Grandpa

Brian's maternal grandfather passed away Sunday night or early Monday morning.

Our prayers are with our family as we mourn the loss of a dynamic and loved family member. We rejoice in the reunion of Grandpa and Grandma in the kingdom of Heaven with our Lord.

And we wish oh-so-badly that we were not so far away.

Poll

Today, we went shopping. Our whole family bought A-LoT of Stuff at Cyrillus. Website here:
http://www.cyrillus.fr/fr/

I spotted this cute little black fall jacket. Exactly what I was looking for and at 30% off...it very quickly ended up on our pile of stuff at the register.

When we walked out of the store, I checked the receipt to make sure I got 30% off the jacket.

And it wasn't there. Nope, not on the receipt.

Free jacket.

What would you do?

A. Go back into the store and tell them to charge you for the jacket? You didn't exactly make it home with the jacket. You're still standing in front of the store.

or

B. Go home with your free jacket? The employee made the error so in the end, it is their fault that they just lost money on a jacket.

Post what you would do in the comments section and I too will post what I did as well.

Bon week-end!

Cite des Enfants

YEA! I finally get to blog about Cite des Enfants. On an early September 1st morning, a bunch of 2-3 year olds arrived at the Cite des Enfants, a children's museum in Paris, at 9:30am.

After discovering that I only bought tickets for the kids and not the adults (please don't ask me why I assumed the adults wouldn't need tickets), I dashed to the automated ticket buying stations to get tickets for us chaperones too. WHEW. Thank God for my carte bleue and no line!

So! The kids were very patient and waited for our entry time in front of this crazy octopus:
This was 4 of the 6 kids. We also had Geo and Oliver in the mix! We had an entry time because you have only a limited amount of time in the museum, an hour in a half.

I mean, really. An indoor kids space in Paris? THERE DEFINITELY needs to be a time limit on that or we'd bring our sleeping bags in and just STAY there.

First up, was the construction zone where they wore hard hats, vests, and did important city works with styrofoam blocks of bricks.

Here's Michael working with Elise and Karstyn on the rolling ramp:

And Michael rolling his cart around with no head protection:
Then, we made it to the water exhibit. We stripped the kids of their shirts and put them in their "protective water aprons." However, we neglected to remove their pants and by the end of the session, they were soaked.

Here's a picture of as many of the kids as we could get in one picture:
They had this cool in ground lazy river. You could put these shapes (on the floor on the right side of the picture) in to that hole that Jonah's got his arm in. And it would float around and you could grab it back out that hole. Pretty cool:

And here's a picture of Geo, Michael and Karstyn at one of the stations!

Thanks go out to Katie for taking these great pictures! We had a wonderful time with our playgroup. We are SO SO SO very blessed to have these great friends with great kids. Michael asks about his friends all the time.

Next excursion that I have in the works...is a cooking atelier! They have a cooking class for kids and their moms that I found out about!

French-tards, eventually gave way to a more fluid option:

Paris-tards

Pronounced: pa-REE-tards

Much closer to the actual word "retard," and therefore, much better.

And today, they left. And that makes me sad. What wonderful guests and wonderful friends. We had an amazing life back in Austin and they were one of the reasons it was so.

Some days, I wonder if it will ever be worth it that we came here. So far, I can come up with: great vacations, improvement in my cooking skills, learning French, and the fact that yesterday, my son answered me when I asked him a question in French.

I need to post pics. The Orsay has a floor call the Salles des Fetes and it's beautiful. Never seen it before! Once I get the pics from Renee, I will post them. There were also other rooms with cute urns and gigantic vases that would look GREAT in my house one day.

French-tards

Our friends, Ryan and Renee, have come to Paris for a leisurely visit! And no visit with them is complete without a new saying/catchy phrase:

French-tard: a person who does not know how to speak French and does not know the standard customs/manners of the country. Example of use: While ordering in English at a restaurant: "Sorry, we are a couple of french-tards. Could we have some water please?"

