Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 2010

I can't believe it is December 23rd! Rich and his parents took Elisabeth and Kate to Technopolis today in Mechelen. The girls love the museum and the interactive science experiments.

I spent the morning cleaning the apartment (five bathrooms, three bedrooms, etc.). A nice clean house for Christmas despite the pine needles from our two Christmas trees!

I just finished baking pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins. Delicious! Thanks to Erin Peer for the recipe! Gretchen will bake gingerbread cookies this afternoon with the girls - her mother's recipe.

I am planning to make my Mother's cranberries tonight: both Elisabeth and Kate love them! Rich is picking up a leg of lamb from the Irish Butcher in Brussels tomorrow morning for Christmas Eve dinner (a Snyder tradition from Bosnia). I will make mashed potatoes, peas and onions tomorrow.

Menu for Christmas Eve Dinner:

Leg of Lamb

Mashed Potatoes (lots of cream!)

Peas

Onions with Cream Sauce (thanks Nana for the recipe! They are so delicious!)

Pumpkin Bread

Apple Pie for dessert

Hot Apple Cider

I need to run to the grocery store for last minute ingredients and items. Am I missing anything? So busy!

I wrapped the final presents last night. A few remaining last minute gifts. Perhaps Rich and I will go to the Christmas Market in Brussels tonight for some last minute shopping! Perhaps fine Belgian chocolates: Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!

Aachen, Germany: Christmas Market

On Saturday we braved the snow and drove two hours to Aachen, Germany to visit the Christmas Market. The girls enjoyed a visit with Santa Claus and decorated a picture frame for their photo with Santa. Elisabeth and Kate also enjoyed riding the Merry-Go-Round several times. It was a very cold day so we drank lots of hot chocolate and malt wine. We ate roasted nuts dipped in chocolate and sugar. What a treat! We enjoyed listening to a brass quintet play Christmas carols in the market.

In Aachen there is an impressive cathedral. Elisabeth and Kate loved the stained glass windows and the mosaics in the cathedral. They also enjoyed visiting the thrown of Charlemagne on the second floor. Apparently, Aachen was once the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

Aachen, Germany

http://www.aachen.de/En/ts/Current_information/index.html

Sleds in Brussels

We're having difficulty finding sleds in Brussels this morning. Rich took the girls to Carrefour, the French version of Walmart, as well as BRICO, the Dutch version of Home Depot. No luck. Rich is taking them to a toy store in Boisfort. Let's hope they sell sleds. An early Christmas present for Elisabeth and Kate.

We're driving to Aachen later this morning to visit the cathedral and Christmas Market. Our first trip to Germany with the girls.

Our First Snow in Brussels

We enjoyed our first snow in Brussels on Thursday and Friday this week. The girls loved playing in the snow. Absolutely perfect winter weather here: blue skies and fresh snow on the ground. No rain. My favorite season thus far!

Both girls did not have school today. They enjoyed their first snow day. I enjoyed it too. Today the girls:

slept in later than usual,

played in the snow in the morning (and the afternoon!),

tried to make an igloo, but the snow wouldn't stick,

made 20 snowballs and had a snowball fight,

played board games (dominoes, cards, Chutes & Ladders),

baked Christmas cookies (and decorated them!),

drank hot chocolate and ate popcorn, and

walked in the winter snow to Pizza Hut for dinner.

A busy day! Rich's parents are visiting from Virginia so extra special for the girls to play with the grandparents. Special thanks for bringing the great weather! Let's hope it stays.

Rich and I are planning to buy sleds tomorrow morning. Some great hills behind us in Parc de Woluwe (not sure if they are as good as the hills I grew up on in Dayton, Ohio!). Can't wait to try sledding here with the girls.

Paul: Mason de Qualite

My new favorite pastry and coffee shop! For the first time in three months I enjoyed a quiet morning at a French pastry shop. I ordered an herbal tea and a rhubarb pastry on Thursday morning at Paul at Parc Leopold. Delicious! I read a book. What a peaceful morning!

I noticed another Paul at Port Stephanie yesterday. It is near Kate's school. I'm planning to take the 94 tram from Ixelles to Port Stephanie very often in 2010!!!

Here is a link to Paul's web site. Somewhat like a corner bakery, but a little more upscale.

http://www.paul-uk.com/

Health Care In Brussels, Part II: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

I had a very humbling experience on Tuesday morning. I went to the Parc Leopold clinic for my nerve test. Unfortunately, I was late for my appointment due to a traffic jam. I pulled into the nearest parking space and walked the rest of the way to the clinic (I brought my GPS with me so that I wouldn't get lost). A nice walk past antique galleries. I would have liked to stop and look around, but I was late.

The nerve specialist actually called me on my cell phone while I was stuck in traffic. He asked where I was and mentioned that I should ride my bike next time to avoid traffic. A good idea. I wish I had brought my bike to Brussels!

