A and F started their swimming lessons. A did well, she wasn't too shy. She did keep a uncomfortable smile on her face the whole time, one that shows her teeth. I am telling this, because she didn't stop smiling even when they went underwater. So she wasn't very pleased with the little dive!
F had a private lesson, there are no other kids in her group for the moment. Her teacher is a girl with long beautiful hair. So F is very happy. They were in the water and her teacher made her go back and forth in the pool, from one side to the other. I watched her with amaze, she just didn't stop swimming. Backstroke, front, whatever they are all called. At the end of the lesson, I had no words except that I was extremely proud of my little big girl.
At the end of the lesson, the teacher came up to me and said she couldn't believe F's endurance. She said F should go to swim soon. So I wasn't imagining. Of course as usual, the sensitive dork that I am, I had tears in my eyes. (no worries, no crying at all.) Tomorrow is the next lesson. We'll see how that goes.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Life/(write) saver
On October sixth, I met Franny Billingsley. She is an author. She has two published young adult novels and a picture book. She is a friend of a friend, so Noyna, my friend introduced us.
It is always weird to go to meet someone new. Am I gonna like the person, will she like me? What are we going to talk about? Will there be uncomfortable silences? I did go very willingly, though. No misunderstanding. Very excited for the opportunity, I went to the library to get her books, read one novel (liked it) and the picture book, started the other novel.
Why am I telling all these? Since I met her, I have this urge to write. I don't know what she said or did, but it was just what I needed to get me out of the lazy comfort I was sucked in, in the last couple of weeks. We talked about writing, her books, what I write, how she works, how other people that she knows work... Two things I remember very well. First, this one other writer she knows who has to get her house in order before sitting and writing. Second, she used to get up at 5 am to write, because that was the moment she had time to write, and she hated waking up at 5am. I don't have to get the house clean head to toe to write, and oh, 5 am is out of question, but there are always reasons not to write. I realized I had my own and I also realized that I will get nowhere if I go on like this. And so I landed back on my midlife crisis, that "getting old" story. Yes, I am and we are and if I don't hurry up, I will never get all those words in my head on the paper. Whenever the midlife truck hits me, I get inspiration, I get energy, I just do it! I hope to keep this up for a while and get some good progress. Now time to stop blogging and start writing!
It is always weird to go to meet someone new. Am I gonna like the person, will she like me? What are we going to talk about? Will there be uncomfortable silences? I did go very willingly, though. No misunderstanding. Very excited for the opportunity, I went to the library to get her books, read one novel (liked it) and the picture book, started the other novel.
Why am I telling all these? Since I met her, I have this urge to write. I don't know what she said or did, but it was just what I needed to get me out of the lazy comfort I was sucked in, in the last couple of weeks. We talked about writing, her books, what I write, how she works, how other people that she knows work... Two things I remember very well. First, this one other writer she knows who has to get her house in order before sitting and writing. Second, she used to get up at 5 am to write, because that was the moment she had time to write, and she hated waking up at 5am. I don't have to get the house clean head to toe to write, and oh, 5 am is out of question, but there are always reasons not to write. I realized I had my own and I also realized that I will get nowhere if I go on like this. And so I landed back on my midlife crisis, that "getting old" story. Yes, I am and we are and if I don't hurry up, I will never get all those words in my head on the paper. Whenever the midlife truck hits me, I get inspiration, I get energy, I just do it! I hope to keep this up for a while and get some good progress. Now time to stop blogging and start writing!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Math concepts a la Montessori
This evening, we saw at the school how the kids learn math concept in a Montessori way. It was amazing! The kids start with touching, feeling the beads, they are looking at them. Couple years later, they end up understanding the concept of squares and cubes, like 2 to the square of 5. They don't memorize, but understand. They see that 2 to the square of 5 makes a real geometric square made of beads. They actually see a cube being build up. I hear often that kids from Montessori schools are good at math, I am not surprised. I understand that the girls will know math concept better than I do - and much better than P does, needles to say.
While the six teachers from different levels were explaining the concepts, showing us parents how the children work with the material, we could easily sense that there was so much more to it, so many dimensions that covered complex math concepts. I am truly impressed!
While the six teachers from different levels were explaining the concepts, showing us parents how the children work with the material, we could easily sense that there was so much more to it, so many dimensions that covered complex math concepts. I am truly impressed!
Gerald and Edna's visit
Last week-end P's cousins, Gerald and Edna with Aaron and Sheila were here. P had to take Gerald for salmon fishing of course. The freezer is now so full, I don't know what to do. How are we going to eat that all!
P took them with F to six flags on Friday evening. They came home soaked and happy. Apparently, F did some rides as well, and she loved it. The nice thing about the rain is that the lines are short, they didn't wait anywhere.
Saturday, P, Gerald, F and Aaron went to Harley museum in Milwaukee. I went with the rest shopping at Pleasant Prairie outlet mall. We shopped for hours. I hadn't done such relaxed shopping for such a long time and I got a taste of how a shopaholic feels. Feels good!
Sunday was reserved for the city. The tour started as usual with Union Station and water taxi to the pier. Then we walked along the lake and to the Millennium Park. We had dinner there and went to get some desert somewhere else. We came across a new place, Sweetwater Tavern & Grille, that looked very nice. The owners are of the popular Wicker Park pub. (Found out on Internet)
Aaron and F played for the whole weekend. Aaron is the funniest boy and so busy. He makes me laugh. He picks up old bottles from the streets to check what it is and falls constantly at he playground by trying all kinds of crazy stuff on the playsets. A was friends with Shelia and she also kept on jumping on Gerald.
The cousins left on Monday.
P took them with F to six flags on Friday evening. They came home soaked and happy. Apparently, F did some rides as well, and she loved it. The nice thing about the rain is that the lines are short, they didn't wait anywhere.
Saturday, P, Gerald, F and Aaron went to Harley museum in Milwaukee. I went with the rest shopping at Pleasant Prairie outlet mall. We shopped for hours. I hadn't done such relaxed shopping for such a long time and I got a taste of how a shopaholic feels. Feels good!
Sunday was reserved for the city. The tour started as usual with Union Station and water taxi to the pier. Then we walked along the lake and to the Millennium Park. We had dinner there and went to get some desert somewhere else. We came across a new place, Sweetwater Tavern & Grille, that looked very nice. The owners are of the popular Wicker Park pub. (Found out on Internet)
Aaron and F played for the whole weekend. Aaron is the funniest boy and so busy. He makes me laugh. He picks up old bottles from the streets to check what it is and falls constantly at he playground by trying all kinds of crazy stuff on the playsets. A was friends with Shelia and she also kept on jumping on Gerald.
The cousins left on Monday.
Friday, September 25, 2009
F's b-day
This was very unplanned. We will have a b-day party for F in about a month. Still, we decided to pick her up from school on 23rd. P would take a free end of the day. Just 2 days before her b-day, I forgot about the plans and promised to go to Kerry and Sheila's for a playdate. The day after, I realized that I had a big chance of winning the worst mother of the year award, by forgetting my daughter's b-day. Instead of calling the playdate off, we decided to invite Sheila to spend the afternoon with us. (amazingly, P came up with the idea, I didn't have to rub it in!) The activity options were limited, F had school till 2.30. But we figured it out.
I picked up Sheila with A, and drove with them to the school. P picked up F with the girls. We drove to our house. We went to feed the fish in the pond, an activity most favoured by F and A. I don't know how much bread went into the water. Those fish will be giants! The weather was gorgeous, so the kids started playing outside, on and off their bikes, having fun. P had his Dutch calling again, he wanted to do nothing but sit at the sun. Took a while to persuade him that baking himself was not a very special activity on a b-day. So we left for the bowling.
The bowling alley was empty besides us. The girls started playing, almost dropping the ball to their feet and throwing it so slowly that a turn would take minutes. They were dancing and laughing. Sheila wanted to give the ball to the one who had the turn, each and every time. I called Shelia's mother to ask if she was allowed to eat with us, that was OK. Sheila was so happy that we were eating together. After an hour of bowling, the kids were tired and ready to eat. Oh, yes, A was the winner of the game. F threw the ball with quite some speed. Sheila said "I never bowled before and I am so good at it." The dinner was a lot of giggling. Sheila was a bit disappointed that there was no b-day cake.
After dinner, we took Sheila home and headed to our house. I think this was a nice b-day for F, and her real party is still to come.
I forgot to tell about her present. I spent my whole morning for it. We bought her a keyboard. It's a big present, but we see it as investment to the future. We want the kids to be involved with music as early as possible. We are not really planning to buy a piano, but we heard that they can have some lessons on the keyboard. We have the keyboard, we still have to arrange the rest.
I picked up Sheila with A, and drove with them to the school. P picked up F with the girls. We drove to our house. We went to feed the fish in the pond, an activity most favoured by F and A. I don't know how much bread went into the water. Those fish will be giants! The weather was gorgeous, so the kids started playing outside, on and off their bikes, having fun. P had his Dutch calling again, he wanted to do nothing but sit at the sun. Took a while to persuade him that baking himself was not a very special activity on a b-day. So we left for the bowling.
The bowling alley was empty besides us. The girls started playing, almost dropping the ball to their feet and throwing it so slowly that a turn would take minutes. They were dancing and laughing. Sheila wanted to give the ball to the one who had the turn, each and every time. I called Shelia's mother to ask if she was allowed to eat with us, that was OK. Sheila was so happy that we were eating together. After an hour of bowling, the kids were tired and ready to eat. Oh, yes, A was the winner of the game. F threw the ball with quite some speed. Sheila said "I never bowled before and I am so good at it." The dinner was a lot of giggling. Sheila was a bit disappointed that there was no b-day cake.
After dinner, we took Sheila home and headed to our house. I think this was a nice b-day for F, and her real party is still to come.
I forgot to tell about her present. I spent my whole morning for it. We bought her a keyboard. It's a big present, but we see it as investment to the future. We want the kids to be involved with music as early as possible. We are not really planning to buy a piano, but we heard that they can have some lessons on the keyboard. We have the keyboard, we still have to arrange the rest.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Didn't forget Tena
Didn't mention Tena at all in the last posting. I feel ashamed. Well, cheers Tena!
Goodbye friends!
Dave and Beck stayed at our place for 2 nights, their last nights here before the big move to Denver. F was very excited that Beck finally was sleeping under our roof. The two played like crazy. On Monday, when F was still at school, A had her first real play time with Beck. She also got used to Dave, a little late though. Of course, we gave fish bread. Kids love that! Tuesday, we all left for school, and that was the time we said goodbye. We will surely miss them, but hopefully we became good enough friends that we will keep in touch forever.
Poor Dave flew on Tuesday for Denver, to a house that he never saw before, to a floor bed and paper plates and plastic glasses.
F says she is getting married to Beck and before they left, I got flowers from Beck. See, he is already trying to win his mother-in-law's heart!
We hope to go to Denver soon, and inspect the new guest rooms!
Poor Dave flew on Tuesday for Denver, to a house that he never saw before, to a floor bed and paper plates and plastic glasses.
F says she is getting married to Beck and before they left, I got flowers from Beck. See, he is already trying to win his mother-in-law's heart!
We hope to go to Denver soon, and inspect the new guest rooms!
Friday, September 18, 2009
U2 was at Soldier Field - and where was I?
Somethings are meant to be. I was sure I was going to miss the U2 concert. I was sure about it. I first thought, if I go to see U2, it has to be on the field. Then, I need to be there early, and P would never do that. Then, I was sure P would be travelling. So, I hadn't even look for tickets.
P was indeed gone for a week and a half. Wednesday before the first concert, I saw a friend at the parking lot. She told me she was going to U2. She said they had tickets through their friends. She said her friend might have an extra ticket. I found it tempting, but we wouldn't be able to sit together. Would I go to the concert alone? Would I dare to do it for U2????.... I didn't think so.
After dropping off the kids, I went to the dentist. I was just sitting at the chair, a U2 song began on the radio. "Are you going to the concert?", I asked my dentist. "I didn't know they were coming to town" he said. While he was digging some holes in my teeth, his next patient came to sit on the chair at the other side of the wall that separates the clients. My dentist asked him if he was going to U2. He said something about having 2 tickets for sale, for the Saturday concert (sept 12). That's the only information I got from their conversation. "Could I get those tickets?", I was asking myself. This was just too much! The dentist asked for me how much the tickets were. 200$ a piece, but they were supposed to be special tickets. Wow, kind a expensive. No no no, I wasn't going to do it. How could I spend 200$ + babysitter + parking for my pleasure? No way!
I went to school to pick up the kids, still a bit confused. I parked my car next to Tricia. I said: "Can you believe it. I could get tickets for U2 and P is not here, so I am not going!" "I'll go with you", she said. Sure...or was she serious? Picked up A and F, went to the park with Fauzia and her kids. After a while, I had to call Tricia. "R U serious?", I asked. Well, she was.
At home, I called the dentist, who went to get Phillip from his work across the square. Phillip was the guy with the tickets. I thought... It appears that his colleague Brooke had the tickets. Brooke had the tickets on sale on Craig's list. He was going to let me know the next day if they were sold or not. And don't I hate to wait!!!!
Now were waiting....
Waiting....
Oh, are the tickets 200$ a price or 200$ for both.
Call Phillip, get his answering machine and leave a horrible message - A kept on talking through, and I had to walk the whole house to get away from her -.
Wait...wait...wait
Next morning, I waited for a while and around 9.30, I called Phillip again, didn't get a hold of him. My last resort was to drive to shopping center and try to see the guy. I stepped out of the car and he was just stepping out of his. Just meant to be! I introduced myself and asked him about the tickets. He sent me to Starbucks, Brooke was there. She told me that there were negotiating about the tickets with someone else. "Before 1.00 p.m. I will call you and let you know", she said.
After picking up the girls and saying a "I still don't know" to Tricia, I took the girls to "Little" Lauren's b-day. The kids started to jump up and down - we were at Pump It Up, I was talking to other mothers, all with the telephone clenched in my hand.
