I guess this is why we had two kids

Because for all the fighting and whining, there are moments like these... you might almost think they like each other. Please note that I did not choose this book or pose them, honest!

And this is what we call: is winter over yet?

No, it's not quite over yet... we are headed to the mountains tomorrow for winter break, so there is at least one more week of snow in our near future.

After the sunshine

came the snow. I couldn't believe it when we woke up to an inch or two of the white stuff on the ground yesterday. Benjamin was overjoyed, and had a few minutes before school to start on his snowman. This is the first good snowman snow we have had, everything up to now has been too powdery for packing.

Frédéric helped with the assembly.

And when he got home from school, I helped him with the head, arms and face. The snowman was a pretty good size for the small amount of snow we got!

Noah admired our work, and I think he was contemplating knocking it all down here.

Sadly, the snowman was slightly unbalanced and thus met an untimely demise when the snow began to melt. Reminds me of some of the Calvin & Hobbes comics, except of course that this didn't happen on purpose.

If summer ever comes

I will stop posting pictures of the sky. Until then, I'm reveling in days like today, and need some tangible proof that this does happen here every now and again.

The boys and I went outside not once, but TWICE today, before nap, and after nap.


It was around 32°F outside, so we only stayed out for about an hour, but it was so nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

See, Benjamin's so much a northerner that he doesn't know what to do with sunshine.


Noah isn't the only one who needs a haircut now, but when I talk to Benjamin about cutting his hair, he says, "I want Peggy to cut my hair so it doesn't hurt!" (Ouch, what does that say about my hair-cutting abilities?! I promise I only use the scissors on his hair, not on his head!)

When I told him Peggy lived far away, near Grandma and Grandad, he said, "I want to go live by Grandma and Grandad! And you come with me, and Noah, and Daddy." If only it were that easy!

The Vigesimal System: Hard Even for French People

As some of you may know, France uses a vigesimal system for numbers. That is, a base-20 system instead of a base-10 system like we normal people use.

Apparently, it's a hard concept even for them. I got this discount check in the mail today from a popular catalog company.

The written amount says "sixty-four," not "seventy-four," which would be "soixante-quatorze" or literally in English, "sixty-fourteen."

My French friend tells me it's the amount spelled out in words that takes precedence, so I guess it's not such a great deal as they'd like to make me think!

Nothing but blue sky...

Finally!!! This is the sky over our house today - it's not gray!!

And here it is, the elusive sun itself! Ahhhhh. It's a little too cold out to go bask in its rays, but I'm basking as much as I can from inside.

My Mom says I should write these down

so here are some of the things the boys have been saying lately.

Benjamin is a boy who loves structure. So for a while we could get him to do just about anything by explaining that "those are the rules." If it was a rule, he understood and would do it. Then he started making up his own rules...

• "Oh, and I have to drink some milk, those are the rules!"


• "You don't come here, Mommy. Those are the rules, Mommy."


• "No more, Daddy, those are the rules, Daddy!" (upon Frédéric turning the water back on when Benjamin had already finished filling the tub)


• "No feet on the table, those are the rules, Noah!"


• "If you want TV, you have to pick one [DVD]. Those are the rules."


• "If I am all done with my milk, I can have water for me."


• "No sandwich in the cup."


• "No swings in the mouth."


• And one of his dinnertime favorites, which started out as us saying, "You have to try it, but if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it." He translated that into: "If you don't try it, you don't have to try it!"

Some other, more recent ones we've heard:

• "Don't say that, that's rude!"


• "I don't know what you're talking 'bout, Mommy."

Well, at least we know he's listening to us, right?

He also likes to show off his prowess in English/French translation:

Me: How do you say "cow" in French?
B: "La vache!"

Me: How do you say "baby" in French?
B: "Noah!"

And like many kids, Benjamin's having a hard time with him/her, himself/herself, and his/hers. The other day he came out with "Daddy is going to do it by daddy's-self." He hasn't quite gotten the connection yet, and says things like, "We say 'his,' because Noah is a baby!" Today's conversation also related back to those pronouns.

Me: "Is Noah a boy or a girl?"
B: "Boy!"
Me: "Are you a boy or a girl?"
B: "Boy!"
Me: "Is Mommy a boy or a girl?"
B: (hesitates) "Girl!"
Me: "Is Daddy a boy or a girl?"
B: "Daddy's big!"

And let's not forget Noah, who is definitely having his language explosion. He can repeat just about anything we say these days, but these are his favorite and most-often-used expressions:

• "Whaaaaat?" (said in a surprised tone of voice)


• [What are you] "Doing, Mommy?" (repeated every 7 seconds, ad infinitum, even if you answer every time)


• [Where are you] "Going, Daddy?"

He didn't want to put his coat on the other day. I told him he had to put his coat on, because we had to go get Benjamin from school. He said, in true little brother style, "No more Ben!!"

First kid's first year in school... first teachers' strike

Yes, that's right, Benjamin has been in preschool since September, and he came home from school with this yesterday (click to see a larger version):

It says:
"Chers parent[sic],
En raison d'un mouvement de grève, il n'y aura pas classe le jeudi 21 janvier."

Dear Parents,
Due to a strike, there will be no class Thursday, January 21st.

Proof that my child does indeed attend a very French school. What would a school year be without at least one strike? It's got that same sort of feeling as a snow day, minus the snow.