First Tooth!

Chance's tooth has been loose awhile. He's been so excited and eagerly awaiting the time in which it will FINALLY fall out. He's had to patiently watch as all his classmates (who are a year older than him) have lost one, two and three teeth, while his have stayed firmly planted. One day during his school "ski holiday" we had to go get a paper notarized at the US consolate for our house purchase. Before meeting Ryan, we headed to my favorite little coffee stand for a quick sandwich. There was a booth in the back of the room with a huge mirror. Let's just say no lunch got eaten as the mirror was a huge distraction. Chance couldn't take his eyes off himself, and decided that with the mirror as motivation, he'd go ahead and pull that sucker out. Sure enough the tooth fairy came that night and in exchange for the tooth, she left a 5 franc coin. Tooth fairy pays high in Switzerland.

And Now for a Little About Brooks

It's 6 am. this morning. Brooks is awake, talking in his bed, with a slight demanding tone. Not crying but making it known, HEY tired, sleeping mom, I'm awake now and I'd like some company.

CHANCE? Where are you when I need you? You are usually up by this time.

Ryan doesn't' budge, probably pretending not to hear. I'm up and back to the grind. Brooks greets me with the biggest smile and immediately starts talking, telling me all about his thoughts, I wish I knew all the things he wanted to tell me. Thing about it is, what they don't tell you in books, and I think my mom did happen to mention it oh a little over 6 years ago when I had no clue what I was getting in to, that it's SO CONSTANT. Yip, for us mommies, there's no lunch break, no step outside for a little smoke, no ride to work alone and catch your breath. It's on going and never ending around here. Basically it just boils down to the fact that somebody's always needing something. FROM ME.

Stirling's been here since Thursday visiting, his first time to meet little Brooks and he made the most perfect comment to wrap it all up. He says to me last night while cooking dinner and being here with us most of the day, "I love to watch you in action, you can't tell anyone on the blog what this is all about. You just have to come see it for yourself." I think he's subtly commenting on the chaos that surrounds our house. But you know what, the choas and constant-ness is worth it for a smile, or a giggle, or a cuddle, or to watch the interaction between Brooks and his brother. He is an amazing little angel and there are so many moments that I just don't want to put him down.

My friend Katherine gave birth last weekend, and my friend Sherry's baby was born 6 weeks after Brooks. And now I feel they know. They have crossed over to the other side.

So, little man Brooks is such a doll. A big, gigantic, smiling most of the time doll at that. He started eating solids about a month ago, can you see the look of relief on the kids face?



I mean milk can only sustain a man of such magnitude for so long. This was his first try at the food:



Today in the restaurant for lunch I grabbed a highchair for him, stuck it in front of the table, legs ready to slide into the chair, and EEEEEEERK: Space not big enough for legs to fit. I kid you not. The 5 month old thunder thighs would not fit in to the chair. I finally managed to cram him in there, barely, and his belly was so tightly crammed up against the front bar that I had to pull him out. I looked around, kids every where in the SAME highchair, a 2 year old right next to us. We're going to have issues.



But those thunder thighs are so cute to squeeze, and they make him so happy. The kid is so darn content, that even the other day as he lay on the floor inside propped inside the Boppy while I was taking a shower, he was coughing and choking and I peeked out to see if he was okay, and the kid gave me the biggest smile in the middle of a cough. Pretty much everything is funny, from diaper changes, to bath time to rolling on the floor.



Meet the giggler:



His favorite game at the moment is peek-a-boo and it just makes him buckle with laughther. And if you are aware enough, he tries to play it back at you. The human brain never ceases to amaze.

Just whatever you do, don't go near that rocking chair. That's about the only thing the kid doesn't like. Funny thing is, I think he's a bit like me.....to the point. No need for frills and BS. No need for sugar coating the fact that the rocking chair signals nap time. The kid is basically like, get to the point lady. No sense in rocking me, I know the inevitable. I totally agree. This isn't such a good habit though Brooks, we need to both work on this trait.

