Week of September 25th

Sunday was just a beautiful warm and sunny day!  The morning started off by me being awoken by my youngest boss saying she needed chocolate chip pancakes and that she just couldn't wait any longer so when was I getting up!  What happened to Goodmorning Mommy!  So after our big homemade chocolate chip pancakes, fruit slushies, and what I thought were saugage links but only to find out they look like brats breakfast we headed out to a park in a forest about 15 min. from us.  The park look like it had been made out of Lincoln Logs.  It was a big sandy area, lots of room for the kids to run and had forts, tetter todders and lots of big slides.

Amber on the zip line.

Sean at top of slide.

After the park we found the restaurant affiliated with the park and tried to eat there at 12:30.  The man told me they were booked all day.  People and their reservations here are crazy.  We drove by 2 other restaurants that looked full too.  I guess on Sunday since nothing else is open everyone goes out to eat!  So we decided just to head up to the apple orchard early b/c I thought it didn't open until after lunch.  It was a pretty drive about 15 min. more north.  The apple orchard was packed.  It was just on this narrow little road and then you have people parking on both sides of it.    They had a tent of 2 types of sausage and fries, so we got that for lunch.  They were also making homemade apple cider right there.  You could see the apple juice coming out of the big barrel where the apples were being squeezed.  It was delicious.  We bought a bottle and drank it for lunch.  And bought 2 more to take home, but unfortunatly the juice only lasts about 1-2 days. The bees were horrible just as they are at home in the fall and Jacob got stung by a bee.   They were also selling wine and champagne too for lunch, so funny to see!  Then we got a wheelbarrow and a box and headed out to the orchard.  Amber got on the wheelbarrow, got off once to get an apple that she ate and I think only got off 1 or 2 more times to get a few apples otherwise she was content just sitting there eating her apple (:

The boys loved picking the apples and I enjoyed it too.  We had never actually been any place to pick them at home so this was new for us.  We filled up our box and Jason pushed the box and Amber to the weighing counter and then we went and got some dessert.

They had apple slices fried in this dough that was delicious and then a bunch of different apple pies.    We ate the fried apple slices and then brought some pieces of pie home.  Now I need to make some things with all the apples!  After we got home Jason and Amber took a nap.  Then Amber was up so so late.

Monday I went and got my hair cut by the same lady who had done the boys.  She told me to come with my hair wet, but I couldn't do that since I shower in the morning and then get everyone's breakfast ready, have breakfast and get lunches and snacks ready, then off to school.  So by the time I got to her my hair was dry.  She just sprayed it down.  She has the salon in a top room of her apartment.  Then she cut my hair and dryed it.  No hairspray, mousse or anything.  So it turned out nice, just different.
After this I went and signed up at the Automotive Club here.  It is similiar to AAA at home.  And I wanted to buy a country driving sticker.  Here some other countries require you to have a sticker on your car to drive in the country.  Instead of toll booths they do this and the sticker is good for a year.  But I bought one sticker for Switzerland and it was $50.  That is some expensive tolls!  She told me France and Italy just have toll roads so no need for a sticker.  And in Germany and Belgium they don't have anything you need to pay for.   Speaking of driving I guess Luxembourg has cheapier gas then surronding countries b/c of the low taxes here.  So when people are driving on the expressway they will try and wait until they get into Luxembourg to buy gas. 
Then I drove over to one of the shopping malls and got my cart outside with my coin, b/c they normally don't have carts in the store.  I went and picked up Jason's shirts at the cleaners which take a week to do 2 shirts, and dropped off some more.  Then I went into the grocery store, and this man that works there starting chasing after me.  I guess the cart I had gotten had a empty trash bottle of coke in it and I didn't see it.  So he seemed mad and was talking in French, but I just said "Sorry it wasn't mine"  but I doubt he understood me.
Amber cooked an Apple Crumb in class today for their weekly cooking lesson.  It was very good and they gave out a recipe with it as well.  Which will be good for the box of apples I now have in the kitchen.  Amber's teacher is a man from Sweden and he dresses up and does the Swedish chef imatation.  They sent home a picture of him with a big white chef's hat on and a fake long black mustache- too funny!
The boys had their ball skills class after school today so that gave me some more time at home to get some things done and do things with Amber as well.
Tonight we met a friend out for dinner at Quick- it is basically like McDonalds.  And it had an indoor climby thing for the kids.  Jason even met us out there as well.  It was nice and the kids all had fun running around.  Jason got home first and saw another big brown spider, yuck, along the side of the garage.  These things are making me scared to go downstairs.  So I first found one in the laundry room a few weeks ago, and then I was thinking fine if they can just stay in the basement I can maybe deal with this.  But then a week later one not as big scared me in the boys bathroom behind the door- yuck.  And now the garage- yuck, yuck, yuck.  Go away spiders!!!  I am afraid to leave the windows open for what may crawl in.

