What a Day!

This time three years ago, I'd just started out on this journey called motherhood. I really think that day was the most moving of my life. No squishing romanticism going on here, it just was. My mother said once that once you know you are pregnant, nothing ever is the same again. Well "that" moment came to me early one September morning when the little man that brings so much joy (and a whole load of other emotions!) physically came into my life and could be touched. One thing amongst many others struck me at the time and that is how much one little person can create/bring forth/ draw out (I can't find the word I am looking for) love from so many all by themself. You bear a child which is so intricately part of you, it is born and immediately has a sphere of influence that you do not realise and cannot necessarily influence.

Well today, we celebrated his birthday at home, with friends, with family and in Kindergarten. Once again, I am amazed at this little man and the circle of people he has collected around himself. Some of them certainly are our doing, the friendships he has are not. The love shown on this day by those people makes me so thankful. Thankful that this little man has the capability to reach out to others, inspire their love and affection (so important for a fulfilled life), thankful to his friends, our friends, my friends and the family for showing this and for giving him all those lovely presents  (and I get to play with too).

Happy Birthday!

I have a special place for January in my heart. Okay it can be very dark, cold and miserable. In the past two have been snow filled which makes it even better. I think lots of people have a special relationship with their birth month. Birthdays are great, I love them. It is so nice to have people from all over ring you, send you cards or just drop you a text message. Granted we now have mobiles, computer and applications like Facebook to remind us about them, but I don’t care. Thanks for all the calls, mails, texts….I think I appreciate those calls all the more because I am soooo bad at birthdays myself. Typically I remember or am reminded early in the morning, spend all morning thinking about calling that person to then forget until it is too late at night. Sorry!

The other reason I like my birthday is because two years ago I decided that the best thing I could give to myself was a whole day. My company gives us the afternoon off (thank you very much…..) and I add a half-day’s holiday to it. Time to do just as I want. The rules are no admin stuff, no doctor’s appointments, no work, just pleasure. This year I fiddled with my sewing machine, skyped for two hours to my far away friend in China (almost as good as sitting in the kitchen drinking tea, only almost) and then stamping through the snowy park to a café (Sugarbird Cupcakes) for hot chocolate and cake. Sugarbird Cupcakes is somewhere I have been wanting to go since we moved here, but somehow had to be made into a proper date before I actually got there. Y and I really enjoyed it as you can see.

And now it is February and February brings a whole round of pleasures. Karneval is one of them. Living in Düsseldorf means you have to really be fore it or leave the city. It is a bit like Marmite, either you love it or you hate it. This year we’ll be dancing inside on Saturday and following the children’s parade on Sunday. The big parade on Monday is better seen on TV anyway (oh and yes, I have to work…… there are disadvantages of not working in a part of the country that doesn’t celebrate).

St. Martin

A Wiesbaden Weekend

A couple of weekends ago, some good friends got married. How happy do they look? Just like the cats that got the cream. Congratulations!! 

 

It is just great to celebrate with a couple who you just feel are soo happy with one another. The registrar talked about marriage as being an acceptance of one another as you are. Registrars don’t normally meet the people they are going to marry before they actually do. But this lady certainly hit the nail on the head. I regularly stay with these guys, so I get to see how they are with each other at home after a long days work. They are just at peace with each other. What more could one want in a relationship??

Oh and the party was good too! Thanks for letting us be part of your big day.

Between wedding and party, we spent the afternoon looking at Wiesbaden. The farmers’ market was very inviting. I took the chance to collect some pictures of heaps of fruit, veg and flowers. There is something very satisfying about taking pictures of them.

Quince……

Mangold, manpink, manyellow…..

.... and flowers for the table.

What a Day!

He's been with us for two whole years. Amazing! And what pleasure filled years they have been. What did we do before he arrived? I suppose we slept longer and went out more (in the evenings). But to be honest you can get by with a lot less sleep than you think and I have been out more in the day, met new friends and generally enjoyed my life a lot more since Yorck has been around. Thank you, Sweetheart. You are such fun!

Yorck enjoying the first of his cake at 06:30 am. Well there do have to be advantages of a failed cake the night before! I reckon this is the way to start a birthday!

And here is the very same little boy picking the Smarties off his cake. Not interested in the presents, just interested in picking these things off his cake. How did we get him to the age of two without him knowing what they are!! We watched in amazement and stifled our giggles. Okay, we have spent a lot of effort keeping him away from Gummibärchen but not Smarties. After he had successfully removed them all, he then turned to the serious business of present opening.

Sadly there are no pictures of us in the park where we spent the rest of the day, due to a mother leaving her keys in the back of the door (and the camera in the flat)! But a good time was had by all. It was still 30°c here yesterday so we even got to play in the fountains in the park. Such weather on September the 8th is a birthday present in itself.

2 Today!

Congratulations!