India Wedding

3 weeks after the fact, I am taking the time to write about my wonderful trip to India. The preparation from the trip was hectic to say the least. Denis left on Nov.13th and that week both boys had the stomach flu. So I washed all of the bedding in the house about 3 times, the couch slip covers, every item of clothing a few times, scrubbed the bathrooms several times- all this while I was supposed to be packing and preparing the house for my in-laws to come. The day they came was eventful. Xavier broke a bottle of white wine in the kitchen while the police were knocking on my door saying the woman next door came home that morning around 11 am to surprise a burglar in her house and Denis's mom was vaccumming up her neck scarf in the vaccuum cleaner. Despite all of these events, I made it the next morning on my flights from Geneva to Zurich, then from Zurich to Delhi and Delhi to Ahmedabad.


Travelling by oneself is extremely easy compared to traveling with 2 toddlers. I mean ridiculously easy. What to do? Sleep, drink wine, watch a movie? It had been a long time since I had been faced with those choices. As luck would have it, I met a charming guy on the plane- well we had both given up our preferred seats so that family members could sit together, so perhaps our meeting was good karma. Rahul had studied in Boston and was going back to Delhi after over a year of not seeing his family. He taught me how to say, "hello little one" to Molly's fiance since Priyanshu was born 1 day before me. I thought spouting this out in Hindi would win him over right off the bat. With Rahul's help I made my connection in Delhi after being asked if I had starred in a Hindi film (there weren't many white women my age in the domestic part of the Delhi airport).

Molly, Priyanshu, and Mr. Sharma picked me up in Ahmedabad. I had heard the stories from Jackie, Aisling, mom, Molly, and Jonathan, but seeing a single lane of traffic occupied by a camel, a bicycle, a motorcycle, a cow, and a car all at once was just... craziness. When we arrived at the Sharma residence in Ghandinagar, I received a warm welcome and immediately saw that Molly was in good hands. Priyanshu (chicky) and his sister (sweety), his parents, his nephew, his best friend Miku, everyone was so warm. Mom and Jonathan arrived later that night. The food was excellent, a little spicy morning, noon, and night for our western tummies, but really good. Besides being able to participate and observe the numerous ceremonies for the wedding, it was also really good to catch up with mom, Jonathan, and Molly. Mom, Jonathan, and I played rummy 500 in our down time when we weren't being beckoned by the neighborhood paparazzi. The trip was spicy, warm, and fun.

J'adore Paris!

The first time I went to Paris was in the fall of 1998- and I don't think I have seen Paris in the fall since then. I forgot how gorgeous the trees are in the gardens around the city. The year I spent "studying" in Angers 1998-99, I took the TGV to Paris at least 4 times. It was about 1 hr 1/2 away from Angers by train. One of these times was with my parents, younger brother Jonathan, and my granny Linda. I spring breaked in Paris in the spring of 2000 with my sister Molly and to meet up with Denis who was working there. I returned to Paris in the summer of 2003 to nanny, spending 3 weeks there. Denis and I ventured back in the winter 0f 2005 with his parents. I have been to Versailles at least 4 times, the Louvre at least 4 times, the Musee d'Orsay the same, etc.

This time was entirely different. Even with my previous experience of carting a stroller around the metro, I forgot how tiring it can be in a big city with little ones. We did a lot in the 3 nights, 3 days we were there, including:

Bois de Bologne/ Jardin d'Acclimatation (an older amusement park with lots of rides perfect for a 2 and 4 year-old, a puppet theater, little train)
Eiffel Tower- all the way to the top baby
Jardin des Tuileries- we walked from place de la Concorde to the Louvre the boys running through the leaves and the hedge labyrinthes.
Jardin de Luxembourg (complete with renting out the little sail boats to push around with sticks- watch out for little boys running around with sticks in their hands!)
La Cite des Sciences- Like the Museum of Science and Industry with lots of hands-on exhibits for the little ones way out in Parc de la Villette
Le Carousel du Louvre- a little mall next to the museum
Le Metro- Definitely an attraction in and of itself
Le Champ de Mars- with the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower- playground/ old-fashioned hand-cranked carousel, and Marionnettes Theater (Etienne loved, Xavier still traumatized by the 30 seconds he saw of "the clown")
Latin Quarter- lunch in a bistrot right behind the Sorbonne- oh la la!
Notre Dame- from the outside, but close enough to see St. Denis with his head in his hands.
Bateau Mouche- an hour and a quarter ride down the Seine. The boys were good for the first 45 minutes, then we chased them around the boat for 1/2 hour.

