Transatlantic Mama

Leaving France

2011-06-06T13:06:00.001-07:00

(above images from recent trip to the Cote d'Azur with mom- me in Monaco and mom w/ Monte Carlo in background)

Oh la la. 26 weeks pregnant, 3rd baby on the way, 14 days until we fly to Chicago, 6 more days of school for Etienne, 8 more days of work at CERN for Denis, 6 more days of playschool for Xavier, 3 days of movers boxing things up, 1001 more social engagements and c'est la fin. We'll always come back to France since we have family here, but our 1 year 9 months of living in Sergy near Geneva, Switzerland has come to an end. As I did when we left California, I'll make a little list of what we'll miss most about living here

1) Family- we've been very lucky to see Denis's parents- Andre and Raymonde, his cousins and aunts and uncles, etc. We've been to Alsace countless times and his family has also visited us. We'll still see them, but the visits will entail a flight across the ocean.

1) Friends- new friends- American, British, Belgian, French, Irish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Spanish- we have friends here from all over and it's definitely a plus to have this cultural mishmash that surrounds us. Not to mention old friends that we have had the opportunity to see during our time here:)

2) Bread, wine, cheese, creme de marron, les tartines- things we just can't find in the States. The creme de marron is for Denis and Etienne and I think my absolute favorite French food is a really good tartine- French bread, French butter, and French jam first thing in the morning. Can't beat it.

3) The Mountains- living on the Jura and near the Alps and the Vosges. Illinois does not have mountains, at least none that I ever saw in my 20+ years of living there.

4) French school- Etienne has had 2 years of free preschool. Of course it's not perfect, but he really likes it and I will miss it! Xavier had 1 year of playschool in Switzerland and would have been going to French maternelle this fall:(

The #1 thing we're looking forward to in Illinois is Family! I haven't lived by my family since 2002 and no time like the present with baby #3 on the way (Bingo according to Xavier and Timeo according to Etienne). I have to admit I'm also looking forward to barbecue ribs, baked potatoes, good hamburgers, Mexican food, sushi, and big breakfasts.

Ski Season

2011-02-24T02:42:00.001-08:00

Since the beginning of December, we have had several occasions to ski. It's one of the great things about living on the Jura and by the Alps, so we have to take advantage while we can. As my mom says, next year it'll be skiing in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. We rented skis for Etienne, Denis, and myself for the season. Let's not talk so much about how much we paid for these rentals, but instead about the amount of fun we have had since.

The first big snowfall came early this season to the Geneva area- the first week of December. We took advantage of it to sled in our backyard with some friends and neighbors. Etienne had a blast with his friends Fintan and Simon and this year even Xavier wanted to sled down the hill. That weekend we went up to Crozet, the station about 5 minutes away from our house. Xavier had skis that day and we met up with friends with two little kids also. It was a challenging day since the Dad's went up the lift first for some fresh snow skiing and us moms had to keep the kids busy and happy and not too cold. Etienne enjoyed going up the kiddy hill with Denis and Xavier enjoyed being carried by Denis up and down the hill. My friend, Maura, and I did finally get to ski at the end of the day. Well she was skiing and I was falling and skiing into her. But I've improved greatly since that day.

Mom, Aunt Jill, and Aunt Carol Sue came to visit after Christmas and it was back to Crozet. Mom was really excited about skiing and the aunts were great to stay with the kids. Mom and I had some trouble at the beginning but then I got the hang of it and Denis and I got to do some of the slopes on the Lelex side. Mom, however, had a rough time. I wasn't sure how we were going to get her down the slopes, but I went ahead while Denis stayed with her to coach her. She's a trooper.

In January, Denis and I were able to leave the kids at his parents' house for the day and ski in the Vosges at Markstein. That's about 45 minutes from Denis's house and it was great to actually be able to concentrate on skiing. I was doing the red slopes there and we had a nice lunch at the lodge and continued skiing into the afternoon. Then, 2 weekends ago we had a wonderful ski weekend in Nendaz, Switzerland with our Norwegian friends Astrid, Odd, and William and some of their friends. Snow tubing, a tube merry-go-round, and sledding areas made it a great place for Astrid and I to hang out with the little ones while the guys skied. On Sunday morning Etienne did the mini kids' club for 3 hours. Wish we could have witnessed that, but the group was on the other side of the mountain. We were very lucky to have sun and snow in this picturesque Alpine village.

