Paris

The last leg on our whirlwind "mommy and me" adventure was an afternoon spent in Paris to connect with my jet-setting girlfriend Dominique and her cousin, Caroline. Dominique flew into into Paris (from Montreal) for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. The girls met us at the Montparnasse train station and helped me with my bags, stroller and child, as we navigated the streets headed for the Luxembourg Gardens, where our hotel was situated. The Euro being what it was, arriving in the afternoon with only a few shopping hours left, was the safest thing I could do for my pocket book. Traveling with Makena also curtailed any spending.(Dominique, holding Makena, and Caroline at Cafe St-Sulpice.)

(Dominique and Makena in Seattle, the first time they met.)

I cut my daughter loose in the Luxembourg Gardens for an hour and a half of pigeon chasing and pebble collecting, which left her spent enough to hang out with us at an outdoor cafe for an additional hour (the apple juice and Pixter helped.) We had fun sipping wine and studying the Yves St-Laurent storefront from afar. Later, we found a little Italian place in the sixth where we sat down for dinner. Makena ate a huge bowl of pasta and then hung out with a street cat -- the feline variety, not the beret toting, Gitane smoking, art student -- until we headed home around 11PM.

Rising at the crack of dawn to get to the airport in time was brutal but we made it and I was lucky enough to get seated on the (11 hour) return flight next to a man who had four children. None of whom were traveling with him. Needless to say, he was very understanding about Makena and even laughed when she took to screaming for no reason -- other than because she knew it was flipping me out. I fed her bonbons.

EM met us at the airport and Jack returned from school shortly after we got home. He made me dinner! He cooked it all by himself. Apparently, while I was gone, EM taught him how to cook eggs, omelets, bacon and pasta. I was so proud of him. (Why couldn't I think of that?) He made me a pasta scramble with noodles, cheese, avocado, sausage and roast beef. It was delicious. We ate the whole bowl and then I headed off to bed and left Makena with them so that they could spend some quality time with her.

The rest is a blur.

Au revoir et a bientot.

Is - in need of a vacation