Pull my finger

I've been teaching Michael his body parts and bodily functions lately. He's been really gassy of late and tooting a lot so I've taught him toot. He can't say it but knows what it means. Today, I was doing some situps on the floor while Phuong was putting his creams on before bed and he runs over and sits on my belly per usual. But then I let out a nice fart, which reverberated off of the wood floors and he laughed and laughed. Then he made his sign for 'more', and I was like look here boy, I'm spent, I've got nothing else, "all done". When that didn't work, he made the sign "just 1 more" with his index finger so I did some more exercises and worked up a good one a bit later. He was a bit aways from me so I held out my finger and when he pulled it, I shot that one off the parquet. He couldn't stop laughing and held out the 1 more sign again but unfortunately I was not up for the challenge and we had to chase each other in a circle and one of us got tickled repeatedly.

New Word

Michael has recently become fascinated with trains. He started calling them "choo choo" even though they're not steam powered. Every time he sees stairs descending into the metro system, he says choo-choo and cries if we don't go down to look at the trains. When we're waiting for the train to come, he gets really excited and says choo-choo until the train comes to a stop. If you even say the word choo-choo, he'll say it about 15 times in a row. Today he saw a real train on the way to Giverny and an animal farm which got him really excited.

We went to IKEA this evening to get some baby security items and he found the toy train. We had to pull him off of it and bought him one for his birthday. It's not as nice as a Brio but it only cost 11 Euro and he loved this one anyway.

Tuesday we're going to the Jardin d'Acclimatation north of the Bois de Boulogne. They have one of those mini trains like at Hermann Park in Houston so I imagine I'll be out 30 Euro in train tickets. Maybe he'll be happy just to look at it longingly from afar.

Shadow

Michael discovered his shadow while in Virginia at Aunt AK and Uncle Bill's house!

Saturday morning, July 26th, I took Michael for a walk around the townhouse area and it was there...behind their garage, that he found his shadow! Since then, he spies it from time to time and is quite impressed that it is there.

Today, he waved hello to it and kept on going.

Henry James Young

On Friday, I took care of both Oliver and Michael all day long while my friend, Laura, was having a home birth to welcome her son!

Henry James Young was born August 8, 2008 (yup, that would be 08.08.2008) at 8:00pm!

She didn't plan for it to be that way, but what a way to come into the world! So congratulations to them and their family!

Love,
P

La Rentree

Last year, I wrote about a funny phenomenon here called "La Rentree," which is a term used for going back to normal life after 1-2 months of vacation. It applies to both adults and children alike. Think of it as "Back to School," but for everyone!

However, last year, La Rentree was something I experienced by observation. It certainly didn't apply to me. That "Back to School" feeling of new school supplies, seeing old friends again, and re-counting about a relaxing summer vacation well spent...well, that was just for the French apparently!

But this year, most surprisingly, it isn't. It applies to me too. I was welcomed by text messages on my phone, e-mails in my inbox, and voice messages asking if I was back and how my summer vacation went. When can we get the kids together? Are you going to be at Square Rene Legall this week?

So what does this mean exactly? It might mean that I am starting to make friends here. It might mean that while I eat my umpteenth croissant for the day, that I enjoy it here and miss things from here.

It just might mean...that we have made ourselves a home and didn't even realize it. Or maybe it was just me who didn't.

Love,
P

"Michael, we can't go to the park because they are closing it up. Mean men with whistles make us leave. If we stay there, we get locked in. Do you want to sleep at the park tonight?"

"eey"

What a Waste

Eventually, as a stay at home mom...you encounter someone who says "What a waste" to your decision to be a stay at home mom.

Thankfully, that someone said it to Brian and not me. An intern at Brian's work told him "What a Waste" it was for me to be at home instead of working.

Brian just gave her a funny look, which is much more civil than what I would have done to that girl. I believe the term is called "ripped her a new one."

Love,
P

On Friday, Michael learned how to put his pointer finger to his lips and go "shh." Like people do at the library.

Today, we went shopping at La Defense. Michael played in a lot of toy stores and rode the indoor train. Then, we peeked into Jardin d'Aclimatation. Went shopping on the Champs Elysees and had a playdate at my friend Su's house. It was a full day!

Michael loves trucks, trains, buses, motorcycles, bikes, right now. He points to them all over the street and asks us what they are over and over again!

On Wednesday, it was so pretty that I decided to be adventurous and take Michael to a cafe for lunch with me. I packed him a lunch, ordered mine...and 15 minutes later, we were back at home! Amazing how fast you can eat when you have a toddler trying to run away.

Love,
P

Funny Day

We are having funny days. Today is one of them!

**Warning, very long post about random things that you might not be interested in.**

In Paris, we have these poles on the sidewalk. They are about 3 feet high and are used to prevent cars/ motorcycles from getting on the sidewalk. Michael has decided these poles are good for humping. He'll see a pole, scream in excitement, run up to it and hump it. We have to pry him off.

