Simply Happy

Birthday pictures...finally! plus a wonderful surprise

2013-05-07T13:48:00.000+02:00

...and here are the pictures of Jahdie's 5th birthday party...finally! I really want to thank all the readers who are often coming back to have a peek at my blog. I'm sorry to have kept you hanging on my last post.

Jahdie first birthday party with class mates was so much fun. Jeff and I did everything ourselves. Lovely people offered their help, but we could manage. For a party at home with a few kids I also think it's better not to have more adults in the house. The kids know me well and Jeff is familiar with them too so they were at ease with us. The party was from 13:00 to16:00. Most kiddie parties here last around three hours. They ate, played games, did some activities and just played freely. Before getting too tired (and whiney) it was time to be picked again up by the parents...everybody happy:)

Jahdie couldn't wait for her guests to arrive. On the invitation we wrote that if they liked it they could wear costumes. Here is Jahdie welcoming the guests and receiving her gifts.

For food I looked for inspiration on the internet. I don't have particular sites I go to. I just browse and look for images. I didn't make it hard on myself. As you can see I prepared some simple but cute treats that matched with the princess fairy garden theme inspired by Ben & Holly. See my last posts for some pictures of the episodes of Ben & Holly I had in my mind.

I baked a cake and cookies, so too compensate I just bought the chocolate cupcakes:) I put a gummy worm in it and the kids loved it. The caterpillar grapes & strawberry was a succes too with the kids. Other yummy stuff were the marshmallows dipped in milk chocolate and star shaped fairy bread with different kind of sprinkles.

I never baked a birthday cake before. I kinda wanted to skip it. I only late discovered that I didn't had enough ingredients for the icing. Eventually I did it with what I had and it turned out not too bad and surprisingly it was quite yummy too. The caterpillar sandwich was easy to make. In the super market they sell these round mini bread. I alternate the bread with the same round size sausages.

I also made toadstools made of boiled eggs, tomatoes and a bit of mayo. I don't have a close up picture of the ones I made but they looked kind of like these:

picture taken from www.ah.nl

They all luckily fitted a the table. It was so fun looking at them and hearing their conversations as they munched on the goodies. They could eat everything they want in any order they chose:)

Of course it's not complete without a wacky pose shot.

One of my fave shots. They said a prayer before they ate, but one kid couldn't wait anymore.

After eating it was time to play, do a game and open the gifts. For opening the gifts I thought of putting some music on and have them pass each other the gifts and when I stop the music, Jahdie could open the one she had in her hand that moment. However, they al wanted Jahdie to open their gift first, they were quite impatient so I just let them do it their way.

The high light of the party was the balloon game, all credit goes to hubby. He put some confetti in the balloons and a simple assignment, like "imitate a dancing monkey". Jeff taped a nail on Jahdie's bike helmet and they had to pop the balloon with it. It was really fun, but oh so messy. I sometimes still find a lost piece of confetti in the house:p

Thereafter the kids decorated fairy wand cookies. I baked the cookies the night before. I like baking cookies on a stick.

And this is how they turned out to be. Cute, aren't they? The one with a bite off it is Jahdie's:)

Then it was time to blow the cake. Jahdie sang the loudest for herself:) Then she blew the candles and then they licked the icing? Ah well, on that day they were aloud to.

They played again after. I had a crafts corner with coloured paper, glue, colourings and sparkly bling bling decorations and other stuff to craft with. I put away all little toys and left bigger toys and toys that don't break easily in the living room. When it was almost time to go home hubby thought of putting on the X-Box Kinnect Just dance for kids, while waiting for the parents. Oops...they liked it too much that they didn't even notice their parents coming in. Some parents stayed for coffee and then they left one by one. Jahdie's best friend stayed over.

It was a wrap. How did the mommy do?..well my legs were cut off with a sword by some pirates. Then some fairies did some magic to have my legs grow back again and this went on some ten times. The kids were the little bosses so if they wanted some sugar for the srawberries they got it. You want powdered sugar instead, you said?..no problem I'll get it for you. Tiring? I was exhausted, but when you hear a boy saying to you "this is such a nice party", when you hear the kids telling their parents they don't want to leave yet and most of all that the birthday girl is having a great time, I bet you also feel all the tiredness of preparing, serving, playing etc. dissapear and you suddenly have energy to throw ten more parties:) It was all so worth it!

On the next day however, I really felt tired. And on the next day again and some more days after. I was feeling quite weird. Perhaps I already felt like this before, but I guess I was so busy preparing stuff that I didn't noticed. Little did I know that I was preggy all along:) The much awaited brother/sister for Jahdie is on it's way:) Such a wonderful surprise from God!

Preparation is the key

2013-02-20T12:53:00.000+01:00

It's a wrap. Jahdie's first kiddie party with class mates was a succes:)

“I am 5 now!!!” was the first thing she said when she woke up on her birthday. Oh, she couldn’t wait for her party to start. Jahdie had a “Princess Fairy Garden” themed party. We took a lot of inspiration of Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom. It’s one of her fave cartoons on Nick Jr. channel. Ben is an elf and Holly is a fairy princess and they are best friends. Gaston the ladybug is their pet friend. I love the cartoon too. I know almost all the episodes;) I found some screenshots of some episodes I had in mind while preparing the party.

(Found these via Google. I don't own these images)

Having that as inspiration helped a lot coz Jahdie invited both girls and boys to her party. It also helped me to keep focused. There are so much nice stuff to use for children's parties. I could stay in a store for hours. It is not hard to prepare a girl fairy princess party, but with boys coming I had to think harder. I couldn't find anything elf inspired for boys. When for a girl it’s about fairies and princesses for the boys it’s usually about pirates and knights. Then the lady of a store showed me some stickers of insects. Yes, that was it. To include insect stuff it would make it all less too girly. They also play part in the cartoon and they fit perfectly in a garden theme.

I so enjoyed preparing her birthday party. I was so busy picking up inspiration from the internet, toy stores, bake stores and just basically everywhere I went. Jahdie was very involved in the preparations. I asked a lot for her opinion. If she liked this or that and I always showed her what I bought. Sometimes she would just say "oh nice" and go on with what she was doing, hehe. These were the invitations as she handed them to her friends. She even customised the envelopes. So cute! I used Washi tape for the sides, which gave it a very nice look.

