Last few days

The last few days have been somewhat quiet. Not a lot of crazy old French people telling me how to parent or attempt at stealing coffee makers! Although I will share how one old lady told me that my baby should not be eating in his stroller while I shop and another did not like Elise eating her bonbon while walking next to me! I guess it's all good advice. However, I live for the bonbon bribe when trying to get errands done! :)

We played in some splash pools and sandboxes the other day with the Message Mother's Group here in Paris. Message is a fabulous find that has probably saved me the last couple days. There are wonderful woman that belong to the group and everyone has been so nice and helpful. Elise has made some friends and it is so huge to have other moms to talk to and learn about the ins and outs of Paris with kids. And it's all in English! Yes!

Meeting those woman at the Jardin de Luxembourg meant that we had to take the Metro up north. Now as easy as it is to use the Fabulous French Metro that everyone raves about, it is not kid/stroller friendly. The ladies are free however it's about 40 steps underground, all three of us (including a stroller) have to fit through a turn-style at our initial stop, and its not very enticing for Elise; the tunnels are dark and scary and what fun is it to ride through that? Luckily my new friend Kirsten introduced us to the bus and the tram for our ride home! They were a treat to ride especially for Elise: there is so much to see from the bus/tram and she got to hold hands with her new friend Jonah while sitting in the back of the bus! (Is this a bad omen? Boys and backs of the buses...what have I started?) I loved it because for both the Tram and the bus I do not have to break down a stroller and hold Celia. She stays strapped in and secure and I'm hands free! :)

Other than that big adventure to the jardin, we have been playing in the yard, riding the tram to the shopping areas, and getting in some good naps. I would like to believe that my french is getting better every day but I still get the butterflies in my belly every time I have to go out! The comprehension is there but I still can't get words out of my mouth. I have had great experiences with the phone guy and the bank people speaking Englench (that's my English/French! It was a great 3 on 1 in the bank. Between the 3 of them speaking their english and me speaking my french I think I can now use an ATM!). But then the cleaning lady came today and I'm still trying to decide if she was offering to clean the ladies or babysit the house! I did understand that the floor was wet in the hall way...I slipped, she yelled!

Next week will be a big week. We hope to get our carte de sejour so we can stay in Paris and visit the local mairie so that we can sign up for school. Elise will probably go to a pre-school for 4 days a week and Celia will go to a daycare for two mornings a week. I'll keep you posted on all that!

Once again, I hope everyone is doing well. The emails and well wishes are fabulous to receive so thanks for keeping that up! Have a fabulous weekend!