Halloween

Thanks for the Halloween shirts Cousin Charlie!

Halloween was a little "tricky" this year (ha ha, get it??) They don't celebrate Halloween in the Netherlands and Katie is just old enough to remember last year's festivities. It was a little difficult to explain to her that we were not going trick or treating this year. Luckily, we had a few distractions.

Katie was off from school the week prior to the 31st so she was able to go to the Maastricht International Playgroup (MIP) with Andrew and I. It was dress up, there were decorations the and everyone brought food to share. I made cupcakes which is a story in itself...

I bought cake mix called "homemade" boeren cake (still not sure what that means). Made 12 cupcakes and set them on the kitchen counter to cool. Took the kids for a bike ride for about 30 minutes. Came home around 5pm to find that Tucker had eaten 8 cupcakes! Wrapper and all! I had to make 2 dozen more cupcakes that evening and frost them. And, no can of Betty Crocker frosting here...you have to melt the chocolate (called glazuur) with warm water and spread with a knife. Luckily Ned pitched in with the decorating so I wasnt up until midnight frosting cupcakes!


Next we hosted a Halloween party at our house with about 50 people from the MIP group. I organized a Trick or Treat activity to give all of our friends from non-Halloween celebrating countries a taste of Trick or Treating in the United States.

The kids "trick or treating" at our back door. We had 3 doors to knock on.

Katie and Andrew helping me decorate

Katie the Great Mouse Detective and Andrew the Monkey

Family picture

Katie as Nala from the Lion King at the playgroup party

We also have a Fall party to go to at Katie's school this weekend. Lots of festivities to distract an almost 4 year old from Halloween at home. It is dress up once again so I think Katie got to wear a costume 4 times this year.

Cinderella?

A few mornings ago I was folding laundry in our bedroom and the kids were playing in Katie's room, a few doors down.

They were playing nicely...It does happen occasionally....

I overheard Katie tell Andrew that he was going to school because it was Friday and that she would pick him up at noon. (it is so funny to hear yourself through an almost 4 year olds voice!) I finished folding and went to deliver Katie her clean clothes and evidently they were playing dress up!

Who needs dolls when you have a little brother?

(notice he only has one sequin shoe....Cinderella?)

Our "princess"
Once I got the camera out and took a picture of Andrew,
someone else wanted to get in on the attention

Automobile

Gas is expensive. Yes, I am the first to complain. I remember two summers ago when the the prices went over $3.00. But, next time you complain think of Europeans (like me)...

First off, it is important to explain that when I fill up the tank the price is by the liter, not the gallon. (think 2 liter of coke and divide in half)

Here is a little math lesson...

1 liter of gasoline in the Netherlands = 1.43 euros
1 gallon on gasoline is the US = $2.59
1 euro = $1.48
4 liters = (approximately) 1 gallon.

So, if 1 liter costs 1.43 and there are 4 liters to a gallon, then 1 gallon of gas in the Netherlands would cost 5.72 euros which is about $8.50.

I am starting to bike more and more. We just bought a two seater kid trailer. Good exercise and cheaper!

Farming

Looking back over the last six months it appears we have gone to a lot of farms. Well, there are a lot of farms in the Netherlands. And, Ned and I agree that it is a fun thing to do with the whole family. Fresh air, exercise and just good old fashion time together.

A few weekends ago in a hunt for pumpkins we went to an organic farm in Thorn, Limburg. The owners could not have been more wonderful.

Jan, co-owns the farm with his wife Bets. Jan took Ned, myself and the kids on a personal tour of the farm. He explained to the kids what the chickens, pigs and cows eat. He showed us the grain shed which had tons and tons of corn kernels. He cracked walnuts, just picked that day, for us. He let us taste the fresh sausage he had made. And I mean fresh! There was actually a picture and pricing for parts of a cow that was next in line to be slaughtered.

The kids bounced on a trampoline and picked carrots right from the earth. There was lots of dirt to be had so Andrew was in heaven. Katie loves to gather so she had fun collecting carrots.

On our way out we purchased potatoes, kale, walnuts, and carrots very inexpensively. And, if felt good to support a local farmer and for the kids to learn where food comes from.

Andrew trucking through a field of carrots

Found one!

