Turkey, Unpacking and more

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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!

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.

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

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

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

Weekend Adventure & Prego Pics

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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).

Things are moving forward....

It looks like we are making progress on our move to Europe.

My car is 99% sold, they are going to come back tomorrow with a cashiers check. Two sisters are buying it for their 20+ younger brother. I wouldn't trust my brothers with that car, let alone buy it for them and trust them.

Our house went on the market today, which means the kitchen is done and the house has never been so clean or sparse.

We have made many trips to Goodwill and the dump. I can't believe the amount of junk we accumulate!

Now take stuff off of the counter and clean out under the sink, in the bathroom.

Baby Tastet @ 12 weeks

I am now 15 weeks.

For those who haven't already seen these, below are the first ultrasound pictures. They were taken at 12 weeks. Yes, our baby looks like a little alien. If you look closely you will see the face and it looks like she/he is sucking on her/his thumb.

We don't know if it is a boy or girl yet, but hope to find out once we are in Amsterdam.

Life Changes - big ones

Some of our family and friends joke that Kevin and I don't do anything half-ass. It has proven true again. I have accepted a position at the Nike European headquarters in The Netherlands. I will start on Sept 15th and Kevin will finish wrapping things up here and join me at the begining of October.

Moving to Europe is huge on its own, but we are going to make it a bigger life changes by adding to our family. We are expecting our first child in March.

Our "To Do" list is so long, I don't know where to start.

Who's Coming to Visit?

If we are planning on traveling, or if we already have someone coming, we will post it here:

Week beginning Sunday _________:

November 2nd 2008
November 9th 2008
November 16th 2008
November 23rd 2008
November 30th 2008
December 7th 2008
December 14th 2008
December 21st 2008
December 28th 2008
Jan 4, 2009
Jan 11, 2009
Jan 18, 2009
Jan 25, 2009
Feb 1, 2009
Feb 8, 2009
Feb 15, 2009
Feb 22, 2009
Mar 1, 2009
Mar 8, 2009 - Baby is due March 10th.
Mar 15, 2009
Mar 22, 2009
Mar 29, 2009
Apr 5, 2009
Apr 12, 2009
Apr 19, 2009
Apr 26, 2009
May 3, 2009
May 10, 2009
May 17, 2009
May 24, 2009
May 31, 2009
Jun 7, 2009
Jun 14, 2009
Jun 21, 2009
Jun 28, 2009
Jul 5, 2009
Jul 12, 2009
Jul 19, 2009
Jul 26, 2009
Aug 2, 2009
Aug 9, 2009
Aug 16, 2009
Aug 23, 2009
Aug 30, 2009
Sep 6, 2009
Sep 13, 2009
Sep 20, 2009
Sep 27, 2009
Oct 4, 2009
Oct 11, 2009 - Andrew and Melissa Curry
Oct 18, 2009
Oct 27, 2009

Tastet 4th of July Tradition

I think the 4th of July is probably Kevin's favorite holiday. Not for the fireworks or bbqing, but for the Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence. Every year, we have to watch the musical 1776 and read the Declaration of Independence, out loud - sentence by sentence. I thought I might get out of the annual reading when I heard it read on NPR. I ran into the bedroom and turned up the radio so Kevin could hear it as well. NPR had a different correspondent read each sentence.

No luck, I still had to do the "reading". When Kevin got up, the first thing he did (after making coffee) was to put 1776 on. Ugh.

We are going to take a break and go for a bike ride. I can now ride my bike, if I don't clip in and keep it flat.

In addition to the Declaration of Independence rituals, our other Tastet tradition is to medicate Duke with Xanax. He gets really jumpy with the fireworks. Maggie doesn't care. Last night I gave him a Xanax when the fireworks started going off. He then only groaned with each pop or bang.

Buenos Aires

I started my last days in Buenos Aires by meeting Kevin for lunch in Puerto Madero. He had walked around all morning and I needed a nap, so we headed back to the hotel for some quick zz's before our tango lesson.

In the evening we made our way to Palermo (I really like this neighborhood) and started the adventure of finding the tango studio. We ended up being early (we thought we were on time, but Argentineans are more lax in their time then the Chileans. We were hoping the lesson would be in english (at least partly), but were up for the challenge of all spanish. Guess what, all spanish. It made us have to really concentrate on what they were showing and try to guess what they were saying.

After the lesson we had dinner in Palermo at a little Italian place. I know Argentina is supposed to have the best beef, but I was tired of red meat. I grew up on a cattle farm, maybe I am biased, but I don't think the steaks in South America were any better then what I grew up with. They were cooked much better, but the underlying flavor was no better.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel (it was now almost 11) .

Saturday we ordered room service for breakfast, thinking it had to be better than the breakfast downstairs. Nope. We then headed out for the day. We took the subway to Plaza de Mayo where Kevin showed me the cathedral (yes another cathedral), Casa Rosada (the pink building from which Evita spoke and every other politician or leader speaks when they want to gain public support. We then walked down Florida Ave, which is a pedestrian only road filled with stores and hundreds of people handing you little flyer advertisements for stores. We had lunch at the Galleria, a big indoor mall that has beautiful murals painted on the ceilings. After lunch we headed back to the hotel on foot. We had to cross 9 de Julio (it was more like crossing 4 different streets with 16 lanes of traffic.

After a quick nap we headed to the Recoleta Cemetary where Kevin had me find Evita's tomb. This cemetary is filled with B.A.'s elite. It was cool and creepy at the same time. I am really creeped out by seeing the actual coffin in the crypts. We weren't really hungry so we stepped in to a bar for a beer and some tapas.

