These past 3+ weeks since my last entry have been busy - moving, getting settled in and Will starting school have made the time fly - I can't believe we've been here for two months already! Our move-in went pretty smoothly - getting all our 'stuff' was like an early Christmas present - I almost cried tears of joy at the site of my bed! As far as the boys go - getting all their toys from back home really was like Christmas! We've basically had to buy all new furniture since the only thing we shipped over was our bed. Let's just say, we've gotten very well acquainted with Ikea - if I never step foot in there again it will be too soon. Bo actually started crying the other day when we walked back in there! The only little 'hiccup' we've had is an issue with our boiler - which is (supposed) to be resolved tonight Let's just say, 25 days of heating water on the stove for the kids' baths = no fun. Another example of a little different take on customer service here in Belgium!
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| Our apartment is slowly being pieced together |
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| Scott's second job: assembling furniture - with the help of his 'apprentice' Probably the biggest adjustment we've had is Will starting school. Children in Belgium actually start here - full-time - at age 2 1/2! The whole process of finding a school was difficult, as most Maternelles (pre-k- age 2 1/2 - 5) were filled. After lots of searching and some stress, we managed to fine Don Bosco - a great school fairly close to our apartment - about a ten minute bus ride (the stop is right outside the school grounds), or a 25 minute walk. Don Bosco is a Catholic school, but is also completely French-speaking, which has made this process extra interesting. Will has done quite well so far, greatly exceeding the expectations his mom and dad had! I envisioned lots of tears and fights about going to school every day, but it hasn't been too bad. He has also made a new friend - another child who moved from the U.S. in July! He is actually also fluent in Spanish - who knows, maybe Will'll move back to the U.S. tri-lingual! |
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| First day of school |
Will going to school has been much harder on me than him. I was expecting to be able to send him part-time - but all the schools we talked to discouraged that - particularly since he'll be learning a new language. I suppose this is true - I just always thought I'd have 2 more years left at home with him - it's like he's starting kindergarten already! Wednesdays are only half-days, and I plan on keeping him home a day every couple of weeks. On the other hand, Bo and I have been able to have some good quality time!
As far as learning French goes, Scott and I aren't quite sure how that's going, since this weekend he declared he"does speak a 'little' French, but only at school. At home I speak like this." So much for him translating for us. School has been good for Will, though. The chance to play and interact with other kids his age after a couple months of not has done a lot for him - he actually wants to go to be by 0830 every night!
Last week, Will took a bad spill on his bike. Coming back from the park last Monday, we were crossing a street. I helped him up a curb with his bike and turned around to grab Bo in the stroller. Next thing I know, Will is flying down the hill. In the meantime, I didn't know what to do with Bo and the stroller (Sophie's choice...) As I was locking the stroller breaks, I see Will - who has always been known to slam on his breaks the instant he's starts going remotely fast - go off a curb, hit a parked car, fall off and slam in to a post, hitting his face. I think I'm still suffering from P.T.S.D. from the vision of whiplash in to that post. Although it could have been much, much worse (thank God for helmets!) he still ended up with a pretty good black eye and scraped face. Will has since been a bit of a scaredy cat about other things - the other day at Quick (a McDonald's-like fast food restaurant) he was afraid to climb down from the play-gym. Hopefully this is short-lived!
In other Will news, on Tuesday he got sent home from school for falling asleep in class. They thought maybe he didn't feel well, and knowing bo was sick, sent him home. After Scott dropped him off I asked him if he felt sick, why did he fall asleep? "No mom," he said, "I was just tired so I just laid down and went to sleep." Duh.
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| Always in character |
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| Will's first home haircut. I cut Scott's hair too...maybe a new occupation in my future? |
Besides a terrible cold and fever that he has now, Bo's doing well too - 19 months old today and naughtier than ever. The other night he managed to pull his (full) dinnner plate on top of himself, bite Will, throw the swiffer in the bath tub (which was full of water) and pee on the floor immediately after taking off his diaper - all in the span of about 3 1/2 minutes. And yesterday he took a red pen he found and scribbled all over our 5-day old couch:( Needless to say, his most-used phrase is "I sorry." We're attempting to get him into a 'big' bed - which is basically just a mattress on the floor under Will's lofted bed. It's not going too badly - though it didn't take him long to realize his new found freedom - good thing we live in a small apartment.
