SpongeBob: the party

Gianna's SpongeBob birthday party was a hit, with 25 guests in all. It was controlled chaos, much better than I expected when you have a dozen kids playing in a 2 bedroom apartment. The kids loved the arts and crafts table where they colored pictures of SpongeBob, created playdoh SpongeBobs, and made pipe cleaner candy cane ornaments to take home. People were also impressed with the SpongeBob cupcake tower, direct from the UK. It was easier than making another cake. I tried out a new recipe for a layered sandwich that worked out well and made fruit salad in a pineapple half. One kid said "look mommy, a banana!" It seems many of them had never seen a fresh pineapple before. By the end of the party, some kids were getting tired. One kid crawled into Gianna's bed to proceed with nap time and another threw a giant fit when his mom said it was time to go. I'm glad they all had fun. It's a lot of work, but I love throwing parties. Now we have plenty of leftovers and new toys to last the whole weekend. Right now she is enjoying her new Dora DVD from her friend Jada back in NYC. She told us "It's in English; it's better" (as compared to the German version she watches on Nick de). Thanks everybody! And Happy St. Nikolaus Day to all the little kids in Germany. Hopefully you get chocolate and not a switch in your shoe tonight.

World AIDS Day

For lunch I was down at the Christmas Market again when I came across two young people collecting donations to benefit the AIDS mission in Frankfurt. For my donation, they gave me this bear and a ribbon to wear on my coat. As a scientist and self-proclaimed humanitarian, I would like to see the day when this disease is eradicated, or at the very least, see the day when the social stigma is gone. There has been so much progress in fighting the spread of HIV in recent years, thanks in part to President GW Bush. Yes, thanks to GW! He established and funded the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. The funding pays for testing, treatment, support for patients' families, prevention programs, and dispelling the AIDS stigma in many African countries and Vietnam. Despite the program's great success, the Obama administration wants to reduce funding, which has earned them a D+ from Global AIDS Groups.

“Our investments in PEPFAR, the Global Fund, and overall global health have made a positive difference and we will continue our support, but we have to do more. We have to make sure that our programs foster conditions that improve people's lives and in turn promote stability, prosperity, and security. In this time of very tight budgets in our own government and our own people suffering from unemployment, from other kinds of cutbacks in services, we have to do more even here at home. We've seen some of the results of the cutbacks that are happening at the state and local level. So while we're talking about our commitment internationally, let's not forget our fellow citizens who are suffering right now.”

This attitude gets failing marks in my book; it's trickle-down humanitarianism. The "suffering" Americans are experiencing due to the economic downturn is mild compared to the daily lives of people benefiting from PEPFAR. Obviously there's less money to spread around due to "tightened budgets", so hopefully any cuts to the PEPFAR funding will be temporary.

Pealing of the Bells

Last night 10 churches in downtown Frankfurt all rang their bells from 4:30 until 5:00 to celebrate the coming of Advent. We started our listening tour by the Kaiserdom, one of the largest and most beautiful cathedrals in Frankfurt. It is home to Gloriosa, a nearly 12 ton bell, the second largest in all of Germany. The bells started out slow and light, then they started to ring Gloriosa. Her loud, low tone is very easy to pick out on the video and produced a reaction from the crowd. Next, we walked down the hill into Römerberg to hear the different sounds coming from Alte Nikolai church. Finally, we ended up back in the grotto below Kaiserdom, listening to Gloriosa one last time before getting some food at the Christmas Market.

Gianna's 3rd Birthday

5:30 I can't sleep. It's Gianna's birthday and I want it to be perfect and not oversleep so that we miss going to the pool and, and....wait, what's that I hear? Is Gianna waking up? Hooray! Happy Birthday!!

6:00 Wait, I thought it was 7:00, not 6:00. Why are we up this early? Too late to get Gianna to go back to sleep, so we watch SpongeBob and Dora in the living room, then I make her Vietnamese porridge for breakfast.

