Red Note

What a great week for our girl! She lost her 1st tooth, we had a 10-minute conversation with her teacher on Tuesday and she is doing very well in school, and today she got a red note from her swimming instructor. She now goes to the last phase. Swimming certificate A is getting closer and closer.

Lost!

Fleur had a loose tooth for more than 2 weeks, and today - during lunch - she finally lost her 1st tooth. She is really proud. I am sure the tooth fairy will visit us tonight.

The Perfect Housewife

Have you ever watched BBC´s programme The Perfect Housewife by Anthea Turner? I LOVE that show. I don´t think I will pass the test to become a domestic goddess. I am simply not as disciplined and structured as Anthea is. What would she think if she shows up unexpectedly at my place today and sees this pile of laundry that need to be ironed? I guess she will be in shock. Do you think I will get away with the excuse that I have only been a fulltime housewife for two and a half weeks? I guess I need a little more time to adjust to my new life.


I would like to wish Ruben - our nephew down under - a very Happy Birthday. He turned 7 today. Congrats, boy! Hope you had a wonderful day.

Farewell

Yesterday we had my farewell dinner party in Restaurant De Kloosterhoeve in Harmelen. My three executives Sietze, Leendert and Norbert, and my colleague Sonja were there along with their spouses. Unfortunately my colleague Marjan was sick and therefore unable to join us. It was a great evening, and I enjoyed talking to all. I worked with Sietze for more than 9 years, and we always got along very well. We never had an argument.....never! He is a great person, and I enjoyed working with him from the very first moment. Norbert and Leendert are wonderful people too. I worked with them for 3 years, and we too got along well. After our dessert Sietze gave a speech, and I was touched by his words. During the years he made no secret about his appreciation of me and my work, but these words were very special. Not sure if I will ever meet such great colleagues again. I will sure miss these guys.

My colleagues spoilt me with some nice scrapbook gifts. They bought me the Bind-it-All machine including some covers and wires, a chipboard alphabet by Cosmo Cricket, and "All About Me" patterned paper, wooden buttons and rub-ons by Sweetwater and a beautiful bunch of flowers. I am very, very pleased with these gifts. Thank You!!!

Back from the USA

Today Eric got home from a 5-day business trip to Orlando, Florida. The girls and I went to Schiphol to pick him up. The closer we got to the airport the more excited the girls got. Not only because they would see Eric again, but also because of all the planes they saw. Needless to say, we were very happy to see him. And of course he was happy to see us too. When we got home the girls wanted to open Eric´s suitcase immediately, because they already knew he bought them some clothes from GapKids.

Eric called me last Thursday to share some great news. He qualified for the Eclipse event again. A recognition event for all employees who achieved their target. This year we will go to Cayman Islands in June. We will either stay in The Ritz Carlton, Cayman Islands or The Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa. Both resorts look great. Not sure if we will extend our stay this year. Last year in Jamaica it was the first time since we have kids that I went along with Eric again. We were away for 9 days, and I thought that was a bit too long. It is nice to be away together, but I rather spend a few days at a destination closer to home.

We had lunch at home, and afterwards we went into town to do some shopping. Eric bought 2 pairs of shoes, and the girls got new shoes too. Sanne´s winter boots are getting too small now, so we didn´t want to wait any longer. Hopefully the weather gets better soon. Fleur got the pink/orange shoes, and Sanne the blue ones. Sanne´s new shoes look like they were already worn, but they are not. They just have a cool look.

A busy bee

I am a stay at home mom (SAHM) for a week and a half now, and so far I enjoy this new phase in my life. After 19 years of work it is good to be off for a while. I always enjoyed my jobs, and if it wasn´t for the travel time I was still with my former employer. I am thankful that I was able to quit my job without having another job to fall back on. I realize it is a great position, and I am really glad that Eric is very supportive. Thanks, sweetheart!

There are so many things in and around the house that have to be done that I don´t have a chance to become bored. I sometimes wonder how I managed to get all these things done when I worked 3 days a week. Well, I didn´t. I did spend time on housekeeping but not as much as I do know. I already was involved in school activities, but now I can spend more time. Yesterday I spend my first 2 hours as "computer mom" in school which was fun. Of course there are many other things that have to be done, but the most important benefit is that I am more relaxed and can spend more time with our girls.

I hardly scrapped in the past few days. Last night I finished another page of my paperbag album. Hopefully I will be able to finish some more pages this weekend. I have to order my pictures for this album soon, because it is not easy for me to scrap pages without having any pictures.

