Merry Christmas!

I am exhausted! We've had a pretty busy Christmas (so far). Poor Jay and Nils are a little sickly too. I know Nils is sick if he sleeps longer than 20 minutes- today he slept over an hour.

On Christmas Eve and the 25th, we had dim sum. Andi (Nils' godfather) came over Christmas Eve and the Hirschbergs on Christmas. Tonight we'll have raclette http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/raclette.htm with our friends Gregor & Michaela, so a lot less work for me! My dim sum work lineup: shop for ingredients, marinate the pork, chop and prepare the fillings for steamed dumplings, veggie spring rolls and banana leaf rice packets. Soak and steam the sticky rice. Roast the marinated pork, make the steamed bun dough and chop the pork and fill the dough. Fill the banana leaves with sticky rice and meat. Fill the dumplings and spring rolls with their fillings. Make green tea crepes and the plum sauce stir fry for it. Whew! No wonder I gave up on dessert! Michael was great and helped out with the kids a lot.

In Germany, the Christkind (baby Jesus) brings the kids their gifts. He brought Jay a new bike (with tiger stripes!) and helmet and Nils a magnet board for his ABCs. We went out bike riding right after breakfast yesterday. This morning, Nils asked to play ABCs as soon as he woke up and Jay rode his bike to the bakery with me to buy our breakfast rolls. Santa brought sweets and small gifts for the stockings. With all that, the kids don't need any gifts from us.

All in all, it's been a wonderful Christmas. Even though the kids are a little off, and they're not as energetic as usual (this might have been good considering all the work I've had to do!), they're still happy and we're all together. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

Every Friday, our friends Alexander and Katarina come over for a sushi lunch with their mom, Susanne. I think I mentioned that my kids only eat sticky rice and udon noodles with broth. However, over the past two weeks, they have taken some pretty big strides. Both of them eat tamago, Jay now likes inari, and Nils ate some ebi tempura. Nils also tried to eat a tuna roll, but gave up before I could cut it for him and make it more manageable. So the weekly exposure is beginning to pay off!

This week, after our sushi lunch, we decorated cookies. Susanne baked gingerbread cookies and I made the icing. She also brought over a huge decorating kit with pens, different sprinkles, and sugar toppings. Katarina decorated a ton of cookies, Jay just one, and Nils was the smartest and only ate what we decorated.

This was also the first year that I actually made it to baking cookies for our neighbors. Every year I mean to, and every year, I never get a chance. Rather, I never make the time to bake them. I made brownies, buttercream filled cookies and decorated sugar cookies. If I only get around to doing it once every four years, then I hope they don't expect them again next year!

Of course we have more photos of Nils on various carousels, I'll have to attach them in another entry. We're going to the Wiehnachtsmarkt again today, so we'll probably have more. Today is actually the last day before they shut down and pack up until next year. December 23rd- the longest day of the year!

Just Stuff (and a bunch of photos & videos too)

Emma comes over every Thursday to play while her mom gives violin lessons to kids. This week, she's been a bit under the weather, so I let the kids watch TV so she could chill and relax. At first, they were so excited to watch TV that it didn't seem like any of them would relax (see the video I posted). During the program (Little Einsteins), Jay had his head in Emma's lap and she was stroking his head. I took the photo a little too late- darn!

Today we went to (another) local castle. The castle had about four moats to go through, so a lot of bridges, water and ducks. There was a Christmas market there with crafts and food and also a sort of re-enactment through the woods of the first Christmas. At the end, the kids got a piece of chocolate and we sang a Christmas carol. Of course, the highlights for the kids were the carousel and the mud puddles.

Today was the first time that Nils has ever ridden on a carousel all alone. He sat still the whole time, laughing each time he passed us.

Last of all, I have a video of Nils playing by himself. He was playing so well that I didn't want to interrupt. But there was a glass of water that was waiting to get knocked over....

Jane's

Today is Nils' first day at his English language preschool. His teacher, Jane called me last month to offer him a spot on Wednesdays and Fridays as soon as he turned two. So he has Tuesdays and Thursdays in German and Wednesdays and Fridays in English. I never thought I'd be the mum who sends her (barely) two year old out to school four days a week, but here we are!

Jay went there too and Nils always wanted to stay when we did drop off or pickup, so hopefully it will go well.

Nilsa is Two!

