The Best Sick Day Ever

Alex, last night, mentioned that he thinks his teacher told him he should stay home today because of his runny nose. It could be that he was playing us, but he was having some pretty epic sneezes yesterday, so it's definitely possible.  And, since he woke up this morning, coughing and coughing, at 6:00, I decided there wouldn't be any harm in Alex missing a morning of school. (Michal, it only now occurs to me that you may want to handle Alex's thank-you card gingerly!  I'm so sorry! In return for your generosity, I send you Swiss germs!)

Although his germs were doing their best to spread themselves, they weren't doing much to slow Alex down.  Watching the boys jump off the couches and bounce around the house, I decided there was no reason to keep them in the apartment all day.  So I did what Joey and I have gotten into the habit of doing on Wednesdays, and took the boys downtown.

We spent a little time looking for a better coat for Alex (the zipper on his is impossible) and a little time finding him some more pants, since the Swiss sizing system is a constant mystery to me, and, consequently, all the pants I've bought for Alex so far this year are about three inches too long.

But most of the time we spent at a book store, doing a little Christmas shopping for friends and ourselves. I finally did break down and buy that book-a-day advent calendar that I'd been eyeing because, well, why not.  Having the kids read a German book each day sounds like something worth encouraging.

Unfortunately, I had to lug the large, cumbersome thing around for a good long time, across town to the gummy bear store.  But it was worth it in the end: the shop keeper found my boys, and their enthusiasm for free samples, funny. When we checked out, he delighted them by handing them each a eyeball-shaped gummy, on the house.  Lovely.

And really, why stop the decadence there?  I took the boys up the street, next, for some of those city's best croissants that I told you about.  At 11:00, we got the last two of the day.

In case you're ever in the neighborhood, go here!

Giddy with sugar, it was time to end what was clearly the best sick day, ever, for young Alex.  We got to our neighborhood tram stop only a few minutes before Ella's school let out, so we stopped and waited for her at the playground.

Ella has been in a persistently good mood for several weeks now. She looked really happy to see us, and when we got home, she snuggled up with her homework, just as happy as you please.

Alex's Schule, with students Joey, Dinosaur, and Smurf.

The boys decided to follow Ella's good example, and spent a little time playing school in the afternoon.  For Alex, playing school means assembling the kids (meaning Joey and, sometimes, me), dismissing them for free time, commanding them back to their seats, only to immediately dismiss them again.  I suppose, upon reflection, it's actually not a completely inaccurate representation of a Swiss Kindergarten.

While they were occupied, I wandered around the house, scratching my head, trying to figure out how I could whittle away at the pile of things I'm wanting to take back to America.  I spent a lot of time throwing things away, and consolidating things, and putting together piles for donation, and wishing I had more than 93 cubic feet to work with.

But the boys profited from my predicament. Since it's a year old, and we probably won't be bringing it with us, I let the boys mix together all the colors of their play-doh this afternoon.  They've been carefully keeping the colors divided all year, and diligently sealing the lids tightly: I've told them many times that those cans need to last them all year. But now, unleashed, they were giddy with the possibilities.

And that was where I left them today.  Dennis came home at 4:00 because it was time for me to pay the piper. Where, by piper, I mean Susannah, who got her turn at a night out with her husband.  They had an early reservation for a funny Zürich tradition, the Fondue Tram.  Which is exactly what it sounds like: they get to eat fondue, on a tram.  It's a very nice tram, with linen-covered tables and mood lighting and curtains in the windows, and it travels up and down every flat street in downtown Zürich. It would probably be particularly lovely once the Christmas lights were turned on.  But cheese, of course, is lovely, in and of itself.

And while Susannah and Daniel were enjoying their treat, I got to play with Susannah's adorable children.  Christopher, who just turned one, astonished me with his appetite, eating about three large bowls of food before finally toddling off.  His sister, Caroline, told me she'd eat, oh, probably six bowls of noodles, although she topped out at two. But I made enough for six bowls, taking her brother's appetite as fair warning.

Little Caroline is quite taken with the story of Kiki's Delivery Service, and when we weren't eating, we were attempting to tie a basket onto a witch's broom.  (Kiki is a professional delivery witch, you see.)  Once we got her broom outfitted, Kiki-Caroline demanded work, so I had her deliver her clothes to the hamper, and the toys to their box, and the orange that she'd eschewed to her mouth.  It was a most excellent game.

So things were going smoothly at Susannah's. But Dennis called me with a sobbing Joey, who apparently refuses to be dressed by anyone but his momma.  When I got home, Ella confirmed that Joey cried for at least an hour. So Dennis might not be so thrilled to hear that Susannah and I scheming to do another babysitting swap, perhaps so that Dennis and I can experience some cheese-on-a-tram, ourselves.

But hopefully he'll agree, in the name of Käse.