daily adventures

Family portrait

2011-11-27T16:37:00.001+01:00

Free entertainment at the museum of anthropology in leiden.ask hard to get everyone looking and pulling a semi normal face...

My bed mates

2011-11-26T21:52:00.001+01:00

While I can't complain about much these days thankfully,I do wish for a night of uninterrupted sleep.just one. Pictures show the changing bed partners I have had this week. In fact,I am blogging in a dark room on my phone while patting a restless baby on the back. got to make the most of otherwise dead time...

2011-11-02T15:57:00.000+01:00

An indian summer evening.

Japan

2011-10-03T22:20:00.001+02:00

This summer Douwe went to Japan for a very special occasion; he went to celebrate his Obachan's 100th birthday. I have heard many accounts of how she is lively and engaging, sagely and determined.

Lotus Flower blossoming in the summer. A beautiful icon of the tropical weather.

Textures and patterns. Love the Japanese textiles. In the middle picture are cousins at Obachan's birthday.

Kobe: Akemi's home town. A port city nestled into the foot of mountains.

Kobe by night.

Kyoto & surrounds

2011-10-03T22:16:00.001+02:00

Obachan's 100th Birthday party. She made origami cranes as a present for everyone and enjoyed the cake and company! What present is suitable to give to some of such a grand age? It seemed chocolate bon bons (preferably Belgian) were the order of the day. Obachan takes a few a day as daily medicine!

Ready for the food pictures? I think I Douwe has caught the taking pictures of food bug. But when the food is this good, who wouldn't take pictures, I ask you?!
Food set #1 Lots of sashimi and bento.

Food set #2 More sashimi and unagi

Food set #3 ...Sashimi and okonomiyaki. The top right sashimi set almost brings a tear to my eye with its lyrical presentation. Yes! Food can sing.

Quintessential Japanese images. The photos of paintings are painted by family members who were famous artists

'de Gezelligste High Tea...'

2011-09-27T10:08:00.003+02:00

This was a little project which kept me busy at times when I'd rather not be sitting still...Thanks to the support of great friends, we raised more than €1200 in a little bake sale :)
www.highteakwf.blogspot.com

Deliciousness

2011-09-13T22:58:00.000+02:00

It's been a busy summer. Working 9am till 11pm...what a way to make a living! The boys are happy and we are too.

Summer Holidays

2011-07-30T22:57:00.002+02:00

School has already started, but here are the photos from the holidays. Man I am so behind. What can I say, cliche but life is busy. But good. Nothing to complain due to the abundance of riches that life has given us. Busy is good. We have work. We can work.
We had a great short 10 day trip to the UK & Scotland. It was intended as primarily a family visit, but they took us to Scotland and we were wonderfully surprised by the beauty of the Ilse of Skye. Highlight for me would have to be ordering fresh prawns from the neighbour fisherman and having them delivered, hung on the door knob all jumpy fresh from the sea. The essence of a good holiday. The kids loved seeing their cousins, playing wildly all week. Thanks to the Bell family for the warm hospitality. I totally heart my family!

2011-07-06T09:09:00.000+02:00

Quinten 8 months

2011-06-05T22:13:00.000+02:00

Quinten is such a sweet baby. He literally gets schlepped everywhere and rarely complains, just smiles and babbles away and is happy when he gets his food on time. He gets extra cuddles because we are pretty sure this is the last baby.....

Harlingen

2011-06-05T22:09:00.000+02:00

We went to Harlingen & Bolsward in Friesland- places that were special for Opa- for a family get-together.

Nelson's Birthday Week

2011-06-05T22:04:00.000+02:00

Party after party after party: Cake for the real birthday, then for kindy, then for the family day...and 3 kilos of cake later, thank goodness it's all over! Of course it had to be a Wiggles cake (one little friend took one look and asked 'what's THAT??') and Nelson had no qualms about eating each of the Wiggles one, by one. Nelson was spoiled with great presents from lovely friends.

Jeff's head on a plate, served up for Nelson (below). We ventured down to the beach for a picnic dinner- amidst almost gale force winds with searing sand, we managed to eat and crunch our way from salads to ice creams.

Relaxed, gorgeous weather on the long weekend! Bliss

We LOVE love love living near the beach. Katwijk (Neighbourhood of Cats) is the usual strand. Our favourite time is about 4pm when the sun is softer and the crowds are leaving for their dinner at home- we believe in the motto 'the outdoors is no fun without food' so I usually pack whatever's on the menu for the evening and we out of plastic cups (better for the sand storms).

Nelson is THREE!

2011-05-31T22:47:00.002+02:00

Nelson is irrepressible, incorrigible, passionate, loving, stubborn, affectionate, hilarious, sociable, vivacious, capricious, naughty, cheeky, heedless to caution.
He loves his big brother and adores his little brother; but doesn't let either push him around (more the other way around).
He's the quintessential Wiggles fan; Wiggles from sunrise to sunset and often between dusk and dawn.
He's not afraid of liking pink, Dora, flowers and girls.
He's Mr. Bump (if there is anything to bump into, Mr. Bump would bump into it indeed), loves rough and tumble, can throw his voice with authority.
Nelson is instinctive about making people laugh and feel good.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY NELLY BELLY xoxo

Spring 2011

2011-05-15T21:10:00.001+02:00

The girls wanted a dolly...

Fleur, Koen & Elise to Katwijk aan Zee

Easter Egg hunt in the park with the freaky bunny

Easter Brunch with Friends

The force is strong with this one...

2011-05-15T21:03:00.001+02:00

Photo Dump

2011-04-21T22:49:00.001+02:00

Kaemon and Nelson's favourite meal...

The boys got their pearly whites checked- mum and dad have been doing a good job. Phew.

Spring always seems to jump in your face. One moment we're still walking in snow and the next I'm sweating in my jeans in the sun. No slow transition, it just bursts into bloom

Quinten is beautiful and healthy. He loves being one of the boys. Just loves them...

