Effacée in Switzerland

Random things they say

2012-01-01T05:52:00.001-08:00

Baby Taz 's speciality is to repeat

'C'est pas juste !' whenever he feels indignated or left out.

Lil Miss N often says to me ' Tu es la parfaite mummy !' or

'Tu es mon grand amour pour toujours/toute la vie'

Baby Taz will continually say 'On a pas ça' which can be heard most often after the bombardment of toy advertisements during the busiest period of the year preceding Christmas/Noël as that is the best time to rouse and brainwash children into action and hence indirectly influencing parents' and general public's gift buying/purchasing decisions.

List of dos and don'ts

2011-12-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

I have summarised for easy access the major issues from which emanate beaucoup de nos disputes.

1. stinginess : mine in particular, I have to stop thinking petit...this one is difficult but I can take re-assurance in one thing since I am une radine I fit into Swiss society like a bee in a hive because generosity is not the Swiss' forte.

2. Bouts de ficelles : see 1. (this is a recurrent theme)

3. Timeliness : Shrek is very strict when it comes to being on time, it is a principle he has ingrained within. I agree with him when it comes to work and professional obligations but as for personal RDVs etc... I beg to differ : there needs to be some flexibility. I attempt to be on time for cours, école etc but personal RDV between friends and family gatherings are not as inflexible.

4. Hoarding : mine again and Shrek's desire to throw out unneccesary stuff. Enough said, I am a hoarder and Shrek is not, he is the quintessential minimalist here and he would like order, cleanliness and an unencumbered apartment. Unfortunately I cannot and will not be able to meet/attain his high standard. We obviously will have tiffs* over this issue.

5. Preparing for the worst : Shrek's tendency to overthinking and readiness to tackle the worst case scenario usually blows up and he takes all things out of proportion because he gets lost in the anticipation before the actual realisation of an event. Take for instance the most recent example : I had an appointment at the hairdresser's for an eyelash extension at 12h30 on December 10th. Shrek being prévoyant had dreamed up the scenario that involved panic because there were manifestations expected for Escalade thereby freezing the public transport system resulting in heavy delays and ruining our day. There would be la foule partout...bref Armageddeon was nigh. He was stressed because we had been invited to un petit goûter de Noël the same day at 15h and he was mightily and highly worried that we would be stuck in a delibitating public transport system rendering us late for the meeting time fixé à 15h (see point 3. re lateness and Shrek's abhorance). We made it to the RDV chez coiffure sans problèmes or delays. There was no such pandemonium and the eyelash extension was done in record time so we made it back in plenty of time. We were even early so we had to hang out for half an hour or else we risk arriving too early for the afternoon tea which would be unbecoming because being on time involves being neither too early or too late, but on time : harder than it sounds. Shrek's eager anticipation and preparation or readiness for the worst case scenario is sometime uncalled for. He tends to lecture me re : why I had to make an appointment on a weekend in December, the busiest part of the year etc etc .... why I failed to see such apparent declic and so on and so forth. I am not very prévoyant and tend to be spontaneous : un vilain défaut but if I plan my life to the minutiae where is the joy in that ? Life can give us bad and good surprises, it can exceed our expectations or leave us dissappointed and desasperated but life most of all should not be une fleuve de predictability.

Anyway I have a lot to learn and with the years of experience adding up should be able to evite and avoid incensing** Shrek.

noun

a slight or petty quarrel.

a slight fit of annoyance, bad mood, or the like.

** in·cense

² [in-sens] Show IPA

verb (used with object), -censed, -cens·ing.

to inflame with wrath; make angry; enrage.

Radine

2011-12-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Once une radine, toujours une radine...

Recently we were invited to un goûter de Noël : an informal gathering whereby we eat finger food/hors d'oeuvres and chat awhile. As Noël was approaching the host requested that we have a little present/gift exchange for the kids. I was told by Shrek who was informed by the host to bring symbolic gifts under 5 Swiss Francs. As I am wont to do I took the route of cheapskate, minimalist approach and so we came with cheapskate petits cadeaux. Shrek was flabbergasted by the kids reaction as they were expecting quelque chose de beau et genial...malheureusement their expectations were not fulfilled and so dissappointment ensued. I felt bad that I had not brought gifts above the suggested symbolic mark as others brought more consequential presents.

So I am the cheapskate or radine or stingy one.

Fair enough...I was reprimanded and chastised by a furious Shrek whom if I had not known any better made it out to sound like I had committed a serious or heinous crime against humanity and that I would have to repent my sin now. Also I was reminded that as a consequence of my actions I should live on a deserted island no less because my social skills are lacking and this will in turn affect my children's ability to make and maintain friendship. Seriously I need to just take a step back and remind Shrek that if he was right then by now I would have no friends, on the contrary I have very generous, loyal and good friends whom I still see eventhough we are separated by two continents. Shrek on the other hand has very few friends that he still maintains regular contact with eventhough he is far more generous than I. Friendship does not begin or resume with one or several faux pas such as the one I committed herewithin. It is a complex relationship that needs constant work and it definitely has to be a 2-way street otherwise it becomes tiresome and wearisome. I understand that I have to improve this aspect of my personality : concretely to attempt to be more generous but I do not feel that the weight of what Shrek had charged me with is proportional to what I did. Finally big deal if kids were dissappointed, if it was our kids they will just brush it off in no time. Kids these days receive gifts and do not take the time to appreciate. The novelty of something brushes off soon after the act of opening presents. They play with it intensely for a few days and the week after it has already been relinquished to the has been.

I want my kids to appreciate all the simplicity and complexity and beauty life has to offer. It is not always about material things but we often forget this and try to give our children the very best we can offer and more often than not this is tied in with how much something costs.

Happy 4th birthday Baby Taz

2011-12-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

Petit note : Baby Taz's birthday falls on the 6th of December and as disorganised a mum as I am failed to post in time to coincide with his real date.

6th of December 2011 : Baby Taz turned 4 !

Today marks the anniversary of Baby Taz's entry into the world via voie basse four years ago !

We had a small albeit just between the six of us celebration. As requested by Baby Taz (true to his namesake/astrological sign the Golden Pig) the little party involved copious amounts of all les interdites aka junk food : chips, boissons gazeuses galore, nuggets, bâtonnets de poissons panés, frites, bonbons, Rimuss (champagne sans alcool) and un gâteau d'anniversaire décoré haphazardly with crème chantilly and dispersés de bonbons.

Baby Taz received little cadeaus : complets and une photophore/bougeoir de Noël. I hope to celebrate it with some friends in about a months time so there will be more ambience de Fête but for now this will do.

Joyeux anniversaire mon petit cochon (with the dearest sentiments) !!!!!!!!!!

Nous nous t'aimons !

Mummy, Bo, Petit Suisse, Lil Miss N et Lil Miss Feisty

Bobos

2011-11-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

Recapitulative of the major arm breaking or teeth shaking/losing accidents our brood have had thus far:

At the tender age of fifteen months Petit Suisse fell and face planted onto a shelf losing two teeth in the process. His teeth were put back in place at my aunt's dental clinic and he suffered as the only food intake he was allowed for a whole week was liquid : milk and variants of liquid dairy products via a straw. Shrek and I as a sign of solidarity had to sneakily eat our meals whilst Petit Suisse had his naps. Exactly one week later Petit Suisse whilst running around in circles tripped and fell on the wooden floorboard thereby shaking loose the two teeth that had been reimplanted previously that hadn't had a chance to regenerate itself.In a moment of panic he bawled his eyes out and swallowed both his teeth relinquishing it to the depths of his intestine. This time his teeth could not be retrieved or implanted, they were lost forever in the abyss of his intestinal digestive system.

Many days later I found the two self same darkened thus barely recognisable black teeth in his faeces and that was the end of those two frontal teeth for years. Eventually roots for his permanent teeth grew and now his set of teeth is complete.

Lil Miss N whilst playing in the playground one day during her second year as a kindergartener threw herself onto the sliding pole. She must have lost her grip, fell and as a natural defense put out her left arm to temper the fall. It was unclear as to whether anything in her arm was broken and she had it in a DIY splint (attelle). After several days the pain still did not go away so we went for a radiography and a tiny fracture was discovered au niveau de son coude à gauche. A proper splint with plaster/cast was fabricated and she wore it for several weeks...It healed.

Lil Miss Feisty fell on Tuesday 1st November in the afternoon whilst playing in the playground in the school yard where Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N were following their music course. She was playing mischievously on the slide when she decided to climb up against the slide (instead of the staircase designed for the purpose of climbing). She fell onto the ground and in a flurry of panic, precipitation and natural progression of things used her right arm to mitigate the plunge thereby breaking it. I quickly gathered the troops/my brood and sped towards the nearest hospital. Scans were taken and it was determined that she had a fratured palette humérale on her right arm. She was sent home with a temporary splint and transfered to the Children's Hospital. She had to fast for a minimum of 6 hours in order for the surgery to take place. The next morning after having suffered starvation for almost 12 hours tubes were inserted into her veins via needles. She was calm and co-operative during the shenanigans of tube insertion. She became more and more aghast and understandably so with all the tubes and gaz tied up to her. She was most uncomfortable and coupled with hunger wailed, screamed and was unconsolable. She just wanted a milk bottle but she was prohibited from this basic neccessity as we were strenuously waiting for the operation to transpire. She was finally taken to the operation block agitated, given general anasthesie and her fracture was reduced without the need for titan screws. Soulagement !!!!!!!!!!! She now has to wear a plaster splint for the next three weeks. Hopefully it will have healed and tests/scans come back innocuous: tout est en ordre after the three weeks have transpired. One of the biggest challenges we have to face whilst she still has the attelle in place is personal hygiene. Our concern involves the absolute need to avoid humidification of the plâtre which delineates/anticipates no showers or baths of any kind. As it is winter and one does not sweat or perspire nearly as much in this cold climate compared to summer it is a small consolation.

As Lil Miss Feisty's accident was the most recent dates are still fresh : on the 1st November 2011, she fell from a slide and broke her palette humérale and subsequently had to wear a plaster cast, on the 25th November 2011 she had the cast removed. All is well that ends well !

Shrek's geste d'amour

2011-11-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

Shrek diligently and constientiously woke up at the ungodly hour of 5am in order to prepare the stock for 'Pho*? bo`' **, undoubtedly our family's favourite dish. He managed to cook pho*? on his own like a pro with the help of his assistante ( without whom he would not be able to get anything done from the horse's mouth himself).

Shrek washed the beef bones and the oxtail, blanched it under high heat to get rid of impurities, drained the self-same bones and put it in a massive 15L stockpot. He then boil it at high heat briefly and leave it simmering away with the addition of oignons piqués avec clous de girofles , gingembre, étoiles d'anis, batônnets de cannelle, graines de coriandre et graines de fenouil for 7 hours scenting the house with hints of cinnamon, star aniseed and cloves. From time to time he had to skim the stock in order to rid off the impure froth.

He then spent an hour and a half going to and from the nearest Asian grocery store that is open in order to purchase the necessary accompaniments/herbs : bean sprouts, spring onions, coriander, sawtooth herbs and Vietnamese basilic.

It was with his assistante's preparations : chopping up herbs, grisly tenderised meat and raw beef etc... We finally dégusté our effort at half past noon.

I am extremely and especially proud of Shrek today as he lovingly prepared and executed/cooked a delicious meal for the whole family. Lil Miss N declared that she loved the pho* bo` so much she requested that we prepare pho*? bo` three times a week. To that my reply was 'everything in moderation' so we can have it from time to time but three times a week would lose its appeal, not to mention the time and cost involved. Making pho*? bo`is a laborious process with lots of little hinging tasks involved, it is a time intensive and laborsome dish, not one I can whip up daily at beck and call. Petit Suisse ate a big bowl and still had room for more. He drank the bowl clean. It was a success on all counts. Pho*? ga` *** on the contrary is not so time intensive and that could be our compromise as the ingredients are more readily available.

Shrek topped the summit when he vacuumed and mopped the floor and then prepared from A to Z two bowls of piping and delicious pho*? for his and my consumption when the kids have gone to bed so we can savour and enjoy the fruit of our labour after a tiring and long day.

