30 Days Hath...

We are at t-minus 30 days until we leave the Netherlands and return to our home country. Until we are "repatriated", the technical term used..

Since the end of January when Ned's company told us we were to move, it has been a little bit of an emotional roller coaster for me. The first few weeks I was sad. Just down in the dumps. Even a little angry. I worked really hard to assimilate into the Dutch culture and it isn't the easier culture to get used to. There are so many things that are just different from American culture. First and foremost, the language. A few others - driving with bikers everywhere, grocery foods, clothes and shoe shopping, banking, customer service or lack thereof...Many many more...

When I reflect on what I will miss most, its easy. My friends. I wonderful friends here. Friends that feel like family. When you live abroad without family, there are times when you need help. Especially when most of the husbands travel for their jobs. I found people like this. People who love me, my kids, the whole kit and kaboodle. For this, I am very grateful.

I will also miss the city. Maastricht is a medium size city with major city size charm. I can be there in 5 minutes, always find a parking spot and feel safe walking with the 2 kids without another adult. The shopping and cafes are great. Once I figured out where to shop and clothes that will fit me (sizing is, of course different), I looked forward to my mornings when Andrew was in school and I had time to meet a friend for coffee or browse for the house, kids or me.

I certainly will miss travel. We have taken advantage of living in Europe. We have traveled to at least 7 countries. England, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain. Our kids have become seasoned travelers. They are awesome at airport security and don't blink and eye when sleeping at this hotel or that. They love exploring new places and Katie even enjoys trying new foods. They have become pretty flexible travelers.

Those are probably my top three things I miss the most. I am sure as we get closer to departure day on April 30th, I will think of more. Hopefully between packing and organizing, I will have time to jot down a few more thought on my blog...

España

The kids had off from school for Carnaval (see last post) so we used half of the week to take a quick trip to one of the most visited cities in Europe - Barcelona. (We read that the top four cities to visit in Europe are: London, Rome, Barcelona, and Paris. We have seen them all!..and a few more)

Barcelona was a great city. It is right on the Mediterranean Sea. The water was too cold for me and Ned, but the kids had a great time splashing around and jumping the waves.

That is the W Hotel in the background

Our first day, after a romp at the beach, we took the El Transbordador Aeri del Port (cable car) to Montjuic. The cable car looked like this and was VERY high and VERY crowded. I don't recommend it for those with a fear of heights or cramped spaced...

But, it allowed us to capture views like this...

and this...

We walked around a few parks and then hopped on the Teleferic de Montjuic (Gondola)

And Arrived at the Montjuic Castle. The kids enjoyed climbing on the old armory and checking out the old castle, built in the 18th century.


On the way down (we took a cable car and a gondola up...what comes up must come down) we passed a few great playgrounds. Barcelona has wonderful playgrounds scattered through the city. It was perfect. When the kids were getting burnt out of sightseeing and eating tapas and paella, we hit a playground. This one had particularly huge slides. All 4 of us enjoyed a few rides!


It was so loved in Rome and London, we decided to do the tourist thing and ride the double-decker tourist bus (or as Andrew calls is - the decker decker bus). It truly is a good way to get a layout of the city if you only have a few days.


The bull fighting arena. Still in use. And, apparently controversial. The tour guide said there are activists outside protesting on game days.

Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece.

Gaudi started it in the early 1900s and died in 1926. They expect the church to continue being contructed over the next few decade.

Park Geull by Antoni Gaudi

We had a lot of fun listening to street musicians and shows and checking out all the Gaudi art

Gaudi Dragon Fountain

At night we went to the Magic Fountains at Montjuic. Think Las Vegas water show outside the Bellagio, but with one huge fountain. Every 15 minutes they put on another show. The first one we saw, by luck, was a Disney themed one. It has a variety of Disney songs set to magnificent lights and water display. We liked it so much, we stayed for another show which was set to 90s music. The kids, of course, liked the first one better.

It was a great trip!

Carnaval

Carnaval (the dutch spelling of Carnival) is like Mardi Gras sans the flashing. It is celebrated in Limburg, the southern part of the Netherlands (the light blue on the bottom right-hand side of the map).