OK, they earned their keep at our place just from that word alone.

So, The McNiehs arrived on Thursday and we were able to hang out with them all this weekend. We started Saturday with the Rodin Museum and they posed for me. VOILA:

Then, we shopped for a lunch on Rue Cler and had a picnic in front of Les Invalides:
It was delicious until the over-aggressive bees of this season started flying away with bits of our roasted chicken. We were fine with the 2 that kept coming back. But then they told their friends and 5 more showed up. Nice try Mother Nature!

Brian and Ryan threw the frisbee back and forth while Renee and I chatted away. Just like old times!

We had planned to visit Napoleon's tomb and the War Museum...but Renee/Ryan didn't seem TOO interested in that idea so we opted out and walked over to Champs des Mars to see le Tour Eiffel:
Then we dined on takeout cassoulet for dinner while watching Eurotrip. Nice, I know.

Today, we ventured out to Versailles with them. While they toured the chateau, we wandered around the gardens:

And were there to see the fountain displays, which must have been cool in the 1800's because they certainly weren't that cool in the parlance of our times. Michael at least had fun feeding the ducks:

And that was the end of our day! Ryan has been wearing his pedometer and it read 12000 steps today. That's roughly 6 miles.

Not too shabby! We are enjoying eating and hanging out with our friends. I don't think any of us have felt HUNGER since they arrived.

Biblical Marriages and Night Light by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson

Possibly Hot Topic of Discussion.

Now...I do realize that Dr. James Dobson is a Christian Conservative. And when I decide to do a couples devotional on marriage (by myself by the way)...I am inviting biblical marital principles into my life. And to be honest, I'm not quite prepared for it. And I don't quite like it. There, I said it.

Am I saying a biblical marriage is awful? Or that it does not work? Absolutely not. I know of 2 "biblical marriages" that work quite well for the people involved.

I am saying that I am disappointed in Night Light's 2 chapters on the roles of wives and husbands.

Dr. Dobson devotes one chapter to the role of husband. Here are some questions from that chapter:

• What has been my most "shining moment" as your husband?
• How can I (the wife) encourage you (the husband) in the responsibilities God has given to you?
• Am I (the husband) sensitive to your (the wife's) feelings regarding decisions?
• Do you ever miss being single? Why?
• How, as a wife, can I help you be a better father?
• Wife asking husband: Do you ever struggle with trying to care for my emotional well-being? What can I do to help?

Dr. Dobson then devotes one chapter to the role of wives. Here are some questions from that chapter:

• Does the role of "helper" seem insulting to you?
• Is it easy for you (the wife) to serve me as your husband?
• Do you (the husband) feel that I (the wife) believe in you?
• How can we define the wife's duty to submit to her husband?
• If you (the husband) were asked to define my (the wife's) character, would noble come to mind?
• Wife asking husband: What do you think is the biggest setback/failure you have experienced? Did I show you support at that time?
• Husband asking wife: Which of my favorite activities do you enjoy?
  Wife asking husband: Do you appreciate having me join you in activities?

Sense a trend? The husband's chapter is...of course, all about the husband's role and how the wife can help him be better. The wife's chapter is all about...the husband and how the wife can submit and serve him better. Hmmm...did we forget all about the wife's needs?

Now, to Dobson's credit, he didn't ignore the wife's role completely. He did ask questions about how the men could be sensitive to the wife's feelings in decision making. And how to care for her emotional well being. But let's look at the data:

Husband chapter:
22 questions total

4 questions recognizing the wife's feelings/rights to have them/her self improvement
6 general marriage questions that are good for any marriage
12 questions about the father/husband's needs/wife's need to submit and support

Wife Chapter:
20 questions total

3 questions recognizing the wife's feelings/rights to have them/self improvement
2 general marriage questions that are good for any marriage
15 questions on how the wife can better support her husband, submit.

And so I finish these chapters disappointed. I would have hoped for some more questions about the husband considering the wife's interests and joining HER on them. Or maybe some questions on the difficulty of being a wife/stay at home mom and how the husband could help her there.

