The Saturday Update

This week has been even more chaotic than usual.  I'm so tired right now!

Wednesday was the last day of term so I baked and we had a big international breakfast and practised our German.

In the evening I had a Kindergarten meeting that ran on late.

I've been running around all week trying to get on top of things but realising I should take it one day at a time.  Thursday was mainly packing and tidying up a bit.

Yesterday I set off really early to fly back to England for my sister's hen do and after a fantastic night out last night we are exploring Liverpool today. I've never been before and so far it's making a great impression.

We're planning some pampering and a quieter night before I travel home tomorrow to become Godmother to my friends two daughters.  Then I will be flying home on Monday morning for a week of holidays with my family and getting on top of those to-do lists while we don't have to work.

Links!

This is making me hungry despite the heat.

Funny ways to say no.

Who knew Eminem had a sign language interpreter?! What a star!

Some great travel tips.

What a sweet gift idea.

Lovely group art project.

Introverts!

Sweet.

June Goals Review

Here's how my month went:

• Finish, frame and hang my crossstitch - done!
• Keep up the videos - done!
• Celebrate Isabella's birthday - done (still tidying up)!
• Three exercise sessions per week - 3/4 weeks.
• Get caught up with my crochet projects - on track but not quite.
• Get on top of the garden - nope.
• 3 DIY projects - nope.

Took on a bit too much this month but with holidays in July I'll be looking to correct that!

Project Life Update

I've just officially finished my Project Life album.  It's been getting full for a while and I wanted it to cover eighteen months before I start a new one. 

I'm still really loving this project.  I'm only sorry that I took such a long break in between and didn't document Isabella's early days in the same way.  Who knows, maybe I will go back and cover that at some point.

This album runs from Joshua's early days in January 2017 until the end of this month and it makes me very emotional looking through it as it is such a good record of his development, and ours as a family.

Some weeks are more photo heavy and some are more writing heavy but that's just part of the flow.  Sometimes I have to remind myself to photograph more since I now video every day but I'm getting better at that balance. 

My process is weekly with this project.  I print out the photos, place them and work around that with cards, writing and the layout in general.  I try to keep it simple with the colours and not mix it up too much so that the photos really speak for themselves.

I've invested in a new album and will be starting that next week.  My aim with the next album is to focus on the embellishments a little bit more to give it a slightly more finished look.

I hope that we'll look back on these albums with the kids and maybe even their kids one day and remember how busy we were but also how much fun and love we have in our lives right now.

Recipe: Paleo Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 large apples
• 9 eggs
• 4tsp cinnamon
• 3tbsp water
• 3tbsp honey
• 3tbsp coconut milk
• 2tbsp coconut flour
• 5tsp baking powder
• 2tbsp coconut oil
• 1tbsp ghee
• 50g almonds
• 80g cranberries

Instructions:

1. Chop the apples and heat them with the water and cinnamon for ten to fifteen minutes.

2. Combine the eggs, honey, coconut milk, coconut flour, coconut oil, a pinch of salt and the baking powder. Add the apple mixture.

3. Spoon into muffin forms and bake at 180 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Make it Monday: July birthday cards

This week I got out my stash and my stamps and made these two cards.

It was fun and they're both unique to the recipients. I didn't even know I had the pink card but I love the glitter - it matches the gold ink really well.

I've not been crafting much lately so it felt good to get creative again. Lots more along those lines coming soon!

Weekly Wisdom

Families belong together.

The Saturday Update

What a mad week! We slept until 9:30 this morning and it was much needed!

Last weekend we celebrated the English Father's Day by taking my two favourite fathers out for brunch and then Dad and I took the kids swimming which was great fun.  Joshua especially loved the kids' slide.

Monday was Isabella's birthday.  We were up early to open presents.  She went to Kindergarten while we got the house ready and baked all morning.  In the afternoon family and twenty of her friends with some parents came over.  Luckily the weather stayed fine and we could hold the party in the garden.  She was thoroughly spoilt.  Family stayed a bit longer and she stayed up later than usual.

I had work on Tuesday but we kept the kids off to spend the day with Dad before he flew back to England on Wednesday (taking the nice weather with him).

Wednesday was another work day and in the evening I caught up with my old class in Bremen at there prom.  It was a fun evening with dancing and awards.  It was very emotional thinking about when they walked into school almost six years ago and comparing those little children with the young adults they have grown into.

I had the morning off for a check up at the doctor which went well and then I worked in the afternoon.  It's definitely time for the holidays.

