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Friday, March 28, 2014

Five For Friday: March 28


Wow! This week flew by, didn't it?! I swear today feels like it should be Tuesday, but I'm not complaining! Friday means it's time to stop and reflect and count up all the good: Five for Friday. Have you tried viewing your glass half full, always? How is it working for you? Other than a minor hiccup last week, it seems to be working out for me so far! 

  • Remember in The Wizard of Oz (a favorite movie in this household) when Dorothy opened the door to the house and stepped out in to Oz and all that glorious Technicolor? That's basically what it feels like here. Winter has bid us (mostly-we did have three days of hail) adieu, and it's so GREEN! It's funny because other than the clouds, I don't really remember it being all that grey. But now seeing so much beautiful color, I guess it was! 


  • With spring being here, I'm starting to see all sorts of sights that get me excited. Okay, so mostly those things involve food, but still. All the Eis cafes are reopening if they closed and opening their outdoor seating if they were brave and stayed open all winter. Fruit and vegetable stands are starting to pop on the side of the roads. Here comes the spargel craze! There's even a stand right across the street from our house. Which means I will be in very short walking distance to fresh strawberry goodies soon! Spring also means that festivals will be starting up again soon--the Easter Market in our town is this weekend. We missed them last year, since we arrived right after Easter, but I hear there are some beautiful Easter crafts to be found! 

  • We are getting ready for London(!), which is a lot of planning, mapping,  and scheduling. (Sounds so relaxing, doesn't it?) Well, since the girls' birthdays are the week we will be there, I'm trying to plan something special for each of them to do. K is nerdy like her mom, and loves Harry Potter, so she was excited to learn there's a studio tour in London. What she doesn't know is that she is going to actually get to go on her 11th birthday. Josh didn't see the significance when I told him, but you get, right?! "You're a wizard, Kyla!" She is going to be so excited. Heck-I'm pretty stoked, myself! Little J really wants to see Buckingham Palace, so I'm thinking I'll arrange a tour. Or maybe a tea at Kensington Palace? Still undecided, but at least I have a good idea. 

  • In addition to the London festivities, the girls are also having a party when we get home. Party planning is one of my most favorite things to do. I get some sort of thrill by letting them choose the theme and trying to pull it all together. Usually for them it isn't a current trend, so it's more of a challenge, which I love. One year they had an Indiana Jones birthday. They've done Spongebob (after Spongebob was really cool), Last year they had a Wicked party (as in the Broadway musical). This year they had chosen "Once Upon A Time" because they are big fans of the show on ABC. And then....they saw Frozen. Game over. They've decided they want to be like every other female under the age of 20, and pick a Frozen party. I'm all for it-I haven't seen the movie, but it looks pretty good from what I've seen. You'd think given its popularity, it would be easier to pull together than an off the wall choice of party themes. Wrong. Everything that could be remotely related to Frozen is sold out online and nowhere to be found here. Is it weird that that makes me happier? Having to work harder to make it fit the theme. Oh, and they've also invited the whole cheer squad to attend. Fun times!!

  • We've transitioned PJ to his toddler bed with relatively little drama. The first day, he stayed in bed for nap and all night. It was too good to be true, though. The next night, in the midst of a pretty good sleep, I heard the pitter patter of little feet coming into my room. We had to lock all the doors from the inside, and I basically slept on the edge of the bed ready to intercept him at the door. The third night, I got hip and put a baby gate in his doorway. Luckily he's too, err..."bottom heavy"" to climb over. He went for his two year check up yesterday, and the doctor says he's in a good range for height and weight, but I have to cut back his milk so he'll eat more. She then proceeded to try and lift him, making a pretty offensive grunting noise in the process. He's only 28 pounds, but I'm almost certain that's more than half the weight of his sisters! She always said he has "advanced motor skills". Duh--he has two big sisters to dominate keep up with! 
Sorry they are through the fence--that was me being lazy :) 



So, as I sit here with Pharrell telling me to "clap along" on repeat at the demand of my dear boy, I want to know....What are your good things this week? If you haven't tried it yet, give 'the power of positive thinking' a go! It totally helps you focus on the best and forget the rest! 