But no. No discussion as such in the wife chapter. Just more focus on how to help your husband in his bad times, taking on HIS interests as your own and well, basically being his helper without any focus at all on YOU.

So...there. I don't like it. And maybe that makes me a bad biblical wife. I have my own interests, my own needs, and my own necessity to be treated as Brian's equal, not his subject to lead.

But in my marriage, Brian loves me anyways. And it works for us.

Discuss. Conservative and not so conservative opinions all welcome.

Prayer

If you read my blog and believe in prayer, please pray for our friends. We met a wonderful little family who is friends with Brian's brother. We vacationed with them in London and they have a gorgeous 15 month old little girl.

The little girl is currently in the children's hospital because of second and 3rd degree burns on her hands, forearms and forehead. She got them from touching the glass in front of their fireplace. She goes in to surgery in the next week for skin grafting and our thoughts are with her. If you pray, please keep this precious little girl and her family in your prayers.

We certainly are.

Love,
P

Michael

So I don't talk about Michael enough in my blog...

Yeah...right!

I love this most recent picture of Michael. So full of joy, fun, speed...and of course, a bubble blowing thing.

Michael's "latest"

• When naming people he's going to do an activity with...he sometimes names the same people 2-3 times each. Ex: "Mommy, do you want to play wood choo choo with Michael, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy, Michael, Mommy?"
• He's starting to name emotions to things that happen to him. He told me on Friday that "I am sad because I lost my Mommy." This was what he told me when I picked him up from preschool and it broke my heart.
• He loves to help cook, blow bubbles, run with abandon down hills, ride on scooters/bicycles, play with trucks/cars, hunt chestnuts and throw them in the stream.
• Lately, he's been picking the color pink for stuff. Drives me crazy. He knows this so he continues to pick pink so I think I better play nonchalant about the whole thing. He likes trucks/cars/boy things though...so I'm trying not to make a big deal out of it.
• He climbs in our bed and sleeps between us without us knowing. So we wake up and voila, there's Michael.
• He recognizes Edith Piaf songs and has a favorite one he goes crazy to.
• Michael knows our CDs and picks them out to listen to. He'll choose some Alan Jackson and announce that we're listening to him. Lately, it's been U2, which we do not contest.

I think that's it. This is for me. So I don't forget what he's like at 2 going on 3 years of age.

For every child, there is a small kingdom that is just for them to roam: Happy 3rd Birthday Karstyn!
We had a great time at Karstyn's 3rd birthday party today. Great food, great company, and fabulous fun. I had an awesome time doing a mini shoot. The lighting was Oh-So-Yummy. Who would have guessed at noon that it would be the case. Will proof the pictures soon!

The kids couldn't have had any more fun I don't think. There were balance bikes, balloons, parachutes, playgrounds, big hills, sand pits...my word. An awesome time.

Love,
P

Dijon!

Well, we planned a vacation - Daniels Style - meaning we decided on Saturday to go somewhere. Booked a hotel the following Tuesday. And were off on the train the following Saturday morning, August 22nd.

Vacation Destination: DIJON!

Yup, the home of Dijon mustard. I know, you are jealous. :o)

Here are the Daniels on a street leading to one of their town cathedrals:
On Saturday, we spent the day relaxing and wandering around the town. Here are Brian and I on the main square:

The boys slept through the carousel on the first day and us parents had a nice break with un cafe to boot. We enjoyed a relaxing stroll, ate hearty bourgogne cuisine, and just took in the sights and sounds of a cute little town. Here is a picture of the boys being happy, adorable, and the same size:

We made it to another large plaza with these fountains shooting from the floor. We stripped the boys down to their skivvies and let them go wild. This resulted in Michael slipping and ending up with a big knot on his head. While doing this, Brian and Jonathan shopped for our picnic dinner.

