Tomnhanni

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T22:10:00.003+01:00

We took the kids to my friend in Geneva for a Halloween weekend, we decorated her whole house and made ghoulish treats. The kids dressed up and (of course) came back loaded with candy. I believe they are starting to learn their lesson and managed not to eat all 6 pounds of candy within the first 5 minutes. Shocking!
Mandy dressed up as a dead Princess Peach (Anyone play Mario?) and Jason was Jason Vorhees from Friday 13th--all entirely their idea by the way!
For dinner we served chopped off monster feet, dead man's fingers and giant's eyes. For dessert there was eyeball muffins and spider crackers. Very delicious!
We can't wait until next halloween to do something fun like this again!

Happy Birthday, Amanda!!!

2009-09-20T22:02:00.004+02:00

Amanda at age 3

Amanda at age 5

Age 6

Age 7

Age 10 (She is playing air-guitar in case you can't tell!)

Our darling daughter finally turned 10, she got to celebrate once on her birthday (it was Monday, first day back at school) and once with her friends. The theme was "popstars" and we had wii dancing, singstar singing, make-overs, outfits, photo shootings and lots of fun and games.
I didn't know that girls could eat so much until I saw them gobble away more than two trays of pizza! Now I know better...

I call Amanda my sunshine because she is always cheerful, there is very little that can dampen her mood or make her fussy. She never whines, not as a baby and not now either. She will make up her mind as to what she wants and go for it, never taking "no" for an answer. Some call it "stubborn", others call it "driven". Amanda takes her time in choosing things, a rash decision is something she will never make. She is thorough in everything she does, sometimes to the point of being slow--for example when it comes to food. Yes, she can take up to 20 minutes to eat one scoop of (now turned mush) ice-cream. Better than rushing anyhow, I say. (Her brother is off the table in about 5 minutes with his mouth still full of food!)
She is a good student who hasn't had one "C" last year and wants to study to become a dentist when she is big. When her brother got his tooth filled, she was allowed to "assist" because our dentist knows of her possible soon-to-be profession of inflicting severe pain to our mouths. (With assist, I mean that she got to hold and use the tool that blows air onto the tooth so that the dentist could drill and finish the filling.) My growing daughter is a talented artist and ballet dancer who can also beat you in chess and card games due to her wit. She is girly but not prissy, feisty but not mean, honest but not hurtful and is a caring person who is growing into the perfect woman! (Praise be to Tom and Hanna for creating such a creature!)

Plitvice Lakes & Waterfalls

2009-09-09T12:03:00.007+02:00

Croatian National Park / Plitvitcer Lakes

2009-09-09T11:09:00.007+02:00

We decided to head out to the Plitvicer lakes on our way home, little did we know that the area is a full 217 hectar large and it takes between 6-8 hours to just walk around all the lakes. Luckily, they have a very neat ferry and mini-bus system where you can tour everything but don't have to walk all that far.
There are sixteen lakes in total, but I think we only saw 6 or 7 of those. They also fall in a sort of step-fashion, which creates little waterfalls whenever it goes to another step. The largest waterfall on the upper lakes was 78 meters high (255 feet) and was absolutely breathtaking. All of the lakes had gorgeous colours ranging from azure to green and blue, apparently the colours will change depending on the quality of minerals and organisms in the water.
They had several trails that you could trek on, and we took the little ferry-boats to cut across some of the larger parts and make our trip shorter.
Fish were everywhere, as well as ducks and birds and lots of butterflies. The kids got a bit tired after a while and after 6 hours of pure walking and climbing, we got into the car to start our trip back to Germany.
In retrospect, although it was nice for the kids, I think it's more of an adult tour.

Caves

2009-09-06T19:55:00.006+02:00

We visited one of the largest stalagmite/stalagtite caves in Croatia name Biserujka on the island Krk. It lies about 12 meters under the ground It was breathtaking when you realize how long it took for those pillars to become what they are, when it can take 20-30 years for just one milimeter to grow. As you can see from the pictures, many of the calcine pillars are well over 3 meters. It's cold all year round, about 10-13° constantly and you could feel the humidity in the air, a bit like a very moist air con.
Legend has it that pirates of old hid a treasure of pearls in the cave, and "biserujka" means "little pearl" in Croatian.
Oh, Tom says Jason and me look like aliens in that picture...

More Croatia pictures

2009-09-06T19:41:00.002+02:00

Holidays in Croatia

2009-09-06T19:18:00.005+02:00

Halrighty then: pictures!!!

We drove down to the Kvarner bay where we had rented an apartment for a week. We spent most of our time at the beach, lazing in the sun. Tom and Jason went fishing (no pix, sorry) and caught our dinner once, that was yummy. The weather played along most of the time, and although it was supposed to turn sour it stayed lovely until the day we had to leave--perfect!
Of course we had some great seafood when there, it's just different when served mediterranean style and fresh from the sea. Luckily, the area wasn't heavily bombarded by tourists, mainly Croatians, some Czechs and Hungarians and of course your all-time favourite: Germans! (Ze Chermans arr comink)
It took us about 14 hours to drive down because we got stuck in Italian traffic jam, and the trip back was only 10 hours since we took a different route and drove at night. We taught the kids to snorkel and Mandy is really good at it. It's always a bummer when the holidays end but they were fun nonetheless.

Random pictures

2009-08-16T21:41:00.003+02:00

I wish I could take pictures every day, but I just don't get around to it. Often the kids run away from the camera or refuse to sit still because "silly old Mom" wants to take yet another snapshot.
They are enjoying their holidays, we go to the pool as often as we can and rent wii games when the weather is shitty. Soon Tom and I will be on holidays for 3 weeks and we will go on a day-trip to France, a camping trip and a week of holiday at the Croatian beaches. Looking forward to that, and promise to capture that on my digi cam.
For now, enjoy these:

Summer is here at last

2009-07-04T10:27:00.002+02:00

...well, German summer that is. How do you know it's summer in Germany?
Answer: when the rain feels warm!

It's really not fair because while the kids are at school and I am work, the sun shines and beats and it's all summer-go-happy. The minute I get out of the office, I see dark clouds and feel the sticky humidity of an oncoming storm. Ok, once or twice we managed to go to the pool for a few hours. See, the summer storms here aren't cold and the air still stays baking hot and stagnant.
Of course the kids are starting to tan, while Tom and I still look all pasty. We're trying to remedy that though, at least before we go to Croatia end of August. He he!
The kids only have to go to school for 4 more weeks, and then they will be sleeping in till 12 every day and wrecking havoc at home until I come back from work. Personally, I think six weeks of summer holidays is far too long but don't tell the kids that! The city does these holiday project for which Mandy has already signed herself and Jason up for. Like cooking classes, pottery classes and various try-outs for different sports. It keeps them busy and it's free!
I will probably have to rely on babysitters (aka siblings) every once in a while to take them to the pool while Tom and I slave away with ball and chain on our ankles.
Ah yes, summertime. When everyone crawls out of their dingy holes and dares to sit in the sun until they look like lobsters. When the beergardens are filled with tipsy Dads singing out loud to corny music. When the air is filled with the smell of bbq and cut grass. When you hope not to meet any of your colleagues at the pool today because you don't want your boss to chat you up when you're just wearing a bikini.
Summertime!

Fun Stuff

2009-06-21T13:01:00.003+02:00

As we do every year, we went to the town fair and rides which are in the summer. Sometimes the weather doesn't play along, but this time we got lucky. Of course I managed to drop and smash my brand name sunglasses while waiting for a ride--the sacrifices you make for your kids!
We went on the spookride and actually got stuck. Mandy asked if part of the spook was being bored to death by sitting in the dark in front of an LCD TV showing a burning abyss. A worker came and "rescued" us but we got stuck a few seconds later again. So that was pretty boring! Jason won a little prize at a shooting booth and we were all thoroughly tossed around in the bumper cars.
Next year: same procedure!

R.I.P little Squeakers

2009-06-16T22:02:00.004+02:00

It was a sad Sunday--little Squeaky keeled over at only one-and-a-half years (they usually live about 8 years) and seemed not to be breathing. He had had some problems with his teeth before and was only eating tomatoes and soft foods. Poor little guy, we thought he was fine because he was all normal and uppity and squeaked insanely when we opened the fridge door He may have had some sort of Guinea Pig metabolism disease where they eat but still lose weight. It broke Mandy's heart to have to put him to sleep, but as the vet commented, it was inhumane to try to keep him alive when he was suffering so very badly. A lot of tears were shed and the kids took it pretty hard. Emotions have settled now and Mandy wants 2 new Guinea Pigs--we had given her 2 weeks time to think about it and this is her decision. Once new squeaking creatures will be in our house we will post about it!

Europa Park (Jason's Birthday Gift)

2009-05-19T20:00:00.001+02:00

Mandy being "british"

The kids sharing a "Euromouse" cocktail over which they later fought. (My half was the bottom half, so I had to drink the top part to get to it!)

