July 8, 2009
Yesterday we took a trip to Morocco. Enjoy the video.
July 2, 2009
Although my journaling is not very timely, I hope you have enjoyed the video section where you can see the day to day things that Jason captures with his i-phone. We are now in Spain for a month long vacation near Costa de Luz (southern Spain, off the Atlantic). We've rented a Villa with another family and are about halfway through the trip. The boys are LOVING playing in the sand and ocean, and we are enjoying watching them! I am trying to figure out if Jason or the boys like building sand castles more. We are about 300 meters from the beach, a short walk with lots of beach stuff in hand! Thank goodness!
Next week we will visit Morocco, Africa and then return to Germany for the rest of the summer. Jason has a 2 week visit planned Stateside to attend the national Shaklee convention and check in on our condo...not to mention seeing friends and family. I'll stay in Germany and hold down the fort. We have some annual passes to parks and aquariums so the boys and I will stay busy playing at home. It looks like this will be our last year in Mannheim, as the projected downsizing has started on our base. Last year we had 900 students, right now our enrollment for September is 420 students. I still have a job and will put in for a transfer this winter for school year 2010. Who knows where we will end up...staying in Germany or moving to Italy, Spain, or Okinawa are all possibilities. Time will tell.
I am off to hang the laundry on the line (no dryer here!) and get ready for an afternoon of fun in the sun. I hope you are well and enjoying your summer too.
Love,
Angelica
January 16, 2009
We have returned from our trip to Peru, exhausted and happy to be back in our own beds! I have uploaded some pictures in the photo album for you to see.
As most of you know, my dad had a stroke while visiting Lima. He spent about a week in the hospital and is still in Peru, receiving physical therapy every day. We spent three weeks together, and he has already made an amazing recovery. Upon our arrival in Peru, he couldn’t stand up without help. The day we left (3 weeks later), he was walking around the house and courtyard, unassisted. His language processing and speech are nearly back to normal, so talking and listening are going well. The prognosis is to make a full recovery over time. His biggest challenges right now are equilibrium and fine motor skills on his right side. If you know my dad, you will know that he is a fighter and will come out of this just fine. Joe and Zarella have been amazing hosts, making sure all of their needs are provided for and that only the best medical care is received. They are looking to head home to the US the end of the month.
As for the vacation and traveling part of the trip, Jason and I did get a chance to go to Cuzco, Aguas Calientes, and Machu Picchu. We saw Incan ruins and climbed temple stairs. What a tremendous and advanced civilization! It was nice to get away, but we missed the boys terribly. Joe and Drew went off to school with their cousins for three of the days we were gone. They put on their little Thomas the Train backpacks and off they went to explore the world without mommy and daddy. The old cliché is true…they grow up so fast.
Hope you had a safe and restful holiday and that you are staying warm this January.
Cuidense,
Angelica
December 9, 2008
Thanksgiving has come and gone and it is already nearly Christmas! I hope all of you are well and staying healthy. Our family is finally all healthy and intend to stay that way!
November was a fun month of visitors. Sarah (a childhood friend) came to Europe for the first time. She got a chance to visit four countries in her 10-day stay. A highlight for me was our trip to Rome together. It was nice to reminisce and to have time to ourselves, without kids in tow. We actually sat down on Thanksgiving with pasta and wine instead of the usual turkey and WHINE from the kids! It was lovely. Jason, on the other hand, had his hands full at home. He was gracious enough to stay home and let us have a girls’ trip.
Last weekend our German friends, Stephan and Martina, drove up from Bavaria to visit. I prepared the typical American Thanksgiving feast on Saturday so we could all celebrate together. The boys LOVED turkey (which they pronounce “turty”) and sweet potato casserole. It was a great day.
Now, we prepare for our next adventure in Peru. It will be a great trip learning a new culture and giving Drew and Joe a chance to use Spanish with someone other than me. Jason and I will have our first ever trip away from the boys. I thought I would be more excited but really I am just nervous to be without them. I am looking forward to seeing the Incan ruins of Machu Pichu though. I am NOT, however, looking forward to the 13-hour flight from Europe to South America with my VERY ACTIVE twin toddlers! UGGGH! We broke down and bought a portable DVD player, in the hopes of entertaining them and keeping them occupied. I am also bringing a variety of new books, toys, and anything else I can think of to keep them quiet and happy. God bless the people sitting next to us. It could get gnarly.