Tuesday morning Jason left for work before we did, usually he leaves after us.  So when I came down to the basement to go to the garage I saw he left the door from the house to the garage open.   Great, I was thinking after he found that big spider in the garage last night.  Why don't we just invite them in for some tea?  Ugh. 
After dropoff was a coffee get together at a cafe down the street for the parents of Sean's class put on by the room moms.  It was nice to meet other moms.  About 11 people came. 
Today Amber said she had music and it was her turn to hold onto Bob.  I asked her who was Bob. She told me that when it is your turn to hold Bob, a bear stuffed animal,  you also get to wear a crown, and turn off the lights after class.  Then she said, "but when we have to shake the sillies out I have to put Bob down"  Ok too funny.  I asked her how she shakes the sillies out and she stood up and shook her booty! 
Today at school both boys took nasty falls at recess.  Sean ended up in the nurses office again, and scraped up his knee and elbow pretty bad.  Jacob got some scrapes but not as bad.
About 10 min. after school ended Jacob had a guitar lesson.  At home he had been taking electric guitar lessons for 1 1/2 years.  So I had been having difficulty finding someone, but his guy comes to the school and gives lessons.  So it is for 1/2 hour and we will do once a week and see how it goes.  It is a private lesson and today we had a good time slot but normally I think we will have to go back after dinner and do it.   So we will see how this goes.

Wednesday, more French for me and then after I picked Amber up I had a room mom meeting with the teacher and other preschool teacher and her room parents.  Here the preschoolers will have 4 field trips and we are responsible for providing snacks for the trips and help with getting chaperones.  The school has a big International Luncheon for the kids to experience different foods and cultures so we help with this as well.  The school has children from all over the world so it is a very International School.
After the boys school they had RE class and then I took all 3 to get their hair cut with the same lady who did mine.  Amber is sitting on a stool in this picture.

Then we came home and made some homemade applesauce and it was so yummy!  And for dinner we had my birthday dinner a day early- delicious meatballs.  Since we are going out of town this weekend I didn't want to fix a big meal on Thursday and then have it sit all weekend.  We all love this dish so I know we will eat it all up before then.

Thursday was my birthday.  I am thirty something.  The kids were very excited to give me my presents this morning, my steamer I had bought a bit ago, and this huge package of Twix bars.  Oh my it has like 24 packages of Twix bars and is this long container.  It looks like a paddle! 
After I dropped off 2 of the kids off at school, I had to take Sean back to the chiropractor to finish up with his sore neck.  Of couse since it was my birthday we did first stop in the cafeteria and get a little sweet treat to go! He was feeling better, but it took until around Tues. for him to stop walking with his head to one side.  So he is all straigtened out for now.
I had French again today and my teacher brought over little chocolate petite cakes for us to have with my lesson, so that was very sweet of her.  Amber had her gymnastics class this afternoon and we made sure we left home early enought to get a parking spot where I could get out of, not like last week.  We got there about 15 min. early and granted the parking lot isn't very big, but only 5 spots left.  So all was good when we left class. 
For dinner we had our left over meatballs and then the kids helped me make some yummy chocolate birthday cupcakes.  Sprinkles, Sprinkles everywhere!

Jason came home from work with a big box that his secretary had shipped him from the states.  I think it only took 2 days to ship, crazy fast.  It had all our mail, and some items from our parents and some items I had ordered.  It was like Christmas.  The kids were digging into everything.  So that was a nice surprise.


Friday the kids did not have school so Jason took the day off and we went to Cologne, Germany for the weekend.