Somewhere in the Middle

Happy Halloween

Hope everyone enjoys a spooky and fun Halloween!

Melt Down Thursday

Now that C's birthday has passed I thought this week would begin to slow down. Yeah... not really. But that's okay. I love being busy but all this running around is starting to catch up to us. Monday I volunteered to help at the English conversation table for the Welcome Luncheon. Volunteering for the group gave me an opportunity to meet lots of new ladies that are so eager to start practicing their English. There were two really sweet ladies from Albania & Spain that I hope to see again. I strayed from the table for a few minutes and mingled with some friends and also inquired about an Italian conversation class. I would so love to be able to speak Italian. But before I join a conversation group I think I need to take an introductory course.

This week I've also been pulling out all of C's clothes that no longer fit him. I'm actually really good about recycling his clothes so I don't have a huge amount of clothes thank goodness. Since I didn't do the flea market this year I'm trying to make a big effort and sell or donate the clothes to local thrift shops. And I'm trying to do the same with my clothes as well. So far it's working out pretty well.

Lil' C has been super busy too. Between school, homework, rehearsals, dance class and a late dinner with friends last night it's been a lot for him. He seems to be handling it well but since he doesn't have much time to wind down he's going to sleep much later. So today at dance he had a complete melt down.  This is what happened...

When we pulled into the dance school it actually looked like it was closed. Had I missed a notice about the school closing today? hmm... it was completely possible since we skipped a class due to his birthday party. I decided to wait a few minutes to see if any of the other parents showed up. Lil' C's vote was to leave and go home which didn't sound like a bad idea to me... I could start dinner early & we could work on his homework somewhere other than the inside of our car. But slowly parents started to arrive and dance class was back on.

It was pretty obvious C did not want to go to class. This has happened before and once C actually gets into the class he has a good time. But today was completely different.

He started crying and saying, "I don't want to go. All the kids laugh at me and they stare at me. And I don't like it. I don't have any friends in the class."

I tried to reassure him and explained that the kids were probably looking at him because he did something different than what the teacher had asked since he doesn't understand French completely. I told C it takes time to learn the language and make friends.  But C kept crying and clinging to me. At this point, C had drawn the attention of everyone in the room. The owner of the dance school came up to us & asked me if everything was ok and I gave her a weak "Oui". I tried to tell C that perhaps the kids weren't laughing at him but maybe the teacher said something funny and they were laughing with her. But he just kept saying he didn't want to go. By now the dance instructor was curious about why C was crying. I wanted to explain it to her so badly but I just couldn't find the words and I found myself starting to choke up. I feel for C. It shouldn't be this hard. I look around the room and all the parents are watching. Do they realize how difficult it is to live in a country when we're not completely fluent in their native tongue. For all the wonderful things we experience here there are also these difficult and challenging periods as well. I pulled myself together and did my best to explain to the instructor why C was crying. And she nodded like she understood. The owner & instructor were really sweet and they told C that "Maman" would come in the class with him and that they would ask one of the little girls to talk a bit of English to him. I kept telling C to take a deep breath and I reminded him of how much he enjoys dancing and not to let this stop him from doing something he loves. C seem to calm down for a few seconds only to start crying again. I came so close to saying, "Ok, let's go." But I didn't. I just kept talking to him and we started walking towards the classroom. Poor C was so concerned about whether his eyes were red. He didn't want his classmates to know he was crying. I assured him that he looked fine. And we went into the class together. And he danced. And I watched... knowing this was not easy for him. But I kept smiling and encouraging him. At the end of the class I told him how proud I was of him.

Celebrating Year 7 :: Birthday wishes

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! I hope you enjoyed your weekend of birthday celebrations. We love you so much!

Details & photos about C's Birthday to come soon.

