Niamh doesn't like to be left out

Niamh wanted to have her photo taken too.

We haven't sprung forward yet!

Just a quick reminder that even though most of North America is "springing forward" today, Europe doesn't do the same until the end of March. This means that Morges is now eight hours ahead of the West Coast.

Booster Seat!

We purchased a booster seat for Rowan. Its first big test will be on our trip to France/Germany with the Daigles in April.

Daggers!

Niamh enjoy's playing with her dagger, but often has problems putting it back in the sheath.

We won't be the only Americans in town.

We are headed to the Strasbourg area in April with Mike and Amanda to meet some of Emily and Amanda's distant relatives. I wanted to visit the cathedral, but Obama (and a bunch of other world leaders) will be in town, so we've heard the city might be fairly locked down.

The NATO conference better not get in the way of our sightseeing!

1.5 Million unused guns?

Maybe no more guns at home?

Rowan's Turn!

Rowan uses a bit more crayon than Niamh does.

Stegosaurus!

Niamh has started to really like coloring.

Dirty Thursday!

We visited Luzern on Dirty Thursday. Rowan was not impressed with all of the noise.

Important Note: We didn't know it was Dirty Thursday until we got to Lurzern.

Will my name be disclosed? I doubt it.

The end of an era.

Where did it go?

Yesterday's low point. The lady at the visitor's desk seemed very disturbed that someone would have taken the camera from inside the church.

The family area!

Today we rode a train that had a place for kids to play. There was a slide and some thing to climb on. The kids had a great time. It is too bad every train doesn't have the play area.

4 Months!

Muriel celebrated her 4 month birthday by trying a pretzel. She like it!

Six Nations?

This was big news at work yesterday. I checked out this site and think this might be even more confusing than the never ending soccer seasons.

Big Boy School

We got Rowan registered for school - or at least I think we did. It didn't seem as complicated as that day at Barnette all those years ago. We confirmed a bit of information that they already had and provided the following:

• my cell phone number
• Emily's cell phone number
• my work number
• the name of our insurance provider
• what religious education Rowan is to receive
• if we had a "mama du jour"

It was all in french, but I think it went fairly well. There is a parents' session in March and in July we'll find out about his teacher and which school he will attend.

You were going how fast?

Traffic has picked up on the street outside of our apartment building, so the city installed a sign that displays how fast you are going. I haven't noticed too many cars going fast, but there are lots of kids crossing the street even though there isn't a crosswalk.

Muriel!

Muriel having some much needed tummy time.

 

Parent Envolvement

Basel is getting serious about parents' obligations to their kids eduction.

Time Out!

 

Skype!

Muriel watches Grammie and Bumpa via Skype.

Photos!

Some people, such as my mother and sister, get a bit cranky if there new photos aren't posted on a regular (hourly) basis. In order to appease the masses, I am providing a link to Ryon's Picasa account. He is visiting until the 22nd, so you can expect good photo coverage for the next 2 weeks.

An end to open borders already?

From the Christian Science Monitor

Hans Beck!

What would my childhood have been like without Hans Beck?

Photos!

Chateau de Morges

New photos are available on our web site.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Grandma Catherine at 12 months with her father.

National Siren Test

Yesterday was the national siren test, which I thought meant they would be testing the sirens throughout the country. I was a bit disappointed - I didn't hear them in Morges. What is the point of having nuclear shelters in the buildings if you can't hear the alarm telling you to use them?

Driving in the Snow: Part II

Last week I blogged about Rowan driving his cars in the snow. It snowed for about 8hours today, so he could use real snow instead of having to look for a dusty shelf.

The window has been replaced

A few months ago one of our large windows developed a crack. It took 13 weeks from the time we notified the landlord until today, when the window was installed.

Here is the timetable for today.