Being creative

What a dull weather today. It´s been pouring since this morning. A perfect day for scrapping. I first had to bring Eric to Schiphol this morning. He has left for Orlando, Florida (USA) to attend the company´s annual worldwide kick-off meeting. He didn´t look forward to it at all. Mainly because he is feared of flying. He was really nervous and doubted until the very last moment if he would go. Well, he did go and I am sure that when he arrives he has to admit that the flight wasn´t as bad as he thought it would be. He will stay in the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. Not too bad, but unfortunately they will have no time for shopping, sightseeing or anything else. All days are fully booked with business sessions. He will only be there for a few days. He will get back on Saturday, and the girls and I will pick him up from the airport.

I did do some scrapping today. I have finally finished the back cover of my diary. I used it with a raw chipboard back cover for 2 months, but now it is ready. This year I only bought a filling. The covers are handmade.



I also finished the front cover of my paperbag album. It will be an album with pictures of a walk in the woods of IJsselstein on November 26th last year. Yes, we do have our own tiny woods in IJsselstein.



Well, gotta go now. I have to pick up the girls from their after-school child care centre.

Proud

I am so proud of Fleur. She has been having swimming lessons since November 2005. It all went well, but maybe not as fast as she had hoped. I booked her a private lesson mid January to speed things up a little, and she has really made progress since then. It resulted in a "blue note" today which means she is on to the next phase. As of next week she has to swim with a shirt on. Needless to say, she was very happy. Good luck, sweetheart!

Art

Usually I don't post twice a day, but this art is absolutely worth a separate post. Fleur had a birthday party of her best friend Romy yesterday. Romy's mom always comes up with very creative ideas. Not only on birthday parties, but also when Fleur gets over to Romy's place to play. Yesterday all the children painted a plate. This is Fleur's creation, and I am really proud of my girl and her creativity.

So delicious

Today is my first day off. I am officially employed until April 1st, but I had so many vacation days left that I could take March off. When I went shopping this morning I ran into these American Cookies at Hema. They are so yummy! Not really good for someone who is supposed to be on a diet and definitely not in Sonja Bakker´s diet book, but I thought my first day off was a good reason to treat myself. I guess I can always think of a reason to treat myself, but this one is pretty valid. Don´t you think? For the Dutch readers of my blog, if you have never had these chocolate cookies from Hema.....go there. The cookies are on special offer this week. :-)

Last working day

Today I had my last working day. Fortunately it wasn´t as emotional as I thought it would be although there were some very nice e-mails from international colleagues that brought a lump to my throat. I got a bunch of roses from my executives, and a bunch of tulips, a card with lovely notes and a gift coupon of my favourite scrapbook store from a few Dutch secretaries. My manager Sietze took me and my colleague Sonja out for lunch at Hotel Artemis. I had a delicious club sandwich. Yummy!! Sietze will also organize a farewell dinner on March 16th. My 3 executives will be there as well as my colleagues Marjan and Sonja. I am sure that my farewell party will be more emotional. It wasn´t an easy decision to resign, but I am still convinced that it was the right thing to do. I feel so much better than a few months ago. I will first take a break and enjoy my time off, and then look for a nice job closer to home.

Weekend recap

We had a great weekend. On Saturday we went to our city center for the carnival procession which was fun. We also did some shopping. We don´t really have a cold winter this year, and spring seems to arrive soon. Most stores already have their spring/summer collection in stock. We went to Kruimel, a nice store for children´s wear and bought some great clothes for Fleur and Sanne. We also bought them both a very girly pair of Lelli Kelly shoes. Needless to say, the girls can hardly wait to wear their new outfits. Here are some of my favorites.

On Sunday afternoon we went to visit our friends Vera and Marcel and their kids Bastijn en Annemijn. It was so nice to see them again. The kids had a great time together and so did we. They live directly across the woods, so we had to go for a walk in the woods.

Carnival in IJsselstein

We are the champion

Today Sven Kramer and Ireen Wüst - both from the Netherlands and only 20 years old - became World Champion 2007 in Heerenveen (NL) at the World Allround (Speed Skating) Championships 2007. What an achievement!! Sven even skated a world record (12.49.88) at the 10K. I always enjoy watching speed skating. It is a great sport. The crowd in Thialf went crazy, and I love to watch all the orange.

Sven Kramer

Source: www.nu.nl

Ireen Wüst


Source: www.telegraaf.nl

New haircut

The girls went to the hairdresser today. You don't really notice a difference in Sanne's haircut, but Fleur's hair is at least 2 inches shorter.

IKEA

Do you like IKEA too? I think it is a great store where you can find nice furniture and goodies for a good price. This evening we went shopping for 2 desk chairs, and 2 desk lamps for our new scrap/computer room. I also bought a few extra jars for my ribbons. The girls were very excited as we also had dinner at IKEA.....French fries and Swedish meatballs. This weekend I will finally start organizing my new room.