Bonne Weekend

We're having a lovely slice of summer here in the Ile de France. The weather has been better on the weekend than it was during the week - take that Murphy!

We begun, on Friday evening (which is where a weekend should really start), with constructing a cot, gifted to us by a colleague of Luuk's. Now there are two cots in Louis room and not a lot of floor space, but maybe this will help with Louis' growing understanding of what is about to take place.

Louis helping his Dad tighten up the joints - learning how to use an Allen Key.

 On Saturday Luuk had grand bike-shopping plans and headed off first thing. The first place, he tells me, was a bit pricey.

The second place was a bit late in opening, but worth the wait. A couple hundred Euro later... un velo!

In the afternoon it was my turn to take off on my own, for a much needed hair appointment. Luuk and Louis enjoyed the summery weather on our porch at home.

Someone didn't want to have his afternoon nap, but was happy enough.

Meanwhile, I was transformed from the regrowth-monster into this beauty. So many photos were taken before I gave up and accepted that while pregnant I will always be a little frustrated by my appearance.

You're so vain.

Sunday dawned with much promise, and then went and lived up to it. We go to a tiny off-shoot kind of church most Sunday evenings. The main church meets in Versailles in the mornings and this week were blessing their new sanctuary (the area where church services are held) - so we all got together for a special service... including a scrummy lunch of nibbly goodies and drinks - including champagne! Anglicans eh? The French eh? Love it.

Luuk had to dash off after the service to pick up an ebay purchase: a bike seat for Louis. After a good solid afternoon nap, the boys took advantage of this new treat...

Off we go!

Honey, I'm home.

Lookin good.

My biker boys.

So I'm hoping they can do their father-son bonding off on the road, getting some exercise and having a blast. Meanwhile I can ensconce myself in a cafe and work on that novel!

And now it's time for dinner and a relaxing evening before kicking off another week. Perhaps we will watch the last episode of 'Sherlock'. Perhaps I will finish reading my book. I will definitely write my 100 Days post for today.

Yesterday, Today

Confession: I didn't write this yesterday, pen to paper, or fingers to keys, but I did have this conversation, some time before midnight... with myself...

Day 19: Bedtime blues.

Oh gosh. I didn't write my dialogue today.
You could get up - it's not as if you're asleep yet anyway.
I did write a few lines of conversation in my novel earlier. That'll do.


But it won't. I looked over that bit of the novel draft this morning and it's not succinct or interesting. So this little slice of my internal duologue will do for yesterday's 100 Days effort.

Today's effort, from a dry sandpit of inspiration... (not enough moisture to hold together a castle - did I take the metaphor too far?)

Day 20: Dinner Theater

Dad: Do you want to try this?

Toddler: puts out hand and takes slice of salami. After a moment's consideration throws it on the floor.
Mum: While you're down there there's lots of other food on the floor.



It doesn't help that most of the day I'm in the company of a toddler who doesn't really speak intelligibly. He has got 'ball' down - says it and means it consistently. Also 'nah!' when he doesn't want to eat the pasta dish I made just for him - a whole giant dish of cheesy pasta spirals with thin carrots and beans that he can manage with his four little teeth. These are all things he likes and eats... but no! Not any more. I made a whole lot of the stuff and voila! He doesn't like it anymore. Happily ate a bit of my quiche crust at lunch. And then some cheese, and strawberries. Well, on the upside, it's strawberry season! On the downside, I got two punnets and about half were either past it or well on their way. Made a smoothie from the ones that were threatening not to make it to this evening. Louis was happy to help me drink/eat my smoothie too. Did very well with a normal cup, though at one point he did start to shake it: very nearly carnage.

Strawberry smoothie went down a treat: strawberries, milk, yogurt, cream cheese and berry coulis. 

What's not to love?

Then after lunch he had another go on the potty. I really thought it was going to happen. Photographed the momentous occasion and all, but despite making all the right noises and facial expressions, he saved it all for the nappy.

The potty remains unscathed.

Went to the market this morning. We are well stocked with fruit and veg, and have a traiteur-made lasagna for dinner. Easy peasy. At two for 10Euro it's tempting to have this meal all the time. Usually, one month out from having a baby is the time to start stocking up the freezer for after the baby's born. I have three meals in there now, but frankly we can probably manage the walk to the market, or even one of the local traiteur's, for dinner-to-go when we need it. Tonight we're trying the spinach lasagna. Got us some canolli as well - like from The Godfather: "Leave the gun, take the canolli." I'm not sure if I've tried them before but I was standing at the Italian traiteur, waiting for the lady to slice up the salami, and I thought, 'hey, dessert! Done.'

Other highlights of the day:

Got a big box of pressies from a friend in the USA, including some baby girl clothes her little girl has grown out of - so cute! Minnie mouse, pink and purple, frilly in places... perfect!

