Update

For a quick pox update: my son resembles a bag of red hots! Besides the obvious annoyingness of this childhood disease, it’s the first time I have seen him, well for not finding a better word, deformed, the poor guy just breaks my heart and makes me laugh at the same time. Between the itchy sensation while having to wear jammies and pox bursting we all had a very sleepless night. Its got to be hard on the little guy, who would have ever thought just laying in bed would be so painful and uncomfortable. Knock on wood that tonight will be better than the last, as I am rather exhausted and I have a big day tomorrow.

I have yet to figure out if my disease of being anal retentively clean and organized when people come to my house is genetically inherited or if it is an influenced learned behavior. In either case my Mom should be very proud, since she is the one who passed along this trait to me. Since the moment I left my parents house, I have been “aware” the state my dwelling is in when people come for a visit. Little did I ever imagine I would be this way. I think at times my husband must wonder if I have gone off the deep end, as he is rather opposite of me in this subject. He tells me “Who cares? Whoever isn’t going to notice.”, and I think to myself, I care and why don’t you care and how could someone not notice whatever it is (except him maybe). Tomorrow is like spring cleaning, the house and then some will be will be scrubbed from top to bottom. Here is my checklist:

• Vacuum
• Clean the tile and wood floors
• Dust (including the hanging light fixtures…ugg)
• Clean the mirrors (in the entire house)
• Clean the bathroom
• Wipe down the WC door and Fridge door
• Organize our bar (and not the bottles…unfortunately)
• Some loads of laundry
• Clean the car (inside and out if I will ever get it back from the shop)
• Makeup the guest room bed
• Pick up the randomly scattered toys throughout the entire house
• Find a place for any objects that don’t need to be seen by others!

Well, wish me luck, do you think it is thorough enough?

PS Most likely won’t be blogging for the next 2 weeks!

Pox Pox Go Away

Wow, I am finally back, sorry for being MIA for the last week. Life has been, well, very busy and time consuming you could say between incessant invitations and a death in the family. Plus to my added fatigue of Halloween a little boy who came down with the chicken pox. This is one of my worst childhood memories, probably since I had it when I was 11 and able to remember every single detail. The itchy, painful bursting pox, the smell of Calamine lotion and the oatmeal baths, have got to be the most horrible way to pass a week. So far, as of last count before his nap, he had about 65 poxes. The poor guy is a trooper, they are spreading like wild fire and are probably going to hurt like heck when they burst since they are no longer the tiny things they were yesterday. So tonight he is going to experience the cloudy depths of an oatmeal bath. The oatmeal bath mix, being homemade, since I have never seen or heard of it in France. Which I had assumed was more complicated then just throwing a couple of cups of oats in the blender to make it into a powder! I hope this cloudy bath will not scare him to death, as he doesn’t enjoy new things like this. At least since I am sequestered at home this week I will have, hopefully, plenty of time to prepare for some very anticipated visitors arriving next week! Although if only I don’t sprain my back or have one of my arms fall off since all he says is “up Mommy up”.

Now to change the subject of this post, a quick little brag section about my son. I am required since I was so surprised to find what I did. The other day we went into town to pick up a preschool activity book with dry erase pages I had ordered for him at a local bookstore. On the drive home he was able to unwrap the pen from its cellophane packaging and start doodling while in his car seat. Later that night when he was finally cozy in his bed fast asleep I was running around picking up the remnants of the day and started looking through his book to see what he had done or had scribbled on and to my amazement this is what I found:

I find this to be amazing that my son was able to do this at his age, the eyes, nose and mouth are all in the correct places on the face, plus they are all in the right proportion to each other (except maybe the right eye). Perhaps, since I am his mother, I believe that this little farmer has the artistic eye or at least a very keen sense of observation and analysis.  

