Tag: 1000hoursoutside

Wonderwood: Hidden Gem Family Adventure Park at Lake Maggiore, Italy

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Ranger Trail at Wonderwood

Trip Duration: 8 hours ∞∞∞ Difficulty Level: Easy ∞∞∞ Trip Date: 25 May 2025

I can’t believe it’s already been three years since we were in the hospital theatre, hearing the surprising words: “You have a baby girl!” We had always joked that girls just don’t happen in our families—so when life proved us wrong, we were overjoyed. And grateful beyond words.

Birthday cake made by Grandma.
Birthday cake made by Grandma.

To celebrate her third birthday, we decided to skip the traditional party and instead go on an adventure—a new experience we could all enjoy together.

Wonderwood Adventure Park

Getting There: A Drive to Remember

The journey to Wonderwood took us about an hour. Half of the drive followed the scenic shores of Lake Maggiore, the other half twisted upward along narrow mountain roads—complete with hairpin turns and dramatic drops. No barriers, just breathtaking (and slightly nerve-wracking) views.

I’ll admit: I needed a deep breath and a moment to reset after that drive before I could think about tree trails or ziplines. Want a glimpse of the road and the trip?

First Impressions & Planning Ahead

At the entrance, we were warmly greeted by a friendly receptionist who explained everything calmly and clearly. The atmosphere was unhurried, which set the tone for a truly relaxed day. We immediately reserved a table for lunch on the panoramic terrace—a must if you’re visiting during peak hours.

Rope Course Adventures for All Ages

We headed straight to the rope courses, where everyone received a helmet and safety harness. After a short but thorough training on a practice course, we split up:

  • Our daughter (the birthday girl!) tried the low-level course, which is suitable from age 3.
  • Our son and my husband tackled the medium course, which runs 3 to 6 meters above ground.
  • There’s even a high course 9 meters up—for next time!

More Than Just Ropes: Other Highlights

🐿️ Squirrel Coaster

A creative wooden obstacle track for racing wooden balls down the hill. Spoiler: I was so focused on the race, I almost landed on my backside. Watch your step!

Squirrel Coaster: wooden ball run

🚙 Ranger Trail – Land Rover Ride

It is one of my kids absolute favourite. The range rovers are suitable from 3 – 14 year. Parents must accompany the riders with a remote that can switch off the jeep before something goes downhill.

💦 Paddling Pool

After and during all the excitement, the best way to reset and cool down is to visit the paddling pool. The pool is shallower on one side than the other, but still perfect for toddlers. The swirling stream by its side with its ankle height water is great for babies.

🚜 Build It – Digging station

Diggers turned out to be a great distraction to both young and younger members of our crew. The two stations offer different things to grab. One is for digging up dirt and pouring over from one side to another, while the other has a grabber for lifting up wooden logs. Both the digger and the jeeps work with the same tokens. Tokens can be pre purchased or bought at the training center.

Food & Relaxation: The Grotto

The on-site restaurant, Grotto, gets busy—especially on weekends. Be sure to book a table when you check in. If you’re just after a snack, the WunderBar next to the playground offers a good selection of drinks and treats.

Signpost

Why We Love Wonderwood

Wonderwood is exactly the kind of place we love discovering:

  • Family-friendly without being overwhelming
  • No queueing for climbing due to the buzzer system in place
  • No cash needed on site due to the park green card system – pay at the end on the way out
  • Outdoorsy but safe, the park is fully enclosed providing a secure ground to roam
  • Structured enough for parents to relax, but adventurous enough for kids to feel brave

It offered something for each member of our family—from the curious toddler to the adrenaline-loving big brother. The best part? We’re already planning to return next week.

Paradise at the End of the Tunnel

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River bank in the sunset

An impromptu discovery. Light at the end of the tunnel that leads into a local paradise.

Light at the end of the tunnel
Boy in the dark tunnel
Boy is leaving the dark tunnel

Growing up in various big cities, it was unimaginable to enter a tunnel system like this when I was a child. Life in a valley brings change of scenery. Tunnels like this help the rain water tickle down the mountains to the river. It is safe most of the year, but of course the devil never sleeps.

Boy in the tunnel system

My brave son and his grandfather explored the underground system by the time I caught up with them at the playground. His face lit up when he saw me and finally could share his new findings with me. He immediately called me to return underground with him. So we did. I wasn’t expecting such a pretty view after walking through a few dark round tunnels.

