Guest post via Casey Wieland

I am guest posting on Casey's blog today.

http://www.thewiegands.com/2012/02/tuesday-giveaway.html

Check it out and maybe just maybe you will be the lucky one to get a customized family/couple portrait similar to this one : )

Good luck and big hug from Berlin XOX

Janie

Daily Holidays

Ever since I have had my two kids I have become much more aware of time. I think I can pretty much divide my time into 2 categories: the time I spend with my kids and the time I spend without my kids. Either of them I find precious in their own ways. It took me months to work out how to enjoy both of them to the maximum.

When I am with my kids I love playing with them, taking them to exciting places, teaching them about little things in life and simply spending quality time with them. We read books, sing songs, look at a little beetle who came flying through our window, go to the zoo, ride our bikes and enjoy homemade cookies. Sometimes I get side tracked and I do things I should be doing when I have time to myself only. It doesn't take long for me to realize when I am not in the right 'time zone' because the chaos in our home doubles within seconds. Sometimes it's not always possible to wait until Minna and Finn are in bed and I do have to squeeze in chores in order to get dinner on the table or a washing machine done before midnight. I can tell pretty quickly though that the kids know when mommy is not quite there for them and sometimes they get frustrated and so do I. I do try and make up for it straight away and they don't seem to hold it against me for very long : )

Our first sled ride this winter

When I get time to myself my mind automatically runs through pages of to-do-lists. Some have been around for so long I can hardly read them anymore. Others are constant and it's often tough trying to keep up to date with them all. My family and friends know that they are most likely not going to get an reply on their SMS until 11pm, which is often one of the last things I do before I go to bed. Within our little family I am often the one who organizes the majority of things like holidays/family outings, new winter tires, doctors appointments, paying the bills, sending birthday letters, arranging babysitters, making sure we don't run out of important things like toilet paper or milk, buying new shoes for the kids, making dinner dates with friends, car check ups and emptying the letter box, checking the fridge for out of date and moldy things, mountains of washing ... . I know it's never ending and I need to remind myself that there will always be more to do and organize and check and if I don't take time off and S.T.O.P.  I won't ever be able to have quality time with myself or my husband and friends.

My favorite view in the whole wide world

So I make sure I have a DAILY HOLIDAY. A few moments just for myself. I stop and have a Latte in a quite little cafe, I enjoy a candle-light dinner in the bath tubby myself, I snuggle up in bed and read a few pages in my book, I sit on our balcony in the sunshine with my eyes closed. I simply stop and breath and live in that very moment. It's so relaxing and I cannot do without anymore. When the day comes to an end and I have not been on a little holiday yet, I can tell!

What's your Daily Holiday? I would love to hear about your journeys : )

Enjoy it!

XO Janie

I say I love you ...

I say I love you every day. I say it at the end of a telephone conversation with my husband or once I sang a song to the kids and kissed them good night. They are also often the very last words I say before I turn of the light. I don't always say it out loud, but I still think it. When nobody is there to say it to in person I close my eyes and send little hearts to special people and thank them for the time they spent with us or the effort they made to be there for us in one way or another.


I also try and say I love you to myself more often. It doesn't come naturally even though it should. Did you ever look in the mirror and said  I love you to yourself? It feels weird at first and I don't purely mean the image that you see, but I mean the whole person.

Our body, our mind and our heart.   

Our legs carry us everywhere we want to go and our hands create, write and make sandwiches every day, our mind comes up with inspiring thoughts or simply reminds us of important dates or little things that are life changing for others and our heart tries to guide us through life and makes us go through different feelings to help us appreciate the beauty in the sad and not so comfortable moments and the happy and loveable moments. Every day we make a difference in our lives or the lives of others and we should thank ourselves for that.

Why not smile at yourself and say those 3 little words to welcome another day !?  

 

Guest Post by Lauren Fleishman: LOVE EVER AFTER

The other day I stumbled across the most beautiful video by Lauren Fleishman who is a photographer from New York. She takes touching portraits of couples who have been married for at least 50 years.
 I love looking at them and I wonder what me and Graeme would look like in 2057 : ) Haah - funny thought! I sure hope it will be something close to this couple, which is one of my favorite images by Lauren Fleishman.

Lauren would love to publish a book about her LOVE EVER AFTER project, which is why I want to help her and spread the word and passion for people who are willing to do what it takes every day to have a happy and long lasting relationship. She is asking people to put money towards her project and wants to raise 15 000$. Well, when I supported her project 5 days ago she had only raised something like 1200$. NOW she is only 872$ away from her goal and will most likely get to kick start her book a lot quicker than she had planned on : )  I am so thrilled for her!! 