Kaemon's school had an Easter Trail- through the neighbourhood playing games and treasure hunting! I've survived my first term as a School Mum. HOlidays now, see if we get through this with sanity intact...

Last wee we still had winter jackets on, and this week, we're having dinner on the beach on a school night too! Quinten- started on solid foods- not happy with the empty cone. Furious to discover he got no ice cream!!!

In memorial

2011-04-14T22:19:00.003+02:00

Hylke Sjoerd Jozef Vellinga (18 March 1944-13 March 2011)

Een koele bries, de wind steekt op, oneindig is de oceaan.
Hijs het anker, trossen los, het is tijd nu om te gaan.
Een behouden vaart.

A cool breeze, the wind picks up, the ocean is infinite.
Raise the anchor, release the ties. Now it is time to go.
Safe journey.

Absolute Deliciousness

2011-02-23T21:41:00.002+01:00

These are the reasons why we have 0 free time at the moment. It sounds terrible but it's Absolute Deliciousness.

Quin joins the family

2011-02-22T11:43:00.002+01:00

Efteling!

2011-02-22T10:57:00.002+01:00

Our first amusement park visit that the kids enjoyed more than we did! At least Kaemon & Nelson are old enough to run around of their own accord and had a fantastically exciting day!

The Efteling is charming- with a Fairy Tale Forest filled with all the characters from various stories (some quite scary).

My favourite of course: the gingerbread house...

The wolves were uncensored scary villains complete with lolling tongues dripping with saliva (Kaemon could not be convinced to look)

Hansel & Gretel, Those dear little goats unsuspecting that the hungry wolf is at the door: 'DON'T OPEN FOR STRANGERS!'. Kaemon & Nelson breaking the news to mummy goat that her 6 children have been devoured by the wolf.

The big story-telling tree was impressive & Kaemon only chose rides that were 'very slow'

Confirming that the Magic does happen @ the Efteling, we bumped into familiar faces! Marjolein, Justin, Timo, Yara & Marjolein's mum Inge were also doing the Eftel-thing on the very same day!

Kaemon turns 4!

2011-02-22T10:34:00.003+01:00

Our delicious Kaemon turned 4! He:
- was the beginning of our parenthood.
- has stiff spiky chinese hair but is blond.
- is cautious but able.
- not brave and not ashamed to admit it.
- is conscientious and considerate.
- is caring.
- loves being a big brother to Quinten, likes being a big brother to Nelson!
- analyses things.
- loves being in bed.
- loves sushi.
- can be bribed with food.
- skips and jumps instead of walking
- sings like a lark
- exudes pure joy when holding Quinten, eating good food, playing with tanks, doing number puzzles, singing, telling a story.

winter

2011-01-07T21:35:00.005+01:00

new year's day walk in a forest of snow... the snow has wreaked havoc everwhere, for everyone including us, but it does have a bewitching effect.

Finally, my first W-H-I-T-E Christmas!

we had a visit from Shawn loli & noah and had a short but sweet time. The snow turned the dunes into ski slopes on the beach!!

Quinten my sweet no.3! he's all sunshine and is born with a tan to match. he loves lady gaga (or my singing it...).

REady for Tour de France

2010-12-08T11:22:00.003+01:00

this is an old one...taken back in october.

2010-12-07T22:26:00.002+01:00

2010-12-05T13:04:00.001+01:00

A digital slideshow by Smilebox

Quinten's Full Moon

2010-11-04T10:25:00.001+01:00

In Chinese culture, At 1 full moon cycle, the baby is introduced and a number of traditions usually take place; the mother can have a bath, the baby's head is shaven. We observed the most important one, eating at large! Mum made ang-ku that symbolise the long life of the turtles they represent.

MQ (More Quinten)

2010-11-04T10:22:00.001+01:00

@ 4 weeks

@ 5 weeks

Elise, Ben, Fleur & Dorien

2010-10-17T21:29:00.004+02:00

A gorgeous autumn day...good friends. however, lack of sleep=could not carry a coherent conversation! Nevermind:) It was lovely.

Baby dolls

Quinten's first family photo

Kungfu Panda!

2010-10-17T21:23:00.000+02:00

The boys received these gorgeous chopsticks from Aunty Winnie and they are SO cool and really work! Now they can eat almost as fast as us at yum cha...

Quinten

2010-10-17T21:19:00.002+02:00

Our 3rd baby is sweet and brown, he has gorgeous soft black hair, unlike his 2 older brothers. He has (thankfully) no problems with colic; he just drinks, sleeps and poos with occasional periods of wakefulness.
@ 2 weeks

@ 3 weeks

Warm Fuzzy Family Moments

2010-10-17T21:15:00.001+02:00

There is so much happiness and bliss here.

2010-10-17T21:08:00.002+02:00

Nelson has found a new use for Quinten: He let out a fluffy, and said, 'it must be baby' and laughed heartily.
*(EN: a little wind/NL: windje; hee hee!)

A 'quiet' moment

Entertainment

Nelson & Yara: What is it about the 2nd child that makes them cheeky?!

No time for the hospital....HOME BIRTH!! Yikes.

2010-10-06T15:00:00.003+02:00

06:00 Woke to strange rumblings in the baby area (by this stage that's quite a considerable proportion of the body)
06:30-06:45 After eliminating other possible causes of stomach rumblings, the conclusion was: this is baby related.Yyikes. I wasn't sure if I was +/- 37 weeks- the borderline between premature and non-premature birth. In any case, it would be a hospital event; the former by necessity and the latter by choice. I packed my hospital bag in between the 6 minute-spaced contractions.

Kelly: 'Douwe, call the midwife/neighbour/your father/your brother'
Douwe: 'Really?' (Repeat 3-4 times)

07:00 The rumblings became contractions and I remembered the mantra from the prenatal course 'the pain has a function' *puf *puf *puf. Apparently I did that too well as the midwife came, nicely declared it was too late for the hospital. The kids woke up, and Douwe quickly bundled them downstairs to watch cartoons with Nobuko, our neighbour.

