Long Time No See!

A lot has happened since I last wrote three months ago. Will take it in bullets. It's Thursday after all!

• In May our dear friends Maria and Daniel visited for a short weekend to celebrate Daniel's 40th birthday. Of course that required proper celebration at a two-star restaurant! Thanks P & O for babysitting!

Cheese!

• Later in May we flew back to Sweden for a long weekend to celebrate my mother's 60th birthday (and my parents also celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary). The weather was perfect, sunny and 28 degrees! My mother was very happy for her gift from me - a visit to Chelsea Flower Show next year (that reminds me, should probably book the tickets already now), something she has wanted to do for a very long time! My mum is also, despite her age (ha ha, though these days 60 is still very young) finally getting a driving license, so she's busy studying theory and taking lessons. Good for her!

• A few days after Sweden we packed up the car (you can never travel light with kids!) and drove to Münich together with our friendbours P & O to visit O's brother and wife over the Ascension Day weekend. On the way there we stopped in Frankfurt (partly because we left after work on the Wednesday and partly to split the long drive - 7+ hours - for the sake of the kids) to spend the night, but on Sunday we drove home in one go. We were a bit unlucky with the weather but otherwise I really liked Münich and we had a very nice time. Unfortunately Isolde caught a fever so on Saturday she and I spent the afternoon in the hotel as well as in a local playground while the rest of the group continued their sightseeing (this meant I sadly missed the visit to the Englischer Garten, but we'll probably be back some day).

I didn't take that many pictures with the iPhone but this is what Münich is all about, right :)

• The following weekend Peter went to Sweden again, this time for the wedding of a friend of his. We didn't feel like travelling with the children again for the third time in just two weeks, so he went by himself. Nice for him to get some child-free time as well. While he was in Sweden, the kids and I hung out with the neighbours - of course - and I packed a bit. Friday was 6 June and the Swedish National Day so P, T and I took the kids to the Swedish church for the celebrations in the evening. Sunday it was Princess Leonore's christening so we used the occasion to have a brunch with the friendbours, or at least the females of the families and the children, while the christening was on TV in the background. I also had the Monday off for Pentecoast and since Peter came back Sunday evening, we had a family day as well. 

Emily, Harald and Isolde at the National Day celebrations!

• The following week and weekend was the big move! I took half of Thursday and all of Friday off - work gives a leave entitlement for up to two days for removal purposes. Thursday afternoon we set out to Ikea with quite a long list - wardrobes for our bedroom, for Harald (Isolde had one already coming with the lorry from Sweden) and for the entrance/downstairs hallway, crib for Harald, bookcase for the kids' room, a double bed for the large/main guest room and other bits and pieces. The movers were supposed to arrive Friday with our furniture from the Stockholm flat, but they called and said that they were arriving early and asked whether it was possible to unload already Thursday afternoon. So they arrived around the time we returned from Ikea with lots of flatpacks (we used this excellent Ikea taxi service that only costs 30 euros irrespective of how much stuff you have and they help load and unload the van and there's no waiting time). We had reserved to block the street from other parked cars for the Friday to allow room for the lorry, but since it was Thursday still they had to just park in the road. Luckily it is not a very trafficated road so it worked out fine. We had booked a window lift - very exciting for the kids - for Friday afternoon to get some of the bulky furniture upstairs, as the staircase is a bit narrow, so we still made use of our cleared street part. On Sunday the "friendbours took the kids for most of the day so we could get some unpacking done and assemble Ikea furniture. After that it started to look like a home, or at least the start of one, and from that Sunday night (15 June) we slept in the house.  

Some order but mostly disorder!

Exciting!

• Isolde made her first school trip ever in mid-June. They went by bus to a horse farm near Leuven where they were able to ride and feed the horses, look at sheep and bake some bread (very tasty actually!). She had a really great time and asked several days in a row if she was going on an excursion that day again.  

