Didier and I went to the car repair shop today. I followed him there in my old Mégane and we dropped the car off for the day. Didier had noticed that the tires had no tread and I noticed that the brakes sounded and felt funny. On top of that, all of the caution indicators in the car were lit up. I was scared of driving the car for awhile because the "stop immediately" signal was on for about two days. The owner's manual said the signal was an indicator I needed to be out of the car immediately and that the situation was likely to be dangerous and life-threatening. Nothing ever happened though. Maman just told me to drive slowly. Ha haha.
I picked Léa and Baptiste up about an hour early today. Léa had asked me to take them to centre ville so that they could get Céline a Mother's Day gift. Since maman was home during the evening and I would be gone all weekend, the best time to go was when we were en route home. Andréa accompanied us during our trip to the city center. We didn't have much time to do any shopping so the four of us made a bee-line to Pyoline. Léa had seen a little statue there that one could pose their rings on. Maman is always taking off her rings and leaving them by the sink so Léa figured the ring keeper would make a good gift. She's so thoughtful, our Léa. Unfortunately, the store was no longer carrying them so the four of us looked for other possibilities within the store. We didn't have time to go anywhere else. The four of us agreed on a retro-designed thermos and giant lighter. Maman drinks a lot of coffee and smokes so the gifts were perfect! Léa bought everything with her own money because Camille didn't want to contribute and Baptiste had no money. I thought it was really sweet that Léa gave up her savings because she's been trying to buy a certain pair of Nike high-tops since January.
Once the Mother's Day shopping was done, I took my three loves and tried to pick up Camille and Gregoire as quick as I could. I knew there was a lot of lice re-treatment to be done before I headed off to Marseille for the evening and I knew that I wouldn't have enough time to get it all done. I could have possibly finished every single kids' head if there wasn't a city-wide traffic jam. Even my secret back streets were all blocked up. As soon as we got home, I fixed up my lotion with lavender oil and put it in everyone's hair. I was able to comb the nits out of everyone's hair except for Camille's. I just didn't have time to do it. Since maman hadn't had to work on anyone else's head, I was sure she'd do a stellar job on Camille.
As soon as I finished up with Léa I announced to maman that I had to go. Andréa and I were going to have dinner at his cousin Stephanie's house. We had never had the chance to get together before. I had met her, her sons, and her boyfriend once or twice, all separately but never really got to know anyone. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to finally get to know this extended part of the family that I hear so much about.
I felt so welcome as soon as I walked in. Stephanie was a great hostess! She showed me around so that I knew where everything was. I also got a feel of her style which is very tasteful! Her boyfriend Fabrice made me a cocktail as soon as I got comfortable and the kids played with me. I absolutely, ABSOLUTELY LOVE this family! I don't know how else to put this, but they were just very real! They were incredibly hospitable but nothing was fake about it. You could tell that this is how they treat all of their guests.
I talked to the adults for a bit. There was a neighbor that visited. The guys and I talked about the difference between American and European sports. The biggest difference is shared patriotism amongst American teams versus none on European teams. According to Fabrice, no matter what country a player is from, if they play on an American team, they will always sing the Star Spangled Banner and hold their hand to their heart. I've never noticed this before but I'll take his word for it. I guess it's a big deal that no one sings along to the French national anthem. It bothers them even more than the president François Hollande even walks out of the stadium while the song is still being played. I guess I can see why that would be offensive. I mean, the guy's basically ruining their country, he could at least pretend that he's proud to be French.
Stephanie served a very good dinner. There were pizza bites as well as chips and salsa for the appetizer. For the entrée we had cheese ravioli and a melted cheese on the side. As for dessert, there were ice cream cones. As much as I love ice cream in a cone, I couldn't eat anymore. I tried to play with the kids to help break down all of the food in my belly. Ha haha. It kind of worked...
The kids were super duper cute! Fabian is the older of the two, about 8 years old. He was coloring in his drawing pad and allowed me to join him. He wasn't very subtle with his compliments but it was adorable nevertheless. 2 year old Joey drew on my page and added some flavor to my doodles. I basically played with the kids all night. They wanted to show me their guinea pig, their room, all of their toys. They were so well-behaved and put all of their toys away after playing with them. I couldn't believe my eyes! I had to stick around to see if it was natural for them, lol. Whatever Stephanie's secret is, I want it!!!
