Have you seen the lake?

I went for a walk today around the lake and I was quite surprised to find that it was gone! Someone stole our lake! 

This is what it looked like in October when we went to feed the ducks...

...and this is what it looked like today!

This was in October....

...and this was today! (see the mud?)

Where you would normally look over the edge and see a duck...

...just mud!

Not that there weren't still beautiful things to be seen..

p.s. don't call the polizei, I hear the lake was drained because of a contaminant. I was going to post the news story my friend sent me but the link was broken ;)

Where we get our mail...

The CMR was the busiest I have ever seen tonight! I don't know if all the backed up Christmas mail finally burst through but there was a line all the way from the pick up window around the corner. By the time I made it half way to the pick up window, that many more people had joined the line and it was still going around the corner our of sight! Crazy! We check our mail everyday (except Sunday when they are closed for pick ups) and we had 3 packages today! YAY! I absolutely love getting packages. How often do you check you mail? 

(I love her outfit btw!)

Do you have hot water at night?

Does your base turn off the hot water or heat at night?
Since moving into this apartment nearly two years ago we have very rarely had any hot water in the evening. Forget taking a relaxing bath after your child finally falls asleep, coloring your hair, doing the dishes, ect. I had to learn the hard way to check for warm water BEFORE you put dye in your hair!! We had pretty much accepted it until it got cold outside and this year the HEATERS weren't working at night. When spouses started calling DPW they were being told that the the post stops hot water production between 11pm and 5:30am to conserve energy. See the e-mail below (names and phone numbers have been omitted due to privacy.)

Ms. ------, 


the Garrison intentionally turns off hot water production between approx 2300 and 0530. Which is why there is no hot water late evening or early morning. One reason this was done is for energy conservation. We are required to reduce our energy consumption every year and this is one of the measures that does that. Another reason is that there is a direct cost savings resulting from reducing the amount of energy consumed. It isn't economically justifiable to provide hot water during these hours of very low demand. 


S---- W-----
Ind Engr Techn
USAG BMH DPW, BOI
DSN 485----- (Civ. +49-06783/------)

 Further complaints to housing led to statements that they "weren't stopping production per se, they were just stopping the pumps that feed the steam to the buildings" (I don't see much of a difference since either way we're not getting the heat...) "and that the buildings should have an adequate amount left to get through the night." Apparently ours either does not, or someone else is using it all. Thank goodness it has been a mild winter and it hasn't affected us much.


Do you think the base should be allowed to deny families from getting heat and hot water during the winter months to save energy? I want to know your thoughts.

My German Dishwasher

I finally did the dishes this afternoon. It should have been done yesterday but I played hookie and went to visit a friend. We ate supper there so there were no additional dishes added to the pile last night and I told myself it could wait until the next day. If you can't tell I'm a huge procrastinator. While I was washing the dishes (yes, I'm one of those people who waste water by washing my dishes before I put them in the dishwasher, but believe me...I've tried not washing them first and they don't get clean. I mostly like how the dishwasher makes them shiny and dries them.) I started wondering loading the dishwasher is like playing Tetris for anyone else out there? I like to challenge myself to fit them all in. (probably another reason why they don't get clean unless I wash them first, cough cough*) Usually the most challenging part is the silverware but today it was the glasses/cups. Usually if I don't win dishwasher Jenga I will wash any leftover pieces by hand so I can enjoy having a nice empty sink but I really detest hand washing and drying glasses. They are all lined up around the sink waiting for the next load, which will probably be full! I wonder...can I put up a sign that says, "This is not a buffet...please do NOT take a clean glass for each trip" ?

I was reading through my dishwasher manual (and before you call no fair, I didn't get one...no they did NOT give us a manual when we moved into family housing. I had to search for it online and finally found our model# and found an English version of it. If you are living in Germany yours may or may not be the same model but you can find mine here. There is also a link on the left of my home screen.) and I learned that you are supposed to wash your central filters after every wash. Did you know that? I sure didn't. (probably yet ANOTHER reason why my dishes don't get super clean...) Hopefully my husband has been doing this at least periodically because I didn't even know about these filters! Then there is a large filter that is supposed to be cleaned once a month. News to me as well. I know the Army usually isn't as well organized as I would like it, and it's got to be difficult keeping everyone informed, but it would be nice if the Army would provide things like manuals to German appliances when you move in. Not everyone will go online to look it up like I did. Which is why I thought I'd post a quick reference cheat sheet to your German dishwasher.

