Callaloo Soup

Giveaway Alert!

I'm giving away this awesome kit today at Craft Gossip, compliments of Shabby Chic Crafts. If, like me, you make a December Daily album to record the holidays, this is a great kit! Hop on over there to find out how to enter!

No More

...sleeping on the sofa bed

...people slamming the entrance door and scaring/waking up Kieran

...creeping around the apartment when K is sleeping so as not to wake him up

...tiny alcove as a bedroom/nursery

...pink and black bathroom

...creaky hardwood flooring

...not being able to stay up late while the others are sleeping

...not being able to scrap while Kieran is napping

...not being able to have friends over for dinner

Yes, we are moving!  Last December I made peace with the fact that we wouldn't be able to move for a while. But the truth is it has been hard having any sort of a life with three of us in this apartment. The way it is laid out just isn't convenient for a couple with a baby, at least not for longer than a few months (the first few months all you want to do is sleep anyway!) Now that Kieran is more active, and I am no longer a total zombie, we really need a better place. And we found it! A two-bedroom where the bedrooms and the living room are at opposite ends of the hall. With a door between them! In theory this means that noises shouldn't disturb Kieran when he is sleeping in his room. That has the potential to change so much! Plus the location is closer to Lucas' office, also a huge plus. Of course moving there also means no more....

...lovely shaded garden for BBQs - the cats ain't gonna like that!

...awesome neighbourhood that is like a little village in the big city

...super sweet neighbours (well maybe our new ones will be sweet too!)

...high ceilings

Ok. I can't think of anything else I will miss. This is definitely a change for the better. I still won't have a scrap room, but I have plans for a cute scrap corner. We'll have a balcony and the cats will just have to deal. The thought of Lucas getting home earlier makes me very happy, and now when Kieran starts crawling/walking he'll have more space to explore. Actually, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Now all we have to do is get our crap together to move in about a month. Let the de-cluttering begin!

5 Months (and 2 days)

* He can prop himself up with his arms when sitting now. But he still falls forward or to one side if he isn't balanced

* It's all about his feet now, he's fascinated by them!

* We have some trouble getting him to sit in his tub (the baby spa, tee hee). He wants to stand and hold on to the sides

* We're seeing more and more deliberate playing with his toys. He reaches for them, and tries to get to them when out of his reach. He can also play nicely by himself for longer periods.

* When on my lap in front of the computer nothing on my desk is safe! 

* A short book can now hold his interest, so we do a little reading in the morning. And he "helps" me to turn the pages.

* He had a playdate with Ian, my friend Lucy's son, and they had a lovely time together!

 

* He's growing so fast I put him in clothes just to make sure he wears them once before they are too small.

* I discovered the hard way that the vacuum cleaner scares him.

* He's more interested in the cats now, before he would just ignore them, but now he follows them with his eyes when they walk past. I think they are in for a fun ride soon!

* He's now giving us hugs and cuddles when we hold him against us.

* I'm convinced he recognises the camera and poses when he sees it!

We are having a wonderful time seeing his personality blossom and grow!

Sunday Smile

Momentous occasion in the Fournier-Clouden household!

Looking forward to the weekend.

This has been a somewhat trying week as we work on figuring out what is keeping Kieran from sleeping properly. Apart from waking up to nurse, he's been pretty fussy all through the night. We think it might be due in part to teething, but we also started back using his sleep sack again, which we believe makes him feel more comforted and safe. So even though the nights might still be difficult, I am really looking forward to the next two days of having Lucas home with us. On the list so far:

1. Scrapping of course. I need to work on some projects that have been on my list for a while
2. Running errands including getting Kieran his first tooth brush!
3. Baking - I'd like to make some oatmeal muffins for breakfast for the coming week; and if La Poste decides to delivers the box from my sister I might also make cupcakes! (She sent me cupcake liners yay!)
4. Giving my hair a good conditioning treatment a la Yvonne
5. Submitting to a couple scrapbook magazines
6. Going to meet our friends' new baby!

Can all this be achieved in a 2-day period? I'm gonna give it the old college try! What are your weekend plans?

Hello September

For some parents, this is the most wonderful time of year, as their kids go back to school. I have three years left before I have to start thinking about that, but in France, this time of year, known as La Rentrée, is the restart of pretty much everything, adult activities included.

Table Tennis starts again for Lucas, and Scrap Club for me. Well they do in theory, as they both happen on the same night. We will most likely alternate so we can each attend every two weeks. We have yet to run a test to see how Kieran will adapt to having only Papa at his bedtime, as I'm usually the one to put him down after his last nursing. We also have to test how he reacts to being bottle fed, as we've only tried it once so far. I'm pretty postive about it though, he has been a very adaptable baby so far.

It's also the start of a new gallery over at Write.Click.Scrapbook. Our theme is Back to School and this is the layout I did

 

That's my sister and I headed off to school back in 1979. For more details on the layout click here. Don't forget to check out the rest of the gallery! It is filled with awesome back to school ideas!

Speaking of my sister and I, remember Sister Scrap? We started this blog last year, but then I got pregnant and things slowed down. Way down. Well we are using September as the perfect month to start things back up again. We have a welcome back post and giveway up already, so hop on over to check that out. 

With the restart of Scrap Club I hope to have more time to work on my various projects, so look out for more news on what I will be up to in the coming weeks.