Isolde's farm-baked bread
 

Isolde reenacts her school photo :)

• We had guests at the new house from the start. Even before we moved in Peter had assembled the grill and the trampoline so we were ready to receive guests, big and small! The first dinner was with P & O and kids and the first BBQ with our other neighbours T & M and another friend A with her boyfriend J, without the kids as we had organised a babysitter for the evening. We had meant to watch Belgium's first match in the World Cup on big screen in the local square but there were so many people that we decided to go home instead.

First BBQ at the house!

• The following weekend was Midsummer's and we had the celebrations at the house on the Saturday (Friday being a regular work day here) with 9 adults and 8 kids even though our house was in a bit of a state still. The weather was perfect and we were mostly outside anyway. We even had a proper Maypole and wreaths for the kids, thanks to T. There was so much food over so the next day almost the same crowd came over (minus 2 adults and 2 kids) for the leftovers and stayed all day. We didn't get much unpacking and organising done that weekend, but there would be time for that. Life is too short not to enjoy it fully with good friends!

• Peter managed to trip and fall on top of our glass table in the living room in the middle of our Midsummer fun, which broke in a thousand pieces, but luckily he wasn't injured except for some minor cuts (very fortunate, it could be much worse). It was funny in a tragicomical way because P, when seeing the table for the first time the day before, had asked "is that really safe with kids?" and Peter had responded "I've had this table for almost 18 years, several grown men have fallen on it, it's very sturdy..", etc. I guess the years and all those "bumps" had taken its toll and perhaps travelling 1,500 km in a lorry from Stockholm to Brussels was the final straw. Now we're on the lookout for a new table and possibly we're going for an almost exact table from Habitat (if we dare...).  

The table that no longer is...

• After that it was school's out for Isolde and we drove to Sweden on Friday 27 June. The trip went surprisingly well, much better than the trip to Münich a few weeks earlier. We started around 9 in the morning and took our time to Travemünde where we were going to take the ferry to Sweden. Actual driving time was just over 6 hours but we took two breaks and arrived in Lübeck around 6pm for dinner and a walk around. The ferry wasn't leaving until 22:00 and check-in was at 20:00 so we had plenty of time to kill. Once on the ferry the kids were able to play in the playroom for a while before bedtime. We had chosen one of the largest cabins so that we had proper beds (well, sort of, but at least avoid top bunks) and more space.

Great time in the ball pool!

• The ferry arrived to Trelleborg already at 07:30 so we had to set the alarm pretty early. We had some breakfast on the boat but saved some room for a second breakfast at an old school friend who lives in the Skåne countryside. So our first stop on the Swedish side was a visit to C. in little village Stora Beddinge for some just-out-of-the-oven scones and fresh coffee. Last time I saw C. was three years ago and before then...15 years?? It was very nice meeting her sambo and children and I'm very glad that we stopped by. Around 10am we headed north and only stopped once for lunch after almost 3½ hours as the kids slept for most of the first leg. After the lunch stop we only had another two hours or so before we reached my parents' house in Södertälje in time for dinner.  
• That weekend I had the chance to see Saltistjejen from New York who was in Sweden for the summer and meet the latest addition to the family. So glad we were able to meet up, even if only for a short fika!

• Sunday evening I flew back to Brussels to work while Peter drove to his parents' summer house. I had to work for another two weeks, however, I flew to Sweden for the weekend, and Peter and the kids joined me in Stockholm where we stayed in his parents' apartment. That weekend I also had the opportunity to join a farewell get-together for a colleague from my old (or Swedish) job (and did karaoke for the first time in ages and "better than good" as the saying goes...). While I was on my own in Brussels for two weeks (or ten working days) I did a little unpacking and fixing but also took the opportunity to go out with colleagues and friends, for example girls' night to celebrate P's birthday. The first few days alone felt rather lonely but then got used to it and the second week I started longing for the kids (and Peter too of course) again, even though I had seen them at the weekend :) And great weather had come to Sweden while I was shivering in 14'C Brussels and had to turn the heating on as I was all alone in a big house!
• Then on 11 July I flew to Sweden again, but this time for four weeks holiday! But more about that in a separate post!

