C'est la vie!

I spoke to both children briefly yesterday and here is what they did:

* Clay slept until 11:45 (!!!) and breakfast was a baguette with peanut butter and honey, and tea.
* They played computer games, played futball, and swam.
* Paige and Louise made a chocolate cake.
* Lunch was pizza, melon, and salami. Clay LOVES the salami in France. He said, "I wish we could get that in the U.S., Mom....it is just so handy to have around!"
* Dinner was couscous, salad, watermelon, bread and the chocolate cake the girls made for dessert.

Clay thought that they were going to go into Tournon today and shop....

My day hasn't started very auspiciously. The stupid dog pooped in her crate....so I had to deal with that stinky, smelly mess even before coffee. That's just not right. Speaking of just not right - this pooping in the crate stuff is just not right. I mean, c'mon....she is almost 8 months old! Warning: My patience is wearing VERY thin with this dog. I'm just saying.....

Anyway, now I am washing the gray outta my hair, and then I will ba back online trying to find cheaper rail tickets between Bruges and Paris for next week. Tim and I are going to try to fly into Brussels and take the train to Bruges for a couple of days, then (hopefully) the train into Charles de Gaulle to meet the kids Friday night before flying home with them the next day. So far, the best fare I have found is on RailEurope for $264 for both of us - which seems a bit pricey to me so I am going to keep looking.....

This is a photo of an old volcano, apparently at the Vulcania park they went to....
And this is a photo of the view from the Thomas' country home in St. Martin d'Aout, which where the kids are now...

Tim got home late last night...poor thing, he only has today and then has another trip to Paris. He is exhausted. We are enjoying the quiet around the house, and are going to go see a movie in a little while.

I have had several text messages and a quick chat with the children today...so I will pass along the tidbits they have shared with me:
* Breakfast was cereal, tea, and bread
* lunch was spaghetti
* they are eating dinner right now (10 pm in France)
* Paige made lemonade
* They played futball (soccer) and swam
* Paige played with the kittens (their cat had kittens a couple of weeks ago)
* Paige said that, "the food is good, but they crack a raw egg over the pasta" I explained what carbonara was.

That's all for today.....

St. Martin d'Aout

Clay and Paige woke up this morning in Clermont Ferrand and went to Vulcania. Both kids said that the park was really cool and fun. Clay told me that it was similar to Kennedy Space Center in that it was a science museum and park too. There were rides, and it was all about volcanoes and other natural disasters - although there was a dragon ride also. After that, piled into the car again and had another long ride to the Thomas' country home in St. Martin d'Aout, which is the picture above. I think the children are haviing fun, but I am getting lots of texts saying "I love you"....which makes me happy! :-)

I didn't do much of anything today, which also made me happy! I puttered around the house a bit doing a LITTLE bit of cleaning, but I also researched hotels for Tim and I in Europe (we still haven't decided what we are doing), read, and took a nap! Tim is on his way home from London and probably won't get home until around midnight and then he only has one day off, before heading back on Tuesday. I have some tests scheduled out at Mayo Clinic tomorrow and the next day, but that is really all that is on my agenda - which I think is fabulous!!

Vulcania tomorrow....

http://www.vulcania.com/en.html

The link above is for the park that Clay and Paige will be visiting tomorrow. Tonight they are in a hotel in Clermont Ferrand. They arrived in Paris this morning at around 11:00 am (local time, 5:00 am here in Florida!) and they ate a panini (Paige shares the little details like this with me, Clay just says that they ate lunch) and then got in the car and drove most of the afternoon. Paige told me that she was happy to get out of the car! She also told me that she and Clay were the only ones with seatbelts - YIKES!

I didn't get much sleep last night, so I am really dragging today! I kept getting up to check on the status of their flight. I don't really know why - it 's not like it made a difference....but I did, and therefore probably only got about 3 hours of sleep. Stupid, huh? Anyway, Gracie let me sleep until 7:45 - which is pretty good for her!! I have been just puttering around the house, doing laundry, reading, and really enjoying the quiet and slow pace of my day! It's very rare to have a day like this.

