Tomorrow will mark the end of Robert's lengthy vacations, I mean business trips (although the last two consisted of cruises to various ports in Northern Europe) for a while. I think all three of us are relieved. Despite our daily telephone conversations with Daddy, both pretend and real-life, it is not the same as having him here when we wake up and home in time for supper and wind-down time for Andrew. I feel great that I accomplished a lot of things on my to-do list while he was away (including follow-up on health insurance claims, receipt of my new passport (and I am now officially Karen Lee Chamberlin), major Spring cleaning, preparation of our wills, catch up with some friends and family on the phone, major revamp of Andrew's closet, boxing up the loads and loads of clothing he has once again outgrown, updating the baby book including the letter in previous blog, and catch-up on my favourite American tv shows and recent movies) and feel that we will be able to relax and enjoy the next several weeks and weekends as a family before our next vacation. In addition, I feel much more prepared to begin working part-time for my former employer, which will be in the very near future.
The past few weeks have been amazing on all fronts, with exception to our missing Daddy. Andrew has been continuing to sleep extremely well and I am usually up and about for two hours in the morning before he begins to stir. Gone are the days of the (somewhat) dreaded 5 AM cries; now I find myself excited at his first mumbles in the morning and anxious to pick him up from the crib. There is nothing better than the feel and smell of my happy and snuggly little bear first thing in the morning. He continues to make new sounds on a daily basis and is very fond of pointing at every object with which he is familiar. (the teddy bears on his walls, and especially the cats, dogs, birds and flowers that we encounter on our daily walks) He has started to hold brief telephone conversations with himself, with the cordless phone tucked around his ear that is always upside down and backwards. The conversations however are of the toddlerese language and are not yet decipherable by me. I have been reading some books and internet research on language development and supposedly he should be saying at least 10 words by now. So the worried flag sorta went up, but then it went back down after discussions with my friends whose babies have accomplished the various "milestones" at significantly varying ages. And then I remembered how dumb I used to be as a child, the fact that I almost failed kindergarten and the teachers thought I had a learning and social disorder and then I realized that my little boy still has hope!!!
This past week was a social one for us, and my friendships with several of my new mom-friends are really developing. There is a special bond shared amongst new mothers to begin with I believe, and I feel very fortunate to be literally surrounded by such high quality women/friends. I already feel that I have a TON of people I can depend on, be it an emergency, some wanted advice/useful information regarding both raising a child and/or living in France, an ear to listen to me, a shoulder to cry on, and of course a social gathering, be it the whole family, a mom and baby get together or a mom's night out event. I can no longer leave my apartment door without running into somebody I know. Robert finds this all rather amusing, given our history on moving here.
On Monday, Judie (aka Jaz) came over for lunch and a visit. Jaz is an Australian lady my mother's age who I met while out on a walk with Andrew one day back in May of 2006. After our first exchange of pleasantries (namely about how cute Andrew is), we kept bumping into one another, which was somewhat coincidental as we were both only in t own for 4 weeks and both searching for a place to call "home" in France. After our third run-in, we decided that it was fate and we were meant to be friends. We've kept in touch via email and she just moved here last week from Sydney. We had a great visit together on Monday, and I look forward to many more.
On Tuesday, Andrew went to the babysitter's for his first FULL day in preparation for my working part-time and also so that I could get some things off my to-do list. I know it was a little hard on Andrew and it was a lot hard for mommy, but he's in good hands, and has wonderful little Maya to play with all day (who is one of my working friend's daughter).
Wednesday was the third of our official weekly beach day outings coordinated by my very good South African friend Jane, and the group is getting larger each week. Andrew discovered the water for the first time (previously he just stayed very close to me, entertaining himself with beach toys/sand for several hours). He had a little fall in the water and wasn't too happy about the temperature of the water, which is still on the rather frigid side. So after his little swim, he decided to hang a little closer to mom and/or run around naked with the other kids while his clothes were laid out to dry. (next time I'll remember to bring a change of clothing or two for him!)
Thursday (today) Bec and Pierre came over for a play date and lunch. Bec is from New Zealand and I felt an instant click when I met her. She's funny as hell and fun, and we have a lot in common. She is also the middle of three girls and is also very tight with her sisters. Her son is 3 months younger than Andrew but nearly half Andrew's size so I referred to him as the "baby" because Andrew LOVES babies, and was totally adorable with Pierre, giving lots of kisses along with a little (unintentional) roughness. Bec and I got to talking about #2 and she is ready to start trying now. Jane is due in November. Heidi is due in July. Edith is due in June. Claire is due in July. Sarette just had her baby. ALL THESE PREGNANT friends are really giving me the itch! Hmmm...note to self...talk to Daddy when he gets home. Maybe end of summer would be a good time to start trying, why wait til the end of the year??? I shared with Bec that if my second child was a boy that I would probably want to go for three, otherwise I would probably want to stop at two. However, she shared that for her the reverse would probably hold true, ie. she would stop at two if it was another boy, yet try again for a third girl if the second was a girl. Her reasoning being that a girl needs a sister. I never thought of it like that before, but she's right. Almost every adult woman I know who has a sister is very close to her sister(s); almost every adult woman I know who does NOT have a sister has shared that they always wanted one. I cannot imagine my life without my sisters. I need them. I love them. They rock my world. Perhaps we will have three children after all!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"A Letter from my Mom"
I finally got around to writing my letter to Andrew for his baby book. Daddy is still working on his and claims it will be at least seven pages long. Mine is short and to the point!
