Christmas in February?

Not exactly, but that's when the post is coming! I have the most adorable, nauseating reason for the delay, #3 is coming this summer! So most of December was spent trying not to throw up :) Better now, and ready to post again! This December, on a Good Day, we made it to a Christmas market in Bernkastel Kues and it was super cute! I will say I was disappointed by the shopping- mostly it was eats and gluhwein and as much as I love food, it wasn't sounding so hot and gluhwein is, well, wine! Next year! But the town itself was adorable so here are some photos!

This was way up on this hill, so it's hard to see, but beautiful!

Happiness is? Merry-go-rounds.

This is from Hansel & Gretel; can you see the witch?

If you don't know the story of Zwarte Piet, it's an interesting tale. Let's just say it's worse than getting coal here if you aren't "good" all year. Note the little boots coming out of the bag. In short, if you were naughty Z.P. came and took you, put you in his sack, beat you with reeds and took you back to Spain. Yeah.

This is what Really Tired looks like in front of a beautiful tree!

Love is a verb.

Tonight my eldest little bitty girl is sick (again; winter has been rough around our house) and her poor little self looked so, dejected? down? Her spirit was down, so I climbed up to the top bunk with her and we snuggled and as I rubbed her back and her hair until she fell asleep I told her about my mom doing the same when I was smallish. And how to this day I can feel her hands and smell her just closing my eyes. I told her how I felt like I could feel my mom's love coming right through her fingertips to me and she smiled with her eyes closed and did her little "mmmmm" of contentment and I almost cried. I didn't mean the story to be a question of whether or not she felt that way, I was just thinking aloud and she loves stories from when I was little. After she fell asleep, I stayed there for a bit longer rubbing her little back and remembering my dad. When I was sick at his house (my parents are divorced so I get two Get Well stories) he would have me snuggle up to him, no matter how sick I was and would tell me he was going to Love me well. He said he could make me better just by loving me all better. And miraculously not once did he catch what I had; bewildering and something I wish I had inherited. So tonight, I held my sleeping bean, so big and so small and Loved her Well. 

Luxembourg!

We made a little jaunt down to Luxembourg the other day, Luxembourg City that is. Beautiful! Cold. But, beautiful!

 It was sprinkling a little (a very little) so A HAD to have her umbrella!

 Give my 2 year old a plastic cup? What, are you crazy? Of course I'll give her a glass filled to the brim! Europeans.

 Okay, this sign cracked me up!

 Here's a close up!

 What could they be staring at? (notice the fashion- oh yeah, that's red pants with sparkly pink shoes! I love little girls.)

 "MAMA LOOK! A HORSE! and a rider, and a HORSE!"

 I just love the iron work on this fence!

 Okay, this is the far left of the palace- the duke of something? Showing my political ignorance here ;)

 This is the middle/upper area.

 And the far right (including the guard who belongs to the Dept. of Funny Walks.)

 I love European fountains, they are beautiful and wacky!

 This the Nepalese Embassy. Love that door.

 This one takes a little explanation. The top photo is showing something that looks like a churro, but it's a heating element so your cheese is melting fresh for you right there. omgoodness. I WILL be back sans darlings for that.

 Any of you who know my oldest know the exclamation that came with this one! UNICORN!!!!

 Not sure what the significance of the unicorn is, but cool none-the-less.

 I had to try this! It's fried chicken sushi! seriously! I am a land lover, gastronomically speaking, and there for was prepared to eat rice and miso, but this I had to try! Fried chicken, avocado and mayo. Yum! Can't recommend the place overall though, so it's not getting a mention. 

Big A trying desperately to use chopsticks on edamame. Little a has already given up as the hunger grew!

It was a lovely trip! I'm not sure I'd call it a kid's city, though it's entirely possible I just missed a bunch of things. But I would love to go back! (And in fantasy land, go back with 2000 euros so I could buy an outfit or two. Lovely fashion- insane, crazy, bonkers prices. Apparently that city is loaded!)