House tour: Floor 3

Well, this is where the tour gets REALLY boring.  For the (sort of) exciting parts of the tour visit here and here.   Oops, and then for real excitement we made some changes to the first floor. 


Alright, back to it.  You'll need to take another "efficient" flight of stairs and then you come to the third floor.  I don't think I have ever lived in a house with three floors.   A dorm with three floors, yes.  But not a house.  That is how they build 'em over here though. Easier to fit more homes in when you build up. 


At least it is good for weight loss.  Especially on days with five loads of laundry. 


Like today.  

at the top of this flight you are
rewarded with sunlight (sometimes)

the guest bedroom.  yup, this is where you would sleep. 

Our most recent guest referred to this as the "penthouse".  I like that.  

The other reward for climbing to the peak of our home? 

From what I have heard from each visitor we have had is that you can't hear little baby cries or toddler yells from this room (unless you are supposed to and keep the door open, of course.  thanks again Mom!).  So yes, guests get to sleep in.  

Lucky ducks. 

same room; but this is our "office"

the non-boring part of the 3rd floor?  the view.  

not too shabby, definitely better in the summer. 

this is our patio. 

Yes, the patio is on the third floor.  Needless to say, we haven't used it too often.  Sort of hard to enjoy a nice cool glass of wine or beer (or two) when you have to run up and down two flights of narrow, steep stairs for the next round.  

The other room on the third floor is the laundry room.  Not too exciting.  

Except that everything on the washer and dryer is in Dutch.  Imagine using that when you don't have internet (a.k.a. my crutch, google translate) and have the thickest, most confusing Dutch-English dictionary that has been written.  The only one you could find on like your second (solo) day in the country. 

Yup, sometime when we meet in person, ask me about that shopping trip.  

So that is the house.  Was there anything I missed that you are wondering about?  What do you think--a lot different than a home in the U.S.?  

House tour: Floor 2

Friday, Friday.  Oh how I love Fridays!   We had a fun, though hot, week around here.  A great friend of ours from Minnesota came for a visit, and it was fantastic.  Although, poor guy, he goes from one of the hotest days of the year here to the same thing in Minnesota.  


But his visit was the perfect excuse for me to get the rest of the house spic and span.  Which means...house tour time! 


Remember these spirally, steep stairs?  My brother calls them "efficient", and is that ever true.  

These steps take you to the second floor, where our bedroom, J#3's bedroom and the main bathroom reside.   No pictures of the bathroom.  It is pretty basic and utilitarian.  Shower, tub, sink, toilet...you know the drill. 

Although there isn't much exciting about the other rooms either, but here they are just for the curious folks out there: 

our master bedroom 

That bedspread.  I have been wanting to replace that for years.  But then it was time to move here, and I said, "oh, I will just replace it when we move to the Netherlands."  Then we got here, and now it is "let's just replace it when we get to Scotland."  Will the madness ever end? 

The plan was for J#4 to eventually share a room with her brother (you will see evidence of that a little ways below), but we have since decided we would have one heck of a time getting J#3 to sleep through the night with a little sister in the room.  Especially since she still wakes up at least once a night usually.  So in our room she stays...at least for now. 

yes, this is just a wall of wardrobes.
but they were already here when we moved in.
very, very nice bonus in the Netherlands

J#3's room.  LOVE wall clings.
one of the best inventions ever. 

J#3 showing of his "big boy" bed

J#4's part of the room

This is where J#4 would be.  The cling says "It's not easy being a Princess".  We still have her clothes in here, because there is no way the wardrobe and dresser would fit in our room.  

The curtains in here don't match a thing.  But functional, they are.  Some of the best "black-out" curtains I have ever seen.  Key with a two-year-old when it can stay light out for up to 16 hours a day. 


Up next on part #3 of the house tour?  The guest bedroom.  Where you would stay.  :-) 

Father's Day & NEW Floor 1 tour

First thing first.  


My guess is that there are very few dads (other than J#1) who read this. But, if there are any--HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!  And a special "Happy Father's Day" to my #1.  :-) 

J#1 getting quite a bit of help
opening his father's day presents

Now, lets get down to business. 


Just last week I took you on a little tour of the first floor of our home here in the Netherlands.  Yes, floors #2 and #3 are still on their way.  