Gorgeous hot afternoon so after our naps we went to the 'aire de jeux' - so did every other child in Antony. Good thing there are lots of other playgrounds in Antony.

Louis had a blast and seems to have escaped sans sunburn.

At one point he started walking around without a clear destination - just wandering, in circles or after the ball - this is progress! Kept falling and getting right back up again without pause. I'm so proud.

Oh, I should report back on last night's dinner - I tried out two new recipes.

Both were successful but probably not going on the regular roster. 

It was the first time I cooked duck and I'll definitely do it again. 

The cheesey puff was yummy but really a lot like a puffy cheese omelette. Too much work and too many dishes for an omelette.

Tomorrow, tomorrow!

In 48 hours we'll be in Paris! Unfortunately, over half of that will be spent on airplanes... with a baby...

We've spent a busy few days in Auckland, or at least its felt busy cause we've been feeling so tired. Caught up with most of the people I was hoping too. We've been staying with good family friends, who were neighbours for the best part of a decade when I was kid. Feels a lot like coming home, staying at their place.

Louis eating the garden.

We've neglected to do any quintessentially Auckland things, except lunch in Mt Eden village. Which was lovely. I don't think we'll make it up Mt Eden or (n)One Tree Hill. I haven't glimpsed the harbour bridge or the sky tower, and I haven't been to Mission Bay, on this visit at least. Plenty of times before, of course.

We've spent lots of time with my grandparents as well. It's been great giving Louis some time with them, and them some time with him, before we jet off across the globe.

And now it's our last night in NZ... for now. Our washing is in the dryer, and two out of our three suitcases are already in the car. The plan for tomorrow:

Louis will be up around 6, so breakfast, etc. and all the usual morning habits... Louis will have a morning nap and we'll get on with the last of the packing and rearranging... until the final suitcase is only 20kgs and the hand luggage is organised and logistically brilliant. At around 10.30 we'll put Louis in the car and head off to the airport. Lunch with Luuk's family, and my grandparents, and then the big send-off.

My thinking is to nap on the first flight, between movies, and then stay awake at Singapore airport - swim, food, possibly a massage, definitely a good run-around on the playground (for Louis, not me) - so that I'm exhausted and relaxed, all ready to sleep for the whole second flight... all 13 hours and 50 minutes of it :( Here's hoping for a tail-wind. And here's hoping that Louis sleeps for a whole lot of it as well, in his car seat, on his airplane seat. So glad he has a seat!

Here's also hoping (last one) for a good night sleep.

Nous Visitons nos amis et famille

We've had a great few days tripping around the Waikato/Tauranga visiting friends and family. Louis has recovered from his shots (apparently, though a rash can take longer to appear) and his teeth seem to be niggly but not a constant misery. Whew.

Luuk with friends, picnicking.

On Tuesday we had a picnic lunch at Memorial Park in Tauranga - delish food, good (and rarely seen) friends, happy kids and huge playground! Louis was off on one adventure after another...

Sign on the fountain: This is not a paddling pool. All children must be supervised by adults. Council takes no responsibility blah blah blah. Should be a Tui ad.

Louis in the foreground, splashing in the puddles, and in the background are our friends, circumnavigating the fountain.

 Thirsty? 

We spent the evening with other friends in Tauranga, where we got spoilt with fresh snapper for dinner and a gorgeous bbq-ed brunch the next day. Then visited cousins, aunt and uncle. Caught up, played rummikub, then went out for pizza the size of a tractor tire!

Lunch with cousins in Tauranga

 Happy munching on pizza crust and playing with the take-away menu... until his ears started bothering him, just before we left.  Either that or he is sick of us talking...

We returned to Hamilton, doing our audio french lesson as we traversed the Kaimai ranges, and spent the next two nights with our friends in Hamilton. It was a gorgeous, and steamy, day so we happily spent the remainder of the afternoon lazing around in the backyard, nibbling on strawberries and plums, while the kids played in the sprinkler and paddling pool. 

 Louis and Eli, splashing about!

Louis enjoying a cupcake for dessert, sitting in a 'bumbo' (I want to get one when we get to Paris!)

The first night with the Hamilton friends we stayed up late playing 'Tetris Link' a new game to us, but very quickly a favourite. The second night we were up late watching 'The Help' and eating dairy-free (read: tofu) cheesecake - which I was thoroughly impressed by! Not that I'd pick it over actual (dairy-full) cheesecake, but it was eminently edible.

Yesterday we went to Nana's for lunch (in Te Awamutu) and then on to my cousins' farm, where Louis spent a joyful afternoon playing with his second cousins, and having a nice long nap. We ate lots of yummy cheese scones and caught up with the cousins, and played with the kids. What a lot of cuties!

