Hi,
So last time I blogged, I could still call it 'What happened the last 12 months...' but let's call it 2008, shall we?
So what did happen after I was released from the hospital? Obviously Jay turned 3 and I went just before that to San Francisco for a slightly over a week... JavaOne 2008.
The summer didn't have a lot in store for me, mainly because my MR2 had a small problem with its transmission. The problem being that I couldn't use it. And of course those very few sunny days in 2008 I didn't have a convertible. Anyway, they fixed it and it cost me a lot less than initially thought. That was good.
The summer of 2008 was also the first time the four of us went on vacation all together. We went for a whole week to Asten-Ommel, a small town in Brabant. The park's name is Prinsenmeer. I've got to say that the week was great, to be with the family and all without the daily routines from around the house. But th little bungelow we thought we had booked was a big caravan without wheels and it was kind of like not really well cleaned.
On the uptake, the pool they had was nice with two nice water slides, that Jay dared to do all by himself. Jay and I also went for a trip on the waterbikes. That was fun. One of the nicer trips we took that week was to a zoo nearby, which was just big enough to walk all day and see everything. But it was also very well maintained. And the Cheetah's were great. Also our daytrip to Toverland was great. Jay was barely big enough to be allowed in one of the many rollercoasters and he loved the bobsled and the wild-water ride. Unfortunately Ray was too little for most rides. Well, being only a year and a half old... this was to be expected.
More on the proceedings in 2008 of me and my family later (this year).
Iwan
Showing posts with label Olcay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olcay. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Back from the Maldives
Hi,
So I'm back in the Netherlands and already missing the serenity and quietness of Kandooma. But obviously I'm really happy to be with the boys again. And so is Olcay, who's suffering from a flu at the moment. I guess it's best to be sick when you're at home.
Jay and Ray had a great time at my parents who made sure that they wouldn't be thinking about anything else than doing fun stuff.
The flight back was not too good as Air Berlin appearantly doesn't care about leg-room, which is really not much more than a few cm I estimate. And 10.5 hours folded in a chair is not cool... and not to mention the fact that they don't have adjustable headrests on their seats. That sucks.
Last Sunday was Ray's birthday (8th of feb) and we had a great day. Although he's suffering from a serious ear infection. The goo is literally dripping from his ear, no kidding.
Yesterday was my first day back at my main customer at the moment and the last 2 weeks some interesting things had happened. And a lot of realization took place as well.
Iwan
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Words from the Maldives (7)
Hi,
So this is going to be a mixed feelings blog... Today was our last day on Kandooma :'( but also the last day we have to miss Jay and Ray.
So what was done today? Not much, or maybe quite a bit. We went snorkeling this morning on two sites, both not as impressive as our snorkeling trip yesterday, but we saw a turtle and there was a nice current, that allowed for a nice drift. Still the fish weren't as bright and numerous as yesterday.
This afternoon we spend soaking up more sun, and we had some nice talks with some of the guys working here. This night we had diner at The Kitchen, where Olcay had 2 deserts. Yup and both times the Almond Fried Ice. And we got the promise that we would receive the recipe by mail.
All-in-all this vacation has been tremendously cool and relaxing and Kandooma is really a great place to spend your time when you just want to relax and want to be amongst the friendliest of people. Although everybody is trying their best in serving you as good as they can, it doesn't feel as if they're trying... it feels as if it all comes naturally. This added to the experience and whenever you are thinking about the Maldives, but don't know which of the islands is the best place to spend your time... go to Kandooma.
Well that is about it, for now the last Words from the Maldives. Maybe in a couple of years we'll be setting foot on the island again, for now, we're longing to see the boys again.
Next time, Words from the Netherlands and I'll try to get you up to speed about what happened in 2008.
Iwan
So this is going to be a mixed feelings blog... Today was our last day on Kandooma :'( but also the last day we have to miss Jay and Ray.
So what was done today? Not much, or maybe quite a bit. We went snorkeling this morning on two sites, both not as impressive as our snorkeling trip yesterday, but we saw a turtle and there was a nice current, that allowed for a nice drift. Still the fish weren't as bright and numerous as yesterday.
This afternoon we spend soaking up more sun, and we had some nice talks with some of the guys working here. This night we had diner at The Kitchen, where Olcay had 2 deserts. Yup and both times the Almond Fried Ice. And we got the promise that we would receive the recipe by mail.
All-in-all this vacation has been tremendously cool and relaxing and Kandooma is really a great place to spend your time when you just want to relax and want to be amongst the friendliest of people. Although everybody is trying their best in serving you as good as they can, it doesn't feel as if they're trying... it feels as if it all comes naturally. This added to the experience and whenever you are thinking about the Maldives, but don't know which of the islands is the best place to spend your time... go to Kandooma.
Well that is about it, for now the last Words from the Maldives. Maybe in a couple of years we'll be setting foot on the island again, for now, we're longing to see the boys again.
Next time, Words from the Netherlands and I'll try to get you up to speed about what happened in 2008.
Iwan
Monday, February 02, 2009
Words from the Maldives (6)
Hi,
Today we actually did something significant... we went on a Catamaran trip to another island close by to snorkel. It was great. Olcay saw a turtle and we also saw a Gruper and a Morene.
