Apple Picking

We went apple picking this year at Baugher's and invited Luc's "girlfriend" Kira and her family to come along with us. I did not realize it was also their fall festival day, but we were lucky to find parking, and since most people were there to get pumpkins, the apple picking wasn't too crowded.

The kids had a blast. Even Aria was excited when she was able to get an apple off the tree.

My Little Red Riding Hood... or Snow White (with blonde hair).

We're starting to plan their wedding.

The petting zoo was fun too, until the goat head-butted Kira and made her fall down. Then she wasn't having any of it and insisted she wanted to leave.

My Belgium Trip

I've really grown to love Belgium. This was my third trip there and each time it grows on me more and more.
I'm extremely lucky, and grateful, for Frederic's family and friends who live in Belgium. They are all wonderful, caring people. They are always welcoming to me and take me in as their own. I feel like I've known Frederic's friends as long as he has. Frederic jokes that he feels his family likes me more than him! Everyone always makes me feel comfortable and part of the family. Sometimes there's a language barrier, but you can still feel the atmosphere of acceptance and love.

Years ago there was a very real chance of us moving to permanently live in Belgium. Before I had ever visited the country, I was scared and depressed. -I would still be depressed to move but mostly because of leaving my family behind. I start to miss US amenities (standing showers!) and products by the end of the 2nd week in Belgium, but while I'm there I can honestly see myself adjusting and being happy to live there, if we had to. That being said, I would be happy not living in Brussels though (or Flanders. I do not understand anything in Flemish!). Besides the crazy current terror threats, it's too busy and dirty and hectic. And I used to be the one who wanted to live in NYC. But now when we go outside the city, driving on the country roads, I love the calm and peaceful places. The scenery is beautiful. I never really noticed during the previous trips, but there are tons of cows in Belgium! And with all the old history in Europe, you feel connected to a past.

And the food! Heck, let's move there just for that! Who wouldn't love living where you can get some of the best chocolate in the world at your local supermarket? The café in the morning- yummm. Cheese, fresh bread and meats for lunch. Overall the food is a little richer, but it stays with you longer, and in consequence, I think I'm the only person who goes to Belgium for 2 weeks, eats whatever I want (even soda with meals-which I never do at home- because I think the tap water tastes funny there) and looses a few pounds. Although I do ration my chocolate there because I want to bring it home.

I really wouldn't mind moving there and wouldn't worry about the kids either. With the 10 days we were there, Aria started saying words in french, like "chat" (while chasing Jean-Luc's cat around the property). Though Luc pretends he doesn't understand french and cannot speak it, we returned home and he unconsciously proved otherwise. On the car ride from the airport we put on the french kid songs and he was singing along, in french. And still a week home, instead of saying "Come, Aria!" he automatically yells, "Viens!" Then he catches himself, puts his hand over his mouth, and says- "it just slips out!"

Knowing people in Belgium, staying in the city and country numerous times, and seeing the way of life there, I could get used to it if the day ever came. I'm always the one crying when we leave the people and places we visit. I'm blubbering au revior and sneaking into the car to wipe my tears away. I always get caught though, and make other people cry too. There are times when I feel I have a closer relationship and life understanding with our Belgians then I do with my own friends and, some, family here in the US.

Trip to Belgium

We've been home a full week. Last night was the first night in that week that everyone slept all night through, in their own beds. And for me, it was Heaven! ...it also helped fight this throat virus that Aria and Frederic picked up in Belgium and so lovingly handed over to me.

Belgium was fun, this time, again. We were there for 10 days, slept at 3 different houses, 1 hotel room, and 1 beach apartment. So it's no wonder we come home and the kids can't sleep. We were always in the same room together, and Aria spent the entire trip sleeping in the bed with Frederic and me. (And Luc going through the "I'm lonely sleeping in my room at night" stage isn't helping either).

We arrived at Brussels airport on Friday Sept 16th morning. The kids slept maybe 2.5-3 hours on the overnight flight. We slept about zero. Marine greeted us at the airport and after awhile of collaborating with TonTon Guy, we got our rental car, drove outside the airport to the gas station, and picked up the borrowed kids' car seats. Installed- we drove off. Straight to Liege we went.

About 15 minutes from TonTon Jean-Luc and Taty Corrine's house, the car starts to shake a little like it's going to stall out. Frederic pushes on. It happened a few more times. But there's nowhere to stop on these country roads that whiz around. We made it to the house and chilled out for awhile. We needed to go get diapers and some kid-friendly food, so we all packed into the car. Frederic starts the car (which is all electronic). Chug Chug, shake shake. Nothing. Again and again 50 times. Nothing. An hour later the dealership mechanic comes out to look at the car. I asked Frederic how many times the rental car guy told him it was a Diesel car. Once, maybe twice. I ask, could it be possible the previous people filled the half tank with gas instead. Sure enough- yup. Frederic hitches a ride with the tow truck to a town 45 minutes to get another car. 3 hours later, we have a new rental (never been driven off the lot). We go to the store. Happy to say this is the only trouble we had the whole time (except medical troubles...).

