Somewhere in the Middle

Happy New Year!

This New Year began with lots of enthusiasm and excitement! Thanks to my Secret Agent I spent the New Year in Times Square. That's right, baby! New York City! It was absolutely fabulous!!

We were having dinner with C's Godfather, his partner, Mr. "NYC-On the Street", and of course Mr. Secret Agent. Around 11pm, Mr. Secret Agent asked, "Are we going to do this? Who wants to go to Times Square?" S said he'd pass and stay with Lil' C. He didn't want to be with all the crowds. When Mr. "NYC-On the Street" & R said they didn't want to go either I was completely shocked. Not me! How many times in your life do the stars align and allow you a special pass to celebrate New Years in Times Square without the 5-6 hour wait? "I'm in!' I told Mr. Secret Agent. Immediately, R, Mr. Travel Man changed his mind too.

We left the house at 11:15pm and walked to Times Square. It was a beautiful night too. It wasn't really cold which was perfect! There were people EVERYWHERE! It was absolutely crazy. Hand in hand we walked or I should say they walked, I jogged. lol! Mr. Travel Man & Secret Agent walked so fast. We went through about 5 blockades. The first one was a little crazy because there were hundreds of people who wanted to get through the blockade but the police officer kept yelling at the crowds to get back. But when Mr. Secret Agent used his secret powers the police offficer told us to go through. After a minute or two the crowds disregarded the officer and started running through the street. But there were blockades at every street so when we arrived at the next blockade we had to wait a bit. I think the police were worried that if they let us through the crowds would again rebel. So we squeezed our way to the corner of the street and the NYPD escorted us through. It was such an amazing experience! The sidewalks were completely empty except for the NYPD and us! lol!! Now I know how celebrities must feel. lol! 

With Mr. Secret Agents superpowers, the next 3 blockades were a breeze to get through. We ended up in an area reserved for family & friends of the NYPD & NYFD which was great. We had space to move around and we weren't completely crammed in.

By the time we arrived to this spot it was 11:45pm. Beautiful! We counted down to midnight, watched the fireworks, and sang Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" along with thousands of other New Yorkers as billions of pieces of confetti fell from the sky! It was so amazing!

Afterward, we had drinks with some of Mr. Secret Agent friend's that work for the NYPD & NYFD. These guys were true New Yorkers... with their deep NY accents and mannerisms. I loved it. 

Here are a few photos from that night. I also took these videos but because I wanted to focus on the moment not on where I was taping it's a super crazy video.

The photo quality is absolutely horrible but really I don't care... everytime I look at these photos & watch these videos my hearts beats a little faster and I just can't help but smile and think about what an awesome night it was! Thanks Mr. Secret Agent!! I owe you one! ;)

More of California

French class was canceled today so here I am trying to finish some posts that are long overdue. Here's one from our trip to California...

Even though it was Fall in California it felt more like summer. On many days, the temperatures reached into the 90's. The weather was beautiful.

When we first arrived Lil' C was able to go to a Fall Festival centre which he loved!!

C even made a little friend while he was bouncying in one of the castles and towards the end of the day we already had a playdate invite. That is one thing I just love about California... people are super friendly!

On another afternoon my sister, C, and I went to Color Me Mine to paint ceramics. C painted this cute little cat he saw in the shop. My sister chose a little bowl while I picked a small serving plate.

My drawing was inspired by an idea C gave me. We had a great time! I was really happy with the results even if it did take forever to paint the images with 3 coats of paint.

For Halloween this year, C chose to dress up as a black cat. He really enjoyed trick-o-treating and with no jacket!! It was also fun to see all the neighborbood Halloween decorations.

I felt a wee bit guilty that C missed the Halloween festivities at home. His school was having a Halloween Disco and of course we can't forget about Trunk-o-Treat. Over the past five years, the Halloween celebration in our community has really improved. I'd say it's just about as much fun or even more fun depending on the US neighborhood.

