Another week gone...

As I said in my last post, I have been stitching on my Milka cow. Not much has been going on, working and trying to get all the laundry ironed and into the cupboards.
DH got some allergic reaction on thursday morning but didn´t feel it necessary to go to the doctor, until he woke me on Fridaynight and it turned out that his eyes were swollen shut and his whole body was covered in hives...
So Friday morning he went to the doctor and got some pills, but he fell lousy all weekend.
We also went to Rijnsburg because we sold our CJ7 jeep and we wanted to make sure it looked OK to get picked up by the buyer. The jeep is stored at friends of ours, so we had diner with them before we drove back home through the snow... DH wasn´t allowed to drive so I drove but the closer we got to home, the worse the snow got, so by the time we entered back into Belgium, you could only do 80 km/h.
We passed by two accidents, both with BMW´s... but we made it home safe and this morning we took the kids to the zoo in Antwerp. Only there were almost no animals, duuuu, due to the cold. But we had a nice walk.

Getting back into the routine

We have been back for a week and it has been very busy with work, the activities of the kids, etc.. We also had some sad news for an uncle of DH who passed away in Africa, so it has been a hectic week.
I have been busy trying to finish the Milka cow cross stitch and I started to crochet a hat for son #3. Will try to get some pictures of these as soon as possible.

Last day in Austria

Yesterday we went rodeln on the Wildkogel. It is the longest rodeln track in Europe (14 km) and it is great fun. The first 2 corners are a bit tricky and perhabs a bit dangerous (because you are on a red skislope) but after that it is great fun. The boys and both of us loved it, we didi it for the second time and it is just fantastic.

But to all good things come an end and today is our last day here in Austria. Tomorrow we will be driving back, so the boys are skiing with their dad and son #3 is playing in the snow. It has been a fantastic week with snow and losts of sun, so that was great. The boys both got in first at the contests so they are more than happy with their gold medalls. So everybody had a wonderful vacation. We can´t wait to go on our next skiholiday.

Super G

Today the Super G was skied by both of the boys. Nic had a real slalom contest on the mountain, as you can see.

Peter also had a contest but it was less demanding on the little ones. They had to ski between little flags. And he did great.
And this was the result:

Son #1 came in first and son #2 came in second place. So they did both fantastic, since they are 5 and 3 and had to compete against older children. They boys both can be very proud. I know I am, but offcourse, I am their mum... :-)

Lots of snow

The weather here in Austria seems better than at home. It snows so there is no sun, that is a pitty because we have a big sun deck here at the chalet, but it is not too cold, around -5 degrees Celsius during the day.

Both son #1 and #2 are taking skilessons and doing very well, so that is good to see. It is son #2 first time and he is only three so I am very proud of hime. I think his only motivation is the medal the get when the finifh the lessons, but he is working very hard and is very serious about sjiing as you can see.

Son #3 also loves the snow until his hands get too cold because he refuses to wear mittens...
So I haven´t been able to craft must because we spend most of the time outside with the boys and at night I am glad I can take a hot sauna and go to bed.

Leaving for Austria

We will be leaving for our annual skiholiday tonight, so I will be off the blog scene for about a week, unless there is an internet connection in the chalet.
This is one of the projects I am taking with me, so I think this is very appropriate.

Busy doing nothing...

This morning son #3 assisted me in some crochet, as you can see. This is the result of my crocheting: an alien rabbit for my SIL future baby. She asked me for a red alien rabbit, so here he is.

I also made three chicken legs for son #2´s kitchen. He likes to cook, so I made him some vegetables and the tree chickenlegs. As you can see, DH oalso likes them, but to guggle with them.

Happy New Year !

First of all, let me wish you a happy New Year. This picture was made last night when the boys were lighting firworks. As you can see, as a safety consultant, I had to buy the boys firework safety goggles. And after the blast of all the fireworks that were light, all fingers, toes and eyes are accounted for.

And as a good Belgian tradition, the boys read their New Year letters. OK, read is a big word, they have memorised them, so I don´t want to know how long the teacher is busy tring to get them to memorise the letter. But they both did very well, so their piggy banks are a lot bigger now.

