Things We Have Not Loved in 2016

Aggressive peacocks, 

Allergies, 

Asthma, 
Bee stings,
Bigotry, 

Broken pinkies, 

Donald Trump, 

Election results, 

Haters,
Ignorant People,

Menopausal weight gain, 

Pink Eye, 

Racism, 
Xenophobes

Things We Have Loved in 2016

A  Anders, Anna, Animals, Art Teacher of the Year, Art Camp, 
      Art, Appreciations

B  Bernie, Big Blue skies, our Barn, Beds, Books, Buizel, 
     Brothers, Burlington, Boggle, Blokus, Bike riding, Baltic Sea

C  Cloud berries, Cousins, Candlelight, Creativity, Chickens, 
      running Cross Country, a Clean house, Clouds, Co-Housing, 
      the Co-op, Coffee, Chanterelle mushrooms, Colors

D  Dalarna, Dala horses, Drawing, Doodlecrate, Decorating,   
      Dave, Dogs

E  Everything bagels, Edmunds, Eachother, Eleven years old

F  Family, Friends, Freedom, Family meetings, Flowers, Flea
     markets, Fields of gold, Feeding deer out of our hands, Fika, 
     Foregiveness, Fossa's, the color Falu Red

G  Grandma and Grandpa, playing Games, Grocery shopping, Kuba eats a Grub that tasted sweet  

H  Hamilton, our House and Home, Hallon Smur Pie, House 
      trades, Haiku's, Holidays, Honey, sense of Humor, Hedgehogs

I     Intelliglobe, IAA, Ice cream, ipad/iphones, Imperfection

J     Joy, Judy

K   Kuba, Kindness, Kannel Bullar, Kaj, Kid art

L   LOVE, the Lion King,Landscapes, Laughing, Lund, Learning 
       to ride a bike, LifewithAndersandKuba blog, 

M   Mousy, Mormor and Morfar, Minecraft, Marbles, Mary Lacy,         Middle School, Movies, Malmo, Mr. Mike, Maple syrup

N   Nature, Nests, our Neighborhood, Niagara Falls, NusNas,       
       Netflix, Norrgarden, Nine years old

O   Obama, the color Orange

P    Pokemon, Playing Piano, Protests, Presents, Petit Choux,
       Photographs, Peace, Pear Popcicles, Poseidon, Playing
       outside, Playgrounds in Sweden, 

Q  Quiet

R   Roasted chicken, Ringso, Reading, Rocks

S   Sweden, Swedish Relatives, Sleepovers,  Skunks, Summer, 
      Siblings, Sledding, Skiing, Sunshine, Soccer, Stuffies, 
      Stockings, new Socks, the Seekers Series, Second chances, 
      Sandy, School, Saltwater crocodiles, StopMotion animation,  
      Stockholm, Skansen, Sixth grade

T  Traveling, Third grade, Tiger, Technology, Tyrantrum, 
      Trampolines, Two moms, Texting

U  Uncles, being Ushers

V  Violin, Vermont, Vikings, Valentines, Voting, Videos

W  Weddings (Jamie & Aj, Kaitlyn & Dave), WOW   
        airlines, Wild Boars

X  Xrays of broken fingers 

Y  You, Youtube, Ystad

Z  Zeus

Just Plain Old Awesome Holiday Week Photo's

Cousins

The Lion King

up escalator

 crazy awesome animals

stunning performance 

We took the boys to their first show on Broadway in New York City.  We were gifted tickets to The Lion King from a friend - and what an amazing gift it was.  This certainly was the highlight of our holiday.   We drove to the city for the day and had a total blast.  The Lion King took the breath away from all of us.  The boys were so excited about it and from the moment it began, were completely in awe.   The opening scene was so beautiful that it brought me to tears.  The colors, the singing, the costumes, the stage - SPECTACULAR.  I understood - perhaps for the very first time in my life and on a very deep level, why live theater has the potential power to transform people.  I am so deeply grateful for this opportunity for the boys. 
WOW.

And it was just about a lion. 

Christmas 2016

Christmas 2016

Friday 12/23

Packed the car up to the brim, drove 4 hours to the Catskills

to be with the Thelemarck clan-

   Pete, Jen, Kaj, Barbro, Claes, Vikki, Lea and Hannah.  

Saturday 12/24

             Played a lot, took a long walk, did some baking, prepared a Swedish Smorgasbord, had dinner,  played games,

   (Boggle, Blokus, Pounce)  ate some more

Had a visit from old Saint Nick - also known as Tomten to the Swede's

exchanged gifts  

Got ready for Christmas morning.

