Carless

I can still remember the reaction I would get from friends when they found out I wouldn't have a car over here. How could I survive??? I'm sure I had moments as well when I wondered if I would be able to handle it. Well, today I realized that not having access to a car is a blessing in disguise. Andy is currently out of town, so I have the car at my disposal. Andy has also offered numerous times to take the bus to work so that I could have the car. And my response has always been, "No, I don't need it, I mean where would I go???".

Well, today I figured I should run some errands since I had the car. I wanted to do big grocery run (meaning more than two bags of groceries) and some other errands. Great idea, right? Well, sure it sounded like a great idea. But as I drove around today I realized what an impatient driver I am. My frustrations today had nothing to do with the car being stick shift. I actually learned how to drive stick shift in high school, so it hasn't been a big deal to transition back to a stick shift. I definitely prefer automatic, but stick shift is definitely doable. My frustrations had nothing to do with all the bikers that you have to look out for, either...

I just wanted to be the only one on the road. I wanted all the traffic lights to cooperate. I wanted to be able to turn right on a red light. I didn't want to deal with construction. I wanted the parking spots to be larger. Blah, blah, blah...

So, today I have learned that my life is a lot less stressful without a car. I guess I'm just not a very patient person when I'm driving. It will be interesting to see how I adjust to having a car once we head back home... :) I remember when Andy was out of town back in January and I had to run to the grocery store. Did we hop in the car and take off? No, we simply walked to the shopping center that's a 10-minute walk away. I guess I should have done that today. Oh well, we live and learn! So, I guess I'm pretty well-adjusted to not having access to a car very often. Since it's just Rachel and me running errands, it's easier and much less stressful to walk to the shopping center. I may eat these words one day when I really want to have a car, but then I can just tell Andy to take the bus to work that day! :)

Miss Independent

In the past few weeks Rachel has become quite a challenger. She fights getting dressed most mornings. On days that we aren't planning on going anywhere I'll let her pick out what she wants to wear and usually that goes a little smoother. I have discovered though that it's time to do a clean out of her drawers. She's been sporting the midriff look recently. She must be growing! :) For about a week or longer it was practically impossible to get her in her stroller. She would scream, arch her back, put her feet behind the foot rest, and push away. Now she's pretty compliant though, because I simply tell her that I don't want the cars to hit her. So, she's constantly saying "cars hit you", "bus hit you". Hopefully she doesn't start having nightmares. I wouldn't mind her walking to the store, because she's gotten really good at holding my hand. However, when it's freezing cold outside I just want to get there as quickly as possible and we all know that a toddler can only walk so fast... About 2 weeks ago Rachel just started to refuse to sit in her high chair. Now, you must be thinking, just let her know who's boss and make her sit there. Well, sure, that might work, but then she is going to be so upset and screaming so loudly that forget about trying to get her to eat! :) I think my poor Dutch neighbor thinks that Americans must abuse their children. After trying several different solutions, we finally came up with one that's been working the past couple of days. Hopefully it will last. We just lowered her high chair and we pull it up to the table without the high chair tray on. She seems to like sitting at the table with us and is then able to reach her food. This also solves the issue of buying a booster seat that she would probably not like. We went to a baby store on Saturday and experienced sticker shock. We saw a stroller for 999,00 euros(they use commas where we use periods), that roughly exchanges to about $1,500. Craziness! Obviously there were some more reasonably priced strollers for less than 100 euros, but I just couldn't believe the first one I spotted. Rachel also hates having her hair done, so most days I don't fight her on it. You have to choose your battles, right? So, she looks like a ragamuffin quite often, but she's happy so I guess that is all that matters. Even though some of these moments can be quite frustrating, I am grateful to have a girl with such a strong will. It will serve her well in years to come. We just need her going in the right direction and she'll be fine... Here's some pictures of our dining solutions:

I WAS TAGGED (3 TIMES)

TAG #1

What is his name?
Andrew David (better known as Andy or Drew)

How long have you been married?
Almost 7 years.

How long did you date?
14 months

How old is he?
30

Who eats more?
It's probably a tie...

