Highly necessary after the past few days:

Five things that have made me happy:

1) When I told Kai last night before bed "Thank you for being you" (I sometimes say this to the kids), he answered "Thank *you* for being *you*, so I can be *me*". It was just so wonderful of a statement.

2) Photographing a bunch of beautiful butterflies this afternoon, nature sure has quite a palette!

3) When I saw Rick dressed in his workout clothes today, to go to the gym with me and endure my griping about my mother, even though I know he is not fond of talking while exercising.

4) When Rick came home with a computer program that teaches Dutch for him and the kids to use. It's so special they all make such an effort to speak *my* language!

5) Talking to my brother and sister and feeling their love and support and knowing that, even if my mom is lost to our family, we won't fall apart, my dad and my siblings and nieces and nephews will still be there and care just as much.

It's been an emotional few days, since my mother came back from the Netherlands. I don't really feel like telling the whole story here again, as I'm sure it will stick in my memory forever. But I'll have to get used to life without a mother, so much is clear.

On Thursday, Christine and I went to the National Gallery of Art to get our minds off everything going on with our respective families (how did two people meet that have so much in common with each other? Coincidence? I think not!). Her mother has totally gone off the deep end and mine is not far behind, if not there already. Same background, same personality disorder, how creepy is that?

Anyway, the Gallery was great, quiet, serene, beautiful works of art and a wonderful little restaurant with a scrumptious buffet. Ah, that's the life!

On Friday I kept busy with workout, massage and haircut and meanwhile tried to mentally deal with the blows coming out of my parental home.

Today was similar. Rick was very sweet to go work out with me as I really needed a companion today. Besides that I mainly took pictures of all the different butterflies in our yard. So far, I identified the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (plentiful), the American Lady, the black female Eastern Tiger Swallowtailand the Great Spangled Fritillary . Some of the pictures turned out great as you can see!

And the schoolyear has started! First we had a wonderful day at the Renaissance Festival in Maryland on Monday. We brought Katja's friend Meghan and Kai's friend Nick with us. The boys really enjoyed the Torture museum (as did Katja, Meghan and Saskia stayed out) and the Unnatural History museum. We ate the wonderful food there, like sweet potato fries, fry ribbons, soup in a bread bowl and fried pickle (my personal favorite).
It's just always a lot of fun that festival. I didn't get a chance to shop much, so I definitely want to go again this season (it goes through mid-October).

My dad came along as well and we all ate dinner at the Renaissance Cafe nearby, a wonderful restaurant and appropriately named ;).

Yesterday was the first day of school! We got up at 6am, to get Katja ready for her bus at 7am. We were the only parents at the busstop, which kind of surprised me. But then I realized all the other kids had older siblings. Still, I'm fairly certain I will wait with Kai and Saskia as well.

Then we walked Kai and Saskia to their classes and took first day of school pictures. I went off to the gym, did a very tough class with Claudia (we both felt we were getting quite a workout! I guess the machines are good, but you do get used to them and the classes use muscles I didn't even know I had!).

After class and shower, quickly back to the school to help Saskia through her first lunch. She only needed me for about 10 minutes so I left and ate lunch at home (the school lunches just don't appeal to me!!).

On the first day of school our tradition is, that I get brightly colored poster board and stickers and shape that into a large cone, which I then fill with snacks and school supplies to make the homework more fun. I thought maybe Katja would feel too old for it now, but nothing was further from the truth! So I went and picked them all up with the huge cones in my arms.

Christine and I managed to get a manicure/pedicure in somewhere in between as well and I cooked dinner (fajita's) for the first time in a long time! I was utterly exhausted last night, as were the kids!

Weekly wrap up (I liked this one!):

1. What is your earliest memory of going back to school? Describe the feelings you experienced and, if you can remember, something that happened that day.

My earliest memory is going to the first day of school in Senegal. I didn't know a word of French (I was 6) and was put in a totally French class. I remember I was very proud at the end of that day that I knew the word for "bird" was "pie".

2. Who was your first teacher? What do you remember about him/her?

Mevrouw (Mrs.) Zinkweg. She was my kindergarten teacher in Holland (the year before we moved to Senegal). I don't remember much about her, except that she had black hair.

