The Tastet's Grand Adventure

Quilts

2011-11-14T04:09:00.002+01:00

I have been slowly working through a several quilting projects, since finishing this one last year for Courtenay & Brian's little boy Evan (CrazyMomQuilts Ragged Squares).

Here are the 3 most recent ones.

I made this 4 patch quilt for Kate from Moda's Bunny Hill.

And this is for Andrea & Luis' little boy, Lincoln, from a Moda Charm Pack (I don't know which one). I used CrazyMomQuilts directions for the Stacked Coins.

My cousin Kacie recently had twins, so I made two quilts for her.

Reese's is another Moda Charm Pack with the same CrazyMomQuilts Stacked Coins.

Reid's is something I came up with on my own, inspired by this one from CrazyMomQuilts (do you see a theme here?).

Time to figure out what to make next...

Baking with Isaak

2011-10-06T05:58:00.000+02:00

I have been craving chocolate lately. And peanut butter. Chocolate and peanut butter. I found a recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies...with chocolate.

After dinner tonight I got a step stool and had Isaak help me. His motor skills are good enough to poor a measuring cup into a bowl. He stirred between ingredients, saying "bate bate bate chocolate". I have been looking forward to baking with Isaak for years and am thrilled that I can start.

I read the recipe to Isaak as I added each ingredient...and before long Isaak was "reading" the recipe to me. His version included a lot of chocolate chips.

Childbirth Sucks

2011-05-25T06:01:00.000+02:00

Childbirth sucks. Don't get me wrong, it is worth it, it just sucks and I am never doing it again. NEVER.

We had originally been scheduled for a 7am checkin with an 8am start on the induction. At 5:45am we were called to say we had been bumped and to call back at 10. Of course I was already in the shower. I called at 10 and they said come as soon as possible (before we lose our spot). We called Sarah to come watch Isaak and we headed off to the hospital. My pitocin was started at 1pm and my water was broken at 2pm. I was 4cm at this point. The breaking of my water really got things moving. At 3:30 I cried Uncle and asked for half a dose of Fentanyl, wanting to take the edge off of the contractions and not really knowing how long labor was going to last. I was 5 cm now. At 3:45 I was to 6cm and my nurse started calling for my OB to come to the hospital as I was going to go fast. At 4pm they told me not to push when that is what actually brought relief. I tried not to but wasn't very successful. The nurses got me upright and prepped and I think I only pushed 5 times, Katherine was born at 4:15pm. My nurse delivered her as my OB was just leaving her office to come to the hospital and the oncall OB was running from the office across the street. She made it in time to deliver the placenta. 2 hours and 15 minutes. And no, I wasn't trying to go fast.

At one point, between pushes, Kevin made a reference to how easy a 3rd child would be. I told him to f*** off. The nurses all got a kick out of it. I am glad to say, my child bearing years are over. Kevin gave me a wonderful mother's day gift with his visit to the doctor last week.

As we were leaving the hospital on the 24th, the nurses said Katherine's birth was the birth of the year, not only was it in record time but they delivered her with out an OB.

Amsterdam - Portland Comparison
Several people have asked about my experience in the US versus the Netherlands. My prenatal care was very comparable. The major difference was a urine test and weight at every OB appointment in Portland, whereas in Amsterdam it was never checked. I was on a baby heart rate monitor and uterine monitor for Kate and not Isaak. But then I was induced and they wanted to watch her reaction to the pitocin and my blood pressure. My nurse and I discussed pain management and how all I had to do was ask if I wanted medication, versus getting a vigorous head shaking and blank look from the first assistant with Isaak. Oh, and the best difference...was the offer of pain medication. I had half of a dose of Fentanyl to take the edge off of my contractions at about 3:45. It really only made it so I didn't care about 1 contraction, the rest I felt and cared about. After Katherine was born I was offered the 2nd half of my Fentanyl in my IV (which I gladly took). My lovely nurse then offered me 3 advil, which I again gladly took, followed by the glorious words "would you like a vicodin?", to which I replied, "Yes, Please!". Whereas with Isaak it was 2 regular strength tylenol.

Friday is the day.

2011-04-21T01:30:00.000+02:00

There is a very close end in site for my bed rest. I will be induced on Friday morning, unless she decides to come earlier on her own. My bp was up higher today then on Friday. I tested just below the protein threshold for pre-eclampsia, so I have been scheduled to be induced on Friday morning. Inducing me shouldn't take much work, I am now at 3-4cm, so my doc says..."a little pitocin and they break my water". With Isaak my midwife broke my water at 4 cm and he was born 2.5 hours later. They say the 2nd one is usually faster still.

We are using Legacy Good Samaritan in Portland. Denise arrives on Saturday afternoon and until then my friend Sarah is going to hang out with Isaak from Friday morning until Saturday afternoon.

Bed Rest

2011-04-19T21:17:00.001+02:00

Well, I am on bed rest. My blood pressure was elevated in 2 consecutive OB apppointments. Not skyrocket high but above 140/70ish and significantly higher than my consistent lower BP. On friday they gave me a 5th Ultrasound to confirm she is still growing and has good fluid. She is, she had gained 1 lb (now 7lbs 4 oz) since the ultrasound 2 weeks before. The concern with the blood pressure is that it is either pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension. I also had a little bit of protein in my urine which supports the pre-eclampsia. Monday I delivered 24hrs of pee to the lab along with blood for a additional labs. I will see the doctor on Wednesday to learn more. If it is pre-eclampsia then I will not be allowed to go past 39 weeks (which is this week) and if it is gestational hypertension then I won't be allowed to go past 40 weeks (Wednesday next week). I feel fine other than a headache every now and then.

My bed rest isn't as strict as some, I can get up to make a sandwich, shower, etc. I am not supposed to pick up Isaak and I don't have to be in bed. I can be on the couch, reclined with my feet up.

I have contractions every day, off and on. This has been going on for about 2 months now. They are getting stronger but nothing consistent. Every time they start I wonder, "is this it" and start timing them.

So...we wait. The bags are packed, the carseat is in the car. We are as ready as we will ever be.

Baby Shopping List

2011-03-27T01:43:00.002+01:00

Tastet Baby Girl Shopping List
I have been asked a few times as to what we need, here are some ideas:
gDiaper Bundle for Newborns, thank you barry!
gDiaper cloth inserts (small)
gDiaper liners (small)
cloth diaper sprayer
Haba toys (pacifier cord, rattle, teether)
Clothes (sleepers/rompers/onesies/outfits/tights/leggings/crib shoes) 6mo, 9mo, 12mo. NO 0 - 3mo (we have more than she will actually wear!)

My First Baby Quilt

2010-12-03T08:00:00.000+01:00

I made this quilt for a friend. I don't know whether she is having a boy or girl yet and don't have the chance to wait to find out. I am always afraid of picking fabric, especially when I needed 15 different ones. I started with one I liked and then starting adding coordinating pieces.

This quilt was modeled after Crazy Mom Quilts Ragged Quilt. It wasn't very hard or time consuming, I worked on it for a couple of hours a night for about 7 days.

I am ready to try more quilting projects...the christmas stockings are probably first on the list, then more quilts.

Thanksgiving - Eve...more crafty projects.

2010-11-25T05:16:00.000+01:00

I am working on a quilt. I will post pictures later. It is a very cute brown, orange & blue ragged square quilt. The top is done and I am ready to make the back, put it together and then quilt it!

In the mean time I found these rose barrettes to make for my little girl...they will go well with her brother's hand me down clothes.

2010-11-18T05:54:00.002+01:00

I don't know how or when (ok I could maybe guess) but I think I may be catching the quilting bug and I haven't even made a quilt yet...but I have several ideas in my head.

I want to make a "big boy bed" quilt for Isaak, something with blues and browns. Yes a big boy bed is in his future this spring, we need the crib for baby number 2 (April 2011).

I want to make a baby/crib quilt for our yet-to-be named daughter. Greens, Yellows, Blues, maybe a little pink.

I want to make a tree skirt that has quilt blocks in it (maybe not this year), maybe something like this.

I want to make 4 Christmas stockings, with the front made from red and green quilt squares.

I want to try this coins baby quilt.

I also want to try this simple square quilt or this raggedy quilt. Maybe I can whip one of them up in the next couple of weeks (too optimistic?), I do already have some fabric.

I already know what my problem is going to be...the prep. I just want to put it together! Not try to match colors, measure or cut...and certainly not pre-wash the fabric. Who has the patience for all of that, not me.

It's already been a month!?!

2010-04-27T06:00:00.002+02:00

We moved home on March 25th. Our last few days in Amsterdam were hectic and filled with cleaning and packing. Thank goodness Janet was there to help. We couldn't have done it with out her.

We also couldn't have made it through our airport ordeal with out Courtenay & Brian. The dogs stayed with Courtenay & Brian for the last few days while we cleared out the apartment and spent the two nights in a hotel. They also helped us load our 7 suitcases, 2 very large dog crates and jogger into the van taxi. Kevin and Janet took Isaak and the dogs to the airport on the train and Courtenay and I squeezed in to the van with all of our luggage. It took us almost 2 hours to get checked in and all of our extra baggage fees paid. We dumped the dogs (yes both) off the luggage cart a couple of times. Isaak had his own seat on the flight, with his carseat. It really made all of the difference in the flight home. Andrea and Luis met us at the airport and helped us shuttle everything to our temporary apartment.

Our move home would have a lot more painful, physically, mentally and emotionally with out such great friends.

Somethings we settled right back into, it has taken a little while longer on others. I am still not up for grocery shopping at Winco. I have to work up to it.

The new job is great! I love my team, boss and job. Granted I am no expert yet...but ignorance is bliss.

Other then work we have been getting back into the swing of things. Running on the weekend, taking the dogs to the dog park, working through Isaak's first ear infection, being at the farm for Dad's birthday, divying up some of Dad's stuff (guns...painful), watching Isaak get closer to walking, taking swim lessons with Isaak, Kevin's flying lessons, trying to get the book club book read before Wednesday, returning to the "wine club" (oh how it has grown from that first Champagne night) and reconnecting with our friends.

This weekend we are headed to Phoenix to visit Kevin's parents. Kevin and Isaak fly down Thursday morning and I will leave after work on Friday.

Easter

2010-03-15T21:39:00.001+01:00

It just occured to me that Easter is right around the corner, well...Sew Mama Sew provided a little bit of a reminder.

I can't wait to get to Portland and to get my hands on a sewing machine! I have a handful of cute little critters that I want to make for Isaak for Easter!

Thanks to Sew Mama Sew,

I want to make this...

and this...

ooh and this...

ooh ooh and this!

It looks like I will be busy.

Isaak's 1st Birthday

2010-03-15T21:21:00.002+01:00

Isaak had his first birthday last week. It is hard to believe an entire year has passed since Isaak was born. We celebrated with our friends Courtenay, Brian, Esther, Huib & Bo.

Don't judge me on the high chair. It was free and I am not complaining, however the pastel ruffles woudn't have been my first choice.

I wasn't up to making a cake, instead I made these peanut butter & jelly bars. They were suitably messy for a 1st birthday.

Isaak didn't really know what to do with the presents or how to unwrap them, I am sure he will learn before long.

I love this rocking horse! Thank you Esther & Huib.

And to top it all off, Kevin took this video of Isaak playing in his bath yesterday.

At least we know he doesn't mind water in his face.

Crocus Break

2010-03-11T09:41:00.004+01:00

For Kevin's Crocus break this year we decided to take a 7 day road trip through Luxembourg and Germany. Our plans were to spend the weekend in Luxembourg with Kevin's cousins Anne & Jim, then drive to Bavaria and spend a couple of days with my cousin Amy and then wing it for a couple of days.

All good road trips have to start with a little drama or tramatic experience. Ours was no different. While we were in the final stages of packing the car the apartment door was left open and isaak craweled out to the stairwell and promptly fell down half a flight. He developed a nasty bruise and goose egg on his forehead. He cried for a few minutes, I tried to put ice on it but that would only bring on more screaming.

On to Luxembourg. We were going to stop in Maastricht and have lunch on the way. We ended up in a traffic jam outside of Maastricht, it took us 1.5 hours to go 5 km. Lunch ended up being at 2pm and at the Mcdonalds. Oh well. We made it to Anne & Jim's around 5pm. The last time Kevin had seen Anne & Jim was at their wedding, 30+ years ago. He didn't remember it but Anne had the pictures to prove it.

We spent the weekend relaxing, meeting their kids, see a few of the local sites, and eating and drinking very well!

Monday we headed on to Grafenwohr, in Germany, to see my cousin Amy. I think this is the first time that Amy and I had really seen each other in 20 years. When we were little we use to play together when ever our parents would visit each other. We are similar in age and similar personalities, when we were little we looked very similar too. Amy's dad, Scotty, likes to tell the story of my dad trying to get the 3 of us (Greg, Denise & I) all in to the car to head home, but rather then herding me to the car he had Amy in hand. We met Amy's beautiful little girl Allora.

Isaak was instantly in love, although I think his enthusiasm scared Allora at first.

While at Amy's we made a day trip to Nuremburg. Umm...bratwust, beer, pretzels and dumplings.

Wednesday morning we decided to head to Munich for the day. More bavarian food. I think Kevin and I both put on a few pounds during this trip. We didn't really do much siteseeing in Munich, but then what more do you need to see other then food.

Isaak decided that he had had the last of the mashed baby food, while we were traveling. He refused anything more then 2 bites of mashed food, so we threw our hands in the air and just started feeding him from our plates. He really liked the sausage and dumplings. The look on his face when we gave him saurkraut. Priceless.

After Munich we headed north to Bacharach. Bacharach is a cute little town on the Rhine, surrounded by little castles - on both sides of the river. We stayed at a cute little hotel and just relaxed.

Friday we headed home.

We tried to limit our driving to about 4 hours a day. Anything more then that and Isaak would really start to complain, which I promptly solved by feeding him teeting cookies. You do what you have to...

Moving Home

2010-02-15T09:28:00.004+01:00

We will be moving home on March 25th. I have taken another job for Nike, in Portland. This move is a little bittersweet. We have really enjoyed living in Europe, made some great friends here and I really like the people I work with. Having Isaak has really made us want to be closer to our family and the loss of my father has only made that a bigger priority. When we decided that we wanted to move home we didn't expect it to happen this soon.

Before heading home we have a little more travel to squeeze in. Friday, Feb 19th, we head to Luxumbourg to spend the weekend with Kevin's cousins. Monday we will drive on to Germany and spend a couple of days with my cousin before heading on to Munich and possibly Saltzburg.

Isaak is more fun every day. He is getting close to walking and as chatty as ever. It is hard to believe that he is almost 1 year old.

Isaak and his little wheelie cart

2010-01-26T22:05:00.001+01:00

MOV03237
Originally uploaded by Kevin & Dana

I have been contemplating one of these toys for Isaak for a while. I know that once he is fully walking I will wish he was still crawling...but I couldn't resist. Note the last little "push" he does at the end, definitely a "you are in my way mom" move.

A padded room

2010-01-20T14:07:00.002+01:00

Below is our attempt to limit the number of bruises on Isaak's forehead.

My Father

2009-12-28T17:14:00.006+01:00

As most of you probably already know, my father passed away on December 7th. It was very sudden and the result of a horrible accident. Needless to say the last couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotion and travel.

The Accident
Before I explain what happened, you should know that my father was the most cautious person around guns that I know. He loved them and safety always came first. This was a lesson instilled in us from a very young age.

Sunday, Dec 6th (at about 5pm), my father was attempting to remove a shell that had been jammed in his Ruger 6mm rifle. This rifle was notorious for jamming, however it was very very accurate. Rather then remove the round in the same way that they had always done it (a brass welding rod, wrapped in a bit of cotton), my dad wanted to try a new way that he had read about. The new way involved pushing the bullet (which had separated from the shell & gun powder) back into the shell, disloding the primer and soaking everything in an oil that would neutralize the gun powder. At the time of the accident, the primer was no longer in the shell and the bullet had been pushed back into the shell, however it wasn't seated properly. Dad had poured plenty of oil down the barrel, over several days. He then took a air drill and proceeded to drill the shell out of the barrel (he had removed it from the stock and had removed the firing pin). He was drilling from the action end of the barrel. The heat of the drill must have ignited the gunpowder which caused the shell to explode (rather then fire the bullet as the bullet was seated completely). Dad took shell shrapnel in the chest and face. A piece of the drill bit entered his head through his eye socket and lodged itself in his brain (about mid line & left hemisphere). At this point he couldn't see but somehow managed to walk to the side door of the shop. My brother, having been in the shop and heard the explosion, caught up with him there. He called out to Dad, dad turned to look at him (never speaking) and Greg insisted he was going to the hospital. They made it about 4 more steps, to outside, when Dad collapsed and lost consciousness. Greg called 911 and then ran up to the house to get Janet to help him get Dad in to a car. The shop (and houses) are about 40 miles from the nearest hospital. When an accident happens at the farm you never wait for the ambulance, it just takes too long, you get in the car and drive as fast as you can towards the hospital, either meeting the ambulance on the way or beating it.

Greg & Janet stopped at my grandparents to tell them what happened and then raced on towards Endicott (about 15 mi away). Once in Endicott Dad was transferred to an ambulance and a helicopter was called in to meet him in Colfax. They then drove to Colfax where I think a couple of xrays were taken (at first it was thought that dad had a wound in his torso and that was the greatest concern). The helicopter then flew Dad on to Sacred Heart in Spokane. Kacie, my cousin who is a pharmacist, met Dad as he was brought into the trauma center at Sacred Heart. Due to her credentials and history at the hospital she was able to remain in the trauma room until the rest of the family arrived. Spokane is 80 miles from the farm, so it took them a little while to get there.

The surgeons rushed dad into surgery, as his brain was swelling due to the trauma from the drill bit. They removed a portion of his skull to try to relieve the pressure but did not expect him to make it through the night (now 11pm). Through the night and next morning his brain continued to swell. The intercranial pressure in your brain is supposed to be about 4psi. Dad's had increased to 120psi, before he was declared brain dead and time of death was called (around 11am on Monday, Dec 7th).

At this point the decision was also made to donate his organs.

Everyone had been able to get to the hospital to be there through the night, except for my sister and I. I did not find out about the accident until 11pm PST/ 8am CET. Denise had immediately booked a flight up to Spokane (arriving on Monday at 12pm) and I booked a flight home, arriving Tuesday at 3pm.

The Aftermath
Kevin, Isaak and I arrived in Spokane at 3pm on Tuesday Dec 8th. Greg & Denise picked us up. I remember not being able to take my eyes off of Greg's boots. They still had blood on them. Dad was still on a ventilator at Sacred Heart as the Organ Donation team was in the process of finishing the work to identify as many recipients as possible. This also gave Denise and I the opportunity to see him and say good bye. I am very grateful for this.

The next several days were filled with tasks that I hope to not have to do again for a very long time. The funeral was held on Dec 14th in Endicott. Dad was buried at the Endicott cemetary. My father really didn't like crowds and liked being the center of attention even less. His funeral brought in ~300 people and filled the church. During the burial, 3 fellow ag pilots flew over the cemetary in the "missing man" formation. It was an amazing tribute to dad.

My father died too young and as the result of a tragic accident. He died doing what he loved and would want people to respect firearms but not fear them. He has left a huge hole in our lives and I miss him every day.

Dad's Obituary

I am a slacker.

2009-11-29T18:56:00.004+01:00

It has been over a month since I have posted. Sorry.

A lot has happened in the last month. Isaak now has 4 teeth.

Isaak was a "greaser" for Halloween.

He still loves his excersaucer.

And has the best laugh.

He is also crawling all over the place.

He has also started to pull him self up on things. He is easily getting to his knees...I suspect the feet are only days away.

He still sleeps for about 13 hours a night. I hope that continues!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends, Courtenay & Brian, Esther & Huib, Andrea & Adam and a few others. Isaak was introduced to a true American tradition, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".

