lifestyle – Jemstory

Untimely Unwellness

09/25/21

Saturday morning began with a family breakfast ☺️🍞🥐🧀🥓

Afterwords, Mike went to the barber, Tim, our nephew going with for some guy time 😎 They returned with churros 🤪

During their time away, Lake was entertained by aunty and uncle, and I got to relax.

Writing and being served coffee 😉

Judith and I went for a 6 km walk, knowing the rest of our day probably wouldn’t hold much movement, as we were headed to a garden party 🤓

Walking a new route with a new companion (no offence to my regulars 😉) surely makes the walk go by quicker 😅

Lake had been fading in the health category for a couple of days, but it was really showing up this day.

Snuggling with us after his nap instead of jumping up and wanting to be taken out of the room to play, and then slowly becoming more and more clingy as the day went on.
By the time we got to the garden party, he only wanted to be held and didn’t want to play, or eat anything aside from watermelon. All out of the ordinary for him 🤪

We partook of all the food items available, enjoying the variety of goodies 😉

We eventually took Lake for a walk in the covered wagon supplied by our hosts, to try to get him to sleep. It worked… for a few minutes.

He then just lounged in it, as he was gazed up and wheeled around…

making it really seemed like a pretty luxury accommodation for a special occupant 🤪

Dinner was served, and we happily indulged in that as well, of course, as we’re no strangers to accepting food 😉

After that, we took Lake inside where it was a cooler and less strenuous for our arms, as we could sit on a big comfy couch with him. Mike went back out to mingle after Lake settled a bit, and I stayed until he fell asleep… and then I actually fell asleep for 20 minutes too 😅

I felt bad once I awoke, as they’d put a note in the doorway to be quiet because there was a baby sleeping…but it wasn’t just a baby 🙈

The guys went to play a game of soccer late that evening, after the party ended. So Lake and I were taken home to go to bed.
He threw up before bed, and the poor little guy was very warm and having a hard time getting comfortable.
Making for a pretty restless night, with many wakings due to his cough and phlegm, causing many paci losses and hasty replacements 🤪😞

It was a little disappointing that the day Lake had his first real bought of ‘cuddle inducing, don’t put me down, and comfort me’ sickness happened during a day that held beautiful weather and multiple people I know a bit better than some, and could have really visited with, but that’s life 😉

I Say Pancake, You Say Pannenkoek

09/22/21

1 week and 5 days in, I got my first day at the house to do nothing but unpack, tidy up, shower, laundry (though my kind mother-in-law did most of the laundry during our stay 🙈) etc.

12 days of being on the go, visiting people, and being out and about amidst other humans in some form or another, is, as some may know if they know my personality, A. LOT. 😅🥴

I was so ready for a chill day. Meanwhile, Mike was not capable of relaxing in the day, wanting to know what we could do, or where we could go and when I stated no where and nothing, he managed to go out multiple times alone for different things, but that didn’t totally satisfy him 😏

He got us kibbeling and loempia’s for lunch.

Kibbeling being a delicious freshly fried fish with tartar sauce. The man even told Mike that the fish they use for it comes from Canada 🤔
But the seasoning and crunchy batter is 👌🏻

Lake decided to walk that afternoon! As we were sitting in our various spots, he suddenly stood by a chair, turned and walked to Mike with no cajoling. From there he walked to me and then so on and so forth until Opa came downstairs to witness it and the game continued.

He walked between us all for some distance and time, and we figured our days of having a crawler were no more.

Opa offered to babysit Lake, while we were allowed to take out his Porsche for a ride 😎

The Pannenkoekhuis Strijland in Velp ended up as our destination.
A fairly renowned restaurant which we had never actually been to together/Mike hadn’t been for to years.

One sweet and one savoury were ordered to share, peaches with sugar and Italian.

The pancakes are a little tricky to explain, as they aren’t as thin and light as crêpes, nor are the as thick and fluffy as some North American pancakes. They are on the thinner side, but also more dense, bordering on a heavier, custard like texture.
We were without a doubt the youngest couple in there 🙈
It appeared to be ‘the’ spot for those who are let’s say…of a wiser and more learned place in having lived a more substantial amount of life 😜
The flavours on the Italian one were very nice, and the peach one was good as well, I’d just expected a little more than it came with topping wise 🤪
All in all, it was nice to try, we checked that attraction off of our list, and we probably won’t be headed back overly soon, but that’s just because we’re not huge Dutch pancake fans to begin with ☺️

John, Inge and Lake were met back in Doesburg, as they were finishing up a little snack at a restaurant there, and we didn’t have keys for the house.

