A canopy of overlapping umbrellas

I LOVE VALENTINES DAY!! Our family has a tradition of having the boys ask mommy out on a date for Valentines. So, last week Benjin helped Gideon pick up some flowers and write me a card. Then he and Pierce got all dressed up and asked me to be their Valentine's date to a classic French restaurant. I feel oh so lucky to get to have 3 of the best boys in the whole world as my valentines! And this week I got to cash-in on their invitation! We all met up for lunch near Benjin’s work at a place called "Le Dilegent." Like most French restaurants, it was a small café type place with a very transient menu. Every morning they write up what they will be serving on a chalk board and that is what you order from (no printed menus). This place is run by a couple. The wife takes the orders and the husband is the chef. They were just the sweetest couple. The wife would come check on us and then the husband would pop over to verify details as he was cooking. For example, realizing their menu is not very kid friendly, they offered to just whip up anything we wanted for the kids. Gideon asked for noodles and chicken. They happily agreed and then the chef popped over to ask if it was ok he added a butter mushroom sauce to the spontaneous noodle dish. What service! In addition to the noodles, we ate  au gratin with camembert, an incredible eggplant tart, a classic steak and frites dish and some fried eggplant with beef. It was a Valentine's date to remember! 

Despite being entirely stuffed, I went home to make pizza dough because I had promised Gideon that we could make heart pizzas for dinner (since he had been disappointed that we were not going to a more kid friendly date --- like McDonalds).

On Thursday it was beyond gorgeous weather! So, the boys and I took a train down to a fun park/farm. Pierce especially loved seeing all the animals (apart from the cock – which crowed right in his face and totally freaked him out). It is super funny how some things like little farms for kids can have subtle differences…for example, here in France the pigs are so hairy, they look like sheep and peacocks seem to be an absolutely essential component. We had a blast playing on the playground and even got to take off our coats because it was so warm! In the evening we scootered over to the tram stop to pick up daddy and enjoy every last bit of the warm weather. 

Friday we had a family from church over for dinner. They speak French, Spanish and Polish, but not English. So, we mostly spoke in Spanish, except for me who would respond in broken French… it was fun to have them over and they brought us some yummy meat paste stuff to try. It was made from deer and pheasant and you spread it on bread. Along with that, they gave us some of the yummiest chocolate ever!!

On Saturday we drove to Chartres. Benjin had rented a car the night before and we had decided to give an electric car a go. Well, unfortunately there was a pretty steep learning curve and Benjin was up most of the night trying to figure out how to make sure it was actually charging. But, eventually we got it charged and in the morning we drove down to Chartres and wandered around the beautiful city streets including some old ruins of the city wall that was destroyed in World War II. Then we made our way up to the Cathedral by way of a perfect pooh sticks bridge. In the Cathedral Gideon completed an eye spy worksheet that I had made him and Pierce did his best to make all the security guards nervous. Afterward we walked around the outside and figured out that our snazzy pass would let us on a special tour of the upper floors. So, we spent the next hour climbing up around the rain gutters and gargoyles, doing our best to understand our French tour guide and man-handle our children. We had a blast.

On Sunday we went to Church and taught our second to last temple prep class. It was all about symbols and went pretty well. Then we hurried home and Gideon and I grabbed rain gear and then headed out in the rain to Place d’italie. Despite what the name suggests, this area is not the cannoli and pasta capital of Paris, but rather the Chinatown. Gideon and I wandered around until we found the Chinese new year's parade. This one is known for being the largest in all of Paris, and boy was it big. Insite of the rain, the crowds were endless. It was hard to get myself, let alone Gideon high enough so that he could see (especially because he is deathly afraid of going on anyone’s shoulders. But, after a while we found a spot where I could hold him on my hip and he could kind of look over people’s heads. Gideon loved seeing the dragons, dancers, swords, martial arts people, etc. But, the whole situation was "un peu compliqué" as a fellow mom who was also struggling to hold her child on her hip, said. I mean, we were standing in the rain, trying to help our kids see, while trying to not let anyone get singed by the incense being passed around in mass, and trying to not get your eyes poked out by all the umbrellas bobbing up and down all around you, all the while trying to not let your arm give out under the weight of your child. And yet, there was also something delightful about being united with strangers under a canopy of overlapping umbrellas.

It has been so fabulous to have Gideon home during his two week break. I just can’t even say. He is so helpful: from pushing a small grocery cart around the store, to telling stories to Pierce, or holding the door open, so that I can push the stroller through. But, at times it is also a little more compliqué... like when Pierce wants to feed the ducks, but Gideon wants to dig in the sand and I feel torn between making sure Pierce doesn't end up head first in the lake but also want to help Gideon rebuild his sand castle that a random kid has decided to trample. Living in a family can be complicated...But, ultimately, one of the reasons I love valentines day is that it gives us a chance to look up at our overlapping umbrellas. Despite the complications, it is so fun to share experiences, to be there to root for each other and to try and protect one another from life's various storms. 

Here is to another week of complications! 

Love, 

La Famille Facer.