Happenings in the Hertzog Household

Well, it's been far too long since I posted anything at my blog. I had such good intentions when I started it but as all my good intentions, I tend to get sidetracked, and let's face it, lazy and they all go downhill from there.

So this time I'm not making any promises or even planning on writing more regularly (though I would really like to), but I figured there was no time like the present (and since the children are actually playing peacefully together in the other room) that I would at least start writing now and simply see where I end up.

I'm afraid this post and most of my posts certainly won't be very interesting or exciting for others, but I have always written mostly with the intention to simply record our daily happenings and family life so that in the future I can look back and remember moments I wouldn't otherwise remember. Each day I see my children growing up and older and changing and I'm sorry I haven't kept a better record of their childhoods as I had originally intended. Still, I can start now and even if it is only an occasional post, it will be something, and certainly more than if I never did it.

So what is going around in my head these days?

It might be best to simply bullet point...

* I spent the majority of my weekend trying to go through, pick out and upload my favorite pictures of moments to highlight our families 2009 year. Kodak is running an offer where you can get an 80 page photo book for the price of a 20 page book (use the code "extrapages" when paying to get the deal - expires 1/21). So I MUST get that done, especially after spending so much time going through photos.

* I still need to order and print out my "holiday" card and letter. Since I simply decided not to Christmas cards this year, I decided to give myself a break and send Valentine's Day cards instead. Now I just have to DO it.

* I'm still in the process of trying to get more organized. That is just an on-going goal, but I did manage to get a few things accomplished which make me feel good. Now I must keep the momentum going.

* I'm trying to be more organized in terms of meal planning as well. And after buying a lot of provisions yesterday, I'm thinking it's time for me to do a challenge of cooking out of my pantry for the next two weeks, with the exception of some fresh fruits and vegetables. I should be able to do so comfortably, as I have way too much in my pantry and freezer as it is at the moment. It will just take a little more planning and organization. (See points above.)

* I need to get started on planning Michael's 40th birthday party! This weekend I spent some time with a good friend working on scrapbooking (well, she scrapped while I went through the photos on my computer) and she gave me a great idea for Michael's birthday party. I've decided to do a "Casino Night" party. Now I just need to work out the logistics. My friend is even going to come and be our "blackjack dealer"! So glad to even have an idea! Note to self: Send out "Save the date" emails!

* I signed up for a 5K run/walk with a friend of mine hoping that this would inspire me to start the Couch to 5K progam again. So far, I have yet to get started. I'm thinking I need to stop procrastinating and start tomorrow (today I have the kidlets, tomorrow Tristan is back in school and I depending on the weather I can go to the gym or outside). Along with that I also need to really start watching what I eat again and eat healthier for ME (meaning more protein, fewer carbs). This is SO hard for me. I'm such a carboholic and really despise most forms of protein, but I also know it's what's best for me and what works, so I need to reprogram myself again.

* I also want to make a point of simply getting the things done that I need to get done so that I can actually enjoy my "free time" (what I have of it) doing things I like and want to do like reading and knitting. Part of this means I need to step away from the computer more, especially when it comes to things like Facebook and playing Bejeweled. I need to face the truth that they are my way of procrastinating and really when I procrastinate, it doesn't make those things go away, it just makes them go away for a while and I end up with even MORE to do.

So that's what is going on with me and what's on my "to do" list.

As for the children, they are growing so fast. Michael was commenting just last night on how adult Alyssa's conversation is starting to sound. She's always been extremely verbal and loquacious, but her language is becoming much more broad in her use of vocabulary. She uses phrases like "I was trembling" and "this is consistantly..." and "I was perplexed" and "she was flabergasted" appropriately and more frequently. She's really been reading a lot and it shows.

