This weekend the plan was for me and the boys to bake a gingerbread house. Unfortunately, this morning I realized that though I had bought more butter at the store yesterday (no idea why; our gingerbread recipe doesn’t even call for butter), I had forgotten to get more flour (and let’s just say the recipe calls for lots of flour). Which meant that we would have to go shopping again today. And as we also needed various kinds of candy (after all, that is what gingerbread houses are all about) the limited-selection discount store in town wasn’t the best choice.
Now, the town we live in isn’t big but it just so happens that we live at one end and the stores are right at the other end. It isn’t a huge distance but it does take me a good 25 minutes to get there (on my own, without the kids). That still wouldn’t be a big problem but for one fact: our stroller is BROKEN.
If you are reading this you might well think a stroller is superfluous for an almost four year old. Unfortunately, B. doesn’t see it that way. To be honest, I am even more attached to the stroller than he is. We do not have a car so have to run all errands on foot. And let’s just say it isn’t exactly fun to drag a tired three year old across town to get a couple of stamps from the post office. Even more important, the stroller is very convenient for putting the shopping in. I absolutely hate, hate, hate walking all through town carrying bags with bottles of soda, bags of flour, cans of beans etc.
We managed the shopping today, even if I had to resort to bribing the boys with a short visit to the local McDonalds (also located at the other end of town). Still, it was rather a big production (and I forgot several items again!) So, much as I dislike the idea, I think we might be getting a new (or more accurately, a gently-used) stroller. Actually, the way things are looking right now, B. might still be riding in a stroller when he enters high-school.

Yes, this post is a bit late but not as late as you may think (and you may have already noticed that I have a bit of a problem sticking to schedules - but I am working on it, honest). We live overseas and Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated here. That has never bothered me much, we just went ahead and had our turkey anyway. However, this year I am attending classes and I didn’t feel quite justified in skipping class to stay home and stuff the turkey. Luckily, I also realized that trying to prepare a full Thanksgiving dinner after getting home at 2pm with two tired and cranky kids might not be the best way to celebrate a day of thanksgiving.

Therefore, I just decided to postpone Thanksgiving a little bit and we celebrated it today, on Sunday. And let’s just say that was a wise choice as it was still stressful enough. Not horribly, need-to-complain-about-it stressful but just enough to realize that it would have been a disaster in the middle of the work-week.

Today went fine though and I was very happy with the meal (the kids less so as you’ll see in a minute). We had turkey (obviously), stuffing (I LOVE the plain old bread stuffing), gravy (which the kids thought rather gross but I thought was fine), cranberry sauce (which at least B. really liked), sweet n sour beans (which I love and the boys at least tolerate), Pioneer Woman’s mashed potatoes (which even J. declared “better than I expected”), creamy corn (love it because it is the easiest dish ever) and marinated carrots (I like them, nobody else does). I also made some pecan pie but we haven’t tasted it yet because we were too full.

J. was really a great helper with the cooking. You know how they always tell you to get kids involved in cooking in order to get them to enjoy new foods? Not true in our case. J. basically didn’t eat anything (maybe a spoonful of cranberry sauce?). B. ate loads of cranberry sauce and a little bit of the other sides. However, he announced he wouldn’t touch any turkey (I think it finally dawned on him that meat comes from animals). He said “turkeys don’t like Thanksgiving” which is probably true enough. J. didn’t say anything but I noticed that he didn’t touch his meat at all (not surprising then that I buy the smallest turkey I can find).

As you can imagine we have lots of leftovers. Still, the food turned out well, even the turkey (last year I overcooked the bird till it was dry as dust - yes, I am paranoid in regard to food poisining) and I didn’t stress too much.

Grandpa took the boys on a small outing in the afternoon which left me enough peace and quiet to think about the meaning of the holiday. And you know what? Maybe to an outsider my life doesn’t seem exactly charmed but all in all I feel truly blessed. There is so much I can be thankful for and very little I would like to change (okay, I wouldn’t mind winning the lottery). Healthy, happy kids, a fairly comfortable home, friends and plenty of interests. What more could you want?