This is a really freaky one, you drop weightless for a few seconds because you fall so fast from like 70 meters high. Note Jason and Jarod happily sticking their arms in the air while Tom clutches on for dear life!

You can't see it, but little Mandy is sitting next to Tom...

Ok, so for this picture Jason told us all to throw our hands in the air and act as though we are having a total blast...and what does he do? (That gesture look familar, Dad?)

All the kids loved it, and us Moms even dared to go on the Bluefire Coaster which is freaky: it has an overhead looping and several screws...aaah!

My guys

2009-05-14T22:53:00.003+02:00

It's so hard to get a decent picture of these guys...

Birthday Pix

2009-05-14T22:43:00.002+02:00

Amanda decorated this marzipan cake for her brother. So sweet!

Jason being all cool after getting a strike, ha!

Tom showing Jay how to play pool.

Jason

2009-05-08T14:54:00.004+02:00

Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away...

It seems like so long ago that my little baby was born. So sweet and good, he hardly cried and was such a smart little kid. He was saying full words at 10 months and by the time he was 1 he wouldn't shut up! Ha!
He inherited his brains from me (seeing that his Dad still has his!) and can be a genius in some things. I say some things, because although his scholastic skills are spectacular, he still has a hard time tying his shoes or thinking of putting on clean socks. On the other hand, maybe that just isn't as important in the life of a smart child.

What I have learned:

Never argue with Jason, you will always lose and he will use anything you said against you!
Never wonder if he likes your food, he will hug you and thank you after each meal.
Never wonder if you are a good Mom to him, since he will thank you for taking good care of him. (After having gobbled up the sweets you bought him)
Never ask what all the batteries or the wires are for, or why his room smells of burnt hair and/or clothes. (You don't want to know!)
He will laugh at your jokes, even if he thinks they are lame
He will clear the table for you and bring you tea if you are feeling sick.
He will burst with excitement when he comes home from school, having waited all this time to tell you what happened.
Even if he has not been in the sun for all of winter, he will still be tan and look like a lump of brown sugar when he is in the bathtub.

Jason is an extremely insightful and bright boy, who has already become a great people-person. Everybody wants to be his friend, and many a (female) classmate will call during the day and chat for over an hour.
My little baby is becoming a smart, handsome, clever, charming, witty, and gifted young man--quite like his Father.
I always tell him that he is my favourite son, and he always replies "I am your only son, silly!"

Rain, rain, go away

2009-04-19T11:27:00.002+02:00

Weather had been so lovely, it was really hot and the kids had a whole week of holidays. I then heard on the radio that the weather was supposed to turn sour, so I drove home from work at around 1, packed a bunch of picnic stuff and headed to the lake with the rotters. It was so hot that our little chocolate cakes melted in a matter of minutes. Jason made rocks bounce on the lake and Mandy went off to chase a dog. Since I work 5 min. away from the lake, I took the kids to see my office and where I work. In the production area, they were shown how they make the gold embossing on the binders and books we sell(with REAL gold much to Jason's delight) as well as the oversized cutting machine which has a 1,2 meter long blade. On the drive home, it occurrs to Mandy that she is invited to a birthday party, so off we rush to get a gift and drop her off. The picnic was all the more special when the next day it poured rain and hasn't stopped since. Their one week of Easter holiday is ending today on Sunday, yet the sun is coming back out again as well.
I noticed that the kids have grown out their pants again, seems like I JUST bought them clothes...but I guess that's just the way it is.
Tom's birthday is coming up next week and Jason's shortly after. Things will be fun and I hope not to forget my camera as often (or to charge my phone) so that I can take pictures.
Spring is just the best time of the year!

More pictures of Switzerland

2009-04-13T19:40:00.002+02:00

More pix

2009-04-12T22:17:00.002+02:00

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T21:58:00.004+02:00

We hope you all had a great Easter--we did! Switzerland was lovely, the weather was perfect and we had lots of fun. Granted, us parents didn't sleep as much as we would have liked but what is sleep compared to your kids enjoying themselves?
Anne had planned a trip to an adventure maze, the boys really liked it although I got tired of climbing and walking after a while. That evening we were in Montreux and Tom got to go to the Korean store and buy his kimchi ingredients. Taking a walk by the lake, we tried to get some pictures of Tom and me but the kids would sabotage it. Hence, I have a pic of Tom and me where a bottle is flying through the air and I am yelling something, another one where a kid jumps through the picture and yet another one where we are blurred to the extreme!

On Saturday Tom took us out to Buffalo Grill and the children had so much fun, we were afraid the waiter would come over and ask us to leave. Reason? All collective 4 kids would blow up balloons and send them shooting off. In other words, spit-soaked pieces of rubber flying into stranger's food. Ahem!
The fantastic part was that the kids were forced to speak english, and practiced a lot. Just for infos: these kids have been seeing each other since 2004 and still get along and keep up their "insider" jokes from years ago.
On Sunday, Anne's Mom invited us all to their family easter lunch where they served delicious lamb.
All of us enjoyed our weekend and will be looking forward to our next trip!

Enjoy the pictures.

boys

The maze

Jason prentending to pee

Posing

Geneva lake

Easter is coming up

2009-03-31T21:11:00.002+02:00

...and we will be going to Switzerland to spend a weekend with our friends. We plan on going to Geneva and seeing that big water fountain, maybe to Lausanne and then we are planning to go to these giant mazes. The kids are all excited about it and me, well I LOVE travelling! All in all, we will be happy to be out of the house.
In May (either on Jason's birthday itself or Mother's day) we will go to Europapark again since they have a new roller coaster. This time we are gonna get Tom to go along and make him go on all the rides! He he!
Oh to be a child again!

Lock, stock and barrel

2009-03-23T20:31:00.002+01:00

Oma's Birthday

2009-03-23T20:19:00.003+01:00

My Oma turned 83 and almost all of her grandkids showed up. To note: she has 14 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren, 2 great-nieces/nephews. Just imagine: almost all of her grandchildren are married, doubling the amount of people. On her 70th, 75th and 80th birthday we had to rent a hall because nobody has a place big enough! Here is a picture of Amanda holding her third cousin, my second cousin once removed. In other words: my Mom's cousin's grandchild.
(We looked up the cousin tree on wikipedia)

Goofballs (Part II)

2009-03-08T14:01:00.003+01:00

Little piggies (Gee, I wonder why I have so much to clean...)

Goofballs (Part I)

2009-03-08T13:52:00.003+01:00

I am foolish enough not to have filmed this, it was hard to take pictures cuz I was laughing so much (as were they). I had made strawberries with whipped cream (plus some flavours from the chocolate-mint-sugar mill) and this is what happened:

Weekend fun

2009-02-25T21:13:00.003+01:00

We had a great weekend since Anne and her 2 boys Richard and Jarod came for a visit.
Despite Tom's warning of "do you know what you're getting into?" we decided to spend a weekend together with 4 crazy kids and their funny accents.

Plus points: our kids all were forced to speak english
Downside: the parents were forced to wake up early on Saturday and Sunday...

The boys played "Dance Revolution" on the Nintendo Wii until their stomping around made us yank them away. We went clothes shopping with all 4 kids, to the chinese buffet (splendid idea, man!), we made mochi and watched Disney movies.
Us parents were sort of just tired all the time, seeing that we had been working all week while our kids had been on holidays. (Those brats!)
Tom hid in his room most of the time, next time we know to stock up on ear plugs.
We had originally planned to go sledding, but it rained and all the snow got wet and washed away. Bummer!
Our new car came in handy although it was a shame that the weather was so rotten. Summer or at least Spring is always a better idea since then we can go to the big Wilhelma zoo or the lake. Lucky for us, there will always be a next time.

Here is the messy table, and then Jarod and Mandy with their Mochi:

Yeay!

2009-02-13T16:03:00.003+01:00

So we have a new car, it's so cool and easy to drive. VW are neat in that their functions make sense and save time.
Sigh!
It has an extra 2 seats in the back which can be put up in case I have to chauffeur a bunch of kids/crazy siblings around. Tom got me fully comprehensive insurance since the car is barely 3 years old, or in his words: "You can now officially drive against a tree!" (Encouraging, huh?)
It even has those little windshield wipers for the front lights, they are so cute!
Tom picked our initials and the date when we got together for the license plate, now ain't that cute?

Time flies!

2009-02-04T07:26:00.003+01:00

It's scary how time speeds past us, when measured by your children especially. Like Jason will often say, "forget it, Mom!" simply because in his mind there is no use explaining something as complicated like a math problem to me. What happened to the days where you knew more than your kids? What happened to the times where everything your kids learned, they got from you? Nowadays my kids explain things to ME! Well, some tings at least: how to set up and plug in the wii, which websites have good deals on amusement park tickets, where you can find cheap halloween decorations, etc.
Lord knows what my grandkids will talk to me about one day in the future!

