The Happenings of Devynn

hmmm...

2008-08-26T23:47:00.003+02:00

I switched blogs. I think wordpress is better.
here is the link to the new one, however, it's not going to be au-pair only. Of course I'll still tell my amsterdam and work stories...and post pictures, but I'll also be writing about other things. Whatever tickles my fancy. Now I have to decide if I am going to keep updating this one as well? opinions?

i'll leave you with a vid. Kaitlyn learned how to walk!

NEW BLOG: http://devynn.wordpress.com/

e-high five

2008-08-17T19:48:00.002+02:00

So my two week vacation is officially over. It went by waaaaaaaaaay too fast. Tomorrow is back to the daily grind. I'm sure Kaitlyn will have some major seperation anxiety issues tomorrow.

Anyway, the reason for this update: I GOT A JOB!! I got the job with Sophias familys neighbors. Their names are A.P. (pronounced 'ay pay'...that's the dad), Eegje (the mom, dont ask me how to pronounce it cuz i dont remember...), Hidde (5 year old boy) and Mare (18 month old girl). The kids are gorgeous, and the parents seem really sucsessful. They have a GREAT house in a GREAT location! There are so many kids and aupairs on their street, they all just play together all the time. I'll be living in an apartment, between our families houses with sophia. I am so excited! I really think i'll be a lot happier. The job seems really easy...Hidde goes to school 5 days a week so I will basically just have to bring him to school and pick him up and feed them dinner. And mare goes to the creche on thursdays and fridays. Eegje is going to be at home on tuesday and wednesdays so my only 'work' days will be M, TH, F. so TECHNICALLY i'll only have to work a full day on mondays... and that'll be with mare. They'll also need random babysitting and some cleaning and laundry and shopping for me to do too. (which i dont mind! i usually clean anyway...). They are going to give me a schedule though, which will be nice because i'll know exactly when I am 'working'. I'm so excited, the parents seem much more like my type of people. They are hip, outgoing, and like to have fun. (aparently they are partiers!). HOWEVER (and I haven't quite decided if this is a good thing or a bad thing yet...) they will only need me until January. They have already hired a girl from South Africa and she is coming in January. So, over the next few months I'll decide what I want to do from then. Who knows.

I wrote a letter of resignation for Jane and Lourens, and I am going to go downstairs in about an hour (after the kids go to bed) and give it to them. I am so nervous! I hate doing this stuff....I really hope they dont try to convince me to stay, because that will just make it awkward. I am giving them a months notice to find a new nanny and I'm going to tell them that i'll help them find somebody if they want me to. I hope my last month here isn't too uncomfortable...

I'm so excited about the apartment and living with sophia. It's gonna make my social life 2938432 times better then it is now. I'm pumped.

Ok. onto the next subject. I haven't really been doing anything all that exciting lately. I went on a canal boat tour the other day for the first time...twas kind of interesting, but mostly long and boring. I hung out with Emelie and Neri in this cool bar that doesn't have many tourists in it. I felt like a midget in there. F'real the dutch people are so tall! I dont know, I am drawing a blank.. I will write more later. I gotta start taking notes or something, because when I am out I always think of things I should write about...but when it comes time to do it, i can never remember.

job searches

2008-08-12T10:44:00.005+02:00

I suppose it's time for an update? they have been dwindling. I know, i'm sorry!

I listen to so much music here. It's good, I feel like the old days again. Music makes me haaaaapppppyyyyy :)

I haven't really been doing anything up-date worthy lately. Basically just the same stuff....shopping, sleeping-in (yeah vacation!), and drankin.

somehow i always get suckered into paying 7 euros (that's like $12) just to get into a stupid club! I hate cover charges and i hate clubs!

The new job hunt is going ok. I have a couple eggs in my basket. I had a trial day yesterday with that family that I met. It went really good and I was really excited about it. But when the mom came home she informed me that when they move (in october) that they wont really have room for a live-in nanny. It was weird because it still sounds like they want me to come? Should I do it just to get out of this house and then just keep the job search going once I get with them? Or is moving TWICE too much of a hassle??

Another possibility: My friend Sophia lives in an apartment that her "family" and a couple other families rent out for the au-pair. Currently one of the families is looking for a new nanny. I guess there is a 1 year old and a 5 year old. But the kids dont speak ANY english (which is one of my big problems with marisa). But the perks are that they pay 500EUR per month (100 more then I am making now) and that I'd get my own place and I'd get to live with Sophia.

Also: I am tempted by a californian family. They live in Simi Valley (near malibu beach) in an AMAZING house. Pool and hot tub, i'd have my own room with bathroom and a seperate entrance. They'd give me a car. Salary is pretty decent for everything they'd provide for me as well. They have a 14 month old girl and another baby due in January. They want their nanny to start in november. Will that give me enough time to see and do what I want to do in europe? It'd be nice because winter would just be starting here (which I hear is INCREDIBLY depressing)...and I could just skip it and go to the sunshine.

I am also emailing with a few other families in amsterdam.

Any input??

Ok, i'll post some new-ish pics now.

the rijks museum. I still have to go there.

we randomly ran into kasper at the bar. amsterdam is so small.

mirror shotz

posing with the rembrant statues

i liked him

just some building.

canal tour boat, bikes, bridge, canal, houses...sooo amsterdamesque

me on a bench

coffee shop and peep shows.

the customer isn't always right.

