Swiss School Info

Here is an excerpt from the Exapt Moms listserv regarding school. It looks like Niamh and Rowan will be a year apart in school.

In Morges (Vaud) the cut-off date is June 30th (i.e. they have to have turned 4 before that date in order to enter ecole enfantine that same year). School here normally starts the last week of August. The first two years ("ecole enfantine") are non-obligatory (although this will likely change in the future) and obligatory school - "ecole primaire" - starts when children are 6/7 (i.e. two years later).

In Morges there is flexibility with regards to admission if the child is born between May 1st and August 31st (you can present a request to have your child put 1 year ahead or behind) although rules are likely to become stricter in the future - in fact, this option may already no longer exist (I am not sure). On very rare occasions, children who do extremely well may go on to "proper" primary school after just one year, whilst those who don't do so well may be kept in ecole enfantine for a third
year.

In Morges, the fist two years of ecole enfantine have no real syllabus, and no formal assessments are made. The education of the children seems to be at the discretion of their teacher. They are quite reticent to teach reading & writing skills because, in the light of the small minority of children that do not attend school until it is compulsory, they want to avoid their pupils becoming "ahead" of the peers that will join them later on. However, in the view that in Morges, at least, virtually all children attend the first two non-compulsory years, they do seem to teach these skills.

Children have the same teacher for the two initial years. In Morges (and probably elsewhere) children from the first year share the class with those of the second.

Underwear!

Rowan has progressed to being able to sleep in underwear at night. I was happy for the temporary reduction in diaper usage, but Niamh compensated by having a leaky diaper last night.

Rowan's thoughts on the election

Rowan and I were walking back from the bakery when he announced that Hillary Clinton wasn't going to be the president. He says that Barack Obama and John McCain will be.

He can't identify Palin yet, which seems odd because she is on CNN every time I turn the TV on.

Will I be qualified to help with homework?

Here is an excerpt from an email from the expat Yahoo group. I read it multiple times and still was still confused by the assignment. I guess I have a lot to learn before Rowan goes to school.

My son is in the 1st Klasse of Swiss school. He is learning letter sounds
by cutting out pictures of mouth shapes which represent the sounds. His homework
today consists of two words which are shown as 4 different faces, with different
mouth shapes. He has to draw a picture of the word.He can't figure out one mouth
shape, and I've gone through the letters of the alphabet with him, but we are
still nowhere nearer to working it out. It has a slightly open mouth, showing
the teeth and lines coming out of the nose. I thought it might be n, but he
insists that it isn't.

Bumpa Mike?

Niamh has been very interested in The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR for the past few days. She screams "BUMPA!" as soon as she sees this page.

First day back

Today was Rowan's first day back at preschool. He was very excited. One of his friends from last year is back, so that made him happy.

Swiss Radio

Here is a link to Swiss radio stations that broadcast over the internet. I tried to listen to one at work today and discovered that trying to translate from french and writing SQL is a bit too difficult for my brain.

The rights of 'social' animals

Interesting news from Switzerland.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3818457.ece

A trip to the dentist

Rowan did okay at the dentist. He was a bit scared when he first met the dentist, but didn't have any major screaming fits. The dentist took an x-ray and there don't seem to be any major issues. The dentist wants to do a 20-30 minute procedure, but Rowan needs to be able to sit still for that. It isn't urgent, so he recommended it happen next June.

We'll fill out the accident form with our health insurance provider so that there is a record of what happened and that we went to the dentist.

Je voudrais un rendez-vous pour mon fils.

Rowan fell on his face last week and one of his front teeth is starting to turn dark. We decided to take him to the dentist to see if anything is wrong. I went to the dentist office and said "Je voudrais un rendez-vous pour mon fils (I would like an appointment for my son.)" The conversation went a little further in french before switching to english.

Rowan's appoint is on Thursday, so I'm sure I'll have more to write tomorrow night. He seems fairly excited and he has been practicing opening his mouth as wide as he can.

As for my opening sentence, it should have been "Je voudrais faire un rendez-vous pour mon fils." That translates to "I would like to make an appointment for my son."

I used google translate to determine how to say "his tooth is becoming dark" and the translator provided text that meant that "his tooth was night fall." I'm glad I reviewed it with a coworker before going to the dentist.

Eight months later

It only took eight months, but I think my US taxes are done with seven weeks to spare. I'm hoping the process will be a bit easier next year, since I'll have one individual do both by US and Swiss taxes. This year I had the same company do my taxes, but the US taxes were done in the US and the Swiss taxes done by someone in Switzerland.

I'll also try to do them on my own to see if I get the same answers. I'm not too worried about Turbo Tax, but the tool for the Canton of Vaud (where Morges is located) is only in French.

One qualified and one working on it.

I think Rowan is a fully qualified engineer now. He can flip the switches and use the control panel for changing speed and direction, turn the lights go on and off , and blow the whistle. He can also get the trains setup on the track.

Niamh has only figured out how to stop the train, but at least she likes to help clean up the track when we are done.

Problem solved

There was a typo with the cupcake recipe. The copy I received indicated I should use 1/5th of an ounce of flour, but it should have been 1.5 cups. We don't have anymore cream cheese, so I'll get some at the store on Monday and try again.

I don't think they were supposed to turn out like this.

I have been given a few suggestions on what to do with the almost expired choloclate chips. One of those suggestions was a cupcake recipe. Everything was going fairly well. I looked in the oven window after about eight minutes of baking and everything looked normal. Two minutes later I smelled something funny. I looked in the oven and this is what I saw:

Three days in a row

Rowan's diaper was dry for the third morning in a row. I think he'll be going to sleep in underwear next week if this keeps up. Niamh is not showing much interest in using the toilet. I've heard kids regress when a new baby arrives, so we probably won't start working with her until after #3 arrives.