April 16, 2008
Dear Andrew:
The past fifteen months and twenty-six days have been the best days of my life so far. I read in some books that some mothers do not feel an instantaneous bond with their babies. With you, I honestly felt our bond the day I found out I was pregnant and that bond has only strengthened with each day that has passed.
I will never forget the very first moment the doctor placed your tiny naked body on my chest and I held you in my arms, tears of joy streaming down my face. Since that day, you have grown into a happy, sociable, funny, snuggly, curious and loving toddler that is anxious to explore the world. With each new milestone accomplished, I feel such overwhelming pride and love for you.
When you are ill, I want to take away your pain and discomfort. When you are scared, I want to soothe all your fears away. When you are happy, I want to savour every second of your adorable smile and giggles. And most of all I want to slow down the clock so that I can make each moment that we spend together last longer. I already know and I feel that one day, no matter how many diapers changed, nursing sessions, messy meals, books read, baths or kisses, it will never be quite long enough.
I also read in a book that my relationship with your daddy was bound to change after you were born. I certainly loved him before you entered our world, but it is indeed truly amazing to discover how much more I can love him as I watch him play with you, protect you, and love you. I can't wait until you are old enough to recognize this for yourself.
Words cannot describe how passionately I love you and the thought of my life without you is unimaginable. It is such an incredible and powerful feeling that you will hopefully experience one day if you choose to have children of your own.
I know that you will not always agree with me, understand me or like the decisions I will make but know that my highest priority is to love and protect you as best as I can for all the days of my life.
Love,
Mommy
xoxo
April 16, 2008
Dear Andrew:
The past fifteen months and twenty-six days have been the best days of my life so far. I read in some books that some mothers do not feel an instantaneous bond with their babies. With you, I honestly felt our bond the day I found out I was pregnant and that bond has only strengthened with each day that has passed.
I will never forget the very first moment the doctor placed your tiny naked body on my chest and I held you in my arms, tears of joy streaming down my face. Since that day, you have grown into a happy, sociable, funny, snuggly, curious and loving toddler that is anxious to explore the world. With each new milestone accomplished, I feel such overwhelming pride and love for you.
When you are ill, I want to take away your pain and discomfort. When you are scared, I want to soothe all your fears away. When you are happy, I want to savour every second of your adorable smile and giggles. And most of all I want to slow down the clock so that I can make each moment that we spend together last longer. I already know and I feel that one day, no matter how many diapers changed, nursing sessions, messy meals, books read, baths or kisses, it will never be quite long enough.
I also read in a book that my relationship with your daddy was bound to change after you were born. I certainly loved him before you entered our world, but it is indeed truly amazing to discover how much more I can love him as I watch him play with you, protect you, and love you. I can't wait until you are old enough to recognize this for yourself.
Words cannot describe how passionately I love you and the thought of my life without you is unimaginable. It is such an incredible and powerful feeling that you will hopefully experience one day if you choose to have children of your own.
I know that you will not always agree with me, understand me or like the decisions I will make but know that my highest priority is to love and protect you as best as I can for all the days of my life.
Love,
Mommy
xoxo
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
When Andrew grows up, what will he be?
A dancer? He loves to boogy and clap along to any and all music, and already has rhythm (must be from Daddy's genes)
A garbage collector? We leave the apartment hand in hand now, and he quickly ventures off to pick up any bit of rubbish alongside the sidewalk. We place said rubbish in the next garbage can we pass.
A professional swimmer? His love for water started at 3 months of age when he took his first dunk under water in River Walk. Since then, we swim on a regular basis, at least 3 or 4 times per week.
An artist? He is keen to get the lid off off any pen he sees and scribble on anything in sight, including the furniture and mommy's clothes. His new washable crayons are already a big hit.
A carpenter? He is very fond of daddy's toolbox and loves to play with his toy "hammer". Also loves to build castles in the sandbox.
A dishwasher? He always pushes the stool in the kitchen alongside the sink and reaches in to help mommy wash the dishes.
A florist? He loves to pick flowers in the backyard (aka dandelions) and presents them with pride to mommy.
A musician? He loves to make music, be it with real instruments, his (strong) lungs, or the pots and pans.
A scientist? He is very curious and very keen on discovering how all things work. Also likes to dissect small creatures, living or dead.
A veteranarian? He loves animals (including said dissected creatures) and is especially fond of cats and dogs.
A professional soccer player? Perhaps not. (yet) Would rather place the ball in the recycling bins than kick or throw it.
A telephone operator? His absolutely favorite "toy" is the phone. He spends hours placing it on the charger and picking it back up again. Fortunately mommy figured out how to lock the keypad, this way there will be no more calls to Abuelita at 3:00AM her time.
A model? He loves to pose for the camera and then run quickly to see the digital image on the camera screen. Very possible with his good looks (would love to say from his momma's side but who's kidding who, he looks exactly like his daddy!)
I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!!
A garbage collector? We leave the apartment hand in hand now, and he quickly ventures off to pick up any bit of rubbish alongside the sidewalk. We place said rubbish in the next garbage can we pass.
A professional swimmer? His love for water started at 3 months of age when he took his first dunk under water in River Walk. Since then, we swim on a regular basis, at least 3 or 4 times per week.
