Fever broke!

Michael's fever broke early this morning so I don't have to worry about medication and whether or not a doctor will be open on Friday, January 2nd!

We're all thankfully feeling a bit better but it was nasty along the way! And I think we watched every animated movie and Baby Einstein 30 times each.

Love,
P

Vacation is OVER

We are all sick. Brian and I have been sick sick sick since Sunday but are slowly (very slowly) getting better.

However, Michael's got it too, poor thing. And it's awful! He's got 104 fever and we're giving him fever medication every 6 hours. And every time he coughs, he cries for a while because it hurts. We know exactly how he feels because we felt this way on Sunday.

Oh well, there goes our wonderful plans for the week. I was going to go to a baby shower for my friend Kirsten on MOnday and get some more maternity pics for her at the Louvre and at her shower. And then Tuesday, we had a get together at a friend's house. And then Wednesday night we were going to ring in the new year playing pinochle at the Atkins.

ALL CANCELLED.

Love,
P

Cook!

Michael and I were sitting at the table while he was eating his dinner and I was encouraging him in his endeavor. Phuong was over at the counter making hot chocolate and then she came over to talk to us standing next to Michael's chair. A short while later, he pushes her away, points towards the counter and yells COOK! Then 30 seconds later, even though he has a whole plate of food that he's not eating, he yells ME WANT FOOD!

Well then.

My Goodness!

Brian is having a massive vacation right now! Two and a half weeks off for us to all look at each other all day! Here is a run down of activities:

Friday, Dec. 19: Dad's Day Off. Brian went Christmas shopping in the morning and then watched movies all afternoon at home while Michael and I hung out! We had delicious carne adovado for dinner. Thanks to Jamie and Kim for that New Mexican gift!

Saturday, Dec. 20: Mom out shopping with Su. Christmas shopping mostly done.

Sunday, Dec. 21: Christmas gouter/party at the Daniels. Their son, Jonah, is Michael's best friend. Sure helps out that Kirsten and I get a long GREAT as well!

Monday, Dec. 22: Christmas shopping with Kirsten around Paris. GREAT fun. Original day for her maternity photoshoot, but it was raining so shopping just HAD to be it! We went to Galeries Lafayette and then Cyrillus and then bopped around Opera.

Dec 23-24: Family time!

Thursday, Dec. 25th: Christmas and breakfast at home. Then Christmas dinner with the Atkins like we did last year! Super delicious and super fun. The kids all played well together and didn't eat a SINGLE thing for dinner. However, Michael did enjoy his 5 scoops of ice cream. We were glad he was quiet. It's the holidays!

Friday, Dec. 26th: No Day After Christmas shopping frenzy here! It is COLD. Like almost freezing cold. However, Brian and I braved the winds and walked all the way to Chatelet (40 minute walk) and I exchanged a couple of presents and bought Kirsten's shower gift. Shopping for girl clothes is SUPER fun. So I guess there was still Day After Christmas shopping...but no FRENZY to go along with it.

Which brings us to today! It was gorgeous and cold so I called Kirsten to come out and do our photoshoot. Here are my fav 3 pictures from today. She's gorgeous!

Alsacez-Vous!

Brian's parents came in on a whirlwind trip to Paris to deliver Christmas goodies (both edible and non!) and to run off to a region in France called Alsace, known for its German influence. We were in search of schnitzel, but found mostly sauerkraut and sausage. Yeah, we'll take that too!

We stayed in this AMAZING gite (French for rental house) that was situated up HIGH in the mountains with snow everywhere. There were just tons of live Christmas trees, covered in snow, growing everywhere! It was like in a Christmas storybook. And at night, it was even more enchanting. Incredible! We took many opportunities to take pictures!

Family pic:
My favorite pic of Michael from the vacation:
Happy parents with their adorable hats:

And boys conquering piles of snowcovered wood:
One of our first adventures was putting chains on our tires. When we first arrived at the gite, we were met by the owner who was waiting for us by the side of the road with a flashlight. After some exchanges, we decided it would be best if he drove our car up the mountain without chains and Dad would drive his. So far so good!

Then, the guy who drives very often in snow left. Something about meeting his friend. I thought our snow driver was included in the cost! Anyways, we put chains on the back two tires of the vehicle and proceeded to slide down the snow covered hill 3 times before a nice Belgian living upstairs told us, "You need to put the chains on the FRONT 2 tires of a front wheel drive vehicle. NOT the back 2."

Why yes...that seems to make sense now doesn't it?? Here's a nice picture of our chains:

Later, we found out those same Belgians were driving fine up and down that hill with neither snow tires or chains. NICE! I guess that's what the owner meant when he asked me, "Are you guys used to driving in snow?" Ummm...that's a resounding "NO!"

The parents, Michael, and I arrived in Colmar in the early afternoon before Brian. We picked up Brian late that night at the Colmar train station and settled in after our eventful first day. For more random and possibly humerous stories, see the end of the blog.

At the beginning of the 2nd day, Saturday Dec. 13th, we got an early start at 11:00am. Ahhh...it is so nice to have a VACATION! The first place we visited was a quaint little town called Riquewihr.
We drank lots of hot beverages (cocoa, wine, etc):
And had fun exploring the small village. We bought choucroute there (sauerkraut and sausage) and poele alsacienne (potates skillet fried with cheese and sausage) for dinner. And by skillet fried, I mean in pans as large as a 18 wheeler tire. It was super cute and we had a great time wandering the little cobbled streets.

On our drive up and down the mountain, we had some amazing views. Here's a really cool cemetary we found:
And I just love this snow covered view:

On the 3rd day, Sunday Dec. 14th, we explored Colmar! The German inspired colored houses were too cute and the market spanned the entire town. In Nuremberg, the market is really in their main square. But in Colmar, we went to different parts of the village to see different markets. Really cute! Here's a family picture there, of course:
And my favorite night market picture:We had an amazing apfelstreudel in a cafe near Petit Venise in Colmar and some Frenchies in the table next to us were seriously enchanted by Michael! All he was doing was eating a mini ice cream cone!

While in Colmar, we shopped, ate, and Michael rode the horse ride and the mini carrousel a ton of times. Check out this great picture Dad took:

On our last day, Monday Dec. 15th, we explored Eguisheim. It had a sign greeting us saying, "One of the most prettiest villages in France." Any time we see this sign, we brace ourselves a bit because what France considers one of their most prettiest villages, is a bit different than what we expect! While Eguisheim was cute (the streets form concentric circles), it was just ok. I think it would have helped had we come on a Sunday since Monday was pretty dead in the village. As in most villages actually! Usually Sunday is a dead day too but since it is Christmas season, things are open. Either way, we got our family picture! Dad already had Michael snuggled in his coat so we just said, "Hey, you can get in the picture too!"

