First it started that I had a very very very very very long day then a long homework time (even worst NO doing anything but reading stupid books :( ). When I got home I wanted to play with Helly and Pilar outside but they were watching a movie :(. To make it a week I have a dentist appointment tomorrow.
,
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
worst day ever (week) by:petru:)
Friday, September 27, 2013
Paris, Thursday 9/19/13
This was the busiest day by far. We took the open tour bus on the orange line and then the yellow line to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur (sacred heart) church. We got to see the famous cabarets Lido and Moulin Rouge, as well as plenty of sex shops and Erotic Museum (which made me think of a good friend!). We walked up a busy street with lots of shops on both sides (mostly souvenirs - prices kept going down the closer you got to the church - but also clothes by the pound, which I found interesting). We had lunch at Sacre Coeur- french bread, cheese, salad and chocolate that we brought with us. Petru played a bit at a small playground. Next, we climbed the many steps up to the church, where the views were gorgeous. We entered the church and Petru whispered to me my own thoughts "It's creepy in here", so he and I walked out quicker. On the steps, Petru got accosted by an older man who wanted to draw his portrait. There were lots of people trying to make an euro this way around the church, and they were not shy in their approach; Petru, the friendliest little boy, had a hard time understanding why we kept telling him to not entertain these talks (P: "But mom, it is free", AM: "Nothing is free lovey!).
Next, we took the bus back. Chris and Petru went back to the apartment and the playground while mom took me shopping (on Champs Elysee) as she always done when we get together. Thank you mom! I feel so spoiled, like a "princess":). We spent 3 hours shopping, returning home around 9pm. Mom, at 71, managed to walk around for more than 12 hours that day! I can only hope to be like her when I get to be 71.
We all walked to dinner and ended up at a fancy restaurant because of a strike nearby. (The next day we asked our French friend about it, and he nonchalantly mentioned, "Oh, just another strike", but I would lie if I did not say I was a bit scared!). We ordered quickly. I got "fish of the day" without asking what it was - it was squid and I just could not make myself eat it. Chris got "meat of the day" which was raw steak. Mom and Petru got food they liked. It was pretty comical to watch all of us trying to make the best out of this. Chris ended up eating 2 dinners, and I filled up on bread and salad. We all slept great that night.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Wednesday 9/18 in Paris 2013
We slept in as we did every morning. On Tuesday we spotted a Starbucks 5 minutes away so Chris went to get coffee. He also stopped at a boulangerie nearby to pick up pastries. This became our new routine. Such a treat to be able to have a lovely breakfast in bed. Thank you Chris. I went for my first run in the Jardin du Luxemburg which is what I ended up doing every morning. Those 6 miles allowed for some alone time to clear my head, and listen to some Ted talks. Petru and Chris went to the playground, while mom stayed home and started on her big project: sewing a traffic light onto Petru's backpack.
We met at the apartment later on and set out to go see Notre Dame, which was about 10 minutes away. My mom told us about the legend of Notre Dame which became Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a book I enjoyed as a child (and a story that Petru now knows!).
Close up of Notre Dame from the boat tour!
We walked around and decided to buy a 3 day bus/boat unlimited stops tour called "L'open tour" - best decision! We took the green line and saw Dome D'Invalides, Louvre, Champs ELysee, Arc du Triumphe and Tour L'Eiffel. It was a great way to get oriented. Later on, we took a boat tour before a lovely dinner. A bit of a side note about food in Paris. I am NOT a foodie. I dislike spending money on expensive food. I am happy with a huge salad and hunk of french bread. So, salads in Paris were not great. Lots of Jambon, little lettuce, etc, but I adjusted. Petru loved his pizza (though he ate bread and cheese for lunch every day, which is a first for him). Chris and mom were unimpressed with the pastas - they were good, but nothing truly special. Chris can add his notes here.
Later that night Petru read - he read about 2 hours everyday, the joy of no internet, and the adults played games and read. We fell asleep around 9pm.
Paris 2013 Monday 9/16 and Tuesday 9/17
Both Chris and I took the day off. I ran 10 peaceful miles and Chris swam and then picked up books for all of us from the library. We packed, did laundry and cleaned the house - nothing like having a clean house when returning from a long trip - to help smooth the transition back into routine. We even had time to watch the last episode of "Boardwalk Empire" before picking Petru up from school.
