3 Kute Kidz

04/04/2020

Quarantine and homeschooling week 3!!!

Well here we are in week 3, and it went as well as you can imagine, the first picture below pretty much sums it up. First of all getting them to just sit down was a mission and when that was done getting them to concentrate was a mission. Roderick had so many big projects to finish this week and he was not a happy chappy. He needed to complete a 2 meter long timeline of the world and colour and cut out Easter eggs for a picture, he doesn't like colouring but did his best, I had to help with cutting out the grass, that crap is hard, to be fair he was mostly unhappy this week because his birthday was coming up and we had to cancel his party like everyone in these last couple months.

On the bright side the weather warmed up slightly again and we were able to spend some time outside soaking up the sunshine

We finished the week with Roderick having a long video chat with teachers and classmates which was pretty fun for him although with 20ish kids talking all at once its hard to get a word in edgewise so I think he mostly listened. Here are some of the pictures.

I will admit it has been an interesting experience and were it not for everything being in a German I'm pretty sure I would have managed a whole lot better, as it is my google translate is working overtime and sometimes the translations don't make sense so I have to go get a second opinion from Hubby or Ray who luckily is fluent.

I will probably come update as I remember more, note to self to not put of writing while its all fresh, And now for some much needed holidays!!!
Cheers to all the parents who are homeschooling and to the teachers who are working overtime to provide the content for us parents to do at home, and of course to all the healthcare workers who are also working overtime to try and help everyone they can, we are in this together!!! Stay Healthy :) 💙

31/03/2020

Quarantine and Homeschooling week 2!!!

Week two passed without too much Drama, I made a loose schedule back in week 1 and we loosely stuck to it, getting all three kids at the table doesn't always happen, our 14 year old prefers to do school in bed but that is OK as long as she is getting it done, she is also called by her teachers periodically to give her German practice so I'm pretty sure her work is happening as it should.

One drastic thing that changed this week was the weather, week 1 was beautiful going up to 20 degrees, week 2 went way down to about 4-5 degrees with a wind chill making it feel -4 but at least its not snowing again like it did in Germany, I would not have been happy with snow.

Thankfully the sun was shining most of the week so its not all cold and gloomy, Saturday got up to 15 so we managed to go to the empty school yard and play some tennis and bit of soccer.

we are trying to keep the kids schedule similar to their usual school schedule except with a bit more sleep in in the morning(their usual times are to wake up between 6-7) so now its 8 with a school start of 9am which works fairly well, they also have a bit more of a longer lunch time and can finish in the afternoon whenever their work is done.

Another big thing that happened this week was that at Leona's last X-ray on Thursday they decided her harness can come off, its been on for 6 weeks so she is thrilled to finally have it off, she can now wear her shirts normally again, she is not allowed though to put put any weight on it or pick up anything yet which is hard but she seems to be managing, she was also given exercises to do at physio and I'm pretty sure she is not doing them as much as she needs to so every time I see her I make her do them in front of me, its just a matter of time before this is all behind us, I will do a post on what happened in more detail later.

Friday I went out for the first time in almost two weeks and I got quite excited, it was just to go down the road to Leona's physiotherapy appointment but still, I also went into Otto's to grab some shampoo and wow, the changes in the shops that are still open are eerie, but that will be a separate post, here are some pictures of the last week, Stay Healthy :)

27/03/2020

Happy Swissversary!!!

Today marks #8years since we landed in Bern Switzerland when the kids were 6, 4 and almost 2.
We had this crazy idea that we wanted to live here, Hubby finally convinced me and we were off on a one way ticket with only our suitcases and not knowing a single soul here, the first two months we lived in the family room at the Passantenheim run by the Salvation Army while Hubby brushed up on his German while at the same time looking for a job, was it crazy? Maybe, we didn't know what would happen and if we would find what we were looking for, and then it all happened fast, we made some friends, Hubby found a job that he still has 8 years later and we were accepted into an apartment and then time just flew by, of course it hasn't been without struggles and challenges but all in all we made a home here, traveled, seen many beautiful places, done some amazing hikes had many friends and family visiting and thoroughly enjoyed our life in CH
Happy Swissversary to us!!!
These are some of the first photos we took here, how small were the munchkins

26/03/2020

Quarantine and Homeschooling week 1!!!

Quarantine and Lockdown!!! two words I never thought I would be using in my lifetime yet here we are, 3 months into 2020 and the entire world is in quarantine and most countries are on lockdown.
Meaning don't leave your house unless its an emergency!

