Turning 40 in France

Yesterday (Monday) was a nothing day for us. It was rainy again and not so pleasant to be outside (in the morning at least). Nic went to the office and I stayed home with the kids. I cleaned up a bit. I also struggled with Gwyneth for her to do some of her math homework. She finally finished it at 5:30PM after procrastinating all day. I had the pleasure of organizing all of the Lego's and putting together 3 trucks just to have Ethan rip them all apart and spread Lego's everywhere. Sometimes I don't know why I try.



We don't have any pictures because we didn't even leave the apartment. Nic picked up some groceries on the way home including some Andouiette sausage that we had at Fabien's house the other night. We cooked that for dinner with some hot dogs for Gwyneth. The sausage exploded (well 2 of the 3) despite my poking them with a fork - given Fabien's warning. They were still tasty and I've never had anything like it in the States. Yum-E. Eventually we all went to bed, and lately it has been musical beds around here so I can't tell you who slept where!



Today (Tuesday) as the anniversary of my birth (40 years woo hoo) and the anniversary of my marriage (13 years woo hoo)! Nic went to the office as Ethan had a hissy fit over his leaving. It involved alot of screaming "dad" "dad" dad" and crying ....you get the idea. Not the way I really wanted to start my day.


Anyway, after noontime I managed to get the kids out of the house and we decided to try the French McDonald's. Don't they look happy? It cost about $20 this time for 2 Happy Meals and an Adult Meal. The Happy Meal's were expensive compared to the US (about $6) but the adult meal was not. The actually got a nice toy with the Happy Meal - a French comic/activity book so that was good. The better news was that we discovered this McDonald's has an indoor playscape - small - but a playscape none the less. It would have been better to know it was here when we were having those rainy days.







Anyway, as a result the kids ate a few bites and then they were off to play. They had fun playing, but after I while Gwyneth got bored and did her activity book. A little later I gave them one last chance of the food which they declined. Ethan told me to throw his stuff away. So I got rid of everything except the fries and one chicken nugget. Of course when it was time to leave and he came out of the play area he wanted it all back. Nothing I could do about that, but I eventually got him some more ketchup and he finished the fries. Before leaving for good we hit the potty. Gwyneth and I went, but Ethan refused. That was going to come back to bite me.






Next stop was the post office and was the one place where the French knew how to run things efficiently. You took a number and waited for your turn. I managed a purchase of 16 stamps (I had to buy them in blocks of 8) for 12 euros I think (about $15). Expensive but cheaper than Norway! Somewhere in there Ethan announces he has to go potty. Aargh. I didn't want to go back to the McDonald's and nor did I want to go the public toilet by the Cathedral as both were in opposite directions from the apartment. I was hoping for a more leisurely walk home, but instead we made a beeline for the apartment so Ethan could pee. We got home around 4PM and there went the rest of my afternoon.



Nic came home around 5PM and we decided to squash the eating out plans due the behavior of Ethan during the day. He was in dire need of a nap. I went to the Carrefour for some food and stuff. (I have been using the kids shampoo that we bought in Norway and it has been driving me crazy! I feel like it has been leaving this residue on my hair and weighing it down). So I found some goodies and by the time I got back Ethan was asleep, so it looks like we made the right decision.





So for our birthday/anniversary celebration we enjoyed the 16 euro champagne that Nic got the other day .... and it was good! We had some steaks, chou-fleur (how could we not?), gnocchi, cheese, and bread of course. It was all yummy. Nic gave me some Amiens Macaroons and a necklace from a shop that I had been window shopping in. I gave him ..... hmm .... didn't get anything for him. I think I'll have to give him an IOU.






Lets see ... we finished the champagne for dinner. It was smooth. Soon after Nic as asleep in the chair and I started blogging. Gwyneth was reading her French Donald Duck cartoon book (oh that was the other thing we did today, she wanted to buy one she had seen before and then we bought a French (Disney) Cars magazine for Ethan which is kind of cute). I thought for sure we'd lost Nic for the night, but Ethan woke up about 10 minutes ago running around like crazy saying he had to go pee. That got Nic out of bed too. So here we all are. It is 10:15PM and still light out. I guess I can see why the French do things so late (i.e. don't start dinner until after 7PM).