Denis has again been back to Crozet on his own and I hope to go back with the kids again soon. We've had one sickness after the other, colds, infections, etc. But hopefully we'll get one more chance to use our skis!

India Wedding

2010-12-16T03:04:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-11-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

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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

2010-08-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-06-25T06:26:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-03T05:19:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-20T06:16:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-22T07:21:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-10T04:56:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-23T07:46:00.000-08:00

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."

Signs My Child is Bicultural

2010-01-14T03:54:00.001-08:00

Etienne eats a croissant (which he calls "fishy" because he has always thought we were saying "poisson" instead of "croissant") with Nutella for breakfast and peanut butter and jelly (not grape jelly but strawberry jam) sandwiches for lunch. When I asked him in English today what he did at school this morning, he replied "I played with pate a modeler (play-doh) and made a galette (a crepe or cake)." I know it must be difficult to have everything at school happening in French and then try to relate what happened to me in English. I will tell him to say goodbye to Papa when Denis leaves for work and he says "salut Papa." He likes Tchoupi books as well as Dr. Seuss. He recognizes Titeuf and Samsam as well as Mickey Mouse and the Little Einsteins crew. He calls coke, "coca" (Xavier calls it "mama!" and to be fair he calls wine and beer "Papa!") Firetrucks say "pin pon pin pon" and roosters say "cocorico."

He knows to give kisses to say hello and goodbye but can also dish out hugs, "high fives" or "knucks" depending on the situation. He sings himself to sleep sometimes with the ABC's and others with "Frere Jacques." For Etienne, mac n cheese can easily be replaced by pasta with shredded gruyere or emmenthal cheese and "vache qui rit" cheese on baguette can be substituted for a bagel with cream cheese. He calls the Migros- Swiss supermarket- "Target France" and the "a" in France is not like our "a" in apple but like "ah." He likes m&m's as well as kinder chocolate and pain au chocolat as well as donuts.

I'm sure Etienne hasn't thought as much about this as I have, but to me it's pretty cool. Most of all he's just a three year-old who laughs, plays, goes to school, cries when his brother bites him, misses his cousins and his best friend Jake, likes to say "poo poo" and "caca" as if his life depended on it, is kind and sensitive, bold and daring, and we love him for who he is.

Living far from Family and Silverfish

2010-01-10T02:22:00.000-08:00

What is: things I do not miss about San Diego, California, Alex? The first one is the biggest one and I am sure happy to be rid of those silverfish. A good friend from my UC Irvine days just wrote me an email with a list of good things about living in France including wine, cheese, duck, rabbit, quality of life, progressive social policies, beautiful landscapes, villages, and cities. Of course we know this, but we are trying to adjust, and I think the weather may be the hardest adjustment. I' m sure come springtime when we get to go visit the Iris gardens at the Swiss castle and swim in Lake Geneva in the summer we will be so happy to be here. We have already been to see Denis's family 4 times since October not to mention the lovely visit with Aisling and her family from Ireland. Plus, I went sledding with the boys on Wednesday in our own backyard. Etienne loved it, and I even convinced him to carry the sled back up the hill after awhile. Xavier was more in the "stand back and watch" mode. I tried to put him on the sled with me and with Etienne, but he was not interested.

This morning we drove Denis to the airport for a conference in Germany on snowy, icy roads and I had to drive back with Etienne throwing a fit because he didn't get to say goodbye a third time. When we finally got home, I got a text from Denis saying flights were grounded and he might not get out today. He is currently waiting in a 2 hour line to cancel his ticket and find out about other options. These are the weather inconveniences that we forgot about. On the other hand, I have a nice fire going in the fireplace and the boys and I are treating ourselves to a pajama day watching Disney movies... well the Jungle Book is on but they are running around the house like wild animals.

2010 en France

2010-01-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

The Fellmann Family spent New Year's with Denis's parents and his mother's 3 sisters and spouses along with 3 of Denis's cousins. The older crowd parties harder than we do. They finally left when I excused myself to put on my pajamas at around 2:45 am knowing that Xavier would be up at 6:30/7 no matter what. Etienne did ring in the New Year staying up until about 1am and then asking me could he please go to bed. Denis was reminded of his childhood and celebrating with family, and that is priceless. Also, he and I were able to get away for 3 nights to "Les Violettes" hotel, spa, and gourmet restaurant in Jungholtz, Alsace. It's only about 1/2 hour away from his house, so I was comfortable leaving the boys (Xavier for the first time ever overnight). We needed the time together and the rest. It was wonderful!!!

