Updates

So, since I have been neglecting the blog, I have a few updates...

Our neighbors from hell are still around. However, after our little altercation, I didn't see them until yesterday, so a good 3 weeks. Mr. Polish Prick was coming home with his dog as Markus, Amelia and I were on our way out with Charlie. Luckily we met them outside and not in the hallway. Charlie really wanted to go over and give the guy a piece of his mind, but we thought better of it and made him sit next to us as they walked by. I gave the guy a pretty neutral look...he, as per the norm, gave me a pretty horrid look. Whatever.

Oh, and have I heard back from housing management about my complaint and if there was anything they could do? Nope. Not a peep. It has been 3 weeks. This doesn't bode well for our new housing management peeps (we just got new ones in July or so...).

Amelia is doing wonderfully though. We had her U6 (her 1 year checkup) on August 31st. The doctor was quite impressed with her development. She was really quick at taking the tower apart and finding the little toy in the bottom...and promptly taking it out. And she also followed directions given to her by the doctor to bang two toys together. That is one of Amelia's fav things to do...that and put objects into other objects...like a ball into box and shake it around until the ball goes flying out.

She is quite small. She's in the 10th percentile for weight and the 40th for height. The doctor even wrote in her notes, "sehr zierliches kind" (very dainty child), but then also wrote down, "sehr gut entwickelt" (very well developed), so I'm not worried at all. She runs around a lot, and eats a lot...so she just burns off everything that she eats. Hey, and it is MUCH better for my back that she's so light...I know with our next one in a few years, I'll be cursed with a giant baby...I just know it.

Amelia's stats as of August 31st:
7720 grams
72.5 cm long
44.5 cm head circumference

So, all in all, the past three weeks have been good...not too eventful. We went to the Chiemsee to visit our friends, Hansi and Doris (post to come) and had a nice weekend. This weekend we have no plans, but then next weekend we have huge plans!

Next weekend is the WEBMU (Whiny Expat Blogger Meet Up). It is in Hamburg and is conveniently over my birthday. ;) I finally get to meet one blogger, Tiffany @ NOH (a fellow Texan I might add!), that I have become friends with because we just started chatting through our blogs (and then on Facebook). And I get to see some bloggers I haven't seen since the last meet up in Munich. Last year was a blast and I can't wait for this years! Especially since it is in Hamburg...Markus sister (and Amelia's godmother), Sabine, lives in Hamburg. She is really great. And my birthday present from her is that she'll watch after Amelia Saturday night (so that Markus and I can hit up some gay bars with the Expats) AND Sunday night (so that Markus can take me out for my b-day...hint, hint Markus). So excited!

Then, two days after we get back from Hamburg, my mom comes!! Talk about an action packed September!! Can't wait!

So sorry blog...

...but yet again, I have been neglecting you. I am sorry. I know I get a day a week all to myself thanks to Amelia-Oma Tag, but really, all I want to do then is clean up the house a bit and sleep. Maybe go out shopping without a wee one clinging to me or tossing bananas on the floor. I know I'll get the motivation to post more, but for now, a few posts every now and then will just have to do...

Neighbors from HELL

Markus and I live in a wonderful apartment in Weiden. We have (mostly) wonderful neighbors and some we have over for dinner every so often. However, where there are roses, there are always thorns. These thorns come in the form of an older couple from Poland. The wife doesn't speak German, or hardly any at all, and the husband might as well be an old KGB officer for all I know. He just has this evil aura around him and he is, in my opinion plain evil. He yelled at me today, so I thought I would write a letter to our house management about it. I needed to get everything down in writing so that when I give our house management a call, I would have everything right there in front of me. So, I give to you my letter to the house management...oh, and I changed their name to something more suitable since I don't want to get a case against me for slander or anything like that...

To whom it may concern,

To begin this story, I need to go back about two years. Charlie was about 6 months old and a really playful puppy. He would play with any and every dog he could. He loved it. There were a few dogs in the house that he would play with and that was great, we just had to go outside and he had a play pal. What was really great were the walks. He was able to be off the leash, because at 6 months, he knew his name and would more often than not come when called.

