Pere Noel - Father Christmas!

We've been getting into the Christmas spirit already as Max and I head home this weekend to begin the celebrations!  Paul is off to Nancy again for a few days and will come over to Scotland on Thursday.  I'm dreading the flight home without Paul as I've put my back out and I'm having trouble lifting Max, never mind a case too!  

The office here organised a Christmas get-together for the families in the Recollets building.  It was a lovely wee shindig and a good chance to get to know the other families here as people come and go quite often.  Max had great fun - he gets really excited when with other children.  Here he is dressed as Pere Noel for our photo-shoot in the flat.  My pals Rachel and Meg came down with their babies and we had fun with our model babies!  Rachel's partner, Fabien is in a band here, "Darwin Bay" and we went out to see them last night.  Max's first gig!  He was sleeping in the baby carrier with 2 hats on and cotton wool in his ears, but I was still paranoid about the noise affecting his ears so stayed backstage with Rachel and her wee boy Oscar.  It was lovely to get out of the house in the evening with him as I don't think there'll be many more opportunities for that as he gets bigger.  Paul really enjoyed the gig and I enjoyed the blether!

Max insisted on dressing up as Santa for a laugh!

At the Recollets Christmas party - Max was given a big toy tortoise from Santa - all is forgiven after the eviction debacle!

Woo-hoo!  We're heading out and it's after 8 o'clock!  You can't see it, but I've got MAKE UP on!

Wee French Oscar is too cool for any dressing up as Santa shenanigans!

Meg with Ellie-Anne and baby Albert as Santa

I'm off to finish packing! x

Thanksgiving et encore des invites - Thanksgiving and more visitors!

One of Paul's pals on his IP (Ideals of Proof) project is an American called John Mumma.  As you can imagine, Paul's exhausted all possible puns from John's surname (it's Dutch, and should be pronounced 'Mooma', which is even funnier), none of which are worthy of THE BLOG.  Anyway, John Mumma's mama was over from Philadelphia for a holiday last week and we were invited to join them for Thanksgiving.  We had a great meal with the Mummas and another two American friends of John's - one of whom has Irish cousins who live close to Ballina!  Thanksgiving's a great thing and I'd like to start celebrating it every year - November's such a dreich month in Scotland that we could all do with the excuse for a huge hearty meal together.

Max as the abominable snowman

After some delicious turkey with all the trimmings, there's always room for pumpkin pie!

On Friday night, Max decided not to go to bed as he sensed that other visitors were coming.  He was still wide awake at half 9 when Granny B and Papa John arrived, slightly shaken from a typical Ryanair landing.  We walked for miles on Saturday around the Left Bank and eventually found Rue de Bac where there's a wee chapel for Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal so mum enjoyed learning all about Catherine Laboure.  We headed across to the Louvre and up the Champs Elysees to see the Christmas markets again.

The hat parade - it was cold, and the hat was only 3 euros!

On the Rue de Bac - smiles of relief as mum decides against staying for the 2-hour Mass in Ukrainian!

If I keep up this smiling caper, I'll get to stay up even later!

Max showing off after a good soak in the tub

Spot the antique!  Dad enjoys some window shopping on the Rive Gauche

Another Saturday night at the Arc de Triomphe - Paul and I experience deja vu!

Mum and dad at the Arc de Triomphe

On Sunday we went to Mass in Notre Dame and then had croque-monsieurs at a cafe on the Ile de la Cite before mum and dad went to see the Sainte-Chapelle.  We then strolled along the Ile St-Louis and walked all the way home.  Mum and dad got to witness how exciting our weekend nights are in Paris without any English tv, as we amused ourselves with logic puzzles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_and_torch_problem) and argued over the four-colour theorem!  Mum and dad spent their last morning in Montmartre, visiting the Sacre-Coeur and wandering around the art shops.  That came to a quick end when dad didn't stop an artist from drawing his portrait, who refused to tell him the price while he drew.  When he'd finished, he charged a ridiculous 60 euros and so dad tried to politely get rid of him by telling him he'd need to go to a bank.  The artist then insisted on accompanying dad to a bank and so a ridiculous chase down Montmartre commenced as mum and dad tried to escape from the artist.  They managed shake him off by ducking into a dodgy cafe in Pigalle.  We ended the weekend with a nice meal out at Porte Maillot, but the service was really slow.  Fortunately, we managed to scoff the lot before mum and dad's bus to Beauvais.

