An so quickly moods can change :)

vs

Hello,

It's amazing how qickly a toddlers mood can change :) Imagine we were like that as adults. It would be chaos. Yesterday, I wintnessed a customer having a tamper tantrum at Mothercare. It was embarassing just to listen to her, she shouted, was verbally abusive to staff to the extend that they called the police. I will never understand why people like to make a fool of themselves. If I was her I would never dare to go back to that place.

Anyway, on a different note. :) We are sort off getting ready for our trip to the US. But before we board the plane on the 31st December, we will celebrate Christmas, as our own little family for the first time. That said, we don't have enough space for a lovely smelling decorated Christmas tree, but I console myself with the fact that Bennet would constantly try to pull it over anyway :) I have, however, decorated the window with some lights and ornaments and I put up our wooden little Christmas Tree that you can wind up and plays "Oh, Tannebaum". It's been reaosnably cold (for UK standards) over here, so all that and more helps to "get us in the mood". My parents are in the midst of putting together a "Care Paket", a paket stuffed full of goodies, Xmas sweets and chocolates. I wonder how long it will take to eat it all up. :)

We have been to Odds Farm a couple of weekends back. I will upload some pictures to Picassa for all to see. There are some good ones!!!

I hope this blog finds you all well!

Watch this space and thanks for reading!

Milena

We're still teething!

First of all: Thank you Ryon for informing the general public about what I should have done in the first place and would have gotten around doing eventually. *cough cough* My blog resides at a new address indeed. As you are reading this I assume you already now this! Yay, thanks for following me to the new residence! My blog title from now on matches my URL blog address. Thought it makes sense. :) A big applause also to Ryon for informing the German readers. In German! I think he has done a brilliant job! Made me laugh. Actually the whole post did!

I thought I share a picture with you that I have taken last weekend, so relatively up to date. It shows Bennet's 4 top teeth breaking through and unlike it suggests in this picture he isn't always as miserable as he appears to be in this snap shot ;) It must be painful growing teeth through the gums!




Poor BouBou! Or how the English would say: Bless!

Since Saturday 1st November we're walking :)

Bennet has made the transition from baby to toddler now. Since Saturday he is walking non-stop. He doesn't even touch his beloved walker anymore. Let the fun begin!

Cyclist that loved animals....

There was an article about my friend in the paper yesterday. You will find it here. He was a good soul and is still sorely missed, especially by his family.

We are still vegetarians or better pesceterians in rememberance of Ant. He's giving me the strength to do a lot of things that I would have otherwise avoided.

Rest in Peace.

Back at work

Since 22nd of September I'm back at work part-time and it's quite good. Benny has settled in fairly well at the childminder. The first day he didn't have a lunchtime nap and was really tired and grumpy when we picked him up. I finished work dead on time as I was desperate to see Benny- you could only see a dustcloud of where I was. :) Now after two weeks he has settled in quite nicely, despite the Monday blues he gets after a long weekend with mommy and daddy. I find the balance between working and spending time with Benny really good. My brain gets some exercise! I even sit at my old desk with the view over Salt Hill Park. Still I mostly stare at my screen all day long, but it's nice to have the option of letting it wonder over some green and to look at the clouds passing by. At work, a lot of things have changed, but in other ways it seems like I've never been away. I'm still part of the Silver Champions Team, but only 4 people are left from my old team and 7 are new. I also have a "new" performance coach, who returned from her maternity leave a couple of months back and there is another team member that just returned from hers in May. It's quite nice to share the same experiences with fellow team members. I got some coaching the first 3 days to freshen up my memory and have been on the telephone from day 3. The new telephone system that was implemented in August is still a little confusing, but I'm slowly getting used to it. The people were also very nice in welcoming me back. I think I heard the question "How is it to be back?" a trillion times. :) So that's it so far from me. Ryon still likes his new job very much. He found out a couple of days ago that his old company is going bust (the UK part of the business) and has to close all the UK branches apparently. It brought him some Schadenfreude as you can see when you read his blog. :) More soon... Bye for now X