The rest is pretty much the same... soaking up the sun, although yesterday and today the sun was really burning during the hours around noon.
When we got back we were pleasantly surprised by Rasheed (we think) who had our bed decorated with red flowers... a true romantic. That was really nice, he's been very forthcoming all week, which added to the whole experience.
So tomorrow is our last day here. Wednesday we're probably off really early as our flight is at about 11 AM. We're going to miss Kandooma, but we still have a day to enjoy life here on the island. Tomorrow more snorkeling on the menu and good food at The Kitchen, the a-la-carte restaurant on the island.
Until the next blog...
Iwan
Today we actually did something significant... we went on a Catamaran trip to another island close by to snorkel. It was great. Olcay saw a turtle and we also saw a Gruper and a Morene.
The rest is pretty much the same... soaking up the sun, although yesterday and today the sun was really burning during the hours around noon.
When we got back we were pleasantly surprised by Rasheed (we think) who had our bed decorated with red flowers... a true romantic. That was really nice, he's been very forthcoming all week, which added to the whole experience.
So tomorrow is our last day here. Wednesday we're probably off really early as our flight is at about 11 AM. We're going to miss Kandooma, but we still have a day to enjoy life here on the island. Tomorrow more snorkeling on the menu and good food at The Kitchen, the a-la-carte restaurant on the island.
Until the next blog...
Iwan
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Words from the Maldives (5)
Hi,
Another post from the Maldives. It's Sunday and that means a quiet day... well just because we're at the Maldives where it is more or less a quiet day everyday. Not much happened since we're here to relax, but I went on a night dive, my last dive here this time. As you might expect, it was dark, and fortunately I had two torches, since my primary went out after 24 minutes.
We saw two octopussies, octopuses, octopy (?), anyway, we saw two of those fighting. I think about territories, but that doesn't matter, it looked great. Never saw it for real.
Tonight we had a nice diner, although the duck wasn't really good. I left it where it was. We did see a Chinese movie (Curse of the Golden Flower), which seems to be a nice movie (soon to be found in my collection I guess).
Later on we went for fried ice with almonds for Olcay (her favorite desert as it turns out) and some lounging with an espresso (Illy) and a cognac (Hennesy VSOP) and a Shisha. That turned out to be a nice finalle of the day. Monday and Tuesday are left for us before we're leaving paradise and getting back to the real world, where there are Jay and Ray, who we really miss.
Iwan
Another post from the Maldives. It's Sunday and that means a quiet day... well just because we're at the Maldives where it is more or less a quiet day everyday. Not much happened since we're here to relax, but I went on a night dive, my last dive here this time. As you might expect, it was dark, and fortunately I had two torches, since my primary went out after 24 minutes.
We saw two octopussies, octopuses, octopy (?), anyway, we saw two of those fighting. I think about territories, but that doesn't matter, it looked great. Never saw it for real.
Tonight we had a nice diner, although the duck wasn't really good. I left it where it was. We did see a Chinese movie (Curse of the Golden Flower), which seems to be a nice movie (soon to be found in my collection I guess).
Later on we went for fried ice with almonds for Olcay (her favorite desert as it turns out) and some lounging with an espresso (Illy) and a cognac (Hennesy VSOP) and a Shisha. That turned out to be a nice finalle of the day. Monday and Tuesday are left for us before we're leaving paradise and getting back to the real world, where there are Jay and Ray, who we really miss.
Iwan
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Words from the Maldives (4)
Hi,
Another day on this paradise like island. Today not much happened apart from the fact that I went diving this morning and we saw sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks to be exact. Like six of them. Which was really cool. First time I saw so many sharks. We also saw a fairly big Napoleon fish. After the sharks (deco time at 5 minutes) we took a current and drifted for a while, which was also really cool. Unfortunately we couldn't spend that much time drifting. And on top of this all, while drifting, we heard dolphins. Yup, we heard the squirking (I really have no clue as to this is really called) by the dolphins. Unfortunately they were to far away, and we only saw them while back on the boat. But cool it was, some of them made some nice jumps. My guess is that these are trained dolphins, set out to entertain divers, and to make them feel bad that they didn't encounter the dolphins while diving :).
Nothing much else happened, although not to me anyway. Olcay on the other hand saw a turtle while snorkling. And considering that Kandooma doesn't have much of a reef, that truely is a sight to behold.
Until the next post...
Iwan
Another day on this paradise like island. Today not much happened apart from the fact that I went diving this morning and we saw sharks, Whitetip Reef Sharks to be exact. Like six of them. Which was really cool. First time I saw so many sharks. We also saw a fairly big Napoleon fish. After the sharks (deco time at 5 minutes) we took a current and drifted for a while, which was also really cool. Unfortunately we couldn't spend that much time drifting. And on top of this all, while drifting, we heard dolphins. Yup, we heard the squirking (I really have no clue as to this is really called) by the dolphins. Unfortunately they were to far away, and we only saw them while back on the boat. But cool it was, some of them made some nice jumps. My guess is that these are trained dolphins, set out to entertain divers, and to make them feel bad that they didn't encounter the dolphins while diving :).