Before 1.00 p.m., somehow I realized I missed a call I never got. Brooke was on the answering machine. "I still have the tickets, you can have them for 150$ or 100$" a piece". I called her and somehow, she sold the tickets for 60$ a piece. Tickets for the field on U2 concert! Oh my gosh! I am going to U2! The next stop from the b-day party -which was very fun by the way - was Target to buy the new U2 CD.
Saturday, I made the girls crazy. I was listening to the new U2 the whole day, just too excited. At a certain moment, F said, "mama, can you stop singing that!" My poor girls.
OK, this is taking too long, let me get to the concert. Tricia arranged a parking place, right at the stadium. We were there right after 6 p.m. We entered the Soldier Field and it was WOW! It was real something. Did I feel like, small; and the whole place was so big. We did one mistake with Tricia, we went to buy something to eat. We could have been much closer to the stage. But whatever. The opening act was The Snow Patrol, it was good. Then, after making us wait for 50 minutes, U2 came on the stage. There is no way I tell about the concert, there are no words for it. The stage was very impressive. Bono and Edge got quite close to our view. 360 it is. Adrenaline rush, singing, dancing, jumping... I couldn't sleep till 3 a.m., just too much for one day. The songs are still going in my head, almost a week later.
P was indeed gone for a week and a half. Wednesday before the first concert, I saw a friend at the parking lot. She told me she was going to U2. She said they had tickets through their friends. She said her friend might have an extra ticket. I found it tempting, but we wouldn't be able to sit together. Would I go to the concert alone? Would I dare to do it for U2????.... I didn't think so.
After dropping off the kids, I went to the dentist. I was just sitting at the chair, a U2 song began on the radio. "Are you going to the concert?", I asked my dentist. "I didn't know they were coming to town" he said. While he was digging some holes in my teeth, his next patient came to sit on the chair at the other side of the wall that separates the clients. My dentist asked him if he was going to U2. He said something about having 2 tickets for sale, for the Saturday concert (sept 12). That's the only information I got from their conversation. "Could I get those tickets?", I was asking myself. This was just too much! The dentist asked for me how much the tickets were. 200$ a piece, but they were supposed to be special tickets. Wow, kind a expensive. No no no, I wasn't going to do it. How could I spend 200$ + babysitter + parking for my pleasure? No way!
I went to school to pick up the kids, still a bit confused. I parked my car next to Tricia. I said: "Can you believe it. I could get tickets for U2 and P is not here, so I am not going!" "I'll go with you", she said. Sure...or was she serious? Picked up A and F, went to the park with Fauzia and her kids. After a while, I had to call Tricia. "R U serious?", I asked. Well, she was.
At home, I called the dentist, who went to get Phillip from his work across the square. Phillip was the guy with the tickets. I thought... It appears that his colleague Brooke had the tickets. Brooke had the tickets on sale on Craig's list. He was going to let me know the next day if they were sold or not. And don't I hate to wait!!!!
Now were waiting....
Waiting....
Oh, are the tickets 200$ a price or 200$ for both.
Call Phillip, get his answering machine and leave a horrible message - A kept on talking through, and I had to walk the whole house to get away from her -.
Wait...wait...wait
Next morning, I waited for a while and around 9.30, I called Phillip again, didn't get a hold of him. My last resort was to drive to shopping center and try to see the guy. I stepped out of the car and he was just stepping out of his. Just meant to be! I introduced myself and asked him about the tickets. He sent me to Starbucks, Brooke was there. She told me that there were negotiating about the tickets with someone else. "Before 1.00 p.m. I will call you and let you know", she said.
After picking up the girls and saying a "I still don't know" to Tricia, I took the girls to "Little" Lauren's b-day. The kids started to jump up and down - we were at Pump It Up, I was talking to other mothers, all with the telephone clenched in my hand.
Before 1.00 p.m., somehow I realized I missed a call I never got. Brooke was on the answering machine. "I still have the tickets, you can have them for 150$ or 100$" a piece". I called her and somehow, she sold the tickets for 60$ a piece. Tickets for the field on U2 concert! Oh my gosh! I am going to U2! The next stop from the b-day party -which was very fun by the way - was Target to buy the new U2 CD.
Saturday, I made the girls crazy. I was listening to the new U2 the whole day, just too excited. At a certain moment, F said, "mama, can you stop singing that!" My poor girls.
OK, this is taking too long, let me get to the concert. Tricia arranged a parking place, right at the stadium. We were there right after 6 p.m. We entered the Soldier Field and it was WOW! It was real something. Did I feel like, small; and the whole place was so big. We did one mistake with Tricia, we went to buy something to eat. We could have been much closer to the stage. But whatever. The opening act was The Snow Patrol, it was good. Then, after making us wait for 50 minutes, U2 came on the stage. There is no way I tell about the concert, there are no words for it. The stage was very impressive. Bono and Edge got quite close to our view. 360 it is. Adrenaline rush, singing, dancing, jumping... I couldn't sleep till 3 a.m., just too much for one day. The songs are still going in my head, almost a week later.
***
...and why did Brooke wanted to sell her tickets. Yeah, she got from her husband, for their anniversary, Red Zone Tickets. She had Red Zone Tickets. I talked to her today at Starbucks. She said she was happy to give the tickets to a real U2 fan, to somebody who was excited to see them. We talked about the concert and got all goes bumps talking about it. I felt like a teenager. Wow, that was a long time ago. Love U2!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sept 15th
Wedding day and P is away. We tend to forget about it. We just don't seem to have any problem with it. Works for us!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Dancing A
A had her first ballet lesson today. What an excitement! We got her ballet shoes from the real dance shop. She showed them to her sister with proud. After she got dressed, we went to the rec center. Dave and Beck were by us, so F stayed home with them.
A went to the class head up high. She walked in as the first child. Then her classmates came in. I think there are seven kids in the class. Then started the dancing. She was really doing her best, so focused... Little feet going back and forth, little hands flapping like bird's wings... I think she felt really older, a big girl like her sister. Last year she was too young to join, this year she was standing herself in the dance studio.
She came out proud and happy. She was dying to tell it all to F. She wants to go tomorrow again. She doesn't accept that she has to wait another week before the next lesson. She surely has interest in dancing, we still have to see if she has some talent!
A went to the class head up high. She walked in as the first child. Then her classmates came in. I think there are seven kids in the class. Then started the dancing. She was really doing her best, so focused... Little feet going back and forth, little hands flapping like bird's wings... I think she felt really older, a big girl like her sister. Last year she was too young to join, this year she was standing herself in the dance studio.
She came out proud and happy. She was dying to tell it all to F. She wants to go tomorrow again. She doesn't accept that she has to wait another week before the next lesson. She surely has interest in dancing, we still have to see if she has some talent!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ayse was here!
Last Saturday, Ayse arrived for a short visit. Always nice to see old friends who, even if we don't meet often, feels so familiar. It was a busy day, P had tickets for the football game downtown and he was going there with Dave. Tena came with Beck - a little late, they were selling old cars and buying a new one -. F has been asking for Beck for days. They can play so nice. Anyway, we had a nice dinner, 5 girls and 1 boy. (at that age, I guess Beck didn't mind!)
Sunday was P's day with the kids and we went to downtown Chicago. It was a nice day to walk and to shop. We saw the old Union Station, Grand Park, took a walk at the shoreline, went to the pier and got on the Ferris wheel. Nice view of the downtown by the way. Then we took the water taxi to the Magnificent Mile. Uups, then we saw the shops and that is always distracting... OK, also fun! We had to go back by train and P had to stop by his work that evening, so we had to leave not too late. We didn't have the chance to have some nice Chicagoan dinner. We did have a Cosmo at a restaurant and after the bread and the olives (Ayse was craving for olives!) I was quite full anyway.
Today (Monday), the weather was gorgeous. Ayse did some "beads" with the kids. She is really way more creative than I am. They made a zebra and a elephant with the beads! The kids, especially F loved it. (I'm afraid she will expect the same from me. It will be quite a disappointment to realize that mommy has no talent for beads.) We walked down at the beach, we drove around and had a drink in Libertyville. Unfortunately, after a day with their father, late night and a way too early morning, the kids were grumpy. They kept on fighting and complaining. I think Ayse was quite happy to leave in the afternoon for Denver, where she has a meeting. She took her cute little jet lag with her to feed it some sleep in the plane. I hope she won't sleep too much for her own sake. Getting sleepy at a meeting is a nightmare.
Thanks for coming Ayse, and don't forget the pictures!
Sunday was P's day with the kids and we went to downtown Chicago. It was a nice day to walk and to shop. We saw the old Union Station, Grand Park, took a walk at the shoreline, went to the pier and got on the Ferris wheel. Nice view of the downtown by the way. Then we took the water taxi to the Magnificent Mile. Uups, then we saw the shops and that is always distracting... OK, also fun! We had to go back by train and P had to stop by his work that evening, so we had to leave not too late. We didn't have the chance to have some nice Chicagoan dinner. We did have a Cosmo at a restaurant and after the bread and the olives (Ayse was craving for olives!) I was quite full anyway.
Today (Monday), the weather was gorgeous. Ayse did some "beads" with the kids. She is really way more creative than I am. They made a zebra and a elephant with the beads! The kids, especially F loved it. (I'm afraid she will expect the same from me. It will be quite a disappointment to realize that mommy has no talent for beads.) We walked down at the beach, we drove around and had a drink in Libertyville. Unfortunately, after a day with their father, late night and a way too early morning, the kids were grumpy. They kept on fighting and complaining. I think Ayse was quite happy to leave in the afternoon for Denver, where she has a meeting. She took her cute little jet lag with her to feed it some sleep in the plane. I hope she won't sleep too much for her own sake. Getting sleepy at a meeting is a nightmare.
Thanks for coming Ayse, and don't forget the pictures!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Second Honeymoon in Italy!!
22/6 - 28/6
Now, this is something! P was going to Italy for his work and since we had the excellent sitters at home, I went to. We had a second honeymoon, really. (we did fly separately and I was very happy with that!) I flew 1st class, thanks to P's miles. My trip started with champagne! I was on AA to Philly and to Venice. In the seat next to me were the pilots resting in turns. That gave me such a confidence. I don't like to fly, but I thought if the pilot was not alarmed at some turbulence, it should be OK.
I was supposed to arrive earlier than P and wait for him, but my flight had some delay and we ended up almost at the same time in Venice.
First we were at Vicenza, a small town where P was attending a conference. We had a beautiful hotel, Hotel Michelangelo, just outside the city, on a hilltop. Beautiful views. The man who was the chairman/host of the conference recommended the hotel to P. Later I heard that the man actually got married in that hotel. The prices were very reasonable, too.
For 3 days, I walked and walked in Vicenza. For the first time I felt homesick to Europe. The narrow, winding streets were nothing like the blocs of America. The first day(Monday), we went to the conference with P. There was an opening concert, I met his Italian colleagues etc. His colleagues invited us for dinner. Marco was driving us and we were a bit early. There was an old building up on a hill and P asked what it was. Marco didn't know, but since we were too early, he decided to leave the main route and bring us first to that building. All the old building in Italy look like monument anyway, but this was some monument for the world wars. We got back in the car and Marco went to ask where the restaurant was. Well, we were actually parked right across it. What are the chances! We had a very nice dinner and the company was good. It was time to time a bit difficult to communicate, but that made the dinner just more informal. Doctors, P's colleagues and me. Especially P's colleagues are very nice people, it was nice to meet them.
The next day, I visited some churches and the Olympic Theatre. Palladio's design and, I can't remember who finally built it etc, but I'm sure all the info is on Internet. It is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. Very impressive, beautiful. Later that day, I could show P what was nice to see, where the nice squares were.
Wednesday, I went to downtown again and we decided to meet with P at the villa La Rotunda, a famous villa build by Palladio. I went by bus, nice adventure. I was there on time, bought the tickets and I started waiting for P. He called and said he arrived. I went to the door...no one. I thought maybe there was a second entrance...no. We kept on calling with P, but somehow, I couldn't find him. Then I realized, I was at the wrong villa. There were 2 villa's, with similar names, just 5 minutes from each other. Finally I was there. It is quite strange to be in a house where people actually live in. Every Wednesday, they apparently clean up and remove almost all 'normal day stuff' and leave or go upstairs. Well, you can only see the 1st floor. (reminded us to Annemieke, cleaning up the house every weekend for endless showings.) P was a bit disappointed, I was too, I guess. It is very beautiful, but I also wanted to see more, to feel how it is to live in some kind of a museum. You only get to see the museum part of it.
Thursday, I shopped! Then we went to Verona to see an opera at the Arena Di Verona. How special can it be! We rented a car in Verona, because it was the only way to go back to Vicenza. We bought the tickets and had a dinner on the square facing the Arena. The birds started flying like crazy and dark clouds filled the air. When it was time for the Opera (Aida, by the way), it was raining. They announce to the to the square what they are planning. They said they believe the rain will stop, then they will start. It didn't really look like that rain would stop, but OK, we had to wait. The thing is, if it rains, they cannot play. The instruments get damaged, they say. If they cannot start at all, they have to refund all the tickets. But....if they can start, and then they have to stop - because it rains again - they don't have to refund. Nice trick. So, the rain stopped after a long wait, we all went in, the Opera started. We saw 20 minutes of it. It started raining again. The artists left...We waited.... The orchestra came back for 2 more minutes, when it wasn't raining for just a short time. Then. of course, it started raining again... Around midnight, they called the thing off. Very VERY disappointing. Before the show started, we were sitting in a cafe and we were talking to a couple from England. They had bought their tickets months ago. I am sure they were even more disappointed. So, that's how it is. The arena looked nice and wet! That was the day that Michael Jackson died.
