We woke up this morning to our first snowfall in Vienna of any real significance. By the time Benjamin got up, there was more than a dusting on the rooftops, and our terrace, which is pretty sheltered, but not enclosed, almost had a covering. Our rosemary, basil and cilantro plants (or rather, the pots the plants lived in when it was summer) had about an inch in each, as did the table where they sit.
Archive for the ‘Em’s blog’ Category
Playing in the snow
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012Nothing to wear to the ball
Monday, January 16th, 2012I know, it’s awful, these problems I have. I’ve got to go to a ball at the palace in a few weeks, and I have nothing to wear. It’s a rough life.
Benjamin and the planets
Sunday, January 15th, 2012I try not to brag excessively about my kids. Of course I think they’re beautiful, brilliant, sweet, loving, strong, fast, kind and generally amazing and wonderful — I’m their mom, I can’t help it. But I do try to keep most of it to myself, because otherwise it would be all I would talk or write about, because they’re my most favorite people in the whole world.
But every so often they do or say something so cute that I just can’t keep it to myself. At only 3 years old, Benjamin knows all of the planets. I don’t know if that’s typical, but it’s pretty impressive to me. He can recite the names of all 9 of them (including Pluto — I grew up in a world where Pluto was a planet) in order, and tell you a little bit about all of them. He tells me that Jupiter is made of gas (which he says is funny), that Mars has lots of dust and that Neptune is very cold. Earth is his favorite, but he might like to try to live on Jupiter. He asks really good questions, like “Whats’ the difference between a planet and a moon?” and “What do the planets have inside of them?” and “Is the Earth spinning very, very fast?”
I can take almost no credit for this. Like many other things he’s learned in his 3 years, this came almost entirely from tv (in this case, I think we have Olivia and Bubble Guppies to thank) with some supplemental material from books. It’s so cute to hear him, and so impressive to see how his mind works. He told us, the other evening, that he wants to be an astronomer when he grows up – he has previously alsoexpressed a wish to be a fire fighter and a chef. I love watching him grow and learn and be excited about things. Being a mom is the best thing ever.
Getting ready for the shindig
Saturday, January 14th, 2012Vienna has a ball season. I don’t know if there is anywhere else in the world where that is true, but it’s true here. From January to March, the Hofburg Palace, as well as other sites in Vienna and elsewhere in Austria, host balls — complete with live music, dinner and dancing. The first weekend of February, Dan & I are going to one, hosted by the IAEA, at the Hofburg Palace.
Ben ist da!
Friday, January 13th, 2012I’m still of a split mind about B going to school. On the one hand, I think the socialization he’s getting is positive, and I know he’s learning German in a way that’s more accessible to him than it will ever be again in his life. On the other hand, he wants to be at home, and I want him to be here.
I can’t believe how I can!
Thursday, January 12th, 2012We’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.
Running with kids
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012We 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.
5 Reasons the Friend Whose Computer You’re Fixing is Frustrated (While Simultaneously Being Grateful)
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012I’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.
Vacation is over
Monday, January 9th, 2012Well, 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!”
Mine, mine, mine!
Sunday, January 8th, 2012In 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.