There is a small silver ball at the park, anchored into the play area. It is about 1 foot in diameter and bounces up and down on it's anchor. Yup, Michael has started humping that too.

Michael was listening to Dave Matthews and GOT DOWN to it. I mean, he was bobbing back and forth, swaying left and right, bending his knees and booty bumpin' it. I mean, gettin' down. So Brian and I danced with him and we were all going to town and lovin' it. What an awesome family moment.

Today, I was mopping in the kitchen. Michael saw me and stopped. The last time I was mopping, he ran in, slipped, his feet went out from underneath him and he landed flat on his back. I need a "piso mojado" sign.

Interesting how he remembers that 2 months later! I told him to crawl, so he did! However, when I was finished, he got to the kitchen and hit the deck again. So I told him it was ok. He stood up, but took these teeny tiny careful steps to make sure it wasn't wet.

While Michael was waiting for me to finish mopping, I find him standing next to our radiator, leaning up against the door with one foot crossed over the other. Just standing there. Waiting. I asked him, "Are you waiting for Mommy to finish mopping?"

"eey."

Michael-talk for "yes."

We went to 3 parks today before bedtime. Yup. 3. THat's one thing I LOVE about Paris. I can walk to 3 different parks in less than 10 minutes.

We went to a new park today. Michael grabbed a handful of sand. Left the sandpit. Opened the gate, walked about 50 yards past the front of this fountain, took a left, went up 2 long steps, up a ramp, took antoher left, went up 3 more long steps and threw his handful into the backside of the fountain. He looks at me, does his sign for "more." And I say, "Sure."

6 times and 20 minutes later, we are finally "All done."

Today, I gave him a pain au raisin that was about the size of his head.

That's it.

Love,
P

Bienvenue a Paris!

We are back! And surprisingly...happy about it!

I've been eating here like I did in the USA. Like I wasn't going to be back ever. I've been stuffing my face full of pastries, eclairs, croissants, and other French things! So I guess I do miss it here and like it.

SHOCKING.

Will catch up on the US trip etc. One day. When we're not up at god-awful hours dealing with jet-lagged Michael!

Love,
P

Starbucks

I went to Starbucks today. There's one on the way to Montparnasse Station, and I've been walking from home to work lately since it's so nice out so I stop in to have a bit of Americana. Blueberry muffin and ginormous coffee. Today, as I went in, I saw the same two girls leaving that I've seen walking from there and holding Starbucks cups for the last week. They're as American as they come. Then there were four dudes in the front of the store. When I was leaving, the waitress was talking to them in poor English. Also American. I saw another woman in the back of the shop. She might have been American and she was about 50 with dyed blond hair so I'm giving her at least a 87% chance of being American. So that's 8 people and at least 87% of them American.

My Latest Favorite Picture

Haircut

I got a haircut yesterday; my hair's pretty short despite that I told her it had been cut too short last time. I went in to get it cut because I didn't want to wait until after I got back from the US to get one because then it'd be all shaggy, and I don't want to waste an hour of my time in the US getting a haircut either. Also, it's perfect because then I can get a haircut in a month before we go to the hot and sunny south. These are the kinds of things you have to worry about when you can only get your hair cut on Saturdays because you arrive home from work after all the shops close. Problem is, the rest of the 2 million Parisians do the same thing so Saturdays move slowly, especially if you do grocery delivery, or so I heard. We're lucky that P can go mid-week.

I was chatting with the haircutter; she was kind of dumb, but I think it represents how a lot of people here think. She asks me if people earn more as haircutters in the US than in France. I didn't know what to say, but she thought wages here were lower. She claimed the reason is that people are forced by the government to work only 35 hours a week and to work during certain times. I can see how this might limit your earning potential as a haircutter, dependent on the number of people you can squeeze in per hour of work. And if you're forced to work when everyone else works, there might not be as many clients as you'd hope for. Anyway, the conversation turned towards presidents and she then claims that Sarkozy is terrible and that Mitterand was a great president! Mitterand was the communist who introduced the 35 hour week and the largesse of the state currently plaguing the French economy. Even though he's a bit crazy and inconsistent on every issue, Sarkozy is actually trying to change this law (and help out people like my haircutter). This woman really wants Ron Paul as her president, but she just doesn't know it.

The second crazy thing she said was when she asked me how I liked our new president. I was like what are you talking about. She says, you know the new president, the guy that beat Hillary. Wow! I'm glad that wasn't the presidential race. I had to inform her that Obama still has to beat McCain in November.

Along the same lines as the workweek comments, I see every few months an article in the news about the French government seizing tons of cigarettes that have been smuggled through the Spanish border. Why are they brought in? Ridiculously high taxes on cigarettes make it worth buying those on the "black market". French people, who smoke all the time, continue to vote "left" for people that condemn freer markets, although by buying these cigarettes, they are saying they don't approve of these policies.

Dog at work

This exercise is more for me than anything.

