Summer in Berlin

Let me start this post with a humble brag. I totally nailed last week for these three magical animals: 

The full-day summer camp at the Instituto Cervantes for kids ages 4-12 was a bit of a gamble. Hugo loves going to the Spanish library, but hated a theater course I found for him last fall. Crosby was worried about the week feeling too much like school. Nevertheless, I needed some kid-free time to plan some late night escapades with Paul.

Extra dresser pick-up for our #fourkidfall

At this point in the night, Paul mentioned something about how we are "adulting". I think the only adult thing about picking up a previously-owned mattress with a boxed bike is the associated thrown out back the following day.

Meanwhile at the Instituto camp, the teachers were the best. The kids did amazing art and had such a great time. I didn't even need to take them to ice cream everyday after camp to keep them motivated...but I did: 

Hawaiian Shave Ice in Berlin = ice cream under a snow cone 

Bubble Tea Popsicles

All of these interesting locals are within a 2 mile, 3 KM, radius of my house which answers the most common question we get these days. What are you doing this summer? The answer: staying around Berlin. 

We're doubling our restaurant budget, quadrupling the fun budget, and tenfolding our babysitting budget. Our church has a summer break which means a few of our church friends have some time on their hands. As I type, Caja is playing Twister downstairs with the littles. The first couple weeks of break, Andrew loaded up the littles and took them on all sorts of exciting adventures:

Seen here heading to paddle board.

When I'm not pawning the kids off, I also have some goals for the boys. For Hugo, I'm working on teaching him to read in English and going more places around the neighborhood by himself. Here he is ordering dinner for our family (while I spy). 

He made the walk home by himself.

For Crosby, we're working on him finishing the final swimming level according to the German swim standards. Hugo has to complete five reading lessons and Crosby has to do one swimming lesson with me for them to open up their monthly Kiwi and Crunch Labs boxes. 

Val helped with swimming one day before she too realized she needs a full body wetsuit to survive Berlin outdoor pools which are kept at a brisk 24 C / 75 F.

Carmen is too little for goals, but she still got in on some of the fun before Kita started up again today.

My goal this summer is to maintain my sanity. It would be nice to shoot for family harmony but that's too aspirational. Paul has a big work deadline in two weeks and then again a month later. I didn't make as much progress on my ADHD coping strategies as I was hoping before summer started. So, I'm spending a lot of time deep breathing with my early birthday present to myself.

All the Biggs appreciate a good foot massage.

We are sneaking in some family adventures when we find the energy and time between lice combing. Berlin's Jewish Children's Museum is a must see. The theme is Noah's Arc which was fitting as our ride across town looked like this:

Summer has been wetter by Berlin standards, but nothing compared to the rain growing up in Oregon. We miss our friends back home, but an eight week combined school/preschool break is much more manageable than the twelve weeks back stateside. Stay sane my friends.

Real Talk: Kids Are Gross - Lice Edition

This is a repost as we've learned some tips and tricks after our fourth round of lice in five years. 

How do I prevent lice?

Our babysitter Gen, who we've given lice to at least once, said she treats all little kids as if they have lice. If you're unwilling, or unable, to forgo head to head snuggles then there are a few scents that the internet says lice don't like - mint, tea tree oil, and willow bark. We've been forking out money for this shampoo per a pharmacist's suggestion. These bottles make great babysitter gifts. 

Another friend swears by wearing a head wrap while also keeping her hair up in a bun when working with kids. If you're lucky to have curly hair - coconut oil does double duty taming frizz and keeping away lice. Lots of product has kept Paul safe all these years. Also, prayer? 

How to know if your kid has them?

The first time I got lice I thought an itchy scalp was my body's way of telling me that I shouldn't have tried for a third child. jokes! I saw the sign at Kita announcing lice but I didn't make the connection. Long story short, a louse jumped out of Gen's former boyfriends' hair while Gen was at our house watching the kids. She looked down at the current little Biggs in her lap and yup, he was the culprit. 

