Randomness...since I'm on a Deadline!

I've recently been told that some people check my blog every Monday for new posts. As I hate to disappoint anyone, but have nothing much to say (for once!), here are a few random bits and pics...

This weekend, Gymboree Zurich had it's one-year anniversary. They hosted a "disco dance party" for the kids on Saturday. Lainey dressed in her finest, down to a necklace, bracelet and fairy wings for the occasion. Here she is sliding on one climber: This is Lainey with her friend, Tea, who goes to Gymboree with her. Thanks to Tea (who Lainey often shares her lunch with) Lainey now eats ham, cheese and mustard sandwiches. And thanks to Lainey, Tea now eats yogurt (according to Tea's mom).

I brought our neighbor, Lucy, with us. Don't they both look so cute all dressed up??

Last weekend, we went sledding on a hill by our house. It was pretty steep, and Lainey was afraid at first. Then she decided to sled on her bottom. Slower than a sled, but still fun!

Jason and Aidan going down...later Jason went by himself and hit a bump that flipped him off and almost required medical attention! That's what happens when you get old!! :)

Last weekend, we also went to explore Zug. Zug is a city not far from Zurich and also on a lake. It was a nice day to wander the town and enjoy the markets that are starting again for spring. The vendors sell everything from flowers to cheese to fresh olives to sausages to fruits and veggies.

Jason and the kids on the edge of the Zugersee. (Zug Lake)

Tonight we had a fun fondue dinner with some friends of ours, Becky and Paul. They just moved here with GM and their kids go to school with Aidan. I bought a new fondue pot for the occasion-a real Swiss one. Later this week we're going to a concert with them, our first in Zurich.

Then on Thursday, 3 months of fun begins! Missy comes to visit this week, and we're going to Chamonix, France with her next weekend. We'll be back next Tuesday, then my mom and aunt come next Thursday!! While they are here, we're going to Stockholm, Interlaken (Jungfraujoch), and maybe Salzburg. They are even going to stay with the kids so Jason and I can get away for a few days alone for our 10-year anniversary. We're going to Sardinia! Then, the week after they have to leave, Jason's parents arrive for 3 weeks. With them we're going to Munich and Tuscany. 6 countries in 3 months-not bad! I'll definitely have some blog-worthy expriences to write about soon!

Bedtime Stories with Aidan, God, and Darwin

I think I'm going to need to go back to college for a Ph.D. to keep up with my kids. Aidan brought a book home from the school library about genetics. Genetics! The fact that a 5 year old can read the word "genetics" is amazing enough, but that he actually chose this book because he says "the pictures looked interesting and I want to learn more" is beyond belief.

So, tonight I read him this book as his bedtime story. I really thought I'd have a few more years before I had to try to explain the fine line between Creationism and Darwinism! Aidan kept stopping me as I read to ask things like "If God only made Adam and Eve, how did people start looking different?" when we read about how people look like their parents and I said that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't have a baby with dark skin because we both have white skin. Then he sees a diagram about dominant traits and when I try to explain that, he says "so, did God make me look like this or did you and daddy?" SERIOUSLY! He's 5. I'm not smart enough to keep up!

I need to go now and study up on genetics so I can be prepared for tomorrow night's story time.

Mmm....Zebra!

Yesterday was Jason's birthday. Like most men, he is extremely difficult to buy for. So, this year, I didn't even try. Instead, I took him out to dinner.

One of Aidan's classmates is from South Africa. Her dad had told me about an African restaurant in the area they had tried. He raved about how authentic it was. They served ostrich, kudu, zebra and other African delicacies. It sounded perfect for my game-loving husband! Who says we can't have a "Wild Game Dinner" here?

So, I surprised him with going there. I was a bit nervous, since I'm not into eating crazy animals, but I figured it's his birthday...I can always eat something when we get home.

The place itself is really tiny and not very busy. We were there for over 2 hours (the Swiss certainly don't rush you through a meal) and there were only 3 tables, counting us, the whole time we were there! The owners are a Swiss man who married a Kenyan woman who does all the cooking. They were very friendly; both of them came to our table a few times to explain the menu, cooking style, etc. They let us taste 3 different wines before selecting one and even give everyone an African apertif (no charge) for dessert. I don't think I've ever had such personal service!

The place smelled so good, even I ventured away from the "safe" chicken. I ordered ostrich. Jason had the mixed grill-ostrich, kudu, and zebra. We also had pan-fried casava which they said is African french fries. I have no idea what casava really is, but it was REALLY good! As for the meats, I tried them all. My ostrich was good, but WOW! the zebra was amazing! It is kind of beef-like but more tender than any filet I've ever had. We both agree that it was by far our favorite meat. The apertif was nice too, kind of an apricot flavored creamy schnapps. The owner told us that elephants try to knock these apricot-like fruits off the trees. They eat them and get a bit drunk! He said it's pretty funny to see elephants stumble around.

It was a great meal. We'll definitely take some adventurous visitors there! Anyone up for zebra?? The next time I watch Madagascar with the kids, I'll have a better understanding of why Alex the lion wants to take a bite out of Marty the zebra! Mmm good!

4 Great Deals in Zurich (please note the sarcasm...)

I've finally found 4 things that are a good value in Zurich! Yes, it's taken 7+ months to find a measly list of 4. I've been trying to come up with a list. 2 things is just a couple, and 3 is just a few, but I think 4 makes a "list". Let me warn you, they are not really anything to write home about, but here you go!