River bank in the sunset at Golino, Ticino, Switzerland
River bank in the sunset at Centovalli, Ticino, Switzerland

Out in the fresh air again, we slid down a few large water washed rocks to get to the riverbank. Complete tranquil scene greeted us. We filled our lungs clean fresh air. Warmed our skin in the setting sun. I could had spent hours sitting there listening to the melody of the River Melezza.

Goodbye March: from Winter Jackets to Summer Shorts

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Crocus

‘Vacanza di Carnevale’ brought on March in Ticino. I suppose this school holiday is better known as ski break or winter break in other parts of Europe. Something new to get used to. Moms on the last school day (before the week long break) would wish ‘Buon Carnevale’ to each other. Which simply implies to have a great week holiday with your family.

International Women Day

From one generation to another we always celebrated on March 8. Women in my family would get a little plant or flower and we would definitely have some sort of cake at the dining table. I suppose it is another excuse to indulge in some naughty extra calories.

Father’s Day: Brunch at Monte Generoso

Highlight of the month of March has to be the trip to Monte Generoso on Father’s Day. Last year on Mother’s Day we visited Säntis. It set a theme in my mind for any future Mother’s and Father’s Day. Interestingly, in Switzerland, many attractions like this, come up with an offer for the fathers and mothers visiting on the respective dates.

Cog train at Capolago

Father’s Day in Ticino is different to the rest of the cantons of the country. It is aligned with Italy. On this day, they celebrate Saint Joseph, or in Italian San Giuseppe, and is an official public holiday.

With an extra bank holiday in the pocket, we could freely set off to visit Monte Generoso. Read here about our trip to this beautiful mountain at the border of Italy / Switzerland.

Garden works: Sowing & Planting

As the days got longer and warmer, we spent more and more time in the garden. First we dusted off all the items left outside during the winter. Once it looked a bit more orderly, we measured out a small strip to convert it to a small kitchen garden. This part is the sunniest although most of the time our garden is in a shade from the tall trees on the side of the plot.

This small strip was fenced off then filled with over half a ton soil. The weather did its part in integrating the soil to its new home, by raining heavily for about a week. Once the clouds cleared we carried on with sowing seeds. Here you can see the before, during and after images of the reno.

It is a great little project for the kids. They all seem to enjoy looking after this small plot. Easy excuse to spend more time outdoors, since the seeds / plants need water. Water is the middle name of my family. I think we were all some sort of fishes in our previous lives.

Swimming Sessions

This month the first period of swimming lessons came to an end. The second had started straight away though. Our eldest levelled up from crab (Granchio) to little seahourse (Cavalluccio). Our youngest also completed their lessons and received a duck badge that we need to saw on their bathrobe (accappatoglio).

Baby and toddler in swimming costume

As I mentioned before we all love the water and being in the water. We visit the pool 2-3 times even on days when there is no lesson. It is a safe place where all the kids are happy.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

Over 72 hours spent in the nature. This is almost two full working weeks. This brings our yearly count to over 150 hours. I am so happy with our progress and I am proud to see our little ones enjoying themselves in the nature.

We are lucky to be surrounded by such beautiful mountains and many lakes. Our local bucket list of places we would like to explore. We hope to bring you along our tiny trips by colourful travel journal entries, many picture and videos.

Hello April

Swimming, gardening, Easter holiday, cousins visit – these are just a few of the things we look forward to doing in the coming month.

Father’s Day at Monte Generoso, Ticino, Switzerland

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Cog train at Capolago

We set off to visit Monte Generoso in Ticino on Father’s Day. On this cold but sunny day, the sat nav guided us to the train station, where signposts helped us find the designated car park for the attraction.

Cog train at the Capolago train station.

An orange and blue cog train was ready at the Capolago train station. The very first train departed at 10:15 AM, carrying many hikers on board. A German lady sat next to me, fully equipped for an all-weather hike. Her backpack was packed with essentials, and she had foldable walking sticks attached to its side. She explained that she planned to take the train to Bellavista, from where she would hike up to the summit. Bellavista is the station just before the last one, situated at 1,223 meters. From there, it’s almost a 500-meter elevation gain on a snowy path to Fiore Di Pietra, which stands at 1,704 meters.

Ascent

The train carried a large open container in front of the wagon. Passengers could place their tools, backpacks, or strollers and trailers there. By leaving bulky items outside in this container, boarding was much easier.

