Sunday, April 21, 2013

Week of April 14th, 2013

Sunday we had breakfast at the hotel.  I was hoping for more of an American breakfast but no such luck, we got a European breakfast.  Meats, cheeses, croissants, jams, hard boiled eggs, yogurt and fruit.  They did have some crepes which are similar to pancakes but much thinner that tasted good with jelly on them. 
When we were packing up the car, the guy with the Aston Martin was trying to put 6 cases of champagne in his trunk!  I hope they didn't have any luggage!
Today Jason had to fly out to the states.  So we drove to a bigger town about 25 min. north of us and he got on the speed train there headed to Paris and then just took a direct flight out to the states.  So that worked out well for him.  Then I had to drive back to Lux from there so it was still about 2:20 min. I picked up the boys and they had had a great time.  We went home and ate a late lunch and then my friend came over with Amber and her family and we all went to the park.  It was a gorgeous day out. 
The kids had fun.





This is the front of the new park!

We had dinner, got everyone cleaned up and to bed as everyone was tired.

Monday after drop off I drove to my stores out in Germany.  One of the stores I go to just built a new one in a new little shopping center so I tried out 2 of the stores in there too.  One was a cheaper clothing store, but their prices were so good I couldn't resist and I bought some capris and a few other things.  The store next to it was a shoe store and I couldn't believe how cheap these shoes were!  I got 6 pairs of shoes between me, and the kids and it was a total of 80 euros for 6 pairs!  That is great for here!  I will be back next week (:  Then on to my last store, the grocery one.  Jason's trunk was loaded down!  Since Jason wasn't here I took his car since it is nicer then mine and drives so well on the highway! 
After school Jacob went home with a friend, and Sean had a friend over. 

Tuesday was another sunny day so I decided to go for a walk this morning.  I did remember to take my charge card just in case (:  I walked down to the city center which takes about 30 min.  I did end up shopping and got some summer clothes for the kids, picked up another egg tray at my favorite dish store b/c for some reason I had only bought 2, but I have 3 kids coloring eggs!  It was smelling so good downtown with all the restaurants and bakeries so I picked up a piece of quiche and a carrot cake cupcake, new, for lunch.  Then on the way back I stopped at this one hair salon.  It is the only one here that I have seen some of my Redken products I buy, but the one I wanted they didn't seem to have today, bummer.  So I walked back home.
Today I didn't have to be back at school until 4:30 since all the kids had something going on.  It was lovely to have like 2 extra hours!  I went back and got Sean at school then dropped him off at tennis then went to pick up Amber at a playdate she had.  This mom told me she lived right by school so I was thinking that this will work out great b/c I am driving back and forth to the school this afternoon and I can just swing by and get her.  Ok 20 min. from school on the other side of town is not what I consider close by!  So I ran to get her then back to school to pick up Jacob from track and then over to tennis to get Sean. Tuesdays we have to eat left overs unless I cook something during the day b/c everyone is starving by the time we get home!  In Sean's class today they all were happy.  Their student teacher from last semester knocked on the classroom door and surprised all the kids.  They were so happy to see her.  She is from the states and came back for a week to work in the classroom. 

Wednesday morning was Amber's concert.  She was so excited for it!  She did a great job.  For once, out of all the concerts she has done this year and last, she got to be in the front row.  Normally she is always in the back.  I even got a front row seat.  Then once she came out her face was blocked by this big flower they had put on the railing to go up to the stage, figures.  She loved the concert and did a great job.  I could actually hear her singing from my seat.




Today Sean started swimming lessons for PE.  I had done the scheduling of volunteers to help the kids.  They need one volunteer for the girls locker room to help the girls, and one for the boys.  Even after doing this I forgot to send Sean with his swimming stuff- ugh!  Luckily he remembered once at school and found me and told me so I was able to bring it back when I came for Amber's concert.
For lunch her ballet friend came over and then we went back for ballet lessons.  Jacob had RE and Sean had a b'day party to go to after school.  It was at a trampoline/play place in Germany about 40 min. away.  The boy's parents drove both their cars and took all the boys.  So that was nice and Sean had a great time.  We picked him up from the boy's house after dinner.
The sun was shining today and it was in the 60's.  We played outside for a bit after school.  The sun feels so good!
Because of our travel plans over the past weekend Jason didn't drive to the airport, so his car has been sitting out in front of the house this week.  We have a 2 car deep garage, but with all the bikes in things in front of my car we can't really fit them both in so Jason parks on the street.  Plus one of us would always be backing out to let the other one out.  Today I found a ticket on his car!  I couldn't believe it.  We have lived here for almost 2 years now and I have never seen the ticket person out by us.  Our street dead ends into a culdasac and it is pretty quite and there is a ton of parking.  To park on the streets here you need to either pay the parking meter and put the ticket in your car or what I have is the town sticker in my car and I can park in my neighborhood whenever.   But the car is right in front of our house and no one else is there on this little side street so I can't believe it. Of course he is wrong for not having the sticker but I can't believe he got a ticket it was clearly our car.  We had asked the relocation lady with the company to get him one since it is the company car and they never did.  So we will see if he gets one now! 

