The waiting game

I was hoping that Lily would arrive early, but it looks like that isn't going to happen. Jack was a week late so I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that she would be late also. Although, being 40+ weeks pregnant is a very uncomfortable state to be in, so with each passing minute I'm hoping my body starts the process of kicking her out. 

40 weeks

It's amazing that my belly can stretch this much!

Jack is ready for Lily to come out and play!

I am trying to go on with life like normal and stay as busy as possible to pass the time. Today we planned a trip to a pumpkin farm that I thought would be an all day event. It turned out to be kind of a bust, but we did enjoy some pumpkin soup and an hour or so of walking around the labyrinth. 

Pumpkin labyrinth

This is how I feel trying to squeeze into my clothes

After we were thoroughly bored, we headed to Bern and took Jack to the free part of the Bern zoo and then down to the river to play in the mud

Then we headed out to get dinner at the "spiciest" restaurant we have found in Switzerland. It is a take-away Indian food/pizza place that is no where near as good as the indian food we got back in the U.S. and about 5 times the cost. But I have been told that eating spicy food can bring on labor so we gave it a try to see if anything happens.

This weekend was the wine festival in Neuchatel. We went Friday night with some friends but seeing that I can't drink and Luke can't really either (he is my designated driver and labor coach) we couldn't spend more than a couple hours before getting annoyed with the crowds and the drunk people.

Jack and his friend Mabel on the way to the party

Having fun on some carnival rides

More rides

Throwing confetti was the highlight
of the night for Jack

Here's to hoping that my next post will be about the new baby!! 

Mystery laundry thief - part 2

I had my laundry day on Saturday and we decided to try to catch whoever may be stealing our laundry money. We timed one cycle so that Luke would run down there 5 minutes before it ended and then wait and see if anyone came to claim the money off our machine. As soon as it was time, Luke started walking down to the laundry room. Jack and I were still getting our shoes on and followed him a minute later. As Jack and I were walking down, the old lady from upstairs (suspect #2) was coming up. She mumbled something to me in french, but all I could hear was "coupe." By the time I made it down to the laundry room Luke informed me that we were too late. The washing machine door was open... but strangely the money was still on the machine. At that point he became convinced that the lady walking upstairs is our culprit. He thinks she came in the laundry room and noticed that our wash was finished, she then opened the washing machine door and at that point realized she didn't have her laundry card to recuperate our money. Luke thinks she was walking up to her apartment to get her laundry card. He heard her mumble to us in french and from what he heard, he thinks she was telling me that there is money left to recuperate on the machine (he heard her say "coupe" as well). It was pretty suspicious timing, especially since she was one of the suspects already on our list. But alas, we weren't able to prove anything for sure so we will have to try again next week.   

Je suis prête!

One week left until my "due date" and I finally have everything ready for our little girls big arrival. I have spent the last month or so cooking and freezing several meals. We should have enough food stocked in our freezer to last us until the end of the year. We bought her car seat last weekend and yesterday I washed the sheets to her co-sleeper. And that's it, we are ready. 

I'm not sure if it is a 2nd child thing, or just a result of us living in another country with none of Jack's old baby things, but I feel a little bad that Lily won't have all the "stuff" Jack had. She will have no toys, no rocking chair, no swing, no decorated nursery made just for her. All Lily has is a co-sleeper, a car seat and some borrowed clothes. Although I did find some wall decals to make her area a little cuter. 

Lily's area with a co-sleeper a changing area and some wall decals. 

Really when it's all said and done, babies don't need much. 

Mystery laundry theif

Recently our laundry machines were replaced by a new system which we now have to pay for. It is a fairly complicated system which involves a special laundry card. It costs 2.90 chf to start the washing machine and 3.60 chf to start the dryer. But depending on what cycle you use, or how long you use the machine you do not use the entire amount you were charged. Therefore when your washing and/or drying is done you have to put your card back into the machine and you will get some money back.

For example, if I do a washing load on a short, cold cycle then when the washing is finished I usually get 1 to 2 chf back on my card. If I wash on hot with pre-wash as well then I usually only get .30 - .90 chf back on my card. I think that no matter what, you always get money back at the end of the cycle.

Until recently.

For the past 3 weeks I have noticed that if I do not run down as soon as my laundry is finished there is no more money on the machine. At first I thought it was just coincidence...but it kept happening. Every time I was there when the machine finished, I got money back. But the times when I wasn't there when the cycle finished I noticed that not only was there no money left on the machine, but the door to the machine was also open. It is as if someone notices that my cycle has finished and opens the door and then takes my leftover money on the machine. Now just to clarify, I have one day a week to do laundry and that is MY day. I have the machines all to myself, so technically I can leave one load in all day if I wanted and no one can complain because it is my laundry day.

I do not have the time or the patience to run down every time I think my laundry is ending. So last week I taped a post-it note over the slot where you have to insert your card that read (in french) "please do not open my door or take my money." I then started the cycle and left for the grocery store. We got back approximately 15 minutes after the cycle ended and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the machine door was open, my note was on the floor and no money was left on the machine!

We live in a complex where most of the tenants are over 70 years old so it is really hard for me to imagine that they are stealing my money. Part of my brain is telling me that the machine must "time out" after a certain period and the door automatically opens and for some reason you lose any "leftover" money. But then I remember the first time I used the new machines I was able to run errands during the day and never had a problem with the machine taking my money.

I had my laundry day again on Friday. This time I ran up and down the stairs every 20 minutes to make sure I could be there when the cycle ended. I also wanted to see who (if anyone) came into the laundry room during that time. I was surprised by the two "suspects" that peeked their heads in during my laundry cycle.

Suspect #1: The old man who lives next to us. He must be about 80 years old and is always really friendly.

Suspect #2: The old lady who lives 2 floors above us. She must be close to 90 years old and is not as friendly as the man but still fairly nice.

It is really hard for me to imagine either of these people sneaking down to steal money off the laundry machine. But then again, they are both home all day and have nothing better to do...

My next laundry day is Saturday. We have decided to try to set up a camera or do a stake out and settle this business once and for all!

Our not so quiet little city

This past weekend was the Fete du Vin (aka wine festival) in our town. September is the month of grape harvesting so all throughout the region towns are celebrating with huge festivals. Wine booths are set up all around town, there are rides for the kids and parades throughout the weekend. We only made it down one of the days, but truthfully that was enough. Being around a bunch of drunks is never fun, especially when you are 9 months pregnant and can't enjoy the wine!

I just realized that I haven't posted any picture of our new city. Usually it is a very quiet town so I will have to take more pictures another day to compare with the hecticness of the wine festival. 

The path leading from our apartment to town. Vineyards line
either side 

A view of the lake from the path

Our city's castle in the distance

Just got this stroller attachment this past
weekend. It is so Jack can now stand on our
stroller while Lilly is in the stroller.

Just getting in to the main part of town we ran into the parade

The bed and breakfast in town where guests can stay

People watching the parade go by

Pretty sure there is no hotel here anymore

Town museum

We had several bursts of rainfall during
the day, but Jack didn't mind

One of two statues in the city

All the kids sports teams participated in the parade.
Jack was ecstatic to see his friend Nico in the parade. 

2nd of two statues in the city

Exit from the city to the lake

Old city tower

Local cheese shop

And there you have it. Our quiet little city during its biggest festival. I absolutely love our town, it has so much character and tons of little cobblestone streets and pedestrian only areas. The city is also right next to the lake and has a great bike path. I will try to get some more pictures another day, but until then I hope you got a little feel for our new life in the city.