Paulie in Milano

So here’s the deal.... my first blog. No idea what I’m doing, or to be honest, who I’m really talking to right now (Grandma, is that you? Hope all is well! Tooch - are you ready for the baby?) so bear with me a little...

I was able to go to Milan, Italy and catch a soccer game last Sunday with two friends of mine. It was an excellent (but long) day trip. Alarm went off at 3:30am to catch my early flight out of Brussels, walk around Milan for a couple of hours (even went to church, Mom!), watch a soccer game in the late afternoon, catch an evening flight home, asleep a little after midnight. Easy-peasy, lemon squeezy, as the kids say, and I look forward to doing it again! My goal, while we’re on this “adventure” is to see a soccer game in every major league in Europe. The Italian Serie A League was first, and I’ve got plans in the works for the English Premier League, La Liga (Spain), the French League, Scottish Premier League (I might have to bring my golf clubs for that one!), the Dutch League, and, of course, the European Powerhouse Belgium League. My goal isn’t necessarily to see the biggest “games,” but to see the top stadiums, which normally house the top teams. San Siro Stadium in Milan is one of the tops in Serie A, as it is home to the top two teams (AC Milan and Inter).

Wish me luck, and join me for the next game if you can! Get yourself to Europe, and I promise I’ll take care of the rest. No matter who you are, know that we miss you and would love a visit!

First snow in Brussels!

Our first snow in Brussels and what a story that is! It all started on Thursday, December 17th around 1:00 pm. Light flurries that were so pretty. I was Skyping with my mom and singing, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.” The snow steadily increased and when I left to pick Lindsey up from school I was shocked at how much snow was on the car and then the road. When I swerved on the slick ice for the 3rd time in 5 minutes, I was a little panicked. I called my friend Anna and asked her to pick up Lindsey. She had beat me to the punch and ask Daniel to pick up Lykke so she called him back and he agreed to pick up all 3 girls. I felt much better knowing I just had to drive to St. John’s. It took longer than normal and a few more swerves, but I made it. The snow continued to fall. It was gorgeous!

Then the gridlock began. People were stuck in the parking lot at St. John’s for over an hour trying to get onto the main road, which was not moving. Daniel was an hour late to get the girls as he was stuck in traffic on the other side of town and couldn’t even make it to St. John’s. It was a mess. Two of my friends arrived at school at 5:00 pm to pick up their children. One had left her car and walked a half mile with her 2 year old to get the 5 year old. By 5:15 we decided to head to our friend’s house to meet Daniel and the younger girls. It took us a half an hour to go a 3 minute distance. It was such a relief to walk in the door and have dinner ready for us and all the kids. By 8:00 pm we decided it was best to spend the night at Stina’s. By us, I mean three families! Daniel and his two kids, Anna and her two kids, me and my two kids. Stina has two kids and a baby. It was a full house!!

This whole time I am texting Paul and getting updates from him. I had called him at 3:45 and said the roads were bad and it would be best for him to head home. It took him almost 4 hours to get there. And it wasn’t even snowing where he works, an hour away!

At 6:00 am we got the call from St. John’s that school was canceled! Our first snow day! :) Things were much better in the morning and I was able to make it home safely. Apparently first on our list of things to do in 2010 is to buy winter tires!

Of course, the kids were itching to play in the snow so after I got things settled in the house (remember I had left the day before at 3:00, thinking I was coming back an hour later), we donned our snow apparel. The snow was very fluffy and not great for making snowmen or hard snow balls, but it didn’t stop us. The kids had a great time and if if doesn’t snow in Kansas, they will be so disappointed. They remember sledding in Nana and Poppi’s back yard two years ago! (Mother Nature, if you are reading this, I know we haven’t been friends in the past, but if you could please arrange for some snow in Kansas, that would be great!)

Since I haven’t lived in a place with snow for over 12 years, I’m enjoying it. Check in with me at the end of the winter to see if snow is still a novelty! :)

Christmas Specials

It’s that time of year when schools ask kids to learn songs, memorize lines, and dance in front of family members. Our two schools are no exception. :) Lindsey’s Christmas concert was first. Her classmates range in ages 2.5 - 3.5 years. This year had a numbers theme and started off with the Numbers Rumba. I’ve never seen anything cuter than Lindsey sticking her leg out at the appropriate time. Wish I had video of that! :) The show was a smashing success and quite fun for the kids and the parents.

Nicholas’s Christmas play was a few days later and had a unique twist. It centered around Mary and Joseph at the inn with baby Jesus, but included Numbers, Numbers Everywhere (the Pre-K unit of inquiry) and fictional fairy tale characters (the Kindergarten unit of inquiry). It was a hoot! People like Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Cinderella, The Seven Dwarfs among others, came to visit baby Jesus and bring him presents. Nicholas was Hansel and he and Gretel came all the way from Germany to bring pretzels. The kids did an awesome job and everyone enjoyed themselves.