Who said "I love you" first?
Andy

Who is taller?
Andy

Who sings better?
We both try our best! :)

Who is smarter?
It depends on what we're talking about...

Whose temper is worse?
Probably me.

Who does the laundry?
That would be me.

Who does the dishes?
Usually me, but just last night Andy did the dinner dishes.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Me

Who pays the bills?
Me and I love it! :)

Who cooks the dinner?
That would be me. I don't think Andy knows how to use our oven! :)

Who drives when you are together?
Andy

Who is more stubborn?
Probably me - it's the Kunz in me???

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Who's ever wrong? :)

Whose parents do you see the most?
It use to be mine since we were both in Texas, but now that we live in a different country it's a different story.

Who proposed?
Andy

Who has more friends?
Me

Who has more siblings?
We both have 4.

Who wears the pants in the family?
We both do!

TAG #2

Here's all you never wanted to know:

10 years ago:
1. I was in my senior year of high school
2. I had been accepted to BYU.
3. I lived in Fresno, CA.
4. I loved playing games with my family - good memories! :)
5. I still babysat and loved it! :)

5 things on my to-do list today:
1. Laundry
2. Ironing
3. Unload the dishwasher.
4. Play with Rachel.
5. Continue reading Nineteen Minutes while Rachel naps.

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. chips & salsa
2. anything chocolate
3. apples & peanut butter
4. cheese (American cheese)
5. granola bars

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
1. Go home to the states quarterly to visit family! :)
2. Travel
3. Do lots of home improvements on my house when I return to Texas.
4. Invest (oh that sounds like Andy!)
5. Help family that might need a few extra bucks! :)

3 of my bad habits:
1. Back-seat driver
2. Indecisive
3. Talking loud

Places I have lived:
1. Utah
2. California
3. Texas
4. The Netherlands
5. Don't have a fifth...Some day probably...

5 jobs that I have had:
1. Babysitter (12-18 years old)
2. Microfilmer (every summer, 14-17 years old)
3. Various temp jobs: Insurance CSR, Payroll Clerk, etc...(every summer, 18-21 years old)
4. Teacher-3rd, 4th, & 5th grades(21-26 years old)
5. Stay-at-home Mommy(right now!)

5 Things people don't know about me: (maybe some people don't know)
1. My ears aren't pierced.
2. My hair has gone somewhat curly/wavy since Rachel was born.
3. I hate raisins and pickles (food should stay in it's original form)
4. I was on a Care Bear float when I was little in Utah (Pioneer Day).
5. I don't really enjoy shopping.

TAG #3

What is the best thing you cooked last weekend?
Tacos

If time, money, and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
Right now I'd really like to take a trip to Egypt with Andy.

When was the last time you cried?
This morning as I was reading Cristy's blog.

List five things you were doing 10 years ago, 1998:
SEE TAG #2

List 5 things you were doing 5 years ago, 2003:
-teaching school
-moving to Houston, TX
-enjoying married life with Andy
-living in an apartment
-house-hunting

List 5 things you were doing 1 year ago, 2007:
-loving being a stay-at-home mom
-took a trip to Branson, MO with just Andy
-went to California to be with family
-made several trips to Utah
-moved to Amsterdam

List 7 of your favorite hobbies:
-reading
-blogging
-playing games
-playing with Rachel
-talking to my mom on the phone
-chatting away with Andy
-baking (not as often as I used to)

Name 5 of your favorite foods:
SEE TAG #2

Name 5 places you've been:(I'm going to do since Rachel's been born)
-New York
-Palm Springs
-New Zealand
-Utah/California
-Europe - Netherlands, Germany, & Belgium

List 5 of your favorite memories:
-Family vacations growing up & beyond...
-Andy's proposal
-Wedding day
-Rachel being born
-Trips up to Hughes Springs! :)

Precious Moments

We all have precious moments that we don't want to forget. Here's one of my mine... A few weeks ago Andy had just gotten home from work. He was holding Rachel and kissing me at the same time. Well, Rachel had to be in on the action as well, so she gave me kisses on my cheek as Andy was kissing me. It was absolutely precious! :) She did that a few nights in a row, but hasn't done it recently. It was so much fun to get kisses at the same time from both of them. Rachel is so funny about kisses. She always has to get her fair share! :)

I still remember when I was pregnant talking to Andy about who should be greeted first when he comes home from work. And of course I told him that I needed to be greeted first, and then the baby. Well, he was pretty good about that for the first year or so. But once Rachel started recognizing the noisy garage door opening or now Andy unlocking the front door, she makes a run for the door. So, Rachel is greeted first now when he comes home. You can't blame him though! I guess if I would beat Rachel to the door, he'd greet me first! :) As many of you know, it's so much fun when Daddy comes home...