Yesterday was Nils' second birthday. Oma and Kurt were here for the weekend and we had a party for him. He had three friends over and the rest were godparents (and their families) and the Hirschbergs. So, basically, our family over here. It was a full house with eight kids and thirteen adults total. His godmother, Marijo, even brought balloons and was making animals and hats with them. Go Marijo! She always thinks of the best stuff for kids.

It was definitely chaotic here, not even organized chaos. Jay, Katarina and Emma (the three big kids) went upstairs to play and the smaller kids stayed down with us. We had lots of cake and cookies and a very good time.

I've posted a video of the balloon chaos. Marijo can really mesmerize children. She's amazing. A bunch of the photos are all the kids clamoring around Marijo for balloons. There's also a photo of Jay, Emma & Nils by the tent where Jay and Emma look like they're laughing over something. There's also one of Nils and his godfather Andi in the kitchen, looking like Andi is sharing some godfatherly advice (should we trust it?)....

Thanksgiving Photos and Video! Finally- it works!!

I've gotten a little flak for not putting any photos up lately. Blame Facebook.....

Anyway, there haven't been so many photo ops lately. Here are some of our Thanksgiving table...yawn. We are going to a Santa breakfast tomorrow and Nils' second (!) birthday is Sunday, so we should have some great shots from those two events.

Here's a video of the kids playing with Alexander and Katarina. They come over every Friday for sushi lunch and a play date. No, my kids do not eat sushi. They eat the sticky rice and plain udon noodles. But I figure exposure has to get me somewhere eventually too, right? (I've tried tamago and inari, don't mention it!)

They were playing with their animals in the smallest corner of the living room. No, Nils is not picking his nose (at least not in this shot). He's really into eating his hands lately. And picking his nose.

Happy Thanksgiving

Whew, I am beat. I volunteered to make pumpkin pie for Jay's Kindergarten's Thanksgiving meal. Meaning I have to feed 60+ kids, 10 teachers, 2 administrators and a couple of other staff! Since the Kindergarten is bilingual, they are doing Thanksgiving to bring the English speaking culture in as well. I'm sure if there was a big English holiday it would be celebrated too.

Anyway, on top of the pies, I discovered that my turkey was already thawed- three days too soon! What to do? Well, roast it.... and buy a new one since we don't celebrate until Saturday. I went to three supermarkets looking for a big enough turkey (remember it's goose season here, not turkey). I finally found a 4.4 kilo (9.5 lbs) bird, although I really needed a 6 kilo (13 lbs) one to feed all 12 of us.

So I was busy all day making pie crust, pie fillings, roasting the turkey, and even making homemade pizza for dinner! (Why not turkey?) The kids watched a ton of TV and were pretty understanding. So today is a play with mama day- I've finished just about everything on my agenda for today while they were in school. So happy Thanksgiving!

Down on the Farm

What would a week in our home be without any animals? This time, the kids weren't the animals (unless you count their behaviour sometimes). We went to another city to an old farm that (I think) the city bought and made into a place for families to visit. Kind of like a petting zoo. Anyway, there were woods all around and animals for the kids to see as well as a playground. And it was COLD. We had to argue to get them there and argue to get them to leave though. The kids visited the animals and went walking through the leaves in the woods, climbing old, fallen trees, and ate Bratwurst with us.

Here's also a photo of Nils watching TV. Of course, this was the first and only time ever he's seen TV, right?? Ha ha! How do you think he became our boy genius and knew how to read his ABCs at 16 months? Sure Leap Frog annoys me, but it has its merits.... And, no, he doesn't always watch TV like that. He's usually licking it.

Happy Birthday Katarina!

Saturday was Katarina's birthday party. Once again, Jay and Nils were the only boys invited. But Katarina has a younger brother, so they were not the only boys.

It was a really multi-cultural mix. Katarina and her brother are also half American-half German. Actually, their mom, Susanne, is half American-half Chinese like me too. But her kids are very, very blond and mine look pretty Chinese!

There was also a Dutch girl, a Japanese girl, a German girl (who didn't speak English) and an American girl. English was the base language, but you could hear Japanese, German, and Dutch from the parents as well.

Jay was rhinoceros for the party- I've attached a photo of his with his mask on.

Saint Martin

November is Saint Martin time here. I've attached a photo of Jay in his Saint Martin's Day parade. Yes, in his Halloween costume. Hey, it's warm!

I didn't know his story until I moved here. St. Martin was a rich guy who came across a poor beggar freezing in the snow and gave the him half of his coat. After the people heard about him, they wanted to make him a bishop. But Martin didn't want to be bishop, so he hid in a goose stall. The geese were really loud, and the people found Martin and he became a bishop.