Snow fun!

2009-02-02T11:38:00.003+01:00

The kids have so much fun in the snow, they get all tired and sweaty and I make them hot chocolate when they come back home while they trample all over the floor with their wet boots. Sometimes the four seasons can be enjoyable...and sometimes I wish it would be one temperature the whole year through--although I can't decide on what is better: constant summer with no white christmas or all four seasons with the occasional icey roads and/or heat waves?

Christmas Pix

2009-01-22T14:38:00.004+01:00

These were the only C-mas pictures I found, they were taken a few days before Christmas with my cell phone camera. (That's why they aren't that good!)
I had wanted to get some classic Christmas pictures of them, maybe with their Daddy as well...but it didn't work out somehow. Besides, Jason refused to wear anything other than camouflage!

This is the only one I got of them where they aren't making dumb faces!

Sweet lil Mandy-Pooh!

Get this: I am wearing heels, so imagine how tall he is next to me without heels!

Babies

2009-01-14T22:09:00.003+01:00

Sweet Violet had dressed herself up, I do believe she felt very posh, hehe!

Yeah, Judah got all mad at me for trying to take his picture. Poor kid had no idea of how pushy I can be!

Violet looks so big for her age, I showed pictures of her and people thought she was like four years old or so. Quite the self-asserted lil girl there! (Always better than being a pushover, believe me!)

Pictures from our trip

2009-01-14T22:00:00.004+01:00

How wonderful it was to see everyone again. One one hand, it felt like forever since we had seen each other...and on the other hand it felt as though we had always been together. Très strange!

Poor Steph, all bored and happy.

Sisters, sisters...there were never such devoted sisters...

How sweet!

Dinnertime, yeay! (Love ur facial expression, Julz!)

*Sigh* Oh, Dad...

R.I.P Mom

2008-12-26T16:35:00.003+01:00

It hurts too much to put into words, we loved her so very much. She was the dearest person on earth, and I know she would probably tell me I am exaggerating, but she was too good for this world. I guess God realized that an angel was missing and took her home.
I sent her this poem a while back and she really liked it, it's been going through my mind ever since I got the news.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

I am just glad that she didn't have to suffer for a long time. Sometimes it's more selfish to ask a person to stay around just for you, when maybe they are tired of fighting and feel their time has come. It's out of our hands anyhow.
Dear Dad, Aimee, Marisa, Julie, Sam and Ang: I feel for you and although she wasn't my "real" Mom, I loved her more than anything.
I hope we can comfort each other, she would have wanted that.

Random Christmas Post

2008-12-25T14:31:00.004+01:00

Tom took us to the Christmas market a short while back, for some yummy Glühwein (mulled wine) and children's punch for Jason and Amanda. Our toes were freezing but we still enjoyed it.

Nutcracker

2008-12-22T14:19:00.003+01:00

Sweet lil Amanda was a skating cotton candy in Tschaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite".
She was all nervous since there were a lot of people, 820 in total. Of course, we were among the audience, along with my sister and my Oma. Actually, no one was allowed to take pictures although I did sneak in a few junky ones. They did come out sort of rotten, seeing that I was relatively far away, you weren't allowed to use the flash and there were seemingly millions of heads bobbing in front of me.
I took pictures when we got home. Mandy received a rose for her performance, but the head fell off and she was kind of upset. She did really well, was the only girl who kept perfectly on beat (as noticed by her drummer dad).
So now we are all excited about Christmas, I sent off Christmas mail except to Aimee since I lost her address (yet again)!
My brothers are coming for Christmas Eve, my sisters will come on the 1st Christmas day (we get 2 here) and we will visit my Oma and aunts, etc. on the 2nd Christmas day. On the weekend we will rush to prepare for our visit from Anne and her 2 boys, who will be coming to spend the New Years with us. (Three boys? Gotta get really safe fireworks!)
All very exciting, although slightly stressy but in a good way.
Now I am off to bake some more Stollen and cookies with the kids.
*hums Christmas Carols*

2008-12-03T15:08:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday, Dad! Have a great birthday and a great anniversary! You're a fantastic Father, Father-in-law and Grandpa. We miss you so much and hope to see you soon! Have a great year and know that we think of you and love you!!!

Love,
Tom + Hanna + Jason + Amanda

If your kids ever feel they aren't doing well in school...

2008-11-13T09:15:00.005+01:00

..they should look at Albert Einstein's grades.

The kids are doing very good in school, Jason will be very downhearted to receive anything less than an A+ with 0 mistakes. He is also the class clown, although his last teacher mentioned that he does so because he is very smart and thus gets easily bored in class. I told him not to worry about it, Einstein (who also went to school in Germany) had a hard time in school.
Born about 2 hours from where we are currently living, Einstein could not even speak until the age of 3!
He was home-schooled for one year, from ages 5-6 but when he threw a chair at his tutor out of rage she refused to teach him. (Figures!)
Einstein did ok in elementary school, but his grades dropped immensely when he went to middle school. (Gymnasium it's called here, where Jason is going to as well.)
His report cards continually stated that he was "very foolish" and his teacher actually wrote on his report card that "nothing good will ever come of this boy".
Albert Einstein did not pass the final test, and did not get a German high school diploma!!! More often than not, he was reprimanded by principals for being "respectless" and rubbing off on his classmates.
Instead, he went to Switzerland and passed the test there. He also gave up his German citizinship to avoid military service and left the jewish community.
We all know what became of him later.

The reason I let the kids read up on him, is because I wanted them to know that in end, it isn't necessarily the grades that count. If you are smart, you will be be able to prove it in more ways than your high school grades.
Now, when Mandy is bummed about grades that weren't what she expected, she comforts herself in knowing that they are still better than Albert Einstein's.

Halloween

2008-11-06T09:26:00.003+01:00

Originally, I had planned a big halloween party but the week was so stressy for me that I ended up with no time for planning anything.
Instead of inviting hundreds of kids (my nerves!) we decided that they would each invite their best friend over for a sleepover halloween party.
The kids made "bloody fingers" for dinner and "zombie hands" for dessert. (aka hot dogs and jello.) Unfortunately, my batteries in my camera died, and since Jason always steals them to use on his gadgets I only snapped a few pictures.

The kids rented spooky movies (Monster House and Corpse Bride) and I had plenty of candy and sweets prepared. Trick-or-treating didn't work out because it was really storming, so there was little point in that. (Jason and his friend proceeded to declare trick-or-treating "baby stuff"!) No one rang our doorbell either, which meant all the more sugar rush for the kids.
Jason and his friends stayed up all night long, sending each other messages on their nintendo DS. The next morning they kept assuring me they weren't tired, but they had extremely delayed responses when asked a question and reflexes were slow. Ha Ha!
We'll see what we come up with next year...

Le Chef

2008-11-06T09:17:00.002+01:00

Jason decided he wanted to cook us a 3 course meal, he had seen some recipes on a tv show. I though I would let him have free reign, so I took him shopping.
He didn't have a list, and I was suprised at how easily he figured out how much of everything he needed.

His Menu:

Entrée - Cold cucumber soup (made with buttermilk) and smoked salmon and dill.
Main Course - Salmon steaks, basmati rice and tartar sauce
Dessert - Banana Splits

I only got a picture of the cucumber soup, I was too busy eating the rest, haha.
He really gave it his all, set the table nicely and cleared all the plates inbetween courses. He made everything from scratch with no recipe--it was genius!
Delicious to say the least, although I admit I made the tartar sauce for him.
We were very proud of him and will post detailed pictures when he cooks again.

Mercedes-Benz Museum Pt III

2008-10-08T14:46:00.002+02:00

This was the first automobile to be produced as a series. I think it had like 2 PS and went like 60 km/h. Did you know that old cars didn't have ashtrays until the british royals asked Mercedes to incorporate them?

We also got to see Pricess Diana's Mercedes (which the Royal Family asked her to return because it wasn't a british car), the papa-mobile (the car in which the pope drives) and the cars from Jurassic Park 2 which were specially made by Mercedes just for that movie. Tom has pictures of the cars of other celebrities which were on display.

Trivia:
Did you know that the 3 stars in the Mercedes Benz symbol stand for motorization on land, water and sea?
Did you know that Mercedes is one of the leading manufacturers of airplane motors?
Did you know that Mercedes Benz was one of the first companies to introduce health care for their workers, even during WW2?
Did you know that the first person to ever drive a car was a woman, Rosa Benz? She tested the car, and when the conveyor belt broke, she used her garter to replace it and drive home.

Mercedes-Benz Museum Pt II

2008-10-08T14:41:00.002+02:00

Mercedes-Benz Museum

2008-10-08T14:31:00.004+02:00

I realized that I never got around to posting the pictures from our trip to the Mercedes Benz museum. It was really cool, they had the first two-piston motor there (in original) and the first diesel motor as well. I think Tom and I enjoyed it more than the kids, who just raced from floor to floor.

