Change your perspective, Change your life

I don't know about Will, but Edie and I needed a weekend away. Sure, she had a cold, gave me her cold, and also cut a tooth while we were there, the sum total of which made the nights less than restful. But the experience was still therapeutic overall.

One of the best things was seeing her light up when in these new situations. And they did not need to be exciting. Just new. Sitting on the hotel bed with a single rattle while I got ready in the morning made her happier than sitting on her in-home activity mat, which is outfitted by countless toys, books, and stuffed animals. Want to drink a soy chai in peace? Aim your baby at crowds walking by and let her practice her arm flapping hellos and sip away. By day, Edie was a happy, happy camper.

The nights involved lights out by 8:30, Will and I watching The Sopranos on his laptop with headphones like fugitives in the corner of the hotel room, and many many minutes turned to hours of pacing with a teething, stuffed-up baby. But there are no photos of that. So enjoy the far cuter images of Miss Baby Congeniality.

Travel Series #2: Leipzig (aka I heart gritty cities)

A medical imaging conference brought our little family to Leipzig, Germany last weekend. It's not what would usually be considered a tourist destination. And the fact that we went their during Oktoberfest, when we live in Munich, makes the whole thing that much more backwards. But, as Will succinctly put it when I pointed this out; "That's just us." And it is.

Munich is lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely. It's clean. The scenery is picturesque. The citizens are impeccable. And all of this is great. But there is something in me that loves a bit of the rough. That part of me moved me to downtown Detroit for two years where it was well-nourished. Leipzig was part of former East Germany, and as a result it bears the scars of those lean years in the form of abandoned buildings, graffiti, etc. The flip side of such misfortune, however, is that there are fertile grounds for new growth once the environment changes. And so there is an air of modernity, experimentation and- yes - gorgeous grittiness that I don't find in my own fair town that I so loved to breathe in for a few days.

Leipzig is also home to a large university. And what do you get if you have a downtrodden city, mix in some higher education, and shake well? Vegans, of course! You see, we can live on forest scraps, book learning, and patchouli vapors, so such places are quite ideal. I found as many as two fully vegan restaurants there and several veg or veg-friendly places and I was in heaven.

It was fun to blend in a bit more, as I did in Leipzig, and eating vegan gyros was no small event either. All in all, a great change of pace for our clan.

The Only Way to Travel

Will, E and I just got back from our weekend away. We had to choose between plane or train (as we have no automobile) for our getaway, and decided on train. For our departure trip, Will reserved the "kleine Kinder" (small children) car for an extra 6 euros. I didn't know what this would entail, and I was deeply concerned that it meant that we just paid 6 euros to sit in a confined space wherein an orchestra of babies make each other scream louder and louder. I might have mentioned this concern to my husband, politely and deferentially, of course, about 9 or 12 times.

Man oh man, was I wrong. The kleine Kinder car is the only way to travel with babies, come to find out. It's basically your own little apartment, with space for your stroller, a table, long bank of seats for baby to spread out, a changing table, and glass doors for a bit of privacy. So you can feel free to do whatever it takes to keep that baby happy, whether it's suffer through the I-don't-wanna-nap fussing, or making faces and noises that you are not proud of just to make her laugh. It was bliss. In fact, for future trips, we've decided that the availability of the kleine Kinder car will dictate our destination. We also decided that our future trip won't be for a little while. So. very. tired.

[photos of mom, dad & banana stuffed e enjoying the peace and isolation of our train home-away-from-home.]

Travel Series #1: Mittenwald!

Edie took her first trip outside of Munich last weekend. Sad, but true. Finances and general new parent lily-liveredness have kept us stationary. But with our friend in town, we (mostly "I") took a deep breath, faced our fears, and traveled with baby.

Our destination was the Alpine town of Mittenwald. Points of interest: Elaborate murals on many of the buildings, tiny Catholic shrines hidden in the forest, waterfalls, and streams that run through the town - streams that are far lovelier when you don't inspect them too closely as they are all too frequently victims of litterbugs. Lost points: no Starbucks, or any other coffee shop open on Saturday afternoons. Boo. But it is truly a unique and picturesque town.