After a few back and forths we decided to take a taxi to the airport. My cheap side was against it, but one of my mantras for the trip was to be very agreeable. The cab ride was smooth. The driver was an interesting character, full of good stories about his travel, which I think relieved some of Chris's anxiety. He even told us about his panic attacks and ativan pill habit, while I refrained from giving recommendations about a good CBT person that could help him out.
Me - ready to GO!
Airport security was easy and pretty soon we got settled at our gate. Per usual, I brought a salad and some fruit, and Petru used the ipad. Our flight was on time. Petru and I set together, and Chris set close by. I had a great plan that involved sleeping through the flight, but that did not work out as the light was on for almost the entire flight. I did manage to sleep for 3 hours once I figured out that I can use a blanket as a scarf to block the light. Petru and Chris played video games, we all had snacks, and pretty soon we arrived in Dublin @ 6am Ireland time. During the 1 hour layover Chris and I enjoyed lattes and pastries, and Petru enjoyed some free wifi! At some point I looked at him and he was surrounded by 5 other kids to whom he was explaining how to play Minecraft. If I had taken a picture of the 3 of us, we would have looked very happy in that little airport. Onto our next flight and voila, 2 hours later we arrived in Paris at Charles du Galle airport (Petru just corrected me saying that the airport is outside Paris!). We had great directions from mom and managed to pick up our luggage, take the airport shuttle, and the RER to St Germain Square, and then easily find Rue Monsieur Prince, a 2 min walk to number 26, where mom was waiting in our studio. The place was small but beautiful, with high ceilings which reminded me of our home in Romania. Mom looked great and in her typical style proceeded to give us all presents: T shirts from various Europe cities for Petru, a sweater for Chris, dresses, Kerastase cosmetics for me, and of course, my 40th birthday present, 2 mirror hand painted by her.
Chris and I collapsed onto the bed shortly thereafter while mom took Petru to Jardin du Luxemburg and its beautiful playground.
They returned a couple of hours later, and we all went out for a walk and to get some food. We then played some games and later Chris and I got dinner. We met a nice French men at a cafe and had a great conversation about fresh organic food and French versus American eating habits. We ended up getting lunch from him almost every day, and Petru loved waving and saying "Bonjour" to him every time we passed by his cafe. We went to bed early that night. Petru slept with no problems, but Chris and I were both up @ 3am for what seemed like forever. First day in Paris and mission accomplished: visit with mom and adjust to the new time zone.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
8 year old cake and other pictures
The chime he made for grandma's birthday
Friday, July 26, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Summer adventures 2013 - part 1
It's getting close to the end of July, I have a few minutes, so time for a few words on our summer adventures thus far.
Petru has been very busy with the Arlington Children's Theatre, where he is rehearsing for The Little Mermaid. He is a sailor and part of the sea chorus. He has a few lines, and I think he would have secretly liked to have a bigger part (i heard him say to his cousin on the phone yesterday "I have a few solos"). I think this is just perfect for him. Rehearsals are brutal but he truly enjoys this experience and I am considering trying to have his audition for the Fall as well.
Petru spent the first week of his summer vacation at home, playing with neighbourhood friends, going to the museums with Chris, and going to our town beach as a family. He spent part of the second week at Grandma's and then back home. Last week and this he is doing a sports camp in Lexington. I am very impressed with it and Petru's swimming and tennis have been taking off. He managed to do really well in this setting, with HSlers as counselors, and lots of physical play, something that he is growing into.
At home, we have been playing lots of games: Apple to apple, monopoly junior, uno, and Petru is becoming better able to deal with losing.
There is of course, lots of homework. RSM gave them a big package so he has been doing 1 page/day, primarily things that will prepare him to add 2 or 3 digit numbers in his head, and also multiplications/divisions. He has been doing a lot of procrastinating, which is hard for me to watch....
He also has been reading daily, and has started to read Harry Potter on his own at times, though he still prefers me to read it. I am enjoying the book very much myself.
There have been many trips to Watercountry, games to pass the time while in line (aka, I describe a character from HP, and you tell me which one; which character are we and our friends most similar too - apparently I am Hermione and Petru is Ron), games to make the drive shorter (e.g., make up a song about a family member).
