Zach's Bday party

Today we celebrated Zach's birthday party. He invited 13 friends. Two couldn't make it. The ones who made it: Jake, Ethan, Max, David, Luke, Adam, Aidan, Jeremy, Sam, Nick. They were so loud and crazy. Constantly jumping on another another. John had a bunch of games planned, similar to last year. They started out with playing with lego's.John broke them up into different teams for each game.
The first game the boys played was the Mummy game. Who can wrap their partner up with toilet paper faster and use the whole roll?

The boys found the ones who went slower and steadier won. Else the toilet paper kept breaking.



The next game was taking this long piece of twine that was tied to a spoon. The boys were split into two teams. The first person in the team had to take the yarn spoon and snake it down their shirt and then pass it to the next person who had to do the same. When it got to the end of the line, they had to then untangle themselves.


The third game, the teams had to see who could keep a feather off the floor the longest by blowing on it.


One hilarious game was a dress-up relay race. There were two paper bags full of clothes - John's socks, my pajama pants, John's shirts, Zach's hockey jersey, Zach's winter hats, and my scarves.

The first person in the team had to put on all the clothes properly and then run around the house and then tag the next person who had to put on all the clothes. Total chaos. Very funny to watch. Everyone trying to help one another to put on clothes. One person putting on socks on to the team mate, while another team mate was trying to get the shirt untangled. The rest of the teammates are yelling stuff like "Faster! Faster! Put on the sock! Get it on!"





One game was outside - Basketball shots. While the boys were outside with John, I got the next game ready which was throwing pennies, nickels, and a few quarters all over the kitchen floor and under the dining room table. I didn't watch this one since I went to get the pizza, but John had them all scramble to pick up as much money as possible in a certain amount of time. We then added up each cup of coins to determine the winner. One kid said he only picked up dimes. Another one said he found a quarter. Those were the two that won this game. The kids got to keep the money they found.
John also had the kids take shots on him with a hockey puck and soft rubber ball. Max and Jeremy both got 2 out of 5 in the goal. Zach, Aidan, Adam, Luke, and David all got one goal. The final game was who could make the tallest free-standing tower out of gumdrops and toothpicks. Last time we did this with newspaper and tape. That seemed a little too difficult for second graders. This time, it was pretty easy. The tallest tower went to Zach and Jake at 14 inches. Next was Aidan and then Sam. Afterwards, the kids decided to make a maze and stick their towers together. It's still on our kitchen table. Aidan was the last to leave the party and he said to leave the maze. He told Zach to try and roll a ball through it. It's pretty funny. I love that they were so creative. Plus at this age, they're all still polite and listen. Yeah, they were screaming and jumping on one another, having pillow fights with my couch cushions.
Winners earned points on a chart. The winner got to pick a prize from a bunch of toys and candy we bought. The biggest prize cost $20. It's funny but the cost of the toys doesn't mean that much to the kids at this age. One of the boys had a choice between some lego sets and remote control cars and he chose a giant KitKat bar.

The final scoreboard

Here's a video of the kids singing happy birthday.. which then turned into a kid-generated smoke alarm.



All in all, considering nothing was broken, no one was hurt, and everyone went home happy, I say it was a pretty successful party.
For gifts, Z got lots of money which he was happy about, plus some gift cards, a game, a nerf gun, and a bionicle lego creature. Plus he picked a robot car out of the prize stash.

another one for Zach

Zach is now 9! His party isn't until next Saturday due to the Thanksgiving holidays. I got him a toy called UCreate where you hook it up to a computer and it's basically a digital camera on a little pad. You take pictures and can incorporate the pictures into a few games that the software includes. Zach was up til 11 or so playing on it. Then the next few nights, he's gone to bed late as well. That's holidays for you. Unfortunately, we think he had a seizure this morning but for the first time, neither John nor I heard it. It just looks like dried mucus on his blanket and he woke up really nauseous. He hasn't complained of a headache yet. But he did wake up at 10 AM which is rare. We'll see how the day goes. His last seizure was in July.

allergies and stuff

We found out that A is allergic to papaya. At least, we think she is. She had a smoothie with papaya in it and within 1/2 hour or so, she started breaking out in really bad hives. They spread from her tummy all the way up around her face. The worst case of hives she's had. I gave her some Benadryl right away and within a few hours and a nice nap, her hives were gone. So add that to cats and maybe penicillin. Poor girl was wondering why her body is so sensitive.

