New house

One of the biggest news of the New Year is our move to a new house. Four years back when I came to Amsterdam, we had found a spacious apartment in a great location. Every guest who came to our flat praised it. We live in Osdorp, part of Nieuw West, Amsterdam. Tram 1 to Central Station and Bus 192 to Schipol depart from right outside our building. Basic Fit is on the ground floor of our building. Albert Heijn, Etos and good schools are all a five-minute walk away. The best part is that we live way high on the 9th floor and have a great view of the city from our windows. (Read previous blogpost The joys of living high up)
We have spent the best years in this apartment. This is the home where Mr Baby was born, thus, this home will always be special to me, just like Amsterdam itself.
But, it is time to move on. S has been wanting to buy a property since a long time now. I have always been hesitant and never really encouraged him, but everyone who we spoke to said, "Now is the time to buy". Many friends suggested to buy the apartment we are living at, but both S and I felt that a house with a backyard would be better for Mr Baby. He should have some space to play with his ball, ride his cycle and in the summer maybe even have his own little pool.
We have found a house we both like and we are going to move in soon. The boxes are packed, the addresses have been changed, and the mind is set to start a new life in a new place.
We are still going to be in the Nieuw West, this time going to Geuzenveld-Slotermeer. I had my reservations about the area, but after talking to some people in the neighbourhood, they were somewhat put to ease. The rest we shall find out for ourselves pretty soon. From Tram 1 our new best friend is going to be Tram 13, and from 192 we are going to change loyalties to bus 69.

Summer paddling pools

These days the best way to beat the summer heat and have fun is to go to one of the many paddling pools (kinderbadjes) across the city.
My favourite one these days is the one at Vondelpark, for no particular reason other than that I love Vondelpark and it is very easy for me to reach there by just a direct fifteen minute tram ride.

The first day I decided to take Mr Baby there was a hot morning when he had woken up in a very bad mood. Maybe the heat was troubling him too, so I packed a picnic blanket, a ball, some snacks and set off to the park. It was very calm and cool, only a few people around enjoying the morning soaking their feet in the cold water of the pool.
I directed Mr Baby towards the pool, but he was hesitant, so I held his hand and took him in the water, sat on the curb and let my feet soak in the pool.
Ahhh, heaven! The cold water was just what I needed to cool off my entire body. As Mr Baby saw his mom enjoying he also thought it was safe to enjoy. Slowly, he became more acquainted with the pool and started splashing and moving around. He played there for almost an hour, after which he was quite exhausted and happily sat in his buggy to make his return journey home.
Since that day I have already taken him to the pool three times, once with S, who also found the activity quite amusing.
Summers, we are glad you are here, and we are going to miss you.

Driving is hard :(

My driving lesson today didn't go well at all. One would think that after so many lessons I should be able to drive perfectly by now. However, today's lesson was nothing near perfection. I got so disheartened that at the end of the lesson I was really holding back my tears, which were let out once my instructor couldn't see me anymore.
Back home S consoled me. "You are still learning, its okay to make mistakes" he said. Thanks S for all your support!
Later when I looked over my lesson with a cool mind I realized that yes, I did make some mistakes, but there were points where I did the right thing. Among my mistakes the biggest was a failed attempt of parallel parking and another failed attempt of reverse parking. However, parking is the hardest thing ever, so I should not worry about it that much. Other mistakes were a result of stress and confusion.
My instructor is leading me towards independent driving now, but I still have my ears open for his guidance, and when the guidance is not coming then panic mode is switched on.
My exam is booked for next month. I am not ready, but maybe with 6 or 7 more lessons I will be ready. However, the fact that each lesson is a dent in S's pocket is not helping my nerves. On top of that if I fail the test then the cost of another test alone is the price of 6 lessons.
I know that my focus should not be on money right now. It should be on learning and getting the licence and do this all with a positive attitude. Hopefully, my next lesson would not be such a disaster and I will have a nice post to write.
Till then, happy walking!

Baby's first joy ride

Kermis is on this week in Osdorp, Amsterdam. I have been passing by it every day of the week longing to go inside and enjoy the joy rides, BUT, the weather has been awful! Snow, freezing cold, if I were to board a joy ride in this weather I would have become a popsicle for sure.

Anyways, luckily for us, today was not so cold, and no signs of rain or snow. I took this opportunity to walk to Kermis. 

My first stop was a ride for kids, the one which just goes round and round, I chose to sit him in a jeep. He hesitated a bit so I stood with him. For the first two rounds he had no idea what was going on, in the third round he started touching the wheel and enjoying the music a bit. After that the ride was over. 

