Enjoying our days off

Having the week free of school and work for us meant days of having fun.

Monday afternoon we enjoyed the company of the Wendel family. The girls had fun playing while us parents conversed about the current events and snacked on holiday treats.

Tuesday evening, Clara spent the night. This was every exciting for all three girls. Emmie camped out with them in the living room as well. They had a fun time and are planning for when the next sleepover will be.

Wednesday, Eric took the girls wall climbing with our neighbors. Everyone got a few opportunities to scale the wall and Adeline is beginning to really enjoy this activity.

On Thursday, the Lotz family hosted a raclette dinner. It was fun making the little dishes with cheese and then putting them on the grill. Melanie did a great job with the variety of things you can make and made it kid friendly. It was perfect for our two families to enjoy the relaxing social meal.

Merry Christmas!

We spent Christmas Eve afternoon at church. The early afternoon started with an international lunch buffet. The food selection was widespread and we ended up having almost a four course meal based on the food that was brought in. Everything from the soup to the duck and other meats was delicious along with the side dishes. 

Afterwards, we gathered in church for a family worship service. In addition to singing hymns and carols, our family, along with other families, told the Christmas story. Even though we practiced our lines at home, Emmie became shy when we were on stage about there being no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn, so Adeline helped her out to continue telling the story. 

Adeline was the first one up on Christmas morning and peeked to see if Santa had visited us. Eric and I were able to convince her to let Emmie sleep for another 30 minutes before they sacked the tree. The girls were very surprised and happy with Santa's presents he left for them. The girls had a terrific morning that was toped off with a tasty Christmas breakfast.

We spent the rest of the day playing with the new toys and games and chatting with the family.

We wish everyone a joyful Merry Christmas and hope you created many holiday memories with your family.

Happy 7th Birthday Adeline!

Adeline's birthday celebration began in the morning with her opening presents and enjoying her pancake birthday breakfast. Eric craftly made a number 7 pancake along with the mickey mouse pancakes for the birthday girl.

She then prepared herself for her next birthday wish as she wanted to get her ears pierced. We walked downtown to the mall, so she could get her jitters out along the way and arrived at Bijou Brigitte, the jewelry store. She picked out her earrings while Eric filled out the consent form. The salesclerk put the black dots on ears for a review. I thought the right ear hole was too low, so after a few tries of telling her where to put it, she said I could place it, so I did. When she marked the left ear, I thought it was in the correct location. Adeline was brave when the first ear was pierced as she held in the tears, but she did comment it hurt. When the second ear was done, she just closed her  eyes and waited. When it was finished, she was extremely happy to look in the mirror and see the earrings on her ears.

Adeline picked My Thai restaurant for lunch. The excitement of her new earrings outshined the lunch outing, so we brought her leftovers home with us.

I think Adeline went through a bottle of hand soap within three hours. Every 15 minutes she was washing her hands, so she could touch and or turn her earrings. It was great to see her so happy about this.

In the afternoon, friends came over to celebrate her birthday. Adeline was very excited to share with everyone her big event of the day. It was another fun afternoon filled with lots of  happiness and joy as we celebrated Adeline turning 7.

Here are a few things Adeline wanted to share:

Favorite color: Light Blue

Favorite vegetables: Green Beans

Favorite fruit: Clementines

Favorite ice cream: Chocolate & Zitrone (lemon)

Favorite meal: Spaghetti with sauce

Favorite stuffed animal: Firedog 

Favorite person: Emmie

Favorite movie: Wizard of Oz

Favorite book: Harry Potter

Favorite Superhero: Wonderwoman

Favorite Princess: Sleeping Beauty

Favorite friend: Clara

Favorite clothes:  Skirts

A day in the kitchen

Today was our rest day from celebrating, but we did keep busy with doing the family traditions we have started. As for me, it meant another day in the kitchen, but worth every future smile.

In the morning, the girls made their Gingerbread house with Eric. Each one took half of the house and decorated according to their style. I think Emmie may have ate more frosting then she put on the candy decorations to hold in place.

In the afternoon, the girls assembled the Christmas cookie trays for our neighbors. Adeline was our carrier and delivered each one with a happy smile. Our neighbors always enjoy the variety of American cookies we bake up at the holidays (although some think they are a little too sweet), but then they ask for the recipes, so I have some work to do in translating the recipe to metric.

