The Artist as a Young Baby...

... didn't care about being an artist, she was too busy being cute and gorgeous!

So, okay, there's not much to write about Emma at the moment - you all know she's about 7 months now and so you can imagine that she's beginning to sit up, to reach for things, and to eat solids. You can imagine she's a delight and that I love her more than breathing...

but that still won't stop me from telling you that she's awesome, incredible, and beautiful, and that I do, in fact, love her more than breathing!

love n hugs to one and all,

Robynxxxx

The Artist as a Young Man

'Okay, Jack,' I said - all motivated that this was the moment I was going to show him how to draw a picture of a face - 'first you draw a circle.'

'Oui, Maman, and then the 2 eyes, the nose, the mouth, the 2 ears,' he said drawing swiftly and without a care, 'Voilà!'

And later he added a cake, because - you know - because the man was hungry.

So, I guess the cherry on my cake is that my son can now draw!

Back home

Back home in New Deer for a couple of weeks, I'm savouring the chance to stop and relax with family! We're having a gentle time, hanging out in the house and going out for the odd walk. Mum's out with Jack just now at the Singing Kettle Pyjama Party. Wish her luck!!!

While they're together today, Jack is sure to ask a hundred 'why' questions as he's thick in the midst of asking why, why, why about life. So, why not have a shot at answering some of his more pointed questions (remembering, of course, that every answer you give is echoed by other why questions!)

why doesn't his blood disappear when the sun goes down?


why was it a pilot and not a pirate who was flying our plane to Aberdeen?

Why do we eat?

Why does snow melt?


And, the killer question which appeared a couple of weeks ago, why don't we take Emma back to the hospital... as he doesn't need her anymore!





The answer we gave Jack is obvious.. Emma is here to stay and, not least, as she is growing into a delight, full of giggles and smiles and an incessant need for cuddles and attention.

She's with me as I type just now, talking to her teddy and playing with her dummy!

Yep, I love holidays and quiet times at home with family.

Hoping you are well and that life is giving you all the answers you need,

Robynxxxx

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

Happy Holidays!

Just a quickie to say that all is well here!

We dipped down to -18*C this week but, like a seagull soaring down towards the ocean and then tilting back up again at the last moment, the temperature has already risen back up to around the zero mark.

Not that we really care, as we're heading down to the south coast for Christmas!

I've packed loads of T-shirts in case it gets too warm ... and maybe one or two presents as well. You know, just in case Santa Claus gets confused about where we are....

Hoping that Santa finds you safe and sound,

Merry Christmas!

Robynxxxx

East toward Dawn

So many months have passed since I last picked up anything more exciting than the latest issue of 'Woman and Home' or a cookbook, that I was beginning to feel a bit word desperate.

Looking through my bookcase, I just couldn't bear the idea of picking up books that I'd left behind to read later: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, for example. Such books just seemed too heavy and too congested with ideas for my life at the moment.

Then I saw, sitting quietly and calmly beside the others, Nan Watkins' 'East Toward Dawn'. Nan used to work at Western Carolina University's Hunter Library and was a friend to many an international traveler. Whilst I was working at WCU, she published this gorgeous travelogue which not only explains her solo journey around the world at the age of 60 but also explains her relationship with life (and hence our relationship with life).

I'm now making my way through its gentle pages, and so am traveling with her through Ireland, Germany, Nepal and now India as she visits the various International students who stayed with her when they were in the US. As she travels she muses on her life as a child, as a women, as a wife-mother, and then as an older single woman. Such an approach allows the reader to tap into these differennt layers and to draw the messages needed at the time of reading. It's a delicious process, especially as she doesn't so much question her life as she does examine it as one does a stone found on a beach or, indeed, a flower found on an Irish hillside.

Read:

"Turning my head, I saw a yellow wildflower bobbing in the wind. It made me think of Joseph Campbell, who once held up a daisy and, with a broad smile, asked, 'Meaning? People want life to have meaning? Does this flower ask, 'What is the meaning of my life?' No! It just blooms. It just is!' And that's the way I see my life. Just being; no questions asked."