Sunday 12/25

Opened presents and stockings, had breakfast, relaxed, went for a walk in the woods,

      Skiing on Hunter Mountain, played more games

(the 5 Second Rule) as a family,

wore our Christmas rudolph noses and hats

Monday 12/26

Went to NY City, saw the Lion King, walked around Rockefeller Center,

   dinner with the Berger/Holcrofts

Tuesday 12/27

Tubing at Hunter Mountain, rearranged Jen and Pete's downstairs

played with Kaj a whole bunch

Wednesday 12/28

Drove back to Burlington

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, exchanged gifts with Family

Thursday 12/29
                 Cleaned the house, visited Grandma and Grandpa, play date with Ben,                             night time sledding at the Country Club with friends 

Friday 12/30
Grocery Shopping, home day, played Pokemonopoly, cheese fondue, 
watched Elf, play date with Sam

Saturday 12/31
Updated the blog, playdate with Ben, New Year's eve with Grandma and Grandpa, 
Shrek, Making crafts, playing games

Sunday 1/1
Everyone sleeps in, skiing at Sleepy Hollow
Indian food with Lea, Hannah and Michael 
Anders has a sleepover with Finley 

Monday 1/2
Pancakes with cousins for breakfast, walking downtown, 
sledding at Callahan, dinner with Cathy

Favorite Parts of the holiday according to the four of us:

Anders:  Got to see my cousins and family ~ especially Kaj.  Got my first flip phone. Going to see the Lion King in New York City.  Skiing down Hunter Mountain.  Playing the 5 Second Game.

Kuba:  Mousy got his first presents for Christmas.  I liked the Intelliglobe.  Seeing the Lion King.  Playing with Kaj.  Skiing and tubing at Hunter Mountain.

Anna:  Skiing at Hunter Mountain, the Lion King in NY City, being with Kaj

Judy:  Going to see the Lion King in New York City.  Seeing the kids so excited about everything.  Getting ready for the holiday.  Being with family.  Opening stockings.  Taking lots of photo's.  Feeling so fortunate.  

Christmas Cookies

Creative Structure

Click here for the live link, page 14

Taiko

Kuba had a Taiko residency at school for the past two weeks and it culminated in a school performance yesterday.   Kuba's class played in unison and so well.  Fantastic, actually.  Their song was called Hei Eu Son Don Gaeshi.  Here he is in his special Taiko shirt and Hachi Maki, headband.

 

 

 

The Snake Charmer

 Kuba's third piano recital was today and it was quite lovely.  He played The Snake Charmer, and was just a little bit nervous.  This is progress!  Each recital he feels a bit more at ease and more confident. 

 

Click here to see the live performance

My Name is Alexander Hamilton

Ever since Kuba's 9th birthday, when he got the Alexander Hamilton CD - we've been crazy over it in this house.   The boys have memorized all the lyrics and Anna and I are close behind.  We sing it not stop, we want to non stop, and we are not sick of it yet.   If only we could get to see it live!!

Start to Finish

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

  

DECEMBER!!!

All caps, three exclamation points.  This is how I feel about DECEMBER!!!
SO busy, so full, so exciting, so exhausting, so much fun, and so much to look forward to.
I think the boys are right with me on this one.  We have 9 days of school left, 14 days until Christmas eve, and then of course a very fun holiday break.   Amen to that.

Creative Structure: An Architect and a Teacher Talk Values, Flexibility and Laundry

   Our family was featured in SevenDays as part of a series they run about creativity and families. You can read it here at this link, but I copied it below as well.  How much fun is that!?

Moms: Judy Klima (right), 56, arts integration coach at the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler; Anna Thelemarck (left), 48, owner, Struktur architectural design firm Sons: Anders, 11; Kuba, 9 oliver parini

Enter the bright orange front door of Judy Klima and Anna Thelemarck's home in Burlington's Old North End, and two things are immediately clear: this family values art, and there's a lot of joy here. Framed children's artwork and dozens of family photographs hand on the walls, and laughter fills the space.  

A gray, L-shaped couch - occupied by a sleeping black-and-white cat - offers a cozy place to sit.  The house is welcoming, warm, and lively; it feels like a meeting place for families and community members.  Thelemarck confirms that assessment.  As her sons get older, she says, she hopes their home will continue to be a social hub, where teenagers can gather and connect. 

