While the kids are watching Airbud number however many, I thought I'd update my blog. Phew, I tell you, alone with 2 six year olds is no picnic, however fun! They're still so constant and they're like brother and sister, playing wonderfully one minute, arguing the next.

So I've kept them really busy. Yesterday, after Rick and the kids left, Lauren came to babysit and I went off to the gym. My friend had called the night before to ask if I could be of moral support to her at the courthouse around noon, when she would have her child support and custody hearing, her soon to be ex-husband has turned into a veritable monster!

So I rushed through my workout, but then she called to say that the hearing likely wouldn't start till one and at 12:30, she called to say, it wouldn't be worth it for me to come, because the hearing would likely be over by the time I got there. Today I heard from her that, thankfully, the judge awarded her more money, than the state of Virginia schedule dictates. But her husband had been so spiteful and hateful, that she was quite distraught from the whole affair. I was sorry I couldn't be of more support than to lend a sympathetic ear.

Since my afternoon had opened up and the kids didn't want to go to Saskia's camp, I decided to allow them to do arts and crafts in the basement (they've been quite creative so far and are coloring again now) and meanwhile vacuum and clean the kitchen and bathrooms.

At around 4:30pm I took them to the mall, to the Disney Store, where they both selected a toy. And then we went to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe. I had the Leaping Lizzard appetizer: lettuce leaves for wraps and chicken, salad and noodles to put in them. It's really quite delicious and plenty for a dinner.

For dessert, the kids got an ice cream from Dairy Queen. At Blockbuster's they selected the Airbud movie they're watching now and a Scooby Doo one.

During the Scooby Doo, Thomas kept falling asleep, but refused to go to bed. Saskia was quite tired too, but equally fighting sleep. Finally, at 10:30, I had both in bed and asleep.

This morning they were up bright and early at 7am, but thankfully quietly watched tv until 8. Then they had breakfast and we watched some replay soccer of the Turkey-Korea match. Then they played cops and robbers and Sims on the computer, while I exercised (and watched National Lampoon's European Vacation).

Around noon, we had lunch and got ready for the pool. We went swimming until 3:45. This was the first time this season the pool was warm enough for me to swim! It felt great!

After my shower, we went to the Hey Arnold movie. The kids loved it. I have to say, this was the type of movie, that parents go to purely for their kids' enjoyment. I looked at my watch numerous times.

Last but not least, we ate dinner at Chevy's, where the kids got tortilla dough to play with. All in all a successful day. I'll be glad to get some adult company tomorrow though!!

I'll have to write my happy moments tomorrow, I'm too tired now, though there were plenty. Spending the day with kids never fails to supply a good amount :).

I could barely get myself out of bed this morning! I'm so tired from everything going on lately! And tomorrow won't be any better, as Rick has decided to leave at 7am for Michigan. Of course, I'll want to get up to wave them goodbye -- yawn!! But I can understand his desire to get going early, so that they get there at a decent time.

Today, Marie Anne left at 9:45 to go to Wheeling, WV for her meeting and Lauren, our babysitter arrived around that time to entertain the kids. The kids had a blast with her, first they did crafts and then they went to the pool for an hour.

Meanwhile, Katja slept and I went to the gym. I worked out with my mom for a change and we had a nice conversation. She told me she didn't want to do anything for July 4th, so our plans are still way up in the air for that day. It seems so far off anyway.

After the gym, I quickly got some groceries and my medicine from CVS and then rushed home. Quickly ate lunch and when the kids came home from the pool, all of us (except Lauren, who had to leave) went to Borders, as Katja had lamented that she had no books for her stay at her grandfather's house.

Memo to self: never take 4 kids interested in reading to Borders! I spent $150!!! But somehow, I can't feel badly about spending money on books and about seeing kids enthused about reading.

After Borders, we went to Michael's, because some of our craft supplies were running low (I have a big craft supplies closet in the basement, I like to keep it stocked with things like pompoms, popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, beads, felt etc.). Again, not a smart thing to do with 4 kids in tow! Again, I can't feel badly about spending on materials for creative development, as I keep comparing 4 happy kids around the art table (as they still are now at 10:30 at night!!!) to 4 kids zonked out in front of the tv. Gee, tough choice to make, which would I rather have?

Anyway, we came away with a basket full of craft stuff and for the rest of the afternoon, they painted, cut, pasted and beaded.

Rick came home early and we went to have quick dinner at Chili's . They have the best crab quesadilla's!!

And then Lilo and Stitch. I have never heard Saskia laugh so hard in any other movie!! It was a really cute movie, I can't see how any child could be scared at all. Unlike the usual Disney movies, there is no definite villain and the general message is a good one: family is important, no one gets left behind. Very cute!

And now we work on getting everyone to bed, not an easy feat!

Things that made me happy:
1. Saskia's belly laughs at the movie
2. Having 4 happy kids in the car after they each got at least one book at Borders. For some reason, happiness about books makes me feel really good.
3. When Katja helped Saskia and Thomas with their art projects, how I'll miss her and Kai in the coming weeks!
4. Kai sitting next to me at the theatre
5. Rick telling Katja to keep a tally of how often I'll call to see if they're still ok tomorrow on their big trip :)

At 5:45 this morning, my wonderful husband got up and got ready to go get my friend Marie Anne and her son Thomas at the airport. I need to take medicine each night to sleep through and it makes me feel dizzy and groggy in the early morning. I felt badly not being able to go get my best friend, since I rarely get to see her, so Rick offered to go. I really appreciated that and Marie Anne too.

At 7:30, they were here and it was great to see them again! I had last seen Thomas when he was about 9 months old, so needless to say, he had changed dramatically, LOL! He is a fun little boy. Both Kai and Saskia are wanting his attention and they got along quite well. Starting Friday, it'll just be Thomas, Saskia and I for a few days, so I'm sure we'll have lots of fun, the 3 of us.

After breakfast and a quick workout and shower upstairs for me, the kids had become very busy. They were cooped up, because it was just too hot for them to play outside. So we decided to go downtown.

We took Metro to the Smithsonian stop and got out to see the Silk Road exhibit on the Mall. Every 4th of July week, there is such an exhibit. Very interesting! But hot!

The kids got an ice cream and drinks and we walked on to the Carousel. Of course we couldn't pass that by without a ride!

Then on to the National Air and Space Museum, a fantastic museum, always! Security at the entrance of the Smithsonian museums has become much tighter than before September 11th. Good, I think. Walking in, the first view is of several airplanes hanging from the top. Amazing how huge this building is, it houses several full size planes!
We walked through the "How to Fly" exhibit, with much hands on stuff for the kids. Then the universe area. And upstairs, the Skylab and the Apollo exhibit.

