Sinterklaas Comes to TJ's Office

Jack received a big Ferrari workbench, while Amelia got a My Little Pony Cotton Candy Cafe with 4 ponies. If she ever had any doubts about Christmas, getting ponies today shattered them. She's a believer!



Jack was not interested in greeting Sinterklaas or in getting his candy from the Zwarte Pieten.



While Amelia was first in line!



Uncle Shmoopy's makeup gift to Amelia lives on. Pink glittery lip gloss isn't for lips anymore! It's for faces and, apparently, dinosaurs.



Poor Amelia continues to be devastated by the approach of Christmas (= departure of Elena). Today she asked me to take the advent calendar down, and she cried at bedtime. It's heartbreaking for her to be losing her friend...

Let it Snow! (Even though it's all gone now)

Playing in the first snowfall of the year.






Misunderstanding the concept of Christmas stockings...


On T.J.'s birthdays, the kids insisted that face painting be part of his celebration. This is supposed to be a monster, or something. I need a face painting instruction book, clearly.

Bye-Bye Baba, We Hate (Love?) to See You Go

While T.J. was in the United States this past week, I decided to take on the uneviable task of weaning Jack from the baba (pacifier). We started one morning on the car ride to school, talking about being a big boy and not using the pacifier anymore, and if he gave it up I'd get him a big fire truck. He seemed to agree, so I went to Carrefour to buy a big fire truck. Then I went home and I hid all the pacifiers. He went completely berserk and hysterical, and I decided that maybe cold turkey wasn't the right way to go.

But I kept the pacifiers hidden, except for 1. And at bedtime, I ask Jack if he wants to give his pacifier to the Baba Fairy, who will leave him a big firetruck in exchange for his pacifier. Very slowly, and slightly unwillingly, he deposited his pacifier just outside his door. He then spent the next 5 minutes staring longingly at the pacifier, saying "I will miss my baba." but he went to bed without tears, and I gave myself a premature high-five for my success.

He woke up the next morning, thrilled by his new fire truck. But by naptime, he was hysterical, begging for me to call the Baba Fairy to have her return his babas.

Interestingly, once he gave up the babas, he no longer wanted any of his socks (which I thought was kinda sad -- the socks addiction was strange but endearing). We spent the next 3 days without the pacifier, alternating between hysterics and pleading and calm resignation. So we're 6 days into it, and although he's asked for it, it wasn't even begging -- just a question. We even met the Harrisons for lunch and he wasn't bothered by Jacqueline walking around with her pacifier.

It was quite an accomplishment -- for him and me. Now, we just have to finish potty training and we'll be set!

We're having a nice snowstorm today -- it's not really sticking, but it's big flakes and the kids are enamored by it. Amelia sat on the radiator yesterday, making up songs about Christmas and snow. They're both so excited about Christmas. We put up the tree yesterday, since St. Nick arrives on Dec. 6 and we'll be leaving for the US so early. We wanted to be able to enjoy the decorations for a while. We had a prestrung tree, but most of the lights were burned out (and we hadn't had any success trying to get the lights working again in the US, and you can't use US lights in Belgium), so I spent yesterday with wire cutters, removing the prestrung lights. A lot more work than you might think, and I have a whole new appreciation for how many lights were actually on that tree.

Amelia's school had a Christmas market yesterday, and we had our family photos taken. Jack even smiled, without the comfort of a pacifier.

We're looking forward to being home for the holidays!

Guy Fawkes Day Not a Hit

First, let me start by saying how much we all are going to miss Aunt Sandy. She passed away on Saturday after a valiant battle. T.J. and I were sad beyond words to be so far away from family at this time, but know that she was surrounded by immeasurable love and support. Her strength and attitude were an inspiration, and all of us are the better for her being in our lives.

T. J. left yesterday morning to be with family, and the children and I, regrettably, stayed behind. I thought it would be fun to take them to a fireworks show at the British School (unbeknownst to me it was actually a celebration of Guy Fawkes day). We enjoyed some hot dogs, hamburgers (yuck) and fudge (yum) in anticipation of the fireworks.

(If you remember my earlier blog about the fireworks display in St. Louis for the 4th of July, I bet you can see where I'm going with this...)

The fireworks start, and immediately the hysterics begin. Amelia completely lost it, and we had to beat a hasty retreat. Jack started to get a little upset, too, but I think it was only because Amelia was upset. We went to the car, and Jack declared "I love fireworks."

Daddy and Lemonade
No, that's not a comment on T. J. The kids, a few weeks ago, decided they really needed/deserved/wanted a pet. And thus we ended up with 2 goldfish. One relatively normal looking fish, whom Amelia named Fruit Punch, then Strawberry, then Lemonade. Then another crazy bug-eyed fish that jack named Daddy. The kids are barely interested in them long enough to feed them now, but I didn't expect any less. I'm actually surprised they're still alive...

