Category Archives: Expat life

Traveling camaraderie

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Today I’m traveling, yes again!! However today it’s different, I’m traveling alone! I’d really forgotten what stress free travel was like, I’m not in a panic, hurry or harassed. I’ve has a leisurely Starbucks, I’m not walking around schipol airport like a pack horse, with trains, Muslins cloths coming out of every available pocket! AND I’ve traveled light!!

However all the above experiences have changed me, changed my traveling attitude and changed it for the better. Before two became four I found children in airports so annoying, I worked with them all my adult life so I certainly didn’t need them invading my holiday! The sound of a child crying filled me with terror, praying to every god available that you weren’t sat anywhere near them. Like I said I’ve changed, I had to change because 99.9% of the time I am the parent of that screamer! I’m the parent that’s desperately trying to look like she’s taking it in her stride, when underneath you feel like you could quite easily have a heart attack, sweating profusely and stripping off every available, appropriate item of clothing. All because of THAT passenger, the passenger I used to be. The one that gives you the disapproving look, the one that’s disgusted that you even dreamt of traveling with those demonic little elves you own. Today that’s not me, I’ve noticed there’s a unspoken camaraderie between traveling parents, those who are traveling with or those who are lucky to have left their children at home. So why this camaraderie, well you see Mr irritated passenger we have an advantage over you and we’re smug about it and quite rightly so, you see we can block out a child’s screaming as we have everyday so it doesn’t bother us. Not being able to sleep through a child crying on a plane? A parent can, how? Because we’re so exhausted we’d sleep on the engine!
So instead of being a selfish traveler who’s flapping in a hurry, slow down and why not help those parents and in return we might if we’re feeling generous tell you the secret of our special gifts!!
Happy traveling!

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3

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As the big 3 birthday gets closer & closer and I will undoubtably be up to my eyes in Thomas the Tank birthday paraphernalia I’m starting to get a bit mushy and all warm and cosy inside. I look at my baby, he’ll always be my baby and a see such a gorgeous, intelligent, stubborn amazing little man.

However, him growing up and becoming 3 is one step closer to starting school, Dutch school!!! The first school is uncharted territory for most parents but the first school where you as a parent don’t speak or understand the language is even more scary. I always dreamt of helping LPV with his phonics and I’m so sad that I wont get the opportunity to be “all hail Mammy, queen of the phonics”. I worry that I’ll be no help at all as I’ll be like a school kid trying to learn it myself.

I worry about him being the odd one out, the kid who’s Mammy can’t talk to the other Mammies. Will the fact that he is not a native make him an easy target for being bullied. It’s a year away but these things still keep me awake at night, should we go see the international school? Will his friends constantly leaving or changing at international school be more detrimental than putting him in a dutch school?

These worries have been exacerbated by a local kid being aggressive to LPV today, he was playing happily when this kid hit him with a toys bus, he cried but got on with it. The next thing this kid is squaring up to LPV and roaring at him, really aggressively. LPV kind of cower and winced with every roar and I just wanted to shout  ”get  stuffed your horrible brat” or words to that effect but I also have to let him fight his own battles too.

I’m not saying if we were anywhere else in the world I would have worries but if we spoke the language I think I wouldn’t threat so much. I have to start my dutch lesson again, I know that but with two children one of who only being 4 months the thought of trying to learn a language makes me want to curl up and rock!!

I’m sure he’ll be as amazing as ever and adjust brilliantly but until that happens I’ve a whole year to worry about it.

Friday night

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You know the usual…….Getting ready with music blasting, cosmopolitan in hand, 4inch heels, little black dress!!! Yes maybe about 15 years ago!!

My friday involved me Knuffling!! Me and a friend went to a Knuffle workshop, I said yes but quickly had to google it as I had no farking idea what it was. Google was useless and gave me the impression my mate had signed us up for a workshop of hugs!!! Yes a big group of strangers hugging each other for two hours with free tea/coffee and biscuits. Thankfully it was not apparently a Knuffle is a Dutch soft/cuddly toy!!

Well you learn something new each day!! I’m so worldly & cultured I scare myself when I look in the mirror.

Anyhoo I went and I made a knuffle, now bearing in mind the only time I ever pick up a needle and thread is to fix the wire back into my bra, I actually had a really good time. I came I sewn I conquered the knuffle making!! I even used the sewing machine and educated the Dutch women who were there on the over use of the words “oh Crap”. Here’s the end product.

Knuffles

Knuffles

Now mine is the stripy demented looking starfish thing, it’s actually supposed to be a cat but I changed my mind and decided to go for monster!! EPD says it looks like something from cbeebies and when I showed LPV he said “wow Mammy, its Raa Raa“

It’s funny how things change, I guess it comes with getting old more worldly & cultured!! This would have been my idea of hell on a friday night about 15 years ago but I had a great time and loved being out of the house. Lord only knows I needed it, I’ve been fairly down over these last few days, unfortunately for reason I can’t go into details about. All I can say is that I’m in mourning….not over the loss of someone close to me thank goodness but in mourning over something I so desperately wanted. I came so so close to having it, so close I could hear, smell it taste but now its gone and I’m so sad. I feel that the sadness is a wee bit exacerbated but the fact I keep forgetting my meds but still sad all the same. Hopefully it will pass, I’m praying it will.

Anyhoo I’m going to leave you with the scary image of  ahem.. Raa Raa the cbeebies Cat monster!! Oooh maybe that could be an idea for a new program…. anything better than Granny farking Murray

Treading water

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Quick, quick I have to type quickly…..You see I’ve managed to get both children to sleep at the same time, both in their beds, at the same time….AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!