3. Did you enjoy the first day of school as a child? Why or why not? Did you enjoy the first day of school as a teenager? Why or why not? If these feelings changed from childhood to teenage years, what happened to change them?

I enjoyed it, except when in grades 4, 5, 6 and 7. Those were the years I was teased mercilessly by one group of 4 kids. I would love to know what became of them. In 7th grade, my parents switched my school so I wouldn't be with that group (I came in in 4th grade from Senegal) and I never had a problem since.

4. What was the most exciting thing about starting school again? What was the most frustrating? Why?

I loved getting new books, supplies and everything. Most frustrating? The long bike ride to and from school! 5 miles each way, rain or shine (or snow).

5. If you have children in school now, how do you mark the occasion of the first day of school? If you don't have children, how did your family deal with the first day of school? What was the best part of the first day?

I await them after school with a construction paper cone, decorated with school stickers and filled with homework supplies (fun pencils, highlighters, bookmarks etc.) and candy. I start this tradition when Katja started first grade and it's always fun to get my mind off missing them that first day, while I buy the stuff and exciting for them to do their first homework of the year.

Second installment of the day, as Rick and I are playing Yahoo's Literati. Fun! It's still gloomy out, but our friend Kevin has taken his 3 kids and our 3 kids to Spy Kids 2. Yippee!

We had lunch at Ruby Tuesday's, they changed their menu and I had a wonderful chicken white chili soup and the salad bar (and snacked from Kai's buffalo wings and Rick's crabcake, but those are "free" calories, right? ;)).

Then we went to Payless , as Katja still needed "regular" shoes (non-sneakers) for school and Saskia needed sneakers (always hard with her, as she only likes "dress" shoes). Both were found though, this time. Plus a cute little purse for Katja for personal stuff at school.

When it's so gloomy outside, it's often hard to think of things that make me happy, but here goes:
1. Playing games with my hubby

2. The homey feeling of a sleeping dog at my feet and a sleeping cat on the chair. And the clock ticking quietly. It's home!

3. The greenery outside, it's amazing how quickly nature rebounces and looks green again after some rain!

4. Our friends, I can't say enough just how special they are, especially for taking our 3 all at once, LOL!

5. The prospect of a sunny day in our very near future, at least we know this weather never lasts beyond a few days here!

While the rain is streaming down, hopefully putting a dent in the nasty drought we've been having, I thought I'd update here. Katja's orientation at middle school on Friday afternoon turned into a little bit of an adventure. We went with her and the 2 six year olds and went straight to her locker. She had bought a bunch of stuff to spruce it up (didn't know there was so much you could put in your schoollocker, all magnetic: mirror, picture frames, pen holder, toilet bag, shelves and more!). Everything fit well, but the door seemed a little hard to close when we were done. We checked if anything was in the way, but no, so we gave it a good push and shut it.

As we tried to open it again (Katja wanted to practice her combination), it wouldn't budge! We had Rick and a friend, who was there as well, pull on it, hit on it etc. But nothing. So Katja and Rick went to get help and came back with the principal (a very nice man, glad to have met him now) and his keys. He opened the locker up and we were all puzzled as to why it jammed. Finally we figured out, that one of the shelves was right at the height of the lock, which made it turn wrong somehow. So we moved it and problem solved, yay!

Katja had become quite nervous through all this and wanted to walk through her schedule (literally, from classroom to classroom) several times. This is a big school, compared to her elementary school (though not as big as other middle schools!) and her classes were then upstairs, then downstairs. Good exercise for them throughout the schoolday! Plus they have daily PE, great!

But the 2 six year olds were getting tired and one of them lost a tooth (Jill) and that was a major happening, of course. So I stayed with them, chatted with the vice principal, while Rick went with Katja to her classes. The little girls sat on the floor by the front door, wiggling each others teeth, very cute! It struck me what a world of difference 6 years makes: at 6 they're still so little and at 12 on the brink of adolescence. Sniff!!!