An artist? He is keen to get the lid off off any pen he sees and scribble on anything in sight, including the furniture and mommy's clothes. His new washable crayons are already a big hit.
A carpenter? He is very fond of daddy's toolbox and loves to play with his toy "hammer". Also loves to build castles in the sandbox.
A dishwasher? He always pushes the stool in the kitchen alongside the sink and reaches in to help mommy wash the dishes.
A florist? He loves to pick flowers in the backyard (aka dandelions) and presents them with pride to mommy.
A musician? He loves to make music, be it with real instruments, his (strong) lungs, or the pots and pans.
A scientist? He is very curious and very keen on discovering how all things work. Also likes to dissect small creatures, living or dead.
A veteranarian? He loves animals (including said dissected creatures) and is especially fond of cats and dogs.
A professional soccer player? Perhaps not. (yet) Would rather place the ball in the recycling bins than kick or throw it.
A telephone operator? His absolutely favorite "toy" is the phone. He spends hours placing it on the charger and picking it back up again. Fortunately mommy figured out how to lock the keypad, this way there will be no more calls to Abuelita at 3:00AM her time.
A model? He loves to pose for the camera and then run quickly to see the digital image on the camera screen. Very possible with his good looks (would love to say from his momma's side but who's kidding who, he looks exactly like his daddy!)
I guess we'll just have to wait and see!!!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Telephones and kisses and friends with language barriers
We are already at the end of March and I can't believe Burbujitas has surpassed his 15 month birthday. People continue to ask me how we are enjoying our life in France and quite frankly, despite all the daily frustrations, we are absolutely loving it. Yes, the area is unique and offers a vastly different and exciting culture, but I'm not sure if it's the area itself that has brought us such happiness or rather our particular stage in life (Robert reminds me frequently that THESE ARE the good old days, mainly when I remind him that in "the old days", I used to get tons of back massages and hair time)! Yes, it's nice that Robert has 8 weeks vacation and yes, it's nice that we can hop on a train to Cinqa Terra on our planned trip to Rome whereby we'll hop on a cruise to visit Turkey and Greece for 12 days (leaving June 15th), it's nice that we can drive just a few hours and enjoy a fabulous week of skiing and it's quite cool that we can drive less than an hour and have lunch in Italy for my birthday (which we just recently did). All those things are absolutely wonderful indeed, but we are also completely happy to spend time at home, playing soccer with Andrew in the backyard, reading stories in the family room, playing "soocy" (pacifier) games with him in the crib, and doing the daily chores at home with a little helper alongside, be it vacuuming (he likes to dust and mop while I vacuum), he LOVES to make coffee with Daddy in the morning, he adores getting his hands in the sink to wash dishes, and laundry is now a fun game of putting everything but the kitchen sink in the washing machine (this morning I found a pineapple in the washing machine!) and of course pulling out the clean clothes and spreading them all over the kitchen floor is very amusing as well. I think we are both glad that we started a family a little bit later in life, as we are settled in every other aspect of our life and can just thoroughly enjoy our time with Andrew. I adore being able to spend my days with him, and hanging out with other mom friends at baby groups and parks, etc.
Each day, Andrew is discovering new things, and while we thought we had babyproofed this apartment quite well, I'm learning that we haven't even put a dent in it. Drawers that were once too heavy for him to open, he now climbs into to access things on top of the dresser. Although the shelves on our entertainment center have been completely emptied, he climbs on top of the coffee table to access the buttons on the DVD player and internet box. If there is a cupboard or drawer without a latch, he opens it and disposes of its contents, usually placing them all in the garbage can (which is why every single trash can in our apartment is now mounted on the walls). At first I thought this is just what all toddlers do. But I've recently noticed that Andrew is the only child at the baby group that leaves the toys aside, and constantly goes through the cupboards (full of breakables), the shelves full of pamplets (and "reorganizes" them all over the floor) and of course takes things to the garbage can there too (my friend was looking high and low for her son's sneakers at the AVF on Friday, only to discover they were mysteriously placed in the trash can...hmmm...who would have done that?) Last night, we were at a birthday party for my friend's two year-old daughter (more on that later) and their place was not baby proofed and they informed that they never had to worry about baby proofing as their daughter was never really into things. Andrew, in the two hours that we were there, turned the oven on at least 25 times, pulled leaves off their plants, cranked up the volume on the stereo, made a few phone calls on their cordless phone, emptied several bowls of snacks on the floor, rummaged through their cupboards and drawers, and threw a candle over the balcony! His biggest obsession however is the telephone. He LOVES talking on the phone (especially if it's Daddy on the other line) and particularly loves taking it on and off the charger, and the associated beeping noise that goes along with it! I dread having to make phone calls during the day now, especially when I have to speak and listen in French because I can't hear myself think with all the carrying on that goes along with me having the phone and not sharing it with him! Initially, I tried to set firm boundaries that the telephone is mommy's toy and handed over his own phones (he has three) when I was making calls. But I've backed down a little and given in from time to time so that he can amuse himself for a while with the beeping noises and the fun lady that comes on frequently to say "le numero n'est pas en service actuellement"! After all, it's not dangerous, he's generally not rough with the phone, and what is the harm of a few euros spent on some long distance calls?!!!