2008-08-05T13:36:00.009+02:00

ahhhhh yes. vacation! two weeks with this house to myself. I'm loving it, and i'm sure it will go by WAAAAYYYY to fast.

I saw a deer the other day, while I was riding the train. It made me miss home!

ANIMALS SEEN THUS FAR:
cows - 923,823
sheep - 872,346
horses -726,347
mice - 2
deer - 1
squirrels - 0

We went to an island in the north of holland this weekend. It's called Terschelling. It was nice, it reminded me of the U.P. sorta. (why does everything remind me of michigan?? so different, yet so alike i guess) The beach was soooooo nice. SOOOO big! The weather was a little shitty though. Not so warm and VERY WINDY! I think i am still shaking sand from my ears ;) I was still a little under the weather (I had a 102.7 degree fever on thursday night...that's the first fever i've had in like 15 years!!) so I didn't really explore too much besides the beach.

Funny story though, we ate lunch at this little resteraunt on the beach. Lourens ordered something, and then when it came it didn't look very appetizing so he sent it back and ordered something else. Well, when the time came to pay the bill they didn't take it off. So he asked them why they didn't and their response was "you ordered it and there was nothing wrong with it so we're not going to take it off". So he went and talked to the manager and the manager was all in his face and said "i asked my cook and he said it was good so I believe him!" and then a customer near where they were was like "my food was great!! :) " and then the manager was saying to lourens that dont need his service and it's time for him to leave now. So he had to pay for the sandwich that he DIDN'T even want! Aparently the customer ISN'T always right in The Netherlands.

So I thought I'd let everybody know that I am currently looking for a new job. Without going into too much detail I am just not very happy with this family. They are very nice and mean well, there are just too many things that are making it too hard for me to get 100% comfortable with them. I had an interview yesterday that I thought went well. We will see!

Ok, now the pics I took at Terschelling.

baaaa

some dunes

blue sky!!!

more dunes. with flowers

horsies

beach, and beach restaraunt

it's not a desert, i swear.

the clouds were rolling in

sunbathing (lolol)

p.s. happy 3rd birthday (yesterday) to mr. parker riley!

he's growing up soooo fast.

everybodys favorite --pictures!!

2008-07-28T21:47:00.005+02:00

canal houses...and a tram going over the bridge. (i'm in a boat!)

my birthday drink. it had a fancy straw and a pineapple garnish. I look gross, but that is John...one of jane and lourens's friends, he is american.

it's meeee waiting for a tram, per usual.

mmmmm such good spaghetti. lekker! :)

me and emelieeee out for my birthdeeee

the kids. it was a sweaty day out.

oh you know, the park..again

emelie @ the park

me, at...the park

going under a bridge in the boat. there were actually 7 bridges in a row but you can't really tell in the pics.

this is our 'garden' aka yard.

another view, it's pretty cute.

the living room.

dining area (thats marisa, in the corner, throwing a fit..hahah)

tiny little kitchen!

writing about the things i always forget to write about

2008-07-28T16:06:00.003+02:00

...unless i forget something.

SQUIRRELS: there are no squirrels here. I noticed it yesterday while laying in the park, under a tree. I said to my friend emelie, "do they have squirrels here...?" and she said "squirrels? what are those?" and I said, "you know, bushy tails...eats nuts." She replied with 'yeah, no i dont think they are here'. WEIRD, eh? They are taking over michigan, i should transport some over here ;)

DOGS: the dogs are so well trained here! Honestly, yesterday when I was laying under my tree there was a PLAYDATE of some kind for about 10 dogs and their senior citizen owners. Some of the dogs were just laying, watchig. Some were playing with eachother...but none of them were on leashes, none of them tried to steal frisbees from the people playing frisbee. None of them got into fights and none of them even BARKED! that's how they all are here! it's crazy.

BIRD INCIDENT: Me and emelie were shopping last week, and the pigeons (who are FEARLESS!) were flying above us. One GRAZED the top of my head. SO GROSS, i probably have bird flu now ;)

ugh that's all I remember now, I'll post a picture update tonight.

birthday celebrations

2008-07-26T18:22:00.002+02:00

LOL

seriously....a good birthday with an awkward ending.

Me, Lourens, Jane and the girls went to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. (mmmmm american food). I got a burger and fries and it was SO delish! It hit the spot. It's totally what I have been craving. Dinner went good.

Then, Jane and the girls went home and I went out for a boat ride with Lourens and some of their friends. Their friends were really cool...there was a couple americans, a norweigen girl, an irish guy and a british guy. They have all been living here for a long time though. We rode on the boat for 45ish minutes, had some drinks and then after that went to a bar at a hotel. (this was at 9:45ish). We stayed there and drank until TWO! I paced myself because I wanted to go out tonight...and I didn't want to feel crappy today. But LOURENS was a freakin fish! He was drinking this drink with vodka, lime juice and sugar and i swear he had like 6 of those, plus a couple beers plus the wine on the boat. Homeboy got WASTED! We got a taxi home, and while we were waiting for it he could barely stand up...he was swaying all over the place. The taxi ride home he was passed the f out. When we got to our house I started unlocking our door and as i was walking through the door he started PUKING!!!! RIGHT OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUSE!! "omg omg omg omg", that's all i could say to myself over and over again. I walked in, while he was puking because I didn't know what else to do and drank some water. Lol, when I came back from the kitchen he was in the bathroom and was like "I think I am ok now...." (in his dutch accent) and I was like "awe, I hope so!" lol and then just went up to my room. I am SO embarassed for him!! I haven't seen him yet today (thank god)...But I am sure he's not feeling so good! Gosh, it was a whole new side of Lourens. Picture this nerdy, proper, polite, IT guy...wasted. It was just weird.

hahahaha gosh I just laugh about it everytime I think of it....

anyway, I am going out with emelie now, my two other friends backed out (sigh). Lame! Miss you all!

day of birth!

