Out on the town

This picture kinda sums up my travel with the kids. Or our wishes for the trip at least. They are constantly seeking more silly, toy-filled fun time and I am always looking for a little break, a moment to enjoy a coffee and some people watching. Well, ya can't please all of the people all of the time, right? So we try and mix the two.

The weather is still rainy. Sigh. The girls and I needed to get out and wander, so we headed downtown for a date. It rained on and off. But that didn't stop us. We munched on croissants, I got a yummy espresso. I have always been a latte kinda girl, but I am really enjoying just a strong shot of espresso with some sugar. Num! We strolled through several really fun (and pricey) toy stores. I gave the girls 10 euros each to spend as they wished. Maya (with some Mom prompting) got a book of all types of animals and foods and things, in French. With beautiful pictures. Casey picked out a craft type of book (no Mom prompting here) where you can make disguises. She is a crack-up!

We wandered in and out of shops and just had a good time being out. Amongst the people. We had Vietnamese/Chinese food for lunch. It was pretty good. The girls felt pretty fancy drinking their Coke out of wine glasses. When in France.


The downtown ladies


Maya's true heart's desire


Enjoying some local fare


Casey ventured into the land of public toilets by herself. They are free here.


Cheers!


The latest in French fashion


On Sunday we headed to an indoor play structure and pool. It was recommended to us by our new friend, Leslie. She is American, but live in Bordeaux. She is the sis-in-law of my friend, Zarena. So great to have had Leslie give us tips and ideas for Bordeaux. This pool being one of them. It is an old bath house from the 30's (I think). They converted one of the pools into a wooden play structure and the other pool is still used for swimming. There is also a restaurant inside. We were looking forward to eating there, but apparently our kids 11:30 hunger time doesn't coincide with their noon opening. Sigh. Next time.

After playing and swimming and changing we were pooped. We all crashed hard at home and retreated to our various nap spaces. so amazing how a day at the pool will do that to you.








So today me and my girls drove to Barcelona. It was 6 hours driving time. The girls did great. We just had to get out of the rain. And after missing our flight here last year, I really wanted to see it. And after just strolling around this evening, I cannot wait to see more. I will keep you posted...

Rain rain...Aw come on

We are drowning over here. SOS. Send help. Well, maybe it's not that dramatic. But mix rainy weather with tantrums and what do you get? Our last 2 weeks here. That's what. Okay, so it hasn't been so bad. And I'm sure we are getting a lot of sympathy from everyone. But it can drill on one's nerve a bit. Right?

So we have been keeping ourselves occupied with various projects and outings. We went to an indoor playground called Kidooland. It was great. The kids got to run around and be crazy (while it poured off and on outside) while we got to sit and take a breather. I could have fallen asleep in one of those comfy chairs there. I might have, for just a second. The kids were worn. Success!

Casey and I found a project in a magazine from home and we made fake casts. White glue, tube socks and a few other items made for the girls wearing "casts" around town. We signed them and they made sad faces and enjoyed the attention. Luckily I was able to show them how their chores can actually be done one-handed. Lucky for them!

We have gotten to know some of the malls around town. Neither Charlene nor I are really mall folks at home. But desperate times call for desperate measures. So we made it work. They have Claire's accessory stores here too. So the girls picked out some clip-on earrings and dress up eye shadow. Stay tuned for two girls looking kinda like drag queens. Maybe we will even get a Christmas card pic out of it. Who knows.

We also visited a pet store here. Fun no matter where you are. Lots of bunnies, baby chicks and puppies. Fun to see, but alarming that France is still selling puppies at a pet store. They even had Sharpei's there. Too cute.

Well, the forecast shows rain for another week and half. That's the 10 day outlook. So it could be for longer. Charlene and I are gearing up for a possible trip with the crew to Barcelona. That's the closest place we could find that wasn't raining every day. And it's about a 6 hr drive from here. Oh boy. That sounds fun. Stay tuned...

Oh, and when you see the captions and the pictures below. How wonky and offset they are. That just about sums up our experience here. But still smiling and laughing. Unless Maya is in a timeout. Then no one is smiling.

I thought this was too funny not to capture. I pulled the French dictionary out of my purse to peruse and looky what was stuck in it. That about sums it up.