I need to say something about the food. We shared the best crepe with nutellela in the park of the Champ de Mars- the crepe was so sweet and crunchy and the nutella just melted on it. Many times we opted for a quick sandwich or pizza at lunch. Our hotel was very family friendly and we had a nice dinner there- the Novotel Vaugirard in the 15th. I think the key is to be near a Metro station, and we were right next to one. Our breakfast was included and consisted of a grand buffet of the freshest croissants, pains au chocolat, crepes w/ nutella, eggs, sausage and bacon (for the non-Frenchies), cereal, coffee, hot chocolate, fancy juices, yogurt, cheese. We actually had a fairly leisurely lunch in the Quartier Latin. The boys sat on a couch across from Denis and me and I enjoyed a glass of red Burgundy while Denis had a pint of something.


We also got to have lunch with two of my three "French brothers"- Mathias and Xavier Reynoird. It was really good to see them both. I met them when they were 12 and 9 and now they are an artist/graphic designer and a Pompier de Paris- all grown up and very handsome;)


We did have a few mishaps to be honest. We kind of lost Etienne at the top of the Eiffel Tower. He was going from one telescope to another trying to see if any of them worked while Denis was photographing with his fancy camera and I was holding on to Xavier. Luckily we found him quickly. We also broke a glass and flipped over a chair in a pizzeria. Xavier was completely terrified of Guignol in the puppet show and asks me several times a day ever since if it was just a "silly" clown. Uggh, he'll probaby be traumatized for life.

Despite these "faux pas's" - an expression the French never use- we had a very successful and very exhausting trip to Paris. Will the boys remember it? Etienne maybe, Xavier probably not. Will Denis and I remember it- bien sûr ! http://www.flickr.com/x/t/0096009/gp/denis_f/6F65Y1

September

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So much has happened since my last post. Xavier turned 2 on Aug.19th weighing in at 33 lbs. and measuring 37 inches. Etienne turned 4 on September 11th weighing 45 lbs. and measuring 45 inches. I have two tall, healthy, energetic, creative, rambunctious, independent, loving, bilingual, hungry boys. I am blessed.

Denis and I had a successful trip to Ireland visiting Aisling, Damien, And Aoibheann on the way in and out of Dublin. My good friend Jessica whom I met in Kindergarten at St. Pat's in Kankakee, Il and who poked me in the eye with a pencil at parents' day, married an Irish guy from Limerick in Dingle. Denis and I had a great time at their gorgeous wedding and enjoyed driving along the left-hand side of the road gawking at the coastline. Many pints of Guinness and Bulmer's were consumed that weekend.

Etienne began his second year of French "maternelle" and is now in "moyenne section" and has a male teacher, Laurent, who, according to Etienne, is not scary. He also gets to eat at the "cantine" this year 2 days a week leaving time for me to prepare for my classes and breathe. Xavier started "garderie" at CERN which is much more like playschool than a daycare. They have activity centers (library, kitchen, painting, drawing/playdo, music) and group snack and playtime outside on a choo choo train. He seems to like it but won't let go of his "epatant" blanky for anything.

I am commencing my evening classes teaching French and English at CERN tonight. I think I'm ready? I'll be teaching 1 English class, 1 Beginning French, and 2 Intermediate French classes. I'm definitely excited about the challenge of keeping these adult women interested and helping them with their French.

This weekend we'll be heading to Guewenheim for the annual St. Maurice Market in the streets. Everyone makes prune tarts and the kids get to buy candy and other junk food in the stands (okay and me too). Plus, I'll get to get my hair done by Chloe:) We have booked our trip to Paris for the end of October and I am SO excited to take the boys there. Also, I need to apply for my India visa for Molly's November 23rd wedding and Denis has to finalize his Stanford/Argonne trip for November as well. Before we know it, it will be ski season.