The kids just "chatted" with me for a minute on facebook (apparently someone in the Thomas family has a loptop with them, and the hotel must have wifi)...they were going to get something to eat, and then Paige promised to call me before they went to bed. I think they are both doing quite well, although I am sure they are exhausted. I can't wait to hear my babies' voices....A bientot!

Feeling a little verklempt!

It is a yiddish word which means "overcome with emotion"....and that is exactly how I feel!! I took the kids to the airport and thankfully we whizzed right through security - no line at all! Naturally, the kids were hungry (when are they NOT hungry?????) so I got two spinach dip appetizers at Chilis. Which were devoured in about 5 minutes.....
Absolutely gone! So, then we headed to the gate to check in, which is when Louise realized that she didn't have her passport and boarding pass....so she and Clay RAN to the shop we had browsed in and THANK GOD they were there. We checked the kids in, and almost immediately they began boarding....Clay, Paige and I had a group hug and I got a little misty-eyed...which is when my baby girl's eyes began welling up....
Clay was just looking at us like he really wished we would stop making spectacles of ourselves and stop embarrassing him.....
They boarded the plane, and it started taxiing out - and THAT is when I began to cry like a baby. I just kept thinking that my entire life was on that plane...
...and off they go.

They have landed in D.C. and Tim is with them. He will probably get them something to eat - haha, I'm SURE they are already hungry again - and then meet Olivier and Bernadette (Simon and Louise's parents) and hand the children over to them for the next two weeks. I will keep everyone updated on their experiences....

So I got home and stripped the sheets off all the beds and started a load of laundry. I can't wait to clean the sliding glass doors - they will actually STAY clean for a while! At first I was overwhelmed with how empty and quiet the house is....but now I am thinking it is just quiet and peaceful....hmmm.....maybe this won't be so bad after all......

Packing!

Today has been spent - packing...and doing laundry....and more packing....getting prescriptions filled....getting all the toiletries to fit in a little quart sized plastic bag....signing medical release forms....getting adapters for the electronics (cell phone, cameras)...making sure we have passports...printing boarding passes.....blah, blah, blah!!!!

Tomorrow is the big day - you can be sure that once I put them on that little United Express plane up to Dulles, I will be in the ladies room crying buckets!! Everyone please keep my sweet children in your prayers for the next couple of weeks....

"Super-Mom" ?????

Tim says that I am trying to be "super-mom".....I woke up yesterday morning with a terrible headache....took two advil, and ran a couple of errands. By the time I got home I knew it was a migraine. I had told the kids I would take them to the beach again in the afternoon, so I felt terrible - but what could I do?? I took a maxalt for the migraine and felt a bit better after a couple of hours, so we decided to drive on out to St. Augustine beach. It was a beautiful day!
Paige buried Louise's legs in the sand, and that was so much fun....
...that everyone got into the act and buried Paige's legs in the sand....
hmmmm......I think they got a bit carried away!
We arrived at 3:00 and left at 5:00..which was perfect, because everyone was leaving the beach and it wasn't too hot....

Unfortunately, the drive home wasn't as great. We were in rush hour traffic, and maybe being out in the hot sun wasn't such a great idea for someone trying to get over a migraine (ya think??)...because it started coming back on the drive home. I took another maxalt around 8:00 last night and went to bed early. Unfortunately, it's baaa-aaack!! Grrr. I hate migraines. I guess I am just going to have to suffer through this one, but thank goodness I have that CT scan at Mayo scheduled for next week. After that, hopefully I will be able to try some new medications that will work better!!

Anyway, my wonderful children made spaghetti for dinner last night (and even cleaned up after themselves!!) so I didn't have to cook. Tomorrow is our last full day with Simon and Louise and then they fly to France on Friday. Today, Gracie is at the veterinarians getting spayed. I seriously need to get that dog into some obedience classes. She was out of control trying to get at all the other dogs....

A visit to St. Augustine

At the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine....
Today I made a quick trip up to Publix (because I absolute CANNOT keep food in the house with all these kids!!) and then after picking Clay up from school, we drove to St. Augustine. The nation's oldest city. Which is pretty funny to the two French kids....not their idea of old, at all!! We walked around the fort a bit, and then shopped on St. George Street. They were able to find a couple of little souvenirs for their parents, so that's a good thing!