April's Gone

May already and more than a month since I last wrote, so time for a little recap.

• Lots of work for me. This time of the year, March-May, will always be very busy, even though the busy period started already in January.
• But at the same time, April means Easter and we were able to spend almost 10 days in Sweden. We had a much more relaxing schedule than last time we were home at Christmas and spent most of the time with family but met with a few sets of friends. We also ticked off a few "duties" on our list, dentist for Peter and Isolde (first ever visit for her - it went well and she opened her mouth long enough for them to count her teeth), vaccination shots for Isolde, belated one-year check-up at BVC for Harald, and doctor's appointment for me to get migraine medicine (here in Belgium they only have these huge packs that only holds three pills while I can get a pack of 30 in Sweden).

Traditional Finnish Easter eggs and Finnish (Danish?) smørrebrød at Thomas & Minna's new flat on Easter Saturday.

Easter decoration à la Isolde

Harald is enjoying that all playgrounds in Sweden have swings

Easter cake helper

Eating corn snacks in his sleep...

Time to fly back to Brussels

• Spring comes earlier here than in Sweden (and this year it is an usually early spring apparently) and in mid-April it looked and smelled like Sweden in May. You know those flowers you associate with the last few weeks of school before summer vacation. But here that is very much April rather than May. Now it is completely green. The cherry trees blossomed at in mid-March and the magnolia was almost withering by the end of March. The lilac are still in bloom though.
• We finished the month of April with Walpurgis Eve / Valborg celebrations at the Scandinavian School in Waterloo on 30 April together with our new neighbours, Swedish T., Welsh M. and their daughter E.

• E. also started attending Isolde's school at the end of April. They are not in the same class but the two classes spend the afternoons together.

Off to school on E's first day

• We have also made some more definite plans for our continued stay here in Belgium. Peter will be working for his Swedish employer until the end of the year - still on parental leave until August and after that, remote working either from home or from his company's office here in Brussels. That will give him more time to find a job here.
• We also started looking for houses to rent here in April, and this week Tuesday we signed for a very nice house in the same neighbourhood where we live now (so we don't have to change schools/crêche)! We are so excited! We will get access at the beginning of June so now we are looking into moving our furniture from Sweden here. As our tenants in the Stockholm flat have moved out and we are looking for new tenants we have the opportunity to move the furniture and then let it unfurnished instead.

Our new house!

• In the saga that is Harald's computer addiction he managed to break my iPhone screeen while we were in Sweden but luckily it didn't cost me too much to fix it. Unnecessary of course but it is very difficult to say no to him sometimes! Now I have problems with the LCD screen under the glass and sometimes I can hardly see what I'm doing so it's time to buy a new one (and I should probably complain to the repair place in Sweden but I don't think I kept the receipt...)!

Must. Get. The. Computer.

• We have hung out with the neighbours and been to one housewarming party of an old acquaintance from my stagiaire days who also lives here now (they came to our drink in March as well). Unfortunately in April we had to say goodbye to our good friends Chris & Jacqui who moved back to the UK after four years in Belgium (after before that four years in Sweden where we first met them). We miss them so much! Luckily it is not too far to the UK from here and especially not to Kent in south England where they live now.

We will miss little Emilie and her brother Daniel, and their parents of course!

• Our dear friends and neighbours P & O brought back some shoes for our kids from Spain where they spent Easter. Shoes are so much cheaper there! And it's good quality leather shoes! We will need to put in another order for their next visit! :)

• And the kids are growing and learning new things! Isolde is drawing cars and Harald is practising his fine motor skills.

