What the Blog?

I often joke with S that I wouldn't know how to be a parent in the US. There's so much I've learned that's specific to where we live.. it will be hard to (someday) re-learn things that I've come to take for granted. One of the biggest is access to kinder basars. I know a lot of churches host consignment sales, but I have yet to see something like the kinder basar system over here. It would take a blue moon for me to pay full price for shoes like these. For 4 euros, gently used, however, sign me up! Every Feb-March and Sept-Oct, each neighborhood in Mainz hosts a kinder basar for either spring / summer or fall / winter clothing for kids. Toys, shoes, carseats, strollers, bikes, etc... are also included. They are well organized events in which parents can either set up a table and sell their own goods, or drop off a crate of stuff and have the organizers divvy it up, attempt to sell it, and return what doesn't sell the next day. A portion of the earnings sup...

While we are almost at the end of our diapering journey (for now, anyway), I have remained committed to using cloth the whole way. Except when we travel, our kiddos have always had little cloth bums. Not only are they way cuter than disposables, we've had almost no issues with diaper rash and while I know every baby is different... I credit the cloth. We did, however, have a lot of leakage issues - maintaining the elastic is not for the non-committed! We've worked through it all, and I'm so glad we stuck with it. It took me a while to find my way cloth diapering here, since I couldn't easily find the brands I was familiar with. I turned to Facebook groups, our babysitter, and a little shop in Ireland that shipped to Germany and even provided moral support. I relied heavily on bumgenius (a mix of all-in-ones and pockets), with a few blueberry simplex and flips (wish I had more of these). I stocked up on these when in the States through Kelly's Closet , where  I ...

A friend recently moved to Belgium and suggested we meet a little over halfway to his place, at the Euro Space Center in Libin, Belgium. I couldn't tell what to expect from their website, but the good news was kids under 6 were free, and an audio tour was included in the basic entry price. Also, at about 2 hours from Mainz, it met our 'stop for gas and food' requirements. After 2 enjoyable hours touring the Center, I highly suggest a visit! The audioguide was very engaging. The story focused mostly on the Western history of space travel, with bits of culture and historical context woven in. Somehow, miraculously, the whole tour captured & kept the attention of 3/4 of the kids (ages 2-4)! There was a nice mix of video, audio, and tactical components, and enough space for little people to run around. We found a very light crowd at the time we went - late afternoon. A couple of school groups had formal tours arranged and got to try some of the interactive simulatio...

It's taken a while to figure out the public transit in Mainz, and how to make the most of a ticket, so here is what I've learned... Our transit system has an app - called MVG Mainz - but I find the RMV app (beyond the Mainz/ Wiesbaden region) far more comprehensive and easy to use. I've also recently started using the RMV Smart app - in beta since Oct '17, and a great way to purchase tickets online with demand-based pricing. With it, users can pay 5 euros for a month (does not automatically renew), for the right to a 50% discount on all of tickets that month. Although right now you can only buy one-way tickets, the prices are based on demand - so you can save a bit traveling during off-peak hours, or just from city centre- city centre. Tickets bought through the app are valid for an hour and a half. Now for the paper ticket stuff. In Mainz, as in every city, there are a million different options for ticketing . It can be tricky to figure out the right one - I us...

Recently Mainz got an Edeka "Scheck-In" grocery store, and it has changed my world . Ever since I started traveling, I've loved exploring local grocery stores. Ideally with someone who knows what's what, but on my own is just fine, too. Now that I know my way around the stores here, it's fun to show visitors some of the little detailed things I've learned about shopping here. So, back to that new store. It's a lot like a Whole Foods, with way more international specialties, and reasonable prices. Sometimes they even have grocery baggers (!) (I know. Sometimes?!!). Obviously I no longer want to shop anywhere else, but if I have to, I distribute my grocery dollars in the following way... Aldi - Taking over the U.S. market, Aldi is a great source for inexpensive (organic) produce, delicious plain greek yogurt, the perfect milk for making cheese (paneer), filled pasta, fresh parmesan cheese, nuts, dark chocolate, frozen veggies, and fun things to look at...

It's been a gray winter 'round these parts. Between the dreary skies and endless rain, it's been tough to get out of bed in the mornings. It's so dark! The upside, I suppose, is any moment the sun comes out, we run outside like we haven't seen it in years. So that's fun. Now that the kids are old enough for joint activities, we've discovered a few fun interactive things to do. My favorite - and something I don't remember being around when I was a kid - are ironing beads. I bought the space set by Hama (in the US, it's easier to find the Perler beads brand) along with a glow in the dark set to go with it. The space set came with beads in all the colors you would need to make the mobile pictured on the box, with easy to follow patterns. The beads did not come sorted, but it wasn't a huge hassle to find the ones I wanted (the kids, however, quickly lost interest in this bit).  We got two sets - the  Hama Glow in the Dark Ironing Beads  and a spa...