• 7:15 - the installation crew calls and tells me they won't be arriving as promised at 7:30, but will be there by 8:00
• They arrive at 8:20 and can't find our apartment building even though their van is parked right in front of the door.
• They work for about 5 minutes and then say they need to wait for the crane, which will be arriving at 9 (what would they have done if they had arrived at 7:30 as originally scheduled?). They go out and wait for the crane.
• 9:20 - Crane arrives and cracked window is removed
• 9:50 - new window is installed
• 10:20 - clean up is done and the installation crew is gone.

It is never too early to start taking care of your feet!

Driving in the snow!

Rowan wanted to drive his cars in the snow. There wasn't any snow in Morges, so he took his cars to the closest bookshelf. He pretended the dust was snow and had a great time.

I guess this means we should dust, but I'm not sure when we'll get around to it.

13 weeks old!

I missed Muriel's 3 month birthday, so I'll blog for her 13th week birthday.

Big Boy School

Today we received notification that Rowan needs to be registered for kindergarten. The registration is the week of February 9th, so expect an update around then. We're hoping to get him in the school closest to our apartment, but we're not sure if that will happen. It sounds like it is a bit random.

We live at "A" and the school we want is at "B".

View Larger Map

More places to visit.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/getaways/01/15/beautiful.castles/index.html

Is there a recession?

Not based on our guest room's vacancy rate. I believe it is already booked for about 8.5 weeks in 2009. The individuals below will be arriving in February.

Languages

I received a copy of the GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE for my birthday. It is full of all sorts of interesting stuff. Here are the languages spoken in Switzerland and the approximate percentages.

German 63.7% (official language)
French 20.4% (official language)
Italian 6.5% (official language)
Serb/Croation 1.5%
Albanian 1.5%
Portuguese 1.2%
Spanish 1.1%
English 1.0%
Romansch 0.5% (national, but not official language)
Others 2.8%

This data is based on the 2000 census.

Higher Rents?

I don't find this too surprising, as many foreigners have housing allowances from their employer.

Is the US trying to keep visitors away?

Last week I had to go through passport control at Washington Dulles International Airport. It was by far the worst line I've ever waited in to get my passport checked. It took an hour and ten minutes to get through immigration. I'm just glad I could use the US citizen line. I'm guessing the non citizen/resident line would easily have been two hours.

It took me another 15 minutes to get through customs. The line was short, but it took a while to find my bags. They had been removed from the conveyor belt and lined up with the rest of the bags. It would have been nice if the bags were lined up so the tags were facing the same direction.

I'm surprised any foreigners would want to visit the US now that the government has implemented this. I don't think it would be worth the pain.

Niamh Day 4

Things are looking up. Niamh cried for the first 30 minutes and then was fine for the next 2.5 hours.

Preferred Travel Books and Map

My preferred travel books and map.

• Streetwise Maps: First, they are laminated so the kids can't destroy them. They also fold so that they can fit in a back pocket (granted, they do stick out of the pocket.). The subway system is shown directly on the map, so you know exactly where they are going and where the stops are. This was very handy in Barcelona, where some of the stops were linked on the metro map, but in reality they were a block or two apart and separated by a long tunnel. They also have a good street index.
• Time Out: Contains good information on history and the different neighborhoods. It also contains good information on stores as well as activities for kids. An Uncle Pat recommendation.
• Rick Steves: Good at indicting the true highlights. Also provides walking tours that often cover a lot of the sights.

Torta de Queso Canarejal

This is one of the excellent cheeses we brought back from Spain. The taste reminds Emily of blue cheese, but I'm not sure if I agree. This cheese is interesting because you cut the top off and then scoop the insides out with a spoon. Very yummy!

Baby Bath

Muriel in the tub

Niamh brushes Muriel's hair

Niamh Day 3

Niamh was happy on the walk to school, but didn't do too well after that. She ended up crying herself to sleep. We'll try again on Tuesday.

A family that plays together stays together

60% of the family played MarioKart Wii over the internet against Cody.