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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Berlin, Germany


It's already Thursday! Is it just me or did this week seriously fly by? Tomorrow everyone will be talking about what they're doing this weekend, but Thursday? Thursday is all about the past! You know what I'm saying...it's Throwback Thursday! Join me as I reminisce about our time in Berlin this past summer. Isn't it bad that I can't look at these pictures and just know they were taken in August?! We are wearing sweatshirts and jeans--crazy! Well, for this trip, we stayed a whole weekend and we packed it with as many tours and sights as our time (and kids) would allow. During our time, we went to the huge zoo that was just a short walk from our hotel, in the expansive Tiergarten, and spent hours. I'm pretty sure we didn't see everything, though. We got to visit the Berlin Wall-although the memorial was actually closed (like most things when we were trying to visit). We also did the big bus tour that we're so fond of. We strolled the Tiergarten, accidentally stumbling into a 'Legalize Marijuana' festival. Don't worry, we didn't stay long. {"Mommy...what's that smell?"} In addition to just strolling around looking for sites and riding the bus tour, we ventured over to Museumsinsel (Museum Island), to explore the Pergamon Museum.  This place was great for the kids because they really enjoy Greek Mythology. The very first room you walk in to contains the reconstructed (and partially original) version of the Pergamon Alter. It depicts a battle between the Gods of Olympus and the Giants. The girls had fun finding all the Gods and Goddesses around the room. If you know my kids-especially K-you know just how geeked out they were at this place! 










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Friday, March 21, 2014

Five For Friday: March 21





It can't always go your way, right? That would be the theme of this week if I had to choose one. If I really owned last week, this week, it probably would have been repoed! Despite some definite downs, this week also had plenty of ups. And keeping with the theme of these Five for Friday posts, I choose to focus on those moments. So, let's see...


  • I'm sick. After a few days of a pretty painful earache that turned into an ear and throat ache, I decided to find a doctor-something I've been dreading since we got here. (I know what you're saying...how can that possibly be good?) Well, the good part is that I found an awesome doctor. Since we are not military, we can't go to the doctor on post, but honestly, I think we're better off! I walked in to the office Tuesday without an appointment and never having been there before. Did they scoff and turn me away? Nope. There were a few people on staff (including the doctor) who spoke perfect English and they were super helpful. They saw me within an hour or so, which was surprising given the 'standing room only' situation happening in the waiting room. Plus when I was seen, there was no fooling around with questionnaires and what not. It was basically the doctor asking what was wrong, me telling him, and him saying, "Yes. That's correct." Out the door I went within 10 minutes with my "prescription" in hand. Let's use the term prescription loosely. It's more like a post-it note scribbled for the pharmacist to give you whatever medicine they've chosen. There is no dosage or directions for use on the package (but even if there were I wouldn't be able to read them, and Google translate only takes you so far).  The pharmacist will tell you how to take it at the counter, and you better hope you are understanding them correctly. The experience was quite different than I'm used to, but in a mostly positive way, and man those meds are great! 

  • I've mentioned before how I am the assistant coach for the girls' cheerleading squad. I also told you last week how the head coach would be out of town and I'd be responsible for finishing the choreography and teaching the dance to the girls. Well, I've been living the song (and moves) for the past week. It's socially acceptable if your two year old busts out with the lyrics to 'Right Round', isn't it?! Please don't judge me. But I was able to check out a ton of cheer moves on Pinterest and YouTube, and I'm liking what we've come up with. All the girls were such quick learners and I think we are going to rock our competition next week. Wish us luck! 

  • It is undeniably spring here in Germany. Spring bulbs are beginning to bloom and bees are buzzing. Plus, we're getting considerably less rain. That is my favorite part-the general dryness and blue skies. I saw this picture on Facebook the other day about a solar energy comparison between the US and Germany. It's depressing just to see how little sun Germany actually gets, but I don't know....you get so used to it that the sun just becomes a very welcome surprise. So this week, having almost every day of sun has been so great! Also, the first day of spring here was about 70 degrees and beautiful. It also coincided with International Happiness Day. Bonus.
Click the picture above to be taken to the article on mediamatters.org
          Everyone is getting in on the 'happy'...this is downtown Wiesbaden! 
  


