Baby Shower for Baby Jacob

Two Saturdays ago, Jacob and I were showered with gifts by our wonderful friends in France.  Jen, Clarrette, and Robin have been planning this shower for months!  It seemed anytime I talked to any of them, they were headed to a planning meeting, meeting with the caterer, or going shopping for decorations, favors, etc.  They were planning a very traditional American baby shower, which was especially great for the guests that had never been to one before.  Baby showers do not exist in France, and Sabina, my friend from Poland, had never been to one either.  AND, to make everything that much better, Matthew's cousin, Jen, decided to come for a visit, which meant that I would have friends and family at my baby shower! 

 

The Amazing Baby Shower Planning Committee

 
I had such such a great time, and am so thankful for all of my friends here in France.  Everyone here has been so great, continuously offering to help out with anything, anytime- day or night.  Even with all this support, it has been hard, at times, being pregnant so far from my family.  Saturday, I was absolutely overwhelmed with all of the love and support from people who haven't even known me that long.

Robin ordered this amazing chocolate torte cake from a local patisserie.  She ordered it for vingt-cinq (25) people.  This is what she got- a 5 layer cake!  We still aren't sure if the lady misunderstood and heard quatre vingt-cinq (85), OR she heard Robin's American accent and, keeping with the stereotype, decided this is how much we would need for 25 American women.  I am not complaining, because I got to take the top tier home! 

Matthew's cousin, Jen.

All the pregnant ladies (plus Corinne).  Pilar (in white) is due 5 days before me, and Bene (in black) had her handsome little Sawyer THAT night!  So glad she was able to make it to the shower, and SO glad Sawyer didn't decide to come just a few hours earlier.  That would have made for a very memorable baby shower!

Present Time!

A HUGE thank you again to Clarrette, Robin, and Jen for planning and hosting this shower.  It was really special, and meant so much to Matthew and me!  Love you all!

Bertrand and Claire's Wedding Party

Bertrand and Claire got married in June, but planned to have their wedding reception/party in September.  It was definitely a first for Freddie, Jen, Matthew, and I.  Our first cross-dressing/costume wedding reception, that is.

Originally, the invitation instructed all the male guests to dress as women, and the women were to dress as men (complete with a mustache or beard).  This summer, Claire sent out a mass text saying a lot of people were complaining that they didn't want to cross dress, so wearing any costume would be acceptable, BUT the really brave people would stick with the original 'dress code'.  Let me just go ahead and say, we were not among the brave.

While both Matthew and Freddie were out of the country on business trips, Jen and I went to a costume store and picked out our outfits. 

It was quite entertaining to see the brave souls.

The Blushing Bride

Claire and her brothers, I mean sisters???  (this is very confusing)

All the "Ladies"

Mark and Silke (Mark was chosen as best dressed woman!)

 The party was a lot of fun, and all the guests also participated in a lip-sync video of The Black Eyed Peas song, "I Gotta Feeling".  Originally, we were told the video would be put on YouTube.  However, some of the more career minded guys in attendance seem to be a little reluctant to have themselves put on the internet dressed as women (which makes me feel a little guilty posting pictures, but all of these are also on Claire's Facebook page AND I am not tagging anyone). 

Freddie even got a kiss from the 'bride'!

Claire and Bertrand rented a gite for the party weekend.  This pregnant guest definitely appreciated being able to just walk upstairs and go to bed.  I think Matthew also appreciated it, since he didn't have to take his tired pregnant wife home, and could keep enjoying the party!


Claire and Bertrand definitely win the prize for the most original/unique wedding reception! (oh, and for the best cake- since they had about 10 different kinds from a French Patisserie, and the chocolate mousse cake that I had was insanely delicious). 

The Always-Painful Visit to a French Hair Salon

(Warning, this is a long, babbling blog about nothing more than a trip to a hair salon.  Feel free to scroll to the bottom to skip the story and just see an updated baby bump picture.)

Once, not so long ago, in a far away land called South Carolina, I enjoyed going to the hair salon.  It was something I looked forward to.  An hour or two of pampering, someone "playing" with my hair (which I love!), and walking out feeling lighter, with my professionally styled hair. 

Then I moved to France.

I avoided getting my hair cut like the plague.  I didn't get my hair cut the first 4 months we lived here, and would cringe every time I saw how long my highlight roots were getting.  When I couldn't stand my hair any longer, I printed out a photo of what I wanted my hair to look like, so I could just point and say "comme ça".  My appointment was made with the manager (possibly owner?) of the salon, Nicolas (pronounced Neee-co-la).  The appointment went fairly well except for when the girl shampooing my hair asked me something and after about 5 minutes of gesturing and babbling, I figured out she was asking if I wanted conditioner after the shampoo.  Then there was the moment when Nicolas asked me to stand up for him to make the initial cuts.  I have never had to do this before in the US, so I was clueless about what he wanted. It took him practically pulling me up out of the chair to understand.  Now that I have conquered that fear, I have my hair cut fairly regularly, but still can't work up the courage to have highlights done in France.