Summer Vacation- Illinois and Missouri

Sarah, the kids, Mom and Dad all met us at the airport and we went to the Raiche house in Bourbonnais for Monical's Pizza after we picked up the rental cars. The boys actually slept through the night on the first night and adapted quickly to the time difference- thank God! They loved seeing their cousins, and Etienne stuck to Carson like glue the whole time- much to Ellie's dismay. They also loved Nina and Papi's house, walking Jake, playing on the swings, the slide, and in the basement.



We got our fill of hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, donuts, pizza, Starbucks (I gained 6 pounds), etc. You would have thought Etienne had entered the Promise Land the first time we went to Target. Peolpe stared as he gasped at everything he saw. The family spoiled the boys with early birthday gifts- new trains for our wooden Thomas collection, new pajamas, Dr. Seuss books and stuffed toys, a new microphone and radio, UNO game, new clothes- again very spoiled.

But above and beyond all of the food and stuff we enjoyed, we really enjoyed seeing lots of friends and family: swimming at the Painters' house, hanging out with Aunt Jill, going to the Children's Museum with Papi, being silly with Nina, going to Lincoln Park Zoo with Tata Molly, Nina, and Susan, pizza with Amy, Heidi, and Dawn et.al, lots of library dates with Kristin and boys, lunch with Liana and family, lunch with my Godmother Sandy, dinner with Nick and Christina, getting to see Jonathan and meet Chelsea, and lots of time with the Callis family. Denis and I even got time on our own- we went to the movies, went to a work dinner, and a concert in the city. Thanks for the babysitting Nina and Papi! Etienne and Xavier both got to take advantage of the Bourbonnais library's story time, and Etienne attended Little Farmer Camp at the Perry Farm.

I'm exhausted just reading everything we did. But to top it all off we went to Branson, Missouri to see Jonathan and to go to Silver Dollar City and White Water waterpark. The kids loved it all. We even got to stay at the Schrumpf family farm and see most of their family on the way down. They have 4 boys and we used to vacation together. It was great to see them all. Our trip was cut short because Granny went to the hospital. She seems to be doing better now but is still at Riverside. I was thankful to be home so we could visit her.

Now we're back at our house in Sergy, France fighting the jetlag. Etienne slept from 9 pm last night to 2 pm today. Xavier too except for a break from 1-3 am to eat something (I want pizza and cookies!!!). Now we still have over 3 weeks of summer vacation. I'm going to Munich this weekend for a girls' weekend with Aisling and sister Grainne (woo hoo!) and then Denis and I have our trip to Ireland over Labor Day weekend for Jessica's wedding. Can't wait.

En fin... summer!

The beginning of June brought gray, rainy, days, temperatures in the 40's and fires in the Fellmann's fireplace at night. Mama was cold. But we finally have sun and 80 degrees. After school today I'll most likely put the boys in their French swim trunks (the tight shorties, not the long Cars movie trunks which are their American trunks) and let them play in the pool in the backyard.

Tomorrow, Saturday, is the Sergy school Kermesse- kind of like a school carnival at the end of the year. Etienne has informed me that he will be a "fourmi rouge" (red ant) in the parade and show. The parade starts at 1:30 p.m. and the festivities go on into the evening. We bought dinner tickets so we're in it for the long haul. The only puzzle now is how to get Xavier down for a nap at some point without anyone missing Etienne's red ant debut. If X doesn't nap, there's no way he or I will make it to dinner time.

Next weekend we have Denis's cousin's wedding in Alsace. Aline is finally marrying Benoit after I think 10 years of dating. We'll leave Sergy after Etienne's last day of school on Friday July 2nd and probably arrive in Guewenheim around 8 p.m. The next day will be full of preparations for the big celebration. The French weddings I have been to always last all night. Denis and I once left at 4 a.m. and were the first to leave because we had a flight to catch. It should be a blast.

Then we have Sunday to travel back to the Rhone-Alpes and finalize our packing, close up the house for the summer, etc. Monday morning July 5th we leave bright and early from the Geneva airport, stop in Newark, and arrive at O'Hare. The boys (and I) cannot wait to see Nina, Papi, Jakey doggy, Tata Sarah, Tata Molly, Ton Ton Johnny, Ellie, Carson, Ton Ton Mike, Granny, Aunt Jill, Aunt Shoo Shoo, et.al. And we have a Raiche Family vacation to look forward to at the end of July in Branson, MO near where Jonathan is currently living and working.

