The United States, in Bullet-Point Form

So I'm a little behind on blogging (thank you, concerned blogger in Kirkwood, for pointing it out). I had actually started on a blog entry for the trip to the US, but bronchitis (Jack), fevers (both kids), vomiting (Mia) and nosebleeds (Mia) have made what was SUPPOSED to be my first week of all kids in school into a week of round-the-clock nursing care.

Here's what I started:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not sure how coherent this will be, still suffering from jet lag and from child-induced jet lag (that is: kids waking up at midnight, ready to play, and me staying up and begging them to go back to sleep). So this may be in bullet-point format. Excuse any jumping around in my timeline ....

• Jack came down with a stomach virus right the day before we left. He threw up in the opthamologists office (where it was determined he doesn't have to have tear duct surgery!!) and had the most disgusting smelling poops EVER. So we trundled into the pediatrician, where we got some "good bacteria" for him to take. Luckily, it cleared up before we got on the airplane. Not so luckily, Amelia came down with it on Easter and took it out on poor Pete and Jerry's couch (this is after she had a nosebleed all over their carpet). Can you believe our luck? Luckily, we had no urgent care visits and no real illnesses. Jack did have a lingering cough and congestion, which I'd had him checked out for multiple times. I took him in yesterday, where he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. Lovely. Doesn't seem to bother him at all, though. Many thanks to Jerry and Pete who took the violation of their carpets and couch in stride and who should now invest in Spot Shot stock.
  
• The weather was nice enough in Maryland for the kids to ride on a motorized car around the Ritzel's driveway and circle. They had a great time with that. Poor Jack had to stand up to get enough leverage to push the accelerator down. So funny! The kids loved using the "fast" setting.
  
• Jack had a great time with the motorized airplane in St. Louis. He learned how to give the thumbs up and to salute. It was hysterical. Then when we got to the St. Louis airport to return to Brussels, we were waiting in line for security, and Jack saw one of Charles Lindbergh's airplanes overhead. Jack started saying "Me fy airpane. Me get yadder. Me cimb up" (translation: Me fly airplane. Me get ladder. Me climb up.). Everyone in line was getting a kick out of him, cause he just kept repeating it over and over, louder and louder.
• Airplane trouble. On the flight from Dulles to St. Louis, we taxied toward the runway, then turned into the "airplane parking lot" where we waited for a few minutes. The the pilot came on and announced that, basically, he had gotten lost and was unable to find the right runway. (In his words, "they moved around the airport on us.) Then on the flight from STL to Dulles, they couldn't find the key to start the plane (who knew there WAS a key??) and the pilot (co-pilot?) came out, looking all of 25 years old!
• The flight from Dulles to STL was amazing. It was just the kids and I, and we were on a small airplane, with one seat on one side and two on the other. The kids insisted on sitting next to each other and behaved PERFECTLY all flight. I even got to read a magazine.
• Amelia is very into "Littlest Pet Shop" right now. Luckily, they all get along with her ponies, so it's a happy melding of animals. Unfortunately, they're the perfect "losable" size. We've been searching for a missing hamster for 2 weeks now. He must not have made it through customs. :) Although I must say, I'm very grateful that I'm looking for a FAKE hamster. I fear the day when I have to look for the real ones.
  
• It was great to get a taste of all our favorite US foods. Though luckily, I was able to moderate my intake and I arrived back in Brussels at about the same weight I did when I left. The Ritzels had a great path by their house that I walked on, and the Neunreiters have a few exercise machines in the basement (and a Starbucks/Barnes & Noble and Walgreens within walking distance that I frequented).
• T.J. and I got to visit our old houses (Alexandria and Fairfax Station) while we were in town. All is well, though it did make me miss home more. Our tenants just found out that they are being transferred this spring, so we have to try to find another set of renters. They've been great, and we'll really miss them.
  
• I cut off all my hair. It was at collarbone level. Now it's super-duper short. It's been wonderfully easy to take care of, and it looks better than always being in a ponytail.... Some people didn't even notice at first that it was cut, since it did look pulled back!
  