This is the first Mercedes Benz to be produced, not the first automobile (which was also a Benz) but the first car with the brand name Benz.

Obviously newer Mercedes with my little kids in them.

One of the cool cars...

Kids

2008-10-05T16:56:00.000+02:00

My, how things have changed:

(Me as a kid)
Mother: Honey, don't sniff up your snot like that, it's bad for you.
Child/me: Yes, Mother.
(My kids)
Mother/me: Honey, don't sniff up your snot like that, it's bad for you.
Child: Actually we saw on the Discovery Channel that it's healthier for you to sniff your snot than to blow it out. It avoids your mucous membranes from drying out and the body creating more mucous. Look it up on wikipedia.
Mother/me: grrr

(Me as a kid)
"Wow, I can play nibbles on a computer!"
(My kids)
"Wow, I can access all of Daddy's documents over the network!"

(Me as a kid)
"Hey, lets trade stickers!"
(My kids)
"Hey, lets link our Nintendo DS together and play!"

(Me as a kid)
"Mommy, I am going outside to play for 3 hours with sticks and mud."
(My kids)
"Mommy, I want to go out but can't decide between the bicycle, my inline skates, my scooter, pushing my dolls, balls, tennis, badminton, the playground, the indoor pool or visiting my friend with the trampoline!"

(Me as a kid)
"Mommy, I need a stamp so I can send off this letter to Granmda."
(My kids)
"Mommy, here is my ICQ number in case u ever wanna chat or send me an e-mail."

(Me as a kid)
My Mom: "Do you want me to help you with your homework?"
Child/me: "Sure!"
(My kids)
Mother/me: ""Do you want me to help you with your homework?"
my kids: *break out into laughter*

grr

Found a picture of Tom

2008-09-18T13:37:00.001+02:00

This is when we went to bbq on my brother's birthday in August. ...when it was still warm.

Sweet Amanda

2008-09-18T13:37:00.000+02:00

On September 14th was Amanda's birthday, we celebrated together since my birthday was so hectic and stressy that we had no time.
I had taken Mandy on a shopping spree in Stuttgart the day before her birthday, I think she felt pretty royal getting to pick whatever she wanted and having my sister and I bring her clothes to try on. (I am sure H&M is now partly funded by me.)

We went shopping for clothes, then ate out, then shopped some more and went home when our feet started hurting. (Well, my arms were hurting from dragging shopping bags)
The next day, Sunday, siblings came over, grandma came over and we had lots of cake. My sister made a Hello Kitty cake and I made muffins with pink glitter and girly decorations. I was too busy bustling about to take pictures...

Girls Boat (Europapark)

2008-09-03T13:02:00.001+02:00

So, here is us girls on the boat, I LOVE Mandys's facial expression!
In the front: Anne and Amanda, then Kayla and me, and Lauren and her other daughter behind us. (Lauren hid behind the hood, rascal!)

Tripsdrill

2008-09-01T12:37:00.000+02:00

Me and Mandy missed the camera somehow--but at least we made faces!

God, these pictures are great. When Jason and I were on the big roller coaster, they filmed it and I bought the DVD. It looks hilarious, and I will put it up once I figure out how to.

Sensapolis (Part III)

2008-08-29T13:05:00.000+02:00

Sensapolis (Part II)

2008-08-29T12:56:00.001+02:00

Sensapolis

2008-08-29T12:41:00.000+02:00

Originally, our plan was to go to tripsdrill (where we went later that week).
They had said it wouldn't rain...but either they lied or they didn't know.
So we are on the highway, hoping for a spot of blue sky amidst ominious clouds, when we saw Sensapolis on our right. Spur of the moment decision: ditch the idea of being out in the rain all day and do something indoor.
Since I only got the camera later on during our stay, we didn't take as many pictures. There were freaky slides, and I mean freaky. I love slides as a kid, but these were like almost 2 stories high, pitch dark and really, really fast. You lie down in it, and woah, you are falling through a bottomless pit. Two secons later you fly onto a mat with your heart racing madly. There was a freaky one with a 60° angle but I was too chicken, Tom and Jason went on it. In my defense, it was like 20 meters (60 feet?) high and went straight down. You fell more than you slid. Yikes.

We told you she wasn't normal...this is where we originally found her.

This is her real father.

Jason unhappy, I think Mandy beat him in the laser game.

Lo and behold: my ass!

Europapark Pix

2008-08-03T18:09:00.000+02:00

Here are a few, more will follow. (For example the girls on that same ride)

Fun

2008-08-02T19:19:00.000+02:00

I took the kids to Europapark yesterday and had a blast! Tom had to work so he stayed behind, while I met up with some old friends and their kids. ("Old" referring to the friendship, not the friends.)
I had to drive 2 hours over some crappy mountain roads in poh-dunk villages, so I got lost a little bit. Then I bought a map and everything was hunky-dory.
Not sure if I mentioned that I have an extreme fear of heights, so the rides made my heart thud like a jackhammer. Jason was entirely fearless, wanting to go on all the rides as often as possible. It started raining (Murphy's law) and I bought us some really dumb-looking rain ponchos. Since I had to get up at a quarter till 6, I was very tired by the time I got home at 10 that night. Jason may have caught a chill because he had a fever once we got back. Poor guy!
Will bug people to send me pictures since I took so few.

To be continued...

Sweet!

2008-07-22T14:11:00.000+02:00

They fell asleep in my bed...

Parade

2008-07-22T14:01:00.000+02:00

The kids were part of a local parade held in the oldest part of the town. Mandy's class played "musical instruments" made of wood, real music came from the band, haha.
Jason's class was a circus, Jason was supposed to be the circus director but ended up looking like a hobo. lol.
I recorded the kids passing by and just need to figure out how to post it.

Lots of people were dressed in traditional costume, in Dirndl and Lederhosen.
For you americans: no, us Germans do NOT run around like this all the time. (Just had to make that clear, an american once asked me if Germans had fridges...)

It's over!

2008-07-19T13:03:00.000+02:00

Yes, elementary school has ended for Jason. They had an info morning at his new school and I was all proud when I realized that only 3 boys from his previous class had good enough grades to get into that school. (Jason was one of them!)
Nowadays things are so modern, the kids order their school lunch (from the caterer) over the internet or in terminals at the school. There is no lunch money, they have a chip which works like a credit card and books the money off your account. So, he is getting a chip too, although he will only need to have lunch at the school 1x a week in his first year. On the other 4 school days he has school till 1 o'clock and can walk home. We also found out that we can see our apartment from his new classroom. The library cards are also chipcards you put in a card reader and not little laminated pieces of paper like kids had in "our day".
So, it will be an exciting school begin in September. (Just so happens to be my birthday.) Amanda will also be going to a new school, closer to home and right next to Jason's school. Everything will be new and in many ways easier. I won't be having to drive them to school every morning or pick them up. Very pratical when they have afternoon school and will help me save on gas. Coming week are the last 3 school days, the last time ballett lessons until everyone and their dog closes up for holidays. For the kids that means: staying up late, going to the pool all the time, sleeping in, no homework and lots of visiting friends.

Aaaaaw

2008-07-09T14:21:00.001+02:00

Creature Comforts

2008-06-26T14:20:00.001+02:00

It is really hard to get a snapshot of Jason's dwarfhamster, Buddy. The thing is so fast and such a little weasle! This was the best that I could do, and I got a shot of him sniffing my camera from his house--that was so cute!

At the bakers

2008-06-26T14:18:00.001+02:00

Mandy and her class were at the bakery last week, they all were allowed to make their own buns and bretzels. She was really proud when she came home that day and we ate the buns for lunch.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2008-06-25T22:57:00.000+02:00

- Mandy and I went to the hairdresser and chopped our hair short.
- Jason went on a 2-day hiking trip with his class.
- We ate at McDonalds one too many times since we keep on getting coupons.
- We all went to the pool and Tom and I got sunburnt. (Tom was a lobster, haha!)
- We visit our relatives often.
- We watch the European Cup togther, although the kids have to go to bed in the half-time.
- Our living room furniture finally arrived and things look normal.
- Tom beefed up his computer.
- The kids learned to take the bus by themselves.
- Jason has a cell phone now. (Meant for emergencies!)
- Jason has my shoe size...

What's in a name?

2008-06-02T14:25:00.000+02:00

Reminders: The kids' names are Jason Thomas and Amanda Cherise
The meanings of these names:

JASON
Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, Greek Mythology (Latinized), Biblical

Pronounced: JAY-sun (English) [key]

From the Greek name Ιασων (Iason), which was derived from Greek ιασθαι (iasthai) "to heal". Jason was the leader of the Argonauts in Greek legend. He went in search of the Golden Fleece in order to win back his kingdom from his uncle Pelias. During his journeys he married the sorceress Medea, who helped him gain the fleece and kill his uncle, but who later turned against him when he fell in love with another woman. This name also appears in Acts in the New Testament.

