Ramblings from L

I have so many "blog" thoughts that are swimming around in my head that this will be a combination of a few....in no particular order.

*  When we first moved here, I was very skeptical about the milk and the eggs.  The majority of milk for sale at the grocery store is UHT milk which is shelf stable milk.  I refused to taste it for awhile and then I would only drink it in coffee and tea.  Now, I will eat a bowl of cereal with it and not think twice about it.  I am still not keen on drinking a glass of it but I have never been one to guzzle a glass of milk very often anyway.  The advantage of UHT milk is that we can by a six pack of 1 liter bottles which allows us to obtain them at a discount, as well as, when we run out we can easily grab another bottle from the basement.  The largest size for the milk is also only 1 liter so nowhere near a gallon.  On to the eggs - when looking for eggs at the grocery store here, don't look in the refrigerated section.  I have found they are most often near the UHT milk on the shelf or on end caps but definitely not refrigerated.   Eggs are sold in either 6 or 10 packs. No dozen here... The 10 packs you usually only see at the really large grocery stores.  However, the eggs have always been fresh and I haven't had a problem with them.  We put both the milk and the eggs in the fridge after buying them except for the extra bottles of milk which take up residence in our basement until they are needed.

*  For Valentine's Day, E and I went to Paris....so romantic.  Haha!  We actually had to wake up extra early to get all of us ready to make a 9am ultrasound appt.  Since we do not have a vehicle, we take the RER (train) into Paris and then from there, usually a metro line or 2.  I think it took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there from the time we left our apartment to the time we walked in to the clinic.  I much prefer the RER over the metro due to the stench of the metros which always seem to reek of urine.  Not pleasant for anyone, let alone a pregnant woman with a heightened sense of smell!  The ultrasound itself went well and the littlest one is on target with all milestones including being head down.  So - um, yeah, their is no modesty in France at doctor's appts.  I was asked to take my pants and shoes off and then to get on the table.  Ok - so, I did exactly that...leaving on my underwear and compression stockings (which are quite sexy I might add).  I laid back on the table and awaited the doctor to start the ultrasound.  He looks at me and then proceeds to pull my underwear off.  No warning...no "can you pull your underwear down a bit"..nope...just him pulling my underwear.  Yeah.  It's a good thing I was prepared with how French doctors can be or I might have let him have it.  Haha.  All is well that ends well...we received several pictures and everything looks well.  We stopped on the way back to the metro for a "traditional" French breakfast.  Baguette, croissant, orange juice, and coffee.  Then we hurried back so that Erica could get to work.

*  While we didn't have internet, TV, phone...etc...  I decided I would potty train the little one.  Why not??  Well, it didn't work 100% but I feel we have a good foundation when we start the process again.  He was about 50% but has slipped back to almost not going on the potty at all.  Not quite sure what happened but we are taking his lead.  We are back in cloth diapers for the time being.  Oddly, his favorite book during story time is his "potty" book.

*  I was recently asked by a friend if we had found any lesbian mom groups.  I had to laugh out loud...we haven't even been able to find any gay or lesbian friends let alone gay parents.  I really miss the network of lesbian moms that we had in Portland but I am hoping that after we establish ourselves here, we will slowly start to find where they are hiding.  Heck - right now, I would enjoy another mom friend that lived close by whether they were gay or straight!  Luckily, we have reconnected with a friend of Erica's that she grew up with in Montreal.  She has an adorable daughter that is just a few months younger than our little one and they play well together.  Too bad it takes about an hour to get to her place.  :(  We are so thankful that we have connected with them, though and look forward to more play dates!  They should be accompanied us to Disneyland Paris for Little One's 2nd birthday!  Speaking of which - that is coming up in just a few weeks!  I am really looking forward to it even though I won't be able to go on any rides.

*  French TV - there are no commercials during the program.  Interesting, no?  The commercials are in blocks between programs and the programs don't start on the hour and half hour but rather at random times like 8:35 or 2:40, etc. 

*  Moving to another country where you don't speak the language while pregnant is not the easiest thing to do...  between the cravings and hormones.  Well, you get the picture.