Es wird Frühling!!!!!

Es ist Frühling geworden hier im Süden von Louisiana. Vorbei die Zeit der wunderschönen, aber eisigen Sonnenaufgänge.

Das Holz vor der Hütte ist so gut wie aufgebraucht. Es war echt Zeit.

Ich meine, niemand hat mir zuvor erzählt, dass es hier doch tatsächlich so kalt werden kann. Egal, wir schauen nach vorne, lassen die Kälte und hoffentlich alle Krankheiten hinter uns.
Der Garten erwacht zu neuem Leben.

Die ersten Flecken Klee arbeiten sich durchs erfrorene Gras

Rosmarin und Zitronenmelisse sind die einzigen Überlebenden im Kräutergarten.
RIP Basilikum, Pfefferminz, Thymian( an dich hatte ich wirklich geglaubt), Schnittlauch,Koriander und Petersilie. Ihr werdet radikal ersetzt durch hoffentlich einsatzwilligere Geschwister!

Yey, meine Hortensie scheint den Winter überlebt zu haben!!!!
Die Aufräumarbeiten haben pünktlich an Luciens 2. Geburtstag begonnen!

Viele Äste= viel Feuer

Pimp my Porch mit neuen Farnen
Ms Stella und Mr Lucien haben auch ihren Teil beigetragen:

Aufbau des Trampolins. Ist das jetzt Kinderarbeit?????

Chillen nach getaner Arbeit auf dem eben aufgebauten Trampolin

Bäume klettern scheint der neue Trend für diesen Frühling zu werden

Aaaaach wie idylisch, wir können doch sicherlich kein Wässerchen trüben!
Keine 5 Minuten später...

GROUNDED! So süss kann ´Time Out´ aussehen
Ich glaube die brauchen mehr (Kinder) arbeit:

Stellas Bohnensetzlinge und Lucien hatte Melonen, die allerdings bereits den Tod durch Ertrinken erlitten haben

Mittagessen im Truck, just for fun
Der neue Gemüsegarten macht auch Fortschritte:

Aus alten Eisenbahnschienen/ Untergrundhölzern haben wir zunächst mal 2 grosse Beete angelegt.

Endlich kann mein Mann wieder seine Gerätschaften zum Einsatz bringen


Mehr Kinderarbeit

Die einzige die Zeit für ein Sonnenbad hatte war Püppi, die , wie immer, dabei wa

Puuh, die Anfänge für diesen Frühling wären gemacht! Erst mal ne kleine Verschnaufpause mit ner guten Schokimilch OUTSIDE

Sick

Sick!
Sick with a cold. Well that was to be expected this season, wasn´t it?
Sick; fever, high fever. Why this again? hmmm....
Sick; fever again, this time Lucien, hmmmm maybe teeth???
Sick; is it normal that an almost 2 year old toddler has adapted the big word diarrhea perfectly into his vocabulary?
Sick; ear infection for my sweet girl, another round of antibiotics.
Sick; finally it had gotten Ricky and myself. We were totally knocked out this week by the flu and I am still praying for the kids not to get it. It was rough.
Is anyone asking why I did not work on my blog more frequent??????
This is just a summary of what was going on since New years.
I am sick of being sick.
We need to get better soon
One lesson I have learned this past week, is that not only taking good care of the little ones is important but also taking good care of yourself/myself. I always make sure that they eat very healthy, speaking of tons of fruit and veggies, but what about myself?????. This has to change. I know the kids will keep getting sick with all the kids stuff and I can´t do much more about it than what I already do. But I know, I can do much better on myself. I felt so bad to not be able to take care of my family because I was knocked out by a lil bitty virus, knowing that I could have done more in advance to prevent this szenario . Note to myself: Get flu shots this year for the whole family. Eat better, drink more water, just the things I expect from my kids should count for me aswell.
This is it for now, going to get me a big glass of water( Had an apple and grapes already:) )

It´s good to be two!

