Blue is the color of this week!!!

Sorry I hate coming up with titles every week. I would just rather post but I can see how titles make it more interesting!!  Any way we had a pretty good week I would say.  Monday I introduced Ivy to the color blue ( just a note I don't expect her to know her colors I am just introducing on a week and we work on them from that point on).  I did the same as last week.  I pulled out a bunch of blue toys and placed them on the blue couch and we played with them and talked about them.

We had a pretty fun day.  Also on Monday, after I did my daily bible reading and lesson I started playing Christian children's songs for Ivy.  So far her favorite is " Happy all the time" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzofkZjEvc&list=TLCtEWKXk4z_VxuHnFmfwTldlI1-umxR_V

You should click on the link.  Its actually a very catchy tune and it puts me and her in a good mood. So we start it every morning now.  Its through youtube just to let you know.  Her all time favorite is Kika Kaninchen which is a channel that she use to watch when we were in the hotel.  She loves the theme song and now we don't have a tv so I let her watch the theme song occasionally on my phone or on her playlist.  Yes she has a youtube playlist.  Mostly Christian songs, actually Kika is a christian station if I remember correctly.  

Any way it rained Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday early morning.  Then it was just cloudy.  Ivy hadn't been to the the park in a few days so we went to the park and she played on all the equipment and I blew bubbles which if you remember from the Brussels video she loves.  I even let her in the wet sand box.  Here is a cute pic of her with her piggy toes in the sand!! 

Wednesday she had dance class and she had a blast.  She did really well to be honest.  She picked up a few moves.  On Wednesdays they do this stop song where the kids run around and have to do a pose or something when the song stops. Its the only thing Ivy really gets plus the circle at the beginning and the end.  She is just so precious.  

Thursday, we did our big art project.  I am pretty excited how it turned out and she loves it.  Its hanging in the kitchen.  I couldn't get pics of her painting since I was supervising.  I will say this, she did paint the entire paper towel roll ( I cut in half as a note).   I put plastic down on the floor.  We painted with water color just to be safe.  I held her arm as she made the strokes and I turned the roll around until it was all painted. Then I traced her hands and foot ( since she is so young we will be doing a lot of projects right now with her hands and feet.  Sorry if its so repetitive but I promise I will keep it interesting or fun at least).   Any way here are a few pictures of what we created!!!  

I am pretty happy with how it turned out!!  I had the idea in my head and had no clue how it would turn out but I am pleased!! like I said she loves it and loves looking at it every day!!  

Friday we went to the big park in town and she met a girl named Sarah who was 19 months. She had a great time playing.  We rode our bike and she enjoyed the ride to town. We skipped dance class as Kevin and I deciding if we are going to sign her up for 1  day or both days.  So far, from our experience, Wednesday seems to be more geared towards her age, but she loves going both days. We are contemplating trying 2 days and then going down to one in 3 months if she doesn't do well on Fridays.  The contract is 3 months or a year.  Either way we will do 3 months at a time.  

Today, we had a slightly lazy start to our day.  We organized a few things upstairs. Ivy had a blast and she found her winter hat and was walking around with it on her head just in her cloth diaper.  She was supper cute I had to post some pics. 

Any way, we then biked into town where she played at the big park and we met a nice family there. The wife was from Texas and the Husband was from Lithuania.  They had 2 children one was 6 the other was 17 months.  They gave us there business card so we can get the kids together and play, which is nice.  I have another post.  Just hoping Kevin emails me a video.  This has happened before and I never got his video. I may try connecting his phone and downloading it on my computer.  If not I will post either way by Tuesday.  I will do better at posting. I have been lazy in this area to be honest.  I hope you all are having a great weekend!! Talk with you soon!!!

Busy week!!!

Well we have had a busy week.  I was planning on posting mid week but I really didn't know what to write about so I thought I would wait until today.  I have been working on a schedule for the upcoming weeks.  I hope by getting Ivy and I on a schedule we will have time for play, art, music, dance, sleep, mommy time, grocery shopping , etc.  I think it will take a few weeks to work out the kinks but starting tomorrow will be our first run at our schedule.  I am using the calendar provided by windows to help me write my schedule.  So far this week Ivy and I worked on the color red.  We picked out her red toys and played with them.  we went through books and found objects that were red.  We took walks and pointed out red cars, stripes, flowers, banners etc.

 We wore red outfits with red bows in our hair when willing.  In German we are also learning red which is rot!!  So a red car in German is a rot auto.  A red lobster in German is a Rot Hummer.