Le tourisme avec les tantes - Sightseeing with the Aunties!

We had a great weekend with Maura and Ilona, despite the weather turning very cold!  The girls arrived on Friday and Max was absolutely delighted to see his aunties - and far too excited to sleep.  We relaxed with wine and nibbles on Friday night and wrapped up well to spend all of Saturday sightseeing before ending the night with a great meal in Montmartre.  I was wary of the French tendency to lightly cook food so I wisely asked for my salmon 'bien cuit' (well cooked).  I thought I'd impressed my visitors but the waiter just laughed and thanked me for complimenting him on his having a good bum!  'Cuit', I have now learned, should be pronounced kwee and not kyoo.  You can tell that the French classes have clearly paid off!

Max is wrapped up and ready to go - the dummy shields most of his face from the cold!

Ilona, Paul, Max and Maura head out to take on Paris

Paul poses by Pei's Pyramids at the Louvre

Maura models on the Seine

Ilona and Maura take time out to rest in the Tuileries

Maura and Ilona at the Arc de Triomphe

Paul and Mag at the Arc de Triomphe (with a cheeky wee vin chaud!)

Look at the size of that candy floss! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!  The Christmas markets along the Champs Elysees 

View down the Champs Elysees towards the big wheel at the Place de la Concorde.  Yes, I was standing like a nutter in the middle of the road. 

The photos of the Champs Elysees don't really do it justice - the Christmas lights are magical.  There's a Christmas market that goes on for around half a mile and all of the stalls are covered with wee white lights, as are the trees lining the Avenue.  It's not at all tacky, honestly!  The French seem to have the ability to go completely over the top with festive decor while still making the place look classy.  Some Oxford Avenue residents should take note!

My pal Annemarie arrived on Sunday as she had a work meeting on Monday.  The weather took a turn for the worse - very, very cold and wet - so we stayed inside with pizza.  Max definitely enjoyed all the attention and it was great for him to see other faces about the place.  He's really looking forward to Granny B and Papa John's visit this weekend!  Bring your winter woollies, folks!

La nourriture, la nourriture glorieus - Food, Glorious Food!

Max is delighted with another big scoff!

Get the paparazzi outta here!  Let the boss enjoy his meal!

Max is clearly getting himself ready for a cold winter and building up the fat reserves.  We've got him a new highchair which he loves (a £10 ikea bargain that i'd recommend to anyone!) and he gets very excited as soon as he's in it.  He has recently learned to scrunch his nose up in typical French style at my poorly-prepared feasts and even snorts at food he definitely doesn't want!  We're meeting friends tomorrow for lunch and I'm nervously anticipating his first 'eating in public' experience.  I've obviously got the necessary change of clothes packed for Max but I'm thinking of packing one for me too!

Max and I have been busy over the last couple of weeks with a few 'playdates' and a renegade singing group!  I hadn't realised that I'd been given a row at the last singing group for applauding Max at the end of another big number.  The uptight French teacher had apparently specifically asked all parents to refrain from this as it could make other children feel that they hadn't performed well.  My French is getting slightly better but I didn't catch that!  I met another couple of English-speaking mums at a "La Leche League" meeting, one of whom is a professional folk singer and we've formed our own, FREE, 'singing with your baby' group.  It's comprised of a really lovely group of people and it's far more relaxed than the French group, so it's definitely more enjoyable.  

We also had another babygroup meeting held at a house about 30 minutes' walk from here.  It started at 10am but I didn't make it till 11, having got lost en route, blustering, sweaty and apologetic with a hungry baby, only to be met by a relaxed, 40-something glamorous mother of a contented baby, effortlessly playing hostess to around a dozen mothers and serving coffees and cakes - and she was confined to a wheelchair!  It really put all my excuses for being late to shame.  These groups have been amazing for me (and for Max, I like to think!).  There's a real sense that everyone wants to help each other out and share experiences as much as possible due to the awareness that the members don't tend to have family or other close friends here.  Just yesterday an English woman overheard me chatting to Max in the shop and came over to chat to me with her baby and gave me her mobile number.  She was probably worried that I was going insane.