Drop me an email when you can and let me know about the adventures of you and your family. Take Care.
Love,
Angelica
November 3, 2008
Happy Halloween! I’d love to upload some wonderful pictures of Joe and Drew in costume, but they ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to wear one! Yes, the cute Elmo costumes were a fiasco. It ended with them screaming and crying, “NO ELMO MAMA!” until we finally gave up and said Bye-Bye to Elmo. Then, we tried to make them firemen, but after the Elmo incident, they didn’t want to wear the firemen hats either. So, it ended up that they held onto the hats and used them to Trick or Treat. Unfortunately, we had to explain that they were firemen at every house, which got kind of old after the 20th time. The boys, however, had a blast collecting candy in their hats and then bringing it back to the “fire wagon” to dump it in. After about an hour in the cold (about 40F), we went to a friend’s house for hot chocolate which the boys tried for the first time and loved. So, with the exception of the whole costume thing, Drew and Joe really did love Halloween. I just have no cute pictures to prove it.
We have had major breakthroughs in the whole area of potty training. Andrew is now dry almost all day and is going on the potty without a fight. He is also dry after nap and in the morning which tells me he is getting ready to potty train even in his sleep! That is pretty awesome for a 2 ½ year old. Joe is continuing his success in the day but sleeps to sound at night so he is not there yet. Amazing how they seem to flip flop at who is good at what. Just when you think one is ahead of the other, it switches! They still wear pull ups, but that is fine with me. It is just nice to go out and not have to use those nasty changing tables. Speaking of public bathrooms, have you ever seen the toilet seats that disinfect by spinning around? They are motion sensored. I never thought much about them until I went into the bathroom the other day with the boys. They took one look at a seat that spun around by itself and when screaming in hysterics out of the bathroom, “No pee-pee on THAT toilet mama!” The poor little guys were shaking and crying. I guess the toilets did seem a bit possessed. So, needless-to-say, I was glad they were wearing pull ups because they would not even go back into that bathroom! At a different store yesterday, I had to use the bathroom so I took Joe with me. With my bad luck, it was one of those spinning ones. It took 5 minutes of convincing to even get him in the stall with me. Once we closed the door, Joe looked at me and said, “Mama pee-pee, Joe right here.” And he waited up against the door, as far away from the toilet as possible. The whole time repeating, “Joe no pee-pee, Joe right here. Joe no pee-pee, Joe right here.”
Funny how the stories have changed..,. Remember reading the pre-kids journals about all of the cool places we went…the Canary Islands, France, Rome, Barcelona? Now you are reading about bathroom stalls. Sorry. It is just what my life has come to: Peeing in the potty and trick or treating without a costume. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Take Care,
Angelica
October 9, 2008
As promised, here is another journal entry. Things are moving right along in the Jordan household. Here is a quick update about each of us:
The boys are exploding in the areas of language and creative play right now. They are talking in short sentences in both Spanish and English and are talking to each other too. They pretend to “drive” anything in the house, including the sofa, rocking chair, laundry baskets, and imaginary cars. They often play the driving game together and tell each other to get in the “back seat.” They have begun to sing made up songs. The two most popular ones are “Musica de Duba-Duba” and “Musica de Pelota.” The Duba-duba song has all nonsensical words. The “Pelota” song (pelota = ball en espanol) is a serenade to all of the various balls in the house. They gather them up and sing the ball song. It’s very bizarre but funny to watch. They are healthy again after a bout with strep throat last week. Joe is nearly potty trained in the daytime and Drew is just not interested. Oh well. This will come in time. We are not pushing him. Overall they are happy and loving life!
Jason is preparing for his free Shaklee trip to Hawaii with his mom after earning it through awesome business building and sales in the last 12 months. They will have a wonderful time. It is our 5th anniversary this weekend and we are going on a real date with babysitters and all. I don’t know what we will do; maybe eat at a fancy restaurant that we couldn’t go to with the boys. Either way, it will be nice to sit back and enjoy each other’s company outside of the hustle and bustle of managing a household.
My friend Sarah is coming to visit in November. It will be her first time in Europe and Jason and I are having fun planning all the places to tour…local palaces, castles, parks, and restaurants. I am also having fun thinking about a girls weekend away side trip…maybe Rome, stay tuned!
Hope this letter finds you and yours happy and healthy.
