what's on my mind...

Well, after some extra time with my lovely kids it was good to have a few hours for myself so far this weekend- thinking about the upcoming visit from Daniel, planning a few trips and figuring out what to do with my friends..
As it had stopped snowing on Thursday, I was able to attend (asistir a) Spanish class on Friday, which I really enjoy- it is just interesting to see how another language other than English or German is built up (oh, btw, I should study a little bit tomorrow..;) ), and I love love love my teacher, who is a very encouraging and demanding person that really makes me improve my Spanish!

Today I went to DSW shoes with Ida, and I found that incredibly cute pair of golden high heels for just 17 bucks! Usually I am not a High Heel Person, but hey, you gotta take advantage of these prices!!
I also found a lovely blouse and after that we had yummy dinner at Rubys and enjoyed the movie "no strings attached" - yes I know, I am going to the movies pretty often! (And I LOVE it! ;) )

I've recently been watching a lot of How I met your mother, and I have to admit that I am addictet to it! I just can't stop watching episode after episode! It is hilarious!
This is why I also want to end this post with one of my favorite HIMYM quotations of that day:

When I get sad, I stop being sad and get awesome instead!

Have a good day,
Ida ;)

Let it snow,...

let it snow, let it snooow- but please stop this second!

During the night it started to snow so that the kids couldn't go to school-  at first it looked like a 2 hour delay that Americans like to do, but it turned out that it kept on snowing so that they had to cancel school-
this meant, that we were able to do a lot of different stuff and hang out at home all day!

We started off with doing their homework from their homework packs and reading, which they did very well after the first wave of protest ;)
In fact, the kids were awesome and behaved so nicely for me although they had to stay inside all day because it didn't really stop snowing..
so we were playing all day (funny games, xbox kinect, computer,...) and we also started our new project!!!
It is about introducing new countries to the kids- we started off with China because we had Chinese food the day before, and they were sooo interested!
Therefore we were talking about what Chinese people wear, what they eat, about the star signs, I introduced the spring festival and both of them even made a flag! It was so cute, and they didn't even want to stop talking about it! "Do you know more, do you know more?", they were asking..
This will be our project every Wednesday, and they can choose what country they want to learn about..I'll keep you updated on that... :)

Have a good one,

Ida

Chill-out weekend

As some time had passed since we've all been to the movies (hey- I just went last week, that's enough of waiting for another good movie) the kids and I decided to have a chill-out afternoon and watch Yogi-Bear at the local movie theatre.
BUT there was a DEAL!
As I usually just use highly recommended, paedagogical and didactical correct educational strategies (as taught during the past five years ;) ), I decided to do it in a different way that day. This means, that the kids weren't just able to go to the movies, they had to EARN it!
Once I told them that, they forced me to write a to-do-list with all the things that needed to be done before we left.. soo...well...that made me think of some niiiice activities for them ;)
1. eat up all of your breakfast
2. straighten up:
the living room
the bathroom
your bedroom
3. read for at least 30 minutes

I have never seen this place more tidied up than  that day!! It was phanomenal- they just cleaned up eeeverything, ate all of their breakfast AND read for 45 minutes! I was so pleased that they got popcorn, candy and sprite at the movies- and we had an aaawesome afternoon then!
The kids also enjoyed it a lot (and thanked me a lot), and the movies were followed by some fun xbox kinect competition and a game-night-how wonderful!


cutie pies with their 3D glasses

You'll hear from me soon :)
Ida

Que interesante!

On Wednesday we decided that it was time for some Museum-Fun, so we picked the kids up from school and went to the Delaware Children's Museum with them.
The kids had been there already a few months ago, so they knew what to expect and behaved totally excited about this event- and as soon as we got there I could understand their excitement!
It started with a huuge maze at the entry- it was about ten 8 metres tall and the kids could crawln in there and try to find their way out.
As I am always looking for some paedagogical background ( ;) ), I was impressed by how the museum explained things to the kids- for instance about their body, about how a house is built or how the bank and the financial system works. The kids were able to read information but more important: were able to act things out and try themselves!!
They had fun building houses, pretending to keep a household from having too less money and finding out how long they could keep their balance (my record: 14 seconds! :P)
So it sure was a great (3 hour!) experience for the kids, and also I learned some new vocab and enjoyed myself there!



