On Monday, October 5th, Ben and I were treated to a "last playdate" at Kirsten's house. Everyone that was invited came, which meant there were 11 adults and 13 kids. Wow, I was so touched, and Kirsten was so great for hosting such chaos in her home. Ben and I were 'presented' with a beautiful Delft plate and a photobook of our friends and adventures in Amsterdam...two gifts that we will treasure forever. Sadly, we didn't get ANY photos from the big party. There was so much going on that I don't think I even remembered I had my camera until friends were walking out the door. :(
On Tuesday, I spent most of the day packing the apartment. Wow, didn't realize a 2 bedroom apartment could hold so much stuff! :) At 6:30 p.m., babysitter Maria arrived soaking wet from her bike ride in the pouring rain...poor thing! She watched Ben while Greg and I enjoyed an unbelievable dinner around the block with Greg's colleague, Caja, and his wife, Elvira. They wanted to treat us to dinner before leaving Amsterdam. Very thoughtful! We dined at Bordewijk, a French restaurant that is considered one of the best in the city. And boy, was it amazing! A "fancy" experience, yet completely unpretentious. We were still enjoying ourselves and our desserts at 10 p.m. when I phoned Maria to see if she was ok with us staying out a bit later. She said Ben had gone to bed without any trouble, so she was just relaxing on the couch. We got home at 11 p.m. from a truly great evening - wonderful company and wonderful food. We should have been doing this 'babysitter thing' months ago! :) (Night photo is hard to see, so we took a day photo too. Wouldn't really know this is such a fabulous and famous restaurant based on the outside appearance, huh?)
Wednesday was more packing. That night, I had another great evening out - this time with my AWCA gals at Rose's Cantina...mexican food, yummy! It was a small group, but they did a great job of drinking my margaritas for me! We talked a lot about expat life, an experience that is truly understood by those living it. It was very hard to say goodbye at the end of the night; these women have become so special to me and my family. I will be forever thankful that God led me to such a great group of friends.
Thursday, October 8th - the big day had arrived. MOVING DAY! We had things in pretty good order for the movers to just throw stuff in boxes or wrap it up. We had to be strategic and pack suitcases at the same time...had to make sure everything was either being shipped or that we had room to bring it with us on the plane. You can see the before and after...the apartment looks so empty now! Thank heavens Ben is used to sleeping wherever; poor guy will be in his pack-n-play for the next week!
Friday the 9th was my last midwife appointment with Lotte. (Photo is of the office building. No, none of those bikes out front are mine - I never rode mine...pathetic.) The baby and I were in good health - my blood pressure was good, and the baby's heartbeat and growth were fine as well. I made sure to get a "fit to fly" note from her to take with us, just in case. (United policy says that you only need this note in your 9th month of pregnancy, but I didn't really want to be turned away at check-in if they didn't believe I was only 28 weeks.) Also got a copy of all my records for my doctor in the States - all in Dutch, of course. After dinner that night, we went for a walk around the city. It was chilly (Ben's showing you that it's hat season already!), but beautiful.
Is it really true that our last weekend in Amsterdam is upon us??? Better make the most of it...
No comments:
Post a Comment