Babyhood

The children had their school Christmas party at the end of term. Père Noël came and gave them all a present. We Mums made fabulous cakes, as usual. I made a chocolate cake iced with a dark chocolate background and piped Joyeux Noël and snowflakes in white chocolate. I also made a batch of carrot and almond chutney for the café in Fontainebleau, even though I don’t officially work for them any more. My old boss had rung me to ask if I would do it for Christmas, so I didn’t mind. I just don’t want to be doing it regularly anymore. Especially when I found out that they had raised the price of my jams from 20 to 25 francs sometime last year, but not my pay!

The school Christmas break has started, so for two weeks there will be less rushing around and I don’t have the ordeal of getting them ready for the bus four times a day. Kevin is very amenable, and puts on his anorak and shoes with very little fuss. But Pauline is going through a stubborn, horrible phase (yes, another one), where she just doesn’t want to co-operate. They both start the day saying they don’t want to go to school, and yet once we’re on the bus they’re all smiles to their friends. Grrr…