And did I mention we have a very chatty Cathy on our hands? He's a smart cookie.....and knows when he has my attention: while nursing. He eats for a couple minutes and then looks up at me, telling me all about his day, knowing that I'll sit there and listen cause he hasn't eaten enough. This goes on for another eat and talk about 10 times. And then he reaches for my face with his hand, grabs for my nose, lets out a belly laugh, then examines his hands, my hands. It's constant wonder. And when he talks to me, the expressions are priceless, with eyebrows going up and down, telling me things so matter of factly, right in the eye. And then back for another bite.



Most cherished by me is the love he and Chance have for eachother. As I write this, Chance comes in the room and Brooks arms go 90 miles a minute, flailing about. I sware this morning he's been practicing saying CHANCE. He's got the final S sound down pretty well and will try to repeat me when I say his name. I wouldn't be surprise if it was the first word that he says. Chance is welcomed by the biggest smile. He hugs Brooks and then they roll on the floor together. The bond takes my breath away every time.

Long Overdue Post with No Title and Lots of Random Thoughts

Chance is off two weeks for school Ski holiday, and so we are roughing it at home most of the time. I decided to take the boys to the mall yesterday to get some grocery shopping done (yes, grocery store in mall), actually mostly just to get out of this house. The cold and snow leave us a little pent up and after asking Chance for the 100th time not to jump off the furniture and thud on to the ground, I thought it best to get the blood flowing. First stop was the promised kids hot chocolate at Starbucks upon entering the mall. I'm in line and Chance is out in the middle of the mall where all the chairs are, I look out and he's bouncing on the couch out there, wild as can be. So I come out, remind him that couches are for sitting, and here you go: here's your drink piped full of chocolate that's bound to make you sit still. Maybe I am part of the problem?

Next stop, grocery store. Let's just say I am trying a new approach to parenting....less talk, more action. I let the kid have his wishes to push the cart, and after running in to a bunch of apples and having them go everywhere, I decided that you know I really am going to miss the rude stares of Swiss old people (as if they have never had kids of their own). And boy am I really going to miss online grocery shopping.....and what on earth was I thinking today, not using the online grocery shopping? So speaking of missing Old staring Swiss people, I haven't officially announced that we will be moving back to Texas.....Dallas that is, Flower Mound precisely, on May 1. And I am proud to say that finally I think we are ready. Of course this place is amazing and we are so sad to see our adventure here end, but it's therapeutic to know that we won't be fighting it so much. And it's helpful that we have a contract pending on a great house with a great pool.....

It just so happened a couple weeks ago that the MAN COLD came to our house again, and in the 3 days that Ryan was laying in bed all day, he found us a great house, and soon it will be ours, fingers crossed it all goes well. Lately, with all this house and move stuff going on, let's just say my creative juices have been less than flowin'. They've been confiscated by the house buying police and thrown to the wolves. I decided that before I do anything else tonight, now that the boys are in bed, I must sit down and write. Seems like so many cute things are happening with the boys right now, that I can't let our chaos of a life get in the way of our memories....I mean, how can I tell the boys one day, sorry, I left that part out. Brooks you ate your first bite of food, are almost sitting up, and are such a bundle of joy giggling non-stop.......but I was too busy trying to move this family half way across the world to write it down. So here goes: first breathe woman, the inventory list isn't due for a couple weeks now. But I do apologize, this post is going to be all over the place, so pay attention.

Speaking of inventory list, let me start there. I had a babysitter lined up so that she could entertain the boys a couple days while I plugged away at that awful, daunting task of inventory.....yes, line item after line item: 3 misc glass cups: $10, 8 spoons, 9 forks, 10 knives $50. Moving back home: priceless. Nonetheless this process is very cleansing as I have been throwing out tons of crap we don't use, mismatched socks and gloves, and lots of McD's toys. But since we decided to buy a fabulous new home, I had to call my babysitter and tell her that she has been replaced with a house and a pool (yes, my dreams have come true!) and that if I really want this house to close come March 5th, I better not spend another penny..... So I enlisted Chance to help me with the inventory process this morning. 30 minutes later he came back to me with this in hand.

I mean, how cute can you get. And I can guarantee you he counted every pokemon card.