After this, we returned the rental car in Colmar and had a nice uneventful train ride back to Paris with sauerkraut in our bellies and visions of whittled Christmas ornaments in our head.

Michael had a great time with his grandparents and these 2 shots show just that:

VOILA! And that was the end of our trip! Amazing!

Love,
P

P.S. Funny moments:

• While waiting at the train station (Gare de l'Est) to go to Colmar (we were an hour early), we helped a Chinese guy who was seriously stressed out about the trains in France. He couldn't imagine why they would be late. And I wondered, are trains always running perfectly in China?


• At this same train station, I got pooped on by a bird. This is my first memory of the trip. This should teach me NOT to come to the train station an hour early!


• We had to transfer trains in Strasbourg to a regional train that went to Colmar. Brian left us 10 minutes to do this transfer. By the time we got on the train, it was pulling out and Brian's mom was reaching for her inhaler so she could breathe.


• When we got to the Avis rental agency, they only had 2 cars for us. They took us to the parking lot and showed us the car we ordered, a Citroen C3 with no chains. Reasonably sized car. Then they showed us a Ford Fiesta with chains. The Ford fiesta was small. To put it generously. But we went ahead and chose it because it had chains. Luckily, someone returned a big Volkswagen Touron which easily could seat 4 and a carseat AND it had chains. WHEW. Otherwise, I may have had to ride tied to the top of the Ford Fiesta.


• When we were looking at the cars, Dad and I had to walk nearly to the other end of the parking lot. Then, when we were going to pick up our huge Volkswagon Touron, they drove us to it. And I am serious when I say it was like a 30 second walk away.


• Don't ask about navigating within the city of Colmar itself, OR finding our way out of Colmar to Kaysersberg for the first time. Let's just say, Brian's mom said, "Look for the D4 on the map." I couldn't find it until we went about 5km north of Colmar. Oops, better go WEST.


• Since Brian did not join us until late Friday night, I did all the information gathering in FRENCH! I am super proud of myself so I have to toot my horn.

2 nights ago, Michael did not want to go to sleep. We put him in his crib like usual and he got up and started crying. So we went in and had this conversation with him through his tears and while hugging him. He was holding 2 dogs, a penguin, and a blanket all at the same time:

Michael: Mommy, Mommy
Mommy: Michael, it's ok. You are going to sleep in your crib
Michael: No, No, No
Mommy: Yes, it is ok. Tomorrow, we'll come in and get you when you wake up.
Michael: Get you...get you...
Mommy: So you be a big boy and sleep in your crib like a good boy ok?
Michael: Good boy, good boy...

And Brian layed him down, we left, and we shut the door. He went to sleep.

I guess we said the right things this time.
P

Battu Part Deux

Today Michael, Phuong and I went to "Breakfast in America", a diner where they serve American style breakfast and hamburgers and all things deliciously American. We ordered our 2x2x2 (bacon, eggs, pancakes - B) and breakfast burrito (P), which came with toast. Phuong gave Michael a piece of toast and then a package of butter so he could spread some on his toast. We got to talking, wooing each other if you will, and we look over and the butter is gone and the boy is just sitting there with a spoon in his hand and greasy lips. He ate it all! Then he started asking for more battu, but we resisted and gave him syrup for his pnacake instead.

The Possible end of Scrapbooking

I think the end of scrapbooking is coming near for me. I just don't have time with my photography habit as well and now people are asking for photoshoots so I spend some time proofing.

Anyways, Kim Kropka introduced me to this site today for photobooks. It looks amazing. And guess what? They can turn your blogs into books with just some clicks of a mouse.

http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

You guys may be seeing A LOT more blog entries since I can just import it into a book and get it published. I think I am going to reserve my most favorite pictures for scrapbooking still...but I do believe my hobby is going to start taking a backseat to technology. And I better get a lot better with my grammar and spelling if I am going to put it in a book form.

My Cup Runneth Over

Tonight, Michael and I had the following conversation at bedtime:

Michael: Daddy?
Phuong: Daddy is playing poker tonight.
Michael: Friends.
Phuong: Yes, Daddy is playing poker with his friends. Do you have any friends?
Michael: Mommy, Joda

And he meant it too because he said Joda right after me, which is his best friend here in Paris (Jonah)

Are there any words to explain how you feel after your son tells you that he thinks of you as his friend? I must have done something right!

Then, I remember that line in The Wedding Singer when Adam Sandler's nephew tells him that "Everyone is saying you are coocoo." And Adam Sandler replies, "What do you mean everyone; you only talk to your parents."

I may be only 1 of 3 people he ever talks to but I am happy to still be his friend. Do you think he'll add me as his friend on Facebook one day?

Good night!
P

Elle a Fait Ci

Thursday afternoon, we went to playgroup at Laura's place across the street. I met a mom who has a 22 month old girl who's got tons of health problems. She's hooked up to an oxygen tank and has a medicine dispenser box that is connected to her leg. She's had heart surgery and has possible liver problems, etc. She's gorgeous and so cute and my heart just goes out to her and her family!

Anyways, Michael has gone twice to French Music class. And today, I'm singing the song that they sing when they hold hands and go in a circle...and MICHAEL KNEW THE WORDS!!! It was incredible. Here's how it started:

Phuong: Ma grand mere fait tous ca
Michael: Elle a fait ci
Phuong: Elle a fait ca
Phuong: Ma grand mere, Elle a fait ci
Michael: Elle a fait ca

And he was saying over and over in the elevator, "VOILA!"

INCREDIBLE! Gotta get Vietnamese in there next!

Love,
P

SMOOCH

Yesterday, Michael has started kissing for REAL! He's been kissing us for a long time, but with wet open mouth kisses on our cheeks.

Yesterday, Michael put both his lips together, put them next to my cheek and made a kissing noise! He is thrilled with it!

One of his delay tactics for naptime is to smother me in kisses all over because he knows I love it and I let him do it all he wants! It is too cute to stop.

Other funny things:
On Tuesday, we went to gymnastics. He loves it and was running around the little play area that they set up. And as he went by, I could hear him under his breath saying, "More..more..more.." He just loves it!

However, he does not follow instructions well in gymnastics. The teacher will tell him in French to sit down and he'll just stand there staring at her. So she'll switch to English and he still does not obey, even though all the other kids are sitting all in a row. What do I DO??? Is there anything?

Michael was throwing around a football at home and wanted to throw it at a picture frame. I said, "Michael, don't throw it there or Mommy will get upset." And he looks at me and points to his timeout corner as to say, "yup, I go there if Mommy gets upset." Then, he pointed to the laptop and said, "Touch." Because he knows if he touches that, it's timeout too!

