Lost in translation....

We've had a few funny moments recently as Geo gets back into the swing of speaking Arabic with Baba. Geo and I often go to the Coulee Verte, a big park nearby that is built over the RER B train line. Every few minutes, a train goes under the park and you can hear it as well as feel the vibrations. And every time it happened, Geo would tell me "The train is hizzing, mama".

This always surprised me, he's a very precise speaker. I'd say, "Trains don't hizz, they hiss, like this, 'ssssssssssssssssssssssss'." He'd say, "No, it's HIZZZZZing". I'd drop it, but I thought it was strange. Well, this weekend, we were on the ICE train and it was shaking. And C said something to Geo about the train "hizz"ing (I don't know how to conjugate it in Arabic, so I'm conjugating a la Geo!). It turns out that hiz means "to shake" in Arabic. So Geo was right, all those times. So funny!

The second story is really embarrassing. We were sitting in Peggy and Chris's living room, with the Friday family. Geo and Claire were looking at a book that had tools in it. Claire pointed to something and asked Geo what it was. Without hesitating, Geo said (in his little innocent 3-year-old voice) "It's a fuk!" Wow. The room went dead silent and 5 faces turned to stare in shock at our little cherub.

I couldn't even speak! I've dropped a few craps and damns, but never the big ole f-bomb! Chady came to the rescue when he asked Claire if she was pointing to a screwdriver. Because in Arabic, the word for screwdriver starts with mmfuk. Note the M in front, that our cherub dropped from the word, in his innocence. I think from now on, we'll be teaching him only the French or English word for screwdriver, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway, we're continuing in our quest to make our apartment livable. More progress has been made in Geo's room-- his bed is set up and we've moved most of his toys in. Still to be moved in: his dresser and bookcase. Here's a picture of his room as of this morning.


There are still a ton of things to do: hang curtains, hang posters, put a shelf above his bed for a lamp and some toys, find some way of storing his thirty katrillion stuffed animals.... but we're getting there. I'm a very impatient person and it's really hard to have to take things slowly, but sometimes you just don't have a choice! Please note that little Mia is happily ensconced on the new bed. She can't thank us enough for putting up a bed just for her.

Catching up

We had a great weekend, this last weekend. It was a long weekend (Ascension Thursday); the last long weekend in May. Not that we can really complain, since there are three long weekends in May, but getting back to normal is tough after so much time off!

So we did what we haven't done since we arrived back in France: nothing. Ok, not really nothing. We took the ICE train to Kaiserslautern and visited P & C: C is also known as "The Man Much Smited by the Gods". He's recovering from knee surgery that he had the day before we arrived (yes, we did offer to reschedule, and P & C declined!). But when I say we did nothing, I mean, we visited with Peggy, ate lots of good food, took naps, saw our friends the Fridays and did not paint, or saw, or unpack, or arrange. No visits to Ikea or Castorama. It was blissful.

Geo loved the train ride, which is no big surprise. He's been talking about the ICE train for months now. And it is pretty amazing-- it gets up above 300 km / hour, and the trip that used to take us 5.5 hours now takes 2.5.

We enjoyed P and C's great hospitality in their very comfortable house in Kottweiler-Schwanden. Thanks for having us, you all! We were so relaxed that we didn't take any pictures while we were there. Ok, that's not strictly true. Geo took lots of pictures while we were there, because his aunt Nada and uncle Khaled and cousin Angela sent him an AMAZING birthday present: a digital camera for kids! And while he took plenty of shots of the ceiling, his feet, his knees, the table, etc, he also took lots of candids that turned out to be pretty neat. When I get a chance to download them, I'll share a few.

We got back Sunday evening around 6:30, and Chady went straight to work finishing the floor in Geo's room. So I guess what I said about no sawing earlier wasn't strictly true either. But he finished the floor! It looks wonderful. I have to give him a big shout-out, because he worked every evening after getting home from work often until 11 or 12 trying to get the floor done. And he did a fabulous job. Need proof? Here you go:

Chady hard at work Thursday morning before taking the train:


The finished room:


And the only pictures we took on the trip-- on the train coming home!



