Preschool Fair and Fall Festival

Instead of a Halloween Party, Elliot's preschool hosts a Fair Day each October. For days, the children talked about the Fair and that they could wear their costumes. So much excitement...and then it finally was Fair Day on Friday. Elliot almost had to miss it as he got a stomach bug on Wednesday night and had to stay home on Thursday. Luckily, he recovered quickly and was able to participate. Parents were invited too and so I made sure to stop by and cheer on my little guy. 

Class Picture

There were lots of games, a bounce house, face painting, glow in the dark bracelets and of course candy. 

Batman and Batgirl:

Batman and his SuperMom:

Ms. Williams and her students:

What fun morning and a great way to start off the Halloween weekend. We continued with the festivities by attending the Fall festival at Church on Sunday after mass. The preschoolers performed two songs during the service (unfortunately Elliot was "forgotten" in the restroom and was not on stage, which scared me for a few moments as I was sitting in the pew wondering where my son is). The fright was quickly forgotten and lunch was served before the kids were able to pick their pumpkin and play some games. 

The night before, we had the first frost of the season and daytime highs were 40F (4C). Despite the cold weather, we enjoyed the hayride. 

On our way home, we stopped by at another church's fall festival where they had bounce houses and horse rides. We only stayed for 15 minutes due to the cold weather but in that time, both kids rode the ponies and had fun on multiple bounce houses. As you can imagine, there weren't too many people in attendance in these wintry conditions. 

After a long nap and some hot cocoa in front of the fireplace, we still ventured out one more time on Sunday night to attend the Trunk or Treat event at church. While we wore our winter coats and switched costumes to accommodate for the heavier clothes, the church decided in the last minute to hold the event indoors (at that point we were down to 35F/ 2 C). It wasn't the same as an outdoor event, but all the children were delighted to collect plenty of candies. 

The adults finished the weekend off with some popcorn and a glass of wine on the couch, watching this classic movie: 

36 and Loving It!

On Monday, I celebrated my 36th birthday. Beginning a new year in my life fills me with tremendous gratitude because I actually love growing older.  Minor aches and some wrinkles are noticeable but I would not want to reverse the clock and be 20 again. At that age, I didn't know what I wanted in life and I felt compelled to please everyone and be like everyone else. Now, I treasure the fact that I'm unique and people can either take it or leave but I will not change for them. 

So far, life has treated me very well and I can't complain about too many aches or pains. Even though I do feel like I need to warm up my muscles more often before going on a run and staying up past 9pm is considered "late night". It is also helpful to remind myself that I'm no spring chick anymore and that some rest and relaxation is actually good for me and not the enemy. Luckily, my hubby is great at grounding me once in a while and since I met him, I came a long way and calmed down quite a bit. 

I love my life and where I am at at this point, even though this year was a definite change for me. After being a stay-at-home mom for 5+ years, it feels good to get up every morning, get dressed in real clothes and put make-up on and then head to work where I feel like I actually accomplish something. I'm not saying that life is better now but I value myself more and feel like that this job is really the perfect fit for me and my family.  Thus, I can truly say that I'm happy with my work-life-balance right now and blessed to have a supporting family. 

Birthdays are special to me and I always make a big deal of celebrating them and it doesn't matter if you turn 6 or 36.  I do not mean big parties, as we usually don't do these, but rather to make someone feel special on their birthday.  Thus, I was delighted to discover that my two boys decorated our eating area for me with some banners, signs and some cards. I got a new Tervis tumbler for my tea and a gift card for a new Ipod (mine makes weird noises when I run and can be very annoying).

I love all my birthday cards, either digital or on paper (thanks to all who thought of me or congratulated me) but my daughter's card is the one that made me cry. I will treasure this card and only pull it out when she is a teenager and thinks that I do everything wrong. (It says" You are the pearfect mom. Love, Amelia") 

Birthday selfie with my two monkeys before we headed to school and work:

In the afternoon, we all spent my special day together at home. A birthday song and a wish before eating the delicious apple cake Amelia made with me the day before.

