Senior Prom

The first and only Prom dance Alexi has attended during his high school years. Heavena and Lex were so cute all matching and in black, of course... They started by taking a few pics, dinner at O'Charley, dance at the Sharonville Convention Center, and After Prom at their high school until 3:30am.

La premiere et seul "Prom" que Alexi a participe pendant ses annes de Lycee. Heavena et Lexi etaient tres mimi tout assorti et en noir biensur! Ils ont commence leur soiree avec petite seance photos, repas a O'Charley, dance a Sharonville, et Apres Prom enferme dans leur lycee jusqu'a 3:30 du matin.

I'm showering in the rain! Just showering in the rain! I'm happy again!

So today it rained really hard for about 10mn. 

Who was in his swimsuit taking a shower, with soap and all? 

He even used gutter water to get soap out of his eyes! 

We never know what crazy thing Laurent is going to do to make us laugh????

Aujourd'hui il a plus des cordes pendant 10mn, qui etait dehors a prendre une douche, 

avec le savon et shampoo? 

Il a meme utilise l'eau des egoutoire pour enlever le savon dans ses yeux!

On ne sas jamais ce que laurent va faire pour nous faire rire????

My Mother's Day...

Got breakfast in bed. Love the turnover that only had half of it on the plate :) My Honey forgot to spray the tray! He is not a big Cook...

Emric made me some eggs, his specialty!

Amelie made a mothers day card.

Justine gave me one of her great heartfelt hug.

Alexi mumbled Happy mother's day, after I reminded him what day it was.

Got to take a nap.

Spoke on the cam to my family in France.

Didn't need to cook.

Had dinner with not one, but two of our favorite families.

Cried a couple of times at church. I loved that our Bishop got up and spoke to us mothers after several talks on motherhood. He was so sensitive to our mixed feelings; we love being mothers, but often feel so imperfect and/or we fail too often in our roles, and/or compare ourselves with others. I heard once that we are so unfair to ourselves when we make comparisons, we take our greatest weaknesses and measure those against other women's strengths... it does us no good!

J'ai eu le petit dejeuner au lit. J'ai aime le fait qu'il manquait la moitie d'un des chauson aux pommes. Mon cheri a oublier le beurre pour pas que ca colle! :) c'est pas un grand cuisinier!

Emric m'a fait des oeux brouilles, sa specialite!

Amelie m'a fait une carte.

Justine m'a donner un de ces super gros calin...

Alexi m'a dit bonne fete (apres que je lui ai rappele quel jour on etait.

J'ai pu prendre une petite sieste cet apreme...

J'ai parler a ma famille en France sur la cam.

J'ai pas eu a cuisiner.

Nous avons mange avec pas une mais 2 de nos familles preferer.

J'ai pleure plusieur foisa l'eglise. J'ai beaucoup apprecie ce que notre bishop a dit a la fin des discours qui etait sur les roles des meres. Il a adresse le fait que le role de mere n'est pas toujours remplis de joie, que c'est dur, et que meme si on aime etre mere, cela ne veux pas dire que l'on n'a pas des moments ou on se sent faible, imparfaites et qu'on croit desfois qu'on échoue. On ne doit pas se comparer aux autres meres, quand on le fait on ne se fait pas justice car on compare nous faiblesses avec les forces des autres, on ne se donne pas de chance...

Freezer trouble!

I hate the feeling I get when I go down to the storage room in the basement, and see a puddle of nasty bloody liquid coming from my freezer... Since we have had that upright freezer, over the past 9 years, it must have happened at least 4 to 5 times.

I usually ignore it as long as I can... hopping it didn't happen.

I wish Mike was here to help, somehow he rarely is when this happens.

I survey the damage.

I get the kids to help carry things up stairs.

I call a friend, today Stephanie H rescued me! She took a lot of meet to cook at her house

Then I start cooking the meet, that takes hours.

I refreeze the cooked meet.

We are not sure what is wrong with it. Today, nothing got stuck in the door and no one left the door open ???? And it's working fine now????

