This Dutch Home

Birthday Season & Tijl is 1!

2011-06-10T13:18:00.000+02:00

It's June! And around here that means not only nice weather and a general feeling of joy that summer has started, it's also the start of birthday season. Now I don't know what it is about September, but people sure seem to enjoy making babies in that month! ;)

We kicked off the June birthdays fest with my brother-in-law Marvin, who turned 31 on June 2nd. Sadly we couldn't make it to his little party because my baby overslept that afternoon (I know, when does that ever happen?!). And then there was the BIG party ~~we'd~~ I'd been planning since April: our little baby boy Tijl turned one on June 5th. All these thoughts flooding my mind that morning: I can't believe my failed attempt at a VBAC was already a year ago! It feels like him being a newborn lasted for all of one week. Was I really that big right before giving birth? Was I really that big after giving birth?! Happily these thoughts faded to the background as people started coming in to celebrate and our little one year old so enjoyed all the attention. Here are some pics of that fun day:

I'd made a birthday photo garland with pics from each month of his first year.

Big guy for a one year old, huh? Oh wait, that's big brother Abe trying on Tijl's party hat!

I Everybody loved these! So much fun to look at and they were delicious, too! The idea is from Stacey at Elle Belle Creative

Here's what was left of those lovely cupcakes after Tijl dug into them! He devoured that thing in five minutes by the way!

I thought this looked so cheerful! I sprinkled photofetti on the table for additional festivity

Here's a closer look at the photofetti. Loved it.

And here's the birthday boy showing off his moves and his favorite present.

Coincidentally, he took his very first step (minus help from walker, that is!) on his birthday, surrounded by family. I thought that was the coolest. Only sad part is nobody had a camera on hand to capture the moment... Oh well, I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities to capture first (well, second) steps on camera and film in the weeks to come.

Moving right along to June 9th (yep that was yesterday), which is my and my dad's birthday (true story!). I am now officially 31, and that means I'll have to post my list of things to accomplish in my thirties pretty soon. Since yesterday was a weekday, we didn't celebrate much yet (aside from breakfast in bed, a gift from my boys, and going for ice cream after dinner...wait that sounds like a celebration doesn't it?), so hubby is taking me out tonight. Think dinner, drinks and a hotel. Whoop whoop! (do people still say that or is the fact that I just said it testimony to me ~~getting~~ being old??)
And on Sunday the festivities continue with a backyard gathering at my dad's house. After all, it was his birthday, too!

The 29th is my mother-in-law's birthday, and then we have one spill-over in early July, when our little man Abe turns four! We suck at planning because his due date was June 24th but the little party pooper stayed put till July 8th. I'm thinking he didn't want to share a birth date :)

And that's all the birthday goodness for a while for us. November is another crazy birthday month, but luckily that's still a couple months away. So for now here's a big Happy Birthday to all you June-ers (not really a word, I know..)!!!

Alone time

2011-05-24T10:12:00.000+02:00

This weekend, I enjoyed a rare luxury: I was home alone. And by alone I mean really ALONE. My husband took our two kids on a yearly father-son weekend along with ten other dads and their kids. I love that they do this. It really benefits everyone: the fathers get to enjoy a weekend with their kids without us moms commenting on how we'd like to see certain things done (guilty as charged...), the kids get a fun-filled weekend with lots of friends to play with. The dads choose a different location for the weekend each year, but it's always a big country estate with lots of space for running around and a trampoline and such.

Here's dad with the little ones back in October

And for the moms...well, it's almost like a retreat at home haha. Seriously though, I had been thinking and planning on what to do with so much me-time all at once for weeks. Of course I had crammed my weekend so full that I didn't get around to doing everything (hey, what else is new?), but here's the rundown of my blissful weekend.
On Saturday, I called a shopping day. How awesome to spend the entire morning and afternoon in downtown Amsterdam without a single worry about grocery shopping, cooking etc. I shopped for a wedding that we'll be attending next Saturday, and got myself some new make up as well. At seven I met up with my (single and free-as-a-bird) friend for an excellent dinner followed by a movie and some drinks in a bar. The next morning I slept in till noon! I'll admit I felt a little like a teenager then, but hey, enjoy it while you can. Sunday afternoon was spent working on some of my projects I'd like to have finished in the coming weeks. And then my wonderful husband and kids returned home, exhausted but having had a great time together. And I had missed them :)
And now the week has begun again and everything is back to normal, with the small (but oh so important) exception that my battery is fully (re)charged. Thank you dads!

Travel Gadget

2011-05-19T10:11:00.000+02:00

It's the beginning of summer (well almost) and my mind wanders to travels near and far. In reality, we haven't made any travel plans yet; thinking of a spur of the moment getaway later this summer. I'm hoping we'll do a city trip, if for no other reason than having an excuse to buy one of these:

image from palomarweb.com

I found them a few weeks ago when browsing around one of my favorite Amsterdam stores. They are crumpled city maps from palomarweb.com, and they are meant to be crumpled up and thrown into your bag without the hassle of folding and re-folding. Isn't that awesome? They are available for such cool places as Sydney, Tokyo, London, New york and Amsterdam. Also they are super durable, lightweight and 100% water proof!
This is definitely on my wish list, because I'm famously terrible at re-folding paper maps... I just wish they made road maps of these as well. Would you like one of these or do you prefer the classic paper kind?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T08:32:00.000+02:00

Wanderings of the mind

Change Ahead

2011-05-16T13:30:00.000+02:00

Doesn't it seem that when you've just kinda settled in a certain way that change is bound to be right around the corner? Sometimes it's lurking, waiting to surprise you, other times it's change you've been expecting. Well, we are gearing up for some changes (of the expected type) around here in the coming months. Obviously our world was rocked by the arrival of our second little baby boy last June, and now that we're preparing to celebrate his first birthday, we've settled back into a nice rhythm. The change we are expecting now, is our older son Abe starting pre-school in September. Can I just say here that I am utterly amazed at how fast one grows from nursing baby to ready-for-pre-school. Really knocks-my-socks-off amazed.

Abe will turn four in July, thereby ending his days in daycare. Feels like yesterday when I first dropped him off there and left all teary-eyed; in reality, though, that was three-and-a-half years ago... I'm so curious to know how he'll do in pre-school. Will he be overwhelmed by going there every day instead of his two-day-a-week daycare? Will he like all the other kids? And his teachers? I'm also curious to know how his new schedule will affect our family rhythm. Daycare is super flexible compared to pre-school here when it comes to drop-off and pick-up times.
I will embrace the change (even though sometimes I wish I could stop time) because it it exciting, and it means we are moving forward and my ~~little baby~~ big boy Abe is growing. So bring it on change, we are ready for you!

Fabulous Friday Find

2011-05-14T10:58:00.001+02:00

We’ve got more cuteness today! This is the first time I’ve seen this brand - bobochoses- from design studio Otto&Olaf in Barcelona, Spain, and they had me at hello. Look at these fun summer items.

in love with those socks!

