Old MacDonald's Jungle?

One of Connor's very favorite songs these days is Old MacDonald. We sing it together several times a day. Kirk and I start the lyrics and when we get to "and on that farm he had a ____" Connor calls out the animal on the farm she wants to hear. We never knew that Farmer MacDonald had elephants, lions, and giraffes on his farm, but apparently according to Connor he does. Kirk and I have had fun figuring out sounds for elephants and giraffes to make!

The Day I Took the BIG Stroller on the Bus....

The day I took the big Bob stroller on the Brussels bus went well!
Bet you didn't think I was going to say that!

Earlier this week I ventured to the Women's Club. I was training to volunteer as a waitress in their cafe while Connor played in Rani's care. I was nervous about maneuvering around and being yelled at in French on the public transport - but my concern was for naught. Our big Bob stroller is warmer and much more protective of Connor. And the trip to the Women's Club is 90 minutes each way. Plus Bob takes the cobblestones much more seamlessly than the rickety umbrella stroller that catches on every edge. I am gaining assertive confidence as a mother over here so I just decided I didn't care what the other travelers thought and I was going to look out for US this time instead of worrying so much about what everyone was thinking!!! There are handicapped spaces on the bus, so the only thing was how to get the stroller off and on the bus. I was so pleased that on both trips there were bus stewards who immediately came to help me in the handicapped bus entrance. Hooray! Connor slept the entire way back. It gives us both so much more freedom to travel with Bob (the stroller).

We also had a Ladies Night Out at the Movies this week. While Karen and I saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" Tony and Kirk took the kids to McDonald's. It was fun to think of them playing together on a Daddy's Night Out! When I returned home I snuck in Connor's room to whisper goodnight to my dreaming babe. I was surprised to find Connor stripped down to her diaper! She had taken her PJs completely off before falling asleep. Sneaky girl! We had to wake her just to cover and redress her.

It was a day filled with little important memories.

Don't Try this at Home

After our Carnival celebration at Binche last week, we had a bowl full of blood oranges from the parade. Connor was pretty uneasy about eating the red oranges so I decided to try to make a Blood Orange Tart. My friend, Kathryn, made a similar recipe several years ago and I remember the delicious the treat fondly. I bought the tart plate below the day after eating Kathryn's tart way back then in hopes of duplicating her dessert. It took me until today to pull it off. Or should I say to attempt to pull it off.I made the "curd" filling 2 days ago. It had to sit for 1-3 days. I was a little nervous that it was not as congealed as it seemed it should be. But onward I continued!
This is my attempt at making my first ever pie crust. I didn't have a rolling pin, so I used Connor's!

I was a little unsure as to if the tart was even going to fit in the freezer to cool.

Luckily it fit by the skin of its teeth.The tart actually looked pretty in the end. Unfortunately when we cut into it the filling did indeed goop out as I feared it would. And the texture didn't really make it appealing. Oh well. It made for pretty photos. Now I know why they call them "blood" oranges - I definitely feel like I put my blood, sweat and tears into this one.

But let's end this post with some cute Connor photos instead of my cooking failure:

Think you've got enough friends in your stroller, Connor?!?
Connor found these beads from a free goodie bag from a movie premier last night.
The necklace and bracelet made for hours of fun!

Weather Flip Flop

While the American East coast is getting pounded with snow and all of you Southerners are building snowmen and catching snowflakes on your tongues, this is what we are seeing out our apartment windows today.
How strange?!?! In Belgium!!! Land of clouds and grey skies. Wish we had had more time to enjoy these blue skies, but we have been busy unpacking and grocery shopping and normal Monday errands when back from travels. (Laundry is still everywhere, but I have to ease myself into that chore). We spent the past weekend in Berlin, Germany. It was a great trip - but more on that in a later post.

Because our flight didn't land until this morning and we were off schedule, routines and sleep times were a little up in the air. Connor had a hard time napping this afternoon with all the excitement of greeting all her toys left behind. So we were a little loosy-goosy here. Around 4:30 PM I got up the motivation to head to the grocery store. But since Connor was still in her PJs post-nap-attempts and pre-an-early-bedtime, I looked at her and just lacked the initiative to change her back into real clothes. So I plopped her in the stroller and off we went to the grocery store (note the bags) with Connor in her PJs. Since there really is no chance to see anyone I know, I thought - why not?But be careful if you keep a sleepy toddler in a stroller in her PJs 2 hours before bedtime........because this is what Connor looked like 5 minutes into our grocery shop! Oh well. We will try again tomorrow for a more consistent schedule.

After-Nap Heads

I have a new weakness. Well, that's not true. I have always found this endearing. But it is especially enduring when the subject is your child.

Don't you just love how sometimes when children wake up from really good naps their heads are inexlipably sweaty? Is it from deep dreams? Or a particularly rambunctious slumber? Whatever the reason it makes me want to cuddle Connor that much more when it happens. At least until her hair dries!

