Happy 13th birthday Inga!

Inga's birthday was such a big day that I didn't have any time to write about it!

After lunch, we headed to Caranval. We have actually never gone since we moved here in 2014. It used to be held out in the streets, but after the terrorist attacks, it became a closed event. I had never quite been motivated enough to buy tickets, wait in line, go through security...until this year. We finally decided it was time to go at least one time. We went to the Bataille des Fleurs. Ivy and I dressed up because why not??

We had to leave early to make it to the movie theater--Inga wanted to see Dune 2. (We got ready for it the night before by watching the first Dune movie!).

We got home, had a late dinner and birthday cake, and then headed back to to the the burning of the king on the beach. We accidentally arrived 30 minutes early, which turned out to be a good thing otherwise we wouldn't have been able to see anything. Right before they lit the king on fire, it started raining!



Today was a massive tempest--rain, hail, thunder, huge waves. There were huge bursts of thunder in the middle of the night. Gusting rain today, so much that you got wet in all directions at once. Eric took his Wabash students around to see the Musée Masséna and came back soaked.

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French apartment renovations, Day 631: Happy 12th birthday Inga!!!

How does it seem like Inga was just born, yet also feel so long ago that it's almost dreamlike to remember that day?

Ivy and Inga were up at 7 am sharp, ready to open presents. Once all the kids were awake, we enjoyed watching Inga discover her gifts: a pair of dress shoes, a beading set from my parents, a glass fountain pen and dark green ink from Ivy, and a quiver for her archery set that I made.

(Recognize the fabrics? They come from the upholstery that we did in Le Catamaran!)

For dinner, Eric prepared a big salad, broccoli, roast chicken with mustard sauce over rice, and a selection of cheeses. Since we were busy working all day, he and Dio chose a birthday cake at Lac, a local patisserie with amazing cakes and pastries.

We watched lots of old videos, starting with Inga's 6th birthday party and working backwards to our first year in France in 2014. I can't believe how cute and little our kids were!

Ivy's school celebrated Carnaval today. I got her hair all fancy before school, and several of her friends helped her put on makeup. She loves dressing up and celebrating any occasion. I'm so glad her costume from last year still fits!

Dio was goofing off today and it reminded me of the weird ghost characters in Spirited Away.

We had a huge work day, too. My dad and I laid about 3/4 of the flooring on the mezzanine. It looks fantastic and I am very proud of how closely we fitted everything. I estimate we'll finish laying everything by noon tomorrow. That means we can rent the sander on Monday and start applying finish by Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning!!! While my dad and I were laying flooring, Eric finished all of the painting on the walls and ceiling. Another huge task to check off the list!

I have some videos from Inga's birthday but it's already very late. Maybe tomorrow...

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French apartment renovations, Day 439: Partied out

7,605 steps

Can I please have a weekend to recover from this weekend? Inga's birthday party was a smashing success but wow, do I need a break!

We had... 

• 6 bottles of potions: Dragon Blood, Snake Venom, Phoenix Tears, Toad Essence, Slug Extract, & Beetle Nectar 
• 24 sorting hat cupcakes (filled with one of 4 Hogwarts House colors) 
• 24 baby mandrake cupcakes 
• 24 edible brooksticks 
• Chocolate frogs, some in special boxes 
• Golden Snitches 
• Oreos 
• Homemade hummus with bell peppers, cucumbers, or breadsticks 
• M&Ms (substitute for Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans)

Plus every child got to pick their magic wand and their zippered pouch. (Do you recognize the fabrics from Le Catamaran?)

We hung the 4 Hogwarts House flags from the chandeliers.

We ended up having people meet here, rather than at the chateau, since rain was in the forecast. We had our sorting hat & magic wand ceremony, plus lots of snacks. Then we went to the coulee verte for some fun. Eric led a game of Ultimate Frisbee, which all of the kids loved.

Next, we came back home for more treats, birthday presents, and of course the movie! 

They only watched about 1 hour total, interrupted by games. I made something like 7 or 8 batches of popcorn.

I can't believe how much these kids ate! I was certain we'd have loads of food left over. But between the party and sending kids home with cupcakes for their families, we only had a dozen cupcakes and a dozen Snitches left.

On top of all of this, Ivy had a birthday party to attend at the chateau. What a crazy day!

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French renovations Day 71: Happy birthday Inga!

13,580 steps

Today was a 10/10 for everyone. Inga woke us up shortly after 7 am. 10 years old! Wow!

We got everyone ready and did our ritual reading-of-the-birth-story by Eric. (If you'd like to read her birth story or watch her birth video, hop over to my blog Stand and Deliver. The birth story is linked on the right sidebar or you can go straight to part 1 here.)

You can see Zari and Dio meeting Inga for the first time here: https://youtu.be/8bllZAn32Ss

Then we opened her one present after breakfast: a microscope. The kids were all thrilled. Over the course of the morning, they looked at onion membrane & skin, scabs, human hair, and tomato skin. They figured out how to take pictures using a phone held at just the right place.

The rest of the morning was a super special treat for the whole family: a personal tour of the Grotte du Lazaret and their private archives. The directors were so grateful to Eric for all the work he put into helping with their poetry exposition. Eric, being the unassuming Canadian that he is, demurred and said, "Oh, it was no big deal, no problem at all."

