Happy 7th Birthday, IC!

A pity that the Papa is not home on her birthday; but IC understand as she said, 'Papa needs to be repaired.'

Well, Papa is scheduled to undergo surgery and IC wants to know more about surgery or operation so I told her that it is just like being repaired so that everything would be working well again.

It is the first time that Papa would miss IC's birthday so our 7 year old girl is a little sad. But I told her that Papa helped me prepare everything for her birthday party and that there's already surprises from Papa waiting for her; which seemed to console her. After all, she would hear Papa on the phone. I distracted her musings by looking into her birthday check list.

What did she ask for this time?

She wanted a Hannah Montana birthday party! Therefore, we created an invitation card using cut outs from an old Hannah Montana magazine. (Good thing I thought of keeping that old mag!)

She wanted a birthday table from a local toy store so we drove there so she could select her favorite things for her invited playmates to choose as gifts for her.

She wanted a strawberry cake with loads of icing and choco pudding. Well, I dont know how to bake one so I simply bought a pre-baked pastry base and added the rest of the ingredients. Simple and easy and taste good, too.

She wanted small treasure boxes as gifts for her friends; we bought the plain ones which they would then turn into colorful ones using beads, glitters and paints as part of the birthday program. She picked all the sweets and agreed to have lasagna and baked potatoes served.

She wanted games such as pabitin which is the Philippine version of the pinata. This involves a lattice of bamboo sticks suspended in the air with string. The lattice is strung with small toys and sweets and is suspended in a way that it can be lowered and raised quickly. Children are to gather under the lattice as it is lowered to reach the party favors. We created our own using sturdy branches tied with sturdy strings and made it a little colorful.

She also wanted to play the German version of pinata which is topfschlagen wherein a sweet or a toy is hidden under a pot. The player would be blindfolded and given a wooden spoon. The pot would then be placed in a certain spot wherein the player would have to search for it with the help of the other kids giving shouting hints of 'HOT' when the pot is near or 'COLD' when the pot is far away. When the player's spoon hits the pot, then that kid earns the right to get the hidden gift.

Since it is a Hannah Montana party, IC wanted to sing, too. She has rehearsed 'You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home.' She said she would sing and she would ask her friends to dance around her. If possible, she wanted me to play Hannah Montana music during the party :-D

And for her schoolmates, there's cookies to be shared during recess.

'Oh Mama, dont forget that since it is my birthday; I am allowed to decide on everything. So please listen carefully whenever I talk to you, okay?,' said the birthday girl.

Happy 7th Birthday, dear IC!

Sommertagszug (Summer Parade)

It was a warm day last Sunday. The kids wore their caps and t-shirts. The perfect weather to celebrate the Sommerstagszug or the traditional Summer Parade.

After all, the Sommertagszug is celebrated mid-Lent or three weeks before Easter (usually depends on the tradition in every land); to welcome the summer season and say goodbye to winter. It is Pagan in origin which represents the fight between winter and summer, at the end of winter in the old days, many pantries are empty and the children would usually go around begging for food.

The school kids which always are in the parade, including my girls, have to carry their own hand-crafted Sommerstagstecken or sommer parade sticks which is usually made of colored paper, the tip of which holds a sweet Sommertagsbrezel with a hollow egg and a pine branch.

The colorful parade would usually be joined by different clubs, schools and private companies and there would be goodies thrown for kids, too. A snowman made of paper mache or whatever easily burnt material is created, which is displayed during the parade. The highlight of the parade is when the snowman would be burnt in the end of the parade, to symbolize the end of winter.

Last Sunday's parade was fun because it was the first time that my girls were able to join together with their new schoolmates, plus it was a bigger crowd, and they had to walk a little longer, too. They were happy to receive a souvenir medal from the city for joining the parade.

But IC was happier because the bakeries and ice cream stalls were open such that she asked immediately for snacks after we decided to take her off the parade a little earlier. We already told her that she could simply give us a sign if she's tired and we would just inform her teacher so she would be allowed to take a break. She was having a great time but when the parade entered the area where the stores are open, she simply gave in to temptation!

As for MC, she pushed forward and even requested her Papa to accompany her to watch the burning of the snowman. Well, they did while IC and I found a place to binge away. Life is great and summer is here!

My Girls' Diaries

MC's loose tooth finally let go a few minutes before bedtime. And then the magic words that made me panic: 'Mama, the tooth fairy is sure to come tonight, yipeee!'

I usually have small gifts stored in my cabinet, but since we just transferred to a new house; the girls have found all of them as they helped me pack almost everything.

Although in a panic mode, I was also thinking of giving MC a gift that would steer her in the path of enjoying learning (she's being a bit difficult when it comes to studying and doing her homework). While standing in front of my office desk searching for possible a gift, I saw a hand painted notebook that was given by a good friend for those times when I used to religiously write a daily journal.

That was the aha moment. I found the tooth fairy gift and giving that notebook as a diary might inspire her to start enjoying 'words.' To correctly point her to the right direction, the 'tooth fairy' even left her a short message encouraging her to write on the diary everyday on just about anything she wants noted down. I left the notebook/diary under her pillow while she was sleeping.

The following morning, she excitedly showed us her diary and the message from the tooth fairy. And that day, MC started her diary. She continues to write, almost daily; even draws about her experiences in her diary.

Of course, IC wanted to have a diary from the tooth fairy, too. She took care of that one by announcing that her loose tooth would be out within that day. Therefore, she started wiggling it until it came off. Good thing I have enough notebooks around.

Although first grader IC is just learning to read and write (they havent even finished the whole German alphabet yet!); she simply loved having a diary. She wrote and wrote; and drew just about anything in her diary. Sometimes IC and MC would sit together and write in their diaries.

The result? My girls even encouraged me to renew my love for diary-writing especially when I showed them the volumes of diaries I kept in the storeroom which I said they could read when they are old enough (that made them curious!). Now, the three of us would sometimes sit together to write. No copying, I would usually tease them.

Well, MC enjoys diary writing though translating it to enjoying her composition homeworks with the same intensity might take time. At least, although she doesnt realize it, she's practicing composition writing! As for IC, when you look into her diary, she just writes the words as she says them to herself and as she hears them being said. But since she's also using drawings to express herself, then her stories are also being documented.

And I am also glad to go back to diary writing. It is a different therapy and nobody could read them until I say yes :-D