  • In addition to it being spring weather, it was also the beginning of spring sports. Which, for the Stinson girls, means softball season. Yay! The girls didn't get to play last year since we were transitioning from Virginia to Germany during that time. Seeing them out on the field this week, you could tell they missed it just as much as I missed watching them! We almost didn't get to attend the skills assessment due to some sport season overlap, but thanks to the aforementioned gloomy tendencies of Germany, softball was rescheduled so we could make it. Thanks, Mother Nature! 


  • Two words: Thin mints.  (Apparently there is an overstock here on post. But don't worry--they are now 5 boxes lighter. I do what I can.) Call me 'Forest', but I don't think I need to say anything else about this.


The thing I learned while writing this post is that as bad as it may seem in the moment, there's always a silver lining. Maybe I spent Monday and Tuesday focusing on the bad, but my week ended on such a positive note. Plus, there's more to go! Josh comes home today!!





What are your five this week? Does it include spring weather?


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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Köln (Cologne), Germany

Today I am reminiscing about our day trip to Köln (Cologne), Germany. One fall weekend, we made the short hour and a half drive to Germany's fourth largest city. It was quite an impressive trip. The Dom (Cathedral) alone was worth the trip! However, we did make a visit to the Lindt chocolate museum and factory, where we got to see chocolate being made and get custom made candy bars. We also had a fabulous lunch al fresco with views of the Cathedral. We didn't let a little rain shower dampen our spirits. (See what I did there?)
Kölner Dom
Kölner Dom and some funny street performers  
The Stinsons and the Chocolate Factory
More pictures of the trip--check out that graffiti!


I'd LOVE to hear from you--if you would, leave a comment and let me know what you think of these throwback posts!


Friday, March 14, 2014

Five for Friday


I've heard that you'll be more appreciative of the things you have (rather than the things you don't) if you stop and really think about them. Certainly not the only things from my week, but five that focus on the good in the everyday! 

  • This has been a beautiful week for us weather wise. I know parts of the States are still experiencing Day After Tomorrow-type conditions, but we have been blissfully unaware here in Deutschland. With temperatures in the mid to upper 60's, I've been itching to get into our yard and do some work. Monday I had the opportunity to work out there all day, and it was pretty darn nice. Josh issued me a challenge to get the yard cleaned up before I got new decorative items for the patio. (I think it was less of a challenge and more of a statement of fact. My brain heard challenge, though.) So, I spent most of Monday crawling around my patio picking weeds out of bricks. I also swept out all the fall leaves that were lingering around and hand-tilled a raised bed to plant some veggies. It's very exciting since this is our first full season having an actual yard. I'll let you know if I still feel the same way in September! 

  • I've been thinking that we need to get out shopping on the economy more. I've come to really rely on Amazon Prime and the limited supplies and options of the Exchange. This week, we've really branched out. There was a store here that was highly recommended, so I decided to check it out. It. Was. Fabulous. It was kind of  like a German Target. It was great--I even bought a pair of clearance boots to wear on trips. I've also discovered the one euro store, which was great. Before Josh left, we walked to the little grocery store in our little town. We picked up some quick German food: schnitzel, currywurst, kartofflepuffer (potato pancakes), and some brötchen (bread). Our bellies were very happy. Plus, I got to see that a  imbiss opened for the warmer weather just a short walk away. All in all, I think we are getting more comfortable shopping off post, which is exactly what I wanted. 

  • I know this is going to speak to my nerdiness, but I'm sure some of you will understand. I got my faux filofax all set up and ready to go, and I am geeking out. I love organizational tools. Like, I get excited AFTER Christmas when stores put out their New Year totes and stuff. I could spend all day in an office store! Luckily for Josh The Container Store is nowhere near us in Virginia, because he'd have to file a missing persons report!  I don't always necessarily use planners to their full potential, but I do have a smudge of OCD. I was complaining to my mom the other day that I couldn't see the tabs nicely on the planner and they "just look icky". (Thanks for callin me out on my crazy there, mom!) I've got my new calendar inserts going now, and I feel so much better. Plus I've gorged myself on planner videos on YouTube. I'm a very visual person, so having all my to-do's listed and color coded and pretty makes me way more productive a person. See...nerdy, right?

  • Cheer is over for the basketball season. Now we are focusing on an exhibition that the team is participating. I got to help come up with parts of the dance, so I'm pretty excited/nervous for them to perform. Plus, the head coach had a family emergency and will be out of town for a week. Which means I'm kind of in charge of the practices until she gets back. I have to keep these girls focused and working hard because we "compete" on the 28th against some older groups. Oh and did I mention the dance is not yet completely choreographed?! Yikes! 


