best things from home

well, dorothy said it best after she clicked her heels together. . . and it's true, so so true. best things about being home (in no particular order):
1. michael making coffee in the morning
2. owen playing with sierra doggy pretending he's a horse and yelling "kittycatkittycat" up the stairs
3. sleeping in our own bed, even if five bodies are snuggling up on one queen sized bed
4. ahhhh. bathtub. bathtub. bathtub.
5. this, right now. my office hour. closing the door, upstairs, in my own corner of the office with my coffee while michael and owen play downstairs in the garage/playroom.
and really these these bests all have to do with all of us (dog and cat included) being together.

ok, i promised myself a quick post as my office hour today is so i can keep these little wheels of mine turning. i've got an amersfoort paper draft here and various and sundry school-ish things to do. but i couldn't resist sharing these holiday pics.

some best snapshots:
1. owen and mama making cookie dough christmas red--a great opportunity for owen to show off his counting skills "ooooonetwothreefiveseveneighteighteighthoooorah!eight)(while nana pulls the first batch of purple cookies out of the oven off screen):
2. owen wearing great (great?) aunt fredonia's apron he found in the back of the towel drawer (while mama and nana sweep sprinkles up off the floor):

3. christmas eve-day at the beach:4. see best-thing #2 above (and owen holding his favorite "bag"--his easter basket from grandma--he carries around with treasures he finds around the house)5. owen sitting on santa-papa's lap christmas day:which leads to all the best things about christmas: sal and jenn spending christmas eve with us and then playing with owen and his new kitchen while michael and i opened our gifts to each other on christmas morning, nana and papa playing with owen's new legos, edy and jerry remembering stockings for sierra and izzy, our neighbors joining us for christmas dinner, owen's absolute joy each time he opened a new present "train! tRAIN! EEEEllllmo! ooooooh! circle circle color crayons yellow!" and his continued use of "donkuvelle" along with please and tankyooou and how he stopped and had to play with each toy for half an hour before he would even consider untying another bow.

what we like about the dutch--

basically, all things dairy. (which kind of overlaps with chocolate but that's a different video/post--because owen has started to beg and plead for chocolate). but the best part about going ot the supermarket is the yoghurt aisle. and i kid you not, there is an entire aisle for this stuff--and it's better than ice cream. our favoirte is the "booredvol" brand fruitwark volle milk (oh yeah, only the full fat stuff!)--especially the vanilla mango passionfruit. mmmm.

here's fruitwark I--owen enjoying a bowl:



and fruitwark II--owen cleaning up after fingerpainting:

owen chasing ducks

michael caught this at the hogue veluwe park--the amazing wildlife park around the kroller muller museum. we went for a bike ride which started out lovely enough with crisp, but clear skies. we stopped here to see the ducks and the scenic panorama of the hunting lodge in the background. we never made it there--let's just say the ducks were the highlight and owen is not a big fan of being cold while the wind hits his face.

enjoy the quack quacking!

owen puts on a show

Found this resturant with a stage which was perfect to occupy Owen's time while we eat our dinner and socialize with some friends. The stage came complete with a fish-tank background. Enjoy..

rain, rain

it's one of those red stomping boot days, but instead owen and i have stayed inside in our pajamas all morning. the heat is on and the window is cracked open just enough to hear the "drip drop drip drop." and i have to say this is one of those days i'm just happy to be here.

i've been working mornings all week doing revisions on my dissertation chapter (yes, the same one i've been gestating since owen was born) while owen hangs out with wout--an artsy dutch youth who while he figures out his existential place in the universe babysits and writes ironic poems and plays in dutch. his dream is to move to romania with his friend's cousin who bought some abandoned village for 10 euros and they all plan to live off the land as artists. he's the son of one of the inn owners that michael's stayed at these last few months. he comes with pretty good credentials and so far is my favorite dutch person. he finds blue's clues quite illuminating and takes owen to his old elementary school around the corner where there's a big slide. anyhow, it's been a productive respite for me.

but, nothing beats time with owen. he's grown so much here, and not just in the--pajamasaretootight kind of way, but grown into his big personality. he's so loving and funny and i think becoming quite the artist. maybe all those museum trips are having an effect ;) he's napping now after a busy morning with color crayons, elmo and playing tickle "hut one hut two" with mommy (guess who taught him that game?).

anyhow, our time here is getting down to days and i'm anxious to see nana and papa, our friends, and the doggy and kitty. our house will seem palatial after all sharing this one room--i've been dreaming of our big soak tub and our queen sized bed (with no drafty gaps in the middle!) and fluffy down pillows--but there's just something simple and loving about all being in this room together. maybe we'll just all huddle in our living room and sleep on the couch. either way, i hope we take this, whatever "this" is home with us even if we leave the rain behind.

Trainspotter



A video of Owen watching a big train go by -- he's very excited about the trains and good thing this country is full of 'em. We ended up taking the train from Amersfoort to Amsterdam for the day. Ended up at the Ann Frank Huis, where he and her family hid out during the German/Nazi invasion... very interesting if you've never seen it. But Owen did not seem to enjoy it too much, and we "hurried" thru some sections. ... Let's just say that Owen embarassed us a bit...

amersfoort postcards

thought i'd share a few snapshots of our surroundings. yesterday i took these pics out our window. the weather's started turning cold again after an unseasonably warm week but the starkness is actually quite beautiful against the brick that is ubiquitous here in amersfoort.things are a little slow at b&d so michael was able to log in "at home". we took a walk around the stadsring--the outer circle of the city along the river/canal and let owen stomp in the leaves before lunch. owen and i take this walk quite often and usually get to see some dogs and ducks. just have to watch out for dog bombs, if you get what i mean. apparently people don't carry "doggie bags" like they do back home. but owen's got his red stomping boots so it's all good.

here's owen waving "hi mama! hi mama! hi mama!" and "sitting" with me for a picture at the park bench. these snaps i think are the best part of being here, of being anywhere really with my guys.