Happy European Mother's Day

Soyez les bienvenus

Hard at work on our new welcome banner - this one will remain in France

More from our "Connecting with the English 'rellies' " trip

Sophie had a chance to groom one of Auntie R's "guinea pigs"

and to try it on

before getting a case of the giggles 

yes, seeing is believing

We got back to nature in Norfolk by walking to the amazing children's bookshop, and collecting some wild flowers along the way

I did mention that it is an amazing bookshop!

Shades of green (and blue)

My love has worked hard for that green grass and his daughter revels in and on it.

Carpe diem

I was wandering down to the car to unload some groceries when I noticed the school bus pulling out of the car park. Realising that it must be Sophie's class heading to town for their weekly swimming lessons, I waved. Loads of children waved back.

Then a recognizable young face dashed to the window and waved wildly. It was my Sophie, beaming at her mum.

Not many more years now and that joy at seeing her mum will turn into slinking deep into the chair and hoping to avoid recognition...

But rejoicing in the here and now, I picked up the groceries and headed home happy.

Playing to his strengths

We received this email from the parent of a child in Sebastian's class

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I'm the mom doing the environmental arts project with the kids. On Friday I had this performance theatre friend ... come in and do this mock court case where they put humanity on trial for destroying the ecosystem. Sebastian was one of the lawyers for the defence (!) and I just wanted to tell you that I was blown away by him! He made the best, most articulate arguments by far. He was super engaged and thoughtful. You've got a future judge on your hands! 

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That's our kid!

hanging proud

Still beautiful - both my love and Maria's banner - after all these years!

Free2B at the Grove

Seb's school held their annual performance last week. Unfortunately we don't have any worthwhile snaps of him in action but here's the man on the ground's summary:

The theme of the whole show was taking Free To Be You and Me and updating it for 2015. Some stuff was untouched - the Grade 1-2s did a rendition of William Wants A Doll, for instance. When the choir sang Free To Be, they changed the line about "Every boy in this land grows to be his own man / In this land, every girl grows to be her own woman" to something less gender-determinant, but I can't remember the words. Choir also turned "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" into "wanna have fun-damen-tal rights... fun-damen-tal rights..." (Teacher) Velvet's handiwork was apparent. 

Seb's class did a choreographed number (him in his formal jacket) to "A Little Too Much" by Shawn Mendes  ‎http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tnrJL-FSkVo 

Then did a wild/free dance to "Stereotype" by Samsaya ‎http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyimst2Cbus 

Our boy looked happy on stage. (Another parent wrote: I must tell you, I was truly enjoying Seb's offering on the stage today. He really "showed up" as a performer and showed some moving interiority, as well as some pretty awesome threads too.)

Elvis (a.k.a. teacher Shannon) made an appearance. ("Graduating parent") Silvie's props and costumes were amazing. And of course Michelle's pulling-it-all-together enthusiasm.

Hope that gives you a flavour.

What heights will she reach?

Pretty high seems to be the answer! Auntie R and I sat on a couch and cheered our young climber this afternoon.

Being belayed down by the older Sophie (who goes to the Dordogne every year and now has my email address)

she tried some bouldering and traversing without ropes


And she loves it and wants to organize a rock-climbing birthday party!

Not another fashion post

 Yes, this tale is about Sophie and clothes, but not just any clothes. You see, that skirt she is wearing is actually dress. Well, actually it is a t-shirt. My old t-shirt that was always long and clingy. Now it is transformed (with the help of some hand-me down high tops) into a styling' look if I ever saw one.

Not that she always likes to be photographed

My welcome home bouquet

and my first summer in the garden lunch

Sports commentary

Looks like wet track conditions on a sunny morning in west end Toronto. This young man just completed the 1500m (longest race of the day) in 8 minutes exactly. Ran with the wind at his back and the sun on his face. Our on the ground reporter tells us that this runner "ribboned" (top 8)

One more race (800m) and then he spends the rest of his day messing about in the stands with pals and cheering his schoolmates.

Kudos to his dad who told work that he couldn't start till 10 am.

Blossoms

My wonderful mother-in-law was taken to brunch by her son in Toronto; mind you, 2 other shady characters tagged along. And then they set off to enjoy the cherry - and many many other - blossoms in High Park.

Meanwhile Sophie and I were trekking across France by train; we arrived home to beautiful hot weather and a lovely cool stone house.

Now we are just counting down the weeks till our lads join us here!

First family "hike"

One of the main draws of our new neighbourhood is its proximity to the library (and high street in general) but the other is High Park - Toronto's largest park. During our visit home, we managed to get out and do a short exploration. The kids did what they do best - picked up a stick and transformed it, climbed a tree and discovered new ideas, dug in the dirt and uncovered treasure, dashed ahead to save the day.

Ego in stripes

Nothing does one's ego more than having your daughter ask if you can dress alike. It has been a dream of Sophie's for a few months now and last week - upon glancing at the clean laundry basket - we made it happen.

Living with allergies

No points for guessing which one is peanut...
We have been told to challenge his limits on egg. We will do it sometime over the next few months, so fingers crossed.

Who can fly?!

I know this blog is about the kiddies and family life. But this photo just made me laugh out loud and will tickle the kids pink all over when they see it. It is of their Auntie R flying like a superhero in a wind tunnel today.

Happy May Day Everyone!

(She asked for $30/hour...)