Shakira's Magique

Imagine this.

15 Kindergarten-age French kids running around, out of control, in your small Parisian apartment.

The scene?

A birthday party. Chez La Mom and the birthday party entertainment, GlouGlou the Magician, just called in sick.

Say it with me now, "Oh la la."

Repeat.

"Oh la la."

So how do you get an excited group of French kids to settle down?

Un mot: Shakira.

She does the trick. And then some. 

(Sidebar: Since the beginning of the school year, the French Fries and their friends have been obsessed with Shakira and her Waka Waka song and dance.

And it’s not just my French Fries. La Mom’s friends around Paris and even as far as Lyon, Marseilles, and Lille  have been reporting this troubling obsession/phenomenon for some time.

The Waka Waka took elementary schools by storm across France à la rentrée and even though it's almost the end of the school year, the Waka hardly seems to be losing it’s momentum.

Almost a year after this hit hit France, you can still find les petites filles at recess in the cour de recréation singing their version of the Waka and shakin' it.)

So when the going got tough, La Mom got Sha - kee- ra. 

And the rest of the afternoon, all I heard was this (insert French accent):

«Sameena meena é é,  Waka Waka é é, ... ees tyme fowr Offreeca » 

Not exactly this:

"Samina mina, eh eh, waka waka eh eh, ... It's time for Africa"

But magical anyway.

Lesson Learned: A Colombian singing in English - the perfect way to entertain a group of French kids!

 ------------------------------------------------------------------
Another lesson La Mom learned from the party:

A great way to impress the French kids AND their mamans - serve up American style birthday cake and cupcakes from the original American cupcake baker in Paris - Sugar Daze!

Un:  Make sure the cake is displayed in full view when the French kids get dropped off for the party.

Deux: Watch the French mamans eyes get big.

Trois: Listen to a chorus of, "Oh la la! C'est beau! Quel gateau! C'est trés américain! It must have been so difficult to make."

Quatre: Smile slyly and reply, "It was. It took all morning to make."

(Don't worry. The French moms will find Sugar Daze's business card in the goodie bags when their kids get home).

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Montessori's Cool, a new bilingual Montessori school for ages 3-6, is opening in Paris 75017 this September! Please contact  mathilde@montessoriscool.fr for more details.
La Maison des Enfants Montessori's Cool 2 boulevard Pereire 75017 Paris


----------------------------------------------------------------
Merci à toutes et à tous for voting for La Mom at the Circle of Mom's Top 25 Expat Mom Blogs. Voting ends today at 5PM PST. It's your last chance to vote if you haven't done so already (or you can vote again!)
Just click here s'il vous plaît: 

Grand Slam

In honor of Roland Garros (a.k.a the French Open), here's a hot clip from one of La Mom's favorite electro-pop geeks, Martin Solveig.

Don't miss the battle between Martin and ultra-cool French DJ Bob Sinclair (gotta love his 80's tennis gear) with special appearances by Novak Djokovic and Gaël Monfils.



I dare you not to move your derrière to his smash hit Hello:

If you want to get the full story about Martin, She, and his "managaaaa" Lafaille, check out the mini-film here.

So what do you think? Is Martin's sound a Grand Slam or plutôt loser? Let La Mom know!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's not too late to vote! Let's get La Mom into the Top 5 Expat Mom Blogs at Circle of Moms! If I win, the Cristal's on me.