Le Gastro

otherwise known as the stomach flu in North America. Started Monday night with Andrew vomitting all over me, Robert and our bedsheets, and lucky me, he passed those lovely germs along to his mommy. After the whole chicken pox incident, I have decided not to even bother trying to keep Ryan at a distance from Andrew when he is sick and vice versa. No matter how hard I would try to keep hands washed, toys separated, etc., Ryan will wander into the bathroom and start sucking on Andrew's toothbrush or something! So, hopefully, Ryan will not be next in line with this bug, but I won't be shocked at all if he is. Sucks, because we have social plans all weekend long, not to mention the fact that I had full intentions of wrapping up the last few Christmas presents, purchasing the stocking stuffers, etc. today and instead I spent most of the day with unwelcome liquids coming out of both ends! Pardon the graphics...it's been a rough day! Fortunately, this particular bug that seems to be going around the schools here, is a 24 hour thingy, and I am already starting to (slowly) regain an appetite, and Andrew was pretty much back to his normal self within a day, barring his decreased appetite.
One of the first things you learn when you become a Mom is that there are no such thing as "sick days" for us. No matter how bad I feel, the kids need to be fed, changed, bathed, taken and picked up from school, etc. and although Robert would be more than willing to help out, that does me no good when he is away on business, which, it so happens is the case right now. I think back to the old days of calling in sick when my job happened to be in an office, and the freedoms I had to stay in bed all day, nursing whatever ailment had come over me, and even still, feeling sorry for myself. And nowadays, I get a chance to throw up in between feeding Andrew breakfast and changing Ryan's poopy diaper! It's funny how us moms seem to manage when we feel this bad, but we all do. Our kids (speaking for all moms) don't walk around starving or naked or whatever when we're under the weather. We somehow find strength, somewhere deep down, to take care of our kids, before we take care of ourselves. I'm not patting myself on the back so much as feeling grateful for my own mother, who managed to care for us three kids primarily on her own, and undoubtedly during times of stomach flus, severe colds, etc. And inevitably, to this day, whenever I have a stomach bug, it is my Mommy's TLC I crave the most, complete with chicken noodle soup!
So this gastro thing brings me onto another subject that Susie and I spoke about at length today. Prior to moving to France, I haven't thrown up since I was a kid. (with the sole exception of one really bad night of drinking!) And yet, I've been living in France for 3.5 years and have already had 4 separate instances involving barf! And I now wonder why. Susie says that all of her friends who have young ones have in the not so distant past, been hit by a stomach flu. So, is this normal when you have little ones? I know for sure that at least one of the four previously mentioned occurrences was food poisoning. I bought a "Kebab", which is a special sandwich on a baguette with lamb meat, and was sick withing an hour of eating it. Here in France, the standards of hygiene are not quite at par with those in North America. And I'm quite certain the Food and Drug Admin would have some serious issues with some of the conducts of business in the bakeries and grocery stores alike. For example, in the US, you will NEVER see someone handling money and food simultaneously. If they handle your food, they will wash with antibacterial soap after touching your money, or more commonly, will simply wear gloves while preparing the food. That don't happen here! The bakery ladies take your coins (which supposedly have more germs than a public toilet seat) all day long, in exchange for a freshly baked baguette on the shelves. But in addition to that, I have noticed that prepared foods, such as quiches, pizzas, cold cut sandwiches, chickens, etc. are endlessly displayed at the bakeries and supermarkets in a non-refrigerated section! Even sandwiches with chicken and MAYONNAISE seem to sit for hours on a room temperature shelf. Quite frankly, I think this is just gross. I am the type of person that usually throws out cold meat or yogourt and the like ON the expiration date. I won't eat leftovers that have been in the fridge more than two days and I certainly would throw out a quiche if it sat on my own countertop for 8 hours. And finally, the other thing I have observed is that the number of public restrooms around here that do not have any type of soap to wash your hands (let alone a sink to wash your hands in to begin with and rest assured if there is running water to wash your hands, it will be NOTHING but freezing cold water) are far more common than those with soap. "Le gastro" is quite a common thing around here. But is it common because my circle is now one of little children that pass along their germs all day long, or does it have something to do with the less stringent hygiene standards in this country?

Andrew's 4th Birthday Party!

First off, I have to say that having a birthday in December sorta sucks!!! Without doubt, he was the best Christmas present ever for me and Robert back in 2006, but now that it's time to start having real parties for him, December is just a bad month for them. People are busy. Christmas events are in full swing, shopping needs to be done on the weekends. The weather is cold and unpredictable. And with the drastic change in temperatures, it's inevitable that people get sick; myself included and fortunately I got in to my doctor the day before the party, who got me on a whack load of meds including antibiotics for my sinusitis.


