My e-book has been published!

I am very excited that I am now a part of the author program on the very popular diy site YouCanMakeThis. I have purchased several eBooks from this site quite a bit in the past and now it is so awesome that other self-helpers can purchase my very own ebook. Check out the site if you get a chance. There is such a variety of projects there that you may end up purchasing a few to try yourself. (Try my "wrapped candy ribbon sculptures"... they are fun to make!) Also, don't forget to check out my store, Bow Couture Boutique Creations, I've got lots of goodies!

Flohmarkt and Tierpark

Yesterday we had a busy day. Saturday morning we participated in a Kinder Flohmarkt which is a flea market for selling items for children. It was sponsored by the preschool run by Marco's job and cost us only 5 euro for the space we had. It was more like a community yard sale and I must say... I enjoyed it. It was set to begin at 10:00am but no sooner than we started to set up (at 9:30am) people were going through our boxes before we could unpack. (I guess Munich has early birds too!). We made a fair amount selling Kalynn's pre-loved items. It was a bit cold and started to rain just as we were about to pack up and go home.

After the sale, we came home and got Kalynn and her Grandma and headed to Tierpark Hellabrunn in Munich. We have been to the zoo here before but "not with Oma", Kalynn said! By the time we got there the rain had stopped and it was partly sunny. We had a good time except for the bird poop that somehow ended up on my pants at my hip. I don't know what it is about this zoo (or me) that I end up with some animal's poop on me before I leave. The last time we visited the zoo I ended up with goat poop all over the front of my shirt and pants. (They swarmed me and were climbing up to get to the feed I had in my hands I held up above my head. I vowed not to make that mistake again). Oh well... the next zoo trip will be to the one in Nürnberg... maybe I will have better luck with my clothes!

Oma visiting this week!

After an Easter candy hunt at my step father-in-law's house (where Kalynn and her cousins racked up some SERIOUS loot) we drove another half hour to pick up Kalynn's oma (grandma). She is staying with us for the week and Kalynn is thrilled!!!! It is so sweet watching the affection they share for each other. (I am really going to hate leaving at the end of the year. )

72 degrees and 200 km/hr... (Gonna miss the Autobahn too!)

This is only 1/2 of the candy that Kalynn and my nieces collected!

A game of catch after all of the loot was found.

Happy Easter Everybody!

I hope everyone has a Happy Easter and a great time celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ! We started early this morning (7:00am) with an Easter egg and goodies hunt for Kalynn. While I got her dressed in the outfit I made (thanks Sabrina for the fabric!), the Easter bunny was busy hiding chocolate, eggs, toys, and bunnies. She could not wait to get outside. Our neighbor had also hidden some treats for Kalynn, too! I told you she rocks!

Thanks Fonda and Sabrina for supplying me with Chick-fil-A sandwiches and Cinnabons that I dutifully kept frozen until today because I had given up bread for Lent. I munched like a mad woman on them after the egg hunt, lol! Never has reheated-from-frozen food tasted so yummy!

P.S. Sorry for the quality of the photos. Somebody (*cough-cough*...SHAUN...*cough-cough*) took the wrong battery charger when they left for home last week so I had to pull out my old trusty standby. You, my dear God son, will need ninj'in when I come to visit in a few months!

Nice, Relaxed Day

Today was a relaxing day for us. Finally recovering from the "go-go-go" of our vacation with family we just took it slow today. Kalynn, Marco, and *George* went grocery shopping this morning while I slept in. I got up earlier than usual (8:30am) because of all the tea I drank the night before (kept me visiting the porcelain throne). I made a few items for my store while Kalynn played with the scraps and watched "Horton Hears a Who" with her daddy after they returned from Real.
Since our baby is 4 now, we decided to get her a 'big girl' bedroom. She has been using her same crib/day bed since she was a baby... it was the justification for buying such an expensive crib to begin with, we knew it was good quality, sturdy, and convertible into a day bed for toddlers. The old one has held up extremely well but her transition is long overdue and IKEA was calling my name! (Back home in the states that would have meant a 2+ hour drive but at our home here in Munich... just 18 minutes baby!!!!). Marco began putting it all together while Kalynn and I painted Easter eggs. When we finished the eggs and came inside she could not contain herself. She was rolling on her bed even as Marco continued to prepare everything (including disassembling the old bed). She is in the bath right now and her room is finished. She is going to love it!

KO's first Imaginary Friend

Today we were introduced to Kalynn's first imaginary friend. At first she started talking about her brother, George, but as the day went on he settled in as her "best friend". She has been very descriptive and consistent about who George is. He is from HS. (This is apparently a country very far away.) He is pink like her daddy. (Caucasian). She actually had a conversation with him on her Step2 play kitchen phone. He apparently agreed then to come over to visit and have a sleep over. The cutest thing was how excited she was when she ran upstairs to announce to me that George was at the front door. She smiled and beamed as she held my hand to go downstairs to open the door. Later she put an extra juice box into the refrigerator for George and then went up to her room and got a blanket to bring downstairs and put on the couch for George when he comes to sleep over. Before she took a bath tonight, we were tickling each other. After we took turns a couple of times, she asked me to tickle George too. What an imagination!

Kalynn Loves Frau K.