Now we are back in Sergy and I am having trouble keeping the house warm. The main source of heat is the chimney, and starting a fire turns out to be more difficult than I thought. Denis usually does it in the morning and then I just add logs. But, for instance this morning I was out for 3 hours and came back to a cold fireplace and house. It's not so bad because he will be here in a couple of hours to tend to the fire tonight HOWEVER he leaves next week for 4 nights for a conference in Heidelberg. I know I am capable of dealing with the fireplace, electrical outages, shoveling the car out, etc. but I'm not sure I can do all of this while feeding, dressing, and bathing the boys at the same time. I'm in the process of gathering phone numbers in case of an emergency.

We have beautiful snow today and several children and their siblings have been arriving at the village school by sled. We are a little far and I am too cold to attempt this, but it is charming. Tomorrow is Wednesday and I am going to be adventurous and let the boys go outside to play. I must go by some sleds this evening though. The boys are back to sleeping in the same room and that means the parents are also sleeping in the same room. Routine gradually sets back in, and as I always say kids thrive on routine. One more month until our trip to Chicago- counting the days!

Christmas in Alsace

2009-12-23T05:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas markets, hot wine, bredelas (cookies), foie gras- these are all necessities in Alsace at Christmas. I'm trying to focus on all of the good things here and not on the fact that I will be away from my family. Denis has spent 8/10 Christmases with the Raiche family, so I guess I owe him this one. I have been out of the blogging loop since we finally moved into our house on Dec.1. But France Telecom is not the speediest operation, so we just now have internet and a phone at home. Better late than never. We did have an awesome visit from our good friends Aisling, Damien, and Aoibheann 2 weekends ago which really lifted our spirits. Now it's time to party. AND after Christmas Denis and I get to go away for 3 nights on our own. Will we manage without the kids???!!! (do you hear the irony?)

Ecole Maternelle- woo hoo!

2009-11-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

Etienne had his first day of "ecole maternelle" on Friday. He goes 4 days a week m/tu/th/f from 8:30-11:30 then a 2 hour break to come home for lunch (I need to adjust to this!) and then goes back from 1:30-4:30. At the risk of repeating myself the greatest part is....it's FREE preschool for 3 year-olds. His teacher is young and pretty. Her name is Stephanie. Etienne makes the 29th student in the class, so Stephanie and her assistant Veronique have their hands full I'm sure. He was so excited about all of the trucks and cars in the classroom and the scooters and bikes to use on the playground. He was very confused though that he didn't eat peanut-butter and jelly out of his lunch bag at school and doesn't get why he has to come home and go back (hmmmm me either- it's tradition and the French are SLOW at losing old traditions).

Denis and I had to laugh this morning dropping him off because it is so funny to see all of the different types of parents and cars bringing their kids to school in the village of Sergy, a shiny new BMW with Swiss plates, a mom with her stroller and house slippers, really all kinds of people. I guess this is what school is all about- exposure to the world.

After we dropped Etienne off, Xavier and I dropped Denis off at CERN and then headed home for morning nap. Xavier had started napping just once in the afternoon, but now that I have to pick Etienne up at lunch and bring him back, it kind of cut right in the middle, so today he's having 2 naps. On the way to CERN, however, Denis was almost in tears laughing as we listenend to Virgin radio and a program they have called "weekend de merde" literally "shitty weekend" where listeners call in trying to best each other with stories of why their weekend was so bad. I can't mention all of the stories, but the one that won was a guy who proposed to his girlfriend down on one knee in a suit and tie in a fancy restaurant and she said "no" and the whole room applauded because they didn't hear the answer- awww- poor guy.

Nice trip to Guewenheim ending with stomach flu:(

2009-11-17T12:14:00.000-08:00

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We decided to go visit Denis's parents this past weekend. We are not used to being able to drive to see family, so this was a very easy trip for us. We packed up the 307 and in 3 hours we were there. The trip is from France to France, but we drive most of the way in Switzerland! We were more than ready to get out of the temporary house and be in a real house for a couple of nights. Denis's mom made red cabbage with chestnuts and apples (a yummy French side dish in the fall) and Denis felt like a little kid again. We all got "manalas" for breakfast. Manala is an Alsatian word for little man and they make them around St. Nicolas and Christmas. They are little brioche breads in the shape of a man- kind of like a gingerbread man except made out of brioche. Etienne ate 2 whole ones for breakfast on Saturday morning! Denis and I got time to oursevles!!! Saturday morning we snuck out the door and headed to Masevaux, 2 or 3 villages away, and we had a coffee in a little pastry shop and then I headed to "Chez Elsie," where Denis's cousin's daughter Chloe works now as a hairdresser, to get my hair highlighted and cut (blond and chocolate highlights and in a longish bob). Denis headed off to his cousin Brigitte's for more coffee.

