Curiosities and Questions

As I was trying to title this post, I reread it and discovered that most of the topics - though unrelated- do indeed revolve around Curiosities and Questions.
 
Well Alright! Baby Leo is nearing up to the BIG 0-9 month mark and crawling like a little glow worm, 6 teeth to call her own, eats a variety of foods and has just about the most delicious laugh you will ever hear from a baby. I think she is typical in that she likes to explore, but it seems that she is the most curious baby ever born! With her concentrated brow-furrow as she tries to do... well anything, she is just the coolest baby.

Sabine is a bike riding (with training wheels) dare devil with more bizarre and unexpected things rolling off her tongue on a daily basis. I should like to start a regular entry called, "Sabine actually said that". For example, like most kids she is interested in her private parts. But she is also intrigued by the idea that we ALL have them. I had to endure her listing every single person she knew and ensuring that they too had a "ZEE-ZEE". Does XX'x mama have a zee-zee? Does Monsieur XX have a zee-zee? Does so and so and so and so and so and so have a zee-zee??????  The cool thing is that in France, boys and girls both have them. So, there isn't the issue of difference yet.

A very sad thing happened tonight. Sabine got a little black baby doll for her 3rd birthday last January. Her name is Louise. She was the favorite doll for months. Tonight when I noticed Louise was not in her spot near Sabine's head for bedtime, I mentioned it. She said she didn't like Louise anymore. I asked her why. She responded that she is dirty. I looked closely at Louise and said I didn't see any. She repeated it and she even said, she wanted to return her to the Monsieur at the store! I asked her where she was dirty, she said "all over". I didn't want to make a big deal about it, because she likes to see my reaction when she tells me she ate meat at the creche (which she does not do). So, I just took Louise out and asked her if she wanted to sleep with me then. Louise said okay. I told Hicham about this painful conversation and he suggested that we give Louise a bath tomorrow and pretend that she was a bit dirty and then afterwards she will be nice and clean - ready for a snuggle.

UPDATE: Oh, how the adult mind functions. So, Sabine was all excited to give Louise a bath this morning. She took a gigantic bubble bath, washed her up, toweled her off and got her dressed and said, "there mama, all clean!". In my defense, I am cognizant of the studies done with little kids describing various dolls and attributing traits to them ... anyway.


This is a big year for our family, this September Sabine will be starting school, but not going everyday as I have decided she will stay home one day per week with Leo and I (for many reasons). Why should other people get to spend the bulk of the best time with my kid? I wish I could do this her entire childhood, but she might not agree. "But, mom! I want to go to school everyday!". The drawback is that this will be on her RECORD, says the directrice. Too bad I don't give two shits, she is only THREE.

Leo will start going 2 mornings a week to Creche... what will I do with myself? Oh... I sure can't wait to find out either! I was thinking it would be to take French classes, but honestly, I doubt it. I will probably surf the web and lay around drinking smoothies.

Which brings me to my latest daily drama. I am a green smoothie freak show. For real. Sadly, I have gone through many blenders and repair and replacement parts and new blenders in the last year that today I finally had ENOUGH when I found that my blender just stopped working again today. This was not a shitty generic blender either. Doesn't matter, these blenders are not made for the craziness that happens in my kitchen. They can't handle what I give them.

So, we are going in. Making it happen. No hold back. Making the investment in my health. Etc, etc. blah blah blah, VITAMIX! If you don't know about this amazing tool, google it now! Now we just have to figure out the best way to get one in my kitchen: buy abroad ($500) and have it shipped and pay the taxes/fees/shipping ($200), have a friend ship it unboxed (anyone?) or just suck it up and pay the European price ($1000). Damn! It is expensive here (except wine and well, except wine only). I will keep you posted. See, questions abound!

Shiny red boat, just yes!

Beyond that, went to The Netherlands about 2 weeks ago. Hardly took any photos while in Amsterdam, but there were a few things I did manage to be impressed enough by to take out the camera.



Here are some of my favorite pictures of Amsterdam bikes:

I just adore the tiny seat in the front compared to the child seat in the back, seems impossibly small!

Wooden box to tote tots.