Pucker Up!

Spring?

For those of you that will be enjoying Spring weather shortly, if not already, we're jealous. We probably won't have decent Spring weather until June. Yesterday afternoon our weather really went south. It started out a beautiful day (still only 42 degrees, but at least the sun was out). Rachel and I even walked over to the mall yesterday morning. Well, by 4 pm it was dark and windy. Shortly after that we had a random hailstorm, nothing too crazy, but it was still random. And then it started snowing and there were huge flakes. Rachel loved watching the snow fall. This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. Most of it is has already melted, but I still thought it quite odd for March. We haven't really had any snow since we've moved here and then it decides to snow in March? I am anxiously waiting for the temperature to reach 60 degrees, but I don't think that will happen until at least May. Here are some photos. One is of Rachel last night and the others are of this morning. :)

Mommy's Little Helper

Rachel loves to pretend to clean house. It's too bad that when she's old enough and I will actually want her help; she won't be as willing. She is really good about cleaning up her toys as well. The other day we were simply going to go upstairs to change her diaper. Well, before we headed up the stairs Rachel insisted on cleaning up her kitchen stuff that she had been playing with. Funny girl! Here are a few pictures and a video of her taking care of the house. :)

Madurodam

Today Rachel and I went with some friends to Madurodam, which is the smallest town in the Netherlands! Everything there is 25 times smaller than it really is and has been exactly replicated. It contains 185 miniature replicas of famous spots in the Netherlands. We saw things from St. John's Basilica to the Rijksmuseum to "Ruthie's" castle (Castle Nijenrode) to the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The planes taxied around the airport, there were boats cruising the canals, trucks driving along the freeways, and trains moving around. Rachel enjoyed walking around and checking everything out. I really don't know why I even bother bringing the stroller along! :) We spent the most time at the Chocolate factory. Everyone (even the moms!) had to put 10 cents in for a truck to driver out with a fun size Mars bar. The sun was out and it was a beautiful day! There was a park that we enjoyed as well. Here are some pictures of our adventure:

Belgium - Brussels & Brugge

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Belgium. We spent Saturday afternoon in Brussels. The sun was out and we enjoyed exploring. We had Belgian chocolate and Belgian waffles. There were lots of lace stores with expensive pretties. It would be a great place to find a beautiful blessing dress. We, of course, couldn't miss seeing the Mannekin Pis. The Mannekin Pis is a tiny statue of a little boy relieving himself. The statue isn't more than 2 feet tall. Here's a link, if you're curious: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manneken_Pis. We then drove to Brugge and spent Saturday night and Sunday there. Brugge is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Belgium. It is a quaint little town with cobble-stoned roads and medieval buildings. We enjoyed just walking around and exploring. It was a fun trip despite the amount of times we got lost, but we eventually always found our destination. We may me that much closer to splurging for a GPS-system... Enjoy the slide show! :)

History repeats itself...

Winter 2004:

We were still fairly new to the Houston area, especially me when it came to getting around Houston. I was aware of the major freeways and had traveled on them as a passenger. As a driver, I pretty much stayed around the Sugar Land area and was quite comfortable getting around in Sugar Land. One rainy night Andy and I went to a basketball game downtown. I think we went with some of his co-workers (I can't remember - I have a horrible memory!). But the one thing I do remember is getting lost on the way home. Andy had been working on a client in downtown Houston and it didn't make sense to have him drive all the way home (a 45 minute drive if traffic is good), pick me up, and turn back around. So, I drove out to meet him and go to the b-ball game. Well, I got there just fine and enjoyed the game. I believe it was my first Rockets experience...