French Fry Hat

The other day while driving home from daycare my son said the funniest thing to me: “Mommy I am wearing my French Fry hat!” (Well not exactly in all those words, but in his language this is what he communicated.) I was dumb founded for a few seconds because I was trying to analyze the relation to French Fries (a favorite food) and his winter hat. Then –ding- the light went on, his hat has a bunch of tassels on top, which an imagination could think of as skinny French Fries I guess. After a laugh out loud I wondered where or who had told him this. I asked around me, the usual suspects who have the tendency to influence my son, but no one seemed to know what I was talking about, even though a couple of them wish they had come up with it. So this one is 100% a clever 2 ½ year old comment! I was so proud to see that my son’s imagination is working great and obviously developing well. Till now I have only observed him laying his stuffed animals out, covering them with a blanket and instructing them to do “dodo” (go to sleep) in a tone which seemed to be mimicking me when he tries to fight the sandman’s arrival. Since that day, he has asked to wear his “French Fry hat” everyday. Yet it hasn’t been necessary till this morning since the wind gusts outside on this sunny but freezing day are making the temperature probably not much more than 35°F. Thank goodness we are fully equipped for this colder than normal Fall time with a French Fry hat. 

Voila the famous French Fry Hat!!!!

Why is buying food so complicated?

Today I am recovering from a whirl wind Thursday. Yesterday was an exhausting day if I ever had one. It’s not so much that I had non stop errands to run or crazy people all around me, no just my son and I. From the moment when the fog cleared, after my first café au lait, to the time I finally sat down with my dinner plate on the couch, seemed like no matter what I did, things just kept being dumped upside down. I hate mornings when from the time you are standing up, you feel like you are running late. After a rather long preparation to get ready for the day, which included a few laps running around the living room and a toothbrush incident we were off to do the one regularly required activity I hate most in France. Grocery shopping!!! I wonder if there is any other American in France who hates grocery shopping as much as I do? I find everything about it incredibly inconvenient. I miss it in the US, it’s so easy. You pull in the parking lot, and drivers are considerate, if you were waiting for a spot, they don’t go take it just because they are faster than you. Plus the parking spaces are large enough for you to open your car door to get your child out of their car seat, without touching the neighboring car. You don’t need a token or a 1€ piece to even be able to get a cart. I understand the reasoning for this, to avoid more carts from being stolen, but really who steals grocery carts besides stupid teenagers and the homeless? Probably more than I think, but that is beside the point. I hate when you either forget your token in the car, which is not that close to the cart parking area due to the millions of people at the store, or when you don’t have a 1€ piece. Then you have to go into the store, ask at the “accueil” or the customer service desk, ha that is a joke, but then you have to wait at least a minute or two for anyone to ask you if you need to help, and all that for a token.  Once you have obtained your new token, you must then walk back out to the parking lot, because who would have ever thought of parking carts inside the store, oh ya the Americans. Once you get your cart, you must be sure to not forget your bags in the car, which I am totally ok with. For those of us with kids, we must be careful which grocery store we shop at if our child isn’t able to walk next to the cart, some places have carts with no child seats in them. Made that mistake once, and now am a loyal shopper at the place where every cart has a seat in it. Grocery shopping with toddlers, is the same anywhere, their patience only last so long, so you must be quick or buy what they want. Eventually when the cart is full a check out line must be selected. This being a rather difficult task, many variables go in to play here. Is the checker quick, is the person going to bag fast, are they going to pay buy check are just a few questions that should be posed. These are valid questions to pose in the US too, but they don’t have the same strategic power as in France. Once your items are on the belt they are scanned through either as quickly as possible, so that a grocery mound forms before you can barely get your bag open to start bagging yourself, because never would a checker help you put something in a bag, or they are almost completely forgotten about while the checker kisses her newly arrived colleague or chats it up with the checker at the next line about their plans for the weekend. From start to finish, you better “pen in” at least an hour or more. So after a morning of grocery shopping chaos, getting home, putting everything away, making lunch, pipi breaks since we are officially trying to potty train I then could even start to think about the incredible mess around me! So my day went…but who cares, today is new and now that I am done writing this I am off to do something fun, like nothing!

