This is what I'm lookin for....

This is love...

This, This is Good

Do you think it comes with stamps?

The Paterson Post Office is for sale.  Imagine the fun we could have with this!

Books I am Loving

This is am amazing book about the life of Coco Chanel. I love it because it tells all who read it that different can be good, different is a stand out. It also made me chuckle in two of the sections. One was when it talked about Coco being a little liar when she was young (it reminded me of someone we all know and love) The other part was when they talked about advertising during the war when fabric was in short supply- did you know they actually had advertising campaigns that encouraged women to lose weight so that less fabric would be used to clothe them! Ha!
A very special friend gave me a copy of this - so if you want to read it you will have to come over.
I have no words to describe this story. It is sad and amazing and impacting all in one. It is based on a true story. You have to read it. I stumbled across it at the library and bought it home. You have to read it. An amazing story from a horrible time. I can say no more.
Two books that have been part of our bedtime reading this week that we thought we would share with you.

Kids in Boxes

When we were cycling home from church on Sunday we passed the Mama Bakfiets Race.  Each mum had a bakfiets with kid/s and they each set off at a different time.  They had to cycle a certain route around the park and the results were based on time and precision (there were challenges set up along the way).  Andrew said he was tempted to sign me up, although we don't have a bakfiets.  Or kids.  Maybe when we all have kids we'll have to take a trip to Amsterdam and join in the fun.  (Just imagine how competitive Linny and Kt Mac would be!!)

Bubbly Princesses

We play princesses on a regular basis. And lets face it, every princess has a right to a royal tiara or crown. This week we made bubble wrap crowns. We cut them into shape, stuck stickers on them if we wanted them to be really fancy or just left them bubbly and plain if we were less of the 'look at me, tissy, sparkly bling loving' princess. We then attached some elastic - oh hat elastic how I do love thee! And KAPOW 2 very special, very shinny princess crowns. In these we tittered and curtsied and peeled potatoes all afternoon.
The very cool thing for Connor and Pobj was that they could walk up and bust bubbles on our head at random!

My Boxing Kangaroo

Here is my big boy. Everyday he grows in courage and manliness and love. He is sweet and gentle and crazy and giggly and boyish and sporty. He has taken to boxing our punching bag and pops into shops to buy bread while I wait in the car. He would never have done that 6 months ago. He still annoys his sister and cries at silly things...but he is growing and changing and become an awesome young man who loves God and loves others well. I think he is great....can you tell?

Pink Kisses

Everybody needs a kiss everyday....whether it be a smoochy, sloppy Aunty Mavis kiss, a porridge encrusted mouth after breakfast kiss, a slow passionate goodbye before work kiss or a yummy pink, shortbread custardy kiss, everybody needs a kiss....everyday.

Tax Evasion

Houses used to be taxed according to the width of their street frontage in Amsterdam.  In the expensive areas you can see wide, wide houses stretching along the street, an extravagant announcement to the general public that not only could the owners afford to build a big house, they could also afford the bigger tax that went along with it.  

The more thrifty Dutch built their houses tall and thin, the width going back from the street being much longer than the width that went along the street.  Clever, they still had a fair amount of room but the tax was less.  

Just around the corner from us, one of the Amsterdamians took this to the extreme.  Can you see number 7 up there (bordered by the two red lines)?  Yup, it's the width of a door, and no more.  But I'm pretty sure that it goes back and expands.  Now, that's one way to stick it to the man.

Fast Forward

This one is for Connor and Kenzi.  It only takes 1/2 the time to watch it compared to the last one, so you can watch this 10 times instead of 5!

PS  We're only slightly fascinated with ourselves in this house.  Really.

The Makings of Me

Bread for lunches tomorrow. Yummy wholegrain hightop. Yum Yum Yum.
Pretty table centrepeices using limes and a beautiful old tablecloth I found somewhere.
Pikelets for recesses tomorrow. I wrapped the rest but there were about 6 left. I turned my back and the pikelet fairies grabbed them and magicked them off to fairyland.
A sideways fabric scarf for Kenzi although it could be a little longer, So this may be for Emi or Maddi!
A winter coat for a special friend of ours who is turning 1 on Saturday.

What's Up Doc!

Mansions and Music Clips

This is where the kids had to go to be part of a music film clip. This was the view from the top bedroom. The mansion was trashed and disused. I would totally live in it if somebody gave it to me!This is a path we found and we discovered it lead to a swing and a cubby house. The pool is just up above Kenzi!
This is a sneek peek of the video clip being made.

Which way to Fiji?

With 19 others...
In only 5 weeks

For 17 days

With a school I left over 10years ago....

I am going to FIJI!!!!

Finally!

Well... I got brave and got active and went to a new church last sunday (see site)

I went wanting 3 boxes ticked

1) Small (number of people)

2) Friendly

3) Good Bible teaching

I came out with 3 ticks but man God is funny and knows my insides out!!!

God 3 boxes he put ticks in which ment huge thing to me:

1) The preacher used the word massage in the opening prayer

(never in all my life have I heard that word in a prayer- it answered a

question and gave me some direction!)

2) There were break dancers in the service???!!!

3) The visiting preacher got up to speak and he was from....

Glasgow Scotland!

God blew my boxes out of the water!!

So... I am going back on Sunday yes yes YES! AND.... I am part of the kids break dancing group/team/troupe...????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ha ha ha ha.....

A Little Dutchie Knuffel

After making my last little girl it was suggested that they could be really easily turned into a Dutch-costume doll.  A friend requested one (and he wanted her to be blonde!), so here she is.  And these are the real-life dolls!

