Music Maker

One thing from my youth that I cherish is my involvement in music.  Playing the clarinet and organ (long story) and singing in choir throughout my years in college really helped shape me into the person I am today. I met so many incredible people along my musical journey.  So, it makes my heart so happy that my kids enjoy music just as much as I do.  They are continuing piano while here in Belgium, and Allison has started the violin.  Her first official private lesson is Thursday.  Maybe I'm biased, but music just seems to make sense to her, and I'm really proud of all she has accomplished so far.  She is one very special girl.

I'm off to pick up the kiddos from school.  We are excited to meet friends at IKEA for dinner and a little shopping.  Yes, IKEA has the greatest Swedish meatballs...yummy!!!

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This one is for Tyler

So, I was chatting with Kathie last night...and she informed me that Tyler Stephens was tired of the inside pictures of my house and wanted to see some outside pictures of the house. So, in this freezing cold and snowy (yes snowy...yay!!) weather, I went outside and took some new pictures of the outside of the house.  Some of you have seen them on FB, and I'm friends with Tyler on FB???, but this post is dedicated to him.   Enjoy Tyler! :)

There was just enough snow to leave a little message for the kids after school.  Chris is in the U.S., so he doesn't get a message unless he brings home some Lucky Charms.  Just kiddin' you hon!

This is the front of the house.  The house is actually turned sideways, and that's probably good.  It's really not the prettiest front of a house.  I do love the brick though, and once there are some flowers out there with a little table, it's going to look much cuter!

This is the north side of the house (I think.)  I actually hadn't even looked at this side of the house since we arrived, so maybe it is good that I got out and took some pictures!  I like the cute little triangle windows at the top. That's the attic...which is gigantic!!!

I'm standing in the side yard, looking at the backyard.  We are really lucky to have such a nice yard.

Here's the back of the house.  

And the south side of the house which is along the road.  The window on the top right is our bedroom window.  I think it is so pretty!

Here is the view when you pull into the driveway of our home.  Caution...there's plenty of mud!

We have a bit more organizing to do in the garage, so that is why both cars are in the driveway.  I could fit one, but I'm kind of lazy I guess.  I'm really not sure the Volvo will fit.  It's not a very big garage at all!

So sorry Ben and Bekah...look how I am abusing your poor car.  It is not happy about that muddy road, but I have a real problem with car washes.  It's a bit of a phobia for me.  I'm going to have to get over it.

And, here is the view from our front door.  I'm anxious to see all of you pulling into the driveway for a visit.  I can't wait for that!!!

And finally, for bootcamp today I wore lycra.  I haven't worn lycra since 1995 on the ISU Danceline.  I totally caved under the pressure that everyone here wears lycra.  And lycra paired with rain boots is totally HOT, so I thought you could get a good laugh over my fashion sense today.  And my word...that is a ridiculously bad angle!!!  :)

Tyler, I hope you enjoyed this post.  Now you and Molly and those precious children of yours need to get over here for a visit! 

Until next time,

Wendy

Flat Stanley

First of all, Happy Birthday to my darling nephew Sawyer!  We miss you so much!!!

We've spent the last few weeks taking Flat Stanley to locations around Belgium for Thomas's class in Morton.  I'm sure Flat Stanley would have really enjoyed Brussels, but poor Stanley was left at home, and of course it was Mom's fault.  It always is I tell ya!  Not to worry though...he has seen some cool places.  Today, Thomas and I took some pictures with Stanley in our own little town of Hoeilaart.  

Here is the castle that stands in the center of our town.  It is used more as an office building, and I am sure some other really important things...that I don't have a clue about.  It sure is beautiful though.

In front of the castle is a little pond.  Thomas is hoping to one day fish in this pond.  The kids really like the two swans that live there.

We moved from the land of pumpkins to the land of grapes.  They are a really big deal here.  We have a grape festival the same week as the pumpkin festival in September.  But, the grape festival has fireworks...something to strive for Morton. :)

This is a very typical road sign...clear as mud, right?  I can tell you that centrum means the center of town.  And, this does not necessarily mean that this town is the next town you will come to.  It only means that it is in that direction.  And sometimes the name of the town is in French...and sometimes it is Flemish or Dutch.  So, you better know them both.  Thank goodness for GPS!!!

This is my favorite restaurant in Hoeilaart.  It is called Nerocafe and has original comic artwork hanging inside.  Comics are also a big deal in Belgium.  In fact, the comic that created these lives in my neighborhood!  I'm going to have to figure out which house is his when the weather gets a little nicer.  I'm one of those that likes to walk at night...you know...so you can look in the windows and see the cool decorating.  Not a stalker...just looking for ideas!