2008-07-25T09:30:00.004+02:00

Here it is, my birthday. I am 25 years old today, and I still feel.....like i'm 24. Actually I've been telling people I'm 25 for the past couple weeks so I guess I feel 25.

It's a sunny day in Amsterdam and it's going to be 80 degrees! I couldn't ask for a nicer day :)

I wish I was at home having a crazy ass party (see: last year, and the year before) buuuuuuut It's ok...it'll be fun here too.

After work Jane and Lourens and the girls are taking me to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner....because you guys dont even knowwwwwwwwww how much I want a REAL...AMERICAN burger right now. This mystery meat they use in their burgers here just ain't cutting it. So that will be nice, and then Lourens invited me to go out on a canal boat with him and one of his friends after dinner. That'll be cool cuz I want to go on a canal boat, but It might also be awkward because it'll just be Lourens...and his friend...and they will probably be speaking dutch the whole time. Maybe I will ask if I can bring Emelie along.

Wow, I just realized I haven't updated this in a while. On Wednesday I went to Den Haag to go to the beach! The beach was reeeeeeal nice, lots and lots of beach. The North Sea is just as cold as Lake Superior, so unless it gets to be in the 90's here (which is doubtful) I dont think I'll be swimming in it anytime soon. But if it is nice out next Wednesday I think I am going to take my ipod and my book and a beach towel and just go hang out there allllllllll day. Den Haag is only like a 30 minute train ride, and the train is so fun fun! I want to go everywhere in the train :)

Next week is my last week of work and then...two week vacation! Hoooray. I am going to a dutch island the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of August...at first I was excited about this. I thought it'd be relaxing...but now I realized that I agreed to going the first weekend with Lourens, his mom and the two kids. No Jane until Monday...which meeeeeeeans....I will probably be working? I dont know, we will see I guess. And then I dont know what I am going to do for my two week vacation! I was going to try to go to London, but I waiting too long to book a flight and they are just getting more and more expensive by the day.... Maybe I will take the train to Brussels or Antwerp. Explore Belgium a little. Or maybeeee, depending on financial situation, take the train to Paris :)

My car sold!!! I even made a $530 profit :) This makes me soooooooo happy, in an instant my monthly bills are cut in half! Seriously, i'm so happy. Therese sold it and took care of my loan payment and deposited MY money into my bank for me.....so I have to buy her a thank you gift for sure. I'M SO HAPPY!

ok. some beach pics:

picnic at the park! eatin a banaan (that's dutch for banana ;) )

marisa

the pier (bungee jumping!) in the evening

my toesies in the sand

my toesies in the water

oh hey! it's me!

lots of clam shells

lots of seagulls

gross, warm, dutch beer...and my shoes

hi there!

bad day turned good

2008-07-21T22:29:00.006+02:00

well, let me start this out by saying that my frown has turned upside down. But it started out with everything going wrong: Rain, cold, wind, criticism, talks. I wont get into too much detail but It wasn't a good day.

HOWEV, the tables have turned becauuuuuuuuse I SOLD MY CAR!!!!. Lets pop the champagne, i'll drink to THAT! And, I even made 600 dollars profit! with a broken mirror and all. That makes me very happy because I am constantly fretting about bills, and my car payment is 1/2 of the bills i have to pay. yes yes yesssss!

The weekend was chill. I didn't do......anything really. Friday night saw that movie, Saturday night I was sleeping by 10:30, and Sunday I had the whole house to myself ALLLLLL day. I went into the city for lunch with emelie. I ate fries and a salad, but I wasn't digging the salad. Who puts corn and green beans in a salad?

Today rained, but the rest of the week (except saturday, of course...because that is when i'm TRYING to celebrate my birthday) is going to be sunny and warm! I even have some activities planned out for the kids this week. Tomorrow we are going to go to beatrixpark (but I dont know how we are going to get there...................) and Thursday I think I am going to take them to the zoo and then on friday I am going to take Kaitlyn to a playgroup.

I did this because part of my 'talks' have been that I have to get the kids out to do things. I will, just give me time, I barely know my way around the city by myself...let alone with two kids. Also, I think things will be easier for me if I ask them to make weekly schedules for me. (such as: http://www.aupairusa.org/resources/host-family/au-pair-scheduling.html or http://www.aupairusa.org/america/au-pair-schedule.html) Because half the time I dont know if i should be working or not...its just a lot to get used to I guess

Oh, this weekend I ate some more dutch foods:

Poffertejes (YUM!!!) they are like, little tiny pancakey donuty pancakes. You eat them with butter and powdered sugar and they are SOOOOOOOOOOOO delish!