I spent 9:30am - 11:00am on Tuesday with the doctor as he poked and prodded my arm with needles and electric shocks in different places so he could measure my response. A very humbling experience. Had I known I wouldn't have gone!

The good news is that he thinks I have carpal tunnel in my right wrist and a pinched ulnar nerve. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with the rheumatologist to follow-up on my cat scan and nerve test. Perhaps a cortisone shot in my wrist or physical therapy? A relief to know it was something so simple. He said it would go away once my children have grown - something about stress on my muscular skeleton. He said not to use my arm - not so easy to do, but trying to favor my left arm.

Interesting observations:

1) There was no receptionist (I sat outside his office in the waiting room and he opened the door when I could come in).

2) Doctors use their laptops readily and type in my contact information themselves, as well as medical notes, etc.

3) Handle their billing themselves (I pay them cash or with my credit card while in their office and they hand write a receipt for me to file with my insurance).

4) They use email to communicate with patients.

Overall, a positive experience and I feel that I'm getting good care. Difficult to go to the grocery store today and not be able to lift anything with my right arm. A new experience. I left the groceries in the car and Rich brought them up when he came home today.

Reception at the US Ambassador's Residence

Elisabeth's Daisy Girl Scout Troop at ISB organized the craft on Monday for Toys for Tots. The reception was held at the residence of the US Ambassador to Brussels on Monday evening. Ambassador Gutman hosted the event with guest appearances from Santa Claus.

Rich met us at the residence. Unfortunately, I was late arriving with the girls. One of the tunnels we were to take closed. Finally, we arrived with thanks to the GPS. Couldn't have made it without it!

Elisabeth and her friends sang Christmas carols in front of the fire place to welcome Santa. Elisabeth hopped right upon Santa's lap and was very forthcoming with what she wanted for Christmas (littlest pet shop computer game!). Kate was more cautious. She sat and waited her turn to sit with Santa, but when the time came she ran away. She did go back to collect her candy cane from Santa but stayed away an arm's length.

Christmas in Brussels - The Grand Place & The Christmas Market

Last Monday I was on my weekly walk with my friend Karen when we stumbled upon St. Catherine's Square and St. Catherine's Church in the center of Brussels. It was the furthest we had walked from BEPS on a Monday. I was exhausted when I picked Kate up at noon, but I was also excited to take Rich, Elisabeth & Kate there.

So on Saturday we took the metro to St. Catherine Square to visit the the Christmas Market and the Grand Place of Brussels. We exited the metro and were in the center of St. Catherine's square and the market. St. Catherine's Church anchored the square to the east, the Ferris Wheel to the west. In Brussels, the Christmas Market stalls were lined on either side of the square: a mixture of local crafts, food and beverages. First, we bought something warm to drink. Then we took the girls to the merry-go-round. They rode it three times. First, they rode the airplane together on the merry-go-round (similar to the Wright Brother's plane). Then, Elisabeth rode the cello and Kate rode the dinosaur. On their last and final ride they both rode in the rockets together! (I need to learn how to upload photos - the most incredible merry-go-round I have ever seen).

Next we walked to the end of the square and rode the Ferris Wheel. This Ferris Wheel was smaller than the one at Lille, France last weekend. However, it was enclosed. Both Rich and I were scared and didn't like it when the girls moved. But, a great view of Brussels. We looked for chimney sweeps (aka Dick Van Dyke from the film Mary Poppins), but we didn't see any. We did see the Atomium and Rich's office building though.

After riding the Ferris Wheel Elisabeth and Kate went on three toboggan rides on an ice slide at the end of the square. Elisabeth had more control of her sled than Kate. A winter wonderland!

Finally, for our last adventure, we went ice skating in the outdoor rink in the center of St. Catherine's Square. Incredible to ice skate in the evening with the Christmas lights. There was a separate children's section with "walkers" for the girls so that they wouldn't fall down on the ice. The best was the "chair" - Kate sat in it while Elisabeth pushed her around the rink while ice skating. Rich and I were not far behind... Elisabeth was so proud of herself.

For dinner we ate at a local Brasserie. Lots of antiques in the restaurant: cash registers, scales, stoves, etc. About 80 Euros for dinner for four. A lot compared with the 30 Euros we spent at Pizza Hut last week for dinner. Next time we'll eat at the local McDonald's on the Grand Place (although it was nice to sit next to the old-fashioned stove and warm ourselves after skating).

To top off the evening we walked to the Grand Place for the light show. We stopped at a local chocolate shop, Elisabeth, to savor some of Belgium's finest chocolate.

Our outing lasted five hours (2pm - 7pm). It wasn't too crowded in the afternoon and early evening, but I would not advise going after 6pm because it was difficult for little ones to see the creche on the Grand Place with the crowds.