Friday, February 27, 2009

Engelberg, Switzerland Ski Trip







SUNDAY
Our trip started on an early (I mean 5 AM early) Sunday. After having a bath the night before, the kids slept in their travel sweats so we could just wake them, drain their bladders, and buckle them into the car seats for our Swiss adventure. We arrived through many tunnels to a snowy Engelberg, Switzerland about 7 hours later, after paying 50 Swiss franks to enter the country and nervously climbing the snow covered hills leading up to our hotel (The Terrace) in the car wondering if it was time to whip out the snow chains for the tires. They are a requirement to have in your car for extreme weather conditions. As we entered the mountainous area, J’s nerves were already getting jittery. She made a few comments about skiing tomorrow on those high mountains. We finally convinced her that her class (and ours for that matter) wouldn’t be at the top of the peaks.
After checking into the hotel, we headed back down to the city below by elevator and foot. How fun for a 5 and 6 year old! It was still snowing and about 4 feet was already accumulated below. Of course the children just couldn’t stay out of it! They “accidentally” fell into a snow drift here and there, already utilizing their snow pants. We headed to the rental store to pick up our skis and other equipment. On the way, many teenagers had moon boots on and I told J that they were look alikes of the boots the astronauts used for walking on the moon. “You mean people have walked on the moon?” she asked, astonished.

MONDAY
We all met at a place called the station to find our ski instructors along with a few hundred others. R and J somehow ended up in the same class – which they changed for Tuesday because of J’s age. Mine was a 65 year old retired school teacher who had 5 times more energy than me and acted like he was on a caffeine high. In his free time he mountain climbs, sails, and plays the violin. He spoke about 5 languages, since everyone in my group was from different parts of Europe. K also ended up with my instructor after class on Monday, which was more exciting for us to be in the same class together.
I felt like a horrible mommy after I realized the children would be riding the gondolas up higher to the children’s ski school. I had told J the night before that she would be staying on very low ground. I could only imagine her terror looking down from the gondola thinking, “Yeah right, my mommy lied to me,” but she never mentioned it. Hopefully the hustle and bustle of everyone moving distracted her. I also was thinking that my children are extremely blessed to be having so many experiences. I never rode a gondola until after college, but that’s why we moved here.
After exiting the gondolas, my class put on our skis and skied down some so called bunny slopes through some thick woods to the practice area. I have never really skied before (just the bunny slopes at Paoli Peaks – Ha!) and I thought, “Oh boy, I’m definitely in the wrong class.” But, I didn’t fall off the few cliffs I did see, and thanked God when I hit flat ground safely. After duck walking for about 5 minutes, I sweated enough to make me think I deserve 2 Big Macs when I arrive in New York instead of just 1. Mind you, class had not even technically started yet, and I was ready for a break! Tomorrow I probably should take my asthma inhaler before class.
Overall, we all enjoyed our first day of ski school. With sore muscles and tired bodies, we all fell asleep before 9:00 that night.

TUESDAY
J started the day off nervous to leave her big brother and go to a different class. We had to pray that God would protect her and help her calm down, surrounding her with His angels. She loved the thought of being surrounded by His angels and just beamed after that prayer.
This was the day K and I started our competition to see who could become stuck in a snow drift with the longest stopwatch time to find our way out. Werner, our ski instructor, decided to take us on an exciting route down a blue slope, but it required going through an area that wasn’t plowed yet. Monday and Tuesday came with heavy snow both days and the slopes were being plowed. Who would’ve thought they’d want snow off the slopes? I thought the more snow, the better! K was right behind Werner and tried to follow him though the 2 foot deep snow, only to acrobatically ski on one foot with the other up in the air, dragging in the snow. He completed the move by landing face first, losing one ski along the way. Werner had a great laugh and K took a good 5 minutes to collect his items and rejoin the group. (My chance to keep up with his competition takes place on Wednesday.)
After lessons, we found Klostermatte, a kid area with a “magic carpet” lift which is basically a moving sidewalk up the mountain. J immediately felt at ease, as this was the exact place she had practiced all day. She brought R up the magic carpet and they both stunned us with their comfort level of skiing down the kiddy slopes weaving in and out of cone and hoop obstacles. J also decided jumps were part of her repertoire. We have no idea where that came from??

