HUSTLE, HIT AND NEVER QUIT

July 15, 2012

André started last week his summer tennis classes for 4 year old kids. So here there are some pics of his first week. I hope he continues with this sport, because you know tennis is all about practice, practice, practice.
I couldn't help but notice that André is a lot taller than his pals of the same age. It seems my secret vitamin is working, isn't it?  ;)

SOUNDS OF THE SUMMER

July 10, 2012

André started several courses this summer: piano, tennis, equitation and English classes in Gymboree.  He's excited with all the new friends he's making, and so do I!

To celebrate the end of his first week in piano lessons, we went to have some ice cream in the Yacht Club de Genève. He's having every afternoon, five days per week for a couple of hours, a musical course with emphasis in piano, and he seems to like it. I'm crossing my fingers for this trend to continue. His teacher is Greek and has a lot of patience and talent.

I always try to boost music in the life of my children, as it's proved that music has amazing effects in children. My baby Adrien was having music classes and baby disco in Gymboree when he was 5 until 7 months old. My older daughter Aimée was several years in the conservatory learning piano, as well as ballet, rhythmic gymnastics and dance courses.

The International Foundation of Music Research has published several researches about the benefits of music on early brain development. These studies have shown that children that had music education got higher SAT in intelligence scores. They say that music "benefit cognitive abilities, higher reasoning and motor skills, and higher achievements in language and math". Isn't wonderful what music can do for those little brains?

BUCKLE UP EVERYONE!

June 17, 2012

This Father's Day weekend we decided to go away with Adrien for a short trip to Berlin!
The first day of our arrival, we took a boat tour across the multitude of Berlin's rivers and canals. Did you know that Berlin has more bridges than Venice? Around 1700 bridges. We finished with a traditional German dinner.
The second day we took the risk of get a walking tour around Berlin. The weather was not the best, as the whole day we had a few rain showers. However, Adrien never complained and he even seemed to enjoy the tour so we finished it successfully. We visited most of the main sights in the city, included the Berlin Wall, Hitler's Bunker, SS and Gestapo Headquarters, the Parlament, etc, etc. Of course we were deeply moved for Berlin's touching history. But we finish with a happy end as we met great new friends in our tour! I wanna say many thanks to our superb guide!
We had an incredible dinner that night to celebrate Father's Day.
Last day, we had a short walk and then headed to the airport. We arrived just to Geneva just in time to have dessert with my in-laws for Father's Day family meeting. Congratulations to my hubby, my father and all dads! Remember that the best thing you can do for your children is love their mothers  ;)

SCHOOL MATTERS

June 11, 2012

André is finishing school next week! To celebrate this year's memories, challenges and accomplishments, he and his classmates had an end of school trip to the Vivarium of Geneva.
We're so looking forward to start the vacations soon!
The region around Geneva is world famous for the finest private schools that for decades attracted the children of kings, celebrities, diplomats and presidents. Geneva has 289 private schools, that means the highest number of international schools per inhabitant of Europe!
However, Geneva's public school are also exceptional and among the highest level in the world. Probably, this is because of the high quality of the private schools that set the bar high for the whole educative system. Whether public or private, all Geneva's schools have a multicultural level for the high percentage of foreigners in the city.
Public schools in Geneva are free, and are pretty small, compared to schools elsewhere. The children have a lunch break to go to take it at home, as it is Swiss tradition, but in some schools is possible to take it at the school at reasonable prices (as André does).

HEAD-TO-TOE

June 8, 2012

It's so nice to have good weather so we can take the children for short trips in charming French and Swiss towns. This time we went to Thonon-les-Bains in the Haute Savoie region of France, less than one hour away from Geneva. This city has an interesting history for its past as a French Dukedom and one of the most impressive and breathtaking views to the Léman Lake.
We had a nice walk with the children, a delicious French lunch and some shopping, where André got a two-heads dragon, which he doesn't separate now.

FROGS, BUGS AND PUPPETS

May 17, 2012

We took the children for a puppet show about racism and prejudices which I found with great content and message!

I found great as well their Gymboree clothes. I bought for them several matching outfits that I'll be posting asap. The best part of Adrien's outfit? Its green frogs match with the children bathroom. What could be more fun than a fizzy amphibian with big green lips all around bath time?  ;)

MOMMY MAKEOVER

April 28, 2012

It was the birthday of "abu" (grandma), but she was away having fun in a Cruise around the Scandinavian countries.  Adrien sent her this sweet postcard in Spanish.

That day we went to visit daddy's plastic surgery center and then to an outdoor cafe, taking advantage of the sunny weather. I hope we'll have more days full of sunshine to warm our hearts.

I guess people think that because my hubby is a plastic surgeon I should look better. The truth is, as any other mom, I have to diet and exercise as a regular basis, because there is a little detail missing: he's a SWISS plastic surgeon. That means, he likes a woman to look natural, so doesn't want that I look like the cliché "plastic surgeon's wife". 

It's not a secret that pregnancies, childbirths and breastfeeding are hard for any woman's body. Would you consider a Mommy Makeover to restore your pre-pregnancy body? A Mommy Makeover is one or several esthetic procedures custom designed to solve this needs. According with my hubby, it's better to wait a year after breastfeeding to give the body the time to recover. Also, be aware that surgery is not a solution for overweight.  Plastic surgery removes fat that won't responde to diet or exercise. Having saying that, the most common Mommy Makeover's procedures are the following:

Breast: could be a lift, a reduction, or an augmentation (to restaure lost volumen).

Tummy: Abdominoplasty or Liposuction. Liposuction can also work for other areas.

With any surgery, you need someone to assist you with the children because bending and lifting are restricted during the post-op recovery period. I guess then, that is the real reason why I'm still in the wait list! 