The wagon had two row seats facing each other, which is perfect for a group of four. Our train was almost full, but eventually we settled down. The train set off on time and departed on its 9 km journey on the steep slopes slowly climbing up and up. There were 3 stops along the 40 minutes ride.

The departure felt like the takeoff of a plane. The train slowly ascended the hill, crossing several roads along the way. Looking out the window on one side, the mountain was almost within arm’s reach, whereas the valley we had left behind was visible only if we stood up from our seats. As the train continued through the forest, it passed through many tunnels. The horn sounded before each entrance, alerting passengers to the darkness ahead.

Arriving to the top through the clouds with the cog train.

After passing through the bare forest, we finally reached the snow level and slowly everything around us turned white. The trails were well signed for hikers, but mostly covered with snow. By the time we pulled into the final station, the snow was thick and strong on the ground.

Fiore di Pietra

The cog train stops right in front of the ‘stone flower’ building. Although, I can see the concept of the flower bulb when looking at the building, but to me, it looked like a rocket station. Standing out tall from the bare snowy mountain top. Surrounded by the blue sky and some white clouds. The antennas of the weather station in the area were just adding more to this futuristic picture.

The ground was covered in snow, piled as high as the benches, which made our stroll a bit challenging. After a quick round on the cloud swing, we decided to head in the opposite direction. We took the elevator with the buggy to the terrace of the Fiore di Pietra building. From the terrace, we navigated around the playground and found the path leading up to the “Grand Tour” sign.

Grand Tour

Grand Tour sign on Monte Generoso

The snowy, steep path had a rope handrail on the left, and at the edge was an opening to the valley, which felt both exciting and dangerous. Obsessed with taking photos at the Grand Tour sign, we took our time as we gradually ascended. To our right, the peak was covered in long grass beneath a blanket of snow. Our eldest found some huge icicles where the grass hung off the stones. With the sun at its highest, we could hear the water dripping from the melting icicles. The atmosphere was quiet, with our heavy breaths mingling with the sound of dripping water and occasional giggles whenever we slipped on the melting snow. Reaching the sign was a challenge with a baby strapped to my front, but we managed to get there.

There was no way to push the buggy up to the viewing point, it was a walk and carry path for those with little kids in the crew.

Bellavista

On the way down we had brunch at the Bellavista Buffet restaurant. With the train stopping right at the entrance of the restaurant, we created a bit of a traffic jam. With the warmest welcome from the waitresses, we were seated at our table. The place and the set up reminded me to the English pubs. Bare tables with a quirky table numbers made out of the cog of the train track. Buffet style set up with help yourself stations, just like a good old Sunday roast in England.

Across from the restaurant, there is a lovely lookout terrace with benches to relax while enjoying the magnificent view. We took the next train down as the kids started to get overtired.

Descent

The journey from Bellavista to Capolago took only 25 minutes. The leaves on the ground glowed golden in the sunlight, making the forest look stunning. After passing through tunnel after tunnel, we finally returned to the village. Following two more road crossings, the train came to a complete stop. Just like on an aerplane, passengers were eager to disembark as soon as possible.

We haven’t left the village yet, when both little ones were snoozing loudly in the car. Mission accomplished – I thought. I know they won’t remember. But they can listen to the stories of our mini adventures and look at the photos and videos we are making.

Why We Love Monte Generoso

Playing in the snow is number one on our eldest’s list. He told me we must return in the summer, so he can try the playground on the top of the mountain, and go all the way up to the very top look out, which was not possible due to the snowy circumstances. So be aware a summer version of this trip will come to your way sooner or later.

Our daughter would definitely include swinging in the clouds on her list. She really enjoyed going back and forth on the long swing at the top of the mountain.

The train ride felt like an attraction in itself, reminiscent of a miniature train at a funfair with kids. We passed through numerous small tunnels, holding our breath at the sound of the horn until we emerged into the light on the other side.

Goodbye February: welcome warmth in Ticino

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forest road

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of early spring sunshine warming both your soul and your body. I absolutely love this sensation! I often wish there were a word or expression that could capture the intensity of this experience. It’s so full of hope for the warmer and longer days that lie ahead in the coming weeks and months..

Here in Ticino, the sunshine plays on our senses every day… almost every day! This mood-lifting phenomenon is exactly what I needed after 3 months of no-sunshine in the valley of Centovalli.