After our tour of the cave, the director brought the kids to the gift shop and gave them each a bag of presents: pencil, buttons, and braided bracelets. Next we went back into their archives and we got to touch several animal remains from over 100,000 years ago: lynx jaws, panther teeth, bear pelvises, fox claws, elephant teeth. So cool! They told Inga this was the first time that children had ever been in their archives.

And then...they got out a birthday cake for Inga! Triple chocolate mousse, done just perfectly because it's France and they know how to do patisseries (very rich, not too sweet).

We walked home for lunch and then Inga helped me frost and decorate the cake. It turned out even better than expected. It was raspberry almond sour cream cake with raspberry filling and almond butter cream and ruby cocoa flowers.

We had a somber interlude in the afternoon. A few days ago, our baby dove died. It was around 4 days old. The kids have been devastated and we finally gave it a proper burial up at the chateau, along with the other egg that never hatched. Inga and Zari came up to say their goodbyes.

Eric cooked a fancy dinner for Inga: one artichoke for each of us (a treat--usually we split them!), scallops in a shallot-cream-Vermouth sauce, 3 super delicious cheeses on my homemade sourdough bread, and then birthday cake #2.

I thought I filmed us singing "Happy birthday" but I hit the wrong button. Oops!

One of the pictures shows Inga writing in her journal this evening. It took her a while to get through the day.

ps, don't you love my kids' messy hair? It takes too long to braid every day! Oh well...

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Happy 7th birthday Inga!

A smile full of new teeth coming in, boundless energy and enthusiasm, solitary at times, talkative at other times--that's our Inga.

Inga's birth story, part 1
     Part 2: Reflections
     Part 3: Resuscitation
     Part 4: Final reflections
1st birthday
2nd birthday
Inga's weaning party
3rd birthday (which I missed because I was in Seattle with Eric and Ivy...)
4th birthday

5th birthday

6th birthday

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Inga is 6 years old!

We had a fun birthday celebration for Inga yesterday. No party or friends, just us. She opened some presents in the morning, one last one at lunch, and planned a delicious dinner. Our little gourmande chose this menu (from Mimi Thorisson's cookbook A Kitchen in France):

• steamed artichokes dipped in cream
• roast chicken with herbs and crème fraîche 
• garden cake

She helped me cook and, of course, got to decorate her cake.



Her entrance into this world was dramatic...the midwife didn't make it in time and she needed some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

• Inga's birth story, part 1
• Part 2: Reflections
• Part 3: Resuscitation
• Part 4: Final reflections

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Happy birthday Inga and Ivy!

Happy birthday Inga (5) and Ivy (3)!

I don't have any pictures of Inga on her birthday, just videos, but here's her cake. She drew me a pictures of a multi-layered turquoise cake and said "make this cake for me, mama!" The inside was 3 shades of turquoise. 

Ivy just turned 3 yesterday. 

We didn't have wrapping paper, so we used play scarves from the toy shelves.

Ivy has been asking all week for "a crown, a rainbow skirt, some sparkles, and some jewels." I bought her a sparkly rhinestone headband and made her a rainbow skirt, so that takes care of all four, right?

Eric modeling the skirt on his head, to the great hilarity of all the children

She wanted a "rainbow heart cake" so here's what we did:

It's rainbow colored inside!

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Happy 4th birthday Inga!

Inga turned 4 on Monday. Wow.

Remember her birth story--how the midwife didn't get there on time and I had to resuscitate her? Remember the ensuing drama about her resuscitation? (in 3 parts...reflections, resuscitation, and final reflections)

How did she go from a tiny newborn...

to a monstrously chubby baby...

to the world's most chill toddler...

Inga and Dio tandem nursing

to a strong-bodied, strong-willed girl who loves jumping off furniture and singing French songs from school and talking about cats & fairies & puppy dogs?

She and I ate lunch at our neighbor's restaurant, Chez Palmyre. Always a treat to eat there...if you're ever in Nice, be sure to make a reservation (4-6 weeks in advance for dinner, 2-4 weeks for lunch). The photo makes her seem very serious, but she was giggling and being her usual silly self the whole time.

Entrée: Paté en croute
Plat principal: croustillant de saumon avec sauce pistou
Dessert: panna cotta avec crémeux au caramel et morceaux de spéculose

The weather has been amazing this week. Monday was a high of 22C, warmer than normal for early March but I am not complaining. We've enjoyed several afternoons at the beach, at the park, and at the chateau.

Ignore the women in the bikinis...notice Eric heading out to go spearfishing

My "new" shoes via Leboncoin.

For Inga's birthday, we all went on the Ferris Wheel on the Place Masséna, thanks to my mom. She got a set of rubber stamps and crayons from Eric's parents. I usually make birthday cakes, but Inga chose a raspberry tart from a bakery. It was delicious!

Other news this week:

Ivy learned how to say Inga the right way, instead of "gaga."

Ivy fell down the attic stairs. I didn't see it happen, just heard a sickening crack-thump and then her frantic cries. She came out of it with a bump on her forehead and some blood where she bit her lip. I'm determined to build a hatch over the opening to prevent this from happening again.

Inga & Ivy going down the slide together at the chateau

Why, doesn't everyone wear 4 hats at a time?

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