WEDNESDAY
For some odd reason we haven’t figured out yet, J was extremely hyper this day and asked about a hundred random questions. Maybe it was something she ate? We still aren’t sure. Some of the questions included, “Does ‘Jingle Bells’ ever end?”, and “How do puppies come out of their mommy’s tummies?” with R responding, “That’s a good question, J.” He then added, “I sure wish Kelsey (our family dog) would have puppies so we can see them being born.”
During ski lessons, it was my turn to ski off the slope into a snow drift while Werner laughed saying, “Amber, are you okay?” Yes, it just hurts my pride! My skis were still attached and I made it out okay. It’s amazing how you feel like a toddler trying to pick yourself up after a wipe out, especially with 2 long sticks attached to your feet. After ski lessons today, we rode gondolas and a rotair (a rotating gondola) up to the top of Titlis Mountain to see the view of the whole area. It was breathtaking, but R and I are a little nervous with heights. We walked around a little and J again, asked more questions such as,”Are we in outer space up here?”
Wednesday ended with a strange theme at the hotel for dinner. Each night has a different theme with decorations and food to go along with it. Monday was Switzerland night, with Tuesday being Italian night. Out of the blue, the night’s theme was vampires and they had a live person standing in a box made up to look like he was straight out of a haunted house back home. He stood perfectly still, staring into space. R couldn’t get enough of him. He just stood about 4 feet away staring back wondering what the guy would do. Every once in a while when someone touched him, he’d yell, scaring the person, and the rest of us too.



The view from the peak of Titlis.






THURSDAY
Our last day skiing…should we book another trip or not? Well, the way it started, I was ready to go back to the hotel and leave a day early. This was the first day K and I weren’t in lessons, so we ventured by ourselves to the same practice slopes. It all started with the T-bar lift. I hate that thing! The only way I can make it up is to go alone. K talked me into going with him, side by side. The kids in front of us piled up one after another near the exit, falling into a giant heap of kids. So, I guess this made me feel like I needed to take the embarrassment off them onto myself, dragging K along with me. We both fell only to have my ski knocked off. Without the need to exaggerate, it seriously took me 15 minutes to get my ski back on because I kept trying to knock the snow off my boot, only to find out that it was ice, and K finally picked it off for me. Then, to add to the chaos, we started to ski and he fell face first down the slope, which another ski instructor told us was impossible-we don’t believe him now! He completely face planted and we knew our day had started off on the wrong foot for sure!
We finally started skiing better and had a great day. We ate lunch with another couple we met in our lessons and the man asked K to go up to a higher blue slope with him and a buddy. I was completely excited. It was just what K needed…a challenge, and with someone to go show him the ropes. He had a blast and met up with me at the bottom station. We then watched all the ski school kids skiing down the blue slope by the station as they had all week, when R’s class ventured down as well for the first time! (Mind you, this is a pretty difficult slope that freaked me out on Tuesday with Werner.) The kids didn’t have poles, so they were easy to spot and just like ducklings following the mama, they weaved back and forth down the hill until halfway down when R decided he’d head straight down…kind of like how his mom skis! After he received his medal, we again headed over to Klostermatte for the afternoon with the kids. Both children amazed us with their fearlessness and abilities! J followed K down the slopes with expert turns and R went even higher to showcase his on his own. I think the only nervous one was me…sending my 5 and 6 year olds that high up!

Here R is receiving his medal.





J is skiing through the hoops, but I couldn't bring my good camera, so you have to click on the picture to see her closer.



R makes a snowplow stop!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Stay Tuned for Our Switzerland Ski Trip!

