Sunday Kitchen

One of my little photographers caught me in the kitchen in my Sunday kerchief,
making coffee in the French press.

First Day of School

It's old news by now, but Teddy started Kindergarten. Once we did the orientation and he got to know his teacher a little bit, he was excited (particularly to ride the bus with his big brother).
I don't know if you can tell in these pictures, but I can: he suddenly had a fever the day before the first day of school, and he's still looking pale and has circles under his eyes here. I thought he was going to miss the first day of school, just like Troy did, but he pulled it off.
The big cone filled with treats is a German tradition. My sister made this one for Troy two years ago.They had school Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, then a long weekend.
On Monday morning when I woke him up he asked "Do I have to go to school AGAIN? How many times do I have to go?!"

Welcome to the real world, little buddy.

Vintage

My younger sister and I clearly inherited the "vintage" gene from our mother (insert joke about my age, here). I have the first piece she bought, back in the 70s. It's a child-sized rocker, Victorian, I think. Not for a toddler, but for a school-aged child. Ever since I can remember, we've been going to antique stores and flea markets. I have the broken cylinder record I picked out when I was about 13, and the ethnic silver bracelets when I was in high school (but where is that doe-eyed bunny figurine I made her buy, I wonder?).

Since then, she has been a reliable source of textiles, silver, and ephemera for my collections, especially from Germany. More recently, I have been "inheriting" the old toys she has saved or picked up. Look at this intricate child's tea set.


It has scenes of chidren playing in traditional German outfits. It has an embossed pattern, and it's sprinkled with sweet flowers and a gold rim, and the china is really fine.
This is my second toy tea-set. I'm not sure what to do with them. It seems a shame to hide them away. Any ideas?

Dough Boys

The boys brought home those dough-balls that Bertucci's gives the kids to play with. I feel like we have a new pet -- we had to add flour last night because they got too sticky, put them in plastic containers so the boys could take them to bed, and this morning I had to re-knead them and clean out their containers because the dough had risen over night. Feed, exercise and clean - it's just like the hamster!

The Weekend is over

We had a great weekend.  On Saturday, Troy and I ran some errands and picked up plants and potting soil to fill our window boxes and pots.  We bought some tomato plants, too, because the ones we're growing from seeds are still so tiny, it's disheartening.  The bush beans we planted in the vegetable bed are sprouting, though, and so are some sunflowers.  It's so great to see things growing in the garden.  

We were looking at sliding glass doors on the internet.  We really want to put one in our dining room, with a deck into the back yard.  And have the house painted.  And have the driveway repaved.  And we have no money to do any of that . . .

Saturday evening, after running around and gardening, I didn't feel like making dinner.  We had a plate of vegetables and then went to the mall food court.  We had fun with the boys, going up and down escalators, and we went to H&M and found them each a "cool" cap and some shirts on sale.  

Yesterday we went to old friends for a barbeque lunch.  The kids played nicely, and the grownups got to talk.  We got home by 4:30, so still had time for a walk and to play some games before bedtime.  

After weekends like that, it's hard to leave and go to work.

Another winter weekend

This is a hard time of year.  It seems like the hours spent at work are so long, and the time at home is so short.  At least I realize now that it's not a sign that I need to make a major change in my life -- I just have to make it a few more weeks until Spring.  

We're passing the time by planning our vegetable garden.  We're going to put in a second bed and plant tomatoes, lettuce, peas, beans, zucchini, and we're going to try garlic and watermelon, too.

Today, I took both the boys to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner tonight and tomorrow.  (Marcy is coming to visit tomorrow afternoon, and we're going to have the Clapps over.  I decided to make chicken schnitzel.)  I cleaned out their closet a little, made lunch, and then we all had a rest together.  Teddy and I made "healthy" cookies (Oatmeal, nut, dried cranberries, and reduced sugar; which apparently I am going to eat by myself).  

