First Snow

When I woke up on Sunday morning and looked out into the darkness from my kitchen window, I saw something glistening on our deck: It snowed. Only flurries and it must have just started an hour earlier but enough to stick to the deck and outdoor furniture.  

This may don't look like much, but when you lived in Florida for over 11 years, you get giddy and excited about a few snow flurries. And so we all bundled up and went outside before breakfast. 

 

Catching snow flurries: 

There was only enough snow for throwing a couple of snowballs and unfortunately, it stopped snowing around 9am and an hour later all snow was melted. But hopefully the weather forecast is correct and we will have the chance for more snow later on this week. It is definitely cold enough. 

Peg Dolls by Fran

As I have mentioned before, I have been spending my free time painting little wooden peg dolls. I always wanted to do some for my kids and when I finally painted my first one last spring, I was hooked. First, I made them for my kids, then as birthday gifts and now I even sell them. I enjoy creating princesses, superheroes, animals and all kinds of other characters out of a plain wooden peg. 

This is how the pegs look when they arrive from the manufacturer. They are made in the USA and are a good quality, which is important to me as my and other children play with them and I want them to last for a while. There are man and woman pegs as well as small (2"in) and bigger (3.5" in) ones. I usually use the bigger ones as they are easier to grab and play with. 

When people order from me, they tell me what they want but I choose the design. As these dolls are custom-made, every single one is unique. First, I do some online research to get an idea of what the doll should look like and to be as accurate as I can be to the original character. Then, I trace the design with a pencil on the wooden doll before I start painting them. Each doll requires at least 2 coats of acrylic paint and some details can be very delicate to paint. 3 to 4 dolls usually take me around 4 hours from beginning to end. 

After they are painted and have dried, I glaze them twice with a triple thick gloss. This gloss gives the dolls a high-gloss finish, it's non-toxic and will keep the paint from peeling off. 

And here are some of my completed works. They range from fairies to princesses, dwarfs, superheroes, animals, and Star Wars characters. 

I truly enjoy painting these dolls, it's a relaxing and calming activity as well as a creative outlet for me. If you are interested in purchasing some peg dolls, just contact me. Thank you!

New Year, New Routines

It was the first week back to preschool after winter break and with the beginning of the new year, we had to implement some new routines too. Since my husband is now working as a contractor for a major company in South Carolina, he is every other week on the road (from Sunday thru Friday) while I and the kids hold down the fort here in NC. We were all ready to get back to a routine after a 2-week break and all the craziness from the holidays. Amelia was especially ready to get out of the house (since it rained so much here, we were not able to be outside as much as we wanted to during the break) and reunite with her classmates. She had a fabulous week at school, making with fake snow, experimenting with vinegar and baking soda, playing and learning. 

But with Daddy's new work schedule also came some changes. It meant that I had to solo-parent for an entire week, which was quite an adjustment. Let's just say that I didn't do much after the kids went to bed as I was too tired. Every night, both kids and our cat ended up in bed with me and I never sleep too well when my husband is not home. 

Since it was our coldest week here yet (lows at night at 18F/ -5C and in the high 30sF/ 3C during the day), we mostly spent our afternoons inside. We did go for a couple of walks thru the neighborhood, but they didn't last too long. It almost took longer to get us all dressed than we spent outside. 

The other days, we played games at home. Elliot loves to watch Amelia when she plays her learning apps on the Ipad. Lately, she  enjoys teaching him new things and he is a very interested student. My little girl is also eager to help out around the house (i.e: sort and fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher) and gets better at it every day. I'm secretly training my replacement :)

We also spent an afternoon at our local library. While Amelia read to Baron, the German Shepherd (a certified therapy dog), Elliot read to the stuffed pony and played with some toys. 

This week, I also instituted a new, fun family activity: after nap time, we all sit together in the kitchen, eat snacks, drink hot cocoa or tea and read a storybook. So far, we all really enjoyed this time together and it gives the afternoon a fun but calming new twist. 