Michael can play memory now. It's a bit crude, bit it's there. I noticed it yesterday. I pull out 6 cards and put them face down and he knows to turn one over and look for the "match." And he can remember too! If he's turned it over before one time, and he sees it again somewhere else, he'll know where he saw it the first time. BONAFIDE. It's amazing! He's still learning how to take turns, but for now, I am letting him remember what he's done.

I taught Michael to say "crazy." So whenever he's turning things upside down and making a mess, he'll say "CRAZY!" while doing it and then point to the mess and say, "Mess."

This week so far:
Monday - No playgroup, fever recovery
Tuesday - Gymnastics in the morning, babysitter in the afternoon
Wednesday - MOther's coffee break in the morning, french music class in the afternoon

I think that's it. We'll see.

Michael got himself all ready to watch Baby Einstein shapes today. I turned around after putting in the DVD and found this:

Half an hour later, he's back to banging on balls with hammers!

Love,

P

Crayon on the wall

The Thursday that the Kropkas came into town was November 6th. I was chatting with them in the living room and Michael was being very well behaved and quiet in his room.

At least I thought. I found blue crayon marks all over 3 of my white walls and 2 of my white doors.

Thank God for washable crayola crayons.

Love,
P

Michael has a fever today. 100.5 taken from the armpit so that means more likely around 101-102. I know, super accurate right?

Anyways, I gave him some fever reducing medication before bedtime and that seemed to help. *sigh* I hate fevers because you just have to sit around and wait for it to break. And then 3-4 days later, if it doesn't you have to call the doctor.

So here we go again.
P

On Saturday, we celebrated Thanksgiving again! There is a building in the 7th arrondissement that houses about 4-5 Air Liquide expat families. Isn't that incredible? I can't imagine living in a building where I knew 4 other English speaking families! Sounds amazing! What ISN'T amazing is that they spend an extra 600-800 euro PER MONTH to live there next to the Eiffel tower. I'm happy to be either saving that money or traveling with it!

Anyways, they call that building the Air Liquide compound so we had Thanksgiving there! They moved all the tables to one apartment and all the couches to another. So we had Thanskgiving dinner on the 3rd floor and then the babysitters took all the kids to the 6th floor to play. THEY HAD BABYSITTERS! How amazing is that? The babysitters were really the teenage kids of other Air Liquide expats living also in the 7th, but not necessarily in that building.

It was a lot of fun!

That's all. That's an entry for me.
P

Michael asks us ALL THE TIME for his "show" on TV...like ALL THE TIME. It is annoying. I only let him watch it once a day for 30 minutes and that is it. It's just baby einstein words so it is educational and harmless...but still!

He has started saying no to us. We are not happy about that and are trying to restrict it!

That's it for now.

Thanksgiving at the Daniels!

On Thursday, we celebrated Thanskgiving at Michael's best friend's house! Kirsten, Jonathan and Jonah hosted an amazing Thanksgiving!

They had a great turkey with all the fixin's! I brought chestnut stuffing, celery stuffing balls, cranberry salad, and green bean casserole. Kirsten made this amazing sweet potato biscuits that Brian has been asking me to make now! She is about 8 months pregnant and made an amazing Thanksgiving. I am super impressed!

The boys decided to crack open a bottle of wine for us:

And after our huge meal, we celebrated with Thanksgiving bingo, complete with awesome prizes like a box of nails and a magnifying glass. Target came through with it's pin the hat on the turkey game. Jonah was pretty good at it:

Thanks go out to Brian's mom for sending us our post dinner/dessert entertainment! We had the adults playing too:

It was great fun and we had an amazing time! It is nice to have other American friends here to celebrate with us since we are so far from family. Today (Saturday), we've got another Thanksgiving to go to!

We are so thankful for our friends here and our life here. It is an amazing experience that constantly rewards us in surprising ways. But the thing that always stands out to me, is how much we miss our family and friends back at home as well. What a blessing you all are to us and we thank you for being a part of our lives!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Shopping!

Love,
P

Black Friday

Yesterday, we had a fun day! Michael and I met Brian at headquarters and we had lunch together. Brian found a good Pho place!!!! FINALLY! So we all had pho for lunch. Michael LOVES it so it was a huge treat for us, especially with this cold weather! And it is always nice to meet more Vietnamese people...reminds me of my parents! :o)

*SIDE NOTE*
For those of you who do not know, pho is Vietnamese beef noodle soup. And not all pho is made the same either. How do you know if a pho place is good?

• The broth is clear. You should be able to see down to at least the middle of your bowl. If the broth is cloudy and murky, it is usually not a good pho place.
• You are not incredibly thirsty after you eat a bowl. If you are really really thirsty for about an hour or so after you have eaten the bowl, they have used too much MSG for flavoring.

**SIDE NOTE END**

Then, we headed over to a Salon des Vignerons, which is basically wine tasting on SPEED in a convention center. It was in a HUGE convention hall at Porte des Versailles (nowhere near the chateau incidentally). Imagine just HUNDREDS of little booths of people selling wine and offering tastings. Aisle after aisle...of wines from EVERYWHERE in France. And mostly small independent wine makers too! We made out with some sweet wines, Gerwurstraminer, some chocolate, and macaroons! VERY overwhelming but interesting at the same time.

Then, we headed home and ate Thanskgiving leftovers. I made 40 cupcakes and Brian watched Underworld 2. Hardly our best date night yet.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving has been dandy!

Love,
Phuong

YESS!!!!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/25/business/25usecon.php

Guests in Paris!

In November, we had a slew of great visitors!

First up, Devina, also known as The Dirty D! She was an amazing house guest and helped out a TON! She did dishes, did laundry, and helped with Michael even though he spilled her juice and caused a pen to run all over her. I am surprised she could even call it a vacation! Here is a picture of her with Brian and Michael at the market close to our house, Auguste Blanqui:
We had fun times hanging out with Michael and even had one day where Devina and I could hang out. We checked out the Carnavalet museum on the Tuesday before the Kropkas came. Then, we had coffee underneath an overhang that was dripping on us...which then ended up in a torrential rainfall of gutter water on our table. NICE. Should have noticed the wet spot UNDER our table to begin with...

After which, we went shopping! Devina bought a super cute/chic Paris coat and I found a great scarf. Between the two of us, the boulangere couldn't even get our order straight...although I doubt it was because of our stunning fashion accessories. I am thinking it was because I couldn't say almond correctly in French.

