You can´t live 2 places

Darn. I knew this would happen.

While we lived in SD I could follow family and friends on facebook. Pictures, statuses, pregnancies, moves, babies, children growing, birthdays, milestones etc. etc. It made me sad missing out, but we also experienced so much and met so many wonderful people in the US.

Fast forward, going back to Denmark. Now I can follow friends in SD - milestones, babies, kids growing, moves, fun activities etc etc. Again we miss out.

An example: A thing we loved (well, at least Silke and I did) in SD was fairy festivals! This spring, Summers Past Farms have a fairy festival, my international moms club had a fairy and gnome party (I could see the pics on FB) and SD botanical garden has their annual fairy festival. And I hate missing out, I hate that Silke is missing out. We've been making our own little fairy gardens in the backyard to compensate.

Around 2 weeks ago a giant rainbow appeared in the sky in SD. We missed that, too! Silke loves rainbows..

J, thanks for letting me use this pic!

On the positive side- Silke has good friends right across the street. The row-house area where we live is teeming with kids, and life, and as it is summer now, those glorious, long, Danish summer evenings. I hated that they missed out on those while we lived in SD. They enjoy much more freedom and responsibilities here than in SD. Also on the plus side I don't have to fear some gun-toting crazy person while in the movie theather, in the mall, or in my kids' school. Most Danes consider people who are into guns crazy, and when one of the prominent politicians suggested that gun laws should be 'liberalized' in Denmark, there was a public cry of outrage, shaming him (of course, who would want their country to be so much less safe?)
We enjoy the wonderful nature, we are picking elderflowers in order to make elderflower tea, and to use dried elderflower in cakes and soaps etc.

And for me, one of the most positive things: I DON'T HAVE TO DRIVE A CAR!!! I really dislike driving, and being able to go everywhere by foot, bike or public transportation has lowered my stress level considerable. Yay!!

You can´t have it all, no. I know that. But allow me to miss the good things and good friends!

Fire-station visit

Several playgroup coordinators from my moms club had during 2013 arranged fire-station visits. It was always Fridays so we couldn't go - and when there finally was such a play date a Friday afternoon, I got sick! Well, what does one do?  One calls the fire station and arranges a play date, of course! (at least that's what I did..)

Station 3 in Poway has a very nice captain, so they welcomed us a Friday morning - unfortunately Silke had been hospitalized a few days before (perhaps that will come in another blog post, I'm not so sure..)
First we got a lecture about fire safety, and a nice fireman put on the gear (in 90 degrees heat - brave man!)

 The kids could see and touch his gear

 They showed us the premises, small rooms where they could rest if there wasn't a fire or any other emergency, there was a small movie theater, a gym (must keep in shape to conqueror those fires!), and a nice kitchen. Then - to the fire trucks!

 Of course we got to hear the siren (outside..)

 Oh my, I'm in heaven! So many buttons to push!

 The firemen were extremely nice and answered every question.. all in all, a success!

Feta-dressing

Another delicious, low-carb recipe:

100 grams of feta cheese
3/4 deciliter yogurt, sour cream or similar (plain!)
1/2 deciliter olive oil
1 small/medium clove of garlic
3-5 small twigs of fresh parsley
handful of fresh basil leaves (fresh oregano can be a substitute)

Put everything in a food processor or blender, mix away! Is very good on various veggies and meat, or as a thick salad dressing.

Good with almost any kind of veggie! Enjoy!

Silke's birthday (San Diego)

The 16th of February we celebrated Silke's birthday (her real birthday is the 16th of March) so she could get to say goodbye to her friends. Due to the impending move whe chose to make it easy. I created an invitation on evite, and we made sure to order a Hello Kitty cake from Ralphs, and pizza, veggie and fruit trays from outside. I filled the Hello Kitty giant pinata with fruit snacks (the ones that are made from real fruit, not the winegum ones) and small packets of marshmallows (yes, I loathe giving kids candy, but they were great fillers..) and tatoos! They spent quite a while picking all this stuff up..Bunch of photos, including the huge pinata

 The cake. Way too sweet!

 An insane amount of pizza..

 Nice, sunny day in February

 Pinata emptied

 Kids lining up to play

 Eric with his loot

 She got a lot of great gifts and they played really well - we were lucky with the weather (February in SD can be cold/cloudy/windy) but it was high sun..I also put out some bubble wands for the kids to play with

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Valentine's day party

Silke's last day at school was also Valentine's day, so we got to celebrate with a Valentine's day party. Silke's teacher had decided (thank you!!) that it should be a heart-healthy party, so fruit, veggies, goldfish, cheese sticks and water it was (yes!! No abundance of cookies. Honestly we were so fed up with the insane idea that a cookie is a snack..)
With her box of Valentine treats!

 Inside the box

 Snack

 With her teacher and classmates

 Decorated classroom

Pictures from Denmark 8, late May

 In late May there is several holidays. I let the kids make fairy houses and gardens, an activity they learned in the US.

Eric made a fairy swing

 Feeding ducks at our local lake

 The swans arrive

 Baby Lucia´s naughty face

Back in Denmark short update

The first couple of weeks were hard. No hiding that - jetlagged kids, hardly any furniture (thanks to parents, friends and neighbours who lent us matressess, lamps, table, chairs), Silke hadn't started school yet and Eric had to start in his old pre-school. As our stuff hadn't arrived I had to drag the kids around in an old stroller, with Lucia strapped to me. March was cold (according to other Danes, March was mild, but when you're just in from SD...we were spoilt!)

The kids adjusted quickly. They love the nature and the greater freedom they have.

Silke: There is no fence around her school and her after-school program (kindergarden is from 8AM-1PM). She walks from the school to the after-school program (around 200 yards). Both school and after school program borders 'Vestskoven' (The westwood forest). The kids are allowed to play in designated areas around the school.

Eric: Loves his new pre-schoool. They´ve already been on 2 field trips to the nearby forest and park. Every friday they run. They have a big playground and they are outside a lot. Healthy, organic food is prepared in the institution.

Both kids are SO happy to be close to their grandparents again, and their cousins...