My man went hunting this weekend and after a long exhausting week with my sweet lil ones, I came to realize that there is no break for me this weekend. No coffee brought to me in the morning( he seriously brings me my coffee even to the bathroom), no `i´ll take the kids outside so you can do whatever needs to be done, in peace and quiet´; no diaper changes taken away from me; no dishwasher filled by other than my own hands, the dog not fed,,,,, and worst a lonely bed waiting for me!!!
Actually not, cause I am thankful for Stellas queensize bed to snuggle in with her in just a lil while, but still. Sometimes I take my man for granted and I should not. I am so thankful that he is with me on this journey !!!! I could not imagine raising our children without him and I am truly amazed by moms which have to do this on an every day basis. Being a parent is very rewarding, yes, but also very draining at times. I just wish you all have somebody to lean on, someone who shares all the worries and troubles of being a parent sometimes. It makes things so much better. but... I guess I got a little carried away. What I wanted to say was, my man is coming back tomorrow and I can´t wait to have him back and tell him all this in person. NO it´s not about the coffee , it´s about being partners in crime ;)
Until then,,,,,, I CAN DO IT!!!!!!

Instead of New Years Resolutions

Wow this year has passed so fast. It is hard to believe that exactly one year ago, I was sitting in piles of stuff, trying to make everything fit into our bags ,trying to get ready for our adventure to live in the States.
What can I say, we did it and we did it in a very positive way!!! 2010 will always be remembered as one of the most exciting ones so far. We had a lot on our plates. A lot of new things to learn, a lot of tears, a lot of money spent, a lot of fun times, a lot of new people and friends to get to know, a lot of change.......
But I have enough, enough of change. I know change is the only constant thing in my life but still..... It feels kind of good to be settled now.
I tought, instead of writing about New Years resolutions, that might be kept but more likely not, I write about things that possibly won´t ever change. Things about myself, things you might know already, things that might surprise you, things that are just plain simly me, myself and I.
Since I just recently turned 34, I tried to come up with 34 things about myself and let me tell you, this was quite a challenge and a lot of fun( Thanks to Katja and Ricky, who contributed to this personal reflection ;)) Bla bla bla ...... let´s start, I bet you are curious:

1. Lets start easy: My whole entire family has blue eyes
2. I have a serious addiction to the colours brown and green. Just peek in my closet if you get a chance
3. My favorite cities in the world are Stockholm( if it just would not be soooo cold) and Seattle( if it would just not be so rainy)
4. I have only owned 3 cars in my life
   
5. No clue about chemistry did not stop me from wanting to study Pharmacy! It was painful but well worth the torture; I love being a pharmacist
6. I usually read 3 books at the same time and it takes me forever to finish only one of them
7. I start dreaming in english
8. To fit in my wedding dress at the age of 50 is a must for me
9. My kids brought out the best in me; they are teaching me everyday what really matters; I love them more than I can ever put in words
10. While I was pregnant for Stella, I thought for sure she would be a little boy named Linus.
11. I would love to have a style expert to go shopping with and an unlimited creditcard,really, I would be ok if it would be just for one day
12. Calla lillies and blue hydrageaneas are by far my favorite flowers
13. Baking cakes brings a smile to my face and it´s such a fun thing to do with my lil girlie( she passed by me while I was washing dishes the other day , saying: Mami, I really like baking cakes with you)
14. I try to be up to date with technology but if it would not be for Ricky, there would be no I pod running or pictures uploading on this blog. There are just certain things I refuse to learn
15. On the other hand, there are tons of things I would love to learn , f.e. a new language, sewing ........and to be a little bit more patient
16. It is 12 o clock this minute,and I am welcoming 2011 with my babygirl in my arm (good stuff)
17. I had a crush on Morten Harket my whole entire life( yep, hubby knows it ; He knows he is the alpha male in my life and has no problem letting me go on a 5 day trip to Oslo to scream like a teenager for a 50 yeare old norwegian guy). Luv u Ricky I am glad you are so confident ;)
    
