Joyeux Noël!!

In brief, we had a wonderful French Christmas and a fun filled Christmas Eve =). I don't feel like writing anything else because I am exhausted and feel so uncomfortable!!! So, check out our pictures below. Again, you might have to click on them to make them larger.

1 year old Christmas spent in New Orleans

 We miss our Immi bean

2 year old Christmas spent in DC

In the midst of decorating the tree!

Both tree and daughter are leaning.

Tree and decorations were left behind by previous team member. They forgot to leave the stand. Awful looking but...cute. 

Belly shot a week ago at 26 weeks. I'm now 27 weeks!! One more week 'til my 3rd trimester!

3 year old Christmas spent in Lyon

Princess Tiana!!

Gift from Hilton's mom

My Very...errr....Unusual Day

Early this morning, EJ and I took a journey to a nearby town for my 5th month pregnancy check up. We arrived a few minutes late because of parking issues, but that was quickly resolved once I pulled up alongside a tree. In the US I would've most likely gotten a ticket but out here I've seen cars parked on sidewalks, tree branches, etc with no parking tickets.
Anyway, I made my way to the secretary's desk to sign in. She asked me basic information including my 'jeune-fille'. Now, since I've been here, I've always been asked that when registering for things. I've always thought they were asking me the name of my daughter lol since 'jeune fille' literally means young girl/young daughter. What it really means is maiden name! HAHAHAH So all this time I've been giving EJ's name for my maiden name. It's already confusing that we have the same name. Ah well, I've learned something new today. That's not all I've learned today...
After registering, I headed upstairs as directed to the Dr's office. Now, we all know that in the US when we see the Dr's name on the door, we open it and expect to see a sign in desk and a waiting room, right? Out here, c'est pas comme ça. There's the Dr's office and then there's the waiting room that is not attached to the office. I mean, depending on the building, they will have their office and waiting room set up like we're used to in the US but typically for hospital settings, no. How'd I find out?

*clears throat*

With EJ in hand, we walked down the hall way looking at door after door for my doc's name. When I finally found it, I opened the door and to my absolute HORROR, there was a GYNO exam in PROGRESS!!! The patient was facing the door which means EJ and I saw E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. The excruciating moment lasted only a few seconds as I yelled, "Pardon! Pardon! Pardon!" and quickly closed the door. *cringes* Of course, the waiting room came after the office. I've certainly learned.

When it was my turn to be seen I told the doc how sorry I was and she laughed and said, "C'est pas grave!" (don't worry about it, not that serious! Back home I would've been arrested I'm sure LOL!) The visit went extremely well. Our baby boy is big (surprise surprise) and is healthy. She did tell me that I'm at risk for gestational diabetes due to what was in some of my lab work so for now, I need to take precaution. WHAT?!? There are just too many pastry shops and goodies around to be told to hold off. But....I must *clenches teeth*. There was no english during the visit. She didn't speak it and I didn't need her to! She spoke pretty fast but somehow I didn't need her to slow down. My french medical vocab is steadily growing as was noted by the doc who did my 22 week ultrasound yesterday. We were talking about the baby's healthy four chambered heart, his rapidly developing brain with the anatomy being just as it should, his abdomen, everything...all in french.

On my way home, I got pulled over because I went through a yellow light. You're supposed to stop. I always thought that if it was safe to go through then you could. Running the red light should only warrant flashing lights, right? Anyway, my first encounter with french police was smooth. The cop spoke extremely fast and I asked him once if he could slow down. He checked out my license, car papers, explained that out here this is what the yellow light means, asked about Hilton (we drive a car sponsored by the team and unfortunately there are giant signs broadcasted on the car) and Tony Parker, told me that I have a beautiful daughter and stopped traffic for me so that I could get back on the road. Sweet! No ticket :)

Today was long and eventful and now I'm pooped and ready for a nap. Tomorrow is Hilton's birthday (!!!) and he also comes home from....Bulgaria.

France and Their Holidays!!! ARGH!

