Giving Thanks

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! And while I'm at it, a big THANKS to anyone who has stopped by to read this blog, such as it is. Fallen by the wayside is probably the best way to describe it. Well, I had good intentions....
So in an effort to review the last few months while keeping with the spirit of Thanksgiving, here is what I am thankful for:

My family on two continents. My children are happy and healthy and I have a wonderful husband. What more can one ask for? My family in the States who I miss a lot is equally wonderful. Being so far away is not easy. I want everyone together!!
My friends back home. I'll never have enough time to visit when we come over on our "every other year" trips to Chicago. Speaking of Chicago, I'm so thankful for our trip to Chicago this summer. What a fantastic 3 weeks. The kids are finally old enough to really appreciate the differences and enjoy the truly American aspects of life in the US. The trip to the Field Museum was a definite highlight as all 3 of them love dinosaurs. Although there was an 1hr 1/2 rain delay and the Cubs lost, Kevin had a blast at his first baseball game. The girls opted to go to the movies with my sister where they saw Ratatouille. They loved it.
A computer that is finally working after some much needed updates were installed upon our return from Chicago. The lack of a working computer did account for some of my absence in posting but certainly not all.
NASN sports channel. Being able to watch the Lions and Packers play live on Thanksgiving Day does ease the pain of not being there ever so slightly.
Working! I've been hired back this year to teach in the primary schools. Yes, I'm thankful to be back teaching. My classes this year seem better so far. I go to 5 different schools and have younger students this year. More in 2nd and 3rd grade. And then others in 5th grade. These are the ones who can be a pain sometimes. They're the big kids in the school since next year they go on to junior high. All of 10-11 yrs old and they think they know it all.....ok don't get me started on french school children, I'm trying to keep this post a "Happy, Thankful" one.....
And I would have to say it's the working part that has kept me away the most. If I'm online it seems I'm often looking up stuff for english teaching or otherwise reading.
At the moment I'm researching a camcorder to buy for the holidays. There are so many options but with the online sites available, looking for one is not a problem.
I transferred all our family home video cassettes onto DVD's. It was so neat to watch videos of the kids when they were babies and I'm sooo glad I took video. There's so much I have forgotten already although it really hasn't been that long. It reinforced what I already knew that it's so important to take videos of just everyday stuff so they can have it to look back on years from now. The camcorder we have now is truly ancient so a new one is definitely needed and as I see, even though it's a major purchase, it's worth it. These home videos are priceless.
Kevin is on the town basketball team. He's enjoying it although they've only won one game. It's pretty funny to watch these little boys and girls running on the court. It's a mixed team and for the moment the girls seem more aggressive on the court. They're the ones that'll fight for the ball or run after the opponent to try to get a steal. Too funny to watch how they play.
It's the first time he's doing a sport and I'm glad he likes it. That's all the counts to me.
It's amazing how the time is flying by here. I will try to keep this posting more up to date because there really is a lot I could write about. For example the vin chaud Pascal and I tried last night. It's called Blossa Glogg and we bought it at Ikea a few weeks ago. It's all ready to go, just need to heat it slightly. I put a cinammon stick in mine. It was so good. I'm not even sure what I'd call it in English. I've never heard of warm wine and cider isn't really it either. I'm wondering if it's available in the Ikea stores in the US? I could probably find out if I checked out their website but I'm too lazy.
So here's to warm wine on a cold winter's night and hopefully more posting. Although with the Glogg just waiting to be sipped, posting might have to wait.....

Gobble, Gobble to you all! :)

Here comes the sun

"Holy sunbun Batman, the sun is shining!"

Yes, I'm crazy, but when the weather has been this miserable, that big, orange ball in the sky looks pretty amazing. We're going bike riding! :)

Tour de France...2017?

OK not really, but it's a big moment just the same as the girls got their first "big kid" bikes this past week. They were very excited and luckily for us the colors they had decided on were available when we went to the sports store. That was my biggest fear, since all they had been talking about was getting a blue (Laura) and pink (Colleen) bike for days. Since a wide selection of colors and sizes is a rarity here, I kept saying to them, "we'll see what they have when we get there. There are lots of nice colors." When we got to the bike area, there they were, a pink bike and a blue bike, side by side, just waiting for them and they looked at me as if to say "see mom, not to worry". If I didn't know any better I would have thought they had ordered them ahead of time. On top of it, the brand name is B Twin, seemed rather appropriate for my twins. It turned out to be a very stress-free, fun buying experience. Another concern of mine was what if they only had one bike available? How do we walk out of the store with one bike trying to explain that the other bike would be in soon? I think I probably would have left without any bike, can't even think about the tears that would have flowed. All the explaining in the world wouldn't have helped. But all that worry for nothing, they walked out (rode out actually once the training wheels were put on) of the store the proud owners of B Twin pink and blue bikes.
Also while at the sports store waiting for the salesperson to put on the training wheels, I watched as another family, (mom, dad and son about 10 yrs old) were looking at the bikes. The kid was really excited but the parents were less than thrilled. The boy was looking at different models, and whenever he touched a bike his mom would yell at him although he wasn't being rough at all. It's only normal to look and even sit on the bike to see which one was best. He didn't seem to even notice how annoyed they were. Then at one point he walked over to the bike helmets and asked his mom if he could have one, but she immediately said no saying it was enough getting the bike. Then she turns and looks at me and asks "are they required?" I told her I was pretty sure they were and in any case if he were to fall, it would be better if he had a helmet on. She didn't seem to be swayed by my reasoning. Then the guy showed up saying that our bikes were ready so I don't know if he ever did get his bike helmet. Hopefully the salesperson convinced her a helmet would be a good idea.
Now if only the weather would cooperate and let the girls get used to having big kid bikes. We've had a couple of days where they could go out around the block. Other than that, July's reputation (for me anyway) as the most miserable month of summer continues. It is once again cool and rainy. Oh joy! At this moment the kids are watching a Peter Pan dvd. (in English)
Luckily we've got our trip to look forward to, the countdown has officially begun. Birthday parties have been reserved at the Lego store for Kevin and Build A Bear for the girls. Should be a lot of fun. My goals while in Chicago are to see the Field Museum, I haven't been there in years and the kids really like dinosaurs, the Shedd Aquarium, Sears Tower, a day at the beach and lake Michigan, Great America, Cubs Game and of course visiting family and friends. It's going to be busy and I'm not sure we'll be able to do everything but we'll certainly try. I'm also really excited since my niece's baptism will be while we're in town. I'm starting to feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. When I mentioned to Pascal the other day how it's now quickly approaching he said, this is the best time just before, the anticipation of the vacation and how during the actual vacation time goes by so fast and then it's over. I guess he's got a point there. So with that philosophy in mind, I'll try to enjoy the anticipation of our vacation as I watch it raining outside.
Hopefully this weekend the weather will improve (they're saying it will) because we are planning on going to a Hot Air Balloon Festival in a town called Chambley. It used to be an American air base. I believe it's every two years they host this world hot air balloon fest, where many different countries are represented. If the weather cooperates, it'll be an amazing sight no doubt. We've seen the balloons floating over our house but have never actually gone to the event. Read this for more info. Also this link offers some interesting facts about the event.
I think I'll go now and look up online for a sun dance! ;)

