Number of days in Amsterdam – 123
Number of days without a bike theft – 120
Days since it last rained – 0
It looks like the rain has settled back in with a vengeance, making up time lost in the beautiful week we had, and the pounding on the skylight makes me just… want to sleep… a little later… just 10 more minutes…
You get the idea.
It was a lazy morning around the flat, as we waited for a package delivery. We had a note in the mailbox a few days ago that we’d missed a package, and I rescheduled delivery for today.
We waited for it to come.
And Nicole’s dad sent us a bouncer.
After putting it all together (I’m getting good at assembling things), I put it where it’s going to spend much of its time over the upcoming months.
This is the editor’s desk now, off the side of my desk, where she’ll be my harshest critic, delivering brutally honest, yet constructive, feedback.
And hopefully napping as well.
After we got over the excitement, we decided to venture out.
Today’s destination was the Hermitage.
An old retirement home, the Hermitage has now been converted into a museum dependency of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg Russia. What that means is that the collections on display are always on loan from the Russian museum. Which also means the museum gets a new exhibition every six months.
This time it was the Flemish art collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, with 75 paintings and drawings from Rubens, van Dyck, Jordaens and others. It was really cool, with a wide collection of paintings I really liked by artists I had very little knowledge of.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. First we had to get there.
Because of the unpredictable weather today (sunny for 15 minutes, thunderous downpour for 15 minutes, lather, rinse, repeat), we decided to take the tram.
It was nice and sunny as we walked up to the tram stop, and for our trip up to the stop.
And we exited directly into driving rain.
We were right next to the skate shop, so I suggested going in, but Nicole wanted to forge on a few doors, to go to a store that had always been closed while we were in the area.
Which is how we found De Kunstboer.
De Kunstboer (“art farmer”) is a cool, kitschy shop with a heavy emphasis on stuff for babies.
Like punk rock baby clothes.
We really didn’t need more, but it’s the Misfits! And, it glows in the dark.
This way, you don’t lose the baby if the power goes out. So it’s practical too.
She may just always wear this, in case of that particular eventuality.
And also, yesterday I mentioned I still needed my daddy diaper bag.
They had those, too.
Introducing…
The Bat Bag.
Like Batman’s Utility Belt, dad will have everything he needs at hand in his handy dad bag!
They didn’t have a bag big enough for it, but the nifty part about buying a new bag is carrying it out as a bag!
So we then wandered up to the museum, and really enjoyed the exhibit. We stopped for a bit in the museum cafe, and then decided to walk home.
Even with the sporadic rain, the walk home was really nice. With the rush of work and baby preparations, I realize we haven’t been spending enough time just hanging out together. Now, we have time to do it. We agreed to cram in a few more museums before the baby gets here.
Plus, I notice a lot of tiny babies in strollers at museums, with moms that I assume are also on maternity leave. We’ve also decided that, once everyone is ready, we’ll take advantage of the maternity leave further to go see things around the city.
As we strolled into the neighborhood, we stopped at the grocery store for a bottle of white wine (to make risotto for dinner) that I threw in the handy new diaper bag (what’s it saying that the first thing I’ve had in my diaper bag is a bottle of wine?), and then hit a cafe for snacks.
Once again, it was a late dinner and a lazy evening, but very relaxing.
Now, I’m sitting here, looking at this new daddy bag, wondering what goes in it?
Diapers, obviously.
Wipes too.
And I’m sure I can figure a few other things out.
But I want this bag to be ready for most eventualities.
So, parents, can you help a daddy out?
What should be in a diaper bag?
Especially if I want to be the most prepared?
I want to be BAT DAD!
Diaper bag staples: extra outfits, bottles, burp cloth, wallet, iPhone (not for baby), toys, changing pad, butt cream/ointment, snacks for parents. And I’m sure you find other “necessities” once she gets here
Perfect diaper bag choice!
Burp towels. You know, so you don’t have to launder your sweaters & sweatshirts as often & so your shoulder doesn’t smell sour while you’re all waiting for a table or riding a crowded train.
Receiving blanket — the amazing swath of soft cotton with over a million uses.
Infant Tyenol/Motrin/Whatever drops. Takes up so little space, can be a godsend in the event you’re a couple of hours out from home.
Complete change of clothing. For the Kitten.
and…plastic bags (to bring home soiled and terrible smelling clothes, to politely dispose of the aftermath of the occasional–and hilarious–public blowout or anything else that comes along) i had some that came in a roll inside a rubber duck when my kids were babies.
make sure you leave enough room for a flask of whiskey in that diaper bag.
I also agree with Carin, you need a little baggie dispenser just in case you can’t locate a garbage bin anywhere to get rid of those violent butt expulsions that always happen at the most inopportune time. By the way, nice score on the Batman bag. Thankfully, Monica managed to find a gender neutral bag for us so that I didn’t feel too emasculated.
What’s with you Americans and wine in diaper bags?
http://jkcoffeyfamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/excuse-me-miss-is-that-wine-in-your.html
Flintstones chewable morphine.
I would also throw a spare t-shirt of yours in there, in case you get pooped/peed/puked on in public.