Hugs and Kisses from Connor

My endearing daughter has a new habit to melt my heart. She is a champ in giving "tight hugs" and smackdown smooches these days. The other night we were putting Connor to bed and after prayers the routine includes big hugs and kisses for mom and dad. It is one of the very best parts of the day!

Well on this night she must have been brimming with love because Connor decided she was going to really lay one on me. After a bear hug Connor put both of her hands on my face and pulled me close. She held me close kissing me on the lips and wouldn't let go! The kiss must have lasted 30 seconds. It was to the point that I couldn't help but to look over at Kirk and burst into laughter. Which of course made Connor laugh too.

The other bedtime routine with kisses is this: Connor gets in her crib and then we give her consecutive kisses through the slats of her crib. We follow her as she scoots right down the crib. Slat by slat and kiss by kiss!

Bedtime is wonderful. I will have to remember these hugs and kisses when Connor is a teenager and moms and kisses are NOT cool.

STICKY

These days not only am I translating French to English in my mind all day, I am also attempting to translate "toddler rambles" into real words. Connor babbles 24/7. Honestly, it is amazing! Her mind must just be going a million miles an hour. No wonder she has to hit the hay at 7 PM - she must be exhausted!

Yesterday Connor kept pointing to something and saying "icky, icky." I kinda tuned it out with the rest of her stream of consciousness speech but then I realized she was saying "sticky, sticky!" She wanted the scotch tape (she calls it "Sticky")! Oh.The girl has a thing for tape. She sticks it on the walls and even on her belly. It is miraculous the fun a loop of STICKY tape can spur on!

That's Entertainment!

Today was an ambitious day socially. I love to entertain in our home. We always had some event or celebration to host in Atlanta and I have really missed having groups and gatherings here in Belgium. The stress, manic cleaning, followed by fulfillment in the accomplishment all fuel me. Mom always taught me, "To be invited places, you need to invite and entertain others." Makes sense. Today I pulled double duty though. From 3-5 PM we hosted our Brussels Childhood Trust (BCT) Playgroup and then at 6:30 PM Karen, Tony, and Brady came over for spaghetti dinner.

Everything just takes a little more effort over here. Hauling groceries, figuring out European ingredient substitutes, determining the outside temperature and which coats to wear, and balancing Connor's schedule all proved formidable tasks. Connor of course fell asleep in the stroller in the supermarket, so she woke up earlier than I planned - during those precious hours I was relying on to clean and organize for the back-to-back groups. So I put her to work! Connor loved helping me wash windows and vacuum. I on the other hand struggled with how to stay three steps forward with Connor taking me two steps back in every cleaning effort. I would put books away and she would come behind me and pull them right off the shelf. Ugh. As soon as I put the vacuum away Connor dumped out her bowl of Cheerios and proceeded to step on a dozen of them (not on purpose, but a pain nonetheless).












Finally it was game time. Snacks out, check. Toys put away, check. Crumbs and Cheerios off the floor, enough of a check! There were probably about 8 babes with their moms who came from our BCT Group. These are English-speaking moms living in the "Central" neighborhood, so most are within walking distance. Everyone seemed to have fun and there were no bruises, bumps or blood and relatively few instances of "not sharing." Those were my real goals given so many toddlers in one place. The group was especially impressed that I had Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies (both of which are not sold over here)!
And the cherry on top was dinner with the Proctors. I told Karen recently, "It is like finding good couple friends - but in this case it is like finding good triple friends!" I mean we love our time as adults and our kids couldn't be happier playing together. After spaghetti, we put the kids in their PJs, and the moms and dads enjoyed a second glass of wine while Brady and Connor chased each other up and down the hall sliding these red chairs. And they liked sitting and "reading" together in their matching seats! Needless to say we fudged on bedtime tonight. Connor went down around 8:30 PM, but it was so worth it!

Rain, Costume, and Lace

It was a rainy, stay-inside Monday. Mondays are always the most difficult days to get out and about. Kirk is back to work and for some reason it is always cold and raining. Yuck. A hard way to come down after fun, full weekends together.

So this morning we stayed in our PJs and played in our apartment. We read lots of books and Connor found some new favorites. She was talking about Sam's Cookie and Sam's Ball ALL DAY long. She couldn't go 15 minutes without another reading of Sam. Connor especially loved the page where "Sam cries"??? I don't know why, but she puts on a very empathetic squished up face at this page. Dudley sent these books to us - she is a world-class children's librarian so no wonder she always knows best.
We also built "houses" with the foam letters. These foam connectible sheets are wonderful. Everyday we use them around the perimeter of the couch because I am phobic of Connor bouncing off the couch and falling on her head on the hardwoods. They are fun and colorful and provide a tiny cushion if Connor were to bump her head. But today they served as fun forts. Connor thought it was wonderful. There were several versions of our "house" and it was the most I have ever seen Connor sit still. She played in the "houses" with play dough and dolls and toys for a while.
Finally, after naptime we were getting pretty stir crazy and despite the rain I was determined to get out. In looking through our Brussels tour books I saw there was a Museum of Costume and Lace not far from our home. So I grabbed an umbrella, covered Connor's stroller in plastic and off we went with a map to find the place. I walked around in circles for a while (in the rain!). Brussels has the craziest twisty streets with very few street signs so finding the simplest spot can be pretty complex! Finally I found the elusive Musee and in we trudged wet and but victorious in our location challenge.

