We have been in Germany now for two weeks as of today. We are finally adjusted to the time change, finally. The boys are happy and literally Joshua bounded out of bed, joyfully, gleefully, shouting "yea!". That was a very nice way to wake up. Particularly since it was before 8:30. I was getting a bit worried that he wouldn't be able to wake for school. His preschool begins tomorrow at 9 am. If this morning is any indication, we are in good shape! We were told we would need two weeks to adjust to the time change, and that looks about right.
The past two weeks have been an amalgam of emotions and behaviors. It is interesting to watch the kids adjust. This is the first move we have had where the boys were affected so strongly. Joshua in particular. He would go from happy, sweet, affectionate boy to out of control, crying, monster. There were definitely moments when I thought I would lose my sanity. And this time has definitely brought home the concepts of routine and consistency. Even in these situations, it is possible to have consistency. Primarily we worked on getting the bedtime back to normal - gradually but systematically. This meant on Day 1 the kids went to bed around 11 pm German time, but 4 pm Texas time. Joshua woke at 2 am for the first 3 nights, for anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. We tried to limit naps to an hour, but let them sleep in for the mornings. Then it was 10 pm, then 9, etc. Last night both boys were asleep by 8 pm. And while Joshua did wake at 3 am, he just came into bed with us and fell right to sleep. I put him back to bed and that was that! Jacob still wakes asking for milk, and then needs a diaper change for leaking through his diaper because of the milk, but we are gradually weaning him from that, too. I didn't put him to bed with milk, I just gave it to him in the middle of the night. Better, right? *sigh*
So far, we have been "out" to the pool four times, a park two times and on base at Ramstein to the commissary, the BX and to the new mall. The mall is very nice. It even has a Cinnabon, which I LOVE. There is a nice little play area off of the food court that the boys love. Joshua in particular loves the little coin operated basketball goal. He gets a lot of help from any kids present in the area, but he doesn't mind and has a ton of fun. It has also become a wonderful reward for just about ANYTHING! Now that I have a driver's license - yipee! - we can walk to where Brad works to pick up the car. It is a bit of a walk, a little over a mile and uphill, but the boys don't seem to mind and I can pretend I don't! We pick up the car and then can drive to any of the MANY AWESOME playgrounds at Ramstein or to the pool. The boys just love the pool and it is fun for me, too, so we bought a yearly membership and hope to go often.
Germany is beautiful, a bit chilly nowadays, but beautiful. I can't wait to explore more, particularly other parts of Europe. Life, as always, is an adventure!
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