Pickpockets in Paris

well..

i guess it was just 

a matter of time.

yesterday,

my wallet was stolen

right out of my bag

at the grocery store.

we know many

people  who have

had their homes

broken into..

computers stolen

wallets stolen

etc.

but,

until it happens to you..

you just don't understand 

the feeling of being violated.

hannah and griffin and i

went to our local grocery store

yesterday.

and like usual..

i made a stop at the ATM

first.

after we do our big shopping..

i stop at the produce market

the meat market

the boulangerie

and i need cash

for those shops.

while strolling up and down

the first few isles..

i knew

two women were following me.

i had a sense about them.

one kept getting very close to me.

i didn't know they were together.

a few minutes later

one of the women asked me

a question which made me 

turn my back from my cart.

i replied that i didn't understand 

her question..

apologized..

and kept shopping.

after putting all my groceries 

up on the belt..

i looked in my bag..

saw my wallet missing..

and knew immediately it was them.

the rest of the day was spent

walking to the

police station..

where the rude

non-english speaking man

told me that i had to walk to 

the other police station

half way across my 

arrondissement to file

my complaint.

once i got there..

of course no one spoke

english and treated me

as if i were to blame.

finally..

after filling out paper work

receiving my temporary 

carte de sejour..

i walked back to the grocery

store where i waited for the security

guard to come talk with me.

he was yelling at me in french

and i just starting crying!

he took me into 

the security room

with the cameras 

and showed me 

the women following me

and the one woman stealing

my wallet.

what a sick feeling.

no one was hurt.

and for that i'm thankful.

but..

i know now

to be much more 

protective of my

belongings..

and to trust my instinct. 

Home and Away

we've all been 

coming and going 

so much lately..

i can't keep up.

stephen flew home

late saturday night

from vienna.

he had an amazing few

days of baseball

and eating schnitzel.

paris won the silver medal!

and stephen also

made

"all tournament"

which was quite an honor.

what a great experience

for him..

to travel with his team to a 

different country..

stay with a host family

and play lots of baseball.

we're so proud of you buddy.

early sunday morning

steve and hannah flew 

in from boston.

she hadn't been home 

in over 3 weeks.

it's so good to have her back.

she's feeling better

and will try and return

to school tomorrow.

sunday night

we decided to go out 

to dinner as a family

as it was the first time

(and last time for a while)

that we'll all be together.

we went to the latin quarter

and had a great meal.

we walked along the seine

and saw the most beautiful

pink paris sky.

i kept saying to steve..

i wish i brought my camera!

and he said..

just enjoy the moment.

and i did.

but i still wish i had my camera.

very early monday morning

will left with his 5th grade class

for a field trip to brittany, france.

he'll be gone until friday night.

i miss him so much!

but i'm loving the experiences 

he's having and thankful

for the daily updates and pictures

from his teachers.

yesterday they were sailing

and walking along the beach

collecting crabs

and visiting a beautiful chateaux! 

looking forward to friday night

when we'll all be together again..

just for that one night..

as stephen flies to crete, greece 

saturday for a week! 

i am so thankful

for the opportunities

that my children are having!

and so thankful

that hannah is well and home.

Trying to be French

lately

i've been thinking

that i'm just not 

a high heeled wearing

kind of girl.

oh..believe me..

it's not that i don't want to be

or haven't tried.

i just think my feet were

made for let's say...

dansko's.

so..

i bought these 

lovelies from j.crew recently

during a 30% off sale.

i had them shipped to my mom

on the vineyard back home in the states..

because the shipping is like.. more than

the shoes.

when i was home in boston with hannah,

my mom brought them up to me.

i practiced walking all over my hotel room..

all over hannah's hospital room.

(i took this picture lying down

on my hotel bed..

looking lovingly up at them).

figuring i had it down..

my sister and i hit the mall

while my mom visited with hannah.

the minute i stepped outside

i thought..

i should really go back up 

and put my flats on.

but no.

i was determined.

within minutes blisters were forming.

we stopped and had lunch

and my feet regrouped.

i left my sister to the ladies room

and started walking towards 

the shops.

i had to keep stopping..

to rest my feet.

no joke.

i was pretending to be on a call

or texting.

