A quiet day today. I went for a workout and a personal training session. And then picked up Mark to go eat lunch at Kai's school. We stayed for his lunch and recess and then part of Katja's lunch and recess. Besides that, Mark helped Kai with his homework, we went to Glory Days Grill, where Kai and Saskia had their "ducky" drink, Sprite with blue food coloring (nice blue tongues!) and a plastic duck. We had great chicken wings too! Delicious. If you ever find yourself in one of those restaurants, order the wings! Then just a quiet night at home. Phew, feels nice, a relaxed day for a change!

I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself, as I'm trying desperately to fight off a cold, that came on with a vengeance last night. I'm taking Cold Calm, which is helping somewhat. I had such a flaming sore throat all night, I couldn't fall back to sleep as every swallow had me cringe. I was kind of afraid it might be strep, as the stabbing pains reminded me of that, but after today, I'm thinking it's just a really bad cold.

But, I'm refusing to give into it. It's simply too busy! Yesterday was Kai's birthday and we woke up early to get donuts and give him his gifts. Since it was his 10th birthday, we tried to make it extra special.

Then, off to school the kids went and I went to my workout at the gym. On some days (like today) it requires iron discipline to get myself to go. But I without failing feel so much better afterwards and that (almost) always gets me there again.

After I got home and the kids got home, we decided to go to the National Zoo, the weather was cool and overcast, but warm enough to have the tiger cub, Berani playing outside. We also adored the gorilla baby, Kojo, we missed the naming vote by just a day or so. And Kandula the baby elephant is the smallest little elephant I've seen. The giraffe baby is getting big and isn't looking so babyish anymore. The panda's were fun to watch too. All the animals were quite active, as they weren't sluggish from the summer heat yet and the crowds were very thin, as the weather was only so so. In other words, a fun little excursion.

After getting Rick from work and picking up his car from the shop, we made our way over to Rainforest Cafe, where Kai had requested to have his birthday dinner. We had a fun dinner (as always there), but were a little disappointed they don't sing Happy Birthday anymore. But he did get a "Volcano" dessert with a sparkler on it.

After dinner, we went to theBuild A Bear workshop, a place the kids have gotten addicted to (and not hard to understand why), but we have to beware of our wallets there, as all the little things quickly add up!

Today Rick left on a trip at 6 am, yawn!! We all got up, ate leftover donuts for breakfast, then Mark took Kai to school with the belated cupcakes for his birthday. I took Saskia and then came home to study for Artsmart. We were due in Kai's class at 10:50 to teach Georgia O'Keeffe.

All night long I was going back and forth on whether I'd be well enough to pull it off. But I decided to go for it, because Kai would have been so disappointed, since Mark was helping today. And now, of course, I'm glad I did it.

The kids loved the material. O'Keeffe is fun to talk about, her art nice and colorful. They got azalea branches, dogwood branches and wild animal skulls as models to draw. They did a very good job of making the drawings abstract and the flowers nice and big. The result was very colorful (they drew in pastel on white paper).

One more month of Artsmart and then we'll have an artshow. I will do it again next year, I enjoy learning about the artists and seeing how the kids enjoy mimicking the styles. Next year, though, I will insist on another parent as a full helper. The lady who was supposed to co-teach with me this year was no help at all. She immediately announced she was not going to present. Ok, that does take the most time (preparation included). But then she also never volunteered to go to any of the meetings or to order the work after it was done. Anyway, I got the distinct feeling that she somehow thought she was doing me a great favor by "helping me out". However, I'm as much a volunteer as she is and her presence precluded other parents from volunteering. Anyway, just a little rant.

Tonight, we went to a nice Chinese restaurant. We laughed a lot, had a fun dinner.

After Kai's birthday party last night, we had dinner at Outback steakhouse. I had a great steak! I have to say, they have some good beef there (I rarely order steak, but once in a great while I like a nice one).

Today we woke up to loud thunder. Katja and I went to the gym in the pouring rain (necessary, as we're still in a drought situation, but why does it always have to rain on the weekend???).

By the time we got home, the sun had broken through and now the atmosphere is warming up nicely and we're under a tornado watch till 9pm. I hope we won't get anything like that!

We went to watch Clockstoppers after lunch, a fun, relaxing movie. Even Saskia enjoyed it.

And now we're waiting for the severe weather. The kids are enjoying themselves outside with Kai's new supersoaker. Saskia came to ask if she could go in her bathing suit. She would live in her bathing suit if she could :).

One day late again, but here's my Friday Five:
1. What are your hobbies?

In a previous life, I had many. Now, it's computering, mainly creating websites. What I would like to do, given time: glass engraving, calligraphy, reading, creating with Sculpy (a kind of clay), stamping etc. I also create wreaths and decorations for our front doors, I'd like to make that more of a hobby. I can spend hours at Michael's. And the kids have inherited this craft interest, so Michael's really likes us!

2. Do you collect anything? If so, what?

I collect ducks, and I have been collecting them from when I was 8. I have ducks from all over the world. I also collect fantasy creatures: fairies, gnomes, dragons and gargoyles.

3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? I'd love to get into scrapbooking and, although I have a lot of the basics, I just don't have the time or the room (and creativity) to do it.

I'd like to get into that as well. I'd love to do a scrapbooking album about our trip to Paris. Realistically, I get an online album going, but I'd love a "real life" album.

4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity?