I loved it !!!! Ta muchly Shrek, Je t'aime mon coeur wholeheartedly !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fully fledged

2011-10-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

Shrek has decreed that in our household at least we will not do anything half-assed : underdone. When cooking certain food that calls for cream and butter we will use the whole shebang. Low fat and light stuff are just pale ghosts that cannot replicate the same flavour burst of a fully fledged full cream.

This very same principle extends to other aspects of life. When we do anything we must do it wholeheartedly and invest our souls and whole beings into it, otherwise it is meaningless and we might as well not attempt and waste our effort in the first place.

Les hauts et les bas

2011-10-30T14:17:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Ile d'Oleron was marked by the highs and lows which emanate and imitate that of the ebb and flow of high tide and low tide.

Marée basse et marée haute :

Our séjour began in the beginning with the tiring journey to the island culminating in a pétage de fuse because the owner in his attempt to demonstrate to Shrek what he should do when the power is temporarily out managed to blow the fuse out resulting in no hot water or electricity. He promptly contacted EDF (aka Electricité de France) and as it was a Saturday and we were on an island relatively isolated accessible only by a bridge we waited and waited in vain for a couple of hours. It was becoming worrisome because I was scared we might be powerless and sans electricité for the week. The owner had to leave on Monday for his childhood friend's funeral and could not be reached for a few days. As the wait prolonged I was more and more on edge when another phone call to EDF came back reassured that someone would come eventually. Finally the electrician from EDF came and the problem was fixed. Soulagement !!!!!!!!! We were unaware that the power had been timed to automatically cut off in the middle of the night so Shrek having endured a cold cold night pulled a muscle on his back which affected his right arm, shoulder and side which lasted several days but thanks to my magic fingers and soothing massage it got better...

The highlights came in the form of dégustations d'énormes plateaux de fruits de mer et en particuliers les huîtres, endless verres de pineaus : une spécialité de Marennes, les moments fort sympathiques when we played 'Tabou' or 'Ta mime' or just had meals we had prepared ourselves involving the freshest fish.

We also had the misfortune of culinary disasters in a restaurant...

eating at a restaurant not digne d'un nom de resto : the food we had there was by far the worst of our entire trip. Shrek's côtes d'agneau was dry beyond belief and barely edible, I forwent the opportunity to taste how bad it was, just taking one look at it confirmed my suspicions and I trust Shrek's judgment because he is by far the easiest in terms of food and he proclaimed it 'beurk'. My gratins de fruits de mer was dripping with oil and cream and not in a good way, just bogged down by crème and liquide. Enfin bref it was the most forgettable meal and one of the worst meals we have ever had the displeasure of déguster. I almost laughed out loud when the waiter asked as is their habit : 'Est-ce que ça a était ?' to which Shrek had the sly to say 'Oui alors on peut avoir l'addition SVP? in order to evade answering the question without resorting to lying or being brutally honest.

The restaurant behaviour of the kids were abominable as they were forever fidgetting and screaming or being on their worst behaviour which culminated in an ultimatum : if they kept up their misbehaviour they will be left at home with grandparents and we will just go on our own next time . It would be better for our pockets as it will be cheaper and our sanity because we don't have to deal with rambunctious and unruly kids who wreak havoc in restaurants and give the whole room a spectacle. The ultimatum kind of fell on deaf ears because after about an hour they would begin to fidget and continue their merry way. They are still too young : Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty to be able to sit still for hours on end and enjoy a meal tranquilly. The older they become the easier it will be. We might have to skip going to restaurants whilst they are still going through the transition period. They are a cheeky bunch and smart alecs to boot.

The disasters were capped by two incidents of pipi au lit by Baby Taz which resulted in the washing of bedsheets, bedsheet protector and blanket and one pipi sur le canapé by Lil Miss Feisty. We also had baby Taz the cheeky one soiling his pants with caca and preferring to keep it hidden from us he took to leaving traces of caca partout. I found him sneaking into the bathroom in order to clean up his bottom and to dispose of the soiled evidence. I discovered his soiled trousers amidst a flurry of traces of caca. I was horrified to say the least and proceeded to clean up the mess with heavy sighing. Our trip would not have been complete without the presence of a few pétage de plombs. Les économies de bouts de ficelles would invariably incense Shrek and consequently end up with pétages de plombs. This is one of our differences as Shrek would insist I was saving shreds of string which are worthless and hence should be discarded immediately. I insist that he is wrong and authoritarian and dictatorial. I will attempt to compromise a little but Shrek definitely needs to let go of his dictatorial instincts ingrained within him. I have noticed this trait resides within Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty as well. Like father like son/daughter/kin. It might be an expression in one of their genes that is a force stronger than them : chasser le naturel, il revient au galop.

Kids were on their best behaviour when we had the fortune of being on the sand and they had the opportunity to play with sandcastles. The possibilities were limitless and they were creative : making canals and fortresses and so on and so forth. We also visited a fortress : Fort Louvois which is only accessible during low tide/marée basse because the chemin leading to it is submerged in water when les marées montent. We spent a day on Ile de Ré which was wonderful because the sand was fine and not grainy so sandcastles were the order of the day. There were also playgrounds which delighted the kids and fulfilled their needs of climbing etc. We saw the island Boyardville from a distance...maybe next time we will visit it via a motorised boat. We also stopped by L'aquarium à La Rochelle. The entrance fees were comparable to those at Sydney Aquarium but somehow the experience at Sydney Aquarium felt superior and worth the inexorbitant entry fees unlike L'Aquarium de la Rochelle which fell slightly short of expectation.

Our return journey was punctuated with cries and bruits fortement mouvementé. Kids were restless and the journey being especially long winded got the better of us all. So we fed them all the food we had, invented games such as who can spot and count the number of cows on the endless fields, who can draw the longest linger with their tic-tac will win half a tic-tac (because we were running short on supply). We then gave them milk bottles and play the same 'who can drag out the caramel the longest will win another morceau de caramel'. I managed to break a tic-tac into four parts in order to distribute to the four little rascals evenly. The disagreeable factors was topped by the insistent crise by none other than Lil Miss Feisty. Her wails lasted a good half hour as we had to endure the incessant whines of 'so ti voi bu sua' which means she wanted a bottle and to fiddle with my téton : a habit Lil Miss Feisty has yet to break. Shrek with all the noise, yelling, whining and screams of 'are we there yet?', 'how far have we still got to go?' and the blaring sound of the radio missed a critical highway exit leaving us no choice but to make a detour of 50kms prolonging our already long and tenuous journey by approximately 50 minutes.

And a good time was had by all...

We made it safely home and that ultimately is all that matters and despite all the lows the trip was punctuated with highlights and we had a frolicking good and memorable time.

Sagesse

2011-10-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Petit Suisse annoyed because his toys and personal belongings have been tempered with once again by Baby Taz huffs and puffs whilst maintaining and insisting

'J'aimerais que Baby Taz grandisse plus vite, comme ça il sera puni quand il fait les bêtises. Il est embettant !!!!!!!!'

Petit Suisse this saying is for you

'Before one grows old and wise one must be young and stupid.'

I hope it serves to remind you that youth sometime has its drawbacks and other times youth is what humanity holds onto in order to perpetuate immortality which to this day has yet to be attained or achieved!

Maybe one day as nothing is impossible.

Encore et encore

2011-10-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

Lil Miss Feisty's fascination with the Barbapapa is astounding. She is especially taken with 'Barbotine' a bookworm. She even identifies with this character and has declared that her sosie is Barbotine so it is no wonder she is very fascinated with books and the world of reading. I am stoked because I myself was a prolific reader. I devoured books in my high school years and early university days before reading became a chore because I did not find 'law books' and constitutional declarations and jurisprudence all that inspiring. It was a bunch of pompous legal jargon and technical lexicon designed to alienate the common person so as to elevate the standing of lawyers.

Anyway I digress, I was expressing my glee at the wondrous enchantment Lil Miss Feisty has engrossed herself in. EVERY chance she gets she will be grabbing a book, her current favourite being the Barbapapa series.

The only hitch lies in the fact that she will request I tell her the stories over and over again. I have racontée 'La Maison de Barbapapa' countless times. After having reached the end, she exclaims enthusiastically 'Encore'. I then recount the story for the umpteen time only to be met with the ever ardent and spirited 'Encore' et 'Encore' et 'Encore' until I am just exhausted because storytelling does become old after the hundredth time especially since I have been rehashing and to a certain extent rehearsing the same thing over and over. I tell her 'dernière fois, d'accord ?'. She nods incessantly as if her agreement that it was indeed the very last time for the day (or now if I am lucky) had been assimilated.

She tricked me because she was just nodding to appease me because as soon as I have finished the book, she will nonchalantly request 'Encore mummy' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I on one hand am very miffed by her bookish behaviour and love for books/reading but on the other I would like to be able to take leave from retelling and rehashing umpteen times the same banal things.

It is just a reflection of her age and a phase she is going through although I hope sincerely that her love for books, language and literature will not fade and give sway the older she becomes. I would not mind if she became seriously bookish as she matures.

Rapporteur

2011-10-18T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our Effacée in CH household is riddled with rapporteurs hence the competition is tight but the biggest and most prolific would be none other than Monsieur Petit Suisse.

Petit Suisse could really qualify for le metier 'espion'. He would be the perfetct candicate as he is constantly reporting on everyone in our household. Frequently throughout the day Petit Suisse can be overheard telling on Baby Taz, Lil Miss N, Shrek or moi and to a lesser (much lesser) extent Lil Miss Feisty. Lil Miss Feisty is his little ray of sunshine.

He would reveal to me what Shrek did in my absence and vice versa which gives me reason to doubt where his loyalty lies. Shrek normally is the master spoiler as he will be way more permissive than me so it's no news when Petit Suisse now and then exposes his dad's foibles and laisser faire attitude. I on the other hand tend to be more severe and heavy handed. I do believe though that without discipline kids and adults will go astray. The trick/delicate nature lies in the handling of the discipline and avoid veering into the extreme prohibitive spectrum which will inspire rebellion.

Petit Suisse is nonetheless A loveable and adorable spy !

Terriblement lentement

2011-10-18T14:50:00.001-07:00

My calvaire takes the form of teaching Lil Miss N how to read. Whenever we begin our reading lessons she will invariably swing back and forth, her backbone structure will have caved in and she is spineless thus giving way to a wriggly worm with the attention span of a sparrow. Her concentration level is at an all time low!

I am persisting and hoping that she will have a declic. She is making progress however small,slow and drawn out it may seem.

Shrek has also had the pleasure of patienter avec une petite fille facilement distraite or moreover singe like to reflect/hint at her birth year and Chinese astrological sign. She was born in the year of the Monkey after all.

Persist and persist we must...patience is a virtue unto itself.

I hope it pans out nicely. I cannot estimate how long it will take befor Lil Miss N is able to read simple extracts and children's books littered with pictures and limited literature but I do hope our efforts pay off.

Update Petit Suisse is reading and writing like a pro, improving everyday so the painstaking lessons we shared have yielded magnificent results. I cannot stress how proud I feel that it is a victory and triumph in and of itself because the long road was permeated with difficult upheavals.

Maman maman

2011-10-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Lil Miss N had me worried the other day when she proudly announced that she wanted to become une maman.

Lil Miss N : J'aimerais bien devenir maman !

Seeing my bewildered expression, my jaw must have dropped and I was left speechless

Lil Miss N qualified her declaration : Je veux juste être maman pour de semblant ou m'occuper de Lil Miss Feisty.

Soulagement..............................

Lesson learnt

2011-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

In order to curb and curtail rows* and risk of public humiliation or embarrassment I have devised the following formula

1. Do not repeat anything more than once because repetition will equate to nagging in Shrek's world.

2. If insistent on nagging persists Shrek will lose his marbles** = loud missives will be fired, colouful 'French words' will be employed and fireworks or explosive row emanate.

3. Public humiliation will ensue followed by silence on my part. The silence will serve as a fire extinguisher which will put out Shrek's venom and slithering tongue.

4. 'Each to his own conscience', or as Shrek puts it 'Chacun examine sa conscience !'

noun

a noisy dispute or quarrel; commotion.

noise or clamor.

verb (used without object)

to quarrel noisily.

verb (used with object)

Chiefly British . to upbraid severely; scold.

** to lose one's marbles : lose one's wits/mind

Frustrations !

