Sunday evening at Parc de l’Indépendance

danger! danger!

Apparently a keyring full of keys is a baby hazard. I didn't know. Last week while the big kids were at school Muriel and I went to a cafe with Sandra, Alex, and baby Coralie. I had the above set of keys attached to a pacifier clip and was letting Muriel play with them. It wasn't too long before the little old lady sitting next to us came over with a very worried look on her face and told me that keys were very dangerous and I shouldn't let Muriel have them. I didn't know what to say, especially in french, so I just said merci. So snappy! Alex said I should have told her that the cigarette she was smoking was dangerous.

I'm still puzzling over why keys are dangerous. Muriel couldn't possibly swallow one. Germs? Poking an eye out? It's a mystery.

80 Potiers dans les tulipes

This weekend there was a pottery fair at the park. We attempted to go on Sunday as a family, but the sailing school was having practice out on the lake. There were big canon-like sounding booms involved, which didn't go over well with Rowan. And Muriel was fussy (again). So Pat took them home while Niamh and I looked around.

The Swiss love their cows, even in art:

There were a lot of other nice things too--your standard vases, mugs, bowls, plates, etc. I thought these dragons were pretty cute:

And when we were leaving Niamh spotted some dandelions that she just had to paint her chin yellow with (a trick from Aunt Amanda).

blasphemy

I'm a little bit embarrassed to say that I enjoyed the chocolates from Palomas, a random chocolatier Amanda and I came across while wandering around Lyon, much more than the Bernachon chocolates. But really, what can you expect from a girl who thinks a marshmallow peep would pair well with a chocolate from a world famous chocolatier?

bathroom break

Niamh is doing pretty well with the potty. We're almost much accident free at this point, except at school where I think she's too shy to ask the teachers for help. She's even waking up at night to use the potty--not an entirely good thing for her already sleep deprived parents. I'm glad she's out of diapers, but Niamh on the potty is definitely a lot more work than Niamh in diapers.

Slide!

The ride down the big slide at Labyrinthe Adventure.

Swine flu

Only 25%?

Labyrinthe Aventure

On Saturday we got a Mobility car and spent the day at Labyrinthe Aventure. When we first got there it looked pretty sad--everything a little shabby and worn out. Quite a few of the games were broken. It was very windy, and the children didn't want to do anything. The labyrinth was not so great with three small children who don't see the fun in being lost in a maze of paths. After about forty-five minutes we gave up and went back out through the entrance.

After we left the maze Rowan and Niamh became much less timid and were able to get into the different activities. The slight shabbiness of the amusement park didn't matter so much with happy kids. All in all it was a pretty good day, though would have been better with a happier baby. One who perhaps doesn't hate carseats, strollers, baby carriers, and sleeping outside of her own bed.

Rowan and Niamh both loved the ball pit and the trampolines:

They were too young for most of the games. Rowan would have been happy to just run around shooting fire at people with sticks:

Here's Pat playing a giant version of a game he always plays at his grandparent's house:

The slide structure:

Pat and I coming down the tallest slide with Niamh. She had a blast on the slides. Rowan refused to even go up the steps.

No, that's not a baby in peril. Just Muriel taking a short (too short) snooze. I guess there's more than one use for a Moby wrap:

I don't think jelly beans should do this:

Pat was opening this tin egg (it was a little tough to pull apart) in the kitchen, and when it finally opened the jelly beans inside scattered all over the tile floor, many of them shattering. That is just not right. Unfortunately, these are the only kind of jelly bean, other than overpriced jelly bellys, that I was able to find in Morges. At least the purchase wasn't a total loss--I really like the tin eggs that held the ersatz jelly beans (look at me throwing out the Lemony Snicket vocab!).

There is a confection which can be found at a local boulangerie that looks similar to a jelly bean, but the texture is totally different. They are kind of crunchy with a little bit of a liquid inside. I don't know what they're called, but they are fabulous! They don't however make a suitable jelly bean substitute.

Our Weekend

Mostly, this was our weekend:

hoping that soon we'll be down to just one in diapers!

But there was also some of this:

tucking in Mr. Dragon

making pancakes

And Sunday breakfast at Fornerod:

And of course, some time by the lake:

Kid's Meal!

Kid's meals in France consist of fries and ham.

Fun with packing peanuts

Rowan and Niamh thank Grammie and Bumpa for the packing peanuts! I wasn't able to get a picture that adequately captured a) the joy, delight, and exuberance created by the combination of one boy, one girl, and a box of packing peanuts and b) the surprisingly large mess created by the combination of one boy, one girl, and a box of packing peanuts.

Random Friday Evening Photo

Tonight dinner was about minimal effort for a real food (last night's scrounge fest wasn't going to cut it two nights in a row). I made the kids toasted cheese sandwiches and then went out to get an adult dinner while Pat gave the Rowan and Niamh a bath.

I took the above picture while I waited for our sub-par asian take out (Lee's Asian, how I miss you!). I only felt a very tiny twinge of shame when upon my return I told Rowan that he wouldn't like our dinner because it was spicy spinach noodles.

Aunt Amanda left bright and early this morning, and should be nearly home (or home already!) by now. We had a great visit with the Daigles and hope that they will be able to visit again!

Ducky Love

Muriel has started to become attached to this little duck. The other day near the end of her normal naptime I heard squeals coming from her room. When I peeked in she was gleefully rolling around in her crib with the duck.

This duck was in Rowan's first Easter basket when he was six months old--the same basket that held his Alleegah. He never cared for it (the duck, of course), and neither did Niamh, so it was passed on to Muriel.

And for those of you who wanted to actually see Muriel in focus:

Time Outs Across Europe: Niamh's turn

In Breuschwickersheim

Le Wäedele grillé grantiné au Munster

I am not exactly sure what "Le Wäedele grillé grantiné au Munster" is, but this is what Emily and I had for dinner one night in Alsace. I think it looked better on the plate than it tasted. Don't get me wrong - it was good, but we had high expectations for a huge hunk of meat covered in Munster.

I actually messed up and got the version without the Munster, so I had to sneak some of Emily's. All in all it was a good meal and the kids behaved (more or less). We were lucky to get a table for six without reservations, as the restaurant was very busy.

Niamh sleeping in Breushwickersheim