For the party bags I bought these. It was not easy to find insect toys. Luckily I found them in that cute little toy store I talked about in this post. For the boys I used blue bags I forgot to take a picture of that.

Jahdie helped with the batter for my very first cake. With a big star cookie cutter I cut out bread. I made fairy bread of it with different kind of sprinkles. The grapes will be caterpillars later. The morning before her party I rushed to the market to buy some fresh strawberries for the head (see my next post).

Last preps on the night before:

Sneak peek:

Look out for my next post with lots of pictures of the party.

*** Sher ***

B'day memory lane

2013-02-06T06:07:00.002+01:00

Time, please stop for a moment! I can't believe it's almost the birthday of my little girl. The few weeks before her birthday I always get excited, but time rushes by those weeks. Of course I look forward to her birthday itself. When it's over however, I really miss the time when I was preparing stuff for her day. I like to be busy and creative for her birthday. My husband and I love small and intimate gatherings. We've always kept Jahdie's birthday celebrations small, but we make it an effort to make it super special and memorable for her. Last year on Jahdie's birthday we wanted her to feel like a real star. We set up a photo studio in our living room. Our daughter's birthday is a great excuse for my hubby and I to go all out with our frustrations. He will be the professional photographer and I the creative director;) We make a good team.

Remember that she had a little accident on her birthday? (Read about it here) After all the commotion she took a nap. Hubby and I set up our photo studio. I had this cute tea party in mind with lots of pink. The result came out great. When Jahdie woke up, she immediately started to play. While she played hubby took some pictures. The pink balloons against the black back ground setting turned out great too. Jahdie grew up with a camera, so being daddy's little model is just like breathing.

Hubby took sooo much pictures, but these are my favourites.

Tea party with big & little bear as guests

I love how the pink pop out against the black back ground

doing her thing;)

my ultimate fave

she looks a bit like Darla from the Little Rascals on this pic:)

In the evening some family members dropped by. I asked them to wear something with pink:)

And this is how it looked like behind the scene...

break-time

I thought of sharing these pics while looking over them again (and yes, I said a year ago that I would do so). I'm looking at photos of all her past birthdays, just being a mommy going through memory lane. This next photo was taken on her very first birthday.

Who ate the cake? It wasn't me!

I'm blessed with the many pictures we have, thanks to our photographer hubby/daddy. Time flies but as I re-quote "A picture stops a happy moment from running away."

*** Sher ***

Preps for her Birthday

2013-01-30T11:17:00.000+01:00

Jahdie will almost turn 5. This is the first year that she will be having a kiddie party with class mates:) It will be a small party at home. Jahdie had a few themes in mind. First it was a Spy party, because she was hooked on the Spy Kids movies. She also mentioned a lot of girly themes, Nick. Jr. cartoon themes and more. We eventually agreed on a (girly) Super Hero party. I was already looking for inspiration for that. However Jahdie received two gorgeous handmade dresses, made by her Lola Baby (sister of her grandpa in the Philippines), as a pasalubong (gift). It will be a pity if she wouldn't wear the gowns. There is no other special event in the near future where she can wear it. Kids grow fast, so she has to wear it soon. I kinda had to convince Jahdie to change the theme. For Christmas she received Fairy wings and a wand from my mom. I said she could be a Fairy princess like Holly and she could have a Ben & Holly's little Kingdom inspired party. She was ok with that:)

These are the two gowns Jahdie received. The other dresses were given by her grandma in the Philippines (Jeff's mom). She also received a lot of accessories with it. Lucky Jahdie:)

I included a picture of how her room looks like now. I personally love seeing pics of others interior, so I have to do my share more too:)

I let her make the invitations for her party herself. I want her to be involved as much as possible. I printed out some Ben & Holly pictures that she coloured and cut. Then she pasted it on coloured paper and decorated it with lots of stickers and bling bling:) This is the way she wanted it. We started early with making the invitations, so she can take her time and doesn't have to rush.

I still have to type a text that she can paste on the back. She will write the names herself...that is when we've finally figured out WHO to invite? If it's up to her she will invite her whole class as everybody is her friend. I told her that about 8 kids can come. I asked advise from her teacher. She laughed, Jahdie was right. She does play with everyone. It's nice to hear that Jahdie is very loved in her class. She also mentioned that for sure Jahdie will receive a lot of invitations for other parties herself too.

Her teacher helped me out by writing down the names she noticed that Jahdie calls a lot for to play. The list of names however didn't really match with the names I had in mind....so I was back to zero. The teacher was right also about receiving invitations from others, in the meantime she received already 4 invitations for birthday parties. Two from kids we didn't thought of inviting. It wouldn't be nice not to invite them also, right? So yes back to zero really! I also asked some parents how they did it. One parent said they invited 10 kids of which are class mates, neighbours and other friends. For the class mates they picked the kids with whom their son have frequent play dates with. The other parent said they thought that his age would be a good guide limit for the amount of kids to invite: 5 years old is 5 kids, class mates only. One girl in her class only invited the girls to her Princess Party.

What to do? My husband said that this is the very reason he doesn't like parties...yes the stress that goes with it. Ah well, it's a stress for a happy cause and it will just be a simple kiddie party at home, so I don't really mind;)

Thus for now the question remains: To invite or not to invite?

*** Sher ***

Past events

2013-01-22T23:14:00.000+01:00

I often promise to do a post about something but I often end up not doing so or post about other stuff. Bad blogger:(

Let's see, in my last post I said I would do a Christmas post, but it's way too late to talk about Christmas. I'll just share my fave picture of our celebration. Just take it from me it was another fun family affair:) Kuddos to my brother and sis-in-law who hosted the family Christmas party for the first time.

Talking bout them. My brother and sis-in-law got married in September 2012. My younger brother was the last to marry of the siblings. The ceremony was intimate and beautiful. Thereafter we had much fun and laughter at the reception. While I'm at it, I might as well share some pictures of the wedding too:)

L-R: The bride & groom with our side of the family (minus hubby of my sis who had to pick up their eldest son from a camping trip). 2. Beautiful bride & groom. 3. With the kiddos (minus my eldest nephew)

L-R: 1. I so like the first pic, my siblings (brother & sister) and me with our spouses. We're all married now:) 2. Dancing with my sweet hubby. 3. Daddy & daughter dance. 4. Me & my love again.