And, here is the beautiful church in the center of town.  My impression is that not much worship actually happens in these amazing buildings.  It's sad. 

Another typical road sign...hope you're a quick reader!!!  All of those places are to the right.  Brussels is our capital. :)  The kids school is in Watermaal-Bosvoorde.  Groenendaal is the train station (I think), and the ring is the main highway.  And, the other stuff is too small for me to read.

Another shot of the lake with the castle, and you can even see our car parked to the right of the castle.

 There are playgrounds everywhere, and most of them serve a purpose of exercise.  This one had directions on how to use the equipment.  I was showing Thomas my skills from doing the parallel bars in elementary school. He really had a very hard time doing this.  The boy lacks upper body strength.  Hindsight...this really shouldn't be in this post.

Thomas wanted a picture of Mom.  Sweet boy!

We set the timer for this one.  Let's see how annoyed Mom will get when she goes back to the camera to see that I didn't smile.  He's famous for this!

He held this for approximately one second.

Awww....there's his smile!

The sit up station...he did two...

And one last shot of the castle.  The Belgium flag is almost completely ripped in half.  When I am an official resident in about 2 1/2 weeks, I think I will suggest they replace that thing!

There is a transportation strike here in Belgium tomorrow.  This will impact buses, trains, taxis, and airlines.  It should be a very interesting day!

Until next time,

Wendy

Comfort Food

I promise...last post about food for a while. :)  Today, Chris, Thomas, Amy, McKenna, and I ventured up to Antwerp to go to the American Store.  Now, don't go picturing Wal-Mart.  This store was more like the size of a convenient store.  But, thank goodness it wasn't any bigger because that would have meant more money spent.  We really didn't NEED anything, but it was so much fun to buy some of those things from home that we really miss.  Did you know you could really miss Pam cooking spray?  I didn't either.  I'm pretty sure I saw Chris jumping up and down when he spotted the Sweet Baby Ray's Barbecue sauce.  I'm glad he came along, so I wouldn't be the sole one to blame for spending all of our (his) hard earned money.  I found diet Mountain Dew!!!  Yay!!  But, the only cases they had were past the date, so they were on sale.  I went ahead and bought a case, but I swear I can tell if it is one day past the date.  So, I'm not getting my hopes too high that it will taste okay.  That was his last order of it as well because it only has a shelf life of two months.  By the time it gets here, it is already expired.  Bummer!  We came in just 2 euros over Amy's amount.  I think we did pretty well!  Here are our goodies...

Anyone want to guess how much we spent???

Allison went to her first birthday party today.  The birthday girl was having a Harry Potter party, and the invitation requested they dress up.  I'm super happy Thomas was Harry a couple of years ago.  This costume has come in really handy!  Doesn't she look so cute!!

This is how we are spending a lot of free time.  We bought this puzzle at Disneyland Paris. 

Chris leaves for the U.S. tomorrow, and he gets to see all of my favorite people...yes, I'm feeling sorry for myself!!!  Praying for safe travels!

Until next time,

Wendy

Drawing the Line

I am a Diet Mountain Dew addict.  I would do just about anything to drink one right this minute.  Don't get me wrong, Coca Cola Light is delicious, but it's not the same.  Amy and I decided to go to Stone Manor today.  It's a darling little British store that offers some American favorites as well.  I went in search of two things...Diet Dew and Lucky Charms.  Unfortunately, they didn't have Diet Dew, but I was quickly distracted by the Cadbury eggs.  I bought one teeny tiny little one to enjoy after dinner.  It made my day.  Anyway, at the end of our tour around the store, we finally reached the cereal.  And, there on the shelf was Lucky Charms!!!  So much excitement came over me, but then it was completely and totally deflated!  Why???

See that little price tag under the box of cereal?  That says 9.50 euros.  That's $12.53 for one box of Lucky Charms, and that my friends, is where I draw the line.  The kids and I will just have to suffer through our Frosties (Frosted Flakes.)

Until next time,

Wendy

A Day in Pictures

Not much to report today.  I thought I would capture a typical commute on our way to school.  I follow this line of cars...bumper to bumper...for 4 km.  It's not terrible, but it's not great either.  That is an ISB school bus in front of us.  They have some posh buses.  No wonder it costs so much to ride them...hence...mom the bus driver!

I think this might be enough Nutella. :) That's 5 kg of awesomeness!  But, I passed...and it was hard!  Note the ultra flat hair.  I am struggling with this hard water here in Belgium.  I thought after a month it would be getting better and more used to it.  The wait continues.  Thank goodness I have a decent supply of bobby pins!  I found a cute way to do my bangs on Pinterest.  I'm going to have to try that!

