Let's All Feel Sorry for T.J. ...

As he hangs out in Monaco for the next week. Yes, he's lounging (probably not) in the South of France, looking out over the Mediterranean from his room's private pool. Too bad he forgot his swimsuit. Although with your own private pool, I doubt that much matters....

Yes, I'm very jealous, especially as I was invited to attend with him. Alas, I couldn't find a babysitter situation I was comfortable with, so I remain in dreary, damp, cold Brussels.

But he called me to say that as his plane touched down in Nice, he looked down the runway and saw Dan Snyders "Redskin One" private jet parked at the end of the runway. Maybe the two of them can get together and talk strategy.

I, on the other hand, had a Belgian utility worker ring the doorbell somewhere around 7 this morning. Yes, A.M.! Just letting me know that they were going to dig up our driveway (again, for the second time this year) to lay new pipes to come from the gas meter in the garage. So I get to stay home tomorrow to guard our garage.

And shall I mention that I was preparing a delicious BLT the other night, and got out the new head of iceberg lettuce that I had just gotten at the store. To my chagrin, each leaf I pulled off contained more and more bugs. Some alive, some dead. But hundreds of them. Thoroughly disgusting. If I had been at home, I would've marched it right back up to Giant and asked for a refund. But not here...

Did I mention that T.J. is on the French Riviera right now???

Car-Free Day in Brussels

Sunday was car-free day within Brussels. And seeing as how we fall in the city limits by just a few blocks, that meant no driving for us. But since TJ had to go to work on Sunday, and I had to take Amelia to a party, we had to park my car down the road, officially out of city limits. (Yes, there were police officers and barricades at each street that entered into city limits.)

It was a beautiful day, and we had such a fun time. I had bought Jack a well-used bicycle the day before at a sale at the British school, so the kids put on their helmets, and we took to the streets. If you had to drive, you had to get special permission. Taxis and buses were still allowed, but the streets were essentially void of cars. The kids toodled around the neighborhood -- very suspicious that I was actually letting them ride in the street. Kids were drawing on the street, and neighbors had brought out tables, chairs and beverages of choice and were just spending the day in the street.

After a bit of bike riding, I put the kids in the wagon and took them down to Stockel to get some snacks. Clearly, wagons aren't big in Europe, as we had all sorts of folks pointing at us (or at the wagon) and talking about it. We got some wonderful goodies at the bakery, a big bowl of frites and had a mini picnic, watching the bicyclists, roller bladers and horseback riders go by. Later, when TJ returned, we took the kids on our bikes on Tervurenlaan (think Manchester Road in STL or Fairfax Parkway in VA). It was such fun.

Later, I took Amelia to the birthday party, which was at a Gymboree-like place. The kids were having a blast. Partway into the party, a little girl came out with a bloody nose. I commented to some of the other moms that Amelia has been getting a lot of bloody noses lately (picking? dry air? who knows why). No sooner were the words out of my mouth, than they bring out Amelia with ... a bloody nose. It quickly stopped, and she rushed back into the party

Amelia and Jack were drawing pictures over the weekend, and I was enthusiastically commenting on Jack's scribbles on a picture. Amelia said "You're just saying it because you he's your kid, right?" She's becoming a little too smart for her own good....

Pocketful of Sunshine -- On the Dance Floor

For some reason, the children love the song "Pocketful of Sunshine." And they love dancing, too. Had me in hysterics, it was so funny. I especially like Jack's breakdancing moves.

Jack Makes a Funny

At 6:30 a.m., jackhammering starts next door, promptly waking up Jack. We come downstairs and start our day. The noise starts again, and Jack asks "Mommy, what is that noise?" I told him that it was a jackhammer. He thinks about this for a minute. Then he shakes his head and says "No, mommy. That's not my hammer."

Amelia started soccer this past Saturday, and T.J. took her and Jack to participate (but Jack just to watch). Apparently it was a rough start, with Amelia preferring to play with Jack rather than join in the game. But after juice time, Amelia was more willing to play. I'm hoping that each week will be better...



And the circus was another adventure. It's a family-run affair (read: the wife runs the concession stand and also does the dog act and the dove act) and the 3 kids also participate as jugglers/clowns. Then there's always the token imported talent (formerly the guy who looked like Bernie from "weekend at bernie's"). This time it was a smiling yoga guy who did flexibility stuff, then ate fire and walked on glass, and then swung from a "trapeeze." Oh, and he carried around a boa constrictor, too. And then there was also some goose coralling....

Jack is NOT a violin player....

We were over at Tammy's house Friday night, and there was a terrible screeching noise coming from Jack and Jaqueline -- obviously playing the violin. I go to the back room to see Jack trying to roughly play Tammy's violin. That's when I see Jaqueline's violin on the ground, broken in 2, parts strewn about. Each blamed the other, then started saying it broke all by itself. Sigh.

On Sunday, we headed with the Harrisons to see Wall-E. 90 euros later, we're in the theater, munching down on candy, nachos and popcorn. The kids enjoyed the movie well enough, and it was a nice change of scenery for me.

But on the way home, we were sitting on the bench, waiting for the metro. Jack said, "Mommy, am I wearing big boy pants?" That's when it dawns on me that I had put real underwear on him that morning, since we weren't planning on going anywhere, and I had forgotten to put a diaper on. I look at his feet, watching a large pool forming and flowing down towards Jaqueline, Tammy and a poor other metro-goer. I quickly try to wipe up the mess with Jack's fleece-lined raincoat (what else could I do??). Luckily, Tammy had a diaper in her purse, as well as an extra pair of socks. She took Jaqueline's leggings off under her dress and gave them to Jack. He looked quite the sight. But, he was dry and happy. I felt terrible.