Were to begin?? Not even worth putting a title to this post since I'm just going to write about all sorts of stuff. It's been awhile and I've just haven't been up to writing much lately although there's certainly been things to post about. Let's start with the most recent. They can just wipe the month of July off the calendar here in France. This is my 8th July in France and just about every single one has been miserable weather wise. This current one being no exception. While my home town of Chicago is sweltering in the heat, I'm wearing sweaters, socks and turning the heat up in the morning. It's been cool and rainy here for the last few weeks. It's the strangest thing, the month of April here though was beautiful, go figure!What a way to start off summer vacation. As it's been raining literally non-stop for the past few days, the kids have been inside. Board games anyone?? They certainly are appreciated right now. But it's summer!! What the heck is going on?????
This past weekend we did thankfully have a couple of nice days of warm, rain-free weather and we took advantage of it to get the lawn mowed and the neighbor's hedge trimmed on Saturday. On Sunday we went to a town about 30 minutes from here to watch a baseball game, yep baseball! And they played the game on a regulation baseball field. I've just added some pix to my Flickr! account so feel free to take a look. It really was a sight to see. I kind of had a "Field of Dreams" moment thinking: if you build it, they will come....
The game was played by the local baseball club and a group of American high school kids who are on a tour of Europe. This group of high schoolers was from Georgia and next weekend there's a group coming from Wisconsin. We're going to try to make it to that game as well. We arrived too late for the game this past weekend, actually they started the game 2 hours earlier than scheduled since the Americans arrived earlier than expected. But it was still worth it just to see the field, kids were able to play on it. They really enjoyed it.
In other news, it's been just about 10 days since my mother-in-law came to stay with us following her kidney surgery. It's gone extremely well. First her surgery and recovery in the hospital went very well and since she's been with us, she's improved a lot. Luckily we've got a bedroom and full bath downstairs so she's got her "own space" but she's always with us which is fine. She's a wonderful person and we get along great. She's enjoyed being with the kids and even when they get crazy sometimes running around here, it doesn't bother her. When she told the hospital staff she was coming to stay with her son and his family, they said it was very rare, that she was very lucky to have family who was willing to take her in. Apparently most people don't do it. Many elderly people who need some assistance after surgery to get back up on their feet go to rest homes. My next door neighbor just assumed my MIL would go to a rest home or maison de repos as they say here, and when I said she was coming here, she was shocked.
I didn't even think twice about it, but I guess I'm looking really good as a daughter in law right now. Well, it's been very easy, toughest part has been putting on these stockings my MIL has to wear for a month following surgery. They're to prevent water retention and they're super tight. She's not able to get them on by herself so every morning I go downstairs and put them on. She needs to wear them all day. She seems to like my cooking as well although she's not very picky I must say. All the same she does compliment me so it can't be too horrible.
I know the situation of a MIL and DIL living together under the same roof amicably is quite rare so if your jaw is hanging open right now in awe, go ahead and feel free to close it. I guess I won the lottery in the MIL dept. I have no complaints. I could really say the same in the husband dept too but I would have to have a few complaints!!
The care she received while in the hospital was wonderful. They removed her kidney after finding a cancerous tumor. This is major surgery by any one's standards and I was amazed at how little pain she suffered. They did an excellent job in pain management. She also of course was not shoved out the door. She was in for 10 days and by the time she came here, her pain was minimal, nothing an extra strength Tylenol couldn't take care of.
It reminded me once again how good the medical care here is in France. I've had a few experiences here with hospitals, from my pregnancies to the surgery Kevin had as a baby, the girls in neo-natal intensive care for 3 weeks and I have nothing but positive things to say. Sure there are always a few moments or instances that could have been better but overall, my experience has been excellent. I've read a little about the new Michael Moore Documentary "Sicko" and as one living over here I can definitely confirm all the positive remarks made about France's health care. It can't be beat really. They've got a great thing going here.
It's nice to have some down time as it were now that the kids are on summer vacation. I really had a hard time keeping up with the blog these last few months as it seemed like there was always something going on and I just didn't have the energy to write about it. For a while there, in June, I was online a lot looking up info on the school system in England. There's a family in the girls' preschool who is moving to England. The husband is being transferred there. So the mom was asking me if I knew much about it, at first she thought I was from England (common mistake)I offered to look stuff up online about the town they were moving to and then an English lady who actually lives here in town, gave me info on a website that has data on the different schools. So I was able to find out which schools were better in various towns. I spent quite a bit of time on it really and then wrote it all out to give it to the mom. Her English is basic, it's her husband who knows more English but it seems he's so busy with work, it's up to her to figure out a lot of the stuff. It'll be quite an adventure for her, as for the whole family, they have 3 kids ages 7 and under and are expecting their fourth! Delivering a baby in a foreign country! She's also not very used to looking up stuff online. She doesn't use the computer much and I tried to gently explain that it'd be good if she did because it'll come in handy.
Last but not least, before the year is out I'm sure we'll be getting a new computer. Our printer is busted, it lasted 7 yrs without a problem, so no complaints there. Luckily it broke down once I had finished teaching. I had used it a lot finding activities online for teaching english that I'd print out. And now, to get a new printer, we'd have to update our computer system since any new printer wouldn't be compatible with our "dinosaur" of a system we've had for the last 7 yrs. So might as well update everything at once. I still occasionally have the problem with the keyboard freezing up or not being able to type. That slowed down posting as well!
Finally, I'm writing out lists for our upcoming trip to Chicago. What to do list, what to buy list, who to visit list, where to go list, it goes on and on......
Can't wait to see Chicago in the summer! We're certainly not seeing summer in France right now! Unless of course you count that beautiful sight at the top of this post! :)

