Rising to the occasion

It's been quiet here lately, hence the lack of recent posts.  As many families this winter, we have been struck with one sickness after another - bronchitis, ear infections and never ending colds.  Thomas has started to pretend blow his nose whenever he can get his hand on some tissues.  Cute really - unless you realize they are his sisters used tissues (sigh).  Oh, and to top things off, Jean sprained his ankle playing volleyball last week and is currently hobbling around on crutches.  Needless to say, I am hopeful that spring will be here soon!!

Since I have regained much of my strength, I've tried to occupy some of the time at home by cooking.  Challenge this week?  The classic french soufflé! Nothing I would have really thought about making while in the US but now it seems only fitting that I tackle some of these French classics (hmmm, this sounds like a movie I've seen).  Anyway, to add to the challenge I invite the mother-in-law over for the occasion.  Nothing like upping the ante a bit, eh?  Oh, and to make sure I didn't chicken out, I purposely told her soufflé as on the menu.  No backing out now...

It's funny - it wasn't nearly as difficult as its lofty name implies.  Really, its two steps - first make a what's called a mornay sauce (butter, flour, milk, cheese, egg yolks)...

...and then seperately beat the egg whites - 

Then you carefully incorporate the egg whites in the the mornay sauce and place it in a well buttered and floured dish.  You are supposed to fill it 3/4 full to be able to have the soufflé rise above the rim of the dish for that classic look.  Turns out my dish was a little large so although it rose adequately, I didn't get that effect.

Nevertheless, I was super impressed with the result! Nice rise, lightly browned top and an incredibly smooth texture.  I served it alongside a green salad with homemade vinaigrette and voilà- lunch is served.   

Raves came from the entire table...from the mother-in-law all the way to 13 month old Thomas.  Audrey put away an enormous portion happily adding soufflé to her quickly expanding vocabulary list (luckily it needs no translation between English and French!).  Awesome! One French classic only another couple hundred to go.         


Oh, and in case anyone was interested in trying this themselves, here is the classic Julia Child Cheese soufflé recipe.  Bon appètit!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the classic version of a cheese soufflé, adapted from Julia Child’s recipe in her book, The Way to Cook (Knopf).
SERVES 6

2 tablespoons, finely grated Parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese)
2 1/2 tablespoons, butter
3 tablespoons, flour
1 cup, hot milk
1/2 teaspoon, paprika
1/8 teaspoon, fresh-ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon, salt
1/4 teaspoon, fresh ground pepper (white, if you don’t like to see dark “specs”)
4 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces), coarsely grated Swiss cheese
Prepare the dish: Butter the interior of a straight-sided, 1 quart baking dish (7-8 inches in diameter). Roll the grated Parmesan cheese around the dish to coat the bottom and sides.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set the oven rack just below the center of the oven.

Make the soufflé base: In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for two minutes over moderate heat – do not allow the mixture to brown. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Stir and cook slowly (mixture will boil gently) for 3 minutes – it will be very thick. Whisk in the seasonings and remove from heat. One by one, whisk in the egg yolks.

Beat the egg whites: In a clean mixing bowl, using a balloon whisk or an electric beater, beat the (room temperature) egg whites until stiff and shiny. The whites will form peaks when the beater is lifted. Do not overbeat – when the peaks form as described, stop beating.

Finish the soufflé mixture: Scoop about one quarter of the beaten egg whites onto the top of the base mixture, and gently stir the whites into the base. Turn the remaining beaten egg whites onto the sauce and carefully fold them into the base mixture alternating scoops of the spatula with sprinkles of the grated Swiss cheese. Spoon the soufflé mixture gently into the prepared dish.

Bake the soufflé: Set the soufflé in the preheated oven, and immediately turn the heat down to 375 degrees. Bake until the soufflé has puffed 2 to 3 inches over the rim of the baking dish, into the collar, and the top has browned nicely - about 25-30 minutes..

Getting back in the saddle...

So, the let-lag for myself and the kids lasted about 4 days.  Unfortunately right after we normalized our sleeping schedules, I get hit with a nasty case of bronchitis.  Ugh...the last weeks have been absolutely miserable!  Not leaving the house on more than a handful of occasions and feeling horrible haven't made the transition back easy at all.

