Please update your address books to reflect my new edress:
FaithAD@gmailDOTcom (obviously, replace the DOT with "." I'm just spam-bot proofing it.)
My Yahoo account will only be used for my mailing lists now, so make sure that your email doesn't get overlooked! Thanks!!
Two parents, four children, and our adventures in food, music and travel.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Kisses and baby bumps
Neither have learned to kiss with mouthes closed yet.
No one seems concerned about the slobber factor. But really, nothing is sweeter than baby kisses, no matter how messy.
Today I was sitting down and felt the baby kicking pretty hard. I put my hand over the spot, wondering...and yes! I felt it! I called Andrew over, and he felt the baby kick too. His first comment "And the baby's kicking me because it wants to come out and play tiger and monster trucks with me."
No one seems concerned about the slobber factor. But really, nothing is sweeter than baby kisses, no matter how messy.
Today I was sitting down and felt the baby kicking pretty hard. I put my hand over the spot, wondering...and yes! I felt it! I called Andrew over, and he felt the baby kick too. His first comment "And the baby's kicking me because it wants to come out and play tiger and monster trucks with me."
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
The good, the bad, and the downright ugly
The belly grows.
This picture is clickable and will drop you in the belly gallery.
Tulsi Mint tea by Yogi Tea is my newest drink of choice. I have a cup almost every night. It's soothing instead of "sparky" like most mints are (which I love, but am not in the mood at the moment), and has a sweet aftertaste. From what I can gather (I searched around online) it doesn't seem like you can get this in the US; you can't even find it on the Yogi Tea site, so it's not all that fair that I'm telling you about it. The only way I justify this is because if you don't already know about Yogi Tea and you're a tea drinker, find some! They have some of the most lovely flavor blends around. If you enjoy a complex cup, check them out. You will not be disappointed.
My day today started out well. Normally I save videos for when I'm cooking dinner or tired out in the afternoon and we're waiting for Greg to come home. This morning, I felt washed out when I hit the floor, so I put a long one in (Thomas The Tank Engine adventure of some sort), locked the front door from the inside (with a key, and the boys don't know how to work it), set the guys up with cups of cheerios and sippy cups of water and went back to bed. My door was open and I was sort of half awake, so I knew it'd be ok. A few times Andrew came to me with some sort of problem, and I fixed it and went back to sleep. The boys came to me at 10; the movie was over and they were bored.
I felt wonderful from the extra sleep. We were out of bread, and since we all enjoy making it, the little team helped me throw together a loaf.
Having this much fun is pretty serious business.
By the time the dough went in to rise, it was time for lunch. We had a fun spread of tacos from the night before and hotdogs. What could be happier for a toddler? They were in a fantastic mood as I put them down for their nap/quiet time. Elijah went to his bed and stood there drinking his bottle with a pleasant face while he waited for me to tuck him in. Andrew happily kissed me from his bed in the attic (he sleeps in "Hannah's" bed for his quiet times and then gets out to play with his spread of toys up there. He thinks it's great fun.) Everything was calm, and I looked forward to my quiet time, which is my "me" time to get things done -- no work, only play, I've decided (i.e. knitting, spinning, blogging, online snooping, etc.) The quiet time usually lasts a good 2 hours or so.
About a half-hour passed and Andrew came downstairs to use the bathroom. When he went back up, it was pretty clear that he'd decided his time alone was done. About every 5 minutes from there on, he had some sort of problem or would sit at the top step wailing his lungs out for me, threatening to wake Elijah with the volume. I was so mad. There was nothing that I could do, and I assure you that I tried everything. I got so frazzled, and of course Elijah woke up early.
The rest of the day went back and forth from bad to good to bad, and Andrew was unpredictable and terribly behaved for the most part. Maybe I should have spent more time with them in the morning? Maybe we should have gone outside and run around? Maybe this? Maybe that? I have no idea. I just know that by the time Greg came home I was just about to throw dinner off the balcony.