I found that metal holder incredibly intriguing, it is probably obvious to most what it is for, but it is just this kind of thing that makes my imagination soar. Wine, flours, umbrella, newspaper? The possibilities are rather endless! 

Not often one sees a 2 colored eye cat, next to a boat... in Amsterdam. Rather curious I would say.

Yes, I love Amsterdam. And am eager to go back and explore much more. I took more pics of the other places we visited on this 5 days excursion (tulips galore!). For the next entry ...

On Not consuming, DIY and happiness

Hello to you!  I hope as the season is turning cooler, your health remains.  That is not so for lil Miss Sabine sadly.  She has been acquiring what I call mini-colds over the last couple of weeks.  By that I mean, she has a few symptoms randomly on various days - but then is fine again.  Until today, or should I say last night.  She was hacking all night long.  Poor little puff (hair reference). 

I woke up (seems like) each and every time she coughed.  I didn't have the sense to consider that maybe her room was dry and contributing to the hacking!  Of course, the next day, I got online and looked for some health tips.  You know; immunity building, fighting colds, etc.  It was there I learned about the almighty humidifier.  One would think I would have either thought about it or knew it deep inside my soul since I grew up in Minnesota where the heat is blasting for about 6 months out of the year! 

Alas no.  But knowing and doing something about it become a tad bit more complicated in another country.  First you must translate the word to English so you know what you are shopping for and then attempt to grasp the differences between the models which are all about 3x the cost as they would be back home - but not necessarily good quality.  (Coffee makers for example will average around 75 bucks - and they are worth about 20- if that!).  Don't even get me started on the cost of garbage cans or kid's toys!  Anyhoot, then you think about going to the store.  Imagining bringing a big box on the metro while with a toddler makes me shudder.  Could wait until the weekend and go with the hubby and car and when the hoards of shoppers saturate every square inch acting like the assholes people are when in over-crowded conditions.

Anyway, as a tree-hugging enviro extremist that I am, most of this doesn't really matter since we buy probably 85% of our household everything used.  For reasons of anti-over-packaging, re-using rather than landfilling, (not) fair-trade practices and general feelings of satisfaction when getting something at a fraction of store prices - just to name a few, this is the way to go.  However, there are just a few things that probably even I, wouldn't buy second hand for health reasons and a humidifier is one of them.

But then, low and behold - the internet has once again provided me with an idea that I might have actually come up with myself before the internet existed.  I mean, seriously, am I the only one who goes straight to my good old mac with a problem before even considering a solution myself?  Particularly as it relates to Sabine, the collective mind-hive on the web has definitely taken the place of what could have been interesting live conversations.  Yeah, these are the things I am thinking about these days.  Tangent alert:  AND that is because I recently read ON THE INTERNET that the happiest people socialize SEVEN HOURS A DAY!  NPR's interview with author of ""Thrive" by Dan Buettner. 

A Happy Blue Moon and Pirate.  Happy Halloween!

Well, I am way below the required amount of socializing (with people who can talk) to be thriving.  Apparently, Buettner is specific that socializing on-line doesn't count!  So, all my comments on Huffington Post, my gmail chatting etc. are not making me happy.  I guess I could have figured that out myself.  Bearing that in mind, I have taken on the task of getting out there more and being on the phone more too.  Last weekend, I went to a friend's ethereal and truly splendid music performance, the next day a party and the day after that, another party!  And there is no denying it, after the weekend I felt pretty happy!   Oh, and as long as I am talking about happiness.  If you have never heard of The Happiness Project - go. click. bookmark. subscribe. and bask in the wisdom from both Gretchen Ruben and the people who comment.  Absolutely worth your time - and you will think about happiness in new and profound ways.

DIY spicy humidifier

Okay- back to the humidifier.  I was delighted to be inspired to use stuff we already have in order to put moisture in the air.  AND, even cooler - DIY humidifier can also be used to make the apt smell cozy! 

The crock pot with:

purified water, orange peels, cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. 


I am sure there are plenty of other very nice things that could be included like mint, lemon, apple pieces - maybe even chocolate or cocoa!  Anything that smells good when warm I suppose.  If you have any other ideas, let me know.

Happy Sabine!

