Madeleines with smoked salmon

Some smoked salmon and you'll get... delicious madeleines with smoked salmon !



If you want to read the recipe... click on the picture above.

And that's very easy to cook... but you'll have to have madeleine tins, of course !

Quote of the day ...

"Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young." - Samuel Ullman

Caution ! Alcohol...

"If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt." - Dean Martin

XMas and New Year Eve celebrations are good opportunities to drink so be careful for not plungering these into mourning because of a glass of alcohol !

Request for Traci !

Hi Traci !

I just received your letter. I'll answer you soon.

Let me some comments when you visit again my blog ...

Take care

See you !

Last baby clinic...

Baby Alexander was 10 months and half old, 75 cm tall and 9.100 kg weight !




The day before his baby clinic, we had to picked him to the baby ER because of an allergy to the eggs.
About 1 hour after having eaten, Alex started to become red and his eyelids were blistered. That was quite very impressive but, fortunately, he never had any breathing issues.

Now, everything is right.

Onion soup au gratin

It's soon Xmas ! That's the great advantage of December and Winter.... but the weather is also very very cold while it's very interesting to walk outside in order to buy Xmas decoration, visit Xmas market, play in the snow .... and eating a great hot onion soup au gratin at home.... is a good thing !



Yum-Yum !

Here we are !

The XMas tree.... nude !






The XMas Tree smart dressed at last !

1st Xmas with Alex ...

The Xmas tree carpet is ready....
as well as the xmas tree itself ...



while xmas embroidered frieze is almost ready!

... 20 days left before our first xmas in family with baby Alex!

The pictures are coming very very soon... flat batteries...

Damn !I can't find the battery charger right now ... It's always nearly impossible to find this kind of thing when we need them...

How eating crips, potato chips ?

You can try with your hand or by using Jessica Biel's way !

Alex, 9 months and half and...

• Height : 73 cm
  
• Weight : 8.600 kg
  
• Baby teeth : 5 (coming soon... one more !)
  

Happy Birthday to ... Alexander !

Alexander is 9 months old !

And he's still so cute even if he has some odd tantrums ...

Baby Alex is sick !

Alex has a common cold since the end of last week. We tried to blow his nose as soon as possible and as properly as possible .... but that's hard when the sick baby is 8 months and half !

We had to call the doctor at 3 AM this morning because he awoke feverish. He had 39.4 °C ! We gave him some paracetamol and some water in order to drop his temperature as quickly as possible.

The doctor prescribed a syrup and a suppository twice a day for 5 days. I hope his nasopharyngitis will be soon cured...

In 10 days, he's going to visit his allergist and we'll know if he can or not eat gluten, wheat and egg...

Wedding ...

Toothy-peg ...

Alex has his first two toothy-pegs since he's 7 months.

He got his third tooth a couple of days ago.

Now he is 8 months and 13 days and he's going to get pretty soon his 4th and 5th teeth.

What else about him ? He visited his paediatrician yesterday and he weighs now 8kg200 and he is 71,5 cm tall.


Alex growth chart !


Alex weight chart !

Pumpkin...

... with it, you can celebrate Halloween or simply eating a great Pumpkin Bisque .

My husband usually doesn't like pumpkin ... but he loved both of these recipes.

I invented the first recipe while the second one is coming directly from a restaurant in Philly...

Mushrooms ...

... a few leaves of spinach, a few leaves of Swiss chard, escalope of turkey ,potatoes and you'll get....



..... a delicious Hachis turkey with mushrooms on a bed of Swiss chard !

A personnal recipe inspired by mushrooms I didn't want to cook with an omelette ...

Alex ...

... is now able to stand a couple of seconds without holding onto the barrier of his playpen or a chair with one hand ... and he's not even 8 months !

That's really great to see him growing day after day....

I'm sure if you have kids you understand what we are feeling.

Recipe of the day ...

So, yesterday, I cooked a rabbit with olives.

My husband loved it.

This meal is very easy to cooked.
Rabbit is very interesting meat (lean, with vitamins, with omega 3 ...)



So ...
1/ Cook it
2/ Enjoy !

Beijing -2008

88 countries left Beijing with at least one medal.

