A few days ago, my youngest daughter turned 3 years old, and I suddenly realized that I’m no longer the mother of a little baby, but a little girl. This realization combined with recently meeting one of my best friends’ beautiful baby girl for the first time (her third child) has planted a tiny seed of curiosity in my mind.

Alma turned three, and even though my husband couldn’t join us, we managed to turn the day into a nice and low-key birthday celebration that both my daughters really enjoyed. When you’re 3 years old, the concept of birthday celebration seems to include the following; presents, birthday song(s), cake including guests to eat the cake, playtime and getting to wear your favorite dress the whole day long. But going through this standard birthday concept, I realized that I needed to make a few changes to make it fit my birthday girl and my family.

First of all, our guests ended up arriving in the morning, and leaving right after lunch. Secondly, Alma doesn’t like cake, ice-cream, sweets or chocolate. Thirdly all presents have to be easily transported back to New York in our already over-stuffed suitcases and last but not least, trying to scale down the amount of presents that our children get (most of the stuff just ends up in a box somewhere anyway).

The day started with a lovely brunch with pancakes (you can check out our favorite recipe right here) scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages which are Alma’s absolute favorite. We started out by opening a few presents before eating brunch, played a little, ate, sang some birthday songs, then opened up a few more presents and sang a few more songs.

After a trip to the playground we baked some simple and traditional danish sweet biscuits that I knew Alma would like. Since there was no cake to decorate, we ended up serving the biscuits with candles and pink flamingos. The sweet biscuits, called Vanilje kranse in Danish (roughly translated as vanilla circles), are normally eaten at christmas, but it turns out that they taste delicious in August as well, and they’re really easy to make. I’ll give you the recipe at the end of the post.

As for the presents, I had decided to let our family know, not to buy any big toys or plastic things, and instead go for things that are of good quality and that I knew Alma would actually love and use. A week before her birthday I decided to make her a Waldorf-inspired doll, and so I spent most evenings for a whole week sewing, stuffing and crocheting. I am very happy with the result, and it definitely won’t be the last Waldorf inspired doll that I’ll make (Eleanor has already ordered one).

Other great gifts were a little pink backpack and a pink lunchbox from a gorgeous Norwegian brand called Blafre (they are worth checking out), a cube puzzle with the Moomins, an anatomy puzzle in 5 layers showing a human’s muscles, skin, bones etc. and the pink tutu dress that her eldest sister picked out all by herself. She loved and played with every single present.

We had planned to end the day with homemade pizzas but since turning 3 makes you very tired, Alma fell asleep long before dinnertime, and we postponed pizzas for the following night.

If you feel like baking the sweet biscuits called Vanilje Kranse, this is the recipe that we used;

500 gram (1,2 lb) of plain flour

1 egg

350 gram (0.8 lb) of butter

250 gram (0,55 lb) of sugar

1 pod of vanilla (or 1 tablespoon of vanilla powder)

250 gram of (0,55 lb) almonds

Toast the almonds in the oven,  chop them into fine pieces and let them cool of. Mix all the ingredients and form the dough into one long roll. Cut the dough into small pieces, roll them individually into small rolls and form into circles. Make sure that the hole in the middle of the circle is rather big, as the biscuits will run out a bit when baked.

Bake the biscuits at 180 degrees celsius (350 degrees fahrenheit) for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown.

 After our Native American theme day the other day (read about it right here),  I couldn’t help to notice some of the beautiful kid’s  clothes that could easily have been inspired by a Native American theme. I know for sure that my kids would love to play in the cool tipi from the Spanish company Nobodinoz (if you don’t all ready know them, go check them out. They do amazing stuff), eat their dinner from the cute bear plate and run around in the beautiful stripy dress from the Danish brand Pierrot La Lune.

