Digging deep

Can we stay!? Can we stay!?  Beautiful day in Barcelona!

What's that I hear?  Nothing!  Silence!  Luke has returned to school and Theo is at Halte Garderie.  Calm and order are back, at least for a few hours.  We had an extra lazy, lounging around, Wii playing, pajama wearing school vacation.  It was a nice break but the unwashed dishes and unvacuumed floors were screaming for some attention too.  The cleaning lady returned and she seems almost relieved and content to be back to the routine.  That lady being moi.

It has been a while since I have posted.  I wrote a post last week entitled "the day that blew up in my face."  It was a juicy one, and involved a meltdown and poo in unrelated incidents.  I decided to let it be because I don't want this blog to be consumed with negative experiences because Paris is just different than home.  And that makes life harder.

During our first month or so after arriving in October of 2010, it was all new and exciting.  While Alex worked I took the kids to every monument and park I could manage.  Luke's bike has been to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe!  Then slowly the creek of magical Paris experiences started to run dry.  The romantic Paris I had envisioned was replaced by the reality of living in a small space staying at home with two young children.  And I feeling very GUILTY for complaining about living in Paris!!

This is why we don't have any family photos.  And I look like a hot mess.

So...although I want to keep it real and talk about living as an American mom in Paris, I have to have a positive outlook.  Life is not what happens to you, it's about what you DO with what happens to you.

I never understood the fried egg gummy.

The hubs is away on business for the week in Milan and Madrid.  I'm happy to say he has fallen head over heals for Italy and their culture.  A trip to Rome is in our near future.  It's hands down my favorite European city.

Can you find the parrot?  Parrots in Barcelona make me happy.  Although they would probably drive me crazy if I lived there.

My favorite part of the Barcelona soccer stadium tour, the tunnel the players take out onto the field.

I'll end on a funny yet disturbing anecdote from last night.  The kids and I are hanging out playing when Theo picks up a marker and very elegantly pretends to smoke it like a cigarette.  He puts the marker to his lips and then pretends to blow smoke out with his tiny pursed lips.  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!?  File this one under, "you know you live in Paris when..."


A la prochaine!!

Holy vacation Batman!

Little slice of heaven, Parc Galliera

Sometimes I think because I know the general gist of things, I don't worry about the actual details.  Case in point, Luke's vacances de Fevrier.  I knew the boy had a vacation but he doesn't go back until MARCH 6th.  That's two full weeks and a Monday.  Now we are sitting here drooling and staring at each other until I let him play the Wii or Words with Friends, his favorite activity.  We talk about words and how to score the most points.  As we are around town he spots signs and we discuss their potential point value.  He plays random opponents some of whom ask why he is playing such small words.  He wrote to a random opponent the other day that he loved them, it was Valentine's Day after all.  We had a chat after that incident.

Dance

Dance

Dance

So now I'm scrambling a bit to find activities to occupy our days.  Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can go to the park.  Parc Galliera right behind the Musee de la Mode is my favorite park in walking distance.  Never crowded, beautiful architecture, flowers, and landscaping, on Wednesdays the Marche is right door.  The aquarium is also close by, we went a few times about a year ago.  There are some really big tanks with sharks and exotic fish, and a touch pool that became the drench pool for Theo.  My only issue is that they want 20 euros for an adult.  Let me hear you say,  Rip Off!

Finding an escargot at Parc Galliera

We leave on Thursday for a long weekend in Barcelona, yipee!  Jordan at Ohhappyday.com who is also an American living in Paris just wrote about planning her trip with kids to Barcelona and I feel like I hit the jackpot with all the great ideas her readers mentioned.  The hubs is most excited about going to visit the soccer stadium.  We have been watching some good BCN matches and I know the boys will love it.  I am excited to see the beautiful architecture, the beach, and the tapas!  Warmer weather here we come!

My two centimes on French parenting

Luke, just a wee baby.

There is a new book that recently came out about French parenting by Pamela Druckerman called Bringing up Bebe.  She is an American mom living in Paris, to the best of my knowledge.  I have only read excerpts of the book in various articles and do not know the author personally.

To claim that French parenting is superior to American parenting is bound to ignite defensive attitudes.   My experience with French moms interacting with their enfants and seeing what goes on in a French household is limited to playgrounds and a few French families we have spent time with.

