I’m back! As my regular readers might have learned (or guessed), our baby girl arrived at the beginning of July—on the 4th of July to be exact. Yes, our little firecracker is one of the five-percent of babies born on their actual due dates. She either decided to humor us in our amusement about potentially…
Tag: France
Cupcakes and Due Dates
Days. That’s where we are at with our baby countdown. Just days until Matt and I get to hold our sweet little girl. Days until my body performs the incredible feat of pushing something the size of a watermelon out of a place much smaller than that. Days until the incredible highs and lows of…
38 Weeks: The Calm before the Storm
Just over a week—that’s about how much time we have before our baby girl is here, changing our duo into a party of three. I’m sure some of you are saying, “you’re a first-time mom. How can you be so sure she’s going to be here in that time frame? Most first-time moms are late.”…
262 Days of Pregnancy
It’s hard to believe I’ve been pregnant for more than 250 days—and even harder to believe I’m halfway through the 37th week of pregnancy. I remember looking at the calendar when we first learned I was pregnant to find out when the 37th week would start. It stood out as a magical, target date in…
School’s Out for Summer
School’s out forever! That song has been stuck in my head since walking to Alliance Française this morning for my last day of French class. It was bittersweet heading into the building and my classroom for the last time. I am sad to not continue further with my classmates—especially since my French has seriously improved…
Babymoon in Paradise
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I can practically hear the clock ticking as I write. Every minute, every day, each passing week we get a little closer to the arrival of our baby girl. On Monday, I officially begin the ninth month of pregnancy. I’ve read the last month can often drag, but so far the…
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Store
Ok, technically it was on my way back from the store, but the police were getting in position when I left the hotel, so I know another protest was about to begin. I was secretly hoping I’d see the march the way home. Luck was on my side! Over the past month, there have been…
34 Weeks and Counting
We are in the middle of the third trimester now and I think I’m starting to hit a wall. While the weeks approaching delivery seem to be flying by, I’m definitely starting to run low on energy and I can feel the hormones kicking up a notch or two. Everything (except my sweet husband—seriously, he’s a rock…
Alpine Adventures
It’s a busy week in Toulouse. Not only did the first Starbucks in the city open this morning (complete with people lined up well outside the door for hours to be the “first in”), it’s also a week marked by ongoing protests over changes to France’s labor laws. The reform under debate makes it easier…
On Castles and Chasms (or a Weekend-End Trip to South-Central France)
“Looks like you’ve made the American version,” said my oh-so-hilarious doctor at my 32-week scan. He’d just informed Matt and me our petite not-so-petite little girl was already weighing in at an estimated and whopping 5.7 pounds. Yep, our feisty, little, French-made bebé, who punched at the ultrasound wand while the doctor was trying to…
Eat, Drink, Move (Repeat) 