After my last appointment, Nicolas suggested for the next time some sort of treatment they put in, leave in for 10 minutes, and it is supposed to make your hair "more brilliant".  One of the things I miss most about highlighting my hair is the lack of shine.  I just feel like my hair is dull.  So I was excited to hear about something I could do to bring back the shine.  It was time to make my next appointment, so I went in (making appointments over the phone is impossible) and the conversation went a little like this:


(of course Nicolas wasn't there, which would have made this all a little less painful)
Me:  Je voudrais un rendez-vous avec Nicolas.
Receptionist:  D'accord, quand...something something something (no problem, I knew she was asking when I wanted my appointment to be...)
Me:  La semaine prochain. 
Et aussi, la dernière fois, Nicolas m'a dit qu'il y a quelque chose pour...um...faire le brilliance???
Receptionist:  (confused look on face) Uh... something something something...

Then she turns around and goes to get someone else to try to help.  Another girl comes and she seems to understand what I am asking for.  Then I have to stumble through asking her if it is safe for me since I am pregnant (insert lots of gesturing and rubbing my belly here).


That brings us to my appointment day.  I go in, tell them my name, they take me upstairs, and I am told someone will come soon.  So far, so good!  A young girl comes up and walks me to the shampoo chairs and asks, "Quel nom?"  Oh, how nice (I think to myself), she wants to know my name, that is so friendly.  

"Kim"
blank stare
(ok, I need to say it with a French accent)
"Keeem" (then I spell it for her) "Ka-e-emm"
blank stare

Then she walks over and picks up a book, opens it up, and starts pointing to all the hair color samples. Ohhh, she is asking me the name of the color.  
"Non, pas de couleur.  C'est, uh, um... je ne sais pas le nom..."  ("No, not color. It is, I don't know the name")

So she starts opening cabinets and pulling out bottles and powders, showing me all the different products.  This is the first time I have done this, I have no idea what it looks like!  So this starts the torturous/awkward period of time where we are just staring at each other, neither one knowing what to do next.  Thankfully, the girl that helped me make the appointment walked up at that moment and explained what I wanted.  Phew!


Ten minutes later, with whatever-it's-called in my hair, I was under the dryer.

Ten minutes and another shampoo later, it was time for my haircut with Nicolas.  He walks up, and I am already expecting him to ask some sort of question involving what I want done with my hair. I have several key vocabulary words in my mind that I am listening for.  Unfortunately, I didn't hear any of these words.  So, I just stared at him, and he said something else.  Which, again, I didn't understand any of it.  I just started laughing, because there was nothing else I could do.  Matthew says it is a good thing that my pregnancy hormones didn't kick in right then and cause me to sit there crying instead of laughing.  We finally worked it all out, and he started cutting.  We were able to carry on somewhat of a conversation, mostly about my pregnancy, when the baby was due, boy or girl, etc.  

As painful as it was, I survived.  But I am definitely looking forward to when we move home to the US and I can truly enjoy the hair salon experience again!

So, without further ado, here is a picture of my haircut (really just the same, but shorter, but with more shine!), and more importantly- an updated baby bump picture (32 weeks).

Hike at Lac de Guery- Part Deux

With both Freddie and Matthew out of town (correction- out of the country!) on business trips, Jen suggested taking the kids for a picnic and hike.  This hike had to be "Emily friendly" (ie. easy enough for a 2 1/2 year old), and "Kim friendly" (ie. easy enough for this 8 months pregnant/28 year old).  I suggested going back to Lac de Guery.  Matthew and I have snow shoe-ed there, as well as doing one of the trails during the summer.  I remembered seeing a path that was marked with a yellow butterfly, showing a trail appropriate for kids. 

We started with a picnic by the lake.  Fall is definitely here in the Auvergne!  We sat in the sun, but when the wind blew, I was definitely chilly. 

After putting our picnic gear back in the car, we set off following our 'butterfly trail'.  It was a great trail for the kids, with lots of wooden bridges to cross, flowers and insects to inspect, we even found a dead mole. 

There was quite a steep climb up to an overlook by the waterfall, which the kids climbed like champs! 

The best thing about this trail is all of the different types of terrain you see.  You start out by the lake, wander through the forest, hike up to the waterfall, meander through a field beside a stream (with amazing views of the puys in the distance and hills dotted with clusters of black and white cows), climb a ladder over a fence...

...back into a dense pine forest, alongside a pasture, and then head down back into the forest. 

Believe it or not, we ARE on a trail here... (and ps- do you see the incredible views of the volcanoes in the distance???)

 
And because hiking wasn't enough to wear these kids out, some wrestling/tackling was needed....ahhh to be young again...

Playing 'Hide-and-go-Seek'

 
What a beautiful day and a beautiful setting for a hike! 

For anyone living in or near Clermont, the hike we did today was 2.3km and the sign says it should take about 1 1/2 hours.  It took us closer to 2, but I highly recommend it!