Being a Mother in the Netherlands

     Become a mother while living in the Netherlands i find it one of the most beautiful things. Too many advantages this country offers.

1)  As an IT consultant you would think asking for part time means being fired at least in the US world. Well last week i asked if that is possible and there was no hesitation. At least here once you have a contract they can't just fire you or say sorry we don't support your needs. One of my good friend in the US had to quit her job since her company refused to let her work 80 % which is 4 days a week.

2) When i am at work and not feeling good it is my right to just go home and relax. I dont have to use my vacation hours or being unpaid for the sick days. isn't that wonderful!!!

3)One of the most beautiful things to be a mother in the Netherlands is the biking with kids. I always had a nice mountain bike or a road bike. For my Birthday my husband bought me the " MAMA FIETS" a bike for mothers...

I love my new bike and i cant wait to put my little one on it. I think it is amazing. the Creche where my little one will go to it is few km away from my house. How cool would that be to drop the baby at the creche while biking.... I wont install the rear seat yet but i have the option to have the baby car seat  installed on my bike... So really i dont have to wait until my kid is old enough to sit on the bike in order to have a good time together on the bike.

4) On of the crazy things that is possible in the Netherlands it is the Option of delivering your baby at home. Sounds crazy and for sure it is not an option for me, but thinking deep about it, it sounds so cool.

Delivering a child while you are in your own bed....hmmm

I can go on and on about being a mother in the Netherlands. Being lebanese and living in the US for almost 10 years, i think i am blessed to have my first baby here and not anywhere else :)

Lebanese Lentil soup

      Today I felt cooking one of my favorite recipes. When I used to run my long runs on sunday i used to have this recipe the night before. It really gives the same boost as pasta ...  This is a popular, healthy lentil dish that can be found all over the Middle East. My version is Lebanese and i really recommend it!

Het is echt lekker!!

Ingredients

•   1 lb black lentils 

•   3 Crushed garlic cloves 

•   16 onces chopped coriander or Fresh Spinash

•   3/4 cup lemon juice 

•   dashes of Salt and pepper

•   1 tablespoon dried mint, crushed

Directions

Put the lentils, garlic, coriander, onions and mint into the pot. Pour in enough water so that it is about 2 inches deeper than the lentil mixture. 

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. If soup gets too thick, add a little more water. Salt to taste. Lower heat and stir in lemon juice.

EET SMAKELIJK!

Celebrating our 2nd wedding Anniversary

       I dont believe i have been living in the Netherlands and married for 2 years. Honestly time flies, it is a little bit scary. There should be a way to stop the clock :)
Last year we didn't really celebrate our anniversary because i was catching a flight to lebanon to run a 10 km race.

This year we decided to take a long weekend and go to Maastricht.
 Maastricht is one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands and has a long history as a strategically important location. Maastricht is on this strange peninsula of the Netherlands which juts out from its bottom right corner into what should be, by all 

rights, Belgium. This peninsula is surrounded on the south and the west by Belgium, and by Germany on the east. There’s a distinct difference in the way Dutch is spoken here, much softer and without much of the throat-scraping and spittle-inducing consonants. In other words, much more Belgian.

The town has a more Belgian feel to it as well. It’s an old town with small cobblestone streets and quaintly off-kilter house fronts.

The town is amazing! We stayed a the BeauMont Hotel. A really nice Hotel, they have very comfortable beds :) We shopped till we dropped. I was so excited to buy new baby clothes.We also visited Magraten, i was speechless. The World War II Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. It was exactly what i usually see in movies, i couldn't imagine a more beautiful cemetery.

I am so blessd to have a wonderful Husband. We were remembering our wedding day, it seems like yesterday but at the same time we have done so much since that day!! Here some pictures of one of the best day of my life. 

My Beaitiful Parents

Me and My Beautiful sister

The church we got married In
" Cathedrale St Paul"

I announce you Husband and Wife :)

Cake Time and 200 guests for the cake

My phtoshoot 

Before and after pregnancy

Now i am 25 weeks pregnant ...time flies but at the same time i still have 15 weeks to go. At this moment I am really enjoying being pregnant but at the same time all these changes to my body could be sometimes overwhelming.
All my life i was a fit healthy lady and i always thought when i get pregnant i will just have a little bump but things dont always go the way we want especially when we dont have control over these things....

the first three months i was really sick, i had to eat every two hours and i couldnt do any activities... By the end of the 3rd month the weight started to pile up...from month 3 until month 6 my energy came back i mange 3 workouts a week....it feels great to be able to run or go on the elliptical and do something... Normally i workout to raise my heart rate and sweat and feel good but now it is a total different story... i workout to stay in shape and mainly to feel good about myself... Absolutely no intensity or working out till out of breath...While running or whatever exercise i am doing i ll be sure to be able to talk without loosing breath....