So, for our first two school assembly experiences, the bar was set pretty high. Or do all parents think that because their children are involved!?

December Celebrations

The celebrations started early in December and continued all month for us! First, is St. Nicolas day on December 6th. He visits kids all over Belgium if they leave our their shoes for him. (See side bar for more information on St. Nicolas). He also visited the kids’ schools. Very fun! Nicholas received a skateboard and Lindsey a Shelley Barbie complete with 3 small cats. In the shoes were Kinder chocolate Kinder surprise eggs (a new favorite), Speculoos biscuits (gingerbread cookies) in the shape of St. Nicolas, and clementines.

If that wasn’t enough fun for the morning, we went to the American Women’s Club Christmas party where Lindsey won the BINGO game and an IKEA gingerbread house that we haven’t decorated yet. Santa made a special appearance at the party and brought presents for the kids.

The following weekend we took the kids to the Christmas market in Brussels. It is very common for many European towns to have Christmas markets where food, jewelry, scarves, artwork, and other goods are sold in outdoor booths. We have already decided next year to head to Germany and Brugge for their markets. The Brussels market boasted two carousels and an ice skating rink, but sadly it was so crowded (and cold) we didn’t make it that far down. Perhaps next year we’ll go on a weekday!

On a side note, Paul also got his Christmas present early -- a new digital camera. You’ll see lots of his handiwork from here on out. :)

Three moms are better than one!

Three moms are better than one!

Our moms came to Belgium in the beginning of November, and we were all very excited for their visit! At 8:00 am on Tuesday, they arrived and at 2:00 pm we received word from the travel agent there was to be a train strike on the Eurostar on Thursday, and we needed to leave for London a day early! No jet lag for you!!!!

It seemed like it would be no big deal to take the train to London. It’s two hours in length. What you forget to factor in is the 20 minute train ride from Waterloo to Brussels, the hour “layover” before the train leaves, and the 30 minute tube ride from St. Pancreas/King’s Cross to Hammersmith. Not to mention lugging around 3 suitcases, 3 carry-ons and two kids.

Needless to say, the extra day to travel turned out to be good as we spent the next few days taking in all the sights. Seeing London with kids is much different than as just adults. We went to Picadilly Circus and ate dinner at the Rainforest Cafe, checked out Hamley’s (an enormous 5 level toy store), visited the London Aquarium, took a DUCK tour (a WWII vehicle that can go in land in in water. Very fun to do in Boston!), went up in the London Eye (yes, Rochelle went, too!), saw Big Ben, sat on Father Christmas’s lap at Harrods, and ate french fries at almost every meal. Our backs were breaking from either carrying Lindsey or the travel bag which housed our water bottles, apples, granola bars, Twizzlers, and activities to keep the kids in good spirits.

It was pretty clear to me and Paul that having our moms around made the trip much better than Disneyland, but it still included more meltdowns and tears than we prefer. As my sister-in-law Missi (a mother of three) once said, traveling with kids is just a trip, not a vacation!

Getting back to Belgium, we kept the moms busy with local stuff. Taking the kids to and from school, volunteering in Nicholas’s computer class, after school activities, breakfast at a local bakery, sightseeing in Brussels and Leuven, and lots of good “motherly love.” It was a great visit, especially for Rochelle’s first experience out of the US!

Laundry part deux

Everything was going along smoothly with my washer and dryer until my parents visited in September and the machine was making really loud noises. My mom warned us that we were going to burn out the engine if we didn’t move the washing machine to flat ground. It had been balancing precariously on a ledge that is the perfect size for European machines. True to her word, the washing machine died on us a month later. The machine would fill up with water but wouldn’t spin. The clothes were soaking wet and soapy when I tried to put the in the dryer. I grudgingly went to the laundromat and caught up with Lily. As much as I like her company, I wasn’t looking forward to going there on a weekly basis again.

Understanding the difficulty in finding a repairman who spoke English and also getting the necessary parts to fix an American washing machine, we made the decision to buy new. Several hundred euro later, Paul came home with a shiny white washing machine. It fit in the back of our car, and he was able to hook it up easily. We were back in business!

I had heard that European machines are smaller, but didn’t realize just how much until I put that first load in. What a difference! An hour and a half later I went to switch the first load into the dryer and screamed in horror as the machine had pulled itself out of the wall and was lying face down on the concrete floor. We set it back up and tried again. The thing was clearly suicidal. It kept leaping off the ledge during the spin cycle.