Stroopwafel (pretty good) are like, a cookie. They are really thin waffles (like, waffle cones) with a carmely syrup in the middle. They're not bad, but they dont live up to all the hype i've heard about them.

also, not a dutch food...but I ate turkish pizza. It's more of a burrito-like thing than a pizza. It was only 2 euros and it was SO good! I can't find a picture of the turkish pizza so I will take one next time i eat one....which will probably be soon.....like...tomorrow. Because I am craving it now.

michigan: americas high five.

2008-07-19T01:26:00.005+02:00

You know, the longer I live in this country (and yes, it does feel a lot longer than 19 days), the more I appreciate Michigan. I was once one of those people that was all like "get me out of this state, it sucks here". But being away from it has opened my eyes to its perks. Now, I haven't yet gone outside of amsterdam... so dont think i'm talking smack about Holland. CUZ I AIN'T!
The one thing I am not so happy about here is the weather. It has been in the 60's and rainy 78% of the time i've been here. I check Michigans weather every day....92 and sunny?! yes please. I can't even remember the last time I wore a tank top. Last night when I went out in the city, umbrella in hand, It was so cold I could see my breath. I had to go to the store and buy a jacket..... IN JULY! I like that michigan has extreme seasons. I love that it gets really hot, and I love that it gets really cold and snowy. You can ski and ice skate, and only a few months later you can hang out on one of the many beaches (or a boat...on one of our MANY lakes) in a bathingsuit and get a nice tan. Yes, beaches...Not many places has as many beaches as us, we are lucky! We also have lots of "vacation" spots in our own state. The U.P. is probably my favorite vacation spot, no lie. up north michigan is amazing! I am sad that I am not going up there this summer.

Dear Lake Superior,
I miss you.
Love,
Devynn

Anyway. I still love Amsterdam, and I'm sure i'll love the rest of Holland too! I love that I dont have to drive here. When I think of all the driving I did at home, it makes me feel lazy. I used to drive barely a block, just to get to CVS. I walk so much here! Its nice. It makes me feel good. My other favorite thing about this city is alllllll the people. There are SO many, but it doesn't feel TOO crowded. I seriously enjoy just sitting on a bench and watching everybody walk by. I always see such interesting people. Oh, and are wayyyyy into PDA here. I see people making out in the middle of the street all the damn time. Even old folks! The night life is amazing here. There are as many people walking the streets at midnight as there are at noon. I love that too.

So, I will just give a quick recap of my day and then go to sleep. It's late...
hung out with Kaitlyn....took her for a ride on my bike for the first time. (it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be, but seriously....the dutch people are fearless, I never see any kids wearing helmets!) We went for a long walk in the stroller too....aaaand we practiced taking steps. and we colored with crayons....and we sang the bumble bee song and the wheels on the bus. Lourens worked from home today and was asking me how I was liking it here and yada yada. He told me that he went to the U.S. in highschool as an exchange student and that he'd miss home sometimes...especially when he was missing a major event or missing out on the things his friends were doing. I could relate, it was nice. Then Jane made a pasta dish for dinner. She makes the best pasta dishes! I dont think she's made the same one twice since I've been here. I love that she cooks every night :)

and thennnnnnnnn I met up with Emelie and we saw "Mamma Mia!". I loved it! seriously. I was like, smiling during the whole thing. It was pretty hilar to see Pierce Bronson singing and dancing. Emelie loved it because she had the whole ABBA swedish pride thing going on. The theatre we went to is so cool. It's really old...it kind of looks like the state theatre inside. you know, that style of a theatre. But, I was sitting in an isle seat. And halfway through the movie I saw something run across the isle out of the corner of my eye. A mouse? Think bigger. I really think it was a rat. It was big...I think. I instantly put my feet in my chair. I saw a few more during the movie. I was trying to block the isleway out but I was freaking. Nobody else even flinched! Amsterdam is overrun with mice, I guess they are just used to it? Y-U-C-K. I am glad we dont live in the city center, and that we live in a new house...or else i'd probably be living with those gross little things.

p.s. my birthday always feels like christmas! in july! (har har har har har)

more pics

2008-07-17T12:31:00.003+02:00

emily look what I found!! Also, right after I took this picture the shop owner said "maybe you should ask next time, yeah?" jeez.

ehhhh just a street view

some of the really really old buildings are leaning forwards cuz i guess the ground is sinking?

hi there. it's meeee!

canals canals canals

this is what my pancake looked like.

and this is where i ate it

ok. bye.

wednesday adventure

2008-07-16T21:58:00.005+02:00

So let me start this off by saying I LOVE that I have Wednesdays off. It totally breaks up my week and makes the work part of it go by faster. And I love that on this particular Wednesday the weather was perfect. Sunshine all day and 67 degrees.

I had quite an adventure today....

It started off as a pancake eating/reading my book in vondelpark mission. It turned into a whole lot more. I rode my bike in at about 11 this morning. I parked it, locked it up, and decided that I wasn't hungry enough for pancake yet. So I walked around, did a little window shopping....found some cool places. There was this one store that I marked on my map so I can remember how to get back to it. They had the COOLEST things...that's probably where i'll purchase birthday presents and what not.