Our holiday

So Benny and I went to Germany as we were lucky enough to find a good childminder and had a really good time there. We had some nice and warm if not hot late summer days and Bennet got to play with sand in the sandpit for the first time, even had a little taste of the sand and decided it wasn't really his thing. You can see what we've been up to in the panel to the left where there should be a slideshow with all our pictures. He also got to ride a pony for the first time ever which was so cute! He managed to hold onto the saddle with the right hand and I walked on his left holding his left hand, but you should have seen him! He looked like a real cowboy (daddy's genes?)! So comfortable in the saddle, going with the flow! His first birthday was spent at home, playtime in the Morning, nap time around lunch and then the guests arrived for 3pm coffee and cake. I had made an apple crumble cake with custard on the side and a miniature marble cake with a number "1" sparkler on top that I lit up when all our guests were seated at the table to sing "Happy birthday..." He had a disbelieving look on his face that would change for a little smile for the sparkler that he reached out for to touch and then a "What's all this about!" sort of look again followed by a short squeak at the end, so I think he quite liked it! After that we walked our calories off in the park and stayed at the playground till dusk. Two days later his cousin Noelani turned 3 (I still can't believe it!) and we went to an indoor adventure playground with bouncing castles, a ball pool, tricycle track, huge climbing frames with slides and a soft play area with tunnels for Benny to whoop it up! Have I mentioned the scrumptious brunch at "Pasternack" the day after we arrived? Uhhhh! It was soooo yummy! They had sideboards filled with the yummiest of things, sweet and savory and of course it's all you can eat so the sky is the limit. I managed to stay away from meat as they had a good selection of vegetarian food, also. And all for a tenner! So cheap! On Sunday the 14th September we had the joint birthday party which was good, too. The only thing was that the children were to young to play with each other or engage in party games, but we played hit the pot easy version, basically blindfolding the little one (sometimes not even that), putting the pot right in front of him/her and encouraging them to hit it with the wooden spoon which made a lot of noise! :) So yeah, all in all we had a really good time!

Germany and things...

Hello again :)

Just a couple of more hours until Benny and I are heading towards Germany one more last time before I'm due back at LEGO on the 22nd September!

Things have been pretty hectic here, as my prospective childminder called me two days ago to say she's giving up childminding! I nearly had to cancel my trip to Germany because of that. But I found a good childminder yesterday, pheww! So Benny will have the settling in period upon my return on the 16th September. It will also be Bennet's 1st birthday on the 10th of September. As my neice Noelani turns 3 on the 12th, my sister and I will probably pool the 2 birthdays and have a joint celebration.

Our vegetarian challenge ended on the 4th September, but Ryon and I decided to keep it up until one of us gives in. :) We've been eating a lot of veg and fruit and haven't really been missing meat (much).

I better get a couple more things ready before I head to the airport! Travelling by yourself with a baby is FUN! :D Anyone a spare pair of hands for me?

Milena x x x

Ryon Schatz, I love you! Looking forward to seeing you soon and thank you so much for helping me get ready for the trip! mwah!

First Great Western

First Great Western (the company that's in charge of the train network in and around London) have told us that duplicate season tickets are not usually refundable. (Ryon was unfortunate enough to lose it shortly after purchasing it). He got it in March and paid for it with the help of a company loan and in return sacrificed a certain amount of his salary each month. In his last month they didn't pay out his salary at all for it to go towards the loan and then we still owed them £600 after he left the company. Needless to say we dug into savings in America and subsequently paid £2480 for his annual travel card. However, since 18.08 Ryon does no longer require the ticket as his new job is outside of London and handed the ticket in to be refunded. He hadn't been told there and then, but when he chased the people up via telephone two days ago we were told that "refunds are not usually made for duplicate season tickets according to the terms and conditions of carriage". BUMMER! They still owe us over £1000, money we'd been counting on to get us out of the overdraft and up on our feet again. Now the only thing that we can do and have done is to write a letter of complaint to the Customer Service Bureau. I'm praying they will give us our money back. It's so not fair! Without dramatizing they are taking food from our baby's mouth. In moments like this I despise this capitalist country. I know Germany has it's flaws, too, but it seems like this country likes to challenge us all the time. But at least we know that if we can make it here, we can make it anywhere! We'll get stronger! :)

PS: A praise for Germany: Germany is very supportive of young families due to their "new" policy. A German friend I met up with today told me that you can take up to 3 years maternity leave in Germany. And dad's are welcome to have their fair share if they want to! Also the childcare costs are calculated in accordance with your salary.