They make a collection for kids ranging from 3 months old to 12 years. To top it off, they made a beautifully illustrated book, 'Bonjour Camille,' which looks like this:

All images from bobochoses.com

I like the way these people think! Gorgeousness all around :)

Have a great weekend!

ps. The title of this post is a little off (it's Saturday now) because this post should have been up yesterday (when Blogger was down). Sorry!

Gray Label

2011-05-12T10:05:00.000+02:00

I just found this Amsterdam based label and I'm in love with their clothes and motto: "Organic apparel for the little minimalist." Too cute! Here's a couple items from their collection that I'm coveting.

Photos from Gray Label

That pink dress alone makes me want to have a daughter :) But seriously I love how simple and clean these clothes look. What do you think? Would you buy this for your kiddos?

Dirt and such

2011-05-10T10:37:00.000+02:00

My big guy (who had a "no pictures!" kind of day here) is a clean boy. Always has been. When he turned one, I remember being continually amazed at how all the other babies and toddlers looked so messy. Cute, but messy: snotty noses, morsels of food on their faces and in their little necks. And it wasn't like my baby was inside all day or just sat still; he loved (still does) playing outside. He just doesn't get very dirty doing so.

Baby no.1:"the norm" in cleanliness...

How he manages I don't know, but here I was thinking that's "the norm." Ha! I was in for a surprise...

Enter baby number two. From the very beginning he made clear that I had been sorely mistaken when it came to "the norm." This little man likes to get dirrrty.

Baby no.2: setting me straight

Really regardless of what he's doing. We can go through three or four changes of clothes, easy. Which, by the way, I stopped doing pretty quickly because I like my life outside of the laundry room. Now that spring is in full swing our little baby likes to crawl outside in the yard, which is lovely of course. We have a little lawn there that's perfect for him to play on...except he prefers the borders. Not sure my borders prefer him. On this day, though, I let him go at it. He totally loved it.

He ate all kinds of dirt, played with my (non-poisenous) plants, and just made a big old mess. Of course this required both a bath and a change of clothes, but that's alright. We had a fun morning.

Are you particular about your little kids' appearances, snotty noses, dirty hands, frumpled clothes? I'm learning to be more relaxed in that department, courtesy of baby no. 2!

My twenties

2011-05-06T13:59:00.001+02:00

Last June I celebrated my thirtieth birthday. Well, I didn't actually celebrate because I had just returned home from hospital after giving birth to my son four days prior, but it was my thirtieth birthday all the same. And in a about a month from now, I'll turn thirty-one. For some reason I feel like that is when my thirties really begin. And ~~I'm excited about it~~ I don't mind really, I just feel slightly unprepared. So, I'm going to do two things to increase my preparedness, 1. take a look back at my twenties (for closure, if you will), and 2. make a list of thirty things I want to accomplish in my thirties. I'm about halfway done with that list, but let's start with the twenties, shall we?

Here's what I did in my twenties (in semi-random order):
- moved away from home
- took a three week Route 66 road trip
- had an awesome time at college
- learned to cook
- met my future husband

- spent a semester at UNC Chapel Hill
- traveled to Australia

- lost both my grandmothers
- moved to Amsterdam

- bought our first house
- got married

- learned to like coffee
- discovered blogging
- had a baby

- lost a baby mid-pregnancy
- had another baby four days before the big 30

And there are many, many more events both big and small that defined this decade in my life. And it was a really good decade if I do say so myself!
Compared to the me at twenty, the me at thirty is not only older and a little heavier (drat!), but also more grounded, self-assured, a little wiser, more realistic, patient, and more empathetic. Glad to know I learned a thing or two there! I'm curious to know how I'll look back at myself at thirty as I turn forty in about ten years. Oh, and more on the "thirty in my thirties"-list soon!

Design Mom in Amsterdam

2011-05-04T20:53:00.000+02:00

On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting up with Gabrielle from Design Mom and her wonderful family in Amsterdam. They were on a spring break trip (they uprooted their family of eight and swapped Colorado, USA for Normandy, France for a year; how great is that?!) and I had offered to show them around town for the afternoon. We met outside the Van Gogh museum (six young kids and a trip to an art museum, I know what you’re thinking, but they make it work and man, those kids are a happy, well-behaved bunch!) and walked over to the Vondelpark for some strolling, playing, lounging, and lunching.

After showing them some Dutch stores (Hema!, Sissy Boy Homeland!) and a cupcake bakery for a taste from home, we parted ways. Our encounter left me eager to expand my family (patience my dear, patience!) and inspired to try some city tripping with my own little brood. My only regret? Forgetting to bring my camera!

note: photo courtesy of goamsterdam.about.com

One year old in a flash...and memories

2011-05-04T10:20:00.000+02:00

This week has been filled with emotions from both ends of the spectrum for me.
Today marks the second anniversary of the birth and death of our second son, our little boy Ben, who was born when I was 23 weeks pregnant. In the weeks leading up to today I felt a little anxious about this day because I never know how I'll feel. But then today arrived and really it hasn't been bad at all. Aside from feeling incredibly sad for having lost him, on this day I mostly feel blessed for having had him in our lives for 23 whole weeks and in our hearts forever after. Our family is also so sweet and never forget to call us or send a post card, which we appreciate immensely.

The other thing that’s been on my mind lately is the impending birthday of this little fellow:

We’ll be celebrating his first birthday a month from now, and I can hardly believe it. Obviously I know time flies with young kids, but it quite literally feels like I had him only yesterday (well, maybe last week). Is it always like this when it’s not your first child? It’s a little scary to me and I’ve been having visions of them flying off to college tomorrow (well, maybe next week). And that’s when I happened upon a blog post from Ellebellecreative who threw her second daughter a birthday bash with the befitting theme “One Year Old in a Flash.”

photo courtesy of Ellebellecreative

Doesn't that look super fun? The entire birthday centered on photographs and memories and it has me totally inspired. Think time capsule, photofetti, and lots of pictures of this little big man’s first year:

Love him!

So, two birthdays on my mind this week, one happy, but with a little melancholy thrown in, and the other a mixture of sadness and gratefulness. In the end, though, both are about love.

Easter 2011

2011-05-03T16:17:00.000+02:00

Okay, so I'm a bit late on this, but here's what our Easter looked like this year. We died eggs (the day before):

Who left my camera in manual mode?? I took at least 10 shots before I found out...

That's more like it

I suspect I might have been more into this than Abe and his little friend were. They didn't like the waiting part much (I just kept gawking at those colors!), but that's a three-year old for ya.

On actual Easter Sunday, we hosted a simple brunch for our friends and their daughters. I always like having them over because they balance out our all-boy family nicely.

I did some baking that morning. This is super easy to make!

After brunch, there was a full-on Easter egg hunt in our little backyard. It was actually the first time that Abe participated in an egg hunt, but both he and his friend had an awesome time and were proud to show off the results.

After finding all the eggs we hid for them (I counted...) they started painting them. As usual, our little girl guest had a little more patience for this than my rambunctious boy did.

Abe was pretty content letting me do most of his painting for him.