Nice comfy chairs. Ahhhh...I could stay here for a while

This grand contraption get kids down from the top by letting them fall through and get "stuck" on various stretchy cords. It was rad. See Casey hanging upside in the middle. Come on, the white blurb with green sleeves. Yup. there she is.

At the bottom, ready to do it again

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Cheese. Boy, she is growing up, huh?

Patient # 1. Charlene signing her "cast".

Patient #2. Insert pathetic face.


Hmmm...Chickies in the pet store. That's a first for us.

Apparently France hasn't become familiar with the old "puppy mill" problem

Clip-on earrings for the girls. So fun. So fancy. Good bribery tools. Whoops.

Casey reading to her minions

Flea market fun and a date day

I am a flea market kinda gal. Like the kind where you see old stuff and it means something to ya and bring it home and remember where you found it and the setting and the feeling and reminisce about the find. I checked out Bordeaux's flea market scene before we headed here. So this past Sunday we ventured out to see what the offerings were. I love browsing and asking (even though it can be crazy doing it in a different language. One I don't actually know) and seeing what the spread looks like. The weather wasn't great, so we did a lot more browsing than buying. I did pick up a few more pub glasses to add to our collection. And watching Casey bargain for Playmobil "guy's" by holding up her euro and pointing to the desired items was priceless.


The flea market scene



The stalls



Casey's 4 euro score


The French breakfast of champions...a croissant and Orangina


We are fortunate to have access to a neighbor with a 16 year old son that babysits. And luckily just as I was just pondering the idea of locking my kids in the closet and heading out for a coffee, it was date day Monday. And by date day, I mean of course hanging out with Charlene and her 4 mo old in a carrier. So the sitter came, and brought a friend, to manage the 3 nutballs. We headed out in the FIAT. So fun to drive, I might add. And super convenient to fit into the tight and mostly non-existant parking spaces here. We had done a bit of research and decided to head to Bordeaux's pedestrian shopping area. It is something like 3/4 of a mile of stores. Wow. Too bad the dollar to euro thang is so crummy.

We walked for a bit, and then looked for some food. We wandered down a side street and find some ethnic choices. There was Thai, Indian, Chinese and French (well, it's international to us) all on the same block. We opted for Thai. It was tasty. But I will say that we are super spoiled in the Bay Area with our limitless choices from ethnicities around the globe. And good quality too.

Charlene and I split up for a while and I wandered down some random side streets, getting lost and meandering. Remembering to come back to a certain restaurant and come back another day to grab a coffee at THAT cafe. My favorite thing to do is to get "lost" and wander. You seem to happen upon the best places this way. Then I used my "Pardon? Parlay voo oon payteet Anglais (spelling completely hi-larious, of course). Then I get directions back to where I need to go. And people are often very helpful. A smile and a stab at their language is usually all it takes.

I met back up with Charlene as she was sampling the local specialty. Duck? Foie gras? Frog legs? Nooooo...a panini with nutella and bananas. Oh, nice. I tried a few bites, just to make her feel better. Delicious. Great. Something else yummy.

So, we wandered a bit more, picked up a few things and went back home ready to face the rest of the crew again. I am recharged and ready for mommyness again. Until tomorrrow morning at about 7 am. Ha!








Very close to where we parked the car


After seeing this menu item, we opted for Thai food



Thai guy cooking us up some nummies


First time on a date where my date stood and ate and rocked a baby


Construction all over the place throughout the city. And so much for safety


Brasserie menu


Funky funky at a restaurant. Love it.


Rue St. Catharine shopping. Check out ALL those people up the street. Hello capitalism!




So the weather is supposed to be pretty darn crappy for the next week. Stay tuned for posts from various indoor play structures and malls...

To Saint-Émilion we went

So I have been struggling with the tantrums and screaming from a certain Ethiopian kid in my family. I don't want to name names, so she shall remain anonymous.I reached my breaking point. Did the frazzled Skype to the hubby. Why did I drag us here? Should I have done this? How do I make it 6+weeks without throwing her in the Garonne river?

Mark was able to talk me through it. He reminded me that the best thing to do with said Ethiopian is to isolate her in a time out. Remove her from the scene. I implemented this tactic and...voila! Well, not quite voila, but it is working. The sweet kid that boarded the airplane is slowly returning. And this means I have more confidence to go out and explore,

So, Charlene and I were feeling optimistic, so we decided to venture out and check out the town (village? city?) of Saint-Émilion. It had come recommended to us from several separate sources. Lots of chateaus and wine, wine and more wine. Which is so great with 4 kids in tow. Hmmm, not so much. So we set off in the morning (this morning) and drove the 45 minutes to the city center. We felt like the kids could possibly stay occupied for that long. Thanks to Casey and her amazing toy handling and kid whispering.