To add insult to injury, the bread pretty much didn't rise at all. We've got a nice tasting brick.
After we ate, I had to lie down for the next hour or so because my stomach was so tied up in knots from the stress. I hope to goodness sake that tomorrow is better. My plan is to start the day by throwing rocks off the bridge behind the house, which should be a hit. Should be.
This picture is clickable and will drop you in the belly gallery.
Tulsi Mint tea by Yogi Tea is my newest drink of choice. I have a cup almost every night. It's soothing instead of "sparky" like most mints are (which I love, but am not in the mood at the moment), and has a sweet aftertaste. From what I can gather (I searched around online) it doesn't seem like you can get this in the US; you can't even find it on the Yogi Tea site, so it's not all that fair that I'm telling you about it. The only way I justify this is because if you don't already know about Yogi Tea and you're a tea drinker, find some! They have some of the most lovely flavor blends around. If you enjoy a complex cup, check them out. You will not be disappointed.
My day today started out well. Normally I save videos for when I'm cooking dinner or tired out in the afternoon and we're waiting for Greg to come home. This morning, I felt washed out when I hit the floor, so I put a long one in (Thomas The Tank Engine adventure of some sort), locked the front door from the inside (with a key, and the boys don't know how to work it), set the guys up with cups of cheerios and sippy cups of water and went back to bed. My door was open and I was sort of half awake, so I knew it'd be ok. A few times Andrew came to me with some sort of problem, and I fixed it and went back to sleep. The boys came to me at 10; the movie was over and they were bored.
I felt wonderful from the extra sleep. We were out of bread, and since we all enjoy making it, the little team helped me throw together a loaf.
Having this much fun is pretty serious business.
By the time the dough went in to rise, it was time for lunch. We had a fun spread of tacos from the night before and hotdogs. What could be happier for a toddler? They were in a fantastic mood as I put them down for their nap/quiet time. Elijah went to his bed and stood there drinking his bottle with a pleasant face while he waited for me to tuck him in. Andrew happily kissed me from his bed in the attic (he sleeps in "Hannah's" bed for his quiet times and then gets out to play with his spread of toys up there. He thinks it's great fun.) Everything was calm, and I looked forward to my quiet time, which is my "me" time to get things done -- no work, only play, I've decided (i.e. knitting, spinning, blogging, online snooping, etc.) The quiet time usually lasts a good 2 hours or so.
About a half-hour passed and Andrew came downstairs to use the bathroom. When he went back up, it was pretty clear that he'd decided his time alone was done. About every 5 minutes from there on, he had some sort of problem or would sit at the top step wailing his lungs out for me, threatening to wake Elijah with the volume. I was so mad. There was nothing that I could do, and I assure you that I tried everything. I got so frazzled, and of course Elijah woke up early.
The rest of the day went back and forth from bad to good to bad, and Andrew was unpredictable and terribly behaved for the most part. Maybe I should have spent more time with them in the morning? Maybe we should have gone outside and run around? Maybe this? Maybe that? I have no idea. I just know that by the time Greg came home I was just about to throw dinner off the balcony.
To add insult to injury, the bread pretty much didn't rise at all. We've got a nice tasting brick.
After we ate, I had to lie down for the next hour or so because my stomach was so tied up in knots from the stress. I hope to goodness sake that tomorrow is better. My plan is to start the day by throwing rocks off the bridge behind the house, which should be a hit. Should be.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Schloss
Hey everyone! I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I've taken the week off from responding to emails and blogging, but I'm back!
Just because, here's a funny video of Elijah, trying an olive for the first time.
Hannah was here from England with a friend from school (she's Australian). We went to Heidelberg to see Schloss (castle) Heidelberg, and intended to go to the farmer's market as well, but we were one week too early. Oh well. She'll be back in two weeks for her winter break, so we can always go again.