Then! The KROPKAS came to town! They were awesome houseguests too! They played with Michael, did dishes, and were great entertainment for all of us. I guess doing dishes is part of the package when visiting our place! ;o)

We went with them on a whirlwind trip to Provence. We took a train to Arles and stayed there while exploring the region.

On the first day, Sunday, we wandered around dead Arles. It was pretty quiet as all the shops were closed and it was Armistice holiday weekend. Nonetheless, we found a nice fountain that Michael spent a lot of time playing in:


Then, we hiked up to the top of the Roman arena that is a ruin there. It is used for bullfights now! You can see the bleachers here in our picture:

On Monday, we did our best to get out early to catch the train to Avignon! As we were walking by the train station, Brian heard a train going by and jokingly said, there goes our train! Little did we know he was correct. We missed it by 5 minutes! So we ended up renting a car for the day, which actually was MUCH better for our trip!

The first estimate for the rental was 200 euro for 1 day, 1 night. After we balked at the price, the clerk asked if we had any discounts like Carte Enfant plus or brian's work discount. Voila, badda bing, badda boom, 200 euro went down to 80 euro! SWEET!

So we drove to Avignon and split up for part of the day. Jamie and Kim did some awesome shopping and our family explored the palace of the popes. It was big and empty. So no extremely exciting pictures. We met up with them at the end of the day and saw the pope's gardens. Here's a picture of the Kropkas with the fall foliage. They are too cute: Gotta love another photographer on the trip with you! Kim is amazing at exposing correctly:


Then, Jamie and Kim watched MIchael for us while Brian and I went out on Pont Saint Benezet's bridge. Thank goodness too because there wasn't much of a rail on it! We walked out to the end and thought...ok, guess we'll head back now. Not too exciting.


On the final day of our trip, Tuesday (Nov. 11th), we visited the Pont du Gard again, the huge roman aqueduct! It is still impressive even the 2nd time around. And I finally got my family picture:

Gotta love riding on Dad's shoulders!
Then, we drove to Chateauneuf du pape to do some wine tasting at the Cave des Vergers! We were rewarded with a great view of the golden vineyards and of course, got a family picture!

We had an amazing wine tasting where we learned lots of things, like how to aerate the wine in your mouth and check the color of it over a piece of white paper. Michael was more interested in the ants he found. Whenever we look at pictures of the wine tasting, he tells me, "BUGS!" YUP! Bugs.

Here's all the wine we tasted:

We walked away with a case of wine. A great muscat, 2 bold reds, and a white wine that's good for something!

What a great way to end our trip! We caught our train from Arles back to Paris and then spent some more time relaxing. Kim, Jamie, and I went to a very famous kitchen shop called Dehlerrin. I still can't spell it. But it was AWESOME. It caters to both restaurant chefs and normal people like us. I found a ladle that could ladle up 1 liter of liquid at a time. I am going back with my camera one day! Kim bought some great copper pots and got a good deal on them and I bought a madeleine pan! SUCCESS!

We were very sad to see our guests go and quite frankly, I went into a bit of a funk after they left. For the first couple of days, I was glad to catch my breath. But then I started to feel really sad and missed their company.

So let that be a lesson to all of you! We are never put out to have guests! We love them and they make our days more interesting and brighter!

Love,

P

Date Night and a Soggy T-shirt

On Friday nights, Brian and I have date night in. We do something special and only hang out with each other. No internet, phone calls, nothing! The something special could be ordering in pizza, or having cheese/tarts/wine...or sitting in our pajamas early! Whatever!

So this past Friday was no different. We ordered pizzas and watched the latest episode of the Office and started on Quantun of Solace. I feel asleep somewhere in there and woke up to find Brian had fallen asleep too. And so I woke him back when I got up. The following conversation happened between 2 apparently sleepy parents:

Phuong: Brian, did you fall asleep?
Brian: What? Why am I all wet??
Phuong: What do you mean all wet?
Brian: Get me a towel?
Phuong: What for? Why are you all wet?
Brian: Just get me a towel!
Phuong: What did you spill?
Brian: I DON'T KNOW!! There's wine all over me and I'm holding my empty glass.
Phuong: How did you spill wine all over yourself?
Brian: I DON'T KNOW!! Just get me a towel and a new t-shirt. JEEZ!
Phuong: Why were you holding your glass?

Oh...it was pretty confusing for the two of us. Moral of the story, never watch Quantum of Solace while drinking wine and being 2 tired parents.

Funny Day

We had a funny day yesterday, it started with Michael waking up. Here's what Brian wrote to me about it:

"He was really funny this morning when I fetched him because he had his blanket and his two doggies but he fussed when I took him from the room and was clearly upset when I put him in our bed. He got out, went back to his room, and made me get him his penguin before he could go to sleep next to you."

Michael has been into re-enacting things. Like if he falls and hurts his palms, he does it again to show me what happened. Yesterday, I opened the freezer door a little too hard and hit him in the head. After closing the freezer, he walks over to the door and does this gigantic headbutt to the freezer door to show me what happened. Then, came over and asked for a hug because that's what we do after we get hurt. We get hugs and kisses.

Michael was reading his Spot book next to me and we get to the lion. I said, "Oh! There's a lion in there." And Michael lets out this HUGE ROOOOAAARRRR! He was quite proud of himself for that one.

Michael was sitting in my lap and he started to look closely at my nose. Then he points to it and says, "BOOGER!" Thanks for the heads up!

Today, we went to gymanastics/tumbling/movement class for the first time. It was awesome! Will take pictures next time and post them in the blog!

Posting Comments

So I changed my settings to put that "Anyone can comment" even anonymous people. I figured that I already password protected the blog so you have to log on anyways to see it. So Anyone can comment is really anyone who can log onto the blog.

So if you read, please help me by posting in the comments to see if it works. If not, then I have to try again!

Thanks!
Phuong

Things to put down so I don't forget

I used to have a paper calendar where I wrote down all sorts of things we did. Stupid things like, "It rained all day so we were stuck in the house." But I lost it so the blog is going to have be it!

Saturday, a cold front blew in. It was windy and COLD! We went over to our friends, the Atkins, and had dinner with them (Chili!) and played pinochle until 3:30am!!! It was awesome and our kids were good too! We put Michael to sleep in their bed and he slept the whole night until we fetched him to sleep with us! PERFECT! And their 3 sons are so good with Michael so the kids have fun too.

Sunday, we had a delicious French toast souffle and the kids played some more. They were in the back room playing and we hear distinctly in the living room: "MICHAEL! Come down!" Come to find out he had climbed into the top bunk of the bunk bed. BOYS! ;o)

Sunday, we went home while it was snowing in Paris! How amazing is that? We spent the day inside and then had afternoon tea with our British friends across the street. I was supposed to be taking family pictures for them. Which I did...but the lighting was awful and so I am afraid only 2 pictures came out semi-acceptable. *SIGH* I really need an external flash/diffuser for my camera now that people are starting to ask me to take pictures.

