Just a little bit longer...

We had a great time when B came to visit, which obviously kept me away from the computer and out having fun. (Remind me to tell you about how we roasted a whole pig in a giant pit when his dad came to visit for a few days.) Once he left, we were really sad but it seemed like the summer had just whizzed by and it was already time for me and the girls to start packing so... I changed our tickets to stay for an extra 10 days. Its not so much more and we still get home in plenty of time for school but we don't have to try and entertain ourselves in the city for so long. B actually was the one to suggest that it was far better to keep the kids here, where they can run around outside and play at the lake, than to take them back to the apartment.

I am so relieved. I needed a bit more time to get myself back in the mood for city life. It gets harder every year!

Lots more photos to post but I have the Mother of all Computer Viruses on my laptop and I have it at the shop right now. Once that gets sorted out, I can start downloading a few more of the 1000+ photos I have sitting on my memory stick. Its going to be a big job.

Fireworks

Well, 4th of July was a bit of a bust this year. We couldn't stay at the cabin at the lake because my sister was there with her kids so after a great day of swimming and grilling on Saturday, we drove back to my parent's house and crashed into bed. The next morning came far too early and the gray, rainy weather scared us, but we ignored it, hoped for the best, and climbed back in the car to drive to the parade.

By the time we got there, the weather had improved from downpour to misting so I said it was on. I put the girls in their costumes and signed us up. We were supposed to walk in the parade with my sister's kids and two of my cousins, but none of them showed up! Wusses. Georgia shocked me by getting totally into it and walking down the entire parade route waving a little flag at the crowds- only stopping when she lost her little pumpkin hat. Can you believe that she ended up LOVING her costume and happily wearing the entire time we were in town? I was astounded. This is the grumpiest, most anti-social baby alive (ok, I might be exaggerating a bit but she is not the easiest kid that I've ever met) but she is a total ham. Put her on stage and she shines.

Hey- I've been talking about putting Ella into one of those kiddie beauty pageants for a laugh and now I'm thinking that I might have to do it with both of them. Watch for us on the next episode of 'Toddlers and Tiaras'. I'll be the most crazy stage mom and my kids will be the ones giving interviews about how mean their mommy is.

So the kiddie parade went great and we collected our goodie bags before making our way back to my mom, who had been snapping photos. By the time we got there, the rest of the family had finally arrived. So had the big storm clouds. As the main parade started, the rain went from a light mist to a drizzle. Then it worked its way up to a steady rain. By the time the fire trucks were making their way up main street, it was a deluge. We had some rain coats and umbrellas but the kids just stood on the side of the road getting soaked. I mean, they didn't want anything to get in the way of some serious candy collecting, right? We eventually made our way back to the car, dripping wet. No afternoon in the park, drinking 5 dollar pitchers of beer and eating roast chicken while listening to the local band and the kids played silly carnival games.

We all got dried off and threw together a fun lunch of taco salade (another thing I forgot how much I love! Taco salade, kids, get yourself some!) then sort of hung around the window, speculating on the weather. Would it clear up in time for fireworks? Was it worth having the kids try and nap on the sofa? Or should we just bail out and hope for better things on Monday?

We bailed. We were all exhausted from rushing around all morning and the rain and whatever. I kind of hated leaving and felt like I really should just make the best of things, rain or no rain. But. But. But we were all SO tired. Its hard because there are so many people that it is nearly impossible to find a quiet corner. See, this is why we need an extension on the cabin- a few extra bedrooms a little bit away from the crowds would come in handy. In the end, it was my mom who really needed to leave. She hasn't really recovered her energy since her cancer scare and was practically collapsing from exhaustion. We all slept in the car and when we got home, she went straight up to bed for a few hours. Unfortunately, the nap in the car was in for the girls and we pottered around the house til after dinner.

Ella was holding me to my promise that I would take her to see fireworks in town. I'd only ever been to see fireworks at this little town in the woods so I didn't know what to expect. My mom was recovered, after her nap, and she came with. We brought a blanket and sat at the edge of the lake, just near the park. The fireworks were beautiful and the weather was warm. We could see all the twinkling lights on the lake from the boats out for the show. Ella oohed and ahhed and decided that ALL the fireworks were her favorite! It ended up being a great day.