Flambé

A picture is worth a thousand words goes the common saying…

My Guinea Fowl was a success!!! For all the amateur chef anxiety I had about trying to cook this strange bird it was a relative easy feat to accomplish. I found it almost easier than a chicken, since the meat is less dense. I followed the recipe, step by step, till the grand finale of the “flambé.” The meat pieces nice and hot in the pan, the 80 proof Calvados lit up quicker than expected, enough to make my camera girl jump back but in time for no missing eyebrows.  The flames, seen above in the picture, shot up a good three feet. The best part of this was the smell, the aroma of, let’s say, burned alcohol caramelized on meat, makes your mouth water. Besides the new cooking technique mastered the first Fall meal seem to make everyone happy and not just us adults. My son and our friend’s daughter have known each other since birth. They are finally reaching the age of becoming one of each others first good friends. The excitement on my son’s face when I told him they were coming for lunch was pure joy. He waited patiently all morning long until I heard a car drive up and confirmed it was them. He ran to the front door and started yelling his little friend’s name.  It is so funny to watch them play, somewhat, together or at least next to each other while they are not screaming because the other took the toy they were playing with or they just have to have that toy the other is playing with. Like for all first time parents, time flies and you don’t realize it until you have a moment when you really notice your kid is getting to the next step, this for me being hello little boy goodbye toddler. My son has a friend, someone I think he cares about, because his gestures (as much as 2 ½ year old can) shows it. Once she fell while running around the corner to go down the hallway. Obviously crying pursued, my son being very concerned for her, he went to go find her “doudou.” This is what the French call kid’s cuddly toy, like a teddy bear or a blanket. She saw him running to her with her found doudou and instantly stopped crying and wanted down from her Dad’s arms. Real friendships are precious, at any age!

A Daily Discovery

This morning I am sitting here on the couch with my laptop and a nice hot cup of coffee wondering what I am going to write about this morning. As a rookie blogger still, yet to have the consistent writing rhythm down my mind keeps wondering off to the other activities I have planned for the day. For one, I need to go grocery shopping for this weekend; we are having friends for lunch on Sunday and planning my first official Fall themed meal.  When brainstorming ideas for this I was exploring my fridge, freezer and cupboards to see what I already had. In the back depths of my freezer I pulled out a clear plastic bag containing a butcher paper wrapped bundle. If I remember correctly this was offered to me by my mother-in-law a while back. She said it was like a chicken, so not thinking much of it, I stuck it in the freezer to make some chicken soup when it got cold. Although on the frosty label it said “Pintade.”  Not being sure what that was I quickly found the translation. In English it is known as a Guinea Fowl. What the heck it that?  Who has ever heard of that?  Has anyone ever ate that outside of France?  Well at least not me! No negative connotation applied, I promptly called my mother-in-law to question her about this guinea fowl she had given me. After a laugh she explained that I had already ate it, at her house of all places, which she has a reputation to make things and happen to forget to mention an ingredient. Usually it’s nothing bad, just there is some lamb mixed in with the beef sort of thing. The internet informed me that it is I who is ill-informed on the existence of this blue and grey feathered bird. So to sum it up, I have discovered the guinea fowl. Now let’s see if I am going to be successful at cooking it. The recipe I planning on is called “Pintade au Cidre” or Guinea Fowl cooked in Cider (and not the normal hot spiced or sometimes spiked cider, but the classic Breton version.)  This recipe requires me to flambé the guinea fowl with Calvados (cider fermented longer), a technique I have never undertook as the amateur chef I am. Besides the guinea fowl the rest of the meal will be of ingredients that are commonly known, except maybe the creamy squash soup which I am unable to find the correct translation for. Well I better be off to the grocery store. Will write of my culinary experiences on Monday!!!! Bon Weekend!

Photo by Scotch Macaskill via www.wild-facts.com

Sweet and Sour

It is Monday and the start of a new week, which I am hoping is going to be more efficient and productive than the last one. The later ended on a sour note, maybe even worse than sour. It was a day of fried patience and serious questioning of karma. It all started on Friday, the daycare called me because my son had a 103°F temperature. So off I went to get him and then to the doctor to confirm my suspicions of an ear infection. Antibiotics for 10 days, business as usual since they always seem to occur on Friday or Saturday, great fun for the weekend. But this time he was prescribed cortisone, for all those parents out there who have ever given their kids cortisone you know what I am talking about, this is the anti-sleep drug of all time. So by Sunday he was lacking 3 days of naps, which is probably more important than eating if I was required to make a list. Between all of our fatigue Mommy had no patience and neither did the little man. What else then can you expect than a winey, can’t remember what listening is, don’t know what they want to do, master of the time outs. Plus the joys of antibiotics not only kill the infection but clean the bowels as well. I will say diarrhea and diapers not a good combo, got to be one of the most disgusting things without exception. Enough said!