So there, I briefly caught up with some past events. Hope you liked the pics. I will check my other past blog posts to see what I said I would blog about but have not yet done. Anyway, let's move to the present now... I'm currently a bit busy with preparing for a future event. Jahdie's 5th birthday is coming up in less than a month time. Yey, my most fave time of the year!!! :)

*** Sher ***

New Year's eve celebration

2013-01-06T02:29:00.001+01:00

New Year's eve we usually spend with the family like Christmas, but this year we did it differently. (More about our Christmas celebration in a later post). We welcomed the New Year in the comfort of our own home and on January 1 we all came together again in late afternoon. They all came to our house.

We had a simple but fun New Year's eve celebration. It was just the four of us. Jeff's cousin was with us for the Holidays. Jahdie was excited for days to see the fireworks. We let her sleep first then we woke her up for dinner.

A friend of ours Cora and her daughter Katie were supposed to celebrate it with us. Unfortunately Cora had an accident that day. She walked out the dog her parents dog-sitted for. Then she fell badly when the dog chased another dog. She broke her wrist and she sprained her ankle badly too. Poor Cora, she was still positive about it though. She joked and said she would just drink some extra champagne so she wouldn't feel the pain. Jahdie was sad that Katie couldn't come anymore. She didn't had another kid to play with. So we had to entertain her while waiting for the fireworks to come.

After dancing Just Dance for kids on Xbox Kinect with Jahdie we did a typical Pinoy thing: Videoke:) My husband usually doesn't sing, but on that evening he didn't let go of the mic anymore, haha.

When it was almost time we put the champagne ready. We also had kids champagne for Jahdie (a soda strawberry/apple drink). She didn't like it, hehe. She isn't used to drink soda. We also had "Oliebollen". A typical Dutch treat to eat on New Year's eve. It's a sort of Dutch donut, with usually raisins in it.

We also put Skype ready, to skype with my parents and brother. So we eventually did welcome 2013 together after all:)

from my parents view:)

We didn't buy fireworks. We went to the guest room upstairs and enjoyed the many beautiful fireworks of neighbours from very close. We kept it dark in the room and it was as if we had a private show. It went on and on. Jahdie had enough of it after a while. She liked it but she didn't like the loud chinese fireworks.

Jahdie was sleepy short after. We also didn't make it that late and went to bed as well. This was the way hubby and I wanted to celebrate it. We closed 2012 simply happy.

I thank the Lord for being with us and for showing us His love and guidance in decisions we had to make. I thank Him for directing our steps. It was a year of changes and some challenges. I thank Him for being with us in 2012 and for being with us in 2013 also. That assurance we can all have as He is the same God yesterday, today and forever!

Happy Blessed New Year everyone!!! :)

*** Sher ***

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2012-12-21T12:01:00.000+01:00

It looks so lovely at night this time of year in the city. When I leave from the office it's already dark outside. I always have to smile upon seeing those pretty christmas lights up in the trees. I can't show a picture of that yet. With my phone I cant get a picture of the actual ambiance. I need my hubby and his camera for that:)

In the city centre there is now a skating rink till mid January. Jahdie and her dad already tried it out and they love it. Jahdie wants me to join her next time. The last time I skated was in my early high school days and I was never good at it. I'm actually not sporty at all. I'm happy she's not like me:) They have put up a Christmas market elsewhere in the city. It would have been nice if they placed it near the skating rink. That would make a nice Christmas/Winter scenery. Snow will top it all this Christmas, but according to weather forecast we will not have a white Christmas this year.

Not only outside but inside many houses it looks lovely this season. "Nederland is het land van de open gordijnen." The Netherlands is the country of the open curtains." The Dutch are known for having their curtains wide open at day and in the evening. When you walk down the streets you can easily peek in the houses. Why is that? It's not easy to anwer. There are a few theories about it. Some say it comes from the time of Calvinisme. Families had their curtains open to show that they dont't have any secrets and that they lived a clean life. Anyway do you want to have a peek in my house? Haha! Well, I kept it quite simple. I was happy to use the decorations I bought early this year:)

It's nice having people over in this cozy month. Last Saturday some friends came over. We took some pictures and I asked my hubby to take a picture that more or less captures the homey and cozy ambiance;) The camera flash will just spoil it. To have a further idea of the Christmas ambiance at home, we listen to a lot of Bossa and Latin style Christmas music:)

It was btw lovely evening! We chatted and watched a movie. We watched Fireproof. It's a good Christian movie about marriage. A quote from the movie: (conversation) Caleb: "Marriage isn't fireproof" Michael: "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." (just wanted to insert that)

I hear from a lot of Filipinos that they miss Philippines very much especially this time of the year. For those living in Holland maybe some pinoy (food) products can comfort you. Our friends on the picture are owners of Filipijnse Toko.nl. You can order pinoy products at their website. Have a look at: www.filipijnse-toko.nl :)

Well good luck all with the preparations for our dear Lord's Birth Celebration!!!!

*** Sher ***

Happy Decorating for a Bargain

2012-12-04T23:16:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow it’s Sinterklaas. Since the second week of November it is all about Sinterklaas. At school, in stores and on the television. Nice for the little kids, but it took too long already. I can't wait for him to go back to Spain were he supposedly lives, like Santa in the North Pole. I am definitely more a Christmas person. The Dutch wait till Sinterklaas is over before they concentrate on and decorate their houses for Christmas. Although we don't really celebrate Sinterklaas, we do wait till that holiday is over before putting up a Christmas tree. It's nicer to wait and thereafter to really focus on Christmas. We also don’t want things to be confusing for Jahdie.