China stays at home with the most of Gold medals (51) while United States came back home with "only" 36 Gold medals but with the most of medals (36 Gold medals + 38 Silver medals + 36 Bronze medals => 110 medals).

UK won 47 medals (including 19 Gold ones). That will be hard for UK to be on the top of the medal classification during London 2012 Olympic Games ... They should beat China, USA and Russia ...

Coming soon ... Olympic Games for disabled...

Oups, I forgot ....

Alex eats also .... wax beans and French beans...

Tomorrow ...

... Alexander is going at his new nanny : Annie !

And I'll soon be able to find a job and to work again.

At the beginning, he'll stay at hers only during the morning, then during the morning and lunch and afterwards ... all the day 4 days a week.

Several times a month he will take part to some activities with other kids and nannies.... and of course, I'll describe them to you...

What else about Alex ???
Since a couple of days, Alex is able to stand up alone ... when he is in his bed, in his playpen, in front of the sofa, in front of a chair ...

He is not able to walk... that's obvious, he is not even 8 months yet ! (7 months and 17 days) ...

What else about food ?
Currently, he's not very found of fruits. He wants to eat them only in his nursing bottle with some milk.
On the other hand.... he loves vegetables ! Now, he eats .... carrots, potatotes, zucchinies, spinach, leeks, Swiss chards, tomatoes ... of course cooked and mashed.

I don't know how the weather is at yours therefore I send you this warm sunset over the beach of Ste Anne (French West Indies)...

How to lose weight .... according to Garfield !

I do love Garfield !

He's sometimes oafish, but most of the time he's irresistible and so funny ...

Discovering the world as a baby (4) ...

For a baby, everything is new, everything is a discover....

Enjoy and... remember !

Discovering the world as a baby (3) ...

You'd like to know how baby see you .....

So .... watch this short film !

Discovering the world as a baby (2) ...

As adults, we have forgotten how it could be hard to learn moving, walking or event taking something when we were babies...

Thanks to pampers and a couple of short videos.... we can see the world the same way a baby do it.

Enjoy and .... try to remember ...

Congretulations Michael !

... for the 8 Gold medals you won !

Winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games is impressive.

Winning8 gold medals in only one Olympiad is far much impressive !

I swang as an amateur when I was young. As far as I'm concerned, I am far much more impressed in the training necessary to achieve this result than in the result itself ....

Swimming from 6:30 am, 6 days a week, 12 months a year .... for years ....

I think that tanks to a such training a lot of people could become a high-leveled swimmer.

But I'm convinced that only a few people could endure the kind of training for years ...

So.... Congretulations Michael, you deserve these 8 Gold Medals you won !

Discovering the world as a baby (1) ...

As adults, we have forgotten how it could be hard to learn moving, walking or event taking something when we were babies...

Thanks to pampers and a couple of short videos.... we can see the world the same way a baby do it.

Enjoy and .... try to remember ...

Happy Birthday to ... Alexander !

Yesterday, Alex was 7 months old !

This should have been the most important information of the day but yesterday his also his first day with..... a very very young and small teeth ! We're going to have to wait a couple of days before seeing a real complete teeth.

But our son's first teeth.... that's something important ! Soon, he's going able to bite us...

Today ....

... Baby Alex ate his first 'real meal' which were .... mashed carrots !

Just .... Don't Do It !

When we have child ...

... how can we buy products made by kids ???

Coming soon ...

Next week, Alex will start eating ... nearly everything ! He won't eat anymore only his baby "without lactose" milk.

Of course, I'll let you know about his first meals ....

Thought of the day ...

"If you think about disaster, you will get it. Brood about death and you hasten your demise. Think positively and masterfully, with confidence and faith, and life becomes more secure, more fraught with action, richer in achievement and experience." - Edward Rickenbacker

So .... THINK POSITIVELY !

PS : Edward Vernon Rickenbacker (October 8th, 1890 – July, 27th, 1973) was an American fighter ace in WWI and Medal of Honor recipient.
He was also a race car driver and automotive designer, a government consultant in military matters and a pioneer in air transportation.
During his lifetime, Rickenbacker worked with many influential civilian and military leaders. He had keen insight into technology, and vision for future improvements. Among other events, he participated in or observed Armistice Day on the Western Front.

2 kids again with their mom ...

Yep !