After a little shopping I decided I was starting to get a little hungry so I started making my way towards 'The Pancake Bakery" (http://www.pancake.nl/). It just so happened that the pancake bakery is near the anne frank house (which i've been meaning to visit...) so I thought i'd check that out before I ate......but the line to get in was around the block. It was ridiculous! So I opted out on it. I'll get to it eventually. Anyway, pancakes or pannekoeken (in dutch) are a famous dutch food...and I've read in travel books, websites, ect that The Pancake Bakery has the best ones. Their pancakes aren't like ours...theirs are huge (like a small pizza) and really thin. and instead of putting syrup on them you can get ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL kinds of different things put on them. I went in there with the intention of getting vanilla ice cream with chocolate syurp on mine. But for some reason when I got in there I decided to try the ham and cheese one....I regret it. It wasn't very good. not impressed. I will go back again though to try the ice cream one because i'd probably like it. so that was 11 euros wasted, i only ate 1/3 of it. but i'm glad i tried it out.

After that I did some more walking, and some more browsing. I'm pretty sure I covered every inch of central amsterdam today. I walked EVERYWHERE. Aparently only the ugly prostitutes work on wednesdays because I walked by them and they were fat and gross! (hahah) And finally, after walking by dozens and dozens of "coffee shops" every day my curiosity got the best of me and i decided to go into one. The Doors coffeeshop, to be exact. They play Doors music all the time, my kinda place...and they had beatles pictures on the walls. I decided to smoke a little bit because when in rome, do as the romans do. (or in this case, when in amsterdam do as the amsterdamians do ;) ). After my smoke session I wanted to get to vondelpark to read my book. Trouble was, It seemed like I was all the way on the other side of the WORLD. I am just not a good smoker, I dont get how people can do that all the time! I get so WEIRD. I walked out of the coffee shop and I was insta lost. I seriously stopped on EVERY corner (there are lots of corners) I came to, to look at my map. I think I walked in circles for a while...and while I was walking these circles I decided I NEEDED Ben and Jerrys ice cream in the worst way. It took what seems like FOREVER, but I made it to leidseplein and I made it to Ben and Jerrys and I got a scoop of cookie dough and a scoop of chocolate fudge brownie in a cone. On my way to vondelpark I must of licked my ice cream cone too hard because the whole thing came right out of the cone (I blame the boy that scooped it for me). But then, fast as lightning, I reached out and caught it. It was my ice cream catching reflex ;) I didnt' mean to catch it, but since I did, i put it back in my cone and finished it...hahahah. I probably looked like such an idiot! Once I got into vondelpark I found a nice sunny place by the water and read for a while. Once reading got boring I found a bench and watched people for a while. While I was people watching I saw an old woman (probably about 60) riding her bike, with a dog in the childseat, and then pulling one of those things to pull kids in with two dogs in THAT and then she had another dog on a leash! It was the most ridiculous thing i've ever seen.

After I hung in vondelpark for a while (and my buzz wore off) I decided I'd go get some dinner and then go home. Seems easy enough, right? yeah. seems. I thought i'd go to rembrantplein to eat...so i make that journey. I walk through rembrantplein and nothing seems good. I remember walking by a KFC a few days ago and I really wanted KFC mashed potatoes and biscuits, so i went on a mission to try to find that kfc. I thought it was around rembrantplein but APARENTLY NOT because I walked every damn street and didn't find the damn kfc. While I was looking for food I passed a movie theatre...it was opening night for Wall-E and there was a red carpet and tv cameras and reporters and everything! I tried to see if there were any celebs but I didn't recognize anybody. After about an hour of me walking around/trying to find KFC/trying to find my way back to rembrantplein I just ate some burger king. After burger king I got on my bike and headed home.

Now, normally the route I take consists of me going through vondelpark. For some reason I thought i'd take another way. Gosh oh mighty I went WAAAAAAAAAY out of my way. I was lost in the outskirts of amsterdam with no maps or signs to guide me on my way. I started to get freaked out, but then I eventually found my way. I got home at 8:30pm. I took me about an hour to get home. I am so sore, I really think I probably walked and biked 20 miles today. But it was a good day. I'm glad I did it because it was so nice out, and it's gonna rain for the next 5 days (so says weather.com)

p.s. i have pictures but they aren't working right now for some reason. i'll put them up tomorrow.

peek-tures

2008-07-14T21:32:00.011+02:00

I went on an 8 mile (round trip!) bike ride today. I rode to the furthest entrace of vondelpark, rode through the park and then came back home. I took a few pictures on my ride, and a vid (yay) and I took a couple pictures of Kaitlyn. I'll have some pics of Marisa tomorrow since Tuesdays and Thursdays are my days with her.............

me and emelie. A bug flew in her face most def

some creepy bird that was staring us down in the park

the bartender liked her, so he gave her a free glass of wine...with her other glass.

kaitlyn being a cheeseball

Kaitlyn being an artist

there are some actual HOUSES...with YARDS not too far from our house. I am jealous and wish we could live in one of these. they are probably SO expensive though...

some more on that street.

hahah this pic turned out good. that's the stoplights for bikes...with a typical amsterdam bike locked up to it. notice it was green, i shoulda been going and not taking pictures!

after I got here dad asked if there were any pinetrees here. I went on the lookout and this is the closest thing to a pinetree i've seen. IT'S SO WEIRD, it's like a cactusy pinetree. i'll have to get a pic of it up close next time.

