Hello, Goodbye, Goodbye, Hello!

In the last blog entry, I shared some autumn Amsterdam photos. Well, I published the post while the boys were napping, then went out for groceries. It was gorgeous outside! So, once the boys got up from their naps, we just HAD TO go get some gelato (Greg's first, finally!) and enjoy the sunshine in this beautiful city we call home. Notice the ice cream cone tip in Ben's hand (3rd photo). Both Greg and I graciously shared our tips with him (the sacrifices of being a parent is hard sometimes). He ate one right away, must have realized how good it was, and then carried the other one around, licking occasionally, for at least 30 minutes before finally eating that one too. Silly boy! Loved the photos I got from Leliegracht, the back of Westerkerk (from Keizersgracht), and the Noorderkerk. Grabbed some pizza for dinner and then home to clean for hosting Moms & Tots!

So, I wasn't very good this week about having the camera with me when I needed it, so I have found a permanent space for it in my purse, I promise! But, I'll share some stories...

Hosting Moms & Tots went well. I should have taken a picture of the 'aftermath' though - didn't know tornadoes came through Amsterdam. :) Really, we had a great time having everyone over, and Ben was very good about sharing his toys with his friends. Although, it took him quite a while to calm down from all the excitement for naptime...

Tuesday morning swim lessons were a little different...the floor of the pool had been raised so that the water was at Ben's chest level. He LOVED it...getting to walk around in the water on his own. Later that day, we went to Westerpark for some playing in the leaves and blowing bubbles. The park was really beautiful with all of the leaves changing color.

Karen came over on Wednesday morning for a walk, except that the rain started as soon as we were preparing to leave. So, she came up for tea, and we chatted the morning away. I don't think we'll get anymore mornings like that, as she moves to Denmark in about a week. Very sad for us, but great for their family. We're having them over next Friday night to officially say goodbye.

Thursday was the big day - visitors arriving!! We went to Little Gym in the morning like usual, but then met Betsy and Marc at Centraal Station around noon. Hurray! It was so good to see them! It was raining a bit, but we made our way to their B&B, a very cute canal house that was near our home...and near Winkel apple pie! After dropping off bags, we went out for pie and coffee, and the sky seemed to clear - we even took off coats to enjoy the sunshine. As soon as we parted ways, the rain began, and the hail followed. Hail??? Crazy Amsterdam weather!! They found an awning to duck under and waited it out. The rest of the day was clear, they did a bit of sightseeing, then to bed early to catch up on some lost sleep.

On Friday, Betsy and Marc went to Antwerp, Belgium for the day. Ben and I went to a book party in the afternoon...and he has found a new favorite book, The Runaway Pancake. He asks for 'pancakes' all day long now - thankfully, he just means the book. :) Greg went out with Joe and Larry that night for some guy time; it was nice for him to get out and he loves spending time with those guys.

OK, the camera picks back up in a big way on Saturday morning - to capture the herring tasting! Betsy and Marc checked out of the B&B on Saturday morning, came to our place, and then we all headed out for the market. Marc enjoyed looking at some Dutch books, we bought some fruit and dark chocolate covered peanuts (our new 'must have'), and Betsy and I tried the herring. Story continues with the pictures below...

Here is the herring - in sandwich form. We didn't think we could get it down any other way. (We were right!)

Brave Betsy taking the first bite...

Brave Betsy trying to swallow that first bite...

Scared Stephanie taking her bite...

Results, you ask? The bites were both spit out, our mouths were rinsed out with some fresh OJ we had bought as a 'chaser', and the empty juice cup was used to do away with the rest of the sandwich. I'm sad to say that it was not a good experience, and I don't think I'll be sampling this Amsterdam treat again. But, much credit to Betsy and me...as the boys were too chicken to even try. (Or maybe they get the credit for being smart enough to steer clear?)

We left the scene of the 'incident' and made our way to a much more enjoyable experience - pancakes! We had lunch at the Pancake Bakery, I hear that's the pre-race meal of marathon champions. :) After lunch, we walked along the Prinsengracht and stopped in the Hofje van Brienen for a quick peak and photo. There are several hofjes in the city, which historically provided housing for elderly women. They have these beautiful courtyards...