Now, the first thing I ever wondered when I heard this story was "why only half his coat?" Apparently most Americans come to this same conclusion....

Saint Martin's time has several traditions- a goose dinner (celebrating the goose stall), Weckmaenner (yeast bread "men" with wooden pipes- more on that later), and the very best- the Martinszug. This is a parade of children through the neighborhood with homemade lanterns. The kids sing songs and parade through the town, usually following a horse with "Saint Martin" riding it. After the parade, the kids return to the preschool or elementary school, sing more songs in front of a bonfire, and watch a reenactment of Saint Martin and the beggar. Afterwards, everyone drinks tea amd eats Weckmaenner. On their way home, the kids stop into various shops and sing their songs for some candy. (so there is a German version of trick or treating!)

The kids all make their own lanterns in preschool. Jay and Nils both made theirs. Okay, Jay made his, but I suspect Nils' teacher had a big hand in making the lantern. I have to take a close up photo of them and post it later.

OK- the Weckmaenner. They have a pipe because one year, a very sleepy baker (they do have to wake up before dawn!) accidentally placed the piece that was supposed to be a bishop's staff on the St. Martin's cake upside down. Thus, a pipe was born. Here is a link to a photo of one: http://www.gerderath.com/images/weckmann.jpg

Baby Soffian

My sister (Linda) has a very special micropreemie son, Soffian (23 weeks). Linda and her husband, Sacha, posted a video for the March of Dimes "Every Baby has a Story" campaign.

Take a look here: http://www.everybabyhasastory.org/View.aspx?ProfileID=1313

We are all so proud of you Soffian!

Rock & Roll

Are we projecting too much of what we think is "cool" onto our kids? Or what was cool when we were young. Well, until they can shop and dress themselves, I guess we have that right. OK, Jay does dress himself every day, but I still get to do the shopping!

Then again, the kids have their own definition of what is cool. Jay has been talking an a bunch about Spiderman lately. I was hoping we could avoid superheroes for another couple of years. I'm a girl, I can't get into Spiderman, Batman, or any other (male?) superhero. But I also can't get into Barbie or all those little, tiny accessories that go along with Polly Pockets and other toys that girls love. Our new favorite toy: Knights and horses and building Lego castles with real functioning drawbridges (go Michael!).

Happy Halloween!

Wednesday was Trunk or Treat here and this year both kids got to go. Emma joined us as well. We do Trunk or Treat because Halloween is still relatively new here in Germany. (My in-laws once complained that some kids had the nerve to ring their doorbell and "beg" for candy!)

Basically, the American and Canadian families gather their cars in the parking lot of the international school and open their trunks and decorate them. Some people go all out and have spooky music, jack-o-lanterns or videos playing. The kids paraded a couple of times and then went from car to car trick or treating.

Last year, Jay was pretty good. He ate only one piece of candy and the next day forgot he even had it- bonus for me! This year, neither Jay nor Nils had any interest in trick or treating. Jay was a little overwhelmed and Nils only wanted to run around. They got a little candy, ate one piece, and forgot they had it again. Again, bonus for me!

Happy Birthday to Emma

It was Emma's birthday today and we went to her party. Nils flipped out over the gummy bears decorating his cake and left me the rest- thanks Nils! The party was all girls and our two boys. They shut down into shells and played either alone or with us. That's okay, I think there was a lot of pink going on. I've attached a photo of Maria dancing with the boys.

I also carved our pumpkin today. Hopefully it will last until Halloween. I read some tips that should help prolong the life of a carved pumpkin- we'll see if it works.

Jay is looking at his reflection in the window right now (it is night) and saying "hello other Jay. Hello other mommy." Good night!

More Photos- of the kids while I was gone

Here are some photos of the kids while I was gone. Michael went with Carsten and his kids Katarina and Alexander to the zoo one Saturday. Nils climbed whenever he could. Check out how fat that goat is! You can also see Nils eating his new favorite- Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut bread spread). He usually doesn't eat the bread just the Nutella. Whatever we do we can't get him to eat carbs! He is all about Atkins- he loves fish, eggs and meat.

I also have some photos here of right after I got back. Jay loves to dress as an animal so I got another Halloween costume to add to his dress-up closet. Now he has a lion as well as a frog. You can see him here as a tiger-frog (they roar and swim) giving Nils horse rides on his back. And we got tiger paw slippers too! Of course they really are slippers since they're so slippery. We have to get some kind of sticky bottom on them I don't think they'll go for different slippers now.

