We spent all Sunday with Margaux. She's getting lovelier each time we see her. She now has plenty of curly hair, she babbles a lot, she loves cuddling, she hugs you if you crouch, she recognizes three people on video : her mom, her dad... and her "Ta Chouchou" which makes me incredibly happy, like you have no idea.

And on Sunday, she did the funniest thing. I was peeing when she opened the toilet door (which was unlocked, silly me !). She looked at me and said : "Ta Chouchou pee pee".

I almost used "Ta Chouchou pee pee" as a Facebook status update...

Blythou out.

Things I've done lately :

- Spent 4 days in Stockholm with Thierry. Discovered Swedish gym thanks to our host Perrine. Baked tons of goodies for Perrine & Nicolas. Watched Anchorman. Trudged through slush, discovered a lovely city, with lovely architecture, great design everywhere, cool shops. I'll be back.

- Finished translating the Rough Guide about the Beatles.

- Started to write my new book.

- Done a couple of interviews.

- Spent time with friends.

- Cleaned. Cleaned. Cleaned.

- Bought tons of clothes on sale. Like, a lot.

- Caught a new cold. Like I needed this.

Things I haven't done and should have :

- Taken pics in Stockholm. I forgot my camera at home. Err, I guess you're all pretty lucky, you won't have to do a pity comment on Flick'r on one of my blurry pics.

- Played with my dolls. In fact, I haven't touched them in months. Not even to try on some new & lovely clothes I got. Once the economic crisis is over, I'm thinking of selling them. I definitely lost my dolly mojo. All my dolly-playing friends seem to move out of town, so without Blythe buddies, it's not much fun.

Blythou out.

We offered to babysit Margaux two weeks ago since her parents were invited to a promo junket at Disneyland Paris and I thought it'd be a good idea for them to be on their own for a change...

Margaux arrived yesterday afternoon and  was in a good mood... Except that she took a very long nap. She wolfed down her dinner while Armand played coy kitty to her utter delight, we had a nice cuddle and then she went to sleep.

When I got up in last night to pee, I noticed a strange smell in our bedroom (where her cot was), but I assumed she'd just farted up a storm (that cute little girl is very, very gassy... And smelly. I often wonder how anyone *that* small can produce such a stink, then I remember Abba and Armand).

In the morning, I realized she'd been sick. All over her bed. And her pjs. And her stuffed toys. And her favorite Hello Kitty cushion, etc. So I went into frenetic cleaning mode to try and disloge the awful baby puke smell out of her stuff.

We gave her her bottle since she was hungry... But then right when I was out of the shower, she puked Exorcist-style all over the office floor and herself. We cleaned everything and noticed she drank a lot from her sippy cup. I figured she'd caught the gastro virus that's affecting everyone and made sure she drank plenty, while watching if she had a fever. Well, she puked gallons of water soon and we called the doctor.

She has a gastro so there's not much we can do except give her plenty to drink, no food and some medicine for her upset tummy. She was miserable all morning, but she's a great baby. No crying or whining, just a desperate need for cuddles. Right now, I'm working while she's watching her favorite cartoon. I called her parents this morning to let them know she was a little bit sick but Thierry and I decided against calling them again and worrying them. She's ok now...

I hope I'm doing the right thing, but I don't want to ruin their week-end. And it's not like they're going to be able to do anything to magically cure her, eh ?

There's nothing more miserable than a sick baby, I've seen it with my own eyes... Not even a Blythou who realises that her whole flat smells of atomic baby puke.

Blythou out.

Seeing all the pictures of the girls having fun in Tokyo makes me realize how much I would have loved to join them but of course, me being a fucked-up, twisted, neurotic nutcase, I'd rather die than admit it. As usual, I hid under all sorts of excuses. Why ?

Because I'm just unable to have fun.

Especially girly fun. You know, the kind. I get antsy everytime I feel like I'm wasting a minute of my precious time (which I won't use anyway), I can't relax, I don't do things girls do (spend hours shopping for dolls, eat candy, you get the gist of it)... Yet, I'd looooove to be able to do it once before it's too late, before I'm too old to pretend I'm a girl and not a woman.

