Happy birthday, Dio!!

I have a giant 6'2" 17-year-old. How is this possible?

We did our usual reading of the birth story, followed by opening presented. Zari joined us by video call. I made an almond pound cake with almond buttercream and cherry jam inside the layers. It wasn't super fancy like Ivy's cake--Dio didn't have strong opinions about the decoration. So we dusted gold dust over letters spelling out his name.

School starts again and it's going to be difficult waking up 2 hours earlier than usual.

Dio's birth story: https://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2009/04/dios-birth-story.html

Read more ...

Spring break is winding down. We have no soccer games this weekend--a rare event.

Dio's friends got a true American/Canadian experience this morning with a pancake breakfast. Toppings included maple syrup, whipped cream, peanut butter, various jams, and Nutella.

We finished The Queen's Gambit this evening--quite a fun series. What can we watch next?

Also here's a funny picture of me at the Philadelphia breech conference. I volunteered myself as the "mom" so Betty-Anne Daviss could demonstrate fundal pressure on me. I climbed up on the "delivery table" to make it real 🙂

Read more ...

Early birthday sleepover

Dio's birthday is in a few days, and he's celebrating with his best friends by having a sleepover in Le Chateau. They went out with Inga and Ivy to the park and to the beach this evening. I love having a horde of teenagers who go do things together.

I'm making them a pancake breakfast for the hungry hordes tomorrow. It may be the first time the boys have had American pancakes.

Zari will be here next week! She is waiting for one more final exam. She's got her housing set for next year--living in the same place. She's going to take a STCW Basic Safety Training course soon after she arrives and then apply for yachting jobs.

Here's a picture of me selling books at the recent breech conference in Philadelphia.

Read more ...

Four days in Philly

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to the USA for a breech conference in Philadelphia. I was so busy that I didn't take a single picture--aside from pictures of the presenter's slides. But fortunately other people took pictures and sent them to me!

Eric and Inga came back from Senegal this evening. Inga is happy but exhausted and says it was an emotional experience to visit a lower resource country.

Time to get my jet-lagged body to bed!!

Read more ...

Laid-back Easter

We didn't cook anything fancy but it was still a great day with delicious food. I made pancakes for a very late breakfast--10:30 am! Most of us slept in, me included. I hate wasting half the morning but I have to admit that it felt great to sleep.

I took Inga to get her Hep A injection for her trip to Senegal...ironically it was easier to get an appointment today than tomorrow.

We all went to the new coulée verte in the afternoon. The kids and Eric did juggles back and forth over a low wall. I read and basked in the sun.

I made chicken in mustard sauce--classic French recipe, often made with rabbit--with roasted potatoes and a tomato, cucumber, olive, and feta salad. Eric cooked up a huge stack of crepes for dessert with all sorts of toppings: whipped cream, creme de marrons, Nutella, bananas, strawberries, blueberries...

We decorated easter eggs with markers this time, instead of paint. It worked well. It's harder to see the pale colors since the eggs here are all brown. We haven't done Egg Wars yet and it's already 10:15.

We have a free day tomorrow and I really really want to go hiking. We have a bit of a teenage munity, though. They don't want to go hiking and would rather just sit around the house. I might have to do a "too bad--we're going" move and just make it happen. I am such a mean mom.

Read more ...

Quick update because it's past midnight...

Inga had a game and they won 7-0, with Inga scoring 3 goals!

I had some time to read at the beach and get Vitamin D therapy

We watched "Project Hail Mary" this evening...super fun

Eric's youngest brother and his family was featured in the news. Due to Trump immigration policies, he suddenly found himself barred from re-entering the US after a brief ski trip to Canada, despite having a work visa, and now is trying to figure out how to support his family of 5.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/canadian-family-stranded-in-ottawa-after-being-denied-re-entry-to-us/

This administration's policies don't just affect other people in faraway places. We could have the same thing happen to us if, for some reason, a border agent decided to deny Eric entry into the US.

Read more ...