hours in high school (of course not in class, mom and dad... ahem) playing Tetris on my calculator.  It means I'm kind of an expert at fitting as many boxes into my car as possible.  I secretly get a little pleased when I hit a new record (today! 40!) and regardless of the chaos indicated in the picture above, I'm usually very good at my craft.

Don't worry, the ones on their sides are the *empty* boxes! Don't you trust me at all?

Some weeks are a little hairier than others.  For instance, today I ran out of gas, killed** a squirrel, and also had some produce casualties when I thought that the car's hatchback door was closed properly and it wasn't.  But not every week is that exciting.  (Thank goodness.)

The farm's summer season ended today, but they'll do a fall season for buyers as well.  So after a couple of weeks off, I'll be back at it until Thanksgivingish.  And then, then, I promise to be completely unproductive on my Wednesday mornings alone.

*Although, in the interest of full disclosure on car/box safety, I did take this picture while driving.  But... at a red light!  That's not technically driving, right?

**Yes, the squirrel thing made me cry a little. 

Eleven Months: Almost 1!

Anneliese is eleven months old today.  This is the last time I get to count her age in months.  (Except in mommy circles.  Mommies can think in months when no one else can.  Mommies can also think in weeks -- up to forty, anyway -- when no one else can.  True story.)  I can't believe my little baby girl is almost one.  Wasn't she born like a few days ago or something?

A year ago this week, I was getting ready for a mommy-daughter baby shower, watching Mark assemble a tandem stroller (you know, for our two babies), taking a tour of the birthing unit where Beanie would be born (a trip which ended with me overwhelmed and sobbing in the hospital parking deck), and starting a little guess-the-birth-date contest (which thirty-eight of you participated in, and none of you guessed the right date). 

And now that baby we were getting ready for is almost one.

This month, Anneliese has:

- weaned herself down to one nursing a day, which broke my heart for a few minutes (or weeks, who's counting) until I realized she's still voraciously interested in that morning feeding, and is therefore definitely not done with the breastfeeding relationship... which means she'll still feel like a baby to me for at least a little while longer.

- taken two road trips (a day trip to the beach, and a weekend in Huntersville) and slept like a champ on both of them.

- finally gotten her top two teeth in (after getting the two bottom ones really early, before five months).

- perfected her backwards sit-scoot around the house -- as you can see, she's quite pleased with herself about it.

- had gleeful fun emptying the toy and clothing bins in her room, and the dvd rack in the living room.

- started saying boo when we play peek-a-boo with her, and started saying ball and hey more consistently.  Also, new yesterday!  She is emphatically (almost frantically) saying nay-nay-nay-nay when she sees Nathan.  So precious.  (Still not as awesome as mama, but it's a very cute second.)  Video forthcoming; stay tuned (try not to fall of the edge of your seats).

- gotten herself down to one nap a day (I might or might not have (brace yourself: euphemism alert) "encouraged" this, to get both kids on the same nap schedule... which has now finally happened, praise the Lord).

- eaten lots and lots of "grownup" meals, when I toss our leftover dinners (as well as any miscellaneous produce we have left in our farm share box) in the food processor to freeze in jars (Merritt's pizza casserole is one of her favorites) -- yes, it looks completely gross, but she eats it great, poops it great, and she's growing well... plus it saves me lots of money over store-bought baby food.

- gotten very good at picking up puffs and cheerios (and small chunks of canned pears) and feeding them to herself.

- put on over a pound of weight -- she's now just over 17 lbs (7th percentile) and 31 inches long (off-the-charts tall), and we're so thankful her weight is now going up instead of down.

- stayed the prettiest almost-one-year old I know, and made her family and friends smile every day.

We love you, Anneliese!  Happy eleven months, sweetie!

C-L-E-M-S-O-N!

The boys are in Clemson today.  Mark is taking Nathan to his first tiger football game (apparently we're very very excited about this).  They're meeting up with Mark's friend Jeff and two of his sons, and all going together -- something they've talked about doing since they were roommates in college. 

