Bad Moms

I have survived my first few days on my own with two children! Yes, I managed to make it 3.5 months before being truly on my own. I'm totally spoiled, I know. A friend who had her second child warned me how hard the beginning would be and I kept waiting to feel overwhelmed by it all, but it never happened thanks to Pete being around. Well now Pete is back to school and Jude doesn't start full time at school until Monday. So I have been going to all of his settling in days with Maeve, carting the kids home and waiting (patiently??) for Pete to arrive home.

Yesterday, I ran an errand on my way home and Jude fell asleep eating his sandwich in the car by 11am. Nap time was officially over for him by 11:45. I knew it was going to be a long afternoon. Back home, Maeve was inconsolable from over tiredness, being dragged from place to place and not getting a proper nap. I was doing my best to calm her and put her to sleep all the while worrying what Jude was up to on his own downstairs. Just a few weeks ago, I had left him on his own on the potty only to return to the entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet. I had visions of crayons being colored all over the wall, or worse, that he hurt himself with one of his "dangerous games" (his words). Once Maeve was finally down, I was so pleased to find Jude happily playing (safely) with his toys!

Some ladies from my new mom group were going out to see Bad Moms in the city last night. I knew my day was going to be long and that it would be a late night by the time the movie was over, but I decided that I needed the night out. So I swapped my spit-up covered shirt for a clean one, answered Jude's 100th "why?" question of the day and peaced out!!

I am so glad that I went! I had serious doubts about the movie, but thought that 6.7 on IMDB couldn't be that bad. I haven't laughed that hard in so long! The grocery store scene?! I can't even! It was a perfect combination of hilarity and sentiment. I laughed and then cried. All of the movie theaters here sell alcohol (is this common in the US? I don't remember) so we shared a 6 pack. That may have contributed to the tears. The soundtrack also had me dancing in my seat, which inspired us to seek out some post-movie dancing in Leidseplein. Being old and a mom, I am not hip on the going out scene so I sent a message to cousin Jessie who studied abroad here and she saved the day. After a mojito and some dancing, the clock was about to strike midnight and I knew I needed to venture home. Though I was seriously tempted by the 3 euro Tequila shot special.

A lot of the movie plot centers around the PTA at the kid's school so it was very fitting that I attended my first PTA meeting today. No drama here though. Just sign ups for all of the school sponsored activities for parents. "LetsTalk" meet ups in the cafeteria to practice new languages. "LetsStitch" group that collectively makes quilts of Amsterdam canal houses. "LetsRead" book club... the list goes on. Up until this point, I have felt very disconnected from the community of ISA apart from being friends with some of Pete's coworkers. It is really fun now to get to be more involved. I wandered around on my own with Maeve, only running into one person I recognized while most moms chatted in small groups, clearly with friends. I look forward to future years when I will be a part of one of those small groups and have stronger connections with fellow parents.

Bad Moms Amsterdam Edition

Jude's First "First Day of School"

Today was Jude's first day of "school." He has started his transition days in the Hedgehog Nursery group at the International School of Amsterdam. He will be going just a few hours a week until September 5th, when full days start for the little ones. There was a lot of anticipation for the day. We'd been telling Jude for weeks about starting at "daddy's school," and leaving Compananny. "But no me want new nannies. But not me want new friends." So sad to hear :(

I attended the lower school orientation yesterday without Jude and was fighting back tears just sitting in the auditorium listening to the principal speak. Why did no one tell me to bring tissues to orientation?! I was feeling such immense gratitude for Jude getting to start at ISA. There is a lot of buzz about kids starting school too early, but we knew he would be ready. At this point, the program is still just all about playing as day care would be anyway. And it appears to be a wonderful program. The facilities alone would make me almost consider paying tuition if he didn't get to go for free (almost). Seeing all of the older kids with their parents also had me thinking about how quickly time will go by and that before we know it we'll be sitting there with our 1st grader, 6th grader, high school senior....

The excitement of the day meant a bad night's sleep for everyone, but Maeve. Or maybe it was the 80+ degree heat and lack of air conditioning. We all made it out of the house just before 8 and drove in together. We get the perk of faculty parking right near the entrance of the school. Pete walked us down to the play area outside of the Early Education Center and then said his good byes as he had his own big first day to prep for. His department is just down the hall from Jude's room, which is so comforting should there ever be a problem. When it was time to enter the classroom, Jude became very apprehensive and wanted to stay in the hallway and just look through the window. He wasn't crying or clinging to me, but I could tell he didn't know what to make of this new situation. A few of the classroom assistants came out to try to coax Jude in and finally one was successful. It didn't take him long to see how awesome the classroom was and get to work playing. The group of 12 (will be 20 by the end of the year) students are split in two with only 6 in the classroom at a time for now. The 5 little friends we met today were Norwegian, German/Italian, Israeli, American and Dutch/Chinese. How fortunate are we to get the enrichment of such an international diverse playgroup??

