Arachnophobia

Me and creepy crawly things are not a good combination. I don't consider myself a "girly girl," but throw anything with more than 2 legs or wings in my face and I promise you that a few glasses will break from my scream.

So today, when Max came inside asking me to come take a picture of what Papa had found I was less than thrilled to see this:

And ladies and gentlemen, that is not just any incredibly nasty spider. Take a closer look:

Do you see them? They see you. 

I can't even begin to imagine how many little incredibly nasty spiders are sitting on this very large incredibly nasty spider's back. All I know is that's a whole lot of creepy little eyes and fuzzy little legs. 

Sorry for the abrupt ending, but I have got to go buy all of the Spider-B-Gone that Wal-Mart has in stock!

Bananas in Pyjamas!

09.11.2001

Today we remember. 

We remember where we were on 9/11/01.

We remember what we were doing when we heard the news.

We remember the shock, the pain, and the sorrow that followed

days

months

weeks

and

years

after.

We remember the chaos of planes, fire, ashes, panic.

We remember the bravery of the firefighters, law enforcement officers, and civilians.

We remember the lives lost, and the family members left behind. 

We remember Bush declaring war. 

But aside from the sorrow, we remember the unity of the entire world following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

So as we remember the victims of 9.11 today, let's also remember 

the brotherhood of our nation on that fateful day

the men and women that are still fighting

the fact that not all muslims are terrorists

and most importantly, let us never forget and learn from all of our experiences that 9/11 has given us.

We shall never forget

We shall keep this day,

We shall keep the events and the tears

In our minds, our memory and our hearts

and take them with us as we carry on.

Not Your Average Sunday Evening...

After we got home from the beach on Sunday evening I asked Max to go put on his pyjamas, but first he insisted on putting his seashells in his jar. 

Rob had found a beautiful whole shell at the beach for him and he was excited to add it to his collection. No more than 2 minutes later I heard a bone-shrilling scream come from his room. I dropped everything and ran to him expecting to see blood, but instead I find a hysterical Max under his sheets. After getting him semi- calm he said he was scared of the shell his papa had found for him. A bit baffled, I assumed he didn't like it because it was still a bit green and slimy. So we washed it, put it on the kitchen counter, and went on with our bedtime routine.
About 15 minutes later Max was still going on about his 'scawy sheeshell' after asking again him why he was so scared of it, he said "MONSTER!!!" His genius parents (finally) added 1+1 and realized that there was a little crab living in the shell! No wonder he was terrified of his seashell that starting walking!

Sure enough, when we went to the kitchen we saw our little friend peeping out from his shell. After Max realized he was harmless, he was quite happy to have a very unwanted pet. He named it Lucas and all was good. or so we thought.

Since we were gone all day Monday and Tuesday, it was Tuesday evening before we could get 'Lucas' some food and proper housing. When we got home we were saddened to see that little Lucas was dead didn't seem to be doing so well. By the time we went to bed last night there was no more hope for Max's first pet. Not having the heart to tell Max that he died we decided to replace Lucas while Max was at school today.

Now we can welcome our still very unwanted new pet hermit crab, Lucas #2!

Our Little Fish...

Can officially swim by himself! In the past 3 weeks Max has gone from a guppy to a shark swimming around!

Splish Splash! Do they have a swim team for 3 year olds?

He can even dive 8 feet under to get his diving rings!

Horray!

Max loves to play "rodeo" on his walrus (Bedankt oude buurtjes!)

And like a true cowboy, he holds on 'til the last second!

Here's a video from 3 weeks ago when he first started swimming without wings. Thankfully he's become a bit more, coordinated, since then!

 Max Swimming

Sometimes You've Just Got to Stop and Smell the Roses

When I was younger I always wished I was older. If I was older then I could have my own cell phone, drive a car, buy my own beer, move out on my own, and just do whatever I wanted. When I was 15 I finally got my own cell phone, by 16 I could drive by myself, at 18 I was living away from home, and I even got to buy alcohol when I was 19 since we lived in Holland. 

Now that I am older, I sometimes wish that I spent a little less time wishing my years away when I was younger. Of course, I still have my own cell phone, car, house, etc, but now I  have to pay for all of those things which can make them more of a headache than anything else!

I often joke with Rob that I feel like I'm going on 35 instead of 25. After all, I have dealt with and accomplished more things in my 24 years than some people in their 30's. But lately I've realized that I don't need to feel like I'm old, or wish I was young. I've realized that it's okay to take time to stop and smell the roses. To enjoy being the age that I am. To enjoy the ages that I've been. And to look forward, but not rush, the ages that I will be. 

So with those, ahem, very wise words of wisdom I welcomed my birthday last Wednesday with open arms. The last 24 years have been fun, challenging, crazy, and have shaped me into the woman, wife, mommy, and student that I am today. I'm sure this next year will bring more excitement, things to celebrate, and obstacles to overcome. And let me tell you, I am going to enjoy every single day of it!

With that being said, I celebrated my 24th Alabama-style with a family BBQ!

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.
Madeleine L'Engle

How to Make a House a Home 101

For weeks I have been missing our bed, couch, etc, but when our container finally arrived last week I begged the movers to stop unloading it halfway! I swear those boxes mated and multiplied during their 4 week containment, but the movers promised me that everything in that container really did come from our old house!

As if we didn't have enough junk, the movers in Holland were nice enough to pack up a box of their trash and old coffee cups...

Since the doors were open all day, we turned the air conditioning off while the movers were here. Needless to say by the middle of the afternoon Rob and I were hot, sweaty, and not amused!

Our house has looked like it regurgitated cardboard, but after a week of unpacking a home is starting to appear under all of these boxes!

We've also been up to more exciting things than opening boxes lately. After Max's first week of school he came home with these cool papers:

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well he can colour within the lines!

He also received the Good Attitude Award his first week! (And yes, Miss Amy has changed his last name from Greenen to Geenen!) We are so proud of him and how quickly he is adapting to his new school :)

And even though Rob and I haven't been enjoying going through all of these boxes, Lucas sure has!