Yesterday I took Isabella back to school after breakfast with a friend to see the leavers' presentation and then we had a couple of friends over spontaneously for coffee and cake.  It was so nice to catch up and very emotional handing out reports on the last day of school.

This weekend is quiet before the last week of work and flying back to England for my sister's hen do!

Links!

What an uplifting story.

I'll be bearing this in mind next weekend.

I love this simplicity.

This should be normal.

I really want to see this.

Beautiful photography.

Tragic.

Funny.

40 things - Try three new hairstyles

Last night was prom for my old class.  Lately I've been trying more ideas with my own hair and Isabella's to prepare for my sister's wedding next month. I thought the prom would be a great chance to try some different plaits.  Nico's cousin has amaying hairstyling skills and always looks fantastic so she gave me some tips with Isabella and I tried them for myself.  

I loved the combination of an 'up' and 'down' do, it stayed up all night and I had some lovely waves the next day!  I'll definitely be having something similar for the wedding and trying this more often.

This is a side do that I saw on a friend and tried out a while ago.  It's different and keeps my hair out of the way in Summer. It felt odd at first as I always have either a ponytail or wear my hair down but it was nice to have something different.

My third hairstyle was a French plait that I tried on myself.  Unfortunately I don't have a photo and it most certainly wasn't perfect but I will have another go and keep practising on Isabella and myself.

4 years old!

Our little girl turned four on Monday.  I don't know where the time has gone.  It's always at these big milestones that I get emotional and reflect a lot on the past and it seems like just yesterday that she arrived.  

Since her brother was born she has certainly become more of a little girl and less of a baby.  She surprised me so much in how fantastic a big sister she is. There's never been any jealousy between them (I'm well aware that it will come at some point) and she is like a little mummy to him. He adores her too.

She started Kindergarten in October and is consistently praised for being social and including all her classmates in games.  That's also the reason we had twenty children here on Monday for her birthday party.  We hadn't expected that everyone would be able to come but it speaks volumes for her that so many did and luckily the weather was good so we had cake and games in the garden.

It is the biggest honour and pleasure to watch this girl grow and learn.  She is so clever and inquisitive and while it is at times exhausting, I wouldn't have her any other way. I'm loving this stage, as I loved every stage she's been at and I'm looking forward to all that her fifth year is going to bring.

Recipe: Chocolate Brownie Cake

Ingredients:

• 250g butter
• 400g sugar
• 250g plain chocolate
• 100g rice flour
• 40g cocoa powder
• 1tsp baking powder
• 6 eggs
• 150g ground almonds
• 150g ground hazlenuts

Instructions:
1. Melt the butter, sugar and chocolate over a pan of boiling water.
2. Stir in the dry ingredients followed by the eggs and nuts.
3. Bake in the oven at 180 for 35 minutes until cooked through.

Make it Monday - Party Bags

Today I've been making little party bags for Isabella's party later.

We took some plain breakfast bags and stamped them with the same colours and shapes as the invitations.

Each one has a lolly, a little bag of skittles and a glow in the dark jewellery item. We also got some water guns on offer but they were too big so we'll hand them out separately. Can't wait!

Weekly Wisdom

Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution.

The Saturday Update

We've had a crazy, busy week here but it has also been productive. I'm more or less on top of my to do lists for once and even made it to sport twice.

Dad arrived on Tuesday and has spent lots of time with the kids. Nico and I still had work and it's 'report season' so Nico was really busy but just a week and a half to the holidays now.

Yesterday I had a kindergarten meeting, took Joshua for his jabs, had a lovely lunch with Dad and had my bridesmaid dress altered.

Unfortunately my Gonis party had to be cancelled again but as it is we've got a lot on anyway, preparing for Isabella's birthday and having a trip out with Dad.

Apart from that I'll be attending a few leavers' events at my old school and catching up with a friend next week.

Links!

This shocked me this week.

I may make this on Monday.

Amazing views.

Time management advice.

Stay at home Dad.

Mini garden goals!

Summer inspiration.

Parenting.

Crossstitch

 

One of my main craft goals this year was to finally complete this crossstitch which I had started before Joshua was born!

With daily sewing since 1st January, I finally finished it in June and framed and hung it this week.

I'm so happy with it. The colours are so bright and happy and the details are fantastic. It's the biggest crossstitch I've ever done and it will be the last one for a while but I really enjoyed it.

Currently...