 

 

So, tonight, I will put the crockpot on low in Sabine's room - and hopefully this DIY method will do the trick and everyone can get a good night sleep and wake up happy :)

Babyland Parc! Amusement park without all the consumerism.

Sabine was invited to a birthday get-together of the soon two year old friend, Tjark at a unique destination.  It was a beautiful day for sure, but Sabine was unfortunately under the weather.  She took an extra long nap that day so we arrived later than we planned, leaving us with about an hour and a half to enjoy "Babyland Parc".  Here is  the link to their terrible (typically French) website: ParcBabyland

As always to see the picture BIGGER, click on it.

Babyland is a unique concept though, really.  It is a large plot of land with a lot of trees and animal sculptures, filled with various rides for the younger set.  The ages permitted are 0-12.  It was also unusual for two other reasons as well.

First it cost double the entry price for the child.  Eight euros per kid and a mere four for the adult, clever huh?

Second, there didn't seem to be anyone working there really.  The rides were started by the parents.  Talk about a grassroots style amusement park.  No characters walking around, no plastic crap to buy, no overpriced food and drinks.  Trees, rides, benches and tons of little people.  All the kids would get in their animal, car, boat or chair of choice and a parent standing nearby would start the ride.  I particularly liked this car:

It had a really positive, fun vibe - except for Sabine who although wasn't sick enough to stay home also wasn't her most expressive self either:

But she did make the most of her laid back state:

It was really cool though that Sabine could just go on as many merry-go-rounds as she wanted and pretty much have autonomy to choose where to go and what to do.  Of course, it does require some negotiation:

Hicham and Sabine pointing in different directions.

She looks like such a big girl here!  How is this already happening?  19 months old going on four!

So, we went to Ikea a couple of weeks ago to return something and Sabine found a kid's ride there was powered by pushing a button.  She seemed sure that she was single-handedly powering any and all of the rides there by pushing any buttons (or round things that looked like buttons).  When the rides stopped, she would furiously push the button repeatedly like the ones in Ikea.

Button pusher (like in Lost)

The seat was pretty little for our two adult butts .... two close for comfort, thus the expressions.

Me and my girl going round.

One fun day at Babyland Parc! 

Being Rich in Paris

The title of this post really has nothing to do with us actually.  We are not rich, but we did get some star treatment last night as we stepped onto the banking world's soiree on a big boat on the Seine River.










   



An evening like that makes you realize how lovely Paris can be with privilege and money.  Most people who take boat tours spend about 15 bucks and sit with hundreds of other budget-minded tourists taking the airplane like seats up and down the river while clutching their overpriced cans of coca-cola.  I know, because we have done this.  And it is annoying, you can barely see anything because of all the other people, the loud speaker is blasting tourist tid-bits and the chairs are hard as hell.  When you get off you can pay the inflated price of something like 20 bucks for the picture they took of you "on your Parisian cruise".  Ha ha!

But the upper-class, privileged and tourists who are living for the moment have access to a different kind of Paris.  These are the people who LOVE Paris.  These are the people who talk about Paris restaurants with orgasmic expressions.  The ones who stay in hotels with beds that are meant for two adults and wake up with quaint views (the full bed is standard hotel size).  The ones who see the opera with good seats and do shopping without being bumped into every 5 minutes like those of us shopping at Zara or H&M.  Yes, Paris is no doubt an amazing city if you have money and privilege.

Well, we have access to the privileged world occasionally.  Part of me also thinks it is an evil ploy by the higher-ups who get paid literally millions while people like Hicham help make them and their friends even richer.  He works in investment banking, btw.  It's like, "Let them eat cake" said (misquoted) Marie Antoinette.  While H makes enough that we live comfortably (especially since we are frugal as hell), we live pretty simply.  So, going on this luxurious boat for us was a pretty big deal.

(As always, IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE PICTURE LARGER, CLICK ON IT)

this game involved guessing the type of wine, red-white-rose by taste alone.  much harder than you think!

we made friends with one of the guys working there because he liked my tattoo

Showing tattoo

yup, that is what you think it is...

The festive crowd (not so much)

Another private boat party, but with a DJ and a band. 

i mean, cool huh?

