When in Munich

So we made it to India intact, and our brief layover in Munich last week gave us a little taste of the local Bavarian flavors. Pretzels, of course... Yum! 

And I've never seen so many beer steins, though I betray my German (and quasi-Wisconsin) roots by not being a beer drinker (it tastes nasty and makes me sick).  Thankfully, Germany also makes great wine.  Gewurztraminer and Reisling anyone?

That Santa was super creepy, but of course the kids were totally into him.

And how 'bout these outfits? If we'd had more time, the kids would have gotten fitted for some of these gems. Classic yodeling gear, a la The Sound of Music or something.

Love the hair babe... ;)

Happy Halloween!

The kids dressed up for music class today and kicked off Halloween!  Since we were out of town and missed our classes last week, we were the only ones who missed the message to dress up on Monday.  Apparently Halloween is a week long affair, yep mom of the year, right here.  And since I'm a buyer and not a maker, thank you Carter's/Costco for the cheap, easy, warm and comfortable costumes.
 

 

 

Insisting on holding the big pumpkins, rather than the gourds...

 

 

 

It is supposed to rain and be nasty tomorrow, so I think we will just dress up and hand out candy, which I think/hope they will get a big kick out of, we shall see...

Six strollers

It might seem a bit silly to be buying (and posting about) strollers as we near the twins' second birthday, but I thought in case anyone was interested... An overview on how we somehow got to six, my goodness...

I'd bought a single Maclaren jogger (which they no longer make) before we even started trying to get pregnant, and I actually got to finally use it while we were waiting for Alistair to start walking independently, and Marielle was adamant about walking (I swear that girl would be driving if we would let her).
 

Checking out minivans for fun while daddy gets his car serviced

I haven't taken the kids out separately but once, so it hasn't gotten much use, mainly walks to the park (around the corner) this summer and fall. I was going to sell it, but now we are thinking we might take it to India for our newest niece (who will finally be named in a ceremony when we go to visit).

Now they could be taking me for a walk...

When we finally found out we would be having not one, but two babies at a time (well actually after I was already on bedrest with said babies), we ordered a Baby Trend double snap and go. We only used it and their infant seats for a few short months before unloading them, but worth it for certain. We also started with a Baby Jogger City Mini double (which I also later sold to pare down) and a Maclaren Twin Techno (their fancier double, since I'd long loved their Techno XLR) which we still use and love, especially for travel or whenever space is an issue. The Bumbleride Indie Twin is a wondrous machine, it might be my favorite (since I can't pick one kid, I will pick one stroller).

So Mari loves to walk even more than her brother, but still needs to be strapped in sometimes (for speed and safety), so I'd been thinking about getting a single wide double since I'd had so many frustrating times when the double wides were just too much of a pain in tight quarters.  Ironically, kids' stores seem to be unusually bad offenders, too bad they just won't get my business.  But at this point, I just couldn't justify to myself buying an UB Vista w/a rumble seat or a BJ City Select double, and I'd looked at the Britax and the others out there. But when I recently came across an amazing deal on a new Hauck Freerider double on Woot, I decided to take the plunge.

It has its quirks, but overall I'm very pleased with it. I call it my German bullet train, as it is a German brand.  Super slick. 

Taking our new ride for a spin at one of our favorite Swedish stores

Mari rides in the jump seat, for as long as she can stand to, and Alistair loves the front.  The ride is very smooth and steady, though I wouldn't actually jog with it, not that I do. It came with a car seat adaptor for the front, so like most single wide doubles it is aimed at (and likely perfect for) those with an infant and a toddler.

Still one of his favorite rides

22 months old

Going for a stroll in the city

(when did they get so big?)

The time just goes too quickly, it seems like mere days between my monthly updates.  Alistair has started walking exclusively (and much better) lately, so I felt very confident not going through with his approved physical therapy, as we'd planned (you know, after we didn't... ;) ).  Additional therapies (and children) wouldn't have/don't cost us any more, so you are welcome fellow taxpayers of Illinois. ;). We've just started speech therapy for both of the kids, so we'll see what comes of that.  Coming out of the first session, our first job is to get their hearing tested, which is standard protocol when receiving speech.

