Halloween 2016 Edition!

Halloween 2016- check! It was a long weekend of celebrations and fun activities. Couple that with day light savings and a toddler who woke at 5am this morning and we are spent! It was so fun to see Jude's joy in being Mickey Mouse and trick or treating. ISA had their trick or treating Friday night in the school parking lot ("trunk or treating"). The start time was too late for Maeve so Pete took Jude solo. He had fun seeing school friends and playing games. He was really hopeful that he would get crackers since he doesn't like candy :) His words!

He choose his costume this year (I knew I only had a few years to decide for him!). When we asked him why he wanted to be Mickey Mouse (we don't watch this or have any books about Mickey) he recalled the time we went to the immigration office in Amsterdam to retake his ID picture and while he was waiting, there was a little Disney TV screen showing a Mickey Mouse show. This kid's memory is unreal. It was an easy costume to put together after getting the ears second hand for 2 euro. He also requested that Maeve be Minnie Mouse. I really should have thought of a cute idea for her, but it was hard to deny Jude. Plus she had a polka dot dress and hair bow so the work I had to put into the costume was nil- welcome news for this currently spread thin mama.

Saturday morning we made it to the apple picking orchard, Olmenhorst just before they closed for the season. Finding good apples was actually a challenge! It made it more fun though and a real adventure climbing high for the last pickings. Back at home, we made Maeve some fresh, homemade apple sauce. Killing it on the mom front!

In the afternoon we met our old Dutch neighbors at Boerderij Meerzicht AKA the Pancake house in the bos. Every day should begin and end with pancakes (with a few apples in between, you know, to keep the doctor away).

Sunday we packed in Jude's gym class and then beelined it to the Amsterdam Mamas Spooky Buggy parade in Beatrix Park. It was another gorgeous fall day and fun to run into a lot of mom friends and kiddos. In the afternoon, we needed some downtime at home so we had a friend over to play.

Today was the grand finale of Halloween. Jude dressed up at school and attracted a lot of "Awwws" from the upper school students. We made ghost lollipops over the weekend to share with his classmates, much to the annoyance of his classmates' parents (they told me at our little parent coffee meeting). I think they can deal with sticky faced kids for one day a year so we can indulge our precious American traditions :) Though, embarrassingly, when they asked me about the origins of Halloween, I had no idea! Must wikipedia that when I find a free moment...

Today was Maeve's last day at Compananny. She starts at the Dutch daycare on the corner of our block on Wednesday. We all paid a visit to say goodbye to Jude's last remaining nanny who has taken such good care of Jude and now Maeve while they've been there. Then it was battling traffic to get into the Oud Zuid trick or treating. It was our first year taking part thanks to the invite from a friend. Such a nice evening and festive atmosphere. If it weren't for the Dutch people saying "alsjebieft" when Jude thanked them for the candy, I would have thought we were back in the States! He was so cute running up the doors and trying to pick up a single piece of candy wearing the Mickey gloves!

Can't wait to see my newsfeed tomorrow morning (or at 3am when I'm up with Maeve- who am I kidding!) of everyone's kiddos dressed up! Happy Halloween!

Ready for Friday's trick or treating. Halloween costume is still pristine

Apples in there somewhere??

 I love comparing this photo above with last year's!

Great turnout for the parade through Beatrix Park

He was really excited to run into his buddy Tinkerbell. Here are the cuties last year as Super girl and a bunny!

 And our sweet Minnie.

Tonight's trick or treating: 

Our little trooper. 

Don't Rush the Seasons

We got a reminder from Pete's school today about Day Light Savings happening this weekend (it's next weekend for you in the US). I looked out my window at a lovely sunset at 7pm with the colors of fall on the nearby trees and started to mourn a bit for the end of fall and the coming of winter.

Time marches on, much quicker than I'd like it. Maeve will be 6 months in 2 and a half weeks and I just can't believe it. It seemed to take forever for Jude to reach 6 months and this time, it has gone by in a flash. You can't help but compare your children. Jude was our active, pay-attention-to-me, don't-want-to-sleep-and-miss-a-thing darling baby and Maeve is our chill, i'm-cool-on-my-own, put-a-paci-in-me-and-i'm-out sweet girl. Jude was a watch pot waiting to boil. When will he roll?, when will he sit up/crawl/walk/talk?, when will he sleep through the night? We wanted these things to happen early as if his accomplishments would prove that we were good parents. It was impossible not to compare his development with others his age. And now, with Maeve, excuse my language, but I just don't give a dang! Baby girl can take her sweet time with everything because she is likely our last and I want to savor it all. Even the night wakings because I know there will be an end and I will miss the weight of her in my arms and her warm, soft baby skin against mine. In the immortal words of Taylor Swift, "Oh darling, don't you ever grow up. Don't you ever grow up. Just stay this little." :)

I'm reading The Light Between Oceans and boy does it make me thankful for my babies. I will continue to appreciate them in the now and try not to fast forward this sweet process of parenthood. And I will continue to document "how they were" so I will never forget these precious times.