For Halloween today, Zach is going to be a hockey player. He was going to be superman but the muscle costume is tight around his neck. He spent so much money on that Superman costume. Oh well. Asia is a goth death fairy. Basically she made the costume up - drew pictures of it. And then I helped tone it down some. She wanted a headband with horns on it. All black. A cape. Face painted. Rings, necklaces, blood. A wand with a skull on it. Eeks. Wasn't she Cinderella last year? 360 degree turn. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I changed the headband idea to a black veil. She's wearing a black summer dress of mine. Then I made her some wings.

kick it to the flu or not?

So the question of the day is - to get flu shots or not? Especially the "dreaded" H1N1 virus. Yes, if you have a respiratory ailment or are very old or very young, I can understand the need to get flu shots. The question is if you're relatively healthy. Do you just grin and bear it when you do get the flu? You get it once a year. You're miserable during the time, but you drug yourself with all kind of symptom-maskers and you deal with it. You're out maybe a week. But you could avoid that misery during that week by getting a flu shot, right? That's the whole purpose of it. Whether or not it blocks the flu you get, you may not know. Do you listen to the hype? If I were in the office, I'd probably get it because they would be offering it for free. You step out of your office or cubicle and go to the lobby and get your flu shot. How convenient. But how about when you don't work in an office or how about vaccinating the family? It sounds like such a hassle to find a clinic that still has flu shots available or try to get one with your doctor. You'd have to research on just when the H1N1 vaccine is going to come out. Then maybe stake out your doctor's office to find out when they'll have their shipment. All for nought?
I was thinking of getting at least the H1N1 because we're going to Mexico for vacation. I thought they had an epidemic or something already. Though if the epidemic already passed them, maybe it's extra safe? Also you have our dear germ-spreader, Asia. Touch this, touch that, fingers in the mouth, fingers in her nose. "Go wash your hands!" She's not Miss Sanitary. Opposite of her brother. Zach is a very thorough hand-washer. So I would almost want to vaccinate Asia just so she doesn't get the virus and spread it to me. Hmmm.. I don't think it works that way. Alas.. flu shot or not. flu shot or not. I will debate this in the next few weeks and probably throughout the winter until it's spring and then decide then that I don't need it or should have gotten it.

construction time again

Ooh, it's been awhile since I've written in this blog. Maybe nothing beats Paris? It's more not wanting to sit too much more in front of the computer as well as having to jog my memory on what happened to have something to write about.

John has started construction on our new kitchen! He's torn down the wall between the living room and the kitchen. Here's a pic with half of the wall removed.He put in new flooring which consisted of tearing out the ceramic tile that was installed, which then revealed a few layers of linoleum. Yes, "wonderful" shades of dark green or some red brick or something. I forget already. Who knows what years those were from. Not to mention revealing some interesting white shiny wallpaper that was painted over a few times. Zach helped out in removing the ceramic tile since he got paid a dollar for every tile. And it wasn't easy work. I tried to help a few times. You hammer a chisel under the tile until it cracks and pieces of it flies into your face. Yes, I was wearing protective glasses, but that only covers your eyes.

Of course to get to all the floor, the stove had to be moved.

We kept cooking on it until eventually it was moved outside and covered with a tarp. Hopefully we don't get rid of it without removing my cookie trays and pizza stones that are in the bottom drawer.

So how do I cook in the meantime? Well, of course, we go out quite often. Last night, Asia and I went to Olive Garden. John and Zach were at soccer practice. The night before was Chan's Tea House. Again, we brought food home since Zach probably had hockey. But for lunch since I rarely have time to go out... today I had ramen. Notice how I cooked it.

Good ol outdoor cooking. Luckily it wasn't raining. So now John has the new floor down. It hasn't been stained yet. Looks kinda neat with the zigzag of old and new wood.

The kitchen/dining room space has a nice openness to it. An echo when you talk. Yesterday, we were looking at reviews for ranges and stovetops. Exciting. Stay tuned.