We are very fortunate to have such a sweet neighbor. (We share a common walkway and one side wall so it is a good thing we get along.) She is a 70 year old German lady that looks and acts no more than 50. Today KO and I were outside sitting under our apple tree when she hops up and squeals "Frau K------!!!!!!!" Our neighbor was heading out somewhere on her bicycle. The two of them speak a little bit in German (at this point I am clueless about 75% of what is being said) and then Frau K takes her by the hand and goes around to the side of her house. Since she is great with Kalynn and such a sweetie, it doesn't bother me at all that I can't see Kalynn. (Yes, I totally freak out... usually... when I can't see her at all times.) They come back with a plate of Easter cookies that my neighbor had made. We took them in the house for later... but Kalynn had to sample them before she went back outside...which is huge because this kid does NOT eat cookies. That just shows you how much she loves Frau K! I'll have to catch some photos of them together planting flowers one day. Soooooo cute!

All gone :-(

My sister, Sabrina, left for the U.S. this morning. She was the last of my visiting family. I had to wake KO up so that she could tell her goodbye (after she woke up on her own at 5:00 am this morning... *yikes*). Sabrina is probably drooling on a pillow at cruising altitude right now! To all of my family that visited us last week, I love you and miss you already!

Goodbye visitors and welcome 70°F weather!!!!

More on Venice, Italy (as promised)

With only my sister left visiting in Germany right now (Shaun and Daddy are in the air as I type and Fonda arrived home just yesterday) I found a little time to write a bit more about our trip to Italy earlier this week as promised.


We left my house pretty early Monday morning (3/30/09) headed on a 5 hour drive to Venice. True to form... we Americans had to stop at a McDonald's for breakfast along the way.

We didn't feel too bad though because the lure of McDonald's was obviously too powerful for the German police too, lol.

After a long drive (with many stops... at which my Daddy always ate something, except for the one when we were pulled out by the Italian border police for a random check) we finally arrived in Venice. Since Venice is a city on water, we had to park our car in a huge public parking garage and walked to the pier to find transportation across the water. We were quickly approached by a gentleman offering the use of his private boat as opposed to the public boat. His selling point was 1 hour ride on the public boat (many stops along the way) or 20 minutes with him. We were tired... so private boat it was!


















Another advantage of this boat was that it went under bridges and through small canals so we got to see alot more.

Once we got to our rooms, we checked in and headed back out for some sight-seeing. We had an incredibly quaint view from the windows in our room of an alley. I think I have seen a picture like that before.

While walking the in-roads of Venice, we came upon several gelato (ice cream) vendors/shops. They have the best ice cream ever! I ate a scoop of pistachio every chance I got. Daddy had his fair share of gelato even though he gave up ice cream for Lent! (I gave up bread which is incredibly difficult to do in Italy for me... I didn't give in though). Daddy just ate his gelato and prayed for forgiveness, lol. There is a photo I took of him with two ice cream cones in his hands that I promised I wouldn't post. Now that was funny!

Fonda and Shaun found a pizzeria that offered an "American Style" pizza that had, of all things, hot dogs and french fries for toppings. They both said that it was delicious. So there you go, an idea for your next homemade pizza.

One of my favorite shots from this trip was taken inside of our hotel. It is one of Shaun and Kalynn playing in the hallway. He would climb down a couple of steps on his knees and sneak around the corner and "judi chop" Kalynn. She laughed the most delightful and sweet laugh every time he would sneak around the corner. I want to remember that joy forever. It was the most sweet and loving sight. Papa also knows how to keep his only grandchild smiling too.

One of the highlights of the trip for Kalynn was the Piazza San Marco, not because it has shares her daddy's name... not because it is a stunningly beautiful landmark, not even because of the view. She had a blast chasing the Venetian pigeons that the Piazza San Marco is also famous for. Everywhere you look, people were taking photographs of them and with them. Some had 5-7 of them resting on their heads, arms, hands and shoulders. (I'm sure that photo will make a great memory for some but I just kept thinking "Ewwwwe... nasty". I was content, however, to watch my little one chase them around.

My favorite part of our trip was the gondola ride simply because I have always wanted to take one. We all took the same one and it was great (except for when we first got on the gondola and it kept listing to one side. Marco assured us that it wouldn't tip over but it was unnerving nonetheless.

Wednesday evening we took the city boat back to the parking garage (we didn't mind all of the stops then) and headed home. We made a few stops on the way home to stretch and take a break and apparently to sit inside giant tractor wheels at an autobahn gas station! Nice... real nice. LOL.

Last day for Daddy and Shaun

My Daddy and Shaun are leaving early tomorrow morning to head back to the United States. Not wanting to waste any time here we took a day trip to Österreich (Austria) since it is very close to Marco's dad's house (where we were to be guest for a fabulous dinner). We visited Braunau am Inn, the place where Adolf Hitler was born. It was a very quaint and charming little town. We did not stay there too long because we had THE best lasagna our taste buds have ever had the pleasure to meet waiting on us at my father-in-law's house. (Sorry Sonya, but Shaun said it was even better than yours, lol.) My fil is Italian so when he cooks a meal, the food just keeps on coming! Lasagna, steak, turkey, chicken, bruschetta, smoked salmon, salad and finally a cake that Marco's sister made for Kalynn's birthday. After dinner and a small "game" of basketball between my brother-in-law, Gian Luca, Daddy and Shaun we walked to a nearby Italian ice cream parlor where we were treated to some tasty ice cream! We were so impressed that the ice cream looked just like it did on the menu. How often does that happen?!?! They get an A+ for presentation alone.

We are back home now and the boys are packing for the US. Shaun read Kalynn a bedtime story and is winding down for the night. I'm just reflecting on what a great time we've had. It is not quite over yet since my sister doesn't leave until Tuesday but I count this vacation as a HUGE success!










*This picture is of Daddy at a bakery near his hotel. He, along with my sister, have become quite adventurous and proficient at ordering what they want while not speaking 'a lick' of german! They are too cute.