Favorite Video

Here is Rowan's favorite video. I think he has the entire thing memorized. Our goal is to ride all the different types of trains shown in the video.

• TGV
• Thalys
• ICE
• Eurostar

I guess I was wrong

I thought we decided on a name, but I think I was wrong. Emily just asked what I thought of two names. I couldn't pronounce one of them, so I think it has been taken off the list.

For those her are interested, here are my aunt's suggestions for good Irish names:

1. Molly McCann
2. Grace McCann
3. Rosie McCann
4. Tadhgan McCann
5. Meg McCann
6. Rhian McCann
7. Nory McCann
8. Sinead McCann
9. Mairenne McCann
10. Fiona McCann

#3 update

Emily had a doctor appointment yesterday. #3 is currently 2 kilos and the doctor expects her to be about 4 kilos at birth. The baby is measuring at the top end of the measurement scales, but the weights don't seem to align with that.

An extra week of summer vacation

The entire family was excited that Rowan was heading back to Jardin d'enfants (preschool) next week, but it turns out that the preschool doesn't use the exact schedule as the regular schools. Rowan doesn't start until September 2nd.

He will go Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays from 8:30 to 11:30. Here is his vacation schedule:

Sept 22: Jeune Federal
Oct 10-27: fall vacation
Dec 19-Jan 5: winter vacation
Feb 13-23: Relaches (I'm not sure what this is, but I believe the entire country goes skiing.)
Apr 3-20: easter vacation
May 21-22: Ascension
June 1: Pentecost

His last day will be July 3rd.

We hope to get Niamh into the same schedule when she turns 2.5. I believe that is the minimum age.

Broken Bun is now just Damaged Bun

A friend fixed Rowan's broken bun. It now has two ears. The newly reattached ear is still stained and ripped, but at least the ear is attached again. Rowan is very happy.

Suggestions please

Before we left the US we purchased a few items in bulk, as very little, if anything, is sold in bulk here. One of the items was Nestle Semi-Sweet Morsels. We have about 1.25 72 ounce bags left and the use by date is next month. Anyone have any recommendations on what to do with them? I could make seven batches of cookies, but I don't have room to store them.

More sailing

I went sailing with my coworkers on Wednesday. We had good weather and wind. We tried to go around the fountain in Geneva, but we didn't have that much wind. We'll try again next week.

I think we need to go to Bern

I'm not sure what is more disturbing.

1. Someone designed it
2. Someone displayed it

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7558129.stm

Rowan learned how to...

...open the car door from the inside. The bad news is that we were headed down the auto route at about 120 kph when he did it. We pulled over and shut the door, but he freaked out and screamed for a bit. I'm guessing he won't be doing that for a while. I've also make a mental note to check the Mobility cars to ensure the doors can't be opened from the inside.

Midwives

Midwives or sage-femmes seem to play a bigger role in the childbirth in Switzerland than in the US. Many people here use a midwife and I think one will deliver the baby if Emily's doctor can't make it to the hospital on time. The midwife association has a website with what I assume is good information, but I haven't struggled through it yet.

Getting ready to complete the trilogy

If everything goes as planned, #3 will be born in the Morges Hospital. My understanding is that we can request a private room, but even then Emily might need to share a bathroom. If the baby is ill or premature, it might be transferred to CHUV, which is the cantonal hospital.

Other items of interest:

• Prenatal checkups will be about every 4 weeks until the 7th or 8th month when they become every three weeks.
• The hospital stay is normally 4to 7 days and could be longer if there is a C section.
• There are prep classes, préparation pour l'accouchement,but I'm not sure if we'll attend.
• Fathers do not typically attend the classes in Switzerland
• The local social security office will offer a 'consultation pour nourissons et petits enfants.' This is a weekly visit where a nurse will check the child's wight and height.

And the name is....

...a secret! I think we've decided on both the first and midlle names, but won't be sharing them until the birth. What's the point of sharing a name that the Swiss government might reject. Anyway, there are only about 66 days left until the reveal.

Did someone sneak her some eggs?

Niamh had issues last night. She started screaming about 30 minutes after going to bed, so I went in and told her to go back to sleep. All was well for a little while. She started screaming after another 30 minutes, so I went back in and rolled her over. I knew something was wrong as soon as I touched her. She had puked on the sheets, pillow and blanket. We got her up and changed the sheets. Right as we were finishing with the bed she started to puke again. We moved quick, but not quick enough - she puked all over the bathroom floor and her father's shorts.

This earned her the privilege of not having to go straight back to bed. She sat on the couch with Emily for a while and then proceeded to puke on the living room floor and Emily's pants. She calmed down after a while and went back to sleep. A couple hours later she woke up screaming again because she had thrown up on her pillow.

She's now been asleep, or at least quiet, for the last 7.5 hours and I'm hoping to find a clean bed when I wake her up.

UPDATE: The bed was not clean.

Photos of the end of the world

I know I've posted on this topic before, but I wanted to share some photos of what could destroy Earth.

A trip to Swiss Vapeur Parc

The kids and I went to Swiss Vapeur Parc today. I took a rather poor video of the main loop to share, but it turns out the video is more than Blogger or Youtube can handle. I tried to shrink the video down, but it still ended up at 3 GB.

I think a good time was had by all. We would have stayed longer, but Niamh missed her nap and was falling asleep on the rides. It was difficult to fight for seats while carrying a sleepy two year old.

We'll (or maybe I'll) go back before number 3 arrives.

Ireland: Day 9

We headed home on day 9. The first discovery was that the Dublin airport was very crowded. It took about 30 minutes to check in and we were only 5th in line. The conveyor belt broke, so luggage was being stacked everywhere. Thanks to the stroller we were able to use the priority line in security. They didn't make us put the stroller in the x-ray machine, which is what normally happens. Emily purchased the Trinity College sweatshirt she had been looking for the past eight days. The flight was bout 45 minutes late, which is never good when traveling with the under 3 crowd.