Saturday afternoon we dropped by Jean-Luc's house in Michelbach to give his daughter Mathilda her 5th birthday present. It was a short visit made even shorter by Xavier throwing up all over Denis and in the kitchen sink- poor baby. He continued to throw up through the night and the next day. Then came the fever. Etienne got the flu on Monday- fever, vomiting, etc. It is now Tuesday night- the boys are all sleeping and I hope we will wake up tomorrow healthy. It has been about 60 degrees in the Geneva area, so I want to get outside and play. I did go for about an hour walk this afternoon with the boys just to breathe some fresh air. Apparently 5 other families from our CERN toddler group have this same flu- so guess where we picked it up?

Next on the agenda- I am dying for a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, but I have to drive to Geneva to find it. The closest one might be at the airport and I may be headed there tomorrow. Tomorrow evening we meet the owners of the house we are renting who decided they didn't want to sign the lease unti they meet us. Thursday, Denis and Etienne meet with the principal and new teacher at Etienne's new school "ecole maternelle" in Sergy. Hopefully he can start on Friday! We also have a ton of forms to fill out so that our container(s) can make it through customs and get to us. If we're feeling good tomorrow, Etienne may go to the daycare at the mall to play with some friends and he needs a hair cut.

Temporary Housing Sucks

2009-11-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

Sunday we moved from the quaint little "gite" in Vesignin to a more commercial temporary house in the Citea complex. Both places have pros and cons, but for now all I can see are cons because I cannot wait to get into our own house with our own stuff. The gite was more charming with a fully equipped kitchen including a raclette machine and several different size glasses for wine. However the bathroom was always musty smelling and Denis had to duck in the shower. (He had several episodes of bumping his head on the stairs and on the kitchen doorway and cussing afterward claiming the house was made for Hobbits). There was no bathtub, so Xavier got put in the kitchen sink. Sunday when we had to leave, I was up at 6 am with Xavier and started to clean and pack up. At 10 am we were supposed to vacate the premises but the house was far from being sparkling clean like the owners wanted it. The funny thing is for 4 hours straight I was cleaning and packing. BUT with a 3 year-old and 1 year-old dumping goldfish out all over and slobbering on the furniture, it's like 2 steps forward, 3 steps back every time you clean. Long story short, the picky Belgian owner lady scolded Denis that we hadn't swept upstairs and she complained that she would have to do some cleaning before the next people got there. I felt badly for a quick second until I remembered the hell I've been through and the 4 hours I spent cleaning and then thought you know if you decide to have a guest house that you rent out for a small fortune, you may have to clean the guest house- too bad Belgian lady.

Now on to the Citea temporary house. It's also 2 stories- more modern- a full-sized dishwasher instead of the mini one in the gite, but not nearly as well equipped. There is silverware, but not a single spatula or other tool for cooking. There is no oven, but there is a fancy microwave with a "grill" in it that we tried, but when smoke starting coming out we turned it off. I don't know why but my allergies and asthma are going crazy in this place. I threw a clean sheet over the couch because you can see the dirt and yuck from the many people who have used the house-ick. On the bright side, it is literally much brighter here and Denis does not have to duck to go through doorways- lots less cussing. Also, there is a bathtub. Right when we got here the boys wanted to jump in and play and I let them. Later on Sunday night I got to take a relaxing bath for the first time since we've been here- and on top of it- the bathroom was actually not cold so I was comfortable! That was nice.

Today the boys and I met a nice British family at McDonald's (the only place nearby for kids to play inside- believe me I'm looking for other options but every time we go Etienne meets a friend). Par hasard, the husband works at CERN and the wife invited me to the CERN mom's playgroup tomorrow! Hooray a place for the kids to play and for me to have an adult conversation. Must go call her now to arrange to meet! On a side note, the house that we found to rent does not have a shower!!!! Isn't that funny. There is a bathtub that may or may not have a shower attachment, but no stand-up shower. So if you come to visit (and please do) you'll have to use the bathtub.