By then, jet lag started to bother Marie Anne and Thomas and Saskia was downright exhausted. So we went to the store, which is absolutely great!

Then outside again, back to the Carousel for one last ride. The skies were getting ominously dark, so we quickly took Metro back. The storm was much less than what it looked to be, fortunately.

Once home, Saskia, Thomas and Marie Anne basically collapsed and Rick, the older kids and I ate dinner. Saskia is back up now, after a good nap. Another fun day under our belts!

Happy moments:
1. Seeing Marie Anne after more than a year.
2. Seeing the Mall in DC again, it's like a mini vacation every time we go there
3. The feeling of the airconditioning when we entered the Air and Space Museum. Heaven!
4. The first sip of cold water after standing in the sun to watch the kids on the carousel (can you tell it was a hot day?? ;))
5. The prospect of going to bed early tonight and reading my Enid Blyton series book

Wow, what an adventurous and emotional weekend we had! It all started around 1pm on Friday, when I picked Rick up from his work and we went on our way up to Massachusetts to visit my sister and her family for my sister's 30th birthday.

I drove the first part of the way and traffic was in a word horrendous!!! And all the tolls on I-95 slowed us down by at least 15 minutes each. Grrr!! We thought the Garden State Parkway would be a good alternative to 95 around New York, but we'll never know, as we had quite a few backups there too. Finally, when we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge, traffic got back, but we were still 4 hours away from our destination.

So, at a stop at McDonald's for dinner (they now have a great chicken wrap, yum!), I called my brother-in-law to give an update. Thursday night, my sister and her three months old baby had made a nasty fall and she had been to the doctor earlier in the day to make sure the baby was ok. She had called me to say the doctor gave the green light, so when my brother-in-law told me she had taken the baby to the hospital, a cold hand gripped my heart.

My brother-in-law said he was fairly certain the baby was ok, but he was not really using one of his legs and my sister was concerned about that.

We drove and drove and finally arrived at their house at 11pm with 3 exhausted kids. My brother-in-law meanwhile, was in a frenzy, as my sister had called and my nephew's femur was fractured. So they were going to Children's Hospital by ambulance for a cast and my brother in law wanted to of course go and help her out.

So we stayed behind with our 3 kids and my 12 year old stepnephew. The kids were playing a little more, but at 12:30, we all went to bed.

At 1:30, my sister called to say they were at Children's, the orthopedist was about to come and tell them what needed to happen.

The next thing I know, it's 8am and my brother is calling to wish my sister a happy birthday. At that point, I didn't know if they had made it home from the hospital or not. But 10 minutes later, there was my sister with her little boy and a bright red cast on his leg.

It was so hard on them, you want your little baby to be totally unblemished and of course it's easy to blame yourself for a fall. But I hope they can see, that this can happen to anyone and that he will heal and be fine.

They only came home at 5:15 am, so none of us got much sleep. We kind of hung around and ate a delicious breakfast my BIL cooked and then all had a nap. Meanwhile, it started raining, scratching our plans for a walk on the beach.

At 7pm we made our way to Woodman's, where we had great lobster and fried scallops. Yum!!

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the local hangout and then at 11am took off for home.

We made good time and had good weather, until we got to New York City, where traffic came to a halt. As we were waiting, Rick longingly said how much fun it would be, to just go into the city, book a hotel and stay the night.

As we were thinking about it, we couldn't find a reason why not. So we called our pet care person and made sure she could take care of them for one more day and then called to make a reservation at the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station.

And less than a half hour later, we were in the Lincoln Tunnel making our way into New York City. After checking into the hotel, we took a cab to our restaurant, a fun Asian place, Ruby Foo's. They had the most wonderful sushi rolls! We could have eaten many more, but like everything in New York, the bill was high enough already!

After dinner, we walked to Times Square and shopped at the Virgin Mega Store, where I found the DVD of a Dutch movie "Soldier of Orange" and we almost lost Saskia, thankfully, security found her. That was a scary moment!! I carried her the rest of the night, as I was too worried I'd lose her again!

Walking through a dark and nicely lit New York City, we made our way back to the hotel. There we had dessert and then it was off to bed. We were all asleep in no time.

In the morning we were awakened by the knock of the room service steward. We had ordered a continental breakfast between the 5 of us, as each breakfast was $17 and up and way too expensive for a family of five to afford! So we shared the 3 rolls and the tea and coffee and Rick took the kids to McDonald's across the street later, where he fed all of them for $14.

I, in the meantime, made my way to the exercise room of the hotel, state of the art, on the 35th floor. After an hour of exercise I went back to the room, got showered and took the kids on a walk to the Empire State Building, while Rick worked.

We didn't go up this time, but just looking up and not being able to see the top was worth the walk to the kids (and me). Even Saskia didn't complain about walking the 8 numbered blocks and 2 avenues.

Back at the hotel, we checked out and got tickets to the Gray Line downtown loop tour. This is the hop on-hop off double decker, that takes you through Greenwich Village, SoHo, Financial District to Battery Park, from where the Statue of Liberty can be seen.

We first had lunch at the Judson Grill, a nice place with good soft shell crabs for me.

Then off to the Toys R Us Superstore at Times Square. That's an impressive store!! It has a 4 story ferris wheel in the store and the Legos Empire State Building, Chrysler Building and Statue of Liberty are fun too.

After looking around that store, we went to the Gray Line stop on Times Square and boarded the bus to Battery Park. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to make our way to Battery Park.

Our plan was to walk to the edge of the water and look at the Statue of Liberty in the distance (no time for the ferry this time) and then walk up to see Ground Zero.

I have to admit to being slightly nervous to go there. We had previously wondered when we would have the nerve to go there and here it was.

The site of the WTC buildings is mostly characterized by light, where there was none before. Space, where there was none before. Two gaping holes where the buildings once stood. A fence around it all and a wooden walkway to walk around and see.

What were my impressions? I had to swallow back tears when I saw it all. Here stood the two most magnificent buildings I'd ever seen in my life and now... nothing. Not a trace of a building. But the surrounding buildings are still standing and some are badly damaged. One is wrapped in a black tarp and it's quite high and a flag and a banner are displayed high up. Another is wrapped in burlap, or something similar. The scene is grim.