After having waited for 6 anguishing and cruel years ... Mélanie and Lorenzo could hug their mom again... today in a plane landed in Bogota.

She left 2 teenagers and she finds ... 2 adults. Nothing will be able to bring them back these 6 years stolen...

To celebrate my first Mom Day, Valerie, Alex's sweet childminder helped him to make this small gift.

As you would expect, she ... did everything that he was not yet capable of doing!

Mum, I love You.

This is the beautiful poem that adorned my nice gift :

Mum I love you,

When I am afraid,
I take your hand,
And in my heart,
The light gets it !

When I am hurt,
You take my tears,
And in my soul
I don't suffer anymore !

Mum I love you !

Simply.

Thi Anh

Dirty lactose !

Alex suffers of eczema.
He had a blood test.
Since yesterday we we know that he is allergic to lactose.

1. Not to diversify its food before he is 6 months old.
2. Give to him therapeutic milk until it is one year old.
3. As soon as diversification has begun, carefully read all labels on products that we buy to make sure they do not contain lactose (even a minute amount and negligible).

In a few weeks, he will meet an allergist who will make tests and will tell us if it is allergic to other products or not.

It is possible that allergies disappear once a year, what we hope with all our heart!

A baby boy is so pretty,
He is beyond imagination,
He brings life into a house,
Congratulations.

Otherwise, it is doing very well: it took 4 months ago 3 days and yesterday at the pediatrician, he weighed 6340 kg and measured 65 cm ....
He also had his Second vaccinations without any side effects !

Restroom and ... transparency ...

Here toilets in Switzerland fully glass made ....

... Here the inside ...
Would you be comfortable there ???
Sources : Unfortunatel unknown, I received it by email ...

French West Indies ...

In December 1997, we went to Martinique and Guadeloupe for vacation.

That's a wonderful place ! You can walk (in fact, you can walk a lot !), you also can swim, dive or just admire sunsets.

Don't hesitate to click on the links in order to see all our pictures !

• "Grand-Rivière", "Anse Couleuvre" and "le Prêcheur"
• The Mount 'Pelée' Volcano ("La Montagne Pelée")
• "Le Morne Rouge"
• "St Pierre"
• "Le Carbet" and the the butterflies Valley
• "Fort-de-France"
• "Anses d'Arlet"
• The Caravelle Peninsula ("La Presqu'Ile de la Caravelle")
• The Didier Waterfalls ("Les Chutes Didier) (close to St Joseph)
• Les Fonds-Blancs
• The Diamond Rock ("Le Rocher du Diamant")
• The Salines Headland ("La Pointe des Salines")

I wish we had a digital camera ! We could have taken so more many pictures....

Sunset in Anse Couleuvre

The Butterfly Valley

The Salines Headland ("La Pointe des Salines")

Chicories ...

As you already know it... I love cooking !

I just try a weight watchers recipe of chicories. That was very good and also very original : chicories with blue cheese in gratin !

If you want to discover this recipe ... don't hesitate ! Come here now !

This recipe is amazing because even if you hate chicories in salad you may appreciate chicories cooked liked this .... I know about what I am talking because ... I hate chicories in salad !

In february, I cooked the "traditionnal" Chicories wrapped in ham with a white sauce. It's a coincidence if the two recipes is together on the blog. I cooked a lot of different good meals, but I could translate only these two ones .... (up to now...)

I wonder ...

... how we can spend 1.5 million dollars for a sextape of Marilyn Monroe while so many people are dying of hunger! (and the story doesn't specify if Marilyn was naked or not ...) Is it because of Marylin? Is it because the guy might be JFK or Robert Kennedy?

I don't even want to imagine how many people could have been feed with this 1.5 million dollars spent for a 15-minute sextape !

I can't already understand why some people are actively seeking sextapes of stars such as Lindsay Lohann, Kristin Davis, of sport women such as Laure Manaudou or of star girlfriends such as Sarah Larson ...

What is more exciting? The fact that the people are famous? The fact that we violated their privacy? The fact that it is without the knowledge of their will? Is it just to see how famous people can make love ?

Now I wonder when a sextape between Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky will be released because I guess there must be some cameras everywhere in the White House for security reasons...

In fact, I pity those people who need this kind of video to be happy! They deserve their own private moments can be found on the web ...