Although I must admit spending Halloween in the warm California weather was definitely a wonderful treat!

Not only did we get to spend Halloween in California but we also experienced a bit of the Christmas spirit as well. Most people complain about how the US kicks off the holiday season too soon but I welcomed it! I was nice to see all the beautiful decorations at the indoor & outdoor malls. Before we flew back to Belgium, Lil' C had a chance to chat with Santa & take his photo with him.

C & I also went to see "Alpha & Omega" which was a cute movie.

One of the highlights of our trip for C was a visit to the "Build-A-Bear" shop in Downtown Disney.

His favorite build-a-bear needed a bit of reconstructive surgery since she's a few years old now and the recording in her arm no longer works. So what better place to have a bit of cosmetic surgery than in Disney's Build-A-Bear shop. lol!

Sparkle left the shop feeling like a million bucks... New stuffing, fancy clothes, high heel sandals and a new blonde wig! She's a California Grrl now.

Meeting Baby S

Amazing how much babies change in such a short amount of time. Baby S is about 3 weeks old in these photos.

On Saturday, Baby S will turn 5 months old.  Last night, while I Skyped with my sister, Baby S was smiling, putting her hands in her mouth, grasping little toys, and rolling over. 

She's at a really cute age right now. This photo is my absolute favorite. Baby S looks like so happy!

Our trip to California was wonderful. It was a VERY long flight though. About 3 hours into our first flight Lil' C asked me if we were almost there! I laughed and said we had about 12 more hours to go!

When we arrived in Los Angeles, Baby S was sleeping soundly in her car seat looking like a little angel.

Like most babies she adores being snuggled and I spoiled her as much as possible. One day I remember we watched an entire movie while Baby S slept in my arms.

One of the best things about visiting someone with a new baby is that Lil' C & I had company around 3am when we couldn't sleep! lol! This turned out to be pretty advantageous for my sister as well. Like most mothers she was exhausted and needed sleep. I'd come into her bedroom in the middle of the night completely awake and cheerful and offer to feed Baby S or try to calm her down if she was crying.

We spent most of our time at home which was perfectly ok with me. My sister & I had a lot of quality time together which I really savored. It was also a perfect way to bond with my niece. Some days we had the best intentions of leaving the house but sometimes it just didn't happen. The feeding, changing, playing, napping schedule happens so quickly and before you know it you're doing it all over again without having the opportunity to get out of the house. lol! I remember those times when Lil' C was a baby. I swear I saw Fall turn into Winter in the blink of an eye through my bedroom window.

My Mom also flew out to CA for a few days so it was great seeing her. C loved seeing Mema too and enjoyed getting spoiled.

Lil' C was a great little helper too although he didn't pay Baby S much attention. He was very curious why she seem to cry so much. lol!

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.

Greetings from Jersey

Arrived in Jersey this afternoon to spend some time with my girlfriend & her family. The second I parked the car C practically jumped out. He was so excited to see Lil' E. We've been here for over4 hours and I've only seen C once.. for dinner. Now it's back to playing. With 3 kids and tons of toys to play with my girlfriends house is Party Central! lol!

Right now it's thundering and pouring outside and my friend just went to have her son fitted for a football helmet. So I'm staying with Lil' C & E and catching up on e-mail and blogging until she gets back. I've seen quite a bit of rain since I was in New York. I wonder if it's Mother Nature's way of easing me back into my life in Belgium.

Yesterday it didn't rain which worked out great since I took C & my cousin S to the New York Botanical Gardens. It's such a peaceful & gorgeous park. You'd never know it's in the middle of the Bronx. That area of the Bronx is really pretty with Fordham University right across the street and the Bronx Zoo next door.

The NY Botanical Gardens had a wonderful exhibit for children. C & S had so much fun and at the same time they learned a lot about flowers, gardening, and ways to help the earth. The Children's Adventure Garden had some wonderful activities. At the first station, the kids created field journals and ever time they completed an activity they received a stamp.

