Hi there. I know I haven't updated in ages, but I will. (Now that school has started). I'm thinking of going private with this blog. So, if you know me and I know you and you like my stories of being abroad and about boys and stuff, please email me and let me know if you want me to send you an invite. I'm not sure what the limit is for invites,but get back to me soon.
Stay tuned for pics from Spring break, summer break, and crazy boy things.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Poilâne
Today I had the opportunity to go to Poilâne bakery, one of the few bakeries that still use an old wood fired brick oven to make their breads. And they gave us a tour downstairs (just like Julia Child. No really, if you read her book 'My life in France' there is a picture of Julia Child in front of the very oven that you see here. Random french bakery history for you) 
Anyway, moving on. This bakery specializes in artisan breads and they are the nice heavy chewy ones that are mostly healthy for you. My favorite is the rye/raisin bread but the apple tarts were WAY better than most of the boulangeries just off the street.
Upon entering, we met in a little room off the entrance and received a history lesson. They have been making bread the same way since 1932 and still even use some of the original sourdough starter. This is a chandelier made of bread. No, not the original. They remake it every few years.
During hard times (depression or WWII, I can't remember) local artists would paint pictures for the bakery in exchange for some bread. Thus the room full of bread paintings.
This is how they weigh their ingredients.
and this is where they mix them.
Then after the rising process, the dough is shaped and put in this oven which is about 500 degrees but will gradually drop off to about 160 degrees before they will add more wood to the fire.
The baker masterfully removes the bread and moves things around so they they are in the hotter part of the oven if needed.
Voilà, you have a ton of fresh bread.
Here are the apple tarts I mentioned. Yummy.
If you find that you are craving any of this, fear not for you can order online (click the link at the beginning) from them and they will ship it Fed Ex to you so you, too, can have fresh Poilâne bread...just like me.
Anyway, moving on. This bakery specializes in artisan breads and they are the nice heavy chewy ones that are mostly healthy for you. My favorite is the rye/raisin bread but the apple tarts were WAY better than most of the boulangeries just off the street.Upon entering, we met in a little room off the entrance and received a history lesson. They have been making bread the same way since 1932 and still even use some of the original sourdough starter. This is a chandelier made of bread. No, not the original. They remake it every few years.
During hard times (depression or WWII, I can't remember) local artists would paint pictures for the bakery in exchange for some bread. Thus the room full of bread paintings.
This is how they weigh their ingredients.
and this is where they mix them.
Then after the rising process, the dough is shaped and put in this oven which is about 500 degrees but will gradually drop off to about 160 degrees before they will add more wood to the fire.
The baker masterfully removes the bread and moves things around so they they are in the hotter part of the oven if needed.
Voilà, you have a ton of fresh bread.
Here are the apple tarts I mentioned. Yummy.
If you find that you are craving any of this, fear not for you can order online (click the link at the beginning) from them and they will ship it Fed Ex to you so you, too, can have fresh Poilâne bread...just like me.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Une nouvelle amie
The boys made a new friend today. Her name is Carly. They love her.
Everywhere we go and every time they see a dog, they ask, "can we get one like that?" I always tell them that we will talk about it when we get back to the states.
Everywhere we go and every time they see a dog, they ask, "can we get one like that?" I always tell them that we will talk about it when we get back to the states.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Bon anniversaire de marriage
2011 means it's been 11 years since we got married. (Pretty smart of us to get married in 2000 so we'll always know exactly what # anniversary it is). Anyway, today Doug took the day off to spend the day with me. I was truly pampered and we spent a lot of time together. We wanted to go out to eat at Jean Paul Hevin tea salon (who wouldn't want to eat lunch in a chocolate store?!), but our timing was a little messed up. So instead we grabbed a crèpe , and walked along the Champs Elycées until we got to La Durée. We went in to grab an anniversary treat and I will be back many times.
