Our last Sunday

It's Sunday afternoon and we've not packed a single box yet this weekend.

Right now Adam and Edward are having an afternoon nap and I'm sitting at the kitchen table with a great mountain of packing boxes on my right and a huge pile of stuff in front of me and wondering what to do next.
Yesterday we sold the washing machine, and the same people want to buy our IKEA kitchen utensils and toaster etc and are going to pick them up on Thursday afternoon. The iron and kettle people could not pick up last Friday and so Adam is dropping the stuff off to them on Tuesday morning.

Some good news is that Singapore Air has issued our flight tickets - thankfully they accepted a short note from the midwife saying that I am pregnant & that baby is due 18 January as a "fit to fly" certificate. The note doesn't say that I am in good health, or that the pregnancy is trouble free or even mention flying!
I'm not happy with it (the fit to fly certificate) as I am worried that we will show up to check in the staff with take a look at my Enormous pregnancy tummy and demand a 'proper' certificate.
So I've downloaded a tick-the-box fit to fly certificate from the Emirates website & am going to take it along to my final Dutch health check (this Thursday) and ask the midwife to fill it in. This should get around the language barrier as all she has to do is tick all the boxes, fill in my due date and name and sign it.
Hopefully I will have the older midwife, rather than the younger one this Thursday - the older one speaks better English, seems to be a pleasant person and the younger one wrote the very short note that I sent to Singapore Air. I would prefer not to have to try and explain in basic English why I need another certificate.

Adam was very, very stressed by the end of last working week and he unfortunately has a really busy week coming up. He has to drive to the Hague every day next week! It's actually not a long distance (by Australian standards) but there are bumper to bumper traffic jams literally all the way. Last Friday Adam took Edward and me into the Hague with him for the afternoon because I was going a bit crazy being in the house all the time. How my perspective has changed - I now find wandering around a shopping street & buying some lip gloss and travel toiletries to be a really good day out! Hmmmm.
And it took over 3.5 hours for us to drive home (should have been a 45 minute drive). I hope Adam doesn't get 5 repeat days of that because it adds a lot of hours to his normal working week.

To schedule him into 5 further days in the Hague as well as an evening meeting in some other Dutch place in his last week is not considerate at all of his company and is (in my opinion) a bit disappointing. Especially as Friday of this week the cleaner is arriving at 8am with a van to remove all our goods that are not being shipped to Australia, and after we have the end of lease inspection from the real estate people, we have no address in the Netherlands.

This is all complicated by the fact that we have an 18 month old child & I'm rather pregnant. Normally I would take the moving in my stride. But I am worried about how Edward is going to cope on Friday - he won't be able to play in the house & the weather is just awful at the moment but I suppose I could put him in his snow suit and sit in the back garden with him while the house is cleaned. He will have to have his nap in the stroller, which isn't ideal but it's only one day.
I'm hoping that Adam will have a light working day on Friday as I am without a mobile phone and by the end of the day he will be without a vehicle. I suppose the worst case scenario is that I take a bus from Eemnes to Hilversum with all our luggage & Edward as well, hope that some Dutch person will help me with the luggage (ha, ha as if that would happen!), and make my own way to the hotel.... and wait for Adam to arrive. Oh well, we will see.

The Countdown is On

Adam has handed in his resignation, our house is full of boxes in preparation for sea freighting and there are only NINE more days until we leave the NL for a holiday in Switzerland with Liz and Meinrad. And after that, we fly to Schiphol, sleep overnight in a very cheap hotel, and fly home.

I'm so excited about it, it's scary!

I've become obsessed with doing things in advance and have already packed our handluggage. I'm currently weighing up whether or not to pack our big luggage for Switzerland, ie now or do it on the weekend. The only thing holding me back is that I am not sure how we will manage on clothes for the next 9 days as the rest is either going to be sea-freighted or go into our Australia-luggage.

We've sold most of our Dutch language books and we've also sold the iron and kettle. So after tonight there are no more cups of tea in our house (not that we drink much tea anyway) and I will have to go to the neighbour's to do the ironing. I've also got someone interested in our washing machine and at a pinch we could sell it on the weekend..... and use the neighbour's washing machine a few times.

Things we Like About the Netherlands

This blog entry is going to record the things that we like about the Netherlands. Adam and I have been asked what we like about the Netherlands quite a few times over the past few months. After much thought I have come up with the following (in no order of preference):

* My perception of the Dutch male attitude towards young children.
In Australia only women of the grandparent generation tend to notice other people's babies. In the NL I have found that lots of people, male and female would smile at Edward / wave at him / play peek-a-boo. (At first I thought this country was full of weird men who had strange fondness for babies, but after a few months realised that, in general, Dutch men are not ashamed or embarrased to notice babies). I think this is a good thing because it makes me feel that babies are openly valued by everyone, not just (older) women.

* Adam likes the cheap beer.

* I like the little red bottles that spices come in.

* I LOVE not having Adam's weeknights and weekends taken over by whatever "Special" / "Once a Year" / "Unique" etc etc sporting event that is on the television. It is going to be hard for me to accept going back into sport-obsessed Australia.

* It is wonderful to be completely unaware of American 'news'. I'm sure I will find the Australian focus on the USA difficult to accept.

* Stroopwaffels. The only drawback is that I cannot stop eating them. I wish they came in packets of one or two, rather than a dozen.

* Dutch use of indoor lighting.

* Affordable cut flowers.

Animal Feeding in Laren

Part One



Part Two

Amsterdam Boat Cruise

Happy 18 month birthday Darling Edward

Today Edward is 18 months old. He is a lovely little boy and Adam and I are very proud of him.

His current special things are:
- favourite word: Bubbles
- favourite toys:
Lego (for a quiet game),
the lower kitchen cupboard which has pots & pans, plastic spoons etc and
the never-used-on-a-fly Fly Swat.
- favourite food: it's a contest between steak, oranges and chocolate.

Windmill of Weesp

We have more Australian visitors! At the moment we are enjoying a wonderful visit from Adam's Great Aunt Glad and her daughter Kerrie. It is very, very nice for me to have people to talk to during the week, and I'm going to be quite upset when they leave I think. Most of their visit has been taken up with the very exciting life in Eemnes, where a daily highlight is walking to and fro the local shops. Last Sunday Adam took us in the car to see a windmill, in the town of Weesp.

Windmills of Weesp

The Forest

A favourite Sunday afternoon activity for Edward is exploring in the forest near our house.
Here is a video of him.

Dutch Supermarket Manners

It's Saturday afternoon and Edward and I have just returned from our local supermarket. I promised one of Adam's very nice Den Haag colleagues that I would write a positive blog entry about the NL. Warning: this is not going to be that entry.

Part One: Super de Boer in Laren
I do not know what it is with (some) Dutch people that they seem to think it is perfectly OK to push between a (heavily pregnant) woman and the pram (called a "buggy" over here) to snatch a carton of milk off the shelf. This actually happened to me yesterday afternoon at Super de Boer in Laren.
If the Dutch shopper would just wait 5 seconds or so, I could pick up our milk, move forward, and they can then pick up their milk.

For the benefit of any Dutch readers of this, the above is extremely rude behaviour. It not only makes the mother-child shopper scared that someone is about to abduct their child / steal the mobile phone, house keys, purse that are kept in the back pocket of the pram, it also is very effective at telling the mother-child shopper that they are getting in the way and should do their shopping somewhere else.

The problem is that I cannot boycott Super de Boer as it is the nicest supermarket in this area and I am already boycotting the local Boni (see part 2 below).