It's my birthday in Paris

I turned what... 2009-1971. That's how I have to figure out how old I am. I think after you're like 25, you start to forget your age until you hit a big round number like 30, 40, 50, etc. 65 is another biggie or is it 67 now for social security or retirement? Anyway so today I turned 38. Two more years til the big four oh. It's the end of the day in Paris. John is putting the kids to sleep. I got a voicemail from my sister with her singing happy birthday and an email. Also got an email from my brother and chatted with him last night. I'm signing on to Instant Messenger to see if my dad remembers but he's not online. Birthdays was my mom's thing. I miss her calling me up to wish me Happy Birthday. Oh, just checked my hotmail and there's a birthday message from my dad. Hooray!

John took me and the kids to a nice restaurant nearby for lunch.

You can see where we were sitting, right by the door. I'm not a fan of eating outside because of the cars driving by and the great view of the garbage cans. Some of the restaurants are a little farther from the street, so we might eat outside then. Asia also isn't a fan of eating outside. Unless it's specifically a picnic in a grassy area.

The place was called Maison Chardenoux. Here's a pic of some of the menu:

Here's Zach playing on John's cell phone. He now officially calls it WT - Waste Time. He'll signal a W and then a T with his fingers, meaning, "Dad, can I waste time?" It keeps him quiet at the restaurants. The appetizer here is the muskmelon balls, sauternes jelly and basil sorbet. It was really good. The basil sorbet was in this little shot glass and Asia eventually drank it all up.

This is the foie gras - duck liver with fig chutney. Very smooth and silky.
Another great appetizer was the panned squid with Espelette pimiento. The squid was fresh and not rubbery at all.

This is one of the main dishes - Casseroled codfish with fresh peas and country bacon. The country bacon was more like stewed ham and was really good.

This is the other main dish - stewed pork with potato puree.

After dinner we went to two parks that the kids don't go to as often. There was a group of Asia women there with there kids. They were speaking Mandarin and maybe Taiwanese. I couldn't always catch what they were saying, but one lady there was really animated and somewhat loud. I could tell that she was quite a character in a good way. Someone who'd keep you laughing and entertained. Afterwards, we went home. The kids played a little computer and I read. It was nice and relaxing. Asia even decided to do the dishes, though she used the hand soap instead of the dish soap. And she wiped down the counters.

The kids started to get bored, so we decided to do some painting. John had bought all these canvasses and paints in a Toronto dollar store thinking that he'd take the kids to the Eiffel tower area and other scenic areas so they could paint what they saw, but he confessed to me later that he wasn't sure how to even get them started if he did take them out to paint. I was the one who usually did craft stuff with the kids. Unfortunately, Asia got frustrated with her paintings and went into a crying fit. I explained to her that you could let the paint dry and then paint over it, but she didn't want to wait for the paint to dry. Plus I think she was hungry so she couldn't cooperate. You can see Zach's 2 paintings on this side - one of a snow-capped mountain and the other of a bug. The picture on the bottom is one I did of the view from the balcony.

Eventually Asia got out of her funk when John came back from the store and I asked her to go help her dad get the birthday dinner ready. Asia loves to help with things like that - decorating, setting the table, etc. She had made me a card earlier and it took her quite an effort to save it til lunchtime for me to read. She kept handing it to me earlier saying that I could read it now or at the restaurant but that it would be better if I waited til the restaurant.

John took this picture of the birthday dinner and cake. Great picture, n'est-ce pas?

