Ah! Last night I finally fell asleep at midnight following a 1 1/2 hour conference call.... The kids were supposedly "sleeping"... This morning I discovered Nintendo DS's hidden in their beds! And then guess who woke me up at 1am? Yep! My little Rémy who was supposed to be "sleeping through the night" was hungry! But even so he makes my heart melt and I 'm so happy to hold his warm little body against mine as he nurses. I fell asleep again for a few hours, then my day started at 6:30 am! A short night and feeling homesick for my love who is on day 4 of a 10-day business trip, I am grateful for a friend who visited this morning. My spirits were lifted!
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Is manga as popular in the United States as it is here in France? I didn't even know it existed until a few years ago! Alex is smitten! He's participated in two week-long workshops over the past two years, but he works at his technique almost every spare minute he has. Most of his characters get drawn upright, but his goal this year is to set them in action! I love watching the concentration in his face and hands as he draws!
Pencil sketching, his eraser is never far!
The way he holds his pencil baffles me!
Drawing is finalized with an ultra-fine-tip pen.
Alex relaxes a bit as he darkens the last details with a thicker marker...
And voilà!
There is plenty of artistic talent on the Babin side of the family, but his
sketching abilities remind me tons of the talent that resides in the Olivares clan, namely my brothers! Alex has notebooks and notebooks of sketches that I know he's dying to show his uncles this summer!
And that's Alex!
My little manga artist!
P.S. I was able to control my fury, but I confiscated his Nintendo and Elena's this morning.
Ah... Kids! They are lucky their dad wasn't home!
Ahhh c'est enfants, quand papa n'est pas là ils repoussent les limites ! Alex à l'air vraiment doué ! Courage encore quelques jours de maman solo... Je pense à toi bisous
ReplyDeleteComme tu dis! Ah, les coquins!!!
DeleteOh my! What wonderful talent! I have pre-teen and teens boy in our family and yes manga is very popular here in Southern California. I have 2 first cousins with the family name of Olivares and they too are wonderful artist.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend.
Teresa
teehigashi@aol.com
Are you Olivares cousins Mexican or Peruvian? My dad (Eduardo Olivares) is Peruvian and lives in Northern California!
DeleteMy son is 18 and loves Manga. He even has special markers for coloring in the skin tones (they're the Copic brand, I have no clue if they're in France but apparently the art teachers here adore them).
ReplyDeleteAnd stick with it and the video games! It's so hard to be the disciplinarian sometimes. To this day I still refer to my kids' Xbox as the Fbox since they're only good for failing grades if given too much attention!
I know I've been commenting a lot lately, but I've enjoyed seeing into family life in a different country; it really changes my perspective and I think we all need that at times. It's also been sweet to read of your little ones since mine aren't so little and I'm at that point in life where my kids don't need me so much anymore. It's nice to look back at my memories and know it's all ok and we're exactly where we're supposed to be and growing up and moving forward is wonderful. Your blog has been a blessing that way for me. So, thanks.
Thanks Melanie! I actually just hopped over to your blog to leave you a comment! xoxo
DeleteMaria, my first cousin, Martha Olivares family is Mexican as am I, but unlike your beautiful family we only speak english! But we are older and when we were growing up here in Southern California it was not ok to speak spanish in our schools, churches etc. It was not allowed at all! (I'm soon turning 60 and my cousin are older) so back in the late 50's & 60's english was it! We grew up with the story of our grandfather being born in Mexico to a mother who was French and a father that was Mexican, so we grew up loving all things French. My cousins and I have had this dream to see Paris and I'm so happy that along with my prima Martha Olivares my husband and I will see Paris this coming Sept. for the very first time! My husband is very good at learning languages, so he is studying French. I can not wait to see your beautiful Paris!
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and enjoy all your adventures big and small! Have a great weekend and I hope you don't miss your husband too much!
( I never like it when my husband is away) Have a great weekend! Teresa
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ReplyDeletei just discovered your blog tonight. your writing is beautifully expressed. i live in Northern Cali like your dad. I live in a town called Auburn about an hour from Sac. I am helping to raise my beautiful little Two Year old grand daughter and am grandma to four other wonderful little ones and mom to four sons. I love your pictures of France and your darling childen. Looking forward to checking out some of your older posts. How amazing that your children are trilingual!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bronwyn. I hope you will enjoy future posts as well! xo
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