Maminko, moje ouško už zase fotografuje

Mommy, my ear is taking pictures again!

We both already know what does this popping and crackling sound mean. Since we've moved to Belgium Maarten already has had an ear infection several times.

After nights 'spent with monsters and jellyfishes' this meant another sleepless night in a row.


And this had to happen just before Maarten's big day!
He was looking forward to celebrate his birthday with his grandma and family for the very first time!





Surprisingly Saturday morning he seemed doing much better.
It was a little bit of disappointment when he woke up and went downstairs. He expected Oma and Babi already would be there.

- Maarten, I've told you many times. Babi is not coming!

- But why not?!

How can I explain to him that his Czech grandma doesn't want to travel during the winter? Even not for his birthday!

- Babi cannot come because her house and street is deeply covered by snow.

- So?! She will put her big boots on and shovel a path through it!


Similar discussion followed about Dejda, one of his best friends back in California.

- Why won't he just come by plane?!...


Maarten was so happy when his guests finally arrived.
And although he kept up well with the crowd at first he ended up sleeping on the sofa exhausted and with a fever not even able to say goodbye to anyone.

PS: Pictures courtesy of Hans de Jonghe

Happy Birthday Maarten!

Today is our dearest boy's 5th birthday!

Together we chose a present for the class, a nice tradition of giving something everybody might enjoy.
Giving instead of receiving! It's nice to see how the children like the idea. At least Maarten does.


As every year our house is decorated with streamers and plenty of balloons.


Even the baker did a good job by baking a huge cake for all Maarten's classmates, as promised.








It's a big celebration in the class. They make a crown for the birthday kid, the children can choose what they want to do that day and they sing songs.



And as for me...it's hard to believe...my little baby has turned 5!
Where has the time gone?!

'Krokusvakantie'

The ski trip was fantastic. This shouldn't be that surprising because vacations spent on the ski slopes were always my favorites. But going to the mountains with a kid does involve some more organization and... packing! It is simply impossible to travel with one midsize backpack like I used to years ago.


Even though this is already the 3rd ski season for Maarten I insisted on putting him in the ski school this time. Not because he needed to learn skiing but because it's the most efficient way for him to stay safe.
I believe, even I had to do it in the past myself, that one shouldn't teach his or her child. Especially if skiing supposed to be fun!


Maarten loves skiing but he can use some more discipline on the slope and somehow the teachers do have more authority in that than we do.
While skiing with us, Maarten always thinks we are racing or chasing each other and he would go downhill in a race speed fearless of falling. I was hoping this will change with the age but as he is also getting heavier he goes even faster.
There were other reasons for enrolling him in ski school too. Yes yes! We could ski at our own pace!
But we were also hoping Maarten will enjoy younger ski buddies and get used to the “follow the leader” approach.
Besides, I was convinced that the teachers should have all the patience in the world, compared to me!

Unfortunately, the latest wasn't the case. We actually saw Claudia, Maarten's first day teacher, being angry and even pushing him roughly to the ground, probably out of frustration. He wasn't able to get up and he obviously didn't understand her instructions.
This was one reason I felt a bit guilty leaving him with the ski school instructors who mostly speak only Swiss German.

Afterwards when we picked Maarten up surprisingly he was enthusiastic not only about his first lesson but also about Claudia! On the contrary Claudia insisted on putting Maarten in another class, meaning with another teacher.
You may understand this was quite a relief for me as well.


Since then everything went just perfect. Maarten had fun with friendly Conny's group, and after the ultimate lunch of French fries and sausages we spent the afternoon together on the slopes.




Even though we still don't know the details, Maarten won two medals in 'ski races' during his last lesson. This obviously made his day.




Nevertheless, the only thing was a bit of a downer on this vacation...I had to say Goodbye to my good old ski boots!
Another big piece of plastic broke out somewhere inside and after 23 years of great service I was forced to throw them away at last.

Just one more night's sleep

In the beginning of this week Maarten brought this strange message in his little notebook.
A message from Marie Joski...
Again something quite new for us and especially for Maarten.

According to tradition the last afternoon before the krokusvakantie (spring half-term) his school celebrates Carnival.


Everybody would not just dress up in costumes but also the children may exceptionally eat frietjes (French fries), Maarten's (and Belgium's?) most cherished food!

Maarten can hardly wait.

And then, after another night's sleep we will join the crazy crowd on the way to the mountains...

I don't like an overheated home. If I lived alone I would be happy with 17 degrees Celsius.
However, I don't need to worry about that in our current dwelling. I believe 19 °C is the maximum you can achieve in this house. I doubt there is any floor, roof or wall insulation. And, with only one exception, all the windows are single pane, which is useless in keeping heat inside.
Our rental is not so exceptional since according to a recent study (Verbond van de Glasindustrie) approximately 33% of Belgian homes are still equipped with single pane windows.

Anyway, last Thursday the old kettle finally gave up the ghost and the indoor temperature of 9 °C is too cold even for me.

There has been already enough written about the "famous" Belgian customer service by others so I rather skip this subject. The fact that we are already five days without heating speaks for itself.


This weekend was awful. The weather got even worse and we have had to cancel a planned friend’s visit. Even though there is a nice fireplace in the living room it manages heating the room for only two more degrees.



Our Sunday outing did only little cheer us up. Chasing after Maarten on his bike through the foggy forest was a good way to warm up but returning to our frozen "palace" afterwards really didn't make us feel any better.