February Points

• Last days of February! It already feels like spring in Brussels (and a few days ago we had 12-13 degrees even) and when March comes it will be spring for real! I would have liked a bit more winter, at least a few days of snow, but otherwise I like living in a place with a bit milder climate than Stockholm.  And both the autumn and winter have been milder and sunnier and less rainy than normal Brussels weather, as I understand (and remember from my internship days here in 2002/2003).
• Harald turned ONE this month!  Poor Harald didn't get much of a celebration on his birthday except for brief singing in the morning and a few presents at night, but Harald himself didn't really care :)  We celebrated his birthday again last weekend when farmor & farfar (Peter's parents) visited and will do the same when my mum and my aunt visit at the end of March. When Isolde turned 1 and also 2 we had big birthday parties to which we invited many friends with or without children, but here we don't know that many people yet, and our main set of friends here were both away around Harald's birthday (and afterwards the kids have had colds, and the time passed). So he will get his big party next year instead! 
• Speaking of friends, we have invited friends, colleagues and acquaintances to a drink at our place next weekend.  We have asked each guest to bring with them another friend/family, as a way to get to know more people.  It is not mandatory of course but it would be fun to meet new people and it looks like most people liked our idea!

• We have booked two sets of plane tickets to Sweden, first over Easter when we will be in Sweden 11-21 April, and then for a weekend in May, 22-25th, when my mum turns 60 (22nd). We are also going to book tickets for the summer soon - I think we will spend four weeks in Sweden, probably 7 July - 1 August, give or take a few days.
• Peter has done EXTENSIVE research on cars but we have not made any definite decisions yet, and at the moment it looks like we will wait and see whether Peter would get a company car with his new job (which he will start looking for soon), as it seems like a rather common benefit in Belgium. And even if he doesn't, by then a few new models will have come out which may be worth waiting for.
• Harald is now enrolled at the crèche that we visited and I wrote about earlier, and will start on 11 August. It seems very good and they actually seem to go outside even in the winter, which is not very common in this country. And guess what, our neighbour's little girl E. will start there in September (and her brother V. will go to Isolde's school but not in the same class)!
• We are looking forward to having Peter's sister and family here for the first time in a few weeks' time.  Two weeks later my mum and aunt come, and two weeks after that we go to Sweden for Easter.  So a lot of family time coming up! Two friends are also coming again for work in March and will either stay the night with us or at least meet up for dinner, but one of them I might miss, as I may have to go to Sweden for work on that particular day.
• Tomorrow I have the day off. Originally we planned to go somewhere for an overnight stay (around 2 hours away is France, Luxembourg and Germany and Netherlands is even closer), but now Peter also has the cold Isolde had last week and Harald has had this week, so we have decided just to do some sightseeing in Brussels tomorrow and just do a daytrip somewhere nearby (on hour's drive at the most) on Saturday. It is so nice with an extra day to the weekend, especially since I have been working a lot lately.
• This weekend we also have some social activities to look forward to. We are invited to a colleague's carnival* lunch (she is Swedish and her sambo Portuguese and they have 2-year-old son) on Sunday, and after that we go directly to P & O's neighbours' coffee. As you know, they live in our building (and helped us found our flat) and now another family(Swedish-Welsh) they know are going to move in here too, and they have two other friends who live just around the corner.
• Isolde has already celebrated carnival at school this week but like Halloween time she only wanted to wear her costume for a minute. For that reason we only got her a very simple costume - a leopard mask - and she also wore a tiger t-shirt we already had at home. When we arrived to school and she saw all her little friends in their costumes she wanted to put the mask on, but just as quickly she wanted to take it off and she got a bit upset and didn't really believe me or her teacher that she didn't have to wear it if she didn't want to. I don't know if she wore it later - at Halloween she actually did wear her sceleton costume later in the day, at least long enough for photos - but she wanted to bring it again the next day. But in general, even though she's starting to get into dress-up game, she doesn't see the purpose of it, except for playing. Like us parents I guess who like dressing up for a dinner or party, but are not particularly fond of costumes or fancy dress/masquerade.
• I can't remember if I have mentioned it before, but since a couple of months back we are subscribing to the same "grocery bag"/"food bag" service we had in Sweden. It's the same recipes but here in Belgium it is called Smartmat instead of Middagsfrid. The produce is slightly better in Sweden but we're still really happy with it here, and since a few weeks back we do all vegetarian every other week.
• Have a great Friday and weekend!