Along with the curiosity though, have come the kisses. He LOVES to kiss and get kisses. When he wakes up in the morning, we exchange tons of kisses and it continues all throughout the day. If he taps his finger on something, he walks over to me with his finger in the air seeking a kiss "to make it better". If he falls down, he seeks a kiss once he stands back up. If Robert or I say "ouch" for any reason at all, Andrew comes to the rescue with lots of kisses. Whenever he does something he knows he's not supposed to do (i.e. hitting mommy in the face which he does occasionally when he doesn't get his own way, or pushing buttons on the tv, he willingly apologizes immediately thereafter by giving me a kiss. And he's already learned how to french kiss, lots of drool, big huge open mouth and every now and then, the tongue gets in there too!!! Of course he also likes to hug too, and snuggles before naptime and bedtime are an absolutely must. Absolutely priceless and I must capture these moments on video and camera so that I can savour these memories in the years to come.
At the park the other day, we made friends with a very nice Italian girl and her two-year old Italian daughter. The funny thing about my new friend though is that she doesn't speak English or French! Coincidentally, Robert had just recently informed me that a new colleague (who happens to be from Colombia originally) had just relocated here from Naples, Italy, along with his wife, Simona, and young daughter, and she was struggling a little with the adjustment here. In addition, the lady who assisted us with our relocation had just sent me an email about a new mom and toddler here, stating that she was a little lonely and was asking if I would introduce myself and invite her along to the pool as she was interested in taking her daughter swimming. So when I observed a mom at the park speaking Italian to her daughter, I approached her and and asked her if her name was Simona and yep, that was her! Antibes is not that small a place so it really was quite a coincidence. Anyway, she was absolutely thrilled to meet me and Andrew, and despite the language barriers (we used a combination of English, French, Spanish, Italian and sign language to communicate), our friendship began and it was her daughter's birthday party that we attended yesterday. Not knowing what to give a little Italian girl for a gift, I thought from my experience with Kara who is the biggest Dora fan in the world, a little Dora doll for the bathtub would be a good idea, and was it ever! I guess every girl, no matter what country, is a Dora fan and she didn't put the doll down from the moment she opened up the package. Unfortunately, Robert wasn't able to attend as he is now in Australia on yet another business trip, but we had a really good time and it was helpful to have Mauricio, her husband, to help translate. The Happy Birthday song in Italian is of course the same tune as English, so although we couldn't sing the words, I could hum along and Andrew was happily assisting with the entertainment by dancing and clapping along!
Each day, Andrew is discovering new things, and while we thought we had babyproofed this apartment quite well, I'm learning that we haven't even put a dent in it. Drawers that were once too heavy for him to open, he now climbs into to access things on top of the dresser. Although the shelves on our entertainment center have been completely emptied, he climbs on top of the coffee table to access the buttons on the DVD player and internet box. If there is a cupboard or drawer without a latch, he opens it and disposes of its contents, usually placing them all in the garbage can (which is why every single trash can in our apartment is now mounted on the walls). At first I thought this is just what all toddlers do. But I've recently noticed that Andrew is the only child at the baby group that leaves the toys aside, and constantly goes through the cupboards (full of breakables), the shelves full of pamplets (and "reorganizes" them all over the floor) and of course takes things to the garbage can there too (my friend was looking high and low for her son's sneakers at the AVF on Friday, only to discover they were mysteriously placed in the trash can...hmmm...who would have done that?) Last night, we were at a birthday party for my friend's two year-old daughter (more on that later) and their place was not baby proofed and they informed that they never had to worry about baby proofing as their daughter was never really into things. Andrew, in the two hours that we were there, turned the oven on at least 25 times, pulled leaves off their plants, cranked up the volume on the stereo, made a few phone calls on their cordless phone, emptied several bowls of snacks on the floor, rummaged through their cupboards and drawers, and threw a candle over the balcony! His biggest obsession however is the telephone. He LOVES talking on the phone (especially if it's Daddy on the other line) and particularly loves taking it on and off the charger, and the associated beeping noise that goes along with it! I dread having to make phone calls during the day now, especially when I have to speak and listen in French because I can't hear myself think with all the carrying on that goes along with me having the phone and not sharing it with him! Initially, I tried to set firm boundaries that the telephone is mommy's toy and handed over his own phones (he has three) when I was making calls. But I've backed down a little and given in from time to time so that he can amuse himself for a while with the beeping noises and the fun lady that comes on frequently to say "le numero n'est pas en service actuellement"! After all, it's not dangerous, he's generally not rough with the phone, and what is the harm of a few euros spent on some long distance calls?!!!
Along with the curiosity though, have come the kisses. He LOVES to kiss and get kisses. When he wakes up in the morning, we exchange tons of kisses and it continues all throughout the day. If he taps his finger on something, he walks over to me with his finger in the air seeking a kiss "to make it better". If he falls down, he seeks a kiss once he stands back up. If Robert or I say "ouch" for any reason at all, Andrew comes to the rescue with lots of kisses. Whenever he does something he knows he's not supposed to do (i.e. hitting mommy in the face which he does occasionally when he doesn't get his own way, or pushing buttons on the tv, he willingly apologizes immediately thereafter by giving me a kiss. And he's already learned how to french kiss, lots of drool, big huge open mouth and every now and then, the tongue gets in there too!!! Of course he also likes to hug too, and snuggles before naptime and bedtime are an absolutely must. Absolutely priceless and I must capture these moments on video and camera so that I can savour these memories in the years to come.