18. I can´t be without my Bebe Perlglanz lipstick.I get nervous if I don´t have at least 2 spares left at home. My mom just brought me 5 new ones, now I can sleep peaceful again.
19. Ears, ears , ears; my favorite part of the body
20. I do not leave my house without eye make-up. I feel naked without it; silly me.
21. I love to write lists; I do have a list for everything. Writing lists makes me believe that my life is organized. Writing lists makes me happy
22. I still have braces on my bottom teeth. The glue was just a bit strong I guess. I was told at the age of 16 that the braces will loosen and fall out soon. Well they did not specify `soon` very well, I guess.
23. In my opinion, Milka Noisette chocolate is to die for
24. I never even took a drag of a cigarette in my entire life
25. My husband KNOWS I am nuts( he added this to the list)
26. I was a softball player for the German national team and made last place at the European Championchips. Nevertheless it was a great experience
27. Stichwort: royale Grossereignisse; Ich liebe royale Hochzeiten, 2011 sollte also ein sehr gutes Jahr werden
28. I have a serious problem knowing left from right; I just can´t figure it out. I think I am a halfway intelligent person but some connections about left and right in my brain are just not wired the proper way
29. I wish I would have gotten my grandmothers salad dressing recipe( and many more) while she was still with us. I can still taste it on my tongue eventhough I have not had it in 20 years
30. I thought Ricky was hot way, I mean years, before we started dating
31. Pumuckl is my childhood hero
32. If I would have not become a pharmacist I would propably be a midwife or a florist or an air traffic controller ( I know that´s a pretty wide range but I have always been interessted in sooooo many things)
33. I love to get mail and I don´t mean bills or emails( which are fine, too). But I admire the good old fashioned way of a handwritten letter. Getting a nicely written word can make my day easily ( so if you would like to make MY day, you know the secret, now) I am trying to do so to others if there is any spare writing left after this lovely blog and the normal birthday card stuff
    
34. I am married happily for 6 years to the man who means the world to me. I feel safe, loved and home when we are together. He makes me complete

Wow this was a lot. Are you still reading????? You must be either really bored or really liking me and my blog. Feel free to add to this list, I might have ( intentionally) forgotten some important facts about myself, that YOU think might be worth sharing on the world wide web ;)
This was truly fun to write.
A warm welcome to the year 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May it be a good one

So this is Christmas......

...for the first time in our new home. With lots of people we love and lots of people we miss dearly on this special day of the year.
A lot of things have changed this year. But Christmas feels like nothing has changed at all. That warm cozy feeling, those familiar smells in the house, those wonderful lil blue eyes waiting in excitement, presents under the tree ,a beautiful decorated ( artificial ;) ) tree ,christmas music playing.
No, things have not changed at all( and that´s a good thing). No matter where we are and live, we will always treasure what Christmas really means to us in our hearts and we will never forget all the great memories we have made in the past with all of you who cannot celebrate Jesus´birthday with us today
We love you and Merry Christmas

Reality check

Is it already 20 years later or did I just know my little girl????

I´m 100% back in the Mami modus and wished Oslo would have lasted just a wheeee tiny bit longer. Everything over there seemed so much more natural to me, than things here, eventhough it was not even Europe. But I realized how much more familiar I am with this type of lifestyle and that I still have plenty of adjustment to accomplish here in Louisiana. Maybe I feel a lil lonely, maybe just a little homesick or maybe it is just time for my crew to fly in. I wish Rüdi and Franzi would be able to come.... But I´m super excited to spend a wonderful Christmas time with my Mama and Papa. Not much longer.

Diary of my Oslo Trip, December 7th 2010

Not much left to do today.
The bags were packed last night. Had to say goodbye to Oslo and my dear friend Katja( I had such a wonderful time with you, Schnecki)
I am on my plane to New York, thinking and wondering where my girltrip 2011 will take me!
Any suggestions???????????????????
I´m thrilled to see my babies and Ricky later on tonight. Eventhough I had a blast I think I could have not been without them too much longer. I love a-ha for their great music and the amazing times and memories they brought into my life, but I love Ricky, Stella and Lucien for everything they are!
Goodbye Oslo

Mami is back