I have engraved glasses for fraternities and individuals and made a lot per glass. But it hurts my fingers, so it's not something one can do on a day to day basis. And I've made wreaths for other people's doors and made some money doing that. But also nothing to write home about.


5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to?

A health club, it's fun! And I go to a bible study weekly, but that's not really a club.

Yay, Mark´s here! Rick and Katja went to get him from the airport. It was dicy for a moment, as Rick´s car died on his way home and he had to be towed home. He was worried it wouldn´t be as much of a surprise for Kai, if he´d seen him before.

But Kai was playing outside and then he and I worked on his book project due next week (he doesn´t like reading and I usually read one page, then he two, then one for me again etc.). So, an hour or so later, I heard them come back and Mark came in. It was total surprise on Kai´s face! I wish I´d had my camera ready :). They played computer games for a while and we had dinner and then everyone was tired.

Today is Kai's birthday party (his actual birthday is Monday). Since we have one car this weekend, Rick will take Katja and me to the gym and then get the cake (a Safeway Star Wars one). The party is at a Lasertag place. I'm sure I'll sit in the party room with Saskia, because she'll be scared. The boys are really looking forward to it, though!

The weather is downright gorgeous! I hope it stays this way, nice cool spring weather. The dogwoods and azaleas are still gorgeous. Driving through the neighborhoods is so wonderful, it's a sea of color!

We got home too late to write last night, but did we ever have a great time!

First I'll write about the rest of the day, as it was quite nice as well. I had a great hour of personal training to start out. I'm not sure why I'm gaining weight again, though, it scares me. I exercise more than ever and yet I'm gaining :(. I'm watching my calories, I guess that's all I can do, besides the exercise. I hope my thyroid is not acting up again, but I doubt it, since I'm not having the other symptoms I usually get, like hairloss and severe fatigue.

After I got K.'s blinds (which I put up today and I'm very proud of it ;) and sprayed them with Bitter Apple, so the kittens won't eat them again), I went to Fresh Fields to get the kids dinner (uncured beef hot dogs (no nitrates and delicious), tomato soup and rolls) and our breakfast bars (we're loving Balance bars these days!).

At home, I felt energetic and organized the coat closet, the kids' bathroom and my closet. That felt good!!!

After school, Chris came with her daughter, who's 7 and gets along great with S. They played for a few hours, while we chatted and then I made dinner for the kids.

When the babysitter showed up, we left for the Paul McCartney concert. We got dinner at the arena and then got our seats, we had a great view!!! The concert was great! I totally agree with the reviewer. The new songs were so-so (maybe because we heard them for the first time?) and the pre-show was weird! But I have to say, for a 60 year old, I'm totally impressed! He started singing at 8:30 and didn't stop till after 11!! His band took breaks, but he never did. I felt like I was at a once in a lifetime event the whole time! Nothing but praise for that concert! I feel like I was truly privileged to be there. I loved the song "Freedom", which had the whole audience on their feet (they performed it first (and wrote it for) the benefit concert in New York after 9/11).

We did get home quite late and weren't in bed till after midnight. This meant difficulty getting up this morning. We were all very late and besides that, it was raining, further delaying us. I dropped the 2 youngest kids at their schools and went to the gym. K. went to work with her dad, as it was "Take our daughters to work day" . His company set up a special event for the daughters and it was a great success. They learned a lot, which I think is great, other years it was more a day off, this year, she has something to show for her day away from school.

After the gym, I went to pick her up at the office and got to join in the lunch and the presentation. Much fun!

Now we're all tired (the kids stayed up late last night as well) and soon off to bed!

First of all, the taco soup recipe (I use vegetarian ground beef and vary ingredients, like I used black beans instead of pinto beans last night, or regular ranch dressing instead of the mix, I also don't usually use hominy as the kids tend not to like it):
Taco Soup
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 lb ground beef -- browned and drained
1 onion -- chopped
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can hominy
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chiliesDump all ingredients into a large crockpot. Cook all day on low. Serve with tortilla chips and top with grated cheese.
---
This morning we rushed to get everyone out the door early. Rick had a meeting and I wanted to get my workout in quickly, as I was to help out at K.'s Colonial Day celebration at school.

As a workout, I decided to stay on each machine for 10 minutes and do the speed training setting. This means going really fast, then slowing down some, fast, slowing down, etc. Changing machines every 10 minutes makes the workout less boring. I used the Stairmaster (both the stairclimber and the stepmill), the Precor elliptical, the Lifefitness crosstrainer
and the Freerunner. It took an hour and 10 minutes to complete.

After a shower and a disappointment, as I had hoped to have a smoothie from the cafeteria for lunch and they were closed, I made my way to the school. Every year, the fourth grade puts on a Colonial Day. All the kids are dressed in Colonial outfits, as are the teachers.
K. was wearing the costume shown on the webpage.

During the day, the kids got to do different colonial crafts: quilling, butter making, silhouette cutting, cornhusk doll making and charcoal drawing. I was in charge of the latter, having the kids draw "old" artifacts, like candleholders, gavels and the likes. My hands were black after a few hours, but the drawings were great!

Once the crafts were finished, the kids performed songs and dances for the kindergartners and first graders and at the end dansed the Virginia Reel. The really cute part was, when the kids asked the parents to dance. K. and I did quite well, if I say so myself, he was a handsome companion ;).

Then I quickly ran to Seven Eleven for another Slurpee, got S. from school and gave her her Slurpee and medicine.