We were able to take a break from our amounting chaos a few hours on Saturday to go to a local Pumpkin Festival, plus it was the most beautiful Fall day ever nothing but short sleeves needed, a little shout out to a friend of mine, she’ll know what I mean. We were able to do the time old American tradition of picking out our jack-o-lantern to be. My son was so enthralled with all the funny shaped gourds and squashes. He is becoming an expert on saying pumpkin, only repeats it 100 times a day now. If only Halloween would get here, our house is ready. A French woman came up to me and asked about the large pumpkin which was sitting in my son’s stroller (it was a toss up on the weight of the pumpkin or my son who was gonna ride). She wanted to know if you could eat it. That was the first time someone asked me about eating a jack-o-lantern type pumpkin. I can’t imagine eating it, well besides the seeds of course. Can you imagine eating the typical carved pumpkin with the soot stains from the candle and the mold that seems to appear quicker than on bread. You just don’t eat it! I simply told her I didn’t know, didn’t want to get into a long explanation on why you shouldn’t eat them, even if they are edible since the French will eat anything that is. 

Lost Time?

I am finally starting to get this blog thing down; well at least I am feeling slightly more knowledgeable about it than a couple of weeks ago. This week I have had a lot more time on my hands than usual, I only spent one full day with my son and that not even at home. It being my first taste of what a working Mom feels like (rushed kisses in the morning, dinner, baths and a very short playtime together). This week was an exceptional one, but none the less a long one for me. I have many projects around the house (yard work, painting all the bedroom doors, etc), but doesn’t seem like I got anything done. With all this time, I don’t know what to do, I am lost. I am so used to being in the rhythm of daily stuff with my to do list with at least 8 things on it that when I don’t have a 3 feet tall little guy under my feet or following me around, I seem to linger for hours doing really nothing at all. I am convinced this is my subconscious giving me some well-deserved personal down time or just pure laziness. Doesn’t matter though, today I am going to get stuff done, or at least head to party store to get the accessories for my son’s Halloween costume, try to find a craft store (if only Micheal’s could come to France) that has a 6 inch styrofoam ball.  So today will not be a complete loss of time I hope. I received my Halloween care package this week from my family in the US, nothing better (except if it would have had candy in it).  Lots of Halloweeny things inside, this weekend my son and I will make up for lost time with the pumpkin and haunted house craft kits. Pictures to come!

Fall is in the air...

Well last Friday I wasn’t in a physical condition to post to my blog. I was gone all day long, in the woods. And for those of you who know me, me in the woods???  I was out gathering, rather searching, for mushrooms. I had my first experience, and a very French one at that, “aux champignons” as they say.  In the US, or at least in my family, friends, and region never have I heard of someone talk about going out to gather mushrooms. So for me this is something new and different and the way the French speak about it a definite thing “bien Français”. Although, I will say it is quite fun actually but exhausting because you walk slowly with your head down, and then you bend down every 30 seconds or so for hours on end without getting lost on top of it all. I walked around the woods, in search of a few types that were indicated to me as the ones that won’t make you see colorful lights or spend hours in the bathroom. Looking around moss covered fallen trees, under ferns up to my waist, and damp dark areas of the woods it was a fairly successful day. This activity gave me a similar feeling as does a hay ride or a cup of hot apple cider, Fall is in the air. Now that it is October, it is time to get ready for Halloween. Although in France, Halloween is an imported commercial holiday, similar to Valentine’s Day. So there are the few and far between French who have adopted it and the others who are completely uninterested in this American holiday. I don’t care if they don’t like it, I love Halloween and I will try to convert as many French to the holiday as possible. My window decals are on, so my neighbors can wonder what we are up to. Decorations to come and lots of mini pumpkins already sit on my table in a bowl that another neighbor gave me from her garden. This time of year is hard to be in France, even though I have not been in the US for Halloween or Thanksgiving for that matter for 9 years. The Fall spirit we Americans have is great, keeps the seasonal depression away. 