For two years we’ve had the same colour theme for Christmas at home, which was gold. This year we are going for the traditional red and white. I already bought most of our Christmas decorations 11 months ago. I waited for last Christmas season to end to shop for the Christmas season to come. In V&D, a department store, they sell lovely but quite expensive Christmas decorations. After the Holiday Season they will start selling them with some discount then with big discount and short after with mega discount. I wait for the mega discount of 90%. You can still find some nice stuff. It doesn't go that fast. I guess it's because the last thing on people’s minds after the holiday season is to go shopping for Christmas decor. Most people already spent too much on the season anyway to go spend more. That is true, but you can save soooo much.

They even by the way sell the decorated Christmas trees on display. You can buy the whole tree with everything on it for a bargain and walk out the store with it. I saw a couple doing that, it was so funny seeing them carry a fully decorated tree.

This is what I bought last January:

They have been kept in the attic for too long. I can't wait to decorate;)

I would never buy these with the original prices

If I bought this a month earlier I would have spent for these 29 items a ridiculous amount of €104,45, but with the mega discount I only paid:

.....€10,45

Good deal or what =)

HAPPY DECORATING!!!

*** Sher ***

Cozy couch moment

2012-11-15T23:12:00.000+01:00

The colder it gets outside the more cozy it gets inside. Sitting on the couch in your warm home with a cup of tea and cookies is such a simple delight or watching a movie with a warm blanket and a big bowl of popcorn. Ohh, I love those cozy couch moments.

The other day we made "Kruidnoten" (mini gingerbread cookies). It's a typical Dutch treat for Sinterklaas, which is a national holiday that is approaching. While doing groceries I bought a ready mix for Kruidnoten. Those ready mixes are so handy to have at home. It's an easy and fun solution for keeping kids busy for awhile.

The dough was prepared in a whip. Jahdie rolled out little dough balls. I sat next to her with my laptop. She was too busy to bother mama:) I actually had a little "me time" while just being with her. When she was done she put the tray with dough balls in the oven. As much as possible little-miss-independent wants to do things herself, you know.

sticky dough

While in the oven, Jahdie took a shower and when she was done the kruidnoten were ready also. We put them out the oven and laid them on the table to cool down. She was so proud of what she made.

They are supposed to be much smaller, but she wanted them this way:)

I made tea and daddy put on a movie ready for her (Spy kids 4) and then finally it was a perfect time for...

Jahdie all ready for the movie...gezellig!!!

A COZY COUCH MOMENT =) Love it!!!

*** Sher ***

Mommy Fleur in Amsterdam

2012-11-09T01:03:00.005+01:00

Look who was in town...

It's my dear friend Nana, in the blogosphere better known as Mommy Fleur:)

I've known here since my teen years and I was thrilled to know that she would be visiting Europe again. Meeting up with friends you haven't seen in a long time is definitely one of my simply happy joys.

We met Mommy Fleur, her hubby Alvin and brother Noel in the centre of Amsterdam. We had a long dinner and went to a pub for a drink afterwards. It was coffee & tea for the mommies (mga lola na ba tlga?).

It was fun reminiscing her long stay in Amsterdam almost 10 years ago. Talking bout the past, kinda made us feel old though:p Has it been that long ago?

And this was us before...:)

Hubby and I had a great time with you guys! Till we meet again in Manila or Amsterdam, whichever comes up first;)

*** Sher ***

Update time

2012-11-04T00:34:00.000+01:00

Hi Jahdie,

Let me give a summary of things about you since my last post addressed to you. In that post it was still your Summer vacation. Now you're going to school and dance class again and picked up the routine easily. * You already had a few play dates with some class mates. *You got rid of your supporting wheels, you can bike on two wheels! So proud of you! We go to school on separate bikes now. * Your Tito Marvin and Tita Daisy got married. * You are used to and having fun at our new church. * You are getting even more talkative every day and your questions nowadays are not that simple to answer anymore. * You often remind Mama of something I forgot to do or to bring. I’m happy you got the attentiveness of your Daddy! Mama is often so forgetful. * You love to have sleep overs at your cousins’ house. You don’t seem to miss us much when you’re there. You’re very spoiled by your four cousins, they take good care of you. * I had a parent and teacher meeting at your school. The first comment of your teachers was that you are popular in your class. You get along with the girls and be very girly, but you also easily play and be wild like the boys. Your teachers sometimes have to remind the boys to be gentle with you. * Or you just combine things. You told me once that you played Spiderman with a guy class mate. He was Spiderman and you were a princess:) I'm sure you initiated that play, as the combination is a typical Jahdie-thing.

At present you have Flip, the class bear over again. He is staying with us for a week. I'll end with some pictures of your happenings with Flip so far:)

Ironing his clothes / Play time before going to school

Flip joined at dance class

Playing dress up: Snow White & Flip

Till next...Love you so much my "not-so-little-girl-anymore"!!!.

*** Sher ***

Four seasons

2012-11-02T00:31:00.000+01:00

We still have an empty boring wall in the living room, above the couch. My hubby is thinking to hang a "four seasons" set. He wants to photograph the same place in every season. It's a nice idea but it means we have to wait for another year.

My blog however doesn't have to wait that long, here is my portrayal of the four seasons. Isn't the changing of seasons such a beautiful thing?

Enjoying the sun in Summer (2012)

Playing with the falling leaves in Autumn (2012)

Our own Winter Wonderland (2012)

Colours outside again in Spring (2012)

Talking about weather on a heavier note: My sympathy and prayers go out to the victims of hurricane Sandy.

Blackberry the fruit not the phone!

2012-08-29T01:23:00.000+02:00

Last last Saturday we had an appointment with one of our church mates and her daughter. They live close to the sea and Dutch dunes in Katwijk. She always tells us to try to go their by bike. So we finally did. It was less than an hour bike ride from our house.

We went their to pick blackberries at the dunes. When we got there, hubby and I were like wow! It was so peaceful and beautiful. There were hardly people around. It was a very hot day, so most people were at the beach on the other side of the dunes. We had plenty of space for our own to pick free blackberries. It was actually the second time this Summer that we picked fresh fruits. We also went to a strawberry farm on our mini-vacation, which I have to blog about soon.

The kids had fun picking blackberries, but after awhile they wanted to run and play in the beautiful nature. The parents continued, it's quite addictive when you've started picking those berries. Hubby did the most though. I was mainly enjoying the fresh breeze and avoiding the hot sun.