For more tips, check his facebook page.

ONCE UPON A TIME...

April 15, 2012

During our trip to Germany, we went to the civil wedding of a cousin. There, André fell in love with a cute little German girl. Since he saw her, he called her "my princess".  It seems that the "coup de foudre" was in both sides and they didn't separate from each other the whole day  :)

GERMAN CRUSADE

April 12, 2012

Spring break is a great time for family bonding. We went to the south of Germany with the children, and despite the cold weather, we enjoyed this spring break getaway and even did some shopping.  I'm starting to realize that any country in the world is cheaper than Switzerland.

LEATHER WEATHER

March 31, 2012

This crazy weather can be scary for children, and indeed for parents. Kids have to dress well for confort and movement so I usually use the approach of layers. You know what people say: "No bad weather, only bad clothing".

Here a mix of Adrien's pics of these last two difficult months. In the first picture, we had a parents meeting at his brother school and Adrien loved it!! He's wearing a D&G navy leather jacket.

LA VITA E BELLA!

March 7, 2012

Oh yes, life is beautiful in Italy!! We went four days to Bergamo in order to accompany my hubby to a Plastic Surgery Congress there. Adrien and I spent our days strolling the beautiful city of Bergamo and the nights all the family had dinner together in lovely restaurants. The last day we visited my cousins that live there before to heading back to Geneva.

I have a deep love for Italian food!  Each time that I happen to travel to this country, I look forward to eating as much as possible and discover new places for the best pizza, gelato, tiramisu and pasta.
Searching the Internet for good restaurants in Bergamo, I found this list of the Top 10 Italian Food Blogs. I know that I'll come back with extra killos, but I'm sure it will be all worth.
BTW, my favorite Italian restaurant in Geneva is Les Tilleuls, located in the street of the same name. Great quality-price-service-children friendly for Geneva's standards... if you know what I mean  ;)
I'm going to stop this post now because my mouth is watering and my stomach growls!

VINTAGE TREASURES

February 28, 2012

Adrien is 9 months old and his great-grandfather Otti, of 96 years old, came for lunch to celebrate this special day. Otti is a special person that speaks several languages, has written a book and even has a Facebook profile. He's pretty active on the social media!
Adrien is the only of his six great-grandchildren that got his blue eyes, and is the only one who lives in Geneva as well, so they're very close.  May God give them many days together!

SUPERANDRE

September 30, 2011

Having a new baby while studying a master degree in IOMBA (International Organizations MBA of the University of Geneva), made it really difficult for me to take everyday pics of André's outfits. I feel sorry that I missed to capture so many important moments during this year.
Anyway, he's thrilled to be the older brother of baby Adrien so far! I feel really proud of him, he loves his baby brother and is never jealous. What a blessing! Mashallah!
Now that he's 4 years old, here there are a few pics of his 3th year that I didn't include in last posts. In the first picture, he's wearing his 6-pack Superman costume  ;)

STAYING COOL IN THE POOL!!

August 31, 2011

The weather is so hot that we're literally melting. Trying to keep the children cool in breezy outfits is my goal from now on. They prefer to be naked though  ;)

André's third birthday: ANDRE CIRCUS

A few months ago we celebrated André's third birthday party with a Circus theme. Do you remember his first birthday was with an Under-the-water theme? This time we had a smaller party in our house in Geneva. The invitations were made in layers of foamy with embossed stickers and a cover of a foamy circus tent. Instead of an envelope, I used a hand-made red box with confetti, an elephant cookie and bracelets to coloring.

BLUE ATTITUDE

Again blue? Well, nothing beats the summer season as a nautical style.  Also, blue is sooo boyish!  We went for a check-up to the hospital and André spent a couple of hours into the daycare of the hospital. Then, we went to do several courses and, finally, we visited my husband's grandfather.  What a busy day for my huge belly!

STRIPE! STRIKE!

When a mom has a busy schedule needs to dress her children in a confortable way to tote them around town.  My choice for one of those busy days?... stripes. Now, let's go to the infinite and beyond!  ;)

This week there was the 7th Geneva Marathon.  This day the city stops to watch thousands of people running this marathon.  The Geneva Marathon has a new car-free course through 10 communes (kind of neighborhoods), which ends at  the famous Jardin Anglais, one of the main touristic points of the city, and the heart of the bay.  This course has a unique landscape, between the Jura mountains and the high Alpine peaks.
In addition to the healthy and fitness reasons to go for a run, you'd support a good cause: the Geneva Marathon supports UNICEF, who get 5% of the registration fees.  The donations to Unicef will pay, among other things, for water pumps in developing countries, giving thousands of people access to clean water.
There are several categories, going from professional, children, elderly, handicapped, etc. Unfortunately, they don't have a categorie for pregnant women yet, so let's do it next year!  ;)

André's best moments: 2-3 years (4th -and last- part)

knight costume during l'Escalade, a local swiss celebration

This is the last part of this edition about my favorite moments when my son André was younger, from 2 - 3 years old... not far behind. He's now 3 1/2. All this retrospective brought to me great souvenirs. Children do grow up so fast, don't they?

André's best moments: first year (3rd part)

Burberry white t-shirt. Australian leather hat (borrowed from dad).

This is the third delivery of the section I called André's best moments (tomorrow is the last one, I promise!).  In this post, I want to review the second part of his first year of life, from 7 months until 12.  Thanks God for all that year full of joy and blessings in our lives.

André's best moments: new born (1st part)... BORN THIS WAY

Burberry baby sleeping bag

Today I wanted to make a review of all my favorite souvenirs of my son André when he was a little new born baby in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  It's so sweet to remember those precious moments  :)