How to ... "Activity" Nativity Scene

Every year we make some sort of Nativity Scene (or as L calls it Activity Scene :)
But this year we made the VERY best of ALL!!!

I am so proud to show off the fruits of our three day long labour (and the 5 days of clean up required now :)

AHAND ... this one is Trademark CZ and not some copy-cat craft mom found on one of the 1 million blogs she follows  ... nahahaa ... this one grew in our own craft-yard

To make one of these AWESOME Activity/Nativity-Scenes one needs:
A big work space, covered and away from the rest of your house so you can mess it all up and then leave it for days at a time :)

We covered the old train table into the Lego / Puzzle / Craft - table and covered it with a big, plastic table cloth ...

You need loads of empty TP rolls (or do it like Lulu and unroll one if you can't find one - NOT kidding!)

Here you can see master-TP roll carpentry ... the soon-to-be crib for baby J

Lots of glitter, Sharpies, more glitter ...

... and some odds and ends evenly distributed all over the room/floor

A cool box from aunty Michelle's favorite Chinese Bakery (it helps to eat the goodies in it first :)

... and two willing craft-o-holics (shirts optional)

And then go crazy!!!!

Lulu made the STAR and decorated the back-drop with LOTS of glitter.

She also painted the angel (it was an old window ornament we still had from last year)

L in action ... topless na-course

A few green patches ...

Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus in their new pad

The sweet baby ...

Some bah-bah-white sheep and an AWESOME shepherd dog made by Lulu.

The gifts the Wise Men gave (jewels, spice and oil)

And some animals from the barn, curtesy of L.

Add a HUGE palm tree in the back ...

Et voila ... you have yourself an AWESOME (3 day activity) Nativity Scene

L wanted to blog about it on 1-2-3 but I stole it and posted it first

 ...whahahah 

... evil blog-mother :)

Her New Kicks

                                  

Last night I was laying in bed with L, after she had one of the biggest melt-downs in her life.

We had to drag her away, kicking and screaming, from a wonderful family gathering and things just went south from that point on.

We came home and I could not come up with anything better than to give her a dose of Benedryl to make her calm and go to sleep.

She was so out of it, she almost threw up, kicked, screamed, told us the harshest words and ....

Boy it sure was something. I have NEVER seen my Lillie like that before, never.

Kind of broke my heart to hear her angry words and see her act that way.

I laid down with her to calm her down and we just chatted. Somehow we ended there:

M: You know what I used to do when I wasn't feeling happy or wanted to get away?

L: What Mama?

M: Run!

L: Away?

M: NO!!! Go running. I would put on my running shoes and just go, run, run, run.

L: Did that work?

M: I became a pretty good runner :)

L: Can we go running?

M: SURE! Tell you what; you go to sleep now and get a good rest and tomorrow morning we both gear up and jog around the block. Deal?

L: Deal!

... and then she finally closed her eyes and fell asleep.

So this morning, at the first sunlight, she rolled over (I had let both crash with us), pulled away my covers and said "LET'S GO!!!"

I crawled out of bed (it's never a good night when you sleep with both Ls in one bed), pulled out my old running pants, thermal shirt and my paint covered running shoes and off we went.

And what do you know; the kid jogged around the entire block and chatted while running.

I haven't ran in years and it took my breath away by the end of our street but she just kept going. 

Hands up, breathing right and just chit-chatting.

So when we came around the corner and saw our house I said "end-sport" (german for give it your all) and she took off like a swarm of bees was after her.

She was smiling and happy and proclaimed she wants to do that very day now :)

I took a shower, threw her in the car and (despite my vow to NOT enter a mall during Thanksgiving weekend) took her to a running store to buy her proper running shoes. The Darth Vader boots will not be sufficient for daily running.

Half through the day she pulled another of these new fits and I had to drag her out of the store, leaving my milk and bread in the cart. She was again totally beside herself, just complete melt-down-mode.

So this time she got GROUNDED. 

For the first time ever! 

We have never had to use such measures but right now she seems to be needing some "stronger" guidance :(

After both of us had calmed down, Pat was with Lulu at the store to pick up what I had to leave behind, we had another chat and then she said "Maybe I should go running again."

So we got out the new "kicks" and went for a second time today for a run. This time with Dork and we ran the LONG way. 

Again she ran all the way through, chatted a lot at the beginning but then she got really quiet and all I could hear was heavy breathing.

We came around the corner, she looks at me and says "end sport Mama" and off she took ... zoom ...

By the time she went to bed she had sore legs and said she'd never run again but there is no out now, I bought her awesome shoes ... she is in it for good!

I massaged her legs and she fell asleep while I was rubbing her little muscles.

I am sure the running won't prevent further FITS but hopefully it'll give us some bonding time and maybe an outlet for some bottled up grumpiness ....

Either way I am damn proud of her for running so well!

Can't wait for tomorrow morning!!!

Elfing in Progress

The day after Thanksgiving = official start of Christmas Preparations!

L, Lulu's Personal Elf, got a head start (with some big brother Jay help).

She has locked her door, 

hired a Guard Dork

and started elfin around ....

I took s a sneak pic through the window after hearing a WHOLE lot of giggling and laughing :)

Thats the spirit!!!!
I LOVE it when my plans work ...whawhawhahahahahawh :):):)

Grateful 4

This Day, These People and This Life!

We started the day off in a GREAT way (and as far as I am concerned this will become CZ tradition!).

