Limpy Lainey

Lainey's hopes of the Winter Olympics in the next few years will have to wait. No ski lessons for her probably. She broke her foot/toes yesterday. Her metatarsal bones to be exact.

Yesterday morning she was skipping around (like usual) and just tripped on the hem of her nightgown. When she came down on her foot, she had bent her toes under so she had all her weight (what little weight there is of her!) on top of her toes. She screamed, but I didn't know at first how bad it was. Anytime you bang a toe, you think it's broken at first because it hurts so bad. So we kind of shrugged it off with a boo-boo bear full of ice and a little motrin and snuggle. We popped her in the stroller and went off into the city for a few hours.

When we got home, she still was limping and unable to put all her weight on her foot. Plus it was turning purple and a little swollen. We put her to bed and I jumped online to do some research. All signs pointed to "broken" so when she woke up this morning we took her to the Kinder Spital in Zurich. After 2 x-rays, they confirmed she has a fracture where her second and third toe meet her foot on the right side. It's not a complete break and she doesn't need a cast, but she's wrapped in an Ace bandage for 5 days and probably won't be walking normally for at least 2 weeks.
Here are 2 pictures of our little patient. She's a trooper. She hasn't complained about it hurting since the intial accident. She does not get that high pain tolerance from me!

So, for the time being, ski lessons don't look good. Nor does ballet or her tennis lessons she is due to begin next week. But most upsetting to her will be the fact that she can't wear tights and fancy shoes for at least the next week!

Christmas Eve and Day

We are a spoiled bunch!

We were so happy to have my mom and aunt in town for Christmas this year! We missed seeing the rest of our family, but on the upside, this year was much more relaxed. We weren't rushing from one house to another then back home again to go to sleep in time for Santa to come. Christmas Eve was really laid back. We just snacked on appetizers all evening while opening gifts. As you can see, we had a massive amount of presents to get through so we started at 3:30pm! The first gift of Christmas was the "big one"! Mamaw, Papaw, Grandma Pat and Aunt Toni got our family a Wii with lots of games! We spent lots of time playing it the next morning and evening.

Another big hit was Aidan's Hess racing car. Hess is a gas station company on the east coast, and my mom's uncle always sends Aidan the Hess vehicle of the year. Each year, it's something different. So far, Aidan has a monster truck, big rig, ambulance, race car and something else. It's a nice collection! Thanks Uncle Al!!

Lainey got lots of Barbies and other "girly" things. One of my favorites is this adorable hat my mom found at a craft fair this summer.

I think aside from Barbies, Lainey's other favorite gift was her roller skates we got her! She's a roller derby girl!

Santa came Christmas Eve night, of course, so the kids were up and raring to go at 6:30am. Santa brought them each a tennis racquet and kids' MP3 player. Plus, Aidan got a Bakugan arena set and Lainey got some more Barbie stuff and DVD.

The kids also surprised Aunt Toni with something she "loves" (it's hard to type sarcasm): a squirrel!

Here we are on Christmas morning all dressed up and ready for mass.

We had a nice Christmas Day playing with all our new stuff and just hanging out with PatTone. We had a big dinner the adults watched National Lampoon's Christmas one more time after the kids went to bed.

Merry Christmas one and all!!

Nurnberg Weihnachtsmarkt

This weekend, we took my mom and aunt to Nurnberg, Germany to see the world famous Christmas Market. This was supposed to be a side-trip on our way to Prague, but we had to cancel the Prague part because Jason has to work this week. (That's a whole other blog post-grr!). So, we decided to make the most out of our 2 days in Germany and visit not only the oldest Christkindlemarkt in Nurnberg, but also one in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, an amazing mideval town near Nurnberg.

Our 4 hour trip to Nurnberg ended up taking closer to 6 hours thanks to snowy weather. We were on the Autobahn most of the way, but could never take advantage of unlimited speed limit. We arrived just in time to check into our hotel. We bundled up to brave the frigid temps and set off for the oldest Christmas market in the world!