The Beginnings of a Magic Party

 

This year I'm all about planning ahead. I want the next few months to be relaxing so in keeping with my goal I started working on Lil' C's birthday invitations. I'm really happy with the results. The basic idea is from an invitation I saw online with a few changes of my own. I decided to put a red strip in front and include a magic instruction card that holds a 7 of hearts with the party details. I also outlined the top hat with red glitter because really doesn't everything look more festive with a sprinkle of glitter. lol! The biggest difference... these cards didn't set me back $55 dollars for just 10 invites.

The Bunny looks much cuter in person. His ears and cheek have a light dusting of pink chalk to brighten him up. When you pull the Bunny out he's is holding a magic instructions card.

When you open the card, you'll find a seven of hearts with the party details. I also included some star confetti inside the envelopes for fun. I love the way they turned out.

This whole magic theme came about a few months ago when I asked Lil C what he wanted to do for his birthday & he said, "I want to have a magic party."

When I asked him why he chose magic he said, "Because some of my friends don't believe in magic and I want to show them that magic is real."

Can you imagine... 5 & 6 year olds not believing in magic? That's crazy talk! So now C & I are on a mission to convince his friends that magic really does exist. ;)

Let the Rehearsals begin...

Guess who received a part in our upcoming community play? Lil' C!! We received the notification e-mail this evening! S & I are so excited for him! Way to go my little man!!

Hello October

Love the month of October... the days are getting cooler but the sun is still shining bright, leaves are changing colors, Lil' C's birthday is around the corner, and of course Halloween. The weather has been incredibly beautiful. We've been trying to take advantage of the weather and going out as much as possible. And this past weekend was a perfect weekend to be out & about.

Last Saturday Greek Grrrl and I took our kids to the Labyrinthe near Durbuy. It was a gorgeous day! The kids had a blast. The Labyrinthe is essentially a gigantic corn field they turn into a maze. Every year they cut the fields differently to change the design of the maze. There are 6 characters hidden throughout the maze and the goal is to find them. Once you find the characters they perform little skits. 

The skits seem interesting but it would have been nice to understand what they were talking about. Especially the character who was running around laughing and throwing the map booklets in the air. I'm not sure what that was about! lol!

At the beginning, Greek Grrrl & I let the boys navigate us around the maze.I enjoyed watching them while they looked at the map in detail trying to figure out the best possible route.

It was really cute to watch Lil' C & Lil' X work together to figure out which path was the correct one. They were a great little team! Both boys were so excited to lead us to the characters and eager to go ahead of us and check whether a particular path was a dead end or not.

After about an hour or two Greek Grrrl and I started to look at the map. We didn't necessarily want to stay in the maze the entire day. lol! I'm sure the kids could have wondered around for a while longer. We managed to find 4 characters which was pretty good.

When we found the last one, the witch, we were the only people there so she started to do her skit in English. She was talking about a magic potion to clean her castle and I also think she started to talk about fairies. I'm not sure though since a few minutes after she began her performance a big group of people came into the circle and she began speaking in French again.

Once we found our way out of the maze, we went to a smaller maze which was really fun. The kids had a great time. Lil'C & Lil' X were having so much fun hiding from Greek Grrrl and I. It was fun at first but I started to freak out a bit when I couldn't find Lil' C. At one point we couldn't get ourselves out of the maze. The doors to get in or out of the maze were locked and we didn't know the code. Thank goodness, someone eventually came to the door and unlocked it for us.

Here is Lil' Greek Grrrl, Lil' X's sister. She is so adorable and will completely melt your heart with her cuteness. Any time Lil' Greek Grrrl would run off Lil' C would try to stop her. He was being super protective of her. It was cute to watch. He'd be such a great big brother.

The following day I woke up super early and went to a flea market outside of Brussels. It wasn't your normal type of Brocante... it was more like a garage sale you'd see back home. Lots of neighbors outside selling things they no longer wanted. It was a perfect event for people looking for french books, toys and clothing for children. I didn't see very many things I liked but I did walk away with a pair of little girl wooden dutch shoes... in red! I already have a pair in black so these red ones will be a nice addition. I also found a Turkish little plate for .50 Euro cents that matches a tiny bowl I bought at the Turkish International luncheon a while back. I was thrilled to find this little treasure.

