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!

2015 in Review

The Christmas decorations have been taken down and the new year is about to start. 2015 ha been a great year for us: set some priorities, moved, and spent lots of quality time as a family together. We definitely needed a more slow-paced and simpler lifestyle; although, we kept our schedules and hearts full. Here is what our 2015 looked liked month-by-month:

January

The kids and I traveled spontaneously to Germany for 2 weeks to see our family and friends. Despite the exhaustion and grief, I'm so glad we went to say our goodbyes to my uncle and grandma before they passed away. 

February

As soon as we returned from Germany, we repacked our bags and headed all to Mooresville, NC to check out the town. It even snowed and was pretty cold, but we liked the area and decided that this should be our next hometown. On our trip back to Florida, we stopped by to see Grandma and Grandpa. This month, we also celebrated the upcoming birth of baby Luca and enjoyed hanging out with our friends.

And my favorite picture of the month:

March

We played, we packed, we rode horses, we went to Miami and the beach one last time and said our heartfelt goodbyes to our friends. The kids also participated in an Easter egg hunt on the last weekend of the month.

April

We moved to Mooresville and made our rental house a home. We began exploring our new surroundings and took a trip to SC to visit my in-laws. We also celebrated daddy's birthday. 

May

Strawberry picking, backyard and playground adventures, a children theater performance, meeting new friends, and some cooling off in the pool was all part of this month's highlights.

June

We kicked summer off with a celebration at the library, enjoyed swimming at the lake and the community pool, met some princesses and drove down to SC once again. Amelia also had her first ever VBS experience and loved it.

July

We celebrated Independence Day with a parade and concert at a park and our 5 year wedding anniversary at a local pizzeria, took our boat out on the lake for the first time, Amelia went to 3 more summer camps, and did a field trip to Zootastic. 

August

It was Amelia's 4th birthday and we celebrated with her grandparents and cousins in SC at Chuck E. Cheese, went multiple times boating at the lake, had a date night, and took a field trip to Sealife Aquarium. 

September

Amelia started her transitional kindergarten class, Elliot had a day out with Thomas the train, we went apple picking and to the fair, hung out with friends and just savored the last few days of summer. 

October

This month was quite busy: Oma visited us from Germany, Derrick and I took a trip to Asheville, we celebrated my birthday and Halloween as well as hung out at the lake with the family. Amelia had her first field trip and a visit to build-a-bear with her best friend. But best of all was seeing all the pretty fall foliage and experiencing a seasonal change. 

November

We enjoyed the colder temperatures this month and had a relaxing Thanksgiving day at home. Amelia had her Thanksgiving performance and feast at preschool and her cherub choir performed at church. We also kicked off Advent season with the town's annual Christmas parade. 

December

The last month of the year was filled with lots of holiday activities ranging from Christmas parties, festivals, Santa visits, cookie baking, and enjoying a peaceful Christmas morning. We also celebrated Elliot's 2nd birthday. 

So, this it is: our year 2015.  We had beautiful moments and made so many great memories and so it goes down as one of the best years we ever had. But now we are ready to ring in 2016 with lots of new adventures awaiting us. Thank you all for following us along on our journey.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!

What our kids got for Christmas

As I mentioned before, our children only receive each 3 gifts (plus their stockings) for Christmas from us. One gift is a want aka a toy, then a spiritual gift and a need such as clothing or shoes. Their stockings usually contain a small toy, some band aids, crayons, drinking bottle or other small tokens. They did get some more gifts from their grandparents and friends, so there were quite a few gifts under our tree this year.  

Here are Amelia's 3 gifts: A dollhouse (her want). I bought this wooden dollhouse over 3 years ago and couldn't wait till she is old enough to gift it to her. She enjoys playing with her dollhouse puppets and peg dolls, so I knew it would be a very fitting gift for her.

Her spiritual gift was a wooden peg doll nativity set. My little girl loves baby Jesus and playing with nativity scenes, so I knew she would really enjoy getting her own set. It was a labor of love, but so worth it. The look on her face when she unwrapped the dolls was priceless. 

Since Amelia didn't need any clothing, her third gift was more of a treat this year as she received some princess slippers, a crown and a wand. This also matched her Cinderella dress she received from her Opa for Christmas. This kid is ready for the ball now. 

Elliot received a book about the true story of Christmas for his spiritual gift. This book will stay out all thru the year so that we can read to him and teach him about baby Jesus. 

My little guy really didn't need much in terms of toys (his stockings contained some Thomas the train cars and he was all set), so we kept it small. He received a doctor bag as they always fight over Amelia's and now they both can pretend to "fix" us. 

His third gift (a need) was a dragon cape as he just started to get in to playing dress-up with Amelia and didn't really had any dress-up clothing of his own yet. 

That was it in terms of gifts for the kids. They liked every one of them and have been playing with them ever since. I purchased all these gift either at the consignment sale (doctor bag, book), made them myself (peg dolls) or bought them on super clearance throughout the year. This way, Christmas doesn't break the bank and we can enjoy the holidays and the true meaning of Christmas.