We started the day rushing off to school as usual and with Frunty complaining of a "pulled bone". He was pretty upset about it when we went swimming (yes, it was a petit jour today) and I threw him during our usual, Kung Fu Panda game. But this time, the pulled bone wasn't in his leg anymore but rather, up by his shoulder somewhere.

Anyhoo, around 5:15pm I told the kids to get into their pajamas and grab a doo-doo. (stuff, plush toy) But something was strange tonight because I told them to put on their crocks as well. Boy were they surprised when they saw me put on my coat and I had to tell them we were going on a pj adventure! Once or twice a year the little bibliotheque in our area hosts a story-time session for little ones and we finally made it! The kids were so excited but settled down well to hear the lovely stories presented by two of the librarians.

At the end, they served milk or soya to all the kids. Since we are still taking a break from both, I took the soyas home. How great that neither of my kids complained about this at all or even questioned it. Their acceptance brings me peace. I know it is hard. I am not saying it isn't. Especially with all the other ones around them sipping away. But we got back home and they had a second dinner and lovely fruit and tomorrow morning I have a surprise for them at breakfast...coconut juice!

I was worried that after the pool we would all be too tired to go to the library. I didn't want to miss it this time. I am really glad we made it! And thanks to Shirley at the club, I could heat up pancit, dinogoan (spelling?) and make a fresh pot of rice and a salad for a really nice dinner when he got home. All in all, a very beautiful day.

The Hills: We have made some really great, new friends and went over to their home for a bbq yesterday. Although it had been raining, we were really lucky that it cleared up at the time of putting the chicken on the outside grill. I did bring my camera but unfortunately, forgot to line the 6 cutie kids up, under the age of 8, on the couch before leaving for a shot.

One thing that was impressive was that there were no fights among our kids during our time together! But more wonderful was the fact that Mandy prepared a meal that we all could enjoy. Having lived through the whole food allergy challenge herself, she understands what it is like...no teasing/questioning/commenting etc. What a relief to be able to enjoy a meal together during which "it" is not an issue! I am really grateful for that. I brought an allergy-free carrot cake. It takes time to get used to new textures and tastes. Everyone said it was fine and it sure did get gobbled up pretty fast!

Our new friends just spent three years in Guam and I was really interested in seeing pictures of their time there. When I lived in Japan, I remember that Shinichi went their for his honeymoon. It looks like paradise on earth. Check out: http://hillsnapshot.blogspot.com/ (Mandy's blog is awesome!)

I would love to experience life in the tropics...what does that feel like?

Anyway, Pit and Emory, the third Hill child, are in the same class with Mme Claire. So we get to see them everyday and hope to have them over here soon. Brussels is such a great place because even though dear friends leave, new ones soon come along. Although we are a bit surprised that we are still here, we are enjoying our time nonetheless.

Almost every morning, I wake up to find that there is one extra person in our bed. This would be Pit, who better than a ninja, steals into our bedroom and under our covers in between us. I have no idea how he gets there or when, although I can narrow it down to usually between midnight and 4am. Last night was different. I woke up around 3:30am to the sound of him fussing around in the toilet. Then he crept quietly into bed and got comfortable. He shuffled The Mommy awake but he never touched me although he must have a sixth sense because he knew I was awake too. He whispered, "Daddy," pause "I love you." I couldn't help but answer him, "I love you too." Next came the request to The Mommy for some water who craftily knew I was awake and got me to deliver. Such are the comings and goings of our evenings - we wish they would stop but secretly hope that they dont. Later in the morning, at the reasonable hour of 11am, I loaded Pit in the seat at the back of the bicycle and we went to Jack O'Shea's for sausages for our BBQ later today. We had lots of fun running our errands while Frunty stayed at home to do some English reading practice.