Thanks to the new sickness called the CoronaVirus EVERYTHING is cancelled and shutdown, everything except supermarkets, Pharmacies and banks(which are even starting to close).
Everything is new and different, oh yea the schools closed almost two weeks ago too, so everyone in Switzerland and many other countries are now homeschooling(ahhh the flashbacks) its all a little too closely related to my life growing up in which I was homeschooled, except now I'm the teacher and the school is in German. Its been ok so far and not too stressful(thank goodness for Google translate) but still not easy and the kids actually miss going to school, not sure if thats a good thing or an insult 😂

I would have thought I would come out of this with a drinking problem(remember I'm homeschooling in German) but having had waaay too many headaches over the first week I have also given up alcohol for now, every time I had a beer I would have a headache through the night and most of the next day, so I switched to non-alcoholic beer and the headaches were gone, I had my first beer in a week two days ago and yup, headache all night and most of the next day, damn, I really want a beer.
In week 1 we were lucky enough to have gorgeous weather so we could go spend some time outside in our beautiful garden, we spent some time reading, playing birdie, eating popcorn and practicing with Roderick's Bow and arrow set and just generally soaking up the Vitamin D, thats all for now, Stay Healthy :)

25/03/2020

Hello World

I know I'm back and forth with this blog but lately I have been wanting to write down whats been going on and different thoughts so I figured I would pick it up again for now, I doubt anyone is actually reading anymore but its really just for me to record recent happenings, esp as the world gets crazier and crazier, so here it is!!! and here is a recent picture of us taken last year on our much needed trip to Australia for family time

Cheers and Stay Healthy 🍻

22/07/2016

book list, so far!!!

in no particular order, will keep adding to it as this will take awhile! Starting with the books I have been enjoying more recently 📚👍👌📗📘📙📕📚👌👍
=================================
Diana Gabaldon--Outlander an 8 book series(Historical fiction,read multiple times, love,love,love this series, 9th book is currently being written)

JK Rowling--Harry Potter(read multiple times)

Pamela Sargent--Venus trilogy(futuristic story about the colonisation of Venus,pretty cool, couldn’t stop reading till they were all done)

Lindsey Fairleigh and Lindsey Pogue--The Ending series(post-apocolyptic 4 book series about a virus that killed billions, only a few remain immune and try to rebuild and fight for survival, still on book 4)

Philippa Gregory--The Other Boleyn Girl(just to state her most popular book, but she has so many good Historical Novels about the Tudors and other Kings and Queens, read many of them but still have many to go)

Belinda Alexandra--White Gardenia, Silver Wattle, Wild Lavender etc(Fantastic books about people fleeing war torn places,starting new lives in new countries and making something of themselves, Love all these books esp Silver Wattle(sisters go to Australia)currently reading Sapphire skies and the newest book is out next month)

Laura Hillenbrand--Unbroken:A World War II Story(the true story of Olympian runner turned soldier turned POW Louis Zamperini, the movie was good too)

Daniel James Brown--The boys in the boat(another true story about the Olympics of 1936 at the breakout of World War II, gripping,could not put it down till it was done)

Frank Tayell--Surviving the Evacuation(7 book post-apocalyptic series about Zombies)(currently on book three)

William R. Forstchen--One second after(post-apocolyptic 2 book series about a war lost because of a terrifying weapon, an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), the Sequel "One Year after" is equally as gripping)

Steven W. Booth, Harry Shannon--The Hungry(6 book Zombie apocalypse series, this one was quite fun and action filled, I enjoyed it immensely)

Erica Steven--The Survivor Chronicles(From earthquake to fire to tsunami" A 4 book post-apocalyptic series about survival when the world is in chaos, could not put this down till it was done)

Will keep adding as time permits :)

The Cousins’ War Series The Wideacre Trilogy The Tudor Court Novels Modern Novels

Read more at: http://www.philippagregory.com/books
Source: Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl

Read more at: http://www.philippagregory.com/books/the-other-boleyn-girl/behind-the-book
Source: Philippa Gregory

Holidays!!!

so far we are three weeks into the holidays, with three weeks to go, still trying to figure out fun things to do with the kids to keep them from killing each other.

My birthday was fun, we had friends over with some drinks and lots of Flammkuchen that Zeth made, its soooo yummy :) and everyone seemed to get along yay :P

The kids went for a sleepover at their Grandmas last night and waking up this morning in a completely empty silent house this morning at 9:30 and then folding the laundry without little ppl trying to kill each other was quite an amazing feeling, I could almost get used to it, luckily the kids love their Grandma and she doesn’t mind having all three at once(score) :P (I think summer holidays are great and I love summer but after awhile a few short breaks now and again are oh so special)

I just realised I have read so many books that I'm forgetting what I read so I am going to start a post and list as many as possible maybe with a short summery.

I think I will go make cookies now with the kids, because its raining and feels like a cookie day :P

Update: and 2 hours later ta da, delish oatmeal chic chip cookies 🍪👍👌😍