In the evening, we made Adeline's birthday cake. This time she went with a pink frosted strawberry cake to compliment her Barbie theme. While the cake was baking, I made a raspberry trifle with the leftover cake from forming her Barbie cake as some friends were coming over for her actual birthday celebration tomorrow afternoon.

Barbie World

Today we celebrated Adeline's 7th birthday with her friends. In the morning, I made her Barbie cake while her and Eric put up the room decorations and transformed our place into a pink dwelling. She then embellished Barbie's dress with the decorations she picked out for it.

Emmie arrived home from school to share with us her classroom ceiling had collapsed and they spent the rest of the morning in the other class. Apparently, it was due to the water retention from the snow melting and the play corner with the dolls and kitchen was all wet. 

In the afternoon, Adeline's friends promptly arrived to start the party. The girls loved the Barbie cake and could not believe we could eat it. We first painted nails and put on nail stickers. Then they opened presents and ate cake.  I quickly realized the girls are at an age where they will set the schedule, so I always had options for them to pick what to do next. The girls made an ornament for the craft and played some traditional German party games mixed in with a few Barbie themed games we made that they had fun with. The girls kept referencing everything we had in games and decorations which was Barbie as Top Model, since Top Model is also very popular here. 

For dinner, we walked downtown to Paparazzi Cafe. We reserved a large corner booth so we all could sit together. While the pizza and spaghetti were being made, the girls colored doll fashions and played a table game to pass the time. On our walk back home, the girls started a snowball fight with Eric. It was a fun day!

Snow Day

This morning we woke up to our first snowfall of the season. The girls were excited about going out and playing in it at school and even better that it happened on the last day of school before Christmas break. 

 Emmie spent majority of the morning playing in it at school, so she had her fill of it. Since Adeline could only play briefly in it at school, she quickly came home after school and went out to enjoy it.

In the afternoon, Adeline attended a birthday party that was held in downtown Frankfurt at a science museum. This worked out perfect as Emmie's music class was with the parents today. At class, we sang songs and then made finger clappers using walnut shells. We then used our finger instruments while we sang and dance. It was a fun time for Emmie and me.

Morning Blues to Evening Cheers

Monday did not start off good. At kindergarten, I was handed a letter indicating they were going to be doing some repairs in Emmie's classroom and building. This meant for the first two weeks in January, the class would be in the gymnasium in the main building. In addition, her class along with the class who is in the same building as Emmie's class would be in the gym while they needed time to clear the air of of any toxins leftover from the repair work. The teachers asked us to keep the children at home if we could to ease the situation in the New Year. 

In the afternoon, I dropped Adeline off for drum class with the other children and a few parents and then took Emmie to her dance class. Upon returning, I found out the teacher did not show up and two parents stayed with the children as I was not the only one who left their child with the group without a teacher. It was a bummer for me as we raced out of house to attend the class and we would have had more time at home for getting things ready for the evening. The other parents are investigating why the teacher did not show up, so I will let them inform me about it.

In the early evening, Adeline's class hosted a Christmas party. It was great to see all of the crafts they have made in art class since they were the rooms decorations. The children served their cookies they made and then sang songs and put on a skit for the parents. 

Adeline's other teacher, Lily, who works with Adeline once a week when the children are in English class attended also. This was a nice surprise for us as Adeline's teacher invited her. She was very happy to be included in the celebration. 

Afterwards, Eric went with Adeline on an evening walk up to the local church. It was a cold brisk walk led by one of the mother's who knew the way along the path in the dark through the forest. They arrived home and I made some hot chocolate to warm them up.

Last Christmas Market weekend

Saturday afternoon, we met up with Sarah and Jorge in Wiesbaden. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived, it began to sprinkle. We managed to find an area in a doorway to stay dry and enjoy our hot drinks. We walked around the market and town before heading indoors for a meal. After the meal, the evening weather cleared up and it was a perfect night for enjoying the market atmosphere.

Sunday afternoon, we took a boat trip on the Rhine River with the Lotz family. It was a festive cruise with holiday music and treats. The view of the little towns with their sparkling lights as it became darker was very pretty. Afterwards, we strolled through the Rüdesheim Christmas market as the weather was excellent for enjoying our last Christmas market of the year. We savored our final meal of the tasty Christmas market food that has been part of our diet for the past month. The children had fun together going on a little train ride. They saw St. Nikolaus and he definitely added some extra cheer to everyone's holiday spirit. 

