no mustache

Julian has been very interested in the inner working of the human body lately and consequently we have checked out various books for children on the subject from the Mediathèque. He is also fascinated and confused about growing up- how it happens and what it entails. I think he has associated the fact that he goes to school with being bigger and maybe thinks growing up means being away from home more, more school, less of the nurture and privilege of being the little one? There is also fixation on the details of our inner workings- how food makes its way through from in to out, how his bones keep him together and how they could break too. But as we were reading one of the books tonight before bed- it was telling about how when you get bigger girls chests grow and boys get facial hair and have to shave- he said, "I won't ever grow a mustache will I? Because I don't know how to shave." I told him it was no big deal, he would learn how to shave when he got bigger too, and that pretty much all boys will get mustaches at some point, but he wouldn't for a long long time.... and he was adamant that I reassure him that he would NOT ever get a mustache, he does not want one, and that he will not be able to shave. So I'm not sure which is the main fear, hair growing on his face or shaving, but he seemed really quite worried about these things forecast for his future. Very funny that he thinks that I can promise that it wouldn't happen. I still hold the power of a god in his world sometimes, I suppose.

see for yourself

nothing drastic, so maybe the haircut won't live up to the hype, but as for me, I feel 100 times lighter and refreshed without feeling like I'm missing a limb! I'll see how I feel in a month and maybe go shorter.... but for now, I can still pull it into a teeny ponytail and that is a nice advantage. and yes, one picture is of the braid of my hair that was cut off....

A picture wouldn't describe...

How lovely our day has been! It is probably 60 degrees outside and sunny with blues skies. In January. I could stop there! But I won't- we just got home from a walk along the ocean in the direction away from town which I discovered the other day when I headed out on my own for a stroll. I knew the kids would enjoy discovering this unexplored territory so we took advantage of this beautiful Sunday to walk down there. There is a bike & foot path running alongside the water with large rocks separating the two. The tide was out and Miette, ever the nature explorer, wanted to climb down and explore the tide pools to see if there were shells, urchins, etc. So we joined her and popped seaweed, collected snail shells, rocks, and sea glass, and examined all the nooks and crannies in between the boulders. After a while, we headed back up to the path and crossed the street to check out a little pond and the playground on the other side. Near the playground we found the best climbing tree for Miette in which she climbed so high she was completely hidden by the leaves. Then we saw a bike and skate park across the street from there and skipped across to watch the kids perform their tricks. Of course, I brought my camera along and had been taking pictures of the decorative ironwork on fences and homes along the way down, and as soon as we got to the beach, my battery died. But I was thinking to myself that any picture still wouldn't have captured the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea-air and the overall atmosphere of relaxed peacefulness amidst all the people on their Sunday strolls by the water. It was a magnificent morning.

Me, the american representative!

Today I went into a class where I don't teach regularly (in a school where I have 2 other classes every Thursday) as a sort of cultural liaison to answer questions they had prepared in french and english regarding me and american culture and life in general. They started with the basics (Where are you from, what is your favorite color and food, how old are you, do you like La Rochelle, do you like France, etc.) and then asked more specifically about the US- What do people eat here? Do we have big houses and building in the US? Do people on the street have guns? Are schools different there and how are they different? And on and on. But I think the topic of food and buildings brought a lot of discussion- especially regarding skyscrapers! I didn't have all the answers because they wanted to know how many stories are in a skyscraper, how many elevators and how long it takes to go from bottom to top in the Sear's Tower in the elevator. I have to do a little research now and bring back some more concrete answers on that subject. This makes me think how fun it would be to get a whole class pen-pal exchange going on, especially between this small town french kids and a school like Miette's last year in the predominantly african-american southside of Chicago!! There would definitely be some surprises for the kids. (In all my schools here I have only one black student!)

video of jules

http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=2183744952760401917&pr=goog-sl

see if that works! you have to copy and paste the link first. i couldn't enbed it on the site this time, or at least not yet!

Is it time for a (hair) change? SONDAGE!

Well, I'm going to indulge myself in hair talk. I need advice. As those of you who have known me for a long time can attest, I have had a history of impulsive haircutting decisions. Finally I've passed some years without changing much and now whether or not it's drastic, I desperately need a haircut. It's downright ragged and the ends are destroyed. So rather than rushing into some crazy new hairstyle, I thought I'd ask everyone what they think. I could easily go just get a trim and tidy things up, mostly leaving my hair as it is. OR I could try something a little more fun. And I want some input. I was at a café this afternoon with a couple friends and talking about this subject and thus lifting my hair this way and that to get an idea of different styles and the waiter came over and asked if I was thinking about getting a new hairdo I explained that I was thinking about whether it would look good if I did a bob like this and that but I didn't have the right vocabulary in french. So he interjects oh, you want a "carré plongeant dégradé avec frange balayé." (layered plunging bob with swept-over bangs) I said why yes, that sounds exactly right. But how the hell does this waiter man know this hair terminology? Well, it turns out that he used to be a hairdresser. Just my luck.

