winter I'm sorry but I'm ready to say goodbye...

I'm a Chicago girl. Born and raised. I've always lived in a place with four seasons. Always a winter, cold and more cold. And I love it. I love the change in seasons. I always tell Rob that I dont think I could ever live in a place without them, but I hate one thing. End of January and February. It seems I hit about this time every year and I am so over the cold. Over bundling up every time I go outside. Tired of finding indoor activities to do. And tired of the gloom. So here I am January 30th saying the same thing I do every year. "Is it spring yet??"
Our first winter in Belgium has taught us some things:

1. it is GLOOMY. Yup it really is. You know its truly gloomy when the sun finally shows its beautiful face and your 3 year old daughter yells, "MOM look its the SUN! do you see it?? It MUST be summer!" And everyone around you gets happy when the sun is out for only 10 minutes because the 10 minutes is precious when it only happens about every 10 days.

2. the houses are old. We have yet to ask our landlord how old our house is, but it is old. Old homes bring bad insulation. A constant breeze from the old windows.. COLD.

3. European heating is different. I tell Rob that one of these years we will learn how to effectivly heat our home. cause on a daily basis I see this...

What is she doing? you ask. Well thats our heater. Depending on the size of the room determines how many are in the room. Such as; our kitchen has three. Our bedrooms one. Our living room six. Now you see the heater itself is warm, but the room, not so much. SO our 3 year old, who is wearing three layers is sitting next to the heater to thaw herself out.

4. Slippers are a MUST. I don't think I have ever worn slippers more this winter than ever in my life. So thankful my mother in law bought me an amazing pair for Christmas from australia. Also, I have never offered people slippers that come over, now I have many pairs sitting by the door for anyone that comes in the house.

5. I have never desired two things more in my life than I do now; heated floors and heated toilet seats. The first you already know why, the second.... oh my goodness I try to limit the times I go to the bathroom so I don't have to place my hiney on the freezing seat. You see each heater in the house is individually run so to save money my husband we decided to only keep on the heaters that are really needed. Hence the bathroom ones are not "needed", so the bathrooms are freezing, in turn the toilet seats are ice cubs, in turn my behind turns into an ice cube each time I sit on it. Conculsion of the matter ** hint hint** best christmas present ever.. heated toilet seats :)

6. When its gloomy, cold, and not snowy the best thing to do is huddle under the covers and read books...

Allie is my little reader. Not a day goes by that we don't read atleast 4 books. I constantly find her in her bed at night with a flashlight "reading". We just bought her some classic chapter books. The kind that has a picture every couple pages. We just finished Wizard of Oz together, which she loved, and have now moved on to Anne of Green Gables. Friday night after Jake was asleep (sick..) us three climbed into bed and read Anne of Green Gables for about 30 min. Then allie asked if she could look through the book on her own, so Daddy and I got to read our books and Allie "read" hers. It was a fantastic evening and Allie loved that she could snuggle in mommy and daddy's bed. I hope she always loves to read.

7. Mexico sounds more appealing than ever!!! Rob and I are more than ready to hop on the plane and head to Mexico. The yearly McGowan Mexico trip is just around the corner and we couldnt be more thrilled. So thankful for the trip, ready for the warm sun, the beautiful beach, and dry air, and great family time!! thanks mom and dad!!

So winter can you end early?? Allie, Jake and I would really love to explore the outdoors without freezing ourselves, and I for one am ready to not be wearing hoodies and slippers in the house.. Bring on the heat (oh yeah I live in Belgium it really doesn't get that hot... bummer)

I seriously think i could write a book.... if I was a good writer..

There are many nights that go by where Rob and I are sitting at the table and I say, "Sometimes I just wish I could really describe some of the crazy things that have happened to us since we have been in Belgium cause I think I could write a pretty hilarious book."

So our latest happening...

Let me set up a picture in your head...

We live in the middle of no where. And when I say no where I mean the nearest neighbor we have is a couple of cows. The nearest human neighbors are probably a half mile away and they are one french/belgian farmer, and a little old lady. The next nearest person is probably mile or two away. We REALLY live in the country. I know, I know I normally exagerate just a tad but this time I'm not, we really are out there. People often come over and say, "wow, you guys really have no neigbors." We love it. We love the quiet. The peace. The beautiful sunsets and sunrises (when the sun decides to show its face ever 12 days..). The countryside. We really do.

