a big day

Today was huge. I had the kids from the wee hours of the morning until just now - almost 7:00! Crazy day, but probably good for me. And I know it was an exception, since Torsten had a meeting and couldn´t come home earlier. In the morning while the kids were at school, Christianna (the mother of the children´s friends Xaver and Tivan) called. I am so brave answering the phone all by myself! Usually they end after "Hallo!"..."wie bitte?"..."sorry, I´m the American au pair..." and that is that. But luckily Christianne speaks excellent English and actually wanted to talk to me! Apparently graduating to first grade from kindergarten is a huge deal here, and she wanted to let me know that there would be a parade of children filing by my house soon, and that I should check it out. Curious, I decided to go ahead and walk down to the church, where the parade starts, and walk with the children and their families to the school. It was adorable! The 1st graders all carried these massive cone things that they had bought or made and decorated, filled with goodies. At the school, I found Kristianna and sat with her family as we watched little Xaver be inducted. Paul Luis´ class sang a song - so cute! By the time the ceremony ended, it was time to pick up Emma Sophie. She was such a brave little toaster today (thanks, Chels - I´m definitely using that one from now on)! There is a little boy named Jano (pronounced Yahn-no) that she has been talking about after Kindergarten, and today she asked me if he could come over and play. Since I knew we had a huge afternoon ahead of us, I said sure and told her to go ask him and his mother. Emmi is very shy about things like this, and I was so proud to watch her walk up to him and ask if he wanted to come to her house. I exchanged info with the mom, Anita, and we had a first play date success!! I think this is the first time Emmi has ever initiated such a thing, so it is kind of a big step for her. When he came over later, he had a gift bag filled with drawings, origami, and a fruit tea bag. I adore this kid. They were messy, but generally had a good time playing upstairs and outside. Cleaning her room tomorrow is going to be miserable. I should have thought of telling them to clean as they played, but wasn´t on top of it. Also, Paul Luis had a friend over and they were causing ruckus outside. But none of them wanted me to join in, so I sat in the recliner with an IKEA magazine, listening to sounds of squealing children and general house destruction... They had so much fun though. Maybe I´ll become more strict about these things as time goes on, but they´re kids, and I think they´re entitled to be messy every once and a while!

Now I´m pretty exhausted, but feel very good about the day. I feel fantastic knowing that I can handle this. Sure, Paul Luis didn´t like my spaghetti, and Emma Sophie threw a tantrum because I wouldn´t let her have candy... but who cares? These things happen. We all came out of the day with a bit of food in the bellies and without serious injury, plus a few hours of fun playing with friends. I feel like a real au pair now!! It´s about time. :)

Tomorrow will be much lighter, as Torsten will be back by 2:00, and I´ll be free. That evening I will be going to the art festival to see some of Harry´s work - he has an interactive grafitti piece that I´ve been watching him build in his yard, as well as some photography. I think Oma Jutta wants me to ride with her. I´m excited! Have no idea what to expect. I think it is just the opening of a few gallery exhibits for the larger festival that happens in a couple weeks.... maybe some music? We´ll see. I´ll be able to tell you more in a couple days.

So long, for now!