Such a Nice Boy

Shortly before Christmas Pig had his hands full tending to little girls around the house.


Often I prop a picture book in front of Monchichi to amuse her (and sneak off to do chores...and because it's a book and not TV I don't have to feel guilty, right?) Pig was home on this particular occasion and on his own he decided to stop playing and *read* to her...Monchi couldn't take her eyes off him the entire time.

My friend Sinead who just moved to Zurich came back recently for a visit with her 1 year old daughter, who was enamoured with the Blue Elephant as well as Pig's impeccable service. She had him wrapped around her little finger to push her to and fro around the apartment. He did it gladly and cheerfully, stopping only to check out her big grin.

Pig is a real gentleman!

NB: Just so I don't send everyone off to LaLaLand - Pig is still as you remember him. Daily tantrums regularly erupt along the way of going to bed or brushing teeth or just getting out the door. BUT, he does have a very good heart for littler people so Monchichi may luck out, after all. He really likes Katy Perry's Hot N Cold and is tickled when I sing it to him. Does he see our relationship in the refrain like I do ?

The Haggling Begins

I just put Monchichi to bed and am doing my usual surfing in the same room until she falls asleep, about 15 minutes or so. In this time before the deep breathing begins I'm sometimes called upon to go pop the pacifier back in her mouth. Just now as I was tending to this duty I saw her eyes wide open and she shined a gigantic winning smile my way - at 8 weeks old she was CHARMING me to stay and play with her!! Aaahhh!! Freaky Baby, go to sleep!!!

Christmas is Coming!

We finally put up our tree this past weekend, and Piggy did a great job hanging the ornaments. Here he is warming up with some air guitaring to Apres-Ski Hits 2000 (we need some xmas music on the ipod)

Pig has a discerning eye.

The hard work was rewarded by Christmas cookies


I like this picture, even though Monchichi is actually screaming.

On This Point I'm Very European, Very Julia Roberts

Hope sent us a package a few days ago with all sorts of nice things for Pig and Monchichi. As I was checking out Monchi's newborn outfit, Jochen looked through the rest of the box and said Hope also sent me something. Deoderant, 4 types.

He thought that was pretty funny.

I took a quick look and my mind started racing through the possibilities:

A. Hope wanted to say something to me when we last saw each other in LA this past March

B. Hope won a year's supply when she participated in her local Race for the Cure 5K

C. This is the reflection of the ever increasing grooming standards of sexy singles in the US

In the end I thought she must have gotten these from her mom or something, and as Hope is about to head off to Auckland to complete her PhD (in statistics -eek!) she's winding things down in SF and probably just threw them in along with the rest of the stuff. Which is cool, except that I KNOW for a fact that Hope is a product junkie, so I was a bit put out that I got the armpit supply and all the good Shu Uemera or Benefits stuff went to Aimee (who to be fair actually KNOWS how to apply makeup).

A few days later I was intrigued and decided to try the Cotton Candy flavor. This is definitely one of those first world products that Barbara Kingsolver would rail against. It smelled good, but when I put it on and it didn't FEEL good.

I finally read the copy on the packaging - kiddie soap!!

Here's to Hope's great adventure ahead in the southern hemisphere. I'm glad we got to clash outfits beautifully earlier this year before you revert from city girl with fancy schmancy "deoderant" to outdoorsy girl again. Have fun and see you down there or in Europe soon!!

Aimee, Yiwen, Hope - college roommates forever!

Sweet!

This is how we like 'em...

Monchichi Smiles

Monchichi started smiling a week ago...

Before I get tsk-tsks about how I should comb her hair: First, I like it all wild and crazy. Second, on the whole it's better I stay away from my children's hair. This is what happened the last time I gave Pig a haircut.

So Not Good

This morning I logged in my account and found my boss had sent me the 33 page Ford filing to Congress re $25 billion loan. Because I had a good night's sleep I trolled through it quickly and most of the material was familiar: First, Ford wants to distinguish itself from its peers by saying it doesn't have short term liquidity problems, and therefore is only requesting a ready line of credit at this time. Second, Ford goes to great lengths to say, prior to the current meltdown, it had already taken steps to restructure its business and third, in its business plans Ford has a lineup of products that will be ecologically responsible and attractive to consumers.