Then I took him on a mini roller coaster ride with me. It was a very special moment for me, to take a joy ride with my son. He sat like a pro, holding the bars of the cart. And when it sped up a bit I was afraid he would get scared, but he just kept sitting confidently and I did hear him humming. 

S stood outside with the watchers, guarding the buggy. He didn't look half as excited as I was, well, to be perfectly honest he looked quite bored. So I asked him "Didn't you get excited to see him", and he replied "He wasn't doing anything exciting". I guess that's the difference between me and him. I take every moment of Mr Baby as very special. Everything he does for the first time gives me a weird kid of joy. Maybe because these are all things that I have imagined earlier in life doing with my children, and they are finally turning true. I couldn't be more thankful.

New Sony Vaio netbook

My four-year-old beautiful pink Sony Vaio was giving me signals that its time to say goodbye and move on. Sadly, my pocket was not allowing me to buy a new laptop just as yet, but one good scare made me shut down my laptop, clean it up and put it on marktplaats for sale. The responses started coming in minutes after I posted and I closed a deal within three hours of posting my advert. I must say that later I thought I could have sold it for a higher bid, but what was gone was gone.

After bidding farewell to my laptop I did start having withdrawl symptoms though. I thought I was stupid to sell my laptop so quickly without buying a proper substitute. I had visited BCC a few days ago and had totally fell in love with Asus VivoTab Smart 400C1A024W. However, along with its dockboard it turned out to be way above my budget, which I was somehow stretching to 500 euros. Any good latest laptop was obviously not an option in this price range, so I settled on buying a netbook.
My demands were simple: lightweight, good battery life and good looking.
After looking at many Acer, Asus, HP netbooks, reading reviews comparing prices I was on the verge of tears thinking I would never be able to find the perfect replacement for my pink Sony Vaio.
I narrated my agony in front of dear S who hurriedly set down on finding a good machine for me. Minutes later he calls me with excitement. On his screen I see another pink Sony Vaio SVE-1112M1EP. Its a netbook, lightweight, beautiful and with great specs and just in my price range. Looked like S had saved the day once again.
I decided to go to Media Markt right that night, where I carefully saw all my other options but finally decided to take my new Sony Vaio home. But this time I ditched pink for white, to match my white Samsung S3 mini.
Happy me typing my first blog on my new Sony Vaio netbook, trying to get the hang of Windows 8.

New buggy!

After dragging along our disappointing and stupid purchase of a buggy for seven months we finally decided to test our luck and try to sell it. After advertising it on marktplaats.nl we got a respectable bid and S wasted no time in selling it. The buggy was gone, we were happy, but at the same time confused about our next purchase.
A trip to Prenatal helped us in choosing our next buggy. This time we knew what we were looking for. Our old buggy was very heavy, it was very difficult to lift it into trams and buses and it was not easily maneuverable. The only plus point with that buggy was that it had a very large spacious shopping basket under it, which has spoiled us.
We wanted a buggy which was small and smooth, but at the same time provided some storage space. On this basis we rejected our original choice of Quinny Zapp, even though we loved the way it just rolled around and closed into a compact little thing. Anyways we thought about how many times we had to close our old buggy and decided that size wasn't that big an issue for us.
Our eyes fell on Prenatal's own brand of buggy, which is basically an imitation of Mclaren Quest. It may not be the prettiest little thing, but it rides smooth, is light and easily maneuverable and has a decent size shopping basket under it.
All I have to say is life is 100 times better with a better buggy!
http://www.prenatal.nl/shop/Kinderwagens-Buggy%27s/Prenatal-Prenatal-Buggy-5-standen-Staal-92669.htm?startValue=&rangeValue=&prevVisit=&id=92669

Packing bags

The countdown to my trip back home has begun. No doubt, Amsterdam is my home now, but Lahore still remains my hometown. My family is my son and my husband, but visiting my parents and siblings is also the most beautiful part of my life.
Its been well over 18 months or so since I visited Lahore last, and its memory is getting shady in my mind. I have to concentrate really hard to imagine what my city looked like. Excitement and anxiety has enveloped me as every night I cross off one more day between me and Lahore.
Visiting Pakistan is not just about seeing my family again, its about being in my own country, where I wouldn't be a foreigner. Having said that, I do feel like a visitor rather than a citizen now that I visit Pakistan.
This is Mr Baby's first trip to my land. I am excited about taking him there, introducing him to my relatives and giving him a taste of life in Pakistan.
S is not happy with my departure, but he has made plans of his own, and I am sure he will survive without us just fine. He will miss us, and we will miss him, but our reunion would be very soon and sweet.
On a personal note I am really looking forward to a few weeks without the responsibility of managing my household duties, and a much needed escape from everyday life. Its vacation time for me, which I plan to enjoy in a relaxed manner.