Christmas Season has begun

Today is the first Sunday of advent and there are only 25 more days till Christmas Day. So it was time that we started decorating the house this weekend. Little by little it is coming together.  This year, I ordered new stockings with our names on them and our advent calendars from Germany are hanging on the wall. We are not quite done yet as we won't put up the Christmas tree and the outdoor lights till next weekend. But here is a glimpse of our Christmas decorations so far:

Other than decorating we enjoyed a quiet and relaxing weekend. Again, the weather was just great and so we spent lots of time outdoor. On Saturday morning I went horseback riding. It feels great to get out and in the saddle once a month, like a well deserved break for a busy mommy. But the kids had as much fun at home with daddy as I did on the horse.

And today, we all took a walk to the ducks and had a picnic in the backyard. Elliot and his sister love feeding the birds and those birds come up pretty close to get the bread.   

The next few weekends will be much busier as there will be some holidays events we want to take the kids to, Christmas parties to attend and a special first birthday coming up. I can't believe that in just 2 weeks my baby boy will be a year old. Time flies and I miss holding and nursing him but I'm also happy to see him grow up and become such a good play mate for his sister.
On a different note, here are some pictures from our dinner outing on Tuesday. We finally made it to Texas Roadhouse as they do kids' night on Tuesdays. The kids had a blast. They danced and played with the mascot Andy, got balloon animals and indulged in throwing peanut shells on the floor all while eating yummy BBQ. I'm glad our friend Melissa told us about that restaurant because we will definitely go back there.

We hope everyone had a great weekend and is enjoying this season. I love the time of advent, all the holiday traditions we are creating with the kids and all the festivities that come along this month. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

 

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I really enjoyed cooking an elaborate meal, eating as a family of four and saying our thanks on the dinner table. I also enjoy that this holiday doesn't come with any obligations such as gifts or cards and we truly can enjoy eating and then relaxing (as much as that is possible with two active children). My chalkboard sign at the door says it all:

We got creative this year and made some turkey family handprints. I love how they turned out and I will put them up every year.

While I cooked in the morning, daddy took the kids for a walk. We also watched some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Amelia was delighted to see Santa arrive in his sleigh.

For dinner I made creamed corn (from scratch), homemade stuffing, a turkey breast, a ham, stuffed mushrooms, sweet potatoes and mac & cheese. According to the empty plates and my loving husband: "It was delicious!". And Elliot loved his first Thanksgiving feast too, especially the turkey.

The rest of the day we spent relaxing on the couch, watching some football and playing in the backyard. The weather was just great as a cold front is passing thru and the temperature has been in the high 60s during the day.



In the past few years I have not been shopping on Black Friday as I tried to avoid the crowds and rather shopped online for good deals, especially since the sales started creeping into Thanksgiving day. Even though I said that I would not go shopping on Thanksgiving day, I went last night to Walmart (out of all the stores). I needed a new phone and the deal was too good to pass up. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy going my shopping trip went (I got there at 7pm and deals started at 6pm and 8pm) and by the helpfulness of the sales people and by how many items they had in stock. The crowds were decent, I got my new phone without waiting in line and some other great deals I couldn't resist. Nonetheless, if it wouldn't have been for the phone I wouldn't have ventured out. And after 2.5 hours at Walmart (it took one hour to check-out), I was happy to be back home.

My heart is full and so is my belly, thanks to lots of leftovers. The food was great but the company was even better. I love my family and I'm thankful that we are healthy and that I can spend every day at home with my kids. I hope every one had a happy Thanksgiving!





Family Pictures and a Birthday Party

This weekend was kind of a short weekend for us since Derrick had to work on Saturday (Emergency Training at his bank) and the fact that he was out of town Thursday night. The kids and I always miss him when he is not around and when he gets home from a trip, the kids just want to hang out with him and play. Who can blame them?  But while Daddy went to work on Saturday, we were invited to celebrate Elliot's friend, Jeb's first birthday at the park. The weather was not the greatest (misty rain and windy) but the kids didn't mind at all and enjoyed all the great activities and food and were happy to be with each other. The party was a construction-theme and Jeb's mommy outdid herself with the cute decorations and party-themed food and kids' activities.

The rest of the day, we spent at home hanging out and playing. On Sunday morning, I had scheduled a family photo session so that we will have a nice, updated family picture for the Christmas cards. We also had Elliot 's first birthday pictures taken. Here is a little preview. I think they turned out really good. I just love the picture of my two kids sitting together.

On weekends (and any other day), Amelia and Elliot love playing with our neighbors' kids Maci and Reese. Even though those two girls are much older than my two babies, they still like hanging out with them. So while Daddy washed the cars and I did some yard work (I was trimming all the hedges and today, I can hardly lift up my arms.) the kids all played in the front yard. Amelia feels like a big girl when she plays with them and never really wants the play date to end.

It is Thanksgiving week and we are getting ready for the big feast.  Even though we won't be able to go up to South Carolina to visit my in-laws this year, we still will enjoy a big home-cooked meal and some football that day. We have a lot to be thankful for this year and are looking forward to a relaxing and stomach-filling Turkey-day.

 

Horses and Friends

Today, the kids had a play date with their friends at the horse farm: Blue Heron Ranch. They took turns riding the pony "Mist" and feeding the other horses with lots of carrots as well as playing with the cats. It was fun and luckily it didn't start raining till we were done riding.
Amelia looks like a pro on that horse. I guess she got that gene from her Mommy. We both love horses.

Elliot did great too riding the pony. He loved saying "Neigh" and crawled right up to the pony. That little boy is not afraid of anything.

  And Amelia's friends had a great time too. We definitely have to do that again soon.

