Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day! Too bad my dad has to work today, but tomorrow night we are going to celebrate both Father's Day and my parents 35th wedding anniversary by going out to eat and a movie. Can you imagine that, 35 years of marriage?! And since I'm living with the parents for the time being, I figure that I may as well crash their romantic evening too. Living with them again after such a long time of not, is weird and comforting at the same time. First, it is just temporary until my hubby arrives in about 2 months, but second is such a money saver for us at this point. We are hoping to buy a house in the not too distant future, and if I had to pay a big rent on an apartment, our saving money would be even harder. In fact, Yann is currently moving out of our apartment in Ventabren, France and he is going to move into his parents place too, in North France! We are in quite a funny situation for the next couple months, but c'est la vie!

I appreciate so much, my parents letting me stay with them. I was feeling like I was imposing on them when I first arrived in the States; after all I am married, 27 years old, and pregnant! I felt like maybe I should bite the bullet and look for an apartment until Yann got here. But after looking at some expensive, tiny places, I decided I should stick around here. It's a much better deal here at their house: I've got a cool swimming pool in the backyard, my dog can stay with no extra pet deposit, I have access to a mac-daddy kitchen with a Sub-Zero fridge and a big gas stove, monthly utilities are included, and cable and internet are abundant! What more could you want? Well, for one thing, more storage would help. I've maxed out my closet in my bedroom, and now my craft work space is creeping into the dining room. I have a growing 'rat pile' of baby things that I've slowly begun collecting. A disassembled baby swing, a stroller in a huge box, the crib bedding, some cute baby clothes I found on sale... oh my, I do look forward to getting our own place at some point soon!

Anyways, I want to give a shout out to my dad and my grandpa today! Love you guys!! My dad is seriously the greatest papa ever and I can never thank him enough for all that he has done for me. We have been through some hard times as a family, but he always pulls through for my mom and I and is our solid rock. I am so happy that I will be able to give him the greatest gift this year of becoming a grandfather. I cannot wait to see him holding his grandaughter for the first time! He will be an excellent grandpa, just like he is a father. And to my grandpa, Art, who I now get to live only one mile away from, instead of being separated by the Atlantic ocean, I am happy to be your neighbor again! I bring dinner to my grandpa, who is homebound, with my mom about every other night. It's so good to have this time with him, because I've lived far away for so many years now. He is 93 years old and still very mentally sharp; he's such a great guy and I'm so blessed he is a part of my life. So, Happy Grandfather's Day to you grandps!







Also, in crafting news, I have only one quilting class left! The four weeks went by so fast. It's crazy; when I am on a sewing machine hours can pass and it will only feel like a few minutes has gone by! The 3 hours class goes by very quickly, but I will have an adorable lap quilt for the baby finished by this Thursday. Can't wait to show you my first little quilt. I have really learned a lot of technique and about measuring & cutting fabric from my teacher. She is a major perfectionist, which is required in quitling. I am more of a 'wing it' type person, so her instruction is very good for me; she makes me rip out a lot of my seams! My sewing machine is in the shop broken, which is a whole 'notha sad story in itself, and so I have to figure out another craft to keep my hands busy. I found a great knitting for babies book and so this is my next undertaking...learn to knit, while my my sewing machine is in the shop! Knitting in Florida..why??? Well, maybe this winter will be cold here and I can find a chilly day or two to put a hand knit sweater on my sweet little baby girl.

So, today I used my mom's old Bernina machine to sew up these market tote bags. I have been going nuts with the amount of plastic bags in the United States!! In France, everyone has to bring their own bags to the grocery stores. There is no such thing as a free plastic bag! If you forgot your bags at home, you can purchase thick plastic bags at the grocery store, but then they are expensive. This forces you to keep a bunch a eco-friendly, re-useable bags in your trunk and grab them before you go into the store in France. It's such a simple, small act to bring your own bag there, but I have made a lifetime resolution to never use the plastic bags at the store. They are a nightmare to store at home and are just a nuisance overall. I made these for my mom, because she always forgets to bring her own bags and I had to do something about that!





See you later this week!