Carnevale in Ticino

Last month, we “scared” the winter away at Bandi Gianee by dragging tins along the ground and making loud noises throughout the town. February and March in Ticino are dedicated to Carnevale. Even the typical “ski holiday” is referred to as Vacanza di Carnevale, which translates to “holiday of carnival.” People greet each other with “Buon Carnevale” when they depart. Are you going away for Carnevale? This question is mainly to find out if you have any plans, particularly for skiing, during this specific week.

Tiny Trips

Ascona

Ascona is my current favourite place to visit. I am very lucky to live 10 minutes drive away. I end up visiting this place at least twice a month and each time I discover something new.

Home of Jazz

Ponte dei Salti – Lavertezzo

This double arch stone bridge is a renowned destination for adrenaline enthusiasts. Built over 400 years ago, it serves as a popular jumping spot for anyone looking to plunge into the turquoise river below. The river is slow-moving yet cold. From the bridge, you can see the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Lavertezzo. If you’re adventurous enough to climb the large, river-worn stones, you can capture a beautiful reflection of the church in the water.

Verzasca Dam

This was my second visit to the majestic dam in Valle Verzasca, and it did not disappoint. This time, the kids were awake, and we took the opportunity to explore the area thoroughly. We walked along the entire path on top of the dam, which leads to the opposite mountain where a hiking trail begins. The rocks had a way of playing tricks on our eyes. As we explored, the kids effortlessly climbed on the rocks, making it look like they had completed a challenging hike. The vastness of the space and the distance we covered suddenly felt much greater compared to our usual daily surroundings.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

Longer days provide us with more opportunities to enjoy the outdoors. We spent just over 43 hours outside this month, which is 8 hours more than last month. Unfortunately, the flu continues to be prevalent in our neighborhood. From what I’ve read on social media, it seems to be lasting longer than usual this year, often extending beyond a month. This aligns with our experience; between the five of us, we end up passing the illness around. Despite being ill or not, we strive to get outside whenever we can.

We have completed 88 out of 1,000 hours by the end of February, which makes me doubt that we’ll reach our goal. Fortunately, the summer break lasts over two months in Ticino, and I expect to fit in the majority of the hours needed for the year 2025 during that time.

Hello March

“Vacanza di Carnevale” means a week off from kindergarten. We are in the midst of potty training, which begins with three days at home. After that, we can start taking short walks before we attempt a longer trip. Fingers crossed that we figure it out quickly! 🙂

San Giuseppe day is an official public holiday in the Italian part of Switzerland. On this day, all fathers are celebrated, just like in Italy.

Goodbye January: Welcome Back Sunshine

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cloud above snowy mountain lit by hiding sun

January is a month filled with short days. Our January – if I would need to chose a theme – would be noise. Yes, NOISE. Now, put your hands up if you are not great with noise. That’s me. My soul rests when there is no noise around. Does it happen often? Nope. My poor chimming heart gets heavy and sweaty trying to race with the loudness. My breaths get shorter and rapider. When I bare no more, I remove myself from this atmosphere and spend some time cooling down.

Bandi Gianee

New experience alert. This month we got to know the story behind Bandi Gianee. A custom typical to the Italian part of Switzerland. In particular to Locarno and its close vicinity.

What do you need? Some empty cans on a long string that can be tragged around town, making as much noise as possible.

Winter is still in full swing in the mountains, however in the warmest part of Switzerland, the locals are already calling for the spring and summer. Here, in Centovalli, the sun arrives to the valley towards the end of January. So it makes sense to make as much noise as possible to scare the winter away for another year.

my kids are making noise with a stick on the playground drums
First Day of January
kids with instruments scaring the winter away
Last Day of January

It is yet another great opportunity to spend time outdoors with the community. The celebration often ends with a ‘merenda’. All participants contribute with some drinks and snacks. We got to spend it with a group of amazing, dedicated parents and caretakers. With the tummies filled, the guitarist took his instruments and the sound of the music gathered all the singers around. Time flies when you are having fun.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

With a fresh start, I am logging the time spent outdoors (roughly). In January, with the winter flu blooming, we spent 35 hours and 15 minutes outdoors. This is a tiny bit more than one hour per day on average. I expect, it is the toughest to show results in the first month of the year. My tiny peeps are not a big fan of cold and dark. So the window of opportunity is pretty narrow. Based on that I am happy with the results and I am looking forward to seeing some longer days to come.

