Finding my rhythm

We've been working our way through a stomach bug with at least two people down with it since Thursday. Symptoms seem to last about five days or so but no fever. Jake and Aliza currently have it. McKay stayed home yesterday saying he had a belly ache but it turned out that was more because he'd procrastinated some big homework assignments. Of course, he really felt bad when it dawned on him during FHE that they still needed to be done. Ugh. It was 10pm before we got to bed but Ryan helped him most until stuck on the German. Then we switched and he did dinner dishes while I helped with homework. We'd just fallen asleep around 11 when Aliza woke up soaked in puke and screaming. Fun times. She screamed through being cleaned up and for another half hour. I swapped Morgan beds thinking it'd be a long night. Aliza finally zonked out at 1. Morning came too early today again.

Homeschooling Morgan is going really well for her and I'm enjoying it. I can literally pull out our materials and start our school time, it's so nicely scripted. I've cut out co-ops from our schedule to give us more down time at home because it's already hard enough to get to chores and do my German class. It has been fun to focus on Morgan and see her improvement over the first month of doing this. She craves play time when the older boys get home and that's not first on their list so there's some common struggles there. Two or three times a week I have deliberate play times set up for her. A gal in the ward has a two hour structured get together from 12-2 where we all bring our own lunch and eat together, kids play, we do a game and craft and then it's time to go home. Wednesdays we go to a park or to the gym and check out balls to play with during and after Easton's guitar lesson. Thursdays there's an afternoon homeschooler playgroup we hit now and then. Some kids in the neighborhood have started gathering in a culdesac and so I'll send McKay and Morgan down to join them once a week. I feel like she's getting healthy socialization but once a week she'll say she does miss friends. For her birthday we had her friend spend the night while the boys were at a Scout campout. That little girl was not used to having a teething baby around making noise! It was interesting to see Morgan react to her and be confident in who she was. As we got ready for Morgan's soccer game, this little girl wouldn't dare wear a kitty ear head band Morgan offered as they were getting ready. It's Morgan's favorite right now. The friend said people would laugh at her so she would not wear it. Morgan said, "I like it and I wear it a lot. Lots of people like it." I was so proud of her :) Comfort and personal likes still rule her style for now. It'll change soon enough I'm sure but it's kinda nice to know we can preserve it a bit longer this year at least.

Jake's really enjoying German kindergarten, but him being sick right now is nice to have a break from getting us all out the door in the morning. I love his kindergarten and have heard it is the best one in our town and believe it! I hope I can get better at sitting down with him a few times a week to practice preschool things. He's rather reluctant unless we're being silly together doing it. He gets easily frustrated when his hand doesn't produce what his mind wants too on paper. His adorable enthusiasm and joy over simple things keep Ryan and I laughing and loving him at this age.

McKay is going to be tested for delays in his reading and language use. He's getting behind again and starting to feel overwhelmed with the struggle to do his work. Kids his age are experimenting with crude language and humor and so we're having conversations about that lately. He's really enjoying his after school programs -- Green Team (projects taking care of the school's rabbit right now), piano lessons, and MathQuest.

Easton seems to be doing well in his schooling and with friends. He likes doing the after school homework club to get homework done and a couple of his classmates are in there with him so sometimes they collaborate. I recently sat through a lecture on how the Int'l Baccalaureate program does their grades and it was so thorough and impressive but I felt bad for the teachers. It requires a lot of feedback from them and everything is done online which is great for parents to be able to check. He invited a buddy to Scouts last week for first aid certification. This week he's hoping another buddy will go Trick or Treating with us. 

Two months into the new school year and I'm finding my rhythm lately which is nice. I had to spend a month trying out different options for me and Morgan and it was exhausting! 

So here's the current rhythm we're in. Once Ryan and the boys head out in the morning, I get the rest of us ready for the day and work with Morgan and Jake to get their morning chores done. This zaps me. Every day. Then I take an hour to straighten the house a bit and recover from the emotional toll of doing chores with M&J. Around 10am, Aliza goes down for her nap and I start school with Morgan. We do school until 12, have lunch and finish whatever is left of school work but sometimes we're done in just an hour and a half. Typically takes 1.5-3 hours each day for her school work and I never know which because it often depends on how well she grasps the day's concepts. I'm using Calvert Education and it seems to be just what I needed for this adventure with Morgan. I spend the afternoon doing more chores, prepare dinner, feed Aliza, referee fights, kiss ouchies ... and we pick up the boys or they come home on the city bus. Homework, music practice time, chores, dinner, dinner cleanup and it seems like it's time for bed. Once or twice a week Ryan and I aren't worn out enough that we actually sit and watch a show or documentary together. 

Work has been tough lately for Ryan with some difficult personnel issues. This role is challenging him in many great ways but sometimes the personnel stuff is so off-putting that he wants to find something new. It astounds him how some people are satisfied with underperforming and exhibit a complete lack of professionalism. It was bad last week! 

The house hunt is yielding nothing after the perfect place turned us down for having five young children. Perhaps we're not supposed to stay here and that's why housing isn't working out? Who knows. But we toyed with that idea last week a bit. I really only get to search listings once or twice a week, there's just not much down time to sit and be on the computer during the day or in the evenings. I haven't read or listened to a book cover to cover since before Aliza was born and I miss it! Homeschooling Easton last year with a new baby and Primary presidency calling didn't provide me enough bandwidth to entertain reading/listening to books. I've compensated during this season with interesting podcasts and now Relief Society lesson preparation.