We already have our christmas tree up and the christmas music is playing non-stop. I rationalize this by the fact that we will be gone over Christmas...Italy! My aunt & uncle and 2 cousins will be here between Dec 18 & Jan 2. We are going to go to Rome, Florence & Venice between the 20th & 28th. My sister arrives on the 28th and will leave Jan 11th. Right now we are contemplating a quick trip to Germany while she is here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T15:59:00.000+01:00

England: London and Sherifhales

2009-10-26T21:26:00.003+01:00

Last week was Kevin's mid Fall break. Yes, the schools get a mid fall break, 2 weeks at Christmas, a Crocus break, May break and then a couple of days off for the Queen's birthday...ok back to the Fall break...

We hadn't yet been to England, well at least for more then 24 hours. A couple of months ago Kevin contacted his cousin (Gaye) who lives outside Birmingham in a little village called Sherifhales. Her farm was beautiful, quiet and relaxing. We spent the weekend there and it was almost a shame to leave for London. I could have stayed all week.

We visited the Ironbridge gorge, where we saw the first iron bridge. Kevin's uncle Hayden has a memorial bench in the museum here.

We also visited the Ludlow castle and Bascobel house.

I am still amazed by the fact that everywhere you turn on this continent you are standing on history. Centuries of history.

Monday we headed to London, by train. Isaak slept for the entire 2.5 hour ride.

Monday afternoon we met Paul & Alex for lunch and then spent the rest of the day with them. We first met Paul & Alex in Argentiere, when we were hiking from Chamonix to Zermatt. We have stayed in touch. It was a wondeful day. We wouldn't have been able to see all that we did if they hadn't been leading us along. We walked through the Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, the Horse Guards, National Gallery, tea (with clotted cream! Delicious!), Harrods, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, drinks and dinner. All in one afternoon. We weren't that productive for the rest of the trip.

Buckingham Palace

Westminister Abbey.

Ok, I could post a lot more pics but won't. Click the "England" link on the left to see them all.

Tuesday we picked up the an English breakfast, Tower of London, Niketown & Oxford Circus (there is a reason it is called a circus), London Eye and drinks with Gaye's daughter.

Wednesday we played lazy and then caught our train back to Birimingham to then fly home. We almost missed our flight due to a train rerouting. Once at the gate I had to shove my green wheelie carry on in to one of the "your bag must fit in this to carry on". I was a little worried that it wouldn't fit. I had measured it before the Italy trip but this was going to be the first time I tried to shove it in a "cage". Luckily it fit and we were able to get on the bus and wait for everyone else.

We thought we were home free once at the Amsterdam airport. I had purchased our train tickets before we left on Friday so we headed straight for what we thought was our train. The board said it was our train...it was not our train. We discovered this when 5 minutes into the trip we were not at our train station but rather 10 minutes away from the Central station.

$$$$$$$ Holy Crap.

2009-10-26T21:11:00.003+01:00

I just read a friends blog and discovered just how great we had it with our insurance and healthcare in The Netherlands.

My entire pregnancy and Isaak's birth cost us a whopping 120 euros, The only healthcare item we had to pay out of pocket was our birth class. It was a private class that was not covered by our insurance. Everything else, the midwives, the 3 ultrasounds, the lab tests, the hospital delivery, stitches (don't get me started on this one), 4 post birth (in home) midwife checkups, 8 days of in home maternity assistant care, Isaak's heel prick and hearing test. Nada. Nothing.

Oh, and the cab ride to & fro.

My sister-in-law is either in the process of, or about to give birth to my nephew. Her pregnancy has not been easy or free of complications. I don't even want to know what the total bill will be.

For a non-medical issue, childbirth is damned expensive.

Switzerland oh sweet Switzerland.

2009-10-11T21:13:00.004+02:00

Last weekend we had plans to meet our friends Melissa & Andy in Switzerland. We flew in to Geneva and then drove to Interlaken. Melissa & Andy flew in to Zurich and then arrived in Interlaken by train. We ended up only seeing them for about 24 hours, but it was worth it!

I really love the Alps. I miss being able to see moutains almost every day. Lately we have been watching the National Parks' series on PBS. It has really made us miss the US.

Isaak was a good little traveler. He really only had one meltdown and that was on the plane home. We were asking for it. His naps had only been 45min long all weekend and his nights were shorter then normal (8 - 6:30). The flight home left at 8 and Isaak had been awake since 4:30. He screamed for 15 min once we were on the plane and the fell sound asleep and slept the whole way home. He took a couple of days to get caught up on his sleep. The first nap on Monday was 3 hours long.

*sigh*

I love the sound of these bells. I haven't been able to convince Dad to put them on his cows yet.

My boys.

This is the Switzlerand I remember.

Finally.

2009-09-28T21:00:00.003+02:00

It has been almost a month since I posted last. I have plenty of excuses but won't bore you with them.

Isaak is getting bigger and bigger. He had his 6/7 mo check up last week. 7.95 kg. That is almost 17 lbs! 69cm (I have no idea how many inches).

He eats like a horse and I am glad that my body is no longer generating all of it!

Below are a couple of pics from the last week. Kevin has taken him to the park (with Bo) and sent me these while I was at work.

We are headed to Interlaken next weekend. I can't wait. I really love the Alps in Switzerland. Oh...and the melted cheese of course! We are meeting Andy & Melissa there for the weekend before they start their European vacation.

My Little Fish

2009-09-07T20:53:00.002+02:00

We made it back to the pool on Sunday. I think Isaak enjoys it more every time. Last week we had bought him a floaty thing. He definately liked that more this time. The water was just deep enough that he could propel himself around the pool by either "walking" or frog kicking. He explored the entire pool!

He is resting his chin while kicking with his legs!

Happy Happy Boy

I love this outfit, thanks Jay!

2009-08-31T19:19:00.003+02:00

Isaak is working on his first teeth. He was handling the pain pretty well until yesterday. He started pulling at his left ear more often. Last night he would cry about once an hour, all night. Poor little guy.

This morning Isaak woke up with a runny nose. I called the House Doctor today and he said use paracetmol for the teeth and call him back if he develops a fever.

I gave him a dose of paracetamol (tylenol)this afternoon and it seemed to help. He went right to sleep after his bath and hasn't roused since.

Isaak and I went for a run this morning, sans dogs. Halfway through the loop he started chatting, squawking and laughing. Too cute.

Yesterday Kevin and I took the road bikes to Ikea (with Isaak in the trailer). Something went screwy with my bike. I had changed the back tire before we left (in the last trip it had gone flat) and something must have gone out of wack with my rear derailer as I only had 3 gears...on the big one. Regardless, it was still faster then my dutch bike.

Last week we had taken Isaak to the Zuiderbad. It was too cold for him, both in and out of the water. Isaak was not happy with being put under water.

Saturday, we took Isaak to the Mirandabad. It is pool we had never been too. I had always thought it was 7 euros per visit. It isn't. It is more like 3.50 per visit. They have an entire complex of baby/kid pools. It incudes a wave pool, wading pool and two slides. The water was much warmer then last week and the air temperature was really warm. You didn't need to dry off to stay warm after getting out of the pool. He floated on his back, splashed in the water and went under 3 times.

Isaak now wears a bib all day...the drool is just too much. It is either change the bib twice a day or change his onesie 3 times.

Isaak Rolls Over

2009-08-17T19:48:00.006+02:00

Isaak has learned how to roll over. He can go from back to front, on his right side.

A Very Un-Productive Week

2009-08-09T19:52:00.005+02:00

I have had a serious motivation problem all week. A quick bout of Kevin's cold and a spasming/seizing back & neck didn't help. Hopefully the next week will be better.

Monday I started to come down with Kevin's cold. I decided to nurse Isaak for one last week, to at least get him through this nasty cold. Monday night I crawled into bed after taking a couple of advil and benedryl and told Kevin he had better rally out of his sickness on Tuesday because it was now my turn to be pathetic and sleep all day.

Kara left on Tuesday. I was sad to see her go. She was an absolute joy to have around. I was feeling so shitty & exhausted I couldn't even get out of bed to see her off.

I slept all day Tuesday. I would rouse for a few minutes every couple of hours, take more advil and then go back to bed.

Wednesday I woke up feel MUCH better...only to develop a kink in my neck a few minutes later. The kink turned into a full back/neck spasm. It sucked! More advil was taken. The only relief was to lay flat on the bed with my head on Kevin's tempurpedic neck pillow. If I did this for an hour then I could get up and function for 10 min.

Needless to say I didn't get any work done Tuesday or Wednesday.

Thursday my neck and back were still a wreck. I was over the cold by now and Kevin was too so I decided it would be my last day of nursing (I was already down to 1 feed in the mornings anyway) and then dose my self with a muscle relaxant and crawled back in bed. I tried to work a little but it was very productive.

Friday I finally started to feel like I could function, my back & neck and subsided into a kink again. I was finally able to go and get my IUD - my favorite form of birth control. Of the 3 I have had this time wasn't nearly as bad as the first. I had a female OB/GYN and I like her a lot more then the bastard who stitched me back together in March...really I am over it.

Isaak was out of pureed fruits & veggies so Courtenay & I took a trip to Albert Cuyp. I may have went a little overboard...potatos, sweet potatos, bananas, squash, peaches, apples, avocado, carrots. oh my.

Once home I started cycling the produce through the food processor and ice cube trays.

My shoebox sized freezer.

Yes, Isaak is in danger of having orange hands & feet from all of the orange veggies.

Saturday morning Kevin and I went for a run. We really must be quite a site. One pushing the jogger the other with dogs in tow. I really need to get so I run more then once a month.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with Isaak & Kevin.

Sunday was another lazy day. I am trying to soak up every minute of time with Isaak. I know it is flying by faster then I want.

In my weekend websurfing I found a couple of blogs with really cute stuff to sew. I wish I had a sewing machine here. I am torn on whether I should buy one. I may end up doing just that, something simple and inexpensive.

Tomorrow is Monday. I hope to be more productive.

Week 23 - 5 Months

2009-08-02T22:14:00.004+02:00

I can't believe that Isaak is 5 months old. Really, already? Where have the weeks gone?

He is happily eating solid food (well, kinda solid). He has apple sauce, avocado & rice cereal. Separately and combined. Tomorrow I will introduce him to mashed potatoes. I didn't think I would be the kind of mom who makes her own baby food, but so far I am. It isn't that hard: cook fruit/veggie in water, puree, freeze. Voila.

It helps ease the guilt that I am not around to feed him during the day, if I can't feed him then at least I can make the grub.

This weekend we made a quick trip to Brugges. It was Kara's first time but our second. We stayed at a lovely bed & breakfast. It was a relaxing weekend with chocolate, waffles & beer.

Cologne & A New Bike

2009-07-25T23:07:00.007+02:00

Earlier this week I saw an email come through from a Mom & Tot's group that had a cargo bike for sale. Kevin & I jumped on it and bought ourselves another bike! This brings the bike count up to 7. Yes, 7. I love our little cargo bike. It was a steal. It needs a little work but I trust that Kevin can get it in tip top shape.

Friday Kevin, Kara, Isaak & I took the bikes to Prenatal (big baby store) and Ikea. Kevin and I road our road bikes, Kara was on my geared Dutch bike and Isaak was in the trailer. My tires were pretty low but figured it would be fine. The ride was 30 minutes away. My back tire went completely flat. We did our little shopping: a parasol for Isaak's stroller (for a sun shade), socks that fit (9mo size as everything else is too small) and faster flow bottle nipples. While i fed Isaak, Kevin worked on changing my back tire - of course neither of us had a hand pump but Kevin had a compressed air pump. He filled it with air, discovered I had a leak, changed it and then filled it with air again, only to have it go flat a 2nd time. SHIT. We still needed to get to Ikea (about 5 min away by bike) and then get home. We lashed my bike to the top of the trailer (with Isaak safely underneath) and then Kara road sidesaddle on the luggage rack of my dutch bike while I pedaled. She and I couldn't stop laughing, which didn't help the iffy balance.

After Ikea I took my bike (still on top of the trailer, but now converted to the stroller) and caught the train home. Kevin & Kara raced home on their bikes. They had the keys and had to get there before me.

I wish we I had pictures...it was a classic SNAFU.

Saturday we rented a car and drove to Cologne. Kevin and i had been in December with Kristen, for the Christmas market. I actually like the town better with out the market. It was packed then and had a lot less people today. We toured the Dom cathedral again. Kara and I made the climb up the bell tower. Kevin had done it in December (there wa

s no way I was going to do it at 7 mo pregnant and an aching back). The climb was the longest I have done in either a church or other historic site. It was taller then the Arc d' Triomphe and Brugge, however its steps were wider (still spiral). It was a great view and worth the burning, aching, shaky legs we had for the rest of the day after.

On the Isaak front...

We have graduated to rice cereal. It took a couple of days for him to figure out how to eat it but now eats it like a champ. He gets really excited and opens his mouth wide for each bite, however with the first couple of bites he gives you a funny look... I am sure he is thinking "You tricked me. This isn't what I expected, where is the strawberry gelato". He is now getting cereal twice a day (and sleeps for 3 hours after each time!) For the last month he has been on formula during the day and breastmilk in the morning and evening. I am now in the process of changing the evening feed to formula and then will follow with the morning feed. I really want to start taking my Advair again. I have an asthma attack several times a day and the Advair will prevent them, like magic. Isaak is also on his way out of his 3-6 mo clothes. I have packed almost all of them away and have him in 6 - 9mo clothes. He is begining his 21st week on Monday. How are you supposed to keep these little buggers in clothes!

Holiday in the south of France

2009-07-19T17:15:00.004+02:00

Cool dutch weather has made me a wimp. Maignaut and Arles were HOT.

Maignaut is actually Maignaut Tauzia. It is 90 min north-west of Toulouse. It is actually a collection of homes dating back to the 12th century, now owned by non-french people. Maignaut was on the french side of the 100 years war, Tauzia the English. The Chateau Tauzia is on the other side of a little hill from Maignaut (and Chateau Maignaut).

Maignaut

Tauzia

The first day there we hung out and tried to find a grocery store that was open. There was a little one in Valence but the selection was pretty poor. After the 'units returned from church, Kara and I went in search of a real store. We found a farmer's market in Condom, that was in the process of packing up. We picked up some fruit & veggies but passed on the roti chickens...thinking we could find something in the Carre Four. Turns out the Carre Four was closed and the next town was 30K away. We raced back to the market and bought 2 chickens. Kevin had invited Patricia Tastet and her Fiancee out for dinner, so we needed something as the bread and cheese we had wasn't going to go very far.

Monday we headed to Carcasonne (60 min South of Toulouse). This is one of the best, intact, medieval castles in Europe. I think it would have been even better if the former homes, inside the walls, hadn't been turned into tourist shops...The place was packed.

Tuesday we hung out around Maignaut. We visited an abbey that was near by and tried to go and explore the Chateau Tauzia. Turns out Tauzia has been turned into a barn....or at least that was our guess from the horse standing in the door way.

Wednesday found us headed back to Toulouse to drop the 'units off at the airport and then Kara, Kevin, Isaak & I at the train station, to catch the train to Arles. Kara & I chatted with a 19 year old French boy who really liked to speak English. He was very helpful in translating why our train was delayed...someone had committed suicide by train.

Once in Arles we walked to our hotel, or what we thought was our hotel. Turns out it wasn't. Our second guess was right though. Once checked in we let Isaak fall asleep in the stroller and then headed out for dinner. We ate at the cafe next to the "Van Gogh" cafe.

Thursday we toured Arles. We went to a pretty cool museum where there were Roman artifacts, mosaics, statues and models of what the area used to look like. We followed this up with ice cream (it was 90F), the Roman Amphitheatre, Colosseum, church and walk. Friday we were torn between Avignon and the Pont du Gard (original Roman Aqueduct). We went with Avignon. The museum and the Palace of the Popes were interesting but I think the Roman Aqueduct would have been better.

Saturday we planned to catch an early train to Marsaille. Our train was 1.5 hours late, eliminating any chance of seeing the city. We headed straight to the airport as soon as we got in to town. Our flight put us in Eindhoven...so we had to take another train home. I think by this time Kara was tired of traveling by train.

We made it home and celebrated with Taco Shop burritos!

More Family in Town

2009-07-07T22:34:00.003+02:00

Kevin's mom has been here since the begining of June. His dad (Bob) and niece (Kara) arrived on Monday. We went to pick them up at the airport on Monday....and get a starbucks.

We forced them to stay awake all day (their flight got in at 8:30am). Kevin took Bob and Kara out for a bike ride, through Vondelpark and to a cafe for lunch.

Once they were back, Kara and I started dinner. Not long after dinner Kara & Bob crashed.

Today Kevin took Isaak, Kara, Bob & Kathleen to the Van Gogh museum during the day and then to the Anne Frank House in the evening. I hung out with Isaak for about 30 minutes and then put him to bed at 6pm. It really is like clock work. He wakes up at 6ish and goes to bed at 6ish, with 3 feeds at 9am, 12pm and 3pm.

Wednesday I put Kara & Kathleen on the Thalys to Paris and Bob will hang out with Kevin and I until Friday. Friday Bob, Isaak, Kevin & I will follow them to Paris. Saturday we catch another train to Toulouse. We are spending 5 days at a cousin's house outside Toulouse. We will then send the 'units home on the 15th, Kara, Isaak, Kevin & I will head to Arles/Marsaille/Avignon & Provence for a few more days.

A laid back 4th of July weekend...

2009-07-07T21:59:00.006+02:00

On my way home from work on Friday I had the satisfaction of being a helpful Amsterdam resident. I was on my bike when I came upon 3 tourists standing in the bike lane. They asked me where a specific hotel was. I couldn't really understand them so I asked for the address. One of the guys dug out his camera and showed me a picture of the address. I then pulled out my iPhone and googled the address. It was down the street 1.5 blocks. You gotta love technology.

Saturday morning Kevin and I went for a run with Isaak and the dogs. It was a little longer then my "normal" route. I am still amazed at how much it doesn't hurt for starting again. After the run I headed to Albert Cuyp for a few fruits & veggies, while Kevin went to Centrum to get me another bike. Yes, we now own 6 bikes between the 2 of us. This 6th bike is for me to leave on the Hilversum side of my commute, hopefully cutting 10 minutes off of one side of my commute. I found a bike dealer (through one of our many Amsterdam guide books) that sells bikes he has built from recycled parts. They are cheap and not stolen, which works for me.

To celebrate for the 4th of July we BBQ-ed burgers at Courtenay & Brian's. Yum!

After lunch we proceeded with Kevin's 4th of July traditions. Reading the Declaration of Indpendence, sentance by sentance. This was then followed by the annual viewing of 1776. I think it is neat that Kevin loves this holiday so much, but that isn't going to stop me from teasing him.

Sunday afternoon Kevin and I went for a bike ride. It was the first time in a year that I had been on my road bike. It had been more then a year since I used clipless pedals. Once I finaly got clipped in, I couldn't clip out. Kevin had to ride ahead and then stop so he could catch me. I had to take my shoes off to get off my bike. We loosened the pedals and hit the road again. Isaak was along for the ride in his trailer. We rode out to the Amstel and on to OuderKerk, past a windmill. Half to OuderKerk it felt like I lost my chain or was on the way to losing my chain. We stopped again. I flipped my bike up side down and found a sunglasses cord wrapped around my sprocket. It had been in my "bento box" and must have fallen out when we had my bike upside down to fix the pedals. I was becoming a real pain in the ass.

It had been so long since I had been in clipless pedals that I was pretty shaky when it came time to clip out/in. It was nice to be on a fast light bike though.

On our way home from the ride we stopped at "The Taco Shop". Good American-ized mexican food!

Video Context

2009-07-03T08:53:00.003+02:00

A few things to note in the video below...

Look for Isaak to raise his left eyebrow (yes, just the left one) at the 1:00 min mark.

He never actually makes it all of the way over, but definately gets on to his side. Kathleen said he made it to his front yesterday and then immediately went back to his back.

As for the song we are trying to sing, we figured it out (with Kevin's help).

"There were 10 in the bed and the littlest one said, roll over roll over. So they all rolled over and 1 fell out. There were 9....etc". No mention of monkeys.

I am terrible at songs and am really limited to only a couple with Isaak. Kevin on the other hand has hundreds in his head.

Isaak's New Trick

2009-07-02T20:40:00.003+02:00

Isaak slept from 7 - 6 last night. He is working on another trick too. In addition to having become very chatty he is trying to roll from his back to his front.