My New Soul

In a effort to lower our monthly expenses, we sold our big Toyota Highlander, no more 7 seater. We got instead a little Kia Soul, with surprisingly lots of interior room and lots of character. I love zipping around town in it, it's a perfect car for me,just my size! My favorite feature is the trunk... so roomy, especially for Chloe and the groceries!

Dans un effort a reduire nos frais, nous avons vendu notre grosse Toyota Highlander, plus de voiture a 7 places. Nous avons achete a la place cette petite Kia Soul, qui a beaucoup de personalite et de place a l'interieur... J'adore me balader en ville avec, elle est parfaite pour moi et just ma taille! Ce que j'aime le plus, c'est le coffre, ya plein de place pour Chloe et les courses!

A Job for Chloe!!!

Some dog experts say that every dog needs a job to feel good about themselves. Chloe needs a job. After all, we all have jobs in our family.

After searching on the net for ideas of jobs for dogs, and not finding very many, especially for a young puppy, one came to me this morning. It is so perfect! Since Chloe is teething, (poor thing...) and needs things to chew, and I need to get rid of the boxes Mike tries to keep around the house as storage containers, it's a perfect match!

I give the dog the box.

It gets destroyed.

Chloe soothes her teeth and gums.

She leaves our shoes alone.

I won't have to buy new shoes.

I don't have to smash any more ugly boxes with my feet.

Mike gets to use all the nice storage containers he has bought.

And it saves money, you know the less shoes thing...

Des specialistes en chien disent que tout les chiens doivent avoir un boulot pour bien se sentir.

Chloe a besoin d'un boulot. Apres tout, chaque membre de la famille en a.

Apres avoir regarder sur le net pour des idees, et ne pas en avoir trouve beaucoup, surtout pour un chiot, un boulot m'est venu ce matin. C'est parfait! Comme Chloe se fait les dents, (la pauvre...) et a besoin de macher, et moi, j'ai besoin de me debarrasser des boites en carton que Mike essay de garder comme récipients de stockage, c'est parfait!

Je donne le carton a Chloe.

La boite est detruite.

Chloe apaise ses dents et gencives.

Elle laisse nos chaussures intact.

J'ai pas besoin d'acheter plus de chaussures

J'ai plus besoin de detruire ces boites moches avec mes pieds.

Mike peux utiliser tous les beaux, efficace récipients de stockage qu'il a achete.

Et on economise...

For a good laugh, go to Jobs for Dogs

written by a Harvard college med student I think...

Questions on a Rainy Monday Morning...

Sometimes, I do not like Monday mornings...

Today, is one of those mornings!

I have so many random questions...

It's been a month since we bought a new

faucet for our kitchen sink.

Still in the box in our dinning room...

Should I call "rent a husband" ?

In the dinning room, Chloe finished chewing on the decorative sticks Zorro had started on!

Why can't puppies chew their own stuff?
Why is Chloe so soft, adorable and cuddly?

In the office, Chloe riped up one of her red balls, it's all over the floor! She also leaves her toys laying around...

Can you train a dog to clean up after itself ?

My Desk is a fine mess...
Could somebody, anybody,
clean up after me once in a while?

The iron is out on the kitchen counter reminding me
I haven't ironed in over 2 months!
Isn't there a ironing fairy?

Why can't everything be wrinkle free?

I still need to finish my laundry from last week..
Why do people have to wear so many clothes?






Looks like we had a party all night in the kitchen!
When will kids do their chores when and how I want them to?

And why do they have to eat all the time?

Will they stop eating if I stop buying food?

What am I going to make for dinner?

Why do little girls make such big messes?

Why is little girl's art so darn cute?

Even my bed is a mess, my mess!

Can't I just stay in bed on this rainy cold Monday?

Why does the house look like a war zone on Monday mornings?

Why am I the only one who cares?

The kids will be home soon... since it's the afternoon now.

I'll just wait and hopefully get answers to some of my questions, maybe they'll know?

Then again, maybe I'll just go finish that laundry...

I could go take a shower too... Or maybe not today...