Christmas is really coming close now. I can’t believe St. Martin’s (November 11 th) is right around the corner. High time to start making our St. Martin’s lanterns for this year.
One of the nicest traditions here is the annual St. Martin’s parade that takes place right around the Saint’s special day. Usually organized by nursery schools or churches, the observance consists of some sort of family service (with the story of the Saint), followed by a lantern-lit parade through the dark neighborhood and often concludes with some sort of snack/treat.
I guess you could reuse your lantern year after year (if you don’t have a couple of boys who are likely to destroy it the first time around and if you can find it again next year). However, here most preschools/playgroups make one every year. My boys’ preschool never makes St. Martin lanterns. That’s just fine with me as making the lantern is a great activity for Family Moment Monday.

This year J. decided he wanted a Star Lantern. Instead of getting instructions and following a template we just came up with our own version:

All you need to make one of these is some stiff posterboard, transparent paper in various colors, and one of the round cardboard thingies you see in the pictures below.
And here are the instructions:

Cut out two star shapes from the posterboard big enough to cover the round paper thingies. J. was a bit impatient so his stars are a bit small - doesn’t really matter though.

Cut holes into the star shapes.

Cover the holes with transparent paper. Cut a hole in the bottom cardboard circle so that you basically end up with two “rims”. Cut a long piece of cardboard (about 2 to 3 inches wide).

Glue one star on each rim. Use a glue gun to attach the length of cardboard to the two rims (I know, I know - you have no idea what I mean by that. That’s why I have added in the pictures. Take a look at the finished lantern and you’ll see what I am talking about). Make sure to leave a space to put the light through.

And there you go, one cool St. Martin lantern. I will post later this week about our St. Martin’s celebration on Tuesday and the lantern walk which is scheduled for next Sunday.

The other day (I’ll admit it was over a week ago; I just didn’t get around to posting) I took the boys to the local children’s museum. That is always a fun trip in itself, but now, before Christmas, they are offering a special activity that I love (we already took part in this program last year): All about chocolate.

Yes, you heard right. Chocolate can be quite educational. And if you like chocolate as much as I and B., you’ll be delighted to hear it. Anyway, I realized that many of the activities could just as well be done at home, either in a homeschooling context or just for fun. So I thought I would give you a quick rundown on what we did and you can pick and choose any (or all) of the activities you would like to do with your kids.

Part One: Where does cocoa come from?
In the first part of the program they explain basically that cocoa is a main ingredient of chocolate and where it comes from. Some (and admittedly the most interesting parts) of this you won’t be able to do but here goes:

• Talk about what gives chocolate its taste (cocoa) and where cocoa grows (rainforest)
• Look at a globe or map and let kids identify where there is rainforest (right around the equator). They also put on a CD with “rainforest sounds” which was fun.
• At the museum they had a fake cocoa tree to look at. You probably don’t have one at home (though you never know). Still, you might be able to see one at a botanical garden etc. If not, just find a picture in a book (not quite the same but still).
• Then everyone got to taste a real cocoa seed. Probably you won’t get to do this at home but don’t worry - it doesn’t taste good at all.
• Here a quick info on how cocoa is made: First the fruits are cut off the trees with big knifes. Then they are put under huge leaves in the sun and left there until the fruit rots away (yuck, that may be more than you wanted to know). Later the cocoa beans are roasted to give them the right taste.



• At that point the kids got some cocoa beans that they had to grind to a powder on a huge mortar and pestle. Unless you have access to cocoa beans (we don’t) you’ll have a hard time to recreate this part of the project. If you think your kids would really get into this activity (or if you just want to show them the hard work involved in making cocoa the old-fashioned way) you could just do it with some other kind of bean
• Then hot cocoa was prepared by pouring hot water over the ground cocoa (you could easily do this with store-bought cocoa). Now, without sugar this will not taste very good. However, that was the way the Aztecs originally prepared it and “chocolate” actually means “bitter water”. The aztecs even added other spices to make it spicier.

