Yes, it's been a long time since I blogged. We were in Lebanon for most of April, which was great, and since we've been back it's been non-stop busy. I'm almost as stressed and tired as I was before we went on vacation. Ok, not really, but it's been busy.

Quick recap of Lebanon: lots of family, friends, food. Chady and I got to go out together without kids. At night. That was AWESOME. Geo wasn't happy about it, though. He would only agree to fall asleep on the couch. He would tell his grandmother that his foot was hurting, but it didn't hurt when he lay on the couch. We all agreed that humoring him was just fine, and that Teta must have a magic couch.

Mazen and Geo really loved playing with all the cousins/aunts/uncles/grandparents. I really think travel is so broadening for children. Both Geo and Mazen changed during the trip and really matured.

So we came back home and Mazen has turned into Super Climbing Monkey Boy. We have to lay our chairs on the floor and tuck them under the table otherwise I'll find him standing in the middle of the table, wreaking havoc. Actually, he wreaks havoc whether he's standing on the table or has his feet firmly planted on the ground. We're in for a rough year with this kid-- his idea of fun is running full-speed down the staircase outside, or flinging himself off the steep hill that the big kids like to play on. Inside the house he's into munching on cat food, throwing things off the balcony and his newest trick is putting things in the garbage. Things like shoes, sippy cups, toys. Geo was a busy baby but nothing like this. I don't know whether to laugh or cry and often end up doing both simultaneously.

So last weekend I hit the annual Bring & Buy of my Anglophone parenting association. It happens twice a year-- people sell baby gear, toys, clothes, books and movies in English, food, all kinds of great stuff. I went with a gigantic bag of books to donate (my book philosophy is to get rid of books to make room for books-- my core collection doesn't change a whole lot-- a book has to be really good to be granted amnesty). My lovely husband, who really, REALLY did not want to go to this event saw the gigantic bag and offered to drive me all the way across the universe (ok, all the way across Ile-de-France). I said "No, thanks. Take the boys to the park instead." He asked how on earth I would make it by myself on the bus, RER B, RER A and metro lugging this huge bag of books. I laughed out loud. He thinks it's hard to carry a big bag of books? Hard is trying to get two kids and a stroller to a destination in Paris. A heavy bag is a goddamn piece of cake in comparison.

So I went, I shopped, and I came home with 1) a bike seat 2) a bed guard rail 3) 8-10 books (ok, more like 12-15 books, I haven't actually counted though) 4) some clothes for Mazen and 5) some books/DVDs for Geo for his birthday. Several people I bumped into asked me how I was getting home. When I told them public transportation their eyes widened. "Really? Wow! That's gonna be fun!" And you know what? It WAS. Sure, I had to juggle two bags, a bike seat and my purse on the metro, two RERs and a bus. But I also got to read uninterrupted. I didn't have to find a potty for anyone, catch flying pacifiers or rummage desperately in my purse for a cookie/cracker/sun hat/ water bottle/ toy. It was great.

And today I got to compare the two trips, as I took both boys to Paris for a checkup (they're both fine, growing perfectly, strong and healthy, thank goodness). It SUCKED. I'm exhausted from lugging the stroller, keeping track of Geo, trying to avoid meltdowns and all this in a hot and very crowded metro/RER/bus combo.

Yeah, no comparison. It's much more fun to lug a bunch of heavy crap around on public transportation than my darling, sweet children.