The next morning was actually the beginning of our real vacation. We drove in our rented car to VENICE. Everybody says Venice is beautiful. Believe them. It is everything people say and more. We came there tired, still had to find a hotel, return the car and had no idea how to get to places in a city where you cannot drive. It all worked out OK. We found a hotel, brought the car to the office by the station by Mette, took the train to Venice, chit chat with an Australian family (two teachers who did an exchange with an American teachers family. They swapped houses for 1 or 2 years. Since the Aussies were just around the corner from Europe, they decided to travel for 2 months with their 3 young daughters), arrived to Venice, bought tickets for the water bus (whatever it is called) and arrived to our hotel just 5 minutes to Piazza San Marco. Our view from the hotel room was a canal with Gondolas. We walked that day for hours and I couldn't feel or accept my tiredness. By chance, we saw a fish restaurant and we decided to come back there to eat dinner. (we had to reserve.) That was destiny. OK, that was very melodramatic, but the dinner was so heavenly! The restaurant is called the Trattoria Corte Sconta. The entourage in the garden was beautiful. Then the owner of the restaurant, a middle aged lady came to tell us what they had. (they don't have a paper menu). She insisted tat we had the starters plate. 'That's how we do it here' she said. That starters plate was so amazing. They brought like 5-6 different dishes, one after the other and everything tasted like nothing I ate before. After a small main course (we were almost full after the starters) I had a tiramisu. I tried tiramisu many times and I just couldn't figure out why people are so crazy about it. Now I know. I never had tiramisu till that day. With the energy that we got from all that food, we walked couple more hours before we got back to our hotel and collaps!
Saturday started with rain. It rained liked crazy. The whole night, I kept on waking up to the thunders. We left the hotel to get a Venice book and decided to take a boat to anywhere. We ended up by the Galleria dell’Accademia, the art museum of Venice. Very nice to see. Even P liked it. When we were outside, the rain was gone and the sun was shining. We went to Murano to see the glass work. Unfortunately, in the weekends, the ateliers are not open. You cannot see how they make the glass. Still, it was nice to be there. We did some shopping and went back to our side of Venice for dinner. Again, a nice dinner, this time by the water. Again, tiramisu. Not as good as the night before, but still better than any tiramisu I had till Venice. We had a short nigt ahead, we were going to leave the next morning at 4.30a.m. And we left! I could spend couple more days there, just walk on the streets and get lost in alleys. Unfortunately, it was time to go back.
We had different planes again. I was going from Venice to Vienna, to Warsaw to Chicago. I had 8.5 hours delay in Warsaw. Did I say before that I was flying 1st class? So I spent those hours mainly in the lounge. I really cannot complain. It was tiring though.
P was at home much earlier and he took a cab to go home. He was going to pick me up with the kids but of course, because of my delay, it was not possible. The kids had prepared little flags for welcoming. I think they were quite disappointed that I came so late. I saw them when they were already asleep. They came one by one to our bed in the night. Then I don't want to be anywhere else than home.
Now, this is something! P was going to Italy for his work and since we had the excellent sitters at home, I went to. We had a second honeymoon, really. (we did fly separately and I was very happy with that!) I flew 1st class, thanks to P's miles. My trip started with champagne! I was on AA to Philly and to Venice. In the seat next to me were the pilots resting in turns. That gave me such a confidence. I don't like to fly, but I thought if the pilot was not alarmed at some turbulence, it should be OK.
I was supposed to arrive earlier than P and wait for him, but my flight had some delay and we ended up almost at the same time in Venice.
First we were at Vicenza, a small town where P was attending a conference. We had a beautiful hotel, Hotel Michelangelo, just outside the city, on a hilltop. Beautiful views. The man who was the chairman/host of the conference recommended the hotel to P. Later I heard that the man actually got married in that hotel. The prices were very reasonable, too.
For 3 days, I walked and walked in Vicenza. For the first time I felt homesick to Europe. The narrow, winding streets were nothing like the blocs of America. The first day(Monday), we went to the conference with P. There was an opening concert, I met his Italian colleagues etc. His colleagues invited us for dinner. Marco was driving us and we were a bit early. There was an old building up on a hill and P asked what it was. Marco didn't know, but since we were too early, he decided to leave the main route and bring us first to that building. All the old building in Italy look like monument anyway, but this was some monument for the world wars. We got back in the car and Marco went to ask where the restaurant was. Well, we were actually parked right across it. What are the chances! We had a very nice dinner and the company was good. It was time to time a bit difficult to communicate, but that made the dinner just more informal. Doctors, P's colleagues and me. Especially P's colleagues are very nice people, it was nice to meet them.
The next day, I visited some churches and the Olympic Theatre. Palladio's design and, I can't remember who finally built it etc, but I'm sure all the info is on Internet. It is the oldest surviving enclosed theatre in the world. Very impressive, beautiful. Later that day, I could show P what was nice to see, where the nice squares were.
Wednesday, I went to downtown again and we decided to meet with P at the villa La Rotunda, a famous villa build by Palladio. I went by bus, nice adventure. I was there on time, bought the tickets and I started waiting for P. He called and said he arrived. I went to the door...no one. I thought maybe there was a second entrance...no. We kept on calling with P, but somehow, I couldn't find him. Then I realized, I was at the wrong villa. There were 2 villa's, with similar names, just 5 minutes from each other. Finally I was there. It is quite strange to be in a house where people actually live in. Every Wednesday, they apparently clean up and remove almost all 'normal day stuff' and leave or go upstairs. Well, you can only see the 1st floor. (reminded us to Annemieke, cleaning up the house every weekend for endless showings.) P was a bit disappointed, I was too, I guess. It is very beautiful, but I also wanted to see more, to feel how it is to live in some kind of a museum. You only get to see the museum part of it.
Thursday, I shopped! Then we went to Verona to see an opera at the Arena Di Verona. How special can it be! We rented a car in Verona, because it was the only way to go back to Vicenza. We bought the tickets and had a dinner on the square facing the Arena. The birds started flying like crazy and dark clouds filled the air. When it was time for the Opera (Aida, by the way), it was raining. They announce to the to the square what they are planning. They said they believe the rain will stop, then they will start. It didn't really look like that rain would stop, but OK, we had to wait. The thing is, if it rains, they cannot play. The instruments get damaged, they say. If they cannot start at all, they have to refund all the tickets. But....if they can start, and then they have to stop - because it rains again - they don't have to refund. Nice trick. So, the rain stopped after a long wait, we all went in, the Opera started. We saw 20 minutes of it. It started raining again. The artists left...We waited.... The orchestra came back for 2 more minutes, when it wasn't raining for just a short time. Then. of course, it started raining again... Around midnight, they called the thing off. Very VERY disappointing. Before the show started, we were sitting in a cafe and we were talking to a couple from England. They had bought their tickets months ago. I am sure they were even more disappointed. So, that's how it is. The arena looked nice and wet! That was the day that Michael Jackson died.
The next morning was actually the beginning of our real vacation. We drove in our rented car to VENICE. Everybody says Venice is beautiful. Believe them. It is everything people say and more. We came there tired, still had to find a hotel, return the car and had no idea how to get to places in a city where you cannot drive. It all worked out OK. We found a hotel, brought the car to the office by the station by Mette, took the train to Venice, chit chat with an Australian family (two teachers who did an exchange with an American teachers family. They swapped houses for 1 or 2 years. Since the Aussies were just around the corner from Europe, they decided to travel for 2 months with their 3 young daughters), arrived to Venice, bought tickets for the water bus (whatever it is called) and arrived to our hotel just 5 minutes to Piazza San Marco. Our view from the hotel room was a canal with Gondolas. We walked that day for hours and I couldn't feel or accept my tiredness. By chance, we saw a fish restaurant and we decided to come back there to eat dinner. (we had to reserve.) That was destiny. OK, that was very melodramatic, but the dinner was so heavenly! The restaurant is called the Trattoria Corte Sconta. The entourage in the garden was beautiful. Then the owner of the restaurant, a middle aged lady came to tell us what they had. (they don't have a paper menu). She insisted tat we had the starters plate. 'That's how we do it here' she said. That starters plate was so amazing. They brought like 5-6 different dishes, one after the other and everything tasted like nothing I ate before. After a small main course (we were almost full after the starters) I had a tiramisu. I tried tiramisu many times and I just couldn't figure out why people are so crazy about it. Now I know. I never had tiramisu till that day. With the energy that we got from all that food, we walked couple more hours before we got back to our hotel and collaps!
Saturday started with rain. It rained liked crazy. The whole night, I kept on waking up to the thunders. We left the hotel to get a Venice book and decided to take a boat to anywhere. We ended up by the Galleria dell’Accademia, the art museum of Venice. Very nice to see. Even P liked it. When we were outside, the rain was gone and the sun was shining. We went to Murano to see the glass work. Unfortunately, in the weekends, the ateliers are not open. You cannot see how they make the glass. Still, it was nice to be there. We did some shopping and went back to our side of Venice for dinner. Again, a nice dinner, this time by the water. Again, tiramisu. Not as good as the night before, but still better than any tiramisu I had till Venice. We had a short nigt ahead, we were going to leave the next morning at 4.30a.m. And we left! I could spend couple more days there, just walk on the streets and get lost in alleys. Unfortunately, it was time to go back.
We had different planes again. I was going from Venice to Vienna, to Warsaw to Chicago. I had 8.5 hours delay in Warsaw. Did I say before that I was flying 1st class? So I spent those hours mainly in the lounge. I really cannot complain. It was tiring though.
P was at home much earlier and he took a cab to go home. He was going to pick me up with the kids but of course, because of my delay, it was not possible. The kids had prepared little flags for welcoming. I think they were quite disappointed that I came so late. I saw them when they were already asleep. They came one by one to our bed in the night. Then I don't want to be anywhere else than home.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A's MRI
A has been complaining about her eyes so many times, and since the eye doctor didn't find a thing, the pediatrician decided to send her for an MRI. Just after Italy trip, on June 30st, I took her to the Lake Forest hospital. Nice that P's parents were still visiting, I could leave F to them. Our experience with the hospital has not been very positive, so I was quite nervous about it. She had her appointment at 10.30, the MRI to begin at 11.00 am. She wasn't supposed to eat or drink for 6 hours before the MRI. I just couldn't understand why they would make an appointment with such a young child so late in the morning. If she get thirsty or hungry, how could I explain her that she wasn't allowed? On the other hand, in the Netherlands, we would wait 2 months for the MRI, no actually we would never have an MRI, so I shouldn't complain. Plus A did OK with not eating/drinking.
At the hospital, they did an infuse in A's hand. She didn't say a thing. She just turned her head and looked surprised. While they were giving her the medication, we were reading. She reached for some picture on the page. went back and forth, and fell asleep. I should have warned them. Our little A, probably feeling she was taken from me, started waking up and screaming the moment they entered the MRI room. A little more drugs, and no crying anymore.
She woke up well and the results say that she has nothing wrong with her brain. Wow, that was one scary thing, that went by, and went OK.
At the hospital, they did an infuse in A's hand. She didn't say a thing. She just turned her head and looked surprised. While they were giving her the medication, we were reading. She reached for some picture on the page. went back and forth, and fell asleep. I should have warned them. Our little A, probably feeling she was taken from me, started waking up and screaming the moment they entered the MRI room. A little more drugs, and no crying anymore.
She woke up well and the results say that she has nothing wrong with her brain. Wow, that was one scary thing, that went by, and went OK.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Libertyville Days Festival/Parade - June 20
Last year, somehow, we had heard about the parade in Libertyville. I remember being quite impressed with it. This year's parade was nice, but of course the second never has the taste of the first one.
This time, we were there with Tena, Beck and Tamsen. It was a very hot day, one I expected from the Chicago summer. The kids got a lot of candy and this year, F was quite outgoing. She was waving to get candy and toys. Last year, we had to push her to the front.
After the parade, P left for shopping (he needed clothes and we didn't need to go shopping with him.) So Tena and I took the kids, to the rides. Oh, they had fun. F was going on every possible ride. A only wanted to do some kind of a game where you could win rubber ducks. We didn't win a thing, because we didn't play. You had to pay extra for it. At the very end, A decided to take train ride. Tamsen started off fast, got tired at the end. Beck was the one to go first on the roller coaster. That gave F courage, so they did it together. I was impressed. It is a child size coaster, but still... One of the things that I found cool was the fireman's pole. It wasn't a ride, it was more like a do it self demonstration. They had a construction that was around a pole. The kids could climb up the stairs and slide down the pole like firemen. They loved it!
At the end, I was exhausted. It was a long hot day. I wonder how the kids survived it. Tena had to bring us home, P was still shopping. Oh yes, his day was also successful. He came back with many bags!
The next day, we came to the Libertyville days with P's parents. We walked around, looked at the stands. I still had couple tickets from the day before, so the kids got to do another ride. I was surprised they didn't ask for more. They probably had enough as I did.
This time, we were there with Tena, Beck and Tamsen. It was a very hot day, one I expected from the Chicago summer. The kids got a lot of candy and this year, F was quite outgoing. She was waving to get candy and toys. Last year, we had to push her to the front.
After the parade, P left for shopping (he needed clothes and we didn't need to go shopping with him.) So Tena and I took the kids, to the rides. Oh, they had fun. F was going on every possible ride. A only wanted to do some kind of a game where you could win rubber ducks. We didn't win a thing, because we didn't play. You had to pay extra for it. At the very end, A decided to take train ride. Tamsen started off fast, got tired at the end. Beck was the one to go first on the roller coaster. That gave F courage, so they did it together. I was impressed. It is a child size coaster, but still... One of the things that I found cool was the fireman's pole. It wasn't a ride, it was more like a do it self demonstration. They had a construction that was around a pole. The kids could climb up the stairs and slide down the pole like firemen. They loved it!
At the end, I was exhausted. It was a long hot day. I wonder how the kids survived it. Tena had to bring us home, P was still shopping. Oh yes, his day was also successful. He came back with many bags!
The next day, we came to the Libertyville days with P's parents. We walked around, looked at the stands. I still had couple tickets from the day before, so the kids got to do another ride. I was surprised they didn't ask for more. They probably had enough as I did.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
BBQ at Brook's
Yesterday, we were invited to a BBQ at Brook's house. I knew she had catering, I knew she had everything arranged. I didn't know what to expect... would it be stiff, formal, too chick? It was partly yes, but in an OK way. It was really nice actually. Good food, nice people... Duncan is really fun, the right person to sit next to at a dinner.
I met a woman who is related to Voltaire! What are the chances that you meet in your entire life to someone related to Voltaire. I found that very exciting, though I just couldn't remember the name of at least 'Candide', I read the book before and we studied it at school. Missed a chance to show off, he he. By the way, P's parents were back from their trip, so we had excellent sitters!