Everything Else
The kids are enjoying tennis lessons and have been taking an "Aqua Fun" class on Fridays. Amelia still doesn't enjoy soccer but is hoping to try ballet instead.

She had another sleepover with her friend Elena on friday. Elena and her family will be moving back to the US in December, and the two girls are as thick as thieves. Amelia is going to be crushed when Elena moves. She came running to me the other day, excitedly saying "Mommy, Elena is moving to America. We live in America too, right?" When I answered yes, she started jumping up and down, excited at the prospect of future sleepovers. So we had to have a little geography lesson.

Last year, Andy gave Jack a rescue vehicle, and it came with a fire/rescue DVD. I brought out the DVD for the first time about a month ago, and it's been an unbelievable hit. He watches it several times a day, and now, he insists on me disconnecting my vacuum cleaner hose so he can hold it like a hose and make "whoooooosh" sounds. It is so funny.

More later. Looking forward to the holidays!!

Jack and His Best Friend

Here is a picture of Jack and his best school friend, Magnus. They were at Magnus' brother's birthday party (Thaddeus is in Amelia's class), and it was a pirtate theme. They have such fun together. Jack came home the other day and said "Magnus said, 'Nein.' " (They are German.) And I asked him if he knew what that meant, and he said "It means 'No.' " It's very impressive that he can pick up a little German, Amelia is learning a little Polish, and all the while, trying to understand French.

The kids went to a swim class at the club yesterday, and unfortunately, it was only in French, and the teacher spoke no English. But luckily, everyone communicated OK. I think they enjoyed it well enough, but Amelia told me that tennis is her favorite...

And below has to be one of my favorite pictures from Amelia lately. We've been VERY into the Beverly Hills Chihuahua theme song -- I've downloaded it to the iPod and we listen to the following songs over and over: "Pocketful of Sunshine" (Natasha Bedingfield), "Boom-Shaka-Lak" (Apache Indian), "Every Time We Touch" (Not sure who sings it), and "Chihuahua" (DJ bobo). Unfortunately, the movie isn't going to be released here until April of next year, apparently.

But anyway, they love the song, and Amelia came home with this. The words are in a little funky order, but it reads "What can make you move -- Chihuahua." (I'm sure her teachers wondered why she was asking how to spell Chihuahua.) And if you notice, you can barely make out that the kids are being taught cursive first, instead of printing. I wonder if they even teach cursive anymore in the U.S.?



And one more picture of Amelia's favorite subect: zebras.

No News is Good News

I guess it's been a long time since I really blogged. In some ways, that's really good news. That means we continue to settle into daily life, however convoluted that may be.

There was an open house at the kids' school last night, and I had the chance to go. It was interesting to hear a little more about the Montessori program, and we had a chance to "live like a child" for a little while. We went to the classrooms and had to perform one of the tasks that the kids can choose at school. I picked brass polishing, with the French teacher. I found it rather impressive that the kids are polishing brass, shining their shoes, cooking meals, and all the like -- all the while learning multiplication and cursive and everything.

We might have the chance to attend one of the only Halloween celebrations about town. Although they have (limited) decorations in the stores, there are maybe 4 costumes. Clearly, it's not a big deal. So if we go, we'll be wearing last year's costumes, because there is just no way I can make 2 costumes in a day.

Jack has made good progress in the potty training department. We've been using big boy pants during the day for the past two weeks or so, with limited accidents. We've now progressed to him asking for a diaper when he has to do his No. 2 business. And even if wearing a diaper, he'll still proudly announce that he has to pee. It's exciting to cut down on the purchase of diapers and wipes.

We've stayed pretty healthy this school year. Amelia was home one day last week with an upset stomach, but it was gone quickly. Jack started complaining tonight of an earache, but after some Ibuprofen and some eardrops, he quickly drifted off to sleep. Keep your fingers crossed for a quick recovery.

The weather has been nice the past few days. I've started to ride my bike to school at lunch to pick Jack up -- it's 25 minutes each way, so it's been great exercise and a pleasant ride, even with an extra 30 pounds on the back. It makes me sad for the upcoming winter -- I'm not ready for the dark and cold (and wet). So I'm trying to enjoy every pleasant moment -- even if I'm lugging Jack up a hill.

Hope all is well in the U.S.!

Tennis Lessons Begin

Tennis lessons started today, and so far, they're a much bigger hit than soccer (it probably helps that the two of them are in the same class). The teacher speaks English (which is a relief) and there are only 3 other kids in class. They had a really nice time, and it will be a nice activity for them (and maybe I'll get a chance to do some quick exercising).





Things have been relatively uneventful here, thank goodness. The kids will have a week off of school in 2 weeks, but we have no plans to do anything (probably a lot of swimming!). We've all been relatively healthy, too. Our doctor put the kids on a new regiment of preventative medication for the next few months, so we'll see how that works out. Other than that, it's business as usual around town!