the sun...

... has been out and so have I. Hope you're enjoying the weather as much as we are - heaven knows how long it will last.

Did I tell you about the time Max managed to crawl head-first into the bottom storage part of this here stroller and we could hardly get him out again?

sthpethial amsterdam finds

1. Authentic TitiCaca merchandise. The kids love these.

2. A fascinating read by world renouned author John Gordon Davis, famous for his collected, down-to-earth approach to everyday situations

3. Unfortunately no clothes are sold at this store.

julia is six!

After a week of some intense counting down (if you've ever visited our house, you know how all-important the art of counting is around here), Julia was finally able to celebrate her 6th Birthday today! She had her heart set on a princess cake for months and I nearly didn't attempt it. In the end I'm glad I did because the look on her face when I brought that thing out, all pink and sparkly, it was worth the countless hours in the kitchen (and exploded marshmallow mush in the microwave - ugh). Before going to bed I asked her if she had had a nice day, and she confidently told me it had been the. best. birthday. ever. Julia, I love you to pieces.

deity among deals

While walking through downtown Amsterdam with Liz yesterday, we ooh'd and aah'd at all the fun stuff that was to be seen and  bought. The reason we were there was so that I could go through the nerve wrecking process of renewing my American passport at the American Consulate. And so to celebrate that it had gone well, we shopped. We went from American Bookcentre to H&M, from Intertoys to luxurious soap shop, from De Slegte to jewelry store and finally our legs and tummies started to revolt. The golden arches eagerly greated us, and we sat down in their surprisingly comfortable and colourful lounge chairs to indulge in some fries and a honey-mustard wrap, while we rested our weary bones. We were seated on the second floor near a window and enjoyed watching out at the shoppers passing by. We agreed that next time we would forget about shopping altogether, and just people-watch for an entire morning or afternoon. (Though I'm not completely sure we would be able to actually forgo on the shopping :::especially when sales are on::: I am certain that we would have heaps of fun observing, scaling up, and jokingly judging everyone passing us by.) 

Suddenly we looked past the shoppers and noticed what was blatantly staring us in the face without us even realising it: a beautiful, quaint church, situated smack in the middle of all that bustle. Nobody was looking at it or even noticicing it, and nobody seemed to be entering in through its dark doors. We shared a look and agreed that that would be the next place we would visit. We sat and ate, rest, chatted and laughed until we were ready to leave (or rather until we were made ready to leave by the employee with the worst BO ever who kept hovering near our table), and we ventured out with curiosity as to what would await us once inside this little place of worship. The surprise was a happy one. It was nowhere near small on the inside, and the second the doors closed behind us, the noise and chatter from outside was shut out completely and we were greated with silence, and wonderful tranquility. We walked around, admired all the beautiful art and the impressive architecture and took pictures. 

So we found deity among deals, and religion amidst retail, the sacred between the sales. Yep, we felt pretty cool when we resumed our shopping.

speaking of analogies

Let us compare my household to the Blijdorp Zoo that we have recently acquired family passes to.

1. The sounds. Animal sounds and kid sounds are (obviously) very similar, and similarly loud. Add to that the sounds of a husband singing (I use the term loosely) Grease/Disney songs while washing dishes (don't look so surprised, everyone knows what a slavedriver I am), the sounds of 3 Skype accounts, 1 landline and 4 cell phones, 1 iPad, 1 laptop and 2 iPods, 2 TVs..... and the primitive, eardrum piercing screams when food is in Elliot's sight.... and you get the picture. That takes me to...

2. Feeding time. Much like an animal that relies on its caretaker to feed it at set times, my children circle doorways and hallways when I am working on a meal in the kitchen. Their hearing has evolved to something that can really only be called a sixth sense for that sound that is produced when turning the key in the lock to the pantry that houses the treats, or that little creak the one floorboard in the hallway makes that tips them that mama is on the move, and she might just be getting food. If I, once found out, do not proceed to sharing whatever food it is that I am getting/eating/preparing/standing-in-the-general-vicinity-of, they launch their attack. They open fire with a barrage of 'MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA MAMA's, and they do not stop until I give in. Once food has been given, it usually ends up everywhere. And please don't think I'm just saying that for effect. I have found strands of spaghetti stuck to a wall nowhere near the dinner table (they keep on sticking when they dry up, you never know when you might need that knowledge), had pretzels come tumbling out of my bra upon undressing for the night, green beans in diapers, potatoes under the couch, apples IN the couch, and (my favourite) bright orange babyfood flung high speed, Jackson Pollock style, onto my white living room wall and smeared all over Elliot's head. We saw a bird show at the zoo and one of the birds fed on snakes. It would find a snake, pick it up in its beak, and lift it up only to throw it down onto a hard surface with all its might to kill it so it could eat it... and I swear I've seen that happen in our house at least twice - though, granted, not with live prey.

3. The smells. You know what smells the absolute worst at the zoo? The bat cave. You know what smells the absolute worst at the Koot residence? Elliot's butt. I would say the level of nastiness is equal, or tipping the scale in favor of Elliot. Elliot Smelliot.

4. The cute. I don't think I have to explain myself when I compare baby elephants with Julia's huge eyes and shy smile when she goes 'I love you more'. Or when I compare a fuzzy baby llama to Elliot's curly mop that tickles every single cuddle bone in your body. How about when Max goes 'Ooh' in that tone that is halfway between 'Oh right, duh' and 'Ew', and sounds way too adult. Animals and kids alike, they are trying to kill me with cute.

5. Accidents. Rule: when you don't put a diaper on it, it will pee against the window for the world to see. This is widely known to go for both zoo animals as well as 3 year old boys.

6. Don't get too close. If you get too close you can get bitten, slimed, pee'd on, burped at, grabbed, smacked, inappropriately touched, knocked over, scratched, or suddenly find yourself in a not-so-symbiotic relationship.

There you have it. Living in this house is exactly like living at the Blijdorp Zoo, which is probably why we love going there/living here so much.