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.