All that said, I am thrilled to say that the party was a huge success! It was obvious to see that all the children were having a wonderful time, particularly birthday boy, and that totally warmed our hearts. Based on the weather forecast, we decided to change the original date, which unfortunately meant that about 10 kids who had previously RSVP'd would not be available, not to mention the fact that we had to miss a good friend's party who had planned hers for the same date and time as ours. But in the end, it was definitely the right decision as it rained all day long on the day we had originally planned. And fortunately, there were certainly enough friends there to call it a real party, and it meant the world to me that everyone who could show up, did show up, even though it was a rather chilly afternoon, and even with several newborn siblings. I was reluctant to plan the party for a Saturday originally, because that is tennis day, and Andrew is often tired after tennis and in need of a good nap. But everything fell into place perfectly, as I was able to get both of Ryan's naps in before leaving, in addition to putting Andrew down for a good hour before we had to leave. Robert's sole responsibility was creating the "Stick the Eyepatch on the Pirate" game and setting up the treasure chest pinata, but in the end, he contributed significantly, including packing up the car and setting up all the food, drinks, decorations, etc. so that all I had to do was wake up the kids, pack them up in the car and meet him there 5 minutes before the first guest arrived. Organizing a party is definitely a more difficult feat here in France for several reasons. First off, I am the first to admit that if we were in the US, I'd have given Publix a full-on order of finger foods, sandwiches, and a ready-made, beautifully decorated cake at a relatively low cost and simply picked it up the morning of the party. Here in France, that doesn't exist. And though it is probably possible to find someone who would cater things for you, it would be outrageously pricey (I saw an ad for someone who makes birthday cakes for 100 euros...forget that!!!) Pretty much like everything else here, you just gotta do it yourself. I would have been happy to attempt a fun cake myself, but even that is more difficult when you have virtually no baking appliances (we left all our kitchen appliances in the US since they don't work on these outlets here anyway) and in addition to that, I've yet to find a cake mix here in France that makes the right sort of cake to design (all the mixes I've used here yield a very gooey cake, yummy indeed but not ideal to form shapes with!), so I use the cake mixes that Robert brings from the US on his business trips, and I'm afraid to attempt my own design, as if it fails, I am left with nothing! So...I made a big batch of "pirate cupcakes" and made a regular cake and topped it with a personalized pirate icing sheet that I had to order from an ebay store in the UK!!! (if my dying computer will let me, I will eventually post some photos of the day on this site) But as I lit the candle and we all sang Happy Birthday to our little guy in two languages, all the effort was so worthwhile. I so love the fact that our boys are being exposed to such diversity in all respects (language, culture, etc.) and a multi-lingual environment is just so special, and so unique to me. In fact, at the last party we attended, we sang Happy Birthday in FOUR languages! The father is Italian, the mother is Estonian, the common language amongst the parents is English and the common language amongst the children is French. How cool is that?!!!
Ok, so I started this a week ago, and like most things I start now, I seldom get a chance to finish properly and in a timely manner, but I'll wrap it up and say that Robert and I were really happy with the way that Andrew's first real party went, and feel totally blessed for all the amazing friends that came, some of whom I now consider like family, and additionally grateful for the comments I received by email in the days after about how much fun they, and their children had, despite the c-c-c-c-cold!!! And for me, the "icing on the cake" was when I put Andrew to bed that night. Our routine after story time is bedtime prayer, in Andrew's version: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I "pair" the lord my soul to keep, may angels watch me in the night and wake me up in the morning light...AMEN", and then we briefly talk about what we are thankful for, taking turns, and we give thanks for everything from each other, to blankets and doudous and chocolate easter eggs and sunshine and water to drink and a bed to sleep in and dragons and Peter Pan movie, etc. etc. etc. Well on his birthday night, the very first thing he said was that he was thankful for his pirate party and for all his friends that came. And that made me feel, even for just an instant, that we must be doing something right!

McDonald's

As much as I try not to bitch about the comparisons between France and home, which I learned quite quickly upon arrival here...Andrew's pediatrician snapped back at me quite directly, "this is not the United States", when I advised him about something they do different back there, anyway, I gotta say, the McDonald's here just blow me (and Robert) away. Ok, so it's certainly not my favourite place to frequent to begin with, but unfortunately, there just aren't a ton of things to do with kids here on rainy days, so McDonald's ends up getting our business more often than I would like to think. We've had a lot of rain here lately and as I type this, there is a rather brutal thunderstorm out my window, even I am a little scared, (fortunately the boys seems to be sleeping right through it) and on a side note, I'm thinking that if it's like this tomorrow a.m. and I am left to take Andrew to school with Ryan in tow, there's a good chance we'll be calling in sick! (it's a bit of a hike from the car to the school, not to mention a gazillions steps and I just ain't getting all three of us soaking wet for a day at nursery school!) Hopefully the rain will ease up by morning. Anyway back to my original train of thought, it rained all day Saturday, therefore no tennis lessons for Andrew and nothing to do...and we had to go out to get my new cellphone anyway, so we ended up at McDonald's for lunch and playtime. Now, McDonald's in France on a rainy day is a bit of a nightmare to begin with since every other family in the city and surrounding cities has the same idea as us...unlike in North America where you can pretty much find a fast food restaurant with a jungle gym on every other street corner, there are TWO that service about a million people in Antibes. And one of those two is 3 levels high, without an elevator, is always crowded, and I just strongly prefer to stay clear of it. So, we ordered our food and, as required, surrendered our photo identification to get a high chair! Imagine that! You have to give up your driver's license in exchange for the use of a high chair. Yes, of course you get it back, but come on...do they really think we're gonna walk out of the restaurant with the high chair (it's pretty crappy anyway, and of course doesn't contain a seat belt to fasten your child in)???? And quite honestly even if someone did steal a high chair, they must certainly be able to afford a new one as their prices are rather exorbitant, certainly in comparison to what you'd pay to feed a family of 4 in the US and although there is probably not nearly the amount of crap in the food here than there is in the US (which by the way, is the only explanation I have for the fact that I now weigh less than I did in Junior High - since I eat at least the same amount if not more food here in general, it is surely the lack of crap that is in the food that has me weighing so much less), but it tastes much worse here, (even the fries, which is surprising cuz in a country where they most definitely produce THE best French Fries in the world, those at McDonald's totally SUCK)....the place is always packed, so with the prices and the volume they sell, they must be raking it in. At least in the US, I kinda admit that I like the taste while I eat it, but don't exactly care for the way I feel AFTER I eat it. It tastes bad here AND you feel gross...and now I'm really beginning to wonder why the hell I go there?!!!!! Well back to submitting our driver's license for a chair, to make matters worse, all of the high chairs were in use. So Robert then went wandering around the restaurant in the hopes of finding a child who was almost done. There were THREE highchairs in total!!!! A "family" restaurant, that services a gazillion people, has THREE high chairs. Ok, so we put Ryan on a bench in a booth, he made one hell of a mess, but none of us really cared. We got through our meal and were heading over to the jungle gym area so the boys could have a play when Andrew advises us that he has to go pee pee. And of course this means that he has to go NOW! Robert volunteered to take him, and knowing from past experience, I said, "make sure you get the code first". He looked at me like I had 10 eyeballs. "What do you mean, the code????" Yes, that's right, the McDonald's in the heart of town, requires a code to open the bathroom door, obviously so that non-patrons off the street don't get a free use of the facilities. What actually made things even worse is that the code that Robert was given didn't work, and he had to wait even longer for an employee to open it for him. I seriously think he was ready to pack up his bags as soon as we exited that place. There are certain things we will just never get. These such are among them. But my point of comparison is that with which I am completely used to and in North America, the bathrooms are free to use to anybody who walks into the place, customer or not, and there are a ton of high chairs available for use that sit in the open lobby, waiting for the next customer in need. I know the French don't bat an eye at these such inconveniences in McDonald's...to them, it's completely normal that there are only 3 high chairs, which you can access by surrendering your passport, and that you need a code to use the bloody toilet. But like the Doctor said, "this is not the United States", so just cope Karen.

Update

Well...since my last post was entitled "Halloween" and I'm making a diligent effort at keeping this thing somewhat current (though still haven't gone back to blog about the Canada trips...one day!), I just thought I'd write an update on the latest in our lives.

We've all been recently hit with a bit of a cold/cough which of course is quite typical for this time of year, when the temps take some serious downturns and rains and winds set in. Robert and Ryan got it the worst, while Andrew and I escaped with just an endless cough.