Part Two: Make your own chocolate
Next the kids got to make their very own chocolate. All you need for this is cocoa powder, powdered sugar, powdered milk and coconut butter.
Just mix 1 teaspoon each of cocoa powder and coconut butter with 1/2 teaspoon of powdered milk and powdered sugar in a small pot and warm gently (best in a hot water bath) while stirring constantly.
Once the mixture is a smooth consistency you pour it into small molds and let it sit for a bit to harden. Voila - your very own chocolate. Of course you can experiment by varying the amounts of sugar/cocoa and by adding nuts etc.

Part Three: Tasty treats with chocolate
The kids then went ahead and made three different types of treats:

• The littlest kids used a small brush to smear melted chocolate on Graham Cookies. Yum.
• The bigger kids made some sort of chocolate truffles with ground nuts. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the recipe but I am sure you can find one you could substitute.
• My boys made almond splitters:
1. Boil some water and put a bunch of almonds in for a couple of minutes. After that the kids can easily slip off the almond skin (or of course you could buy your almonds already prepared)
2. The kids cut the almonds into long, thin slices (yes, my three year old did this but you’ll definitely have to be there and watch little ones)



3. Pour the almond pieces into melted chocolate, mix together well and drop by spoonfuls on a piece of baking paper. Let cool off (best in the fridge) until firm.
4. Enjoy!

I have a fairly lengthy post sitting in my draft folder about the need to take a step back and cut down on outside obligations. The draft is a couple of weeks old and things have changed too much to use it now. Instead, I will give a quick rundown.

Mostly, I have found myself over-extended by loads of volunteer work that I did for the boys’ preschool. It had gotten rather out of hand and I found myself spending most mornings working on all the associated stuff (payroll, contracts, financing etc). Anyway, it took a lot of sould searching but finally I did get my act together and stepped down from the office I held. Hopefully, by next week I will be out of the loop completely. My only obligation will be to take B. there in the morning and pick him up on time. Though I am a bit sorry to leave that job, I mostly feel vastly relieved.

However, if I was hoping that I would now have more time to spend on various projects (this blog for one) I was mistaken. With B. now in preschool I have started looking for a job which unfortunately is not going so well (no part-time jobs in my field available, definitely not for a single mom of two small kids). For a while now I was supposed to start some training the Unemployment Agency will pay for. The classes repeatedly rescheduled until I wasn’t really expecting to attend anymore. However, now I will start TOMORROW.

Yikes! My feelings are mixed. I will get some extra money (the UA will pay childcare and commuting expenses) which is nice. On the other hand I am rather doubtful whether the training will really help me to gain new skills (most of the points on the class schedule do not look too challenging) and doubt that passing the class will help me find a job (I will still be a single mom with two kids looking for part-time work). Still, I will have to see and hopefully, the training will be more useful than I anticipate.

One thing is sure. I will have even less time available for doing other things. I will definitely make this blog a major priority but of course the kids have to come first. I will update everyone on how it is going as soon as I find a minute but in the meantime, I do apologize if the posts do not appear as regularly as I had intended.

Yes, I know. I promised I would post more regularly (after all, don’t you hate to stop by someone’s blog just to see the same old experiment/craft/lament/book review etc. AGAIN?) and I have failed badly. It has been a very busy week but as good as that is in some respects (can you say money, money, money) I feel guilty for neglecting this place.

Anyway, I thought I would post at least a short update on what is going on around here:

- The classes I was scheduled to attend starting next Monday were cancelled - again. I would be more upset about that if I hadn’t already been worrying how I could possibly fit it into my crammed schedule.

