Greetings from Amsterdam!
Dear Friends and Family –
What can I say, I have no good excuse for taking sooooo long to put up another posting! Well, I can think of a million excuses, but…really…why bother? ☺
Instead let’s focus on the present shall we? First off, I hope this finds you all healthy, happy and well.
All is going well here in Amsterdam. In case the news has escaped anyone on this list, I am a little over 7 months pregnant. Peter and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest family member, due to arrive around 3 months from last Monday (March 8th). And no, we do not know what it is (though I am getting QUITE curious). ☺ We are, as expected, a tiny bit nervous, but mostly just over-the-moon excited. Baby is getting very wiggly, and Peter and I talk to my belly often, getting the little one ready to meet Mommy and Daddy. I must admit – last night I had my first baby related dream (all these baby books say this is very common) where Peter and I forgot the baby at the hospital. Oh my! It had me up half the night in a panic that we are not prepared. Let me say in our defense – we have been very mellow and at ease about the whole thing up to this point – and my plan is to return to that place of calm as quick as possible. ☺
As far as pregnancy goes, things have been very easy. The Dutch system is really mellow and hands off, and I have been very, very lucky feeling quite good thus far. My plan is to maintain this feeling of well being right up to the moment baby arrives. As my belly continues to grow (it is amazing how it just stretches like that!) I am beginning to feel a bit more cumbersome and tire more easily, but overall pregnancy has been a really positive, lovely, fulfilling experience, quite unlike anything I have known before. It simply cannot be put into words… But let me say I feel a new respect, kinship and understanding for mothers the world over as the experience moves you in the deepest possible way.
Aside from waddling around preparing for the baby, I am also again helping the French family I worked for over the summer. They now have a baby too, so three children, a girl age 4, a boy age 2 and a 7 month old baby boy. I help them a couple days a week - as you can imagine they have their hands quite full - and it is nice spending time with the children and the baby – getting me ready for what Peter and I are in for! ☺ When I am not doing this, I read a lot, cook, do quite a bit of walking and am also taking prenatal yoga.
I was helping a friend try to get a magazine up a running, but the funding was officially pulled on this a few days ago so it is time to think of something else. It has been harder for me to find permanent, full-time employment that we expected, which has been frustrating on so many levels. I just have to believe the right thing is out there and keep plugging away. For now, I suppose I am lucky – to have this time to focus on being pregnant and getting ready for the baby…
Peter has been very busy at work. He has taken on a new role as his company has expanded a whole huge new piece of business for adidas. This business, which is his main focus at the moment, is located in Portland, Oregon, thus making his schedule a bit crazy. But he is still happy at his company and enjoying his coworkers. And, of course, we are grateful there is work to be had. We have heard some worrying news about the economy in the states and hope you are all not suffering too much and the situation can be remedied fairly quickly.
As we move into our second year here, Amsterdam is still fun and exciting, though some of the novelty has worn off I suppose. There are times we get home sick, like when dealing with bureaucratic nonsense (which is hard enough at home but twice as hard when you do not speak the language) and times we wish you were not all so far away. But we have some lovely friends (some with a new baby!) and do our best to stay in the present and embrace how fortunate we are to be having the experience of living in this strange, old, beautiful city where the lifestyle really is easy. We still love living by bike (though I am mostly walking now), and we still desperately wish the city had better restaurants, though we have found a few favorite spots by now.
Up to this point it has been a VERY COLD winter – already it has snowed like 5 times - But the snow is so much more beautiful than the rain, and much more pleasant to get around in, so we will take it.
We are planning to make a road trip to the South of France for Christmas and catch up with the Stoloff Family (Yeah, can’t wait to see you guys) and then be back in Amsterdam for New Years. It will most likely be a quiet one as party-Mariah is in hibernation right now. Hee, hee!
Think that is it for us. Wishing you all a fun and relaxing holiday season. Have fun and be safe, and please drop us a note and let us know how you are doing. We would love to hear from you!!
Big hugs and lots of love,
Peter, Mariah, Baby McBassett (Wee McB for short) and Mr. Kitty xoxoxo