We also did some art with the color red.  The painting below is just one example. I had some pictures of lady bugs and gave her a red color pencil and she painted them . Stuff like that. I just really liked the lobster idea found it on pintrest.  

Also this week Ivy started potty training.  She has been in disposables since April 27th.  She has gotten use to them since we shipped her cloth diapers.  Well on the 8th when our stuff arrived I immediately washed her cloth diapers and started using them that weekend.  Instantly she hated them.  She could feel when she wet herself and would grab her diaper as she went to the bathroom.  As soon as we got back from Brussels I decided it was the right time to get her a potty seat.  Well we got it Tuesday and she peed twice on the potty on Wednesday but nothing since. On my schedule I have planned potty time for her in hope it helps.  To make her feel comfortable I give her books and sometimes she will sit there for 5 minutes just reading.  

She had her own bathroom that is all hers.  Of course that may change when we have guests and may need an extra potty!! Also, this week we started kindertanzan, which is a children's dance class. Ivy seems to like it. She still doesn't understand the language or the moves but she has fun with it either way.  Today was kinderfest.  Her teacher  and class along with other kids were up on stage dancing. I didn't think she would go on stage let alone dance.  She did the best she could and it was precious . Here is a video ( I think its easier to view videos o google chrome if have it.  I wasn't able to download any videos on blogger until I downloaded google chrome. Just a note if you have issues viewing the videos)  

Today at Kinderfest was also Ivy's first ride. You may have to download the video to see her as I am closer to the camera then she is.  I will say this she was fine until we went uphill that she started screaming and became upset.  By the end of the ride she was laughing and saying "Weeee".

Trip to Brussels

Well we went to Brussels Belgium Thursday for a long weekend.  Kevin had a Holiday on Thursday, it was a Catholic holiday in Saarbrücken.  Apparently in Paris, Brussels and a few other locations it was a bank holiday.  Any way we left here Thursday morning arrived early evening. The first picture is of our train ride.  We had a small compartment to ourselves which Ivy enjoyed running around in which was nice.  We took and hour bus to Luxembourg and then a 3 hr train ride to Brussels.

 Then after we checked in our hotel we went to this nice part of town called St. Catherine's.  We shared some mussels and fries and had some lovely Belgium beer.  I apologize, some how I never took pictures of our hotel.  I am only posting a few pictures but I took 300.

 We were all tired went back to the hotel and went to sleep. The  next day we started early and headed towards the Grand place. On the way we stopped by a Church (pics not posted) then headed to the Grand place.  Now I haven' t been a lot of places but Kevin has.  We both agree that this square is among the most beautiful and since I have a long post I did not post a lot of pics but it was gorgeous.  I will say this much though. The carpet of flowers was very disappointing. I am not sure if it was a bad time of the year, but inside the grand place they had a florentine flower display this weekend but pictures were not allowed.  

 Then we headed to the Royal palace/  It was a very nice palace.  The gardens out front were gorgeous and the inside well what palace is not beautiful. Sorry for not posting all 30 pics I took but I hope from this you can tell its pretty.

 At the end they had a section where you could make paper flowers.  I am usually creative but just didn't have it in me on Friday.  Ivy loved the flowers I made even though they were a sight.  However, she loved them so much she destroyed them before the day was over.

Then we headed to the famous Peeing boy and it was tiny.  I just don't understand the big deal around it but there were hundreds of people taking pictures and Kevin wanted me to take one while he got us a table and ordered beers.  I hope you like it, I was pushed almost in front of a truck taking his picture.  That is the French for you!!!

 Then on our way home we stopped by  a market and I picked up these nice handmade sandals.  They are comfy and quite cute for 25€  I hope they hold up better then my bass outlet sandals that lasted 3 months!!!

The next day we headed to the Da Vinci Exhibit.  I have to say it was quite interesting and I learned a lot.  Yes, I learned about his art and his works in Art History in College.  I learned about his contribution to photography in photography class, and I knew about some of the machines he invented.  I just had no idea how much he had really done and the ideas he came up with.  I will only share a few pictures but some day you will have to see all of them and if you ever get the chance to see the exhibit, please do.  Its well worth the money.  

Then we toured a Brewery in Brussels.  It was the last Lambic beer in Brussels.  Lambic being one with our carbonation.  It was interesting and well worth the tour. The beer was not to my liking but we had to go as it was stated to be the best in the world. Not in our opinion but still and good tour and we came home with some beer.