From her office at the Karma Bird House, in downtown Burlington, the more introverted Thelemarck, a licensed architect, spends her days helping homeowners and businesses improve their living and work spaces.  She enjoys the flexibility that owning her own business provides. Last summer she was able to take time off so the family could travel through Sweden for five weeks.  

As the arts integration coach at the Integrated Arts Academy in Burlington, the gregarious Klima spends the school year bringing together teachers, local artists and arts organizations to enrich the magnet school's curriculum. During the summer, she runs a two-week arts camp in the family's backyard barn.  

In November, Klima was named Vermont Arts Educator of the Year.  She'll travel to Washington, D.C., in 2017 to be honored, along with other teachers from across the country. As dedicated as Klima is to her job, she is equally passionate about being a mother.  

But she doesn't take herself too seriously: Both Klima's and Thelemarck's thoughts on parenting are punctuated with humor.  

On the morning routine: 

Judy: It's usually the early risers - Anders, our older son, and I - who get up forst, around 6:30. Lately, we haven't been sleeping well, and our stress has been waking us up at 5! Sometimes I like to come down before him so I have a little bit of time by myself, but he usually hears me and comes down.  Kuba is the longest sleeper, and Anna usually gets up a little bit after us, right?

Anna: During the workweek I am the late person. On the weekends it flips-flops, and I am the early riser and you sleep in. But during the week, you usually get the breakfast stuff and the lunch stuff - you get all that in motion and I am upstairs getting them dressed and ready.  

Judy: Well, there is that older kid thing now where Anders gets ready on his own mostly, but usually I am the downstairs person and you are the upstairs person. I work at the school the boys go to - well, now only Kuba - so it used to be all three of us going to the same place, but now Anna and Anders go together and Kuba and I go together. 

On having a system:

Judy: Before the school year started, we sat down for a few hours and talked about how we could make our lives run smoother this year. We made all these plans, and we actually typed it all up! We came up with an agenda. Someone told me that families with systems work the best, so we came up with a system. Our theme for the year is "personal responsibility." 

Anna: We set up a board with things for them to do, clothespins for them to flip on and off if they've done it or not. 

Judy: I printed it out, too, and put it on the fridge. And we have a family meeting every week, so I even glued it into the family meeting book! 

Anna: There's a structure in place, so even if you get off the structure for a bit, you know what to come back to.  We revisit it every week. 

On laundry duty:

Judy: Well, mostly I do the laundry, but I get to a point where I've been doing it so ling that I'm like, "I'm done with laundry!" and then Anna will take over. And then eventually I say, 'No! You can't do it anymore!" 

Anna: You tell me, 'Don't fold them like that!' or "You are putting way too many clothes in the washing machine!' (They both laugh) 

On making meals:

Anna: We have a meal plan in the system, so you don't even have to think! It's going to be chicken on this night; it's going to be pasta another night. There's variety with it, but it's easy to shop. It simplifies things. On Monday night, I cook with Kuba, and on Wednesday it's Anders turn (to cook with me)

On the seasonal division of labor: 

Anna: The time of the year impacts our schedule dramatically. Judy is a teacher, so when the kids have off, she has off. When she's in school, I'm the "on" parent. So if the kids are sick, I'm home with them.  IF the kids have to go to the doctor, I'm the one who takes them. IN the summer, it's reversed and Judy is with them and I work longer hours. When the kids were born we mad a conscious decision to take time with the kids over money. We always defer to that as our guiding thing.  

This article was originally published in SEVEN DAYS monthly parenting magazine KidsVT

Thanksgiving 2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the laughter of our children,
For our own life breath,
For the abundance of food on this table,
For the ones who prepared this sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,
For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants.
Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen.

Rabbi Naomi Levy


I entered this holiday with a heavy heart and spirit.  Post election news and the state of the union has caused my whole system to crash.  Despite the daily political drama we managed to have planned a thanksgiving meal for 16 with family and some very dear friends.  My most favorite part was the decorating, cleaning and baking, but I also loved the fact that friends from out of town were joining us here at home.   The meal was delicious, the desserts were abundant and outrageous, and the mood was jovial.  We played games, we drank coffee, we relaxed with one another and I tried so hard to shake the blues.   We shared our gratitude with one another and created a paper chain of thanks, which of course included Kuba's Mousy.  The boys made a very leafy snowman that wished passersby a Happy Thanksgiving. We spend the following days relaxing with our friends, and for me - working to dislodge this depression that has taken hold.   The boys sparkled, Anna stepped up to the tasks, and I did my very best to make the holiday whole.  I like the prayer above, and I especially love these most fitting, most timely lines:

For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country.

Happy? Thanksgiving 2016