So this egg hunting business is sure to become a new family tradition for us! I can't wait till next year when little Tijl is able to participate (poor baby slept through the entire thing!) as well. What are your family Easter traditions?

Family BBQ

2011-04-13T13:25:00.000+02:00

I'm so happy that spring has arrived. Everything just looks better with a little sunshine on it. Granted, it also makes me want to clean house like crazy, but mostly I just enjoy the sunny warmth on my skin and watching the kids happily play outside.

This weekend the weather was especially lovely, which prompted my dad to organize an impromptu family barbecue in his back yard. Everyone was there and we had the best time. We even managed to squeeze in a (long overdue) family photo:

I can't wait to see what our family photo will look like five years from now. My sister is expecting her first baby, but maybe there will be more additions? I love big families.

This weekend also featured a pretty big milestone for our oldest son Abe. He rode a bike without training wheels and nailed it right off the bat! I always thought this would take forever to learn, but really he just got on Saturday, and after two laps of dad running along with him he was able to do it all by himself: starting, riding, and slowing down and stopping. I'm so proud! He's three months shy of turning four and has been riding his running bike since he was two, which helped him develop his balance enormously. He never owned a bike with training wheels so I can't proclaim that "the training wheels are off," but they are :)

Birth Story: Tijl

2011-04-06T10:23:00.000+02:00

So this should tell you a little something about how it ended up. Again. Unfortunately. Here's the part that came before:
My first labor ended with an unplanned c-section, and although at the time I was relieved that it was over, I was bummed beyond belief that I didn't deliver my baby naturally and felt like a big loser. This is supposed to be the thing every woman in the history of the world can do. Well, not me, and it took me months to get over the disappointment and feeling that my body had failed me. Now, three and half years later, I still think it would have been a great experience but know that in the business of being a mom, it really doesn't matter how they came into this world, for that is just the beginning.
Almost two years after my c-section, I gave birth naturally to a premature baby at 23 weeks. Though the circumstances were heartbreaking, the birth itself greatly empowered me. So when, a year later, I was due to give birth again, we decided I'd try a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). The doctors were on board with it and gave me a little over 60% chance of success. Sounded good to me!
A week after my due date I looked like this:

We decided I should be induced. So on June 5th, 2010, we headed to the hospital, feeling prepared and ready for things to come. After I was hooked up to all the machinery it appeared that my body really wasn't ready to give birth because I was not dilated at all and nothing happened for hours on end. Finally, I started having regular contractions. Still hours later I was 2cm dilated and they were ready to break my water in hopes of increasing the strength of my contractions. This is where things got hectic.
When my water broke, the doctor and nurse standing at my bed required a change of clothes, that's how much water came out, all at once (I guess you could tell from the size of my belly, there was a lot of water). Immediately my contractions became more intense, which was thrilling, but I was also ready for an epidural. Minutes after, the nurse checked my progress, but instead of mentioning the number of centimeters, she looked worried and said she would get the doctor in. The doctor checked my progress as well, and said that although I had gone from 2 to 4 cm in a mere ten minutes, the umbilical cord had dropped down in front of our baby's head (from the force of the water) and we needed to have a c-section, right now, because every contraction was preventing the blood flow to our baby. I was rushed to the O.R. and thankful I could stay awake for the procedure. Fifteen minutes later, our baby Tijl was born, a big, healthy boy who came out screaming (the loveliest sound to me).

Abe meeting his little brother

So, no VBAC for me, and this time I had to make peace with the fact that I wouldn't get another shot at it. Since this was my second c-section, I have now become a planned c-section mother. And it's fine. I've come to realize that what's important is that they are here with us, not how they got here. And although I will probably always have a little envy in my heart for every girlfriend and sister who delivers her baby naturally, I'm okay with it. And next time I go in to deliver a baby, I will have my hair and nails done, and get a facial the day before. And come out shining. How's that?

Amazing Video

2011-04-06T09:09:00.000+02:00

I just watched the most amazing pregnancy and birth video and just have to share! So endearing and so well done, without being sappy at all. Really. Go watch it. You'll love it.

The Doing

2011-03-21T16:49:00.000+01:00

Our lives are hectic. It's a constant flow of coming and going, bringing and picking up, and then making sure dinner's done at six and everyone's bathed and ready for bed by 7.30pm. Sometimes this goes rather effortlessly, and sometimes (most of the time, actually), it requires effort, concentration, and patience.
Another day done, another day gone. Looking back at the pictures, I wish then I hadn't been so concerned with getting everything done right, or in time, but instead enjoyed the moment and been a little more relaxed. Good enough will do, it doesn't need to be perfect. I think Anna Quindlen articulated these feelings beautifully in her article "On Being a Mom," and this sentence stands out to me (though the whole thing is pretty darn good and worthy of reading!):

"I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less"

Gorgeous, right? I'm going to convert this sentence to present time and then hang it somewhere on a wall in our house as a daily reminder. Do you have any favorite motherhood quotes?

Calendar Love

2011-03-17T20:55:00.001+01:00

I know I'm a bit late on this, but I'm still looking for a year calendar. I know, we're three months into 2011 already and honestly, I thought I'd skip this year, calendar wise, but I can't do it. I miss having one around just about every day. The last couple of years we made photo calendars in iPhoto, and though they are lovely, I wanted a change this year. Hence, the delay. Because whatever it is has to top all those lovely family pics we've gotten used to looking at.
Here's two ideas I really love. The first is from Gabrielle a.k.a. Design Mom, who managed to find time to DIY a lovely pastel colored monthly calendar. Here's what that looks like (photo courtesy of Design Mom):

I absolutely adore this, and Gabrielle assures us it's really easy to make. You have to make it for twelve months, though (well nine in my case), and I'm not sure I'm up for it just now. The second calendar that caught my eye is actually a wall sticker from the people over at Ferm Living. This would look really awesome over our dinner table:

The squares are actually chalkboard stickers, so this one is reusable month after month (year after year?). Apparently I'm into squares this year, but otherwise the soft pastel colors of the watercolor calendar and the bold black of the wallsticker calendar are pretty far removed from each other. What do you think? Do you have any favorite calendars?

Bear With Me

2011-03-11T11:19:00.001+01:00

Hi there. I apologize for the mess. Here, on my blog. I've been switching templates (or attempting to, anyway) this past week, and finding out how to as I go. I'm not so tech-savvy after all. In the process, I lost all of my widgets and fonts. Sigh. I'll get it fixed. In the meantime, bear with me please, and here's one last pic of winter (as far as I'm concerned), 'cause this girl is ready for spring!
Have a good weekend!

the Story of Us

2011-03-09T15:59:00.001+01:00

our August 2008 wedding

Husband R. and I have been married two-and-a-half years now, and we've been together for eight. I sometimes find this hard to believe; our courtship feels like it was only yesterday. There's about a thousand ways you can meet your future husband and fall in love. This is our story.

