Play today, back to school on Monday...

As mentioned earlier, the girls have been off from school during this past week. And, the last activity for this week was a playdate with some friends at Flying Kids in Wavre, Belgium.

Only 20-minutes away, Flying Kids is another indoor play area with a little cafe for the moms and dads to enjoy a cappucino or cafe latte, while the kids played to their hearts' content.

The children were happy to enjoy this last day of freedom, but were a bit sad knowing it's back to school on Monday. However, the parents all seemed quite the opposite...

Made in the U.S.A...

Ray's frequent visits back to the States, in combination with the visits from our family members (and not counting the huge supply of goods we brought with us to Belgium when we first moved here) means we have not missed many of our favorite American products.

Here are some of the items on the shopping list we sent with Ray to bring home to us in Belgium... (Not including all the goodies the girls received from GM and GP!!)

Now if I could only get him to bring me a six-pack of diet Mountain Dew!!

"Plopsa" fun in Hasselt!

DS, IB, and MB posing w/one of the Plopsa mascots (where's PS? -- attached to Mommy's leg!)

This week schools are shut down for winter/Carnival break. So today, my friend Tasha and I decided to take our girls to Plopsa Indoor Amusement Park in Hasselt, Belgium. About a 45-minute drive from Tervuren brought us to this young children's paradise. And this park is perfect for cold winter days since most of the park is situated indoors.

Although it is a small park (20 attractions on a surface of 2 football courts), it's packed w/lots of fun rides, play areas and even a fun, high-energy show that is sure to please any child. I was almost going to compare it to an indoor Adventure City, however, as Plopsa was built in December of 2005, it is, of course, much nicer. The scenery and layout of the park is charming and visually impressive.

Mommy and PS are right behind DS!! PS says "Wheee!!"

Bumba, ?, and Kaatje as they were escorted to their show...

Since it was very crowded, we didn't get to ride or see everything in the park, but to entertain the kids for the day and have good company while doing it, well -- it was totally worth it!

The girls hamming it up for the camera after a day of "plotsa" fun!

Music, good food and great view...

Sounds like a date, doesn't it? Well, actually not. Not possible since Ray is in California racking up more 1K points. So, in my quest to stay busy while Ray is away, what to do with the girls for the one day I didn't have plans for?

DS & PS sitting in front of a statue (I'm still trying to figure out what this is) near Gare Central Station...

I decided to take the girls on a jaunt to the Musical Instruments Museum (Musee des Instruments de Musique) here in Brussels. A tram and metro ride later, we found ourselves in the heart of Brussels and a short walk away to the museum (after we figured out where to go, that is).

The exterior of the building which houses the Musical Instruments Museum...

The museum is sitated in a lovely art-noveau building, which was once the luxurious Old England Department Store in the 19th century. Friends have said the restaurant at the top is a must for its fabulous view, so we made it our first stop. We had an enjoyable lunch and the bird's eye view of the city did not disappoint.

A corner table with an incredible view...

DS & PS love going out to restaurants...

Salade de nouilles aux legumes des de poulet aux herbes... (what happened to my chicken salad? Note to self -- bone up on French!) My noodle dish with chicken and vegetables actually turned out to be quite nice.

Spaghetti jambon fromage for the girls...

After lunch, we proceeded to browse the museum. We were armed with infrared headsets which played the sounds of the instruments as you stepped in front of each exhibit. Pretty cool. The museum houses thousands of instruments, modern and historical from practically every culture and country of the world. My favorite -- the bagpipes, which coincidentally, sparked a funny conversation between DS and I on how we might get Daddy to dress up in a traditional scottish kilt. Like I said, it was a pretty funny conversation.

DS and PS listening to the music of this instrument from Asia...

The girls enjoyed the area where they could actually touch and play some of the instruments. Although this area was quite small, they also enjoyed walking through the museum listening to different types of music.

PS demonstrating her musical abilities...

DS giving it a go, too...

On the way back to the metro station, we came across Hotel Ravenstein, which I learned is the sole surviving building from the 15th century Burgundian Period. It's amazing how you find little pieces of history just walking through the city...