Andrew in the dirt

Checking out the chickens

Why do my kids always get hurt or sick when Ned travels? Well, this past week it was both Katie and Andrew.

Ned left Sunday morning. Katie, Andrew and I went to a friends house for dinner that afternoon. We werent there five minutes before Katie is wailing with a mouth full of blood. She was scooting around on a toddler push bike on hardwood floors and did a face-plant. In the end she was fine, but she had a fat lip for about 24 hours. Thank god we didnt have to go to the dentist! (we dont have a dentist here yet!).

Next day...Monday. I stop at a dog grooming salon on the way home from walking Katie to school and Andrew trips over his own two feet and does a header into the equipment. Cuts his head and we leave there with betadine smeared all over his head and a big bump.

Tuesday...we took a nature walk with friends. No injuries but I was paranoid the entire time that one of them was going to go head first into the lake or stream and I would have to jump in after them.

We got through the next couple days and Ned arrived home yesterday, Thursday. Tonight we will be celebrating his birthday...38 years young on October 20th (while he was away). Happy Birthday Ned!

Katie nursing her fat lip with a frozen yogurt pop

Showing her lip off for the camera

Pumpkins for Dummies

The Halloween season has been, well, a challenge in our new home.

First off, we wanted pumpkins. I called and emailed the few potential farms, which of course is no easy feat since I do not speak dutch. We went to one farm that said they did have pumpkins, but they turned out to be the Japanese variety.

Japanese pumpkins
(that is a 5"x 7" frame to give you an idea of size)

A few ex-pat friends knew that I was looking for pumpkins and told me that the grocery store had them. I was skeptical,but excited to have found some. They were small and expensive but they were pumpkins. Each one was 2.99 euros which is $4.42. We bought three ($13.25 total).



It is difficult to read the sticker that came on the back of the pumpkin, but basically it says:

Step one:Cut off top
Step two: Cut a face
Step three: place candle inside and light

And, there were three black stickers on the front of the pumpkin (see picture below). Eyes, nose and mouth. It couldn't be easier...If you wanted, you could trace the stickers and then cut out the face. Funny dutch...

Yep, the pumpkin came with directions on how to carve it. I got a kick out of this! Can't say I have ever seen this in America!

Since we only had three small pumpkins, we decided to paint two and carve one.

The kids painting their pumpkins. Notice Katie's has a face!

The kid's painted pumpkins (right and left).
The center pumpkins displays the black stickers each came with.

Katie carving

The finished pumpkins.
The right one is jack-o-lantern. It is a bat (Daddy helped....)

Funny Ned

It is rare that Ned (or I, for that matter) get featured in a blog but this had to be recorded...

(Put on your imagination cap)

Story #1
While the kids and I were in the US our frig broke (or so Ned thought..it ended up that the cord had come loose). Ned went to the Home Depot of Holland and bought a small frig (that we planned to use as a second frig in the garage) If only it was that simple... The frig box did not fit in the trunk of his car. So, Ned decided to put the frig in the cart and push it home. Home, just so you can get a clear picture is 8 kilometers (4.9 miles). So picture, if you would, Ned pushing a box (bigger than the trunk) in a shopping cart on a city street. Funny, but I am not done yet. While starting his trek home, Ned realized that the store closes shortly and that the parking lot is gated and locked when closed. Uh-oh. Ned starts running with the cart and the box. Then, gets home unloads his cart and runs back to the store. 8 km. back. Luckily he made it back before the store closed and was able to get his car out of the lot. When he returned, the store clerks approached him. Someone had reported that they saw a man pushing a cart through town. The clerks told Ned he was lucky he did not get arrested.

Story #2
We bought a shelf at IKEA. It was too short for the space. The store is near Ned's work. I asked Ned if he returned the shelf. He said, "yes, sort of" but that he didn't get a store credit. I thought that was strange, but the return policies in Holland are a little strange/difficult. It seemed like there was more to it so I asked him why. Well, apparently Ned went to IKEA with the intention of returning the shelf, but the return line was too long for his liking so he just left the shelf at the store. In the middle of the store. Who does that??? If IKEA's inventory is off, we know who to blame.