After our 4 weeks in Illinois, I have a girls' weekend in Munich, and Denis and I have Jess's wedding in Ireland over Labor Day. Lots of traveling to look forward to. Let the festivities, heat, and fun commence!

Just Call me June Cleaver

I know, I know, I am far from that quintessential 50's housewife, but I sure feel like one. Certain conditions of living in the Pays de Gex have made me feel like I'm literally tethered to my house and to my kids. First of all let me say I know I am extremely lucky to have this house and these kids. I couldn't love my family more. HOWEVER, one does get tired of cleaning up the kitchen 3 times a day, 7 days a week, picking up toys constantly, and even cooking. Here are the culprits.

First condition: lack of healthy to-go food.Getting take out used to be a treat (fish tacos, sushi, pizza, Mexican, Thai), but here there are almost no take-out options and even fewer affordable options. And in most French restaurants, loud toddlers are not welcome.

Second condition: kids coming home for lunch. Etienne gets dropped off at 8:30 am, then picked up at 11:30 am, then dropped back off at 1:30 pm, then picked back up at 4:30 p.m. So in the morning slot, I can either go grocery shopping or go to the toddler group (but fitting both in is really hard). Xavier naps in the afternoon, so I had to force him to wait until 1:30 to nap. But most of the time I am "stuck" at home in the afternoon. It's just not worth it for him to skip his nap. Believe me we've tried it.

Third condition: lack of a job. Everyone tells me they need English teachers, but because I'm not French I can't easily teach in the public high schools. Swiss schools are more willing to hire non-Swiss people, but not necessarily non- EU people. So I definitely need to get my paperwork done for my French nationality this summer. I recently contacted GRETA, an adult school that has language classes, and was told they would love to hire me if only I had a social security number. I called the social security office and guess what? I need a job first that can at least guarantee 40 hours a month, which GRETA cannot.

On the bright side, I do get out of the house on Tuesday evenings to teach my English and French classes at CERN. And I have also been going to step class on most Wednesday nights. I just really hate housework. I honestly enjoy cooking, but it becomes a chore when you have to do it all of the time with no break. And I know I should just consider myself lucky to be able to spend so much time with my boys when they are little. And I do. At least I don't have to wear pearls and high heels while cleaning and take Denis's coat and briefcase at the door when he comes home.

Cote d'Azur= French Riviera

We felt right at home on the coast- palm trees, sand, water, sun. Etienne got to ride his scooter in Cannes at la Croisette, in Nice on the Promenade des Anglais, and in Juan-les-Pins along the beach. On the way down we stopped in Montelimar and ate lots of nougat- yum. We got to see preparations for the Grand Prix in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and Cannes getting ready for the annual film festival. Maybe one day we'll actually make it for the big events. We ate outside along the sea, drank cocktails, tried Socca and petits farcis in Nice chez Rene for the first time, navigated with the boys through Vieux Nice and up to the old chateau where a castle used to be and even into the Palais de Lascaris. Denis had been along the riviera with 2 friends 15 years ago! They were camping and didn't see all of the cultural stuff I crammed in. But he had good memories from that trip and his bachelor days;)

All of this we did in 2 1/2 days- a l'americaine. But, je suis americaine! Xavier ate French fries and ketchup for almost every meal. Etienne finally got a chocolate milkshake after spilling one that we had brought home just as he was taking it out of the carton to enjoy it. It was devastating. In Monaco we went to the Oceanographic Museum and saw the aquarium there. Then we took the tourist train to see the Prince's palace, Monte Carlo, and other sites. We finished that afternoon with a walk in the Exotic Gardens of Monaco which were full of cacti and beautiful views of the sea and the principality.

Nothing beats escaping for a few days, eating good food along the sea, and watching your kids play all day long in the sun!