Caught in the maze



Kyle the builder ;)



Kyle and me fishing-- recicle- safe for dinner- throw out what you fish

Take care,
Ida :)

What a busy day!

As all American kids were off from school due to Martin Luther King Jr Day, we spent a pretty nice day doing diverse things,
for instance going to a hill and riding sleighs and do some snowboarding- the kids actually did very very well on the snowboard, what fascinated me and my hostmum! :)


Kyle on his snowboard



Kaitie doing well on the snowboard



Yaaaay having fun in the snow!

Kaitie also wanted to learn how to weave, so this was another project that was going on that day--she did awesome and obviously liked it!

Kaitie attends Gymnastic lessons every week, and this week families were allowed to go in the gym and take pictures of their kids-and that's what we did, too!
I knew that Kaitie was good at gymnastics, but she just did fabulous! 

one hand cartwheel!wow!

Kyle was filming Kaitie and talking into the camera all the time, which was cute to see, too!
So it had been a pretty active and good day for all of us, and the kids really enjoyed having some more time off from school :)

Talk to ya soon

The Pinky- Square

Hey folks ;)

I apologize for not keeping you updated about the latest events that took place in great Pennsylvania- I was just kinda busy having a gorgeous time with my friends, hehe ;)
This weekend really was pretty awesome- started with going to Lego Club with Kaitie and Kyle, which is always fun..kids get to build things with Lego bricks and then are able to present them- it is really cute and they enjoy it!


Kyle with his Lego thingy

Kaitie also got some new and veeery stylish nails- this reminded me of times when I would stick  the Fehlerpickerl  on my nails to pretend that they were my real nails..a year ago :P
But mine had never been THAT cool!



SEE!

After that I hung out at Starbucks with Laura, Clarissa and Elena...we just had a blast talking about any topic that came to our minds! And the good thing was, we were able to do it- because nobody was able to understand us! :D
Then we cranked up the heat a little bit, and finally Laura was even dancing on the furniture at the Steakhouse!

To be honest, she just wanted to get a look at the band that was playing ;)

On Saturday, some of my friends and I went to a Basketball game of a local high school- when we came there, on of my friends was like "Oh my gosh, they are so young!!!" and we were like :"weeeeell..might be because we're at a HIGH SCHOOL game..." .. I also got a text from my hostmum: "Picking up any 17 olds yet?" I found that pretty funny..!

Unfortunately, the high school we cheered for lost, and I was a little disappointed that Zac Efron didn't show up, but all in all it was just fun to see a real HS basket ball game!
As the evening was still young (yeah, you CAN translate german sayings into english ;) ), we decided to go to Ruby's to have some yummy dinner...REEEAL AMERICAN JUNK FOOOOD-yay!!
Then we decided to go to the movies see "Little Fockers" (which was hysterical!- a must-see!!!), but, because we wanted to go get some ice cream, we were pretty late and just got seats at the very front of the room..which was pretty un-awesome ;)
But Ice cream with white chocolate junks and brownie pieces renownedly helps, and so we just spent a greeeeeat evening!



Idas enjoying food at Ruby's



On Sunday I went to church with my lovely hostfamily because their cousin was singing in a church choire, which was cute!
To make the day more special, we went to the TEXAS ROADHOUSE for lunch!
Free peanuts and bread for free kinda fills up the tummy, but this didn't distract us from enjoying steaks, ribs, salads, baked potatoes and fries- how delightful! ;)
Kyle also like the Country music pretty much ;)

Ida and I met after that to hang out, get some shopping done at target and DSW and used the time to talk talk talk...
this also has to do where the Pinky Square comes from- but I have to show you in person what this means..
for now just keep in mind that I didn't find a better headline for this entry, so I just took it..