XXth Century Memories ... (3)

I am working at sorting a huge amount of pictures and I remember....

During summer 1997, I met my fiancé family and he met my own family at the occasion of our engagement.

That was not a fully happy summer. A couple of days only before our engagement lunch, Lady Diana died in a car crash in Paris.

According to English jurors, the drunk car driver and the paparazzi are responsible for the accident.
Now both William and Harry are young well-balanced men despite the fact they grew up without their loving mum and under pressure of their destiny.

I can't think about Diana's death without thinking also about my engagement lunch and ... vice versa.

Today ....

"Welcome baby" card send by Alain and Monique, our uncle and aunt.

Today ... is an important day in Alex's life !

He's going to have his first vaccinations in a couple of hours.
We're going to hire a childminder, even if that's just for 2 days a week, that will be a great change for him.

XXth Century Memories ... (2)

In 1990, I went with high-school mates to Hungary.

The trip by couch from Lyon to Budapest was, of course, very long and tiring ! I remember we slept in Austria, somewhere in the Alps. That was very nice and very quiet.

I loved Hungary and Budapest (as much as I hate the pictures I've taken then !)

Budapest had the advantages of a big city and the charm of a small town. I hope going there back again with my husband and my kid. As I went there just after Berlin wall was broken, I guess that must have change a lot since 1990....

I know that the picture is not good at all, the weather was awful as well .... but the view over the Danube river is really beautiful from Szentendre and it's really a lovely place !

In a couple of years, maybe I'll have the chance to go back there and therefore to post far much better pictures !

XXth Century (and later) Memories ... (1)

Yeap ! I was enough old during the last Century ... therefore I know what was used before CDs, DVDs and all remote, mobile or unplugged objects !

I started working in 1994 as an IT technician in a very very small and young company which dies very quickly afterwards I worked only in big companies as temporary IT technician.

After a while I decided to go back school during the evening and I am an IT engineer since 2003. That was quite hard to work during the day, to go to school on the evenings and to do 'homework' during the week-ends .... during several years. But I'm happy and proud having succeeded.

In 2004, spent 9 months in London in order to perfect my English.
In 2005, I worked during 1 year in Muenchen and ..... no, I don't speak German ! (I understand a little bit and I can speak a couple of words).
In 2006, I came back home and I worked during 1 year in a big company. Now I am still in maternity leave and in a couple of day I'll be unemployed !

About Alex ...

Newbaby Alex is born on January, 14th at 7 pm. (4kg100 for 50.50 cm).


He was cute even if he had a bruise on his left cheek (because of forceps delivery).

You can guess the delivery was also hard for me (because of the forceps) and... it really was ! It was also very long because my waters have broken on January,13th 11 am...

Now we have a nice baby. He shouts and cries ... only when he wants to eat or has a problem (and currently he doesn't have a lot of troubles...)

The last time he met the paediatrician, he weighed 4.950 kg and he was 57.50 cm tall... that was on March, 7th.
The last time he met a pediatric nurse, he weighed 5.470 kg... that was on March, 29th.

He is going to met the paediatrician on April, 10th. We will know his "new" weight and height. But that will be also a big deal for him because he is going to get his first vaccinations. We hope he won't be too ill.... (in fact we hope he won't be ill at all !)

To be continued...

Some words about me...

I'm Régine.
My birthday is on March, 15th.

I decided to open this blog because I don't have enough time to give news enough often to friends dispatched... all over the world !

That's why I start my blog by a little summary about what happened in my life these last few months (hum.... years !).

August 22nd 1998 : I got married.

During the following years we took some vacation in French West Indies, Greece, USA : Las Vegas and East Coast (From New York to Washington by Philly, Baltimore and Allentown).

In 2004, I stayed a couple of months in London and afterwards I worked in Muenchen during 1 year.

Since 2006, I'm back home... in France and we decided to "adopt" a couple of fishes.

Now, I can be called 'mom' since January, 14th therefore I have less time than before for me ! Our baby, Alex, is an angel even if we are very very tired.

What can I say about my hobbies ? I love cooking, reading, travelling, embroidery, gardening.... but (for example) I don't remember the last time I read a book !

In my next post, I will tell you more about Alex....