After the game we returned to the parking garage and I was going to follow Andy home. Like most downtowns, the streets are one-way in Houston. So, you don't exactly get back on the freeway the same way you got off it. And of course traffic was crazy, like it is after any type of event downtown. Needless to say, I lost Andy, probably getting through a red light or something, I don't remember. But suffice it to say, instead of getting on 59, I eventually ended up on 610. Luckily I knew I needed to go South, so that's what I did. Of course I'm crying and hysterical. Anyone who has driven through downtown Houston in the dark, by yourself, and is a woman - can hopefully understand. It's not like I exactly felt comfortable pulling into an extremely ghetto gas station to ask for directions. Eventually though, 610 (with is a big circle around the city), allows you to get on 59. So, I did get home. A little late and a little bit ruffled. Andy was worried, I think he had been home for 30 minutes before I got there. And of course, one of the first things I said to Andy was, "We're getting cell phones". You see, we were trying to be frugal and didn't really see the need for cell phones and the added cost. Let's just say, shortly after that we both had cell phones...

Winter 2008 (Last Night):

It was Enrichment and we were meeting at the temple. Great, haven't been since we've moved out here, so I was excited. Andy isn't working crazy hours and could be home in plenty of time. So, Andy printed me out maps to get to and from the temple and I was ready to go. I headed out around 6 pm and needed to be there for the 7:30 pm session, no problem. According to the maps, it's a 45-minute drive, so even with traffic I should be okay. Well, it took 30 minutes to get past the airport, which normally takes 10 minutes. So, traffic was crazy, but it eventually got better. I got off the freeway at the correct exit at 7 pm, no sweat. Well, let's just say I took a wrong turn. So, at 7:05 I'm calling Andy frantically telling him I'm lost and then tell him I have to go. I didn't have my hands-free device with me and it's nearly impossible to drive a stick shift and talk on the cell phone at the same time....

So, by the time I find a gas station to pull over in, I call Andy and it's 7:15. I tell him I'm just going to turn around and come back home. There's no way I'm going to make the 7:30 session. It's dark, rainy, and they really don't believe in readable street signs here. Andy was trying to get me to tell him where I was - I was on some street that started with a V..... It was about 12 letters long and I was in no mood to spell it out correctly to him, so I told him I'd see him around 8. I actually got home in 30 minutes (so, when there's no traffic a trip to the temple is pretty quick). By the time I got home I was calmed down and just wanted to see what I had done wrong. At a street (which was not labeled) I made a right instead of a left. When I called Andy at 7:05, I was only about 5 minutes away from the temple, just going the wrong direction. Needless to say, I survived. Andy was expecting to have me say, as soon as I got home, "We're getting a GPS-system". But I didn't, it actually hadn't even crossed my mind. What I had needed was some daylight, the streets to be labeled better, and a little co-pilot to read my map to me (well, I guess technically that's what a GPS-system does). Oh well, we live and learn and next time I head to the temple it should be a breeze! :)

Silly Girl

Within the past week Rachel and I have had some pretty humorous conversations (at least I think they're humorous). So, here are a few that I remember.

Last week sometime during lunch time:

Rachel: move, move, move

Me: What do you want me to move?

Rachel: high chair

Me: Where do you want me to move the high chair?

Rachel: To Texas! (duh!)

This morning Rachel was eating her breakfast in her highchair and laughing up a storm.

Me: What are you laughing about?

Rachel: Me! (I guess she must have been thinking about something funny!)

At lunch today:

Rachel: time out

Me: Who's in time out? (She's put Elmo in time out before, so that was the answer I was expecting.)

Rachel: Daddy, time out.

Me: Daddy? Why is Daddy in time out?

Rachel: color

Me: Did he color on something?

Rachel: yeah

Me: What did he color on?

Rachel: wall - no, no, no

I guess she was having flashbacks to last Friday. Rachel colored on the wall for the first time and was sent to time out. Her flashback was a little mixed up. Daddy was at work when it happened and Rachel was the one who went to time out. But at least it seems like she understands that coloring on the walls is not a good thing! I guess Daddy better be careful and not color on the walls; otherwise Rachel will be sending him to time out! :)