2011-10-13T15:52:00.001-07:00

The biggest frustration at the moment for me would be the misunderstanding that arises out of not being able to comprehend langage de Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty. Baby Taz will request and demand certain things which to him are self evident but I for the life of me cannot understand his desire/want/need/request because of the language difficulty. He is at that stage where his pronounciation is far from illuminating, instead it is mired with trappings as I often attempt and try my hardest to no avail. Lil Miss Feisty suffers from the same fate. I have extreme difficulty understanding their requests and expressions. Often they will be frustrated because they cannot get through to me, I then turn to Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N for assistance but they too are at a loss as to what Baby Taz and/or Lil Miss Feisty are trying to say. I feel debilitated and helpless at my lack of understanding and inability to comprehend the sensibilities with which they communicate. The two are rendered utterly confused because they cannot fathom how it is possible for me not to be able to fulfil their simple requests. They become more and more agitated to the point of hopelessness. They then frustrate me to no end when they begin their 'crises' and cries and fits of tantrum. The more agitated, the louder the crying and the more frustrated they become...until I simply yell out 'STOP'. It takes a catalyst or some sort to end the misery. Miserable ending but the best solution I have found is to distract them (when they have tired themselves out with all the sulking, temper and hissy fit throwing) by proposing an activity or my last resort television. The ultimate bribe when nothing else works. Sweets of any kind also help.

It will be easier with time and the older they get the clearer their self-expressions and explications will be so I will not have to second guess myself when it comes to their needs and wants.

In the meantime distraction is the key !!!

Recent developments

2011-10-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

It is still a battle each night but we are slowly establishing a routine in which kids will eat dinner, teeth will be brushed followed by a daily night prayer for all of our health and well being and finally culminates in the four of them going to bed on their own.

The little hitch in all of this goes by the name of Baby Ben. She tries her hardest to prolong and to evade sleep as much as possible. She will often be heard requesting a milk bottle after her teeth have been brushed. She will also attempt to stay downstairs with us for as long as we allow her to. She eventually surrenders by going upstairs to the bedroom and letting sleep take over.

It is still not a battle won as each night she comes up with des nouvelles idées to distract us from telling her firmly and under no uncertain terms to get to bed already.

Obsessions

2011-10-10T12:40:00.001-07:00

According to Petit Suisse

Shrek is obsédé par du travail albeit work. He would be the hardest working man on Earth.

Princess Fiona aka Effacée in CH : moi is obsédée par l'ordinateur and la cuisine because as luck would have it I am busy looking and researching recipes online and then churning out delish food (and sometime disastrious experiments) for the ever hungry pack of wolves : les faims des loups. Petit Suisse by far is becoming more and more ravaged by hunger or he is in that exponential growing phrase which dictates that the input no matter the quantity will be digested as soon as he has finished eating. I feel like I am forever putting food on the table, clearing the table and loading the dish-washer, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the kitchen and so on and so forth...

Petit Suisse is obsédé by la television and a whole host of other jeux which includes Beyblade Metal Fusion toupies, now folding and flying paper airplanes to be replaced by a new obsession soon enough. Obsessions at Petit Suisse's age are fickle and easily replaceable. The older one gets the more ingrained the obsessions become until it is a well worn habit that is hard to kick.

Monsieur Catastrophe !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-05-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

One year of tending to and tender loving care for an orchid was dashed by a few seconds of a case of fiddly hands and sticky fingers.

I had cautiously tended to my orchid as if it was my fifth kid and Baby Taz in one of his moments des bêtises snipped all of the buds that were ready for flowering. The blooms were heartlessly tweaked and hence I am left with an orchid that will not bloom or flower this year eventhough I had been patiently waiting to witness the first blooms of spring. It was a dissapointing denouement.

Sometime Baby Taz renders me powerlessly at a loss for words due to the silly mischief he wields.

He profusely apologised but that did not console or soothe my loss. I really wanted to see the blooming orchids. Blooming hell !

Faux et faux: two wrongs do not make a right

2011-05-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Up until this point in time if my mind had not already been resolutely made up re the possibility of having more kids I reached the summit of no return and Shrek in part helped make up my resolve for me re not bearing any more kids.

Since Shrek brought up the subject of certain colleagues attempting to fall pregnant it eventually led to me professing about childbirth and how some women are presumptious when it comes to the method of delivery : i.e. some are bold enough to proclaim that Cesarian is more painful and recovery time takes longer etc...in short they sing the praises of a Cesarian (which most of them have electively) and dare to attack others who have given birth naturally par voie basse. I cannot claim to know how a Cesarian feels or anything associated with recovery and down time because I had four accouchements par voie basse. I am going to call out the women who say that Cesarian is harder etc...BULLSHIT ! People who have always had Cesarian births cannot claim to know what I went through but to pretend that it was less painful compared to a Cesarian is BULLSHIT. I know I am incensed by these idiotic women. If it is so fucken hard to have a Cesarian then do not choose or elect it except if it arises out of medical necessity. If you elected to have a Cesarian by choice then do not come crying afterwards that you wished you had given birth naturally. You have a scar well women who gave birth par voie basse have wear and tear on their vaginas too you presumptious fakes !

Reminder that pregnancy, childbirth are personal affairs and even the thought of sharing it with my life partner has to be approached with caution.

Shrek then had the audacity to crier à haute voix that 'You are the first woman in all of humanity's history to have given birth.' as if to emphasise the fact that I should not rassasier the same thing over and over. I feel I have the right to at least be heard. I did not scream or hurler when I gave birth but it did hurt and I am now not about to hide the fact that childbirth brought on suffering and incomparable pain but I did not let on at the time. Shrek said that he cannot change the past and that he could not right the wrongs he did etc...I am not asking for anything to be changed or the past to be rewritten because it simply cannot be done, all I ask for is to be humoured and validation and to be valorised at least but most of all to be heard. It is rather therapeutic to have a sympathetic listener and not one who nods mindlessly or who protests the way Shrek does.

Anyway I hope I have made myself clear on this front. I am certainly not the first nor last to have birthed babies. I gave birth four times under different conditions and each time was unique in its own way. I want my kids to know that childbirth is natural but it definitely is not a walk in the park and that it is a highly personal experience which can have resemblances and similarities but for someone to claim what I went through was easier and less pained than their own experience I highly doubt that. Leave me alone with my heightened senses.

Shrek suggested that we should not talk or discuss sensitive subjects etc. that is not my point. I need to vent and discuss and evacuate stress via discussion. He does also... he just needs to be more sensible and less judgemental and to listen more proactively, hear that Shrek ?

Fête de L'espoir 2011

2011-05-22T06:55:00.001-07:00

There were animations and games galore as the toy libraries and various associations set up stands on this gloriously sunny day at the annual event known as 'La Fête de l'Espoir'. La Fête comprises of family oriented stands with info as well as crafts and face painting... It is culminated by a live concert with artists who are generous enough to donate their time. The concert is incidentally broadcasted live on the giant projection screen.

This year kids had the opportunity to fabrique their own paper from only three ingredients : pâte de shredded and naturally recycled paper, colle d'amidon and water to meld it altogether.

Lil Miss N, Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty were all presented with opportunities to fabricate their own paper and it turned out superb.

It is a convivial time pour tous. I look forward to each Fête de l'Espoir with glee and anticipation.

My Nursery

2011-05-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Flowers in bloom or in waiting

My Nursery consists of three orchids and a mini Lady orchid which is just oh so cute in its minisculity as well as a lone orange lily plant which is just hanging on it seems.

Two of the orchids are thriving with the flowers in bloom still fresh as ever. The other one has buds and is showing promising signs of blooming. I am especially proud of the one that is promising great blooming/flowering potential as it is the first time one of the orchids I tend to actually flowers without any boost or fertiliser whatsoever. It survived and thrived solely on photosynthesis/sunlight and water and fresh air (as fresh as un apartement enfermé peut offrir)

Happy 4th Blog birthday

2011-05-17T09:08:00.000-07:00

I began this blog four years ago on the 16th of May 2007, slightly more than 6 months before Baby Taz's birth.

This fourth birthday marks four kids and numerous events and changes and milestones but most of all it is my vent and a great place to document my culinary triumphs and attempts as well as my own personal growth and reflections and the four kids development and milestones to the best of my ability. I do every now and then go back down memory lane via this little blog of mine which is a minor achievement in itself. It helps to preserve memories because writing in a journal just does not appeal to me as much due to time constraints and lack of writing practice. I like many modern citizens have lost the habit of handwriting letters although I still think that the charm of handwriting can never be emulated or lost-

One hit wonder

2011-05-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

Shrek has a penchance for repeating what he knows best.

His most reliable and oft go-to recipe is as follows

Take any red meat : rabbit, lamb, sheep, goat or capri etc

Brown the meat

Deglace with red wine

add chopped onions, carrots and laurier together with some beef stock

Let it simmer away til the meat is tenderised.

There you have it voilà Shrek's most proud concoction!

Strange kinda day

2011-05-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

It was a highly productive day with Shrek managing to install Gorm étagères

I had successfully rangée everything in the storeroom so that nothing was lying precariously on the floor but instead had a neat place on the newly installed Gorm shelves.

etc

We had achieved so much in so little time and were ready to give ourselves pats on the back with a celebratory glass of booze. As it turned out we should not have begun the celebrating because soon after Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty misbehaved... They dropped and spread a poisonous substance (which Shrek can fill in...) onto our sofa leaving us with no choice but to immediately give them showers to rid off the stuff. We then had to change the sofa cover and wash the soiled cover.

The expression on Lil Miss Feisty's face was priceless as she attempted to hide her guilt by use of a cover up : she hid behind a card pretending to read it to ruse us.

The kids all went AWOL and I had not the opportunity to indulge in a long hot bath because they refused steadfastly to be in bed and get some shut eye.

TOTALLY exhausting.

Shrek was unnerved and his patience was tested.

We should have had a nice relaxing evening to wind down but alas that was not to be as we were stressed beyond our normal (flexible) limits and decided to call it a night.

First cheesecake

2011-05-06T06:39:00.001-07:00

I procured my first cheesecake and one which employed 0% fat cream cheese*. I was a bit worried because cream cheese with 0 % fat does not usually bode well for a cake but I was pleasantly surprised. I will however buy full fat cream cheese in the future for a more thoroughly satisfying mouth-feel. The texture with full fat cannot be replicated with zero fat cheese.

I am quite surprised how easy it was to procure a cheesecake, not a lot of effort went into it other than beating eggs with sugar, cream cheese, crème fraîche and mixing, pouring into a suitable cake pan/mould and baking followed by chilling (preferably overnight) . So there you have it steps of cheesecake making in a sentence.

* see the entry for 'Male shopper'

Rant for the day

2011-05-03T15:01:00.001-07:00

I caught the tram at a reasonably busy peak time so there were not many seats left but I scored one. I then noticed a middle-aged woman (not quite an elderly) and decided to give her my seat.

I motioned to her :

'Vous voulez vous assoir ? '

Her response was a curt and brusque : 'Wouah' as if what I had done was a matter of course.

She sat down without one single whisper of 'mercy' or even flashing an appreciative smile or any form of/show of appreciation and then had the audacity and nerve to glare at me and gave me dirty looks because Baby Taz had put his feet out impeding the tram sensors when I had expressly told him no.

The self-entitlement of some people leaves me flabbergasted. I gave up my seat for her and I wanted it back. She was an able body and not old enough to be in need of a seat. I regretted soon after my bad decision to waste 'une geste d'urbanité' on an ill-mannered and self-entitled bitch.

Obviously not all Swiss are self-entitled and ill-mannered/rude scums but I somehow run into a lot of them on a frequent basis...must be my magnetic charm that draws the best out of the Swiss

End of rant !

Little rays of sunshine

2011-04-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

I might appear to râle every other day re my kids out of control behaviour or their un-disciplined tendencies but I love each and every one of them and they are my little rays of sunshine.

They do exhibit expressions of affection to remind me that it's worthwhile : the sometime ungratifying and unbearing of housework and child-rearing, devaluation of home staying and merde if I was to work in a daycare looking after other peoples kids and yet send my own kids to another daycare it'd be looked upon as if I was a juggling working mum hence regarded with more value and looked up to more only because I held a job peu importe si le boulot est bien payé ou mentally challenging or gratifying.

I feel devalorised by society at large and can only console myself in the small consolation/comfort : that of knowing my kids are well looked after and taken care of.