Just a scenic picture as I ride into the city.

this is in vondelpark. This was my first time being there on a nice night....there was just a bunch of young people hanging out EVERYWHERE! i'll definitley go back next time it's sunny.

more people.

this is where i stopped to take a break. see all the sleeping ducks? and one of amsterdams weird looking duck things (i'll get a picture eventually) had just gone under the water.

so picturesqe (....or however you spell it)

some GIANT, really EXPENSIVE vondelpark houses. i think they are duplexes though, or maybe triplexes.

just a vid of me crusing through vondelpark

ok, well that is all for now.....

i miss all of you!

here comes the sun

2008-07-13T13:10:00.004+02:00

So, the rain went away, and so did my foul mood. I realize it's going to take time for me to get used to them, and for them to get used to me. It hasn't even been two weeks yet! (doesnt' it feel like longer?)

My camera charger came in the mail yesterday (thanks mom!) So expect some pics in the near future.

It's been a good weekend. I got laundry done, cleaned my room...and watched almost all of season 1 and 2 of laguna beach (lol). Last night i went clubbing.....i know, right? clubbing? me? Anyway. I went out with emelie and her friend neri. It was pretty fun I suppose, i'm just not really into the CLUBBING thing, because the music is too loud. I like to be able to have conversations when I go out. you know?! But gosh, my head hurts today. On friday night I went and saw a movie (by myself). I saw "Then She Found Me" with Helen Hunt and Matthew Broderick. It was really good actually, you should go see it.

Ok, I am going to watch Laguna now....and hope this headache goes away (which isn't easy when there is a 3 year old throwing a screaming fit in the room below you).

P.S. Angelina had her babies! A boy and a girl. I can't wait to see them, lol i'm so jealous of that family.

rain rain go away

2008-07-10T22:26:00.002+02:00

So I guess it's time for me to update this ish. Let me start out by saying today was a very negative day for me. It has been raining almost nonstop for four days, so i'm sure that is a slight factor of my attitude. Kaitlyn (1 year old) is perfect, she is so smart and very cute and we are bonding quickly. However, Marisa is a handful. She is a lot harder than any child I've dealt with. (and I've dealt with a lot!) She is EXTREMLEY jealous of her sister, and wants attention nonstop. To get this attention (from her parents) she acts like a baby. Like, honestly really truly acts like a baby, tries to cry like a baby....wants bottles....imitates kaitlyn...). You'd think, ok...give her more attention...crisis solved, right? Well, once you give it to her you cant' stop showering her with it or she'll throw a fit. I feel like I can get her to respect and listen to me if they would just let me be alone with her without always interfering. Lourens worked from home again today, and I understand that maybe he just wants to make sure his kids are ok with this new person living in his house...but it's making it very frustrating for me. They tell me that I am handling/disciplining her just like they want me to be, but THEY dont do it! I dunno, it's only been a week....hopefully I can break her and hopefully we can be friends. She isn't really letting me get close to her and that's starting to scare me....because kids usually always warm up to me pretty fast! The language barrier I'm sure has a lot to do with that as well, because it's hard for me to communicate with her. She understands the things I tell her but she only speaks english 1/4 of the time she speaks! It's hard. Hopefully it'll get easier, i'm sure it will..once i start picking up the language. And I dont know if it's this negativity that's surrounding me today or what but I feel like Lourens and Jane aren't happy with me. They both seem to be very serious people and I try to crack a few sarcastic jokes and they correct me! And it's always kind of awkward around the time Jane comes home from work, because I am ASSUMING (and wouldn't you agree?) that I should be off for the day after she comes home? I dont know, I feel like they think I am a social outcast or something because I always go up to my room once she gets home......I just need a break from the kids! le sigh. just a different culture, we will all get used to eachother and live happily ever after. i know, i know.

On a lighter note....I have my first vacation (almost) planned! Me and megan (another aupair) are flying into london, taking a bus up to liverpool, and then hopping over to birmingham (so I can visit jim, kel and 'the boys!') and then we are gonna go up to dublin and then fly home from dublin. I am PUMMMMPED!

ALSO, The Faint are coming here on September 4th and they are playing in a TINY venue. It's going to be an AMAZING show and tickets are only 13 euros! holler holler holllerrrr

so, it's good that I have things to look forward to!

I haven't been doing too much lately, Me and emelie hung out in the city ALL day yesterday. We rode our bikes in (that's what I'm doing from now on, theres so much more to see on the bike rather then a tram) and walked around from 1 to 7 and then we met up with another aupair and had a couple drinks and then biked home around 9 (in the rain....like always). Honestly, Everytime I come home from the city I walk in the door slopping wet. Guess that's just the dutch way of life! Hahaha it was funny though, because I was wearing my glasses, and I had to wear them because it was my first time riding home by myself...so I had to read signs. and I kept having to wipe them off every 2 minutes. Somebody needs to invent some windshield wipers for glasses for sure. ;)

p.s. have I mentioned how many cute european boys are in this city?! it's ridiculous! americans dress SO sloppily compared to these guys...i l-l-l-ove it!

p.p.s. can't wait til my charger comes so i can start taking pictures for real!

Yesterday

2008-07-07T10:40:00.004+02:00

So, yesterday was the big birthday day. I woke up, and we headed out to 'tun fun'. That place was soooooo cool. Imagine a chuckie cheese or caesar land...but triple the size, and with LOTS more to do! There were ball pits after ball pits, trampolines that allowed you to jump into ball pits, giant slides, jungle gyms galore. It was huge, and it was underground. The kids loved it, i'll probably be bringing them there often. After playtime we went to a chinese resteraunt for dim sum. They invited a lot of their friends for lunch so I got to meet a lot of different people. We were there for 3 hours and we ate SOOOOOO much food. I haven't felt that full in a long time. Probably since...thanksgiving. That's all I could think of while I was eating, "i feel like it's thanksgiving!". It was delish and a little bit overwhelming meeting so many people.

