We have officially moved! And like I say every time, we will never move again! But those of you who know us, will know I am lying. We have lived in Berlin for four years and this is our third place! Although we have no kitchen yet,we are happy. Kids and Georg and I get an extra hour of sleep in the mornings, and we walk or bike to school, depending on the weather! I love being right in a mini-city again. Starbucks, bookstore and Woolworth's across the street. I mean what more can I ask for ;)
classes for me are going well. A lot of work... to move, have school, have "duties" for kids school and have four almost 6 year olds fighting with each other every afternoon. I have come to realize that I am not a referee and if they are going to fight, they will have to find a way to make up.

Lucy hit her nose on the wall the other night. I heard her crying, but I thought she was just over-reacting. That is until she came out with blood pouring out of her nose! All over her hands, her PJ's, everywhere. I cleaned her up, and then went to check on her bedding. Not only did she have bloody hand prints all over her sheets and pillow, but our new white wall was smeared with blood!!! We haven't been here a week!! I can't keep up!
I think today I will take a break from my school work and do some shopping. Hanukkah starts on the 11th, and the kids need to start knowing about it. So I am off to find some Hanukkah candles in Berlin! Wish me luck!

I know I don't write like I used to. Things are so crazy here at the Hartmann house that every time I sit down to update, I am distracted by something. So we are moving! December 1st! We found the hugest apartment in the world! Well maybe not, but it's big! We are sad about our house, but excited to be closer to the kids school. Kids love school. They had a celebration of the fall of the wall yesterday. All the kindergardeners had boxes that they decorated. Then they stacked them up and made a big wall. Half the kids were on one side and the other half were on the other. Sid was the only one from the four without the other 3. They had to think about what life was like on the other side. When I asked Sid if he was sad that his brother and sisters were on one side and he was alone, he said, "No, I thought it was great!" So I guess he still secretly wishes he was an only child. Then they knocked down the box wall and had a party.

Each kid is invited to someone's house for thanksgiving lunch. They leave from school on a bus and have a big lunch at some poor suckers who volunteered to have thanksgiving at their house for their child's' entire class of 5 year olds!! I am in charge of making mashed potatoes for both Emmy and Lucy's class. There are 20 kids in each class!! How many potatoes should I use???

From soccer to t-ball, to Judo to belly dancing to swimming.....I am officially turning into a real mom!!! schlepping the kids back and forth like the good driver mom should! I am in my car more then ever! I can't tell you how much easier it will be when we move. Oh but first I have to pack!

It get's so dark so early here right now! 4:30pm.. dark. I guess I prefer summer when it stays light until 11pm.

HMMMM.....Been so busy!! If I am not driving my kids around, I am working on school myself. We are definitely renting out our house and I have mixed emotions about it! on one hand, I will be so happy to be closer to school. The area in which school is in, is nice and fun. But I am so sad, because I love my home!

Leaving next week for NYC and haven't even thought about it! Just now I am getting excited to see everyone. The kids are beyond excited. They keep saying how psyched they are for all the presents from family members they will get!(hint:family members;))

Big Lice problem at my kids school. On Friday they took 40 first graders and sent them home with lice! I have been obsessively checking my kids hair. Last night for example, Georg stopped the car to run into the store, and I noticed a big street light was shining in our car. Perfect lighting. I made the girls get in front so I could search their hair! The people walking by our car were giving me strange looks. I felt like a monkey! I spray them every morning with some "natural" anti lice spray. They all smell bad, but hopefully they will scare off the lice!

Kids are only five, and already their social calendars are full. On Monday Lucy went to a birthday party. On Tuesday, Emmy and Lucy went to their friend Isabella's house for a play date. Today we have belly dancing and judo, and on Sat. Girls are flower girls for our neighbors' wedding! So we have a wedding this Sat. And then a wedding next Sunday in NYC.....I have NEVER been this busy. I am really tired, but enjoying my busy life right now!