Toys Toys Toys

This afternoon I was in a toy store looking for a gift for a birthday party my son is going to attend this weekend. I am just starting to discover this uncharted territory of never ending fun. Until the last few months I felt like I haven’t really bought him any toys, either were gifts, hand me downs or just something small that I didn’t really consider a big deal to buy it for him.  But as he is getting older like all toddlers, and his abilities increasing exponentially I have the impression I have to start thinking more about “toys”. And speaking of his increasing abilities, yesterday he astonished me with how smart he is and I didn’t even know it. The puzzle we were working on or had just dumped upside down was the numbers 0 to 9. He knew them all, I would say where does the 2 go, for example, he would just grab the 2 off the floor and place it in the right spot. I had yet to notice he could recognize the shape of all the numbers. I guess this is one of those things: you learn as you go/first time parent.

Back to the toy store, as I wondered the aisles I lost track of time. Who would have thought that an adult could spend so much time looking at toys on shelves? I don’t know if it was the nostalgia of when I was child and the toys I adored or to take in all there is that a child can or could play with. All I know is that I fully enjoyed it, and that being possible because he didn’t get to come with. It is amazing how quick and at such a young age, under 2, that toddlers fall in love with toy stores. My son is usually pretty good; we have yet to have any crying fits or screaming. Although to get him to leave the store or even make it toward the checkout is quite the task! He is a lucky guy today; Mommy couldn’t make up her mind!! So when he comes home from daycare this evening, he is going to be a very happy little man!  He has to choose what to play with first a tea set (well more just plates, cups and silverware), a doctor’s kit or his new little boy size umbrella (an object he has been asking me for for a while now.)  This is what I love about having a child, you get to help them along the way of life discovery even with the simplest things. Like my rationale for purchasing the doctor’s kit was so that he will stop freaking out (yelling, “no no, not here”) when we just pull in the same parking lot the doctor’s office is in or tea set so that he can be just like Mommy and Papa. 

Car Ride

Since I started this Mommy Blog I have yet to do the one thing these blogs were meant to be for and what most Mommy Bloggers are most proud of, relishing about just how great their kid(s) are. This past weekend we went to see friends with little boys just like mine which added extra excitement for my 2 ½ year old.  The car ride being about three and half hours, and not a straight freeway ride but lovely French country roads with a million roundabouts, beautiful quaint villages every 5 km (3 miles) or so with the speed limit going from 90 km/h (55 mph) to 50 km/h (30 mph). So you get the story, windy, slow down, speed up and stopping too regularly. Recently I saw a Facebook friend explaining her ritual to get her kids into the car for a car ride, and a rather easy hour and half one which I have done quite a few times myself. She practically had to pack her house up so that she could be equipped for the journey, which is understandable with kids. But my point here is that my kid is got to be the best traveler ever especially on car rides! On our way there he just was happy to be in the car on his way there, no big deal to be strapped down in his car seat. We stopped only briefly 10 minutes or so to stretch and get a snack. No problem getting back in his seat, since I have seen kids once they are out are almost impossible to get them back in without have to sit on them to attach the buckle. His toy bag I packed, almost not worth it, he looked at a couple books and that was it. He just sits there like us, us being adults, looks out the window, chatting (even though my husband and I at times had no idea what he was talking about), and listening to music. It has got to be one of the cutest things ever listening to my little guy trying to sing along to Katy Perry who is on the radio. On the ride home he slept out of pure fatigue three quarters of the way and then watched a cartoon on his portable dvd player for the rest of the way. Not once did we stop and not once did he cry or get upset or even frustrated. Then, being the usual prepared but not always Mommy I am, snacks were rather limited which didn’t even seem to faze him. My husband and I are well aware of the chance we have to have an easy traveler but sometimes I just can’t get over it, he is just so easy going. I have no horror stories I hear some other parents talk about, it almost makes me laugh, which isn’t nice but I just can’t relate!!!