1. Hot dog and pop at IKEA- 1.50
2. Quarter of a cheese pizza and pop or beer (yep pop and beer cost the same!)-5.90
3. Entrance into museums on Wednesdays-Free
4. Luggage carts at Zurich Airport-Free

Woo hoo! Excitingly great deals to be found here! Hopefully, within the next 2 1/2 years I can grow this into a Top 10 list!

Chef Lainey

In London, I bought Lainey a pretty pink apron from Harrod's. I gave it to her this morning, and so of course she wanted to cook. So here are some cute pics of her helping me cut veggies. She insisted on cutting all the potatoes herself with her plastic IKEA knife. Note the concentration on her face as she works.
The final product!

Working hard...

Ladies in London

This weekend, I went to London with my neighbor, Megan, for a girls only weekend. It was such a relaxing time! We did absolutely nothing touristy-unless you count shopping at Harrod's. Megan used to live in London and has been many times since, so she really knew her way around. We spent 3 nights right at Green Park (you could see Buckingham Palace from our hotel). We ordered room service, shopped, ate in pubs, shopped, went out dancing, shopped, and saw a movie-Confessions of a Shopaholic, of course!

The thing I think I love the most about living in Europe is that I can experience the true European lifestyle. When you visit places you'll probably only go to once in your life, you tend to hit all the major attractions, and end up bypassing the real culture of the city. The last time I was in London (with my mom in 2001), we hit everything on the tour bus route. That was great, but different. This time, I felt about London like I do about Chicago where I've been many times. This time, I took time to "smell the roses" if you will. I people-watched, paid attention to the accents of the people, and just enjoyed the big city flair. The last time I was in England, I HATED the food. This time, because we went to local eateries, I loved the food. It wasn't tourist trap stuff.

It's different visiting a place you're pretty sure you'll go back to. You don't feel rushed or stressed at all. Megan and I slept in every day, lolled about watching TV in the morning and just wandered in and out of shops and restaurants. It was as relaxing as a spa weekend! No schedules, no housework, no one relying on us. I needed that time to recharge.

Jason and the kids had fun this weekend with out me, too. He took them to a Tram Museum, out to dinner with friends, and to the mall. They really enjoyed the special time just with Daddy. I think it was good for them to be just with him, and for Jason to be fully in charge for a while.

It was wonderful to get home last night, though. The kids had made me a special dinner and "welcome home" art projects. They were in bed when I got home last night, but I was accosted first thing in the morning. It's sure nice to be missed!

Here are some pics of my weekend: This is called "Swiss Corner" in the West End, by the theatres. It's some gift or something in honor of Switzerland's 700th birthday.

Me in front of Harrod's with my 5th Starbucks of the trip. In Zurich, a small Starbucks is 7 francs, so I never have it-it was a nice treat at a third of the cost in London!

The lobby of our fabulous hotel, The Park Lane

Me, shopping on Marylebone High Street (High Streets are like Main Streets-where all the shops are in each village)

Off to Ireland!

The colorful doors of Dublin...

Last weekend, we went to Dublin, Ireland! I have wanted to go there since forever! It's been on my list of "top 10 things I want to do in life" and now I can cross it off! It is a great city and we had a blast. I definitely want to go back again.

The Dublin we saw perhaps wasn't the Dublin I would've seen 10 years ago if I had gone with Denise, Mike, and Jake when they went, but someone did throw up! This time, it wasn't from too much Guiness-poor Lainey (and poor bus driver) got sick on the bus tour to Malahide Castle and Dublin Bay. Luckily, she got sick in the last 20 minutes of the trip and it was a pretty empty bus.

Aside from that incident, we had fun. We certainly had the "luck of the Irish" with us the first day! When we got to our hotel, our room wasn't ready so they upgraded us to a penthouse suite-not bad! We now know why this type of room is called a "suite"-it was SWEET! It had 2 bedrooms and a living room/kitchen complete with washer which came in handy when Lainey got sick. It was in a great location, right off St. Stephen's Green, which is like their version of Central Park. The tulips were already blooming there! We had fun at the playground and wandering over the bridges and running around on the green grass-no snow there!

We got lucky again that day when we went into our first real Irish pub. We ordered our lunch, and the waitress brought out a free pint of some cider they were promoting for each of us! Yipee again!

The rest of the weekend was great too. We did a double-decker bus tour, which pleased our kids to no end. They love double-decker transportation of any kind! We toured the Guiness Storehouse, visited the historic gaol (jail), saw the Molly Malone statue, sipped a Jameson's at the whisky factory, and learned some Irish dancing! The kids really enjoyed the Irish music and dancing. They were so funny trying to keep up with the steps.

We took a guest on the trip with us. Flat Stanley. He's a character from a book that my friend Michelle's daughter sent us to take pictures with as part of a school project. We had fun taking pictures with him, but I'm sure others thought we were crazy! Hopefully, her daughter will be happy with how far her Stanley went!

Here are some pics from the trip:

Jason and the kids with Molly Malone-my kids can sing most of the song now thanks to the music and dance show we went to.

My personal favorite picture of Flat Stanley. Somehow, I don't think this one is a good one for the class project though!

Fun times in the souvenir store.

Atop of the Guiness Storehouse where you get your "free" pint (after paying 14 euros to take the tour). We had an awesome 360 degree view of the city and some extremely fresh pints of Guiness (the kids had Sprite:)

Slainte! Tasting room at Guiness (we probably won't win any parenting awards for taking our kids to the Guiness factory, but there were many other kids there, too! Besides, our last big trip was to Disneyland Paris-one for the kids, one for the parents:)