Lake may have had a look of slight confusion for a fleeting moment, not understanding how mom and dad were suddenly on the path where he was after not having seen us for a while 🤪

We all headed back to the house then and later that evening, our delivery from Tout Pâtisserie arrived 🤤

The best macarons we’ve found in our European travels thus far 💗
The taste, the texture, the crunchy chewiness, the thick, creamy filling. They are amazing.

We always try to get them, but they are in some out of the way spots for us, so it gets tricky. Thinking of having them deliver, worked out perfectly 👌🏻

Lake showed his newly rekindled talent for walking once we got back to the house as well, getting giddier and picking up speed as well as some extra swaying, the more praise he received 🙈

(I say newly rekindled, because over a month ago, he was walking between us and from furniture and whatnot for a couple of days and then just stopped until now 🤪)

A Home Grown Flora Fascination

09/20/21

I loved the feel of the home we stayed in during our time in the more northern area of The Netherlands 🖤

Here, it’s somewhat described as ‘landelijke stijl’, roughly translated to ‘country style’. If I could replicate it to a degree with a little bit of my color love thrown in, I think I’d be pretty pleased with the result 🤪

It’s like, a classy boho/vintage with old charm thrown in, a blending of old and new, and so many textures…

New velvet, well loved leather, a sheepskin throw atop a wooden chair.

Little details all coming together to make for a home that’s not only comfortable, but also interesting.

Our hosts were also very nice, which I think in no small part lent to the homey atmosphere 😉👌🏻

Permission was asked, and granted for the sharing of these images 😉

Many of you may know them via their businesses,

They do plants.

Like, lots of plants.

We’ve even seen their products in Wilson’s Lifestyle Centre in Saskatoon!
Which is actually a very Dutch like store, many products even say outright ‘from the Netherlands’.

But, back to the story at hand…

As they have their own business, Monday morning came with work, which Mike was able to tag along for.
I happily stayed back and enjoyed some downtime, sitting and writing, while Lake slept 👌🏻
By the time they returned it was near lunchtime and all the family returned to the house for it. Which was nice because then we got in more time to hang out even though it was a work day.
Afterwords, we packed up and headed out to visit the cousins at their perspective work places as well as the store front.

Exploring those areas, we learned about the costs and time it takes to start new plants, how they securely pack the plants for shipping out and so on.

It’s interesting stuff, but as a non plant enthusiast/life giver, it all seems stressful to me in the fact that you can just let your profit literally die 😂

Supper was being made for us at some friends whom we previously always visited when we went to South Africa!
They moved back to her home, her being from Holland, so now we got to see them here and each of us had a new babe as well.
How things change 🤪
I had to walk outside with Lake for a while to get him down for a nap, but after that, we had a nice dinner and visit together. Catching up, discussing houses, work, babes and all the highlighted areas adult life encompasses, before we headed away from the Groningen area, and back to Doesburg.

* I ask that you do your best to ignore any spelling mistakes, as on my iPad the set up is different, and I can’t find an easy way to do a spelling / grammar check. Thank you for your understanding

The Sunday Rhythm

09/19/21

An early Sunday morning greeted us.

Once again, preparing of myself, the son, the diaper bag etc. took way, and then we joined the family for breakfast.
Adorning the table before us, were baskets holding different varieties of breads, various spreads, sprinkles and butter, cheeses, meats, juice and coffee.
A classic Dutch breakfast 😉🥐🥖🧀🥨☕️

It was a one-hour drive to church, which we experienced in the company of our hosts, as we rode together with them since we’d be returning to their house again afterwards.

We then rode back with another couple (Mikes cousin and his wife), since they’d be headed back to the house sooner and that’s always a plus where taking care of Lake is concerned, and when my having to mingle with fewer people is concerned as well 🙈

Some McDonald’s was grabbed on the drive back and for the most part, we discussed food. Which when you write that maybe it sounds a little sad, but it seems to always be a satisfying topic if the people you’re with, are like-minded food consumers 🤪

We got to tour some of their newly renovated home and loved what we saw.

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Black kitchen cabinets, high ceilings with beams for added texture and some really unique, window style room dividers which gave the space some boundaries, while also keeping it feeling open.

They live right beside the home we stayed at, so we eventually crossed the yard and relocated over there for the meal of Dutch snacks that had been picked up.

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Our evening was then spent visiting and playing a game.

Amidst trying to get Lake to sleep, which he wasn’t so willing to do as the night before. This time being awake enough to realize he was in a different surrounding than usual.