Vegetarian Challenge...20.08. - 04.09.2008

Inspired by a fellow blogger, Michelle, I (and Ryon) want to take on the challenge of being vegetarians for at least two weeks. The challenge started yesterday and will last until the 4th of September with the possibility of extension. But Im planning to be in Germany over Bennet's birthday so I might revert to old habits, especially when I can't afford to buy food, but have to live off other's expenses (but then I can't really afford to buy propper food in this country is what it seems). To put my all in it and to get some ideas what we could eat, now that we omit meat, I took out two vegetarian cookbooks at the library. I flicked through them and the recipes inside look extremly yummy, so I said to Ryon that I could imagine turning into a vegetarian for longer if not good. And this comes out of the mouth of a devoted carnivore :) I have to add that Ryon and I have already been avoiding red meats for quite some time and stuck to chicken, turkey and fish (mostly). However, these ones I have been enjoying to the full, especially as there is no better soup than a chicken soup with some chicken on the bone. The flavour is just not the same without it. :( That's why I wonder if I can stick to it longer than 2 weeks??? We'll see.

Then, today, Bennet had a trial run at the childminder and I was having typical motherly feelings and doubts about whether I have made the right decision, chosen the right person to look after him, the right environment etc. When I returned after an hour and stepped into the room, Bennet saw me, moaned (as if "How dare you leave me behind, mommy") and came quickly crawling towards me like a little dog. For the record, I will be returning to work on the 22nd September for a mere £50 a week, due to exorbitant childcare costs. I don't even have the option of putting Bennet into nursery, because I wouldn't be able to afford it. So give me a good reason why I should return to work, when I seem to be working to pay the childminder??????????????? Grrrrrr. And in the meantime, cost of electricity, food and water keep rising and rising and the waterlevel is coming up to our chins. Hopefully, Ryon's new job will pull us out of the wet before we drown. Don't know what would have happened to us if he hadn't found the new job??? Now I hope he is not going to spoil it all by telling forbidden jokes, farting or generally behaving in a childish manner that's not accepted when representing a respectable person with a reputable job in an aspiring company. But I think he does realize he's got to be better than that and a family to look after. At least that's what I hope. :)

I better go to bed as it's late.

One topic I'll keep for another time: First Great Western Company. They are evil. And corrupt. Backstabbers!

Bye for now.

Milena

Grandpa meets Grandson the 2nd...

Not long ago, my dad came to visit us for a week to take in some impressions of the English Country, tourist attractions and most of all his grandson, Bennet. I got to show him around quite a bit. We went to Regent's Park, Madame Tussauds, Bath to see the Roman Baths, London (a couple of times), LEGOLAND Windsor and Windsor Castle. Here are some pictures of the lovely pair: grandpa and Bennet







We miss you, grandpa! Come back soon!

Happy Birthday to me...

This is how my birthday cake looked like. :) Can you tell
that I like to make a big fuss about my birthday? *hehe*
You only turn 26 once and I've been thinking about mortality
a lot lately so one more reason to celebrate birthdays. :)
My friend Ant never got to get 26...

Even though this whole month has been overshadowed by the
death of my friend,I still managed to enjoy my birthday.
Ryon surprised me by taking me to a Restauarnt called
Tummies for breakfast. A scrumpteous breakfast I have to say.
And Bennet quite enjoyed the tropical fruit platter. :)

After that we put Bennet down for a lunchtime nap and we even
got a chance to rest our heads as well. At 2.30pm we had 3
mommy friends with babies of mine come around to have tea
and cake with us. It was lovely to chat and see the babies
interact with each other even if it was just trying to snatch
each others toys...





At about 5.30pm I had a surprise piano lesson, which was a
lot of fun and encouraged me to make more use of my keyboard!
Defintely planning to have more lessons, but with a different
teacher...a woman, if I may be a little sexist here :)


This is daddy and Bennet warming up the piano for my surprise
lesson.





And in the evening we went for a walk on Raymill Island where
this picture was produced.




It was a fab fab day!

Thank you Ryon!!!


PS: Sorry for the messed up format in this post. It must
be the banner at the bottom, but if so it's worth it.
Go check it out!

W is for Windsor

We have just returned from a lovely outing to Windsor and I thought I'll write about our day as it was really quite lovely. For the record, summer has arrived in Britain now and it is quite HOT!Part of the reason why we were hanging around the flat lethargically, like 3 finger sloths dragging our rear ends around the flat while Bennet was so agile and active! It was really quite comical! (Ryon drew a sketch on it so maybe I'll be able to scan and upload it onto here)

Our alarm went off at 9am in the Morning. I went out to run an errand in the Morning and when I returned Bennet was taking his lunch time nap. From the time he woke (at about 1am) we were talking about leaving the house for a nice outing somewhere.