So, let's start with Chance. Ryan looked at me last night after I told him some story about Chance that I can no longer remember, and said "that kid is really complicated". Complicated he is. One minute he's sweet as a button, the other he's running wild after school not listening to a word I say as I try to get him to put on his shoes so we can please leave the building 20 mintes later. Very often I am the MEANEST mom on earth, actually that's pretty nice compared to some of the things he's said to me lately. And the next minute I am receiving beautiful drawings and notes about how great I am and how much he loves me. My compliant eater has been kidnapped, and I am lucky if he'll eat anything I put in front of him. But on the positive side, he's really blossoming in to a very independent, creative kid. The other day he asked as we were getting out of the car (mind you it's below freezing).....mom I want to dig a hole big enough to bury my basketball. I think to myself that this will go over about as well as it did for my mom when she went out back as a child to dig herself a swimming pool. So I complied thinking he'll be back in in 5 minutes...I mean the kid had on no gloves. But almost an hour later and he was plugging away. Never was able to fit the basketball down in there, but nonetheless he did a pretty good job of maring up the back yard. .

I was shocked when he cleaned all the tools and put them away himself!

He's also a bundle of questions. Several nights ago at dinner the questions were flowing so rapidly tha tI had to write them down. These will definitely be going in this years book:

Why are there so much countries? I wish there would only be Zurich, Texas, Australia, Nigeria and India. Then we could travel quicker and I could see my friends more often. Why cant we just skip ages? Then if we wanted to, Brooks could be 5 and we could play together. Why's magic not for real? Why is God always the boss? If God was born the very first, then how could he be born? Why would a baby ever want to drink water? Do germs feel? Are Sharks real? But dinosaurs are mean and they aren't real? Are sharks really in the ocean? Then I am NEVER swimming in the ocean.

But he loves his brother, and that's an understatement. I heard him whispering to Brooks the other day as he was holding him in his lap loving on him, "There's no life without you Brooks, no life at all". Where does a 6 year old come up with that?



So that's all I can write for now. I mentioned the man cold, and it is back yet again one or two weeks later. So I'm worn out from taking care of 3 kids today, and I best go get myself a drink....

Chance QuoteS of the Day

"Mom, if I had a REAL wishing star, and I asked it for magic, then would my wish really come true? I REALLY want to be able to do magic."

"I'm gonna run faster than Brooks cause I ma older and the older you are, the faster you run. The faster you run, the more you win."

"Lord, when we are wrong, make us willing to change.
And when we are right, make us easy to live with."

Rules of the Road

As I went outside in the freezing cold Friday morning to scrape the snow off our car before school, I was reminded that I never posted about a recent incident that lead me to have to scrape the darn snow off the car in the first place.

You see, I am from Texas. In Texas, snow means possible light flurries that never stick to the ground. Snow means all roads shut down, schools close, car wrecks happen, people light fires in their homes and wonder what to do next cause they have no groceries and the thought of going to the store in the snow......

But here in Zurich, life goes on thanks to great city maintenance of the roads. So it poured snow a couple weeks ago, and I managed to scrape it off the windows so that I could see to drive. We drive to school and at the round-a-bout next to the school, the cops are there patrolling to see who has forgotten to buy their 2010 road tax stickers. Luckily for me, Ryan had just bought one that week and I had just affixed it that very morning! So I saw them, looked at my little sticker and thought phew!

This is the point in the story where I should mention that I rarely look in the rear view mirror. Yes, I know, it's bad. But when you have 3 seat backs that invade 90% of the tiny rear window space, what's the point?

We pull in to the school parking lot and Chance is telling me all the reasons why he doesnt want to go to soccer that day. Here we go again....not sure if it's the age or the personality but sticking to sports commitments seems to be a hard task lately. I decide to sit in the car and work through this with him. Im facing inward looking back at Chance totally unaware of my surroundings. Next thing I know

BANG BANG BANG on the window. I turn around: Cop standing there, legs wide spread, mean look on face, yelling at me in Swiss German. I proceed to say, in German, that I understand VERY little German. At this point he should have recognized the fact that I had no idea what he was saying, but instead he proceeds to continue yelling in Swiss German. I mean, at least switch to high German so I could understand maybe 25% instead of 1%. But no, that would be too nice or too easy. I make out he wants my drivers licence. And again I thank my lucky stars I had it with me that day. Things tend to be forgotten frequently around here with 5 months of very little sleep, the brain still is functioning below par. All I can make out from his babbling is (in German), as he's waving my driver's licence in the air at me, "3 months, 3 months". I continue to say, I dont understand, I dont understand.