Part Two: The Boni Check-Out Chick
A few weeks ago (while our internet was broken, or I would have written about this earlier) I popped out to go to the larger local supermarket (the Boni) for the daily groceries. This is the supermarket that smells like a tip. It's cheap, which (was) its saving grace.
I collected the things for the day and lined up at the checkout. To my astonishment, when it was my turn to be served the checkout lady called out to another shopper (who was waiting in the queue at the next checkout) and waved her over. I had already started to load my goods onto the conveyer belt. The checkout operator stopped the belt and glared at me. Other woman pushed in front of me and unloaded her groceries, which were put through (other shopper and Checkout chatting vigorously).
Checkout operator then put my groceries through in complete silence (no greeting etc). She told me the amount due. I paid. She turned to the next person (no offer of receipt "Bon" over here. How weird I thought.
I left the shop, completely bemused and feeling really upset.

I was in tears by the time I reached the babyweighing place on the corner, and this turned to anger when I reached the marketplace. So I thought I would turn around, pointedly get my money back and redo the shopping in the other supermarket in this village. But she had not given me the receipt!
So I am getting my revenge by never buying anything from Boni again. I don't think they'll notice. With hindsight, maybe the other shopper was the best friend of the checkout chick? I don't know but an explanation would have been nice, rather than being barely tolerated at the checkout.

Part Three: The Co-Op Shoppers
Now for the final part - today's delightful experience at the Co-op (the only supermarket left in Eemnes where I will shop). I go in, choose some apples, a carton of milk and some revolting Dutch meat for stirfry - Edward needs some protein. Proceed to the checkout. No, no don't worry, checkout chick is lovely at Co-op. Pay for goods. Try to push stroller through so that I can leave.

The way is blocked by 2 cardboard boxes that are lying on the floor in front of the stroller. I take my pregnant stomach around the pram, pick up the boxes and put them slightly to the side. (This took me all of maybe 30 seconds or so.) I turn around.

A Dutch man has pushed the pram & Edward out of his way and is pointedly stuffing his groceries into a large plastic bag, hovering it near the shelf where he could put his bag if the pram was not there. The checkout lady is still putting his goods through and there is no-one else waiting. I feel a bit miffed that this stranger has (1) touched my pram with my baby in it, and (2) that he is so very close to my keys and mobile which are clearly in view in the back pocket. Thankfully my wallet was safe.

OK I tell myself, don't be oversensitive, just leave. So, with cardboard box with groceries under left arm, pushing Edward in pram with right arm, I head towards the exit. Can I get out? Oh no - a horde of Dutch people decide at that moment to shove their way in. In they come, past the heavily loaded pregnant lady. Don't worry about her, she can fend for herself.

Now I guess no Dutch person would think there was anything wrong with Part Three. But I tell you, this would NEVER happen in Australia, or in the UK. People would be ashamed of themselves. Leaving aside the pregnant with pram issue, it is quite basic manners for people who live in a community to let those people who are exiting, out first, and then enter. One would think in a country as crowded as the NL that this would be really normal.

I must say that we were "warned" in our Dutch class about Dutch "manners". Well, the teacher told us that in the NL it is considered "sexist" if you do something like hold a door open for another person. She called it equality. I call it selfishness. The Dutch attitude actually extends to no-one helping me last week lift Edward in his pram up 3 steps into a tram in Den Haag. I am obviously pregnant - some women are at full term with the tummy I have now. It is not healthy for a pregnant woman to lift pram plus 17 month old toddler up stairs.

What our Australian Dutch teacher didn't say is that this place is without those little social rules that make an individual's daily life better.

Dijkfest

Ten to seven on a Sunday evening.

We should be enjoying the relaxation and quiet of sleepy Eemnes on a Sunday. This is the place where the only thing that is open is the church (at the end of our street). But no. It is Dijkfest here, which is (I think) an event that is unique to Eemnes. Inmates of Eemnes have been encouraged to put up artwork in their front gardens. There are several themes - Dutch flags, orange things, clogs, lots and lots of dairy cows. A welcome delight is the naked (male) garden gnome.
Another part of Dijkfest is musical. This unfortunately occurs in a huge pavilion that has been set up one block from our house, and in the Eemnes Jazz Night Club, which is less than 50 metres away from our house on the same block.

Hence our house is currently being bombarded with the sounds of an atrocious brass band, interspersed with a man bellowing something (in Dutch) on a microphone. This is due to some event being held in the pavilion.

I think this is slightly worse than the "Kinderfest" which was held last Wednesday, starting at 12.30, just when Edward fell asleep for his afternoon nap. Kinderfest consisted of Yelling Microphone Man for 20 seconds or so, followed by the sounds of dozens of screaming, cheering Dutch children, followed by Yelling Microphone Man... and so on for an hour or so. Thankfully once Edward is asleep, he is asleep.

The last two nights we have been subjected to Free Jazz Concerts (starting at 9pm and continuing with no break at all until the early hours of the morning). These are so loud that it sounds like we have the radio on too loudly inside our double glazed house. I am hoping that we don't have a third night of Jazz because my temper is wearing extremely thin. I've spent too many hours in the last 48 hours lying in bed, desparately tired, being subjected to some idiot singing their lungs out, and wondering if it would be possible to take matters into my own hands and cut the electricity supply to the Eemnes Jazz Night Club.

September already!

Happy first of September everyone!

We're in the middle of a very relaxing Saturday. So far we've had 2 big Skype sessions with Adam's family in Newcastle, done the weekend's supermarket shopping and an awful lot of websurfing.

On that note, I think I have developed an internet addiction. I love reading blogs of other expatriate housewives, some of them make great reading. I'm also addicted to looking up recipes as we left all our cooking books in Australia. And we realised last week that the Cook & the Chef can be downloaded and watched on the internet. Fabulous! We were going to have another Cook & Chef episode today, as a Saturday treat, but the ABC website is down. Oh well, I'll try again later.

Now about our internet. Our internet (which is provided 'free' via our neighbours - the "Gs" - who are also the son & daughter-in-law of our extortinate landlord). It managed to be broken all last week. Every time I tried to log on I got an error message (in Dutch) that said there was a security problem.

It's great being married to someone who works in IT. Adam managed to get me into gmail, which was very nice, and he also found a sneaky way to log into his work system but that was for emergencies only.

And we couldn't bother the neighbours about the internet being broken because Mrs G's mother died the week before and I hear her yelling at her children every afternoon. She is wearing full black and it would have been tasteless (and a bit scary) to complain about the internet. So we waited, and waited... and to my delight, yesterday it fixed itself.

Oh dear, Edward has now developed the ability to remove his nappy. He has just trotted over and handed the offending article to me and is running around stark naked. It's good that the house has wooden floors, and that we are only renting it!

Happy September everyone, it feels like a big milestone for me as September is a whole month closer to when we go home.

Bruges

To finish Stephen's visit off in style, Adam took a day's leave and we headed to Bruges for a short holiday. It's a lovely place, full of chocolate shops, beer shops and shops that sell lace. The canals are very peaceful and curve around the city.

Edward developed a bit of an upset tummy and barely ate anything for 24 hours. So much for my fattening him up regime.

Bruges

The Laren Duckpond

Today is Sunday. Having saved various bits of stale bread (and some decaying spinach), we took Edward to feed the ducks at the Laren Duckpond.

The Laren ducks love us!

We were greeted with vigorous quacking as soon as we got out of the car. The ducks were so excited that about 20 of them climbed out of the pond and milled around our feet, while the other 30 or so swam towards us, with great expectations.

I discovered the ducks really don't like spinach. They will eat it if there is nothing else on offer. On the other hand, ducks love to eat stale bread.

Dear Edward is very brave. He didn't really appreciate being put to stand on the ground among 20 hungry, quacking ducks. To his credit he didn't cry (or indeed move). Rather, he stood rooted to the spot in front of Daddy's legs, shaking with fear.

We now realise that hungry ducks are a bit scary for a 16 month old. Don't worry, we rescued him straight away.