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| He's pretty fearless |
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| Bo LOVES his baths |
We haven't really gone anywhere since my last entry - we were going to head to Paris last weekend, but then found out Brussels was having their annual 'no car day' on Sunday, and with the boys' bad colds, decided to stay. No car day is a very popular day here in Brussels - which I think celebrates a day of wellness combined with a 'green' emphasis. It was amazing riding around on our bikes on the main roads in the city - which are normally jammed with cars. We kind of had an eerie feeling - it was almost like there was a disaster or something and nobody could drive. They also had various festivals around the city - we found one with a whole park filled with inflatable jumpers - the boys had a blast!
We try to ride our bikes a lot - I often use the burley to pick Will up from school - although I get a lot of funny looks. I sometimes feel like the 'crazy American mom' who's always in her workout clothes. People are always dressed like they're ready for a night out on the town - not exactly my M.O. at 3PM on a weekday. At least the boys aren't old enough yet to be embarrassed by their mom...sigh.
The days go so fast here - I'm not sure what I do all day, but next thing I know, it's bedtime again. Although I'm getting much more comfortable going out and about and into stores, etc., even the simplest tasks have their moments. For example, taking the kids to the pool yesterday for the first time - there's a community center/pool two blocks from our apartment. It took more time getting ready than time actually spent in the water. Let's just say, when all was said and done, I had gotten into a yelling match with the janitor over where she wanted me/did not want me to walk with the stroller (neither of us could understand a word of what the other was saying), the three of us are now the proud owners of swimming caps, and the boys each had their very own rented pair of speedos. Speedos! No trunks allowed - for young and old alike. I'm thinking of sending Scott their sometime with just the boys and seeing if he cracks and rents a speedo too. Yes, things are different here in Belgium - definitely more 'rules'!
I've been fortunate enough to have met some other gals my age - most have kids, all are from America, staying at home while our hubbys bring home the bacon. It's so nice having someone else who understands what you're going through here. The first girl I met, Rachel (a fellow nurse:) had to go back to the U.S. to finish her graduate degree last week and I miss her! Scott's been putting lots of hours in the past few weeks, so it's especially nice to start meeting other people. I'm hoping to find a play group for Bo and me within the next few weeks. I'm also signed up to take driving lessons in October, which will open up a few more doors for me!
I guess that's all for now. We hope to make it to Paris this weekend - but we'll have to see as Will's been home sick the last two days. I'm getting antsy to start travelling!
Have a great weekend!
Jackie
We try to ride our bikes a lot - I often use the burley to pick Will up from school - although I get a lot of funny looks. I sometimes feel like the 'crazy American mom' who's always in her workout clothes. People are always dressed like they're ready for a night out on the town - not exactly my M.O. at 3PM on a weekday. At least the boys aren't old enough yet to be embarrassed by their mom...sigh.
The days go so fast here - I'm not sure what I do all day, but next thing I know, it's bedtime again. Although I'm getting much more comfortable going out and about and into stores, etc., even the simplest tasks have their moments. For example, taking the kids to the pool yesterday for the first time - there's a community center/pool two blocks from our apartment. It took more time getting ready than time actually spent in the water. Let's just say, when all was said and done, I had gotten into a yelling match with the janitor over where she wanted me/did not want me to walk with the stroller (neither of us could understand a word of what the other was saying), the three of us are now the proud owners of swimming caps, and the boys each had their very own rented pair of speedos. Speedos! No trunks allowed - for young and old alike. I'm thinking of sending Scott their sometime with just the boys and seeing if he cracks and rents a speedo too. Yes, things are different here in Belgium - definitely more 'rules'!
I've been fortunate enough to have met some other gals my age - most have kids, all are from America, staying at home while our hubbys bring home the bacon. It's so nice having someone else who understands what you're going through here. The first girl I met, Rachel (a fellow nurse:) had to go back to the U.S. to finish her graduate degree last week and I miss her! Scott's been putting lots of hours in the past few weeks, so it's especially nice to start meeting other people. I'm hoping to find a play group for Bo and me within the next few weeks. I'm also signed up to take driving lessons in October, which will open up a few more doors for me!
I guess that's all for now. We hope to make it to Paris this weekend - but we'll have to see as Will's been home sick the last two days. I'm getting antsy to start travelling!
Have a great weekend!
Jackie