I met a woman who is related to Voltaire! What are the chances that you meet in your entire life to someone related to Voltaire. I found that very exciting, though I just couldn't remember the name of at least 'Candide', I read the book before and we studied it at school. Missed a chance to show off, he he. By the way, P's parents were back from their trip, so we had excellent sitters!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
F's new sport
F started with tennis lessons. She likes it much better than soccer and I can see that she feels comfortable. The teacher is a French woman who is really good with kids: she is nice and playful yet she is hard enough to keep the attention.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
A at doctor's office
Today, I brought A to the doctor. She keeps on complaining about her eyes and the eye doctor couldn't find anything. She wakes up in the night, just after she falls asleep; or in the morning, she cries and says that her eyes are hurting. She also says that she sees little dark circles. This happens especially in the night. This goes on for a while now, maybe two months. The thing is, I never too it too seriously, especially after seeing the eye doctor. After all, she used to complain about stomach aches and that just disappeared by itself. The doctor couldn't find anything then.
Today at the doctors office, the doctor checked her really thoroughly. Reflexes, eyes, hearing, balance, anything. All the little tests took so long, that I started to get anxious. Why was it taking so long? Was the doctor seeing something wrong? It really scared me. The doctor didn't find a thing but ordered an MRI. I hope that she has nothing, just our little A asking for her little attention. And oh, we have so much attention to give to them, no problem! Love those kids!
The girls had such a beautiful day. After summer school and lunch, we went to the park that we usually meet other mothers and kids from the school. The moment we arrived, it started to rain. We went to my friend's house and picked up Salma and Amina. The girls played hours so beautiful, I enjoyed being with them. This is also how it's been lately. Yesterday, Annemieke was here with her kids and the weather was beautiful. We were outside the whole time. The kids played and we had our little chat with our little cocktail! Fun fun fun! Last Friday, we had Sheila here. She is such a lovely girl. You know that happy children's laughter, that's what I heard from the three girls for over 4 hours. Sheila is going to have a brother soon (this week probably), so I thought her mother could use a break. Last couple weeks I was feeling a little restless, a little not happy. These couple days have been opposite, I feel piece around me. It's such a beautiful feeling. This is how life should be!
Today at the doctors office, the doctor checked her really thoroughly. Reflexes, eyes, hearing, balance, anything. All the little tests took so long, that I started to get anxious. Why was it taking so long? Was the doctor seeing something wrong? It really scared me. The doctor didn't find a thing but ordered an MRI. I hope that she has nothing, just our little A asking for her little attention. And oh, we have so much attention to give to them, no problem! Love those kids!
The girls had such a beautiful day. After summer school and lunch, we went to the park that we usually meet other mothers and kids from the school. The moment we arrived, it started to rain. We went to my friend's house and picked up Salma and Amina. The girls played hours so beautiful, I enjoyed being with them. This is also how it's been lately. Yesterday, Annemieke was here with her kids and the weather was beautiful. We were outside the whole time. The kids played and we had our little chat with our little cocktail! Fun fun fun! Last Friday, we had Sheila here. She is such a lovely girl. You know that happy children's laughter, that's what I heard from the three girls for over 4 hours. Sheila is going to have a brother soon (this week probably), so I thought her mother could use a break. Last couple weeks I was feeling a little restless, a little not happy. These couple days have been opposite, I feel piece around me. It's such a beautiful feeling. This is how life should be!
Monday, May 25, 2009
memorial weekend
Memorial weekend came as a surprise to me. I just forgot that the weekend was a 3 day weekend and everything - like ballet - was cancelled. First I had a feeling of disappointment. What do I do 3 days?
Saturday was a the beach with Tena and Dave and Dave's parents and sister and her family. Then BBQ at their house. Fun fun fun. Sunday was a day to be home...finally. Then we realize how little we are home. I cleaned up the guest room for the approaching summer and we went for a long bike ride with the girls. F biked all the way herself. It was a very good job of her. Monday, the extra free day, we first went back to Dave and Tena's to paint their 2 patio chairs. Some hard work, but also fun. The kids did some painting, too. A was probably the best one. If you also add some drinks to the equation, that's fun fun fun as well. Then dinner at Annemieke's. When was that not fun fun fun??!! The long weekend is over, and I have no idea where all that time is gone. Thus: fun fun fun!!!!
Saturday was a the beach with Tena and Dave and Dave's parents and sister and her family. Then BBQ at their house. Fun fun fun. Sunday was a day to be home...finally. Then we realize how little we are home. I cleaned up the guest room for the approaching summer and we went for a long bike ride with the girls. F biked all the way herself. It was a very good job of her. Monday, the extra free day, we first went back to Dave and Tena's to paint their 2 patio chairs. Some hard work, but also fun. The kids did some painting, too. A was probably the best one. If you also add some drinks to the equation, that's fun fun fun as well. Then dinner at Annemieke's. When was that not fun fun fun??!! The long weekend is over, and I have no idea where all that time is gone. Thus: fun fun fun!!!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Sump pump blues
I was just turning off the computer, but I have to add this: the sump pump broke down. Well, it didn't stop working, it just started to work non-stop. So we have a new one installed, just couple weeks before the anniversary of the flood we had last year. Lucky us, it was still under warranty!
Still keeping up with the new tradition
This week, my babysitter was sick. She couldn't come on Thursday. But the tradition is kept! I had two friends over and we had some wine...life is fun when you're having wine!
How pleasant is Pleasantville?
We live in Pleasantville. At least that's what I call it. A small community of people who will greet you on the streets, have a chat with you at the village market, little kids well dressed and well behaved, the police looks bored and has some extra pounds - probably no need to move much, except for writing traffic tickets to people who doesn't properly stop (read less that 3 seconds) at a stop sign in a deserted rural street. I can go on and on. What also makes it Pleasantville is the beautiful houses, stainless streets and the smell of wealth that fumes out of every - almost every - door.
Where wealth is, the fumes are sometimes to cover up the bad smells. So the Pleasantville is not so pleasant. It took me more than a year to finally see through the perfect front yards. The backyards has some garbage. At least, that is what I heard. Of course, I didn't experience any of these or got the info from the first hand. This is what I heard: The x club is not accepting any African people. So the president can forget about coming and living here and playing a little game of golf at that club. The w, y z clubs will not accept Jews, people from far east Asia or south Asia, and of course African Americans. Still I have the feeling that those clubs are far enough for us - not physically but mentally and wealth wise. I just heard these things. I didn't meet anyone who was thrown out of a club because he was born as he was. It is out of my apprehension, but it also feels like hearing about a movie.
This is also what I heard: there is another group that is more subtle and closer. There are people who choose their friends among the the people who are 'chosen'. There are close groups, they test you - if you are at the first place considered as a 'Maybe' - , and decide if you are OK to include in the group. You know how it feels like? It feels like the high school movies: (I am into movies today) You have to have the right looks and clothes to be included. Isn't it a bit sad actually? How old are we, people?
A friend's daughter wanted to play with some other girl. She got a "yes" but the play date was canceled in a weird way. The other kid couldn't have a play date but she was at the end at the park playing. I find that strange, and not so nice towards my friend. Maybe something else was playing in the situation, but it feels disturbing to witness this. Then I ask myself: "are my kids accepted?"
Hey, I will stop writing about these stuff, it entertains me too much - I feel like the regular guy finding himself in the middle of a big conspiracy - . There are still sooooo many just regular and genuinely nice people around, that it still feels like Pleasantville. The rest is a rumor that took more than a year to come to my ear.
Where wealth is, the fumes are sometimes to cover up the bad smells. So the Pleasantville is not so pleasant. It took me more than a year to finally see through the perfect front yards. The backyards has some garbage. At least, that is what I heard. Of course, I didn't experience any of these or got the info from the first hand. This is what I heard: The x club is not accepting any African people. So the president can forget about coming and living here and playing a little game of golf at that club. The w, y z clubs will not accept Jews, people from far east Asia or south Asia, and of course African Americans. Still I have the feeling that those clubs are far enough for us - not physically but mentally and wealth wise. I just heard these things. I didn't meet anyone who was thrown out of a club because he was born as he was. It is out of my apprehension, but it also feels like hearing about a movie.
This is also what I heard: there is another group that is more subtle and closer. There are people who choose their friends among the the people who are 'chosen'. There are close groups, they test you - if you are at the first place considered as a 'Maybe' - , and decide if you are OK to include in the group. You know how it feels like? It feels like the high school movies: (I am into movies today) You have to have the right looks and clothes to be included. Isn't it a bit sad actually? How old are we, people?
A friend's daughter wanted to play with some other girl. She got a "yes" but the play date was canceled in a weird way. The other kid couldn't have a play date but she was at the end at the park playing. I find that strange, and not so nice towards my friend. Maybe something else was playing in the situation, but it feels disturbing to witness this. Then I ask myself: "are my kids accepted?"
Hey, I will stop writing about these stuff, it entertains me too much - I feel like the regular guy finding himself in the middle of a big conspiracy - . There are still sooooo many just regular and genuinely nice people around, that it still feels like Pleasantville. The rest is a rumor that took more than a year to come to my ear.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Reading at age of 5
F is learning her letters in a Montessori way. She doesn't know the ABC, but the sounds of the letters. I bought yesterday couple books in English for beginner readers and guess what! She can read. We know she has been practicing a lot of stuff, sand letters, phonograms (or whatever they are called), all Montessori stuff. She still has to learn and practice a lot and reading in a language other than her mother tongue doesn't help either. But the first steps are taken. Go girl!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Such a nice day!
Finally, we celebrated A's 3rd b-day. I say finally, because she turned 3 a month ago, and I was postponing the date. Saturday, we had the crowd over for the celebration. 10 a.m. sharp, the first guest came to the door. It was a bit awkward that the b-day girl was at the supermarket to pick up some I wine and the b-day cake. (that we almost forgot - so expected with us!). Oops. As the guests started coming one after the other, I felt the urge of calling P and asking where the h... they were. The answer was, mmm, a bit alarming: "The cake is not ready yet, they are still making it." Couple minutes later though, they arrived and the party started. Friday, it was raining dogs and cats, so I was prepared to pack all the kids and parents inside the house - which would be doable, but not as nice. But then, the weather turned out beautiful. The sun was shining and we were all outside.
I had mainly invited A's old classmates (she switched classes couple weeks ago) and 2 friends outside the school. Her two best friends didn't show up, 1 I knew, the other one... well, I hope they have good reason for breaking my daughter's heart. But her third best friend, Lydia, was there and A was so happy and thrilled to have her over, that she forgot about the others.
When we were planning the party, I was trying to find some theme, some activity to do with the kids... something special. I came up with the idea of making "fishing sets". I bought little figures (fish, sea horse, shell, boat, etc...), painted them, put thumb tacks in them. I made little fishing rods with a magnet at the end. We had a big inflated pool in the yard and we put the forms in the pool. All the kids got a rod and they fished for the figures. They had little goody bags to put their "catch" in it and at the end, they got to keep it - and of course the rod -. It turned out to be a big success, the kids had a blast! (I was very happy for that because I spent so much time, so many evenings making the toys...) After the cake, and playing, it was the end of the party. It was so relaxed and nice, I think everyone had a good time. I know A did. After everyone left, A and F wanted to get in the pool. Well, it was under 20 degrees, so P pt a lot of warm water and we opened the swimming season!
The rest of the day was slow and just fun. In the afternoon, we decided to call Dave and Tena and we had a nice BBQ with them. A and Beck played for hours. A was first not so happy that Beck came, "I want to play with my sister without Beck" she said. But then, she was playing next to them and I think she had a nice time, too.
After the guests left, we brought the kids to bed. I asked A if she had a nice party. She said "I want to have Peri, Ameena and Lydia for my b-day." But, she didn't look like she had trouble with the fact that 2 of her friends were missing, she didn't look sad. When we asked her what was the nicest thing of the day, she said: "Playing with Lydia, eating cake with Lydia, fishing with Lydia." (mmm, how about the other kids?) I think it just made such a big impression on her that Lydia was in our house, it just made her day. And of course the other kids, the attention, the party, the cake. Ohh, it was such a nice day!
I had mainly invited A's old classmates (she switched classes couple weeks ago) and 2 friends outside the school. Her two best friends didn't show up, 1 I knew, the other one... well, I hope they have good reason for breaking my daughter's heart. But her third best friend, Lydia, was there and A was so happy and thrilled to have her over, that she forgot about the others.
When we were planning the party, I was trying to find some theme, some activity to do with the kids... something special. I came up with the idea of making "fishing sets". I bought little figures (fish, sea horse, shell, boat, etc...), painted them, put thumb tacks in them. I made little fishing rods with a magnet at the end. We had a big inflated pool in the yard and we put the forms in the pool. All the kids got a rod and they fished for the figures. They had little goody bags to put their "catch" in it and at the end, they got to keep it - and of course the rod -. It turned out to be a big success, the kids had a blast! (I was very happy for that because I spent so much time, so many evenings making the toys...) After the cake, and playing, it was the end of the party. It was so relaxed and nice, I think everyone had a good time. I know A did. After everyone left, A and F wanted to get in the pool. Well, it was under 20 degrees, so P pt a lot of warm water and we opened the swimming season!
The rest of the day was slow and just fun. In the afternoon, we decided to call Dave and Tena and we had a nice BBQ with them. A and Beck played for hours. A was first not so happy that Beck came, "I want to play with my sister without Beck" she said. But then, she was playing next to them and I think she had a nice time, too.
After the guests left, we brought the kids to bed. I asked A if she had a nice party. She said "I want to have Peri, Ameena and Lydia for my b-day." But, she didn't look like she had trouble with the fact that 2 of her friends were missing, she didn't look sad. When we asked her what was the nicest thing of the day, she said: "Playing with Lydia, eating cake with Lydia, fishing with Lydia." (mmm, how about the other kids?) I think it just made such a big impression on her that Lydia was in our house, it just made her day. And of course the other kids, the attention, the party, the cake. Ohh, it was such a nice day!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
New tradition
New tradition is that I go out with Tena on Thursday evenings. (I'm just home from the 2nd) Oh, it feels so nice, and it is so much fun. And how the girls are excited about their sitter! It's miracle. Keep up with the tradition!