It was the summer of 2002 and I was celebrating being single again (that's what you do in college, you celebrate). I had just turned 22 and had that joyful feeling of the world being at my feet. One morning, I awoke from a dream about my high school years. It was a happy dream, but left me puzzled all the same. In it I saw future husband R. walking down the hall of our school. --Here I need to provide you with some background information. Husband R. and I attended the same high school. He is five years older than me and so we had very little to do with each other. I thought he was wildly attractive and had a crush. In all those years, we only had one conversation, which lasted exactly one minute. It is etched in my mind. Back to my dream now.-- So, I was thoroughly confused when I woke up. It had been at least six years since I'd seen him and hadn't really thought about him after high school anymore. The dream stayed with me all day, as did a feeling of excitement about having seen him (well, in the dream at least). Finally, I decided that Google was my friend and looked him up (sounds stalkerish, no?). My heart beating fast as I found his name, photo, and e-mail address on a student association website. He was in college, too (not mine), studying civil engineering.

As these things go, I phoned a girlfriend to relate the story. "Why don't you e-mail him?" she said. I didn't dare. Then, one day later, I was feeling particularly brave, and without thinking twice, wrote the e-mail and hit send. Immediately I regretted this and frantically searched for a way to unsend it. Within 24 hours, he replied. The e-mail was empty. I replied once again and so did he. We re-introduced ourselves and told our stories of the past six years. E-mailing then turned to talking on the phone, which led to our first dinner date. That first meeting was surreal. Sparks flying everywhere as we shook hands. We hit it off. Six months after that, we became an item, and four years later, with the birth of our son Abe, became a family.

So, you could say we met online, or you could say I married my high school crush. I prefer the latter. What's your story?

Kids' Art

2011-03-01T20:59:00.000+01:00

I love receiving my kids' little artworks, whether they be drawings, paintings or clay figures. There's something so endearing about those proud faces when they hand over their day's work. Thus far, I've kept ~~all~~ most of them in drawers and cupboards scattered around the house. There's not any sort of system there. With our youngest now in daycare twice a week, I received his very first Valentine's card last month (photo above). That triggered something in my brain. All the lovely little art projects we have been receiving from our eldest (Abe), would now have to be multiplied by two. And neither of them is even in kindergarten yet (at which time I assume they will be making still more of those lovely things)...

Hello mom! It's time for a system!
Well, yes it is. So, what to do? Keep everything? Throw everything away (after a respectable amount of time of course)?
Keep everything: I wish I could, but we're pretty sure we want to add to our brood somewhere down the line and space is limited.
Throw everything out? There's no way I could do that, my heart breaks just thinking about it.
So, what then? After brief consideration, I decided on a dual approach: I photograph every piece of art that they make, preferably with them holding it, so I'm sure to also capture those proud little faces. I then keep them around for a couple of weeks, after which I throw them away. And yes, this is pretty hard to do... The photographs I collect in a special kids' art book. I do make exceptions for the really special pieces, like our youngest's first Valentine's card, which was also his first experience with paint. Way too precious to toss out!
What's your take on this? Do you have a system when it comes to your kids' art? I'd love to hear.

Oops...! Introducing baby Tijl

2011-02-28T11:11:00.001+01:00

I'm blushing. Turns out I wasn't able to function outside of baby-mode for almost nine months... Well, maybe not really that long, but in any case, life got in the way of blogging. So what have I been up to all this time? Mainly, taking care of baby Tijl, and let me introduce him to you here. Here he is, as a newborn, a four-month old, and now:

Yes, time flies. We are a few days removed from his turning 9 months old already and his personality is really starting to shine through. What he's like? A delight, a hand-full, rambunctious, smiley and full of life. I'll share more of our life with him as we go.
Something else that has kept me occupied lately is studying. I am working on my thesis to obtain a master's degree in American Studies. I've been at it a while (being a mom sometimes slows things down a little) and want to finish before summer, so I have my work cut out for me. It's good for me to be focused on something other than diapers and bottles a couple times a week, though.
So, there we are. If you gave up on reading this blog during my months-long absence, I don't blame you. And to those who patiently awaited my return: thank you, so happy to see you again!

Blogging Break

2010-05-01T19:06:00.023+02:00

Hi all,

As I am entering my final four weeks of pregnancy, I will be taking a blogging break. I had planned on blogging up to the final week at least, but my mind is quickly becoming absorbed by all things baby and this time around I am going to give in to that feeling. So, I'm going into fulltime nesting mode now, making sure everything is ready in time for his (hopefully timely) arrival. I will of course share the news (and pics!) when he gets here, and as soon as my mind is able to do anything else besides think baby thoughts, I will get back into the blogging game.
Here's to maternity leave! See you all soon!

Photo of me on the due date of my firstborn

Babymoon

2010-04-23T08:26:00.000+02:00

Are you familiar with the term babymoon? Originally, it refers to the period right after birth, where the new mom and dad spend time with their baby, bonding and getting acquainted. In the last couple of years, however, it has taken on the meaning of one last getaway together of the mom- and dad-to-be. Baby gets to tag along too, but in mom's belly.
I've never been on a babymoon but I like the idea, especially for first-time parents. Despite all the reading you've done and the advice you've gotten and the courses you've followed, there really is nothing that can adequately prepare you for the roller coaster of emotions you go through when your baby is born, and how he or she changes the equation (including the one of your relationship with your partner) in such a major way. And while I think it is beautiful that most couples can't wait for those final two months of pregnancy to be over so they get to meet their offspring, I can't stop myself from telling them to please enjoy these very last, very intimate weeks together being 'just the two of you.' Things will, after all, never be the same again, and if all goes well, the next time it'll be just the two of you, you'll be well into your forties (if not fifties). So, savor this time, and go on a trip to somewhere that looks like this:

Jumby Bay Resort, Anguilla

While we never did that particular babymoon (I'm sorry to say..), we've decided to go on a babymoon of sorts this time, but we're taking the family. And by family, I mean not just our almost three-year-old, but my siblings and all of my cousins as well. Luckily, our family isn't that big, so it'll be a party of 11 in total, but still more than just the two of us. Also, the location will look nothing like that dreamy, lovely picture above. Instead, we are in for an activity-filled weekend at a family-friendly park that looks more like this:

Note: images courtesy of Center Parcs

Not your typical babymoon sanctuary, I know, but family time with our little one nonetheless, and we are bound to have a great time!

So, this is how we will be spending our weekend, starting five hours from now, so I'd better start packing...

What's on your agenda for the weekend? Hope you have a good time!

Crossing Over

2010-04-21T21:33:00.000+02:00

Anywhere between three and seven weeks from now, I'll be crossing over from being one very pregnant lady to being a new nursing mom again. I've been making so many lists these past weeks it is driving everyone crazy. It probably is a little crazy to be honest, but luckily very few people dare argue with a pregnant woman.
One thing on my list is nursing wear. I remember not being able to find anything that I really loved last time (I didn't start looking till my last week of pregnancy, somehow I wasn't able to look beyond giving birth), so I've begun my search a little earlier this time.
I must say I am surprised at the many elegant, comfortable nursing wear brands that are online now. Why look only in your own country when there is a world of pretty things out there? (Well alright, shipping costs are a pretty good reason) Today I ordered these items from Mothers en Vogue, based in Singapore:

And tomorrow I might just order this cute top from Queen Bee in Australia:

I love how you can't even tell that these tops and dress are nursing clothes. Makes me look forward to a stylish, nursing summer with my new babe!