I finished Katja's book, "Forever" by Judy Blume. It *was* too old for her, but I still think it's good she read it. She had read it on Monday night and woke me up at 2:45, because her nose was stuffed up. I thought she might have a cold, but it turned out to be because she had been crying while reading the book.
The book discusses the first true love of a high school senior, including intercourse, in a fairly graphic way. This was not mentioned on the back of the book or in any way clear by looking at the book, by the way, before anyone thinks I don't check what she reads.

She insisted I read the book too, so I did and, as an adult, I liked it and recognized much from my first love (and the "natural" end to that love, because I found someone else). I hope to have a talk with Katja about it. One thing Judy Blume mentioned that I really liked and will keep in mind, is that her character's parents wanted her to bring her boyfriends to her house, instead of "parking". Not because they didn't trust the girl, but because of criminals preying on people who "park".
The book is definitely beyond a twelve year old's scope, but we'll keep it around for her to re-read in later years. Not that I think she'll be one to jump into it, so to say, but this book is a good deterrent for casual sex.

Yesterday I went to the gym and chatted with my friend Jeanne, those are the best workouts, when I have someone to talk to. Then I dropped Kai and Saskia at a friend's house and chatted there too and my dad came over for dinner and we chatted some more. So yesterday was an unfruitful chat day ;).

Now we need to fill in this rainy day, as sitting at home brings back memories of boring, rainy Sundays in Holland, yuck! Though strangely enough, because it happens so rarely here, the occasional rainy day is welcome.

Ok, I've figured out over the past 2 days that I'm not suited to be a child care provider in my home. I would go *nuts*! Saskia's little friend Jill has been here since early yesterday morning, as I wrote yesterday and the other kids have had non-stop friends here. No problem, everyone is entertained.

However, I've been stuck in and around the house for 2 days and all I can say is ARGH! The mess is getting to me, the house is getting to me, the bored children (which Saskia and Jill are now, after so many hours together) are getting to me! Whine! I'm just not used to being able to go anywhere. I think the fact that when I open a closet door, the contents come crashing out, doesn't help. But I've given myself until the 15th of September before I'll start tackling that problem. Too much going on before then (and really, once the closets are organized, they'll last 2 months tops, till Christmas at the most). I'm chanting Phyllis Diller's saying to myself all day: Cleaning the house while the kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing :). Plus I'm telling myself that I'd rather have messy closets and happy kids around, than a quiet house with perfect closets. This house is to live in, not a museum after all (ok, so that's the extent of the positive self speech, basically).

At least Christine came over to work out with me this morning, that was a welcome diversion.

Katja went to her orientation and came home all happy, so that went well and this afternoon we're going to the parent-student orientation. They are really good about helping the children weather the school transition, I have to say! They even gave a guide on "How to survive the first week in school", in it it stresses constantly how it's no problem if they're a little late for class the first few weeks as they're feeling their way around the school. Each "team" (there are 3 teams per grade) has their own counselor to whom they can turn for any questions, concerns or problems. It's all giving me a good feeling, also that the literature stresses that parents are welcome at any time of the day.

Things that made me happy (starting this up again!):
1. Having so many (7) kids truly enjoy our house and for 5 whole hours not utter a word of discord or discontent!
2. Having my friend Christine over for an equally long time and just utterly enjoying each other's company
3. Seeing my hubby buddy Rick again, how fun to be married to him!!!
4. Having something to occupy my thoughts on September 11th, it will make a big difference for me
5. Feeling much better about life again than I did a few days ago!

Today I woke up with a start at 8am, as I was "supposed" (self supposition ;)) to start working out at 9am (at home) in order to be done by 10, when Saskia's friend Jill was supposed to be here. Jill's mom and I saw at the same time that Saskia and Jill's summer camp was over after yesterday. Jill's mom works full time and I could tell she was in trouble as to what to do with Jill. So I on the spot offered to take care of her those 2 days. Jill is a super sweet little girl and Saskia loves to have a friend over, so we would both benefit. And so it came to be.