- B. enjoys going to preschool again. I think the clingy behavior I saw a little while ago was mostly due to the change of being there without his brother and to the fact that he had to stay late there so much at the end of the last school year. B. really enjoys many of the new kids at the preschool who are about his own age (last year most were kindergarten age).

- So far J. loves school. Having to get up while it is still dark and spending almost two hours daily going to the bus stop, waiting for the bus and riding in the bus are not so good but otherwise he enjoys it. He is into Space at the moment after brief interests in Moldau (music/river) and skateboard ramps (yes, he felt we desperately needed one and was only dissuaded by the argument that spending $6000 on a skateboard ramp if we don’t even own a skateboard is not in the cards). He has been playing some of the fun games at Nasa for Kids and also drew a chart with all the planets (including Pluto because “even though it isn’t any longer a planet it is still there”). J. really likes to use his budding writing skills to label and enhance his projects now.

- After volunteering fairly extensively at the boys’ preschool last year I had to face the facts and admit that I could no longer continue to hold my office and do a good job with it as it just ate up too much time. Luckily, it was fairly easy to find a replacement, and we are now in the transitioning phase. Hopefully, I will be mostly done with it by the end of next week and by the end of the month I should be completely free of it. Hurrah!

- I volunteered (do you see a pattern here) at J’s school to make some crafts for the Christmas market stall. Hopefully, I can get started with that soon and let you have pictures/instructions for the decorations I am going to make.

- The house is a complete mess (if you thought this blog was a low priority in my life you haven’t seen what our playroom looks like). The weather is very fall-like and quite gorgeous at times.

Ooops - if I am starting to comment on the weather it seems I am running out of material for this post. At least now you have some idea of what’s been going on around here and the next post shouldn’t be too far off (still hoping to stick to my Christmas post on Saturday Schedule).

I have always been fascinated with Egypt. Even as a child I really wanted to go there to see the pyramids. And let’s face it, what’s not to like about buried treasures, mysterious buildings, hidden chambers and the spooky threat of a mummy’s curse?
So when I saw the new line of Playmobil I was pretty fascinated. Sorry, the Egyptian stuff won’t be out until next year in the US, but if you want to have a peek at what it looks like you can do so here. DS was completely enthralled. He has spent hours pouring over the Playmobil catalogue, trying to figure out how everything works.
I would almost be tempted to buy some of this for Christmas if I thought the boys would actually play with it. Don’t get me wrong, I think Playmobil is great stuff and I know many children who play for hours and hours with it. Unfortunately, at least my older boy is not a “player” but a “builder”. We do have some Playmobil, but it is hardly ever used because it isn’t really a building toy and that is all we like around here. Nevertheless, I am still tempted to buy it (it is NEAT) but hopefully I will hold out and instead get something we’ll really use.
J. has pretty much accepted this (though he is still dreaming about getting the entire set). As a second best he now has built a Lego-Pyramid (complete with smaller pyramids for the queens) and a second one out of cardboard for B. They are really nice (but don’t get played with either).
Your kids (unlike mine) are “players” and you love the idea of Playmobil’s history toys but you need a Christmas present for this year and can’t wait for the Egyptian stuff? Take a look at some of the other Playmobil sets already available. If you (or your kids) are as fascinated by history as I am, you might enjoy either the Playmobil Castle or the Roman Arena pictured below.

Have you had enough fruit posts for a while? Never fear. This time we’ll talk about something completely different - vegetables!
It is still harvest season and today we did something that is especially fun for the kids (and me). Actually, it is kind of like a treasure hunt - digging for potatoes. We do not eat lots of potatoes at our house (we are more the pasta and bread people) but every spring we beg Grandpa to plant some potatoes. Not a lot - maybe fifteen or so. Now I have shared before that I am not much of a gardener, but I do think potatoes are fairly foolproof. Basically, you just have to make sure the potatoes are covered with soil all the time (or they’ll turn green and inedible), keep off some of the weeds and water them occasionally. Then, when fall comes around, you wait for the potato plant that you see above the ground to kind of whither. And finally, the best thing of all, rooting around in the dirt to find your “treasure”.

