Playing hooky today

Today I am totally playing hooky from French class and working on random stuff I just need to get done, and cannot seem to get done with Baby K around or in tow. So, she's with the babysitter and I am at Starbucks busily trying to tick things off my list.

Even though it doesn't sound like this said list is stuff I like to do, I have wanted to post for a while, and just haven't made the time. It always feels like there are a million other things I should be doing instead. Such is life. And for the record, the list also includes mundane things like pay bills, and fun things like travel planning for Istanbul, Spain and Portugal.

As usual, it feels like tons of stuff has been going on lately. I often have the conversation with BK that I'm not sure how we would function if I did have a job. When would things get done? I know circumstances would be different, but still, on days like today when I have to get away to do stuff, I seriously wonder.

So what's been going on lately? Well, Baby K turned ONE last Friday, my mom came for a visit and BK and I had our first Baby K- free weekend away. Fun stuff, right?

I kind of can't believe that Baby K is already one. People always say that the time really starts to fly and you'll wonder where it went. I don't necessarily do that, but a year went by really fast. It's crazy how much love I have for our little person. She is developing quite the personality, loves to be around other kids, and is working on wrapping Daddy tighter around that little finger of hers.

She had a fairly low key birthday, as we didn't have a party or anything, but we did celebrate together with her. We typically go to playgroup on Fridays, which means it will be a good day for Baby K, regardless, so I figured that was a good plan. We took some cupcakes and the other kids sang to her during snack time. We FaceTimed with cousins and grandparents, including Abbs and LJ, who got to have a cupcake "with" Baby K at 6:30 in the morning as she was having hers with lunch. After she went down for a nap BK and I left for our weekend getaway, which brings me to...

My mom and her friend TP have been visiting for the past 10 days. Baby K and I picked them up on the train and hit the ground running. We had a couple of slower paced days, but did quite a bit of sightseeing, including Gruyere, Fribourg, Lausanne, Montreux/Vevey, Nyon, and Yviore, France. I loved having my mom here, and I know she really enjoyed getting to spend time with us, but especially with Baby K.

She and TP kept Baby K over the weekend so BK and I could have a pre-10-year-anniversary getaway over the weekend. Our anniversary is not until June, but we'll have Baby K with us where ever we go, so we thought we would take my mom up on the getaway when she offered. We drove about three hours and went to the Burgundy wine region in France. As usual, good food and wine were a big part of the weekend, and we even slept until 9ish while we were gone!

Okay, that's about it for now. I have to run and get some other thing done; at the top of the list are pick up dry cleaning and buy some toy bins for Baby K's stuff. Exciting stuff, I know. Contrary to popular belief, it's not all jet-setting and gallivanting around over here. We do have to stop and get stuff done at some point!

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and hope to catch up soon!

Cooking inspirations

I started this post quite a while ago hoping that it would inspire me to get back in gear and really WANT to cook every night. I'm not sure why I'm feeling completely uninspired when it comes time to decide what to have for dinner, but lately I have been making the decision in the afternoon when I ask BK what he wants for dinner. He has a go-to of about five things that he is willing to have over and over on any given night, so that makes it somewhat easy.

Also, since we've returned from the US I seem to be out of the habit of baking. I don't know if it's because of all of the overindulgence during the holidays or trying to cooking for Baby K or what, but I just haven't been baking at all. Nor have I had the urge to bake either. Weird. I think some of it has to do with the fact that I made the rookie mistake of forgetting some crucial baking ingredients while in the US: brown sugar and vanilla extract. My mom comes to visit soon, so this will be remedied.

All that said, I went through a couple of weeks when I was pretty impressed by myself and happy with all of the stuff I had been cooking. I went about two weeks and didn't have one repeat meal. This even included trying some new stuff too.

Here's what I've been making lately, in case you're interested or need some ideas!

• Parmesan-crusted sole (I pan-fry instead of bake) with sautéed spinach and spaetzle;
• Seared scallops with sautéed spinach; 
  
• Chicken, pepper and onion quesadillas and salad with greens, pears, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and feta;
• Grilled pesto chicken with mozzarella and roasted potatoes and steamed broccoli;
• Chili;
• Pecan-crusted chicken with sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes;
  
• Garlic asian noodles with spicy shrimp and veggies;

I've been doing a little bit better this week. So far I've made tomato basil soup with homemade croutons and salad; seared scallops; and then tonight made chicken tostadas. They don't really do tostadas in Switzerland, so I found some corn tortillas and made some crispy baked tostadas and tortilla chips. It was pretty good and got good reviews from BK too!

