Busy girls

Just wanted to add an update to the things going on with the girls.  They are so super smart and talented and I enjoy them everyday.  I feel very blessed to have the resources to provide these experiences for them, and I hope someday they look back fondly on their childhood and think, "Man, my childhood rocked"

Bailey was awarded the Silver level on the honor roll for the 1st quarter of 7th grade.  This year was a transition as her curriculum is getting closer and closer to preparing her for high school. Still, she continues to grasp concepts quickly and loves learning (or is it socializing)

 

McKenna performed in The Nutcracker with her ballet class.  She has really loved being a ballerina and during the dress rehearsals she enjoyed watching the older girls dance.  She has the body for it, long lean legs and the love of being all that is girly.

Here is a video of McKenna's performance.  She is the third "party guest" to run to the tree.  She enjoyed this so much, we've come such a long way from cowering in the corner and clinging to mom.  But to be honest, I miss the cling.

Munich Weinacht Markt

Saturday we spent in downtown Munich at their Christmas Market.  Super cool city with a healthy hip vibe, but still full of history and tradition.We walked and we walked and we walked.  I really think we stunted McKenna's growth with all the walking we did that day.  I was so proud of my girls, hardly a complaint.  Probably because every time they said, "Can we try some of that", I of course said, "You bettcha!"

Here we are in the Marienplatz which is the square in front of the Rot Haus in the picture above.

This is probably one of my favorite treasures of the year and it didn't even cost me a dime.  He is not there for show, he was there in traditional clothing, perusing the market just like us.  FABULOUS.  I forced Mark to ask if we could take his picture.  McKenna looks like she is in horror movie and forced to smile, probably because the dude had a cigarette in his hand.  McKenna said, "Mom, do you think he knows that is bad for him?"  Oh, ladybug . . .

If you look closely at this menu, you get an idea what all the fuss about German Christmas markets are all about.  Gluhwein.  It is an alcoholic hot mulled cider that smells divine.  The pfand is the deposit you pay for your mug, you get it back when you give back your mug.  On the far right you can see that you can order an alcohol free version, but I'm sure it doesn't take the nip off the cold air like the Gluhwein.  And of course they don't leave the kiddo's out, they can order Kinderpunsch, which is a hot juice drink.

The Munich Market is different in that one section of the market is dedicated only to selling nativity scenes.  You pick the stable and fill it with individual items, so it is built to your desire.  To be honest I was a little disappointed, it was so small and the prices were SO up and out of my orbit.  But still fun to look at.

We stopped for lunch at a traditional beer hall, which is about all you can find in Munich, the home of Octoberfest.  Here is Mark testing the goods.

For all you worrying about Mark's beverage, don't. It was alkoholfrier beer!  Besides look at Bailey, do you think she would let him do anything questionable?  Don't answer that.

This is how they brought the girls their brats.  The wursts were in the large bowl that looks like a soup tureen, swimming in hot water.  The pot with the spoon is their homemade mustard which was divine, there was a touch of honey in it.

Esslingen Weinacht's Markt

Thanksgiving weekend we sprinted out the door early Friday morning for an adventure down south, Munich!  We felt fat and happy and full of energy after eating a splendid meal with our favorite Ray family.

On our way down we took a break and what better way to break than to go to a Medival Christmas Market.  This one was in Esslingen, near Stuttgart.  I. LOVED. IT!  It was totally different than all the traditional markets we have gone to over the last 5 years.  First, they all dressed in costume AND they actually demonstrated how they made the things they were selling.  Plus they had a game platz for the kids and NEW FOOD!  Super exciting.

Just look at all that COLOR!  I was immediately taken in and then had to be dragged away to see more color and then more around each corner.

Here is McKenna trying bread on a stick, literally.  The dough, sweet with a hint of cinnamon, is wound around the thick stick and put into the fire oven and baked to toasty perfection.

Can you just feel the sisterly love in this picture?  Bailey took it and when I looked at the results I asked, "What gives?".  Bailey just looked at me, shrugged, smiled and walked away . . . . ha!  We have a sneaky devil amongst us.

What is even more frightening is that sneaky devil is a horrible archer, which means even if she was aiming for her sister, you are definitely in danger, even if you are standing behind her.  Should I have warned her instructor? Na, he looks tough as nails!

We are just going to drag this out a bit . . .

We need to hang onto Christmas with all our might so that we can give it to Mark when he comes home. So I found the one and only German Christmas market that stays open after Christmas, Speyer. It is a quaint little town. The Christmas market itself isn't anything different than others we've visited, but once you walk outside of the main walkplatz and into the side streets, a whole new side of Speyer reveals itself. So fun! We went ahead and continued the tradition of eating our way through the market, more crepes, baguette sandwiches, cotton candy . . . oh, and diet coke of course. That way we had the energy to shop a little . . .

After going to German Christmas markets for 4 years, I finally found my smarts. I put McKenna in her snow pants and the result was this: it took twice as long to start hearing the words, "Mommy I'm cold, my feet hurt, buy me something, can we go home yet, I want to go back to the car to watch my iPod" We still heard it all, but it. took. twice. as. long.. Plus, when she fell down 6 times, she didn't get wet and dirty. Yipee! Do you know what German parents do? They leave the strollers home and strap the kiddo's into sleds and pull them up and down the streets. I love that too!
The following video is so classic of what happens when the Frandsens experience European popular music. I'm not gonna say anything, just take a listen:

Christmas Memories

This was such a different Christmas for me, very hard to get in the spirit with Mark being gone. I went through the motions of gift gathering, decorating, cookie baking, and enjoyed myself but it didn't feel real.

Thankfully my mom joined us and saved my children from a stoic mother. She helped them make and decorate gingerbread houses, sugar cookies and other fun Christmas projects. We also splurged by going to the spa for manicures and pedicures.