THOMAS
Gender: Masculine

Usage: English, French, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, Greek, Biblical

Other Scripts: Θωμας (Greek)

Pronounced: TAHM-as (English), TOM-as (English), to-MA (French), TO-mahs (German, Dutch), tho-MAHS (Greek) [key]

Greek form of the Aramaic name Te'oma which meant "twin". In the New Testament this is the name of the apostle who doubts the resurrected Jesus. According to tradition he was martyred in India. Famous bearers of this name include philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, inventor Thomas Edison, American president Thomas Jefferson, and novelist Thomas Hardy.

So Jason Thomas means: the healing twin.

AMANDA
Gender: Feminine

Usage: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Finnish

Pronounced: a-MAN-da (English), ah-MAHN-dah (Spanish, Italian) [key]

Created in the 17th century by the playwright Colley Cibber, who based it on Latin amanda meaning "lovable".

CHERISE
Gender: Feminine

Usage: English

Pronounced: she-REES [key]

Variant of CERISE
Gender: Feminine

Usage: French

Means "cherry" in French.

So that makes Mandy a loveable cherry, lol.

Tom: Thomas Micheal = the twin / who is like God (har har)

Me: Hanna Dorothea = Grace (or Prayer)/ gift of God

Update

2008-06-02T13:38:00.000+02:00

Somehow blogger has been acting up lately, I tried to post a few things but the site seemed to have crashed or something.
Besides that, things are very busy here with millions of things to be done.

Amanda is going to be in her ballett school's "nutcracker suite" in December and January. Soon they will start preparing the costumes, etc. and she is all excited about it. (Every little girl's dream!)
She is doing better at school now that she has her reading glasses, and I expect things to get better in general in regards to homework as well.

Jason is his intense self, he was actually excited about school starting again and is all buzzed about finishing elementary in August. In 2 weeks his class is going on a 2-day hiking tour in the area, and he is looking forward to that.

I tried to go to the pool with them a few times, but often I just don't have the time for it because of afternoon school or extracurricular studies, etc. We finally got our living room cupboard-set-up-thingamajig delivered (afte 14 weeks!!!) so that seals the story on the living room furniture.
(Seeing all the nice new furniture though, makes me long for a new dining room set-up, ahem!)

Tom and I have a really bad bout of hayfever, hopefully that will wear off soon.
At least the weather is nice and we aren't huddled up indoors!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-05-19T12:57:00.000+02:00

Dear Mom,

wishing you a very wonderful birthday. We hope that you enjoy it and that you get better soon. You sound healthier each time we hear from you.
We sent you a card which we hope you receive soon.
Loving you lots and wishing we could share this day with you.

Jason

2008-05-12T13:09:00.000+02:00

Happy Birthday!

More Pix!

2008-05-12T13:05:00.000+02:00

We taped a lot of that day, so I didn't take many pictures. Here are the few I took:

Birthday Boy Jason!

2008-05-12T12:43:00.000+02:00

Jason turned 10 on Friday, Tom got him a russian dwarf hamster for his b-day since it's what he has been wanting since forever. He named him "Buddy" and the creature has a really cool cage for such a tiny thing. It's very friendly and will climb up your sleeve and under your collar, sometimes trying to nibble at your hair.
We took the kids to eat chinese on Friday, since Tom works till 5:30 or 6 so there wasn't enough time for the cake. We had his cake on Saturday, as well as a few visits from relatives who brought some "greens". (cash)

On Sunday morning we picked up Jasons friend Pascal and drove off to Ravensburg. Someone had mentioned that amusement parks are fairly empty on mother's day, and although we had to wait in line for a few things, it wasn't nearly as bad as Europa Park. The kids enjoyed themselves while Tom and I tried to capture rides on the camera and take some snapshots. It still amazes me how much energy kids have! We got up at 7:30, arrived at the park at 10:30, left at 5:30 and were home at 7:30.
Even after having been on their feet for 6 hours in the warm sun, the boys stayed up longer than us old-fogey parents did. (Tom and I all crashed out on the bed and congratulated ourselves for only having two kids.)
I know that boys will just be boys, and that they HAVE to be active and all...but one is about all I can handle!
:-D

So here are a few pix, these were taken with my cell phone camera towards the end of the day since my normal camera ran out of batteries:

Here the kids could "pan for gold", there were little bits of gold that you traded in for a lottery ticket. Sadly, we left before they posted the winner because a storm was heading our way.

They waited and waited, but the train didn't come...

Here the kids canoed in this little stream, but I think Jason found it boring and Mandy thought it was strenous.

Mandy-luv

2008-05-06T14:56:00.000+02:00

I took the kids for an eye check-up yesterday, since glass run in our families it's always good to be on the safe side. Amanda has been complaining that she has a hard time "reading small words", so the doctor did a far-sighted test on her as wel. She got those drops that make your pupils expand to the size of plates, and lo and behold it seems that she is a little far-sighted.
The doctor said that her eyes will get better as she grows, and that by the time she hits puberty she will most probably not be far-sighted anymore. He prescribed her some lightweight glasses which she will have to use for reading, writing and homework. Putting aside the fact that she has been wanting glasses forever, I told her that being far-sighted isn't that bad. You won't need your glasses to go swimming, play sports, the cinema or for watching TV. I was far-sighted too, but by the time I did my driver's license, my eyes were perfect again.
Jason has very good eyes, the doctor said, but I will still take them once a year for a check-up just to make sure. Better safe than sorry, as they say.
I will be sure to post pictures of her with little reading specs once I have them.

Mandy pix

2008-04-28T22:50:00.000+02:00

Sweet little Mandy--such a doll...and such a brat! She knows how to entertain and can keep a crowd laughing with her antics. The best is when she sings "soulja boy" and pretends to be a little hip-hopper. She is really into clothes these days, with spring here I know I will have to take her shopping for new trendy stuff pretty soon.
She is a super cheery girl, hardly ever cries, and if she does it's either for sympathy or because she has really hurt herself. A social creature, she goes to ballett and chess and would like to join the red cross youth since she had some training at school. (I think she just wants to bandage people, but it's training for becoming a dentist i guess!)
Here is Lulu:

Pix of Jay

2008-04-28T22:30:00.000+02:00

Jason is such a little rascal, despite my forbidding it, he stole my camera and took it to school. Snapped pictures of all of his buddies and secretly of the teacher. Unfortunately I have no permission yet from the parents to put up these pictures, so I will leave it for now. I am posting his "Domino Day" set-up that he does in the half an hour after school they they wait for me to come pick them up. He is getting tall, catching up and sometimes exceeding the height of his older buddies. The orthopedic said he would be a tall kid someday. We went out for a walk cuz the weather was so lovely, we found a little playground next to some rotten factory, hence the lovely background on the swing pictures :-D
Some current pictures:

Happy 30th, Tom

2008-04-24T16:29:00.000+02:00

Another year gone by, Jason and Amanda's Daddy turns 30! (Pictures of the cake which the kids made are soon to follow)

To have some fun, let's look at Tom's birthday when he turned 8, 19 and 22:

You know we love you, Tom, you're a great guy! Love from ur wife and 'em kids.

Things seem quiet!

2008-04-16T22:29:00.001+02:00

Sorry for not being faithful with posting, we are real busy these days with work and then recovering from work. (ha ha)
The weather turned real lovely, stupidly we thought that spring had come at last, but with April being what it is: it snowed yet again. Ok, by the time I wrote this post it already melted and the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow. (freak stuff!) WIth all this rotten weather we don't go out much, and I got sick of taking inside pictures.

Amanda started ballet and next time I will take the camera to take a few pictures. She is so adorable at it, it's the perfect sport for a petite girl like her. I am trying to find a swim team who still has a spot free for Jason, will find out this week about that.
Tom and I are a little overloaded at work at the moment, but that should settle soon. I am on holidays the 3rd week of May anyhow, hehe.
I wish I had more interesting things to post, but apart from the kids being their crazy selves and the weather being crappy, there isn't much going on.
Maybe we will get off our lazy asses this weekend and actually do something so that I have something to post about...

Well, whattya know...

2008-03-25T16:38:00.000+01:00

It's all snowed up here!
Everything is white and wintery!
I could hardly see driving back from work, no idea what color the stoplight was, by the way. It's ok where we live, but where I work and where my Mom lives...it's like Christmas season all over again. Not like we had a white Christmas, but why a white Easter? Maybe the easter bunny lost a bet to Santa...