On a red door we pass, hundreds of fire company badges are displayed. A sign read "no pictures please". I couldn't tell if it meant no pictures of the badges, or if it was from earlier days, when so much wreckage and carnage was still visible.

Across the street, the Trinity church stood. An old church, surviving the collapse of those 2 huge buildings so close by. The graveyard is covered in thick, gray dust. Some tombstones are covered in plastic. The entire fence around the church is covered with pictures of victims, letters by mourners, signs from all around the world, very touching.

In a recent article, a journalist wrote the site didn't affect him much, it was "just" a construction site. I can't imagine feeling that way at the sight of it all, even if it is cleaned up. I felt anger, sadness, awe and much more. May the victims rest in peace and may nothing like this happen again.

The kids had many questions. Saskia was again most concerned about any children involved. All 3 were solemn and impressed.

As we were there, lots of fire trucks pulled up and today we heard they're still looking for remains in the buildings surrounding the WTC.

We tried to get a cab back to the hotel, but they were all full. Thankfully a limo driver pulled up and took us instead.

After a quick and light dinner at the hotel, we got our car and started making our way home. We drove through 2 serious thunderstorms, exciting, but slowing us down. Still, it took us only 3 1/2 hours to get home, making New York City a lot closer than it always seemed.

A truly exciting weekend for sure! Today was spent cleaning up, getting the older kids a haircut and getting Rick's car back from the shop.

Tomorrow, very early morning, my friend Marie Anne and her little boy, Thomas are arriving from Singapore.

Never came back here yesterday, we got home too late from a wonderful dinner at Chuck and Christine's. They were showing us their new grill and boy, did it turn out some wonderful steaks!

This morning we had to get up "early" (ok, before 8, bummer!) because the airconditioning guy came. Rick stayed home to work here and I went off to the gym.

It was kind of an uneventful day (yay!), though I still felt I was on the go all the time. I got snacks for tomorrow's drive at Shopper's Food Warehouse. I'm one day going to take my camera and take a picture of just the cereal aisle there. I can't believe how many different kinds of cereal exist in this world!! I'll bet one could eat a different cereal for two months and still not have run out of choices.

I got in touch with my massage therapist and the reason she didn't come yesterday *was* a scary one, strange, I had a feeling that it would be. Her mother tried to commit suicide and is in Intensive Care now. Yuck! That's so scary!

After I got home, Rick and I took his car to Maaco, since he wants it repainted before he sells it. Then we went on a wild goose chase for Kai, to find Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, which are so popular, they're sold out everywhere. We went to 3 CVS's and one Seven Eleven. Then to Blockbuster's to get video's for the trip to Massachusetts tomorrow. We got 12 videos! That should keep everyone entertained. I myself can't wait to watch "The Gods Must Be Crazy" again.

In the times that I was home today, I created 4 new photo albums on Webshots. One about Washington DC, and another about Washington DC, a third about other US and Canadian cities and one with nature pictures, all these pictures were taken by me (just in case anyone doubts that ;)).

Finally, we went to the swimming pool with the Fitzpatricks and ordered pizza there. A fun end to a relatively quiet day.

For a chance, things that made Kai happy today (he's sitting next to me while I'm writing this blog):
1. I got a pack of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards
2. Playing with my friend Martin almost the entire day

He can't think of any more, so I'll fill up the other 3:
1. Having a nice warm boy body sitting here next to me (well, it's warm outside too, but still, nice)
2. Feeling the hot sun on me this morning when I first stepped outside and looking at the colors that were so clear and crisp
3. All the smiles, friendly hi's and have a nice day wishes I heard today

I have to make a mid day entry today, as I'm sure I'll forget what I wanted to write later.

I'm starting with my very bizarre dream (nightmare, really). It was one of those dreams that kept continuing, even after going to the bathroom and waking up for a short time. I had spent most of last night reading up on email messages and read several about people who were having trouble with their moms (like me!). So I think partly this dream was caused by that, as I'm having a really difficult time accepting that my mom has just simply decided to leave us all and move back to Holland. And I'm also still feeling resentment about giving up my Dutch citizenship to make sure my parents could stay here and not 2 years later, she's leaving.

Anyway, the dream started with us living in a war. I have no idea with whom we were at war, it never became clear. But all non-US citizens were being called up to be put to death by lethal injection. The dream started on Tuesday and my mom was scheduled to die on Thursday. All very weird. I kept on wondering why my parents and not me. And then it came to me, I was a US citizen en they weren't. I dreamed all the way through Thursday, so my mom was put to death, or so I assumed in my dream. But I didn't want to go look (for some weird reason, the bodies were kept in kind of locker rooms). I kept telling myself I'd be fine without my parents, because what could I do to prevent all this? Nothing. I had the same powerless feeling I have now sometimes, when I think of her spending the rest of her life that far away from us. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well last night.

On to a more cheerful topic: my conversation with Kai this morning. Kai sometimes doesn't like to talk, especially not in the morning. So I was trying to talk to him about going to the gym or staying home (he doesn't like either, really). He got annoyed at my insistence to talk, but then answered my questions.
I asked him why he was so ornery. He had a sleepover with his friend Martin last night and he gloomily told me, that Martin had awakened at 7am this morning and had started chatting with Kai. Kai told me, very disgruntled, that Martin was born with talking genes and that Kai just wasn't going to have another sleepover with him, as Kai was not ready for talking genes at 7am. I had to do everything to keep from bursting out with laughter. The way he said that!

One last thing I want to write about this afternoon. I have some time as for some reason my massage therapist didn't show up, she was supposed to be here at 12n. I worry now as last week she was complaining of chest pains and it's so not like her to just not show. I worry something serious is wrong with her and I wouldn't even know who to contact to find out, as she lives alone. Hopefully she'll call later and she'll just have misscheduled or something.

Ok, to the topic: I have started re-reading "Giving the Love that Heals" by Harville Hendrix. Since things have deteriorated with my mom, I need the reassurance of the "intentional dialogue" described in the book, to communicate well with the kids. I *do not* want to communicate like my mom and I know there is always a real risk of that.

The book's description of intentional dialogue is very appealing to me and it gives many good examples. Intentional dialogue (what the authors call conscious parenting) requires 3 actions on the part of the parent (and later also the child).

1. Mirroring: listening well and periodically checking if the message is understood
2. Validating: showing respect for the other's feelings, showing them you understand why they might feel this way (note: this does not mean agreeing with them, but it does mean showing they're allowed to have their feelings and thoughts, even if they differ drastically from yours)
3. Empathizing: showing you understand their feelings

Having these 3 elements in my discussions with the kids has really helped me. Sometimes I slack off and then I have to re-read as I'm doing now. The reason I'm writing it down here is so I can quickly grab back to it when needed.

