"yawn" - my heiny! as y'all longsince know, spring is an extremely hectic time for the dragon and their oldies, and this year just a little even-more-so... mommy's got a new archery to run, the dragon has numerous new care-givers, and one in particular, well and garden & co are also still around. that and daddy's quick trip to the dairy one of the united states and BOOM! there is 2 months worth of readers' starvation (as opposed to reader's digest!) on the blog. what a shame! :(
but of course, there are good things to report, too! and since you had to wait for oh-so-long, it should be twice as good, at least! :)

so, first and most important: die battle for an opening in the integrative kindergarten (one where special needs kids and regulrs are tended to together) is won. to be precise: even the battle for 3 openings! that's right, the dragon will be united! effective sep5th, benG will have a day job, accompanied and supported by his fellow dragon heads, how cool is that?! on one hand, though, that means saying good bye to their (and our) beloved kindergarten teachers and many little friends, but on the other hand, this is also a very excellent chance, which our firstborn is given there... so, in that spirit we holler a big THANX to the officials in the townhall, you are the greatest!

second, and hardly less beautiful: benG starts to make himself heard. mommy - of course! - has the finer ears and is able to distiguish things that to daddy disappear in the white noise, including, but not limited to, "mama"! (surprise!) :) but mama or not, he is babbling. all day long. a little scary that, actually! :)

thirdly, we should be on another chapter called "newsflash from therapesia", for quite a while, actually, but we're not. yet. unfortunately it takes ages again until our firstborn is allowed back to maulbronn (we retort: tricking the lord by hiding meat inside batter, eleven fingers to drink more wine and collin's busted knot at the eating hold-up), to bust his developmental knot, too, with the friendly magic personnel there... *sigh* once there, it is developmental heaven, but until the draw-bridge is lowered...

and fourth: FINALLY the numerous, almost traditional even, visits to our beloved formula student have started to bear fruit: the bobbycars are being raced at noticeable speeds by now. down our driveway. and in collins case even with considerable lateral and brake acceleration! even leaning! that's right, wheels off the ground! which a) luckily points into the correct form of motorsport but b) give reason to complain about the shocks on a bobbycar... :) next stop: moto cross. OK, maybe one tiny intermediate step: lawn tractor... :)

it is that german or central-european custom closely related to a religious ritual of fasting before easter: the time leading up to the fasting was traditional the time to drive out evil spirits. and that was done by dressing up in costumes - mostly rather scary, in the old days - and really really hitting the EAT and DRINK buttons hard, kinda "stocking up" before the time of abstinence...
so, here is our own personal edition of all this: give it up, everybody, for mouse benGee, ladybug vicky and tiger collin! meet the costumes crew 2014!
we even remembered to get the costumes in time. well, WHO remembered? and who EXACTLY? ok, it was grandma. so, thanx, grandma! :)
but everyone had their fun, even mama making up the faces... still, looks like february/march will be an exceiting time for years to come, not to say a busy one... watch out, here we come! helau!

happy birthday to you,
happy birthday to you,
happy birthday, dear little dragoooooooon....
happy birthday to yooooouuuuuuu!!!


good morning, dear little dragon! all the best for your collictively ninth birthday - from everybody!

despite the kindergarten ban (due to conjunctivitis)... :)

yeah, yeah, ALWAYS something! :)

finally the day has come: our oldest has finally received his very own stroller. his siblings have outgrown the cool huge troop mover, and always going on the enormobile as a single pilot gets lonely in a hurry. besides, benGee requires a little extra orthopedic care and a somewhat bigger trick box in order to close the gap to the minimally younger rowdies. and to always disassemble the serial stroller to drag it into the bus is slowly becoming a hassle, too. so, an adequate replacement was the order of the day. this day. a friendly expert delivered and adjusted and explained a supercalifragilistiexpialigoric convertible, a convertible that truly deserves the name, that even puts the name in a whole new ballgame, for it converts into all kinds of things... the 28.416.392.638 ways of adjustments make it a topless sportscar with a rainshade, which feels at home in the snow as well as in the mud or downtown city, which grows with the child and tilts to rock him into sleep and at the end of its immediate use is not only materially recycled but even collected by the health insurance and thrown into recirculation to help another child. a mere driver swap, so to speak... and with that phat load of pretty finish, solid engineering design and conscience-calming sustainability the passenger-pilot has but not other choice than smiling like our biggest in the photo above. and if the two "little ones" ask nicely enough, maybe he lets them ride the sibling board that trails behind the convertible. surely the 1 hbp engine (1 human being power) is up for the job. :) well then, benGee, keep the rubber side down, as willie G. always said, and hope that white stuff there on the ground will be gone soon, so it doesn't put a dent in the curve of your "fahrvergnugen"... :)

we interrupt our feature program for the most important news in a long long time, and darn, if it isn't good news! our dragon is exuberantly happy to announce that their oldest, four-paw, furry sister will continue to keep them company, guard them and be cuddled by them for an unquantified future to come. it was a long surgery, she has two huge scars now, but the tumor is out and she is recovering. we all are overflowing with joy and relief and thank dr. penzo and dr. kessler & team from the bottom of our hearts for this here international and successful rescue of this oh so important life!!

