reach out and pet a cow

We spent the day today on a family bike ride. You know it's the first bike ride of the season when you've forgotten where all the farm roads go and have to use church steeples and windmills to navigate. Actually, D is far more precise than that. We have a bike GPS (you knew we would). Today's path took us mostly through the Netherlands, over gloriously sunny farmroads and through a nature preserve. We did, however, have to bike *through* a herd of long haired cattle.

We've recently acquired a bike seat for B that hooks to the back of my bike. He joined C in the pull behind trailer behind Daddy's bike later in the trip, but when we encountered the cows, he was still in his open air seat hugging my back, and he screamed with absolutely delight. Turns out he makes a pretty good sheep dog, his squeals encouraging the cows to move along. That's D and C in the pic. See how the road is blocked by cows? B is on my bike behind me. We eventually ended up walking through the trees around the cow conference.

We biked all the way to Schinnen, just to see if we could -- 5 hours and 34 clicks. We stopped for tosti in Oirsbeek and eis in Schinveld; the kinder set even scored a nap enroute (once B joined C in the trailer)

Kid-isms

A post on our recent weekend in Heidelberg 'tis forthcoming (as is a catch up one on the St. Nikolaus train) but it's been a week of kid-isms around here, so thought I'd share a few (you know for the grandparental set that check in here regularly)

We've had some lovely days recently. Some nasty ones too, but there's been enough spring mixed in to inspire us to get out and buy some pots and some flowers. B had the most awesome time helping me plant them. I had my potting mixture in an old tupperware garbage can and scooped dirt from it into all my planters. Naturally, I let him help me scoop. "IN the pot, B. IN" I'd keep repeating as he, in his all-boy he's mastered, far preferred to fling dirt all over the patio and at his brother. "IN the pot" I'd repeat "IN the pot". Finally, he's one big dirt ball, head to toe, and daddy takes him up to the tub and off to bed.

The next day: He's out in the yard, mostly unsupervised, because other than some nettles and a dead Christmas tree, there's not anything too kid unfriendly back there. I wander out after bit to see him sitting by my just-potted plants, scoops of dirt in his hands another all over his face, giggling and proudly repeating "IN" as he transfers dirt out of the strawberry plants and heaps it on the Begonias.

Learning spatial relations: Check!


Those of you who know my youngest, know his appetite goes in fits and spurts. Some days he eats everything, but most days he grazes a bit here and there on fruit and bread. Sometimes I'm not sure he eats at all, but instead pushes his food around his plate (or foists it off on Brother). It's been a particularly non-eating week around here. This pattern has repeated itself enough over the months that although I note his lack of interest in food, I don't worry about it much anymore. One recent afternoon, I came downstairs and found the child leaning on his belly, legs dangling off the credenza, unwrapping hershey's kiss after hershey's kiss and popping them in his mouth as fast as he could unwrap them. Apparently he had climbed on a cooler we foolishly left in the kitchen and leaned as far in as he could to reach the candy. I don't even know how he knew it was back there. For as much as everyone says he looks like his daddy, I guess he's inherited his mama's sweet tooth.

problem-solving skills: check
gross-motor coordination: check
fine motor development: check

Heaven help us when his devious side develops!

Not to be left out, big brother has had a few moments of his own this week. My hands down favorite, however, is his waiting and watching for the strawberries. When I planted the strawberry plants, I pointed them out to C and showed him the little white flowers and explained to him that with water and sunshine the plant would grow
and the little white flowers would turn into strawberries. Every day since then, he'll (at seemingly random times), rush over to the window to look at the strawberry plants, which are still barely more than seedlings, turn to me with great anticipation and ask: "Mama, are the strawberries ready yet? I think it's gonna be a long 6 weeks.

It's Almost Easter

so in true "Mc Style" that means going back to catch up on fun fall and holiday adventures

Thanksgiving is a non-holiday over here and although there's plenty of Turkeys at the commissary and friends with which to gather for traditioanl feasts, sometimes, what you really want is an honest-to-goodness pumpkin patch.