A Nice Quiet Week

Today is Friday and the end of a nice quiet week. We were all absolutely exhausted by the end of last weekend and it took until Wednesday to get back to 'normal', whatever normal is for us.
Yesterday my expat friend Copper and her lovely baby Maddox came over for a play. Poor Edward woke from his nap to find visitors in the house. He spent half an hour first hiding behind my legs, clinging to me for dear life, and then quietly hiding behind the large lego box, looking at his feet. Then he recovered and had a very nice play. By the end of their visit he was bringing Maddox toys to look at and thoughtfully putting them in front of M's hands (M is quite young and is just beginning to roll over).

I think the Dutch summer is over as we are having weather slightly like a Canberra Autumn - crisp nights. During the day it is overcast and sometimes rainy. Difficult to dry the washing.
This weekend we plan to relax and do nothing, which will be wonderful.

Hamburg - Miniature Wonderland

Adam's father (aka Grandpop) is a model train enthusiast and for the last few months has been planning to show Edward a very large model train exhibition called Miniature Wonderland, in Hamburg. Last weekend we drove to Hamburg and achieved this dream.

We also had great fun exploring the city centre, which had live music, beer & lots of sausages for Adam and GP, and a great many excellent shops. I enjoyed exploring a city that I know quite well, but had not visited since 1999.

On the way back Adam enjoyed some fun, fun, fun on the autobahn. Edward found the long drive very difficult, especially on the way home.

Hamburg

I don't have anything exciting to write, but thought it would be good to do the first blog entry for August.

So what's been happening over here?
Well, yesterday morning we drove Stephen to Amsterdam Central station and put him on the train to Paris. He was extremely excited (well, who wouldn't be?) and it did look lovely, travelling first class. We had to park the car in the most smelly car-park that I have ever been in so far. It was very close to the station but honestly smelt like a urinal.

Then we drove back to Eemnes had a quiet rest-of-Sunday as it was very hot (30 degrees) and sunny. Highlights were me washing the sheets, all of us falling asleep in the afternoon and Edward having an enormous 2 and a half hour nap.

I managed to rectify a small knitting disaster, which was good because I was becoming quite cross with it.

Oh! I do have something interesting to write. I have a pet. Late Saturday night (or maybe early Sunday morning) Adam discovered that we have a hedgehog living in our garden. Now I have my very own Dutch Pet. I haven't met it yet, but I am happy to say that it does eat sliced steak. We are having some sort of turkish casserole, which has some beef in it tonight, so I will see if hedgehog likes turkish beef as much as it does organic steak. We also have some extremely cute field mice in the garden. Adam is feeding them muesli.

Edward is enjoying running around the back garden. I make sure that he doesn't go out there until the sun is quite low. One thing about this climate is that it produces a very nice and soft lawn. Perfect for a little boy to run around on.

Edward on Holiday

It's time for Edward to have a blog entry for himself.

I've been meaning to post about Edward for a while however we have been quite busy.... So.

At his 14 month check, Edward had grown an impressive 3.5 cms to 78.5cm (since the 12 month check) but gained only 100 grams (to 9.4kgs). So, when we left for our holiday, Edward was a slim baby. Well! A week of French food and he is covered in a layer of fat like a little seal. It is so nice to have his chubby little thighs back and even a little round tummy.

Some Edward highlights of our holiday:

Edward running by the swimming pool:



A lovely video of Edward playing with Daddy on a swing in the garden:



And some photos:

France Holiday

Forget England. France is lovely. The weather is great, food tastes like food, lots of things to look at. It reminded us of Australia, but without the beach and of course, people speaking French.

Our holiday in St Cyprien, Dordogne, France.

Grandpop cheers on the Tour De France

We are just back from France and had such a busy week!

Adam's father realised a life-long dream of watching the Tour de France. For all those T d F enthusiasts, here is a video to watch:



Edward was impressed with the great stream of floats that preceded the acutal bicycles, but by the time the cyclists came past, he was soundly asleep.

Urk

Urk is a town in the Netherlands that used to be an island. Then the Dutch drained away a lot of water in the 1970s and what was once an island became a lake-side town.

Urk is quite a strange place to visit - it is something that is centuries old, in the middle of soul-less modern polder. The water-side of Urk has lighthouse, seagulls, old town with winding streets etc. The rest of Urk is like the rest of the Netherlands.

Urk

Jelly Bean

Some very exciting news. Amongst all the chaos and excitement of British travels, we are also delighted to be able to announce that in January we are expecting Magee Baby Number Two.



Currently named the Jelly Bean, we are hoping that it arrives safely and in good health.

Dorothy is having a real cross-cultural experience with Dutch midwifes.

Jaunt to Ye Olde England

Last night we returned after 10 days in England. It has been really hard to come back to the Netherlands. Adam and I have a pact that we are going to try and stay positive.... Oh dear.

England Trip

About England. English people are so nice! Pleasant, good manners, no pushing etc. Strangers carrying Edward and the pram up and down underground steps. I've never been offered so many seats to sit on... The contrast to the Netherlands is huge. OK I'd better stop now before I make myself too upset about coming back to the Netherlands.

We started out in London and on the first day visited Adam's old friends Steve and Sarah, who are enjoying their (georgous) little son, Harry. Harry is lovely, talkative and friendly. Our little one is quite shy in comparison, but that's OK Edward darling, we love you. Edward didn't know quite what to make of friendly little Harry and so had a good time playing with Harry's toys. A particular favourite was a toy drum that played music.

Then we returned to the hotel and had Greek takeaway from As Greek As It Gets for dinner. Oh my goodness! After seven and a half months of Dutch food I almost cried (with happiness).

The next morning Adam set out at 6.30am to collect his father (Stephen) from Heathrow. I thought they would be back at the hotel by 9am or so. When 10am came and went, Edward and I explored in Earl's Court on our own. Well Adam and Stephen eventually arrived - minus Stephen's luggage. What a shame. Joys of Qantas /BA.

Then Edward met his Magee grandfather for the first time since November. Grandpa was very tactful and nice.

Then we had a frantic day sightseeing - went to Harrods, then walked to Buckingham Palace, then to Westminster, then back to the hotel. That doesn't sound like much, but it was. Late in the evening, Adam collected Damien who was finishing his Europe tour. We had Thai food for dinner. Again - absolutely delicious and quite unlike any Dutch food.

Then next morning we had a great trek over London to fetch the hire car, then drive to a village near Bath. Adam did a marvellous job of driving.

Settled into our holiday cottage and Edward had a lovely explore of the house (I think he'd forgotten what carpet was) and rediscovered it.

Over the next few days we explored Bristol, Bath, Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace. Adam had to work in London one of the days, which was a shame but means this week will only be a 4 day week for him.
In terms of food, we had a roast one night, a curry another night, some apple strudel with Real Cream (the Dutch don't do cream), went to a real supermarket which reminded me of Coles and Woolworths at home. We even had crumpets for breakfast one morning, with strawberry jam that tasted like strawberries. OK I need to stop now or I'll cry. Only a week until we have a holiday in France.

The trip home was quite exhausting. Edward ate so many dried apricots that he had a very squirty bottom just before we were boarding the flight back to the Netherlands. Luckily there was a public loo right by our gate, so I changed him (standing) underneath a hand-drier.

Snorty the pig

Snorty is our name for a pig who lives on a neighbouring farm in Eemnes. We've been worried about Snorty because he has been missing from his yard for a month or so. I (Dorothy) was convinced that he had been cruelly murdered. Adam was hopeful that Snorty was merely on holiday.

To our delight in late June, Snorty came back. With a wife. Welcome home Mr and Mrs Snorty.

Adam's Dad on a train

Stephen loves trains. He has a big shed at his house where he builds trains. Here he is fulfilling a life-long dream travelling one of England's great railway routes - The Great Western Railway from Bath to London.