That's all I need to remember for now!

Barbeque

I don't have the attention span to read this whole article, but what I did read was entertaining.

It's an article on an article in Texas Monthly about the top 50 barbeque places in Texas.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/24/081124fa_fact_trillin

In case you're bored.

Love,
P

Finally

On Monday, I got Michael enrolled in his gymnastics/tumbling class. I did it all in French. I understood about 75% of what she said. Yeah me!

Then, I went to get Michael his haircut on Tuesday and the hairstylist didn't understand me at all. It was like we were having 2 separate conversations. Back to being depressed about French

Schedule

If you are wondering what Michael does during the week, I just keep him at home with me and we look at each other ALL day.

No really, when we are not sick, here is what we try to do:

Monday: Afternoon, weekly playgroup
Tuesday: Morning, weekly tumbling/gymnastics class. Will start on Tuesday!
Wednesday: Morning, bi-monthly Mom's Bible Study with kids playing downstairs with the sitter
Thursday: Morning, bi-monthly Storyhour at the American Library
Friday: Usually nothing, but normally playdate with his best friend Jonah.

Just an FYI.

'Tude

Michael's been giving me 'tude (attitude) lately.

Michael snatches a toy away from Jonah, his friend

Mommy: Michael, please share that toy with Jonah. He was playing with it first.

No response. Continues to play with toy.

Mommy: Michael, I am going to take that toy away from you if you don't share.

No response. Continues to play with toy.

Mommy: Michael, are you listening to me?

Michael: No.

Toy gets snatched away by Mommy and is put "up high."

UGH. With the funny conversations come the confrontation as well. At least I know where he gets his 'tude from.

More Stuff

Yesterday, we had some funny moments...seems like EVERYday we do!

I was trying to convince Michael to go in the stroller so I could run a quick errand. When he walks, it takes FOREVER because he's exploring the leaf in the street, running up steps, etc. So I said, "Michael, Mommy has to go fast! That's why we are taking the stroller." So he looks at me, says 'FAST!' and runs as quickly down the hall as he can. He looks up at me and says, "fast." Yup, that's it Michael! Now do that in the STREET!

Then, after bath, we always let Michael run around naked to his room. Yesterday, he decided peeing on the floor was funny. Especially in his parents room. So we dealt with that. Brian tried to show him to pee in the toilet, but that is not as fun as peeing on the floor and seeing it.

Today at lunch, Michael and I had this conversation:
Mommy: Do you remember if I gave you a snack today?
Michael: Yes
Mommy: What did I give you?
Michael: Cheese

I don't remember giving Michael cheese for a snack, but maybe I did.

Love,
P

bat-tu

Before Michael goes to bed at night, Phuong puts some creams on him to help his bad skin. Lately she's been putting vaseline on him instead of the steroid cream we used to use. He loves it and calls it "bat-tu", and we had no idea why. Until yesterday. We were at Franprix and I hear him saying bat-tu and I was like what the there's no vaseline here. I go over to him and find him fondling a block of butter and lovingly calling it bat-tu. Now we know, he thinks we're buttering him up every night. I'm surprised he's not afraid that we're going to put him in the oven.

It's been nearly a month since we posted. How utterly embarrasing!

I blame it ENTIRELY on Facebook.

More later!
P

It's been a long time! And to our defense, we've had a FLOOD of visitors, all of whom we adore!

Random things to nibble on about michael:

My mom taught Michael how to say "happy." Which we then taught him to say when his dad comes home because he's ecstatic to see him. He runs around and throws himself on the floor. The Kropkas call it "Going Wild," and their daughter does the same thing! Anyways, Michael now uses it all the time when he's happy. It's adorable. He'll be sitting and eating strawberries and he'll look up with a HUGE grin and say, "HAPPY!" Same with when we spend family time. He'll look at both Brian and I and say "HAPPY!" It's awesome.

Michael knows his name now. But he says it with a HUGE Texas Drawl. Like "Miiiiiiiikuuuhl". And he says his name all the time. When you try to help him with something that he wants to do all by himself, He'll say, "No, Michael, Michael." And you have to let him do what he wants with whatever.

He has taken to reading his bedtime stories by himself. He'll have his books on the floor and pick one up, open it, and say, "Michael, Michael." And he goes through and names the things on the pages and flips through it. While sitting on the floor. We are just watching.

He brushes his teeth now. But that just means he sucks on his toothbrush and sprays spittle all over the sink.

If you are an overnight guest in our house, he HAS to give you a goodnight hug and kiss before going to bed. It is obligatory.

Michael LOVES to cook. He'll pull a chair up to the counter and stand on it, waiting for instructions.

He is so happy and a joy! It's time for another....God willing!

Love,
P

2 Year Check up

Got the Priorix vaccination. IN January, need to get the Chicken Pox booster.

Stats:
Weight = 12 kg, 50th percentile
Height = 88 cm, 75th percentile
Head cirumference = 48 cm, 50th percentile

And anything called "Furry Trapper Hat" has my vote. This is from The Gap:



Imagine if I had a girl! I wouldn't be able to put her in hats like these...or would I have????

Lasagna Genovese

I can't believe this. I can't find a recipe online. In English.

I am looking for Lasagna Genovese, which we had in Rome. It's a lasagna that isn't made with a tomato based meat sauce. It's made with the standard cheese/cheese sauce and layers of pesto instead. I know pesto isn't everyone's favorite thing...but I LOVE IT.

So I'm going to keep going. If The Google can't find it, I don't know what I am going to do. I might have to try to make it myself without a recipe. Interesting, but doable. But DEFINITELY not stupid proof

Has anyone else used The Google and not found what they are looking for? This is a first for me.

40 minute meal

Growing up, I don't think anything we made at home took less than 45 minutes. Asian cooking is involved, but as a result, it is quite tasty as well!

However, as a mom, I don't have time on the weeknights to make involved dinners so I enjoy any shortcut cooking that I can! My friend recommended to me Everday Dinners by Martha Stewart and I tried my first one last night!

It's light sesame chicken with broccoli and rice. It was delicious, easy, and only took 40 minutes total. That's the time from when I turned the pot on to boil water to the time dinner was plated on the table! Not bad! And I don't chop as fast as Rachel Ray either.

Here's the link if you are interested:'
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lighter-sesame-chicken?autonomy_kw=sesame%20chicken&rsc=header_5

Love,
P

What's in a name?

