Happy 11th Birthday B!

One of the members of our Belgian family has a birthday today. Unfortunately, it's too late to Skype, so we'll just have to tell the world and hope it gets back to him.

(We'll also call him tomorrow.)

Have I mentioned how much we miss our Belgian family?

What do y'all do to celebrate the birthdays of those who live far away?

Wordless Wednesday

Buttons, C. and F.

We sure are missing our "Belgian Family".

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Missing Belgium Already

We head for home on Friday but I've already become very sentimental about leaving. We've had a wonderful stay and although I haven't blogged about it too much, I'm sure it will be fodder for future posts.

For now, I'll just post about a few of the things I'll miss once we leave...

The backyard and garden where Buttons played with C & J's grandchildren. (I'm hoping to get permission to put their pictures on here as well.) Many good times were spent over a cup of coffee or a beer (or two) chatting with C & J about Belgium, the U.S., parenting, gardens, politics, religion and food, of course. We even helped plant a few of the flowers and hung our laundry out there on occasion. Yes, we lived in their backyard.

Just beyond the backyard is farmland that holds many surprises, like hot air balloons and the braying of horses so close I thought they were going to sit down for dinner with us. There are sounds of birds, the glimmer of leaves blowing in the wind and the smell of the cows. (Buttons took to saying the cows were "ripe" after I told her that once.)

Pictured here tending the garden, J gave us thoughts on places to visit, provided maps to get us there and offered a new Belgian beer for us to try quite often.

Pictured here with the girl who isn't always easy to please, C made sure Buttons would enjoy her stay. We went swimming nearly every week and C also invited her grandchildren over quite often and we all had good laughs.

Both C & J went above and beyond to provide us with not only our needs, but companionship and warmth. We went to the Netherlands, Paris, Brugge, Ghent, Antwerp and St. Petersburg, but as you may have guessed, we will miss C & J and their family most of all. We've been invited to their son's wedding and I would really like to come back and celebrate with them. We've invited C & J and their son, soon-to-be daughter-in-law and grandchildren to visit us back in the USA. If I can't make all of my friends and family from the States move here at least I can have my Belgium family come and visit me there. Perhaps they'll decide to live in the U.S.?

It's been a wonderful journey and I'm not sure I really want it to end yet. And Buttons? She's struggling with leaving and staying just like I am. One minute she wants to see our cat at home and the next minute she doesn't want to see her "never again" because that means leaving our friends here. It's been a wonderful journey and I'm not sure I really want it to end yet.

But here comes reality... I'm off to finish packing.

WWII Rememberance

On our way to Germany this weekend with our hosts/friends C&J we visited the Henri Chapelle American Military Cemetary and Memorial for the soldiers who died in The Battle of the Bulge.

Back in the USA, Buttons and I go to story time at a local library where Miss R. reads to the children and does crafts with them as well. Shortly before we left, Buttons shared with the group that she was going to Belgium. Miss R. came to us later to inquire about our trip and told us that she'd like to go someday because her grandfather was buried in Belgium after dying in the Battle of the Bulge.

I asked her for the information on where he was buried and told her if at all possible I would try to visit his grave. This was in part for Miss R. who has been so good to Buttons, but I also wanted to pay my respects to the men and women who lost their lives and never came home.

We did visit his grave and the woman who worked there helped us well past closing time. She was kind and I could tell she really cared about the people who were buried here and their families back in the USA. We were given a packet of information to carry back to Miss R. which included a request for a picture of each of the men here so that the memorial could be personalized and live on for many generations. Then the woman took us to the grave sight, placed a Belgian flag and an American flag in front of his cross and then rubbed sand from the beaches of Normandy in the embedded name on the cross so it would show in pictures. C & J, our traveling companions, remembered to bring 2 white roses from their beautiful garden and I said a prayer as Miss R's mother had requested.