Not enough Old Milwaukee to make it into my top ten, but it was pretty good all the same. Hurray Wisconsin, you pulled it off again and made it worth all the trouble that it takes to get here, each year.

Happy 4th of July!

We are up bright and early today because we have lots and lots to do. Per our long-standing tradition, we will go up to Winter Wisconsin to their 4th of July celebrations. I think I've already waxed poetic last year or the year before about how much I love going to this little small town celebration. Its Americana at its best and I must be doing a good job of inculcating my girls into the culture because Ella has been asking me every morning if we go to the parade in Winter today.

The kiddie parade starts at 11:30 and I am praying that the rain passes through by then. Its refreshing after the ridiculously hot day we had yesterday* but I whipped up the best costumes for the girls and I would hate to see all my efforts go to waste. Ella has her Cinderella costume and I made the cutest pumpkin suit for Georgia. Now- will she wear it? I have been calling her a pretty princess every time she puts it on and I may have persauded her to like it a little bit. I am still going to stock up on M&Ms to feed her the whole way down the parade route, just for added insurance. The headband with leaves and a stalk is killer cute and I want everyone to see it :-)

So tonight I will try to get both girls to the fireworks but since my parents insist that a one-bedroom vacation home is more than sufficient for 15 people (madness) there is a nap rotation schedule in force so that each child takes his turn in the one room. Needless to say, I needed more than one time slot after all the excitement of swimming and playing with cousins and sausage-festing so my kids are EXHAUSTED. Family time is fun but perhaps a bit 'over-stimulating', to put it nicely. I am not used to the non-stop party lifestyle. I may need to retire to the basement and close the door for a few days next week until I've managed to relax and unclench my teeth.

OK- time to scrub up my two filthy children and wrestle them into their party clothes. I may have sorted out my photo download dilemma (good side of having so many concerned people around is that the problem is chewed on until someone finds a solution) so I hope to post something in the next few days.


*Thank goodness that we spent the entire day up at the lake, in the water, eating every meal outside at the picnic tables with about 15 of my immediate and extended family. I could have probably done with a less pork-based menu but thats what I get for moving away and turnin' into a 'feraner' Have learned my lesson and will be packing a bag with vegetables and herbs and brown rice to round out yet another sausage dinner.

we made it!

But just barely. There was a point in the flight when I had just pulled the last toy out of the carry on bag (and Georgia summarily threw on the floor with an insulted shriek...) and I glanced at my watch to see how much time we had left. I honestly, sincerely thought that my watch was broken because it said that the flight wasn't even half way over. I decided, judging by my level of mental and physcial exhaustion + the fact that we had no entertainment or snack food left in the carry-on, that we had about 2 hours left to go in our 9 hour flight. It was only when they flashed the flight info up on the screen between films that I realized that my watch was fine. I was nearly dead from the effort of entertaining the two girls- although mainly from trying to keep my favorite screamy toddler happy- and just had nothing left for the remaining 5 hours in the airplane. I prayed that atleast one of the children would fall to sleep but no luck. And the bitchy stewardesses made it very clear that they preferred to have the baby screeching in her seat to wandering up and down the aisle (which I find baffling but, OK! I'm sort of immune to her high-pitched wailing and was just trying to look out for the delicate ears of my fellow travellers.) It was a Very Horrible Flight and I thank the heavens that I don't have to do the return trip for seven weeks or I might do something desperate like run away and join the circus.

So we are here and atleast the jet lag seems to have been easy. We are up early but no earlier than on vacation in Italy. Georgia did do an extended scream fest between 3:30 am and 5 on Saturday night, but all the family was off at a wedding that night so I just let her scream her heart out. Ella slept through it and I have perfected the art of blocking the noise with a pillow over my head. She did good last night so I think we are sorted.

We did have a fantastic weekend of family fun which is exactly why I come here with the girls for so long each summer. It was my nieces 1st birthday and since her mom is pregnant again (brave girl...) my sister and I threw a party. We had bunting up and balloons everywhere, a homemade ice cream cake, brats on the grill and potato salad, a slip-and-slide, water guns, and a pinata! My favorite part was having my first brat of the summer- soooo good! I had mine on a wheat bun with grainy mustard and sauerkraut. Now tell me that I am not a Wisconsin girl through and through.