Not helping the situation is Chance, who from the back seat is calling out JUST IGNORE HIM MOM, JUST IGNORE HIM.

And I know the guy speaks English.

I finally come to a little and look back as his partner is approaching the car, and realize, we may be making a little scene here as we are in the school parking lot, and all the parents are taking their kids in to school, and the cop car is blocking my car in with lights a flashin. And of course I am the only person driving the really nice BRIGHT RED car in the whole parking lot. They ALL know it's me. So, his partner nicely speaks to me in sloooooooow high German and proceeds to tell me that in Switzerland you are not allowed to drive with snow on your car.

Yip folks you heard it right......yes it is pouring snow outside, yes most cars in the parking lot have snow on them like mine, but in compliance with very CLEAN and NEAT Swiss standards, one will get their drivers license taken away for 3 months for having snow on your car. To make this even funnier, the second cop has a camera around his neck, and he tells me he's taken a picture of my car and sent it to the authorities. And if they find snow on my car again, it's 3 MONTHS NO LICENCE.

At this point I'm now impressed with the amount of German I am understanding. I smile, slither in to school and pray no one saw me.....or better just doesnt say anything. I drop Chance off at school and then get to scrape all the snow off my car. I'm soaked, cold and totally pissed.

And later after the embarrasement has worn off and I am back at home, I think....you know, I bet that those cops followed me with lights a flashin all the way from the round about and I never once looked in the rear view to see it happening. Maybe they thought I was fleeing the law. With my 2 kids in the back, on the way to school.

Baby Lama Speaks Out

Nothing Better

CHANCE QUOTE:

"There's nothing in the world better than a baby like Brooks, even Christmas. Now I don't want to say that about God, cause it would hurt his feelings."

Hot Topic of the Day: POO

At school, Chance's class is studying the digestive tract and he's surprisingly come home with lots of very good information. He can also describe just how and where the food goes, from when it enters your mouth, to when (best part), it comes out as POO. He really likes to describe that part, or even draw it....

So today, he must have been thinking about that:

CHANCE: Mom, how do babies come out if they are in your tummy and your tummy can't be opened?

I take a quick moment and decide, well, the truth is always best, right?

ME: Well, Chance, girls have a canal that goes from inside your tummy to in between your legs. So Brooks came out that tube between my legs.

CHANCE: Like poo? OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! BROOKS IS POO, BROOKS IS POO!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Trickery

Meet Harry Potter's most avid follower:

We've got the light wand and the clue game, and a really cool box of magic tricks Mimi gave Chance for his birthday. We've even taken the broom out of the pantry to give it a go. And recently Ryan spent an entire Sunday bending coat hangers in to the perfect glasses, and afterwards it left him a little koo-koo:

So the only thing missing was an invisibility cloak.


I still haven't heard of the end of this, and no matter how much or how many which ways you explain to him that magic is not real, somehow to the 6 year old mind, it still is. "Mom, I want a REAL invisibility cloak". So we made do with him wrapping himself in a blanket and us pretending that we didnt see him dragging that blanket about the house. The other night I tried again to explain that it wasn't possible to get an invisibility cloak and I was told "I'll ask Santa for one for Christmas cause Santa can make ANYTHING. And if Santa doesn't bring it, then I'll know that magic isn't real. Anyway, how can magic not be real if Santa can fly and go down chimneys". Try to explain that one gracefully.

Best part of all this magic stuff was on Thursday after school. All week Chance has been going to school wearing his HP glasses and painting on a scar on his forehead so that his friends will think he is the REAL Harry Potter. So his friend Jan comes out of the classroom straight to me, with his eyes wide open with excitement...."Chance is going to bring me his broom to school tomorrow. He promised me I could use it this weekend to fly!". I looked at Chance with the look of "ok, this has gone way too far....". Chance quickly saves himself by saying, "Well Jan, you know my mom has to have the broom at home so she can sweep>" Ya good save there little man. Poor Jan, probably missed everything the teacher said all afternoon day dreaming about what flying adventures he'd have all weekend long.