Somewhere in the Middle

Who knew... The Polar Express?

This morning I took C to school and the class assistant stopped me and said, "C tells me you're going to the Polar Express in Lapland, Finland." 

I wasn't sure I heard her correctly and because the assistant has an accent I asked if she could repeat herself.

"Sure... C tells me you're going to ride the Polar Express in Lapland."

"Lapland?" Suddenly, I started laughing. You see I recently bought C "The Polar Express" book and it included a silver paper ornament. C believes this ornament is his ticket to the Polar Express. Of course I went along with it and we discussed how magical it was going to be when he drifts off to dreamland and rides the Polar Express. He's very excited about it!

I told the assistant, "Yes, we are going to the Polar Express but not the one in Finland". lol! And I explained why C told her about his upcoming trip.

She then told me, "I was just telling my husband last night how C is going to ride the Polar Express in Lapland. And I thought that was so cool!"

I wish I was going to Finland! Sounds like it would be a fabulous winter adventure!

When I got home I was curious and began to research Lapland. It's a fascinating place with lots of activities revolving around Santa Claus. The Polar Express is a train you catch in the south of Finland at Helsinki or Tampere and the following morning you prepare to reach Rovaniemi, Lapland and the Arctic Circle. Wow! Imagine dog sleds, swimming in ice holes, sleigh rides, meeting Santa Claus, and watching the elves hard at work! Now that must be a magical place to visit around the holidays...ICE COLD - YES... but beautiful!

The Beauty of Tuscany

When I hear anyone talk about Tuscany I can't help but close my eyes and say, "Awww... Tuscany". Images of beautiful hill top towns and gorgeous open landscapes filled with wine vineyards and olive groves immediately come to mind....

Last April we spent a week exploring Bologna & Northern Tuscany. After researching the Emilia Romagna & Tuscany region, I quickly realized there was so much I wanted to see one week just wasn't going to do... So we decided to save Southern Tuscany for another time. For C's fall break we took advantage and forego Halloween and escaped to Italy. This time we extended our trip to 9 days.

Our first trip to Italy this year was all about food and this one... Oh this time it was all about the wine. Oh yeah, incredible Italian wine. But more on that later.

We arrived in Pisa on a gorgeous sunny day! S & I have visited Pisa before but we really wanted to show C the leaning tower. Plus the last time we visited you weren't allowed inside the leaning tower. So after we picked up our rental car, we were on our way to this popular city.

I really wanted to go to the top of the leaning tower but S decided to skip it. I can't decide if he really didn't care much about climbing to the top or if it was the hefty 15 Euro per person price ticket that helped him make his decision. I do think $70 for a 20 min tour is a bit much but I really wanted to go. I mean who knows what will happen to the leaning tower in the next few years. So I went solo. It was a long climb to the top but it was interesting especially when you got closer to the top I actually felt myself leaning and tried to steady myself as I climbed the steps.

The view was beautiful and I enjoyed getting a different perspective of the city.

Here is a close up of S & C waving at me.

I think C enjoyed visiting the leaning tower but honestly he was obsessed with buying a spanish fan of all things. He found these fans more interesting than the spectacular attractions right in front of him. lol! That's a 7 yr old for you! C saw lots of people taking funny photos of themselves holding up the tower so he asked me to take a picture of him too.

After picking up some fruit for C and visiting a local bakery for some fresh biscotti we started our long drive to Monticchiello. My the time we arrived in Monticchiello is was dark so we had no idea what the view from our agriturismo looked like. But when we checked in, Giorgio showed me a layout of the 50 acre property and it looked amazing.  He just kept telling me, "What till tomorrow.. you will see." Once we checked in, we sat down for a private dinner we prearranged with Giorgio. After such a long drive, sitting down for a nice relaxing dinner was exactly what we needed. No worries about driving into town or drinking. We were served a delicious selection of cheeses & salami as our starter, followed by a pasta, and a fabulous beef dish with onions & a balsamic wine reduction. That night they also served us a bottle of wine named, Quercialsale, named after our guest room. It was the perfect ending to our first day in Italy.

C's Opening Night

The day has finally arrived!! C's opening night!

