Buying and renovating a house in Provence
May 19, 2013

We’re Buying a House in Provence, France

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And yes... it's a fixer-upper! There's a funny story behind this. My husband and I decided we would move near Avignon so we could live closer to the TGV (train). This would make traveling to see his family much easier. Our son is due on June 19th (French due date), then we were planning to visit family in Normandy in September, and then my family in Florida in November. We thought it would be best to move near Avignon around February 2014 - after all our trips.Our babysitter qualified to become an assistant maternelle, so we visited her home. My husband was impressed with the size her … [Read more...]

banon-france
Jan 22, 2013

Rent or Buy, Provence or Gironde?

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These are questions going through our minds as we wait for our next little one to enter the world. We were supposed to move to Challans in December to live closer to my husband's family in Normandy. We decided to stay in Provence until the baby is born because it would have been too stressful - move across the country to a temporary month-to-month house while house hunting, and then buying furniture (we've only lived in furnished apartments/houses over the past 2.5 years in France). And now after passing it by, we're thankful because the weather there is very similar to Normandy.We know we … [Read more...]

grammar-girl-blog
Jan 21, 2013

Quick French Grammar Tips

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Being married to an ex French teacher has its advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, he's always correcting me. It was greatly appreciated at the beginning, and now it has become annoying. Most of what he tells me I've already learned, yet I have forgotten at the moment.I created a new blog to provide quick French grammar tips. French Grammar Girl is for people, like me, who need reminders and don't have time to go through an entire grammar book.I still have some work to do on the look of the blog. If you've been a reader of French Mamma for some time, then you know I'm … [Read more...]

saving-money-buying-clothes-in-france
Jan 16, 2013

Saving Money When Buying Baby Clothes in France

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Baby clothes is expensive and you need to buy more clothes every few months. I was lucky with Juliana because family on both sides of the ocean gave us enough clothes so we didn't have to buy any until she was a year old. Most of the clothes came from my older sister since her daughter was born only 2 years earlier, and borrowed from my husband's cousin, who by chance still had all the baby clothes of her 7 year-old daughter.We don't know yet if we're having a boy or girl. If we're having a girl, we're all set. Most of Juliana's clothes from birth until 3 months old were borrowed, so no … [Read more...]

juliana5-(2)
Jan 7, 2013

Traveling While Pregnant & With a Baby in France

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I feel as if I'm spending this pregnancy asleep or in a foggy daze. When I'm not asleep, I'm daydreaming about going to sleep. I read in books that my energy was supposed to return in my second trimester, however, I found that this must be an old wives tale. Besides being tired all the time, I love being pregnant again.For the holidays, we planned to drive from Provence to Normandy - normally a 13 hour roadtrip. With my need to pee every hour, we estimated the trip would extend to 16 hours or more. My doctor strongly advised us to cancel. We talked to a midwife in the hallway for a second … [Read more...]

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