Somewhere in the Middle

Danny, where's your leather jacket?

A few weeks ago C went to a "Grease" theme birthday party. Even though C hasn't seen the movie yet he had fun dressing up. Now that I look at this photo I can't decide if C looks more like a mini version of Danny in "Grease" or maybe the Fonzie in "Happy Days"!

Making ART at the Musuem

Before the Fall break, I accompanied C's class on a field trip to a local museum. The theme of the exhibit was movement and I have to say it was really awesome. Not only was the exhibit interesting for me but for the kids had lots of fun. The museum guide did a fabulous job engaging the children. She asked lots of questions &  she photographed the children in several positions to make a short film exhibiting movement.

At the end of the tour, they lead the children to a workshop area which was like a little art-making heaven filled with all sorts of art supplies. It was fab! Each child received a canvas where they traced a figure multiply times to illustrate movement. And then they painted the piece.

I was really impressed with the museum and it's art facilities. I spoke with the guide and she explained that the museum has different art programs for kids throughout the year. I'd love C to participate in an art camp. Who knows maybe I can help too! And we can both work on our French! lol!

Before we left, they gave the children blank reindeer kits to decorate for the holidays. Aren't they pretty? And I'm not sure but either the reindeers or the children's movement pieces will be displayed in various shops throughout the city. Cool stuff.

Riding at Dusk

So have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my bicycle. We've own them less than a year now and already I've ridden it more than I ever rode my mountain bike.

Over the break, C & I went bike-riding at dusk and it was so peaceful. I love this time of the year. We're surrounded my beautiful colors.

C was thrilled to bike-ride at dusk; it was the first time he used his bike lights. We both loved watching the sky change colors and pointing out various shapes & figures. Like this one...

Doesn't that look like an amazing wave?

Boy creates own fun while Return Queen wraps boxes.

So this is what happens when you need to pack up 9 boxes of worth of shoes!

C was super excited to share the news that he is now big enough to drive. He told me he knows how to work everything in the car.

Plus...

And...

Money talks... at least in Spanish it does!

Teaching your child to speak another language especially when it's your second language is quite challenging. For me, learning Spanish was easy. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents who only spoke Spanish in the house. There were also several summers where I accompanied my grandmother to Puerto Rico and was surrounding by Spanish speaking relatives. Unfortunately, it's different for C. I have to make a conscious effort to speak Spanish to him and it doesn't come naturally. But I'm trying. It's so important to me that he knows Spanish. I'm happy to say that he at least understands about 80 to 85% of the things I say in Spanish but he's apprehensive about speaking. Which I understand. I feel the same way about French.

The other day I was talking to my sister about it and she recommended I approach it like a mini Spanish course. Choose a few words for the week and practice making sentences with those words every day. As a reward if C creates sentences using these words or any other words in Spanish he receives money. Monoply money of course... which can be used to buy some of the things he enjoys like Coca-Cola, marshmallows, and bubble gum. So far it's working out pretty well. I've also purchased a few workbooks in Spanish that are helping me choose which words we work on each week. I can then use the exercises to reinforce what he's learning each week.

During dinner last night we practiced making sentences with our flashcards and I think C had fun. We were making up crazy sentences like... Do you like to eat spider sandwiches? And then we'd poke fun at S (who knows very little Spanish) and ask him the same question in Spanish but of course C told him "araña" meant mushrooms so S said, "Sure, I like arañas". lol!

Birthday Boy Goes Night Golfing

This year C decided he wanted to have his birthday party at an indoor blacklight miniature golf park. It's a really cool place... reminds me a bit of those nightclubs where everything glows in the dark.

Throughout the course were  many sculptures and paintings of different cities here in Belgium. The kids had a great time. And we had the place all to ourselves which was fabulous!

Compared to other years, where I've made cakes, organized games, and cooked for days this party was a breeze to plan. Not that I don't like to plan birthday parties because I do but it was nice to do something a little different. And since the birthday package included a cake I didn't have to spend hours baking a cake that ultimately ends with disasterous results. lol! No rabbits popping out of a top hats or Halloween spiders. This year C's cake was designed very much in the traditional Belgian style... very chic with fancy chocolate designs & shavings, macaroons on the sides, and filled with lots of chocolate mousse.

Hope you had a wonderful birthday C! Joyeux anniversaire ma chérie!

Wizards :: Witches :: Halloween

Even though I absolutely love Halloween I rarely dress up. And I should. It's loads of fun. So this year when C said to me, "Mommy, you never dress up" my mission to find a costume began. As luck would have it I found a costume that matched Lil' C's.

My intention was to tease my hair a bit like Hermoine (in her early yrs) but it didn't come out as crazy as I wanted. I saw one of my friends later in the evening and she told me, "I thought you were going to make your hair super crazy... it looks normal." lol!

We had a great time Trick-or-Treating. And when we got home there were a group of young Belgian children Trick-or-Treating.... First time in 5 yrs! They were yelling, "Bon, Bon!!" Luckily, I had a bag of Hersey Kisses. Nothing like some good ole' fashion American chocolate treats. ;)

The following morning, I found this cute drawing C made of the two of us.;)