Best news is, of course, that we live to speak of this trip. E managed two cat naps, rendering her keyed up and slaphappy on the two hour train ride back. She talked the. entire. way. home. Thank goodness she's cute. I bounced her on my knee, aimed her at some ladies, and she babbled happily (and somewhat frantically) at her captive audience.

I write this as we embark on our first ever weekend out of town tomorrow morning. Three nights in a hotel, 4.5 hour train trip. Say a little prayer for us. Call me crazy, but I'm looking forward to it!

A taste of life in the baby lane

Our good friend Dave made his way to Munich this week and has spent his visit sampling the local flavors and getting a hearty dose of baby love. E can't get enough of him. And we decided not to give Dave a vote on whether he's gotten enough. If Queen Baby says she likes you, then your fate is sealed.

Will and Dave met in the University of Michigan dorms, where Will and I met as well. They both studied engineering, though Will's an electrical engineer while Dave is in aerospace (so, an electrician and a rocket scientist, if you will). These two have known each other for a long time, and as their college colleague, let me say that they can't exactly party like they used to. Well, at least the Dad half of the duo can't. Oh how the times have changed.

On his first full day here, Will had to go to work so Dave hit the streets with me 'n' E. Our day started off by not starting at all, and instead feeding E breakfast and then putting her down for a nap and waiting. When she awoke, our happy trio set off to see the town. But first, stopping in at H&M to buy tiny shoes for a tiny person who has learned how to pull off her tiny socks and litter them throughout the city.

Then, at last, we showed Dave a few of Munich's sites - Viktualienmarkt and a bit of the Aldstadt. Lunch was devoured at the only joint with decent falafels that I've uncovered in these parts, and Edie was a big (and sloppy) fan of this meal. After E was carried around the market for as long as her heart desired, Dave assisted in the less glamorous side of parenting - that is, amusing little ones on the train ride home.

Bananas for Bananas

Bananas are the new super food in the house. There is no frown that can't be turned upside down with a nanner. But would you believe that these things stain? If your loved ones don't frequently grind banana into their clothing and then expect you to clean it, then you might not know this. It is, however, all too true, I've found.

Banana fun fact: monkeys open them from what we consider the bottom of the banana. If you pinch the end, it will usually open nicely and bruise your snack a lot less. Give it a shot, and wow your friends and co-workers!

Willkommen, Miki!

Our first stay-in visitor left this morning, having survived his stint as our experimental house guest. Miki and Will are friends from Will's Stanford days. They began as randomly assigned office mates and ended up being the only Electrical Engineering duo with an 8 x 10 buddy photo on their door. An ocean isn't enough to come between these two.

During his one night stay, questions oft pondered were answered: Can anyone but us actually get enough sleep to live in this place? (Will and I survive 80% on love, you see. Plus, deliriously tired is our normal.) How can one be a gracious host while at the same time parent a baby whose only room to play in is the very room the guests will sleep in? (Answer: bring the guest coffee in bed and smile a lot.) Will our no-go life style kill the vacation mojo of our go-go visitors? (First guest is a dad of 3 year old twins who was in the midst of grant writing, so his energy level was compatible with ours. So results on this are pending.)

E couldn't get enough of her new pal, even accompanying him to a street fair a half an hour past her bedtime without a fuss. Whadda girl! Have a safe trip home, Uncle Miki. You're welcome back any time!

Slow news week...

Not much to report from these parts. Edie is teething like crazy, and doing so in an unpredictable order. She's currently bypassing front teeth and working on an left upper incisor and a right lower incisor. Going for a bulldog look, apparently.

We're gearing up for visitor season! We've got three or four sets of folks coming this month. During Oktoberfest, as it were, which is in September. An event that draws over 6 million visitors to a city of just over 1 million for days and days of drinking. Only the Germans with their rigid intolerance of tomfoolery could host such an event without catastrophe.

...Other than that, I bought some rain boots. They are red... So, on that thrilling note, enjoy the sad clown picture of Edie up way past her bedtime, getting a daddy cuddle while the baby Tylenol kicks in.