Thursday morning my friends came over with her son and we went walking outside.  It was nice and a good workout up the hills here! 
This afternoon I had a meeting about the Switzerland trip the 5th graders will go on this year!  His grade will go to Switzerland for a week!  I can't believe it.  Pretty cool 5th grade trip!  I kept telling him I was going to volunteer to come, but I never really was, they are going camping for one night and I don't really care to do that!  But their trip sounds like they will have a lot of fun.  It is pretty much all outdoor activities.  Hopefully they won't have too much rain.  They are right there surrounded by the alps.  It looks beautiful.  So Jacob was relieved that I finally told him I wasn't coming.  They don't even take volunteers it is just teachers and people that work at the school that go, but he didn't know that!
After school Jacob had track, Sean bball and Amber went home with a friend. 
Once home I found out that mom and dad were over at our house and we had a tremendous amount of rain at home and it flooded the basement ):  As soon as they stepped off that last step going to the basement, squish there was water.  It had gotten the whole basement.  Jason was in the states but heading to the airport today but he was able to get ahold of the insurance agent and we got put on a list for someone to come clean it all up.  Meanwhile my parents spent the whole day there picking up as many things as they could off the floor or things that had gotten wet in the storage room and drying things off and wiping up what water they could.  Most of my stuff in storage I put in plastic bins in case something like this happened but we did have some furniture in there and some things just on the floor.  So our sump pump and the back up sump pump had broken.  My dad ended up spending the night so he could keep plugging it in and then unplugging to get it to manually work a bit.  The workers weren't able to get to our house today so the water just sat.  Amber thought this sounded neat and was ready to have a swimming pool in her basement! 

Friday morning Jason came back home right as I was leaving for tennis.  I had picked us up a gyros salad for lunch so after tennis we shared that with some good bread.  The salad was really good. 
I checked in throughout the day with mom and dad as the contractor and plumber had arrived around 7:30 this morning there to start working. 
Today Jacob had his first track meet and so he got to leave school a little after 1pm and they got on a bus and went to the stadium in town where the meet was.  They practiced and then it started a little bit later.  After Jason took a nap he went over and watched it.  He stayed awhile but then had to leave for a conference call.  I went to school and picked up the other 2 and they each brought a friend home.  Then I was on the phone some more with home.  They got the 2 sump pumps out but when they went around town to buy them they were all sold out so they had to come back and put them back in and so they could be used a bit.  They got all the carpet up today and the pad and the baseboards and started cutting the drywall out where the water had soaked up into it.  The workers were there until 7pm tonight.
Later I dropped off Amber's friend and we took Sean's friend to the track meet to meet his mom there.  I picked up Jacob and the 2 boys we were housing.  I never got the email with their names and if they had any dietary restrictions.  Jason had started grilling the sausages and the one boys says he is vegetarian, rats!  So I already had most of the dinner prepared, all the sides he could eat if he wanted too.  But I didn't have anything else for him at the moment so he said he would just take 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I felt bad I wasn't prepared to make him something else.  Amber and I quickly ate dinner and then we had tickets for the Snow White Ballet.  We went with my friend and her girls.
 

It was a kids group that put it on.  From lower school kids all the way up to high school.  It was great, but it was 3 hours long!  I thought it was going to be like an hour.  We didn't get home until 10:30!  Jason normally goes to bed around 7pm after he gets back from those long trips and now he had to clean up everything from dinner and put it all away and I had a lot of food out, then make sure the 4 boys were all ok and put them all to bed hopefully before he fell asleep.  Amber was pretty squirmy in her seat.  She enjoyed it but it was just looong!   

Sat. morning I fixed a big breakfast for all the kids!  It still surprises me how many other kids don't eat fruit!  So then the boys played all morning and we had an early lunch and then around 12 Jason left with Jacob and the 2 boys for the track meet.  It was at a different stadium then yesterday and about 20 min. away.  Jason stayed the whole time today- 5 hours.  It was pretty cold out so he even brought a blanket.  I dropped Sean off at a friend's house and Amber and I stayed for a bit and then she took the boys to the track meet and they played there at the park some more and then Sean just stayed with Jason.  Amber and I ended up staying here.  I was back and forth on the phone with mom and dad seeing how things were going and then the contractor too.  The workers and my dad arrived back at the house at 6:30 am this morning to wrap things up.  They finished cutting all the drywall and we lost 2 feet from the bottom up of it. 

This is a picture of the playroom in the basement.
And today the contractor brought with him a sump pump and a back up one he had to buy in Chicago and got those installed.  So now we just wait to see how everything dries out.  What a way for my parents to spend 3 days!  Thank goodness they were able to help us with all of this.
One of Jacob's friends came back with them from track and spent the night tonight.  I was busy washing/redoing the sheets from the 2 boys who were here last night so Jacob and his friend could sleep back in his room tonight.
Once all the boys got back from the track meet and cleaned up we meet another family out for dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant not too far from us.  The food was ok and they messed up Jason's order.  We had a nice time with our friends though!  Tonight the boys rented a movie.  While Jason was in the states he picked up the Apple TV he had ordered.  It is really neat.  The pictures and everything comes through so much clearer then our sling box.  It is cool that it can link up with everything on the Ipads and computer. 

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