Love,
Angelica
September 12th, 2008
Miracles of miracles…I am actually updating the website! Life is crazy busy with two 2 year olds! So, here is what has been going on lately…
We went home for the summer and spent time in Omaha and Minneapolis. It was fantastic to see friends and family members and we did a much better job this year of getting together with many of you. The boys got to know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides. We have a tent train at home that we keep on the porch. Their imaginations are running wild with creative play right now. If you ask them where they are going in the train, “Omaha” is the standard answer! We also went up north to a cabin near Big Fork. The boys went in a boat with Uncle (Tio) Joe. Now, every time they see a boat in a book or on TV, they shout “Bote…Tio Joe!” Dave and Susan hired a great photographer to take some pictures in MN and a few are included here. They turned out great!
The boys are into Diego and Dora right now. Thomas the Train is a big hit for them too. We are so over Elmo. They have continued growing at record speed and are wearing 4T clothes, but are only 2 years and 4 months old. We have started potty training. Joe thinks peeing in the potty is awesome, and Andrew is sure he is going to fall in and that the potty will definitely eat him. Joe has decided that asking to go potty in public places (by SHOUTING “PEE-PEE Mama, PEE-PEE” really LOUD) is a great fun. Oh the joys of boys! Of course, they will not pee for daddy, just mommy…which Jason thinks is hilarious.
Jason has been working his Shaklee business really hard in the last few months. He has earned a free trip for two to Hawaii. We were also invited to Peru for Christmas. So, seeing as some of us have “real jobs” I had to pick between the two, Christmas with family in Peru for 3 weeks, or Hawaii for a week. There is not enough vacation time for both. I chose Peru, so Jason and his mom (lucky duck!) will be headed to Hawaii to celebrate in October. I will hold down the fort, potty train the boys, and work on other small miracles while he is gone! J I am really looking forward to our Christmas vacation though. Jason and I are planning our first romantic getaway since the boys were born. We are going to visit Machu Pichu and see the pyramids there.
I switched jobs this year and am now the Spanish specialist. I have 14 classes and see them each twice per week. I am enjoying the benefits of being a specialist (like teaching the same one lesson multiple times and not bringing home the paperwork.) It is also nice to know the naughty ones are going to be someone else’s worry in 40 minutes! I am getting home earlier and have less stress than in the past. (I even have time to write journal entries.)
I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well. Check back again soon as we are sure to have more pictures and updates this year than last!
Love,
Angelica
March 2, 2008
Finally I am making time to create a new journal entry. If you are one of our faithful readers, you may have noticed the lack on entries. Sorry! Life gets busy. January flew by as we got back into the swing of things after the holidays. I returned to work and Jason returned to being a full time daddy alone during the day. We waited and prepared for Pat and Lucy’s visit (Jason’s folks) the month of February. What a fun month!
Pat and Lucy arrived the beginning of February and left last week. The boys enjoyed getting to know Grandma and Grandpa Jordan and learned all sorts of new things while they were here. Here are some new things they learned from their grandparents:
- Pretending to nap, then fake snoring.
- Counting to three, then having a foot race across the room.
- Holding each other’s hands to dance.
- Holding each other’s hands to say Grace.
- How to point to their butts (Thanks, Pat!)
- How to steal the hearts of grandparents and make them want to travel halfway around the world to see them again J.
It was a great month and we were all sad to see them return home. Jason celebrated his birthday when they were here. We also went on a “real date” for Valentine’s Day. We choose a little Spanish restaurant with flamenco dancers. The sangria and paella were great and so was reminiscing about our summer in Spain, pre-babies. In true parents-of-twins fashion, I told Pat and Lucy not to expect us until midnight. We were so exhausted, we were home and in bed by 10:30pm! Ahhh, nothing like little guys waking you up randomly throughout the night to suck out your last morsel of energy night after never ending night! Lucy and I spent the last weekend they were here in Poland, shopping for more Polish pottery. It was a fun but fast trip and the best part was we left all the boys behind, to do boy things….line playing Chess and watching Elmo. I hear that there was some time kicking around balls at the park too.
March will not be so busy for us, so expect to see more videos and photos soon. Until then, write soon and take good care.
Angelica
December 29th, 2007
Today marks the halfway period of my vacation from school. So, you ask, "What have you accomplished?" NOTHING! I have played with the boys, cooked some great food, and rearranged the house. That is about it. What a perfect vacation!