The Snotees are Back

Just a quick post. We have all had the most awful cold/ flu thing for the past week or so. Edward caught it on the train to Germany, and has progressed from last Sunday's fevers & bad temper, to well over a week of clear interspersed with green snot dribbling out of the Left Nostril Only, unable to breathe at all through his nose, to this morning's River of Green Snot (from Right Nostril - very well done Edward), brought on by my steaming him in the shower. This afternoon he finally stopped being bad tempered and now has a cough. I am giving him German cough medicine (NL only lets babies have homeopathic rubbish) and this at least helps him get to sleep.

Adam caught the germ first from Edward, but he only suffered 5 days or so. I was next to succumb and it has been quite vile. However I have great hopes that I will wake up tomorrow morning and feel better. Ha!

Some nice things have been happening though. I had a lovely day last Wednesday as we had Gabrielle (NZer married to a NLer) and her almost 1 year old daughter Isabelle over for a play. Edward needs to learn to stand up for himself when a girl takes his toys! Ah, but it was lovely.
And then today I had Copper (an American who is married to a NLer) and her little son Maddox over for a play. Edward was quite intrigued with Maddox and even lay next to him on the mat pretending to be a little baby. I love my little man.

Adam is in Houston at the moment. I am (just) managing to keep sane while he is away although why, oh why did our hot water stop working yesterday morning? Thankfully Adam gives great handyman tips on email.

In one week's time we are on holiday in the UK. Hooray!

I love second hand books!

You may have noticed the written part of our blog entries getting shorter and shorter. This is because I (Dorothy) write those and Adam does the photos and videos. Well, a few weeks ago I visited Jan-Maarten and Leo in Den Haag and we went to a lovely 2nd hand bookshop. I ended up staggering home with a few dozen books, incluing a load of old Agatha Christies from J-M's attic. So I've been on a reading frenzy. And when you spend every spare minute gobbling up a novel, there isn't much energy left to write a blog.
The good news is that I'm (as of last night) onto the last book.

Edward's Backyard Adventures

Here's a video of Edward in the back-yard with Adam. We were trying to video him throwing a ball... but managed to video Adam throwing balls instead.

It's a blogging frenzy!

Here is a lovely photo of Edward in his new Size 2 Bonds vest.

From Damiens Photo...

And if you click on the link there are lots of other photos of Edward. There is even a photo or 2 of him wearing his first pair of shoes. He HATES them. And won't walk a step in them.

Magee Brothers in London

Adam came home late last night from London. He and Damien had a wonderful time seeing the sights, eating curry and enjoying hearing other people speaking English.

Edward's Walking

Well this will just be a quick post as there's lots to do over here.



We have Adam's brother Damien visiting and it is extremely nice to have him over here. We collected him from Schiphol yesterday morning & got stuck in a traffic jam at just after 6 in the morning. Luckily it took Damien ages to get through Customs etc (bag full of Tim Tams, Vegemite, Cheezels, Cherry Ripe bars ...) so we were there to greet him when he came out of the gate.

Tomorrow morning he starts a month long bus tour of Europe. Goodness me, I would LOVE to be on a bus for a month with hotels, food, where to go etc all worked out.

Now before I forget, Edward started real walking last week. It's the end of an era. Our little baby is now a toddler, but I know he'll always be my Little One.

We really do have to buy him some shoes, but I'm worried that his feet are so big that there will be nothing that fits him in the baby shoe section. I managed to get him socks in Germany last month and they were the biggest in the baby area - any bigger and he is into the big boy section of the department store. He's had another growth spurt and the size 80 baby clothes don't fit him any more. Charmaine sent over a lovely size 2 Bonds vest for Edward and it fits very well in the body length, but I have to roll the arms up almost to the elbows. My sweet one has the same long body as his dad.

Will post video/photos when Adam is home and takes them off the camera for me.

A (live) spider

Well we had quite an exciting day last Friday as we had some very good news on several fronts.

It's so nice to have the 30% tax rebate ruling. Finally we can plan some travel. As a celebration we went to a big camping/outdoor store, which is Adam's favourite sort of shop. And we didn't buy anything, but picked up a few catalogues, which make for great loo reading for Adam.

Another exciting thing that happened on Friday involves Edward. I was cleaning up our perpetually messy kitchen, while Edward was playing near the back-door (which is always shut). Then I realised that Edward was suspiciously quiet. This only happens when he is immersed in doing something very interesting, (usually quite naughty or dangerous).
So I dashed over to the door. Edward was absolutely fascinated by something that he had found on the floor. Then he turned to me with a great big smile and reached out to hand me his "treasure". I was not wearing my glasses, so said "thank you Darling" and put my hand out.

He placed a (small) but very, very alive Spider in my hand.

I managed not to scream, shook the Spider off my hand and ran with Edward to the far end of the sittingroom. Then I dashed back (luckily I had not put the vacuum away) and vacuumed that Spider up. Edward of course crawled as fast as he could back to the back door to find his treasure.

Hmmm. His first pet?

Ah dear, that is a day I will never forget.

In Loving Memory to Nugget

From Wakkerendijk ...

I heard through the week that Nugget, a much loved horse of my dear friend Chris had died suddenly. Chris, this is a post for you. There are lots of beautiful horses in our village and I've been looking at them for the last few months and thinking how much you would enjoy seeing them (click on the words just under the photo to see lots of other horse photos).

Keukenhof

Yesterday was Saturday, the weather was fine.

The day before we visited JM and Leo in Den Haag. (Well, Adam had to work and Edward and I visited JM and Leo but Adam managed to come for lunch). Wonderful to see them and they are both looking well. Spike is a lovely dog and very nice around Edward. However, I've been worrying that I have left a book JM had got for Edward at their house - must Skype and check.

In the afternoon I went to the Mauritshuis and looked at various bits of priceless art until I had had enough. (Well, Edward had enough before I did. Edward's sole entertainment in the art gallery was trying to destroy the electronic guide machine.) Edward refused to eat any lunch at JM's house and then of course was starving by the time we arrived at the Mauritshuis. I did spend quite some time giving him bits of food in the foyer of Mauritshuis... an art gallery is not a relaxing place to take a baby.

On the drive home I was flipping through our guidebook to the NL. It has a list of "27 things not to miss" and we are trying to see all of the things on that list. We realised that one of the 27 things (the Keukenhof) would close until 2008 in 2 days time.

So on Saturday, we went to Keukenhof. It is billed as the largest spring garden in the world and is a huge old park full of flowers and paths, little streams, a lake and lots and lots of tourists. Here is Edward enjoying the flowers.

From Keukenhof

And here we are near a touristy fake windmill.

From Keukenhof

Edward and Daddy.

From Keukenhof

And here, we've finally found a pair of shoes to fit Edward! (He has seriously big feet.)

From Keukenhof

Catching Up

Well we've managed to "lose" a number of posts onto this blogspot. I'm not very impressed and don't know how it has happened. If it happens again I think we should change to a new place for the blog.

Since the last post, we have had a visit from Emma and Nathan on their honeymoon. Our first Australian visitors. It was very nice to see them and Edward especially enjoyed Nathan's demonstration of how our salad spinner works. We walked into Blaricum and saw a bit of the area. Then we when to Amsterdam and were actually refused food at a cafe. I think this happened because we had a baby in a pram.



Two weekends ago Edward and I went to Germany and had a lovely time with Dad and Gitty. Edward learnt to climb down the stairs and to wave at himself in the mirror halfway up. Dad's patience is endless, which is lovely. I came home very relaxed and with some lovely recipes to try out. They have all been great, especially the meatballs.

From Enkhuizen

Last weekend we had a visit from Aaron and Amy (also on their honeymoon). We visited Enkhuisen, which has a lot of historical houses and shows an entire fishing village. A great place to visit. Aaron and Amy were a bit jet-lagged and had a horrid flight over with lots of delays, missing connections etc. Ah well. We put them on the plane to Barcelona yesterday morning. Edward was so excited by the visitors that he missed a lot of daytime sleeps. He caught up yesterday, which was very nice for me to have some quiet time.