This place is beautiful and peaceful now. It's hard to imagine the pain and suffering that took place here 63 years ago, but when you look at the white crosses and the stars of David you don't forget. After the soldiers died, the families were given the choice of whether to bring their loved ones home or to have them buried here. I imagine I would have wanted to bring my loved one home, but having this site is an important remembrance and so I think I understand why many made the choice for a burial here.

After our visit it seemed a bit strange to head to Germany for our weekend of tasting wines on the Mosel, but thanks to the courage of these men and women along with many others, that's what we were able to do.

On our way back we visited Bastogne and the Mardasson Memorial. We took a tour through the museum and watched a film devoted to the Seige at Bastogne. The citizens of Bastogne were very kind to the soldiers by giving them shelter, providing sheets to use as winter camouflage, supplying food, hiding guns, ammunition, and sometimes soldiers. I have found that the hospitality of the Belgian people continues to this day. I wish these men and women didn't have to die, but I am glad to know some of their last moments were spent in a country so beautiful and welcoming.

Just for the Taste of It...

There will indeed be a post about Russia, but we're getting ready to go to Germany with our hosts and friends C & J. So, in the meantime, please enjoy a picture of a vending machine we found in the Brussels airport on our way to Russia (click on the pic for a larger view). Hubby of course made the comment that titles this post. Just in case you aren't familiar there is a famous statue in Brussels that looks like this. I love the humor of the Manneke pis, but I don't want his stuff in my Coke.

By the way, we're going home a week from today(wow!). As you can probably tell, I'm going to miss Belgium very much. Buttons will miss it too, but she is very homesick. If you have any ideas on making it easier for me to leave or helping Buttons get through this last week with homesickness, let me know.

Ok, the Secret Pal question of the week is this:
What's your favorite summertime drink?
On a hot day it's either gonna be a gin and tonic or a very cold, good (Belgian) beer. Most often you'll find me drinking home brewed ice tea of varying flavors. (I have an ice tea maker!)

Soep!

I have this great book on blogging called No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog so I probably shouldn't post about this but I'm super psyched about my new "recipe" for soup.

Steam carrots, red pepper, onion and a peeled apple until quite soft and remove skins from the red pepper. Put in the steaming water and add a bit of water. Next, either put it in a blender or use one of these puppies until smooth.

Next, add two of the Maggi Bouillons "Groenten Met Kruiden" (vegetables with herbs), which I am almost positive you can't get in the U.S. (durn). Warm it up and then add some Creme Fraiche/Verse Room until it's as creamy as you desire.

Now, grab a bowl and eat it with your favorite Belgium beer. The one we drank it with was a gift from C&J when we had them up for dinner. They described it as a kind of wine and while it does have some vino qualities, it also reminds me of hard cider as well. It was wonderful and the soup was delicious if I do say so myself.

We went to Brugge/Bruge this weekend and I'll have to fill you in later. We enjoyed ourselves, but have realized that Buttons is really quite homesick.

We're back in less than 3 weeks, but if y'all have any ideas on how to help her, please let me know.

Vragen?

Now that I've told you a little bit about our time in Belgium,

I was wondering...

Do you have any questions (vragen) for me?

I'm getting used to things here, let me tell you.

This weekend we're planning a trip to Brugge. We've been before last time we were in Belgium, but it's so lovely we really want to go back. I'll be back on the flip side with some pictures.

( The clips are from the Dutch/Flemish shows K3 and Kabouter Plop.)

Things I've Learned

I knew coming to Belgium would teach me a few things. I even had an inkling of what some of the lessons would be. Yes, I can get along quite nicely with less stuff and I'd even say I'm getting along better without the burden of too much crap. The three of us can even go to Paris for the weekend with two small backpacks, a purse, a stroller and get along just fine, thank you.

No matter how many toys Buttons has, she very often goes back to the basics of art stuff and imaginative play with found objects or changing the role of her toys. Here she is pictured with her Lego violin. I swear I could take her anywhere with string, beads, blocks, paper, scissors, markers and her beloved doll and she'd be good.

