Le ménu de la Semaine

Another week has arrived....what's cooking?

Lundi-
Potage Parmentier (potatoe leek soup)
baguette

Mardi-
CREPE night
-Crêpes with ham, broccoli and mornay sauce
-salade verte
-dessert crêpes with choice of filling

Mercredi-
wilted spinach salad
Porc Prince Orloff (Pork loin stuffed with ham & gruyère baked on a bed of tomatoes and garlic)
glazed carrots
potato galette
Dessert (???)

Jeudi-
C'est Papa qui cuisine!

Vendredi-
On dîne au restaurant.

Et toi? Qu'est-ce que tu cuisines cette semaine???

Gratitude Friday

TGIF....what a week!

Feeling grateful for...

:: Romain Duris (pictured left)....my fave french actor (and future husband....Romain--Téléphonez-moi! Don't worry about Tom...). And for Netflix so I can watch his latest at home! Tom & I watched Heartbreaker the other night! It was fantastically funny and sweet. I also loved Paris (with Duris and Juliette Binoche and Mélanie Laurent) Bravo Netflix!

:: My parents....thanks so much for picking up kiddos for my numerous meetings, classes and today so I can (finally) go to the gym!

:: 2 FULL sections of French 1! Feeling the Frenchie love!

:: Charlie's love of the snow...so cute! A little face full of snow!

et toi????

::

She was....an American Girl

In continuation of Mia's birthday, Auntie, Grammie & I took her to the American Girl Store in Natick, MA! Someone recently said that it must have been "Mia Nirvana." Yes....it was! We had a spectacular day. Rosebelle got her hair done, we had a special lunch in the Bistro, and Mia picked out some new goodies...Mommy, Auntie & Grammie were delighted by our gracious and adorable companion. We made some very special memories!

~Lunch at the Bistro~

~the birthday girl with her special crown~

~picking up Rosebelle from her salon appointment~

~Rosebelle and special guest Felicity joined us for lunch!~

~Mia blows out her candles on her cake at the Bistro~

I feel so fortunate to be able to provide Mia with such happy memories....it was an amazing day...Mia was at her cutest and kept us laughing with such lines as, "What Emerson has lost 2 teeth and I still have all these chompers!" Very funny! Happy 6th Birthday Princess Mia!

le ménu de la semaine...

Qu'est-ce qu'on mange cette semaine?

lundi-

Minestrone soup

bread

mardi-

tortellinis with choice of sauces

caesar salad

garlic bread

mercredi-

stuffed avocados with shrimp

quiche savoyarde

green salad

baguette

jeudi-

My grad class begins...C'est Papa qui cuisine!

vendredi-

beet salad

lemon chicken with rice

brussels sprouts

baguette

samedi-

???

dimanche-

on dîne chez Maman & Papa!

what's on your menu?

Happy Birthday Mia!

Our Mia is 6! We celebrated with a big party at the Children's Museum of NH! We love that place! Mia invited special friends and family and we ate cake, opened presents and explored the museum. Honestly, we had a great time and I think all our guests did too! Here's some pics from the event...

~the birthday girl herself in front of the poster le mari made!~

~with Cameron, Amanda & Olivia!~

~Mia! Complete with badge & crown.~

~the birthday ring...with 6 candles now!~

~commanding the table!~

~ooooh, presents....~

~snuggle break with Mimi~

~Mia loves the weaving section~

~Auntie & Luke love our girl too!~

~Who are those two little girls behind the masks? Mia & her school friend Christine!~

Happy Birthday sweet love!

Gratitude friday...

Gratitude friday is here again....I am feeling grateful for...

:: another surprise snow day! Snuggly day with no where to go!

:: my Mia Grace....who turns 6 tomorrow...I am so deeply grateful for that sensitive, beautiful, kind and funny little being.

:: another safe return of le mari!

:: passions....they make life worth living...

et toi?

Je confesse...

I hate driving in the snow. It scares me. For a born & bred New Hampsha gal, I should be confident. I am not. I go very (annoyingly) slow. People pass me. Usually, I avoid driving in icy/snowy conditions like the plague....yesterday we had an early release and I had to pick up Benji and drive home. (Thank goodness my Dad picked Mia up!) I am proud of myself for not hyperventilating. I did it....I was fine. Exhale.

Le ménu de la semaine...

un peu en rétard, je m'exuse...