We have booked another ski vacation, at an all-inclusive ski resort called Les Villages Club du Soleil, in the Hautes Alpes. Since we've already booked with this resort before (at a different location), we know not to expect 5-star service, or ultra luxury accommodations. However, what it does include, and for what you get for what you pay, well, you just CANNOT go wrong. I am most looking forward to: 7 days of meals that I don't have to cook or clean up after, in addition to 6 days of absolutely incredible skiing, exposing Andrew to skiing for the first time (he will have a one-hour lesson each day), kids camps for the boys that are open from 8:30am til 9pm at night (sorry Ryan, you'll be stuck in camp, but we promise we'll get you on the slopes when you're bigger too!), playing in the snow with the kids, and chilling out in our cozy little ski cabin at night with a good book in hand.

Many of you have asked how my mom is, and for those I haven't yet had a chance to email/call, she is doing fine...as I would expect the strongest woman I know to be. She has now undergone the first of 4 chemo treatments, and although she was hit hard for about 5 days with pain, nausea, weakness, mouth sores, etc. etc., she's now feeling significantly better and confident, though not keen obviously, on the prospect of 3 more rounds of treatment. She had her entire head shaved off before treatment began, as they suggest it can be less emotional to do it that way, than to find chunks of hair in your pillow, etc. Mom of course got a wig, and I nearly died when I found out how expensive they are, but even Susie says she can't tell it's not my mom's real hair. Susie also says that Mom makes a fantastic Sinead O'Connor, and I've asked to be sent some photos so that I can post them on my blog, on my facebook account and everywhere else I know, but for some reason, they haven't sent me any yet! I think the biggest source of comfort for my mom, throughout all this, has been Baby Haley's visits, and I'm eternally grateful for that.
We've been busy socializing lately, picnics, brunches, dinner parties, birthday parties, girls nights, etc. and I'm feeling way more back in the swing of loving life in France again than I was just a few weeks ago. We will be celebrating American Thanksgiving with our American friends again, and even though Robert is not a huge fan of turkey, I CANNOT wait to sink my teeth into the yummy bird!
Ryan remains an angel. He had a couple bad nights when he wasn't feeling so well, but now that he's on the mend again, he's his happy little monkey self. He is actually even starting to cooperate in diaper changes, and I was shocked the other day when he lifted his legs for me when I went to put on his pants. That said, he has taken to throwing absolutely anything and everything in the garbage or toilet, or even worse, pulling things out of said fixtures! Last weekend, I lost my favourite blush and foundation when he decided to empty the contents of my cosmetic bag in the toilet. Things keep mysteriously disappearing too, like all of a sudden there are only 3 plastic cereal bowls when there used to be 4, and now that he can push the stool to the counter, and then subsequently reach pretty much everything on the counter, I have a pretty strong suspicion that bowl is now sitting in a landfill site!

Andrew has achieved another milestone. He can swim now! To be honest, I'm still a little reluctant to not be right by his side in the water, but today at the pool, he swam away from me, not toward the side of the pool or to Robert, but to the middle of the pool, then turned around himself and came back. A first! Now that Halloween is over, the obsession about Christmas has begun for Andrew. A lot of stores have the decorations up already, the lights have been put up in the city (though not yet turned on), and the tv commercials are already advertising the Christmas sales...enough to get Andrew completely fascinated and obsessing over how many days til Christmas Eve. I'm so mad that I forgot to tell Robert to pick up Christmas pyjamas for the boys while he was in the States cuz it's officially now a tradition that we all wear Christmas pyjamas throughout the month of December and I'm not sure how easy it will be to find a nice, cute pair here for each of the boys, when Old Navy/Gap, etc. always have such adorable, cheap Christmas-themed pjs every year. Andrew is also excited for his Pirate birthday party, but most excited about the fact that there will be a Treasure Chest pinata to bash, just like at Karl's party. I hope he lets the other kids have a go at it! We decided to have it in a park/playground as we just wanted to do something simple for his first real party in France but I wanted to include lots of friends and since our backyard is a total state of mud all winter long and our place is just not very big, we opted for the playground. But since weather is very unpredictable at this time of year, it is highly possible there will be one or more postponement. Fingers crossed.
So that about does it. One day soon, I hope to get around to calling or at least email those I feel like I've been neglecting forever! I just find it so hard to make a lengthy phone call these days, as the best time for me is in the morning after Andrew goes to school and Ryan goes down for his morning nap, and of course that is around 3am in the morning Eastern time...and as much as I know you would just love to hear from me, there's something telling me you wouldn't be all that thrilled waking up in the middle of the night for a chat with me! And trying to carry on a conversation with one or both of the boys at home and awake totally does my head in; either Ryan is very grumpy that I haven't given him the phone I am holding and carrying on endlessly over it (despite the million toy phones he owns) or Andrew decides the minute I get on the phone that he's hungry, or wants to know whether a giant dragon is bigger than the beast from the beauty and the beast, or whatever!

Halloween

Ok, so although our intention was to go celebrate Halloween in the large anglo-community village of Valbonne with friends, the torrential downpour of the entire day prevented us from leaving the house. So in the afternoon, Robert and I decided to set up a trick-or-treating event at home. Robert really embraced the idea...he drew a picture of a witch, a ghost, a pirate and a pumpkin...and taped the pictures to the door of each house, i.e. bedroom. With only flashlights in hand, we knocked on the first door (the witch house), and Robert, disguised as a witch, answered the door. The plan was to of course say, "trick-or-trick" and collect our candies. But instead, Andrew clung to me, not recognizing Daddy, and forced me to hold out his candy bag for him to collect his treats! This continued on for the ghost house, whereby Robert was covered in a white blanket, answering the knock with a "whooooooooo is it"?...at which point Andrew ran off in tears and refused to go back into the hallway! Even after explaining that it was just Daddy under the blanket and witch costume, he refused to take one step out of the living room, so we turned on all the lights and I went back to make sure the pirate's house was a funny pirate, not a scary pirate, after some coaxing, he allowed me to carry him back to the pirate's house and since he was still scared, we never made it to the pumpkin's house! The poor thing had nightmares all night long...and decided that he is "not a fan of trick-or treating"!!!!! I REALLY hope that he will get to experience the real fun of real trick-or-treating in the coming years, while he's still young. I was envious listening to my friends' stories of how much fun their kids had trick-or-treating this year. Unfortunately the concept of trick-or-treating still doesn't exist here, so I may just have to plan for a trip home around Halloween...which doesn't sound so bad after all, as what a treat it would be to go trick-or-treating with cousin Haley.