I picked Léa and Baptiste up about an hour early today. Léa had asked me to take them to centre ville so that they could get Céline a Mother's Day gift. Since maman was home during the evening and I would be gone all weekend, the best time to go was when we were en route home. Andréa accompanied us during our trip to the city center. We didn't have much time to do any shopping so the four of us made a bee-line to Pyoline. Léa had seen a little statue there that one could pose their rings on. Maman is always taking off her rings and leaving them by the sink so Léa figured the ring keeper would make a good gift. She's so thoughtful, our Léa. Unfortunately, the store was no longer carrying them so the four of us looked for other possibilities within the store. We didn't have time to go anywhere else. The four of us agreed on a retro-designed thermos and giant lighter. Maman drinks a lot of coffee and smokes so the gifts were perfect! Léa bought everything with her own money because Camille didn't want to contribute and Baptiste had no money. I thought it was really sweet that Léa gave up her savings because she's been trying to buy a certain pair of Nike high-tops since January.
Once the Mother's Day shopping was done, I took my three loves and tried to pick up Camille and Gregoire as quick as I could. I knew there was a lot of lice re-treatment to be done before I headed off to Marseille for the evening and I knew that I wouldn't have enough time to get it all done. I could have possibly finished every single kids' head if there wasn't a city-wide traffic jam. Even my secret back streets were all blocked up. As soon as we got home, I fixed up my lotion with lavender oil and put it in everyone's hair. I was able to comb the nits out of everyone's hair except for Camille's. I just didn't have time to do it. Since maman hadn't had to work on anyone else's head, I was sure she'd do a stellar job on Camille.
As soon as I finished up with Léa I announced to maman that I had to go. Andréa and I were going to have dinner at his cousin Stephanie's house. We had never had the chance to get together before. I had met her, her sons, and her boyfriend once or twice, all separately but never really got to know anyone. Tonight was the perfect opportunity to finally get to know this extended part of the family that I hear so much about.
I felt so welcome as soon as I walked in. Stephanie was a great hostess! She showed me around so that I knew where everything was. I also got a feel of her style which is very tasteful! Her boyfriend Fabrice made me a cocktail as soon as I got comfortable and the kids played with me. I absolutely, ABSOLUTELY LOVE this family! I don't know how else to put this, but they were just very real! They were incredibly hospitable but nothing was fake about it. You could tell that this is how they treat all of their guests.
I talked to the adults for a bit. There was a neighbor that visited. The guys and I talked about the difference between American and European sports. The biggest difference is shared patriotism amongst American teams versus none on European teams. According to Fabrice, no matter what country a player is from, if they play on an American team, they will always sing the Star Spangled Banner and hold their hand to their heart. I've never noticed this before but I'll take his word for it. I guess it's a big deal that no one sings along to the French national anthem. It bothers them even more than the president François Hollande even walks out of the stadium while the song is still being played. I guess I can see why that would be offensive. I mean, the guy's basically ruining their country, he could at least pretend that he's proud to be French.
Stephanie served a very good dinner. There were pizza bites as well as chips and salsa for the appetizer. For the entrée we had cheese ravioli and a melted cheese on the side. As for dessert, there were ice cream cones. As much as I love ice cream in a cone, I couldn't eat anymore. I tried to play with the kids to help break down all of the food in my belly. Ha haha. It kind of worked...
The kids were super duper cute! Fabian is the older of the two, about 8 years old. He was coloring in his drawing pad and allowed me to join him. He wasn't very subtle with his compliments but it was adorable nevertheless. 2 year old Joey drew on my page and added some flavor to my doodles. I basically played with the kids all night. They wanted to show me their guinea pig, their room, all of their toys. They were so well-behaved and put all of their toys away after playing with them. I couldn't believe my eyes! I had to stick around to see if it was natural for them, lol. Whatever Stephanie's secret is, I want it!!!
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