Finally a good restaurant

The goal today was to get haircuts and go shopping. Zach and John have both had their hair cut already and both look pretty good. Asia needs a trim. I was thinking of getting something new. Every now and then, I like to go to a good salon and ask them what they think I should do with my hair. The hairdresser inevitably asks me about my lifestyle. After finding out that I'm a work-at-home mom who spends very little time on my hair and gets haircuts once every 6 months, I usually end up with a bob that if I really wanted to, I can curl under or out. I can't seem to get away from this haircut. So I thought, maybe I can go to some French hairdresser and not tell her about my occupation or lifestyle and see what happens. Of course, the risk is the language barrier. I could be trying to say, keep it chin-length, and they might think cut it as short as possible. I called one place nearby and made an appointment for 5:30 PM (I think) with dismay after hearing that no one there spoke French. They didn't even take my name down so I didn't feel too guilty about not showing up. I read some reviews from ex-Pats about a place that would take me some time on the Metro to get to, but both hairdressers speak English. I just didn't think it's worth the trip. I also found a place called Alternative that's in the area that I planned to go shopping in, so instead of calling, I decided to walk by it and see what clientele they had - like to make sure some lady doesn't come crying out of the shop or someone with a really bad hairstyle or find that only men get their hair cut there. The name worried me a bit too - Alternative. Would this be a place you go for a mohawk? Anyway, when Asia and I walked by during our shopping excursion, the place wasn't even there. It was a more expensive hairstyling salon. This is not the first time that a restaurant or store that I've wanted to go to has been renamed to a different restaurant or store. I wonder if it's just a change of management and still the same chef.
The good thing about the day is that John and Zach had gone out earlier to do some shopping for school clothes for Zach and we ended up meeting up unplanned. Asia and I were taking a break eating a late lunch at a restaurant when I looked out the window and saw John and Zach waiting to cross the street. So they joined us and we did some more shopping. It's a little daunting when you're not exactly sure what a sale sign says. Is that buy the first one and then get the second one for 1 Euro or is it that the second is 1 Euro off or what? Does the red smiley face card mean something different from the blue smiley face card on the sales item? Anyway, live and learn.
We also hit the jackpot on a really great restaurant. A lot of the places we've eaten so far have been fine, at least one good dish, but nothing really exciting. This time, we ran into a place called L'Ebauchoir on Rue de Cietaux. We first went to this one restaurant that looked really neat inside because it had all these different kinds of sofa's, but they only served sandwiches. Asia and I am not a fan of sandwiches for dinner, so we turned the corner and saw this other restaurant. It was 7 PM and the restaurant opened at 7:30, so I made a reservation and then we hung around the outside of the restaurant. John walked off to grab a snack and drink since he was starving. The kids recorded a video for another of their Harry, Buzzard and Goober shows. Their imaginary radio characters have been to the Pantheon, the cemetary, and the apartment. Now the rue Faubourg area. I haven't put the videos on Youtube or anything yet because they're pretty long but quite funny.
So the bill for L'Ebauchoir was quite expensive, but what you would expect for the service and quality of food. This is the first restaurant that refilled our water carafes without us asking. The waiter spoke great English and was very nice. He explained the menu for us since we couldn't figure out most of the menu. One pork dish that we ordered - when I looked it up, the definition was something like filthy pig. One of the tricks of the restaurant is that they give you a bottle of wine, if you want wine, and you pay for how much you drink. So of course, we drank the whole 21 dollar bottle - a 2005 Massereau Bordeaux. So here's an idea on the bill in euro's:
1 Tartare - a white fish - excellent - 11.00
1 Oeufs Poches - poached egg in mushroom sauce - also really good - 9.00
2 rascasse (rascasse a la plancha, legumes a l'huile d'olive de Provence citronee)- this was a white fish entree. John told the waiter that we haven't had any good fish yet and the waiter recommended that we try this dish. It was so good and I didn't even try it at first since John and the kids devoured it, so we ordered another one. The dish was 19 euro's each.
1 puree truffe (puree de pomme de terre aux brisures de truffe) - this was a potato puree with some truffles in it. delicious. Asia and I really liked it. 6.00
1 cote de cochon fermier cuite a basse temperature, peche rotie et miel de l'Ardeche (if I wrote it down right) - this was the pork boneless ribs with a roasted peach and side of mashed potatoes. the gravy was sweet brown and we ate it all and wanted more. 19.00
1 gauteau riz - I think the restaurant must be famous for this. It was called something like grandmother's recipe rice pudding and there was a replica of the dish on the wall as part of the decor. You get this 11 inch rectangular baking dish full of rice pudding that was caramelized and tasted somewhat like flan. We couldn't finish it and weren't even sure if we were supposed to eat the whole thing. I was thinking it was another one of those pay for how much you eat, but John said that'd be unsanitary. The whole dessert was only 6.50. It could have fed 6.
1 millefeuilles - this is a dish that the kids ate up. it had these small thin wafer cookies with caramel ice cream in them and caramel whipped cream.

So the total bill? A whopping 117 euro's which includes tax and tip. But it was all worth it.

Paris Tooth Fairy

Asia woke up this morning and noticed her tooth she lost last night was still under her pillow. John told her that the tooth fairy was still on Pittsburgh time so it was still night there. Asia got 2 Euros for that front tooth.

