Juni

We live here.

Can you believe that?

This photo is taken near the cafe at one of our favorite city parks, where we've been spending quite a bit of time these days. I mean, just look at this place.

And you? What's the view of your town?



Big brother had a marvelous time at a dear friend's birthday party. Here he is swinging at the pink octopus pinata.


Little brother is changing every single day it seems. Right now he very much loves to rock in his little snail. :-)


Have I ever posted a photo of our home from the front/street? Here it is. June has been met with lots of home repairs. Oy. Old houses!


The boys play so well together despite their age gap. They especially love to play under the beautiful playstands....when they're not outside in the garden that is!

Lots going on here and nothing at the same time, ya know? Big brother has a nice little garden plot going, I'll take photos and tell you about that soon. We also got our official permission to homeschool! Which luckily lasts for 2 years so we won't have to go through the process again before we leave the country. Only 2 more weeks of Kindergarten before summer holidays. I have mixed feelings. His German is now quite good and we seem to really be at a big turning point with it. We could use a couple more months! We'll just have to hope that between play dates and tennis and singing (Kinderchor) he will be using it enough to keep it up. Trying to stay optimistic!

That's it for now. Hope you are all well! Thinking of you....

spring and our sprouts

I can't ever remember a more stereotypical Spring since I've been living here. First the snowdrops, then the daffodils, now the lily of the valley (oh...how amazing these make our garden smell!). The days are sunny, then drizzly, then sunny again, then breezy...everything is budding and sprouting. We had such a long winter this year, Spring really does come just when you need it most, doesn't it? At least in this part of the world. I am a sun-lover at heart, but living with four distinct seasons has taught me so much more than I could ever express in words.

Anyhoo, Easter was especially nice this year. The Easter bunny brought lovely things and was kind enough to hide some eggs in the garden for big brother to find...



His Easter basket has since been repurposed into a toy basket for little brother.

Other things making us happy these days:


A beautiful felt ball for a special baby boy...


A raised bed we've created in a previously unused corner of our yard...with old stones we found buried. In this bed we've planted peas, beets, sunflowers, arugula, and red/green pepper for now.
We've also started a much larger veg garden which will likely be a whole post unto itself. Big brother has his own bed, with special attention to companion planting...veggies, herbs, flowers and strawberries...let's call it "science" for homeschooling purposes, OK? :-)



A little shepherd boy tending his lambs. I just love the imagery of this for some reason...you just can't stop me from gravitating to all things shepherd-like now that I am a mama of little boys. I want my boys to tend sheep?



Big brother has also started his tennis lessons...here he is with his instructor. He really loves it so far, and he's been practicing at home in the garden, too. Lots of balls getting stuck in the hedge!


My tiniest boy, relaxing in a swing. It was his first time swinging, and he smiled the *entire* time with the most magical smile...just not for the camera...of course.


It's so nice to be outside all the time now! Lots of garden work (ominous patches of stinging nettles taking over!), lots of sprouting and planting of seeds. Watching everything begin to thrive and grow and change...including our boys.

What's going on where you are? What interesting things are sprouting up?

Happy 1st of April post

Oh my...how time flies! I do plan to post more, I promise. Soon there will be good reason to do so...with all the cool projects and discoveries that will be part of our home educating next "school year". That's right, we've officially decided to go school free after this year of Waldorf kindergarten is finished. Partly because we will be moving abroad...who knows where...in 2011 and it just doesn't seem right to put big brother through the whole process of integrating into a class just to rip him out again shortly after. Also, we love everything about the idea of having the world as our classroom! Can you imagine the possibilities? They are endless. It's practically magical. :-)

Anyway, our little global learner is way into all things space at the moment...the sun, moon, planets, and stars. The sky is the limit. We have a very planetary walkway now, thanks to today's chalking session.


Other things making us happy right now...Hansel and Gretel! We *love* this tale right now, it's the perfect mix of kid power and the stuff daydreams are made of with plenty of the twisted, dark bits that make it so enticing to children at this stage of life (and their nostalgic mamas!). We found this wonderful Ostheimer cottage (which is discontinued...but one that I've been longing for for ages!) at an amazing little natural toy store in Vienna (they just happened to still have one tucked away in a dusty corner). I am so spoiled by the Universe! We snapped it up, brought it home and then witchy woman and her cat moved in shortly after...doing their best to lure in unsuspecting little Hansel and Gretel. This makes for hours of play around here. Er, but sometimes the odd dinosaur gets involved in the story, too...hehe And you thought the Grimm's stories are gory!


And lastly for today my dearies...my precious little angel boy is 8 months old!!! Where oh where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I had a tiny, sleeping newborn snuggled up into the crook of my neck and now this powerhouse of movement and funny screeches who won't sit still for a single moment...it's a wonder, let me assure you. I am enjoying every single minute that I spend with my guys, and we are all especially silly and giddy right now because Spring is undeniably upon us and we are bursting right along with all the new energy that comes with it.

Hope all is well in your corner of the world, too!

February photos

Straight to the highlight of every February...Fasnacht! (or Carnival if you prefer). As usual, we participated in the child's parade, which took place in our beautiful old town.


Here's big brother. We decided to get as much mileage as possible out of this dino costume. It won't fit next year, though. Check out the confetti on the street!


We threw plenty of confetti ourselves. Mostly at each other. :-)


I don't know this person...just one of many cool costumes.


On to other February news, little brother is now eating solid food. His favorite is mangos...by far.


And you just can't stop him from being on his stomach. He sort of rocks back and forth all the time, too. I think I see crawling in our near future.


