The Carnival Comes to Town

We've had simply beautiful weather lately -- lots of sun and pleasant temperatures. I was walking down to St. Alix on Saturday to see what kinds of veggies were at the veggie stand (answer: not many -- at least, none that I recognize). We were planning on grilling, as T.J. had done a wonderful job taking apart the connector from our old grill and replacing our propane valve with one that would fit European propane tanks (nothing is ever easy).

But upon walking into the square, I saw a mini-carnival. Not much -- one kiddie ride that went around and around and up and down, while blaring a combination of American pop music and American cartoon jingles. Plus one trampoline bounce, where kids were strapped into a harness, with giant stretchy bands on either side. They tightened the tension on the bands, so the kids were able to do super-high bounces on the trampoline. They also had two games -- a duck catching game and a crossbow shoot-the-balloon game.

Jack was thrilled to ride the kiddie ride. He must've ridden on it 5 times. Amelia liked it too, but she decided she wanted to try the trampoline.



She did, and she had a BLAST! She ended up going on it twice and had such fun. Meanwhile, Jack was still spinning around, crying "More" every time the ride stopped.



Amelia also did the duck game, where she aquired enough points for a battery-operated piano that plays at deafening decibles. She likes it, but it is far too LOUD.

They also had a food stand -- french fries (a true Belgian staple) with many sauces to choose from, beignets, beer, and some other things. We had apple beignets (yum) and fries with mayo, and I also got the Samaurai Sauce (spicy).

We're not sure what the reason for the carnival was, but we sure had a great time...

**More later today. I'm trying to be very productive while Amelia is in school and Jack is napping. The morning seems to fly by when I have it to myself.**

Update on Wednesday
The carnival won't seem to go away. We went again on Monday, then again yesterday. The number of rides we go on is declining, as my wallet just can't take the strain. I was fearful to go to Ste. Alix yesterday, for fear that it would still be running, but we had to make a trip to the pharmacy (Amelia likely has pinkeye, so we had to pick up some prescription Oogdruppels -- that's eyedrops in dutch for you! You can tell Amelia has started school -- the viruses are beginning!)

It's so fun for me to watch the kids have so much fun on the rides, so it's hard to deny them a trip or two.

We're going to a birthday party today for Brady, who is turning 1. It's at a local park and should be a lot of fun.

Last Friday, I went with some friends to Stonemanor, which is a British (and some American) food import grocery store. They also have toys, games, party supplies, English books and cards, and all sorts of hard-to-find foods. My highlights were cranberry juice, Ritz crackers, Ben and Jerry ice cream, frozen fruit, blueberry muffin mix, and My Little Pony party supplies. Oh yes, and COOKING SPRAY! Hooray! The store is in a beautiful old manor house just 10 minutes from Amelia's school, but completely in the country. Across the street from the store was a farm with a bunch of sheep, which Jack loved.

I've been pleasantly surprised at how well we've been able to make substitutes for favored foods, but there will always be some things that I'll have to request from home.

My mom and Susan are arriving tomorrow morning for 5 days. I'm looking forward to showing them around and trying to fake myself as the expert. The weather is supposed to be nice, but very warm, so we should enjoy ourselves.

Hope everyone is well. We think of you often! I hope spring is finally arriving in the States and that St. Louis gets leaves on their trees soon!

There should be a drink in my hand with a little umbrella...

It is currently 87 degrees in our family room. I really, really miss air conditioning. Or at least circlating air. While our big, big windows are a plus for sunlight, they're a big, big drawback when the sun is beating down. It's about 81 degrees outside -- unseasonably warm. And while we've enjoyed our weekend of good weather, we're starting to realize what we're in for when the weather turns warm for good.

And, of course, there are no screens in any of our windows. (Apparently, it's just not a Belgian thing.) So when we open our windows, bugs inevitably follow. Plain ole bugs wouldn't be so bad, but they have these whopping bumblebees here, and I fear them getting in. I also suspect that we have a honeybee hive (nest?) in our attic somewhere, as we've had a suspicious number of dead bees up there. I'm envisioning mosquito netting over our beds (don't laugh -- I've had several people here tell me that they've done it), and I'm ready to get out our fans.