This method, by the way, is also good to use with partners and others in our lives. The therapy is called Imago Therapy.

More later.

It is really nice to not have to rush out of bed to get kids off to school! We lounged until 8am this morning (except for poor Rick, who did need to go to work). Katja and Leah had a sleepover and they stayed in bed longer. Kai did get up with us, but refused to go to the gym with me, choosing instead to stay with the girls.

I took Saskia to camp, which she loves so much, she went back yesterday after the doctor's! It is really fun, she is in a group called the "Lions" and they play all day, but with themes. They also still practice their numbers and letters in playful ways, so they won't have forgotten much after the summer.

Then I went to the gym, of course. I'm missing Christine this week, as her daughter has swimming lessons. So I brought some reading material and then Ann and Meghan came and we had a nice chat, which always makes the time go by faster.

After a quick shower, I went home and picked up Katja and Kai to take them to lunch at Subway. They have a great low fat menu! (Sorry, Emily, for talking about food again ;), it's a major part of our lives though and I'm not a good cook, unfortunately).

At 2pm, Katja was picked up by my friend Jaimie to go babysit for her little boy. I took the cue and started cleaning the house. I confess, until last week, I had a guy come to clean the house every week. He didn't do a great job, but still, it was better than me having to do it!!! It took me 3 hours to just clean the bathrooms, kitchen and vacuum only the high traffic areas. Of course, when I clean, I do it well, but it was exhausting!

When I was done, I picked up Saskia and we did facepainting in the driveway. Half the neighborhood is walking around with my creations on their faces and hands tonight. I should start charging for it ;).

Kai is having a sleepover with his friend Martin tonight, they're supercute together!

The car is still in the shop, but I'm liking the little Contour we have on loan.

And now it's thundering and lightning outside, yippee! I love thunderstorms!

And I'm happy, because:
1. The house is clean ;)
2. When I looked around the cul de sac this afternoon, I realized how many of our friends live so very close by!
3. I have one husband, 3 kids, 1 dog and 4 cats who are all the very best on the planet!
4. I saw the first Monarch butterfly today
5. The weather here! In Holland they had a short heat wave, but it's cooled off already. Here we're pretty much guaranteed temperatures of 80 and higher. Great!!!

Things that made me happy today:
1. Sitting on the sidewalk in the late afternoon sunshine with Katja, while waiting for Rick to pick us back up
2. Seeing the splinter *out* of Saskia's leg
3. Having Kai say that if he would be stranded on an uninhabited island, he would want me and his dad around most of all
4. Lifting 90 pounds on the leg extension machine and having it feel light!
5. Have Rick tell me I'm a delectable wife :)

Father's Day, yesterday. We're starting a new tradition (or rather, we started it last year) of going to a theme park on Father's Day. Rick is a total theme park fan, so this is a great way to give him a great day. This year, we chose to go to Six Flags America.

But first, we had breakfast in bed: Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and tea and coffee. Plus we gave his presents, which he loved.

At 10, we were in the car to Largo, Maryland. We got to the park at opening and the weather was great, part sunny, part overcast and in the low 80's. We immediately made our way to the back, to the big rollercoasters. Apparently, most people didn't come until after lunch and by 12noon, Kai, Katja and Rick had been in 3 of the 5 rollercoasters. Saskia and I entertained ourselves with some games (and she won a necklace, though she really wanted a stuffed animal, of course).

After a quick lunch, I took Saskia and Kai to a play house, where you could throw foamplastic balls all over and at each other, while Rick and Katja took in yet another roller coaster. I stayed away from the coasters, as I woke up with a painful neck and a headache and I didn't want to aggravate anything.

At 3pm, after the last roller coaster, we drove back home. There I noticed a splinter in Saskia's leg and spent about 1/2 hour to try and get it out. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed, but the nurse at the emergency medical center told me I could wait a day before seeking treatment.

So, off to my parents we went. Gave my dad his gift (a six-in-one tool, which he clearly loved) and then drove to the Melting Pot where we had a great dinner. My mom and I shared the Pacific Rim dinner, with shrimp, steak, duck and potstickers. Very, very tasty. I truly like that restaurant, as it's a nice long, relaxed dinner and the food is great.
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This morning I had trouble waking up. My bed was just so nice! The weather has been less hot and that means cooler nights and more comfortable sleep. Well, too comfortable this morning! But at 8, I dragged myself out. I made an appointment for Saskia to be seen by the pediatrician at 11:30.

Then took her to school and went off to the gym. Since last summer, Katja and Kai have been staying home, while I went to the gym, but I still feel ambivalent about it. I call them at least 3 times, much to their dismay ;). Luckily, we live in a street where many people are home during the day, so they know where to go in case of emergency. Still, I always rush through it all and rush back home.

I spent 5 minutes home after working out and then had to pick Saskia up for her doctor's appointment. Unfortunately for her, the splinter was deeply embedded and she needed a numbing shot and then the doctor cut it out. She was a very courageous girl, it really hurt and she cried quite a bit :(, I had her think of something she really wanted, which was a Bratz doll. So, afterwards, I took her to Toys R Us.

Then, rush, rush, back home, feed Saskia and the others lunch (and myself) and then rush off to take Saskia back to summer camp at her own request and Rick and I had to go to a law office to sign the settlement papers for the sale of our first house to the renter we had. It feels good to just own one home, instead of being landlords as well. We hated that job! And she was so excited to own her first home! I feel we really did a good deed on that one!

Quickly back home, pick up Katja for her skating lesson. Rick dropped the two of us off and he went on to the car dealership to drop the van off for service and repair of the recall we recently received.

Then time to pick up Saskia again and phew, the day was over. And I wondered today, when I would experience a "boring" day again. You know, one of those days where you just stay in pajamas and hang around the house and don't have to go anywhere. When? Not in the next 2 weeks!

Here I am, mom of a 7th grader, 5th grader and first grader. Sniff!! They're growing up too fast! Yesterday, Rick, Saskia, my mom and I were at the school at 9am to witness the 6th grade commencement. It was an emotional 2 hours, several kids got awards, they all got special mentions (Katja got her award on Thursday, for being a member of the elementary/middle and high school coalition, that works to improve communication between the different schools and the community).