I looked at the instructional manual and it stressed the importance of leveling the machine to the floor. Paul and our neighbor took care of that. It was rock solid. It wouldn’t wobble at all. Again, I came downstairs to switch the laundry and the machine was on its face. I couldn’t understand what the problem was. I looked at the instruction manual again. To prevent the machine from “wandering”, it also stressed the importance of removing the transportation devices. When I showed that to Paul he said they were on the back of the machine and weren’t causing the “wandering.” I was at a loss. I finally went to Media Markt where we purchased the thing and spoke with the customer service rep. He promptly walked over to a machine and showed me the four screws (aka transportation devices) that needed to be removed. We agreed that if they were removed and I was still having difficulties, I was to come back to the store.

Keep in mind that I am not the handiest of women, but I am very determined. It took several minutes to loosen the screws and replace them with temporary backs. The job complete, I happily put in a new load of laundry. Five loads of laundry later and the machine didn’t wobble, wander, or jump off the ledge. Success! (Until the dryer goes out . . .)

If there is a moral to this story, you’ll have to tell me. I just think it’s one of the pains of living in a foreign country . . .

Halloween 2009

Halloween in Belgium

I didn’t realize that Trick-or-Treating and Halloween are two separate things until I moved here. Halloween (the ghosts, goblins, witches, dressing up, pumpkins, etc.) is widely celebrated here. The stores sell costumes, decorations, and other party paraphernalia. Most of it is scary. There aren’t a lot of sweet children’s Halloween costumes (think Disney). What is also missing are the many aisles of enormous bags of Halloween candy. It’s very strange, but possibly one reason why the Belgians do not have weight issues. They aren’t stuffing themselves with their favorite bite sized candy from the end of October until Christmas when we turn to our favorite holiday cookies.

Not wanting their children to miss out on a fun fall tradition, the American families create their own Trick-or-Treat night in the neighborhood across from St. John’s International School. If you are going to participate, you donate several bags of candy to one of the organizers who then spread the candy out amongst those participating. On the designated night (which happened to be Oct. 29th this year), everyone comes dressed up and ready to collect candy. Houses have a sign that designates their participation and for one night it feels like home as you repeatedly run into friends and classmates and people that you know, all who are speaking English.

Early into the evening, one Belgian couple was passing out their allotted candy and asked me what we were saying and why. Try explaining what Trick or Treat means to someone whose first language is not English, I did my best and we moved on. I Googled it myself just now. Not sure anyone knows why we say it. There are a few theories floating around out there, but I’ll let you do your own research. Bottom line, just give me the candy and I’ll be on my way! :)

Nick and Lindsey’s schools allowed the kids to dress up on Friday and they celebrated Halloween there with fun snacks and candy. Apparently the big dress up celebration is Carnaval in February. I’ll be curious to see what that is all about.

The town of Waterloo also hosted their own celebration on Halloween Day. The kids were allowed to come to the stores in town dressed up and trick-or-treating. Then, everyone met at the commune and paraded to the park together where there were face painters, magicians, crafts, food, and other fun things to do. Our neighborhood organized a trick-or-treat parade at 6:00 pm and the kids went around the block collecting candy as well. It ended with soup and conversation at a neighbor’s house around the way. So it seems as though some local traditions are begining to be influenced by the American ones, for better or worse :)

From the pictures, it’s obvious Nicholas was very into being Darth Vadar this year. In true Lindsey fashion, our 3 and half year old, was something different each time she dressed up. (Sleeping Beauty, Hello Kitty, purple princess, pink fairy/butterfly). Even though it wasn’t the same as sitting in our court waiting for the kids from Guadalupe to show up, it was a successful Halloween here in Belgium.

Pumpkin Festival

We love our new neighbors! They moved in when we came back from the US and it’s been an instant friendship. Jeff is American. Marina is Belgian. They’ve lived in Germany, the US, and Belgium. They have an 8 year old daughter whom the kids adore. Nick and Savannah whistle when they are outside and want the attention of the other one. Lindsey just yells, “Savannah!!!!!!” It’s too cute.

All 7 of us drove in my car to a pumpkin festival (fete des potirons in French) in the town where they were living, Nivelles, which is just south of Waterloo. It was fun to celebrate fall and get in the mood for Halloween. We bought homemade pumpkin bread and soup. Yum! Afterwards we went to a great park in Nivelles and the kids played.

Blankenberge Sand Sculpture Exhbition

On Sunday, August 30th, we drove to Blankenberge (which is a beach town on the coast) for a pirate themed sand sculpture exhibition. It was truly amazing to see what these artists can do. We learned they ship in special sand that is different from what is on the beach as that sand is too round from the ocean. Blankenberge is a cute town and I’m sure we’ll head back there to explore some more.

Disneyland Paris Vacation

Paul and I took the kids to Disneyland Paris for their first (and possibly last) Disney experience. To quote Tim Daggett (gymnastics commentator from the Olympics), it was a disaster of epic proportions. We know our kids aren’t perfect and don’t expect them to be, but Mickey Mouse brought out the worst in them. The kids remember it as a fun vacation; we remember it as one GIANT meltdown.

