Has it been only 15 days since Old Man Winter decided to visit the Riviera? As soon as he showed us his worst he retreated and the first scents of spring have arrived. Yesterday was the first day I was able to lunch outside, without a coat. Yippee!
Further evidence - the rosebushes are getting as excited as I am:
Boo takes advantage of a warm noon-time to practice his sprinting:
OK - not too much navel-gazing, please. Is it annoying that I'm writing a post about how our almost 8-month old Little Guy is finally eating off the spoon? I guess it just shows my own anxieties.
Which is funny because with #2 I'm supposed to be more relaxed, right? What Boo taught me first hand (and that we all read about) is that babies take their own time in achieving milestones. That I don't need to worry too much that Little Guy does, or does not, do certain things at certain times.
And on the surface I don't worry. Because, let's face it, I simply don't have the time to agonize over every.little.moment. But there are things that do nag at me. Why won't he eat of the spoon? Why did he stop breastfeeding at 6 months (nothing to do about that one)? When will he learn to sit up on his own?
Then I tell myself (again) not to sweat it because, one day, he will will do it. And I was very happy for him this weekend when he ate all his meals enthusiastically and he can now join us at the table, side by side with his big brother.
I know my friends in D.C. and along the eastern seaboard of the US have been reveling in a blizzard this past week but imagine how strange it is that it's snowing on the Croisette of Cannes...and here in Valbonne! I knew to leave the moment that it started snowing in earnest - there is no snow-clearing program on the Riviera (obviously). My idea was to just get home for a conference call and then pick up Boo and Little Guy afterwards if it seemed like the snow was going to continue.
Once I was in the car I knew I was going to have to pick up the boys right away, and skip my meeting. When I arrived at our nounou's house it was snowing in earnest and just beginning to stick. When I left 15 minutes later there was an inch of snow on my car and the roads were covered. It's 1.5 miles from her house to ours, and about 1/2 a mile from home I had to ditch the car. E rescued us with ski boots for Boo and warmer coats. I put Little Guy into the carrier and we walked the rest of the way, dodging skidding cars.
Here's what I found when I came home:
(no, it's not nighttime - just heavy snow and no flash. Pictures taken at noon)
We're meeting with the architect on Saturday and I'm trying to add to my pile of inspiration photos. I'm not having much look with finding enclosed verandas that I like. I've tried all sorts of search term variations but inevitably I end up with either the cheesy suburban aluminum lean-to or Edwardian conservatory. Definitely NOT the aesthetic we're going for.
At any rate, here are a few things I have on file - old and new.
This is a looking into a sun room from the attached deck at a house in Los Angeles. I like that the room actually looks like a used living space and it's not filled with patio furniture.
Picture from House Beautiful
This one reminds me a bit of the Case Houses in LA. I love how the wall just disappears when it's open.Giant sliding doors.From Living, Etc.
And another one:From Coté Maison
Which reminds me of this house though no sun room (both are in the l'Ile de Ré. The color scheme is modern classic for the area). I like the blend of materials, and the darker window frames against the white house.
From Coté Maison
From Coté Maison
Last, and maybe my favorite. It's more formal than we will ever be but I just like the glass house look.
What do you think?From Coté Maison
I miss Boston. Sometimes I think about that night that E and I want walking in the late-night, snow-covered hushed Back Bay at the end of January. There were few people about in the extreme cold and the city seemed so glittery in the frigid dry air. With no one about, we walked out a few yards on the completely frozen and snowed over Charles River. It was so magical that I lay down and made a snow angel with the surrounded by the lights of Boston and Cambridge and with the sound of a Red Line train crossing the Longfellow Bridge.
Our last visit was spring 2008 but it seems so much longer ago than that. I have no idea when we'll get to go back.
Imagine my happy surprise when my Boston friend, K, sent me a perfect birthday present that reminded me perfectly of my once-adopted city and our friendship we had there. Among other things - a Cook's Illustrated (based in Brookline), a birthday card with a photo the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in the Public Gardens, a magnet with a quote from Emerson. Not in the picture are a pair of black leg wamers - necessary under-jeans attire in a Boston winter, but also useful here in France when the Mistral is blowing. Lastly - most awesome pair of "yoga socks" which I immediately put to use.
Thank you thank you, K!