Little rays of sunshine because at the end of the day no matter how important a position is or how high ranking ones' career may be one will only leave imprints with ones legacy be it scientific discovery or ground breaking policy or children who reflect their upbringing and education and do their parents proud by perpetuating and upholding devisal and trust.

Unruly rascals aka Les petits mioches = Extremely exhausted mum !

2011-04-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

It is a rule of thumb or Murphy's Law which dictates that I will already have the propensity to be extremely fatigued when my kids decide to run amuck and be rambunctious little rascals or energised bunnies without the relais of the 'off' button.

They will run me ragged and since my patience level is already at an all low point will ram me into the ground. I of course patienceless will be grumpy and stressed out and the vicious cycle turns round and round until it stops when they finally are in bed and I get some rest to fight yet another day.

Luckily I have discovered a good distraction 'Jardin Robinson' named after Robinson Crusoe which is an adventureland wherein the kids from 6-12 years can feed goats, bunnies and chickens, they can plant veggies, do natural craft projects, play society games and sling ont the flying fox to name just a few of the activities. It is my relais...now how do I convince the animateurs that 2 and 3 year olds are not too young and how do I get them to accept Baby Taz and Miss Feisty so that I could have a breather ?

I am thankful that at the very least Petit Suisse and Lil Miss N adore going to Jardin Robinson and that they are fully exploiting all that this little haven for kids has to offer.

Male shopper

2011-04-15T15:32:00.000-07:00

What predictable results happen when one sends a clueless male to go shopping ? He invariably buys at least one if not several items that are not on the list and worst of all will buy the WRONG thing.

I specified this morning for Shrek to buy 'fromage frais' the equivalent of cream cheese. He came back with 0% cream cheese. Cream cheese with 0% fat is an anomaly, if you remove the fat content you have to rid off the cream, simple logic ?

He could not find frozen spinach leaves so he bought minced spinach which I must stress and emphasise I hate because it is simply hacher to zero texture and taste. It was not entirely his fault as the frozen spinach leaves I had requested was nowhere to be found in the freezer section.

The conclusion to be drawn is that if you want the shopping done properly do it yourself. Shrek has proved time and again that he will buy the wrong thing or succumb to whims and impulse buying.

Madame Champione du collection des coupons

2011-04-15T15:25:00.000-07:00

I am the proud owner of the title of champion collectioner of coupons : any and all kinds.

I would like to think of these coupons as money-savers but sometime they can be counter-productive and cost me more money in the end because in trying to validate the coupon by spending the requisite minimum amount I buy junk and inutile, futile and useless crap. I do avoid that but sometime I cannot help but succumb mainly because I cannot resist the novelty or cutesy factor or purely decorative objects or because of 'what if' and 'in case'.

I do draw the line though as I tend to buy things that only a cheapskate and stingy radine like me would acquire meaning everything I buy : items of clothing, accessories, shoes, household products and alimentation etc... are all under twenty and mostly in the tens. Shrek on the other hand is a big spender but he does mostly spend to buy me gifts and to that end/effect I am mostly content.

Shrek's misery

2011-04-15T14:19:00.002-07:00

We have had a long drawn out and painfully excruciating history with bed wetting by the two boys in our family : i.e. Petit Suisse and now Baby Taz.

I remember waking up almost every morning for days on end with a bed soaked in pipi when Petit Suisse was in the process of being nappy-free at night. Mind you he was quite a late bloomer re his potty training: he only managed to be nappy-free during daytime when he was almost four which had us all a little bit worried because apparently there is pressure for kids who are about to embark on kindergarden to be propre. He was nearing the beginning of the school year before he finally kicked his nappies to the curb but not without un besoin pour les nuits. Anyway we had a wrenching and highly frustrating time back then. It was beyond my comprehension how he could urinate so much when he apparently had no liquid intake at night and had (or so I thought) emptied his bladder.

Now is no different : except the big difference being Baby Taz has a bad habit of drinking a minimum of one bottle of water before he can lull himself to sleep. He insists on drinking the water before he will succumb to some shut-eye. He has a tendency to urinate and thereby soaking and soiling the bedsheets, mattress protector and the mattress itself. Shrek as our designated household launderer is pained by such an endless amount of soiled and dirty laundry : bedsheets, mattress protector, blankets, sleeping bags and constant flow of clothes.

I feel his pain and I make it a point of taking Baby Taz to do a wee in the middle of the night and changing him two times and yet he still manages to wet the bed !!!

Frustration lingering and continuing.

I do hope that this saga will end before his fourth birthday. Baby Taz you can be so bothersome, exasperating and a vexing pest in so many ways but we still love you nonetheless, we just wished you'd grow up a bit more and become more responsible and less troublesome.

Dental hygiene

2011-04-15T14:19:00.001-07:00

Kids being kids will prefer everything sugary and highly corrosive (especially with relation to their teeth enamel) and harmful for their dental form.

Our primordial concern is to maintain healthy teeth and gums and we have failed miserably as parents because the three who have had dental check-ups all have numerous tooth decays. It is inevitable to reduce their sugar intake and to increase drastically the number of brushing at regular intervals. Their level of awareness re dental hygiene is heightened due to the courses given by dental professionals such as dentists and dental nurses at school but unfortunately the translation from heightened awareness to putting that theory into action is lacking.

I drudgingly and painstakingly have to go through the rigmarole of ensuring each and every one of my kids get their teeth brushed properly at a sufficient length each day. I commence by telling and commanding that Petit Suisse brushes his own teeth first whilst Lil Miss N will also brush her teeth. I go on with the task of brushing Baby Taz and Lil Miss Feisty's teeth. I then turn to verify Petit Suisse's brushwork and finally I brush Lil Miss N's teeth. All of the teeth brushing is done not without struggle from the part of Lil Miss N and Lil Miss Feisty but the biggest teeth gnashing is without a doubt Baby Taz as he wriggles and worms his body about in order to prevent me from giving his teeth a good brushing.

The preceding task before bedtime is the dreaded routine of teeth brushing. Enfin bref I detest this particular part of the day when they prepare for bedtime and I have to scream at the top of my lungs in order to get the message across. I revel in the peace and calm when they all go to bed but moreover to sleep and reverie. I do indulge in and enjoy a glass or two of wine or liqueur as a reward for a fully exhausting day.

Action plus reaction

2011-04-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

My faute majeure = lack of anticipation

Shrek's faute majeure = his reaction when confronted with my lack of anticipation

The combination of the above equation is explosive to say the least.

I had FAILED to inform Shrek 15 minutes before the ludothèque's (toy library) closing time. I had failed to get in contact with him in due time to allow him time to get to our agreed pick-up point. I had failed to prevoir and foresee that I needed change on me in case. I had also FAILED in telephoning Shrek at the most inappropriate time i.e. when he was backing out of our garage and his mobile was in his trousers pocket. In short I failed and fell short today. So the only thing left for me to do was to apologise which I did profusely but this is crucial as Shrek continued to berate, grate and faire la gueule as he only he can. I put up with all of that for about 15 minutes before I turned the table on Shrek and we had a screaming contest to see who would come out on top.

Lesson for me : anticipate, anticipate and anticipate some more, it has been drilled and droned into my brain !

Lesson for Shrek is of no less importance : DO not unnerve people by grating and nagging until they break.

Hopefully this painful episode served as a good lesson of what to avoid for Shrek and I.

Shrek realised he went overboard and apologised immediately.I accepted his apology and hope that we can avoid and bypass similar cases being repeated.

Mea culpa, mea culpa...

Mozzarella bliss or better yet dopage par fromage

2011-04-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

We are on an endeavour Shrek and I : an important fromage booster.

Let me clarify : our kids have low probability of being super tall or even tall because Shrek has inherited the 'short genes' from his maternal family. It is a dominant gene. I am of average height. We have thus decided that in order to give our four kids the best possible chance and opportunity to outgrow us their parents and forebearers it is of utmost importance that we boost their cheese intake. I like to refer to it as the 'Cheesy booster'. Our kids do not readily eat cheese eventhough we have access to an abundance of tasty cheeses, a shame really. We are trying at all costs to keep on giving them fromages. Tonight they could not stop popping 'perles de mozzarella' into their mouths. Let's see if that episode repeats itself. I am not entirely fond of mozza myself as I find it bland and utterly boring and tasteless but if my kids can eat cartons of it I am game.

Dopage par fromage : the cheese intake will stimulate growth and maintain strong bones and teeth.

Mes enfants ont pris le goût pour certains fromages: pour l'instant mozza et Fol Epi. C'est contradictoirement ironique car ces fromages qu'ils aiment et rafalent sont pas très goûteux dans mon opinion. Ils aiment aussi Vacherin Fribourgois qui est la seule anomaly dans cette ensemble de fromages sans goût.

Lil Miss Feisty

2011-04-08T13:22:00.000-07:00

Baby Ben shall be referred lovingly as Miss Feisty from now on. It is a nickname befitting of her attitude and demeanor.

She may look innocent and angelic but do not be fooled by her angelic halo because she is one feisty little lady. She can hold her own and can defend herself against much bigger adversaires or siblings for the most part. As the youngest and the baby of the clan she has to defend herself mostly against Baby Taz's provocative irritances and attacks. She lends herself to being ready to tackle the jungle also known as kindergarden as kids at that age can be unbelievably and uncharacteristicly cruel.

Lil Miss Feisty you have my approval for being so because the alternative is more nerve racking for me as I would worry about you being bullied but do not let anyone push you around.

Hold your own ground !

Cooking frenzy

2011-04-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

Cha lua slices and lion's heads

Lion's heads/têtes de lions ready to be steamed

Xiu mai

San Choy Bao with minced pork and juliened zucchini, bamboo shoots

I am grateful for Shrek's magnificiently efficient mincing skills. He minced via a meat grinder 4 kilos of pork which made way for a very happy me. I then used up four kilos in various recipes thus yielding 2 kilos of cha lua and cha quê', 1 kilo of xiu mai and finally 1 kilo of lion's heads.

Grillade à la Suisse vs the Aussie barbie

2011-04-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

No guesses as to which I prefer !

Sauvage vs facility and accessibility

The Swiss are utter amateurs when it comes to the art of it barbequeuing and the minute attention to details such as providing several picnic tables and barbequeuing grills escape their sensiblities.

Shrek's fardeau

2011-04-03T09:35:00.000-07:00

Shrek has one or to be more exact two household tasks that he does on a regular and semi-regular/infrequent basis : that of inputting the washing machine with dirty clothes and hanging washed clothes on the line and dumping them on the floor to be folded/put away by ôsin(Vietnamese for servant) and secondly on a monthly, sometime two-monthly basis iron his own work clothes consisting of his pharmacie blouses, a couple of pairs of trousers/slacks and up to ten shirts or more when the mood strikes him which as of late has not struck much.

He is supposed to do these two tasks diligently without resorting to snide remarks and making comments such as :

This sucks !

There are endless mountains of laundry to be done, I am fed up of doing this, maybe we should split the task up as in you (i.e. moi Princesse Fiona) do your own laundry and ironing of your clothes (which I hardly ever let him do unless he insists and only in small albeit negligible quantity like one or two shirts) and I will take care of mine.

The nerve !!!!!!!!!!!!

It is especially infuriating and frustrating to hear him drone on and on about how he has such an insurmountable task. I hope he is having a stab at humour so I humour him but if he was being serious I am sure I can split the tasks up and other things too, so there !

He can be énervent comme ça ... need I go on ?

Happy 8th birthday !

2011-04-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

We have the continuum of birthdays as 2nd April 2003 was the day my first born came into the world and it marked my first time being a mum and maternity forever changed my life. Since then I have had three more pregnancies and births bringing my total count to four children.

Petit Suisse's birth was marred by my inexperience and I learnt a lot along the way but it is a learning curve which never ends because parenthood and mummyhood in particular are individually adapted to each being hence its uniqueness is amplified by the peculiar relationships one shares with ones child or parent.

I rented a room provided by the quartier for its residents. I then set up the tables, chairs and decorated with Petit Suisse's, Lil Miss N's and enfin Baby Taz's help (who did more damage than help but no matter). I had borrowed games from the toy library and all was set. Shrek came with a pounding and explosive headache which was just swell. Luckily I had one other parent who was able to stay and she aided me with some game organisation. I could have done it all singularly but with another adult it was more manageable.

