Dude - where's my kid?!

Sometime last week, I was doing the usual. Running errands with E. G. was on a field trip with her class and K. and J. were in school. Normally, on piano days, I pick up G. and JT (E. is already with me), we eat a snack and then G. goes to piano near the school. While she is at her lesson, we drive to pick up K. from her bus drop off point. She eats a snack and then it's usually time for G. to come out and K. to go in.

This day I get to the school a few minutes behind the norm, but still before the kids usually get out. I don't have to pick up G. until almost 6 from the local bahnhof (train station), so I'm looking for JT. I park the car and wait. 10 minutes pass and no JT. In another 5, the buses will leave, so I run up to our bus and ask the bus driver (who speaks very little English - have I mentioned how much German I don't know?) if she has seen JT. She shakes her head. At this point, I'm not too worried, maybe he stopped to talk to a friend along the way, so I make my way down the long line of buses.

No JT. And no piano teacher. I look at my watch and start to panic - just a little. I call the after school program, SAS, but they haven't seen him. I call the school's front office, but no answer. It's almost time to pick up K. I call a friend and ask her to keep an eye out at home and to call if he shows up. I get in the car and start driving towards the drop off for K., totally forgetting that there is construction that makes what is usually a 5 minute drive, 10.

I call K. to explain the situation and find out her ETA. She agrees to meet me en route. She calls the piano teacher and lets him know we are on our way. I have her call a friend to verify the time for G.'s pick up. The friend says she thinks it's 10 till 6, but she'll check to make sure. Murphy must be my best friend...pick up time is 10 till 4! That was in 10 minutes!

Still no JT. My friend at home calls to tell me that he didn't show up. I'm driving like a mad woman to the bahnhof, knowing that I'm going to be late. It's almost 15 after 4 by the time I find a parking spot. Whew! I am not the only bad parent today - there were still 6-7 kids waiting with the teachers. I apologized profusely while running back to the car.

My phone rings. It's SAS. They found JT! We make it back to the piano place and walk in. It's actually the teen center. He is sitting on the plump couch, laughing with some boys, watching cartoons. He is not only safe, but having a great time!

For the tiniest part of one second I wanted to scream! The whole time I am running around, totally panicked (did I mention that security on the installation was beefed up? Armed soldiers, in combat gear, patrolling?!) imagining the worst...he was fine.

When he noticed me standing there, he said, "Hi, Mom! Do I have to go now?!"

(After calming down and talking to the staff at the teen center, apparently JT showed up, literally on the doorstep. One of the staff asked what he was doing. He told her that "every Thursday was piano day and I meet my mom and sisters here." Someone recognized him and let him in...my cell phone wasn't listed in the main system (I only wrote it down on every form I filled out for SAS, the teen center and piano lessons...)

I'm thinking about buying those GPS shoes for kids...

Here I am!

Just wanted to pop in and let you all know that I did great on my midterms - A's for both - and now I'm waiting on the final grades. The waiting is the worst part. I've done the work, everything's submitted (as of last week) and now I have to wait. The instructor's are supposed to have the grades in by May 4th, so only a couple more days to go...

Big man is doing the job thing and is currently in Vegas, soaking up the heat. Lucky him! The wind's been blowing here and last night I actually thought about turning on the heater, but that would have required me to get out of bed to do it...not happening!

A couple of weeks ago, the family took a trip to a water/theme park in Wassenaar, Holland. The kids had a great time and the adults, well, let's just say we enjoyed the down time! I'll post about the trip later this week (I hope!) and share the details.

The kids will be out of school soon, which signals the end of the "gotta go here, gotta go there" portion of this year (at least until school starts up again!) It also foretells of our upcoming trip to the states to visit family and friends. Looking forward to that!

Okay, that was the short version of what's happened lately. Details to follow soon!

Thursday Thirteen #4

13 Things I did instead of studying for my midterm

1. Paid the bills
2. Washed laundry
3. Walked the dog
4. Put the clothes in the dryer
5. Printed copies of Shel Silverstein's "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" for the girls in my youth group to recite.
6. Made breakfast for dinner
7. Ate dinner
8. Went to Activity Days (youth group) and discussed how we were going to dress up like garbage bags and recite this poem for an "Untalent Show"
9. Drove home
10. Caught up with P. Sunshine about her day
11. Emailed parents a reminder about what the girls will need for the "Untalent Show"
12. Emailed P.Sunshine's math teacher about make up work
13. Typed a T13

Special thanks to http://fruityspirit.com/phoblography/?page_id=2 for the T13 header!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Math's not stupid

A couple of semesters ago, I decided that I better get my degree finished as P. Sunshine will be graduating sooner rather than later. I'm taking a math and a biology class. I really thought that I would have a harder time with the math online as math isn't my strength. I have always liked science and thought that it would go pretty smoothly. Well, the last time I took biology was about 15 years ago. A lot of things have changed in 15 years.

And then there's the whole online experience. It really didn't occur to me how much I enjoyed discussion AND that I process info better if there's a discussion...you know the kind where people talk and you actually hear them? Discussion online is not in real time...okay, it can be, but it's so much faster to speak than it is to type, hit enter, click the mouse, whatever.

So, it's taking more time and effort than I thought to retain all this info. And then the old question...what the heck am I going to use this for?! I was whining to Big Man about my stupid math and he said, "the math's not stupid..." If it's not the math...Maybe I'm just ranting today. Next week are my mid-terms and I'm sadly lacking in retained info. Better get back to studying!

Fasching Foray

Someone commented that they didn't know what Fasching was...I didn't know what Fasching was either six years ago! It's the German version of Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. Fasching actually starts November 11 and ends on Fat Tuesday. Most cities have a parade and then parties, similar to Mardi Gras.

If you want more details, search "karneval" or "fasching".

The pictures on my last Thursday Thirteen (T13) were of a nearby village. Not one of the "million" people attended parades - too many people for me! This was a nice homey parade that lasted all of 45 minutes or so. There were many groups of girls wearing costumes and kind of marching/stepping, all the while yelling, "Ally oop!" The crowd would shout it back and then the candy would start flying! I was serious about wearing helmets next year!

I went with a good friend of mine and her kids. I hadn't asked her if I could post pics of her kids, so their faces aren't showing...Most of the kids dress up for the parades and her son was a dino and her daughter a vampire!

We watched from the beginning of the parade, so the kids caught lots of candy. I'm thinking we may just skip the treat-or-treating next year... It was crazy! There were parents running into the middle of the parade route to pick up candy. I was told that at the bigger parades, people bring umbrellas and open them upside down to catch the goodies.

It wasn't just candy that fell from the sky. Little tins of Nivea creme, samples of hair products, bakery rolls (that may have been from one friend to another, but it didn't matter as it bounced off of me to the recipient!!!) Coupons for jewelry, hair treatments, riding lessons...

One of the floats actually had people passing out cups of beer as it passed by! I imagine it was to wash the pea soup (yeah...I know!) that the German Red Cross was handing out as they drove by!

There were kids from the local martial arts haus and kids and ponies from the riding club, local community bands...it was very small townish! Just what I love! When we arrived people made room for our kids, when the goodies came most of them shared. Lots of smiling, laughter and good will were present.

So, if you're ever this way, this time of year - hit a fasching parade and don't forget the helmets!