Paul and I have been enjoying a fair amount of scoffs too!  I'm loving being able to enjoy all of the cheeses that I wasn't allowed when pregnant and nothing beats a chunk of fresh baguette with a big lump of President butter!  Paul's cousin, Neil, had us over for a great meal at his place last week with his French flatmates and Canadian and Columbian pals.  Neil took Paul out to a French football game last night where they saw Thierry Henry in action!  Paul's also found himself a 5-aside football team that have a kick-about on a Sunday morning so, along with his jogs along the canal, he's getting fit!

The canal St Martin at the end of the street

Max however is a bit too laid back for any such exercise malarkey and isn't yet able to sit up.  My pal Rachel gave us a loan of her blow-up ring in the hope that this would build up his stomach muscles, but he quickly learned how to kick back and use it as a head-rest - see below.  He's growing so fast but his back is so much longer than his wee legs - I blame his papa John!

Why would I sit up?  This is far more comfortable!

I had a brilliant weekend as the uni girls came over to visit!  We spent the weekend chatting, sightseeing, chatting, eating and chatting.  It was so good to see them and to have the time for a proper catch up.  I left Max with Paul for most of Sunday which was a bit scary for both of them but good for bonding!

Sandra, Dawn and Maria - the Ladies of the Moulin Rouge!

Paul celebrates the end of another hard day's work!

Le Nouveau appartement - The New Flat

It's been some week here!  We're so glad to hear that Anna's home from hospital and recovering well after a horrible bout of pneumonia.  I hope you're able to do some 'trick or treating' tonight, Anna!  The other good news is that I've found my digital camera!  It had been left at one of the mums' houses following the babygroup meeting.  I don't remember ever taking it out of my bag, so I'll just blame one of the babies.  Melinda (the American woman who hosted the meeting) emailed everyone to ask if they'd lost a digital camera.  It was so good to see her email!  I've arranged to meet her next week for a coffee and to get the camera back, so I'll upload more pics then.  In the meantime, you'll have to make do with this awful photo I took with the computer's camera of Max in his Cowboy Outfit for Hallowe'en!  

Yee-Hah!  Max the Cowboy!

The French don't seem to bother with Hallowe'en at all, but I was meeting my English pal, Rachel, today and her wee boy, Oscar, so I thought that Max had better make an effort.  I'm wishing now I'd taken a photo of his feet as he was wearing his cosy Australian sheepskin boots he received from Ferg, Karen, Margot and Fiona - they're brilliant as it's now very cold!  He's loving his food at the moment and surprising me with how much he can scoff and still cry out for more.  He's also taken another growth spurt and it sometimes feels like you can actually watch him getting bigger.  The introduction of food has meant that for the first time, he's SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!  It's excellent - I'm loving the novelty.  It's absolutely magic to wake up to him smiling in his cot, as opposed to having a crying baby as an alarm clock every few hours!

We went to the 'Sing with Your Baby' class, which was a good laugh.  The lady who takes the class is around 50 and very French looking, with a sing-song voice and expressive face.  She sits at a grand piano while we all sit with our babies in a circle on the floor.  Sheets with the words on them were (thankfully!) given out for most of the songs, but she stood up and played a cd for the 'action songs', so I had to concentrate to try and pick up the words.  These included a kind of French 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' - but saucier, as it included 'derriere' - risque!  I was concentrating so hard on following the teacher in touching my various 'parts' whilst singing that I didn't notice (until the third go) that everyone else in the room was touching their babies' body parts!  Poor Max was lying on the floor just watching me play 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'!  It's hard to know whether he really enjoyed it, but it felt good to be doing something quite structured with him as I'm sure he must get bored with my pathetic repertoire of rhymes and peekaboo!