And:


Yesterday was catch-up from the weekend: laundry, grocery shopping, all that good stuff. It was ridiculously hot and humid-- maybe 85 degrees? So hot and humid that walking the short distance to the park made Geo and I sweat buckets. And when we got to the park, it was closed because there was a severe thunderstorm alert. The thunderstorm didn't hit until midnight, but better safe than sorry, right?

Today is much cooler and more pleasant. We don't have any big plans, but hopefully Geo will get to play at the park today.

It's the little things that make life interesting.... And this post is dedicated to our little cat, Mia.

Mia is a very well-traveled cat; born in France, she has flown internationally twice-- has lived in the south of France, Paris, El Paso, and now Verrieres-le-Buisson.

She's had a hard transition. Cats and flying are a lot like cats and water. They really don't mix. But she arrived in good health, although she was not impressed with the cat food here. The brand we used to buy her has disappeared, and the new stuff did not appeal to her for a long time. She kept missing her litterbox when she peed. She picked the only room in the apartment with carpeting to vomit in-- repeatedly. She clawed up the brand new twin mattress we brought for Geo. Basically, she came very close to getting the old heave ho off the balcony.

I think she's settled in now, though, since on Monday she killed her first bird on the balcony. I've since spoken to our downstairs neighbor, who moved the birdfeeder that lured the birds so close to our balcony in the first place. From now on, Mia will have to be satisfied with chasing bugs.

Ok, here's the truth. This year, Geo's birthday was very painful for me. I'm glad it's over and behind us for another year.

He's such a social little person. He loves other people, loves his friends (and anyone who he can laugh with and who doesn't actively beat him up counts as a friend in his book). He's lonely here-- we all are. And so it was a huge bummer not to be able to have a really fun, friend-filled party for him. It wouldn't have been a big deal at all, if he was the kind of child who wasn't super social, or who was shy. Or even slightly less verbal. But it was excruciating to me to have him ask why none of his friends were coming to his party. And when I explained that people were busy, he said "Aw, I'll NEVER have any friends come to my birthday".

While being highly intelligent emotionally will surely serve him well later in life, it sure puts us in some tough spots as parents!

And really, the birthday celebration we had was lovely. Calm, fun, focused on Geo. It just wasn't a *party*. I know he won't remember it, and in the long run it's a small, small thing, but I'm sooooo glad it's over. And I'm very much looking forward to him starting school and making a bunch of friends. So is he!

The big birthday post

So this is going to be a long one! We're summing up the birthday celebration(s) from last week.

On his actual birthday, he got some nice phone calls and he got to pick out his dessert from the village bakery. He picked mint macaroons with raspberries and cream inside (what can I say? the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!).

Some pictures:




The next day a big birthday box arrived from Anna and Granddad. Geo was so excited we decided to have mercy on him and not make him wait until his birthday celebration to open it.







Honestly, at age three (or any age!) getting a big box full of presents is just the best thing ever.

Stage three of birthday celebrations happened Sunday afternoon, when Marc and Ziad came over and spent the afternoon and evening with us. We took them on a walk around our village:



Then we came home, and while dinner was cooking, Geo opened his gifts-- which included:



In case you can't tell, that's a boat-- for sailing in the bassin at the Jardin de Luxembourg (from Mama and Baba). Taita and Jiddo sent him a lot of great books in Arabic, and C read him four or five last night alone!

And the gift from Ziad and Marc: a track that makes a car fly up in the air and burst through the billboard of your choice (some options include: a pizza ad, an ice cream ad, an ad for a zoo, and many more!).


A VERY nifty birthday hat from Peggy and Chris:

It's hard to see in this picture, but it's in the shape of a birthday cake and has three candles and three strawberries on top.