It was so unbelievably cold this weekend! It was minus 15 degrees Celsius (around 0 Fahrenheit) and according to one lady working a booth, this was the coldest weekend in 30 years. Typical that we'd pick that weekend to go! Even with multiple layers of clothes, boots, hats, mittens and scarves we were freezing. At one point, I really thought my fingertips were going to freeze off. I pictured myself in an ER having each fingertip amputated due to frostbite. I was this close to a full on panic attack when we found a cafe to go in to warm up. Crisis and amputation averted!

Aside from the cold, we had a wonderful time wandering the various stalls selling everything from toys, to Nurnberger sausages, to Christmas ornaments and decorations, to hats and scarves. My personal favorite booths were those selling Gluhwein. Gluhwein is a hot spiced wine drink that they serve all over German-speaking Europe. I didn't acquire a taste for it last year, but I retried it this year and fell in LOVE! It is perfect on frigid days. It warms your hands as you hold the mug and warms you up from the inside out as you drink it. Plus, as an added bonus, if you drink enough of it, you just forget how bloody cold it is! Around Zurich, they serve you the wine in a sytrofoam cup, but in Germany at the markets they have collectable mugs! You "rent" a mug for a 1.50 Euro deposit, then pay only 2 Euros to have it refilled at any stand. You can keep the mug or return it for your deposit back. I kept mugs from both Nurnberg and Rothenburg. Where else can you get a cool souvenir for only 1.50?

Despite the cold the kids had fun in the Kinder Markt area riding a mini-ferris wheel and double-decker carousel. My mom, aunt, Jason and I poked into the stalls and bought ornaments and other stuff. Jason is happy to have found a wooden Christmas carousel thing that spins around by heat from candles. (if you've ever seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, you know what I mean. The thing with candles that cousin Eddie knocks over while drinking eggnog from moose mugs) Jason has wanted one of those forever and now he has one from Germany where they originated!

On Sunday, we left Nurnberg for Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a mideval walled city an hour northwest of Nurnberg. We had heard this was a city not to be missed and it didn't disappoint. It was still crazy cold, but again we toughed it out. This village was cuter than big Nurnberg, and I'd love to go back during warm weather without the hoards of people there for Christmas Markets. The funny thing in Rothenburg is that I'm pretty sure I heard more American English there than I have anywhere in the last year! It's obviously a stopping point on all guided tours, and for good reason.

We finally made it home last night around 10pm after an excrutiatingly long and slow drive through an almost blizzard. Poor Jason had to go to work today. After 2 long days in a car and freezing cold, I'm hoping to stay in my pajamas today as long as possible! "Zum Christkindlesmarkt" means "to the Christmas Market"

Aidan and Lainey on the double-decker carousel

One thing Nurnberg is famous for is their "Zwetschgermannli" or "prune people". They make these little figures out of walnut shells and dried prunes. They were cute, but we didn't feel the need to buy one.

Poor Lainey was so cold she could barely move. Poor Jason had to carry her on his shoulders the whole time. We couldn't fit a stroller into the car to bring it with us!

"Lebkuchen" is a thick gingerbread-like cake that the area is famous for.

In the kids market area, yes I really am in that coat somewhere! It was COLD!!!

A quick side trip to the Imperal Castle of Nurnberg on Sunday morning

Entering the castle walls

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg's Weihnachtsmarkt-Gluhwein stand on the corner!

Marli Tram

Every Christmas, the department store Jemoli sponsors the "Marli Tram". It's a fairy tale tram all decorated for Christmas that takes children on a 20 minute ride around Zurich. No adults are allowed on, just kids. Samiclaus and a Christmas angel ride with the kids and tell them stories and give them treats during the ride. Tickets are scarce as every child in Zurich wants to ride. Of course, it's all in Swiss German, but I still thought the kids would like it, so I made the mad rush to the store exactly one week prior to the day I wanted the kids to ride, first thing in the morning to get the much desired tickets.

