First Day New Home

We spent our first night at the apartment.  Mom, the kids and I spent a beautiful, warm evening at the local playground.  A huge sandbox filled with climbing equipment, the kids relaxed and enjoyed being kids in their new neighborhood.  I made a big grocery trip and lugged all my miniature packages of food back to my pristine white kitchen in an attempt to cook dinner in our new home.
We have Internet but no TV which is okay since the internet helps a lot when I could not figure out why my Miele cooktop was flashing some sort of error message and my instruction manuals in French and Dutch were not helpful.  At least I could turn to Google.  The culprit was my cheap, temporary aluminum pan.  It was deemed unsuitable by my cooktop.  Wait until my cooktop sees my cooking.  Dinner would have to wait another day.  Bread with peanut butter was on the menu and I did not hear any complaints.
I packed our comforters in our shipment and although it was over 90 degrees during the day and no one has air conditioning in Brussels, including us, I thought we would be fine overnight without covers.  However, when the temperature shifts over 30 degrees overnight, you wake up freezing.  Temporary blankets were added to the running shopping list.

My dad landed this morning and I went to pick him up at the airport with Caroline.  Our first stop on the way home was Ikea - our 3rd visit already.  We bought suitable pans for Miele, blankets and another 50 things you realize you need from Ikea.  Then we finally returned to the apartment to an excited welcoming committee.
After another extraordinarily priced grocery trip, I took the kids swimming in our building's pool for the first time.  It is really pretty but I need to figure out the heater.  Cole swam the length of the pool on his own and Lauren went all over with her floaties.  It is going to be a really fun play space.
My dad and Jesse reworked the sofa to accommodate for the TV/modem installation location on the opposite side of the room and put together Caroline's dresser and I successfully cooked our first meal in our new home - pasta with pesto, greens, tomatoes, mozzarella and chicken.  With the cost of food here, I am much more sensitive to waste but the kids are doing really well trying the foods that are "the same but different," as Cole says.  Everyone loves the bread.