Small victories

I'm feeling pretty good at the moment. Let's hear it for small victories:

I'm showered, with teeth brushed (and it's only noon!)
I fit into my "skinny" jeans today
I loaded the dishwasher and it is running
I finished two digital scrapbook pages in the last two days
I finally have painted toenails again
Frank is picking up my car today (although, with the way things have been going, I don't know if I will count this one until I see it)
It's Friday, so as soon as Frank gets back our weekend adventures can begin (maybe shopping?)
Zachary was napping, but just woke up and is babbling and playing in the crib, giving me a little time to finish this post.

I hope all who read this experience a few small victories today as well. And don't be afraid to leave me a comment, even it is just a hello.

Lotsa house photos

In an effort to keep this post upbeat, I will skip all the this-process-sucks details and show you some great photos!

Last Friday we signed the lease for the house, and we are set to move in on the 30th. We have to wait until then only because it is the first opportunity for the Army to bring us our loaner bed. They are also bringing us some items to keep for our stay: American fridge (fridge/freezer in the kitchen are small), washer and dryer, and wardrobes for each of us (no closets).

Monday we went to the house again for the inspection. An expert writes up a report as to the condition of everything (everything!) in the house for a reference when we move out. He was going from room to room, talking into his tape recorder, and we just walked around and took lots of photos.

The entrance is on the right side of the house, and as you walk in, the stairs (up to bedrooms, down to garage/laundry) are on the left, a half bath is ahead to the left, entrance to living room is straight ahead, and the kitchen is immediately on the right.

The kitchen is roomy with lots of light and storage. Off to the left is the back door, and on the left wall are more cabinets and room for a table.
These next photos go around the very large living room, from the side by the kitchen to the bedroom off of this room which has a full bath with a tub (will probably be computer room/guest room).

The two larger bedrooms upstairs are identical and share a balcony.

This is the smaller bedroom upstairs. Enough room for Zach but we haven't decided yet which room we will use for him. There is also a full bathroom upstairs.
Long two-car garage.
Prospective man cave. It really is a cave, isn't it? Great for storage, but probably not for Frank's computer. There's no direct electricity and not sure how our wireless would work through the concrete.
Big laundry room. The washer and dryer go over on the right side.
Our unaccompanied baggage (the faster shipment of stuff) is in and is also being delivered on the 30th. So at least we will have our pillows/sheets/comforter, more clothes, more baby toys, some kitchen stuff, and Frank's computer and huge awesome monitor (he misses it so). Hopefully the rest of our stuff will not be far behind.

One crazy kiddo

Here's a video clip for those of you missing our little Zach-man. Frank and I re-viewed this one today, and it made us laugh all over again. And distracted us just a bit from our life in limbo. I happen to know that some of you could use a distraction and a reason to smile, so here it is...

So much for progress

Well, there is good news and not-quite-as-good news. Good: everything looks fine with the house and we are going to sign the lease on Friday. Not-as-good: because of having to make appointments for every stinkin' thing and there aren't many to be had because everyone that works is starting to go on holiday, we probably won't actually move in until August 1st. Basically, it has taken since we said we wanted the house on July 4th til today (July 14) for the housing office to talk to the realtor, talk to the owner, do the security inspection (though I am glad the locks, windows and alarm look good), and get us back in the office to just talk about signing the lease. Now, Friday (July 18th) is the first time available for them to get us in the office with the landlord to actually sign the lease, and the following Friday (July 25th) is the first appointment the bank has for us to set up the account for the security deposit (escrow) and purchase the necessary fire insurance. AND THEN it will take a few days, possibly up to a week, for the bank to "process" everything so we are covered by the insurance, AND THEN we can move in.

The guy at the housing office did not seem to understand that we won't have our furniture (a bed to sleep in) until the week of August 4th. We can get the army garrison to loan us some furniture, but he informed us that they only deliver on Wednesdays, so unless we can work it so that they deliver the week before we actually move in, it doesn't help us and we sleep at the hotel until our furniture comes anyway.