moral: get a second opinion. ALWAYS!!!

wow, a whole entire month without a chapter, three quarter years without a caleidoscope... looks like we are backing up or the dragon surpassing us slowly... ah well, not so quickly there... but still, here is an attempt on catching up:
first off, happy new year to all you loyal readers! newyear and xmas, both kinda just went by this time, in this unspectacular manner, nearly unnoticed. somehow we never really felt the mood. strange, no? probably because all the sick days: 2 days in kindergarten, 2 weeks sick at home, then repeat steps 1 through 2...
besides, there was no snow (thank goodness!) this year, so it rather feels like easter, anyways. and once easter rolls around, we are in full spring, which just goes around to show us, how quickly time really flies...

oh, yes, and the two boys have really really short haircuts, now. current temperatures allow such things. unlike in chicago, which was colder than the south pole this winter! so happy, we live where we do, now... :)

if there is anything one could get out of fall in central europe, it is the colors of the leaves in the forrest, no? so, out of the garage with the race van and into the woods - under the prettiest sunday morning sun. the saw job became a side issue, downright easy, piece of cake. and because it was so pretty, and because they dont know the woods yet - except from children's songs - i had taken the dragon, at least large portions thereof. and that cute little train's tracks laid right through the middle was a very idyllic motif for a photo, of course. long since abandoned, those tracks are completely overgrown, even with trees by now, growing right between the steel rails. the forrest claims back what had once been taken...

and because it is easier to walk on the tracks (and because daddy wanted to spit, erm LOOK from the bridge), we went for a little walk, all the way onto the big huge 100ft tall stone bridge right in between the very tops of the trees! how often does one find such things? unfortunately, there was noone taking THAT picture - us on the bridge... well, but we enjoyed the silence and alone time, and afterwards, the two little explorers fell into a deep, peaceful slumber after lunch, as expected. and so did i... :) alltogether a very beautiful sunday... despite the fall.

well, well, usually, there is a reason for the writer not writing, right? in our case it was hand foot and mouth disease - something i never heard of outside the animal kingdom. but it is amazing what one learns in the various phases of a reproduction project of our magnitude... HFM is a virus based children's disease. main carrier: the kindergarten. which is exactly why they didn't want us there... :) well, understandably...
the kids actually handled it nearly flawlessly. a little rash around the mouth, a little less eating, nothing too big. what was far worse was that mama got it, too. and as it usually is with children's diseases, in a grownup they are much more violent. and if the grownup then is also in charge of taking care of a three-headed dragon, well, before long stuff starts backing up. stuff like posting on blogs... :)

but we're back up and running again, literally. effective this morning, our 2 youngest are back in their element, the kindergarten. but what was the first thing we saw at drop-off: another quarantaine sign in the door "we have scarlet fever!" great, none of us never had that. curious when the - especially among men - dreaded mumps will hit, for i never had that one, either...
actually, it is amazing, how the kindergarten teachers cope with all that! imagine THAT highly sophisticated immune system - and consider that, young men, on your next mate selection quest... :)
get well soon (or rather, STAY well)!

xmas? well, also a typical anticipation target, i know, but not so fast, first things first!
but our benGee does have reason for anticipating joy, and here is how that came about: yesterday we had a very nice visitor, well he did, benGee, to be precise. and this very nice visitor had something very nice with himself, and that was the new seat for our eldest, his orthopedic sitting aid! the first partner we had for this somehow didn't really connect to sitting aids. or to us. or the world. or combinations... who knows. all the better that we ran into somebody new, or were brought together, rather, with loads of help, sensitivity, job experience and incredible diligence - almost love, alltogether! - from one of our beloved physical therapists...

yesterday was the coveted fitting session, the "try on", so to speak. first shot, direct hit. fits like a glove! or as we say in germany: learned is learned! now the seat will get a nice fabric cover, and when it returns, there will be photos for you, of course! and until then, we let you share our anticipation, the clearest, purest and most joyous joy. how do you like that, so close to xmas? so, be joyful, now! :)