While the kids spent the afternoon running from from one water game to the next (hello killer humidity! I had forgotten how hot 'hot' could get) the grown-ups did their best to keep cool as well. We decided that hydration was the key and sucked down several pitchers of this fantastic punch:

Watermelon and Vodka Cooler

Muddle three branches of mint with a spoonful of sugar in the bottm of a pitcher. Throw in a big handful of ice cubes and pour a 1/2 cup of vodka over the top. Add 2 cups of pureed watermelon, a 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, 4 shakes of bitters, and 1 1/2 cups of ginger ale. Serve and beware of the danger of getting PHENOMENALLY drunk since you barely taste the alcohol.

Hello summer! Next up: forcing my mother into making a decision on dining room curtains after "thinking about it" for the past year. Getting Ella into swimming lessons. Most importantly- finding an adapter for my computer as the one I brought along is mysteriously incompatible with the computer plug. When did 'universal' start meaning "everything but my damn computer"? Photos to follow.

Sardaigne

All in all we managed to have a great vacation in Sardaigne. Clearly, it was not as relaxing as a child-free holiday; in fact, I might go so far as to say that I was more tired when I came home than I was when I left. BUT it was so nice to see the sun and lay on the beach and just do vacation-y things that it was worth it. Ella had a great time. She asked (several times) if we could move to Italy. Georgia ate like a champ and I think she probably downed her body weight in pasta. B was enjoying himself so much that he tried to change our plane tickets so that we could stay a bit longer. Unfortunately we had flown with Meridiana, the Sardinian airline, and it was impossible to get anyone on the phone. When we asked the hotel travel agent if she could sort it out, she spent 6 hours on the phone for us and then gave up, saying, 'Well, they are Italian. Too bad you didn't fly with AirFrance.'

The hotel where we stayed was fantastic for the kids. The kids club was just amazing, as were the girls who worked there. Ella did bowling, tennis, 'trampolini', art projects, swimming, baking- you name it. We took both Georgia and Ella every single day so that we could have some free time. There was also a kids restaurant with tiny tables and chairs, small plastic dishes and silverware, and special healthy kids meals all of it served at times that worked for the kids. We went every night for dinner and then took the girls back to the villa for baths, bottles, and bed. Then, a very sweet lady named Cristina came every night to stay with the girls while B and I took advantage of all the different restaurants and had lovely dinners en tete-a-tete. Almost all the restaurants were open air so we could spend a relaxing couple of hours eating and talking and drinking wine, watching the stars and listening to the waves on the beach. Originally, we didn't think that we would get the babysitter every night (mainly since it cost a fortune!) but in the end, we were having such a nice time every evening that we figured it was worth the cost.

We needed a bit of a treat by the end of the day since the mornings were so rough.

Now, we had what was called a family bungalow. It was nice. It had two rooms, separated by a sliding door. The front part was a living room which we used for the girls. Ella slept on the sofa bed and the hotel brought us a cot for Georgia. The other room was the bedroom and B and I slept there. HOWEVER the floors were tile and the noise from Georgia waking up at 6 am was so loud that none of us really slept much later than that. And since Ella was in the same room, Georgia would laugh and shout 'Ella! Ella! Hey! Ella!' until Ella started to play with her. Normally at home, we can ignore Georgia until she falls back asleep for another hour or so, but it was impossible while in this hotel room. My God! 6 am wake-ups while on vacation! It was horrible. Needless to say, we were pretty much the first people at breakfast everyday.

After doing a tour around the resort, we realized that some of the other areas had nicer bungalows but I didn't look into it enough to notice that when I was booking. It would have been nice to stay in one of the places that had grassy lawns in front of each bungalow so I could have laid out on a lounge chair while Georgia napped (we only had a terrasse). We might have also liked the two-story bungalow so that the girls were a bit further from our room. Oh well. This hotel is so well set up for families that I definitely think that we will go back. It was pricey but I think that we got our money's worth. The only thing that was disappointing about this holiday is that we really didn't see much of Sardinia! We only left the hotel that one morning and saw a bit of countryside on the drive to and from the airport. Apparently it takes ages to drive all around the island- B's dad took an entire month to see all of the island when he visited a few years ago. Anyways, that is the sort of ambitious plan that I would not attempt until the girls are much older.