  • Bike Time
  • Puddle Fun
  • Puddle Biking
  • kids with instruments scaring the winter away
    Noise Fun
  • Winter Forest
  • Winter Walks
  • Forest Stream
  • Sunshine spotting
  • Swimming Lessons
  • Indoor Sand Play
  • More Winter Walks
  • Frosty Grounds
  • Frosty Forest
  • Winter scene
  • Happy Birthday
  • Family Pic
  • River Maggia
  • Family Pic
  • Indoor Play
  • Duplo Fun
  • Christmas Deco
  • Winter in Poland
  • Winter Seaside Fam
  • First Day of January

Winter Sunbathing: Exploring Brissago and other family low/highlights

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Swimming Lessons, Back to Work, Winter Flu, Exploring Brissago, Family Pool Fun

Brissago

Driving straight into the winter sun, which is sitting low on the horizon. Lake on the left and mountain on the right. The road hosts two way traffic but with the width of two old minis, very narrow. It is full of twists and turns. Just around one corner a garage door amongst the rocks of the mountain. Park the car and take the lift to get to your residence.

There are many such garage doors along the road south from Ascona just like that. Each one has a concrete lift shaft above. I can only imagine how people live / commute from places like this. I wonder what happens when the lift breaks down.

We kicked off the trip at the southern part of the town. Parking near the lido of Brissago, we planned to check out the slide leading to Lake Maggiore. However it is closed in the winter and it is not accessible with a buggy / trailer due to the stairs.

Chiesa di S. Maria di Ponte

A few meters further to the south on foot, we found a church. Large wide stairs leading down to what it looks like to the lake. To the right the cemetery to the left the most well maintained church yard, I have ever seen. The church is open for visitors from April until November. However the surrounding garden is open all year around. The lawn is manicured with precision, the trees are pruned for the next season. It is a great spot to fill up on vitamin D on a nice sunny day.

Looking around we can see the nearby lido and long slide just behind the church. On the lake the island of Brissago is visible. It’s botanical garden offers a couple of hours excursion for the visitors. On the other side of the lake, the mountains go from green bottom to brown middle to white caps.

From here we carried on towards north of the town. Along the way, many of the Mediterranean features can be spotted. The houses have warm colours, the palm trees keep their unique shades all year around. Stone dominates many of the walls, bridges and due to the steep hill Brissago is built on, there are many not-so-hidden stairs along the town.

Lungolago of Brissago

Lungolago is filled with benches to rest on. Unique statues and fountains break up the path. Lemon and orange trees show off their fruit even this time of the year. The winter sun makes long shadows creating a dramatic effect on the photos we took along the journey.

Below the promenade the large stones form theater seats like structure. Great spot to admire the the ‘vista’ in front.

The houses are colourful with large balconies maximising on space to admire the view of the lake and mountains. Tranquility dominates the lake side in January. I imagine that it is the perfect calm before the high season storm begins.

However the winter sun has now disappeared behind the mountains. We pulled up the zips of our winter jackets, to keep the cold out and headed back towards the main road. Behind the fire station, a lively sport field breaks the serene site.

Along the main road, the town is busy with locals chatting in the bars, rushing from one place to another. Busy traffic rushing in front of the hill covered with terraced houses facing the lake.

It was our first time visiting Brissago, however, we would love to visit in the high season, to be able compare the atmosphere between the seasons.

Brissago in summary

It was a great 2-3 hours trip (including playground pit stop, which is unavoidable with little kids). The playground is secured with a fence and has a few different features. There are many parking spots available around the town with various facilities. The trip can be stretched out to a whole day experience by visiting the Botanical Garden on the island of Brissago.

Visiting with a buggy / trailer was easy. The only challenge was to drag the trailer back up the wide stairs from the church to the main road. The stairs are really small and deep, so the passengers did not complain.

Swimming lessons

While waiting for the lesson to kick off, M had a few rounds on the water slide. She is gaining confidence in the pool. During the lesson we walk in big circles with the little ones (1 & 2 year old) across the whole lane. Each round we do a different activity. This is the quietest time in the pool. I can hear the lifeguards’ chatter faintly while focusing on blowing bubbles underwater for M’s entertainment. She is mesmerised with all the toys and busy keeping them in her hands while being pulled around in the water.

I hope next week O can join as well. He is home with flu, he needs a rest.