Probably stayed a bit late in the end... according to the wee man at least. It was a bit of a drive to get back to Hamilton, from out in the wops of the Waikato, but he kept entertained with the stereo remote...

Look who's talking (on the remote 'phone')

Now we're back with Luuk's family, getting our packing sorted. The plan: to pack and weigh the suitcases, and then for all 3 of us to live out of just one case until we get to Paris. We'll need 3 or 4 days of summer clothes, all the stuff for the plane/layover, and at least one winter outfit for arrival in Paris. Hopefully we then don't have to repack the night before we leave in Auckland. If we only open one suitcase, and everything that comes out of it goes back into it, then the weight shouldn't change right?

Well, that's the plan. Might be blogging from Paris next! Au Revoir!

Packing up

I skipped a few weeks of madness, because of the madness of packing up, but I thought I might update now... now that I've had nearly a whole day of leisure - chatting, reading, a french lesson, a movie, a nap... it's been lovely.

The whole moving-to-france plan has been in the pipe-line for a while but we had no specifics as to when until just before Christmas. We only got flight dates sorted just before new years, and were still under the impression we had to do our own packing, so spent most of that week sorting and packing... then found out that, for insurance purposes, the movers have to pack the stuff. Sweet, right? Except it was half-done already. Anyway... in the midst of all this was another wolloping earthquake, christmas, new years, and a visit from Luuk's parents. Little Louis is coping remarkably well with his constantly fluctuating routine!

Once upon a time when we still had furniture (above), before we sold/gave away/stored all our possessions...

The furniture was gone, boxes everywhere, but the wee man got on with his milestones, picking up a pen and starting drawing! On paper! I'm so proud. Writer or artist? Both? Either. Usually pens are used as drum-sticks or lolly-pops...

Who needs furniture to have a good time, anyway?

Opa and Oma visited for a few days - a few very hot, summery days, in which we endeavored to eat the contents of the freezer, and made significant progress. The home-made ice blocks were a winner, for sure.

On the last day of their stay we had a garage sale and pawned off a lot of our stuff on friends and total strangers. Made a hefty stash of cash and got rid of about two thirds of the stuff. The rest went to book shops, salvation army and the tip (some of it recycled, some not) on Monday. Noteworthy moment: throwing a perfectly functional Rimu desk, piece by piece, into the pit at the dump... It didn't sell and we didn't want it. What else could we do? Still feel a bit bad about that...

We stayed with Mum and Dad for the last few days in Christchurch, while our house got packed and sent to storage, and we cleaned... ick. Was such a relief to have that behind us.

Last evening in Christchurch, after a delish(!) dinner of Lamb with feta and lemon and rice (Mum went through a Mediterranean phase, that, thank god, she never quite got over. Love it.), we set about the mission of taking some half-decent family photos... Good luck getting everyone smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. Getting Louis to look at the camera isn't so difficult. It's getting everyone else to stop looking at Louis - that's the trick!

And now, we are swanning around the Waikato and surrounding regions. We have 3 mammoth suitcases and a baby backpack. Somewhere in the world, between Christchurch and Paris, is a half-cubic meter of stuff we shipped over. We are semi-homeless, semi-jobless wanderers! Only technically, however, as we've got the apartment we were hoping for, come mid Feb, and there's a temporary apartment booked for us for the first few weeks in Paris. And, of course, Luuk has a job, it's just that he hasn't signed in France cause we're not there yet, and he's resigned here, because though he'll be working for the same company, it's a separate office... anyway, boring technicalities. I quite like the idea of being wanderers, but I suppose it's better this way, what with having a baby about to start walking, and another one cooking (and kicking).

Our journey so far

We left Christchurch yesterday, but it feels like it's been longer than that. We drove north along State Highway one, with an angelic sleeping baby, until Cheviot... and Louis woke up. Too soon! Poor little guy was a total misery guts until Kaikoura. He enjoyed the primary school playground there, mostly because it has stones rather than bark, and he just adores stones.

We were on a strict time frame, ferry to catch and all that, so continued on, to Louis' great dismay. Fortunately he nodded off again some time later and only woke up just before we arrived in Picton. Our itinerary said 'final check in' was at 1.25. It lied! Loads of people arrived after us, and we were 2 minutes late, thanks to the misleading signposting that I'm hoping some poor sob in Picton gets a kick out of.

I was glad to see the crossing conditions were meant to be 'calm'. I sometimes get a bit of motion sickness but was fine this time. Just sleepy. Pregnancy is bloody exhausting.

Louis loved being on the deck, looking out at the strait, wind and ocean spray in his face...