Pets

I knew it would happen eventually, it was just a matter of time......I want a dog! The kids are now getting a little older, we're finished with diapers, nap time, bottles....the list goes on and on.
The time has come when I could focus on something else. This would be why I've gone back to work, but there's something missing. I grew up with a dog, and I really want my children to have the same experience. Funny thing is they're not asking for one, I'm the one thinking about it. I find myself looking intently at every dog as I drive around town wondering if that would make the ideal family pet at our house. It's a huge decision and one I'm not going to rush into. For starters, I have to convince my husband! He loves dogs but whenever we talk about the possibility, he mentions all the negatives, and I'm there highlighting all the positive points.
I came across this quiz to determine one's ideal pet:

Your Ideal Pet is a Big Dog

You're both energetic, affectionate, and a bit goofy. And neither of you seem to mind very slobbery kisses!

What's Your Ideal Pet?

And no surprises, just as I expected, my ideal pet is a large dog. These are my favorites no doubt, be it a collie (my childhood pet) German shepard, golden retriever....
But I'm leaning towards a small to medium size dog, since space here in the house is limited.
As both my son and I are allergic to cats, they're out of the question, although a cat would make Laura very happy. No, I'm more of a dog person and as it states in the description, maybe just a little bit goofy for even thinking of a pet!
I'm secretly hoping we'll hear or read of a litter of pups that are up for adoption somewhere around here. There are several farms not too far away, they always have dogs right? I need it to be a "we can't pass this up" type of opportunity.

In the meantime I'll keep researching breeds online to see what would best suit our family. I'm also more inclined to get a mutt since purebreds can have so many health problems.
Well time will tell, for now it's just running around in my brain.
And it'll probably remain like that for quite awhile.

Finally someone defending France

Read this witty and funny article by Bill Maher to learn a little U.S. and French history and see why people shouldn't criticize France so much. I'm hoping this is indication that the tide has turned and maybe it won't be quite so popular to insult France.
Some of my favorites from his article:

"France just had an election, and people over there approach an election differently. They vote. Eighty-five percent turned out. The only thing 85% of Americans ever voted on was Sanjaya."

"The American ideas of individuality, religious tolerance and freedom of speech came directly out the French Enlightenment--but shhh, don't tell Alabama."

He suggests "taking what's best from the French." He lists several things that they do very well, their healthcare system being one of them. And it sort of touches upon something I've always thought: If I could just combine the best from both countries.....ah but that's not likely to happen.

Certainly every country has it's share of problems and France is no exception as he points out, but as he also mentions, maybe, just maybe the U.S. could learn a few things from "Old Europe."

Thanks to Jennifer for posting this article on her blog.....

The Quote of the week goes to....

Pascal asking "Who wants some cheese?" Laura screams as she comes running out of her room: "Yeah, cheese, stinky cheese!!" Hmm, not sure, did she want some cheese or not?

Gotta love it.

Yes, we definitely live in France.

Take me out to the ball game...

It's springtime and back home in Chicago that means one thing: Baseball! Unfortunately a baseball game on TV (or anywhere else for that matter!) was hard to come by here in France. Yes, I say was hard to come by because now that we have the channel NASN in France, American sports can be enjoyed every day and often live. Recently I was particularly excited to see NASN would be broadcasting the Cubs playing in Wrigley Field. It had been a long time since I'd seen a Cubs game and although some of you might be thinking that's actually a good thing, being a Cubs fan means even though they may be a lousy team, you still want to see them play, sad but true.
Well this little sporting event on TV here in my corner of the world was not meant to be. The game was snowed out! Not rained out, snowed out. Yes, only in Chicago mid April can a ball game get snowed out. I really thought my husband was joking when he said the game was cancelled. I was so looking forward to it. Oh well, I'll have to get my Chicago fix watching the Sox play which is coming up in a couple of days.
Growing up, the change of seasons was connected as much to sports as it was to the weather. Fall meant the start of football, college games on Saturdays, Sundays watching the Bears. Winter we had hockey and basketball and knowing the Cubs had started spring training meant warm weather was just around the corner (usually!). Summer was spent playing baseball outside on the street while trying to avoid hitting the parked cars. Each sport had its season and now having this sports channel here, I'm able to share the Amercan sports with my kids. Besides soccer and rugby with the occasional European b-ball or handball game, there's not much sports over here. American bball is pretty popular but baseball was no where to be seen until the final games of the World Series. Now, we've been able to watch the US football season, pro and college basketball complete with March Madness, and now the start of the baseball season. We've also watched a few hockey games. My kids really like watching sports and they're getting to know all these new ones. When we go to Chicago this summer, they'll actually understand what's going on in the baseball game. Gotta love that! Goooo Cubs!
Now I just need to teach them the words to the song.....

It's a Small World....