Steph and Johnny's wedding was wonderful! She looked like a princess, the castle for the reception was beautiful. I went to bed in the rented room with the kids at about 10pm, Frederic partied with everyone until 3am.

Aria walking into her castle.

Aria on a chocolate high

The next few days we spent in Liege with family. We went to Galler chocolatier to stock up (and eat our lunch with all the free samples) and went to the city center where Luc had his first Liege waffle (which was his most favorite thing about the whole trip to Belgium).

I also got to visit my favorite place in all of Liege- La Maison de Peket!

We visited Frederic's grandmother and great uncle's graves and ate out for dinner at a Chinese Buffet- but not really buffet, where Phillipe ended up with plates and plates of smoked salmon he didn't order...or did he? We still don't know.

I also got a free back massage from Phillipe while the others were in the hot tub (after the kids finally passed out).

We said our weepy goodbyes on Tuesday morning and headed to Brussels to pick up Marine. We and the cousins (Phillipe, Marine, Steph and Johnny) headed to De Haan- the Belgian beach. First stop on the way there was in Brugges. I love this city. I think it's my favorite place in all of Belgium (not including the places where we have family and friends first). It's so old, and beautiful. It's clean, and most of all it's calm. There's no bustling around, no car horns blaring. You can get lost on little streets and feel like you're in a Charles Dickens Christmas movie. The architecture is so different from anything in the US, and I love that! The cobblestone streets are super charming (not with a stroller though). And who can not love all the little canals? The first time we came here (before Luc) we took a boat tour. I think Aria was a little too young to do that this time around- I was afraid of her jumping into the water. So maybe next time we can show them the city by boat.

Frederic and I were determined to find this little fritterie where we had eaten awesome food 6 years ago. We found it! The food was a little different from what I remember, but yummy nonetheless.

After we ate, we walked around the city for awhile and came across this street performer making lots of huge bubbles. We all had a blast watching that!

Next, we got to the beach and just in time to see the sunset and eat mussels at a restaurant on the boardwalk. The next day we went back to the beach where Luc couldn't help but go swimming. Aria and I shell-searched.

Back in the Brussels that night, we went over to TonTon Guy and Taty Carine's house where we would stay for a few days. The next days were filled with visiting friends, family bbq, shopping trip in the city, and Luc having his asthma attack. Two nights of using an inhaler instead of the nebulizer machine (we borrowed that used to be Phillipe's) meant Luc did not get enough medicine. Something triggered an asthma attack while visiting Iris. He spent the time on the terrace breathing cool air- because I'm a horrible mother and left his emergency inhaler back at the house!
By the time we got back to Guy & Carine's, Luc was hysterical crying that he couldn't breathe. I had to hold him down on my lap to get him to do his treatments, then he crashed on the couch. I broke down crying all over poor Carine's shoulder. I was extremely worried, stressed, pissed off at myself for not having the emergency inhaler in my bag, mad it took us so long to get back to Guy and Carine's house to give him his treatment, and scared to think about what could've happened. But also THANKFUL we had the nebulizer machine.

Me trying to cheer Luc up a little during his attack. He was not amused...because he couldn't do the faces for the camera with the mask on. Oops again!

Luc was down for about 2 days. The day after all he ate was a roll. He was tired and we upped his treatments and inhalers. Plus in the middle of the night he was still wheezing and coughing, and I got up every 4 hours to give him his medicine. Thank God by the time we left Belgium, he was a lot better.

The last two days in Belgium were spent at Frederic's best friend's, Caroline, house. We get along so well with Caroline and Matt and their two kids. Our lives are so similar- with work, kids, house, everything, it's like looking in the mirror. They asked us what we wanted to do- we said chill. They hosted a BBQ Saturday night for Caroline's brother and cousin (who are also Frederic's friends) to come over. All the kids played together in the backyard.

 Sunday, we sat around the house. The kids played, painted, and went for a walk. We hung out, did nothing, drank wine and beer, ate, talked, and mentally prepared ourselves for going home on Monday.