So, let's have some opinions please. Keep it as it is, and just get a trim OR the above bob style (somewhere between chin and shoulder length) or other ideas? PLEASE humor me and leaving your comment. I am posting pictures I just took to show its current state, one showing how all the girls are wearing their bangs (balayé), and one pulled up to give an idea of it if it was shorter.

Back to school, growing up

Sorry Im not posting so often lately, I think maybe I'll try to do shorter tidbits more often and not feel like I have to cover so much information when I wait so long to write again!

We had a nice end to our vacation, celebrating "La Fête des Rois" (Epiphany) with friends on the last Sunday. We enjoyed lots of cozy quiet time at home after Ryan left, luxuriating in the unhurried time and new playthings. La Rochelle has not been very cold (the past few days have been in the upper 50s) but there has been tons of dense fog and some rain so the general feeling outside is wet and chilly and home is a good place to be. Miette is reading a new Christmas book "Eldest" and both kids have been playing together beautifully and doing lots of drawing. Julian continues to practice his letters and writing his name when he's not on castle duty.

Miette had swimming for the second time this Monday. Her class will be going each week for the next few months and she loves it. She comes out of school just bouncing with energy after the afternoon swimming. I'm glad she is getting an opportunity to continue building on all the progress she made this summer in her summer camp and really enjoying herself.

Julian's teachers said he seemed so much more grown-up after the holiday break. I said that he did have his birthday after all! But it's true, he seems to have moved onto another level. And we've been amazed because during the vacation, we started hearing french from him all the time. Almost always, when he's playing by himself he speaks to himself in french, using funny little expressions and sentences and I feel like I can hear the voices of his classmates and teachers being channeled thorough him. His teacher also remarked that he seems to have a much deeper level of comprehension now than before as well and that she heard him counting in french for the first time at school- very seriously, she said. In fact, I recorded a video of him doing the same at home and will post it to the blog, just not now, it's already too late.

I've fallen in love with a french illustrator who's inspiring me a lot at the moment, check her out- Emmanuelle Houdart. Here's a website with an interesting interview with her http://lsj.hautetfort.com/archive/2005/10/30/»-j-eponge-mes-peurs-l-alphabet-d-emmanuelle-houdart.html (in french). She's amazing but unfortunately when you see her images online in small format they absolutely don't do justice to the richness, vivd color and detail of the work. I got the kids each a book of hers for Christmas and have really been enjoying reading them with Julian an Miette. One titled "Emilie Pasteque" is about a little girl who is always collecting and bringing little objects home (stones, keys, leaves, bus tickets anything and everything, the kinds of thing one finds on the street, in nature, etc) until she doesn't have space for anyone else but herself in her room and her parents worry about her spending all her time alone with all this stuff instead of being with other children. I won't tell the rest of the story but I asked Miette why I might have gotten that book for her.... and I guess it is also somethings that reminds me of myself....the trash to treasure collectors. She knew the answer to that question without thinking too long.

Our little guy turns 4, our big guy leaves

Yesterday as we ushered out 2007, we celebrated Jules' fourth birthday and spent our last full day together with Ryan. That's a lot for one day and one family to handle! We went to Place de Verdun to let Julian choose what rides he wanted to go on (I had promised him multiple carousel rides but they also have motorized swings and these funny robots you can drive specially set up for the holiday season/Christmas village). In fact, he chose the swings and the robots but not the carousel. He was wanting to cut to the chase and get home for presents. We took a little detour to watch the roller-skaters on the indoor rink and the associated french teenage hoodlum scene but slowly made our way back so he could open his gifts and have cake. The only cakes patisseries have at this time of the year are buches de noël , couronnes, and galette des rois so I chose a chocolate buche with a little marzipan mushroom and chocolate "bonne année" greetings affixed with icing. Julian was so preoccupied by the star wars lego spaceship Daddy gave him that he barely touched his cake before heading back to play.

I am posting a picture of Julian's name- he has just learned how to write it himself. You can see (obviously) my model on top and his below.

Ryan and Miette spent the morning furiously reading together to finish the last pages of "His Dark Materials" before his departure. They did it! We then took a cab together to to see him off at the train station this morning. He is going to Paris for a day before returning to Chicago. We got out of the house smoothly, to the station early and then tearfully watched the train slide away with Ryan inside...............

A sad and happy beginning to 2008.