Hopefully this will help me get back in the swing of things and work on trying new stuff. Friday we're doing steaks with some friends, so now the only question is...what's for dinner tomorrow?

Ski Switzerland

On our way to the slopes

Last weekend we hit the slopes in the Bernese Oberland, specifically we headed to the Lauterbrunnen/Wengen/Murren area. It's only about two hours from Montreux, so Baby K and I picked BK up from work, and in about an hour we were in the Alps for the weekend!

Lauterbrunnen

Our friends, the G's, met us in Lauterbrunnen; we actually chose this area because it's half way between Basel and Montreux- a great meeting place for the six of us. We checked in to our hotel, then went out to do a little bit of exploring. Skis were rented and then we found a little place to feed the girls dinner and have a snack before our dinner.

BK should have told me about the antlers...but Baby K is the cutest thing ever!

We had dinner in the hotel so the girls could sleep upstairs. Pretty much every restaurant in the area is typical Swiss food, so that's what it was for us...rosti and schnitzel. They also had beer in boots that BK and JG had, and a Swiss family playing traditional music in the restaurant.

Beer in boots

Swiss music in the restaurant

The next day BK and JG went skiing, and MG, myself, and the babies enjoyed breakfast at a cafe then started our journey up to the top of the mountain to meet the husbands for lunch. Half way up we stopped at Wengen to walk around a bit and see the town. Baby K and I went to Wengen this summer as well, but it's a little different in the winter.

From the Wengen train station

After a brief time in Wengen, we headed up to Kleine Scheidigg for lunch. The weather had turned not so great, so we didn't spend much time outside- just enough for a few pics after lunch.

BK and JG mid-ski

Skis outside of the station

Me and BK

MG and I hoped to make it back to our hotel in time to put the girls down for a nap, but it didn't quite work out like that. They both fell asleep in their strollers, so MG and I went back down to Wengen to continue walking and hope they stayed asleep long enough for a decent nap. Mission: pretty much accomplished.

View from Wengen 

Two sleepers in the strollers

After the girls were back awake, we went back down to Lauterbrunnen so the little ones could move around a little after being confined in their strollers all day. MG and I enjoyed happy hour in the room while Baby K and Baby M had the run of the room. It had also started snowing quite heavily in the afternoon as well, and I caught them both looking out our hotel window.

Watching for the Dads?

That night the husbands were quite tired from skiing all day, but we still dragged them out to dinner, despite their offers to stay at home and "watch" the girls.

Walking to dinner in the snow

It snowed quite a bit overnight, making for a really picturesque morning. We checked out of the hotel, then grabbed a quick bite for breakfast and decided to go up the other side of the mountain to Murren.

Lauterbrunnen after the snow

We weren't sure how much walking/hiking/trudging through the snow we would have to do, so the babies got to ride along for the day. And for the record, as we were getting ready and loading up, BK and JG totally acknowledged that they would have been making fun of those guys getting their kids loaded on to them a few years ago...how life changes.

Along for the ride with the Dads

Murren is similar to Wengen, it's just on the other side of the mountain. MG and I decided we liked Murren better because it felt a little more quaint and didn't have so many electric vans speeding down the streets, nearly running us over. We walked through Murren, did a little shopping, and stopped for lunch before heading back down.

Lots of snow!

Walking through Murren

Curling at the Alpine Sports Center

We took a cable car back down, and arrived just in time to put the girls in the car so they could nap on the way home. I'm happy to say that Baby K napped for two hours straight, waking up just as we arrived back in Montreux. BK and I took the scenic route home and drove through numerous other mountain towns and ski areas. It was really pretty and added a little fuel to the fire to decide where to go again in a couple of weeks.

Lauterbrunnen, coming down from Murren

We're trying to take advantage of being closer to skiing now, and plan to find somewhere else to go in the next couple of weeks. I know Fort Worth is having a snow day, but they sure are a lot more fun over here!!