I Eat a Lot of Ice Cream and I’m Proud

The short version of what you’re about to read: I eat a lot of sweets, shamelessly. I babysat a lot and did some shopping. Honestly, this week wasn’t too eventful, but there are a lot of moments where I am “happy” or “excited” so if you hit ctrl+F on your computer, you can just type in excited or happy and go straight to those moments! You’re welcome.

23 September: I woke up and rode my bike to the mall that is right by my house and it’s awesome! I went to the h and m there and it’s much bigger than the one in the city center, so that made me very very happy! The mall also has a coffee shop/bakery that has DELICIOUS cheesecake and coffee and they give you free pretzels on the table! I also went to Aldi and it’s much more than the one at home. (Probably because Aldi originates from Europe.) I didn’t really have much money on me so I just bought some yogurt. Afterwards I went home and I hung out with the older boy while the younger boy napped. Then the older boy had a play date so I watched the baby while my host mom supervised all of the boys. I went on a walk with the baby and she fell asleep which was great, but she ended up waking up when I stopped to pick up some vegetables. She cried for so long, but sometimes you just have to cry. When I got back, the mom took the baby and I went upstairs to play with the younger boy. He told me to go away and that he didn’t want to play with me, but I somehow managed to make him laugh and then we played together just fine! For dinner we ate traditional German onion cake that is a common meal for this time of year. It was delicious! After dinner I tried to go to an improv show that I was very excited about, but the address on Google was incorrect, so I ended up trespassing in somebody’s backyard. Thankfully they didn’t see me, but it was dark and I was so frustrated that I just got ice cream and went home.

24 September: I woke up and got myself ready and then I rode my bike into the city center where I met my host dad to register for my university classes. As I was waiting for him outside the registration office, I met a girl from France and she was so nice and she also just moved here, so I felt very good about making that friend! I registered for my classes very easily and I also got a library card. Then I got a piece of cheesecake from the bakery and I also went to Dunkin Donuts in search of the pumpkin spice latte. Unfortunately, they didn’t have it, but I got a cappuccino that tasted great. I walked around and did some shopping and I bought a pair of pants that were on clearance. I checked out one of the thrift stores in my town, but I didn’t really like the prices so I left empty handed. After this I went home and I picked up the older boy from kindergarten. After this we played with toy cars for about 45 minutes and then I went with my host mom, the baby, and the younger boy to his children’s gymnastics class. I went on a walk with the baby and she slept for a while and when she woke up, she didn’t cry until we were almost back to the sport building so I could pick her up and walk around with her so she wouldn’t have to keep crying. I was so proud that I was able to successfully watch her for over an hour all by myself! When we got home we played for a little while and then we ate dinner and I read a few stories to the older boy and then I went to bed. It was a good day!

25 September: I woke up early this day so I could FaceTime with my friend, Alaina who is going to college in Arizona. Then I ate breakfast, relaxed for a short while, then I rode my bike into the city center. I got two scoops of ice cream at one place and it tasted great, but then I walked past another place and I saw that they had pumpkin ice cream and I was SO excited! So, I went and dinked around in a few stores for maybe an hour and then I went back to that place and I got two scoops of pumpkin ice cream. I could’ve only gotten one scoop, but would that have been fair to the pumpkin ice cream? I don’t think so. It’s autumn anyways! After this, I rode my bike home and I was home for one minute when I heard screaming coming from upstairs. All three of the kids were crying and being an au pair, I have learned that these kinds of moments are inevitable when raising kids. I took care of the baby, and eventually the older boy came downstairs to play with us. The younger boy was still upset, but eventually he behaved. When it was time for the older boy to go to music school, I was left alone with the younger boy and it went completely fine! We played with duplo blocks and nobody cried! I was so thankful. For dinner we ate pumpkin soup and I put the boys to bed for the first time. The mom had to go to an event at the kindergarten so this was my first time watching all three kids at once, even if they were asleep. I was so nervous they were going to wake up the whole time!

26 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and I just relaxed in my room until Oma and Opa came over around 12 and we all ate lunch together. Oma and Opa wanted to carve pumpkins with the boys and I was so excited because I thought I would get to carve one too, but I didn’t. I think that’s just what it means to be a grown up or something optimistic like that. I still enjoyed helping the boys carve theirs! After this I played with the boys and the baby and we had a lot of fun! We all ate dinner together and then Opa Kalli and both of my host dad’s sisters came over. I really like his sister, Anne, because she is so nice! I put the boys to bed by myself again and it went really well. Nothing else really happened this day.

27 September: I woke up, ate breakfast, and then I rode my bike to the grocery store and bought an iced coffee and two Milka bars (a healthy lunch). I relaxed for a while and and took a nap because I was so tired for some reason. Then I went upstairs and ate some vegetable waffles that Anne had made. Then I hung out with Anne and the older boy. I have to reiterate that Anne is just so cool, I really like her. After this the older boy had to go to a birthday party so I was watching the baby and she fell asleep in my arms in the most uncomfortable position! It was agony. When my host mom got home, my arms were shaking and I was sweating and she took the baby from me. I hung out with the younger boy and we talked about kindergarten and we shared some apple slices, it was very nice. We played with toy trains for a while and then it was time to go to English playgroup! English playgroup was not very enjoyable to put it plainly. The teacher put out toys for all of the kids so they all fought over the toys instead of focusing on her. We sang some songs, but it seemed to me that the parents were more interested than the kids. The teacher also attempted to read Fox in Socks, but none of the kids paid attention. There was also this crazy little girl who kept trying to touch the baby and then she pulled some of her hair out! My host mom was so mad. When we came home, we ate bread and cheese and then it was time for bed.

28 September: This was a very rainy day. I woke up and ate a big breakfast with the kids. Saturdays and Sundays are the best days because we get bread and Nutella instead of sugarless cereal. After breakfast we brushed our teeth and then we played for a while with blocks. This was a hard day because the boys fought and fought and fought. It was very taxing on me because they just could not keep their hands to themselves! Thankfully after lunch I was able to take a break and have a short nap. Afterwards, I woke up and everybody put their rain gear on. Rain pants, rain jacket, rain boots, everything. We went on a bike ride in the rain which was very fun! They showed me this beautiful lake right by our house and I wish I had brought my phone with me to take a picture because it was gorgeous! I enjoyed it very much. By the time we arrived home, it was time for dinner and after dinner it was time for bed. This day went by quickly.

29 September: Now I am on vacation. I woke up and I didn’t feel very good, so I ended up sleeping until 2 PM. It’s 3 PM right now and I’m still in my jammies and just finished breakfast. It’s not so bad though, I have a lot planned for this week! It is very essential to have some relaxation days or else I would go crazy! My next blog post will also have many more pictures, so please, look forward to that.