The pictures will show you the happy, good times we had, like when I paid 77 Euro for me and Lindsey to eat lunch with the princesses and she ate parmesan cheese and some dessert. :) Or right after we got off the 5 minute ride after waiting for 45 minutes. Or when we were at the Eiffel Tower after an hour train ride. Those were priceless moments.

Since I am still a teacher at heart, the following acrostic poem includes phrases that were often heard throughout our 4-day adventure and allows you a glimpse into the times we didn’t take pictures. :)

(Just a reminder to scroll over the picture to read the captions)

Disneyland, here we come!

I WANT TO SEE THE PRINCESSES NOW!!!!!!!

Star Tours is the coolest ride!

No, I will not buy you cotton candy/popcorn/light sabers/princess dolls/space guns!

Everyone is tired and hot!

Yes, you can have ice cream!

Listen to your mother!

And hold my hand!

Nicholas, put it on your Christmas wish list!

Don’t ask me to buy you another thing!

Please stop crying!

Apologize for hitting!

Right now we’re staying together as a family!

If you ask me that one more time, we’re going straight to the train station!

Say goodbye kids, because we aren’t coming back here anytime soon . . .

US invasion (i.e 4 states in 3 weeks)

On July 8th, the Morrison family in Belgium flew back to the US for a 3.5 week (24 day) whirlwind vacation. Our first flight was 8.5 hours from Brussels to Philadelphia. The whole family only slept for an hour, which left A LOT of time for us to read, watch movies, climb back and forth over the seats, look out the window, color, you get the picture! :) We then enjoyed a 2.5 hour layover where we ate delicious ice cream and played I-Spy. A short 1.5 hour flight from Philadelphia to Columbus and we were home! Despite the short rest, the kids did really well and we were pleased. We were off to a good start! Listed below are highlights of our trip.

OHIO -- Grammy and Papa’s house in Pickerington became our home base. You know what they say, “Home is where your mom (or mother-in-law) is!”

• swimming at Aunt Amy’s house with all the cousins -- favorite activity was creating a homemade water slide with an air mattress into the pool (should have taken a picture of that!)

• lemonade stand in Grammy’s neighborhood which earned $18 for our Barnes and Noble trip with all the cousins

• playtime with Ava and Marlowe Flowers at the library and park

• concert with Missi and Gary (Gretchen introduces Gary to Stella Artois, a Belgian beer!)

• drove to Dayton to meet Campbell William Yenn!!!! (and see Stephanie and Matt)

• drove to Cincinnati to pick up Nana

• Nicholas learns to ride a bike without training wheels!

PENNSYLVANIA -- we drove 2.5 hours to Pittsburgh, PA for a Shultz Family Reunion (minus my dad, who was in China and Uncle Billy, who was busy) and for the relatives to meet Lindsey.

• shopped and fell in love with a little town called Sewickly

• swam in the hotel’s indoor pool (after a 3 month swimming hiatus, Lindsey remembers how to swim!)

• experienced the Pittsburgh Zoo in the RAIN!!!!

• BBQ at cousin Kim’s house -- lots of pictures with Gigi Shultz

NEW YORK -- we drove 2.5 hours from Pittsburgh to Dunkirk, NY to visit with the Dolce side of the family and for the relatives to meet Lindsey

• dinner at local outdoor hamburger shack with aunts, uncles, and cousin

• met up with the Ferguson family (AZ friends who moved to NY)

• swam in the hotel’s indoor pool until Lindsey contaminated it with #2

• hung out with Grandma Dolce

OHIO -- we drove 5 hours back to Columbus and were glad to be in our own beds!

• more swimming at Aunt Amy’s house with the cousins (Lindsey joins her brother in jumping off the diving board!)

• more play time with Erin and the kids

• adult night out with Lomonicos and Flowers

• dinner with the Thompsons

• celebrate Missi and Gary’s 40th birthdays

• reunion of “the boys” (Paul, Jon, Randy, Frank, Bryin) with our kids and our parents

ARIZONA -- we flew 4 hours from Columbus to Phoenix; Lindsey and Paul were in first class on the way there. Paul had business in Tempe and we couldn’t miss the chance to go back with him! It was HOT HOT HOT there (115 degrees) and we couldn’t believe we had forgotten about the heat so quickly. You’ll notice we spent a lot of time in the pool! :)

• visit our house with our friend/realtor (Stephanie) and find 2 scorpions

• visit Jackson who is living with our friends

• pool party at Rome’s house with Pool Wednesday friends

• pool party at old community pool with Ahwatukee Preschool and MOMS Club friends

• pool party at Hamrock’s with Pool Wednesday friends

OHIO -- we flew 3.5 hours from Phoenix back to Columbus. Nicholas and Gretchen were in first class on this trip.

