Leaving France

(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

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

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


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

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

J'adore Paris!

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

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

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

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


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


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

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

September

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

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

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

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

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

Summer Vacation- Illinois and Missouri

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



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

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

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

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

En fin... summer!

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

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

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

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

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