Back To Work

Holidays are over and M is back to his work routine. It was so nice to be together for a couple of weeks. But as anything, this is now over, which means I need to get my sh!t together again.

Winter Flu

Baby is moaning, temperature soaring above 40 degrees Celsius. Last night I called the hospital for advice. I was reassured that I can safely increase the amount of meds given to keep the fever in check. Next day, we were due for O’s one-year-old routine check up. Our paediatrician prepared me to keep fighting the fever potentially for a whole week. ‘It is flu season!’ Important to keep up the dosage every 4 hours. However, during the night I let him sleep through one 4 hour window. At 3 am I woke up for an inconsolable crying for help. His temperature was nearing 41 degrees Celsius. From that point onward I skipped zero 4 hour windows. The following night was even worst and I had to give him another med, which is like a horse kick. It takes ages to make a difference, but once it works it lasts for 24 hours. Eventually we got out of this madness by the second part of the week.

Family Pool Fun

Sunday FunDay. The pool was the busiest yet plenty of space to splash about. Four grown ups for 3 kids is a great balance in a busy pool. Huge inflatable across two lanes keep the bigger kids busy and the parents anxious. Blue elephant slide keeps M focus sharp. She is growing into a little adrenaline monkey. Sliding down, immersing under water, climbing out of the pool and starting all over again for another twenty rounds. Before she disappears behind the stairs again, but instead of appearing on the top of the slide, she is off to the baby pool. Luckily Granmy with little O are already there splashing on the tiny water fountains.

Child-led Activity: Colouring

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Yesterday’s weather has reminded me of a walk at West Whittering beach in the UK. Picture a sandy beach. It is low tide, the sea is barely visible somewhere far. Warm dominant wind blows the soft powdery sand at you fiercely. Now, back to reality, we are in Switzerland and the wind doesn’t blow sand at us instead it showers with rain.

Meanwhile Indoors

My son decided he would like to draw something. He was determined to use many colours but he didn’t know what to draw exactly.

He wanted to work on it collectively with his sister and me. As I was taking the crayons out and the notepad, an idea sparked in his head. He opened the notepad and took the brown crayon. He divided the paper into smaller parts. Then he dedicated a colour to each part and instructed us to colour as he told. He felt in control and it was great to see how he gently giggled when we improvised and things didn’t go the way he imagined. He was easy and we were too. We named him Colour Chief and proudly played his part.

Colouring

And we just coloured. It was a bliss. We all chipped in and got the work done. There was no competition, it wasn’t a race, it was a bliss. The kids enjoyed it so much that we made four different pictures.

1000 Hours Outside Challenge

This week has passed by ever so quickly. We spent time outdoors five out of seven days due to some above described weather. In Hungarian customs April is labelled as a foolish month due to its ever changing weather. Well, here is Switzerland, March feels like April in Hungary. The weather is playing tricks on us, as my son would say. Its hard to tell how to dress. It could be winter when the bus picks up the kids in the morning and early summer warm when the bus brings them back from kindergarten. Overall we braved the elements for over 12 hours outdoors this week. Since we starter the challenge we logged over 120 hours outdoors in total. This number is not as high as I expected it to be three and half months into the challenge, but it comes with no surprise due to the time spent in hospital earlier this year. I am not worried about the early set backs as I know that we will recuperate the hours in the warmer summer months ahead of us.

Daisy in macro at the front with toddler running on the road blurred in the background.
Cat is chilling in the grass on a sunny day.
Toddler is sitting in the grass on a sunny but cold day.

In Summary

We made the most of the good weather outdoors and made good use of our time indoors. The kids enjoyed this simple drawing activity so much that we coloured a dozen more in the following day. It gave us a break from the daily routine. It is easy to set up and put away. My daughter learns bit by bit that drawing happens on the paper and not on the wall or furniture. It teaches them to put away things after use, so it is ready next time we need them. And my favourite part is that while drawing the conversation flows like water from a mountain stream. During this time, I can indulge in the stories my son invents.

System building

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The newborn-moon period is over. It’s time to work on a new system that caters for all. Unfortunately, my husband’s paternity leave has ended, and he is back to work. Our eldest child, B, was back in kindergarten. At least he was at the start of the week. However, on Wednesday afternoon he started to feel under the weather. It became clear that he was ill when his temperature 🤒 went up. We gave him Calpol twice that day and he slept through the night. The next two days, he spent at home resting. And of course by the time weekend came around, he was getting better 🌟

Then Saturday afternoon, our daughter woke up crying with high fever just before midnight. Quick Calpol, many hugs and we tucked her back into her cot. Here comes Sunday and all three kids are poorly. The smallest one is only 17 days old, but he also got the cough and runny nose. Days like these are truly appreciate the fact that we live in a multi-generational household. I always think about all the single parents out there with the deepest respect. If it’s you, I salute you!

