sinterkaas kapoentje

yesterday sinterklaas came to holland. he comes on a steamboat from spain, and it is one of the biggest days in a little boy's year. so naturally, i had an amazing time yesterday.

when the good saint reached almere, we all headed down to the harbour to welcome him. unfortunately, t. wasn't with us, although he was pretty close. when sinterklaas reached the shore, the mayor welcomed him and all the kids sang for him. then, unfortunately, his horse was unavailable, so the zoo was called and sinterklaas wound up riding a camel through town.

s. spent most of the afternoon on my back, which is not an easy feat if you consider that he's built like he's 10 but is only 7. he was especially excited because sinterklaas waved directly at him twice. i can attest to the fact that is was actually three, because t. was excited to see us amidst the crowd.

the "official" sinterklaas wound up injuring his back, so t. was called in as a literally last minute replacement. and i'm not going to lie, i didn't recognize him, he looked so believable.

i loved it. the whole afternoon. the best thing about sinterklaas in holland, i think, is that all the adults make it real for the kids. sinterklaas is interviewed for t.v., he's made real. and it's a nation-wide thing, not just a patchy thing like santa claus.

cue the warm fuzzies.

storms and stations.

so the weather here has been a wee bit tempermental. which means it's been storming a whole heck of a lot lately. wind, rain, wind, more rain, and more wind. it's been crazy. fortunately, it's kept itself busy at night, which means daytime is relatively passable.

the other day s. and i got home from school and he said he wanted to play on his playstation. and i was all "what playstation" because i was under the impression that he didn't have one.

apparently he does. and it is now hooked up to my tv. (i know, i didn't get the logic either, but who am i to complain.) so, for the record, i suck at any and all things involving the playstation. except i managed to plug it in without a problem. and there were lots of wires involved, so i'm very proud. i even solved the sound issue.

also, i'm going to start going with s. to school to give him a helping hand.

that is all.