We dined like kings at a park nearby Dijon's version of Arc de Triomphe. We had some delicious cheeses, tons of rillettes, some jambon cru, and lots of wine. Well, we drank 1 bottle but bought lots at least. Michael had another injury where he tripped and then fell on the stroller wheels. OUCH.

After dinner, we found a park for the boys to play on. And THIS awesome thing:

Would have gotten much more awesome pictures, but the light was fading fast and 1/60th shutter speed just DOES NOT take clear pictures when you have adults pedaling as fast as they can.

The next day, we woke up, had a slow breakfast and took the boys to the carousel. I mean really, can you say no to these 2 faces? Well, YES. Especially since they are 2, going on 3, so they do lots of things that make you say "STOP THAT!"

We had an awesome time exploring this quaint little town. Thanks go out to Brian's parents for recommending it to me! And here are some other pictures, just because I love them:

1st Day of Preschool!

So we did it! Michael went on his first day of preschool and was a star. Here he is outside our apartment, ready to go:
He took off running down the street to catch our bus. Got him to turn around really quickly:

And we made it to school just fine! He was a bit scared in the beginning, but 3 French teachers immediately welcomed him and helped him feel at home. Here he is getting the nerve to attempt his first craft:

I think he was really scared...but he didn't cry and was a big boy! The teachers were all very nice and he is in the same class as Aiden, so he has a friend already.

So I picked him up later and he didn't have any peeing/pooping accidents at school (knock on wood THERE!). When I got there, he was sitting in a circle like all the other kids and was happy to see me! Some funny observations:

• When I picked him up, he was the only kid not wearing shoes. Do not know how that came to be.
• When the teacher said: "Prends tes chaussures," he went to his shoes and picked them up. NEAT right? Well, she WAS pointing to them at the time so we can't take full credit there.
• He knew exactly how to use the bathroom there and flush. I took him before we left and he knew the drill.
• Have no idea what he did with paint, but it's all over the bottom of his shoes...and had little specks on his face. Look closely around his left eye:

SO VOILA! Let's see how the 2nd day goes. With all our friends so far...the 1st day isn't bad because they are not fully aware of what's going on. Then the 2nd day they burst into tears because they know they are being left!

Michael said he did have fun at school though and he wanted to go back tomorrow. SWEET!

Me, I went to a cafe, had breakfast, read my Gourmet magazine and wandered up some side streets. It is really great fun to get to explore a new neighborhood intimately!

**Aside** I know some of my readers live in Paris and want some photographic services. I now have mornings free and would love to do some shoots in the Musee du Rodin/etc! E-mail me if you are interested. *Aside done.*

Downward Facing Dog

Well, I spoke too soon with the potty training. Michael still has accidents and they are no fun to clean up. One day, he peed on my rug. Then peed on his rug. The pooped a bit in his underwear. And then decided to draw with green marker on the rug he peed on already.

It wasn't a fun day.

Lately, Michael will do the yoga position Downward Facing Dog and just pee...pee...pee. I suppose it helps him to see his pee stream better and where it's going.

Fountainebleau

While The Mom was still here at the beginning of August, we took a field trip to Fountainebleau, a chateau outside of Paris with lots of forest/hunting grounds. Here's Brian and his mom with a posing European in the background:
Before visiting the chateau, we enjoyed lunch in their little town center. Michael purchased himself a squeaky new friend:
I actually don't have much to write about the chateau because I just ran through it with Michael while Brian and his mom enjoyed the informative audio guide tour.

Afterwards, we explored the grounds of the chateau and rented a boat on their little pond. You can almost imagine what it would have been like for the royalty to enjoy some tea and then go boating along the little lake.

We decided to employ child labor:

Brian and I argued a lot on this ride. We played musical chairs on the boat because the weight distribution made the boat easier to row. I just thought Brian wasn't that great at rowing. You can imagine how fun that was. But in the end, it was a lot of fun.

Afterwards, The Mom and I enjoyed tea on the veranda while Brian and Michael took a horse ride around the property:
Then, we decided our day wasn't long enough and we went and had Indian food near Gare du Nord at our favorite place.