Aliza's keeping me busy with her daily circuit of destruction. I'd like to describe it here to have it documented since it's also what most of the other kids have done at this age of curious mobility. She typically begins in the kitchen. Water tower spigot test run, tupperware and towels cabinet undone, fiddle with knobs and buttons on oven/stove and dishwasher (!!!), check the trash for anything interesting, use stepping stool as a seat for her sippy cup break, rearrange or disassemble paper recycling bin, climb up on the stool(s) and get stuck so she must holler until found out. Remove all the magnets from the board with a flourish. Then, it's on to the bedrooms to inspect and dump various bins and spread contents at random through the apartment. Check out light switch in her room that she can push her porta-crib aside to get to. Give herself kisses and giggle in the new full length mirror I attached to my closet door. Try on shoes or try to put shoes on Mom while she's schooling Morgan. Kick and throw bouncy ball until an older sibling takes it away and start a screaming fit. Repeat process with any musical toy. In the laundry room, she likes to check the washing machine buttons to make sure I have to wash loads at least twice. Unroll the toilet paper rolls and unload the lowest drawer filled with headbands, selecting one to wear for a bit as a necklace. And by the time the circuit is completed a few times, it's time for a nap. At least once a day I try to put things in order before the next circuit begins but I'm always way behind her! She is so cute and cuddly, does more jabbering lately too with a couple discernible words - Mom, Dad, dog ... I'm sure her sibling names are jabbered too, I just haven't paid close enough attention.

Alright, I gotta get to my chores but it feels so good to document what my current season looks like. I am worn out but finding many moments throughout the day to be grateful that I have all these kids and get to be home to care for them. I only throw tantrums or melt down a few times a week, so we're keeping it real.

Digging in to the New Year!

Ryan sent me on a Mom Escape last weekend as my Christmas/birthday present. Nothing could top that in this season of my life! It was just the break I needed to have quiet time to think, write, sleep, and love on Aliza. We were recently surprised to find out we've accrued gold membership status on our Marriott card so I had three free days at the hotel with meals included. Awesome!!! And when I got home on Sunday morning, Ryan had packed up most of Christmas and my chores had been done while I was away - even the laundry! HALLELUJAH!!! He wins best husband prize! Seriously, this is the gift I want every year! We'd been trying to make my retreat happen since September, but life has been too full.

I spent the first day of my escape reading, working on Primary tasks, and then did a little shopping at the packed mall. I have a specific list of things I am in need of so of course I didn't find any of them! That evening I met a couple lovely friends for dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant. The next day I holed up in the hotel reading and writing, thinking about what I wanted from/for myself in 2015 in conjunction with three goals I'd written down on New Year's Eve.

My bishop is starting a leadership/inspiration business and I took the time to browse some of his website's posts. He and his wife are very goal-oriented and I never have been good with follow through so it was timely reading. One post mentioned a mission statement generator so I gave it a whirl and loved it. Here's the link - Franklin Covey Mission Statement Builder. I liked it so much, I emailed the link to Ryan and set up a dinner date for us that evening so we could hopefully have time to chat about our mission statement. Reading Ryan's mission statement had me in tears. I married a great guy and it captured parts of his heart that I hadn't seen in a while because we've been too busy keeping up with life. He inspires me!

Ryan dropped the kids at our friend's house and met me at a new restaurant, Joe Peñas, which is a Mexican food chain apparently. Ambiance was pretty good but the music was a little on the loud side for the conversations I wanted to have. We had high hopes for the food but it didn't pan out so well. I think if we'd ordered items we didn't have expectations for (chimichungas and enchiladas), we could have been pleasantly surprised. The drinks were delicious, at least! We brainstormed some of the places still on our travel bucket list and when they could be calendared. Travel feeds both of our souls and it is fun to see the kids getting excited about new adventures. Ryan has had his eye on Cypress and the ferry to Cairo, Thailand again and Cambodia (?!), and we'd both like to get up to Hamburg and Copenhagen. This year is filling up fast, however, with me and the kids heading to my folks' for the summer. YEEHAW!

After our date, I went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening finishing some computer tasks while starting to watch episodes of "Person of Interest" on Netflix. I must say I'm surprised to find a show I think Ryan and I will like together! And it's pretty clean too, so far - Hurray! 

On Sunday morning, I enjoyed breakfast before packing up and heading home. Loved seeing the kids again and how hard everyone had worked in my absence. It's so nice to go to the 1pm church schedule this year! After getting the kids' clothes ready, I headed off to ward council and the snowball began rolling. Had to make sure I fed Aliza during sacrament meeting so I could do Primary. It was showtime with a new row of Sunbeams! Jake and his cohorts did surprisingly well! By the time we got home, we were all starving and exhausted. So much so, in fact, that I don't recall much of last night other than that we were all in bed at 8:30!