I tried to get a fairly inexpensive flight, so from Dublin we flew to Munich and then to Zurich. Rowan was a bit sad because he wanted to ride a 747 and the plane was an A321. Since the flight was late we had to hurry to our connecting flight at the Munich airport. Unfortunately, the airport was not well designed for strollers and wheel chairs. First, it took about 10 minutes for the gate checked strollers to be delivered, then there were stairs that had to be climbed. There was also an elevator, but only employees could operate it and there weren't any employees in sight. The stroller was carried up the stairs and then we raced to security where the stroller had to go through the x-ray machine. I then had to carry the stroller down the next jetway, as I didn't want to wait for someone to operate the elevator. We had to ride a bus to the airplane, which Rowan enjoyed. He freaked out when we got to the airplane, because it was a Dash 8-400 and he wanted the "big white airplane" (747). The good news is that he got to sit right by the wing so he could watch the landing gear go up and down. The plane also flew fairly low so he could see the scenery.

Once we got to the Zurich airport we had to clear customs. I think we arrived just after a plane from the Mid-East, as the line moved very slowly. Once we got to the front the stroller couldn't make the corner, so I had to disassemble it to get to baggage claim. We took the train from the Zurich airport to Morges. I splurged and got first class tickets for three reasons:

1. First class coaches are almost always empty, so the kids can run around. (our coach was empty almost the entire trip)
2. There is more baggage storage in 1st class, so I don't have to carry are stuff around until we find a seat.
3. The seats are wider, so the kids have more room to play.

The only problem with the train was that it left right after we arrived, so we didn't have time to get water/dinner. We decided to get water on the train, but the restaurant car in our section of the train was closed. Rowan and I got off the train at one station and went to the other section of the train(this train was actually two trains linked together). We got the water and then went back to our section of the train at the next stop.

All in all is was eight and a half hours from the time we left Dublin until we arrived in Morges. Dinner was purchaed at the McDonalds in Morges.

Ireland: Day 8

We left our rental on day eight and headed back towards Dublin. We decided to go to the Rock of Cashel (above) on the way. It took 4-5 hours to get to there from Portmagee, so we were a little beat down when we got there. It was interesting, but I'm not really sure if it was worth going out of our way. I can't believe that Rick Steves gave it three triangles(his highest rating). We ate a very good lunch in a little pub before getting back in the car.

Rowan got really excited about "feeding the car," so he helped me put gas in the car. The traffic was horrible as we got near Dublin, so the last 40 km took a long time. Oddly enough, earlier in the trip we listened to a radio call in show where people were referring to this section of road as "the Dublin parking lot." We stayed at a hotel at the airport to make things easier the next morning.

I think it was the most exhausting day of the trip and I ended up with a migraine. I got to test out my Swiss migraine medicine and it seemed to work. It didn't make my heart feel like it was going to pop out of my chest, so that was a definite improvement.

Ireland: Day 7

This was a fairly relaxing day. In the morning we went to the local cafe for a snack and internet access. After that we went to see cliffs just west of Portmagee. The cliffs were supposedly voted the best in County Kerry, but they weren't all that impressive. The view from the cliffs was free, but we had to pay to cross a farmer's land. I could tell we weren't the only ones expecting a free attraction.

That afternoon we went to get ice cream on a Valentia Island farm. The ice cream had eggs in it, so Niamh was unable to participate in the fun. The ice cream was good, but not great.

Even faster than expected

I got my passport back two days earlier than anticipated. I can't believe it! Now we need to travel so we can fill it up again.

Swiss Health Care on NPR

Here is a link to an All Things Considered article/audio track regarding the Swiss medical system. It made me realize that my company probably pays a larger portion of the premiums than I realized.

Sailing!

I went sailing with a few of my coworkers last night. The company club has a boat docked about halfway to Geneva. The club has been on a waiting list for a spot inside the harbor for awhile, so the boat is still tied to a buoy outside the harbor. This means we had to paddle out in a very small little boat. It was a very tight fit for 3 people and backpacks.

The wind was fairly calm, so in typical Swiss tradition, wine was poured. A few minutes later the wind picked up, the boat tilted, the water came up to the windows on one side, and wine was spilled everywhere. It made for an exciting couple of minutes. All in all it was a good evening and I plan to go back out next week.

5 stores later...

...I found the bubble bath.

It seems like such a simple thing to find, but I went to three grocery stores, 1 department store, and a pharmacy before finding this. Then I got home and Rowan didn't even want the bubble bath that he had been begging for.

Documentation needed

Here is the documentation needed to get #3 setup in Switzerland and the US.

Switzerland

• Certified copy of my birth certificate (issued in the last 6 months)
• Certified copy of Emily's birth certificates (issued in the last 6 months)
• Certified copy of our marriage certificate (issued in the last 6 months)
• I assume we'll also need to show our residence permits, but that hasn't been on any of the lists I've seen yet

US

• DS-2029 (I think this is the "report of birth abroad" form)
• DS-11 (passport form)
• SS-5 (application for US social security number)
• #3's Swiss birth certificate
• #3's Swiss birth certificate
• My passport
• Emily's passport
• Certified copy of our marriage certificate

Both Emily and I will need to go with #3 (and probably #1 and #2) to the consulate in Geneva. I'm guessing 4-5 months before everything is done and we have a US passport and social security number in our hands.

Ireland: Day 6

On day six we drove the Ring of Skellig using Rick Steves' self guided tour. We drove from Portmagee to Waterville, where the kids had a great time playing on the beach. We also got two different farmhouse cheddars. I didn't get a photo of those cheeses. I like the mature and Emily like the regular. Emily and I also had great smoked salmon sandwiches.