Before dinner, I took Pippa for a walk at Patton Park.  It was just before 5:30, and the sun was setting on a clear, cold day, outlining the trees against the glowing sky.  

I figured out the trick to get Teddy to do ANYTHING: ask Troy to ask him to do it.  Right now they are both upstairs putting on their PJs by themselves.  You don't know how many nights we have battled him to put his PJs on (and to put his clothes on in the morning)!

All is peaceful here.  Good night :)

In the old days, I was against the Photo-of-the-Kids Christmas Card.  Every Christmas, I would tear open the envelopes from far-away friends, eagerly expecting news of how they were and what they had been doing.  I would be disappointed when I would find only a picture of a child I didn't know and a sterile (I thought) "Merry Christmas."  

Time goes by.  Life changes.

This was the picture on our Christmas card this year: 

I am now fully a converted Photo-of -Kids-Christmas-Card-ist.  What I realize now, is that this photo, printed on a card ordered online, with a few words scribbled on the back, says more about how I am and what I have been doing, than I could write in 1,000 words.  You have to look closely, but it's all there.  

"I am happy," it says.  "I am completely captivated by these two boys."  In the picture, they are sitting in my lap, but all you see is the edges of my arms holding them: "They have become the most important things in my life."  C isn't in the picture either; he's behind the camera: "He is as engrossed in them as I am. We are sharing this with each other."  See how close he gets to them with the camera?  Trying to capture forever the exact color of each eye, the shape of each tooth, the curve of each smile.  

They squeeze in close together, pressing their faces to the camera: "They are happy, unembarrassed, unencumbered.  They love each other."  

You can see the reminder of the sun and sand of Cape Cod in the color of their cheeks, the highlights in their hair.  "We took a week off and went to Cape Cod," it says.  "The weather was fine.  The boys are always thrilled by the waves." 

"They are healthy," say the eyes and the smiles, bright and clear.  "We laugh a lot, see their silly smiles?  We spend time together as a family."

"And we think of you, even if we are busy.  Too busy to even write anything on this card, other than a very heartfelt 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year'.  We think of you when we see a picture in the last days of summer and think, this will make a great Christmas card.  I can't wait for them to see it."  

Sledding

The weekend has been cold, but sunny.  We found a new sledding hill, and had a great time sledding yesterday and today.  The temperature has been hovering right around freezing, so the snow was packed and fast.  The boys are just old enough now to enjoy it and be able to walk up the hill on their own (mostly).  I'm so happy that they're learning that you can get bundled up and have fun outside even when it's cold.  Good preparation for skiing?  

I took the camera along, but left it in the car because I was having too much fun sledding, myself, so no pictures.  You'll just have to imagine it:  C, sitting crosslegged on a round plastic sled, flying down the hill backwards, yelling "Ahh, ahhhh, AAAAHHH!"

On the last run of the day, I accidentally sent Troy into the bushes.  Luckily he had his sunglasses on, but he got a good scrape on the side of his face.  We ended the day in tears, worn out and hungry, but I think we'll be back again soon.

Oma's Story

My  mother is now mostly known as Oma, the German word for Grandma.  Here is a bit of her story.  I hope there will be more to come.

Oma was born in Heidelberg, Germany, in 1941, the youngest of three children. I get the sense that she admired her older brother and sister, but also that she enjoyed the indulgent attention she received as the baby of the family. At a time when little German girls wore knee socks and flowered dresses with matching aprons, Oma preferred Lederhosen. She exasperated her mother by balancing on the high wall that separated their courtyard from the schoolyard next door, and shocked her aunts by whistling "like a boy."