1. Bag / Zara 2. Woolf drawing /  Etsy 4. Moccasins / Hubble and Duke 5. Skirt / Nobodinoz 6. Poncho / Zara 7. Fringe dress / Zara 8. Tipi pillow / OyOy 9. Bag / Louis Louise 10. Tipi / Nobodinoz 11. Headband / Frou Frou 12. Dress / Zara 13. Moccasins / Hubble and Duke 14. Plate / Donna Wilson 15. Belt / MarMar Copenhagen 16. Dress / Pierrot La Lune

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Efter vores Indianer temadag den anden dag ( læse om den lige her ), er jeg konstant stødt ind i de fineste børneting, der let kunne være designet med lidt indianer-inspiration i tankerne. Jeg ved i hverfald at mine børn, ville elske at lege i denne fine tipi fra det spanske mærke Nobodinoz ( hvis du ikke allerede kender dem, så kig forbi deres hjemmeside, de laver de skønneste ting), spise deres aftensmad fra den søde bjørne tallerken og rende rundt i den smukkeste stribede kjole fra danske Pierrot La Lune.

1. Taske / Zara 2. Ulve tegning /  Etsy 4. Mokkasiner / Hubble and Duke 5. Nederdel / Nobodinoz 6. Poncho / Zara 7. Frynsekjole / Zara 8. Tipi pude / OyOy 9. Taske / Louis Louise 10. Tipi / Nobodinoz 11. Hårbånd / Frou Frou 12. Kjole / Zara 13. Mokkasiner / Hubble and Duke 14. Tallerken / Donna Wilson 15. Bælte / MarMar Copenhagen 16. Kjole / Pierrot La Lune

On the last day of winter, my daughters and I decided to dress up warm and go to the beach. Coney Island is renown for it’s amazing sandy beach, the boardwalk, the fun fair and a small aquarium and it is only a 20 minute subway ride away from our home. Most people (myself included) would probably prefer going to the beach when the temperature goes above 70 ºF and you can play ind the sand, take a swim and enjoy a picnic on the beach.  But during the snowy periods of the year, the beach turns into the most beautiful winter wonder land. And it is so worth a visit.

We started with a quick visit to the aquarium. Denmark has a long tradition for building some amazing aquariums, one of them begin this one which you should not miss out on, should you ever stop by Copenhagen.  New York aquarium is nothing like it. But it is small and cozy and we had a great time before we headed down to the boardwalk, had lunch at the diner and then headed down to the beach to play in the snow.

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På det der skulle vise sig at blive New Yorks sidste rigtige vinterdag, besluttede mine døtre og jeg, at gøre noget rigtigt sommerligt. Vi tænkte nemlig, at det var tid til at tage en tur til stranden. Coney Island er kendt for sin fantastiske sandstrand, sin hyggelige og lidt 80’er agtige promenade, det gamle tivoli og det lille akvarium. Og så ligger det kun en subway tur på 20-minutters tid fra vores hus. Og selvom jeg som de fleste andre nok ville foretrække at tage dertil, på en dag hvor temperaturen når over de 20 grader, er det en  ganske særlig oplevelse at stå på den brede strand når den er dækket i sne. Vi startede med et kort besøg på det lille men hyggelige akvarium, gik så tur på promenaden, spiste frokost på den amerikanske diner og sluttede med at lege i sneen på den smukke strand.

Last week it was winter break here in New York. And since we only moved here 4 month ago, we decided to stay in town and try out some of the kid friendly attractions the city has to offer. It was extremely cold, so we mainly went for indoor activities. Maybe you feel like trying some of them out, if you should ever end up in New York with young kids when it is freezing cold outside.

Here you have our 5 indoor favorite things to do with kids in New York:

1. American National History Museum Both my kids love to walk around and look at the dinosaurs, the butterflies and the huge selection of taxidermy animals. Read more here.

2. Brooklyn Children’s Museum A colorful and playful museum especially made for kids. Go shopping in “World-Brooklyn”, play with water, study plants, draw or participate in one of the many events held through out the day. Read more here.

3. New York Public Library If your kids like to read books, then they will love the huge kids space at the New York Public Library. Here you will find all kind of books, a weekly lego building event and cozy environment. Read more here.

4. Children’s Museum of Manhattan Another kids museum located in Manhattan. Theme-based exhibitions, daily activities, hands-on activities and an interactive environment. Read more here.

5. Schwarz Toy Store This is actually just a toy store. But with the huge size, the great selection of stuffed animals that comes in all sizes and big piano on which you can dance and play at the same time, you can easily spend an hour or two at this place. And believe it or not, we have often been there without spending any money. Read more here.