S & I are so excited for him!

Last Tuesday, I let C watch the second cast of munchkins do their dress rehearsal. It was a great opportunity for him to see the entire play. He absolutely loved it! Then on Wednesday, C had his 1st dress rehearsal and he was fantastic! After weeks of practice, it was really cool to see it all come together.

I tell you I will never see a play at a community theatre in the same light again. The dedication and time volunteers give to a production like this one is truly astonishing. While I sat watching C rehearse I realized participating in an event like this one is a family effort. Even though only one family member may be in the play it takes the whole family's dedication & involvement for it to be a successful event for everyone. It's a great way for families to do something fun together. There are so many other ways to get involved besides acting. I really did enjoy the experience and can understand why so many people continue their involvement with community theatre.

Participating in this play was a huge time commitment but it was completely worth it. Helping backstage with the kid's make-up & hair was a lot of fun! And I know C had a great time as well!

Here's to a great show tonight! Break a leg C! ;)

 Update: We just got home from the theatre and the show was FANTASTIC! In fact all 12 shows are sold out! The community support is incredible! C & I were so hyped up from the play tonight we kept singing the Jitterbug tune and dancing around the bathroom. It's one of those tunes that's hard to get out of your head! lol!

Everyone did a brilliant job! Of course we thought Lil' C was an awesome little munchkin! Bravo!! The singing & dancing was fantastic. I can't say enough good things about it! I couldn't help tearing up a bit when I saw him on stage dancing and singing. He looked super cute! Here are a collection of photos before they put make-up on him.

C's Magic Party

I can't believe C's birthday party was over a month ago. Between C's daily "WOZ" rehearsals, gearing up for the holidays, and my normal schedule the days are flying by. But it was nice to look at the photos and remember how much fun everyone had on C's birthday. So let's step back in time....

If you remember I wanted to bake C a cake similar to his birthday invitation. It was a long night arranging the cake and rabbit pieces but in the morning everyone still looked good. The fondant didn't separate from the cake nor did it sag further. Here are some photos of how the Magic Rabbit Hat Cake came together the week before C's birthday...

Day 1 : Bake four 8"  & 10" Yellow Cakes and put them in the refrigerator.

Day 2: Make Rice Krispie Treats and form into rabbit body parts.

Day 3: Preparing ganache filling, frosting and arranging cake & decorating rabbit.

The ganache frosting I made for the cupcake C brought to school came out much better than the one for the cake. The frosting wasn't as smooth... it started to curdle a bit. I thought maybe I was rushing so I threw it out and made another batch. But even this one didn't come out that great but it tasted good so I used it for the filling.

I originally baked four 8" cakes but I thought three was tall enough. So S let C decorate the last cake with left over black fondant.

Before putting on the fondant, I frosted the cake with buttercream so it would adhere to the cakes.

S did a fabulous job layering the black fondant on top of the cakes. We watched a video on YouTube beforehand so we could get an idea of how to make the fondant on the bottom of the cake look smooth. S did a fabulous job!

Next, to give the cake some stability I placed a 10" cake board on top of the three layered cakes before adding the final layer. Using buttercream I frosted the cake and we placed a separate piece of fondant on this layer. The fondant was puckering a bit at the bottom but we didn't think it would be too noticeably so we didn't worry about it. After we added the final layer, S & I noticed the cake was a bit uneven but we actually liked it; we thought it made the hat look more realistic.

Since the fondant arrived so late I decided to use buttercream versus the fondant letters to write "Happy 7th Birthday C" on the cake.

Decorating the rabbit pieces was the last section I did for the night. Using buttercream on the rabbit parts was so much easier than trying to cover them with fondant. I dyed a little bit of coconut flakes for the rabbit ears and piped his face on. Lettting the buttercream & coconut set overnight really helped everything stay put.

The following morning I put the rabbit together and we placed it on top of the cake. Viola! Our Magic Cake was done!

Despite all my preparations and waking up early, the morning flew by and I was still rushing around seconds before the first guest arrived. I was really hoping to have some down time to photograph the table and get some good photos of C with his magic cake but it didn't happen. In fact, as I was getting ready, C called me and said, "Mommy, the rabbit is falling off the cake!" Ahhh!! I rushed downstairs and sure enough the weight of the rabbit was causing it too lean so S & I quickly too the rabbit off and put in a few more skewers hoping this would help stabilize the rabbit. And thankfully it worked.

