Letter to Santa

I thought it might be a good idea to try and get some ideas what C and E want for christmas, so I suggested we start a letter to Santa.

Enya wants:-christmas socks
-a duck pond

We never got around to what Ciara wanted because really I was blown away by the duck pond. When questioned more closely. Enya wanted blue water and it has to have a duck in!

Daddy better start digging now ;0)

PS we did land up going to the ENT to get Enya's hearing checked, after a 3 hour appointment the results were, as expected, that she can hear just fine!

my green house with the clock on

For the last few months everytime we drive past a house with scaffolding up outside (be it a new built house or an old one getting renovated)it gets claimed by one of the girls. It's gotten to the stage where they've started sharing the houses.

"This kapputen house is mine Ciara, but you can have the next one."

Before this recent development we often had floods of tears when driving, if all the building sites tended to be on one side of the car and were therefore all claimed by one girl.

The other intriguing part of this stage, apart from why it started (I don't know), is that claiming the house is always followed by the statement
"my daddy will fix it",

if Z is in the car he is always asked to confirm this
"won't you daddy?" (good daddy that he is, he always answers yes!)

Now don't get me wrong Z is good with his hands but building from scratch or ground up renovations? Not very likely!!

My girls (according to them at least) are proud possesors of at least 40 properties in Germany and England (come to think of it in Belguim as well- although that was a new office tower beside the motorway- good luck fixing that one Honey!!). Not least the green Town Hall with a clock on in Fishguard, Wales, which although we only saw it 3 or 4 times and have been back for more than a month, regularly pops up in Enya's conversation.

PS For those who link to the picture don't be surprised that it's not green. I think the scaffolding was up because they've just painted it!!

Quiet books completed

So remember in April/May when I posted that I was trying to make quiet books for the girls..... well they are finally finished!!

They went with us to England and were great for keeping the girls entertained in restuarants and for short periods at my folks. The problem we had with them however was that Enya can't read/play with hers in the car as she gets car sick (poor kid gets it from me!). This of course meant that Ciara was not allowed to play with hers in the car either or tantrums ensue.

Without futher ado the pictures

The quilted front covers- my first attempts at free hand quilting
Enya spirals, Ciara hearts

Daisys we´re still practicing buttoning!

Shoes We haven't really started on these skills so not yet in use

Owls and Pigtails these pages are a huge favorite, clicking the leaves back onto the tree, tucking the owl back into his hole and playing with the girls hair

Clasps Ciara has conquored these 2 pages, Enya is still working on them

Cars Another huge favorite, probably the pages they play with the most for which I'm very grateful as these pages were very time consuming to make and personalise. My favorite pages too!

Letters Again not yet in use although they both recognise the first letters of their names as well those of my baby sisters and Z's.

If Z and I can just agree on the rules We'll start teaching them the rules for these games next: Noughts and Crosses (played with buttons instead) and Nine Mans Morris


A couple of friends have hinted they would like a quiet book for their kids for christmas, Given how long it's taken me and the fact I'm in the middle of knitting Ciara a jersey it certainly won't be happening this christmas!

PS had the 4 year old well child visit yesterday, need to go back in 6 weeks to get Enya's hearing tested again- they think she may have hearing problems, I think she just didn't want to co operate. She is great on non co operation!!

Eating update

I've been meaning to do an update on eating forever but just never got around to it.

We've been making gradual progress recently- for the longest time C and E refused to eat ANY fruit or veg. Enya occasionally could be convinced to eat apple but THAT WAs IT!! Finito no other veg/fruit passed their lips.

I discovered a book which gave me some peace of mind- it is full of sneaky recipes to get healthy stuff past the kids radar. Brownies with spinach and blueberries and the like. The best part is I don't feel guilty when they ask for more, I quite happily let them try more (yes, I know the amounts per brownie are quite small but it's still more than they would be getting if they didn't eat them). This gave me the courage to branch out and try some other things- pizza now always has an extra layer of pureed veg under the tomato sauce and cereal always has a bottle of baby fruit in it. The best part of it is they like the baby fruit so much they get a bottle to eat at kindergarten instead of the normal youghurt at break time.