I'm such a sorry waste of oxygen, sometimes.

Blythou out.

Last sunday was a day of "firsts".

For the first time in his life, probably, Thierry fed a baby... Well, not any baby. Margaux, to be precise. This little girl's wrapped him around her finger and he just melts everytime she smiles at him. Which is often, because Margaux is a charmer.

Here's photographic proof of what I'm saying :




JM & Ginger thought that Margaux's hair was getting too long and unruly but they didn't want to take her to a hairdresser because she's too young for that... So they asked me to give her her first haircut. I felt, well... I'm going to sound corny, but I was moved. It's an important thing in a baby's life and I got to do it.

Here's what I've trimmed :




And last but not least, the "after" pic. Everyone decided I'd done a great job, Margaux included !



Maybe i'm biaised, but she's the cutest little girl I've had the pleasure to meet.

And here goes another "Margaux' appreciation society" post !

Blythou out.

Well, thank you Margaux and thank you Ginger & JM... Without them, I'd freak out majorly at the thought of new babies popping up around me on a regular basis lately.

Before she was born, I had this preconceived idea that all parents turned into, well, parents. You know, the kind who look down their noses at you suddenly because you're a potential bad role model and you're too selfish to have little ones.

Now, I still feel a little pang of initial, well, not sadness, no. Bittersweetness is more like it. But after that, I feel excited. Because a new baby means little feet to nibble on, fresh baby smell to inhale, baths & bottles to give, cuddles, loads of cuddles, sharing new experiences.

I'm stopping here before I get sappy and emotionnal. You all know what I mean anyway.

PS : does anyone know where to find a "Super Auntie" cape ? It has to be easily washable, of course !

Blythou out.

The week-end with Nikki was fantastic ! We had a great fun-filled time... And took a few pictures, because yes, we weren't *that* drunk !

Major life-changing question of the day : Do I ask Tibiloo to bring back a Retro Mama for me or not ?

The pros : I adore Retro Mama and her clothes, hair, complexion.

The cons : I hardly have time to play with my dolls...

Post your comments, please.

Blythou out.

I'm off to Antwerp for three days. Mr Blythou, the plastic Blythou and myself are off to celebrate Nikki's birthday.

Expect plenty of drunken pictures upon our return.

Blythou out.

Yesterday evening, we went to Ikea with a car-equipped friend (no, I don't choose my friends based on the fact they own cars or not, I swear).

We bought the usual shitload of things we thought we didn't need but can't live without anyway. Our friend Wally carried around for an hour or so a cardboard box filled with 6 long stemmed glasses. He took great care of them. We paid. We went to the Swedish grocery store to buy salmon.

Wally still carried those glasses with the mix of reverence and care you have for the newborn baby of an unfertile couple who, after years of trying, have finally conceived.

We headed back to the car. Wally lighted a ciggie and I offered to carry the glasses for safety. We filled the trunk of the car. Wally set the glasses temporarily on the car roof.

We drove off. Three or four minutes later, we hear a crash, the noise of broken glass. We laugh. Eh, who knew there were drive by shooting in the middle of nowhere near Ikea.

Then it dawned on Wally. He'd left the glasses on the car roof.

Blythou out.

I'm a spoiled bitch. I should never, ever complain. Or just once in a while, because complaining a little bit is fun.

I won't delve into the immaterial side of all this. I don't feel comfortable with displays of emotion. Better keep things bottled up until they fester and rot and make you crazy & sick, ok ?

But materialistically... I'm always amazed at getting gifts. I love the fact that someone, somewhere, took the time to buy something, wrap it and give it to me, just because.

So this morning, I compiled a little list of the bests gifts I've received recently. There's the Baby Margaux photobook from Caro & JM, my I-pod touch from Thierry that I tuck into the little Japanese kitty pouch from my friend Travis, assorted Stitchies from various friends, Pickle-Boy, the amigurumi fellow Blythe collector and wii playmate Isaline made for me and the most recent gift I got, my Super DS card from fellow DS & wii addict, Marion-Isabelle, complete with a shitload of great games.