We made it back to the apartment for Ben's nap time, and Betsy, Marc, and Greg went to pick up race packets and check out the marathon market. Had spaghetti for dinner (bring on the carbs!) and watched a movie before bed.

Sunday was race day! Although, it didn't feel like it at first since the half marathon didn't start until 2 p.m. We left home around 12:30, got to Olympic Stadium around 1:30 - just enough time for a little warm-up. Marc, Ben, and I wished the racers good luck - they were off to the start line, and we were off to backtrack to Amstel Station via metro to get some photos at the halfway point.

Greg and Betsy both did great - Greg was able to complete the race in spite of his recent knee problems, and Betsy improved on her previous race time by over 10 minutes! Look, they're even still smiling post-race! We got back home, grabbed some Thai take-out for dinner, and kicked back on the couch for the evening.

Poor Greg, Monday was back to work for him. I think sitting all day made him a little more stiff and sore, but he's feeling back to normal now. The rest of us headed for the Hague, then a tram to Madurodam - a Marc favorite. This is basically like the "Mini-Europe" that we saw in Brussels, but it's a mini-Netherlands - everything is 25 times smaller than in reality. It was very busy, I think that Dutch children were on a school break this week. Very cool place, and it is just amazing the detail that goes into all of the structures and landscaping. My favorites included the Hague's Parliament buildings (with all of the tiny soldiers on parade), Schipol airport with the planes taxi-ing down the runway, and of course, all of the Amsterdam city center replicas. Betsy did her best to 'squat' by the windmill for a photo op, but her sore legs weren't very keen on bending. :)

From the Hague, we were only about a 5 minute tram ride to Scheveningen, a beautiful beach town. It was chilly and windy near the water, but we saw quite a few surfers in the water. Marc has visited this area before, and he remembered this tasty little pannekoeken place that we went to for lunch...wow, seriously good! We walked down the beach a bit, and we came across the 2 statues below. Betsy and I interpreted them as "eating the herring" and then "why, oh why, did I eat the herring". :)

That evening, we celebrated Betsy's birthday with some apple tart and presents - a cookbook entirely in Dutch. I thought the cookbook photos looked really good, so it would be worth all the trouble of translating to make the recipes. Thankfully, she agreed and was grateful.

Betsy and Marc left on Tuesday morning for a few days in Germany - Oberwesel, Heidelberg, and Cologne. Ben and I had a few playdates and borrowed a couple Halloween costumes for the party tomorrow. (TBD on what he will wear - as of yesterday, he didn't like either one.) Betsy and Marc returned on Thursday afternoon for a bit more Amsterdam sightseeing. We relaxed that evening - watching Dutch soccer with Dutch commentary.

Today was a hard one. We got up and went out for one last pannekoeken before Betsy and Marc left for the airport around noon. It was very hard to see them go...Ben had become quite attached and I have really missed seeing Betsy at work every day. But, we had a great time with them here, and it won't be long before we see them again in December.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning and preparing a meal for our "good luck, we'll miss you" dinner for Karen and Larry. They joined us for dinner at 6:30, left about 9 p.m. Another sad goodbye, but a wonderful time - we will miss having them here in the city centre with us! Good luck in Denmark, and we plan to visit next year, you can't stop us!

And now, it's time to prepare for another 'hello'! Mom and Dad Zabikow arrive tomorrow afternoon, and we are very, very excited! We are taking a short trip to Belgium to visit Brussels and Mons, the city where Boris was born. Then, on Tuesday night, we leave for Munich, Germany for 3 days. We are looking forward to the city, the castles, and the pretzels - and of course, the company! Praying for safe flights, we'll see them soon!

An Amsterdam Autumn

As you can see, I am back to blogging at a more normal pace - about once a week. Much more managable than 4 at one time!

Amsterdam has redeemed itself this week in terms of weather. Last week, I was sure we had skipped straight from summer (which is more like an early fall here anyways) to winter - cold and damp. But, this week was beautiful - sunshine and just slightly cool. The leaves are starting to change, a really gorgeous sight over the canals. I had been missing an Illinois autumn, but I am back to loving right where we are!