We celebrated Christmas at home in Germany this year, as a family of four. Santa brought a new push handle car and some fun trucks. We web-cammed with the relatives in Minnesota, Nebraska, and California. We had a chance to celebrate Christmas "together" via the Internet. The theme this Christmas for Andrew and Joseph was "the adoration of all things ELMO." All the friends and family members sent gifts, and the boys opened them on the web-cam. Not one Elmo gift was repeated! Well done :) . They even got light-up Elmo sneakers, which they stomp and dance around in EVERY TIME we put them on! What a riot!
Jason is keeping busy with his Shaklee business, even more now that I am home to take care of the boys. It is going great and I am so proud of his committment to the business. We started Joe and Drew on some Shaklee vitamins and supplements this fall. Unfortunately for them, I wanted to wait until they were older (over a year) to start them on the vitamins and immune builders. Since we have had them on the Shaklee supplements, they have been healthy and able to fight off colds. Last year, every little cold would turn into a major event...bronchitis, ear infections, fevers. They were prescribed steriods, antibiotics, and more. It was awful. They have had two little colds since starting the vitamins. Both of which turned into a runny nose, little cough, and disappeared in a week or less, without so much as a fever or trip to the doctor! Their bodies are strong and able to fight off more serious infections. I feel so blessed that Jason convinced me to start the boys (and me) on the Shaklee supplements. My only regret is that I was too skeptical last year to try it then. Incidently, I have not had even a cold all fall. This is a miracle seeing as how I work around twenty germ-carrying kids each day at school!
If only Shaklee had a magic formula for making babies sleep all night. The boys are still not good sleepers, and one or the other often ends up in bed with us. That is not too bad, if they come to bed and sleep. Sometimes, they think that it is morning and they are ready to party at 3AM. That is when the ugliness of twins begins. They bounce around, get all worked up, then get MAD when we try to make them go back to sleep. This often lasts for about 2 hours, then they pass out at about 5:00, for another two hours. On vacation, this is no problem, but during the work week, it makes for a long day. I am holding onto the hope that it is growth spurts or teething that keeps them up, but the longer it goes on, the more I fear that they will never both sleep all night.
During the day, Drew and Joe are as loving as they are mischievious. They freely give kisses and hugs, blow kisses goodbye, and even give Eskimo kisses. They hug and kiss everything they like, including books, clothes, and toys. Right now, they even hug and kiss each other. I am told that this will change so I should cherish it now. They are climbing on things and have figured out how to team up to move large items (like chairs) to use to climb over and into things. We have a homemade double decker baby gate around the spiral stairs, even that they have started to "scale the gate." They are crafty!
We are looking forward to February when Jason's parents will arrive for a three week visit. It will be great to have them here and Joe and Drew will love all the extra hugs and kisses. Maybe Jason and I will even get out for a much needed "Date Night." On Saturdays, we have a movie and homemade popcorn date night at home, after the boys go to bed. It isn't getting out, but it is time together alone, which is cherished during the hectic week.
I hope that you find some time this holiday season to be with your loved ones and some quiet time to yourself as well.
Love,
Angelica
December 7, 2007
Is it December already? It feels like we just returned from our summer trip. Joe and Drew are 19 months old now. Yes, now instead of being “baby-sauruses” they are “Toddler-sauruses.” The boys are growing by leaps and bounds and are learning new words everyday. They are getting the English and Spanish jumbled together, calling a dog/perro a "pog". Oh well. It will straighten itself out sooner or later. Just wait until they are 3 and we send them to German kindergarten. That should truly mess them up!
We put up Christmas lights around the banister last weekend, deciding that a tree would be too much work. It is a pain to get up, but a bigger pain to monitor the climbing, we-think-everything-is-edible toddlers. So, we are having lights with stockings hung over the rail, and presents in front of the rail, all out of reach of little guys. Yippee! They LOVE looking and pointing at the lights. They are constantly running to turn off the overhead lights to see the Christmas ones better. Then, they have this huge conversation of "twin-speak" about it. None of which I understand, but I am sure they understand each other. Their new thing is “blowing” the lights off like a candle. They haven’t figured out that it is just mommy switching off the light at the right moment. It is SOOOOO cute!
This weekend we plan to go to one of the local outdoor Christmas markets, a German tradition. They have beautiful light displays, decorations, cultural foods, drinks, and rides for the kids. I think they are still too little for the rides though. The boys will like the lights, sweet treats, and watching all the people. That’s the part I like too. We are hoping to get a good Christmas picture of the guys, weather and toddlers cooperating. We will see.