Also today we went to Thomas' classroom to read some favorite books to the class. The students loved the book "What's with that room?" by Tom Lichtenheld (especially the line about having the underwear on the ceiling fan)
Today was a great day. I look forward to spending many more anniversaries with you Doug. Je t'aime.
Also today we went to Thomas' classroom to read some favorite books to the class. The students loved the book "What's with that room?" by Tom Lichtenheld (especially the line about having the underwear on the ceiling fan)
Today was a great day. I look forward to spending many more anniversaries with you Doug. Je t'aime.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Le Baptême
Today Matt was baptized. He is now officially a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am so proud of him and his decision to do this. He was so happy and was smiling bigger than I had seen him do in a long time. There was a wonderful spirit there.
There were a couple missionaries that gave talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost. One of the missionaries made an analogy between the Holy Ghost and the force. Matt really paid attention during that talk. It was so nice that they made a reference to Star Wars. It certainly made Matt happy.
Here are all the kids checking out the baptism font before things happened.
After. With big hugs and smiles.
Matt mentioned that the water was really warm, like bath water. He was proud of the fact that he had been practicing going under water during his swim class at school.
Later we had an open house party for him and 25 people that were at the baptism. It was nice to have friends over and hang out. We made a video slide show of pictures of Matt's life so far and everyone enjoyed watching that. We gave Matt his own set of scriptures and a journal. We asked our visitors to write down their testimonies and we would put them in his new journal. Hopefully he'll actually use it to write down his memories of this day.
There were a couple missionaries that gave talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost. One of the missionaries made an analogy between the Holy Ghost and the force. Matt really paid attention during that talk. It was so nice that they made a reference to Star Wars. It certainly made Matt happy.Here are all the kids checking out the baptism font before things happened.
Before...
After. With big hugs and smiles.
Matt mentioned that the water was really warm, like bath water. He was proud of the fact that he had been practicing going under water during his swim class at school.
Later we had an open house party for him and 25 people that were at the baptism. It was nice to have friends over and hang out. We made a video slide show of pictures of Matt's life so far and everyone enjoyed watching that. We gave Matt his own set of scriptures and a journal. We asked our visitors to write down their testimonies and we would put them in his new journal. Hopefully he'll actually use it to write down his memories of this day.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Sainte Valentine
Happy Valentine's Day! Today Doug took the day off so I could get a day off. It was the best kind of gift ever. It was nice to be able to sleep in (while he got the boys up and off to school) We got a babysitter, and went out for lunch. I've been craving a really good big hamburger lately. (I need to satisfy my inner carnivore every once in a while). So I was checking around for good burger places in Paris and finally decided on the Hard Rock Cafe. I know. I'm in Paris. I should go somewhere romantic for a french meal. We'll do that another day. I had an awesome burger with sliced granny smith apple, bacon (real bacon) and provolone cheese. It was so thick and juicy. Just what I wanted. Doug also surprised me with Chocolate from Michel Cluizel. Then on the way home from the bus stop in the afternoon the boys wanted to get me some flowers. I feel so loved and blessed. 
Yes, these are little chocolates with messages of love on them. How cute is that?!
Yes, these are little chocolates with messages of love on them. How cute is that?!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Joyeux anniversaire Matt!
Happy Birthday Matt! Today he is eight years old! Wow. Eight years ago I became a mom. And now my baby is a big boy getting ready to be baptized. Sometimes I am amazed at how easily he picks up on new things he learns at school. He loves reading and practically every week he comes home to tell me he's advanced to the next level reading group at school. He gets excited about new concepts he's learning at school (like communities, or matter, or dinosaurs...) He really enjoys learning new words in his french class and will tell you that he is the best one in his french class. He is always wanting to try out french conversations and I am amazed at how quickly he's picking it up. Who knows where he will be a couple years from now. I know he can handle an entire afternoon playdate in french. He is still great at math and brings home math tests with perfect scores all the time. Matt has made a couple really good friends (one is a fellow Star Wars guru). I have actually set up an after school playdate with one of the moms for every Friday after school. Matt's friend is also new to Paris and the two of them love being together. Matt has really gotten into Lego's. He loves building new Star Wars sets and after he's built them, he takes them apart to build new things. It's nice to see his patience with his Lego's. Matt can be very helpful and likes to help with dishes and laundry. He loves helping Timmy and teaching him new things. We love Matt and his love of learning. 