Heidelberg is an ancient city built of red sandstone nestled in the crook where the vast, flat stretches of the Rhine River valley meet the thickly forested hills of the Odenwald. Roads that were first cleared by the Romans are still in use today, and a medieval stone castle stands on the side of a hill overlooking the city (photo). The house where Oma grew up, on the Fahrtgasse, was a stone building on a narrow street in the center of the town (kind of like this one).  Ingrid's father, Paul, was a cobbler, and his shop was on the ground floor, facing the street. A sally-port led to the small courtyard in the back of the shop, surrounded on three sides by houses and on the fourth by the wall of the schoolyard next door.  A staircase led from the courtyard with its small, raised garden area, to the second floor apartment.  The residents had to leave the apartment and cross an exterior balcony to reach the tiny bathroom with its pull-chain, raised-tank toilet.

It's fitting, in a way, that the house on the Fahrtgasse was eventually torn down to make way for a municipal swimming pool because water and swimming weave through the story of Oma's childhood.  In those days, the Neckar river, which cuts a sharp valley through the Odenwald and also cuts through the city of Heidelberg, was an integral part of life in the city, a major conduit of commerce and a source of livelihood, recreation, and danger -- the high-water marks of the Neckar are still visible on the oldest buildings.  As a child, Oma followed the older children down the street to swim in the Neckar.  Her older brother, Klaus, would swim with her on his back.  When she was five, she swam across the Neckar by herself the first time.  The Neckar is as wide as a football field is long, and deep and swift enough to carry barges laden with timber.  Later, she joined in the games of daring the children played: grabbing the side of a low-lying barge to get towed upstream, swimming under a barge, underwater from one side to the other, or climbing over the high railing of the bridge to jump the 20 feet or so into the river. 

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

First snow

The boys went to get a tree on Saturday.  I was hesitating to put it up, because our living room is so small.  Now that it's up, it looks nice a cozy, though.  

We woke up on Sunday morning to the first snow fall.  It was the really pretty kind that sticks to all the branches of the trees.  Annakin and Luke put on their boots and coats over their pajamas and went outside to play (it was just after 7 in the morning).  I stood in the doorway in my slippers and shushed them when they got too loud so they wouldn't wake the neighbors.  Then we had hot chocolate and Lebkuchen for breakfast.  It fun to spoil them sometimes!

Thanksgiving

How was your Thanksgiving?  Ours was pleasant and relaxing -- definitely the effect of going to someone else's house for the holiday.  Some people say Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday, and I can understand that.  It hides in the shadow of its splendidly shining older siblings, Christmas and Hanukkah, just as warm if not as glamorous.  It has the good food, but without the shopping, consumerism and stress.  

For the past several years, we have been invited to my sister, K's.  For those of you who don't know us in real life (IRL), my sister and I married two brothers.  I highly recommend marrying your sister's husband's brother, for a couple of reasons: first, when you complain about your in-laws to your sister, she REALLY can sympathize.  JUST KIDDING, in-laws!!  Seriously, it's great to go to my sister's for Thanksgiving and have my husband's family there.  Even better is spending Christmas with my husband's family, and having my sister there, too.  

So, as has become the tradition, we picked up C's sister, Samantha, and drove down to K and J's.  The drive is always more fun with Sammy Jo along.  I'll be disappointed if she ever makes good on the threat to get a driver's license.  When we arrived, around noon, Annakin and Luke disappeared with their four cousins, and reappeared only occasionally (*big, relaxed sigh*). Grampa and Tracy arrived a little while later, in time to break open the wine and help prepare the meal.  We had a late lunch, with all the trimmings (other than Samantha's Tofurkey, accidentally left home alone).  Then, Samantha and I took most of the kids and three of the dogs for a walk to the beach.

We got back in time for dessert in front of the fireplace. C made his sought-after chocolate chip cookies from his secret recipe (here's a hint: it's on the back of the chocolate chip bag), and K made a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie.  Completely stuffed, we put the boys in their pjs, and headed back home. I always regret having to leave, but it sure feels good to collapse into my own bed to sleep!

I hope you all enjoyed good company and good food, too.  Love always.