Two dads, three little boys ages four and under, and ninety thousand other people (not an exaggeration).  A recipe for... something.  Right?

For the first six months of our marriage, Mark was finishing his senior project, so we made our first home together in Clemson.  (I worked at a little sports shop and made important decisions like whether the t-shirts we carried should be orange with white tiger paws, or white with orange tiger paws.  Oh yeah, I hit the big time in my first post-college job.)  So I know firsthand how crazy Clemson is on game days.  While the chaos can be fun, I'm secretly glad for a couple of days at home with sweet Anneliese this weekend, away from all the orange nonsense.

Anyway, on game days, lots of parents would show up in the store with their kids in tow, all decked out in orange, dressed up like little football players and cheerleaders and tigers, chubby cheeks painted with paws.  They were cute.  But some of those kids could finish the fight song (watch this) and spell c-l-e-m-s-o-nnnn... before they could even spell their own names.  Little sweet brainwashed team-spirited toddlers.

Obviously, we made fun of those families.

And apparently now we're one of them:


(If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch it on youtube.)

Happy game day.  And, um... go Tigers.

Mama

It's not new, just new to video. And it's still the sweetest sound in the world.


(If you can't see the embedded video, click here to watch it on youtube.)

Tigers and Tar Heels: Divided Loyalties

Just this week, Nathan has finally mastered the art of putting on his own shorts.  (Mastered meaning: at least half the time they end up backwards or hanging off his booty. But we're still calling it a win.)  So getting-dressed time is much more fascinating for him now, and he cares so much more about choosing his own outfit than he used to.

This is what he came up with on Monday:

Why must he *cheese* so hard that his eyes close??  I mean really.

Half Clemson, half Carolina (the real Carolina, in case there's anyone out there still questioning this).

I'm sure Daddy was grumbling a bit about the heresy of those tar heel shorts mucking up the beauty of an all-orange ensemble.  But I can think of a few people (including a Grandpa, two aunts, two uncles and a handful of friends) who will be pretty pleased with his seemingly divided loyalties.

That tiger paw might be holding strong, but we do, after all, live in tar heel country. :)

Back to School!

Nathan had his first day back at preschool today.  He's now in the 3-year-old class, which means (at our church, anyway) he goes three mornings a week -- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays -- for three hours.  I have yet to meet his teacher, since Mark did both the orientation last week and the first-day dropoff this morning. But apparently she's great and several of Nathan's friends are also in his class.  He came home today with lots and lots to tell me about which toys he played with, and which friends can jump really high, and which songs he sang in music.

Today was also Anneliese's first day in mother's morning out (mmo).  She'll go one day a week for four hours.  By all accounts, she also did great today -- her teachers said she ate well, and took a nap, and I might have gotten a little stalker-mommy-ish and asked Another Nathan to sneak out of his office and walk by her room to make sure she wasn't crying (she was playing contendedly on the floor, sitting upright like a big girl).  Apparently being dropped off at church for a couple hours is old hat for her, and she took it in stride.

Let me tell you all the reasons our preschool arrangement for this year is awesome:

First -- Since Anneliese is done an hour after Nathan, I get to have a weekly lunch date with him before we come back and pick her up.  I'm embarassingly excited at this tradition to-be. 

Second -- I also get two whole mornings a week with just Anneliese, on the days when Nathan is in school and she isn't.  And I'm thrilled about that too, since there's obviously not as much one-on-one time with a second baby as the first. 

Third -- on Wednesdays, both kids will be at the church, which means *I* will be blissfully alone. I am going to try very hard to use that time for something more fun than grocery shopping, I promise.

Happy back-to-school!  (It's the most wonderful time of the year and all that.)

Labor Days with Sarah

The second half of my holiday weekend was full of Sarah!  (You can't see it now, but even just typing that makes me smile.)  I love Sarah, I get Sarah, and Sarah gets me. 

