Spring Fever

I think I must have spring fever because this weekend I ran my family ragged. On Saturday M had a birthday party at a local play space.  Despite knowing full well that this would exhaust him I still organized a trip to the pool for the morning.  Our local pool is really amazing--kind of like a water park, including a wave every thirty minutes.  

The Mirandabad, our local city pool.

Sunday we rode about 4 miles to the English speaking church then found a nice playground nearby at Park Frankendael.

Beautiful spring weather meant M could play without a jacket.

We stopped for coffee and M used his Leapster.

Our weekend was so busy that on the ride back from church M fell asleep on the back of Peter's bike.  Then we spent the afternoon watching a movie.

Bakfiets: The €10 Solution

A cheaper cargo bike option

A few months back I posted about my love of the Nihola bakfiets, a family tricycle which I thought was my best option for transporting M.  Despite my best efforts I am not able to balance with M on the back of my bike. The bike seat sits up high on my bike and he's nearly one third of my weight, creating an inverted pendulum that I'm not strong enough to counteract.  Most bakfiets are giant, but the Nihola is lovely and sleek.  It's also €2,100.  But, my reasoning was that we don't have a car, and the bakfiets would be our primary family transport.  It would allow us greater mobility and we'd greatly improve our quality of life.

But I hesitated.  As much as I love the Nihola I kept wondering how long the shelf life would be.  We only have one kid, and with any luck M will be riding his own two wheeler by summer.  And the sides are high--did I really want to be lifting a five year old out of a box bike?  So I tested the Bakfiets.nl short.  Given that it's a two wheeled bakfiets I was surprised how easy it was to ride (of course, I rode it empty).  And, M could easily climb in and out himself.  But, it's still no bargain at €1,600.  This only led to more hesitation.

So, last Friday at the playground a bunch of us moms were talking and I learned the Croozer bike trailer, at €300, is a very cost-effective solution to the bakfiets issue.  M and I took a test drive and we both loved it!  When I returned to the playground a friend told me she had one from the States she'd be interested in selling.

The cheapest cargo bike option.  

The next day I went to pick it up but it (American) wouldn't attach to the axel of my (Dutch) bike.  So, my friend put it in her bakfiets (kind of like the one above but longer) and drove it to the bike store.  One thing I love about Dutch bike mechanics is that they are willing to MacGuyver anything.  So, now I have an option for transporting my kid!  Since then we've been to the pool twice and I've taken it for groceries.

I'm not saying I'll never get a bakfiets but I'm definitely giving the trailer the old college try.  The big downside I see right now is that since only use the trailer a couple of times per week I have to lug it down two flights every time I want to use it--then lug it back up when I'm done.  Also, it's not the Dutch way so it's not really the Dutch experience I was looking for.

But on Saturday as I was cycling with the trailer I heard a Dutch dad talking to his kid.  I couldn't understand what he was saying but by his tone I could tell he was pointing out my bike to his toddler, and was very encouraged that he used the word "bakfiets."

Food Friday: The Vegetarian Edition

Yum!  Lunch!  So good I ate 2 bowls.

I have been very busy with work projects this week, so what did I do today?  Embark on some interesting food projects!  A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook, "One upside to grad school is that my house has never been cleaner."  I think I could post, "I'm in the midst of several large consulting projects and my family has never eaten better."  Everyone loves a distraction.

Carmelizing onions.
Don't add salt or it will inhibit the carmelization.

So, today I made one new dish and one old favorite.  The new dish was Chinese tofu and vegetable soup.  I have been craving this for a few days so I had all the ingredients on hand from my weekly shopping trip.  This was so simple to make and absolutely delicious.  Flying by the seat of my pants (i.e. no recipe) I put about 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon in a stock pot and added 2 sliced bok choi ribs, on sliced celery rib, one sliced carrot, 3 or 4 broccoli florets, one quarter of a red pepper and one quarter of a green pepper and a handful of pea pods.  I covered the ingredients with water and brought it to a boil.  In a bowl I put several large chunks of firm tofu and a few bean sprouts then served up some of the soup on top, adding about a teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce.

