Greetings From Holland!!

WE'RE HERE!!



We're Here!



We Are Here.



We. Are. Here.



Well...There are so many thoughts going through my head right now that I'm sure there is no way to be able to get everything down.

First of all, let me just say that it is 11:45 AM in Holland, and all three of my babies are STILL asleep! AND, Chris called here this morning at just after 11:00 AM and woke ME up! Now, I'm sure that the kids are exhausted just from everything else that has been going on around them...the move in general and especially jet lag. But,I also know that they are especially exhausted, because I let them stay up until 2:30 in the morning (local time) to watch the "new" episode of "Shake It Up!." I remember several weeks ago when Disney started advertising the new episode. My babies were so disappointed that they weren't going to be able to watch it, because it was to premiere the night we arrived here. Then, I guess they began to do the math with the time difference, and they both were thrilled to discover that they could, in fact, watch it...at 2:00 in the morning. So, I'm pretty sure that qualifies me for the "Mother of the Year" award, right?...not that I needed ANOTHER reason to qualify me. I'm pretty sure I've done a million things to qualify me for that category over the course of the last four months...including watching TV and eating at McDonald's much more than I'd like to admit.

So, anyway, here I sit. In the quiet, quiet living room. By myself. Normally, I would relish any moment like this, but it really is a totally different feeling being utterly alone. After I got up this morning, I looked out our kitchen window, and I saw some sort of "work truck" parked across the street. I have no idea what they are here for, and I intend to "Google" it to find out. I wish I could post a picture , but right now, my phone doesn't work. AND, I'm certain there is a way to do it on this crazy laptop, but I don't know how, yet. Our computer from home is currently packed up and waiting to be placed on a boat that will take approximately two months to arrive here. Good grief.

Last night, Chris had to take the rental car back to the airport. We were all tired, so he waited until around 9:00 to take it. Now, I realize it is at least a half hour's drive to the airport, so that should have accounted for at least an hour. I also allotted him about half an hour to just simply turn the car in. But, last night at 11:15, he still hadn't made it home. It was then that I realized that I don't know a soul here. I didn't even have a phone to contact anyone. I knew we had a phone on the computer desk, but I didn't have the foggiest idea how to use it. And, even if I did, who would I call?! And, what was the number here for 911?! I tried to think about how to get in touch with Chris, but all he had was his American cell phone that was still in "airplane mode," thanks to the outrageous cost of international calling. And, my phone was the same. Chris can take the SIM card out of his cell phone and replace it with one here, but I wasn't sure if he had done that before he left or not. And, even if he had, I didn't know the number to get him, and did I mention that I didn't know how to call anyone, anyway?! Crazy thoughts started going through my head, and I could feel myself begin to panic. Fortunately, I had the kids here, and I didn't want them to be scared, so I pulled myself together and calmed down. I ended up looking for our sweet "tour guide of sorts" Riemke's email. It took me several minutes of searching in my past emails to find it, but I did. I sent her an email, and about five minutes after I had sent it, Chris showed up. Whew!

Needless to say, I got a crash course in how to use our phone, got a tiny list of numbers (including 112, which is the Dutch 911), how to use the oven, the dishwasher and the washer and dryer, and how to turn on the televisions. Good grief, my brain is still hurting.

And, did I mention that the kids wanted pizza last night for dinner just after Chris had left? I thought, "Ok...that sounds easy enough!" Until I realized that not only were the directions to cook a pizza in Dutch, but I also couldn't figure out how to turn on the oven. Now, I'm certain that I could have figured out how long to cook that crazy thing, but with the conversion to celsius for the temperature, I was not even going to try it. So, we had cereal. That's better than McDonald's, right?!

Well, I guess I should go and wake up my snoring babies. After all, it is 12:15 PM now. Poor little guys. I hope the neighbors haven't gotten too used to it being quiet on this side, because that is ALL about to CHANGE.

I'll post more soon!