Big News

2009-06-28T21:03:00.006+02:00

I don't think I have shared this yet, probably because I haven't wanted to jinx it. Isaak is sleeping through the night. He typically does 6 - 5ish. I can't believe it!

This week was Bill's last week in The Netherlands, so we took him out for fondue at Cafe Bern. 4 sterno flames at a table of 10 isn't the best idea on a hot & humid day, but it was good anyway.

Kathleen baby sat Isaak (not to difficult when he just sleeps).

Andrea was in town this week for work too. I wasn't a very good city host. Saturday I sent her and Kathleen to the Van Gogh museum so Isaak could get a good nap in the morning. I met them at the museum for lunch and then a stroll down the Albert Cuyp market - my first time. The market is definately the place to by fruits & veggies. A better selection then Albert Hein (the only grocery store around) and a heck of a lot cheaper then the veggie store.

Bella Italy

2009-06-27T12:12:00.004+02:00

Last weekend, Isaak, Kathleen (Kevin's Mom), Andrea & I went to Cinque Terre. These are 5 towns on the northern Mediterrean coast of Italy. There are hiking trails between the towns. If you don't want to walk from town to town you can take the train.

It was beautiful and relaxing!

We left Amsterdam on Thursday morning, after Andrea arrived from the US. We took the train to Eindhoven so that we could catch a cheap flight to Pisa. The plane was late and Isaak was hungry, but once we boarded and I fed him then it was a good flight.

I think each airline has a different infant policy, Ryanair's policy is to use a infant seat belt, I don't think Isaak was impressed.

We picked up our rental car in Pisa. I had asked for a car that would fit 3 adults, 1 infant and our bags & stroller. The initial car they gave fit everything, but the stroller, so I had to ask for a larger car. Once we were finally on the road it didn't take long to get to Manarola (2nd of the 5 towns and our home base).

Wouldn't you know that I chose the steepest of the 5 towns to stay in, and our apartment was at the top of the town. It was a beautiful town.

Friday morning, after an Italian breakfast of coffee & a pastry, we walked to the harbor in Manarola and then decided to walk north to Cornigila. It was very warm but beautiful We would rest in the shade and just enjoy the view of the Mediterrean. Once in Corgnilia we hopped the train to Monterossa so that I could pick up a swim suit (yes I forgot mine). We had lunch in Monterossa and walked around a little.

When we were ready to head home we headed back to the train station to take the train to Manarola. We jumped on the wrong train that took us all of the way to La Spezia (south of Cinque Terre) and then had to figure out how to get back.

We finally made it back to our apartment and crashed. I gave Isaak a quick bath to cool him off, in the bidet. It was the right size... Too bad there aren't any pictures of it though.

Saturday we decided to head north to Riomaggiore. I had Isaak in the Ergo but didn't need to. The stroller would have made the entire trip...very flat and PAVED!

We had lunch in a cute little restaurant that was overlooking the harbor and then headed into town to find the bar with "better mojitos then in Cuba", according to our guide book. We then wandered on down to the train station and jumped on the train back to Manarola. We screwed up again and actually took the train all of the way to Monterossa. Eventually we did get the hang of the train system...really.

Sunday was more relaxing. Kathleen went to Mass at the church in Manarola and Andrea & I hung out by the water. It looked like it was going to be dark & stormy all day, but it burned off pretty quickly. We hadn't yet seen Vernazza so we grabbed the train there, once we picked up Kathleen. By the time the 5 minute train ride was over the weather was glorious. We headed into town, making our way to the harbor. We stopped to have gelato....and Isaak's first solid food. Strawberry Gelato. Everyone should be so lucky. I think he liked it.

Once at the harbor we dipped Isaak's feet in the water & sand and then Andrea and I went for a swim. It was quite warm! We hung out on the sea wall in the sun & shade until about 4pm and then decided to head back to Manarola.

Monday morning we got up early to drive back to Pisa and then fly home.

Its been too long...

2009-06-14T20:38:00.002+02:00

It has been a long time since I posted last.

Isaak and I traveled to the US at the end of May. It broke Kevin's heart to be away from Isaak for so long. Isaak and I were able to spend a few days in Portland and then spent a week at my Dad's. The Portland portion of the trip was too short and I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to.

While in Portland we stayed at Andrea's house. Michelle came down from Seattle to see us, we had dinner with the Pool's & Dittman's. Rebecca threw a "Meet Isaak" shower -- moving the 3-6mo onesie up to 18. 18! I got to see most of the girls while at Rebecca's. I miss them so much! Before I left town I also had coffee with Sarah.

I spent more time at Dad's. We spent in an evening in Spokane at my brother's house, spending time with my Sister-in-Law and nephew. My aunt's came up to visit, they took turns holding Isaak for the 45 minutes that he was awake between naps. At the time he was sleeping for 4 hours between feeds. They kept wanting to wake him up to hold him...Louise ended up taking a nap with him, getting her a little more time with him.

My sister was also in town. It was great to see her. She and I stayed in my grandparent's 5th wheel that we parked in front of Dad & Janet's house. Janet's daughter, Jacki, got married that weekend and this allowed us to get more time with Dad & Janet yet be out of their hair.

During our time at Dad's, Isaak decided to start sleeping through the night. He went from around 9pm - 5am. It was heaven! He did it about 4 times.

The flight home was tough. He didn't sleep much, which meant I didn't sleep much. I am suprised I was still standing when Courtenay met me at the airport. I am not sure that I was coherent. She helped us get home (I came home with 1 more suitcase then I left with).

Once home (at 9am), I fed Isaak and then we both slept for 3 hours. I woke up and fed him again, handed him to Kevin and then slept for another 3 hours. It wasn't the right way to get over jet lag, but there was no way I could stay awake. I started to get a cold while I was at my dad's...the lack of sleep on the plane only made it worse.

Kevin's mom arrived on Saturday, June 6th. I had to go back to work on the 8th and Kevin is working 5 days a week during June so she is going to watch Isaak for us during the day. We are still trying to get in to daycare, I have my fingers crossed that we will have a spot when we need it in August.

I started work on Monday, and Sunday Isaak's jet lag was in full force. He was awake and hungry every 2 hours...and I had to get up at 5. It took until about Wednesday night for him to go for more then 3 hours at a time. YUCK! I was a walking zombie for those days.

This Thursday he started sleeping longer at night. He started to go from 10:30 - 7 or 8am, and I actually went to bed immediately after him! It has been a long time since I have gotten that much sleep!

Yesterday we went out to Pancakes with Courtenay, Brian & Bill. They were as good as I remembered! Kevin, Kathleen & Isaak and I then walked around for a while, slowly introducing Kathleen to the sights.

I promise to upload new Isaak pictures to Flickr and add a few photos to this post. After I get some sleep!

Isaak's 10th Week

2009-05-20T20:04:00.004+02:00

I went for another run today. I don't know how far my little route is, right now it is far enough. I only had to stop once for myself and a couple of times for the dogs. It is a handful to run with 2 dogs and a jogger.

This afternoon Isaak and I went to another baby massage class. He made it through the entire class before crying.

Yesterday evening and this evening have been a little rough. He eats a little and then is tired but it doesn't seem like he should be tired, so we try to fix it and what he really wants is to go to bed.

Monday night Isaak slept from 11 - 5. WooHoo! Due to last night's cranky period that lasted until 10pm, I didn't wake him at 11pm. He woke on his own at 1am and then slept until 6am.

I leave for Portland on Saturday. I am a little nervous to fly for so long on my own with him, but I guess I will manage. I am really excited for everyone to meet him!

Below is one of Isaak's onesies that Krista made. These are too cute!

"Arrgh....Wipe Me Booty"

9 Weeks - Already!?!

2009-05-15T20:07:00.004+02:00

I am enjoying the last few days of my maternity leave. I am headed back to work on June 8th. Before succombing to the grind, Isaak and I are going to head to Portland and my Dad's. I am really looking forward to having everyone meet him!

My friend & co worker, Joosje, came to visit Isaak and I last Friday. She brought her beautiful daughter Juultje. Juultje is 6 weeks older then Isaak (and his betrothed :)). We did a little simultaneous feeding and then went to lunch with our beautiful sleeping babes.

Last weekend Kevin, Bill, Isaak & I made a nice quiet day of visiting Utrecht. Who knew it was the oldest city in the Netherlands. It was a beautiful sunny day.

Tuesday was Isaak's second baby clinic appointment. He received his first round of vaccines, one in each thigh. His little face went red with the first one and the wails started with the second one. He calmed down pretty quickly afterwards though. For the next 24 hours he was pretty tired. He would fall asleep almost immediately after nursing (if not during).

The last few days (outside of his shots) have seen him be much more alert after his feeds. Cooing and smiling. Priceless. He sounds (and looks like) a little owl.

Thursday (yesterday) Isaak and I went to our 3rd baby massage. He started out much more relaxed then the other two times but only made it about halfway through the class before he let me know just how unhappy he was. He hadn't really slept in the 90 minutes prior and it got the best of him. In fact all day Thursday he had a hard time falling asleep. Probably had something to do with the sudden discovery of his little fists.

Yesterday Isaak discovered his hands, or at least that he really likes to suck on them. He would rather suck on them then a pacifier, so he spits out the pacifier and then gets pissed when he either can't get his little fist to his mouth or can't keep it there. He has also learned how to scoot on his back, towards his head. I often find him in his crib 12 inches above where I left him. His blanket still tucked in (whereas before it was kicked off) and he has scooted clear of it.

Today I took the train to Utrecht to visit An, Mattias, Vincent & Steven. Mattias is 2 weeks old and dang cute. He looks just like Vincent does. It is amazzing to see the difference between a 2 week old, a 10 week old and a 21 month old. It all changes so quickly and they grow up too fast. I still remember when Isaak would only open 1 eye and fall asleep instantly after nursing. I would test his fullness and depth of sleep by seeing if I could redress and swaddle him with out waking him. Now I test his sleepiness by waiting for him to get fussy after he has nursed and his fullness by checking to see if he will wail at the breast rather then nurse.

I will try to get more pics posted - he has changed so much and is SO cute (ok I may be a little biased, but still). To tide you over, check this one out. I love it when he looks like this!

Going Dutch

2009-05-10T10:59:00.000+02:00

An interesting article on "Going Dutch" - How an American in Holland learned to love the European welfare state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03european-t.html

Catching Up - Grandparents in Amsterdam, Paris, Delft & Keukenhof

2009-05-08T20:37:00.010+02:00

Where to start.

My grandparents left yesterday. They arrived on April 24th. It was fun having them. We didn't do much on the day they arrived. Lunch out and a tram ride to Central Station and back. We made it out to Delft for lunch and relaxing site seeing on the 25th. I liked Delft, it seems like a sleepy little town with beautiful canals. This trip also saw Isaak's first public diaper changes - on the train to and from Delft.

My grandparents travel with his & her cameras. Below is a pick of them taking the same picture of the Old Church in Delft.

Sunday we had Dutch Pancakes for lunch and then made a quick trip to the Red Light district. I tried a new pancake restaurant, it was not nearly as good as the one near Anne Frank's house. In the Red Light district Grandma started to pull out her camera, she says she wanted to take a picture of the canal. I made her quickly put it away as she was in danger of losing it. I did let her take this picture of Grandpa, Isaak & I.

Monday we picked up the Van Gogh museum. There is a special exhibit going on right now called "Starry Night". It has both Van Gogh's night paintings in addition to others that influenced him.

Tuesday we went to Rembrandt's House. I really liked it and it made me even more interested in his paintings.

April 29th - May 1st we planned to be in Paris. We rented a car to drive down as we thought it would be cheaper and easier then the Thlys. The drive down on Wednesday took much longer then expected. We ran into traffic, stopped for lunch and stopped to feed & change Isaak.

Driving in Paris is an experience. Below are pictures of our approach to the Arc d' Triomphe. We finally checked into our hotel around 7. I fed Isaak and then we headed out for dinner. We had planned to go to Notre Dame and do a river cruise on Wednesday. It was too late and we were exhausted. We decided to extend our trip by a day so we could spend more time in Paris. Isaak slept from 12:30 to 4:45!

Thursday morning we headed out to the Orsay first. We spent the entire time on the Impressionist floor. Kevin went through with Isaak. I followed a little more slowly and Grandma & Grandpa brought up the rear. After I made it through Kevin passed off Isaak so I could feed him and he went to round up the grandparents.

After the Orsay we headed to lunch and then the Eiffel tower. We walked along the Seine for a little while, until we figured out it was about a mile to the Eiffel Tower, so we jumped on the metro. Once at the tower I fed Isaak again and changed him. Last time Kevin and I were here we didn't try to go up as the line was too long and neither of us are very patient when it comes to long waits. This time we were going up.

After the tower I fed & changed Isaak again and then we headed to Montmarte. After a quick ride up the funicular we had dinner and headed back to the hotel. By this time Isaak was exhausted and letting us know it. His nap had been interupted at the Eiffel Tower and we paid for it.

Friday we changed hotels. We used Priceline to book the first and had to priceline a second for Friday night. After we checked in and I got Isaak fed we headed out for lunch in the Latin Quarter and then Notre Dame.

When we scheduled this trip we inadvertantly left the Netherlands for Queens Day (huge holiday) and ended up in Paris on May Day (huge protest day). Oops. The Latin Quarter and Notre Dame were packed! The metro was really crowed as well. So crowded that Grandpa was able to get on but not the rest of us. We picked him up at the next stop, once we were able to get on. People weren't very happy to move out of the way for the stroller.

After Notre Dame we walked to Pont Neuf to catch a river cruise. We had been told the cruise is best in the dark when everythign is lit up. I imagine it is! We saw it during the day but it would be very beautiful at night.

We fed & changed Isaak at Ille de Cite before heading towards the Arc d' Triomphe.

Oh the places he has nursed and had his diaper changed.

Saturday we headed to Versailles. Kevin and I both know that the fastest & least painful way to see major sites/museums is to buy your tickets on line. We failed to do this on this trip. We had gotten lucky at the Orsay and were able to go in the Disabled access because we had the stroller. We were not so lucky at Versailles.

We stood in line for 3 hours, just to get tickets! We stood in line for another our to get in to the palace. It was packed in side! It felt a lot like cattle in a corral. Kevin had to carry Isaak as the stroller wasn't allowed in. I am sure I would have liked it more if it hadn't had so many damn people. The crowds made it seem a little hokey.

The gardens were amazing! We rented a golf cart to drive around them as there was no way any of us were goin to survive after standing on cobblestones for 4 hours. We were short on time as well. If we were to go back I would go straight for the gardens. Yes, Isaak was fed & changed here as well.

We finally headed home around 7. We stopped for gas around 8:30 and had one more adventure. Kevin accidently put gasoline in our diesel rental car. Needless to say it took us about 4 hours to deal with the tow truck and getting another car to drive home in. We made it back to Amsterdam around 4:30 am. Everyone went to sleep as soon as possible, except for Isaak & I. I fed him and then changed him. Finally making it to bed around 5:15am.

Sunday we recovered by sleeping as much as possible, all 5 of us.

There were still a few more sites in Amsterdam that my Grandparents wanted to see.

On Monday Grandma, Grandpa, Isaak & I took a Canal cruise. Afterwards we headed to the RijksMuseum. I got them in and headed in the right direction and then went to wait for them in a cafe - so Isaak could get a good nap in. The next item on the agenda was to get them to Dam square to meet Kevin, so the 3 of them could go to the Anne Frank House - followed by dinner at Moeders.

Turns out we sent them to Dam Square, on their own, with out a cell phone, during the Rememberance Day event with the Queen. Oops. To make a long story short they never found Kevin, but did find the Anne Frank House. Kevin and I both went looking for them, and saw the memorial in the mean time, while Courtenay watched Isaak. My grandparents made it back to our apartment while we were still stuck in the crowds at the Dam Square. Thank goodness I had quizzed them as to which stop to get off at for our apartment!

Tuesday we went out to the Keukenhof. Very pretty!

Wednesday I sent my grandparents to the Anne Frank house on their own. With a cell phone this time!

They flew home Thursday morning.

Yummy Dinner - Pasta Primavera

2009-04-19T21:35:00.006+02:00

I found a recipe for Pasta Primavera on a friend's blog and have been wanting to make it ever since. Kevin was gone for the evening and I knew he wouldn't really like it (too many vegetables and mushrooms, not enough meat) so I figured it was as good as time as ever.

The goods.

The sauce.

I think I need a bigger skillet.

It was delicious and I will gladly be eating the left overs for a couple of days.

Catching up on photos

2009-04-19T15:43:00.003+02:00

It has been a while since I uploaded new Isaak pictures.

As seen on our walk through the park today. That is a little dog chasing the ducks. This went on for 5 minutes.

In preparation for our daily park walk with the dogs.

Getting a little tummy time - gotta strengthen those back & neck muscles!

We have finally made the board! This is the board of new babies at my midwife clinic.

Last weekend we were going to try to go to the Van Gogh museum. The line was too long and the sun too hard to resist.

Rolling Over!

2009-04-16T11:48:00.004+02:00

Today was my 6 week check up with my Midwife. Yes, Isaak will be 6 weeks on Monday. Time really flies. I expected a whole pelvic exam. Nope. We talked about what I think about when I think of the birth. How big and alert Isaak is. How he is sleeping (Really well between 9:30pm & 2, and then again between 2:30 & 6am. Not so well between 5pm & 9:30pm), how well he is eating and growing. Marike and her student felt my stomache to see if the muscles are coming back together - got the "all clear" for excercise/sit ups, and tested my iron to see how well I was recovering from the blood loss - just fine.

I quizzed her about allergy medication while breast feeding (my spring allergies are in full force and I was miserable last night. The netty pot works well to manage my allergies most of the time, right up until they get really bad) and if she had any OB/GYN recommendations for having my IUD put in (I really wanted a female doctor after my experience and horror stories of friends). She couldn't help with this one. She gave me her email address so that I can get her the very graphic birth photos. She really wants the ones where his head is crowning as I guess it is hard to get these and ours are very vivid.

On the way home I checked at the pharmacy to see if there was any "over the counter" allergy medicine that I could take. Of course they said No. I wasn't surprised as this is the "Tylenol for everything - and nothing stronger" country.

Once home I called my house doctor to make an appointment for my IUD, ask about prescription strength allergy medicine and my Hep A booster. They will call me back, hopefully they can give me something - I always have the "allergies make my asthma worse" card to play.

Yesterday we had a huge development with Isaak. He rolled from his front to his back - TWICE. We think it was a fluke as he shouldn't be doing that for several more weeks. We cheered like he was accepted into college!

This afternoon we are headed to Hoofdorp to get Isaak's residency started. If Kevin were to go alone then Isaak's residency would expire when Kevin's does - in 1 year. If I go then it will expire when mine does - in 4 years.

He rolled from his front to his back yesterday, twice. We cheered as if he was just accepted to college. We think it was a fluke as he shouldn't be doing that for weeks. Maybe it had something to do with him being on the ottoman and it being a little 'cushy'.

First Checkup

2009-04-09T21:46:00.004+02:00

Today was Isaak's first check up since the Kraamzorg and Midwife week. In the Netherlands the baby wellness appointments are done through a "baby clinic" and our "house" doctor only sees him when he is sick.

Isaak is up to 4.9 kg /10lbs 13 oz and 54 cm / 21 inches. He was born at 3.6kg/7lbs 15 oz and ~50 cm/~19 in. No wonder he is burning through clothes!

We took him in the bike trailer (we get funny looks every time we break it out, I think everyone is used to seeing babies in a "Bike Fiets") to the baby clinic. We didn't really know what to expect or where to go so I am sure we looked lost. We wandered in to the appropriate office and told them we were there for Isaak's appt. We were told to take him to the waiting room and strip the man down to his diaper and wait to be called. There were two other women in the room when we got there, one with her pinky in her baby's mouth (thank goodness we have graduated to pacifiers!) and the other was quickly dressing her wailing daughter (must have gotten a shot). I felt sorry for the second woman as we have been experiencing similar wails recently. They are heart wrenching.

