Caught at last.

Go mourn J.D. Salinger, you big phony!

V

Jack's learning his alphabet and how to draw objects. Great stuff, right? Well, it should be except it reveals a little more of the world that's inside Jack's crazy head. Take this morning, for example:

Drawing on a piece of paper, Jack said 'ça, c'est le 'V' de vendredi' (that's the V of vendredi/Friday).
'Wow, well done Jack. I'm really impressed,' I said, really impressed.
'And that's a big bum of Mother Hubbard,' he added while drawing a big bum-like semi-circle.
(Nervous laugh) 'Oh, you mean like Mother Hubbard in the book Each Peach Pear Plum?'

'Mais oui, bien sûr!'he replied.

And me, well I couldn't say much for, indeed, his drawing (his first human drawing no less) did indeed resemble the big bum of Mother Hubbard, who is sitting in her yellow dress on the left side of this picture which is taken from the classic, Each Peach, Pear, Plum.'

I mean, heck, at least.... well, you can finish my sentence!

Hoping your bum doesn't look that big,
Robynxxxx

Snow Angels

My Snow Angel is no angel, but I love him all the same.

Molly's Venture

A dear friend of mine from Asheville, Molly, has just set up her own venture - to provide postpartum doula services to families in the Asheville area.

As her website explains:

The word “doula” comes from ancient Greek and means “a woman who serves.” There are two types of doulas – birth and postpartum. A postpartum doula assists new mothers and families in the postpartum period by coming to the family’s home during the first three months of a baby’s life. The goal of a postpartum doula is to support the parents in their new roles, by allowing them time with their new baby and by offering advice on infant care.

In short, she's designed her company so that she can help families adjust to those breath-taking first few months when a baby arrives. I support and herald her for, goodness, I can tell you, everyone needs a Molly at that moment!

So, why not check out her website and, if you're in the Asheville area, why not think about offering her services to a mother-to-be as a baby shower gift?

Hoping someone is caring for you today,

Robynxxxx

Happy New Year!

After a lovely Christmas down in Cagnes, we're back up in Alsace watching the snow fall and getting used to our new, busy routines.

Jack now goes to school in the morning, eats with his nanny, Sylvie, for lunch, goes back to school for an afternoon siesta, and then onto after school care until 6pm. Thankfully, he seems very content with such a busy planning and the various moments of the day balance each other nicely.

Emma now goes to a nanny, Tatie Lili, who is the same great woman who used to look after Jack and, of course, she goes to Tatie Lili because I am now officially back at work. Going back to work this time seems to be much easier than when I went back after Jack. That might be because I know what I'm going into or it might just be because I don't have that much work to do yet (most of my classes will really begin in February). Yep, not having to work that much definitely seems to be the solution to stress at work. I'd recommend it to all of you ;-)

Meanwhile, homelife is as funny and quirky as ever. Emma is now almost 6months old and is as wonderful and funny as ever. She's full of chat and seems to love giggling and blowing raspberries. And Jack, well he's just Jack! He's full of 'why?' questions and funny ideas about life. He loves watching 'Ice Age' at the moment. Last night, he said (while chomping away with his mouth)he was a baby dinasaur... but, we pointed out, dinosaurs aren't allowed in the house and, anyways, dinosaurs don't have fun - they can't eat chocolate or watch cartoons! Jack's reaction? Okay, I'm a crocodile! And when we told him crocodiles live in cold, dark rivers, he said that was 'fun'... so I'm not quite sure what kind of beast he's turning into but if he starts to grow scales and a tail expect to see signs for 'Adopt a Kid' appearing quickly on this blog!

Until that moment, though, stay warm and safe where ever you are in the world,

Robyn