Then, after all the speeches by the teachers, a group of girls got up on the stage and sang the song "One Candle". Katja started it out in a duet with a classmate. They sang beautifully! Katja can sing really well and she now regrets not choosing choir for an elective in 7th grade. She chose band instead.

At 11:10am, school was dismissed for the summer. It was raining so I ran to get the kids with several umbrellas. We looked at the report cards, which were excellent for both kids. Katja suddenly got a little bit of a sad spell, as she was realizing, that she had just said goodbye to her familiar school and also to some of her schoolfriends, who are going to a different middle school.

So, we reminisced about her babyhood and I made her laugh, by recalling how she once had such an explosive poop, that she pooped on the lampshade across the room! And how her dad was once flying her over his head, singing "Babies in space" and he got the whole last feeding in his face!

That brightened our moods and she called her friend Meghan to go to the ice cream party at the pool (even though it was raining, the kids still loved going and there is something special about swimming in the rain (all according to them, of course, I chatted under the overhanging with my neighbor)).

After the ice cream party, we went home until Rick came home and then we went off to dinner at Chili's. They have the great boneless chicken wings!! Very spicy, but all the kids liked them, I was amazed!

Next on the agenda was the Scooby Doo movie. Wow, what a change, after watching the Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood the night before! This was definitely a kid's movie! I'm glad it lasted just an hour and a half, as it was super silly and couldn't exactly hold me interest. The kids loved it though, and that was the aim. Rowan Atkinson talks quite a lot in the movie, which was interesting to me, as I always watched him as the taciturn Mr. Bean.

Katja and Meghan had a sleepover last night, to end a wonderful day.

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This morning at 8am, Brynna started peeping to go out. I was so thankful to Rick for getting up! I really wanted to sleep in, selfishly. But at 8:15, I heard a little voice next to me ask "Mommy?". And as I groaned, she said: "Oh good, I wanted to see if you were still there" 5 minutes later "Mommy?" "" "Where is Daddy?" "He's downstairs". And off she went downstairs. The older kids didn't get up until 10!

After a very healthy (ahem) breakfast of Dunkin Donuts at the request of the graduates (yes, they're milking it for all it's worth!), Saskia and I went off to the gym. I did a HIT training again, 20 minutes high heart rate on the stair stepper, then lower body weights, then another 20 minutes high heart rate on the stairmaster, then upper body, 10 minutes high intensity on the cross trainer, abs and done.

We quickly ate lunch at home and then the kids and I took off for the mall, to shop for Father's Day and graduation gifts. Katja selected a pretty silver locket for her graduation gift. I like that, as it will remind her of when she got it for years to come. I also selected my sister's birthday gift, but I'm not writing here what it is, as she reads this blog ;). I'm excited about it though!

For my dad, I selected a 6 in 1 tool from Brookstone's. The same for Rick, hopefully he'll like it. The kids will give him an X-Box game and a Star Wars II audiobook, that they can all listen to on their way to Michigan in 2 weeks. For a treat for the kids, I got Dippin' Dots ice cream for them. It's really cool, little balls of ice cream in different flavors.

Three hours later, we came home with lots of bags. I also got Rick his favorite breakfast for tomorrow: Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. Yummy!!!

Things that made me (very) happy:

1. Without a doubt: When Katja said to me in the car "Mommy, don't tell Leah, but she's not my best friend", surprised I said "Oh? Then who is?" and she answered "You"!
2. The other two children chiming in, Saskia that not only I am her best friend, but also her Daddy :). And Kai saying, that I'm definitely his favorite female person :).
3. Giving Rick an afternoon without the kids for a change. He usually "takes" them, to give me some time alone and now he had it
4. Simply looking at the kids, as they were with me at the mall and marveling at their beautiful little faces and wonderful characters.
5. Feeling so connected, not just with the kids and Rick, but also with my sister and brother(s) and friends

Ok, as final deed of the night, the update of my blog. My eye still hurts, but the drops seem to be working, it's no longer red. Still I'm spooked by the thought a cornea eating bacteria lurks in there !

This morning, I talked to my dad about my mom and we had a good talk. Then I talked to Christine and then realized, that I still had a very quiet 6 year old sitting in the room, who had to go to school. So I got her to school way late, at 9:20! It was good though, as I got to talk to her teacher and found out she will not be in the same group as her best friend for summer camp :(. Initially, I was upset about that, but the teacher explained about the group dynamics and that she had placed Saskia with her other best friend. The other girl will still join them in the afternoons. Next year, they'll be in different schools, but they live close by, so I hope their friendship will last, just like Kai's and Austin's friendships lasted 5 years beyond Appletree already.

At 9:30, I checked into Katja and Kai's school for the awards assembly. This was the first time (I know, shame on me), that I attended an awards assembly. I was up for an award myself, for the art teaching I did this year and both kids had told me I should come to claim it. So I did. And boy, was I glad! My little boy got awarded a certificate because he won a math contest!!! And my big girl got awarded a certificate because of her participation in a coalition between the elementary, middle and high schools in the area. Their proud faces made my mother heart soar!

After the assembly, I went to the gym, where I met Christine and we did a HIT training (High Intensity Training) and some weights. My mom was there too and we discussed Katja's graduation. I'd better get my emotions in check, as I had some trouble today at the assembly already, containing my tears. Kids are so wonderful!

Christine and I treated ourselves to a nice lunch at Artie's after the workout (we ate at 2pm!). Today was the first rainy day in weeks, if not months. I hope it alleviated the drought somewhat, the torrential rains this afternoon certainly alluded to that!

I felt like a bad parent, when I had planned to pick Katja and Kai up from school to prevent them getting soaked in the rain. But time got away from me and they came home walking. Thank goodness it's a warm rain and actually pretty exciting to walk through, after weeks of sunshine, heat and drought.

At 6pm, my friend Jaimie came to pick me up for our girls night out. We first had some appetizers at the Blue Iguana and then made our way to the theatre, to watch "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood". Wah, it's a tearjerker! But a very good movie. Now I still need to read the book.

My happiness moments today:
1. My son walking up proudly to accept his math award
2. Katja sticking up her thumb at me, when my name was called
3. Katja's name being called, my sweet girl standing there proudly
4. Reading Saskia's report card and the comments by her teacher, the teacher wrote "she makes my every day". It brings tears to my eyes!
5. Rick's smiling face when he opened the door when I came home tonight.

I feel blessed!

Ack, I really meant to post last night, but I've been so tired, I haven't had the energy. Yesterday, after my workout, I suddenly felt I wasn't paying enough attention to Kai (I get that way sometimes, as he's just so sweet and very quiet and the girls seem to take all the attention). So I made my way over to the school and joined him for lunch. We discussed things we wanted to do together this summer, like going to the Air and Space Museum, as Katja doesn't like that museum much.