Monday I woke at 5:40am to start packing up, get the kids up and dressed, do one last nebulizer treatment for Luc, and get Frederic conscious enough to drive to the airport. Since the attacks at the Brussels airport there was a chance for traffic check points on the highway, security checks before entering the departures area, on top of the regular security line. Lucky for us, returning the rental was smooth, there were no extra checks- they were randomly picking people before entering the airport. I'm sure 2 huge luggage's, 5 carry-on bags, a stroller, and 2 kids was not something they wanted to pull aside and check. Although, Frederic was called up and checked behind a curtain at the gate. We arrived with plenty of time and no stress.
We got on the plane and since it wasn't full we were able to stretch across 4 seats. It was nice getting a break from Aria sitting on my lap this time. She slept about 5 hours, Luc slept about 2-3.
We had really awesome weather in Belgium, again. Hardly any rain, mild temperatures, and lots of sun. We arrive home to clouds, overcast, mist, and a week of nonstop pouring rain. The world seemed upside down.

When asked, Luc said his favorite things about Belgium were first, the waffles, and chocolate croissants for breakfast. Then he said the beach. I know he also loved spending time with Marine and Phillipe, especially in the car rides.

Liege Waffle- Approved.

Overall it was an awesome trip. Luc had fun. Aria was full of life and making friends. We spent lots of good time with our family and friends. It was of course very sad to say goodbye to everyone. But- There's No Place Like Home.
sigh

Aria so jet-lagged she almost fell asleep on the kitchen floor, using kitchen towels for her bedding.

Luc's PK4 School Picture

 Luc's school picture turned out so much better this year. And I found a way around paying for those prints- buy the digital print for $12. You get the copyright release form and can then order prints through any online retailer. Score!

Butterfly ~~Fly Fly Fly!

Frederic and I often sit on the weekends and wonder what we can do with the kids. We get tired of staying home, they get cranky and difficult, and the weekends end not having had much fun.
With Labor Day weekend being 3 days and the hurricane missing Maryland and leaving the weather really nice, I wanted to find something special we could do. I remembered my co-worker mentioning this butterfly house at Brookside Gardens in Silver Spring. It's only 25 minutes from our house, and after looking it up, thought it would be lots of fun. So Sunday we packed a lunch and headed out.

After spending over an hour in there, we had to drag Luc out to eat some lunch before we headed back in for another hour or more. He got to see caterpillars and different stages of chrysalis, which he remembered from learning at school last year. Of course there were hundreds and hundreds of butterflies flying around too. Luc was a little scared with the first one Frederic put on his hands. But then Luc loved it so much he was determined to keep holding them in his hands all day. "Just one more!"

Aria thought it was pretty cool too, though after awhile she wanted to just sit on the stones. Then she started bossing the butterflies around to join her: "Sit, Fly! Sit!" Since it's in a greenhouse she was also getting very hot and thirsty. But I had left the water bottles in the car. I thought for sure she was going to clock a one year old and steal his sippy cup every time he walked by us.

I just love the pure joy and amazement on his face!

 I got to hold one too! And it does tickle!

Luc's First Day of Pre-K 4

Luc's PreK 4 class will be every day of the week from 8am til 11am this year. A bunch of his friends from PreK3  luckily got into the same class as he (there are 2 sections). I know that will make it easier to get back into being at school. When we walked into the "meet the teacher" last night, a bunch of girls from his class last year were coloring at a table and they all looked up and yelled "Luc!!!" Luc just smiled and played shy.
Aria joined in with the older kids- sat down, grabbed a few crayons and a picture and started coloring and talking. I wonder if she can sit in on his class too.

What will Aria do everyday without Luc around? -Girl time with Grandma!

We've been marking the August calendar everyday counting down to the first day of school. As we got closer and closer Luc started saying he wasn't ready for the summer to be over yet. And he said he needed more days. Oh boy, you're only going into your second year of school where you still have play time and do crafts, listen to stories, etc. and you're not ready? What will you be like when you're in high school? We've got 13 more years of this kid. God help me getting this kid outta bed in the morning.
Then this morning, after we took some pictures, we still had 30 minutes to kill, and he kept asking when we could leave. So we sat outside and he started asking me a million questions about what this year will be like. I dropped him off 20 minutes before class started. And he did a little wave when he was out of the car and walked into the school.

This year Luc will be going to chapel service once a week for 30 minutes. We're excited that it'll help teach him to sit still and pay attention and participate, and maybe when Aria is a tad older, we can actually start attending church on a regular basis.-When we can sit in the church and listen and not just "play" in the nursery/quiet area.
Luc will also have a music class this year on a regular basis. I'm excited for this for him as well because he's naturally musically inclined: he can remember the rhythm to a song and play it out on an instrument such as the recorder or harmonica without knowing what the notes are.
 This year the teacher will be focusing on an alphabet letter each week. The kids will also do a type of show and tell once a month too. Since Luc doesn't like everyone looking at him at once, I don't know how he's going to do with this activity.

I can't wait for our car rides home in the afternoon where he tells me things he did in school and what he learned. I love to "see" his brain get bigger and his world enlarge.
I know that at the end of this year he will be fully ready (as much as you can be) to start kindergarten. Bah! I don't want to think about that yet.