07:18 Baby was born! I was laughing a little hysterically: we were counting on having 3 weeks to get the rest of the baby things organised...but it was a beautiful surprise for a Saturday morning to have the baby arrive (before breakfast)! While we had to cancel a few appointments planned for the weekend, life went on otherwise undisturbed but with 5 in the house!

All pregnancies here are kitted out with a home birthing box full of 'goodies' just in case, even if a hospital birth is planned. So while we were relatively unprepared, the midwife took care of everything single-handedly and the place was spic and span in no time. While in most parts of the world, home birth enthusiasts are considered a little left of centre, here in the Lowlands home births are the norm, to the extent that hospital births are considered by some as 'risky'. I'm one of the 'nervous' ones that would always choose for a hospital birth...however small the chances of things 'happening'. All things aside, we are ever so thankful for Quinten's* safe delivery.

* Yes, he was born with no name and we tried out different names for 3 days.

this is the maternity home help lady Ans: she was great and took care of the house (cleaning, tidying, laundry, cooking) and sometimes kids too for 1 week.

2010-10-06T12:22:00.001+02:00

Quinten's here!!

2010-09-30T12:32:00.000+02:00

3 weeks early so a nice surprise! 1 hour birth so we didn't have time to get to the hospital! 3 weeks less pregnancy so enjoying the reprieve!
We still had to decide on a name, so after trying out a few names per day, we finally decided on Quinten and thankfully, it's stuck! Third time is SO much easier than the others, I even feel almost mentally normal and it hasn't even been a week yet. The boys love him, they are proud big brothers and are very sweet and helpful.

2010-09-05T16:02:00.001+02:00

BBQ season

2010-07-28T09:59:00.001+02:00

Summer is great, the traditional weekend breakfast on the BBQ...yum! We've had a lovely house guest Renee,douwe cooked a meal for the first time in living memory, and the boys moved into bunk beds. Nelson sneaks up to the top bunk and cuddles up to him when Kaemon's fast asleep.

Summer Lovin'

2010-07-28T09:57:00.003+02:00

Sometimes BFFs. Our gorgeous boys ♥ Kaemon is sweet and perhaps a little introspective, there's a lot of thoughts going on in that head of his. He's a relaxed boy, and cautious (he's Nelson's road safety captain)sometimes it takes a while to convince him to do something, but when he does decide to do it, there's no problem. He loves a good feed, and one can always bribe him with a promise of food. He has ridden his bike WITHOUT side wheels! Loves cars, trucks, machines, singing and dancing....a curious combination. ♥ Nelson is a a cheeky monkey, he's got the same cheeky monkey genes as Shawn, Lana and Noah. What a crazy combination in August...he loves laughing, making others laugh. He's already figured out how to tease his bigger brother, but he loves little babies and insects. He eats a lot (after first refusing and asserting his authority). He's out of nappies thankfully, wasn't looking forward to 2 babies in nappes in October!

2010-07-28T09:50:00.001+02:00

Nelson our cheeky monkey. Uncle Dirk is moving to Leiden/Oegstgeest!!! (Got a job here) That's the best news ever :) The boys are very excited...

Weekend in Nijmegen

2010-06-07T15:31:00.000+02:00

Nelson Turns Two!

2010-06-01T09:56:00.001+02:00

Our Nelly Belly Turned Two!! He's a cheeky monkey this one- so lovable and just edible. What's more amazing than feeling the lurve for one child? Having TWO- the repetition of the gooey, super-elative feelings for the second time doesn't at all take the shine off it, in fact it makes it more shiny!

Nelson had a wonderful time, eating everything in reach- the rest of the day he was coming down hard off the sugar high.

Rainbow party food:

Party time in the mud

The adventure playground

Pinata for under-3's (no chance of head injuries)

The Joy

2010-05-24T13:43:00.001+02:00

A lovely afternoon at the beach, picnic dinner with friends and ending with icecream! To quote Nelson:

'ice cream, ice cream. happy. happy.'

'Breakdancing'

2010-05-19T22:43:00.003+02:00

The boys are quite obsessed with breakdancing, incorporating various styles of modern, tap, ballet, gymnastics, jazz into it!

2010-05-19T22:41:00.003+02:00

A lot of pictures are going to follow: it's been a long time! Nelson is nearly two, he loves nijntje/miffy and was stoked to see the invitation: 'Nijntje! Nels! Nijntje! Nels! Partay!!'. Also Amah and Kongkong visited, and we had a great time! Food, Laundry, Book reading, babysitting they took care of everything :)

Koninginnedag, Zaanseschans

2010-05-19T22:40:00.001+02:00

Spring, Keukenhof, Postel.

2010-05-19T22:37:00.005+02:00

Living in the bulb growing district is so lovely, every year it never fails to stir up a little excitement... yes they are just flowers, but there are so many of them, and they are so fragrant when we drive/ride past, it's quintessential Holland. Throw in wooden clogs and windmills (see photos below!) and you have it all!

Aunty Doris, Kinderdijk

2010-05-19T22:33:00.001+02:00

Good Friends

2010-04-22T10:12:00.006+02:00

A good friend is one that you can open the door to wearing pajamas, bed hair, eating a mid-morning snack of noodles without embarrassment. Timo, Yara and Marjolein visited and we had a divine time playing, picnicking, relaxing! If only we could do this more often....

Spring....

2010-04-18T22:35:00.004+02:00

It's time: the heady days of too-cold sunshine. Stubbornly putting away the woollen tights. Freezing because of it. But it's sunny, for the love of all things yellow, it's SUNSHINE. Hanging out the laundry in chilly 8 degree mornings. Bringing back damp clothing that have half-dried by the end of the chilly sunshiny day. Shifting the garden chair to keep up with the shrinking sunshine wrapped up in a fleece blanket because it's SPRING. It's really fabulous, it really is!!!

Our first Spring BBQ

Finally out in the spring, what a relief!!!