Matt requested a Star Wars Lego birthday party. I was all prepared to make his cake look like Legos and then put Lego guys on it. However, the day I was making his cake, I didn't feel well and had a horrible headache and achy yucky. So I "made" a Death Star and put it on a dark cake like in space. (I actually originally tried to make a giant cake ball (Like Bakerella), but I think I added too much frosting and it sank into an oval mess.) So, I coated a plastic basketball toy with frosting instead. I don't really like decorating a cake with just toys, but considering my health, it turned out ok. Matt liked it and that's what counts.
Matt requested a Star Wars Lego birthday party. I was all prepared to make his cake look like Legos and then put Lego guys on it. However, the day I was making his cake, I didn't feel well and had a horrible headache and achy yucky. So I "made" a Death Star and put it on a dark cake like in space. (I actually originally tried to make a giant cake ball (Like Bakerella), but I think I added too much frosting and it sank into an oval mess.) So, I coated a plastic basketball toy with frosting instead. I don't really like decorating a cake with just toys, but considering my health, it turned out ok. Matt liked it and that's what counts.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Joyeux anniversaire Thomas!
Happy Birthday Thomas! He is six years old today. He is a happy energetic boy ready to make anyone around him laugh. He's a natural actor (for better or worse). I love it when he smiles and his blue eyes twinkle (with mischief) and you can see his cute dimple. He still loves his cars and is excited to learn about new ones here in Europe. He is quickly learning to love Legos and he and Matt can play nicely for quite a while with Legos. Thomas likes to give hugs and tell you that he loves you. He always seems to say the right things if I'm feeling sad. I love you Thomas. Keep on smiling.
Thomas requested an army tank for his birthday cake. As a result we had a army boot camp party with a few friends from his school class. Doug taught them how to stand at attention and do pushups, and we created an obstacle course complete with tunnels, army crawling, target practice, and balancing skills. I think that the boys had a lot of fun.
Here's a closer look at the caterpillar tracks on the tank. I used black licorice for the tracks, Oreos for the tires, and a pirouette cookie for the cannon. We also put a SW camo clone at the top. Actually this was a pretty easy cake to make. Thomas liked it and that's all that matters.
Thomas requested an army tank for his birthday cake. As a result we had a army boot camp party with a few friends from his school class. Doug taught them how to stand at attention and do pushups, and we created an obstacle course complete with tunnels, army crawling, target practice, and balancing skills. I think that the boys had a lot of fun.
Here's a closer look at the caterpillar tracks on the tank. I used black licorice for the tracks, Oreos for the tires, and a pirouette cookie for the cannon. We also put a SW camo clone at the top. Actually this was a pretty easy cake to make. Thomas liked it and that's all that matters.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
La musique
Matt started taking piano lessons last September. He has been doing a great job. It helps that he has been learning the recorder in his class at school. He goes to a local lady that lives about a 15 minute walk from our house. She is American so he is learning the "ABC's" instead of "Do, re, mi" like they do in France. Originally Matt told me that he only wanted to learn to play piano so he could learn how to play Star Wars music. I told this to his teacher, so she is in turn transposing some harder Star Wars music into easier music for Matt. Then she uses it as an incentive for him to learn new things. As soon as he masters eighth notes, he will start learning Darth Vader's theme song. I also love the music books that he has. They are easy note books of course and as a result they can sound kind of boring to those just learning. But, it also has a teacher's accompaniment to go along with the easy pieces so when played together, it sounds great. I love being able to play duets with Matt. I am so proud of him. Here are some of his favorite pieces.
Friday, January 14, 2011
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