Easter/ Mom's Visit/ LHC success

Wow-already April 13th. Mom came in on the 2nd and flew back out on the 10th. During that time we went to Alsace and celebrated Easter with Denis's parents. Xavier made it through 3/4 of the mass at St. Maurice in Guewenheim and Etienne actually stayed with me and my mom for the whole mass. Mom was singing her Baptist hymns under her breath- up from the grave he arose! But we at least found her a church. We also went into Geneva to show mom the city, shopped at Manor the Swiss department store, had lunch there, went to dinner at the Beau Rivage hotel along the lake. She got to see Etienne's school and Xavier's garderie (he goes now about 2 times a week for 1 hr 1/2), CERN, the ATLAS control room, the Alps, the Jura, and she came with me to the CERN toddler group. Speaking of CERN, Denis was psyched about March 30th and the LHC success. It's amazing to me how such a huge, complicated machine (the biggest man-made machine ever) can work so accurately. Amazing.

Mom's visit went by too fast. We ate a lot. I made bouchees a la reine with seafood for Good Friday. Denis's mom served lamb for Easter. Denis made us fleishschnakas (sp?). We had pierrade- (we have a machine now with a granite slab to cook thin slices of meat), lots of good bread, good Thai food, and last but not least good wine.

(trying to get the pictures to post horizontally across instead of vertically, hmmm)

Playing Outside, Mommy French, and English for Beginners

All of these are what I am doing this week. We were so happy last week to see the sun for many days in a row. The boys especially were thrilled to go outside and ride their bikes, play hide n seek with Denis (this consists of Etienne telling Denis where to hide and then counting random numbers in no specific order before he says "je t'ai trouve!" like he's so surprised to find him), fill the scooter handles with pebbles (see above picture), roll the balls down the hill in the backyard and make mama run down to get them, hide under the big willow tree in the vacant lot next to ours, scrape their knees, have a snack outside, and much more.

Tomorrow night I start my English for Beginners and Mommy French classes at CERN. I think I only have 3 students for the first one and about 8 or 9 for the second. But these are students who actually WANT to be in class and have surrounding motivation and occasions to practice their second language. I won't even have to call their parents or give detentions. I'm just writing my lesson plans now and having so much fun. I forgot that I really do enjoy teaching.

This coming weekend we look forward to our friends Brice, Cecile, Roman, and Clarisse visiting from Grenoble. We met them in San Diego and now we are all back in France reminiscing and trying not to complain too much about missing the sun, the beach, the ocean, etc. And the following weekend Nina (my mom) comes to visit for a week. The boys think she is bringing Jake the dog with her on the plane but I keep telling them he can't fly for that long.

March 11 proved to be a triply-good day- Etienne turned 3 1/2, my childhood friend Heidi had a baby boy, Samuel, in Chicago and my college friend Katie also had a baby boy, Charles, in Minnesota, on that day. So fun to see the baby pics and remember those first days holding a newborn. Also, my nephew, Carson will be 5 this week. How time flies.

Home Sweet Home

Back in Sergy, France. It took about 6 nights for the boys to sleep normally again. Etienne is happy to be back at school. I took Xavier to the "halte garderie" (daycare) this week to try it out. Eventually I'll be able to leave him there 1 or 2 times a week for 2-3 hours at a time. But we have to earn it and we did not earn it this week. Monday I stayed with him for 1/2 hour, and Tuesday I left him for 1/2 hour and he cried for 1/2 hour;( His little shoulders were shaking and he was sobbing when I came back. Now we had just left him with our babysitter Saturday for 3 hours and he was fine. I guess it was different because he was at our house? The garderie has about 10 toddlers running around taking toys from each other, falling down, wiping their noses on their sleeves. Xavier probably thought to himself, "this is craziness." Poor baby.

We came back to 50 degree weather and bike riding but this week have been revisited by the cold, biting wind, the "bise" that feels like your "ears are going to blow off of your head" according to World Radio Switzerland. Yes it does. It's hard to keep the shutters from knocking against the house. Looking forward to Didier's visit this weekend with his wife Tanja and daughter Lea. Etienne asks me several times a day when Lea is coming. Didier grew up with Denis in Guewenheim and now lives near Freiberg, Germany. He's a chef and is bringing food to cook for us! House guests that cook for you- I could get used to this. Also looking forward to my mom's visit in about 3 weeks.

above picture- the boys cuddling under Tata Kiki's (Jackie's) blankie (Etienne's favorite that Xavier steals all the time).