Big brother is doing well...lots of learning to ski this winter, as well as sledding of course. Here he is with his beloved Mr. Caterpillar scarf, knit especially for him by Gigi's loving hands. :-)

I'll try to post more, I promise. I'm slowly coming out of my usual winter hibernation!

a few January photos

all bundled up in the Kinderwagen


self-portrait. can someone please advise me about my hair?


teething on a kale stalk



mr. cool about to hit the slopes

Sliding into the new year

As the Swiss say..."Guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!", or wishing one a "Good slide into the new year". Big brother took this literally and decided to make his first attempt at skiing on New Year's Day (learning to ski being at the top of his "to do" list for 2009). Needless to say, he loved it!

Once again, we have made plenty of resolutions...we'll see how many we get to this year. So far, we're off to a good start!

Wishing you a beautiful, blissful new year!

merry christmas

Happy holidays from our little corner of the world to yours.

snow

Coming home from Vienna...our garden looked like this...



very exciting first snow experience for little brother (in the sling of course)


big brother hanging out in his igloo


silly winter hat...every baby needs one. :-)



lots of playing, shoveling and building. Totally magical, and just in time for the holidays.

Still scenic, still grand

We're winding up our last week here. It's been great actually. Much easier with two kids than I expected. We've been socializing quite a bit, which is nice, too. Met some lovely people and got to know much more about the life that awaits us. Mostly, though, we're excited to get back home...to start preparing for Christmas and the coziness that comes with it. It's one of my favorite times of the year in Switzerland after all! Plus my back is *finally* protesting after carrying the baby around the streets of this city every day for weeks now. This little boy is getting HEAVY! Time to break out the stroller I think.

A day in the life...Vienna

Wake up to my cell phone alarm around 6:45*, restless baby nuzzling me, and big brother making various noises from his bed on the other side of the room. Papi gets up to shower, I fall back asleep. For about 2 minutes. And then there is 6 year old pitter patter and much more nuzzling. I get up. Change a diaper. Collapse on designer (read: uncomfortable but attractive) sofa feeling very, uh, groggy. Why is that? Oh, yes. There was much nuzzling throughout the night. Little brother must have been processing the sensory overload that was the evening before. So. Coffee. Papi has made some. Bless him. Boys eat. Little brother is already tired again...so that makes two of us.

I remember that the Putzfrau is coming to clean the apartment today. At 9am. 9am...that's like, soon. I do some tidying, as I don't want the Putzfrau to think we are...untidy?...and then I get big brother ready to go out...as I am not really comfortable with people cleaning up our mess while I sit and watch. Can't imagine why? Running out of time! Skip the shower. Dressed. Wrap 2 meters of fabric around me and insert baby. Out the door, 2 minutes to 9. Oops, forgot to eat breakfast. Walked all.around.Vienna. Ended up breakfasting at Starbucks...shame! In the land of Kaffeehäuser and Bäckerei? Really. Baby isn't napping. Why isn't he napping? Walk the other way around Vienna. Baby has missed his nap!** Now lunchtime is upon us. Get lunch and dinner ingredients at local supermarket. Feel like a pack mule. Walk up the stairs back up to the apartment, open the door, and...

it hasn't been cleaned.

IT HASN'T BEEN CLEANED?

Make a call. The apartment manager didn't want to "disturb me" so early in the morning. Er...uh...but...

I explained. I complained. I appealed.

And then I rescheduled for tomorrow.

When we will repeat the whole scenario once again...only this time, hopefully, including a shower.

Sigh.

And there you have it. The trials of a trailing spouse. Unplugged.***


*Because our clock is radio controlled and seems to only be loyal to Swiss radio signals.
**He then went on to sleep the ENTIRE afternoon and evening, which will make bedtime tonight interesting. I'm guessing...plenty of nuzzling? And restlessness?
***With the underlying moral of the story being...how much easier it would be to not have a cleaning lady. Ah, the irony.

Thankful

A bit too hazy for beautiful photographs, but there you have it...the Innere Stadt of Vienna.

There isn't much of a Thanksgiving to be had in this part of the world, and I haven't made much of an effort over the years to organize one, but I do try to make a list each year of what I'm thankful for.

-I'm thankful for my family...for my loving husband and my precious children...who make me feel like I've won the lottery every single day.

-I'm thankful to be living in a beautiful, safe country...which keeps me on my toes, always learning, always growing and stretching in ways that are fundamentally important to me.

-I'm thankful to be able to travel the world and get to "hang out" in places like Vienna. :-)

-I'm thankful to be surrounded by different languages and cultures (even when they frustrate me!), and that my children are growing up bilingual and binational.

-I'm thankful for YOU, my friends! hehe

This life I have is exceptional, and I almost never forget it. It also comes with certain costs, which I also never forget. I am so, so lucky to be where I am, and with who I'm with.

And you know what? I don't need a turkey to remind me. :-)

Vienna

Grüss Gott!

Our first time traveling as a family of four, and so far so good. Little brother had a frantic 5 minutes on the plane yesterday, but overall it went very smoothly. Our apartment (above) is right in the center, and much, much nicer than these blurry photos suggest. It's the perfect mix of funkiness and grandeur...and very high tech. We feel spoiled.

We're here for 3 weeks. Photos of this beautiful European metropolis to come...

six! and sick

Such a bummer to be sick on your birthday...but it is November after all. We had to cancel a kid party, but we still had a few loved ones around and there was still cake and presents. And my baby is SIX!!!

babywearing

home sweet home

We're finally all settled into our new cozy little home. It has such a cottage feel to it, really perfect for this time of year. Above is the view out of our living room window.


from the garden, looking onto the front of the Haus


big brother decorating the path leading up to the porch. little brother chillin' in his Kinderwagen


another full frontal. :-)

So when are you dropping by for a cup of tea?