Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (91)

I'm writing this a day later than usual because last night was spent baking a pie (Pi(e) Day, remember!!) and some chocolate cake for today, as a colleague of mine was coming over to hang out for the day. Let me tell you, we had tons of fun it was worth standing in the kitchen until 11 pm Saturday night!

Some of the thankfuls of this past week:

1. Spring arriving! Last week, we've seen the first field of purple crocus, last week I spotted the first pale yellow and green spots on a tree at my bus stop, and Lily bringing home those beautiful pale violet blossoms on her way home from school. It's so beautiful watching nature awake once more.

2. Watching our sleeping baby this morning, drifting in and out of sleep myself. Calvin woke up early, just as dawn came on, fiddled a little with the wicker on the cradle next to my bed, and then fell back to sleep. He looked so very peaceful...

3. Having neighbor kids once again. As the weather is getting better, Lily and Violet are meeting up with the kids from next door in the mud pit that's our (still) joined backyard, play with their dolls, kick a ball, and just have fun together!

4. Despite being sick (the sinuses, as usual), I'm thankful for not joining in the Influenza 2015 club. The bug seems to be especially nasty this year, and the shot (which we don't get anyway) pretty ineffective.

5. Getting to be part of a blog tour on a topic that's close to my heart: music. It is a language that includes everyone, no matter the age, no matter the nationality, no matter their day-to-day language. And getting to learn more things about the wonderful Lisa as well!

6. The silliness out D&D nights are becoming. Richard had a Faxe more than usual, and the rest of the table was feeding off him. The math was difficult, the role playing hilarious, and the fights successful for us. Looking forward to the next session already!

7. Lily enjoying school and learning so much. Every day, after lunch, she goes up to her room doing her homework, without anyone of us having to prompt her to do so. I couldn't imagine how it would be if we had to stand over her shoulder every single day, and quite honestly don't want to!

8. Once again, the German healthcare system. It seems as if Lily had to start orthodontist treatment soon, and I'm beyond thankful for not having to shell out the €5000 or €6000 our of pocket!

9. The prospect of soon not carrying all the dirt from outside into our home. if everything goes as planned and the weather is nice, work on our front and back yards should start by the end of April!

10. Kind people. I'm not quite spilling the beans yet, but there is a very special someone who's doing something so incredibly nice for me, and I'm so, so excited about it!!  More to come, soon!!


I hope you, too, have tons of things to be thankful for this week!

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (88)

It's a "Schnapszahl"-TToT this week (look this up, German is so much fun!!), and it's not my first post of the week, thanks to a number of wonderful women thinking up the amazing project of 1000 Voices speaking for Compassion. Such an outpour of emotion is truly something that will be remembered for a while!

Besides the #1000 Voices on Friday, here are this week's ten thankfuls:

1. Being home for Lily's winter break. Once the spring break will roll around, I'll be back at work for 15 hours per week, still have plenty of time to spend with the kids, but it will be different. I am really thankful for the time I got to spend with my family these last 8 months, which was a unique opportunity and has opened doors we didn't even know existed for our family.

2. A game of musical "Go Fish" with Lily on Monday morning, while Calvin was napping and Violet was in kindergarten. After starting just normal, we started singing at each other more and more, until we were only singing to each other, to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it...". So much fun!!

3. Spending some quality time with Violet, doing hair. She's definitely my little princess, and loves to get her hair combed and styled. Even though I love when she cuts her hair to this adorable bob she used to have, I also can't wait for her hair to be long enough to try out even more styles!

4. Looking at our baby, sleeping peacefully, when I go to bed at night. I enjoy those short moments every night, in between me going to bed and Richard finishing brushing his teeth. In no time, our little boy will be all grown up. I can't believe he's 6 months old already, halfway to toddlerhood, rolling all over the place; therefore these moments are so very much treasured in my heart.

5. A glimpse of spring. Even though I would prefer some more winter-wonderland, taking the kids out to the playground to enjoy the balmy air was fun. The girls were plaing with other kids and Calvin was sitting in the swing all by himself for the first time.

6. D&D Friday night. It's been so silly, when the bard came up with singing a song of endless praise to the minotaurs, with the warlock as harmony and the barbarian and fighter as background dancers. Obviously, it freaked out the minotaur and his gnolls enough to just let us pass the road. One of the easiest fights ever  :-)

7. Another one of my friends moving to our town. She's going to have her third baby in September and I am looking forward so much spending more time with her and her family!

8. Dark, dark chocolate and hot chocolate with a cream hat.

9. An outing with all three kids to IKEA. We got some odds and ends and we enjoyed a yummie lunch together. I was doing outings like that every once in a while with the girls before Calvin was born, and I didn't think I could take this tradition back up so quickly!

10. Backrubs from my Lily. She's such a doll, sneaking up behind me and rubbing my back, because she thinks that I deserve it. I don't think so, but she's such a sweetheart!


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (78)

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The year is slowly drawing to a close. I remember a lot about this time last year, when I started having the first feelings about our little baby growing inside me. The excitement of the knowledge being all my own for a little while longer until I was sure enough to share the news with hubby. And now, we have our little son with us, completing our happy chaos. It is stressful, and with all the sleep deprivation, it feels as if Richard and I barely have half a brain in between the two of us. But we are happy. And tired. Right now, I am so thankful for getting to spend so much time with the entire family, with hubby studying online from home. This is a chance not many families get, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

More thankfuls of this week:

1. A great visit with our friends on Sunday. We usually meet on a Sunday and have a big lunch together. The kids play, the adults share good conversation, and we usually get home way too late, but happy. The friendship is still fairly new, but we've been growing close so quickly.