They made puppets at the first station. Both C & S chose to make butterfly puppets. We were at the Activity Center for quite a while decorating these butterflies which was perfect for me because it was so incredibly hot & humid outside. Ugh! It was one of those days where you feel like your make-up is going to just melt off your face. Which explains why there are no photos of me. So being in A/C felt wonderful.

At the second station the kids learned about the different parts of the flower and how flowers can produce fruits. At the end they both received a fruit roll up from Fresh Field. C ate his right up!

C & S planted beans at the third station which I think is such a great idea. Gardening is such a fun activity for kids and great for the environment. I know in the past C has really enjoyed planting flowers and bulbs. We left C's bean plant with my grandparents since we're not allowed to bring plants or soil into Belgium. I'm sure the plant will thrive in Papi's garden.

The first station the kids made flowers using Mold Magic and markers. C made a buttercup with his mold.

At the last station, C & S learned all about ponds and thing that grow and live in water. It was really interesting. We had fun pulling out the various plants that grew in the water and looking at the roots.

After the Adventure Garden we took the tram to the Children's Family Garden. The NY Botanical Garden encourages people in the local community to create their own gardens. They also have a global garden and each plot is filled with different vegetables and herbs that you'd traditionally find in those countries. C & S made flowers from tissue paper and also created little recipe booklets.

Afterwards, they learned about planting vegetables and they planted purple carrots seeds. Later they had fun digging up dirt to find worms.

The last activity C & S did was learn about composting. The guy that worked the area was fantastic and really got the kids excited about compost. C & S were working hard... turning, shoveling, and sifting the compost. They were even playing with the worms. At first C wanted nothing to do with the worms and told S he would scream if he touch them but within 10 minutes he was playing with them too. They were each giving the worms names and watching them wiggle around their hands. S even brought one back onto the tram and they each took turns playing with the worm. lol!

We ended our visit at the garden shop where I let the kids buy a little something to remember their trip to the Botanical Garden. C chose a chocolate sunflower seeds & S picked out a rainbow drawing book and I bought some beautiful little pewter leaf spreaders.

Once we got back to my grandparents house we had dinner. Nana made me Bacalitos which I LOVE! I must have eaten at least a dozen!

My girlfriends back and dinner is almost done. So I'm off to enjoy a glass of red wine and talk the night away. See you in Belgium. ;)

P.S. I'll add photos of our day at the Botanical Gardens and of our time in NYC once I return home.

Fun in NYC

We're having a great time in NYC. The weather is beautiful too. Warm, sunny and not too much humidity. The train ride into the city was a breeze but right when we left my grandmother's and got into the subway I realized I forgot my camera battery charging at the house. ;( But F has been a let me borrow his camera so I can have some memories of our trip.

Friday night we went to an AMAZING Puerto Rican restaurant in Soho called Sazon. The food was absolutely fabulous and so authentic. I about wanted to order everything on the menu. So many things reminded me of the foods my grandmother & Mom would make when I was younger. My favorite was the cod fish fritters or as I call them Bacalitos. For dinner I had the fried Chuletas with the sweet plantains. A few of my friends had the pernil which was huge ; it definitely could have feed at least three people. C did great at the restaurant too. And what was wonderful was that he wasn't the only child eating there. Puerto Ricans love kids so the fact that children were dining at what I consider more of an adult restaurant didn't seem to bother anyone in the least.

Yesterday we spent the day at the Central Park Zoo. It's a rather small zoo but perfect for kids. We had a great time seeing the snow monkeys, penguins, and the polar bears. C enjoyed seeing the snow leopard as well.

After the zoo, we went to the petting zoo. C had fun playing on this spider web.

We went back to R & F's place and had a bite to eat before getting ready to go see "The Little Mermaid".

When we arrived at Times Square Lil' C said, "Mommy, why are there SO MANY people here?" It was really cute. The cab driver starting laughing and said, "Because this is Times Square and everyone wants to come here."