O Tannenbaum

On Wednesday morning, Adeline's class went to the Theater in Mainz. Attending a play during the Christmas season is a school tradition here, so the tickets are booked well in advance at the venue even if the show has not be determined at the time they were purchased. Adeline did not know what she was going to see, just that she had to be at the school early to catch the bus. When she came home, she told us all about the characters and then I realized she had seen Wizard of Oz. She liked the storyline very much and is now excited to watch the movie.

In the afternoon, we attended a puppet show about three penguins. Some of Adeline's and Emmie's classmates also attended, so all of the children sat in the front row, while us parents sat at the back. It was good entertainment for a rainy afternoon.

Wednesday evening, we put the tree up in the apartment. Eric and I then strung the lights after the girls were in bed. I am thankful we rushed to get the tree on Sunday when we returned from Dortmund as it has been raining since Monday and is supposed to continue the rest of the week.

Picking out the tree was eventful as Emmie first wanted one of the trees that was smaller than her, then she picked out a tree a little taller than her, but it looked like a Charlie Brown tree as many of the trees did on the lot.

 Eric and Adeline had a good eye for two trees that were fuller and seemed to be a good height. When they determined the best one, the man measured it, we payed him as the price is based on the height and then he wrapped it up. Eric tied it down to the top of our Audi and he got it home safely while driving the curvy hilly roads through town.

Thursday afternoon, we finally decorated the Christmas tree. It seemed late to me to be putting up the tree, but here most people do not do it until the week of Christmas or on Christmas Eve. After I put up a few of the breakable ornaments near the top, the girls had fun selecting a spot for each ornament. I noticed now that they are getting taller, the ornaments are spread more out around the tree and not clumped in one place as in years pass. 

Adeline and Emmie did a fabulous job decorating it and now enjoy just standing by it and admiring the decorations.

Making Cookies

I spent this morning with Adeline's class making Christmas cookies. The parent helpers were asked to bring in the cookie dough, while the kids brought in a rolling pin, cookie cutters, and cookie decorations.

The kids had fun cutting out all different shapes and sizes and then spreading egg whites and decorating with little sprinkles before I put them in the oven to bake. However, when I brought the green frosting to the table with the baked cookies their eyes lit up.

By the time we had our first tray decorated with green frosting, everyone else had been by the table to see it and the boys expressed how cool the green frosting was. 

Majority of the cookie dough had been made into cookies and the kids had to return to class, so the kids left and we cleaned up a really messy area. Plus, the oven was only big enough for four trays at time, so for another hour, I stayed with a few mothers and we continued to bake cookies. In the end, we had over eight large tins of cookies for the class's Christmas party. 

One of the mother's had a small batch of unused Swedish cookie dough, so she offered it to me as the children had made several trays of cookies and she had already made hers at home. In the afternoon, Emmie made cookies for us with this dough. She had a fun time doing this project. The cookies were very tasty as they had some ginger and cinnamon flavor in them.

When Adeline was finished with her homework, the girls then decorated all of the cookies Emmie had cut out. They had a good time picking out the colors and decorations for the trees, angels, santas, and stars. We now have two tins of cookies for our holiday celebrations.

Dortmund

Saturday morning we drove north to Dortmund to meet up with Eric's cousins, the Komnik family. After we checked in, we ventured to one of Germany's biggest Christmas markets. Our train stop dropped us off right in the main shopping area and it was quite busy with everyone doing their holiday shopping, but we managed to find a quieter area at the large pyramid booth for festival drinks and food. 

We then strolled over to the Christmas tree attraction. It was not hard to miss as the center tree is made up of 1,700 Norway spruces, rises 45 meters high, is topped with a 13 foot angel, and has over  40,000 lights. It was huge and made for a nice area to put many booths around. They created a hole in the tree for a trumpeter to appear on the hour and play a tune. Hearing him play was a nice addition to the market atmosphere.

After some more delicious food and drinks, we continued our way through the market. The girls found a fairy tale themed attraction before we grabbed another hot drink to keep us warm in the chilly air. 