Did any of you catch the last episode of the Office, The Baby Shower?

Cuz if you did, you just got a sneak preview of the girl name Brian picked out (if we have a girl, which we won't). ASTRID. Not ASTIRD.

Things to be thankful for today:
1) I won't ever be having a girl. Much less a girl named Astrid.
2) Brian did not propose ASTIRD as a girl name to me.

Love,
P

Parallel Lives with Rick Steves

We are leading parallel lives with Rick Steves! He visited the same fois gras farm we visited in Dordogne. His article here in the latest Travel News:
http://www.ricksteves.com/news/tribune/dordogne.htm

And check out our October 2008 - Dordogne album to see our pictures! I guess it's easy to lead a parallel life with Rick Steves if you do everything he tells you to do in his books. I assume he takes his own advice! ;o)

Now, if we could only get Brangelina and their brood of children off our tail!

French Health Care

While in Sarlat, I ended up going to the emergency room to check out my foot that I couldn't put any weight on. After my visit to the emergency room, xrays, and doctor's visit...I got the bill in the mail.

A whoppin' 81 euro. Not too bad for an emergency room visit. In the states, the Copay alone is $100!

I'm not trying to take sides or anything or push for government regulated healthcare. I am just stating a fact about how cheap medical care is here.

That's all.

P

Absentee ballot

We got our absentee ballots in the mail yesterday! There were 4 sheets of paper in two different colors in 2 different sizes. There were 2 different envelopes in 2 different colors in 2 different sizes.

And then so much Spanish that I had to hunt to find the English. I find that appalling.

But we are excited to send our ballots in!

P

Parents in Paris!

If you had a choice, which one you pick? Hurricane destroyed Houston? Or 3 weeks in Paris? My parents chose 3 weeks in Paris. And luckily, their house was spared enough so that they could leave it!

We are having fun eating and running around the city! Here we are on a nice Sunday morning at the Luxembourg Gardens before heading to Chinatown for Dim Sum. Michael was JUST not in the mood for pictures:



On October 1st, we decided to explore the lovely Dordogne region of France. This southern area of France is known for truffles, strawberries, walnuts, and the controversial fois gras. We stayed at this cute rental house with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, pool, and TONS of toys for kids. They had badminton, pingpong, and bikes! Plus movies! It was amazing. Here's a pic:


The first day, we arrived in Bordeaux and drove the 2 hours to Sarlat. Along the way, we stopped at an adorable little town called St. Emilion, which is known for wine. Shocking right? No pictures though because I left the camera in the car!

Anyways, we learned a bit about the best years for St. Emilion and stocked up on some wine to drink for now and for later. For those who are wondering, 2000 was a good year and 2001 was also excellent. Ready to drink now. Buy a 2005, the vintage of the century, and save it for at least 2 years to drink for later. The Grand Cru Premier Classe cost 280 Euro so we bought some Grand Cru instead.

We checked into our bungalow and then rested for the evening.

On our 2nd day, we explored the prehistoric caves around the area, which are famous for its cave art that is 14000 years old. No pictures either of this because cameras are NOT ALLOWED!!!! :o(

We visited 2 caves. The first was Font de Gaumes in Les Eyzies, which was amazing. It is the only original cave art open to the public. When you enter it, it is really a cave. A very small dark confined space. This German woman opted out and left about 4 steps in. The guide showed us these amazing paintings which were so faint you would never have seen them had he not pointed them out. The cro magnon man used the natural curves and indentations of the caves as part of their animals that they drew and painted with water and natural substances. It was amazing. I learned a lot more things about cave art so if you are interested (which I know you are not), you can post in comments and we can discuss more there.

The 2nd cave is the most famous, the caves of Lascaux. The original Lascaux caves were shut down due to the level of calcite that had built up on the original paintings due to human exposure. So we saw the replica, which is supposed to be amazingly accurate. It was absolutely awesome to see these HUGE animals being drawn on cave walls. At one point, the guide turned off the lights and held up a small lighter so we could see what the paintings would look like in the original lighting and it was amazing. They were painted to where they looked like they were moving if you had a flickering light. And it was indeed just that. Good ole wikipedia for pictures of cave art for ya: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

What was impressive too was that for the first tour, Brian and i understood almost all the French. For the 2nd one, about 50-75% of what we could hear. We were pretty happy with that!

Anyways, we ended our day at a fois gras farm where we learned about the process and how it is made. Brian got to feed some geese. Michael was not too impressed.

The geese are bought as geeslings (?) and then fed normally until 5 months old. At which point, they are force fed for about a month. Then, slaughtered for their buttery fat livers. This is then canned with salt and pepper. After which they are sterilized in hot water, which also cooks the interior of the can. Not for everyone, but we adore it.

The 3rd day, my angelic parents took care of Michael in Beynac while Brian and I canoed down the Dordogne. That definitely earned the 3 stars in Rick's book! My parents took a river cruise with Michael and Brian and I canoed for 3 hours from Vitrac to La Roque Gagaec and finally to Beynac, where my parents were. Here are some of our views:
Brian being the steering for our boat:
We only went around in circles 4 times and never got beached so I consider that to be quite successful!

We drove and enjoyed touring the French countryside. We stopped near a walnut tree and took pictures. This is my parents before we got a finger shaking at us for trying to gather up walnuts to take home!

Our last day, we went to the Saturday market in a little town named Sarlat. It is the most amazing market I've been to yet in France. It was magical.
They had LOADS of gorgeous and sweet strawberries. Tons of tins of fois gras. Bottles upon bottles of Walnut olive oil and truffle oil. And a walking band to provide the music. And that was just the food market! My parents explored the clothing market and loved every bit of THAT!

We found this funny statue of 3 geese in Sarlat. Had to take a picture of that! Family picture at that!

We spent the last day strolling around Sarlat and headed home for a calm evening full of games and movies. But then I was chasing after Michael, stepped wrong, and did something to my left foot and couldn't put any weight on it.

So instead of enjoying enchanting Sarlat at night, Brian and I went to the emergency room to make sure nothing was broken. I did this once to the same foot in college and had a fracture and had to wear a weird blue shoe for 3 weeks. So we wanted to get it checked out before we headed back to Paris and I'm running around pushing a stroller and wearing my carryon sized backpack like a pack mule. Luckily, nothing was broken and I am hobbling much better everyday!

That was it! We had fun!

P

Earmuff it

I'm standing around the other day and Michael comes running up to me and says "Fock!" I thought, oh geez, I thought I'd curbed that sort of thing. So I turn around to reprimand him and he's sitting there smiling at me holding a fork. Relief. Temporary.

