This weekend it was *finally* warmer! Yesterday, it even got to be 61 degrees, before another arctic front swept in and made it freezingly cold again today (it's 35 degrees as we speak, brrrr!!!!).
On Saturday, Katja and I went to work out together and then went into the hot tub. It was fun to go with my daughter, I can't believe she's almost 13! Rick jokingly said "I'm shopping for a cane" this weekend, but really it does feel so old! (ok, I know everything is relative ;))
In the afternoon, I engraved a glass for Rick. It's the first one I've done in many years. I used to engrave them for everyone and on commission. But they hurt my fingers, so I can't do it as well anymore. What I do is write the first name in calligraphy, scratch it in the glass and then draw flowers or grasses or vines on it (depending on the type of glass). It's a very satisfying hobby as the result is always very unique. I just wish I could produce more!
Yesterday, after working out, I went to Michael's, to get some spring stuff for the house and supplies to make a door decoration. I like to make new ones every season, the Valentines ones were outdated and now I have cute Easter ones hanging. To cheer up the house a bit, I got some Easter accents as well: eggs with designs on them, yellow and orange candles and a huge pluche duck who hangs over the back of one chair. Rick declared that the duck doesn't do anything for him ;).
Today, I first went to work out with Christine, all the way in Centreville, but traffic on Mondays is so bad she would take forever to get to my neck of the woods. Then I rushed to Fresh Fields, where I love to shop, as they have so many good things and many tastings too.
I was back just in time to get the kids from school and pick up a friend's little girl. My friend just lost a baby after a 20 week pregnancy and my heart just aches so much for her! Saskia and her little girl played very well together and I just took her back home and stayed to talk. I'm glad we have such a great community, she's getting help everywhere and for weeks on end people have signed up to bring them meals.
Ironically, tonight, I have to go to a baby shower for my neighbor. Life goes on.
Thursday, March 06, 2003
Oh, dear! I went almost a month without writing! Oh well, sometimes a break is good, makes everything new and exciting again. To recount a whole month would take way too long, but the highlights were a major snowstorm on President's Day Weekend, of which we still have mountains left along the roads. I can't remember a time we had snow so often during the winter *and* it stayed cold enough for the snow to stick around. We missed another round of snow narrowly today, thankfully, it was warm enough to be rain, but New York got snow.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Oh, dear! I went almost a month without writing! Oh well, sometimes a break is good, makes everything new and exciting again. To recount a whole month would take way too long, but the highlights were a major snowstorm on President's Day Weekend, of which we still have mountains left along the roads. I can't remember a time we had snow so often during the winter *and* it stayed cold enough for the snow to stick around. We missed another round of snow narrowly today, thankfully, it was warm enough to be rain, but New York got snow.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Oh, dear! I went almost a month without writing! Oh well, sometimes a break is good, makes everything new and exciting again. To recount a whole month would take way too long, but the highlights were a major snowstorm on President's Day Weekend, of which we still have mountains left along the roads. I can't remember a time we had snow so often during the winter *and* it stayed cold enough for the snow to stick around. We missed another round of snow narrowly today, thankfully, it was warm enough to be rain, but New York got snow.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Oh, dear! I went almost a month without writing! Oh well, sometimes a break is good, makes everything new and exciting again. To recount a whole month would take way too long, but the highlights were a major snowstorm on President's Day Weekend, of which we still have mountains left along the roads. I can't remember a time we had snow so often during the winter *and* it stayed cold enough for the snow to stick around. We missed another round of snow narrowly today, thankfully, it was warm enough to be rain, but New York got snow.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Yesterday the temperature reached all the way to 60 degrees (16 degrees for the metric users), a taste of spring and then it was sooooo hard to go back to the 36 degrees it is currently (about 3 degrees Celsius) at 3:50pm. Sniff!!!! When that groundhog raced back into his hole because he saw his shadow, he wasn't kidding! Six more weeks of winter is coming to pass so far. I long for fresh green trees, blossoms and bulbs, color! Also because of the way I've been feeling thanks to this bone chilling winter.
But, I have to be honest, I do like the snow while it's falling and just after. It's so pretty and kind of exciting.
This past weekend we went to Hidden Valley, Pennsylvania , where we skied in the fog and snow, but it will always be a very special place to me as I took ski lessons for downhill for the first time in my life!
This week has been busy with something going on every afternoon. Today was fun, though. First a workout, then getting our nails done (yes, I have fallen for that, I really like having well groomed nails instead of the bitten off stumps I used to have). And then we (Christine, Carol and I) went to lunch at the Reston Town Center, at Paolo's.
Carol and I both have almost 13 year old girls and she had watched Dr. Phil (who I never watch, I have to admit, but apparently I miss something major then) yesterday. He had been talking about oral sex and teens and how that apparently is such an epidemic these days. Yuck, I really don't like having a teen in this day and age. The kids and I do talk about these things regularly, so hopefully that'll keep the lines of communication open. Katja is pretty down to earth, though, always has been, that makes me feel a little better. She is however already coming into contact now with things I didn't even know about until I went to college. Kids are much less sheltered from the world now, I find. Or it must just be the difference between where I grew up (small village in Holland not much going on) and where she is (large suburb in the US near a major city), though I don't think that's what it is.
Next week Friday is Katja's birthday and she still wants a party, so I guess I'd better start looking for ideas. What does one do with 13 year old girls?
Back to the weather, please request some sunshine for our area. It will make me feel much better! I hope to not neglect this blog so much anymore, but then that's what I wrote the last time.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
The skiing trip was WONDERFUL! I'll start with that, as the rest of the week has been *very* stressful for me :(.
On Friday, we left around 12noon. The kids were off from school, as it had snowed 7 inches overnight and now they have to make up a snow day on the 17th, President's Day. Fine with me, because this played well into our hands.