Daddy and I took the two kids to school today and went on a date downtown to Kam Yuen Asian Food shop and two English-speaking bookstores. It was spontaneous and fun and I enjoyed myself a lot. Just taking the metro, being together, in the sun. Really nice. We got back in time to get the kids from school and enjoy lunch together as a family. The kids have started to eat salad this week which is really quite lovely. After lunch, we played our new pirate game together which we all love called Piratatak and then with Frunts back at school, Pit and I worked on our chalk art driveway. We continued drawing the train and a rainbow, sun and clouds and wrote "Frunty and Pit's Party Zone" which Pit wanted me to write. It was fun to just be in the sun and listen to Pit chatting about any old thing and work together with our colour chalk eggs. The very simple joys of life are without number.

About an hour later, I picked up Frunt, brought him home and we all got in the car so Daddy could come and watch Karate. Followed by pool time, instead of bricolage. Daddy and I took turns going in the sauna and playing with our kids in the pool. Came home, easy dinner of sandwiches (Annebeth just made us our special, gluten-free bread in her machine) and salad and then off to bed. Now it is time for a movie with the Daddy. What a really great day and fun way to end the week!

Baby Alice's first swim today and no tears. We took Lisa and baby for a swim and picnic at our club today. I think they both enjoyed themselves. The boys and I stayed later than they in order to enjoy our time outdoors. It was warm and sheltered in the back, behind the pool, and the boys found a very nice boy with whom to play. I had fun chasing them, playing Touche Touche. Honestly, they are super fast or maybe it is my crazy shoes.

I hope the sunny weather continues as it is fun to play outside. We had too much rain and too many cold and windy days this winter. I finally complained about the Belgian weather!!!!!

Pit is going through a phase where he uses the word "actually" in just about every sentence. He's also extremely inquisitive but not the usual string of "why" questions that little kids ask. Rather, he asks 1 or 2 questions about a particular subject and then is satisfied with the answers and stops there. Tonight, he asked what was the green leafy stuff in the bowl on the dinner table. He's seen it before and when we told him it was salad, he asked to try some and then exclaimed, "mmm.... I love it!" The salad accompanied our first BBQ of the season - it was a little windy and cool on our back porch but at least it wasn't raining so we had some steaks and country sausages from Jack O'Shea's who's a local Irish butcher who makes the sausages without gluten, egg or dairy. The food was yummy, it was great to sit outside to BBQ, and the boys were having fun. We even roasted some marshmellows!

We have had great weather since returning home from Italy. Not as warm but at least sunny. Today Pit and I planted red and purple/dark pink geraniums in our flower boxes that sit on our front window sills and on the back deck. They look gorgeous already. Afterschool we played at the park a bit before coming home and making cookies together: Vegan Chip Cookies from the new cookbook Nonna bought from Canada. Thanks Nonna and for all the allergy free foods you brought us as well! The recipe turned out okay but I put half the amount of dried fruits/choc. chips that it said and really, it needs the full, two cups. I will try making them again and adding nuts. They will make a wonderful breakfast along with calcium-enriched rice milk and some fresh fruit!

Pit's eczema is 100% invisible! He does say he is itchy now and then but that may be a bug bite or old scab. Frunty's eczema is almost entirely gone and what is left are many scars which time may heal. I am so grateful that we found this doctor through Annebeth and that his prescription is working. I did try to re-introduce some eggs before Italy and then when we were in Perletto, the kids had some "regular" pasta. Pit didn't show any problems but Frunty's skin flared up immediately so obviously, we will wait with the re-introduction.

Today at lunch, Pit and his little friend, Emory, held hands and looked at bees in the bushes while his mom and I chatted about eczema which two of her kids have. She is eliminating milk. She gave me some websites to help with recipes and meal planning. I want to hang around supportive people like her who understand what it is like to see their child suffer and are doing what needs to be done to fix the problem. These diets are very hard, stressful and not easy for anyone. Being teased or incessantly asked about it at each meal or having people comment over and over again just make it even harder. Instead, I appreciate getting ideas on how to make the whole process easier. So I am grateful to learn from other moms who have already gone through it or are working on it at the same time as I. One such friend left a voice message on my gsm saying she found a recipe for coconut icecream. I can't wait to call her back tomorrow!! How lucky am I?!