* Celebration of the start of Lent. The Swedish equivalent is Shrove Tuesday when we eat semlor, but that is a very modest celebration compared to carnival.

Thursday Again

Suddenly two weeks have passed since my last post (that is starting to sound familiar...). I'm quite busy at work at the moment and I don't have much free time to blog there ha ha :) Anyway, here's a recap:

• Our dear friends Jenny, Mauro & Leah as well as Maria & Daniel visited us for a long weekend in the middle of January. It was especially wonderful to have Jenny and her family here as they live in Brazil and don't come to Europe that often but this time they are in Sweden for three months and thus had time for a trip to Belgium as well (and we met them briefly in Sweden at Christmas). Isolde and Leah (20 months old) fought about toys from time to time but most of the time they really enjoyed each other's company. 

Isolde wasn't too keen to let Leah try her bike

Nice lunch at one of our favourite brasseries (since it has both an indoor play area and a playground outside) while two out of three children were napping.

• We were invited to a raclette dinner at our friends and neighbours P & O but they couldn't find the raclette :) Fortunately the food was still delicious and the company a pleasure as always. I'm so glad they are our neighbours!  At the moment they are in Sweden for a couple of weeks and we miss them!
• The following day (Sunday) O. and Peter went to the annual (?) Brussels car show and spent nine (!) hours there. We have the opportunity to buy a car VAT free here in Belgium and many auto dealers also offer "diplomatic discounts" and we want to take advantage of this of course. Peter is now doing very serious research with comparisons in excel and what not so it will be a well-informed decision once we take it. We will sell our current car once we have received the new one, no need for two cars! At the moment we are learning towards BMW, Volvo and Volkswagen Passat (our current car)  but we're also looking into SUVs or other cars that can take 7 passengers, which would be useful when we have visitors here in Belgium. 
• I celebrated my 38th (yikes!) birthday last week. It was a Tuesday and a work day (I wish birthdays were always a day off!) but we had a dinner (and overnight) guest actually! My cousin Fredrik was in the country for work (he has a new job since a few months back which usually takes him to Zeebrugge near the coast) and decided to come a day early to celebrate my birthday and see where we live, so that was nice. 

Cake from one of the local bakeries.

• The day before my birthday my friend and former colleague Mette was in town for work and came over for dinner. She's coming back in March and then we'll probably go out for dinner instead. Last week was a week when I was going to be away on a work trip in the second half of the week and Peter would be alone with the kids for two days, including three evenings, and I felt he didn't need an extra evening on his own on top of that. 
• The work trip was my second to Sweden since I started in September (and next one might be in March if it happens) but this one involved much more planning and preparation on my part as well as active participation by me during the actual visit.  We had quite a hectic meeting agenda but I had one free evening that I spent with a group of friends at one of the newer restaurants in town, Nosh & Chow.  I can really recommend it, both for the food and the atmosphere including the decor. 

• While in Sweden I just had to have a semla of course, and I had it at one of the new cafées in our old neighbourhood.

Semla at Karla café

• I caught a cold just before heading to Sweden unfortunately.  It wasn't that bad during my two days in Stockholm but then at the weekend my nose was pretty clogged up and on Monday I stayed home to recuperate with the result that on Tuesday I was much better.  I'm glad I didn't get the cough that I usually get when I have a cold.  Perhaps the higher humidity in Belgium helps?
• The day after returning from Sweden we attended our friend's Chris & Jacqui's daughter Emilie's baptism at their local (Catholic) church (where Jacqui also sings in the choir and lowers the average of the choir with about half..).  It was a nice little service followed by champagne, tea and cakes at their house. 

I like that they invite the children to be a part of, or at least come closer during, the ceremony.

• As for the children, Harald has started walking!  He prefers to crawl still but he walks more and more and also at his own initiative to get to one place to the other. 

