Sunday

After what seemed like one of the longest weeks of my life, Gordon returned Saturday from a week-long trip to Indonesia.  One of the great things about Gordon being a local employee, rather than an expat, is that he does not have to travel as much as the expats do.  In the year and a half that we have been here in Switzerland, this was only the second time that he has been gone for a whole week.  He left for his trip last Saturday, exactly one week after Claire and I returned from Chicago.  The weekdays that he was gone were not terrible.  We were able to keep ourselves busy with the park and playdates and such.  The weekend, however, was rough!  It seemed that all of our friends were either out of town for the weekend or they had visitors from out of town.  Either way, they were unavailable to us, so we were on our own.  We got through it though, and by the time Sunday rolled around this week, we were ready to get out and have some fun with Gordon!  

In the morning, we drove up to Les Paccots, which is a ski resort in the winter and has a fabulous playground built into the side of a hill that we enjoy using in the non-snowy months.  

  

You can see one of the ski runs in the background of this photo.

Do you see the silver tube next to the stairs in the photo below?  It's a tube slide, built into the side of the hill.  It's a steep drop and the heavier one is, the faster they fly through the tube.  Gordon took Claire on his lap first and she loved it.  Shocking us all, she decided to go it alone the next time.  

Here is the result of the solo journey on the slide:

She was terrified while coming down, but started laughing and smiling and wanting to do it again as soon as it was over.  My brave girl!  

After a nap and dinner, we headed down to the lake, determined to enjoy what is probably one of the last warm Sundays of the year.  

Rather than playing at the park, Claire decided to play on the skateboard half-pipe.  After about six thousand times climbing up and sliding down, it was time to head back home.  

This week, we are supposed to have beautiful weather each day.  I intend to be outside enjoying it every day.  Winter will be here soon!

Parenting Advice

Are you in Switzerland and in need of parenting advice?  If so, you needn't worry.  There are parenting experts scattered throughout Switzerland and they're always ready to dole out the advice, whether they're asked or not.

Take today for example:  As Claire and I were making our way to her playgroup at ten this morning, there was a man sitting on a bench, enjoying his morning beer.  When he saw Claire in her stroller, he was apparently shocked that she was not wearing a hat or a scarf and he told me so in slightly slurred French.  He said that while it may be okay for me to be out without my hat and scarf (on a sunny 55 degree morning), it is not okay for her to be out like that.  He then continued to drink his beer.  Thank you, kind sir, for your words of wisdom.  Surely I will be a better parent henceforth.

The Zoo

Today, Claire and I met up with some friends at the Servion Zoo, which is about a 20 minute drive from our apartment.  The friends we met up with were some of the first friends that I made in Switzerland and I was excited to see them after having been in the United States for a month.  It blows my mind to think that I have known these women and their children for almost a year and a half already.  I don't know how I could have done this without them!

Claire had fun running with her friends and playing on the playgrounds at the zoo.  Minimal animal viewing was actually done.  I think they saw the wild boars, the lions, and the bears.  That's it.

Oh, look!  They actually stopped to look at an animal.  (And smile for a picture)

After a few fun and chilly hours at the zoo, it was time to go home.  Claire promptly fell asleep in the car on the drive home while I enjoyed the view.

The Circus

Today was a very cool and cloudy Sunday, which made it a perfect day to sit around the house in our pajamas and play.  However, after Claire's nap, she and I were both pretty antsy, so despite the brisk weather, we headed out to the lake.  Claire talked me into letting her ride the carousel, which usually does not end well.  This time, however, she happily stayed on her horse throughout the entire ride and did not insist that I hold her.  I consider that a victory for both of us!  When the carousel ride was over, we walked a bit farther down the lakeside path and happened upon the area where the circus is currently set up.  I had completely forgotten that the circus was in town and was therefore pleasantly surprised to see three elephants hanging out in the Place du Marche, where the Vevey farmers' market is usually held.  Claire was also delighted to see the elephants.  After checking them out for a couple minutes, she said "Mama, I smell like elephants," which is her way of saying that she smells elephants.  But, we'll stick with "I smell like elephants" because it's funnier her way.

Next to the elephants were the zebras and camels, hanging out together behind a makeshift enclosure.  Sometimes, it's very clear to see that we are not in the United States.  The zebras and camels were a perfect example of this in that they were behind a short, flimsy fence and people were feeding them popcorn from their hands and petting them!  No one from the circus was watching or regulating this, so Claire and I kept our distance.  Claire saw the big circus tent and asked if we could go in, but alas, we did not buy tickets, so we could not go in.  Maybe next year!


Here's the tent, which will probably be gone by tomorrow morning.

It's kind of hard to see in this picture, but if you look closely, you can see the camels on the right hand side of the picture, the elephants on the left, and Lake Geneva and the French Alps in the background.

The circus coming to town made for a very interesting Sunday afternoon, even if we didn't buy tickets!

Back at it!

After a little more than 4 weeks back in the US, Claire and I returned to Switzerland last Saturday with big plans.  Fortunately for me and our fellow passengers, Claire was an angel on both flights, sleeping most of the first flight (8 hours to Denmark), and quietly playing with my iPad on the second flight (2 hours from Denmark to Switzerland).  Even though these marathon flights are becoming bizarrely commonplace for me, I am still unable to sleep on the plane, so I was exhausted upon arrival.  Claire, however, was full of energy and ecstatic about seeing her daddy after a month away, running past customs and out into the arrivals area to find him and give him more than a few loving hugs.

Jet lag got the best of me again this time, causing much stress and anxiety.  For the first four nights, Claire slept a few hours, then got up and played for a few hours before sleeping through until the morning when I had to literally drag her out of her bed at about 8:30 a.m.  On that fifth night, though, she slept all the way through the night, surprising and delighting both Gordon and me and allowing us all to get some much needed sleep.

On Tuesday, Claire and I headed to IKEA to get some things for the apartment and as we walked in, she said "Oh, we're going to Target?" to which I replied "Only in my dreams, Claire."

On Wednesday, in a fog of jet lag induced fatigue and grumpiness, I stupidly had my iPhone in my pocket while using the bathroom when the phone fell out of my pocket and into the toilet.  Despite my best efforts to revive it, the phone is now completely broken, never to be used again.  I am going to miss that phone, but really, I should count myself lucky that it worked for a year after Claire put it into the kitchen sink last year while I was washing dishes!

On Thursday, Claire and I went to visit a potential preschool for her.  In our part of Switzerland, these are called "jardin d'enfants", which translates to "kindergarten" in German or "garden of children" in English.  About 6 months ago, when we first considered sending her to preschool, Gordon and I visited 2 other places, neither of which seemed to be a good fit for Claire.  After waiting 6 months and going through the search process again, I was cautiously optimistic about this new place after communicating via email with the director while we were in the US.  Claire was excited about the visit when I told her we were going to look at a school.  As soon as we walked into the jardin d'enfants on Thursday morning, I had a good feeling about the place.  The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, the toys were plentiful, and the kids that were finishing up their mornings were happy.  After talking to the director/teacher and seeing how she interacted with Claire, I was sold.  This place seems to be a great fit for Claire and Gordon and I decided that she will start going there 2 mornings per week beginning November 2.  I have requested that the teacher speak French with Claire unless it is necessary that she speak English.  I am very curious to see how that will play out and I can not wait to hear the French words that Claire will bring home with her!