Home Cookin'

Not long ago I had the extremely unnerving experience of getting out of the shower and finding my 2 ½ year old putting his kitchen set pots and pans on my stove top and in my oven. At least he hadn’t tried to turn the nobs, which he is totally capable of doing. I understand why he was doing it; he is my sous-chef, always right there at the counter with his stool as soon as I even look toward the kitchen. So naturally he wanted to cook, just like Mommy, the yum yum he was stirring up. To his surprise, I didn’t get mad or even yell out of fright, I just calming went over to the stove and took the pots and pans off and out of the oven and told him that is Mommy’s oven and that he shouldn’t be touching it, because as I repeat probably 100 times each time we cook near it, it’s hot! So that afternoon I accomplished one thing that wasn’t on my list to get done that day, a kid size oven. The crafter in me came out in full swing, diaper box, butcher paper, construction paper, wine cork, brads, etc… Plus who would have thought I just happen to have all these items on hand. When I was done, I was actually pretty impressed with my spur of the moment creation. Plus if you could have seen the look on the little guy’s face when he saw it, total happiness. That night my husband checking out my handy work said to me, why don’t you just make all his toys what is the point to buy them! A laugh came out. That oven took me over 2 hours. I’d like to see him “create” one of his toys and then we will talk about purchasing toys!!! Although my husband definitely had a point somewhere in there, I think my son has played more with that since I made it then almost any other toy he has received otherwise. Nothing is better than something homemade, whatever it may be!!!

Sad Story

Well this weekend we had a very sad event occur in our house. We found our kitty stiff as a board in the neighbor’s yard. Quite a shock for us all! With no marks, cuts, scraps, blood makes you wonder how the little guy went. This being my first time to loose a furry friend, well one bigger than a hamster. Plus it was the first lesson of death for our little boy. He saw my husband carrying it back from the neighbor’s yard and had a rather confused look on his face as he has never see the cat carried that way before, usually that would be a “no no”. So as he watched the cat be laid on the grass for a quick examination before we put it in a garbage bag, I told my son to say goodbye. I let him pet him one last time and say “bye bye” with a proceeding statement that he was sick and had to go far away with the angels. My husband didn’t really understand what I was thinking when I showed our son the cat and told him to say goodbye. Now a couple days later I now see just how important that cat was to him, which I am really happy that I gave him the chance to say goodbye even if he doesn’t really understand to the full extent. He was used to the cat and its routines, like meowing louder and louder till someone let him out or coming with us when it was story time before bedtime. I heard my son this morning calling the cat’s name before I got out of bed to get him. I believe he understands what happened, or at the least that the cat is never coming back. This makes me sad though. I imagine for my son it’s hard to understand in a way since he lived with him his whole life so far, and me I lived with him for almost my entire time in France. So once the cat grieving is over the decision is, do we get another pet or do we stay petless??? This will be a hot topic another day for sure.

Don't forget the laundry...

Last night we had friends over for a casual dinner, a weekly one at that, and they mentioned that I had yet to blog about my husband. Well, ok but I have just started and I didn’t want to start my Mommy Blog with French or husband bashing…haha! No bashing today or at least not to much. My husband considers himself to be a very logical and clever guy, which he informs me of regularly and not necessarily in a bad way. Although I don’t agree with this lately, since he is a basketball coach and doesn’t have the regular facilites of gym for the moment he is required to bring home all his teenage boy’s jerseys to wash them for the next game. Have you even smelt 12 sweat soaked been in a bag since last night jerseys. Well I have and I will tell you, I honestly don’t know what is worse, getting puked on or smelling and then having to touch those suckers. I know sweaty stuff can be disgusting especially when left in a bag overnight, which my husband did very often when he was still playing basketball. Why is it so hard to remember to take them out? Why is it hard to remember them in the dryer? Or why is it so hard to not check to see if they are dry, which will avoid having to rewash them in the morning because once again they are stinky from being half dried sitting in the dryer all night? I am the right brainer in the family, so as it should be I just don’t get it!

Well “à lundi” as I am off to the eye doctor to see how well I can read my vowels aloud!!!

Once again...

