Last stand

Yesterday was our last farmer's market for the season.  We walked around the produce stands, admiring the last real, fresh produce we will see in a long time. Gourmet stands were out with delicious breads and cakes.  I sampled some gluten-free Scharffen Berger chocolate cake and a gluten-free lemon coffee cake. Delicious!  I didn't buy anything though, because we need to clean out our freezer and pantry.

This farmer's market has a kids' area.  There is usually one dedicated craft project for the kids to enjoy, complete with tiny picnic tables for them to sit and enjoy food and coloring.  The craft project was a crown, with stick-on letters and jewels.  How perfect for my little king, who turns 3 on Saturday. 

We were walking out of the farmer's market and headed toward our car.  Bode was unsuccessfully attempting to push Gianna in the double stroller.  Suddenly, Bode stopped short.  He had this hard look of concentration on his face and he announced, "I want popcorn."  Bob and I looked at each other.  Drat! We were so close to escaping the farmer's market without buying a giant bag of kettle corn. Without any discussion (because of course we would never say "no" to Bode's request for this, especially on the last farmer's market), Bob and Bode walked back toward the market where the kettle corn stand stood. I followed, pushing Gianna in the double stroller.

After the kettle corn was purchased (and some of it consumed), we headed toward our car again. We walked up a street to admire a fire truck. The band started playing, "Brown-eyed Girl." We stopped on the nearly vacant street and danced.

Watching Bode dance made me smile. I got teary-eyed, witnessing his easy joy and awkward dance.  Enjoying life is so simple with this boy around.
Big weekend:  Bode turns 3!!!  We have a birthday party on Saturday. You might have heard.  (wink)
xo

Firefighters Pancake Breakfast

This morning we went to a pancake breakfast hosted by the Mountain View Fire Dept. This is an annual event to raise funds for the Alisa Ann  Ruch Burn Foundation (AARBF) .  There was a huge turn-out for this event.  It had a great community feel.  Bode enjoyed the fun, and so did the rest of his family!

The firemen served delicious pancakes, sausage, and fruit salad.  They had three fire trucks on display.  An old fire truck was available for the children to climb on, sit in, and "drive."  Bode got a helmet, some stickers, and a "Sparky the Fire Dog" coloring book (full of fire safety tips that make me nervous).

Activities included a "Stop Drop and Roll" booth where children learned the "Stop Drop and Roll" drill on a soft mat while a fireman instructed them.  Another activity was actually putting out a fire with something that acted like a huge fire extinguisher  but looked like a fire hose(the name escapes me, an air pump? does that make sense? Firemen? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?). We of course did not let Bode participate in this particular activity (though it was extremely popular). 

The one activity Bode participated in was to put out a fake fire (some wood with fire flames painted on them) using a real fire hose.  Bode put on a coat  and then a fireman helped him to turn on the hose and spray the "fire" out.  (the fire/wood was set on the top of a small pretend building, so that the force of the water would cause the fire/wood to fall down behind the building)

The best part was the demonstrations put on by the firemen.  They rappelled down the side of a building. They "walked" down the building, too.  That was very cool. They saved a man (a dummy) by having him "jump" into a net. It was a lot of fun to watch.  They made it look fun, at least.  They work very hard, and do very physically demanding work.

These are two female fire fighters walking (forward) down the side of the buidling.

Bode wore his plastic "junior fireman" helmet all day and all night. He wore it inside and outside. It never left his head. He wore it to sleep tonight and I had to fight him to take it off his head (worried that the elastic band will suffocate him in his sleep).  I also had to "read" the Sparky the Fire Dog coloring book at nap time and bed time today. Hopefully we can put Sparky away until Bode is a little older. (Personally, I dig the graphics and am itching to color the plaid shirts and house interiors displayed in these pictures)
Thank you, Mountain View Fire! It was a great event, and we hope that you raised a lot of money for AARBF with all your hard work and entertainment today.
Happy Sunday!
xo

Friday play date pics

Priscilla has a brand-new, extra-large crate for our upcoming move.  Priscilla has no desire to get anywhere near it.  The babies are enjoying it, though. It seems like every time I turn my back, one or both of them is inside of the crate.  Here are pics from this morning:

Here are today's pics from the park.  Bode was off and running at the park. I stuck close to Gianna and made sure she didn't climb to the top of the play structure.

What are your plans for the weekend?  My plan is to pack, pack, pack (and pack some more). And to get out the calendar and plan out the next couple of weeks (as much as possible).  I also want to take Bode to a pancake breakfast hosted by our local firemen.  Shhh!  He doesn't know about it.  I haven't told him because I'm not sure if the timing is going to work for us. I hope that we make it. I know my little guy would love to see a real fire truck first thing in the morning.  Whatever your plans, I hope that you have a happy weekend!  And, HAPPY FALL!
xo

Auchtung baby

As my dear friend Heidi Klum would say, "Auf Wiedersehen!"

Okay, we're not really dear friends. Or really friends, for that matter.

I did not make the right decision about Berlin.  Once I had decided not to go, I felt sad and down.  After a couple of days of me moping around the house, Bob and I made another decision. We decided that we needed to be together as a family.

This man.  He is the best. He makes things happen.

So now I am very happy to report that we are going to Berlin.  Yay!  I feel better about our decision. Now all we need to do is tie up all the (many) loose ends before our departure.  And hopefully memorize some useful German phrases, such as "Please help me with these two babies, thank you" as I will be on my own in Berlin while Bob works hard at his new company.

I am reading a guide book on Berlin.  I recently learned about JFK's famous speech on the Cold War situation, where he mistakenly said, "Ich bin ein Berliner," which could mean, "I am a donut."  Bob was incredulous that I had never heard of this JFK speech before.  Needless to say, it is embarrassing that I had not known this, and I hope to learn a lot more about Berlin reading this guide book and while visiting the city.   Reality is, I will be busy being a mommy to two babies, just in a different country.  Hopefully, I won't be making a huge mistake in doing this trip. I am sure jet lag will be brutal for all, and getting used to a new place and new routines will try everyone's patience and fortitude. Hopefully, like JFK, my mistakes will be forgiven and overlooked, in the spirit of why I wanted to do this...to keep my family together.

And this boy?  I think he told us, in his own way, that he wanted to go to Berlin.  On Sunday, we were going outside, and he told Bob that he wanted to wear socks with his sandals.  How very European, no?

Happy Friday.
xo

Farewell, Summer

This afternoon around 4 PM, Bob called me.  The babies had woken up from their naps and had already eaten a snack. "What are you doing?" he asked. I explained that the babies were up and I was trying to decide what to do. It's been such a hot week. I've had a hard time motivating to get everyone outside. "Well," Bob continued, "I'm downtown and you know, the farmer's market is going on."  Within a few minutes, we were headed downtown to meet Bob at our local farmer's market. 

See this dude?  See what he is doing? See the popcorn flying?  Kettle corn.

Bode scored his third bag of popcorn this summer. The bags are HUGE. I asked if it was possible to get a mini bag. The lady who manned the register shook her head No, but took pity on me and gave me another plastic bag, so that I could spoon out a smaller portion for Bode to eat from the humongous bag we purchased.

Bode ate and ate and ate while we walked up and down the street, looking at the produce and other foods.  I was taking this picture of Bode when I spotted the firemen.  I spy with my little eye....

We sat on the street curb and watched the people walk by.  We enjoyed the shade and thought about dinner. 



We dined at an outdoor table covered in a plastic red-checked table cloth and ate falafel, pita and hummus.

It was the perfect end to summer.

xo