A day of play

Cassidy love drawing and painting. A few days ago, she was playing with a friend who showed Cassidy how to make black paint out of charcoal briquettes. Cassidy talked about it for a week. Today Cassidy found some bricks at the house next door. It is being gutted. She spent forever pounding the bricks to create a powder. She added water to it and made red and white paint. This is what she created.

















She got Zachary in on the action.

Zachary's days

A long day at school makes for a tired little boy. Zachary loved going to school. He races Thomas to the door every morning. He also is such a gentleman and opens the door for everyone. It is a bit frustrating, because I want to just get his jacket off him and put on his house shoes, but he wants to hold the door for everyone. He plays hard and always eats all his snacks. When I pick him up in the afternoon, he runs to me saying "mommy" and gives me a huge hug. Then he proceeds to tell me he ate his snacks all gone.

We get home from school and I try everything to keep Zachary from taking a nap. Because if he does nap, he will never go to bed. So today he asked if he and Thomas could play Super Mario Wii. I thought it was a great idea, Zachary was tired after school. I planned on letting them play while I made dinner, then get him to bed early. Well, as you see Zachary was more tired than I thought. Zachary laid down while still playing, then Luigi died and Zachary fell asleep. Or did Zachary fall asleep and then Luigi died, I am not sure.

Sleepover

Well Zachary had a friend sleeping over, so Cassidy prepared a club house for her and Thomas to sleep in. She draped blankets over the chair, but made cracks so light could still get through. She carefully placed her favorite animals around, to keep them company. She brought in her flashlight, so she could read Thomas stories. Thomas only spent on night in the club house, but Cassidy stayed there all weekend.


Zachary and Frank stayed in the same room. When I put them to bed, I could hear them arguing over whose birthday it was. The now 3 year old was arguing with a 2 year old. It was quite funny. For about 30 minutes you could hear "Its my birthday." "No, its my birthday." "No, its MY birthday." Then Zachary finally changed the subject and started singing "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ" to Frank. It is Zachary's favorite song.

Zachary's Birthday

Zachary celebrated his 3rd birthday. We happened to be watching our friends' 2 year old for the weekend, so we invited two more boys over and had a party. We ordered a huge pizza and just let the kids play.


Zachary wanted a dinosaur birthday cake. So this is what I came up with. It looks a little like a dragon to me. But he loved it and that is what counts.


Zachary is patiently waiting to blow out his candles while we sing the Happy Birthday song.



























Zachary got cars, books, clothes, and Gater Golf.

Fasching Parade in Stuttgart

Fasching is Germany's Carnival or Mardi Gras. Fasching starts on November 11th at exactly 11:11am. And ends at the stroke of midnight on Fat Tuesday. It is a time to break the rules and make fun of those who make them. There is not much Fasching activity until February, then almost every town will celebrate it. There are parades every weekend.

Cassidy had the week off school, so I thought we should go to a parade. We dropped the boys off at a friends house and took the train into Stuttgart. It was a great day. Cassidy and I had time to talk and I didn't have to worry about traffic and parking. I also was able to really talk to her, because in the Suburban it can be very difficult to talk when she sits way in the back. We had fun watching all the people on the train, many of which were dressed up for the parade.

We soon discovered that Fasching is not for the timid. The costumes are scary. Zachary and Thomas would not have enjoyed it. They threw candy and passed out stickers and popcorn balls.

They also played tricks on the onlookers. If you see Cassidy above, she is laughing because the witch just stole her hat. The witch came and just pulled it off her head. Then as Cassidy tried to grab it, the witch kept raising it up out of reach. Some kids came prepared to fend of the witched antics. Many of them would spray silly string at the witches if they got too close.

This blue witch may seem nice, but one of her friends smeared black paint on my face. The witch came and gave a child in front of me some popcorn, then walked past me. Then I felt something on my cheek. I turned to see the witch right next to me!! I yelled for Cassidy to help me, but she just laughed. Then after the witch left, Cassidy let me know my face was all black. I liked this boat it was loaded with confetti. Cassidy and I were covered in confetti by the time the parade was over.

















