Eating rotten wood, leaves, and mushrooms

Ivy is having a birthday sleepover with 5 friends (she wanted more but we had to limit it due to limited sleeping spaces!). They are staying in Le Catamaran and having a great time, from all the thumping and giggling we're hearing.

She helped me make the darling cake: a wood stump with toadstools, oyster mushrooms growing on the side of the log, and ivy leaves. We tried all sorts of things to dye the white chocolate for the leaves green and nothing worked: oil dyes, powdered dyes, matcha powder, even painting the leaves with oil-based food coloring. So in the end, we left them white.

Eric is at an academic conference in Los Angeles, just for the weekend. We were really stressed that he would be detained at the border despite being a legal permanent resident. The current administration is terrifying those who are immigrants, even those who, like Eric, have been in the US for over 30 years.

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Happy 12th birthday Ivy!

We started the morning off with the reading of her birth story and opening presents (Olympique de Lyon soccer jersey, shoes, cyanotype kit, and a purse from my mom).

We had several people coming and going to soccer practices this evening. We weren't all back together until 10:30 pm! We waited until most people were home at 9:30 and then had late night cake and candles and singing.

She's having a sleepover this weekend so we'll have party planning and cake baking and all that fun stuff. Tonight's cake was a Forêt-noire from a bakery. Light but rich, not too sweet. Just how I like it!

I had lots of meetings, the last one starting at 10 pm due to having people in Australia, the US, and Canada.

Also a random picture of my spice racks. They are all organized alphabetically. Yes, that is so satisfying to me after 10 years of having a jumbled, overcrowded spice drawer.

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Happy Harry Potter birthday!

Well, weeks of preparation ended in a fantastic birthday party. It was smaller than expected--several friends couldn't come--but Ivy was just as happy.

All of the girls are tucked into bed and (hopefully) sleeping.

We redid many things from Inga's 11th birthday and added a few new twists this time. Ivy's brick wall turned out amazing.

Inga is gone this weekend at a big soccer tournament. Eric is joining her tomorrow morning. It's a 4-hr drive. He couldn't convince Dio to come along.

My plan is to make a pancake breakfast for the girls tomorrow, then get them set up with crafts.

Oh, and I also got tons more book chapters done! I'm starting to feel like I'm nearing the end.

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Happy birthday Ivy!! 11 years old

Well I can't believe it--Ivy is 11. The day flew by for me. I had renovation work first thing, breech book work until 1, string quartet rehearsal until 3 (during which I broke two A strings!!), more breech book work until 4, then frosting making and cake decorating.

Ivy got home at 4:30 and we got the house ready for her party. Inga went to the little grocery store nearby to buy blueberries and strawberries. It was a quick way to decorate the cake but Ivy was thrilled.

She got a set of iridescent paints, a women's national team soccer jersey, and a new pair of summer sandals. She has presents from Inga and my mom still coming in the mail.

Zari and Dio both had their bac blanc / brevet blanc exams. Zari's lasts 3 days, 4 hours each day. Dio had two big exams today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and more tomorrow. Poor kids. I never had to do anything this intense in high school or middle school! I suppose the worst were SAT/ACT exams but at least that was not part of school.

Zari was able to use some of her sources from her big presenatiton on wilderness for her philsophy exam. One of the questions was "Do we have an obligation towards nature?" Despite missing about half of all of the philosophy classes due to being in the US, she's doing her best to catch up and try to fill in the gaps.

We have a dove that started sitting in our pot (4-leaf clovers) today. When we went to close the shutters, it didn't move! I think it had decided that the pot was a great place for a nest, but so far no eggs.

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French apartment renovations, Day 655: Blown away birthday party

We trekked up to the chateau about a half hour in advance. Eric didn't want to take the car and said Zari would be fine going up on crutches. I really pressed to use the car but to no avail. Then Zari started down our stairs and was really struggling...and she had over 350 more stairs to navigate!

Meanwhile Eric had gone ahead with everyone but me, Zari, and my mom. I was carrying a 6-layer cake (very heavy!) and Zari was quite a bit behind me. She was debating whether to come at all. Eric came back down as I was about halfway up the hill and told him he needed to fetch her in the car. I'm so glad he did because Zari really wanted to come.

I carried that heavy cake all the way to the top of the chateau and got tons of comments from passers-by. "When can I come over?" "Wow, what a beautiful cake." "Can I have some?" (All in French, of course). A tourist took a picture of me halfway up the chateau.

We didn't really have anything organized as far as games...but we didn't need to. The kids all ran around and played in the ruins until we called them together for cake. By that time, the wind had picked up and was gusting so severely that we were getting sand- and dust-storms swirling around us. The cake kept getting dusted with sand!