We went out with two other Furman friends, Betsy and Katie, on Sunday night, and I honestly haven't laughed that hard in a really long time.  So fun.

Having Sarah around this Labor Day weekend was oddly reminiscent of another Labor Day weekend a few years ago...

Sarah and Nathan -- Labor Day 2007

Sarah and Anneliese -- Labor Day 2010

The Pictures I Didn't Take*

*Alternately titled: Another Nathan Goes to Huntersville!

The kids and I (and Another Nathan!) spent the first half of the holiday weekend at my dad's.  With two cameras in tow.  Both of which were very underused.  Here are the top ten pictures I should have taken this weekend but didn't.

10.) The airplane sailboat that tipped over in Lake Norman and caused even-worse-than-normal traffic jams in the whole area because it totally looked like an airplane.  Seriously, I thought it was an airplane.  Apparently everyone on the radio did too.

9.) Another Nathan changing his first poopy diaper while taking care of my kids so I could go to the orthodontist to get my retainer fixed (because apparently it's 1994 again) and then get my hair cut.  He came in town with me partly (2%) because he had a couple days off and was ready to get out of town himself, but mostly (98%) because he's ridiculously helpful and a great friend.  (Don't worry, he got back at me for the unscheduled poopy diaper by no small amount of mocking when he saw my painfully awkward middle school pictures.)

8.) The burp cloth my mom duct-taped to Anneliese as a makeshift diaper.  I'm pretty sure that bringing extra diapers is on the top ten list of obvious things moms should know.  Fail.  Good thing my mom is all kinds of redneck-handy.

7.) The logging truck masterpiece in crayon. Ok, technically I do have this picture -- not a photo, but the one that the Nathans drew together. If I could put my hands on it, I'd scan it in and post it, since it's quite impressive. Another Nathan's crayon skillz make Mark and me look like lazy coloring parents.  Slacker childcare provider, he is not. I'm pretty sure it's fridge-worthy, even coming from a grown-up.

6.) The red silky lady-scarf my mom's trainer Michael used as a sling for his newly-broken arm.  Apparently he fell while running.  Why is there always someone in my family who has just fallen and broken something?  No, really.  Why?

5.) Both Nathans playing the piano together.  More specifically, the look of sheer joy on my Nathan's face when they played.  Although as cute as it was, it sounded horrible. The two of them seemed happy with a cacophony that most certainly did not require a master's degree in organ performance (ahem).

4.) My dad's gorgeous new screened-in porch.  For which he is laying the tile himself.  (While recovering from broken ribs.)  Wearing impossibly dorky comfortable knee pads.  With a "helpful" toddler standing in the doorway letting forth an unending stream of What's that called, Grandpa?  What are you gonna do next, Grandpa?  What kind of glue is that, Grandpa?  Is that a really big rectangle, Grandpa?  But really.  His porch is awesome enough that it's making me consider going the screened-in route at whatever point our own deck gets a makeover.

Update 9/6 -- my dad texted me pics of his finished porch! So awesome.

3.) Ikea!!  More specifically, a picture of us inside Ikea (as opposed to just pics to show Mark later when we're ready to buy stuff for our new kitchen).  Or maybe a picture of Another Nathan opening one of the zillions of cabinets that said "look inside" -- instructions he apparently doesn't have the willpower to resist.  Or maybe a picture of our lunch in the Ikea cafeteria.  Or the pet bed he pretended was a magic flying carpet.  Any of those would have been good pictures to take.  Bummer.  (But can you tell I *heart* Ikea?)

2.) Another Nathan juggling both kids.  Picture this: Anneliese on one hip, while he balanced a half-dressed Nathan standing on the bumper under the hatchback while we wrestled him into clothing.  (A feat all the more impressive considering he was also up against my typical pre-meal moodiness.)  Seriously.  Rock star friend.

1.) The silliness that ensued in the car.  Yes, it was loud.  But it was happy noise.  Making each other giggle, holding hands, (kind of) sharing toys.  Do you think I'll ever get tired of how adorable they are together?