See ya soon and have a good one,

Ida :)

Walking in a winter wonderland

As snow is falling on a regular base this January (not as much as last year I was told by talkative neighbors), me and my friends took the advantage of having Longwood Gardens close and taking a nice walk in the nature there.
It was freezing last Sunday, but we were all happy to see each other- other aupairs had been snowed in and couldn't leave the house, so we didn't mind the cold breeze..
And it was beautiful to walk and breathing in some fresh air :)


Ida, Lisa, Laura, Miriam and Ida having a good time :)



Last week it was also time for Kyle to celebrate his Half- Birthday.
This event took place because he can't celebrate his Bday at school as it is in Summer, so he and his friends were celebrating his half birthday in january- I think this is a pretty good and especially nice idea- makes the kid feel appreciated! So Shelly and I went in his school and brought some cupcakes in.
One friend of Kyle asked me if I was Kyle's cousin- I said "Not quite, but I live with him, help him with his homework and play with him." and then the boy said "so you are his cousin kind of- I thought so!!" and was content with the answer- I thought this was pretty cute :)


Kyle after enjoying a colorful Cupcake

Now the kids are at home because of a "snow storm"- will tell you about that another time :)

Take care,
Ida

Simona Robinson, Clausibär und Idaho endlich wieder vereint-Part 2

Nachdem New York einfach traumhaft und super und lustig und genial war- marvellous!- gings dann aber doch mal wieder zurück nach Pénnsylvania, wo Mama und Claudia dann auf meine Kinder stießen-
 Kaitie und Kyle hatten sich schon RIESIG auf sie gefreut! Dann durften sie auch endlich Packerl aufmachen, die das Christkind gebracht hat! Yaaay!
Gestern hatte Kyle sogar gesagt, dass sie nur drei Tage hier waren und mit ihnen gespielt haben, und sie deswegen nochmal kommen müssten, weil das einfach zu wenig war..!-herzig, goi? ;)

Weil ich ja coolerweise(!) nahe an Philly wohne, sind wir dann auch dorthin gedüst- war ein bisschen kalt, aber super wie immer! Und einen Eindruck haben sie auf alle Fälle bekommen :)



Zum Love Park muss man einfach!



Mama vor der schönen City-Hall



Claudia die Hard-Rockerin!



Peace vor der Freiheitsglocke;)



Go Phillies Go!!! das Phillies-Maskottchen..

Nach dem schönen Philly Tag gings am Abend ab zum Lieblingsrestaurant von Mama und Claudia- PF Changs- dem Chinesen, wo keine Chinesn arbeiten!
War lecker schmecker, und die Kinder supergut drauf!


Blödeln gehört wie immer ein bisschen dazu!



die ganze Bagaaaaasch

Am leider letzten Tag haben wirs uns noch gut gehen lassen und sind nach Longwood Gardens gefahren, woe wir die schönen Lichter gesehen haben- war ziemlich imposant und schön anzusehn!



im Conservatory







the fountain show!- impressive!

Jap..also ich hab es total genossen, meine Lieben wieder mal zu sehen- war echt gut- so hab ich auch gesehn, dass sich zwischen uns nichts verändert hat, das hat gut getan!

Wünsch euch einen schönen Tag,
nächstes Mal gehts wieder weiter auf Englisch ;)

Bussis,
Ída


Simona Robinson, Clausibär und Idaho endlich wieder vereint!

JAAAAAA--- es war so weit! Meine Mama und Claudia haben mich besucht! Bin schon eine Woche vorher nervös geworden und hab mich drauf gefreut, sie endlich wieder sehen und umarmen zu können! (und ihnen beim Sprechen auch wirklich in die Augen sehen zu können ;) )
Am Christmas Day sind sie in Philly gelandet- gleich als ich sie gesehen hab, bin ich auf sie zugerannt und hab beiden eine große Umarmung gegeben- Mann war das schön :)
So wie's halt im Leben ist, hats leider ein paar Pannen gegeben, größtenteils wegen Schnee- so konnten wir leider nicht nach Washington DC, dafür haben wir aber andere tolle Sachn gemacht und einfach mal Zeit zum Reden gefunden...
hier sind ein paar Bilder für euch von unserem glücklichen Wiedersehen :)



Mama nach eiiiner unserer anstrengenden Shoppingtouren



Jaja, Victoria's Secret hat so einiges zu bieten- und das war nur ein kleiner Teil von Dingen, die wir probiertn haben ;)

Bald darauf ging es auch schon in eine der, meiner Meinung nach, GROSSARTIGSTEN Großstädte der Welt (die ich bis jetzt gesehn hab :P )- NEW YORK! Dort trafen wir Susie, ach, was für eine Freude das war!- nach ein paar Stunden geduldigen Wartens durften wir dann auch unser Zimmer beziehen ;)
Früh am Morgen gings dann auch schon los- nach Harlem, wo wir eine Tour gebucht hatten.
Kaum zu glauben, aber wahr- unsere Reiseleiterin war die frühere Babysitterin von Martin Luther King's Jr's Töchtern gewesen- long time ago!