System Building

This week I wanted to concentrate on building a flexible system to guide me throughout the day. I am trying to balance many things around the kids schedule without going crazy. I would like to keep some space in our days for my wellbeing, so I can recharge my batteries and be a better person. There are only x amount of hours within the day, so I have thought hard how to balance everything. Can certain tasks be combined and carried out simultaneously? In theory, the answer is yes! As long as it involves everyone, why not, right? Well… we shall see in the coming weeks.

Schedule

6:00

7:00

8:00

9:00

10:00

11:00

Old Morning Routine

Coding

Wake up kids

Breakfast

Morning walk

Cleaning

Cooking

New MorningRoutine

Morning Walk

Wake up kids

Breakfast

Morning walk

Decluttering / Cleaning

Coding

I would like to start the day with a morning walk, just like I did while I was pregnant with my daughter. Now that the days are getting longer, I can soon start going out before the kids wake up. This walk is all about me and some music or podcast I choose to start the day with.

After breakfast ideally I would head outside with our daughter for a little bike ride, or just messing around at the local playground. She is happy to stay in the cold outdoors, for about 30-40 minutes. Then we go inside, where I go through a zone per day to eliminate things I no longer use or need. Meanwhile, I wait for our daughter to give me some signs when she is ready for her nap. Mostly, she is down by 11 am but it all depends on what time she wakes up in the morning. Once she is asleep I can focus on my coding journey. I am currently learning some JavaScript for the millionth time 😦 .

This is my second golden hour: My daughter is usually asleep and my son is not yet back from kindergarten. By eliminating the lunch prep task, I can free up this sacred time for my benefit.

Schedule

12:00

13:00

14:00

15:00

16:00

Old Afternoon Routine

Lunch

Quiet time

Gardening

Outdoors

Outdoors

New Afternoon Routine

Lunch

Coding

Outdoors / Gardening

Outdoors / Gardening

Outdoors / Gardening

After lunch time while my son has quiet time, I can carry on coding. Once my daughter is up from her nap time, and she filled up her tummy, we can head outside. Currently it is hard to handle the two eldest outside alone. One would like to play football, frisbee, or tennis. While our daughter just want to go, go, and go. If she decides to do something, nobody and nothing can stop her. I hope it will change soon, as it would be fun to show her things, and do some activities together with his brother.

In general, it would be great to spend most of the afternoon outside, however this time is purely led by our children. I listen to their needs, while I try to extend the time we are outside. I plan to do some gardening while they are playing, but not sure how it will work out. Previously I separated gardening from outdoor time, but I hope this is something we manage to do side by side and the kids will eventually get inspired by nature and growing things.

Mom and daughter are gardening on the first sunny day.
Garden pot inventory. Pots are laid out on the grass for easier count.
Grandad, mom and daughter trimming the bushes on a hot winter day

Schedule

17:00

18:00

19:00

20:00

21:00

Old Evening Routine

Prep dinner

Dinner

Bath

Bed time (kids)

Coding

New Evening Routine

Dinner & Lunch prep

Dinner

Bath-Story-Bed

Blogging

Unwind

In the evening, I plan to prep dinner as well as lunch for the next day. With a little forward thinking, one hour should be enough to prep for both mealtimes. After dinner bath and bedtime. Once the kiddies are in bed, I spend some time on the blog, while hubby plays a bit on our son’s Nintendo Switch 🙂 We both like to watch some limited series on Netflix to unwind at the end of the day.

1000 hours outside

My personal goal is to increase my daily step count to 20K. I hope to shed some weight without any special workouts. Walking perfectly fits with my commitment to the 1000 hours outside challenge this year and sneakily I hope to inspire my kids to be outdoorsy ‘like their Mom’ or even more.

Two weeks after the operation my step count was finally over 15K for the first time since our baby boy was born. What an achievement. I was so nervous about third time recovery. I have never in my wildest dreams imagined that I will be so active a couple of weeks after re-re-section.