Oh, and since the first day of vacation was Mothers' Day, the girls surprised me with a brand-new camera! Its a Nikon D5000 which is not one of the models that I had asked for, but I am getting the hang of it. Even with only a quick read through the instruction manual, I managed to take some gorgeous photos of the girls. I think it will work out, although I will probably still be figuring out all the buttons for the next few months. I have two photos in frames on the ledge above my desk and I sit here every evening looking at them and sighing happily, remembering what fun we had.

Of course, now I am in the midst of frantically preparing for our NEXT vacation and am wondering why I am so hot on travelling. Really, what would please me most at this point in my life, is an entire week of calm. No appointments, no schedule, no 7 am wake-up call(or, while we are dreaming, 8 am or even 9 am), no responsibilities at all so that I don't even have a shadow of guilt clouding my relaxing days. Ahhh. I am doing a great big exhale, letting all the stress out, just imagining it.

I can tell you with 100% certainty that my 7 weeks in Wisconsin will not contain any days like that. But a girl can dream, right?

Enough of that. Its back to the salt mines for me. I need to dash out and find a portable DVD player with atleast 5 hours of battery life for the plane ride over. Stupid f*-ing Delta has taken over the direct flight between Paris and MSP and is using some old jalopy without individual TV monitors. Hell, this plane is so old it probably still has a smoking section. I could care less really except that the flight to Sardaigne did teach me one good lesson and that was that Georgia is a rather difficult traveller (uhm, okay, a rather Screamy Traveller). I'm going to need to pack every entertainment known to toddler-kind to survive without an extended screaming fit in midair. I beg you all, start lighting candles for us now. Divine intervention may be my only real option.

Summer memories

Finally, Slip n' Slide duty wasn't so bad. The wind picked up so after forcing the kids to do atleast two slides apiece, we let them climb in the hot tub, which was probably more like a warm tub, but it kept them busy for an hour or so. It was funny because there were so many kids squeezed in there, all that they could do was bob up and down, but that was apparently hilarious fun. In the end, all I had to do was sit in a chair, counting heads to make sure no one went under, while I snacked on Chedder Goldfish stolen from my cousin's baby.

It was a nice party, once all the adults arrived. I grew up going to these relaxed summer dinners where around 25-30 people wander in, carrying pasta salads and coolers of drinks. The kitchen is full of women and the yard is full of kids. There is generally somebody in a dusty baseball uniform and the only people guaranteed a chair are over 80. Its not always incredibly well organized (in fact, lack of organization is probably a key ingredient) but it always turns out perfectly, with plenty of food, drinks, and fun. The biggest problem generally involves trying to get your car out of the driveway when you are on your way home but my family solved this problem long ago by developing the understanding that everyone always leaves their keys on dash.

The next day, I was spoiled again with Northern Wisconsin fun by getting dragged out to a little country village, population about 36, for the Sportmen's Club Pancake Breakfast- all you can eat breakfast on picnic tables in the middle of the cornfields followed by a baseball game between two local teams. An afternoon of popcorn and beer in the sun left us all sunburned and exhausted. Ella is finally a real baseball diamond kid- she spent the entire afternoon running around barefoot with a pack of little kids, begging soda and candy off anyone who was sucker enough to fall for her cute little pout. She took off her shoes and lost them, not caring one little bit that she was dusty and sticky from head to toe. Its another one of those times when I looked at her and suddenly had a flashback to my own childhood that nearly knocked me over.

Remembering the feeling of soft, hot dust on my toes, running around in the sun with an ice pop melting in my hands. Its so funny because it feels so close sometimes, like it was only yesterday that I was eight years old and piling in my mom's red station wagon for the ride to the baseball field to watch my dad play ball and hang out with my cousins in the weeds, chasing foul balls. squeezing a warm sticky quarter in my hand, trying to decide what treat I want to get from the concession stand. I don't know if its because we live so far away and I forgot so much stuff that when I am here, it hits me like a bulldozer. Memories from when I was little, things that haven't crossed my mind for years, just flood in. Maybe its because of Ella and seeing her is like falling into some weird wormhole to my past. What I like best is that the momories are not about something big that happened but more of an overwhelming feeling about what it was like to be a little kid playing, a really nice happy, carefree feeling that you honestly don't get to touch very often when you are an adult. There is always something lingering on the sidelines of your mind, some mental 'To do' list. Sunday was a good day.