Hooray for Nina!!!

2009-10-23T11:40:00.001-07:00

Denis and I agree that the past 3 or 4 weeks have been some of the most challenging of our lives. We have asked each other several times if we made the right choice to leave San Diego. We finally are in a "gite"/ guest house in Prevessin-Moens near his work at CERN. It helps a lot to be just on our own- us 4. For the first time since we arrived in France the boys are in bed at a decent hour. The house is a little humid, but it is very lovely. The kitchen is fully equipped. I even made tacos tonight! I bathed Xavier in the kitchen sink also tonight because there is only a stand-up shower here. Etienne likes the shower now, so that's good.

We found a park down the road to play in this afternoon, but it started raining pretty hard and kids started to flee for home with their parents. Etienne started crying because well, frankly he has never had to leave a park due to rain. He was so sad to see the kids start to leave. We had to drag him to the car kicking and screaming. He is a San Diego boy through and through. He really misses his friends and contact with other kids. We are starting to look for a house, but our things won't arrive until the end of November. And without us living in a house we can't actually sign him up for the correct school. I did find out today that I can leave him at the daycare in the mall for up to 2 hours. 2 hours costs 3 Euros ($4.50). It's opened on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Little kids here have Wednesdays off of school and many then go to school Saturday morning. Denis tells me that the good cartoons were always on Wed. morning. Tomorrow is Saturday, so I think I will try to drop him off and see how it goes????

And lastly, the subject of my post "Hooray for Nina." Upon returning to our "gite" this afternoon, the owner of the house gave us a package that came for us. It was a huge Halloween package from my mom and dad (the boys call mom Nina). It had pumpkin and maple leaf garland for decorating, Halloween plates and napkins, marsmallows, Reeses peanut butter pumpkins, skittles, 3 boxes of goldfish crackers, pumpkin flashlights, cool Halloween cards. Etienne was so happy to get a present and Xavier just said "wow". I said "Hooray for Nina" and Etienne replied, "Hooray for marshmallows!"

Peugeot 307 SW sport

2009-10-14T11:53:00.001-07:00

Denis and I finally found a nice family car within our budget. His knees do not fit under the steering wheel, but otherwise he has enough room. Knowing that it will probably be mostly me driving the kids around and he will take his bike or a bus to work ,we are going with it. We are partial to Volkswagens, but believe it or not it was hard to find a Passat wagon here, with Germany just over the border. I think our VW's in San Diego were made in Mexico anyway. http://www.automattei.com/imgauto/peugeot307sw_1%5B1%5D.jpg

This should show a picture of what it looks like. We get to go pick it up on Friday afternoon- so it will be a nice 31st birthday present for me!

It's still been rough settling in, but we are very eager to go out on our own and find a house. Etienne asks for bagels and for Doyle Park every day. He has acquired a taste for "petits pains" with nutella in the morning, but you just have to watch that he doesn't eat the whole jar of nutella. He also enjoys car rides around Alsace because we frequently see tractors, cows, horses, and even mountains.

Banking in the small villages around here (Masevaux to be specific) is quite frustrating. They will charge us 60 Euro cents each time we look at our account details on line! We are hoping when we get closer to CERN that the bank there will negotiate an "internet" package. I am so used to doing all of our banking online. On top of that, the Credit Agricole bank here does not necessarily transfer our money to the branch of the one near CERN. And, we have to pay for a debit card! Hmmm. We filled up Denis's parents' car that we've been using yesterday for 57 Euros- that's Diesel- but that translates to about 85 dollars a tank! I guess that double stroller is going to get used more than we thought.

Arrived!

2009-10-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

After 12 hours of flying, 3 hours of driving, 5 hours of a hellish stopover in London- this is due it's own post as soon as I can bear writing about it-, and very little sleep, we arrived at the Basel/Mulhouse airport around 5:30 pm Friday October 2nd. We were happy to see Denis's parents waiting for us with their car and their truck to hall all of our suitcases. The first two nights were really rough, but last night Etienne slept from 10-6, something close to a real night's sleep, and Xavier from 10-12 and again from 2-6. We made it to Denis's Tata's 70th birthday party yesterday in Rouffach at a quaint little restaurant. The lunch lasted about 5 hours and there were about 5 courses (aperitif, first course of fish and cold meats, second warm course beef stew w/ carrots and mashed potatoes (the creamiest ones I've ever tasted), spetzle (sp?), cheese course, and then many desserts- yummy- wait I didn't mention all of the wine- dry white, red, sweet white mmmm). Of the 5 hours, I think Denis and I sat for about 1/2 each because we were chasing the boys. But, the young cousins also helped to look after them. Etienne was playing hide and seek with Zoe, Elsa, Jeanne, Theo, and Amelia. He didn't eat anything except for many desserts when the time came. Xavier finally did take a nap in the stroller at the restaurant.