What is your nursing style? Do you get your items locally or through the internet (I'm a total convert!)? Any great brands I should know about?

Wedding Season

2010-04-19T18:16:00.000+02:00

Now that spring has arrived, so has the wedding season. We've got a couple of weddings coming up in May -don't you love going to weddings?- so I'm in full swing wedding mode at the moment. I've liked weddings even more since my husband and I tied the knot almost two years ago in what has got to be one of my favorite days of all time. We had a backyard wedding in August with about 100 people attending and we have such fond memories of that day. It has left me with a soft spot for outdoor weddings and to this day I love looking at wedding sites and inspiration boards.
Here are some pictures that leave me inspired and wishing I could get married (to the same guy of course...) all over again every year.

And since I will be attending at least two weddings while very, very pregnant, here's some inspiration on what to wear. I think this Tiffany Rose dress is perfect for spring weddings:

Here's to a long and sunny wedding season!

Note: Wedding cake photo from Martha Stewart, Dress picture from Tiffany Rose. Other pictures from The Knot.

Wallpaper Tree

2010-04-16T12:48:00.000+02:00

We are still working on the nursery, although it is mainly decoration by now, and I think I've found just the thing I want to add the finishing touch. It is Inke's wallpaper tree and birds:

Notice that bird at the bottom of the tree? Here's a close-up:

I just think they are awesome. They are made from vintage wallpaper, and you can choose different colors of foliage for the tree (April tree/May tree etc.) and for the birds, as well. Inke also makes other animal silhouettes with wallpaper such as lions, giraffes, and monkeys. Great for boys' rooms, too!

So happy to have found the tree just in time though. Have a great weekend!

note: all images from inke.

Pottery Barn Mystery, Part I

2010-04-15T18:39:00.000+02:00

We are currently on the market for rugs. One for our living room and one for the nursery. For inspiration, I’ve been browsing the web, looking for just the right color and pattern. One of my browsing sessions led me to Pottery Barn. At least, that is where it should have led me. To my great surprise, instead of Pottery Barn’s homepage, this is what I got:

“Sorry, due to website restrictions we are unable to display the requested page.”

That’s all. No information, no phone number or contact e-mail. Puzzled, but not fazed, I continued on to other websites. Then, I tried West Elm. The same mysterious message appeared, this time with a contact phone number. Williams-Sonoma: same story.

By this time, I was truly flabbergasted. What is going on? I live in Europe for Pete’s sake, not North Korea. I know that these companies don’t ship to Europe, but we should at least be able to see what it is we are missing out on, right? Well, wrong apparently. So far for the World Wide Web...

After a short round of googling the restricted website message, I quickly learned that I was not alone. I found more complaints of Europeans who were unable to access these websites, and none of them seemed to know what was going on.

I am determined to get to the bottom of this. I started with West Elm’s contact number. The phone was answered by a lovely lady who ensured me that this was not West Elm’s policy (turns out West Elm, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma are all the same company; I did not know this); the governments of the countries where the sites are blocked are responsible. My quest for the truth brought me to the Dutch government. No information about blocking websites could be found on their web pages, so I gave them a call. The lady told me she did not have an answer right away, but would inquire with her colleagues and get back to me. She called me back one day later (at least they’re fast) to tell me she had contacted the economic affairs department and they assured her that no such practice exists within the government. Blocking websites only occurs when sites are involved in illegal activities, which these furniture companies obviously aren’t.

So, this is where I am at today. I’ve gained some information, but it has not brought me closer to an answer yet. Next up I will contact my internet provider and Williams-Sonoma’s IT department. I will keep you posted on my progress. In the meantime, if anyone has already found the answer, I am dying to know here, so please clue me in!

Most of all

2010-04-13T14:48:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I come across things, pictures, or stories that I like more than anything. These are the things I will share with you in my Most of all posts, starting here:

They came by delivery this week, and are the second pair we've bought for our son - rain boots. Not just any old rain boots, but my very favorite rain boots in the world: Bergstein boots.

Note: image from Flavor-Style

I love them because they are very flexible (so no chafed calves after an afternoon of wearing them), and because they come in awesome colors, and because they are just the coolest. Makes you want to go outside in the rain to play!

Note: image from RoomRed

I just wish they would come in grown-up sizes, too, although they probably look lots cuter on kids...

The Naming Game

2010-04-12T22:02:00.001+02:00

In one of my previous posts I mentioned that we had agreed on a name for our baby boy. While I'm thrilled that this is the case, and that it happened relatively early, it has its drawbacks. With our first baby, finding the perfect name was a lenghty process that involved lots and lots of lists and discussions. We ended up writing down our top three names on a piece of paper and hashed it out over breakfast in a cute little breakfast place. After that, however, it took us a long time to really get used to his name, even after he was born.
This time it's been a little different. No real lists, no discussions. I mentioned a name I'd seen in a magazine and husband reacted by saying: "yeah, that might be a nice one." We pretty much left it at that and postponed the naming discussions until after the 20-week ultrasound. In the meantime (and ever since), though, when referring to our unborn baby, we called him "..." (the name we have in mind, not to be disclosed till he's born). This happened so often, that about a month ago, we decided it would be weird to change his name now, since we'd both gotten so used to it. A little too much so, as it turns out.
This weekend, my dad was over to help with the nursery when husband referred to our baby. Except instead of actually saying "our baby," he called him by his name. That's how much the name is in our system already. We were both stunned for a second and looked at my dad. He realized the mistake we'd just made and started to laugh, but was sorry that he'd not heard it properly. -Phew- We are going to have to be extra careful these last seven weeks...
I don't know about you, but I like to keep baby's name our little secret until he's actually born. Old-fashioned, right? What are your thoughts on this?

Garden Delight

2010-04-09T11:30:00.000+02:00

These days, I'm all about the garden. I'd say backyard, but since ours is pretty small (as in 11 by 5 yards...) I prefer using garden. Sounds more picturesque that way. With space being so limited, decorating and landscaping can be a bit of a challenge. Aside from not being able to have large trees (and how I'd love to have large trees!), we need to make choices all the time. Pergola or pond (going with pergola)? Larger sitting area or larger lawn (went for larger seating)? And these are the easier choices. When it comes to plants and flowers, however, I'm quite lost. Luckily I have a mother with a green thumb who is always happy to provide me with some expert advice.

So yesterday I enlisted her help once again, and we spent the morning in the gardening center picking out flowers and new plants to liven up our garden for spring. We picked out these climbers for the fence:

Pink Clematis. Photo by RussG

Jasmine. Photo by Bonsai-Nursery

Pretty, huh? They're not as big yet as the ones in the photos here, but they should be a decent size come June. We also got some new pots and white hydrangeas. These were our wedding flowers and so we thought we should incorporate them into our garden as well.