Drop-off at school continues to be rough. Amelia couldn't stop crying this morning as we were getting ready, begging that I let her either stay home from school or not go all day. The problem, I think, stems from me picking up Jack at noon, and she must think we're doing something exciting at home -- not just having lunch and going down for naps. She was just a mess this morning, but Lidia is wonderful with her and just whisked her away. Jack didn't look back, again, and went straight for Baba the dog.

Also much to my dismay, I found out that the circus will be held in Ste. Alix, just two blocks away. Guess we're going to the circus. I just hope they're able to keep the tigers caged...

Sleepovers, Chicken Feathers, and the Dang Circus

T.J. is off in Maryland for Pop's party today (Sunday). Poor guy was so preoccupied that he forgot his suitcase at home when he left for work. Luckily, I was going to go chocolate shopping and deliver it to the office before he left, and I just brought along the suitcase with me. And as long as I was at his office (which is just 5 minutes from the airport), I thought I'd make a quick stop at the airport for Starbucks. It was so delicious -- I made it last for 5 hours. It was worth the 2.50 euros in parking!

Jack and Amelia continue to do very well at school. Jack doesn't even say goodbye -- he just goes running in to find the dog. He did protest Friday morning, saying he didn't want to go to school. When I reminded him that he was going to Amelia's school, he quickly changed his mind. And Amelia continues to be a good mother, asking Lidia (her teacher and the head of the school) if she can go and check on Jack on occasion. It's great to see them both doing so well. They all seem to be having such fun. And when I pick Jack up at noon, both classes are out on the playground and the kids are playing together.

The only problem has been picking up Jack at noon when Amelia stays until 3. Amelia has tried to make a break for it a few times and hasn't wanted to stay. But luckily, she is easily distracted and goes back willingly to play.

Much to my dismay, we were walking to our car in front of the house on Friday, and the kids started shrieking -- there was a circus sign directly in front of our house! The whole way to school, the kids chanted "The circus is coming." Guess we're going to go to the circus next weekend.

Amelia starts soccer next weekend. So we've been stocking up on shoes, socks, shorts, shinpads and a ball. I don't know how excited she is, but she's a little more relieved to find that Marcus will also be in the same organization to play. Luckily, the sports store in Stockel has had some cheap gear (I think it was 30 euros for all the stuff), so we won't be out too much if she hates it.

The sleepover is still going on. Elena came over yesterday and the kids had fun on the terrace looking for rolypolys and snails. Jack tried to corral them in a hula hoop but couldn't figure out why one kept escaping. The girls were originally going to sleep in their sleeping bags on Amelia's floor, but then opted to sleep in the guest bed together (they had designs that I would join them, but I quickly squashed that). They stayed up far to late, dressing up and giggling. I was eventually able to stop the giggling around 10 (thankfully, since I went to bed not long after). I promised pancakes this morning and am trying to drink lots of coffee to wake up.

I know I've mentioned my dismay at finding chicken poop on eggs. I was going to make chicken wings the other day after finally finding them at the store. But then I had to spend a bit of time removing the last few tiny feathers that hadn't gotten off. It was pretty disgusting. I mean, we all know what a chicken is -- or what it was -- so I shouldn't be horrified. But I still was.

I was, however, very happy to find corn in the store lately. Not bins and bins as in the U.S., but a handful of prepackaged, partially shucked corn. I just don't understand why fresh corn is so hard to find. Or Egg Beaters, or light ANYTHING. I still fail to understand how the Belgians are so thin. I realize that they do a lot of walking and biking, but STILL.

Happy weekend, everyone. I've almost made it through my solo weekend. Just let the sun shine today so that we can spend some time outside!! (We miss you, honey!)

Happy Birthday, PopPop

The kids and I, unfortunately, aren't able to make the trip to the U.S. this weekend to celebrate Pop's 90th birthday at Jerry and Pete's house on Sunday. But the kids and I wanted to pass along a little birthday song. Apparently Amelia is the choir director, as Jack wouldn't look at the camera -- he would only look at her. Hopefully, Jerry can play this for Pop at the party, and it will be *almost* like we're there.

Happy Birthday, PopPop! We love you!

Back to School!

We started off last Friday by attending a "Welcome Morning" at school. The children and I all went together Friday morning for 2 hours. Amelia was up at the crack of dawn, got dressed immediately and spent all morning asking "Is it time? Is it time?"

We had a good morning, although Jack preferred to spend time in Amelia's classroom. We were also able to change Jack's transition schedule (He was supposed to transition on Thursday and Friday of this week, and then start on Monday, but they were able to change him at the last minute to transitioning the first two days of school instead, and then he started today.)

Come Monday (Amelia was going solo, and Jack would come from 3:30-4:15), Amelia's enthusiasm was markedly diminished. She didn't want to get out of bed, didn't mention school, and when it was time to go, she complained of a stomachache and declared she wanted to stay home. I figured (hoped) it was first-day jitters, and we continued getting ready. We drove to school, and she complained a lot of the way. I assured her that I would take her home if she were REALLY sick and her teachers would let me know if there were a problem.

We get to the door of school, and she burst into tears. I felt so bad. But her teachers brought her in, and I went on my way, albeit sadly. Luckily, she's had her same teachers for almost 2 years, so she's comfortable with them.

When we got back that afternoon, she was perfectly fine, and we haven't had any problems since.

Jack did very well with his transition, and he went today for his first real day. I was expecting tears, but when we got to the door, Baba (the dog of one of the teachers, who lives on the top floor of the school -- the school is a renovated single-family home) was there. Jack went to Baba and never turned around!

I came to pick them both up at noon, and they were playing on the playground together. Jack said he had a great day and wants to go back. What a relief!