So to those of you who have been checking and have had no blog joy my apologies.

I will try to post a little more regularly and try to get over my blog fright…kind of like stage fright.
Let me know what you want to hear about. (Is mundane OK??)

So we had a fabulous trip back to France, the gods were all looking the right way (either away from us or towards us not sure….) We had bulkhead seat so the kids could stretch out . I could stand sleepy guard (not sure where they will go on a plane but none the less feel compelled) and we all managed to get a little shut eye….tho I caught Riel peeping a few times at whatever in flight (“in fright” in his case) adult movie was on the big screen.

The kids (I have to hand it to them) really seem to know the drill now and were just as good as gold all round. Our train trip was uneventful even tho there was some Old "Gaseous Grand Dame" in the truest sense of the word who happened to have the 4th of our 4 seat booth (to her obvious delight) giving us the hairy eyeball for most of the trip. Like it is a crime to be a kid. Sheesh.

So we are back in Dijon.
You ever feel like you are moving from one series of piles to another?
For this summer for us it was a rather consistent stream of

**pack** unpack** pack**laundry** pack** unpack** pack**laundry**

and then all over again. I guess I have nothing to complain about.

I must confess I was starting to feel a pull to come back here around the start of school (quelle surprise), as it is hard to leave home and all the nearest and dearest. As you can see by the photo went throught this bizarre uncontrollably tacky desire for Canadiana... even bought some good old red and white roots gear...now to see if I have the guts to wear it.

Sooo..We are now back in the throws of settling into the new routine for the school year. Riel is starting "CP" which is the French equivalent to Grade one and Lily is in “Petite Section” like PRE jk (if you can believe that). For those of you who may not know the school day is staggeringly long, starts at 8:45 and ends at 4:45.Oh my goodness!!! Poor little souls. Riel is so proud of his new “homework” he brings home every night. (See how long that lasts….)

The kids are settling in better than ever before after the jetlag. So either they are figuring it out or we are. (not sure)??

It seems to be a case of anticipating the natural rhythms of the last time zone and not letting them fall asleep when their bodies want them to until the “new” right time in the current zone.
No easy task …like feeding them candy non-stop all the way to my Mom’s on the Canada end while singing songs at the top of our lungs to bribing them with movies to keep them up at this end…

Oh La La.

The Big Four-O



Decorate Daddy...



Star Treatment



We Love Daddy




Cake...




Prezzies

Oh my goodness the torment continues….

I actually had an almost panic attack when Bruce told me that indeed they had tendered an offer…you mean I might actually know where we will be living?

The normal has become not knowing and suddenly I appreciated the freedom that no plan allows…everything is possible, there is no down side- no upside- just one great big possibility.

And now we might actually know??? No way.

Back to the 1000 Islands

We have had Bruce’s family all week… it has been so nice to have people around who really know us and are interested in all the minutiae of our lives. I think they were a bit shocked by the new belligerent Lily as she bellows her way out of the last half of her 2nd year...in like a lamb out like a Lion for her. (I am shocked!!) Why is it that all those normal developmental stages catch you by surprise anyway… She is still her sweet funny self in between all those No’s.
We had a great time, lots of good meals and conversations. It feels so easy for us to be with them. We miss them.

Then a really good friend of mine from my college days dropped y for several days with her little boy…so good to see how the great people in your life really just don’t change…

Blue Belly Button

When asked why her belly button was Blue Lily said matter of factly…Because I colored it!!
So why is that adults are so slow on the uptake anyway??

So finally after a week or 10 days in Canada of “other things” we have finally arrived in the 1000 Islands to relax and unwind. In true Canadian tradition, the cottage is earthy, has a screen door that swings and slams and we have a fabulous view of the lake or in this case the Saint Lawrence river.
We can hear the loons calling at night, and the first night we were here we observed a heron feeding by the little willow tree on an island metres from our dock. This morning I counted 16 adolescent ducks nibbling on river grass near the shoreline.

The first day is always frenetic as the children instinctively explore every inch of our digs as we discover together all the dos and don’ts for anyone under the age of 10. Then we settle into a bit of a routine. I made a huge trip to Dollarama and came home with almost every craft supply they had (I think) so we can do a different craft every day. This morning we made magic wands out of errant tree branches and sprinkled them with “Magic Dust” in preparation for their first solo spells. We have a few days of just ourselves to ourselves before our family and friends arrive. A nice reprieve from the last weeks of activity.

The kids and Bruce are setting a fire ready to light to roast marshmallows before bed and the meet is thawing in the sink for tonight’s barbeque.

A perfect cottage evening…Oh my…where is my glass of wine anyway?
Later….