:: new home ::

The longer I leave updating this blog the longer this catch-up is becoming! So, while the girls take their nap, I thought I'd sit down here and write, instead of unpacking boxes and sorting things! Procrastination is ever present :o)

Life has been full here lately. We finally moved into our lovely but temporary home for the next three months and a bit months until we fly out to New Zealand with a one-way ticket. Our new place - a beautiful Swiss chalet - is right next door to Eti's parents, and coincidentally was also his first home in Switzerland when his family moved from France many years ago. We have absolutely enjoyed our appartment with its magnificent view of the French/Italian alps and the plentiful windows that allowed many a sun-drenched moment. We also look forward to our months here in this home with it's lovely wooden features inside and out. What a treat!!

The girls have both been unwell for much of the last week. A visit to the pediatrician confirmed pharyngitis (a.k.a. viral throat infection) for both of them. I figured (and hoped I was right) that Elise caught it first and Amélie second as Amélie was quite unwell with high temperatures until this morning. It seems to finally have passed. They are amazing when unwell, but the difference is clear when they're back to normal :o)

Here are some of our moments in life over the last 10 days...

Visiting a local animal farm park with friends

One of our last mornings waking up to this incredible view :o(

Having some "Last dinner in this house" fun!

"Bye bye house"

Our voices echoed as the house emptied out

The newly finished balcony at our new house is a great place to play!

Our new neighbours - Grandpapa et Grandmaman!!

Some uncoventional methods are just more fun (as well as the only way possible!)

First morning breakfast

Boys will be boys...and keep life fun :o)

The last of the summer sunflowers

A very necessary try-out of the new oven 
(a subsequent 'try-out' has left burnt food on the bottom...agh!)

Amie on the improve

The lamps are connected, the 'Reading Tent' is up...our new house is becoming a home :o) 

Our next few days will be a combination of unpacking, finishing up at our old appartment, and packing for two weeks' holiday in the South of France. En route I'm hoping hoping to fulfill a small dream of mine to see the Provence lavender in bloom. I fear we've missed the blooms, but we might just catch the tail-end! Until then, have a great week!

:: happy friday ::

Happy Friday from our pyjama-clad, balcony-loving girls! :o) We've been making the most of our two days of sunshine and warm/hot temperatures here. Tomorrow the rain comes and Sunday the high will be today's low! So we enjoy what we've got while we have it :o) 


Have a great weekend!

P.S. Thank you again Carol & George for the fantastic jammies! The girls felt like the cat's pyjamas when we put them on lastnight :o)

:: birthday fun! ::

Well the girls have had their fair share of candle-blowing, treats and gifts over the last few days! We had a fun, relaxed day yesterday for their birthday, spending much of it at home due to plans for the afternoon being put off because of the rain. But that was ok. I pulled off some last-minute plans with the afternoon tea and we later went down the mountain, picked up Eti after work and went to IKEA for dinner. Discovering, in the process, that Tuesday nights from 5-7pm at IKEA is one of the best times to go - hardly anyone around and great for two excited little girls to run wild!

Here are some of our fun and funny birthday moments from the special day for our two-year-olds:


Preparing a batch of strawberry cream cupcakes the night before...

Starting the day off with a little present opening...

Enjoying some special breakfast tresse (Swiss braided bread)...and a little bunny (a.k.a. 'billah') loving!

I love this expression on Amélie's face! It's ok, she wasn't choking...

 Wearing our cute Spanish aprons from Rita...

...and the fans too!

 Some moments of concentrated artistry with our new big pencils (I think she's going to be a left-hander)...

Amélie, being a current lotion-lover, climbed up to where I had been making sandwiches and started trying to rub the mayonnaise on her face. It did look a lot like the lotion tube!

What ensued shortly afterwards was an energetic climbing session onto anything that was climable in the room. So in an effort to stay sane while preparing lunch, I gave them a slice of cucumber each. They didn't eat them but had some fun and giggles with Superma on skype who was pretending to eat them! 

During the after-lunch nap I quickly decorated the gingerbreadmen and cupcakes...

...and as I heard the girls stirring, and the rain was pouring down outside, I decided last-minute to go back to plan A and quickly put together a special table for our afternoon tea. As it has been since suggested, I think this will become one of our birthday traditions!

We ended the day with the fun visit to one of my favourite places...IKEA. I hadn't been for a while (surprisingly...but also due to the fact that we're moving this year and we don't need any more stuff!). The girls loved it after their initial shyness in the kid's area wore off. We even met another pair of identical twin girls who had had a similar risky start to life. There was a good dose of chip and meatball eating, accompanied by lots of running to and fro into the toy area, finding toy puppies to take on adventures...and a bit of daddy chasing in the light department to round off what had been a pleasant day of celebrating two special lives!