Our trip to Disneyland Paris (as it's now called; I seem to remember it used to be called Euro Disney..)
was a huge success. The kids had a blast, the weather was great, although a bit windy and chilly on Wednesday. Two days is the very minimum to see everything, at least everything you want to see. The most popular ride which they kept asking to go on was "It's a Small World". This worked out great since a.) it was just about my favorite too and b.) it had the least amount of wait time! The Fast Pass did help to organize your time and allow you to see as much as possible.
Kevin gets the award for asking the most times on the way there "are we there yet?" To be fair, the girls fell asleep on the way there so it went pretty fast for them. Although he had games and books, 2 1/2 hours in the car was still a long time to wait to see Buzz Lightyear.
The girls did great walking around the park only occasionally asking to be carried. We didn't rent strollers thinking it'd cause more problems then it'd solve and it turned out fine.
The kids discovered all beef hot dogs which they really liked at a baseball themed restaurant on Main street called Casey's Corner.
Kevin's favorite ride besides "It's a Small World" was The Buzz Lightyear ride where you have to shoot at anything with the letter Z and you accumulate points for every Z that you hit. He loved it! Colleen loved the flying elephants and Laura especially liked the tea cups or as she kept saying "crazy tea cups!"
The funniest part was at the end of the first day the kids thought we were going home and they really couldn't understand what we were talking about when we said we were staying the night at a hotel. Once they saw it and saw the beds, it's started to sink in. They had never stayed in a hotel before so this was yet another new experience.
The second day went just as smoothly with a little warmer weather. I haven't walked that much in a long time. It's amazing how much detail and care goes into every feature in the park. It's also amazing to see how much pleasure Disney brings not just to little ones but to adults as well. I loved watching the reactions of people while they were on the rides enjoying themselves. And as for the ride "It's a Small World", that could not have been more true as I heard at least five different languages being spoken while waiting in line.
It was an unforgettable experience and one I'm grateful to be able to give to my kids.

Click on any of the Flickr photos to see them all. I took a lot more than that but these pretty much sum up the two days.

And finally....HAPPY EASTER!!

A week (or two) in review

Well, so much for keeping this blog up to date, boy, time does fly! And I didn't even go anywhere. It's actually fitting that the post to follow my last one "spring has sprung" includes the mention that in fact we did see some snow. I knew it'd come back to haunt me when I said, "for the 1st time in my life I didn't see snow during winter" Well, it was just waiting for spring to arrive, silly me, why would I expect snow in winter?!? Yes, it snowed for one whole day, very tolerable. Unfortunately it was the wet soupy kind so snowballs were not easy to make. The kids' reaction that morning was of course priceless. As I opened the shutters in front, the girls yell "It's snowing", I continue opening shutters, now in the kitchen and dining room. The girls run over looking outside and say "it's snowing in the backyard too!!" This continued for some time as they noticed how it was snowing on the fence, the flowers etc..... Kevin was also excited but thought of a more practical use for it when he said, "Santa could have used this snow on Xmas eve". Yes how true that is. An aside, I've been wondering how many more Christmas's I have with him believing in Santa. He's certainly asking a lot more questions but seems to believe fully, I'm hoping I've got at least one more with all 3 of them believing. It'll be interesting to see how he'll be able to manage to keep that secret to himself and not tell his little sisters, but I digress........

What other exciting events happened?? Well, I went out to a St. Patrick's party which was in a village not too far from here. The community center was decorated as if it was a typical pub in Ireland and that included the no smoking! How wonderful to spend an evening out without the smoke killing my eyes and sinuses! (A no smoking law just went into effect in France the beginning of Feb) Delicious home made Irish Beef Stew was served and for entertainment there was a great band singing Irish/Scottish songs. They were amazing and had many in the crowd fooled into thinking they were in fact Irish but no, they're as French as the Eiffel Tower, they (just) do a fantastic job singing Celtic music. The main organizer of this annual event is an Irish woman who lives in the village. A fellow expat who really knows how to throw an fun Irish party!
On one of the walls was placed the following called "Irish Philosophy" I love it!


In life, there are only two things to worry about,
either you are well, or you are sick.
If you are well, there is nothing to worry about,
but if you are sick, you have two things to worry about;
either you will live, or you will die.
If you live, there is nothing to worry about, if you die, you have two things to worry about;
either you will go to heaven or to hell.
If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about,
but if you go to hell,
you'll be so busy shaking hands with your friends,
you won't have time to worry!


And here's yours truly, enjoying the festivities........

Another highlight during these last two weeks was an evening out to eat with my husband, alone.

A peaceful, enjoyable meal where I wasn't cutting up some one's food, it was heaven! Wow, I'm pretty sure this would be a record, two evenings out in one month. The times, they are a changin', thankfully!

Now of course all this wonderful karma would have to come to an end, and it did when we all got hit with some flu/viral thing which left us all coughing, aching, feverish, basically your classic NyQuil commercial. It's amazing how it passes from one right on down, in 2 day intervals, me being the last victim. I'm finally getting my voice back today. The kids were out the whole week of school.

We picked up Kevin's work when school got out this morning. At least he'll have spring break to catch up. It's vacation time here once again.

Which means it's T-4 days until we head to Disneyland. I'm pretty sure they'll have recovered from this latest illness in time to go. That's the only thing I kept thinking last week was at least this flu didn't hit the week we go to Disney. So far the weather is looking good for the two days we'll be there. Sunny and in the 60's. I can handle that! And in order to accurately record this trip, I finally found a new digital camera. I decided on a Canon Powershot and I'm really happy with it. A huge improvement over my old dig camera.

So now I'm off to start writing lists of what to bring and to do while we're at Disneyland. Yet another week that'll go by fast.

Spring has Sprung

These flowers you see here in our backyard have already been in bloom for more than a week. Nothing like some much needed warmth and sunshine to do the trick. Although it's true, winter decided not to show up this year, and the weather has definitely been mild, there's been a lot of rain and gloomy cold days. The kids are not used to it. (this bright, big orange ball in the sky) They walk around the house like Dracula with their arms over their eyes saying the sun it too bright. It's directly in the dining room in the morning so breakfast can be a little tricky as they try to find the perfect spot to eat where the sun is not in their eyes. They've asked for the awning to be put out or the shutters to be lowered but I refuse. We finally have some sun!! Another bonus to this is finally being able to go out in the backyard to play or eat their snack after school as they've done all this week. As there is no extra space here, at this time of year, I always feel like I gain another room in the house, yeah the one outside the house called the backyard!