This is her favorite image of the LOVE EVER AFTER series!

ENJOY the video, spread the word and if you feel the love - make a little contribution.

I emailed her a few questions and here is what she said: 

What is your favorite thing that you remember growing up with your grand parents? Is there anything you still treasure in your heart that they taught you?

I do remember my Grandfather David being very involved with the family. He was very European and had this strong accent that I didn't understand as a young girl. He used to give me coffee in a bowl with milk and sugar.

How did you feel reading the love letters of your Grandpa once he had passed away? Did you know they existed beforehand?

I found my Grandfather Joe's love letters after he passed away. He had a book that he left next to his bed and that's where they were. He had beautiful handwriting and I was happy that he had saved them all these years. 

When did you start taking pictures of couples that had been married for at least 50 years?
 
I started the Love Ever After  project about three years ago. It began as a way to honor my grandparents commitment. This work helps to preserve the couples stories and illuminate our universal experience of love. I am now working towards publishing these photographs as my first book.

How do they react when you ask them about their love story and how do they respond to getting their portraits taken? 
 
Each couple is so unique and special so I think you would have to ask them about their experience. I hope that they enjoy meeting me as much as I've enjoyed meeting them.

Can you see yourself being married for 50 years? What do you think is the secret behind a happy and long lasting marriage?

I am a romantic so I do hope that I will be married for 50 years. I'm not sure if there is a secret because love in itself is so complex. I do plan on being very patient and supportive.

You can see a video of this project and pledge towards the book here
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/laurenfleishman/love-ever-after
www.LaurenFleishman.com

Thank you for stopping by XOX

With love from Janie

All smiles : )

Here is something that made me smile big times! I have read about it and I have been wondering about it and then I got a message with the logo of the award and at first I thought ... ahh, lovely Holly from http://www.hvhinteriors.com/ is sharing with me that she got the award! How nice!

But then I soon realized that she actually pasted it on to me : ))) Taadaaaaa!

Here it is:

What amazed me the most is that I had only met Holly the night before. Another sweet friend of mine invited me out to her birthday party at Clärchen's Ballhaus in Berlin Mitte, which is always so much fun and it's hard to keep me off the dance floor. Right at the end of the night I was introduced to Holly and we soon found out that we are both blogging and she told me why she was in Berlin and what her plans are for the near future. We had such a lovely conversation and it was wonderful to meet a person and to know even though we might not be able to catch up very soon again, we can always keep in contact online. So we checked out each others blogs and straight away I got this sweet sweet award from her.

THANK YOU LIEBSTE HOLLY!!

Translated to English from German, "liebster" means "favourite" or "beloved". The point of the award is to support and appreciate smaller blogs. Once you receive such an award, you must thank the blogger who gave you the award and provide a link to their site on your blog. Then choose 5 of your liebster blogs (must have less than 200 followers) and contact them to tell them so. They, in turn, will follow the same procedure. And the love just keeps on spreading. Nice, right?

So I am passing the Liebster Blog Award to ... (drum roll please) ...
 
texanberliners.blogspot.com/
olivegreenanna.blogspot.com
http://selfediting.tumblr.com/
alittleartsy.blogspot.com/
http://laurenfleishman.tumblr.com/


I choose these 5 blogs for mainly one reason: I want all of them to keep writing their beautiful blogs!

They are all different in their own way:

1st blog:   is a sweet friend of mine who has a little girl about the same age as my 2 kids
2nd blog:  is someone I met not so long ago and we both share one passion: Vintage treasures
3rd blog:   is someone I met back in London and I am so excited for her to start writing her own blog
4th blog:   is an inspiring Mama who runs an art studio in Dallas that I would love to visit one day!!!
5th blog:   is a photographer with a great idea - sharing another passion of mine: LOVE stories

ENJOY those wonderful blogs and keep spreading the Liebster Blog Award to someone special!

Big hug from Berlin,

XOXO Janie

Blue Saturday

This Saturday was not easy for me. I felt sad and disappointed and I simply have not felt like that for a long time. These are the moments when I love being able to curl up in my husbands arms and just let go of my tears.

This Saturday taught me about how friendships can change and how you will only ever travel with someone for a certain amount of time. Some people enter your life for a short and cheerful moment while others will stay with you for a long time. Either way there is a beginning and an end and it can leave a great impression and make a wonderful difference in life.

I am thankful for both kinds of friendships.

