Le train train quotidien

As predicted it's been hard work entertaining the boys so far this week whilst Stu has been working.  It always is when he's working from home but usually we can easily nip out around the town to keep out of his way or use Cbeebies as a pacifier.

The thing I love most about Whitley Bay is having everything I possibly need literally on my doorstep; shops, park, beach, pool, water park, restaurants, cafés, soft play etc*.   It's not quite like that here and I have to drive everywhere, which is a bit of a chore with the two bébés in tow.

I've got it down to a fine art now: Get mobile child (Max) in car and away from road and shut door, walk round car with Luke in pushchair, unclip carseat from pushchair, strap car seat in car, dismantle pushchair, put pushchair in boot, walk round car, open door to strap Max in, realise Max isn't there and he's climbed into to the driver's seat, walk back round car to driver's side, extract Max from driving seat, walk back around the car with Max under arm, clamber into the back of the car, strap Max in, find baby's dummy to stop the inevitable crying that has started, clamber out of car, walk back round car to driver's side, get in car, adjust rear view mirror that Max has kocked out of line, switch off hazard lights that Max has turned on, same with radio, turn key in ignition, stall engine as Max has put the car in second gear, put car into neutral, turn key in ignition, reach for seatbelt, realise that it's on the other side, strap myself in and DRIVE. I did this four times this morning before 11:30 and have it down to five minutes. Add in the mid 20 degree heat and it's pretty much a full body workout.

And if I'm lucky only one of the babies will cry for part of the journey.

La voiture francaise

We're coping with it though and so far this week we've been to three different parks, the aquarium, the port twice, the post office, the boulangerie twice and McDo for frappés et frites. Not to mention having us all up and ready and in the car for 7:45 each morning to take Lil through La Dent du Chat mountain to school.

We're also making a weekly treat of sitting in at La Panière for breakfast after dropping Lil at school. La Panière is basically the Savoie's answer to Greggs, stocked with sandwiches, cakes, bread and pastries but miles tastier. Unfortunately it doesn't sell cheese pasties but its croissants and hot milk are delicious and can keep Max quiet for around 20 minutes. I'm trying to limit croissants to twice a week or else I'll leave France looking like a house end.

News this week:

Lily has been invited to one of her French friend's birthday party this weekend which hopefully confirms she's settling in well at school.

Max is still a bit out of sorts, waking at night and and making me feel guilty by asking pretty much everyday to go to either Grandma and Grandad's house, Niamh's house, Dianne's house or Andrew's house.  He's easily distracted though, which is good.

Luke is clueless to any unsettlement but growing at an incredible rate and looks to be going quite blond.
 

 Not much else to report. Looking forward to moving into our permanent place next week and getting properly settled.

*Obviously what WB doesn't have is the breathtaking scenery, fantastic climate and proximity to some of the most beautiful places in mainland Europe ;-)