• last chance to play with Ava and Marlowe

• pizza party dinner at the Burns’ house where we get to see cousins Rachel and Louis and their 3 girls

• brunch at Rochelle’s house with all the cousins, Rachel’s family, and Stephanie and Campbell drive in

On July 31st we headed home to Brussels. Whew! It was a great trip, but we were all ready to get back to our house and into our routine. First, we had a 2 hour delay in Columbus due to inclement weather in Phillie. Thankfully, 1.5 hour flight to Philadelphia was uneventful. Then, we had a 3 hour delay in Philadelphia. As you can imagine we are all getting irritable. We finally board the plane and take off after midnight. We all slept for about 6 hours of the 7.5 hour flight and arrive on Saturday, August 1st at 2:00 in the afternoon. The play structure is up and the kids are more than excited to play on it. Adjusting to the time zone still took about 2-3 days this time, but it was much smoother in the middle of the night.

So it has been a week since we’ve been back and all is well! The kids have tennis camp next week and we’re off to Disneyland Paris the week after. You’ll be hearing about that soon enough! Enjoy what is left of your summer. School starts for us September 1st!

Sea Shipment Arrives!

Faithful followers of our blog will remember the empty house pictures from our first week post. Our landlord had left us a kitchen table and four chairs. We also bought new beds, family room couch, and master bedroom furniture here in Belgium. (And by we, I really mean Paul had the lovely task of going to IKEA multiple times, paying for a taxi service to bring large boxes back to the house and then putting it together before we arrived in April. Good times!) It is with great pleasure that I can say, our sea shipment FINALLY arrived on Monday, June 29th at 8:30 am!!!!!

We were without out belongings for 12 long weeks (apparently the shipment was on a very slow boat through China, no joke!). The movers packed us up on April 6th and 7th, it missed the first boat out from San Francisco and didn’t sail until the 28th. (We had already been in Belgium for 4 days.) We were told it would take 4-8 weeks from the day they packed it. Estimates were a little off, but now that we have everything, it seems like time flew by quickly! :)

When the truck was being unloaded, the kids wanted to be a part of the action and kept a verbal inventory for us, “There’s your bike, mom!” “Hey, that’s a kitchen chair!” “Does that box say toys?” It was quite hysterical to watch them get so excited about where things were going and what boxes were being put in their rooms. And I have to admit, it was fairly easy to unpack as Nick and Lindsey got reacquainted with their toys, books, etc. I’ve never seen Lindsey change in and out of her princess dresses (thanks, Julia!) so much in one week!

Needless to say, it has been a busy week for us. The last box was unpacked on Sunday and the house looks wonderful! I had to take more pictures to show you what our surroundings will look like for the next two years. It’s really a great house! And now we’re more than set up for visitors (Thanks to Mom & Dad and Heidi & Matt for your patience!)

St. John's International School

We arrived in Belgium on April 24th and Nicholas started Pre-K on May 4th. Part of the reason we wanted to move before school ended was to meet friends and get Nicholas familiar with going to school all day (8:30 - 3:30). Nicholas, Lindsey, and I toured the school on the Thursday prior and they were able to play with the kids on the playground for an hour as it was a beautiful day. The following Monday, Nicholas was up, dressed, and ready to begin a new adventure. We dropped him off as a family, and he never hesitated when it was time for us to leave. The first week I had three different people (teacher, librarian, parent) tell me that it was as if Nicholas had been in the class all year. They were quite impressed with how well he fit in. We’re so thankful we have an outgoing, confident kid!

Oak class has two teachers (Mrs. Gahan and her assistant, Mrs. Cortes) and 13 kids from various different countries like Sweden, Czech Republic, Kuwait, Canada, Ethiopia, Belgium, Ireland, and the U.S. Everyone speaks English and that is what bridges the gaps. I cannot even begin to explain how wonderful and welcoming everyone we have met at St. John’s has been. The school is accustomed to people coming and going each year. They even have an assembly at the end of the school year where students who are moving away get a St. John’s Lion (their mascot) to take with them. Knowing this, it was still amazing how well the class adjusted to their new classmate with only 8 weeks of school remaining.

Nicholas began the last unit of inquiry with the class called Under the Sea. Everything they did focused on this theme, and he learned quite a bit. We went to Aquatopia in Antwerp in May as a family to see sea creatures up close. The artwork and projects Nicholas brought home in his portfolio were amazing, and it has been really fun to watch his drawings progress into real art.

Each afternoon at pickup, Lindsey and I would get Nicholas from the back door of his classroom and then we’d all stay and play on the playground. Weather permitting, course! It was a great way for Lindsey to get some time with other kids and for me to chat with the parents. I feel we are so blessed to have met these families. Many of them have younger kids who will be in Lindsey’s Montessori class in the fall. Even though summer has begun, we have play dates lined up for the days we are in town, and are looking forward to fall when everyone is back in Waterloo.