We then drove to BallinSkelligs and visited an old monastery and castle. The then visited the Skelligs Chocolate Factory. The had free samples, which were appreciated by all. We purchased a package of hot chocolate that we'll try when the weather cools down a bit.

The road from there to Portmagee was very narrow. It was the worst part of driving in Ireland. The photo below is of Portmagee from the top of a nearby hill.

McCann Girls

The girls put their feet up for a little rest after having breakfast.

Cakes!

Emily's birthday was last Wednesday. Rowan woke up, said happy birthday, and demanded that they make a cake. They spent the morning making the cake on the left. I didn't know that they were making a cake, so I picked a cake (the one on the right) up at the local bakery. Since both of these items had eggs, there were also egg free cup cakes for Niamh.

The cake Emily and Rowan made was very good, but the one from the bakery was only acceptable. I think it looks much better than it actually was.

Switzerland Climbs World Ladder

From the Swiss embassy:

Switzerland ranks first in Europe and fourth in the world (behind the U.S.,
Singapore and Hong Kong) in global competitiveness, according to the World
Competitiveness Yearbook. The report was released on May 15 by the Lausanne-based business school, the IMD. This result marks a climb in two places from last
year’s yearbook, where Switzerland placed sixth overall. According to the report, Switzerland was a leader in economic growth, infrastructure and taxation; businesses in Switzerland benefited from the country’s health and education systems and from its traditional political stability. To hold its competitive edge in coming years, it will be key for Switzerland to invest not only in economic infrastructure but also in public infrastructure such as quality of life, security of private property, and sustainable development, according to Lausanne’s World Competitiveness Center. The IMD’s annual competitiveness study is now in its 20th year.

Airplane!

One of our favorite activities in Morges is to look at the planes as they head towards Geneva. In these photos Rowan is looking at what I think is a Saudi Airlines 747

Two acceptable cheeses

These two cheeses were acceptable, but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to try them. I think I've decided I like white cheddar better than red/orange.

5 days? I can't believe it is that fast.

I had to send my passport to the embassy in Bern to get additional pages added to it. I asked how long it would take and was told that it would take 5 working days including transit. I mailed it on Saturday, so I should get it back on Friday. I can't imagine it can be done that quick, since the expedited service in the US takes something like two weeks.

Niamh: TMB (too much booty)

We went for a walk on Friday to listen to the music being played on the Grand Rue. Niamh's diaper was a bit full and wouldn't stay up, so every time she squatted down she showed TMB.

Oak Smoked

This was Emily's second favorite of the cheeses we tried in Ireland. I'm not a big fan of smoked cheeses, but I did eat my share of it. In fact, I think we had to go back to the store and get another package.

Ireland: Day 5

I messed up the order of the blogs. The activities below actually occurred on day 4 and the activities listed in the day 4 entry happened on day 5.

----------------------------------------------------

We drove from Portmagee to Dingle, which took about two hours. We wondered around the waterfront for a few minutes before heading to the aquarium. It was small, but interesting. Niamh really enjoyed touching the sting rays. We then headed to the James G. Ashe pub for lunch. After lunch we headed out to follow Rick Steves' self guided tour. The distances in his book did not match our odometer, but they were close. Here are the highlights from the tour:

• Dunbeg fort
• Kavanaugh cottage- abandoned 150 years ago. It has a few artifacts and tries to show what life was like during the famine(side note: I listened to a radio program that stated that the Irish refer to that time period as a hunger, not a famine. There was plenty of food, but those in power sold the food outside of Ireland.) We ran into a small issue while feeding the animals that were part of the exhibit. Two of the goats stuck their head through the same small opening when trying to get some food and got stuck. It took them a minute, but they worked themselves out.
• More clochans (beehive huts)
• a beach
• Gallarus Oratory This is technically free, but the individual who owns the property charges you to walk across his property. Since it is more or less another clochan, we decided not to pay and went on our way.
• Church of Kilmalkedar- this is where the kids fell asleep and our camera battery died.

It took about 90 minutes to get back to Portmagee in the evening.

Tour de Suisse

I hadn't heard of the Tour de Suisse prior to moving here and barely heard anything about it when it was actually happening due to the madness related to the European football championship.

This year's race barely made it into the french speaking part of the country, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I didn't hear much about it.

Swiss vs. US Orthotics (Orthosis)

I recently got new inserts for my shoes. The insert on the left in the photo is from the US. The doctor in Switzerland looked at it and immediately said that they don't make them like that in Switzerland anymore. The model from the US has hard plastic and is very rigid. The doctor in Morges says it is too rigid.

The insert on the right is from Switzerland and is much softer. The other main difference is that the inserts from Switzerland have a large ridge/bump in the middle so that more pressure is put on my toes. I guess my toes are not being used to support my weight, which could be a problem at some point.

The process for getting the inserts was a little different in Switzerland compared to the US. In the US the doctor held my foot in the desired position and took a mold. A few weeks later I had my inserts. In Switzerland they took a scan of my feet and then I stepped into a box filled with a foam like substance that I guess made a mold. Four days later I had the inserts. The US inserts are much more comfortable, but I'm not sure if that is because they aren't actually doing much support. The Swiss inserts hurt quite a bit. I plan on waiting a few weeks to see if it is just a matter of getting used to them or if there is an issue. My french lessons haven't really covered orthotics, so I may have missed something in the discussion with the doctor.

Ireland: Day 4

Emily went to Skellig Michael on day 4. It took about 90 minutes by boat and she got to spend two hours on the island. She was even allowed to use the Monk's outhouse because she was pregnant. She had been worried because there was a big sign at the dock on the island indicating that there weren't any toilet facilities.