Funny enough, she is also so stubborn when it comes to following rules or doing things in order. She is ALL about doing things in order, to the point that it drives us a little crazy. For example when doing a word search puzzle, she will NOT circle or cross of a word or phrase she finds when she finds it but must find, circle and cross of the words or phrases in the order that they are on the list. NO EXCEPTIONS! And recently she's been driving me a bit nuts because she was on a reading binge reading all the Fairy books by Daisy Meadows (most moms of 7 year old girls are probably familiar with these books). She received at least 3 sets (Rainbow Fairies, Jewel Fairies, Pet Fairies, and some of the Petal Fairies) and was reading one fairy book a day all through Christmas break. We had printed out a list of all the different fairy books so we could check them off as she read them. This is where our trouble began though, because the list lists the "Party Fairies" as the next set and she will not move past that set and go on to read the next set of fairy books (which she already has) because she won't read the books out of order! So her reading has come to a screeching halt. We went to a number of bookstores trying to find the party fairies and after no success I searched online and found out that they aren't even published here in the US yet and won't be until June 2010!! I tried to explain that to her and told her to jump over the Party Fairies on to the next series but she won't. She absolutely will NOT read them out of order! So now she's moved on to the Cam Jansen series instead!

This stubborn trait does have it's advantages though when she makes up her mind about doing something she will stick with it until she's able to do it. It's been that way with her since she was a baby. Once she took her first few steps, she never went back to crawling. When she was ready to start using a potty, she was done with diapers THAT day! When she decided she wanted to take the training wheels off her bike, she took off like she'd been riding a two-wheeler forever. And so it has been with two new things this weekend. She was determined to learn to tie shoelaces. I tried at first to show her, but for whatever reason she got too frustrated either with the way I was showing her or because it was ME showing her so I sent her to Michael. They seem to have a better dynamic when it comes to some things, especially things she gets frustrated with easily. Within 10 minutes not only had she learned to tie shoelaces but she had already successfully done so 3 times before she came down and showed me how she could do it. Now she just wants to wear shoes with laces so she can tie them!

The second new thing is that she decided (much to our joy) that she was really ready to stop sucking her thumb. Both Alyssa and Tristan are staunch thumbsuckers, Tristan even more so than Alyssa, but both have been big time thumbsuckers since they were babies. We've tried many different approaches to try to get them to stop and while Alyssa has half-heartedly tried, she never was "ready" to completely stop. Recently I decided to take the plunge and purchase an expensive thumb guard to finally break the habit. Now that Alyssa is starting to lose teeth (well, she still hasn't even lost a single tooth yet, much to her dismay but she does have some wigglers) I figured we needed to break the habit before the adult teeth came in. We're still probably going to have to do braces with both kids, but perhaps we could reduce the damage if we finally broke the thumb habit. I showed Alyssa the thumb guard and found one for less on eBay. I bid on it but didn't win. (They cost over $75 in the Right Start catalog!) I then saw a fabric type thumb guard called the "Thumbuster" but wasn't sure if it would work because it is easily removable and like other things we've tried, I figured she'd just take it off. I showed it to her and she promised she would use it and try to stop sucking her thumb as long as I got it for her in pink. So I ordered one. She was pretty excited when it arrived and immediately put it on and started using it anytime she watched tv and at night when she went to bed. It also came with a chart so each night she went without sucking her thumb she put a sticker on the chart. She has been wearing it and not sucking her thumb every day since she got it. Once again she's shown how once she makes up her mind about something she just does it. We are so proud of her. Both Michael and I were thumb suckers and we know just how hard a habit it is to break! When it comes to Tristan, however, I'm going to have to get TWO Thumbbusters since he is an equal opportunity thumbsucker - he'll suck either thumb! I'm also worried that he's one who will simply take the thumb guard off, so I'm not sure how we're going to handle that yet!

Well, this is long enough for now. Hopefully I'll update again soon so I'm not always writing a long essay!

Oma's Apfelkuchen

Oma's Apfelkuchen
Originally uploaded by Starrbyrd

I love apples.