I haven't slept, but jet lag is now not as bad as it used to be before kids, believe it or not. Now I'm so used to getting no sleep that it just seems like a normal day that you have to suck it up, drink some coffee and breathe. I was disappointed to recently find out that there are no direct flights from Chicago to Geneva. I thought we were going to be able to fly home directly. We will have to go through Zurich, but that is not too bad. There are however many direct interEurope flights to Geneva.

Now it is time to get down to business: buying a car, getting our blackberries up and running, finding a house, a school for Etienne. We'll be in Alsace until around Oct.18th. We're going to visit my French host family from Angers who now lives near Montlucon in the center of France. We'll stay the night of the 20th with Beatrice and Jean-Paul and then head to Grenbole before we settle into our gite in Prevessin-Moens (http://www.gite-les-demoiselles.fr/index_en.html) We will be in the gite from Oct.22-Nov.7. Hopefully this may give us enough time to find a place to rent.

I was happy to see that there are "pumpkin days" coming up in the village of Masevaux nearby. We can take the boys and at least dress Xavier up in his hand-me-down pumpkin costume. They reassure me that there are now many Halloweeny things here, but I know it won't be the same. Etienne and I are reading Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin story that his best friend Jake gave him and he told me he wants to go trick-or-treating. Maybe around CERN we can do that?

To Beach or not to Beach?

2009-09-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

It looks like our last 2 weeks in San Diego are going to be HOT, SUNNY, and wonderful. It's like the city is waving goodbye and sticking its tongue out at us as we prepare to leave. The beach is calling. Here's the problem: I've got rooms full of stuff to sort through, services to end, phone calls to make, mountains of laundry, friends to see for the last time, green-card forms to fill out, shopping to do (suitcase, running shoes, clothes, gifts, peanut butter). Thank God mom has decided to fly out for our last weekend here. It's only appropriate to end our journey here with her and with Jonathan's recent visit. After all, the two of them are the ones who piled into my white Plymouth Neon with me, half of the backseat covered in clothes, back in June of 2002 and drove out here from Illinois.

So much left to do, but there has been progress. We have finally chosen a moving company who we will trust to pack up all of our dear possessions, throw into a big crate and ship on a boat. They will wrap the furniture in plastic and pack everything else professionally. In fact, if we pack anything ourselves, they won't insure us, so that really lightens the stress of moving. We have sold the Jetta (sniff sniff- Denis's first car in the U.S.). We are preparing to sell the Passat, the grill, the tv/dvd, and everything electric that won't work in France- although we cannot part with our fancy espresso machine and Denis vows to make it work with an adapter at all costs. The newest little bit of news is that Etienne has finally decided to go poo poo on the potty- hooray! Why is this relevant to the move??? Because we really want him to go to FREE preschool in France and they have to be potty-trained to do it.

Wtih my infinite to-do lists scattered around the kitchen and by the computer, the only conclusion I can come to is: we need to go to the beach.

We will miss San Diego!

2009-09-09T07:43:00.001-07:00

Of course the #1 thing we will miss about San Diego is all of our dear friends. We sincerely hope to see them again and our door will always be open to them for a visit, no matter where we live. However there are also many many "things" that we will miss. Here they are in no particular order as they come into my head.

1) The Ocean- how many times have we been to La Jolla Shores, PB, Torrey Pines, Del Mar, Mission Bay, Fanuel Park??? Not enough. This past weekend we went twice to La Jolla Shores at sunset and let the boys play in the waves and the sand trying to soak up every last drop of the Pacific before we leave.

2)The Sun- Okay, I know, San Diego does not have exclusive rights to the sun, but we will not have year-round sunshine in France. The sunny weather here allows us to be outside 365 days of the year. Let's just say our double BOB stroller has paid for itself many times over in this past year. On a side note, we look forward to fall and winter seasons, Christmas markets, changing leaves, yummy mushrooms, hot wine....