Nothing much else happened, although not to me anyway. Olcay on the other hand saw a turtle while snorkling. And considering that Kandooma doesn't have much of a reef, that truely is a sight to behold.
Until the next post...
Iwan
Friday, January 30, 2009
Words from the Maldives (3)
Hi,
Today I've got something to tell, as promised yesterday, because today and last night stuff actually happened in this paradise of total relaxation.
So what happened? First of all last night we had quite the rainstorm here on Kandooma. Well maybe it was just your average everyday tropical rainstorm, but we woke up from the rain, which especially in my case means something as I don't wake up usually until it is time according to the alarm clock (or Ray). But rest assured, the Water Villa we're staying in is build very well, and apart from the bathroom (which is partly open) no water came in.
Today I also went diving. First dive here with Euro Divers, which means you're not allowed deeper than 20 meters, which is cool. The diving site had a wreck at 30 meters, but the top of the wreck was at 20 meters deep. From what we could see, there was no way you could actually get in the wreck so not much lost here. After the wreck we saw an Octopus hiding its little cave and later on a turtle. Which in fact was small compared to the turtles we saw in Marsa Alam last November, about which I need to blog... still. That turtles crossed our path later on, but that was also because we went around a big rock a second time and that turtle was at more or less the same spot.
A bit later we saw some Morenes. Two to be exact, which weren't that big compared to the one that swam right in front of me in Oman last year, or rather 2007.
After hitting the 50 bar mark we went up and started our return to the boat. We now were over the rock we circled twice and Jerry, my buddy for the occasion pointed behind me. I looked behind me and saw a Triggerfish (see also Wikipedia) trying to bite me. Yup, it wanted to get a piece of my fins (I like to think that it wasn't after my butt). It was a bit intimidated by me and my mask as it hesitated everytime I turned around. After some distance it gave up, or maybe I left its territory or something. Anyway, I am still me, 100% and nothing was left of me in the belly of this terrible monster of the sea :) haha. Although I must say that its teeth were somewhat big and sharp, I have to admit.
So that was today on the Maldives. Soon there will be more.
Iwan
Today I've got something to tell, as promised yesterday, because today and last night stuff actually happened in this paradise of total relaxation.
So what happened? First of all last night we had quite the rainstorm here on Kandooma. Well maybe it was just your average everyday tropical rainstorm, but we woke up from the rain, which especially in my case means something as I don't wake up usually until it is time according to the alarm clock (or Ray). But rest assured, the Water Villa we're staying in is build very well, and apart from the bathroom (which is partly open) no water came in.
Today I also went diving. First dive here with Euro Divers, which means you're not allowed deeper than 20 meters, which is cool. The diving site had a wreck at 30 meters, but the top of the wreck was at 20 meters deep. From what we could see, there was no way you could actually get in the wreck so not much lost here. After the wreck we saw an Octopus hiding its little cave and later on a turtle. Which in fact was small compared to the turtles we saw in Marsa Alam last November, about which I need to blog... still. That turtles crossed our path later on, but that was also because we went around a big rock a second time and that turtle was at more or less the same spot.
A bit later we saw some Morenes. Two to be exact, which weren't that big compared to the one that swam right in front of me in Oman last year, or rather 2007.
After hitting the 50 bar mark we went up and started our return to the boat. We now were over the rock we circled twice and Jerry, my buddy for the occasion pointed behind me. I looked behind me and saw a Triggerfish (see also Wikipedia) trying to bite me. Yup, it wanted to get a piece of my fins (I like to think that it wasn't after my butt). It was a bit intimidated by me and my mask as it hesitated everytime I turned around. After some distance it gave up, or maybe I left its territory or something. Anyway, I am still me, 100% and nothing was left of me in the belly of this terrible monster of the sea :) haha. Although I must say that its teeth were somewhat big and sharp, I have to admit.
So that was today on the Maldives. Soon there will be more.
Iwan
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Words form the Maldives (2)
Hi,
Another day on Kandooma which started of with sort of a disappointment. I overslept, so I was too late to enter for the afternoon Scuba trip. Tomorrow another try. Everything else was really great and every day we enjoy the resort even more.
Since not much happened today because we've been sunbathing and snorkeling and having lunch and diner and stuff, there's not much to blog. So hopefully (for you as well) I'll be diving tomorrow, and I'm planning on going deep the day after as well. I'll then have something more to tell you.
Until then...
Iwan
Another day on Kandooma which started of with sort of a disappointment. I overslept, so I was too late to enter for the afternoon Scuba trip. Tomorrow another try. Everything else was really great and every day we enjoy the resort even more.
Since not much happened today because we've been sunbathing and snorkeling and having lunch and diner and stuff, there's not much to blog. So hopefully (for you as well) I'll be diving tomorrow, and I'm planning on going deep the day after as well. I'll then have something more to tell you.
Until then...
Iwan
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Words from the Maldives (1)
Hi,
It has been a while, a real long while since I blogged last. A lot has happened in since then and I plan on getting you up to speed sometime. But the coming period I'll be blogging about our stay on the Maldives. Kandooma Island to be exact. That's why these words are from the Maldives instead of the Netherlands.