When you ask Nicholas what his favorite part of Pre-K at St. John’s is, he responds, “making crafts and playing outside.” Guess what? That was his favorite part about Ahwatukee Preschool so no wonder he adjusted well. :) Kindergarten, here we come!

Doing Laundry at the Laundromat

The laundromat -- oh, where to begin? I’ll start by saying that I’m trying to be a good sport about all the inconveniences associated with moving to another country.

A little bit of background info.: The house that we are renting, did not come with a washer and dryer. Knowing that EVERYTHING over here is more expensive, that we are here for a limited amount of time, and that it’s cheaper to buy some things used, we found a family selling their washer and dryer before they return to the US. (Just a side note, we did this with many items like a microwave, full size fridge/freezer for the garage, fans, coffee pot, toaster, hand mixer, etc.) Anyway, the washer and dryer are American sized (which is a huge plus), but weren’t going to be available until mid-June.

Paul had used the local laundromat before we arrived and it didn’t seem like a huge deal. Our first weekend in town Lindsey and I did 5 loads of laundry on Saturday and Paul and Nicholas did another 5 on Sunday. There is a whole process that needed to be learned. Washing machines take tokens or jetons which are 3.70 euro each and need to be obtained from one vending machine. When one pays with a 50 euro bill (because the ATM machine prefers to give you fifties instead of twenties), you receive 10 jetons immediately and the rest in eurocents. It almost feels like you’re in Vegas when all the money comes out of the machine!

Then it’s back to the washers where you put in your detergent and choose the temperature of the water and nothing else. After 35-45 minutes (depending on the temp. chosen), you are ready for the dryer. Dryers are bigger and usually two washing machine loads go into one dryer. It costs 60 eurocents for 10 minutes of drying time. Most loads take 30 minutes (at least they way I do laundry!). To pay for the dryers, you must go to a different vending machine and put in the correct change and which dryer it corresponds to.

Finally, the dryers are done and you get to fold all the laundry on tables that are nearby. The whole process takes almost 2 hours and needless to say Lindsey and I have gotten very friendly with Lily, who works at the laundromat. My parents (who both had the pleasure of helping with the laundry while they were visiting) also got to meet Lily. She has limited English, but is very sweet and helpful. She always gives Lindsey something sweet to eat and lets her use her private bathroom. She will also do your laundry for you, but to have her wash/iron Paul’s work shirts, she charges 2.50 a shirt. It’s 6 euro per item for dry cleaning. Not something we can do often . . .

Anyway, keep in mind that I have two young children and so we are going to the laundromat on a weekly basis. I usually take up 4-6 washers (the most was 8 when we washed all the towels, sheets, rugs, and anything not hung up!) and 2-3 dryers. I fill up a large rolling suitcase and a duffle bag which have to be carried across a fairly busy street, while trying to keep track of a 3 year old. Good times.

I know this is long, but to really get the feel for this adventure, keep reading! One night I had the brilliant idea to take the laundry after the kids had gone to bed. As I arrived, it was raining (big surprise). I saw that the laundromat closed at 22 hours. (Full disclosure -- this military time is something I am still getting used to and also I am not good at math.) I believed, or at least wanted to believe, that was 11:00 pm and that I had just enough time as it was just after 9 pm. I put 5 loads of laundry in and started writing in my journal. About 15 minutes later I realized that 22 was 10:00 pm, and I was pretty much screwed. There was one other couple there and they left promptly at 9:55. For 5 minutes I sat in total agony, not sure what would happen next. Surely I was good enough friends with Lily that when she came to lock up, she would let me stay. At 10:00 on the dot, the lights went out and the door automatically shut. No Lily. I tried not to panic. My wash still had 3-5 minutes left. They were going strong. Luckily the emergency light was on and so it wasn’t pitch black in the place. I called Paul and gave him an update. I didn’t want to try to open the door incase an alarm went off and my laundry wasn’t done. I couldn’t open the washers until they were completely finished. I did not want to bring home wet laundry as I would have to repeat the whole process and wash everything again, defeating the purpose of going at night. Paul was not thrilled. I told him I felt safe locked inside the the laundromat and that when the wash was done, I was going to see if the dryers still worked. I was determined to bring home completely done laundry. The 5 minutes passed very slowly and finally I was ready for the dryer. I dragged it all down and found out the vending machine for the dryer had shut off at 10:00. My money kept falling out. It was time for plan B.