Without a doubt, the highlight of Halloween for Andrew was pumpkin carving. Andrew was excited from the moment we selected the biggest pumpkin in the store, and talked non-stop about carving it, until the moment finally arrived. I, of course, roasted the yummy seeds as always, but learned the hard way, that if you eat too many, you will definitely get a tummy ache!

How to terrorize your 3-year old on Halloween

Step 1: dress up each family member in costume

Step 2: turn out all lights, leaving only the glow of the scary jack-o-lantern on

Step 3: go trick-or-treating in the bedrooms, with Daddy disguised in a different costume in each "house"/bedroom

More pics to follow

"Why he's all black like that?"

Despite our relative proximity to Africa, there does not seem to be a large population of blacks in the Antibes area. So, when we approached a coloured man in the produce aisle of the grocery store two days ago, this was the question that came from Andrew's mouth, in his "every day volume" which is pretty much at the top of his lungs. Not making a big deal of it, I just explained that lots of people have different coloured skin, some are light brown, some are very fare, and some are black, just like how he has red hair, Daddy has black hair and Mommy has blond hair...and of course we love everybody just the same! I must say, I felt a little on the embarrassed side, but fortunately for both of us, I strongly suspected this man did not speak English, as he seemed to make no notice of Andrew's question.
Perhaps this will be a chosen theme to one of the new books.

My next career

I've begun my new career...you will all soon be asking for my (our) autographs!
I have started to write a series of children's books. I have told only a select few, and am pumped by the enthusiastic responses of those select few, particularly that of the illustrator, who has not only been my best friend since fifth grade, but also the most creative person I know! And I'm also pumped by the response of my almost 4-year old, who was quite engrossed in the story, which I recited from my head, upon putting him to bed a few nights ago. Honestly, the stories/themes I have in mind do not require a creative wizard to produce, rather they are real-life situations confronted on a daily basis, with the goals of teaching a certain lesson in manners/behaviour, directed to a child in the 3 to 4 year age group. You will just have to wait til the books are published and sold world-wide in 40 different languages to learn more...ok, seriously, odds are slim, but it will be a fun little project in all the spare time I have! And by the way, if you are reading this, you already have an obligation to purchase the series, though I promise you that once I am rich and famous, you will get a significant discount!!!

The future Tiger Woods

Bad analogy. How' bout Jack Nicklaus or Phil Mickelson!!!

Yesterday, Andrew and I shared a full-on Mommy-son bonding day. Was soooo fun. We first went shopping together, followed by lunch at Hippopotamus, a "real" hamburger restaurant, in which Andrew behaved extremely well, waited patiently for the food, ate exactly the same (massive) portion as me, and we shared his fave, a mousse au chocolat for dessert. Then we headed out to go "golfing". Andrew just LOVED it. Of course we kept no scores, and golf to him was a lot more like hockey, pushing the ball with the club until arriving at the hole, in which he proclaimed proudly each time, "HOLE IN ONE"! He was just as equally interested in the surrounding scenery, i.e. massive dinosaur statues, waterfalls, tunnels, etc. but the first thing he asked me this morning when he came into our room was, "Would you like to go golfing today Mommy?"...would love to darling!

My godsend

This pic was taken exactly 24 hours after the cleaning lady came.

Admittedly, before I had children, I remember wondering why my friends who were stay-at-home moms had cleaning ladies. Seemed like such an unnecessary expense, when they were home all day long and had NO job. HA! Of course now...I get it. Sometimes I feel way more like a maid than a mom. Even now that Andrew is "capable" of tidying up after himself, keeping the house clean is like fighting a losing battle. Unlike most North American homes, there is no "playroom"; therefore the living room/family room IS the toy room. And even on the rare occasion when all the toys are put away, there is an endless stream of crumbs on the floor, toothpaste on the bathroom counter, pee on the toilet seat, bed sheets, pillows, blankets and doudous all over the floor, kitchen pantry contents dispersed throughout the house, books pulled off of the shelves, fingerprints all over the windows, clothes everywhere. But one day, every two weeks, the house is spotless, thanks to Ana, my godsend!

3 MUSKATEERS AND 3 HOT MOMS!!!

These three boys have been playing together pretty much since we moved here. It is just as hard to get a good photo of the active little monkeys together now as it was 3 years ago. Jane just commented to me on how long we have known each other...Jane and Bec were two of the first friends I made when I arrived...we've all had a second baby since we met and it's been super cool watching them grow, and sharing in the trials and tribulations of being a stay-at-home mom.

"I want THAT car"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The loudest screamer wins.

Sleepless in Antibes

Ever since our trips, both mine (to Toronto) and Robert's (to Madrid, New York, San Francisco, Miami) we've been unable to sleep through the night. Generally, we both fall asleep ok, usually around 10PM, but we both seem to be waking up around 4:00AM with not a hope of falling back asleep. Robert actually gets out of bed and logs in a few hours of work before work...not me, I just lay in bed, tossing and turning, in endless frustration, knowing that by the time 5PM rolls around, I will feel as though I was hit by a MACK truck. Thanks to two little boys, at least I have experience functioning with a totally inadequate level of sleep. But don't be surprised if you see me with two mismatched shoes or forget to bring the birthday present to the next birthday party!

Funny things

Andrew has recently developed an interest in, and curiosity about the human anatomy. I remember in the summer time when Aunty Susie and Andrew were in the changing room of Nana and Papa's shed getting into their bathing suits, Susie told me that Andrew looked at her boobs and asked her who they were for! Her response was, of course, they were for the baby in her tummy. He accepted that. Two nights ago while I was changing into my pyjamas, he looked at my boobs, and obviously after reflecting on the fact that Ryan doesn't drink milk from my boobs anymore, he asked, "Mommy, why do you still have boobs?"...to which I responded, "they are for your baby sister when she comes"!!!!!! Of course when I shared this story with Robert, his response was a slight chuckle followed by a rather large rolling of the eyes. Hmmm.
He's also very interested in what it is you have to do when you use the toilet. Grandma laughed hysterically this summer when, everytime she came out of the bathroom, was questioned by Andrew, "Did you do pee pee or caca Grandma?". I'm so used to it, that I barely notice myself being questioned about my bodily functions on a daily basis. Whenever he sees someone sitting on the toilet, in real life or in a picture in a book, he automatically assumes this person is doing a caca. So last night when I was sitting on the toilet, he said, "You doing a caca, Mommy?". I told him I was just doing a pee pee before bedtime, just like he does. And he asked me then why was I sitting on my bum. So, I explained that girls don't have willies, and have to sit on their bum to pee, while boys have willies so they can stand up to pee. He then points at my foofy and asks, "what's that UGLY thing called?"!!!!!!!!!!!! I left him without a response, as frankly, I don't need him talking all about vaginas quite yet!

by the way...

