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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Delicious Days

When you live in my part of France (the North), you learn to drop everything and head outdoors when it's sunny and above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  And though we've still been having a mixed bag in terms of weather, there have been some lovely days that inspired me to pack up Juliette and go to a park.

Such a peaceful moment at the duck pond.


Do you see the bunny-shaped cloud in the middle?  Reminds me of The Runaway Bunny book.

 
Making "cakes" with flower petals and such at the greenhouse.

Me getting a bit of sun on my legs in the fake turf outside of Ikea. 


 I took this one myself holding the camera backwards.  I'm near my favorite blue flower, lobelia.


I love peonies.  This one was outside Remi's grandfather's retirement home and smelled just divine!


Meanwhile the last month has brought two birthday parties from my North American pals' kids.  Juliette and I got to go to an indoor playground and a farm visit for these two parties.  Interesting thing we North American moms have noticed is that the French moms, with just two exceptions out of the say, ten invited for both parties, just leave their kids at the party and pick them up after.  It seems odd to us but I guess it's yet Another Cultural Difference we have discovered.  So now the question is what to do for Juliette's birthday as it falls in July when most people are on vacation.  Must put my thinking cap on.

Luckily work has been picking up and I've realized again that working makes me feel better.  I may not always be wild about teaching but for the most part I do like talking to my students and helping them discover things.  I certainly feel better at the end of  a day when I've worked a bit. 

My Juju is still a joy to me but there are times I'm not such a model parent and I lose my patience and yell more than I should.  Nearly five is still a bit far from the so-called Age of Reason (six or seven) and many a day she will whine about something that seems so insignifcant to me.  She'll make it her mantra (like, I want a doll, I want a doll....) until I want to scream and sometimes do .  Then she'll make up silly songs in her little voice and I just want to squeeze her and put some of that cuteness in a bottle and keep it forever. 

Ah, such is life but we keep on going.   And a sunny day does make it seem a little better.

7 comments:

Den nation said...

Well, she sure is cute in all the videos you post up!

I love those days where the sky is cloudless or with those big fluffy no-rain clouds. And when the temperature doesn't get above 25 so you can actually sit outside comfortably in the sun. I love Denmark for these days!

Anonymous said...

Hey there, first time I post a comment on your blog but I just can't resist telling you this story I thought about when you wrote about the age of reason. When Justin turned seven (and that was last year) I told him:"now you're a big boy, 7 is the age of reason, Do you know what this means?" (sorry the rest will have to be in French or it will make no sense but i'll explain.)And he replied: "oui maman je sais, c'est l'âge où on a toujours raison!" (for those of you who don't speak French:"on a toujours raison" means "you're always right"... not quite my idea of the age of reason!!! K.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I have been reading your blog for sometime and really enjoy it. You daughter is so cute! I love when you take photos to show the beautiful landscapes and architecture of France. What do you mean by the north of France? Do you live near Lille or someplace like Normandy? Just curious, I'm planning my dream vacation to France and trying to pick some lovely places to see.

Jan

Mil said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mil said...

Hi and thanks to my first timers for their comments. That's a hilarious story about Justin and so typical of kids! I live more in the Northern region, Jan, not so far from Lille. The landscapes are probably prettier in Normandy!

Crystal said...

Pretty pics! I really liked that pale pink flower.

The sun and warm weather definitely make everyone feel a bit more optimistic. And being able to get outside to play must be so great after being cooped up inside all winter. I know Pinch is happy to roll around in the soft grass, so I can only imagine how much fun Juju must be having at the park :)

(one of my captcha words is "cloudy" lol!)

Deidre said...

How interesting that the mom's just drop off their kids and then leave. i have no idea what they do in Australia (not being a mom, and not knowing any moms!)