The girls posing in front of Hotel Ravenstein...

We made it to Gare Central Station for the trip home!

It's Carnival Time in Belgium!!

Well, almost. Actually, the main events start on Sunday, February 22nd, the 3 days prior to Lent. The festivities and parties, however, have already commenced. Many of the local school children were dressed up in costumes today. Here are our neighbors dressed in their costumes who stopped by for a visit earlier this afternoon.

And here is PS at our weekly Wednesday playgroup celebrating Carnival with a little party and enjoying yet another holiday dressing up in costume. PS came dressed as Alice in Wonderland.

PS and buddy AC hamming it up on the trampoline...

And what party would be complete without yummy snacks to eat!!

Fruit, sausage rolls, cookies and cupcakes!!

So, that's what PS does at school!

It's not often that parent's are allowed into the classroom at the Children's House here in Tervuren, so when PS' school (International Montessori) had a "Mom's Morning" one recent Saturday, I could not pass up this opportunity.

PS working on lacing cards...

and a wooden puzzle...

PS was happy and very confident in her classroom surroundings, anxious and proud to show Mommy what she does in school. She chose to work with a wooden puzzle and lacing cards as her activities. What she really wanted to do, was to make bread or an apple pie, but alas not enough time for that. When she was thirsty, she poured herself several glasses of milk, then proceeded to wash her own glass, dry it, and put out a new glass for the next person. All this was done on her own, so I was quite surprised to see how independent she was. She even proceeded to sweep the floor! Now if I could only get her to do this at home!!

PS pouring herself a glass of milk

Washing her glass...

and even drying it!

The morning ended with a special chocolate muffin baked by Ms. Marie... And hugs from her two favorite teachers.

PS and Ms. Heather (english-speaking teacher *from Australia)

PS and Ms. Marie (french-speaking teacher *from France)

"Brussels in Love"...

Or should I say I'm in love with Brussels?? Yes, I'm still at the "honeymoon stage" with my love of living abroad here in Belgium. Even with the zero degree temperatures (that's celcius, folks) I still love it. While I admit that I'm looking forward to the warmer temperatures approaching in spring, the seasonal changes here have been such a wonderful experience.

So, today on Valentine's Day, we took full advantage of the beautiful sunny day and headed out to the Grand Place. Before we started out, we had a nice heart-filled breakfast at home where we exchanged cards and the girls presented Daddy with the presents they had been working on earlier in the week...

Heart-shaped breakfast compliments of Chez-Ray

Instead of driving (like we usually do), we decided to take the tram and metro into the Grand Place. Ray and I wondered why we didn't take public transport on our previous trips there-- it is so much easier.

The girls validating their tickets on the metro

PS and DS having fun on the Tervuren Tram

After a nice lunch at Chez Leon, we headed out to see what Mannequin Pis was wearing today. Today he was wearing a dragon costume (perhaps because of the fast approaching Carnival). He reminded me of a Gremlin.

Moules, spaghetti bolognese and poulet roti at Chez Leon (with wine and beer, of course!)

Mannequin Pis (the Gremlin) in his Carnival costume

Of course, we stopped at our favorite waffle shop a few steps away. Mmmmm, so DELISH!!

After our tummies were happily satisfied, we strolled down a few blocks to the Place de la Monnaie where we took part in a special event, "Brussels in Love" held by the city in honor of Valentine's Day. Here, we were treated to free Belgian chocolates and an "Elixir of Love" (chocolate drink). We then proceeded to fill out self-addressed postcards which we attached to "love balloons" that were launched into the Belgium skyline at 3:00pm sharp.

DS writing her name and address on "love balloon" postcard...

Un, deux, trois... Let go of your balloons!!

The girls also got to meet the Smurfs, who wouldn't you know it, were created by Belgian cartoonist, Peyo. The Smurfs just recently celebrated their 50th anniversary as they were first introduced in a Belgian comics magazine in October of 1958.

After a fun-filled day, the girls have decided that they would like to go to the Grand Place on every holiday. No doubt they had a fabulous time!!