Category
Joy of parenting
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03.12.08Duck feetHolding my umbrella firmly in my hands, I used it as a shield to break the wind and rain as I pressed my way home. A burst of wind whiped under the umbrella forcefully lifting it up out of my hands. The umbrella was sent soaring down the street with me chasing after it. What a sight it must have been. Imagine a woman you don't know chasing an umbrella down the street in the pouring rain. Now imagine, three children quickly following in a row behind her not unlike baby ducks waddling after their mother. I found myself silently chanting... I ...
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03.10.08The price of a smileSaturday was a warm Spring like day in Neuchâtel. We spent the day walking around the blue lake and busy streets of this beautiful city. Music from street players drifted into one street and out the other as people walked slowly enjoying the sun. Turning a corner we were stopped by a small crowd of people gathered around a man dressed like one of Robin Hood's merry men. In English, with an accent that matched my own, and then in French he explained that the price of a balloon was a smile. If a child had an especially ...
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03.07.08Wait a second…I am still in Switzerland, right?I just turned on Cartoon Network for the kids. I heard, "You jerk!", coming from a characters mouth. Immediately, I had a sense that something wasn't right. It took me a couple seconds to realize it was because the cartoon was in English and not translated into French. It is the first time after living in Europe for four years that I have seen that. It must be a mistake. My four year old daughter, Petite Clown, caught it right off. She asked me, "Why are they talking like us?" It can't be a mistake because as I am typing this we ...
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03.07.08A pathAs I stood watching the children play in the snow, I felt at peace. The village clock sitting on the church tower showed a quarter past eight. We had fifteen more minutes left of snow play before we had to make the rest of the way down the hill to the train station. In front of the train station, the cold school bus sat with an open door waiting to be filled with the hot breath of children as they push and shove past each other into seats. Sweet Bear waded through sparking, white snow up to the ...
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03.01.08Photohunt: partyMy kids had a big party in their bedroom! PhotoHunt
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02.27.08Counting with your fingers in English vs. in FrenchIn English, you start counting on your fingers with your index finger while in French you start with your thumb. I taught my bilingual children to count in English and French starting with the correct finger depending on the language. When they count in each language they switch their starting finger without thinking about it. Kids are so cool. I have made a video to demonstrate this. French speakers...please, excuse my accent.
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02.14.08Pirate rain boots...for navigating the waters of life. The back of the rain boots have reflectors for safe navigation! We found these rain boots at Dosenbach (a shoe store) where I found my comfy Swiss slippers about a month ago. We have bought many of our families shoes and boots there since moving to Switzerland. Petite Clown was the only child that wasn't prepared for the spring rains that I am sure will start in a few months. Since pirates are the fashion rage for girls and boys alike, I lucked out. Boy Blue will be able to wear these cool pirate rain boots after ...
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11.07.07Parent Meeting at schoolLast night I sat through my first parents meeting in Switzerland with my five year old daughter's two wonderful teachers. I am totally impressed with her school. All the parents sat together in a circle as the teachers explained what the children were doing in school. Each parent was given a book with their child's work inside. The children have been learning about the five senses. I was tickled pink when I saw Sweet Bear had written her own name on the back of some of the pages. One of her teachers (she has two) explained that she uses ...
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11.05.07Language learning with MamaBack in August I made a post about my bilingual children and language learning. I wanted to make the follow up post sooner but kept putting it off due to lack of time due to laziness. Now, I am making myself sit down and do it. While in college, during one of my social psychology courses, I learned that a mother naturally talks to her children in a sing song high pitched voice. A mother is more likely to repeat words and sentences over and over than a father is. I assumed that is where the term 'mother ...
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11.02.07Cat womanSince about three days ago I have had this overwhelming need to go out and snatch myself a cat. We had a cat who was this huge tan and grey tiger. She has been living with my brother since Sweet Bear was born. After the birth of Sweet Bear, our cat began peeing on the carpet. I read online that it was normal territorial behavior due to jealousy of the new baby. However, I couldn't keep her since we were renting and no matter what online remedy I tried she wouldn't stop. It was best in the end ...
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The Pinky Show - gently poking your brain with a stick
My flickr
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