Month: December 2010

Leilani got a new Dorothy and Toto alarm clock. She was really happy with it and drew it:

I think that’s Andy

Sunrise on Sept. 19th



One of our summer art projects. She had gotten a bucket full of girl “foamies” and decided she wanted to arrange them around a globe. She worked probably 2 weeks, off and on assembling each girl, and then I drew the globe for her with a sharpie and she painted it with my acrylics. We were a few girls short, so I helped her to trace them on paper, she cut them out and made the same dolls like before, just paper instead of foam. When we had enough I helped her glue them on the cardboard around the globe, but even during this step she did most of the work.

The fish mirror was our other summer art project. Just this one lasted 2 months, twice I took it away for more than a week, ready to give up (or finish it while Leilani was asleep ) The time it blocked our living room seemed endless… and I was so happy when it finally was done.

I had gotten it on freecycle, and it was all faded green, and off white, first I wanted to paint it, but Leilani wanted to help. I let her paint with small paintbrushes, and sat next to her and wiped up the mistakes. I also traced the edges and made sure she didn’t paint on wet paint. Finally, I painted the blue part and about half of the leaves. And the orange and silver fish. Several leaves and one fish were painted by her friends Sophia and Olivia.

Go away humans. Let me sleep.

Happy Birthday Andy. I baked an Austrian chocolate cake, a Sachertorte.

Can you take out the trash please?

Termites invaded us briefly… there were thousands swarming in Leilani’s room

The castles get better

I think I published that already

Captions by Leilani too.

Ahwww, Flower, wie herzig (how sweet)







Das war meine Jause. Aber ich hab’s nicht gegessen bei der Schule. (That was my lunch. But I didn’t eat any of it at school.)


Pfui, ganz schmutzig (yuck, all dirty)

We went to the Millbrae Park and met Dylan

Movie Night at MNS

Cherokee is so sweet!

Ethan’s Birthday Party

This one was taken at the protest against a CA proposition that would have weakened the Environmental laws. We won. (Leilani’s camera not iphone if you are surprised about the quality)

For a while Leilani had complained every time I left my electrical toothbrush on the rim of the washbasin, where it was in her way and in danger of falling down. She pointed out that it’s real place was up on the shelf near it’s charger.

One day we walked into the bathroom together, and the toothbrush up on it’s shelf caught her eye. “Good job mommy, you put the toothbrush in its place all by yourself.”

I have been much better about putting it there since :-)

Conversation in public but quietly, and most important in German. Leilani’s view is not endorsed by the parents.

L: Look Mommy, that lady has 5 children!
S How awful. What would you do if you had that many kids?
L: Oh, I would give one away to the orphanage.
S: How would you choose?
L: The one that behaved the worst.

My view was a little biased then but now the bias is even worse after watching Idiocracy. It’s a satirical comedy about the evolutionary effect of the dysgenics of the dumbest people having the most kids. (Bad movie, don’t watch. Andy adds: It’s not that bad a movie.)