2. Participating in a food-drive at Violet's kindergarten. The class is preparing food packages to be sent to the Ukraine to support the victims of the war there. It is wonderful that the teachers are teaching the kids about the situations and to share what we have with those less fortunate.

3. Lily being healthy again. She missed three days of school in the last 2 weeks due to a stomach bug; I had several 3am summonings to change sheets full of puke and clean a terrified Lily, poor girl. Luckily, she was able to make up the schoolwork she missed without a problem, and is already halfway through a book she got from the school library on Thursday. So proud of our little reader!!

4. Baking yummie honey cakes. I've been planning on baking some in forever, but never actually fit it in. So glad Calvin and I got to it this week, they are delicious!

5. Violet's allergy test results being all negative. So she's just dealing with a very stubborn cough and mild bronchitis, but thankfully not a chronic allergic bronchitis!

6. Getting the call that our new dryer will be delivered on Monday. So excited! We're taking a break from doing laundry this weekend and simply wait for Monday and our new dryer  :-)

7. Our sweet little Violet. She is the absolutely most amazing little girl in this world. Today, while shopping, we went to the bathroom, and as we were leaving, an elderly lady was about to come in. And what did my little girl do?  She held the door open and stepped aside to let her in. The door was heavy, but she was so proud to be able to help out. I couldn't have been a prouder mommy  :-)

8. Hubby taking better care of me than I do. He frequently sends me to bed, gets up in the morning to give me an extra hour of sleep, makes me coffee, etc. I don't deserve him, but am so thankful for him!

9. Getting to watch the kids. Calvin was teething like a littke madman on Lily's finger, Lily's sqeaking and cussing him out while Violet is rolling on the floor laughing.  They are so hilarious!!

10.  Not falling asleep at the D&D table again and having a fun time playing. This was probably the last game of the year, but I'm looking forward to playing with this awesome group next year again!


What are you thankful for this week?

Gaming Friday

I'm experiencing withdrawal; it's been over a month since we've played our table-top role playing game. But today is the day again!!

For everyone who's interested: we're currently playing a campaign of D-20 Modern. The setting is a small Maryland college town in the mountains. There's murder, there's mystery (any former Buffy fans here??), and there's an unlikely band of people trying their best to solve the riddle and save their own lives that is threatened by the Slender Man.

To be honest, this might just be game I'm most involved in. I still have to get familiar with the game mechanics as it is different than D&D 4th edition, and sometimes it's frustrating, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon.

We have just lost the only other girl in our round due to a break-up, so I'll have to fend for myself again, but hope to have another friend join our circle of nerds, soon!

Keep your fingers crossed I don't die!

The Slender Man (by Ray-Kanen)

My Life After Dairy: One Month Later

I think it's time for a little update on my journey to a dairy-free diet. In the beginning, it was hard. I missed my milk and my inches-think layer of cheese on nearly any dinner I ate (except of fish). But I have tasted my way through a number of milk substitutes (I still use oat milk as a plain beverage, with cereal, and in pancakes, scones, etc. and rice milk for baking, cooking, and hot chocolate), have learned to taste the actual food again (not only the cheese on it), and generally have been doing pretty well with my new diet. I have found dairy-free ice cream in the supermarket (it's not nearly as expensive as I thought and comes in a large variety of flavors not only on soy milk but also on rice and almond milk basis), and identified the coffee shops in town who would make my mocha with rice milk (unfortunately, most coffee shops only have soy milk as an alternative, and that doesn't work for me either).

I've had some slips so far, but only minor ones. Revisit this scene from a recent trip to the mall with Subway sandwiches for dinner:

I go and order a foot-long sandwich for Richard and me to share (and of course a kid-size one for Lily)

Richard: Is there cheese on this sandwich?

Me: Yes...

Richard: And you're eating it?

Me: Yes... (thinking: Is he telling me I'm too fat and I should skip the cheese??)

Richard: You know that's dairy, right??

Me: Oh.. *facepalm* (removing the cheese slices from my sandwich and handing them over to Richard)

"Is there dairy in that?" has become my MAQ (most asked question) recently, so I know now that Jack In The Box's Kona Iced Coffee contains dairy, but MacDonald's Iced Coffee is dairy-free. I have experimented a lot using milk substitutes in my favorite recipes, and so far it always worked out. It even adds some interesting flavor notes sometimes (pancakes with rice milk anyone??), and even my non-dairy-hypersensitive friends had no complaints about it.

Sometimes, however, I was simply forced to change recipes completely. A couple of weeks ago I made potato salad for our D&D group, and simply had to make a separate portion for me without sour cream (if anyone knows any substitutes for that, let me know!!), but just the mustard, olive oil, and vinegar worked well too!

At the moment, I still miss yogurt a lot, since I have not yet found any substitute for that (I have found soy yogurt, but again, soy is not an option for me). My snack options are therefore quite limited, and unfortunately I have oftentimes chosen sweets rather than more sensible snacks (fruit) to make up for it, but I'll try to do better. A cup full of frozen raspberries are really a treat, full of vitamins and antioxidants, and low in calories!!

For anyone interested, here's the recipe for my dairy-free breakfast scones (they are quick to make and taste yummy!)

2 cups of flour (all-purpose or whole wheat)
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 cup of margarine (1 stick)
1/2 cup of oat or rice milk
raisins

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder; cut in margarine and work in with fingers or a spatula; add raisins (I just toss in a couple of hand-full) and mix in; add milk, work it in and knead a few times; divide dough in two parts, form two balls; place balls on baking sheet and flatten them to disks.
Bake at 400F for 10 minutes.
Tips: this recipe is good for variations! Use orange juice instead of the milk, and blueberries (fresh or frozen), dried cherries or cranberries instead of the raisins, etc. It's all up to your imagination (thank you to my friend Linda, who came up with those variations!)

Enjoy!!