Unfortunately my camera died after just these two pictures, but I will post more when Hannah comes back (her/Grace-and-Joy's camera worked for the whole trip, but she left her computer hook-up cable here)
We also went to a castle today, which happens to be about 10 minutes from our house. We took the pics on real film though, so I can't show you for a week or so, or however long they take on post (so old fashioned, I know, but we were taking our annual Christmas shots, so it's traditional to use the "real" camera.)
More details about Hannah's visit and our German/American Thanksgiving tomorrow or sometime next week.
Just because, here's a funny video of Elijah, trying an olive for the first time.
Hannah was here from England with a friend from school (she's Australian). We went to Heidelberg to see Schloss (castle) Heidelberg, and intended to go to the farmer's market as well, but we were one week too early. Oh well. She'll be back in two weeks for her winter break, so we can always go again.
Unfortunately my camera died after just these two pictures, but I will post more when Hannah comes back (her/Grace-and-Joy's camera worked for the whole trip, but she left her computer hook-up cable here)
We also went to a castle today, which happens to be about 10 minutes from our house. We took the pics on real film though, so I can't show you for a week or so, or however long they take on post (so old fashioned, I know, but we were taking our annual Christmas shots, so it's traditional to use the "real" camera.)
More details about Hannah's visit and our German/American Thanksgiving tomorrow or sometime next week.
Friday, November 17, 2006
A beating heart
On Tuesday, we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat! You can listen too. Click here. For those interested, the heartbeat falls right between the supposed "boy" and "girl" range just like Andrew's and Elijah's did, so no clues!
Monday, November 13, 2006
The piano
**Edited to add (ETA) piano video clip**
Please brace yourself for a picture heavy post. The first picture is clickable and will take you to the gallery where you can watch a slideshow of it instead, if you wish. This will also allow you to see the pictures in greater detail if you should so desire.
When we moved, no one told us (and I'm sure that the Army should have!) that we might not want to take things like our washer, dryer, and -- oh yeah -- proabably not our piano. No one suggested storage, or hinted that the apartments might actually be too small to even get anything up stairs or through doorways. So. The washer and dryer are not much of a problem. They're clutter catchers in the fron entryway, but as it's a pretty large space, it's not very noticable. We can't hook them up, and the Army has supplied us with "lenders" that are hooked up in the basement (another post to follow this week about the insanity of that). However, the piano wasn't so easy.
First, they told us that there was no way they could get it up the stairs. Surely they would damage something or themselves on the trip up two flights of stairs. They told us they'd never been asked to move a piano -- does no one play piano in Germany anymore? They called in a special moving company to scope things out, and those guys tried to convince us to ship the piano back to the states for storage. I flatly refused. They said they'd talk to their boss and see what they could do. Greg told me to suggest the rooftop porch that we have off the kitchen. I suppose the guys didn't want to argue with a stubburn pregnant girl, because a few days later they called back with the news that they'd be here with a crane on Monday morning (today!)
I woke up at 7am to make sure that I was properly dressed and awake before they got here. When they arrived, it was pretty unbelievable. They really did have a huge orange crane. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. The last one is a little video clip. So sorry that I couldn't have gotten more -- Elijah woke and started yelling "Mommy!" from his room and the camera battery was running low.
They were probably using ultimate self-control when, after all that, I told them that the piano would need to be moved all the way across the L-shaped house to the opposite side, and placed in the sunroom. But it's all done now. Thank goodness.
Please brace yourself for a picture heavy post. The first picture is clickable and will take you to the gallery where you can watch a slideshow of it instead, if you wish. This will also allow you to see the pictures in greater detail if you should so desire.
When we moved, no one told us (and I'm sure that the Army should have!) that we might not want to take things like our washer, dryer, and -- oh yeah -- proabably not our piano. No one suggested storage, or hinted that the apartments might actually be too small to even get anything up stairs or through doorways. So. The washer and dryer are not much of a problem. They're clutter catchers in the fron entryway, but as it's a pretty large space, it's not very noticable. We can't hook them up, and the Army has supplied us with "lenders" that are hooked up in the basement (another post to follow this week about the insanity of that). However, the piano wasn't so easy.