Ok so back to the story.

Friday night I had to take the kids carseats out of the car cause we needed to go pick something up. so I placed the carseats under the awning on our porch. I left them there overnight.

Well the next morning Rob heads out to go to work (not normal on a saturday, he just had to sit alert in case a plane broke) he gives us all hugs and walks out the door. He comes back in one minute later and says "Linds, come out here real quick." "why" I ask confused. "Just come here". So I walk out the door and see him point to allies carseat.

To my surprise I look down and see this curled up inside Allies carseat.

Yup, this tiny, probably 6 pound little dog, with a black collar on, no tag.
Rob and I look at eachother and laugh, look around and say to eachother.. seriously where did this dog come from?
Well this poor tiny dog was shivering like crazy, that night it had to have gotten 30 degrees. We pick this little guy up and bring him in the house and place him on a blanket next to the heater. he was limping on his front paw. Allie of course starts freaking out, excitedly, asking about 1 million questions about whos dog it is, where it came from ect.
Rob left for work and here I am with this small dog unsure of what to do with it.
So after Jakes nap we decide to head to our nearest neighbor and ask if they are missing a small dog. *dont forget that people speak french around here, and no I still dont know french*
We stick little dog in the back of the car, I strap the kids in and away we go (I have wrote down a simple phrase in french asking if they are missing a small dog, love google translate).
Well in a matter of seconds the dog jumps over the back seat and sits next to Allie. Another minute passes and the dog jumps in the passenger seat. Another minute the dog jumps in my lap and looks at me as if to say "I actually sit here, not in the back." fine then.
So I head to my neighbor who looks at me confused, like I am asking her if she wants a dog. ok we are getting no where. I point to the dog, who at this point is standing with his paws on my stearing wheel wagging his tail all happy. She says "j'ne sais pas". ("I dont know") Bummer.
Okay to the next little house.
Well this little old lady looked at my as if I was crazy. Ok then nevermind.
So we had to head to the commissary to get this little dog some food.
After we get settled back at the house Allie says to me.
"Mommy I really think the little dog likes it hear. I think we should name him chien (french for Dog) cause I think hes a french dog". Hmm sounds good allie.
So for the next five days we fostered "Chien Chein" trying to find its owner. I went to the vet hoping it had a micro chip. nope. but thankfully the vet said he looked good and his foot was healing well. I asked around some more. No luck.
At this point I am a little stressed that we will never find its owner. So a lady at Robs work said she would love to take the dog if we dont find its owner. so we set up that on thursday she would come get it. I warned Rob that "chien chien" had attached himself to me and followed me everywhere. He wouldn't go outside unless I did. He whinned when I went upstairs and he couldn't go.. ect.
so Wed afternoon it had finally gotten warm and I asked Chien chien if he wanted to go out (who knows if he even knows english commands) and he wags his tail all excited and I open the door and he runs outside, without me going with him, Yahoo, he is gonna go potty on his own. At this point it was the first nice day since he has been here.
Allie and I go back to reading a book. 10 minutes pass by and i think wow thats weird Chien is not scratching at the door, he always scratches at the door about 1 minute after being outside in the cold. I open the door and hes not there. I call for him. no dog. I stick my shoes on to whistle for him. no dog. I walk around the yard. no dog. hmmm weird.
30 mins pass by and still no dog.
Rob comes home i say, "Well your friend from work may be sad cause we have no dog."
So two days later I have decided that it was a gypsie dog. was here for the food, warmth, and strengthening his foot, once he recieved all those things away he went.
Bye mystery dog.


Okay okay so that was our crazy story for the month on to my sweet boys;
Jake has been given the name koala and snuggle bug. this little boy LOVES to snuggle. allie never liked to snuggle at this age, she was always on the go. Jake, he loves to squirm and move, but he also loves to burrow his face in our shoulder and cling on for dear life. Its just too cute.

hence we call him koala.

i mean sometimes I just have to breath in his sweetness.

My little snuggle bug.

We went to his late 9 month check up (since he is now 10 mon) and the first thing the dr says is "Wow you have a big boy, is his daddy big?"

Yup I know hes big my arms feel it.