The thin French

I've been wondering how the French stay so thin. I know that the questions been asked before and is quite the cliche. I still have to wonder. Most of the dishes you get at the restaurants are really fatty or rich and then all the white bread. Can I ask for a wheat baguette and not be laughed at? It's even difficult to ask for rice or noodles instead of the sauted potatoes or french fried potatoes that accompany most dishes. Maybe that's not what Parisians really eat? Maybe it's the smoking or all the really strong coffee? Though I do see a lot of salads on menu's, cooked vegetables doesn't seem to be a French forte.

I'm sure it's all the walking. This is a big city. There's lots of traffic but mostly out of towners. Everyone walks or bikes. The city is built for that. I love how almost every block has these rental bikes that are automated. We haven't been able to use them though since our VISA cards don't have the smart chips needed. I'm thinking it's also the way the grocery stores are laid out. You don't drive your big mini-van or SUV up to the local grocery store and stock up on a month's worth of processed foods to store on your shelf. You get enough here that you can carry back with you if you're walking or on your bicycle or your scooter or your little rolling cart. All the grocery stores I've been to here have been really small. Not much selection. And good reason too since you can't get too much anyway. I think that's the secret. You go to the grocery store or market and get what you need that day which means fresh ingredients that may be cooked in duck fat or lots of butter, but don't have all the fattening chemicals in processed food. Is that the secret? Can I try it at home? Probably not.

PereLachaise Cemetary

Today we visited the Pere-Lachaise Cemetary. http://goparis.about.com/od/sightsattractions/p/Pere_Lachaise.htm

John's not feeling well - he has a bad cold or flu, so I took the kids out. First we went to the grocery store to get juice and lunch stuff. Asia picked out some hot dogs and strawberries. We can't get too much since we'd have to carry it all home. The kids are so much better now with walking long distance and carrying stuff. Not one complaint, though the grocery store is only 1/2 a block away or so. After lunch, we planned to go to the cemetary and have a snack there - the strawberries and drinks. When we got to the cemetary, we found one of the guard stations and asked for a map of the cemetary. Then I picked out a few people to find. The kids didn't know any of them. We picked 8 people to find but only found 4 of them before we ran out of time and energy. We found the graves for Rossini, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Ledru-Rollin. We wanted to find Ledru-Rollin only because the main street we live near is named after him. After awhile at the cemetary, Asia started to get spooked out. She wouldn't even drink her Orangina or yogurt drink in the cemetary. She thought if she stayed near there or breathed in the cemetary, she could die. She also didn't like the lack of color and the dirt. Zach had a great time. I had him find the different graves while Asia was the photographer. That helped some. The last grave we looked for was Jim Morrison's. It was a little more difficult to find because it's not right on the main paths like the other's. We walked by it at least once and circled the area around it. I only found it because I saw people going to it. We found a few grassy areas to take a break in. The last one was near the crematorium, I think. First we played hide and go seek. Asia and I had to find Zach. The problem is that he kept moving around when he saw us. I filmed the search but ended the film before we found Zach since it was taking too much space on the camera. It was supposed to be like one of those reality shows. At the end, Asia and Zach filmed one of their Harry, Buzzard, and Goober shows. It's starting to become a theme to record these reality spots. John started it with the kids where John is Harry, Asia is Goober, and Zach is Buzzard. I think it's supposed to be a spoof off of the cable show, ICarly. Anyway, the kids get really crazy when filming one of their shows. I have to figure out how to get them on the net, but they're kinda long. After we filmed the show at the cemetary, some guard on his motorbike started yelling at us that the cemetary was closing. Then he drove on further to yell at some other people. He was herding us back to the main entrance. That was kind of funny considering that they were yelling in French and most of the visitors were not French. I just knew that ferme was closed so that's enough for me. At first I thought they were yelling at us for filming or because the kids were too loud.

After the cemetary, we went to one of the local parks and the kids played at the playground and in the sand. Zach was using his empty plastic Orangina bottle to make some interesting percussion sounds off of the bench we were sitting on. He really has an ear for rhythm. Then it looked like it was going to rain and it was 7:30 PM anyway, so we headed off to find somewhere to eat. We were going to go to this one place nearby on Ledru-Rollin that had some great chocolate mousse but it was closed. So we went down Rue de la Roquette to a place we went to before that looked like a coffee house. They actually have a children's menu, though not the biggest choices - ham or a hamburger patty. Zach ate it though. Asia shared some pasta and scallops with me. Then we shared dessert - ice cream and a really good brownie.