Roughly two weeks ago marked France's Toussaint (All Saints Day) holiday. I THOUGHT EJ was only going to be out of school for one week but clearly I didn't read her school calendar properly. So, the Monday I thought she was to return to school, we stepped out on quiet, empty streets like silly people. How embarrassing! I went home, carefully reread her calendar only to find out that she'd be home with me for yet ANOTHER week!! There was one day out of the two week school holiday where France actually celebrated Toussaint and on that day, everyyyythingggg was closed. Everything.
Now, I really think pregnancy brain is taking over and here's one of the many reasons why. Earlier in the week, EJ's school gave me a permission slip to sign authorizing them to snap pictures for photo day. I could have sworn the teacher said Friday, as in today Friday. I signed the form and again, could have sworn the paper read Friday. So, last night I stayed up late braiding her hair starting from the back working my way up until I got to the front and just got lazy because she was exhausted and my back was giving in. I had her picture day outfit prepped and ready for today. I went to bed at 1 am (EJ, 10:30 pm), got up at 7:30 am (you call that rest for a pregnant mama?!) and EJ and I stormed out the door for school only to see the following...yet again!!

I mean, really?! The eerie silence and childless streets indicated that something was amiss. A few yards ahead I spotted a man walking down the sidewalk on the opposite side of me so EJ and I ran up to him and I begged him to confirm my suspicions and what on earth the French were celebrating AGAIN!

L'Armistice

A day that remembers the injured and deceased in WW1 and other wars and another day when everyyyyyything is closed. At least most establishments are still open on Veteran's Day! *sigh* If there's a parade nearby I'll probably take EJ but I was really hoping to be able to catch up on much needed sleep while she's at school.

Merde.

TRES chic!

Viens manger avec nous!

A few nights ago, we were invited to dinner by this awesome lady who works for the team. She's the one with the two boys that EJ adores. Hilton couldn't make it because he was in too much pain from his little surgery. When EJ and I arrived to their house, they were ready to EAT! I filled my face with toasted bread with black olive spread and this other spread that was made out of mayonnaise, garlic and some other ingredients that I don't recall but it was divine! Then we ate some salad that consisted of chicory, apple slices and cheese! It was topped off with a delicious sauce with ingredients that, again, I can't remember!
Next came...*starts drooling*...curried chicken casserole with rice. I had to pace myself as I could feel my stomach preparing to burst but I was not going to stop. The food was SO good. They served red wine with dinner and their children had a taste. They didn't drink a glass! I was intrigued because all my life I had been told that the French serve wine to their kids! This family said they will let them drink a little bit of champagne (which was served as well) and only taste wine for educational purposes. They just want to teach them about wine and open their senses which I think is so amazing. So, after our meal, we were served dessert and that concluded my gluttony LOL! It was an incredible night filled with french language, french food and, of course, french wine.


...No, I didn't drink the wine!

Pregnant in France...update

I am 20 weeks along and at my halfway point! The thought is scary and exciting at the same time. The baby has been fine and I've been surviving but getting used to and understanding the french way of prenatal care is so nerve racking!
Once you are pregnant, you must declare your pregnancy to the country before 12 or 14 weeks (I've gotten varied info). After France confirms your information and pregnancy, you fill out paperwork for the C.A.F. and C.P.A.M. who pretty much deal with prenatal reimbursement, etc etc...a whole bunch that I still haven't fully grasped. Anyway, you find yourself a doctor or sage femme (midwife) and proceed with your prenatal care. You have to make sure that you carry your Carte Vital with you at all times (health insurance card). We still haven't officially received ours and have a temporary number instead. So, what I usually do is pay for my visits and then send in a form for reimbursement. *whew* You must also find a hospital and register with them for your third trimester visits and delivery. You then select ANOTHER doctor/midwife and...voila.
I am switching doctors right now because the one I was seeing is just too out there for me and seems to be misinforming me. I'm not totally pleased with the prenatal 'care' I was receiving from her so thank God I've been pregnant before and have access to the internet!! I also have help from the team's doctor so I'm ok for now. I've been getting regular check ups and will be getting my 5th month checkup from a new doctor this month. So, starting January, I will have to go to the hospital for my third trimester visits up until my delivery. That means I will have seen 3 doctors by then!! Oh well.
The biggest concern that we have right now is what the pregnancy will be like as I near the end while having to take care of EJ alone. Not only that, but what will happen if I go into labor alone with EJ while he's on the road?! Never a dull moment!

