Trick or Treat

On Hallowee'en night, my 2 favorite neighbours and I decided to take our little ones out trick-or-treating. For those of you who may be unfamilliar with Swiss culture, Hallowe'en is the new and emerging "Fest". Until 2 years ago, very few people knew about Hallowe'en as we do in North America (no wonder people constantly frown here...they have never experienced trick-or-treating!!! )

Géraldine, Sévérine and I got our toddlers all dressed up, got the digital camera all fired up and off we went. At first, Miles had no clue what was going on and he seemed to be much more interested in the cats and balls he met along the way. We Mom's had to ring at the first few houses so that the kids would know the routine. I could tell that Miles was quickly getting bored while waiting for people to answer the door and would constantly run around UNTIL.............. he figured out that if he waited patiently, someone would come and put candy in his bag.

When he made light of this event, it was quite hilarious to see how enthusiastic he became. Soon after, HE was the one knocking at the doors and telling the people "mehr bonbons". Cats and balls were no longer interesting. Sugar took control over Miles on Hallowe'en night and he's been bouncing off the walls ever since.

Group picture of Miles, Laurine, Candice and Mathis.












Miles eagerly knocking on the door. Conchita handing out sweets.







"mehr Bonbons!!!"

Hallowe'en in Switzerland

On Saturday, about 24 of us met up in a wooden cabin located near Fribourg for a Hallowe'en party. The soirée was very well organized and kicked off with a pumpkin carving session, followed by dinner and a spooky treasure hunt through the haunted forest.
Miles may have been by far the youngest participant but he was certainly not the least enthusiastic. Eager to follow the lead of his older fellow gobblins and witches, he did not miss a beat the entire time.
Here are a few pics to share...

The Search for a Future Au-Pair

Lately, Mat and I have been undergoing some serious brain-storming sessions regarding child-care for 2007. At the moment, my mother-in-law takes care of Miles 2 days a week while I'm at work.

However, we have just recently learned that "Mary Mary quite contrary" would like to have more free time for herself. After doing much research we have come to the conclusion that hiring a nanny would be the best solution for us.
We would hire a Swiss-German nanny who would come here to learn French. She would live with us during the week and go home during weekends. In addition to taking care of the kids, she would help out with cleaning and preparing meals.

She will probably start sometime in February or March 2007. The family pic attached is one that we added to the Profilia registration form. Our fingers are crossed that this will turn out for the best... :-)