This year, we found one. Pumpkin Island.

The crazy thing is that Pumpkin Island has pumpkins all year 'round. In the nice weather it's a pumpkin-themed beach club (don't ask, we're in Germany) But in the fall, they stack up the hay bales as pirate ships, carve a maze out of the corn field, and have pumpkins of all shapes and sizes for purchasing in the pumpkin patch.

We met up with some friends and spent a lovely couple of hours worrying about the youngsters as they climbed to the mast of the pirate ship and got lost in the maze on the big tri wheel scooters,i
but in the end we warmed up with hot chocolate and pumpkin soup and, for just a minute could've sworn we were kicking it up, American Thanksgiving style.

Christmas Markets

Between last year and this year we've made it to most of the local Christmas markets, and sampled lots of the traditional Gluwein. Christmas markets are lovely; they each have their own flavor, but I'm not quite sure I get the hype or why US tourists spend thousands of dollars, battle the usually crappy weather and the crowds solely to make Christmas market pilgrimages. We've yet to get to any of the markets in Bavaria, so perhaps those are different. They certainly are larger, but I don't know if larger equates with more hand made crafts and goodies or more traditional German woodworking OR if larger simply means more sausage, spirits, and "made in china" replicas?

However, as we ARE here, Christmas markets are fabulous wintertime diversions. Most of the small markets near us seem to function as local watering holes. The German version of Cheers, where you stop by and grab a drink and a snack on your way home, noshing with the locals, soaking up the ambiance. Each market has a distinct atmosphere, however, so read on for quick pics and over-brief summaries of the ones we've visited.

Geilenkirchen: A small, one weekend market, with performances by local groups and fundraising booths for local charities. Some food vendors, kid rides, and a flea-market esque section of retail booths

Aachen: the largest market closest to us with cool high energy buzz. Super crowded on the weekends and not stroller friendly (heck it was even dicey at times with B in the backpack carrier).

Gangelt: one weekend only, just one village up the road from us. Has a very small town feel to it, but in a quaint, the-neghborhood-has-gathered-for-the-weekend kind of way. Lots of flower and greenery vendors and fun rides for the kids. There's nothing better than soaking up the festive atmosphere while meandering the old Gangelt streets and you will run into most everyone you know, so it's got a great open-house feel to it too

Trier: the best market we went to. Trier is in itself a great city, about 90 minutes from here. This market looked the most traditional and of course strolling past the old Roman ruins Trier is famous for only added to the charm. The market takes over the main square and a side street or two and between the market's supersized German decor and the storefronts' decorated windows, it's lots of good holiday fun. AND the best market yummies we had, we had in Trier. Dan got a super yummy brick oven pizza and I sampled the kirsch dampfnuden, which was a sweet dumpling with a cherry sauce.

Monschau: We ended up in Monschau on a Friday evening, and I suspect the market would have been better by day. It was rather poorly lit, so it was hard to appreciate the beautiful town as we were weaving in and out of market booths. In the day time, too, the local shops would have been open, adding more browsing options. However, they did have lederhosen clad horn players, an incredibly tasty orange punch, and lots of fried dough to keep the wee one entertained. No carousel in Monschau either, so that's either good or bad depending on what your take is on buying kids tokens for the merry-go-rounds


Satzvey Castle: Kitchy and Romantic and I absolutely love it! The Satzvey Christmas market isn't that much different in character than their Easter market or their summer time viking, medieval, and renaissance fairs, but Satzvey Castle at anytime of year is a keeper. C gets to gorge on the waffles and have his face painted. He gets to watch the sword fighting, see the horses and try his darndest to pull that sword out of the stone. At the Christmas Market this year he even got to tell St Nicholaus about his Christmas wishes and explain how it was this kid with the slightly southern draw was Christmasing in North Rhine Westphalia

Valkenburg, Netherlands: The markets in Valkenburg are nice because they are underground in caves, out of the elements, and temperature controlled. The port-a-potties in said caves aren't so nice, but when you've got a 4 year old along, you do what you've got to do. One of the caves is Dickensian themed and you watch Scrooge's story unfold on the walls as you wander past

Maastricht, Netherlands: Each winter, Maastricht converts its main square to a winter wonderland, with lots of games and rides and even an Ice Skating rink, just a quick stroll from some of the oldest Roman ruins in the Netherlands and against the backdrop of some beautiful church facades, it's a must see. High energy, lots of families and fun buzz.