So, however you're seeing your life at the moment, I hope you're just not asking too many questions but more just 'bobbing in the wind.'

;-)

hugs,

Robyn

ps/want to buy a copy? Try http://www.amazon.com/East-Toward-Dawn-Journey-Adventura/dp/1580050646/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260860750&sr=8-1 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/East-Toward-Dawn-Journey-Adventura/dp/1580050646/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260862372&sr=8-2 (with the UK site you have to wait a bit longer but I would say that this is a book that is not only worth the wait but is about the wait!).

pps/If anyone is in contact with Nan today, can you please say a heart warming hey from me...

St Martin and his friends...

December is a crowded month in Alsace. There are lots of folks to meet and greet. I'll keep it short here... but you'd better take notes as it gets kinda confusing.

So, the first guy is Saint Nicolas. That starts well: Jack's afraid of him. So afraid that he refused to go up and collect the biscuit St Nicolas wanted to give him during our local Christmas market. Yesterday, randomnly at the table, he said 'I'm Saint Nicolas and you, Maman,you afraid.' Hmm, recognising I had work to do, I told him, No,Saint Nicolas is the good man. Père Fouettard was the bad man.

Who? The incarnation of the bad Father Christmas. His history is troubled as he's reputed to be an incarnation of the devil...but all you really need to know is that you don't ever want to be 'the bad kid' when he's around. Translate Père Fouettard and you get 'the whipping father'. Need I say more? Jack definitely din't think so. He got it!





Thankfully, bringing light to such dark tales, Saint Lucy (sainte lucie) also floats about these parts. As Wikipedia nicely tells us: As her brief day brings the longest night of the year by the old reckoning, John Donne's poem, "A Nocturnal upon St. Lucie's Day, being the shortest day", begins with: "'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's," and expresses, in a mourning piece, the withdrawal of the world-spirit into sterility and darkness, where "The world's whole sap is sunk." This timing, and her name meaning light, is a factor in the particular devotion to St. Lucy in Scandinavian countries, where young girls dress as the saint in honor of the feast."

Jack doesn't care about all that for he's scared of her, too!

Then, of course, there's Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. We know they exist because they had a little stand at the back of the Christmas maket and were accompanied by a petting market to attract the kids. I tried to explain who they were but, as I haven't yet got onto God and as they were accompanied by lamas, it all got a bit complicated.

Joseph

Complicated, yes because, if you're following the plot, we also celebrate Saint Martin and so have only just tucked away our lanterns!

And Santa Claus... and the reindeer.. and all that?

Well, hopefully we'll get onto them before them before they start flying across the midnight sky, before Santa comes down our chimney, and long before the presents appear magically under the Christmas tree.

For, heck now, we wouldn't want Jack to be afraid of him too now... would we?

love n hugs n Christmas stories,

Robynxxxx

Lumberyard

Go on, treat yourself.

It's almost Christmas afterall.

What am I talking about?

Well, an old university friend of mine, Jen, and her brother have founded a literary magazine, 'The Lumberyard,' and I think you'd like a copy!

It's published in the US but with Paypal you'll feel like it's been published just down the road.

Why not give it a try today? http://www.lumberyardmagazine.com/

(Get this issue and you'll find a poem by Jamie, of Cornerboys fame, inside its delicate covers).

happy reading!

Robynxxxx

ps/with Wood for a last name, its probably not surprising this brother and sister pair founded a lumberyard!

Are we mad?

Yep, it's possible that I and my friends are a little crazy as we're opting to do what our Mums hated best: washing nappies!

Okay, so I'm only using one a day and so I'm hardly saving the planet but, hey, at least it's a start and many of my friends are doing much, much better than me.

Interested? Check out: http://www.bumgenius.com/index.php

love n hugs n nappy rash cream,

Robyn xxxx

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