I've learned that I'm really going to miss the view we see everyday when we decend our staircase from our apartment. I may need to get a gnome for my yard. (Yes, the little guy has grown on me.) Unfortunately we don't have room for the horses, cows and chickens we see.

The two things I was most worried about happened while we were here and we're still ok. The first major thing was Hubby losing his passport. After just a couple of visits to Brussels along with about 100 Euros less in our pockets, he has a new one. We're hoping that he'll get his Visa for our Russia trip in time and then everything will go as originally planned. The second thing was scary at the time, but everything turned out ok.

I can cook without recipes and also sans oven. No one was more surprised than me. I rely heavily on my recipes, oven, slow cooker and rice maker. However, with a little thinking, some creativity and a little magic bouillon, I've been cooking some yummy soups and adjusting some of my recipes for the stove top. The fridge is also quite small and I'm not used to that, but it's actually helped my culinary skills and I find I waste less when there's only so much room. Plus, a good portion of the fridge must be reserved for Belgian beer, ya know?

Yes, I've learned more but my last post was a novel, so I'm trying to get this one down to a short story. More to come, I promise.

No More Monkeys (Aaps)...

Our apartment in Belgium has a double bed with a crib in one room, two twin beds in another room and in an alcove off the hallway there's another twin bed. We decided that we'd put the two twin beds together for Buttons' bed and we'd use the full-size bed. At home in the States Buttons has a toddler bed that's close to the floor and quite small, so this would be quite a bit different. Almost the minute upon arrival in Belgium, I put chairs on one side of the bed, the crib mattress on the other side on the floor and pillows all around so she wouldn't fall off the bed during sleep or she'd at least have a soft place to land. Those first few nights I watched her sleep and saw that she knew when she was coming close to edge and would pull herself back. However, I still worried and found I slept much better sleeping next to her.

Now, we don't promote jumping on the bed, but last Friday night right before bedtime, Buttons walked on top of the bed to give her daddy a hug goodnight and fell off the bed. I was in the other room getting her blanket and doggie when I heard the radiator bang and Hubby call out her name. I knew then that something was wrong. I ran in to find Hubby holding her, she came to me and after briefly holding her, I could feel my hand was a little wet. Yup, blood. She was screaming and my heart sank. I put her down to get a look and I was pretty sure we needed to go to the hospital for some stitches. There was one place I hadn't "bump-proofed" and the corner of the radiator found a spot behind her ear to make a small hole. I didn't remember the way to the hospital and I thought both of our hosts were gone for the evening but I remembered their daughter-in-law (A) was a nurse who works at the local hospital, so I called her to verify my suspicions and also to get directions to the hospital. She came over and then went with us to the hospital. (So nice!)

I'm pretty sure since they knew A things were a bit easier for us. The only thing we had to do to check-in was to write down Buttons' name and our address. It was a Friday night so you can imagine it was busy. There were a couple of guys in football (soccer) outfits there, one being A's nephew and the other with a dislocated shoulder, also a man with quite a few family members present who had cut his finger pretty badly and then there was Buttons. She was in her pajamas, with an ice pack for a pillow and begging to just go to sleep (slaap in Dutch). I was so happy A was with us as my fears were greatly reduced just knowing she was there.

During the wait I explained to Buttons what I think will happen including a shot and stitches. She took it in and seemed to be mostly ok but a little frightened. I told her we would hold her hands and we would be right there. Her biggest fear was that she would have to stay in the hospital. I assured her we wouldn't be staying (I was pretty sure) and we would all leave together (100% certain) and that seemed to comfort her.

By letting her know what would happen she was able to lay calmly and let the doctor put the 2 stitches in with absolutely no fuss. And that's the end of the story.