Once we got home I got online and my ole buddy kasper sent me an IM. He wanted to hang out so I went into the city and met up with him. He was very nice and polite (much different then online ;) ). He showed me the museum area of amsterdam, and that big I AMSTERDAM sign....there were lots of perfect photo ops but my camera battery is officially dead. So we hung out for a couple hours and then I came home and skyped with megan and fell asleep at a decent time. (i've been having issues with falling asleep...must still be adjusting to the time difference).

So I have my first two vacations planned. The first one will be just for the first weekend of august, my host family is going to a dutch island for two weeks and I am going to go with them for the first weekend. You know...there will be a beach...all that fun stuff. It'll probably be like going up north. And then on the 14th, 15th and 16th of august I am going to London with another aupair from the area. She used to live there so she'll be a good tour guide, she'll know excactly what to show me and stuff! I am excited but I hear that london is expensive...and i'm poor. My birthday is coming up, send me money for my travel fund! (hint hint) ;) ;)

Devynn Rains

Pennyhof 13

1060 SM Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Red Light District

2008-07-05T23:11:00.005+02:00

Today was a good day!

I sat around for a while, and then met up with a girl I met through myspace in amsterdam. Her name is Sophia, she's been here for 6ish months and she's my age. We like the same music and movies and yada yada! She also likes tequila, just like me! ;) She was totally cool I had a lot of fun with her. The family she works for is loaaaaaded. She doesn't even live with them, they provide her with her own apartment (which she shares with a couple other aupairs). They live right by vondelpark. One of the families she knows is currently looking for an aupair...they pay $500 euros a month (this is good!) and you'd live in the apartment. anybody interested?? :)

Anyway, I met her around 4 and we ate at this place called wok to walk. It was delish, and they cooked it in front of you. kinda sorta mongolian bbqish. Then we went into leidseplein and had a beer. And then we ventured into the red light district.

(this is leidseplein, except most of those tables are under umbrellas, not my picture)

Seriously, that place is CRAZY! I have heard about this place, probably the same stories as you. I always imagined just one little strip with prostitues in the window. I imagined wrong. They are EVERYWHERE! And they come out of their window to try to talk to you and stuff, it's so weird. We would be walking down some street and then you look over and there were more windows of prostitutes. I didn't see any trannys but I did see some lady that looked like she was 60! There are no pictures allowed down there I guess...so you will all just have to use your imagination. There were also all kinds of sex shops and peep shows and what not. I definitley wont be going down there after it gets dark. There are probably so many creepers there.

After that she took me to this really cool bar. It's automatically my favorite bar in Amsterdam. I wont find a better one, I already know it. It is called Belushi's. It's under a hostel. They play ALLLLL my favorite jams....hot chip...kings of leon....chili peppers....white stripes. Such good music. AND they have good drink deals! Two stellas for 2,40 and 1 euro jager bombs (uh oh....that could turn troublesome). AND since it's under a hostel pretty much everybody that hangs out in there are traveling so it's a very social bar. We met some boys from Australia that were traveling europe just to go to festivals and clubs. And then we met some boys from Manchester that were hitting up all the best clubs in europe as well. Who knew that people were so serious about clubbing?!

I took a couple pictures, but I'm trying to conserve my battery. I found a camera store today to buy a charger and they wanted 49 euros for it! I'm sure I can find one a lot cheaper somewhere else...

Tomorrow is Kaitlyns first birthday....I gotta be up early for the celebration...so goodnight all!

an update

2008-07-05T14:24:00.005+02:00

here I am..in front of one of a zillion canals.

I haven't updated in a while. I apologize! I'm gonna try not to slack with this thing...

Let me just start this out by saying I bought my first pair of shoes the other day. Only 9 euros from H&M and they are SOOOOOOO devynn like. I took a picture yesterday, but I haven't uploaded em yet.

Gosh, I have already spent way too much money here. I feel like I am missing like a hundred euros though....I can't figure out where it went. I haven't bought THAT much stuff...just a few beers, a purse, some shoes, some redbulls and a tram ticket. weird.

So anyway, Not yesterday..but the day before I met up with an aupair from Sweden. Her name is emelie, she was really nice...we just did some shopping and had a couple drinks and she showed me some cool places in the city. Would I be able to find these cool places on my own? definitley not. This city is a maze and every street looks the same, i'm trying not to venture away too far from my comfort zone until I get my cellphone...because I am afraid I'll get lost!

this is me and emelie, i look cheesy but whatever!

Yesterday was my first day alone with the kids.....well... Lourens was here too (he was sick). It went pretty well. Marisa is really testing me though, I'm not giving into her though because I dont want her to think she can walk all over me. Yesterday we were eating a snack and I gave her a pile of "loops" (cheerios) and i gave a pile to kaitlyn. I told her that was all we could have because we were going to eat dinner soon. Sure enough, when she finished hers she wanted more. I offered her ONE more, and she said "two". And I said "no, you can have one or you can have none." and she said "NAY! TWO!" and i said "ok, then you can have none" and I took it away. She threw the BIGGEST tantrum ever. She was screaming for a long time, and I was just ignoring her...because that is what you are supposed to do. But it woke laurens up from his nap, so I kind of felt bad. But both Laurens and Jane said I did the right thing with her. So, at least they are on the same page as me. Kaitlyn is very clingy. Everything will get easier once Theresa (their current aupair) leaves and Jane and Laurens are both at work. When I'm alone with the girls.