Around 10:20, when I had just finished my workout and was quite sweaty, Jill's mom dropped her off. I quickly showered then and Kai, Saskia, Jill and I (Katja was still in bed!) walked to the school for the open house. Today it felt like everywhere I went, I picked up an extra child ;). The open house was lots of fun, seeing people we hadn't seen all summer, meeting the teachers (who I knew already, but the kids didn't), both Kai and Saskia have very enthusiastic, fun teachers. I was thrilled to see I could chaperone a field trip for Kai's class on September 11th, as I'd been worrying about that day and how to avoid the constant media frenzy and worry about the next attack. Plus a good friend signed up as the other chaperone, so it'll be fun! They're going to a children's festival.

During the open house, Kai picked up a friend who came home with us and on the way home, Katja's friend Meghan went with us too. So I had 6 kids to feed lunch to, pizza time!

Around 2pm my friend Christine and her daughter came to visit and they just left after dinner around 8:30. I love being the drop in house where everyone just feels at home! Jill, Saskia's friend, told me this morning "Saskia's mom, your house is fun to play in". That's what I like to hear! It made my day :).

Rick is on his way home and tomorrow is the big middle school orientation. My house is a mess, but it's being lived in and enjoyed and that's all that counts, right?

Oh boy, where to start! In the beginning of this week (especially Sunday and Monday) I felt like all the family stress and tensions were finally getting to me, as I was waking up feeling sad and down, never a good start of a day. On Sunday I cleared it up by going to the gym and meeting all kinds of friends to talk to and that made me realize, just how many people I care about here.

On Monday Christine and I took a step class and that was great! I love step, because you have to concentrate the whole hour, otherwise you're either off beat or off step. Great way to not think of "life" for a bit.

Then I took Kai to get his school clothes. We first went to Target and I committed the cardinal sin of not letting him try his clothes on and the result of course was, that the pants were too small, so I'll have to return those. Then to Kids R Us, where he did try everything on and came away with 2 pair of pants and a bunch of shirts. Now we just have to search for more pants.

Rick left for beautiful :-P Montgomery, Alabama and had kind of a problem finding a hotel, as the one he had booked turned out to be an hour out of town! Now he's staying at a Days Inn closer in. He'll be home tomorrow night.

Yesterday I felt much better emotionally, why I don't know, weird how the mind works, but I'll take the positive side of me any day. I took a weights class and am sore as can be now, but it was fun.

Then I took Kai downtown to finally see the T-Rex 3D IMAX at the Natural History Museum. It was a really good movie! Not as scary as I'd feared from the picture.

After the movie, we visited the Giant Squid on exhibit in that museum. Scary creatures! It just amazes me every time though, we've been to that museum a zillion times and yet there are always things we haven't seen yet, the squids were one of those.

In the metro we had read that the American History Museum has a temporary exhibit called Inventions at Play and since Kai is such a budding scientist, I thought that might be fun to see too, so we went next door to the American History Museum. It's a wonderful exhibit! Interactive, learning about different inventors and how their way of playing got them to invent what they eventually were known for inventing. Kai loved it (so did I) and last night before bed he told me he wanted to become a paleontologist or an inventor :).

Last night the Fitzpatrick family came over for dinner as their "dad" was out of town as well, so the moms drank a nice glass of wine to the missed PTA meeting ;) and the kids played and we all had fun.

Today was the first super rainy day in months! Great for the vegetation and the water tables, but not good for entertainment value. When I got up this morning, my first discovery was Kai's frog and it's habitat on the floor in his room (and dead :(). The cats had had their way with it. Kai and I have now decided that his cat, Snickers, does not want Kai to have any other pets besides him ;).

After that disaster, I took Saskia to her last day at the summercamp at her school :(. She didn't seem upset about it, until this afternoon, when she saw her teacher assignment and new classmates at the new school (FWIW I love the teacher she's getting, so I'm thrilled and I'm sure just a day or so after starting, so will she be), when the tears suddenly came. Kai is in a class with a few of his friends and a very nice teacher, so happiness on his part.

Tonight, my dad came and we went to the nearby Japanese restaurant. Tomorrow night Rick will be home.

Yesterday my dad took Katja and Kai to a peach and apple orchard in the Shenandoah Valley. They had a blast! They found an orchard owned by a retired army sergeant, who showed them around, let them taste the fruits and they came home with a couple of bags full of wonderful fruit!

Then they went back home with my dad and worked on a toy log cabin with him. Katja did not want to stay there another night, as she was missing her cat Sushi, but Kai did.