Yeah, I knew you wouldn't believe me. Buttons was not happy and I forgot to tell her about the big green sheet with the hole that they would put over her while they're stitching her up or the need for 4 people, including Hubby and myself, to hold her still. I didn't know it would take 3 hours to do it either. Ok, it was probably like 5 minutes, but when you're holding your daughter down and she's doing a primal scream and shouting "mama" every few seconds it just feels like 3 hours.

While it took her a while to calm down, one of the nurses gave her a sucker and that helped ease the pain. Then we were told to wake her up every 2 hours to check for signs of a concussion. I was so hyped I stayed up for the first 2 wake-ups and she was not a happy girl when I woke her up and made her look into the light. We had a rough night and then she had the nerve to wake up at her usual time in the morning. (By the way, we decided to put her in the crib that night and now that's her new bed. The only problem? She knows how to get out of the crib and there's a radiator right near it.)

We went to Antwerp the next day to visit the zoo with Hubby's colleague J and J's girlfriend T. We had a great time and Buttons was thrilled to see the animals. It was really a wonderful zoo and we were able to see a snow leopard and two cheetahs moving around in their cages, a baby rhino and nesting storks. We went back to J and T's house for a wonderful dinner and Buttons had a major breakdown (understandably). After devouring some delicious homemade strawberry ice cream, we made a hasty retreat and Buttons slept all the way home and transferred quite easily to bed.

The next day was Sunday and we fell out all day and in the late afternoon watched most of Seabiscuit together. With the exception of some scenes in the beginning of the movie and a little bit of language, it's a surprisingly family friendly movie. We thought is was a good movie to watch because several weeks ago Buttons shared with us that she wants to be a horse rider, a ballet dancer and a sports player. Yeah, you better believe I'll be pushing her on the helmet issue.

So, one of the things I feared most happened and we survived. We had to visit a hospital in a foreign country. Although, things don't seem so foreign here anymore and with A by our side and everyone speaking English it seemed pretty much like any other ER. Still, I'm ok if we don't go back.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

The Hand of Antwerp

Compare and Contrast : The Food

You know about the great chocolate (pralines), the incredible beer selection, the delicious mussels (only eaten in "r" months), and of course the fries (Belgian, not French, thank you), but there are other foods here and they do differ from typical foods in the U.S.

For instance, if you order an ice tea here it will be sweet and carbonated. In the States, I've been to the south and I do enjoy "sweet tea" sometimes, but I finally decided to make some ice tea at home because I was craving just a simple non-sweetened still ice tea. However, I am starting to enjoy their ice tea here and I'm sure I'll miss it when I'm back in the states. In fact just about everything here is carbonated and I do enjoy my bubbles.

And the dairy products? Oh my. The milk is to die for and the yogurt here is actually fantastic. Normally not a fan of yogurt, here I have at least one a day. It's creamier and better tasting. I can't really explain it except to say "mmm, good". They also have Greek style yogurt with strawberries and let me just say I'm glad I didn't know how to read the fat content. Yes, it was THAT good.

There is a great deal of meat here and ham seems to be a popular choice. Hubby only eats fish/seafood and poultry as far as meat goes, so it's been slightly challenging. In Ghent he ate Waterzooi and in Bokrijk he had an amazing cheese plate and shared a bit of my Vol au Vent. I imagine that vegetarians have a bit of difficulty eating in Europe and vegans? Holy cow. Good luck. The popular dish Stoofvlees is kind of like having my mom's pot roast made into a stew and it's wonderful. Once again, glad not to know the fat content.

We have a friend coming today to stay for a couple of nights and I know we'll eat out a bit, but I'm trying to decide what to make here. I'm so used to having an oven and a slow cooker back in the States that I really have to think about what to make. I finally found some taco fixins finally and I'm thinking of trying that. Can you believe I found vegan taco filling? Well, whatever we have I know it will be served with beer, but that's a whole post unto itself.