We participated in the San Jose Turkey Trot (a fundraiser for local food banks) and both of the Ls (together with the Xu brother and sister) ran their first race ever.

We had such a blast and even the weather god was kind to us and held back his rain drops until the kids had finished their races.

Great line-up, oldest to youngest :)

I LOVE my four awesome kids!!!

L  and Fifi ready to start their race (Aiden and Lulu were in the same age group and were already racing)

READY, SET ...

GOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Tadahhhhh .... 4 Gold Medal Winner!

GREAT job guys! 

We are so proud you all finished your races!!!

Lulu LOVES her big brother Aiden and he took such good care of her during the race (never left her side!)

... then came the rain but nothing could bother us anymore. We had a BLAST!!!

Back at home we went right to work ... the little people in the play room and every other room and mama and papa in the kitchen.

Knock-knock ...

Who is it?

MEEEEE!!!

I knew there was one of my kiddos missing!

Now the gang was complete!

The ALWAYS stylish aunty Judy

Our beloved aunty Michelle (love the hair ... keep it straight!!!)

My two chinese sisters :)

I LOVE these girls!!!

I am so thankful that I have these two special girls and their families in my/our life!

Their kids are like mine, their homes feel like home to us and our home is always your home!

Thank you for being such a big part of our lives!!!

Thankful for plenty of food to go around and share (good or bad :)

The VERY talkative little table. They just were in a different world ... or maybe even planet.
Aiden sat with us, he complained that Fifi and Lulu were too stinky (they had sprayed Perfume on each other , enough for 5 of them. Uncle Bin may have had a few sprays too. Boy they STANK :)

Thankful for a table full of family/friends, good food and lots of love and appreciation for each other.

Oh yeah, thankful for Dorkie too.

Look at him, doesn't he just look like the dorkiest Dork you have ever seen?

You should have seen him race across the play ground with toilet paper hanging out of his MOUTH.

He is such a DORK!!!

And thankful for impromptu sleep-overs.
All three are out cold and snoring already.
I am so thankful to see these three little souls together, all snuggled up, warm and cozy, peaceful and happy!

Yes indeed, there was and is lots to be thankful for!

This year had started so extra crappy for us.
I thought we'd never be happy again.
This gray place I was in for quite some time after we had lost this little person to be was taking complete control of my body and mind.
Thankfully my wonderful husband, my lovely girls and my dear friends all helped me to come to terms with the happenings and to accept that there are things in life we can not change.

Now, 10 months later we are in a great place again.
We have had a wonderful year, full with lots of trips, hikes and treats. Things we should not have done if you ask our accountant (we don't have one) but things that needed to be done in order for us to be good and happy again.

I now know that my family is just perfect the way it is.
We are complete.
Slowly I am able to sell the strollers and the crib, baby toys and itty clothes.

New adventures await us, things we could not do with the girls because they were too young or too small.
Hiking, skiing, skating ... we are mobile and there is a whole world waiting to be discovered by the Ls (and us again).

So today I am truly grateful for all that has happened to us this year.
Everything happens for a reason and sometimes it takes 10 months or more to see the reason.

I am so grateful for all of our wonderful friends and our families.

I am grateful for the best sister one can have. The one who cares so much for her little nieces and never fails to call me, every, single week.

I am grateful for my mom and all the wisdom she shares with me. I still can't cook or bake like she does and probably never will but it's good to know that I can always call and ask for her advise!

I am grateful for my baby brother and for the wonderful Jupiter girl in his life, who makes him so happy and is such a sweet and amazingly beautiful girl. He is a VERY lucky man!

I am grateful for my Omi and for her health and I must make a promise to phone her more often!!!!
The same goes for Great-Grandma Agnes. We love her so much and we should keep in touch much more than we do.

I am grateful for so many other friends, my hiking guru Sun Inn and our inspiring conversations,
our FGM and family whom we miss soooo much, meine liebste Anke und familie, aunty Carrie of course, the Pattnies and so many more.

I am grateful for my family.
My amazing husband!
The one who will do anything and everything to make his girls happy.
He is so outnumbered here at home and "hardly has a say" but he is also the most loved Papa and husband there is!
We are so very grateful for everything and all you do for us.
All the sacrifices and the hard work.

It is such a pleasure and honor for me to be at home with the girls. To raise them and care for them, to be with them 24/7.

I want to soak up every second God gives me with these little girls of mine becuae I love them more than life itself.

I never knew how big my heart was until I became the mother of these two amazing, little people.

I'd do anything and everything for them.

I am so grateful for you and all your love that you show us every, single day.

You are the one to come home after 14 hours of hard work and still brings his Ls to bed.
You are the one to make sure I take my Migraine meds when I feel one of these awful things coming one.
You were the one picking me up from the bathroom floor, when I was sobbing uncontrollably, after realizing that I would not be the mama of three.
You were the one holding my hand in the waiting room, waiting for the worst procedure I had ever had to go through.
You were the one holding me all night when the tears would not/could not stop.
You were the one taking us all to the beach just to get away and to take a breath ... start all over.
You are the one who tells us EVERY day that he loves us, even if we don't answer back.
You are the one the Ls go crazy about when you come home.
You are the one who always, always has time for each of us and always makes us feel so special.

A long year (and it's not even over yet) and so much to be thankful and grateful for.
I hope that everyone near and close to us is just as lucky and can be grateful for so many wonderful things as well.


Happy Thanksgiving!
... and tomorrow, fuer die Mama, ein post ueber die FAST selbstgemachten Thueringer Kloese :)