When we were done, we thanked God for his beautiful creations on earth. Our friend reminded us of the part in the bible were it is said that if God clothes the lillies in the field so beautifully and feeds the ravens without them having to sow and reap, how more He will take care of us and our needs. We don't have to consume our precious time with worrying about stuff (in Luke 12:22-31). It was a wonderful revelation on that moment, praise God!

At first they are not that all easy to find

they are really small, but once you see them you will notice more

helping each other out surely helps

Hubby couldn't stop when he had the hang of it. Can you spot him? :)

It looks like I was spotting for him, but I was just arranging my cap

and after awhile we had a lunchbox full of fresh berries

At home after a tiring bike ride, because of the SUPER hotness that day, we put the Blackberries in the fridge. It is advised to cook the blackberries first before eating it. The next day I cooked the fruit in water. I was still contemplating on what to make of them. I thought of cupcakes, but I wanted to try someting different. On the internet I looked for some easy recipes.

I cooked some of the berries with sugar and lemon juice. We poured this warm goodness over vanilla ice-cream and it was so delicious. The rest of the blackberries I used unsweetened for a cheesecake, which also came out pretty good.

I asked my hubby to make a more "pro" picture of my grand dessert et voila:

Sweet stuff from our handpicked blackberries:)

Wasn't life was much easier when Apple and BlackBerry were just fruits? ;)

*** Sher ***

The Mr. & Mrs.

2012-08-15T12:14:00.000+02:00

My hubby is always the one with the camera in our family. He hardly is on any pictures we have:p We also therefore have not that much pictures together.

I'm happy that we have Carla (read about her here) with us now. She often takes shots of us when we're out and about, even stolen ones...love it;) I like to edit pictures. There are so many photo editor Apps. For now, I like using the "Instant" Polaroid app on my Mac. When you open the application a Polaroid camera pops up. I just drag a photo to the application and the picture comes out of the camera with matching sound, so cute!

So having done that with our latest pictures, I thought of looking for our first pictures together...taken almost 10 years ago! I always scanned my pictures before (yes the olden days) and luckily I have them on file. So here I want to share these photos of US:)

I'll start with the latest ones. These were taken at the amusement park Duinrell last weekend.

And here are some pictures from almost 10 years ago:)

So did we change much? People might say that my hubby has gotten really grey. His hair actually prematurely turned grey. He has grey hair as long as he remembers:) He just had it dyed before, but now he proudly wears it natural. I must say, it is kinda Richard Gere & George Clooney-ish;)

*** Sher ***

My beloved grandfather

2012-08-14T00:37:00.000+02:00

I couldnt find the right words to say when I read Tita Lorlyn's sad message. There are so many words unsaid and precious times unspent with my dear Lolo Angel, but I'm blessed with the memories I have. I'm happy knowing that he has spent time with his other grandchildren. To my cousins, thank you for sharing your pictures of the times you spent with our grandfather. I'm blessed seeing them and knowing that I can turn to you for stories about him. I didn't got the chance to have a close relationship with him or any of my grandparents and sometimes I envy those who have. I hear them talk about a certain talent or trait they got from their grandpa or grandma or they share the same interests and spent time talking about them. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that. However, I'm often asked why I look more Chinese than Pinay. At least I can answer with certainty: "I got that from my Lolo Angel!" Goodbye my dear Lolo you are and will be missed!

Your apo,

Sherry-Lee

*** Sher ***

Life is full of changes

2012-08-13T23:24:00.003+02:00

It's been a long while. My family went through a lot of changes these past few months, especially Jahdie. Blogging was put in the background for a bit. Let me give a short update. I'll address to my daughter directly. Writing goes more smoothly that way:)

Dear Jahdie,

You are now 4,5 years old. The major change you went through is going to school. Since day one you're enjoying school. We're very blessed with that. In the morning you don't have a hard time waking up. You're always excited to go. When you're Summer vacation just started, you were already missing school and your classmates. Almost every day your asking if you can go to school already. Well, just one more week and you can start again:)

At dance class things are going well too. Summer stop is also almost done. You like going there very much and you don't want to skip any class. After your dance class we often hang out together in the city to eat and do some shopping. I really enjoy that.

Another big and important change we as a family went through is going to another church. Your dad and I had to follow God's lead to look for a local church. Our former church was in Amsterdam. Travelling there every Sunday was getting a bit too much, especially with the prospect of you going to school soon. You need your rest before the school week starts. It was not only the distance, but we both knew that it was time to serve God in the city were He lead us almost 5 years ago. It was hard leaving our former church. However, if you follow God's will He will never leave nor forsake you. In a short time, we found our church family here. It's a wonderful feeling to serve God in the way He wants us to and to know that He is in control.

This year was also different from other years because you suddenly had a "big sister" to take care of you. Your cousin Carla is living with us for a year. It's a chance for her to experience life in Europe and in exchange she takes care of you and helps us out in the house. It's called an au-pair programme. It wasn't easy for you immediately, coz we never had someone else living with us before. You're so used it being just the three of us. Luckily, your ate Carla is very easy to be with and she adapted to our family quickly. When she's away in the weekends or exploring another European city you miss her very much. I guess we all have to adjust again when she will leave us. We will truly miss her!!!

What else about you? I can say that you're a very good girl my dear...but yes, you can also be stubborn at times and sometimes a bit of a brat, grrr! Ate Carla can attest to that, she often teases you and calls you Jahdiella Bratinella;)

I'll try to write more updates about you. However, all these changes have had an impact though. You're growing up so fast and I just rather be with you than write about you. When you're asleep your dad and I have our quality time together and at night I'm often too tired to sit behind the computer. I don't have lack of stories though and pictures of you we have thousands. I just have to manage my time more and not forget about my post early last year.

Till next my dearest:)

*** Sher ***

Fun with the Fam

2012-05-22T00:31:00.000+02:00

Often times unplanned events turn out to be the greatest fun. Last Thursday on Ascension Day most of us were off from work. I called my sister and brother in the morning to ask if they wanted to hang out. I got a positive reply. We got together at Claus Bowling in Hoofddorp. We reserved two lanes, one for the adults and one for the kids.

