Vacances Scolaires

School holidays are here once again. As I have previously mentioned, there are two weeks of school holidays every 6 weeks for all schools in France. Two weeks in October (well, actually one and a half weeks in October), two weeks in December, two weeks in February, and two weeks in April. This is, of course, in addition to the two months of summer holidays, not to mention more than a handful of government holidays. And EVERY single Wednesday.

I have come to LOVE the school holidays and actually look forward to them. Since Andrew is in school full time, I find the holidays are my chance to have my boy home with me again. Unlike last year, when I was so determined to spend our days outside of the home in order to keep Andrew pleasantly occupied and out of mischief, this year is a different ballgame. He is still quite enamored with all of his new toys from Christmas and his birthday and is really beginning to play so well independently. It's absolutely priceless to watch him make stories and communicate for hours with all his animals, tractors, cars, rescue vehicles, etc. He is SUCH a boy! Ryan is TOTALLY entertained just watching him. One of my friends shared with me that she found having two boys was easier than just one. I'm starting to see why now as whenever Ryan is awake, he does not need me to entertain him, he has his brother to watch, and Andrew even attempts to include him in the play time, even if from afar!
In the mornings, we do playtime together. Puzzles, play-dough, books, crafts, baking, drawing, colouring, painting, etc., etc. Then we all eat lunch together and then both boys go down simultaneously for two-hour naps, which gives me the opportunity to get some chores done or just rest myself. Andrew hasn't even asked once for the tv to be turned on. But I have started to play some Disney movies in anticipation of our cruise, so he will be aware of the many characters he will meet on board. His favourite movie (by far): The Lion King!
Next week, when I have the car back (hopefully), we will plan some fun outings, weather permitting: Marineland, La Petite Ferme, playgrounds with friends and of course a few trips to the swimming pool.
My next blog entries will be illustrations of our playtime together at home.

The car situation

For some reason, Robert and I both thought that the car was due for a tune-up in accordance with the maintenance requirements for the car. Since the maintenance book is in French, we didn't actually refer to it, we were just going by memory based on what we (thought) we were told the last time the car was in the shop. (my French is really improving but I'm definitely not up to speed with all the car lingo) Since there are a few other things we wanted to be looked at, I went ahead and made the appointment for Monday (yesterday). When Robert arrived at the garage ready to drop off the car, I had erroneously booked it for a "controle technique" service, not a tune-up. I might add that when I made the appointment, the customer service person had absolutely zero patience or desire to assist me, and hung up before I even had the chance to say good-bye. A controle technique is basically a thorough inspection of the car, which is required every two years on all cars registered in France. Any findings (i.e deficiencies) must be repaired immediately to maintain the right to drive the car. Since we had just recently had a control technique performed, it was not necessary to perform another one. We also discovered that a tune-up was not necessary at this time. However, we still wanted the few issues looked at so Robert made an appointment for the following day. Taking the car in to the garage is a pain in itself since we only have one car. Therefore, once the car is dropped off, the bus and our feet are our only transportation options. There's no shuttle type service like at most dealers in the US that will drive you to work after you drop off your vehicle. Well, maybe there is at Rolls Royce or something, but this is Peugeot we're talking about. So, anyway, the mechanic dude calls me to advise of the status this afternoon. Under normal, North American circumstances, he would have called Robert directly. I am a total pushover when it comes to such things and if they tell me it's not under warranty, I just accept it. Anyway, obviously the language barrier with Robert necessitates me being the liason between Robert and the mechanic. It turns out that one of the problems (with the steering) makes the car unsafe to drive, and cannot be repaired until the part comes in, supposedly Thursday or Friday (which in France could mean Christmas time). So when I communicate this to Robert, he tells me that our warranty includes a loaner car and to have them prepare one to be ready for him at 8AM tomorrow so he has a means to get to work. So, I call the mechanic dude back and he claims that a) the loaner is not covered under warranty and b) even if it was, there were no loaner cars available and that I was just unlucky to have a car problem at this time since all the loaners were reserved already! So, I call back, speak with about 10 different people (all the while nursing my little baby), and the best reply I got was that they would call me tomorrow as soon as a loaner car became available. Robert was disatisfied with this outcome, so he did what we so very seldomly do, and relied on another French person to call and resolve a problem for us. Robert told his colleague to tell them that if a loaner car is not available at 8AM tomorrow, that he would sit on their desk all day tomorrow until he received one! Needless to say, a loaner car will be ready tomorrow morning at 8AM! But since the loaner will undoubtedly have a manual transmission, which I do not know how to drive, I will be without a vehicle until the repair is completed. Which kinda sucks since it's yet again, school holidays, which will be the subject of my next post!

"The happiest place on earth"

That is Disney's motto, in addition to something to the effect that "all your dreams can come true". I am 100% certain that Andrew will concur with this, after our 14-night journey across the Atlantic ocean onboard the Disney Magic, departing from Port Canaveral on April 10, 2010. More details to follow in a subsequent blog. We booked it last night and I am so pumped I can hardly contain myself!

Vancouver 2010

For as long as I can remember, the Olympics has been the TV highlight of my family's life. Being the HUGE gymnastics family that we were/are, life stopped when the Summer Games began, and we would all be glued to the television for two weeks every four years. I vividly remember the 1984 games, when we first had a VCR, and taped the gymnastics coverage. Pretty sure we watched Mary Lou Retton at least 1000 times. But the winter games were a pretty big deal too, especially the skating. Well, it just so happens that Robert is an equally huge fan of the Olympic games. So you can imagine how excited we are, especially now that we have invested in satellite tv, for the 2010 games to begin. And now I look forward to sharing the fun of spectating the Olympics with Andrew. And just so there would be no confustion about who to root for, Aunty Susie sent the boys these ever-so-appropriate track suits!