Today we were eating lunch at the on site cafeteria and a dog came running in. He was very happy and was running underneath the tables and when people got up to leave he would chase after them and try to get some scraps. I don't know why he would want some scraps since we had beef kidneys, salmon and stuffed rabbit chunk. I got the rabbit, which was pretty good.

Aujourd'hui nous mangions à la cantine et un chien est venu. Il était très content et il courait sous les tables. Quand les autres personnes s'enlevait de partir, il les suit en espérant de recevoir des bribes. Je ne sais pas pourquoi il voudrait des bribes puisqu'on a mangé des rognons de bœuf, du saumon et paupiette de lapin. J'ai pris la paupiette de lapin qui était vachement bonne.

Heute als wir gegessen haben, ist ein Hund in die Kantine gekommen. Er war wirklich froh und er ist unter die Tischen gerennen. Wann die Leute zu weggehen aufgestanden sind, hat er ihnen mit der Höffnung den Abfall zu kriegen gefolgt. Ich habe keine Ahnung, warum er den Abfall wollten, weil wir die Niere, den Lachs et die Kaninchensroulade gegessen haben. Die letzte habe ich gegessen, die ziemlich gut war.

Another Gem in Berlin

An American, and Englishman, a German and a Frenchman are sitting in a bar. The Englishman says "the French are always talking about some regulation in 1942 regarding pressure vessels." The American thinks 'so that is why the French capitulated so easily - so they could quickly solve their pressure vessel issues', but says aloud, "That's all the French had to think about in 1942, there wasn't anything more important?". The Frenchman and the German tensed up real good but luckily the old Englishman made a funny joke and the meeting the next day was very productive.


Brooks was telling me that in school, the French aren't taught about America's role in liberating them from the Germans. They must think that de Gaulle swam the channel with a band of merry men eating cheese and wearing berets and scarves who subsequently wiped out the Germans and their tanks while Ike was trading high fives, drinking brandy and smoking cigars with Churchill over a game of snooker.

Sunshine in Paris 2

Since Phuong left, with the exception of today, the weather has been gorgeous. Long days where it's light out until 10:30pm, days full of sunshine and blue skies, relatively cool temperatures in the mid to upper 70's. This is what I remembered European summer being like in Germany. Last summer was awful here, it was cold and overcast. I remember when my family came to visit in early August, we went to Besancon and were greeted by drizzly weather with temperatures in the lower 50's.

I.Love.Home

There's nothing better than seeing your child in the home you grew up in, eating the food you grew up on, and enjoying the life you remember as a child yourself.

Oh how I miss home.

Love,
P

We Made It

We.made.it. Barely.

Michael was perfect the whole flight to Houston. He slept for 3 hours out of the 11 and never really fussed. He was incredible! Good thing too since I was flying with him internationally BY MYSELF!

After 11 hours in the air, we were redirected to San Antonio because there was a storm over Houston and we didn't have enough gas to wait it out.

So we refueled, but then had to wait because other planes were refueling near us and so we couldn't start our engines.

Then, we were cleared to go. But a girl on our flight had an asthma attack so the doctors came on board.

Finally, we arrived in Houston and went through the billions of lines at customs and inspections.

4 hours late. Better late than never.

I almost cried when I saw the sign "Welcome to Houston" and my parents.

It feels great to be back in Texas.

Love,
P

Must Eat Chips

Do you prefer...

tortilla chips with a bit of lime...

or baked cheetos?
If you're Michael, you'd say, "Both."

Sunshine? IN Paris??? WHAT???

Summer has finally arrived and we have beautiful sunshine and hot weather! Today, Brian slept in and Michael and I went to get breakfast. After hanging around the house, we went to the park with Michael where he had a great time as usual.

For Father's Day, I gave Brian a ping pong playing set so we tested it out today! Michael LOVED it and would chase around the ping pong balls for us when they wouldn't quite make the table. Which was often because I was playing.

Anyways, one of the times that Michael went to get the ball, he ran STRAIGHT into the ping pong table (that is CONCRETE) and hit it headfirst. EEK. No blood, but it did leave a mark.

We decided it was safer to let Michael sit on the table and we played around him. That was super fun because I would hit the ball to him and he would throw it back to me. It was great!

Then, a 2.5 year old girl took an interest in Michael. She chased him all around and tried to hug him and hold his hand. He wasn't too interested though! It was amusing to say the least because she WOULD NOT leave him alone. Even when Michael got off the playground to walk around, she ran after him. Aggressive!

Then, Michael napped in his stroller and Brian and I enjoyed a quiet lunch at our favorite local cafe, L'Entracte.

In the afternoon, Michael squealed with delight as Brian and I kicked the soccer ball around the house in a very nice game of keepaway. Of course, we did let him catch it quite often so he would still play but it was so fun to spend family time.

So that was the theme of the day! FAMILY TIME! It is good because we will be apart soon and we needed this time to be together!

This week, the sitter is coming and Brian and I are going to go eat and play ping pong at the park. I am so excited.

Love,
P