Sixteenth week

Still a very merry Christmas everybody! I hope, even with covid, that you all had a fun Christmas.

This week I will talk about Christmas!! Of course, haha. Every Dutch person thinks about the American Christmas as a really big deal! And that is also really true, but unfortunately because of covid I didn't experience the real real American Christmas. Normally this year we would go to Ryan's family in Charlotte, North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with his family. We didn't go, and all his brothers and sisters also didn't. We stayed home.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day

Christmas Eve in America is big, bigger than back home. The kids opened 2 presents each that they got from their grandparents (Ryan's parents), and they watched how they openend their presents through FaceTime. For diner we had Mexican food, what was very nice. Christmas morning started early. Everybody in the house was already wake at 7.30 so we quickly brushed our teeth and went downstairs. The kids were so excited and when they saw all the presents Santa brought they were even more excited! Santa does not wrap the presents so when they come downstairs they see directly what Santa gave them. After the presents that Santa gave us we went to the stockings, and after the stockings back to the presents under the Christmas tree. There were so many presents!!! It was just crazy hahah, I haven't seen so many presents before. Without Santa's presents we already had a lot, and then Santa's gifts has to included hahaha. It was amazing! For breakfast we had monkey bread, that is something you make out of biscuit dough, cinnamon and sugar, it was really good!

After opening all the presents we had lunch and went to Leah's parents house. We did kinda the same thing as with Thanksgiving. We met all at the drive way with Leah's sisters and parents. We had a drink, talked with each other and in the end we exchanged presents. The car was so full with presents and when we put it under the tree, it looked like we started all over again haha. During opening presents we facetimed Leah's family so we could talk and see each other reactions from the presents. I also gave Leah's parents a little present, I gave Leah's mom a Dutch cookbook and I gave Leah's dad my favorite book about the Second World War. The first time I spoke to him after Emmett's birthday we were talking about the Second World War, because he googled something about The Netherlands and found the Anna Frank house so I told him about this book. Sarah's key, and I give him that book.

In the evening we had Chinese food for diner, unfortunately. Normally at a Christmas diner you eat kinda the same things as with Thanksgiving, where I was really excited about. But because that meal is so big and takes a lot of time we didn't do it during Christmas this year.

This was my Christmas! :) I really liked it, but if I’m being honest I expected more from it. I thought it would be more fancy and with a bigger meal and just more a party. I know that because of Covid everything was different and that if Covid wasn't here I definitely had a typical American Christmas that you have in mind when you think about it. We celebrate our Christmas in our Christmas pj's

All around Christmas

The weeks before Christmas you really could see people decorating their houses, what I really like!! Every week I could see more houses being decorated and every time I drove around the neighborhood I saw new things. I really like that so many houses are decorated for all different kinds of holidays, really American. I was already so surprised when I saw so many houses decorated for Halloween, and then I saw the houses for Christmas! <3 On Christmas Eve Eve (the day before Christmas Eve) we drove around the neighborhood to look at the Christmas decorations from all the houses and Leah even made little certificates that we gave to the houses that we thought deserved a price. We gave prices for the best lights, the best inflatables or the most creative.

This hole month December the fire department organized something for Christmas 'The Santa Truck'. This is Santa on a fire truck driving around the neighborhoods in your county. It is so cool and so nice to see! I really love that idea and the kids love it! I saw him twice! One time in Rockville and this week in our street.

Also very American where I didn't thought about earlier, but is to bake a lot of cookies. Leah baked 3 different types of cookies where I haven't heard from before. She made peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses, sugar cookies and caramel, chocolate crackers.

Happy Birthday!

Sunday it was Ainsley her birthday!! She turned 8 years old! After all the Christmas and gifts it wasn't over yet haha. Every birthday Leah bakes a cake for the birthday boy/girl, she/he also can choose what he/she wants as a birthday cake. Ainsley this year choose for a mad science cake. Leah did a really great job making it and it was delicious! Leah's sister and parents came over for a little outside party, like what we did for Emmett's birthday in September. It was fun and not really that cold at all. Yaayy

Other

Hahaha I have no idea how I can call it different, but I met a new girl on Saturday. Luna from Italy. She lives in OIney and Sharon already had met her once and she told me about Luna, that she was really nice and that we definitely have to meet her too. Luna texted me this week to ask if I wanted to have a drink somewhere with her, so we did that on Saturday. It was really fun and she was really nice! We went to Rockville, walked around there and went to Starbucks to warm ourselves up. Lately I haven't met new people really, because of covid getting worse and we have to be more careful.

This was my week!!

Byyeeee! Already a happy new year! I really really hope it is getting better soon, I think that will work out haha if you look back at last year. I hope things will get better soon so we can go back to normal soon and I'm really looking forward to experience my 'real' au pair year! :)

- Naomi