We made it to only 2 Christmas markets this year, the Kaiserslautern one (that really isn't anything to write home about) and Trier, which deserves a few words and photos. We were able to spend our day in Trier with Nina, whose husband is spending Christmas with Mark. As one of my friends stated on Facebook, "We successfully ate our way through the Trier Christmas Market". Lately I have nothing to show for my outings except an empty euro coin purse and a full belly.

Potato pancakes with applesauce:

More poffertjes, this time with cherries and vanilla sauce and powdered sugar with Nutella:

Flamkuchen

Here is McKenna on the carousel. Did anybody else notice how close her feet are to touching the ground?! ARGHHH she is growing too fast. Plus, this is the first year that Bailey declined her carousel token . . . .

Christmas day was different in the Frandsen home because my lovely children woke up at 3:30 AM!! They have never done that before and I was mean and made them go back to bed. They didn't go back to sleep and finally at 5:30 came begging with all their might. I gave in, dragged myself out of bed and joined in the ruckus.
The girls had a lot of gifts to open this year, it was a little ridiculous, and I wonder if I just went a little overboard because I was trying to make up for Mark not being here. Probably . . . who cares . . . not me and definitely not the girls. And of course the presents didn't make up for his absence but we enjoyed the day anyway.

Bailey was thrilled with her new iTouch, set of the Twilight movies (oh brother), and a spa set. Mark and I gave her a sewing machine to encourage her interest in designing and making clothing.

McKenna received a Pet Shop bundle, a wagon for her Barbie dolls and roller skates. It is the day after Christmas as I'm writing this and she has maybe had them off for a total of 2 hours, plus the hours she slept. Good thing I have tile.

McKenna also got this splendid gift from my mother that is just perfect for her imaginative personality:

What did I get you ask? I got 2 naps (yippee) and got to skype with my man. Went to bed with a full belly and happy children. It definitely was a good day. Stay tuned my good friends, we will be getting the best Christmas present of all in the next couple of days . . .

Thanksgiving then Christmas in a cave

We had such a nice Thanksgiving. When we got the invite from our good friends the Ray's way back when, I secretly jumped for joy on the inside, for fear that if I showed my excitement on the outside they would be worried about what they just invited into their house. I knew all along that Bishop had many talents, but now I can add that he can cook a mean turkey. Well, it's really not mean, it's just moist and perfect.
Back in October I decided that the girls and I would splurge a little while Mark was gone and take a day trip to the Netherlands to visit a Christmas market. This particular market is held in the caves of the Valkenburg castle ruin. It sounded unique and mysterious and we really enjoyed our day . . . well, except for the freaky decor. . . more on that later.

If you ask the girls what they liked best about the day, they will tell you the bus ride. They get to bring along a bag full of entertainment, so movies, music and books and they were set. Each time we stopped they moaned and groaned but then were oh so happy to help me spend my euro.


So the Valkenburg Christmas market description will tell you that they decorate with a charming Charles Dicken's theme. Sound charming eh? . . . not charming, more like Ebenezer Scrooges worst nightmare wrapped up in a "charming" bow?!

Here are the girls before we entered the cave, they look happy right?
This is what they both looked like while trying to avoid the scary looking characters. I think they made these "back in the day" and, well, it's time to make new ones folks.
There were some charming accents, some I say:
Another look at the outside:
The caves are open year round with tours that describe the normal contents of the caves. Here is a confessional in the underground chapel, which was really just a cave with a cross at the head and . . . the confessional of course:
This is a mural in the caves that caught my eye:
On Thanksgiving morning I received the call that my Grandmother had passed away the day before. While we were on our trip I planned to try, during the quiet moments, to make a decision on whether I should go home or not. In the end, it was not the right choice to travel home, even though every fiber of my being wanted to be there. So because I had my Grandmother on my mind all day long, I found it very interesting to see that I could buy "poffertjes" before we entered the tunnel.

These little pancakes are a Christmas tradition in my family, only we call them Aebelskivers. My Grandmother's family is the line that this tradition stems from. I spent most of my childhood Christmas Eve's at my Grandmothers house, consuming these little babies until they had to roll me home. We have now had these pancakes twice in the Netherlands and they are not called the same thing. In the video below you can hear the pronunciation.

That think in the middle, a big ol slab o' butter, that was different. I felt bad for the poor woman who could speak very little English, who made our poffertjes because upon serving them to us, I broke out in tears while trying to give her my euro. Some days I'm such a mess of a woman without my hubby to ground me.

Here is a link to my sisters blog. It contains the eulogy that she composed for the funeral. She did such a good job describing my Grandmother's essence. Thank you Danette!

In the nick of time!

We made it to a Christmas market afterall! It was a little last minute but totally worth it. Wiesbaden is about a 50 minute drive north for us and this little market was splendid. They have a theme for their market centered around their blue and yellow coat of arms. All the booths are blue with a yellow symbol on the top. They also have these tall wire towers shaped like flying birds that light up at night, THAT my friends will have to be a photo from another year as we went during the day, but I bet it is so charming and beautiful.


The other bonus was the farmer's market in the next square over from the Christmas market. Once again, European living is so great. We bought big beautiful fresh oranges and fresh daisies and red roses for very little euro which made a pretty centerpiece for our Aeblskiver dinner that evening.

The kids loved the train ride and the double carosel along with the yummy brats, waffles and crepes. Once unique thing that we have noticed this year is the Native American booths. Mark first noticed it in Italy and bought McKenna a dreamcatcher to chase away her bad dreams. Then yesterday we found a couple at this market. McKenna thought two dreamcatchers are way better than one. I haven't noticed these booths in the past but found it very interesting.



Merry Christmas everyone!