Tonight we went back to the school for more Colonial song and dance and this time Rick danced the Reel. We ate dinner as a family at the local Greek restaurant. Now everyone is in bed and I'm about to follow!

My neck is in a knot today and it hurts! I tried to exercise it away, but that didn't work this time. And as the day wore on, it went from my neck to my shoulder to my hip. My whole right side is in agony. Thankfully, Rick gave me a shoulderpad, that can be microwaved, that helps somewhat.

Whenever I feel this way, I'm always grateful for anything I get accomplished that day, because my natural reaction is to want to go lie in bed. But that's not exactly an option with a busy family :), thankfully, I'd say.

After working out, I went to Trader Joe's and Fresh Fields, to get ingredients for tonight's dinner: taco soup in the crockpot. It's my all time favorite crockpot meal, as it is just the best comfort food and the kids love it too.

After 2pm I had to go to CVS to get the rest of Saskia's antibiotic (she has another 2 bottles to go!!!) and then to Seven Eleven, to get her a Turn off the TV week, but to be honest, I get very annoyed at such "initiatives". We will decide for ourselves what's good and bad for our family life. We actually really enjoy watching tv together, though we spend just a few hours a week with the tv on.

The moment I woke up this morning, I went into Kai's room to get all his books and stuff back on the shelves. Why? Because I knew I'd lose energy by the middle of the day (the weather has turned, it's rainy and cool).

By the time I went downstairs, Rick had gone to Vie de France for a breakfast of croissants, butter and jam. Yummy!!!

After an argument with the kids, who are now on a roll and want their entire rooms changed, Katja and I went to the gym. We had a nice workout together, during which she convinced me to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond afterwards, in that same shopping center.

There I found new comforters for Kai's room (his old ones have been clawed to pieces by the cats :() and Katja chose an inflatable chair for her room (they were on sale). I worry about that chair, as one cat claw will be the end of that!

So now, both Katja and Kai have rooms that can grow with them till they leave the house. Phew! That leaves Saskia's room, but no rush there, as she still sleeps next to my bed every night and I don't see that changing any time soon. Matter of fact, Kai still sleeps in our room most nights as well. I figure they will be in their own room by the time they're in high school.

One problem we've been having in Kai's room, is the cats lying on his top bunk and making it very hairy and gross. So we put a little shock treatment on there, hoping it will work (it's like a sheet and when the cats step on it, they get a tiny electric shock).

Around 3pm, an old college friend of Rick's stopped by. He's in the army and stationed in Germany, he was taking a red eye back to Germany tonight. Very nice guy and we had a nice chat. All the while, we tried to inflate that chair, that Katja got for her room. Both Rick and I have sore shoulders from pumping! Rick ended up taking it to the gas station and inflated it there. We had a happy Katja :).

We ate (from the vegetarian restaurant) and now Rick and the kids are off to the movies (Ice Age) and I'm cherishing being home alone for an hour or two. I'm also really tired and achy, so I'm going to lie down upstairs and read some magazines.

Friday Five:

This seems to have become somewhat of a fad, but I think it's fun, so here goes:
1. What's your favorite TV show and why? That's a hard one. I don't watch a lot of tv. I do record "Keeping Up Appearances" from PBS and BBCAmerica, though. I much enjoy that show. On American tv, it's a toss up between ER and Judging Amy.

2. Who is your favorite television star? Dana Carvey. I think he's great at impersonating and I find him truly funny!

3. What was your favorite TV show as a child? As a child, I lived in the Netherlands and my favorite Dutch shows were Stuif es In and Hamelen. But that doesn't mean anything to my American friends. We had American shows there too, though, and my favorite was the Partridge Family.

4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now? I read on the site, that Third Rock from the Sun still survives. I *hate* that show. But I also dislike the Drew Carey show, so it's a toss up.

5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season? I don't really know what's doing well and what's not, but a show I find refreshing and hope continues is "Scrubs".

Yesterday was one of those days, where I had grand plans, that never materialized. It started out with my workout. I was going to have a one hour personal training session (usually it's a half hour, but we're making up missed sessions from when I was in Paris). So I didn't think about what I was going to do (I usually mentally prepare myself), because I figured Mimi would tell me. But when I walked into the gym, another personal trainer stopped me and said Mimi had tried to reach me to tell me she wouldn't be there, her car had been towed. So suddenly, I was faced with having to create my own workout. Wah! It didn't work. I kind of drifted from one machine to the next and chatted more than I worked out (also important sometimes :)). Oh well, an easy workout once in a while won't kill me either.

At 12pm, Laura came to give me a massage. She was really surprised to hear I don't like massages. I get them, because I know they truly help, but if they weren't so productive, I wouldn't get them. Unlike Rick, who just loves massages. I guess I'm weird that way. I do wish our insurance would start covering the massages. After all, they are therapeutic, on doctor's advice. But Laura is "merely" a certified massage therapist and they'll only pay for physical therapist masseurs :(.