And after all the partying, again, we ´aired´ they boys on the beach at Katwijk, but it was very cold, so Ruben was not amused and we turned back, but it was a very nice but cold day at the beach.

Here comes 2010!

Whishing you and your families a wonderful, healthy and happy 2010!

The third day of christmas...

We had a lazy day after the holidays and went for a walk on the beach. It was a bit chilly but the sun was there, so it was a nice walk. The boys needed to be ´aired´... after a couple of days indoors.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The cooking and baking is done

Well, this is the result of an afternoon grocery shopping, cooking and baking. The turkey is stuffed, the cookies are made and a speculaas parfait, which is delicious. We tried the parfait last week and is was so good, we decided to have it for christmas day dessert.
The yummy result is shown here:

Some cupcakes filled with cherries and apples. Some traditional cheese cookies in the back and some white fondant cookies.

We are ready for Christmas...

And the snow is still here

OK, this is becoming a record for us. The snow is still here and the weather forecast stated that it will snow again this afternoon. Could there be a white Christmas? We didn´t have a white Christmas since 1986, so this would be fantastic... We will see.
But since DH took my car keys, we are stuck at the house, so the boys wanted to make cookies, and this is the result:

I think the ice crystal cookies look fantastic, and the taste as good as they look. Another thing we tried, was the cookie christmas tree:

Let me tell you that this is not wath I expected... It is fun, but it doesn´t look so nice. And it doesn´t look like a christmas tree, what it is supposed to be... but we tried, and we will try harder next time.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

First snow!

Yesterday it started snowing, just a little bit, but it kept snowing and by the time I had to leave to go home, the roads were one big chaos. The public services didn´t clean the roads so it took me 1,5 hours to drive 11 km...
But today the snow was still there and it looked gorgeous. The kids had a great time on this last day of school. Holidays, here we come...

Stitching for bitches

Another package was awaiting me and that was this little cute book. It is a dutch translation but I think the original is called subversive stitching... In dutch it is called ´stitching for bitches´. It has some great dutch strong sayings and I just love it.
The book was given to me by a cousin of Niels. She saw it in a local store and thought of me... I don´t know if that is a complement, but OK, I will take it as one. She had so much fun reading it in the store that she couldn´t resist buying it for me.
So I will reward her by making a cross stitch project out of the book for her.

Funny book!

Ready steady Bake!

Yesterday a package (well actually more than one package) was awaiting me.
In the biggest one, was my order of Holiday baking supplies. I will attempt to make the christmas tree in cookies... Will let you know how that worked out, and also some cupcake supplies for the christmas coffee. Will show you teh result.

Sinterklaas has left the building

Yesterday we spent the afternoon and evening celebrating Sinterklaas´ birthday. So gifts and poems were exchanged. The kids saw Zwarte Piet bring a big bag of presents, and spent most of the evening unpacking all their goodies and fell asleep very happy.
This morning at 5.45 all three woke up to play with their toys, so I was very happy that my MIL went todwnstairs with them so I could sleep a bit more.
We also visited the newest member of the family. DH´s cousing had a baby girls, so we had a quick peek at her, but the is a stunning little lady, Evenline.
This afternoon we drove back home and the boys kept asking to put up the tree. And since Sinterklaas had went back home to Spain, DH went out with the boys (it was already dark) to get the tree from our garden, and I think it is gorgeous. This is the third year we get him inside, and he keeps growing, so I hope he lives long and gives us much more happy holidays.

Chritsmas ornament exchange 2009

I participated in a christmas ornament exchange and this is what was waiting for me yesterday when I arrived home. I beautiful stitched ornament, a scented one and a nicely stitched christams card.

Thank you very much

New mittens... waiting for the cold

I needed new mittens and I wanted a pair of Lithuanian ones. So I searched on Dawanda and saw these. I loved them immediately so I ordered them from Agneta. And guess what...
She is Lithuanian! So genuine Lithuanian mittens for me. I love them and I can´t wait for it to get cold, so I can show them off.

Bob Maman jars

We always eat Bon Maman confiture and I was wondering what you can make with the jars; Normally I throw them away, but after a lecture of sustainability from DH, I was wondering...

This is what you start with:

And here are some examples of what you can make:

For the christmas experts among us:

I also found a link with projects. I know I am inspired...