ID badge is a bit too big

The boys on their first day

I told Pete that I was fine to get Jude to his classroom area, but Pete said that he really wanted to walk with him down the hall

The "science" table held Jude's attention the longest. At this point the teacher made a comment to please not dress kids in nice clothing that can get ruined by play. Thank goodness for that as Jude wears mostly hand me downs! 

And a Peppa Pig book!

The assistant was impressed that Jude asked permission to walk up the mirrored stairs as he didn't want to break them. 

When playtime was over, Pete came to meet us and we all walked back to his classroom where he was getting ready to meet with his seniors. Pete loves showing Jude off to his students and the students love ogling over Jude. 

Oh, yeah, Maeve was there, too, being just the sweetest. Smiling at everyone, napping in her stroller, making my life easy :) I have a feeling we'll have a lot of good family time within the walls of ISA. I can't get over how nice, convenient and fun it is to have Jude under the same roof as Pete!

Jude takes to the upper school halls. No Big Deal. 

New Beginnings

All good things must come to an end. After 8 wonderful weeks of Pete home this summer, he was back to school on Thursday prepping for the school year ahead. I was definitely in denial about his return and about the implications for me as a full time stay at home mom, at least for the next month before Maeve starts up at creche 2 days a week and I start working again.

With one final completely free weekend, Pete got to choose our Sunday outing. We revisited Utrecht for the morning and enjoyed the calm of the city on a Sunday morning. On our first visit to Utrecht, it was a busy Saturday with markets and a festival crowding the streets. This time, we got coffee and croissants and spent a lot of time sitting with a view of the Domtoren, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands. Every 15 minutes the bells would chime and the whole thing was so serene.

A long stop at a huge Utrecht playground and lunch at an outdoor cafe rounded out a fun outing.

On Monday, sweet Maeve turned 3 months. Wow, that went by fast!

Back to school shopping with a view! 

I had mixed feelings about being on my own with Maeve. I was sad not to have Pete around to share in all of her "first" moments and I also worried that if she had a fussy day, that I would be on my own to deal with it. With Jude, as I was new to the city, I was working hard to build up my support/social network. I would begin every week eagerly trying to make social engagements to occupy my time and some days would have no plans, rainy weather and a fussy baby. 

My first solo day with Maeve was perfection. I had forgotten about all of the perks of staying home with an infant. The day started early and I was on Museumplein changing a blowout before the Stadelijk museum opened its doors. After a walk through of the Amsterdamse School exhibit and some home goods shopping, I met up with my new mom group at the amazing Boezemvriend ("Breast friend") baby cafe and concept store. It is the ideal environment for little babies- very pro nursing with lots of comfy chairs, plenty of baby chairs, play mats and gyms and a huge selection of high end pregnancy, nursing and baby items. There was a big turnout this month and we stayed 3 1/2 hours, socializing with new friends. A stroll through sunny Vondelpark, a stop for ice cream and I was on cloud nine. 

Loving spending my days with this munchkin

Maeve and some new friends

On Friday morning, I walked with Maeve to our new house (30 minutes) where we met with a number of contractors and painters to start getting quotes for work that we'd like to have done. The current owners were so sweet. The wife pushed Maeve to sleep in the garden and stayed with her while I went all over the house. Then they let me stay to feed her while watching the Olympics and offering me tea. After our long visit, we set off to explore our new neighborhood. I found a few playgrounds within a few minutes walk, which I know Jude is going to love. I found the entrance to the Middelpolder, a recreation area with walking trails and scenic farmland along the Amstel River. We stopped in the local shopping center for lunch and I was amazed at the number of restaurants and shops just down the street from our house (from the outside it only looks like a few shops). While I was eating lunch, I ran into a woman who was in my prenatal yoga class. Her daughter is now 5 months old and we found out that we are moving to their street! It was a great morning getting excited about our new house and neighborhood (and neighbors).

My walking buddy

In the afternoon, I took Maeve to Baby Sensory class for the first time. This was a course I enjoyed with Jude when we first arrived and being back in that building brought back a lot of memories from our early days in Amsterdam. Two years really goes by quickly! I'm looking forward to more special time with my little girl! 