Our eating club

Kinderdijk; Ma, AUnty Doris & Kaemon in the Hyacinths; Family; me & the boyz

Douwe's Banana Choc Birthday cake (copied from Zang Toi's in Sungei Wang), Hot cross Buns, Kaemon's Easter Breakfast @ Kindy (he was the only one to stay seated and eating the entire time...), @ Kinderdijk.

In memoriam

2010-04-15T13:21:00.003+02:00

When Aunty Lena took me as a student, I had already been lazily drifting through many years of piano lessons with the periodic burst of last-minute, pre-exam panic. When Aunty Lena took me as a student I woke up. Her music lessons were one of the significant influences on my adult character.

A good music teacher is never really just a music teacher. The majority of children who receive music lessons don't carry on their relationship with their instruments into their adult life, and even fewer become professional musicians. But, as any good teacher will know, that's not the aim of teaching. Naturally, the love of music is something desirable to foster but the most potent characteristics and skills learned through music (or another discipline) are the ones we hope our for children.

Discipline, and a focus on your goals: for someone who is by nature not disciplined nor focussed I actually enjoyed the repetitive exercises bar by bar to perfect difficult passages. Aunty Lena shared her passion for music by introducing the stars of classical music to me (Itzac Perlman, Murray Perahia, Jacqueline du Pré) and the lesson that music is not just created by the composer, but also a living creation of the artist...her lesson was that I could be that artist too! With such grand motivation those mindless bar-by-bar exercises were transformed to clearly representing the steps towards achieving that goal of playing that piece perfectly.

Passion is something that will take you a long way, personally it's ranked higher than my will power! It also is infectious. For a teacher it is a weapon that disarms and inspires students. I once followed her to a performance that was a marriage of music and art from the Impressionist period. It remains one of the most moving and illuminating experiences in memory. Aunty Lena showed that learning was just a part of studying: learning is fairly prosaic but to studying something is to appreciate its beauty and intent. She explained WHY this had to be repeated this way or that, she created exercises that were not mind-numbingly boring but enjoyable. She was a gifted and intelligent teacher that turned learning into studying. This is what I try to show my students.

Aunty Lena was a strict teacher and that meant disapproval if promises to practise were not fulfilled. Perhaps back then I might have appreciated it a little, but in hindsight, I definitely value the pressure of expectation she exerted. After all, without potential, there is no expectation. Expectation, is the embodiment of someone else's faith, hope, concern, love for you. Without it, they don't care.

These characteristics and factors- discipline, focus, passion, expectation, care- are things I've come to value in people, want for our children and strive to develop in myself. Aunty Lena was instrumental in teaching those things to me.

Baby # 3!

2010-03-25T13:02:00.004+01:00

Another miracle in the making....

All you needed to know, and then extra:

Everything looks in place, and growing the right way.
Due 11 October
will be called Mack if Kaemon has his way
5 cm from top to tail (and the tail is still there!)
already in maternity clothes, let it all hang out yeah!
Nelson loves babies, so have high hopes for him to babysit responsibly
Finished 3 bottles of Gaviscon antacids to battle the nausea
when nausea is over, will celebrate by going to the best Thai in leiden
all of a sudden craving for sashimi, rare beef, raw things.

Long time no post....

2010-03-21T22:26:00.002+01:00

Everyone's been under the weather, Douwe's been to Miami and it's finally Spring!!! We survived the coldest winter ever...

Nelly cooking up a storm

Kaemon helped with these Nonya pineapple tarts- put the jam on and the ball on top! NO photoshopping!

While nelson was sick, the pineapple tarts were practically the only things he ate...(or alternate caption: we'll have to start saving for an orthodontist)

Kaemon's usual get-up for breakfast

Brotherly Love

Gong Xi Fat Xai!

2010-02-15T21:54:00.001+01:00

This year we got together with Nicoline and Edi fellow Chinese foodies to celebrate the new year with the important element of Food: theme? Lots of it!

The laden table

1st row L-R: Peking Duck (Douwe brought from Rotterdam); Peking Duck pancakes; Lobak (bean curd rolls)
2nd row: pickled cucumbers, beef n black beans; Salt and Pepper calamari
3rd row: Mixed veg with prawns and scallops, Roast Pork, Steamed Bream

Kaemon and Nelly getting ang pows/red packets from Edi and Nicoline- which was very exciting as it was filled with chocolate money (and the real thing too, but they just give that to mummy).

Happy New Year! Wishing everyone the most important things in life: happiness and health. We can't ask for more :)

Big Bang!

2010-02-08T13:28:00.001+01:00

Kaemon's Birthday Celebrations ended with a big bang- we all went out (with family) to a Japanese restaurant (all sorts of sushi, nigiri sushi, teppan, saradas, katsu, deliciousness). Kaemon's face lit up when his black sesame and green tea ice cream came complete with a firework atop! The icecream melted to milkshake, but that didn't stop him from slurping up every last drop.

Joy!

2010-02-08T10:57:00.003+01:00

When they are not pulling each other's hair or landing a mule kick to the face, they play quite nicely together!

Kaemon's Birthday!

2010-02-07T10:24:00.003+01:00

Our little Kaemon ain't so little anymore! We are so blessed and love our K-monster: bright, luminous, sweet, affectionate, relaxed, epicurean, funny, cuddly.

He turned ~~two~~ three!! The curse of the birthday cake struck again, Like Nelson's 1st 'Birtday' cake flubble, Kaemon's cake had 2nd birthday 2x and 2 candles before I realised my mistake... Lucky he didn't notice

THanks to all for the birthday wishes, presents, cards, thoughts! We had a fantastic birthday!!! Lots of friends, food, pinata and fun.

2010-02-01T12:42:00.001+01:00

Winter has been beautiful and therefore, tolerable. The frozen ground and white frosting beats the soggy wet continuous drizzle of winters past.

Yum Cha/Dim Sum in the Hague. Joy of joys, the boys sit down for a lunch and eat their fair share of the spoils. No left-overs to take home... Giant prawns in the siew mai, fluffy steamed char siew pau mmmm classic goodies!

A chinatown goodie: the memories- Darlie AND astroboy in ONE gift box. Darlie used to be Darkie with the negro face as the symbol, and Astro boy is the coolest with a laser beam hidden in his bottom.