Last night Kevin and I struggled to get Isaak to sleep between 7:30 and 10:30. Well, I struggled until about 10, when Kevin came home from lacrosse and I handed him over. He finally went down at 10:30 and then awoke again at 11:30 to start his normal night routine (12ish to 3ish to 6ish to 9ish). Yesterday evening and afternoon were filled with Isaak waking up every 1.5 hours for more food, and then at 7:30 he decided he wasn't going back to sleep. I know it was a matter of him being over tired but he was pretty stubborn in fighting the sleep.

Today has been better in that he has gone back to sleep pretty easily after each feeding, however he has kept his feedings to about every 90 - 120 minutes. When it takes 30 - 45 min to feed and change him, it makes for short naps. I expect to be exploding with milk tomorrow as he has definately been telling my body "MORE MILK".

On other topics...
Kevin went in on Tuesday to sign his contract at AICS. He also inquired about the daycare. Good News, we don't have to worry about it as we are guaranteed a spot! I am thrilled, but will feel better once I have it in writing. Now to figure out how to fill out the appropriate paperwork to get the daycare subsidy from the Government. They will reimburse us for a portion of the day care costs, on a monthly basis!

Isaak's immigration appointment has been scheduled for next week, the same day as my 6 week check up. I may just send Kevin to that, while Isaak and I stay home. There isn't a need for all three of us to go and it is not in Amsterdam. Anna (the crown agent who helped us when we first arrived) will come and pick Kevin up and drive him to the appointment (very handy!).

Has it really been 4 weeks already?

2009-04-05T21:28:00.004+02:00

This week was filled with beautiful sunny days. Yes I said sunny days in Amsterdam. Thursday actually felt like summer. Isaak and I have been taking advantage of them as much as we can. We mostly take a 45 minute walk around Beatrix park with the dogs. Saturday Kevin joined us for a 3 mile walk to and around Vondelpark.

I can't believe how much he is growing. His hair is dark but glows red in the sunlight. Kevin's does this. My dad and my grandfather both have dark red hair. I wonder if Isaak will take after the 3 of them. His eyelashes are getting darker and longer every day. He is almost 10lbs already. It is hard to beleive that Isaak is already a month old, the first 4 weeks flew by!

Monday we took Isaak to get a second set of Passport photos. His US passport arrived about 2 weeks ago and Kevin picked it up on Monday. The photos we used for his US passport wouldn't work for his dutch residency, so we needed to get a second set.

Thursday Kevin, I and Isaak had lunch with my cousins; Nancy, Jill and Sarah. They were in town at the end of their Brussels, Brugge, Amsterdam and Leiden vacation. After lunch Kevin had to run to tutoring, the 5 of us stuck around and moved to the restaurant's patio to soak up some of the sunshine. We then moved down the street to another restaurant for dinner.

Kevin got a teaching job for next year! It is at the Amsterdam International Community School, which just happens to be a 5 minute walk from our apartment. It also has a daycare associated with it the "Blue Rock Penguin". The teachers at AICS receive priority at the daycare, when Kevin goes in to sign his contract he is going to find out how to get us on the list. To have both Isaak and Kevin that close to home, and each other, will be really nice for next year.

The position actually starts on June 1st. It is 3 days a week and is on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This presents a day care problem for us in the month of June. Kevin is in The Hague on Wednesdays and Fridays (AICS will have a sub for him on the Wednesdays he is supposed to be in AMS). I was going to take Fridays off in June and work from home on Wednesdays, that won't work now that Kevin has the AICS job. Kevin's parents have graciously offered to come and help us out in June....THANK GOODNESS!

It sounds like this week won't be filled with as much sunshine, it was nice while it lasted.

A day of firsts (not to be the last)

2009-03-30T14:55:00.002+02:00

Today Isaak had his first bottle of breast milk. I was able to pump about 2 oz last night and Kevin gave it to Isaak this morning as a trial run. It went well (or at least that is what Kevin says, as I slept through it!). Turns out 2 oz is not enough for one feeding, we need more like 4 oz, which makes sense, he has been draining both boobs during most feedings which must be getting him about 4 oz, maybe a little more. What was even better was that he didn't seem to have any "nipple confusion" when I fed him a few hours later... This means Kevin may be able to take more of the middle of the night feedings and we may even be able to get away for a "date night". First, I need to figure out how to get more milk pumped while still satisfying Isaak's hunger...it will just be a timing thing.

The other first for the day was me riding my bike for the first time in about 4 weeks! It didn't hurt, which means my stitiches must almost be healed...now for the knots to finally dissolve!

The weather was finally nice enough that I felt that I could put my "Oregon" sticker on my bike bags, and not have it wash away in the rain. Sara S gave me this as a gift before we left and I have been wanting to get it on my bike ever since! I am sure Kevin will make fun of me for putting stickers on my bike, he will probably relate it to putting stickers on a car - which he says there is an age limit too. Oh well!

2009-03-29T17:42:00.003+02:00

The last week went really well. Isaak is awake for longer periods during the day. He is also growing like a weed. I am suprised at the the clothes he no longer fits into. It is typically his legs and feet and arms that out grow the clothes. Isaak is also starting to look less like a newborn.

Here is a picture from Saturday morning when Isaak and I slept until 12 (in 2 - 3 hour spurts).

Kevin has a long term sub position in Den Hague (The Hague). It takes him about 1 hour and 40 minutes to get there and he has to be there on Wednesdays & Fridays. The position is covering for maternity leave and will go until July 10th. He is up to 5 tutoring students during the week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday evenings). Kevin recently received an offer to teach 50% (which is what he wants) in Hilversum at the International School there, for next year. He is waiting to accept until after his interview with another International School here in Amsterdam. If he were to take the Hilversum position it would be 3 days a week and his commute would be the same as mine, an hour door to door. With the school here in town he would have 10 minute walk for his commute. Needless to say he would much rather have the 1o minute walk.

I will go back to work at the begining of June. I am planning on taking Fridays off until at least July 10th and work from home on Wednesdays (Kevin only teaches part time on Wednesdays). This should get us to August when Isaak will go to day care 3 days a week.

Isaak's passport has already arrived. The consulate called Kevin on Thursday (1 week after we applied). We didn't expect it for another week. Kevin will go and pick it up on Monday and then go to the Town Hall to finish his registration. At that point we can also start his residency paperwork with the Immigration office.

I have been trying to get out every day. Sometimes it is only to the store and to take the dogs for a walk, sometimes we actually make it to the park. It really depends on the weather and whether my desire for a nap wins out.

Week 2

2009-03-19T20:55:00.004+01:00

Monday

Monday was our last day of having a Kraamzorg. Isaak got another bath and then Esther cleaned the apartment. She left early as it was pretty obvious that we were ok with out her.

Tuesday

Kevin had an interview in Hilversum at the International School of Hilversum. He was practically offered a part time teaching position for next year. The director told him she could make a schedule to fit his needs and potentially sweeten the deal with a Theory of Knowledge class (the class he has always wanted to teach). This is great news for next year!

I ventured out to the local Hema in search of a couple of more nursing bras. I didn't have any luck. I dug through all of their nursing bras (with Isaak on my chest) and they didn't have a single one in my size. Erghhh. I sent Courtenay a text and she graciously stopped at Prenatal on her way home and picked me up 2. Thank goodness! Otherwise I was looking at having to do laundry every day!

Isaak all bundled up for our walk to Hema.

My laptop crapped out over the weekend. Don't worry, I haven't been working! I use it to surf from the couch :) Kristen stopped by today to pick it up and take it in to the HelpDesk for me. She got a few minutes in of holding Isaak.

Wednesday

A woman stopped by from the "baby clinic" for our intake. In the Netherlands all of the wellness/vaccines/check ups are done through a baby clinic. Illnesses are treated by our "house" doctor. The intake woman came to get more information from us and set up the first appointment. After she left Kevin and I headed out for a walk. We took the dogs and walked to Vondelpark. It is about 3/4 of a mile to the park and then we think we walked at least a 1/2 mile around the smaller loop before heading home for 2 miles total. It was a beautiful day and Isaak slept through the entire walk.

Thursday

Isaak cooperated beautifully. He woke up around 7:50, I fed him and then jumped in the shower. Our appointment at the consulate was for 10am. I have been worried about this all week, I knew I was probably going to have to feed him while we were there and was a little unsure of how to maintain my modesty - or at least the idea of it. (I am torn on this whole modesty thing. Part of me says - screw it...if someone wants to look at my big a** boob while I feed Isaak, have at it. But then the other part of me doesn't.) Turns out that with a little help from Kevin my Minky nursing cover worked well. Turns out we were only 15 minutes late, we had to wait for 10 min for the tram, I think 15 min is doing pretty damn good for having a newborn! Once in side we were afraid that we would not be able to get what we needed done today as we hadn't pre-filled out the forms and Kevin didn't think he brought our marriage certificate (why there was a need for this, I don't know). Turns out we had the certificate and we quickly filled out the forms. It was weird filling out official forms for someone other then myself. I had to keep remembering that when they asked for "Name" or "Birthdate", they wanted Isaak's - not mine.

We got Isaak's passport photos there (not perfect - but then in a year it won't matter anyway). Kevin and I had to swear that the paperwork was accurate and that was it. Isaak's passport will be ready in 2 weeks and his social security card will come later. Once we have his passport Kevin will go back to the Townhall to complete his registration. He went last week to register him but they wouldn't accept that he was a US citizen... something about proof that either Kevin or I had ever been in the US (because it isn't like we haven't proven that to them 15 times in the last 6 months). So...Isaak is currently with out country. Once the US passport is here we can also start the process of getting him his dutch residency. The consulate took about an 90 minutes. We had a little problem with the tram on the way home. We didn't get to the stroller door fast enough. Once the doors start to close they will not reopen --- no matter how many times you push the button. So we caught a different tram and had a nice little walk home.

Once home I fed Isaak and then all 3 of us took a nap. Kevin then headed to tutor and Isaak and I went grocery shopping. I bought a little wheeled cart to bring the groceries home in. Kevin teases me that I could now go collect cans. I don't care --- I feel too much like a mule with Isaak on my chest and a grocery bag over each shoulder.

While I waited for Isaak to wake up from yet another nap I was able to fold laundry and make the potato part of Stamppot. Stampot is a dutch comfort food. It has mashed potatos with either carrots, onions, kale, or other root vegtables. You then serve it with smoked sausage, meatballs or bacon (or all of the above). Kevin made the meatballs while I fed Isaak. The stamppot turned out well!

Jay was in town for work and stopped by this evening. It was really great to see him.

After Jay left Isaak ate off and on until 10:30 when he finally slipped back into the eat sleep rhythm.

Friday

I have been able to consistently get 2 - 3 hours a sleep at a time, starting at 1am and going until 8 or 9. I am actually very happy with this!

I gave Isaak a bath, my first solo attempt. It went well. We only used 1 towel...a first. The last 2 baths required 2 towels as Isaak seems to have the perfect timing to let it fly once bundled in a towel and on the way to the bath.

Diane & Alexander stopped by to see the little guy. We have had a lot of visitors this week, about 1 a day. I didn't get a walk in today, instead I took a nap. It was beautiful out and I wish the timing had been such that I could have gotten out.

Kevin had an interview with the International School of The Hague today, for a long term sub assignment. He came home with the job. It is about an 1 hour and 50 minute commute for him. An hour on the train and then a 50 min tram ride. Yuck. He will work Wednesdays and Fridays. They gave him a contract (rather then regular daily subbing) so they will reimburse him for the train tickets, pay him through July and tack on extra periods to get him more time there. This is great news! He is also up to 5 tutoring clients from the International School of Amsterdam. He really likes tutoring, he gets to teach and see them learn with out having to do any of the grading.

Isaak's First Week

2009-03-14T19:43:00.015+01:00

My midwife, Marike. She was amazing and I trusted her completely. Note the time on the picture. Isaak was born at 4:29 pm, not 5.

Kevin has had this smile on his face ever since.

Monday night was amazingly easy. Isaak woke every 3 hours and would eat for a few minutes and then go back to sleep. I had to force myself to turn out the light and go back to sleep.

A picture of Isaak at 7 hours old.

Tuesday morning Kevin called the Kraamzorgs to tell them that Isaak had been born and we were ready for them. Charlotte showed up at 11:30. She was act

ually a midwife student from Belgium who was studying with the GeboorteCentrum and doing a short stint as a Kraamzorg. She helped us get settled in our first day.

One of my midwives (there are 5 in the group) stopped by to check on us.

Tuesday night was a tough night. Isaak slept and ate well all day, right up until 11pm. Starting at 11 he was awake every 30 minutes, for about 5 minutes. He would nurse for a few minutes and then fall a sleep. This night was hell. Kevin had came down with a cold (and was doped up on Nyquil) so I was the one who was up --- that I am the one with replenishing pacifiers.

Wednesday

I was never so happy as to see the Kraamzorg at 9am. Her name was Esther and she immediately told me how to prevent the night from hell. I needed to keep him awake while he was nursing. He was falling a sleep after only getting a little milk and then waking up hungry 30 min later. She also taught me a new way to hold him while nursing. Up until now all I really knew (and he was up for) was to laying down. I was exhausted all day Wednesday as I had only gotten about 2 hours a sleep the night before. I tried to nap during the day (while Esther cleaned the apartment ---- vacuuming, the bathroom/shower/toilet, kitchen, laundry, etc). I just couldn't fall a sleep.

Courtenay & Brian came up around 8pm and we hung out for a couple of hours. They took turns holding Isaak in his "milk drunk" state.

Wednesday night was an improvement on Tuesday, however it was still pretty tough. My milk had come in so it would take an hour of Isaak and I fighting to get him to latch on. Once he was able to start drinking then he would drink for 20 minutes and then sleep for 3 hours. The hour of fighting was really hard. We were trying everything we knew but it wasn't very much and it wasn't working. I was also starting to come down with Kevin's cold.

Thursday morning Esther showed up right after I had finally gotten Isaak to start to nurse,

at 9am. She asked how the night went and I told her about our struggles. She said it was because of my engorged breasts (man oh man did they hurt!). She asked if I knew someone who had a pump...that was music to my ears enormous as I had one in Isaak's room. Once he had gotten his fill I released a little pressure from my boob --- what a relief! Thursday flew by. Another midwife (Bea) stopped by to check on us. Esther saw a bottle of Ibuprofen by the bed, she got concerned that I was taking them. Here in the Netherlands they only want you to take Paraceptmol/Tylenol while breastfeeding. Kevin and I had already confirmed that Ibuprofen was ok in the US ----so I was self medicating. My stitches needed something stronger then Tylenol. I told her the Ibuprofen was Kevin's... Thursday night was much better. We did have one feeding that was a little rough but all in all not bad. I still wasn't really able to sleep during

the day.

Friday morning we had a new Kraamzorg, Balkije. She was here for 8 hours on Friday. She cleaned the entire apartment. We really did get spoiled. Having the place picked up and clean makes me more relaxed, particulary when I am up in the middle of the night with Isaak. I don't sit there wishing the apartment was clean. Courtenay and Brian brought us dinner. Courtenay made lasagna. Lori came too. She brought the dessert. It was all very delicious. I got to have my first guilt free glass of wine in 9 months! Friday night was good. It really felt like Isaak and I were figuring out our little routine.

Saturday:

Some of our friends got together and have arranged to bring us dinner once a week. Kristen stopped by around 8:30 to meet Isaak and drop off dinner. Balkije showed up a few minutes later and then Marike (the midwife who delivered Isaak) stopped by. We had a full house for a while. It was great to see Kristen (even though I hadn't showered and had terrible morning breath!) It was also great to see Marike again. We talked about the delivery and what we thought of it (both the good things and bad things). She weighed Isaak - who was back to his

birth weight. We showed her the pictures that our nurse had taken during the delivery. She wants copies of some of them as they really showed everything. She said that since I was easily coachable and relaxed (after she showed up and took over) that we had the opportunity to get such great photos. She mentioned that sometimes the parents are so upset or distraught that it doesn't always work that way. I think we gave Kristen a little bit of mental birth control, as she wasn't expecting such vivid pictures of a birth! Don't worry, these pics are not posted on Flickr but safely locked away on our computer. There is a short little video of one of the contractions in which I am pushing. I haven't watched it yet.

The sun was out in the morning so Kevin and I wanted to take Isaak out for a walk. I wa

s getting pretty mobile and definitely a little stir crazy as I hadn't been out of the apartment since coming home from the hospital. We bundled Isaak up in the Ergo and walked to the canal and back. It was short but nice. The crocus are blooming and they are beautiful.

Balkije went to the store for us...we forgot to have her get diapers and since everything is closed on Sunday we had Brian pick us up some when he went. Have I said how great our friends are?

Kristen's baked ziti was delicous and I actually slept for 7 hours that night. Not in one shot, but in a 2 - 3 - 2 hour interval. It felt so good! After the 7am feeding I put Isaak in his room (we have had him in a "bassinet" in our room between about 10pm and 6:30am) where the sun was shining through the windows and I went back to bed - with the black out curtains. My cold was starting to get better and I was able to actually fall a sleep when I laid down. Heaven!

Sunday we were on our own until about 2 pm. We had a nice relaxing morning. When Balkije showed up there wasn't much for her to do. We gave Isaak his first bath. He slept through the whole thing.

We bundled Isaak up in his fuzzy bear sleeper (thanks Dad!) and put him in his stroller (another first) and took him for a walk in Beatrix park.

Just outside our apartment we ran into Caroline and Andreas (our downstairs neighbors). They were out with their 1.5 yr old daughter Alissa - trying to get her to sleep. Caroline is also due in April. They joined us on our walk.

Sunday night, both Isaak and I slept well again. His long sleep started at 4:30 and went until 10. I slept until 9. Heaven!

Added Photos

2009-03-11T12:24:00.003+01:00

I uploaded the photos from Monday & Tuesday. There are more on Kevin's iPhone, I will load those later.

We are all doing well. Having the maternity nurse is very helpful!

Our Son has arrived - Isaak Honn Tastet

2009-03-10T20:19:00.009+01:00

Our son was born yesterday, March 9th. He is 7.9 lbs (3.6 kg) and 19+inches (50+cm). The length is approximate, we think he is taller but he hasn't been measured yet. They don't measure newborns in the Netherlands. Something about not wanting to uncurl them until they are ready. He is quite long, long fingers, long feet, long legs, long torso. I don't know how he fit!

He is perfect in every way. We are both in awe that we are now parents and have such a beautiful son.

Below is the details of the birth...

I experienced light contractions on Saturday and again on Sunday. My aunt (via Skype) kep telling me to call the mid-wife. I couldn't really believe that the PMS-like cramps were really my contractions. I called her Sunday evening around 7. She was delivering a baby and said she would call me back later to check on me. I called her again at 11, when I hadn't heard from her yet and wanted to go to bed. She was delivering yet another baby and had to be thinking I wish this crazy/not yet in labor woman would stop calling me. She told me to try to sleep if I thought I could. Turns out I could. They woke me up at 5 am, I had to "breathe" through them. I thought that was a load of crap until I actually had to do it. And it worked. Monday morning they really started in earnest at 5am. I called the midwife around 6:30am. Kevin made a run to the French bakery (less then a block away) so that I could carb load. Nothing like fresh croissants and madelines to provide a little pre-baby sustenance. She came around 9 am, she checked to see how far I had dilated - 2cm. Up until this point Kevin and I had been playing scrabble. Yes, scrabble. We had to do something to pass the time...as we were going to go crazy with contractions coming every 5 minutes. Picture this. Me sitting on a bouncy/work out ball. Eyes closed tight trying to tell kevin where to put my tiles and what my word was, mid contraction. She came back around 1 and I had progressed to 4cm. This time she found me humped up on the ball watching "Star Trek, the next generation" while Kevin napped. Up to this point I had been managing the contractions really well. Breathing through them and hugging the "ball". Of course as soon as she got here my contractions went all wacky. No longer consistent in time, duration or strength. F**king stage fright. Great. She said it always happens that way.