She was thrilled to see the dolphins swimming by the boat on the way to the island.

The kids and I went grocery shopping and took a nap.

Gestational Diabetes?

Emily was tested for Gestational Diabetes today. It was three hours of drinking at least 16 ounces of sugar water, wanting to vomit, and having four vials of blood taken. The worst part was that she couldn't eat for about 11 hours. The test results should be back later this week.

The doctor's main concern is that Niamh was a huge baby, even though #3 seems to be normal size.

Snuggle Worthy

Niamh has finally decided that I'm worthy of being snuggled. The photo shows us in her favorite snuggle position.

Ireland: Day 3

On Day 3 we stayed near Cahersiveen. We visited the Cahergal stone fort (above). It is amazing how smooth the walls of the fort were. We also went to Ballycarbery Castle, but there was barbed wire around the castle to keep people away. Emily is a bit more hardcore than I am and she went through the wire(there was a spot where others had clearly done the same) and went up to the castle. She found it very interesting.

After a nap back at the house we went to the Skellig Experience Center on Valentia Island. There was a good video overview and we were the only ones there, so the kids could play on the theater steps without bothering anyone.

Anyone read Gaelic?

Many signs in Ireland are written in both Gaelic and English. The sign above is from Cahersiveen. The sign below is from a post office on Valentia Island.

Kit Kat Dark!

Kit Kat Dark are not available in Switzerland and I don't think they are available in the US any longer. This is an excellent candy bar and is probably my favorite. It was voted Product of the Year in 2008 in the Chocolate Confectionery Category of the Consumer Survey of Product Innovation.

The Nestle site has information on the history of Kit Kats. Did you know the packages used to be blue? I learned that a special formula is used in Malaysia, where they make the Kit Kats sold in warm climates. That might explain why the Kit Kats I've had in Malaysia are almost as bad as Dubliner cheese.

Ireland: Day 2

We ate an okay breakfast at the hotel. Rowan got to eat as much toast as he wanted, so he was happy. We then walked about a quarter of a mile to the nearest Airlink stop to take the bus to the airport. That bus only comes every 30 minutes, we just missed one, and the bus was late, so we had to wait for about 40 minutes. One of the ladies on the bus didn't want me to stack my bags on top of hers even though she had spread her bags out across the entire baggage area. The stroller ended up getting stacked on her stuff.

We got to the airport and found our rental car. The car seats that Avis rented us were not the best, but they did the job. We spent the next six hours driving to Portmagee, which is where our rental house was.

We found the house without any issues. The house had a peat fire, which was interesting. It is much harder to get a peat fire going than a wood fire. Outside the house there were two huge piles of pieces of peat that I'm assuming had been gathered locally.

We found some "Dingle Gold" cheese at the local store. Emily and I both liked this cheese.

Rowan got up once that night because he couldn't find his bun, but Niamh slept through the night.

Cashel Blue

Neither Emily nor I are big blue cheese fans, but Cashel Blue was good melted over soda bread and ham.

Ireland: The third half of the 1st day.

Dinner was at the Bewley's Cafe on Grafton Street. The food was okay, but they have a good children's menu. The kids menu had bread sticks(which weren't delivered), pizza, ice cream and a drink. Emily and I also had pizza. The kids and I had fairly standard pizzas, but Emily had a spiced lamb pizza. She was not impressed. In addition, the pizzas were not cut and they were very difficult to cut with our dull butter knifes.

It was a Rick Steves recommendation, but I'd skip it.

The last stop that day was at Dunne's to get some diapers for the kids(primarily Niamh). While I was there I picked up some cheese. I chose Dubliner cheese. It might have been my worst decision of the trip. The cheese was horrible. The company should be shut down immediately and the management should be taken into the streets and beaten. Not even the Irish version of Ritz crackers could save it.

The kids slept through the night, so the day ended on a good note.

Driving in Ireland

It wasn't as scary as I had assumed, but there were a few instances of Emily getting this horrified face as her side of car got a little too close to the cars/grass/rock walls on the edge of the road.

I decided to get the super CDW(complete insurance) for the following reasons:

1. We do not have any car insurance that would cover a rental.
2. Based on previous experience I assume my credit card company would make things very difficult if they had to pay.
3. I assumed there would be some damage to the car.
4. Super CDW only left me responsible for 4 tires and the car keys.

There were a few scratches on the left side of the car, but not that I would consider major. The majority of the damage was caused when Emily was getting out of the car and the wind blew the door open into the metal gutter downspout a the house.

I was concerned about shifting with my left hand, but that was not an issue. I am glad the pedals were in the same position, otherwise I'm sure I would have had problems.

The road signs in Ireland are fairly confusing. In some instances the signs would indicate that the speed limit was increasing, but there would be big signs that say SLOW. The dotted line in the middle to indicate that passing was okay normally had one of the following issues:

• it was only dotted for about 20 feet
• there was no visibility because there was a hill or a blind corner
• the road was too narrow to pass

I thought the speed limit was very high on the Ring of Kerry. At one point I tried to increase speed to get to the speed limit and was frightened before I even got close. Few cars were passing me when I drove at a comfortable speed, so I guess not many people actually drive the speed limit

I had more issues on the Ring of Skellig than anywhere else. The road was very narrow and there seemed to be lots of people going the opposite direction.

I'm willing to drive there again, but wouldn't want a larger car or to drive in a big city.

Ireland Photos

Photos of our trip to Ireland have been posted on our website. We trimmed the 450 (not counting those that were deleted prior to returning home) to 45.

