Reeling

People, get this:

Today, in the commissary, Annika dropped her sucker on the floor in the freezer aisle and it broke into a billion sticky little bits. She immediately let out an incredible howl. I'm pretty sure it was audible in Minnesota.

Josiah calmly walked over to the cart, reached up and handed her his own sucker.

Woah. I made sure to give him lots of praise and a big hug for his generosity. I also bought him a little bag of Cheetos, which is a huge treat for him (I know, I know...suckers and Cheetos...I promise it's not always that bad).

When we got home, he sat down at the table to eat his Cheetos, because as we all know, Cheeto powder+preschooler=1 huge mess.

Annika started circling the table like a buzzard, eyeballing the Cheetos. So Josiah shared his Cheetos with her, without any prompting or encouragement from me.

Double woah.

I know, I sound like Joey Lawrence.

Anyway, a busy day. It snowed in Stuttgart last night, so we woke to falling snow and a light covering over the grass. Josiah and Annika were so excited to see the snow. Unfortunately, it didn't stick around long enough to get out and make snowmen. It's currently in the mid-40s and every trace of snow is gone.

We went to the mall today. The main reason was to get marbles, the auxiliary reason to visit Espirit. I struck out at Espirit, which is strange since I usually want to buy everything in the store. I didn't find anything at the mall, which isn't surprising, since the European taste is not really my liking. I will say that I have rarely seen any German women looking anything less than extremely stylish. You don't see them walking around in sweat pants and a Winnie-the-Pooh T-shirt. They always look put together, that's for sure!

We went to the toy store to get marbles. People, I tell you--German toys are so amazing. All of the great Haba wooden toys. They are very expensive, as in $10-15 for a small baby's rattle, but they are so beautifully made. I bought the marbles as noted, which are for a German marble track-thingy that I bought for $3 at the thrift shop. I bought a doctor's kit for Annika for Christmas. I remember how much fun my siblings and I used to have with our doctor's kit. I bought Annika this beautiful wooden recorder that is all handpainted in various colors and designs. Will I live to regret that one? Probably, but she'll have fun with it and I can always put it up. The last things that I bought are hard to describe...they are toothbrush holders with hourglass-style timers on them, to help the kids to learn to brush longer. I got a daisy holder for Annika and a train holder for Josiah, all made out of wood.

Oh, and I got my mother's Christmas present! I am almost done Christmas shopping, yay!

10 days and counting.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Um, you forgot to describe your mother's Christmas present!

All your hard work is paying off with the kids. Just remember this when/if they pull something you're not happy with in the future!

The toys sound wonderful...like something they can keep and give to their children some day...an investment for the future! You should buy more!
DD4 said…
Rachel, you blow me away with your preparedness! If there were an award for it, you would win - hands down!
liz said…
I enjoy reading about your kids. Hope to see you when you are in Mn.
MamaD4 said…
Hmmm, Mom, I got it at a toy store.

What do YOU think it is?

Well, you'll find out soon enough as I'm bringing it to MN with me!
Anonymous said…
What is it about these United States anyhow? People have this un-natural thirst for cheap items and fattening food. I'm re-reading "Ghost Rider"again, the author is Canadian and the casinos and RVers with their guts hanging over tha belts just drives him crazy. After being in Japan and Europe to see you guys, I have started looking at the USA a little more critically, man, we have a lot of junk here.
Heidi said…
I have one Christmas gift bought... If you get a chance, can you put up a wish list for the kids.
I love to go into the natural stores and looks at the kids toys. I was in a great one yesterday. Just a little young for Marshall.
DD4 said…
Josiah, I am so proud of you. You are growing up to be such a loving, young man.
Badger said…
What a proud moment for you as a Mom! I can only dream of those achievements...

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