It was the first time for Jahdie to go bowling. I thought she would be a bit too young, but to my surprise they have bowling shoes in her size and even smaller. On the bowling lanes they have special bumper gates at the sides which will pop out every time it's a kid's turn to throw. You just have to add that setting after having typed the names of the players on that bowling computer thingy. Jahdie enjoyed it very much. She found it a bit annoying though that she had to wait for her turn every time and that she couldn't throw non-stop:)

Time goes by when you're having fun, so we extended a lane for an hour mainly for the kids. Good thing we did that coz the next hour turned out to be a Cosmic Bowling hour, or also known as Disco Bowling. Bright lights went off, disco lights turned on and much louder music was playing. It was so much fun! Here is a video of us:)

A nice thing at the venue is that you can request songs. My twin nieces kept on handing request cards with their fave songs to the staff. Jahdie also had a few requests, including a mega Mindy song:)

Thereafter we decided to go to my sis' place with the whole gang. My sister said she would just order some food as she didn't do groceries yet. However, my brother had a better idea: BBQ. There was enough meat and with rice and some veggies, a yummy dinner was prepared in no time.

with sis & kids (her husband and their eldest son were away that day), cousin, brother & his fam

We ended up having a great unprepared day.

I highly recommend Claus Bowling in Hoofddorp. Their staff are very friendly. Service was great!

(btw sorry for the bad quality pics, only used my mobile)

*** Sher ***

The almost movie, coffee & birthday party

2012-05-13T23:23:00.000+02:00

I haven't watched a movie in the movie theaters for a while. I can't even remember what my last movie was. On a Saturday my hubby wanted to watch The Avengers in 3D in an Imax theatre. We had a birthday to attend to that evening so we decided to buy tickets online for the after noon show. We asked my nephew Aaron and the sister of my bro-in-law Sarah (who is here on vacation right now) to join us. We got ready and headed to my sister's house to pick them up and leave Jahdie there to play with her other cousins.

Fast forward to the cinemas: Here we are posing before the big poster of The Avengers.

When we got in we printed out the tickets we bought online in one of the ticket fetching booths. I only had to scan the barcode which I received on my Iphone through the App of Pathe (cinema chain) and the tickets came out.

When I passed through the guy who was checking the tickets, I heard him and my nephew talk behind me. Oh no! He couldn't get in! The minimum age to watch the movie is 12. We didn't think of that! Honestly, I really thought he was old enough to watch a comic action heroes movie! Aaron is 11 but will turn 12 in two months, but even so they wouldn't let him in. My hubby doesn't stop until he tried everything, so he asked for the manager (I was kinda embarrassed). He explained that my nephew will almost turn 12 and that we travelled all the way to Amsterdam to watch the movie. Rules are rules, the manager said. Hubby said if they are that strict he demanded that they check the ID of every kid, because for sure there are kids who only say that they are twelve. At least my nephew was honest.

If we were aware of the age limit, maybe we too would have instructed my nephew to tell he was 12, I know really bad! However, that didn't happen coz if we knew beforehand we wouldn't have brought him along in the first place. We knew the staff was right of course, but nothing wrong with trying right;) We comforted my nephew and told him that the first thing we would do when he turns 12 is watch that stinking movie!

We didn't feel like watching another movie instead, so to kill time we went to the mega stores (electronics & sports) nearby and Starbucks to hang out before going to the birthday party of my cousin.

Yup, I had my way too long hair chopped;)

Coffee & pastries eased the pain:)

At the birthday party:

Bday gal in yellow:)

Us:)

It was a fun evening with the family. It made us forget about the movie ordeal....for the evening that was. I told my nephew recently that I can score him some VIP basketball tickets from the no. 1 basket ball team in the Netherlands (ZZ Leiden). I thought he would be thrilled, but the first thing he asked was if there is an age limit for watching the game in the VIP lounge. Oops, I didn't think of that!

*** Sher ***

Flip the Bear Sleep Over

2012-04-27T11:02:00.000+02:00

Flip the Bear is the Class Bear. On the weekend he can stay over at one of the student's house. The kids have to take care of him. The whole idea is for the children to learn about responsibility. At the end of the weekend the kid who took care of Flip together with mom or dad have to write about Flip's happenings in his little notebook. On Monday the story will be read before the class.

Here is Flip's story of the time he stayed over at our place:

"It was finally time for me to have a sleep over at Jahdie's house. After being picked up from school we played a bit at home. Then it was time for dinner. We ate chicken Adobo and rice, which is Jahdie's favorite food. Therafter, Jahdie and her dad helped me to put on my pajamas and to brush my teeth. (Flip has a bag with extra clothes and a tooth brush, so cute!) We fell asleep soon after.

On Saturday we woke up very early. The sun was already shining, so we decided to go out early to enjoy the lovely weather (in the Netherlands you have to make most out of a weather opportunity like that). We went to the city by bike to have break fast and do a little shopping.

We decided to try out the 1 Euro breakfast at Hema (a Dutch department store), which is available between 9:00 to 10:00 am. Wow, you get a lot for only 1 Euro: a sandwich with egg and bacon, a croissant and coffee or tea:)

When Jahdie got a bit tired, it was her dad who carried me around.

After eating and shopping we headed back home to rest for awhile. We took a nap.

When we woke up it was time to go to the swimming pool. Jahdie and I were all excited.

The most fun Jahdie had was going off the pool slide with her dad. I also went off the slide with her, not in the pool, but outside at the playground. We played there a bit before going home.

At home we ate and watched Chipmunks 3. It was really funny. Then it was time to sleep. It was a great but tiring day.

On Sunday we got ready for church. At church Jahdie and I sat with the children. She told them about me. We read a story from the bible about David & Jonathan. They were really good friends, just like Jahdie and I have become. Then we made some crafts and played till her parents picked us up from the children’s room again.

Because it was my last day, I got spoiled. We went to the McDonalds. They have a big & fun children’s corner there.