Funny, funny Uncle Billy

Robert and I deliberated (disagreed!) on baby boy names throughout my entire pregnancy. But two days after his birth, when we finally came to an agreement on the perfect name, neither one of us had any clue that an actor, who was formally married to Reese Witherspoon, had the same name. Of course, it didn't take long for everyone to let us know and in fact, people started asking me if I had a thing for the actor or something!!!

Aunty Susie sent a huge package in mid-November from Canada for the boys' Christmas presents and birthday presents. She said it was ready to go on November 1st, but was awaiting the completion of Uncle Billy's personal contribution to the box. It arrived in mid-January, but was actually great that it was late, as the boys celebrated Christmas all over again when they (i.e. Andrew) opened up her generous package. The above photo is Ryan of course, sporting the little jumper that almost made me wet my pants. The fine print states "REESE NEVER WOULDA DUMPED A PIMP LIKE ME". Ryan was wearing this outfit the last time I took him to creche. (though it was underneath a sleeper as it is unfortunately still too chilly here to sport the little outfit on its own) When I picked him up, the day care providers made no mention of the outfit. I wondered if they "got it", or did they just think that Ryan's mommy is downright mad and hence opted for silence!

The happiest little baby on the planet

His name is Ryan Philippe Chamberlin. I just recently realized that I have not yet posted much information on the little angel #2. But when one of my best friends just asked me how I was adjusting to being a mom of two, I reflected on how easy it has been. And that's in large part thanks to the very happy, easy-going little guy that he is. If you make eye contact with him, he will smile. He seldomly cries. Even last night, when he woke up several times with a very stuffy nose and obviously uncomfortable; we turned the lights on, Robert and I both looked at him, and out comes that smile that lights up his whole face. He is not phased by ANYTHING Andrew does to him, including but not limited to playing the harmonica or roaring like a tiger in his ears, lying on top of him, smothering him with hugs and kisses, licking him, sucking him, playing doctor on him, splashing him in the bath tub, waking him up, pulling toys away from him...the list goes on. Robert was wondering if Ryan would be scared to see him after his two week business trip, just like Andrew was when he was a baby, but no-can-do, as soon as Daddy picked him up upon his arrival, out came that beautiful, magical smile once again. I remember countless trips in the car with Andrew screaming bloody murder in his car seat...not this little guy...I am not sure I have ever even heard a peep from him in the car. He just stares at his brother...and smiles. I won't say he NEVER cries...he definitely lets me know when he's hungry, tired, or just wants to be in my arms, but even then, it's not the do-your-head-in wail of many babies, it's a soft, high-pitched whine that stops immediately when his needs are met. He really IS an angel!

Day in the snow with Andrew's HERO, his Daddy

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! For Andrew, 2010 started off a little rough. Andrew and Robert went to our next door neighbour's New Year's Eve party and had a wonderful time. I was feeling a little drained and decided at the last minute, to stay in with Ryan. Unfortunately, Andrew woke up the next day with a high fever, complete with cold sweats, and subsequent vomitting. It continued on so much that we made a visit to the ER by Sunday morning, just to be on the safe side. On a side note, we were yet again extremely impressed with the French health care system. Andrew was examined, given a prescription, said prescription filled and we were all back home within an hour and a half! As it turned out, our next door neighbour's 20 year-old son had contracted the exact same bug and was so ill that they called the doctor in for a home visit at 2:00am the following night. Anyway, we decided to take extra precautions so that Ryan would not get the same thing, Robert took over "Andrew duty" and I kept Ryan as distant as possible. The love and tenderness on Robert's part, in the way he cared for Andrew, yet again warmed my heart. For three days, he slept beside Andrew in his bed, continually cleaned up the vomit, showered with him several times daily to reduce the fever when the Tylenol wasn't doing its thing, finding creative ways to get him to take his meds and drink enough fluids, and even brought his flash light and lap top into Andrew's room to be by his side at naptime so he'd be there if he threw up again.
Almost from birth, Andrew has been a Mommy's boy, almost always choosing Mommy to do whatever it is for him or with him. However, in the last few months, Daddy has become Andrew's little hero. It's probably a combination of several factors, one being that more of my direct attention has been aimed at feeding or soothing baby Ryan, but we have also made a huge effort to make the adjustment of another baby as seamless as possible for Andrew, planning extra special activities for Andrew and Robert (zoo, Marineland, Fun City, farms, playgrounds, and the most recent, a day in the Alps as seen in the photo above) so that he has not felt "left out" in any way. I am happy to say that I think it has worked as there continues to be not ounce of jealousy or resentment of the new addition and he showers or rather, smothers Ryan with hugs and kisses daily! Anyway, over this time, Robert and Andrew have developed a very tight bond, which brings me immense joy. When there was a time that Andrew wanted no part of Daddy putting him to bed, or even helping him with a pee or poo, now Mommy is not invited! However, there are times when it may go a little far...the other night when we were cleaning up the toys before bed, we were in the midst of "parking the cars" in his toy garage and I got reprimanded for not doing it the way Daddy does it!