At the park the other day, we made friends with a very nice Italian girl and her two-year old Italian daughter. The funny thing about my new friend though is that she doesn't speak English or French! Coincidentally, Robert had just recently informed me that a new colleague (who happens to be from Colombia originally) had just relocated here from Naples, Italy, along with his wife, Simona, and young daughter, and she was struggling a little with the adjustment here. In addition, the lady who assisted us with our relocation had just sent me an email about a new mom and toddler here, stating that she was a little lonely and was asking if I would introduce myself and invite her along to the pool as she was interested in taking her daughter swimming. So when I observed a mom at the park speaking Italian to her daughter, I approached her and and asked her if her name was Simona and yep, that was her! Antibes is not that small a place so it really was quite a coincidence. Anyway, she was absolutely thrilled to meet me and Andrew, and despite the language barriers (we used a combination of English, French, Spanish, Italian and sign language to communicate), our friendship began and it was her daughter's birthday party that we attended yesterday. Not knowing what to give a little Italian girl for a gift, I thought from my experience with Kara who is the biggest Dora fan in the world, a little Dora doll for the bathtub would be a good idea, and was it ever! I guess every girl, no matter what country, is a Dora fan and she didn't put the doll down from the moment she opened up the package. Unfortunately, Robert wasn't able to attend as he is now in Australia on yet another business trip, but we had a really good time and it was helpful to have Mauricio, her husband, to help translate. The Happy Birthday song in Italian is of course the same tune as English, so although we couldn't sing the words, I could hum along and Andrew was happily assisting with the entertainment by dancing and clapping along!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Super semaine de ski
Considering the fact that our very first vacation in France was indeed a very French vacation, I thought it appropriate to entitle this blog entry in French. I have been meaning to write about our wonderful week for days now but the days somehow escape me. Robert left this morning for Florida (and although I am having significant regrets now about not joining him on his business trip - I had made the decision shortly after our return from Toronto, which also happened to be shortly after our jetlag from hell!) In any event, I am going to try to make good use of the time by a)catching up on my blog b)catching up on my mail/passport app., etc. and c)catch up on all my favorite tv shows that I have just recently figured out how to download onto a CD and watch in the DVD player. (must say, I'm most excited about the latter activity!)
Our ski trip began on Saturday morning; while Andrew and I attended his 8:30am swim class, Daddy loaded the car, made the picnic lunch, and closed the apartment up for the week. We packed ourselves into the car and with the help of mapquest (or whatever the French equivalent is), we were on our way. The first 3 hours were smooth sailing...then we hit traffic...i.e. everybody else in French and their six children packed into vehicles smaller than Honda Civics heading to the mountains on Spring Break for a week of skiing. We didn't realize at the time we booked our trip that it was Spring Break, but in the end it worked out well as Andrew had lots of children to play with in the daycare. We made it through the traffic and a couple hours (and a few wrong turns) later, we pulled into the village of Orcieres. The scenery was breathtaking. Our room (though modest and typical of a non-fancy ski lodge) had the most amazing view of the mountains. The resort itself was perfect; and included everything but the kitchen sink. We did not spend one dime while we were there, and thanks to the subsidy provided by the Employee Club at Amadeus, we did not have to spend much on the trip itself.
The first day, we woke up early (with Andrew's assistance) and headed down for breakfast. Very French indeed. The French do not eat such things as bacon, eggs, sausage or toast for breakfast. Instead the buffet was full of delicious pastries (mostly chocolate flavored/filled), wonderful cheeses, ham, baguettes, croissants, yogourt, fruit, cereal (chocolate flavored of course) and the most delicious coffee we have ever drank. (the coffee part is unusual as I have found little desire for the French stuff I've had in many cafes so far, and I must say, I am very glad it was a serve yourself coffee station as the cups that are generally provided for coffee hold little more than a sip) After breakfast, we registered Andrew for the daycare but they recommended that we only do a half day for the first time. So we had some cozy downtime in our room, got our stuff prepared for the slopes, had a family lunch and off we went to the dreaded day care facility to drop off my little baby. I think I was actually shaking and am glad that Andrew did not notice. Since parents were not permitted inside, I had to hand him over to one of the ladies (who did not speak English) and fortunately, he eagerly went. It was not until the door had closed behind us upon exiting that we heard him shrieking his lungs off. That was hard. Though we did say that we wouldn't be gone for too long and to be sure and call our mobile phone if Andrew did not settle down. Robert and I jumped on the two minute shuttle to the mountain and were on the chairlift desperately wondering how our little guy was holding out, and checking our mobile phone every five minutes for any messages or missed calls. We got in a few good runs and decided to head back to the resort to rescue our boy. We saw him before he saw us and we were happy to see he was busy reorganizing the toy shelf by pulling every single toy off the shelf and onto the floor. The next couple of times, I put Daddy on drop-off duty and though it got progressively easier throughout the week, he still freaked out when he saw the big scary purple door that lead to the day care. Almost every time we picked him up, he was busy playing or having a snack (chocolate flavored of course!)