The first drama of the week was that I was evicted on Monday!  We had arranged to move to a different flat in the building at the end of the month, but one of the office staff asked Paul if we'd agree to move a bit earlier as someone else was interested in taking on our old flat.  We agreed as it wasn't going to make much difference to us.  They then called us to say that the proposed tenant had cancelled so that there was no hurry and we'd move at month end.  Paul went out to work on Monday and everything was hunky-dory.  An hour later, I received a call from the office saying that a new tenant was coming that afternoon and that our flat needed to be cleaned!  When I explained that we couldn't possibly move that day as Paul was out and I was on my own with the baby, the guy wouldn't take no for an answer and said, "It is not a problem, I will send a lady to help you, you can tell her what to do" and promptly hung up!  I was RAGING to say the least, especially when the lady arrived half an hour later expecting to clean an empty flat and she was annoyed at having to help me!  I'm sure that Max picked up on my bad mood and screamed whenever I tried to stuff another bag with our things.  Sorry for yet another rant - I'm reliving the experience!  Paul was puzzled when he returned and eventually found me in the new place with our stuff everywhere.  I sent my man down to the office, fully prepped up with such pelters as "I have just returned home to find my wife in a very distressed state...!".  It was successful as he came back with a load of free 'washing tokens' for the washing machine.  I actually think that Paul was secretly glad to have avoided having to do anything for the move!

The new flat is a lot smaller, but it's cosier, so probably better for the winter.  It is just one room, with a mezzanine level for the bed and cot.  Mezzanines are fairly common here - it's like someone's gone a bit crazy with indoor decking - but it is a good use of space when the ceilings are so high.  Paul went away to Nancy for a few days so I enjoyed unpacking and making the place feel like home.  Nancy is not Paul's mistress.  It's a city to the east of Paris and it's where his boss is based when in France.  He'll be going there on a regular basis for conferences and talks and to meet the rest of the characters working on the project.  He gave a talk on Wednesday and it seemed to go down fairly well.

Whilst he was away, I received a call from mum to say I'd been offered a job at the Scottish Government!  It was a job I'd applied for ages ago but I'd been told that my name would be kept 'on file' if vacancies arose, which I took to be a kind rejection.  It's really a dream job, although the timing isn't ideal at all!  I'm hoping that they'll honour my maternity leave and allow me to start in May, but it will definitely be sad to cut short our 'Year in Paris'!  Phew - it's been a mad week indeed!

La Bapteme - The Christening

We had a great time at home last weekend for the christening of Charlie Mark, Max Joseph and Maeve Emily.  It was lovely to meet wee Maeve and to have the 3 cousins christened together.  Judging by the faces of Charlie and Max however, it may be a wee while before they'll enjoy playing together!

Mad Max happy to have the big ring all to himself

What's going on here?  Charlie and Max are annoyed that their new wee cousin has been placed on top of them just for a cute photo...

Maeve is a wee smiler and absolutely gorgeous!

The cheeky chappies - Austin Joseph advises Max Joseph on living with 'Joseph' as a middle name

Brian, Maryann, Sophie and Charlie

Max with his Granny and Granda

Chris, Clare, Anna, Lucy, Austin and Maeve

Spot the mistake - the cake decorator at least got the names correct this time!

Max has a good stare at the guests to check who has arrived.

Uncle Hugh, Brian and Charlie Mark Dunnet

Uncle Hugh, Paul and Max Joseph McCallion

Uncle Hugh, Chris and Maeve Emily Smith

All 3 babies were great and performed well without any screams!  Thanks to all who came along to make the day very special for us and for the gifts for Max.

Remets-toi vite, Anna! - Get well soon, Anna!

Sorry to hear you're in hospital tonight, Anna!  We're thinking of you and we'll say a special prayer for you.  When you get out you can have a laugh at these lovely pictures of me and Uncle Paul, Aunty Ronnie and Granny B.

With lots and lots of love,

Aunty Magdalene, Uncle Paul and Max 

xx

Veronica looks a bit suspicious about something!

We're so glad that Max didn't inherit his dad's nose!

J'ai perdu mon appareil photo numerique! - I've lost my digital camera!