In other exciting news,(ok yes sunny days are exciting here!) in a very last minute way, we've decided to go to Disneyland Paris over spring break. There was an offer with my husband's company for tickets to Disneyland plus hotel that truly was too good to pass up. There are several promotions going on right now as Disneyland Paris celebrates it's 15 year anniversary. Many of the offers are trying to attract customers during the low tourist season in spring. Well, it worked, we'll be there! Let's hope the weather cooperates! When I finished booking the reservations on the phone with Fabio (whose Italian accent was even stronger than my American one) I heard my husband tell the kids they were going to Disneyland and then the screaming and jumping up and down began. Even Fabio heard it and had to laugh. So for 2 days and one night, we'll be there, the Magical World of Disney. I've never been to the one in Paris so it'll be interesting to see how it compares. I'm sure it'll be great.

I'll be happy to take any suggestions, ideas (or "must do's") from anyone who is an expert at this kind of trip. One thing I'm sure of, I think a trip like this requires an update in the digital camera dept. Ours is a nice beginner model but we've outgrown it. For starters, there's not even enough memory for all the pictures I'm sure to be taking. Time to kick it up a notch, kids are only little once.

In other travel news, we booked our trip to Chicago in August. This will be a change, since we've been going in the fall when school wasn't an issue. Now as Kevin is in 1st grade, we don't have the option to go during the school year. I've already got a list going of all the must see/must do stuff for this summer trip. Top on the list would be a baseball game...Cubs of course! Although getting tickets might not be the easiest thing. Gotta start looking into that actually. And then there are the museums, they all love dinosaurs, the zoo, the lakefront. It'll be wonderful to get back, visit with family and friends and see Chicago in the summer.

This weekend is Carnaval here in town, and Kevin's grade school is coordinating the parade. They'll be dressing up as Knights. Weather looks like it'll be decent so it should be a fun afternoon.

And finally, is it a coincidence that just as I start a blog, my keyboard decides to get all goofy and will out of nowhere stop functioning? I can be in the middle of an email, post, whatever typing away and then in the next instant, poof! the keyboard won't work. I had this post almost finished yesterday when it happened. The only thing that works is to restart the computer. Well I was too tired and just turned off the computer instead. This never happened before. Jeez, nice way to give me a complex! I'm thinking as my computer is about as old as a dinosaur, a change is needed in that department as well, but that'll have to wait.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!!

International Women's Day

To women everywhere, "Happy International Women's Day!" Didn't know such a day existed? (Ok, maybe it's just me that wasn't up on this international celebration of women) Well, apparently March 8th is the day to celebrate women's accomplishments around the globe.
Read this to learn more. It was front page news here in our local paper, but unfortunately it has not yet been adopted as a legal holiday or jour ferié, (as they say here) but there is always hope! :)

In honor of this day dedicated to women everywhere, here's a little quiz to find out what European city you belong in. (Alright, I'm not sure if this quiz really honors women but it has an international theme and was fun to take!) I belong in Dublin, the description of which is shown below. It's a very accurate description of me but as for going wild on a pub crawl.....well?? maybe in my younger days and even then, I'm not so sure! (Lynn, you remember those days, was I wild??) Of course a pub crawl sounds a lot better these days now that they're smoke free in Dublin. We'll have to wait until 2008 for the bars here in France to be smoke free. I would say the bike ride is a little more my speed.

I've never been to Dublin but would love to go one day. Go ahead, take the quiz to see where you belong!

And finally to all the great women in history who struggled to make our lives easier today, MERCI BEAUCOUP!! As the saying goes......"You've come a long way baby"

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Dreams do come true!

Five years ago this evening I found out I was having twins. It's a moment in time I'll never forget. I'll never forget the look on my husband's face as the doctor said, not even 20 seconds into the ultrasound, "I think I see two" I thought my husband's eyes would pop out. It was priceless! He was standing behind the doctor and so had a perfect view of the monitor. When he tells this story he likes to say he actually saw the two blinking dots (the babies' hearts) before the doctor said anything and said to himself, "I must be seeing double or else we're having twins". My reaction to this announcement was "No, that's not true!" Then I proceeded to pick up my head and turn slightly since the monitor was behind me and sure enough there were two beating hearts. It was an amazing sight to see to say the least. And then as I laid my head down again, I remember thinking, "I knew it". I was completely shocked and surprised and at the same time I was not surprised. It was a strange feeling. In fact two weeks prior to my appointment I had had a dream that I was having twins.
I immediately dismissed it since there was no reason to believe that. No twins in our families, no other reason to give me such an idea, I had never thought of having twins or wished it. On the way to the appt. I remember joking in the car saying to my husband, "don't forget I had a dream it was twins" To which he replied, "yeah let's just keep it that way". But I really didn't believe it until I saw the proof on the screen. The doc also said during the first ultrasound that he was almost sure it was identical twins even though it was still very early. That was confirmed at the second ultrasound when he was able to see for sure that in fact there was only one placenta.
The rest of the evening we were in a sort of fog, a state of shock. I was half laughing, or half a nervous wreck thinking about it. As we drove home in our car we realized we would need a bigger one, 3 car seats would not fit in the back seat. (big bro Kevin was 18mos old at the time)
The first person we told was Grandma who was at our house babysitting. It was so funny to see her reaction, she kept saying "really?" and then looking at my stomach. I wasn't showing yet and I guess she wanted some tangible proof which wasn't there. She must have looked at my tummy 20 times. Then began the phone calls to my family. There was much excitement and some speechless moments, they were so stunned. The rest of the evening was spent with my mind racing. I'm not sure how many times I found myself misplacing something because I was so spacey. I remember putting a box of crackers in the fridge and I caught myself putting the milk on the shelf in the kitchen cabinet.
Another classic reaction was Pascal's friend Claude who upon hearing the news collapsed onto the couch in a fit of laughter. He couldn't stop laughing! We were over visiting to see their newborn baby girl. She's their 3rd child and I'm sure he was loving the fact that his best friend would soon be in the same spot!
And when we went over to see Laura's future godmother, as we walked in she said to us: "how are the 3 of you doing?" Pascal immediately answered, "you mean the 5 of us" and she came back right away with "twins?". I was impressed she figured it out so quickly, since she didn't even know I was pregnant.
It was the beginning of a new, amazing adventure. I had a lot of moments of wondering if we'd be able to handle it, how we would manage but it has (besides the double crying) truly been a dream come true! Some of the best things in life are of the unexpected variety.