Lundi-

Butternut squash soup & bread

(last time I made butternut squash soup, I made extra and froze the leftovers...now with Tom gone, I can serve a yummy nutritious dinner in minutes! Sweeet!)

Mardi-

Saucisson en croûte (fancy pigs in a blanket!)

carrot salad

Mercredi-

Spaghetti & meatballs

Caesar salad

(hey...when the cats away!)

Jeudi-

Le rétourne de Papa!

melon & proscuitto

chicken with mushrooms, shallots & cream, broccoli (in a brown butter lemon sauce)

salade verte

baguette

(beaucoup de vin pour la maman!)

Vendredi-

????

Frustrated

I am feeling overwhelmed and frustrated right now...I am a little paralyzed by it and have retreated to the shower (my favorite place to think) and now to my (messy) room...

Things that are stressing me out today:

-messy house (perpetually messy)

-dishes in the sink

-Benji's bad moods

-Charlie's chewing & pissing

-loads of laundry

-loneliness--Tom is gone AGAIN. It is starting to seriously wear me down.

Things I will do to help myself:

-clean the kitchen and start a load of laundry.

-meal plan & grocery shop (with both kids in tow!)

-dinner at my parent's house

-hug my children

-schedule 2 days to go to the gym

Feeling grateful for the holiday day tomorrow...Tom's gainful employment...a warm (if messy) home.

Gratitude Friday

Hmmmmm, feeling grateful today for...

:: 2 awesomely behaved children. Last night we had a Belgian coworker of Tom's over for dinner. My children were adorable, sat at the table nicely, ate all their dinnner and even wished him a "bonne nuit!" at the end...*sigh* Europe here we come!

:: A few of my students who make me really feel good about my chosen profession.

:: the black boots I picked up in Barcelona 2 years ago! Very comfy and stylish and I wear them at least 2 times a week!

:: le mari...je t'aime tellement.

:: the William Tell, the only place to take Euros when they come to town!

Et toi?

Snow day!

Yesterday was a snow day! NH got walloped by a Nor'Easter...and we reaped the rewards of a snuggly day. While it was snowing, and snowing, and snowing, les enfants and I, read, watched tv, movies, and knitted away. The kids went outside to play without me! I watched from the window, but it was thrilling to dress them up, send them on their way and then welcome them back in after about 35 minutes with hot cocoa (I spiked mine with Bailey's Irish Cream---yummmmo!) This Mama even stole upstairs for a little sièste (before the Bailey's I promise!)! Tom came home early to battle the snowy driveway. Just another day in a NH winter wonderland!

~the big tree...so laden down with snow~

~watching the weather from the front door during the last snow storm (note Benji's hair!)~

~snuggling on my chair of their own volition! Like Benji's haircut? He looks sooo (too?) big!~

It seems Mother Nature is making up for our less than white Christmas!

Knitting again...

~knitting around and around~

About 8 months ago I started this sweater for Ben. (Knitting Pure & Simple, Hooded Tunic). I was off to a good start, had divided for the sleeves, and was at the point where I needed to knit around and around for about 9 inches. This is where I lost my knitting mojo. About 7 months ago, I put it down. I didn't knit a stitch on that sweater or anything else for 7 months! I was worried that perhaps I would never feel like knitting again. Last week, while I was home with a injured Mia, my friend Amanda stopped by. She is a knitting fanatic and of course had her knitting with her. As we sat drinking tea and I watched her knit, I thought, jeesh, I feel like knitting again! So, I dug out the sweater, and am back on the knitting wagon!

The yarn is very special, my friend Kate gave me about 8 skeins of it! It is natural undyed sheep wool. It smells sheepy in fact. When her knitty grandmother passed away, Kate inherited a ton of this yarn. It feels special to be making a sweater with it for my son, and when Kate has children, I'll send it along her way (in Alaska!).

I even casted on for a little LTK pilot cap for my friend's daughter's second birthday. The yarn is Malabrigo twisted in grape. Truly Malabrigo is the most delicious yarn. I can't wait to see little Maya in it!

Je confesse...

