random thoughts?

[Karine]

Oh no, Quincy!
I hope you're doing okay, and your family too! I understand, I would have been scared too. I wish you plenty of rest and the support you need from people around you.

On my side, things are going well, but I'm busy. We have a 15-month old little boy and I'm pregnant with our second child (due at the end of August). We're hoping the pregnancy will continue to go well. Both my partner and I are working from home, so I think we're pretty safe from covid. I had my first vaccine shot last week and my partner got his shot yesterday (it was painful in the arm for me; no side effects for him).
We bought a house in December and we're having renovations done in it. We're leaving our apartment mid-June, so we have to get ready soon!

I hope everyone is doing well here and like Quincy said, stay safe!

[Luus81]

Karine, congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope you're doing well...

Everything is still going well here. I still work from home a lot, with 1 day a week at the office.
June 10th I will get my 2nd shot, then I will be fully vaccinated. My mother and sister have already been fully vaccinated.

Unfortunately I had to say goodbye to a very sweet colleague a few weeks ago. She died of cancer. She had no family anymore, just a handful of friends and colleagues. So the funeral was quite sad. especially in these times.

But on the other hand, there is something beautiful to come!! Within two weeks we will welcome a new dog into our family! Then we will have three dogs, (we already have a Dutch Shepherd and a crossbreed Fox terrier). This time we opted for a black Labrador puppy. So soon for us also busy times with the puppy! But we're looking forward to it!

[Karine]

I'm sorry about your loss
I hope you're doing well despite it.

I'm good here, getting ready to move to our new house in two weeks. We have the apartment until the end of June, so it leaves us a bit of time to come back for a good clean up (and maybe to pick up the last few things that we could have left). I'm a bit emotional when I think about it: it is where I've built a life with my partner and where my baby spent his first life (learning to crawl, to walk).
My mother will be there to babysitt him and she will take him to the house before the movers arrive.
We don't want him to see a bunch of strangers walking away with all the things he knows, leaving him in an empty house. He's just 16 months: he wouldn't understand and he would probably just cry. We prefer that he sees them arriving at the house with our stuff instead.

[Luus81]

About moving: recognizable. My colleague also moved a few months ago. For the first few days, her 3yo kept asking a few times: "When are we going home?" So my colleague had to tell her a few times that where they live now is their home. It took time, but now they feel completely at home.
It will take some time, but it will be fine!

[Karine]

It took him a few days, but now he's fine. We could tell it impacted him a bit, because he had a few bad nights (waking up at unusual times, suddenly waking up and crying at night). He's now back to his normal schedule and he seems to be okay. The next big step for him will be to welcome the new baby in a few weeks (I have about 6 weeks left). Again, there's not much we can do to prepare him, because he has no idea of what his happening.
Thanks to the pandemic, he has never even seen a baby, so it will be something brand new for him. We'll make sure to pay attention to him, to give him the time he will need to adjust, so he doesn't end up being frustrated or feeling neglected.

The move took all our time, but now we have to get ready for the birth. Who knows when it will happen! I will take care of my hospital bag in the next days, making sure I've got everything packed. My mother is one of the closest family members (2 hours away by car!), so we planned on having her with us in the days before the due date, to babysit the oldest when I leave for the hospital. We wouldn't want to call her at 1 am and ask her to do the drive at night because my water broke in the middle of the night (like it did for the first one).

We don't have much planned for the summer. We're slowly unpacking our stuff, discovering our new neighbourhood, planning the next renovations and getting ready for the baby.

Does anyone have summer plans they want to share?

[Luus81]

Wow, been a long time since I was here. In the meantime, of course, a lot has happened, nice things, but also less nice things.
We're still busy with our new puppy. Her name is Tess and is 6 months old. She has been with us since mid-June. She is busy and playful, but also very sweet.
In the Netherlands, it seems that we can increasingly resume our normal lives after the pandemic. I can go to the stadium again for the football matches of PSV Eindhoven, which is very nice. But Covid is still lurking...

Karine, I assume the baby is here by now? If so, congratulations!
I totally understand that you're very busy right now, but I hope you enjoy it too.

[Karine]

Hi everyone! Wow, it's been sooooo long!! I'm just busy with life, taking care of my kids (Dorian is 2, Estelle is already 9 months!), and I'm going back to work in August. Maternity and parental leaves are very generous in Québec, Canada
How are you doing? Life is starting to look a bit normal again. With the covid vaccine, we can see shows, have gatherings like we used to. It feels good!
Do you have any plans for the summer? I'm visiting my family around mid-July and my partner's family at the end of July. I'm getting back to work early August, so I'd better start enjoying the nice weather right now.

[Luus81]

Yes, that was a long time ago. I am also busy with everything. I don't have any big plans this summer. I'll see what comes my way.

It is indeed a bit strange that everything is suddenly possible again after the pandemic. The football season continued with audiences in the stadium. Now there is a summer break, but at the end of August it will start again. I look forward to a new season!!

A few weeks ago I went to a concert of Diggy Dex (not known outside the Netherlands, and he also only sings and raps in Dutch, but I'm also a fan of his) for the first time since the last time in January 2019, and that was so cool!!!
I'm still wary of concerts and other big gatherings, so besides football, I don't have many concerts scheduled to attend yet. Well, in October 2022 I'm going to see Anastacia, and in March 2023 Tori Amos. And I can't wait!! Espcially Tori Amos... For the rest, I'll see what concerts are still to come.

But it feels good to go to football stadium again and attend concerts as well...

[Karine]

I've only been to two children shows
But it was fun to watch my oldest attend his very first shows and to start teaching him what to do. He was quiet most of the time, while I was trying to show him that he can applause and say "bravo" when a song is over ahahah!
At least, he waved and said "Bye" when it ended!
We're leaving on Saturday to see my family near Montréal (I'm near Ottawa, which is 2 hours away from Mtl), and in 3 weeks, we're visiting my in-laws, which live about 6 hours away from our region. It'll be a long drive!!