After finding the theatre we went back to Times Square and took a few photos. C told me, "Mommy, there are a lot of TV's here!" lol! The Little Mermaid was absolutely fantastic! Lil' C was mesmerized the entire time. He loved every minute of it. The sets were phenomenal and really created the illusion that you were underwater. I especially enjoyed when the prince fell overboard; it really looked like he was drowning or when Ariel made her transformation from mermaid to human. The talent that goes into creating these sets is amazing.

C had several favorite parts. When I asked him what they were this is what he said, "My favorite part was when she turned into a human, and when she was wearing the pink dress and when she got married, and when she took the shell."

The performance itself was wonderful. My favorite singing part had to be when Flounders (played by a young boy) sang this song about Ariel falling in love. It was a fun and upbeat song! Loved it!

It's another gorgeous day in New York today. Not sure what our plans are for the day but I'm hoping to have dinner at a restaurant called "Tree" that was featured Food Network called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". It's sure to be a good day!

Photos to go along with this blog coming soon!

The Big Apple

We leave for NYC today. I'm looking forward to spending time with my grandparents & our friends in the city. We have an exciting weekend planned with dinner at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Soho with C's godfather and his partner. It seems that Special Agent B will also be in NY visiting with some of his friends from city & New Zealand. It'll be great seeing him again. He's actually the one who chose the restaurant. This man loves Puerto Rican food! C & I also have plans to see "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway which I hear is really good. I'm sure C is going to enjoy it!

We're going to try and do a bit of site-seeing near my grandparents house too. I just hope the weather isn't too hot. Then it's off to New Jersey to visit our friends and my future daughter in law. ;) Right now going to see Lil' E is the highlight of C's upcoming week. He's super excited to seeing her.

Nature Walks + Pool Time

 

Our time here in Florida has been really easy going and fun. We’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my parents. Most of our days are spent at the pool and we’ve definitely been taking advantage of all the great shopping.

 

 

I absolutely love hanging out at the pool where my parents live. Not very many people use the pool so we pretty much have it all to ourselves most days. Unfortunately, since there aren’t very many kids I tend to be Lil’ C’s main playmate which means I’m always in the pool. A few weeks ago we met two boys & Lil’C really enjoys playing with them. One of the boys is 10 years old while his brother is 8. They’re the sweetest boys and are so nice to C. Once they found out we were from Belgium they asked us a ton of questions. It was great to see how interested they were in hearing about how our lifestyle is different from theirs. The second time we saw them at the pool Lil’C told them we were having a party (this is the first my parents & I heard about this) and he invited them over. C also asked them for their phone number too. lol! It was really cute.

 

On our way to the pool one day Lil’ C & I spotted a huge lizard that actually changed colors right before our eyes. It was amazing how subtle the change occurred. Lil’C wanted to take a picture of the chameleon but unfortunately I didn’t have my camera. So now every time we walk to the pool we’re on the lookout for this lizard. We’ve also spotted ducks, birds, frogs, and a mouse during our nature walks.

 

 

Leopard also accompanied us on our nature walk.

 

 

 

One morning or I should say early afternoon (we’ve been in total slow mode since we’ve arrived in Florida) my Dad & I took C to the lake to catch some tadpoles. C had a great time trying to catch these little guys.

 

 

 

 

He caught about 20 of them and put them into a tiny plastic container that came with his net. C was also very careful to put sand into the jar; he was convinced the tadpoles were eating the sand. He was so concerned with the tadpoles C even made my Dad promise to watch over the tadpoles once he went back home.

 

All throughout the day C kept a close watch on the tadpoles. He was constantly going out on the patio to see how they were doing. So the next morning when I found all twenty tadpoles dead I was a bit concerned how he would take this news. But he did great. We explained to him that the tadpoles probably didn’t have enough space to move around and they miss their old environment. He seem to understand but was still very curious as to why they died since he put the same water & sand that the tadpoles were used to.