As the kids aren't back in school for another week, I took my time today reading and planning healthier eating for my family by making a cheat sheet master list of nonstarchy vegetables, low sugar fruits, nutrient dense proteins, whole food fats, serving sizes, and number of servings recommended per day. I planned "Next Actions" for myself and emailed a few health conscious friends to get their input on the SANE eating/exercise methodology. One friend shared the OhSheGlows recipe website with me so I'm excited to start trying some of her favorites. When Ryan got home, I was so happy to see that my "Calorie Myth" book arrived today along with some shirts I ordered quite some time ago to accommodate my shape shifting body until it sizes down from my healthier eating. YAHOO! We had green smoothies and popcorn for dinner while watching a couple episodes of Dr. Who. 

For Family Home Evening, we took turns reading our Mission Statement answers aloud. This afternoon I had taken the three older kids aside and walked through the mission statement builder. It was fun hearing their answers and helping them shape them into what they truly desire out of life, what their natural strengths and weaknesses are, and how they can work on themselves this year. I loved the chance to chat with each of them one on one about how awesome they each are! I should do that more often! As we shared our mission statements tonight, Jake snuggled up next to me and eventually dozed off by the closing song. Man, he's dang cute! Aliza has been napping since dinner time when Ryan was able to coax a few giggles out of her with Easton's coaching. 

Aliza is such a joy and pretty predictable. At a week shy of 4 months, every once in a while she sleeps through the night but not with any pattern I can discern yet. I just zipped through "Happiest Baby on the Block" to glean a few refresher tips. Aliza is developing a bit of stranger anxiety already, especially of those who wear glasses! Her range of vision has recently expanded and she's beginning to grab at things now that she's discovered her hands. She actually likes tummy time which I've just started in the past week. The kids each daily take time to check in with her and it's just adorable. Jake oo's and ah's over her while sometimes showing off his super hero poses and costumes. Morgan bounces in and can't contain her energy as she babbles on with her sister to get good coos and smiles. McKay likes to snuggle Aliza and get her to smile. Easton is excited to coax laughs out of her and he just has to hold her at least once each time she's awake.

Ahhh, life is so good and we are feeling very blessed right now with health and our lil' crew of Carters.

Them Migrants and the 1 Cent Challenge

The deep breath didn't last long. Calendaring and keeping up with our life took over as usual but it's happy and full for the most part!

Yesterday I began my German class for migrant women. Do you know how odd it is to identify with calling myself a migrant woman?!d And yet it fits as I was seated around a table with 12 women, a few children playing nearby on the floor supervised by a couple of the facilitators of this program.

I grew up in Eastern Washington where every spring and summer brought waves of Hispanic migrant workers into my neighborhood to work in the cherry, apple and peach orchards. They seemed to keep to themselves as far as I can recall. There were incidents of bikes being stolen from our yard, blamed on these migrant workers. For all I know, they could have just been easy scapegoats. As a camp counselor for the YMCA summer day camps in my teen years, I worked with some of the migrant workers' children. One family's mother would sometimes send the best breakfast burritos for her son to share with me. Yum! I had a hard time imagining what it must have been like to be a migrant worker, always feeling on the outside of the communities you moved through.

But here I am in Germany five years, not a true migrant although Ryan and I often like to dream that we will be able to live here for a very long time because we love it so much. I have come to a greater sense of kinship with families in various places I lived in the US who were migrants or immigrants. Most of them were from Central or South America. How could I have been more supportive to them? There had been a Spanish speaking congregation set up in our Leesburg ward for a couple years before we moved to Germany. I'd thought then how overwhelming it must have been for them to learn a language and navigate a new country! And now I've gotten to experience that for myself to an extent. I've been so spoiled here not having to fully immerse myself in learning and navigating in German because our ward, military base, and int'l school communities all speak English. Even my neighbors like to practice their English on us.

But it's time to learn a bit more than the random words and phrases I know here and there.

In my class, there are two instructors. One is from Poland, the other is German. Then there's my Italian friend from church/int'l school, two ladies from Japan, two ladies from Sri Lanka, one from the Ivory Coast, another from Serbia, and then three Americans including myself. All of them are mothers, ages ranging from 49 to 29. I know this because we had to line up according to our ages as one of the exercises. We had to introduce ourselves, the members of our families, where we were from, how long we've lived here, and what our hobbies and least favorite chores to do were. I liked the kinship I felt among them pretty quickly.

Please pray for my brain to absorb and retain what I learn and practice! I asked McKay what a certain word meant last night. He didn't understand me and said, "Mom, sometimes I can't help you because you don't say it right so I don't know what you're saying." True. Like the word for married - such a long word that trips me up every time. Verheritat. Oi!

Speaking of being married, I'm loving Ryan's new calling as early morning Seminary Teacher! He's doing such a great job thoughtfully preparing, making it meaningful and challenging for the kids, and having fun! I love him! And I love that it makes pulling a good FHE so much easier! Last night he gave a great lesson to the kids about prayer. He made up our Prayer Plan on the white board and issued the 1 Cent Challenge to the kids. As Morgan told us at breakfast she'd remembered to say her morning prayer and McKay reminded me to give the kids each their 1 cent for their shoe today, I was thanking my Heavenly Father giving me this great husband and father of my children! The 1 Cent Challenge was to put a 1 euro cent in their shoe to remind them to have at least one meaningful prayer today.