By the way...

Click on the pictures to see what we're having!!

Labyrinth

Haven't posted in a month! So much has transpired and I have quite a few pictures and videos to upload but I'll do that later. I will post a few new pictures now since they've already been uploaded on my computer from my Nikon.

Pregnancy

I'm 4 months along and still haven't posted a belly shot! EJ been taking care of the baby in her tummy. She makes sure she talks to 'it' and massages her belly with oil just like me lol! This bambino is so strong already that I can't imagine what the movements will feel like later on. I've been more energetic despite my killer back and way more moody than I've been all pregnancy. Yikes....

Lyon

Out here, you can find people with a baguette in one hand and a cigarette in the other. I swear this baby is going to be born with lung cancer. The streets are littered (at least in my arrondissement) with dog poop!!! I walk with my head lowered as though I have no self-esteem just so I can avoid "brown tracks". It's so gross. You can see shoe prints tracking poop, bike tires and car tires. It's revolting even for this animal lover. Poor EJ spends her days walking screaming, "Doo doo! More doo doo over there!" Ugh...

To add to disgust, I tried Boudin aux Pommes. At first glance, it looked like 5 inches of coagulated blood from a horse's aorta (just to give you an idea of the thickness). I gagged. I looked up from my plate and met eyes with the waiter as he stood there awaiting my reaction. "Zis zstupid americaine!" he probably thought to himself. Hilton, sitting to my left, looked nauseated. I took a bite anyway...well, I swallowed it without chewing anything and quickly washed it down with water. That's how I ate the whole thing and I really thought that Hilton was going to be cruel and finish all the water knowing that I needed it to finish the meal. Thankfully, he didn't heave the heart to do it. He just kept on saying, "I'm never kissing you again...."

An idea of what it looks like...

There's an old Parisian friend Hilton and I knew mutually at UCONN (then, without knowing) who, through some odd way, we managed to reconnect with. Turns out our friend's agent (he's now a comedian) contacted an agent of one of Hilton's teammates and...yea...weird. We might get to see each other this weekend and that would be very refreshing.

Elan

I'm going to do something with this foto

 Classic

Feeding Bambi

 Always running away from me

 Our little tomgirl

In short, she has been doing SO much better in her surroundings. She looks forward to going to school, refers to her teachers as 'maîtresse' they way she should, comes home singing and repeating everything she's learned. It's incredible! Since she has the week off for some kind of...holiday *said with clenched teeth*...the teachers sent the kids home with a giant book filled with all their art work and lyrics to the songs they've learned.

We've been working on developing her phonemic skills, identifying rhyme words, practicing writing her letters, and counting to 50 in english and french (if we even make it there and if so I will sometimes try to push it past 50). Everything is all in fun and we incorporate her "lessons" in her daily activities. She loves to draw faces with bodies and complete mazes. She's even trying to read! Again, we keep everything light and fun with TONS of praise, even if she gives the wrong word or says twenty-ten instead of twenty (my favorite)!

"Give me my month"

I must admit that my arrondissement isn't as photogenic as I'd like. There are a few areas that look beautiful with the right lighting from the sky but overall...there isn't much on a grand scale. Of course, I could always find the little things worth snapping like a side angle of a rustic looking apartment building with pots of brightly colored flowers on the window sill or a mangy dog with clumped fur lifting his leg near a fire hydrant. Oh, the little things in life. I should bring my camera around with me more often.
Since my iron levels have been acting funny causing me to feel like life has been slowly fleeing my nostrils each time I exhale, the team doctor instructed me to not only start on iron supplements, but to try a special Lyonnais dish...Boudin aux Pommes or Boudin Noir which is Black Pudding, aka cooked blood!! It's a delicacy out here that's rich in iron and they take pride in slow cooking pig/cow blood with apples and other trinkets until it's sweet. I will try it and let you know...

