Happy Easter!

Juleen really enjoyed the arrival of the 'paasklokken' and the 'haaspaas', nearly as much as mama and papa did - we suddenly felt like kids again ourselves ;-).
The challenge now is to limit J's daily intake of chocolate with all the easter eggs around, since it's by far her favourite sweet - she's definitely Belgian! Now the time has come though where she prefers to speak English to us - even if we 'force' her to speak Dutch...hhmm hopefully this is just a periodical thing.

Hello Aurelia

Pete, baby Aurelia & Juleen

Hello Clementine

Ben, baby Clementine & Juleen

Look mummy ... a spider

Juleen gets a big bed

And she loooovvessss to help with papa to put everything together...Guess whom she takes that from??

Newsflash

Australische vriend stuurde me dit bericht en vroeg me waar we ons in Belgie zoal meebezig houden ...

Further proof that the Prime Minister was right to defy the EU on the Kyoto accords. This illustrates the potential threat to the Australian way of life if Kevin Rudd gets his way and cedes Australian sovereignty to the faceless bureaucrats in Brussels! Forget the AWA....what hope to the great Aussie tradition with black painted helicopters flying over Australian suburbs on the weekends???

From Novosti, a Russian news service:

The government of Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia, which has a population of about 4 million, has approved a tax on barbequing, local media reported.

Experts said that between 50 and 100 grams of CO2, a so-called greenhouse gas, is emitted during barbequing. Beginning June 2007, residents of Wallonia will have to pay 20 euros for a grilling session.

The local authorities plan to monitor compliance with the new tax legislation from helicopters, whose thermal sensors will detect burning grills.

Recent Events

Another pressie

Surprise again this week - Juleen received 2 new books from nonna to add to her extensive library. Dank u nonnatje xxx



Baby boom

Best friend Dylan has a younger brother since last weekend's arrival of baby bro Connor. This is the start of the baby boom in Sydney... Swimming pal Zach just had a baby sister, Aurelia (born on the same weekend) and this weekend Ben and Leslie had their first bubbie, a girl called Clementine.



Summer coming to an end ...

We caught up with Paula, Ramiro and their 2 lovely children at Balmoral beach. Juleen loves to play with Geronimo, who is 3 years old. Quite amazing how a week ago the beaches were hot, whereas the evenings are now shorter and the weather much cooler. Nevertheless a beautiful morning at the beach!




Lights out !


On Saturday everyone in Sydney was asked to support the first "Earth Hour", the first edition of a city-wide action to put out all unnecessary lights for one hour to create awareness for climate change and energy use. The action was widely supported by government, businesses and citizens. We contributed by switching off all the lights - and Juleen loved it. The view of the city skyline was very different too. See article in De Standaard and News.com.au.

For all mums-to-be...

Being a Mum

We are sitting at lunch one day when my daughter
casually mentions that she and her husband are
thinking of "starting a family." "We're taking a
survey," she says half-joking. "Do you think I should
have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping
my tone neutral.
"I know," she says, "No more sleeping in on weekends,
No more spontaneous vacations."

But that is not what I meant at all.
I look at my daughter, trying to decide what to tell
her. I want her to know what she will never learn in
childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the
physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but
becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional
wound so raw that she will forever be vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never again read
a newspaper without asking, "What if that had been MY
child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will
haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving
children, she will wonder if anything could be worse
than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish
suit and think that No matter how sophisticated she
is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive
level of a bear protecting her cub That an urgent call
of "Mum!" will cause her to drop a soufflé or her Best
crystal without a moments hesitation.

I feel that I should warn her that No matter how many
years she has invested in her career, she will be
professionally derailed by motherhood. She might
arrange for childcare, but one day she will be going
into an important business meeting and she will think
of her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every
ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to
make sure her baby is all right.

I want my daughter to know that every day decisions
will No longer be routine.

However decisive she may be at the office, she will
second-guess herself constantly as a mother.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I want to assure
her that eventually she will shed the pounds of
pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about
herself. That her life, now so important, will be of
less value to her once she has a child. That she would
give herself up in a moment to save her offspring,
but will also begin to hope for more years, not to
accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child
accomplish theirs. I want her to know that a cesarean
scar or shiny stretch marks will become badges of
honor.

My daughter's relationship with her husband will
change, but not in the way she thinks. I wish she
could understand how much more you can love a man
who is careful to powder the baby or who never
hesitates to play with his child. I think she should
know that she will fall in love with him again for
reasons she would now find very unromantic.

I wish my daughter could sense the bond she will feel
with women throughout history who have tried to stop
war, prejudice and drunk driving.
I want to describe to my daughter the exhilaration of
seeing your child learn to ride a bike. I want to
capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is
touching the soft fur of a dog or cat for the first
time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it
actually hurts.

My daughter's quizzical look makes me realize that
tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret
it," I finally say.
Then I reached across the table, squeezed my
daughter's hand and offered a silent prayer for her,
and for me, and for all the mere mortal women who
stumble their way into this most wonderful of
callings.

More birthday pressies

Wat een leuke verrassing : tante Catherine's vriendin Anne-Marie is naar Sydney gekomen met 2 verjaardagskadootjes !! Een T-shirtje van tante Sissie en tante Catherine stuurde Ernie - moet lukken dat we al een mega Bert in huis hadden - om doctertje mee te spelen.
THANK YOU TANTE CATHERINE & TANTE SISSIE !!!!
More pictures

Dylan's Birthday Party

Juleen had a wonderful morning at best friend Dylan's 2nd birthday party. They had a blast jumping on Dylan's trampoline, playing in the sandpit and eating the delicious cake & pastries !
Video clip trampoline

More pictures