Then one time we ran into Mr. Polish Prick. He lives one floor above us and had just gotten a new dog. A little brown one that is cute, but because his owner is horrid (which I will be getting to), I have never had the chance, or lust, to pet the dog. Charlie had played with this dog before, so I really thought nothing of it. Mrs. Polish Prick was walking the dog then, so I just yelled ahead that Charlie just wants to play. Usually the other dog owners are all for wearing out their dogs, but not Mr. Polish Prick. I saw that he was really tense, even though Charlie was wagging his tail and had his tongue out, looking like any dog ready to play, not a dog on the attack. Mr. Polish Prick quickly picked up his dog and when Charlie got close, proceeded to beat Charlie with his umbrella. It happened so quick and I was in such shock that someone was there beating my dog that I really had no idea what to do. I was running towards Charlie and asking Mr. Polish Prick what in the world he was doing beating my dog who just wanted to play. He responded with something. I didn’t understand it because he was mumbling or it was in his native tongue, I am not sure. At this point I was absolutely shaking. I wanted to call the police and report him for animal abuse, but seeing as I had no witness, my husband thought it wouldn’t help.

Needless to say, Charlie didn’t forget what Mr. Polish Prick did to him. To this day, if he sees Mr. Polish Prick, Charlie’s hair goes up on his back. I always have him on a leash when we are no t in fields where he can run. So, I know that whenever we see Mr. or Mrs. Polish Prick walking their dog, we make Charlie sit and stay until they are far away. I don’t want to take any chances of Charlie harming their dog.

There is only one time when I didn’t see Mrs. Polish Prick and her dog. She was walking though a field and was obstructed from view. However, I noticed that Charlie went quite still and was staring at something. I made him sit, lay down and stay. When I got close to where Charlie was, I noticed Mrs. Polish Prick and her dog. I tried to get to Charlie to put him on the leash, but her dog made the first move towards Charlie growling and barking. Then my verbal commands didn’t work. Charlie went after the dog. Mrs. Polish Prick was able to get her dog and Charlie jumped in front of them, not biting either of them, but yes, it was pretty scary. Charlie was just going after the dog, NOT Mrs. Polish Prick. I ran and got Charlie and scolded him and apologized to Mrs. Polish Prick, but I don’t think she understood me. I tried to explain that Charlie wasn’t after her, just her dog for what her husband had done the previous year. So, I just apologized and went on my way.

Today, August 13, 2010, I believe things with the Polish Pricks and myself have come to a head. Mr. and Mrs. Polish Prick were coming down the stairs and I was near the front door about to put my 10 month old daughter in her stroller. I noticed that their dog was, once again, not on the leash. I told them nicely that in the stairwell, the dogs should be on the leash. (Im Treppenhaus, die Hunde sollten immer an der Leine sein.) This cause him to respond, you should shut your mouth. (Sie sollten Ihre Maul halten.) I was in shock that someone would say something like that to me, so said “Excuse me?” (Bitteschoen?). He then said that my dog needs a muzzle. (Ihren Hund braucht ein Maulkorb.) Now, I quite possibly could have misunderstood his first statement and he could have actually said at first that Charlie needs a muzzle, but I cannot be 100% sure.

He then proceeded to tell me that Charlie barks all the time when we are not here. I must say that I am aware that he barks when we are not at home. However, he only barks when Mr. or Mrs. Polish Prick go down the stairs or when the doorbell rings. Those are really the only times that he barks. When we are there, he rarely barks. I must also say, Charlie is only with us in Weiden for part of the time. The rest of the time he is with my in-laws. He is registered with my in-laws in Hirschau and has all of his shots and certifications from a Veterinarian here in Weiden, Dr. Krinninger.

I then proceeded to tell Mr. Polish Prick that The reason that Charlie barks at him when he walks past our door is because when Charlie was a puppy he hit him with an umbrella and Charlie will never forget that. When I get nervous or feel threatened, I forget a bit of my German. I accidently forgot to use the “Sie” form with him. He then ran up to me, and keep in mind I am holding my 10 month old daughter, he proceeds to yell at me that how dare I use the “Du” form with him, that he is older than me and we are not friends. He is about 15 centimeters from my face and pointing his finger in my face, all while I am holding my baby. This is where I felt threatened.

Him verbally accosting me from far away was ok, but since he ran up to me and was so close to me and yelling at me, the whole time while holding my child, I began to feel threatened. He assaulted my dog once before, so why should I not think that he could do the same to me. And it is not just when I have Charlie that Mr. Polish Prick gives me these evil looks. When I am out playing in the rocks in front of our house with my daughter, he gives me these looks. One time, when I was coming home from the grocery store and my hands are full with groceries, Mr. Polish Prick was also walking to the house. I saw him and he saw me. He got in before me; I smiled at him in hopes that he would leave the door open. He saw me and shut the door as fast as he could.