Marielle continues to do well.  As time goes by, I realize just how much she is not only my daughter, but basically my clone.  Always trying to help, cleaning up whenever there is a mess (and even when there's not), even rearranging the rugs and furniture.  She is so eager in our classes, it is like watching myself as a girl, it's a little mind bending.  I hope that I'm able to foster her needs and her little joyful personality, minus some of the negative experiences I had as a child.  And keep up with that metabolism, the girl can eat!  I got her those cute pink sparkly shoes for fall, but she much prefers (and is a bit obsessed with) her brother's grey Chucks.  That's my girl! :)

Alistair is, not surprisingly, behind his sister a bit in development which we've known for a long time, but he also seems like he might (or might not) be on a bit of a different trajectory.  We noticed when he was tiny, that he appears to definitely be left handed as well as having a strong affinity for music.  He is more sensitive than Mari, but is also acutely aware of others and (usually) their feelings and is very charming (he's such a huge flirt with the ladies, DH jokes we don't need to question his love of them).  He giggles like I've never heard before, it almost always pushes me over the edge.  He is so in love with animals, especially dogs, it makes me (kind of) sad we'll never have one, due to DH's severe allergies, even though he's been getting shots for years now.  It will be so interesting to see how their personalities develop over the coming months and years.

We are headed off to the thrill that is very small town Iowa for a few days, as DH has leadership training at his company's headquarters there, and we decided to tag along instead of staying behind. Our big trip is coming up soon, this time next month we'll be in India.  We'll be connecting through Germany this time and gone for nearly three weeks.  If we can stay healthy, which would be a first for me, I think all will be well.  Happy Weekend!

Exciting (school) news!

As I continue to ponder whether to send the kids to preschool before next fall, this is definitely for the annals of nerdy suburban parent, but exciting none the less.  Remember when I posted about the top rated math and science academy (M&S) in our district (10 minutes away) that the kids could go to instead of our neighborhood school?  Well...  Now I've just learned the district is turning our neighborhood school (three doors down) into another M&S academy!!!  This is what gets two STEM major parents really excited!!

Besides the curriculum, I'm hoping this will help boost our school's numbers, like it did for the other M&S school since it ends up turning it into a quasi magnet school.  Not that ours is a slouch (up to top 8% in the state) but the other M&S is up to top 5% (and top 20 of all in suburban Cook Co.). NB: It worked! We are up to top 3%!

I was also interested to learn that our district offers open enrollment for elementary schools with dual language/immersion programs in not only Spanish, but also Mandarin and Japanese.  They also have a school with mixed grade classes, which makes skipping grades much easier.  I was in a 1st/2nd grade combined class, which my mother still laments not using to my advantage.  But how on earth do you choose just one of these?!

The powers that be are really conspiring to get me to stop plotting out land in a top 1% horse country district nearby...  Well it's great news whether we stay or sell...

A last hurrah

Since the early summer, our family life has been rearranged for the big project that DH took on for our business.  Don't get me wrong, it was a great opportunity (courtesy of an old grad school friend of his, who is a professor at a local research university), but since I've chosen not to get help (or go back to work) yet, it has meant even more 100+ hour weeks for me solo with the kids.  We are glad to have daddy back soon, partly for me (and him) and partly because the kids are crazy about him, since we've finally come to the very last week of work.  We took the kids to the city on Saturday (since he had to go for work anyway) for brunch at Milk & Honey.  So so good and they are getting so big...

It is finally starting to feel like fall now, and I have so much from the summer that I didn't post about.  Maybe before November... :/  Happy Columbus Day! :)

Apple and Pumpkin picking

Since I see them every week at our local farmer's market, we decided to head up to the Royal Oak Farm/Orchard in Harvard to go apple and pumpkin picking this year.  Our trip to Goebbert's last year for pumpkins was kind of a bust, though we did buy some we didn't get to "pick" them, so we figured a trip out to the country was in order.  Now that the kids are bit bigger, they were all game for apple picking.  I have to admit I'd never given them a whole apple to eat, but they were/are insane for them.  Like they wouldn't put them down.  And now when they see the ones we picked, they go ballistic.  I guess that is the sign of a good new thing in their lives.

It is funny that even though I spent three fall seasons in high school actually working at an apple orchard outside my home town, I had never actually been apple picking.  I worked in the store, so I know more than anyone really needs to about apples, but I had never picked my own and neither had DH.  It was really fun. 

They had my all time favorite, Galas, but we also got some Liberties, Empires, Cortlands (for baking), and few others too.  It was nice we only had to pick a peck or about 15 lbs. (the min. for every four ppl, though the kids didn't count), but you can mix whatever kinds you like, that are ready to harvest, and it is peak season here now.  When I worked at the orchard, the Galas, as gourmet eating apples, were more expensive than all the other kinds, so I felt like I was getting a deal to get so many. 

They also have a petting zoo.  The turkeys and alpacas were a big hit.  Almost like being at Grandpa John's farm.

The forecast was sketchy, but given the radar was clear, we went for it.  We stayed for lunch, but skipped the mini-train (next time), and it started raining about two minutes after we started driving back home.

Alistair made us both very happy Friday night when he went on a walking binge.  Going the length of our open living/foyer/dining area several times, pivoting like a rock star and actually getting up everytime he went down.  If only we could bottle whatever confidence it took for him to do that and give it back to him in large doses.