No worries, we are still alive and well! Last week was dominated by garage sale prep and squeezing in outside time whenever it wasn’t raining. We have had a rainy few weeks and we are some sunshine and shorts weather. I see people writing about Spring coming to an end in the US and we haven’t really seen ours yet. On top of the “waiting on Spring funk” Owen has temporarily launched back into his 5 AM wake ups. I say temporarily because it just can’t go on. We have gotten through it before and I know it is somewhat teething related. This too shall pass, but we are tired!
Here are a few pictures from last week….
cereal is much more fun when it is crushed and poured while mommy is busy cooking and distracted
these shutters were on an old farm house we passed on a walk…wouldn’t they look beautiful on my wall. I wonder how much the farmer would want for them?!
beware of these leaves!! They cause and itchy reaction with white welts. we know from experience.Luckily our friend knew exactly what herb to pick to rub on it and relieve some of the reaction!
eew.
amazing view!
cookies to sell at the garage sale!
the garage sale was semi-successful, we sold all of our big stuff but had lots of little stuff left. We plan to put out a table at the upcoming neighborhood sale that we just learned about! After that it’s off to goodwill!
and on Sunday morning after our long week when we thought we couldn’t go on we were serenaded by this spectacular house band that revived us for a new week!
ps-more coming this week! House updates from back home as well as a post I have been working on about taking meals to friends!
read more
sissy-boy homeland was a beeeUtiful store in which I could afford nothing. but I enjoyed browsing this store sans boys!! Our time in Maastricht was also very rainy and cold so we bustled through the city, went into a couple of shops and grabbed lunch before heading back to Brussels to warm up! We didn’t take many pictures there because of the rain. On our way home we stopped at the Floralia Brussels tulip gardens. If you live in the area I would definitely recommend it! But i also have to give a shout out for Dallas Blooms in the Dallas Arboretum! We have such fond memories there and I must say they could definitely compete with any of these Euro displays! We hit it on the first weekend so many things had yet to bloom but it was still so pretty.
home again, home again clippity clop!
read more
On Saturday we spent the morning with other Embassy families on the Ambassador’s lawn participating in a “Spring fling”. The boys had fun hunting for eggs, doing a bunny hop sack race, racing with spoons on eggs and all kinds of fun games. Our Community Liaison office did a great job. Here are some pictures (excuse the huge sun spots, we roasted hot dogs over a fire by the river the night before and I forgot to clean my lens. Oh well.)
Jackson with our neighbor Dominic
Owen proudly craddled his egg and spoon the whole way!
bunny hop
In other news, we closed on our house last night! here is it for those who haven’t seen it on facebook yet!
We popped a bottle of bubbly and had some chocolates to celebrate! Looking forward to seeing it for the first time in our jetlag fog on July 2nd!!
We are all packed and heading out after Seth gets off work today to take a family road trip. We have some foreign service friends that live in Brussels and they are away in London for the week and have offered their home! So, free lodging and some time away! We are going to drive tonight as far as the base and spend the night their. We are hoping to take the boys bowling and for lunch on the base before driving on the Belgium. We are not super spontaneous so planning this a few weeks ago is kind of pushing my spontaneity level. These family road trips tend to be quite refining but I think a little family time might be just what the boys need. We have been packing our schedule way too tight with playdates and have had little time just the 4 of us! So, here’s hoping for the best…6 hours each way! 
We hope that you all have a blessed Easter!
read more
You haven’t heard from me lately…sorry, the weather has us a bit distracted. It is still chilly this week but it is super sunny and we have been outside as much as possible. Yesterday we took a long walk with a friend along some fields where a shepherd was grazing his sheep. The boys love nothing more than getting muddy and sweaty so it was right up their alley. We came home and I immediately begged Seth to start dinner so I could shower off the smells of the fields. We have busted out the big bucket of toys for the atrium and the boys have reclaimed their little boy kingdom out there. I will give them a few weeks to play “Lord of the flies” before I reclaim it for pretty potted plants!
For about an hour this morning I got a burst of energy and cleaned out a couple more closets. I was in such a great mood thinking it was FRIDAY. Turns out it’s only Thursday. But the sun is shining and a couple more closets are sorted as a result of my day of the week confusion.
Here are a few pictures from our week…
it was new crayon and marker day in our house today…tossed all the old crusty markers and brought out the new packs I was saving for such a time as this. This is big stuff folks!
and someone (who shall remain nameless) COULD NOT resist the urge to feel off all of the papers of our fresh, new, pretty crayons. It is kind of one of those letting them mix the playdough colors moments of motherhood.
my new thyme plant is climbing towards the window! she can’t wait to live in the atrium!
this is blurry but I have to include it because it is a miracle in our house…Owen is smiling between bites of Barefoot Contessa’s lentil soup! I have to share the recipe because everyone in the house enjoyed it and Owen requested it today for lunch!!! Here ya go…Lentil Sausage Soup . It has some kick so if your family doesn’t love a little kick just reduce the pepper. Honestly, Owen is FUSSY about food and I assumed a lentil soup, green lentils at that would scare him away. Nope! Try it!
and while we are talking food I should tell you that Seth brought back some of these goodies from Trader Joe’s. So yum. Thanks, Seth.
So, I have inspired you with not so much and told you nothing exciting today. I guess I shared a recipe! That’s something. Hope you are all well and enjoying Spring wherever you may be!
read more