This was me, yesterday. I don't have one of those fancy ear thingies for the phone but the rest is still pretty accurate. My friends who don't have the luxury of an office to escape to in order to recuperate exclaim with sympathy/pity how is possible ?! I let my husband think the same (woe is me: no sleep and still going to work). Reality is sitting in an office on a regular day after a night party of kids is waaaaay easier than a full day of same kids. At the office I can have some blocks of time to myself. I don't have to think of a million things at once, and, usually, I don't have whiny people pulling on my clothes or puking on me.
Did I mention that I've woken more than once this week not in my own bed? In Boo's bed, sandwiched against the guard rail, or on the sofa bed. It's not good.
Apparently, I'm not alone. (See how many comments there are!) I feel the waves of sympathy and also, from deep inside is a welling, existential "WHY?"
Good luck, fellow sufferers. As for me, it's no more Ms. Nice-Maman. I'll tell you how it goes.
Photo credit: iStockphoto
And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created.
~D.H. Lawrence
And if not...welcome to the road to Hell.
~Mom In France
I've been in defense of Little Guy ever since he was born. My husband keeps telling everyone we cross how poor a sleeper he is and how wonderful Boo was. Evidence of selective memory. Boo was a good sleeper in that once he went to sleep he stayed asleep. But I remember vividly one or the other of us spending 1/2 hour or more beside his crib coaxing him into sleep.
Little Guy, on the other hand, goes to sleep so easy. After a rough start -- long jags of crying at the end of a looong day -- he now wears a big grin getting into his sleep sack and although I often hear him for a little while as he drops off they are all happy noises. Problem is, he doesn't stay asleep. He's almost 7 months old and still wakes at least once a night. Funny the things we get used to. If that was my only problem, I'd be OK.
But no. Boo is in the big kid bed. He was great - we did it over Christmas while visiting his grandparents and we had no problems. He adjusted right away and didn't get out (or fall out). But now he's discovered he can. And he wakes up at night with typical toddler nightmares. Again - this I've learned to manage. Once a night for Little Guy and once a night for chasing nightmares. Easy. 5 minutes each.
However, for the past two nights Boo has woken up due to a mild cold. And I mean mild. But he will. not. go. back. to. sleep. Night before last we burned the midnight oil from 2-5am, with a some Little Guy action in between. Getting out of the house in the morning was hard. I woke up late enough and was slow enough to not eat or even get a coffee before I left. When I walked into our nounou's house I could smell her espresso maker and nearly keeled over. She took pity on my and set me up at the kitchen table and got the boys settled. I was able to make it to work without crashing into something.
During the night we tried everything. Nice Maman. Nice Papa. Mean Papa/Nice Maman. Mean Maman. Put him back into the travel crib. Cry cry cry. Finally, Boo and I ended up on the sofa bed, while Little Guy and E slept relatively peacefully. Grrrrr....
Last night was a rerun of the first but slightly better. I fell asleep with Boo in his big bed so he wouldn't get out. E was off at 5am to catch a plane so he was up anyway. Little Guy only woke up once (I think). And I managed to have coffee before I left the house.
But I wonder: Where is my sleep? Will I ever get again a good night's sleep ? My magic 8 ball sitting here on my desk says "My Reply is No."
No, not a new baby. (Whew). However, we are embarking on a new project with similar levels of stress, anxiety, cost all in the name of improving our life. Yes, we are going to renovate and extend our house to better fit our family and so that people will come visit!
Here it is today - our little semi-provençal cottage at just over 900 square feet:
It's two bedrooms (one big, one smallish), one bath with an open kitchen / living which is not big at all. Good news is that we have a very large veranda which we plan to enclose.
Here is our first step - the surveyor's drawing:
Our lot of land is just over a third of an acre and we have the building right to add up to 700 square feet - almost doubling the existing house. Our plan is to add two bedrooms, a bathroom, new living space, an entryway and laundry room.
We should receive the first architect's plans at the end of this week, or, if I follow the rule in house construction timelines and budgets I need to double that so end of next week. I'll share the updates and I'll post some of our inspirations in the coming days.
Happy New Year! I just realized that it's been an entire month since I last posted. I went back to work December 1st and although the re-entry was pretty smooth it was a very busy month.
Here are some photos of Boo, our foodie-in-training. He really does love to eat.
Our post-Thanksgiving apple pie. Mom & my stepdad cooked thanksgiving dinner. She even carried the dressing biscuits and cornbread with her in her luggage!
Last piece -- and it's all MINE!!
Today is my last day with Little Guy just the two of us. I'm so looking forward to not making my own lunch and wasting time with my colleagues on Facebook. Still, I'm sad that this time with Little Guy is over. Here's to you.
Portrait by Susan Stinson