Ideas, ideas, ideas

I need ideas.....do I?
Christel-Ann's birthday is fast approaching. The theme has been decided on:
"Spa Sleepover"
Now what. Guest list is almost complete, we are looking at 8 girls.
My idea is to have different "wellness-stations" (hair, nails, facial), a "spa" buffet (fruit kebabs, cucumber sandwiches, smoothies) for lunch and the well liked junk (pizza) for dinner. A good soak in the Hot Tub for everyone and some chick flicks to watch before bed. A breakfast buffet in the morning and some yoga to wake up.
Now I need to figure out how to pull this off. The beach room downstairs is the main location, the Girls will bring their robes, swimsuits and sleeping bags. I have an idea of little goodies to give to the kids that will be a part of the wellness stations. What I don't know yet is
a) how will I pull this off (assuming Paul is going to hide off-shore)
b) how the invites should look like
c) what kind of goodie holder to use
d) any other detail.
I will ask Christel-Ann to pick colors, decide if she wants a cake or cupcakes etc.
This is where living close to family would be beneficial. I would totally love to enlist the help of my sis', have my niece be one of the guests, or give my favorite sister-in-law a chance to get away from her boys.
Now go ahead and give me your input!
By the way, she is asking for a kayak.

Roger Rabbit & Bugs Bunny

2 very surprised and happy Girls!

Emma-Louise with Bugs Bunny

Christel-Ann and Roger Rabbit

21 Degrees Celsius on Saturday, the Girls didn't really want to put on the long sleeve shirts.

Is it too late to be nice?

My favorite sister-in-law sent this to me. I love her.

When in Savannah, you must eat:

At "The Olde Pink House"
Last night Paul and I had a "Date Night". It was our 13th anniversary and we were looking at doing something really special. And while we have overlooked our anniversary in years past due to other Christmas Parties etc This year we did it! We decided we would go "somewhere else" not to one of our favorite places, we wanted to do something "Savannah". We found parking (wow!) and strolled through a few of the beautifully decorated squares of downtown Savannah. Reservations were a really good idea! We were a little bit early and decided to pay a visit to the bar. Paul treated me to one of my faves (yes, y'all know that now I would describe the perfect Martini) a Rasberry Martini and Paul enjoyed an Alsterwasser. The bartender Josh was a good guy, he just served Paul's special request. The Olde Pink House was built in 1771 as a private residence which makes the dining experience very interesting. We were seated right in front of a fireplace at a table for two. Very romantic. The menu was very southern, heavy on the seafood, Paul had a hard time deciding. We ordered the fried Brie with Red Pepper Sauce, green apple and grilled Baguette as an appetizer. Paul went with our attendants recommendation for his entree. A crispy scored Flounder with Apricot Shallot Sauce, creamy Grits and steamed Spinach. I don't do fish unless I know it is right out of the water and decided to go with a New York Strip Steak, Bordelaise Sauce, caramelized onions, twice baked potato and asparagus. My steak was a perfect medium rare and Paul received expert instructions on his Flounder. very good indeed, I did try it! At one point we must have mentioned the occasion to our attendant. Because our dessert was served on a small platter that was decorated with a Chocolate "Happy Anniversary" and an additional candle was placed on our table. We took a picture with Paul's cellphone, but I am not sure that I can upload it to the blog. After this fantastic Dinner we walked around downtown for a little while. Savannah is such a wonderful city. We really enjoy living here!
Happy 13th to us. And many more.

Laundry room - check

Here is a picture of our laundry area right after we moved in in the late summer of 2006.


We added some storage bins in 2007:



And here it is as of tonight. We took out washer and dryer to lay tiles, then stacked the dryer on top of the washer, cut the shelf in half, put one shelf on top of the existing shelf. Added counter top. We already had all the little hanging basket things and the rack that slides out and holds our laundry soap and bleach.


I think we are going to enjoy the Christmas Season as a Family before going back for more projects.

Help me out! ("challenged" foreigner here)

We got a letter from Christel-Ann's school. Since she has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, exemplified worthy character and has maintained a commendable attitude, she is cordially invited to join the National (junior) Beta Club.
And while I'm a mean googler, I would prefer some real life insight into this Club.

Christmas tree

No picture of ours (yet).
Growing up we had one Christmas tree. It was decorated with many different ornaments, ornaments that my parents had collected through the years, some came from my Grandparents, some were bought traveling, some where made by my sister and I. We always had a real tree and for the longest time nothing but real candles. My Grandfather insisted of a bucket of water next to the tree and preferred to stay in the living room with the tree while the candles were burning. A childhood friend of mine always had a "color theme" for her tree. I admired that (it was in the days when I didn't mind that such things cost a lot of money!).
And then I was introduced to the concept of more than one tree and I was intrigued by it!
To make a long story short, this year I have a second tree! Well actually fourth. Both Girls have a tree in their room. But I have another full size (6.5ft) tree in my house this year. It is in the guest room. It is white. It is getting a theme. Beach. I am ready for my 'rents to send me a ticket to the funny farm. But I love it. Now we have to take a lot of tropical vacations to collect ornaments from all over to decorate that tree. So far there isn't much on the tree, but I am hoping in a week or 2 I will have some ideas and something to show to everyone.

The mistery of the boot

Someone left a comment asking about the pneumatic boot and how it became a member of our family for the past 4 weeks.
Christel-Ann chose not to obey the rules of our trampoline. She injured herself. However throughout the week-end she limped inconsistently and continued to jump on the trampoline, we didn't think much of it. She was "a mess" that week-end, from time to time complaining of a sore throat, a headache, her ankle hurting, but then she played like she was "just fine". On Monday she went to school and by 10:00 am the nurse called to please take her to the Pediatrician. The Pediatrician gave her a shot for strep throat and quickly referred her to the Orthopedist who diagnosed an injured growth plate (luckily no fracture). We are in the run for the parents of the year award. In our defense, Christel-Ann can hear "symptoms" and experience such within seconds. She tried to convince me that she had an enlarged prostate at one point and time after listening to a commercial.
The pneumatic boot was worn "all the time" if she had to take more than 10 steps, she was quite bummed about it (especially because the accident happened right before her cruise) but disciplined.
Thursday night she was so excited about her appointment with the orthopedist. She packed her "other" shoe with her book bag, she was sure that on Friday Dr K would take the boot away from her and diagnose her as healed.

Nikolaus

Once again the Nikolaus made his way to Georgia! Yesterday Christel-Ann had her final appointment with her Orthopedist and after 4 weeks she no longer need the pneumatic walking boot that has been her constant companion for the past 4 weeks. However she decided it would serve one last purpose: to leave out for the Nikolaus that usually finds our children nice enough to treat them to something.

Floor!

The job is done! Tile done, baseboards done. Now onto the next project: our laundry area is getting a little face lift.