French Lessons, Scooters and Brocantes

It's been a while since I've posted, so I'll try to recall where we've left off....

Health Report
Everyone is healthy and happy. Jack's fever had no other ill effects, and Amelia didn't complain about her ear again after her first dose of medicine. And with school wrapping up (it ends June 22), I hope the illnesses will cease, too.

Junk is Junk the World Over
I was able to decipher the free weekly newspaper enough to determine that there was a festival of some sort going on in Ste. Alix last Saturday, with another happening in Kraainem (next commune over) on Sunday.

We woke up on Saturday to rain, but knowing that there was a flea market (known as "brocante" in French, I learned), I headed out at 7 am on my bicycle to go to the bakery and check out the sale. It was raining pretty hard, and people were trying to keep their things dry with blankets, but I still managed to score a My Little Pony Celebration Castle, as well as a Dumbo floor puzzle. It looked like it was mostly junk at the sale, but it was hard to tell.

So after we ate our chocolate bread, I headed back up to the sale, Amelia in tow. We walked around the square, but didn't really find anything. Until Amelia somehow spied a Dora three-wheeled scooter peeking from underneath a blanket. The owner of the scooter, and the other stuff, was nowhere to be found. But Amelia was smitten, and she insisted on waiting for the seller to return. So we sat, and sat, and sat. But I think the seller lived in the apartment building next to the pile of stuff and just didn't want to come out in the rain. Finally, she gave up on the scooter and dejectedly came back home (side note: She's now getting a Tigger scooter for her birthday).

Later that day, after the rain cleared, we went back up to the square. They now had all sorts of bouncy houses set up, as well as a carousel. So we rode lots of rides, and then got some "barba de papa" -- cotton candy. A big mistake to get cotton candy in wet weather. The stuff disintegrated pretty quickly while still on the stick and started blowing off in the wind.

The kids had a great time, and we returned once again later in the afternoon after naps. Now there were pony rides and a magician. Much fun was had by all.

On Sunday, we went to a church festival in Kraainem that was an English-speaking congregation. Hooray for the english speakers! Again, they had another flea market (I got some great puzzles and a ton of mindless novels for reading). They had purchased some REAL hamburgers and hotdogs (plus Wonder Bread rolls!) from the military base. They were the best burgers and dogs we've had here! They had face painting, and pony rides, and games for the kids. Another great time.

Other Stuff
I started my French lessons today. The kids didn't behave all that well -- I was hoping they would nap, but they were only quiet for the first half of my lesson -- but my teacher is very used to interruptions. She seemed pleased at what I already knew (thanks to Krista's and Troy's gift of French CDs), and I really enjoyed it.

I was pleased to find some blackout material at IKEA today. I bought a bunch, and it completely blocks the light in the bedroom windows. A big hooray -- as you can see from the picture below, taken at 10 pm -- as the light really comes in early and stays late.



I ordered a cake for Amelia to take to school next week -- they are doing a My Little Pony cake for her. I'm excited to see how it looks.

Things are still going well for us. We're learning more every day here (especially about which pastries we favor) and have found a wonderful pizzeria that we can ride our bikes to. We're getting ready for Jerry and Pete's visit in July (they, also, will be thrilled that I found blackout material).

Jack is starting to use words (of course, they're fairly unintelligible to others). Our favorite is when we open his door in the morning and he covers his eyes and says "biiii" (for "bright"). He has about 30 words, and is starting to drop his signs for words (he just started saying "dog" and is starting to try "amelia" although it sounds nothing like her name).

I just bought Amelia a jumprope today, which she is boggled by. And I also got them toy tennis rackets, which they have been trying to bonk each other with. They just love being outside, and with the mild weather, it's been a treat.

More later. There's another kids festival this weekend in Auderghem, which I don't think is too far away. Ponies, ponies, everywhere!