End of October update...

We've had a busy last couple of weeks since Grammy and Paps have been gone.  We went to Luxembourg for Preslee's last season volleyball games.  They finished the season 12-1, so we were very proud even though the one loss haunts us all a little, especially coach.  Now we wait until our tournament in Paris Nov 20.

Mike and I went to a beer tasting and history night at the club.  It was very interesting to learn about how beer came about here, how it's made, and how it's definitely taken very serious here.  I thought the oddest thing is that every beer made has it's own glass and every bar/restaurant must serve it in that glass or the beer company could shut the place down.  Our speaker told us, if we are waiting for a long time for our drink it's not that they forgot,it could be because they are waiting for a clean glass! Some of the places where you buy beer will have the glasses for sale beside each different beer....very interesting.  Mike liked the taste of most the beer, and I of course did not get to taste yet.

Baby is growing well (very well) and seems to be very active.  Doc appointments are good except for the parking.  I get anxious every time I have to go because parking is hard to find.  There is no parking lot, there are very few of those here, so I have to drive around and around until I can find a spot that I feel I can get my big SUV in without hitting another car.  It's not easy.  You also have to watch if you can even park in a spot because it could be someone's "personal" spot and you could get towed.  The only way to know this is if you can see a little license plate or tow truck sign on or around the area.  So, while driving to find a spot, looking to see if there is a no parking sign, and trying to avoid hitting a tram, it can be a little nerve wracking.  Most often I am parked a few blocks away and have to walk to the office, then I have to write down the street names so I can remember where I parked!!  And yes, I think Mike should be taking me so he can worry with the parking!  Maybe you should tell him that...
They also do different blood work here than in the U.S.  I had to be screened to see if I am immune to toxoplasmosis, which I am not.  Now I have to get blood work done every month to make sure I don't get it.  I guess it is just more common here because of all the cats that are everywhere.  They carry the disease and pass it through their urine on soil where fruits and veggies are grown.  So I was told to not order salads in places where I haven't personally washed the lettuce and to really wash everything well.  You are also suppose to not be around small children, a little difficult for me....but a teacher at the school could not teach this year because of the same thing.  I told my doc not to worry that I would just eat lots of fries and chocolate :)  She just laughed, she thinks Americans are funny.


I have a great friend that I met here.  She is nice to talk to, gives me lots of advice on living here, and just had a baby, so we have a lot in common.  She also has two boys that are in Kade and Drake's classes, and they are best friends.  But this week she made me a very, very happy person!  Her husband works for the embassy so she has military privileges.  Well, she took me with her to the base this week to shop.  I was more excited about shopping than I ever have been!  They have everything U.S. there and it's in USD and cheap.  The grocery store was just like a Kroger and I was in heaven.  It was so nice to have everything in English and to see things that you recognize.  You all may think I'm crazy, but it was great!  I used to hate Walmart and the grocery store, but now I miss them!  It was just what I needed since I'm a little homesick.  My cart was huge and overflowing.  I was most excited about getting biscuits and sausage, two things that I haven't, and probably won't, find in local grocery stores.  Well, I filled our fridge and pantry for hopefully the next few months.

Just a little of what I bought....

Halloween
Well, it's done a little differently here, just like everything else.  It's not really celebrated as much, they more celebrate All Saints Day.  You can find costumes and such in a few stores, but there aren't the big bags of candy to buy.  There are a couple of neighborhoods that you can go to to trick or treat.  I wouldn't have known about them if it wasn't for people at school.  I had to buy enough candy for three kids and drop it off at a house a few days before the night.  Then whoever is organizing the event distributes the candy to each house that will take trick or treaters.  Each house that was involved had a balloon on the mailbox.  There were only about 20 houses but it was nice and short.  The kids didn't get a ton of candy (that I will end up eating) and it made it a fairly short night.  The kids had fun and I was glad to have done a little Halloween since I wasn't sure we'd be doing it at all.

I found Preslee a costume but didn't have much luck with the boys, they were fine with digging in the costume box to find one.  Drake was super excited to be Scooby again and Kade is a Star Wars freak, so he didn't mind either.

Sassy Skeleton Preslee

Preslee and the boys with their best buds.



The boys' classes celebrated United Nations day this week.  They had to bring a snack to school that represented their home country and dress in the colors of their flag.  Since this happened the day after trick or treating, I was up until about 11 making cornbread and biscuits for them to take, plus Kade's treat for his bday.  It was a crazy couple of days.  The kids sang a few cute songs and then got to eat all the yummy food.

After the UN day celebrations, I had about an hour to kill before going to Preslee's play that day.     Not long enough to drive home and back or do anything else, so my friend and I decided to take a walk by the Boisfort ponds down from the school.  We saw a few unexpected sights that day.  After we walked to the pond, we decided to walk more up into the forest area, which is called The Tournay Solvay Park.

We saw all of these artistic displays throughout the forest.  We decided that they were made from some sort of melted plastic.  Most were quite intriguing. This red dress was the first one we saw.

This was a beautiful rose garden that we found and it had another dress in the middle of it.  I'm sure it's even prettier in the spring.

 We saw this buddah head in the background and it kind of freaked us out.

This was an old abandoned chateau that we saw.  It was built in 1868. There is a long story behind it, but the city apparently would not let it become an office building, which is good, but it is in disrepair.  We thought the trees growing in the middle were quite interesting.

On our way back to the school, we saw this huge bird in the middle of the pond.  I couldn't get a great pic, but it's a lot bigger than it looks.  There were also swans  as well.  It was a great walk.

The 5th grade class put on a performance that day as well.  They put a cowboys and Indians twist on the Ancient Greek myths.  It was interesting and a little confusing, but they did a great job.  They each had their own costume made or bought for them, which I thought was pretty impressive.  

Lastly, we celebrated Kade's birthday today.  Thankfully, he just basically wanted a playdate with his buddies.  Easy...yay!  So, he invited his closest friends and we took them all to McDonalds (crazy on Saturdays by the way), and then brought them home to play like wild boys outside.  Thank goodness it was a nice day out.

SPIDERMAN!

 I noticed these cakes were always in the bakery at the store (at this point I have no idea where to have a cake made), so I asked Kade..."why don't you do spiderman for your bday?"  He said "ok."  He's so agreeable.

Can't they always like each other like this??? 

 

Drake got a present too....they loved their new bats!

Next week....PARIS