After the massage, I started cleaning our bathroom (every half year or so, I go through our medicine stack to throw out outdated stuff and take inventory), when the phone rang. It was Saskia's teacher. Whenever I hear that during the day, I feel this jolt going through me, fearing something terrible. It turned out, Saskia was spiking a temperature again :(. When she woke up, she complained of a sore throat, but I didn't give it much thought, as she often sleeps with her mouth open and a quick drink usually takes care of it. But she has had strep 3 times in the past 2 months, so something kept nagging at me about it. And when I picked her up and saw how miserable she was, I was just certain it was strep again. So off to the doctor we went. When we get appointments that late in the day, we usually have to wait and wait. And this time was no exception (with Saskia feeling so miserable, she was sleeping on the table). Thankfully, another doctor was done seeing patients and took over.
And within 10 minutes, she came back with the test results: strep again. This time, Saskia has a vile tasting and smelling antibiotic (Cleomycin) and she has to take 2 teaspoons 3 times a day :(. Poor kid!

Once back from the doctor, I quickly dropped Saskia off at home and went off to CVS to fill the prescription. At first I was told they didn't stock this antibiotic, but then, luckily, it turned out they had one bottle and the rest would be available on Monday afternoon. While waiting to have the prescription filled, I went to Safeway and got Saskia her wishes of: Dole fruit bowls, Gatorade (I think we should get stock in Stokely-Van Camp!), numerous popsicles (always helps her get the medicine down) and Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs cereal.

Once home, I stayed with the kids, while Rick went off to IKEA, to get a bookcase and desk for Kai's room. We had intended to do this together, but with Saskia feeling so miserable, we obviously couldn't.

This morning, Kai had a racketball lesson at 10am and Katja and I wanted to work out at the gym. We dropped Kai off at the rec center (he has a very gung ho teacher, who calls and makes sure he signs up for the next session. Kai seems to enjoy it and I'm hoping to soon play some games with him and Rick!).

Katja and I went on to the gym and did a great weights workout. She also ran a mile in 11.5 minutes, a personal best. And we played some basketball, that was fun too. By the time we were done it was 12noon and we were hungry. So we ordered blueberry smoothies. I have never had such a good smoothie in my life! I'm not exaggerating! They were truly delicious!

Then we went to Zany Brainy, where we got Saskia a Barbie, she has been playing with it all afternoon!

Kai in the meantime went to a birthday party at the pool, which finished at 2:30pm and Katja needed to be at a 4H woodworking lesson at 2pm. So off we went, Saskia and I, on a taxi ride: dropping Katja off, going to Big K for some errands and then picked Kai up. It turned out the pool had to be closed, because one of the party guests had thrown up in it! They closed the pool for 2 hours, so the party coming after them couldn't swim. I kept wondering what one would do, if their swimming party was not possible and there is nothing else to do there! It was a girl party, so maybe that's easier than a boy party (or am I being sexist now?).

The rest of the afternoon was spent putting a book case and desk together for Kai's room. My dad came over to help Rick do it all and it looks great! We ordered Indian food, which was great. And we had a nice visit. Tomorrow my dad is taking off for Bosnia. Not a safe place to go, so I hope it'll all be ok.

Now we're just vegging. Tomorrow I'll have to organize Kai's new closets.

Another scorcher today! I just went out to the nursery to get some hanging baskets and put them on the porch and I was drenched in sweat! We did have quite a thunderstorm move through (I sat on the porch the whole time, the lightning bolts were gorgeous! I so love watching t-storms here!) and that cooled things down a bit.

And maybe the pollencount will be down! It was over 2500 yesterday! And today not much better: 2449. I'm not allergic, normally, but I had an itch in my throat and my contacts were bothering me all day. Cars are not colored anymore, they're just all green now ;).

This morning, I had a really good workout. I did an interval running/walking (8 mph for one minute/4.5mph for one minute etc.), I went for 5 miles. Christine had a massage and when she was done, we treated ourselves to lunch. Something we hadn't done in weeks. She just "survived" a visit by her parents and I, well, I didn't really have an excuse, but was all too happy to tag along ;). We went to Artie's and had their goat cheese and spiced pecans salad. Yummy!

After lunch, I went on a wild (and unsuccessful) goose chase for green and white cushions for our patio Adirondack chairs. The only place that had them was Patio.com, but at a cost of $65 a piece, they cost 3 times what the chairs cost. A little steep!

Then I stopped by Blinds to Go, to order a new blind for Kai's room, as the kittens chewed through the string, which made them fall apart. Everything has to be ordered there, so I have to go back in 5 or so days to pick it up. Our windows are standard size, so I just don't get why they don't stock some of those blinds! They're just white, not like it's some custom color or anything.

Final stop on my tour around town was the nursery, as described above. They have gorgeous plants, but they're so expensive! I wanted to get more perennials, but the 3 hanging plants were all I could afford today!

At home I performed mundane tasks, like watering the plants, cleaning the litterboxes and putting in the laundry. I can't believe how our laundry mushrooms these days! Thankfully, Rick likes folding in the evenings, while he watches his favorite shows.

Katja went skating and swimming today. I may not be a soccermom, but I sure shuttle a lot of kids back and forth all afternoon! Thank goodness for the van, it's usually full. A friend had a license plate that read: "KIDS HOV" (High Occupancy Vehicle). That certainly could be applied to my van these days!

And Kai's interest in Pokemon cards has been rekindled, as he's receiving them from a 4th grade class in the Netherlands. So we went to 7 Eleven, where he got 2 neo packs. And he told me on the way back, that he is just the luckiest boy in the world, as he got some rare cards in those packs :). That made my heart melt. He's such a happy kid!

And I just booked my trip to go see my sister and my new little nephew mid May! Yippee! And I got a great fare!