It wasn't until 5pm that we actually set foot outside our flat and I thought "the day is nearly over, but at least we can go for a little stroll in Windsor."

It's really weird, but we got a lot of things "done" when we finally arrived in Windsor. We went to a Fun Fair and got some Cotton Candy and Donuts and watched the rides, we took a 40 minute boat trip along the river Thames and watched the crowds having BBQ's by the river banks, we went to the big Ferries Wheel at Alexandra Gardens and played with Bennet in the grass (he had found a tennis ball and loved playing with it).





And when it got dark we went to a nearby Pub and had dinner on the terrace.

When we walked back along the river with the reflection of the ferry's wheel in the water I suddenly realized the couple of hours we spent felt as if they had stretched into a whole day, as if the more stuff we were able to do the longer the hours became. Does this make sense? Maybe that was, because it doesn't get dark until quite late...

I loved that Windsor was bustling with people on a warm romantic summer night....It was a lovely day!

Pictures to follow!

Life goes on....

..., but it goes on with one less sensitive and caring, fun individual. I still find it hard to believe, but yesterday's funeral was a lovely send off for my friend Anthony.

Like his uncle said in his tribute speech along the lines "We need to carry on with the good deeds that he did." and perpetuate the love that he send out into world! I am only one of hundreds who will dearly miss him! ("We will always ride together")

R.I.P.

Donations, in memory of Anthony, for the "WSPA" World Society for the Protection of Animals may be sent to A.B. Walker & Son Limited, 36 Eldon Road, Reading, RG1 4DL

Mourning the loss of a good friend...

"I think every second in itself is a miracle and realising this, nothing need seem depressing at all but it's very hard to realise that as the truth. " Anthony Maynard

Walpole Park, Ealing, May 2008

Dear Reader,

On Tuesday night I received some devastating news in the form of an email. On Thursday night, 3rd of July, a good friend of mine, Anthony Maynard, had been killed in a cycle traffic accident around 8pm being out on a club run to Henley-on-Thames.
His dad didn't have my telephone number, but was able to log into Ant's email account so he informed me via that medium. I am so glad, actually, as when I opened the email, Bennet had been in bed and I was in the comfort of my home and had Ryon around.

The past few days have been incredibly difficult, but Ryon has been a GREAT support! Not only did he hold me when I received the terrible news, but he's been bringing food home so I wouldn't have to cook and checked up on me with many telephone calls during the day.

In the past days I've been obsessed with looking up emails from Anthony, posts on various message boards, pictures I took of him on our recent visit, pictures he took on various bike trips and climbing holidays in Europe, anything to be close to him again and feel his presence around me. Last year he biked the Dolomites with a friend which I thought was incredibly brave!

With Ant's tragic passing I have lost a dear, caring and genuine friend, who was always there when I needed him. He had a great sense of humour. He introduced me to lovely walks around the countryside were he grew up. He had much love for animals which eventually resulted in turning from a vegetarian into a vegan.

Everyone who knew Ant knew his LOVE for cycling and he seemed to be very good at it, too. I had never seen him in his professional gear until I went to the Reading Cycling Club (short: RCC) website after his passing and wasn't even aware that he was part of the RCC and that it existed. When he talked about cycling I always thought he got on his mountain bike and cycled with a couple of friends, but in fact he was a well known, well loved and respected member of the RCC with a lot of scope to be a professional cyclist.

My thoughts go out to his father Dave, mother Sue and sister Theresa, who mourn the great loss of a brilliant son and brother, which they can be so proud of! He touched many lives!

R.I.P my dear Ant

Milena

A few quotes:

"Do you know what he [Ant's dog Drew] does sometimes ? When I am not really watching he grabs the lead with his mouth and pulls it out my hand, then walks ahead, taking himself for a walk. He learnt this so long ago, that I gave up trying to stop him !!"

"You know, the only one thing I know I really want to do is travel around Europe..."

"Don't mention the sea please !! I love it a lot too. Have you ever been to Devon? I went there camping about a month or so ago. It was like you said... great sunsets, sea, everything, and I never felt better when I got back. To spend all that time away from the everyday stuff makes you feel loads better."