Today I am going into the city to meet another aupair. This one is from the U.S. and is the same age as me. I hope we get along well, because I need a friend here! It looks like it might rain though, I hope not. Tomorrow is Kaitlyns 1st birthday! We are going to some jungle gym place in the morning and then eating Dim Sum (will I like that??) at noon.

Ok, well I'm off for now. Who is going to come visit me??? anybody??

just some pics

2008-07-03T17:46:00.010+02:00

Ok, here are some pics of my room......more to come.

my bed. it's real comfy!

The picture collage I did today

I started putting pictures in my window..

The view out my bedroom window. Those are houses.

my closet!

my sink.

my desk and window.

view of my room from by my sink.

dutch redbull!

amsterdam from the sky! coming in for a landing.

first impressions

2008-07-02T13:59:00.002+02:00

So I went into the city today! It was overwhelmingly amazing. I didn't bring my camera with me this time (i know, i know) But my luggage still hasn't come so I dont have pockets or a purse. I probably would of lost it... Speaking of luggage, it's coming today! between 4 and 8. hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! Anyway, I will bring it when me when I go into the city to explore by myself (either tomorrow or friday).

Todays observations:

1. volkswagen golfs lots of them. I miss my cute little car, but they are as common as a dang ford focus's over here.

2. men with purses aparently it's the hip thing to do. they wear little purses with messanger bag straps that hang at their rib cage. There was a guy on the tram with a louis vuitton one, but I noticed them everywhere!

3.cute european men but i dont know how i feel about the ones with purses.

4.SHOES! shoe stores EVERYYYWHERE. I have died and gone to shoe heaven. (to quote carrie bradshaw) I am guaranteeing that most of my spending money will be spent on shoes.

5. bikes (duh!) they are everywhere! I didn't see one fancy one though, they are all old and beat up.

Anyway, I will write more later...hopefully with pics. I'm pretty sure my jetlag is gone already! I still haven't had too much of an apetite...but the dinner jane made last night was DELISH! It was some kind of pasta with salmon in it, sooooo good. ok, adios!

p.s. happy birthday pam!

I'm here!

2008-07-01T13:19:00.002+02:00

Sooooo I ended up being in the Detroit until 9:30. My flight to chicago was delayed which caused me to miss my connecting flight to dublin. So the nice ticket lady gave me a non-stop flight from detroit to amsterdam. It was nice, and I slept...but now I have no luggage until tomorrow-ish. le sigh!

The airport was cool, I didn't wander too much because we were in a hurry to get back because Lorens had to get back to work. But it was like, a mall. H&M and all. I am going back tomorrow to buy a plug for my computer. I only have an hour of battery juice left, but I see that Jane has a Dell too and I'm hoping maybe her plug will fit in mine. eh eh???

The house is cute. It's not a freestanding home, it is a bunch of houses in one giant building...side by side. Kind of like a condo I guess, but these are really common here. It's modern and has such a european backyard. I love it. I met Marissa (the 3 year old) and she is really cute. She keeps talking to me in dutch though, but she understands the things I say to her in english... I haven't met Kaitlyn yet because she is napping. I'm excited though cuz i loooove babies :)

Tomorrow Theresa (their current au pair) is going to take me into the city and show me how to get around and what not. For now, I have to find something to keep me awake. Maybe I will read my new book. The weather is perfect. 75 degrees and sunny, the back door is open letting in the nicest breeze evarrrr. gosh its perfect napping weather, but I'm not gonna give in!

Ok. more updates later!

patiently waiting

2008-06-30T21:04:00.003+02:00

T-minus 1 hour and 50 minutes until I board my first plane.
I am in the boonies of the dang airport. Smith Terminal (worst one ever) wayyy in some back corner with no food or stores.
But at least I found a plug where I could plug my computer in, But the fact that I had to pay 5 dollars for one hour of internet sucks!

Dont look now, but the guy sitting across from me is talking on his cellphone and digging away at his nostrils. We made eye contact, and it was awkward.

I was a lot more nervous yesterday then I am today. I didn't even have to take a xanax today...and I ate! Maybe I was just nervous about saying all my good-byes.

I have a two hour layover in chicago. I have never been to o'hare but I'm hoping that it's better than this! Maybe something to eat other then beef jerkey.........lol

Ok, well I will write later maybe. Here's to hoping everything goes nice and smoothly in the next 24 hours!

numero uno

2008-06-25T14:58:00.002+02:00

Hi there!

Five more days until I leave. I'm still not mentally nervous...but I think my body is starting to get nervous because I am lacking an appetite! Whatever, maybe i'll drop a few pounds from it ;)

I still have some shopping to do, but I think i'm 1/2 way done with the packing process. I picked out the clothes I am going to bring...and I'm getting together all my STUFF that I want to bring. I gotta get some pictures printed, and I gotta print some pictures to draw.

I am not looking forward to 11 hours on a plane! Can I bring food past security???

It's coming up quick!

Anyway, i'll try to update this often....so check back!