Another boat picture:


And an amazing gift from the Friday family: a train track set, with a battery powered engine and lots of cool accessories, like a crane, a bridge that opens up, a crossing, and more.





After all the excitement, it was time for dinner-- rotisserie chicken, scalloped potatoes and salad. YUM!


And last, but not least, the birthday cake Geo helped me make. He wanted a vanilla cake with vanilla icing, and we put strawberry jam in the middle, and lots of sprinkles on top. It was really good! Geo had two pieces and *actually ate the cake*!!!! Amazing.



It was a really great afternoon and evening. A huge thank you to everyone who sent him gifts. We love you all so much!

It's been a few days since I posted. Nothing terribly exciting is going on, so there just wasn't a whole lot to say!

Here are some highlights of the week:

-- Geo got a big, amazing birthday box from Anna and Granddad. It had LOTS of goodies in it, and he loves them all. He's been playing with the Playmobil dragon non-stop. The St. George that came with it is currently moonlighting as a fire-fighter in his fire truck.

-- Geo's friend Sean came to play-- his first playdate in our new apartment! They had a blast.

That's about it! It's been raining all week, so we've been doing a lot of finger painting. When the rain stops, we run outside to play as best we can in the very soggy, muddy parks.

Today we went to the hardware store and bought the new flooring for Geo's room. The plan was to install it this weekend, but the instructions say that the flooring has to sit in the room it will be installed in for 48 hours prior to installation. And we figure it would be really sucky to install it this weekend, only to have it contract-- or expand-- by Monday. So I guess we'll wait a bit.

Tomorrow we'll have a little (teeny, tiny) birthday celebration for Geo. A nice family dinner, with Marc and Ziad (right, guys?) and some cake and presents. I'll post pictures next week.

A little sad

Another potty conversation this morning.

"Mama, I want to go back to Anna and Granddad's house."

"Do you miss them, Geo?"

"Yeah. And Sofia. And Joseph. And I take my scooter and I dash, dash, dash up to the park, and to the carrot patch* and then I STOP. Mama, I wanna go NOW."

So I'm feeling a little teary right now.

* The carrot patch is a flower bed in the park that the kids liked to pretend was their, well, carrot patch. It was also the place they had to stop, right before the street.

Three today

Three years ago today, I was in labor.

Three years ago today we met Geo for the first time.

Today I know a cheerful, talkative, joyful child, who loves building castles, playing with trains, and watching Mary Poppins. He loves telling us he loves us, he loves petting his cat. He loves reading books and playing with sticks and rocks in the park. He thinks about lots of things and asks interesting and impossible-to-answer questions. He is extremely ticklish. He is very loving and sociable. We didn't know all those things, three years ago.

Three years ago when a tiny baby was handed to me I was scared, thrilled, proud and overwhelmed. Funnily enough, I'm still all of those things three years later.

Today is a misty, drizzly day and we are recovering from a busy weekend. So, despite my good intentions of last week, Geo is currently watching Mary Poppins after a long nap. In an hour, we'll be heading over to his friend Sean's house, for a play date, since the park will be too soggy.

To recap our weekend: it included (for me) a lot of painting. Friday was a holiday, so the three of us caught a bus to the gigantic hardware store, where we bought painting supplies and some plants. Friday night, C and I primed Geo's room.

Saturday, C and Geo played all day, which freed me up to do the two coats of paint necessary to cover the hideous purple of the walls in Geo's room. And on Sunday, we puttered around, I planted my plants, went to the grocery store, and caught up on house stuff.

Here are some pictures of our adventures:

The "before" picture of Geo's room:


and:

They don't quite do justice to the horribleness that is this shade of purple.

And while I was having fun painting, C and Geo were going to the Jardin d'acclimatation-- a big park / amusement park / hard to classify place to entertain children. It has a model farm, lots of merry-go-rounds, play spaces, a puppet theater, boat rides, and more.

