Family Life

Halloween Costumes

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Friends,

Halloween is rapidly approaching and we are having lots of conversations about costumes at our house. Who is making their own costume, what do we already have on hand, what do we need to buy? While I can’t get into the creepy, scary, witchy part of Halloween, I love the costume part. Pinterest is a great source to find cute costumes. Take a look.

Hänsel and Gretel
Hänsel and Gretel
Alice
Alice

 

ericaholland.com
Madeline
Tornado
Tornado

 

Ewok
Ewok

You can click on the pictures to get to the sources.

This country is so creative with their costumes…love it.

Hänsel and Gretel are probably my favorite ones. I have been entertaining the idea of doing a Grimm Brothers fairy tale theme some day…

-Sofija

 

 

 

 

Halloween Costumes

Rain

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The picture above was taken from an airplane with the view of the storm that flooded parts of Colorado last week. Wow, to me it is a miracle that anyone survived this.

Rain is a big deal in the southwest. We usually pray for more of it. With several years of drought and wildfires everywhere we were so relieved that this summer we finally got a good monsoon (yes, they call it monsoon here) season and that it lasted longer than usual. Last week we had almost a whole week of cloudy days and rain; this never happens.  Because of the previous fires and drought the soil couldn’t absorb all that water. My heart goes out to those who got flooded and lost everything.

-Sofija

 

Rain

The 200th Post

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Hello,

Today is my 200th post! Wow, I thought I would have run out of ideas by now. But when you post about life, children’s fashion, travel, and school there is always new material. And you guys keep encouraging me, always on days when I really need it.

I have gotten over 7,000 views since I started. What really makes me happy is that this blog is truly international just like I hoped it would be. The top 5 countries who view this blog are:

1. The US

2. Germany (Vielen Dank, dass ihr euch die Muehe macht, Englisch zu lesen!)

3. United Kingdom

4. Canada (hello Kate!!)

5. Turkey

Here are my top 5 posts.

Here are the blogs that inspire me:

Design Mom

Oaxacaborn

Porridge with Milk

Flannery O’kafka

Babiekins

Dreamy Whites

I encourage you to check them out!

Thank you for your support,

Sofija

 

 

The 200th Post

Monchichis

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Friends,

Meet Fuzzy, the Monchichi. Do you ever relive your childhood through your children? I certainly do. Boxes and boxes of Playmobil, Barbies (I don’t like to admit to those very often), and Pippi Longstocking movies are all proof of that. And then I came upon a whole section of Monchichi paraphernalia at the toy store on my last trip to Germany. Did you have one of these adorable, cuddly dolls from Japan when you were a child? My sister was with me and she had to laugh while I was piling the dolls in my shopping cart for my girls. She has two boys so she can’t indulge in nostalgia with me when it comes to girl toys. Never mind that my girls hardly play with their Monchichis, except for my youngest (see above). I’m convinced that their childhood is complete now. Well, not quite yet. They are still missing the wooden grocery store and the puppet theater.

You can buy Monchichi on Amazon (of course) but I found them to be cheaper in Germany. If you happen to go there…Or you can place an order with me next time I go.

How about you? What was your favorite toy growing up? Do you tend to buy toys you like or do you stick to what your children like? And do you have any friends who’s taste in toys you admire? I have a neighbor whose play room is just a dream come true, with the wooden kitchen and the reading nook, and at one point she even owned a puppet theatre.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Sofija

Monchichis

Stars Soccer League

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Friends,

I made an exiting discovery. There is a soccer league that doesn’t take over your entire week with several practices and games on Saturday. Stars is a recreational league that only meets on Saturdays for coaching and games. It is for ages 4-12. Sure it won’t make your child into a future super star soccer player. But if you are like us and you just want your child exposed to the sport and learn the basics, this is a good option. Here are several reasons why I like the idea of Saturday only sports. Family dinners are very important to us. Being hospitable and entertaining is important to us. Doing sports together as a family is also high on our priority list.  But I have always resisted the pressure to sign my kids up to every sport imaginable and to shuttle them around every weeknight from an early age on. I just cannot reconcile with the notion of being a taxi driver and cheer leader all week long. It’s probably because I didn’t grow up playing organized sports. I played some volleyball in high-school but I was never good at it. My husband was on a soccer team and did pretty well. But even he doesn’t think that team sports enriched his life that much. What enriched him were backpacking trips, being out in nature.

So for us a Saturday only sport is an option to consider. This week is registration week. Not sure if we will do it, but I am glad to know the option is there.

Have a great weekend!

-Sofija

Stars Soccer League

An Update on us

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photoFriends,

how was your week? How is everybody adjusting to their new school year? Our school is going really well- big sigh of relief! This time around last year was so challenging, I needed a year like this. Last year my two oldest started an online school and it took about 9 weeks to get used to it. That meant me spending about 4 hours each day with my then 6th grader, lots of frustration, tears, and how I am I supposed to do this?! Not fun! This year they both know what is expected and how to get it done on their own. Which gives me the time I need with my 4th, 2nd grader, and Kindergartner. Suffice it to say life is so much more manageable for me this year…

Finn, my 15 year old, also started a college class this year. We let him pick a class he is interested in to hopefully give him a positive experience the first time around. What makes this European mama immensely proud is that he uses public transportation to get to his class. I know if you live in other big cities, especially on the East Coast, public transportation is not a big deal, everyone uses it. Here in Albuquerque it is just an afterthought for the have nots. It is really important to me for my kids to rub shoulders with low income people, and also for them to be able to get places without mom shuttling them. You might remember me discussing this topic here.

Speaking of rubbing shoulders with the poor. Our church decided to collectively be involved with a middle school located in an immigrant, poor neighborhood of our city. I have been waiting for something like this for years, so glad our church is doing it! My husband will help out with their IT needs, tomorrow I will go along hiking with some of the students, and my hope is that my kids will be involved in some capacity as well. Finn is always explaining concepts to his younger siblings, he could totally tutor.

 

I don’t do a post on our family very often, but I think it is important. I always enjoy when other bloggers give updates on their family life.

Any big plans for the long weekend? We invited friends and will be busy cooking on Monday, so I might not post till Tuesday.

Have a lovely weekend!

-Sofija

Picture of Natasha taken in front my friend’s fabulous blue door.

 

 

 

An Update on us