Kaemon's new preschool

2010-02-01T12:25:00.002+01:00

Nelson, we are in love with him! He's cheeky and lovable, loves people and extremely kissable. He regards blowing raspberries as his solemn task, responding to the request with a grunt in accordance 'mmp'. When douwe gets home from work, he is often greeted by an insistent Nelson who is clear in his wordless demands to lie down, pull shirt up and let the belly out...

Kaemon's started at a new (his first preschool is closing down, hence the switch) preschool- and loves it! Sometimes he falls asleep unexpectedly...

Brr Cold

2010-01-25T14:22:00.001+01:00

We had a good family weekend (tidying up, eating together, sleeping in till a luxurious 8:30am, having visitors). Erik, Simone & Julia (10 months) visited from ol'Nijmegen. We had a lovely time and was first time I've seen snow on the beach. Odd combination lik chocolate and fish. but nicer!

1 year in photos

2010-01-18T16:55:00.003+01:00

More than 2000 photos in one year, no time for making albums! Click on the photo to see an enlargement.

New Year 2010

2010-01-18T13:26:00.005+01:00

The new years brings already the winds of change... or more likely, things never stop changing. An Aussie friend, Leigh & lovely fam are leaving for Switzerland. Finally I had met someone who causes socially awkward situations (irrespective of the the cultural setting) with as much (or perhaps more) ease as I do (*to mock someone is the Australian way of showing affection- store that for future reference). And then they leave.

ALso in December, my 7th year in the NL passed (without much ado). One nice thing about a 'foreign' husband is having the opportunity to get to know another culture up close, and getting to know so many interesting, intrepid and adventurous people (perhaps it's the natural selection for expats). (Not to mention my sister-in-laws [spanish and fillipino] adding to the mix. We have so much, and the riches far outweigh the losses.

One good thing that came of Leigh leaving was that her leaving party (I'm an optimist) was at a thai restaurant that I've been wanting to try for a long time...Sisaket Thai. OMG, fly your pants off-yumm.

2009 Round-up

2010-01-18T12:37:00.003+01:00

December flew by with a whizz of parties, playing in the snow, colds and vomit (non alcohol related) and....food!

I finally found some people who wanted to warble christmas carols around the piano with me, and sing we did...the poor neighbours. But like most parties these days, it crashed and burned around 8:30pm.

Clockwise: Douwe bringing the kids to the babysitter; Nelson playing Gulliver in the farmhouse Opa built for Christmas; Coralling Nelson and locking him up, Nelson starting potty training.

I boned and rolled my first loin of lamb. It was delish, and looked great cooked. However, it was a crime of passion tearing into the roasted loin, a frenzy in which photos were forgotten...

December culminated in NYE: a few false alarms (snow, ice, illness) from other participants nearly cancelled the party, in the end Nelson decided to put an end to any doubt by throwing up and running a fever on the eve. So we stayed home and ate our share of the dinner. By 8pm, douwe had also come down with a fever and chills, and I was up alone with Edward the vampire. Wasn't too bad...

The new year brought more snow and snow-related fun :)

Groovy!

2009-12-20T20:21:00.002+01:00

The best snow I've ever seen! And the first time I've seen yellow snow for real! Three pairs of socks and wellies, and my feet were warm. Thankfully I seemed to have grabbed the last two pairs of snow boots for the boys in the entire country.

Snow Angels!

K-monster doing his thing

Family Craft Time

Nelly Belly, just edible in his snow pants!

Nice :)

2009-12-19T13:52:00.000+01:00

Winter's not so bad if it's snowing!

Sinterklaas Season

2009-12-06T20:37:00.001+01:00

This year we celebrated Sinterklaas for the first time, for real. A true sign of my 'it's happening, there's-no-denying-it' integration into Dutch culture, I didn't evening bat an eye-lid and lacked the incredulity of previous years of seeing the back-faced Zwarte Piets prancing about everywhere in the lead-up to 5 December.

Kaemon and Paula baking pepernoten

What to do on a rainy day ideas #101 Make a paper skirt and dance and #102 Wear underwear on your head and go gooliegooliegoo. I recommend both!

Our International Playgroup had a Sinterklaas party and the kids performed a selection of their greatest hits.

Baby Elise

2009-11-19T21:04:00.003+01:00

The Vellingas paid a visit to the Brands: Mama Fleur & Papa Koen, with their brand new baby Elise. The proud parents were very deft with their baby. Looking back, I was such a klutz with my baby for the first time...

She is a little angel, crying only when absolutely necessary! Like being poked by pudgy boy fingers...

The boys were very intruiged and charmed by this girl...

Head, Toes, Nose nose nose

2009-11-06T21:11:00.002+01:00

Nelson's nasally orientated version....

Halloween

2009-11-03T21:03:00.001+01:00

Halloween was celebrated with Irish, German & Australians, and dutch games (and, oh, two Dutch husbands): koekjehap (bite the cake:). Nelson found it amusing that he's been working so hard with hand-eye coordination, and now he's not allowed to use his hands to eat!

A really good meal at a fish restaurant in Leiden: 't Crabbetje. Great service AND food, sometimes a rarity in these parts...entree was a tartar of crayfish and cold lobster bisque, mains was red snapper, devil fish and mash. Mmmmm.

Babe, pig in my kitchen

2009-10-24T20:13:00.004+02:00

All of a sudden, my local supermarket has started selling REAL meat. None of this chicken filet, schnitzel, slavinken, pre-sliced stir-fry beef nonsense. Meat where you actually can see where it came from! This was one cut I was delighted to see- the lower leg: not much meat but all skin and bone, and you know what this means...crrrRACKling!

I opened up the shank and rubbed him in with sea salt and popped him in a hot oven sitting atop halved onions. Onions went into the gravy, and I would say that crackling is the perfect accompaniment to any meal, but it really did go well with the Boerenkool & worst (Traditional Dutch Bangers & Mash).