How Germany Defined Me

You know those moments, those decisions, those events in that really define you?  For me, there's a small handful of major ones.  Becoming a wife... sure.  Becoming a mom... of course.  My parents' divorce... most definitely.  But I think there's something that shaped me even more than any of those major life events.

Ten years ago today, I got on a plane and flew to Germany, to live in a little village called Witterschlick, on the outskirts of Bonn. 

It was for a study abroad semester, my sophomore year at Furman. And I would be so different today if I hadn't done it.  Yes, it's a total cliche to say this, but that trip totally changed me. 

It taught me confidence.  Hard to believe now, but a decade ago, the idea of going to a foreign country -- away from my family, my friends, my language -- terrified me.  I came very close to backing out of the trip, but after several long and tear-filled conversations with my Dad, I got brave and went through with it.  (I will always always be grateful to my Dad for that encouragement.  It stands out to me, especially in hindsight, as one of the best parenting moments in our history.)  And I did the scariest thing imaginable in that moment.  Which taught me that I could do it again if I needed to.  Suddenly I felt like I could do anything.

It taught me another language.  What I thought I learned in the year of German classes before I went abroad was kind of laughable once I arrived.  Immersion is what made me a comfortable speaker of German.  And being a non-native speaker in a foreign country forced me to listen carefully, talk less, and choose my words thoughtfully.  (It's a lesson I'm still learning.  Ahem.)

It taught me how big the world is.  And how much of it I want to see.  During my time in Bonn, I used pretty much every free weekend to take off and see some new European city.  (Thanks, mom and dad, for that Eurail pass... it might be the best money you ever spent on my "education.").  I even got brave enough to go on two trips alone (yep, the same girl who several months earlier was terrified to get on that plane) and loved it.  I didn't have much of a travel bug before I went to Germany, but now my inner yearning to roam the world and experience new places and people and drink in new cultures (like, take in, not get drunk in*) will have a huge influence on how our family spends our money, energy and time.

Ridin' the rails

It taught me how small the world is.  When you get right down to it, families everywhere are pretty much the same.  We all have people we love, kids we're proud of, and parts of our pasts we're ashamed of.  It's oh so easy to find the commonalities between cultures when you make a personal connection abroad.  And so much harder to regard other another country as an "enemy" when you have a friend living there.  (This truth really hit home for me on my second study abroad trip, when I lived in a house with people from 26 different countries!) 

It taught me how to be friends with all kinds of people. Unlike the lovely gals from my freshman hall (still some of my closest friends) who were all, um... very much like myself, the Furman delegation to Germany in the fall of 2000 was extremely varied, in personalities, talents, and backgrounds. Much more varied than I even knew Furman could be. Making friends with people who seemed so different from me was eye-opening, and permanently changing. Not only have some of those Germany friendships stood the test of time, when I did re-immerse back into the Furman bubble, I unhesitatingly made lots and lots of new and different kinds of friends... people who ended up redefining my college experience. Most notably, my college bff David -- a core-shaking friendship from someone who might have never even blipped on my radar if I hadn't learned the joy of getting to know different -- and interesting! -- people. I'd like to think I learned a little about how Jesus wants me to love, after that semester in Germany.

With Pamela and Hank, two of my favorite study abroad friends

It taught me how to be away from Mark.  We didn't go to college together, but we were still pretty darned close.  We both needed to learn independence.  Don't get me wrong, it was a painful lesson upon re-immersion... one that almost broke us.  But we're both so much happier having our own space, interests, and friends.  (Yes, there's an implied duh at the end of that statement.  But, it wasn't so obvious to us at the time.)

