The Dark Side of the Force

November 3rd, 2012 by ninja

Two days after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, in the middle of a very challenging week, one of the most kid-anticipated events of the year had to be dealt with: Halloween. Since our immediate neighborhood was spared any devastating damage, we decided to take a break and let the kids go trick-or-treating regardless. We passed a few fallen trees on our way, but the Cobble Hill community went to great lengths to make it a gruesomely fun night, as every year.


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The Calm Before The Storm

October 28th, 2012 by ninja


On Sunday, the day before Sandy hit the East Coast, we took a last look at the beautiful Fall foliage on the Highline before it got blown to smithereens. This was especially lucky for our friend Andi, who later got to witness historic weather conditions on his first week-long business trip to New York. We are so glad nobody got hurt in the days since, and Andi happened to stay in a zone not affected by the power outages as well.


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Bouncin’ Party

October 21st, 2012 by ninja







To celebrate the Big Five, Tobin had a wild rumpus with his friends at BounceU – just like Mika three years ago. It’s the perfect place to let a large group of Kindergarteners go crazy, including a few older and younger siblings and their parents. This time around, the deal included an ice cream cake, which turned out to be quite delicious and got me out of baking a big party cake in our home kitchen. Tobin had a blast, and so did his friends. Thank you everybody for coming out to the Brooklyn hinterlands and making his day extra special!


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Happy 5th Birthday, Tobin!

October 21st, 2012 by ninja


Our big boy started his leisurely Sunday birthday with chocolate cake (at his request, complete with dragon), and a building binge that went back and forth between his new Lego models and the Snap Circuits set. For the time being, he still needs a bit of help from Mika with the logic behind circuits (the set is labeled 8 years and up), but it is as captivating to him as we anticipated. He has been re-building simple diagrams already by himself, and both kids have a blast collaborating. Big sisters can be good to have after all!


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Alumni 2.0

October 20th, 2012 by ninja


Ever since Tobin graduated preschool this Summer, we were a bit wistful that the times of exceptional educational experiences at this one-of-a-kind school had come to an end. Luckily, Ms. Ela invites all alumni along with the current crop of children to the school’s Annual Fall Picnic. We met up with many old friends, some of which we have known since Mika’s first year of preschool. The kids carved their first Jack-O-Lanterns of the season, and we all enjoyed good food, drinks, music, and each others company. Did i mention the weather was in full support? After a couple weekdays of rain, it was 70°F (20°C) and sunny…


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Big Boy

October 19th, 2012 by ninja

Just in time for his 5th birthday this Sunday, Tobin brought home a super-sized self portrait from school. He used the 12×18″ (30×46 cm) sheet almost to all 4 edges. His body is not the only thing that is growing though: last week, he informed me that his head has been growing since the start of Kindergarten. “It’s growing from the inside!”

(The body shape in this picture cracks me up … it reminds me of the silly characters an illustrator friend of mine, Helge Jepsen, perfected)


4 Comments | Category: Daily Musings, Drawings


Sun Day

October 15th, 2012 by ninja



After a week of showers, wind and cooler temperatures, Summer came back in time for a day of fun in Dumbo: we had a very late lunch at the Smorg, the kids rode the carousel, smashed rocks at the pebble beach, and played for a long time at the waterfront. When we rode back home into the sunset, the air was still balmy (70°F or more).


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Tween Hair

October 13th, 2012 by ninja

Mika has been tying self-made feather accessories into her hair for several months, but the clown-ish colors of our arts & crafts feathers didn’t make it look particularly elegant. Today at the drugstore, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw these sparkly “hair fascinator” clips, and decided it would be worth to spend her allowance on. Now we just need a special occasion to match her style…


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DIY Tinker Toy

October 9th, 2012 by ninja


Tobin signed up for an after school “building” class at his school, where he gets to tinker with different materials every week. Today, he brought home this structure made from mini marshmallows and toothpicks. He asked me to take a picture because he really wants to eat the marshmallows tomorrow.


1 Comment | Category: Crafts, Photos


Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Omi Hiltraud!

October 4th, 2012 by ninja


Liebe Omi Hiltraud (liebe Mami)

Wir senden Dir ganz besonders herzliche Glückwünsche über den Teich (quasi im Schlaf), bis wir Dich persönlich anrufen können. Unser Päckchen soll Dir heute Vormittag ausgeliefert werden, wenn die Zollbehörde nicht wieder alles durcheinander bringt. Alle Daumen sind fest gedrückt! Liebe Grüsse von uns allen und bis gleich!!! @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @


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Name That Game

October 1st, 2012 by ninja

The kids invented a new game:

Step 1: Tobin rests comfortably on a bed of pillows, with Mika hiding underneath
Step 2: Tobin pretends to push a button, which prompts Mika to make robotic sounds and rise/lower his back rest with her body
Step 3: After a few rounds, the “mechanism” spins out of control until both kids fall off the couch laughing

What are you playing?, i asked curiously. Omi Hilde’s Bett!!, they replied. (Of course!)

Thankfully, the real Omi Hilde recovered quickly from her injuries last year, and has been living independently in her apartment ever since. It looks like the only memory the kids kept from her 6-week hospital stay were how much fun they had with the remote-controlled bed. My own best memory from those weeks: how much fun Omi Hilde had with the kids making a happy ruckus during our visits.


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No Cats Were Harmed…

September 30th, 2012 by ninja

… in the making of this picture.

Mika took the photo herself, after Luna had been playing along with her princess game for a while. Once the cat had enough, the crown went back to the original owner…


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