Back at home we played some more. After dinner we washed up. Jahdie’s mom read a story and we fell asleep. I had a very nice weekend at Jahdie’s place. They told me that I can come back anytime!:)"

Sweet bear hugs from me,
Flip the Bear

Getting together again

2012-04-18T23:27:00.000+02:00

Most of our friends live in Amsterdam. Since we’ve been living in another city we don’t get to see each other much. It’s not only because of the distance, you can live near a friend but don't see each other that often as well. It's mainly because we have our own families now and thus a whole different lifestyle. On weekends you want to rest from a week’s work, but you also want to do fun stuff with your family. Sometimes things have to be done that you weren't able to do on the weekdays. Then there are groceries to do and shopping for other stuff. Next to all this you also want to spare some time to get together with friends. As much as you want all this to happen on a weekend, it's impossible.

So as much as you want to see your friends more often, it’s not that easy anymore. With true friends however, it doesn't matter if you see each other once a year or so, because when you’re together again it’s like as if you saw each other yesterday.

Last Saturday there was a once in a year event when we see a group of very dear friends together again. It was the birthday of our friends’ son.

Here is the handsome birthday boy in his Star Wars Jedi costume.

Guests

Yummy food was prepared by our kumpare Allan, Jahdie's Godfather (somewhere in the back with a blue shirt and black t-shirt, hehe).

Jahdie busy playing with her other Godfather Beejay:)

These four went through a lot of drama in the past, haha. Now we are all settled and enjoying our adult stage in life:p

The birthday boy with other celebrants, including his dad Rene (with shades).

The gorgeous mom of the birthday boy, who is also Jahdie's Godmother, even had a present for Jahdie: a cute Snow White outfit. Thank you very much Ninang:)

We had fun and it was so nice seeing them again and make kwentuhan, especially talking bout our past happenings;) I hope it will take less than a year to see them together again. Love you guys!

*** Sher ***

Jahdie's big bang birthday

2012-03-10T15:53:00.000+01:00

It has almost been three weeks ago since Jahdie's birthday. We have a lots of pictures so I'll be doing some posts about her 4th birthday happenings:)

We plan her birthdays to be simple, special and fun. We both took the day off. Like last year we decorated our living room the night before. I got help from my cousin Carla. She was such a big help. The theme this year was "As long as it is Pink". Needless to say pink is Jahdie's favorite colour. I stayed up till very late or should I say early (it was already past 3am). I was busy making some treats.

When Jahdie woke up she first was bombarded with kisses from us. When she was all dolled up, it was time to go downstairs. She opened the door and "SURPRISE!":) Aww, she loved it!

Then it was time for her presents. At the moment she is hooked on Lazytown and I knew she really wanted a Stephanie (lead character) outfit. Lazytown is not popular here in Holland and I can't remember that it was ever aired on Dutch television, so it was hard to find the outfit here. I eventually bought one via Amazon.uk. Although the shipping costs from the United Kingdom was the same price as the costume itself, I had to buy it. I was happy I found it. I knew she wasn’t expecting the Stephanie outfit, coz I told her that they don't sell it here. She was super surprised and super happy when she opened the gift. I love seeing her reaction like that, truly priceless!

Our only goal for the day was to make her feel happy and special on her birthday. But sadly something unfortunate happened….

After opening her gifts we went to the daycare where she had been going since she was a year old. We planned to drop by to bring some treats and to officially say goodbye to her daycare teachers and playmates as she started school already. When we got there we were all in a good mood, but before they could even sing for her it happened: Jahdie lost her balance and fell quite hard on the edge of a chair. When I picked her up I saw that her lips were swollen and blood was coming out of her mouth. On that moment I could hurt myself…how could I let this happen!!! She was just sitting behind me! I blamed myself! I tried to be calm, but inside I was raging. My poor little girl!

Blood came out of the area around her front teeth. We thought her teeth would fall of. We wiped off the blood and comforted her. When she was calmed down they sung birthday songs for her and gave her a gift. We did our best to make her farewell at daycare still fun. She literally said goodbye with a big bang! When we left hubby rushed to the store to buy ice drops and ice cream and let her eat a lot, which really helped to stop the swelling of her lips. We were still worried about her teeth and she was still bleeding. So we went to the dentist. The dentist saw immediately what happened. The piece of tissue connecting the upper lip to the gum was deeply torn. It was nothing to worry about, coz it happens often when children have an accident like that. The many blood made it seem worse than it was. Her front teeth seemed to be ok. At some time the front teeth may become bluish. After three weeks that have passed I can say that this didn't happen:)

After the dentist appointment we saw Jahdie bloom up and being her old self again, making jokes. We asked her if she was ok. She answered that she was, didn’t we hear the dentist said so? Wow, people whom children admire surely do have a big impact on them. Maybe I can use that sometimes;)

I’ve learned not to question God. Instead of saying God why did you let this happen, I just thanked him that nothing worse happened and I just prayed that He would bring back the joy in Jahdie and help us make her day a fun one.

Back at home Jahdie had a little nap. Last year I discovered how fun it was to have a photo booth for Jahdie’s birthday. This year we planned a real photo shoot. We used lots of pink balloons and a real girly girl setting. We would let nothing spoil her day anymore. Her swollen lips couldn’t stop the photo shoot. She was after all the star of the day! My hubby fondly called her Angelina Jahdie:)

Before & After

More stories and pictures in my next post.

*** Sher ***

First day at school

2012-02-25T16:40:00.000+01:00

February 8, 2012 was the big day.

For months we tried to prepare Jahdie for school. We often mentioned about school and the changes to come and at daycare they did as well. We borrowed lots of books from the library about school/ kindergarten. She was getting excited, but sometimes she would say that she will miss daycare or she would realize that I will leave her at school with strangers. I told her that she will get used to it soon enough, but as the big day was approaching her excitement grew more and more.

At school: We went to her classroom and she was greeted by her teacher.

Jahdie has a small class. The school started a group 1 one batch this year. The class will eventually grow to around twenty kids. They sat in a circle and she joined the class immediately. She didn’t had an eye for us anymore.

The teacher asked Jahdie if she wanted to give her mama and daddy a goodbye kiss. Only then she realized that we were still in the room.

She gave us a kiss and a hug and off she went again. I didn’t even had time to cry, coz everything went so fast. I just had a big smile on my face and in my heart. I was SIMPLY HAPPY!