In the picture above, the girls are holding dolls they received as gifts. I love these dolls because they are the exact same size the girls were when they were born. (7 weeks early) I discovered this completely by accident. One day while holding one of the dolls I put my hand on it's head and realized it was the same size as the babies' heads when they were newborn. To make sure I wasn't imagining this I actually took a tape measure and measured the head and then the length of the doll and sure enough the measurements matched perfectly with the girls at birth. They were so tiny!!

We've come along way in five years!

But I digress..

Random thoughts that have been wandering around in my brain lately: Why can't they (they being the powers that be) keep the American shows here in English or at least have the option to switch the program to VO like they do with many of the movie channels? Now of course the obvious answer to this would be "duh you're in France, hello!!!" Of course I know it needs to be in french but really they could give one the option couldn't they? Case in point....I'm watching the E! channel here the other night during one of our long bouts of stomach flu and they're replaying the Oscars. I'm listening to the french broadcasters translate their American counterparts while at the same time I'm able to hear just enough of the English. Result? My brain is so confused, I don't understand anything! It's like there's a battle going on inside my brain: "listen to the English, non listen to the french!, no no, listen to the English!" I finally give up and don't really hear anything and just look at the stars and gowns etc. It's just I'd really like to hear the stars speak in their native language! I know on the E! channel sometimes there are some shows that are only in English, I think "Fashion Police" is one. I don't really watch it too much so I can't say for sure. Just seems to me as a matter of principle, when it comes to the Oscars, one should be able to watch it in English.

I've come to believe the cartoons are in fact educational! Really! OK for language purposes only. We have the Carton Network and the kids love watching Looney Tunes. They're usually (unlike the Oscars!) in English so my kids can hear English on TV and learn some common expressions that they otherwise might not hear. And it's more than "What's up Doc?"
There's also Scooby Doo which my son really likes. I often wonder if french kids here would sit through a cartoon without understanding what's going on since it's in a foreign language? Scooby Doo especially since there is so much talking.
I don't think my kids would do it if they didn't understand. I'm also happy to watch them once in awhile. They're timeless classics!

We were watching a soccer game last night between Lyon and St. Etienne. As is fairly common here during soccer games the fans can become quite rowdy and really can add a whole other dimension to what should just be just a fun time. Well last night's game was no exception. Fans (or a fan) starting lobbing tear gas at the opposing team's fan area. It was thrown over to one area, where it was lobbed back. The wind took the gas out into the field where the players immediately started running off, covering the faces with their jerseys. There was at least a 15 minute delay in the game. It was amazing to watch. I was stunned! I kept saying "tear gas? WTH? Tear gas?!? Who are the lunatics who think it would be fun to throw tear gas around at a soccer game? First of all how are they able to get into the stadium with this stuff? Then I couldn't believe they wouldn't suspend the game right there and then and have the home team take a loss. Granted it's not the players' fault but that's probably the only thing that might make a difference. I guess an investigation is underway and they've found at least one person who was involved. Big deal. Maybe some fines for the home team? What difference will that make? I really have no desire to go see a match anytime soon. On a normal day, it's usually just bond fires roaring in the designated fan area. No one even takes notice although it's not authorized. Is there anyone watching the game while all of this is going on? Unbelievable!

Mount Vesuvius update....we're currently at 3 out of 5 (and I'm not talking about dentists who recommend....) no 3 who have been hit by the dreaded stomach flu here. Colleen and I are the last to remain standing. But for how long? Who is next? It's not a question of if but when.
Its been a long, sleepless 5 days here....

Back on Track....Sort of

After our 2 week winter break, we have found our normal routine of school and work chez nous. And for a change this winter break actually felt like a vacation. No one was sick which has been the norm the last few Februaries and we were able to get out, explore and do some things. Returning to first grade and preschool, the kids were happy to see their friends. All of these positive vibes came to a screeching halt last night when Laura became sick with some kind of stomach bug. Luckily for us, this is something we don't have much experience in. Fevers, ear aches, colds, runny noses, sore throats, those I know just how to treat. But this sort of illness is quite rare at our house. Fortunately, after a few rough hours of being sick and a long night of tossing and turning, she is doing much better; able to keep down some toast and drinking lots of water. She is now just tired and sleeping quite a bit.
This morning, as Laura had a short burst of energy and was singing, maman and papa were wiped out. It never fails to amaze me how they bounce back and the adults are the ones left looking like they had been sick.
Laura's last meal before turning into Mount Vesuvius, was one of fish and rice.
Upon seeing the rice once again a few hours later, she asked me somewhat panicked, "are those my teeth?" I quickly reassured her that was not the case and explained how her tummy was sick and was "throwing out" everything she'd eaten in order to make it better. She seemed to think this was logical and she was not worried after that. She was quite the trooper during it all, taking it all in stride while saying to me "sometimes people get sick mom and the tummy gets angry and throws everything out"
So the million dollar question now being....who is next??? It's bound to continue and make the rounds right? Well, time will tell, for the moment all is calm here and I'm sincerely hoping it stays that way!
Here's hoping no one else has an angry tummy any time soon!

Trip to Nancy

Earlier this week, we took the kids to the city of Nancy where they have a really nice park. Not only was the wonderful walk through the town and park an event for us (ie no need to stop for potty breaks) but the train ride there was quite the adventure for them. The last time they were on a train, Kevin was 3 and the girls 1 and we went to Strasbourg for the girls' passports. Kevin does remember that trip but it's been awhile so they were all really excited to get on board. It's about an hour train ride, and although I had brought things for them to play with in case of boredom, it wasn't necessary. They spent the time looking all around the cabin or looking outside. The time flew by. While on the train, the girls noticed a sign with a sleeping telephone and this provided them with endless laughs. It was quite amusing. They kept inventing stories about why the telephone was sleeping, and with each one, they'd laugh even harder. (one of my favorites, "mr. telephone, you really should wake up before you miss your stop") If anyone near us was really trying to sleep, I'm sure they didn't have much success! Just before arriving in Nancy they noticed a little further down in the next cabin another telephone sign but this one was awake. Again, endless giggles when they discovered it. I was pretty sure of what these signs meant but I decided to ask the ticket person. She explained to me that the "sleeping telephone" means cell phones should be turned off and the "awake phone" sign meant it was an area designated for cell phone use. Areas are no longer segregated by "smoking / no smoking" now it's "phoning, no phoning". That's progress for you! During the girls' endless fascination with the cell phone signs, my son and husband were enjoying the view from their window. Things were a little calmer on their side of the aisle.