She was afraid that my labor might be long and she didn't want me to get too tired so we decided to break my water at 2pm. Once she broke my water my contractions got MUCH stronger and faster, and started to really hit me in my hips. No more stage fright. Holy shit did they hurt. She broke my water on the bed. (kevin's side...gotta love that!) I had a contraction immediately after. I was able to sit up and then thought I was going to puke. Kevin went searching for a bucket. Marijke quickly dumped out the absorbant packing filled tub and put it in front of me. 30 sec later I was fine...and hadn't puked. I had another contraction between standing up and making it to the other side of the bed. Then another when I got to the hallway. MUCH FASTER and HARDER. We decided that Kevin and I would head to the hospital and she would meet us there in about 30 min. Kevin called a cab while I screamed bloody murder in the stairwell. My breathing was totally shot and now I was just trying to survive. I kept thinking that our neighbors could hear me. Hell, probably the whole street. The cab took forever to arrive. I was ready to hijack a car. I was panicking and did not want to do this with out my midwife or in a stairwell.

Man did it feel like the cab took a long time to get here. At this point I was not managing the pain very well and really wishing for morphine. I think I scared the crap out of the cab driver - I am sure he didn't expect to pick up a woman in the throes of labor. It took about 10 min to get to the hospital.

Once at the hospital we took the elevator to he main floor, of course I had a contraction in the elevator - more screaming and scaring of the people in the elevator. I tried to waddle after Kevin to the front desk. Contraction at the desk. I could barely stand at this point. Kevin asked how to get to the birth center and we took another elevator to the 2nd floor. More contractions, more screaming. They were really starting to come very quickly. As we left the elevator I made it about 2 steps before another contraction hit and I couldn't walk any more. Thankfully a OB/GYN who was leaving for the day walked by and figured out that I needed a wheelchair. She then wheeled me in to our room. I think I had another contraction when either the midwife called or we called her. She said she would be there in 15 min. That was the longest 15 min of my life.

Our nurse didn't speak any English and been told that I was 4cm when Marike (our midwife) called to say we were coming. I am sure she thought "Wimpy American, 4cm and screaming bloody murder - this is going to be long day". Kevin kept asking for pain relief for me but it didn't translate. I got into the shower and Kevin ran water on my back while the screaming got worse. I remember saying "I don't want to do this anymore".

Marike showed up and immediately took over. She was awesome. She got me to stop screaming and start breathing - which really helped. I was in panic mode before. She got me out of the shower to check to see how far I had dilated. I was up to 9.5 cm. Yes, 4 - 9.5 in about 45 min. No wonder it hurt so damn bad.

At some point the nurses switched shifts. Our new nurse was a dream. I am so happy to have had her.

It wasn't very long (only a couple of more contractions) before she had me on the "stool" and start pushing. It was only a few more contractions before I felt like his head was right there. Wouldn't you know, it was. She kept saying she could see his head but I didn't believe her. I figured it was just her trying to encourage me. She got us a mirror so we could watch. During all of my contractions Kevin was either my back support or putting pressure on my hips - I couldn't have done it with out him. Between contractions he leaned back to take off his sweatshirt. I thought I was going to fall apart before he was ready to hold me again. I don't really remember this. I pushed for all of 25 minutes. I remember saying "OWWW, It hurts" at one point. We figure this was when I tore. It burned....I have since read the analogy of "burning ring of fire". Exactly.

I was amazed to be able to see Isaak's hair. Seeing just how close I we were was really encouraging. It was only a few more contractions before we were to the last one when Marike stopped to coached me. She told me I had to stop pushing when she told me to and then I would be able to push again when she said it was ok. One last big push and it was all over. Kevin says that during the next contraction, when I stopped pushing, Marijke had unwrapped the cord. After his head was out I could feel his shoulders slip through me and then his legs. An awesome feeling. I remember looking down at him, laying on a cushion on the floor under me, thinking "SCREAM, Damn it". It felt like forever before he cried. It was probably only 2 seconds. They handed me Issak and got me up into the bed. As soon as I had him in my arms I couldn't believe how long he was, and that he actually fit. I tore pretty badly and that was the only thing that hurt. It helped to have Isaak, but only a little. I asked for something for the pain and they gave me 2 paraceptomal - TYLENOL. Yes, 2 tylenol. I was thinking, you have got to be kidding. They didn't want to give me anything else because I planned to breastfeed. For an instant I seriously thought about blowing off the whole breastfeeding thing for some pain relief.

Once the cord stopped pulsing Kevin got to cut it. Very cool.

Because of the size of the tear (From what I have since read it would be a 4th degree tear in the US...meaning from one end to the other). Marike couldn't sew it so I had to wait for a OB/GYN to come and look - they needed to check to see if they were going to have to put me under a general. Luckily that wasn't necessary. They wheeled me to another room (around 7pm) and we waited for the OB/GYN to come back (took forever). In the meantime Marike got me some juice and Kevin and I couldn't take our eyes off of Issak. The OB/GYN finally came back but then left again to go find my midwife, who had since left...she had delivered 7 babies in 24 hours and was handing the shift over to the next one in the group). It took what seemed like forever for him to come back again and give me some a local to numb things up before he started stitching. He either didn't give me enough, put it in enough places or wait long enough because I felt some of those stitches. Had I had the strength I think I would have kicked him in the face. He was not gentle with either his inspections or sewing. I was not happy. He kept telling me to relax, yea right.

They wheeled (when I say wheeled, I mean in a wooden seat wheel chair, which is the same way I got to the room. Yes. I had just given birth, torn to high heaven and put in a wooden wheel chair. Come on! )us back to our room and our nurse started bringing us food, juice, and tea. We got Isaak to breast feed some more and Kevin and I ate and tried to pull ourselves together. Around 8 we tried to get me up and in the shower. I nearly passed out on the toilet so we decided to try again in an hour after more food/broth and juice. I had lost about 700 mil of blood - almost 2 pints. Around 9:30 I finally made it into the shower - I was amazed at how good it felt! I really just sat in a plastic chair and hosed myself off.

While I dried off, Kevin packed up our stuff and we started the process of checking out. There wasn't much too it. The nurse (I really can't remember her name, probably because it was told to me during a contraction) wheeled me down stairs where we picked up my prescription unfortunately it wasn't for pain relief but stool softener (TMI I know). She called us a cab and then got us downstairs to where the cab would pick us up. She helped us in to the car and helped Kevin buckle Isaak in. The ride home was much better then the ride to the hospital.

Getting from the cab to the apartment was a slow/hobble/walk. I got Isaak out of the car while Kevin got our stuff. I made it to the downstairs door before I told Kevin I would wait at the bottom while he shuttled stuff. I was walking very slowly. The local had worn off long ago and they were only giving me 2 REGULAR strength tylenol every 6 hours. I couldn't wait to self medicate with something stronger. At least Advil.

Once home we got a hold of a couple family members on Skype. We were in bliss. We finally headed to bed around 12 after changing his diaper.

Just to add a little more excitement to our days, Kevin has a cold. Poor guy. It started Sunday and has become the full stuffy nose/sore throat.

You can see the photos in our Flickr Web Album. We will upate this link with photos on an ongoing basis - so check back! We have some very graphic birth photos that the nurse took. These will not be posted on the web but are available if you are interested. Let's face it. Childbirth eliminates all modesty. If there is any modesty left, nursing kicks it out the door.

A Rare Sunny Day

2009-03-07T21:32:00.006+01:00

Today the sun was out and we decided to go for a walk in the Jordaan neighborhood. We took the dogs too.

The skinniest house in Amsterdam.

Kevin and Duke on the Singelgracht.

Notice the forward and sideways lean in the maroon house.
At the very back of the picture is the gate that is used to flush and control the level of water in the canals.

The Herengracht canal.

Leliegracht canal

The other side of the Leliegracht.

The Keizergracht and the Westerkerk church in the background.

The Keizergracht canal.

The Prinsengracht Canal.

Me picking up after Maggie, something uncommon for other dog owners in this city.

A "Pisser", yes that is what it is called.

Notice the mirror, allows the resident to see who is at the door with out having to go down the "deadly dutch" stairs.

This door leads to a little garden.

The garden.

The Room

2009-03-06T21:56:00.002+01:00

Below are pictures of our son's room. Kevin's dad made the crib and Janet made the crib set. Now all it needs is a baby.

My Very Exciting Afternoon

2009-03-05T19:35:00.003+01:00

Below is a pic of how I have spent the last couple of afternoons. Yesterday I started and finished Jodi Picoult book "The Tenth Circle". Today I started Anita Shreve's "A Wedding in December". I will probably finish it tonight as I am now half way through it and Kevin is out for the evening.

Needless to say it has been a relaxing couple of days/weeks.

Below is a picture of how the dogs spent the afternoon.

Maggie caught a mouse on Tuesday night and was close to catching another last night. I don't think she slept at all last night. We really don't live in a pigsty (re: the mice). They are in the walls and seem to go between our apartment and our neighbors. I have glue traps for them (regular traps are a joke with the little bastards) and I have baited them with peanut butter...but the mice don't seem to like that. They really only seem to come out in the middle of the night. We are going to start sleeping with our bedroom door open so Maggie can do some serious hunting.

Yes, I am still pregnant. No sign of that changing anytime soon. My due date is less then 5 days away too.

Post Pregnancy Preparations

2009-03-03T11:20:00.004+01:00

For the last several months I have been using asthma medicine that is barely keeping my asthma under control. In the US I was using Advair and rarely had to use my fast acting inhaler (maybe once a month if I forgot to take the Advair in the morning). Advair is made of two drugs, one of which is not good for pregnancies - more specifically the baby. Here in Europe Advair has a different name, Seretide. I have been looking forward to being able to go back to this medication as soon as our son is born.

I went to my doctor today to get the prescription now so that I wouldn't have to deal with it in the couple of weeks after he is born. Turns out that one of the drugs in Advair/Seretide shouldn't be used for breastfeeding. He was able to supplement my current preventative inhaler with another (the 1 of 2 drugs in Advair that I can take during breast feeding) and give me more fast acting enhalers. I have been having to use them about 4 times a day, this is much better then the 8-10 I was using without a preventative medicine.

Aggghhh.

On a good note, while I was at the doctor I wanted to discuss birth control options and if I was going to use the pill again get the prescription now. Thinking it would be one less thing to deal with after. He asked me about the Mirena IUD and if I would be interested in that. It hadn't even occurred to me that I may be able to get the Mirena here. I used this in the US and loved it! Well....I loved the second one. The first one I had ended up turning sideways and was headed out a fallopian tube within 3 months of getting it. The 2nd one lasted for 2 years and I have never been so happy with a birth control method. I never had any problems with the type of pill I was taking and I used that for almost 10 years.

A couple of strange things to note...for things like the Mirena and Kevin's Hep A booster, the doctor gave us prescriptions. We then had to go to the pharmacy where they gave me the Mirena (yes I have the actual IUD in my closet right now) and Kevin's Hep A booster. Kevin will go into the doctor today to have them give him the shot. 6 weeks after the birth I will take the Mirena to a gynecologist. It is weird to have it in my hands, in the US the doctor had it.

This might be to much information for some of you....my apologies.

Week 39 - The Final Countdown

2009-03-01T18:56:00.010+01:00

These are the latest pics of my ever-expanding belly. My friend Courtenay thinks it has dropped. I hope so, although I can't tell from one day to the next.

We had a great party last night, Kevin has been referring to it as the funeral of the life we once knew. It will all change very soon. We have some great friends here!

No contractions yet, we expect him to be fashionably late - just like his parents. His room is officially done. Well...except for the trash can we still need to get. The bag is packed and we think we know how to use the carseat.

Saturday morning we had the "intake" session with the Kramzorg group. It felt a little like an inspection. This is the set of Maternity Nurses/Assistants that will come for the first week and help us figure out what we are supposed to do. She will come the first day we are home and the for the next 7 days. She will be here for 5-6 hours a day, starting a 9am. She will cook breakfast, grocery shop, cook lunch, light cleaning, laundry, help with the breast feeding, and general baby care. The Netherlands is the only country in the world that provides this service. Amazing.

Kevin and I were able to pick up both of our residence cards. FINALLY. I guess mine has been ready for a while but never received the letter. When Kevin went to get his on Wednesday he asked if mine was ready too. Now we are just waiting on Kevin's drivers license. Oh, and we get to start all over once our son is born. Within 2 days of his birth Kevin will go to the Town Hall to register him (he and I can stay home), this kicks off the dutch paperwork cycle for his SoFi (tax number) and residency. Within the first couple of weeks all three of will have to go to the US Consulate/Embassy and get the paperwork started for his Social Security Card and Passport. We have been told it is easier if both parents go.

The following is a picture of the city cleaning up "abandoned" bikes. One morning last week we were in the living room and heard a grinder running in the street. When we got to the window we saw two "trucks" and 6 men quickly cutting the chains on some less then desirable bikes and quickly tossing them in the back of the trucks. They were city employees taking bikes that had previously been tagged. They had come through last week and tagged several bikes that didn't look rideable. You then have a week to remove the tag before they come back with a HUGE grinder and take the bike. Kevin was afraid they were going to take his "stolen" bike (remember when his was stolen last month and the thief left him a really crappy one? Well he has slowly been improving it.) He frequently swaps the pedals from it on to his US road bike, he was afraid that because it had no pedals - and looks pretty terrible - that they might take it. He ran down and brought it inside.

An interesting visual

2009-02-26T20:05:00.005+01:00

This is a visual I just didn't need.... Childbirth Education Doll

Thanks Sarah.

Kevin leaving for his ride to Haarlem.

2009-02-24T23:14:00.000+01:00

Week 38 - No baby yet.

2009-02-23T17:57:00.003+01:00

Last week was another relaxing week before our little bundle of joy arrives. I had a mid day nap almost every day and continue to feel like a beached whale when it comes to getting up off of the couch or out of bed.

Thursday we had Diane & Alexander over for dinner. I made meatloaf, mashed potatoes and apple pie. Yum. We are still enjoying the leftovers.

Friday I headed to Hilversum to meet Tony and then drive to Houten (south of Utrecht) to see Joosje and her 4 week old daughter. Friday night we had dinner with Mike, Daryl, Alison and Bill at Moeders. This is a restaurant that serves dutch comfort food. I had the "stamppot" which is mashed potatoes with onions and carrots, bacon, kielbasa and a meatball. It was very good and the leftovers were even better.

Saturday we headed to Haarlem with Bill, Courtenay and Brian. We had lunch, toured the cathedral, had a fresh stroopwafel and went to the Frans Hals Museum. We then ordered take out and watched a movie at C&B's.

Sunday found me being unbelievably lazy. I slept until 10 (no midday nap on Thursday, Friday or Saturday and it caught up to me), surfed from the couch until 1:30, finally showered then soaked in a warm bath, followed by a nap and leftover stamppot. Kevin was much more energetic. He rode his bike to Haarlem and back.

Today found us going to our last birth class. We stopped by the hospital on our way home for a quick peek at the delivery rooms. It was a fast visit but I am reassured. Once home we had leftovers for lunch and then I took my standard nap. Now to figure out something for dinner...

Residency!

2009-02-18T09:08:00.002+01:00

Kevin has been approved to be a resident of the Netherlands! We have been impatiently waiting for this little bit of news for quite a while. He can now legally work.

We received a letter yesterday saying he was approved and will receive another letter in a few weeks telling us when & where to pick up our residency cards. With the approval letter he can start subbing at the Interntational School of Amsterdam! We are planning on him subbing between now and when our little guy is born, and then again starting ~ 2 weeks after.

Dealing with dutch government offices is something akin to a combination of "Hurry Up and Wait" and "Fetch"!

37 Weeks and counting

2009-02-17T18:22:00.007+01:00

Here are this week's belly pictures. I have been experiencing Braxton-Hicks/Practice contractions pretty frequently. They are not fun as I often end up feeling nauseus.

Last week we had our first birth class. It was a private session due to the fact that I procrastinated signing up for one for so long. It is taught by an English woman. She really put both Kevin and I at ease and we both feel like we are much more knowledgeable about how we want this labor to go.

Kevin has picked up two more tutoring clients. One is the son of our birth instructor and the other is another student at the International School of Amsterdam. The schools are on a "Crocus Break" this week, Kevin will start with his new clients next week.

I also attended a lactation class last week. Very exciting, I know.

Friday we had dinner with Mike (a friend we met through Barry & Richard, he has been here since the end of November and is going home at the end of the month), Bill, Mike's co-work Ari and her husband Eric. It was at a Mexican restaurant in Leidseplein. It was excellent! We went out for a drink afterwards, well it was Coke for me and drinks for them. We ended up in a bar on Leidesplein playing some very sad games of pool. There was a live band playing too. Both the coat check girl and bouncer warned me that it would get busy and "rough" later and to be careful. I was definately the most pregnant woman there. It is really nice that you can't smoke in the bars, or if you can it is in a separate smoking room!

Saturday we did a Rick Steve's walking tour with Bill. We started at the train station and walked through the Red Light district, through Dam square, to the Begijnhof and down to Leidesplein. We picked up Mike and his guests from out of town (Alison & Daryl) along the way. Once home I took my standard 1-2 hour nap.

Sunday we met Bill, Mike, Alison and Daryl for Dutch Pancakes in the Jordaan at noon. Before lunch Bill and I stopped in Leidseplein to pick up a museum card for him. Bill and I split a savory one and a sweet one. I think I liked the savory one more!

After lunch we headed home and I took yet another 1-2 hour nap. These really have become a daily necessity.

A couple of weeks ago I signed up to join the American Women's Club of Amsterdam, particularly for their Mom's & Tots sessions on Mondays. This Monday was going to be the first time I would go. The hostess for the week, Linda, lives about 15 minutes away by bike. I had it all figured out how to get there and left with plenty of time. Somewhere along the line I missed a turn and then got more and more lost, ending up in Slotervart. Far east of where I needed to be. After about an hour of wandering the wrong direction, in the rain, I decided to take the Metro home. As a side note, Linda lives no where near a Metro stop, that is how far off I was. I even had my iPhone and a map and still couldn't seem to figure out where I was and how to get back. Once home I took a 2 hour nap to make up for it.

We had a midwife appointment Monday afternoon and had planned to ride our bikes there, however after I went to the grocery store on my bike (a 5 min ride) I didn't have the energy to ride anymore.

Today I tried to go to the pool to swim. I thought that the pool always had at least 1 lane open for lap swimming. I was wrong. I got there and it was closed to all but school kids. I headed home and then Kevin and I decided to go to the Van Gogh museum. We took one look at the line and decided to get a bite to eat instead. Once home I took a long nap.

Taking 4 weeks off before our son is born has been heaven! It is hard to get up in the morning and would be miserable with out the daily nap! I wake up about every 3 hours to go to the bathroom, followed by a little playtime for our son. He is up at 11:30pm, 2:30 and 5:30 regularly, not to mention about every 3 hours during the day as well.

In the last week or so Kevin has been able to hear his heartbeat by putting his ear against my belly. I am a little jealous, but then I get to feel him all of the time - so I guess I have the better deal.

On Maternity Leave - Until June

2009-02-09T19:37:00.001+01:00

Well, it is official. I am on maternity leave and due in 4 weeks.

Week 35 Ultrasound Pic

2009-02-05T09:06:00.002+01:00

We both agree he has Kevin's nose.

Counting the days until my Maternity leave...

2009-02-04T20:50:00.005+01:00

I am now 35 weeks. My last day in the office is Monday, Feb 9th. I will then have about 4 weeks before the little guy is due. The dutch get 16 weeks of maternity leave, legally mandated to start 4 weeks before the due date.

We had a midwife appointment on Monday. We saw a midwife we hadn't seen yet (there are 5 in the group and I will see all before I am done). She was able to tell that he is growing but was a little concerned about his size. On Monday he was deep against my back so she couldn't really get her hands on him and he isn't exactly a big baby. She sent me for my 4th ultrasound, which was today.

A quick side note, we didn't know if we were going to be able to have the 20 week one here (to find out the sex) so we had it in the US, then they sent us for another here -- hence the 4.

Before my ultrasound, I tried to exchange my US drivers license for a dutch one. I tried to do this on Monday as well, but after making to trips two the Municipal office and still not succeeding I had given up. I went back today with even more paperwork then you are supposed to need (when we registered at the town hall in November they had put my place of birth as the US, leaving out the state - this isn't right and it has to have the state for the drivers license). So....today I went back with my birth certificate, because my passport stating my place of birth wasn't good enough. I was there for an hour, waiting for someone at the head office to flip some magic switch and I had to leave to make it to the ultra sound...so close! I have a real appointment on Tuesday so it should all be solved then!