Hilton's last preseason tournament earned him 3 awards and 2 trophies! He was awarded for M.V.P., Best Center and Best Scorer. He left at 3:30 this morning to travel to Lithuania (or is it Latvia...?) for the beginning of the official tournament/season and won't be back until Monday.

"Bye mommy! Give me kiss!" Those words are like honey to my ears. She's finally settling down in school and developing a stronger sense of self. You should hear her growing french vocab! She comes home singing all these cute french songs and she's so proud of herself that it melts my heart.

I'm so proud of myself for writing today. Lots of things (and sleep) to catch up on and until the next time, I'll leave you with some pictures! Don't forget to click on them to make them bigger.

My sleepy vision at nights

 Look carefully to see her Bible open with her arm up. She fell asleep this way.

 Doing Hilton's "hair"

 "Ow!!"..."Stay still, dad!!"

 "Namaste" from her yoga days in DC

 Egyptian princess laden in jewels

 ...and my nightgown

 Putting together the pieces of her puzzle upside down

 12 pieces- Bumping her up to 20

 Passed out while reading the Bible to her toys

 Thank God for cameras!

Lyon update

Here's what's been going on in Francey France.

EJ has started school and, of course, has a love hate relationship with it. In the mornings, she begs me not to leave her and starts screaming but by the time I pick her up, she's so elated and can't wait to tell me about what she's done and the classmates she's hurt! Yes, she admits when she roughs up a classmate. She's only done it twice and when I ask her why she replies, "Because he not listen to me,". Hilton and I have a little chat with her about it and we move on. I strongly believe all the stress in adjusting has her emotions going haywire but she's communicating them to us and I strongly believe the more we work with her, the better she'll be over the next few weeks. Their school system is QUITE different out here. They go from 8:20 to 11:20, you pick them up and then bring them back from 1:20 to 4:20 Monday, Tues, Thurs and Fri. The parents always pick their kids up with a baguette in hand and I think it's hilarious seeing these kids walking home from school gnawing on dry bread LOL! I'm on the hunt for at least one or two activities for her but so far a lot of them begin at 4 years of age. Hmmmm...
This past Saturday, Hilton had an at home scrimmage. EJ and I had a blast. She was so excited to see him play again and he looked amazing! At one point before the game started, he ran over and gave her a little kiss and she looked star struck. She turned to me, eyes wide as a deer with the biggest smile on her face and said, "Daddy kissed me! He kissed me!" Tooooooo precious for words. After the game, she started playing with two young boys, 10 and 12 (sons of team staff who are incredible), and she had the time of her life screaming, "Attrape-moi!" which means 'catch me'. I got a chance to meet three girlfriends on the team, me being the only wife which feels odd. Two of them are American and the other is Tahitian but has lived in France a good bit of her life.

I hate driving out here and only do when Hilton makes me! He's been trying to teach me how to drive manual. One of our cars back home is a clutchless manual so I'm familiar with the gears and such but NOT the clutch. I've always had an idea and was even taught once by a kid named Jon from my highschool whom I later worked with (Bloomfield A. H.!!). Anyway, my body seizes up when I get in the car but I've been doing better. Not stalling nearly as much as I used to. The other day, I had to stop on a hill with a slight incline and of course I almost rolled into the person behind me! He beeped me and Hilton put on my flashers and calmly talked me into steadily pulling off without crashing. To my amazement, it worked.

Last week, I received my order of  'The Suitable Boy', a 1,500 page novel that I was coerced into reading (LOL jk jk), and four GRE books so I can start studying for the exam that I have to retake since scores expire after 5 years. I was thrilled when the UPS guy showed up with the boxes but not so thrilled when he told me that I have to pay him 27 euros in tax. No problem! Just give me my books so the nerd in me can be happy while my husband questions who he's just married.

I'll upload pictures this week so stay tuned!

Back from the dead....or not.

