2G or not 2G

Fun Fact: "2G" or not to "2G" ... that was the problem faced by both my mom and James' mom when they got to Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport.  And, the answer was a resounding "non" (said in the most dismissive French accent possible and accompanied by a shoulder shrug). 

Terminal 2 at Charles de Gaulle is divided into SEVEN!!!!! parts (i.e. Terminals 2A through 2G).  Terminals 2A through 2F are connected via ground level or below ground passageways.  Terminal 2G, however, is located 1.6 miles away from terminals 2A-2F and is only accessible by bus.  However, there are no signs, advertisements, English-speaking airport employees, helpful French people, guide-dogs, or any other conceivable means of alerting travelers to the fact that if they want to catch their plane from Terminal 2G, they need to, in fact, exit the airport, wait on the street for a bus and ride almost 2 miles to a separate terminal that for no good reason is grouped together with Terminals 2A-2F.

Rather, if you ask a CGD employee directions to Terminal 2G (as BOTH of our mothers did on their way to Strasbourg for the holidays) you will, first, be looked at with a blank, uncomprehending stare.  Second, after repeating your question, you will be told in perfect English to "go upstairs."  Once you go upstairs, you will wind up on the street.  After going up and down the stairs several times with your heavy suitcase, you will FINALLY encounter another American who, having just experienced the same thing, will explain that you need to take the "navette" (the French word for bus) to Terminal 2G. 

But ... why bother?  You've already missed your flight.

Winter Wonderland

Even though it takes me fifteen minutes to get Conor wrapped up in all his winter gear ...

Even though Conor hates wearing his winter gear and immediately pulls off his hat ...

Even though Conor has gotten a few colds because he pulls off his hat ...

Even though my new Ugg boots are getting worn out at an alarming rate by sloshing through the snow ...

Even though I have to scrape a layer of snow and ice off the car every time I want to go anywhere ...

Even though I don't have a proper snow/ice scraper and have to use a spatula ...

It's all worth it because it is beautiful here in winter!

Grandma Time

My mom and James' mom both came to Strasbourg a few days before Christmas to see Conor.  Sure they were excited to see their own children but their number one priority, by far, was to hang out with the Man. 

The only downside to the Grandmas visit was that the day after they arrived, both came down with the stomach flu.  It was going around Conor's daycare and I got it the day before.  It was a nasty bug and anyone who came into contact with it got it.  Luckily, it only lasted 24 hours so we were still able to tour Strasbourg. 

After a few days in Strasbourg, we all headed to Clonakilty, Ireland for the week to meet up with James' sister Anji, her husband John, Jim (James' dad) and all of the Wall's extensive extended family in Ireland.

There were a lot of highlights during the trip, among which were:  we had a fabulous traditional Irish Christmas at James' cousin Sinead's house; Conor got to know his two wild cousins Jack and Paddy:

We re-celebrated Anji and John's wedding with all of the relatives who weren't able to make it to the actual wedding in June; We got to hang out in some of our favorite pubs:

Anne's sister Mary made us a delicious Italian meal followed by singing and dancing:

And, finally, we had a great time staying and hanging out with James' Uncle Ken and Aunt Joan and their daughters.  The best was that Conor and little Isabelle got to hang out and Conor got to play with all of her cool toys:

Conor Update: It's not weird (yet) but Conor loves to give me big, huge open mouth kisses:

But, the real Conor update is that he's an eating, crawling, almost walking machine these days.  He spent about one day content with being on all fours and now he's intent on standing up and trying to make his way around the living room by going from couch to table to chair.  He ignores all his toys and is only happy if I let him charge toward the sharpest object in the room.  Good times.