Robert and I thoroughly enjoyed the skiing. Blue sky and sunny every single day. The ski conditions were perfect, the snow was incredible and the scenery surrounding us was to die for. We enjoyed some quality together time, the first of which we've had in a long time. We requested a picnic lunch the night before each ski day which we brought along and ate at the chalet section of the mountain that was owned by the resort we were staying at. My biggest laugh of the entire trip was when Robert lost his lunch. To begin, Robert is someone who likes to take many stops down the mountain...he needs to adjust his goggles, fix his ski boot, put on or take off clothes, blow his nose, etc. I couldn't complain as I am much slower descending the moutain than him. So, here we are in the line up to the lift and Robert needs to find a place to store his lunch. (you bring it up the mountain with you and store it in the chalet until you are ready to eat) So, he's fiddling and fussing, trying to find a place to put his lunch, so that he could hold his poles with his hands. He decided to shove it down the front of his jacket, nestled in his chest underneath the top of the ski pants. Well the lunch was causing some significant discomfort as by the time we got to the front of the lift line, he declared that his lunch was sitting on his balls. So...of course we need to fiddle and fuss some more, and let people behind us in line go ahead) and I'm already laughing. He gets his lunch in a more comfortable position and up the mountain we go. We were on a chair that held six people and there happened to be a dad and two younger children on with us. Well, as we are doing the typical scurrying to get off the chair and out of the way so as not to bump into anybody else getting off, one of the children PLOWS into Robert. Robert goes flying, the skis falls off, and of course the lunch (god knows where it was stashed) goes FLYING, the plastic baggy breaks and the contents go everywhere...and I am absolutely going to pee my pants laughing! Robert found no humour in the situation at first, was rather annoyed, and said "the hell with my lunch", abruptly put his skis back on, and took off down the mountain leaving sandwiches, cookies, salad, water bottles, etc. dispersed throughout the snow. Through my tears of laughter, I picked up as much as I could, stuffed my pockets and ski pants and followed him down the mountain. I had several laugh attacks that week reflecting on this incident, and Robert joined in on most of them as he found it much funnier after the fact!!!
Our week was filled with many yummy meals and glasses of red wine, quiet, cozy and early evenings (in bed by 9 every night), swimming in the glass-enclosed indoor swimming pool, lots and lots of playtime with Burbujitas and some much needed sleep for all three of us. We are so looking forward to doing it again, and especially cannot wait until Andrew can join us on the slopes, which will be less than two years away.
Our ski trip began on Saturday morning; while Andrew and I attended his 8:30am swim class, Daddy loaded the car, made the picnic lunch, and closed the apartment up for the week. We packed ourselves into the car and with the help of mapquest (or whatever the French equivalent is), we were on our way. The first 3 hours were smooth sailing...then we hit traffic...i.e. everybody else in French and their six children packed into vehicles smaller than Honda Civics heading to the mountains on Spring Break for a week of skiing. We didn't realize at the time we booked our trip that it was Spring Break, but in the end it worked out well as Andrew had lots of children to play with in the daycare. We made it through the traffic and a couple hours (and a few wrong turns) later, we pulled into the village of Orcieres. The scenery was breathtaking. Our room (though modest and typical of a non-fancy ski lodge) had the most amazing view of the mountains. The resort itself was perfect; and included everything but the kitchen sink. We did not spend one dime while we were there, and thanks to the subsidy provided by the Employee Club at Amadeus, we did not have to spend much on the trip itself.
The first day, we woke up early (with Andrew's assistance) and headed down for breakfast. Very French indeed. The French do not eat such things as bacon, eggs, sausage or toast for breakfast. Instead the buffet was full of delicious pastries (mostly chocolate flavored/filled), wonderful cheeses, ham, baguettes, croissants, yogourt, fruit, cereal (chocolate flavored of course) and the most delicious coffee we have ever drank. (the coffee part is unusual as I have found little desire for the French stuff I've had in many cafes so far, and I must say, I am very glad it was a serve yourself coffee station as the cups that are generally provided for coffee hold little more than a sip) After breakfast, we registered Andrew for the daycare but they recommended that we only do a half day for the first time. So we had some cozy downtime in our room, got our stuff prepared for the slopes, had a family lunch and off we went to the dreaded day care facility to drop off my little baby. I think I was actually shaking and am glad that Andrew did not notice. Since parents were not permitted inside, I had to hand him over to one of the ladies (who did not speak English) and fortunately, he eagerly went. It was not until the door had closed behind us upon exiting that we heard him shrieking his lungs off. That was hard. Though we did say that we wouldn't be gone for too long and to be sure and call our mobile phone if Andrew did not settle down. Robert and I jumped on the two minute shuttle to the mountain and were on the chairlift desperately wondering how our little guy was holding out, and checking our mobile phone every five minutes for any messages or missed calls. We got in a few good runs and decided to head back to the resort to rescue our boy. We saw him before he saw us and we were happy to see he was busy reorganizing the toy shelf by pulling every single toy off the shelf and onto the floor. The next couple of times, I put Daddy on drop-off duty and though it got progressively easier throughout the week, he still freaked out when he saw the big scary purple door that lead to the day care. Almost every time we picked him up, he was busy playing or having a snack (chocolate flavored of course!)