They played egg-spoon race, Monsieur-Madame : a game of observation and rapidity which had some fun challenges, Devine-Têtes...

All went well except the number of attendants which was slightly lacking according to Petit Suisse, this was a minor detail and ultimately does not determine the success of a party. It's better to have quality rather than quantity of guests. They really enjoyed themselves and I learned a thing or two which would help me improve next time I organise a birthday party or kids party.

Shrek was of no help in the lead up to and organisation of Petit Suisse's 8ème anniversaire but he did redeem himself with the post-party clean-up and aftermath.

We had a little celebration at home on the actual day : today with 'bun xa`o thap cam' and 'kirsch cake' (store bought).

All in all Petit Suisse almost always has a slight advantage when it comes to his birthday as he has the most birthdays celebrated compared to other members of the family.

Toilet trained !

2011-03-21T05:10:00.000-07:00

Baby Ben is potty trained save for a few accident and mishaps here and there. She did it before her second birthday and she is slightly en retard par rapport à sa grande soeur but she is the second as Baby Taz and Petit Suisse were almost a year her senior albeit three year olds before they were rid of their nappies.

Congrats Baby Ben, one milestone down !

Happy 2nd birthday !

2011-03-20T15:22:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Baby Benben, happy birthday to you !!!!

My baby girl turned two today. What a milestone...two years ago I gave birth to a healthy, relatively big (biggest of the four) baby girl who would turn out to be my baby girl forever because I intend to let you be the youngest : a special honour in your favour ! The thing is somebody has to be the eldest and somebody else the youngest and the middle. I love each and everyone of you uniquely because Petit Suisse : fils l'aîné, Lil Miss N : fille l'aînée, Baby Taz : middle child and youngest boy and you Baby Ben my youngest little girl and forever mummy's baby.

I remember clearly the labour pains and childbirth delivery still plays in my mind.

Your second birthday was celebrated with 'pho*?' a traditional and quintessential Vietnamese beef noodle soup that has swayed thousands of followers due to its simple, homey and balanced but flavoursome and utterly delicious and slurp-worthy soup.

The dessert was a cake made of agar-agar which is much lighter and less sickeningly sweet than the traditional gâteau. It was pretty grâce à la moule that I am grateful for.

I hope you will reminisce back into your second birthday celebration with fondness my little baby girl.

It is a souvenir well worth preserving.

It is the start of spring and your birth signalled a new beginning and how fitting that you should be born at the symbolic start of spring when flowers begin their blooming process and nature is at its glorious best.

Here's to many more a birthday celebrations to come.

Borné

2011-03-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Shrek's attempt at cooking pancakes has turned out just as I had predicted. He was given 'une épreuve de la dernière chance', c-a-d c'etait sa mission de prouver qu'il est capable de faire des pancakes à son façon. He copied and adjusted my recipe (which was foolproof til Shrek came along), he tweaked it and in the process ruined it.

He had sneakily set out his masterplan of elongating our wait hence heightening our hunger pangs thereby reducing our tastebuds' discerning abilities : who can truly judge how delicious something really is when you've just come out of an imposed hunger strike ? Unfortunately for Shrek his strategy did not succeed and hence he was left to languish in his sorrowing defeat.

His secret weapon (as he was persuaded that it would make all the difference in the world) was 'yeast' (levure de boulangère/naturale). He added a packed of this to two cups of white flour, two cups of milk, two eggs, several teaspoons of baking powder (he ommitted to measure the amount), pinch of salt, approximately one tablespoon of sugar and his secret weapon and let it rise for almost two hours. The final result speaks volumes for itself. I shall definitely not follow his recipe. The verdict from discerning and finicky judges such as Petit Suisse, Lil Miss N and Baby Ben was that it was edible but less than desirable on a scale of deliciousness or yummy.

His pancakes were doughy, bland and heavy not at all light, fluffy and airy like the pancakes one would expect a tried and tested recipe to produce. I do have to credit him for successfully managing to create holes (les trous) or crater faced pikelet-like in appearance oddly-shaped thingymagic. His pancakes as he claims are unique and resemble nothing I have ever seen. I have to congratulate him on originality but taste-wise it was universally PANNED !

Victoire declaré à celle qui merite le plus : tada MOI

Take that Shrekkie

Princess Fiona aka moi 1 Shrek 0

It was a knockout defeat !!!!!!!

KAPOW

I have to stress the importance of this victory because time and again I have proved Shrek wrong and yet he insists in his blinded borné ways : he is eccentric which can be a loveable trait only if he knows when to stop holding onto the shredded and frayed fragments of his methods and persuasions. He is a borné creature by nature and he still persists even if he knows deep down that it will lead him astray because he is stubborn and pig-headed like that, isn't that right Shrek ?

Handsome stud !

2011-03-11T03:33:00.001-08:00

Baby Taz khong co moche translated to Baby Taz is not ugly

Baby Taz dep trai translated to Baby Taz is handsome

Baby Taz khong co hu*: Baby Taz is not naughty

Baby Taz ngoan: Baby Taz is good

etc

Basically according to Baby Taz he is a well-behaved and utterly handsome boy. I have no idea as to where his vanité appartient. He insists adamantly that he is indeed handsome and sage. My only feasable explanation Tel père, tel fils ! One cannot escape ones own gene pool or ones' parents influence.

Whose fault ?

2011-03-11T03:26:00.000-08:00

When pointing at a stain on the wall (one of the many in our apartment) and inquisitively demanding Baby Ben

'Who did this ?'

Quick as a flash and without the slightest hint of hesitation her reply echoed back

'Baby Taz did it.'

Our family consists of finger pointing and it begins at the tender young age of not yet two.

This in fact applies to a myriad of faults, whatever the fault or damage is Baby Ben will be quick to point out that it is her brother Baby Taz (who is by no means innocent) who had dunnit. Baby Taz in turn blames her for every other offence.

On the same token Lil Miss N complained that Baby Ben was bothering her and had headbutted her which resulted in pain and loose teeth. She went on to poutily declare that

'It is Bo's (Shrek) fault as it was his idea of wanting a family of four kids at least resulting in effectively four kids and consequences of having a younger brother and sister implies that I cannot have peace and quiet anymore'

When will the finger pointing stop ? In fact it never really will because human nature dictates that before navel gazing and figuring out our own faults we will blame others, nature, goverments, parents and anyone or anything other than ourselves before we finally realise that 'We are responsible for our own mistakes, faux pas and must own up to it or it will catch up with us eventually.'

Controversy

2011-03-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

I have recently come across a controversial article published by Wallstreet Journal entitled 'Why Chinese mothers are superior'. The article spoke of a subject very dear to my heart and discussed parenting which whether I want to or not is my number one preoccupation as it is difficult to escape the fact that I am now a mother of four.

The author Amy Chua proposes some questionable tactics and I do not condone or fully approve of her opinions but she does have many points which I concur with : namely that the lax parenting of Western parents lead their kids astray and that the bullshit about discipline ruining kids image of themselves and their self-esteem is merely illusionary. Kids who respect their parents are not neccessarily obedient robots with no individuality or independent thought to their credit, they simply are cultured enough to understand that without their parents they would not be where they are : parents leave lasting imprints onto kids and influence greatly their psyches.

I espouse the school of thought that my kids will be disciplined but not to the point of severe strict suffocation and over-protectiveness. Kids need to experience and experiment but they need clear, clean-cut guidelines without which they will lose themselves.

I believe in filial piety and duty. My mum sacrificed her whole life and more to the good of her children, she was a sort of tiger mum as prescribed by the above mentioned author and in some respects and aspects was a little misguided but I believe that ultimately she had her childrens best interest at heart even if she was over-protective and thus in being so ruined my brother's independence.

I want my children to respect their parents and moreover to forever feel that I support and love them but that they at the very least owe a filial obedience and duty because of all the sacrifices that were made by their parents and foreparents.

I want them to understand that if I push them to the limits it is because I care for their well-being and their future. They can disagree but they have a duty to honour me and their dad. I do think that if I ever say things like 'you are stupid' because in that particular instance I do think that but not overall just a momentary and instantaneous thing that that will not damage their self-esteem or self-worth. It is worse when Western parents who do not ever freely and openly discuss their dissapointment and yet the child feels that all the same: they feel more shame than if it was said and later forgiven and forgotten.

Self-esteem and self-image and worth are complex entities and concepts. I have never felt belittled by my mum eventhough I remember clearly being scolded, yelled at and 'in the eyes of a Westerner' abused mentally or otherwise. It is to me much worse to be told that one is great and yet deep down know that that greatness is just fabricated. The American way is to honour mediocrity, it works in American society because they emphasise so much on 'encouragements and positive criticism or lack thereof'.

I could write an essay on self-esteem and all the associated press but I leave that for another time.

I just want to state that I agree in part with Amy Chua in that if I ever get caught screaming at my kids and pushing them to study or to practise to be the best they can be without cowering down and giving up I am doing my kids a service and they in turn will not see that as child abuse.

I do sincerely hope my kids will get to read my memoirs in the form of this blog and realise that all along I wanted the best for them with their best interests at heart but that they better not put me in a nursing home. (my tongue firmly in my cheek)

They do owe me at the very least years of wiping my butt, spoon-feeding me and humouring me with their presence but most of all RESPECT.

Coup de Marketing

2011-03-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

A genius coup de marketing has been forged by the Orange Giant Migros which incidentally is the number one supermarket chain in Switzerland. First there was a collection of tropical animals stickers followed by Oceanmania : a similar sticker collection of oceanic creatures. Now comes Nanomania : futile little colourful capsules which serve no purpose other than completing the cutesy collection. It encourages parents via pressure from their kids to spend as much as they can in order to gain nanos so that their kids collections can be completed... For every 20 Swiss Francs spent one nano is obtained- thus The nanos do not come cheaply. The supernano requires three times the price of a normal nano albeit 60 Frans au lieu de 20 Francs.

Needless to say that my kids are also swept by nanomania but so far I have been successful in evading it because we have elderly citizens who pass their nanos onto us.

Weaning

2011-03-01T13:36:00.001-08:00

Mummy 1, Baby Ben 0

The final score on the subject of weaning is that I have finally won the battle after a long and drawn out fight which lasted 3 weeks and wherein I began to wonder if I could really resist the urge to just give up and give in already and give the girl what she craves. She behaved like an addict with withdrawal symptoms but I am happy to report that I have now succeeded in limiting her daily breastfeeding feast to once daily and uniquely at night to l'endormir.

I call that a victory !

Mister Catalyseur

2011-03-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

A very costly lesson was learned today by our family.

Heavy crystal glasses + unstable and fragile wooden planche = accident waiting to happen and disastrous colossal consequential breakage free falling and shattering into a million glass shards with the ability to injure membranes and limbs.

We were getting ready to eat and the raclette warmers had to be cleared from the table. Its place was in the vitrine which was burgeoning with precious crystal glasses and carafes and porcelain plates. The fragility of the vitrine was weighed down with such poids lourd and when Shrek opened the glass door with a thud it was like lightning had struck and all the crystals came crashing down. I saw the cocooned, prized and treasured babies' downfall and had a slight pique as some 500 Francs worth of cherished glassware had fallen to pieces but I immediately came to my senses and realised that what is 500 Francs worth of material stuff when more importantly we were left unharmed.

I do however shed a little tear for my beloved crystals and glassware. Even little Baby Taz knew of my distress and came to give me a much needed hug. He can be sensitive and has a heightened sense of when tenderness and hugs are needed. He also comforted me by saying 'It's going to be alright mummy.'

I do lament the fact that the glasses and porcelain had endured and survived transportation from Sydney Australia: a mere two continents away, numerous moves and va-et-vient and shake-ups and our rambunctious kids and countless clinks and dinks and yet within a second of Shrek's steely force it all came tumbling down to an abrupt end. Gravity has no mercy and the higher the fall and the heavier the object the more merciless, disgraceful, damaging and severe the fall to the point of no return or saving grace.

Lesson learnt as I will not be weighing my vitrine down with any more heavy and cumbersome objects. The vitrine is purely and solely reserved for decorative objects of light stature and should not be burdened with heavyweights.

It was defitnitely not Shrek's night as soon after Baby Taz spilled his dinner on himself and Shrek later spilled red wine on our sofa which luckily for us is dark brown in colour which means that it goes unnoticed.