Someone had a great time!

As I said, we are not usually big potato eaters, but both boys enjoy potato soup so that is what we cooked up. It is really easy too:

1. Wash and peel potatoes (I use about 4 medium sized ones for the three of us) and cut into small pieces.
2. Put water into a pot and add potatoes. Simmer gently. Now don’t ask me how much water to add as it really depends on the number of potatoes. Just use your own judgement. Make sure the potatoes are well covered and keep an eye on it while it is cooking. Add water as needed.
3. After about 30 to 40 minutes the potatoes should be tender. Smush them up (I use a small blender) and add water if the consistency is too thick. Add in salt, pepper and any other spices you like (we usually add hot sauce). Cook a bit longer.
4. You can add some cream in with the soup (which I like but the boys don’t so we skip that step) and add sausages or bacon pieces if you like. (I do)

Watch for more potato recipes to come in the days ahead as we still have plenty left!



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I have noticed that my boys tend to like those books best that we have used as basis for some special project or activity.

They love Three Billy Goats Gruff. This traditional folktale tells the story of three brother goats who want to cross a bridge which is barred by a hungry troll. We build a bridge out of cushions, chairs etc. and reenact the story. It is one of their favorite activities (especially the part where they get to push the mama troll off the bridge into the water).

They also hugely enjoy Ox-Cart Man, the story of a farmer of the past who travels to town in order to sell all the surplus his family has grown or made in the course of a year. We build up a pretend cart and load it with all the products mentioned in the story (guess who has to turn the house upside down to find a good replica of wooden shingles and goose feathers?). After dragging the cart around a bit, a makeshift store is set up and all the products are sold to customers (at least that way I get my broom back!).

We used salt-dough to make dozens of small cats to re-play Millions of Cats, the story of a man who takes a long trip to find the most beautiful cat of all. When he can not decide which of the millions and billions and trillions of cats he finds is the prettiest, he just takes them all. But what will his wife say to that?

One of our all-time favorites is The Three Little Pigs. We have played it with small figurine pigs as well as by building little “houses” for ourselves. What could be more fun than shouting “then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in”? Well, actually saying “not by the hair of our chinny chin chins” is even more fun!

But yesterday the boys chose another book for their dramatic play. Caps for Sale is a simple story of a peddler whose merchandise, a bunch of caps, is taken by some monkeys while he takes a nap. My little one was the peddler while big brother played the mischievous monkeys. They sure had a good time!

The peddler with all the caps still on his head

I am really excited. My big boy (just turned six a couple of days ago) has finally shown some interest in reading and has read the first two Bob Books by himself.

I have been hoping for a while that he would show some interest in learning how to read. Of course there is no rush, but he will start school this fall. And while I am very confident that he will learn to read German there, it is also important to me that he learn to read in English. As the sounds of some letters are quite different in the two languages I figured that it would be confusing for him to learn both at the same time. So I have made a couple of attempts to teach him to read, using Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons.

I have heard so many positive comments about this book and do think it looks good. However, either my son wasn’t yet ready to learn to read or it is just the wrong approach for him. Basically, he hated it. I think it was mainly that he had such high expectations for himself (as in “I will look at the book and will be able to read right away”). He didn’t understand the point of doing the various exercises and just felt confused by it. We did fight our way through a couple of the lessons and I do think he learned quite a bit. However, he disliked it so much that we stopped after just a short time.

Anyway, we haven’t really done anything else to faciliate reading other than pointing out an occasional letter etc… But the other day I heard him read the first Bob book to his brother, all on his own, without any prompting from me. He was so excited! I remember the excitement of learning to read from my own childhood and am so happy that he has found an approach he likes.