As I tread along my 13th week of pregnancy, I feel somewhat obligated to compare (from what my memory serves as I don't have EJ's pregnancy book) my two baby carrying experiences.
During my first trimester with EJ, I sometimes felt I was better off dead. The morning sickness was unbearable, the mood swings made me unloveable and the fatigue made me look and feel like a tombed vampire (I know...too many vampire movies lately). The second trimester, however, treated me MUCH more graciously. I sprang back to life once I could feel her move for the first time (13 weeks!), I regained my appetite, energy and love for Hilton LOL! While break dancing my way along that period, I was constantly warned that I should count my blessings as the happy days will be no more once the third trimester arrives...and I wasn't wronged. By the 7th month, I hated life all over again because I was so miserable. My belly was huge and the weight was uncomfortable. Sleeping at nights was a nightmare because I COULDN'T sleep! Trying to find the right sleeping position?? And the back pain...and the more than frequent trips to the bathroom. Of course I couldn't even make it out of bed. I had to be rolled and pushed out of bed by Hilton everytime. My bladder and myself had had enough. I was ready to give birth well before my due date. Oh, and how can I forget EJ's constant knee and elbow jabs to my 24/7 full bladder? Or to my ribs? Her tiny elbow joints painfully pressing into my skin as though she were trying to break through? Well into my third trimester I could no longer lay on my back otherwise my aorta would've gotten smothered by giant baby in uterus and my heart would gallop. Ahh, the joys of pregnancy, right?
Comparing the first trimester with Bean #2, from the symptoms alone I must say it hasn't been quite as bad. Bad but not "I want to die" bad. The only time I feel that way is when I realize that I can't get the extra hours of sleep or lay in the couch for hours waiting for the sickness to subside as I have ANOTHER baby to care for. "Mommy, please play with me!" "Mommy, look what I made! LOOK!" "Mommy, I'm hungggrrrryyyyyy...." Did I mention she and I sometimes war over who gets the last juicy croissant? Nope! I must be ready at all times for her no matter what. That isn't to say I don't cut corners to save myself, however. I will play with her from the bed or couch, brush her teeth from the bed or sometimes make her do it while I watch her, ensuring she isn't skipping an entire row of strawberry jam covered teeth. Dinner tonight might not be beef, rice and vegetables. Instead, you can have another peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a glass of milk or OJ. Take your pick but make sure you take your vitamins to make up for anything mommy might be missing out on tonight. Don't blame me, blame your nutrient and energy sucking sibling!! Anyway, I can't be too active this time around otherwise I get bad cramps that sometimes feel like mild contractions and you know how and why that would be terrifying. Doctor said everything looks fine so it's got to be a combination of growing pains, round ligament pain and Braxton Hicks contractions. Great.
EJ thinks she's pregnant, too. She sometimes tells me about the baby in her stomach when I talk to her about her sibling in mine. She's seen the baby on ultrasound before and has even attempted to draw him/her. Once, after the doc was finished with my ultrasound, EJ tried to climb on the table saying, "My turn!" I just died. I felt the bean move yesterday and when I told Hilton he gave me the side eye and said, "Are you SURE this time it isn't gas??" Noooooo! It's the baby saying hi by softly punching me under my belly button and THAT, my friend, is what makes pregnancy worth it. At this point, pregnancy has become less of a grueling malady and more of what it's supposed to be: lovingly growing a new being in your womb.
.....Ok, I take back what I said. Suddenly feeling exhausted and hungry again.! I can't WAIT for March!!!

6'11 Hilton vs. 3 inch Grasshopper

Joyeux Anniversaire à notre petite!!

Our angel has been blessed with 3 years!! And to think, she got to spend her 3rd in France of all places. That's a birthday gift in and of itself!! She has been begging for cupcakes for months and that's what we gave her. I found a cute hole in the wall pâtisserie that's about 5 or so miles from us and she chose 3 different cupcakes to signify her 3 special years. She was so ecstatic. The guy who worked there gave her a bag of gum balls as a little gift, too. She took two from the bag, ate one and then held the other in her hand for 5 STRAIGHT hours.....don't ask. After her little rendez-vous with the cupcakes, Hilton had to go back to practice so I took her to her favorite park where she went wild. I was slowly suffering from the sun and nausea but I sucked it up for the sake of her big day. And that, my friends, is how Elan celebrated her 3 years in Lyon. Click on the pictures to make them nice and big! :)