A Government to Call Her Own

Edie has been in political limbo since birth, recognized as a citizen neither by the country she was born in nor the country she was incubated in. But today we finally took our stacks and stacks of paperwork to the U.S. Consulate in Munich and made her official. She won't get a birth certificate, but instead a Report of Live Birth Abroad. Sadly, E won't be able to run for president, and may have trouble filling out forms that ask for place of birth. But at least now she's got a passport on the way!

We had to get her photo in such a way that she was looking straight ahead and no one else was visible in the picture. This requires someone to drape a heavy cloth over themselves and then hold the baby for the shot. No small feat. We got it done in one try, which I credit to my experience as dressing up as Arthur the Aardvark for a mall job when I was 16 years old where people would shove babies into my three-fingered aardvark mitts. Babies that I couldn't see due to the massive aardvark helmet atop my shoulders. But I digress.

Because we got the picture done in one shot, we used the extra photo coins we'd brought to take a family photo. This was pre-one hour wait + one hour processing time + one tired infant. And that's how we'll remember the day.

E is for Elternzeit!

Will is currently on day two of his two week parenting leave (auf Deutsch = Elternzeit). And so far, he has taken it on the chin.

On day one, we decided to go patio furniture shopping. We have a beautiful, 350 square foot balcony that is home to a couple plastic bottles that Billy chews on and a clothes drying rack. Not impressive. So in my vast wisdom (which you could call ill-conceived impulsiveness, if you were a mean person), we headed out to an outdoor furniture store that I found on the internet. After a harrowing journey that took us to the southern most point of our subway line, then on a 4 km walk past strawberry farms, friendly horses and finally into an industrial wasteland, we arrive at a store that is both tiny and almost comically out of our price range. Add to that changing Edie on concrete steps (thank you, anti-microbial memory-foam changing pad), nursing her while walking and at a bus stop, we finally arrived home a frightening five minutes before her bed time. Oh, and somewhere on the way, Will gets stung on the neck by a bee. Yeeowzah.

Only 24 hours into his stay-cation, I think engineering-work is seeming a little less daunting. But this dad is determined to tough it out as a mom for the next two weeks. He will have earned his Fathers Day props.

Dog Days of Summer Dinner

Mimicking my daughter's temperament, the weather here in Munich has gone from cold to h-o-t hot in a matter of moments. This week has been sunny and sweltering, and since we have no air conditioning, we have to beat the heat in other ways. One of these ways is by not using the stove or oven. So what's a vegan gal with no nearby takeout options to do? I knew I had a lot of cooked chickpeas, so I did a little sleuthing and borrowed inspiration from a variety of sources to come up with what has, for the past two evenings, been a very tasty (and healthy) meal.

Recipe (amounts very much estimated)

2 cups chickpeas (smash them to desired consistency. or pop into a food processor for a few seconds)
2 stalks celery, minced
1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, minced
handful of walnuts, finely chopped
1 T tamari (or soy sauce or shoyu)
1 t of your best mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar (another mild vinegar would do)
2 T vegenaise (or mayo, if that's what you've got)
1/8 C nooch (aka nutritional yeast; adds a nutty, cheesy flavor and is chock full of vitamin B. Omit if you must.)
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Mix it all together, eat it on a crusty baguette, serve with a big salad and Alkoholfrei Bier, and you've got yourself a tasty, no-heat meal! (Or, for Arrested Development fans, in the immortal words of Carl Weathers, "Baby, you've got a stew going!") Guten Appetit!

One Needs a Brain, the Other Some Courage... and a Little Extra Brain Wouldn't Hurt

Having a baby has shown me that (1) caring for dogs is infinitely easier than kids, and (2) dealing with dogs along with a baby will often make for straws-breaking-my-camel-back situations. And these two have been in just rare form lately.

First, Sugar. I took them both on a run one morning off leash through the English Gardens. It was an unusually nice morning and so the park was full. We passed through a gaggle of dogs, which led to much canine chicanery. Billy made it out of the fray, and ran to catch up with me. I noticed that Sugar, however, had fallen far behind. So I turn to look. No Sugar. I begin to start back and then I see her. Relieved, I call her name, she perks up, decides that the voice is coming from behind her, turns around and runs as fast as she can. Away from me. So I begin to chase my dog as countless confused onlookers gesture to me that my tiny poodle is running like a possessed squirrel in the opposite direction. The more I call her name, the more desperately she sprints. Yesterday she fell behind in a different park but instead of running away from me, she simply gave up on life and sat at the feet of some women on a bench, forcing me to lure my own dog away from two strangers.

Then Billy. A dog whose fear of storms causes him to pant outside my armoire until I clear out my shoes and let him in. He is not afraid of making me look like an idiot, though. Billy proved this by stealing a bun from a picnic two days back. He was caught in the act by the bread's rightful owner, and he was yelled at by me, but it still took hours for that dopey grin to fade from his face.

In conclusion, two gently used poodles for sale. All reasonable offers will be considered.

Summertime, And the Livin' is Easy (right after naps and when we're fed)

After a month of rain, the sun is starting to peek through now and again. So, Edie and I went to the park with a few ex pat moms to bask in the rays. And by "bask" I mean we stayed entirely in the shade. But we could see the sun.

E tried on a pair of kiddie shades and she knew she looked goooooood.

Happy Four Month Birthday, Edie!

Last Saturday, Edie turned four months old. The weather was good for a change (why didn't anyone warn us that Munich was basically a cold swamp?) so we headed out as a family with our big girl. We finally made it out to the single Mexican foods shop in the city. Mexican food in general is just bad here; I have borne witness both to paprika flavored corn chips as well as unrefrigerated jars of guacamole. But this store was the real thing, albeit itty-bitty.

Afterward, we stopped off at a quickie Asian restaurant for some tofu red curry, and reminisced about how fast time has gone. Edie now sleeps through the night, never naps in our bed with us, and is engaged in the world around her. Where did the time go? Then, like an answer from the heavens, E kicked it old school and began to shriek like she was 6 weeks old again. She kept it up through most of two train rides, finally falling asleep ten minutes before we got home. We felt a little better about her growing up after that.

LOLbabeez II

Back by popular demand....

"Actually, 'cool' isn't the description I'd use for this, Ma. 'Like a freaky alive totem pole' is."

"Sigh. Can you get Henderson on the line for me? There's no way I'll be able to finish his Duckie report by this afternoon. I just got this wooden pyramid project thrown at me and it's going to take awhile to make sure it's saliva-proof."

"Panda, this is as hard to say as it is to hear: You're drunk. Now just give me the keys."