October 23, 2016

Wow, this post got a lot sappier than I intended. It's just something I've been thinking a lot about and wanted to put on "paper." I imagine this resonates with the other parents out there?

Playtime in Luxembourg City

Our final day was spent exploring Luxembourg City. The most impressive thing about it was how it is built up on a hill and had great views over the old parts of the city from the top. Otherwise, the city was a wreck with massive, noisy construction projects so that took away from its appeal on this visit. It would be nice to go back in warmer weather for comparison- totally doable at it is only 4 hours away. I'm not sure I'd ever heard of Luxembourg before we moved here (I'm a math and science gal, not a geography buff!). European countries that are even smaller than Luxembourg: Vatican City (check), Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Malta (our April break destination), and Andorra. Had you heard of all of these?

We went to the tourist office and got directions to the infamous "pirate ship" playground in the city park. People in Luxembourg speak French, German and Luxembourgish as well as English and who knows what other languages! Apparently in schools there, the students alternate the language they are taught in every year! We had heard that the international school there was very well paying and considered looking into a move there in the future, but we are happy in Amsterdam and enjoy the city here a lot more.

Built into the bedrock under the original Luxembourg City fortress are extensive casements that began around 1644. You can still tour the tunnels that remain, which would have been really cool, but it was not stroller accessible so that was out. So instead, we took the much more modern elevator to the old district of the Grund below. The Natural History Museum was closed for renovations, but we found another playground at the foot of the fortress where Maeve took her first swing ride!

Back at the AirBnB I offered to take Maeve for a walk, while the boys picked up dinner so that I could enjoy the beautiful scenery. It was really nice to spend "fall break" soaking in fall instead of trying to find warmer weather elsewhere. Looking forward already to next year's trip... wherever that may be! Au revoir and chus Herfstvakantie!

Next Stop: Luxembourg!

Thursday we were off for the last stop on our road trip, a tiny town in France on the border of Luxembourg. This is what happens when you wait last minute to book a place to stay in Luxembourg city and can't find a place! Very unlike me! We just moved house with two little ones so I'll cut myself slack.

The Vosges mountains were peppered with castles, chateaux, and fortresses, all inviting you to drive up into the mountains to have a look. With limited time, we chose one spot to visit on the recommendation of a friend and headed to the Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey, a current nunnery. It was a grey, foggy morning and very cool to see the fog filtering over the mountains. They say this is the driest region of France because the mountains keep the poor weather away. Most days that is! You know what else is cool? The leaves of vineyards also change color in the fall! This never occurred to me before, but all of the hillsides were a beautiful deep yellow color from the changing leaves!

It was cold and wet at the top so we zoomed around the outside, taking in the buildings and then took shelter in the cafeteria. The sky was clearing as we left, giving way to great views over the Alsace and of the autumn colors.

From the abbey, we hit the road and after a quick roadside blowout fix (not a tire), both kiddos were fast asleep and we enjoyed the most beautiful, silent ride through the countryside! We passed through so many adorable towns as we made our way to the main highway.

After checking into our AirBnB, we crossed the border into Luxembourg- a new country for all of the Durneys! One of Pete's coworkers used to live in Luxembourg city and had given us a few recommendations. We drove to Remich, a town on the Mosel river bordering Germany, also known for its wine. We hit a wine bar to try the goods and then had a lovely stroll along the river. No playground in site, but we made our own fun with a pile of leaves and a muddy puddle.

Remich

Mosel river

Germany on the other side of the river

I love fall!

We were on our way back and I was directing Pete with my phone from the back seat. I told him to turn left and was so confused when he made a sharp right into a parking lot. And then I saw what was before my eyes! Pizza Hut!!! Where was this when I was pregnant and craving it. Never mind, I was so excited just the same. Nothing like a gourmet meal in a new country :) Jude loved it, too! So now we just need to drive to Luxembourg on the reg to fulfill my cravings!