Things are just crazy busy around here. I have been sick with the nastiest head-cold-slash-sinus-infection-slash-plugged-ears thing for weeks. I'm low energy and grumpy and Christmas is speeding into view. The house is a wreck, we've got mountains of laundry to get through and I just want to crawl in bed and sleep, or take a bubble bath, or cry. You know the feeling? Ugh. Tis the season for viruses and exhaustion.

But I'm so happy that the solstice is nearly here. In four days, we will be on the other side of it and each day will be just a little bit longer and a little bit lighter. That gives cause for rejoice!

And here are some links for your weekend.

The remembering power of water.

Schooling fit for a king!

To have a mom, to be a mom.

Listen closely for the coastal French winds.

We are having Yorkshire puddings with roast chicken and gravy tonight.

Don't worry, it's allowed.

I've never experienced any breastfeeding shaming. Have you?

Slow cooker recipe collection. Bookmarking this for January!

But where does all the stuff go?

The classic sweet potato casserole.

Ways to support post-trauma healing.

The most ridiculous thing ever. Really.

I'm happy to report that the snow is really coming down outside! :) See you back here Monday! xo

(Photo via we are knitters) 

Going to get a Christmas tree in Zurich was always a fun adventure. After you selected your tree, the shopkeeper would wrap it in netting for you. Then it was easy to take on the train or tram - or both! Our last year in Zurich, we kept things simple and all went together and got a tree pretty close to home. One of us carried Coco, and one of us carried the tree to and from the train, which we only had to ride a few stops.
But the year before, most of the places close to home didn't have trees yet and I was itching to have one, so when I saw them in the Migros in Adliswil, I bought one - and took it all the way home to Seefeld on the train and tram. Here we are waiting for the train. The Bugaboo really is the minivan of strollers!
And on the train. It was nearing rush hour and as we got closer Zurich's main station, the train was more and more crowded! I opted for more walking, but fewer crowds, and got out one stop early.
It was pretty romantic to cross over the bridge and go past the circus between Bürkliplatz and Bellevue with a tree in the buggy!
Coco was just one-year-old and thankfully slept in the Ergo most of the way.

The remaining furniture sets for her darling Cottage Dollhouse, and...
a sweet little Calico Critters rabbit family to live in the dollhouse. They have a mama and dada and big girl and baby brother like us!
The classic farm with noises and animals to make him laugh and dance.
A big set of wooden blocks to play with together. These encourage the most creative play of any toy I've seen!
A Sonicare for Kids toothbrush as recommended by the dentist. Why not? Cavities are expensive!
Gyo Fujikawa books. These books have the sweetest illustrations that Theo loves to point at and coo, plus they're extra relaxing for bedtime.

And, a little trip down memory lane with Coco's 2013 list, and Christmas in Kieselgasse.

When I was in college, and struggling with some mild depression and anxiety issues, I had a doctor prescribe me meditation sessions with an energy healer. This, of course, would only happen at the University of Oregon Health Center, but I wish it were happening everywhere because it's one of the best things that ever happened to me.

My energy healer's name was Jude. She was kind and open and genuine. Our weekly sessions were all about guided meditations, but in between it was my job to meditate daily (or as close to it as possible) with the guidance of this cheesy, but wonderful book. It was pretty amazing. Meditating made me calmer, more clear-headed and happier. It didn't take all that much time out of my day and, unlike anti-depressants or other medications, had no bad side effects.

Lately, I've been meaning to dig out my copy of that book and start meditating again. We are very much still navigating our way through the grand transition that began when we got out of Duluth, and some days I find I'm just grumpy and unmotivated. It's partly the darkness this time of year, but it's also that we've got a lot up in the air and that can be hard to deal with after a while. I even began to wonder if meditating would be enough, and then I saw the article, Medicating Women's Health, by Julie Holland, in The New York Times. It is a beautiful, moving and thoughtful piece written by a psychiatrist offering a new perspective on women's emotionality. "Women's emotionality is a sign of health, not disease; it is a source of power," she writes. My favorite line is, "People who don’t really need these drugs are trying to medicate a normal reaction to an unnatural set of stressors: lives without nearly enough sleep, sunshine, nutrients, movement and eye contact, which is crucial to us as social primates." I felt like she took all of my angst and rolled it into one concise sentence. If you would like to, you can read the whole article here.