Many of you have asked what my views are of the bailout, and I've been trying to think of the Big 3 individually as well as the US auto industry in general. If I look at the individual companies, I have to say I have no clue what the guys at GM are doing. Given the cash intensive business we're in, I think Wagoner and crew should be sacked for taking so long to admit they need a cash infusion of $4 billion before end of the year, or else. Tell me credit crisis or not they didn't see this one coming for a while. The fact that they wasted their energy as late as September this year to discuss a potential merger with Chrysler is a clear sign they live in a different parallel universe. Chrysler is mainly a US entity and one that's probably most in jeopardy, given I'm cynical about Cerberus' intentions. Ford, my company, is probably the best at execution, but the question remains whether under current pressures we will only take steps for the short term (2011 is still short term for me) or really do more than pay lip service to sustainability and think where we will take this company in the next 10,20 years.

As for the automotive industry in general, I hope the public picks up the following points: First, there is a danger of a domino effect in terms of the supply base: should GM go under the other two will also be severly impacted. Second, as an HR person I joined this industry because it is unionized (and I'm not asked to go be a union buster) and provides decent jobs and wages for its employees. I continue to reject the race to the bottom in terms of striving for the lowest pay and standard of living. The UAW and Big 3 had some cushy deals in the past, and as far as I'm concerned it's ok if we don't preserve these $20/hr jobs with benefits...as long as we are willing to build up the social safety net that is currently lacking in this country. $9/hr with no health insurance is not a living wage. Finally, there are steps the govt can take instead of (or in addition to) handing over a check. There are infrastructure decisions to be made if we are to have a future with electric vehicles/mass transit - make those investments and create a market for automakers in general. Then sit back to see if the Big 3 step up to the plate...

I am sad about the current state of affairs in Mumbai, Zimbabwe and the Congo at this time, but it really serves to remind us that there are plenty of other issues worthy of our attention, aside from the fluctuations of the Dow. Our lives likely WILL NOT be as materially comfortable as before, but we're far from merely surviving, as so many are in this world...

So Good

Can I tell you, yesterday was another good night - I got like 7 hours of sleep (with one wakeup at 4am). Monchichi is awesome.

Her only problem is she spits up regularly - not a lot but more than I remembered from Piggy (actually I don't remember much from that period). And, sorry to embarass you hon, you're one gassy baby. Can you tell from the pic?


Pig came home last week and thought this measly string of lights was the most awesome, ever. The tree is next, once we locate our box of ornaments.

Finally, this doesn't look like the end product, but here is one of the photos from our Christmas card photo shoot session. And no, we and Sarah don't think the antlers are cheesy, you intellectual elitist!

Admit It

You waste hours as I do searching for entertaining tidbits or worthy content on the web. My time now is like a pocket full of loose change: enough for the 99 cent menu but just short of a nice sitdown meal. At least this is my justification for squandering it sitting in front of my computer instead of tackling the next home-improvement project.

SO, if you have any sites to recommend - by all means share it here...it's nice how one link always takes you to another. To get you started:

Food Blog Listing, but of course the art is to wade through the crap. Two sites that looked good at first glance -
A French food site (text in English/French AND English/Metric!!)
And a Bento site - I showed it to Jochen and asked if he would pack my lunch when I go back to work next year...

Of course, recommendations will also be taken for pages covering literature, politics, fashion, travel, film, celebrity gossip and anything else you think I may be interested in...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snow is rare in Cologne, so even these minor sprinklings are camera-worthy.

Monchichi is putting in more mat time now, although she's only good for about half an hour before she cries for company. And because Piggy gets our bad cop routine she gets the good cop treatment. How is it I've become so soft-hearted this time around??

Pig and Monchichi at the Musem Ludwig Cafe.

And...the reason why photos are getting uploaded faster these days are thanks to my own little toy laptop. Don't look to Jochen for diamonds and pearls, but he's always more than generous when it comes to sports equipment and electronics. Can I interest the US readership for some video skyping???

Pacifier Fairy

The following is an entirely unscientific observation, but I find that the shift in German child rearing philosophy before and after WWII is akin to the move from the Old to the New Testament. In an earlier epoch you had the Grimm fairytales, Max und Moritz and Struwwelpeter stories - serious hardcore object lessons on the dangers of childhood and the fate of those who misbehave. Postwar (then booming) Germany emphasized instead economic incentives for staying on the straight and narrow rather than the dire consequences of going astray - thus you have the custom of presents on the first (half) day of school and the Pacifier Fairy. Grade school is still 2 years away but the Pacifier Fairy finally paid a call to our house about 2 months ago.