After they were down riding, we had lunch at the cute bar area right next to the stables. Luckily it was covered so that we didn't get wet and could enjoy our picnic lunch.

In other news, we are all back to normal and had a busy week filled with playing, learning, and little shopping excursions. I'm pretty much done with the Christmas shopping and Elliot's birthday gifts so that we can enjoy the holiday season. Here are some pictures from our week.

We went to Ikea, where the kids like to play and have lunch (Tuesdays kids eat free there, so it is always a favorite day to go), had some fun trying on hats at Target, and even saw the WienerMobile from Oscar Mayer.

And at home, they played with the horses, I fixed up some stuffed animals and we cleaned. Lately,  Amelia is very much in to helping. So she cleaned the windows for me, folded laundry and helps me to prepare dinner. It is nice to see that they love helping as it is never too early to teach them.

And of course, we did our reading and some writing exercises. She especially likes tracing letters on the big paper. I am very proud of your progress, my little lady :)

(#TBT) Our Civil Ceremony

My husband and I got married 4.5 years ago and since we decided we wanted to do the big wedding in Germany, we had our civil ceremony here in the States. So on May 7, 2010 we went up to Gainesville, FL and made our love official at the Gainesville courthouse. It was a short and sweet ceremony and nothing fancy since the big event was coming up in June. But we were blessed by having Derrick's parents, his brother and wife from San Diego as well as our dear friends there, which made this a truly memorable day for us.

The Ceremony:

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Martin:

The Wedding Party:

I was really excited before the ceremony. But luckily, everything went well :)

No wedding is complete without some cake and a little party. So my lovely friend Loreta and her family threw us a surprise party after the ceremony. It was so thoughtful and the cake was delicious.



 

First Beach Trip

Our weekend was nice and relaxing, just as we love it. I had to teach on Saturday morning at the German School of Ft. Lauderdale, but only for an hour and only as a substitute. Last school year, I taught German every Saturday morning to 2nd and 4th graders and it was lots of fun. I love teaching and hopefully I can make this my career one day. But since Derrick has such a busy work schedule and we wanted to move, I gave up teaching Saturday classes so that we can all spend time together at home on Saturdays.

My little girl looks so grown up here...time sure flies

Weekend activities include riding in the laundry basket and taking lots of pictures

So while I was gone teaching, the hubby took the kids for a walk and fed them lunch. He is such a good husband and takes really great care of our kids. I couldn't ask for a better Daddy for them. And the kids sure love their Daddy and spending time with him.

Lately, we are having gorgeous weather here in South Florida while the rest of the country is battling the artic blast (i.e.: Chicago: 33F, NYC: 46F, Denver: 28F). I truly enjoy this seasonal change and would love to have that kind of weather all year long. In the evenings/night the temperature goes down to mid 60sF and during the day it is high 70s/ low 80s with blue sky, sunshine and a little breeze. Perfect weather to be outside or at the beach.

So today we took the kids to the beach. It was Elliot's first time there, even though we only live 35 minutes away. Now you probably wonder why we have never taken him before: last winter he was just born and too little and then came summer and it was way too hot to enjoy the beach. But today was just perfect: sunny, breezy and not crowded at all.

This little guy was not afraid at all. He marched right in to the ocean, even though the waves were pretty high today and the water was a bit cold for swimming. When we took Amelia the first time to the beach, she was so afraid of the crushing noises from the waves that she only wanted to be held. Here is a look back at her first visit (8 months old).


After the beach we had a delicious lunch at SeaWatch Restaurant. It sits right on the beach and they serve the best New England Clam Chowder Soup I have ever eaten.

It was the perfect family outing and we all had a great time. Now we will watch some more football and enjoy relaxing at home before the craziness of another work week takes over again. We hope your weekend was great too.

A Rough Week

Thank God it is Friday! We have had a rough week. Both kids didn't feel great. They had a low grade fever in the beginning of the week and just felt crummy but never had any other signs of an illness or cold. On top of that, Elliot's top two lateral incisors came thru so poor guy was fighting two things at once. I always can tell when his teeth are coming thru because then he drools a lot. Luckily, his sister never had that teething side effect. 

Every day our cat is getting loved on.

Anyways, since Wednesday the fever is gone but they started coughing some and complaining about a sore throat. So of course, Amelia didn't go to preschool on Monday or Wednesday but since she felt back to her normal self (jumping around and a ball of pure energy) since yesterday afternoon, I sent her this morning to school. She was so happy to be back playing with her friends. Unfortunately, my body must be fighting of the same germ/ virus the kids had and I just feel tired and exhausted. Hopefully, rest, orange juice and some Nyquil do the trick and I'll be back to my normal self by tomorrow. So, we rested a lot....



We mostly stayed at home this week and played, read books, enjoyed the backyard and had pizza night. Elliot discovered his love for books and is really interested in looking at all those pictures.

Lately, Elliot is showing the #1 sign all the time and started pointing at everything. He is so cute doing it. And I finally caught it on camera.

Yes, Amelia is not very happy in the picture below. Since they didn't feel like themselves this week, there was a lot of whining and crying going on in this house. Another reason why Mommy is so exhausted.

Because Amelia read in her book about a pet shop, she wanted to visit one and see "Dory" and "Nemo". So on Wednesday morning we went to the pet shop and also visited a toy store. They loved being out of house and not being cooped up at home. 

 
 

They had that photo op at the toys tore, so I couldn't resist and take a picture of my little Olaf and his Queen Elsa. Not sure why they are looing so mean on the first one. Maybe they are tired of me taking their pictures???

This was our week. Not very glamorous and definitely straining but I hope we are over the worst and will have a relaxing weekend ahead of us. I will teach tomorrow at the German School (substitute only) but other than that, we have no plans and just take it as it comes.