I, meanwhile, got Saskia from summercamp and had a delicious school clothes shopping session with her. I have very girly girls, that's for sure and Saskia has a shoe fetish. So we got her 2 pairs of shoes, one with plateau heels and she's very proud of them. We also got some cute outfits, she has good taste! And then we got some Dippin' Dots and she bought a Diva Starz doll from her own saved money. A very nice shopping date with my youngest!

When we were done at the mall, we went to my dad's to pick Katja up. While we were there, Kai convinced Saskia to stay at my dad's as well. I was a little concerned at that, as the past few times she had stayed with my parents, she had cried in the night (and she was concerned about this herself). But the thrill of going to her favorite Mexican restaurant and a walk in the dark with Opa won out anyway. And she did great! Kai shook their bunk bed and kept her a little awake, but otherwise she slept till 8 am when my dad had to wake both of them up, because the cleaning ladies had arrived.

Meanwhile, we took our oldest out to dinner. Katja, Rick and I ate at a nice local restaurant. Katja has a great sense of humor, so we laughed a lot.

This morning, my dad dropped the younger two here around 11am. Christine called to say her daughter has strep, so keeping my fingers crossed my 3 won't get that, as they played with her on Wednesday night. She came over around noon and we went for a 1 hour and 40 minute walk, the weather was humid but nowhere near as hot as it has been.

When we came home, Katja was excited as she finally got her school papers and her supply list. So we went shopping for those, first at Target, which was just about empty and then on to Walmart, where we hit the jackpot, but also the bees' nest of people shopping! We took Katja's friend Meghan along and Saskia played with Meghan's sister in the meantime.

My dad came over for dinner and now we just watched Bedazzled, great movie! Bedtime! (as one of the cats is eating my toes!)

Wow, two days in a row, I'm getting good at this ;)! We had a nice evening with Christine and Chuck last night, despite their recent terrible losses (Chuck lost his mother and Christine her dad within 7 days). Rick and I got them dinner at Chicken Out and the kids enjoyed themselves and we had dinner and wine (I think I had a smidgeon too much, though!).

Rick disabled all the smokedetectors before we left, so we wouldn't be awakened by them again. I managed to call the manufacturer and the lady asked when was the last time I vacuumed the detectors. Huh? Who thinks of vacuuming their smoke detectors? Certainly not me! I'm not a good housekeeper anyway and that never crossed my mind. So, Rick vacuumed them today and put them back, hopefully they're fine now.

Last night though, we turned in late anyway, all of us, as we got home late and then Saskia had a nightmare around 4:30am and wanted to sleep in our bed (she always sleeps next to me on the floor in a sleeping bag). However, I have a special pillow to help the fibromyalgia pains and Rick likes to sleep on his back, so there is *very* little space in our queen sized bed (we're hoping to upgrade to a king soon). So, the moment Saskia entered the bed, sleep was impossible.

We did get up normal time, but I felt like a truck had run me over! Achy, muscles twitching, headache etc. So, after an hour up and feeding Kai and Saskia breakfast, I went back to bed for an hour and a half. Saskia decided she wanted to stay home from summercamp, fine with me, as I had no energy to take her there. Yuck!

They all played with neighborhood kids while I napped. When I got up, I managed a mini-workout of half an hour on the elliptical machine and then took a shower. Still not feeling much better (and annoyingly nauseous).

Katja got up around noon (it will be tough to get her on the very early middle school schedule next week!) and I made both of us some soup for l(br)unch.

Then Saskia was invited to go to the pool with our friends, thankfully, as she was getting restless. And Katja had an eye doctor appointment (her eyes got much worse in 6 months! Scary! According to the doctor that happens when they have a growth spurt. Katja has had it happen several times already).

Kai is into this strategy game from England, Warhammer 40000 and we went on a wild goose chase for a small game shop that sold just the pieces he needed to go on. The shop was manned by a very obese man in a wheelchair, somewhat grumpy. He was able to walk some with a cane and tapped the cost of Kai's purchase in with it. It was kind of an unusual experience, frankly, hard to describe in words. He had a tape playing which described in very graphic detail the killing of Mussolini. I wasn't particularly interested in hearing that, but the volume was up so loud, there was no choice. And he never turned it down to talk to us. Just an unsettling experience.