This whole process is jacked up. I'm beyond annoyed at this point...

Now we are getting down to business

Though we were running here and there and everywhere last week, I didn't feel like we were really accomplishing anything. More like we were getting things started with no idea as to when they were actually going to fall into place. We haven't been over here that long, but remember, we've been without a real home or all of our belongings for over a month now, and we are just sick and tired of it. Well, I have high hopes for this week; I think things are rolling now:


Yesterday we (finally!) picked up a rental car. I was ready--I just couldn't stand getting in and out of the mustang any longer. They had to give us a little larger car than we really needed, because that is all they had in an automatic, but it's really only considered large by European standards. It's a Mercedes-Benz...

We think we've got a house to rent! After driving around neighborhoods last week and going through a few homes with a realtor, we decided we like the first one we had seen (such was the case with both of our previous apartments-funny how that happens). The housing office at the army garrison is helping set up the lease, and according to them the landlord is on board and we are just waiting on the inspection. Hopefully all will go well and we can move in soon. This is the front:

And this is the back. One of the coolest parts is the window-it's over the sink in the kitchen.
And today we made a trip downtown to the embassy for a couple briefings and paperwork to get badges, to the mall to buy cell phones, and to the bank to open an account. Also, our food stash from the commissary was pitifully low so we made our first trip to a Belgian supermarket, which is down the street from our hotel.

And a look at what we did last weekend: Zach waving the flag on his first Fourth of July! There was a celebration at the Brussels American school.
Waving it only lasted so long...it was bound to end up in his mouth :)
Sunday we took the train to Bruges. It's a very pretty city with parks and canals, tall churches, and art museums (we didn't see the art...we went to a museum about chocolate). We walked around with Phil, saw a big outdoor flea market, and experienced a couple of important Belgian firsts: ate waffles and chocolates. I'm hooked, especially on the waffles!

The day our baby became a world traveler

This is how I remember the day we flew to Brussels, Belgium. Yes, it was only about a week ago, but baby fatigue makes you forget details rather quickly.

2 am: We started this great adventure after about 3 hours of sleep (Frank claims he only napped for an hour). It took us entirely too long to pack all of our worldly possessions, at least the ones we are currently in possession of. Zach was happy to just roll from the crib to the car seat with little more than a diaper change.
3 am: My mom picked us up from the hotel and took us to the airport.
3:45 am: We arrived at the airport and there were some couples in line already. Frank was busy redistributing the last 5 lbs. of our stuff so that each of our three suitcases came out to 49.5 lbs.
4:15ish am: I'm glad we arrived early...the ticket counter just opened and there was quite a line already.
6:30 am: After a Starbucks latte and Burger King breakfast, we boarded the plane to Chicago. (Zach went to sleep for the hour-long flight.)
The day is kind of a blur, so I'm skipping ahead... The only thing I do remember about the second flight was that Zach slept the whole way again. Must be the white noise or something.
2 pm: We were finally in New York, and our day was only half over...We made a bunch of phone calls to family and friends, because we knew once we got on the plane it was sayonara to Sprint and our cell phones. Ate some lame airport food and fed Zach sweet potatoes (one of his new favorites).
6 or 7 pm: We were finally on the plane to make our way across the ocean. It sucked that the rows of seats didn't exactly line up, so Frank was sitting across the aisle and just far enough in front of me that it required a tug on his sleeve to get his attention--forget about having a conversation. It was a very lonely trip, with Zach sleeping the entire flight again! I remember thinking, "He is going to be bouncing off the walls while Mommy and Daddy are falling down tired tomorrow." I did get him out of his car seat once to feed him and let him stretch out, but he ate without waking and then just slept on my lap. And Frank changed his diaper once I think. But that was it. I don't know how many more trips we will make across the ocean, but I don't think we will have it that easy ever again.
8 am (Brusssels time): We landed, got our luggage without too much trouble, located our ride/sponsor, and the rest, they say, is history. Hopefully most of that history will make its way onto this blog.

Traveling all day didn't seem to bother him a bit.