Sunday, March 25, 2012

Back to normal.....sort of....

Well, time sure does fly.  Especially when you're trying to figure what to do with your life.  More on that in another post.....!

Carnaval ended with the burning of the King of Carnaval (funny because they keep the Queen of the Carnaval in Nice for the next year), you can see the ball of fire there in the sea, and fireworks which we luckily can see from our terrace.




Then E had her 3rd birthday.  E has become such a little tomboy princess.  She loves playing hard with the boys, but also loves pink and wearing "dancing dresses"- as she calls them.  So, the birthday fairy left her a new pink scooter just her size so now she can keep up with T in the park and look ever so girlie.

The night before the kids and I made our new "special recipe" mini zucchini-carrot muffins for E to bring to her Kid's Club class.  In the evening we had a little family thing at home and she decorated a box for her dummies and left them for the dummy fairy to take...you know... for the new babies who need them.  Thankfully the scheme worked, being sooo attached to her dummy prior, ever since she hasn't had a problem going without them. :)  Whew!!!



Then the kids had a two week holiday from school so we tried our hand at pottery.  It's great because the kids can just mold what they want, the people who run it help them learn how to work the clay properly, and you return for a second visit to do the painting and glazing.  I'll make a little video once the projects are all finished, but here's a sneak peak. Even Daddy got in on it.  We have to go back once they're fired so we can glaze them.

There are so many things to do that are especially designed for the kids here in France.  This was one I really liked getting involved in too.  It's fun getting all messy with them and making things.

To be continued......  :)

Monday, March 5, 2012

It's Carnaval Time Again.....

Yes, it's that time of the year again.  All of Nice is in costume, the kids are off school, and the parades are in full force.


There are the flower parades: Bataille de Fleurs, and the float parades: The Corso Parade.  We went to the Naval Flower Battle in Villfranche, a parade held on the sea using traditional Mediteranean pointus boats decorated with fresh flowers, then the Corso Parade in Nice.  The Floats in the Corso parade are so massive and whimsical and the atmosphere is so full of fun and life.  This year the theme was "King of Sports", a nod to the 2012 London Olympics and paying tribute to all the competitions of the coming year.  I have a video to edit, but until then here is a photo tour...

The Combat Naval Fleuri...

Lovely little Villefranche sur Mer.
The little boats decorated and getting ready to show off. 
A quick folklore themed street parade...

With parades here it's so intimate that the audience is almost part of the parade.  The kids  can get in there and interact with the parade.  No big ropes and police to push us back here in France.
And they're off....


The boats throw flowers to the audience.



Next...the Corso Parade in Nice... (click link to see a little video or more about the parades)


In costume and ready for fun...



Confetti throwing and silly string spraying is part of the fun.
Our little fairy. 














That was fun!

Friday, March 2, 2012

A Taste of Home

Hi everyone....I'm finally getting a chance, thanks to the neighbor girls for kid-sitting the peanuts, to do a post or two that have been waiting fairly patiently.  Pics are now downloaded from my phone and camera so here we go....

In January J was supposed to make a trip to the US to do an audio book in the studio.  At the last minute it was put on hold and since the hotel was non-refundable T and I jumped on the plane and spent a cold week in NYC.  It ended up snowing there while we were flying so we landed in a white wonderland that lasted a couple days.  Long enough for T to enjoy it and short enough for me to enjoy it. :)

The trip was a very good break from France and a good chance for T to see some friends he asks about ALL the time, get in a good snowball fight, and make a snowman (albeit a rather small one), and for me to do some comfort Target shopping, catch up with some of my favorite NJ/NYC girls, and get my Starbucks fix. :)

I used just my cell phone for all the pics.  Here's what we did.....


This was on the way to Target.  On the way back from the store we saw people pass it and smile,
not knowing T had made it.
A little exercise at the Children's Museum of Manhattan.

Had our favorite hotel brunch at the Hyatt in Jersey City with it's awesome view of Manhattan.
A bit of a cloudy day. 
Rebuilding the skyline around the World Trade Center area.
Met my friend at this super cute (French) coffee spot, La Maison du Macaron.  Yummy macaroons!!

A pizza party for T and his friends from our old apartment building and his school.
The Portside Three Musketeers.

Got my NYC diner fix at Johnny Rockets.  The staff does a little dance for you when the tune is right.
An American meal...burger (turkey for me) with cheese, tomato, bacon, ketchup, mayo, some cheese fries and a strawberry and banana shake. YUMMMMMMMM.  The one thing you CANNOT get here in France!  No one makes turkey burgers or a meal this good and greasy!
Our one beautiful sunny day.  Good time to play in the sun and have a little siesta.
I really stocked up at Target!  I was a little nervous about going through customs. :)


Only in Europe, this is in the Frankfurt airport, a smoking box!
The tickets were super cheap so maybe this will be our yearly mom and son voyage.  At any rate, it was a great trip even with the crummy weather!
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