Visa Mission Accomplished!

As a parent, we always wonder what others are thinking of our children and their behavior, so you can only imagine my elation at hearing from a steward aboard the airplane taking us to America that my children were the most well behaved that he has EVER (his exact intonation) seen flying in business class. (Yes, we were flying business class and it's so much fun...the big cushiony seats, soft pillows, enormous blankets, newspapers available, table linens during dinners, etc.!!!) Now, he didn't say how long he'd been working on airplanes, or how many children he'd seen in business class. For all I know, he could have been hired last month, but I was thrilled he thought so highly of how my children were acting. (Granted, they did have their electronic devices with them for most of the ride - so that helps matters tremendously, along with the fact that they were separated from each other!)

We exited the plane, passed through customs, rode in a taxi, and entered into our hotel only to find my parents waiting in line to check in. Perfect timing! We were spending the next 3 days together on a mission to receive visas for the kids and me so we can legally live in Belgium.

After checking into the hotel we quickly found, just a few steps away, a Mexican restaurant for my parents to have lunch and us to snack - the kids and I love chips and salsa. It was a little pricey, but still tasted yummy. After that we ventured around the city on foot a little (not too far with a 6 and just turned 5 year old). J was on a mission for some odd reason to pet a pigeon out on the street as we walked. She loves animals, but I finally convinced her that petting one would not be a great idea. We did happen to see Times Square and the giant screens!

We headed to bed early since we're 6 hours ahead of NY time. So when we ventured to bed around 6:30, it was around 12:30 AM our time. J woke up at 3:00 AM. Yes, I said that right! She woke up ready to go at 3:00 AM New York time. It was 9:00 AM our time, remember, so her little body thought she had slept in! It didn't get much better the next few days as she woke at 5:00 Monday and Tuesday as well.

Sunday we rode the train to the Empire State Building (one of R's requests while we were in NY).

We also had tickets for The Lion King musical at 3:00. At the end of the show, R told me, "That wasn't just good, that was great!" He loved it. Can you guess what happened to the little one? She fell asleep during the second half of the show, only to wake up briefly for dinner and fall back asleep at Olive Garden with her head on the table, exhausted.

Monday was the big day...Belgian Embassy day! As we treached through the snow fall from the early morning, (the heaviest they'd had all year - NY City public schools were closed for the first time in 5 years...what is it with us and snow? We bring it with us wherever we go!) I couldn't help wondering if the embassy would still be open. Thankfully, it was, and after about an hour and a half, the lady helping us could get our paperwork ready in time for us to pick the visas up the very next day. We celebrated by shopping at a huge Toys 'R Yus (as my kids pronounce it) and riding the ferris wheel inside the store.

By now the snow was starting to melt into slush, which oozed through our shoes (who would've thought to pack boots? - not us!), quickly making us cold and ready to be warm! After deciding to go back to the hotel, we made the decision to leave Nana and J together while Papaw, R, and I headed to see the Statue of Liberty. By this point in the excursion, J was still completely exhausted and pestering her older brother. (Too bad for me that after the compliment on the plane I felt like a referee all weekend between my two children. Nanas and Papaws try to help, but it's just not their nature to discipline grandchildren.) R had talked about seeing the Statue of Liberty for the few weeks prior to the trip, so I felt like we really needed to make the effort to see it, however, the ferry ride to the statue was closed due to the weather. We ended up taking the train to the end of Manhattan Island and a public ferry to Statton Island right past Lady Liberty. He loved the ferry ride and asked numerous questions about all the boats in the harbor, amuzing the people around us with his curiosity.

After seeing the statue, we headed back to our hotel, with my dad coaxing me into stopping by myself (until dark of course, he's still my dad!) for a little shopping at Old Navy. How fun! We really haven't been on any shopping sprees here because of the exchange rate being so high for us, and it felt great to purchase some new items on sale! Also, rarely will you see items on sale here. The Belgian government controls sales so they can only happen two times a year, in January and July.

That night we ordered pizza and stayed in. While walking back and forth between rooms, I smelled cigarette smoke in the hallway (which has no smoking signs everywhere - including on the doors). With J's asthma and my allergies, I decided to be a tattle tale and complained at the front desk. The gentleman quickly took care of the situation for the evening, however, I wanted to crawl into the ground when the following morning R announced with the door wide open, "Hey Mom, those people are smoking again!" I thought, "ssshhhhh!!!! Just tell them it was me that got them in trouble, buddy! Great job, we're in NYC and I'm gonna get beat up!" You better believe I watched my back after that.

Tuesday morning Dad and I headed back to the embassy to pick up the passports with our visas attached. They weren't quite ready upon arrival, but we still received them within an hour. Mission accomplished!

We all packed up and checked out of the hotel to end the excursion. How refreshing and rejuvenating to see my parents and walk in the good 'ole USA again! It's priceless seeing English signs everywhere and hearing so much English being spoken, although I am coming to terms with the fact that Belgium is seeming more and more like home now!