We will be embarking on an 8 hour car ride to Engelberg, Switzerland for a few days of skiing in the Alps. All of us are enrolled in ski school and hopefully will be hitting the slopes with a few skills! After that the kids and I are heading to the states for our visas. (It's a long story!) Anyway, we've made the best of it and my parents will be meeting us in New York where we'll watch The Lion King on broadway, sightsee, and of course, shop! I can't wait to eat pizza, sip a Starbuck's, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but yes, I want a Big Mac and a sweet tea! I figure after the big workout from skiing for 4 days, I should be treated to some junk food! Oh - and the iced tea at McDonald's here is made with sparkling water (bubbles). I wasn't prepared for bubbles the day I took a huge sip and about spit it out right away! Just to put it bluntly, iced tea doesn't taste good with sparkling water.
Anyway, I'll try to post pictures of the kids enjoying (or whining about) skiing...stay tuned!

More on the Scientific Shirts

After picking the children up from school, I told them about the dissolving shirts and my questions about them. R brought up - what if it rains? Good point, Buddy! What if it rains????? Yikes!

Scientific Shirts

While riding in my car this morning, a news report came on the radio (the BBC - I'm not sure what this stands for, nor where it's based), but they are about the only English speaking radio signal we receive. Supposedly in England someone is marketing shirts that melt in water in only about 9 seconds. It all started with the problem of people buying too many shirts for just a few pounds each, wearing them for a couple of days (straight - yuk!), and then trashing them. The landfills are filling up quickly with clothing items. This is the resolution now...melting shirts. You buy your shirt for just a few pounds, wear it for a few days (again, yuk!), and then dissolve it in water.
I'm not sure what you're thinking, but I started thinking, now what about when people sweat? Could the shirt have the same reaction as it does with water? Does the shirt dissolve right out from under your armpits? Or what if someone spills water on themselves as they miss their mouth to take a drink? Does it dribble down your shirt leaving gigantic holes? Nine seconds goes fairly quickly...do you just keep a spare shirt in your purse?
This definitely will need some further investigation from me. I'll keep you posted if I find out any interesting news.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

First Haircut Here

I was dreading my first haircut in Belgium. What would happen? I've heard horror stories about a person coming first to consult with you in the chair about how you'd like your new do. Then another person steps up and they converse in French about the cut. The first person leaves and the second is left to cut your hair. One of the ladies in my Hints for Living in Belgium class told us she wanted a little more taken off but the answer was, "Sorry, but you said you wanted it this way and that's how we're leaving it."
After glancing through a notebook provided by the children's school, I found one hairstylist listed. He speaks English - great! (They also have recommended kennels for dogs, recommended doctors, restaurants, all kinds of stuff!) His name is Stephane and his price listed in the notebook was very reasonable. Only 35 Euros. I called and he took my information with the appointment being made for the following day. He then asked for my address because he makes house calls. How crazy is that!? I thought, what do I need to do to have my house turned into a beauty shop? It turns out...only a chair and some light!
He waltzed in, placed his bag down, pulled up a chair, and got to work. I loved my new cut! He did a marvelous job, and the best part is, K really likes it too! Another new experience under my belt!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Little Stinkers

Our youngest, J, for some odd reason that we can't quite pin down yet, was a flat out stinker this weekend. She disobeyed numerous times, giggling nonstop like it was something to be proud of, to the point that we had to come down harder on her than usual more than a few times.
R of course had the vomits, so he was pretty tired most of the weekend and out of commission, so it surprised me when we ventured out to catch the bus this morning and he pulled a stinkerish act.
J had already pushed the code to open the big iron gate for our driveway, and it hadn't worked. I also tried to open it with the code a few times as well, sighing each time because I had to make a quick decision...either go get the key to the walk through gate or try a few more times to open this one. My time was running short...the bus could be coming very soon. Just as I was about to turn around, run back into the house to get the keys for the other gate, R stepped forward out of his stance and announced, "I was blocking the sensor." Not in the tone of, "Oh, goodness Mom, I'm really sorry, but I didn't realize I was blocking the sensor." It was more like, "I knew I was blocking the sensor and stressing you out," with a sly smirk! While I was relieved to have the gate open, I was debating on preaching a lecture about the right time and place for playing jokes. It sounds like to me his "weariness" this morning might have been a little prank as well.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Why Moms Have an Extra Special Spot in Heaven