After reflecting on some recent posts of some "stabs" at the French, I wanted to clarify that these stabs are by no means directed to the entire French population as I have many friends, neighbours, husbands of friends, etc. who are very laid-back, thoughtful, caring, compassionate, kind, loving, generous, adaptable, flexible, gentle-with-children people who don't represent the ones I tend to vent about from time to time! So, I have no intent on insulting those I already know and love, and perhaps I'm a little less inhibited to speak negatively of certain characteristics of some of the French population since even the French circle I do know, generally agrees whole heartedly in my claims...and empathize well with my experiences...the endless "red tape", the resistance to change, the rigid and structured way in which things are done and the lack of customer service, and kindness in dealing with others.
I also recognize that no culture is perfect, Americans certainly included!, and hence it is up to me to seek the positive attributes in all people/cultures. That said, in my humble opinion and experience, I have found that Italians take the cake for me, in addition to, and admittedly with a strong bias, Canadians!

Pirate Andrew at 3 yrs and 10 months

He is ALL B-O-Y!!! Although he is still quite keen on his lions and tigers and all the rest of his animal family, his latest obsession is anything pirates. When I saw the foam sword at the Dollar Store in Canada, I considered for a moment whether it was an ideal toy for Andrew, but the second he saw it in the store, he was pleading for it, and I caved, thinking that if he must have a sword, a foam one would be the best way to go...along with a very strict rule about not "swording" anybody, his brother included. He just loves it, along with the hook, which I also picked up for a buck and the icing on the cake was the whole pirate costume that Grandma found and bought for him on my last trip. So far, the sword has only been taken away once, after "swording" me with it, and I think he learned the lesson as he was just dying to get it back. He is so incredibly excited about Halloween this year, and I SO wish that Halloween was celebrated in France like it is in North America, as for me, it was just THE best day of the year as a kid. Though the candy part was probably the best part for me, as in our house, I don't think we had an ounce of sugar in the house for the duration of the year!!! Deprived children we were, a big treat for dessert would be a bowl of fruit salad or a slice of watermelon!!! He has also begun counting the days til Christmas. And again, being the boy he is, the only thing on his wish list is a "squirter", aka a gun, I am so opposed to toy guns that I don't even want him to learn the word for it!!! I have told him countless times that squirters are naughty toys. I just don't want to encourage violence in any way, but perhaps it is pointless as he just uses other toys, like his power drills, and plays about his toys "squirting" them with his power drill!!!
The start of school this year was relatively good, much better than I had anticipated after all the fun we had at home/Canada this summer, but to this day, he throws a bit of a fit each morning about having to go to school, but generally by the time we arrive in the parking lot, he's accepted his fate and goes happily into the class room. He's generally very easy to reason with and when I tell him that if he cooperates we'll go to the playground after school, he is pretty content with the deal. I still hear absolutely nothing about his days at school, when asked what he did, "nothing", when asked what he ate, "nothing" and when asked who he played with "nobody". Jealous of those moms who get a complete recap of every detail of their kids' days! His best friend is a little girl named Maya (she goes to a different school) and often asks if he can play with her. When they are together, they both act super silly and hyper together, but it's all quite cute to observe. He gives her hugs and bisous (kisses), quite willingly even despite her resistance to them! His vocabulary has improved immensely over the summer, and I laugh often at the things that come out of his mouth, like when he asks for an "enormous" piece of cake for dessert, or when he takes the story book from my hands at night and finishes it himself with his own version of the story. He'll approach Ryan when he's being fussy and say something like, "what's wrong my little peanut...are you getting tired...do you need mommy...it's ok, mommy's coming". He continues to struggle with his 's' and 'sh' sounds and generally uses 'th' instead of 's'. I will enquire with the teacher at the end of this term whether some speech therapy would be helpful. Although he is still tall and thin, his appetite is enormous. For breakfast, he eats a big bowl of cereal (plain Cheerios or Rice Krispies) with a load of blueberries or sliced banana, and a muffin or two every day (carrot, blueberry or chocolate chip) and is usually starving within an hour! His dinner portions can often be bigger than my own, and this is even after a rather large snack (gouter) at 4:30.
He ADORES Ryan. This was definitely proven on the last trip home in which I took only Ryan with me. Everytime I spoke to him, his sole concern was how Ryan was doing, what toys Ryan was playing with, and how he missed Ryan and likes it better when Ryan is in France with him. He kept telling me that when he sees Ryan, he was going to hug him, kiss him and pet him, and he did indeed, to the point that Ryan just wanted him to go away! When he wakes up each morning, the first thing he wants to do is go wake up Ryan. That said, he does get annoyed when Ryan gets his hands in the toys that Andrew is playing with, and will ask me if I can "put Ryan away"! Doing something like a puzzle with Andrew is now not possible unless Ryan is taking a nap...Ryan will take all the pieces and crawl off with them, which frustrates Andrew to no end. But often they play together well, and Andrew loves to do things that make Ryan laugh, especially covering himself in a blanket and pulling it off, yelling "Peek-A-Boo", to which Ryan responds in absolute hysterics.
Not to my surprise, Andrew is generally a very well-adjusted boy, and usually adapts well to new situations. So when I went away for two weeks without him, which was my first time being away from him for more than 12 hours, he was totally fine. He and Robert got into a very good routine, school playground every day after school, and Robert spoiled him with all his favourite foods (mac and cheese, tomato and fresh mozarella salad, McDonald's, etc.), took him to his favourite place about 20 times (Petite Ferme) and let him sleep with him in our bed every night. The day before we arrived back in France, Robert told him that since Mommy was coming home, he was going to have to sleep back in his own bed, to which he replied, "Mommy can sleep on the couch"!!! Since Robert has been away, Andrew has been starting off his sleep in his own bed and sometime throughout the night, he finds his way into our bed, and I don't even hear him come in. But last night, while already in our bed, he woke me up telling me he needed the flashlight immediately as he had lost his doudou. So, I handed him the flash light and he was all over the covers looking for it, and since it was nowhere to be seen, I went to his room, grabbed his stuffed polar bear and stuffed killer whale as substitutes, in order to get him back to sleep. I've been giving some thought to moving Ryan into Andrew's room but my biggest concern is that Ryan sleeps best in total darkness and Andrew sleeps best with a very bright night light on, and I would hate for the brightness to wake up Ryan and hence wake up Andrew. Also, Andrew can be a little noisy during the night, which again, I wouldn't want one to wake up the other. But it would be nice to have that third bedroom available for our use, as it has always been Robert's office away from the office and he used it often as such before Ryan came along.
Andrew started tennis lessons in September, and it began with a troubling start as the instructor was so typical French...serious, and treated the children like they were training for the French Open at 3 years old. The first time Robert took Andrew himself, he tolerated no part of this type of instruction, totally yelled at the instructor in front of all the other parents (in English of course even though the instructor spoke only French)and pulled Andrew from the lesson... but in the end, he got him switched from Wednesdays to Saturdays with a new female instructor and it has gone much better ever since. However, I still question whether Andrew is really ready, despite his relatively good coordination, his span of attention is still pretty limited and hence, is often in la-la land while standing on the court! But he does seem to like it, and until that changes, we'll keep him enrolled. I think he especially likes the ice cream treat he gets after the class (comes by that honestly, that's for sure!).
His latest movie fave is The Cat in the Hat. Since he loves the book, I downloaded the movie as soon as I saw it. It's the first non-animated show he has shown an interest in, and insists on watching it before bedtime every single night. He laughs hysterically at his favourite parts, every single time.
Unlike some other kids close to his age, he continues to have ZERO interest in sitting down with crayons, markers, pencils, etc. As much as I've tried to introduce him to writing letters at home, colouring in a colouring book, etc. he just doesn't have the time of day to do it for one second. When given crayons, he still draws the same "bonhomme"/stick man that he has been drawing for a year. But other than that, he just scribbles frantically all over the page, usually until a piece of it rips off. I don't care all that much, I know when he's ready, he'll show an interest and until then, I am happy to let him play however he chooses, that's what being 3 is about. But I envy those moms with girls that can give their children a crayon and paper and they are occupied for hours! No such quiet play exists in this house!
His French continues to improve and I've been speaking more of it at home lately, with the intent of giving us both more practice. I find it funny when occasionally he asks me how to say a french word in english. I've also been putting on some french cartoons in the morning, with which he is completely happy.
He has gained a great deal of independence since the start of school this year and is quite adamant about doing things on his own now, with no help from Robert or me. He is perfectly capable of dressing himself (with exception to help with socks and some buttons) though often prefers to be lazy and asks me to put his clothes on for him, he can strap himself into the car seat now and insists on doing that himself and now he goes pee or poo by himself, wipes himself (and does a pretty good job) insists on privacy and hates when Ryan follows him to the toilet, and the only evidence that remains from a poo is a little bit of it smeared on the toilet seat. But I've come to the acceptance with 3 boys in the house that I will never have a perfectly clean toilet again, as even when he pees, he either dribbles or forgets to lift the seat up and I am forever taking the 409 wipes to clean it off!
So that's my big boy in a nutshell. His imagination is super creative, he is still most happy at home than anywhere else, continues to be my little helper (especially loves baking and mopping), and I cannot believe he's gonna be 4 years old in just two more months...time flies.