8:45 We are out the door, on our way to the Titus Therman indoor pool at Nordwestzentrum. We stop to watch a building demolition along the way.

9:45 We enter the pool for 90 minutes of swim time. It was a blast. We disturbed old people.

11:30 Lunch at Ton Kin where the Vietnamese waitress knows Gianna and wants her to "nicht vergessen Vietnam". We speak in 3 languages; life is confusing. I tell the waitress it is Gianna's birthday today (heute Geburtstag!) and Gianna leaves with a free ice cream bar.

12:45 Gianna is taking a nap as I put the gifts on the table, set the SpongeBob plates and napkins, and put out the cake. Stupid SpongeBob figurine keeps falling down.

14:00 Bruno and I wake Gianna up from her nap. She agrees opening presents is a higher priority than sleep. As we are singing "Happy Birthday" the SpongeBob figurine falls off the cake, taking out the candle, spilling wax onto the table. I pick up the mess; we resume the song where we left off. She blows out the candle on the cake, I cut her a piece, she eats some of the icing, eats the ice cream, eats gummi fish off the remaining cake, then says she is full and wants to open presents. Dan and I split the rest of her piece of cake.

14:15 Gift unwrapping begins, as both sets of Grandparents call on Skype to witness the event. Gianna is in heaven.

15:30 We say good-bye to all the Bàs and Ôngs and get dressed for a trip to the Christmas Market, which opened last night. It's cloudy, so by 16:00, all the lights are on and it's really looking spectacular. We are still stuffed from cake, but Gianna is begging for anything she sees to eat, pretzels, potato cakes, bratwurst. Wait for dinner!

17:00 It begins to rain, so we jump on the U5 back to Oeder Weg. Dinner of bratwurst and baked beans is served after assembling three SpongeBob puzzles and clearing the table of all the wrapping paper and ribbon.

19:05 We are Skyping with Jeff and Nancy; Gianna is being naughty. The day has been too long and all this birthday excitement has worn her out. Time for a bath with the new bath bomb from Lush. Bath ends early with crying; she pushes me over when I am drying her.

20:00 Gianna is in bed wearing her new Eyore pajamas. She gives me a hearty "Thank you, Mẹ" as I kiss her good-night and wish her sweet dreams.

22:00 It's hard to believe she is 3. This Thanksgiving/Gianna's birthday nexus holiday was great, despite living in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving. I am wondering if her birthmother was thinking of her today. I am thankful that she gave birth to my daughter and for all the people that brought Gianna Mai into our life.

SpongeBob: the cake

Happy birthday to my little turkey Gianna Mai! Technically it's already her birthday in Vietnam, and here in Germany, we are just 2 hours shy of November 26. For the second year in a row, Gianna has requested a SpongeBob cake. Last year, I made a pink Patrick Star cake, this year, she insisted on the sponge himself. So, with a little imagination and help from a UK cake decorating store, voilà!












1.) Start with a delicious dark chocolate cake recipe. 2.) Fill with cherry preserves and chocolate icing. 3.) Frost the outside with swirly blue icing to look like the ocean. 4.) Lick the knife.











Leave a hole in the middle for a chocolate frosting island covered with my secret recipe for edible sand.











Adorn with gummi sea creatures and place SpongeBob character on the island (prop him up with a plastic straw when he starts to fall over).

Success!

Frankfurt Christmas market

Although the Frankfurt Christmas market doesn't open until Wednesday, the little shacks are already set up, along with carousels, lights, decorations, and a huge Christmas tree sitting on Römer square. It was fun to walk around while it's still empty, and a good chance to take some photos of the decorations before the crowds move in. The Christmas market runs from 25 November through 22 December, so plenty of time to get your fill of Glühwein and poffertjes!

One little monkey...

...jumping on the bed!


Gianna in her natural habitat, after school. I think she is celebrating that the sun came out for the first time in months...or the stack of birthday presents on top of the wardrobe. Click the photo for better resolution.