The second round I had an infant Carmen, I don't remember how we found lice. The third round Paul saw a louse jump out of Hugo's hair and exclaimed "is this what I think it is?" The most recent round Carmen was scratching and sleeping-in longer than usual. 

How to treat?

Well, as this is not our first rodeo, we already had a healthy supply of lice shampoo in our medicine cabinet. Some lice shampoos include a comb, others do not. Double check when you buy the bottle. I prefer Mosquito brand to Nyda because it's less greasy. The lice comb is key. Apparently there are two kinds of shampoo, one is more preventative and another is to treat. I don't know if there are big differences in efficacy but we have all the things.

The good news is that our friends who were visiting on round three were really good sports about spending their wedding anniversary at our house like this:

"It's kind of like a spa." Liz

The bad news - in retrospect - is we'd spent the previous couple days doing this:

Dex's funcle skills in action.

Sharing helmets

The internets say that most transmission is hair to hair. However, this is our more conservative plan of attack:

1. Pharmacy run for lice shampoo and lice comb.

2. Place all hats and helmets in a bag for two weeks.

3. Soak all brushes in hot water for 5-10 minutes. Only use one brush so you don't have to do this process over again if you find lice later.

4. Wash all hair ties or put in a bag for two weeks.

5. Wash all the pillow cases.

6. Use lice shampoo per instructions. Spend 1-1.5 hours a person with the lice comb.

The bad news is we found the first bug at 7 pm. As such, Paul and I were up until 2:30 am on Friday night brushing hair. Likely we could have gone faster but Paul is much, much better at lice combing than me. But the good news is we could do another check today, Sunday, before hopefully sending the kids back to school and Kita. So two days later:

7. Drug store run:

• Tea tree oil
• Spray bottle
  
• Alcohol for personal consumption 

8. Lice comb with tea tree oil spray diluted with water every two days until you don't find any nits or bugs.

Good lighting is key. Any low quality screen-time will do.

9. Get shorter haircuts. You can tell lice has visited casa Biggs when the boys have short hair again and/or Carmen has a bob.

10.  Do another shampoo per the instructions of our lice shampoo 8-10 days after the first wash.

It's a jungle out there. Stay parasite free my friends. 

(I recently separated this post from my original pinworm post from September...sadly the rounds of that parasite also continues at Casa Biggs. Sigh)

Book Report: Siblings without Rivalry

On my last glorious vacation I got to spend time with this lovely lady:

Per usual, Amber gave me some great book recommendations for my ongoing list. She also reminded me to finish the book to which her parents attribute their children's continued friendship into adulthood - Siblings Without Rivalry. I too would love my kids to be close, but the subtitle "How to help your children live together so you can live too" is what got this audiobook back in my ear. 

Wowza do we have a lot of conflict brewing in the house these days. That is, when we are all actually together and not enjoying time apart:

Close-up on that Monterey beach artwork:

Yup! I'm still Hugo's muse.

Before reading Siblings without Rivalry, I would comment something like, "Hugo is still my number one fan." However, inherent in that statement is a comparison between him and his siblings. Generally speaking, nobody likes to be put in a box. But for siblings, labeling them the pretty one, the smart one, etc - is a recipe for conflict. 

A lot of the concepts in Sibilings without Rivalry are not new for us who dabble in management and/or parenting books. Kids often just want to be validated. Kids need to solve problems on their own. Etc  Nevertheless, these are the reminders that I need to hear. It's hard to remember to ask more clarifying questions about a kid's feelings when said child is generally being loud and/or rather annoying. 

I think the big change I'll bring into our routine is making time for regular family meetings. I spend a lot of time troubleshooting with little success because the ideas don't come from the kids themselves. The first item on the family meeting agenda will be how to have more relaxing mealtimes. Needless to say, meals have been a lot quieter around here without our beach babes.