In general, I think that American and French parents are very similar: we love our children and want the very best for them.  When I do the school run with Luke in the mornings, the other parents are usually calm and chatting pleasantly with their children.  I feel very connected with French parents at these times.  The children are dressed very nicely, no sweat pants or sneakers, hair coiffed.  Also the school has a dress code once they are in 1st grade.  That is just a Paris thing, not a reflection on parenting I guess :-)

First week in Paris!

Most French moms work, this is encouraged and there is a lot of pressure to go back within a few months after baby's arrival.  Judging from the number of nannies at the playground and at school pick up, this is verified!  One time I was standing on a metro platform with Theo in the stroller when some guy said to me, "Babies are great, but women should really go to work."  I was speechless!  And I missed my opportunity for a smart comeback!  Of course, not all moms have a choice of going back to work or staying home and I am not sure how that comes into play here in Paris.  Women are also not encouraged by their doctors (*generalization*) to breastfeed for the recommended first year.  The sooner you can return your body to pre-pregnancy shape for the benefit of you and your, ahem, husband, the better.  Can you imagine your doctor telling you to stop breastfeeding?!

French parents show less public affection to their children.  I am always huggin' and kissin' my boys whenever they'll let me.  I shout out "Love you!" every morning at school drop-off.  This will surely be major embarrassment territory one day so I appreciate every chance I have to do it.  This is just not demonstrated by French parents, this type of affection.  Perhaps they are just more subtle about it.  They speak so softly and quietly in conversation, whereas Americans ARE LOUD!  I'm still a loud American.

Snack time happens one time a day, around 4pm.  This is the one time sugar and candy is flowing like Old Faithful shooting sugar straight out of the frickin' ground.  It is not uncommon to see lollipops, gummies, and whole chocolate bars given as gouter.  I love this part of French culture (not the sugar candy part, the once a day part).  When Luke and Theo start whining about being hungry, they know the routine and understand snacking is not an all day affair.

French children are so polite!  I eat. it. up. whenever a young boy or girl says, "Bonjour madame."  That's all.  And they always say it.  Still working on this with Luke...

Are French children better behaved than American children?  Yes.  Does that mean French parenting is superior to American parenting?  Not necessarily.  We could learn a lot from their parenting style, same as they could learn from us.  Would I love it if Luke and Theo were as well mannered and polite as their French counterparts?  Yes!  But part of me thinks that this wildness they possess is good for their independence and creativity.  I don't want their toys and games taking over our apartment and them running around doing as they please, but I am grateful and proud to make them the focus of my attention, sometimes (NOT all the time) taking precedence over "adult time" and "grown-ups always come first."

Phew, I'll stop now.  Miss Druckerman has taken on a touchy subject, I feel a little nervous posting my opinions on this matter!  I hope I wasn't too harsh on the Frenchies or Americans!  What do I know!

All by myself...

This is not an unusual sight in Paris.

...with Luke and Theo of course!  The hubs is in Canada working for the week and the bags under my eyes are not getting any smaller.  Other than the lack of sleep from Theo getting up every night, the boys have been on their best behavior.   Dinners have been pleasant.  The other night they both finished their plates without having to be reminded and prodded to keep eating.  I thought I was having an out of body experience.  It has been that long since we have had a drama free dinner!

It has been very cold in Paris this week!  I actually like it!  It reminds me of Vermont and I get to break out my extra warm North Face jacket.  A lot of women, especially old ladies, wear fur in the winter.  I saw a lady who looked like she had an actual animal on her head the hat was so huge!  Although I'm not a fur fan, it is the warmest thing out there fur sure, ha ha ha.

The hubs doesn't get back until Tuesday.  He cleverly planned his trip through Superbowl weekend.  I'm a tad jealous that he will be drinking delicious beer and eating yummy wings watching the best sporting event of the year.  As long as he brings back more peanut butter, it's all good!  Now I am going to sleep!

A chateau and a prostitute

Do not go too far, my boys.  

This past weekend we visited Fontainbleau and for those of you who have not been, it does not disappoint.  Room after room of tapestries, gold leaf, embroidered fabrics, and beautifully painted walls and ceilings.  It's like the Renaissance puked over the whole place.  Over the top.

Chateau "cheese!"

I can only imagine what it must have been like to live there!  There are also 130 acres of gardens and woods.  It was cold and windy when we went but still nice to get out of Paris and stretch the ol' legs.

The throne looks kind of small. 

That's the ceiling, um over the top much?