After I came home S went grocery shopping and C & I worked on some math homework. Once we were done we drove to centre of Tournai. The town was hosting a Medieval festival that sounded fun. Since we went in the later part of the day I wasn't sure if the festival would be dying down but it was quite the opposite.

There were lots of dance & theatrical performances, live music, and concession stands with medieval products like bows & arrows, knives, jewelry, leather products and small fairy statues. Lil' C wanted a wooden bow & arrow which we thought would be really fun for him. The other day he designed his own bull's eye to practice.

These knights were fighting in a very small square and they came dangerously close to us. We had to continue to tell Lil' C to move back. There were swords and spiked, metal balls flying all over the place.

At the back of the church there were several food vendors selling products like apples, honey, candy, churros, and Falafels... my favorite. My friend, Marathon Grrrl & her husband UPS man introduced me to Falafels a few years ago when I met them in Paris. And I love them! So when I saw these falafels I couldn't resist. S has never tried them so I definitely had to buy him some as well. Now ordering falafels took forever and when I say forever I mean FOOOORREVER!! This guy knew how to work the crowd. He'd make just a few falafels at a time which made everyone want them even more. And when people see a crowd they natuarally go to the area to see what all the fuss is about. Once people stopped by the stand I'm sure they were wondering what was going on since the man wasn't doing much. Eventually he started to cook but he was taking his sweet time to make each falafel. The man was in no rush. I must have waited for about 10 mins and during those 10 mins no one was helped nor was he cooking anything! It was crazy! Maybe he really was crazy because he just kept talking and talking. He wasn't talking to anyone in particular either. So I got frustrated and walked away only to come back 5 mins later. Yes... I really, really wanted those falafels!

When I returned Mr. Falafel was at least started to roll the ingredients into medium sized balls. He must have rolled enough dough for about 4 orders even though there were about 12 people waiting to order. Mr. Falafel also had another hot skillet ready to go but why use it when you could have this large crowd waiting patiently?! Since everyone was ahead of me I knew this was going to take a while so I started snapping some photos.

This must have caught his attention because when the first batch of falafels were done he gave me an order and he said with a big smile, "Pour le photographer". Merci! 

The falafels & hummus were delicious. And S loved them too!

The Auditions

Earlier this week I took Lil' C to audition for a local community play. I asked him several  times if he wanted to audition and the answer was always "Yes". So we went. I was so excited for him.

It was our first audition so we weren't sure what to expect. Once the auditions began the producer had all the children move to the front of the theatre and the parents sat in the back which was a great idea. Lil' C rarely ever sings in front of me so the fact that he couldn't see me was definitely a good thing.

The music director passed out sheets with the words of a song from the play and she spent about 10 mins teaching the kids to sing a few of the verses. The experience was so grown up... here Lil' C was all by himself in the front of the theatre, holding a piece of music sheet, and singing all by himself! I was so nervous for him.

I kept thinking, "Does he know how to read all the words on the sheet? Is he really going to go through with this and sing in front of such a big audience?" He was the third child to sing. Lil' C started out loud but soon after I could barely hear him. It was the same for a lot of other kids. I'm sure I would have been the same! 

Next the choreographer divided the group into 2 sets and taught them a dance routine. Lil' C did awesome! The director advised the children to smile & let their personalities come through. And boy did Lil' C let his personality shine through. He did a fantastic job and he was really getting into the movements. And at the end C gave his biggest smile. It was too cute! While he was on stage he saw where I was sitting and at the end of each dance he'd look in my direction and give me a big smile. You could just see how excited and proud he was of himself.

At the end of the audition the director called me over to discuss some date conflicts we had for the rehearsals. Unfortunately, there is a good chance C will miss the last performance along with some rehearsals. The schedule is extremely demanding and I'm not sure how C will handle it or if the director is willing to work with our schedule. But whether or not C gets a part in the play I'm just happy he had this amazing experience. I am so proud of him!

