Chickens

And.. just so you know, poor ole Ems has gone spotty, chicken poxy.

Thankfully, she doesn't have a fever...

and, I guess, she'll soon have company because surely it won't be long before her brother's keeping her company.

je speak en German

Okay, so things are beginning to get a little confusing!

Jack was just perfecting his art of speaking Franglais (or Frenglish, if you prefer). You know 'je veux cake' and 'où est ma car' (I want cake and where is my car).

He was just beginning to count in the two languages 'un deux trois cinq' and, equally with the 4 missing in English 'one, two, three, five.'

He was enjoying Dora - who speaks French but has (in imaginary cartoon world) an English Dad and so who tries to teach her audience English. Like any French kid, he was enjoying shouting 'We did it' (Dora's catchphrase) and calling for 'sac à dos' ('backpack,' Dora's trusty companion).

Then we did two things.

First, I showed him a Dora DVD in English.. where Dora's Dad is Spanish. Ola! You try explaining, to a 3 year old, that 'maman' in English is 'Mum' in British English but 'Mommy' in American English and that with Dora's American accent, yes, it seems like she's calling her Mommy, Mamy.. which is French for grandmother. And so, non, Dora's Maman isn't really that old... it all got kinda messy.

So, from now on we're going to watch Dora in only French.

That is, unless I meet his demands to watch it in German.

Now, don't panic, he wouldn't understand it if it was in German but as we are living in Alsace, which is part of France, we are only 20km from the German border. What does that mean? It means half of his schooling is done in German. He has a French teacher on Mondays and Thursdays and a German teacher on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's all quite fun and he seems to be really enjoying it. As our TV receives French, German, and British stations, he often plays the 'the man speak German?' game.. and what is pretty cool is that he often 'gets the concept' when there's an English man speaking with a French voice over. He's also dead proud...

which is funny especially as I heard him counting 'eins, zwei, drei, funf' yesterday.

Apparently, 4 doesn't exist for him in any language which might just make his next birthday a little bit complicated!

Hoping your numbers are adding up, wherever you are in the world!
love n hugs,
Robyn
ps/If anyone reading this knew me at school, let me reassure you, I have NOT transformed from the awkward dunce in languages into some multi-language beast! Each day in French is still a challenge.. and Jack probably knows more German than me now. Heck, he knows how to say 'nose' in German and that's the bee's knees to me ;-)

A week in Provence

Back in August, Ben suggested that we spend a week in October in Les Omergues, Provence. His folks have their second house there - they bought the house as a near ruin 25 years ago and have spent every summer ever since renovating it. When Ben made his suggestion, I thought he was daft. 'Provence? In October? Emma will only be 3 months old. It's 7hours drive away. It'll be cold and wet (and miserable). No way.' Then he talked me into it....

and, my goodness, I'm glad he did.

We went with 2 dear friends and their 3 year old daughter and had such a lovely outdoorsy time. The weather was wonderful: 19*C/66.2F and sunny, sunny, sunny. We went for walks and talks. We roasted chestnuts by the fire. We had long lazy siestas on the porch. We watched the kids running, playing, laughing in the open air. It was just grand.

And now there are only a few weeks left until the Christmas holidays.

I like life - and I hope you do too, wherever in the world you are just now!

hugs,

Robyn

au-pair

Hello,

Do you know of anyone who would like to work as an au-pair in France for a few months, starting in April?

I have a French friend, who speaks fluent English, who is looking for an au-pair because her husband will be serving in Afganistan from April.

She has 2 adorable boys aged 5 (twins) and a baby girl... and lives in a house just down the road from me!

Just let me know if you know of anyone who might be interested...
hugs,
Robynx
ps/students, in particular, might find this a good way to spend the summer.

3 months old

Our Princess!

Cornerboys.

You should not go walking where Cornerboys lurk

Late at night in the heart of the city

The goblins wear leather as they wait in the murk

And they know neither kindness nor pity

My excellent friend Jamie Ridenhour recently produced a short film, Cornerboys, based on a long poem he wrote a few years ago.

It's ruddy excellent!!

Check it out now...

Cars, cars, cars

Okay, so I knew having a boy would involve talking about cars and guns and things. Just as I hope that having a girl will involve talking about fashion, and fun, and, well, boys.

But I didn't think it would get this crazy!

The boy has over 50 cars and knows all the important brands. He also memorises constantly which cars he's playing with, which cars are 'broken', which ones are in the garage and so on.

If I take a couple away as a punishment for a minor offense, then he'll come back to me later on and say, 'I would like my Mercedes Benz van and my blue Opel car please!'

And going for a walk around town has become a car watching session. Yesterday, I made the mistake of crossing through a large parking lot. The walk turned into him running from car to car and tapping their car badges: Voltzwagon, Fiat, Ford....

I don't even like cars.

I mean I was that girl who never knew the names of cars.

AND, yes, there's an AND.

I'm also that girl who never knows what kind of car her friends drive.

Well, Jack is that boy who does. 'Look, Maman, it's Melanie/Jean-Pierre/Tata Lily.'

The end result? I'm now that Maman that can name cars and knows exactly what kind of cars her friends drive.

So, to finish up, I knew that boys would involve 'snails and puppy dog tails' but not an increase in Match Box car sales.

Want to join in the fun? Name the cars below:

It's a Volvo

It's a Rover

It's a Fiat Tipo

It's a Renault 5

It's a BMW



And Emma? Ach, she's fine.. sleeping through the night, eating well, dressing in pretty pink clothes but not yet talking about boys!

Ouf.. because if I need to learn as many boys names as I do car names then I'm in trouble ;-)

Hoping you're all well... whatever you're talking about,

Robynxxxx

Hello there,

The good news at this side is that Jack is settling into both being a big brother and going to school.

I have to say I understand why he's more motivated now to go to school - when he arrives in the morning a little girl runs forward shouting 'Jack' and reaching out her arms for a hug! A second, more dubious reason is that he's making friends. Why am I dubious? (Smile) because he came home last Friday and proudly announced that he'd played with 'le boys' and that they'd done lots of 'bêtises' (stupid things). Now, to be honest, I'm not so worried about the 'bêtises' as I am by the associated pride that he'd done such things!

Meanwhile, Emma continues to grow into a smiley and happy wee chunky monkey! She seems perfectly happy with her little life and grins away to herself, whether someone's watching or not . As she's beginning to sleep longer at night, I'm also to be found grinning to myself.. that, though, may just be the long term results of sleep deprivation!

Whether you're smiling or dreaming of sleep as you read this,
stay well.

much love,

Robynx

Eight Weeks Old!

The smiles have started....and they're infectious!

Have a happy smiley day wherever you are!

Robynx

ps/Infectious, yes, but much better for our health than 'Gripe A/H1N1 flu.' Catch them today!