(Knuffel means hug in Dutch but it's also the word they use for soft toys, cute huh?)

Odd

The kids decided to test Pobj and I on our Bible knowledge after tea tonight. Here were some of the questions that we were asked.
Kenzi: Who was the Hebrews leader? Ok so we got that one.
Kenzi: What were the size of the tablets that Moses bought down from the mountain? (She did give use multiple choice with her hands expanding at different lengths. Needless to say we couldn't answer because we were laughing too much!
Kenzi: What was the size of the Angel over the Ark? We are learning so much about the Bible according to Kenzi! Like about the fence that was around the Hebrew camp and if they touched it they would die??????????
Another conversation that went on tonight was this:
Connor: What happened when Samson pushed the pillar?
Kenzi: He got shot by a gun.
Connor: No, he was killed and so was everyone else in the building.
Kenzi: No, he got shot by a gun.
Connor: Samson did not.
Kenzi: Simpson got shot in the war with his donkey.
We cleared this one up before World War 3 broke out here! I love my family, their oddness, their knowledge, their thirst and hunger after God stuff. I love meals together over candle light with a beautiful wood fire warming the outside, while conversation and laughter warm the inside.

And it Was All Yellow

Today is brought to you by the colour yellow...

The biggest yellow, across the canal from us, cutened today by this great little car parked just below.

Yellow flowers brought from a market bathed in yellow sunshine, on a vintage tablecloth from Sweden with yellow flowers.

And my most treasured yellow, a little birdie who likes to walk on the colourful side of the street, especially if it's yellow.  (See, I 'love' it, can you see my necklace?)

Cause I Forgot to Grow Up

Chalkboards and dominoes.  Remember them, when we used to draw on the chalkboard in the hallway, and play dominoes on the loungeroom floor?  Childhood memories at the farm=good memories.  And now I can hang them around my neck anytime I want, with any little chalked message or picture that I like.  And I like a lot.

Aaaaction!

Date night happens every Wednesday night in our house (or Tuesday if the heater man is coming to test the radiators on Wednesday night).  Date night also has a budget in our house.  Some weeks we spend as little as possible (banana pancakes eaten on a picnic blanket in front of the open doors) so that the next week we can have a big(ish) blow out.  Last night was a medium kind of night, we went out and shared a pizza, bought ice cream on the walk home, and ate it with home-made vegan(!) brownies (really good but next time I'd use a little less oil).  After that we started mucking around 'face dancing'.  And then, a movie had to be made.  Here it is.  And seriously, you should try face dancing, fun to do, HILARIOUS to watch.

Calling All Creative and Clever Minds

Pobj's big birthday bash is coming up and I need some inspiration and help with the party plans. ANy and all suggestions are welcome. Also if you have a clever idea about how I could set up a photo booth without hiring a real photo booth that would be great.

Exodus

Expats are leaving Amsterdam in their hordes.  Maybe us too.  But we're enjoying things like this while we're still here.  And whatever happens, it's going to be an adventure...

This One is For The Kenz

I think there's a little bit of Lola in Miss Kenzi.  And I also think Kenzi would be really, really good at making sure the egg stayed on the spoon. Concentrate...concentrate...

Yesterday, All My Sorrows Seemed so Far Away

Yesterday was the perfect day.  We had friends around for a magnificent brunch that stretched on for about 4 hours.  And then we went in the afternoon to a fundraiser for a girl going to an Ethiopian orphanage.  It was called Mucky's Euroknaller cause McDonald's here has a menu that you buy stuff for 1 or 2 euros, and that was the idea here (mostly).  She had gathered a bunch of friends and friends of friends and held the event in a funky church that is just around the corner from us.  It went from 3-10pm, and we were there from about 4-6.  You paid 1 euro to get in, and once in there was live music going on all the time with big, comfy couches to sit around on.  All the music was singer/songwriters, most of them on guitars with a bongo and piano accordian thrown in for good measure.  Around the edge of the room were some stalls set up of people selling their crafty wares, a percentage of the profits went to Mucky and the people got the rest.  There was one stall where you could choose a felt cut-out and it was ironed onto a plain tote bag, and you could also choose a fabric pendant thing to hang on a string of beads, a cool DIY stall but really easy to pull off.  In the middle there was a rack of clothes, shoes and bags.  Everything was 2 euros, 1 euro went to the owner and 1 to Mucky.  There was coffee and cake, and a little cafe set up out the back selling delicious smelling food.  And in the corner, best of all, a hairdresser was set up!  I was her first customer of the day, then Rebecca had a fringe-trim, and after a quick phone call Andrew brought Nafta down, Nafta got some gel and Andrew had a haircut.  Haircuts were only 10 euros, seriously cheap for Amsterdam, and 1/2 went to Mucky.  It was such a great fundraiser, lots of different ways to spend money and also ways to spend money like you normally would but the profits were going to a good cause.  And also, the artsy types (jewellry makers, painters, t-shirt designers, cooks) could make a little cash too.  I loved it.  And I especially love my bed-head hair do.  I'll try and post another picture when it's done and not the result of going to bed with wet hair, although personally I think I rock this look!

Nite nite calli Mac

One last one... dad and I are getting all excited and eco-freindly and decided to make eucalyptus oil... 100% organic and 100% wild/natural. Roof rain, wild trees and fallen wood for fire. We didn't even use matches!I'm going to have a bath with this added now. Our oil failed but I love that we tried and next is making a distillery... We are going hardcore!! Nite Cal xxx

A glorious day for a beach walk baby...

Isn't this just cute and weird!? It made me feel all mysterious and I wanted to go discover other worlds inside the white tribal pod!