Visiting the Cousins

We had a fun weekend with H and A and the cousins.  T1, T2, and I jumped in the car Saturday and made the 3 hour drive.  T1 got car sick for the first time (just queasy, not actually sick) but felt better after a little stop.  Still made it by lunch time, plenty of time for playing and, when the rain cleared, a walk in the woods to a playground with the 5 kids and 3 dogs.  Then, great Fajitas by A, wine for the mommies, and a movie for the kids.  More playing in the morning, with lots of jumping on the trampoline, another attempt at a walk (little Xavier was tired, but too excited to sit still in the stroller).  After lunch, we headed home for a relaxing Sunday evening at home.  I actually played a board game with T1 and T2: Hi Ho Cherry-O.  Too bad these weekends can't last forever . . . 

Love,

Christina

Six Things

Six Things My Dad Taught Me (see credits in prior post):

1.  Why the sky is blue.

2.  Why the leaves fall.

3.  A good night's sleep is essential preparation for anything.

4.  Don't take any wooden nickels.

5.  If you're not 5 minutes early, you're late.

6.  Follow the rules.

A faith in science, the ability to think logically, and the tools to succeed in life.  Thanks, Dad!  Plus, when Troy asked me why the sky is blue, I was actually able to explain it to him.  "You 'splained that real good, Dad!"

Love,

Christina

Six Things

(I stole this idea from Suburban Rage's Five Things.)

Six Things My Mother Taught Me:

1.  How to cook

2.  How to sew (my livelihood for a while)

3.  How to have a positive attitude

4.  If you're trying to save money, allow yourself to spend just a little; if you try to deny yourself completely, you're liable not to stick with it.  (Hence the little shopping trip today.)

5.  Eat real, good food in moderation.  (That's not a glaring grammatical error.  I mean food that is good and food that is "real", as in not highly processed.)  Someone wrote a whole book about this, but my mom knew it all along.

6.  Sometimes it's OK to break the rules, just a little bit.  (To be read in conjunction with Dad's Rule # 6, Follow The Rules).

Thanks, Mom!  These are the foundation of health, happiness, income, and a cute new jacket.

Love, Christina

Some silliness, loosely based on history

I first met my husband's family 17 years ago.  They were suspicious of me at first, I just know it. Or maybe I was just nervous and self-conscious about meeting my boyfriend's family.  Would they like me?  Would they accept me into the family?  When I met my husband's older sister and her kids Amber and Noah, though, I knew my acceptance was sealed, because . . . Amber and I had the SAME FAVORITES!

Amber is in her 20's now and cute as the VW bug she drives.  She was already cute as a button when I first met her, even though as a 6-year-old she was free to interrogate me in a way the adults didn't dare:

Amber (six years old):  What's your favorite color?

Me (perched nervously on edge of sofa): Purple.

Amber: gasp That MY favorite color too!!!

What's your favorite animal?

Me: I like horses.

Amber: bigger gasp THAT'S MY FAVORITE ANIMAL, TOO!!!  (Beaming)

Mom, guess what?  (Runs to tell family the breaking news)

Me (leaning back): Oh yeah. I am totally in, now. 

Thanks Amber!  

Memories

I was trying to think of my earliest memory, but I can't seem remember back very far.  I think I have a vague memory of a visit to Germany, to my grandmother's house, the house where my mother grew up.  I remember the hard dampness of the city, the smell of smoked meats coming out of a butcher shop, and the coldness of the bathroom that had no heat and one of those tanks high up with a chain to flush it.

Another early memory is of laughing with my family around the dinner table.  My sisters, K and H must have been about 1 and 2, because H was still in a high chair, but K was a toddler.  H was flinging her spaghetti noodles around, and managed to stick one to the wall.  K, finished with the food on her plate, got up from the table and, as she left the room, nonchalantly peeled the noodle off the wall and ate it.  My parents and I thought this was extraordinarily funny, and we all laughed.  What a strange thing to remember for 35 years!

What's your earliest memory?