I love anything made of apples. I have yet to try an apple-based dessert that I didn't like. This fall I've already made applesauce twice, apple crisp twice and now Oma's Apfelkuchen. You'll have to take my word for it, it's delicious.

Or you could try to make it yourself and taste how delicious it is. It's actually very easy to make and you should have most ingredients to make it on hand. All you need are at least 2 or 3 apples. I used honeycrisp apples for this one and they were quite large so it only took 1 1/2 apples to cover the whole cake.

Oma Herrmann's Apfelkuchen (Apple cake)

1 1/2 sticks of butter (3/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs (I actually used two because I didn't have three and it turned out fine)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
2-3 apples
cinnamon sugar to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease cake pan (I use a springform pan) with butter and then dust with cinnamon sugar.

Mix butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Add in flour and baking powder.

Pour into prepared pan.

Cut apples and arrange on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Eat warm or cool. In Germany it's customary to top with whipped cream and enjoy with a cup of coffee for afternoon "Kaffee".

Enjoy! And let me know if you enjoyed it.

Now he's 5!

The day has come when my "baby" is no longer a baby anymore. He's not a toddler, or a preschooler, but a real "little boy." He no longer needs diapers or pull-ups or a sippy cup. He can feed himself, make his own bed (granted, not very well), get dressed by himself, put on his own shoes and socks (though he hasn't learned to tie laces yet) and can pour his own cereal into his bowl (though I still help with the milk). He can express he needs, desires, wishes and dreams. He can almost ride a bike without training wheels. He draws wonderful pictures full of details and can tell amazing stories. He's beginning to hold his own with his older (bossy) sister, but still gives in to her much of the time simply because he is a peace-keeper and doesn't like to see people unhappy. After a bit of a socially rocky start, he's found his niche among his classmates in preschool and is universally well liked.

My "baby" has developed into this amazingly caring, unbelieveably sweet, stirringly sensitive and highly inquisitive little person.

How can it be that just 5 years ago we went into the hospital anticipating meeting this new little stranger who was going to become a part of our family. We had so many unanswerable questions about who this new little person was going to be and how he'd fit into our family. How could we love another child as much as we loved our first? Who would he look like? Would we love having a son as much as we loved having a daughter?

These questions seem so ridiculous now in retrospect, but at the time they were truly thoughts that were going through our heads. Five years later I feel we know the answers to those questions, though now we have so many more. We know having a son was one of the greatest gifts I could have ever received. I love having a daughter, but I truly believe there is also something very special between a mother and son. Had I had my choice, I would have chosen a 2nd daughter and every day I'm so grateful the choice was not mine to make. Furthermore, to have been blessed with such a sensitive, caring and truly sweet little boy has enriched my life more than I can ever express. As for how he would fit into our family, well, I can't imagine our family without his kind heart and generous, giving nature.

It was impossible to imagine as I first looked into the face of this newly born screaming little stranger 5 years ago today, what a gentle, soft-spoken tender hearted little man he would grow up to be. As for what kind of little boy he'll be in another 5 years, I can't really say. So many new experiences and changes lie ahead of him and all of us and it's hard to say how they will effect him. I'm really nervous about his starting Kindergarten next year. He's so young, so sensitive, so innocent yet, and I worry that he will start to lose those qualities, qualities that I see as such an integral part of who he is. I hope that isn't the case. I hope that while he is bound to grow, change and develop that he will always stay a bit my "sweet little boy" forever.

What's really appropriate?

Last week Alyssa came home and told me the following story. We have had some good laughs about it already and thought I'd share with you too.

Scene: We are in the car on our way to Gymnastics

Alyssa: Mommy, something bad happened at school today.

Me: Oh, what happened?

Alyssa: At recess we were playing soccer and one of the other boys kicked the ball really hard and hit another boy in the nuts.

Me: (a little surprised and quite amused at her using the term "nuts" since it's not one we've ever used at home) Oh dear. Did he cry?

Alyssa: Yes. He was really crying. Clay ran to get the playground teacher.