Magical Fairy Doors

I'd never heard of fairy doors until a friend of mine mentioned them to me. We were talking and I was telling Garden Grrrl how C is fascinated with fairies. She shared with me how fairies use magical doors to enter your home and only with their magic key can they open the door. I was so excited to share this information with C. In fact, that same night I saw Garden Grrrl she e-mailed me some photo links so I could see some fairy doors. I immediately did a search on Etsy for fairy doors. I found several beautiful ones but I really liked the idea of buying an unfinished door so C could decorate it.

The next morning I told C all about the fairy doors and he was so excited about the possibility of a fairy visiting us. He immediately went into the craft room and started creating  his own fairy door. With some scrap paper, alphabet rubber stamps, decorative scissors and a few of his favorite jewels he created his own little fairy door. He's such a creative little man. I love this age. There is no limit to his imagination... it's such a wonderful treat.

On the first day, C put his fairy door outside and magically the jewel fairy opened the door and came into our kitchen leaving a little piece of chocolate wrapped in gold foil. She also left a little bit of fairy dust on the kitchen cabinets. C was amazed! The fairy door really worked! Luckily, we had some great weather and the tape C used to attach the fairy door to our house stayed put. That is until Madame A came to visit. She brought it inside the house and asked me, "I find dezz outside. Tell me what is dezz? Your son make dzzz." I told Madame A all about the fairy doors and she was thrilled to hear about these magical pathways that allow fairies to enter our homes. Madame A put the door on our windowsill and it hasn't moved since.

Every few days C leaves a little gift for the Jewel fairy... a seashell, a painted walnut, Pierre Marcolini chocolate (this fairy is quite spoiled ~ she likes the good stuff). In exchange the Jewel fairy leaves C little pieces of chocolate.

On Monday when C lost his left eye tooth he decided to offer it to the Jewel fairy. The next morning he found 2 Euros by the fairy door which he was thrilled about. And on Wednesday, C lost his right eye tooth! He was wiggling it around like crazy so we knew it was bound to come out quickly. Before C went to sleep he arranged a few gifts for the Jewel fairy... a Pierre Marcolini chocolate heart, his little tooth, seashells, and a small glass red heart. Later that night S told me C was hoping to receive a letter from the Jewel fairy. A letter? ... hmmm that's interesting. Do fairies even know how to write? 

Apparently, they do because this morning when C woke up he noticed all the gifts he'd left for the fairy were gone but there was a tiny note inside the treasure chest...

"Hello C. Thank you so much for the presents! I love everything you gave me especially the chocolate heart. It was delicious!! Yummy! And the sea shells were beautiful too. You are such a sweet & wonderful boy. I would be very happy if we could be best friends. I also want to thank you for your tooth. It will make a beautiful little pearl. Enjoy the Euros and I hope you save the money to buy something nice.

Love, the Jewel Fairy. XXOO

C was so excited about the letter he hardly noticed the 2 Euros the fairy left him. When S read the part about the fairy wanting to be best friends with C he smiled really big and said, "I would like that too!" It was a priceless moment.

After we read the Jewel fairy's letter C immediately wrote her back. He drew a picture for her and requested a silver ring. Looks like the Jewel fairy has her work cut out for her now! At least C left her two more Pierre Marcolini chocolates. ;)

La Danse

Lil' C has always kept pretty busy with 2-3 after school activities but these days our afternoons are pretty quiet. Recently some major change were made in our community regarding all extra-curricular activities for school age children. In previous years, children & parents had several choices for after school activities... dance, tennis, futbol (soccer), T-ball, yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, music, swimming, etc. But now all classes except for one or two have been canceled.