 

Yesterday C & I got our hair cut. I absolutely love a stylist here in FL and definitely make it a point to get my hair cut before going back to Belgium. It was so nice to have someone you trust cut your hair.

 

Afterwards we went to the post office to drop off a few packages filled with things that are difficult or impossible to find in Belgium. And of course we made one last stop at Sephora. My Mom & I tried on so many different eye shadows & lipsticks we thought for sure the people at Sephora were going to kick us out! I kept doing my eye make up over and over again trying to find just the right color chocolate brown. Plus, C kept asking the salesgirls, "Could I have a perfume sample for my Mommy". lol!

 

 

Last night we also went to the beach to have dinner. C had fun playing in the sand, collecting sea shells, and enjoying some raspberry sorbet. We also listened to some live music and at the end of the show my Mom was begging me to buy a copy of the guy's cd. wink. wink! lol! She kept joking about it so much she had me laughing so hard!

 

 

I can't believe today is our last full day in Florida. ;( I spent the morning getting my hair trimmed again and running a couple of errands at the mall. The rest of our day was spent playing at the pool. We took full advantage of the gorgeous day and spent a good 5 hours swimming, searching for C’s little squids or as he likes to call them squidy, and playing in the water with my Mom. It was a great day but I’m definitely sad to be leaving.

In Between Pool Time

Since we’ve been in Florida we’ve seen quite a bit of rain. My Mom thinks we brought the rain over from Belgium. lol! What I find so crazy is how it can be an absolutely gorgeous day and then all of a sudden a few gray, dark clouds roll in and it will begin to thunder and once that starts the lightening begins what turns out to be an awesome show. Then it pours for about 20-30 minutes and then the clouds, thunder, and lightening disappear and out comes the sun with blue skies and white puffy clouds like the storm never happened.

 

 

C & I love to watch these storms. Even leopard has become a storm watcher. We enjoy going out into the patio & watching the lightening. Sometimes the thunder is so loud it can be quite scary especially for C who immediately puts his hands over his ears. Once night we must have seen two dozen lightening bolts. It was awesome. I remember when we first moved to Germany I would turn all the lights off in my house just to watch the storms. California just doesn’t experience these thunder storms so when you live in a place that does it’s really impressive to watch. I joke with S that when we retire I’m going to become a storm chaser. lol!

When these storms roll in or if it’s an incredibly hot day we tend to stay in. And C is taking full advantage of this time to watch cartoons and movies on regular & “on demand” tv. He’s completely spoiled. He’s going cold turkey once we get back to Belgium. lol!

 

Another fun activity we've been doing is decorate birdhouses. It’s become such a fun project and my parents have really gotten hooked too. It's funny because I didn't think my Mom would really be interested in painting so we gave her the tiny house to decorate but she surprised us all and was really into it. In fact, she painted 3 houses and helped C add details to his second house. The table was covered for about a week because we kept painting more houses and adding more details. Between the four of us we’ve painted 8 birdhouses so far and each time we paint one we get fancier and fancier with the home designs.

 

It’s a great rainy day project. In fact I bought a couple of houses and mailed them to myself. I thought it would be really fun to paint some holiday theme birdhouses over the winter months when the weather is cold.

 

 

 

Here’s a photo of the first set of birdhouses we finished. I love the little details my Mom and C added to their houses. And the bottom of my Dad’s house is very cool.

 

 

Off we go

Check List

• Suitcases packed full of clothes we rarely wear in Belgium like shorts & summer dresses!
• Rehearsal dress, shoes, & wedding gift packed in a separate suitcase in case main suitcase is lost
• Snacks ready
• Wedding speech prepared (Can't seem to read it without crying but will continue to practice)
• Waterproof mascara
• Activity books & Nintendo games all set
• Nintendo, iPod, camera, phone charged
• Passports
• GPS
• Tickets to see "The Little Mermaid" on Broadway printed
• Day Spa & hair appointments booked

Looks like we're all set. Summer here we come! See you in California baby!