I don't normally set new year's resolutions, but this year, I really feel called upon to cultivate a practice of self-care. The way I'm feeling right now is really quite simple, and manageable. I read recently that self-care doesn't mean "me first" but rather "me too" and I really love that. So deciding to practice self-care and make sure I'm getting enough sleep, sunshine, nutrients, movement and eye contact is the easy part. Carving out time in our schedules to make it happen is where the work lies. I'm curious, do you meditate? How do you carve out time for self-care?

Parents often wonder, as their child approaches completion of the Montessori Primary Program, if they should continue with Montessori Elementary. As with everything in Montessori, it all comes down to the individual child.

In the Montessori Elementary, children have many of the same freedoms they had in the Primary. They're allowed to choose what to work on and when, they're able to move freely around the classroom and garden, rather than having desks in rows like traditional schools, and, just as in the Primary, children follow their internal motivation. So when considering Montessori Elementary, the question you need to ask is: How motivated is my child?

My own mother is trained at the Primary and Elementary levels in Montessori. She has taught for over 30 years and currently runs her own school. My brother, who went on to get an Ivy League masters degree and currently lives and works in New York, went to Montessori Elementary. When left to his own devices, he was a kid who got to work. He was curious, he was interested in doing things. He wanted to learn. Those qualities made him a really good fit for the Montessori Elementary. I, on the other hand, did not go to Montessori Elementary. I went to Catholic School! Yes, I was very smart and really didn't have to try at all to get good grades, but I was not motivated in the same way my brother was. When left to my own devices, I preferred to daydream or socialize. I was an avid reader, curious and loved writing, but I lacked the industrious motivation my brother had. That made me a poor candidate for the Montessori Elementary. I did much better with imposed deadlines and intimidation and fear. I still do! That's not to say that I don't get things done, or that I'm a bad worker, because I'm not. It's just the distinction between industrious motivation and the art of doing nothing. My brother naturally bends toward the former and I'm an expert at the latter. Both of us possess considerable joie de vivre and are very social and have lots of friends. It's just this difference in inclination when left to our own devices.

Aside from your own child's motivation, it's important to observe in the prospective school. How is the program organized and how do the teachers keep the children accountable? When you're in preschool and kindergarten, it's all just gravy. Not in Elementary school; there are things you have to learn. While none of us advocate for teaching to the test and removing all creativity and innovation from the learning process, it is necessary to cover all the bases. So visit and get a feel for what they've got going on there and imagine your child fitting into it.

Other considerations are social group, proximity of peers and demographics. Montessori Elementary classrooms tend to be smaller and offer fewer choices in peers. At the same time, they tend to come from a pretty homogenous group and don't offer a lot of diversity in terms of race and income differences. One concern for many parents is all the driving it creates, both to and from school and to play dates. When your child is in public school, their friends are right in the neighborhood and they may even be able to walk to school. Are team sports or band a priority? Most Montessori programs do not offer these types of extracurriculars.

Montessori Elementary is amazing. It gives children a learning environment that responds to their stage of development, allows for inquiry and discovery and hands-on learning. It can produce phenomenal results. If your child's teacher has suggested your child for the elementary, chances are very good that your child will blow you away with what they can do in there!

What else plays into your decision making for your child's education? What have you chosen for your child? Please chime in in the comments below! xo

Also, Choosing a Montessori School in case you missed it.

(Photo via Hellenica World)

Black Friday sales aren't just for overly indulgent holiday shopping; they're also a great time to get your family the essentials they need at a great price. Here's what we are taking advantage of this year. We may be short on cash lately, but we'll never sacrifice our style or fashion! ;)

Tea Collection has $12, $15 and $17 deals!

Up to 50% off at Nordstrom.

20% off holiday cards at Minted!

The Honest Company is offering 50% off your first bundle.

