Mothering Sunday

I always thought Mother's Day was a day to celebrate mothers, but here in the UK, it used to be the one day s year that young girls working as house maids got to go and visit their mothers.
I live far from mine and wish we could be closer. But thankfully we get to talk on the phone or via Skype a few times s week. I miss her a lot! Every day!

So today I got my Mothering Sunday! I got to sleep in, have breakfast in bed and watch a movie. Lunch at a local Sardinian restaurant, followed by a walk through the park in the freezing cold. Lovely day!

To my mum and all you ladies who are lucky enough to have people who call you "maman"!

Jad's first painting

I have had this painting in the walls for a while, and since it is jad's first painting I wanted to share it with you.
I love it!

World book day 2013

Today, Ines chose to dress as Pippi Longstocking for World book day. She loved the books by Astrid Lindgren that Santa got her for Christmas.
Favourite bit of today: "when we played a memory game in class".

The Eiffel Tower by Ines O.

I have finally gotten around to posting Ines' presentation on the Eiffel Tower. She chose the subject after having spent a few days in Paris at Christmas. The Eiffel Tower was her favourite bit of the trip!
She knew how she wanted to structure her work and planned her board really well i thought.
I was also impressed at how her confidence and presentation skills have progressed since last year. No wonder, she has been presenting since the age of 4...
Here it goes. Enjoy!

Princess mask

Ines (7) has had this great collaboration with her brother Jad (20 months) to create a thinking princess mask.
Brains over beauty!

Packed lunch

A little note and a treat goes a long way in my girl's packed lunch...

Khan Academy maths

Inès has been loving doing maths with Khan Academy lately. This is a quick evening revision of additions with carrying over on a bit of cereal box. She was so proud of being able to add 4 digit numbers in her head. Well done!

Try it, it is amazing.
http://www.khanacademy.org/

Aubaine

We had a visit from our friends from Manchester. It was a full house, full of noise and laughter. Just the way I like it. 5 kids to 4 adults... Great ratio. No control over anything, so really great therapy for a control freak like me.
We had a fab outing: V&A kids trail (18th century Britain), lunch at Aubaine followed by a bit of window shopping in Harrod's.
Busy day!

Juices for our healthy tummies!

This Christmas we got given a fab juicer by my in laws. We only tested it once,but I think it is going to be a great success. I still have to practice recipes so any tips welcome...

Hama beads

Ines and her cousin Antonia have been very creative and crafty today. A lot of hard work went into creating these amazing Hama bead projects. I am definitely turning the heart into a necklace... Any orders?

Advent calendar

For Christmas 2012 I made my first DIY advent calendar! It was a great success with the kids. Little cards for each day wrapped in lovely wrapping paper and twine, fixed to our hallway mirror with washi tape. Each card had a little note written on it, an activity to do as a family our a topic to discuss.
The main idea was to stay away from material rewards and to encourage family time, sharing and being thankful for our life together. It was also portable for our weeklong holiday in Belgrade, Serbia.
I'm keeping the details for a repeat next year. I think this one has to become a family tradition!

Teacher's Christmas presents

Ines and I made these great wine glass charms for her teachers for Christmas. So no one will loose their glass!

I also made these gorgeous origami gift boxes out of a square piece of paper. Useful skill!

Cute socks

I love these barbapapa socks that Jad inherited from Kai. So cute...

Baby jad

Look how tiny he was. One of the first pictures...

Sewing skills

Ines has been learning how to sew a button at school in her life skills class. I love it! She is so proud, she even made a booklet about it. I'll get hold of it and post it.

Indian summer outing

The warmest october day on record. We had highs of 31deg. Even better summer!

And then there were 4

Jad' 1st taxi trip, on the day we went to register him. It took us a while to agree on his first name. But he is definitely: Jad.

Good work!

I know we are now on holiday, but still feel like I want to share Ines' good work at school.

Well done baby.

Climber girl

Cool afternoon at the castle! Ines reached the top and earned herself her first pair of climbing shoes aged 5. Well done dudette!

New arrival

Jad was born on a sunny day on the 6th July 2011! The birth was an amazing experience, as nature intended, intimate and gentle.

Jad was born at 13.00 and weighed 3.460kg. A helthy and beautiful baby boy. Ines is so happy to finally meet him (as are we).