A Fly-by Tour of Bath

We had an early evening flight home out of Bristol, so we got out of Exmoor early and spent a few hours in Bath. It was definitely a fly-by visit, stopping for lunch, touring the Abbey and doing the lonely planet recommended walking tour, while Jude snoozed in the stroller. And we finally got our cream tea! It was a really beautiful city, one that we could have spent a lot more time in. 

Cream tea in front of the Abbey 

Church ceilings get me every time!

Riverside park

Bridge like the one in Florence 

Royal Theater

Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns (Pete the Classics major informed me of this)

The Circus

The Royal Crescent 

Would love to check out the baths if we return! 

The Tippbarlake ‘Wild Westcountry’ Exmoor Pony Herd Gathering

On Monday, we were in for a real treat, the Tippbarlake 'Wild Westcountry' Exmoor Pony Herd gathering, the world's largest free-living herd of Exmoor Ponies. After emailing to learn more, we were given an obscure address (just a postcode) and told to show up at 11am. Well, we did a fair amount of driving in circles before finally stopping at a farm to ask for assistance. Finally, we found the car convoy of pony seekers. We parked alongside the road deep in the heart of Exmoor and waited for the action to begin. Riders on horseback and people on ATVs were working behind the scenes to herd the ponies, who ran across the moors before descending into a valley and running through water to return back to the farm. It was a blustery, cold day. We waited anxiously and finally, ponies were spotted on the run. A few small groups and then a massive herd running across the stunning landscape! I captured some of this on video posted below. I love the video for the beauty of the moment and also for Jude's dire concern that I was going to drop my phone out of the car window :)

 From Wikipedia: The Exmoor pony is a horse breed native to the British Isles, where some still roam as semi-feral livestock on Exmoor, a large area of moorland inDevon and Somerset in southwest England. The Exmoor has been given "endangered" status by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and "threatened" status by The Livestock Conservancy. It is one of the British Isles' mountain and moorland pony breeds, having conformation similar to that of other cold-weather-adapted pony breeds. The Exmoor pony is hardy and used for a variety of equestrian activities. In its free-roaming state, the breed's presence on Exmoor contributes to the conservation and management of several natural pasture habitats.

After watching the herd, we went to lunch at the Staghunters Inn. This was a really authentic family run guest house and pub. We enjoyed the hearty, local fare, ales, ciders and very friendly bartender. 

Selworthy

Exmoor Beaches and the Porlock County Fair

The National Park was littered with hiking trails and without kids, we would have loved to take some nice coastal walks. We settled for one very easy walk from the town of Bossington to the sea, where a huge, empty, rocky beach awaited us. From a distance, it looks like a large, sandy beach, but looks are deceiving (and I suppose if it was a large, sandy beach, more people would be on it!).

Settled for making stone towers instead of sand castles. 

Maeve's vacation favs: 1. Sleeping in the car sear 2. Sleeping in the stroller 3. Sleeping in the carrier.
Maeve's vacation dislikes: 1. Not sleeping.

This little piggy... 

Craving a sandy beach, we headed to Minehead on the warmest afternoon of our trip. The tides in this area were very dramatic so the water was seemingly miles away, but there was sand and ice cream cones nearby. 

When we finally had our luggage back, we pulled out the kids' finest for a little photo shoot. Thank you, Sarah for Maeve's darling outfit :)

On Sunday, the village we were staying in, Porlock, had their annual Country Fair. We decided to have a car-free day and enjoy everything our village had to offer. Well, almost everything. We tried in vain on two different days to get the famed Cream Tea (scones with clotted cream, strawberry jam with tea). We found out that on Sundays, none of the Cream Tea places are open in Porlock. Trying again on Monday, we had our timing all wrong. We tried early, but places didn't open until noon. So we tried at the end of the day and were denied at two places at quarter to 5. Dang, we were disappointed!

Most days, horses were seen on the road to our cottage

Watermill cottage on our walk into town

Porlock- Delicious fish and chips at Piggy in the Middle!

The town playground was on the fair grounds and we spent a lot of the week here. 

Jude was not a fan of these ladies on stilts

After nap time, we made it back to the fair in time for the children's races. Jude competed in the 4 and under boys and it was so sweet to see him giving his all! He crossed the finish line (very near last) and screamed, "AGAIN!" Love that enthusiasm. Maybe we have a runner on our hands like his daddy!

The final event at the fair was called the dog and duck show. I was picturing a dog show where dogs are paraded around. Though the duck part had me puzzled. It wasn't until the show started that we realized it was a sheep herding dog show featuring ducks. We were all amused by the ducks going through the tunnel and going up and down the slide! Dinner at the Castle Inn pub ended our day in charming Porlock.