Lentils on the boil with a couple
of bay leaves and a pinch of salt.

This was absolutely delicious and totally satisfied my craving.  Die hard veggies could probably use veg stock or maybe just rely on the flavor of the vegetables.  Also, next time I'll add the pea pods at the end since they got a little done.

Since my little boy is very fascinated by "super foods" these days, I plan to serve him the leftovers tonight with his sardines on toast, and call it "Super Soup."  I feel like I got a full day's serving of vegetables, plus lots of magnesium in the tofu which is great for my migraines.  I suspect that's why I craved the soup.

Saran Wrap lined container

While this soup was cooking I also made what I like to call Vegetarian Pate, which is also known as Mandy Patinkin's Chopped Liver.   About 15 years ago I saw Mandy on a channel 13 cooking show called "Cucina Amore."  He made what I assume is a family recipe that calls for a cup of cooked lentils,    3/4 of a cup of walnuts, 3 hard boiled egg whites, one carmelized onion and some salt and pepper all whooshed together in a food processor.   Over the years I have perfected this recipe mainly in presentation, although I now use 2 whole hard boiled eggs as opposed to just the whites.  I originally served it in a bowl at a cocktail party and no one touched it because it looked very disappetizing.  I now blend the ingredients while warm them form it in a saran wrap lined mini loaf tin (or, since I left all those back in New York the plastic container from Albert Heijn ice cream).  This also makes it easier to slice for sandwiches once it has cooled, which are delicious with some lettuce, butter and grainy mustard.

I heart New York

We just returned from a marvelous week in New York, in our neighborhood and our apartment.  A surprisingly marvelous week for all of us.

Perhaps inspired by the movie Madagascar,
M was thrilled to visit the Central Park Zoo

From the moment we arrived I noticed a difference in M.  Not only was he thrilled to be there but I observed his neurons firing differently.  Not two months ago in Amsterdam he could remember neither the names of his teachers last year nor the color of the playground slide which he visited almost daily. The moment he arrived in New York he began to remember trivial details of his life there:  not only the names of his teachers but the names of their children, not only the names of various businesses we used to frequent but their specialities, not only the names of our neighbors, but which buildings they live in.

Despite jet lag and no naps, M was eager to
"climb the mountains" in Central Park

M also seemed different, and it took me a few days to realize he was happy and relaxed.  I think he was picking up on our emotions, but also really felt he was home even though he had only lived in that apartment for a year before we moved.  He watched very little television and couldn't seem to get to the playground fast enough.  (In his defense New York style playgrounds are in short supply in Amsterdam and vastly superior to anything you'd find there).

and Washington Square Park

A trip downtown for Bulgogi at KuKu Canteen...

Thanks to Wiggles and Giggles, a great local business in our neighborhood, M had a "camp" that he looked forward to attending every day.  In truth it was an after school program for pre-K, plus some afternoon enrichment classes, but he went to camp there this past summer so that's what he called it.  So, Peter and I got a lot done.  Peter went to work every day (and only Thursday wasn't a full day) and I stopped by my work, taught two workshops, and got everything done I wanted to do (haircut, eyebrows, cleaned out the kitchen, etc.)  We also not only got to see our great sitter but hire her for two mornings!

M and his friend ME picked up
right where they left off

We also reconnected with our great neighbors, in some instances more closely than we had when we lived there. Our next door neighbors had us over for dinner, then drinks, then had M over to finish watching a Thomas movie he began watching during dinner.  We also got to see two new neighbors, born 5 and 6 months ago, and some of the "no matter what kids;" M's name for his friends who, like him, spent a lot of time at our complex's playground.  Oh, and since we missed Kindergarten registration because of school vacation one of our great neighbors is taking care of that for M this week.

Of course, like any trip to New York certain gross aspects were unavoidable:  the poop that stayed in the subway station for 3 days (and is likely still on the wall), the crazy street people we recognized, the people who don't clean up after their dogs, etc.  but some of that is certainly forgivable when you go home.