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Sidste uge var skolernes vinterferie her i New York. Og da det kun er 4 måneder siden vi flyttede hertil, besluttede vi at blive i byen og udforske nogle af dens børnevenlige attraktioner. Og fordi temperaturen ofte var nede på – 10 grader, gik vi hele ugen igennem efter indendørs ting. Måske du skulle få lyst til at udforske nogle af dem, hvis du på et tidspunkt skulle befinde dig i New York med små børn.

Her er 5 af vores indendørs børnevenlige favoritter:

1. American National History Museum Ligesom alle andre børn, elsker min døtre at gå rundt og se på sommerfugle, dinosaurus skeletter og udstoppede dyr. Læs mere her.

2. Brooklyn Children’s Museum Et fint lille børnemuseum med masser af ting at give sig til. Brug et par timer her, hvis du alligevel er ude for at udforske Brooklyns mange fine områder. Læs mere her.

3. New York Public Library Hvis dit barn godt kan lide at kigge i bøger og læse, så vil han eller hun helt sikkert elske byens smukke bibliotek, der har et kæmpet rum indrettet kun til børnebøger og aktiviteter. Læs mere her.

4. Children’s Museum of Manhattan Et andet børnemuseum, der byder på tema-baserede udstillinger, daglige aktiviteter og learning by doing. Bemærk at man ikke må spise på museet, så sørg for at få fodret små poder inden i går ind. Læs mere her.

5. Schwarz Toy Store Det kan godt være det bare er en legetøjsbutik. Men med den enorme størrelse (tænk et mini Magasin kun med legetøj) dens kæmpe udvalg i tøjdyr, der kommer i alle størrelser, og det store gulv-klaver, hvor børn (og barnlige sjæle) kan danse og spille klaver på samme tid, kan der let bruges en time eller to herinde. Perfekt at kombinere med en gåtur i Central Park. Læs mere her.

After a quick stop in London, we are now back in Denmark. And while the kids began their stay with some days in our summer cottage together with their grandparents, my husband and I stayed at a hotel less than 10 minutes walk from our old apartment. I visited my old hair dresser, saw old friends, did a bit of work and met old colleagues.  I have constantly been met with a warm welcome home, and my answer so far has been thank you, it is good to be back.

But it raises a question. Cause what is actually home, when you just moved away from the place that has been your home for most of your life? It has only been three month since we moved to New York and here in Copenhagen everything is exactly like it was when we left. Except from the fact, that for me everything is different. My shoes are not here, my books are not here, my apartment is inhabited by strangers and my eldest daughter had to get an acceptance from her school in New York to even come here. Now we are all in our countryside cottage. The snow is falling and I cannot wait to go back home tomorrow. To Brooklyn that is. Because that is where my pillow is at the moment. And so for now, I have decided that this is my home.

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Efter et kort besøg i London er vi nu tilbage i København. Og mens vores børn startede opholdet her med et par dage i vores sommerhus sammen med deres bedsteforældre, boede min mand og jeg på et hotel, der ligger mindre end 10 minutters gang fra vores gamle lejlighed. Jeg har været forbi min gamle frisør, har mødt gamle venner, arbejdet og mødt tidligere kollegaer. Alle steder er jeg blevet mødt med et varm velkommen hjem, og mit svar har været tak, det er godt at være tilbage. Og det er det.

Men det rejser et spørgsmål. For hvad er egentlig hjem, når du lige er flyttet fra den by, der har været dit hjem de sidste 15 år? Det er kun tre måneder siden vi tog afsted til New York, og her i København er alt stadig det samme. Lige med den undtagelse at alt er anderledes for mig. Mine sko er her ikke, mine bøger er her ikke, der bor fremmede mennesker i vores lejlighed og min ældste datter skulle have en godkendelse fra sin skole i New York for overhovedet at få lov, til at tage hertil. Hun elsker at bo og gå i skole i New York.
Lige nu er vi alle i vores sommerhus. Sneen falder og efter to uger på farten glæder jeg mig nu bare til at komme hjem. Til Brooklyn altså. For det er nu engang der, hvor min pude befinder sig for tiden.