We huddled under a blanket, sang a quick "Happy Birthday", and ate cake. Then we decided to hurry home. The wind was gusting up to 120 mph in some parts of Nice and the chateau was closing early. So the last half of the party was VERY cosy in our little apartment.

While the kids were playing hide and seek, we took most of the adults down for a tour of the Communist apartment.

Also it changed to daylight saving time last night and we all had a bit of a harder time starting this morning.

Zari has a big oral presentation tomorrow and then the bac blanc (Français) on Tuesday. Lots of pressure right now and on top of it she has this injury.

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French apartment renovations, Day 654: Ivy is 10!!

It was a strange birthday with people coming and going, including the birthday girl. Ivy was at a sleepover last night and didn't get back until noon.

Inga has been gone since late morning at a friend's birthday outing, then to a Cavigal game that they won 9-0, then back home for 5 minutes to shower, eat birthday cupcakes, sing happy birthday, and watch Ivy open the presents she bought for her. Then she went back to her friend's house for a sleepover.

We have a big party planned for tomorrow with a 6-layer cake, loads of snacks, and possibly some obstacle courses and/or treasure hunts. I didn't even take any pictures of Ivy today since I knew I'd be taking lots tomorrow.

Eric, my mom, and I went to the Ikea kitchen store to look at colors and styles. Honestly I don't like any of them! I might buy just the cabinets there and look for the facades elsewhere. We are pressed for time and need the cabinets in ASAP.

For those who haven't followed along for the past 10 years, you can read Ivy's birth story here: http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ivy-claires-birth-story.html

Her birth video is here: http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ivy-claires-birth-video.html (no fancy editing, just the footage of the last part)

Birth photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28821843@N03/sets/72157633248841697/show/

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French apartment renovations, Days 466-467: Thunder and lightning, very very frightening (and hail...and birthdays)

Wow, we're in the middle of a hailstorm tonight! Very dramatic.

This weekend was fun and exhausting. Yesterday only Zari had a soccer match. Inga played with a friend for half the day. Ivy and I did birthday party shopping and prep. I was so exhausted that I went into bed to read before 10 pm and I was out soon thereafter.

And today...success! We had a fancy pancake breakfast, instigated by Ivy, complete with fruit salad, whipped cream, raspberries, and maple syrup. I was fasting as usual so I didn't eat anything.

Inga made a miniature stack of pancakes for Dolly and other stuffed animals. Then she ate it with gusto.

Then it was time to make frosting and assemble the birthday cake: a 6-layered rainbow cake with turquoise ombré frosting, covered by white chocolate ivy leaves. It's a semi-repeat of a cake from several years ago.

We were all ready by 2 pm, so we headed up to the chateau carrying 3 bags of food and one very heavy cake. I got lots of remarks about the cake on the way up, from homeless people sheltering under the archways near the Rue Rosetti to tourists speaking broken English.

I let Ivy invite as many people as she wanted. After missing 2 birthday parties in a row due to Covid, she deserved it. And we had a crowd! I thought I had for sure brought too much food, but it was almost all gone by the end.

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French apartment renovations, Days 458: Ivy is 9!

11,872 steps

My mind is not accepting that I last gave birth 9 YEARS AGO. I feel like it was a recent thing but I am probably in denial.

And since I woke up yet again at 5:45 am (not by choice), I am too tired to put together something elaborate for today.

We opened presents at lunchtime while Eric joined us on WhatsApp. He did the traditional reading of the birth story from his journal. We have decided to delay the birthday dinner & cake and candles and singing until he gets back. Ivy is very good at delayed gratification.

She got a new backpack (covered with many patches), 2 pairs of her favorite Adidas pants, and a box of chocolates. We went on a walk after dinner with her, Inga, and my cousin to find more patches. Ivy chose one with the Nicois eagle on it.

I needed to use the bathtub for something today...and this is what I found. Inga and Ivy had built up an entire civilization. I had to take it down but at least I got a picture first!

Okay, now the obligatory links to Ivy's birth:

1. Birth story: https://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ivy-claires-birth-story.html

2. Birth video: https://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2013/04/ivy-claires-birth-story.html
It's somewhat edited, but not like these fancy-pants birth videos done by professional videographers that you'll see nowadays! All we had was a tripod 🙂

3. Birth photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/28821843@N03/sets/72157633248841697/show/

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French quarantine day 6

7,827 steps

Happy 7th birthday Ivy! This is our first--and hopefully last--birthday during lockdown. Ivy "played" with her group of school friends in the morning via WhatsApp and had a virtual birthday party in the evening.

Ivy helped me frost the cake (chocolate wedding cake with buttercream icing). We didn't do anything too elaborate this year. That seems to be a trend. No wrapping paper? Make it out of coloring pages! No food coloring? Decorate with plain white frosting!

