good times

With all the sickness around here, we've had a lot of whining, some crying, some tiredness, some cabin fever. But the kids have still managed to have some fun. (By the kids, I mean Lucas & Eva, as Max has been pushing through and going to school anyway.)

Lucas claimed the box my parents brought and made it into a robot -- specifically the Robotroid Mark 495. Eva was so enthralled with it, that he made her a slightly smaller one, the Roboscape Mark 2100. He was my hero that day.

We've had a lot of tea parties.

There was a whole lot of art going on. It was actually good for me that these two were sick at the same time!

Oh, and movies. Lots and lots of movies. SpongeBob, in particular.

Giving antibiotics (that must be given with food) twice daily to children who don't normally eat all that much and whose appetites are diminished still further by not being able to taste has been a challenge.

But Marc was up to the test. He created the polka-dot sandwich for Eva and it was a huge hit. She's eaten it several times since. I was at my wits' end.

Here's to improved health this week!

one little word 2010

In 2009, I chose to focus on the word progress:

"I think it will be good for me to focus on making progress. I still have a lot of areas I'd like to improve in, but I want to be able to applaud myself for every little movement I make in the right direction. I want to be pleased with what I accomplish, rather than upset with all that I have not yet accomplished. I want to learn to accept myself where I am, right now, be gentle with my efforts to improve, and appreciative of any and all growth. For a perfectionist like me, I think it will prove to be a real challenge."

Looking back, I wonder if this choice of word was a bit of a cop-out. Maybe I was disillusioned with my ability to fully embrace free (for 2 years!). I think maybe I was just overwhelmed and feeling the need to be kind to myself.

I find myself wondering if I never really got to the point of accepting "progress, not perfection", because now I am back to desiring real change. Actually, I think I did a great job at the acceptance part -- perhaps not as well as I could have at the progressing part. In any case, I still feel that progress was what I needed at the time. But now, I need something different.

After considering several words for the past week or so, I have narrowed my selection to:

PLAN

I had a bit of an epiphany when I realized that, for all of the things that I really want to accomplish this year, probably the biggest roadblock I would face would be a lack of planning. Could it really be that simple? That by having more frequent meetings with myself, as Jill says, I could put into action so many of the things that I want to have happen in my life? I think it could. In fact, I'm feeling really optimistic.

I did a quick search for some quotes, and now I am feeling even better about my choice:

Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan. -- Norman Vincent Peale

Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. -- Tom Landry

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. -- Eleanor Roosevelt

If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much. -- Jim Rohn

A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow. -- George S. Patton

Reduce your plan to writing. The moment you complete this, you will have definitely given concrete form to the intangible desire. -- Napoleon Hill

If you fail to plan, plan to fail. (unknown)

The Eleanor Roosevelt one is really resonating with me.

So if you're like me, and you are wondering how you can get more out of the experience of having a word for the year, here are some ideas:

1. Every time you make a list, write your word at the top of it, so it is always in front of you. I saw this in a comment on Ali Edwards' blog, and loved it. The act of repeatedly writing my word will, I think, keep it from becoming just another sign on the fridge that I don't see anymore. Heaven knows I make a lot of lists, so this may just be genius.

2. Make a wordle with quotes about your word or just your feelings about it. It's easy and fun!

3. Download this worksheet. Then fill it out! I'm planning to do this, I see it as a fleshing-out of my intentions and plans for the year.

Here's to a year of positive change in 2010!!

first museum & first pastries

Today Eva slept in until 9:30 -- hallelujah! And the boys got up at 10:30, so that is progress. We left the apartment at 1:00 today, which is our best time yet.

When we live here, I pace myself. We just can't be on the go all day every day. (When we have guests, we are out and about more for their sake.) My ideal Paris day is to go on an excursion in the morning(ish), come home, relax for awhile, put in a load of laundry, then figure out what to do for dinner.

Max requested the Centre Pompidou today (modern art museum). Lucas was on board, Eva was not, but we take turns choosing what we want to do! Right now they have a special exhibit of female artists, which I found very interesting.

I loved this girly-girl piece, complete with jewelry, hair accessories, ribbons, and trims, all in various shades of pink.

One of my favorite color combos, this one spoke to me.

And I loved how text was incorporated into so many things:

So, yeah, I'm a word aficionado. Just this plain text makes my heart sing. The font, the words, the spacing, I love it all. (this was an art piece, not a museum commentary)

The words were cut out and illuminated from behind. Love it!

This is tongue in cheek, of course. Funny. (My ayatollah??)

This one was knitted! Just a huge, knitted panel, with the words. Cool.

This piece was made of wood and had letters strewn about. It made the best shadows. Eva had to get out of her stroller and dance around in this room. (She also announced today that she wants to take ballet and tap. How does she even know about tap?)

This looks like a cool book that we could reproduce! (Amy? Hannah?) What a fun project.

Come on, how can you not love this?

This one was fascinating -- it was a series of 8 panels. The 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th all had the same photo. Each one tells how many days it's been since the man she loved left. The even-numbered panels continued the story of their relationship with different photos. I stood there a long time reading the whole thing.

We discovered that Lucas and I have a faster museum pace than Max -- he was always lagging behind, and later told me that we were going too fast for him. Good thing he is old enough for me to not worry when he is not at my side!

At a certain point, it became clear that Eva couldn't handle any more museum time, so we wandered around the Stravinsky Fountain and then made our way home. Then we took a stroll along Rue Cler to buy baguettes and pastries. The baguettes were hot out of the oven! Such a treat. And it was the first time we have gotten pastries -- I have no idea how we waited this long. Max had a divorce (like a big éclair with chocolate custard on one side and coffee custard on the other), I had a religieuse (chocolate cream puff with another smaller cream puff on top), Lucas had a pain au chocolat (croissant with chocolate inside), and Eva had a chocolate sablé cookie that was almost as big as her head.

My blisters have not improved and my feet are in bad shape. It's a good thing I brought my favorite rhinestone wedge flip-flops, or I would not have been able to go out at all today. Here's a bit of good news: after carrying the stroller with Eva in it up and down many flights of stairs today, I can report that my knees are doing fine! So much easier than 2007, when I was just post-knee surgery.

Marc was gone all day helping the students to get to their host families. When he got home, we had raclette for dinner. I should have taken photos (next time). Basically it's melted cheese with boiled potatoes, ham, baguettes, and apples. The easiest dinner, yet delicious and very filling.

Today was so much more promising than yesterday.