We did have a little bit of time to give C our birthday present which he was really surprised about. Lil' C didn't ask for a birthday gift and as he has so much already I thought hiring a magician for his party would be enough. But at the last minute S found a Scooby Doo DS game that he thought C would enjoy.

C was so excited about having all his friends come to our house & celebrate his birthday!! We had 10 of his closest friends come to the party. We had kids from all over the world... Turkey, Spain, Latvia, Germany, South Africa, and the United States. It was almost like having our own little United Nations. ;)

When the kids first arrived I had everyone decorate their own cups using magic rainbow paper.

I made a variety of food for the party... some healthy treats (fruit skewers, apple slices, and cheese) and some not so healthy snacks (rice krispies treats, chips, pretzels, and candy). What surprised me most was how all the kids chose the healthy treats over the unhealthy ones. Sure, the kids also ate some candy but mainly they focused on the fruit which I thought was awesome!

My original plan was to have everyone create & decorate their very own fairy door but it just didn't happen. So we played music statues and all the kids had a blast dancing around the house.

 

Once we finished the game, Wouter, the magician arrived right on time. I was a bit nervous about hiring him since I didn't have any references to go by. I found him on a magician directory online.  Wouter sent us a video of a previous magic show he performed in Brussels and we liked what we saw so we booked him. And I'm so happy I did!

Wouter was amazing! He completely held their attention and they loved all his magic tricks. They kept saying over and over, "Wow... how did he do that!"

Not only did the kids love the magician but so did the parents. He was really witty!

Being the birthday boy, C got to introduce the magician to everyone and he was also able to participate in a lot of the magic tricks. Wouter also brought little birds to the show which the kids loved especially at the end of the show when they were able to hold them.

Wouter performed for an hour and afterwards he stayed for about another hour to create balloon sculptures for the kids. He created some incredible pieces for the kids. 

After the show, everyone gathered around the table to sign "Happy Birthday" to C. 

The cake looked fantastic! Since it was a pound cake it wasn't your standard delicate, moist, yellow cake but it was good. 

Shortly after we ate cake, it was time for everyone to leave. C's friend left with a goody bag filled with retro candy, rainbow pencils, star erasers, blowout poppers, balloons, and magic rainbow star ornaments & scratch paper.

South Africa Grrrl & her kids stayed a bit longer as did Greek Grrrl's family. It was really nice to have some friends stay later. Lil' C was so excited about his birthday so I think if everyone had left immediately he would have missed them. Lil' X and C enjoyed several hours of play after his classmates left. It was a great birthday celebration and I'm so thankful we were able to give C his magic party. I hope his friends are now a bit more open to the possibility of magic. It really can exist. ;)

The next day was C's actually birthday. In our house, it's a family tradition that the special birthday boy or girl chooses a dinner & dessert of their own choice. C's chose my grilled chicken with penne & pesto and chocolate chips cookies for dessert. And since it's the birthday boy's day he gets whatever he wants... well within reason ;).

And since I realized we didn't have any time to take family photos I had everyone dress up again and take a few more photos. I know... I'm crazy but I just had to do it! lol!

Au Revoir Trampoline

As I came downstairs this morning I looked out the window and this is what I saw!

Thank goodness the car was in the garage! It wasn't windy this morning so I had no idea that winds would be picking up to 48km/h. The winds were so strong the bottom portion of the trampoline along with the poles were shaking like crazy! It obviously wanted to keep moving. If it wasn't for those bushes I'm sure the trampoline would have continued to fly through my neighborhood.

I called S right away to see if he could come home. With the winds so strong I was concerned the trampoline would fly into our neighbors home... possibly breaking windows and damaging their car . Being known as the neighbor who has their trampoline roaming through the neighborhood is definitely how I do NOT want to be remembered! lol! S quickly came home and our sweet neighbor tried to help him. Later our friend, Mr. Social came to help and they were able to take the trampoline apart in the rain within an 1.5 hr. Thank you Mr. Social, you're so awesome!