But first I need to share part of our first floor with you again.  See, if you know J#1 and me at all, you know that we are NOT adverse to change.*  I think I actually thrive on it.  So, our Saturday project this weekend was perfect for me.  After eight months here we decided to make a change to our family room, and changed around the furniture.  


Here is a reminder of how it looked before: 

play area behind the couch.
what kid would want to play back there? 

not a lot of rolling around room for a certain
four and half month old roller

Now for the new arrangement: 

play area isn't as "shut off"
plus, way MORE play room

even though you can't really see it,
MUCH more rolling space

You wouldn't believe the way changing a few pieces of furniture around has really opened up this room.   It makes it feel so much larger, and I hope it will give J#3 and J#4 their own areas to play in for a while (since they aren't exactly playing with the same toys right now).    You can't tell from the photos, but this even makes our "dining" room feel larger.  

So, change is good.  Well, this change is good.  

*Note:  Make sure to remember this comment when you read my next post, coming within the next few days.  

House tour: Floor #1

I love taking peaks into other people's homes, don't you?  Well, thought I would give you a peek into ours.  


Most of the time, when people add photos of their home on blogs, rooms get "styled" before photos are taken.


I will admit I cleaned before I took these photos.  But that's it.  No styling.  This is how it is.  Tricycles in the kitchen and all. 

our kitchen.  

Yes, there is a trike in our kitchen. We don't have a garage to store outside toys in.  Those windows?  Open like doors.  So, J#3 just gets to sneak out there to play outside.  This faces the courtyard that is in front of our house. 

more of the kitchen, including our fridge.  see it?  

The other side of our kitchen.  See the oven type looking thing?  That would be our microwave/oven/grill combo.  Interesting.  Haven't tried out the grill function yet.  Don't think we will.  Just doesn't seem right.  

The fridge is right next to that (on the right as you are looking at the photo).  Kind of fun that it blends in with the cabinets.  The size ends up being pretty comparable to fridges in the U.S.  Well, maybe a bit smaller.  The freezer though?  MUCH smaller.

To the right of the fridge/cabinets is my "command center".  Sometimes.  I move stuff around a lot.  I lead an exciting life, right?  Right now that table is mostly bare.  


Hiding to the left of these cabinets is our extra kitchen shelf, with the limited cabinet space we just had to have more "pantry" space. 

the view from our kitchen to the rest of the first floor

dining room.  yes, the lights are uneven.  

Stroller in the dining room?  Doesn't everyone have a stroller in their dining room?  No?  Hmm.  A victim of limited space.  Our entry way just isn't big enough. 

Those shelves are really the only place we have for photos and decorations (with a two-year-old running around).  I am guessing the shelves should actually be used for dishes.   Our "not so pretty" plates + need for space for photos = improvisation. 

Living Room

You ask "why nothing on the walls?".  Good question.  See the wall behind the TV?  Concrete.  We just aren't going to be here long enough to overcome that obstacle.  

The windows here?  Overlook a parking lot.  Nice.  

Our Ikea couch.  Perfect for our situation:  extra sleeping space (folds out like a hide-a-bed) and somewhat inexpensive (have you seen what two-year-olds do to furniture???).  

Oh, and this is baby world.  There is another baby tool hiding behind the chair.  She almost has more places to hang out than we do. 

a view of the living room from the other direction. love our
world map.  now we just need to start adding some pins. 

hiding behind the couch?  J#3 world.  toys.
 oh, and another place (walker) for J#4 to hang out, guess that
means she definitely has more places to hang out than we do.

Next up.  The bathroom.  I usually wouldn't share photos of the bathroom.  Or, this bathroom could possibly earn its own post (but that seems wrong).  This bathroom though?  Well, I will let it speak for itself: 

yes.  NEON green.  yes. grass art piece.
neither of these are our doing.

Also, notice the lack of a mirror.  Always present in an American bathroom--not in a Dutch guest bathroom, I guess.  Oh, and in Dutch guest bathrooms, they usually have a "birthday calendar".  

And, in the profound words of Forrest Gump, "That is all I have to say about that."

Next up?  Floor #2.  After our steep and winding staircase.  

Let me know if you have any other questions about living in the Netherlands--I'm all ears...