"Thanks, it was a good time, I'm sad to be back! I came back last night [from Nepal], so I'm tired now, not much sleep! I went for nearly a month, not quite long enough to miss home, so was always glad to be away. "

"My friend does it [Salsa] and he says it's really hard (says it's easier for girls, although I can't work out why) but then that's probably because his lessons are run by an ex-policeman who is really stern with all of them and will literally shout at him whenever he puts a foot wrong!"

"Are you still enjoying living in London? I don't go in there as often as I used to, I went to Wandsworth to see my sister last weekend though because I hadn't seen her for ages. I lost my wallet on the tube a couple of months ago too, I thought I'd never get it back but the lost property department phoned me a couple of weeks ago to say they'd found it. I was really pleased until I found out I had to pay £10 to get it back! That's hardly fair."

"The trip to Nepal was unbelievable, I'll tell you about it next time I see you, there's so many things that if I start writing now I probably won't sleep tonight! I have all the pictures in an album (Theresa (sister) got it for me, I wasn't too keen on it at first but now I see it's good to have them all in one place, even if it took ages to put them in order) so I can show that, but I'll try to put them on the internet soon and tell you how to get to them. All in all though, the people were brilliant, I keep in touch with some of them. And the scenery was awesome, that is one thing I know you would have loved! You're right, I am longing to be away from home! And out of the office!"

"I’m not sure what your situation is, or what you’re doing, but I’m sorry you don’t feel that good at the moment. I can't really say anything to help as your mind is your own. I think every second in itself is a miracle and realising this, nothing need seem depressing at all but it's very hard to realise that as the truth. If you want to share anything specific that is hard, you honestly can tell me if you needed to. You have many good things about you so I hope you're not down for long."

"I'm going to Slovenia with my friend from work, we've been planning the routes for weeks and now I'm starting to think they're too hard. We're carrying everything - tents, etc - on our backs and now it feels like I'm two people! I might take a lot of pictures, so I'll show you a few of them, only the good ones. I had an endurance event in Wales at the weekend and just got back last night. It was one of the hardest I've done because of the climbing and it being 110 miles, plus still almost feeling like winter here as well."

"I had a look on your myspace area - nice dog! He looks like he's sunning himself soaking up the rays. You always have loads of different dogs to look after. Lucy is great, competely different from when she was at the rescue centre - gone from being terrified of men to chasing me around and biting my feet - I don't know if this is a good thing or not."

A email from Ant, dated Friday 07 September 2007:

"Alright Folks, Just a quick message to let you know how I'm getting on. Currently in Innsbruck, been chased here by snow, hail and strong winds. It shouldn't be this cold at this time of year - Innsbruck is covered in snow. We started in Slovenia, then rode west towards the Dolomites and then up over the Italian/Austrian border. The Dolomites were mind blowingly awesome but cold. We have done a huge amount of high passes carrying a lot of weight. The best climb so far was the Tre Cime De Laverdo, which they raced up in the Giro this year. I rode that unloaded, views at the top of that climb are unbelivable, make the 25% gradients worth the effort! Did the Zoncolan too, that is a climb! This trip has been hard so far but worth the effort - it's a lot of ride, eat, set up tent, take down tent, etc, but I'm into it and still got two weeks left. People I have met have been great, Italians especially. It's a good job that some speak English and I'm good at making monkey like movements to get my point accross because I can't switch between all these languages. Apparently I'm not very good, but I'm trying! My legs feel good and I'm eating a lot so keeping the energy up but this winter weather is sapping. A couple of mornings my water bottle had frozen and only at 1500 metres - that's crazy! My tent leaks as well, which is even crazier seeing as it's not that old. It's North Face, don't get one. We've only had to free camp twice, once on the Italy/Slovenia border after a 120km day over three passes in thunder and lightening. I'm riding out of here in the morning because Anita is flying home so I'm mentally preparing myself for two weeks on my own. I only have a rough idea of which route I'm taking but have decided to avoid the mountains because they're too damn cold and my moral might take a bashing if I'm up in them on my own! My plan is to chase the sun wherever it is though it's been out foxing me all the way so far. I might ride through the Black Forest because a German couple I met a couple of days ago said it's great for riding. Met a lot of people here, many people doing similar things such as hiking, climbing or biking staying on camp sites so there is always someone to talk to. Most of them think we're insane - it might be the time of year but no one is climbing these passes with the same loads we've got! Got to go, I'm watching the Vuelta on TV and am going to have a beer(s). See you later, Ant"

Babies turning one...