Other stuff on my mind and heart lately:
- Handbook 2: Administering the Church, Chapter 3 - Leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ. So inspiring in my calling right now!
- Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture." Really great. After I finished listening to it, Ryan and I watched his lecture on youtube on Saturday.
- A conference "Women and the LDS Church: Historical and Contempory Perspectives." Interesting.
- Rootstech family history sessions! YAHOO!
- October 2013 General Conference - this week is Elder Bednar's "The Windows of Heaven." Just what I needed to hear, answered a hope I'd had going into Conference, and I loved being touched by his humility and love during the second half.
- On Netflix, I watched "Forks over Knives" and "Vegucation." Lots of food for thought! I've got some friends who have been going vegan for the past year for their own or family's health and I've been intrigued. Also some friends here are very knowledgeable about essential oils and hold classes so I've been dabbling a little in that.

Ryan's Birthday!

Oh how I love my husband! And I was so excited about my ideas to celebrate his birthday and how it played out! Ryan loves to be celebrated and I must say that Pinterest is a godsend!

It all started with a card I found months ago about how if it were up to me his birthday would be declared a national holiday.

Ryan's birthday fell on a regular Tuesday work day but this was great for my plan! I found little things to wrap up so he could open one each waking hour commemorating the hour of his birth. I hear his coworkers got a kick out of joining in the fun too which was just what I wanted! He really has been blessed with some great people there! 

For the ones he would open at work, I put them in a basket for him to tote to the office. Here's the 8-5 loot!

And the gift list:

7:05am - Powdered donuts for breakfast.
8:05 - A card that told him to check his email. I'd videoed the kids singing him Happy Birthday!
9:05 - A new framed picture of our family - his biggest fans - for his office.
10:05 - Muddy Buddies Chex mix - to celebrate all the yummy treats Ryan makes us!
11:05 - An itunes gift card because we love how his whistling and boisterous singing make our home happy!
12:05pm - His favorite sweet/salty roasted pecans I made. YUM!
1:05 - MadLibs to do with his coworkers or to bring home and do with Easton who laughs hysterically at them!
2:05 - A pack of gum because if you know Ryan, he must have gum!
3:05 - An Almond Joy bar because he's sweet, nutty, and brings me JOY!
4:05 - Deal Monopoly card game. We have a fun joke about when we found a tshirt this summer that said, "I'm kinda a big deal," apparently a great line from the Will Farrel movie Anchorman.
5:05 - Another card telling him to check his email for a video of the kids singing "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!"
6:05 - We ate his requested BBQ chicken pizza which I bombed, but I tried. It's real good when I do it right!
7:05 - Ryan let me try a new cake on him. My friend Lara had made this caramel flan bundt cake last spring for a Relief Society meeting and I LOVED it! I knew Ryan would like it too so I've been saving it for his birthday. Turned out real pretty too and is super easy!

8:05 - A small iPod speaker/charger station for his bedside table so he can enjoy his music and podcasts.
9:05 - A bottle of stress relief massage oil for a good ol' back rub we never got around to because I was pooped! We'll get to it.
10:05 - New huge pillows for the bed since he loves to prop himself up in there for some quiet down time.

I loved getting emails from Ryan throughout the day after he'd open his gifts. It really did feel like a day long celebration! We sure do love him!!! He's such a good dad, great husband, and all around fabulous guy! Happy 38th my Cute Boy!

We had a fun chat with Ryan's mom this past Sunday for her birthday. We joked about how SHE should have been the one to get presents for each hour of Ryan's birthday! Wouldn't it be awesome if mom's were given gifts on their kids' birthdays?! I guess we'll have to be content with Mother's Day!

Married 10 Years! Celebrating in Venice!

Ryan loves it when I blog our travels. I'm woefully behind, but as a belated anniversary gift I told myself I'd chronicle this trip Ryan planned for our tenth wedding anniversary this past weekend.

Ryan likes ambiance. There's scores of romantic, beautiful places in Europe, but Venice tops many lists and that's where Ryan took me to celebrate, plus a little stowaway, Jake. We had a great time despite Ryan coming down with a high fever and horrible headache he couldn't kick for the last half of our getaway. This is actually our third time in Venice and I have to be honest, I wasn't super thrilled to be going back at first. But a getaway is a getaway, so away we went!

Back in 2009 on our first big European adventure with the kids, we stopped in Venice on a whim at the tail end of a week in Italy with the kids where we crammed in the big sights of Florence, Rome, and Pisa too. Needless to say, all those cute little bridges over scenic canals were not my favorite when tromping over them with a gangly double stroller and tired little kids (ages 5, 3, and 6 months). Our second stop in Venice was at the tail end of a whirlwind trip with my parents and that went better, but it was so quick I really didn't see much except some great blown glass in Murano and exquisite handmade lace linens on Burano with my mom. This time, however, I was determined to give Venice a fair shake even though it would be crowded with tourists. It was the last big weekend of European summer vacation plus Labor Day weekend for all us Americans. Venice is a one hour flight from Stuttgart, or a few hours by train, or just six hours by car I believe.

How do you do, Venice? With the views we enjoyed, I can honestly say I'm glad to see you again!

View from the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal.

10 years together! I love my Cute Boy!

If you can see the price tag, it reads 7,50 euros for ONE box of mix! That's about $10!