• German washers are equipped with water softeners that use special salt. If the water is soft (i.e. does not contain calcium particles), the detergent will work more effectively and there will be less streaking on dishes. Hard water can also block the washer jets with lime scale and cause deposits on heating elements, which will reduce the cleaning efficiency, increase electricity costs and shorten the life of the machine. The salt can be purchased at your local commissary or on the economy. 
• Three in one salt tablets do not activate the water softener. For optimum results, the reservoir should be topped up with granular salt. Three-in-one and 'salt action' tablets do not top up the reservoir and should be used in conjunction with granular salt for optimum results. Using granular salt will mean that you won't need to use as much detergent and rinse-aid - saving you money!
• DO NOT use ordinary table salt.
• Rinse aids can also be used to help keep your dishes shiny and prevent lime build up on dishes, and prevent water droplets on glasses and pottery to help it dry faster. I recommend using a German brand found at the commissary or on the economy to ensure compatibly with your machine. (We use Somat.)
• Do not use the same soap you use when hand washing dishes. I also recommend a German brand of detergent
• Clean filters to ensure correct operation of your machine. 

Confessions of an Army Wife........Discipline

Ok, here it is: I don't hit my kid. Shocking? Well around Baumholder it kind of is.


I recently learned that the phrase "Spare the rod and spoil the child" is not from the Bible but from Samuel Butler's "Hudibras", a 17th Century satirical poem. The poem, like his novel, The Way of All Flesh, was written to expose and denounce violence against children. Ironically, this phrase is now used to justify corporal punishment and other punitive actions against children.
The English version of the Bible pre-1377 don't include the line in the form we now use, but they do contain a similar thought, and this is probably where Butler took it from. In the King James Version, Proverbs 13:24, we find

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

(At that time, "rod" was the same word as palm frond.) There is often debate here in Baumholder on our discussion pages about parents "popping" or spanking/hitting  their children. (Funny that two of these threads started during National Child Abuse Prevention Month.) That exact phrase above (spare the rod...) comes up a lot in these discussions. It's even gone as far as women giving instructions to other moms about how to pinch their child to get them to behave. Out of 102 posts I was one of three that spoke up and said I didn't agree.  I sometimes feel like the only person I know that doesn't physically discipline their child. I don't even know who I can talk to about it because nearly everyone I know agrees with spanking or hitting. My mom only spanked me twice as a child. One of the times it happened I was four years old. I remember the entire incident vividly. Did I deserve it? Yes, I probably did. I was really naughty. But the thing is, I knew what I did was horrible even without the spanking. I felt really guilty. I still do! This is something that happened 28 years ago and I still feel bad and I would even if I'd never gotten spanked. I don't really consider myself someone who was spanked or hit as a child because it happened so infrequently. I was always more worried I'd lose my privileges. When my daughter got old enough that simply saying "No" wasn't enough I did some research and found statistics on how damaging physical discipline can be on a child. (see the links at the bottom of the page for studies). We use the 2 warnings and then time out method. It usually works very well. I admit sometimes I am having a bad day and my patience is thin and I will yell at her and then feel bad later. I'm not perfect. I just don't understand why so many around me disagree and even look down on me for my method? It seems like for me to explain the reasons I DON'T hit her, it makes people defensive.  I hear over and over again, "My parents did it to me and I turned out fine." As a friend pointed out to me, they can't accept that maybe their parents made a mistake or worse that THEY are making a mistake so they cling to it. On naturalchild.org it states:

 " Hitting children teaches them to become hitters themselves. "

Obviously that is what being hit by their parents taught them and they are now passing it on to their own children. I firmly believe that if I DON'T hit my child she will grow up saying, "My mom and dad didn't hit me, and I'm fine so I don't need to hit my kids either." I guess I have that thought to console me when I get down about all the so called discipline in Baumholder.

Just for an example, here are some actual quotes I've read on the message boards (pardon the spelling errors but these were taken directly from the message board and are unedited),

"So my Son for some time now when my son gets into stuff we give him a pop on the hand, butt or mouth and it worked really well he leave cords alone and does really bite any more and for the most part when we say no he stop doing what he is doing (maybe having a little crying fit). So lately he has started to slap me and daddy and will keep doing it even when we say no, and it seem kinda back words to give him a pop in the hand when he does it. Have any of you lady's had this problem. Oh and if you are of the opinion that giving a little pop is wrong. thats great but thats not what i'm asking for. So thank you"

(after someone suggested she be careful that ACS doesn't hear she hits her child) "SCREW acs....they can come knock on my door if they want any anybody out there who thinks they can raise MY kids better than I can please by all means try!!! Girl you do what you feel is right by your children and as long as your are not abusing them then if it works do it. All others need to keep their noses out of others business. Ok my vent for the day is done thank you"

"their is nothing wrong with spanking your child. I hate that crap about spanking leads to kids hitting. My kids wouldn't be the well behave kids they are if I didn't disciplined them and showed them to respect adults & other kids. They would be freaking wild! lol" 

 "I pity the fool that would call the MPs because I spanked my child. I dare someone. As for getting a "warning" I'd tell them where they could stick it. Like someone said, this post..."