Well, we are all pretty tired still and trying to get back into the school rhythm. It just takes time and it sure helps having this nice weather for a change! Cheerio!

Back to school after our two weeks in Italia!

It was really cute picking Pit up from school after his full day because he had a big smile on his face and said, "I didn't even have to sleep today. I went to the cours two times, Mommy!" Normally it is sleepy time after lunch and Pit would have a small smile because he enjoyed, sheepishly, his little sleep but this morning he complained that he didn't want to go to school because he didn't like sleeping. I guess he had decided he didn't like sleeping afterall. I think he must have been therefore pleasantly surprised to go out to the sand box instead!

We went to the park afterschool and enjoyed some sunshine with friends. It was fun re-uniting with everyone!

Today is our first full day at home after 15 days of travelling by car to Italy and back. Close to 32 hours were spent in the car covering 2654 km at an average speed of 86.6 km/h with a fuel consumption of 7.3 L/100km. (That's 1649 mi., 53.8 mph and 32.2 mpg - thanks to the trip computer). Not bad considering our BMW 525d is a big car. It was bad that the boys had to be strapped in for long stretches at a time. However, we did get a chance to visit many new places along the way and the boys really seemed to appreciate it. The constant rain yesterday in Strasbourg did put a damper on our walking tour of the city but the boys didn't complain that much. Besides, the rain was needed to really see the medieval gargoyles, perched along the edges of the 13th century cathedral, spew water from their gaping jaws. Our hotel was good too - with a play corner with Kapla wood toys and connected to a shopping mall for a welcome break from the showers. On the way home, we made good time and managed to stop for 1.5 hours at the Buffalo Grill in Luxembourg for an American wild west dinner experience. We've taken it easy all day just cleaning up, doing laundry and getting organised for the start of school tomorrow.

Daddy and I are sitting side-by-side in Max's apartment in Torino. We are enjoying Max and Emmy's beautiful new apartment in Torino and took Elena to school this morning as she stayed home due to a cold in order to avoid her swim class. The kids are playing quietly together with their Gormitis, some given by Christopher in Pieve Ligure, some having been sold!
We had a really nice dinner last night with N and girls...gluten-free pizzas, thanks to Nonna for bringing so many over so we would be able to enjoy our time here. Tonight we will all go to a gluten-free pizzeria that N found as well but it sure is nice to eat at home too. We picked the girls up, anyway, from school and had a nice hello with Loanna. We played at home/opened Christmas/birthday gifts and then took all four kids to play soccer/touche-touche in Piazza Barcellona. We met a funny, little kid who wanted to play Touche Touche but couldn't stop eating his chips. He took off for a bit to bug some other girl and left his chips on the pavement in our way.
We are now off to the shops and later out for dinner, as I mentioned. It is nice to have a day at home. But other than that, we are taking it easy here and daddy is working. Tomorrow we will Turin and head towards to Strasbourg. Going to visit Valeria's new shop now. Ciao!

We're ready to set off from the mythic Perletto, town of adventures,feasts, family gatherings, and more feasts. Easter Sunday had a small group of 24 consuming parts of a roast kid (baby goat) on an overcast day, but the weather never cast a grey cloud over the party. Easter Monday was even grander with 35 people, huge ham and brilliant sunshine. The boys had lots of fun playing with their little cousins and I noticed Frunty's Italian improved even in just 2 short days. We played football and volleyball and went biking and hiking and even went up to the top of the 13th century tower. This is the literally the stuff of literature.

We're now in the little town of Loco, part of the Rovegno municipality, nestled in a valley with a river that the boys have already enjoyed by throwing rocks and building rocky sand castles. We arrived late last night after eating dinner at the rustic "Due Ponti" restaurant 2km away. The road from Camogli to Loco had lots of hairpin turns but luckyly, Pit was asleep and never got car sick. Frunty commented that it was good I was driving so that we could get there quicker because The Mommy is a "Fiat Driver".