This picture doesn't quite capture it...but having a small car is a big benefit here.  Thank you Mr. Carls for teaching me my stellar parallel parking skills at MHS back in....well that's not important.  Can you tell I live on a mud road?  The condition of my car is rather embarrassing.  I need to get that thing washed!

That's it for today.  It's almost Friday!!!

Until next time,

Wendy

Some Step...I Jump!

I consider myself a shy person...stop laughing...I really am shy!  I struggle with being the first one to make the move in a conversation.  I assume people don't remember me, or maybe they just don't want to talk to me.  So today, I did something that really isn't typical for me.  

I was at the Delhaize (grocery store) and was chatting with the clerk that was ringing up my groceries.  She spoke outstanding English.  Apparently, we were talking loud enough for others to hear.  When leaving, a woman stopped me and said, "You're an American!"  I don't think I even need to speak, and it is abundantly clear that I am an American.  But, I informed her that I was, and we chatted about her daughter living in Illinois, how long she has lived in Belgium, and our experience in Belgium thus far.  And then, she invited me for coffee...AT HER HOUSE!  Honestly, I was stricken with terror...I don't even know this person!  Well, I tried to use the "I have milk that needs to stay cold" excuse, but she said I was more than welcome to put the milk in her fridge while we had coffee (uh, I don't drink coffee.)  Soooo.....I WENT!  I thought...What the heck, and I went!  This was probably one of the most out of the box things I have ever done.  Some people step out of the box...but today...I felt like I jumped!!!  My new friend Gwen has two grown children that live in the states.  She is married to a man from Norway that she met when she was an exchange student in Russia.  They have a home in Norway, Vermont, and Arizona.  She attended the University of Illinois and struck me as brilliant!  And, she was so very nice, and she makes a good cup of coffee.  I think Gwen will be a great friend and resource here in Belgium.  It's funny how God brings people into your lives.  Today, He made sure that Gwen and I were both grocery shopping in Overijse, Belgium.  Funny how those things work....

I can't do a blog post without a picture, so here are the kids.  They were all finished with homework and piano, and they finally had time to relax.  Allison actually let Thomas sit on her bed, and even though they weren't really talking, they didn't need to.  They were just enjoying time together.  That makes this mom pretty happy.

Until next time,

Wendy

Belgian Art

I think one of the things that has surprised me the most about Belgium is the amount of graffiti.  There are rarely signs, cement, or stones that are without ink on them.  It certainly makes the country, in my opinion, look more run down.  The kids are fascinated by it, but they also think the "artists" are naughty. :)  This picture was taken at the bottom of the hill from the kids' school.  This is where I park before getting them at the end of the day.

Tonight, we stopped and bought dinner from the Chicken Man in Overijse.  Their truck is there twice a week. and they sell chicken and ribs and the most delicious potatoes (see Tiffany...I'm going with your diet.)  And, it was less than 20 euros for two rotisserie chickens and 800 grams of potatoes.  What a deal!  This picture qualifies as the "art of food".

And, this is my favorite picture so far on the trip..."my art".  We took Flat Stanley to the Chateau de la Hulpe.  This is just 3 km from our house, and you may recall the pictures of this estate from our house hunting trip.  The kids enjoyed walking around the grounds after school on Monday.

Allison presented her book report today.  She wrote a poem for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and then sang it to the tune of Party Rock Anthem.  It was great!  Written papers and posters aren't original enough here.  This was her teacher's suggestion.  It only took her five hours on Saturday...ugh!  But, her class loved it, the boys were impressed with her rapping skills, and it was voted one of the top presentations in the class.  She was beaming after school.

I attended a champagne brunch at school today.  Yes, I did have one glass.  I've never had a drink at school before.  I met some really interesting and fun women, and for the first time, I really felt a part of the school.

We have been invited back to the commune to continue our quest for residence cards.  Hopefully tomorrow, we will be one step closer.  Thankfully, we have heard that Hoeilaart is one of the quicker communes.

And, I am officially the owner of a Volvo S60.  But, I can't have it yet because you have to wait for your license plates which are dependent on your residence card.  And, you only get one plate, so you have to have a second one made.  And of course, you can't drive the car without two plates.  It's just so Belgium.  

Until next time,

Wendy

Food Critic

Okay, the first part of this post doesn't have anything to do with food.  My mom has been mentioning rather often that I haven't posted any pictures of our master bedroom.  I am aware of this.  Before we moved, I redid our bedroom.  The whole thing...by myself.  I was so proud of it.  Loved the color...loved the accessories....and loved that I could say I didn't have ANY help.  And then one month later we found out we were moving.  And now, someone else is enjoying my newly redecorated master bedroom.  So, as much as I love the beautiful window in our bedroom, there is just something missing.  Maybe it's the white walls?  Or the curtains that don't match my bedding?  Or the rug that doesn't match my pillows?  I don't know.  It's just missing something.  So, here it is...my uninspired master bedroom.  I'll get there.  I'm just not there yet.