So today we arrived, after a rather uneventful flight from Dusseldorf (Germany) International Airport, which requires explicit mentioning, since my dad programmed the NavSat to get us to Dusseldorf Regional Airport, which is about 60 km away from Dusseldorf International Airport. Not to blame him, since I did something very similar the first time I had to program my TomTom to direct me.
The flight was okay, although LTU has rather small seats, and the couple sitting behind us was very chatty all night.
We were quite fast outside of Male International Airport. The passport control and the customs check was fast and we got our backs really fast as well. Nice done Maldivians!
But then we got our first scare. Nobody from Kandooma to pick us up from the airport. Fortunately there was a nice lady from TUI who knew we were looking for, and as it turned out, we were expected to arrive on the 31st instead of today. No harm done, and the Water Villa we booked was available. It just had to be readied.
After a boattrip of about 40 minutes we arrived on this really beautiful island. The website is really a great representation of the island, no lies there. We're enyoing our stay sofar to the fullest. Weather is excellent (28C, a bit humidity and sea water is excellent) and so are the two restaurants we had lunch and diner. Sofar everything is going great and besides sleeping and relaxing in the sun we didn't do anything yet.
So more tomorrow, when we've undertaken one or two things (like scuba or hanging around the pool soaking up more sun). Just to keep our minds of the boys (who are staying with my parents) and on the relaxing part of the trip.
Iwan
It has been a while, a real long while since I blogged last. A lot has happened in since then and I plan on getting you up to speed sometime. But the coming period I'll be blogging about our stay on the Maldives. Kandooma Island to be exact. That's why these words are from the Maldives instead of the Netherlands.
So today we arrived, after a rather uneventful flight from Dusseldorf (Germany) International Airport, which requires explicit mentioning, since my dad programmed the NavSat to get us to Dusseldorf Regional Airport, which is about 60 km away from Dusseldorf International Airport. Not to blame him, since I did something very similar the first time I had to program my TomTom to direct me.
The flight was okay, although LTU has rather small seats, and the couple sitting behind us was very chatty all night.
We were quite fast outside of Male International Airport. The passport control and the customs check was fast and we got our backs really fast as well. Nice done Maldivians!
But then we got our first scare. Nobody from Kandooma to pick us up from the airport. Fortunately there was a nice lady from TUI who knew we were looking for, and as it turned out, we were expected to arrive on the 31st instead of today. No harm done, and the Water Villa we booked was available. It just had to be readied.
After a boattrip of about 40 minutes we arrived on this really beautiful island. The website is really a great representation of the island, no lies there. We're enyoing our stay sofar to the fullest. Weather is excellent (28C, a bit humidity and sea water is excellent) and so are the two restaurants we had lunch and diner. Sofar everything is going great and besides sleeping and relaxing in the sun we didn't do anything yet.
So more tomorrow, when we've undertaken one or two things (like scuba or hanging around the pool soaking up more sun). Just to keep our minds of the boys (who are staying with my parents) and on the relaxing part of the trip.
Iwan
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
December, the month of holidays and illnesses
Hi,
Like I blogged last time, it would be after our trip to the US before I would blog again, and as it turns out, I was right and it is even 'next year'.
So what happened lately. Well first of all we went to our friends Ravi and Mamatha in the Boston area. This was on December 7th, the Friday after Sinterklaas. By the way, Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent to Christmas' Santa, was very generous this year, especially for the kids.
We flew at around 3 PM from Amsterdam airport, Schiphol, and because it was in the boy's prime time, they didn't sleep... for the whole flight that is. Fortunately they're both really well behaving boys when it comes to not sleeping, so hardly any crying and a lot of flirting with the North West Airlines stewardesses. It is always a really big benefit when your kids aren't pestering the rest of the plane and the in flight personal loves them. Trust me, it is. Ray needed his diaper changed pretty much right after we took of the ground and believe me, his diaper wasn't the only thing that needed changing. He'd overspend as much as Olcay and I were planning to do in the outlet stores. Fortunately Olcay had been so smart to take additional clothes along in our carry-on luggage, it was needed. Apart from the kids not sleeping, the flight was rather uneventful. We were picked up from the airport by Ravi and his family and drove to their place. As it had snowed, Jay and I played in the snow for a bit and because he didn't want to wear his gloves he found out the hard way that snow is indeed cold.
It was good to see our friends again, as it had been almost two years since the last time we visited them. Scary fact: Jay was 10 months old when we came to Boston with him, and Ray just turned 10 months when we flew there this time. Coincidence? I don't know.
That Monday or Tuesday Mamatha found out that she had pneumonia and needed to take antibiotics and stay inside. As it was really cold and everybody, especially Jay and Ray, needed to rest and get into a new rhythm we stayed around the house. Ravi had to work anyway. Tuesday and Wednesday Ray and Jay both were feeling not to well, probably because of the lack of sleep, the new daily patterns and the fact that the temperature outside was well below freezing point and inside it was nice and warm. That probably left enough opportunity for a cold-bug to strike. Ravi became ill as well during the week, same cold-bug kicked his butt and on Friday we all felt like we were good enough again to drive to his brother in Berlin, CT. Only Mahika, their daughter had a serious infection in both ears and we had to turn around. Since the weather was going to be really bad (again) it was probably a good thing, and we convinced Ravi's brother to stay at their place. Although that took a lot of convincing skills. Man did they really badly want to see us. That was really heart warming. During the car ride, Olcay became ill. Yup, that pretty much leaves me as the only person not catching anything during those 10 days. But on a different note, Olcay stayed flu'ish untill after Christmas.