Then we went to get some chocolate and while Kevin was buying Ivy was having fun popping bubbles that a street entertainer was making. Stupid me missed a lot of good video opportunities as Kevin had my good camera and it took me forever to realize I had my phone.  Here is a short clip of her popping a bubble. She had a blast and I really wish I has gotten some better video.  

Then we went back to the Grand Place and got some dinner.  Below is a pic of Ivy and Kevin.  Yes, Kevin got a king size beer.  I think its bigger then his head???   

 We had a great time but we are tired.  Ivy went to bed early and now its time for me to go to bed.  I will be back mid week. I hope you all had a lovely weekend as well!!!

We have our Stuff!!!!

Well, I apologize for not keeping up with my blog as promised.  I got a stomach thing that lasted 5 days then this week got busy and you will see why as you read this post. A lot has progressed since I have last been on this blog.  Since I last spoke with you our couch came on Tuesday.  It was a very exciting day for all of us especially Ivy.  It came 6 pm in the evening so we were all able to enjoy it when it arrived.  Below is a video of Ivy enjoying the couch as we were unpacking and then a pic of the couch. 

 

On Thursday our stuff arrived.  Yes finally after a very long wait we finally have our things and are unpacked.  I will eventually post pics of the place but we are still in the decorating process so you will have to wait on that.  The first couple of pictures are a fragile boxed , marked fragile with kitchen items.  Meaning our dishes.  Thank the lord nothing was broken

The next is a picture of the huge moving truck. It was filled with 3 other peoples items.  I was shocked it made it down our street!! Yes that is Kevin in the Green shirt.  He always has to feel like he has to help even though you are paying the movers to bring up your stuff.  He is such a sweet caring person!!!

Here is a picture of Ivy playing with all her toys once they were unpacked.  We had a blast unpacking them.  

Here is a pic of Ivy reunited with her best buddy Shorty!!!  He was greatly missed.  She can't read books at night without her best pal.  Glad to have him back!!!

Homemade Jam

Well, I know most of you are expecting and wanting to see Ivy pics.  You will just have to wait until the next post.  I just wanted to do a post on what I made last Friday.  Well , since I am not working I am trying to get into making more homemade items as well as do some baking.  As some of you know Kevin had a work party and I made this beautiful pie. 

It was a peach pie, probably the prettiest one I have made yet. It must have tasted delicious since Kevin didn't come home with any left overs.  Instead he brought home this chocolate swirled cheesecake a lady from his work made, marble pound cake, and some other delicious dessert.  So the baking inspired me to make more things.  The problem is finding the right ingredients in a language I still don't know.  I had picked up some Johannisberren (currents) from the local vegetable stand.  I decided to make Jam.. I found this great UK website with recipes on Jellies and Jams and most of them are without using pectin. Its a mix of fruits that contain high and low pectins to get the right amount so you jellies and Jams gel.  Well, this recipe was pretty simple so I decided to try. If you know anything about currants and making them into jam its the right balance of sugar and water.  Currants contain high levels of pectin.  I also added a hint of lemon. First  I cleaned the red currants and rid them of all stems. 

 

 

Then I added the water, 1 lb of berries so I used  3/4 pints of water.  I brought the water to a boil and let it simmer for 15-20 min.  Then I removed it from the heat and added 1 1/2 cups of sugar and a dash of lemon juice.  I put it back on and let it boil for another 15-20 minutes.

 

 

Here is the tricky part.  To do a test to make sure your jam has set you put a silver spoon in the freezer (2-3 spoons)  and let it get real cold. Around the 15 minute mark you take the cold spoon and dip it in so see if the jam gels or if its set.  If it falls off the spoon its not ready.  If it starts dripping slowly to the point of almost not dripping its set.  You do this to your preferred thickness of your jam.  Honestly I got 2 jars of jam.  After a few hours they were still to runny for my liking, so I dumped it all back in the pot boiled it for a few more minutes and added some lemon juice and walla I had great Jam.   This was my first time ever making Jam.   

This pic was from the first time boiling. After the second time I only had 1 and 1/3 jars of jam.  Next time I understand the set test better and I think 1 lb of berries would yield 2 jars.  It was delicious and we all are enjoying it. Even Ivy thinks its rather tasty.  I am pretty proud for the first time making it. 

I am back up and running!!!