Overall, we logged 9 hours for the second time this year. As you can see on the photos, snow covered the fields at the beginning of the week. Then by Saturday we were enjoying the warmth of the sunshine on our skin. I am looking forward to next week. It is sports holiday, which means there is no kindergarten and more time to spend in the nature.

Language skills

Nearly a year ago, we moved from the UK to the German-speaking part of Switzerland 🇨🇭. It is beautiful here and we love the area. However, we don’t speak German 🇩🇪 YET.

Our eldest just started kindergarten in August last year. He has two mini German lessons a week with the school’s English teacher. It is more like a friendly chat/game than a formal lesson.

I want to help him as much as possible, but unfortunately, I don’t know how to speak German. To ensure that I don’t teach him anything incorrectly, I am thinking to focus on passive learning. Just playing with words should be fun. He is asking more and more questions about how to write specific words and how to read certain signs / phrases.

This month’s payday gift was a letter game. Letters are displayed on tiny wooden dice and there are multiple dice of the same letter. In German language every noun has a gender, similar to Italian. So I am thinking of coming up with a vocabulary game that compares nouns, so he can connect the words he already knows in one language or another. I am thinking to use day to day topics of activities he does during the day.

In our family we speak many different languages. Sometimes one of us will struggle to remember a word in that particular language we use at that moment. Then we would ask the other person to help by saying it in another language (whatever form it is remembered). And this whole dilemma ends up with a discussion of this of word in all the languages we speak and any other way we know but not necessarily speak.

I will let you know how it goes after a couple of times weeks.

Bonding Time

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This week brought us another wave of snow outdoors. Before moving to Switzerland, I always imagined that the winters are generally white across the country.

But now I know that this isn’t necessarily the case. We dedicated most of our time to bonding, and getting to know each other, and ourselves as a family of five / seven.

Grandparents are bottle feeding our two youngests.


We live under the same roof with my parents, so I cannot leave them out of the equation, of course. Living in a multi-generational setting means we are never outnumbered with the kids. It also means more type of relationships, and more possibilities.

Hubby was still home with us (on paternity), which was very special. The kids love being woken up, and put to bed by him. He is going back to work next Tuesday, after being off for almost a month. It will be strange not have him around during the day (especially in the morning times).

Dad and two kids walking in the snowy garden
Dad and daughter are looking at the snowy slide in the garden.
Dad and son are playing football on the road.
Toddler in a red push car parked in the snow, watching the flock across the net fence.

Outdoors in sub zero with little kids

It was M’s first time being outside for some free roaming in proper snow and ice conditions. She’s been walking, running, falling for 2 months now. She is generally quiet happy to spend 90 minutes outdoors exploring and playing. However, in this week’s sub-zero temperature her limit to play outside has shrank to about 30 minutes.

There are many contributing factors to the shorter threshold:

  • Too many layers – reduces mobility
  • NO! – she says to gloves:
    • gloves on – she cannot hold or touch anything
    • gloves off – well, cold hands
  • Slippery ice – many falls
  • Deep snow – of course with such tiny legs, the snow gets to her knees
  • Failed attempt to pull her on the sleigh – it tipped over and she fell head first in the fresh powder snow

Despite all the odds, she is keen to head out every day – preferably twice a day. Often she picks up her little shoes at home and brings it to me. “Hey, Mommy! It’s time to get going!” – I imagine she would say if she would be verbal.

Longer walks

This week I managed to sneak out for a longer walk with Dad. Courtesy of Mom, who volunteered to stay with my eldest in front of the house playing with the ball. He is not keen on walking, I guess it is boring for a five year old to walk and talk, and not to play with something on the journey. Luckily, he is content to stay close to the house and play in the garden or on the porch. Mom is similar, she prefers to do something rather than getting lost in the forest or in the countryside. On the contrary, Dad and I could walk and walk and walk, day and night.

road view with snowy porches and lit up houses in the dusk

We took the youngest member of the family in a carrier with us. O was nice and cosy on my chest. As soon as I put him in the winter overall, he is fast asleep.

1000 Hours Outside challenge

Weekly total 4:36 min in the fresh air. One day indoors, but all other days we managed to get out a little. Time spent outside varies from 24 minutes to over an hour.

Overall, we spent about 38 hours in the nature since we started the challenge back on the 8th December. I am happy with the result so far. I know it is not too much but under the current circumstances it is better than I thought it would be. I know that once winter is over, we will be able to spend much more time outdoors.