Preparations for the Big Man

Last night, the girls prepared for a visit from a jolly man with a red suit and reindeer. They opened up the fireplace door:






Then the girls got some snacks ready for Santa and the reindeer:


































Their efforts were rewarded. Merry Christmas!

It Was Probably a Poor Choice of Words on Herr's Part

Herr had the girls clean up the basement so that he could teach them how to play a new game, called Elefun, that Ella got for her birthday. Instead of actually going down to the basement to supervise, he did his parenting the Hausfrau way, by barking orders from the first floor. After listening to the girls mess around and laugh for about 15 minutes, Herr shouted down to the basement, "Are you girls jacking around or what?"

"Where's Jack? I wanna play with Jack! Is Jack here?" cried Genna.

"No, Genna, when I say "jacking around," I mean that you and your sister are messing around instead of cleaning up the room like I asked."

"But Daddy," said Genna, "I am not jacking off."

I Can't Breathe

My sweet little princess, my little sunshine, my happy-go-lucky daughter who makes my heart melt when she smiles turned five today.

I only cried for about 10 minutes on the way to work.