Oh, how I love having a little girl.  Sophie and I had a special "girly day" on Saturday while the boys played football in the park.  . 

We decided to go to the newly opened "Laduree" in the St. Germaine area.  It was quite smaller than the other shops scattered throughout Paris but still pretty and such a treat to spend the day with my curly girl.

The rainbow of macaroons melted in our mouths. 

Laduree just opened a beautiful shop selling candles, perfumes, and hand lotions right next to the tea shop.  I wanted to buy one of everything for the packaging alone.  

We did a little window shopping......

We walked the River Seine, looking through the stalls that line the streets full of old books, postcards and pictures.

We walked down to the river..........

Then we made our way over to the beautiful square between the Louvre and the Jardin du Tuilleries.

This is a great spot to rest for a bit and people watch.  Everyone crowds together, taking pictures of one another, wide eyed trying to take it all in, children scoot to the sides of the fountains, trying to touch the water as it splashes them, the birds walk between feet looking for bread.  

A great place to grab a cafe au lait and watch the world go by is at "Cafe Marley".  You will sit above the crowds with a great view......... 

We made our way out of the square, walking towards the nearest metro; our feet were tired.  Our last gaze was at the beautiful "Hotel Regina" with it's rows of lights and window boxes spilling ivy out the sides. 

I have such a thing for order and structure.  I love rows of anything;  columns, lights, statues, tables and chairs at the cafes.  It is calming to me......

I have been stuck at home all week with sick kids.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful.  I kept wishing that they would have been sick when it was raining, cold and dreary. 

Finding Max reading to his sick sister made me thankful to be a stay at home Mom.  Little snippets of everyday life with Max and Sophie reinforce the gift that being a Mother truly is.  There will be plenty of beautiful, warm days in Paris to explore. 

For now, my job is to care for my little chicks, which is what I longed to do for so many years.  They are growing up so fast and this window of mothering is so small, it will be over before I know it.   I need to remember what a gift and an honor it is to be their mother.  

Little girls dress like little girls in France; sweet collars, puffed sleeves, oh my.  Sophie was in desperate need of jammies and I was happily surprised to see these sweet cotton jammies at Monoprix (think Target). 

They have little red buttons, puffed sleeves and gathered ankles.  I was doubly pleased that Sophie loved them.  She has her own style, I'm not sure what you would call it.....eclectic tomboy chic. 

Oh, she can look so feminine and I wish she liked dresses and all things girly. 

She never liked princesses, never dressed up.  She dressed up as a cat for years.  She would crawl around meowing, eating out of a bowl on the floor if I let her (which I sometimes did).  Now she is a horse, pushing into our legs, nuzzling us and nah'ing.  She ran like a horse for months, with her neck sticking forward, head still, galloping; finally Dan told her it was not good for her to run that way and now when she does we tell her to "run like a girl" and she stops galloping and runs like a human being. 

Oh, I love my crazy curly girl!  Sophie, I love your confidence and your sense of style!!  Don't ever change.

Max and Sophie have a very unique relationship.  I am not sure if it is "the twin thing" or not but I want it.  They LOVE to spend time together, they love to talk about silly things and "important issues" (to a six year old). 

While we were in Brussels, I asked the kids to sit down at a little cafe for a moment while I looked at some sketches.  I turned around to see them "yacking away", they were so engaged with one another.   

Oh my!  This girl is soooo in love with her brother and Max just loves a captive audience.  (I just love all of his hand and finger gestures)

Don't you want to know what they are talking about????  I do!

"What's going on behind those eyes of yours?"

I look all around me and my children are right beneath my feet in little puddles. It can be as simple as giving Max the wrong pastry, he gets red in the face and crocodile tears form and he begins to cry. (He does not like to cry and always tries holding it back).

Sophie is having the greatest difficulty with this new life of ours. She cannot express it with her words but I can tell by her argumentative behavior. She is constantly fighting and disobeying me about everything under the sun. My patience is wearing thin.

What happened to my (very irrational) and beautiful picture of my family? I have a tendency to not worry about "the uglies" in a situation until I am stuck right in the middle of them. I always hope for the best. Our kids have always rolled with our life and I assumed that they would do the same with this new life in Paris. I was so wrong.