Beautiful Baby Haley

Itsy bitsy teeny weeny little princess she is. Born in no rush at all, countless hours after induction and ultimately via c-section, she made her grand entrance into this world and I've been in love ever since! The best, and sadly, perhaps the only good news of the summer for my family came on Sept. 1st, Haley's birth date. If we stop at two, or if a third boy enters our family, I will be claiming this little girl for all my girly desires...so Haley, you already have lots of future shopping days planned, in addition to gymnastics competitions, figure skating, girls nights, etc. etc. etc. Andrew and Ryan can take your future brother to the monster truck show while we go get our manicures and shop for the afternoon!

The great part of having to go back so unexpectedly was the opportunity to see more of Haley, though unfortunately with the cold I came down with the day after I arrived, it seriously hindered the amount of snuggle time we could share.

Talking to Susie and hearing about her nights, feeding, diaper rashes, etc. has now become part of my daily ritual and I'm not at all looking forward to when she goes back to work, thereby limiting our phone time to just weekends again, because of the time difference.

I love this little gal like crazy and I can't wait til our next visit, and especially the promised visit to France...Aunty Susie better get on the business end of the camera...but I will hold off on the nagging about it, at least until exam day is over!

Feeling far

With the birth of Susie's baby, the passing of my father and my mother's diagnosis, I'm feeling VERY far away at the moment. And I think as a result, I've become a whole lot less tolerant of all the things I don't like about France. The above photo was taken outside of Walmart in Oakville...where I was greeted with a smile, and a shopping cart brought right to me, that fits both of the kids and as many groceries as I would dream of purchasing, where there are SEAT BELTS in the kids section of the grocery cart so no worries about Ryan climbing out, where my purchases were bagged for me, free of charge of course...the aisles of the store were wide and open, and there are even parking spaces reserved for PARENTS with TOTS, in addition to the PREGNANT ladies spaces. I MISS that here. I went into old town on Thursday as I had made an appointment for a bikini wax (been putting off taking the kids swimming until I could get that taken care of!!!), and made the mistake of driving there instead of my usual walking or bussing it there. Of course, I could not find a spot, so after driving around for about 15 minutes, I caught sight of a lady exiting the old town and immediately asked her where she was parked. She pointed to her car, and as she was walking towards it, I was reversing my car to her spot. When suddenly, a car coming towards me puts its signal on to claim the same spot of the lady leaving. I looked in my rear view mirror and gave the french index finger pointing, indicating, no, no, no, don't even think about it, this is my spot...to which the driver responded by jumping out of the car and yelling at me. I explained to him that I had claimed this spot from this lady before she even step foot in the parking lot...well he wanted no part of my story and as a result, did not budge his car, thereby causing me to be unable to reverse far enough to pull into the spot, and even worse, the poor lady couldn't even pull out of her spot! So, the parking lot security attendant comes over...by this time I'm already 5 minutes late for my appt and there are at least 10 more cars honking madly behind us, and finally, after explaining things to the security guard and the nice lady defending me, he moved back about an inch, just enough for me to move back to let the lady get out and me to pull in. All this to have a bloody bikini wax!!! Several other similar events have taken place since I arrived back here 10 days ago, and of course Robert is away so I've been left to my own devices to cope! I cope well with this kind of stuff day to day, but it's all getting to me now, more than before. The one thing that makes it easier is the empathy I get from all my expat friends who understand EXACTLY what I feel and experience here.
But with all that is going on back home, I feel useless here. Just last night, I spent hours trying to coordinate the removal of my father's antiques from his house, as fortunately, and rather shockingly, the house has already been sold. And I hate the fact that I can't be there to help out with my mom, even though realistically, I realize I'm not that much assistance with two little ones in tow anyway. And I want to be there for every milestone my new niece achieves, just as I wanted to be there for the three of Lo's kids. And I want them to see every milestone my kids achieve, and for them to really know their aunts, uncle, cousins and grandmas. These things are, by far, the hardest part of living away from home. Saying good-bye this last time around was the hardest one yet.