The flight back was good enough as both Ray and Jay slept for a while. Fortunately they showed Cars on the inflight entertainment system so Jay was happy. Olcay didn't sleep at all, since she had to make sure that Ray wouldn't wake up. It all turned out to be a decent return home, but for the minor detail that the battery of our care was dead. Jay, probably, had turned on the little light in the back and that had drained the battery to a full stop. It took the ANWB, the Dutch roadside assistence, slightly under an hour to help us out and that was our cue to drive home and have closure for this vacation.
This time around I won't bore you with the rest of the proceedings in december. Well maybe I should as it isn't much, so here it goes.
As I said, Olcay caught the flu in the States and that only turned worse in the days after our vacation. Up to a point where she went to see the doctor. She had to try some steambaths etc for three days or else get some antibiotics. This because her whole head was congested and inflamed. This was right before Christmas. Good thing we bought some medicine in the US so there were enough pain relief goodies in the house. The day right after Christmas she called the doctor's office and got her antibiotics. Three pills and all was done. Right before New Years Eve she was up and ready to... comfort Jay while he was a bit scared of the firecrackers and other fireworks that 'made loud bangs'. Leaving me with 200+ firecrackers in the house...
On Christmas day Santa came along and surprised us all with loads of presents. Amina and her daughter where there as well. Christmas diner was really nice and the next day (2nd Christmas day as we call it in Holland) was as good, at my parents with the whole family. Apart from the illnesses and all we had a great December. Most of the time I was off and got to spend with the family.
Iwan
Like I blogged last time, it would be after our trip to the US before I would blog again, and as it turns out, I was right and it is even 'next year'.
So what happened lately. Well first of all we went to our friends Ravi and Mamatha in the Boston area. This was on December 7th, the Friday after Sinterklaas. By the way, Sinterklaas, the Dutch equivalent to Christmas' Santa, was very generous this year, especially for the kids.
We flew at around 3 PM from Amsterdam airport, Schiphol, and because it was in the boy's prime time, they didn't sleep... for the whole flight that is. Fortunately they're both really well behaving boys when it comes to not sleeping, so hardly any crying and a lot of flirting with the North West Airlines stewardesses. It is always a really big benefit when your kids aren't pestering the rest of the plane and the in flight personal loves them. Trust me, it is. Ray needed his diaper changed pretty much right after we took of the ground and believe me, his diaper wasn't the only thing that needed changing. He'd overspend as much as Olcay and I were planning to do in the outlet stores. Fortunately Olcay had been so smart to take additional clothes along in our carry-on luggage, it was needed. Apart from the kids not sleeping, the flight was rather uneventful. We were picked up from the airport by Ravi and his family and drove to their place. As it had snowed, Jay and I played in the snow for a bit and because he didn't want to wear his gloves he found out the hard way that snow is indeed cold.
It was good to see our friends again, as it had been almost two years since the last time we visited them. Scary fact: Jay was 10 months old when we came to Boston with him, and Ray just turned 10 months when we flew there this time. Coincidence? I don't know.
That Monday or Tuesday Mamatha found out that she had pneumonia and needed to take antibiotics and stay inside. As it was really cold and everybody, especially Jay and Ray, needed to rest and get into a new rhythm we stayed around the house. Ravi had to work anyway. Tuesday and Wednesday Ray and Jay both were feeling not to well, probably because of the lack of sleep, the new daily patterns and the fact that the temperature outside was well below freezing point and inside it was nice and warm. That probably left enough opportunity for a cold-bug to strike. Ravi became ill as well during the week, same cold-bug kicked his butt and on Friday we all felt like we were good enough again to drive to his brother in Berlin, CT. Only Mahika, their daughter had a serious infection in both ears and we had to turn around. Since the weather was going to be really bad (again) it was probably a good thing, and we convinced Ravi's brother to stay at their place. Although that took a lot of convincing skills. Man did they really badly want to see us. That was really heart warming. During the car ride, Olcay became ill. Yup, that pretty much leaves me as the only person not catching anything during those 10 days. But on a different note, Olcay stayed flu'ish untill after Christmas.
The flight back was good enough as both Ray and Jay slept for a while. Fortunately they showed Cars on the inflight entertainment system so Jay was happy. Olcay didn't sleep at all, since she had to make sure that Ray wouldn't wake up. It all turned out to be a decent return home, but for the minor detail that the battery of our care was dead. Jay, probably, had turned on the little light in the back and that had drained the battery to a full stop. It took the ANWB, the Dutch roadside assistence, slightly under an hour to help us out and that was our cue to drive home and have closure for this vacation.
This time around I won't bore you with the rest of the proceedings in december. Well maybe I should as it isn't much, so here it goes.