No exclusions! 40% off everything at Stride Rite.

Nicole's Classes is offering 50% off!

Amazon has a promo going on one of our favorite brands, Green Toys, among dozens of others!

Gymboree is doing 50% off everything! (Coco loves their Olivia Collection:)

And, of course, we could never live without Baby Gap. 50% off store/site-wide!

Happy shopping to you! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. xoxo

(Photo via Bloglovin)

I desperately miss the flour we used in Zurich. Not only was it totally chic in its cream colored bag with vintage design and sleek typography, but it was really good flour. Pastry dough came together easy as pie, pancake batters were smooth, dumplings and cookies came out fluffy and perfect. Back Stateside, I've tried making all of the above with a variety of different flours and they all suck. Pie crust is crumbly and dense, pancake batters are lumpy, and dumplings are brick like. I just do not get it. I'm using new cans of the same Trader Joe's baking powder and soda I always took back to Zurich with me on every visit to the States. What is the difference?
But it's not just flour based recipes. Other recipes aren't turning out as well, either. Our beloved Spaghetti Bolognese (from this brilliant cookbook) isn't turning out as tasty. It seems like everything I cooked or baked in Switzerland was richer and filled with more flavor. I'm using high-quality ingredients like organic ground pork and beef and imported Italian pancetta. Is it just my imagination?

Has anyone else experienced this? And please, give me your recommendations for your favorite all-purpose flour. I have two discs of worthless pie crust in the fridge and I need to make a cherry pie today! ;) Thank you. xo

What are you up to this weekend? If you have a moment, send some good wishes to the people of Spokane who are still without power since the historic wind storm that hit Tuesday afternoon. The photo above is of our friends' house. Can you believe that?! She put this photo on Facebook with the caption, "This windstorm showed us who's boss," and I really have to congratulate her for keeping a sense of humor right now. I would totally be crying!

Due to unexpected thawing thanks to the power outage, we are having a spontaneous early Thanksgiving here Sunday evening with deep fried turkey. I pretty much cannot wait!

Here are some links for your weekend:

Photos of the Spokane Wind Storm. UNREAL!

Priced out of parenthood.

Intrigued by this Thanksgiving dessert.

How to do laundry the right way. (You've been doing it all wrong!)

Coco's new winter boots. Ridiculously cute! (Take 20% off with code DEALSWEEK)

Critical small space living tips.

How's your password?

That's it. I must go to Seoul.

Time to dress up the sweats.

We're not in our twenties, but we're kind of broke! ;) Recipes for those times.

I'm in love with this nursery in Iceland.

And in case you missed it, my ode to the wind storm. It really has been great for us.

Stay warm and safe and see you back here Monday! xo

Tuesday morning, I was idly scrolling through my Facebook feed when I saw a Spokesman-Review mention of a severe wind storm coming. It said that it would be worst around 4pm Tuesday and it would continue through Wednesday morning. We dropped Coco off at school, went to Trader Joe's and stocked up with four big (reusable) bags of groceries. We stopped off at a friend's house and got some firewood and then went back to get Coco early from school at 1 o'clock. We already had lots of candles and matches at home. We were ready. We settled in with a cozy fire and read lots of books together and then we pretty much thought nothing of it.

Holy hell.

By 3:30, it was like an inland hurricane out there. My mom was the first in our family to lose power. By 4, one of my sisters had also lost power. By 4:30, when J and Coco went to pick up my mom at her house, there were downed trees blocking roads everywhere. Later reports confirmed that one woman had been killed by a falling tree in my mom's neighborhood. Over a thousand trees went down in the city parks alone. This is tall tree country around here. Ponderosa pines are super tall and just as treacherous when they're falling over. The destruction the next day was insane. It's still insane. School was cancelled for three days. So many houses and cars were smashed by trees. Over 200,000 people lost power.

The house across the street from us was bashed in by a ponderosa at the back. Then, the tricky thing with those tall ponderosas is that the top snaps off after the impact and goes on to cause further damage. The house next door to the house across the street had a huge portion of the roof damaged and the small gable roof over the side door was completely knocked off by top of the ponderosa that snapped off when it hit the other house! The people in the house across the street were renters and the house was uninhabitable after the smash. So the next day, there they were with a U-Haul, just moving out. Crazy.

