Dress-Up Days and Zoo Adventure

For the past week, Amelia's school hosted a coin challenge. They asked each student to bring in different coins each day and if you did, you could dress-up according to the theme of the day (Patriotic, Pirate, Wacky Tacky and Super Hero Day). 

This was all done so that the teachers can buy more books for their classrooms at the book fair. Without asking, Amelia emptied her entire jar labeled donations (her monthly allowance is divided up in to Spend, Save and Donate) and proudly brought in her loose change, approximately $5 total, every day. I love that my little girl knows when to give graciously and for good causes. This goes hand-in-hand with the two boxes full of toys, school supplies and hygiene items we packed this week for the annual Operation Christmas Child. 

On Friday, Amelia's school invited all the parents for their annual Thanksgiving lunch. And my little girl was so excited because her Daddy was coming too! Despite the fact that the cafeteria was crowded, noisy and it felt a bit like being 10 years old again, eating food of a tray and sitting in those small chairs, we enjoyed our lunch with our favorite school girl.

While I enjoyed a Saturday afternoon crafting with other mommies, Derrick watched the kids at home. So to give him a break on Sunday, a new friend of mine, Bettina, and I took the kids to the Nashville Zoo. The weather was perfect (sunny but cool) and because of Veteran Appreciation Day there were extra activities such as free carousel rides, free Lorikeet feeding as well as bounce houses for the kids. 

Stop at the petting zoo is a must:

The kids enjoyed looking at all the Amphibians, Fish, Birds, and Reptiles in the Unseen New World exhibit (a tropical house):

We also visited the flamingos, giraffes, zebras, and kangaroos. One can walk thru the kangaroo exhibit and see them up close and if you are lucky, they come up to you to be pet. 

Of course, Elliot and Amelia wanted to ride the choo choo train.

Petting the tortoises:

And feeding the Lorikeet with nectar:

Climbing up the bounce houses and a ride on the carousel was so much fun!

 

Before heading back home, we enjoyed a relaxing picnic lunch in the sun and afterwards the kids explored the amazing jungle gym playground. 

What a fun day it was! And since we have an annual membership, we will have many more zoo trips coming up. 

My weekend ended by cuddling with my favorite girl. She crawled up in to my lap and laid there like a baby. It may have only lasted 10 minutes but I savored every single one of those minutes as it hardly ever happens anymore that my kids curl up on my lap. Babies don't keep, that's for sure. 

What Now?

I usually don't like to be talk about politics on this blog but in my heart, I feel like I need to write out what is occupying my mind lately. It has been a few days now since the election and everyone had time for the results to sink in. I think we are all still a bit of a shock though. Many people, especially from Europe, have asked me how it is going and I must say, nothing spectacular has happened. Life is the same but we are all tired and worn out. I'm just glad it is finally over. This whole election process was the dirtiest, most depressing as well as one of the costliest ever.  And our choices were not good on either side because both candidates came with a heaping of vulgarity and impropriety and so everyone voted for the one they thought might be the lesser of two evils.

And here we are today, with a new President-elect: Donald Trump. Despite the fact that, according to The Atlantic (magazine who only endorsed three presidential candidates in 159 years), Donald Trump "might be the most ostentatiously unqualified major-party candidate in the 227-year history of the American presidency", he won the election. (He is after all a reality TV star and billionaire real estate mogul, whose companies filed for bankruptcy six times.) Even though people voted and supported him, I don't think most of them believed he could win. In the end, Americans are fed up with the system and were looking for real change; something that could not come from a politician. Of course, electing a man who has no military or government experience whatsoever, supposedly assaulted multiple women and verbally degraded lots of them, harassed immigrants and insisted that the country's political machinery is "rigged", is baffling to me. But I do get why people were desperate for change and that they are in need for someone other than a politician to stand up for their rights. 

Despite the facts that the media is consistently covering this new development since international allies are growing concerned and financial jitters are expected, a few Anti-Trump protests are taking place and Southern Californians are calling for independence, the onslaught of hatred online has passed and it has been fairly quiet around our neck of the woods. No one really talks about the election anymore and everyone is just going on with their business. People do seem shell-shocked and not quite sure what will happen next. There is worry because of the unknown and the fact that Donald Trump is charismatic narcissist and so unpredictable but so far, Americans have survived 44 other presidents and we will survive this one too. 

And so, I don't understand why people "unfriend" each other just because their candidate didn't win or verbally assault each other on the internet because they believe that one supports a racist and the other a liar.  Despising each other publicly is not what our children should remember from this election and just because someone voted for Trump does not mean he is a racist or misogynist. The same holds true for Hillary: Just because someone voted for her does not mean that he condones lying under oath or obstruction of justice. Instead, we should accept the outcome of the election peacefully and support each other and the new President-elect. He might not be a person I like, agree with or respect very much after what he has done, but I respect the office of the President and what our constitution stands for.

