We survived the week without Chris.  It got difficult around midweek but not so much because of Paris but because the kids were starting to misbehave.  I am planning on incorporating some french parenting with my kids.  No more interrupting me when I am talking to adults is my first priority.  I read somewhere that in France they do not call it disciplining your child- rather they say they are educating them.  I like that better.

Kids had another great week at school.  Their biggest struggle is hot lunch.  They talk about it as if it is life altering.  Although one day this week, they both came running to me happy as clams saying that they had the best lunch ever.  It was chicken wings, rice and vegetables.  Three months ago they would have complained!  Olivia has made a good group of friends which is so nice to see.  She is having her first sleep over next week.   Olivia also told me that a boy from school has a crush on her.  I asked her where he was from and she said he was African American.  So I asked- from which state?  She responds- he is from Africa.  I got a kick out of explaining that he was just African- not African American.  This whole experience will truly make them global citizens!

The school offers many seminars on living in Paris and one I enjoyed very much was a 3 hour session on grocery shopping!  Yes- 3 hours may seem long but there was still so much not covered.  She said shopping for cheese was a session in itself!   I also learned that most French people today eat frozen pre-made dinner meals 4 or 5 times a week!  What a surprise that was to hear.  I was under the impression that the French made home cooked meals from scratch each evening.  I am anxious to share that bit of information with Chris!  Shopping is quite complex.  There are small and larger chain groceries that sell everything- like a Super Target.   But what is recommended is to do your shopping for  at each specialty shop and at the local street markets.  This way you not only get the freshest foods but more importantly you build relationships with vendors.  So you don't do what we do in the US- which is make a shopping list for the week and spend as little time possible finding your items.  In France, you go the markets to decide what you will prepare for that evening.  At the local street markets (which are everyday in different locations) you are encouraged to find a vendor you like and stay loyal.  These vendors tend to have the longest lines.  Our family went last week and saw two vendors with long lines and we avoided those and went for the quick service.  So what normally I would do in one store in the states in one day now could take days because I will have to visit the boulangerie, the boucher, the fromagerie, and the marches de quartier!  It really is a whole different approach to food here and I am appreciating this very quickly!  In the markets- you do not touch the food.  You tell the vendor when you are planning on eating it and they choose for you depending on the ripeness.   There are few, if any fat free items.  The French believe in the fat -just smaller portions.  I also learned why eggs are not refrigerated in France.  In France they do not wash eggs from the farms, so the natural protective layer is maintained on the eggs- not allowing salmonella to enter the egg.   Also, the meat here is so much better quality- cows are all grass fed. They eat meet rare because it is fresh and very lean.  Another interesting fact is that cheese taste different here.  She said goat cheese is much different in France because the male and female goats are kept separate and this produces a better taste.  Bread is different from town to town  as well.  I just need to spend some time finding the places that I like and make a habit of it.....and no more rushing thought the markets.  This last part will be difficult for Chris- he is not a browser.

This weekend we celebrated Chris's birthday.  I made reservations a couple weeks ago at a restaurant called La Grande Cascade.  It is located in Bois de Boulogne.  The restaurant used to be a pavilion in which Napolean III would stop while hunting.   It is supposed to be a unique dining experience.  Unfortunately, our sitter never showed so poor Chris had to eat a frozen meal.

Sunday we celebrated with the kids.  They made Chris a nutella and peanut butter chocolate cake.  The decorations were wonderful as they printed out over 20 images that reminded them of their dad.  There were images of the family, his interests and of course some humorous ones!  A couple being hockey players checking and a VW bug since he is always "checking" the kids or punching them with "punch buggy".   Wait- now that I wrote that, it reads more violent than funny!  For the past 8 years Chris has been bringing home Kinder Eggs each time he travelled abroad.  He hides them in the house and the kids are always look forward to finding the chocolate eggs.  The kids decided to use their money and buy him 6 eggs and hid them in the house.  Took him a good 20 minutes to find them!

Peanut butter chocolate nutella cake for breakfast

Chris searching for eggs

We spent the day at Parc Asterix.  It is an amusement park just north of Paris.  It's a bit smaller than Great America and we are not planning on going again....but kids had fun!