music monday V0.7

I just want to share one song/video with you this week. I may have watched it 8 times in a row tonight.... it's so beautiful.

So beautiful!

Other highlights from my weekend include finally getting the Easter decorations up, baking the best chocolate cake in the world (I'm not one for humility when it comes to cake), seeing a rainbow with the kids and telling them the story of how rainbows came to be, and contemplating the Easter story. It gets to me big-time, every single year!

i do like a good movie...

... and so I have been keeping tags on all the movies I have seen so far this year:

1. 'The Upside of Anger'. Which featured Joan Allen, being very angry, all the time.

2. 'The Good Shepherd'. I watched this late at night and I was very tired.. I have no idea what it was about. I faintly recall Matt Damon being nerdy?

3. 'Arthur en de Wraak van Malthazard'. One of those part animation, part real movies with that kid who played Charlie in the slightly worse remake of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. When thing finally got, ehm, exciting... the movie ended in that LOtR, to be continued kind of way and a Disney-ish cover of 'Pokerface' started playing. I felt odd walking out of there with my 6-year-old shimmying to '...I'll get them hot, show them what I've got...'

4. 'Sherlock Holmes'. It entertained me. 

5. 'The Glass House 2'. Feel free to ignore some of these entirely.

6. 'Brothers'. Anybody who has or had friends/relatives in Iraq or Afghanistan, please don't see this unless you enjoy crying so hard you have snot running down your chin. 

7. 'Did You Hear About The Morgans?'. Had its moments but mainly I'm getting really fed up with Hugh Grant and Carrie whatsherface (who looked alarmingly skinny and old). 

8. 'Avatar 3D'. Sander and I went to see this on a date night and we looooved it. Incredibly well made!

9. 'The Box' feat. Cameron Diaz with a deformed foot. Think Donnie Darko, but weirder and with worse music. Liked the 70s feel of it though. 

10. 'Numb'. Which is how I felt after seeing Matthew Perry in a discombobulated state for 2 hours. 

11. 'Harry Brown'. Extremely graphic and violent but Michael Cane was absolutely great, and the guy who plays the drug dealer looked so disgustingly believable that I couldn't imagine that he might actually be a regular guy in real life. Oh, and might I just add this movie was my MOTHER's choice...

12. 'De Storm'. About the great Dutch flood of '53 and obviously all very, very, very dramatic. 

13. 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona'. It's a good thing I love Penelope Cruz as much as I secretly can't stand Scarlet Johansson (it's part jealousy (sure I'll admit), and part that oh so awful album she put out). And I just loooooove listening to people fighting in Spanish. Really!

14. 'Terminator 4'. I was a bit late in seeing this. I've only ever seen that Terminator movie where Arnold goes 'I'll be back.' and wasn't very impressed with it (I was a boyband loving teenager then!) but I actually quite enjoyed this. Even though the whole 'Back to the Future' component got me a tad confused. 

15. 'The Fourth Kind'. I'm very happy I watched it in broad daylight, and that's all I've got to say about that.

16. Alice in Wonderland 3D. I thought I was going to get just a remake of the classic story, but this was a whole new story entirely! I liked it, but it's hard not to like when you're a major Tim Burton and Johnny Depp fan. I did however decide that this is going to be my last visit to the movie theatre because I was severely uncomfortable the whole time there. I need to be able to lie down and watch my movies from now on!

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slacking can only be temporary...

.. when there is this much laundry to do on a weekly basis. (This isn't counting extras like bedding and bath mats etc)

It's all folded now and only the kid's clothes remain to be put away... but that requires 2 laundry baskets full being hauled up the stairs and that's a job for Sander when he gets home. 

It's sooooo warm outside today! We spent all morning at the park because the girls didn't have school today, and we didn't even wear our coats. It was bliss. This afternoon I'm taking things easy now that that laundry has been taken care of. I was up half of last night because the chicken I cooked for dinner yesterday did NOT agree with me in the slightest and I had to stay downstairs, which is where the toilet is. Worst abdominal pains ever, ugh. All better now though :)

Time to cook Burrito Pie! Let's hope my body finds that a bit more acceptable...

music monday V0.6

Well Whaddaya know, it's actually Monday! I should be folding laundry but I woke up in a mood today and think I might just take a day off and leave things as they are... they'll all still be here tomorrow won't they? 

When I'm in a mood I do a seemingly stupid thing: I listen to songs that amplify that mood. Of course the mood I'm talking about being in today isn't a particularly good one and I want melancholy, a sense of loneliness and a touch of comfort.

This mood calls for the following songs on my playlist, every single time:

1. Ane Brun - Lullaby for Grown-Ups

I heard her play this live in Haarlem once, and wept like a 5-year-old...

2.Mazzy Star - Into Dust



3.Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now



4. Ray Lamontagne - Be Here Now



5.Wilco - Jesus Etc.



6.Nina Kinert - A-Worn Out

If these songs put you in a mood as well then I'm sorry, you're welcome to join me in a good cry and a chocolate binge sometime today. :)

hocus crocus...