I do think it is that much harder to let go of a friend or at least the expectation of the friendship that I have had for such a long time and that I will always love looking back onto. The memories are endless and it's hard for me to accept that there might not be more happy moments together.
 
I know that everyone changes and that I have changed as well since I was 15 years old. I just didn't think that I had changed so much that I would loose strong connection to a close friend within a year or two.

Maybe I did ...  but I am who I am now and I can't change that.

I hope that one day our friendship will grow stronger again.

I hope that she knows that my doors are always open to her. 

Deine Janie                                                         

18693 days

I know I keep going on about my grandparents, but I love them! As you might have seen in an earlier post I made a couple portrait of the two of them for my Granddad's birthday. Once I had printed it out I thought it needed a little more romance to it therefore I created this collage.

They have been married over 50 years now and I admire them for that. Everyone who has been to their house would feel the same harmony and welcoming feeling that we receive every time we go. When either of them is not there you can tell, as the atmosphere in the house is simply different. They are such a wonderful couple and I love watching them interact.

Even after 18693 days of being married they still treat each other with respect and enjoy their little rituals. My grandma for example sets their breakfast table each morning while my granddad is in charge of the afternoon tea and coffee. My grandma always turns on a little candle when they eat together and makes sure that there is a little bunch of flowers sitting on their table or window seal which she would have picked earlier in their tiny garden. They still have and for most of their lives have had separate bed rooms. They have a favorite restaurant which they visit on special occasions and they love going on bus tours to explore parts of Europe they have not been to.

At the moment my grandma is in hospital. She will be fine and back home again soon, but the thought that my granddad is all by himself makes my heart shrink a little. I find it so difficult to imagine that one day the house will have a different feel to it and it might even be empty in years to come. I know I have to except that, but for now I am thankful for every day and moment we get to spend with them. I love how my granddad plays his little games with Minna and Finn that he used to play with me and I love how my grandma goes off to get her dolls and teddies and puts on music to sit in her room and play with kids or when it comes to lunch time naps she always manages to put them to sleep and cuddle up with them for a little while on her cozy bed. Sweet sweet moments!

Schmetterlinge

I am so happy about to be able to write this post as it happened totally unexpected.

My sister came to stay with us for a day yesterday and asked me the night before if I could take some pictures of her and her new boyfriend. I love taking portraits so I said OF COURSE!

I am not sure when I last saw her this happy! I bet everything looks pink for those two at the moment.

It was such a bliss watching them.

They giggled when I asked them to sit down and cuddle, they were shy when I first started klicking away, but soon I was somewhat forgotten about as you can see.

I love thinking back to those very special first days and weeks with Graeme and I. 

I simply hope that they will cherish these very first butterfly moments and keep loving and smiling and giggling and kissing each other! I could say so much to my little sister and I don't want her to get hurt - EVER! But somehow I have a feeling that she will have to figure out some of those love-relationship-heart things on her own.

I will definitely always be there to capture more special moments and to give a little advice (when needed)!!  

Love you my little sis 

Sharing love

This month is going to be about SHARING LOVE in February : )

I decided to share some blog love by being a sponsor for Casey Wiegand this month : )

 www.thewiegands.com
 
I simply love her way of thinking and how she puts these crazy internal ups and downs of being a mom, wife, artist and friend into words. She sees the beauty in sweet adorable things, but also in those that make your eyes water and your belly go flip flop. So many times after reading her posts my heart was touched in so many places and I want to thank her for that! 


Therefore I am dedicating this post to her! Sweet sweet Casey thank you so very much!

With love from Berlin,

Janie

Customized Couple Portrait - Group Giveaway (via Casey Wiegand)

I just wanted to make sure you get a better idea of what the customized couple portrait would/ could look like : ) I hope to have it ready just in time for Valentines Day!!! Good luck : )

My Sunshine

I have always loved kids drawings and I have been collecting them ever since I have been working with little kids. Now my daughter is starting to be a little artist herself and I cannot get enough of it! I love her suns! The energy of the lines and the cheeky smile reflect so much of her personality. The other thing she like to draw is doors ... not sure why!? they are very colorful and don't have a handle, but she insists that they are doors : ) I cannot wait for more inspiring and sweet little art works from her!

A beautiful mess

It seems like I go through a creating day and a making day at the moment. One day I will pick an idea that is sitting on top of my ideas pile in my head and I will pull everything out that I think I might need. Then I sit in between all the fabric and buttons and sewing magazines and pick and choose what I think I might need to create that little something. The next day I put together all the bits and pieces, make little changes and stay in my little world until it's finished.