Today we were on our way to throw out the trash and the road was lined with little rocks. Michael points to a rock and says fock. I say no, it's a rock. And he starts yelling like a machine gun, fock fock fock fock and pointing to the rocks. Luckily we were in the country.

But then we went on the train today and I hear him in the four seater next to me saying fock fock fock. Apparently he was trying to say 5.

It looks like we have a good deal of work ahead of us.

TV

No matter who you want to vote for, I thought this opening skit from Saturday Night Live was hilarious:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

Interesting

Brian and I have been following the $700 billion bailout plan proposed by the current administration. I read an article on yahoo and thought the following quotes were interesting:

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., said, "This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it's un-American."

"Just because God created the world in seven days doesn't mean we have to pass this bill in seven days," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Rest of the article can be found here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080923/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

Thoughts anyone?

Conversation

Phuong:
Hey! Michael's friend Jonah is coming over. I have a craft planned for them!

Brian:
Oh yeah, what?

Phuong:
We're going to make scrapbook pages!

Brian:
Aren't there child labor laws against stuff like that?

So Sad...

We went to the park in the morning and had a REALLY sad moment.

Michael went over to this kid to give him a pine cone he had found. But the kid didn't want to take it and ran away, leaving Michael standing alone. And Michael just stood there, with his head hanging down, dejected.

We had given him some space so he could play with other children on his own so we only saw his back with his head hanging down. He stood that way for 2-3 minutes and then Brian went to check on him and saw Michael just so sad.

So sad he couldn't move. So sad he couldn't do anything but hang his head in sadness. It broke our hearts and I almost cried. He tried to play afterwards, but you could tell it wasn't the same. My heart just breaks to think of the many other moments just like this that he will have to endure. Because even as adults, we feel exactly the same way at times. When kids don't want to play with us.

And then we go home and realize there are 2 people who will always love us no matter what! Our parents! ;o) So we tried to be that for Michael and showered him with hugs and kisses. Then we fed him.

I don't think so...

Michael hit me for the first time today. Like SMACKED me. He was not sharing a toy with his friend Jonah very well, mind you it was Jonah's toy. So I explained to him what was going on and he started to fuss and then he did it...

SQUARE on the cheek. Not a tap, not a little shove. A flat out SMACK. First time EVER.

He got put in time out SO fast. He was crying the whole way there and the whole time he was in the corner. He must have thought we were in a new place and so time out didn't exist.

I wasn't sure whether or not to spank him because frankly, it was a SERIOUS offense warranting a spanking. But I usually opt for time out first and that works. Spanking is something I prefer to use as a last resort. I know people have very strong views on this, but this works for us. At least for now.

However, Michael better watch it if he hits me like that again. I can GUARANTEE a spanking for next time.

UGH.

Other than that, we had a great day.

Please Pray

Please pray for all the Texans in Galveston, Houston, surrounding areas for:

• A quick and speedy recovery from Hurricane Ike
• Help where help is needed
• Repair and restoration of property and normal life as soon as possible!

I know I am not the only one with dear family members in Texas so I wish I could do anything to be there to help. All I can do is pray and call constantly to check in so I do that!

If you are thinking about Paris...

I know lots of our friends are hemming and hawing about coming to Paris or not to visit us. Or maybe I should wake up and realize that none of my friends want to come to Paris to visit us! ;o)

But here is an excerpt from a newsletter I receive from Rick Steves that I think defines why we travel and why we love it. I just had to post it because it just hits the nail on the head about why we travel. And I hope that it persuades some of our friends who don't wander out too far...to do just that.

"Dear Traveler,

The dollar is getting some strength back, but the out-of-pocket and environmental costs of flying won’t be going down anytime soon. It's natural to ask, is travel worth it?

In our empty-nest years, having traveled makes the life we've lived more interesting to gnaw on. For our children, travel stokes their youthful passions and gives them reasons to think big. And, in this election season, it's agreed that our statesmen and women gain critical understanding through travel.

I believe that to go through life without stepping outside your corner of the world is a lost opportunity. I can't remember meeting anyone who, after all the planning, expenses and challenges of turning their travel dreams into reality, didn't value the experience and consider it time and money well spent.

My parents likely won't be using their passports again — but their travel experiences have become a permanent part of their vocabulary. Just like treasured family photos and that piece of classic sheet music that's been on the piano for years, they have a sparkling chest of travel memories that can be dipped into at will…and is. "

THE POPE!

Today, we had an amazing Saturday! We woke up late and went to see the Pope give mass at Les Invalides. It was projected on a big screen TV and we made it there in the middle of the homily. Shameful...I know. Not proud of it, but at least we made it!

We got to take communion at the mass the Pope gave. They had people in white volunteer t-shirts giving communion. And with them, were more volunteers holding umbrellas over them so we could see where to go to take the communion that the Pope had blessed. That was awesome. Didn't really matter to me that I took communion from a guy in a white t-shirt that said "Volunteer" with an umbrella over his head.

Before we got there, we were handed a Magnificat. Magnificat is a small book that has about one to two weeks' worth of masses/songs/readings. You can even subscribe to it. We got one for Easter when we were in Austin and we love it. Anyways, it was a French Magnificat and on the cover, it had "Pope Benoit XVI in Paris." And inside, it had the whole service in French and it was labelled as such too with Pope Benoit XVI presiding at the Esplanade at Les Invalides. What an awesome souvenir.

We then left to have lunch at some friends of ours, the Atkins. On our walk there, they barricaded the street and we couldn't cross to get to theirs. We were pretty peeved until we saw the police cars coming...and THEN THE POPEMOBILE WITH THE POPE INSIDE!!! Pretty awesome. It was like a normal car, except with a huge cubicle on top where the pope sat inside high above!

He had his windows rolled down and was waving to us!! Less than 50 feet away. It was amazing and I wish I had had my camera. What a way for God to reward us! More pictures here:
http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2008/09/12/01016-20080912DIAWWW00408-la-visite-du-pape-en-france.php

After that was over, we had pizza lunch with the Atkins and our kids played. Michael loves playing with their sons so it is a good time for us to go. We found ourselves a new pinochle couple and a family to vacation with this New Years!

After seeing The Pursuit of Happiness and reading A Thousand Splendid Suns...I have realized I have absolutely nothing to complain about. And after a day like today, our lives are filled with so many blessings...that I am filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratefullness and thanks to God for all that He has blessed our lives with!

Love,
P

First French Word

Michael said his first french word to me yesterday. BOUGE. Which means, MOVE. I don't think he knows what it means yet...at least I hope!