Today started out just the same as every other day with the kids getting ready this morning for school and heading to the bus. Little did I know what was in store for me. The call came around noon...it was from the school. R didn't feel up to par and was in the nurse's office. My children rarely visit the nurse (except for J's frequent breathing treatments with her asthma), so when I received the call, I knew he didn't feel well. After bringing him home, he lounged on the couch, watching a movie. Then the next call came at 2:00 from J's teacher saying that she wasn't coughing too much, but wasn't acting like herself. So, R, a bowl, a towel, the dog, and myself head to the car to pick her up as well. As we're rushing toward the car, R says he feels like he's going to get sick (AKA - vomit). After visiting the toilet for a few minutes without anything happening, we decided to head out and pick up "sick child #2". On the way, R says, "Mommy, I just had some diarrhea in my pants." Poor kid. After parking to get J, I placed the towel under his bottom to prevent anything leaking through his pants onto the car seat. That smell has to be ridiculously difficult to get out of a car seat pad.
As J and I are making our way back to the car, I told her, "Now R has accidentally gone to the bathroom a little in his pants, so I don't want to hear a word about it because he's sick." She agreed not to whine. Instead, she just got in the car, looked at me, and plugged her nose as I buckled her in. Yes, sometimes she can be a stinker!
We arrived home without any further incidences, evacuated the car, and headed for the house. R reached the door first and suddenly yelled, "Mommy, I need in the house!" He felt the sickness upon him. I tried to sell him on using the bowl instead since I was carrying a backpack, J's coat, my purse, my keys, and the towel, but he wanted the toilet. Just as I was placing the key in the door, it happened. He hit the bowl, but not all of it made it. J yells, "Oh, disgusting, I'm going to vominit (AKA vomit)!" as I'm trying to shush her...she's not helping out the situation. Then she yells, "UUUUggghhhh! Is it on my coat?" No, but it hit your backpack, but I'm not telling you. After a few minutes we all make it inside to start the clean up. As I'm trying to clean R, she's running (yes, her teacher called me to pick her up from school and she's running around the house with a bundle of energy) around asking for a drink, then asking if the vominit hit her coat, etc. Then she tells me, "Mommy, Kelsey (the dog) has vominit in her hair." What? The dog too? He must have hit her when he missed the bowl a little bit! Sigh. So, about an hour later, everyone's in front of the television relaxing and I'm ready for a nap!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Beersel Castle































































You can click on the pictures to make them bigger and see us better.




I know it looks like we're really into castles, but they are just so accessible here and we can walk through them within an hour or so. This one took about 20 min. to drive to. Supposedly it's the only example of medieval military architecture still intact in Belgium today. It was built during the 13th century with the mission to protect Brussels against attack from Flanders. The country is doing a huge restoration to it right now. I told the kids it might be neat to visit it again right before we leave Belgium (assuming everything goes well with our visas and we're allowed to stay for the full 2 years) to see if we notice any work completed with the restoration. We were trying to figure out what some drainage type holes were as we walked along the wall of the castle and later read that defenders dropped stones and hot oil on intruders. I was just nervous my 5 year old's foot would slip, with her whole body falling through the hole, and she'd be in the waterless moat. K and I both discussed that the size of the hole was large enough for that to happen.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Chocolate Chips Have Arrived!

My dad, having the innate need to fix things, bought me a huge bag of chocolate chips from Sam's Club to stuff in K's luggage for the trip back home. After hearing how expensive they were here, he decided I needed the biggest bag American money could buy...so he went to Sam's! K also had a much requested bag of Sam's Club pancake mix in his carry on. Every Saturday and Sunday morning we make eggs and pancakes for the kids, and our bag of mix was running dangerously low. An airport security lady asked as his bag was scanned and rescanned if he had a lot of powder in his bag. He must have been really tired because he just stood there for a second thinking and then remembered the pancake mix and said, "Oh, yeah, I have pancake mix in there." Good thing it wasn't syrup because it wouldn't have fit into the little baggie required for liquids. All of the American goodies made it home safely. We'll be making batches and more batches of chocolate chip cookies until we're tired of them...could that really happen? I doubt it.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Movers Update

Just an FYI in case you're dying to know...the movers did come yesterday to get our empty boxes. They were even an hour early! Now we can park my car back in the garage!