A quick list of other things I miss:

• Egg Beaters. Haven't found these yet. Just the real eggs...
  
• Nutrition information per serving (they give the information per 100 grams of product -- it's up to you to do all the math from then on)
• Ready-cooked bacon (I finally found some this week that, when cooked, turned to reasonably like bacon. But, as I discovered, you can't cook it in the microwave. Bad things happen to bacon in our microwave.)
  
• Barbecue sauce (We went to a restaurant last night and they had barbecue sauce. I must've used half the bottle on my burger -- see below -- and fries.)
• Good hamburgers. I don't know what kind of meat they're using here, but I've only had one good one. For the most part, they're very thin, pretty tasteless, and seem like they've been simmering in a pot of something (I don't know what) all day. Not good.
• Sticks of butter. Butter here comes in a giant, oh, I don't know -- lump? It's like they took six sticks of butter, melted it into a big rectangle and then laughed to themselves when they packaged it, envisioning how you were going to get this huge thing in your tiny refrigerator. Luckily, they make lump-sized butter dishes, so I had to buy one. Even so, I had to slice the top of my butter off and put it in the freezer, just to make the top fit.
  

Things I'm Enjoying:

• Lambrusco. It's "vino frizzante" -- or a fizzy wine. They have it in white and red, and I'm loving the red. It has just enough bubbles to make it fizzy, and since you chill it, it's been quite refreshing to have on these warm days.
• Make-at-home chocolate croissants. It's rather like the refrigerated crescent roll dough (which I just found -- HOORAY), but with chocolate included. I haven't actually tried it yet, but I doubt you can go wrong with bread and chocolate.
  
• Being outside so much. We make two trips to the playground each day, and we've been playing a lot on the terrace. The kids are having a blast, and I've enjoyed the fresh air.
• Not so much driving. I went out in the car only once last week for one big shopping trip (mostly to get shelf milk, shelf OJ, diet coke, coke, and all the other big stuff that's hard to get with kids in the cart).
  
• The wonderful fruit! Strawberries are in by the droves -- big ones, small ones and teeny-tiny ones -- all delicious. And finally blueberries are plentiful!
• The market. On Saturday, I got chicken, cooked ribs, homemade baklava, homemade hummus, homemade lasagna from the Italians, yummy strawberries and raspberries, plus pastries. If I do it right, I really would need to go to the store only for milk and juice. The markets really do have it all!

That's all for now. I may update this page again later. I felt a need to include a "likes" and "dislikes" on this one. I still find myself frustrated with things (What do you mean you don't open for lunch until noon??), and infatuated with others (market, market, market). This has been just a great experience so far, but I definitely still need to let go of some of my American thinking, cause some things just ain't gonna happen over here!

Amelia starts school next week, and I'm hoping to join a Moms Club-type organization over here to get me out a little more. It's hard for it to be just me and the kids all day, every day, and I get desperate for conversation (which is why my poor parents get a phone call like clockwork at 8 am). Or for some activity that doesn't require me using the word "No" in every sentence.

Thank you to all who have complimented the blog. I wish I could fancy myself a writer -- and a humorous one at that, and many of you have made me give it some thought. It's a nice thought that I can be something other than Mom/Housewife Extraordinaire. But, alas, I can't even come up with a snazzy idea for a kids' book, let alone something not requiring illustration. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

Now I shall go enjoy some Lambrusco and listen to T.J. shouting "No" on the terrace. It's a good day, indeed.

Which would you rather explain to a 3 1/2-year-old?

A. Why there is a lady in a bra and panties standing in a window.
B. Why Anne Frank isn't hiding in her attic anymore.
C. Why the horse pulling your carriage is named "Elvis."

I'll get to all of these later, but I'm sure most of you would prefer to answer question C...

