Thursday Bullets

• Halloween will probably go largely unnoticed here today except that I will try to make pumpkin soup for dinner. I had plans to buy a pumpkin and carve it together with Isolde but we never got around to it. She doesn't care yet though so it doesn't matter and besides, she already celebrated Halloween at school last week. This weekend we will probably visit a pumpkin patch (with the usual Halloween activities) though when we see friends in the UK. 
• Isolde has autumn holiday this week and has been home with Peter and Harald (and keeping her dad busy). They had planned to go to the Swedish church to check out their play groups but turns out it is also closed this week. So instead they've been frequenting playgrounds and met up with P & kid(s) a couple of times. 
• Early tomorrow morning we're heading to the UK by car. Hopefully the kids will sleep part of the 6-hour journey. I'm really grateful that we hadn't planned to go last weekend with the storm that we felt parts of also here in Belgium even though we were just on the periphery of it.
• We will be coming back from our weekend trip very late Sunday night so I've taken Monday off (tomorrow Friday is a Belgian and also Commission holiday, All Saints Day).  I'm looking forward to sleeping in a little and hanging with Peter and the kids. We may take the opportunity to go to Ikea for some supplies (candles for the approaching dark season) and we also really need to buy some plants for both indoors and the balconies. It gets very humid in the flat due to tight windows so I hope the plants will help a little. 
• Peter has bought tickets to go home to see friends in December when my mum visits. I'm happy that he decided to go, as he doesn't have as many opportunities to meet people as me at work and I don't want him to get bored. That weekend is also his office's Christmas party so a good time to go home. And of course it's also good timing, as my mum will be here anyway to keep me and the kids company. 
• Last weekend we had a really nice time when P, O & kids came over for dinner. We managed to eat a three-course dinner even though it took us a few hours :) We clearly need to have more friends with kids over so Isolde learns how to share her toys. At the moment she's in a very non-sharing mood also with her brother. But I guess it's a phase and probably also due to the fact that she isn't used to having friends over anymore since we moved here. 
• We have registered the family with a doctor (thanks P for the recommendation). It's a one-minute walk from  home so very convenient.  To continue on the medical theme, I took this year's flu shot (offered at work) yesterday. I have never had the flu but I don't want to risk anything so since a few years back I usually take it every year. 
• I finally put Harald on the waiting list for the Commission's crèche (childcare) and also started contacting a few alternatives where we live (the Commission one is near work but it would be more convenient to have one near Isolde's school). He won't start until next autumn (September 2014) but there are queues almost everywhere so it cannot wait.