It was a beautiful day!

Transportation

Ok. I've had this blog now a while and not talked much about "public transportation."

On most days, I enjoy not having a car, walking everywhere and taking the metro/bus.

But yesterday, was not one of those days.

I had to go drop off Brian's computer cord at work.

So I went to the bus stop that would drop me off right in front of his office.
No bus. Road work being done so who knows where the bus stop has been moved. No sign telling anything.

OK...so I'm going to have to take the bus to the RER. Involves a transfer, but there is no other choice.

Get to the RER. The next train's terminus is one stop before the stop I need to get off. RATS. The next train isn't for 20 minutes.

So I get on the RER train. Get off one stop too early and walk 15 minutes to Brian's office.

The story does not end here.

To go home, near naptime, I figure taking the bus is best. Michael can sleep in the stroller and I don't have to deal with stairs. Thanks to Michael dawdling and picking up 4 rocks at Champs de Mars, we miss our bus by 30 seconds. Next bus isn't for 15 minutes.

Walk 7 minutes to nearest metro, take that without event. Get to our metro stop. Carry a stroller with a sleeping 30 lb toddler in it up 3 flights of stairs.

Walk home 10 minutes.

Get home. Elevator in my building is broken.

Pick up 30 lb toddler with my heavy purse, etc...carry him up 4 flights of stairs. Leave stroller downstairs.

Later in the afternoon, find out elevator is now working.

*sigh*

Williams Sonoma's Pancetta and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Yesterday, Michael and I went with all our 2 year old friends to Cite des Enfants, which is like a Children's museum here in Paris. It was great fun and pictures to come later.

We went home for lunch and Laura tells me that she has absolutely no food in the house to feed her 2 starving boys. I don't have much food either but I have more food than "no food!" So I invited her over for a very impromptu lunch.

Well, that lunch morphed into a huge day affair! We fed the kids. Then put them down for naps and had sushi "takeaway" for lunch while watching Spanglish on Emotion. For us, that was SUPER fun. :o)

Then, we both looked at each other and said, well, we don't have anything for dinner for either family. So we decided to grocery shop together once the boys woke up, and Laura and I watched the kids and made dinner together.

We tried this William's Sonoma recipe and it was a DELIGHT. Laura was the one who did all the hardwork with the chicken stuffing and sauteeing! Props to her for an amazing job.

Pancetta and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Photo Credit: WilliamsSonoma.com

Recipe credit: WilliamsSonoma.com
Don't want to get in trouble with anyone for posting this stuff on my blog! Givin' credit where it is due!

A savory stuffing of provolone cheese and pancetta gives a flavor boost to chicken breasts. Provolone is a cow's milk cheese from southern Italy that has a firm texture and mild flavor.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. plus 1 1/2 cups olive oil
6 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each about 8 oz., pounded 1/2 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 oz. aged provolone cheese, grated
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 1/2 cups toasted bread crumbs


Directions:
In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1 tsp. olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer the pancetta mixture to a small bowl and stir in the sage.

Create a pocket in each chicken breast: Lay the breast on a work surface with the pointed end away from you. Insert a long paring knife in the center of the end closest to you (the rounded end). Move the knife around to enlarge the opening, forming a pocket; be careful not to cut through to the outside of the breast. Then remove the knife. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Stuff each chicken breast with 2 Tbs. of the cheese and 1 Tbs. of the pancetta mixture. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes.

Put the flour, egg whites and bread crumbs in separate breading pans or shallow dishes. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg whites and coat evenly with the bread crumbs, pressing so they adhere. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes. In a wide pan over high heat, heat the 1 1/2 cups olive oil. Working in batches, fry the chicken until crisp and browned underneath, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes more, adding more oil to the pan if needed. Drain the chicken on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately. Serves 5.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Here is a good link on the technique to stuff Chicken breasts with pictures:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/tipTechniqueView.cfm?objectid=92F4ABA6-A53B-FCA0-2B4434084DD5034C