  • I kind of feel like I owned this week. With Josh being gone and not able to help me tag team the kids, it usually gets a little hectic. We are not accustomed to his TDY's-it wasn't something we had to do in the States. Now he is gone usually two weeks at a time every few months. We (the kids and I) are kind of becoming pros at it-not that we don't miss him a ton. This go around, we have cheer practice two nights a week, which I help coach, and their big TerraNova testing (comparable to SOL's in Va). Luckily for me, during these tests there is no homework! Whooohoo. My errands are pretty much done for the week, including things that were on next week's list. No one is stressed...I've haven't cracked one bottle of wine yet! We've even watched some movies and hung out after dinner during the week which doesn't usually happen. I got to see Despicable Me 2--how flipping cute! Plus, I get to spend time with three of my favorite little boys tomorrow, and we have a pizza/craft party on our schedule for tomorrow evening. Be jealous. 

"our" fields, a garden diagram I found on Pinterest, and 2/3 of the kids-Jill never poses for pictures! 

Happy Friday! What are your "five" from this week?


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Thursday, March 13, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Today's #tbt #pop (picture only post-let's make that a thing, 'kay?!) is Rothenburg ob der Tauber. We took this trip on New Year's Eve as just a quick little day trip. Kind of like our trip to Luxembourg, but we managed to stay within the country! Where we live in Germany is quite prime location. You can drive two hours one direction and be in a new country, or drive six hours another way and still be in Germany! Not a bad deal in my book...

If you have any type of wanderlust, Rothenburg is most likely on your list to see. It's a beautiful medieval town still surrounded by it's protective wall, and filled with history (and a Christmas lovers heaven).

Here is our picture only post on Rothenburg!




Lunch at Burger Keller-Rick Steves recommended!









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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Let's Do Lunch--In Luxembourg

Food aside, the very best part of living in Europe, is that you can pack up the car on a whim and drive to another country. For lunch. And Friday, that's exactly what we did. The kids informed us Thursday that they didn't have school the next day, and Josh had already taken the day off 'just because'. So we made an impromptu trip to the quaint little country of Luxembourg.

Did you know that Luxembourg is the headquarters of Skype and the European division of Amazon? (Me either). It also boasts the second highest minimum hourly wage in the world ($13.89 in 2013). Natives of the country use three languages: French, German, and Luxembourgish. {Funny little fact: nowadays when we travel to another country, my default language is German. When we first got to Germany, when I'd try to say anything other than English, it would come out as the little bit of Spanish I know. Now it all comes out German!} In Luxembourg, the written language is generally French, and from what we saw, they didn't try very hard to put an English version on anything, like a lot of places. Luckily, on the menu where we ate, they printed French with the German translation under it. It is kind of amazing how much we can read/understand in German versus just a year ago!


We started our day at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. This is the burial site of over 5,000 Amercian soldiers who lost their lives during The Battle of the Bulge during World War II. Also among those buried here, is General George S. Patton. I can't begin to put into words the feeling you get walking into this memorial. It brought me to tears to look out and see so many graves of those who fought to protect not only American freedoms, but those of the world. To know that without their sacrifice the world would be a very different place, and yet their families don't even get the simple comfort of visiting their graveside, it was really one of those moments that stops you in your tracks. It made me very proud to be American.





After the Memorial, we headed into Luxembourg City for lunch. After three hilarious times around the city looking for a parking garage, we finally found a place. Once we packed up our bag, we headed out looking for lunch. We really need to get an international data plan for our phones, because trying to navigate to our predetermined destinations without one isn't really working. So..we ended up winging it: our specialty. We found the main little square in the pedestrian zone that was surrounded by restaurants. We decided on Veneziano right off the square. It was a very nice little cafe with an endless offering of ice creams and waffles, but also some delicious lunch options. This was probably the best panini sandwich I've had, and the portions were huge! The waitress tried her very best to speak English, but there was a lot of pointing to items. We definitely made it work, though! 