As I said, Olcay caught the flu in the States and that only turned worse in the days after our vacation. Up to a point where she went to see the doctor. She had to try some steambaths etc for three days or else get some antibiotics. This because her whole head was congested and inflamed. This was right before Christmas. Good thing we bought some medicine in the US so there were enough pain relief goodies in the house. The day right after Christmas she called the doctor's office and got her antibiotics. Three pills and all was done. Right before New Years Eve she was up and ready to... comfort Jay while he was a bit scared of the firecrackers and other fireworks that 'made loud bangs'. Leaving me with 200+ firecrackers in the house...
On Christmas day Santa came along and surprised us all with loads of presents. Amina and her daughter where there as well. Christmas diner was really nice and the next day (2nd Christmas day as we call it in Holland) was as good, at my parents with the whole family. Apart from the illnesses and all we had a great December. Most of the time I was off and got to spend with the family.
Iwan
Monday, February 26, 2007
So much for an up to date blog on the proceedings at home
So here I am with my good intentions to blog about Jay, Ray and Olcay and my well being in their company on a very regular basis now that Ray is born. But it has been more than 2 weeks since my previous blog. I'll make it an effort to blog more often from now on.
What's been happening lately? Not too much I must say. Let's see, last time I blogged, Olcay and Ray came home and we're one happy family at home again.
Ray is doing fine, although breastfeeding was a bit of a problem, resulting in Ray not getting enough nutrition we moved to the bottle approach and that is going really well. Although he's one little sleepy boy, so typically somewhere halfway the bottle he's vast asleep and we have a hard time waking him up.
Olcay's hernia is retreating, ever since the burden of the big belly (BBB) is gone, she's healing quite fast. That is something to cheer about, so here comes; HURRAY.
Jay is being the big brother all over and he's doing really well. One of the things to keep in mind is that he was already used to not getting all the attention from Olcay because of her illness. So that's not much of a change. And he's accepting me to hold Ray more or less. The fact that Ray is only 3 kg or something like that allows me to practically move around with him in my hands without noticing this. So I can still play with Jay. But it is really comforting to see Jay walking up to Ray giving him a kiss when he's crying.
Bit of a downside is that Ray still doesn't understand that he needs to sleep all night, well one bottle of milk is ok, but after that he's crying... big time. Such a little fellow, such a big mouth. At least it was like that the last two nights, which is killing. But my friend Ravi told me it can be worse. His daughter woke up hungry every 2 hours, Ray at least sticks with 3-4 hours in between bottles.
That's about it. As I've said in the beginning, not much happened the past 2 weeks or so. But from now on I'll try to blog more regularly.
Iwan
What's been happening lately? Not too much I must say. Let's see, last time I blogged, Olcay and Ray came home and we're one happy family at home again.
Ray is doing fine, although breastfeeding was a bit of a problem, resulting in Ray not getting enough nutrition we moved to the bottle approach and that is going really well. Although he's one little sleepy boy, so typically somewhere halfway the bottle he's vast asleep and we have a hard time waking him up.
Olcay's hernia is retreating, ever since the burden of the big belly (BBB) is gone, she's healing quite fast. That is something to cheer about, so here comes; HURRAY.
Jay is being the big brother all over and he's doing really well. One of the things to keep in mind is that he was already used to not getting all the attention from Olcay because of her illness. So that's not much of a change. And he's accepting me to hold Ray more or less. The fact that Ray is only 3 kg or something like that allows me to practically move around with him in my hands without noticing this. So I can still play with Jay. But it is really comforting to see Jay walking up to Ray giving him a kiss when he's crying.
Bit of a downside is that Ray still doesn't understand that he needs to sleep all night, well one bottle of milk is ok, but after that he's crying... big time. Such a little fellow, such a big mouth. At least it was like that the last two nights, which is killing. But my friend Ravi told me it can be worse. His daughter woke up hungry every 2 hours, Ray at least sticks with 3-4 hours in between bottles.
That's about it. As I've said in the beginning, not much happened the past 2 weeks or so. But from now on I'll try to blog more regularly.
Iwan
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
2007 starts better than 2006 ended
Hi,
This is my first blog of 2007 and as the title suggests, 2007 has started better than 2006 ended. But to be honest, that wasn't a major achievement.
The reason for this title is that Olcay has stopped the morphine injections since January 1st and she's doing pretty good. There seem to be some withdrawal symptoms surfacing, but compared to the pain a month ago those are nothing. So in other words, she's doing relatively great. Our goal now is to be medication free by the end of the month. So we'll have about a month without painkillers before the baby is born.
So what else? Jay has a new bed and loves it. Best thing of all, he didn't mind sleeping in it and sleeps through the night nicely. Although sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night but that is because he needs a diaper change.
About the holidays I can say that they went by in a blur. I was too busy emptying the study, moving all stuff to the guest room and painting the study to become the baby room. This time its theme is 'universe' so I painted our solar system on the wall. Sometime at the end of the month the new curtains and carpet will be delivered and then we're all set. Until then, Jay will have two sets of beds and closets in his room.
Btw, yesterday I finished the baby room, although there's still a lot of stuff in it that needs to be taken care of... i.e. thrown away.
The new study is a complete mess. That will take some time and effort, but with the new Ikea closets and drawers it'll look fabulous. Best of all, it'll mean that a lot of the mess currently in the lounge is gone as well.