My 14 month-old baby

Although technically, he's graduated to the "toddler" title, ever since he began walking at just over 13 months (Andrew walked at 12 1/2 months) he is still my perfect and precious little baby. At one year, he weighed in at 10.6kg and 79 cm, a tad bit fatter and shorter than Andrew at the exact same age (Andrew was 10.35kg and 80 cm). He continues to be so incredibly easy-going and totally proved himself as such on our recent two trips to Canada, in which he was a near angel on the airplanes and suffered from virtually no jet lag upon arrival aside from the first morning we were there when he woke up for breakfast at 5 am. After that, he continued on his normal sleep pattern as if we never changed time zones...fast asleep at 7 pm, awake just after 7 am and two 2-hour naps throughout the day...an utter miracle if you ask me. I remember fainting from fatigue after my trip to US/Canada with Andrew at 12 months. He is walking with more confidence every day, but when he is in a real hurry, he'll get down on all fours and scoot across it like a speeding bullet. As I sit here typing this, Ryan and Andrew have every toy known to man-kind all over the living room floor, but are playing quietly and nicely and every now and then, they both giggle together over something. Playing in the kitchen is a bit of a different story...I hate that our kitchen here is the galley type which means that I cannot see them playing in the living room when I am in the kitchen. Sometimes, I'll hear a scream coming from Ryan's mouth, one of those utter shrieks like he nearly killed himself, and when I tear madly into the living room to see what has happened, I discover that Andrew has the bulldozer that Ryan wants to play with, or something to that effect! But usually, Ryan likes to play wherever it is that I am, and of course Andrew doesn't want to be left alone, so along they follow me into the kitchen, where I spend a good bit of my time, since not only is it a kitchen, but it is also a laundry room too...a truly mad European concept if you ask me. Anyway, Ryan is obsessed with turning on the oven. Even though I bring countless toys into the kitchen with me, it is only the oven he wants to play with, or the pantry, whereby he pulls everything in reaching distance onto the floor. From there, he takes the stuff on the floor, carries them to the garbage can, and voila, they disappear. Robert just recently lost a shoe, it's nowhere to be found, and I've come to the realization that the shoe probably ended up in the garbage can and has long since been taken away. So now, I check through the garbage can before I tie up the bag and bring it down to the trash room....it's lovely doing this!!! I've prevented several items from being thrown out though, including the beloved new fridge farm from Grandma. At this age with Andrew, I remember we had the kitchen garbage can suspended up high with bungy cords but now that we have a dryer in the kitchen, there's no room to suspend the garbage can anymore.
As mentioned, Ryan goes down at 7pm religiously and wakes up after 7am, often has to be woken up since he needs to be fed his breakfast before we leave to take Andrew to school. He goes back to sleep around 9am, sleeps til 10:30 or 11, then back to sleep around 1:30/2 and often has to be woken up shortly before 4pm so that I can give him a snack before heading off to pick up Andrew. When I put him to sleep, all I have to do is turn out the lights and put the pacifier in his mouth...he instantly drops his head onto my shoulder, where we have a 30 second snuggle, then I gently place him in the crib and walk out and he's out like a light. This I find to be an utter miracle as well, especially after living through Andrew's naps, where he would ONLY go to sleep and stay asleep on me! I attribute this miracle partially to the Gina Ford techniques, in which I am a firm believer. The only downside about her methods is that Ryan is totally sleep trained to sleep in a quiet dark enviroment, so there's virtually no chance he will fall asleep in a car, on a plane or anywhere else we happen to be that is not a quiet and dark enviroment. And when he's tired and we're not in a place I can put him down, the result is disastrous. He is a VERY cranky tired baby, but then I suppose all children are very cranky when they are tired. There is one exception to his perfect disposition...he is an absolute nightmare to change! Change diapers, change clothes, put shoes on, etc. I do remember Andrew being a wiggly little monkey at one stage, but I find Ryan near impossible to change. As a result, his diaper gets changed when there is a poo in it and only when there is a poo in it! And often I put him in his next day's clothes after the evening bath, instead of pajamas, to avoid an additional change! He squirms, kicks, cries, rolls over, pulls up, puts his hands in his poo, etc. etc. etc. I have found ONE single thing that will distract him long enough to make a quick change happen...the telephone. And despite all the old cordless phones we have, he will only be distracted with the real thing. And he knows when I've locked the keypad and fusses, so usually I cave to make things easier for myself, and let him push the buttons when it's not locked (so it makes beeping noises), and I'll apologize in advance if any of you reading this get a phone call at a weird time in the day or night...it is probably Ryan getting through on a previously dialed number, or one stored in the keypad!!!
Andrew was also rather obsessed with the REAL phone and I remember there being a period of time whereby it was totally useless to even attempt a phone conversation during his waking hours. Back to the same deal with Ryan. When he sees the phone, he WANTS it, and wails unless he gets it, making it impossible for me to hear the person speaking on the other end!
Like Andrew, Ryan's first teeth appeared after he turned one. Ryan's teeth were brought on a little quicker, by a tumble he took face first into the floor, in which he cut his gums, forcing the teeth through. Andrew's first teeth were, like most babies, the bottom two. Ryan's are the top two. To this day, he still only has those top two teeth, though I suspect some more are coming in as we had two very unusual and fussy nights just recently, and since nothing else seemed to be wrong with him, I have deduced it down to some new teeth coming in.
At around the 12 month mark, nursing began to decrease in frequency and the length of time on each breast continued to shorten. He weaned himself entirely within three days of our arrival back in France, on this most recent trip. Again, this was very unlike Andrew, who nursed quite heavily, and often throughout the night, right up until the point at which I decided to wean him, which was not the easiest feat in the world.
Now that Ryan is up and about and can reach nearly all light switches, buttons, appliances, etc., I fully expect our electric bill to double. Every light switch gets turned on and off relentlessly, not to mention the washing machine, dishwasher, dryer and tv.
So that's my baby in a nutshell. He is busy, he is snuggly, and I'm absolutely head over heels in love with him.
Thank you Steph for inspiring me to get going on my blog again!