 

Even though, our week went fairly smooth and for most parts, the kids behaved well, we were all delighted when Daddy was back home on Friday afternoon. Our home just does not feel the same when our "Captain Daddy" is not around.

Happy weekend to all of you. We have no big plans but to relax at home and play. Just perfect on this rainy and cold Saturday. I will leave you with a picture of myself as a 3 year old (this was taken in preschool and I screamed because another kid pulled on my leg) and my son, 2 years old. Do you see any similarities?

My Goals for 2016

New year, new outlook and new resolutions. It is time to look at my goals from last year and see what worked and what not. I have made a few New Year's resolutions over the past years, keeping some while others are more challenging. Last year, I decided to focus on 4 key areas and looking back at it, I did pretty good. 

1. I wanted to be more present and focus more on the here and now and less on social media, birthday parties, etc. It worked for most parts as I spent lots of time playing with the kids and less time socializing. But I still check my social media accounts much too often during the day. 
2. Say "YES" more often to the kids. Not as easy as it sounds, but I made progress and allowed them to make messes (play-dough, painting, etc) more often than before. 
3. Get back to running. Unfortunately, it seems like 2015 was not my year to run much. I did ran some but not as often or consistent as I wanted to, mostly because my body wasn't strong enough. 
4. My word for 2015 was CHANGE, and that we had plenty of. It was mostly good change and we all welcomed the move and did well adjusting to the new environment.

So based on my past goals and what I want to accomplish this year, here are my goals for 2016:

1. I decided that my word for 2016 is CONSISTENCY, which will work hand in hand with my other goals.
2. I want to work on being more consistent in my parenting approach, meaning to follow thru in disciplining the kids and not just bluffing, be more level-headed and not get aggravated easily and to yell less. Mommy guilt is real and I think when I get annoyed and retort to screaming at my kids because they didn't listen to me the first 3 times, I feel worse than them and it makes me questioning my ability to be a good mother.
3. I want to focus on speaking more German with the kids as I have slacked a bit this past year. Because my husband doesn't speak German, it is easier to converse in English at home and since we all were together a lot in 2015, I neglected teaching them my native tongue. But this is about to change as I will make it a goal to speak only German with them when we are at home while daddy is at work. 
4. Go running 2-3 times a week and if I can't run then walk. Running is my way of letting off steam and relax, so I need to get back to it not only for my physical well-being but also for my mental health. 
5. I want to read at least 20 books this year. Last year, I read a total of 12 and I could have read more if I would have been more consistent and had not watched so much TV at night. I also learned that I actually enjoy reading a couple of books at a time, which allows me to read what I'm in the mood for at any given time. 
6. Devote every day a few minutes to reading some devotions or a bible passage and write down my blessings and prayers. I noticed that when I do take the time for these things, I feel much better and truly appreciate what I have.

These are my main goals for this year and if I focus more on what is important (aka my family and myself) to me and less on what is not (aka social media sites, TV), I should be able to accomplish most of my goals. What are your goals for 2016? 

Happy New Year 2016

We rang in the new year a few days ago and somehow, it still feels the same...just another day. I'm excited and ready to see what 2016 will bring for us but I'm also sad to say goodbye to 2015 as it was a great year for our little family. We made so many memories and the kids are growing up so quickly that it is sometimes hard to grab that a new year comes and goes. Since having children, our new year's eves have been very simple, but I like it that way. This year, the kids had a little dinner party on their own with party hats and some sparkle juice. 

 Cheers to the new year!

 After dinner, we took the kids outside for some sparklers. They loved it.

After the kids went to bed at their regular time, Derrick and I enjoyed a delicious dinner, a movie and some champagne. We had filet mignon, Texas caviar and cheese fondue in which we dipped baguette bread, apples, and asparagus.  We enjoyed this little feast and I wouldn't have wanted to celebrate New Year's eve any other way. 

Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year. May 2016 be a great one!