You can hang out with all the boooooyys!



weils da Mama so gefällt ;)

Neben den interessanten Facts die wir über Harlem erfuhren, durften wir auch einem supertollen Gospelchor lauschen- das war ein Erlebnis!


hab ungefähr 500 Videos von teilweise fetzigen, aber auch ruhigen und weihnachtlichen Liedern gemacht;)

Nach der Tour waren wir ein wenig hungrig, deswegen haben wir uns auf der 9th Avenue, die jetzt übrigens eine meiner Lieblingsstraßen ist, ein richtiges amerikanisches Diner (der/die/das Diner??) gesucht und haben gut gespeist :)



Susie, ich und die kleine Speisekarte

Sonst haben wir auch einiges erlebt, und natürlich hat keine Sehenswürdigkeit gefehlt! Was besonders toll war, war die Lage unseres Hotels- right around the corner of Times Square- besser gehts ned! ;)

vor dem Rockefeller- Weihnachtsbaum-wie schön :)

im M&M Store- natürlich haben wir NICHT genascht! ;)

YAAAY- Times Square (auf diesem Foto zwar aus der Ferne, aber wir waren oft dort)



für mich eine times- squarerische Sehenswürdigkeit- the naked cowboy!jiha!



wir haben uns zwar nicht Mary Poppins angeschaut, dafür haben wir unser Idol endlich mal getroffen!
West Side Story war übrigens gigantisch! Habn einen tollen Abend im Theater verbracht, war wirklich total sehenswert!

Feueralarm hats im Hotel auch gegeben-´damit uns in unserer letzten Nacht hoffentlich nicht langweilig wird! Wir waren aber die einzigen, die 18 Stockwerke im Halbschlaf um 3 in der Früh runtergelaufen sind und uns Sorgen gemacht haben- Gott sei Dank wars wirklich nur Fehlalarm!


Somebody who was walking by liked Claudia's and my "Magic Pants" :D



unser Liebingsfrühstücksplatzerl, Amy's Bread, wos lecker Kaffee und mal wieder richtiges (!!!) Brot gegeben hat! Yuuuum!

Natürlich haben wir uns auch nicht die Statue of Liberty entgehen lassen- war ein wunderschönes Ausflug mit dem Watertaxi- bisschen windig wars, aber trotzdem atemberaubend! :)



yeeeah, so close!was für glückliche Gesichter!



was für ein schöner Ausblick..



naja, größer is sie halt nicht..just kiddin.. ;)

Zu Silvester haben wir uns dann auch noch Top of the Rock gegönnt- war unbeschreiblich schön- klarer Himmel, nicht zu viele Leute (für diese Zeit des Jahres ;) ) und die liebsten Menschen dabei :)



Mama und ich vorm Empire State Building



how do you like our crowns?

schon zu etwas späterer Stunde...ziemlich viele Leute auf der Straße-puh!war auch nahe Times Square

Zur Feier des Tages haben wir uns auch ein schönes Restaurant gegönnt, dass sich etwas später dann auch in einen Club verwandelt hat- Musik war awesome, Kellner pipifreundlich, Essen gut, und wir- underdressed! :D
Die Mädchen hatten alle kurze Glitzerkleidchen und Highheels an..ich sah dagegen aus wie ein Bettlermädchen: normales TShirt, kein besonderer Schmuck- und dreckige Boots! :D

Pumpkin Ravioli :)



YAAAY- Happy 2011!!

...wies dann weiterging und was die Mayrhofer- Girls noch so in PA erlebt haben, gibts bald :)

Bussi, hab euch lieb!