Of flea markets, piñatas, and eggs

We've had a lot of fun since we've been back.

In fact, we came back on a specific date to be here in time for the annual "Kindergarten Flohmarkt", the Preschool fleamarket/yardsale on Saturday. It's a fun event and also a fundraiser for the school. They had been advertising the event all over the neighborhood for a few weeks. Individuals or families from the community could rent (for EUR 5) a table in the yard, foyer, or hallway of the school building to sell their kid-related stuff. The school itself also had a table with toys, clothes, and books, donated by the families and staffed by volunteers. There was a bake and juice sale (I made a lemon-nutella cake that turned out really well, but was gone before I could snap a picture.) and some parents baked waffles with home-made waffle batter. The place was buzzing with people and in the hour that I staffed the school table we sold a lot of great stuff. Alex scored a puzzle (with 144 pieces, which he put together almost by himself), and a doctor's bag. We've been patients ever since. It was great that my mom was here, so that she and Alex could tool around while I could help out. I'm not sure how much money was made for the school, but everyone said it was a success!



On Sunday, Alex was invited to his friend Irene's house to celebrate her 4th birthday. There were a few other kids there as well and we enjoyed the party very much! There were treats and goodies and party games, but the best part, from Alex's perspective, was his first experience with a piñata. Irene's mom had some trouble buying a piñata here and so made one herself! It was awesome, big, and had a huge Hello Kitty face on one side and a large "4" on the other side. Alex could not believe his luck that he would be allowed, in fact, encouraged, to beat it with a large stick! See his eager anticipation here.

And then the piñata in various stages of destruction.

Here the kids are waiting with their baggies to go for the loot.

And then they dove in.

Finally, a group shot.

The party concluded with more playtime inside (it is still wet and cold here) and fruit on a stick!

We had a blast. Thanks for sharing your birthday with us, Irene.

Since Easter is around the corner, there are already a lot of seasonal things for sale here and everyone is gearing up for the holiday. At Alex's school, they're planning on coloring eggs and making an Easter basket for the Easter Bunny to pick up and deliver on Easter Sunday (if I've understood correctly). In preparation, all the kids had to bring several blown out eggs to school. I was so glad that my mom is here for this, because I'm not sure I know how to successfully blow out an egg, but she did a great job!

We enjoyed the scrambled eggs and I hope Alex will make beautiful eggs at school. Another morning, we decided it was time to tackle some hard-boiled eggs as well. Alex reminded me that this was really JJL's expertise, and I agree, but she wasn't here, so we tried it without her. Here are some results.