3) The Zoo- As far as I know, it's the best and prettiest zoo in the world. We have thoroughly enjoyed being members and getting to go on a Sunday afternoon for a leisurely walk to see Clyde the orangutan or the giant pandas or my favorite, the koalas. Besides all of the fabulous animals, the botanicals at the zoo provided us with hours of visual bliss.

4) In N Out- I am speaking for myself here. Denis could most certainly do without any type of fast food for the rest of his life (so could I- maybe;) ) but In N Out symbolizes Southern California for me. You can't get it in France, and not even in Illinois. Way better than McD***** (bad word in our house), I would try to visit before leaving on a trip and we always get it when family visits. Both boys have had In N Out burger and they really like the french fries. As long as I'm talking fast food, I might as well add Wahoo's Fish Tacos to this number. No place like it anywhere.

5) Scripps Research- Denis has had such wonderful opportunities working for Bridget and Clint and for the AMI group. Publictions, conferences, social gatherings, databases. I even got to accompany him to Oahu and to Quebec City for Microscopy and Microanalysis conferences. In short, this job has been awesome. For sure this is the reason we have stuck around San Diego for so long. We can only hope that CERN and Argonne will be as rewarding.

Moving Date Set!

2009-09-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Leaving Sunny San Diego-

We, myself, my husband, and 2 boys, are moving to France in 27 days!!! We will fly from LAX on Oct.1 to London and then onto Basel/Mulhouse and arrive on Oct.2. We currently live in San Diego and will be moving to somewhere outside of Geneva, Switzerland on the French side of the border. I keep thinking we're moving from one paradise to another, lucky us! It all started when I encouraged Denis to look for jobs near Chicago. So after months of tedious job searching, we are moving to France!!! He got a job through Argonne National Lab working at CERN. The goal was to be closer to family, and since his family is over there, we will be. I am hoping to finally get to Chicago in 2, maybe 3 years tops. But, we are so excited about all of the opportunities we will soon have.

Leaving San Diego will be bittersweet. According to my journals (yes, I've kept a written journal since 1998) I have wanted to move for 3 years now. I think somewhere around the time my first son was born, I felt the need to have family closer. However, San Diego has been so good to us. We have met many wonderful people, and our boys were both born here at Scripps Memorial in La Jolla. The Scripps Research Institute has been a fabulous place for Denis to work, and did I mention the weather and the ocean and the beaches and year-round sunshine and being outside for hours every day of the year?.

I've always enjoyed writing and hope that this blog will be a place for me to keep friends updated and also free therapy for me (right Yen-Yen?). I'm sure I will have much to tell and a great need to exhale it onto the computer. I've already made my list of places I want to see in Europe. Denis and I met in Angers, France in 1999 and we've been back to France often, but mostly to Alsace where he is from. I would like to get back to Angers, to Ireland to see Aisling, to Florence, to Paris, to London, to Amsterdam, to Spain, but I have never been to Greece, Croatia, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, North Africa, Prague, Denmark (all very feasible from Geneva). Hmm we're going to need lots of vacation time and a huge travel fund.

Mostly I am excited, but here are the things that worry me for now. 1) Communicating with/seeing my family. I am currently used to talking to my mom every day, sending her pictures on my phone, and texting. Even though we will be farther from my family, we will not have to fly to see our French family, so this means we can spend lots of time in Chicago/ Bourbonnais (mom are you ready for us????). 2) Finding a job- I have been home for about 2 years now and I LOVE being a mom, but I'm ready to work again- the UN in Geneva would be awesome, but it would be fun to teach English as well. Although I am a French and English teacher here in the US, I'm thinking my English skills will be more desirable and marketable over there... who knows? But, I do know that being in a new place and isolated at home will drive me crazy. 3) Denis's work schedule- we have been so lucky/blessed here. He's usually home by 4:30 and can come home for dr's appointments or if I need him during the day. They mentioned him being on call sometimes, so I hope this is not very often.

All in all I think the above issues are minor, because as I've found in the past, the things you are normally stressed about turn out not as bad as you think they will be. I am so looking forward to all the Pays de Gex has to offer- Voltaire's house in Ferney- for one, Etienne going to free preschool (kids go to school for free at the age of 3 in France), the wonderful food and wine we'll have there, fondue savoyarde, gruyere, yummm.