3/11/2012

For my sister

and all you other runners (and triathletes) out there



Well done, Ulli! Bring your running shoes next time you come over!

3/09/2012

Friday night picture

By the way, I'll be 37 soon (eeeeek!), and all I want for my birthday is a bottle of Campari and THIS. I laughed so hard when I came across this picture. Isn't it awesome?

Finn and Lily tearing up the house around me, screaming and fighting? Phone ringing every 10 minutes? Appointments, schedules, food burning on the stove? Neil on a business trip - again?

W.H.O.   C.A.R.E.S.  AAAAAAAH.


Still here, still alive

It's MARCH, can you believe it?! We are very ready for spring here. It is still quite cold, especially in the morning, but the first flowers are poking their heads through the grass and when the sun is shining it is so nice out. We are back to riding bikes and scooters, playing in the yard and going for long walks with baby in the stroller.

We, especially baby and me, are also spending a lot of time with an extremely fabulous couple - her new long term foster parents! It turned out that being reunited with her birth mother is not an option anymore (at least for now), so a long term foster home was found. (We only do emergency/short term foster care, which is rare in our area, so we were not even asked if we wanted to keep her.) The official moving date will be April 1st, and she will be six months old! Where has time gone? The original "three weeks" of emergency foster care somehow turned into 5+ months. It's been such a joy and a privilege to have her with us. A short time in our arms - forever in our hearts!
The little one is (of course) very attached to all of us, especially to me, but she is getting used to her new home and her new parents. We are trying to make the transition for her as smooth as we can. Her bond with us is as strong as ever (we are not trying to de-attach her in any way), but we are helping her to spread her little wings and form new bonds as well. So far things are going very well, and she will have a wonderful new home. We will stay in touch (it helps that she will live close by), and have already offered our babysitting services. :)

Meanwhile, Finn and Lily are being their usual rambunctious selves, going to Kindergarten, doing crafts (like the masks in the pictures), driving their mama crazy, spilling their juice, tracking mud through the house, smothering me (and baby, and Neil when he is home) with hugs and kisses, fighting over toys, playing together like the best friends that they are, and coming up with the funniest things.

Lily is teaching herself how to write, and was all proud when she figured out how to spell "tooth". It looks like this: "2F". The kid has instant text messaging down already. R u ready 4 this? I'm not.

In other news, Finn has decided he wants to be called "Benjamin" from now on. English pronunciation please, not German. And Ben WILL NOT do. Benjamin.
Lily, not to be outdone, changed her first name to "Rosenkohl".  It's German. If you don't know what it means, look it up. Why the heck she wants to be called a vegetable she doesn't even like, I don't know. At least it's in the plant family, like Lily, right?


2/17/2012

Friday Night Quote

Lazy weekends are the best

We love weekends. Who doesn't? Mostly, we do a whole lot of nothing. We sleep, eat, and play. Finn and Lily might or might not get out of their PJs. If they do get "dressed", they might end up looking like this. Finn is a pirate, Lily is a sleeping Indian and Neil disguised himself as a dishevelled, tired, why-wasn't-it-my-turn-to-sleep-in daddy.


Naps are a big hit with 3 of the 5 family members, or 5 out of 7 if you count the cats.


Then it's time to play some more: piggy back rides for the baby


or race cars for Finn and Lily. Actually, I bought this toy for myself, believe it or not. I've always wanted a race track, and when I saw this on sale I couldn't resist. It's fun!


Then it's time for another snooze.

And for cuddling, this way


and that.


In other news, we had a bit of a rough week, but we are all on the mend. Lily had a bad cough and high fever, so she stayed home with baby and me and slept a lot.


Here she is sharing her cold cloth with little sister, who apparently had a headache just like her big sister.


And - the little one started teething. Nothing like a cold baby carrot to cool those sore gums!


Thursday and Friday were carnival days at Kindergarten. Lily was sufficiently recovered to attend, and of course she wanted to be a princess. Finn was torn between his King costume and being a pirate, but his fierce and fearsome self won out in the end.

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Have a good weekend, everyone!
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2/10/2012

Friday Night Quote

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In light of Valentine's Day coming up:
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So happy I did.