The entrance to the playground framed by blossoms



Of all the attractions of the playgound, Kaemon enjoys the snacks the most.

Flower Power

The small country lanes were crowded with bike-traffic-jams; it was an orgy of photo-taking, as if we'd never seen flowers before. This is our neighbourhood- the famous bloembollen/tulip fields- and it made us go a little ga-ga, hence the bumper photo extravaganza.

Tulips:

...as above...

...as above, above...

That's our transport. Nelson eating tulips, lucky they weren't poppies.

These days we never leave the house with nappies, milk, bubbles, snacks. To do so would be gravely regrettable. Lunch al fresco.

Along with the kids, we brought the KKK: Kick-a$$ Karrot Kake. LUcious cream cheese frosting and deliciously spiced cake with walnuts. Food tastes better in the outdoors, but modestly speaking, this truly was num-num.

...and more tulips

Running through a field of flowers, the classic-money-shot

Long Weekend!

The recent long weekend was the opportunity to catch up on the lost holiday moments: (clockwise from top left) so we did some crafty egg decorating, ate (more) good food (sushi, lamb and lentils, green tea cake with red bean cream filling) and finally, after I walked into a closed door this morning at 5am to stifle a Crying Nelson and Screaming Kaemon I was in need for feeling-sorry-for-myself food so 2 kg of roast pork with crackling did the trick nicely (if you see my black eye, it really was a walk-into-a-door). Unfortunately, kaemon also has discovered crackling. Previously I cut it off, reasoning that it was just too hard for his little teeth, and instead of wasting it, I'd have to eat it. He stole some from my plate and polished the rest off. As I said, pity.
Kaemon loves hats, posing naturally with Nelson, hand-modelling easter eggs, and the ladies with Cars.


Love love love living near the beach: we (I) threw a salad and quiche together for a afternoon/dinner at the strand. Instant holiday feeling, just add water!
FEED ME!

SPring has sprung...

The around the border between March and April lies somewhere the transition from winter to spring. Transitions are such that they are periods, and you emerge different and changed. This year, we had sick kids, a planned week of relaxing with/without kids, sick kids- so no planned week of relaxing and now, vacation over, we're glad to be back at work to relax and recover a little.... I DO feel different and changed, last week I felt about 30, this week about 65! Photos Below: (clockwise) Douwe being the taxi man, dutch-style; Kaemon in repose, pale and weak in sickness- now he's recovered and catching up on the obtusiveness and contrariness of a typical 2-year old double-time; Watching cars on Ipod, covered in clingwrap to protect from suprise emissions; Renee did her monthly stint relieving my horse-duty; it's Douwe's birthday and we've got cheap party hats! (economic recession)
A new season is inspiring the kitchen and my belly...num.green asparagus (although it came from Bolivia, it still seems a sign of the European spring...) with bacon-wrapped salmon in a dill-caper dressing. The spaghetti was like a sexy nun: plainly dressed but a divine accompaniment in truffle oil and garlic. Tooooo good! The leftover asparagus was hidden in a eggy terrine with ham and tomato in filo. Haricot verts, the princess of the beans also arrived to dance around on my plate with some finger-lickin grilled herby sausages, baked thyme potatoes, crispy bacon and a saucy vinaigrette. On the right are douwe's two birthday cakes. Sick kids= no fancy cake, sorry love.



Our two naughty boys *proud parents* kiss kiss

Hylke's 65th

Cake- modelled on the ANRO asia, a container ship on which Hylke sailed on long ago... I like the water flurry in the wake of the boat the best!

Food-I've never made such neat and tidy nigiri sushi before!

Late edit: Yes there were people at the party, not just food!

What we've been eating

With the winter dragging on, it was time for comfort food. There was mushroom soup with cauliflower and chicken (take packet mushroom soup and cook with cauliflower and chicken, voila...), I discovered beans, connected with my inner-dutch-wife and made Brabantse sausage rolls (good food for sick kids) and...sausage pizza (take 1/2 can of pizza, lay on pizza, top with mozarella and bake. eat.)

Who on earth decided that Twinkle Twinkle, ABCDEFG..., Baa baa black sheep should all have the same tune? Anyway, kaemon does his mixing and performs his own arrangement of it in the footsteps of Mozart who wrote 12 variations on the theme. The gassy noise in the background is backing percussion by Nelson (vocal talent). I realise the folly of mentioning Mozart and Kaemon in one sentence, Mozart wrote the variations at 25, and kaemon is only 2.

Nelson Obsession with Putting Things in his Mouth

Holiday week...

Not so much a holiday rather than the week my day care lady took a holiday and I faced a week home with the Kids. My initial trepidation gave way to relief when it seemed really not so bad as I expected...we filled the week with a visit to the kids farm

Shopping malls of varying sorts (still too cold to wander out for hours)

Battling colds (no one was spared, and this week seemed to be the peak of the mucal congestion) and nelson cut TWO teeth!

Fingerpainting (again, initial trepidation but it was really not as bad as I thought). Still, on my first day back at 'work' I slept the first 2.5 hours away recovering.