San Marco Plaza, love the dueling five piece orchestras!!!
I could seriously sit and listen to them with a good book all day long anytime!

Someone is getting tired of being ignored and rolled through museums.
Just after the Correr Museum of Venetian history and art.

Man I love kissing on this sweet little guy!
Thank you Ryan for catching these cute shots! 

One of my favorite faces he makes a lot when watching something interesting or being surprised.
Even cuter when his mouth makes a perfect little O.
I recently discovered he inherited it from his Grandpa Nelson! So fun!

Dad can make him downright silly and it's so fun! Ryan is such a great dad!!!
Jake is quickly starting to prefer Ryan to me sometimes but I still get some moments!

We stayed at a lovely B&B called Campiello Zen. LOVED IT, can't recommend it enough!!! They let us know that the Historical Regatta was happening on Sunday. Although Ryan came down with a very high fever and debilitating headache late Saturday night, he just couldn't miss the pageantry and race before heading back to bed. It was worth it!

We could hear the trumpets on the lead boat long before we got to see the parade of boats before the race. 

The lead boat had a tough time with the current right in front of us.
Boats that strayed too much toward us had a tough time not hitting these docked boats. 

Many boats were dressed in historical garb from Venice's hey day in the 1500s.
But some were just teams there to compete in the regatta races, like these gals decked out in pink!

Don't forget the peasant farmers from the North in their dirndls and lederhosen who brought their harvest bounty! 

Time to head back to where the races will be held.
Great that the sun came out to show how colorful it all was!

I loved the charging horses on this one!

Jake enjoyed the spectacle but was even happier to play peek-a-boo!
Italians, Germans, and Asians we came across on this trip, however, all say "cuckoo" instead!

One of the great things about the B&B we stayed at was it's view into what life is like living in Venice. A short walk from the place is a quiet neighborhood plaza with most of the amenities you need - grocery store, a few restaurants, pharmacies, bank, and so forth. Our first day there we bought stuff for a picnic lunch to enjoy in the plaza to tide us over until dinner - bread, a pecorino cheese chunk, fresh tomato, grapes, some chips, M&Ms, water, and juice. We also set Jake free to wander and chase his very first pigeons! He loved the freedom and it was such a safe, quiet place with locals milling about.

In this same plaza this weekend, the local Communist party here throws a neighborhood celebration each year. It was more like a German fest minus the handful of disjointed political booths. This fun clown had kids rolling with laughter! The signs at the booth behind the clown talk about protesting cruise ships docking in Venice's lagoon.

Ryan had to head back to our place because his head was spinning. Jake and I took our time heading back. I love watching him walk around like he owns the world. And I get such a kick out of seeing people's reactions to him!

Since Ryan still wasn't feeling well today, I set out on my own for a couple hours while he and Jake napped. I got myself to the water bus stand (minus a handful of wrong turns) and hopped on the Grand Canal slow boat #1, plugged into my iPod where I'd downloaded a Rick Steves podcast travel guide, and enjoyed listening to him tell me what to watch out for on my way toward San Marco.

I still have yet to see the inside of San Marco's Bascillica or the Doge's Palace! I couldn't brave the horrendous lines this time and forfeit time to meander, shop and eat gelato. If you ever come across a Grom gelateria (like in NYC), try their dark chocolate fondente! You'll thank me later!

All too soon, it was time to load up and head home. Jake was worn out, Ryan was trying to hold it together with only slight relief from his symptoms, and I bemoaned forgetting our good camera's charger such that all these shots are from the dinky iPhone camera. Oh well, at least it captured some great times celebrating ten great adventurous years with my best friend! I love you, Ryan!

This Week

It's just the little stuff that is our life right now but I see big things in it too. Things that I want to remember and savor . . .

Easton has officially begun Scouts! He participated in his first Pinewood Derby last weekend and thought it was pretty cool. Tuesday night this week he went to his first scout meeting. They learned to fold the American flag and leg wrestle. Easton said he beat all the other Wolves in his den. Since I'm in Primary each Sunday, I get to witness the ladies keeping all the kids in line. It was so fascinating to see these fathers manage lively boys and not get frazzled! I'm so excited for Easton to participate. He looked up to the boys as they recited the Pledge of Allegiance and Scout Oath. So great to have a good bunch of boys learning to be leaders. When Easton heard the words "scout camp", he officially decided if this group camps, he's IN!

This also begins us trekking up to the church building for youth night. The scouts don't meet each week, more like every other week. I really enjoyed having the time to just talk to Easton without Morgan interrupting! On the way home, I mentioned something about their Carter cousins moving back to Seattle probably this summer. Easton got real quiet and then he tearfully said, "It's like someone is dying . . . Mom, they're my best friends." Oh man! Just typing this again makes me teary! I hope we're able to find good times for the kids to Skype or maybe even play some xBox Live together. I can't believe I'm advocating for video game time, but it's something Easton loves to do with his cousins and Uncle Eric.