Liege, Belgium (about 45 minutes from us): One big party with lots of different foods and wines to try. Typical candies, soaps, and knitted hats, but Liege has a number of fun city walks to take in and among marketing, namely the 406 steps of the Montagne de Bueren. Worth the climb for awesome city and river views. Then, instead of climbing back down, take the long way around, past the ruins of the citadel and the modern hospital through a nature reserve back to the city square for another glass of gluwein and Belgian chocolates to see you through the afternoon.

the MC guide to DISNEY (with munchkins)!

During our recent trip stateside we took C for his first visit to the "House of Mouse". I'm a bit of a Disney freak, went every chance I could as a kid and had season passes for several years in college and as a young adult, but this was my first visit as a parent. I've had a long-held theory, after witnessing years and years of Magic Kingdom meltdowns, that there's simply no reason to take a kid to Disney World until s/he can get through the day without a nap. Now, after experiencing WDW with a kiddo, I think the theory still stands (of course if you live close by, with season passes, or have an xtra adult on hand to head back to the hotel pre-meltdown, that's a different story.) I followed my own advice and left B at home, just so as not to have to deal with his theatrics.

Other tips:
Don't go during summer, don't go during Christmas, don't go on a holiday weekend, don't go on the weekend. **DO** go on weekdays mid January to early March, May, or October

Take in as many snacks sandwiches and drinks as you want. Disney doesn't care, and you'll feel a lot better spending 4 dollars on that Disney shaped popsicle if you didn't just spend 12 dollars on chicken nuggets and fries

Even if your youngster walks everywhere and has for years, take or rent a stroller. You can get from Big Thunder Mountain to Space Mountain far more quickly if you're not paced by little legs. Disney is exciting, overwhelming and tiring for the wee set, and if you're in for the long day, everyone's gonna need the break. Not exaggerating: it's completely normal to see kids as old as 8 or 9 in strollers. BUT, the ultimate reason to take a stroller -- you can leave bags/coolers/gear/whatever with your stroller. Without the stroller you either have to carry everything on every attraction or rent a locker way up at the park's entrance. Sroller = the ultimate packmule

FASTPASS -- use it anytime the standby wait is more than 15 minutes

If you stand in line to "meet" characters there'll be far less tolerance (not to mention time) for ride lines. There'll be lots of characters to see as you walk through the park, but if actually meeting characters is important to you, be sure to see Mickey and Minnie at toontown, but then consider going to a character breakfast or lunch.

Don't miss the afternoon parade. The kiddos love to be so close to the all the characters and it provided my kiddo MUCH needed downtime to be ready to go again into the evening. Watch it from Frontier land, the end of the parade route. It'll be far less crowded than Mainstreet. Be there 15 minutes early for a spot right on the rope line.

You can sit in Dumbo(and take pics in Dumbo) without waiting in line to fly Dumbo.
The Aladdin flying carpet line is always far far shorter. If Dumbo is a must, think about hitting it during the fireworks.

Stay on Disney property and take advantage of early/late park hours

The monorail might look cool, but the ferry boat is far more stroller friendly.

If you park in Minnie or Mickey and have the kid in a stroller follow the footpath and *walk* to the transportation and ticket center, far faster and easier than hassling with the tram.

FWIW -- C's favorite ride was Buzz Lightyear and he liked Big Thunder Mountain (AKA Cowboy Mountain) far better then the Barnstormer coaster in toontown *AND* Big Thunder Mountain is a Fastpass. We waited close to 30 minutes for Barnstormer, not worthit, IMHO.