I hate vacuuming. I really hate the sound. That loud mechanical sound makes my ears feel like bleeding (worse than the butchering of my beloved French language by my French I students!) I'm bad at it too! I hurry through it because I hate the sound so much, and it is heavy and so not glamorous. Chez moi, it is le mari who takes on this responsibility....but when he travels....ugh...c'est mon tour.

le ménu de la semaine

Qu'est-ce qu'on mange?

lundi-
Chicken taco soup ( a departure from our regularly scheduled frenchy goodness!)
with avocado & cheese garnish

mardi-
butternut squash ravioli with a sage cream sauce
caesar salad

mercredi-
râpée de carotte
omlette aux pommes de terre
salade verte
baguette

jeudi-
wilted spinach salad
poulet au vinaigre
carrots
rice

vendredi-
je ne sais encore!

bon appétit!!!

Gratitude Friday

It is friday...feeling grateful for...

:: le mari on a return flight! Safe journey my love!

:: Mia's improving injury! Hooray for solid foods!

:: friends...

:: my mother, last night my dear friend Katie said, "your mother sleeps over every night when Tom is gone? That's amazing." Yes, it is amazing. Thanks Mom...your reward, in lieu of monetary compensation (hahaha), is how much those kids love you!

:: knitting again...

:: fulfilling work, fulfilling life.

:: impending date night tomorrow with le mari très sexy!

Encyclopedia of Me :: J

It has been a while....but we are at J in the encyclopedia of me....

J is for...

joli(e)....pretty, I like pretty things, it is a weakness (dishes, shoes, jewelry, girlie things), I like to feel pretty too....

jealousy....I sometimes can have a bad case of the "I wants..." I am learning to be better as I get older...

june....25th, my birthday

joie de vivre.....how I try to enjoy life

resolutions

Yesterday was the first day back to school. My students were all excited to share stories of vacation and talk about their favorite gifts and ask me about my christmas. I asked if anyone had made any resolutions and they all replied no! I was surprised. Could it be that making resolutions is falling out of style? I used to love making them. I've given up meat, learned to knit, and done a bunch of other very concrete things because of resolutions. It seems though that more often resolutions set us up to be disappointed in ourselves. How often are our resolutions to magically turn into someone we are not?

Case in point, last year I decided that I was going to wake up at 5 am every day and magically in Suzy Homemaker style, transform into a morning person. I pledged to make muffins and be cheery and even perhaps have exercised or meditated by 6 am. I envisioned my little ones coming downstairs to me in my apron with a hot breakfast awaiting them. This did not work. That is not me. At 31 years old, I have finally realized there are certain things you cannot change. I hate the morning. Don't talk to me before I have coffee. Before 7 am I am not cheery. I will not be making muffins in the am anytime soon. This year, I am embracing ME. I am not lusting after an imaginary woman who does not exist for me. Martha is Martha and Kim is Kim. Imperfections and all. So yes, I will sleep in on the weekends, my kids will pour their own cereal from time to time, and I am going to stop apologizing for it. I may not make breakfast--but I make one hell of a dinner!

Le ménu de la semaine

Le ménu comme Papa est parti!

Lundi-
croque monsieurs and tomato soup

Mardi-
Tom doesn't like spaghetti, so we eat it when he's away--
spaghetti & meatballs
ceasar salad

Mercredi-
On dîne chez Auntie & Luke

Jeudi-
Tom doesn't like salmon, so I decided to make it while he's gone--we shall see how the kids like it--
salmon with a lemon butter sauce
carrots
rice pilaf

Vendredi-
Papa rétourne!!!!! Youpi!
On mange ????

While Tom's gone, I tend to simplify meal prep and clean up, and we eat the special dinners like spaghetti & meatballs that I never serve otherwise. 4 more sleeps!

Forward thinking...

Thinking back on 2010, I can't help but smile...another great year with many (many!) joyous moments. Not too many downs and plenty of ups! I feel like 2010 was immensely gratifying for me in a personal way. I feel like I've wrestled the different aspects of my personality and am gaining a better sense of self. I miss knitting and am hoping inspiration strikes soon, but with out knitting, I've been reading a lot more. I've been cooking more than ever and am thinking about doing more with that. 2011 has me heading back to Europe hopefully 3 times! Hooray! I hope to join Tom in Brussels in March. Then I am once again taking my students to France and Spain in April. And the bestest will be when all 4 of us head to visit friends in France the end of June! Maybe that's the biggest self discovery, my little family is strong, a very strong little unit. The four of us can do whatever and go wherever life takes us! We have wonderful family and dear friends (near and far!), we are very blessed. Happiest of New Years to you readers (hi mom!); may everyone remember to follow their bliss!