The remainder of the day was spent walking around the town and playing in the park.

An enjoyable day was had by all.

Snowless in France

Having grown up in Chicago, the fact that I have not seen any snow yet this winter is certainly something to write about, possibly shout about and maybe jump up and down about. I'm sure this is the first time in my life I have not seen snow in at least one of the winter months. Since living in France, snowfall here has been quite different from what I was used to. Actually it was a nice change,3-5 of inches would fall; pretty, white, fluffy snow covering the landscape and then it would melt just as you were starting to get sick of it. I arrived here in December 1999 and after maybe just a few weeks, as my husband was getting ready to leave for work, it started snowing really hard, so thick you couldn't see five feet in front of you. I'm thinking, this is going to be a big one, at least 8-10 inches. He was going to drive to work, I convince him it's better to walk, might not be able to get the car out at the end of the day right? Thanks to me, he dresses as if he's going on a 3 day hike into a blizzard. He goes on his way, it continues to snow for about an hour, there's maybe 3 inches on the ground, the sun comes out and most of it is melted by the time he comes home. He had tried to convince me that it probably wouldn't amount to much but I was sure he was wrong. Well, I had never seen anything like it. When I see snow coming down like that, the brain goes into battle mode. Ready to fight the elements. I guess those days are over, over here anyway. This apparently is not the norm for this north eastern region of France though. Sounds like, several years ago, they had winters similar to Chicago; lots of snow, cold temps that lasted well into March or April. That has all changed. Guess there is something to global warming. Chicago winters have also been much more mild recently, except of course this current winter where they have been hit with record cold and snowfall in February. Sorry Chicago, but I do feel your pain!

The only problem with this wonderful change in climate is that I miss the snow! Really, I do. Ok, not the frigid temperatures or the mountains of snow piled up all around, but those few inches that blanket everything we see, turning our ordinary everyday scenes into a winter wonderland, that I miss. And I had assured the kids that during their winter break, we would most definitely be out playing in the snow at some point, building snowmen, but no it was not to be. Winter break here is almost finished and there is no snow in sight. Sometimes they'll look out the window watching the rain asking "when is it going to snow?" I've started saying to them, "see the rain there?, well that is snow, just melted!" Desperate times call for desperate measures....

They'll need to use those wonderful imaginations of theirs if they want to see some snow this year!

In A World of Their Own

Even when activities are not planned everyday, my son Kevin and his twin sisters find plenty to do at home with their own vivid, active imaginations. At the moment, my son is obsessed with knights, staging chateau attacks and setting up barriers. If I had a euro for every time I've heard "à l'attaque" this past week..... As for the girls, they're the three little pigs, minus one which doesn't seem to bother them. I think their brother is the wolf, which works out well when he's saying "à l'attaque" so often. I slight change from the "Then I'll huff and I'll puff" version but it works.
Conversation overheard this evening between the girls "Qu'est-ce que tu fais mon petit cochon copain?" reply: "eh ben, je contruis ma maison, mon cochon copain" "what are you doing my little pig friend?" " well, I'm building my house my pig friend"
And when it's like this, there's no chance of stepping into their magical world, I'm on the outside looking in, in amazement.

Splash!

In my continuing effort to keep the kids busy while they're on winter break here, we took a trip to the town of Amneville http://www.amneville.com/index.aspx about 40 minutes from here for an afternoon of swimming (indoor of course). As part of the education program, the children get swimming lessons starting in preschool and continuing through grade school. My girls will be starting their first swimming lessons in April, my son just finished 16 weeks of swimming lessons in January. I think it's great that it's incorporated into the physical ed. program. But it does seem to vary depending on the town you live in. Friends of ours who live in the town right next door, literally 5 minutes away, have kids the same age and they do not have swimming lessons offered. My children really enjoy playing in the water but I would not call them natural swimmers. They're very hesitant about putting their face in the water for example, so it's been a slow process, especially for my son who has been getting lessons for a few years now. There's been definite if not slow progress. If they learn to swim and feel comfortable in the water I'll be satisfied.
When the kids go with school they get on a bus and go to a pool about 30 minutes from here, for the moment our town doesn't have a pool, actually they did but it was too old and was closed for years. But fortunately for us a brand new one is being built here in town and should be open by the end of the year. I can't wait, it'll be great to have one so close. We went to Amneville because it's nicer with a choice of 3 pools: there is an Olympic sized one, medium size and then a baby pool. There are also two slides that Kevin loves to go on.
It was a great afternoon, we took a friend of Kevin's with so basically 2 sets of twins! Papa stayed with the boys, me with the girls. As I chased the girls around in the pool pretending to be a shark, I wonder if anyone else knew what I was doing when I was saying "dun dun, dun dun..."
(Think "Jaws" music) I'm not sure they know that movie over here. The girls loved it.
It also provided an opportunity to prepare them for their "piscine"* days. They are really looking forward to it.
The best part of an afternoon like this is that they sleep like logs! In bed by 8-8:15pm and sleeping until 7:30am!! That's unheard of in our house. Usually they're up by 6:30am at the latest. So it really is feeling like a vacation even for maman and papa!