Robert and I thoroughly enjoyed the skiing. Blue sky and sunny every single day. The ski conditions were perfect, the snow was incredible and the scenery surrounding us was to die for. We enjoyed some quality together time, the first of which we've had in a long time. We requested a picnic lunch the night before each ski day which we brought along and ate at the chalet section of the mountain that was owned by the resort we were staying at. My biggest laugh of the entire trip was when Robert lost his lunch. To begin, Robert is someone who likes to take many stops down the mountain...he needs to adjust his goggles, fix his ski boot, put on or take off clothes, blow his nose, etc. I couldn't complain as I am much slower descending the moutain than him. So, here we are in the line up to the lift and Robert needs to find a place to store his lunch. (you bring it up the mountain with you and store it in the chalet until you are ready to eat) So, he's fiddling and fussing, trying to find a place to put his lunch, so that he could hold his poles with his hands. He decided to shove it down the front of his jacket, nestled in his chest underneath the top of the ski pants. Well the lunch was causing some significant discomfort as by the time we got to the front of the lift line, he declared that his lunch was sitting on his balls. So...of course we need to fiddle and fuss some more, and let people behind us in line go ahead) and I'm already laughing. He gets his lunch in a more comfortable position and up the mountain we go. We were on a chair that held six people and there happened to be a dad and two younger children on with us. Well, as we are doing the typical scurrying to get off the chair and out of the way so as not to bump into anybody else getting off, one of the children PLOWS into Robert. Robert goes flying, the skis falls off, and of course the lunch (god knows where it was stashed) goes FLYING, the plastic baggy breaks and the contents go everywhere...and I am absolutely going to pee my pants laughing! Robert found no humour in the situation at first, was rather annoyed, and said "the hell with my lunch", abruptly put his skis back on, and took off down the mountain leaving sandwiches, cookies, salad, water bottles, etc. dispersed throughout the snow. Through my tears of laughter, I picked up as much as I could, stuffed my pockets and ski pants and followed him down the mountain. I had several laugh attacks that week reflecting on this incident, and Robert joined in on most of them as he found it much funnier after the fact!!!
Our week was filled with many yummy meals and glasses of red wine, quiet, cozy and early evenings (in bed by 9 every night), swimming in the glass-enclosed indoor swimming pool, lots and lots of playtime with Burbujitas and some much needed sleep for all three of us. We are so looking forward to doing it again, and especially cannot wait until Andrew can join us on the slopes, which will be less than two years away.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Getting ready for our first family ski trip!
We are 6 days away from heading up to the Alps for a week of skiing, skating, swimming, hiking, eating, and relaxing! Being the experienced travellers that we now are, we know that it is much less stressful to pack well in advance of departure day as the last minute stuff always takes longer than expected. Robert has printed off the driving directions and I have packed the suitcases for me and Andrew. I'm ready to go now...too bad daddy has this thing called a job holding him back for another week!
We've had some time lately to really enjoy the area, enjoy our apartment and spend quality bonding time with Andrew and it's been awesome. Although the temper tantrums have kicked in, it is by far offset by his adorable little personality really shining through. He starts clapping and dancing every time music is played, he loves to give kisses (with a wide open mouth), and he loves to participate in every little thing we do. (granted laundry takes a lot longer now that he likes to pull everything out of the washing machine as soon as I put it in!) Now that we have been "settled" here for a few weeks, we have begun some new rituals. In the morning, Robert goes in to get Andrew out of the crib, and once Andrew has gathered his collection of pacifiers (3 in total) in the crib (one in the mouth and one in each hand), they head off to the kitchen to make coffee. As soon as Robert puts Andrew down, he immediately darts to the back bedroom to go find mommy. He climbs up on the bed with a little help from mommy, has a nice snuggle, a short nursing session and then he's ready to play. In the evenings when Robert comes home, we go out to the hallway to greet him and have a little play with the resident cat, that Andrew is currently obsessed with, but can't decide if he wants to pet him or run away from. On days that we don't have any planned baby groups, we go for a mid-day swim and then home for a 2 to 3 hour nap. He is consistenly going down by 7pm now and doesn't stir until at least 6am. Before bedtime we take our vitamins, brush our teeth, turn on the lullabye music, read some books, have a short nursing session and go to sleep. I'm hoping our ski trip will not interrupt this heavenly schedule too much.
We've had some time lately to really enjoy the area, enjoy our apartment and spend quality bonding time with Andrew and it's been awesome. Although the temper tantrums have kicked in, it is by far offset by his adorable little personality really shining through. He starts clapping and dancing every time music is played, he loves to give kisses (with a wide open mouth), and he loves to participate in every little thing we do. (granted laundry takes a lot longer now that he likes to pull everything out of the washing machine as soon as I put it in!) Now that we have been "settled" here for a few weeks, we have begun some new rituals. In the morning, Robert goes in to get Andrew out of the crib, and once Andrew has gathered his collection of pacifiers (3 in total) in the crib (one in the mouth and one in each hand), they head off to the kitchen to make coffee. As soon as Robert puts Andrew down, he immediately darts to the back bedroom to go find mommy. He climbs up on the bed with a little help from mommy, has a nice snuggle, a short nursing session and then he's ready to play. In the evenings when Robert comes home, we go out to the hallway to greet him and have a little play with the resident cat, that Andrew is currently obsessed with, but can't decide if he wants to pet him or run away from. On days that we don't have any planned baby groups, we go for a mid-day swim and then home for a 2 to 3 hour nap. He is consistenly going down by 7pm now and doesn't stir until at least 6am. Before bedtime we take our vitamins, brush our teeth, turn on the lullabye music, read some books, have a short nursing session and go to sleep. I'm hoping our ski trip will not interrupt this heavenly schedule too much.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
A Wonderful Day...
