Trick or Treat

Had you walked past our house today you would have seen three brooms leaning against the entrance (and glitter all over the stairs). 3 evil witches (and one very dressed up princess) were attempting to haunt our residence. 

Yes, if I were you, I would have passed our house today very, very quickly...

Math exam

Daughter is not a person who takes school too seriously. She is not too fond of it either. I think she feels it is a waste of her time. After the second day of school, she came home and told me she wouldn't go there anymore. "Why???" I asked, "it's boring," she answered. "How much longer do I have to go?"

At the first parent teacher conference the teacher told me daughter gets distracted very easily. "By what?" I asked. "Oh, by pretty much everything," the teacher said. "By a bird flying by the window. The Rain. Trees." It seems daughter is looking out of the window a lot.

And then there is the problem of her talking too much. She is talking to the little girl sitting next to her. And the one sitting behind her. And the one in front of her. If no one is talking to her she has a conversation with herself.

One day last spring son came home from school with her. Clearly, he was very upset as he came running up the stairs. "You should call the school," he said. "Bella beat up another girl."

BEAT up a girl??? "What were you thinking???" I asked her. "This girl pushed me," daughter said, "so I pushed her back. Dad told me: defend yourself."

So, I am a bit concerned about daughter's school career. They haven't gotten any marks yet, just evaluations which, quite frankly, don't say much. But since this month they are supposed to take exams and get marks.

A few nights ago, as I went through her school bag to empty out the lunch box, I came across a piece of paper that looked at lot like a math exam to me. "What is this?" I asked daughter. "Oh, that...that is something we did in school. An exam. I think." she answered.    

She got 21 points out of 21 points. In record time, according to a note from the teacher. "Were you the first one to finish this exam?" I wondered. "I don't know." daughter said. "I didn't look at the other kids."

Of course not. She was probably looking out of the window.

     

Murakami at the Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt

For weeks I have wanted to go to the Takashi Murakami exhibit in Frankfurt, Germany but couldn't find a single soul who wanted to go with me so, again, I talked my poor kids into coming with me. 

 

I told them to get very comfortable in the back of the car and expect a loooong ride. I bribed them with a picnic and comics and fluffy pillows. 

And it was so worth it. What a great exhibit! Murakami has been shown in Los Angeles and New York but Frankfurt is displaying the most pieces of his work. All his art was displayed throughout the Museum of Modern Art, which is an amazing building in itself. In some rooms or nooks were just one or two focal points of his art, everything is very spacy and light. 

Son claims it was his favourite art show yet. And supposedly it has nothing to do with the videos of Kaikai and Kiki that were shown in a darkened room.

    

The Murakami shops in LA and NY were sold out after only one hour. In Frankfurt they still had a few items for us to buy. Luckily for my wallet, nothing of the Louis Vuitton collection though... 

3 Doors Down

Husband went to see the rock band "3 Doors Down" and had a blast. The band members were incredibly nice and the soldout concert was rocking. 

Husband with singer Brad Arnold:

Bass player Todd Harrell:

 

Family and Friends and a Gnome

A crisp Saturday in October...

The gnome...

A very patient, sweet cousin...

And a nice evening at the fairy godmother's house. With three different kind of Asian dishes to choose from, Peruvian games and animated conversations. If we were Danish, we would say it was "hygge". 

It was a good day.

Look!

Not a big deal to anybody but me...but look!...this is the entrance to our apartment and until two days ago there was an ugly grey carpet glued to this beautiful old wooden floor. I am so happy about the way the wood looks that I keep on opening the door just to look at it. 

Happy Birthday, Fairy Godmother!

It is way past bedtime but daughter insisted on baking our famous cheesecake for her godmother's birthday tomorrow. So we did. She also insisted on me taking a picture of her holding the cake so we could show it to her aunt. It took me a while to get the camera and to take the photo but when I did I noticed that daughter didn't look that happy anymore. Actually she looked kind of unhappy, sad even...or maybe guilty? "What is wrong?" I asked. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," she said.

See the huge holes in the cake??? 

2 Hours of Bliss

Today, after sending the kids off to school, I let the carpenter in the apartment, went shopping, dropped clothes off at the local kid's bazar, picked daughter up from school, collected son at home, drove to the dentist's office, had dentist appointment, held daughter's hand during her appointment, held son's backpack during his appointment, dropped son off at home, drove daughter to cooking class ("witches cooking class") and - then had two hours of bliss with my goddaughter and her mother. We windowshopped, had cake and a cup of coffee in a little bakery, felt the cold air on our faces and were amazed by the colors of the leaves...two hours of total bliss... 

Bliss are red shoes... 

...and spending time with a perfect little goddaughter...

P.S. The little witches in the cooking class made "gummi mice in slime". So far husband has refused to eat his portion. 

Renovating

Painters and carpenters in our apartment force me to spend the days at Starbucks, drinking coffee, eating chocolate and reading decorating magazines. 

Fall is beautiful but I really would like to spend some time at home...

Amusement Park

Great weather, whole family in one country, no school, no work ... we are going to an amusement park!

This is the thing husband and son went on:

Husband, only person with his arms up in the air....ahhhhhh!

 

Hygge in Copenhagen or Mothers and Sons

Every year my friend and I take our sons on a trip. It is always for a few days, just the four of us going to a different city. We have been to France to check out Paris. We have seen Hamburg, Germany and last February we flew to Copenhagen, Denmark.

Copenhagen is one of those cities, I was sure I would love, even before I ever stepped onto Danish ground. And I was right. It is the most charming, lovely and most feminine city I have ever been to. It is rather small in size, perfect for walking or bicycling. There are coffee shops, "butiks" and little shops full of surprises around every corner. After spending 3 days there I wanted to move there and become Danish!          

In winter, there are outdoor ice skating rings all over the city. It doesn't cost anything to skate there and not much to rent ice-skates. It looks like a lot of Danish children go there right after school is out. We had a blast. 

One great place to relax and warm up is this place:

Our sons were the only males in there. Everything else was girlish. The cupcakes, the decoration, the tiny tables and chairs, the other customers. They took it with grace...


Last two pictures by Tea-Time, Norrebro 

And then, there is the shopping. Lots of individual shops, fewer of the chain stores that are dominating other cities now:

We stayed at the SAS Hotel that Arne Jacobsen designed in 1960. Jacobsen was in charge of everything from the doorknobs to the flatware to the furniture. Son and his buddy made friends with a very nice hotel employee and were lucky enough to were shown "Room Nr. 606". This room has stayed the same since 1960, only the TV has been replaced, otherwise it is all Jacobsen. Same employee also told us that years ago, before people were as design conscious, the SAS Hotel was being renovated and most of the now famous "Egg", "Ant" and "Swan" chairs

were thrown in the trash. Can you imagine? Some employees took a few home and can now claim to have an "original Jacobsen"!

Son in a "Swan - Chair": 

   

Smorrebrod:

 Waiting for the Royal Guards:

While visiting Copenhagen we also found a new word: "Hygge". Hygge means "cosy" but it is much more than that. If I grasped it right it is the feeling you get when you are at a beautiful place with somebody you can have a nice conversation with. Maybe some cupcakes (pink ones, of course) and some coffee or wine? Maybe next to a fire place? With lit candles? 

We felt very hygge while in Copenhagen.