five for friday, photoless edition

I seem to have taken amazingly few photos this week. I can't explain it.

1. On Sunday evening we went to see Marc sing in the Young Ambassadors' 40th anniversary fireside. It was held in the small theater of the Conference Center and was open to the performers' families. The fireside was recorded for broadcast and DVD, and thus we opted not to bring Eva. I could just hear her yelling, "This is too long!" or "I want to go home!" in between numbers... (Thanks, Aunt Michelle & Uncle Bob, for staying with Eva.)

When I told her she wouldn't be coming with us to the performance, she said, "That's okay. I just like listening to Daddy sing downstairs." He had been rehearsing all week to learn the songs, and it was like a continual serenade for the rest of us. The boys agreed that they had enjoyed hearing his practices, and so did I.

At the conclusion of the fireside, we were informed that they needed to redo two of the numbers (I hadn't noticed anything amiss), so it ran longer than expected. We didn't get home until after 11:00! But Eva did have a 3 hour nap on Monday...

2. I took Lucas and Eva to the dentist this week for their 6-month checkups. Lucas has 2 cavities; Eva has none. She is gloating quite a bit and keeps telling Lucas, "I told you you should brush your teeth!" Needless to say, Lucas is not enjoying that.

Also, the dentist's office is now selling Sonicare toothbrushes (at a discounted rate), and they said that someone like Lucas (teeth prone to decay and a lazy brusher) could really benefit from one. Lucas told me he wishes he could have one. Well, so do I! Do you think he'll save up $125 of his allowance? (it should only take a year or so...)

3. Last night I had a hard time getting Eva to get ready for bed. She was too busy making up songs on the piano about Mr. Ickle Dickles, her latest drawing creation. (He's a creepy guy with spikes who has minions of crocodile-like creatures.) Most of the lyrics are along the lines of, "he is creepy, he is scary," but there are some other details about what makes him so creepy/scary. Max was accompanying her, fleshing out the songs with appropriately eerie chords and runs, while Lucas was actually drawing his own staff paper and notating the repetitive chorus.

Can you blame me for moving bedtime a little later?? I only wish I had thought to grab my camera and get some video before the whole thing ended.

4. Yesterday I was vacuuming, and I noticed that the dirt cup was not filling up. With Jack around, it's just not possible that the carpet isn't covered with dog hair, so I knew something was up. I looked online for some troubleshooting possibilities and then downloaded the manual for our model. I diagnosed the problem, took apart the hoses, and discovered what was clogging up the works! I felt like a super hero: DIY Woman.

5. Wednesday's second-to-last meeting of our organization class was unexpectedly emotional for me. It was about teaching children to work, but ended up being a lot about parenting. It really got me thinking. And worrying that I've made too many mistakes already, and what if it's too late to salvage things?

And then, Jill and I ended up going and talking to the teacher for a few minutes afterward. The conversation took an unexpected turn which left me practically sobbing. I did not see that coming. I've been feeling emotionally fragile ever since, like I could start crying at any moment. I am not used to this! As Jill would say, "what is this salty discharge?!"

Jill mentioned that this class appears to be a defining event in my life -- perhaps down the road we will think in terms of before the class and after the class. I think she may be right.

p.s. I made some double chocolate banana bread last night to use up all of my overripe bananas. This morning I had a piece with a smear of peanut butter (a new innovation). Oh. my. gosh. As my aunt Denise says, "That is sure to make my pants fit better!" Yikes. I fear they may never fit again.

Sacré Coeur

{My parents went home on Saturday. sniff. I always hate it when they leave, I feel so loved and supported whenever they're around. Anyway... I still have a couple of things to post about their visit.}

The kids and I took my parents to see Sacré Coeur, as they had never been there. It's a little far out there, but we didn't venture down into the garment district, and certainly not into the seedy Pigalle area, so it wasn't too long of an excursion.

Eva brought some baguette remains to feed the pigeons. It's amazing how entertaining she finds that, and shockingly, we even found a couple of cute ones. (I know.)

I like taking pictures of Dad taking pictures. Here, he's getting down to get a worm's eye view of the birds.

Will I ever tire of ironwork? I hope not.

It's interesting how rust can be sort of picturesque. You know, if it's not on your car or your grill or anything.

Apparently these kids were on a field trip. I thought they were so darling!

You know what's not darling? Art pushers. They come up with a big sketch pad and try to start drawing you or your kids so fast that you can't refuse. Then they charge you for the drawing that you didn't want in the first place. (I only fell for that once when Max was 18 months old. Now they don't have a chance with me.) Or the guys that walk up to your kids and slip a loop of embroidery floss on their finger, only to hurry and make a friendship bracelet before you can stop them. We were stopped by at least 10 such pushers that day. I would politely but firmly say, "non, merci!" and then they would say -- oh it's not for you, it's for my friend here! Right. People that prey on innocent children (and their parents' wallets) really burn me up. But I digress...

Once again, the kids delighted me by playing and interacting so well with each other. That is probably the single best thing about living in Paris -- they don't have anyone else to play with, so they really hang out together.

You can get some great views from up on that hill!

I had promised Eva a ride on the carousel (the same one she rode on for her 2nd birthday). Max is her designated carousel go-with guy, she won't accept anyone else. Strangely, she keeps wanting to ride them, despite their terrifying nature. What the?

Lucas wanted to race the tram down the stairs. Dad went with him. They won. I was totally okay with riding the tram and losing that race.

I love these old shutters. I find it so interesting that I find these old peeling shutters so attractive, yet if my shutters looked like that, I would surely want to replace them. What's up with that? I guess maybe they look like they go with a 17th or 18th century building, not so much with our circa 1977 house...

We passed a little shop with these sodas and Max had to try one. He bought himself a bottle of green banana flavor. (I liked the flavor, but it was a little too sweet for my taste.) Love the bottles!