Other Food

I didn't want to embarrass us too much by taking photos in the really nice restaurants but here are a few from lunches. And the crepes! That man knew us pretty well by our third morning.

DESSERTS

We did not resist many of these. I didn't know if I'd ever get back so I had to fully enjoy my time. I am having a hard time letting Sean have the box of Belgium chocolate to himself. I can order more online at least...

Merci

There you go, pretty much the only word in French I remembered and I'm pretty sure I pronounced it wrong the whole time. Merci beaucoup to the husbands and grandparents who dealt with the children so Heather and I could have four surreal days in Paris. If we had been on the Amazing Race, we would have lost but without kids in tow and no schedule to follow, our method of wandering the city worked out. Now, our refusal to wear athletic shoes did not work so well and I can still only wear flip flops due to a wide variety of blisters. It's a highly attractive look.

Okay, on to the highlights...

1. Desserts. It's a good things we walked 10 hours a day and then hauled heavy suitcases through the circus that is international travel, because we had a few extra calories to burn off. Even the desserts in the airport and train station are better than the ones here. We would be on our way to lunch but then have to stop at a bakery because it was so beautiful. And then continue on to lunch. And get dessert with lunch. I'm not kidding. I am not sure why I didn't bring back some pastries with me, other than my suitcases were full and I was out of arms.

2. Shopping. I think most people know I wear one pair of jeans and rotate three shirts, so don't begrudge my purchases. As the customs guy put it, "wow, you treated yourself well". Perhaps he meant, "other people lie on the customs form, are you stupid?". I am wondering if at some point I will get a bill for import tax? I do understand how to handle the European tax (and the rebate for non-Europeans) now but that took a few days to figure out. I will say that even in stores where no one spoke English, I managed just fine with sign language. Everyone was very nice and if you aren't obnoxious, no one is rude in the slightest, contrary to reputation. Everyone loves your money!

3. Climbing the stairs of the Eiffel Tower and emerging on the first level in time to hear Ke$ha blaring from some cafe there. Okay, Ke$ha was in no way a highlight, it was rather irritating in fact, but my girls would have loved it. Tik Tok.

4. No children. Well, at least our high maintenance children were not there and nor do I plan to take them on any international trips until Emily is at least 10. The hassle is not worth it and the kids are just happy when they have a day off school, no need to spoil them with a trip they wouldn't appreciate.

Okay, lots of photos to go through, mainly of desserts and architecture, my two obsessions. I will mostly spare you but I'll post a few tomorrow...

More news from the homefront

Don't worry everyone, I've been emailing Julie all of the mundane, day-to-day updates, so she's not relying on the blog for information. Excerpt: "Remembered to take Megan and Anna to school, AND changed Emily's diaper!"

My parents are here, and are a huge help. Having extra adults around to watch the little ones outside and help arrange meals makes a big difference. I'm not looking forward to heading back to work tomorrow, which prompted this comparison between kids and co-workers/employees:

Complain when they don't get their way- BOTH
Cry and say they hate you - BOTH
Complain to HR about you- EMPLOYEES
Forget to thank you for pizza you bought them- BOTH
Fight with each other over stupid things - BOTH
Need to be supervised constantly- BOTH
File grievances with the union- EMPLOYEES
Can't clean up after themselves in the bathroom- BOTH
Might read this blog someday and hold it against you- BOTH

Need stories read to them at bedtime- KIDS

I think you can see where I'd rather spend my time.

Golfing.

(Kidding! The kids are actually very sweet sometimes, but that's not the funny angle.)

Hello from Paris

Yes, hello, not Bon jour because three semesters of French are looooong gone. I am amazingly good at shopping without knowing French though. Everyone understands credit cards. In the many many bakeries I just point and pay, so simple. Don't hate me, I am gaining extreme amounts of weight, I promise. Tomorrow we may do culture and climb some stairs, but only to increase our ability to eat more. Priorities, people. Did I mention the bakeries? Bridget, we haven't even tried crepes yet, so sad. Megan, your book is very helpful and we are scared by how organized you were for your trip. Organized by day? We are just walking around like stupid americans, but are quiet about it at least.