They have also rediscovered avo and banana puree which is now a hot favorite at dinner time and are even trying corn on the cob. Previously they would refuse to try anything new, now they are prepared to lick new things and if the taste agrees, will then try a spoon. I know it's baby steps but we are making progress. Enya has even extended to begging Z for his tuna jacket potato, potatoes were a huge no-no. I must have the only kids in the world that refuse to eat french fries and crisps.

So in summary we are slowly expanding the repertoire of fruits and vegs that will be tried although we still have a LONG way to go. Hey it took me over 30 years to start eating anything other than peas, corn, carrots and apple so I guess genes do breed true ;0)

PS the girls have shot up again: Ciara is now 109cm tall (43 inches) and Enya is
104cm (41 inches).

Monster Party

Having celebrated C and E's actual birthday in England with my folks [photo and post still to come....maybe;0)], we had the german celebrations last weekend. The weather was surprisingly fantastic considering that this summer has been one of the wettest on record. After a horrible last week we had over 25 C with sunshine on Saturday, we even had to borrow umbrellas to shade the terrace so we wouldn't get grilled during lunch.

As you already know I often refer to the girls as monsters (my pet name for them- not meant as an insult) so I thought it fitting to give them a monster party- they were delighted!

We were once again up until 3am the night before (morning of) the party but I think the cake, biscuits and party treats were worth the effort. I'll admit I chickened out of inviting loads of kindergarten friends to the party, we had 9 kids there as it was! However next year I'm going to have to host a kiddys only party and I'm shaking in my boots already (any offers of assistance will be gratefully accepted- mom, Ren and Jax ;0))

birthday cake

The 5 candle and cookies is because one of the boys invited had his birthday actually on the Saturday (he is celebrating later as all his friends are still away for the summer holidays)

Sugar cookies my latest hobby



The kids are still to impatient for proper party games so instead we did a bit of gingerbread decorating, which was fun for young and old alike! The best part was when they got tired of decorating, they just started eating the deco instead!

Enya
Ciara


Other party fun was trampolining (the girls got an early birthday present at the start of summer of a huge trampoline) and harvesting our landlords plums and blackberrys for them. The kids had a great time climbing trees and filling buckets-isn't great when chores are regarded as fun!

We finally got to bed about 2am that night but it was a great day and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Planning has already begun for next yeat!!!

Beach shot

We've jsut come back from a wonderful visit to England and Wales (our first since the girls were born). Contrary to the image portrayed here we didn't have such great weather but when we did manage to get to the beach the girls had a blast running away from the waves.

What we've been up to

Time seems to be running away from me lately, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do and something had to give! I'm afraid it has been the computer time, I manage to get to my computer rarely nowdays and when I do I usually do a quick blog check and that's it.

What I have been doing though is lots of sewing (had to wait for my baby sisters birthday before I could do the big reveal on her birthday quilt).

The next photo shows the colours better


I also got inspired by another multiples mother to try make a quiet book


Needless to say still got lots of ideas that I need to turn into pages and at least some of the pages need to be put together by the end of the month as we are off to Munich for a weeks holiday with friends and it's a looooong drive there!

And before you all think I'm forgetting about the girls, Today was the opening of the german walking season again (May day = national german walking day). We were out with our Bollerwagen and a glorious day was had by all. We walked about 2km to a playground, spent the entire day there picknicking and playing and then walked the 2km back. The day was particularly memorable as we had no pram- the girls did it all on their own 2 feet, no lifts in the bollerwagen or carrying, they even carried their own drink and snacks. More importantly they were playing with out us having to get involved every few minutes, and we managed almost the whole day without any temper tantrums. I am so loving this age!!!

A new found love- SEESAWS


BollerwagenNo, we still only have the 2 kids, the baby in the middle belongs to friends. However I may have to steal her as she ate a packet of 250g of tomatoes all by herself! My kids still have to eat a single tomato!

Right now C and E love making beds everywhere- if only they would sleep in them (yes Ciara is still waking EVERY night at 2 am and crawling into my bed. The worst of it is if I take her back to her bed, she comes straight back to me and if I go anywhere else to get away from her, she follows me!)

Walking walking



PS sorry for the sideways pictures, for some reason the program I usually use to manipulate my pictures doesn't like the photos from our new camera so I can't do anything with them.

Whoops

Did I fall off the end of the world or what?

