Learning to write

We came to the Netherlands at the beginning of June; so it is quite some time that Paul and Anna are not going to school. So, today I got a sudden mother-guiltiness feeling for not doing something extra all this time. The result was having a nice morning with Paul and Anna practicing to recognise and to write few letters (and thanks to Nils for sleeping all the morning!)

We used some wipe-off cards that I got from my mother as present. They are plastic cards with a glossy surface, and it allows children to write on with a special pen, wipe off and start again. I found particularly that it is possible to wipe off! For example, Anna does not like to see her own mistakes, but it is not a problem with these cards, because you can immediately wipe it off.

By the way, I checked the company producing the cards, it is called FlashKids. The offer free downloads of some of its products, and they seem quite nice! Check them in their website.

Inspiration for mums that want to draw

I love children books. They are so cute and so inspiring! We went to the library to choose some books for Paul, and I felt in love with this one: Kimono, written by Annelore Parot. It describes the 'Kokeshis', traditional Japanese dolls dressed in cute kimonos. In each page you a small assignment, like, can you find me in the classroom? Or, where is my kimono?

Honestly, Paul was not as interested as me; but I used the book as inspiration to draw a bit and relax. You can see what I draw below!

How to clean your Medela breastpump

Nils is already almost 2 months! Time flies... and I thought it is a good moment to check my breastpump. I used for long a double electric breastpump from Medela, called Pump in Style (funny name, don't you think?). I have checked it, and the model no longer exists; it has been replaced for a smaller and fancier looking one.

I would like to focus on explaining how to clean the parts. In the instructions, it mentions you can boil them or put them into the dishwasher. But to be honest, after a while, this is not enough, specially if you use the pump daily. So I did some extra cleaning, as follows:

- Boil water in a pot and put all the elements fully disassembled in the water.
- Add some vinegar
- Boil five minutes
- Start taking one element out of the pot
- Remove all the dirtiness you can with a cotton stick (the ones used to clean the ears)
- Remove the little rests remaining in the corners using a toothpick
- Dry throughly with a soft cotton cloth
- Continue with the next element

I was quite happy with the result. The elements looked as new!

There he is - baby Nils

It is really difficult to take good pictures. In general. But it is specially difficult to take good pictures to babies. Of course, we are taking a lot of pictures to Nils these days, but most of them are not worth printing (even less framing!).

Luckily, I had some friends visiting and they took a good picture of Nils. I guess the result has to do with having a good camera / lens and also knowing how to use it properly!

And of course, I take this opportunity to introduce the new member of our family: Nils!

Welcome Nils!

Pregnancy time is over - baby time has already started.
We are back home already for few weeks!

Paul and Anna made a drawing in the blackboard to welcome us when we came back from the hospital; so cute! Big thanks to their grandparents who were taking care of them while we were away.

And I have to add here some thoughts from my side on the use of a blackboard. It is handy for young children to use since chalks are easy to grab. But the whole process is so dirty! All the floor is immediately full of dust. So unless you are extremely patient, and do not mind to do all the cleaning, I recommend one that you can use outside!

Almost there

The new addition to our family is supposed to be born coming Sunday; or maybe before?

A couple of weekends ago, my uncles in law came to visit and we asked to have some pictures taken.

The photo below is one of those they took! I am really happy with the result.



I had pictures made of my belly by a professional photographer during each pregnancy. I really recommend doing that, or asking a friend/family member with a good "artistic eye" to take some good pictures. You will never believe afterwards how your body changed so much!

Few tips:
- Use a neutral background
- Use black and white clothes, or as neutral as possible
- Spend some time to get your hair in proper condition (this is the last thing you feel like doing during the last weeks of your pregnancy, but make an effort!)

Good luck!

Cupcakes from Dr.Oetker

Yes, it would be wonderful to follow one of those great recipes to make cupcakes that you can find in books or in internet. But the moment I want to make them, I do not have enough eggs or flour, or the end result is simply a disaster.

I started trying Dr. Oetker pre-mix packages for deserts when we moved to Rwanda. Really, it could not be easier. You add the content of the package with some water, and that is it. Paul loves doing the cupcakes, and you do not need much since even the paper for the cupcakes is included in the package. The only problem is that the paper "opens", I just placed them in two oven plates and it worked. The shape is, of course, somewhat irregular, but the children loved them all the same.

To decorate them, I used some chocolate and colored sugar bread spread; you can see the result above!