After lunch (well, I snacked some of his chicken nuggets (which were great and not greasy, I was very surprised!)), I took down the art from the artshow last week and put it back in everyone's folders and handed the folders to the teachers, so the kids could take them home. Phew! All of Artsmart is done for the year.

I just had about a half hour to eat a real lunch, before I had to pick Saskia up from school to take her for her checkup at the pediatrician. I had found out beforehand, that she didn't need any shots, as she always wants to be prepared. We saw my favorite female doctor there (well, actually, she's a nurse practitioner, but absolutely great!).

Saskia is doing great, her eyes and ears are fine, she has a large vocabulary for her age (according to the NP) and she is petite (44 1/3 inch, 15%), but dense (48 lbs, 55% for weight), which is all muscle as you'd judge her to be at least 10 lbs lighter by looking at her.

On the way home, I remembered I had signed up to make dinner for the family of one of Katja's classmates, whose mother is undergoing chemo for breast cancer. I decided to make my crockpot taco soup, with vegetarian beef and cheese and tortillas. So we stopped at Safeway for groceries.

The weather has been scorching hot, heat advisories for both yesterday and today and yesterday there was a Code Red ozone alert. Today it was orange.

But it was so hot and Saskia really wanted to swim, so we ignored the warning and she had a nice swim with some friends, while I was sweating on the side, as I didn't want to get wet. I had to go chaperone Katja's 6th grade party at 6pm and didn't have time to get wet and then get myself all dry again.

The 6th grade party was a beach party. Very fun! Lots of food for the kids, with pizza for the highlight. They played volleyball with a beach ball and basketball. One of the parents had filled a babybath with strong bubblesolution and a hula hoop and the kids could stand in it and have a big bubble pulled around them. And 2 older siblings played dj and did the Limbo. At 8:30, tired and sweaty kids (and parents!) went home.

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This morning, I woke up with pain in my eye, even before I opened my eyes. When I looked in the mirror, my eye was half shut and bloodshot. Uh oh, eye infection! Since I wear contacts and have had a bad infection before, this was a huge red flag. So I called the ophthalmologist and made an appointment for 1pm.

I had a good workout with Mimi, I'm finally feeling my strength return again, thank goodness! I hate aching and tiredness, as I never know if I should worry about them or not. So now that it's going better, I'm relaxing a bit.

At 12pm I had an appointment for a house cleaning service guy to come and tell me how much it would cost to have the house cleaned. I just can't keep up with it myself and so now they'll come every other week. What luxury! I can't wait!

The eye doctor did indeed diagnose a bacterial infection and I'm glad I pushed for an appointment today, as she told me just waiting 24 hours would have been dangerous to my eye sight. Yikes! So I have antibiotic drops and have to come back in a week. It's an annoying infection, because the pain makes me feel like I have a sinus infection. Hopefully the drops will help soon.

While waiting for the drops to be ready, I bought the kids and Rick cute "I love you" cards, it was fun to give them and they liked getting them.

When Katja and Kai got home, we set off to deliver the meal for the Katja's classmate's family and then off to the mall. Katja needed neat clothes for her graduation ceremony on Friday and Kai's shoes were literally falling apart. Katja ended up buying a pretty skirt and shirt at Express (we should buy stock in that company!!!) and we bought a bunch of shoes at Payless (also swimshoes, as I worry they'll be sold out when we need them for the beach). Then Katja was thirsty, so we got a drink and some (delicious!) cookies at Mrs. Fields and Kai found a pack of his favorite trading cards at Dapy
.

Then it was finally time to go home.
And now the things that made me happy:
1. Hearing that my sister's best friend is going to have identical twin boys. How exciting!
2. Knowing that we'll see my sister and her family twice this summer, as we've decided to go celebrate her 30th birthday with them and they're coming the end of July.
3. Walking in the mall with my two oldest kids and just enjoying them tremendously.
4. Talking to Christine on the phone and just feeling wonderful at having found such a great friend.
5. To be alive!!!

Oops, I forgot the things that made me happy (I'll add new one's tonight, so these are for yesterday):
1. Seeing Saskia and her friend giggling and having a wonderful time at the pool.
2. Seeing Katja's huge smile as I complimented her on how well she was able to brake while skating, it's something she's been working on.
3. Chatting with Kai about his new collector's card game and seeing how he's totally into it.
4. Having a super supportive and loving husband.
5. Watching an oriole fly across the street and being awed together with the kids about its beauty.

Oh my, before I know it, it's Tuesday! We had a very nice weekend, my brother and sister in law, my 5 year old nephew and 18 months old niece from Ottawa came to visit my parents. It was my mom's 62nd birthday on Saturday.

On Saturday I worked out with Katja. It's so much fun to have a daughter old enough to do such things with! I was proud of her, as she ran at a pace of 6.5 miles an hour for quite a few minutes. And we laugh a lot as we're tossing the weighted balls at each other. And then we were trying to hold a ball against the wall, while the other tried to pry it loose, great game and good for the quads!

Then off to pick up the ice cream cake I'd ordered for my mom's birthday. It turned out really nice and the flavor, multi-colored sherbet, was great! We had it for dessert, after a nice barbeque chicken dinner my dad cooked.

On Sunday, my nephew Sandy came over to play with Saskia and I took the kids to the pool. Sandy loved it and he and Kai built a sand castle in the volleyball sand as well.
Around 3 the whole family came over and it was our turn to cook dinner. Nice steaks and fruit pies for dessert from Pie Gourmet .

Yesterday was a scorching day and it actually felt really nice to go to the ice arena for Katja's skating lesson. She is doing really well and is enjoying herself clearly.
After I picked Saskia up from school, we took a friend of hers with us to the pool, where everyone played and giggled, until the whistle went off. Everyone had to leave the pool, as there was "fecal matter" found in the main pool (poop, in other words). This apparently was the second time in a week this happened, so now the research needs to start as to who might be doing this. Yuck!!! When this happens, the pool needs to close for 2 hours for sanitation and so it was effectively closed for the night.

At least I didn't have to fight to get the kids to go home ;).

Today was the big 40th birthday bash of Katja and Kai's school. The school is as old as I am! Almost exactly, as they opened September 1961 and that's when I was born. I feel lots of affinity with it now ;).