Long story short, whenever I see Mr. Polish Prick, he always has this evil look in his eye, especially when I have Charlie with me. After today, I will never feel safe near him. Whenever I see him, I will try to go the other way. This will be hard since we live in the same house, but I just feel that the house management should be informed. It is hard to live in a house in which a neighbor is so outright mean to another neighbor. I have never experienced this. I hope that you will take appropriate measures to ensure that Mr. and Mrs. Polish Prick will comply with having their dog on the leash in the stairwell, because, after all, this is all I asked of them.

So, what would you do with your problem neighbors? Have you ever had any this bad?

Prop 8

Now, I know I should not get all frustrated by what some people say on Facebook, but seriously, there comes a point when some people just say some things that really and truly get to me. For example, Prop 8. This is the law that was passed in 2008 that banned gay/lesbian marriage. Yesterday this was overturned. In my opinion, it is absolutely correct to be overturned. This was one huge bill of discrimination of the majority against the minority.

Don't get me wrong. I am a religious person. I believe in God. I believe that when we die, we shall go to heaven. I also believe that our God (well, at least MY God) is a loving God. He is there for EVERYONE no matter what your sexual orientation is.

If your argument is that marriage should be between a man and a woman so they can procreate and have children...well, then, ok. What about all these women having children from 5 different fathers and needing to go on Maury to figure out who her baby daddy is? Why not let a couple in a committed loving relationship be able to honor this with a marriage certificate and allow them to adopt a child...Lord knows there are enough children in this world that need parents.

Personally, I just don't get it. It just makes me think of the civil rights movement in which there was another minority in society that was oppressed. Now you can say that race and sexual preference are completely different things. Yes, one you are born into and one you "choose". But once you get down to the nitty gritty of it all, is it really that different. A minority group of people are seeking the same rights that the majority is entitled to.

Now you can call it civil union and try to save some face, but seriously, if it isn't called marriage, then in my book you are discriminating against the gay/lesbian community. If all you (and by you I mean lawmakers not you personally reader) are willing to hand out is a civil union, I guess that should be accepted...for now. But in the end, discrimination is going to have to end. All men are created equal right? Every American has the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Why block these people who are trying to pursue their happiness?

I know others will argue that this will just lead to a slippery slope. "Ohhh...what next? Are we going to be allowing people to marry their pets?" Uh, yeah. No. I think we can safely assume that bestiality won't be made into law since the animal can't give consent to whether or not he wants to be in the relationship. And I don't really think that those with object sexuality will be given the actual right to marry the objects of their desires.

Marriage should be between two consenting adults. Period.

Ok, that is enough of a soapbox already. So I'll get off it now.

Woohoo!!

I just booked our flights to the US!! Amelia and I will be there October 26-November 29 and Markus will be joining us on November 13. And in all of this excitement, I had to order Amelia just about the cutest Halloween costume on the planet... ;)

Food...an update

She is finally decided to expand her horizons. We've got some new things to add to the list:

Apple strudel
raisins (softened in a bit of water)
spaetzle
black berries
mashed potato (smushed on her spoon so she can feed herself)
olives
chicken


I've bought some beets and some white asparagus tips to give those a shot to see if she likes those. Oh, and some mozzarella. We'll see how she likes these things...hmmmm....

Food!

This is a big topic in our house right now. Amelia seems to be not wanting anything to do with her jarred food....or even with the food I make that we have to feed her with a spoon. I know she likes cheese, and I know she likes noodles, so I made a kid version of mac n' cheese last night. Nope. Didn't want anything to do with it. So she got some cut up gelbwurst (bologna) and cheese. Oh, and let's not forget blueberries! She is madly in love with blueberries.

I'm thinking that this pickiness has more to do with feeding herself. This is big. However, I did try letting her eat the mac n' cheese with her hands...nope, she had her eyes on the blueberries and that is all that she wanted. So, I am trying to stick to things that she can eat with her hands.

Here is a list of what I have tried that she is totally in to, and some she's not so hot on:

Cooked Carrots...most of the time
Gelbwurst (bologna)
black beans
rice
noodles
blueberries
raspberries
CHEESE!
strawberries
salmon
peas...sometimes
apricots
soft pretzels
bread
bananas
red currants...the more sour, the better
potato dumplings (knoedel)
weisswurst (thanks to Oma)
peaches
egg yolk

I'm sure there a couple more on there, but this is what I can think of off the top of my head.

What have you given your kids at this age to eat as finger foods?