It taught me how to preserve memories.  I took a zillion pictures in that semester, and I scrapbooked along the way, even though everyone told me to wait til I got home and develop the film in the states for cheaper (yes, film... don't mock).  But I didn't listen, and I'm so glad.  The end result is a book of memories that captured things right as they were happening -- the jokes, the everyday living, the things that would have been forgotten if I had just tried to photolog the "highlights" later.  (This whole idea is totally why I write a blog.  Oh, the things about parenting that I would have forgotten had I not deemed them blog-worthy in the moment.  And I want to remember it all.)

With my host family -- Sept 2000

Most of all, it taught me how to love another family as my own. The Schroeters, my host family, should win some kind of award for bestest most awesomest super host family ever:

My host dad, Juergen, left breakfast for me every morning before he went to work. He taught me how to like beer (kind of) -- koelsch, it's the best and only kind worth drinking, don't you know? He nagged me to shut doors and turn off lights just like a real daughter. He did a great job pretending not to understand English (forcing me into German), and mastered the art of speaking German slower and louder to get it through my thick head (yeah, um, I still didn't understand). He always has a kind smile, and that's probably my favorite thing about him.

My host mom, Elisabeth, made us a pot of tea almost every afternoon, and we sat at the kitchen table with a big ol' dictionary between us, and stumbled through conversations in German (well, *I* stumbled).  She was patient with my questions, my language... and eventually my German got good enough that we could have real conversatons about real issues and she could give me wise advice.  She's a smart and capable career mom and I admire her so much. Also she makes a killer cream of mushroom soup. She's beautiful and wonderful and sometimes I get teared up just thinking about what a blessing and a gift she has been in my life.

My favorite pic of Elisabeth and me -- back-to-Bonn visit, Sept 2002

My host sister Claudia (who was 12 then) introduced me to Harry Potter, made me really love Britney Spears (she'd be ashamed of that now, but I'm so not), and taught me how to jump the safety rail when I got to the rail crossing too late to catch my train (dad, Juergen, don't read that). My host brother Jan (who was 15 then, and turns 25 today -- Happy Birthday Jan!) introduced me to German rap, gave me endless crap about my terrible grammar, tormented me on the phone when Mark called, and was a most helpful translating friend when I really needed to say something in English. Basically they were everything I needed in a little brother and little sister when I was missing my own.

I've been back to visit the Schroeters several times over the years, and we still keep in touch via email (as best we can, considering the ever-declining state of my German abilities).  Both of my parents have been to visit them.  Mark has been to visit them, three times!  They were awesome hosts to one of my college roomies who studied abroad (and lived with them too!) three years after I did.  And they were warm and welcoming to that aforementioned college bff David, who also later studied abroad in Bonn.  We even brought Mark's Clemson roomie and his wife to meet them, back in 2005.  And they came to visit us in North Carolina a few years ago -- we took them to Furman, stayed a while with my parents in Huntersville, and then I was so honored to host them in my house for a short while.  So clearly this is a family who is a Big Deal to me.

Schroeters -- 2007

Sometimes I wonder what I'd be like now if I had never been on this trip.  I certainly wouldn't have studied abroad again (in the Netherlands, my senior year) or tried to master a third language (Dutch... um, fail) or fourth (Russian... um, mega-fail).  I probably wouldn't have taken a travel-related job, and honed my sales and negotiation skills (something I didn't know I even had upon graduating college).  I probably wouldn't have jumped at opportunities to visit Africa and Asia.  I probably wouldn't vote the way I do.  I probably wouldn't be so brazen when it comes to approaching new friends. I probably wouldn't be consisering a language-immersion program for Nathan when he starts kindergarten in two years.  I probably wouldn't dream of showing my children new places and new idea and new people as a core part of their upbringing the way I do now.  The mind boggles.

So.  Defining moment.  Ten years ago.  And I remain completely and recklessly in love with the experience.

*Ok, maybe both.  :)

Mobile Baby?

She's the last of her friends to roll.  To sit up.  She still won't pull up or crawl or even scoot.  But can we count this as Anneliese finally being mobile?



(More importantly, does it count as mopping?)

I'm pretty sure I'm going with yes on both counts.

If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch on youtube.