Edward took 2 steps yesterday (and then pounced on Daddy, who was lying on the floor). His eating of normal food has improved immensely, helped by a new High Chair. We now are the proud owners of a Chicco Polly Retro high chair. It is lime green with spots and I love it. It is comfortable for Edward, has almost stopped the food throwing and he is finally putting on a bit of weight. Apart from yogurt (which is allowed to be placed in Edward's mouth with a spoon), Edward likes to feed himself with his hands (well fists really). I'm going to let him do this for a while to get him happy actually eating, and then try and teach him to use a spoon. Hmm, a first child really is a learning experience.

Adam is in London for the day and I am going to have another quiet day in the village with Edward. The day after tomorrow is a public holiday. Hooray. I think it is something to do with the end of Easter. We are planning on doing absolutely nothing and relaxing.

Oh, I almost forgot. We were granted the 30% Regeling. And what a stress it has been waiting for that! Now we will receive 30 of A's salary tax free and also can trade in his Australian driver's licence for a Dutch one. He needs to fix the driver's licence before 25th May. It is now 15th May. I went to the Gemeente Huis yesterday for the form and have filled it in. Will post it today. Must also post the Mac Battery.

I had a very "uneventful" Mother's Day as it fell at the end of an extremely busy week for Adam and also when we had visitors. Adam is going to give me my own individual repeat Mother's Day later this month as it was a bit underwhelming. If I don't get a card and nice present on the repeat MD I'm going to sulk.

Koninginnen's Dag

Haven't posted for a while because we've been busy. Last Saturday afternoon we had an Australian BBQ with Deborah and Damian, on their houseboat in Amsterdam. They have a lovely baby girl - Aahilah, who is very sweet and cuddly. Edward was quite taken with Aahilah, especially when she was in her baby rocker. It was great to have a 'normal' Saturday, wonderful to see some other Australians. Deborah and Damian have been here for some years, and Damian is Dutch-Australian, so I think they are quite a bit more acclimatised than us. Deborah is a positive thinker - something I could work on as I'm a bit of a worrier.

From Amsterdam Wor...

I made a trifle for the BBQ. It was OK but not as good as that of my mother. I'm blaming the deficiency on Dutch cream, which leaves a lot to be desired.
The good thing about the trifle is that I've (re)discovered the Australian Women's Weekly recipe database. The name always makes me laugh as their magazine is monthly, but you can't really call something the Australian Women's Monthly!

From Amsterdam Wor...

Funny to see different parenting styles - we've fallen into what could euphemistically be called the Free Range approach. Deborah and Damian have a more regular style. It will be interesting to see how our children turn out.

So that was Saturday. Sunday and Monday we relaxed. Monday was Koninginnen's Dag (queen's birthday). The Dutch go for this in a big way. I hadn't noticed this before but Dutch houses have a metal thing on the outside near the front door. This is where they hang the Dutch flag on K's Day. Our house was notable for its absence of flag.

From Koningen Dag

The local council designated the streets near the church (including our street) as the area for the K's Day celebrations. It was blocked to traffic and from early morning until lunchtime was set up like Trash & Treasure. I bought a mirror for the downstairs loo. We were completely ignored until we went home and dressed Edward in his only orange piece of clothing (some ski-pants). Then every second person greeted us.

From Koningen Dag

In the afternoon the party really started. Lots and lots of alcohol and competing concerts along the Wakkerdijk. The jazz club (just behind our house) put on a very loud show. Inside our house (with all the double-glazed windows shut) it was as if someone had the radio on too loudly. Edward managed to sleep despite the noise.



The Dutch do K's Dag but they don't really celebrate Christmas. Interesting.

Edward and Dad enjoy some lounge time

We've had a very busy week with Emma and Nathan visiting us earlier in the week and some very long hours for Adam. It was so nice to have some time with Em and Nathan and I was sad to put them on the bus to Schiphol.

Avanade Open Day

A Fine Friday

Well it's Friday again. The sun was shining early this morning but now (at midday) it is grey and cloudy once more.

Adam incurred 2 more speeding fines each for 20 Euros. Both on the Wakkerdijk - the main road near our house.

Adam worked from home in the morning and is now at the Almere office for the remainder of the day.
Edward has had his lunch (reheated Nasi Goreng), a ride in the pram to Boni and is now playing on the floor at my feet ie talking loudly to the toy garbage truck that was a present from Marco and Lila.

Great to have an email this morning from Uncle Marco. I so love being in touch with people. Also I Skyped with the Magees in Australia. I always feel happy after talking with you, Charmaine.

Emma and Nathan are visiting us on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. It will be lovely to hear about their wedding and to have a good catch up. I must email J-M to see if they can visit him Wednesday next week.

Edward's First Step

Edward took his first unaided step (yes, singular) today while we were at a neighbour's (Joka's) having afternoon coffee.

A bit of background. Last week I was walking with Edward to the local Boni supermarket (the one that smells of rotting fruit and veg) when I actually saw another inmate of the village. She was out on the pavement weeding her hedge. She saw us and commented on Edward (in Dutch). I explained that I speak English and she told me that she was learning English at the local old people's home, which is next door to her house & at the end of our street.

I ended up inviting her to have coffee at our house (last Friday) & that went quite well, despite me deciding to cook a banana cake (yes, me who can count on one hand the number of cakes ever cooked), which unfortunately was a complete disaster. It collapsed in the middle when I took it out of the oven & was basically not cooked. Nevertheless I did serve the poor lady a 'slice' (well it was a crumbly, doughy bit)... which she bravely ate.

I cooked the ruddy thing for another hour after Joka left and then it was actually quite nice.

Anyway, this afternoon at 3pm Edward and I were invited to have reciprocal coffee at Joka's. It was nice & she is a nice woman. In her 70s, husband died a few years ago, lovely garden. Edward had a great time exploring her house - she has a sittingroom full of pot plants, ornaments, little tables etc.

So Edward's first step was taken as he proceeded from inspecting Joka's coffee table, to the sofa where I was sitting. He was on a mission to reach a biscuit I was holding, so I am assuming that his first step was motivated by his tummy. That's my darling!

95%

Adam got 95% in his Last Ever Masters assignment. I'm very proud of him.

The other achievement in this household is that Edward can stack blocks on top of each other. This is an improvement on smashing constructions made by a parent.
He has not figured out the different shapes yet, and gets very cross when his attempted stacking on top of a triangular block is unsuccessful. I'll try and make a video of his block stacking but it's hard when the main actor would rather chew a camera than stack blocks.

Our darling little one is not walking unassisted. I was a bit disappointed as I thought this would happen at 12 months. However, after interrogating each of his grandmothers, neither Adam nor I walked until 15 months. So the pressure is on for 3 July. (Now, E darling if you walk before your 12 month check-up - next Thursday - I can tell that smug nursing sister that you are walking and that will be a good thing.)

Oh and the 12 month check-up is also when the next immunisations happen. I'm not looking forward to it. The NL does not have Baby Panadol (or equivalent). What they do have is paracetamol suppositories (called "Z Pillen" or something) over here. I actually bought some when E was so sick in the Hague, but cannot imagine (well I can imagine it...) them being used.

I took Edward to the Laren swimmingpool today. He does not like the water. Not a sporty baby.

A ferry across the River Eem

We are in the midst of a Dutch heat wave. The sun is shining. The children next door are playing outside wearing singlets and shorts. The streets are crowded with happy Nederlanders who have emerged from their gesellig homes. There is not a winter coat to be seen.

It is 23 degrees.

Now Australians, don't laugh. Without a doubt we have adjusted to the climate here as it feels as if it is 45 degrees.

Spring is here. I have seen a real Bumble Bee in our garden. They are absolutely enormous - about the size of 3 or 4 Australian bees.