Also happy that I worked out how to photograph steam!

Huys te Warmond

2009-10-23T22:48:00.001+02:00

My lovely kaemon.

The Autumn

2009-10-17T14:25:00.002+02:00

Second week of the holidays just passed...Instead of lamenting the onset of winter, we do Autumny things.

Kaemon's good friend Paula. They just giggle a lot together!

2009-10-17T14:21:00.001+02:00

Picking apples @ an organic farm

Wassenaar, in the forest property where Prince Wil & Princess Maxi live- they have three daughters, we'll probably end up with three sons- why not?

I ♥ NY

2009-10-07T15:00:00.002+02:00

Douwe and I jetted across the Atlantic to discover NY city.

We walked and walked and walked and when my feet felt broken, we took a cab. I ♥ NY. The typical NY scenes:

Then the NY that we discovered:

We only had 6 meals and planned snacking times (not including breakfasts) to spend in NY, so we had to make wise decisions. With some good advice in hand and some shrewd thinking, we did well. We had classic elegant American cuisine: O.m.g. how some chefs can produce a dish with meat and veggies so amazingly tasty it seems magical. We stayed in little Korea and discovered the wonderland that is Korean food. From left to right:

Battered oysters & cold cucumber soup, Fig pudding with pear sorbet, D&K on top of the empire;
Kim chee hot pot, barley risotto with mushroom and autumn vegetables (so out of the ordinary), gorgeous platters for serving sausages;
The numerous dishes of various pickles and other suprises that magically appear before each (korean restaurant) meal, udon soup, doggy dresses, steak and beans with style

I ♥ NY!

2009-10-07T14:40:00.004+02:00

Next stop: Boston: home of historical things but here's the food tour: We had Italian, mexican, and traditional New England delicacies; all with the specialties of the region: shellfish and seafood. So little time, but we made the most of it. If you ever had to sacrifice home and other belongings for a dipping sauce, the innocent-looking green one at the bottom-left of the picture would be it. Searching for a recipe as we speak.

In Rockport, a picturesque fishing village where my heart was content...

My cousin Gerald, I'm not sure if I love him because he's family or because he brought me to lobster. Oh lobster how I adore thee. Hence the pictures of lobster in various poses. Aren't they gorgeous, nursing their bath of melted butter belly-up, a definitely provocative pose screaming, 'rip my tail off and eat my juicy flesh'. I did. FYI twist the tail off, don't bend.Clam chowda, and whole-belly clams: little juicy and plump morsels in a KFC syle batter. Mmm om nom nom. Be still my cholesterol-laden heart!

My Best Friend's Wedding

2009-10-07T14:30:00.001+02:00

And then, the real reason for the trip: Rachael & Shane's Wedding. It was a 4-day event, generating enough stress to be measured on a pressure scale!
The first day: The bride and groom look relatively carefree. A duck boat tour of boston where we caught up with the family and wedding party. The highlight of the tour was Marshalls, a store where you can get last season's designer everything (perfume, clothes, shoes, bags) at a snippet of the original price. The squeals could be heard a block away as Marshalls was spotted from the tour vehicle.

And there they are: Mr & Mrs/Dr Shane & Rachael Allen! Rachy already had so much poise, grace and warmth- combined with Shane, they are a supremely handsome couple with an unfairly excellent gene pool :) Seriously, Rachael was SO gorgeous, she had a 'famous-person-aura' about her. I've done 4 stints as flower girl and this is the 3rd as bridesmaid. Apart from my own wedding, I've never walked down the aisle grinning like an idiot before.

One of 5 bridesmaids, it was a fantastic experience being one of the girls again!! It was a revisit to the early years when I actually had time/attention for makeup hair and nails and that sort of thing.

The reception highlight: dancing the forbidden dance led by a 7 year old: not the lambada, it was the macarena...you can't stop the music!

Holiday

2009-09-05T22:43:00.002+02:00

't Was just a week, short but sweet. Good beginnings: espresso, capuccino & babycino!

It's strange (Dutch?) version of a holiday: to a bungalow/small house in a compound/estate with others next to it. A little truman show-like. Popular theory is that this is a popular form of holiday as most houses here are attached, and here you have 'all the space in the world'. It's kind of like playing with a dolls house but bigger. You have extra comforts that are not found in your everyday home; for us, that was grass in the garden. Bliss, i say!

Be still my heart...

2009-09-05T21:51:00.000+02:00

That's amore!

Happy Day!

2009-08-22T22:14:00.005+02:00

It was the highlight of Kaemon's 2.5 years- the Katwijkse Truck-Run! A parade of trucks of all sorts and sizes, police vehicles, fire engines organised for handicapped kids (they were in the trucks waving to everyone). It was a serious Good Time!

A good start to the week's holiday coming up....

Sorry, another video, we use the blog like a photo album because I'm too lazy to make a real one.

My Child Prodigy

2009-08-20T21:38:00.003+02:00

He takes requests and improvises with the best of them. (thanks again to Ingrid for taking care of his musical career!)

2009-08-16T10:05:00.001+02:00

It's been 2+ weeks of perfect weather: sweaty and hot! I can't express enough how GREAT it is to live close to the beach. There is endless entertainment for the kids, there is something so magical of the perpetual waves breaking. A few hours at the beach is a holiday in itself!!

The kids (and Sophie) love the tent- it means lunch is served...
Kaemon 'Baywatch' Vellinga to the rescue

With the Meijer Family, picture perfect!

The day we swam in the toxic lake....retrospectively, it seems strange that we were the only ones in the water.

After work, a quick picnic on the beach- everyone has already gone home and we're the only ones....bliss!

Sugar replenishment to last the day

Me & the boyz

The house is poxed!

2009-08-02T23:11:00.002+02:00

First Kaemon got it (1 day after coming back from Barcelona thank goodness) but it was mild, not even worth a photo! He then passed it on to Nelson who was covered from head to toe and more than a week later is still offcially contagious (blisters on his fingertips!). Poor miserable baby...

He's a little better now, scabs dropping all over the place like confetti...