 

We spent a lovely evening in Wellington with my cousin, her husband, and their son, who is a little bit older than Louis - hilarious bath times, delish(!) dinner and a good night's sleep. Headed out pretty early this morning (early for a saturday at least) and made good time. Louis slept till just before Taihape, where we stopped for lunch at what was rumoured to be the best KFC in the country. Couldn't tell you if the food was markedly better than elsewhere but the service was fantastic. Then we went scouting for a playground...

What a brave wee man. Adrenaline junkie in the making... yes, it worries me a little. Un peu. (Better?)

Next stop was Waiuru, mainly for the photo ops...

Riding on a 'small' tank...? (above)

Riding the bigger tank (above and below)

Here comes the tank.

Apologies for the self-take but it had to be done.

Somehow, heaven knows, Louis stayed awake and happy for most of the rest of the way. Had a wink of sleep before we swapped drivers, which of course woke him up, and then he wouldn't go back to sleep, despite bottles of milk and bed-time toys being thrust at him. Gave up half an hour from our destination and plied him with a different toy every few minutes until we arrived (when he was quite contentedly playing with the stereo remote - should have tried that earlier). The cousins arrived a few minutes later! Timing, people. Tres bien!

After dinner, the filthy kids had a bath together. Oh joy of joys.

These joyous spongey things were added to the mix and Briar gave up on the game, escaping with her gorgeous dry hair barely damped. Louis and Xanthe, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the splashing and spraying.

Sorry it's long. Feel free to stop watching. There's no great punch-line at the end. I just can't be bothered editing video with a tracker-pad, on a laptop, after a nearly-nine-hour road trip.

Nous allons a Paris!

Today, the moving company lady came to look at how much stuff we're storing - "a half-house load"... tehe. Why are we storing out 'half-house-load' of stuff, you ask?

We're moving to Paris! I keep on saying it, just throwing it into every conversation. Still not sure I believe it.

Starting to get excited though... now that the house is almost packed and half the furniture is gone (given away or in the garage sale pile - in the garage). Have put winter clothes into suitcases and sorted out all my other stuff. Only thing left is the kitchen, really.

Have done 30 french lessons c/o Pimsleur. There are another 60 to go...
Have got my international driver's licence. Though, heaven forbid, driving in Paris... non, merci.
Have returned some of the random assortment of other people's stuff we discovered while sorting through our own.
Have new copies of vital documents: birth/marriage certs, etc. Translations into French are in-process.
Have new passport.
Have got extra dosage of sun (oops) to make up for missing out on February (best bit of summer) in NZ.

Don't have flights booked. Hm... And meant to be leaving before the end of January. But hopefully will have that sorted this week. (Suspect my hopes are in vain.)
Haven't made garage sale signs. May have accidentally given away all my paints. Oops. Anyone got white or black paint, hanging about in need of a cause?
Haven't handed over all the stuff we're long-term-loaning to people.
Haven't weeded the garden (but struggling to see the point as it'll only need to be done again in a couple of weeks when we leave.)(To be fair, always struggle to see point of weeding).
Don't have accommodation in Paris. But am assured someone is working on it. Someone in Paris.

I have so many lists around, it's crazy, but I would actually go crazy without them.


 bghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh;[-                    vvv                         egg jfk mii kjc  eo okko

Louis says, 'get off the compooper mum, you're boring!'
so bye.

Summer has come to Christchurch

After a frankly terrible start to the day/week, today turned out to be quite lovely. Was very tired so went back to bed when Louis went down for his morning nap... and work up at 10.50! The whole morning was almost gone. But then I felt just terrible. Louis woke up, so had had his lunch out in the sun. Wasn't very interested in his lunch, and I wasn't very interested in a food fight, so when we started chatting to the neighbours through the fence I gave up on lunch and we went to visit. Louis played with the kids next door (first time on a trampoline!) and I discovered he is not the only child who puts stones in his mouth. Good to know.

 Gorgeous summer-like day. The Kowhai is in full bloom. Never seen one so glorious!

I let Louis play in the garden, but it was really hot and sunny and he refuses to keep his hat on. I sun-blocked us both and let him explore the camelia-sheddings, while I sewed a strap onto his hat. This was a truly brilliant moment of mine, I must say. I found a tiny premie size onesie in the sewing stuff and cut off the strips down the front that have all the domes on them. I shortened these and sewed them onto Louis' sunhat, then put it on his head and snapped it in place. Aha! Mum wins. Hat stayed on after that.

 Louis wearing the un-movable hat! Score 1 for mum. But he's eating my apple. Little thief. I wanted that. Score 1 for Louis.

I had a slightly less brilliant, but not far-off, moment later on: gave him some naked time and squirted water from my drink bottle onto the playmat (it's kind of rubbery - I think it was once a physio floor mat) which Louis happily splashed around in and got totally wet. We'll be playing that game again this summer methinks.