If you've ever been to Paris . . .

. . . you might know that Jardin du Luxembourg has this,

but did you know that it also has this?

And of course you know this side of Notre Dame,

but you might not know that just around the corner, you will find this:

And Jardin des Tuileries?

Right. Beautiful, with the Orangerie, Place de la Concorde, some giant art museum with a big glass pyramid and fountains nearby, blah blah blah . . . BABY DUCKS!

Of equal excitement, but not pictured: great public bathrooms and a trampoline park. Who knew?

Did you also know that at the myriad quaint cafes and brasseries around Paris, you can find not only coffee, amazing wine, and beer, but 7-10 varieties of juice?

Apricot or pineapple juice can be just enough of a novelty to a 3-year-old to buy you a little bit of time sit and sip your beverage of choice as you watch Paris pass by. Just make sure to know where to find your next WC, because she will inevitably pick a vast, open space to announce, " I have to go POTTY!!"

In case you were wondering, this is Paris through the eyes of parents with small kids.  Not so much art, lots of playgrounds.  Our cultural experiences come in different forms these days, but it's okay.  I think we're all getting what we want out of our travel experiences, and learning valuable lessons along the way.  I leave you with this pearl of wisdom: a well-timed Chupa-Chup sucker can buy you over an hour of whine-free sightseeing. 

April in Paris

We have been BUSY. Opa and Oma, traveling for Easter, Elsa's birthday, Paris . . .

PARIS.

I guess this counts as our first official family vacation as a family of four. It's possibly not the easiest way to start, but when living 4 1/2 hours by train from Paris, how can you resist?

I realized a few things when we got off the train and suddenly found ourselves in a very different world. 1) I have not left Germany for 6 months and it was really good to get out, 2) My college French studies are of no help to me after 15 years of non-use, 3) Erik and I were dumb not to go to Paris together before we had kids.  We had both been there before, but this was the first time together. Oversight. BUT, because we have been there, we didn't feel the need to run around and see all the sights and museums and were happy just to have the chance to live Paris for a few days . . . which is a good thing, because that's about all we were allowed to do.

Croissant #1, steaming hot.

The famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore

 Elsa's Shakespeare and Co. tattoo

 It's hard to say no to anything in Paris, so for 4 blissful days, we said yes to everything. A steaming hot crepe oozing with Nutella every day? Yes.

Not pictured: Elsa jumping up and down trying to get her share of the crepe.

More cheese, bread, tarts, and wine from the market down the street? Yes.

Real champagne? Yes. I mean, if you're in Paris and have to be inside after 7pm every night, you might as well . . .

You get the idea. Lest you be concerned that all we did was consume for four days, let me assure you that we also covered a lot of ground and saw the sights of beautiful Paris . . . allowing plenty of time for food, drinks, tantrums, and playgrounds.

And Elsa even managed to crack a few Mona Lisa smiles for the camera.  

Celebrating 3 years!

Finally, after all of Clara's month birthday posts, Elsa gets her own big day. Elsa is three!

Looking back at pictures and videos from a year ago, I can't believe how much she has changed.  She is 100% her own person and growing up faster than I want to admit.  A year ago, she was still sort of a baby. Now she is potty trained, sleeps in a bed, can put on her own shoes, and has become a big sister. . . and has living abroad to add to her list of life experiences.  She's a big girl, and wants you to know it.

Her birthday was all about her . . . which is much like most days, actually, except with less eye-rolling (on our part) and much more acquiescing.  Opa and Oma (aka Grandpa and Grandma Heinrichs) were also here to help celebrate, which doubled the amount of attention showered upon her. A 3-year-old's dream.

Back to the zoo!



 Since October, Elsa has been talking about the caterpillar birthday cake she wanted. For most of those months, she wanted it to be purple. On the morning of her birthday, she changed her mind and decided it should be black with pink stripes. I think she liked the purple one anyway.

At the end of the day, after the birthday princess was asleep and Erik and I snuck out for a very rare date (thanks R &K!), we clinked glasses and celebrated 3 years of parenthood . . . and then stumbled home out of exhaustion after an hour. 

Comforts of home

It's funny what we miss from the U.S. while living abroad, and funny what we take for granted in our daily lives when we are there.  Not that life isn't complete without them, but when you really want Mexican food and can't find jalepenos or black beans or corn tortillas, you learn to substitute, but also get a little wistful.

I learned from my first round of living in Deutschland that there are some essentials that would be hard/impossible to find and difficult to live without, so if they were within reasonable size, I brought them with me.

Measuring cups and spoons. The metric system probably makes sense to most countries except the U.S., but it's so annoying! (Kidding). So, because I don't feel like converting cups to grams every time I cook or bake, it was easier just to bring a set of my cups. 

Then there's my friend Joy:

Yes, she's a beast, but if you can only bring ONE cookbook, this is the one to bring. This is actually Joy's second time in Germany- she served me so well the first time that she made the cut again. Plus, there are some convenient U.S.-to-metric tables in the back that come in handy. Warning: one should not try to convert to metric and halve a recipe in the same step while sleep deprived and distracted by a toddler and infant. Just saying.

The only problem with an American cookbook in Germany is the angst I feel when I come across an ingredient that I can't find easily. Brown sugar. Molasses. Chocolate chips. Canned pumpkin. Jalepenos. Chili powder (that tastes like something)....which then sends me into a tailspin of nostalgia for everything else that has nothing to do with poor Joy: Cheerios, tortilla chips, hoppy beer, strong coffee, peanut butter, mac n'cheese, spicy black bean burgers, sweet potato fries, normal sized pillows, Arm & Hammer toothpaste, half & half for my coffee, Vermont sharp cheddar cheese, graham crackers, Curious George on WGBH at 7am and 4pm, being able to go to CVS and self-medicate, big refrigerators, gas stoves, smoking bans, margaritas, pecans, iced coffee. To name a few.

Like I said, life can certainly go on without these things, and for everything I've just named, I can think of things I like about Germany that we can't get in the U.S. However, when Erik returned from his recent trip the U.S., this was a happy sight:

As time goes on, my cravings become fewer . . . but the Peet's coffee and Titan IPA were magical. 

Easter Eggs

I don't think you need kids as an excuse to dye Easter eggs, but they have a way of making it REALLY EXCITING. 

3 years ago, I dyed eggs with my mom as a way to pass the time a week past my due date.  Our faces probably didn't look quite like this.  I have already sung her praises elsewhere, but once again, she thought of everything. Tucked in her bag, along with jellybeans and peanut butter M&M's, was another comfort of home: the Paas egg dye kit.

This might be the first year ever that I use every part of the kit. I have promised to do those shrinky egg wrapper things, every egg needs to be served with an egg holder, and as you can see, no egg can go un-stickered. Even though some of the stickers are footballs? (Obviously Paas is trying to reach out to the 8-year-old boys who are being dragged by their moms to engage in some good old fashioned family Easter fun.) No stickers left behind with this girl, even the footballs and fire engines.