Me: Oh dear. Well, that was the right thing to do. That can really hurt. But, what are "nuts"?

Alyssa: That's the word for his "boy bits" or "privates". (wait a few beats....... and after some serious thought...) But I think it's not appropriate to say "boy bits" or "privates" at school, you just say "nuts."

(!!!) LOL

I simply had to laugh. Though I did correct her and say while "nuts" isn't a bad word, it's really more appropriate to say "privates" or "private parts" instead.

Not sure if it translates well to the written word, but let me tell you, her delivery was just TOO funny. She was so serious about the fact that it was more "appropriate" to say "nuts"!

Early Dismissal Days

Today is one of those Early Dismissal days from Alyssa's school for parent-teacher conferences, and perhaps I'm a little crazy, but I'm actually enjoying having both my children home with me for the afternoon. Granted, ask me by Friday and I might be visualizing a "happy place" where both children are in school for 6 hours a day, but right now, this minute, I'm happy they are home.

Perhaps it is because I just signed my "baby" up for Kindergarten next year just last week and it's becoming clear that time is flying faster than I'd care to admit. Possibly it is because I've been having to contemplate finding part-time work due to hubby's unstable work situation and it's dawning on me just how fortunate I've been to be home with my children these last few years. More likely it is because at this very moment they are playing so beautifully together, proof enough of that is that I'm able to type more than one sentence without interruption. Whatever the reason, I'm feeling a bit nostalgic for the days when we actually had more playtime together during the week -- before my daughter went to school full-time.

It's truly a case of "the grass is greener" though, isn't it?

I'm sure another SAHM who is the thick of child rearing with two young preschool or younger children, must think I'm a bit off for not rejoicing more in the time away from children, than mourning the lack of time with them. I certainly felt that way at times when I was busy at home with two young children; and don't get me wrong, there are many days after sending one off to preschool with his father and putting the other one on the bus for school, that I come home, pour myself a cup of tea and rejoice in the peace of my quiet, empty home.

There are certainly days that I'm extremely grateful my children have reached a level of independence that grants me the freedom to sit here and share a few thoughts, indulge in a cup of tea and sneak a personal moment during the hectic day. Yet it is also dawning on me that these same freedoms are paid for in the currency of less down-time for my children, less time for them to play together as they are right now and, most significantly, less snuggle time and play time for us together.

So call me crazy, but I'm grateful today is a half-day of school and that spring break is coming in just a few weeks. We have no big plans, but that's ok. In the end what really matters is simply having time. Heaven knows it flies by much too fast as it is.

Nikolaustag 2008

Nikolaustag 2008
Originally uploaded by Starrbyrd

Once again it's that time of year when we put our shoes out and hope that St. Nikolaus comes to fill them.

As you can see, we must have all be good this year because our shoes aren't empty. Alas I admit, my shoes would have been empty had I not filled them with a few items myself.

This year I went to both of the children's schools and talked to each class about our traditions and about putting out our shoes before giving each child a small treat bag to take home. I think both Alyssa and Tristan enjoyed being in the spotlight among their classmates and enjoyed sharing something with their friends. I, of course, enjoyed being back in the classroom, especially in this capacity, rather than having the full responsibility of teaching.

As I was walking through the halls of the school it struck me again how all schools have the same, very distinct smell. It's like that smell takes me back on a flashback of all my school experiences, both as a student and a teacher. I know I always loved that "school smell" and sometimes wonder if it wasn't what lured me into becoming a teacher in the first place. I doubt I'll ever go back to teaching but hope that I can continue to volunteer regularly and get my school fix that way.

Did you remember to put YOUR shoes out tonight? If so, I hope they were filled with something wonderful from someone you love!

Life lessons 101

Life lessons 101
Originally uploaded by Starrbyrd

Sometimes the person you have a crush on doesn't feel the same...

Translation: I love you Clay. Love Alyssa

It seems her love goes unrequited however...