New Years out here

So, what do you do for New Years if 1) you live in a rural part of the Netherlands, 2) you cannot drink yourself stupid unless you stay home. Clearly, the correct answer is loads and loads of fireworks. They are legal from 10am tomorrow to early New Years day. Though, most of the neighborhood has been getting practice in the last two days or so.

I pick ours up tomorrow. We'll have some friends over. Any alcohol party for us is by necessity a slumber party, so we can only invite over as many people as can spend the night in our house comfortably. And, since we aren't 15 any more, we don't count an air mattress as comfort. So, if you weren't invited, it was because we ran out of bunk space -- not because we don't want to see you here!!!!

Happy New Years!!!

Christmas in the Netherlands

As my loyal readers know, I am Jewish. But, just as Christmas is a national holiday in the US, it is more so here. Starting in early December. It seems to be ramping up and up (without the carols, though with the pop songs)...then 25 December comes, and we don't really see much. No caroling. The place is shut down.

We celebrated with lots of cheer at the squadron, feeding those that were working and those who didn't have another place to be for the holiday. It was amazing good fun to cook with my friends in the gigantic squadron kitchen. Eric fried a turkey (that is becoming his specialty). I made gravy and lots of noise. Eileen spent most of the day in my sling as I wandered and danced around. She explored long enough to clean the floors and dirty her outfit.

The second day of Christmas is celebrated here, so we are just now thinking about wandering off to town to recycle diapers and buy knitting supplies (not that Eileen knits yet).

Bad Mother? I think not

For those of you who have missed the series on Eileen and me and the swimming pool, let's just recap: Eileen takes lessons. These are usually the highlight of my week. We have 45 minutes of concerted play time just the two of us, where I am not trying to clean or plan a meal, or pet a cat. Just her and me in the water. We did photos there. Anyway, last Friday was graduation. We didn't make it. Eileen was sleeping. I was sleeping. The day was going to be a long one, since it was the evening of the Volkel AFB Officer's Christmas Ball. So, those of you looking for a diploma for Eileen, you'll just have to wait until we take the same class next semester and graduate from it then! -- YES, there was supposed to be a diploma for her.

Oh, and the ball was gorgeous. It was inside what looked like a 16th or 17th century (no longer used) cathedral. Flying buttresses, wall paintings, an organ...and it is now a site for formal events. Candles burning overhead. A wonderful dinner. Dancing. Yes, I danced with someone not my husband (and of course with my husband, too). And Eileen was staying nearby (within an easy walk), at a hotel, with some of the world's best and most accommodating baby sitters.

Posts seem to be slowing down

It is time to admit what all bloggers eventually admit. I am certainly capable of going full force, but this is not my highest priority and with every day longer that I am here in the Netherlands, less seems to feel alien to me.

Eileen is becoming more and more sure on her feet. I am spending my days chasing my darling daughter.

That said, the kids holiday party, flower arranging, and Christmas cookie exchange were all great fun and with me having an In with Santa this year (look closely at the photo -- do you see a familial resemblance between Santa and Eileen?). I spent the kids' party doing a bunch of Origami with lots of wonderful kids, but it looked like a ton of fun for the kids. And, of course, I wished that I had a chance to put down the paper and go ask Santa for a gift too. And then today he handed me a stack of Sondheim sheet music!!!! So, I guess this has really been an exciting season for us.

I will still try to blog at least weekly, since things still surprise me here.

Baby Steps

Some of you have heard already, we have a baby stepping out. She can take about 4-5 steps before deciding that crawling is easier. Thanks to my friends Dana and Meredith who were over when this happened (okay, Dana made it happen :-)) last Thursday. Now, family knows, so the whole world wide web can know. YEAH Eileen! Let's see where those little feet take you (Sarah: don't worry, her feet are still a normal size for her height). The current key is that she needs to have a couple of things to move from here to there, so that she can't just put it in her mouth and crawl (which is much faster than her little steps).

Oh, and for those who worried about the sleep with us here, we have had 7 consecutive nights where she slept more than 7 hours at a stretch. Does anyone know how to prevent more teeth from coming in and bothering her sleep? (Just kidding).

Tis the Season

This will be mostly a military wife post. Last Saturday night was the squadron Christmas party. This was a catered affair with buffet and drinks that were covered with the ticket price. We had a lovely time. But had to go home to a sniffly baby who was with a sitter for her first time!!! (Yes, it took 10 months to see my husband without a baby nearby -- for those of you counting...where were the wonderful Altman girls when I needed them).

Tomorrow night is a cookie exchange and then we will be having the kids Christmas party on Sunday.

The following Friday is the Dutch Christmas party.

Which is great. I am happy to participate and to help where I can. I am having a wonderful time.

That said, I am reminded of my friends over the years who have all said that we should give gifts when we want to give gifts, not on a specific calendar day.So, after months of very little role as military wife, suddenly I am very busy. Again, not complaining (actually, enjoying...truly!) so much as thinking aloud that it would be fun to have an occasion beyond Christmas for getting together with my friends from the military side of life...perhaps Arbor Day or even the fourth of July!

Dining out

The local event of the season is the Squadron Christmas party. That happened on Saturday night. For those of you who are wondering, it was Eileen's first time with a baby sitter. A smashing success...So much so that we will do that again when we go to our Dutch friend's Christmas party.

We ate, drank, were merry...and did it in a very Dutch way: lot's of smoked fish and lots of heavy meats, not too much in the veggie world, but killer potatoes. And, as in our past catered experience, the drinks (which are usually meager) kept flowing. My water glass overfloweth.

We made up for that tonight at the Thai restaurant in town with our friends the Eulers. Shelby and I did Origami and we all had yummy food. Then we came home.

Memo to all those reading this: jet lag is hard on babies...but we are finally through it.

Do I love living here more than in America

Hello all;
I am back from the grandparent-a-looza tour 2008 with Eileen. We had a splendid time. But, time and again the question was turned to me: did I like living in the Netherlands more than in the US. I must say that I treat this question the same way my husband treats the "do I look fat in this" question: gingerly!

The truth is that there are some things that I love here. I love that we leave the back door open to visitors and neighbors when we are home and awake. I love that there are horses and cows and chickens and goats and a petting farm all on my usual walk with Eileen. I will admit that at least some of those things could be had in any rural location -- even in the states. I love the opportunity to learn a new culture (again, if I moved to the right location in the US, I might have that opportunity). I love that the bathrooms are usually clean here. I love that people are pretty hard working. I love that coffee is the national libation of choice (though of course miss having decaf as an option...Eileen stays awake when I imbibe too much real coffee). I love that the fritte are better on average than in the states and that they are a side dish with even pasta meals (yes, I am still a carb addict). I love that it is vividly green here, even on days with snow. I love the bicycles and the flatness. I love that my neighbors respond to questions with "it's no problem..." and really mean it.

I am not quite sold on the idea that groceries are closed on Sundays. I am equally uncomfortable with the fact that at least one of the people who asked the question was unable to wear his kippa (Jewish skull cap) in public without a baseball cap to cover it because of local anti-Semitism.

I had promised some further asides to the "You know you are an American living in the Netherlands if..." post:

you keep looking for good chocolate based on the idea that the Dutch learned to process cocoa. (Good chocolate is born in Vienna or Belgium)

you are surprised that the best beers are either 1) imported from Belgium or 2) available in the US (Hoegarten, Groelsch, Heineken (okay, so at least one of those is the Bud of the Netherlands)).

you think that bottomless drinks would be a revolutionary option here (where drinks are about 2 Euro and about .2 Liters in size).