He weighs 24.5 pounds and is 29 in tall. And his head is 19 in (93rd%) One serious noggin.

he is looking great. Dr says on the charts he is the size of a 15 month old. and growing out of 18 month clothing. Too fast!

he is super close to walking. He'll walk with us holding just the collar of his shirt just for moral support. hopefully by mexico he'll be walking so I don't have to have a crawler in the sand.

So thankful for healthy babies.

Now toddlers are another story.

This week was allies 3rd week of being sick. the poor girl cant get a break. This has been her month.

first week: throw up stomach flu

Second week: diarreha stomach flu

third week: Fever (104.5), head ache flu

I mean honestly can we get a reset button on her immune system? her body hasn't like belgium since we have arrived. so prayers for a healthy body for her would be greatly appreciated.

I totally got an F.

ok so I KNOW I said that while Rob was away I would plug away at my blog... well you know I was gonna put up all these excuses on why it didn't get done, such as all of us getting the stomach flu while Rob was gone, or the craziness of a mom, BUT lets be honest there was a couple minutes here and there to get it done and I just didn't do it. SO here I am saying sorry to all of you family who were waiting for pictures and such. I have decided I just need a to do list each day so I quit slacking.. cause I really feel like my life right now could be a serious book... the life in Belgium is one to laugh at and I wish I was dedicated enough to write all the time cause man there are some interesting stories.. so away I go making up for lost time AGAIN. So while I was away from the blog we had the joy of celebrating the 3rd birthday of this amazing little girl. I mean come on who couldn't love this face?? It was so great to have Granny, Popsie, Aunt Brit, and GG (great granny) here to celebrate this fun day. I know that all moms say this but it has to be said that time flies by. I still remember the doctors laying her sweet little body on my chest seconds after she entered the world. Since then life has been truly amazing. She is such an amazing little girl, one full of passion, love, joy, charm, spunk, and lets be honest a little drama, that Rob and I can't help but laugh daily at the things she comes up with. I just wish sometimes I could have a video on me always so I can share her silliness with the world..
ok ok now on to the fun day....

So maybe I was a little excited for the fun to begin?? We of course had a princess themed party per requested by the birthday girl herself. Each little lady (and one little man) got a crown and a wand with their name on it. So all could be a little princess and prince for the day...

We started off with a little gingerbread house making... maybe more candy was consumed than was places on the houses... but man was it fun. Heres Allies two friends Mya and Julia making theirs. Surprisingly all the houses turned out pretty well.. But lets be honest they were more like boxes than houses. and I MAY have used a couple tubs of frosting to get the heavy walls together... but the kids loved it.

My good friend Jenn (who allie calls "ms.Thrall") came with her two older girls. And she helped allie get her house together..

So getting all the kids together AFTER the candy houses and the pinata is not the easiest thing in the world.. and then trying to get them all to look AND smile at the camera.. impossible.. So heres our crazy clan. Such a great group of kids..
I asked Allie this year what she wanted for her birthday cake and it did not take her more than one second to respond with a resounding BELLE CAKE! Not suprised, since beauty and the beast is her favorite charaters right now. As Allie says "she needs a yellow dress, a yellow bow, just like in the movie mama".. Hmm I hope I can pull this one off... so thanks to Grannys mold she gave us I made this "Belle Cake".

not too shabby.. thankfully it was easier than I imagined and allie thought she looked like Belle.. all that matters :)
"Many happy returns on the day of thy birth, may sunshine and gladness be given. And may the dear Savior prepare you on earth for a beautiful birthday in heaven."

So this little song that my family sings EVERY year on your birthday is one that I will pass on singing to my children. I need to ask my dad where it came from cause I love it, I love the words, and I love that it is so special just to our family. ** side note: So we woke Allie up this morning with a cupcake with a candle singing happy birthday and this song. After we got done singing and she blew out the candles she says to us "Can I do this every morning?" :) **

No birthday party is complete without a little lipgloss...

And some for Daddy...

The look of surprise at all the crazy presents...

Can you tell we like princess stuff... I dont know how every little girl is obssessed with princesses but it happens out of nowhere... I don't think a day passes that princesses are not mentioned.. Right now Jake is her prince, its too cute.

her princess loot.