I was supposedly the clumsy klutz but after tonight's epic episode Shrek is definitely the more accident prone one in our relationship. Take that Shrekkie ;)

This reminds me of the time he left a bottle of bubbly in the freezer and totally forgot about having left it there resulting in an explosion which luckily left us unharmed.

We start anew tomorrow.

My fashion editor

2011-01-21T15:13:00.001-08:00

Get your own Mini Editor from Polyvore

Officially Swiss

2011-01-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

I received my Swiss naturalisation papers a couple months ago but the fact that I was now a naturalised Swiss had not sunk in until today when I got a surprise in the mail.

I received my first ever forms de votation. I wanted to share this new milestone with Shrek as it is a definite sign that I am indeed Swiss. I have not decided whether I will exercise my citizenship right to vote on the referendum yet. The Swiss vote on anything and everything and yet somehow nothing changes and status quo always reigns supreme so the pointlessness of voting has not sunk in but I bet that the Swiss feel that they have the power to change laws and such via referendums and that in itself is the triumph !

BLOWN AWAY

2011-01-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

Is it any wonder with gustly winds of up to 30 km per hour I was literally blown away by said gustly wind and am less than impressed with the northerly wave of bises thereby leaving me with spinal chills and gla gla gla piercing frostbite ?

One thing I am thankful for though is that Switzerland has been relatively free from natural disasters save the avalanches. Men when pitched against nature with all of its awe-inspiring force will lose as in the cases of tsunamis, eathquakes, floods and so on and so forth. Nature always wins and we are left reeling in its wake of the damages : human lives and material economical damages.

I speak of the worst floods in Australia since more than a century and it is a sad turn of events. Could there have been any way of preparing for and dealing with such a massive attack ? The answer is try as we may we can simply curb and restrain the destroying power of nature to a small albeit insignificant extent but we cannot curtail it !

I pray that the clean up will be done swiftly. Natural disasters are nothing new and if it does not affect someone one is related to or connected to in some way it is somehow dismissed because human nature is centred and all the worlds problems are too large for one to carry.

I am literally blown away in Geneva by the gust but am moreover even more blown away by the floods that are drenching parts of Australia. I do hope people will be able to get back on their feet eventually but that is a far cry into the future. I am with them in spirit for it is in such causes that humanity unite.

Tiramisu revolution

2011-01-21T13:59:00.000-08:00

Petit Suisse was in raptures when he tried my spin on tiramisu and dubbed it cleverly with the title of 'Tiramisu revolution' pronounced with the French accent and emphasis re-vo-lu-si-on

I am utterly proud of this creation of mine as it was certainly a unanimous winner and crowd pleaser and cannot wait to recreate it again and again as it is quite simple and involves no baking and best of all the kids who love to be my lil kitchen helpers can fulfil most of the steps in this heavenly dessert if I do say so myself.

I garde la recette pour moi-même and will pass it onto my children ;)
I might post the recipe if and when I do decide to blog exclusively about food.

Hello appetite !

2011-01-19T13:54:00.001-08:00

One sure fire way of getting my finicky little Baby Ben to eat is to say in all earnestness

'Do you want Kitty (from Hello Kitty fame) to like you?'

to which her reply is a resounding nod

I continue to plow away

'If you want Kitty to love you you should eat more of this (this being whatever it is I am in the process of spoon feeding her) and then she will be your friend and play with you'

Her appetite is whetted at the mention of Hello Kitty and the irony of it all has not escaped me.

She eats until her hunger has been sated.

Hello Kitty's power is appreciated by me until the day Baby Ben is old enough to nag me to buy her Hello Kitty merchandise to which my reply will be Hello Kitty is a fad and she is everybody's friend not just yours so you need to find a friend who is more unique and special than that insidiously infectious kitty.

30 for 30

2011-01-10T13:56:00.000-08:00

I await the end of the sale-off period to begin my 30-for-30 challenge which stipulates that I cannot go shopping for 30 days, sounds easy enough and that I must pick out 30 items from my closet, shoes included and mix and remix 30 outfits from the chosen 30 items.

I am all for that, will even attempt to post the photos if Shrekkie is kind enough to assist me by taking photos of my poses.

I have hinted and suggested that Shrek take photography courses and Photoshop sessions.

I can't wait to embark on this project which will stimulate my imagination and sense of fashionability or simply knowing instinctly what looks good and works for me.

Cycle of life

2011-01-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Lil Miss N worriedly catechized me re our mortality

Here is roughly how our conversation went

Miss N : I don't want to die when I get older

Me: It's a part of life sweetie. We all must die some day

Miss N: But I am afraid of death and can't I escape it ?

to which I diverted her attention to something more tangible for now.

Mortality is something human beings have to come to grasp with and I was surprised that it's a preoccupation for Lil Miss N at her tender age of 6 already.

I do hope that this particular preoccupation does not prevent her from enjoying life to the max... one cannot shield oneself from the grasps of death : it is a natural evolution of the cycle of life but one can maximise and make the most of our time here on Earth and that is one thing one can determine and master.

Parenting

2011-01-01T14:06:00.000-08:00

Parenting est un sujet sensible qui fâche les gens... parenting involves choices and directions that can differ in a spectrum/runs the gamut of permissibility (laisser faire) and strictly disciplined (old school).

In short just as all of us are individuals parenting and our methods of educating/disciplining our kids can vary wildly.

I do not however espouse and advise people unless they solicit it which I think is out of respect for parents be they new or experienced. We all can make our own mistakes and learn from them but we do not have to bear the cross of being subject to scrutiny and constantly dodging unwelcomed advice.

My kids cannot stay still and sit at a dinner table for three hours straight but I am not discouraged or bothered by that.

My kids can be a rambunctious and uncontrollable bunch which usually leads to me being lectured by other busybodies that I am an unfit mum who cannot control her kids etc...
I doth protesteth because they themselves are not model parents with model kids either.

I strongly believe that kids need boundaries and discipline on the one hand but they also yearn and should be able to stay kids for as long as they can, in other words they need to not be thrust upon adulthood, independence and responsibilities as soon as they are born. I allow my kids to play and act like kids and do not feel compelled to force them to be obedient dogs who sit upon command. They are not robots but human beings who need time and space and possibility to develop normally.

There are parents who surely disagree with me, to that I say 'each to their own'. Those in the camp of absolute discipline abhor kids who become a bit wayward and loud but that to me is not so important. To me I want to raise balanced and equilibrated individuals who know the values of the most important principles but are able to be independent contributors to society and yet stay unique individuals.

Parenting is definitely a learning curve and my kids never cease to amaze me either by their naivety, maturity or their simplicity and just their beings.

Entre vomissements et cramps d'estomacs

2010-12-25T06:56:00.000-08:00

We are all touched by the nasty stomach bug or viral infection that made the rounds starting with our trustee entry/portal aka Shrek. Shrek began with mild stomach cramps which escalated in severity, soon after I had Baby Ben projectile vomitting for two days straight punctuated with a sleepless night for me. She also had fever and I thought that when it looked like she had recovered somewhat that the worst was over, not so as Shrek soon enough exhibited intense stomach cramps : the kind that twists and turns and wherein revolution inside ones tummy churns and churns until the toxicity decides to chance upon another outlet in which case projectile vomitting begin. It happened exactly like that...I also experienced stomach cramps which for now are half under control grâce à Charbon.

Petit Suisse another soul hyper sensible to bugs of the stomach kind also agonises with cramps and projectile vomitting through the nose and mouth.
Both Petit Suisse and Shrek are languishing in pain and the land of stomach churning.
The bug did not stop there as it claimed another victim in the form of Baby Taz and he too puked uncontrollably mostly liquid gunk.

Christmas Joy indeed...

Lil Miss N's 6th birthday !

2010-12-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

I survived eventhough Murphy's Law dictated that when under stress almost everything that can go wrong will and so it is that I was under intense stress today in getting ready for and organising Lil Miss N's 6th birthday. I had thought that I had it all under control but alas I was so far from the truth.
The day began with my massive spring cleaning sweep. I was determined to get the house sparking and spotless (or as spotless as I can possibly get it given the circumstances in this case four pairs of grubby hands/paws and four like minded rambunctious and mischievious underlings). I forged ahead and ploughed/plowed/soldiered my way through and as Murphy's Law has it all four were geared to get in my way and to slow me down at every turn.

I finally completed the sprucing up of the whole apartment but in the process lost my patience and nerve.

Next came the obligatory cake making and baking. Petit Suisse, Lil Miss N and Baby Ben surrounded me and made it almost impossible for me to access the workbench as they were so eager, enthusiastic little helpers who in their eagerness to help crowded me and were haphazardly putting and mixing ingredients much to my dismay but the cake was made and it turned out delicious if I do say so myself.

The decorations were left minimalist because I had run out of time so it did not look all that festive but that was forgiveable.

Games of Twister, Monza and 'Burg Ritter' were played intermittently with 'party bombs' to save the day and then it was 'gâteau d'anniversaire time and candle blowing time'. I had some leftover cake batter so decided to make a second cake albeit thinner and less consequential. Shrek having blocked ears took out the thin round cake instead of the heart-shaped one I had intended. That in the end did not matter too much as the candles were blown, cake was cut and shared amongst Lil Miss N's friends and she opened her presents : Hello Kitty pencil case with accessories, a kit to create her own bnnn me pocket money.

Her friends all left with a bonbonière each complete with little toys and surprises. A good time was had by all eventhough I felt that I could have been much more organised and the party games should have deroulés more smoothly had I not been collée dessus by a little superglue albeit the little party stopper.
Lil Miss N was stoked and visibly happy and all the hard work paid off.

Shrek then attended a work Christmas function. He drank a little too much and the hard liqueurs made their appearance when he returned.

He came home and assured me that he was fine but as Murphy's Law would have it I was prepared...good thing I was prepared given last year's episode.

Anyway Shrek's favourite expression of all time is 'goulot d'étranglement' which means bottleneck or (throttle) and true to form he puked into our household's goulot d'étranglement aka the bathroom sink which was already slightly blocked for quite some time rendering it unfit for use and hopelessly out of order until it has been unblocked by the plumber.

He had a massive hangover is an understatement... I need not get into the gory and peu appetisant details of this episodic vomissement.

He did redeem himself by vaccuuming and taking out the garbage : tasks which he has not performed/executed for a considerable period of time.

My love affair with Murphy's Laws are still going strong !

La Tô

2010-12-18T12:22:00.001-08:00

La is for chocolat
Tô is for gâteau

Basically the gist of it is that Bb Ben repeats the last syllable of everything we say or in the case of Vietnamese the last word as Vietnamese is a monosyllabic language

Bonbons : lollies is what she can say clearly without any trouble at all...

Basically she like her sister and brothers or maybe it's a kiddie thing loves all things sweet and therefore her first words are associated with chocolate cake and lollies.

They do seem to take after my sweet tooth after all which spells disaster for their teeth !

Baby Taz's language evolution

2010-12-16T02:25:00.000-08:00

Phrases that Baby Taz are throwing around :

Je vais tout dire à mummy
ça va tomber (repeatedly)
c'est quoi ça
Baby Taz khong muon can be translated to Baby Taz veut pas ça
Baby Taz khong thich can be translated to Baby Taz n'aimes pas ça
Ngay mai mummy mua nha' meaning Mummy will buy it (it being anything) tomorrow
C'est pas bon
C'est pas moi
Bo pété
C'est gagné (thanks Dora)
...

He is expanding his vocabulary and is speaking more sentences and phrases everyday.
He is becoming a precious little boy.
Apart from his temperamental 'crises' and non-stop repetitive and annoying obsessions he is an adorably cute boy. Love you baby Taz

Priceless

2010-12-15T13:16:00.002-08:00

15 minutes getting dressed
10 minutes to arrive at destination
10 minutes of explanation by the daycare workers
10 minutes of peaceful playtime with Bb Ben

10 Swiss Francs spent on a first trial of leaving Bb Ben at the nursery by herself
5 minutes of intense ear-piercing wails from a non co-operative baby
Priceless is the realisation that said baby still needs and wants her mummy and is not in the least ready to be babysat by complete strangers as yet. I am needed and moreoever wanted and clung to and that sends me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Though I still would like to claim my money back as 10 Francs for a trial period of 5 minutes is extortion !

Baby Ben still exclusively wants her mum to be her chief caretaker and nurturer for now.
Oh joy !