I think that's about it for what happened over the holidays. Of course we had a great X-Mas, although I was feeling a bit ill that day. Our X-Mas was celebrated on the 23rd with the whole family around. Gifts for everyone, but mainly for the little ones. They where spoiled so badly, Jay didn't know what to play with because there were more gifts to be opened. Since a very long time I did the cooking again it everybody liked it, so that was a success. We had a great time. The 31st my parents were over at our place, and my dad brought some fireworks... which was the first time for Jay to experience. He loved it. Hearing the BANGs all day and seeing the rockets explode all night. He didn't want to go to bed, so we kept him up until 10 in the evening. At that time he was wasted so slept soundly through the main fireworks.
That's really about it.
Iwan
This is my first blog of 2007 and as the title suggests, 2007 has started better than 2006 ended. But to be honest, that wasn't a major achievement.
The reason for this title is that Olcay has stopped the morphine injections since January 1st and she's doing pretty good. There seem to be some withdrawal symptoms surfacing, but compared to the pain a month ago those are nothing. So in other words, she's doing relatively great. Our goal now is to be medication free by the end of the month. So we'll have about a month without painkillers before the baby is born.
So what else? Jay has a new bed and loves it. Best thing of all, he didn't mind sleeping in it and sleeps through the night nicely. Although sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night but that is because he needs a diaper change.
About the holidays I can say that they went by in a blur. I was too busy emptying the study, moving all stuff to the guest room and painting the study to become the baby room. This time its theme is 'universe' so I painted our solar system on the wall. Sometime at the end of the month the new curtains and carpet will be delivered and then we're all set. Until then, Jay will have two sets of beds and closets in his room.
Btw, yesterday I finished the baby room, although there's still a lot of stuff in it that needs to be taken care of... i.e. thrown away.
The new study is a complete mess. That will take some time and effort, but with the new Ikea closets and drawers it'll look fabulous. Best of all, it'll mean that a lot of the mess currently in the lounge is gone as well.
I think that's about it for what happened over the holidays. Of course we had a great X-Mas, although I was feeling a bit ill that day. Our X-Mas was celebrated on the 23rd with the whole family around. Gifts for everyone, but mainly for the little ones. They where spoiled so badly, Jay didn't know what to play with because there were more gifts to be opened. Since a very long time I did the cooking again it everybody liked it, so that was a success. We had a great time. The 31st my parents were over at our place, and my dad brought some fireworks... which was the first time for Jay to experience. He loved it. Hearing the BANGs all day and seeing the rockets explode all night. He didn't want to go to bed, so we kept him up until 10 in the evening. At that time he was wasted so slept soundly through the main fireworks.
That's really about it.
Iwan
Today's cookie: When The Food Is Good, The Party Is Great.
Friday, December 22, 2006
It's been a while, but no news is good news...
Yes, it has been a while since my last blog. I just checked and that was last month. Weird how fast time goes by. To be honest, I consider myself fortunate with this realization since it means that Olcay's progress in getting rid of that hernia was not very eventful. And it was, well somehow. Her progress has been very eventful especially in the last week. She's now walking more and more, and since yesterday she's cutting down on the morphine.
Yesterday we went to the neurologist and everything was really good under the circumstances. Two weeks earlier we were at the hospital for a check-up on the baby and everything was really fine with it. That day she had to be taken by ambulance, yesterday we went by car. Our own car. I was driving... cautiously. So yes, things are getting better by the day.
So what else happened? Not too much. Sinterklaas obviously, the Dutch version of Santa Clause, and I've been told that Santa Clause is actually Sinterklaas, but since the English couldn't pronounce Sinterklaas, they turned it into Santa Clause and relocated him to the North Pole although he was living in Spain, where he migrated to from Turkey. Kind of cruel to relocate somebody from hot Spain to cold North Pole, but in those days people were cruel. And probably since the travel from the North Pole to everywhere takes more time he hands out gifts around X-mas instead of December 5th.
Anyway, gift season has started, lovely tradition, and coming weekend is X-mas time, meaning more gifts... more hapiness.
E-One
Yesterday we went to the neurologist and everything was really good under the circumstances. Two weeks earlier we were at the hospital for a check-up on the baby and everything was really fine with it. That day she had to be taken by ambulance, yesterday we went by car. Our own car. I was driving... cautiously. So yes, things are getting better by the day.
So what else happened? Not too much. Sinterklaas obviously, the Dutch version of Santa Clause, and I've been told that Santa Clause is actually Sinterklaas, but since the English couldn't pronounce Sinterklaas, they turned it into Santa Clause and relocated him to the North Pole although he was living in Spain, where he migrated to from Turkey. Kind of cruel to relocate somebody from hot Spain to cold North Pole, but in those days people were cruel. And probably since the travel from the North Pole to everywhere takes more time he hands out gifts around X-mas instead of December 5th.
Anyway, gift season has started, lovely tradition, and coming weekend is X-mas time, meaning more gifts... more hapiness.
E-One
Today's cookie: A Story Untold Is Probably Not Worth Hearing
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Home Sweet Olcay Home (Extended)
Hi,
As promised a more detailed story regarding what's going on since last Thursday.
