Karneval

It is the fifth season in Germany, the Karneval season.
Having myself been one of the "actives", I have had a great time celebrating Karneval, though only in the small village of Moselkern :-) Helena enjoyed it, too, while Matilda fell asleep waiting for the procession to start. The kids got such a huge bag full of sweets and goods and we all had a good time.

Helena had decided she wanted to be a mermaid, her wish is my order, but Matilda's costume choice could still be manipulated by myself ;-), me, performing a cat and Teemu got some "real man"- ascessoirs.

 Getting ready to go front....

 ... and back!

 How does one paint a skunk face???

 Half cat, half batman's joker...

 ... and ... the REAL MAN.

 Uh, yummi, free candy!

The ice-princess

What an exciting day!
Today was the big day of the internal competition ("Vereinsmeisterschaften") of Helena's figure skating club. Four little girls were waiting anxiously for this day, each of them counting the days. We agreed, there would be two first places and two second places for them.
Only a small competition, but with the feeling of the "real" thing. There were microphones, glitter, glitz and glamour all around. I still believe, that the mommies were more nervous than the girls.
Here's a look:

 Yes, it was fun!
Helena's first comment at home: "I want more of these medals!"
:-)

indoor playground

Another hello again.
It has been a while, and a very busy one, indeed.
Last weekend however we made a cut and had some fun with the girls. No work, no worries, just quality time and new places to find out.
On saturday we visited the local swimming pool, which is absolutely exquisite for playing with little ones. It has a very low water area with a water slide for children. That is the place we spend most of our time. But there is also a variety of four more pools with depth of upto 135 cm. So an adult can easily stand and hold the kids over water or they could wear swimming aids.
Two of these pools contains natural salt water and is therefore benefitial for skin deseases and it is clear that Matildas skin greatly improved after visiting there.

Sunday we went to the indoor playground with a collegue and it was a great time. The pictures say all :-)

 Sisters fun going down the slide.

 There was no age or weight limit!

Squeezing through the parcour...
















Slowly we our thoughts drift to our return to Finland. We are all looking forward to be back home and see you all again!

Christmas Dinner with Sibblings and Cousins

It is a long tradition that on one of the christmas dinner we sibblings gather at my parents' with spouses and offspring.
With all the small children around we had to extend the dinner table with an extra table.
After food, we didnt see the older children anymore, Feli, Caya and Helena set off for adventures around the house. Marleen and Matilda found their shared interests, a shared way to communicate and where playing together soooo soooo cutely.

Us older children played Munchkin and had fun, too.
The evening ended no earlier than midnight and all kids fell asleep extremely quickly.

Teemus Birthday

Help, there were even more packets to unwrap today for Teemu. And the garbage bin is flowing over from wrapping paper! A new car radio to replace the antique one (it has a cassett deck!) in our car.

We didn't celebrate Teemu's birthday in any more special way. I went with the girls to swim, almost a tradition already for boxing day. We'll have quiet evening today and start watching our new DVD's. :-)

Christmas 2013 in Moselkern

Two wonderful days lay behind us. Full of anticipation, christmas joy and family time.
We spent the christmas eve as everyone else, helping the kids to wait for Christkindchen. Helena was so excited, I am sure she almost collapsed. Nevertheless there was little complaining, even though the actual gift giving part took place no earlier then 19 o'clock and only after a trip to the lutheranian chapel in Karden with Grandpa, Grandma, Helena and me. Helena was behaving extremely well in church and except one little trip to the loo and her falling asleep during the sermon, I am quite proud of her :-)

The mountain of presents under the christmas tree has been increadible, as always.
Helena got a walking furreal dog and Matilda a huge HABA ball track. We had lots of fun playing with it already, also nice for the "older children". Teemu and me exchange only "reasonable" gifts, I got a pretty new silver chain (Matilda destroyed my old one) and Teemu a couple of DVDs we were planning to watch. Couldnt resist the temptation and bought myself a little present, too. A quilting book about the tentmakers of Cairo.

I wish everybody a joyfull Christmas.

The start of the christmas season

So here we are, back in Moselkern at my parents' for the holidays.
The otherwise sometimes annoying thing that here is absolutly NOTHING to do during winter times is well appreciated now. We are looking forward to some quite family time and days spend resting, going for a walk and playing with the kids.
Behind us are weeks so full of program, that many days a week I was on tour 12 h a day, with hardly time to grap a bite in between. Much of the family responsibility had laid on me for a while, as Teemu was ordered to bedrest to recover from pneumonia. He is much better now but still not on 100%, also still suffers from pain in the lungs and muscles around.

There were plenty of happy occasions too. Helena participated in the Skating Gala "Winterzauber" and not only did she perform fairly well, she had so much fun. This girl really likes to be applauded to :-) Helena is well integrated in the skating club now and the year ended with a little "test" where they earned their "stars" (little Swarovski gems to be glued to the skate) and a trip to the local cinema. It really started to make me think that Helena is growing up!

Matilda got very much used to the nanny and we couldn't be more happier with Anna. She is incredible flexible and doesnt hesitate to do extra favours. We are deep indepted to her.

Work has been quite fun, too. There is plenty of responsibility and pressure but it is acquainted with a lot of humor and fun. In the end, we brought the kids to the xmas celebration and it was all ok. (In fact I hope, the grumpy old professor now apologizes my absence to the weekly seminar at 18.oo!!!)

There will be more posts again during the next days as time permits, but I wish everyone a joyful holiday season with a picture I received from our senior lab engineer: