Day 230: Sick Day

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Charlie was sick before we left for our trip, but rallied through. When his ear was hurting on the plane, I knew he really was still sick. Luckily it felt better today, but he was still under the weather (isn’t that a funny expression?) and Jeff and I are a bit sick too with itchy ears, throats, and achy heads. So the three of us stayed home today…

And tried to rest.

I got to actually enjoy my little boy, who isn’t that little any more. He invited me to make a leprechaun trap. He’s hoping to catch the sneaky little guy on St. Patrick’s Day and has quite the plan. I loved hearing his ideas and seeing his imagination and creativity.

After the trap was complete and set up in a good spot, it was time for a snuggle. He wanted me to sit with him and watch a movie. The movie he picked was Brave. Have you seen it? It was such a great movie that changes the princess story to something that I love – the main character was a strong, independent, sporty woman with her own destiny, writing her own life script, with her wild and crazy hair and choosing her own path and partner. I could relate! I also loved the mother/daughter role and how they learned together. But most of all I just loved having time with my little buddy!

I Am happy we were home sick, yet hope we will be better tomorrow! Stay healthy! xo

2Mar2013

Day 220: Gouda

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We were up at 5:45 am this morning to get the kids up and out the door to catch a bus to Rotterdam for their International basketball tournament today. The bus brought them home at 9 pm tonight, and they are heading back again tomorrow morning bright and early!!

Luckily Rotterdam is only an hour or so by car away from our home, so we were able to see many of the games. Having 2 kids in two different age divisions, helped to spread out the games so that we got to see 4 matches. I loved seeing them play and talking with the other parents, and was exhausted by all the loud whistles, bouncing balls and fluorescent lights. I’m getting old!!

While they went on to watch more games and to attend a mandatory social event, Jeff and I went to explore Gouda before heading back home.

Here are some pictures from this quaint little town that we hope to visit again soon.

I love red doors and this one is from 1620!!

Cool architectural details on the buildings that help maintain the old structures.

Love the canal houses and their reflections on the water. So pretty despite the cold, grey skies.

These markers are in front of homes and are all over the town and show you where Jewish people used to live. It tells you when they were born and when they were taken by the Nazis to concentration camps and when they died. You can’t help but cry and feel for them and their families and the injustice that happened to them. One part of town had single white roses with a paper name tag tied to each individual rose and laid on top of the markers. There were also small white rocks placed on top, which is a Jewish memorial tradition to let people know they are thinking of them. They used to be used to weigh down letters that loved ones would leave on the grave markers. I hope I captured this memory properly as I learned about this when we visited the Luxembourg cemetery.

Gouda town church in front of a canal with a goose floating by. So peaceful.

Angelic door art, with canal houses in the paint reflection.

Colorful shutters and art on the side of the town hall in the town square.

A working windmill in town. So cool to see and hear.

Another view of the town hall that was built in the 15th century.

Beautiful Gouda cats in the window.

Jeff and I had a great time just strolling through Gouda for an hour and a half. We saw so much walking alone. We found a really cool beer shop that was open for Jeff. He was stoked to find such a great variety of hard to find picks, and the owner was so friendly. We will definitely come back to explore more of Gouda another day.

Thank goodness we chose to stop before just going home after the games, because we were both really tired. I’m thankful that we pushed on and took the time instead of being “lazy.”

To end the night, before gathering all the kids, we stopped at a new trattoria in Amstelveen for dinner. What a small world… The owner is from Palermo, Italy, where my Grandmother was born and where my parents just visited. We had such a great time with them and made new friends. At the end of a delicious, spontaneous dinner, they brought us complimentary, frosty cold limoncello shots.

Life is good.

I hope you had a beautiful day!

Goodnight.

1Mar2013

Day 219: March 1st

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It’s the beginning of a new month, and March just sounds warmer, like spring is almost here and winter is almost over. The skies are still very grey and heavy in Holland, so I know I have to wait patiently. I’ll wait. What else would I do?

Which brings me to my thoughts of gratitude today, and being present and living in the moment.

When I walked outside this morning, I noticed these cute little flowers peeking out from under the bush. A sign of spring, I think… and Christina’s birthday. Happy bday CB!

I’m focused on seeing and finding joy right now, to fight back my sad feelings of being homesick since April and Steve left last week. When they left, I realized how much I miss our old life, or our other life, which is still part of our current life, but is so far away, and now is a bit complicated. I found myself longing to be back there playing outdoor tennis and hiking with Michele and Julie, and having coffee with the girls, and PEO, and yada yada yada. Longing for my previous routines and relationships while living and experiencing and building new routines and friendships here is/was confusing to me. While being a bit sad, I’m also so thankful and love living abroad. I am enjoying all our crazy adventures and adaptions. It’s just that yin and yang thing again and feeling balanced and unbalanced. Normal right? Especially for a Gemini.

Friends here ask how long we will live here and friends back home ask when we’ll come back home, and that makes me feel somewhat unsure of where I belong. I’m sure this is normal for expats, especially for those who plan to return one day but don’t know for sure when that one day will be. I think the best answer to everyone, is it depends and I’m not 100% sure, and then to go on living where I am and seizing the day, not worrying about the when. Isn’t that what being present is all about? Easier said than done, but it’s my truth.

So enough of my pity party – it’s over. I just like to share this side to keep things real and hopefully to relate with others who might be experiencing similar feelings.

The best part of my day today was holding a brand new baby and sharing time with her mama and a friend and a 2 year old little boy. Talking about being in the moment – I so loved holding her that I didn’t want to put her down! I loved watching her stretch, and peek open her eyes, and to listen to the little squeak sounds she made. I just wanted to soak her up and stare at her for hours. It was so peaceful just being with her and watching her every move. I was in the moment, and felt so lucky that I got to hold this newest little angel.

Life is truly good.

6Feb2013

Day 196: A Baby Shower

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Today was a beautiful day. We woke up to a surprise snow fall overnight.

This was our view as we were getting into our van to go to school. I was so thankful that we have a vehicle and don’t have to ride our bikes, like the locals.

After drop off, I was busy getting ready for Amy’s baby shower. In America, we celebrate the upcoming birth of a child by gathering women friends and bringing gifts for the new mom and baby. Food and drinks are served and everyone tends to dress up. Sometimes games are played. The mother-to-be opens her gifts in front of her guests. We had such a great time celebrating her new baby girl who should be joining us very soon. I love celebrating together with women and sharing stories.

We also included some Dutch traditions such as Beschuit and Muesjes that are seved after the baby is born, and Dutch congratulatory banners.

Here are more pictures of our hostess flowers.

After the girl time, it was time to pick up the kids and the weather had changed again! What a gorgeous day.

Hope you have a great afternoon too!

27Jan2013

Day 185: Here I Am On Ice

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Today was a crazy, fun day. I love when things just come together. All 3 kids had plans today but I think I was the luckiest one. CJ was having a friend over to spend the night. His friend’s mom dropped him off and she stayed for a cup of tea and a long leisurely lunch. Juliana was supposed to go to a birthday party but wasn’t feeling well and decided to stay home. Poor girl! Charlie was invited to go ice skating, but I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make it happen. Besides the logistics, it was also snowing quite heavily and I was afraid of going out on the ice, even though I know my friends say it is safe!

We decided to be brave and give it a try and drove over to Barbara’s house. I passed a salt truck on the highway for the first time and my car was pitted with salt. That was interesting. Seeing the snow covered fields was beautiful.

We got to Barbara’s safely and I helped Charlie put on his new ice skates. It has been 2 years since he first skated. I brought Christian’s new skates (that were actually big on me!!) and decided to skate too. Once I saw that the lake was frozen and black (which means good) and Charlie felt safe, I felt free to explore and skated off with Barbara. I LOVED IT! I couldn’t stop smiling and didn’t want to stop, even though the wind was blowing and it was freezing outside! I was having so much fun, and I had never done anything like it before. I loved seeing Charlie have fun too, throwing snowballs, skating and sledding with his friend and being helped by the Dutch locals. We were outside on the frozen lake and I felt like a kid!! It was wonderful, and I felt so lucky that Barbara wanted to share this truly Dutch experience with me! Thanks, Barbara.

Here is a little video of me living in the moment, happy as can possibly be. I wish you all this much joy!! Thank you Barbara for a magical afternoon!

The ice skating and ice hockey continued on the canal out front tonight with friends because tomorrow it’s supposed to warm up again and the chance might be gone, until who knows when. Life is good!

24Jan2013

Day 183: Some Things I Love About Holland

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There are several things I Iike about Holland. Today I was happy by finding beautiful and inexpensive flowers and precut veggies ready for cooking. Not only do I like that they are ready to go, but also that I don’t have to think of which veggies to include in the mix.

After grocery shopping, I was able to put together a Thai yellow chicken curry with mixed vegetables in 20 minutes!

I also picked up a winter season special to make homemade pea soup, which is very popular here. All the ingredients you need are nicely packaged into one container. I never liked pea soup until I recently tried it again at Ineke’s house and loved it!

When you need something sweet and salty, these are two of my favorite Dutch treats: Stroopwafels and Drop!

Looks like I love food and flowers! I also like seeing people biking everywhere, but I didn’t take any pictures of them today. What do you love about Holland?

23Jan2013

Day 182: The Arts & Music & Drama

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Today Juliana invited Jeff and I to come watch her drama performance. The good news is that she invited us. The communication process at her school is less than stellar! Only about 5 parents came to see the performance, out of 40 kids between the music and drama classes. How sad because I know other parents would have liked to have been part of the celebration had they known about it!!

The kids had to write their own scripts, work as a team, memorize their lines and perform in front of an audience. Each skit carried a meaningful message. After the shows, the teacher had them think about their work and performed an after action review, identifying best practices and lessons learned. She made them think about the significance of their work and why it was important. I loved this process! And I loved their responses.

What I learned is that music and the arts are an important part of a child’s learning. I know sometimes they want to cut these programs from school budgets and its a tragedy. The kids were learning to practice, rehearse, be part of an ensemble, perform, and to feel a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride! They worked on team building skills and learned how important it is for every member to show up and do their best. I loved being a part of the audience and a part of her learning process.

After watching her perform, I headed up to the city for the day. This guy got on the tram next to me smelling like pot and holding a joint in his hand! I think this is legal here!!

Wednesday is now my Wanderlust Day. Every Wednesday I plan to go into Amsterdam and walk around and explore and get lost. I want to figure out how to navigate around the neighborhoods and know how to find my way around. I’m not so good with a map and there is so much to see and learn about in this magnificent city! I met up with my friend Cami and we wandered round Leidseplein and ended up at Blue. This is a great place to see a 360 degree view of the city. I love the wide open feel from high above and there aren’t many places like this. I highly recommend you check it out!

Happy Hump Day!!

20Jan2013

Day 179: Walking on the Frozen Canal!

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It’s so cold outside! I put on extra layers and dressed warmly to go play with the kids. I think I lasted only 10 minutes before seeking warmth and a hot cup of tea. It sure was exciting to walk on the canal though, as it’s something we have never done before. I heard a couple small cracking sounds that scared me a bit, but I think that’s normal. They weren’t deep cracking sounds, just light little ones, which might have been the snow pack on top of the ice, but who knows! It’s supposed to snow the next few days, so it’ll probably be much safer to walk and skate then. I’d like for us to try skating on the canal, so we will have to go buy or borrow some skates!! Maybe we’ll have another snow day tomorrow! Happy Sunday!

Here are some pictures of our newest adventure.

17Jan2013

Day 176: Still Life. Still Freezing.

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The tennis courts are frozen. Thank goodness for indoor courts. I had a great lesson today. Actually, I had three great lessons today. My tennis coach is still trying to teach me to loosen up and move forward to the ball. I keep trying to over power my swing and I lean back. But when I move forward and just let go, everything is alright. I think there’s a metaphor in there. When I thought too hard about it, I’d tighten my grip and the ball would not consistently land in the court. But when I went with the flow and loosened up a bit, my consistency was amazing. I think I can learn something from that. Now if I can only repeat what I’ve practiced and learned!! I swear this helps me to be a more patient mom, knowing how challenging it is to actually apply what you learn.

My second and third lessons came from reading passionate and authentic blogs from two women whom I regularly follow. I love these women and don’t even know them. One woman is living life in the moment, a moment that brings tremendous struggle, yet she is real and authentic and represents the meaning of love and life. She gets it and I learn so much from her. Her name is Suzanne Rico. She is from California and you you can find her blog here: Walking Papers. Today I cried while reading about her dress rehearsal for dying and only hope I have as much grace as she does when this event comes my way. She has a beautiful soul.

The other woman is Kirsty Rice from Australia. She is an expat with 4 kids living in Doha. She also has an authentic voice and shares what it is like to live abroad and to raise children away from home. I started following and learning from her before we decided to become expats and I look forward to her regular updates. You can find her here: 4 kids, 20 suitcases & a beagle Today she asked where her “lurkers” were from and reading all the comments and seeing connections was pretty cool. She has touched so many lives with her gift of writing and sharing. I like that and she inspires me.

And I’ll leave you with one last picture. This man was standing in the freezing weather waiting for a bus. There is a windmill in the distance and the typically green field is covered in snow. I took this from my warm minivan, thankful as ever that she’s with me and that we weren’t standing outside tonight.

16Jan2013

Day 175: Beauty in the City and New Drivers Licenses

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It was cold and sunny this morning and the lighting was beautiful. Jeff and I had an appointment with the town hall to turn in our California drivers licenses in exchange for Netherlands licenses. It felt a bit weird handing them over, but that’s what’s required. They want you to do this exchange within 6 months of living here and we’re fast approaching that milestone. How did that happen so fast?

If you’re an expat in the Netherlands, the agency that handles this process is called CBR and the forms can be found on their website: CBR.nl. Once you receive a letter from them, you can schedule an appointment with the town hall. You need to bring the CBR letter they send you with the application information, your passport, drivers license, residency card, and a copy of your 30% ruling, along with a passport photo. And don’t forget your 45€! All went smoothly.

On for the good part…here are some beautiful pictures of the snowscape and sunshine today. I loved the lighting and the colorful, patchwork, scarf covered tree.

The other beautiful things I discovered today were at the Museum of Handbags and Purses in Amsterdam. A few girlfriends got together to explore the museum and to have lunch afterwards. Happy Birthday, to Carolyn!, I hope you enjoy the photos!! My favorite was the Diet Coke Purse, the lucite box bags, and the old Holland school bags(boxes) that used to serve as desks and supply boxes.