*pool

MIA Dou Dou

I've been able to convince my girls that they need to keep their favorite stuffed toy (otherwise known here as "dou dou") in their beds. They absolutely have to have them when they go to bed and we've spent many an evening searching for one or both of them after losing it sometime during the day. We were coasting along fine for months and I was no longer even thinking about it when it happened. Dou dou as my daughter Colleen calls hers, was missing. She climbed into bed, looked under her pillow and he was not there. We searched under the covers, under the bed, all around the bedroom, all the while she's frantically crying out "dou dou!". Thus began a search and rescue mission mostly by papa and me. But to no avail. Absolutely could not find it. We had been out during the day but I was certain she had not brought it with so I knew it was somewhere in the house, it was just too late at that point to continue looking for it. Luckily for us, Colleen does have others and one in particular named "boo" which she especially liked when she was teething, she just recently rediscovered. I explained to her just a few days before that as a baby she had it with her all the time and that is why he's missing a leg. She chewed it off. She looked very sad at that point and was afraid she had hurt him but I reassured her that boo was happy she had chosen him for teething when she was a baby. So I told her she could sleep with boo and that the next day we would certainly find dou dou. She agreed, no doubt in large part because she was so tired and just wanted to sleep. I felt like I had won a major victory. I was really worried she was going to fight to find him there and then. Aaah relief!
The next morning, I was searching first thing, at this point she didn't seem that concerned. I'm thinking I was more worried than she was. After looking through a toy box full of stuffed toys, we were starting to go through again and my husband picked up a clown hat and found him inside, nicely hidden from sight!
Needless to say dou dou has not moved from her bed since. Sometimes all the drama and tears are worth it for the lesson learned; even at the age of 4.

Carnaval a little early and Happy Valentine's Day!

What to do on (yet again) a rainy day? Dress up of course. Kevin was thrilled to get his cowboy set, actually he's a sheriff complete with hat with a star on it, his sheriff's badge, gun, holster and extra bullets. Such a classic boy look and I couldn't resist getting it for him although I really don't like the gun aspect to it. He assures me he's protecting the town and won't hurt anyone.

When I saw my daughter the other day using a chicken thigh from her fake food set as a gun I couldn't help but laugh. They will find ways to invent their own toys.

As for the girls, we had Winnie the Pooh and a roll of Lifesavers running around chasing the Sheriff. Or Winnie chasing the roll of Lifesavers saying "yum, yum, I like candy, I'm going to eat you up!" They obviously can't wait for Carnival which is not for another month here in town, and thought they should practice with their costumes on. It's basically Halloween part deux in our house. Except Kevin was a Knight this past Halloween and the girls were Winnie and princess Cinderella.

As for Valentine's day here in France, it's certainly not the Hallmark event it is in the U.S. although the florists do try their best to sell their flowers. Heart shaped cookies and candy were very appreciated by my little ones. The girls really love hearts so this is their day! Lots of coloring going on with a Valentine theme.

As my husband is off we're planning to watch a movie this evening, relax and enjoy eachother's company. That's a perfect Valentine's evening to me!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! As they say here.....GROS BISOUS!

Keeping busy

Well, the weekend flew by somehow as it always does, even in this dreary wet weather we're having. Time to pull out the cookie recipes and bake some sugar cut-out cookies with the kids. Elephant, heart and bear shapes were the favorites here. As winter vacation has begun with no snow in sight unfortunately, we'll be trying to stay occupied with trips to the pool (indoor of course) also a play area called Tom et Co located in Metz which the kids really love and if the weather improves, hopefully some outdoor activities. Good thing Santa brought so many games this year. There's always time for another round of Margot L'Escargot or Pretty Pretty Princess.

Of course my other means of staying busy is my new blog. As I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to blogs, I've been learning a lot just trying to set it up and add some "decorations". I've only just begun but it's a start. Doesn't look too bad anyway.

My son who is in 1st grade (or CP here) has homework during the break. He needs to read in his book that they keep at school but allow the kids to take home during vacations. He enjoys reading and it's fascinating to watch as he learns to read and the world of books opens up to him.
The girls being twins never get bored. They keep each other amused and are non-stop all day. It's true what they say that once you reach a certain point, twins can be a lot easier since there is a built-in playmate. That time has arrived at our house and it's wonderful to see!
May this week be filled with fun activities and occupied happy children. 'Cause as we all know, when they're happy, the parents are happy!

here I go!

I've finally decided to start my own blog. This in large part is due to all those expats living in France whose blogs I've been reading for some time now. They've been a source of inspiration to me as I continue to find my way here after seven years of living in France. It's an amazing network/community of sorts to which I hope to add some new experiences/insights. It's also a great way for my family and friends to keep up to date on our daily lives. And finally it just seems like fun!

The title of my blog pretty much sums up my adventure. I was born and raised in Chicago. I met my husband through a mutual friend and the rest as they say is history. One year later we were married, and I moved to a small town in north eastern France. Big change to say the least. Our son was born less than a year after our wedding followed by twin girls two years after our son. (If you're keeping track, by our 3rd wedding anniversary we had 3 children!) Yes I'm proud to say I've contributed to France's new found status as the most fertile country in Europe passing Ireland this year with an average of 2 children per woman.

Now as my children are a little older (6 1/2 and 4 1/2 yrs old) I find I've got a little (just a little) time on my hands and blogs, specifically expat blogs, quickly caught my attention as I surfed the net.

Currently the big event here is winter vacation which will begin after school lets out on Friday Feb. 9Th. Many people I know will be taking trips to go skiing, but as we plan to take a trip back to Chicago this summer (after almost two years since our last visit) we'll be staying put and trying to keep the kids occupied. Not the easiest thing to do when it's cold and rainy nearly every day here.

When I'm not busy with the kids I'm working part-time teaching English. What else for an English speaking expat in France? Actually this is not too much of a stretch for me since my career in Chicago was in education, specifically teaching french! So I've just flip flopped but it's got a lot of challenges even if it is my native language. I've been a language assistant once, when my son was a baby, took time off when the girls were born and just this past fall started teaching English in the grade schools in my area. Definitely been an interesting experience. But I've always liked a challenge. One thing that's great is in general the kids do want to learn the language. I'm sure I'll be posting about that more as time goes on.
I'd love to get others input about their own experiences teaching English in France since it is such a common path for the expat living here.