A fairly typical week for the Zabikows. On Tuesday, we had 'wear your clothes' day at swim lessons. I commented in the last blog that I wasn't really understanding what this was all about. Well, come to find out, it actually makes a lot of sense. It was 'water safety' day, and so the whole lesson was devoted to learning how to stay safe in water emergencies. And, the purpose of having the children wear normal clothes is so that if they should ever fall into water unexpectedly with their clothes on, they won't panic...not knowing what to do without their swim clothes. I thought that was a pretty great idea, so the Dutch aren't so crazy I guess. :)

Also on Tuesday, we celebrated our 6 month Amsterdam anniversary! Wow, it's hard to believe that much time has gone by already. This means that our adventure is 1/3 over with...and going by way too fast! :( Don't worry though, we have lots more travel in our future, so we hope to keep the blog filled with exciting travel stories and pictures for the next 12 months.

On Wednesday, our relocation consultant, Catharina, came to close out our paperwork. We are officially off her "books", but she is such a wonderful woman that she is still offering her help with translating documents or asking questions whenever we need her. She has become like a Dutch grandma to Ben, so we definitely plan to stay in touch. We cannot thank her enough for the invaluable experience and help she provided...could not have made this move without her!

Thursday was Little Gym in the morning, and we met up with some friends in the afternoon at the park. It was beautiful outside, so the park was packed! That is definitely something the Dutch understand - when it is nice outside, you do NOT stay indoors! Ben loved getting to see his friend Ryan, playing in the sand, sliding, and swinging - and all with his coat off! Not much going on Friday, except a cute Ben story. Greg was leaving for work, and each day as we close the door, I tell Ben that Dada is going to work, he'll be back later. Well, on Friday, as we closed the door, Ben got a pouty face, sad to see Dad go - but then just as quickly got a smile on his face and said "Dada to work". He gets it! Although, we were all playing on the bed on Saturday morning, and Ben said "Dada to work". We'll have to work on understanding why he gets to stay home on the weekends...

Speaking of Saturday, it was a slow morning, pj's until 10 a.m.! Loved it, and we could not remember the last time we had been able to lounge like that - was many months ago. Later that afternoon, we had a 1st birthday party for Ben's friend Amelie (what a beautiful name). A very sweet little girl who belongs to Wendi and Che, huge Oklahoma Sooners fans! It was a great party and good to have family time - so often it is just the moms and babes.We went to church this morning, and now I am blogging - putting off the grocery shopping and cleaning I have to do to prepare to host Moms and Tots tomorrow morning. This will be the first major test of our apartment to see how well it holds so many people - and a Ben test to see how well he will share his toys. (Why am I already thinking that the apartment may pass the test, but Ben will not? It's so hard being almost 2!) :)

For a bit more procrastination, here is an installment of Getting to Know Amsterdam. Preface - we LOVE Amsterdam, but we have noticed (and many of our friends have also found this to be true) that the "rules" can change at the drop of a hat. What is acceptable last time may not be acceptable this time, and what should be a simple solution may often turn into the most difficult one - for the sake of not breaking a 'rule'. Here are 2 examples from just this week that show you what I mean...

1. To be able to see a doctor, you first have to register with that physician. There is paperwork to fill out, in Dutch of course. I had turned the paperwork for Ben and me in a while ago, and Greg had recently finished his so I went on Wednesday to turn it in. The doctor was sitting at the reception desk (you would never be able to tell who the doctor is - everyone is in plain clothes with no nametags), and I handed him the paperwork. On the computer, he was reconciling Greg's papers with my registration, and he told me that Ben and I were registered with his colleague, the other doctor in the practice. I wondered aloud why that was, considering we all had the same paperwork. (There is a form with the doctor's name that requires the patient signature.) Instead of believing me that my form had his name, he went to the files to look it up. He did indeed find that my form had his name, but that it had been crossed out and the other doctor's name written in. He remembered that he wasn't accepting any new patients a few months ago, so that must have been why. Long story short, instead of also crossing out the doctor name on Greg's form (which already had his signature and which had already been done on my form), he gave me a new form with the new doctor name to go home and have Greg sign. Um, what??? Many of you know, I am not a big fan of confrontation, so I smiled politely, said "sure", and went on my way. Part of that is the lack of wanting to confront, and the other part is that after 6 months, I have simply learned that it is easier to agree. It is not a long walk to the doctor, and the weather this week was beautiful so it was no trouble walking there again. So, although it didn't make sense, to quote Spamalot, "always look on the bright side of life!" Turned the signed new paper in on Friday, so it is now officially off the to do list - just a couple days later than expected. :)