So how have you been, well as the title explains I’ve been treading water in this pool if parenthood. having two children is hard, fantastic but hard. It’s mainly finding a schedule that fits with us all which is the hard part but it will happen over time I guess.

I’ve been brave tho, I’ve attempted outings with the two…..on the bus aswell…I know!!!! One was a success one was an absolute disaster which ended in me muttering to myself all the way home about how much I hate this country and being an expat!! When things go wrong I always blame the country I’m in… It’s an automatic response, and as for hating a being an expat? I just go home and go to my local Asda full of pyjama wearing shoppers and then I love it again. Don’t get me wrong, I love Asda im not Asda bashing I’m shopping in Pyjamas bashing!!!

Well since my last post, we had Miss C christened, which was a truly awesome day, so lovely to have all the family together, plus having our dear friends over from the  United States was the icing on the christening cake so to speak. Miss C was an angel all day and looked absolutely beautiful (as usual) in her christening gown. We got to show our friends round Cork as we were so unbelievably lucky with glorious weather for the entire time in Ireland. For those of you who haven’t been to Ireland this is an extremely rare occurence, which is such a shame as in the sunshine the country is truly magnificent.

We’ve also brought Miss C home to her hood!!! Brissle man!!! She had her first trip home to Bristol, via the channel tunnel. She’s so well-traveled already, I’m so proud of my children both survived a 10 journey in the car with minimal moaning. Every parent is proud of their children but its  absolutely amazing when strangers approach you and compliment them. This happened to us in Reading services, a woman approached EPD and said she’d been watching Miss C and thought she was the cutest baby ever……..she is!!!

Next when we packing up to continue our journey and elderly couple said out of the blue “you should be proud of him, he’s an amazing child, so intelligent” we said thank you and that we were, they kept us chatting for ages about LPV the lady said that she was a retired peadiatrician and thought he was amazing at how he spoke, acted and inquisitive about his surroundings. I just absolutely beamed with pride, we’ve been experiencing some bad terrible two’s with him so this gave me such a boost that I’m not doing such a bad job after all. A friend posted a blog post the other day about how we’re all so negative a parenting. Yes it is hard, sometimes I want to run for the hills and cry but it made me think about how I should focus on something positive each day. Take today for instance, they both went to sleep at the same time, to get Miss C sleeping in her cot is an achievement ok it didn’t last long *she currently in her swing crying* am I a bad mammy for still typing? No I’m not going there, she’s been fed, changed, cuddled, played with, what she needs is a long sleep!! Also LPV and I had a great game of Gruffalo snap after playschool, small things but special things.

So what have been positive parts of your day today??

Anyhoo here’s a wee pictures of our travels to Cork & Miss C’s christeningDSC_0767 DSC_0820 DSC_0824 DSC_0827

LPV was the entertainment, I hope the Corrs are ready cos my wee family are going to kick their musical butts!!

LPV was the entertainment, I hope the Corrs are ready cos my wee family are going to kick their musical butts!!

 

Birth

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Do you what? I had a baby two weeks ago!!! Lol, im sure your all bored of my instagram, twitter & facebook photo’s of her!! I cant help it im too proud of my beautiful wee angel.

I wrote in a post just before the birth about how impressed I was with the care I was recieving here in Holland, I have to say that my birth experience was no exception. My beautiful wee girlie was born by elective section. We rocked on up to the hospital at 6:30 in the morning, were given a huge room, this made up for the lack of valet parking that we had in Dubai right to the entrance to the NICU.  I was really anxious especially as I knew that EPD would be there to hold my hand during the epidural. I got dressed or undressed into what has to have been the smallest hospital gown EVER, you know the type, cover you from the front but your arse hangs out for all to see, well not only did my arse hang out but it barely covered the baby’s fire escape so to speak!!

I had a catheter inserted, not a pleasant experience!! Blood taken, a venflon meant for a horse inserted and my infusions started. 8am on the dot I was being wheeled down to theatre/waiting area. EPD wasn’t allowed to come in at this point he had to wait until the theatre was ready then he was allowed in. It was the longest wait of our lives and I could feel myself wanting to cry anytime anyone was nice to me. The epidural was problem free and thankfully I didn’t have the awful electric shocks down my legs like last time. I was quite grateful as I didn’t was to shout obscenities at the staff. EPD joined me and………….slice!!

The whole operation seemed to take longer this time, I’d given EPD strict instructions to follow that baby regardless of what was happening to me, good or bad. i was quite proud of him this time, he cut the cord and was still vertical after doing so. It was a bit of bloody mess so to speak, apparently I’d lost a lot of blood, most of it was all over the surgeons shoes!! Well who wears white shoes to theatre eh? My bladder was attached to my uterus so they had to detach it which took ages. Finally I was stitched up and off to see my little girl, she was just so beautiful, however it was heartbreaking to me to see her on a drip, for her own good tho and she was being well cared for.

Anyway after 4 days in hospital we’re home, sleep deprived beyond belief, smelling of sour milk as my wee angel likes me to be stinky milky mammy instead of yummy mammy. Her big bro is terrified of her but is being very caring towards her, he hasn’t wanted his photo taken with her, I’m not pushing him into anything, I’d rather her just pays her positive attention at his own pace.

So there’s my little update for now, I’m going to try nd stay on top of this blog but I can’t promise anything!!!!!

Not to brag but I am, we’ve been nominated for best travel blog in the MADS award, please feel free to vote for us.xxxx
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