Seriously, it was a fun day. I just came home from 2 1/2 hours straight of face painting! I'll be dreaming of American flags, soccer balls, rainbows, spiders etc.! I must have painted at least 30 faces. But lots of happy kids, so it was fun and they were all so cute and polite. One boy thanked me in advance, just in case he might forget later :).

As a room parent for both Kai and Katja's class, I was supposed to help out in both classes at 2:30 this afternoon. I had to bring juice boxes for Kai's class and cupcakes for Katja's. Yesterday Safeway was sold out of cupcakes, so I called at 7:15 this morning to reserve 30 cupcakes. They were sold out already!!!! So I ended up ordering a birthday cake, which the kids loved, especially the blue icing roses on it.

I also saw part of their show, a really cute review with songs of the 40th years existence and a slide show. Katja was in one of the pictures.

Now we're home at 9:30pm and we haven't had dinner yet, thank heavens for Pizza Hut! ;)

Things that made me (especially) happy today:

1. The gorgeous weather! Crisp, clean weather, bright blue skies, every color was vibrant in nature!
2. All those kids that got their faces painted. They truly are the future and I have to say, at least 30 of the future are a-ok!
3. The realization of just how many friends I have in this world. I realized that this morning at the gym, where I talked to 4 people, whom I consider great friends.
4. My wonderful family, all 4 of them.
5. I survived this week, LOL!

Another night of violent weather, tornado's in the area. Thankfully not here! I like spectacular weather, but tornado's can stay far away, thank you!

A relatively quiet day today, nothing at the school. I had a nice workout with my friend Jeanne, 45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes of weights. After the shower, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get insect repellant bracelets. They have a Citronella smell and seem to be doing a good job in keeping the insects away from the kids.

Then to the Vitamin Shoppe, because Christine is taking this supplement, that's making her feel quite well, so of course I have to try it too. It better work, it wasn't cheap!!! (oh, the vitamins are called Maxine, for those interested)

At Borders and Hallmark, I got my mom's gift and card and Father's Day cards for everyone.

Today was one of those really fatigued feeling days I get occasionally (though less in the summer, so I'm contributing this one to last week's fever and all), so I was just dragging with everything.

I went home, much later than I had hoped, as I wanted to get a nap in, and ate lunch: wonderful Gazpacho from Fresh Fields and hunks of real Parmesan cheese, also from there.

Then it was time to get Kai from school to take him to the doctor for his itching ear. The skies were looking ominous, so I got Katja out too and took her with us, as I didn't want her to have to be at home in a severe thunderstorm or tornado.

The doctor was way delayed (what else is new ;)), but the three of us were enjoying the wait and chatted and played mad libs. What a difference from when they were toddlers! Now the 45 minute wait was actually a fun family time!

The doctor didn't find anything spectaculair wrong with Kai, so we have to try some Cortaid in his ear for a few days and see if that makes a difference.

On the way home, I remembered I have to bring cupcakes and drinks and all for the party tomorrow in the classrooms, so we stopped by Safeway. *Not* a good idea with 2 kids, we left with way more than just the drinks and cupcakes. But they did help me carry things and put things away.

Tonight I had a long, long talk with my sister in law in Canada. They're going to drive down tomorrow to be here for my mom's birthday. I can't wait to see them!

I've decided to add something to my Blog every time: what made me feel happy that day. So here's the first installment:
1. The feather kisses Saskia gave me, while I was carrying her home in the blazing heat this morning
2. Rick's huge smile this morning, when sticking his head out the bathroom door to talk to me
3. Kai's reluctant, but seriously huge hug before saying goodbye in front of his classmates at school
4. Katja's laughter this afternoon at the doctor's, a place she's usually quite afraid of
5. The raindrops on a leaf after the rainstorm tonight, the sun shone through them making them look like glass.

Last night I came home and just lied sprawled on the couch! I was so tired! But it was a productive day and I finally seem to be getting back to normal physically, hurray! I just don't like being unable to function!

On the way to the gym, I managed to get up enough courage to call my mom. I managed to keep level headed and let her do most of the talking. Then I saw her again later at the gym and she was all smiles and cordial, so maybe a relatively normal (though much more distant than before!) relationship will be possible now.

After working out (or should I say chatting, as I did more of that than move my limbs), Christine and I treated ourselves to a manicure/pedicure. I've become a different person, I never used to care about my nails, would just paint the ones on my toes in the summer, all kinds of funky colors. But the ones on my hands usually looked horrible, split, too short etc. I had only ever had a manicure just before my wedding. And look at me now, I'm actually keeping up with it fairly well and my nails look a whole lot healthier. That's definitely an incentive. We got a design on our big toes: a flower with a little "diamond", yet another first for me.

It all took a little longer than we expected though, so we quickly shared a sandwich for lunch and then I rushed off to the school, to teach Rauschenberg for Artsmart in the 6th grade. At this time of year, the kids are really smelling vacation and it's hard to get their attention anymore. So I kept my talk short (not much to tell about Rauschenberg anyway ;)) and they had lots of fun doing the collage project.

After school let out, I solicited Katja and Kai's help in pasting labels on and hanging the 4th grade projects for the artshow on Friday. It took us about an hour, but it's all done, yippee!! I rewarded them with a trip to the school's bookfair, which had a 2 for one sale and I even found myself some nice fairy books: "When the root children wake up" and "Good Night, Fairies". I love everything to do with fantasy creatures (fairies, gargoyles, dragons etc.).

My friend Claudia came in and we went to look at the chicks the school has in their backyard. Claudia selected 2 of them. We had a good laugh, because she lives in a townhouse community with very strict homeowner rules and we hope the chicks she chose are not roosters! I can just imagine the neighbors' reactions!

After picking Saskia up from school, I drove (!, the pool is about across the street, but I was soooooo exhausted) to the pool and let her swim for about an hour.

I was so grateful to my very dear husband, as he took over completely, once I got home!

Today was no less busy. First a workout, with personal training, but to my dismay, my strength is not back yet. But it was therapeutic to talk to Mimi about our mothers (why is it, that so many people seem to be able to totally commiserate??? Do all women 55 or older go through such crisis? I hope not!).

Then, I raced back home, slattered on sunscreen (as it was sunny and 92 degrees out!) and took my bike over to the park, where Kai's 4th grade picnic was being held. I arrived just in time to eat the last hot dog and play and talk some and walk back to school with the group. Kai went home with me afterwards and we ran some errands together: Fresh Fields, for some great fruit, wine and snacks. Then Baskin Robbins to order a birthday cake for my mom (yes, I am an angelic daughter ;)) and of course, Kai got an ice cream too, he chose their new flavor, Wild n Reckless Spirit, after the movie "Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron".

