The Risky Business of Living

Overheard in the café where I sat alone having lunch today (er - I am on maternity leave, and one is supposed to relax and take care of oneself on maternity leave, right??):

Two sisters bent over the ice-cream counter, deciding which flavour to order:
the older one is naming the flavours, and the younger one, who can't be older than four, says:
"Oh no, not that one. It looks like it's got loads of food colouring in it..."

At first this little exchange made me smile, and then I wondered: is this actually funny, reassuring or tragic??
I can't decide.
Or maybe I can.
If one of my own kids makes this kind of comment in a couple of years, how will I feel?

If you know me well, you will know that this is exactly the kind of comment that one of my kids could plausibly make at age four!
But now for the first time, I'm starting to think this might not be so commendable. Sure, it's good to have a healthy attitude to food, but maybe our kids (as a generation) deserve a few more years respite before they know so much about food colouring, additives, calories, swine flu, global warning and nuclear proliferation (etc, etc.) that they're afraid to even choose an ice-cream?

What do you think?

Hard Life

After numerous "maternity days" (i.e. every other Friday off), a week in England, a month of May filled with public holidays and their corresponding "bridge days", two weeks summer holiday and a final four-day week...

... Hereby commenceth:

Maternity Leave.


I love France.


P.S. A special hello to my no. 1 loyal reader, Adam. It's nice to know you're out there ;-)

Two Weeks in Provence (2)

Week two and it's time to get down to some serious activity...

Like... training for the St Tropez International Trolley Pushing Championships

And a spot of gardening...

Followed by a bit of watering (watering the water: a particularly useful pastime)...

And another spot of digging...

And when you've done all that, it's time to perform the usual pool checks (temperature and quality of the water, etc.)...

While maman studies hard and learns how to be a model French citizen

And Daddy and partner search in vain for a passing salmon or trout

And once we've made sure all is in order on site, it's time to do a little exploring...

In one village, maman shows off her unique bartering skills.
She starts by proffering a 10-euro note to the poor, downtrodden-looking guy who is trying to sell miniature cars at a local car boot sale.
"Pff!" he exclaims, with a haughty wave of the hand. "3 euros is enough."
Embarrassed, maman begs "Oh no, let me give you 5 at least!"
Hum.
We'd better not let maman go to Casablanca next year. They'd probably laugh her out of town...

Meanwhile, BB tries to distance himself from his pathetic mother by blending in with the crowd (can you spot the English tourist below??)


And father and son carry out a little anthropological study of the locals...
(life seems rather hectic, non?)

Phew. And after all that, it's finally time to take a well-earned break and appreciate the simple pleasures of a balmy Provençal afternoon.





(Baby's 43rd ice-cream...
Baby's 44th ice-cream....
Etc.).

Two Weeks in Provence (1)

So you don't suffer from image overload... I'm giving you the holiday photos in two separate installments.
And there has even been an attempt at pre-selection (yes really, I promise. There are actually many more. Die-hard fans need only ask...)

Magic memories: baby's first ice-cream.
And second.
And third.
And so on forever.
Four generations at large in the chic village of St Tropez. And some of the time, we needed all members of the first three generations just to keep the fourth in line...!


Could we be mistaken for film stars?

Beautiful Provence... some of which seems to have remained unchanged for decades...



"Our" bay...
Beached whale or expectant mother lounging by the pool?!
Little boy at play
And some days... well, some days everybody was a little out of sorts. C'est la vie, n'est-ce pas?


But throw in a good dose of sand, dirt and a few tools, and everyone's happy again...

Blog on Pause

I know how bitterly disappointed you will all be... but alas: no more blogging from me for the next two weeks.
We are off on holiday to Le Lavandou in the south east of France: it's last chance saloon for a bit of relaxation before new baby arrives.

Watch this space for future photos of lithe, sun-tanned bodies on golden beaches (yes, that'll be everyone else apart from me :-), and pale-skinned little boys lathered in Factor 50+++ suncream.
I bet you can hardly wait!!

Mother's Day

After months of putting on a brave face while BB chants "papa! papa! papa!" with all his heart... my day has finally come.
My patience has been rewarded.

A sweet, simple word that brings tears to my eyes.

Food for the soul. Confirmation that it's all been worth it.

One sunny morning, out of the blue, he turns to me and smiles, utters the little word as though he's said it a thousand times before.

"Maman!"