The boys get out of school each Wednesday at 12:30 and have tennis lessons at 3pm. This past Monday, we have declared Waffle Wednesdays and we're really enjoying it. Each week I learn a little something new about my parenting. The first week was just for fun. The second week I learned I needed to surrender control of what they put on their waffles and just go with what they wanted. (I'd made a really yummy fresh strawberry sauce and they didn't want it - just the Zarbitter chocolate spread, peanut butter, maple syrup, powdered sugar, and whip cream - spread separately on different portions of their waffle.) Another week it was about showing the boys and starting Morgan on better using their utensils to spread stuff, cut, and eat their own waffles. They were highly motivated and at lunchtime I have more energy and patience to teach than I do at dinner. I can't remember the other couple of weeks specifically, but yesterday I found I needed to start teaching better table etiquette. How to ask for, pass, and thank people for items needed. It's been such a great experience for us and I'm sooooo grateful for our Waffle Wednesdays!

Morgan had to have a cavity worked on and in two previous attempts, she wouldn't let the dentist do the work so we had to put her under general anesthesia. Good grief what a long day! Arrived at 9 for the appointment and didn't leave until 1:30 - and she couldn't eat before or until we left. The observation period of two hours after the procedure were torture because she was needy and hostile. Good thing I love her. The best part was after they gave her the silly juice before the anesthesia. She got real dopey and had me sing to her for a half hour. At one point she looked up in to my face and said, "Mom, you have two eyes." Thanks, sweet girl!

I've officially given up for now on putting Morgan in German kindergarten. The daily battle to get her out the door and to stay there was wreaking havoc on my psyche and my love for her. I often expect too much of her and need to tone it down. So I've started doing "preschool" with her at home for the past few weeks and she loves it. I love it because I'm trying to make more attempts to spend quality time with her. We do a couple different things, but the easiest part of it is starfall.com each day. A homeschooling friend showed it to me a couple years ago. We do our calendar, letters, numbers, colors, and stuff on there together. Once I let myself let go of German kindergarten for now, a sense of sweet peace swept over me. We might try it again next fall and I've requested she be put in the class with our German neighbor and with the teacher who speaks English for me. We'll see if it comes about, but for now this decision is saving my relationship with Morgan at this time.

The kids got Christmas money from my parents that they've been eager to spend. We were at the PX and looked for BeyBlades - the newest craze to hit their schoolyard break time. Essentially they're tops with a ripcord. They each bought two and were so excited! McKay is obsessed and I love overhearing his battle conversations, even with himself as he talks to his battling tops. McKay has a hard time focusing on anything because he can't get enough -- eating meals, getting ready, and so forth. It's real fun for a busy mom, but a great threat or bribe! Ryan returned from a short trip to the States for a conference and brought the kids 8 + the stadium. Easton declared it the best day of his life AND in another moment of sheer joy dopily said, "I love my family!"

Jake has officially left the carpet -- that is, the small area rug we having in the living room or playroom. He is a scooting machine! He also had his first table food -- mashed avocado. Yep, this kid is growing up! He's still nursing like a champ and we're still trying to get the sleeping through the night routine down. I often wonder if my milk is good enough, if I sit still long enough, and all sorts of "enough" evaluations that I have to tell myself I'm not messing him up. Yet. There's still plenty of time for that. The pediatrician hasn't raised any red flags yet so we'll take his word for it. I love that Jake loves to kiss and snuggle in now and then. Man I love babies!!!

I'm learning to make tasty dinner rolls from a friend who's an expert. My first attempt on my own wasn't the greatest, but they were yummy still. Guess I'll just have to try again!

I've also started playing soccer once a week with some German ladies. It's just indoor pickup essentially, but I love it! I get a real thrill out of a well-executed attack and score, a good defensive delay and steal, the feeling of working together with a team. I'm soooo out of shape that I have to keep my expectations of my body in check, but it's got me pulling out the workout videos to help with that so I can enjoy playing soccer that one night a week. They play Mondays at 8:30pm and while it may sound less than ideal, it's perfect. I don't have to wrestle kids there or find a sitter - except when I had my neighbor come over to watch this past Monday while Ryan was out of town. I wish they played twice a week but this is probably for the best. I just enjoy playing so much more than "working out."

I'm also really enjoying preparing my lessons each week for my primary class. Fun to be back in the Book of Mormon! I love having the weekly deadline pushing me toward daily scripture study. I love applying the things I read to myself, my family, and the lives of the girls in my class. I have 11 girls with another moving in soon and the set of twins bring their neighbors. It's a full room and I have to bring my A game to keep them engaged but they seem to enjoy my efforts. Ryan's got Elders Quorum to direct so we often are swapping Jake week to week. Good thing he loves the sling so I can have my hands free! My girls are eager to pass him around, but I'm not eager for the distraction or a host of new germs to join our family. A couple of the girls also have serious food allergies so I'm stumped on what I can bring for treats. Oh well, I've never been good about that being part of my repertoire!

I should write something about what Ryan's up to but he just got back from his work trip and has a "table top exercise" this week so we haven't had much time to catch up. He's still eyeing tennis lessons because we really like the boys' instructor and he loves that workout. We haven't gotten in much skiing as we'd planned, just too much going on. We're both wanting to shed some pounds and trying to figure out our approaches. He's been calendaring our travels for this year and has conceded that I'll take the kids home for a good chunk of this summer. I'm soooooo excited!!! Down time with my family is much overdue and I had a hard time justifying asking it because, Hello! We're in Europe with all its destinations and the expense of going home! I did such a good job selling the trip to him that now he wants to come too, at least for Matt's wedding when he'll get to see everyone and be present for family pictures. Again, this became about me -- sorry. Ryan, you'll just have to write on this here blog if you want your life story told ;)

Eye Candy

I'm a sucker for Ryan's beard, it suits him. And I love seeing him with our babies!