All in all, though we were away from our home, and our home away from home, the Sunday rhythm changes little. Arise early, prepare for church, attend, a decent chunk of driving, afternoon lazing about, eating and so on and so forth 😉

* I ask that you do your best to ignore any spelling mistakes, as on my iPad the set up is different, and I can’t find an easy way to do a spelling / grammar check. Thank you for your understanding

This Little Piggy Went To Market…

09/12/21

After the late bedtime, he did sleep in until 10:30, so it wasn’t too terrible in the end 😅

Our hostess had a tasty spread of homemade bread, seasoned scrambled eggs, bacon and a sundry of other choices waiting for us ☺️

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The kids were in school until early afternoon, so not long after we’d eaten, we headed to the nearby ‘Globus ’ grocery store.
We’d been in it before, but it’s one of the largest grocery stores around, being known for its ‘American style’ in grand size and variety.
It truly is a big store, Canadian, American or German 🤪

Having a huge grocery selection as well as all the other superstore style sections, baby, home, etc.
Judith needed a few things, pork for supper being one such item on the list, but we also went specifically for a container she had shown me the previous day. A nifty little base with a detachable top compartment, which would be perfect for the yogurt & granola Mike takes every day to work.

We took our time there, having lots to look at and prices and selection to be in awe over, once more 😉 These aisles alone, being some cheese selections…

Euros to dollars mean things aren’t quite as cheap as they first appear, but not enough so to change the fact that SO many of the groceries are insanely affordable compared to what we’ve gotten used to back home.
Lake got himself a free wurst at the meat counter, and he as well as we, were pretty thrilled with it 😜👌🏻

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Once we left there, the kids were back from school and got to see Lake for a moment before it was his nap time and their homework time 😉

It was a beautiful day out and after a little sitting to enjoy it, I went and joined Lake in his nap, wanting to catch up on some of the sleep we’d been missing out on.
When we awoke, Mike was hedge trimming, which is seriously something he really enjoys doing 😂👍🏻

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Lake was entertained and lugged around via his cousins and Aunty for the following chunk of afternoon, pre-dinner 😉

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We enjoyed a dinner of chicken, bread, oven baked rosemary potatoes, a couscous salad and pork belly.

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A cut of meat my brother-in-law had been excited to try out and we, the willing and approving recipients 👌🏻😎

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We kept Lake up late with us, trying to stretch the bedtime as long as we could, since we were up visiting anyway.

In the end, that backfired on us… big time 🥴

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* I ask that you do your best to ignore any spelling mistakes, as on my iPad the set up is different and I can’t find an easy way to do a spelling / grammar check. Thank you for your understanding

Sunday – Truly A Fun Day

09/12/21

How can such a small human body, take up so much space in a bed ? 🤪

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Lake continued his night in our bed after the early morning waking, resulting in feet and hands in our faces, as well as the occasional head bonking. Enough to make the rest of our sleep just ‘ok’ and his pleasant 😏

10:30/11 was the time the boys rolled out of bed, and after a morning of packing and preparation and a little play, we headed to Mikes sisters home in Germany, in timing with Lake’s nap 👍🏻

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We have to drive on the autobahn to get there and I’d slightly forgotten about how pleasant that can actually be… though some may not be comfortable with the speed of those who travel on the left side 😜 It was around 3:30 when we arrived at Judith’s and the greeting committee was at the driveway watching for us to get there, opening the car door the moment it stopped to get a look at Lake 💗

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Once the aunts, uncles and cousins had also gotten a look at him, lunch awaited.

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A spread of burgers and all their toppings were prepared and we happily partook ☺️

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Lake still wasn’t playing shy/strange with anybody and so he was kept busy by the cousins and family members, all of us outside enjoying a beautiful day.

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As the meal/day had been in honour of Lake’s (early) birthday, coffee and dessert came out and presents followed not long after 😉

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Aunty Sarah made the number 1 brownie and he was not overly interested in the aspect of helping himself, just as he hadn’t been with his cake at home. Still seeming to prefer using a spoon or being fed 😜

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Aunty Judith helped him with the present opening and as always, the wrapping was more entertaining than the gifts were to him, but we the parents appreciated the items and thoughts behind them 😉💗👍🏻

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The guys went off to play soccer, Lake went down for a late nap and is sisters-in-law went for a 5km walk, while Inge stayed with the children.

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(It was nice to take a new route for a change😉🤪)

A little more visiting ensued once we returned, but with an hour or so drive to return to their houses, the others left and we stayed to spend a night or two with Judith and her family.

Lake wasn’t at all interested in going to bed until after 12:30 am.

* I ask that you do your best to ignore any spelling mistakes, as on my iPad the set up is different and I can’t find an easy way to do a spelling / grammar check. Thank you for your understanding

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