It makes me laugh to simply say that we set off in the morning. That's just too easy. The reality is that we set up the night before. Laid the kids' clothes out, put breakfast and all related items on the table, and gathered an s load of snacks, all the night before. Then we were STILL rallying in the morning. Whew. It's still enough work to put you down for a nap before you even leave the house.

Anyhoo, we made it to Saint-Émilion and parked. Now if that doesn't sound thrilling to you, then you have never driven in a foreign country. Just simply driving away from your digs, using your GPS and correctly finding your destination is grand. And then finding a place to put your car, now that's just awesome.

So we did that and then got out and explored for a bit. What a beautiful area. Wow. Pictures don't do it justice. But here are a few...


View from the top

The girls taking in a treat of macarons. We sampled rasberry, strawberry, nutella and salted caramel, to name a few


The square down below


Beautiful girls, beautiful architecture


The author, recovering from 2 yr olditis


Very old streets


At "home" making music



The Parc Bordelais piggies


Charlene sipping France's other amazing export...juice boxes



Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!


Gordon and Casey as shmiblings (siblings from our Shmamily=family)

Every day is an adventure...in parenting

Well folks, where did I leave off? Oh yeah. Well, I've spent the last few days trying to catch my breath and get the kids used to this new envirnoment. It's been a real test of my patience and parenting skills. Not so pretty at times.

The challenges of this adventure are unfolding as each day passes. Here are some of them: 4 kids, nap schedules, tantrums, not our own space, 2 under 3 year olds trying to exert their power, new rules and new boundaries to push, no familiar routines (although we have the naps and sleep times pretty locked in), no husbands to help when we are frazzled.

Great things, as follows: Laughing with Charlene until my abs hurt (and officially counting this as a workout), the bread and pastries, watching my kids thrive in any country put in front of them, exploring a new place, discovering that a smile will get you a long way, learning that McDonald's is more comforting in a foreign country than at home, the French really DO love their carbs, driving here is a sport, feeling accomplished when you don't know the language but are able to express your needs and get something done (but exhausting).

Charlene and I pretty much crumple on the couch after the kids go to bed. Casey has been hanging up with us a little later because she needs quiet time from the little kids too. She really has been a great help. I asked her and Maya yesterday, while I a was having a particularly frazzled parenting moment "Would you guys rather just pack it up and go home? This is so much work for me and if you guys don't want to work towards better behavior, I can't do this." Casey said "No! I want to stay and get to know France. I'm not done yet." Wow. My kinda girl.

We spent yesterday at the Bordeaux-Pessac zoo. After driving past the entrance several times, we finally found it. But not before a lovely French driver swerved into our "lane" (loosely labeled as the roads are VERY narrow and the drivers don't seem to slow down with that in mind) and took off our driver's side mirror. We watched as the driver sped off, not even hitting the brakes or returning to see if we were okay. Which we were.

The weather is rainy and we are just trying to keep our sanity while we entertain the kids with indoor activities. I am taking a deep breath and trying to regain my smile while my 2 kids tap dance on my nerves. Tomorrow is a new day and a positive reward system of earn a tally mark for cooperating and doing as asked. The end result will be a reward after earning a predetermined number of marks.

The forecast isn't looking too kind either. Rain all week and next week. Two days in there have a sun sign. Sigh...So we will entertain the troops in the best way we know how...lots of snacks and run them till they drop. We might even fit in a rousing trip to IKEA for some of them fancy meatballs.




Toddler lock out



How we spend a rainy day in any country. Mall, playground, food court


Come on, what we really came for


Bag full 'a nummies. In the "day old" basket. Don't mind if I do




Can't quite bring myself to go here. Yet


The local "Walmartesque" store with a whole aisle dedicated to wine making



The girls listening to Daddy read them a book


Casey getting into her book with Daddy's recording


Maya and Mark being silly on Skype
Not much separation between the girls and the tiger



Animals acting like animals...ewwww. Come on, did youthink I had matured since leaving the country?