Tim left this morning for a three day trip to Paris - he'll back Wednesday night. Just in time for panic and stress mode to set in for moi as I try to get myself AND all four kids packed and make sure we have passports, tickets, boarding passes, snacks for the airport, reading material, cameras, money, etc. etc. Ugh.

Wednesday will be a crazy day as well because Gracie is getting spayed and we have a couple of doctor appointments scheduled for the afternoon. So....since Wednesday is busy, and Thursday will be crazy with packing, etc....I think I am going to try to take the kids to the beach one more time tomorrow afternoon. By myself. Wish me luck!

Shopping, a birthday, more cooking, and a day at the beach...

Yesterday was rainy and yucky, so we decided to go to Best Buy and the Mall. Simon had earned money before he left France - and the money was burning a hole in his pocket! He bought himself a digital camera and an ipod, and new tennis shoes. When we got home from the mall, the sun was starting to peek out so Tim took them all for another ride on the banana and the tube while I made cupcakes for Simon's birthday. Chocolate cupcakes with homemade peanut butter icing - and they were fabulous! OK, OK....I confess. I cheated a bit with the cupcakes - Betty Crocker helped me out a bit. But the icing was homemade, and nobody knew the difference!
Unfortunately, we couldn't find any birthday candles in the house, so I stuck an old house candle in! Ha ha ha!!
Today was gorgeous...so we hit the beach at Little Talbot Island. It was an absolutely beautiful day - a nice breeze, not too hot, nice waves so the kids could body surf....
Looking for shark's teeth....
Re-applying sunscreen....
Louise tried to master the skim board!!

We got home a little while ago and showered, and Paige and Louise are making a quiche for dinner....so it is a night off for moi!! Hooray!!

Paige and Louise built a fort in Paige's room, and have been spending a lot of time in there...playing games, watching videos on her laptop, doing their hair and nails.....
The kids all standing at attention after cleaning the kitchen. We told them that if it passed inspection they could go tubing after dinner!
Clay and Simon caught a redfish.....
An after dinner ride on the big banana!
Grande banane!
Simon's birthday is today....he is unwrapping his gift here.....

We had planned to go to the beach today, but it is supposed to rain (already getting cloudy) so Tim is going to take the kids out for a quick tube/banana/skiing boat ride and then I may take the kids to the mall so Simon and Louise can shop for souvenirs. I know it is the weekend, but I'd rather do it on a rainy day than a sunny one! We may try for the beach tomorrow - we'll see if the weather cooperates!

The past couple of days...

Nothing very exciting has been going on - I did make chicken florentine lasagna the other night, and then (homemade) lemon ricotta cookies - which were delicious....but then I was pretty much "all cooked out" for a bit, so yesterday lunch consisted of the few leftovers in the fridge and dinner was a Costco pizza! I spent yesterday running errands - makeup at Sephora, a birthday gift for Simon (his birthday is tomorrow), and Costco. Tim took the kids tubing while I was running errands.

As I mentioned, Simon's birthday is tomorrow. I don't know what we will do - possibly a movie or putt putt golf....or bowling....or something!!

This morning we have the BugOut guy coming to spray - we've seen a couple of roaches in the house since we had all that rain...and I DO NOT like roaches!! I need to check the weather channel and see what the forecast is - I'd like to take the kids to the beach soon. They are all leaving for France in one week! Yikes. I am excited, and dreading my kids being gone at the same time. I cannot wait for a bit of time to myself - yet I know I am going to miss them dreadfully!!

Ugh.

Last night, in my effort to present Americans as NOT always looking for the easy way and taking shortcuts, I made honey mustard grilled chicken, corn on the cob, green beans (NOT frozen, I stood there and snapped every one!) and risotto, plus homemade garlic toast. Whoa. I think tonight I will make chicken florentine lasagna (and more of the garlic toast - that was a big hit!!) I woke up this morning and make pasta salad with shrimp for lunch - but I am drawing the line at getting up and making breakfast for everyone. Enough is enough. Yes, real Americans eat Eggo waffles. Deal with it.