Keukenhof for the Tulip Farm
We went on Easter Sunday to Keukenhof in the Netherlands (http://www.keukenhof.nl/nm/english.html) to see the tulip farms -- about a 2-hour drive. It was interesting to see signs for places like The Hague and Delft (famous for their pottery). We started feeling rather worldly.

It's a HUGE farm, complete with playgrounds, a working windmill, food vendors, the works. It was PACKED, though it didn't seem that busy (it's a big place, so it's easy to spread out). The kids loved smelling all the flowers, and it really was nice.



There was also a petting zoo with the usual suspects. Jack, especially, had a blast brushing a calf.



We had these fantastic hot smoked ham sandwiches, and a cup full of delicious strawberries topped with fresh whipped cream. Just heavenly. Amelia and I went on top of the windmill and we got a great view of the tulip fields on the other side of the farm.

It was a beautiful day, and a great way to spend Easter away from home.

Amsterdam
After Keukenhof, we drove 1/2 hour to Amsterdam to spend the night. We checked into our hotel, and then headed out to take a canal boat tour. As we walked from our hotel to the boat dock, we accidentally walked by a few homes in the red light district. And yes, even at 5 p.m., there were a few ladies in the window, waiting. Luckily, Amelia didn't see them, so we didn't have to address question A. It was a little disconcerting to see, and it was hard not to take a second look to see if you really saw what you thought you were seeing (I didn't realize we were going to be heading that way).

It was amazing to see all the bicycles in Amsterdam (they say there are more than 600,000, and I believe it). That is clearly the preferred mode of transportation there (and understandably so). It's hard to fathom that that many bikes actually exist! And unlike everywhere else, you saw virtually no one wearing helmets. Even with riding in traffic...with kids riding up front -- no helmets.

T.J. and I enjoyed the boat ride, once we finally got there, although it was hard to hear the commentary over Jack and Amelia hooting and hollering at each other across the table on the boat.

We followed the boat ride by a dinner at the Pancake Bakery. (Pancakes in the Netherlands are actually crepes.) Amelia got a Princess Pancake, which arrived as shown below -- with a tiara, gummy animals, a sparkler and a lollipop. A non-traditional Easter dinner, but it was good. We all had a great dinner and a great night of sleep.



We started the following morning with a big buffet breakfast, then we did some exploring of the city before our 11:30 a.m. tickets for the Anne Frank museum (tip: Buy Anne Frank tickets online! You'll skip a HUGE line.). I really enjoyed the tour (especially because we got to bypass the line of 200 that were waiting). Jack fell asleep, so he was easy. I tried to explain Anne Frank's house in very general terms (A little girl used to live here, but she moved.) Amelia was mostly interested in where her toys were, and she wanted to see more rooms where people were hiding. I was able to dance around ideas of war and the holocaust this time, thankfully, but she definitely picks up on more than you think she's picking up on.

The tour was a bit of a sobering experience, and it makes me want to read more about the Frank family. Hard to imagine hiding in an attic for 2 years...

Below is a picture of Amelia next to the Anne Frank statue.



We learned that taxes on houses in Amsterdam were based on the width of your house and the number of windows. Bet you can guess that this guy didn't have much money (the red house in the middle)...




We ended our trip with a horse and carriage ride (on Elvis) through town, which we all enjoyed.



And just a 2-hour drive home! It's funny to think of going to a different country in a shorter drive than going from our house in Virginia to the beach. It would make a nice (but long) day trip for anyone who is thinking of visiting...

We felt accomplished with being able to make our first big excursion out, and we look forward to our next one. My mom and sister are coming to town at the end of the month, and then we're going to meet some friends in Germany next month.

Getting Readjusted Again

We returned from our first visit back to the U.S. on Tuesday, and it's going to take some time to get readjusted. It was nice to have unlimited Starbucks, shopping at Walgreens any time of day or night, tearing up at the grocery store (honestly!). We (OK, *I*) brought an empty duffel bag for anything I happened to buy along the way. Ended up with the bag fully packed!