• We missed the one snowfall in Brussels while we were gone. It would've been nice to see, but I'm glad spring is coming. The sun is now up when we wake up and up when the kids go to bed. Hooray! (Unfortunately, Jack will now yell "Not nighttime, DAYTIME" when we get him ready for bed."
• Amelia has a new response for when her answer is along the lines of "zero," or "nothing." I asked her to go up to her room and put on the socks that were laying on her floor. She came back downstairs, gave me the death stare and drew a big, dramatic "0" with her finger, indicating there were no socks on her floor. It's kinda funny, but also a little insolent. Makes me fear the teenage years.
  
• On the plus side, Amelia has really become outgoing. Even her teachers say the same. In St. Louis, she wanted to walk around the neighborhood to see what neighbors we could visit.
• Amelia had her assessment with the speech therapist this week. For the most part, Amelia is right on track with age-appropriate sounds and will even do some combinations beyond her age. But there are a few that she should be doing that she isn't. So we'll probably do a few 1/2 hour sessions with the therapist to bring her up to speed. Luckily, the problems are minor. Did you know that the "th" sound may not develop until age 8? So it's not a problem that she can't say it, but the therapist did say it's unusual that she will pronounce "th" as "l" (so instead of "the" it's "la").
• Amelia is becoming increasingly curious about the concept of dying, angels and heaven. She sprung it on us after getting off the plane from Brussels to Dulles, and T.J.'s and my brains were simply unable to try to formulate jet-lagged explanations about God and death and all the other questions (does hair die?). She's been very accepting of our answers, but it makes me realize that I'm going to have to be ready for a bunch of questions that I never dreamed I'd have to answer! She's also saying whatever comes to mind -- telling people that their hair or names are funny (or, her favorite word, "kooky"). I've been trying to encourage her to whisper ME these comments instead of saying them out loud while pointing.
• T.J. took us to a baseball game in St. Louis, and despite the impending rain and the brisk weather, we had a great time. We overindulged in ballpark food (hot dog, cotton candy, hot chocolate, nachos, chicken fingers and toasted ravioli....) and we were sitting in the bleachers next to the Rockies' warm-up pen. There was a super-nice lady sitting next to us, and she took Amelia over to the pen and begged and pleaded for a ball. They did end up throwing one to Amelia, and she was SO proud of it. She kept a death grip on it to show T.J. (he was in the batting cages when this happened) and wouldn't let go of it even in the car. A great souveneir.
  

BIG thank yous to our families, who put up with our nonsense while in town and put on a brave face as we left a path of destruction (or at least clutter) in our wake. We had a really wonderful time, and look forward to our next visit!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And now back to the current stuff....

The carnival has arrived back in town. It showed up last Friday and will be here until Sunday (the 20th). Thankfully, the kids' illness has stopped the money hemorraghing, and we haven't had to go every day. Jack begs all the time "Me ride a ride." If I say the carnival is closed (which it is in the morning and in the rain), he will say "Yet's go check." Clearly he doesn't believe me. There are 2 kids rides (2 euros a ride), the trampoline/harness combo (5 euros), the game where you spend 5 euros to catch 9 ducks and win a cheap prize that barely makes it home before it breaks, and the obligatory french fry/croustillon (beignet) stand.

I'm going to try to get more involved around here, as my social network is pretty much limited to Tammy. I'm going to volunteer at the Belgian Childbirth Trust's "Nearly New Sale" (consignment sale) on Sunday. Partly to be able to shop early, and partly to meet some folks. They have a lot of activities for kids, and they're close by. I might also try to volunteer at the American Women's Club in the video room. Lofty goals, perhaps, especially if the kids are always sick!

Today (April 17), Amelia is sick with a fever (and has been having bloody noses -- I guess due to the dry air -- which is then causing her to throw up from the blood in her stomach). She's been upstairs sleeping, and Jack and I are puttering around downstairs. For lack of anything else to do, I put Jack in a pair of "big boy panties" (as he calls them) and am hoping for potty training progress in advance of our cruise. It's been an hour, and we've had one successful trip to the bathroom, and Spiderman remains dry. Keep your fingers crossed!