So, what do we do now? We should come together and cooperate. Just as the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel said when she congratulated Donald Trump on his victory: "Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or political views. I offer the next President of the United States close cooperation on the basis of these values."  We should tell our children that they are safe and loved and that the democratic process will protect us. And that it is up to us parents to teach them to become responsible members of society and that above all, God is our leader and protector. But we should not accept the fact that anybody just can treat us however he wants to and stand up for our rights and be strong together. We should teach empathy and share kindness and make informed decision to support causes that a dear to our hearts.

I was frightened and worried on Wednesday morning, not only as a woman but also as a mother of a daughter and wife to an Africa American, but knowing that I'm not alone and that there are checks and balances in place to protect us, made me calm down. On the other hand, I do understand though why protests are happening all around the country because all kinds of people are afraid of the law and order talks or the possible gun reforms under Trump; the mocking of their heritage or harassment of their gender or sexual orientation. They are scared that they will be abandoned, deported, executed or assaulted just because the new regime does not see them as one of their own. Let's not have that happened. We are all belonging here and this country has always been there for its people and often was a new beginning for them. So, while we can't change the outcome of this election, we have to stay involved and on top of things and make sure that by standing up for each other and believing in the good of people. we are protecting all of our people because we are ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

Red, White and Blue

This Friday is Veteran's Day and we will honor all military personnel that served in the U.S. Armed Forces. Not many people know that my husband (and Father-in-law) is a veteran as well. He was a Captain in the Air Force and was stationed in Saudi Arabia during Desert Storm and served in Panama and Venezuela. I'm proud of my husband for serving our country for 7 years and thankful to all the other brave men and women who serve and protect us. 

On Sunday afternoon, our town held their annual Veteran's Parade along Main Street and we were happy to wave our flags and greet our local veterans. The weather was perfect, the crowds minimal and the atmosphere patriotic. 

On Monday, Amelia's school asked all students to were their favorite red, white and blue attire for "Patriotic Day". My girl loves the American flag and this was her outfit of choice: 

The parade the day before must have inspired them because this was the scene I ran in to on Monday morning: 

And today, after what felt like the longest election process ever, we voted. Almost two years ago to this date, I became a U.S. citizen and this is my first time ever to vote in an election (I left Germany when I was just 19 years old) and as a proud U.S. citizen, I have the right and obligation to vote and so I did. Because to not vote is still making a choice. 

Like many, I'm less than thrilled with my options in this election. Both candidates have made poor choices in the past and have treated others wrongfully. Unfortunately, the media only worsened their hate campaigns by not giving a thorough presentation of the faults and facts on either side. I just hope that the more qualified candidate wins tonight but either way, there will be lots of work ahead of us. 

Home Tour

Today, I finally want to take you on a tour through our rental house here in Hendersonville, TN.

Even though we moved in in the middle of May, I didn't start decorating and organizing until August since the kids I were in Germany all summer long. And while we were gone, hubby was busy painting and fixing things up for us. The view when you enter thru the front door:

Living Room looking toward the front door:

Master Bedroom, which is off of the living room. Imagine, this dark greenish wall color was all over the house, so we talked to the owners and they agreed to let us paint it a more neutral color (so Derrick painted the kitchen, dining room, hallway and living room, God bless his heart). 

Master Bathroom:

Dining Room:

Kitchen. Definitely not my favorite one as it is very small but workable.

We bought a movable island for additional counter and storage space. This corner of the kitchen is also home to my computer desk (originally the eat-in kitchen area).

Kids' bedroom and bathroom are right next to each other:

Both kids share a bedroom and it is working out great so far. They only sleep in this room as they have a huge playroom above the garage.

The third bedroom is Derrick's home office where he works 3 days a week (the other 2 days he has to go in to the main office in Nashville).

Because the main house is not that spacious, the playroom makes up for it. It is huge and not only contains all their toys but one corner is also my crafting/ creative space (which up to now has not been used much, unfortunately).

The backyard is also spacious but very open and plain. Not my idea of a backyard retreat but good enough for some games and getting fresh air.

I hope you enjoyed this little tour and a view in to our current home. After weeks of procrastinating, we finally made it a home even though we won't stay here too long as we started looking for our forever home.  

Halloween 2016

What an exciting evening. All week long, the kids talked about going trick-or-treating in the dark. And last night, Halloween was finally here. But before we headed out, we ate some spooky dinner (Mummy dogs, green poison and skeleton chips).  And then we all headed out:

The witch, her giraffe and dragon

 Our pumpkins lit up the walkway:

We went trick-or-treating with our neighbors, whose daughter is in Amelia's class and their son is Elliot's age. The kids loved racing to every door and asking for sweets.

Keeley and Amelia

The gang:

When we came back at 7:02pm, Amelia said: "Wow...thanks Mom and Dad. We stayed out all night long." Usually the kids' bed time is around 7pm but we let them saty up till 8pm last night and so Amelia was excited to open the door to hand out candies and exclaimed every time: "We got  more customers!". This age is the best for fun holidays such as Halloween. They are easily satisfied and no high standards yet. Also, they will forget about all those candies by tomorrow and don't mind if Mommy and Daddy dig thru their candy bag. What a fun night!