decorating!

With two super-sick kiddos, we decked our halls with Christmas cheer. Window clings and lights were the highlights of course. And, I discovered that window clings don't really last year to year....it's a good thing we didn't use all of them last year. Moo was quite devastated that the smoke stack on his Christmas train fell off on its way to the window. Lu loves looking at and naming the ornaments: "ball! star! har (heart)! Lie (light)! Sew-Ma (snow man)!" And the nativity: " Baa! (sheep) Mooo! (cow) Baby!  Cheese! (Jesus)"

And our first attempts at kid Christmas photos by the tree. Tee hee!

I can do it myself

So, the other day, I poured Lu a glass of milk, walked into the other room, and then raced back when I heard some gagging. This is what I found. I'm not sure how or why she was gagging, but I know she tried to pour herself a little bit more than Mom gave her. A look of pure penitence.

A few days later, I set the serving bowls on the table, including one bowl of rice and carrots. I left the room for something, and came back to see the entire serving bowl on Lu's tray....being gobbled up by my little "I can do it myself" girl. Sweet as can be AND a bit of can-do mixed in. Gotta love her.

Another week of adventures

Monday: Laundry day is always full of misadventures in the laundry basket boats left unawares. Lu decided dolly needed to come with this time as Moo pushed her from room to room.

 Friday nights: Now semi-officially pizza night. This week the kids decorated their own....Moo's of course, has no sauce and loads of cheese. Lu's, well, we did hers for her. We split open pita pockets, brushed with olive oil, spaghetti sauce, italian seasoning, garlic powder, our favorite toppings, and parmesan. Yum.

 Both kids are into hugs these days. At the mere suggestion, they will go and attack each other in the name of a hug. I love it. They love it. Until someone gets their eye poked out. Then there will have to be hug restrictions. Until that day, hug on children!

 Saturday night adventures to the park: Moo has finally gotten stoked up enough and coordinated enough to really pedal his tricycle and he wants to ride it everywhere. Lu digs her push trolley, especially if dolly is riding along. But she also likes to be carried. "Hold you me" anyone?

Adventure of the day!

So I found out on Friday about the annual marathon that crosses the bridge between Asia and Europe. I have wanted to do the short run for this every year, but I always seem to forget to find out when it is. With two days' notice I convinced my reticent, but willing hubbie to throw all caution to the wind and do it as a family. Now, the English title for this was an 8K Fun Run. The local language said "People's Walk". And after an hour crawling 100 meters to the starting line, we decided to re-dub it the "People's Crawl!" We got wise, jumped the rail, and made some quick progress on the first kilometer. A slow second across the bridge stopping for scenic photographs as this is the one day each year you can walk across. And a quick descent on the other side. Armed with little more than fruit leather, apples, goldfish crackers, and water bottles, our kids did an awesome job. Moo and Lu took turns walking and dancing a stretch. Rick did a most excellent job pushing them the majority of the walk in the stroller. What a great dad! And a super husband to say yes to his wife's crazy request for adventure.

 Part of the line-up behind the start.

 Working our way to the bridge.

 

 Apples on the bridge!

Pausing for a photo between continents! Bravo family!

Around the house in November

And here is the latest from our home...

Favorite activity of last week: playing rocket ship in our bedroom closet. The kids close the door, turn on their little flashlights and whichever parent they can convince to join them counts down until "blast off". I found Lu in there all by herself one day last week, chattin' away.

 We went to a fall festival last weekend at the community center where I'm helping out. The kids were stoked to have first pics on decorating cookies. Especially the chocolate chips!

 Lu was a leeeee-tle sleep deprived, but she rallied for cake later.

 Usually being the one behind the camera, this was a rare treat to have my photo taken....perhaps next time the kids will look too. Ha ha ha ha!

 Moo got his face painted and actually kept it on all-the-2-hour-way home!

 Favorite activity of this week: Riding the train. Dad is in the 'boose' (caboose for those not fluent in Moo-speak) and Moo is driving with his 'authentic' engineer hat. This is right after a visit to the 'dining car' in our kitchen.

 Lu dodgin' the paparazzi as she sneaks onto her favorite train to America. She was happy to be allowed the honor of pushing Moo's "ba-pa" (backpack) on board.

Fall days

A quick look at the last week as we enjoyed the cool weather outside.I am most amused with Lu's recent penchant for doing anything her brother does. She knows no fear. This may be my undoing!! (Just so you know, on the pull-up bar, she is hanging all by herself. Rick is merely spotting for when she eventually lets go. I blame this on too much time spent in the airport lounge trying to entertain children with the empty rows of waiting chairs - crawling under them, pushing up between them, etc. The world is my oyster!)




 

Harvest Party!

I have been wanting a harvest festival birthday party for three years, and this was the first year we got organized enough to make it happen. I had a super birthday. Rick brought me mums - a tradition we had back in Michigan (filling the porch with mums each fall). Rick and Moo cooked me breakfast pancakes. And then we had a bunch of great friends over for a harvest party. We had11 kids including one 4 month old! He bowed out on the games in favor of napping in a nice quiet dark bedroom. The kids' rooms got sacked, and we sent home all the kids with major sugar-highs. Sadly, I was not the greatest photographer, so just try to imagine much of the mayhem in our home.

For the overly curious grandmotherly types....

Our decor: 

 

Our menu:

Caramel apple dip + apple slices from a friend

Turkey chili served over spaghetti w/toppings: green pepper, onion, corn, cheese

Cornbread

Pea salad (cold peas with mayo/sour cream dressing, onions, etc.)

Rick's jello - so re-named by some family friends who were overly impressed (stupefied) by his copious helpings of the jello they made for a dinner we attended at their house

Our order of activities:

Foam pumpkin decorating thanks to my summer stop at the Target dollar spot!

Eating donuts off a string

(a side activity was dunking the extra donuts in butter 

and coating with powdered or cinnamon sugar)

Bobbing for apples

Dinner

Dessert: Cupcake decorating (pumpkin flavor with cream cheese frosting!)

 & an eclair dessert brought by a friend

The day before: 

Moo tasting the donut batter to make sure it was safe for others

Lu trying on her fairy princess costume....only to later have Moo steal her wings and fly around the house like a super-hero fairy-king. She was unphased.

The day after: 

We all cleaned and collapsed.

Three days after: 

I'm wondering what to do with all that extra cream-cheese frosting. Eat it? Save it somehow? Invent some other kind of dessert that can use it? Eat it.