This morning we went on a great expedition to first the Spakenberg Kringloop and then the Baarn Kringloop. Success in Spakenberg but nothing in Baarn. Then to Hilversum where we visited the organic butcher and organic supermarket. Came home very tired with enough food to last us until Monday.

On the way we travelled on a ferry across the River Eem.

Edward has a visitor

Edward had a visitor last week on Thursday!



Edward and I were out on George-the-Dragon (driving up and down the pavement looking at other people's gardens) when our neighbour brought her children back from school. The little girl (Stella) invited herself in for a play. Stella speaks no English and I speak very little Dutch, and Edward doesn't speak any recognisable language.

I wasn't prepared for a visitor and so the house was a complete pigsty. Stella marched in and gazed in complete astonishment at the mess of our sittingroom.

And I couldn't get her to leave so that I could clean up .... after half an hour or so of her playing with Edward's toys, in desperation I mimed to her that Edward needed his nappy changed. But even that didn't put her off and she followed me upstairs (into the even greater mess of unmade beds and ironing piles) and watched in amazement as I changed him.

She was amazed because she only then realised that Edward was a boy ("een jongen") in Dutch. I was amazed that she didn't know this from his inherent boy-ness. I suppose this is what happens when a baby is almost bald.

But then the 2 little ones sat on the kitchen floor and Edward pulled various cooking things out of the cupboard and they played a very nice game of cooking things together. I hope Stella comes to visit more often.

Grandma Charmaine's Birthday Cake

Walibi World and George

From George

Edward and George

Well it is Sunday evening and we have actually had a relaxing weekend.



This is due to:
- no more assignment for Adam
- the 2007-Dutch-Snot-Extravaganza beginning to depart
- afternoon naps (for parents)
- good news from Newcastle
- sunny weather.

On the Newcastle front, Damien's second operation went well. What a relief!
And the doctor has given Damien the go-ahead to visit us in June. I can't wait. I wonder whether Damien will be amazed by Edward. The last time Damien saw Edward, Edward was not even crawling. I think Damien will enjoy having a nephew a lot more now that he is no longer a fragile little baby.



Edward actually ate some non-breastmilk food today - hooray! Most of it was vomited out, but at least some went into his mouth.
I cannot believe how difficult and messy it is to feed solids to a baby. I am getting really tired of it and I think it should not be this hard.
I had the bright idea of giving him some grated carrot. This was because Edward does not like mushy food any more (unless it is yoghurt).
Well, the grated carrot was a mistake. While Edward loved the texture of it in his hands, none of it ended up in his mouth. The vast majority ended up on the floor, and when I showed Edward how to put it in his mouth (via me putting it in my mouth), Edward helpfully then 'fed' me bits of grated carrot.

After the grated carrot I tried to give him some boiled egg. A bit of that did go in, but then he did a big vomit. I have a suspicion it was on purpose as he then cheerfully crawled off to play with the blocks.



I spent a good half hour cleaning the high chair. I even took the little seatbelt thing off and washed it.

Oh, I almost forgot! We have a new addition to our family - a bright green ride-on dragon (now named George). Thank you to Aunt Jane for contributing towards releasing George from the toyshop.
George is a first birthday present for Edward. We bought him in Utrecht on Saturday morning. However we could not wait for Tuesday (E's birthday) and so Edward has had a lovely weekend riding on George and playing with blocks.

The Snotees

A few days of glorious sunshine and now there is grey sky and hail.

We are all slightly less snotty. I have progressed to green snot, and I think Adam is on the same stage of the 2007 Dutch-Snot-Fest-of-a-Cold.
On Edward's behalf (as he can't write yet), there has been much middle of the night of coughing and then copious vomiting. I took him to the doctor who said that at his age only homeopathic medicine was the only thing advisable. After buying expensive homeopathic cough medicine (which is marketed as having the amazing benefit of being able to both stop coughing and expectorate the phlegm), I was not only told by my Aussie Pediatrician sister that homeopathic medicine is as effective as giving a child water. Not to worry - Adam managed to break the cough mixture bottle so there is none left.

So no medicine for Edward. He can cough and vomit in peace.

Adam has escaped to a few wonderful nights' sleep on the downstairs sofa, leaving me to the coughing, vomiting, snorting of our little Edward.

I think I am in the running for Mother of the Year. Definately Mother-of-the-Year for the Netherlands I think.

I am planning my mother's day present.

Now to buy the homeopathic medicine, I had to find the pharmacy, which is (if you can believe it) in a sort of island surrounded by canals on the other side of the village. I have not yet found a direct way there. I get lost every time I go there & I have been there twice this week.

One good thing about this week is that Adam has finished the last assignment for his second Masters. If I have my way, it is the Last Asssignment Ever as it is so stressful (for me). The awful thing is that he is so clever that he can not only skip all lectures and do the assignment in a couple of weekends before it is due, but (on a bad day) he gets a distincion, and on a good day, a high distinction. Anyway, this last assignment was for a course that he was supposed to attend in 2005(!!) but he forgot to attend in 2005, so had an exemption to attend in 2006. But the 2006 course was held when we were already in the NL, so he skipped all lectures and did the assignment anyway.

I sincerely am thankful that this is the end of the course.

Adam told me a few days ago that he is the most ambitious lazy person that he knows.... and that I am the most disorganised but diligent person that he knows. I am still offended.

My wonderful sister Suzie inspired me to search for where we could buy fresh food near to the house. I have found a link to a local organic farm and we are going there tomorrow.

Oh! I forgot the most important thing. Adam's lovely brother Damien had a successful operation and we are looking forward to his speedy recovery. Also, we have decided that once the lease on our house is up, we are going back to Canberra. I can't wait. Adam (such a lovely and patient man) told me this evening that he was 'having quite a good time in the Netherlands". I asked him was he not hungry? I am full of plans for our next stage.

Must go. Adam is listening to Johnny Cash, Edward is (finally) sleeping and I am tired but looking forward to Easter.

Edward and the backyard

Edward ill

Friday evening again and it's been a bit of an unfortunate week. Edward picked up an awful gastro virus at Eveline's party and on Tuesday morning he woke up and vomited all over the hotel bed. I've never seen Adam leap out of bed with such alacrity. Poor Edward was trembling all over and felt a bit hot.

After Adam went to work I packed E in his warm clothes, I thought we should go to a pharmacy and get something to make him feel better. Well! The hotel reception man (Alexander) thought I was crazy when I asked where the nearest pharmacy was. He told me he thought we should see a GP. I wasn't sure, but Alexander not only looked up a GP, phoned them to make an appointment, he also drove us there. What a lovely man, I thought. While Alexander was parking the car I sat in the GP waiting room and Edward was really grizzly. I thought it's got to be the little bit of a sniffle that he has had for a few weeks.... saw the GP and she had a look at him. Edward did a huge smelly poo, and then she said she wanted to have a chat with the older doctor to get a second opinion. I thought to myself (she was very young) that maybe she was just qualified... she came back in and said "you need to take him to hospital. I'll phone them, here is the address."

Well that was a shock.

And then Alexander drove us all the way across the Hague to a lovely modern hospital. No waiting - straight into an examination room with 2 nurses, and then 2 doctors, and then .. they said he had 2 viruses and we could go home but if he became dehydrated to come straight back in.

Went back to the hotel and spent Wednesday and Thursday nursing sick Edward. Edward managed to pick up a new cold on Wednesday and so we came back to Eemnes Thursday evening.

Poor little Edward has lost his voice (very peaceful) and still has a squirty bottom.

Den Haag

Yesterday we packed our bags and drove to Den Haag. We are staying here until Friday as Adam is working on his big client and I am having a holiday. Yesterday evening was Eveline's 40th birthday party and we had a nice couple of hours. Great buffet and Eveline is absolutely blooming. Edward is recovering from a cold and so didn't really enjoy the other children at the party. There was one horrid little girl who kept taking his toys away. Poor little Edward didn't know what to do - just stared at her. We need to teach him to stand up for himself.

