Sunday, March 8, 2009

Luke hat Windpocken!

Luke has chicken pox. He wants to be held all day and night. We're on Day 5 now, and we're all pretty exhausted. Well, except Jack. He's managed to spend the last couple of days watching movie after movie as we've tried to find a quiet "activity" where Luke will stop crying. Jack's having a great time.


Luke isn't.



Unfortunately, the doctor says it's a "very strong case" of chicken pox. We've been to see him twice now...traipsing through the garden in back of the office to the secret quarantine room with the outside entrance to avoid contact with the other, unsuspecting patients. And we've called him three times. I'm sure he's sick of us...no pun intended.


Here's Luke on Day 2, while he was still smiling:




It's really no fun to have a sick child in a foreign country. All the medicine directions are in German, and so are the instructions on the after-hours line at the doctors' office. I had to ask our neighbor, Marina, to call our doctors' office and interpret. It doesn't leave you feeling confident when you have a little one feeling miserable with a high fever and you are struggling to navigate the system...

Luke never got vaccinated. He visited both the US and the German pediatrician during the appropriate time, but it didn't happen. Apparently, in Germany, the vaccine is not required and will only be given if requested...now we learn this. We didn't realize it was not part of the "standard package." And here we are. Our German friends are all congratulating us for getting it over with...but when I look at Luke, I just feel bad that this could have been prevented.

And on Day 3...with Tannosynt lotion in his hair and on his face:


His blisters are starting to dry up, but they're still purple, and he still has a fever. We're hoping today is the last of the really bad days and that he will start to feel better as we enter Day 6.

Cross your fingers!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day from Deutschland!!


This year, we are posting our Valentine’s card on our blog. After experiencing the mail service between Germany and the States, we’re taking the easy road. Perhaps at the top of our list of learnings over the last 11 months in Germany is to adapt.

Indeed, 2008 was a year of NEW adventures…

1. Moved the family to NEW country…endured 16 hour trip with 2 children under age 4 and 27 bags of luggage…lucky to have Catherine, John’s sister, living with us much of the year as personal chef and nanny – have never eaten so well…moved into new house and took 6 months to unpack…ate lots of bratwurst and drank real bier…searched without success for Cheerios at the grocery.



2. Sent kids to NEW schools…Jack to Frankfurt International School and Luke to Kids Camp…new friends from all over the world… new language…new customs…new teachers…new fun.




3. Explored NEW places…4 hours from Paris (why go anywhere else?!)…holiday with LA friends in various European locales - the best of both worlds…visits to Amsterdam, Sweden, Greece, France and Switzerland.






4. Started NEW jobs…Gail at Mattel GmbH…John at Microsoft Europe…new teams…new responsibilities…new challenges…new labor laws…new travel…new nanny.


5. Made NEW friends… from all over Europe, Asia, South Africa, the UK and (our favorite) the US…often brought together through our kids, who love to play in our “fun zone”…while the grown ups enjoy a game of darts and a good bier or a Caipirinha in the pub.



6. Headed home for the holidays…another long flight…but good to see our friends and family once we arrived. There’s no place like home.









We wish you happiness, good health and lots of love this year – oh, and great schnitzel.

Stop by if you’re in the neighborhood.


Much love,

The Carpenters…John, Gail, Jack and Luke