 And then I actually sat down and read a couple of magazines before joining the crew in the playroom.

While we could have gone out for dinner, I chose to rather eat a steak dinner at home as it is less hectic, the food is often better and being just back from a 3-week business trip meant I really didn't feel like being out and about. In the end, I had the perfect birthday and I'm thankful that I got to spent it with the people I love the most. 

It's getting cooler and this is her favorite spot, every night

The next two days, I had offsite planning meetings with my company and was gone 12 hours each day. We had a company dinner on Tuesday night and of course, this being Nashville, one can find a guitar almost anywhere. 

Even in our house, Amelia is learning how to play the guitar and may one day becomes the new Taylor Swift. 

Love this picture: Evenings and story times are our favorite around here but on Wednesday night, this is what I found when I entered Amelia's bedroom. 

I'm wondering what this next year holds in store for me. The kids are growing up way too fast and there will be new challenges that have to be tackled but I'm confident that being optimistic and going  with God forward in life always leads us to where we need to be. And right now, I'm in a happy place.                                         Happy 36th Birthday to me!

Back Home

It has been a month since my last post but these past 4 weeks just flew by..literally as the kids and I went to Europe. I had a business trip there for 3 weeks and I took the children so that they can be with their grandparents while I'm traveling. They loved it. And I did too, except that I'm exhausted and now trying to catch up with anything and everything (especially sleep) since we arrived back home last Sunday. I will be posting all about our Europe trip in the upcoming days, till then here is a little glimpse of what has happened since we came back. 

See you later...Layover in Amsterdam

We were all so happy to be back home and to be reunited with our favorite Daddy. Unfortunately, we also got a serious case of jet-lag, which meant the first few mornings, we woke up at 2:30am. And this is what happened before 6pm because it was a long day:

It's my favorite time of the year (FALL!) and while we were overseas our pumpkins and carrots kept on growing and we finally harvested them.

My little boy also had his first picture day ever in preschool on Wednesday and I just hope he won't look that grownup on the school pics as he did here: 

Every October, the kid's dentist invites all her patients to an ice-cream social and of course, we could not miss that one. Amelia even made a birthday card for the office staff:

Once a month, Amelia's elementary school hosts a family night and this Thursday, it was Math night. While the boys stayed at home, Amelia and I enjoyed solving some math problems together, coloring and playing Number Beach Ball. 

Only a few more days till Halloween and both kids are very excited. So we decorated our front porch this weekend and put together the kids' costumes. 

On Saturday evening, two witches and batman went to the first Trunk- or Treat event of the season at Amelia's school. 

Some people got very creative with a movie drive-in trunk and a Peanuts photo opp:

The week may have been tiring and there was lots to catch up on and lots more is going to happen this coming week, but our family of four is together again and that is most important!

Carnival and Goodbyes

Our last day in Germany we spent it mostly outside. The rain had stopped, the sun was shining and the temperature was fairly mild. The rain gear is not only great to keep them dry during rainy weather but also allows them to play in the backyard and wet sand without getting too cold or muddy. 

We took all their toys and headed one last time to the local playground:

All week long, the children were excited about a small carnival coming to town. On Friday afternoon, it finally opened the gates and we were one of the first people there. 

The firetruck was the most popular ride:

Another favorite, the big slide:

The gingerbread heart says: Mommy is the best!

But surely, that day (actually every day) Oma was the best for treating us to the fair and the yummy treats. Thank you, Oma. The grandchildren loved spending time with you over the past few weeks and the fair was a great ending to our stay here in Europe. 

Then it was back to the house to pack up and get a good nights' sleep as we had to leave early for the airport. Last cuddles before bed with Opa Juergen:

After checking in, Opa Dieter and Petra stopped by to say goodbye. 

We all loved spending time with everyone and I'm beyond grateful that my parents took such great care of my children while I traveled across Europe for business. It surely was a win-win for everyone. Can't wait to see you all again soon! 

But for now, the kids and I are excited to head back home and be reunited with our Daddy.