Eiffel Tower

We finally made it to the Eiffel Tower. It's one of the only things that the kids have wanted to see in Paris since it so defines the city. My co-workers keep asking if I've seen it as well. During our honeymoon, we only saw the tower in passing on the train. I think we're also getting used to walking long distances since the kids did not complain at all about the long walk. We walked to the Pompidou Center and then took a train to the Eiffel Tower area. It helps that we stopped for lunch along the way and then ice cream later. There's this really great ice cream place by the Pompidou. I didn't realize til later that when you get an ice cream cone, they layer it so it looks like a rose. I just thought they were being artistic when they put an outside layer of a different flavor of ice cream. The kids like the tiramisu flavor and the various chocolate flavors. I like the biscotti flavor. We didn't actually go up the Eiffel Tower though the line didn't look as bad as I thought. John said that the wait was about 1/2 hour. Still a little much for the kids.

Tour de France

Today was the final day of the Tour de France at champs-elysee (http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html). Our goal was to be in the vicinity when the bike race ended and say we'd been there. First off, since it was a beautiful cloudless day, we decided to go to the beach. I'm thinking beach along the ocean or man-made beach along a lake or the river. Well, there was sand and river, but not sand next to the river. There was an area of sand for people to play in. Then a long pathway for people to walk on, fence, then a stone walkway, and then the river. And no one was swimming in the river either. Nor did it look like you would want to swim in it. But it was a nice riverwalk. There were little fountains with drinakable water, a few cafes to get something to eat or drink. The first thing we did was play petonque or bocce ball. Actually, John and the kids played. I watched, took pictures, read some of a book, and ate a sandwich.

Then we kept walking in search of a beach and it didn't look like it was going to happen. We found this one kid's play area with sand and this obstacle climbing course. I signed Asia and Zach up to get in but didn't see any signs saying that they had to wait for the next group of kids to go in, so I told them to take their shoes off and go in. They got yelled at by the instructor in there and Asia wouldn't go back in after that, even if it's the right time. Difficulty with the language again. We kept walking and found a swimming pool. We couldn't go in right then because it was for kids 10 and up. In 1/2 an hour would be 10 and under's swimming time. Luckily we made it in time. I was worried we wouldn't get in because people were lining up outside. Only adults with swim suits who are accompanying kids can go in. No picture-taking is allowed. When you walk in, you have to take off your shoes and wade through a little pool of water to wash your feet. Then you have to wear a swim cap. They had convenient machines there that sell not only swim caps, but goggles and speedo's. So yes, men had to wear speedo's. No loose swim trunks. Everyone had to shower before going in to the pool and there were a few more foot washing basins before you got in the pool. But hey, it's free! And way to keep it clean. There were at least 4 life-guards. It was pretty nice actually. Very refreshing. Afterwards, we changed and then took the train to the Champs-Elysee area to catch the end of the tour de france. http://www.letour.fr/indexus.html. We did see some of the bikers go by especially since we were near the Arc de Triomphe which is where the cyclists go around before they get to the finish line. I couldn't tell who we were looking at though.

The kids couldn't see over the crowd, so Asia was on John's shoulders, and John was holding Zach. Poor kids almost broke John's back.

Who won the race? Overall - Alberto Contador from Spain, Andy Schleck from Luxembourg, and Lance Armstrong from US.

day 9 in Paris

I had the whole day off today. It's been nice to just wake up whenever, make a nice cup of decaf coffee, and read. Then eventually the kids get up and they get ready. Zach will have a croissant with some chocolate in the middle. John will have his croissant. I might have some of a baguette with tomatoes or mustard. I don't like sweet stuff for breakfast so much. And lately Asia has been making her own scrambled eggs. She loves to cook. She'll crack her own egg (and often with no shell getting in the bowl), and mix it. Then I'll turn on the stove and put oil in the pan. She might help me spread the oil over the pan. Then she'll pour in the egg, put in some goat cheese, and then stir the eggs herself. I'll just stay in the kitchen and watch that she doesn't burn herself. Then I'll scoop the egg into her bowl and she'll season it with salt and pepper. It's very cute. I think it helps that this apartment is smaller than our house so everyone is basically within the vicinity of one another, so Asia is more independant. For a snack before dinner, she followed Zach and got her own bowl of cereal with milk. John, Zach, and I were in the master bedroom/office, so she wanted to eat with us, but at least she got it all by herself. Hopefully the kids bring these habits back home.