It was cake-making time again, Akemi's birthday- with three boys in the house, I like any excuse to make something girly.

July

2009-07-29T22:10:00.002+02:00

We celebrated Oma Vellinga's life who passed away at the age of 92- 1112 kids and 6360 (3 unborn! ;) grandkids & great-grandkids. Much loved, and missed.

Uncles Daan and Dirk visited, and ice cream was the food group of the month.

Neslon is brave, fearless!

Nelson is a picky eater at times, sometimes because the bowl is the wrong colour - but when he loves it, he really LOVES it.

Hola!

2009-07-15T21:47:00.006+02:00

Last minute trip to Barcelona to visit Tita Loli and Primito Noah who were on a visit to family there. To say we enjoyed it would be an understatement. 4 days of partying (toddler style, not rock star). 4 days of eating everything that passed our noses. 4 days of being with family. I was kind of hungover from too much of a good time...

Kaemon and Noah thankfully played peacefully most of the time...Kaemon picked up some Spanish, and also some Spanish style

A sample of the fare. Dolores (mama) worked miracles in the kitchen with tomatoes, celery, onion, bay leaves and wine. It must have been a miracle as I tried the recipes, but tasted nothing like hers. My only mission in Barcelona was to revisit the Navajas at the Boqueria.

We hung out with la familia. We siesta'd and partied till laaaate

Muchas Gracias! It's great to have family everywhere!

It's hot!

2009-06-30T12:33:00.000+02:00

Finally, the weather is starting to resemble something like summer...we sometimes swelter, get clammy and stinky. I love it.

Sometimes they are nice to ech other...

Kaemon on a date, taking a casual dress code too far.

2009-06-30T12:23:00.000+02:00

It was that time of month again....Renee's visit! very marginaal- happy meals on a picnic.

Loooooooooooooove the beach. Sunset, dessert, waxed legs, girls night out, perfect!

Kaemon's boys day out to trains. it was smoky, stinky, dusty and noisy. he loved it!

Lazy picnic in the park. eat eat eat, chat chat chat- life is good! How many kids can we squeeze in a tent?

2009-06-30T12:12:00.001+02:00

The fish balls just didn't leave my mind, the only solution is to make them. I didn't have two types of fish, so made fish and chicken balls. Not enough coconut milk, so mixed with cream. The coriander in the garden had bolted, so pretty smelly. Still pretty good!!

Bobotie- too sweet this time, but the colours are brilliant!

Holiday week...episode 3

2009-06-21T15:25:00.002+02:00

Lent-Bemmel Day
Officially a visit to Nijmegen, but many friends have settled in the nearby villages of Lent and Bemmel. It was a tight schedule but we pulled it off!

10:30-12:00 @ Ester & Raoul's new farm house (no pics unfortunately) where the kids were their annoying best!
12:00-15:00 Lunch @ Leon, Cindy & Guus for a long overdue 'kraamvisite' (when you visit the bedside of the newly born baby). The posse:

15:00-17:00 a legitimate kraamvisite @ Julia with lashes to kill, proud parents Erik & Simone

17:00-20:30 Dinner @ the Chekroun's. We slipped in almost unnoticed to the cheerful chaos that was 5 kids under 8 at the dinner table!

Mustafa is a goooooooooooooooooooood friend. He made for us a chicken tagine (the real deal; just because you cook/present it in a tagine, doesn't mean it's a tagine), a grilled veg salad, and the bread. Eaten from the communal platter, with the hands- this is MY happy meal!

Holiday week...episode 2

2009-06-21T14:18:00.008+02:00

Parenting tip: Assuage feelings of guilt and inadequacy by material compensation.
Case Study: We relieved our guilt at abandoning the kids for the weekend by buying them presents.

Outcome: It worked!

Just kidding, of course we don't spoil the kids to make up for leaving them. But when the parents are on holiday, we do put them to work

Holiday week...episode 1

2009-06-18T21:11:00.002+02:00

We had a week off work, and crammed in as many things as possible, and I had THREE days with no kids! But a discussion of the holidays cannot begin without reference to that bleary week in March, where our holidays were magnificently and decisively cancelled due to a gastrointestinal bug. A few months later, we're ripe as a rotting tomato for a long awaited week off.

Back to the THREE days with no kids. A little last minute shimmying of plans, bribery and begging...and three kid-free days materialised like a mirage on the horizon. I dared not to dream too much, or fantasize too much lest fate should decide to strike again. But, it came, and I had THREE days with NO kids!!! First stop: Ingrid's Bachelorette's Party in Antwerp. Not even a 2.5 hour train delay in the hot sun could dampen my spirits, I was almost giddy with the relief that I didn't have grumpy kids to look after in the smelly train. Anyways, Ingrid's party was fantastico! Ingrid's an old friend from violin/band camp days and it's my good fortune that she ended up a 1.5 hours drive from us.

The party was hilariously fun, a bit too much sangria and schnapps at 3 in the afternoon will do that. My highlight, was eating dinner with only one mouth to put food into. My hands, clothes, hair stayed clean. The menu was Thai fish ball curry with a lime cucumber salad. I'm so obsessed by this dish, I have to make it soon. The sour lime, the almost bouncy fish balls, creamy curry sauce, soft aubergine, I can't stop thinking about it. Thai food ROCKS. I'm wasn't the only one fighting (but pretending not to) to lick the bowls clean.

The next day, Douwe joined us and we wandered round Antwerp with Ingrid and Tom. When you're on holiday, everything's charming, romantic and intriguing, especially if you have the freedom to wander without toddlers. But I think that Antwerp really was all that. And I'm quite sure that Ingrid and Tom were fantastic hosts (although they could have housed us in a shed and we'd have been quite content, sleeping through the night without babies waking us).

Lounging at a park festival (no kids!)

Dinner on the last night was DIVINE. Thai, again. The piece de resistance was a Beef salad, that's always good, but this one had toasted rice powder through it which was a surprise which lifted it beyond 'good' to 'so-happy-I-want-to-cry'.