So there you have it a wonderfull day celebrating an amazing little girl, it was seriously crazy cause we had a day with no tantrums and no fighting with any of the kids.. it was more than amazing.... prayers for a great year.

Happy 2011!!!

so yes I know I have been an awful blogger these past two months... whats funny is that I have had more to blog about in the last two months than in the last 3 years.. I have just felt like life hasn't slowed down. We had all Robs family in town for 5 weeks and of course were busy busy busy. What a blessing to have them here we felt blessed to have each and every day together. Rob left on a two week trip today so my goal in these next two weeks is to update my posts from our adventures the last two months cause it has been an adventure! Just a couple one liners to keep you coming back... traveling the beautiful christmas markets of germany... All of us including Robs beautiful 83 year old grandma having to walk 1km through the snow to get home... being snowed in for 6 days... allies 3rd birthday bash... Our "manna" Christmas dinner... and much more!

For today its just me, my ramblings and a tad bit of an honest heart...
I'm not sure if I'm the only mom who feels this way but I have found that the journey of motherhood is one of mountains and valleys. I have just come out of one of those "valley" moments. I had a week that I just felt like a bad mom and wife. One of those weeks where I just had a short fuse, one where I just was in a funk and couldn't seem to get free. There was a day later in the week that I just kept praying "Lord am I ever going to get out of this? Am I ever going to enjoy this like I used to?" It was a challenge. A challenge to open another book to read to Allie, to give Jake my fingers so he could walk around the house. Not that I didn't love them. I truly did, I just wasn't enjoying the daily routine like I used to. I just kept praying and hoping. One beautiful morning I woke up refreshed. I know it had to have been the Lord providing. Providing strength, joy, and true love for my precious children. These last few days I have felt more than blessed. It has been so the opposite of last week. I have felt so in love with my children that I can stop squeezing them. I can't get enough of their sweet faces. Allie has been the cutest 3 year old that I have ever known. The things that she has said and done have warmed my heart. The other day I was joking around with her telling her that Daddy was looking for a plug to plug me in cause I needed to be recharged (I was a bit sleepy). Allie looks at me and says "You're silly mommy, you don't get plugged in you're a person". "I am? How do I get recharged then?" I ask. "God lives in your heart mommy and He charges you." Thanks sweet girl. How I needed that reminder. She has longed to pray together often. The times I forget she reminds me "We need to pray mommy". She just received this little leap frog pen for christmas from Rob and I and has loved it. Its this pen that she scrolls over words and reads them for her. It does definitions of words ect. Yesterday she walked up to me and says, "Mommy do you know what oasis means?" "What does it mean Allie?" "Oasis. An inlet of fresh water." she proudly responds. I just laugh under my breath. Seriously this little girl is too much for me.

Jake. What can I say about this studly little boy. He is so close to walking already. He has this walker and zooms through the house with the biggest grin on his face. What a joy this little boy is. He is madly in love with his sister. All he wants is to be with her at all times. When at the nursery at church he only doesn't cry when he has a hold of his sisters hand. I have never seen such love for a sister... lets hope it lasts a long time :) He eats like no other 9 month old I know. He only has two little teeth in the front but it doesn't stop this little boy.. some of his favorites are; orange slices, sweet potatoes mixed in with pasta noodles, turkey, bananas, peas, and of course bread. He shovels food into his face as if he has never eaten in his life. Its quite funny. He has just learned the sign for more and does it all the time thinking that every time he signs "more" he will get food... definitely his fathers son!

After reflecting on the rough mom week that I had I truly think I was given that week to understand other moms. to understand what it feels like to have weeks where you just feel like a bad mom. and to know that those weeks don't last forever. that those weeks grow you into a better mom on the other end, when your willing and ready to learn and admit that you need growth. It brings you to your knees knowing that only through the Lord can I really be a mom that He desires me to be.

so now these next two weeks rob is gone and I am thankful that I loving being a mom. Loving the place that I am in right in this moment. so I will take it and run. Now to get that list that seems to never end done before he gets back! I'm just hoping that one of these days my christmas cards will show up (our mail room has been closed due to weather) so maybe you all will get your christmas cards by valentines day?
Heres some silly videos of my two. One of jake signing and eating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FCeLTZMeU


and one of him walking using his walker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mdOs8HDFBI


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