When I got home, feeling confident I had scored such exclusive tickets, I went to jot the date and time on my calendar and realized Lainey had a birthday party the same time and date. Drat. Oh, well. Aidan is the one who loves trains anyway. So we invited a few friends to go with Aidan and they all went last night. Here is Aidan with William, Teddy, and Isabel in front of the Marli Tram.

Samiclaus is taking their tickets and letting them board.

Waving to us out the window as their ride begins!

They seemed to have a great time. Aidan didn't understand the story, but still liked riding the tram around town seeing the lights and eating cookies. He thought it was cool to be on a tram by himself without any adults.

After the tram ride, Aidan and I took PatTone down the Bahnofstrasse to see the Singing Christmas Tree. Every night in December, a different singing group performs in the city on a Christmas tree shaped stage. They all wear red hats so it looks like they are decorations on the tree. It's really pretty cool and very festive!

After listening to the singers for a while, we headed back out of the city to pick up Lainey from her party. We walked across the Limmat River to the trams and took time to stop and enjoy the city lights.

Morning Parade

This morning around 6:30am we were awakened to a loud banging going on outside. Went we looked outside, there was a parade of kids walking up our street banging pots and pans. Apparently, it's a Swiss tradition that on the last day of school before Christmas vacation, the school kids parade through their neighborhood banging pots and pans to wake everyone up. Cute little tradition. Their mission was accomplished. We were definitely all awake after they came by!

Silvester Lauf 2009

Today we all ran the Zurich SilvesterLauf. It was a fun run through the city of Zurich. It was seriously cold and snowy but we were up for the challenge! My mom and aunt were in town and they came with us to cheer us on. Aidan was excited because this was his first solo race. The last one he ran with Jason. This time he ran the 1.4K just with a friend. Lainey was so upset last time that she couldn't run, that we signed her up for muki/vaki (mother/child-father/child) race. I knew myself well enough to just run with her, no longer race for me this time! Jason, though, was tough enough to brave the cold and run a 8.6K! Here is Team Barnett, getting our numbers and gearing up for our races! Aidan's was first at 12:20, Lainey and I ran at 1:30, and Jason was at 3:45. Aidan was so happy to run with his friend William.

Here they are ready to start!

Coming in to the finish! They finished in just over 8 minutes. Not bad, guys!

We had a hard time staying warm for the hour between Aidan's race and mine and Lainey's. By the time it started, she wasn't too keen on doing it. She was complaining of being cold and having a sore foot. I made her at least start though. At the start line, she got excited again and began the race strong. About a 1/4 of the way through though, she started crying and wanted to be carried. I figured that was it for her. But no! She rallied! After taking about 2 steps with her in my arms, she changed her mind and said, "put me down, I'm going to run it all, Mommy!". I was SO proud of her! Even with a foot that kind of hurt her, she walked/ran the rest of the course! People along the way were cheering her on and she ate that praise up! Aidan and Jason figured we wouldn't finish, but Lainey didn't give up. She told me she was worried Santa might be watching and so she should do her best. Plus, I kept reminding her of the medal she'd get at the end of the race. She and I finished (finally) in 17 minutes.

Here we are approaching the finish line!

SO proud of her medal!

Jason set off on his 8.6K at 3:45. We didn't watch him start (we were trying to stay warm), but we caught up with him for the last 10 minutes of his race. He did a great job despite below freezing temps and snow!

Here's Jason heading toward the finish line!

Aside from the cold, we had a great day in the city. PatTone cheered us on and I took them to their first Christmas Markt in the Zurich train station while Jason started his race. The kids are so proud of their accomplishments. We are happy to see them getting a feel for competition and physical lifestyle. Hopefully, if we don't learn anything else from our time in Europe, we'll have learned to live a healthier lifestyle.

Team Barnett at the end of race day!

Kerzenziehen

One of the local Swiss Christmas traditions is "kerzenziehen" or candle dipping. Aidan went to the Catholic Church in our town with his first grade class last week. He had such a good time and made such a cool one that we decided to go again as a family the day PatTone arrived! Candle dipping isn't a quick project! We had to dip 3 times, then go outside, dip the candle in cold water, dry it off, then go back to dipping. Repeat the process about 30 times! It took us about an hour to make our candles, but it was fun!