A Day at the Lake

We all woke up early Saturday morning, and Robert announced that we were heading out for the day, but would not share in the whereabouts of our outing. Robert packed up the car and 30 minutes later, we arrived at a gorgeous lake, surrounded by mountains and trees, and it brought me back to my summers spent on Three Legged Lake at my cottage, and we had such a magnificent day. Such a great area, with a large play area for kids, complete with water trampoline, inflatable climbing structures and pedal boats with slides attached available for rental. This time, we did not opt to take part in the play areas or boat rentals as it is more suited to kids a little older, but chances are good that Andrew will just love it by next summer, when I'm quite sure, he will be very confident in the water. We finished the day off with a late lunch at a great casual restaurant on the lake, which was especially a nice treat for me as I did not have to prepare a single thing for this outing.

This day was another display of the pure beauty this country boasts. It was a nice change from our frequent trips to the beach, and though Robert prefers swimming in the ocean above all, I am a lake girl at heart and just loved the feeling of swimming in the refreshing salt-free lake water. (when Robert advised Andrew there was no salt in this water, like in the ocean, he then asked if pepper hurts his eyes...thinking that if it wasn't salt water, it must therefore be pepper water!!!)

Ryan's 1st Birthday!

Although my baby has not officially turned one yet, I wanted to have a party for him here in France so that Daddy could celebrate with us as we will be in Canada for his real birthday, and will of course be celebrating once again with all the Canadian clan. I decided to keep it small, largely because we've been very busy, filling each wonderful summer day with loads activities at the beaches, pools, etc. and I had limited time to prepare for a big party. We had lots of snacks and dips and ordered in pizza for dinner. The kids had a wonderful time playing together and Andrew is still talking about the party. He was most helpful beforehand, baking the cake with me, setting up the table, putting up the decorations, and 4 hours before the guests were set to arrive, he told me that he wanted to go outside and check the parking lot to see if the friends had arrived!!! He really enjoyed "helping" Ryan blow out the candle and opening his presents. And I'm quite happy that he is now finally excited about having his own party for his birthday. So this year, will be Andrew's first party with friends invited, and he's already named about 15 friends he wants to include and I will be sure to plan it a few weeks ahead of his actual birth date so as not to interfere with everyone's Christmas engagements.

Ryan was such a happy little guy throughout the party. It's hard to believe that it's already been a whole year since I was sweltering in the August heat, awaiting his arrival. This summer has been hot, but aside from a couple weeks in July, far from the intense heat of last summer where we pretty much had the a/c running nonstop.

Robert and I would both agree that this year has been our best so far, all thanks to the two little guys that now play and laugh together often, and add such immense love and happiness to our lives.

Girls nights

Lately, Robert and I have been talking a lot about our future plans. I must admit that as much as I love it here, there is a part of me that longs for a more "settled" feeling. We're still renting, and therefore, view this "home" as temporary, regardless of how many years we will be here/have already been. We talk about future opportunities that may present themselves and we're quite open at this point to making another move down the road that would not lead us directly back to the US. (fortunately Robert's company is very open to global mobility among its employees and pretty much has an office everywhere in the world) I maintain a relatively strong desire to spend some time in Spain, which Robert is convinced I would hate, but nonetheless, I would do it to offer the boys an opportunity to learn spanish. Anyway, without a shadow of a doubt, the single, most important thing I will miss whenever it is that we leave this area is my network of friendships. This summer, with Robert not travelling much, I've been able to attend several nights out with girlfriends which have all been a blast. And spending time with said friends AND our children is just the greatest. I know for sure that I will maintain a life-long friendship with so many of the friends I have made in the last 3 years, and it will be so fun to reminisce and reflect back on these times in the future, as it is to reflect back now with my childhood friends and university friends back home.

Ryan's first dip in the Med

I was well over 30 before having the fortunate opportunity of swimming in the Mediterannean. Andrew and Ryan were less than a year when they had their first dip! Since summer started, I have been a little reluctant to take both boys to the beach, especially on my own, since I find I don't have enough eyeballs to watch over even just Andrew when we're near water. A few weekends ago, Robert suggested we do an early morning family swim so we headed down to our very favorite beach in Juan-Les-Pins and had an absolutely glorious morning. We got there just after 8am, so we had no trouble finding a parking spot and were one of the first ones on the beach. The boys just LOVED playing in the sand, and Ryan has proven to be a water-baby too, just like his older brother.

Pool Time!

As my group of amazing friends here expands, so has that of my friends who have pools. We have been having a wonderful summer thus far, spending many days at various friends' houses for swims, lunches and playtime, in addition to several trips to the local public pool facility where Andrew is now swimming comfortably in the "deep pool", with me by his side. (unfortunately, one parent and two little ones nearby a pool does not result in many opps to take photos) However, one of the best parts of our summer for sure has been the pool that we have in our own backyard that we bought off of angloinfo for 100 euros. Andrew loves it and asks to go in it the second he gets out of bed in the morning, which of late, has been 5:30am...ugh! Ryan loves to splash around and cool off before a nice long nap. And I love it because I can entertain the kids and I don't have to leave home! I don't have to pack a suitcase of necessities for the boys before leaving home...I can put Ryan down to sleep the second he shows signs of sleepiness. And we can return the favour of playdates and lunches all year long at other people's homes by having friends come to ours for swims and lunches. I actually even enjoy the daily cleaning and maintenance involved with the pool...and have been blessed with some time to myself of late, floating around in my favourite pool chair, reading my book. Ahhh...summer!

Vacation for a day

One of the biggest benefits to our family of living in Europe is the amount of time-off that is granted to Robert. In May, he was notified of several weeks of vacation time that were close to "expiration", ie. use them or lose them. Robert got on the net shortly thereafter, and started looking at various possible destinations. Until I made the suggestion of taking a vacation "at home". Pointing out that thousands of people pay thousands of dollars to come to the south of France to enjoy the summer days...and we have it all in our backyard, so to speak. In addition, taking a non-walking baby, who eats 5 times a day of relatively pureed foods, and poops at least as much means a whole lot of shlepping of baby stuff involved in any sort of travel. He agreed. The first block of time he used was the last week of June, and it was a wonderfully relaxing week. He went to a different beach every single day, some days on his own, some days with the whole fam, and one day with just me (photos above). It was paradise. We got to the beach before 9 and left shortly before 5. Naps, reading, swims and French cuisine on the beach for lunch, what more could you ask for in a vacation day?! I'm very pumped, cuz we have two more "vacation days" to ourselves this coming week. And as my friend pointed out, the best part of vacations at home is that you don't feel the need for a vacation from your vacation.