Now relaxing in Portofino. Very elegant and beautiful. We arrived here on foot, after a 4 hour hike over the hills and valleys along the coast. The boys did very well and still have lots of energy. We took the 11am boat from Camogli to the 11th centuary abbey of San Fruttuoso nestled in a small bay. Earlier this morning we packed and vacated our apartment requiring me to climb the 6 stories of steep stairs almost a dozen times to get our luggage down. We need to find a way back to Camogli to get our car to drive to Rovegno to our next apartment.

I think the boys have finally settled down. They must be tired from their hiking this afternoon. Earlier today, the main street of Camogli was transformed into an open-air market selling everything from household goods to good food for the household. We walked up and down the market collecting lunch fixings and by 2pm everyone except me had set off for a hike towards San Rocco. I stayed behind to get some work done but I heard the adventure was a good one under the sunshine of the Ligurian riviera. By 6pm, the local butcher provided us a good dinner of lamb-on-the-spit and then we packed since we leave tomorrow. Now for some R+R at the Mexican Taberna where we are always welcomed by our (now) friends Ingrid and Fabbio, the owners(?) and bar/wait servers. Later we'll go to the Pirate Pub with my dad for one last rhum and a ho ho ho!

Today I was at a conference in Milano and The Mommy, who tagged along last night, toured the city managing to schmooze her way to see Da Vinci's Last Supper and later, climbing the 200+ steps to the roof of the Duomo. She also had a fantastic lunch and finally met up with me at the train station to catch the 6 o'clock back to Camogli. Now that we're back, we got the full report on the boys time with the nonni. They had a wonderful time and the boys were good sports. They hiked up and down the town hills and ate the supper without any complaints. We got home to find them fast asleep and snuggly in their bed together.

We had a good relaxing day today. It was sunny and Frunty accompanied me around town to explore. We had fun just throwing rocks into the ocean. Later, we met up with the rest of the crew for a little play time on the beach before lunch in the apartment. The Mommy and I made a plan to go to Milan together and enjoy a little R&R without the boys. It will give the boys and grandparents a little 1-on-1 time which I think everyone will appreciate.

I just finished feeding and putting the boys to bed. It was fairly easy because they were both very tired, from yesterdays travels, and today was a long day. I say it was easy but I had to keep tight discipline and not give any chance for the hysteria that can snowball into an avalanche of hyper-activity. The Mommy went out with my parents to a local restaurant which helped me because it meant there were no distractions. Earlier in the day, my dad had selected a fish on the menu so the chef apparently sourced the supply from the fisherman whose shop is right next door to our apartment.  Today was a long day because we made the 45 minute train journey to Genova to visit the Aquario di Genova with my colleague Carlo, his wife Cinzia  and his little boy Andrea. It was their idea to get together and it was a good one because the aquarium was really very impressive. They had huge tanks with seals, sharks, and dolphins and many smaller tanks with recreations of ecosystems from around the world. This place was huge and The Mommy remarked that, "... This place never ends!" The boys enjoyed themselves immensely, although they were sad because they didn't get to touch any rays in the sparesly populated touch tank. It was so big that it took us almost 4 hours to walk the full circuit. Andrea is almost 3 years old so he was still in a stroller from time to time. We, on the other fin, noted that this trip is the first time we don't have a stroller. Pit is a strong walker and did almost all the walking on his own. What a difference - it was easy with the stairs, easy in the crowds, easy all around.