Recently while at the pediatrician’s office for my son’s booster shot and checkup,  I had the unlucky experience of listening to the doctor explain to me why it was NOT ok for my son not to be potty trained yet. As I remember many months back she talked to me about it, which at the time I thought was good to be thinking ahead. But now that he has reached the -I would imagine most average age for becoming potty trained- it was an absolute failure on my part, most subtly added, for him to not be doing his stuff on the potty. As I have discovered toddlers are rather attached to the idea of doing their pipi caca in their diapers, or at least mine is. It doesn’t really bother me, if he feels good about it and is regular that is all that counts for me and it’s not like he is 4 or even 3 for that matter. It seems no matter where you turn there is always the indirect way the French communicate that you don’t meet the requirements, and this is not just an opposition because I am a foreigner, their compatriots get the same treatment. I don’t understand how positive reinforcement doesn’t exist in France. I know it is a very complex and confusing theory but still this is the land of intellectuals!!! I don’t really appreciate the fact that I have to sit in a hot waiting room with other mothers and their annoying screaming children for at least 30 minutes past our appointment time before it is our turn, and then to be told that I should be doing something completely different because it is wrong what I have been doing. As it goes for many other instances involving the French, you just got to keep your head up. That I will say is one of the daily cultural attributes that I miss in the US. When people ask me what I miss, I don’t always mention the positive attitudes or the way of thinking that being positive will get you farther for I don’t want to offend the person I am talking with, it’s easier to just say peanut butter. Over the years I have noticed this “façon de faire,” thinking it was just inexistent customer service, is just how they are. The French are immune to daily commentaries but not me, not yet. Maybe in the next decade, although probably not.  

Cutters!

Since September 1st I am slowly discovering just how smart little toddlers are, not that I ever really doubted them. Mine, who is now an active participant in a local public day care a few days a week, the reason for why I let the idea of a blog even enter my mind. This change has been a rather big one for both of us, since his birth we have been a team, me and him, him and me, all the time everywhere we go. SO this change has brought out some new traits in this little boy I love more than life it self (and am missing at his very second). Until now he has been an angel, lacking a more appropriate adjective, but in the simplest terms he is making me pay for wanting a little “me time”. Don’t get me wrong, I knew it was coming and the angel effect wouldn’t last forever, that was a given, but this flat out defiance of what I am asking or needing is a tough one (whether it is to not touch the knife on the counter or a hug in the morning). Indifference in a 2 year old, is hard on the emotions!

So to distract both of us this weekend we went to a local event with booths of all the local clubs for a least 40 or more sports. Thinking this would be a convivial activity for everyone, parents and kids alike. But to my surprise it was an incredibly annoying couple of hours and not because of a defiant 2 year old. Ok, normally I don’t want to start off so soon in the French bashing…but once again I was just shocked at how brazen the French really are even with kids. We patiently were waiting in line so that my guy could do the baby gymnastic course that was set up (which I have already signed him up for) and once again French people just cut in line. They have no shame about it, I don’t know about you, but being an American I instantly feel guilty if I even think of doing it, and to do it to a kid, unthinkable. So a few mean glares later, after almost a decade I still haven’t told a French person that I was in front of them, we finally made it to the front of the line, took our shoes off and did the course. We had the same experience at more than just that booth, and we weren’t even in line to try the sport, just to watch. Is it really that hard for the French to see another human being standing there with a little kid and obviously the little kid trying to see what is going on behind that roped off area. So you will most likely read it more than a few times that I hate the fact that the French cut.

Welcome to BlogLand

Here I go off into blogland. This being my first experience and not really having a clue to what I am doing. The internet has always been relatively, and I use that term lightly, easy for me, so keeping a blog can’t be much more difficult than other things out on the web…now only if I knew how to…understand all these terms!!!

Thanks for checking this out. My idea/goal here is to update A Tale of 2 Countries With a Boy a minimum of 3 times a week…allowing that I am not sick or my little boy sick either, or become highly in demand of some other sort of extremely interesting job. As it goes this blog has been in the making for a while now, my brother’s girlfriend, a more than internet savvy type of girl, suggested I start a Mommy Blog. Not much thought went into the decision to do it or not, what better way to write (which I love to do), be able to stay at home and make a potential few bucks!  

Now normally I know I have a vast quantity of subjects I could write about due to my life circumstances. It is going to take me some time to get into the swing of blog writing and analyzing the observations of my daily life because currently daily life just seems to flow by at an exponential speed.  For those of you who are sensitive, and well my own personal privacy I don’t plan on mentioning any names, although they may be changed if it is imperative to name a name. Check back on Monday for another post of my most recent observations!!!