Our first full day in Dublin

After breakfast we took a walk around town. We found a huge toy store that had a brand of trains, Hornby, that I had never heard of. We then walked to the General Post Office and then to Trinity College. We saw the Book of Kells and the old library. Actually, only Emily saw the old library. Before we purchased the tickets to the Book of Kells and the library(one ticket for both), Emily asked if the exhibit was stroller friendly. She was told that it was stroller friendly, so we purchased the tickets. It might be umbrella stroller friendly, especially if it is all folded up and being carried. We have a double decker stroller and I didn't feel like carrying it (and Niamh who was sleeping) up the stays to the old library, so we left after the Book of Kells. According to Emily the old library is really nice.

We went to lunch at Wagamama, which was recommended in both the Rick Steves and Lonely Planet guide books. The food was good and we got lucky with the timing. We were able to walk right in, but there was a huge line by the time we left.

After lunch we got on one of the Hop on/Hop off buses and headed to the Kilmainham Jail. It was a very informative tour, but Niamh became possessed by some sort of three-headed screaming devil so Emily took the kids outside. This is probably the highlight of the trip so far. Niamh continued her screaming on the bus after the tour, so we went back to the hotel for a little while.

Details for the third half of the day will be available soon.

An Irish breakfast

We took one of Rick Steves' recommendations and had breakfast at the Chorus Cafe (no web site). It was a good thing we weren't looking for a grease free breakfast, because we would have been unhappy. It earned two thumbs (Rowan and Pat) and index finger up(Niamh does a thumbs up with her index finger). Emily was not as impressed. Please note that it was good food, not great food. I need to do some comparisons after we've been here a while, but I think it was a good value.

We're off to see the city!

First Night in Dublin

We had pizza for dinner last night. It was close and we could bring it back to the hotel, which met my major criteria. Rowan melted down when we went for dinner, so I didn't want to try to sit in a restaurant.

The place we chose was Apache Pizza. It was okay, but not great. I think one of the pizza places in Florence set my pizza expectations a bit too high for the rest of the world.

It is now almost 7AM and I think we have survived the night. The room has a double and a single bed, plus they put a portable crib in for Niamh. We moved the single so that Rowan had more space on the floor and he slept until 5:30 (6:30 CET/Swiss). Niamh is still asleep, but did wake up once. She is getting to be too big for portable cribs and she got her body stuck and couldn't move. Emily turned into a boot camp instructor, got right in Niamh's face and told her to go back to sleep. Niamh became quite and I hasn't made a noise in the last six hours.

Rowan is sitting on the bed watching Little Einsteins on the iPod. Rowan's TV watching goes up significantly when we are on airplanes or in small hotel rooms waiting for Niamh to get up.

Emily just tried to take a shower and couldn't figure out the controls. I managed to figure it out, but not before getting extremely wet. I learned that I should always check where the shower head is pointed prior to messing with the show controls

Dublin: the only airport with a longer wait to clear customs than Seattle

We made it to Dublin a mere 30 minutes late. I guess they had a radar issue yesterday that still isn't resolved. The kids did OK on the train and planes, but there were a few moments that caused a few looks.

We got to Dublin to discover that our "gate checked" stroller would be delivered at baggage claim. This is somewhat annoying, but not too big a deal. At least they handled it correctly at Frankfurt.

I guess Ireland is not part of the passport free zone, as we did have to clear immigration and customs here. There were 3 or 4 people to handle the EU citizens. I don't understand why they needed that many people, because I didn't even see anyone slow down as they walked through. When we first arrived at immigration there were only two people for the non EU citizens. It took about 25 minutes to clear customs and there were only about 15 people in front of us. All they did for us is ask if we were on vacation, ask how long we were staying, and stamp the passports.

The amazing thing is that all three bags plus the stroller were waiting for us when we got to baggage claim. That never happens in Switzerland.

It was raining our our walk to the hotel, but it has more or less stopped. If we are lucky there won't be too much tomorrow.

No Irish cheese yet, but there will be some tomorrow!

How did we miss this?

Il Gelato Vivoli is supposed to have the best gelato in Florence. I find it hard to believe we missed it when we were there in October. We'll have to make sure we visit it when we go again.

Football talk

I was sent this too late for it to be of any use for Euro2008, but I will use it for the World Cup in 2010. Only 701 days until the fun begins!

Smoking In Switzerland

An update from SwissInfo on the very slow progress of making Switzerland a little less smokey.

There will be no more need for ashtrays in public buildings in Geneva and
in Zurich as smoking bans come into force in Switzerland's two largest population centres. Of the two cantons, Geneva introduced a stricter ban on Tuesday, which includes bars and restaurants, while Zurich has only outlawed smoking in public buildings. Simon Küffer of the Swiss Lung League welcomed the moves by Geneva and Zurich to protect the public from the risks of passive smoking. "We are particularly pleased about the full ban in Geneva and also glad to see Zurich moving in the right direction," he told swissinfo.

"We hope the Zurich ban will be extended to bars and restaurants after the vote on the issue on September 28," he added. Switzerland lags behind its European neighbours when it comes to anti-smoking legislation, but measures are gathering pace at the cantonal and federal levels. The southern Italian-speaking Ticino region
became the first canton to introduce a smoking ban in indoor public places in
April 2007. Tuesday's additions bring to seven the number of cantons with some level of smoking restrictions in public places. Most of the remaining 19 cantons have similar projects in the pipeline.

Patchwork

While the patchwork of differing smoking bans continues to develop independently in the cantons, the issue is also being addressed, albeit at a snail's pace, at federal
level. Last month, the House of Representatives rejected a plan by the Senate
to ban smoking in restaurants. However, it came out in favour of granting the
country's 26 cantonal authorities the right to impose tougher rules than on a
federal level. The situation leaves visitors to the country encountering different smoking regulations every few kilometres. There is no confusion for Switzerland's train passengers, however; smoking has been banned on the entire Swiss public rail network since December 2005. Küffer pointed out that the snowball effect of the individual cantons adopting smoking bans would ultimately lead to a de facto countrywide ban. "But we would still like to see a stronger federal law on the issue."