So now I know that we are definitely in Wisconsin as we had our first Tornodo 'drill' last night and are off to our first baseball game of the summer. Last night, there was a major storm passing through the area and when we heard the sirens go off in town, we decided to finish off our television viewing in the basement rather than strain our ears listening for the sound of a freight train bearing down on the house before grabbing our candles and blankets. The scary thing is when the tornado comes at night and you can't see it- or worse, you're asleep. Its at moments like these that I am grateful for the Weather Channel and those doppler radar images where you can watch the red zone move over your house and off to the East so you know exactly when its alright to head off to bed. All in all, it was kind of a non-event. I suppose the scariest part was moving Ella and praying that she didn't wake up when I took her out of bed.

Today, I said that I would go to a baseball game with my Grandma but I've not lived around these parts for so long that my sense of geography is a bit off. I thought that I had agreed to a 45 minute car ride to see the game when in fact, I've just been told, its more like an hour and a half each way. Yikes. I really don't like baseball enough to justify that much time in the car but its too late to back out now. Anyways, there's a big family party to look forward to afterwards. My dad and his twin brother turned 60 this week so the two families will get together tonight with my Grandma for a big dinner cooked on the grill enjoyed outside in my aunt's beautiful garden. It should be fairly chaotic with the 9 adult children between them + spouses + 9 grandchildren. My mom asked my sister to pick up a bottle or two of wine to bring along, which makes me wonder if she is suffering from a head injury. Two bottles of wine will hardly get us through the first course. My sister and I were on the phone this morning and agreed that she should pick up two cases- just to be on the safe side. Bear in mind, there are going to be 9 children under the age of 10. This is clearly an occasion that calls for large amounts of alcohol.

But then thats what I love best about summer here.

What I like least:
Since I am solo parenting, I am forced to do the bedtime routine myself every night. That wouldn't be too bad, although its difficult at the end of a long day to find the energy to move serenely through the bedtime tantrums. What's really killing me is that Ella has developed an unnatural attachment to one story book, specifically 'Diego's Springtime Fiesta'. I have had to read that stupid book about 5 stupid baby bunnies that run away from their nest atleast once a day for the last week and a half. Its super long, as well. I know that it might be more annoying to read a rhyming baby book but this is already bad enough. I don't think I can handle doing this for another 5 weeks. But Ella is showing no signs of letting up on me, so I am going to need to dig deep into my reserves of parental patience. Seriously, B is going to owe me big time. He's off in Paris, swanning around the silent apartment like a happy batchelor while I tear my hair out from dawn til well after dusk chasing after a crazed three-year-old.

I think I will start researching spa retreats right now. That way, when Ella pulls out that damn book, I can just put my mouth on autopilot and go to my 'happy place'.

Update: I've been placed on Slip 'n Slide duty for the afternoon and therefore won't be trekking to the baseball game. The glee with which the other mothers jumped in the car makes me think that I made the wrong choice...

Summer in Wisconsin

I really thought I had posted a message since we arrived- I guess I dreamed it? Weird. In that message I said that we had a good flight and were given seats together as we checked in at the gate. The plane left an hour and half late but we were off the plane and out of customs a half hour before my ride arrived at the airport (but then, in my 17 years of flying home I've learned to appreciate the baggage claim coffee bar...) Jetlag was once again a non-issue for Ella, which i never stop being grateful for. While waiting at immigration, I saw a woman who reminded me how lucky I am to have Ella who is an excellent traveller and also, how wise I am to have mastered the basics of international travel. This poor woman had 2 kids, one of whom was in a full scale meltdown and rolling around on the floor, but she was blinded by dry contacts and buried under a mountain of carry-on luggage. Clearly, she was not savvy to the Number One Rule of Travel:

1. Never travel with more luggage than you can carry yourself.

And that means counting children when the case warrants. Seriously, who in their right mind would travel with 4 small open tote bags, ie luggage that is impossible to set down without spilling out all over the floor? Here is some unsollicited advice- if you are travelling with children, a backpack is your friend. With any luck, you have a device to strap your non-walking child to your front. Your gear is all on your back. Then you have two free hands and the ability to manage two large wheely bags (checked prior to departure to verify that all wheels are fully functional). Voila- disaster averted, even if you have a screaming child and no luggage carts. Or you are suddenly required during a transfer to check your luggage in a distant terminal accessible only by slow moving walkway (true story). Sure, you can tell yourself that surely some kindly stranger will come along to help but in my experience a nervous breakdown normally finds you first. I will repack my bags three, four times to get to a point where I have reduced my luggage to a manageable amount. If its one thing that parenthood has taught me, its survival techniques. Only the fast and the strong survive.

So, it seemed like as soon as we arrived we were thrown into the thick of things, with all the 4th of July festivities. We got to enjoy my absolute fav bit of Americana- the Winter, WI 4th of July parade. Its the high school marching band, in their ridiculously hot woolen uniforms playing 'Play that Funky Music White Boy'; its the Little League team showing off their league champions trophy; its the Festival Queen in a neon pink polyester dress sitting on a hay wagon doing that silly pageant wave, its little kids dashing into the street to pick up candy thrown from the fire truck and nearly dying of fright when the Chief turns on the horns. I love every bit of it. And, of course, its twice as nice to bump into people I know and didn't expect to see- because its a small town so of course you see a million people you know. I love that I sit down, expecting to eat my sauerkraut covered brat alone at a picnic table, and end up sharing a plate of cheese curds with three of my aunts (and some strange, quiet man that plunked himself down right in the middle of us and we all thought was related to someone else). I love that the band playing Oldies Rock music all afternoon is a bunch of middle-schoolers, one of whom is a Chinese girl who is definitely shorter than her bass guitar is long.

Sadly, after a dinner of taco salade for about three times as many people as there were chairs in the house (another thing that I get weirdly sentimental about), I only managed to stay awake for the little fireworks at the house. The whole extended family, loaded down with bug spray and wool blankets, piled into cars to go see the town fireworks and 'oooh' and 'ahhh' while laying on the baseball field. I volunteered to stay home with the babies who were already asleep. When our neighbors decided to start setting off some major fireworks at 10:30, I jumped out of bed to close the window but, in my haste, failed to notice that there was a painting balanced on the top of the window, holding down a blanket to make it extra dark in the room. The picture came silently shooting down the blanket ramp while I tried to jiggle the window closed, hitting me smack on the bridge of my nose. So there I am in the dark, stiffling my screams so as to not wake the two sleeping children in the room, trying to get myself out from under the blanket while keeping the blood gushing out of my nose from getting all over everything- a bit of trick in the pitch black in a room set up like a obstacle course. I don't think I have ever had a bloody nose so this was quite an introduction. The blood stopped quickly enough but I swear I think that I really broke something. Its a week later and when I wash my face, I get a weird pressure down near my lip and my nose is super cracky if I wiggle the end. Thats not good, right?

So anyways, we have had beautiful gorgeous summer weather every single day. I am even counting the rainy weather because when it did finally rain, it was the most spectacular high-wind lightening storm that woke me in the middle of the night with the all the howling through the trees that was going on. We get woken up every morning by the flocks of birds peep-peep-peeping outside our windows (which is a nice change from being awoken in Paris by the garbage truck, but seriously, birds, can we take it down a notch or two?) When we drove into the driveway to our country house last week, I think Ella thought she had stumbled into a scene from a Disney film. First we had to stop so that a momma deer and her twin spotted bambis could get across the road. Then as we stepped out of the car, two squirrels jumped out of a tree and had some chattery little argument over a pine cone. And as we walked up to the door, a robin sitting on a post, sang us a little song before lazily flying away. Seriously, if a couple of dwarfs came whistling around the corner, I wouldn't have batted an eyelash.