After lunch, we headed out exploring. But not before grabbing some macarons from the Laduree I spied on the corner! I love those little things, and they have the flavor I love the most--Marshmallow Chocolate coconut. ((AND..after checking their website, I see they deliver! Even Better.)) So, macarons in tow, we walked around looking for the famous bridges and ruins. We managed to get some good pictures from the bridges, and we saw some of the ruins, but didn't venture down to them. Given more time to actually get out and explore what Luxembourg City has to offer, I think it would be a city the kids would really enjoy. We did get to see the Palais Grand-Ducal, and the cute little guard steadfastly patrolling his post.

I'm starting to feel like every place we go, we leave unconquered. It all goes on a list of 'must see again'. Do you ever feel that way when you travel? Like you saw a lot, but not enough? Luckily this trip was just a short ride away!  

So where would you like to go for lunch next week??



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Thursday, March 6, 2014

Throwback Thursday: Prague

It's Thursday. All you hash-taggers know what that means: it's #tbt-throw back Thursday.  So, in honor of this once a week trip down memory lane, I've decided to try and catch up on some of our previously taken excursions. More than likely these throwback posts will all be picture heavy and less on the words. Let me know if that works (at least for these) or if you'd like me to elaborate more.

For today's Throwback Thursday post, I'm reminiscing about our trip to Prague. We went the long weekend of our anniversary back in October. Spending 'romantic' holidays in another country seems to be becoming our thing. Honestly, I'll take a trip over a dozen flowers that usually meet an untimely death at my hands. Prague for our anniversary, Brussels for Valentine's Day? I think I'm okay with this....

So, without further ado, here is a picture only post of Prague. Enjoy!








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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Our First Fasching

Have you ever heard of Fasching? Chances are you haven't unless you've been in Europe during the Fasching time,or are a contestant on Jeopardy. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking that I'm not the only uncultured one around here! For those who don't know what Fasching is, it is a lot like Mardi Gras in the US or Carnival in Italy. It is the celebration leading up to Lent.

Fasching actually begins on November 11 at 11:11 am and continues through the following Ash Wednesday. The main celebration is around Rose Monday (Rosenmontag), which was this week. Last Thursday was the day when women were allowed to cut the tie of (and kiss) any man they saw fit. It was also the day equivalent to Mardi Gras' Fat Tuesday, where people feast on the things they would traditionally give up during Lent. Although, these celebrations are very religious in origin, like most holidays, they seemed to have warped into something a little different.

What we experienced of Fasching were two parades and a big party. The best my brain can do to equate it to, is Halloween. Everyone dresses up. EVERYONE. We thought it would mainly the children who dressed up, so Saturday when we went to the kid's parade, we went in regular clothes. Peyton threw on a cape and the girls each wore a mask. Nothing too elaborate. Well, shame on me for not doing better research. My poor kids looked slightly out of place next to the various princesses, pirates, and adorable little animals. Thus, less treats for them. People would literally walk by them with candy in their hands, and move the girls aside so they could give it to someone else. They did get to see some of their friends who were participating in the parade, so they managed to score quite a bit of goodies from them.



Sunday was the big parade downtown. And when I say big, I mean packed full of people AND long. It was just under three hours of floats and bands and various people in masks. And it was pretty darn awesome. Luckily our friends met us there, because they were able to loan us a bag to hold all the candy and treats the kids got. I don't think I've ever seen such a cool procession of unique costumes and ideas before. The different floats would throw candy, popcorn, magnets, pens, sponges (?), just about anything. Heck-poor Peyton even got smacked in the face with a coloring book. I'm not saying it's the safest idea--you definitely have to pay attention--but it was great! Plus it was my opportunity to dress up. I thoroughly enjoy putting on a costume. Especially if I've somehow pulled it together from things that weren't meant to be a costume. Since it was Sunday, most stores were closed and there was no last minute picking anything up. We made due with what we had on hand, and we weren't too shabby looking, I think.

We are also extremely lucky that the friends we met at the parade, Sean and Danielle, also happen to be professional photographers, and they were able to snap a few cool pictures of us at the parade. If you are in the Wiesbaden area and you're looking for a photographer, you should definitely check them out!!!
Photos courtesy of our friends at TBD Photography


All-in-all, I'd say our first Fasching was a success,we have some valuable knowledge for the next years to come, and a new challenge for how outrageous a costume we can come up with!

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