... let there be Spring! 

Grandma Blom used to go nuts when these little guys started popping their pretty heads above ground.

They're everywhere now, in seas of purple, white and yellow. 

on food and happiness....

Excuse me while I take a minute to boast. 

Yesterday I made a curry... from scratch... without a recipe....

it was scrumptious. 

The kids licked their plates clean even though I had been a bit worried in advance that I might have made it too spicy for them to manage. After, while Sander was putting Max in bed and the girls were playing a videogame I overheard them talking to each other.

Lara: Dinner was yummy wasn't it?
Julia: Yeeeeaaaahhhh!
Lara: It was my favourite, ever.
Julia: Mine too.

There was a little puddle of happy Karina on the floor where I was standing... they had no idea I could hear them and it was probably the most heart warming thing you can overhear your kids saying to one another.
So I promised them I would make lemon cupcakes with them this afternoon.

I posted pics last time but I couldn't keep these cute videos from you. First up is a performance the kids did for me (though I don't think Max quite realised he was performing). I have no idea how they came up with the 'Michaëla' thing. At one point I had to move the camera away quickly because Sander was about to wander into the shot in his underwear... if you watch closely you can still catch a glimpse of him. If that doesn't entice you I don't know what will!

The second one I took at the petting zoo that one day the sun was shining out and I had the marvelous idea of loading them all into The Beast and paddling them there myself. The sun was deceptive that day, and I nearly froze solid halfway there... but they had fun.



Have a lovely St. Patrick's Day folks!

music monday V0.5

I couldn't sleep last night. A bad dream, heartburn, cramps in my legs, a snoring husband... the works. 

So I listened to My Bubba & Mi. You'll hear why:

Just how pretty is that, huh?
Listen to their full album here.

So the last two weeks have been weeks of mothers going back home, children giving parents scares, trying lots of new recipes and continuing to get this house in order after the Big Build.

Mom had a safe trip back home on March 9th. She was lucky enough to have a (the last?) true gentleman sitting next to her on her flight from Amsterdam - Atlanta. He took care of her luggage, and made sure she got where she needed to be. Thank you sir, whoever you are, for taking care of my mama!

Scary Kids. We got em. My sister gots em. Read her horror story here.
As for my little ones... we had a few 'fun adventures with them. One time Lara woke us up at 5.50am to inform us that Julia had peed and pooped on the floor in their room... and yes, it was the kind of poop that requires a lot more than a paper towel....
Then just last Saturday we had a new and somewhat alarming experience with little Max. Apparently little Max has a temper that doesn't quite match his height in size, because when we told him no when he wanted an entire box of chocolate cookies, he threw the Mother of All Hissy Fits. A tantrum that resulted in him holding his breath so long that he turned completely blue (not even slightly exaggerating there), his eyes rolled back in their sockets, and he fainted. He hit the wall and got a nasty bump on his head, but came to very quickly and seemed to be completely fine, though still a bit upset. Has anybody else ever experienced a child doing this? I've heard of kids getting so upset that they bang their head against the wall, or vomit, but never that they'll go to this extreme. I immediately read up on it online and every website said the same:
1. It's definitely not uncommon in toddlers who can't yet express themselves through words.
2. It's relatively harmless since there's actually nothing wrong with their breathing mechanism. The second the go out their body takes over again and all is well. Just have to be careful of how they fall, obviously.
3. It must not be reinforced! Apparently I'm to completely ignore this behaviour (because that's really what it is) so that it won't become a habit. Hmm.

Quickly on to a more inspiring topic:
FOOD!
I can't get enough of it! So far I've made:

  1. Burrito Pie (albeit a tweaked version of that recipe)
2. Apple-Banana Cupcakes. I seriously recommend these.
3. Sesame Chicken. I left out the sherry and used a bit more water. Tasted gooooooooood!
4. Tempura Veggies. This recipe calls for green beans but
I used slightly precooked broccoli and cauliflower.
5. Pancakes. The Best I Have Ever Had. We also made our own
Maple Syrup to go with them. So easy to make!

Sander loves me more than ever :D

 Finally, here are some pictures of the last little while.

music monday V0.4

It's March! The sun is shining, the snow has melted and I wake up to the sounds of the first birds singing again. I am SO ready for spring. It feels especially fitting for spring to come now that we're enjoying our 'new' home and the lightness and space it has brought. March also means that our roof terrace is going to be finished and I just can't wait to start enjoying a real outside space of my own for the first time ever. All these giddy feelings should be accompanied by music that fits.... and here are a few songs that suit my current mood just fine.

1. Badly Drawn Boy - Camping Next to Water

 

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2. Pixies - Here Comes Your Man

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3. Gillian Welch (feat. David Rawlings) - Caleb Meyer

 

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4. Gruff Rhys - Candylion

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5. Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry

 

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Enjoy! I know I will... I must now go on one of our Ikea adventures. There is money that needs spending and a house that needs [more] furnishing

I'll get around to actually posting these on Mondays soon... promise.