good vibrations..*

I'm in a particularly good mood and have been all week so I'll share my moment of joy with all you fascinated readers! I can't pinpoint any one reason to explain my happiness but I just feel like I'm finally in a place in my life where I'm comfortable and content. I haven't been letting anything get me down and have really put a positive attitude in full effect. Corny as it sounds, it really does work. Moments of frustration have been almost non-existent this week and I'm really just in a good place.

My time with the kids has been amazing; I had a pretty relaxing weekend and have been getting a lot of rest each day which really helps with my enthusiasm and energy. I'm really excited about tomorrow because I get to spend most of it with Pim! The family leaves for Switzerland Friday and everything still needs to be packed. Pimmy loves going for walks so I'm actually looking forward to spending time with him. I just hope it's nice weather. He's getting so much better at walking and has been in such a fantastic mood! He's such a sweet little baby.

Niek packed a suitcase full of toys to take with him last night and he's been carrying it around with him ever since! It's so cute because I think it weighs more than him and when he runs to try and keep up with the others, he struggles so much. For such a tiny kid with small hands, he manages to come downstairs every morning with about 15 dinos. I love him.

Lara had trouble sleeping about a month ago while I was babysitting so I let her come look at pictures on my computer. That wasn't the best idea because now she wants to do it all the time, but I find it quite nice. It's one of the few times we get to spend alone together and she'll sit on my lap and point out the pictures she thinks are funny. She even lets me tuck her in after which I also enjoy :-)

Tijn, Tijn, Tijn. I really love him a lot. He has this cute little baby voice he does, where he'll speak about himself in the third person. He will randomly come sit on my lap, give me a hug, or give me a kiss and I always wanna hold him and never let go. He is the absolute sweetest.

I'm really happy with the way things are going for me right now. I love my home environment. Thomas and Eline are really sweet and I look forward to our dinnertime conversations. I can talk to them about my day, my US home-life, anything and I think that really helps me to not be homesick. I really feel like they care about me and want me to be happy (THIS IS THE SAPPIEST POST EVER) but I really do feel lucky because I lucked out with this family; it doesn't always work out this way.

In other news, my parents are in the process of adopting a niece of mine from Haiti. I think it's wonderful cuz she's Matt's age and now he'll have someone to play with. Also, if I really do end up staying here, I'll be comforted knowing that he won't be alone. I miss him.


vanavond, slaap lekker!!!

hey, is your vagina clean?

So I can't believe how marvelous Barcelona was. My post post title ins one of the many hysterical quotes from the vacation. I had such an amazing time with my sister, met the most amazing people and did insane amounts of partying. It was in all seriousness, the best vacation I've ever had and my only wish was that it could've lasted longer.

Damaly arrived on Thursday morning and we were so happy to see each other, that we actually shed tears (if you know us, you know they're rare). We then went straight to Amsterdam with Lizzy where we cleaned up then hit the shops! There were all sorts of sales and I took her to Wok to Walk which is hands-down, my favorite place to eat. That night we went out in Amsterdam to some anti-fashion party before waking Friday morning to start our true journey to Barcelona!!! We flew out of Dusseldorff, Germany and arrived in Barcelona around 3:30 PM. The weather was surprisingly warm and my heavy winter jacket was completely unnecessary. We stayed at Kabul Hostel which was fantastic! They made up for the lack of outlets in the rooms with an insanely fun lounge area that had all the characteristics of a bar. We met the most wonderful Romanian girl named Andreea, because she too was searching the hostel for an outlet (we found each other in the laundry room where we tried to unplug a machine so we could plug in our flat irons; it didn't fit so we unplugged a vending machine instead).

Showing is better than telling so I won't bore you with too many details but I will say that Barcelona is definitely the type of place I'd love to visit several more times, if not live there. Besides gross Spanish men grabbing my ass, it's a beautiful city with so much to see and do.
















The day after we got back was my 23rd birthday! Ewwwwwww, I'm getting soooo old! I spent the day showing my sister around my neighborhood and introducing her to my peoples. The family was kind enough to get me some birthday gifts and the kids were so sweet and cute.. Damaly definitely fell in love. We then ventured out into Haarlem where we met up with all the girls and I proceeded to get RIDICULOUSLY drunk. How drunk you ask? Drunk enough to pass out on the toilet, forcing an employee to come take the doors off the hinges since I wasn't responding to the banging. I remember taking a cab home but I don't remember falling asleep in front of my front door while Damaly slept in the bakfiets (it's a popular bike here with a big wooden basket meant for transporting children). Anyidrankwaytoomuch, we awoke at 530 AM, trying in vain to get the door open. We eventually had to ring the bell and my host family was not happy. I ended up sleeping until 10:30 which was also frowned upon before having to bring Damaly to the airport. Sad face for days. I miss her so much already. Having her here really made my life and I'm extremely grateful that she was able to come.






Things with the family are going great. I had great conversations with Thomas and Eline about how things were going and improvements that could be made on both ends. I don't think I'll be joining them to Switzerland anymore because it would be a good time to finally see different places in Holland as well as have some more time to myself. The kids are doing well; they're so sweet and so cute and I really do enjoy spending time with them.

my heart is hurting.

I'm so tired & hungover.
Damaly went home today.
I miss her already.
All I have now are our memories
Happy belated birthday to me.

I have no energy now but I'll discuss Barcelona soon.