"no spanking laws in my state so Im gonna keep on spanking"

"By the way, I spank. I did it with my teenagers and I will do it with my toddler. But, I also understand that it is against the law. We were told when we got here about spanking, so Im knowingly breaking the law."

"I am sorry to say, they will have to arrest me. 16 years ago in Germany, had a German lady called the police on me, cause I spanked my son in the Commissary. The Bible says to spare the rod and spoil the child." 

" Ladies, pinching does work. No one will see, but your child will understand."

" I totally agree....and yes pinching does work right on the back of the arm...my mom used to do that to us kids in the commissary all the time and there were 6 of us and she always had control ;0)"

" I wouldn't do anything to hurt my son. and I don't think its fair the way people think anyone who spanks or disciplines their kids is a child beater. I see all kinds of kids that where never spanked and they are horrible kids they are rude and misbehaved. If you don't spank thats fine. Some kids are fine if you don't and don't need it some kids are not going to behave even if you spank or whatever. It worked really well for me i was spanked. and ever time i do it to my son i make sure he knows what he did wrong and most of the time he gets a hug and a kiss."

"I got spanked and I turned out just fine. I spank. I will not tolerate anyone telling me not to, not even an MP. My kids are wonderful and have friggin awesome lives, even with discipline ;)"

That is just a small sampling, but reading through the entire thread again makes me sick to my stomach. I actually got a list of FCC providers here on post to make sure none of them were the women posting these things. (None of the FCC providers were in that conversation by the way.)   Please take the time to read a couple of articles about the subject. I really think it's worth it. 


The long term effects of spanking... (with statistics!)


This site has excellent alternatives to physical discipline...


10 Reasons not to hit our kids...

Great article about spanking vs non-spanking and the effects on different age children


I'd also like to highlight that according to our local paper - The Herald Union - there was 53 substantiated cases of child abuse last year in Baumholder!! That seems like a lot for such a small community. I wonder how many more went unnoticed?

 (p.s. this is MY blog and MY opinion so please don't try to justify hitting a child to me. I am NOT going to tell you it's OK)

Mail Call

Where we collect our mail here on post is called the CMR (Community Mail Room). When we get a package they leave a little yellow card in our box. I LOVE seeing those yellow cards when I open our mail box! 

My friend Cathy makes these AWESOME care packages. Even the outside is completely decorated. I hated to cut the tape because it had cute ducks all over it!

Each flap is covered with decorations

Doesn't she do an amazing job?

Cathy is so creative

She makes them for her husband for every holiday and they are adorable

My little girl is already in love and she hasn't even seen whats INSIDE the box yet

She was so spoiled this easter

It didn't take long for her to start pulling of the stickers and start putting them on her hands.

Jackpot!

She was so excited :)

We happened to get 4 packages that day. It was like christmas at our house. My husband got some car parts.

I got a new laptop (that my husband was just as excited about as I was)

My daughter got a gift from another friend Sarah

She even included a toy for our cat Slinky!

And no, we don't get mail on Easter or on Sundays. We actually got these a few days ago. For those of you stationed here in Baumholder the CMR is open Monday-Friday 10am to 6pm.

We had a marvelous Easter (three days in a row of BBQ's) and I hope all of you did too!

Who am I?

I think we're all trying to answer that question but my 5 a.m. decision to publicly seek the answer through my blogging is starting to seem a bit hasty. Maybe it'll be easier to be honest with myself if the curtains are open and the whole world is watching. (OK, so maybe it's just my neighbors across the street!)  I will start small and work my way up to the harder questions.

I am a proud Army wife stationed in Germany with my husband, our daughter and our (very expensive) cat. I am mostly a stay at home mom but I do a little knitting on the side for fun. We have been exploring here for just shy of a year. My husband and I grew up in South Dakota in a fairly small town  that I will visit but I plan to never live in again. When you are born somewhere that has 6-7 months of winter per year and the temperatures get as cold as -20 degrees Fahrenheit it seems completely normal. You hear stories that other places are warm during winter, but thats a little like seeing a picture of the Eiffel Tower and actually seeing it in real life. Now that we have gotten away and experienced the pleasant winters of Texas and the " cold-but-not-as-harsh-as-South Dakota" winters here in Germany I can't help but raise my eyebrows at my friends and family for choosing to stay in such a frigid place.  I suppose there are people who would look at me the same way for choosing this Army life as well but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have seen some incredible things and places, met the warmest people and become a self reliant, independent person along the way...and we're not done yet!  What else is in store for us? That is another question for another post. :)
-Hborstad

Front door in SD after this weekends storm (photo courtesy of Heidi Ruckdaschel)