Eventually, the children tired, so Christiane and I returned to the hotel with the kids while Carsten and Eric grabbed some festival food to tame their hunger. When we returned to the hotel, the kids went swimming in the pool while we relaxed. Afterwards we grabbed a quick bite at the hotel's bar before heading to bed. 

After breakfast on Sunday morning, the children took another dip in the pool. We then walked over to the park and went up the TV tower. It was cold and breezy at the top, but the view was nice looking out over the city and it's surrounding area. We did spot the large tree from the market. We returned in time for the Komniks to catch their train.

It was another great weekend with the Komniks and we are looking forward to our next visit with them.

There was a huge soccer match in the afternoon at the stadium next to our hotel. We left just in time as the traffic was beginning to get heavy and they started closing down roads, but Eric talked his way through a few cones and we were heading in the right direction away from the traffic.

Christmas Party

Friday evening, Eric and I attended his company's Christmas Party, so we hired a babysitter to stay late into the evening. Adeline and Emmie were super excited to have a babysitter for the night. We were not even out the door and they were already making plans to watch a movie. 

The party was held at Tigerpalast in downtown Frankfurt. We dined at the Palast Bistrot, which is an ancient vaulted cellar that is decorated like a French Bistro. The four course meal was delicious and the unique atmosphere enhanced the occasion. 

Afterwards, we attended the international variety show that was held in a venue above the restaurant. The numerous talented performances accompanied by a live orchestra made it an excellent show. The orchestra was great as they never seemed to miss a beat even if the actors did in their performance.

Höchster Kreisblatt

When I dropped off Emmie at school this morning, one of the mother's informed me she saw me in the  Höchster Kreisblatt newspaper today. I was not surprised by this because last Tuesday afternoon, a photographer asked me to point to the mall on our city map at the bus station when we were taking Emmie to her nearby music class. It took about three minutes for him to take a few shots and we were on our way.

What I was surprised about was how large the picture was when I bought the paper later in the morning. The picture is 6.5"x7"! The article is on the fifth page of the second section and is not headline news, but it is the novelty of living in a small town and being in the news that makes it exciting for our family.

The article is not a very interesting article, but to sum it up it is about how the map still shows the mall under construction over a year later and the reasoning why. According to the article, the map has not been updated because the same map is also in rotten wood display cases in the forest and a committee's approval is required for the wood displays to be repaired, so it is a financial and timing situation before all of the city maps can be updated. 

Here is a link to the actual article:

http://www.fnp.de/hk/region/lokales/main-taunus/auf-den-neuen-stadtpl-nen-ist-das-chinoncenter-baustelle_rmn01.c.9423280.de.html

Nikolaustag

The girls have had a fun filled day celebrating St. Nikolaus. When they awoke, they checked their boots outside our door and found numerous goodies and treats tucked inside each one along with other chocolates next to their boots. They compared with each other what was in their own boot as they emptied them and then selected a treat for school before putting the rest of the goodies in a basket.


At school, St. Nikolaus visited Emmie's class. They sang songs together and then each received a stocking filled with fruit, nuts, and little chocolates. 

In the afternoon, we visited the Wiesbaden Christmas Market. While we were strolling around, we saw St. Nikolaus by himself. Even though he was heading in another direction, he stopped when the girls approached him and talked with them for a few minutes. Afterwards, he gave them each a little bag filled with nuts, chocolate, and a carousel ride token. Taking a ride was a great surprise for them to end our time after walking around another market.

In the evening, the Wendel family invited us over for a holiday gathering. After we indulged in delicious homemade holiday treats, the doorbell rang. When they answered the door, it was Eric who just arrived from being out of town. A few minutes later there was a loud knock on the balcony shades. This caught the girls by surprise and when the blinds were opened, St. Nikolaus was standing there. This instantly brought screams of joy and excitement along with many smiles as all of the girls recognized him. 

When he came indoors, he chatted with the girls and then informed Adeline and Emmie he has been to Michigan and then Stuttgart and he was happy to finally find them here in Hofheim. Adeline, Emmie, and Hanna just stood and listened to him in awe. He then brought out his book that keeps a record of each child's behavior. 

Adeline's name was first as she was the oldest. He discussed the good things she has been doing and some areas she needs to improve upon. She listened very intently while he spoke to her. When it was Emmie's turn, she shied away a little bit while he was addressing her, until he discussed her thumb-sucking habit and then she had to come and show him her thumb. Hopefully, St. Nikolaus can help us stop this habit. Hanna was a trooper and immediately gave him her pacifier when he asked for it, so we hope this be a clean break of her habit. 