We are staying in a great little serviced apartment, called Hotel Plato. Very clean, not too expensive and great bathroom.

The only catch is the check-in. The reception man started out by warning us that if we broke anything we had to pay for it. Vigorous nods from Adam and myself.

He then pulled out a few forms and showed us some lists of things that are (allegedly) in the apartment, with the corresponding Hotel's valuation of them. He said that we had to do an inventory of the room, sign the sheet and hand it in on Monday (today). Well, it lists things like 1 sofa, 1 bed, 2 pictures, 1 mirror, the loo is called a "Sanitary".... and the kitchen list has 4 forks, 4 glasses etc. But! I did the list very diligently last night, and 2 of the kitchen implements are missing (1x soup ladle and 1x bake-oar). I have no idea what a 'bake-oar' is, but whatever it is, it is not in the kitchen. I'm going to hand the list in tonight so hope we don't have an argument with them about the soup ladle and bake oar.

OK so we thought that was the end of the check-in. But no! The receptionist took us up to the room, opened the door and started pointing out things that were expensive. Eg "this is the curtain. It costs 1000 euros. Very expensive. Do not break it." "This is the microwave. Do not put metal things in it. Do not boil milk in the kettle. It is for water only. There is a first aid kit in the cupboard. This is to use if you are hurt. Do not take it home. If you take it home, you will pay for it. It is very expensive..... etc etc"

I unfortunately got the giggles... and he eventually left.

This morning I took some clothes to the laundromat and it was snowing! Pretty, but very, very cold. After Edward's nap we took a tram to Centraal Station and then walked to Jan-Maarten and Leo's house. Den Haag is lovely. It is relatively clean, is not too crowded, has lovely shops and lacks the horrible grime of Amsterdam. Didn't see or smell a single dope-cafe, such a relief!

JM and Leo are well and Edward had a lovely cuddle with JM.

Well, Adam is home from work and we are making dinner. Edward is sleeping off a 6 (!!) hour play in our bed and I am keeping an eye on him. He is still quite snuffly and I think he needs a few more saline nose drops (aka the Anti-Snot).

Hoping that the lead up to Emma's wedding is going well and we are thinking of you all.

A bit Lonely

This morning Adam left very early in order to catch a 7am flight to London. He had to drive from Eemnes to Schiphol, and I heard him in my sleep up and down, packing and very restless as he doesn't like the very early morning start.

So I don't think darling Adam slept much at all. And he is unlikely to get much sleep tonight or tomorrow night as he has booked himself into the (usual) round of catching up with various people whom he hasn't seen for years and years. Ah well. I only hope that he can function well at work tomorrow and is not late out of bed. And my mobile is broken so I can't phone him to wake him up.

So, back to Eemnes. Edward and I have had a strange day, because it is the first time that Adam has been away from us for 2 days (well it will be 2 nights and almost 3 days). Inside myself I am pretending that he is really coming home tonight... but I must double-lock the front door tonight. Tomorrow morning will be even stranger.

We had a very quiet day today, we left the house once only - to go to Boni. My major achievement was hand-washing all the cushions. Unfortunately the covers don't come off so I washed them all (as in entire). They got very wet and dripped on the balcony until 5pm or so and now I have 3 dripping in the bathroom and 4 making puddles in the attic. Good this is a rental property.

Edward is very sweet and is starting to really communicate with me. If I'm too long on the computer he pulls himself to standing and offers me a toy! In the bath tonight he realised that he could see a reflection of 'a baby' in the big silver knob which I turn to empty the water. He called out in happiness, and then bent right down to say hello. It will be easier for him when he can walk, as he clearly wants to play with the neighbour's children who play on the pavement in front of our house. When we see them he tries to get out of the pram, calls out to them and flaps his arms. I love my little boy.

Oh, Edward really enjoys eating bananas. I've given up on the baby spoon thing (Edward has a very strong will) and this afternoon he sat on the floor in the kitchen and ate about a third of a banana. He starts out with little bits and then when he realises he likes it, he puts adult sized bits in his mouth and sits there trying to chew it all. I manage not to laugh because he is quite solomn when feeding himself.

Hmm. On the topic of feeding - I actually made a nice dinner last night! It's amazing how much cooking I have learnt by being in a country with awful food and no decent takeaway.

Congratulations to Auntie Suzie on her new job.

Edward 'pushing' the high chair

It's a sunny Sunday morning and what could be more fun than pushing the high chair around the room! Here is Edward doing his favourite exercise regime - High Chair 'Pushing'.

Apart from watching Edward push the high chair, we've been for a drive to see the old Dutch coastline (now the shore of an inner lake) 5km or so from the house. On the way home we made a detour through Blaricum, which is our now favourite village in the Netherlands. Trees are starting to sprout leaves, so I think spring is on the way.

Now Adam is up in the attic/study doing his assignment, I am making him a cup of tea and looking after Edward, and Edward is helping me in the kitchen.

Blaricum & the Boni

This morning I thought it would be a good idea to go for a walk as the sun was shining. Was a bit undecided about which way to walk and it was a contest between the garden centre at Laren, the Kringloop Winkel at Baarn or the Great Unknown of Blaricum. I decided upon Blaricum as I felt like a change. So I packed a few nappies, 1 orange and a bottle of water and set off.

With Edward in the pram, walked left along the Wakkerdijk and then turned left and walked through fields, then over the motorway and was there.
Blaricum is wonderful and it made me feel a bit sad as it is much nicer then Eemnes. The problem with Eemnes is that it has a nice 'old' bit along the Wakkerdijk, then going further in, it is rather like Dickson with duplexes and nasty little front gardens and wheely bins. It is all a bit dingy.



On the other hand (from my half hour walk), Blaricum has a real 'village' feel. Its streets and lanes were obviously created over time - they radiating out from its centre. A very large and lovely church, very quiet with no traffic noise. Other bonuses are that it also has an Albert Hein and a Gall & Gall, and a few cafes as well.

Ah - Albert Hein! AH is like the Dutch answer to Woolworths, but it is a bit more upmarket than Woolworths. I really like the Blaricum Albert Hein - it has a feel of the pre-renovated Supabarn in Canberra - far too crowded, lots of stuff on shelves and..... it has a great selection of stuff to make stir-frys.

Eemnes is not big enough to have an Albert Hein. It has Boni and Co-op.

Walked back to Eemnes along a disused track along a canal and felt quite happy - sun was shining, ducks were swimming, birds singing... then over the motorway and back into Eemnes.

Adam came home at about 5.45 and we walked to the local supermarket (the Boni). The Boni is... oh dear. Well, Adam's comment as we walked in sums it up.. "Hmmm. It smells like a tip". Yes. The "fresh" fruit and veg.
Will post a picture of Boni tomorrow.

Edward is sleeping, Adam booking flights to London and I am finally relaxed after a busy day.

Friday's Nikky / Tante Ida visit went quite well. I could not sleep much on Thursday night as I was worried about it. I spent Friday morning frantically cleaning the house & then we made a quick trip to the supermarket to get supplies for if they stayed for lunch. Just as well, because they did stay for lunch.



The house passed inspection, but (surprise, surprise) my child-rearing does not fit with their ideas.
Nikky asked if Edward had been weaned, as I had made the mistake of breastfeeding Edward in front of her in November 2006.
So I had to confess to Nikky that he is not weaned. Whoops! I was told that this is "disgusting". Tante Ida was slightly more tactful - she merely said that we all make mistakes with children and that Edward seems to be very contented. The Dutch (in my opinion) really are still in the 1950s with their play-pens, bottle-feeding etc.

After they had left I made myself feel better with some chocolate. And then Adam came home with yet more chocolate and a bottle of wine, so that was nice. He is a lovely husband.

Now, Adam had a very good working week - he is doing quite long hours but comes home happy as the work is interesting.