How many pictures can I fit on that dresser?...that's too many. 

Now on to food.  My whole life, I've eaten Belgian food.  My mom has some great Belgian dishes and during the holidays, we always have some more Belgian food to look forward to.  Our friend Anna makes these great cookies with a cookie press.  I recall them always being wrapped in foil.  Anyhow, I found them at the grocery store today.  I always take a snack for the kids in the car after school, and this was today's snack.  And you know what...they taste EXACTLY like Anna's cookies.  I was so excited!  I should wrap the leftovers in foil for good measure.

Again, at Christmas, my grandpa has always given us dry sausage.  It is an acquired taste, but I love it, and so does Chris.  Ironically, it was always wrapped in foil too.  Huh?!  Well, on my trip to the grocery store today, I picked this up for some tasting.  I'm pretty sure this is dry sausage.  I admit that I haven't tried it yet.  I'm a little nervous.  It is rather strange looking, but it looks just like Grandpa's sausage.  Neither of these goodies are on my new diet...go figure.

And finally, I found hot dogs....in a can.  That's all I can find.  But, the kids thought they were amazing.  According to Thomas, they taste just like the kind at the ballpark.  Well, I'll be darned...who knew...and they're cheap!  Good thing, because they ate the whole can at dinner.  Oh my fat grams!  Good thing they are young, and Thomas never stops moving. 

That's it for food.  School is keeping the kids VERY busy.  At this rate, they'll be able to skip two grades when they come home.  It is so stinkin' hard!!!  But, I know they'll get used to it...at least I hope because the whining and crying is causing me a breakdown.  Phew!!!

Until next time,

Wendy

Decisions, Decisions!

We are in the process of shopping for our second car.  There are so many things to consider when buying a car in Belgium.  I don't quite understand all of the rules and regulations, so you will get the quick version.  Sorry to all of you reading this that actually understand the correct lingo.

1.  Engine size - You are taxed at the sale of the car for the size of the engine.  The bigger the engine, the more the tax.  In addition, you pay an annual tax based on the same criteria.  Let me tell you.  This can get quite expensive.

2.  Automatic Transmission - Not so easy to find here.  We've liked several cars, but they are manual transmissions.  I know some people like them...but I don't...I just can't drive them. 

3.  Diesel vs. Gasoline - You want diesel.  It goes the distance and is cheaper.

4.  Price - We are only going to be here 3-5 years.  Not such a good idea to buy the car of our dreams and then have to turn around and sell it.  

5.  Kilometers - We are looking for something with lower kilometers to use for traveling when we don't need the Touran, which has more seats for visitors.

Here's what we test drove today....

Chris was super excited (ecstatic rather) about this BMW.  The dealers calls it a BM...and I giggle every time.  Anyway, it was a great price and a very sweet ride.  But...it's rear wheel drive.  I've owned rear wheel drive vehicles, and I'm not a fan.  We don't get ice and snow often, but when we do, we would have to buy winter tires.  They are mandatory when driving in Germany.  And, it did not have any cupholders!  Sorry, but this girl needs a spot for her Coca Cola Light.  Yep, that decision was based on cupholders.  Poor Chris. :(

Here's the Volvo S60.  This was also a very nice ride.  It drove really nice and was the kids' favorite.  It's a longer car, and I am a little nervous about parking it in the very tight European spaces.  But, this is a very common car here, and if everyone else can do it, then I can do it too.  It also had a very nice navigation system...and plenty of cupholders.  It has very low kilometers and is only a year old.  Also has a great price and falls in the very manageable tax bracket.

And then there is the Volvo XC60.  I swore that when I moved here I would be driving the XC90.  And, then I found out what the taxes were on that thing, and my tune quickly changed.  Well, the taxes would be  high on the XC60 as well.  It also doesn't have a navigation system.  And, it's pretty pricey.  The dealer said we would be better off with the S60.  That's saying something when the dealer says to go with the lower priced vehicle.  The XC60 is only two years old, but it has 30,000 km more.  And, it's almost 7,000 euros more too.  I must admit...it didn't drive as nicely as the S60.  I could just tell it was going to guzzle the fuel. *sigh* So, my dream of owning one of these beauties will be saved for my return to the states.  Maybe someday I will have one.

So, as you can see, the decision has pretty much been made.  We will be driving the black Volvo.  I'm excited.  I've wanted a Volvo since I was 16 years old.  I've always loved them.  They are very safe, and I know it's a great economical decision.  I'll keep you posted though on the final decision.

Wendy