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