I thought it is nice to share some pictures. Here a photo of me before pregnancy.

And here another picture of me at 25 weeks....

Today i went to work with the cutest shirt on.... i post a picture below...

i cant wait to meet my baby and i cant wait to start running until i am out of breath :))) i miss running so much and i hope i will get the ABS i used to have before pregnancy ...

20 Weeks echo

This week i had my 20 week echo. it was amazing to see what is inside my belly. I dont have a photo on my laptop but i will upload one in the next couple days. So they did a check from head to toes and if you think how complex it is and how many things could go wrong!!! Thanks god, my baby is in a good health....
The Baby is just sitting in my belly head down and once a while kicking me. The most amazing feeling on earth.

As terms of energy,  i am feeling good, this week i went running, not for so long because it was too hot and i was drinking a lot of water and this was leading to WC stops. It is not handy to drink a lot and feel want to use the restroom all the time!! i am actually getting sore from the activities i am doing since the first 3 months i was just sick, nausea, vomiting all the time and i couldn't even walk or has the energy to do anything.

I am half way through pregnancy in the few coming weeks we will start preparing the baby room.
I cant wait!!

This weekend it is the final game Netherlands against Spain. I am so excited i hope we win the world cup, it would be the first time ever that Netherlands win in the world cup.

Have a nice weekend!!

Pregnancy at 19 weeks

Amazing how time changes...the first 12 weeks of pregnancy i would describe them as a handicaped lady ....no energy, sick, tired, lazy, hungry etc...since week 12 till now i would say i am totally a different person. Energy is back sickness is gone and one word would describe my pregnancy "BEAUTIFUL". I workout 4 times a week, i do everything beside abs.
I honestly feel great.

This morning was the first time i felt something in my belly ;) the most amazing feeling knowing a little tiny thingy is inside my belly.

I am looking forward to know next week if it is a girl or a boy, eventhough most dutch people like to keep this as a surprise.

Tonight netherlands against cameron in soccer so i better go and start cheering for the orange

6 km race while pregnant

I am pregnant almost for 3 months. Between week 7 until now it has been a rough road for me. Morning sickness which were not only morning sickness but were a whole day sickness and especially in the evenings.
When I come back from work instead of having some energy to walk/jog/run outside i couldn't do anything buy lay on the couch. It is indeed a strange feeling when your body is used to run 6 days out of 7 and now you find yourself tired sick nausea headaches and vomiting....
I signed up to few races in the spring before i knew i was pregnant, one of the races I planned to run is the Rotterdam marathon which i had to pass on it. I don't want to experience my first marathon while pregnant and no way i could run the marathon knowing it could be a risk in the early stage of pregnancy even though I trained so hard for it.

Another race is the Zuidas run which originally I signed up for the 10Miles. I switched the distance to the 6 km now knowing that I am pregnant. Last year i finished 2nd in the 10EM so this year i was aiming to finish first because I was well trained. By Decreasing the distance all i was hoping for that Sunday 25th of April to wake up and not feeling sick(nausea, weak, headaches and so on) Lucky me I was feeling great!!!
Here I am on the start line I knew in my heart that i shouldn't even try to run fast. When the race started I was there running and unconsciously I wanted to run at 14km/h but to my disappointment my body was not helping me I felt weak I felt out of breath...It is a very strange feeling... It is so hard for me to see people passing me and not me passing them :)
My best time in a 6km is 24 min and here a photo of me in the white shirt crossing the finish line at 32 min.

The first thing i did at the finish line to cry my heart out. I felt out of shape i was disappointed with my time, thanks to my husband who believes in me who encouraged me and proved me that i should be proud for running while pregnant, especially he is the best person to know what i have been going through.

I  have in mind to sign up to few races just because nothing can replace the feeling i get after each race despite the results. I will keep running until i am unable to run for two.