• It looks like we have secured a place at a crèche (nursery) for Harald from July!  We will visit on Monday so I will know more then.  But it sounds like a good place (comes with recommendations) - it is just next to Isolde's school and the staff speaks English and one of them even Swedish! 
• What else? Isolde had a haircut (much needed as it was getting long and matted), we got a new fridge/freezer as the old one was leaking and we're very happy to have a cleaning lady who comes once a week (she isn't perhaps as thorough as I would want her to be but she's a nice girl, and most importantly, we don't need to quarrel (as much) over cleaning.

At the hairdresser

The result!

December Last

Thursday is bullet point day and since I haven't done one for a while I thought I'd restart this Thursday theme today.  I haven't blogged about our two weeks in Sweden over the holidays yet, nor about the weeks leading up to Christmas.  It is perhaps a bit overdue and not in anyone's interest to read about Advent and Christmas now, but for my own record here are some pics from December.

• My mum visited in early December (that weekend I got stuck in Copenhagen Thursday to Friday) and she performed her grandmother duties very well and baked both ginger cookies and saffron buns with Isolde (and I helped a little too). 

 

I brought some of the saffrons bun to work for the Christmas drink and another colleague made very delicious salmon and caviar treats = the Swedish contribution

 

• I think I mentioned this in a previous Thursday post but without any photos, so here is one of perhaps the cosiest holidays/celebrations of them all, Saint Lucia.  In Sweden we very rarely every go to church, except for weddings, christenings and funerals, and the occasional Advent or Christmas service, but when living abroad the church becomes a very important meeting place, and something that provides a sense of community and contributes to continuity of Swedish customs and cultural habits, whether or not you are a faithful believer or not.  Peter has started going to the church's playgroups, mainly with Harald on Tuesdays but sometimes also on Wednesdays with both children.

Saint Lucia with the children's choir at the Swedish Church in Brussels

• I participated in Emma's Christmas Gift Exchange again this year, and this year my Secret Santa was Petchie!  I don't know if Emma planned it this way, since she knows we are neighbours here in Brussels, or if it was just a happy coincidence :)  And I sent my gift to Emma - and it wasn't that secret for natural reasons since she organises the draw.  Well, the gift was a secret but she knew it would be from me :)  I hope she liked her present (this reminds me that I have to double-check that she received it)!

Petchie-Santa brought me a note book and a range of different cards.  She had read my letter to Santa carefully!  (Sorry about the feet in the picture!)

• In Sweden the tradition is to decorate the Christmas tree on the 23rd of December, just the day before Christmas (Christmas Eve being the most important day of Christmas in Sweden), but since we knew we were not going to stay in Belgium over the holidays, we got a tree already the second week of December so we could get into the Christmas mood (the anticipation of Christmas is the best part after all). I'm quite minimalist in terms of Christmas ornaments (the opposite of Annika haha), and we didn't bring all our Christmas stuff to Belgium anyway (though Peter brought a few additional baubles for the tree when he went home that same weekend my mum was here) so in addition to the tree we only had a few other decorations, mainly made by Isolde at school.
  

  

  A bit funny-looking, at least the top part, but it was good enough for us.

 

I really like this little Russian doll nativity set!

 

We received a handful of Christmas cards.  I wish more people would send them, but on the other hand it is better for the environment if they don't I guess.  We still send a real card, with pictures of the children.

One of Isolde's creations.  Harald was rather fascinated by it, maybe because it was even bigger than him!

Another of Isolde's creations from school, a Saint Nicholas and a mushroom (I need to google why toadstools are typical Christmas ornaments, it can't be only because they are red and white??)

And the prettiest Christmas ornaments signed Isolde, though this one I think we can use throughout the year as it is more pink than red.

• We also tried to take some Christmas portraits of the children but it was a bit difficult... In the end we opted for a Christmas card with photos from throughout the year instead.

Take 1

Take 2

Another day

Christmas card 2013