One by one the babies of my baby massage group will be turning one in the next couple of months. We already celebrated one baby's birthday on the 27th of June. The next one will be following on the 19th of July. It makes you realize that soon your baby will be a toddler and the first precious 12 months are over. I will be compiling (finally!) a scrapbook about Benny's whole first year, if I'll ever get around to order the pictures as we don't have a printer at home.

The lucky Germans?

Was it luck or was it skill? (Apparantly not the latter as we get bashed by the critics and maybe they are a little bit right...but if we are we've been lucky QUITE a LOT, maybe luck is a skill that only the Germans have?)

What counts is we made it through to the Final :) Hooray!

Go, Germany, go! And Lahm, next time pull yourself together. But you made up for your poor defense by scoring that beautiful goal at the end! Well, done. And sorry, Turkey. You would have deserved to win!

Grau Look-alike Meter

(Bennet und ich)


(Ryon und ich im Eden Project, Cornwall)


(Bennet im door bouncer, 8+ Monate)


(Urlaub in Cornwall 17th-24th May)

Hallo mal wieder, nach langer Zeit!

Es tut mir leid, daß ich so lange nichts mehr hab von mir hören lassen. Der kleine Bennet hält uns ganz schön auf Trap! Er ist mittler Weile 9 Monate und 3 Wochen alt und robbt fröhlich durch die Gegend. Dann zieht er sich überall hoch und muß natürlich ALLES erkunden und Schubladen auf und zu machen. Wir haben, soweit es geht, FAST alles Babysicher gemacht, aber trotzdem müssen wir natürlich immer aufpassen, daß er nicht in Schwierigkeiten gerät! Sein Haar ist immernoch ziemlich blond und wird immer lockiger und ist schon ganz schön lang. Er sagt häufig "Mamamam" und "Papapap", obwohl er nicht wirklich weiß, was es bedeuted.

Seit unserer Rückkehr aus dem Urlaub Anfang Juni hat Ryon einen neuen Arbeitgeber. (Kleiner Update: Er hatte im April seinen Job gekündigt, um sein 10 Jähriges Jubiläum bei Fedex Kinkos zu feiern :). Es sind einfach so viele Sachen schief gelaufen, daß es besser war einen Schlußstrich zu ziehen) Er arbeitet immernoch in der Druckerindustrie als Designer, aber schaut sich schonwieder nach etwas Neuem um, da sein Arbeitgeber einen kleinen Franchise Laden betreibt und die Möglichkeiten zum beruflichen Aufstieg auch dort nicht gegeben sind. Desweiteren geht er wohl in Anwesenheit der Kunden respektlos mit den Angestellten um. Und das ham wa ja gar nich gerne!

Unsere Miete sollte mit Ablauf des Vertrages am 31. August 2008 und bei Erneuerung des Vertrages um £25 im Monat ansteigen. Das hört sich jetzt vielleicht nicht viel an, aber für uns ist es das schon. Es gibt in England leider keinen Mieterschutz und im Vertrag war nichts von einer Staffelmiete erwähnt, aber auch dies ist hier wohl nicht vertraglich zu erwähnen. ? Ryon und ich haben uns dann zusammengesetzt und einen langen Brief verfaßt und uns auf all die Dinge bezogen, die uns versprochen und nicht eingehalten wurden und den Zustand, in dem uns die Wohnung übergeben wurde und in Anbetracht dessen eine Mieterhöhung absolut nicht gerechtfertigt sei. (Natürlich viel diplomatischer verfaßt von Ryon, der das immer so schön macht!) Diesen Brief schickte ich dann zur Managment Agentur und frecher Weise einfach auch zum Eigentümer der Wohnung, obwohl uns gesagt wurde, daß alle Kommunikation über die Agentur zu verlaufen hat. Es hatte sich bei uns jedoch so viel Ärger und Wut angestaut, über die leeren Versprechungen und was nicht alles, daß die Mieterhöhung wie ein Schock einschlug und ich hatte mich schon sehr über die Dreistigkeit geärgert! Am Montag bekam ich dann einen Anruf von der Eigentümerin direkt (ups!). :) Sie war jedoch sehr höflich und entschuldigte sich für die Miskommunikation zwischen uns als Mietern, der Agentur und ihr, als Eigentümerin. (Ausrede??) Auf jeden Fall sagte sie das es viele Mißverständnisse gegeben hat und das ab August dann eine andere Agentur für unsere Wohnung zuständig sei, da sie den Anschein hatte, daß Haart Lettings Ltd. ihren Job nicht so toll machen. (Und nun haben wir endlich einen Sündenbock gefunden!:) Nagut. Wenigstens hat sich dadurch mein Ärger auf den misteriösen Eigentümer ein wenig verflüchtigt und sie hat "sogar" angeboten, die Miete beim jetzigen Preis zu belassen. Wenigstens etwas!