I may write twice today, I just didn't have a chance to write last night. Rick came home around 6pm and we had a nice dinner from California Pizza Kitchen. I had Singapore shrimp rolls and Balsamic Provencal salad, delicious. I love their salads and you can order half portions.

Yesterday was a productive day! I had a great personal training session. I had to do squats until fatigue, but I never fatigued so we got bored and went on. My lower body strength and stamina is great. My upper body stamina is good too, but my strength there, despite more than 4 years of training, still leaves much to be desired. And given my neck problems, I'm not sure how to improve it. That's sometimes a disappointment, on the other hand, if I look how far I've come (I used to not be able to carry a 30 pound bag of dog food and I now without problems carry a 42 pound kid around on one arm), it's still pretty good.

When I came home, it was around 11 and the temperature outside was already in the high 80's. I just had to do something outside and the weeds were already taking over in the back yard. So I pulled weeds for an hour (sweat dripped off me, gross, huh!) and then tried to tackle the grass growing in between the bricks on the patio. If anyone reading this has an environmentally friendly solution to preventing that, I'm all eyes! I didn't get far and I'll search online to see what can be done, maybe some solution sprayed or something.

I also "harvested", as Rick calls it. I have to being quite lazy when it comes to walking the dog. So she goes out in the yard most of the time. Now that the weather is getting nice enough for the kids to play on our backyard playground, I wanted to make sure we wouldn't get poopy shoes. So I scooped up a bag full of poop, yuck! I read somewhere, that someone in South Carolina has started a business cleaning people's yards after their animals, um, used it. I could see how he could make a lot of money (and it made me feel a little better, knowing I'm definitely not the only one to let the dog out in the back).

Then it got too hot to be outside, so I ate lunch (with the hot weather, the soups I've become accustomed to eating are not the best choice, so I have to find myself another low calorie nutritious lunch) and then started on Katja's room. It took me 2 hours and a bag full of trash and one full of outgrown clothes, but it's all neat again, let's see how long that lasts!

Initially, the plan was to go to the gym with Katja after school. Then she changed her mind and wanted to go ice skating. But when her friend Leah came to say the neighborhood sprinklers would come on (this time at our neighbor's and our houses), that was too much to pass up. So 10 neighborhood kids enjoyed the sprinklers, ages ranging from 4 to 12. That's what I love here, the mix of ages playing together. Girls and boys alike. It's fun to live on a street where everyone has kids and the adults are no more than 10 years apart in age (with a large concentration around my age, late 30's-early 40's).

Well, I'm off to the gym. It's less hot today, but still very nice. I hope it stays at least shorts weather from now on (warmer than 65 degrees warrants shorts for me).

Whenever Rick is on travel, I feel like I've jumped in the deep and am swimming under water. When he gets home, I finally get up for air!

The weather is downright gorgeous, it was 91 degrees today and it's still 90 degrees out! Unreal for April! It's fun to wear summer clothing again and it's so much easier to just be able to step outside without coats. And, best of all, I notice such a difference in how I feel! Especially my level of energy is up. This whole week is supposed to be warm, yay!

This morning, after dropping Saskia off at school, I dropped Brynna at the vet. We're still in limbo as to what ails her. She drinks and pees too much, her blood tests show her liver enzymes are too high, but the tests for Cushings Disease keep being negative, stumping the vet. She does have a UTI/kidney infection and has antibiotics for that for 6 weeks. I'm hoping and praying the antibiotics will somehow take care of the problem, as the alternative (blindly treating for Cushings) sounds cumbersome and is expensive.

Then off to the post office, where I mailed a huge package with Saskia's outgrown clothes to my niece in Canada. Amazingly, Saskia was very careful with her clothing this season and many things still looked very good.

For the first time in several weeks, I made it to biblestudy this morning! I really like going, I like the women there, the materials make me think. I'll miss the next two weeks again, because of commitments at the school. The church where the bible study is held (my friend Christine is the leader, that's how I started going), is doing a 50 day adventure. While I find many parts of it too Christian for me, it's good to focus on my right and wrong choices daily, for example. And to set a goal to work towards (mine is to find fulfillment in every single day, I too often feel the day was just "wasted", when, of course, it really wasn't).

After the study, I made my way to the gym and did a hard cardio workout for 1 hour. Then my friend Ann and my dad arrived and I stayed longer than I had planned (as is often the case!), just chatting with them. I was also procratinating, as I'd half planned to start on Katja's closets today and they're such a disaster, I'm dreading the task. So, I came home, ate lunch, had a shower and then it was too late to do the closet.

The older kids came home and Katja had a hair appointment. The girl that does her hair is not much older than her and does a really nice job. This time Katja wanted some highlights and she did just a few, enough to look fun. Katja has gorgeous hair, straight where it needs to be, curly at the ends and very thick. Wherever she got that is beyond me, as neither Rick nor I have any wave in our hair and both of us have thin hair.

While Katja was at the salon, I picked Saskia up from school and Kai up from home. Once Katja was done, we went off to TGIF for dinner. We had hoped to sit outside on their patio, but they didn't have their seats out yet. I guess it is unexpected to have summer like temperatures in April.
When I ordered a glass of wine, I was carded for the first time in many years! And I truly think the guy wasn't sure about my age. I choose to take it as a compliment :). Maybe it's my newly acquired truly blonde look ;).

We had to rush through dinner, as it took forever to get our main courses and Brynna was still at the vet and needed to be picked up by 8pm. We just made it.

