French Fries with Mayonnaise

Our tomato plants have been growing well. The weather has been so nice this week that I was able to leave them outside for a few days! Things will cool off though, so it is time to bring them back in before the rain comes tonight. Yesterday I made space for them in the garden though. Brought our roses out from the back and put them in the front, making a bit of a barrier between us and the neighbors. We also picked up some big paving stones to make the path to the shed and swinging couch a bit nicer. I am pretty sore today!

Haven't gotten much done with the business though. At least Abigail is going back to school now, so there should be more time. School has been pretty intense again, so I am trying to distance myself personally from it a bit. I like working with the people there though. Next week we have a couple days off, so that means I won't be at school for almost a week! Part time is great.

Even though I have been living in this country for almost 8 years, I still get some culture shock. This week the girls had a field trip at school. When Amélie got back (Abigail couldn't go because of her concussion) I asked her what they ate for lunch. She said 'potato chips'. What else? 'Candy.' What else? French fries with mayonnaise. I kept asking her, yeah, but what did you have for lunch?? Those are all snacks. Apparently, in the Netherlands, french fries with mayo is considered to be a meal. Naomi had to explain. The school our girls goes to is selling themselves as a 'healthy school'...hmmm...

Today we are heading to Naomi's Aunt Erna's birthday party. It has been a while since we have seen her family. Curious how the girls will respond!

I guess playing by yourself gets old after a while...

Time for the Couch

Last week Thursday, Abigail fell at school and hit the back of her head. Everything seemed fine, just just needed to get the cut glued up by the doctor. On Tuesday, she came home with a big headache and a whole heap of tiredness. We figured it must be a concussion. The delayed response was kind of strange though. She has been home for the rest of the week, and we will see about this coming week. The doctor said to take it easy for 10-14 days after the bump on the head.

I have been pretty tired too. This was a big week at school. It was a big shift for me to get started with the practical work of helping to manage the project group. We will have 12 classes in the fall, each with over five hours per week. That is a lot of content to develop, and the full year needs to be ready from day one. We are way behind, of course: Dutch people just love to talk everything to death, and they don't seem to know how to just start working.

We also get a space where we can start from scratch, setting up the rooms and ordering equipment. One big room for tools and machines, a small storage room, and four classrooms. It will be fun to figure out the best way to set all that up.

My business has taken the back seat. Definitely looking forward to having the energy to start that again! As the weather keeps getting nicer, it sure is a treat to spend more time outside!

Abigail made this drawing for me: "Daddy, I made a dome and a very lot of hearts for you."

Mother's Day

This morning we made a nice 'surprise' for Naomi. We got up early (I had to haul Amélie out of bed) and got busy with breakfast. Abigail sliced up strawberries while Amélie picked and arranged a bouquet of flowers. She is getting quite good at this sort of thing. She also has started making artwork out of food, as she did with the strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. We dusted off some of Alies's things to make up a tray to take upstairs. What a strange thing to be able to eat in bed! I think the girls had as much fun as their mother, and Amélie ate half of the fruit plate while Naomi was watching the dance that Abigail made for her. It was a good morning.

The beginning of this week started out well. We were happy to be back home with plenty of energy. On Thursday Abigail fell at school, hitting the back of her head so hard that it started bleeding, and the teacher and school director took her to the doctor, who glued up the wound. Amélie came along too. We were really happy they could do that, as it would have taken us about an hour to get there. Naomi was able to leave school a bit early to pick them up and spend the rest of the day on the couch. Abigail is doing better now.

I really got tired toward the end of the week, and Naomi is still coughing. Things at school are going well for me, lots of new responsibilities, and I like the people I work with, but it is really intense. Still two months to go before the summer vacation, so hopefully I find the energy to get it all done! Haven't done anything for my business this week. Should be able to start the new project tomorrow.

Making our Mother's Day surprise.

The Loire Valley

We had a bit of a surprise after our 5 hour drive south from Normandy. The house we rented used to be the stables of an old chateau. The structures were built about 350 years ago. Turns out that the Sun King, Louis XIV, had a mistress that he gave the region to. She needed a lawyer to do all the land deals, and he got rich from the process, so he built this chateau. It had a certain level of quality to it that is not normal. We also had a lot of fun exploring part of the 250 acres it sits on, complete with trails and giant oak trees.

On Monday we went to visit Chenonceau which was the seat of government in the 1500s. Quite impressive for that time period, but there were a lot of tourists. I didn't know that the capital used to be outside of Paris during that time. Much of it is beautifully preserved.

Tuesday and Wednesday were down days for us. Naomi and I went to the supermarket on Tuesday, one of our favorite things to do in France, and were surprised by the amazing books and toys they had there for kids. We ended up spending nearly 200 euro. Their birthday presents are covered though! Wednesday we had the house to ourselves as my parents had fun exploring Le Mans. It is more than just a racetrack!

On Thursday we were going to go to a mushroom museum, a giant cave that they grow mushrooms in, but Naomi was too sick. She picked up a bit of pneumonia. She was sick for the entire holiday, but finally went to the doctor. He was very helpful and we got some antibiotics straight away. Had to pay in cash though...and we barely had enough. Emptied out all of our coins from the car. Kind of embarrassing.

On Friday we visited another chateau - Le Lude. Fun to imagine what life was like then. Saturday was a sad day as Grandma and Grandpa left on their 9 hour journey to Brussels, avoiding the toll roads and Paris. When we left on Sunday we paid the tolls (40 euro), saw the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer from the highway, and made it to Belgium in just four hours. The girls even found one last bit of unicorn poop before we crossed the border. Apparently unicorns only live in Northern France.

A town on a hill where we stopped for lunch on the drive south.

Our cottage next to the chateau where we stayed for a week.

The stables at Chenonceau.

The kitchens.

Looks like the gardeners cottage.

Catherine of Medici's garden.

The former seat of government - Chenonceau.

The maze at Chenonceau.

The cathedral in Tours.

Part of the cathedral was in ruins.

Chateau Le Lude.

The kitchen.

The water tower.

The granary. 

Abigail was missing Grandma and Grandpa.

The last bit of unicorn poop.

Abigail drew her seal in the car.