...winding down for Summer.
...easing up on myself.
...planning the fourth birthday party of the century.
...watching European property shows.
...enjoying the slightly cooler weather.
...drinking more tea.
...learning while I teach.
...getting craftier.

Recipe: Lime Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:

• Salmon fillets
• Salt
• Pepper
• 4tbsp butter
• ½ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2tbsp chopped coriander

Instructions:

1. Season the salmon and grill for six to eight minutes on each side until through.

2. Combine the remaining ingredients, pour over the salmon and serve.

Make it Monday - June Birthday Cards

Most of the June birthdays for us are in our German family and they don't really do cards.

Yesterday I finally used some of my black card stock. I jazzed it up with tape after I saw a tutorial online. I'm really pleased with it and it's a bit different.

Isabella turns four this month and I wanted to make her a special card. I used this big 4 and brightened it up with my Gonis gel paint. Then I stamped some flowers which matches what she did for her invitations.

Weekly Wisdom

Don’t be afraid to just sit and watch.

The Saturday Update

What a week! Isabella spent her mornings building snail shelters and who-knows-what in a nearby forest. I spent the week driving her an her friends there. Joshua joined them yesterday and he loved it.

I had a full work week on five fronts. Lots of planning, not enough exercise but that's how it goes sometimes. I finished my crossstitch and kept up with lots of other bits and bobs in between.

Kindergarten work has made me feel especially grateful for our life this week.

Nico had a tough work week with exams, grades and reports.

Looking forward to my Dad visiting next week and I need to start planning after allowing Isabella to invite 21 kids to her birthday party.

This weekend we have friends visiting before we celebrate a family birthday on Sunday.

Links!

An important message.

Cute!

Baby Trip Advisor.

Yum!

Queen.

All too familiar!

Hmm, might try this.

Yep.

Reading Review

Those who leave and those who stay - Elena Ferrante

Nico bought me the third instalment of this series and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn't as exciting and easy to read as the first two but I enjoyed it on a different level because it follows the protaganist in the stage of life that I see myself in right now - that of early marriage and having children. 

I can't explain how this series affects me but I highly recommend it for readers of my demographic. Looking forward to the next one.

The Bat- Jo Nesbo

This one took me a loong time to get into.  I enjoyed it once it picked up the pace but for me it was trying too hard to be clever. I'd still like to try more from this author in the hope that he improves.

The Physicists - Friedrich Dürrenmatt

I recently reread this German classic to help one of my students. It's a strange German comedy play written in the sixties about a series of murders in a sanatorium. It's full of twists and laugh out loud moments but it's also terribly dated and I'm feeling older all the time since my eighteen-year-old tutee does not appreiate the humour!

June Goals

Here are my goals for this month:

• Finish, frame and hang my crossstitch.
• Keep up the videos.
• Celebrate Isabella's birthday.
• Three exercise sessions per week.
• Get caught up with my crochet projects.
• Get on top of the garden.
• 3 DIY projects.

Recipe: Super smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• 150g mixed berries
• Handful fresh mint
• 2tbsp chia seeds
• 150ml water

Instructions:

1. Chop

2. Blend

3. Drink

Make it Monday - Birthday Invitations

 Isabella turns four this month and there's going to be a big party. As a child, I never liked having to pick and choose among friends and I hated being told "sorry, you're not invited, I'm only allowed ... friends." Since Isabella is so social and often praised for including everyone at Kindergarten, I told her she could invite everyone. Hence a day spent making twenty-one invitations and a week hoping half that number might already have plans.

 While we were out on Saturday, I stocked up on pink card and flower stickers. I found a tulip template online and resized it.
Today I cut out twenty-one pink tulips. Isabella helped me stick on the flowers, I added washi tape and wrote the friends' names and she went crazy with a flower stamp and my ink-pad. Then I wrote the details on the back.

It was a fun, practical project and Isabella loved helping. I always forget how easy and fun it can be to get her involved in crafts.

Weekly Wisdom

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.

The Saturday Update

We've had a long, hot week here. Work has been good. I started a new module and gained two new students. One of my tutoring students started a new book in German and it brought back lots of memories from uni so I am rereading it.

I've been cycling more, following a paleo diet most of the time and made it to zumba. Apart from the heat and the hayfever, I'm feeling good.

The kids have had  full week of nursery, kindergarten, playdates, swimming and bike rides.

This weekend is going to be quiet and cooler before another, really busy week!

Links!

This looks delicious.

Motherly advice.

An interesting article.

Cat fun.

Love this tap dancing.

Incredible bravery.

What a wonderful find.

The thing about perfection.