I lugged the laundry back to the front, pushed a button near the door and was able to get out safely and without causing an alarm to go off. I carried the HEAVY bag of 5 wet loads of laundry to my car while it was sprinkling (big surprise). I really thought I was going to have a heart attack. I called Paul from the car completely out of breath and told him my plan B. He again wasn’t thrilled, but I am a very determined individual. I drove down the street to another laundromat. It was also to close at 10 pm, but there were still 3 people inside. I jumped out of the car and luckily one customer spoke good English. He thought I would be fine to come in and dry my clothes. I purchased jetons and loaded up 3 dryers. So far so good. I had to move my car to a parking lot across the street and run back. Shortly after 10:30, the lights went out, but the door stayed unlocked. One couple left and one woman remained. I kept one eye on my car that was parked in a tow-away parking lot during evening hours and one eye on my journal. I was sweating and holding my breath the whole time. 30 minutes later the laundry was dry enough and I shoved it all into the duffle bag and lugged it back to the car in the rain. The one woman was still inside, but I wasn’t about to test the limits and fold it all there. Out of breath once again, I called Paul with an update, and arrived home safe and sound a few minutes later. We folded the extremely wrinkled laundry and got to bed just before midnight. It was certainly an adventure that I wasn’t going to repeat anytime soon!

Vive Paris!

Paris, France

Thanks to the generosity of my mom, Paul and I were able to visit Paris for the first time without kids! We took a 20 minute train ride from Waterloo to Brussels and then switched trains for an hour and 20 minute ride to Paris. It was raining (big surprise) when we arrived, but an hour later the skies cleared up. Our hotel room was clean, but super small. One person could stand in the bathroom at a time and you couldn’t lay down on the floor in the bedroom (not sure if the pictures can capture how small it was!)

Despite my idea of buying tickets for a hop on/hop off bus that takes you to all the famous spots in Paris, Paul thought it would be more economical to walk the city. We found a cute place to have lunch on the Champs Elysees next to another place named Paul. And then we were really off on our adventure. We did rest at one point on a bridge that links the Louvre to Orsay and called home to chat with Nana and the kids. A little while later we happened upon people watching the women’s finals French Open tennis match (which is at Roland Garros) on a huge big screen TV so we enjoyed that break as well. Can I just tell you our calves hurt for two days after we got home!!!!! I should have worn my pedometer to track how many miles we walked.

Anyway, we saw some amazing buildings and history and just enjoyed having time to ourselves. Our final stop was at the Eiffel Tower. The line to get in was shockingly long and so we decided to wait in the shorter line that allowed you to see the first two levels by walking up stairs. I seriously thought my legs might give out walking up 350 stairs to level one, but once we walked around, I had to see level two (besides we had paid for it!). Paul declined to join me and so I walked another 350 stairs. Let me just say that walking down 700 flights of stairs is much more fun! :) We found a wonderful place to have dinner across from the Eiffel Tower and we able to see it light up at night. (Another advantage of not having the kids with us, as we were eating dinner at 10:00 when the lights came on!) The light show was spectacular and the dinner was delicious.

On Sunday we awoke to sunny blue skies with big puffy white clouds, and we really fell in love with Paris. We walked down the Champs Elysees and had breakfast outside on the patio. Thinking it would be really fun to see the men’s finals tennis match, we decided to head to Roland Garros. Taxis wouldn’t take us there as it would be too much traffic. How hard could it be to use the Metro (aka subway)? Turns out, harder than we thought. We spent a good half hour analyzing maps and plotting the route only to get on the wrong train. After returning to where we started, we were off and got there successfully! A short walk later, we ran into all the scalpers who wanted hundreds of dollars for tickets. We had hoped to get general admission tickets that would just get us onto the grounds and hopefully in front of a big TV there. It was sold out and those tickets were going for 100 euros (normally they are 15). Not wanting to waste money on something we weren’t sure even existed, we headed back to the city. This little two hour plus adventure got us very confident with the Metro, but by the time we got to the TV location in front of Hotel DeVille, it was windy and rainy. We ended up watching the match from inside a two story Quick Burger (fast food chain). Definitely beats walking around the city again!

We agreed to take the kids to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower and then to Euro Disney, which you can get to on the Metro! What an adventure that will be! :)

Our first visit to Bruges

Bruges is a beautiful little town, full of Belgian history.  It was founded in the 9th century by Vikings.  The inner city is basically a little island with a moat surrounding the city. They call it the Venice of the North.  Chocolate and lace shops line the cobblestone streets, while tourists get around the town by bike, foot, horse drawn carriages or boat along the canals. 

Our first trip to Bruges (also spelled Brugge) was definitely a learning experience in many ways: 

1.  It took us over 2 hours to drive 79 miles!  Traffic on the weekends (especially holiday weekends) towards the coast is just crazy.  Even Lindsey who was sleeping peacefully, woke up and said, “This is taking a long time!”  

2.  The kids aren’t interested in waiting too long, moving too slowly, walking too much, or seeing too many old buildings.  (Even a 30 minute canal tour was too long).

3.  We need to have 30 eurocent every time Lindsey needs to use the potty.

4.  The chocolate museum closes at 5 pm on Sundays, and we weren’t able to go.

5.  The market square is filled with many cute restaurants with patio seating, but we had filled up on homemade ice cream.