Yesterday, we found a neat little restaurant to eat in. The original one we planned on going didn't open til 8 PM and it was 7 PM. We didn't want to wait an hour. We tried to go back today at 8 PM and it was reservation only. Eventually we'll make it in there and it better be worth the effort! So back to the other restaurant. I never get the names of the restaurants because I usually forget them unless I get a business card from them or go there again or if it's simple enough. I do remember what they look like though so we can try to go again. This place was designed more like a coffee house and had live music that starts after 9 PM. The kids especially liked the comfy chairs. That's one of their perks in the restaurants these days. Asia will ask, "Mom, can I sit by you on the comfy side?" This is because a few of the places we've eaten in would have a table with a bench on one side that has padded seats and the other side would be two hard chairs.

Here's a picture of one of the salmon appetizers we got.

Today we went to the Luxembourg gardens. First we took a train to Leon de Bruxxelles (http://www.leon-de-bruxelles.fr/) where they're supposed to have really good mussels, and they did. John said we came here during our honeymoon - actually twice - once with his friend Mike and then again on our own. I don't remember it, but the restaurant reminded me of the good mussels place in downtown Toronto.

Afterward, we took the Metro train to the Luxembourg gardens with a pitstop to a pharmacy to get hydrocortisone because the kids are getting eaten by mosquitoes or something. It started raining again during this time, but luckily I brought my umbrella. The rain was off and on. Even while we were at the playground at the gardens, it started pouring. Zach and Asia were one of the last sets of kids who ran to the sheltered area. Crazy Americans. Earlier in the morning, we had also gone to a flea market and I bought 3 shirts for a euro each and a shirt and shorts for Zach for 5 euros. Asia really wanted this porcelain slipper but it was 6 euros. The seller was going to give it to her for 5 but she only had 2 euro's. We gave Asia and Zach 2 euro's each that they could spend in the market. Zach bought 2 transformer like toys. Asia decided to save hers since we said next time we go to the market, we'd give her another 2 euro's. So anyway, the 2 long-sleeved shirts I bought at the market for the kids came in handy at the park during the rain. I was freezing, on the other hand. The kids mainly played on two structures in the playground. One was this really talk teepee as seen below. I think it was strategically built so that if a kid fell from the top, they'd hit all these other ropes that it's made of and not get seriously hurt. At least, I'd hope.
For dinner, we returned to our neighborhood and ate at Royal Voltaire. The duck foie gras with fig jam was delicious. John got oeuf mayonnaise, which we'd seen as an appetizer quite often and wondered if it was really just an egg with mayonnaise. Well, it was though the mayonnaise was more like a mustard-mayonnaise sauce. For the kids, we got them penne, but it was with this cream alfredo sauce that they don't like so they didn't finish it. John got blanquette de veau - a veal dish with a slight cream white sauce and rice. He loved it. I got what was called beef on a board, and it was literally a steak and fries on a slate board. For dessert, the kids had vanilla ice cream (I thought less sugar and caffeine for them, Asia didn't appreciate it but she ate it), chocolate mousse for me, and tiramisu for John.

day 7 morning

This morning, John went to the department store to buy swimming suits for himself and Zach since apparently men aren't supposed to wear swim trunks. They have to wear speedo's. Hmm.. should be interesting. He didn't find a pair thought that were cheap enough. 100 US dollars for a pair of speedo's! Come on! He's going to find the Paris equivalent of K-mart and try shopping there. So while he was shopping, I took the kids for a little walk to lunch before I had to go to work. We stopped at this little ride that is by our house. The kids have been wanting to go on it even though all it does is go round and round. I guess they're not too old for it. Plus they use their imagination. I didn't see Zach pretend shooting anybody, so that's good.

We also took some pictures in the downstairs lobby of the apartment building. Asia is really into these fashion poses that she saw on America's Next Top Model on tv back home. It's rare to get a cute little girl pose from her. I thought this first shot grabs the future personalities of my kids. Can you picture them in 10 years, in their teens, and looking similar to this? Zach has this quirky pensive look - like here I am - like it or leave it, I suppose, but stay happy because I'm smarter than you. Asia has this look like I'm the hottest thing since sliced bread and you better acknowledge it or I'm going to be in your face. I think we're in trouble.

This one better depicts my goofy kids at their current age. Whew! Bottle it up because it'll never be back.