Mice

Evidently, Amsterdam is infested with mice.  Locals speak of this in the blazee way of people who have thrown in the towel.  We are lucky that our apartment is recently redone, and thoughtfully sealed up.  So we couldn't figure our why we had seen some mice droppings and the odd mouse peeking out from around the fridge.  Through a lot of tiresome investigations we finally figured out that they are coming through the pocket doors. I'll spare the details except for the one unboring one:  we cought a mouse so huge (in a glue trap) that we had to look up online to be sure it wasn't a rat! 

Anywhoo, we bought a bunch of steel wool and plugged up the pocket doors, and voila!  No mouse evidence for like a week now. 

Birthday

My little boy turned 4 this month!  He is currently in the midst of a month long celebration, which includes 5 little parties in 3 countries with 13 relatives!

A couple of days before his birthday I explained to M that it's customary to request whatever meal you want for your birthday dinner.  I fully expected him to want chicken nuggets (an American favorite we can't get here), a burger or perhaps even roast beef.  What did he request:  black pudding.  I found a British food shop near Vondelpark and made a pretty decent fry up if I do say so myself.  I really enjoyed the scientific precision needed to make sure it all came out at the same time.

This was M's portion.
The adult portions were a bit more artistic (not cut into bite sized pieces, with fried tomato).

Marzipan Batsignal!  I was so proud of this I made it my Facebook photo!

M liked the gifts we got him:  a doctor kit, the Toy Story films, some Playmobil knights, and a mask and snorkel.  M requested a Batman cake and I just about pulled it off, making a bat signal out of marzipan.

A few days later, we headed to London, where M had yet another birthday celebration, then the day after we returned, my parents came for a visit.  Next week we head to my sister's for Halloween, and yet another birthday party for M.

London

One of the reasons we moved to Amsterdam was to live closer to P's family, and we recently spent a great long weekend with them in London. M enjoyed the birthday celebration they organized for him, complete with a Toy Story cake!

M loved his presents and Uncle Stephen also had fun playing with them.  Mairtin loved having his Grandma read him the new books Uncle Brian gave him.

One of the best things about staying in London is the great playground across the street from Uncle David's house.

The playground has a lot of new equipment since the last time we were there.
Mommy even got a few minutes in on the elliptical.

Daddy and Uncle David had fun at the playground, too, while a perplexed M looked on.

I'm not exactly sure how M got the idea to make a peace sign in every photo.

M also loved his trips on a double decker bus, going to and from Ealing Broadway.  On Sunday we spent the day in the country with some friends of Uncle David's who have a son about M's age.  M had a great time, "thanks to Uncle David," as he said.  

Nihola Love

 Today I rode the Nihola Family bike.  I think I'm in love.

Riding with Mairtin has been challenging.  I'm nervous, and nerves and bike riding don't mix in a fall-on-your-ass kind of way.  While the Nihola is a bit wide, and somewhat tough to wheel around urban sidewalks, riding it on roads and paths is a dream and actually strengthened my cycling skills.  It steers easily and shifts smoothly.  The shop was near Vondelpak, so I took the majority of my test ride there.  My biggest challenge riding with Mairtin has been balance--his seat is perched high on my bike and the extra 40 pounds creates something of an inverted pendulum.  Since the Nihola is a trike, balance is simply taken out of the equation.  I didn't realize this until the end of the ride when I was stopped at a light and didn't need to put my feet down.  The downside:  The pricetag.  At about $3,000, it's in the same range as a car.

Between the test ride and my errand to the British General Store (to get the black pudding M requested for his birthday dinner), and the wrong turns I took, I must have cycled about 5 miles today.  What a great way to get around.

Tomorrow is my little boy's 4th birthday. I can't wait to celebrate!

Hip Grandma

Finally, I have a bike.  It's what's known as an Omafeits, or granny bike.  Just a basic three speed like everyone here had in the 50s, although a little more sturdy.  And mine happens to be asparagus green with pink tulips painted on it, which means the maker describes it at a "Hippe Omafeits," or hip granny bike.  It's actually rather hideous, but it was very difficult to find a bike my size.  And it will actually be good to have a distinctive looking bike, even if I don't particularly love how it looks.

My new bike, with Peter's behind it.

After several attempts, I bought my bike at BVD tweeweilers.  Actually, both Peter and I did.  I made several visits to learn about new and used bikes as well as child seats and not only were they knowledgeable, but every person I spoke to was incredibly nice and helpful.  At one point I brought M in and they advised me that my original choice of bike seat, the Bobike, was actually too small and that he would be better in a Yepp, which we can easily switch between our bikes.  My main concern was that I wanted to be able to touch the ground from the seat.  They were happy to MacGiver the bike seat to its lowest possible position, sometimes changing out a seat, but cautioned me to move it up slightly when I'm move comfortable to avoid stress on my knees.  I finally located a small framed bike at their location a few neighborhoods away.

A bakfiets:
the Amsterdam equivalent of the mini van

Riding with a 40 pound kid behind me has been a bit more difficult to get used to than I thought.  It's a lot like learning how to ride a bike for the first time:  I'm wobbly, super wobbly when I try to make a turn, and my wobbliness improves a whole lot when my confidence is up.  I also have someone behind me telling me I'm doing a good job, although it's not my dad but my son.  Every day M and I have some bicycle practice.  Truth be told I was never the most confident cyclist and preferred to stick to roads without traffic and bike trails.  So, I am also practicing alone to get used to cycling with traffic, but with Mairtin I have yet to move on from the sidewalk on my block.  Every day I'm a little better.

The Nihola family bike,
a well-styled take on the traditional bakfiets,
but is it worth the price?

However, I wonder if I'll ever feel comfortable to do the things I want to do, like ride to the zoo or Amsterdam Bos.  My only other choice is a bakfeits, kind of the minivan of the bicycle options.  Having only one kid this seems like overkill, as they are slow, hard to park and way more expensive than a regular bike.  I've noticed a new type of bakfeits in my neighborhood; a super sleek, compact model, the Nihola.  I initially dismissed this option because it costs what we sold our Corolla for last Spring (but wait, maybe that's a sign?).  I have also discussed bike options with some of the moms from M's school and I understand bakfeits have their own riding challenges.  But, I'm going to test ride the Nihola this week.

We will be seeing some other hip grandmas soon.  This weekend we are visiting Peter's family and next week my parents arrive for a visit.