 Happy days.

 

Momentan verbringe ich einen Tag damit etwas zu entwerfen und den nächsten Tag damit die vielen Details und Einzelteile zusammen zu setzen.  Am ersten Tag überlege ich mir, was ich gerne zaubern möchte und kram in all meinen Schatzkisten rum und verteile es im Flur auf der gesamten Fläche. Dann sitze ich dort eine ganze Weile umgeben von Stoff und Burda Zeitschriften und anderen kleinen Sachen und überleg mir wie mein kleiner Entwurf nun aussehen soll. Am nächsten Tag bin ich dann damit beschäftigt alles mit einander zu verbinden, verändere noch mal hier und da was und bin solange in meiner Welt vertieft bis es fertig ist. 

Einfach glücklich. 

Birthday present for my Grandpa

After sending out our Christmas card that I made of the 4 of us I really want to make similar family of couple portraits with different details and backgrounds. Here is what I am working on at the moment: a portrait of my grandma and my grandpa, which he wished for for his birthday at the end of January.

Our Christmas card

my grand parents

Sewing and Stitching

Yeah, Minna's and Finni's KITA bag is all done and ready to be filled with yummi food, spare clothes, beautiful drawings and little treasure carefully chosen on the way home.

Yeah, Minnas und Finnis KITA Tasche ist vollendet. Jetzt haben sie genug Platz für leckeres Frühstück, Wechselsachen, Gemaltes und viele kleine Schätze, die sie auf dem Weg nach Hause gefunden haben.

A bag for little treasures / Eine Tasche für kleine Schätze

Today I have been digging through my chest full of beautiful fabric and pulling out all my old laces and trimmings. I could sit in the middle of animal patterns, bright colors and random shapes all day long. I have been meaning to make a new bag for Minna and Finn for so long since their old one is truly falling apart. Here is a little sneak preview.

Heute habe ich ewig in meiner Truhe zwischen all meinen schönen Stoffen gewühlt und alle aufwendig gesammelten Borten mal wieder rausgezuppelt. Ich hätte den ganzen Tag inzwischen  Tiermustern, fröhlichen Farben und verspielten Formen sitzen können. Ich möchte schon seit einer ganzen Weile eine neue Tasche für Minna und Finn nähen, da ihre alte langsam auseinander fällt. Hier ist schon mal ein kleiner Vorgeschmack.

Feeling as free as a bird

 This is my first little project which I made today as a symbol of how I feel: As free as a bird!! Being able to be creative and do and make and create what I have been meaning to all these years, months and weeks. It is such a wonderful feeling!

I love Robins and I used to have a little Robin friend in our garden in London. He was so sweet and always watched me doing gardening.

Das ist mein erstes kleines Ergebnis von dem heutigen Tag und steht als Symbol dafür wie ich mich momentan fühle: Frei wie ein Vogel!! Es ist so schön das zu machen und entstehen zu lassen, was mir schon seit so langer Zeit durch den Kopf geht. Ich habe so viele schöne Idee, die ich nun endlich zum Leben erwachen lassen kann!! HERRLICH!

Advent Calendar filled with LOVE - No 24

This is our love story spread over 24 days - a little bit of love each day : )

Das ist unsere Liebesgeschichte verteilt über 24 Tage - jeden Tag ein kleines Stückchen Liebe : )

EXCITING TIMES AHEAD

November 2002

July 2011

Sometimes life takes you on unexpected paths and sometimes they change your life forever. I am so thankful for all the people we have met and the decissions we made along the way. It's been such a special time of the day writing about our story throughout the last 24 days (even though I have lost a fair few hours of sleep) and we truely have been skipping down memory lane.

We have so many exciting plans ahead of us! Our biggest one is to go to Australia for one year in July 2012. We cannot wait! It will also be our 10th anniversary back in Gladstone. We would have never imagined that THE night we met.

For now we wish you all a wonderful Christmas time and a great start of the new year! I hope Santa gave you that little special present that you have been wishing for! Keep dreaming and believing! Miracles do happen!!!