And experimental kitchenry
Kaemon discovered the deliciousness of Scallops(St Jacobsschelpen) and while I'm happy he's shaping up to be a foodie, in reality it means I have to share the crispy skin, the juicy chicken leg, the prawns, in general, less for the rest of us...

In short, it was an intense week (intenser than the regular intensity) but filled with more sweetness and joy of the everyday variety.

It's been a month of colds being passed around (sneezing in each other's faces in our small living/dining/kitchen room on a cold wet grey winter day does not help). Sometime I wonder why people bothered to colonise the cold climates...why oh why?!? Anyway to continue, colds, lack of sleep, wet weather, bleak skies...yay. I'm carefully rationing my optimistic and positive thoughts. We got a visit from some Lovely Friends

I've been carefully testing Kaemon for excellence in various areas, harness the talent early and they can potentially make us millions!!! I did a blindfolded test and fed him various foods to see if he could identify them (hey,it's raining, it's boring, the old man is snoring) and he got prawn, pea, noodle, daikon/radish, cucumber! Then we put Nelson any other suggestions to pass the rainy days away?

erm........the very last post about Kaemon's Birthday (Week). This is really the end, until next year!

Nelson tries very hard to escape his diet of boiled vegetables and fish. He wants to EAT CAKE!!

Kaemon had such a good time at his birthday party with friends, he sat and stuffed himself with popcorn and grapes and pretzel sticks and birthday cake and sugar cookies...and the inevitable happened, he couldn't hold all of it down...however, I was reassured by other mothers that this is a rite of passage for a child's birthday party. Too much of a good thing...

This birthday is starting to feel like one of those week-long Indian marriage celebrations...tomorrow is with the (extended) family and there's another cake.

Birthday Boy

The Big Two! Kaemon's name means joyful. TOday he was so happy at the indoor playground, in the middle of playing, he grabbed my hand, held it and said 'zo. zo.' (NL: like this) and we just had to sit and hold hands for a while. Who said little boys were made of slugs and snails and puppy dogs tails- kaemon's all sugar and spice!! Completely edible.

Tomorrow's Birthday (Party) Cake (I promise the next one has NO cars on it)

'Twas the night before....

Kaemon's Birthday, when all through the house, we were all stirring, and baking decorating the house!!

Although we're playing it cool, I made this cake (one of three for kaemon in the upcoming week's celebrations and douwe brought a giant helium balloon and hid it in the laundry. Here's a sneak peak...*shhh* don't tell Kaemon!!! (It's chocolate mud cake...mmmm)

I experimented with cake decorating, however, having the attention span of a goat (slightly better than a goldfish, but not as good as a chimpanzee) I'll hold off before saying I have a new hobby. But I'm hopeful...

January 2009

I like the feeling of a new year. Clean, fresh, even when we are stale and aching. Boo-hoo! We have hit the ground running. Work was all-consuming but thanks to deadlines, the pace is back to normal. We have done a good job of fulfilling our NY's resolution and visited family in Friesland and friends Menno & Esther in Breda, we had a unexpected guest: my cousin alvin! I do love visitors and we had a good time showing him typical dutch things (like the rollerclogs) and the freezing canals in Leiden. Now it's back to the usual cold and wet weather. Bleeeeaaaah.

nelson's first crawl

Nelson bumped forward in his first crawl last Saturday- we cheered and clapped ...and then he refused to perform for the camera! However today, Kaemon put a freshly baked cookie down on the floor for a second it kicked Nelson into gear: a leap and one bound forward and he had the cookie in his reach! Kaemon has been warned: Nelson will show no mercy.

Last week drove to the North, along the Delta Works- one long long long long dike. Even through the view is pretty uneventful, it's because it's SO long that you're pretty much driving through the North Sea.
 
We visited the boys' Great Grandma Vellinga
 
And cousins Rixt and Loes. The gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes is almost synonymous with the name Vellinga- so kaemon almost fulfils the bill while douwe was kind of the black sheep (literally speaking)
 

FREEZER WEATHER!

IT's been literally freezing here for the best part of a week and it's SKATING WEATHER!! This is unbelievable gorgeous- everyone's happy and out on their skates. Where we live there's plenty of canals and waterways and even the big ones have frozen over....for the first time in 12 years! We were one of the few without skates as douwe sold his last year not expecting to ever need them again....how do you spell spijt/regret??! The big dark line under Douwe and Kaemon's feet however is a complete crack in the ice to the murky depths below...

  
 

New Year's Day

A Festive Shiny Year just out of the plastic wrap: Big Hugs and Kisses from us here in freezing Holland.

Plans to be social on the eve of the upcoming year were thwarted by a nasty belly virus. Result: 22:00 hours everyone in bed sleeping through the fireworks. Cheers (*skulls probiotic drink*).

The canals are freezing up, exciting all those with skates on feet, or as some locals like to do, wheels. and babies. I'll be the first to admit I'm not accustomed to local practises and lack the ability to judge thin ice...but it was freaking me out seeing the babies on ice that was groaning and cracking...



New Year's Resolution: (dare I say it?) as there are no babies (planned) this year (as opposed to 2007 and 2008) we aim to be getting out more often.

Coming to a town near you....