A Hospital Story

2008-03-11T14:51:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time, last Saturday to be exact, the little princess Amanda began having terrible pains on the right side of her lower abdomen.
The pain stayed all night through, and little Amanda couldn't sleep well. The next morning (Sunday), her mother asked if she was better. Little Amanda shook her head sadly, and holding her side as she hunched over, climbed into her parents bed.
Now, her mother was afraid it might be appendicitis, but wasn't sure if she should go to the hospital. After a few phone calls, it became apparent that the only doctor on emergency duty was over half an hour away.
Preferring to get a confirmation that this was NOT appendicitis, Amanda's mother took her to the emergency room at the local hospital right around the corner. After waiting a few minutes, the doctors examined little Amanda and took a blood test. The blood test showed a high infection of sorts, and princess Amanda was admitted to the hospital on suspicion of appendicitis.
Princess Amanda was not allowed to eat or drink, she was put on IV and was very brave about everything, never whining nor complaining. More tests were done, and although by the evening the surgeon mentioned he thought it was not appendicitis, she was kept for observation. That night her mommy slept in a very uncomfortable chair and was awoken several times during the night by unaccustomed noises. The next morning the doctors said that princess Amanda seemed to have a bladder infection and not appendicits. Still, they were not 100% sure, since she reacted positively (as in not a good sign) to several appendicitis tests. They took another blood test, and as the doctor filled the little vials with her blood, Amanda remarked, "Just for information: if you take out all the blood in my arm, I am going to sue you!"
(This was followed by a hearty laugh from the doctor, who said she may go ahead and sue him if her arm dries up.)

By evening princess Amanda was fine and dandy, she had been given food, desserts and was allowed to drink.
Now, when the doctor came in and told princess Amanda that she seemed to be fine and that she could go home, Amanda pulled a sad face. The doctor asked if she preferred to stay the night, to which Amanda eagerly nodded. "Fine then," said the doctor with a smirk, "you can stay another night!" To this, princess Amanda shot both arms in the air and shouted, "YEAY!"
Upon hearing this, her mother asked to doctor to please reconsider, she had to work tomorrow and needed to take her child home. The dcctor re-checked princess Mandys abdomen, asking "does this hurt?". Amanda responded with no. The doctor then said, "well, then that means you can go home!" to which Amanda sighed, "Aw, man!"

Now princess Amanda has to take antibiotics for her bladder infection and got to stay home from school today and get special treatment. I think you can say she is living happily ever after.

The end.

School update!

2008-03-07T08:29:00.000+01:00

I just wanted to take some time to brag a bit about my smart son. They just got their mid-term report cards and he had extremely good grades.
This means he will go to the Gymnasium in September, it's like the top secondary/middle school you can go to, and he easily had the average he needed. In fact, his teacher said that he earned those grades with practically no effort, imagine what he could have done WITH effort! The German school system is a little bit complicated, for more infos click here. I guess since education is free here, they want their three-tier system.
Anyhow, this means that starting in September, school will be preparing him for university.
Freaky!
When he finishes 12th grade, he can study anything he wants. (The other 2 types of school require either one ore more years of learning.) There are lots of good universities around here, but I think I am getting ahead of myself.

Amanda is doing better in school now as well, her teachers are very committed and we try to spend more time with her and encourage her more. Since I talked with her and tried to motivate her, her grades as well as her attitude have gone up a big notch.
We are still contemplating letting her repeat 3rd grade though, she will be at a new school anyhow (cuz we moved) and she could have a fresh start. I guess we will cross that bridge when we get there, for now her teacher said she doesn't see why she should repeat a grade and suggested we wait it out a couple of months.

Squeaky

2008-02-18T15:32:00.000+01:00

Mandy loves her little Squeaky, who by the way, does live up to his name. He can recognize us all now, so he begs at me when he hears my keys cuz he knows I always give him veggie leftovers when I make salads. He hasn't warmed up to Tom yet, even though he tries to lure him with snacks. When I wake Mandy up in the morning, little Squeakerson waits for me to feed him. If I don't, he violently gnaws at the bars of his cage to show just how underfed he is. (Never mind the bowl full of pellets and the piles of hay at his disposal!)
He can mistake a finger for a carrot, but won't bite hard. He will chew on Mandys hair and she will put him in her doll chair or wrap him in a blanket. It basically eats, squeals and poops, so it's very much like having a baby.
When the kids get home from school, the first thing they do is to run into Mandys room to see how "Squeaky-luv" is doing. Of course, he will beg by making sad little eyes and sadly squeaking and so they will feed it.

New Years Pix

2008-02-18T15:31:00.000+01:00

Belated Xmas Pix

2008-02-18T15:24:00.001+01:00

Hurray!!!!

2008-02-18T13:08:00.000+01:00

We have DSL again!!!
(Watch me bombard you with pictures...)

A lovely day

2008-02-10T18:21:00.000+01:00

The weather is wonderful for February, we took the kids for a walk/hike today, and even though it was already 4 in the afternoon it was pretty warm. The sun was shining and after a while the jackets made us sweat. We promised Mandy a bike for her birthday but couldn't find what she wanted. Eventually it got too cold for bikes, so we said that she can get a new one in the spring. Now she all wants spring to come as soon as possible.
Carneval is over here and so are the holidays. We went to an old alemanic parade here, they have the old traditional costumes, some over 100 years old. Just for info: this area of Germany is actually not Germanic, but alemanic, meaning it was a different tribe. This tribe had different traditions and ways of life, mostly influenced by the Romans.
Anyhow, now it's back to school for the kids and no more babysitting for my siblings and Mom. They always help me out when I need to work and the kids are at home.
In exchange, I cut their hair.
Guess that's all for now, sorry that I haven't posted pics, still haven't gotten around to hogging someone's internet to do that. (You can totally forget it with our current connection!)
Take care y'all!

Oh boy!

2008-02-02T22:40:00.000+01:00

Our internet isn't working out as we planned, it's a really long story but all the blame goes to telekom!!!!
Mandy will not have to repeat 3rd grade, her teacher said she just needs to apply herself more and she will do perfectly fine. I think her last teacher was a bit of a dud, the whole class had problems with her.
Anyhoo.
Slowly but surely things are being set up here in the house, when i get the chance I will go to my sister's place to hog the internet and upload pictures. Mandy is all happy with her little guinea pig, it can beg, it squeals, etc.
The kids have holidays this week, thank god for siblings who watch your children while you work. Speaking of work, it is slightly stressy at the moment and I am just so relieved when I can go home and chill!
It's carneval here and Mandy has purple hair at the moment, she looks super cute.
We hope you guys are all fine and happy, sorry for no photos, blame Telekom!
I got sick for a few days, I had to take all this dumb medicine plus antibiotics and it really messed up my stomach. Of course I have to be milk intolerant so I can't eat any joghurt except soy joghurt, and that is a bit gross to be honest.
I just hope I get better soon, cuz the stress at work isn't really helping. I have some extra holi-days that I need to use up before March 31st, will spend that time with the kids and just veggying around at home.
The kids are gettin all big and growing out of their clothes, it's like I can't catch up anymore. Jason seems like he will be the lanky, tall kind of kid, he already has a little six-pack which is so cute. Amandy is still petite and her hair is really long, almost up to her butt. She is super proud of it but it's looking a bit scraggly so we might want to cut it a bit.
So yeah, I guess that's all I can update for now. Sorry for no pics, they are all on my camera and just need to find their way onto the blog.
Good things come to those who wait...

Hi as in Hiatus

2008-01-18T14:43:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone,

we just wanted to let everyone know that our move was succesful, we have a lot of pictures that we took which we will be putting up soon.
The kids are doing good, Jason is waiting for his mid-term report card since this will decide what middle school he will go to in September. My little boy is done with elementary school--scary!!
Mandy had a bit of a rough start in 3rd grade, she will probably have to repeat the year. Her teacher in the 2nd grade died surprisingly and the replacement teachers resulted in quite a chaos for the class. She was put in school a year early, so when she repeats the grade she will be as old as her classmates, which is nice for her.
She is ok with having to repeat a year, it's better that she learns what she needs instead of dragging along and barely making it.
It's all a bit new for us, new routes to work, school, new place, etc. We still haven't totally settled in yet, didn't have time to buy all the shelves we need.
The nice thing is that we do have lots of space though, so at least nothing is crammed.

So, be prepared for a bombardment of pictures coming up this week!

Lots of love to everyone we know!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2007-12-25T11:52:00.000+01:00

We want to wish everyone we know a merry Christmas, hope the new Blackschleger offspring enjoy their first time 'round!
We are still smack in the middle of moving, it's not so easy because we were missing tools, etc. Then there are house rules, i.e. no drilling on holidays or Sundays, etc.

Poor little Mandy bit on something hard and cracked her tooth so hard that she broke it. I felt awful having to go to the emergency dentist on a Sunday so shortly before Christmas. But she was such a cheerful girl, she didn't have any pain because it killed the nerve when she cracked the tooth. So they had to take out the shards of it that were left.