The french have interesting ice cream flavors.  This one is tomato.

artsy shot

It seems everyone was eager to go home, they haven't even docked yet and people are crowding at the door.  Weird.

I was delighted to have an empty wine glass provided to wear around my neck.  Since we didn't use them, I presumed they were to take home.  Since so many people didn't seem to want theirs, I put a few extra in my purse (you know to make a set).  Imagine my horror when as we were leaving, the guy at the door asked for the glass.  Luckily my tattoo-loving staff member stepped in and said I could have it.  I wasn't about to dump out my bag and make a complete ass out of myself.  I felt incredibly tacky! But, I was also like, what the hell were those glasses for then?  Not one single person used them, they just wore them around their necks.

France Second-hand treasures or classifieds in France or how France is really not that expensive if you avoid Ikea.

Might as well continue with the classifieds theme.  The very, very cool thing about the classifieds in France is that you seriously never know what you will find.  This is an old country and it's people tend to take very good care of their stuff.  I have never seen so many consistently clean and tidy apartments or cars in my life.  My French friend Martine said the same thing about Americans, just in the opposite way.  She couldn't believe that we all live like slobs.  And comparatively I agree.  Even when I feel like my house is clean, when Martine comes over I suddenly see stuff I overlooked.

But anyway, the point is that these people take care of their belongings.  Of course, another post someday will highlight how often their unwanted stuff ends up chopped up on the side of the road and not in the classifieds.  BUT, for those who want to deal with it responsibly and make a little cash, they will post their stuff on www.leboncoin.fr 

I personally have spent way too much time on this website.  But it is just so damn fun.  It is like going to garage sales Minnesota style without having to drive and without buying stuff you don't need but you buy anyway cuz it's cheap and you're there.  It is like going to flea markets without the crowds.  It is like going to antique shows without feeling poor.  It is like going to a furniture museum but you COULD buy it and take it home if you wanted to.

It is also a window into how French people live.  You can discover how exactly these itty-bitty apartment dwellers live in Paris.  REMINDER, TO ENJOY THE PICTURES LARGER, CLICK ON THEM.  You will see clever furniture like this:

Why should a sofa also be a book shelf?

1970's dessert tray - apple green they called it.

quaint as hell

And you will see every inch of rooms being utilized like this:

What a brilliant use of space, but how does the kid sit up in bed?

the external view

from under the bed view

Yes, this is an adult's apartment

Of course you will find weird stuff like this:

who doesn't want a church thing in their living room?

i hate and love at the same time, how is that?

The ad said this would be ideal to repaint, wonder why?

yup, it is an antique toilet

And incredibly beautiful antiques for practically nothing like these:

about a hundred bucks. It is HUGE!

I want

Walnut beds

This and the next two pieces are a set that will set you back about 150 bucks!

Again, the fact that Ikea is so beloved here baffles my mind.  We have a similar three piece set as the one above.  I actually like this one much better (damn it)... Here is ours:

Well, ours has a little more storage, which we needed.  (Yes, I can see they are about the same, but I am just telling myself that okay?)  But what is funny is that when Frenchies come over they 100% say our dining room set reminds them of their grandma's house and that they think it is basically ugly.  UGLY!  Yes, really.  I suppose it could be compared to when we see bad 80's furniture.  The American time frame has to be shifted to realize that furniture from 1930 is just not that old here. 

In order to bring the new set in, we had to find a new home for our former solid oak dining room table.  It was amazing really.  It could seat up to 10 people if you pulled out the sides.  It weighed about 200 pounds (well, I am not sure really - but it was heavy as hell) and in very great shape.  For an month, I tried to sell it for 50 bucks and nobody wanted it.  I then tried to give it away on leboncoin.  Nothing!  Finally, I made posters and put them up around our neighborhood and on the same day the new set was coming, an old guy from the neighborhood came and got it.

That is when I realized why all these lovely pieces of furniture end up on the side of the road, unwanted.  Had that man not come and taken our table, I am not sure I would have had another alternative.  But that still begs the question, why chop it up and then put it on the side of the road?  Why not leave it whole so that fellow scrappers can see it and pick it up?  Ah well, we are sadly a throw-away world.