Sunday morning.

My first weekend of "work" was spent hanging out with two American families and taking pictures. Other than the physical work of pushing the button on my camera, and walking around with a big ole backpack (not so fun), that's about as hard as it gets. I gave a pretty decent discount in order to get business up and running...and word of mouth seems to be in full effect! Mama needs a calendar! 

Side note...why eat processed junk when you can literally eat the rainbow?! 

The old town streets of Lyon are packed with old doors, secret passage ways and cute cafes. You can't go wrong. 

Plus cute and funny kids help too. 

Lunch date!

Mom and Apu went on a date ALONE!! Sometimes it really is good for them to hang out without being distracted picking up food, wiping faces or telling us not to yell. 

Best part, the plate du jour was only 10€! But then they got dessert and coffee...

But how cute was the little passage way?! This is why we love it here. 

Well Apu mainly loves France for its raw meat!! 

A clumsy mouse...

In the house. 

Because mystery mosquitos aren't bad enough. We spoke to a fellow expat who also wonders how the blood sucking guests are getting into her apartment...

Apu had the chance encounter with the clumsy mouse, who made a loud thump while falling out of the hole in the wall on the way to search for his nightly meal (hopefully not Apu's toes). 

Mom was extremely disappointed that Apu found a friendly mouse and not a mosquito nest, that she will NUKE immediately upon discovery. Seriously, we understand why the landlord painted the walls grey. Coverup of the century!!

Oh to be young...

And innocent...

Daring

Mom and Apu are somewhat risk takers. Take two toddlers into the Louvre? Sure! Pourquoi pas?! 

Thankfully, one of us slept the entire time! 

And I got to hang out with the creepy coffins. 

Relaxing weekend in Paris!

Can you sense my sarcasm? 

We love to "cheers" to chaos! 

I'm only three, but hanging out with mom and Apu has helped my sense of humor. 

Today was a long day, but REALLY fun. Ok, that's actually serious. After a hectic morning of rain and confusion, we made it to the natural history museum of Paris. 

This is me on the metro...my new favorite hang out. 

Mom wanted us to learn something...or at least get up close and personal with a few dinasours. It was the best idea she's ever had. We had SO much fun! 

Pompom wasn't scared of the lions. 

Or any other big cats. 

Mom spent the whole day shoving her fancy camera in our faces, so these are the only regular ones we took.

And now, we eat...after we play. 

SeptembeR

Mom and Apu didn't realize when they steeped foot into a seafood restaurant down the street, that they dodged a mythical bullet! But thankfully, it's SeptembeR! You can only eat oysters when the month has a R...so say the French.  

The parents also talked to the nicest French couple, who shared the remainder of their wine! (Which subsequently led to mama and Apu booking a trip to Paris for the weekend. Thank you Marrriott points. Two FREE nights on the Champs Élysée! Très fancy.) 

Turns out their first date on the town in Lyon turned out to be a pretty decent one..FULL of oysters (20...yikes) and little snails. Their spotty pronunciation and reading skills tend to led to some decent miscommunications. 

Because of these mishaps...mom also missed the parent meeting at school, and wrongly thought we didn't have school on Wednesdays. Oh la la. She needs to get with the program. 

All in all, it was a good day...minus finding out Apu will only be home for two weeks, which is why we need to make the most of our time with him! 

Verrrry funny, universe.

The irony is not lost.

My accent clearly needs some work! Oh Hungary, why must you haunt me? 

Have we learned?

I was in the 12th grade...ripe old age of 17.  Blissfully unaware of the atrocities in the world...not only on that day in particular.  I don't think our teachers really knew what to say.  I remember sitting in my AP history class and wondering why the HELL we weren't talking about what just happened. Two airplanes crashed into two buildings? People were jumping out of windows because that was easier? Humans did this to other humans? Did I make this up? Are we SERIOUSLY talking about the exam tomorrow?

I think that was the first indication of how we treat a lot of things that are just TOO hard...we ignore, we blame, we hate, we react...we go to war...

But did we LEARN??? I mean, it's been 15 YEARS. I think I did...not when I was 17, per say.
...

There are no winners.

Love always wins...and somewhere within all of us, we know that.  And if I teach my children nothing else in this lifetime, that will be ok with me.  Love is cultivated within US and so is happiness.

Sunday Funday

Watching cartoons together. 

Gratitude.

I know mom has touched on this subject before...she's kind of a hippie at heart. Thanks to a new Netflix subscription (which has saved us thousands of dollars on iTunes), she got a chance to watch a documentary...Happy. She loves documentaries. In fact, she can't remember the last time she watched an actual movie from start to finish...

Anyway, gratitude was mentioned again. It seems to be a recurring theme amongst experts in the pursuit of happiness, and mom would have to agree. Lately, she's been feeling grateful out of the blue. Almost to the point of tears, because she just can't believe THIS is her life. 

So without further hesitation, she wanted to put together a quick list that she may get to look back on in a few years...maybe when things don't seem as great. 

1. Us. Pompom, Apu and I. Like, out of ALL the souls in the universe, she gets to walk alongside us...and that is pretty darn cool. 

2. Her friends...from ALL over the world. Literally. They make her laugh endlessly, and she's so grateful she has crossed paths with each and every one of them. 

3. Her family. Who lets her be herself. No criticism, judgment...just acceptance. 

4. Her health. Right now it's great, and that's a big deal. 

5. Her most favorite person in the whole wide world...who happens to also be her grandmother. She pushed her to travel and explore, to be open to life and it's experiences (both good and bad), and to alway "keep going!" Mom has done just that, and it's led her here...to the absolute best life she could have never imangined, because she didn't know it could exist.

The ultimate princess...

Is created when you PILE on every princess dress you own...all at once.

Another family member!!

Woooooohoooooo! And she's pretty darn cute too! 

Happy (day old) Birthday, baby V! Another girl cousin!!! I don't like boys anyway! 

The park at 8:30am.

Completely empty...and not scorching hot. Mom is on to something!!

Can you tell I like stripes?! Well, I don't. But mom still does! 

Do you know mom's favorite part about French parks?? ZERO dirty bird sand!!!!!! And no swings either! French parents can't be bothered pushing their kids. It's love. 

Ecole!

So a lot happened this week, and didn't really happen. I started ecole maternelle, and it was a questionable experience...mainly for mom. There were a few tears, but mostly due to the other kids who freaked me out with their complete hysterics. I was fine until I saw everyone else upset...I figured I was missing something so I joined in on the fun. Mom felt AWFUL leaving me there, but when she picked me up, I was happy and asking when I can go back! So the jury is still out on this one...

I LOVE my alligator backpack!!! 

Bam!

After three years of questionable meals, mom found her new groove!

Don't tell anyone, but it only took six minutes in a new pressure cooker. Ahhhhh, domestic bliss. 

When in France...

We pretend we are princesses!!! Which we are apparently, because mom unknowingly spent a little more than planned on our matching outfits/crowns.

And then Princess Poms fell asleep...in her outfit.