Hydrangea. Photo by WholeBlossoms

We spent the afternoon planting everything (well, mostly mom did the planting and I got to watch. The perks of being pregnant...) and my little one is proving to be quite the gardener as well. He loved watering all the plants and riding around a bunch of twigs and leaves in his wheelbarrow.
Next up will be building the pergola (again: watching the pergola being built by others) and hoping that our Bougainvillea survived the rather harsh winter we had.
Do you have a backyard? What are your favorite plants and flowers? I'd love to hear what your yard looks like!

Petit Bateau

2010-04-07T14:24:00.000+02:00

Today I'm working on a comprehensive to-do list for baby's arrival. What to pack for the hospital, little chores around the house that I'd like to get done, some last baby clothes to buy etcetera. Just making the list is good fun in itself. I was looking at onesies and wanted to share with you one of my favorite brands in baby clothing: Petit Bateau. I fell in love with it after someone bought us a onesie as a baby gift for our firstborn. Most brands make their onesies and rompers pretty wide, but our little one was on the frail side and being a French brand, Petit Bateau has a slim fit. As it now turns out, they don't make just baby clothes, but kids' and even adults' clothes, too. Lucky me!
Here are some of my spring and summer favorites for babies:

And for kids:

These cheerful items make me look forward to summer!

note: photos from minirepublic.com

Writer's Block

2010-04-06T20:50:00.000+02:00

Uh oh, writer's block hit me today... What to do? I've had writer's block before when I was in school and college, but that felt different because it usually involved boring assignments. Nowadays I can write about anything I want on my very own blog and find I have nothing to write about! I could do a post on some lovely things that I found online/in a magazine/in a store, but the thing about writer's block: nothing looks good enough to me today to merit a post. A quick tour around the blogging world convinces me that I am not alone. Question is, how do you fight or fix your writer's block?? In my case, writer's block usually means an altogether creative block as well.
So instead of writing something here, I'll ask you this:

Have you ever suffered from writer's block? When? What do you do to fix it?
Thanks for your input and I hope to be back with you tomorrow all refreshed and filled with inspiration.

Baby Things II

2010-04-05T16:46:00.000+02:00

Hi! Hope you all had a good Easter weekend and are feeling refreshed for the week ahead. We had a lovely weekend of nesting, as the weather wasn't all that great. We managed to get out a couple of times for little walks and bike rides (in between the rain showers) but other than that cosied up inside for most of the weekend, which wasn't too bad because of all the yummie goodness we'd bought and made.
Back to my topic: it has been amazing to see how many companies on the baby market have gone green over the last couple of years. One of my earlier discoveries was a Dutch company called Kindekeklein (how's that for a pronunciation exercise...). They make hanging cradles that are a joy to look at (and I imagine to lie in) and responsibly produced as well.

The cradles are suspended from the ceiling with jute ropes and a spring, which lets the cradle swing as well as lightly bounce, creating a womb-like sensation. I remember endlessly rocking my firstborn on a bouncing ball until he'd fall asleep, only to have him wake up again as soon I laid him down in his crib. All it would take with this hanging cradle is a gentle nudge, and thanks to the spring, baby would bounce back to sleep. Now why didn't I think of that?

The cradles are made of 100% organic cotton, unvarnished wood, and jute, and the canopies come in a variety of colors. They also have a tripod available to take your baby outdoors for a Spring nap as well as bigger cradles for twins:

Aren't these great??

note: all pictures from Kindekeklein

Easter Yumminess

2010-04-02T15:05:00.001+02:00

So it is Easter weekend this weekend and I love it! Mostly because it means that there isn't a sliver of Winter left for Spring to hide behind, but also because of that yummie Easter breakfast we'll be having. I started my Easter baking yesterday, when I made lemon cookies with my 33 month-old. Admittedly, I was into it a little more than he was (with that 10 minute attention-span and all) but they turned out quite well. We'll be decorating them tomorrow, which should be more fun for him since it will involve chocolate and candy.
Now for the grown-up bit, I'm making lemon curd (just the thought of it makes me want to do a little happy dance!).

Picture from cheekywipes.com

Nothing makes me happier in the morning than warm croissants with homemade lemon curd. The comforting warmth of a croissant fresh from the oven combined with the tart sweetness of the lemon curd reminding me of the impending summer: now that is something you can wake me up for, anytime. I've tried many different recipes over the years (so many to be found!), and have decided to go with foodblogging genius David Lebovitz's recipe this time (can't go wrong there!).

Also on the list this year are cinnamon rolls. I have to admit that I've never made them before but I've been craving them (must be those crazy pregnancy hormones...) and I prefer to have them homemade. I'll be using apurpleocean's recipe and hope they taste as good as they look!

picture by apurpleocean

Well, happy Easter everyone! Will you be doing any baking or cooking this time? What are your favorite Easter treats?

Young House Love

2010-04-01T14:45:00.001+02:00

It has been a little more than a year since we moved into our new home, and though we love it, I can't claim it to be anywhere near finished. All the major things (new bathroom, new kitchen etcetera) were done right when we moved in, but the part that makes a new house a home, i.e. the decorating bit, is still a work in progress. So far, I had been looking to magazines for inspiration, but since hiking up my blogging frequency, I've found a wealth of inspiration on other people's blogs as well.
My latest find is one that has particularly inspired me. It is Sherry and John Petersik's blog Young House Love.

The blog is dedicated to the first house they bought and fixed up together. And boy did they fix it up! You really shoudn't miss their house tour, which is full of before and after shots that will leave you inspired and amazed. I especially love it because they used furniture and accessories that are available to and affordable for most, as opposed to buying only expensive design items. And have a look at this photo, isn't that just the most adorable house? Makes me wanna pack up my things and move to Virginia! Are you the fixer-upper type or do you prefer a turn-key home?

Baby Things I

2010-03-31T11:15:00.002+02:00

I've been getting increasingly obsessed with all things baby lately. I spend more time online looking at all this cuteness than I should, but hey, I'm 31 weeks pregnant and that's a good enough excuse for me. There really are so many cute little things out there, that I decided to share my finds. I'll be posting them at random for you to see in the Baby Things posts.
I'll start with a personal favorite. Among the many baby gifts we received when our first baby was born, was this cuddly blankie with Delft Blue pattern from Dutch company Snooze Baby , which was an instant hit:

Like all blankies it is incredibly soft and cuddly, but the cool thing is all the labels that are attached to it. You know how babies tend to find the labels on anything to fiddle with? That's what Dutch Marleen Ramecker noticed in her own son, too, and she decided to do something with the concept. Aside from the blankies, Snooze Baby also makes these on-the-go foldable changing pads, changing mat covers, wrappers, and soft toys, all with those cool labels attached. I like them all, but this changing pad will be on my baby list for our newest addition!

note: all pictures from Snooze Baby

Bedroom Loveliness

2010-03-30T14:56:00.001+02:00

Tomorrow, after five years of sleeping in our double bed, we are upgrading to a King Size. Turns out the double bed was fine for the early stages of courtship, but as our family expanded, we've been getting a little cramped. Cosy, but cramped. So I am absolutely thrilled about this new arrival and have been thinking about what other pieces in our bedroom could use an upgrade. I already got new night lights, and I can't wait to add a touch of paint to the wall directly behind the bed, which is currently a warm, dark gray. I'll hold off on the painting part until the new bed is in place, though, so I don't mismatch the colors. I also found these wall graphics online that I really like:

Now that is just instant summer for your bedroom isn't it? This one is called Dandelion by Curly Cue Wall Graphics, and it comes in many colors, although personally I quite like this one. They also have wall graphics for kids' rooms and nurseries.