Fines
In Geneva, anyone who lights up in a public building, bar or restaurant, now risks a fine of SFr100 ($98.28) to SFr1,000. Determined smokers will still be able to puff away in Geneva's prison cells, private hospital rooms and in designated hotel rooms.
It seems that train stations are a grey area in Zurich, with covered platforms still deemed smoking-friendly while the station buildings will be smoke-free. Authorities and the rail company are still wrangling over the status of the partially open
station concourse at Zurich main station. The gradual stubbing out of cigarettes in Switzerland is part of a Europe-wide anti-smoking trend. While England looks back on one year of smoke-free workplaces and public places, in the Netherlands a tobacco ban in cafes, bars and restaurants came into force on Wednesday.

Places to Visit in Switzerland

Here are links to two places I want to visit in Switzerland prior to the new Mini McCann arriving.



http://www.blonay-chamby.ch/



http://www.swissminiatur.ch/

End of year show

Last Wednesday was the last day of pre-school for Rowan. That evening there was a Canadian picnic/potluck. Maybe the readers born in Canada can explain why the Swiss/French refer to a potluck as a Canadian picnic.
The kids each had to sing one line of a song, but the teacher ended up singing almost everything. Here are a two photos from the show. The girl in the middle below is Rowan's best friend.

Irish Cheeses

I looked in the Cheese Primer for Irish cheeses and was a bit disappointed. I was hoping to find a recommendation for a good cheddar, but none were included. Please let me know if you have a recommendation for a good Irish cheddar.

Here are the cheeses recommended in the book:

• Cashel Blue (County Tipperary)
• Coolea (County Cork)
• Croghan (County Wexford)
• Gubbeen (County Cork)
• Milleens (County Cork)

I hope to try a few of these when we are in Ireland next week. Please let me know if you've had them and if you would recommend them.

Operation Long Stick

Background Info:

• Rowan left his "Regular Bun" at a castle in Sion
• Niamh dropped Rowan's "New Bun" over the balcony onto the balcony below
• The individuals living below are out of town
• Rowan was sick yesterday
• Rowan walked into our bedroom at 2:30 AM CET and emptied the contents of his stomach all over our floor and "Broken Bun"
• It was now 2:40 AM and there were no clean Buns remaining
• Rowan cannot sleep without a Bun
• Emily put "Broken Bun" in the wash.

At 6:50 AM Operation Long Stick was put into action. Using a broom, a mop, and an old shirt, "New Bun" was knocked off the balcony below us onto the street. "New Bun" was recovered and is now awaiting a nice bath.

It is important to note that Operation Long Stick was based on Operation Stick And Sheet, which was launched earlier in the morning. Exact details on that failed operation are either classified or unavailable because I was sleeping.

Two down, one to go

Niamh tossed "New Bun" over the balcony railing yesterday and it landed on the balcony below us. This wouldn't be too big an issue, but I think the people below us are out of town. We need to be extra careful with "Broken Bun" until we get this one back. Things will get very ugly if we don't have any Buns.

How many does one town need?

There are about a dozen pharmacies in Morges, which means if you are standing in front of a pharmacy you can usually see at least one other pharmacy. Most of them seem to be small and independent, but one chain has 3 stores within 500 meters (think of Starbucks in Seattle).

Pharmacies normally only sell medication, baby items, and perfume. I don't think there is any medication sold at the average grocery store. Almost all medication is behind the counter, so we even have to ask for something like advil.

Bun's last photo

We went on an adventure to Sion today -more info on that later - and Rowan dropped his bun somewhere. I went back to find it and couldn't, so Rowan and Emily went back to look. They couldn't find it either. The good news is that Rowan has accepted this loss and moved on. Rowan will sleep with "Broken Bun" (his ear was caught in an escalator) tonight and we still have "New Bun" as a backup.

Piscine

Emily and the kids went to a pool in Lausanne on Friday. There are actually a lot fo pools, one of which is about claf high on an adult and the kids had lots of fun in it. It is located next to the lake, so they were also able to play at the beach.

A team to support

I am one of the few people in the office who don't have a favorite team, so I've decided to support the team in Neuchatel. There isn't a team in Geneva, so I think this is the closest team to Morges. I believe there are only two teams in French speaking Switzerland.

I will attempt to go to a game this year, but won't make any promises.

An excellent adventure

Rowan and I went to Lausanne yesterday in search of a new train train store. Rowan enjoyed it because we able to to ride the bus up the hill instead of walking (I wasn't too excited about walking up the hill either.). The store had a wide selection of Marklin HO track and trains and was much easier to navigate than the other train stores we've been to in Switzerland. We came home with a Coop rail car.

The store's web site isn't too impressive, but the owner did tell me to write him with any questions I had.

Secret Votes?

Obtaining Swiss citizenship is very difficult. Citizens have had the ability to vote in secret on whether an individual in their town should be granted citizenship. The Supreme Court outlawed the practice a few years ago, but the practice might be allowed in the future. Here is an article on the subject from the BBC.

Riverboat Adventures

While in Fairbanks we took the Riverboat Discovery on its trip downstream. Overall it was a good trip and we got to see all of the normal stuff (Native Alaskan village, dog sled teams, reindeer, Native Alaskan clothing, bush pilots, and the paddle wheel). The rivers were a bit low, so we had to stay on the Chena, so we couldn't see how it "weds" with the Tanana.

I think the highlight, at least for me, was the dogs from Trail Breaker Kennels. The web site is primarily focused on Susan, but I couldn't find a link that focuses on the dogs.