Catch Up

Here's my Ugly American comment for the day: this country needs to be told about the snow shovel. Last week we got about 3 inches of snow, which was great for about a day. To my great surprise the roads weren't plowed or sanded and nobody shoveled their sidewalk for several days (I saw one guy shoveling 3 days later and evidence that about 2% of my neighbors made some attempt at clearing snow).  I'm used to being in New York where everyone is responsible for their own sidewalk. New Yorkers may say "nobody shovels, referring to the 2 or 3 lazy people in their neighborhood, but here NOBODY shoveled. 

In their defense they do have some kick-ass sleds. In New York I often considered getting my kid around by sled when it snowed but because of the variation in snow removal quality it wasn't really practical. Here it seems to be the snowy day alternative to the bike for some. Just some, though because there are still plenty of people on bikes.  Today we went to the mall where the toy store was selling one that was described as a "2 ass slee."  I'm not sure if this meant it seated two kids or was available in 2 colors.

 

 

M got a great new balance bike from his Uncle and Aunt for Christmas.  It's a Go-Glider, specifically designed for taller kids.  Balance bikes are bikes without pedals that help kids to master balance before they add pedaling.  The result is that they learn to ride a bike quickly.  I can certainly attest to this because M had a balance bike that we started using recently.  Within a week he nearly had the thing mastered but it was just too small for him.  Unfortunately the bike arrived just before the snow so he hasn't had much chance to ride it.

We had a houseguest last week, which was great fun.  Claire was here from New York.  Since her boyfriend has grandkids M's age she knew how to bond with him and he LOVED her.  We were both sad to see her go.  While she was here we went to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, the Diamond museum, Ann Frank House and the Tulip Museum.  It was a whirlwind 3 days and would have been one killer Museum Monday post, but again work has gotten very busy.

Today we went to the mall, and M and I both got Playmobile Mystery Figures. I was thrilled mine was the mama with the Ergo.

Food Friday: Indisch Rijsttafel

My friend Claire is visiting from New York, and in addition to visiting about a million museums over the course of two days, we also went to Kantjil en de Tijger and shared an Indonesian risttafel, or rice table, one of the most exciting types of Dutch cuisine.  It was delicious, and I think the before and after photos say it all.

Work Wednesday: Erring on the Side of Filth

It's been over a week since my last post. Why the lack of dedication?  Well, I've had to switch focus.  I have a bunch of consulting jobs coming up and I had been struggling with making progress at a pace I could be happy about.

I finally discovered that the real problem was one of perception.  A couple of weeks ago while chatting with a self-employed friend over a cup of joe, it suddenly occurred to me that I need to approach my consulting work totally differently from how I always approached my job in New York.  Back in New York, I had an office, loads of people to support my endeavors and perhaps most importantly, as much child care as I could stand.  Admittedly, I couldn't stand much, usually no more than 40 hours, but our current 18 hours of nursery school is a far cry from the arrangement I'm used to, especially when I have taken on full responsibility for the household.

So, lesson learned,  if I'm going to produce four classes in various formats, something's got to give.  And the thing that can give is housework.  Last week, there was no work wheel.  I decided that in the interest of getting the content produced for the one class that was new, I would not do any housework.  P was back in New York for work (which was good because he probably would have done all the housework and the guilt would have interfered with my productivity) and M and I at very simple meals.  I mentioned the plan to my friend Jenny, West Coast L's mom, and she immediately volunteered to pick M up at school one day to give me an extra hour.

So on Thursday I buckled down and finished a very respectable first draft of the course by 2:00!  I ran out to Albert Heijn to pick up some fish sticks and ran into Jenny. We went to pick up the kids together and M was so disappointed that I had intruded on his play date plans that Jenny took him to the playground anyway and I got to go home and tidy up a little.

I feel like I have broken through my block and can now get my three other courses sorted out.  But, if the blog ever goes dark for a week again, you know what I'm doing.