Der Sommer läßt in England noch auf sich warten. Ich weiß, in Berlin ist er schon angekommen. Grrr! :) Ich genieße meine letzten Monate mit Benny, bevor ich wieder anfange zu arbeiten (voraussichtlich im September). Ich werde jedoch 2.5 Tage arbeiten und den Vollzeitjob aufgeben. Wenn auch nicht finanziell sehr rentabel, schien es mir doch die beste Lösung für mich und Bennet und ich freue mich sehr, daß ich Teilzeit arbeiten kann! Wir bekommen dann im August ein neues Telfonsystem bei LEGO, welches sich vielversprechend anhört! Bin ja mal gespannt! Vielleicht/hoffentlich schaffe ich es vorher noch mal nach Berlin zu kommen.

Das war's dann erst mal soweit von mir. Huhu? Hallo? Bist du noch da? Oder schon eingeschlafen? :)

Bis bald und ich versuche wieder etwas regelmäßiger vorbeizuschauen!
Habe mit Interesse Deinen Blog Update gelesen, Charlene und Ryon. Mira und Luise haben ja schon ewig nichts mehr geschrieben? Schlummert Euer Blog? Es ist Zeit für eine Wiederbelebung! Was macht das Studentenleben in Athen und Isreal???

VIEL GLÜCK der Deutschen Fußballmannschaft im Spiel gegen die Türkei heute Abend! Wie ist die Stimmung in Berlin? Befinden sich die Türken jetzt nicht in einer Zwickmühle? Ich werde mit Leidenschaft meinem Heimatland zur Seite stehen. Und wenn wir gewinnen, können sich nicht viele Türken in Deutschland mit deutschen Pässen auch freuen??????

Eure Milena

Back in ye olde England

Benny and I are back since Saturday. More physically than mentally really. It always takes some time to get used to the "new" surroundings again. How quickly one gets used to old ways of living and a culture that is familiar to oneself. It almost felt as if England never existed. I know I probably shouldn't be writing a blog in this time of transition as it's bound to be somehow negative and sulky. I just can't seem to find a country in which I feel 100% settled and home. If I think about the priorities it's "whatever is best for my son". But then I think...a happy mummy equals a happy Benny, so where would I feel the most comfortable? I feel sorry for Ryon as he is under a lot of stress. Money issues. I'm only getting paid maternity leave until end of May. Then I think I should help him feel less stressed and go back to work early, but I can't seem to stand the thought of giving Bennet into care. *I* want to be the main caregiver at least until he's 3 years old. Shall we go back to Germany, shall we go to America? Shall we stay in England? These three question go through my head all the time and it's driving me mad. You don't have to come up with any solutions for me, just let me have a rant and I'll feel better! I miss Berlin, I miss having 3 big parks in walking distance, one of which has a busy outdoor cafe and a big playground where everyone gets together. I miss talking German and having people around. I feel lonely and isolated in Burnham.

Berlin

Der Berlin Besuch rückt näher und obwohl ich mich freue, bin ich auch ein bißchen angespannt, da ich nicht weiß, wie es ist allein mit Baby und 2 Koffern zu verreisen. Meine Mutter hat mich heut angerufen und gesagt, daß zur Zeit die BVG streikt und keine Busse fahren, das kompliziert die Sache noch mehr, aber wir werden schon eine Lösung finden. Vielleicht miete ich mir auch ein Auto. Am 10. März geht unser Flieger. Am 15./16. März wollen wir Bennet's Uroma in Hamburg besuchen und das Wochenende darauf ist Ostern mit Familie angesagt. Tante Gabi will uns auch noch sehen. Tante Erna auch, doch die ist zu der Zeit leider zur REHA. Die 2 Wochen werden bestimmt so schnell vergehen! Freunde stehen auch noch auf der Liste: (die Reihenfolge hat mit der Priorität nichts zu tun) Berit, Charlene, Diana, Marie. Ich hoffe ich kann Euch 4 irgendwo unterbringen. Diana und Berit, dazu brauch ich jedoch nochmal Eure Kontakt - bzw. Handynummern, damit ich Euch in Berlin erreichen kann. Bitte schickt mir diese doch per email zu oder übers StudiVZ!