We were so lucky. We didn't lose power and our house was just fine, except for a few shingles that blew off of the roof and into the backyard. Our house has been like a revolving door ever since. My mom is staying with us. Thankfully, our couch is quite comfortable, she reports. Every morning, my uncle comes for coffee and my sister and cousin have been coming regularly to recharge phones, drink coffee or tea and stay warm.

All afternoon Wednesday, my cousin was here. We didn't sit down and focus on one another like we normally do when we get together. She had a FaceTime call with her boyfriend. She played with Coco and Theo for a bit. She worked on some knitting she had going, and between loads of laundry and scrubbing the bathroom sink, I helped her cast-on and pull it out and cast-on again. While I loaded the dishwasher for the third time, we chatted about one thing and another. As I swept the floor, I noticed from across the room that she was knitting all wrong and we laughed and she pulled it all out and I helped her start again.

I was doing dishes Wednesday evening, feeling so full of love and happiness and I realized, this is what I thought living in Spokane would be like. I thought there would be family around all the time. I thought there would be this constant feeling of togetherness. But it took an historic storm and widespread power outages to make that happen. Why is that? Are our modern lives really that busy? Is it so rude to stop by unannounced that we don't bother anymore? Is anyone ever home anyway?

I'm so grateful for this storm. Granted, we fared very well and didn't suffer in the slightest. But it also gave me a huge dose of love and family closeness that I've been craving. Coco announced at dinner last night that she would like Grandma Joanie to move in forever. We will never forget it.

When bad things happen, like the terrorist attacks in Paris over the weekend, it can be hard to know what to say to our children. Even if we choose not to tell them about it ourselves, inevitably they hear or see something they don't understand. News media is everywhere and filled with disturbing images. Personally, I am not comfortable with sheltering Coco from the realities of life. I believe when bad things happen, we have to talk to our kids about it.

One Montessori mantra that comes to mind is "brief and true". It's the idea that whenever you're speaking to young children between the ages of 3 and 6, you should keep your statements truthful and concise. Children are unlikely to listen to a lecture. Instead, they want you to give them something to help them understand right that minute.

So far Coco hasn't asked about what happened in Paris, but, when she saw the photo of the refugee child who had drowned on the beach in Greece, she was curious. "What happened to that boy?!" she asked. I explained that his family had to leave their home, so they traveled to the sea and tried to go across it in a little boat, but the boat turned over and he died. Pretty brief and all true. This led to Coco asking why they didn't just stay at home. I responded because their city was full of fighting and wasn't safe; they didn't have anywhere to live or work or play, and no table at which to eat their food together.

She thought about it for a minute, then her eyes grew wide and she asked me, "In this world?" Yes, Coco. In this world. I find it hard to believe, too.

Try to avoid over simplifying or phrasing like "bad guys". It's also important to avoid making the issue black and white. Life is messy and grey most of the time. To suggest otherwise would be false. Children appreciate when their intelligence and status as fellow human beings is respected. They're not emotionally or intellectually ready to have the whole story, of course, but they need to hear honest information that they can understand, relate to, and digest.

I genuinely believe that it strengthens our children's capacity for empathy and compassion when they are exposed to some of the harsh realities of life in a way that they can comprehend. So, keep it true and brief rather than keeping them in the dark. What do you think? How do you approach these issues with your children?

Also, a great podcast about talking to kids about death.

What are you up to this weekend? I have come down with a pesky cold, so I'll be taking it easy. It doesn't help that right now I am so homesick for Zurich. The Christmas season is so wonderful there. The smell of Marroni (roasting chestnuts), Glühwein (mulled wine) and Raclette at little stands on nearly every street, Conelli Circus and this year Coco would have been old enough to ride the Märlitram. I could cry! But, on the bright side, we get Thanksgiving on the actual day and we will finally be able to take our kids to have their photo on Santa's lap. Plus, we don't have to travel for the holidays. All positives.