Monday, May 4, 2009
A's challenge
A is now 3, so she is going to an upper class. She was the oldest of the 18 month-3 year olds, now she is the youngest of the 3 year - 6,5 year olds. This morning, she was reluctant to walk to her new class, she said she would go tomorrow. But her locker was empty and her teacher was not expecting her. So she had to walk to her new class. I needed her teacher to smoothly take her inside the classroom. (Normally the children are supposed to open the door and walk in.) At the end of the morning, she came out of the class with such a proud face. For the first time, she told me what she did at school. Everybody tells me that they grow so fast after moving up. I have to say I kinda like it. She is still our baby, but it is nice to see that she is getting more and more capable. Go girl!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
F lost her first tooth
At a party in our neighbours' house, someone told F that if she just turned her loose tooth a bit, it might come out. So she did it and there it was! She was so proud of herself! Now she can whistle through the gap in her lower jaw....
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Dark side of A
A has pain in her eyes for a while. I took her to the doctor and I was expecting to hear that she needs glasses. She is just 3. The doctor checked everything she can think of, and said that she couldn't see anything particular to worry about. She had an ear infection, so the conclusion was that she experienced the pain from her ears as from her eyes.
Tonight I was starting to write - finally - a new post when I heard this strange sound: somebody coughing like choking... scary. I hear that sound lately and I run upstairs and cannot figure out which girl it is. They both look OK. So tonight, I decided to listen from under the stairs and the sound came from A's room. I sneaked in her room to see that she is sitting in her bed, in dark, bended to something. Fully concentrated, trying to keep herself from coughing (the roots of the strange sound!) and ... time to time holding her eyes. I turned on the light to find out that she was trying to make a wooden puzzle out a book! Of course her eyes are hurting, my eyes would hurt if I try to puzzle in dark! I thought that she was sleepwalking actually, but she was awake, she knew who she was and who I was and she managed to ask me to finish the puzzle,with little tired eyes. Kids!
Tonight I was starting to write - finally - a new post when I heard this strange sound: somebody coughing like choking... scary. I hear that sound lately and I run upstairs and cannot figure out which girl it is. They both look OK. So tonight, I decided to listen from under the stairs and the sound came from A's room. I sneaked in her room to see that she is sitting in her bed, in dark, bended to something. Fully concentrated, trying to keep herself from coughing (the roots of the strange sound!) and ... time to time holding her eyes. I turned on the light to find out that she was trying to make a wooden puzzle out a book! Of course her eyes are hurting, my eyes would hurt if I try to puzzle in dark! I thought that she was sleepwalking actually, but she was awake, she knew who she was and who I was and she managed to ask me to finish the puzzle,with little tired eyes. Kids!
How to deal with 'busy' times
This is a new journal I decided to start, though the kids are attending a Montessori school for almost a year now. They started when they were 2 and 4. F is now 5,5 and A just turned 3. You can find the postings also on the right side of the page, under 'How Montessori are we?'
We didn't know Montessori system besides that it existed. There are Montessori schools in Holland but we didn't choose to send F there when she turned 4. There was a good public school just around the corner and the closest Montessori didn't look appealing.
There is a whole post - maybe a couple - about how we came to choose the current school after we moved to the states. It was actually F who decided between the 2 school that we liked. Not one day I regret the decision. I have learned a lot about raising happy kids thanks to this school and I find many answers to the challenges I face as a mother. (sorry for the dramatic voice...:))
Anyway, F is a very nice and happy kid. She is responsible (like many 1st kids) and I trust her judgement of what is dangerous and what is not. I can reason with her: if I can explain to her why she is not allowed to do something, other than saying 'because I say so', she understands it. When I thing about that part of her, she is so mature.
When it comes to listen and behave, well, she is often very sweet and listens -sometimes after couple of times repeating. But when she is tired or overexcited or sometimes I don't know why, she can get busy and just not listen to anything we say. That busyness ends up by me or P being mad and her being kind of out of control. She runs and jumps and does like she doesn't understand we are angry. She goes on till we are VERY angry and than she cries and shouts and sometimes hits and throws things and unfortunately sometimes bugs A till she cries - just to show us that she can do it. I had an experience with her that I felt very bad about in front of a friend. She was running and jumping and not listening and... she spit on my face. Not spit to spit, but more like sticking her tongue out and blowing wet air to my face. I felt double bad because my friend was there too.
Well, we had a long talk about it. I talked to F and later to P. I asked F to tell me what was going on. I really wanted to know if there was a reason she could tell me about her behaviour. I also told her how I felt when she was so out of control.
With P, I discussed more of a strategy.
We didn't know Montessori system besides that it existed. There are Montessori schools in Holland but we didn't choose to send F there when she turned 4. There was a good public school just around the corner and the closest Montessori didn't look appealing.
There is a whole post - maybe a couple - about how we came to choose the current school after we moved to the states. It was actually F who decided between the 2 school that we liked. Not one day I regret the decision. I have learned a lot about raising happy kids thanks to this school and I find many answers to the challenges I face as a mother. (sorry for the dramatic voice...:))
Anyway, F is a very nice and happy kid. She is responsible (like many 1st kids) and I trust her judgement of what is dangerous and what is not. I can reason with her: if I can explain to her why she is not allowed to do something, other than saying 'because I say so', she understands it. When I thing about that part of her, she is so mature.
When it comes to listen and behave, well, she is often very sweet and listens -sometimes after couple of times repeating. But when she is tired or overexcited or sometimes I don't know why, she can get busy and just not listen to anything we say. That busyness ends up by me or P being mad and her being kind of out of control. She runs and jumps and does like she doesn't understand we are angry. She goes on till we are VERY angry and than she cries and shouts and sometimes hits and throws things and unfortunately sometimes bugs A till she cries - just to show us that she can do it. I had an experience with her that I felt very bad about in front of a friend. She was running and jumping and not listening and... she spit on my face. Not spit to spit, but more like sticking her tongue out and blowing wet air to my face. I felt double bad because my friend was there too.
Well, we had a long talk about it. I talked to F and later to P. I asked F to tell me what was going on. I really wanted to know if there was a reason she could tell me about her behaviour. I also told her how I felt when she was so out of control.
With P, I discussed more of a strategy.
- No more threatening with things we will not do. Usually P(sorry honey) comes up with genial ideas as 'if you don't listen, I will bring your roller skates back'. We all know we will never do that! I think it is OK to say 'if you don't eat that no desert, if you don't go to bed, no story'. Just keep things in proportion and do what you say, even after peace!
- No more attention to bad behaviour. If one of the kids is crying, screaming, etc we will try not to get angry but set the child aside and give no attention. (we usually DO get angry - so give attention- and set the child apart) That 'attention' part is the key. It is quite hard to ignore somebody screaming and hitting a door! Usually we would be angry, tell why we are, try to explain, try to calm things down and at the end use timeout. Now, before getting angry, just say why and how long and send to timeout.. Every time the child does something I say like 'if you hit the door one more time, you will get an extra minute'. And give the extra minutes. The result: Easier to stay calm (this is the hard part), the other child gets the attention and hopefully the timeoutee calms down.
You probably say, so what, super nanny could teach you these a year ago. And where is the Montessori in this?
All things above are about how to react to the behaviour, which gets all the energy out of your body and needs the patience of the whole world. Come on! In one of the discussions at school, the head of the school told us how she introduced 'resting time' in her house. Without really believing, right after F came home and was getting busy again, I suggested to the girls to go to our separate rooms and spend sometime there. A went without any comment or resistance. F said she didn't want to. She accepted when I said I was doing the same. I was planning to try for 15 minutes. I had a newspaper and my cell phone as a clock. 40 minuted later, yes 40 minutes later A got out of her room with a happy face to see what we are doing. F didn't want to stop: she was tremendously enjoying her 'resting time'. We went downstairs because A was really done. We played some games and had a great time. F was my little happy girl again. She had energy, but it was positive. I was happy I had some rest during the day - hey, mothers deserve some of that, too! - An hour later, F asked of we could have another 'resting time'! The only down side is that she will not do it if the others are not doing it. Well, I cannot rest the whole day, somebody has to cook! But... she was in such a good mood, (we all were), the girls helped me with the cooking. They are supposed to do that according to the Montessori system, but we skip it so many days because one of the kids is tired and busy and not happy.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Trip to Turkey
There is so much to write again. I feel like on a Sunday afternoon at high school: I knew I had so much homework, but I just postponed it till now, and I know I will have to be awake till late to finish. At least that's what would have happened when I was a teenager. Now I will not feel guilty stopping and writing another day. No teacher to will be mad at me, only my own conscious...
Our last vacation in Turkey was great. What made it great was that the girls (especially F, A follows her anyway) decided that they could stay with their grand parents without me.
We left home on Friday the 13th - and we had no Friday the 13th horror - in a big limo. I love that part of the trip. The girls almost disappear in the huge car and they are so excited. In the plane, the girls watched their movies on the ipods and fell asleep for a long time. P was at the other side of the isle, so he slept too. I was the only one stuck between the two girls and totally stiff at the end of the journey.
We (P and I) managed to get a good jet lag this time. The 4 days that P spent at my parents, we slept till noon, spent the day half asleep and we watched TV till the morning. Yuck! The day I was taking P to the airport, F said she wanted to stay with my parents. A followed her sister. So I brought P to the airport, rushed back to see if the girls were sad, crying or torturing my parents. Of course everything was OK. After that I was having vacation, real vacation!
The first week-end, Ayse came from UK with her boyfriend. We met another friend of hers from university, Aylin, that I also knew and we went out. First dinner, after that to Alsancak. I found out that the new trend in UK is to drink champagne when you go out. I love champagne, but mixing it with wine and mojito is not a good idea. The nice thing about having a vacation is that you can wake up the next day and go to sleep again right after. Unfortunately, my vacation was not so ideal. I ended up suffering a bit, but it was so worthed. Who knows when I will see Ayse again, this was a great opportunity.
I went to the weekly bazaar with Pinar and with my aunt - you don't want to be there with kids. I went to have coffee with Pinar, I went to do shopping by myself, I went to Hesna for an evening, I had a dinner with Serkan, who I hadn't see for so many years. I am afraid his wife was very mad at me, because he was so late to pick her up from someones house she was visiting.
Of course we didn't celebrate only my vacation. We went to the playground with the girls, almost everyday. F started to speak quite some Turkish and she made friends each time we were at the playground. Yanki and Arya, my brother's kids were the best friends they had there. A was crazy about Arya and F was crazy about both. We went to my brother's house couple of times, to my aunt's, to Pinar's mother who baked cookies with the kids. She and the girls even made little clothes for Arya's doll. They love sewing, what a blast! (I heard my mother and aunt had to do most of the sewing, but well, maybe they needed some entertainment, too). My brother took me and the girls to a v-ball game. Not one of his, it was the final of the European Volleyball Challenge Cup. Arkas (Izmir) won the game. It was a great game to see, the sphere in the hall was amazing. The girls were at first a little reluctant, I even had to hold A's ears when it got super loud. But after a while, they were swinging with their little flags. So much fun!
We also had a real celebration: Arya's first birthday. Since we were leaving on the day of her b-day, the celebration was the week-end before. My mother somehow ended up making the b-day cake - good job to her! F and A bought their own little presents for Arya. It was so exciting for the girls.
I almost forgot the little celebration for P's b-day. It was quite hard to get Burak and my father to Alsancak for a cake, but we managed. We had little time unfortunately, Burak and Pinar had tickets to an opera. But it was nice to get together. It was also a little surprise for P that we had a cake and of course the girls are the ones that enjoy such things most. And Burak, if you read this, P still didn't get his present!!!!
One day, F decided to stay with Sakine abla, who works at my parents' house. A, my mother and I took the boat to Alsancak to visit the organization my mother volunteers. I think it was very nice for A, to have some time of her own with us. She doesn't get much of that. I have some very nice pictures of her on the boat, she looks so happy. F was very happy to stay home, too. She helped Sakine abla clean the house.
Of course we met Hesna and her family, Asli and her son and their new little baby cat. We also managed to arrange a little high school reunion. We went to a BBQ restaurant outside the city. It was nice weather so we could sit outside. Everyone came with their kids and I think that's very special. The kids got along well, they played for hours. Hesna's son Cem managed to fall in the pond and get wet and A was afraid of all the rabbits, chickens and other animals walking around on the grass yard.
We had so much rain actually, but somehow I cannot remember getting wet or getting annoyed. The last days of the vacation, though, the weather became very nice. We went to see the new zoo on one of the last and nicest days. The new zoo in Izmir (İzmir Doğal Yaşam Parkı, İzmir Wildlife Park) is very nice, I am impressed. The kids ran around from one exhibition to the other, from one animal to the other. When the tree will grow, it will be beautiful.
Then we left Izmir... That's what happens when you have nice time, time flies. I think my parents had a hard time saying good bye to the girls. After all, this was a special vacation. Finally the girls wanted to stay with them and do things with them alone. Our trip back had two stops: Istanbul and London. I was flying alone with the girls, so I decided to go to Istanbul one night before. I stayed at Pinar and Nadir's and finally met their kids. Their daughter is 12-13 years old. (sorry that I forgot it again). I didn't meet Pinar after university. Some people are friends for a lifetime. That's how it is with Pinar. After so many years, it was just like we've been seeing each other every other week. We had a long night full of conversation. Too bad it was just one night.
Since I was in Istanbul, Ayhos came all the way to Pinar's house to see the girls. That was a nice surprise, a bonus of the trip. Next time, I want to spend couple of days in Istanbul and see more people - or see the couple people I miss a little longer. Next time....I wonder when that will be.
2nd of April, we came back to US. Besides the London stop, everything went well. Once more, IPod is the best!!
Our last vacation in Turkey was great. What made it great was that the girls (especially F, A follows her anyway) decided that they could stay with their grand parents without me.