2. This morning, as we got on the bus after church to come home, the driver told us that we would have to take Ben out of his 'cart' (stroller). I said "I'm sorry?" We have never been asked to take Ben out of his stroller before - in fact, there is even a designated spot for wheelchairs and strollers on the bus. The driver told me that if he had to brake suddenly, the cart would continue to go forward and could be harmful for the child. Um, so it is better to have an unrestrained child sitting (or in Ben's case, standing) in my lap, mind you the seats in the stroller section are sideways, so that if I have to brace myself due to a sudden stop, I will also have to try and catch Ben before he goes flying?? And, his stroller has wheel locks, so I don't really see the 'cart' rolling down the aisle. Alas, I again smiled politely, said "sure", and went on my way. And next time, if we go to take Ben out of his stroller, the driver will say - 'no, it is better to have him in the stroller'. :) C'est la vie!

On a lighter and much happier note, our friends Betsy and Marc are coming to visit on Thursday! Hooray!! Betsy will be running in the half marathon next Sunday with Greg, while Marc, Ben, and I cheer on the sidelines - eating our croissants and drinking our coffee. :) Cannot wait to see them and show them around this beautiful city we call home!! Should make for lots of stories and pictures for next week...until then, tot ziens!

Back to Normal

We are gradually getting back into our Amsterdam daily lives after 3 weeks of traveling and visitors. We loved it all, but there is also something nice about home and routine.

Monday was Moms and Tots. The host Mom had 2 kittens which Ben loved chasing around. It made me miss our sweet Peanut back home. Although, we hear that she is adjusting nicely at the Zabikow Zoo. :)

Tuesday was swim lessons, and Ben is doing really well. He loves the water and likes floating on his back. He's going under the water now too, which from his facial expressions after coming up, is a bit fun and scary all at the same time. This next Tuesday we are supposed to wear our pj's??? I still haven't figured out the why or how this makes any sense to come and get all wet in our clothes, but I'll be sure to report the outcome of this crazy Dutch idea next week. After lunch that day, Ben started looking through a magazine that was on the table. I came back around the corner, and he was playing 'peek-a-boo' with the lady in the magazine. Hee hee, what a silly goose!
Tuesday was also the celebration of our 8th wedding anniversary. I had yet to make lasagna here in Amsterdam, and Greg loves my homemade lasagna. So, I ventured out in search of all the ingredients. I was able to get very close - crushed tomatoes were a no-go, but I did find this 'tomato concentrate' stuff that worked pretty well. Ah, the continued challenge of adapting recipes to what's available. Greg was very pleased and gave the effort an A, so I'm sure I'll be making it again. After putting Ben to bed, we celebrated with the wine and Sacher torte we had brought back from Vienna. A very nice evening of spending time together - and of putting off all the blogging, cleaning, and laundry to be done. :)

Thursday was Little Gym class and Friday was the monthly general meeting for the American Women's Club. The weather since we have been back from Vienna has been cold and wet, so I was elated to see sunshine and clear skies on Friday. Greg made it home from work a bit early that night, so we bundled up and went for a walk. It's starting to get dark earlier again, so it was nice to be out with the city lights. About 5 minutes from home, it started raining...of course! But, what a great excuse to come in, get cozy, and share some hot chocolate. I love autumn!

Saturday morning was a make-up class for Little Gym. I was glad we could find a Saturday that worked so Greg could join us and see in person how much Ben loves to be there. Greg got such a kick out of watching Ben follow directions, interact with the other kids, and just laugh and explore the gym. There was a huge bouncer this week, and Ben really loved jumping! He's getting really close to jumping on his own. Got back home and went to the market, got a haircut, did some shopping...typical weekend fare.

As for today, it has been a hard one. It was 5 years ago today (and also on a Sunday) that Mom passed away. I still wrestle sometimes with trying to understand why she had to go…putting the pieces together of how God is using this for good. God led me to some words during my quiet time on Friday that reminded me that I don’t need to understand, He does. What a perfect and powerful promise!

“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (The Message)

So, I’ll end this short entry by encouraging those of you reading to simply...LOVE.

Have a great week!