Now, I just have to go lie down with Saskia (I'm truly grateful to Katja right now, as she's brushed Saskia's teeth and washed her hands and feet and is reading her her book right now, it's great to have an older daughter!) and fold the laundry. Then... me time. We just discussed today, how we often stay up too late, especially when our husbands are gone, to just get an hour or two with no interruptions. Of course, I'm getting some time now. Thank you, Katja!

Ok, so Rick is out of town. The kids always sleep in my room when he's gone and I truly enjoy that (Saskia always sleeps there, Kai occasionally and Katja only when Rick is not here). Last night, Kai asked to sleep in Rick's spot in the bed. Sure, nice and cuddly. Except, at 3:30 he started wiggling and no matter what I did, I couldn't get back to sleep. So I asked him to go back in his sleeping bag on the floor. He was fine with that, it's almost as if he just couldn't get comfortable in the bed.

Then the dog, who never wakes up when Rick is here, started peeping and whining to go out at 4:30. So I let her out, swearing and cussing (ok, it is super annoying she does this only when Rick is out of town!!! She proceeds to bark and bark and bark outside. Fearful of waking up neighbors, I stepped outside (it was warm!) and called her. It took for me to get the dog treats, to get her to come back in. Tonight she's going in her cage!!! I hate to do that, but I need my sleep!

This morning we kind of slept in, because Katja and Kai had to go to the orthodontist and Saskia didn't have to be at school until 9. It was heaven to "sleep" until 8! We quickly ate breakfast and then took Saskia to school and we went off to the orthodontist. Kai has a tooth coming in in front of a baby tooth (which isn't loose yet). The doctor said to wait till summer, he was hopeful the new tooth would push out the old.

Katja got new bands and chose orange, yellow and red for her colors this time. We have to be back in 6 weeks and if she continues like this, she only has a few more months to go. Her whole profile is changing, now that her teeth are being pulled straight!

I dropped Katja and Kai off at school and scheduled the next Artsmart dates for Kai's class. The next artist is Georgia O'Keeffe, I think the kids will have fun with her. In Kai's class, I'll teach about her on the 30th of April, just when his Dutch friend, Mark, will be visiting (for his birthday, a big surprise for Kai!).

Next, off to the gym. I did a really good workout (the weather is so nice and warm and physically, I immediately notice the difference, my energy levels are up and pain levels down, yay!). I did a tough interval: 5 minutes on a cardio machine as hard as I could go (so my heart rate stayed near 80% the whole time) and then 2 sets of 15 repetitions of different weight equipment. This for an hour and 15 minutes, so I had had all major muscle groups, by the time I was done. I wear a heart rate monitor and it also keeps calories burned. I know I can't totally count on that to be accurate, but I do use it as a quide as to how hard I worked out.

Feeling good about the workout and happy about the weather, I went to Zany Brainy across the street and got the kids a thing with bubbles, not just bubbles, but the ones that harden slightly and can be caught and piled on top of each other. Big success!

Once home, I quickly ate lunch and showered, as Katja and I were to go to a make up lesson at my hair salon. The person doing the make overs was William Whited, a well known make up artist, who has also done the make up of quite a few actors and actresses . He has a studio in Georgetown ($60 for a lesson, um, I think I'll just do it myself!). He did do a really nice job on the ladies that we saw. There was some nice food too and it was a fun mother-daughter thing to do. Too bad we had to leave, as Katja had skating, I would have liked to have received some recommendations. I'm not a huge make up user, but for parties and the likes it's fun.

Katja and Saskia are taking skating lessons and they're both enjoying it. Saskia has no fear of falling and goes quite fast (and then falls). Katja is a little more careful, but then, she has a lot further to fall! I'm afraid to skate after having broken my ankle on black ice 18 years ago. But I keep thinking I'll try it again, helping Saskia along may be the perfect occasion.

We went to Sweetwater Tavern for dinner. When Rick is out of town, going out to dinner with the kids is something I've really taken to (and they as well). It gives us all a chance to relax and chat over dinner. If we eat at home, I don't really get to eat, as I'm busy catering to requests. Plus, this way we can each have the dish we enjoy. When Rick is home, there are usually 3 people (Rick, Katja and me) who enjoy the meal I cook, that's worth it to me. Anyway, Sweetwater was great, they had outside seating, so we had a great dinner outside. I had a nice rare tuna salad (with pine nuts and dates).

After dinner, I cleaned up the mess from this morning and took Saskia upstairs to help me sort out her clothes. She is so funny! She genuinely gets attached to clothes. But the knowledge that her most favorite (that she has definitely outgrown) will go to her cousin in Canada helped. It feels good to have at least one small part of the clutter taken care of!

We watched some tv together. The kids really like the new CBS series Baby Bob. This week's episode had kind of an adult theme (the parents were too exhausted to make love, so they struck a deal), but it went right over the kids' heads. All they saw was a very tired dad and a talking baby. I am not really fond of the series, it's too far fetched for me, I guess.

Saskia slept in 5 minutes, Katja will be in my bed tonight and all is quiet right now. I'm looking forward to an uninterrupted night's sleep!!!

This morning I woke up in a funk. It was Sunday, great, sunny out, great, but we only had half a day really, as Rick went on a trip leaving at 2:30pm. I *hate* those Sundays! They're lost days. All we do is hang around, waiting for him to leave. Somehow it doesn't bother me during the week. We have our own schedule then, say goodbye and he goes on his merry way, whenever he needs to leave for the airport. Not so on Sundays. Then, everything is done by the clock. I usually don't want to go off to the gym, because I somehow feel I should spend every last minute with him. I usually get bent out of shape over the shape the house is in (messy, kids not cleaning up after themselves, what have you), mainly because I need some outlet for my feelings of frustration at him having to leave on a weekend, cutting it way short.

