Yep. My husband came home with an inflatable boat to take out into the canals with the boys. Since we arrived in the Netherlands he has wanted a boat. “When you live below sea level you should have a boat” he always says. The past year he has been hoping to find a little one …
One of the things I really love about living in the Netherlands is the focus on living with the land. We are surrounded by livestock in yards, petting zoos and farms. Shopping at the farm or market means making a connection with the food and where it is coming from. Our eggs are so farm fresh, …
My friend B, who is blogging over at Out of Edwards, always finds the best gear. She came to visit a few weeks ago and had the absolute best travel bag: The Fjallraven Totepack No. 1. The pack is slim and fits right into my bike panniers, even when fully packed. I used to just throw …
The boys’ birthdays are both in the spring, so I decided I would just have one big party for both of them. They are both very into camping and adventure so we decided to have an American camping party. Traditional Dutch birthday parties are a bit different than what we are used to. They involve …
When we made the move to the Netherlands we left behind my car, opting to just bring Jeff’s smaller vehicle with us. My car was swiftly replaced by my mamafiets (a mama bike) upon arrival in August. In late November I added a Bakfiets for some extra cargo space. It also provided a better option for transporting …
On April 27th, the Netherlands celebrates Kings Day wishing King Willem-Alexander a happy birthday. The holiday has a reputation for being one big crazy party, but my experience here in Delft was quite different. The reputation may hold true in Amsterdam, and perhaps even in the evenings in a student dominated town like Delft. The …
I love books. If you read this blog regularly you know I’m constantly trying to find great books that go along with our adventures. Queue a brilliant program I accidentally discovered here in the Netherlands – Wandering Books! We were sitting in a cafe in Breda when H found a whole stack of fun kids …
We love the playgrounds in Europe. I daily have to shove all the feelings of danger that (a) being American and (b) having taken a few tort classes has instilled in me. The Dutch way is to let kids experience some danger and if they get hurt then they learn from it. You won’t find …
Last week the Washington Post parenting section published an article “Are they the world’s most relaxed moms? What we can learn from the Dutch.” My Facebook feed and e-mail exploded with people asking if the article’s premise was true. Yes. Dutch moms are incredibly relaxed. Just like the author of this article, I’m living in the Netherlands with …
We’ve had a run of bad lucky lately around here. In the course of a month we have endured the breaking of an iPhone, a computer, a car, a train and a baby. I’m really hoping we are done. Here though is a run-down of how we weathered the storm and the lessons to be learned …