Mystery Bottle

In high school I took 2 years of Spanish and in college I took a year of French. I can barely speak anything intelligible in either of those languages, but I have some knowledge that can get me by here and there. But Dutch? It may be Germanic, so it's close to my native tongue, but going to a restaurant in Belgium has been challenging. I have my guidebook and thankfully our "landlords" C & J are amazingly helpful but on my own when the restaurant has food that doesn't match the guidebook I have to do some guessing or just continue eating the same things each time. It's amazing how much you take for granted when you know the language and go into a restaurant or a grocery store and just make your choice.

Luckily, when we arrived our fridge was kindly stocked by our landlords/hosts C & J with Belgian beer, strawberries, crepes, milk, orange juice not too mention the croissants, Nutella, and chocolates. So, we didn't have to navigate our way around too soon. However, also in the fridge was this mystery bottle, pictured in our kitchen window. I do know what it is now and have used it. (Yes, I do know that it also has French on it, but I still couldn't guess.)

Without "cheating" can you guess what it is?

By the way, right now I'm watching a Dutch cartoon with Buttons that includes rapping goats and a mildly mean yet bumbling wolf while I'm nursing a hangover from last nights dinner with C & J. Things are different here in Belgium and I'm really enjoying it.

You just flew to Belgium, where are you going now?

Efteling!

Our first Saturday here we went to the Netherlands answer to Disney.
What are the differences?

In Efteling, we had easy parking, very few people and a more nature oriented landscape.

Efteling had "hand-powered" carousels.
"Mom, I'm a horse rider!"

Buttons LOVED the swings.

This ride could have been called "It's a Small World Part 2" but instead it's called Carnaval Festival. Buttons did not like this ride and the "China" portion scared her the most with a big smokey dragon. The big difference between the two rides? I didn't have the song running through my head the rest of the day and that is a good thing.

We really loved it and may even go back before we leave Belgium.
We had a great time and I may share some more pictures.
I do recommend this park for anyone coming to this area with small children.

Now for some sleep...

Dag!

Well, we are in full swing in northern Belgium and enjoying it so much that I'm thinking about how much I'll miss it when we have to leave. There's so much rolling around in my head and I'm too tired to get it out coherently, so I'll give you highlights and pictures.

Buttons enjoys her first taste of a "Belgian waffle", which is actually called a Brussels waffle in Belgium. She ordered hers with ice cream.

I ordered mine with strawberries and cream. Mmmmmm.

While we're in Belgium, we're staying at a Bed & Breakfast owned by these lovely people. They have treated us so well, we'll never want to leave. Today they drove Buttons and I to several stores, took us out for those fabulous waffles, showed me how to make delicious mussels and those are just a few things from today.

They have 3 grandchildren and Buttons is having a blast with all of them, especially the cutie shown above. I made fast friends with the boys much to my surprise. I think that bringing this helped. It's a great game and there is no language barrier. Anyway, they are sweet kids and Buttons is having a blast.

Did I mention our apartment is right next to a farm with cows and horses? Yeah, Buttons is completely smitten with this place. Of course, there's the stink that comes from farm animals and Buttons is not too fond of the smell. One time I told her that the cows were ripe and that's her favorite new phrase.

Here are the infamous mussels*. They were delicious and I was amazed that I could make them. Thanks to my "landlady". We're definitely in the honeymoon phase of our Belgium stay and I'm just feeling sad that we'll only be "married" for 2 months.

*I was told that mussels should be served with frites but I haven't purchased any yet but since I had some leftover boiled potatoes, I sauteed them with olive oil and onions and we dipped them in mayonaisse and ketchup. Mayonaisse is traditional, but I still like a bit of ketchup.

We're thinking of going here soon. Crazy?

We're Here!

We're in Belgium now and enjoying ourselves. We're doing pretty well with the time change, but I think we still have a few more days before we're truly settled. There's so much to post, but for now I just wanted to let y'all know that we're here and doing well.