When you go into the office no one seems to have any idea what is going on or when they'll be offering classes. The people who work in the office are being kept in the dark as much as the families who use these services. It's really such a shame they had to make any changes. The previous system wasn't perfect but it was much better than what it is now. And unfortunately the people who suffer are the families who use these services.

With three scheduled events per week things were a bit stressful... juggling homework, dinner, play dates, free play, and bed time routines isn't so easy. So now that we don't have any classes things have really slowed down. In one sense I've enjoyed this off time but on the other hand I know it's good for children to participate in extra-curricular activities.

A few weeks ago I was complaining to my housekeeper, Madame A about these changes and asked if she knew of any dance programs in the local community. She didn't have any suggestions but she told me she'd keep an eye out. During the summer, Madame A met Lil' C several times and quickly discovered how much he loves dancing and classical music. Two weeks later, Madame A told me that the day after we spoke she read an article about a wonderful dance school nearby.  What a coincidence!

Another two weeks went by and I still had not called the school so when I recently saw Madame A I asked if she could call the school to obtain more information. I listened closely to her conversation and picked up bits & pieces. When she got off the phone Madame A said to me (imagine this being said with a cute french accent), "You must go to the school today because therr is going to be an important danse instructor from Paris that will teach classes and he knows how to speak English." Madame A also told me, "You must call me and tell me what happens." I told her I would tell her everything when I saw her next and she said,"Non, no, you must call me tomorrow to tell me. I can not wait!". ;)

So later that afternoon C & I drove to the dance school and met with the owner of the dance school as well as the instructor from Paris. Agreeing to visit a French speaking dance school was a huge step for Lil' C. Ever since we've lived here he is very apprehensive about French/Belgian children and has never wanted to participate in any french speaking after school program. As we drove to the dance school we talked about the dance school & I suggested to Lil' C that he not to let language get in the way of doing something he loves.

Once we got to the school I immediately got a good vibe. Everyone seem really sweet and helpful. Lil' C was mesmerized by the dancers practicing various dance moves. The school is no ordinary dance school although you'd never know it by the looks of the school... outside it looks like a family run farm. The program is geared towards students who are quite serious about dancing. The school regularly invites dance instructors from all over the world to teach one week classes. And this week the visiting instructor was from the Conservatoire of Paris. The dance instructor explained how the school's main goal is to support and motivate the child's creativity and let them express themselves. He also told me it was very important that C take a class with other boys. I was impressed with the program and excited that C would finally have an opportunity to dance, an activity he loves so very much.

All the parents seem to know one another as they kissed each other once on the cheek when they entered the school. One of the Dad's tried speaking to me in English but when he got a bit tongue tied he asked another parent in French if she knew how to say a particular word in English. In french the father told this woman that he knew how to speak French and Spanish but his English wasn't that good. Immediately, I told him I spoke Spanish and from then on we had a great conversation in Spanish. This Dad was very helpful and helped translate additional questions I had about the dance classes. He explained to me that the school was like a family which I could definitely see in the way everyone interacted with one another. He also told me about the different awards the school has won and the programs the school puts on throughout the year. This father shared with me how his family travels from France (about 80 km) so that their teenage daughter could take classes.

After I filled out the paperwork, one of the permanent instructors put a pair of black socks on Lil' C and lead him into the dance room with the visiting instructor. As she lead him into the room he hesitated and told her he didn't have the proper shorts to dance. She didn't speak much English but with her body language she tried to tell Lil' C that it didn't matter. Lil' C was still a bit concerned so I went to him and said, "C, this is your chance to dance." And he said to me, "But they're going to do the splits." I told him, "Don't worry, they're not going to do the splits today." And into the classroom he went.

C danced for an hour and a half. He looked really cute doing various ballet poses especially when he ran across the room kicking his legs behind him. And even though the class was advanced for him he did his best. The other children were very kind to him and there was even another boy, much older than C, in the classroom. After the class was over the instructor from Paris told me that C did great and that he could see C's motivation to dance. He also said C was a quick learner & that he would really benefit from the classes we spoke about so he could learn the basics dance moves.