Fasching dates back to medieval times in Germany. The Rhineland area was divided and ruled by many kings. They used Fasching as a time to flaunt their riches and outdo each other. But it is now associated a time to cup loose before Lent.

The Thursday before Ash Wednesday it is Weiberfastnacht, or Women's carnival night. The women are allowed to kiss any man they like. I must have been at home asleep this night, I never saw any of this promiscuity. But also on this day, it is tradition to cut off men's ties. If you drive through the small towns you will see ties hanging over the streets. You will also find witches on the sides of buildings and hanging out windows in houses.

Our Day's Adventures

Stewart actually had a day off from work and it was a holiday at that. So he was chosen to be a driver for our churches youth outing today. They were short on vehicles and we have a Suburban. So he took Cassidy and a bunch of kids to Freiberg for a sledding adventure. They had a great time, but didn't get much more than that out of them. Cassidy has the week off of school, it is Fasching break.

I on the other had took the boys to school. And came home and cleaned up the house. Stewart and Cassidy wouldn't get home until after 5pm so I thought I would take the boys to a matinee. The Princess and the Frog was playing and I would really like to see it. I know the boys would like the popcorn. So after I picked them up from school we headed to the movie. Zachary fell asleep on the way. Thomas told me, he was going to close his eyes for a bit, and I could wake him up when we got to the theater. So when I parked I tried and tried to wake Thomas up from his nap. I even unbuckled him from the car and tried to stand him up. His knees kept buckling and his head flopped forward. I could take Zachary to the movie asleep, but Thomas is getting too big to carry, he needed to walk. I ended putting Thomas back in the car and drive home. Thomas woke up when I got him out of the car and we curled up on the couch and watched Planet 51. Zachary stayed asleep.

Happy Valentine's Day

I was pulled out of bed this morning by the kids. Luckily it was 8:30, so I got up and followed a trail of rocks around the house. On my way around the house I found my Valentine's gifts. The kids had made me pictures and decorations. Stewart had his own trail of rocks to follow that led to a Hershey's candy bar that Cassidy had bought for him. She wanted to buy me a Dove chocolate rose, but they were out of them at the store.


It was now time to get ready for church. I piled the kids in the car and gave them their Leapsters while I finished gathering my things up. I also laid heart trails for the kids to follow when we get home from church. After church I gave Cassidy a pink heart that said "Follow Me", Thomas had a white heart and Zachary had a red heart. The kids had to follow their color of heart trails to find their surprises. They loved collecting all the candy.

After they collected all their hearts, I set them up with a bag of candy and a card for Stewart. They had fun laying a trail of hearts for Dad to follow. But they liked hiding his candy even more (inside mittens, hats and gloves). We ended the evening with our traditional Valentine's Day dinner; pink heart shaped pancakes and pink milk.

Wandering in the Snow

The boys and I went to Cassidy's school to pick her up today and decided to take a little walk in the snow. Actually I noticed some people dressed up for Fasching in our town center. So wandered that direction. But by the time we got there they were all heading home. But we enjoyed the walk and the kids liked throwing snow and icicles in the river.

Schwarz und Weiß Tag

Thomas and Zachary's kindergarten had a Schwarz und Weiß Tag (a black and white day). They could dress up as anything as long as it was black and white. Thomas as well as many other kids were pirates. Zachary was the only bat, although there was a Batman. There were many clowns and snowmen. This celebration was their way of celebrating Fashing, but in an educational way. They talk all week about things that are black and white. A few years ago the kindergarten was run by the Protestant Sisters in our town. They did not allow any Fashing celebrations. But now they celebrate it with a breakfast feast and dressing up. They also played Schneeman und Eisbär (snowman and polar bear).

Our 2010 Snowman

The snow was finally just right to build a snowman. The snow has been very light and dry this winter so our snowman has had to wait. Finally the snow and weather were just right on a day Stewart had off. So Stewart, with the help of the kids made a snowman. The kids had a great time. I think the boys really just liked showing Daddy what they could do on their sleds.