bookworm

Seriously, could there be anything cuter than that little nose buried in a book? I love a bookish man (or woman) of any vintage, but you really have to be under three to pull off those thighs in a onesie.

snow day

While we were braving the blizzards off the North Sea, our friends in New York were showing off with an even bigger one of their own. Our friend Manahi Taber-Kewene, a talented filmmaker, shot this little "home movie" during the blizzard. He kindly manned the camera at our kids' birthday party a few months ago and we haven't dared shoot any footage on our own since, it was so incomparable. Enjoy!

Snow Day from Reel Story Films on Vimeo.

goldilocks + the three bears go dutch

too big

Amsterdam (bicycle & tram traffic, stairs)

too small

Amsterdam (interiors, walkways, school)

Haarlem

Wassenaar

Delft

just right

THE HAGUE/DEN HAAG/LA HAYE

I may not be able to say basic phrases in Dutch yet, but I can scour a Dutch property agent's (makelaar) website without translation, and that is a bigger accomplishment than you might assume, since nothing even vaguely resembles English or French. We settled into a rhythm the last few days of our visit, cruising neighborhoods in Amsterdam and The Hague by car or on foot, then rushing back to our flat to look at long-term rental properties online.

Den Haag street scene courtesy of Trip Advisor

Choosing The Hague over Amsterdam (they are an hour apart) marks the first time in our lives we are making a material decision based exclusively on our children's well-being (how is the school, can they have a garden out back) against our own instincts (where is the cool art and shopping, could we be Quentin Tarantino writing a screenplay and live here). We'll see how that goes. We suspect our children are mini-Quentin Tarantinos in the making, so they might resent us for it.

The best Amsterdam/The Hague long-term rental websites we have found, should you wish to join us (or try out your own makelaar vocab skills):
pararius.com
funda.nl
expatrentals.com

And the more obscure:
engelvoelkers.com/nl
haagen-partners.nl
vriesrobbe.nl
dehaagschemakelaar.nl

five days in

It is one thing to explore a new place as a tourist, and something else entirely to have one's first visit hold the possibility of finding a home. The last time I felt this way I was seventeen, pulling six months' worth of suitcase behind me as I walked the half-block from where the airport bus had dropped me on Bayswater Road to the student housing. It was early morning and all my senses were heightened. Every detail I saw held the promise of becoming part of me. The world was new.

Of course, it is now myself, a husband, and two little genetic copies making our way into this new world. So when, following a red-eye flight, we opened the street door to find two treacherously steep flights of stairs between us and our elegant "first floor" rented apartment, it felt less that like an imposition than a tidbit of information that helped us rule out nearly every long-term rental on our list. Similarly helpful, our "convenient proximity" to the peaceful-looking tram, which turns out to be quite disruptive when it rumbles by the apartment at night, and walking amongst the bicycles that look so charming from afar, but assume the character of NYC cabbies once they are criss-crossing pedestrian paths.

When we spent our first full day hunting down a carseat to replace the one Townes ruined on the plane (yes, it was a memorable flight),  driving to Haarlem through a blizzard to explore residential neighborhoods, and sitting in a hospital waiting room with a feverish baby, rather than feeling frustrated that the day had been so logistical, we congratulated ourselves on giving the place an accurately quotidian tryout. The subsequent days' meetings with schools and the English branch of our church filled in more of the picture, while delicious food (Indonesian, French, pofferjes, and chocolate, of course!), a little BBC programming, and an impromptu road trip to Germany for work reminded us why we wanted to do this crazy thing in the first place.  And luckily I have a Henry James novel from Audible to go to bed with at night, lest the existential questions crowd out sleep.

Five days in, it feels like we have already moved here; maybe a little too much so. What will the remaining five days hold? If I have my way, a chance to slow down, explore, and fall so much in love that we can't wait be back in a few months' time on a more permanent basis.

notable quotes 5.0 / 1.0

She's getting to be too smart for her own good, and fiction is more fun than fact, in her world. Who knows the extent of what is going on in that beautiful little head of hers. A few pieces of the puzzle that is our Violet:

Moms always tell the truth; dads sometimes tell jokes.

I need to grown my hair out long, because when I cut it in Spain I told my long hair I would see it again soon.

I know how Jesus made us.  He colored paper skin color, then cut it out and sewed it together.  Then He put it over our bones and used Glory to make us sort of come alive. That's how He did it!

Can I have the trousers [tweezers] out of your makeup bag?  I need to get this off of Dopio [she points to a clump on her stuffed dog's belly that needed to be removed]. Do you know why Dopio didn't cry?  Cause...he's...a...boy!  Boys don't cry. Ever.

Violet:  Mom, can you sing me a song about unicorns?

Me: I don't know any songs about unicorns...

Violet: Can you make one up?

Me:  Um... [I manage a feeble verse]

Violet: Not a short song about unicorns!  Make up a long song about unicorns!

Us: Where should we move to in Europe, Violet? If we could live anywhere?
Violet: Mmmm, I think any of those places we went last summer would be good. Except Spain. Definitely not Spain.
Us: Why not? You had so much fun in Barcelona, and San Sebastian...
Violet: Yeah, but those people don't know what to do with their al-coo-hol. [Apparently, the impression left by the running of the bulls was not a fleeting one.]

Me:  Violet, you would be a good writer. You are very good at coming up with new scenarios.

Violet:  What's a scenario?

Me:  It's a situation in which a story can take place.

Violet:  Yes, that's right.  It's also a breakfast cereal.  And the name of that guy crossing the street over there, the one in the black hoodie.

And I'd like to welcome TTO to Notable Quotes!  He has been waking up half-an-hour earlier than the rest of us just to lie in his crib and practice his talking and singing, so I think he has earned a little recognition.  I am including hand signals and body language, since they are an essential part of our communication right now:

ont dat! + emphatic pointing = i want that

dis + emphatic pointing = i mean this

allo!  bon jo! + enthusiastic waving = hello!  bonjour!

no!!! + rapid head wagging = yes or no

schoos (or buts) + extended foot & wiggling toes = shoes or boots, please

bay bun + violently but rhythmically shaking head up and down = the belly button song

baaa baaa + running to and pointing at door = let's get out of here

but-ton = emphatic pointing = i must press button (or hole, or black mark, or screw)

buuk + running with object in raised arms = please read me a book

g'ma = grandma

maman or ma'am + running with upward reaching arms = mommy

mom = food
meow or boll = milk or bottle

dad or dada = daddy

dada = (alt meaning) dance dance

bilate or ssss = violet

g'pa + waving or pointing = grandpa (or daddy, if he's been gone awhile)

awwww + cheek pressed against cheek, stuffed animal, or pillow = let's cuddle

We're off on a sightseeing (home finding?) tour of Amsterdam and The Hague tomorrow.  I'll be in touch!