Tonight, Kai and Katja are staying with my dad and spending the day with him tomorrow. So we just have Saskia. Hopefully she won't be plagued by any nightmares tonight and we'll be able to sleep through as all 3 of us are exhausted!

I'm updating quickly, just before I'm off to the mall with Katja for a second round of school clothes shopping. The first round she did with her friend and I'm not too happy about her choices. They're cute, but way to skimpy for school. She has a voluptuous figure and is only 12, so I don't see the need for "sexy" clothes. Neither does she, necessarily, but she buys what looks nice, without thought of 14 year old hormonal boys. On the other hand, they're nice feminine clothes, so we'll keep them for non-school purposes. For school we'll have to find a nun habit ;) ;).

Kai is at the mall as we speak, as he was with me on Monday afternoon and we found out, that the Game Keeper holds role playing games for boys his age on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 12 to 5. In order to participate, he has to paint miniature fantasy figures and he's loving it. I'm very curious to see if he enjoyed playing the game too.

Yesterday afternoon, I took Katja, Kai and Meghan, Katja's friend to downtown DC. We took Metro and went to the Natural History museum. Our goal was to see the T-Rex IMAX, but we were just too late. So, we saw Everest instead. Wow, that was an impressive movie! I don't know how people can continually risk their lives scaling those mountains! The kids were also duly impressed and we chatted about it the whole way home. While they were doing the expedition for the film, one man died, whose wife was 7 months pregnant. If Rick went to climb a mountain when I was 7 months pregnant, I would be quite upset! It really must be in these people's blood.

Of course there is plenty to see at the Museum and we had an hour before the movie. But the Immersion Theater production "Sharks" was intreguing us, so we got tickets. It was fun! It's an interactive game about the food chain in the oceans. Educative for the kids too.

We also saw the Dinotopia exhibit. How the series was made and lots of drawings and paintings by James Gurney, the creator. I love his art! It's so bright and colorful and full of fantasy.

Of course we missed a lot, I'd like to see the Viking exhibit next and the El Nino one. I may just have to go without the kids one time, as we always seem to end up in the same places: gems, insects and dinosaurs.

It was clear the tourist season is over, as it was not crowded at all! When we were on our way home, all 4 of us agreed, that an outing to Washington always makes us feel as if we're on a mini vacation. It's such a special and beautiful city and it feels exciting just to walk along the mall and see the monuments, the Capitol and the White House.

Yesterday was Rick and my 14th anniversary too and though I'd already given him a much coveted divers watch and he me a beautiful bangle in Turks and Caicos, we still exchanged a small gift and I got a very romantic one: a music box of Sleeping Beauty and her prince dancing and it plays Tschaikovski's Sleeping Beauty, which was the music of our first dance at our wedding 14 years ago!

Katja watched her siblings and we went out to dinner in Georgetown, a very nice French restaurant, the food was delicious and the service perfect. Afterwards Rick parked at the Washington Monument and we strolled on the Mall under an almost full moon. Truly a romantic evening!

I put my story of our vacation in Turks and Caicos in a separate blog . And the pictures can be seen on my Webshots page, all the albums starting with "TCI". Yes, I did take *a lot* of pictures :).

Wow, what a nice and quiet weekend we're having! It's been a long time since that was the case! It's beautiful weather, hot, but not as humid as it has been (or so it seems, there is a heat advisory out every day though and the drought continues :().

Yesterday we slept late and then Saskia and I went to the pool. I swam 60 laps for my exercise (1500m) and then we played. It was wonderfully relaxing.

Then my dad came over and we had dinner at our neighbors' house, with much wine and Rick and Ross even had blue martini's! The kids played nicely and around ten were so tired we went home and straight to bed.

This morning same thing, long sleeping, McD's egg Mcmuffin breakfast (yum and only 290 calories ;)) and no exercise today for me. Strange how I can give myself the day off and then somehow feel like I'm cheating my body. I hope I won't get to regret it later on today, as I usually need the exercise to loosen up my muscles. But I did push ups, squats and sit ups to accomplish that a little.