Finally a big THANKS to the babysitters, Hylke, Akemi, Dirk & Lilian, without whom this weekend would not have been possible!

My Boys

2009-06-11T21:45:00.001+02:00

Nelson (literally) polished a chicken drumstick today!

Kaemon in a chesty bond! Isn't it amazing how big he is?

Laundry, Nelson style.

2009-06-08T09:40:00.003+02:00

Nelson is starting to get too wriggly, won't sit still, wears the toes of his shoes, and knees crawling; this keeps him where we want him for a while.

I love feeding people, my boys included. I love pics of them eating. We love picnics.

Visit to Nelson's Fiance

2009-06-07T20:07:00.001+02:00

We paid a quick visit to nelson's betrothed, Sanne. Nelson likes to wear her clothes, pink pants to be exact. A rather unconventional relationship.

While her mum was out shopping, we tore the place to bits!

For the record, this week was when Kaemon entered the wonderful world of tantrums. The screaming and stamping foot kind. Now I know that rumpelstiltskin was a toddler. Only they can stamp their feet in rage so hard that the ground would split to the core of the earth.

Japan Day, Amstelveen

2009-06-07T19:39:00.003+02:00

Amstelveen is just 25 mins from us, and is home to the largest Japanese community in the NL. We went to see traditional arts such as the making of the longest sushi roll in the world (133 m), excerpts from Memoirs of a Geisha as performed by the Nike Demo Dance Team. Alas, we have no pictures of that. It was as puzzling as the title suggests, set to Mission Impossible music, I kid you not.

The sumos arrived amidst much fanfare and cameras clicking,

Some real famous sumo were there, Kotooshu Katsunori also known as the David Beckham of Sumo, who is incidentally Bulgarian.

and douwe miraculously spoke his few words of Japanese to one sumo surrounded by bodyguards, 'Sumimasen, shashin totte kudasai' and got this lovely photo...

The sushi was alright. I think I got sick from the salmon, always hopeful, eating raw fish from dubious sources.

2009-05-31T22:32:00.006+02:00

*happy sigh* I like: spontaneous visitors, Aussie company, eating company, sunshine, loud guffawing, people who actually laugh at my jokes, shameless behaviour. Thanks Ingrid for all that!!

And why were we going overboard with the peace sign? Becaue Hiromi was visiting, because we used to learn Japanese, because some people tend to bring out the silly in each other.

A new restaurant on the beach, very cool very cool

A night out with my aussie posse (yes I have one!). We were practising tips learned from America's/Germany's Next Top Model (apparently Heidi kicks Tyra's a$$) but modelling is really harder than most people realise as there was not one normal picture of any of us.

Nelson's B. Day!

2009-05-31T21:39:00.005+02:00

We had fantastic party!! Good company, lots of food, sunshine and outdoors. The birthday boy enjoyed the attention and the good vibes,

Not a chair in sight (not possible for circles to be formed!)

The park had a little farm and lots of space to let the kids run the excess sugar off

Mingling, mixing and chilling

Kids under control

Nelson had enough attention all day long

The cake kind of survived long enough to be eaten

Big TA to all the attendees and for all the presents, we had such a good day!! And big pat on the back to Ingrid, the only acceptee of the open invitation offer!! You doubled the size of the Australian delegation!

The sad story of nelson's cake.

2009-05-29T22:53:00.002+02:00

The pandas represent Kaemon and Nelson, and they were supposed to be tug-of-warring and Nelson wins (as usual) but the low-lying lid of the cake box didn't allow for pandas to be frolicking on top of the cake. And having an letter 'H' left over at the end of the cake making had me wondering why I made and extra one... So, happy birtday to you Nelson! (Thanks Ingrid :)

So, Kaemon ended up hanging on the side of the cake...

Nelson 'helping' him up.

A technical mistake with the foundations of the cake caused the downfall of this cake, after 2 days in the fridge, the icing was melting something Bad like Michael Jackson's face.

General Things

2009-05-14T22:07:00.002+02:00

Laundry, Kaemon style

Cupcakes, my style (quick and dirty) for playgroup's second birthday

One for my husband

Nelson is officially eating with the pot. (Translation from dutch- means he's eating grown up food)!

Gerco & Charlotte 4 eva!

2009-05-14T21:31:00.003+02:00

I love weddings, yes I do. It's usually the manic happiness making it a shining point in life. Everywhere you turn manic smiles, everyone happy happy joy joy! The bride and groom were radiant and resplendent.

Beautiful Old Mansion in the forest, decorated in Art Deco style and a intruiging Shell-Horn-Mahogany Decor theme (Pau shells, with buffalo horn on massive dressoirs= lavish)

Brings the romance out in all...

I made a token cake (with three boys in the house, when do I ever get a chance to make flowers???????)

the food: the main course, cornish hen with tarragon sauce was...well, cornish hen with tarragon sauce and broccoli and mashed potato. But the entree, tatare of salmon with asparagus, was a delectable coarse chop of fresh salmon, dill that was tart and fragrant, making me want to use words such as delightful, delish and om-nom-nom-nom it's gone!

A lovely sunny day, nice catching up with friends and hanging out in luxury for a day.

Open invitation

2009-05-05T21:15:00.002+02:00

Our littlest is turning one! Betting on good weather, we're organising a picnic in the park. We're reluctant to send out personal invitations as many live far away and may feel under pressure to turn up to a 3 hour dig; therefore we're posting an open invitation to all: you are welcome!

Please let us know if you can come!

Koninginnedag 2009

2009-05-05T09:27:00.002+02:00

We had a beautiful day with Renee and Martijn and lounged in this cool Belgian beer cafe with a gorgeous secluded garden perfect for gambolling kids. It was a close to relaxed as one gets with 2 kids and 4 adults!

Only in the car on the way home did the silence fall as we listened to the radio news bulletins. In the morning, many houses had hoisted flags and the royal wimple in honour of Koninginnedag. Seeing the flags lowered to half mast by the end of the day was a sad, but in a way uplifting sight of community solidarity.