(go ahead and laugh..

i am..now.)

i had to sit on one of those mall benches

to stop the pain.

my sister somehow passed me

in the mall

which turned into a big joke.

i met her at j.crew

and walked straight back to the 

shoe department.

Topher..

the salesman said..

you look like you're in a bit of pain.

YOU THINK TOPHER!

i took the shoes off

and bought another pair.

(not the same ones!)

but a cute pair of 

low heeled sandals..

that i love.

fast forward to a few days ago.

blisters are heeled.

i try practicing in them again.

for crying out loud..

they're not stilletos!

i spend two hours in them

on sunday..

prancing around my kitchen 

making chicken tarragon.

i'm feeling confident

thinking..

i can be like these

french women!

the next day

i wear them up the street

to the food market.

literally a 5 minute walk.

i swear i was looking for a cab

to drive me back down the street.

not only did the original blister

reappear..

but now i have two new ones.

i'm not giving up.

but for now..

they might make cute 

bookends.

If You're Coming to France...

....learn a few french phrases.

s'il vous plait.

i was in line

at my local boulangerie

the other day..

behind two american women.

the yoga pants and sneakers

of course gave them away..

but it was their loud

very thick southern accents

that you just couldn't miss.

when it was their turn to order..

they didn't even try to speak french.

instead she basically yelled.

"what flavor macaroons

do you have??"

LOUDLY.

now,

i haven't lived here

long enough to be 

dolling out advice

on coming to france.

but,

i will say..

if you are planning a trip..

 learn a few basic

phrases.

"parlez-vous anglais"

will go a long way.

believe me,

french is hard!

i struggle 

every single day

with it.

but 

i try.

and pretty much

just laugh at myself 

while doing it!

i would also suggest..

losing 5 pounds before 

arriving in france.

then you can eat

and eat 

and eat

all the macaroons

you can get 

your hands on.

:)

Candles, Perfumes, Books and More

right up the street

from my flat

is the diptyque store.

dangerous.

this is my latest..

freesia.

my sister in law

bought it for me when she

was here visiting.

it's the perfect

hostess gift.

maybe along with 

a box of macaroons.

speaking of hostess gifts..

stephen is flying to vienna

tomorrow with his baseball

team to play against

many different countries.

he'll be gone for 3 nights.

and he needs to bring 

a gift for his host family.

i'll be visiting diptyque today.

i love perfume.

on my flight home

from boston last week

i bought the

marc jacobs

daisy perfume

at the duty free shop.

it's perfect for summer

and i just love the bottle.

when i was in boston

i had a lot of time

to read.

i finished 

Z

the Zelda Fitzgerald story.

 i liked it..

on the plane ride to

boston i watched

Lincoln.

what a fabulous movie

and terrific acting.

as soon as we got

to boston hannah and i 

went to barnes and noble.

i bought 

Doris Kearns Goodwins...

A Team of Rivals.

i think i'll save it for summer.

right now 

i'm reading 

the Lifeboat.

it's ok so far.

next up 

a Train in Winter..

which is supposed to be 

really good.

i also watched

Cheerful Weather for the Wedding

on the flight.

i had read the book 

this past winter..

it was such a 

lovely movie!

hannah getting ready

for her procedure.

little did we know

we wouldn't be leaving

the hospital that night

:(

she was such a trooper.

(and my iphone camera

is blurry)

food..

finally after fasting

for 3 days!

not the greatest 

hospital food.

all she wanted 

was bertucci's 

mac and cheese.

keeping busy

making friendship

bracelets.

flower delivery 

from aunt hilly!

pet therapy dog

makes the rounds.

and balloon delivery

from max and maya!

view from our hotel.

again with the 

crappy camera phone.

mothers day breakfast

at the hotel.

hannah wrote me a 

beautiful letter

and made me

a bookmark.

we had a wonderful

mothers day.

more crappy camera photos..

griff dressed like a little french boy.

steve flies to boston tomorrow

to pick up hannah.

looking forward to sunday

when we're all together again.