Back to the ultrasound, Kevin was going to meet me there but his hair cut ran long and he forgot his phone so we missed each other. Our little guy is growing just fine. He is about 5.4 lbs right now, in the 20th - 25th percentile. I am actually kind of happy with small - maybe the delivery will be easier that way. Kevin was a 10lb baby, something I didn't learn until I after I was pregnant.

I then had to take the ultrasound results back to the midwife office so that we could make the next appointment - either next week or the week after. Our next appointment is Feb 16th..we are now in the every 2 week range, soon to be once a week and then every 3-4 days.

We ordered a carseat last week. It arrived today...this whole thing is starting to become more real. We also made what I hope to be our last trip to Ikea for baby stuff (at least for a while). His room is simple, functional and done!

3 more days of work! I can't wait.

Week 34 - less than 2 weeks to maternity leave, less than 6 weeks to baby

2009-01-24T18:48:00.005+01:00

It has been a little over 2 weeks since I provided a photo update of my ever expanding belly.

We still don't have a name that we can agree on, but are narrowing it down. Our son is more and more active, more of the time. Every now and then (particularly starting at 10pm and lasting until 12am) I become either a punching bag or a tumbling mat. It is cute for a little while but gets old when it continues to prevent my precious sleep.

I am looking forward to not having to work for the 4 weeks before my due date. I thought I wouldn't be, that I would rather spend the last weeks working and not thinking about what is going to happen after my water breaks. I have since changed my mind. I can't wait to be able to sleep in and then take a nap in the middle of the day.

I spend a lot of time rubbing my belly. I am looking forward to rubbing his back in a little over a month - not the sleep deprivation though.

Cookies!

2009-01-24T18:38:00.001+01:00

Where to start...

Kevin received his SoFi number last week. This is like a US Social Security number, you have to have one for tax purposes, banking, insurance & employment. Kevin wasn't able to get one until we had registered at the Town Hall (yes, you have to do that too) and the Town Hall acknowledged our marriage. Kevin's legality in The Netherlands is based on my Work Visa and my residency (hence the marriage tidbit). So...he finally received a SoFi number last Monday, what we thought was the last hurdle to his being able to work. Monday afternoon he sent his resume and cover letter off to about 6 International Schools in the area. Tuesday found him spending all day at the International School of Amsterdam (technically in Amstelveen). They are very sure that they can keep him busy subbing full time and started to apply a little pressure on him to apply for their full time Math Teacher position. Kevin really liked the school, teachers and students. We were very excited that he was finally going to be able to get out of the house and feel productive! On Wednesday he went back and dropped off all of the appropriate paper work; copies of his teaching license, proof of health insurance (a legal requirement in Holland), SoFi number and temporary residence permit). Later in the day the school emailed him back to let him know that he wasn't actually legal to work yet as the temporary residence permit says he can not work with out a work visa. Agghhhh!

My little ongoing joke/bitterness has been "one more thing and 3 more weeks". Turns out he can't work until we get the letter from the Immigration office that says his residency has been approved. As soon as he has this letter he can work. It is supposed to come in the next couple of weeks (yea right, the last paperwork for it was submitted on Jan 8th). A few weeks after we receive the letter we will get another letter that tells when and where to pick up the actual residency cards. What a hassle!

While at the ISA Kevin had observed a Math teacher, who has since been recommending Kevin as a tutor to parents. So far he has one student who is he tutoring twice a week. He is really enjoying it!

Yesterday, Kevin had appointments at the International School of The Hague and the International School of Almere. Both school directors were positive about his opportunities and want him to get in touch with them as soon as he is legal. They both said that native English speaking teachers are in high demand and that he shouldn't have a problem finding work, either full time for the rest of this year or part time next year.

Yesterday I fell as I was walking off of the escalator in the "bike garage" of the train station. It was raining really hard outside and the end of the escalator was wet and my shoes didn't have a lot of traction. I took one step and went down. I hit my elbow on the rail and my handlebars landed on my head. I didn't fall off of the bike, I was standing next to it which is actually a little more embarrassing. I was stuck under my bike so one of the attendants had to come and help me up. Don't worry, the little guy wasn't touched in the whole thing...just my head, elbow and pride.

Last week we had dinner at our friend's downstairs. I had commented that I couldn't wait for our friend Bill to arrive in a couple of weeks. He was bringing us a bunch of baby stuff, glue mouse traps (we seem to have an unwanted roommate who laughs at our mouse traps -- so I am getting serious and you can't get the glue traps here), chocolate chips & shortening (both of which you can't find here). Well, as we were leaving Brian & Courtenay's on Sunday night, Brian slipped me a package of chocolate chips...yea! I promised to bring him some cookies as soon as I made them. I have an America's Test Kitchen recipe that doesn't use shortening (which is good because I don't have any). ATK's chocolate chip cookies are by far the best I have ever made. Each cookies uses about a 1/4 cup of dough. The end result is a thick cookie that is moist in the middle (the butter is melted and cooled before mixing with the sugar) and firm on the outside. I made a double batch as there are several people we want to share them with!

Before I could make the cookies I had to scavenge the town for cookie sheets that would fit in our oven. Our oven is the size of a microwave as it is also a microwave, conventional oven and convectional oven. My american cookie sheets don't even come close to fitting! The first store I tried was Hema. This is kind of like Target, but not nearly as big. We picked up some baby stuff, from the list of 'must haves', but didn't have any luck on the cookie sheets. We stopped by Blokker, which has most house stuff, no luck. On the way we tried the cooking/baking store near our house...they didn't have anything small enough. I hadn't tried here first as this store tends to be expensive and I didn't want to pay a fortune for 2 sheets. The clerk did recommend a store by Albert Cyup (a huge street market). Kevin was starting to get annoyed by this point but I had to give it one more shot. The store was the best cooking/baking store I have ever been in! It was huge, had everything you could possibly need. I think I am in love with the store..ooh and they even sharpen knives...this is good as my chef knife has gotten very dull. I can't wait to go back and peruse everything that they have!

Week 32 Prego Update & Kevin's first Half Marathon

2009-01-13T20:04:00.003+01:00

Sunday we traveled to Egmond (on the North Sea) for Kevin's first half marathon. He was not impressed. It was 2 miles in the town, 4.5 on the beach (directly in to the wind) 1.4 on rolling dunes and the rest on brick/cobbleston streets. I am very proud of him as it was very cold, very windy and difficult terrain. I was going to try to see him in town but I lost sight of him as soon as he entered the starting chute. For the majority of his race I was in the local hotel restaurant/bar/lobby sipping hot chocolate and doing my dutch homework. I was at the finish line in time to catch him if he was ahead of time. I stood there for 45 minutes and missed him somehow. He had finished and walked back to find me. I was really bummed to not see him finish, be able to cheer him on or get a pic!

Me before Kevin's race, on the North Sea. It was as cold as it looks!

Below are the latest belly pics. I can hardly believe I am due in 8 weeks.

I am very proud of myself for making it into the pool yesterday and yoga today. I was much slower in the pool then I used to be but I was able to kick without my knee hurting. I was actually swimming too, not just floating. I do have a bit of extra drag. Yes, I was that pregnant woman in a bikini...it doesn't seem right to buy a prego swimsuit for just 2 more months. The yoga class was a Pregnancy Yoga class so it was very gentle but the stretching felt soo good! I am going to try to make it to the pool again tomorrow and plan to go to yoga again next week.

New Years & Prague

2009-01-08T18:30:00.014+01:00

New Years in Amsterdam

Well, we have lived through our first European New Year's celebration. Before the real excitment started, An, Steven & Vincent came over for dinner earlier in the night.

Our friends had warned us about just how crazy it would be. Their warnings didn't do it justice. About a month ago we received a catalog in the mail for purchasing fireworks. This catalog put anything you might find on a US Indian reservation to shame. The Dutch are only allowed to shoot fireworks on New Year's Eve so they go a little crazy with them. During the day it is just firecrackers, lots of noise and smoke. It was a little like being in a war zone.

The real excitement started just after midnight and then proceeded to go on for an hour and a half. Our neighborhood was lit up like a grand finale on the 4th of July but it was nothing as compared to what Centrum was doing.

The dogs were both throughly freaked out and would have crawled under the covers had we let them.

Prague

Several weeks ago we had found flights to Prague for super cheap. We left Amsterdam on Jan 3 and came back on Jan 6th. We really only needed 2 full days to see Prague, but I didn't know that when I booked the flights and it was only 29 euros for the Tuesday flight.

We made it a pretty lazy trip. We would sleep late on the morning and then return to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap before dinner.

Day 1:

King Wenceslaus (ok really a duke), who knew he was a real guy.

King Wencelaus Square

The National Museum. The mis-matched patches (lighter splotches) these are the patches for the bullet holes made by Soviet tanks.

King Wencenlas on an upside down horse, you can see the tongue sticking out of the horse's mouth.

The Powder tower, one of the last towers for the original wall of "Old Town", where gun powder was stored.

The Muncipal House, designed and decorated by Alphon Mucha in Art Nouveou. It was a beautiful building where we later went to a concert.

The front of the Muncipal House.

Jan Hus memorial. A predecessor to Martin Luther. He was burned at the stake 100 years before Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door.

Tyne Church

The Old Town Hall and the Astronomical Clock. Can you tell it was FREEZING while we were there?

View from the Charles Bridge.

Kevin on the Charles Bridge with the castle in the background.

After walking around all afternoon (and freezing!) we made our way to the "Little Quarter" where we warmed up with tea (me) and beer (Kevin). We then took a tram to a monestery by the castle, for dinner. (a Rick Steves recommendation). We had contemplated walking, man am I glad we opted for the tram, as it would have been a long, up hill walk in the cold and dark. The tram took 10 minutes and cost us about a 1.50 euros, total!

Day 2

Sunday morning we woke up to snow.

The crowd of people waiting for the Astronomical Clock to mark the hour. Granted it is kinda neat to watch, but this crowd is ridiculous, almost as bad as the one surrounding Brussels' Maniken Pis.

The escalator, down to the Metro, it goes straight down! I don't really like heights, so needless to say this escalator made me a little uneasy. It took 3 minutes and 10 seconds to go from top to bottom.

Inside the Muncipal House, prior to the concert.

Day 3

Monday we woke up to even more snow...

Park outside the castle.

Kevin outside the castle.

St. Vitius Cathedral, in the castle grounds.

A main hall in the Old Palace. Large enough to be used for indoor jousting. Horses could be ridden up the stairs, indoors.

Me outside the Summer palace. Why am always a the summer palaces when it is freezing!

View of Prague from the castle.

Fresh strudl, as recommended by Samantha Brown. We ventured far out of the city center for these. Less then a Euro each!

Kevin enjoying the apple strudel in the park and snow.

Satisfying Czech food!

Half devoured Honey Cake.

The House of the Black Madonna.

Week 30 - Belly Update

2008-12-29T22:21:00.008+01:00

This is a pic from Christmas Eve, week 29.

Below are this week's belly pic. I have a hard time believing that we are all ready at week 30 and only have ~10 left. The first 3 months dragged by. We were so excited and yet didn't want to share the news as it was too early. Now the weeks are flying by.

I have been sleeping a lot on my Christmas break...about 12 hours a day. Yes, that means I am writing this at 10:30 pm and realize that I probably won't get up until 11 am. I really need to go to bed earlier so that half of the day is not wasted.

Weekend in Milan

2008-12-23T09:48:00.012+01:00

Friday we morning we caught a cheap Easyjet flight to Milan. Easyjet is a no frills, no fuss airline and makes even Southwest look luxiourios, but you can't argue with cheap fares! However, with a cheap airline there is always a catch....this one is that the flights usually use the smaller, more distant, airports. Our flight left from Schipol (AMS international and very handy) but landed at Milan Malpensa, about an hour from downtown Milan - by bus.

We like to use Rick Steves' Guide Books. His byline is "Experience the culture like a local - you'll spend less money and have more fun". The "less money" starts with the hotel. Kevin chose one of his cheap hotels. It was clean, functional, close to the metro and SMALL.

After checking in and freshening up a little we were off in search of food. My friend Andrea is from Milan and he gave me several recommendations, one of which was Luini's for panzerotti. It took a little effort to find but was well worth it! A panzerotti is a mini calzone that has been deep fried. I could eat 10 a day!

We then wandered past a statue of Leonardo de Vinci to the La Scalla opera house.

Leonardo de Vinci, he spent a major portion of his life working in Milan.

Me with La Scalla in the background.

We were able to get cheap tickets to Don Carlo, at La Scalla. So cheap that our original seats didn't have a view of the stage. If you stood up and leaned over the row in front of us you could see the heads of the opera singers on the right hand side of the stage. At the first intermission (about 20 minutes into the 4 hour opera) we moved down to the end where we could sit on the rail and see the actual stage, at least from center stage to stage right. We were directly above the orchestra (the trumpet section was a bunch of jokers), and so high that we could see in to the top of the chandelier. It is a beautiful opera house and was a very nice opera.

Fresco in the Galleria, in the evening.

To get the opera tickets we had to put our name on a list at 3pm and then return at 5pm to find out if we were high enough on the list. I was hungry, again (this is an ongoing theme for the weekend) so we found a restaurant in the Galleria and had risotto and pasta. Followed by coffee (espresso and a cappucino) and dessert (tirimisu and gelati). The Galleria is a covered shopping mall with frescos on the walls and a mosaic tile floor.

The duomo, lit up at 12:00am.

On our way back to the hotel (via the metro) we walked past the Duomo. It glows at night, very cool. On the metro, an older Italian woman offered me her seat - on every ride! This does not happen in the Netherlands. Come the afternoon or evening I gladly took the seat. In the morning I felt guilty, but they insisted...

View from hotel room.

Saturday morning, in search of breakfast on Via Dante.

Breakfast was included in our room, the only thing actually worth it was the cappucino/espresso we had. The "toast" and croissant came out of sealed packages...not really what you think of...

After showering we headed out in search of a cafe on Via Dante (another RS recommnedation). The town was quiet and the streets were pretty empty. We were on this same street later in the day and it was much busier. We found a cafe where we had more pastries, coffee, juice and a bathroom/toilet break. This weekend found me in need of a toilet every hour, if we weren't near a cafe I would go in to a maternity/baby store and open my coat and ask for their toilet. Who can deny a pregnant woman...

St. Bartholomew, carrying his skin.

After breakfast we toured the cathedral with Rick Steves. After touring the inside we took the elevator to the roof. Yes, you can also walk around on the roof. This cathedral is covered with statues and carvings. The roof is filled with them too.

Gargoyle drain spout on the roof of the cathedral.

Kevin imitating a gargoyle.

Flying buttresses, up close.

Me on the roof of the cathedral.

Front door to the cathedral.

After touring the cathedral it was time for lunch. We wanted to see the Sforza castle after lunch, so we made a quick stop at Luini's for another panzerotti to tide us over until we could find a pizzeria near the castle.

I loved the food here!

At lunch I needed to use the restroom, of course. I followed the signs in the pizzeria, which lef me into an alley and to the restroom. I opened the door and was suddenly reminded of my trip to Asia. The "toilet" was a porcelain hole in the ground. I am 7 months pregnant and squatting is not easy, getting back up is even harder. The "restroom" was not much wider then my shoulders and the "toilet" sat crossways. I was going to have to squat, with my face near the wall - at "pee" height for men. (Remember this is a shared bathroom). Picture a non-agile pregnant woman squatting on her heels and then having to get back up - all while trying not to touch the wall with her head, face (yes it was that close), or hands. There was no way I could hold it and wait for another opportunity...

The Sforza castle is all red brick and massive. This castle houses Michalangelo's last sculpture. It is unfinished as he died while carving it. It is a "pieta", which is a sculpture of Mary holding the dead body of Jesus. I am not into the religion behind the piece but was amazed at the detail. The legs of Jesus were almost polished where the back of Mary was nothing but rough chisel marks. It is really neat to see a "work in progress".

Kevin in front of Sforza Castle.

The moat.

The square inside the castle.

The tower.

Me outside the castle.

After seeing the castle we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap. We had plans to meet Andrea and Francesca at 6:30 pm.

Andrea & Francesca picked us up at the hotel and we went for drinks before dinner. Dinner was at a traditional "Bolognese" restuarant. It was fantastic! Good food, good wine, good company and good conversation, what more can you ask for...

Sunday morning we had reservations to see the Last Supper at 9:30am. We grabbed a quick bite on the way there.

Church in which Leonardo's Last Supper is painted.

You are only allowed to spend 15 minutes in the room of the Last Supper, this is to control traffic and humidity, as it is deteroirating. It is painted on a wall of what used to be the dining room of the Convent.

Me outside the church.

After seeing the Last Supper we went in search of more food. After another quick bite we wandered back to the Duomo Piazza and wandered through the highend shopping streets. Along the way we stopped in the Peck Deli (very posh) to buy treats for Courtenay & Brian. We were shocked by the price of coffee beans in this place. 30 - 500 Euros for 1 kilo! The wine cellar was pretty spectacular too.

By this time we had seen most of what Rick Steves' recommended. I think a weekend is enough to see the city, maybe not eat all of its food but at least see the city. We tried to tour the Duomo Museum, however it looked to still be under construction. So we headed to the outskirts, via Metro, to see a replica of a bronze horse that Leonardo built.

Me in front of the "Horse". Leonardo's was used as target practice by French soliders. This one is a replica built by an American.

It was time to head back to the hotel to pick up our bags and head to the train station, to catch the bus to the airport.

We will definately be back to Italy!

Meeting the Neighbors

2008-12-16T19:01:00.005+01:00

Late last week we had a piece of mail mis-delivered to us. It was from the US IRS, so rather then immediately write "Return to Sender" on it and put it back in the mail Kevin looked the addressee up on Facebook, trying to find an email address to let them know we had their mail. The street was right, however the house number was completely illegible.

Turns out Courtenay (the addressee) is an American who works for Adidas and lives two doors down. Her next door neighbor is Andrea & Adam, Andrea also works for Adidas. They both have dogs so we took all 6 of our dogs to Beatrix park on Sunday. There were many jokes about our respective shoe companies and the little things about the Netherlands that are challenging.

Our joyous ABN Ambro experiences are not unique! Thank goodness it isn't just us.
No one picks up their dog shit. It is everywhere and I think we all get looked at like we are weird for picking up ours
You can be ticketed for not having your dog registered (and it is expensive to register them)!
You can also be ticketed for not having a poo bag on you while walking your dog, if you use the one you had and see an "enforcer" (which is likely at either Beatrix or Vondelpark) and do not have a spare you can be ticketed.
Dog food costs 67 euros for the same brand and size we would buy in the US for 28 dollars!

Courtney & Brian are going to watch Duke & Maggie this weekend, with their older golden retriever and Andrea's young chocolate lab. Bless their hearts as they are going to have a house full!

We are so glad that the letter was mis-delivered! Andrea & Courtenay also told us that our downstairs neighbors are German ex-pats with a little girl and a second on the way. Yay!! Possible baby friends, now we just have to meet them :)

We are headed to Milan on Friday. I don't know if I already posted that or not. Kevin was able to get us tickets to see the Last Supper too! Hopefully we will have some great pics of the city and not freeze. It has been somewhere between 4 & -2 Celsisus here for the last couple of days. Brr.

Sunday morning while Kevin was out for his long run (he is training for a half marathon and I am very proud of him!) I made cookies. We have an oven, but it isn't want you think of when you think of an oven. It is a little more then a glorified microwave. I think they are called "combi-oven", meaning you can broil, grill, bake and nuke food...It seems to be a Convection / Conventional / Microwave, all in one. One small problem is that it is small! About the size of an average microwave... Before I could start the cookies I had to figure out how to convert the grams that my butter comes in to the tablespoons the receipe calls for. I figured it out, but have now forgotten what the conversion is :) Something like 14.56 grams in a single tablespoon, of course the butter is marked in 50 gram increments... The cookies turned out quite tasty, particularly with a glass of halfevolle milk (I think this is equivalent to about 3%. It seems more creamy then 2% and is the next available step up from nonfat).

