Ocean City

The kids and I flew down to Philadelphia for the week. We made a quick trip to Ocean City NJ for 3 nights. We packed in all the major attractions: Mack and Manco Pizza, arcade, and amusement rides on the boardwalk. And, of course, the beach every day.

Cant wait to go back in August!

Andrew enjoying a slice of Mack and Manco. The best pizza!

Air hockey at the boardwalk arcade



The kids got new boogie boards from my parents. Katie and Andrew were both very determined to stand on them. They had a lot of wipe outs and lots of laughs!

Love the goggles!

Living Abroad

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Caterpillars to Butterflies!

We did it last year when Katie was 4 1/2 and Andrew 2 1/2 and I think this year was even more fun! Both kids were so into checking the caterpillars to see if they turned into cocoons and then they anxiously waited for the cocoons to turn to butterflies. We had 5 Painted Lady butterflies!

The company we got them from is called Insect Lore. (www.insectlore.com). The caterpillars come in a small cup with a lid in the mail. Yep, in the mail. After about a week of so they get fatter and fatter and then hang from the lid and cocoon. 7-10 days later they turn into butterflies. You feed them sugar water and then release a few days later. Very simple. And very fun and educational!

Last year we released them on the bay in Ocean City, NJ. This year, at a butterfly sactuary park in Saratoga Springs, NY

Speaking English

A lot of people have not heard of Maastricht, I hadn't before we moved there in 2009. Heck, my geography is so bad I had to look at a map to see exactly where the Netherland was! (I think the Catholic schools failed me in the World History department...) But, apparently Maastricht, which is located in the southern part of the Netherlands, is a very attractive location for companies from all over the globe. Because of this, I was able to meet hundreds of other Expatriat families and become friends with dozens of wonderful and intersting ladies.

Something striking that I will take away from my experience for years and years to come, is the English. Those ladies from England. As an American raised in the United States, my history of England is very...well, non existent. It was drilled into our heads "the British are coming!", the red coats, and that we won our independance in 1776, but really other than that, I am pretty ignorant of the English. We had an opportunity to go to London in 2010 on one of our many mini-breaks and it was by far one of the best European cities we visited. The people were great, the shopping outstanding, the food - delicious - fish and chips!, and just an all around wonderful city.

As I said earlier, I met a lot of fascinating expatriate ladies. From Isreal, Russia, Japan, Germany, India, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and more. But, there was a very large population in Maastricht from England. Americans are different from the English, but one obvious commonality is that we both speak English. Or, so I thought.

Here is some of the "new" English I learned while living abroad:

Boot (trunk of the car)

Bonnet (hood of the car)

Telly (TV)

Nik Naks or pants (underwear)

Tap (facet)

Ta (thank you)

Lift (elevator)

Jumper (sweater)

Pushchair (stroller)

Pram (stroller)

Falling (getting pregnant)

Trousers (pants)

Naff (anorak)

chocablock (traffic on the road)

moreish (very yummy)

wingeing (whining)

motorway (highway)

poorly (not feelig well)

crsips (potatoe chips)

I want a go (I would like a turn)

Every time I heard one of these English-ism from one of my friends, it always gave me a little chuckle (that's a laugh for the English reading this ..ha ha). They were all wonderful women and I hope that our friendship continues across the miles.

Cheers!

Easter

Since we moved back I have been very behind in my blogging. We have been back a few weeks and I finally feel like we are getting into the swing of thing.

We had a fabulous Easter in Maastricht. I love the kids innocence with this holiday, much like Christmas. There is a certain magic about it.

The kids riding the canon outside the Maastricht city walls after Sunday service

Katie outside the church gates

Beautiful Maastricht

The best picture I could get of Andrew

After the egg hunt in our garden Easter morning

Ready and waiting by the glass door to the garden

Found one!

Opening Easter baskets

Dying Eggs

Katie and Grandma

Very serious

Very proud

Silly Hair Day at School

The kids school in the Netherlands had a fundraiser. Pay a euro, wear your hair silly.

It was fun...and silly!

Back

Andrew wanted to sleep with Katie.

Park of his separation anxiety we think.

We arrived safe and sound back in the good ol' USA with little drama on Saturday April 30th. Like clockwork, we went through one week of jet lag...the kids getting up at 3am the first few days, then 5am and then gradually it got back to normal. -- Andrew at 6am and Katie around 7:30am.

Now, 3 weeks later, we are getting into a good routine and starting to feel like we are home. (At least I am). Andrew is having the most difficult time adjusting. To him, Maastricht was the only home he knew. We moved when he was nearly 15 months old. He misses his friends, places, school, neighborhood, ad so forth. And, as most of you know, he is very verbal so he is not afraid to tell me all about what he misses on a daily basis. Katie has adjusted very well. She is excited about seeing her friends, playing tee ball and learning to ride a bike!

All in all we are doing well. More blogs to come.

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!