Rowan enjoyed looking at the paddle wheel and airplane, but didn't seem to interested in the rest of the stuff. Niamh was mostly interested in the goldfish that we brought with us.

Are the Swiss good hosts?

Switzerland is getting ready to host Euro 2008? Here is an interesting article from IHT about whether the Swiss can be good hosts. It will be interesting to see how Switzerland handles thousands of soccer crazy fans.

Alaska Photos

Photos of our trip to Alaska have been posted to our web site. We did not see much in the way of wildlife, so don't expect too much in the photos.

Tobacco production in CH?

Today is "World No Tobacco Day."

I read an interesting article that stated the Swiss government subsides about 320 farms with 18M CHF. I was surprised - I didn't think there was any tobacco production here.

Scouts?

My limited research is that the Swiss equivalent of Cub Scouts and Brownies start at age 7. Only 3.5 more years for Rowan until he can sign up. Males and females are in the same organization, which is louveteaux/louvettes.

More information can be found here.

Addicted

Rowan, Cody and I spent some time playing flight simulator while we were in Alaska. Here is what I learned while playing:

1) Graphics today are much better than they were on my Apple IIe version of flight sim.
2) There is a reason large jets don't use the small dirt runways in Alaska
3) Autopilot is great for when a 3 year old wants to fly. It is hard to crash when the altitude, heading, and speed are all controlled by the computer.

Time

Here is an interesting article about the Swiss.

Ready to help

It is spring in Alaska, so it is time to take the snow chains off the jeep. Niamh was happy to help and refused to take her gloves off afterwards.

The kids all took turns riding in the jeep this afternoon. The morning was spent at Pioneer Park (Alaskaland). Today was the opening day for the summer season. Not much has changed there in the last 20 years other than the name.

Fairbanks Day One

We went to the ice museum at Chena Hot Springs yesterday. We decided to go swimming after the museum. The picture below is Rowan and Grammie Annie. The last picture shows Niamh getting ready for the fun.

Niamh's Birthday

Yesterday was Niamh's birthday. She enjoyed her birthday cake. She didn't get a nap and was a bit tired so we gave her an extra gift of not having to take a bath.

She has adjusted to the time zone change fairly well. She has been asleep for about 11 hours so far.

We survived!

We arrived in Fairbanks today after only 17 hours in transit. We took the Condor flight from Frankfurt to Fairbanks via Whitehorse. Rowan was a bit confused - he thought we were taking the Concorde and had to deal with only being on a 767.

The flight stopped in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Canada. The airport has one gate and no transit area. We had to exit the back door of the plane and stay in some sort of temporary building while the plane was "cleaned." I am not sure what was actually cleaned, because the plane still looked like it had been used for 9 hours.

The trip was more or less ok, but the last hour was a bit loud. Rowan slept until the last 30 minutes and then was very unhappy to still be on the plane. Emily went to comfort him, which made Niamh unhappy.

Rowan and Niamh went to sleep at 6 that night. Niamh slept for about 12 hours, but Rowan only slept for 5. We got up at 11:30 and stayed up until 3. He then slept from 3 to about 5. I have a feeling we'll be spending some quality time in the living room in the middle of the night.

Wii Fitness

I purchased a Wii Fitness today. I think it basically indicated that I'll be lucky to live to Monday. My Wii fitness age is 42, so I have a lot of work to do. I've learned that my balance is ok and that yoga is a painful experience. I'm guessing that is due to how completely non flexible I am.

Goals have been set in the system, so we'll see what I can do. I don't think it is very nice of the system to tell me I need to lose weight when I live in a country known for cheese and chocolate.

Phrase books

Here is a link to free printable phrase book in multiple different languages.

Zoo!

We went to the local zoo today(Pentecost Monday - Swiss holiday). It is about 30 minutes ENE (East North East) of Morges. Niamh was fairly unhappy in the car and finished the ride by puking all over her clothes, the car seat and the back seat. We got all three more or less clean before heading into the zoo. There was another zoo like establishment next door and I'm not sure how the animals were split between the two. We didn't see any penguins, alligators, crocodiles, turtles or fish. Niamh was scared of most of the animals.

Rowan had his first accident today. We knew he need to go to the bathroom, but we couldn't make it there in time. He made it into the bathroom, but not onto the toilet.

The zoo had a playground for kids, so Niamh and Rowan had fun. The slide was the main attraction. Niamh and a little boy were a little slow, so they tended to back the line up a bit. All in all it was a fairly pleasant experience.
The trip home was puke free, which made everyone happy.

Is Seattle going European?

Seattle's mayor/city council is thinking of charging a a twenty cent fee per bag at grocery stores starting in 2009. Here are details on the proposal.

Disposable bags cost 30 cents in Switzerland. I believe there are similar fees in most of Europe. In Switzerland you have to pick up the bags when you are in the check out line. It was a little confusing the first time. We didn't buy any bags the first time and ended up cramming as much as we could into Emily's purse and the diaper bag.

Bowler's Arm

We purchased a Wii on Friday. I played my cousin's Wii for a few minutes last weekend and decided we needed one. Emily and I both have sore arms from bowling and tennis.

Child #3

We - or should I say Emily - had an ultrasound yesterday. Her doctor had been doing ultrasounds in her office, but referred her to another doctor due to a concern about Downs Syndrome. The good news is that yesterday the doctor indicated that there is not an elevated risk. The other news is that the child will be a girl.

Please send your suggestions for names. Be sure to indicate how to pronounce the name, as I assume there might be a few silent letters.

Just to be clear...any adoption plans are currently on hold.

Ultrasound pictures are available upon request, but the pictures are more or less identical to every other 16 week ultrasound.

Finally!

Rowan is doing fairly well with potty training. No accidents for a week and he is normally dry after preschool and naps. Now we just need to get his sister going.