Eric read Ivy's birth story, a tradition we do with the kids every year. At the bottom of the birth story are links to the birth video & pictures for you brave souls out there. Nothing gory or scary, just a plain-old-wonderful home birth :)

One of Ivy's presents was a scooter; we took the kids out for a spin in the afternoon.

What else? I made quarantine bread as most of the bakeries are closed. Plus I really like my bread. Give it a try: it's almost impossible to mess up!

The evening closed with a somber note. At 19h30, every church in Nice rang their bells to honor the victims of the coronavirus. You'll hear it on the end of Ivy's birthday video.

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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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Ivy is 2 years old! Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Ivy! We had a small family celebration two days ago...cake and candles and a birthday song. We're having a bigger party with lots of friends on Sunday. I know Ivy won't really care either way, but our other kids will love having a party.

Ivy had just licked the frosting off the candles...yum

Two different family members gave us money to buy pastries for Ivy's birthday present. Fantastic idea!

We went to Eze Bord de Mer today after school. Eric went spearfishing and had grand hopes, but he saw very few fish this time. He did catch one small fish that we'll eat tomorrow.

Zari made paper crowns for everyone this week.

The kids love to belt out "Let It Go"



Now for some Ivy updates:

She's waking up once a night to nurse, then is up for the day around 6:30 am. Doable. We've been staying in her room since January, since we've had guests almost nonstop. I'm looking forward to having my own room again!

Ivy has been out of diapers during the day for almost 2 weeks now. Hooray! I have packed the cloth diapers away and am considering selling them. Any takers for about 18 pocket diapers & soakers with snaps and FOE binding? Especially anyone in France? They have been used for 7 years but are still functional.

Her language skills continue to surprise and amaze me. The other day, Inga was (yet again) bothering Ivy, and Ivy said, "Mama, Inga hit me." Great. Now she has learned the skill of tattling. She loves to look for Smart cars; "Encore baby cars mama! Encore!"

Ivy loves looking for "pretty flowers" and putting on dresses to dance in. Actually all of our kids do, Dio included. I introduced them to Riverdance last night. It was a hit.



Catch-up time...

• Birth announcement
• Ivy's birth story
• Ivy's birth video
• Photos of Ivy's birth
• Some newborn photos and outtakes
• Ivy's birth quilt

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Chicken pox?

I need your help, o anonymous internet armchair doctors. Is this chicken pox?

Yesterday morning Ivy woke up covered with these red bumps, plus a mild fever. They go from head to toe, front to back. Some are larger and look a bit scabby. She still has a fever today, but neither the fever nor the spots seem to bother her too much.

If it isn't chicken pox, what else might it be?

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Ivy is 21 months old!

21 months, that's 1 3/4 years, which is almost 2. And that gets me started on the slippery slope to 3, and then 4, and then 8, and then...

Ivy is displaying her independence and wishes to try everything her older siblings do.

Ivy often speaks in 2-word combinations, often an adjective + noun.

mama's chaussures (shoes)
papa's apple
my socks
big ball

Sometimes she uses "my" as a substitute for "I"

my draw
my walk

My favorite thing she's said recently: "orca whale." She loves to sing the Orca Whale song.



Her favorite word: encore (more/again). Voila is also high on her list. Also "underwear," which she loves to put on. She speaks lots of French, almost as much as English.



The most startling thing out of her mouth happened today: she was standing up in her high chair saying what sounded like château blanc very emphatically. The blanc was drawn out a bit like bllllanc. I kept asking her questions trying to figure out what she wanted. No, she kept saying château blanc very insistently. We finally figured it out--she was asking to watch the movie Le Château Ambulant (Howl's Moving Castle) by Miyazaki!

She loves to draw. First thing in the morning, even before she eats, she says "Draw. My draw."

We're working on pottying. Peeing is going well, but she's started to hold her poop in, which makes her constipated and even more scared to poop. I have to force her into a squatting position over the toilet. She screams and fights me, but it helps her go. Poor girl. I've tried to sneak chewable magnesium sulfate tablets in various foods, but she has an uncanny radar for them. I've crushed them and stirred them into sorbet, put little fragments inside frozen raspberries, mixed the powder into fruit juice, etc. And the thing is, they taste good! The other kids beg to eat them.

Sleep: still waking 1-3 times a night. She is the trickiest of all our kids both getting to sleep and staying asleep.

She love to nurse. She also gets very upset if I tell her no. Sometimes I have to...like when it's 50 degrees and windy and I don't want to open up my coat.

Ivy has a stubborn streak (nothing news-worthy, just typical of her age & development). I can't make her do something if she refuses; I can only distract her or wait until the tantrum is over.

ps--I spent New Year's Day sanding the wood beams that support the mezzanine in the master bedroom. Do you like my makeshift dust mask? 1 layer of fleece + 1 layer of linen.

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