Well, I'm off to get our bedroom ready for the big arrival, can't wait to go to bed tomorrow night!

Hippie Pregnancy

2010-03-29T15:59:00.001+02:00

Now that I'm getting bigger and bigger (see my Whale post), it is becoming quite the challenge to continue to dress nicely. I'm constantly looking for great maternity wear, even in the final two months of pregnancy. (Whoever said you can wear the same maternity clothes all through your pregnancy is wrong! This is only true if you belong to the lucky few who only add the pregnancy pounds to their bellies and boobies.)
Luckily, all the major brands have been debuting their spring and summer collections, so there is plenty to choose from. I really like these pieces from Fragile, a small Belgian brand that creates high quality maternity clothing.

They usually feature dreamy, ultra-feminine looks that are really gorgeous, but these are great as well. I think the hippie pregnant girl look is very cute, and love the bell-bottom jeans paired with those heels. I have to be honest here and say I've not worn heels for about four months now, but seeing this look, maybe I'll give it another go! What do you like to wear when you're pregnant?

Note: Pictures taken from Fragile

Eating Animals

2010-03-29T10:59:00.000+02:00

Every two months, some of my university girlfriends and I convene for an afternoon -turns to evening turns to night- of eating, drinking, catching up, and lots of laughing. You wouldn't guess it from my description, but this is actually a book club meeting. It's just that most of the time, we don't take the reading and discussing part so seriously, which is fine with everyone. Our latest meeting was Saturday, and I have to say, it was a little different this time. The book we had read (at least most of us had, and at least in part) was Johnathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals.

It is a non-fiction piece about the meat industry, and Johnathan Safran Foer is the young dad who stops to think about why we eat meat, educates himself on how we treat the animals that become our meals, and is appalled at what he encounters. Frankly, anyone who reads the book will be appalled.

The majority of my girlfriends are not vegetarians, nor did they become vegetarian after reading the book. However, for the first time since starting our book club a year and a half ago, we actually had a heated and animated discussion on the book we'd just read. And even the biggest meat lovers among us admitted that they gave the kind of meat they bought a little more thought. While I personally didn't like the tone of the book too much, and am not one of J.S. Foer's biggest fans, I think he deserves props for getting us to care about what we eat, and having a discussion about it to boot.

Getting Ready for Baby

2010-03-26T09:32:00.000+01:00

Now I know I have a good nine weeks of pregnancy ahead of me, but the birth of baby has been occupying my mind lately. My history in delivering babies is this: one unplanned C-section after 42 weeks of pregnancy and 12 hours of labor, and one very premature natural birth with epidural in the birth of our little angel at 23 weeks of pregnancy. Both deliveries were pretty hard.
In spite of my less-than-ideal history with delivering babies, though, I am rather looking forward to not scared of going through it all again. What has been keeping me busy is how this baby will be born. Will I need another C-section (I pray that I don't)? If it's a natural birth, do I do it the natural way or with epidural? Lately, I've been inclined to go with the epidural because I know from experience that once my body gets going with the contractions, I'll have a maximum of 20 to 30 seconds between them, which is pretty hard to endure for hours on end. I am not a 0-to-10cm-in-3-hours-kind-of-girl, unfortunately.
Like I said, I was leaning towards an epidural, until I read Jill Di Pietro's hypnobirthing story on Design Mom. What an amazing birth! This is how I imagined giving birth was when I was pregnant the first time and had taken birthing classes. I was going to deliver my baby at home in a birthing tub, with just my husband and a midwife there, and lots of candles and soft music in the background. I was in shock when it turned out to be just a big, bloody, painful mess and I became quite sceptical of people who claimed to have had beautiful deliveries. But then every now and then a story like Jill's comes along, and it gets me thinking. Maybe a birth like that is possible, maybe even for me? I can only imagine the sense of empowerment after pushing out your baby all by yourself, no help from pain medicine or anything. Now I know for sure I won't be delivering this baby at home, but the epidural I will give a second thought.

Summer Inspiration

2010-03-26T08:13:00.001+01:00

I just couldn't keep these images to myself! This is exactly what my perfect spring/summer scene looks like.

Absolutely adore that chair by the way, wish I had a big enough tree in our yard to hang it from. Here's to a delightfully warm and sunny season!

note: pictures from Susanna and Sania.

All Things Tray

2010-03-24T14:45:00.003+01:00

You know how you can be drawn to the same things over and over while shopping for your home? Even when looking for something completely unrelated? This is what happens to me with trays (and lanterns. And to be completely honest here, with throws too). I might be looking for new knives or mugs or chairs or even a soap dish for the bathroom, when I spot a good tray, I have to have it.
The thing about trays: they are so versatile! You can use them to get your food things from the kitchen to the dining room, which is probably what their original purpose in life is (though not what I mostly use them for). However, just as easily they convert into decorative little tables (when placed on a stool) and gorgeous gathering places for candles/rocks/picture frames/memorabilia. The really nice ones even do well by themselves. I especially love trays with an ethnic look. Most of the time I find those in smaller stores that import their things from Asia or Africa, but these two I came across at Crate and Barrel:

Aren't they beautiful? The first one I would love for the bathroom, I think it'd look really good with rolled up guest towels or something like that. The second one I could see being used on summer nights in the back yard, filled with candles and pebbles.

I wonder what the Mr. would have to say about me bringing home some more trays...

Springtime Redecorating / Ikea Finds

2010-03-22T11:57:00.004+01:00

Now that the weather is slowly starting to improve and my due date is fast approaching (May 29th), I thought it was time for some springtime redecorating while I am still mobile. So the past two weekends have been spent with friends and family and lots of tools. We rearranged the hallway to accommodate our new Bugaboo stroller and this was a good excuse for me to also get out a can of paint to freshen up the color. So instead of a muted gray, the main wall in our hallway is now a soft green with the lovely name pasta verde.
The nursery is still a work in progress but it is in much better condition than a month ago. Because our budget isn't sky-high, we ventured to Ikea for some nursery furniture. We bought a wardrobe and rocking chair as well as these lamp shades.

They are from the Klavsta range and I just thought they were really cute for the nursery since our boy will be born in Spring. I used three colors (the white, the sandy, and a delicate purple that's not in the picture above) and hung them from the ceiling in a group, at different heights. Must say I'm pretty pleased with the results.

While at Ikea, I also found this little bench that I like, and it would be perfect next to our front door.

It is the Vadero garden bench (I've not been able to find it on the US Ikea website but it can be found on the international ones). While I love Ikea, I do think you need to be wary of Ikea overkill. A good way to do this is adapt their designs, and I've been wondering whether I should paint this bench a different color. Suggestions are most welcome!