OK I know it's been a while. But we have been busy adjusting to being in school. Not just the kids, but me too. With so much writing for school, I haven't found a good time to catch you all up on us! The kids are loving school. They come home with a new song everyday. Sid's is my favorite. He sings it in his high -pitched, a bit easier to understand, voice. "the more we get together, together, together, the more we get together, the happier we'll be!"
I would say that's true, except by the time the end of the weekend comes around, and I have been with the kids 24/7, I am speeding to drop them off at the bus stop!

Speaking of bus stop, the drive is WAY too long for them. I had thought it would take them 40 minutes one way with the bus, but instead,because there are so many kids, the bus takes them at least an hour and a half....one way! Not including the 20 minutes it takes me to drive them to the bus stop! They are the first to get on, and the last to get off. TOO FAR! We love our place, but we think we need to move closer to the school! JFK is the best school for free here in Berlin, and the kids are LOVING IT. and the area of Berlin where it is is cool, but I will be sad to leave the water front. :( We will be renting our place out, so if any of you Berliners knows anyone that needs a beautiful townhouse in Spandau, on the water! Just email me. abbyhartmann@me.com

Getting so psyched for our trip to NYC Oct. 15Th!

OH MY GOD!!!! Kids are off to school! Yikes....now what?? We drove them this morning to a bus stop in the middle of the city. The little white school bus pulled up and a german with a cowboy hat bus driver greeted us. They were loaded on to the bus and disapeared in the distance. My babies! My crazies! I can not believe they are at school. I hope they are at school, and that I put them on the right bus this morning!! I have to wait all day to see if they make it back off the bus.

These past weeks have been so stressful. They have been home driving me and themselves crazy, I started my online classes. So I have been juggiling them being home, with time for my school work. I love being in school. God it took me long enough to like school...better late than never, I guess.

My neighbors are getting married at the beginning of October and I have been invited to go to her bacherlorette party. I don't know any of her friends and what I gather from the german email, is that we have to wear stupid tee shirts and parade Nadine, the bride to be down a busy street! And then eat and then go dancing! I need an excuse. I have got to get out of it! ASAP! Too old to parade down a street wearing a shirt that says Ich Bins nicht....(I am not). What does that mean anyway??

Oh, and my hair is falling out....What's up with that?

I have had NO time to write, as kids have been home for what feels like decades!!
They start Kindergarten tomorrow and I am the one who is nervous! I started school myself, and love it!

Kids are so excited. They take the bus, and I am scared they won't come off at their bus stop.

Boys got hair cuts, and they insisted they have spiky hair. So Max looks just like our manny Scott, and Sid has a real Fohawk!!! they love it, but now I need to apply gel every morning to get that "spiky" effect!

Going to watch some TV with G!

Write more about first day tomorrow.

Here are the pictures from our trip.

They spend the next week and a half going to camp, and then are home for ten days before school starts. Staying home wouldn't be so bad, but Scott, our ever trusted Manny will be vacationing in Italy! He has been planning it for a while, but I wish it wasn't when the kids are home, all day, every day! It's my fault for not realizing it sooner, when he asked if he could go.

Today I dropped them off at camp, and I realized that all the kids were already there. I asked the counselor if I was late, and he said, "Well camp starts at 8:45am, and it is now 9:15am." I guess that makes me late. "I thought camp started at 9:15am." He told me they decided on this earlier drop off time. Well thanks for telling me! My kids looked at me like I was a bad mommy for not knowing. As they walked off with the Counselor, I heard Sid say, My mommy just always like to sleep too long." OH SID I do like too sleep too long, I just wish one day, just one day, that I could! I would sleep so long, I would miss a day, and when I woke up I would close my eyes and go back to sleep!

I have 5 minutes until I have to pick the kids up from their second day of Circus camp. They seem to love it, except Max was upset yesterday that they didnt learn anything. He seems to think he should already be able to juggle and swallow flames.

Our camping trip was awesome. It was so much fun. Totally reminded me how happy I am to live in Europe. Germany, Austria, Sitzerland, Italy, Monaco and France in one week? I mean come on....The kids were so good, for the most part, and we just really enjoyed ourselves... Thats really all there is to it. Good old fashioned fun. But now I am dead tired and in desperate need of a vacation....Writing on a German keyboard, so it may look like I didnt spell check....OK getting clowns now from camp. Will update pictures later.