Now to the Baby Blues fixed on me - once he hears me, he's done with Dad!

Sorry, Ryan! You can be his favorite in a year when all he wants to do is wrestle!

The milk wagon wins this round.

All bundled up to run errands or pick up the boys from school. Poor guy doesn't care much for his car seat time, especially if that pacifier pops out or if Morgan is throwing a tantrum about her car seat straps being too tight. That half hour drive to or from church can be torture!

Everyone around here works hard for those smiles!

Ryan's coworkers designed a set of cute onesies for Jake as a baby gift. It refers to one of their favorite office jokes about some silly rumor of Mormons worshipping a big blue ox! So here's Babe!

Easton often finds Jake and settles in to play. Such a doting big brother!

Jake resembles Easton as a baby the most but there's some of McKay in there too now and then.

McKay likes to count how many smiles he can get out of Jake. How to entertain two big brothers with a little brother? Give them a camera!

We done yet?

It's pretty exhausting giving face time to all these busy bodies!

I love this little man so! Holding him melts away all the cares of the day. His routine is predictable and he's just so darn easy-going. Still working on sleeping through the night but I get such a kick out of him getting chatty at his 4-5am feeding. During the day, if I don't want to put him down but must get going, I put him in this sling made by my old coworker, Suzanne Stanmeyer. Within about five minutes of buzzing around doing chores, he's out like a light! Nothin' sweeter than holding him tight!

Jake's Blessing Day

As is customary in our church, we took the opportunity to give Jake a name and a blessing on November 6 in Sacrament Meeting. We also invited some friends and coworkers and were surprised when they all agreed to come! One family wasn’t able to make it at the last minute but we truly felt humbled by the great people we’ve come to know beyond our congregation. We’ve never invited friends to church before as a family but this seemed fitting since some of them had asked about our services or faith before. It was just nice to share this event with all those whose friendship means a lot to our family.

Because we were going to have visitors, I put together a small reception before the meeting so we could enjoy our guests. It turned out fabulously with the help I received from four friends – Monica Woods brought her beautiful delicious rolls; Linda Jones plated everything including her famous chocolate chip cookies and made it all look beautiful; and my two Visiting Teachers, Betty Turpin and Lori Southwick, were there to be my extra sets of hands, to keep the food and water stocked as well as clean up while we ushered everyone to the meeting. These ladies' help allowed me to relax and enjoy the day!

Our Jake with Ryan's coworker buddy, Jason (Jake) Rekas.

Brother Cunningham of the bishopric had reserved four rows for our group up front which was most helpful, but also a little embarrassing. Our ward has grown from the 150 people when we arrived three years ago to a burgeoning 250 always filling up the overflow seating area. I felt bad displacing the usual early-bird families who sit in those pews! But it was so nice to be able to sit together with our friends and Eric and Tamsyn’s family who drove up from Munich to participate. How lucky are we to have family this close!!!

After the opening remarks and business, it was time to bless Jake. Ryan had asked the following to be in the priesthood circle with him: his brother Eric; the bishopric - Bishop Fred Jones, Eric Elliott, and John Cunningham; Rhett Jeppson whom he works with; his Elders Quorum presidency counselors Loir Crucy and Kevin Garlock; friend Chad Woods . . . am I forgetting some? I will always be grateful for Sister Jones pulling Ryan and I aside as we set up the reception. She tenderly stated how she loved baby blessings because seeing a circle of strong men who honor their priesthood encircle a tiny baby is simply one of life’s sweetest moments. It set the tone for our experience that day.

Ryan did a very nice job on the blessing, although it got off to a rocky start. With that many men in the circle, it was hard to determine who if any of them had a good hold on Jake! At one point, Ryan and Eric both grabbed on to him because they felt him slipping. Once Ryan had a good hold of Jake, the blessing proceeded smoothly. In his testimony he bore later, Ryan recounted how he likes to take some time before he blesses our children to read the notes his mother wrote up from his father blessing him as an infant. We are so happy she did that for him! With so much going on, I didn’t get a chance to take notes – I was so enjoying the day we were sharing with friends and family. What I do remember of the blessing is the overwhelming feeling of honor it is to have little Jakob Reid in our family and the gentle spirit he brings.

After the sacrament was passed, it was time for Testimony meeting. Our ward typically has nice testimony meetings, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was a little nervous about who would get up and what might be said. I count it as one of the day’s greatest blessings that the testimonies shared were simple experiences of faith and gratitude to a loving Heavenly Father. References were made to members finding past friends and reuniting on Facebook or through a Google search. Ryan had to joke and add Evite to the list when he got up and thanked our friends for coming.

I wish I’d had more time with our friends before they left and the rest of our meetings began. It was so wonderful to have them there! Ryan’s coworkers: Eric and Alli Adams, Lisa Lowe, Jen Karro, Jason (Jake) Rekas and our family friends Joe and Heather Merrill with their kids, and Melanie Williams. After church, I had dinner ready in the crockpot in the building’s kitchen for us to eat with the cousins before they drove back to Munich. It was so fun to sit and catch up with them! Our poor ward had to smell delicious food the entire day at church while fasting. But it was all for a good cause! Our sweet Jake!