We left home on Friday the 13th - and we had no Friday the 13th horror - in a big limo. I love that part of the trip. The girls almost disappear in the huge car and they are so excited. In the plane, the girls watched their movies on the ipods and fell asleep for a long time. P was at the other side of the isle, so he slept too. I was the only one stuck between the two girls and totally stiff at the end of the journey.
We (P and I) managed to get a good jet lag this time. The 4 days that P spent at my parents, we slept till noon, spent the day half asleep and we watched TV till the morning. Yuck! The day I was taking P to the airport, F said she wanted to stay with my parents. A followed her sister. So I brought P to the airport, rushed back to see if the girls were sad, crying or torturing my parents. Of course everything was OK. After that I was having vacation, real vacation!
The first week-end, Ayse came from UK with her boyfriend. We met another friend of hers from university, Aylin, that I also knew and we went out. First dinner, after that to Alsancak. I found out that the new trend in UK is to drink champagne when you go out. I love champagne, but mixing it with wine and mojito is not a good idea. The nice thing about having a vacation is that you can wake up the next day and go to sleep again right after. Unfortunately, my vacation was not so ideal. I ended up suffering a bit, but it was so worthed. Who knows when I will see Ayse again, this was a great opportunity.
I went to the weekly bazaar with Pinar and with my aunt - you don't want to be there with kids. I went to have coffee with Pinar, I went to do shopping by myself, I went to Hesna for an evening, I had a dinner with Serkan, who I hadn't see for so many years. I am afraid his wife was very mad at me, because he was so late to pick her up from someones house she was visiting.
Of course we didn't celebrate only my vacation. We went to the playground with the girls, almost everyday. F started to speak quite some Turkish and she made friends each time we were at the playground. Yanki and Arya, my brother's kids were the best friends they had there. A was crazy about Arya and F was crazy about both. We went to my brother's house couple of times, to my aunt's, to Pinar's mother who baked cookies with the kids. She and the girls even made little clothes for Arya's doll. They love sewing, what a blast! (I heard my mother and aunt had to do most of the sewing, but well, maybe they needed some entertainment, too). My brother took me and the girls to a v-ball game. Not one of his, it was the final of the European Volleyball Challenge Cup. Arkas (Izmir) won the game. It was a great game to see, the sphere in the hall was amazing. The girls were at first a little reluctant, I even had to hold A's ears when it got super loud. But after a while, they were swinging with their little flags. So much fun!
We also had a real celebration: Arya's first birthday. Since we were leaving on the day of her b-day, the celebration was the week-end before. My mother somehow ended up making the b-day cake - good job to her! F and A bought their own little presents for Arya. It was so exciting for the girls.
I almost forgot the little celebration for P's b-day. It was quite hard to get Burak and my father to Alsancak for a cake, but we managed. We had little time unfortunately, Burak and Pinar had tickets to an opera. But it was nice to get together. It was also a little surprise for P that we had a cake and of course the girls are the ones that enjoy such things most. And Burak, if you read this, P still didn't get his present!!!!
One day, F decided to stay with Sakine abla, who works at my parents' house. A, my mother and I took the boat to Alsancak to visit the organization my mother volunteers. I think it was very nice for A, to have some time of her own with us. She doesn't get much of that. I have some very nice pictures of her on the boat, she looks so happy. F was very happy to stay home, too. She helped Sakine abla clean the house.
Of course we met Hesna and her family, Asli and her son and their new little baby cat. We also managed to arrange a little high school reunion. We went to a BBQ restaurant outside the city. It was nice weather so we could sit outside. Everyone came with their kids and I think that's very special. The kids got along well, they played for hours. Hesna's son Cem managed to fall in the pond and get wet and A was afraid of all the rabbits, chickens and other animals walking around on the grass yard.
We had so much rain actually, but somehow I cannot remember getting wet or getting annoyed. The last days of the vacation, though, the weather became very nice. We went to see the new zoo on one of the last and nicest days. The new zoo in Izmir (İzmir Doğal Yaşam Parkı, İzmir Wildlife Park) is very nice, I am impressed. The kids ran around from one exhibition to the other, from one animal to the other. When the tree will grow, it will be beautiful.
Then we left Izmir... That's what happens when you have nice time, time flies. I think my parents had a hard time saying good bye to the girls. After all, this was a special vacation. Finally the girls wanted to stay with them and do things with them alone. Our trip back had two stops: Istanbul and London. I was flying alone with the girls, so I decided to go to Istanbul one night before. I stayed at Pinar and Nadir's and finally met their kids. Their daughter is 12-13 years old. (sorry that I forgot it again). I didn't meet Pinar after university. Some people are friends for a lifetime. That's how it is with Pinar. After so many years, it was just like we've been seeing each other every other week. We had a long night full of conversation. Too bad it was just one night.
Since I was in Istanbul, Ayhos came all the way to Pinar's house to see the girls. That was a nice surprise, a bonus of the trip. Next time, I want to spend couple of days in Istanbul and see more people - or see the couple people I miss a little longer. Next time....I wonder when that will be.
2nd of April, we came back to US. Besides the London stop, everything went well. Once more, IPod is the best!!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Help: B-day party for a 3 year old - ideas needed
It was November 5th when Expat Mum commented:
"Welcome (belatedy) to the US of A. We are having our first "brisk" day here in Chicago after t-shirt weather for longer than usual. Bah!"
It is now Feb 24th and the temperature outside is 1 degree Celsius and....Yes, we say...."wow, it's warm outside tonight". Go figure!
A had her first real b-day party last Saturday. Her friend Lorenzo turned two. They had a little dog show, 2 dogs doing tricks. It was really cute. It was an unusual party for the USA ,I thought. At 12 am, I was drinking sparkling wine as the rest of the parents. It must be the Italian blood in their family. And the whole family was invited, I like that a lot. More people is always more fun. Or it is so busy, you don't have time to get bored. Either way, it was very nice. And A felt big, you could see it in her eyes. The only moment she was back to her age was when we were leaving: she wanted to take her present with us. It took a while convincing her that the present was for the b-day kid. The goody bag she received helped and we left.
A is turning 3 in a short while. If anyone has nice ideas, please comment. It doesn't have to be a girls' party, just fun for everyone...HELP!
"Welcome (belatedy) to the US of A. We are having our first "brisk" day here in Chicago after t-shirt weather for longer than usual. Bah!"
It is now Feb 24th and the temperature outside is 1 degree Celsius and....Yes, we say...."wow, it's warm outside tonight". Go figure!
A had her first real b-day party last Saturday. Her friend Lorenzo turned two. They had a little dog show, 2 dogs doing tricks. It was really cute. It was an unusual party for the USA ,I thought. At 12 am, I was drinking sparkling wine as the rest of the parents. It must be the Italian blood in their family. And the whole family was invited, I like that a lot. More people is always more fun. Or it is so busy, you don't have time to get bored. Either way, it was very nice. And A felt big, you could see it in her eyes. The only moment she was back to her age was when we were leaving: she wanted to take her present with us. It took a while convincing her that the present was for the b-day kid. The goody bag she received helped and we left.
A is turning 3 in a short while. If anyone has nice ideas, please comment. It doesn't have to be a girls' party, just fun for everyone...HELP!
Very (!)responsible parents
Busy weekends is fun. We love it. But two days is just too short and it gets late, especially for the kids.
Last week-end, we began with 'Fathers' visit' at school. P went to see F at her class. That was Saturday morning. Then the b-day party of A's friend. Then we had a family we met at the gym, a family from Belgium. Their daughter and F get along very well. F is crazy about her and Marjolein is the same. Their son Bas and A played quite nicely at the end, they are just a bit younger. When they left, it was around 9:30.
Next morning, the girls and P started with church. Sunday mornings, I have 1,5 hours free. He he! Then we went to the gym. We had Brook and her whole family as visitors. Wall climbing, swimming...we left around 5 pm. We saw Leo and invited them for a drink and they arrived at 6:30. They left late as well. It was great thought, everybody had a great time and I dare to talk for Leo and his family, too.
Monday, when I picked up A from school, she was SO tired. I felt guilty. But in the afternoon, at the ballet, she was running around and playing with Megan (daughter of a neighbour) and Oscar. And we had both kids early in bed and they slept early as well. That is for us some kind of miracle. There goes my guilt then, would anyone blame me?
Last week-end, we began with 'Fathers' visit' at school. P went to see F at her class. That was Saturday morning. Then the b-day party of A's friend. Then we had a family we met at the gym, a family from Belgium. Their daughter and F get along very well. F is crazy about her and Marjolein is the same. Their son Bas and A played quite nicely at the end, they are just a bit younger. When they left, it was around 9:30.
Next morning, the girls and P started with church. Sunday mornings, I have 1,5 hours free. He he! Then we went to the gym. We had Brook and her whole family as visitors. Wall climbing, swimming...we left around 5 pm. We saw Leo and invited them for a drink and they arrived at 6:30. They left late as well. It was great thought, everybody had a great time and I dare to talk for Leo and his family, too.
Monday, when I picked up A from school, she was SO tired. I felt guilty. But in the afternoon, at the ballet, she was running around and playing with Megan (daughter of a neighbour) and Oscar. And we had both kids early in bed and they slept early as well. That is for us some kind of miracle. There goes my guilt then, would anyone blame me?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The score
If I make the maths of the last couple of days:
- 2 mouses, 1 dead, 1 escaped
- a new leakage in the kitchen ceiling. Had nothing to do with the incidents before. This was a whole new issue caused by a vent pipe leading to the roof that was never glued at a T joint. This new leakage resulted in 2 new holes in the kitchen ceiling and 1 big hole in the closet in 2nd floor.
- I saw a raccoon wandering around in the backyard. Beautiful animal though. This point is a plus.
Do we need more? Oh yes, we had a little accident with a paint bottle of the children and my one and only nice looking jeans is ruined next to my fleece that I used all the time and a very cute shirt of A.
I see on TV that the weather is going to be below zero again. Let's see what that will do to the house.
Good night!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Girls' day (and night) out in Chicago
Our school is one of the few schools that has winter vacation. I didn't know that. Another thing that I didn't know is that everyone in our school goes away for the winter vacation. I was thinking about little trips or play dates for a whole week, then I found out that everyone was going away for a sky vacation. P had his own plans - business trip of course - and the house started to stink again. I wasn't looking forward to stay home. I decided to go downtown Chicago with the girls, take a hotel and stay for 1 night, 2 days.
The weather heard about this, I think, all of a sudden it was nice and sunny, way above zero Celsius (between 5 and 10, good enough for us). I reserved at a hotel downtown, really downtown. Chic hey! Tuesday morning, I had a hard time waking up. The night before, I was thinking about leaving early, but when the morning comes, oh, that pleasant feeling of your bed... You all know it I guess. Half hour later than planned, I got under the shower. Then I thought it was a pity to leave late. Somehow, we managed to park the car right on time at friends' house who lives close to the train station and took the 8:22 train. Once in the city, we took a cab to the hotel and after a call to the theatre, we left to see 'Alice in Wonderland'. I was amazed with the way it all went perfectly on schedule. The play was not in a small neighborhood theatre as I expected. It was a really big thing. And of course, it was not empty, not on a Tuesday morning on a school day. The school was there. After the show, maybe 10 school buses came to pick the kids up! I am talking about a major crowd.
You probably know the story of Alice, it is all a dream. You cannot make much sens of what's happening. If you add that the fast English, the jokes that not quite made for kids of 2 or 5 and a theatre full of school kids are talking continuously, I don't think F and A got much of the play. Well, honestly, I missed half of it. Luckily we knew the story from the Disney book - from the series P thought it was stupid to buy, haha let me poke him here -, so we enjoyed it. It was well done, very cute and the effects were nice, too.
Around 11, when we left the theatre, we were tired like we had a whole day behind us. I decided to walk a while, enjoy the sun and the nice weather. We were close by the museum campus. I thought the museum of science and industry, our next destination shouldn't be too far. By the aquarium, the kids got tired of walking and the wind and we luckily took a cab. I say luckily because the Museum of Science and Industry was nowhere close by. It took us 10-15 minuted by taxi to get there. Once at the museum, we headed for the food court. A little bit food and a glass of sugary juice makes miracles. In no time we were back on our feet, full of energy. The museum was great, I will not list all we saw. I think the most interesting for the kids was the little new born chicks, just out the eggs. Super cute.
Hours later, we left the museum. Back to the hotel to rest... for the kids and my poor feet. Then we left for dinner. I found a nice cafe restaurant in my 'Chicago with kids' book and it turned out to be the perfect place to go on a Tuesday evening with the kids. We had a lovely dinner, a real girls nite out. I even enjoyed sipping my little cocktail. The name of the restaurant is Jack Melnick's Corner Tap.
Amazingly nice on time, we were in bed.
Next day, the weather was changed. Rainy, foggy and of course windy. After an easy morning, we left the hotel. A almost flow because of the wind, I hardly held the taxi door open. We arrived to the Chicago Children's Museum, our address for the day. It was, again, a success. We spent the whole rainy day inside, enjoying ourselves. We took the train after 4 p.m. and arrived home around 5.30.
The kids are in bed now and the smell of the house is less. I am writing this, drinking tea and watching Bridget Jones for the 500th time. Nice!
The weather heard about this, I think, all of a sudden it was nice and sunny, way above zero Celsius (between 5 and 10, good enough for us). I reserved at a hotel downtown, really downtown. Chic hey! Tuesday morning, I had a hard time waking up. The night before, I was thinking about leaving early, but when the morning comes, oh, that pleasant feeling of your bed... You all know it I guess. Half hour later than planned, I got under the shower. Then I thought it was a pity to leave late. Somehow, we managed to park the car right on time at friends' house who lives close to the train station and took the 8:22 train. Once in the city, we took a cab to the hotel and after a call to the theatre, we left to see 'Alice in Wonderland'. I was amazed with the way it all went perfectly on schedule. The play was not in a small neighborhood theatre as I expected. It was a really big thing. And of course, it was not empty, not on a Tuesday morning on a school day. The school was there. After the show, maybe 10 school buses came to pick the kids up! I am talking about a major crowd.