Lice outbreak !

2010-12-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

The outbreak of poux parmi nous has struck again and this time noone was spared. We all went through the arduous process of parafin treatment which meant that we oiled our heads so that the lice will suffocate and die a painful death or so I hope after all the itchy and scratchy that went on here at the Lost in Switzerland household.

Lil Miss N is the portal into our auspicious family. She has time and again proven to be our lice carrier and invariably lice are not satisfied with one head they must propagate and find food and expand their population hence it is with much regret and lots of cussing that I go through the rigamorole (silly process and even sillier spelling) of ridding our family of such invasion and intrusion. It is disagreeable and I wish there was a vaccination against these damned pests/parasites !!!

Tele-obey

2010-12-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

A conversation between Petit Suisse and I went something like this

Me : Petit Suisse please explain to me why you think that is that you are a renowned and model student at school with decorum and examplary behaviour according to your teacher and yet you display such abominable conduct and disobedience at home ?

Petit Suisse : J'ose pas de dire
which translates to 'I don't dare say it'

Me : Please tell me so I can begin to understand the workings of this strange phenomenon

Petit Suisse : Mais je n'ose pas de dire
visibly he is not too keen on disclosing the real reason which got me a bit upset and worried but I kept my cool and insisted some more

Me : C'mon you can tell me anything. All I am trying to do is to get an insight so that I could change if need be.

Petit Suisse : Television

According to Petit Suisse the reason as to why he is a well behaving, obedient model student with decorum at school and a not so angelic rugrat at home is due to the fact that there is no television at school.

Amen to that... The television is evil !!!

Whispers

2010-12-08T13:22:00.001-08:00

Lil Miss N was surreptitiously excited as she beckoned me to lower my ear to her level so she could whisper a top secret into my ear.

It was pleasing beyond words to hear

...

'Je t'aime et c'est tout'

Je t'aime aussi ma petite princesse !!!

Yeah yeah I know I know I am falling into that parental trap of treating my daughters like precious princesses and my boys as valiant knights or little princes. Call me typical or whatever but I am not budging !

On another tangent she often tells me that

'T'es une jalouse'
which totally perplexes me to no end so I requested an explanation or enlightenment

She coolly interjected that 'You always have and wear all the beautiful dresses and adornments, in short you cover yourself in beautiful things and so you 'faire jalouse les autres dames'. Ah I see she means that I look so beautiful that I leave other women green with envy, she just didn't know how to phrase it. Coming from my own daughter it might seem biased and can be likened to 'the cat admiring the magnificent length of its tail' (Vietnamese idiom) but I will take it because as far as I am concerned kids do not lie.

Rambunctious one has struck again

2010-12-08T13:12:00.001-08:00

I was furious as I was rudely awaken by his moaning as he was laying literally in a swampy bed (puddle) of pee and moaning nonetheless as it must have been bothering him.
How Baby Taz managed to entirely wet his half of the bed including but not limited to soaking the mattress, alèse, sleeping bag and his clothes and yet maintaining his nappy dry is beyond me !!!!!!!
That boy has the utmost talent for infuriating me... He was profusely apologetic as I was close to reaming him out *.

* ream out : (slang) to scold or reprimand severely

Happy 3rd birthday !

2010-12-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Happy third birthday to my rambunctious little rascal aka Baby Taz.
He was born on St Nicolas' day although he is anything but saintly.
He was doe-eyed and taken by complete surprise as he is not accustomed to the whole blowing out the candle process..
We only celebrated his birthday with a Pandoro and sparking grapejuice but no matter he was still awestruck as if he could not believe that the attention was focused and centred on him eventhough he had not done anything naughty up until that moment save the hour long kicking, screaming and wailing fest. He repeatedly said 'Bo biet lam' roughly translated to 'Daddy knows how to fix it!' in relation to a computer game at Ikea that wasn't working. He played that phrase for an hour without any hint of fatigue or exhaustion and only stopped when we went under the rain and he forgot completely because he was so absorbed by the leftover almost all melted snow on the ground.

Happy birthday little baby boy and here's to many more to come !

Snowed under !

2010-12-05T04:36:00.000-08:00

The public transport system came under fire as it was paralysed by the rapid snowfall.

Pictures of the white blanket paralysing not only the public transport system but also left us prisoners of our own apartment.

I cannot wait to bid adieu to winter.

Incidentally

2010-12-04T12:16:00.000-08:00

The plaque d'Induction has gone irretrievably flop and needs revision or major repair or in my humble opinion complete replacement.

We are going to have to look into 'faire marcher la garantie'.

It has served us for a good two years but alas its brevity could not be prolonged. Instead it has proved me right re its longevity and shown us who is boss.

I am still not convaincu par la plaque d'Induction and had some well-founded reservations and suspicions and upon inspection have further proof.

The Ceran short-circuited our electricity and left us without electricity for half a day.

It needs to prove itself to me. Hopefully its successor will do just that !

Long lives the Whirlpool Ceran stove ! RIP

We are now relying on our classical electric two-top stove until further notice...

Shrek struck again !

2010-12-04T11:20:00.002-08:00

The lure of a dirt cheap breakfast of 1 Swiss Frank for a hearty feed consisting of one croissant, 1 roll, 1 portion of jam, 1 portion of butter, 1 serving of cheese and one pot of yoghurt topped off with an all you can drink: refillable cup of coffee/tea/hot chocolate proved too irresistible to some even. Henceforth it was no surprise that this morning sans douche or preparation we rushed off at Shrek's insistence and urging to IKEA for our fill of the grubby brekkies .

There were all the usual suspects and us being some of them. I noticed all the regulars...and some new faces. I made a comment about the fact that these people like us were all gourmand and all profiting from the generosity of Ikea which was just masked as an appel of a cheap meal. Shrek had not begun to eat and obviously had not drank his morning coffee yet because following my annoying remarks (because I can be annoying like that) he chucked a spastic* and went off... espousing to anyone within surrounding earshot that 'Yes indeed people who come to Ikea on a Saturday morning for the cheap brekkie are all gluttons, stingy and etc and etc and they are cheap asses but that was not his concern.' His voice grew louder and irritation intensely heightening his pitch. It was clear to all that he was not a happy chappy** and that I had dared to raise his ire.

Shrek is punctuated with what I call idiosyncratic and dictatorial tendencies.
Shrek does not digest stress or give off steam at work and as a result I sometime suffer as a consequence of his outbursts which are totally uncalled for... He does have this tendency to let out steam after my 'annoying remarks or habits' and claiming that 'my behaviour' induces him to break out the 'ogre temper' and 'hell hath no fury like that of an ogre's wrath' !!!!!!!

He did apologise afterwards after I made it clear that I wasn't going to be a doormat and continue taking that shit anymore !

Built up frustrations and pent up anger needs to escape through some sort of therapeutic sessions or perhaps Shrek should start a blog of his own because the way I see it my blog was borne out of my frustrations as a stay at home mum and now it's an outlet and vent for me which is a healthy way of getting my stress level under control...

* Aussie slang for going ballistic
** slang for a cheerful and content fellow

Mise au point

2010-11-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

I bought Shrek a cadeau : a Garmin GPS navigation system approximately three months ago. I bought it primarily for him but it was also en guise un cadeau for me : La Paix.

Let me clarify Shrek goes ballistic in the car when I (hopeless as a map reader and co-pilot that I am) get us lost without fail. I wanted to eradicate my pain and eliminate this unwanted recurrence by gifting him with the GPS and what I thought would be La Paix for me...Alas Shrek has some major idiosyncrasies that I do not and cannot even begin to fathom and he has refused to put the GPS into use. It is as we speak sitting prettily in its box and emballage original unable to function the way it was destined for. Shrek prefers me to learn how to read a map properly and would gladly gift me with the poisonous gift of 'A crashcourse in map reading and comprehension for dummies'.

He did indeed go spastic when I got us lost on our way to the water theme park.

I have made it clear that I do not condone inadmissive behaviour from him and thus have declared a sanction. Shrek needs to learn quickly that his bullying is not working !

There I said my piece and now I leave it up to the borné master to start some work on himself.

Borné personalisé is Shrek's first name.

Digging more holes

2010-11-15T11:06:00.000-08:00

Overheard in the swirlpool of Vitam'parc

'Papa, laisser la dame passer, tu vois la grosse là bas ?'

The 'grosse dame' en question was just next to Shrek and felt slightly uneasy at this declaration frank but none too diplomatic. Lil Miss N still has a lot to learn before she can fathom a career in diplomacy. I sense that the non-diplomatic gene has been passed onto the next generation and is perpetuating much to a forlorn father's chagrin.
Ha !

Franglais at its best !

2010-11-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

My kids have a knack for mangling the French and English and coming up with the most ridiculous Franglais in the process.

They have a tendency to put 're' in front of anything French to denote 'encore'
For instance : Après demain on va re-aller à l'ecole mummy ?
Tomorrow we will go to school again mummy ?

The new masterchef

2010-11-09T15:16:00.001-08:00

I propelled Shrek to rediscovered a long forgotten secret to preparing marrons chauds. I cannot reveal the secret but needless to say I am the self-proclaimed and acclaimed Masterchef de marrons chauds !
Pictures to come...

The marrons dissappeared before I had a chance to photograph them.

Girl's night out

2010-11-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

Tonight marked the first ever girl's night out for me on Swiss territory. I simply had sushis at a sushi train but it was an hour I savoured because I ate without any interruptions or demands from kids which sometime take away from enjoyment of the moment. It was also a momentous milestone as Shrek was left in charge of babysitting duties. It went well and wondrously so that I think I am going to continue this tradition and proclaim a monthly outing for me. Heaven knows I deserve it so that I can come back to a lifetime of servitude and pandering to others needs above my own.

I love Shrek !

Ben's progress

2010-11-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

It might not seem like much but one and a half pots of yoghurt and one quarter of an avocado is what Bb Ben ate today and that in itself is an achievement.
She is taking supplements of calcium in the form of 'Calcimagon'.
She is still turned off completely by any sort of cheese and still does not drink more than a few drops of UHT cow's milk at a time.

She is otherwise perfectly healthy and alert little girl.

Gross

2010-11-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

Pommes acidulés et riz créole are Shrek's top two public nemesis and henceforth shall be bani de notre maison.

Let me keep that firmly in mind in case I ever get the urge or temptation to buy these two barely edible subjects again.

Digging a hole

2010-11-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

Overheard on a chock-a-block, plein-à-croquer tram was the voice of a little boy

'J'ai vu des poux qui bouges sur ta tête' in reference to his sister's head.

As he wanted to ensure that the whole tram could hear this revelation, he repeated with zeal and I wanted to dig myself a hole and crawl into it to hide from embarrassment. I looked around and smiled meekly and weakly at my fellow passengers.

That boy with a big mouth was none other than Petit Suisse and he sure knows how to bring on total humiliation.

Good one boy !

I recounted this story to Shrek and he laughed uncontrollably...admittedly so did I.

The disgraceful fallen idol

2010-11-01T11:34:00.000-07:00

Ikea was synonymous with pedestal and once possessed a cult-like status in Shrek's heart but alas that has all changed. Ikea has fallen from grace and into the abyss as Shrek now no longer wants to even hear the name Ikea uttered. Ikea used to appeal to Shrek for the following reasons :

1) affordability or bon rapport prix/qualité
2) facilité à monter
3) user friendly

His taste in furniture and furnishings have matured and shifted into outdated antiques. As Ikea and antiques are incongruous hence it is fitting that Shrek has moved onto meubles anciens (which Ikea incidentally do not fabricate) that outlast those from Ikea by a few lifetimes.

He believes that he and Ikea are no longer on good terms. He has moved past and beyond cheap furniture. You get what you pay for.

Ikea's single saving grace is their family and child-friendly factor that can't be beat.

Orchids

2010-10-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

I now have three orchids to care for. I decided after the summer that all outdoor plants were too much work. I could indeed keep them alive if I wanted to or could be bothered but now I have many more tasks to contend with namely the endless household chores and child-rearing.

Add to the mix homework and extra-curricular activities and that leaves me very little time left to take care of plants.

My orchids are showing good signs as their leaves are renewing...hopefully they will flower and I will be overjoyed !

Baby Taz is a copycat

2010-10-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

Baby Taz is incredulously wondrous when it comes to speech.