We also had to take Katja to her 4H sewing lesson, a half hour there, a half hour back and then the same to pick her back up.

Ok, so that's a major whine. Then I'm thinking about how good we have it and how great, that I'm not staying home alone, but with 3 fun kids and that cheers me up somewhat.

And then he leaves... Kiss, kiss, one last honk and there we are, just the 4 of us. And suddenly, the countdown for his return can begin. I read some outside on the stoop, as it was *gorgeous* weather. Saskia and I did some of her "homework" (about plants and roots) and then my dad came and we chatted on our deck, enjoying the blooming Dogwoods(we have 4 white ones in our backyard), Azaleas , Redbuds(these are the coolest trees in spring (besides the dogwoods), as it's as if their very branches are purple, really unique) and our resident Cardinal pair.

At dinner time, we went to the Japanese restaurant close by and had sushi and sashimi. Except Kai and Saskia, who had chicken katsu, their favorite. For dessert, my dad treated to a Dairy Queen dipped cone and then back home. It's the first truly warm day and night of the season and it feels good! Katja is still outside at 9:15! Yay! Summer is here!!!

Last night we came home too late for me to still have energy to write! But we had a great day.
The older 2 kids were off from school and after my massage, I picked Saskia up and we went to Zany Brainy. The kids picked out some small things, though the reason we went, a game that Katja really wanted, was not to be found.

Then off to Payless Shoes, because Saskia needed running shoes (she has a shoe fetish and actually had outgrown most of her shoes, so was due for a new pair). They had a buy one, get the second half price sale and we got 6 pairs of shoes (including flip-flops) for under $50! I'm always amazed at how inexpensive they are!

Rick and I had tickets for Club seats at the MCI Center for the Champions on Ice 2002 Olympic Tour. It was great!
It was fun to see the athletes in totally playful routines. They definitely enjoyed themselves. Some of the participants: Michelle Kwan (she got a standing ovation), Sarah Hughes (we were lucky to see her, as she only performs on the weekends), Sacha Cohen, Surya Bonaly, Philippe Candeloro, Elvis Stojko, Timothy Goebel, Michael Weiss (who trained at the same rink the girls' go for ice skating lessons) and many more.
The finale was really nice, a tribute to America (I guess that's become a must, these days), but very tastefully done, with colorful red-white striped/blue-white starred costumes. Rick and I wondered afterwards, how the non-American athletes felt about it. I don't think they minded though, I wouldn't have, had I still been Dutch and asked to perform that routine (not that I could ever even dream of being able to skate that way!).

This morning we slept in and then Katja, Saskia and I went to the gym. It is so much fun to work out with my daughter! She loves it too. We did 45 minutes of cardio (bike, stair climber and another type of stair climber) and then I set her up on a weight routine, we filled out a sheet, so she can use it if I'm not there.

After a quick trip to Fresh Fields for snacks to bring tonight, I'm now home, procrastinating on my shower and trying to not to be too upset at the state of our closets. I really need to set up a schedule to organize the closets, but it's a job I so abhor, I just can't get myself to start. I will have to soon, though, as the winter clothes will need to make space for the spring/summer ones. I wouldn't mind organizing, if I knew they'd stay organized. The saying "Cleaning the house while the kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing" is really, really true in this household! But then I'm trying to tell myself, that there'll be a time, when my house will stay nice and neat, but I won't have the fun busy-ness of the kids around anymore. And I'm not exactly looking forward to that time, either.

Part of the problem is sufficient storage space in the rooms. Kai's and Saskia's especially. We have so many books for example and no shelves to store them on. So Rick and I are going to look at IKEA for some inexpensive shelving or combination closets. When? That remains the big question!

Tonight we're going to our friends' house. My friend's parents are visiting from Canada and are originally from the Netherlands as well. My dad is coming along with us, I'm sure they'll enjoy talking some Dutch together. And they all lived in Indonesia, so they have a lot in common.

Friday Five:
1. What is your favorite restaurant and why?
This is difficult, as my favorite restaurant is probably not the one where I've eaten the best food. The best food would be at Citronelle's in Geogetown. However, I didn't feel very much at ease there. A favorite restaurant, for me, would mean, that, not only would the food be delicious. but I would also feel at ease there. In other words, I could eat every night's dinner there. In that case, I would have to say Jaleo's. It is truly a fun experience, with different Spanish tapas and a casual atmosphere. Even the kids love it, as they like their little ham fritters.

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to?

Wendy's. I'm not fond of any fast food restaurant, but I think Wendy's has a good selection of more healthful choices. I like their chili and now their different salads.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping?

15% mostly. I have to admit to a pinch penny Dutch mentality, that I try to tip as little as possible. I feel guilty about that at times. But mostly, I feel fine about tipping 15 percent or more.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert?

Yes, actually, I do. Badly enough! Sometimes both! I usually keep it to a light soup (most recently an artichoke and asparagus soup) or salad for the appetizer. The dessert has to appeal though. I won't just order a piece of apple pie (unless I'm craving it :)). Most recently, the desserts just were so run of the mill and not appealing, we skipped it.