Ansonnsten gibt es bei uns nicht viel Neues zu erzählen. Benny ist jetzt 5 Monate und 4 Wochen alt. Ich habe vorhin ein paar alte Babysachen aussortiert und sie an ihn rangehalten und kann gar nicht glauben, daß er da mal reingepaßt hat. Er ist so gewachsen! Ein bißchen melancholisch wird man da schon. Ich stille ihn immernoch ausschließlich und möchte auch noch eine Weile durchhalten. Wie lange wird in Deutschland eigentlich empfohlen ausschließlich zu stillen?

Dann werde ich jetzt langsam mal ins Bett gehen. Sobald mein Kopf mit dem Kopfkissen in Berührung kommt, wacht sowieso Bennet auf und möchte Zuwendung oder gestillt werden oder hat Zahnungsschmerzen (heute war wieder besonders schlimm) ;)

Na dann, bis bald, eventuell, hoffentlich???

Milena

Babyschwimmen

Armer Bennet! Poor Bennet!

Seit dem 05. Januar gehen wir mit Bennet zum Babyschwimmen. Man kann nicht sagen, daß es ihm gefällt, aber manchmal ist sein Gesichtsausdruck wennigsten neutral. Letztes Mal sind die anderen Babies schon untergetaucht, doch Bennet fing bei ein paar Tropfen die ihm übers Gesicht kullerten schon an zu weinen. Ich mußte den Kurs im Vorraus bezahlen, da muß er jetzt durch! Es ist ein 13-Wochen-Kurs. Morgen gehen wir wieder! Mal sehen, ob er morgen lacht???

Happy New Year 2008!

Unfortunately, our stay in the US has come to an end. We flew back yesterday, on the 31st December and got to wish each other Happy New Year's twice. First time at 7pm, just after take off (midnight UK time). And later on at 5am UK time (midnight in MD, USA), just before landing. The first day after a holiday abroad is always weird. Especially if it was a very special and meaningful holiday. It was so lovely to have 4 generations under one roof and all coexisting peacefully and in harmony. I miss it! But life goes on, has to go on....for a while, without family around.

We didn't get much sleep on the plane and by the time we got home, in the early Morning hours, we were so desperate to go to bed...instead we had to deal with a jet lagged crying baby! It will probably take a couple of days until he is back to his normal schedule again. When we came home and I opened the door, there was this huge YAMAHA piano or keyboard standing in front of me with a big red bow! I couldn't believe it! Ryon is always in for a surprise! I had no clue at all! WOW! I have a KEYBOARD! *bigsmile*I always wanted to learn how to play the piano. A dream has come true! :)

Now let's quickly summarize year 2007. On the 2nd of January 2007 I wrote the following in my blog: "I have applied to University, to do a 2 year course in Business. If I get a student loan then I will commence my studies in February, so wish me luck! Also, Ryon and I have been thinking of having a little marriage thingee going on, nothing big ;), but before that we're going on a Marriage Preparation course, how good is that?"

So what did I do? CAREFUL: Boring Alert!

Well AGAIN, I didn't get to study. Maybe it's just not meant to be? But lots of other exciting things happened! For me it was a year that was extremely productive or should I write reproductive? I fell pregnant, got a full time permanent job at LEGO despite being 3 months pregnant, gave birth to a beautiful child and moved to a bigger (but not big) apartment and the cream on top was a wonderful visit in the states...a Christmas full of harmony and lovely family around, even the four-legged ones.

The year 2007 set high standards, but I'm not expecting anything (big) for the year 2008. I just expect of myself to be a great mother to Bennet in his first year on earth. My maternity leave finishes on the 31 of August 2008 and obviously I want to be a stay-at-home mom until then. I hope for all 3 of us that we'll be healthy and in good spirit, because that's the most important. I hope to visit my family in Germany to introduce them to Bennet. We hope to get a car so we can get the shopping done more easily, drive Bennet to activities and go on weekend excursions. Maybe we'll stop by in Cornwall this year and swim in the ocean in clear blue water...

But most important of all: all I want I already have and that's Ryon and Bennet! Everything else is a Bonus!!!