September Kids' Day:Fried Fish Festival in Worms (Wormser Backfischfest)

I can't believe we have been celebrating kids' day since 2007!

Worms Promenade

A short explanation. We declared every Sunday of the month a special day for our kids. A day where they could decide and plan what they want to do. They are our bosses on this day. (Actually, we are their slaves the whole year, the thing is; we pretend it's not true.) This day is really, really something special and the girls have something to look forward to every month.

What's more, when their friends learned about us having kids' day, they wanted to have one special day in their family, too. Not everybody was convinced as one mom told her daughter who asked for a kid's day, 'come on, you know that everday is a kid's day for us!'

Meatball Soup with Japanese-style Noodles and Zucchini Bits

Meatball Soup with Japanese-Style Noodles and Zucchini Bits

A big favorite among my girls, a meatball soup. Usually, we use a Philippine noodle called miswa for our meatball soup. But this time, I used Tomoshiraga Somen, a Japanese-style noodle, and added some zucchini bits.

I remember the meatball soup being cooked by my mother, thus, this has become a comfort food.

Although a big fave by my family in Germany, I only cook this soup during the winter time. They said it tastes better, though they won't complain if they get this soup during summer.

I tried substituting the miswa noodles with other noodles but the best alternative seemed to be this Japanese-style noodle that I found in the Asia shop near our place. Miswa is a bit softer compared to Tomoshiraga Somen, which is deliciously firm when cooked right.

How IC Prepared for her Three-Day Class Outing

IC's luggage and her backpack

Ever since her big sister MC went on a three-day outing in Dilsberg with her classmates in third grade, IC has looked forward to her very own school outing. She was disappointed that it did not happen on their third grade, but she's happy when she learned that it was scheduled on their fourth grade.

She learned about the planned class trip to Steinach am Donnersberg during their third grade and it was scheduled and confirmed a few weeks before they were released for summer vacation. Yipeee :-)

You think she forgot about her class trip during the summer vacation? Nope. She has that trip swimming around her mind almost the whole time. Thinking about what to wear, worrying if she would get enough food and drinks, wanting to see if her luggage is passable, choosing possible roommates, counting the days, etc. etc.

And because the whole family was also curious about IC's class trip, we decided to go and visit the place ahead. Well, I entered the youth hostel, with IC (a bit hesitant) following me. We saw the reception area filled with shelves of books and board games. There's a sweets corner and a souvenir shop, too. We also discovered a Celts Village and Garden nearby. All very interesting.

Working to Correct Tardiness in School (Updated)

Papa had to leave early for a meeting yesterday and he drove MC to her classmate's house a earlier than usual. She walks with this girl to school almost everyday, since they entered middle school.

It turned out that despite arriving at this girl's house that early, it took the girl sometime to get everything ready for school. The result? They arrived late in school.

The teacher saw MC coming in late, but didn't see the other girl. Therefore, MC was penalized by the teacher.

MC took her punishment in stride. She accepted it because she did arrive late. How about the other girl who made her late? The girl did not say anything to the teacher. And MC would not say anything aboout it, too.

I asked MC, 'What do you plan to do once it happened again?' She simply shrugged.

The 5th Weinheimer Tiermesse (Animal Fair)

The 5th Weinheimer Tiermesse

Despite the dreary weather, for the love of our dog, Rikki, who needed a shampoo; we headed after breakfast last Sunday to visit the 5th Weinheimer Tiermesse (Animal Fair) which was held at the Gemeindehalle in Lützelsachsen this weekend.

Dogs everywhere :-)

This is our first time to visit this fair. After a wrong turn, we found the way, thanks to the many directional signs posted in the area.

Edward is Waiting for His First Love

Edward as a poster boy :-)

I am pretty sure once you meet Edward, this fur boy would be shy at first.

But once he'd get to know you, he would give you more than enough wet kisses to let you know how much he loves you.

Someone already showed interest to adopt Edward before.
Someone who even passed the form submission and visited and was supposed to come back. Unfortunately, that someone never did.
Edward is still waiting.
Edward's been waiting for more than a year and a half.
How would you feel if someone let you wait for that long?

The Sound of Sirens

MC had a school project that focuses on different cultures and her teacher requested her to do something about the Philippines.

She was joined by a boy from her class. That 11-year-old boy came to our home on a school day to help MC prepare their chosen Philippine dish called siopao.

While both of them were busy kneading the dough for the siopao, a siren disturbed the silence and their concentration.

The boy said, 'Oh, that was real loud. I hope that everything would turn out okay though.'

And he added, 'You know what, everytime I hear a siren, I always offer a prayer. I always hope and pray that everyone needing the help of that vehicle with the siren would be okay.'

I could have offered him all the siopaos he want for his thoughtfulness.

From that time on, I started offering a short prayer whenever I hear the sound of sirens. I urged my girls to do the same, too.

Why not everybody do it, too?

A Review: Bonbonkocherei Hermann Hinrichs in Eckenförde

Just a sample of the sweet treats inside the candy shop

During our camping vacation along the Baltic Sea this summer, we discovered a heavenly shop for people with sweeth tooth called Bonbonkocherei Hermann Hinrichs.

We actually passed the sign of the shop during our first stroll in the city, but we just ignored it. Now why would we notice it in our next visit? Because there was a little boy who was bawling his eyes out just outside the candy store. His parents could not control his tantrum and he seemed to not want to leave the area, insisting on going back inside.

The only sign outside that informs the public about the amazing candy store

That's when we took a peek inside the small street and found an amazing candy shop. It was filled with people, inside and outside, too. You would find that visitors leaving the store would be carrying sweet-smelling big bags of sweets. We want those, too!

People waiting outside the candy store

My girls wanted to check the candy store immediately. I admit, I was also intrigued especially since the sweet smell would already greet you when you enter the small entrance.

Spaghetti Carbonara Cupcakes

What do you do if you have left-over spaghetti noodles? In our family, we would have egg noodles the next day. That means, spaghetti noodles with fried eggs. The girls said it tastes better with loads of ketchup. Or else, the left-over spaghetti noodles would go straight into the freezer.

Yesterday, I checked the fridge and saw the left-over spaghetti. Then I remembered browsing a cookbook and seeing these cupcake-shaped noodles. Bingo!

Here's the easy-to-make Spaghetti Carbonara Cupcakes...

Spaghetti Carbonara Cupcakes with Salad and Ketchup