Sunday evening we went to dinner with a friend of Barry's (Kevin's oldest brother). He is in town for work, for the month, and Barry put us in contact with each other. We went to a "brown cafe". It was tasty, even if it was freezing outside!

A "brown cafe" is a cafe that has been around so long that the walls are actually brown from old cigarette smoke. You can't smoke cigarettes in any restaurant or bar in the European Union now, but you can smoke pot in "coffee shops" in the netherlands. One other note...if the sign reads "Coffee Shop" and not "cafe" or "Koffie.." then it is for smoking pot, not drinking coffee. You might be able to find coffee in a "Coffee Shop", however it is not the product of choice.

The Sinterklaas Story

2008-12-11T19:24:00.002+01:00

You have to watch these on Youtube. There are 3 parts, part 2 & 3 repeat a few minutes of the previous one.

Yes, this really is the story of Sinterklaas!

"6-8 Black Men" by David Sedaris

1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3.

Week 27 - Belly Update

2008-12-10T19:58:00.003+01:00

I am a little over 27 weeks. Over the last 3 weeks I have gained 1.5 inches in my waist and am up about 12 lbs from pre-pregnancy/post-knee surgery. I have started to "feel" pregnant more of the time. Rolling over in bed wakes me up, and the little guy is quite active!

Our Dutch Christmas Tree and a little reality check...

2008-12-09T20:51:00.008+01:00

I worked from home on Monday, as our second Dutch (Nederlands) lesson was at 4 and it would kill my day if I went back and forth to Hilversum. I am really going to have to study this week as we learned enough new words that I will forget all of them without it.

Before our lesson Kevin had hooked up the bike trailer (which has proven to be very handy pre-baby) and went out to by a fake tree. I am allergic to Douglas Fir trees and we didn't want to risk a live one here while I couldn't take any good drugs.

A picture of Kevin putting the tree together.

When we got home from our lesson and after we had eaten, we listened to christmas music, drank hot chocolate and decorated the tree.

Of the many conversation topics we covered on Sunday, one of then was cheap tickets and where to find them. I had Kristen refresh my memory today and then started shopping, just to see what was out there… Wouldn’t you know I came across 2 tickets to Prague for 200 Euros, round trip! I quickly sent Kevin a text to confirm the dates and then booked the flights. We are headed to Milan on Dec 19 – Dec 21^st (I was supposed to go to Bologna for work and Kevin was going to fly in and out of Milan to meet me there. My trip got canceled so we moved his flights and added one for me). We then go to Prague Jan 3 – Jan 6^th. I am very excited. Now we just need to find someone to take care of the dogs for those days!

I have felt like crap all day, the best way to describe it is that I feel pregnant. I know, I am 6 months along ….but most days I don’t feel pregnant, today I did. Big, bloated, achy and gassy…I was going to try to leave work a little early but missed my train so I got home around 6. Kevin was at the grocery store with the dogs so I surfed the internet for a while, waiting for him to get home. While I was waiting, TNT Post (the mail) delivered a package from our insurance company (they have yet to get us our cards but can send us box filled with something…). I waited for Kevin to get home to open it as I suspected what was in it. Home births are so common here that the insurance companies send you a box of most of the things that you need to have one. It was filled with all sorts of absorbent products that I think are meant for me… Now some of you already know, I am in denial about this whole thing. I am due on March 10^th and I am denial about everything that will happen after March 9^th, the labor, the delivery, not to mention the fact that we will have a new life for which we are responsible. The package from the insurance company made it a little more real. I think I will shove it all back in the box and hide it in the baby's room.

A day trip to Cologne

2008-12-09T20:25:00.002+01:00

Saturday we headed to Cologne with Kristen. We had heard that this is the Christmas market to go to (and it had occurred to me that I don't think I had ever been to a Christmas market), that and there was a Cathedral.

We met Kristen at her apartment at 8:30 (it was all of a 5 minute walk from our place). We dialed in the route to Cologne and headed on our way. It was a 2.5 hour drive.

We didn't go straight to the city center as we figured parking would be impossible, instead we parked several tram stops outside of the center and rode the tram in. We had a little bit of trouble interpreting the correct fare, and in the end paid less then we should have, but we made it after one transfer.

We walked out of the tram stop and looked up...yep that was a pretty amazing cathedral. For pics you can check out Kristen's blog (we pulled the typical "tastet" and hadn't charged our camera).

Kristen and I were starving so we decided to walk around to find a restaurant and have lunch. After a filling lunch (I thought I was getting a bratworst but actually ordered half of a chicken!), we were ready to attack the market. The first stop? Glugwein of course. None for me, but plenty for Kevin and Kristen. We then walked through the cute little stalls until it was time to meet the Meetin group (Meetin is a website that you can use to connect with others that are looking to do fun group stuff...think of it as insta-friend) for the private tour that Kevin had arranged. We followed a tiny little tour guide around the church, losing her every now and then. We weren't able to walk around most of it (Kevin knows all of the technical terms) because confessions were being heard.

Kevin and Kristen climbed the bell tower while I went looking for a cafe, as my back was killing me. They came back with some great pictures and a couple of shaking legs. We finished seeing the parts of the market we hadn't seen, purchased a couple of cute wooden toys for our son and then went looking for more food. By this time there were even more people in the market and there was a huge crush of people you had to make it through to leave. It didn't help that I was trying to eat a pretzel and fondue as we were walking out.

We headed to the tram stop and had to figure out how to buy tickets, again. We didn't have any change so we went to the window and stumbled through enough German to get the right tickets. Now to figure out which stop we needed...we missed our stop by about 3 stops and ended up walking back to the car. Thank goodness for the GPS....

All in all a good day.

Sunday we picked up the apartment a little, Kevin went for his long run (he is training for his first half marathon) and I went shopping for a food processor. I found a Cuisinart for 50% off, they told me at the store that most people here don't know the brand so it doesn't sell well. That is their loss and my gain!

Ergo Baby Carrier

2008-12-06T22:28:00.001+01:00

I just entered to win one of these...found the link on a friend of a friend's blog...If I don't win one we are going to buy one soon!

Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System from Along for the Ride

Turkey, Unpacking and more

2008-12-03T20:12:00.010+01:00

It has been over a week since I posted. On the 24th our container arrived with all of our stuff. Prior to that I had tried to pick up the dining room and living room, knowing that those were the rooms that the boxes were going to be in...this meant I put the USB cable for the camera in a "safe place", so safe it took me a week to find it again.

The moving trucks... Yes it is all coming in the window.

Our container!

The cleanest our apartment has been in 1.5 weeks...the unpacking hadn't started yet.

Our apartment is now filled with boxes that are half unpacked, empty boxes and our own stuff!

We celebrated Thanksgiving by having turkey at Hard Rock Cafe. We were invited to an Adidas expat thanksgiving (a mutual friend of Bill & Bob's). I wasn't up to being social, particularly after having to work all day so we opted to risk Hard Rock. I am always suprised by just how bad their food is. I know, I know, I should have known it wasn't going to be good and would be filled with American tourists, but I was hopeful.

Friday evening we decided to make another, rather major, trip to Ikea. This time for a closet/wardrobe set up for our bedroom and more baby room stuff. Kevin is building a changing table/drawer/closet setup and we can never get all of the pieces we need at the same time. We had 2 of the "flat pack" carts filled, thank goodness they deliver and carry all of the boxes up the stairs. I am not much help when it comes to carrying things.

Saturday was spent assembling Ikea furniture.

On Sunday we broke down and bought our second Dyson. We had a Dyson in the US and loved it. We left it with Peggy & Joel as it wouldn't work here. Our friends Diane & Alexander have offered us their's, when they return to the US in June. We decided we couldn't wait that long for a vacuum and we didn't want to put up with anything less until then. We also rode our bikes to the a "Book Festival", which is basically a traveling book sale that is in a different town in either Belgium or the Netherlands each month. Wouldn't you know we came home with a box (it was small at least) of books. Just what we needed, more boxes.

Monday Dec 1 was our first Dutch lesson with Berlitz. Kevin and I are in a semi-private lesson with just the two of us. Now most people know we are both pretty competitive, especially with each other...so this should be entertaining. It didn't take long before Kevin was showing off his advanced vocaulary and grammer while I was struggling with the basic introductions.

On Tuesday, Dec 2, I had to get up at 5:30...making a pregnant woman get up that early is just plain evil! I had to go to Laakdal for an all day meeting and I needed to catch the tram at 6:30 so I could be at Central Station to meet Tony at 7. Needless to say I slept for the first hour of the drive and went to bed as soon as I got home.

Today I came home to a quiet apartment. Kevin and the dogs were no where to be found, however there was suprise on the end table...a T-Mobile iPhone bag! It could mean only one thing...Kevin had gotten me an iPhone, bless his heart. He came home about 20 minutes later, with the dogs, later from the grocery store. He was in a pretty crappy mood as he had spent more time dealing with our favorite bank, ABN AMRO, and his sim card on his iPhone is locked...and he can't find the PIN. Which means he has to go back to the T-mobile store. It is actually a good thing he can't work yet as if we were both working we wouldn't be able to get any of this done.

Yes, 2 months later we still don't have internet banking. The latest dilemna is that you need this little nifty maching (called an e.dentifer) to log in to internet banking. We finally have one, however to use it you have to download the software. Here is the catch, to download the software you need to log in to the internet banking... Kevin has found one branch that actually provides some semblance of service, even with that it has taken weeks to make any progress. With all of the other branches you have to wait in line for an hour before they tell you to call the telephone bankning number, which charges you .10 a minute...even while on hold. ERRGH.

Kevin also met an American woman who is going to watch the dogs when we go away on the weekends (if we can ever get settled enough to get away). He met Denessa at Vondelpark with the dogs. He didn't want to walk (it is only 15 minutes) so he hooked the bike trailer up to his bike and then tied the dogs' leashes to the handle. I can only imagine the sight this was. Maggie lagging behind, not wanting to get too close to the wheels with her ears back (in her "I am not happy" posture), while Duke was trying to heel. Duke was heeling next to Kevin, while tied to the back of the trailer, which meant he was very happy yet choking himself. We have to figure out a better leash management system if Kevin is going to try this again! Once at the park a little boy came up to him and said something in dutch. Kevin told him he didn't speak dutch and asked if he spoke english (all in dutch). The boy answered in English "I speak dutch". He then asked if he could touch the dogs. Duke was pretty reserved at first, meaning he was only licking the boys arm...however Kevin saw what was about to happen next...yup, full tongue lick...from chin to forehead.

Saturday we are headed to Cologne with Kristen. We have been told Cologne has the Christmas market of all Christmas markets, and a cathedral that Kevin HAS to see.

Wacky Weather

2008-11-24T08:46:00.003+01:00

This weekend was filled with wacky weather. It started on Friday with sunny skies which quickly turned dark & stormy. 5 minutes later, back to sun. It went back & forth between sun and rain for most of the morning, followed by snow and hail.

Saturday it hailed and snowed most of the day. It was too warm to "stick", but fun to watch from the window.

It was freezing on Sunday and snowed all day, this time actually sticking.

I think we are now back to the normal gray skies with rain.

It is 8:48 and we are awaiting the arrival of our container. They were supposed to arrive between 8:00 and 8:30. At 10 the "temporary furniture" people are coming to get the temporary furniture. We have had to do a little shuffling so that they will be able to bring our stuff in, through the window, and then later be able to get the temp furniture out. I will take pictures as this should be entertaining.

Riding in the Rain

2008-11-20T20:26:00.002+01:00

I ride my bike to the train station every day. It takes me less then 5 minutes to get there. I am able to park my bike in the manned "garage" and then easily catch my train. I think I will eventually have to pay for the garage (.50 euro a day), but they haven't take my money yet and I keep offering it every time I "check out". I have seen other bikes with stickers on the rear fender that makes me think I can by some sort of pass and that is what the website said, but when I asked one day the guy was pretty adamant that that was not possible.

Today it was a great little ride to the train in the morning. However on my way home it was POURING. I had to assume the "riding in the rain" stance, you know....leaning forward a little, head cocked sideways, forehead down and one eye closed....as the rain does not come straight down here...since it is so flat the wind can really get some speed...causing the rain to come sideways.

By the time I got home (keep in mind it was less then 5 minutes), my head was soaked, my forehead was freezing, my coat was drenched and I think I looked a little like a drowned rat.. or at least that is what I felt like. It must have been pretty bad as Kevin got me a towel out of the bathroom before I even had my coat off and was very insistent that I put on warm dry clothes (not that I had any other plans). To give you some idea of the wetness...my hair was as wet as if I had just climbed out of the shower.

Even with the rain (and the whether seems to change on a dime) I still like riding my bike to the train!

Week 24 - Belly Update

2008-11-15T16:19:00.007+01:00

Here is the lastest installment of my growing belly. It looks like I am averaging a 1/2 inch every two weeks.

This weekend started out pretty slow. We found one of the Retzlaff boys on Skype so we chatted with him for a while. He is currently in Australia, to be joined by Sara and the girls this summer. Expats talking to Expats via Skype...

Kevin and I picked up the apartment a little then he headed to the video store and liquor store while I took the dogs out for a walk. I was hungry as soon as I shut the door and it only got worse. The dogs' walk got cut short as I was soon nauseous and then cold and clammy not long after. Holy crap the hunger comes on fast! Once home I didn't stop to take the leashes off of the dogs as I quickly made a sandwich. Cannibalisim was avoided yet again.

Kevin was back by then and then headed out to meet his first dog walking client while I headed to the grocery store. Today was to be my first baking experience in Amsterdam. I planned to make apricot bars but needed a couple more things, a "9x9"-ish pan and a mixing bowl.

Once home, I realized i had forgotten the mixing bowl. My feet already hurt so there was no way I was going back..time to make due...with a stock pot! It worked, the sides weren't quite high enough but it was better then the alternative! My only challenge (the receipe was in US measurements and Kristin loaned me a set of measuring cups/spoons) was with the butter. I needed 1.5 sticks ~ 3/4 of a cup. The butter that I found here was marked with 50 mg increments...how in the hell was I to convert that? I winged it and so far the bars look like they turned out. We can verify the taste in about an hour :)

Kevin came home with a dog walking gig...he has had a lot more interest in his dog walking posts then in his math tutor posts...his master's degree has really come in handy :)

We are going to An & Steven's for dinner. They recently moved in to their house in Utrect. Tomorrow we are going to a MeetIn event to see Sinterklass' arrival in Amsterdam.

Sinterklass is a Spanish saint who comes to the Netherlands every year on Nov 14th (by steamboat) and then to Amsterdam on the 15th, with his Zwartepete in tow, on a white horse. You will need to read all of the details on Wikipedia as I won't do it justice and may start to make fun of it and its racial undertones...

Baby Wish List - Revisited

2008-11-13T19:44:00.004+01:00

For those who want to send baby stuff ---- NOTE that this is not necessary!

Ok, so the Amazon.co.uk baby wish list is not working. Evidently Amazon.co.uk will not ship baby product outside of the UK. Barry & Josh thank you for being so patient.

Next thought...I found a cool dutch website www.babydump.nl. It has a huge selection, the one downside is that it is in dutch. This is where trusty Google comes in, Google has a translator www.translate.google.com. You can either have it translate text or an entire website. There are a couple of downsides, as you go clicking through the site you will sometimes lose the translation, so if you "back" button until you get your translation again it usually works. It may take a couple of tries, be patient. When it comes time to check out you have to be in the actual site and will need to copy/paste text to translate.google.com to make it through checkout.

If this is all too much of a pain in the ass (which we would understand), I think books are cheap to ship from the US (use USPS rather then UPS, DHL or Fedex -- as USPS is much cheaper --- by about 100 to 200 bucks).

Or...we have a paypal account and you could send "gift certificates" and tell us what you want us to buy with it.

Too Much Driving

2008-11-12T20:24:00.005+01:00

I had to go to the EMEA DC today. For those who don't know it is 2 hours (3.5 in traffic) south of Amsterdam, in Belgium. Since we don't have a car, I rented a car yestarday and will drop it off tomorrow. I was going to be able to make it to the rental office until after it closed on Tuesday so Kevin graciously went and got it for me. My back was killing me by the time I got home (at 6pm) and the rental office was closed, so I decided to take the car back tomorrow. I will drive it to the airport, drop it off, get a REAL starbucks chai and catch the speedy "intercity" train to Hilversum.

I used our GPS for the trip to Laakdal (the DC). When I got in the car, I plugged it in and dialed up the Zuid (ours) train station as I needed to pick my boss up at 7am. Now I know how to get there on foot and on bike, I figured by car it would be a little more difficult. I had learned from the night before that you couldn't trust our GPS blindly as it sent us down a one way street, the wrong way. The GPS had also sent us down little streets between apartments, rather then main roads. We just thought that it was the GPS. The story gets better (longer but better). I made it to the train station, got my boss and dialed in the address for Laakdal. Well the GPS wouldn't stop "drawing" and then said we were "walking on the A10" when we were actually under it. I decided to circle the block to see if it would figure it out and start giving us directions to the on ramp of the highway. No luck. Starting to get frustrated, and slightly embarssed, I pull out my blackberry and look up the directions on Google Maps. Gotta love google! It gave us directions (which were only a little challenging to follow while driving, I tried to get my boss to be navigator but he didn't take the hint very well :). It took another 15 minutes but we finally makde it on to the highway, headed to Utreect > Antwerp and then Laakdal! For the entire drive the GPS continued to try to get me off of the highway, tell me to make u-turns (on the freeway, with out using the on/exit ramps) and take immediate lefts when in the left lane of the highway/freeway. I finally turned the sound off so I wouldn't have to listen to it. I was getting kind of mad at "kevin's" gps and already plotting how to tell him I was buying a TomTom.

Once at Laakdal (3.5 hours later due to a delayed start and traffic) I emailed kevin and complained about "kevin's" gps. He said it was probably still in Pedestrian mode. Pedeistrian Mode! No wonder its "Arrival Time" was so drastically off (it said I would arrive around 8:30 pm, right up until I was in the parking lot).

When I got ready to leave for the day I took the GPS off of pedestrian mode and it worked perfectly! Traffic was terrible, immediately out of Laakdal. It took me an hour to go 6 km. I had smooth sailing, once I made it through the first 6 km.

All in all, a long day!

Since we had the car, we made a trip to Ikea on Tuesday night to pick up a couple of rugs (for living room, hall and baby's room) and a storage structure for the baby's room. Kevin should have fun assembling things for the next couple of days.

Our baby stroller arrived yesterday as well. Thank you Barry! I think I have it figured out how to run it (collapse, reconfigure, etc). I will have to practice a couple more times before the little guy actually arrives :)

It is 8:40pm and I am going to bed!

One more thing, very dana.

Last night as Kevin was shuttling Ikea items inside I took the dogs out for "final pee" and proceeded to leave our keys in our apartmetn door and then shut (and lock) the outside door. It was 9:30pm and neither Kevin or I had keys. (we have 3 sets).

I proceeded to buzz our 2 upstairs neighbors. "Petra" (who I haven't met yet) finally answered (it was almost 10) and let me in. Man do i feel stupid. Somehow I dont' think this will be the last time I do this. Time to figure out how to hide a couple of "hide a keys" and make Petra "thank you cookies". Maybe this weekend.

Kevin met Petra this morning, she was more forgiving today then she had sounded yesterday.

Good Night!

The Original Haarlem

2008-11-08T20:42:00.008+01:00

Kevin and I made a quick visit to Haarlem on Saturday. When it comes to walking around we are limited in duration by my hips, back and feet. I was able to handle an hour walk with Maggie in the morning and then about 2 hours in Haarlem. We walked through their very busy Saturday market, around the cathedral that Kevin had wanted to tour (it was closed to visitors for the day) and lunch in a cafe. We tried to go to one of the lunch places that Rick Steves' recommneded but they were either closed or the line was too long. We found a nice cafe that hit the spot though. It was very windy and the shopping areas were really crowded. We did wander through their Saturday market and had fresh stroopwafels, they are even more delicious then the ones you buy in the store!