It's really sad but I felt like I had lost all of my French when I arrived home after just 2 weeks in the states.  I remember quickly dodging the mail woman when I saw her coming on her bike because I was convinced I wouldn't even be able to utter a decent greeting.  I kind of had to suck it up though and have had more conversations with French doctors in the past 2 weeks with anyone else.  I guess when you are desperate to feel better, your language skills improve dramatically.

Truthfully, there was a point when I was starting to lose sight of our the future of our life here in France.  There were days that I couldn't imagine ever feeling better and taking care of two sick kids had me totally consumed.  Two and half weeks later and things are finally improving.  Being in a better physical state has helped to put me back on track.  Big things are happening this week and next!  I just got the notice in the mail that I can FINALLY pick up my "titre de sejour" (sort of the equivalent of a green card).  This is HUGE since we've been waiting on this for a while now.  It solidifies my legal status and removes me from a sort of immigration "purgatory".

Next week I also spend an afternoon in Paris at a breastfeeding workshop.  Its nothing huge but it marks my journey to begin my own private practice as a Lactation Consultant here in France.  The woman who runs these workshops is a Lactation Consultant in Paris and I am hoping to slowly acquire enough information to be able to set up a similar practice in Strasbourg.  This is all incredibly exciting for me and I am hopeful that with such a lofty goal, this will keep me optimistic about the future.  Much more about this to come...

A French Homecoming

Despite my original desire to try and post at least once while back in the States over the holidays things got a little too busy.  Anyway, we have arrived safely back home in France after a 9-day trip home to Cleveland as well as a short stop in Boston.  The kids did fairly well with the flight and fingers (and toes!) crossed that the jetlag won't last too long.

Although we were only gone for two weeks it seems like forever ago!  Since we left here the day after Christmas there were still new toys laying around that Audrey didn't really remember opening.  We quickly gathered a bunch up and shuttled them into the garage to be able to bring them out throughout the year.

I have to admit that while in the US, it was as if we had never left.  Of course being here for just 6 months, there isn't a huge amount of change to be expected.  But it was nice to be feel so comfortable at home in Cleveland as well as while visiting friends back on Boston.  We celebrated a belated Christmas with all the family in Ohio where Audrey and Thomas were able to goof around with their cousins and meet the newest family addition, little Vera. 

We stopped for 5 days in Boston where we were able to visit friends and see the old neighborhood. During our stay we celebrated the birthdays of BOTH kiddos (makes it easy since they were born just a day apart!)

The only downside? - getting our carry on bag snatched as we arrived in Boston.  Unfortunately it contained some valuable belongings including my wallet as well as all of our passports.  We were luckily able to scramble to assemble enough evidence to prove our identities and got new ones reissued the afternoon before leaving.  We still have a bit of work to do to in replacing many of the items but I am happy to say that we tried our hardest to not let this bring us down in the last days of the trip.

So...how did it feel being back?  I have to say there was a big part of me that wanted to stay there.  Perhaps it's because my transition to life in France is in its very early stages and that seeing good friends and family made me wish we were still there.  I also found myself enjoying the  faster pace of life of our old Boston neighborhood and as compared to the town where we are currently living here in France.  Nevertheless, I realized that there are a number of trade-offs as we now have access to excellent (and affordable) schools and childcare options as well as being well located for travel within Europe.  Not only that but the opportunity to be able to immerse the kids (and myself!) in a new language and culture is one that I am very thankful for. Its sort of that "grass is always greener" mentality I suppose.  So, for the moment I am content with the choice that we have made knowing that you can never have everything you want.

I have to say that there is something incredibly satisfying about coming home after a long trip. Now that I think about it, this is our first real homecoming here in France.  Here's to many more visits and many safe returns home.

Looking back (and forward!)

It's hard to believe that it is the eve of our first return to the United States since we moved here 5 months ago. In some ways it seems like we have been here FOREVER...and in others it seems like just yesterday.