Once again, I tried to upload a video of Nils and Jay running around with their tiger slippers. In it, you could hear Nils asking "can I see?" a couple of times. I watched it just now and Michael came into the kitchen asking what it was- the squeals and screaming sounded like someone was hurt! But they're having fun definitely not hurt. Too bad I can't get this function to work.

Photos from My Trip

I have attached some photos from my trip here. Thanks Sacha! First are the photos from my dad's birthday. I was sitting next to my nephew, Christian. Man, can he eat! You can see me piling the food onto his plate. I am very jealous of my sister, Rita (Chris' mom). Her kids eat everything. Maybe I should send my kids there for a month....

I also attached some photos of my precious other nephew, Soffian. He is absolutely perfect. I got to hold him after my decontamination period (three days after landing) and a thorough hand scrubbing. He is doing really well and Linda and Sacha are loving having him home.

I really enjoyed my time home being able to enjoy my family without any distractions and being able to spend my father's 75th birthday with him as well as getting to meet the newest member of our family!

I'm Ba-ack

Blogger in Chinese was too annoying to figure out how to post again, so I waited until I got back. Of course, my computer is now missing the CTRL, ALT & print keys (how did that happen? Nils!), but at least I don't need them to post.

I returned yesterday morning and jumped straight into my usual routine. In fact, last night was Parents' Night at Jay's kindergarten, so I had to wait until late to go to bed too. Nothing like your usual routine to force jet lag out of you... although I never had time for it in the first place!

It was great being home. Little Soffian is so social and responsive. It was a lot of fun playing with him and singing. He's a real sweetie, and definitely has a great Buddha belly! I'll have to post photos when I get them (hint to Sacha!). It would have been nice to stay a couple of days longer, but reality was waiting for me back home. It sounded like the kids had a good time with Michael all week. I think they may have eaten a lot of toast.

Anyway, that's it until I get the photos from my trip up. Of course, there may be yet another festival with face painting sometime soon too! Ha ha ha- I got flak that there sure a lot of festivals around here. :) d

Hello from the US!

Geez, Blogger on my dad's computer is in Chinese. I hope I can figure out enough to actually post and not destroy anything. The font is all wrong, but I can't figure that out until I get back to my English version of Blogger.

I am on a mini-vacation in the States right now all alone! Michael is home with the kids and I am visiting for my dad's birthday and to finally meet and snuggle little Baby Soffian.

Flying without kids is amazing. I always figured I would sleep if I flew alone- nope. I slept for all of 20 minutes int he beginning. As it turns out, the constant announcements about the weather, barometric pressure and the lotto numbers are just as annoying when you don't have anyone you desparately need to nap with you. So I watched movies and geeked out on Sudoku.

Hopefully I'll be able to post photos of me with little S while here. And hopefully Nilsa and Jay won't get jealous when they see them!

Pumpkin Patch

Another pumpkin day! Yesterday, the kids went to a fall event, Pumpkin Patch. There was pumpkin carving and drawing (no paint this year), cookie decorating, making ghost lollipops and, the kids' favorite, a mini-playground. We sampled some soup and apple cider and bought some pumpkins for carving at home later. After I buy a carving kit. Year after year, I try to do it with regular knives and it just doesn't work!

Oma and Kurt are here for a visit too. Yesterday afternoon was beautiful, so we went on a walk to the river to throw pebbles. It is a favorite pasttime for the kids. On the way, we ran into our neighbors. Their son is in the same Kindergarten class as Jacob and they were on their way to do the same thing.

Kartoffelfeuer

Jay's Kindergarten had a potato fire on the river to celelbrate the harvest (Erntendankfest). Each family brought either a salad, bread, or dip. The Kindergarten sold sausages and supplied the potatoes that we grilled on a fire.

The kids all had fun playing and throwing pebbles in the water. Of course, Nils did not sleep a wink that day until we left for the bonfire at 16:00. It was chilly, but fun. And the kids were a lot better (safer) around the fire than I thought they'd be- it was great.

Here is Nils eating a big sausage. When he saw Jay and the other kids eating theirs like that, he didn't want to share or get pieces of Michael's anymore- he had to have his own.

You can also see Jay here hugging his teacher, Andreas. He has another teacher, MacKenzie, but I didn't get a photo of her. They're really great to Nils too. You can see Andreas helping Nils throw potatoes into the fire. Jay liked helping with the wood. Afterwards, we all smelt like bonfire.