Guten Tag, ich bin der Nikolaus!

Guten Tag, ich bin der Nikolaus,
Guten Tag, guten Tag.
Mit dem Sack geh' ich von Haus zu Haus
Guten Tag, guten Tag.
Es gibt viel zu tun, es gibt viel zu tun,
ich hab' keine Zeit mich auszuruhn.
Guten Tag, ich bin der Nikolaus.
Guten Tag, guten Tag.

( Good Day! I am St. Nickolaus
I go from house to house with my sack ( of presents!!)
There is a lot to do
I don't have any time to relax
Good Day! I'm St. Nick.)

Wie der Wind zieh ich durch ganze Land,
Wie der Wind, wie der Wind.
Und am liebsten bleib ich unerkannt.
Wie der Wind, wie der Wind.

( Like the wind, I blow through the entire country!
and I prefer to remain unnoticed)

Stellt die Stiefel raus, stellt die Stiefel raus
und dann freut euch auf den Nikolaus.
Guten Tag, ich bin der Nikolaus.
Guten Tag, guten Tag.

(put your boots out
and then look forward to St. Nikolaus)

Heute Nacht, wenn alle schlafen gehen,
heute Nacht, heute Nacht,
koennt ihr mich in euren Traeumen sehn'
heute Nacht, heute Nacht,

(Tonight when everybody goes to sleep
you can see me in your dreams)

Bis der Morgen graut, bus der Morgen graut,
und ihr froehlich in die Stiefel schaut.
Guten Tag, ich bin der Nikolaus.
Guten Tag, guten Tag.

( Until the dawn
and you happily look in your boots!
Good day, I am St. Nikolaus!)

Okay, Okay....so my translation makes me think of a menu at a Chinese restaurant...but you get the idea.

***
Today is December 6th! St. Nikolaus Day! This holiday is celebrated in various ways - but here the children put their boots ( shoes) in front of the door before they go to bed (1). In the morning, one awakes to find traditional gifts such as chocolate, oranges, and nuts (2)! Songs such as the one above are sung (3). All the children have to go to their Kindergarten early for more festivities, including a real visit from St. Nick!

Footnotes:
1. Except William, who decided to throw a fit and go to bed, delcaring that he was afraid of St. Nikolaus because he is "big".
2. Except at our house, we got chocolates, a Spongebob Squarepants surprise egg, a "learn-to-sew " kit ( NOT for me!) and a castle ( because St. Nick did not feel like clogging his sleigh up and dragging the thing all the way to Mallorca for Christmas).
3. With a bad American accent, loudly, at 8:40 am to the accompaniment of a children's guitar which has never been tuned, and a 3 year old screaming - "it's not working! Why is the guitar not working?" while our neighbor hastily throws clothes on her crying son who also has to be at the Kindergarten in 5 minutes, but is afraid to go there with us (?!).

William Uses the Potty!

Newsflash! William Paul McCrea, age 3 years 6 months, has finally relented to bribery and the forces of positive reinforcement after only two days of "extreme potty training".

He will now make (only)pee-pee on a specific potty (which sings) when we are at home, for a reward of an M+M out of a Christmas-themed Spongebob Squarepants dispenser.

Congratulations to all involved!

***

In other news, Margaret now wakes to nurse only once a night! Sean and Katy feel less grumpy in the morning!

Binge-Blogging

A couple more pictures of my extremely attractive family for your viewing pleasure.

This blogging binge has been for Ursi - who, despite my infrequent bloggings, checks drhausfrau.blogspot daily. Congrats on being 30 weeks pregnant, Ursi!

Check out the best toy catalog for children ever:
www.jako-o.de . Yes, it is in Germany...but aren't all the best children's toys?

A

Campfire

William is currently doing a unit on "Fire" in his Kindergarten. This weekend, he suggested that we go "set some fires" as our family activity. With Marshmallows left over from that nasty 24-hour salad, some imported graham crackers (thanks Oma, Grandpa, and Beebah), and some dark chocolate slivers, we enjoyed s'mores! I love setting fires, too. Good idea, William.

Happy Birthday, Sean!

See that cake covered in wax? Sean's 33! To celebrate, we went our for Sushi with Nadia, Juergen, and Claire!

Know how much a Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix and icing costs in Germany? That's right - 12 Euro (1.3 dollars to euro)!! But, Sean had a craving that we were happy to indulge.

Hats

William and Margaret play on the top bunk!

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanks to Claire for bringing the pumpkin pie mix from the American store in Madrid. It allowed us to celebrate Thanksgiving right! At the table are Tim (age 8), his grandmother Hanna, Claire, William, and me! Sean is - as always - behind the camera.

Above is a picture of the spread - cranberry sauce, rutabaga, green beans, stuffing ( from a box! Thanks, Claire!), sweet potatoes with walnuts and apples, scalloped corn, and orange-glazed carrots. The turkey was on the table. We had not-quite-right 24-hour salad, perfect pumpkin pie, and slightly overcooked pecan pie for dessert. YUM.

psoas sign?

Here's a little something I found on my computer - leftovers from my previous life.

Ciao,Bella

My favorite world-traveler in front of my favorite cherry-tree.

This is my brother...

No further comments necessary.

The Nolas

Margaret and her "Beebah".

Halloween Every Day

This is my husband Spiderman and my son William. Everybody says they look exactly alike.

Luzern

Hello. My name is Katy. I live in Germany with my husband Sean and our two children William (age 3) and Margaret (age 7 months). Yes, you're right. This is actually a picture of Switzerland. We live in Konstanz, Germany. That's practically Switzerland, except better.