It's funny - as a parent, you don't notice the change in your children as much as people that see them much less often.  Obviously, seeing them daily makes it difficult to notice the subtle changes in how they mature. It's the same way with our adjustment here in France - while it doesn't seem like much changes from day to day, we've made leaps and bounds since we arrived in August.  We went from a completely empty house to what feels like home - home enough to have welcomed our first house guest last month!  Audrey has not only started at school (after WEEKS of hoops to jump through) but she is thriving there.  What has also amazed me is her language aptitude. While we lived in the US, she understood French well but never utter a word of it.  Now, she speaks in complete sentences to Jean in French.  Incredibly, in the same breath, she'll look at me and change back into English.  I have noticed that she speaks exclusively to Thomas now in French.  Poor little guy now hears "Touche pas, Thomas !" screamed at him constantly instead of "Don't touch this!".

As for me, things are coming along.  I feel more comfortable with my French now and I have ventured out of my comfort zone more and more.  While my immigration papers are taking longer than expected, things are coming along.  I am also starting to think more seriously about my work options here which has me very excited to be able to take what I am most passionate about and weave it into our new life here.

That said, I am looking forward to our trip home.  It'll be a second Christmas for the kids and its nice to try and extend the holidays a bit.  I don't think that I have any huge cravings for anything in the US.  While I would hesitate to admit my former love of Dunkin Donuts iced coffees, I think the affair has ended (yes, I had Jean bring me one the morning he and Audrey came to visit me in the hospital after Thomas was born!). For now, I am looking forward to the kids to play with their cousins and to have the Christmas I remember as a child.  Hopefully those lovely thoughts will keep me going through the 15+ hour journey home with an infant and a toddler.  Oh, and just in time for a huge snowstorm in the Midwest.  Perfect!  Anyway, Merry Christmas all and wish us safe travels! 

Oh, and a little montage of photos from our first 5 months here in France...

           

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I know...my space in between posts is getting longer and longer.  I've had a couple people ask about my next entry and truthfully it has been in the works for a while.  With Christmas right around the corner, we've been a little busier than normal.  I promise that a New Year's resolution will be to write more often!

For anyone who knows much about Strasbourg, it's a pretty cool place to be in the Christmas season. The Christmas Market or Christkindelsmärik have been around since 1570 and is a pretty serious tradition here. Here you can buy all your Christmas goodies and then some. For me though, walking around under all the lights with a cup of mulled wine and browsing the various stalls is an experience that can't be missed. Luckily my little sister Stefanie was here for the first weekend of it and I hope she enjoyed it as much as we did.

This year seems like it will mark the beginning of an era - partly because of the huge move we have just made but also because Audrey is now almost 3 and she'll start to remember traditions being set. Jean and I had a discussion about Santa since we wanted to make sure we were on the same page.  She was too young last year so we had to decide if we'd tell her about the jolly fellow or not this time around.  I wasn't crazy about his introduction since I have somewhat painful memories of finding out he wasn't real (long story...).  However, I was convinced otherwise and it looks he'll be making a visit to Alsace this year. It's a strange power that parents have in this sense - you can make your kids behave incredibly well for the month preceding his arrival with the threat of him calling the whole thing off.  At the same time, you have the ability to have your babies believe in the magic of Santa and see their eyes sparkle when his name is mentioned. I don't think I ever realized how it would be to be on the other side of the whole Santa thing.  I have to say - it's pretty darn cool.

Speaking of cool - it's downright cold here!  I don't think there's been a day in the past week that's been much over freezing.  Audrey has relished this wintertime wonderland (for a week straight she insisted on wearing her snow pants while in the house). Meanwhile little Thomas (who has had a couple nasty colds) and I have done more hanging out indoors. The picture to right pretty much sums it up kids' hangouts.

Here's a couple extra pictures from our first Christmas in Alsace.  Enjoy!

      

Tourism 101

It's hard to believe we've been here for almost 4 months.  In a way it seems like much longer and in others it feels like we just arrived. I feel like I have just started to get my bearings around the town which has been helpful in making me feel at home. However, over the last week, I have taken one massive step in my acclimation to life in France.