Next week Josephine, our french aupair is coming for 3 weeks. We area all very excited.
Pictures soon!
Monday, July 8, 2013
From Petru
In the car this afternoon, sounding very frustrated:
"Mom, it is so frustrating when the thing you wanted to invent has already been invented"
Monday, July 1, 2013
Happy 13 years
Happy 13 years to Chris and me. We pre-celebrated by listening to Liz Weil's interview on "Married (Happily) with issues" on public radio. Today I got red roses and 2 games picked by Petru and Chris - PERFECT presents for ME. One of the games - Pachisee - was a game that Chris and I used to play everynight in Romania during our 8 months exile...Petru has theater rehearsal tonight up to 8, which means a short run and nice dinner at home.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
End of the school year
I have a few minutes before I have to get dressed to go to Petru's end of year slideshow. Petru is already outside - this morning he was up at 6am, prepared the little presents for his classmates (because today is also a birthday celebration for him since his actual birthday is in the summer), brushed his teeth, ate breakfast, unpacked and packed his backpack without any reminders. Wow!
Yesterday I picked him up from afterschool around 5pm. I try my best not to have him sit there by 6pm, although I don't think he'd mind. He was watching a group of 5 kids play pool, patiently waiting his turn. He asked to stay a little longer so that he can have his turn, and I agreed. He started playing with J, a kid who has teased him in the past. They were both playing nicely. Petru had no idea how to play and was holding the stick awkwardly. J's father showed up and was the big cheer leader for J which was a bit comical. P did so well. He ended up losing and J said "I won, you lost" and P said "I lost" with a visible sad face. We left and he was sad, but I was able to comfort him and tell him how proud I am of how he handled this loss. I told him that I wouldn't have been more proud has he won; he played a game he had not played before, took a chance, lost but had fun in the process. His face demeanor changed. When Chris got home we praised him for this again.
I remember hating to lose as well. I was lucky and generally much more athletic than Petru, and also an internalizer. Somehow I managed to be the leader and have all the kids want to play with me when I was his age. Much easier for me that way. I did not lose often, but when I did, I worked very very hard to improve. This is something I want to instill in Petru as well, and I think both Chris and I are doing a great job with this so far. Visualize and make it happen, do your best while accepting that sometimes things might now work out the way you envision them to, problem solve and adapt, and never give up.
Time's up. Off to the celebration and then to work!
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Update
June 17, 2013
I am sitting in the Arlington Children’s Theatre watching
Petru rehearse for the Little Mermaid. I have been here for 2 hours and have
finished all the work I brought with me. Then I remembered the blog. This past
week I shared the blog with Petru, now an almost 8 year old. He loved it. He
laughed hearing about how he used to be, the conversations we used to have, and
how he made sense of things when he was much younger. This motivated me to get
back to the blog.
So lets rewind and update first.
Petru is almost done with 1st grade at Dallin. He
had a great year, with lots of learning for him, but mostly for Chris and me.
This year shattered many of the parenting believes that I used to hold, and
helped me grow so much as a parent and as a person.
Some highlights of the year:
We took a trip to
Florida to see cousin Landen and meet
cousin Oliver. Petru and Landen had a ball (and several competitive arguments,
ha!). We went to Legoland, we went to Wet and Wild (water park!!!) and enjoyed
time with Buni and family.
We took another trip to North Carolina where we spent time
with cousins Izzy and Michael, and played a lot of mini golf.
Some favorites:
Traffic lights continue to be huge
Drawing
Mini Golf
Water park (memberships for Watercountry have again been
purchased this year).
Music – Taylor Swift is big nowJ
Piano
Petru started Russian Math this year and has been doing very
well. Amazing to see him strive in that environment, and go from being unable
to sit and work through any problem that was not “easy”, to trying to figure
things out on his own (and succeeding). I think he inherited Chris’s math geneJ More importantly, he
is super proud of himself and often announces that “I am good at math”.
More recently Petru took off with his reading. I think this
is a function of reducing the computer time.
He continues to take piano lessons, and has his second
recital tomorrow afternoon. He will be playing “chimes”, which he composed, and
Rodeo. He has been working on learning how to play “I knew you were trouble”
and is excited to play it in front of all his friends on Monday.
Pictures some other time..
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