Slice of life

These little ones give me a chance to swing between such a complex spectrum of emotions in such short succession it's dizzying! Here's what they've been up to.

Potty-training Morgan has begun after months of Ryan's urging and my cringing. She has been ready for a while and with her starting German kindergarten next month, it's a nice deadline for me.

My strategy? Talk it up, clear days free of errands, push the watered down juice, naked bottom time, and set my watch timer to go off every 15 minutes so I remember to ask her if she needs to go. For the first five days, we were in the bathroom almost every five minutes because she wanted the potty treat, she was bored, and loved knowing how to get my undivided attention every five minutes. I'd forgotten how involved this process is once you add in the intricacies of adding underwear and pants!

She's a tough negotiator on the potty treats. When she earned her first celebratory treat, I dropped one M&M in her hand. She gave me a look of death before collapsing on the floor in a full-blown tantrum. She wanted 10 M&Ms! We compromised at 3, since she's 3 now I explained. She drives a hard bargain!

One reason I held off was that I had to have a travel potty. A friend recommended one of these and it's perfect for the van! Fits right under our van's front passenger seat. The first week with soccer games and practices finds me spending more time at the van with her trying out her new potty than actually being on the field. Factor in nursing Jake too and I'm a veritably circus act! For $16, this Kalencom travel potty is sheer genius and works with regular plastic grocery bags and a paper towel.

In all, Morgan has had more dry days with no accidents than wet ones so I really can't complain. Last night, her first night without a diaper, she stayed dry. It was time to try since she woke up the other morning dry and went to the potty first thing -- with McKay's help! He's such a proud brother "teaching" her how to do big kid things!

Grade 2 school picture

Easton made me seriously proud yesterday at the dentist. Isn't he handsome?!!! McKay was there to get a cavity worked on and afterward got to pick a toy out of the treasure chest. Easton knew the routine and was anticipating the toy. As I was finalizing insurance details with the receptionist, she told me how proud she was of my son for asking for a toy in German. What?! Then she told him how proud she was of him in German and he got a sheepish grin. "Kann ich haben eins?" he'd said and didn't even think much of it. Awesome! Yes, we've lived here almost three years, but this is my son who told his German kindergarten teachers that he didn't want to learn German.

He's gaining a lot more confidence recently in a lot of areas. He scored a goal in one of his first soccer games this season. He regularly sits down to do art projects lately - 3D models of our house mostly although he recently found a stack of Sonic the Hedgehog coloring sheets among our colored paper stash. But his favorite? Yo-Yo! Ryan and I found a free yo-yo while organizing our storage area a month ago. Ryan showed the boys some tricks he know and Easton went to town on the basics. Ryan got him a better one to practice with and hardly a day goes by when Easton's not found practicing skills like walking the dog.

Taken by hospital photographer, August 16

McKay is loving life lately having joined Easton at the International School of Stuttgart dual language campus. His class has 16 boys and 6 girls, only six German speakers although about half the Americans in class attended German kindergarten like McKay did. He loves having lunch and break with Easton and all the K-2 kids. He's on the verge of really reading and enjoys "reading" the beginner books from school to us. The PE/art teacher at the school, who's Spanish/Czeck, told me she just can't say no to those eyes of his! The boys are both participating in an afterschool activity led by Easton's new teacher, Ms. Clem, called Chef's Academy. McKay loves to help in the kitchen so it's great for him and I love that Easton's tried new things and found that he liked them.

McKay's got some natural athleticism that we really enjoy watching. He has a knack for knowing where to position himself and other parents have commented on it too. He practices with Easton/Ryan's soccer team on Tuesdays, has tennis with Easton and his buddy Evan on Wednesdays, and his soccer team practices on Thursdays with a game on Saturdays. He's scored a goal and had a couple assists this season and his coach loves that he seems to grasp the game and drills a bit more than some of the younger teammates. I get such a kick out of how he runs to me after each kick and asks if I saw his "big kicks." He's so adorable!

Jake is now getting chatty with all those sweet smiles. He is seriously such an easy-tempered little guy and if I had my way, I'd hold him all day long because it makes me seriously happy! We all coo and baby talk to him to coax those smiles out and I think we wear him out pretty fast because he takes a lot of naps although we're still working on lengthening those nights!

Jake had his 2 month checkup with our German pediatrician and is doing very well. I'm fascinated by these checkups because they seem so much more thorough than I remember our stateside ones being. They do sonograms at each appointment to check different organs and joints that are more prone to disease or malformation, such as the hips and kidneys. He checks Jake's reflexes by holding him up in the air in different ways. At this visit, Jake just lay there coo-ing and smiling as Dr. Grumbach checked him out. It was so adorable! He did have to get a shot in each thigh but was quick to calm down when I picked him up. Oh how I love him!!!

Easton still loves to hold him and be my last minute packup lifesaver while McKay and Morgan ask to hold him now and then. I love hearing Morgan mimic my tone of voice when we go get him up from his naps -- "Oh baby Jake," she'll say in a sing-song voice.