Louise wanted to teach Paige how to make a desert they make in France (see photo above). It involves Kellogg's corn flakes, dark chocolate, and marshmallows. Tasty, but VERY, very sweet! Also, very messy. In the attempt to melt the marshmallows, they ended up everywhere - the counters, the floor (where, naturally it was stepped in and tracked all over). So, OK I admit it - I tried to keep my control freak self out of the kitchen as to not interfere and take over, but all I could think was "wouldn't it be much easier to just buy a jar of that marshmallow fluff stuff"?? If they try to make it again, I don't care if it demonstrates laziness - I'm buying a jar of that stuff!!

For those of you who may be thinking that I am writing way too much about food, what we ate, what we are going to eat, what I may possibly make in the future... Right. Welcome to my world. It's all I can think about these days, with Simon and Louise here. I am loving pasta these days - it's cheap and goes a long way. Think about it - I have 3 1/2 teenagers in the house!! They are constantly hungry!

Today - Tim is mowing the lawn, the girls are doing something girly back in Paige's room (doing their hair??), Simon is doing some school work, Clay is at summer school. Paige has an orthodontist appointment in a couple of hours - we'll see when she will be getting braces on and for how long, etc. Tonight the shuttle is scheduled to launch around 6:00. Keep your fingers crossed!

Yesterday - in photos......

So....after one "oops" moment with the deep water start on the slalom ski.....
Clay got up, and stayed up...a LONG WAY....even through a few turns with the boat!! Yay Clay!! I think he's got it!
It got hot out there, so the girls jumped in to cool off.....
Simon got up the first time he tried and had a blast whipping in and out of the wake...
So did Paige!
Oh - aren't they cool!
Hooray! Tubing! Louise kept saying, "Vite! Vite!"...(Faster, Faster!)
Again, aren't they just SO COOL!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the shuttle launch because it was cancelled! Again. Boo.

When I was at Publix the other day, I picked up a box of brownie mix....I thought I'd let the kids make brownies. Last night I asked Paige if they wanted to make brownies and I pulled the box out. Simon was appalled. They don't have boxes of brownie, cake, cookie, pizza dough, etc. mixes in France. He asked me why I couldn't just mix the stuff up myself, and I didn't really have an answer - I just stumbled around with something like, "this is just so easy"....and he gave one of those gallic shrugs and said, "Yes, Americans like easy and fast". So now I feel like the pressure is on for me to PROVE that Americans (at least THESE Americans) aren't really like that. Guess I will be cooking and baking the next two weeks and not taking shortcuts. No frozen pizza, bake and break cookies, etc. for me. Ugh. Help!!

Today....

Louise did Paige's hair....
the girls channeled their inner Napoleon.....
Clay found a tree frog....
I discovered that something had decimated my tomato plants.....
YUCK!! BAD caterpillar thingy......
The girls took Gracie swimming, and then showed her how to look cool.....
Everyone played in the pool.....

Now we are waiting for the shuttle to launch, and hoping it is not too cloudy to see anything.....

Clay's Birthday Party

This was Clay's first coed birthday party....and at first I was a bit concerned....the boys were out in the pool jumping and roughhousing, while all the girls were hiding out in Paige's room....
Finally, the girls came out - but there was a "girl end" and a "boy end" of the pool.....
Then, Clay started cooking.....
Paige, Louise, and her friend Courtlyn were the first to load up their plates.....
After eating, Clay tried to get a bonfire going, but it was too windy. Still, the boys and girls finally started to interact...
Gracie loves Louise.....
While the big kids were goofing around in the pool and playing manhunt (which apparently is just a game of hide-n-seek in the dark - boys against girls)...Paige, Louise and Corky were watching movies in her room....

Clay was very happy and had a wonderful party (Yay Mom and Dad!!) and I think Simon and Louise had fun as well. Unfortunately, the shuttle launch was delayed due to lightning strikes, but it is scheduled to go up this evening, so hopefully it will be clear and we will be able to see it.

Although the party was a success, it wore us out - so today is going to be a "nothing" day. My sweet (omg 15 year old!!) son woke me up this morning with scrambled eggs, coffee, and the Sunday paper in bed - his way of saying thank you. The boys are hanging out on the dock fishing, and the girls are in the pool.....and I am still in my pajamas!!