Limburg is predominantly Catholic so it is, basically, the partying before Lent. It can be summed up in four workds: parades, costumes, bindge-drinking, and parties. All of downtown was closed for three days. Some shops even boarded up to protect glass windows. As you can imagine, most of the activities are not for children, but we were able to enjoy dressing up, the parades and music that went along with the festival.

Saturday we went to a friends house to kick off the festivities. We missed the arrival of the Prince of Carnaval, but probably had more fun hanging out with our friends anyway. Sunday we met up with friends at the parade and then went to one of the squares for some food and drink. Monday was the children's parade. The kids walked in part of the parade that ended in one of the larger squares in the city. We met up with several friends and the kids were able to run around and play with their friends.

Ned, Three Musketeer. Katie, Mouse. Andrew, Monkey. Ellen, Marie Antoinette.

Andrew fell asleep right in the middle of the parade. Tired little Monkey

The kids playing with their friends in the square.

Monday. Ellen, clown. Andrew, Elephant. Katie, Nala the Lioness.

Cheeky Elephant watching the parade

Cutest lioness I ever did see

Our friends Barnabe and Chrissy
(she actually is pregnant - twins!)

Karen and Ned

A little taste of the sights and sounds of Carnaval!

Home

Its official. Our Ex-pat assignment is coming to a close. T-minus 8 weeks. And what busy 8 weeks those will be!

We will soon be going from this...

to this...

Snapshot

I need to write this down so that I don't forget it. We are in an amazing"kid phase" right now. The kids play well together and genuinely enjoy each other. Truly. I could not say this a few months ago. Not sure I will say this in a few months from now...

It was as if a switch turned on Andrew and all of a sudden he is able to keep up with the way Katie plays. They are all about imaginary role playing. Whether it is dragon slaying, going to school, a work trip, a parade, or the hospital it is simply bliss for Ned and I. I really need to get the video camera out and try to capture this. It is hysterical to listen to.

Last Saturday morning Andrew woke up at about 7am. I went into his room and told him it was early and to play with his cars. He did. Wow. About 45 minutes later, I heard Katie scuttle across the carpet into his room. More quiet play. Giggles.

We slept until 8:30am. Heaven.

Making Lemon squares

Sitting on the couch watching TV.

Snuggling on the couch for no reason at all....

Budding Artists

I am sure most mom's (dad's too, maybe) can commiserate with the the amount of artwork done by our children. Sure, it is adorable and oh-so-creative, but what on earth do you do with all the paintings and drawings? Like most moms, I keep the good ones, toss the not-so-good ones.

Here are a few of the "good ones." In my mind, that is.

Katie's rainbow. She wrote Kathryn and Mom.
In December she announced that in January she would be Kathryn. When it turned February, she was back to Katie. We shall see what March brings...

Andrew's rainbow. Katie wrote his name.
So far, he only knows "A" for Andrew.

Katie drew a random picture of a camel. Not bad.

Self portrait. This is the first picture I have seen Katie draw that has a body. Complete with kneecaps, belly button and socks, of course. Before this, the legs came out of the head. From my education, I remember this is a developmental milestone. Cant recall what it is called...

Andrew's self portrait. This is the first drawing that resembles a person.

Birthday Pictures

Andrew requested a Race Car party and by 'race car' he meant Lightening McQueen. The one and only, in his mind, race car. We had 6 of his best friends and a few siblings come to his party this past Sunday. At first he was timid and unsure...not quite like him, but once he warmed up, he was the life of the party!

We played Pin the Tooth on the Tow Mater, a hand crafted mom-invented game. Each child had a tooth with their name on it. Andrew came in first place. No, it wasn't rigged!

5 ft. tall Tow Mater

Andrew pinning the tooth

Opening presents

The cake. Ned gets all the credit!

Andrew seeing the cake for the first time

Waiting is SO difficult

Happy Boy!

Tired boy...At the end of the party

His actual birthday, Monday Andrew and his three best buds, Lauren, Ian and Henry went out to lunch at a cool cafe in Belgium that has a big play area.

Playing Air Hockey at the cafe

At school on Tuesday, the day after his birthday, he celebrated with his classmates. It is a school tradition that the birthday child gets one of these teacher-made personalized hats. Katie still has hers from when she turned 4! The kids love them.

A proud mommy singing Happy Birthday at school