Yesterday, he helped me make 2 batches of fresh pesto. He pulled off all the fresh basil leaves for me and measured them out. Then, he poured in all the cheese and pinenuts for me. And afterwards, he held the pepper grinder over the blender so I could grind it. I hope he loves cooking as much as Brian and I do one day!

This week we had fun. On Wednesday, we we took the Choo choo to Le Bon Marche and met Jonah and Kirsten. Jonah and Michael played with the Brio train set. But there were no trains there (GO FIGURE! AT LE BON MARCHE!!) so I bought some for him to play with there. We were going to get him some for his birthday anyways!

Then, we all went to McDonalds by our apartment. The boys took naps, and then we went to the park in the afternoon! FUN DAY!

Yesterday, Michael and I met JOnah and Kirsten at Parc Montsouris, my favorite park in Paris. We stayed there for 2.5 hours and met a nice English woman who had a son the same age as Jonah and Michael!

In the afternoon, Michael and I played ping pong on the coffee table and then we made pesto.

I can't even being to remember what I did MOnday and Tuesday!

Love,
P

No Place Like Home

We had a great time visiting home this July!! I am sure I could have spent more than 5 weeks there! ;o) Here are some highlights.

Houston
I nearly wept after seeing the "Welcome to Houston" sign. The happiness to be home as well as the relief of getting off of the plane I had been on alone with Michael for 14 hours was overwhelming! We quickly got down to the business of relaxing and visiting with Grandparents! ;o)

We spent Tuesday afternoons at Toddler Time at the library and many other hot afternoons in the pool that my mom got for Michael! He loved it!


My dad had the great idea to go to Moody Gardens so we did! It was fantastic and had plenty of things to do for an entire day. We swam in their lagoon, visited the aquarium and the rainforest, and had dinner there overlooking Galveston Bay. Michael loved the awesome splashpad that they had:

And here is Galveston bay in the background with Grandparents and Michael:Then, my good friend Renee came down from Austin to spend the weekend shopping, eating, and relaxing! My parents cooked an amazing crawfish and crab boil to welcome her into town. After which, we met an old college friend of mine, Shane, for wine at a local wine bar. On Saturday, we went shopping at the MEGA asian super store, Hong Kong, and had dim sum at Ocean's Palace. DELIGHTFUL! I sure do miss my best friend:Michael and I spent a lot of time sleeping, relaxing, and playing with Grandma and Grandpa. It was awesome to see him eating and enjoying the Asian food my mom prepared! He loved every bit of it and proves that he is, after all, half Vietnamese! Here is a picture of him with my parents near the last day:
Arlington via Conroe via The Woodlands via College Station
After our visit with my parents, Grammy picked us up and drove us to Arlington. Little did we know we were also going through Conroe, The Woodlands, AND College Station! ;o)

We went to Conroe to see the new additions on their new home and swung by The Woodlands to visit with Aunt Tina, Kayleigh, and Great Grandpa! Michael loved being in Aunt Tina's pool. Aunt Tina even got in and showed him how to kick! Michael would kick and then he'd hold his foot in the air like this:

Michael got to visit with the wise Great Grandpa:We had a great time catching up and enjoying the Houston Heat!! Then, we drove to College Station to visit Michael's Godmother, Christina. Grammy bought us A&M shirts and took pictures of us!! I am so happy to have these! A&M holds so many great memories for us. It's where I met Brian; it's where we got engaged; it's where we began our life together! Here we are at Kyle Field!!! Michael is SUPER happy about it:

Denver
Michael stayed in Arlington while I flew to Denver to visit my sister! We had an awesome time! First order of business, visiting the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory! It was amazing. Seriously! We got to taste lots of teas, and we were required to put on a hairnet before going into the factory. When my sister had forgotten her hair tie, I pulled on my knowledge of hairnets at Samsung and helped her get her hair in there and stay! Who knew smocking up would come in handy in real life? Here we are outside the tea shop: Then, she took me all over Boulder and Denver. She fed me, clothed me, and shopped with me. What more can you ask for? On Saturday morning, we went running in an awesome park in Downton Denver. Then, we had lunch with her sweet friend Wendy at a diner, which reminded me of EZ's Diner in Austin. *sniff* Then, we saw the Saturday matinee showing of The Dark Knight and had sushi afterwards. We had an awesome time and ended our trip watching chick flicks before I flew back to DFW.


One of the best moments of being a parent is seeing your child after an absence. It can be just an hour or 2-3 days! It doesn't matter because they always greet you with outstretched arms, a huge smile, and love that never stops raining in. It's amazing! I saw Michael in DFW and found out about HIS fun weekend in Dallas.


He got to go to the zoo and interact with animals:
He helped Grandpa clean the cars, which involves a hose. His favorite thing:


He got to eat PANCAKES. PANCAKES! Gotta miss Bisquick! And he spent lots of time playing fun games and enjoying his Grandparents.

AND! He got to see Dada!




Then Mommy came back! Grammy and Mommy took Michael ALL OVER DFW. We went to a Southern Living Idea House, out to lunch at Piranhas (AWESOME), and fed the fish at the Japanese gardens in Fort Worth:

Then, we visited my good friend Gina and her 2 kids, Sarah and Zef. Zef was born 10 days before Michael. We took them to the pool!




Came back, had lunch, put the kids down for a nap, and had grown up time. TRES AMUSANT!

Then, Grammy watched Michael for me one day so I could have SPA day with Gina! It was awesome. We got facials and massages. Had lunch in our bathrobes. And then got pedicures:




As if that weren't enough fun, we then flew to:




Philadelphia
Where our nuclear family was reunited with Brian at the rent a car place! Michael was ECSTATIC to see his dad!We rented a car and drove to meet the rest of the family at Uncle Wild Bill and Aunt AK's new townhome in...

Washington D.C.
We had an amazing time catching up, eating, and enjoying the ALL American life in our nations' GORGEOUS capital. We had a family picnic, went to a baseball game:And explored quickly our nation's monuments at night:
It was awesome. The whole trip was awesome!

Delaware
There is a reason why the only thing they can put on their license plate is "The First State." Not too impressed with Delaware I was! We stayed in Newark because Brian had to work a bit and the research office is there. We wandered over to Pennsylvania to do some shopping and I must say I ADORE Pennsylvania. Not too crazy about Delaware!

We had a great time anyways though hanging out with the Schleismann's. Tony worked with Brian in Paris and they have already relocated back to the States. Michael and I hung out with his wife and daughter, Joen and Nicolette, during the day and had fun watching movies, playing on the neighbor's playscape, and just relaxing. So there IS something nice about Delaware! We have a friend there now! ;o)

And then we went back to Paris. See some of the blogs below. This is all out of order and I apologize!

I think that's it. Hopefully, no more ginormously long blogposts.