I’ll welcome ideas for other posts like this one, either other expressions I’ll try to translate or general French-English-translation posts ideas. If some little French mystery or weirdness has been nagging at you for a while, now is the time to ask.

Below are English expressions = their French equivalent (and the literal translation of the equivalent, if it differs):

• Naked as a jaybird = Nu comme un ver (Naked as a worm)
  
  
• Putting all your eggs in one basket = Placer tous ses oeufs dans le même panier (idem)
  
  
• An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Better safe than sorry = Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir (Better to be safe than to cure)
  
  
• The lion’s share = La part du lion (idem)
  
  
• The early bird catches the worm =(+/-)= L’avenir appartient à ceux qui se lèvent tôt (Early risers own the future)
  
  
• To rain cats and dogs, It rained buckets =
  Il pleut des cordes (It rains ropes)
  OR Il pleut à sceaux (everybody around here pronounces it “à sciot”, but I’m pretty sure it’s supposed to be “à sceaux”, which would be buckets)
  OR Il tombe des clous (It is falling nails… wow, that sounds harsher in English)
  OR Il pleut à boire debout (roughly: It rains enough for drinking standing up)
  
  
• Beggars can’t be choosers, Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth =(+-)= À cheval donné, on ne regarde pas la bride (If the horse is given, you shouldn’t be picky about the bridle)
  
  
• The cherry on top = La cerise sur le sundae (The cherry on the sundae)
  
  
• Getting ahead of one’s self = Vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué (Selling the bear’s hide before killing it)

I love my sister, but sometimes she’s SO ANNOYING!!

Like this afternoon, I’m forced to go lie down for my nap, but baby gets to play some more. Mom says she already had a nap this morning, so she will nap again just later. *scoff*

Then, 45 minutes into my actual nap, she’s waking me up with her fussing. It’s not enough to mess up her own nap time, she’s barging on mine. I have some milk in the living room and doze off on the sofa for a while.

I’m barely pulling my disheveled head up from the cushions when mom plops her down next to me, being her cheery and energetic self. I protest soundly and stomp off to my own bed again, where I fall asleep a third time.

Seriously.

- Xavier

This is my last official day with just Orléane – Xavier will be home tomorrow too, and I start work on Monday – and I’m home alone right now.

See, I had to go for some routine blood tests this morning – which means I skipped food/drink since last night – so I left little Léa with my parents, then I drove Xavier to daycare and François to work, and I was pulling up to the hospital, happy at the thought of releasing my bladder for the urine test, when I realized: I forgot the doctor’s order at home across town.

Yeah.

I dreamed of breakfast. I drove back and forth on slipping snow to the point that I sort of forgot what time of day it was and where I was headed.

But it’s over now, I’m munching on toast and I’ll go get Orléane next door when she wakes up from her nap. Yay!