All in all, I am so happy that we bailed out of Paris when we did. This is what summer holidays are supposed to be like. Ella has completely adapted to all the freedom she has to run around, in and out of the house with minimal supervision. I have seen my stress-level drop due the fact that I feel like a have a bit of space to breathe. It feels so nice to be out of that little rabbit cage we call an apartment! I'm already wondering how B is going to manage to drag us onto the airplane in the fall...

christmas holidays

So, 20 hours after having stepped off my flight from Brazil, I was back at the airport, with a different set of luggage and a child, waving good-bye to B. I was so exhausted that I hadn't had the energy to even glance inside our bags and hadn't the slightest idea what I had brought along with me. Luckily, I had had the foresight to do all my packing before flying off to Brazil. The only thing that I hadn't managed to pack was fois gras, thinking that I could surely buy it in Duty Free before getting on the airplane. Bad luck, they've decided that fois gras is too dangerous to carry-on the plane and so has been outlawed by security. High time, I say. Who knows how many innocent people have been killed while caught in the shrapnel of an exploding passenger unable to contain one more mouthful of pure unadulterated transfat.

Amazingly, Ella and I arrived in the States without having any major blow-outs, emotional or diaper-related. She napped nicely and I got to stretch out and watch the inflight movie, since both our planes were only half full. Little did I know that we were squandering a mountain of good luck and that we would pay for it on our return flight...

For the first time in I can't remember how many years, we arrived to snow; a nice thick, white blanket of snow all over everything. Global warning? Bah humbug! Not in Wisconsin. Its so pretty when it is white and snowy everywhere, the best thing is that it feels like Christmas right away. I went up to spend a few days at my Grandpa's house- which is even deeper in the NorthWoods than my parents house- and I think it was easily ten times more beautiful than the most beautiful beaches we had seen in Brazil. Granted, I am horribly biased, but Hollywood would have had a hard time topping this scene. The pine trees had snow piled thick on the branches; the sky was clear and blue and the sun was so bright on the snow on the ground that it hurt your eyes; the wind picked up just enough to blow a light dusting of snow off the roof and the air sparkled as if someone had emptied a container of silver glitter. And then, just as we all stood at the window marvelling at how pretty it was, a family of deer wandered out of the woods and into the yard. Honestly, Walt Disney couldn't have designed a better picture postcard. I tried taking a photo or two but I erased them because they looked completely blah after having seen how perfect it was in reality.

Everything was just perfect for Christmas this year. As usual, when we're in the thick of things, it seems horrible and stressful and disorganized, and but it all works out in the end and we have a fantastic time. This year we had a major crisis when we couldn't find the recipe for white fruit cake- toasted white fruit cake for breakfast is a Christmas tradition in our house so there were telephone calls flying about for two days while we scoured old cookbooks, the bottom of cupboards, and finally- in desperation- resorted to Google. Crisis averted. Let's see, what else? Oh, of course there was the missing fois gras. Luckily my brother was sent to Amsterdam for a few weeks for work. I called B and was arranging for an emergency shipment of fois gras to be delivered to the hotel, in order to save our Christmas Eve menu, when my brother decided to make a quick detour to Paris before flying home. Poor B was getting a bit lonely at home in Paris, overseeing the kitchen renovation, so I think he appreciated the company. Besides, the heat had been turned off while the builders were in and our apartment was freezing cold. B and the brother spent a few nights cuddled up in our bed- since every other room in the flat was stacked to the ceiling with kitchen cupboards and appliances and boxes- and there wasn't even a large enough square of free floor space for a boy to stretch out. Luckily, my brother had more reasons than just the fois gras for going to Paris because his bags were lost on his flight home and we had to do without, boo-hoo.

I tried very hard to minimize my stress by doing nearly all my 'Santa' shopping for ella over the internet. As soon as I arrived home, I scoured all the catalogs that my mother had collected for me, I weighed the pros and cons of all the different things (which generally boiled down to whether or not I would be able to get it home in my suitcase and find a place for in her already overflowing toybox) and placed my orders well within the deadlines for delivery. Well, naturally it is never that easy. I very nearly had a nervous breakdown waiting for her things to arrive. Finally, FINALLY, on Christmas Eve morning (slipping in just under the bell) I got the box I had been waiting for. I bought Ella a dollhouse, all the furniture and the little doll family to live there. Of course, I had to go a little bit overboard (it would be totally out of character for me to be reasonable), and I ordered the Christmas decorating set, complete with miniature candy canes, tiny wrapped presents, and a battery-operated lighted Christmas tree. Its entirely possible that I loved it far more than Ella did (or maybe, ever will) but it was definitely worth staying up late, after Ella was in bed, putting it all together. I think this is my first real Christmas as a mommy. We had one last little crisis, when I realized that I couldn't actually put the house together with screws because they were locking screws and I risked not being able to get it apart to fit in my luggage so I made an executive decision to put the house together with clear packing tape. Ok, it wasn't the ideal solution or very pretty, but at 11:30 on Christmas Eve night, I didn't really have the time to think up a better solution.