Here is what caught my eye this week.

I totally love this song. (The video is SO BAD. Don't watch it!)

Brilliant, understated tiles.

Long hair, don't care.

Loving this sweet nativity play set. And this one is cute, too.

Is your parenting style damaging your marriage?

Martha's gluten-free Thanksgiving.

The antidote to that annoying, "don't tell your daughter she's beautiful" advice.

This one made me laugh.

The best news for IKEA lovers in Spokane. (And, enter to win $500 in IKEA furnishings:)

I'm drooling over this cherry pie with almond crumble recipe. Yes, please. With a cup of coffee à la Twin Peaks.

See you all back here on Monday! Enjoy your weekend. xo

Photo via zuerich.com

Honestly, today, it's like I am seeing the world anew. Our avocados at breakfast seemed to be the most beautiful color I'd ever seen. My first sip of coffee was so rich and luxuriously tasty it made me stop, say Mmmmmmm and feel grateful. Mind you, this was a cup of coffee that I had topped off with boiling water because it had been sitting in the French Press for over an hour! Then, after breakfast, watching Theo walk and take little steps with his sweet chubby legs filled me with the most indescribable joy.

I think it's all because I got a good night's sleep.

When Theo was ten days old, J snapped the photo above of me co-sleeping with Coco and Theo. I love this photo so much. It captures all of the sweetness that makes co-sleeping completely worth it and wonderful. But, the night before last, I got to thinking (as I have many times before) that it may be time to give up co-sleeping once and for all. I haven't been getting good sleep lately and now that I'm working late some nights, I honestly can't deal.

But, it just doesn't seem like we'll ever go through with it, so I filed that thought away for later. Then, last night, as I was getting ready for bed, I happened to think of it, so I ran into the hallway and grabbed a sheet to cover the blinds on the door to the balcony off of our bedroom. There's a light in the alley that really bothers me at night. Somehow that horrid light manages to shine right through the tiny holes in the blinds and straight into my eyes at night. It is ridiculous. Until we get a curtain, I figured, why not just hang a sheet up there?

OMG. Total game changer.

Last night, I slept all night long and it's got to be because of the sheet! Theo was in bed with us and Coco climbed in during the night, too, but I only vaguely remember her coming in and asking for a drink of water. I don't remember Theo waking me once before sunrise. Then, this morning, J and Coco got up and got ready for school and work and I didn't even hear them. Theo and I slept until 8 o'clock! Seriously.

Co-sleeping wasn't the problem. Theo hadn't been waking me at all. I think it was that light in the alley! I can't even count the number of times I woke up with that thing beaming into me like a laser beam, and I think it had been waking Theo, too. The light may have even been preventing me from getting into deep sleep. It's a known fact that bright light will mess up your circadian rhythm and sleep cycles. I am leaving that ugly sheet there until we get a curtain!

It is amazing to get restorative rest when you're sleep deprived. The whole world seems different. If you're getting bad sleep lately, really assess your sleep environment and make sure it's nice and dark, cool and quiet. Little changes can make all the difference. Sleep is king!

What are your weekend plans? I'm working tonight and Sunday at my new part-time job at Trader Joe's! It is actually the perfect solution for our family right now because I can work evenings and weekends and we don't have the added cost of childcare. Plus, their benefits are really out of sight. It's kind of an amazing company, it turns out. I'm feeling so grateful for it right now. I love that our kids are with their parents full-time and I still have the time and energy to devote to writing. Win, win!

Saturday night, my niece is babysitting and J and I are going out on a much-needed and horribly overdue date night. We will eat at home, then go out for cocktails at Santé (the best!) and take a walk through downtown. I can't wait to have some time together, just us.

Here's a bit of what caught my eye this week:

The most beautiful phone cases.

I love this essay so much. I read it again and again.

Cold and flu tonic to make at home.

IKEA asks kids what they want for Christmas.

The loveliest alternative to Thanksgiving sports games. Do you play?

Nordstrom's big fall sale is underway. :)

But, it's not fall until we make this exquisitely simple dinner.