When I say 'Baby Taz est beau'
He can be heard saying
'Mama est beau'

If I tell him 'Baby Taz or you are naughty'
He will immediately fire back 'Mama is naughty'

'Baby Taz is clever' will be met with ' Mama is clever'

'Love Moy everyday' and he will say 'Love nanna (his grandma) everyday'

and so on and so forth

Speech

2010-10-31T07:59:00.001-07:00

Bb Ben's progress with verbal expression is just amazing.
She knows how to say mama, papa as a matter of course.
Her impressive vocabulary includes
nana or nanna (her maternal grandmother),
ông- grandpa or any man as a matter of fact,
ba` grandma or any woman,
xin (which i am irrepressibly glowing about) depicting her earnestness and can be roughly translated to 'please or s'il te plaît' ,
thu*o*ng -love,
pot -when she wants to pee or poop
me. - mum
bô' - dad
a(n -eat
nu*a : encore or again
nu*o*'c literally means water when she wants to drink liquid
cho' literally dog but Bb Ben denotes any animal as cho'
chim : bird
mo*? : open

She can pronounce her siblings nicknames.
She also has a knack for repeating words as imitation is the shortest route to enlightenment.

All hail 'La cheffe de nettoyage'

2010-10-31T06:30:00.002-07:00

The honorable title 'chief of cleanliness' aka 'le maître de nettoyage' has been hereby designated to Lil Miss N.

Lil Miss N recently came home with a necklace made out of twine and a pendant which features a picture of a girl in the process of cleaning up. I promptly asked her where on earth did you get that from.. She proudly responded 'Mum I have been assigned the role of chef de nettoyage by my teacher.' Lil Miss N could not contain her excitement and pride at having been awarded such a responsibility.

Following from and capping off this self-satisfaction and pride I have decided together with Shrek to exploit this and assign her le titre de la petite cheffe de nettoyage et pliage des habilles...with the hope that she will continue and be our vacuum cleaner operator and floor cleaner.

All I ever hope for in my kids is for them to be independent and to assist me a bit with everyday household chores so as to alleviate my load somewhat.

The trouble with weaning

2010-10-31T06:30:00.001-07:00

I breastfed all my four children for the longest time, illustration

Petit Suisse was breastfed til his 13th month and I was obliged to wean him only following Doctors orders when I inadvertently fell pregnant with Lil Miss N. Apparently breastfeeding is definitely not a reliable method of contraception. Case in point, I am looking at you Shrek-for a self-proclaimed scientist his insistence that breastfeeding does in fact gives me immunity from being impregnated is way off base. Petit Suisse had a hard time for a week before he finally caved in and gave way but relapsing a little when Lil Miss N was born and I commenced breastfeeding her.

Lil Miss N was breastfed exclusively til the mûr age of 18 months. Up to the age of one and a half she refused to eat solid food and did not want to drink any other form of milk-by way of formula or cow, accepting only my breast milk as her singular source of nourishment which was by no means sufficient for her nutrient intake. She would have kept on going until I was forced to make a decision re her alimentation. I decided overnight that enough was enough and that she needed input other than breast milk. She was putting up a good fight and battled valiantly for almost two weeks before she realised that I meant business and that she was left with no choice but to accept cow's milk as a suitable and nutritious alternative.

Baby Taz was breastfed til the tender age of 10 months when weaning began by force of necessity arising from the discovery that I had fallen pregnant with Bb Ben. This is reminiscent of Petit Suisse's predicament and a question of history repeating itself. Once again breastfeeding as a form of contraception has been shot and without question I will have this advice for my children : do not ever rely on breastfeeding as contraception, it will predictably and invariably fail much to my chagrin.

Bb Ben's turn has come. She recently had a weigh in and measure up at the pediatrician. She is below average in height which is not surprising in the least but in order to ensure her calcium intake which is primordial at her age is not lacking I am in the process of slowly switching her regime. She will be given calcium in its concentrated form, proposed cow's milk at every opportunity and yoghurts which she does eat but cheese is another story. It is hardly a battle won...will be a long and drawn out battle.

She has now surpassed her older sister in terms of perseverance and single-mindedness. She is one determined little lady. She knows what she wants and she will get what she wants with steely determination, an admirable quality all the same.

Brother and sister

2010-10-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

Baby Taz is quite fond of his lil sis Bb Ben whom he affectionately refers to as bébé.
Typical scenario of Bb Ben running amuck in the shopping centre or supermarket and me breathlessly threatening her that I will leave her.... hoping that out of fear she will comply and obey and most importantly follow me. Baby Taz does not realise that I am just menacing without real intention of leaving her behind and he stutters 'Mummy, please wait a minute, please wait, don't leave bébé behind, please wait a sec mummy' over and over all the while pushing Bb Ben or dragging her like his ragdoll to ensure she will not be abandoned.

Drawing a conclusion from that scenario I conclude that Baby Taz is very fond of Bb Ben and dread the thought of losing her eventhough he is the one who will often unintentionally and intentionally rough her up by pushing her, dragging her or inadmittenly hitting her. He is such a complex little porcinet. Sibling rivalry for attention and affection is very much alive.

Vive La Suisse

2010-10-30T13:30:00.000-07:00

Bienvenue à une vie paisible parmi les radins...

Je suis devenue Suisse et je me félicite d'avoir rejoindre 'Le pays de Radins'

Oh JOY !!!

Aside from sarcasm I am glad to be part of a nation of fence sitters or peaceful montagnards who mind and go about their business on a daily basis without ever stirring.

I count myself lucky to be amongst the 7.5 million and one inhabitants of this magnifique country.

Celebration

2010-10-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

I am no longer an alien on Swiss territory as I have acquired my long awaited Swiss citizenship. I now am the 7.5 million and one habitant. I could be described as a reluctant Swiss but Swiss citizenship has to be merited and I have earned my right to be one.

Vive la Suisse !!!

Random meanderings and ramblings

2010-10-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

Lil Miss N has lost her first tooth ever. The petit souris was quick to exchange her tooth for a coin during her revêrie.

She is coquette more than ever and would spend copious amounts of time looking at her own reflection in the mirror. She also eyes my accessories and has an already developed taste for deluxe luxurious adornments and a heightened sense of fashion.

She is a little monkey who cannot stand up straight but prefers to bend and swing about and in short monkeys about spinelessly thus having dire consequences like the time she fell in the playground on the monkeybar and broke her elbow. Alas a broken elbow was not a big deterrent as she continued sashaying about without a care in the world and flirted with disaster and danger....

Lil Miss N has a knack for sulking and will easily detract from one extreme to another. She can be pouting and saying 'Tu n'es plus ma maman' meaning 'You are no longer my mum' because she was contradicted and in the next breath will espouse ' Tu es la meilleure de mamans' which translates to 'You are the best mum in the whole wide world.'

I have come to expect this changeable behaviour and take everything she says with a grain of salt.

She is still my little special girl !

Damn Daims

2010-10-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

I have learnt another rather important lesson
Daim : glorified chocolate covered toffees/caramels are not only frighteningly bad for your teeth but they are the hotbeds or breeding ground for worms and bebêtes.
I will refrain from buying them and think thrice before even considering the possibility of bringing such garbage home again.

Between progress and regress

2010-10-24T12:50:00.005-07:00

Baby Ben is in the process of potty training. It is coming along nice and slowly. She is still a little bit young but I am giving her a headstart. She has done both pipi and caca in the potty. She is actually quite cute when prompted or posed with the question ' Would you like to pipi or caca (when I see her obvious attempt at pushing out a daisy) in the potty ?' to which her unanimous response is a rapid nodding of the head. She is indescribably cute but has super strong lungs hence can definitely be heard when she shows her disapproval or discontent.

In the meantime Baby Taz has regressed and prefers pipi in the nappy rather than sit on the toilet seat. He needs prompting even more so than Baby Ben and that's saying a lot since he has been almost trained for a year now...

Baby Taz's tendency to shriek and scream and throw tantrums and fits til he gets what he wants is fraying my nerves to say the least. My nerves of steel are being tested more than ever when it comes to his temper tantrums, hissy fits and general bad manner in all manners of speaking coupled with Petit Suisse's sulkiness and Lil Miss N's crybaby attitude and penchance for crying at the drop of a fly I have very long exhausting days. I would trade those days with dealing with colleagues anyday. At least the buck stops when one leaves the office, no such luck when you live with the little rascals.

I yo-yo between contempt for my kids (in the nicest way of course) and pure unconditional love for them. I wait with impatience for the day the four of them can at least feed, clean and clothe themselves so that my load and charge will lighten just a little.

The psychological wars and battles have been waged but they will deepen with age.

Bring it on!

For what it's worth

2010-08-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

I have learnt my lesson. It is a very important and costly lesson that needs to be passed onto my children immediately.

When you overstuff an upright freezer with full capacity and leave it for three weeks unattended subjected to the heatwave of an impossible hellfire and return to discover that over the course of your abandon the freezer has contracted and expanded leaving it permanently opened to intruders of the heated kind and bacteria being impregnated/penetrated its defences, your husband of impossibly impeccable logic will have no choice but to trash the whole contents of the freezer thereby effectively throwing out more than 300 CHF's worth of alimentation (monetary value) down the drain. Never mind that one had meticulously prepared with affection meals which took hours and since time is money the net worth of all that sweat and tears and effort and such could end up being in the thousands. A very expensive and painful lesson to learn indeed.

My biggest vice that leads to my downfall sometime is greed.

I hope I have cleared up any doubts and have assisted my children in avoiding such a costly mistake in the future. As for me it is a hard lesson to swallow and digest but I have it down pat now !!!

Although I do believe Shrek should have taken photographic proof thereby leaving me with no lingering doubts and also it would be priceless to include a photo of the hard evidence.

Week 31/52

2010-08-30T20:48:00.006-07:00

Bird's eye views of the city I love from the heart of the city also known as Centrepoint aka AMP Tower. Je t'aime Sydney !

Week 30/52

2010-08-30T20:48:00.005-07:00

No prizes for guessing where I am spending my holiday. The landmark is ubiquitous !

Week 29/52

2010-08-30T20:48:00.003-07:00

The little piggy ate all the cherries and left the pits next to her.

Week 28/52

2010-08-30T20:48:00.001-07:00

Lovely hibou owl mask entirely fabricated by the lovely Lil Miss N. She is such a crafty gal isn't she ?

Week 27/52

2010-08-30T20:47:00.003-07:00

Forgive my bad technic but I had to share the rare moments that I savoured before I was sorely dissapointed by the denouement of caviar. I now do not wonder as to why I hardly ever buy it because it is just overrated.

Week 26/52

2010-08-30T20:47:00.001-07:00

We are flying off on holiday... Be right back !

Weekend to remember

2010-06-19T14:56:00.001-07:00

The weather leaves much to desire. I have been blessed with a wonderful weekend of endless whining, crying, sulking and screaming...add to that fatigue and hours spent cooking up a storm. The weekend is almost over and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,the blinding light which instils hope and gives me strength to fight yet another day.

What I was most proud of was my culinary achievements: I made xiu mai simmered in caramel sauce, pearl meatballs /which were the size of golf balls), spriracha and mustard chicken drumsticks, xoi ga`, Vietnamese grilled pork : thi.t nuong

I was satisfied with the results and ended up with at least 6 meals from all that cooking.

Baby Taz seems to be making inroads into his linguistics and honing his skills mainly by mimicry. He is a perfect example of a copycat. Today when Lil Miss N wanted to hold my hand, he proceeded to do the same and sweetly said : 'Mama, wanna hold your hand mama'

It is rather poignant and those little moments of intimacy and tenderness makes up for whole days of frustrations arising from out of control kids.

Week 25/52

2010-06-16T10:13:00.001-07:00

Cuisine par les enfants involves no cooking but merely assembling ingredients

Baby language evolution

2010-06-11T13:48:00.003-07:00

Fourmi, fourmi, fourmiiiiiiii !

Baby Taz is fascinated by birds, insects and ants in particular.

He knows how to say bird, ant and dog.

His vocabulary is broadening ever so slowly.

He knows how to kid around and when asked 'where's Baby Taz?' He will respond Baby Taz here but points towards someone else. He knows to play round.

Week 24/52

2010-06-11T13:48:00.001-07:00

One year of preparation and choir practice culminates in the end of year performance.