The Five doors to reaching your greatest Potential

While on a book tour in Cincinnati, the New York Times Best Selling Author Richard Paul Evans, came to our Ward building for a fireside last Sunday night. It was a very inspiring talk. I just wanted to recap the few points he made, I wish I could write down all the personal experiences he shared for each point, but I didn't take notes on those. They made him the success he is today and helped him come to understand these five doors to success...

He started by stating that we are all "special". We are somebody, and all have special gifts.

1. There is a reason why you are here. We all have a mission to fulfill. We need to learn to listen to that still small voice inside of us that will lead is to find and accomplish that mission. Keep the communication with the Divine open. We are all divine...

2. Release the bonds that hold you back. Forgive others and self.

3. Take risks. Do something with your special gifts. Don't be afrad to fail. You will fail. Think trial and error! If you have a dream, go for it!

4. When you hit road blocks, challenges, adversity, an you will, embrace them! Good grapes grow in poor soils... He spoke about his health condition "Tourette Syndrome" and how it made him who he is. We are who we are not despite our trials or trouble, but because of them.

5. In the end, the only real success is the ability to Love.

Love is not a feeling, it s a choice!

The hardest times to love will be to love the unlovable.

We love those we serve.

God Loves us just for being us.

Get off the roads!!!!

Last week, Justine got her Temporary Licence... Let me tell you, I am quite happy to have her drive with Mike! Got in the car with her for 5mn and that was plenty for me! It's a good thing my car is a stick shift, and she is definitely not ready for that, and neither am I!

La semaine derniere, Justine a recu son permis de conduite accompagnee. En tout cas, je prefere qu'elle fasse la conduite avec Mike! J'etais avec elle pendant 5mn, et cela m'a suffi! C'est bien que ma voiture ne soit pas une automatique, elle n'est pas prete pour cela... et moi non plus!

EGG HUNT

Could it be the Easter Bunny?

Real Good!

I just love this yummy French lunch! For the know how clic HERE

Don't make it for too many people though, they are best cooked and eaten

right after they slide of the pan onto your plate...

Justine & Chloe

Conversation n# 1

...a few days before I got Chloe:

Justine: "Why are you getting a dog?"

Moi: "For our family, don't you want one?"

Justine: "I could have gone my whole life without one..."

Conversation n#2

...a week later as she is steeling her from my lap:

Moi: "You can't just take Chloe away from me like that!
I thought you could live without a dog!"

Justine: "Well, I didn't know what I was missing..."

Conversation n#1

... avant d'aller chercher Chloe:

Justine: "pourquoi tu veux un chien?"

Moi: " Pour la famille, tu n'en veux pas un?"

Justine: "Pas vraiement, j'aurais pu passer ma vie sans chien."

Conversation n#2

...une semaine apres, pendant qu'elle essaye de prendre Chloe de mes genoux!"

Moi: "Tu peux pas juste la prendre comme cela!
Je croyais que tu pouvais vivre sans un chien!"

Justine: " Ben... je savais pas ce que je manquais..."

Wall Art

Ever found this kind of wall art when you have to move beds around? Just in case a couple of kids want to deny it all, or don't remember and think I am crazy!!!!! Well, here you go my precious: the proof!

No names to protect the guilty. You know who you are... Oh, yes they are buggers!

Vous avez jamais trouver ce genre d'art mural en bougent des lits? Au cas ou les gosses denient, ne se rappellent plus, ou me prenne pour une vielle qui raconte des histoires... Voila, mes precieux: la preuve!

Pas de noms pour protege les coupable. mais vous savez qui vous etes... Oui, c'est des crottes de nez!

My Happy Toes

Yesterday and today, my toes got some fresh air,
after what seemed like a long winter...

What Joy!

Hier est aujourd'hui, mes doights de pied on eu de l'air frais,
après ce qui a semble un long hiver...

Quel Bonheur!

Our little ingeneer

Justine is a great little engineer. She can put together an office chair, today I had her put together the rest of a vacuum. I know that she can figure things out like that. It's like a puzzle to her! :)
Tonight Justine, Amelie I and shoveled the driveway, not an easy task! I am so proud of my 2 girls, they are not afraid of hard work, and they stick to it until the job is done. What wonderful skills to have!