An inspiring new video series from Holy Mama.

Have you seen these hilariously awkward Tweets inspired by The Bloggess?!

Interesting perspective on life and vacation.

I hope your weekend is wonderfully cozy and restful. See you back here Monday! xo

(Armoire photo via Design Mom. 650-square-feet essay via Cup of Jo.)

Coco hit a huge milestone Tuesday when she decided to give all of her nuggis to the Nuggi Fairy. Nuggi sounds like cookie and is the Swiss German equivalent of paci or binki. We were honestly beginning to think that Coco would leave for college with her nuggi! For more than a year, it's been for sleeping at night only, but still, her teeth are clearly displaced from it and it was past time. We had made one attempt to get rid of it in the summer, which resulted in Theo giving up his nuggi for good, but Coco held strong.

As with all parenting dilemmas, I suddenly felt really, truly, confidently ready. So Tuesday morning, I asked her if she'd like to gather up all of her nuggis and make them into a necklace. Then, I explained, we could take them into the forest and - she interrupted me and finished the story, including what the Nuggi Fairy would bring her in return! The whole story after the jump.

Oddly enough, I am feeling wonderfully comfortable with my ambivalence following our trip to Zurich. I had hoped to come back with clarity on our future plans to either a). move back to Zurich or b). settle in Spokane. Now, I feel totally at ease with going back and forth multiple times a day. What's coming? We don't know, and it honestly doesn't matter. Clarity, shmarity!

But, one thing that I have 100% clarity on is the total and utter lack of customer service in Switzerland.

Our trip to Zurich was absolutely magical. It was just like riding a bike. Much to my surprise, it's all still there, just waiting for us. Nothing has changed, nothing is gone or lost. It's all there, and we could be too.





The first thing I did was go to see our old street and apartment to say goodbye. It was hard, but good. Then, I felt free to just enjoy the city and time with our friends after that.


Theo loved riding the trams, of course. We went all over the city and its surrounds on the tram, bus and train. I even stopped in at the Ticketeria to buy magnets with the numbers of our trams for our fridge here at home. Our fridge now looks like a bit like a shrine to Switzerland. Oh well!


One morning, I went to see Joel's former colleagues and principal. It was so nice to stroll through that neighborhood. Every street had memories of a walk we went on while pregnant with Coco or Theo or outings we took as a family.


I had the best egg salad sandwich in the world from Honold bakery and enjoyed it with a view of the Limmat.


I loved seeing Theo play in the Chinagarten playground that was always Coco's favorite. He dug around in the sand and practiced walking all over. The fall colors were absolutely gorgeous.


The weather was amazing. We really lucked out. It was fun to see the square in front of the Opernhaus all finished and in use. It's a beautiful space. If feels like an outdoor living room.


No time in Zurich would be complete without Cüpli. I met two girlfriends for champagne in Seefeld one night and it was absolutely brilliant. So brilliant, in fact, that I accidentally dropped and smashed my phone and got lost on the way home and cancelled all of my plans and stayed in pajamas the entire next day! ;)


During the Zurich Writers Workshop, Theo had an amazing time staying with friends of mine and their children. He was an absolute angel apparently. The workshop itself was fantastic. I met lots of writers and copywriters and got great feedback on my work. Now I just need to find the time to devote to writing! J and I are working on it.


That Sunday was an absolutely stunning evening. Buskers were out by the lakeside and Theo explored to his heart's content on the Chinawiese lawn. He and I walked for forty minutes along the lake as the sunset. It felt just like home and I found myself really missing J and Coco and wishing they were there with us.


On our last day, we had a huge lunch with my Mama Group at the Fork & Bottle restaurant. It was sunny, warm and golden. We chatted into the afternoon and had the greatest time catching up.


It was hard to believe it was time to go when it all came to an end. I'm so glad I went. Arriving home to J and Coco was so nice. I can't believe how much we missed them. As we go along, I think I'm getting more clarity on the Zurich question, too. But, it's a process. Best not to say anything just yet. ;) Thank you for reading! xo