As we started our drive back, the hubs and I both noticed at a pullover spot about 5 minutes away from the chateau, a women get out of a car do a little dance (it must have been the "I just got paid, ya ya! dance) and the driver pull away leaving her there.  Hmm, this is strange.  Then we noticed a few more women chillin' at these pullover spots.  Of course I didn't get a picture! The hubs asked his colleague at work as he always does when we need Frenchy info.  He confirmed that they were prostitutes and that in most wooded areas like the Bois de Boulogne for example it was common knowledge that is where you could locate the "working women"  or men?  They are not allowed to solicit people, but they are allowed to sit on the side of the road, and if someone happens to stop... Don't you feel more informed now?  I sure do.

That's the LIBRARY = HEAVEN

That's a shoe rack and yet another use for duct take.

Marbles = Billes en francais

I am home with both Luke and Theo today.  Luke chipped his tooth, he says from eating a carrot but this is not confirmed.  His school has a very strict policy with taking him out for doctors' appointments.  Basically if you take him out, he can't come back.  So I figured it would be easier to just keep him at home.

I had been hoarding paper towel tubes because honestly you never know when you are going to need a extra cardboard tube, am I right?  Today was that day!  It occupied them for at least an hour!

An earful of wishes and who needs some Vitamin D

Can we fast forward through January, please?

It took me a week or so to realize that the standard, "Happy New Year!" does just not cut it here.  It goes something like this: "Happy New Year, best wishes, good health, I hope you receive lots of money, best to your children (re-inhale), best wishes to your great aunt Fifi, may you win the lottery, stay young and love life.  The first few times I entered into conversation with a good ol' Bonne Annee I was not expecting the long list of well wishing and was in transit, probably running late to pick up Luke from school.  I tried to politely cut it short.  Once I clued into the tradition I allowed an extra ten minutes for the inevitable run-in with the gardienne or neighbors.  That only lasted a week or so, I'll have to remember that for next year.

Unfortunately blogging has taken a back seat while I try to accomplish all the "foreigner living in France" paperwork fun that I have put off.  I've made progress but still have to renew my titre de sejour in the next few weeks.  I have procrastinated the most with that because it requires me to have the highest level of interaction in French.  Really procrastinating.  I polished my shoes the other day after organizing my socks if that's any indication.

Feeling a little bummed out lately, not gonna lie.  This city is cold, gray, and rainy, and there is still a sh*t load of dog sh*t on the streets and this really bothers me.  I really miss nature.  I booked us a trip to Barcelona in February.  That will be a nice break.

Since we have returned from Christmas, our main living space pictured on the left has been transformed into Theo's train den, and when you approach, you best be ready to play!  He's very demanding!  I always get to be James, the red train.  Red and pink are MY colors.  Every time we walk to Luke's ecole there is a pink scooter parked on the street and Theo will stop every time like he's never seen it and claim it as "mommy's scooter."  Such a thoughtful little guy :-)

Cut it SHORT

I actually love this workout.  It kicks my behind.

In light of recent events, i.e. Luke's new do, I am managing my expectations of my New Year's Resolutions.  No more lofty goals such as exercise five times a week, no no.  I'm thinking more like, shower, breath, eat...I feel better already!  Awhile ago I heard that the people of Denmark were the happiest in part because they did not have high expectations.  For now I'm running with it.  "Hey, I didn't step in dog crap today!  This is the best day ever!"

Look at that s.e.g.

The boy cut his hair.  SHORT.  Another nap time incident.  The hubs had been cutting some tags off some new clothes and left the scissors on the night table, innocent enough.  About ten minutes into nap time, Luke appears magically at the door to show off his new coif.  Oh la la la la!  He complained of his bangs (he doesn't have any) bothering him and took matters into his own hands.  He looked like one of those Asian warriors with the front of his head shaved, or Britney Spears when she went loco and shaved her head.

He went to school as is, I thought maybe that would put the nail in the coffin to him ever trying to do it again.  Wrong.  He thrived off the attention and thinks it was a great idea.  The hair stylist did a great job cutting his hair short but not buzzing it all off.

That lady behind him doesn't think it's funny.

Oh yea, I didn't mention that the day prior to this he cracked his head open and oblivious walked around leaving a trail of blood and a nice size gash in his head.  I rushed him to the pharmacy, someone told me they are kind of like doctors here so I use them as a starting point for consultations.  We dodged the stitches bullet this time.

Looking forward to an uneventful weekend!

Hey I finished a blog post!  This is the best day ever!