You probably know the story of Alice, it is all a dream. You cannot make much sens of what's happening. If you add that the fast English, the jokes that not quite made for kids of 2 or 5 and a theatre full of school kids are talking continuously, I don't think F and A got much of the play. Well, honestly, I missed half of it. Luckily we knew the story from the Disney book - from the series P thought it was stupid to buy, haha let me poke him here -, so we enjoyed it. It was well done, very cute and the effects were nice, too.
Around 11, when we left the theatre, we were tired like we had a whole day behind us. I decided to walk a while, enjoy the sun and the nice weather. We were close by the museum campus. I thought the museum of science and industry, our next destination shouldn't be too far. By the aquarium, the kids got tired of walking and the wind and we luckily took a cab. I say luckily because the Museum of Science and Industry was nowhere close by. It took us 10-15 minuted by taxi to get there. Once at the museum, we headed for the food court. A little bit food and a glass of sugary juice makes miracles. In no time we were back on our feet, full of energy. The museum was great, I will not list all we saw. I think the most interesting for the kids was the little new born chicks, just out the eggs. Super cute.
Hours later, we left the museum. Back to the hotel to rest... for the kids and my poor feet. Then we left for dinner. I found a nice cafe restaurant in my 'Chicago with kids' book and it turned out to be the perfect place to go on a Tuesday evening with the kids. We had a lovely dinner, a real girls nite out. I even enjoyed sipping my little cocktail. The name of the restaurant is Jack Melnick's Corner Tap.
Amazingly nice on time, we were in bed.
Next day, the weather was changed. Rainy, foggy and of course windy. After an easy morning, we left the hotel. A almost flow because of the wind, I hardly held the taxi door open. We arrived to the Chicago Children's Museum, our address for the day. It was, again, a success. We spent the whole rainy day inside, enjoying ourselves. We took the train after 4 p.m. and arrived home around 5.30.
The kids are in bed now and the smell of the house is less. I am writing this, drinking tea and watching Bridget Jones for the 500th time. Nice!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Congratulations!!
Eddy, congratulations with your birthday!! M.A, would you please give read this message to him, I know you are the one who reads my blog. Hehe, what a cheap way, sorry.
P, O, F, A.
P, O, F, A.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Back to home
We are back! We moved back to our home. This morning, I packed for 4 hours a car totally full and we left the apartment. The holes in the ceiling and the wall are not looking... cosy, but whatever, I am tired or driving back and forth. Is the house smelling? I think a bit, but not as bad obviously. I think I am a little used to it as well. That's a bit sad I guess. After putting the car full of stuff away, and cleaning, I am thinking about throwing a party. It is still home sweet home.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Our house hates us!!!
We have two places since the second week of January. We had to leave home because it is being repaired after some sewer problems - the house smells to sewage!. Our home has the nickname 'stinky house' and then we have the apartment. The names are important so that the kids don't get confused. When they expect to go home and end-up at the apartment, they get quite disappointed.
This weekend, we were planning to move back to the 'stinky house', which was expected not to stink anymore. After the plumbers made a 2 meter deep, 2 meter wide hole in the garden, cleaned the footing tiles and... I think I should start from the beginning. As being an unofficial plumber, these all makes sense to me, but not to many other people probably.
A basement is, as you know, under the ground. If there is no kind of system, the ground water would get straight into the basement, so it would more likely look like a swimming pool. The footing tiles are pipes full with little holes and the ground water gets into the pipes. The pipes end at the good old sump pit, a little basin in the basement floor. In the pit, you see the sump pump, which is pumping the water to the city sewing system or to ones of those pits you see on the road the rain water disappear.
So, now I go back to the footing tiles. The smell in the house appears to be coming from the sump pit. The footing tiles were full of sewage after years of leakage (when we moved in, we got the sewer fixed, but it was leaking for years before that!) and a part of the tiles was smashed. Although the water in the sump pit was clear, it was just because of the filtering on the way to the pit, the water was smelling. So, the plumbers dug a hole in the garden, replaced the broken piece of the footing tile, cleaned the footing tile pipes with high pressure water and left a big bill to the homeowners. Don't misunderstand me, they got a bottle of wine from us, they were very nice guys.
The cause was helped, but the smell doesn't leave the house just by itself. So we contacted the landlord and asked to get a restoration company. The restoration company arrived with 2 big machines that filters/cleans the air and 2 others that circulate the air in the house. The machines were supposed to be there for 3-4 days. They set it up and left. It was Thursday, January 29. We wanted to be back in the house before the end of the month - the apartment was rented till then - we decided to clean the house on Friday, move back on Saturday and live with the loud machines for 2 days. We were determined. But the house was determined not to have us back....
On Friday, I arrived to the stinky house. It was cold, like very cold. It was actually under zero degrees Celsius. The heating was broken in the night and the machines that filter the air blow cold air, so in one night, the house was freezing! I tried to figure out why the heating was broken. I looked at the book of the heating system. It says: 'check this and check that and then call the plumber'. As much as didn't want it, I had to call the plumber and the guy fixed the machine in 2 minutes. Some kind of security switch had turned itself on. Why? Who knows.... It was 11:30
I still couldn't get the house warm, the machines slowed it down. So I turned everything off and started some cleaning and realized.... the pipes were frozen. On one side of the house, the pipes were totally frozen: one bathroom on the second floor and the watching room at the first floor. Tita, the lady who cleans the house, came after 12:00. With her, we turned water on in the washing room and it started running. Only upstairs bathroom was hopeless. Tita started cleaning the house. Before 1.00 pm, the restoration company arrived. They were going to clean the carpet in the basement because it got a little wet when the plumbers were fixing the sewer smell problem. Five minutes after they arrived, we heard a loud sound, like.... shower. We ran to the family room and water was pouring from the ceiling. What are the chances the water pipes breaks when a restoration company is in your house. Well, they usually arrive after the damage is done.
In the next couple of minutes, between my "oh my goodness"s, we ran downstairs to turn off the main water pipe - yes I knew where it was -, the guys got their equipment from their truck and started to suck the water out of the couch, the carpet and the wooden floor. It all happened so fast, I can't even recall everything. I remember asking at a certain moment if there wasn't a carpet on the floor before and the guy said they already had it in the truck for cleaning. I never saw anyone walking outside with a carpet in the hand but on the other hand, I was in shock. I called P at his work and said that the house was flooding, that there was water all over the place. He hung up before I was done speaking and arrived 15 minutes later. In the short time that the water was pouring from the broken pipe, there was 2 finger high water in the room.
The aftermath: a hole in the ceiling, the water had so much pressure!; a wet couch (sectional) that looks OK to me after two days; wooden floor that was wet for not more than 10 minutes, the guys suck the water with their special machines; a wet carpet that will come back home clean. I thought the walls were all wet but no, just a bit from the outside, the TV that was just half meter from the 'shower' was totally dry. The water went through the wooden floor to the basement, right at the storage space (=no carpet) and in the middle of the room where there was nothing! When we reached the landlord, we had contacted his and our insurance, the restoration company was already setting up the equipment and the broken pipes were fixed. He had our reaction, he laughed! How on earth can one house have so much bad luck? How?
That's how we come to the title of this piece: our house hates us (read 'me')! At the beginning, I was a bit reluctant of the house. Not that it is not beautiful, but it is a bit remote for a city girl. Then there was the raccoon and skunks living under the deck. Boy, I lost some sleep because of that. After that, we found out that the sewer was broken. It got fixed but you see the trouble it caused months after that. Then we had a flood. The basement flooded after heavy rains which the sump pump couldn't handle. Then we had mouse. The guy who came to help said he never saw such a tough mouse problem before, he had to call in his manager. Hopefully the mouse problem is fixed, we will see it. Then the smell and the broken pipe.... Has anyone ever hear one house having so many problems? It just knows I hate it and hates me back. And it is stronger than me, I can only leave! The bigger problem is, I don't only hate it, but I also love it. This house is just a bad relationship. (I remember writing this before). So doctor Phil, what do I do???
(Go back to your apartment doctor Phil says, well we are back, we are renting it for another month.)
This weekend, we were planning to move back to the 'stinky house', which was expected not to stink anymore. After the plumbers made a 2 meter deep, 2 meter wide hole in the garden, cleaned the footing tiles and... I think I should start from the beginning. As being an unofficial plumber, these all makes sense to me, but not to many other people probably.
A basement is, as you know, under the ground. If there is no kind of system, the ground water would get straight into the basement, so it would more likely look like a swimming pool. The footing tiles are pipes full with little holes and the ground water gets into the pipes. The pipes end at the good old sump pit, a little basin in the basement floor. In the pit, you see the sump pump, which is pumping the water to the city sewing system or to ones of those pits you see on the road the rain water disappear.
So, now I go back to the footing tiles. The smell in the house appears to be coming from the sump pit. The footing tiles were full of sewage after years of leakage (when we moved in, we got the sewer fixed, but it was leaking for years before that!) and a part of the tiles was smashed. Although the water in the sump pit was clear, it was just because of the filtering on the way to the pit, the water was smelling. So, the plumbers dug a hole in the garden, replaced the broken piece of the footing tile, cleaned the footing tile pipes with high pressure water and left a big bill to the homeowners. Don't misunderstand me, they got a bottle of wine from us, they were very nice guys.
The cause was helped, but the smell doesn't leave the house just by itself. So we contacted the landlord and asked to get a restoration company. The restoration company arrived with 2 big machines that filters/cleans the air and 2 others that circulate the air in the house. The machines were supposed to be there for 3-4 days. They set it up and left. It was Thursday, January 29. We wanted to be back in the house before the end of the month - the apartment was rented till then - we decided to clean the house on Friday, move back on Saturday and live with the loud machines for 2 days. We were determined. But the house was determined not to have us back....
On Friday, I arrived to the stinky house. It was cold, like very cold. It was actually under zero degrees Celsius. The heating was broken in the night and the machines that filter the air blow cold air, so in one night, the house was freezing! I tried to figure out why the heating was broken. I looked at the book of the heating system. It says: 'check this and check that and then call the plumber'. As much as didn't want it, I had to call the plumber and the guy fixed the machine in 2 minutes. Some kind of security switch had turned itself on. Why? Who knows.... It was 11:30
I still couldn't get the house warm, the machines slowed it down. So I turned everything off and started some cleaning and realized.... the pipes were frozen. On one side of the house, the pipes were totally frozen: one bathroom on the second floor and the watching room at the first floor. Tita, the lady who cleans the house, came after 12:00. With her, we turned water on in the washing room and it started running. Only upstairs bathroom was hopeless. Tita started cleaning the house. Before 1.00 pm, the restoration company arrived. They were going to clean the carpet in the basement because it got a little wet when the plumbers were fixing the sewer smell problem. Five minutes after they arrived, we heard a loud sound, like.... shower. We ran to the family room and water was pouring from the ceiling. What are the chances the water pipes breaks when a restoration company is in your house. Well, they usually arrive after the damage is done.
In the next couple of minutes, between my "oh my goodness"s, we ran downstairs to turn off the main water pipe - yes I knew where it was -, the guys got their equipment from their truck and started to suck the water out of the couch, the carpet and the wooden floor. It all happened so fast, I can't even recall everything. I remember asking at a certain moment if there wasn't a carpet on the floor before and the guy said they already had it in the truck for cleaning. I never saw anyone walking outside with a carpet in the hand but on the other hand, I was in shock. I called P at his work and said that the house was flooding, that there was water all over the place. He hung up before I was done speaking and arrived 15 minutes later. In the short time that the water was pouring from the broken pipe, there was 2 finger high water in the room.
The aftermath: a hole in the ceiling, the water had so much pressure!; a wet couch (sectional) that looks OK to me after two days; wooden floor that was wet for not more than 10 minutes, the guys suck the water with their special machines; a wet carpet that will come back home clean. I thought the walls were all wet but no, just a bit from the outside, the TV that was just half meter from the 'shower' was totally dry. The water went through the wooden floor to the basement, right at the storage space (=no carpet) and in the middle of the room where there was nothing! When we reached the landlord, we had contacted his and our insurance, the restoration company was already setting up the equipment and the broken pipes were fixed. He had our reaction, he laughed! How on earth can one house have so much bad luck? How?
That's how we come to the title of this piece: our house hates us (read 'me')! At the beginning, I was a bit reluctant of the house. Not that it is not beautiful, but it is a bit remote for a city girl. Then there was the raccoon and skunks living under the deck. Boy, I lost some sleep because of that. After that, we found out that the sewer was broken. It got fixed but you see the trouble it caused months after that. Then we had a flood. The basement flooded after heavy rains which the sump pump couldn't handle. Then we had mouse. The guy who came to help said he never saw such a tough mouse problem before, he had to call in his manager. Hopefully the mouse problem is fixed, we will see it. Then the smell and the broken pipe.... Has anyone ever hear one house having so many problems? It just knows I hate it and hates me back. And it is stronger than me, I can only leave! The bigger problem is, I don't only hate it, but I also love it. This house is just a bad relationship. (I remember writing this before). So doctor Phil, what do I do???
(Go back to your apartment doctor Phil says, well we are back, we are renting it for another month.)
Busyyyyy
When you live in an apartment... no, I should say, when you are condemned to live in an apartment, because your house is stinking and being repaired, you don't want to spend your weekend between four walls. When it is minus 10ish Celsius outside, it is actually comforting to have some walls around. Still, as long as those have nothing to do with the apartment...
That's how we started our last weekend.
Friday: after school, we were at Annemiek's house. The kids played, mothers chatted and father (only P was in town) came later to join the chat. Did I say we started the wine at 3:30? No baby, yes wine! We were probably at the apartment after 9.
Saturday: Started the day with sporting. While the kids were at the daycare service, we were on the treadmills etc. I went with F wall climbing. We went all together swimming. After a late lunch, we met Tena and her son Beck for a little bowling. Kids loved it. The balls were actually too heavy for A, but with some help, she actually won their game! After bowling, we got stopped by the police for speeding in a military complex. We knew the name of the commandant which helped us enormously. We didn't get a ticket, but got an escort to the exit. We were lost and looking for the exit, so it was more like a service. We met Tena & Dave for dinner - mmmm sushi. It was after 9 that we came back to the apartment. Go parents go, aren't we just so irresponsible...