I'd feel uneasy being that spoiled if I didn't have the "gift corner" in our house. Basically, it's a remote corner of the dining room where I pile up all the gifts I've bought before giving/sending them out. It's hardly ever empty. Pfewww... At least, I'm not an ungrateful, cheap bitch !

Blythou out.

Christmas' Eve has been amazing... We started by celebrating Baby Margaux's first birthday, but more on that in a separate post.
We then watched Ratatouille in 35 mm in the newly set up screening room that JM has designed in the basement of their house.

And we had dinner with the bestest wines possible... A '69 Sauternes and a '95 Cadillac. I'm usually a red wine, hard liquor or dry white wine kind of drinker, but I couldn't resist the lure of such little gems. I even followed the advice of wine experts JM and JF who told me not to spoil my palate with a gin and tonic before. I didn't even have a smoke to fully enjoy the wine.

Yes, we Frenchies are dead serious with our booze... You'd be serious too if you had tried those two. Since the wine was fabulous, we didn't drink too much and didn't feel like crap on the next morning.

And we got spoiled, I have to take a pic of my Christmas loot.

But even though I didn't really pig out like most people do on holidays, I felt horribly guilty yesterday. I ended up exercising for two hours to shed off the extra weight I could have gained. Today, I ache and hurt with every muscle (and I worked out first thing in the morning, too), but I don't hate myself for being too weak at least !

Blythou out.

I've been bestowed the great honor of baking Baby Margaux's birthday cake. I'm thinking of making a sponge cake with strawberry jam filling... decorated as Hello Kitty!'s face.

If you have better ideas, don't hesitate to submit them in the comments. I want this birthday cake to be truly memorable. Even if Margaux won't taste it because she's too young for that, but go try baking a cake out of applesauce and baby food ;-)

Blythou out.

After an evening of playing Super Mario Party 8 (and getting beaten by our friends/wii experts Marion & Wally), I'm spending the day with my youngest friend. yep, you've guessed, her royal babyness, Margaux herself while her parents are busy and Thierry's visiting his mother.

So far, she's shown great interest in living toy/cat Armand, who's interested as well by this mini-human.

Gotta go feed my baby guest, now...

Blythou out.

Was I drunk ?

Was I elated because I was spending an afternoon with friends and Baby Margaux ?

Was I pressured by my friend Ginger ?

Was I pressured by Tibiloo ?

Was I encouraged by my LJ friends ?

Was it a combination of all that ?

Anyway...

I've just bought two tickets to Tokyo this afternoon ! Departure on 1/19, return on 1/30...

YIPEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!

Blythou out.

Extended week-end with Tibi and Yata was heavenly and very fun... Loads of dolly talk & gossiping, the way I love it.

Diner with friends on saturday, got some more birthday loot, including, YES !, a bottle of Mansinthe, the official Marilyn Manson absinthe (thanks again, Ginger, you're truly one of the best), an angel Stitch and a collectible statue of Tweety dressed as Elvis. Stitch, Elvis, Manson, booze and Tweety... My friends know my strange tastes, no doubt about it.

I'll post pics of the week-end (with humans and dolls) today. That is if I don't feel too down. I always feel kind of blue after friends leave. And today being monday doesn't help.

Blythou out.

Our week-end with 11 yo Alan has been great fun. We've played more board games in two days than in the last 10 years or so. We've visited the Paris sewers and yes, they do stink. And we've already decided to do it again next month. Not the sewers, but inviting Alan to stay over.

On Sunday, I celebrated my 25th (yeah, right) birthday in our new favourite haunt, a small bar near Rude Manor called L'Orange Mécanique where they know how to mix a margarita. I got spoiled. Besides Mr Blythou's presents, my friend Travis gave me a limited edition paper dress with my favourite photo from the book we did together. And Lara commissionned an artist to design a 60s inspired poster to commemorate the event. It should arrive soon, but I've seen the smaller version, which is truly amazing.