It's funny how one great day can totally lift you up and give you strength to cope with life's challenges. In all honesty, I know that I don't have much to complain about, and have always been good about counting my blessings, but in the past several days I have experienced some homesickness, some food poisoning (puked my brains out after eating a ham sandwich on a baguette that I purchased from my previously favorite bakery!), the commencement of temper tantrums by the little Budda, an annoying doctor's appointment (it wasn't really that bad, but I get easily offended by a doctor who totally cuts me off, and tells my husband to hurry up when undressing our boy yet receives ten thousand phone calls throughout our 30 minute appointment), two weeks of non-stop rain (and in a brief period of sunshine, I hung the wet clothes on the line only to have them soaked and worse, splashed with mud within hours thereafter), and overall frustration in dealing with French bureacracy and inefficiency.
And now everything seems all good again. We started the day off with a wake up at 7:30 am, which happened to be yet another continuous 12 and a half hour sleep. Andrew willingly wolfed down a complete breakfast of cereal and pears (he is back to being a happy little eater again and seems to like everything again except avacodoes and anything pureed, particularly baby food. We then washed and hung a load of laundry (which was dry when we came back home...yay!) The sun was shining, the temperature was crisp, but clear, the beautiful snow covered mountains in the background were glistening and we headed off for a walk into old town to play at the park. Andrew is now more interested in running around the playground and trying to climb up the slide than in eating every little thing on the ground. While at the park, I heard my name and bumped into a friend (and her two little girls) I met in May while I attended the "mom's night out" event with the Riviera Tumbletots. We had a nice chat (turns out her husband works at the same company as Robert) and she also gave me a great reference for a babysitter, who coincidentally happens to be Andrew's swimming "instructor's" daughter (maybe we will have date nights once again after all!) From the park, we headed to the pool for a swim and we made our first French friend. (i.e. does not speak English) I happened to meet her quite easily as Andrew was fixated on stealing all of her little boy's pool toys (her boy is the same age as Andrew) It was really the first time that I actually socialized 100% in French and I felt really good. We exchanged phone numbers and have made tentative plans to meet again next Wednesday. (In France, most working moms choose to work 4 days a week (with Wednesdays off) which happens to be a law here, i.e. that after you have a baby, you have the option to go back full-time or 4 days per week for a period of three years after your baby is born and your company has to hold the same job, position, etc.) From there, we headed back home for lunch and a nap and as we entered our building, we met two more of our neighbours. The woman upstairs (70 ish) introduced herself, asked me all about how things are going here and offered her assistance with anything I may need from an egg to a carer for Andrew. Then we met our seasonal neighbours down the hall who are from England. They, too, were super friendly and Andrew was quite fond of their dogs. After lunch, Andrew napped for 2 and a half hours, while I watched the Young and Restless (embarassed to admit that I am following that show again, but hey, it's great French practice!) and caught up on some bills, emails, etc. After dinner, and a phone call to Daddy who is in Germany right now, we read some books and Andrew was asleep by 6:55 PM. So...feeling very inspired and relaxed, I sat down and completed the remainder of our health insurance claims that have been weighing on my shoulders for the longest time. Life is good!
And now everything seems all good again. We started the day off with a wake up at 7:30 am, which happened to be yet another continuous 12 and a half hour sleep. Andrew willingly wolfed down a complete breakfast of cereal and pears (he is back to being a happy little eater again and seems to like everything again except avacodoes and anything pureed, particularly baby food. We then washed and hung a load of laundry (which was dry when we came back home...yay!) The sun was shining, the temperature was crisp, but clear, the beautiful snow covered mountains in the background were glistening and we headed off for a walk into old town to play at the park. Andrew is now more interested in running around the playground and trying to climb up the slide than in eating every little thing on the ground. While at the park, I heard my name and bumped into a friend (and her two little girls) I met in May while I attended the "mom's night out" event with the Riviera Tumbletots. We had a nice chat (turns out her husband works at the same company as Robert) and she also gave me a great reference for a babysitter, who coincidentally happens to be Andrew's swimming "instructor's" daughter (maybe we will have date nights once again after all!) From the park, we headed to the pool for a swim and we made our first French friend. (i.e. does not speak English) I happened to meet her quite easily as Andrew was fixated on stealing all of her little boy's pool toys (her boy is the same age as Andrew) It was really the first time that I actually socialized 100% in French and I felt really good. We exchanged phone numbers and have made tentative plans to meet again next Wednesday. (In France, most working moms choose to work 4 days a week (with Wednesdays off) which happens to be a law here, i.e. that after you have a baby, you have the option to go back full-time or 4 days per week for a period of three years after your baby is born and your company has to hold the same job, position, etc.) From there, we headed back home for lunch and a nap and as we entered our building, we met two more of our neighbours. The woman upstairs (70 ish) introduced herself, asked me all about how things are going here and offered her assistance with anything I may need from an egg to a carer for Andrew. Then we met our seasonal neighbours down the hall who are from England. They, too, were super friendly and Andrew was quite fond of their dogs. After lunch, Andrew napped for 2 and a half hours, while I watched the Young and Restless (embarassed to admit that I am following that show again, but hey, it's great French practice!) and caught up on some bills, emails, etc. After dinner, and a phone call to Daddy who is in Germany right now, we read some books and Andrew was asleep by 6:55 PM. So...feeling very inspired and relaxed, I sat down and completed the remainder of our health insurance claims that have been weighing on my shoulders for the longest time. Life is good!
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