Archive for January, 2012

I can’t believe how I can!

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

We’re trying something new with Benjamin:  an “accomplishment chart”.  We’ve made a list of the things that he’s working on accomplishing, like dressing himself, drinking milk from a cup, and using the potty.  Every time he does one of those things, he gets a sticker (which he gets to choose and apply to the chart himself, which he loves) and after every 10 stickers he adds, he gets a present.  The presents started out as little things I’d had around the house that I’d been meaning to give him — new sheets for his bed, new pajamas, a truck — and I’ve progressed to toys and books he’s been asking for that didn’t quite make the Christmas cut.

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Running with kids

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

We started running about a month agowith the “Couch to 5k” plan.  We haven’t been perfect about it, but we’ve kept with it and now we’re on our fourth week of the plan.  (And, to go along with my general directive to myself to not agonize about perfecting the details in favor of seeing the bigger picture, I am trying not to torment myself about having missed a few days.)  I don’t love to run, but I don’t hate it.  I do love the way that I feel when I have been running.

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5 Reasons the Friend Whose Computer You’re Fixing is Frustrated (While Simultaneously Being Grateful)

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

I’m a computer nerd in my own right — I was a software engineer for 8 years.  I’ve written and debugged code in C, C++, Fortran (yes, really), Perl, Pascal and Motif.  I’ve developed on different platforms, I know what the command line is (and how to get there).  I haven’t written any code in over 5 years, so I’m a little rusty, but I do know my way around my computer, at least a little.  I’ve never really been a computer geek, though — I can write software, but I know only a little about hardware (enough to do my job) and I’ve never considered anything I do with my computer a hobby — it was just work.  So, when my PC has an “issue”, I tread lightly — I know enough to help myself, but also to sometimes get into trouble.  My husband, who is an “official” computer nerd (i.e., he’s actually built his own system and reads computer related publications for fun) is our household computer guru, and he does any fixing our computer usually needs.

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Vacation is over

Monday, January 9th, 2012

Well, our Christmas vacation is officially over:  Benjamin went back to school today.  Leading up to today, he was really looking forward to going back — he wanted to see his teachers and his friends, he wanted to ride tricycles in the garden, and play with the train set at school (which, I think, is pretty much like ours but without a Liam around to destroy his progress).  He was really excited to tell everyone, “Happy holidays and happy new year!”

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Mine, mine, mine!

Sunday, January 8th, 2012

In true “little brother” fashion, Liam likes everything Benjamin likes.  Whatever Benjamin is eating, watching or playing with, Liam wants it too.  Whatever Liam sees Benjamin doing, he is going to try.  It’s resulted in some really cute behavior, like Liam already climbing up onto B’s tricycle (although he can’t yet reach the pedals), and Liam already attempting to figure out how to ride B’s bike (although he’ll need to gain a few inches before that’s possible).  Generally, it’s cute to see Liam trying to be like his big brother.

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Pottermore

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

I’m a “Harry Potter” fan.  My sisters and my step-mother got me started on it around the time that book #3 came out, and I was hooked.  I’ve read all of the books (several times), I’ve seen all the movies, I’ve played several of the games.  One day, in the not too distant future, I will go and visit “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at Universal Studios in Florida.  (I will probably act like I’m 11.)  I look forward to the day, when they’re older and won’t be frightened by it, that I will get to read the stories to my boys.  I’ve wistfully imagined what it would be like to ride the Hogwarts Express and go to school at Hogwarts myself (yes, I do realize that I’m a grown up, but a girl can dream).

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Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Friday, January 6th, 2012

I acknowledge that the holidays are over, although you wouldn’t know it if you came into our house.  Our tree is still up (with about half of its original lights illuminated, but it’s up) and not a single decoration has been taken down.  Our stockings are still hung by our terrace with care (no chimney), we still have a wreath on our front door and the boys still have their (completely opened) Advent calendars hung on their bedroom doors.  I enjoy the feeling of the holidays, and I’m not ever in a hurry to put everything away and get back to normal.

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Silvester

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

As we do almost every year, we got to December 30 without having any idea of what we were going to do to celebrate New Year’s.  I don’t really get excited about New Year’s — I like the holiday, I think it’s great to ring in a new year, but after all that goes in to making Christmas, I’m usually pretty spent by December 31.  We usually do very little (if anything) and, since B was born, we don’t always even make it until midnight.

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Ironic Italian invasion

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

Twice a week, I go out by myself for an hour (don’t worry — Dan watches the kids) to give myself a little break and restore my sanity.  Most of the time, I end up at Starbucks.  Which, I know, is kind of lame in Vienna, the land of coffee houses, but it’s conveniently located, it’s entirely non-smoking and the people that work there are very nice and extremely patient with my Germenglish.

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Things I’ve learned about parenting

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Being a parent is hard.  It’s the absolute best thing I’ve ever done (and I’m not just saying that) but it would be significantly easier if there were some kind of manual or user’s guide that came along with our darling little bundles.  These are some basic principles I’ve discovered so far, in my first almost 3 1/2 years as a mom (as much to write them down for myself as to spread my wisdom, such as it is).  Please don’t misunderstand my intention — I don’t claim to know it all, have all the answers or have it all figured out.  (I know that I don’t.)  I don’t think these ideas are new, either — I’ve heard them about 100 times each (or more), but they’re just now starting to sink in — these are just some things that I’m learning as I go.

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