Sunday: We brought P and F to the church and went to her first real party. Her classmate Wyatt turned 3 and his b-day was at a gym. The kids parties here are not more than 1,5 hours. A spent 1 hour hanging from my leg. At the end, she didn't want to leave. So typical... We met P and F at the ice rink in our little village. F was for the first time on the ice and she did quite well. It was very cold though. Then we went to Leo and Carla's. Their younger son Alex plays soccer with F, that's how we know them. Fun fun fun.... We left, as responsible parents, around 6 p.m. and ended our weekend marathon at the apartment, exhausted but happy. Than the four walls of the apartment were very welcome!
That's how we started our last weekend.
Friday: after school, we were at Annemiek's house. The kids played, mothers chatted and father (only P was in town) came later to join the chat. Did I say we started the wine at 3:30? No baby, yes wine! We were probably at the apartment after 9.
Saturday: Started the day with sporting. While the kids were at the daycare service, we were on the treadmills etc. I went with F wall climbing. We went all together swimming. After a late lunch, we met Tena and her son Beck for a little bowling. Kids loved it. The balls were actually too heavy for A, but with some help, she actually won their game! After bowling, we got stopped by the police for speeding in a military complex. We knew the name of the commandant which helped us enormously. We didn't get a ticket, but got an escort to the exit. We were lost and looking for the exit, so it was more like a service. We met Tena & Dave for dinner - mmmm sushi. It was after 9 that we came back to the apartment. Go parents go, aren't we just so irresponsible...
Sunday: We brought P and F to the church and went to her first real party. Her classmate Wyatt turned 3 and his b-day was at a gym. The kids parties here are not more than 1,5 hours. A spent 1 hour hanging from my leg. At the end, she didn't want to leave. So typical... We met P and F at the ice rink in our little village. F was for the first time on the ice and she did quite well. It was very cold though. Then we went to Leo and Carla's. Their younger son Alex plays soccer with F, that's how we know them. Fun fun fun.... We left, as responsible parents, around 6 p.m. and ended our weekend marathon at the apartment, exhausted but happy. Than the four walls of the apartment were very welcome!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The curious case of Benjamin Button
I just came home from after watching the movie 'The curious case of Benjamin Button'. It is about a man who born old and dies as a baby. It's the clock ticking backwards. Very peculiar, I think that would be a good word. I found it ironic that today, I got the watch the movie. There is a lot about birth, dead and babies in the story of Benjamin Button. I thought there was really some kind of an irony, although now I doubt. Well, you see, I walk around with a dead baby in the womb. Just 2 months old, so it really shouldn't look like anything yet, but I just keep on thinking about this little poor thing.
Do you know the story of the death angel. I don't exactly remember how it goes, but something like this: There is a guy who somehow gets to talk to the death angel. They go together to the house of a poor peasant's house. The death angel takes away his only cow. Then they go to the rich man's house. The angel fixes a hole in his walls. The guy is confused. He asks why the angel took away the only cow of the poor man. The angel says: 'I came to his house to take the peasant's wife, instead I took the cow'. 'And the rich man?' the guy asked. 'There was a fortune behind the wall and if I didn't fix the hole, he would get even richer'.
There is a reason for all this happening, that's what I think. The problems with the house, the baby, all kinds of other little things that are going on... I think we are being spared of something really bad. I am just thankful, especially for those two little angels sleeping as I am writing. And I just hope... Tomorrow is a new day and I have strong feeling that it will be a very nice one.
Do you know the story of the death angel. I don't exactly remember how it goes, but something like this: There is a guy who somehow gets to talk to the death angel. They go together to the house of a poor peasant's house. The death angel takes away his only cow. Then they go to the rich man's house. The angel fixes a hole in his walls. The guy is confused. He asks why the angel took away the only cow of the poor man. The angel says: 'I came to his house to take the peasant's wife, instead I took the cow'. 'And the rich man?' the guy asked. 'There was a fortune behind the wall and if I didn't fix the hole, he would get even richer'.
There is a reason for all this happening, that's what I think. The problems with the house, the baby, all kinds of other little things that are going on... I think we are being spared of something really bad. I am just thankful, especially for those two little angels sleeping as I am writing. And I just hope... Tomorrow is a new day and I have strong feeling that it will be a very nice one.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
What's wrong with us?
We had great 2 weeks in Holland and Belgium. Visited family, friends, did stuff with kids, without kids - good babysitters in Holland!! -... Then we came home...
The first thing we noticed - how could you miss it! - was the horrible smell in the house. It hit our faces when we opened the door. Oh no, the sewer is broken, we thought. We opened the windows a bit, and let some fresh air come inside. It was Sunday january 4th and the situation was just bearable. At the basement, we discovered a dead mouse, a huge dead mouse. It was not the cause of the smell though, the storage was about the only place that did not smell bad.
Monday... the smell got worse. Tuesday... we got the first plumber. He checked things, did dye tests and said 'I think it is a dead animal'. I should have never have mentioned the dead mouse to him. Wednesday...I started getting worried. The smell was getting worse and I couldn't stand it. Thursday...second plumber came. He went down to the basement and walked straight to the door leading to the hairdresser. (we have a little one chair saloon at he basement). He said that he was here before. Brrrr, in a different life? Of course, it's not ghost story I am telling, it's a plumbing nightmare. He said he was at our house before, when the owners were still living in it. They had a bad smell in the house and after hours of searching, he couldn't figure it out. The owners were not very happy because of the amount of hours spent. You would understand them if you knew what those guys charge for every minute spent in the house.
So years ago, the owners had a bad smell. When we moved in almost a year ago, there was a bad smell. We did find out that the sewer was broken and got it fixed. Since that time, there was always a bit smell in the basement, but well, we innocently thought that basement could smell, because it was under the ground. Silly us! Now, it was obvious it us that the smell was always there, coming in little bits inside the house and every once in a while, it decided to explode and fill the whole place. We had to find out where it came from.
After the second plumber left the house without any results, we started to feel desperate. Think think think... Was it really a dead animal, or a whole animal family, or a horse trapped somewhere between the walls? Was it the sulfur from the grounds around? Was the sewer of the neighbors leaking and coming into our house? Was there something wrong with the heating system - result of the Internet search - ?
Friday...I decided I hated this house, but I also loved it. What do you do then. It is like a bad relationship.
Saturday, we left the house. We decided to go to a hotel and have a nice un-smelly night sleep. We had a nice suite with one bathroom and one sleeping room. The kids enjoyed the swimming pool.
Sunday... we came back home and left for another hotel, a water park hotel. That was great for the kids. The spent hours playing and swimming. We had 2 beds in one room and a living area. In the middle of the night F got sick and we had a big mess in the girls' bed. We took everything off and called the front desk for clean stuff. Sad end of the night.
Monday, the kids went to school and I went to the house. The owner called with two competitor plumbing companies in the weekend. They were both coming. But I started with the 'Mouse man'. He did close 2 holes and I hope we are done with the disgusting 4 leggeds. Then the first plumber came. He did the usual stuff, but he did something new too. The showed me the pipes in the basement going to the pipe that carries water to the sump pit. Against all my thoughts, The water was coming from the front of the house, not back of it. And there went the sulfur theory. The water was not coming from the swamp behind our garden. Then the other plumber came. There were the two of them actually. Oh, they were so happy to see each other. But, thanks to the first plumber, we could focus where the water was coming from. The first plumber, outnumbered by the first one, left the scene...but I am thankful to him, he did a good job. The two plumbers worked hours and finally found out...well, it is still a guess... that the sewer leakage that was repaired was going on probably for years and the ground got full of ....yes, sorry, shit. This sewage was pushed by the melting snow last week and got in the sump pit and the pipe going to that. The only way to know for sure is to dig half a wall length around the house.
I wasn't happy Monday, why do I have to sit there with the plumbers, arrange other people to pick up my kids? I was hoping our contact person would be there and I would be cooking for the evening and picking up the kids and taking care of them. Anyway, sometimes things work differently. After the plumbers left, I went - with the dinner I just made in a bag - to pick up the girls. We went back to the water hotel. Dinner, pool, sleeping and no sick kids... The next morning packed the stuff again, brought the kids to school and waited at the stinking home.
Tuesday evening... I am writing from our final destination before we go back to a non-smelling home sweet home. The irony is just about the reveal itself. Just read further.
We got the news from P's company that we may use an apartment they rented for some colleagues and although the people were gone, the rent was paid till the end of the month. A nice apartment in a nice little town to south of our house. These kind of apartments are actually a mixture of an apartment and a hotel. You have everything in it: furniture, nicely folded cloth napkins on the dinner table, little soaps in the bathroom, a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, the apartment gets cleaned every week, you get clean towels and beds are changed... It is super. The kids loved it, the started playing in the clean looking spacious living room while I was cooking in the decent kitchen. P came and we had a lovely dinner. The kids went to bed and... we didn't have hot water. OK, we came from a house smelling to sewer and ended up in a house without hot water. And guess who was here at 9 pm in the evening? A neighbour who is also working like a handyman for these apartments, a plumber! The good thing is, he could fix the problem in half an hour and he also fixed a door that was not working properly and he left. The feeling he left us with behind is that there is nothing wrong with all those houses, there is something wrong with us!
The first thing we noticed - how could you miss it! - was the horrible smell in the house. It hit our faces when we opened the door. Oh no, the sewer is broken, we thought. We opened the windows a bit, and let some fresh air come inside. It was Sunday january 4th and the situation was just bearable. At the basement, we discovered a dead mouse, a huge dead mouse. It was not the cause of the smell though, the storage was about the only place that did not smell bad.
Monday... the smell got worse. Tuesday... we got the first plumber. He checked things, did dye tests and said 'I think it is a dead animal'. I should have never have mentioned the dead mouse to him. Wednesday...I started getting worried. The smell was getting worse and I couldn't stand it. Thursday...second plumber came. He went down to the basement and walked straight to the door leading to the hairdresser. (we have a little one chair saloon at he basement). He said that he was here before. Brrrr, in a different life? Of course, it's not ghost story I am telling, it's a plumbing nightmare. He said he was at our house before, when the owners were still living in it. They had a bad smell in the house and after hours of searching, he couldn't figure it out. The owners were not very happy because of the amount of hours spent. You would understand them if you knew what those guys charge for every minute spent in the house.
So years ago, the owners had a bad smell. When we moved in almost a year ago, there was a bad smell. We did find out that the sewer was broken and got it fixed. Since that time, there was always a bit smell in the basement, but well, we innocently thought that basement could smell, because it was under the ground. Silly us! Now, it was obvious it us that the smell was always there, coming in little bits inside the house and every once in a while, it decided to explode and fill the whole place. We had to find out where it came from.
After the second plumber left the house without any results, we started to feel desperate. Think think think... Was it really a dead animal, or a whole animal family, or a horse trapped somewhere between the walls? Was it the sulfur from the grounds around? Was the sewer of the neighbors leaking and coming into our house? Was there something wrong with the heating system - result of the Internet search - ?
Friday...I decided I hated this house, but I also loved it. What do you do then. It is like a bad relationship.
Saturday, we left the house. We decided to go to a hotel and have a nice un-smelly night sleep. We had a nice suite with one bathroom and one sleeping room. The kids enjoyed the swimming pool.
Sunday... we came back home and left for another hotel, a water park hotel. That was great for the kids. The spent hours playing and swimming. We had 2 beds in one room and a living area. In the middle of the night F got sick and we had a big mess in the girls' bed. We took everything off and called the front desk for clean stuff. Sad end of the night.
Monday, the kids went to school and I went to the house. The owner called with two competitor plumbing companies in the weekend. They were both coming. But I started with the 'Mouse man'. He did close 2 holes and I hope we are done with the disgusting 4 leggeds. Then the first plumber came. He did the usual stuff, but he did something new too. The showed me the pipes in the basement going to the pipe that carries water to the sump pit. Against all my thoughts, The water was coming from the front of the house, not back of it. And there went the sulfur theory. The water was not coming from the swamp behind our garden. Then the other plumber came. There were the two of them actually. Oh, they were so happy to see each other. But, thanks to the first plumber, we could focus where the water was coming from. The first plumber, outnumbered by the first one, left the scene...but I am thankful to him, he did a good job. The two plumbers worked hours and finally found out...well, it is still a guess... that the sewer leakage that was repaired was going on probably for years and the ground got full of ....yes, sorry, shit. This sewage was pushed by the melting snow last week and got in the sump pit and the pipe going to that. The only way to know for sure is to dig half a wall length around the house.
I wasn't happy Monday, why do I have to sit there with the plumbers, arrange other people to pick up my kids? I was hoping our contact person would be there and I would be cooking for the evening and picking up the kids and taking care of them. Anyway, sometimes things work differently. After the plumbers left, I went - with the dinner I just made in a bag - to pick up the girls. We went back to the water hotel. Dinner, pool, sleeping and no sick kids... The next morning packed the stuff again, brought the kids to school and waited at the stinking home.
Tuesday evening... I am writing from our final destination before we go back to a non-smelling home sweet home. The irony is just about the reveal itself. Just read further.
We got the news from P's company that we may use an apartment they rented for some colleagues and although the people were gone, the rent was paid till the end of the month. A nice apartment in a nice little town to south of our house. These kind of apartments are actually a mixture of an apartment and a hotel. You have everything in it: furniture, nicely folded cloth napkins on the dinner table, little soaps in the bathroom, a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, the apartment gets cleaned every week, you get clean towels and beds are changed... It is super. The kids loved it, the started playing in the clean looking spacious living room while I was cooking in the decent kitchen. P came and we had a lovely dinner. The kids went to bed and... we didn't have hot water. OK, we came from a house smelling to sewer and ended up in a house without hot water. And guess who was here at 9 pm in the evening? A neighbour who is also working like a handyman for these apartments, a plumber! The good thing is, he could fix the problem in half an hour and he also fixed a door that was not working properly and he left. The feeling he left us with behind is that there is nothing wrong with all those houses, there is something wrong with us!
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