When we picked her up again, I saw that she was checking her little back pack...so cute! She had fun on her first day:)

"Heel veel plezier op school poppie! Ik weet zeker dat je er hele leuke tijd zal beleven. Er zullen waarschijnlijk ook tijden zijn waarin je school niet zo leuk vindt, maar dat hoort er soms bij en daar kom je wel doorheen.

Onthoud dat Jezus er altijd voor ons is om dagelijks over ons te waken, ons te leiden en beschermen! We zijn trots op je en houden ontzettend veel van je! Liefs, Mama & Daddy"

*** Sher ***

Ballerina & Butterflies

2012-02-08T00:38:00.002+01:00

I feel butterflies in my stomach!

Yes, I’m in love with my hubby, but that’s nothing new. The reason I feel butterflies is that my little girl will go to school tomorrow. By tomorrow I officially have a school goer. Oh man, where did the time go?! More about this milestone in another post.

Following up on my last entry, I want to show some pictures of Jahdie's first dance class. It was actually her second time following the class, but this was for real as the first time was a try out.

A pose before starting in the dressing room

Warming up?

With one of her cute co-dancers

Me in the nice waiting area

Through a window glass we could watch our ballerina's

It was cuteness all over the place!

My not so little girl anymore:)

You know what…I cried when I watched her, ssshhh! I know, it sounds O to the A (over acting), but I couldn’t help it. Do you parents remember those moments when holding your baby in your arms and you just can't stop looking at her/him? Well on those moments I would imagine her growing up and for example go to a dance class, taekwondo class, art class or whatever class. It seemed so far away. While I was watching her at dance class I realized that the moment that seemed so far away back then suddenly became the present! (or did I just cried becoz I realized I’m getting older way too fast, kidding!)

Anyway how O to the A it may sound on those moments you truly realize how precious time is.

Now back to my butterflies…I don't know if I will cry on her first day at school. I kinda have reasons not to:

1. I don’t want to look O to the A again.
2. Maybe my daughter will see me and get upset.
3. My hubby will be there also and I can’t stand him making fun of me which he will do for sure (grrrr).

Then again, you know what I can’t promise anything. I’ll just try to break out in tears somewhere when nobody can see me;)

*** Sher ***

Little Dancing Queen

2012-02-01T00:57:00.001+01:00

...that's our girl. We noticed early already that she enjoys dancing. I always have to smile when I see her dance coz I know she got that from her dad...and that's why I kinda fell for him;) She loves watching music video clips of her fave girl group K3 and to copy their dance moves. Shows with a lot of dancing and singing are her favorites. She recently discovered Lazytown on youtube and is quite fond of it now.

It was quite obvious that following a dance class would be great for her. Even at day care they advised me to put her on a dance school. In her daycare journal they talk quite a lot about Jahdie's love for dancing and singing. A few months ago she herself was asking us when she can have dance lessons.

At first I didn't want to put her on a ballet school as I thought it was kind of cliche, most girls go to ballet and it is so girly girl. I was looking for more modern dance or theater where dance, singing and acting are combined together, which I thought would suit her more. I noticed however that Jahdie really likes the whole ballet stuff: ballet moves, ballet outfit, the bar on the wall and just everything pink.

She tried out at two different schools. One school had a more modern approach and the other was more classical and more on ballet. She had fun at the first dance school, but was a bit shy to join. A few days later we went to the other school. When we got there it felt quite good already. It looked very professional. All the girls wore ballet suits and they looked so cute. I guess I gave in and left my stereotypical view of the whole ballet thing aside. Jahdie wasn't shy at all and joined them immediately. When I saw that she enjoyed the class I knew that we found the dance school for her.

For her dance outfit we went to a little balletshop. I already told before that I adore small, cute & cosy stores. This balletshop is one those shops. They sell lovely stuff.

the store has limited opening hours

fitting her ballet shoes

staff was very friendly

Jahdie was happy with her dance outfit. She couldn't wait anymore for her official first dance lesson.

In my next post you will see what's in the bag;)

One of my regular prayers to God is to make my hubby and me sensitive to the talents and skills He has given Jahdie. I believe that God all made us unique with different talents and for a reason. I really want to support her in doing the things she likes and does best. As parents we can show our children the possibilities there are with regards to hobbies, sports and in a later stage the courses to follow. We can also direct them in a certain way and teach them about priorities, but in the end it truly will be their own drive and passion that will matter!

P.s. I hope you all are enjoying the new year so far;)

*** Sher ***

Christmas Celebration

2011-12-31T14:59:00.002+01:00

After a few hours it's 2012 already. Before we celebrate the new year, let's do a Christmas post first;) Hope you all had a wonderful celebration of our Lord's birth!

We celebrated Christmas Eve at my sister's new house. There was no snow this Christmas, it was actually quite warm weather for this time of the year. I've heard this was the warmest Christmas since 1974 in Holland.

How did we spend our Christmas? Well here are some photo collages of our simply happy Christmas celebration:

The kids stayed up till late as we traditionally celebrate Noche Buena. Before they got sleepy they played, watched a 3D movie & of course opened their Christmas gifts.

Our chef cook Allan prepared a delicious meal. Here are some of the food he prepared.

The big kids also had fun opening their Christmas presents.

We ended up with a game of scrabble till early morning. We slept over the whole weekend. On Christmas Day we just stayed in the entire day. The kids played, made some crafts and decorated some cupcakes and cookies for us and for neighbours. We watched some movies and just relaxed.

The next day we headed back home. Jahdie was not feeling well. She was already a bit sick a few days before, but on Christmas she was feeling much better. Unfortunately it kicked in again after the holiday. When we got home there was still a gift left under the tree. It did wonders;)

Poor Jahdie not feeling well

But after a while she was performing again:)

Thank you Lord for a wonderful Christmas time! The very reason we celebrate Christmas is because of you! Thank you Lord that on Christmas we can celebrate our freedom! Thank you for coming to this world to save us! I can't wait to celebrate your birthday again next year!

Up to the next festivity: "Have a beautiful, fun, save & blessed New Years's Eve all!"

*** Sher ***