Well last Thursday Jay and I went for a swim and that was great. We had a lot of fun, and for the first time since Olcay's been 'ill' Jay was okay with joining swimming class. At the end we went for the big water slide, but that turned out to be not too much fun. For some reason Jay doesn't like the slide. My idea about this is that at one point several months ago, we went for that slide when Jay was very tired, and he didn't enjoy it. Ever since he remembers not liking it, and thus he doesn't like that slide. It's not the height, since we went on far higher slides at the Avifauna play-park. Anyway, Thursday afternoon was supposed to be fun as well, going to get Jay a haircut and visit Olcay in the hospital. But we got a call from Olcay, telling us that she was being kicked out of the hospital.
Due to a lack of beds and too much operations on Friday, she was going to be transferred to the Neurology dept. but they didn't want her around, since patients with a hernia are supposed to recover at home. So far for hospitality.
So Friday morning we were going to pick her up but travel proved to be a challenge. The nurses took care of that and the ambulance was taking her. In the afternoon Olcay's dad went to get the morphine and other painkillers and that was it. 'Neighborhood nursing' were going to take care of her, injecting morphine twice a day, with an option for a third shot.
Friday night it turned out that the pharmacy had made a mistake and instead of 9 shots of morphine we only got 6. No problem since we were going for 2 a day and 3 x 2 = 6.
But Saturday it became evident that we had to switch to 3 shots. The nurse that helped us Saturday called the weekend-pharmacy and I was going to pick up an additional set of 3 shots on Sunday and we went for the 3 shots a day routine. Saturday night I administered my first shot of morphine to Olcay and everything went really well. Supposedly it was either beginner's luck or I'm a natural. Ever since the shots are going fine, so I guess I'm a natural.
Everymorning now, at 6 o'clock, I am giving Olcay a shot, and at 1400 and 2200 a nurse is coming over to shoot the remaining morphine.
This makes the pain bearable for Olcay and she can start recovering... although I think that it'll last until she gives birth.
So that's the extended version of yesterday's blog.
E-One
As promised a more detailed story regarding what's going on since last Thursday.
Well last Thursday Jay and I went for a swim and that was great. We had a lot of fun, and for the first time since Olcay's been 'ill' Jay was okay with joining swimming class. At the end we went for the big water slide, but that turned out to be not too much fun. For some reason Jay doesn't like the slide. My idea about this is that at one point several months ago, we went for that slide when Jay was very tired, and he didn't enjoy it. Ever since he remembers not liking it, and thus he doesn't like that slide. It's not the height, since we went on far higher slides at the Avifauna play-park. Anyway, Thursday afternoon was supposed to be fun as well, going to get Jay a haircut and visit Olcay in the hospital. But we got a call from Olcay, telling us that she was being kicked out of the hospital.
Due to a lack of beds and too much operations on Friday, she was going to be transferred to the Neurology dept. but they didn't want her around, since patients with a hernia are supposed to recover at home. So far for hospitality.
So Friday morning we were going to pick her up but travel proved to be a challenge. The nurses took care of that and the ambulance was taking her. In the afternoon Olcay's dad went to get the morphine and other painkillers and that was it. 'Neighborhood nursing' were going to take care of her, injecting morphine twice a day, with an option for a third shot.
Friday night it turned out that the pharmacy had made a mistake and instead of 9 shots of morphine we only got 6. No problem since we were going for 2 a day and 3 x 2 = 6.
But Saturday it became evident that we had to switch to 3 shots. The nurse that helped us Saturday called the weekend-pharmacy and I was going to pick up an additional set of 3 shots on Sunday and we went for the 3 shots a day routine. Saturday night I administered my first shot of morphine to Olcay and everything went really well. Supposedly it was either beginner's luck or I'm a natural. Ever since the shots are going fine, so I guess I'm a natural
Everymorning now, at 6 o'clock, I am giving Olcay a shot, and at 1400 and 2200 a nurse is coming over to shoot the remaining morphine.
This makes the pain bearable for Olcay and she can start recovering... although I think that it'll last until she gives birth.
So that's the extended version of yesterday's blog.
E-One
Today's cookie: Long Stories Do Not Always Tell More Than Their Summaries
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Home Sweet Olcay Home
Hi,
Here's just a quick bloggy for today. It has been a while, but I'm a bit tired, so I'm gonna keep it short.
Last Friday Olcay came home from the hospital. She was more or less forced to come home, but more on that later in a blog. She's now at home and still gets morphine. Three shots a day, and at least one of them I administer. Quite possibly that will be two. And although I've just begun, I'm doing pretty well in the needle department.
Well that's it for today, next time more later on.
Iwan
Here's just a quick bloggy for today. It has been a while, but I'm a bit tired, so I'm gonna keep it short.
Last Friday Olcay came home from the hospital. She was more or less forced to come home, but more on that later in a blog. She's now at home and still gets morphine. Three shots a day, and at least one of them I administer. Quite possibly that will be two. And although I've just begun, I'm doing pretty well in the needle department.
Well that's it for today, next time more later on.
Iwan
Today's cookie: Sometimes Things Need To Get Really Bad To Realize What Is Really Good
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