Sunday, August 28, 2011

A Weekend of Football, Food, and Friends

Craig and I had a wonderful weekend with good food, good friends, and some American football!

On Saturday we went and watched the Leipzig Lions play a home football game. It provided us and our friends with much amusement. I really can't pick a favorite moment from the game. Maybe it was when a player caught the ball and then his own teammate knocked him down? Or, was it the fact that the announcer was a player from the Leipzig Lions (all decked out in uniform and on the sidelines) who refused to announce anything good the other team did -- even if it was a touchdown? Maybe it was that anytime there was a penalty called and the yards needed to be counted, one of the refs just counted it out by steps?

It was all just SO good, I can't pick just one favorite moment. Check out our pictures from the afternoon.

Entry ticket for the game.

Fireworks were shot off when the team was announced. So much excitement!
The "stands."


The announcer.
Craig might be at an American football game, but he can't resist the German food and beer.
The visiting team who had an American coach!
What's an American football game without a cowboy hat?
The girls. Can you believe that the day before it was 90 degrees in Leipzig?!
This ref counted out the yards with steps.

Yay for a victory for the Lions!
Leipzig Lions win 27 to 8. How freaky is it that the date was also 27.08.....?
On Sunday Craig and I hosted a brunch at our new apartment. It was so much fun to spend the Sunday eating and talking with friends.


Deliciousness!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

"Baby, Baby, Baby, oooohhhh.."


I just couldn't resist throwing a little Justin Bieber into the blog post today :)

This is a little update on Baby G. 15.5 week check up went very well, but we couldn't see if the little one is a boy or girl just yet. Hopefully at the next appointment we will be able to find out!

The best part is we saw two legs, two arms and a strong heartbeat, oh and the cutest little face I have ever seen!


Amy at 16 weeks.

Baby G's new outfit from Aunt Kate. So adorable!


It's Time for School!

Ever so often I come across a book that I can just read over and over again. One of those books is 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny by Phillip Done. Anytime I am needing a pick-me-up for teaching, or just a good laugh, I pick up this book. With school starting (and because the topic of this post is school) I had to share this excerpt from the book:

I Am a Teacher

I read Charlotte’s Web and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory every year, and every year when Charlie finds the golden ticket and Charlotte dies, I cry.

I take slivers out of fingers and bad sports out of steal the bacon. I know when a child has gum in his mouth even when he is not chewing. I have sung “Happy Birthday” 657 times.

I hand over scissors with the handles up. My copies of “Velveteen Rabbit” and “Treasure Island” are falling apart. I can listen to one child talk about his birthday party and another talk about her sleepover and another talk about getting his stomach pumped last night – all at the same time.

I fix staplers that won’t staple and zippers that won’t zip, and I poke pins in the orange caps of glue bottles that will not pour. I hand out papers and pencils and stickers and envelopes for newly pulled teeth. I know the difference between Austria and Australia.

I plan lessons while shaving, showering, driving, eating, and sleeping. I plan lessons five minutes before the bell rings. I know what time it is when the big hand is on the twelve and the little hand is on the nine. I say the r in library. I do not say the w in sword.

I put on Band-Aids and winter coats and school plays. I know they will not understand the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re.’ I know they will write ‘to’ when it should be ‘too.’ I say “Cover your mouth,” after they have coughed on me.

I know when a child does not understand. I know when a child is not telling the truth. I know when a child was up too late last night. I know when a child needs help finding a friend.

I am a teacher.
-Done, Phillip (2005). 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny. New York: Touchstone Publisher.


I love back to school season. The name tags are not ripped, the markers still write, and the students are eager to learn.

I am so excited about my class this year. I have an all star team of students and I have some high expectations for them.

I will only have the pleasure of teaching them til December. One child asked if I would come back in February after I had the baby, but I have decided to take off the second half of the year. One really cannot beat the benefits Germany has to offer for new moms; they put the US to shame.

Let's take a look at my classroom this year....

I was smart and had my kiddos help me pack my boxes last year so the cleaning company would clean the shelves. However, what I didn't think about is unpacking the boxes which had no order to them :)

My students are superstars! Thank goodness for small class sizes; I only have 16 students which is an amazing number to work with.


Below you can see one of my bulletin boards that needs to be hung on the wall. I almost died when I saw the Hausmeister taking it off the wall so he could put up new (and not-yet-decorated) bulletin boards. Luckily, Craig was able to put it on the shelf for me for the time being.
Below the bulletin boards you can see I have started labeling my shelves for book genres.

Our wall-of-organization. I don't know what I would do without my class helpers.

The new and beautiful bulletin boards are up and ready to be covered in student work!
Desks are labeled and ready for kiddos.... here we go!
Mrs. Goodwin after the first day of school!



Sunday, August 14, 2011

My Uncle Visits Leipzig

My uncle Kenneth visited me this week in Leipzig. This was his first time to Europe and I hope that he enjoyed himself. Here are some highlights from our week together.

First we did some sightseeing around Leipzig.

Battle of Nations Monument.
The monument commemorates Napoleon's defeat at Leipzig.
We took a day trip to Halle. It's about 30 minutes from Leipzig by train. The crazy part is this was my first time visiting this beautiful city. I will certainly be back.
We found a bell tower.....
....and climbed to the top.
One day we went to Dresden and made a stop at Mortizburg Castle. Can you believe this was Augustus the Strong's hunting lodge?!?
The best part of the day was taking this gem through the countryside.
Yesterday we went to Quedlinburg for the day.
We found another castle.
Amy posing in the castle garden.
15 weeks pregnant and overlooking Quedlinburg. Taking over a castle when pregnant can be quite difficult. Why did they have to build them on such high hills?!?

I adore this door :)
Favourite statue thus far! I can only imagine what this guy is saying.

The houses in Quedlinburg were cute but crooked.
Craig wandering his way up to a church.
Beautiful!


Hope you enjoyed the pictures! We love showing people around this beautiful country :)

-Amy

Friday, August 5, 2011

"Running Errands"

One of the things I love about living in Leipzig is the fact that I can cycle to just about every place I NEED to go. This summer I have been running a lot of errands and have relied on that trusty bike of mine to take me where I need to go.

I thought today it would be fun to document the errands that I run while on my bike.


Here we go....

First stop is the Finanzamt; my second time there this week. According to Googlemaps.com it's 4.9 km (3 miles) from my apartment.

(Don't you just love the trash bag covering the seat? Nice look, huh? But, it's better than a wet bottom. My errands took place in the rain today.)

After a successful interaction at the Finanzamt I decided to do a little shopping. I have been addicted to buying the dresses at H&M lately. Today I bought a white dress for 3 Euros.. I think I'm going to make it into a jacket.
This was about 1.5 km (0.9 miles) from the Finanzamt.

After a little bit of shopping, I decided it was time to head back home. However, first I had to get some lunch; Baby Goodwin was very hungry.
3.1 km (1.9 miles)


All in all I rode a total of 9.5 km (5.8 miles) all before noon :) I love being able to work out and get things accomplished at the same time!

Thanks for reading,

Amy




Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A New Adventure

Craig and I are embarking on a new and exciting, but yet terrifying, adventure.... we are becoming parents!

Baby Goodwin will be making an appearance around February 4th, 2012.



Amy is feeling good at 13 weeks.

"For a long time there were only your footprints & laughter in our dreams & even from such small things, we knew we could not wait to love you forever"--Storypeople.com