Nope I just got busy with my life and had no urge to post. I was debating if i should keep this blog open but now that my elder sister has moved to THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD (I am so jealous!!) I suppose I ought to.

so what has been going on in the last 2 months........

....... not all that much really. Our camera is broken so I can't even pacify you with pictures ;0)

Ciara suddenly decided she was done with pull ups overnight- she just stopped peeing overnight without us having to do or say anything. So one child nappy free at long last.

Enya still has spells where she has multiple accidents everyday at kindergarten for a week or so and then is completely dry for next couple of weeks. Not really sure what to do about this and so we're not even thinking about doing the nappyless nighttimes with her yet.

The girls seem to be growing up so fast now, even Enya is losing all her babyness. They both have started telling stories about their experiences at Kindergarten. I do so love what sometimes comes out of their mouths, the different voices and sound effects often just crack me up. They learn so much from the older kids and it's hysterical hearing it all repeated. The latest favorite saying is "you're not my (best)friend anymore", or when the other does something for them "you're my best friend".

Did you know that if you fall over and bang your head (insert appropriate sound effects of a something hitting the floor) you get picked up by the "amblans" and taken to the "fignit shop".... yup that took me a while to work out too. We have since had a discussion about how people go to hospital and cars go to the fix it shop (thank you Finley the Fire Engine)!

Talking about speech: Ciara has cracked the word "yellow" instead of "lellow", she even gets the "th" sound right about 80% of the time, her speech is getting clearer and she does so love to talk. I can remember my mom saying once toddlers start talking people wish they would shut up again, it's not quite that bad but every so often I wish I had some earplugs ;0)

Swimmimg, sleeping and other stuff

Warning: a heavy picture post follows!!

Now that the terrible two are no longer sleeping in cots they have gotten very possessive of their old travelling cot. We'd set it up for a visiting baby and our girls didn't want to give it up!



Peppa pig is absorbing even if you don't understand english (the sons of our best friends in Germany watched an entire 40+ min DVD and were fascinated)


Enya learnt how to put her jacket on all by herself (so what if it's on upside down)


Interesting surprise this morning walking into the bathroom

The mothering the doll phase has started, I love having daughters!


Last but not least we've had another weekend of yucky yucky weather so what did we do?


You got it, we went swimming ;0)

Cheers from the little one

Happiness is

Better late than never, my Christmas present finally arrived last week. Despite being ordered at the beginning of December it took until last week for my Kindle to arrive, but now that it's finally here, I'm in luuuuvvvv.

Needless to say I've been playing lots and have already downloaded over 100 books, now I just have to find the time to read them all as well. I still can't get over how many free ebooks there are out there.

Will get back to C and E posting shortly ;0)

No surgery!!

Her nose is still broken but, now that the swelling has gone down, her nose looks straight. THis means she does NOT need the operation as there is nothing to straighten, WOOHOO! I'm so glad we didn't have to make the call.

She is not to wear her glasses for the next 10 days and under no circumstances is she to get hit on her nose (CIARA!!). I did ask about Kindergarten but as the ENT said, she is as likely to fall at home as at Kindergarten so we will be sending her back there next week. We've got a doctors note for the rest of this week as the girls are still getting over their tummy bug and the paediatrician (yes we visited him too today- it was a long afternoon in various doctors waiting rooms- more than 3 hours with 2 bored cranky little girls) didn't want them going back yet. Ciara has some kind of rash on her hand which he is ascribing to the same viral infection as their tummy bug and so she is not to go back until that is gone.

So another day of watching Peppa Pig (the girls are addicted) and playing The Big Bobby Car Game or fishing coming up. Maybe we will even get a let up from the persistant rain and get to go ride the striders out on the terrace!

P.S. recently witnessed scene

Enya made a mess while eating breakfast and to try and hide it covered it with her bowl, Ciara witnessing this tattle taled to Z
C: "Enya made a mess"
E: "no I didn't"
C: "you made a mess"
E; "no I didn't"
C (getting a bit upset): "yes you did"
E: "no I didn't"
C (now almost in tears): "You did make a mess"
E (moves the bowl aside): "Did I?... " (peers over at Ciara with her head tilted to one side and smiles sweetly) "Okay"
Poor Ciara doesn't stand a chance

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!