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant?

Depending on the time of day. For lunch: ice tea. For dinner: ice water and red wine (usually Merlot).

Yay! I'm better!!! No more fever! Yippee!!!

Yesterday, Rick got up early to go to Norfolk for work. Kai had a field trip, he learned about the life the Native Americans led here in Virginia. It was gorgeous weather, thank goodness, as it was raining cats and dogs on Tuesday!

In the afternoon, our friend Lauren called to ask if she could babysit that night. Saskia absolutely loves her and so does Kai. I'm convinced she's the person who loves our kids most after Rick and me. Seriously. So, of course, I accepted the offer immediately!

Katja had a 4H meeting and Lauren took her there. Then Rick and I went out to dinner, a nice French restaurant, where we go fairly often and it seemed right after Paris. We had a wonderful dinner and had fun conversation. We are always surprised at other dining couples, who just seem to be staring at others and have nothing to say to each other. We always have lots to catch up on, it's hard to have a "real" conversation with 3 boopers (as Rick calls them affectionately) around.

This morning, Katja got up at 5:45, to get ready to go on her big field trip of the year to Philadelphia. Rick helped her get ready (I got up to kiss her and wish her a great day, Rick thought that was ridiculous, I should have kept sleeping, as if!) and took her to school, where she had to be by 6:45. They went to the Franklin Institute and saw several different buildings downtown (she can't tell me which ones, I think she's too exhausted, tomorrow may be a better day for interrogation ;)). She did volunteer boys were not allowed to sit next to girls on the bus.

I accompanied Saskia on her first little field trip. Her Daisy troop went to visit the local police station. This being a rather small town (very near a big city, it's surprising to find this in suburbia), I hadn't expected much (everyone knows everyone here and the police gets excited when someone wanders through the snow by himself). We arrived, after having briefed the girls to be well behaved and not run (this is a rather energetic Daisy troop!) and were met by an older officer. Unfortunately, he didn't really "click" with the age group of the girls (5/6) and often used words that were beyond their comprehension (firing range, cruiser etc.). But overall, the girls were impressed and asked several questions.

My guess is, though, that the 4 adults present had a better time. We were shown the holding cells (this station doesn't have a prison, as it is not a county station), the area where the (4) detectives work, the bullet proof 911 operator office, the firing range with the possibility for 3 targets (I was amazed they had that there!), the armory (wow!), their workout room (officers are required to work out 1 hour a day there!), an officer's cruiser (they used to have upholstery in the back seats, but that became too messy, so now the backseats are bare, interesting detail to know!) and the motor cycles (our little town has 4).

It was good to hear, that the average response time to a call is 90 seconds. We met the chief of police, a very friendly man. It just strikes me, how much of a macho job police officer is. The things written in the motor cycle area were downright funny. I really felt like I was in a Miami Vice type setting!

After the tour, I dropped Saskia's little friend off at her soccer practice, where Saskia ran around a little and I chatted with several people I met there, that I hadn't seen in a long time (this happens to me a lot: I go somewhere not expecting anything and suddenly all these friends I haven't seen in a while show up. I guess this comes with having little ones who play different sports and again, living in a small town in the middle of suburbia helps too).

Once home, I was pooped! Up at 6 and not stopped moving until 6. Kai didn't want to come along to the police station, but he regrets it now, I think. Oh well, next time.

Katja is safely home, thank goodness, I do not like to have my little ones (ok, she's not that little any more, but still) so far away from me!

Rick ordered a nice Indian dinner for us (I know, I have been terrible about cooking this week!!!), I ate vegetarian: a chickpeas appetizer and spinach and cheese entree.
And now I'm ready for bed again! Phew!

Ok, I thought it would be time to check in. But really, there isn't much new to discuss. I'm still feverish. The rest of the family is up and bouncing around and I'm sooooo annoyed at my *&#$*&%#*%& body for not recovering the way others do!!!
Rick has been wonderful, though, getting the kids off to school, helping to get them to bed.

Last night, my mom flew off to the Holland, to visit a friend for a month! I should be calling my dad, who's home alone, but I'm hesitating. Why, I don't know. I'll be sure to invite him several times during her absence. A month is a long time!

I hadn't watched tv in a long time, but lately I've found that there are quite a few shows I like. Here are a few:
Scrubs (NBC, watching it now)
Baby Blues (on the Cartoon Network!)
and Keeping up Appearances (PBS and BBC America)

For me, that's an amazing amount!

But then, when one doesn't feel like doing anything else, tv is a great medium! I guess I can understand why the kids like to watch it when they're sick ;).

Well...at 3am I woke up with a nasty, telltale feeling in my stomach :(. Before the morning was finished, I'd thrown up 7 times.
Rick took me to the doctor, as we were wondering if this was strep related (being that the girls had the same symptoms and had strep).
Once there, I received a nice shot in the b***, to stop the nausea, so they could do a strep test. It stung! But at that point, I couldn't care!

I managed to hold it all in till we got home, but then only threw up once more. Now I just feel like a train hit me and the anti-nausea medicine is making me nice and drowsy.


Rick got me Melba toast and breadsticks, as well as bouillon and Gatorade. He's a great nurturer! I don't even want to think what I would have done, had he still been out of town!

Just now, Kai told us he's feeling nauseous, so he went to bed. And then there's Rick, let's hope he escapes this!

More later, typing like this is not very comfortable (hanging halfway out of my bed ;)).