Cooking Class with J

When you're the new mom in school, you're immediately asked, "Oh, what would you like to sign up to help with?" A sweet Canadian mom was scheduled to cook with the preschoolers Feb. 4, so I decided it would be great to have someone show me to ropes my first time, so I agreed to help. I sat J down at the kitchen table one day, asked her to look through a kiddy cookbook (from my cousins, Amanda and Jon, last Christmas - thanks guys!) and told her to tag a few recipes that she thought would be fun to make with the class. We decided on homemade pretzels. Yum! So after preparing with Line (the other mom), we showed up this morning to make pretzels. Inside the kitchen is an island just the right height and size for mini chefs along with an oven, microwave, sink, dishwasher, and plenty of utensils. The plan was to take a few pictures, but with my excitement for the day (teaching again!), I simply forgot. J told me this morning anyway that, "You'll have to ask my teacher because I don't know if you're allowed." I had premade the dough so all the kids had to do was roll it into a snake just like they do with play dough, form the pretzel, brush egg over the dough, sprinkle coarse salt on the top, and we'd put it in the oven for 15 min. With two of us moms there it was a breeze. The children were well behaved and had a great time with us. I even met a little girl from J's class that's going to one day man the Clinique counter. While I was helping her make the snake part of the project she says to me, "Your skin is so nice and smooth!" Wow! What a compliment from a 4 year old!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Playing at Bois Des Reves


Belgium is often described as being rainy. Everyone says you can't sit around and wait for a sunny day, you just have to put on your rain boots and rain coat, get your umbrella, and go outside to do what you had planned on doing! So when it was sunny four days in a row, I was wondering if we were setting another Belgian record. The kids and I decided to head to a local park, or provincial domain, as they're called, one of those days. We typed the address into the TomTom, gathered our warm winter gear, and headed 20 min. south. Along the way we passed some chickens alongside the road and a one lane tunnel until we finally had "reached our destination" according to Tom. We turned left onto a road that had an electronic arm and a button to push just like at a parking garage. So I pushed the button thinking it would raise the arm and we could go swing. The button didn't work so I pushed a couple more times until a voice finally said something in French. I asked in English if this was the park. Nope. From the back seat I hear R say, "Mom, that's weird. It's the first time the TomTom has been wrong." I didn't tell him that I might have turned too soon since I thought it would be better if he thought the GPS made the mistake, not me. We drove just a few hundred yards farther south and saw the signs for the park. After parking the car we ventured into the park to find a sign and ticket machine saying we needed to pay a Euro for each child playing on the equipment. After paying, a ticket to prove payment is printed to keep in your pocket in case people decide to come validate tickets. It's based on the honor system. I'm not sure what the fine is if you don't pay, but I'm a rule follower and wasn't about to find out. It was worth it! The play area was enormous. It was about the size of 2-3 parks all put together back home. I took one picture and then the words "out of batteries" appeared on my camera. I couldn't talk the kids into going back to the car for the charged one. Instead, they played hide and seek in the sandbox, swung, walked a tightrope, climbed the pretend rock wall, and burned off many calories!

Belgian Waffles






We have come to love waffles already! These waffles can't be bought just anywhere, they have to be from random street vendors selling them hot off the waffle makers wrapped in a thin sheet of wax paper! To best describe them, we have decided that they are comparable to Krispy Kreme doughnuts bought fresh at the drive through. They melt in your mouth just like the Krispy Kremes, are dripping with sugar, and I'm sure they're fat free too. R and J ask for them every single time we're out sightseeing and smell a faint whiff of them from some unidentifiable direction. We always end up finding them! I guess it's one of the things we already love about our new home.

Manneken-Pis



After first arriving in Belgium, our desire was to start our adventures right away. I did not have my camera cords at that time, so I decided to come back to it later on the blog. We had our pictures taken with Manneken-Pis, a very well known fountain here with numerous costumes received as gifts from diplomats around the world. There are a few debates as to the inspiration behind such a sculpture! J acted repulsed that a fountain of a little boy peeing was on the street corner! She absolutely did not want her picture taken with "that peeing boy". She eventually did come around and we, like all the other tourists, took our picture in front of that peeing boy to prove we were actually in Belgium now.