We are not sure when we will have internet again, I took a heap of pictures of the kids of Christmas, Mandy with her new guinea pig Squeaky and the Christmas tree.
Once we have internet connection, I can post them.

So don't be surprised if we don't answer e-mails, right now the only place to check them is from work...and that is pretty frowned upon, so bear with us.

Lots of love to all our family and friends,

the Blackschlegers (and Squeaky!)

Congratulations!

2007-12-20T19:57:00.000+01:00

And yet ANOTHER Blackschleger addition, congratulations Sam and Steph and Judah!
Wishing you the best with your new little bundle of joy!

Lots of love from all of us!

Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer...

2007-12-16T16:46:00.000+01:00

Here are the kids being Rudolf, entirely their idea, lol

We are extremely busy with moving, Tom only has time on the weekends and maybe a little after work. He is setting up the kitchen (MY kitchen!) right now, it's starting to look good. I finished painting the kids' rooms, pictures soon to follow.
Mandy has a pink room with a carmine-red bow trim, Jason is getting a spongebob room. In return, I received a broken nail and paint-stained pants and tennies. :-D
We went to IKEA to get a few things, I think I could spend all day there just getting ideas.
Still, it's all rather hectic, work isn't exactly a piece of cake these days and I often have to put in some overtime. Then follows a rather half-hearted clean up at home, laundry, etc., and then it's off to more packing and/or painting and setting things up. Of course, it all has to be done before 5 o'clock when I have to pick up Tom and get dinner ready. Lately I have been falling asleep at like 9 in the evening like some old grandma.
Man, are we going to be happy when this is all over!

Another Blackschleger addition!

2007-12-13T20:37:00.000+01:00

Dear Aimee and Mac,

CONGRATULATIONS from all of us on the birth of your little unnamed bundle. She looks so adorable and so cute. Wishing you all the best. Quite the birthday present, huh, Aimee?
Take lots of pictures and post them!!!

School stuff!

2007-12-10T14:36:00.000+01:00

It started out to be a normal day, I was looking forward to Mandy being at her friend's birthday party in the afternoon and Jason being in afternoon school. All relaxed and content, I make lunch and then Mandy tells me her friend is sick and she can't go. Fine, I tell her I can take her along so that I can start painting the kids' rooms. Jason looks at me, "But aren't you going to come to my Christmas afternoon?"
What?
I forgot that his class was hosting their annual Christmas party, where the kids sing songs and the Moms have to sit on children's chairs and make small talk until their knees swell. Of course, it is raining cats and dogs and I don't have any cookies or cake like I was supposed to have bought. (Everyone was asked to bring something!) I drive out in the rain, my feet get wet while racing to the store, I didn't even have time to change into some more casual clothes since I just got back from work. I managed to get some Lebkuchen, Spekulatius (German c-mas cookies) and other cookies, place them on a red plate and seal with saran wrap. (rain!) Of course, all the other Moms had planned months in advance and of course, none of them had wet hair and wet feet! :-D

Jason's class quoted a poem they had learnt, the theme was light. Jason and his best friend had the verse on flintstones and how they were the first things people used to make light. I got to talk to Jason's teacher who commented on how intelligent Jason is, how he would be the best in his class if he weren't occasionally lazy and forgetting his homework. (With his constant A's, it's easy to forgive him for it.)
He also seems to be the class clown, although that seems to be wearing off, thanks to a talk his Mother had with him. (Pat, pat on back!)

Jason is one of those few kids who really enjoys school, I think also because it's all rather easy for him. The teacher said children should take no longer than 45 minutes to do their homework--Jason needs 10 minutes maximum!
We are so very proud of him, his current grades will decide by February to which of the 3-tier-system schools he is going to. At the moment he would qualify for the highest, the dictionary spat out "Grammar School" when I asked for the translation.

Here a few pictures, disclaimer: Tom cut Jason's hair, it's meant to be a mohawk but Jason forgets to style it...

Christmas Market Keywords

2007-12-08T18:25:00.000+01:00

For lack of a sound and smell camera, this might give an idea of how the Christmas Market in Balingen was for us on Saturday.

Sounds: Christmas orchestra, merry-go-rounds, bells, children laughing, us calling out to friends, friends calling after us, me telling the kids not to wander off...

Smells: pine and fir trees, mulled wine, hot dogs, cinammon, cotton candy, lebkuchen, cookies, eucalyptus, roast apples, roast chestnuts, hot cocoa, bratwurst, wet air...

Sights: tiny lights, bright lights, coloured lights, children with flashing santa hats, Christmas balloons, an enormous and brightly lit Christmas tree, art displays, jewellery, candy stands, fake Santas, nervous dogs, little children with runny noses...

Sense: cold air, a few raindrops here and there, cold fingers, burnt tongues, sticky fingers, cold ears, warm children's hands...

Taste: chocolate, coffee, sugar, mint, spiced wine, bratwurst, french fries, lebkuchen, spiced cookies, more sugar, cinammon, cardamom, orange, lemon, nutmeg, anis, almonds, chestnuts,...

We like Christmas Markets

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2007-12-03T19:36:00.000+01:00

Dear Dad,

we want to wish you a wonderful birthday and a fantastic new year. You're a great Dad, fantastic father-in-law and the sweetest Grandpa!
We can hardly wait until we can visit you all and see you again.

Also, although early, happy 32nd (?) anniversary to you and Mom, enjoy yourselves and go out for a treat! You two are the sweetest folks on earth and we are so glad that we have you.

Lots of hugs and kisses from cold and snowy Germany,

Tom, Hanna, Jason and Amanda

Triva on kids n babies

2007-11-26T13:35:00.000+01:00

CHILDREN born in May are on average seven ounces (200g) heavier at birth than children born in any other month. (Jason was born in May and heavy, my siblings born in May were each a good 4 kgs!)

A CHILD does not grow while it has a common cold.

THE average toddler takes 176 steps a minute.

SIX-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh around 60 times a day.

UP until the age of six or seven months, a child can breathe and swallow at the same time. Adults cannot.

BABIES are born with the ability to swim and hold their breath, but they quickly lose this instinct.

BABIES have nice-smelling breath because they have no teeth - teeth collect bacteria which makes our breath smell.

A NEWBORN baby's head makes up about a quarter of its entire weight.

MOST babies recognise their mothers' voices when they are born, but take around 14 days to learn to recognise their father's voice.

BABIES like pretty faces better than plain ones.

A FOUR-month-old foetus will turn away if a bright light is shone on the mother's belly. They also react to sudden loud noises.

A HUMAN foetus acquires fingerprints at the age of three months.

A NEWBORN baby focuses best at objects that are 10 inches (25cm) from the bridge of its nose - that's roughly the distance from its mother's breast to her eyes.

BABIES don't have kneecaps when they are born. They only develop between six months to a year.

BABIES like high-pitched singing voices.

CHILDREN grow twice as fast in spring as they do in autumn, but they put on more weight in autumn than in spring.

ULTRASOUND scans often catch babies smiling. But the birth seems to ruin their good mood, as they rarely smile again for around a month after their birth.

POUND for pound, babies and toddlers are stronger than an ox, especially in their legs.

NO matter when your baby is born, he'll share a birthday with around 9 million other people.

ONE in five toddlers can open medicine bottles with child-resistant tops.

BY the time of birth, a baby's brain is made up of more than 10 million nerve cells.

A BOY'S voice breaks during puberty because his vocal chords are lenghtening. Up until that point, girls' and boys' vocal chords are the same size.

MOST newborns cry without tears until they are three to six weeks old.

EATING fish during pregnancy can boost your baby's brain power, a study of 7,000 mothers found.

WILL your baby be left or right-handed? It's decided as early as at 10 weeks in the womb, say researchers who found that babies use one hand more than the other - the same one they'll prefer to use after birth. (Jason sucked his left thumb on the ultrasound!)

MEN are officially the best at changing baby. Research shows that the average time taken by a woman to change a baby is 2 minutes and 5 seconds - but the average man takes only 1 minute and 36 seconds. (Moms, let your husbands PROVE this one...hehe!)

A NEWBORN baby will double its weight by six months and triple it by the end of the first year. If it carried on at that rate, it would weigh more than a thousand pounds by the time it was five.

Random pictures again

2007-11-18T15:37:00.000+01:00

1) The kids took it of themselves, I think it's darling.

2) Jason took it of himself and his Dad.

3) I secretly snapped that one when they were playing Nintendo DS together

Dashing through the snow...

2007-11-09T13:41:00.000+01:00

This is what it looked like when I saw outside the window at work. (Granted, not my window cuz we got new desks and I had to work on someone else's while they moved stuff!)

By the time I was done with work at 12:15, the car was covered in snow! It isn't all that cold so a lot of the wet snow already melted.