Sticking to Chloe

After deliberation, we are sticking to Chloe. We got used to it and she just is a Chloe.That's all there is to it.

Apres deliberation, on garde le nom Chloe. On s'y est habitue et elle est une Chloe. C'est tout.

Chloe or Zoe?

After having this darling Puppy for a few days, I really feel like calling her Zoe.
I find it is easier for me to pronounce and it flows better for a dog.
So I think that her name on her official papers is going to be Lady Chloe Zoe de La BelleCourt. 
Some will still call her Chloe, and some Zoe... 
How lucky is that? 2 names! 
To tell you the truth, they are so close in sound, she won't even notice a difference, 
then again, she might develop a dual personality disorder? 
My guess though is that one name will prevail! 
Want to guess which?

Apres quelques jours avec cette petite chienne, j'ai vraiement envie de l'appeler Zoe. 
Je trouve que c'est plus facile a prononcer pour un chien et cela lui va mieux. 
Donc je pense que sur ses papiers officiel, cela va etre Lady Chloe Zoe de la BelleCourt. 
Il y en aura qui vont l'apeler Chloe, et d'autre Zoe... 
Elle aura 2 noms! 
En fait, ces noms sont si proche, 
elle ne va pas faire la difference ou elle va developer un problem de double personalite? 
Je pense qu'un des 2 va prevaloir. 
Vous devinez lequel?

A Great Little Brother

A tasty guilty pleasure: Croissants toasted with melted swiss cheese... So good!

Un plaisir culinaire: croissants chaud avec gruyere fondant... Si bon!

So last night after Justine found out that Emric made himself breakfast every morning (and he packs his own lunch, and he feeds the cats, and he takes Chloe out to potty...) asks him:

J: "Hey, Emric, do you want to wake up at 5:30am and make me breakfast too?"

E: ...pause... "sure"

...And He did! What a great kid we have been blessed with!

Hier soir Justine a decouver qu'Emric se fait un petit dejeuner presque tous les matins, (ainsi que prepare son lunch, donne a mange au chats, et s'occupe de Chloe...) Elle lui demande:

J: "Hey, Emric tu veux te lever a 5h30 et me faire le petit dejeuner aussi?"

E: ...pause... "Ok"

... Et il l'a fait! On a ete benis avec un si bon gosse!

Favorite Spot

This has to be our Chloe's favorite spot, our laps, it's a good thing she is so little... She has been so great! She had one accident on the hard wood floors because some one didn't wait for her to finish her business. She sleeps all night, no winning or barking. The hardest thing has been crating her during the day... I spent some time today sitting by her until she fell asleep, got a good book! Hopeful she will soon get used to it.

L'endroit prefere de Chloe: sur nous. Heureusement qu'elle est toute petite. Elle est super! Elle a eu un accident dans la cuisine car on l'a pas laisse dehors assez longtemps. Elle dors toute la nuit sans pleurer. Le plus dur c'est de la metre dans sa cage la journee... J'ai du m'assoir pres d'elle jusqu'a ce qu'elle s'endort, sinon elle pleure... je prend avec moi un bon livre... j'espere qu'elle va s'y habituer bientot.

Solving the crate problem

We put Chloe in her crate, she cried. Since some of the family members couldn't bare it, we had a genius idea. We put Amelie in it with her. As you can see we didn't have to tell her twice! Chloe cuddled up to her and fell asleep. When Amelie left to go to bed herself, Chloe was all calm, no more crying... Do we dare hope she will spend the night that way????

Quand on a mis Chloe dans sa nouvelle cage, elle a pleure. Comme certain membre de la famille ne pouvaient pas suporter cela, nous avons eu une idee de geni! On a mis Amelie avec! On ne lui as pas demande 2 fois! Chloe s'est caliner avec elle et c'est endormie. Quand Amelie est partie pour aller au lit elle meme, Chloe est restee calm. Est qu l'on ose esperer qu'elle fera sa nuit sans pleurer???? C'est a voire...