Yesterday was Saturday, and I was very tired as Adam was snoring a lot on Friday night, so much so that I had to move down to the sofa in the sittingroom in the middle of the night. And then Edward woke up yelling in the early hours of the morning so we all had a disrupted night. We all had an afternoon nap and felt a bit better by evening.
This morning we walked in a lovely area called the Groenwald, which is an old country house surrounded by parkland. Lots and lots of people walking their dogs. Beautiful, but weather quite cold and grey, as to be expected.



Well, Adam is upstairs in the attic (hopefully) reading things for his Last Ever university assignment. I can't wait until he finished it. I think it is due at the end of this month.

Family visits

Well it is already the first of March! I am a bit tired after a couple of long days looking after Edward. Adam has been working very long hours.

We had a very busy final weekend in February - on Saturday morning we drove from Eemnes to Goettingen for a family reunion. The VIP guests were Uncle Marco and his wife Lila from Canada, and I think Edward was a secondary VIP guest. Uncle Jan Maarten was also there, but unfortunately Leo could not make the journey. We all had a lovely weekend. Dad and Gitty are very generous hosts.

Highlights:
- catching up with family and having some lovely conversations. I really value the generation older than mine.
- Edward drinking sparkling mineral water out of an eggcup.
- Edward crawling up both flights of stairs with Uncle Marco following closely.
- the magnificent dinner on Sunday night.
- my swim in the hotel pool. I was the only swimmer and it was just lovely.

And yesterday my cousin Eveline and her daughter Caesar visited us for the day. We went to an indoor children's playground - this must be a Dutch invention. I'm not sure it will catch on elsewhere. It was the most noisy place I have ever been in, if you can imagine a few hundred children running, playing, yelling, jumping, climbing... in a place the size of a school gymnasium. Edward was initially quite scared, and stayed very close to me and just looked, and looked at the place. He eventually adjusted to the noise level & other children and had a quiet play in the little baby corner. He has a slight cold this morning, which I guess was to be expected. It was excellent to have a long catch up with Eveline, who is now over halfway through her second pregnancy.

Adam came home from the Hague safely last night, he stayed overnight there and Edward and I both missed him very much.

Tomorrow Nikky (cousin of my father) and Tante Ida (sister of my grandmother) are coming to visit. There is going to be serious house-cleaning tonight! It will be lovely to see them and Ida is the last of that generation alive so I am glad that she will meet Edward. I'm a bit nervous about what to feed the visitors - it's hard in another country - I'm not sure what they expect. I bought some biscuits from the local bakery and there are also strawberries in the fridge. Perhaps some chocolate (I remember my grandmother always offered chocolate) and something savory as well.

Highlights of today (for me):
- Adam going in late to work and it was wonderful to have breakfast with him.
- this morning Edward said "book" (he was looking at a book), so I am delighted.
- the Eemnes market.

Speeding Fines and Washing Machine

Adam really should find out the speed limit in the Netherlands as we have just received our third(!!) speeding fine incurred in the month of January. I am worried about how many more are in the pipeline as it is now late February and it seems to take a month to catch up with us.

The other mishap of today is that a few days ago I noticed a stinky smell on the second floor, which is the floor which houses the laundry. As I am good about doing the washing very frequently I initially put it down to the fact that our neighbours appear to have manured their front garden last weekend and there is a general stinky-smell around the area at the moment. (Quite annoying because I tried to air the house this afternoon and the stinky smell outside was marginally worse than the stinky smell inside... so no airing of the house.)

Then I noticed that the washing machine kept stopping halfway through the cycle, with 2 red lights blinking. Hey! Our washing machine is on the blink!
Well. I thought I had solved the problem by setting it to a little picture that (I think) means 'rinse', and the machine would start off again and then ... 2 red blinking lights ... and I would set it on spin (little picture of whirlpool).. and then it would rest on the 1 red light, which is the end.

Finally I connected the smell to the blinking lights. So this afternoon I dug out the washing machine instructions (yes, they are in Dutch with NO English translation...), and after typing the Dutch into babelfish on the internet, thought I would try removing the bottom panel and cleaning out the filter. So with 10.5 month old Edward cuddled up to my side, I did this. Big mistake. Great gush of truely revolting water, with bits of disgusting filth in it (we use cloth nappies on Edward... so it must have been old bits of poo!!!) Oh, it was awful. My first thought was of Edward and the germs so I raced him to the cot. And then ran back to the fountain of watery-s*** coming from the washing machine.
Anyway... it is cleaned up now and I am currently running another cycle in the machine to see if the blinking light problem is solved. Have disinfected the laundry, hall and bathroom floor.

What a day. Roll on Friday!

Family Portrait

The Magee family, resplendent.

Mummy and Edward finally make some friends

Last week on Thursday I took Edward to be weighed at the Dutch equivalent of the baby health clinic. Was given a 'Green Book' (don't know the Dutch title) which contains guidance on child care and which also contains dozens of pictures of unhappy looking children. It's amazing, there is not a single photo of a happy child in that book. As it is all in Dutch and as I have my fabulous mother and wonderful mother in law to draw upon I'm not going to read it.
The good thing about the baby health clinic is that I met another mother in Eemnes (Katy), who speaks English!! She is not Dutch, but Romanian, and is married to a Dutchman.

So this afternoon Edward and I went to Katy's house and Edward had a lovely play with Katy's daughter's toys.

The other highlight of today is that I fixed the Luxaflex blind in our bedroom. Funny how the little things tend to really annoy after a while. We've asked for the blind to be fixed ever since we moved in and it has become obvious that nothing was happening.
It only took 3 hours or so.... as I removed it from the window, took the top off, rethreaded strings through little holes, along guidance lines and through a hook thing etc. Feel very proud of myself.

Edward is teething. I think he has 5 (almost 6) teeth, but he won't let me have a good look in his mouth.

Edward and Dad having a crawling race

Edward's latest game - a crawling race with his Daddy. I'm not sure who won the race.
Edward can crawl very fast when he wants to, with his little hands making a slap-slap noise on our wooden floor.

Snow! snow! snow!

After a very warm winter here in the Netherlands, it finally snowed ! Very picturesque and exciting for us Aussies.

Eemnes Snow

Wakkerdijk

Where we live is on the edge of the Eemnes Polder. Between us and the polder is a road, the Wakkerdijk, that runs 5k or so down to Baarn. This morning we went for a stroll along the Wakkerdijk and I took some photos of the beautiful dutch country houses that line the route.

Wakkerdijk

De Hoge Vulewa National Park

Today we ventured out into beautiful Dutch winter weather and visited the Hoge Vulewa National Park near Arnhem.

Check out the pics and video.

De Hoge Veluwe

Europe Storm

There is a force 10 storm here in the Netherlands. The rail system in both Germany and the Netherlands has been shut down. The picture below is the home page of the Dutch railways. My dodgy translation is as follows:

"Due to extreme and dangerous circumstances the police force has stopped the train system throughout the entire Netherlands. NS recommends travellers to either stay at home, or find alternative accomodation, or use alternative local transport."

From Miscellaneous

New Edward Videos

Eemnes Polder Walk

Directly behind our house is the Emmnes Polder. We went for a walk with Jan Maarten and Leo who were visiting from Den Haag for the day.

From Emnes Highlights

Where are we ?

You can see our location in the Netherlands here.

Magee family photo albums

I have published a few photo albums in Picasa.

Recent ones of note include:

Christmas day here in Amsterdam (and a bit of Xmas eve on the 'beach')

Our new house in Eemnes.

Our recent holiday in Singapore.

Reverse parking in Amsterdam

Reverse parking in Amsterdam next to a canal can be quite a challenge. But not quite as challenging as then getting in and out !!!

Happy New Year.

My new years resolution for this year was to start blogging and join the mad scramble of meme-chasers that are the blogosphere.

Here it is.

Cheers,

Adam.