We finally arrived at Camogli! Our apartment is fantastic, right in the centre of town, steps away from the seaside and just around the corner from Don Ricardo, a mexican taberna. Perfect! We had to force our car down some restricted streets to park the car not far from the apartment to unload. My parents showed up to help bring the dozen or so boxes and bags of luggage - it seems like we brought everything to set up a small second home. Oh wait, that's exactly what we needed to do because we rented an apartment. Seeing the boys run into the open arms of their grandparents was touching - it has been 7 months since Greece - the last time they saw each other. It was especially good to see the boys in such good spirits despite the journey we had. After leaving Luzern, we drove for about 45 minutes before coming to a full stop on the highway due to traffic. We were 15km away from the Gotthard tunnel and aparently, they already start regulating the flow of traffic to prevent jams in the tunnel itself. We were completely stopped in the middle of the highway for close to 45 minutes! We got out of the car, walked around, took pictures, and chatted with other people. It finally took us over 2 hours to cover that 10 mile stretch of road! The kids didn't complain once. Eventually we left Switzerland and into Italy for a tank of gas and a small gift of Gormiti playing cards for the boys. Once past Milan, the highway was straight and open and I cruised the car at 170km/hour to make up for lost time. The Mommy never noticed we were going so fast which shows that our car is really made for the autobahn. Unfortunately, the motorway became a zig-zag of curves and bends that forced me to slow down and forced Pit to litterally toss the cookie he ate earlier. Poor little guy! He's such a good sport -he just wanted a bucket and kept on truckin'! Later this evening The Mommy and I will go to the Mexican place for a tequila or two to celebrate the start of our trip. Yippee!

We spent a couple of hours walking around the historic part of Luzern. The buildings in the narrow streets are beautiful because of their ornate decorative paintings on their facades. We stopped to listen to a male accapela octet and the boys learned that Switzerland is famous for watches, chocolate, cheese fondue and money. Now we are stopped on the highway waiting for our turn in the Gotthard tunnel.

We are taking it easy this morning because we arrived at our hotel at 2am! Much later than planned partly thanks to the extra hour we spent cruising the back streets of Strasbourg. Thanks to Barack Obama and other world leaders attending the NATO summit, the main motorway was closed. Police were on every street corner and so we had to weave around with no clear directions of the best way to drive past Strasbourg to Colmar and beyond. So annoying! Anyways, we're in Luzern now and our hotel room is great and the location is even better. The kids are excited to watch real TV. The fact that most of the shows are in German does not seem to phase them. Frunty says he understands and explained to me that "nein" means "no". During one commercial break there was an ad for Gornitis (alien monster figurines) and Pit was extremely excited to get some. The next ad was for dolls and it was funny to observe Pit's immediate reaction as he groaned, " aargh, that's for girls!" It was a cute moment!

I went to get the boys from school to bring them home for lunch. As we were walking home, Pit asked me to carry him so I answered him, "Why?" and without hesitation, he said, "Because I love you!". So I picked him up and he showered me with kisses. What a melt-your-heart-moment. Later in the afternoon we delivered the TV and home theatre items to a new acquaintance. Frunty came home from football practice and noticed immediately that the TV unit was gone and that only the empty cardboard box was left behind. I was worried he would be upset, but instead, he cheered and was happy that the old electronics were gone and especially happy that there was a great big empty box that he could play with. The boys spent the rest of the evening decorating the box and setting it up as a house to sleep in. At 8:45pm, they crawled into the new house with pillows and blankets and spent the next hour taking turns to say, "sshhh!" and, "Move over!" or "Stop talking." So finally, I evicted them and put them in the proper beds.

Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Written by Unknown at 15:32 0 comments

"Coucou, poisson avril!", that's "April Fool's Day" in French for those who don't know. All day Frunty was tricking me. For example, he would point to something behind me, and when I turned around, he would exclaim, "Haha! Poisson avril!" and laugh his head off. So I would laugh too just because he was funny, not because his joke was funny, to be honest. And I love him for trying to make me laugh, and being a clown, and doing funny dances and other silly stuff. I love him even when he's having a tantrum, but it's a little harder. Today, we went to the club as we usually do on Wednesday's and enjoyed a picnic, played badmington and indoor soccer, then the boys went to the craft daycare (Asprini Land) for about 1 hour while I went to the sauna, and then we all swam in the pool together. Frunty is really good at badmington and can maintain some long rallys with me. Pit always does fancy footwork with the football, doing spins and other little dances before kicking the ball. He's also a really strong swimmer and can hold his breath for what seems like an extremely long amount of time. I suppose he's been practicing holding his breath because he doesn't like to swim with his head above water. Wednesday's are always fun and they are a packed day full of activities, afterwhich we arrive home starving and exhausted.