A Bientot, Petit Chevalier! (see you soon, little kight)

I thought for the longest time that a nice little break from the enslaving little Vlad would do me good... Instead, for the last seven days, I could not sleep because I was dreading the day that I fly away for a week without the Vlad. Of course the US security measures also made me stress a bit, my visa is attached to my old passport, though still valid, I dunno how the immigration will take it once I arrived in the States. Worse yet, if they say no to it in the UK, I might not even have the right to fly back to France (this is a very long story involving a very long procedure to obtain my french residence... Let's not get into it at all!) Anyway, last night I cried a bit after saying goodnight to the Vlad. I think this one week will be much harder for me than for him. I just hope seeing my friends and family might ease it a bit! And as I left the apartment I 'stole' one of Vlad's little toy knight, something to hold on to at night to make me feel close to my little chevalier...

The Incredible Purple Horse!

I have wanted to rant about this toy for the last one and a half years and don’t know why I didn’t take my time until now.

I bought this cool toy horse by Sassy (Hug & Tug Horse) when Vlad was about 5 months old and when I saw him this afternoon still with that big smile of delight when he rediscovered it in the car, I decided that the horse deserves my time!

I actually bought the purple horse out of impulse, just to give Vlad something to occupy himself with while out on our stroll together. Vlad immediately fell in love with the bright purple color and giggled happily to the three sounds (like whinnied, etc) that it made when he pushed on the orange saddle. It was very easy to operate!

In addition, each foot is made of clear plastic and inside each are some colorful stars and beads making rattling sound. When you shake the horse, the feet hits against one another making pretty realistic hoof’s sound! Vlad also love pulling on one leg to make the opposite limb get shorter… and well, he also used to bite on the colorful ribbons on horse's head and tail…

Anyway, this toy goes with Vlad everywhere until he was about 1 year old, then obviously he started to walk so is more interested in outdoor activities and books and puzzles and all that. We leave the horse in the car though, and now at 22 months old, Vlad still plays with the Purple Horse each time he gets in the car!

PS: I personally think that the horse is fuchsia… but Vlad called it Purple – I don’t want to argue with him :P

Mutant Powers

I've always joked that I have mutant powers... Powers to freeze any computer systems. This might sound far-fetched but coincidences can only be coincidences if they are not happening all the time.

Many times, the entire row of check-in counters in the airport froze right when I arrived at the desk. My friend who’s an Mac-Linux user was dumb-founded once when my husband joked about how he should not try to burn a CD next to me. As any Linux expert (also an anti-PC person), he said that there is almost no chance that a Mac could freeze, not a chance at all that a Maclinus would ever freeze. It did. Oh well.

The picture above was taken at one of Lyon’s bridge at 8 am. It’s a view I do not see everyday, since I do not tend to go out of my apartment before 10 am. I had to set out early into the wilderness known as the French prefecture – a jungle of a governmental system that is as dangerous and treacherous as any enchanted forests in Tolkien fantasy could be.

I have been there many times, and yet, by way of some curse, still could not obtain the papers that I needed. What is this prefecture had to do with my powers, you say?

Today, I just found out that as I sat at the desk of the French prefecture, that the entire national network of French prefecture just froze. As I sat there waiting and typing this entry in front of the government lady who is trying to be helpful, I can not help thinking, ‘hey, I just gained a level!’ Now let's find a way to get out of this mess and proceed to evil plans of taking over the world!

Disclaimer: This entry has nothing to do with being a mom or with babies, though I do feel that making mothers leave their kids every three months to queue in a line for three hours is inhumane. Not to mention many other mothers who had to take their babies to wait with them in this messy prefecture. I mean – there are so many ways to make it easier and smoother – an online registration system, for example, where you can get your ticket number and rendezvous time. How hard is that? Then again, for a place where the entire nation’s network just froze out of nothing… maybe I am asking too much.

Stokke Xplory Review (Finally)

I walked Vlad today all over the Zoo and for some reason had a sudden urge to blog about our Stokke Collection – well, actually it sorta start with what I felt about our Stokke Xplory stroller – then it just goes on to other things… So here goes, let’s start with the Xplory today:

We have been using this stroller for about 22 months now and have had very little complains. For what it’s worth, we really bought this stroller as a city dweller that takes a lot of walk (in old city brick streets) and bus rides, making this stroller the perfect choice, due to its height and maneuverability.