Here's the train they took to get to the park:


A ride on the merry-go-round (hint: Geo's on the top level, and is wearing a red coat; he's behind a yellow windshield):


Another ride:


And, around midnight Saturday I finished the second coat. I waited until Sunday morning to be sure that I was really finished painting. Here's how it turned out:


From the window:


And here are my flowers. I only did two pots (because that was all I could carry on the bus!):


I decided to do something different-- dahlias and lobelias.


And these, not sure what they are called. On the pot was written "Japan Rose", but that seems like a strange name:


I also planted some lavendar, rosemary, and finally potted the lovely begonia that Nancy gave me when we arrived.

Notice the balcony shots are pretty close up-- that's because the rest of the balcony is filled with stuff I haven't found a spot for inside, plus some things from Geo's bedroom. I'm a little embarrassed-- it's such a mess-- but hopefully we'll get it straightened up and in order before too long.

Well, that's all for now. It's time to get our rain boots on and head off!

Conversation I had with George this morning while he was sitting on the potty:

Him: "Mama, I did it! I went poo-poo on the potty!"

Me: "I know, that's great!"

Him: "Are you so proud of me?"

Me (realizing I'm probably going to be potty-praising for a long time): "Yes, I am!"

Him: "Why?"

Me (thinking fast): "Because you listened to your body, and told me when you had a poo-poo, instead of doing it in your diaper."

Him: "Mama, what is my bottom saying to me now?"

Me: "I don't know, is it saying there's more poo-poo? Or is it saying you're all done?"

Him (listening hard): "Ummm.... more poo-poo."

Ok, I'm going to try posting videos today. We have some cute ones from our adventures last Sunday. We went to church in the morning, had a picnic lunch in the Luxembourg gardens, then wandered down to the Parc Montsouris before heading to see our friends, and play with them in the Parc Monsouris. A lovely day!

Here's a video on the train:



And here's another one, playing in the Parc Montsouris with his friend, Robin:

Back to normal, whatever that is....

We're unpacked, for all intents and purposes. Our new sofa was delivered yesterday and has been assembled and placed. I'm catching up on laundry, and getting things ready to be packed away (Geo's cloth diapers, for example!). So it's time to get back to normal.

Geo's been watching a lot of movies and DVDs through this whole experience, so I'm cutting him off starting today. We aren't going cold turkey, but he can only watch one DVD today, then we're off-- to the grocery store, the library and the park.

I really want to get his schedule back on track. I know he feels better when he knows what is coming next. So do I, for that matter!

At some point I'll download some new photos and videos. And once the apartment is slightly tidier, we'll post pictures of it. Next things to tackle: the balcony and our little garden.... Anyone have any suggestions for plants that do well with little direct sunlight? Our garden only gets sun for a couple of hours in the morning. There are some nice hydrangeas, and I *think* we have a few strawberry plants... mixed in with dandelions and weeds!

Ahhh, so many things to do, so few hours in the day.

A few recent pictures...

So while exploring our new neighborhood, we've visited the Parc de Sceaux:


Also, the Foret Dominale de Verrieres:



The neighborhood park:


Geo also got to enjoy scooting inside the apartment before our furniture arrived.

As excited as he was to see his toys, I think he was a little bummed when everything came, because it meant the end of scooting indoors...


More to come ... stay tuned.

Post the First

Well, here we are, back where we started (ok, about 20 km south of where we started, to be precise). As most of you know, we left Paris for the US in 2008 because the American economy is so fabulous and strong and great and free compared to the French economy. Right? Right????

The US didn't work out for us job-wise, so we've settled in the charming village of Verrieres-le-Buisson, famous for being the place where Andre Malraux died (at the home of his maitresse, this being France).

We're creating this blog to keep our far-flung friends and family up to date on what's going on with us. We miss you all! We love you all!