The Pacifier Fairy (Schnullerfee) collects pacifiers from big kids so she can, I don't know, recycle them and (yuck) pass it on to babies, I guess. Pig, who gave up daytime use of his Nuni fairly early always still had his dirty little secret for going to bed or whenever he's lounging around at home - interestingly he always made sure to put it away if there were visitors at the house.

The deal is when you're ready to hand over the pacifier, you have your mom or dad call the Fairy and let her know in advance what you'd like to have as a present in return. For Pig commensurate quid pro quo was a garbage truck. A BIG ORANGE one.

Since we were so crap with our toilet training efforts (that's another story) we decided this airy fairy socially accepted bribing was the way to go. However we didn't have much faith that Pig would live up to his end of the bargain, so we made him quit cold turkey for two weeks before we called the Fairy. Amazingly he withstood the test and the Fairy, after some moaning about how kids used to be happy with a nice yo-yo or puzzle, did come after she managed to track down this particular prize.

We were so pleased with the outcome that we told the Fairy she could count on our repeat business - next time hopefully a bit sooner rather than later....

At Least We Don't Call Her Smurfette

When Pig first joined his daycare group, we were told another family gave him the nickname Monchichi - the resemblance is striking, I must admit. I don't know if these little monkey creatures ever made it to the US, but apparently they were a popular Japanese export to Europe in the 70s.

We resurrected the moniker this time around on the assumption that Number 2 will have just as big of a head and just as much hair as Number 1 - pretty much a safe bet. We also knew we wanted a "cuter" nickname for our baby girl - Pig lives up to his name manfully, but given this is Year of the Rat there's potentially nowhere to go but down...

So Monchichi has been our working title for the past six months and now that she's here we think it's a great fit. Hsin presciently told us way back that Monchichi is a clunky nickname, and indeed we find ourselves already shortening it to Monch, Monchi, Chichi, etc. Her vote was for Puggle - which is either a designer mutt or a baby platypus or a toy character.

Pig, who is now very sensitive to gender, sees the logic of Mommy/Monchichi and Papi/ Piggy, so who are we to argue?

Christmas Pictures

Yesiree, just in time for this year's Christmas card distribution we'll be running a 2 fer 1 special and offering 2 kiddies for double the cuteness (yes, that IS how it works). I think to get things going we'll have to come up with a photo by this weekend of the two so we can get the cards printed up in time. Somehow I've been avoiding this very exciting task, but at least we've had a few trial runs - hopefully the final product will feature both children awake and evoking some amount of holiday cheer.

A challenge will be to convince Pig not to do his "scary smile" - as my sister likes to put it. For the past year this has been his photo face of choice, and the only way to not get this toothy grimace is to sneak up on him. I'm actually getting used to this by now - I like to think of it as his patented Zoolander pose. When Monchi sleeps she sometimes has a ghostly smile, eyes closed. I need to get them both to do that at the same time for a Chinese cynical realism montage.

Princess, Yue Min Jun 1997

Table Manners

Although Piggy is normally more a teriyaki chicken-on-a-stick man, the cucumber makis gave him a great opportunity to try out his chopstick skills. Except for some unplanned dives into the soy sauce dish, all in all he managed to get food to mouth without doing serious damage to himself or others.

Exhibit A: The by-any-means-necessary method of holding your chopsticks

We got through this meal with no tears, nothing landing on the floor, and a full belly. Good job Pig!

G Rated

Somehow I don't remember being as domestic during the last maternity leave, but the streak continues and I'm totally enjoying making all sorts of new recipes, both sweet and savory. But, I recognize short of having everyone over for dinner (which will not be anytime soon) all this is just bluster on my part unless I can produce some hard evidence for display. Unfortunately, I'm also realizing quickly that I don't have what it takes to produce hardcore food porn. When something comes out glistening from the oven or piping hot from the stovetop, my focus is on piling it on my plate and wolfing it down - if nothing else because I expect only 10-15 minutes of peace, tops, before I have to go play nursemaid again. Manger interruptus to go get the camera and fuss to get a good picture is just not a discipline, yet. Therefore, for the time being I can only offer some harmless shots of my recent jam making efforts as well as my first ever homemade birthday cake for the Pig (I know, I know, but you have to remember I went back to work well before his first birthday, so up to now store bought was GOOD ENOUGH!!)