The museum was gorgeous and definitely my kind of place. The only challenge was - like so many places here - no strollers allowed. This despite huge aisles and an elevator to upper floors. That is crazy! Anyone would agree that a stroller is better than a wild toddler running around the antique garments. But I clutched Connor's hand and we went through the museum on foot "practicing the colors" of all the beautiful gowns.The museum reminded me of the Princess Di Dress exhibit I saw the summer I lived in DC or the Jackie Kennedy Dress exhibit we went to during my Bachelorette Weekend. Very girly and the variety and detail of the dress styles were stunning. So fun to take it all in - even if I did have to hold my breath the whole time that Connor stayed on her best behavoir!

The lace was also an extra special treat. Have you ever seen the way lace is made?!? It is woven with countless bobbins in complicated patterns. My eyes squinted and hurt just thinking about the practice.

There were beautiful full lace and antique satin wedding gowns on display. I wish they allowed photography so I could share those with you, but no cameras.

Finally tonight I took this photo for you at dinnertime.
I always try to serve something Connor likes (mac & cheese) and slide in some type of veggie. Tonight it was tomato. It is unbelievable how Connor knows how to eat completely around the nutritious component. Tonight she managed to pick out every last pasta piece. Just look at that face when I encourage the tomato. Oh well. Will keep trying!

Wildcats and Sunday School

I know I am posting a lot this month, but I am just having so much fun with our family and our travels and am anxious to share and document. So hopefully you are having fun with us too - and not sick of us already! I am taking the tactic of trying to take more bite-size pieces with my posts rather than to overload too much in one entry. But as any proud parent, we think everything is super cute so the filter is very difficult.
Last night we all cheered on the Davidson Wildcats in their nationally televised game against Butler. Unfortunately Stephen Curry and the team played hard but didn't win this one. But it wasn't for lack of us cheering! We still have our fingers crossed for another Cinderella March Madness run - we'll see!

And this morning our family served as greeters for our church service at the International Protestant Church. I snapped some photos before we left and they were just too sweet not to share right away.
When I look at Connor all dressed up I think immediately of all the donors of the outfit - she is literally dressed in their love. The dress was Aly Yamamoto's, the shoes mom got us when they were way too big (kids feet grow fast!), the tights were Rose Mary's, even the diaper came from Carol stuffing some American Pampers in her suitcase. Thank you for making Connor look so pretty!Click here for Wildcats and Sunday School (full album)

Priceless IKEA, an indoor playground!

Everybody loves IKEA! Word on the street is that the new IKEA in Charlotte, NC opens this week. GO! It is my favorite place to be (except when it is crowded)!

Hours after Cara and Poppa left, Karen and Brady picked us up for some IKEA fun to help lighten our loneliness with the sad goodbyes. Nothing too big we had to have, just thought it would be fun for the kids and the moms and we knew we could grab a cheap lunch and let our little ones play. And play they did!

All of the kids room displays were heavenly for our toddlers. They jumped on the beds, played in the kitchen, snuggled the stuffed animals and opened all the drawers! Connor and Brady especially loved the little tents and kiddie chairs. The set up was perfect for us to let them have at it while we stood guard at the display entrance. Everything was plastic and safe and seemed to beckon our children in.

We pried the kids away from the actual store after an hour of hard play and took them to the cafeteria for lunch of chicken nuggets and Swedish meatballs. (IKEA is a Swedish company). There was a romping corral even there so Karen and I were able to eat in peace encircling Brady and Connor. What fun!Near the end of lunch Brady and Connor started hugging each other. But it wasn't necessarily a gentle squeeze, but a full on tackle of a hug that had 3 definite stages (corresponding photos to the right):

Stage One: A smacking tight squeeze of a bear hug.
Stage Two: Midair tumble
Stage Three: Falling on the ground still locked in an embrace and laughing hysterically!

To top off the lunchtime fun, the kids meals (price 2.5 euros) came with small ice cream cones. The ice cream incentives were handy to get the little ones back in their carts so moms could finish shopping.

Connor: "Brady, will you be my Valentine?"

Brady: "Sure! Ready for an ice cream smooch?"

Both: "We LOVE IKEA!"