Saturday night I was able to talk to my aunt, dad, grandma and kevin's sister on Skype. I love technology! With Kevin's new computer we have a great camera (gotta love a mac), so everyone got to see live video of my belly and I was able to see Mary Ellen and Elaine. I think I have Grandma and Dad convinced to get cameras. While on the "phone" with my dad, Lorena "called" to say they were watching 100 elk in their front yard.

After staying up too late on Saturday we were late getting up on Sunday. Alexander met us at our apartment at 9 to take us on a bike tour of Amsterdam. We went early enough that most of the city was still asleep and we had the streets to ourselves. Which was a good thing as we spent a lot of time looking up at buildings (each is different and has its own personality). This city is deceivingly small, if you look at Amsterdam on a map you think it is much larger then it really is, however you get can from one end to the other in about 20 minutes (accounting for no straight routes). I recognized where we were most of the time but was disoriented in how we got there and which direction we were facing. It is a good thing we will have more time to explore the city as I think we have only just scratched the surface.

We got home around 1 and I took a much needed nap from 2:30 to 4:30.

Week 22 - Belly Update

2008-11-04T20:31:00.001+01:00

I can't believe that I am already 5.5 months, this is going much faster then I expected.

Our little guy has become quite active. He is sitting behind the placenta, so I mostly feel big bubbles. He will sneak an elbow or knee out every now and then.

At our third ultrasound (for details on why I have had three you can read an earlier post) the tech was able to tell us that that he is on track to be a 6.5lb baby. I was very excited to hear this as Kevin was a 10lb baby and I was not happy with that thought.

Below are the latest photos. I am only posting them every couple of weeks as it seems to take that long for my belly to expand a noticeable amount.

Below is a photo of Kevin's bike. He is very proud of it. He took this in the park that was between Eemnes and Hilversum. I think they officially call this a forest, but I can't bring myself too.

A very busy weekend...

2008-11-03T18:25:00.000+01:00

Our busy weekend started on Friday.

We still don't have internet banking enabled on our bank account, it is a long story...On our trip to the bank last week we had learned it had not been enabled so we asked the ABN woman to enable it. Turns out she didn't get it enabled, rather our account was locked and preventing all access. It took Kevin an hour at the bank to get the account unlocked and start the transfer of our rent and deposit, and still no internet banking. It looks like internet banking will have to wait until we can change our mailing address here in Amsterdam, which we can't do until we register at the Town Hall...

After going to the bank, Kevin met our housing agent and landlord at our new apartment and signed the lease. The landlord woudn't sign because I wasn't there to sign. We were able take possession and I would then sign the contract later and then the landlord would sign it.

Kevin was then headed to the Internet/Cable/Phone store to set up our services. He needed a signed copy of the contract (by all parties) so our landlord and housing agent told him how to get around it...I love that the Netherlands if full of rules and everyone is very helpful in telling you how to get around them.

Kevin was able to get the services and drop the hardware off at the apartment.

We planned to "camp" in our apartment SUnday night, as our temporary furniture would not arrive until Monday. More on that later.

I met Kevin in Eemnes with chinese food. On my way back from the chinese restaurant I saw a couple of trick or treaters. I was suprised as Eemnes isn't exactly an hotspot for Americans, our friends tell us that Halloween is catching on here.

Saturday we planned to relax, pack and clean. It really ended up being a lot more relaxing. Kevin took Duke for a run and I took Maggie for a walk to the bakery...

We didn't want to cook, so we decided to try to find the one pub in town. I had seen it while on the bus, of course it was raining in the evening... We took the dogs with us so we tied them up outside the pub and went in an ordered. When the owner figured out that it was our dogs out side, he offered for us to bring them in. We were a little tentative, knowing how disruptive they can be. We decided to risk it anyway, they must have been very appreciative as they were perfect little angels. We had wished we had found this pub earlier...the fries and meatball/satay hit the spot!

Sunday morning we rapidly packed and cleaned the apartment. A co-worker offered to help us shuttle our crap with his CRV. We happily took him up on the offer. We should have taken a picture...the thing was stuffed.

We unloaded our stuff, took a quick look around the apartment and then headed to IKEA. We knew we needed a guest bed of some sort, so we figured we would camp on it tonight...We were really excited to be in Amsterdam.

Kris dropped Kevin and I, and our stuff, off and we began assembling furniture...we bought a bed, a desk, shelves for the bathroom, bedding and dishes for the kitchen. We should have bought a screwdriver too. IKEA furniture comes with everything you need, except for a screwdriver and a hammer. We ended up sleeping on the bed, on the floor....

For dinner (the grocery store was closed, as are most things on Sunday), we went to our new favorite italian restaurant, at the end of our building. It is fast, inexpensive and tasty! I picked up a take out menu, as their pizza's are delicious and faster then any other delivery!

Our apartment is better then originally thought. We have a storage space, but it is mroe then a storage space. It is three rooms (on the top floor) with a sink and toilet. We are going to make one of the rooms a guest suite. This way our guests won't have to listen to the crying baby! Now there is no reason not to stay with us when you come to visit. It would be ridiculus to get a hotel when we have that extra space. It really is quite nice (and free!). Kevin is going to use 1 room for a "bike" shop, 1 for storage and the 3rd for a guest room. Our aparment officially has more floor space then our house. There is a kooky little third bedroom (that a twin bed MIGHT fit in), this has become the dog room. This way we don't have to have the crates in the living room, as we just threw their beds on the floor in there.

Monday found us with a very long To Do list. First things first, I headed to the doctor (by bike...I love that) to get my asthma under control. I have been having an asthma attack every couple of hours. I stopped taking my Advair, due to the pregnancy, and it has gotten progressively worse. My new doctor is confident the inhaler he gave me will help, and it won't harm our growing son. Excellent!

Kevin began shuttling stuff upstairs (to storage), the suitcases (thankfully we won't be needing all 5 anytime soon), dog crates and the new bed to the guest suite.

The furniture arrived, was moved in and assembled in less then an hour. I took a trip to the grocery store, which included a stop at the bakery (for bread and croissants) and italian deli (for meat & cheese) and the grocery store for laundry soap, dinner and coffee.

When I got back, Kevin took the dogs to the park and I took a nap. He then went to get his new iMac and try to figure out how to set up the internet, while I went to get coat hangers (we have closets but no hangers) and my asthma prescriptions. I am getting faster about locking my bike! I think I break out in smile every time I get on it...

Dutch midwives and our new neighborhood

2008-10-25T09:53:00.000+02:00

Friday I left work early so that Kevin and I could go to the bank to activate our new cards (you can't do it over the phone) and then go to our first midwife appointment.

The bank went well, we had to have someone show us how to transfer money to our "chip", but now think that we can do it on our own :) Your bank card (it is called a current account since they don't use checks here) has access to your current account and to a chip on the card. You can put "cash" on the chip and then use the chip like it is cash with out having to enter your pin. This is handy for small purchases and train tickets.

We caught a fast train to Amsterdam central and then a tram to get us close to the midwife. I have choosen to use the Geboortcentrum (The Birth Center), as it was recommended to me by an American friend of a co-worker. The Geboortcentrum is on a street that has become dedicated to everything about babies. There is a store where you can by baby stuff and maternity clothes...of course it is a little pricey for the clothes..but the baby paraphenlia seemed to be reasonably priced. We had followed the GPS from Leidseplein to the Geboortcentrum, so we were a little early (even with my what seem to be hourly pee breaks...I think I drank too much water at lunch), so we had coffee and pie at the cafe next door. It was filled with pregnant women and the pie was excellent, I can tell this is going to be a regular stop before or after my appointments.

Our midwife was very nice and her English was very good. I had brought my medical records from my OB/GYN in the US, hoping to not have to do all of the blood tests again. No such luck, we couldn't find in the records where it said my blood type, the amount of sugar or iron in my blood, RH factor or immunity for Measles or Rubella. In the US, I was able to do the blood tests and ultrasound in the same office as my OB. Not here. I need to go to another clinic (maybe hospital) to have the blood tests. She is also sending me for another ultrasound as I didn't have the records showing the measurements of all of the organs.

So far the care seems very similar to the US. She had prefaced the appointment with the comment that in the Netherlands, being pregnant is not treated like a disease or illness (as sometimes in the US) so they are less invasive (fewer tests, etc). We laughed at this afterwards, as she is running the same tests they did in the US (not more or less) and asked all of the same questions about our health and habits. One difference...I can have sushi here (as long as it is fresh)....

One funny language translation tidbit...as she was giving us the details about the blood tests, she said I didn't have to be "sober" for them (this after asking if I drank or used drugs). We all had a good laugh as what she meant was I didn't have to fast before hand. Not fasting is good, as I don't think I could...I eat more now then I did 2 weeks ago. Breakfast at 6:30 of cereal and juice, ham & cheese croissant and an apple at 9, lunch, yogurt and another apple at 2ish and then dinner when I get home. If I don't eat that frequently I begin to have cannibalistic thoughts.

After the midwife appointment we decided to walk to our new neighborhood and have dinner there. There is a great little Italian place very close to our new home, hopefully they provide takeout!

After dinner we walked to the Amsterdam Zuid train station and caught a train back to Hilversum. While we were waiting for our bus to Eemnes we saw to incidents we never expected to see.

We were sitting in the bus transit area, when we watched 1 bus back into the front of another bus. We kept thinking he would stop…nope…CRUNCH. About 5 minutes later, as we were boarding our bus, we saw another bus go to parallel park in front of the bus that had just been hit. He cut it a little to close…CRUNCH. After riding the buses here for the last 2 weeks (and watching them stop and turn on a dime) I never would have thought they would hit each other…I had stopped flinching when they would come close to bikes, cars or other buses…Kevin and I are both back to flinching..

We have a home!

2008-10-22T18:46:00.000+02:00

We got the apartment we wanted! We will move in on Nov 1st and we can't wait!

In Kevin's wanderings yesterday he made it to Beatrix park, where he saw a group of people standing around smiling while their labs (and other dogs) played off the leash...This park is only 8 minutes from our new place...it will be great for the dogs daily walks!

Our apartment is large enough to have a fold out couch (in addition to our current furniture) so we can house guests! Don't worry, we will provide earplugs for everyone who comes after March 10th. In fact we may have our first guests just bring a costco size container!

First come, first serve!

Now for our container to arrive...it will be to Rotterdam on Nov 19th and then take another 2 weeks to clear customs and make it to Amsterdam. Until we have our own stuff, the relocation company will provide us with furniture.

I found a midwife today, our first appointment is on Friday. In the Netherlands, after your baby is born a "maternity assistant" comes to your house for 3, 5 or 6 hours a day for 8 days. She helps new parents figure out what they are supposed to do with there little bundle of joy... in addition to doing things like changing your sheets, laundry, cooking, etc.

Today was the first day that I felt our son move, consistently. I had been feeling it every now and then, but today was much more regular. Wierd.

Sunday, Monday & Tuesday - Nothing special.

2008-10-21T21:09:00.000+02:00

First things first...we haven't heard back about the apartment yet. We had to raise our offer on Monday and are still waiting for a reply. Yes, we will let everyone know what happens :)

Sunday we took the bus and train into Amsterdam to have lunch with Diane and Alexander. Diane has known Kevin and his family for about 25 years. She has been living in Amsterdam with her husband Alexander for the last 10 years. We used a combination of the GPS and the bus maps to figure out how to get to her apartment, this proved to be slightly more challenging then we expected as the Amsterdam Marathon was on Sunday and it runs past her apartment and wrecked havoc on the bus routes. We made it and had a tasty lunch and good conversation. We also got to see the runners come past.

In the afternoon we caught the train back to Hilversum to have dinner with An, Steven and Vincent. We stayed out too late on Sunday and I ended up not being able to physically get out of bed until 8am. I was able to make it to work by 9:30...note to self, bed time is 9:30 at the latest!

I got a great haircut on Saturday, while he was trimming my hair he found two gray hairs...my first. I can't really blame them on my son yet, so they must be Kevin's fault.

Kevin went into Amsterdam today and explored the neighborhood we want to live in, on foot and in the rain. We are going to be really bummed if we don't get the apartment in Old South. Kevin had sent me an email at one point, when he was standing in front of the building.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Today I went to my first pregnancy yoga class. It had to be the most gentle class I had ever been too. I would say it was more like easy stretching with a short nap at the end. Yes, I took at 15 minute nap at the end. I think I might go back, just for that feature!

Apartment Post #3

2008-10-18T16:41:00.000+02:00

So it seems that I am still learning how to post and our internet connection is REALLY slow.

I couldn't get Picasa to upload more then 4 photos at a time. These are the remaining Milletstraat pics.

Apartment Hunting Post 2 -- Pics of Oude Zuid Apt

2008-10-18T16:35:00.000+02:00

This is the apartment we made an offer on. It is on Milletstraat.

Weekend Adventure & Prego Pics

2008-10-18T16:24:00.000+02:00

We had originally planned to spend both Saturday and Sunday in Amsterdam, but we got off to a slow start on Saturday. I slept until 8, Kevin had gotten up earlier. We decided to modify our plans and ride our new (used) bikes to Hilversum so that I could get a haircut and save Amsterdam for Sunday. We didn' take the shortest route in to Hilversum, but then we are still learning our way. We were only 10 minutes late to my haircut apppointment, which isn't bad considering we only left 45 minutes before hand.

Before we left Eemnes, I did some quick grocery shopping for the weekend, not knowing when we would be home and not wanting to risk the grocery store being closed. Tonight I am going to try to make Beef Sukiyaki, from a mix. We will see how well I can interpret the directions.

After the haircut we grabbed coffee and lunch at a cafe and then headed back to Eemnes (around 2pm). I love the little cookies you get with your coffee! Oh and the cheese..I love cheese here!

For those who are tracking, below are this week's prego pics. Notice my belly has grown a half of an inch in 2 weeks :)

Apartment Shopping

2008-10-18T16:14:00.000+02:00

Thursday we went apartment hunting in Amsterdam. We found 2 that we really liked, neither had deadly dutch stairs. We made an offer on the one in Oude Zuid and are working through the negotiations. Monday we will call and place an option on the one in the Pjip, in case we don't get the one in Oude Zuid.

Apartment in Pjip.

We Made It!

2008-10-15T20:21:00.000+02:00

The last week in Portland was very hectic! Thursday the movers showed up to box everything up. We headed to the Hotel Monaco to for the rest of our time in Portland. The dogs loved all of the attention that they got at the hotel.

Friday we went back to the house to begin cleaning as the rooms were emptied. It was a little weird to see the rooms empty and clean. The house was much cleaner then when we bought it.

We didn't finish cleanning and making dump runs Friday so we had to go back on Saturday for a little more cleaning, touch up the paint in a couple of rooms and then the last dump run. I can't believe we actually got it all done.

We dropped the dogs off at Andrea & Luis' Saturday morning. We wouldn't see them again until Monday, in the Netherlands. We then headed back to the hotel to check out and head to the airport. We tried to get an upgrade to business class, but no such luck. I am so spoiled from my Nike travel!

The flight was good, we were able to board quickly. There was a couple sitting several rows in front of us that were very high maintenance - with a cranky toddler. It is a good thing we are already pregnant! We were able to deboard really quickly and beat the crowds to immigration. Our bags were also the first off of the plane...we flew through the airport. We met our driver and he took us to our temporary apartment in Eemnes..a very small town outside of Hilversum.

We settled in, showered and waited for An & Steven to come with our groceries. This really meant we kept falling asleep on the couch...I didn't even hear them ring the doorbell, she had to call me to wake me up. It was great to see them!

We went to bed around 8:30/9 and tried to sleep through the night...no luck. We both woke up at 2:30 and were up until 5. I went back to bed and kevin feel asleep on the couch. I woke up and 8 and decided I should go to work. I had warned them that I didn't know when I would be in...particulary with the buses and jet lag.

Work went well, and I have started to get settled.

Kevin did a little exploring in Hilversum, looking for a phone store and a bike store. Both were closed until 1pm. He then headed home to wait for the taxi, to go to the airport to pick up the dogs.

The dogs had had their own little adventure. They had gotten out of Andrea's backyard not long before Josh & Peter went to pick them up. The neighbor had Duke and Maggie was running from everyone. The neighbor was minutes from calling the shelter and Josh & Peter and to chase Maggie down. Once they got to the airport they discovered that the crate we had gotten for Duke was too small (it was huge!) so they had to buy a larger one from Northwest Airlines (not the cheapest place to buy dog crates). They then sent them on their way. I think all 4 of us could live in Duke's new crate.

I figured out how to get home on the bus..although I had missed it by 5 minutes, so I had to wait at the Hilversum train station for 25 minutes, for the next one. Once home Kevin and i tried to go to a restaurant for dinner. Who knew they would be closed on Monday night...like I said - little town. Luckily the grocery store was open (they are closed on Sundays and close around 7 or 8 pm).

After a tasty dinner of spaghetti, I gave the dogs a bath...they were definately not themselves.

Tuesday our very helpful Crown agent picked us up and took us to The Hague where we applied for residency and I got my SoFi (tax) number. There was a slight issue with my passport as it is issued in my maiden name and has been ammended to show my married name. To the dutch this is like I have two different names...very troublesome.

After getting the SoFi number we headed to the bank to set up our checking account. US citizens can only open an ABN Amro account at a specific branch, we are told the US government is afraid we are going to hide our US dollars in Euros...

After we made it back to Eemnes we had a snack and then headed in to Hilversum to get my monthly bus pass and see if we could make it to a phone store. The phone store had closed at 6, so we grabbed dinner and then headed home. On the way home, we missed our bus stop (kevin didn't beleive me when I said which one it is). We got off 3 stops later and then caught the next bus back.

Once back (at 8:30), I headed straight to bed! We both slept through the night...now if I could not feel like I need a nap, as soon as I get up.

Wednesday I headed back to work. I met my new boss (he was out on Monday), learned more about what I am going to be doing and got more settled. I was able to set up our dutch health insurance and also worked out. I hadn't worked out in more then a week...and I could tell.

After work I was able to time the bus schedules right and made it home very quickly.

Kevin had a very adventurous day. He took the dogs for a run around Eemnes and found a bike shop. They didn't have very many second hand bikes, so he later showered and headed to Hilversum. He bought a very nice 2nd hand bike, a gps and a sim card for his phone. He rode his bike home...through the woods and in the rain.

Tomorrow we go house hunting.

We learned this morning that our dear friends had lost their twins. They were only a couple of weeks ahead of us. Neither Kevin and I can imagine the loss they must be feeling and our hearts go out to them.

Its a boy!

2008-10-09T22:19:00.000+02:00

We went in for our last US pre-natal visit on Monday. Our doctor asked if we wanted to try to get an ultrasound before we left the country...silly question. Of course we did!
We are having a boy! Now we just need to find a good name.
Below are the good pictures from this visit. There were a lot of pics that looked pretty scary (skull, ribs, etc). These are the cute ones.

In the mean time, our move date if fast approaching. As I am typing, the moving company is packing the house...I really want a nap but the bed is already packed and I am afraid if I laid down on the couch they might wrap me up in a paper, with it.

Kevin is making runs to the dump....hopefully only 1 or 2 more and I am trying to stay out of the movers way.

First Prego Pictures

2008-10-06T02:13:00.000+02:00

In one week we will be living in another country! That is really weird to think about...

Below are pics of me and my growing belly, for those who are keeping track. I am 18 weeks and no I don't know the sex yet :) We will find out once we get to Amsterdam and I find a midwife.

We have a move date!

2008-09-26T21:23:00.000+02:00

We are moving to Amsterdam on October 11th. Our house will be packed on Oct 9th and 10th, and the dogs will follow us on October 12th.

It is official, we really are going.

I dropped my passport off at the Dutch Consulate this morning, it should be back in a week.

The house was listed last weekend.

Now if I could just get my birth certificate back from Washington.

The crib arrived yesterday, for those who don't know, Kevin's dad built us a crib. Kevin is now assembling it.....we have a crib. I guess this baby thing is really going to happen too.

We purchased a mattress for it and pack'n'play yesterday at a huge consignment sale.

Kevin and I finally came to an agreement on strollers (honestly, I finally came around to his way of thinking). We are going to get a single jogger/bike trailer combo and then go with a awesome regular stoller (no graco, big ass lazy boy, 4 cup holder stroller).