6.  The Belfry or Halles tower has 366 stairs to the top and we didn’t even attempt that.

7.  Clearly there is a lot more to see and do, and we have plans to go back!

Stephane the Hair Dresser

You know you’re in a foreign country when the easiest way to make sure you have an English speaking hair dresser is to have him come to your house!  Nicholas’s school recommended Stephane (one name only) for his reasonable prices and his ability to communicate with his clients.  At 10:00 am sharp, Stephane arrived at our house with his bag of supplies and briefly set up shop in our family room since we STILL DO NOT HAVE OUR SEA SHIPMENT.  We grabbed a chair from the kitchen and Paul volunteered to go first.  Stephane got down to business and soon it was Lindsey’s turn.  The chair had to be moved a little bit in order to allow her a better view of the TV.  :)  When it was my turn, Stephane broke out the hair books to make sure we both were thinking about the same thing (turns out his idea was a lot shorter than mine, but it still turned out good).  I got the royal treatment with the hairdryer and curling brush, but the kids were annoyed they couldn’t hear the TV very well.  Finally, it was Nick’s turn.   Although he was very excited when Stephane got to our house, by this point the novelty of the idea had worn off on him, and he didn’t want to be bothered by a hair cut.   He ended up with exactly what we’ve been doing in Phoenix, and I was very pleased.  All in all it was a great experience! Hope you enjoy the photos!

Paul’s cut = 20 euro

Lindsey’s cut = 15 euro

Nicholas’s cut = 15 euro

Gretchen’s cut and blow dry = 35 euro

Not leaving the house = priceless

Adventures in Groceries

I knew moving to a new country where I didn't speak the language was going to be challenging, but I did not factor navigating my way through a grocery store into said challenge!  I completely took for granted that I can go into any store in the U.S. and figure out what I need.  Here, not so much!  There is a variety of choices in places to shop: Delhaize (like a Safeway, but smaller, Carrefour (like a Wal-mart or Super Target, but not as nice), and open markets on the weekends to name a few.  I'm including a slide show of pictures I took.  I hope the difference shines through.  You'll just have to visit to get the real feel of things!  By then I'll be a pro and will make it look easy!  :)

There is an American grocery store in Antwerp (took us 45 minutes to get there) and it's half the size of a Circle K.  It was such a delight to see everything written in English though!  A short list of things we bought there that you can't get at a regular store here: marshmallows, peanut butter, granola bars, lemonade, cake mix, Dr. Pepper, Chex cereal. . .

A typical trip to the grocery store will go something like this:

•  get 50 eurocent and put it into cart, unlocking it from the cart in front  of it and an enabling you to shop

• pick out fresh fruit/veggies, weigh them, and print out a label detailing the price (thank god for pictures!)

• choose fresh bread and watch others as they put it through a cutting machine and bag themselves (decide that prepackaged bread is just fine for now)

• stare at all the cheese choices and realize you only know swiss, gouda and mozzarella (where are the cheddar, monterey jack, Mexican, and American cheeses your family has come to know and love?)

• wander past the eggs and wonder why they not refrigerated (but decide to take a chance on them)

• stand in front of the milk for countless number of minutes deciphering Dutch and French (Verse Halfvolle Melk on one side and Lait Frais Demi-ecreme on the other) and realizing the largest size is 1 liter.  After much trial and error you will learn your kids can drink a liter in a day!

• stroll by more milk that is not in the fridge (decide not to trust it)

• find lunch meat of ham, salami, and chicken that tastes like turkey (things are looking up)

• able to navigate your way through basics: coffee, cereal, chips, soda, water (can one survive on those things alone?)

• get to the international foods aisle and almost break down in tears at how small the Mexican aisle is, laugh out loud as you pick up a bag of Hershey's chocolate chips that are almost $8, and pick up a bottle of soy sauce  (there’s always stir fry)

•  head down the laundry detergent aisle and choose a brand that has English (brightness booster! stain fighting! easy ironing!)

• in the freezer aisle, pick up chicken nuggets and fries (kids can survive on that for sure!)

• and finally, the wine aisle beckons!  You choose two moderately priced bottles and head for the checkout line. Drinking them out of plastic glasses will seem like paradise after this adventure!

• smile at the cashier, say bon jour, and pray that there won’t be any need to communicate; whip out your Visa, and give thanks to credit cards

• begin to bag all your groceries in the bags you brought with you (no bags means you carry out your groceries in your arms!)

• wheel cart out the door, unload into the trunk, and push cart back into place.  Your 50 eurocent pops out and you’re able to start the whole process all over again!  (Unless you’re Paul, who just admitted that he lost at least 12.50 euro in the carts before he figured out if you weren’t such a lazy American you can get the money you put in back if you’d just return the cart to where it belongs!)

Slideshow of first week