I hope you have a nice weekend and find some time to enjoy friends and family during this always hectic time of year.
Love,
Angelica
November 3, 2007
Drew and Joe have been growing and changing every week it seems. They are now wearing 2T or 3T clothes, depending on the outfits. Their 18 month birthday is coming up on Monday. To celebrate, they are getting more shots! Yippee! It will be interesting to see what they measure and weigh, since we haven't had that done for 6 months. They are both starting to talk a TON! Last week we heard them say: "te quiero, Chau, pretty soon, there, dangerous, truck, police," and of course, "mama, dada, Drew, Joe" and others. Now they are starting to repeat so we need to be very selective about OUR speech!
Last week was Halloween. We went to the base to trick or treat since the Germans are just starting to celebrate this holiday. We dressed the boys as beagles and Jason painted their faces a bit. I bribed them to sit still by letting them hold the digital camera and watch 60 second clips of themselves. We were back at the house at about 7:30, but with changing the clocks in Europe last week, their little bodies were exhausted. One could even go so far as to say "They were DOG Tired!" They pretty much slept through taking off their make up, costumes, and a diaper change and putting PJ's on! Poor guys!
Check out the pictures on the photo album and the videos on "Baby News" if you haven't already. They are doing some fun new things. Hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween too.
Love,
Angelica
August 16, 2007
We are back home! Traveling internationally with two one-year-old boys was busy! The little guys have become quite the jet setters. Over the last eight weeks, we flew to Minneapolis to see Angelica's family, then drove to Omaha to visit Jason's side. At the end of our time in Nebraska, we drove to Dubuque, Iowa for a family reunion of the Jordan's. Including our little ones, there were 3 sets of twins there, all ages five and under! (Do you think it runs in the family?!) As if the road trips weren't enough, we added a flight to Vancouver, just for fun to see more of Angelica's family! All in all, Joe and Drew (and their mom and dad too) did pretty well traveling this summer.
Here is my "Visa Commercial" about traveling this summer with twinfants:
- 2 bottles of water purchased on the other side of security $5
- Getting through security and taking off 8 shoes - A pain in the neck!
- SUV rental for nearly 2 months $1,000 - Yikes!
- Plane tickets for a family of four (too much to list - Double yikes!)
- Tons of borrowed baby stuff from good friends - FREE (THANKS!)
- New suitcase to bring home all the cool outlet mall purchases, $60
- Bag full of Cheerios and 10 cent garage sale toys to keep babies busy on the plane - PRICELESS
I wish we could have seen more of you on our trip. Time got short in the end, then the babies got quite ill. They had fevers of 103-104, double ear infections and Bronchitis. We delayed our retun to Germany from Tuesday until Friday to make sure the antibiotics had time to work. Fortunately, they are well on their way to healthy now. They are happy to be home and have found a new way to use our furniture, as they are climbing like monkeys.
We will update the BABY NEWS section soon and add some pictures when we can. As for now, we are just getting the babies' bodies adjusted to the time change and are finally back to sleeping at night. More later!
Love,
Angelica and Jason
June 6, 2007
Unfortunately, there was a malfunction with our website and we have permanently lost all of the journal entries and baby news sections. Even our photo albums have disappeared. The website provider apologized to ALL of its customers, but said that the data is gone. Ahhhh...technology. It's great when it works, but frustrating when it doesn't. We have our photos saved on our computers as well, but we decided to only upload new pictures since you all are "regular visitors" and have no need to see the old ones anymore! I will be working to add new journals and pictures when I get the chance.
Most of you know that Jason has been out of town on business for the last four weeks. Life as a single mom of twins is exhausting. I have really gained a new respect for those military families with deployed spouses. I thought 5 weeks was a long time. I can't even imagine a 15 month deployment.
Our good friend Carol has been watching the boys during the day while I work. She has triplets that are in fourth grade and a kindergartner too. Her husband, Eric, teaches 3rd grade with me. I am so lucky to have someone that knows what more than one baby is like. If she could handle her THREE, my two should be a piece of cake. Thank God for good friends. Jason comes home next week, shortly before our trip to the States to see most of YOU!
Hope to see you this summer! Check the Baby News section soon for more fun stories about Joe and Drew!
Love,
Angelica