Ich werde so bald ich mich von der Weihnachtsgans erholt habe, alle Übersetzungen nachholen. Bis dahin wünsche ich euch ein glückliches Weihnachtsfest!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Advent Calendar filled with LOVE - No 23

This is our love story spread over 24 days - a little bit of love each day : )

Das ist unsere Liebesgeschichte verteilt über 24 Tage - jeden Tag ein kleines Stückchen Liebe : ) 


FAMILY TIME

From the day Finni was born Graeme took 3 months leave. We felt so lucky being able to take parenting time together. During those weeks I mainly looked after Finni and Graeme went on little daily adventures with Minna. Once I felt stronger again we all went out and about together. Graeme and Minna grew really close during that time. It was so much fun watching them build towers and read stories and cuddle up in front of the TV. By the end of the 3rd month we celebrated a very special Christmas holiday with Graeme's mom and brother. Even though they got stuck in London for 3 days on the way over (because of too much snow) and both of them lost their bags for the entire trip - we ended up having a wonderful time. The weather was like in a Christmas movie where it starts to snow on Christmas Eve. We had snow fights, made snow angels, drank mulled wine, had a barefoot race through the snow, walked over a frozen lake, pulled each other on the sled, drank more mulled wine and ate and ate delicious Christmas food.

In January 2011 Graeme had to go back to work and his Mom and brother back to Australia. I was home alone with Minna and Finn until the summer. It is save to say that it wasn't always easy for me. When one or both of them were sick I found it so hard to be there for them equally. I was so used to be there for Minna 100% and now I had to learn to split myself and still make sure that I looked after both of them. I was always so relieved when I heard the key in the door and I knew Graeme was home after a day of work to help me with the kids. Often it finally gave me a chance to go to the toilet, take a shower, bush my teeth and get out of my PJs...

In the summer we went back to Australia for 5 weeks so everyone could meet Finni. The kids loved the open space, the beautiful beach and obviously being with their Australian family. After the summer and with the start of the school year I went back to work and the kids started going to a sweet little day care center down the road from us. It wasn't easy for me leaving them with people I didn't really now. At first I felt bad for 'dropping them off', but it was so good for me to get out of the house after 2 1/2 years of being at home. I really enjoyed being able to talk to other grown-ups and I loved teaching art again.

Outing to the Berlin Zoo

December 2010

Christmas 2010

Advent Calendar filled with LOVE - No 22

This is our love story spread over 24 days - a little bit of love each day : )

Das ist unsere Liebesgeschichte verteilt über 24 Tage - jeden Tag ein kleines Stückchen Liebe : ) 

ROOM FOR MORE

Minna loves our little boat house just as much as we do!

Watching the world cup with Maxi in July 2010

Minna grew up so quickly and it was amazing watching her discover the world around her. We always said that it would be nice to have two children and after about 5 or 6 months we started thinking about our next little family member, who was just as hard to imagine as the first one. Graeme and I both have siblings, but there are at least 5, 10, 15 and more years apart from us and we thought it would be nice to have them close together so they can grow up side by side. We also liked the thought that they would always have each other even when our time has come to an end. It seems weird to think that but somewhere in my heart it feels really good.  


Maxi's pregnancy was somewhat different to Minna's. I didn't feel sick in the beginning, but nauseous if I didn't eat something right there and then. My belly popped straight away and it was so obvious right from the start that I was carrying a little someone. I ate for two especially ice cream. My feet were burning during hot summer days, which I never experienced with Minna. I totally didn't crawl around on the floor building sand castles during my first pregnancy. I was very happy not having to work and enjoying the luxury of sitting on the couch when I felt like it. I did start watching a fair bit of Bindi Erwin with Minna when I was too tired to do anything, which is still her most favorite DVD to watch. I only worried a tiny bit about the birth and the time ahead. This time I simply felt so much more relaxed and prepared. 


The contractions started at exactly the same time 1am, but I only had a little while to get myself ready. I took a shower, blow dried my hair and told Graeme not to worry about going to sleep. I rang my midwife at 2am and we met her at the hospital at 3:30am. This time I wanted a midwife who was going to be there for us throughout the whole pregnancy, the birth and the time after the baby was born. It made such a difference to how I felt walking into that labor ward. It only took 1h and 30min for Finn Felix to arrive. It was actually a really nice birth. Everything just happened the way it should. My mom and my sister came to join us again. Only this time I passed out in the bathroom right after the birth which is why we had to stay one night at the hospital. Minna came to met her brother and was totally amazed by the tiny person under the warm blanket. Sweet sweet memories!

Maxi had 6 hours left inside that big belly

Finn Felix born on the 19th of September at 4:53am on the same day at his great grandma who watched Minna at home that night

Special moments

Minna came to say hello the next day

Finni had a tiny fold over his right eye - like a little thinker.

Das mit den Übersetzung muss leider noch warten ...  tut mir total leid, aber es ist schon WIEDER kurz vor eins ... nachts ... da war doch was !?

Our first family shot at home - slightly more lively to our first night home with Minna.