Au revoir trampoline. You will be missed! Our relationship was so short...but in those 3 months that we played with you we enjoyed every minute. It's a shame it had to end this way. ;(

Poor Lil' C doesn't know anything yet. I hope he's not too upset when he hears the news.

My Nature Loving Boy

Lil' C pulled out this wonderful surprise from his backpack the other day... A handful of leaves.

When I asked him about it he said, "Lil' J and Lil' A and me were picking leaves during lunch."

Love how C appreciates nature and all the little wonderful things that make life so beautiful.

One more Birthday Candle

:: Beautiful chilly, sunny fall day ::

:: C sang Happy Birthday to me this morning ::

:: E-mails from friends wishing me a Happy Birthday ::

:: Lil' C & I share a breakfast toast with Mango juice ::

:: Big hug & birthday gift from my Turkish friend, La Fashionista ::

:: Visit my favorite Boulangerie ::

:: Open a birthday card from my brother in law ::

:: Received a package from Banana Republic & Gap with clothes I ordered for my Egypt trip and there are two pants that actually fit me! ::

:: Enjoy a relaxing breakfast - croissant with dark chocolate & Speculoos spread along with a cup of Mariage Frères Casablanca tea- YUM! ::

:: Planning a trip to Paris ::

And later... dinner with my favorite boys.

Le Beaujolais Est Arrivé!

Today the French community organized an event for the women to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau, the first French wine to be released for each vintage year. Beaujolais Nouveau is the lightest, fruitiest style of Beaujolais and meant for simple enjoyment. Between late August & early September the grapes are harvested and fermented for a just a few days. The wine is then released to the public on the third Thursday of November - "Beaujolais Nouveau Day". The wines are meant to be drunk as young as possible, when they are at their freshest and fruitiest.

"The early history of Beaujolais Nouveau can trace its roots to 19th century when the first wines of the vintage were sent down the Saône to the early bistros of Lyon. Upon their arrival signs would be put out proclaiming "Le Beaujolais Est Arrivé!" and its consumption was seen as a celebration of another successful harvest."

The event was really nice. My friend from Spain went with me and we had a great time... meeting some friendly Canadian women, eating french bread, tasting various french cheeses and hams, and listening to relaxing music. The wine was fruity and after a few sips it was actually pretty good. Viva Le Beaujolais! ;)

12+ Christmas Packages

I was up until 4 am last night. I had a burst of energy and I finished packing all my Christmas gifts... 13 boxes out the door this morning. Plus, I did some organizing and recycling. Feels great. My family & friends are going to be shocked when they receive their packages and it's not even December yet! I even started on my Christmas cards! This is a first for me. Although, the lack of sleep is definitely catching up with me...

Before I went to bed, I heard Lil' C laughing in his sleep. It happens quite often - most of the time it's a little chuckle but sometimes it's an intense laugh like someone is tickling him... like last night. I love to hear him laugh in his sleep. I often wonder what he's dreaming about.

Lately, C's been quite afraid of monsters and screams out... "Daddy!? Mommy!?" Hearing someone scream your name in the dead of the night while you're in a deep sleep is so not the most relaxing way to wake up! lol! After he wakes up, Lil' C will usually ask us to sleep with him or sometimes he'll crawl into our bed which I love. He's a snuggler so I enjoy the closeness. I love to watch him sleep.

Last night when C woke up he was able to remember his bad dream. This is a first. C said he and I were standing on a big cheesecake and then there was a bridge attached and we couldn't get across because it wasn't safe. Standing on top of a cheesecake doesn't sound too bad to me unless of course it's bad cheesecake then I can totally understand the nightmare part of the dream! lol! Speaking of dreams I came across this beautiful story about how we should never give up dreaming and remember to dream BIG...

Giving Thanks

It's taken months to plan but the day of our American Thanksgiving  Luncheon finally arrived. All in all the event went smoothly and everyone seem to enjoy themselves.

For the special day, I flat ironed my hair which surprised a lot of my friends. Plus, I wore a dress... double shock! lol! I rarely ever wear dresses here in Belgium. It's just too cold. But it's funny when I think back to when I used to work for an all women's college and all I was ever allowed to wear was dresses & skirts to work and now look at me... I'm always in pants.