More Singing

Niamh Day Two

There might have been more screaming on day 2 than day 1. Both kids were on the verge of breaking down on the walk to the jardin. Unfortunately, Alyssa, the daughter of a friend, was screaming when Emily and the kids walked in. Rowan and Niamh both started crying, but Emily was able to keep them from screaming until she left.

She came back an hour later to get Niamh and it seems that Alyssa, Rowan, and Niamh may have cried the entire hour. Emily took Niamh home and Rowan stayed against his will.

When I arrived to pick him up he was walking around as Mr. T-Rex and roaring at anyone who would look at him.

We'll see what adventures today brings.

New Years!

New Year's Eve wasn't too exciting here. Emily purchased a firecracker like contraption that had shot out party hats, noise makers, and a fishing game when it went off. We played with that, had ice cream and watched Ice Age 2. All that and I was still in bed by 9:27.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandpa!

Today is Grandpa/Big Bumpa Charlie's 90th birthday. I couldn't find a picture from when he was a baby, so here is a picture of him with his family in 1939.

Back Row: Paul, Mary Louise, Edgar, Grandpa Charlie, Catherine, Norbert

Front Row: Robert, Great Grandpa Mark, Great Grandma Mary, John, Jim

Niamh’s First Day at Jardin d’Enfants

Told from Emily's perspective...

It did not go well. She was cheerful during the entire walk to preschool, but when we walked in the door she fell apart. I stayed for an hour at the beginning, and even so she cried for the first fifteen minutes and then stuck to me like glue for the rest of my time there. Rowan on the other hand hated having me there and kept telling me to go home. Sheesh! Where’s the happy medium?

When it was time for me to go Niamh’s howling began again. I came back for her after one hour, and her eyes were all red and blotchy from crying. Poor thing! I gathered from the teacher it had been a hard hour. There was another hour left before it was time for the other kids to go home, so I was going to take Niamh home and have Pat pick up Rowan. But apparently Niamh’s distress had been hard on Rowan too, because when I started getting Niamh dressed to go home (shoes, coat, backpack, etc) his little lip started quivering and he told me he wanted to go home too. Hopefully tomorrow goes better. I won’t stay with her at all, but she only stays for an hour. Then on Thursday she stays for two hours. And then next Tuesday she can stay for the full three hours.

My Swiss friend, Sandra, gave me this tout naturel potion from her pharmacy in the Jura (she grew up there and her parents still live there) that she said would help Niamh be calm, not cry so much, and be more independent. She told the pharmacist all about Niamh and so they whipped it up according to her personality–2 sprays, 4 times a day. I wish it had worked. Or perhaps I shudder to think of what the morning would have been like without it!

Singing to Muriel

Muriel's Checkup

Muriel's 10 week checkup(one week late) was at 2:30 today. Unfortunately, we thought it was a 4:30. The combination of making appointments via phone, the french language, and military time can be confusing.

Emily and Muriel had to wait for a bit, but the doctor fit them in.

Muriel received an injection that included the following vaccinations:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis
• Polio
• Influenza

We received confirmation that she is a big girl.

• Weight: 5.75 kg (12.68 pounds)
• Height: 59 cm (23.23 inches)

Alphabet Train

Rowan received an alphabet train puzzle for Christmas. It is 10 feet long, so Rowan has a few problems driving it around the apartment, but manages okay.

Niamh gets dressed on Christmas

1. Socks on

2. Pajama pants off

3. Finish taking pajama pants off

4. Check out socks

5. Pajama shirt off


6. Walk around in socks and diaper


7. Walk around in socks

8. Fully dressed

More Muriel!

More practice.

More fondue info

An interesting post.

I'll have to look for some single serve fondue.

Muriel!

Muriel on New Year's Day 2009

Happy New Year!

Rowan is ready to say "Happy New Year" via Skype, but nobody is logged into Skype. I'm guessing there are three reasons that none of our friends are logged in.

• Skype is broken
• Everyone is asleep
• Everyone is at a party and isn't in front of their computer

Given I was asleep by 9:30, I'm hoping for the 2nd option, but I'm thinking it might be that others were partying.