Anyway, Rick just took the kids to Spykids 2 and I'm about to go to my dad's to see his new skylights in their house and I'll go and buy some cards to send to my friend Christine, who's having a very rough time right now.

Happiness is:

1. Having a purring cat lying against me while I'm typing this
2. Feeling so in love with my husband and kids I could hug them constantly
3. The sound of the cicada "concerts" outside
4. The prospect of entering a very hot car after being chilled here in the airconditioning
5. The sound of the clock ticking, signaling there is no loud cartoon music to drown it out!

We're baaaack!! Ok, we've been back since Monday night, but only now am I starting to feel like I'm returning to normal again. We had the most wonderful vacation, I'm working hard on a report and putting pictures online, what a dream it was!

These past few days have been spent unpacking, sweating (it's still superhot out! The air quality at least was "only" code Orange today, after several code Red days). It's good to be back. Seeing the monuments in Washington from the plane again made me feel so lucky to be allowed to live near to such a beautiful city! (Unfortunately, the pilot managed to have us all on the edge of our seat as his landing was downright strange and scary!).

Anyway, we're here, no more trips planned for the rest of the summer vacation (except for Rick) and the kids are bored already. Oh my!

Things that made me happy today:

1. Talking to my birthday boy nephew in Canada, he's 6 today!
2. Talking with 2 close friends and catching up with a third one
3. Having Kai sit close to me to read a book on reef fish
4. Receiving said book as a surprise present from Rick
5. Having dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant with the whole family and being so proud of them!

I just came in after cutting daisies in our yard, that had fallen over and I'm dripping with sweat, it's so hot! This is the third day with a heat advisory and heat indexes over 105. I love the heat though, except if I have to work outside in the yard, pfff!

Yesterday I ran around with Katja and Kai, as Katja woke up with a red eye. Her cousin had thrown a Barbie doll against it on Saturday and it didn't get any better. So off to the eye doctor we went. The good news was no infection, but trauma to the eye, so she can't wear her contacts again until the weekend.

That appointment was at 1:30 and at 2:30 K & K both had an orthodontist appointment about 15 miles away. Amazingly, we made it with 5 minutes to spare! The orthodontist had a good chuckle about my tattoo, thankfully I was able to rub it off after my shower today, it was growing old.

Then to several stores for books and sneakers and what have you.

Rick had a cook out with his co-workers, so I took the kids to Glory Days Grill for dinner. They have the best cheese fries and chicken wings! Ok, not healthy, but sometimes it's fun.

Today I had my hair done and ran around cleaning litter boxes and watering plants and doing laundry. Rick has taken the kids to the new Austin Powers movie, I don't care for it one bit, so a moment of solitude now is nice.

Then Rick and I are going out tonight as he heard today he is getting a promotion at work!!! The first one in about 6 years, so it's very, very exciting and a great affirmation of his hard work.

Tomorrow I'll spend packing up, as we're leaving first thing (*very* first thing, our flight is at 7am) for Beaches at Turks and Caicos. This is going to be the vacation of our lives, I'm so excited!! I can't wait to snorkel and swim in the beautiful Caribbean! Going to a resort like that is something I've dreamed of for years and it's finally happening! We'll be gone until the 12th of August, I doubt I'll have internet access there, but if I find a PC, I'll be sure to update my blog.

The sun is back!!! And how! We have a heat advisory going until Tuesday, meaning temperatures will be in the high 90's, pffff. This is definitely a hot summer so far.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday and my sister and brother in law arrived for a visit. My step nephew, who is Katja's age, is staying here for the night. And I got plenty of smiles out of my little 4 months old nephew. Saskia and I have decided we wouldn't mind keeping him, he's so adorable. And it was really sweet how soft and careful Saskia was with him. I can see very motherly traits in both my girls :).

Before we went to my parents, I took some pictures of the Swallowtail butterflies that visit our Buddleia bush. I got a really great one, to be seen in the "Nature Shots" album at http://community.webshots.com/user/petrarick.

I love seeing those butterflies, they're such a nature miracle. And I felt really bad, when one of them flew against my windshield on the way back from Virginia Beach.