Me, South African Grrrl, and Greek Grrrl at the American Thanksgiving Luncheon

My Girlfriends from Turkey

Everything at the luncheon looked beautiful. Each table represented a different state in the United States and when possible we tried to get a hostess from that state. Greek Grrrl and I hosted the New York table. Each guest received a New York City Tourist guide book & a map of the city along with a NY Yankee pencil. Greek Grrrl's MIL brought signs of various famous streets in NYC so we put those on our table too. It looked great. Some of the other hostess also put out little goodies that represented their state. My favorite was Washington - each person had their tourist information wrapped with raffia and a pinecone. Looked really cute.

At our table we had a small group of Norwegian women along with two ladies from Turkey and one from Italy. Most of the ladies spoke English really well so it was a fun group. The food was also good - my turkey was juicy and flavorful as were the mashed potatoes. Now the stuffing was a different story... it was this wedge of something that looked a bit like quiche but I have no idea what it was supposed to be. The club did a good job with the mini pumpkin tart but the apple pie was more like a flan but with bits of apple and maple syrup drizzeled on top. It was an interesting combo.

The tombola gifts Blonde K and I selected were well received which I was really happy about. Blonde K & I had a 1000 Euros to work with and we put a lot of thought into the gifts we chose. For the past several months we've been trying to find gifts that represented various parts of the US. I felt that the items we chose were unique yet were gifts everyone would enjoy.

Here are a list of our door prizes & tombola gifts:

Door Prizes:

• Collection of American music which included “Motown Classics Gold”, “Putumayo Presents: New Orleans”, “Surf City: The California Sound”, and “Greatest Hits: Broadway “Irving Berlin”.

• Assortment of breakfast treats from the Carmen Brook Farm in Vermont. It included two leaf shaped bottles of pure Grade A maple syrup, various pancake mixes, and two home-made jams (Plum & American Cherry).

• Collection of Kiehl bath & body products is in their best-selling coriander fragrance.

• Two bronze insulated tumblers from the world famous coffee house, Starbucks, along with a bag of Starbucks coffee beans.

  Main Tombola Prizes:  

• Longaberger Market Basket
  

• Handcrafted Mesquite and turquoise cheese board with matching knife.
  

• Leaf Stoneware impressed with real sugar maple leaves by Kaleidoscope Pottery.
  

• Milk & Honey Gift Set (Boutique shop in NYC - Greek Grrrl's girlfriend owns the shop) which included a cute clutch, a make-up bag, and a beautiful beaded bracelet
  

• Sterling silver bracelet with a touch of 14K gold (Donation from my Dad) Thanks Dad! ;)

• Chocolate Brown Coach Leather Handbag (I bought this bag when I was at the Coach outlet in Florida - loved it so much I bought myself the same one along with a small black one)
  

• Pewter Jam Jar in the classic pineapple pattern with a jar of home-made American Cherry jam. 
  

• Two fall Wreaths
  

• Kate Spade leather wallet
  

• Cashmere throw from American designer Eileen Fisher’s Home Collection

• Cocktail set which included four hand blown glasses, serving tray and a bottle of Americana LuxuryVodka which is produced and bottled at America’s oldest family distiller located in New Jersey from grains harvested from the American heartland. Also included was a copy of "Food & Wine 2009 Cocktail Guide"
  

• Hawaiian Sterling Silver Earring & Necklace Set

• Sterling silver heart bracelet (another donation from my Dad)

•  South Western Basket which included ceramic wine goblets and a variety of goodies to eat from the area

• Matted and framed photograph entitled, “Red Barn & Trees” by Alan Sislen, of Bethesda, Maryland

• Basket with a range of American foods from across the United States that bring back memories from our past and are reminders of our home country. 
  

Each table also completed a little quiz about our Thanksgiving tradition. The highest score from each table was collected and one person was chosen to win a turkey. It was interesting how not one American won any of the Tombola prizes yet the winner of the turkey was an American Expat! At least she'll have a good idea on what to do with it! lol!