C seem to really enjoy himself. So we're going to give it another try and see how it goes. When we got home C showed S several different ballet moves he learned in class. S thought it was great! After C had gone to bed I told S how wonderful the school was and how the other girls in the class seem completely unfazed by having a boy in their class. I feel Europeans are so more comfortable with their sexuality and don't let colors or activities get in the way of who they really are. I wish everyone felt the same.

It's been two weeks now that Lil'C has been taking dance lessons and he's really enjoying it. When the parents & students see me I can tell they're not sure whether to kiss me or not but a few have and it's a nice to feel welcomed. On C's first day his regular instructor had all the children introduced themselves to C and it was really cute to watch. All the children are very sweet & patient with him but most of all they're really curious about this American in their classroom. Just last week one of the little boys asked me what language C spoke. I was surprised he asked ME considering I know less french than C!

When I saw Madame A I thanked her and gave her a gift certificate to a spa to show my gratitude & how appreciative I was for helping me find a dance school for Lil' C. She thanked me and said, "Oh, you didn't have to do thesss. I juss hope that C hasz fun and maybe one day he will be a famous danser. You never know." I told her, "You're right. You never know." ;)

Back to school :: Summer 2009 Recap

C's been gone just a few hours but I already miss him. I think Snowflake is going to miss him too. ;) The house seems so quiet. But I know he's having a great time at school. He went to bed fairly early (around 9ish) last night which is excellent considering he's been completely spoiled with his summer schedule. This morning C was so excited about starting school he woke up early and was ready to start his day. He ate his favorite breakfast and even had a little time to squeeze in an episode of "Little Einsteins". He amazes me how he can identify some of the classical music and tell me what movie they're played them in.

Before heading to school we took several photos to remember the day.

Yesterday we tried our best to make some crepe flowers similar to the ones we saw at the beach. They're lots of fun to make and you can get super creative. As you can see we made quite a few.

 
When I dropped him off at school he looked so big. He's no longer part of the youngest class at school. My baby boy is growing up. sigh. As I watched him walk into his school I got a bit teary eyed. I'm going to miss my little summer partner. I love who C is becoming. He's such a sweet, caring, gentle little soul. I'm happy to be his Mai.

We've shared the sweetest summer. Six weeks in the US visiting family & friends, playdates at Parc P, beach getways on the Belgian coast, and hanging out at home playing and doing crafts. Fun stuff. Here are some snapshots of summer 2009.

Who can forget my handsome little man in his tux. ;)

Chilling out by the pool.

Our collection of birdhouses we all painted while in FL. What fun we had decorating!

Only the second time C has ever been to a 4th of July celebration. This is his first time holding a sparkler. He's never been crazy about seeing fireworks because of how loud everything is.

Looking for tadpoles.

Fun with Mema

C's great grandparents enjoying every minute with Lil' C

Having fun at the Central Park Petting Zoo.

Running around in Central Park with N.

C during the intermission of "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway. C absolutely LOVED the play!

Times Square at night. I'll never forget when C said, "Mommy, look at all the TV's!!!"

The Flea Market in Hell's Kitchen, NYC where C bought an angel pin. I'm convinced his cuteness brought down the seller's price. 

Fun at the New York Botanical Gardens with C's cousin S.

The Chefs at cooking delicious meals with local produce from the New York Botanical Gardens.

Party Central at E's house.

Summer days at Parc Paradisio

Craft time! Making a stepping stone!

Lots of climbing and playing with school friends at Parc Paradisio.

There was more than one wedding in our family this summer.

Presenting Mr. & Mrs. Snowflake

Hanging out on the Belgian coast ~ De Panne.

Mini Beach getaway just the two of us.

Visiting the South Abbey Windmill after a fun day at the beach.

Jumping on the trampoline with Daddy & D.

 

After seeing all the pretty crepe flowers in De Panne C & I decided to create our own bouquet.