Archive for February, 2012

Dress saga: the final chapter

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

I wore my new, custom made, blue dress to the ball last Saturday.  It was suitable and appropriate, but not quite right for me.  It was left much too big, and even after 3 fittings, with drawings, demonstrations and much pinning of the dress, the dressmaker wasn’t able to create what we had agreed on.  (Although I admit it improved considerably between the first fitting, where it was awful, and when I actually wore it.)  I just didn’t feel good in it, and given the number of opportunities the dressmaker had to fix it, plus the amount of money I spent on it (a lot) I was pretty unhappy with the final result.

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Coffee and breakfast

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

In addition to many other benefits (lots of vacation time is my favorite) Dan gets some flex time at work.  We’re still getting used to exactly how it works, because it’s quite complicated – he can only use so much in a day, he can only use so much in a month, he can only carry over a certain amount from one month to the next, he can only use it during certain hours of the day — but we’re grateful to have it.  We use it a lot.  Our “official” family schedule arranges for Dan to be at work a little extra every day (so that we’re adding to his time bank) but we’re usually off our schedule and we’re often withdrawing from the bank instead of adding to it.

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The kindness of strangers

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

It’s commonplace in Austria to have complete strangers help with small things.  I’ve had help getting the stroller on and off buses, into and out of shops, on an off the strassenbahns, down flights of stairs and once, very memorably, a woman missed her train to help me shepherd Benjamin, Liam in the stroller and Benjamin’s bike up an escalator when the elevator was broken.  I’m also pleasantly surprised at how much help and kindness I’m shown when I need help somewhere and I have to resort to English (because the issue is well beyond even attempting in German) — like much of the help I got with my dress search and then, this week, when I had to explain to a teller at the bank that my ATM card had stopped functioning and I needed a new one.  People here are generally helpful and patient (especially when I’m out with the kids and I’m at least attempting to communicate in German).  My days are much more pleasant for the kind gestures, and I’m incredibly grateful.

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Glittery snow

Monday, February 6th, 2012

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.

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Feeling more like Cinderella

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

We really did have a great time at the ball yesterday — it was grand, lovely and truly, quite an experience.  Although, I was kind of feeling down about my dress.  I didn’t love it, and I’m a little exasperated that it didn’t even fit properly.  Also, I forgot to put my glitter on.  I have some (a lot) from my dancing days, and brought it with us expressly for use at a ball.  I found it, got it out, and put it right next to my hairbrush in the bathroom . . . and then completely forgot to use it.  (Bummer!)  But, I’m done with feeling bad about my dress or feeling sad about our experience yesterday at all.

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To the ball

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

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.

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Bonked head

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

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.

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It’s supposed to be hard

Thursday, February 2nd, 2012

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!”

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The cold and the warm

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

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).

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