The trip home (to Brussels) was uneventful, but long. No one slept very well on the plane, except for Amelia. We were delayed nearly an hour leaving D.C., as they had to "remove" someone off our airplane and then had to find all of his/her luggage and get it off the plane. No news on why the person got removed, but it definitely made me a little nervous. Then we had a 1/2 hour longer flight because of unfavorable winds. But we arrived safe and sound, around 8:30 a.m. We got the kids on a rough approximation of their schedule and were hopeful for a smooth night.

Amelia was up a few times. Literally. Once, I found her crawling in our bed; another, we found her walking down the hall with a blanket wrapped around her. Jack was up several more times, including one marathon wakeful period where he was convinced he wanted to go play and eat. He also felt the need to comment on all noises he heard outside his room. Which were many, unfortunately. They changed the landing pattern at Brussels, so that all landing aircraft go right above us (luckily, this is only a temporary thing). By the time they go over our head, the wheels are down and they're really close. They were still going overhead at 2:30 a.m. (who on earth is traveling at that hour???).

But finally, everyone settled down for the night. Amelia didn't wake until 9:30; Jack until 11:30. We'll see how tonight goes. I'm not optimistic today.

We really enjoyed our trip home. Too much shopping (familiar clothing and shoe sizes), visiting the grocery store (gravy mix, Velveeta, muffin mixes and bottled sauces [barbecue sauce, hot wing sauce and teriyaki can't be found around here!] were the favored purchases), all sorts of things. I did feel terribly guilty every time I got a plastic bag from the store, and I couldn't stand to have any clothing wrapped in fancy tissue paper that was just going to get thrown away (and even when I requested no tissue paper, some places STILL gave it to me). I'll have to bring some of my recyclable bags back home next time... I did get some grateful looks from grocery checkers as I bagged all my groceries. I'm in the habit, I guess. Recycling is just so big over here, it's impossible to avoid.

The kids are back to be home (though disappointed in coming back to our train set -- they liked my dad's much more). It looks like we're headed into some better weather here. Cross your fingers!

Shortly after walking in the door on Tuesday, I headed to the market for a chicken rather than making a whole grocery store run. And Amelia was thrilled to pick up yellow tulips!

Friday's Update
The kids' sleeping patterns are still a little messed up. They're back to normal waking and napping times, but from bedtime to midnight, it's rough going. Jack is up and down a lot, but Amelia has been settling down. A few more nights, and we should be back on track.

The tulips at the market seem to be more infrequent now, so we've been buying hyacinths. They have such a wonderful smell and really makes me feel like spring is on the way.

The weather has been sunny and warm -- great for the playground. We've also been spending a lot of time on our terrace. Amelia has made fast friends with our neighbors. Emilia is about 6, and Maried is 4 1/2. Jack's buddy is Noah, who just turned 10. They are the ones who have 2 bunnies, and they just got a big playhouse for outside. Wednesday, the kids all played next door; yesterday, I had 5 kids at the kitchen table playing play-doh. I felt a bit soccer-momish, and wondered how I got old enough to be "the mom whose house everyone comes to play at." But Amelia and Jack had a ball, and it was a nice change for me, too.

I've made a foray into a new grocery store -- Delhaize, which is owned by the same folks (and with same lion-ish logo) as Food Lion. The draw to this store is that you can scan your groceries as you put them in your cart. Then when you're done, you just pay and go. This should be a big time-saver with the kids in the cart!

It feels good to be back walking, too. I admit, I felt rather lazy driving around everywhere in the US (although walking really wasn't an option -- things weren't that close, and I was doing lots of shopping!). I've only driven once since we've been back, and it's felt good to be walking to the grocery store, and the post office, and the bakery and the playground. Justifies all the chocolate croissants, I guess!!

It's nice to be back, even though we miss family and friends terribly. I know we didn't get to visit with everyone, but we hope to catch more of you on our next trip.

Hope all is well with all of you!