Other thoughts... Why can't American men wear nice dark suits with crisp white shirts and cool sunglasses without looking gay? Also, the women here aren't as thin as you hear which makes our bakery stops not as guilt inducing. I could never come back in the heat because the body odor would make me lose my appetite. I also want these blackout blind things that are on the outside of the windows here. What are those and why don't we all have them? Not that I ever sleep in with children in the house, but in theory it would be nice.

Sounds like the kids don't notice that I am gone so I will enjoy a few more days. I did figure out my iPad so if anyone wants wine or chocolate just email me or leave a comment. Heather can ship apo because she is military here so I may do some of that. No big truck that Patrick can drive though, as he requested as I was leaving. I did find a store called Patrick, also one called manhattan gigolo. Nothing appropriate for children there though, go figure. So the hunt continues and I may just have to stop at target on my way home from the airport. Good mommy!

They need to eat AGAIN?

Seriously, every time I finally get the kitchen clean and I'm about to sit down, it's time to start prepping the next meal. Which 3 out of 4 will eat if I'm lucky, so at least one is hungry between meals, which is why the floor of the pantry looks like a hungry raccoon got in there. Thankfully Emily only knows a few words, otherwise she'd be telling Julie about how she had to fend for herself after her nap. She does take a bowl in there with her, and then fills it with whichever random cereal and crackers she wants. Better than Patrick, who can somehow turn an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers into a fine powder which gets into the cracks of the floor so I can't even sweep it up.

The good news is, Patrick is back to full strength and the rest of us have been fine (So don't miss that flight mom!). Maybe it wasn't anything contagious. Food poisoning? I'd better empty anything that's suspicious out of the fridge just to be sure.

Now before my dad rats me out, I must admit that when our regularly scheduled sitter was here, I snuck out to Colbert Hills for a quick front 9. I actually scored pretty well, as I usually do when I'm playing alone. (Because I play more relaxed, not because I'm cheating. Much.)

Afterwards, I picked up the girls from school and took them on an exciting trip to the grocery store. We grabbed a few essentials (Coke, hot dogs, cookies) and headed home, where Patrick was more than ready to push the sitter right out the door. Dinner, baths/showers for all, and then bedtime. The kids should be looking good at the school program tomorrow night, although the girls will not be sporting any fancy hairstyles. Clean and brushed is about all I can manage. Maybe a ponytail for Anna? Is that okay with a nice dress? Anyone?

So, a totally boring post, and I'm sure Julie's rolling her eyes about now. We miss you! Don't "lose" your passport!

Guest host

Everyone needs a vacation now and then, so I'll be filling in for Julie while she's enjoying herself abroad. Don't worry, this will be a Jim Kelly/Frank Reich type substitution, rather than a Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady replacement. Hmmm... might by missing Julie's target audience with those references. Suffice to say, I can probably string together a week of moderately funny posts, mainly focusing on my misadventures taking care of the kids, but I could never stay as consistently funny as Julie does.

To kick things off- you'll remember that Patrick had a little stomach bug the other day, threw up a couple times, and then was feeling much better. As soon as Julie left town, I got stuck with- let's just say the "back end" of that deal. Patrick has spent the last 15 minutes running in and out of the bathroom, each time bewildered that he needs to go again. The increased frequency is really messing with his regularly scheduled activities.

Me: "Are you sure you're done?"
P: "Yes. I go play baseball."
Me: "Okay, have fun"
Patrick exits, slams door.
30 seconds later, door slams open.
P: "More poop coming!!!"

Assuming I haven't driven off all regular readers, tune in later to find out how much help Megan and Anna have been so far, and how many times Emily has snuck up the stairs without me noticing.

SPOILER ALERT:
Not much, and 3.

Sorry, 4.