Come Sunday I was really ready to come home. The car was going to pick us up at 4, so we still had a lot of the day to use. Rather then the hotel breakfast, we walked around the corner to a restaurant...we should have had breakfast here every day. We then caught a cab to San Telmo where we proceeded to walk through the Sunday craft market, all of the way back to Plaza de Mayo. We then caught a cab back to Recoleta for a quick lunch (at 3) and then to the hotel for our flight home.

And now, Buenos Aires

Kevin saw much more of Santiago, then I. I was in the office on Monday and Tuesday, while he did a couple of walking tours. We met a "Tastet" for drinks. Thanks to Facebook Kevin found a family of Tastets that live in Santiago. We met the father and daughter for a drink at the hotel. Eugenio was very adamant that we contact him when we are here again so that he can introduce us to his family and show us more of Santiago and Chile.

We flew to Buenos Aires Tuesday night. Once in Santiago we caught a cab to the hotel. This is a huge city. It feels a lot larger then Santiago, I think it has twice as many people.

Kevin and I went downstairs to get a bite to eat. They say the beef in Argentina is the best. I have to admit it is on par with my family's own beef. There is a lot of meat served in this country. I think I have eaten more red meat on this trip then I have in the last 4 months. In Buenos Aires, even the butter is beef (or at least your bread comes with a "beef spread" that tasted like roast beef and butter.

Wednesday I headed to the office with Sue, while Kevin went back to bed. I am going to let Kevin provide the details of his version of Buenos Aires. So far my has included going to and from the office.

Friday night we are going to take a Tango class and then Friday - Sunday Kevin can show me the highlights of the city.

Santiago - Part Dos

I never found the artisan market I went looking for. I walked for at least 90 minutes and then finally took a cab back to the hotel.

Kevin arrived, we got him situated and then headed out to lunch in the Providencia neighborhood. It was a great little local place. Our spanish is pretty bad...at one point the waiter was asking where we were from and I thought he was talking about the check. I am sure the locals got a kick out of it. The waiter wanted to know if we thought Hilary would win, he was disappointed (along with our "table mates") that she had dropped out of the race. They both eagerly pointed out that both Chile and Argentina have women presidents. The waiter made a gesture about the US holding women back, that coming from a machismo based culture.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel for nap. We went out for dinner around 8. We took the subway (which is very easy to navigate). The subway entrances/exits are as confusing here as they are in Antwerp. We don't seem to be able to exit on to the right street, headed in the right direction, inevitably leading to 15 minutes of orientation. Tonight we thought we were headed in the wrong direction, not yet on the right street. I finally asked for directions in a little restaurant. Turns out we were on the right street and really close to the restaurant we wanted.

Dinner was good...this trip seems to be nothing but steak, steak and more steak. All of it great too.

We finally left the restaurant around 11pm and caught a cab back to the hotel. Thank goodness for the cab, otherwise it could have been another "Tastet night in Amsterdam" where we wandered for hours in the wrong direction (not exactly as safe or clean as Amsterdam either). We were both completely turned around.

More to come later.

City #2 - Santiago

I don't think I will ever get tired of boarding a plane to another country. There is something about being greated in another language as you board...

I arrived in Santiago last night and checked in to my hotel, the Ritz Carlton. I know, I know, I have a tough life. I met Toni & Sue for a drink and then dinner. The conversation always seems to quickly become about work. Ugh. We had dinner in the hotel, again very nice.

I finally crashed around 1am and planned to sleep as late as possible. I had forgotten to turn my alarm off so it woke me up 4 hours later, i promptly went back to sleep and slept until 10.

The first thing I did when I woke up was open the curtains. Wouldn't you know, a view of the Andes. Slightly obstructed, but it is still the Andes - so close you could reach out and touch them.

I showered, arranged for a car to pick Kevin up at the airport and then headed out for breakfast. Trusty Fodor recommended Cafe Melba (a few blocks from the hotel). It was a little cafe that was really good.

I went looking for local crafts for the next couple of hours, planning to return to the hotel in time to meet Kevin.

Traveling the world, again...

I have been off of the crutches and out of the knee brace for a week, just long enough to be ready to head south to Brazil, Chile & Argentina.

I left on Monday for a work trip to Sao Paulo. I arrived Tuesday monrnig, we made it to our hotel, unpacked and then headed out for a light lunch. My knee was bothering me, but I wanted to get a work out in. My hotel has a "fitness center", it isn't much but i was able to get my heart rate up and do my knee rehab.

Tomorrow I head to the office to support training that someone else is giving...I think I will end doing 6 hours of real work for the this portion of the trip.

Right before I got on the plane in Dallas, kevin and I decided to fly him to meet me in Santiago and then go to Buenos Aires. He will definately get to see more of the cities then I will, but it should be fun. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to have us both in S.A for about 1100 bucks. Good hotels, good food and great sights.

Still a cripple

A month has passed and I still have the brace and the crutches. I am working on getting my range of motion and flexibility back. The crutches have sent my shoulder and chest muscles for a loop though, resulting in a couple of slipped ribs. I am currently sitting with a heat pad on my chest and trying not to take too big of a breath.

I went to a chiropractor for the first time (ever) on Friday - 3 appts later - no good. Now I am in too much pain to even have him try to adjust me. I limped home and quickly sent emails to Robyn and Josh - looking for Andrea's miracle working naturopath. (Andrea is hiking through a rainforest in Peru). Dr Mindy massaged my shoulders, neck & chest to get the muscles to release - then used accupuncture. I left feeling ok, I go back on Thursday.

I am supposed to go to Brazil, Chile & Argentina on the 16th. This has to be healed by then, otherwise there is no way I am getting on a plane.

I am going to work from home for the rest of the week, so I can stay off of the crutches - instruments of torture that they are.