The Change

i'm going through the change.

just throwing it out there.

i turned 45 this year.

so i guess it makes sense.

i've been experiencing

night sweats

unexplained weight gain

mood swings.

the weight gain

thing has baffled me 

for months.

we moved to paris

almost a year ago

and since then i've gained

ten pounds.

i attributed it to 

the baguettes

and the cheese

and the nightly two glasses

of  delicious french wine.

so in january i started

dieting and exercising daily.

nothing happened.

i didn't lose one pound.

i went off carbs and sweets.

nothing.

now, 

i've always been thin.

and this was ticking me off.

so when i started waking

up in the middle of the night

drenched..

i started to do some research.

i'll see my doctor next

month when we go home

but i'm pretty sure this is it.

i will also say..

that i'm good in the no more

baby department.

i never thought i'd say that.

i look at babies now and think..

i'm ok with never having 

any more babies.

that's gotta be a symptom of 

pre-menopause right?

steve and i took the boys

to a playground yesterday

and i was looking at all the pregnant

moms and little babies...

i'm good.

i'm actually kind of 

ready for this next phase of my life.

believe me,

being a mom is still

my job and my love

but i'm starting to realize

that soon...

i'll have a whole lotta time

on my hands.

and i'm kind of excited about 

thinking about what i want

to do with that time.

Blessed

i flew home

to paris

alone tuesday night.

hannah is resting and 

recovering on the vineyard

with my mom.

i took this picture from 

the little plane i flew on

from the vineyard to boston.

you can see the three bridges

connecting cape cod

to the mainland.

i don't love flying...

but i loved flying over 

the vineyard and the cape.

what a long 11 days

it has been.

we sure weren't expecting

to be there that long.

i tried to balance

the many lows we experienced

with some highs.

shopping..

lunches..

and mani/pedi's with good friends.

our first day in boston

was a gorgeous day.

hannah and i walked

from our hotel

through boston common.

i love boston.

paris is where we live..

but boston is our home.

the 

make way for ducklings

ducks 

were all decked out 

for cinco de mayo.

from the common

we walked down boylston street.

this is the street that 

just over a month ago

boston was changed forever.

it was so emotional to be there.

i still can not believe that 

it happened.

monday we fasted 

and prepped for her 

procedure on tuesday.

tuesday we headed 

to children's hospital.

following her procedure

the doctor admitted her.

her crohn's was in need

of some stronger meds

and her pancreatic levels

were sky high.

we spent four long days

at children's.

lots of blood work

ultra sounds

mri's.

during those four days

i thought about how blessed we are.

blessed that we are able

to hop a flight last minute

to the states and be seen

at one of the best children's hospital

in the world.

blessed that hannah

is getting healthy.

blessed that she has 

a loving grandmother

to watch over her

for a bit.

i kept thinking of 

the little girl..

staying at that very hospital

who not only lost her brother

martin,

but lost her leg

in that horrific attack.

yes..

we are blessed.

To Boston

hannah and i are flying to boston.

her crohn's disease is 

flaring up and i'd

prefer her to be in boston

for the procedure she needs.

it's a comfort thing for 

both of us..

to be home

and at the hospital

we know and love.

so..although our holiday

plans are put on hold..

i am glad that this 

is all happening over 

a school vacation.

steve will stay back with the

boys 

and hannah and i will 

try and make the most

out of our time in 

boston.

:)

Fete du Muguet

i had big plans today.

steve has been in the states

since sunday..

the kids are on holiday..

stephen is studying for AP finals..

i thought i'd take the younger kids

to Musee Rodin.

so we walked 

and walked 

down to 

trocadero,

under the eiffel tower

all along the champ de mars

past l'cole militaire

and along les invalides...

all along it's raining 

harder and harder.

and do you THINK

that since i've lived in paris

i'd never leave home with out

an umbrella?

do you KNOW how many

umbrellas i own now

because every time i leave the

house i buy one?

and then i say to hannah..

after seeing a MILLION people

out and about today...

stores closed

cafe's closed..

i say..

wouldn't it be just great

if the museum was closed?

it was closed.

so

we hopped the metro 

home

and now after

putting on dry clothes..

we're headed to 

cafe victor hugo

for some french onion soup.

i learn something new 

every day here in france.

walking up my street

on our way to the closed 

Musee Rodin..

we find people

selling little bunches

of lily of the valley.

every corner i took..

there was another stand 

selling them!

today is a french holiday.

what a beautiful day 

for a holiday.

happy may day!

i love france.

xo