I am Insane

Blogging from my parents' house in Bourbonnais, IL. Denis, the boys, and I left our house for the Geneva airport at 6 am Saturday Feb.6th (I was up at 4:30 am and had to wake the boys at 5).  We were supposed to have a short flight (1h40) from Geneva to Madrid then connect to our flight to Chicago and arrive at 2:20 pm the same day at O'Hare. Little did I know the travel gods had other plans for us. 

6:30 a.m. Feb.6 - arrival at Geneva airport and the Air Iberia desk had a winding line that wasn't budging. Computer glitch- ugghh. At least Denis was there to push the cart with the 3 suitcases we were checking in, help chase the boys around, and get me a Starbucks. We left an hour late and arrived in Madrid around 11:30 a.m. Our plane to Chicago was scheduled to take off from another terminal at 11:50 a.m. I asked the flight attendants for help, but they just instructed me to go to the Air Iberia desk which had a long line. If I had waited there, we'd never make it.  I look up and see the screens for our flight "embarcando" and then our terminal was 24 min away walking! OK Etienne- run! Here I am pushing Xavier in the stroller holding his car seat and 2 backpacks and making Etienne run in his snow boots through the Madrid airport- we get on a train, arrive at a passport/boarding pass check. Wait- I don't have boarding passes for this flight due to the computer glitch in Geneva! I cried and the man let us through after a 5 minute lecture in Spanish about how it wasn't his fault if we couldn't get on our flight. We arrive at the gate Etienne hacking up a lung poor thing only to be told the flight just took off! 

Sent to the Air Iberia desk. Lady talking on phone to her friend, nobody cares. No more flights to Chicago that day but they'd be happy to pay for our hotel and fly us out the next day. Umm no. I cannot carry a car seat, 2 backpacks, push a stroller and 2 kids, and 3 checked suitcases to a shuttle and then into the hotel and back again the next day. OK- they hand write us tickets for a British Airways flight to London and then we can connect to Chicago the same day and arrive at 7:30- 5 hours later then planned. I hate Heathrow due to our October move to France, BUT just get me there. Etienne is screaming because his ears were hurting from our first flight so I make him a bed on the floor with our 3 coats and let him lie down while I'm shushing Xavier and pushing him back and forth in the stroller. We finally board the flight to London and I mention to the flight attendant that my son has an earache and if she had tylenol or something that would be great. 10 minutes later the pilot and 2 flight attendants tell us we have to get off the flight because Etienne's eardrums could burst and he has to see the airport doctor to clear him to fly. I cry. I cannot get off of this plane I tell them. We barely just plopped down with all of our stuff. They try for 45 min to get a doctor to come to us, but it didn't happen. We had a medical team help us at the gate and Etienne who wouldn't let go of me and I got to ride in a wheelchair a few kilometers to see the airport doctor. Xavier followed in his stroller pushed by a man who also carried the car seat for us. The doctor tells me his ears had lots of fluid, but they weren't infected, and told me to give him ibuprofen from the airport pharmacy. He was ok to fly, BUT we had to stay the night in Madrid. 2 women- one from British Airways and the other from the wheelchair service helped me to a phone to call my mom and Denis to let them know we were stuck and then helped us on the shuttle to the Barajas Hotel in Madrid. 

We got a free night's stay, free dinner, and free breakfast- woo hoo! The next day we waited in line to catch the shuttle back to the airport as several Spanish people woosh by us because we were too slow and I couldn't push to the front with the boys and the stroller and car seat. We missed the first shuttle. Luckily a lady decided to advocate for me and help me get on the next one or we would have been boxed out of that one too. We finally made it to the airport, through security and to the wheelchair service for Etienne (I didn't want to make him walk miles again with his cold and ears) and they put us in a special van to drive us to the terminal.

Now began my 9 hour flight with a 1 year-old AND 3 year-old. This was supposed to be the hard part. They slept for about the first 2 hours because it was nap time but then we had 7 hours of entertaining ourselves and all of our neighbors. I apologized in advance to all of the passengers around us and filled them in on our story to appeal to their humanity. The boys were about as good as can be expected. Changing a diaper with 3 of us in the bathroom was fun. You should have seen Etienne run and jump into my mom's arms when he saw her. We were so glad to be "home."

We fly back on Friday. I'll let you know how it goes. As one friend said, "well it can't be worse than the way here."