Hello all, Its been a very long time since I have posted and I apologize for that.  We just got reconnected to the internet on Tuesday.  I have been busy the past few days catching up on headlines, emails, facebook etc.  Things are going pretty well here.  No we are not settled yet.  As some of you know we still do not have our stuff. Our ship landed in the UK on the 16th of July.  I will try to make this story short so I can post other items.  They did not tell us the money was due before the ship arrived.  I had traded many emails on options of payment.  We found out on the 9th that the money was due prior to the ship docking and they put a hold on our items. Kevin wired the money on the 12th.  Some how their bank never received the money as our bank sent a check and did not wire since it was a first time thing.  Well, we had to cancel the transaction and charge it on our card.  Come to find out they charged our card and then reversed the charges, sent us an email that the credit card had declined.  This is actually the very short version of this story.  So as of now we are steaming and hoping to resolve this as of this week. Our stuff went into storage in the UK on the 23rd and could have been delivered here.  So its very upsetting and frustrating at the same time.  We just want our stuff and have more things that are familiar for Ivy. 
    On another note, we love where we live and we love our apartment. At the moment it is still pretty bare.  We do have a kitchen table and 4 chairs, a patio set, grill, air mattress, and a pack n play for Ivy.  This weekend we picked up a small table for Ivy that we purchased last weekend and we have a toy chest coming in on Tuesday.  She has been helping me pick out things to decorate her room.  On here I will post our apartment as of the weekend we moved in .  I will post pics as we get more settled and finish rooms. Right now we are slowly starting to decorate little by little just to make it more like home.  We did buy a couch back in June but it takes 8-10 weeks for delivery so we should have that beginning or mid September.  I am sure there is a lot to tell you but I will have to think of it through the weeks as I am so far behind with posting.  So this post is to basically show you our apartment the first week we moved in.  If we ever get our stuff or when we are settled I will show you updated pics as we go.  I am sure I will have posts on decorating each room.  Right now Ivy is the important one so her room and a small area of the living space is our focus.  Ok so here are the pics of our humble abode.  As you know we moved in on our Anniversary weekend.  Kevin was so sweet, he walked in our first night in our place with some beautiful flowers. The first pics are of the lovely flowers I received!!

 

 

 

 Now for our apartment.  The first pic is of our entry way.  We have a small foyer.  When you walk in our room is to the right with the kitchen next to it and Ivy is on the left ( not shown in this picture).

 

Next you have our lovey room with the fabulous air mattress we have been sleeping on since the 8th of June. 

 

Next to our room is our kitchen small but has lots of storage and I really like it to be honest.  Its bigger and better then what I expected we would get.

 

Now we have Ivy's room.  She decided that she wanted to help me show off her special place.  As you can see it doesn't have much in it but that will change very soon.  It actually has a few decorations now but I will not show it until its complete.

Next to her room is a half bath with just a sink and a toilet

 

And next to that is a full bathroom.  The half bathroom is technically a WC. 

 

Before taking you to the main living space I will take you to our second level.  The door is just to the right of the entry door before entering Kevin's and My bedroom.  The stairs are pretty steep so I am very thankful to have a door that keeps that area from Ivy's temptations. 

 

 

 

Upstairs is an open room then a bedroom.  I don't think there is a door that closes off the one room. The open area we are going to use as an office space, storage, etc.  Once we get our room/bed set up the air mattress will move to the spare room. 

 

 

 

 

Back down stairs to our main living space we have two pretty big rooms, one with a wood stove, and a balcony.  Right now the room with the woodstove is our dining area and the other room is our living area.  When the season changes and things get colder we may rearrange this. The first pic is of the current living area.  You will see a window with a tiny cove. That is where Ivy's little space will be.  She really likes it.  I will update when we finish it. For now in this pic its empty. 

 

 

 

The next pic is our current dining area which currently does have a table and 4 chairs. The mattress is on loan from Kevin's institute.  They were nice and wanted us to have something to sit on.  The mattress is now in our living area.  Ivy decided to pop into this pic as well. Below this is a picture of the two living areas together.

 

 

 

Now for our lovely balcony.  The first weekend we bought this green outside mat since the tiles get hot.  We bought a grill, Ivy an outside chair and 2 chairs for us. Not picture are 2 more chairs with a matching patio table. 

 

 

I will end this post of a taste of our view.  We do like our house and are slowly making it our home.  As we get more settled and I feel the rooms are complete I will post pics.  It may just be a post room by room as we go.  I will be posting through out the week updating you on our stuff, pics of Ivy and what ever else we are up to.  Enjoy and it is great to be back!!!!