Apparently, all the ICS kids had fun on the field trip because we ran into 4 school friends there! Here's Lainey and Tone with Nicholas and William from school

There were lots of different color wax to choose from. Lainey liked making a rainbow candle.

My work in progress

When we were done we could decorate our candle with carvings or adding bits and pieces. Aidan's from school turned out great (see first pic) but the rest of ours, that we tried to do ourselves, didn't turn out great. We should have left that part to the experts!

Lainey's Concert

This morning was Lainey's EY1 Christmas Concert. The kids had been learning songs since Nov. 1 (right after the Halloween show was over!). Lainey was SOOO excited for this day. She was "going to wear a fancy dress and my daddy is even going to come!" (direct quote from Lainey). She was at her prettiest best and ready to leave for school right on time. The show started at 10:30 and the kids sang 6 songs and did dances and hand movements. It was really sweet and very festive thanks to all the crafts the kids made to decorate their classroom!

Santa even made a special appearance at school! He brought Delainey a new Barbie! Daddy got the honor of helping her open it.

It was a great morning and Lainey loved having her daddy come to school with her!

I Got Fan Mail!

I've been writing a column called "Mum's Turn" for a English language parenting magazine here in Switzerland since May. It's basically just ramblings and a few edited versions of my blog postings, but it makes me happy to see my name and words in print.

This week, I got fan mail!!! Someone wrote a letter into the magazine saying they liked my article and really "connected" with it! How cool is that! You can check out the magazine (and leave me more fan mail) at http://www.thestork.ch/. (None of my articles have made it to the website, though. They only post the features, not the columns.)

OK, I'm done tooting my own horn.

Samiclaus is Coming to Town

Samiclaus talking to Lainey, Schmutzli is in the brown robe in the background

Making Lebkuchen (spice cakes) at the mall on Dec. 6th

Aidan's finished product with a "Grusse von Samiclaus" cookie on it (Greetings from Samiclaus)

Last weekend was a big weekend in German holiday culture. Samiclaus and Schmutzli come on December 6th. Samiclaus is much like Santa, only instead of toys he brings chocolate, nuts, and clementines. Schmutzli is Sami's helper. They will ask kids if they have been good, and if they have they get treats and if not Schmutzli hits them with his stick and tosses them in his sack and carries them away. Seriously.

Okay, well not so seriously now but that's what Schmutzli used to do back in the good ol' days before beating and kidnapping children was frowned upon.

Nowadays, kids leave out their shoes at night for Samiclaus to fill. This brings back memories for me, as putting shoes out is also a French tradition, and how Jason and I met during French class my Sophomore year. I had to fill his shoe :0). Aw, and look at us now! But I digress, so the kids were happy to put out their shoes at home and at school. They must have been good this year because they got loads of chocolate, peanuts, and mandarins!

At school, in his German class, Aidan has been learning a lot about Samiclaus and Schmutzli. This year, his teacher is German, so according to him, she got LOTS of stuff in her shoe. He's learned a song in German about Samiclaus too. I love that he's getting some language at school.

Speaking of songs, today is Lainey's Christmas Concert in her class. Jason took the morning off for the festivities! Lainey couldn't be more excited to sing about "the little old Jesus asleep in the hay". I love it!!

Christmas Markets

Europe is famous for it's Christmas Markets. They are lovely "villages" of huts set up selling all sorts of Christmas decorations, cookies, and gifts. We took Missy and the gang to my favorite city-Colmar, France- to see their market. Colmar, on any day, is an unbelievably cute town. It looks just like Belle's village in Beauty and the Beast. You just expect to see Gaston coming out of one of the pubs there! But, Colmar at Christmas was absolutely magical. You couldn't help but be in the Christmas spirit there!

Can you believe this is a real place-it looks like a movie set!