After a very long day of trying to either step over or mop up my little puddles that I call Max and Sophie, I was exhausted.  I ended the day picking the wrong battle with my daughter.  Why I insisted that she go pee before bed, I do not know? When I say, I insisted, I mean, I really did!  Yelling at her, "now you get on that toilet and pee little girl!"  "But Mom, I can't, I promise" said Sophie, looking up at me from the toilet.  "You WILL go pee and I am going to stand here in this little closet of a room the French stick  their toilets in and pee!". Dan heard all the commotion and came in. I looked at him and said "you deal with her." He, very calmy tried explaining that she had pee'd in her bed two times this week and she needed to go pee. "" But Dad ......." , Sophie said. "But Sophie ......." Dad said, (his voice getting louder).

Shockingly, we were able to get the kids to bed and by this time Dan was looking at me like I was losing it. (Prior to the pee incident, Sophie was arguing with me about something and I literally said "Hey Sophie, watch me " and proceeded to put my hands over my ears singing" la la la la la la. "Real mature, I know. Not my proudest moment but the truth.

We are in the middle of a major transition. My rose colored glasses are off and my prescription lenses are on. Is this what people were trying to tell me about before I left?  This period of adjustment. It's not fun and the day after all the drama, I am spent.

I am a bit scared of this daughter of mine who is incredibly stubborn and argumentative. I am already fearing her teen years. It is so hard to see the kids struggling.  My heart physically aches for them. I know my Dad would tell me, "Kids are very resilient, they will be just fine."  I know that kids are strong but that Mother in me, who has a perpetual guilt complex, worries that I am scarring them forever. Is this amazing dream of mine turning into a nightmare for my little darlings?

"Sophie, I think if we go that way, we will find our way back home to Texas"

I am busy packing yet another suitcase to get on the road early and enjoy my family.  The kids are bouncing off the walls at the moment, excited to run along the beach and swim in the indoor pool.  Corpus Christi, here we come!

I had to buy the kids new swimsuits and I think Sophie liked hers.  She put it on over her jammies last night.  Love that girl!

Sophie prayed at bedtime last night and had me in entranced by her innocent image of God. 

When she prays, she often becomes deep in conversation with God telling Him what she thinks, feels and wants.  It is often hysterical to listen too.  Last night she started describing God by saying "I think you have one eye that you can see out of and another that you can't", she also said "I think your skin is the color of everyones skin, it's all mixed up".  She described Him as "having adult teeth and baby teeth, one side of his hair has straight hair and the other side has curly".

After she was finished I asked about "the one eye that He could not see out of".  She said "Well, we are a part of God and there are people that can't see and He knows what that feels like too".  Wowee Maui(!!!!) is what I thought and then Sophie being Sophie had me walking away laughing when she said "Oh, and sometimes his socks are stinky just like mine". 

The kids are doing great in the hotel.  They are enjoying the new environment and I think we are all embracing our small quarters.  

They now have a "secret spot" where they meet daily to discuss interesting topics such as horse grooming, "how to get our parents to buy us a horse", monster trucks, outer space and "how to get Mom and Dad to give us more money for allowance so we can  buy a pregnant horse" (that way they can each have thier own.)

 These secret meetings last for 30 minutes or more.  I must admit that every now and again I stand really close to the door and listen in.  I always walk away with tears streaming down my face.  If you ever want to know what six year olds talk about, meet me by our bathroom door and listen in.  It's a scream!

Is that what I think it is?

Lucky thing I checked this box before taping it up.........

I don't know that the storage facility is climate controlled............

I don't know about you but when I think of Paris, I think of romance, lights, architecture, food and history. 

I wondered what the kids would think of Paris last summer.  We were all pleasantly surprised at the fun that awaited them.  Paris is a wonderful place for young kids.  The parks alone are worth the trip.  Every park has a large play area, innovative playground equipment, merry-go-rounds, pony rides, and cotton candy.  Some have mini trampolines, zip lines (my husbands personal favorite), and large swings where the kids can almost reach the sky.

I think we hit about 5 parks in 9 days.  It was so fun to hear the melody of languages while sitting on the park bench watching the kids play.