One week ago, we welcomed our very first house guest - my little sister Stefanie.  Having her here has caused an huge transformation for me since I have now gone from tourist to tour guide. We've shown her some of the best Alsace has to offer - medieval towns, scenic villages in the heart of wine country, castles, cathedrals and even a tour of a sauerkraut factory (yah, that last one wasn't as glamorous as I thought).

I also figured a trip to France for her wouldn't be complete without a stop in Paris.  So earlier this week Stef and I spent a couple days in the city of lights. I was a bit worried since it would just be her and myself and I'd be the one who'd have to navigate the city.  I am proud to say that we didn't get lost once and saw an incredible amount of sights in one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

In the course of 36 hours, we:

climbed the Eiffel Tower
checked out the gargoyles of Notre Dame
visted Sacre Coeur and wandered around the streets of Montmatre
enjoyed a scenic boat ride of the Seine river
took and evening stroll down the Champs-Elysees
saw the famous Christmas window displays in Galeries Layfayette
took in the incredible art at the Orsay museum.

Phewww...needless to say we were both pretty exhausted by the time we got home.  I walked away with an incredible confidence boost to have been able to lead someone around in a country that I now call home.  It seems as if this was a fairy pivotal point in my stay here, and one that I will remember for quite a while.

So, any takers for house guest number 2??

Waking up in the dark

So, this blog title can have a couple of meanings.

I could be talking about how the recent time change has us waking up in complete darkness. Nope...not the topic I'll be discussing.

I could also be talking about how our kids are not the greatest of sleepers, a somewhat taboo topic for most parents since its sort of a badge of honor to have children that sleep all night..  Yes- truth be told they both have us "waking up in the dark" more often than we'd like to admit  Again, not the topic to be discussed.

Here's the real story.  As most all of you know, the U.S. presidential elections just took place.  It was a bit anticlimactic to email my vote in weeks before the election, this being my first time to vote with an absentee ballot. Nevertheless, I did feel fairly connected to the presidential race as the internet and cable TV often make you forget that you are not in the United States.  True, I was able to dodge all the annoying aspects that come along with elections including the negative campaigning, relentless television ads and the phone calls, etc. (although I got to hear all about that on Facebook, especially from friends and family in my home state of Ohio!)





We got an invitation in the mail to attend a presidential election breakfast alongside fellow Americans and others who have connections to the U.S. There they would stream the actual polling results as they come in. I was totally psyched until I saw the time of the event - starting at 6am!  Okay, perhaps not totally ideal considering we'll have two kids in tow but still much cooler than just waking up and seeing the result on the news.  Although I mentioned they are not the greatest sleepers, they both are fond of that 4am-7:30am stretch (go figure, right?) .




Both Jean and I really wanted to find out the result at the breakfast event so we had to make sure to avoid any possible information leak as we prepared that morning.  Before going to bed, we put our phones on airplane mode to eliminate the possibility of receiving texts or accidentally seeing it on the internet or Facebook.  When we got in the car in morning, we made sure we had a CD on to make sure we didn't hear any information on the election results on our way to the breakfast.  Just before 8am (I mean who really got there at 6am anyway!) we drive up to the Hilton hotel where the breakfast is taking place.  Mission accomplished - we were able to essentially wake up in the dark with no idea of who had won the election.

The next memories are ones I don't think I will ever forget.  Walking down the carpeted halls of the Strasbourg Hilton, I hear the bellowing voice of Obama.  I've got my youngest in my arms, my toddler holding Jean's hand right beside me.  I don't even have to listen to the words to distinguish between a victory and concession speech - it was evident in the tone of his voice. We make our way to the room to see a good two hundred people sitting, their eyes glued to the massive projection screen at the front of the room. We are just in time to catch the last 5 minutes of the speech being broadcast live from his campaign center in Chicago. Somehow I feel that I was even more moved since it was an incredible sense of connection watching this from thousands of miles away.  Although I know the kids didn't get the importance of that moment, I think it speaks to our ability to be able to keep them connected to both cultures - witnessing the live victory speech of our newly re-elected president while munching on a perfectly flaky pain au chocolat.  The best of both worlds!