PLUS

Height wise: Xplory is the only stroller that put your child at about your waist height while in a baby cot and about your chest high while in the seat for 6 month old and above. This feature really makes the child closer to the parents and further from pollutions. It also makes the Vlad feel much more included in family activities because he is really at the height of all the action. We also choose this stroller because going to restaurants and cafés have never been easier as this stroller is at the height of all the tables. Never needed a booster or call ahead for baby chair!

Maneuverability and Adjustability wise: I can easily push this stroller with one hand. It’s also fully adjustable. So my very tall husband can push it as easily as very petite me. Very adjustable – height of seat, footrest, handle, and seat reclines in three positions, and faces either the street or parents.

Safety wise: My husband is a scientist, so he really pushed to buy this stroller because he believes that the materials used and the chassis design is the strongest in comparison with a lot of other brands. The baby cot is thick, not just some fabric covering some skeletal support. We used the cot all the time, even at night as Vlad’s crib and he slept so well in it!

Wow effect: I still get people staring and asking me about it, and my stroller is only plain black… for maximum effect – try the blue azure (if I ever get a daughter I will go for the red though)







What’s the minus then?? Well, honestly there are plenty of little minuses. Mostly in accessories – not enough to make me regret buying this stroller – ever!

MINUS

Shopping bag – is really cool, but as your baby gets bigger, you turn the seat facing the street and you need to adjust his footrest according to his height – this footrest will eventually sorta block the bag, making it a bit hard to access.

Child gets heavier– this is a stroller with the baby in mind – baby will always be comfortable, but parents might eventually feel the weight of their baby as they grow bigger and heavier and you still need to pick them up and put them into their ‘high’ stroller. The 2-wheels option to go up and down stairways is super cool too, until your baby’s too heavy for you to pull the whole package up the stairs.

Size – a bit big and not so easy to fold when traveling. I had a really bad flying experience once – the airline considered the stroller too big, so they stored it in the baggage compartment, hence not delivering it at the door when I arrived. I had to carry my laptop, my son’s bag and my son all the way to the immigration after 13 hours of flight… not fun… We bought a super small ultra foldable stroller finally for less than 100 US dollar for traveling. (Review on this very soon!)

Accesories – do not bother buying the umbrella and the changing bag. They are the most useless things ever. Umbrella blocked the parent’s view so you are pushing your baby blindly. Changing bag has one flap that opens completely down that most of the things you store fall out as you open it. Older version of the rain cover breaks easily, but the new one works fine.




What is your stroller and what do you think about it? Please post a comment!

Goodnight Gorilla

Okay, I am now in a Blogging mood... so here's another Must-Have-Book (MHB??)



The Vlad is now 22 months old and have been loving this book since he was 15 months old. The story is about Gorilla who helped all the animals escaped the Zoo at night to sleep in the Zoo Keeper's house instead. It's funny and wonderfully illustrated.

There are so many little details added in the illustration: a baloon that was released in the beginning of the book can still be seen flying through several different pages, a mouse followed Gorilla with a banana, the colors of the keys for each cages, etc. Many gestures made by the characters are mimic-prone, adding to the fun.


It is amazing how many things you can discover in this book and how it really cater to all levels of the fast progressing babies. For example, when he was 15 months, Vlad only listened to the story, soon, he started pointing out animals and saying their names, and now at 22 months, he also pointed out objects, colors, noted how the baloon is still somewhere in the sky, counted the houses, and still discovering more things each night.

Mom and Dad too still discover new things each time - did anyone noticed how the elephant is curling his trunk over the lion's tail when he sleeps? :P

Hurray for Bélfegor

It’s been a long while since I have had the time to update this blog – well, sorry, I guess mothering took a lot out of me after all. Whatever happened to all those energy when I can party all night and work all day, sometimes without any sleep in between, cause I’d rather finish my game instead of wasting a good night on something as boring as sleeping??

Anyway, here is the pick for this month:

A new series in French called Bélfegor. There are two now out in stores, the first one Bélfegor et l'Orage is about a little dragon who wants to breathe fire like his Daddy. The second one Pas si Fort Bélfegor is about how he should learn how to control his fire-breathing technique (obviously after miscellaneous mishaps).

The two books really complement each other as well, the first one is really about being brave, since Bélfegor is a afraid of the storm, but to gain his fire he needed to take a bite of lightning. And mentioned above, the second one is about control.

The illustration is one of the most wonderful I found so far for kids books and the story is really cute and funny, such as when Bélfegor wanted to kiss his mother in the morning and ended up burping fire and covered her face with soot instead! Certain expressions of the little dragon actually remind me of the Vlad, ha ha!

This book is highly recommended in France for five years-old, but my almost two year-old Vlad loves it so much he asked for it every morning when he wakes up!