Jules from Ikea hacker has this concept down to a T. He collects photos of tweaked Ikea furniture on his website and boy are people creative with Ikea furniture! One of my favorite Ikea redesigns on his blog is the adaptation of the simple Bekvam Step Stool (done by Pysselmama) from this:

To this:

Now I have this stool at my house in its original style, but this really inspired me to do something to it to make it lovelier and more original.

Do you sometimes venture into an Ikea store or do you steer clear? Do you tweak their things? I'm thinking I will from now on!

Clandestine Gardening

2010-03-19T11:00:00.002+01:00

This Winter, our street received a makeover. That is what happens when you live in a new suburb like we do. While the suburb is not so brand new anymore -going on seven years now- all of our street's inhabitants were still living with a temporary layout, consisting mostly of ugly pavements and no trees. The reasoning behind this was that all the heavy traffic that is involved in building a new residential area frequently passed through our street (as it is rather wide) and would damage the fancy brick that is now in place. Anyway, we have been able to enjoy our street's new and improved look for a couple of months and I have to say I quite like it. The only thing that still needs to be done is planting some trees. There is a plot of grass (or would-be grass if it would start to grow already) separating the pavement in front of our house from the road. This is where the trees will go. Now here is my plan: I bought some flower bulbs this week (irises and tiger flowers for the gardeners among you) with the intention of planting them at the base of the trees when they are put in. A clandestine and wildly courageous act on my part of course. So come June, when the leaves on the trees are the freshest hue of green, lots of colorful flowers will be blooming and it will be a marvelous sight. Grass or no grass.

Cutesies

2010-03-17T14:26:00.008+01:00

Being pregnant means that my feelers are constantly out for 'cute' things. Now, in my opinion, almost anything can be cute, especially when it is baby-related. In my search for birth announcements for our little pea, I happened upon this site and found the cutest (there we go) cards.

I got them from popje.co.uk and their entire site is filled with adorableness like this. Aside from birth announcements, they also make greeting cards and wedding announcements, and you can even have them make you a unique design. My birth announcements quest is far from over, but I'll be keeping these in mind!

Whale

2010-03-03T15:45:00.004+01:00

I thought I got pretty big during my first pregnancy. I was wrong. This -third- time around, I am ballooning to never before seen proportions. This would've been kinda okay had I been in my ninth month of pregnancy while writing this or had the weight attached itself only to my tummy, as planned (by me of course). Alas, I just entered my third trimester last Saturday and the weight seems to be evenly distributed between my legs -or cottage cheese pillars, as I now call them- and my rear, which means I carry a lot of extra "junk in my trunk." I seriously considered not putting on my bathing suit to go swimming with my Two-and-a-half this weekend. Thankfully, my maternal instincts beat my vanity, but I am doubtful this will be the case two months from now, when I look (and no doubt feel) like a beached whale.

All complaints about looks aside, though, this pregnancy is going really well, so we have plenty to be grateful for. With less than three months to go I'm looking forward to getting things in order for baby's arrival. Picking out birth announcements, painting and decorating the nursery and laying out those too cute tiny onesies. There's one thing I can already cross off my to-do list: we've agreed on a name!

Hiatus

2009-11-15T15:28:00.006+01:00

Wow, a seven month hiatus leaves quite a gap, doesn't it? Rather than try to fill it with a big long summary of what has happened in the last half year (now that makes it sound even longer...), I will jump right back into current affairs.

Yesterday marked exactly 12 weeks into a new pregnancy! A little bit of a milestone so I thought I'd share it. A sibling for A. is due at the end of May, so we will be starting up the baby machine once again. Hope everything goes well.

May is still a long time away so we have plenty of time to enjoy being just the three of us. The enjoying part will commence next week, when we leave for a 12 day break to Florida! Nothing like a winter break to a sunny place to beat the fatigued look of a three-month pregnant lady (or so I hope). The vacation is a family visit really, and we're looking forward to spending some time together on the beach and at the Thanksgiving dinner table. I also intend to do lots of holiday shopping, and not just for everyone else...

The holiday season is one of my favorite times of year and so I am already filled with anticipation. I will leave only one thing to chance and that is the snowfall. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

ps. Summer was great, back yard received a serious upgrade, curtains are up and screen doors in place. I couldn't resist ;)

Trigger

2009-04-06T13:22:00.003+02:00

And just like that, it happened. Spring has arrived. After my ranting about the weather I probably didn't deserve it, but I'm not complaining anymore! I've spent some lovely days in the sun last week and the vitamin D obviously did me some good.

The sun also triggered some other things:

- a desire to fix up the garden. To this end we went to scope out tiles this weekend, and are currently drawing up a garden plan. To be continued.

- the realization that I still don't like bugs in my house. Screen doors are due in the next couple of weeks.

- a general feeling of "we need to finish the house!" All kinds of things need to be done before we can claim it to be anywhere near finished. Starting points are putting up curtains and removing wires from sight.

Who knew spring came with all that? But I don't mind; as long as the sun keeps shining, I am ready to roll!

Spring

2009-03-13T19:00:00.003+01:00

I like winter, I really do. I like the snow, the freezing cold, coming home from a snow storm to enjoy a hot mug of tea. God knows I love wearing turtleneck sweaters.

Unfortunately, I live in a sea climate. Not the Mediterranean sea climate either. I live in a North-West European sea climate. This means that the picture of winter painted above is rarely ever accurate. Winters here consist of a lot of rain, wind, and daytime temperatures of anywhere between -3 degrees Celsius (that's around 27 for you Fahrenheit-oriented lot) to +9 degrees C (48F). We are lucky to have any snow in a given year, and ice-skating seems more and more to be a thing of the past. These are the winters I don't like very much.

So now that we are halfway through March and the temperatures are very slowly climbing to 11, 12, 13 degrees (51-55F), I have had enough. My aunt in Florida emailed me in early February that the weather was really starting to be lovely again. Yuk, I should move.

I want to leave my coat at home and enjoy the warm sun on my face, even if I still have to wear a sweater. I remember springtime in North Carolina, where the winter weather changed to lovely spring in just two weeks time. That is my kind of climate. I am longing for spring, and maybe in a month or so it will have arrived full swing, though I am hoping for an early start this year.

Starting off

2009-03-12T10:32:00.002+01:00

Okay, so here we go. It has taken me some time to jump on the blogger bandwagon (only a couple of years behind everyone else, but who's counting right?), but here I finally am. I don't yet know what the blog will be about, but this is of secondary importance to me as writing is sort of therapeutic. Also, I never think ahead of what I'm going to write, I just start typing away and hope for some sort of coherence. Keep that in mind when one day you are reading one of my posts and think to yourself "what in the world is she talking about?"

A few details on me and my life:

I'm married and have a 20 month-old son. I'm also a student in university trying to finish her MA thesis. Juggling the son and thesis leaves little time for other activities, but I don't let that hold me back. Also we just moved to a bigger home in the suburbs of a large city.

More next time!