9 Years

Today, 9 years ago, Jochen and I met at a Foo Fighter's concert in Cologne. We are still amazed it happened, at all...

Debut

At 3 weeks old, Monchichi makes her first appearance on the blog!! Since the past days she's been much more alert and awake so I can finally get a picture of her with her eyes open:

So far Monchi is a very well-behaved baby (although I may live to regret my words later). Aside from some gastro issues that remain to be worked out, her toughness is a welcomed change from, ahem, what I remembered from the first time...
Some photos from the first day of her birth. Pig loved visiting us in the hospital and thought it was cool they brought such delicious food to the room...























Mini-Me?

These are the dancing shoes Hsin made for Monchichi - gorgeous, aren't they?

Maternity Leave Bliss

I'm now starting my 3rd week of maternity leave and have so enjoyed this period of leisure that I'm afraid I'll kick and scream when it comes time to give it all up for 2am feedings in a month's time. Somehow it didn't seem like such a big deal the first time around - probably because I had plenty of time back then to do my own thing in the first place. But after 3 years of running after the Pig I hardly know what to do now that I have Mondays-Fridays to myself whilst he's off to the kindergarten. My days are half industrious - I'm back to doing my own cleaning, unpacking boxes from the move, baking and putting up jam, trying new recipes as well as obsessively tracking the US election coverage. I was also flirting with the idea of getting in touch with other expat moms just to build up an English-speaking network but must say I haven't been motivated to see that one through.

So as of yesterday I've readied my birthing playlist on the ipod (just kidding - Goldfrapp is probably not going to cut it), packed my hospital bag, and confirmed Plan A (standby babysitter to come stay with Felix) and Plan B (new hospital instead of the originally planned - long story, one which will be told depending on how traumatic the birth is this time around). These things out of the way, I plan to blithely continue my slacker ways, stay up until all hours and swill alc-free wheat beer until Monchichi decides to come out and see the world.

By the way, I have mixed views about Frank Rich, but Ms Palin's lack of self-insight supports the dire scenario he paints this week:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/opinion/05rich.html?em

Bambini Run

From the beginning Felix has been a regular onlooker at sporting events - Tour de France start 2004 in Liege (ok he was only along for the ride in my belly), faithful bystander at the Cologne marathon in September/October each year and all sorts of running and biking competitions in between (unfortunately only once involving Jochen - we both need to get in shape again!) The summer Olympics coverage the past weeks further expanded his horizons in terms of sports so far unknown: dressage, wrestling, diving, crew. It also emphasized sports in terms of what he knows already - namely winning and medals. Recently we saw an advertisement for a series of informal kids races locally and asked if he would like to take part - the answer was an emphatic yes...until the day of the race.

We took him anyway and the minute he got his start number he was rather, keyed on, so to speak. Jochen took him around the 2 loops that made up the 350m course to orient him before the start you can feel his quiet concentration/excitement.

However, the minute the kids were told to line up he didn't want to let go of Papi's hand.

They were out of sight for part of the loop and Jochen reported that he was flagging by the middle of the second round - but he brought it home. Go Piggy!

We're Back!

Hard to believe two years have gone by since the last post, but I've never given up hope that, at some point, I would take up the keyboard again. Pig remains my inspiration, but we're also eagerly anticipating Monchichi's arrival (due date 31 October) to round out the clan. The lost years will have to be dramatically woven into the storyline in the future a la flashback. Meanwhile, some recent pictures from Hsin-Yi's visit.

Hsin at Dallmayer's - where we all wished the portions were a big more hearty.

Here we are at the 20th anniversary Tollwood Festival, which started as a hippie/music happening in Munich. Today there's some music but a lot more food and beer tents, as well as tie-dye and incense stands.


On top of Germany! We just walked back from the Austrian side of the Zugspitze and there was whiteout as far as the eye can see. The weather got better a few hours later but as you can see from the picture not only the winds were howling...