First, they told us that there was no way they could get it up the stairs. Surely they would damage something or themselves on the trip up two flights of stairs. They told us they'd never been asked to move a piano -- does no one play piano in Germany anymore? They called in a special moving company to scope things out, and those guys tried to convince us to ship the piano back to the states for storage. I flatly refused. They said they'd talk to their boss and see what they could do. Greg told me to suggest the rooftop porch that we have off the kitchen. I suppose the guys didn't want to argue with a stubburn pregnant girl, because a few days later they called back with the news that they'd be here with a crane on Monday morning (today!)
I woke up at 7am to make sure that I was properly dressed and awake before they got here. When they arrived, it was pretty unbelievable. They really did have a huge orange crane. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. The last one is a little video clip. So sorry that I couldn't have gotten more -- Elijah woke and started yelling "Mommy!" from his room and the camera battery was running low.
They were probably using ultimate self-control when, after all that, I told them that the piano would need to be moved all the way across the L-shaped house to the opposite side, and placed in the sunroom. But it's all done now. Thank goodness.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Pink Hat
This is Elijah's new look. He puts the hat on himself. Don't dare touch it or try to adjust it in any way. You'll have a fit on your hands that won't be pretty. Not that it's happened to me or anything.
As I've told you all, I've been doing a really big potty training push lately with Andrew. Elijah thinks this is fascinating, and started getting jealous. "Pee! Pee!" he'd yell, running in to the room. He'd rush up behind Andrew (who stands on a stool to pee), and push him, wanting to stand there himself.
Andrew started screaming at Elijah every time he'd charge in, and push him violently back out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Sometimes Elijah would hit his head on the door-jam; all the time he would be pissed off. So the little man came up with a plan.
The small bathroom that Andrew usually chooses to use happens to have the light-switch panel just outside the door. Instead of trying to share the peeing experience with Andrew, Elijah has started just switching the light out on him instead. He's a quick learner.
As I've told you all, I've been doing a really big potty training push lately with Andrew. Elijah thinks this is fascinating, and started getting jealous. "Pee! Pee!" he'd yell, running in to the room. He'd rush up behind Andrew (who stands on a stool to pee), and push him, wanting to stand there himself.
Andrew started screaming at Elijah every time he'd charge in, and push him violently back out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Sometimes Elijah would hit his head on the door-jam; all the time he would be pissed off. So the little man came up with a plan.
The small bathroom that Andrew usually chooses to use happens to have the light-switch panel just outside the door. Instead of trying to share the peeing experience with Andrew, Elijah has started just switching the light out on him instead. He's a quick learner.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Brother-love
I don't know about you...
...But this is pretty much the cutest bunch of trouble I've ever seen.
...But this is pretty much the cutest bunch of trouble I've ever seen.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Mohrenkopf
On Sunday, Greg walked in the door from work (he's working 7 days a week right now, which sucks), and said that a ton of people were walking around in the street outside, which was blocked off, and there seemed to be fair of some sort going on.
The boys and I pulled ourselves together (we'd been wandering around in sweatpants all day, since I delaired the day off from everything serious -- including getting dressed), Greg changed out of his military costume and we headed out.
Somehow, we'd missed the memo, but there were vendors all up and down the street and in the market square, selling everything from spiced nuts to clothing to sausages. Remember how I said that I was going off sugar? I may have fallen off the bandwagon a bit.
Ok, it looks more like I jumped off. But could you blame me?
The heart was some sort of a lightly spiced ginger bread (not very sweet at all -- Andrew didn't like it), and the bon-bon thing...well, that was something else all together.
My neighbor said it's called a Mohrenkopf, which means something about a little hat. The translation was unclear, but kopf definitely means head, and she says it also means hat. It was about as big around as the palm of my hand, and 4 inches tall. There was a waffle/wafer on the bottom, then gooey milky super sweet stuff all coated with chocolate dipped in almonds. Yes, it was good. My leg ached a little the next day, but I put it up and drank a lot of water. (More poison, please! No, I need to start being consistantly good, for real.)