I got stacks of lovely things under the Christmas tree, obviously I was a very good girl this year. I don't know if I mentioned that B bought me a travel wallet at the Mulberry party that was the most perfect gift, and already is very well broken in. The best surprise gift was a camera tripod that has flexible legs that can be manipulated to make the camera stand (or hang from) any surface. I love it! I had seen it in a magazine weeks ago and the article said that it was only available in Japan so I hadn't even mentioned it to anyone. Ella decorated a picture frame for me, which I adore. She was so proud and excited to give it me, there is no way that I could not love it more than all my other presents put together.

Christmas day a big snow storm moved over, leaving a fresh blanket of fluffy snow over enerything and the next day (or was it the day after? There is an eggnog fog hanging over the post-Christmas days that makes it difficult for me to remember precisely...) I took Ella sledding for the first time. It was so much fun! We found a short little hill just near my mom's house and grabbed my nephew and my sisters and spent about an hour dragging her up and down, while she giggled her head off. Even better, when we went back to the house, my mom had homemade hot chocolate for us and we threw in a few of my homemade peppermint marshmallows. In a fit of Christmas spirit, I had spent an afternoon making these marshmallows about two weeks before and hadn't even tried them yet. How much better could a vacation get? If only we had flown home immediately...

The next day, the plague descended on the house and there was hardly a person left standing. Stomach flu. I'll just leave it there.

So, after recovering enough to pack my bags, I quickly decided that I would simply pay the extra baggage charge rather than repack and repack to squeeze everything into 4 suitcases, and we headed to the airport. It was an ill-fated trip from the get-go. First off, there were no 4-wheel drive vehicles available. My parents driveway could easily be confused with a used car lot and there is a constantly rotating choice of vehicles. My mother was just about hysterical over the idea that we would be forced to drive her precious Mercedes on actual roads, very possibly getting actual mud, which comes from dirt, on her car which may or may not be made of sugar. Personally, I didn't find it such a complete tragedy... Although, I did feel a bit badly when Ella vomitted in the car on the way to the airport. The plane was completely full and I had to put Ella to sleep on the floor. There was a horrific storm over Iceland and after barely making it to the ground, they informed us that we were stuck there until the eye (!) of the storm passed, when they would try to get us all out. 10 hours later, after the passengers of the Paris flight got so irate that they were required to call in the police to calm us down, they managed to find a crew for our plane and we were on our way once again. For the entire 10 hours in the airport, Ella only laid down for 45 minutes, amazingly. She is the best traveller and hardly fussed about anything, preferring instead to run up and down the hallways with the other 50 toddlers also trapped in the airport. I had barely slept on the first flight but apparently 3 hours of sleep was enough to wind her up like a Duracell bunny. By the time we did get back in the air, though, Ella was hysterical with sleep deprivation and hadn't eaten anything in about 50 hours (if you don't count half a box of smarties, which frankly, I don't), was so filthy that I would have been horrified under normal circumstance but I was so tired I was just happy to still be able to walk.

It's no wonder then that I am still totally exhausted. B has started making noises about how a week is surely enough to recover from the jetlag, but honestly, I don't know. The day after we arrived, I had to stay up all day playing with ella. Then that night we had NYE plans so we were out til 3 am. I felt like a bit of a spoilsport not going on to a club after we left our friends, especially since we were paying a fortune for a babysitter, but I was trying to be sage. Sweet Ella let us sleep until 1 pm the next day. Then I got a horrible cold- surprise surprise- so I am slowly snuffling my way back to normal. I've given myself Monday as a deadline. Ella is back to daycare, all her classes start, and it will be time for me to start sorting myself out for 2008. I have big big plans and I can't wait to dig in and get it at it. Only about 6 more New Years cards to get in the mail, and so i think that we can label Holiday Extravaganza 2007 a smashing success.