These two stories made me laugh. I would never push a frig 5 miles. I would have taken the frig back into the store and either asked someone for help unpacking the box and getting it on my car or asked them to hold it for when I could come back with a larger car. Nor would I leave an item I paid for (only 7 euros but that is not the point) in the middle of the store. I would bring it back later.

Are these stories case in point to the differences between men and women or the difference between Ned and Ellen? I think both.

Back "Home"

Our trip back to the Netherlands was uneventful. Which is all we can ask for when traveling with two children and a dog. Yes, we brought our dog back with us this trip. (Thank you Grammy and Grumps for taking such good care of Tucker the first few months we were in Holland).

We left Boston on Wednesday the 30th of September and landed Thursday October 1. The kids slept a few hours each on the plane and all of us slept in the shuttle from the airport to our house (3 hrs). The dog arrived parched from barking so much, but seems unscathed by flying in cargo for 6 hours.

It is day 6 and we are just getting adjusted to this time zone. They say it takes children 1 day per every hour of time difference. That is right on track. It is a six hour time difference. Last night was the first night that Katie stayed in hr bed all night and Andrew slept through the night.

It was sad leaving our friends and family in the US but it feels good to get back to our routine and "real" life. Katie has adjusted back to school very well and Andrew just goes with the flow.

Storyland

No time to write anything...

Here are pictures from Storyland from Sunday, September 20th.

Fourth time's a charm!

The kids were wearing new PJ's and looked awfully cute so I tried to take a picture...

First Shot...Andrew is rubbing his eyes...

Second Shot... Andrew has his eyes closed...


Third Shot...Andrew has his eyes closed and Katie's tongue is out...


Fourth Shot... Finally! So cute.

My Pride and Joys

I used to be very good about having the kids pictures taken professionally. On the nose I did Katie's 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 12 month portraits. For Andrew, well, close to that...(second child~ sorry buddy).

It had been almost a year since I had them done together and was stressing over it. I can prepare as much as I like...pick their outfits, schedule a convenient time, pack snacks and drinks... But, it all comes down to whether they are either "on" or "off"...

At the start, Andrew was OFF. He had fallen asleep in the car and did not wake up happy. So, the very nice photgrapher at Clix suggested to come back in a little bit because she had a wide open afternoon. We ran over to Chuckee Cheese, ate some pretty bad pizza and played on some pretty grimey rides. Didn't matter to me... We went back to Clix with a fed and happy toddler.

Most of the time (as mentioned in my last posting) Katie does not like her picture taken. She simply looks down and says no. I have a lot of pictures of the top of her head! Today, the stars must have been aligned and she was ON. She posed, she smiled, she teased the photographer and had a great time. She did great!

Here are the final poses of the kids we picked. Top right family picture was also from this sitting.

Just Another Day at the Zoo

Grammy came for a visit last week. As always, the kids ate up the attention, and I very much enjoyed the company.

We headed to York's Wild Animal Kingdom for the morning. The kids both love animals and Katie is into the Lion King (still) and has now added Madagascar to the list of movies she likes to watch over and over...

Feeding the deer

Katie & Grammy in front of "Simba" & "Nala"
(look closely)

Andrew & Grammy looking at "Marty" & his friends

Andrew was a little afraid of the ducks.

They were pretty aggressive with the food!

Katie's good friend, Jillian, met us at the zoo.

(Disclaimer: Yes, it does appear that I have an uneven amount of pictures of my children. But, for the record, Katie will not let me take her picture. Andrew, thankfully, has not hit this "lovely" three-year old phase yet)

At the Farm with Grandma

Ned is in Holland for two weeks straight and me and the kids are enjoying what is left of summer in the US. For those of you with little ones, you know how taxing it is to be solo so I recruited some help.

My mom, known as Grandma, came up for an extended labor day weekend. Here are a few pictures from Butternut Farm where we picked blueberries, peaches and plums.

Katie, true to form, was careful and diligent in her picking. Making sure not to pick fruit too green, too firm, too mushy etc.

Andrew, true to form as well, was less precise. Picking green blueberries and eating handfuls, picking up mushy peaches and plums off the ground (!!!) and eating them.

Peach picking with Andrew

Peach picking with Katie

Blueberry picking

Note: Andrew's hand in the basket of blueberries!

It was a gorgeous New England day and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it.