Pictures from Veronica's trip over last week with her pals:

Veronica, Gerard, Chris, Michael and Victoria in Paris

Max shows off his 'wheels'.  We bought this from an American couple who were heading back to the States.  They lived on the other side of Paris so we had to cart this back to the flat via a few metro stops!

A cloudy day at La Tour Eiffel after a lovely lunch with Veronica, Gerard, Victoria, Chris, Michael and Max

Apologies for the lack of blog action of late, but I had been putting off updating the blog until I found my digital camera.  These pics are courtesy of Veronica following her trip over last week. I'm gradually coming to terms with the fact that it's gone, but I still keep expecting it to show up at the bottom of a bag.  This grieving process is made worse by the fact that there has been no definite 'closure' - it would probably be more satisfying if I could remember that I stupidly left it down in a shop or something, but no, it just VANISHED.  I remember taking a few arty shots of Montmartre a fortnight ago and deciding to hang the camera from the pram as I was too lazy to rake through the bag every time I faced a new photo opportunity (which was all the time, Montmartre is beautiful, but unfortunately I'll not be able to share that for now!) but don't remember touching the camera again and it ain't on the pram!  I feel like a right eejit, or as Canadian Martina would say, a total doofuss!!  We went back to Montmartre this weekend with my school pal, Robert, who was over with his French girlfriend, Aurelie.  Like dad searching for his glasses, I couldn't help scanning the pavements and gutters in vain for my camera.

Speaking of feeling like an eejit, I got into the French class!  I don't know how - I suspect that the course co-ordinators are just plain greedy and wanted to get the numbers up, but it's challenging to say the least.  I thought that a 'post-beginners' course would be good for me as it would force me to work, but I can't actually do the work as I've no idea what I'm supposed to be doing!  The teacher speaks in French THE ENTIRE TIME!  She doesn't allow you to speak in English at all, so I don't really speak.  I mastered 'Je ne comprends pas' pretty early on, but that just encourages her to re-phrase what she just said, but she still does that in French.  Most of the time, I still don't get it and it's a bit humiliating as there are some people with a decent grasp of the language in the class, so I normally just pretend to have understood the second time around.  In my head I tell myself that the teacher canny speak English.  

It's probably actually a good way to teach the language - it makes you feel quite smug when you think that you're getting the jist of what she's saying until she finishes and you can tell from her tone that she's waiting on responses.  It's at that point that you feel that you might be a bit behind the others, but when the others start responding in whole sentences which you don't understand a word of, you feel completely stupid.  Fortunately, I've befriended two fellow bottom-groupers, a German and a Singaporean and we giggle our way through it.  It does feel good to get away to do something on my own, even if it is a bit of a joke.  

Max keeps me busy during the day, so I don't have nearly as much time as I'd envisaged I'd have.  He doesn't nap easily - preferring to just catnap during the day if he's being pushed in the pram.  That's been great for getting out and about but I'm hoping it'll change before the winter when long walks will be less appealling.  I've joined a group for English speaking mothers in Paris.  Don't laugh - it's actually been a real lifesaver.  It's called 'Message' and it's terrific as it's a strong network of people in very similar situations.  Some of the mothers have moved here permanently and would like their children to get to know other bilingual children so that they keep up their English, but many are here for just a year or so and just want to get to know other people.  There's even a sub-group within my arrondisement (area - kind of within 20 mins walk) of mums with babies born in 2008!  I went along to the last 'babygroup' which was held in one of the mum's apartments.  She'd had her wee boy just 3 weeks before.  There were about a dozen other women there either with wee babies or pregnant and it was lovely to just chat away in English about baby stuff.  It's strange just how interested I've become in such detail as the fact that you can make broccoli more palatable by mixing it with sweet potato!  I still feel as if I'm playing at 'houses' a bit and I catch myself reacting with shocked surprise that you can't buy self-raising flour in France and have a wee laugh.  The other women in the group are great and I met up with an English girl yesterday for a coffee and a blether.  We're taking our babies to a 'Singing with Babies' class on Friday morning, which sounds right up my street.  It should be a real hoot although it is all in French!  I've a feeling I'll probably learn more French at this baby class than I do at my French classes!