Of course, there is plenty to feel happy about:

1. The singing of the crickets outside, such a summer sound!
2. My husband who just handed me my second cup of coffee
3. Waking up to a sunny, hot day and knowing it will be sunny and hot for several days to come (I still remember the rare hot days in Holland, invariably, the nice weather would be finished in a few days). This type of weather makes me feel so much better!
4. Seeing my sleepy 6 year old come down with her sleeping bag and cuddling up next to me
5. Watching the kittens chase a hornet for me, Snickers caught him

Yesterday was definitely the clean up day, blech! Loads of laundry, put everything back in its spot (only to be taken out again next week, but never mind that ;)). The weather has been gloomy and dreary and rather chilly (ok, I know that for those reading in Europe, 21 degrees celsius (70 F) is not chilly at all, but if you've been used to 30 degrees plus, it's a change!). This has made me feel achy and tired, so low energy too.

Anyway, to break the cleaning cycle a bit, Kai and I took Brynna for a walk with my friend Claudia, her kids and her dog. There is a new dog park nearby, with hoops, ramps and jumping bars for dogs. Very fun!

Rick got home around 10 pm and we stayed up too late, despite my feeling so tired. I know, I know, I should have gone earlier.

This morning, my brother called at 8. He's an early bird, that one and I was trying hard not to let on that he woke me up. I think he didn't notice this time. We had a nice chat, though.

Then personal training at the gym and a massage here, highly necessary! My mom came over for a diet Pepsi and a chat. And then Katja and I got our nails painted. I had promised her this at graduation and it finally happened. She has a cute design on her big toes. She thoroughly enjoyed the experience. And we got to watch "Legally blonde", which is truly a fun movie!

And now we're vegging. I'm about to go to bed, as I'm pooped. One can probably tell by my blogs how tired I am, as I have no humor in me when I'm feeling so exhausted. I hate this feeling too! I hope the weather turns warmer again soon!

Home again! Last night was a tough one. Christine fell asleep very early (ok, compared to midnight!) and the kids all went to bed nicely. So I read a bit and went to sleep. Around 3 am, I had to go to the bathroom and Kai was tossing and turning. I asked him what the problem was and he answered he was cold (very good air conditioning at that hotel!) and didn't have enough covers (his sleeping bad is getting too small). So I gave him my covers (I still had my blanket, but that was kind of thin). Then I kept hearing this thumping and clicking and first I thought it was Katja, but she was fast asleep. Kai too. Then it dawned on me: it was the hermit crabs moving about. So, not able to sleep with that noise, I put the cages in the bathroom.

At 7:45 I woke up. Christine was all packed and ready by that point. My problem is, I wake up in the middle of the night and then I'm tired by the time morning rolls around. I finished up packing and cleaning and we went down for breakfast in the seaside restaurant next door.

I ordered poached eggs and a pancake and everyone else got their order in. Then the waitress alerted us to dolphins playing right off the coast! The kids (and Christine and I) got a great show of dolphins really nearby!! It was so cool!

After breakfast, we quickly loaded up the car and got on our way to Yorktown. We didn't see the camp this time, but had a nice walk through the historical town and one of the houses, where a character actor told the kids all about being a doctor at the time of the Yorktown battle. Very nice!

I wanted to go to the camp as well, but the kids were hungry and we didn't want to risk another meltdown. So, after a stop at the Whitley peanut factory, where I got peanuts, hot sauces, mustard and pretzels etc., we got on the road home.

It took us about 3 1/2 hours from Yorktown, via route 17. A beautiful, very little traveled road. Pretty green woods, large cornfields and quaint towns on the way to I-95. We encountered no traffic the whole way. At 5:30 we rolled into our street.

The kids were happy to see their friends again, Saskia and Mallory immediately ransacked Saskia's room (not too badly though) and Christine and I had a glass of wine and ordered pizza for the bunch. After dinner, we said goodbye to Christine and Mallory and I put in a load of laundry, which is now almost finished. What a wonderful trip we had and what a great way to spend the time our husbands are away from us. This will truly be one of those trips with many happy memories and something that really strengthened the friendship between Christine and me.