Art for my b-day. Can I ask more ? No, I just feel lucky sometimes.

I also received lovely gifts from various American friends, including a great t-shirt from Anita, Fred Flare goodies and bamboo yarn from Gretchen, etc. And some booze, a Nara postcard book and I've probably forgotten a few things from my friends in Paris.

Tomorrow, Tibi and Abba will arrive. And we have a surprise guest coming for a last minute visit. Massive amounts of alcohol will be consumed this week, I'm afraid.

Blythou out.

Our three day jaunt in the Netherlands went like a dream...

I'll upload my photos later today, but from the look of them, there's quite a bunch of Baby Margaux cuddling in various arms pics ;-) It was a thrill to see her go on her first rides for her 9 month b-day.

We had tons of fun. Highlights ? Coaster rides, of course, visiting Efteling inside out (the most beautiful park I've been to), but also jumping on a trampoline with Ginger like two hyper little girls, making Baby Margaux "swim" in our bathtub, singing silly songs with our friends after a day at Efteling while they were binging on chocolate cakes and I was binging on... gooseberries !, getting along fine because there was no rush and all we wanted was to relax and enjoy ourselves...

We have the very best of friends. They organised the trip, payed for our hotel and park tickets and drove us there as well (and JM let me drive his beloved flamejob covered PT Cruiser and didn't even act scared). We feel spoiled. And lucky. And spoiled.

Blythou out.

- Mixing wine + exhaustion + a virus isn't a good idea
- Got more money than expected on my severance package thanks to the clever maths of Mr Blythou (I gotta praise him like I should)
- Almost done on the German rock scene special
- Two interviews planned for the next couple of days
- On Sunday, we leave for a three day tour of some cool theme parks in the Netherlands with JM, Ginger and Baby Margaux... They've planned this little trip for us as a b-day gift for the Blythous (we gotta praise them as well).
- Rude Manor should be, err, back to almost normal before we leave


Blythou out.

Not only did I survive my day out with three little boys, but I totally enjoyed myself !

I knew they were nice, well behaved kids, but I had expected a few tears and fights. Turned out I was wrong.

First, we attended the TV junket and they spent 30 minutes playing with a table soccer game which totally enthralled them. Funny how people always say that kids today are too sophisticated for simple games. They really had a blast.

Then, the youngest one, Mat, met Noddy. But since the character was 6 ft tall, he got scared and refused to give him a hug. I didn't force him, I told him to just wave hello and that Noddy would love that too. Five minutes later, I saw him rush into Noddy's arms and he asked me to take a photo to show his parents.

Next, they had their faces painted, got some balloon sculptures and picked some loaded goodie bags. Of course, being the sort of person you wouldn't want to leave your kid to, I plied them with candy and cookies and promised to keep this a secret.

I took them to a bunch of rides next. Once again, they were super nice and split the tickets equally between them. When Alan pulled the tail of the teddy bear on a ride and won a free ticket (competitive me squealed with delight), he gave it to his little brother. Yeah, they should clone them, I agree !

Before leaving, we went to the store and they each picked a toy (including some sort of putty which makes farting noises... my idea....) with the pocket money they had. I fished out the couple of euros they were short of and when the youngest one asked for a balloon, the other two told him : "We don't have any more cash and Isabelle has already been very generous".

I just couldn't believe my ears (but eh, they're Baby Margaux's cousins, so what do you expect ?) I'm ready to do it some other time. And I've invited Alan to come for a week-end while his half bros are with their dad.

I'd make a lousy, neurotic mother. But I'm sure I can be a pretty cool "auntie/fairy godmother".

blythou out.

Call me crazy.

Tomorrow, I'm going to a children TV junket with three little boys in tow (ages ranges from nearly 5 to nearly 11). They're the kids whose parents got re-married last June.

We joked with the mother yesterday that by the time she comes pick them up, I'll be rolled in toilet paper, covered with half-eaten lollipops and totally demented, while the kids will be jumping around on a sugar high. If that's the case, I promise I'll take a self portrait.

Blythou out.