Was ist passiert?!

July 11/Monday was a fun day. HD had left Sunday afternoon for a long business trip, so it's just HM and I for nearly two weeks. The usual morning shuffle took place. They were out the door a little later than usual. I spent some time picking up the house in anticipation of the cleaning lady coming later. I then rode my bike to the grocery store to pick up the makings for a picnic. I came home, showered, ate breakfast, and then caught the train into town. I met Leo at the train station and we went for a little picnic on the river. I came home in the afternoon and put the house back together. Everything is always out of whack after the cleaning lady comes and it's my job to put everything back in its place. HM and the kids got home just before 5pm. She dropped One off with me and then left with Two for their swim class. One and I hung out for an hour, and then we also left for swim class. Like last time, HM and I traded kids. I left One at the pool with her for his class and then took Two back home with me. Two and I hung out and got ready for bed while we waited for HM and One to get home. HM relieved me of my duties when they got home. I spent the evening at home, falling asleep much earlier than usual after my long day.

Tuesday morning was much shorter than usual. HM and the kids got out the door much earlier than usual, which I guess was because the kids woke up much earlier than usual. I was delighted by their early departure because it meant I could get back in bed that much quicker. I'd been sick since Friday and I've been trying to get better in anticipation of my weekend (I'm going to a music festival!). I slept another few hours. I went into town in the afternoon to run some errands. While waiting at the train station, a young man approached me. He first asked if I spoke English. When I said yes, he asked me if he was on the correct track for the train to the Hauptbahnhof. After running my errands, I went to visit Johnny at work. We chatted on the patio for awhile. I came home, relaxed a bit, and then everyone got home. HM left in the evening for her dance class, so I put the kids to bed by myself. The boys have been sleeping in One's room together. One has a bunk bed, and he sleeps on the top while Two sleeps on the bottom. It makes bedtime a lot easier. I did some chores once they were asleep, and then went to bed as soon as HM got home.

Wednesday was a rainy and cold day. It didn't start as such, which is why I left the house without an umbrella or rain jacket. I worked in the morning to get everyone out the door. They left earlier than usual. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't sleep any more. I spent the morning wandering around the house taking care of random things. At lunchtime, I met with Meg and Johnny in town. As soon as we sat down outside at the restaurant, it started pouring. We ate our lunch and tried to wait out the storm, but it didn't appear that the rain was letting up anytime soon. We didn't want to get soaked but I had to leave soon, so I asked the waitress for three garbage bags that we could use as ponchos. We then ran across town in our impromptu rain coats, gathering snickers and smiles as we ran. We may have looked like idiots, but we surely made a lot of people laugh. We were giggling the entire time. In the train station on my way back, a man stopped me to ask me to help him buy his ticket. He spoke very broken German, but eventually I figured it out for him. He was grateful. I got on the train for home and stopped to buy some fresh bread. I rode my bike back to the house. Even though I've ridden the bikes a thousand times before, Wednesday was my first crash. I scraped up and bruised my arm pretty bad, as well as bruised my leg in a few places, but I was otherwise fine. I was surprised to see HM and the kids were already home when I walked in the door. HM explained that she came home early because she felt sick. An hour after she got home, she got a call from the school that Two had thrown up three times. She picked up both kids and brought them home. I asked her if we had any disinfectant and bandaids. She made a comment about how we were all broken that day. As I was cleaning my wound, Two kept coming into the bathroom. He would walk up to me, point at my arm, look very concerned, say "ow," and then walk away. He repeated this a few times. I couldn't help but chuckle at him. I worked for a couple of hours in the evening and then had the rest of the night off.

Thursday was my last day in town before the music festival. HM stayed home with Two, so I drove One to school. I took advantage of having the car and run a few errands. I needed to pick up a few things, including food, for the weekend. I got home around 10am and immediately started packing. I've never been to an overnight/camping music festival, so the process was pretty tedious. The weather was also supposed to be finicky, which made it even more difficult to decide what to bring. There's so many little things to think of. I laid everything on the floor of my room and added to the pile as I remembered something. I was sure I'd bring too much yet still have forgotten something. First world problems! Since it was forecasted to rain at the festival, I decided to look for some rain boots. I went to a shoe store in town and didn't find anything. I came home and cooked myself lunch. I showered and then spent a couple of hours relaxing after lunch. I had to pick One up from school. We came home and hung out with Two while HM did a bunch of chores. We all had dinner together and then HM left for her dance class. I cleaned up after dinner and then got the kids ready for bed. Two was much harder to get to sleep than normal. He kept waking up and crying. Eventually I laid down on the couch with him on my chest until he fell asleep. I spent the rest of the evening packing for my trip. It was quite the process.