When Katja got home, we left for Victoria's Secret as we both desperately needed new underwear and I wanted her to get some good stuff. We had fun shopping, we stopped at Express and then got some nail polish and sunglasses (mine broke last week and I missed them desperately).

By then, it was past 5 o'clock and time to get Saskia. Then quickly in swimsuits and off to the pool. We just got a nice hour in, before it started thundering and the pool closed. The storm was quite severe as it turned out and I saw one of the most spectecular lightning bolts nearby, I have ever seen. And soon, oh, I can so long for it, it is time for bed!

The good news is, the fever is gone. The bad news is, so is my energy, still :(. Yesterday, I took it easy, though I did some very light exercising (I read some scary story on the Internet about exercising with increased body temperature afterwards, not good for my peace of mind!). The weather has been gorgeous, so I just sat outside and read, what luxury, really, come to think of it! I rarely give myself time to do so!

In the evening, we went to dinner at a Dutch family's house. Well, the adults are Dutch, the kids are American, as they've been here even longer than us (23 years!). This was a "blind" date, as I had met one of the daughters at the gym and she heard Saskia and me speak Dutch and after some talking I found out her mom is about my age. So she gave me their phone number and I called and we hit it off, so she invited us to dinner. It turned out to be a very nice evening! Fun chatting outside for the adults. The kids swam in their pool and caught fireflies. It always feels great to meet some people who seem "friend" material!

Today I went to the gym, did a light workout. Ok, to many 1.5 hours on the bike wouldn't seem light, but for me it is, as I kept my heartrate in the 60% range and just felt like I was at least moving. I still had that scary article about heart damage when exercising sick in mind. Christine and I had a nice chat.

Then quickly home, where Laura came to give me a massage. Man, was it ever needed! My right leg had been hurting me so much, I was beginning to wonder (yes, I am a worry wart, I freely admit it!) if I might have something scary going on there. Bone cancer or something (especially with the unexplained fever). But it all turned out to be severely knotted muscles. Ouch! That massage was very painful, but the leg feels slightly better, according to Laura it will feel even better by tomorrow. I sure hope so! That pain makes me really tired too.

Ok, enough health whining. Katja decided to forego her skating lesson this afternoon, so it's nice and quiet, just what the doctor ordered (oops, didn't mean to make yet another health reference!).

Tomorrow I'll have to teach Artsmart in Katja's class and got some magazines together for the kids to use (they'll be making a collage). And now back to my book (Angela Elwell's "Silver Sword").

Yesterday, as I was working out, I suddenly felt like I got run over by a truck! It was really weird! I was doing chest press and did 2 really heavy sets (60 pounds) and suddenly, I couldn't lift anything more. I finished my workout nonetheless, but as I was going, my legs got achier and achier and I got chills and certainly didn't feel well enough to help out at the kids' field day, as promised :(.

So I went home, took my temperature and turned out to have a 101.4 fever. Wah! I called off our dinner plans with friends and tried to nap and take it easy. Last night I started feeling better and thought I'd shaken it, when I got up fever free this morning. Unfortunately, around noon, I had 100.0 again. Thankfully less and Advil basically made me feel better. So hopefully, tomorrow it will be gone! I have too much going on to be sick!!!

But, while the rest of the family played at the pool, I made myself a nice spot on the deck, in the shade (it was 95 degrees today, but at least low humidity, so quite nice with a little breeze), with water and a stack of magazines. Nothing like being sick to catch up on unread stuff!

Kai stayed with me and we planted some Morning Glory's in the back against the fence and in the front around the lamppost and the mailbox. Hopefully, they'll come up as nicely as they did last year.

And Kai caught a baby Praying Mantis and put him in a bug bottle with twigs and leaves. He found out Praying Mantis' eat ants, so he went to hunt some ants. When he put them in the bottle, we got to see the Mantis eat one from close up. Very educational! There is a nice urban myth attached to Praying Mantis', and another half myth and Kai will let his go tomorrow.

I really, really hope to have shaken whatever it is I have by tomorrow!

A quick one tonight as I should be in bed by now, but I'm too wound up to sleep. Not good, as I have a very full day tomorrow and I'm already exhausted from the week.

This morning, I first dropped Saskia off at school and then made my way to Kai and Katja's school. I dragged in Kai's bass, which is huge! And then attended the volunteer tea, where the volunteers were honored with a certificate and school stationery. It is always a really nice gesture I think and when you see the table full of certificates, it hits home just how many parents volunteer at this school. And I truly believe that makes the school so special.

After the tea, I made my way to the Artsmart closet to prepare for the Robert Rauschenberg presentation in the fourth grade. I had brought a bunch of magazines for the collages and really got into cutting out pictures with certain themes. Sports turned out to be in vogue and we didn't have that many sports pictures. All in all, they made some wonderful collages!

When the Artsmart was done, I rushed off to the gym for a quick workout. Unfortunately, I met my mom in the parking lot and she felt it necessary to announce then and there that she was permanently moving to the Netherlands, close to her friend of less than one year. It's a long story. Suffice it to say I felt I lost a dear, close friend today.

I managed to work out for an hour, as I was quite distraught and I could tell by how high my heart rate was all the time, it kept going way over my limit! I quickly showered and then called Rick and shed some tears. How good it is to have a loving husband! And, over the years, he has learned to just listen and not try to solve immediately. I thanked him for his calmness and then dried my tears and headed back to the school.

On the way I called my sister, equally distressed and then my best friend and after talking to them, I did feel better. At the school, my friend Ann and I selected the best pieces of Artsmart work of the 6th graders we taught and made a list of how many we had for each artist. Of course, poor Ann had to hear about my mom troubles as well. Hey, telling the world about my dirty laundry makes me feel heaps better ;).

I just realized, though, I didn't bring said list home and didn't call the organizer with the totals, even though I promised! Ack! I'm losing my mind!!

I came home, made sure Kai and Katja were ok (Katja was being a mother's helper at a friend's house) and then went to CVS to pick up medicine and then pick Saskia up from school.

Then off to the pool of course, where I chatted nicely with a Turkish man named Tarhan and Saskia and Kai had a great time. Rick came, watched Saskia jump in the deep and we ordered sushi for dinner. I was on the phone/on Messenger all night with many loving and well meaning siblings and friends. We'll be fine, I just hope my mom will be, I have my doubts :(.