There were also rides for the children including a jumpy castle (Andrew wouldn't go in it because there were bigger kids already jumping -- probably a good thing, since he might have gotten hurt, and then Elijah would have wanted to try), and a little merry-go-round. Andrew begged to go on the go-round, so we finally put him on...and about 5 seconds later, he was all fallen to pieces. I would have taken a picture, but Greg was refusing to jump on the moving ride with him. I passed the stroller to Greg and jumped on myself (my dad is getting nervous thinking about how dangerous this might have been. No worries, it wasn't going that fast.) Somehow, Greg thought that I'd gotten a picture already, so he didn't document me calming him or anything, but anyway, it all happened.
Yesterday I visited with my neighbor from downstairs and she said the "thing" was called Uerkaufs Offfener Sonntag, which, loosely translated means "The One Day In The Year When All The Shops Are Open On A Sunday And There Are Vendors And Rides In The Streets For Fun". This "thing" travels from town to town towards the end of each year, and it's the only day in the year when you'll find shops open on a Sunday.
This has nothing to do with anything, but here is Greg's van:
The boys and I pulled ourselves together (we'd been wandering around in sweatpants all day, since I delaired the day off from everything serious -- including getting dressed), Greg changed out of his military costume and we headed out.
Somehow, we'd missed the memo, but there were vendors all up and down the street and in the market square, selling everything from spiced nuts to clothing to sausages. Remember how I said that I was going off sugar? I may have fallen off the bandwagon a bit.
Ok, it looks more like I jumped off. But could you blame me?
The heart was some sort of a lightly spiced ginger bread (not very sweet at all -- Andrew didn't like it), and the bon-bon thing...well, that was something else all together.
My neighbor said it's called a Mohrenkopf, which means something about a little hat. The translation was unclear, but kopf definitely means head, and she says it also means hat. It was about as big around as the palm of my hand, and 4 inches tall. There was a waffle/wafer on the bottom, then gooey milky super sweet stuff all coated with chocolate dipped in almonds. Yes, it was good. My leg ached a little the next day, but I put it up and drank a lot of water. (More poison, please! No, I need to start being consistantly good, for real.)
There were also rides for the children including a jumpy castle (Andrew wouldn't go in it because there were bigger kids already jumping -- probably a good thing, since he might have gotten hurt, and then Elijah would have wanted to try), and a little merry-go-round. Andrew begged to go on the go-round, so we finally put him on...and about 5 seconds later, he was all fallen to pieces. I would have taken a picture, but Greg was refusing to jump on the moving ride with him. I passed the stroller to Greg and jumped on myself (my dad is getting nervous thinking about how dangerous this might have been. No worries, it wasn't going that fast.) Somehow, Greg thought that I'd gotten a picture already, so he didn't document me calming him or anything, but anyway, it all happened.
Yesterday I visited with my neighbor from downstairs and she said the "thing" was called Uerkaufs Offfener Sonntag, which, loosely translated means "The One Day In The Year When All The Shops Are Open On A Sunday And There Are Vendors And Rides In The Streets For Fun". This "thing" travels from town to town towards the end of each year, and it's the only day in the year when you'll find shops open on a Sunday.
This has nothing to do with anything, but here is Greg's van:
Monday, November 06, 2006
Need more Faith in your life?
Click here to listen to my latest episode of The Knitting Cook. It's not all knitting and cooking, I talk about my life in Germany too. It just MIGHT interest you. Let me know if you do end up listening! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Will post more tomorrow (we accidentally ended up at a street fair -- check back for the full story). It's past midnight here, and I've only just gotten the show out, so I need to head straight for bed.
Will post more tomorrow (we accidentally ended up at a street fair -- check back for the full story). It's past midnight here, and I've only just gotten the show out, so I need to head straight for bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)