The girls sang a song for St. Nikolaus when he was finished reading in his book. When it came to handing out presents from his large sack, little Marie understood this portion very clear and was so excited with each present that sometimes she forgot when there was more than one given to her. Before St. Nikolaus left, the girls sang one more song and then all of them hastily opened their gifts.

The Wendel family hosted a fabulous St. Nikolaus gathering.  We had a wonderful time sharing in their holiday tradition and are very grateful and thankful they invited us to partake in it with them and experience one of the joys of the season.

Case of the Missing Boot

Sunday afternoon, we walked to downtown Hofheim when it was misting to enjoy our town's Christmas market. We also had some boots to find as an organization partnered with various city businesses for a children's boot search on the eve of  St. Nicholas Day. We gave the organization one of each girl's boot the previous week and now had to search throughout the display windows for their other one. 

When we reached downtown, the rain was still light and we carefully searched in each window for their boots. We listened to the Jazz band while taking a break from our search. We walked through town  in the mist that had turned into a shower inspecting the windows and over to the mall to find out it was closed. It was not until the last street on our loop, we found Emmie's boot in the bookstore. 

Her boot, #272, was filled with candy and nuts and there was a wrapped book next to it. She was super excited to pick it up on Monday, St. Nicholas Eve. On our way back through town, we stopped for a some festival food as the rain had finally stopped. Eric then took Adeline over to the mall to try to get inside to see if they could find Adeline's boot as she was in distress about her boot being lost. They entered and exited through the parking garage for the movie theater and searched the interior, but did not find it. 

Monday morning, while I was in class, my mom searched the downtown again and could not find it. On our way home, we marked off each business on our checklist as we checked out the displays and still did not locate it. It was not until late in the afternoon on one final round of searching, I checked the hair salon at the mall that had a window on the outside of the mall away from the main entrances did I find Adeline's boot. She was so thrilled and happy to know her boot was not missing and enjoyed the treats inside. 

Amongst the Rain

The rainy days have continued, but we have not let it dampen our holiday spirit. Friday evening, we pushed our way around Frankfurt's Christmas Market. We knew it was going to be crowded when we crossed the busy street and saw the lines of buses, but then we felt the crowd as we quickly found ourselves amongst the tour groups when we turned a corner after browsing a few booths. We did locate some good food and glühwein served in collector boot shaped mugs out of the main traffic to make the most of the chilly evening.

Saturday, we traveled to Michelstadt, a historic old town deep in the forest that has a quaint Christmas market. On our drive there, the weather was clear, but as we parked the car, the drizzle began. Under umbrellas, we walked around and stopped for a beverage to wait the downpour out, but it only seemed to get heavier. We then had lunch with hopes  the rain would clear, but even after an hour wait for potato soup, the rain appeared to be coming down heavier. We weaved our way through the rest of the neat timber framed town and journeyed back home. 

Advent Outing

Emmie's kindergarten class celebrated the beginning of Advent with an outing. In the afternoon, the teachers planned for the children to decorate a tree in the forest with food for the animals, so we met near the edge of the woods at a restaurant. Fortunately, it was not raining; however, the ground was muddy because it has been raining for the past week. The teachers, children, their parents, and even a family's dog, along with the wagon filled with tree decorations and drinks in tow started down the path to kick-off the event. 

We had walked about 75 yards when the group came to a halt as a rope was across the path. Apparently, very recently the city decided to start cutting down trees in the area as it was not marked off earlier in the week when the teachers came to select the perfect tree for this activity. After some discussion, the plan was to find a new tree to decorate. This now meant hiking through the forest, climbing over downed trees and through piles of wet leaves. After we made our way three quarters of the way around the restaurant grounds, a tree was found. As the children began decorating it, the dog began eating the carrots and apples, so the dog was quickly leashed as the food was intended for the forest animals.  When all of the animal food was dispersed, the children sang a few songs and we munched on cookies the parents carried out with them along with some of the hot orange juice to keep us warm. The girls played for a few minutes on the playground, before we concluded the activity.

In the evening, the girls were excited about starting their advent calendars and opening the first door. This fun task seemed to mark the official start of the countdown to Christmas for them.