ENT visit

S&%T!

We have until Thursday afternoon to decide if we let them operate on Enya's nose or not! They can't operate today as she is still sick and her poor nose is still swollen, but the last opportunity will be on Friday (if they do straighten it, it needs to be done within 8-10 days of the injury). I know that it's not a major op but it is still a general anaesthetic with the associated risks and there is also no guarantee that her nose will grow straight with the op. Right now though her nose is slightly skew so if we do nothing, she will have to get it straightened later if it bothers her.

The hardest part, I find, about being a parent is deciding what is best for the kiddies!!

First broken bone

So broken it is!

I got to spend a fun afternoon at the hospital today with Enya, made even more fun by the fact when we first arrived Enya puked ALL over me. X-ray confirmed her nose is broken and they suspect a mild concussion. They offered to keep her in hospital overnight until she can be seen by the ENT specialist tomorrow (no ENT cover today) because of the puking, but given that she was feverish as well and was fine for the first two days, everyone thinks it is more likely she has picked up a stomach bug, so I brought her home. This of course means we get to have the fun all over again tomorrow when we visit the ENT specialist.

PS the stomach bug diagnosis was pretty much confirmed when we got home and Ciara was carrying her cough cough bucket around. Needless to say dinner wasn't on the agenda and both girls crashed about 2 hours before their normal bedtime.

Dangers of Kindergarten

The results of a fall in Kindergarten

So what do you think, broken or not broken? It looks really painful and swollen but apart from telling us to only touch it gently, it's not bothering her at all and she is bouncing around (wildly) as normal.

Good bye 2010

I won't be sad to see you go!!

As a fitting end to 2010 Enya woke up this morning with a gummy eye. Now I don't know what it's like in other parts of the world but in my corner of Germany life comes to a stand still between Christmas and New Years. Neither the Paediatricians nor the opthalmologists were open today, I landed up having to go to the emergency service at the local childrens hospital to get a prescription for eye drops (and even their service only started at 9am) which involved an hour and a half wait. Z is at his father's restuarant today so I had 2 bored girls to entertain and the waiting room is just chairs in a corridor- NOT FUN. THe only positive about this was that Enya got a thorough check up- yes, she has started another cold/cough having been sniffle free for about 3 days! At least I go into this weekend knowing her lungs and ears are clear.

Now hoping for a healthy 2011,

Happy new year to you all

A summary in pictures

A brief summary in pictures what we've been up to in the last couple of months:


Our family autumn picture (Z and I cut, the girls glued), idea from Adventures in Mommyland blog
The girls love The smartest giant in town and when we won't read it to them, then they read it to themselves

We've been a couple of times to the indoor play centre

and Ciara has finally learnt that trampolines are not the devil,s invention she once held them for


We made slats for the Kindergarten fence

One of us tried on daddy's tie

C and E learnt to share their yogurt (which has now even extended occasionally to sharing their chocolate GASP!!)

Enya has been practicing her smiling

I made another duvet cover for a friend's daughter's first birthday (out of sleeping sacks and in to normal bedding)

Z and his girls have been baking



And last but not least some shots from Christmas





So after this picture overload I wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year!

Belated Merry Christmas

Sorry life has got a bit on top of me lately. When I've had the energy to blog, I've used the time instead to play with the kids. They seem to be coming on in leaps and bounds which I partly credit to the fantastic Kindergarten but also partly that they are getting bigger and older and are wonderful kids (what else is a mother to say?)

We've had a great christmas going to bed late and getting up late too (7 am in this household right now is a luxurious lie in!!). Z cooked Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve for us four (no family that lives close means christmas is an intimate family affair), and I recipricated by cooking christmas lunch on Christmas Day (I seem to be finally getting the knack of roasts as it was ready at the same time and even the roast potatoes were lovely and crispy). The girls loved it all especially the presents- for the first time they seem to really get the idea of presents being for them and opening them. Ciara has been helping me wrap presents (for other people) and everytime asked where her present was! Their favourite presents this year are their strider bikes and their Peppa pig DVD's. We want them hearing more english now that they are in a german kindergarten all day so asked for english CDs and DVDs from my english family and they've been a great hit- simple but riveting for 3 year olds. The striders (with obligatory helmets) are only being used inside right now as we have a solid 20cms of snow lying around outside with a serving of ice underneath the snow. Nonetheless the girls are getting the knack of steering them and it helps to relieve the cabin fever.

We've also invested in a couple of sleds and Z built a sledding track in our back garden which is also great for getting a bit of fresh air and good fun.

Anyway that has caught you all up a little with what we've done this week so with no futher ado
a belated Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year!!

Baking marathon

One of the local bakeries opens it's doors the first weekend in November for a baking marathon in aid of a local charity. Basically it is a fun weekend, the bakery provides the ingredients for the cookies and mixes it all together, roll it out and provide the cookie cutters. The visitors (read the kids) then cut the cookies which are then baked on the premises and sold in all the bakeries' stores in the lead up to christmas. The profits are donated to charity in aid of local families in need. I doubt I need to mention a lot of dough gets nashed by the kids during the process. (I got reprimanded for stopping Enya eating the deco when she "working", BY ONE OF THE BAKERS!!)



We went on Sunday to have a look see and it was great fun. When we first arrived there was a brass band playing and both girls (but especially Ciara) were fascinated, I think we are going to have to revisit the music group again (can't find it in my archive but as brief recap about a year and a half we looked into doing music with the girls but it landed up being quite expensive and at that time the girls weren't interested at all). Then we did a bit of cookie cutting (an adult per kid is the minimum requirement) before going to decorate a ginger bread heart and getting their face painted.
Enya the flower field
Ciara Cat

All in all a fun morning that we'll have to repeat again next year!