The kids are excited though, they are hoping for a white christmas since we didn't have one last year.
I won't really care this time if it's white or not, because our new place has a garage. Yeay!
Last year we were happy about not having to shovel snow and the kids were dissappointed.
Come December, we will be perfectly okay with snow. (Although we might have to clear the driveway to the garage...haha!)

Also, since we have a whole month's time to move, the weather isn't that important and we can just move things when it isn't snowing. We are starting with some christmas baking this weekend hopefully, I promise to take pictures if it all turns out. (As well as post recipes!)

Happy winter...!

Good news!

2007-10-28T17:41:00.000+01:00

Well, Tom and Amanda are happy and healthy again. Mandy doesn't even have sniffles anymore and Tom just has a slight cold. Jason is perfectly well, I thought I came down with something since I spent a whole day at a sometimes drafty fair. (Before you ask, it was the international stamp fair with plenty of geezers running about!)
Anyhoo, we are all fine and healthy again and taking lots of Vitamin C, etc, drinking a lot and dressing warmer.
The kids have a whole week of holidays coming up, I planned some pre-christmas baking for practice and we can use our chess board that a friend gave us. It's made of soapstone and bought in Africa, although since the stone is real the colors are white and pinkish. I will take a pic sometime cuz I think they are such neat little figures, so unlike the classic. Jason is really good at chess and they are both starting the chess club week after next.

Jason also passed his bicycle test, you actually have a policeman checking you, with a theoretical test and a practical test (just like a real driver's license) and get an official bicycle license when you pass. So he is all proud of that!
Mandy will do the same thing next year with her class and is looking forward to it.

Hello winter!

2007-10-23T13:08:00.001+02:00

On Sunday we woke up to a snowy, overcast morning. Everything was covered in snow, and I thought I should get the camera and take a pic, but then I snuggled back into bed and forgot about it. By the time I got up the snow was gone--but the winter stayed!
We had to put winter tires on the car, buy Jason some new winter shoes (how can kids feet grow that fast?) and dig in our winter suitcases for the hats and scarves, etc.

It hasn't frozen yet, but I am dreading the morning where I drive to work and hear the crackling of the ice underneath me.

Sweet Mandy!

2007-10-19T20:36:00.000+02:00

Poor little Mandy has been sick, she had a middle ear infection and tonsilitis. After not being sick for almost a year, it finally hit her. She has to take antibiotics and isn't 100% healthy yet, but getting there! Here are some pictures of us at the fair (taken with cell phone cam) and Amanda with her face painted! They had a lego exhibit and these guys she is standing in front of had sensors, when you got close they played music. In case you're wondering about her um, bright clothing, it's because she had spend the night at a friends and borrowed clothes. :-D For whatever reason, she loved those orange pants and I was so glad that we could return them to the original owner!

Can you find them?

2007-10-11T20:49:00.000+02:00

The kids had yet another health class in school, a seminar type of thing where afterwards they all received a new lunch box filled with healthy snacks and a drink. They are really into organic products here, and eating healthy, even at the schools so that is a good influence. Of course, they do like their sweet snacks on the weekends, but as long as they know what's healthy and what's not, they will be able to figure out a good balance on their own. (We like nachos, gummybears, cheesy puffs and currywurst!)

So, can you find the two rotters? I will give you a clue: They are sitting next to each other, Mandy is wearing something bright (repulsive), Jason does not have a bare head and they are in the first row...

Moving

2007-10-10T13:13:00.000+02:00

We finally found a nice apartment and will be moving mid-December, although preparations have already long begun. The children will finally have their own rooms and I will finally have a bedroom big enough for a new closet, since I apparently have tons of clothes and shoes.

School is going very well for both children, Amanda has a new teacher who is more experienced and committed, and we can really see the difference. Homework is never "forgotten" and grades have shot up sky-high.
Jason has good grades as always, he made a bet with me that he would get an A+ in his spelling test, and I knew it was gonna be hard. (Hey, it's German we're talking about!) I checked the pre-test they took and his score was a B, so I took the bet. Wager: a Nintendo DS
Ahem!
Anyhow, he came home beaming: an A+ with zero mistakes, one of only 3 in the class who got that score.
So, I told him he can have a Nintendo DS for Christmas.
(Note to self: never bet on grades with Jason!)

There was a fair (the convention kind) in town recently and Tom had tickets, so we took the kids. Of course I forgot to bring my new camera, so all pictures were taken with the cell phone and I haven't put them up yet cuz I can't find my USB cable. :-)

All in all, we have a busy November/December looking at us, we have a whole months time to move since we couldn't cancel our current contract to the 1st of December, only to the 31st.
Then again, those months will be very busy at work for Tom and I, so the more time we have to move, the better. We will keep you posted on that subject.

Join the party!

2007-09-30T10:03:00.000+02:00

The kids usually get two birthday parties, one for family and one for friends and raving children.

Friday was the scheduled day for little Mandy's children's birthday party, as mentioned, she wanted an asia or japan-themed party. Hmm. So I found decorations, battery-powered red and white paper lamps, black plates with red kanjis on them, black and white fans and asian-looking napkins at the 1-Euro store. My sister and her bf do the decorating for a local club/disco, so she came over with japanese flags, styrofoam boards with kanjis on them and that completed our look.

As it so happens in life, the days when you need time you don't get time. I had wanted to leave work 5 min early since I still had to shop for some things, but of course I got a phone call which left me tied up and leaving work 15 minutes late! I called home and told the kids to please tidy the living room since by the time I would get home I would only have an hour to clean up PLUS get everything ready. Needless to say, when I got back they hadn't cleaned the living room since they figured they still had time. Rush, rush, rush, hurry, hurry, hurry and the phone rings. A mom saying Mandy had invited her daughter last minute, if that was ok and did I know about it? No, I did not know but it's fine since another child couldn't come since she was sick.

My plan had been not to make a cake, but to let the girls decorate muffins (yes, very un-asian but who cares?). Of course the shop I had raced to after work happened to be out of muffins, so I bought a muffin mix and "quickly" made 2 trays of the darn things.
By the time the girls started coming over I was sweaty and smelling like oven. :-)

I had made some candy sushi which went surprisingly fast, but the green fruit rolls which were supposed to substitute the nori kept coming off. It was eaten up anyhow.

They loved the muffin-decorating, and then we played karaoke (courtesy of Playstation and Singstar) until they got bored. I whipped out some colored paper and origami diagrams...thought I was doing just fine when Mandy stands up and states, "All who think this is boring, follow me into my room and we will play models!"

...and I was left with a dust cloud and lots of half-folded paper things that looked like melted pinguins. One of the girls comes back to me, "My Mommy said to give you this!", opens her backback and takes out a bottle with a note attached. The bottle is a rasberry wine and the note says "for your nerves! :-)".

The party was originally planned from 2:30-6:30, but everyone left a good hour later, so I am assuming it was an ok ordeal. The girls got to take home their rice paper fans, the muffins they decorated and I filled these little black clay pots with bamboo handles with goodies for them.

I was honestly too busy to take many pictures and it didn't even occurr to me to film anything, so do forgive.

Moral of the story: a) get someone to help you if you know you hardly have time, b) try out crafts beFORE you do them with the children, c) find out from the parents of the children how much those kids eat, I actually had to run out and buy extra since they all ate twice as much as me!

Question to Amanda: So, did you like your party?

Amanda: Yeah, can we plan my next one?

Jason Thomas

2007-09-20T13:55:00.000+02:00

A few Jay-pix, my big boy!

Amanda Cherise

2007-09-20T13:49:00.000+02:00

A few Mandy-Pix, that goony one is a self-portrait.

Happy 8th Birthday, Amanda!

2007-09-17T14:14:00.000+02:00

Sweet little Lulu turned 8, how cute!

She had originally wanted a vanilla cake and I convinced her to at least have some chocolate in there. So we ended up with 3 chocolate and 3 light cake layers with alternating dark chocolate mousse and vanilla cream. She decorated her own cake and of course we forgot to take pictures of her blowing out the candle. I had taken her shopping for some clothes, got her a toy iron, children's perfume and Jason got her a voucher for the toy shop. (Smart!) Tom and I still want to get her a bicycle but we couldn't find one that's right in every way, and Mandy isn't a big chunk of a girl so we need a bike that will last her a long time, yet at the same time not be too small. As it turns out, the task is more difficult than we thought, but she will get her birthday bike this week most likely.

My siblings who didn't have to work on Friday evening came over, so Mandy got a lot of gifts, including a book on learning to draw. (She takes after her Daddy in that line.)

On Sunday we went to a Chinese buffet for her birthday and got all stuffed and happy.

She had a happy birthday and am sure her children's birthday party coming up on the 28th will be a nice party too!

Thanks for all the cards and gifts!

Tom and Amanda (aka the freaks) part 2

2007-09-11T13:36:00.000+02:00

Tom and Amanda (aka the freaks)

2007-09-11T13:33:00.000+02:00