Top articles
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When will it stop snowing?
Monday morning 1st february 2010, 6:30am: departure from Loosdrecht to go to Groningen, 180 kms further north 7:39am: am about 50 kms further and with about as many kilometers of jam ahead of me on the A6 motorway only. Total standstill 8:30am: they closed...
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How to familiarize kids with hospitals?
Chloé and her class went to the Teddy Bear hospital to check if their Teddy bears weren't sick. And dear oh dear, Nounours had a broken arm. Luckily Chloé could help him out and after the X Ray, Nounours got a nice big cast and a big cuddle curtosy of...
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Chloe's school report
Language: on track but Chloe needs to listen better to the teacher... Maths: you can count very well but need to understand figures better. This will be a focus for the second half of the school year Sports: good balance and enthusiastic but Chloe needs...
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Chloé's first school report!
When this report came in, it somehow made me feel very nervous, a mix of hope she did exceptionally well and anxiety she might have not. I guess this is the first reality check you really get as parent about how you kid is doing and whether she is the...
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Les vacances
Not easy to sum up an eventful holidays in a couple of pictures or a couple or words. Yes I'll give it my best shot and will publish some of them too ;-) This was my first long holiday with Erik in the South of France and one he certainly needed hard...
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Les vacances d'été #1, part 1: l'Estagnol encore et toujours
I couldn't believe how many people there was on the beach. Of course I hadn't taken any holidays in July or August for as long as I can remember. Taking my holidays in June and/of September always meant sun, space and the gentle buzz of the holiday season...
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Pumpkin soup/la soupe de citrouille
Ingredients 1 large pumpkin, cut in chunks 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 medium red chilli, chopped 1 can coconut milk or cream lots of coriander leaves salt and pepper Method 1. Cut the pumpkin into quarters so they are a manageable size to work with. Scoop...
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A day at the beach
As incredible as it may sound, we do, very occasionally, get good weather in the Netherlands. Mainly when we expect it the least and in any case hardly ever when it is supposed to be (read = summers hardly qualify as such in Holland). But anyway, I had...
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Getting old...
There was a time when my eyes were young, sharp and when the lines around them only appeared when I laughed..... the fact that I dribbled wasn't an issue at the time either... and then one day you take your boyfriend to the optician. He is 11 years old...
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Anybody out there?
Yes, yes, I am here. I know, what's the point of launching a new blog, if you don't write on it. True, very true, point is: I AM BUSY! You know, working and stuff...Last week I was 2 days off site with my management team on a Dutch island (yes they have...
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All the way from Spain, Saint Nicolas part 1:
Sinterklaas (Saint Nicolas) is back in the Netherlands! He arrived from Spain on his boats with his helpers, the zwarte pieten ("black Peters") and thousands of presents for the kids. The navigation Pieten managed to mour the boat in the haven of Loosdrecht...
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Wednesday afternoon
Today Chloé and I had a daughter-mum afternoon. For once there was no play date so we set off for town after school. Naughty girls as we are, we had very bad yummy food from Mac Donald's, went to see Ice Age 3 together with a big bag of sweets and then...
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Huh?
One of the disadvantages of being separated from the father of your kid, is that you lose control of some of the aspects of his/her life. Some of these aspects are major ones when they touch values, education or manners. I wondered whether to mention...
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Chloé in Knokke (Belgium)
Chloé got invited to spend a long week end away in Knokke with her two best girlfriends from school: Quirine (long brown hair) and Amber (long blond hair). Their mums are really good friends and become good mates of Serge, who, being unemployed, had had...
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Emotional day
10th September: 3 noticeable things happened: I moved out of my flat. It's empty. The movers arrived at 8:30am and by 1pm, everything was in the truck. As I mentioned before I am very happy to have sold it but it felt weird closing the door behind me....
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New boy in town
Surprise, surprise, Mister-too-busy-to-take-any-time-off, made it to the South of France for the week end with just enough time to meet my parents for the first time...which actually went very smoothly (sorry to spoil the excitment for a potentially juicy...
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Jeu, set et match Chloé
Chloé's second tennis lesson! What basically happened was that Chloé and her best friend Amber were too busy chatting to each other to do half of what the instructor told them. They therefore got more attention from one of the 2 charming young men who...
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Holiday day 1
Chloé and I arrived last night in La Londe les Maures for a 10 day holiday with Paddy and Kinou. After a gooooood and looooong night (niiiiiiice), we woke up to a sunny and very windy day. Not quite the summer yet but definitely a day to be outside, feel...
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A different world
December 5th is a big day in the Netherlands: it is Sinterklaas' birthday (Saint Nocholas), the day when he gives presents to all kids who were good before he goes back to Spain on his boat accompanied by the black Petes and the naughty kids they caught...
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Sinterklaas
Saint Nicholas came and visit the kids of our company's employees today. The whole Saint Nicholas thing is very exciting for kids in the Netherlands. It's actually bigger than Christmas. Chloe was still a big young last year to get it but this year she...
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Poor James
I was born in a family where we like James, admire Bond, enjoy Q, feel for MoneyPenny, collect all the DVDs and go to the new 007 as soon as it's out. So naturally, I went to see Quantum of Solace...and for the first time ever I didn't enjoy myself. As...
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Merry Christmas
There was a ton of presents again this year but what really really impressed Chloé is how " le pere Noel" knew that she so wanted that princess outfit! A big big thank you to my Papa et Maman who took care of me non stop in the last days and totally spoilt...
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Terschelling
Remember when I said I went off site with my management team to work on our plans and strategy for 2009? These are a couple of shots I made during a bike ride we took on our last day to get a bit of fresh air after our intensive brainstorms. And remember...
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Rome
I have always wanted to visit Rome so it was something very special to me to be able to do so. Even though Rome isn't funky or trendy, Rome is special. Even though Rome isn't as well preserved as you could expect, Rome is special. Even though Rome isn't...
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Erik's brother in the Netherlands
Erik's brother, Arjan, and his family live in Hong Kong. Before the long awaited holiday in the South of France, they stopped by in Loosdrecht for a couple of days at Erik's. Chloe had lots of fun with Julia and Sophie and the whole family gathered for...