On the way to West Virginia, we realized that Saskia gets carsick when driving through mountainous terrain. After about an hour or two she started to complain about nausea and it got worse and worse. So we stopped, got Dramamine and gave her that. That made it a longer drive and when we finally arrived at the last mountain pass before our resort, the weather had gotten quite bad! It was snowing hard and the visibility was minimal.
Our resort was a left turn off a downhill road and Rick couldn't make the turn and had to turn around and go up the hill. That's the first indication we got that our tires didn't have much traction, as the van should have easily pulled up the hill and it didn't. But around 4pm we pulled in front of our cabin. Our friends had already arrived in the cabin next door.
The cabins were very cozy, with all wooden walls and a fireplace and a loft area with a bunk bed for the kids and a bedroom with a queen size for the adults. Very comfortable! The view was gorgeous too and there was a ton of snow, walls higher than ourselves!
That night it was really windy and it snowed hard and we felt like going to a cozy restaurant. So we piled in the cars and first checked out the ski resort, Canaan Valley, where we'd be going the next day and then stopped at the Deerfield restaurant. We had a wonderful (though slow service!) dinner there.
On the way out of the parking lot, Rick managed to drive one wheel of our car in a ditch. Luckily, a big truck came by and had a pulling cable and pulled us right out. We'd had enough of driving then and spent the rest of the evening watching movies and socializing in Chuck and Christine's cabin.
The following morning, the kids were supposed to be in ski school between 8 and 8:30. So we got up around 7, ate breakfast and got ready. Chuck and Rick were going to take them in our van and Christine and I were going to take their 4 wheel drive to another resort, that offered cross country skiing. But after trying for about a half an hour to get up the hill in front of our cabin on a very slippery road, Rick gave up and Chuck took the 4 wheel drive with all 4 kids to get them signed in at the ski school (this was the first time skiing for all 4 and they were very excited). He was then supposed to come back for us.
Not 5 minutes after he left, the resort people put down rocks on the slippery road and Rick was able to get the van up the road. So we drove to Canaan Valley to meet up with Chuck. We saw a part of the kids' lessons and then Christine and I took off for Whitegrass to go cross country skiing and have lunch and Chuck and Rick hit the downhill slopes at Canaan Valley.
Christine and I had a great time. We took a little lesson in cross country skiing, as neither of us had done it for years! I was glad we did, as there were quite a few hills and I wouldn't have known how to get up them without the lesson. We skied for about 2 hours in the most beautiful scenery! Then we had a very nice lunch at the very interesting little cafe there. Spinach, barley and mushroom soup, yum!
When we were done there, we drove around a bit, she allowed me to take my pictures I was itching to take and we went to check out some of the other resorts around for future trips. This is not a developed area yet and the valley was very full with deer. So when we drove along, we saw herds of them grazing along the road. They were not afraid of people at all, didn't run away and some even walked right up to our car. It was clear they sometimes get fed by the passersby.
At around 2pm we returned to the Canaan Valley Resort and went in search for our families. The first thing we saw were two very ably skiing girls, who, on further investigation turned out to be Katja and Saskia. It is so fun to see just how much they learned in one day! Katja was helping the instructor's teach, that's how well she did and Kai (who we met later) had gone down an intermediate slope already.
But the moment we saw Katja she exclaimed that Mallory had gotten hurt and that she was in first aid and that Katja was getting Mallory's shoes. This scared Christine of course, so off to the first aid we went. We had heard from another instructor, that it wasn't anything serious, but that a snowboarder had run into her and her hip was hurt. It turned out to be just a bruise, thankfully, but Mallory's ski's had been returned already and she wanted to go back out. So we decided to try tubing, to appease her and Saskia, who was also done skiing. Unfortunately, the tubing was sold out, so we had some very disappointed girls.
Since Rick still wanted to take Katja and Kai to the intermediate slope, Christine, Chuck and I took the little ones with us to look at the deer. That did it for them! They loved that, especially when a deer came within touching distance of Mallory's window.
When the others were done skiing, we went back to the cabins and ordered some take out Italian food. We were in no mood to again sit in a restaurant for 2 hours and this gave us a chance to watch some of the movies we had brought.
On Sunday morning, we cleaned up and washed the bedding and then took off to do some tubing. The previous day had been gorgeous blue sky weather, though very cold, but on Sunday it was snowing again. And the wind blew hard! The tubing was a lot of fun though, even little Saskia happily slid down the mountain on her little orange tube.
We did that for 2 hours and then had lunch and said our goodbyes. Our friends left for home and we went back to the cabin, since we had borrowed it from friends, to clean up some more. Around 3 we left for home and were home much quicker than we got there.
On Monday, Rick left for Seattle again and the kids and I went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We had such a great time, laughing and giggling all the way, I was really enjoying them, thinking how much fun it is they're getting a little older now.
Yesterday, guidelines about how to prepare ourselves in case of a chemical or biological came out and included taping up our windows with plastic and duct tape. Well, I found some rolls of paint tarp and cut those up and some rolls of duct tape. I also ordered some of the stuff they recommend and water. I figure that's all I can do, but it makes me feel better to know I did it.
Today, I went to the gym and then had to do something totally for me, so I got my nails done. Nice and frivolous ;).
Now I have candles burning and the fireplace on, as it's another cold night. Chuck and Christine are coming to keep us company on this last night (hopefully) without Rick. Off to get things ready for dinner.
On Friday, we left around 12noon. The kids were off from school, as it had snowed 7 inches overnight and now they have to make up a snow day on the 17th, President's Day. Fine with me, because this played well into our hands.
On the way to West Virginia, we realized that Saskia gets carsick when driving through mountainous terrain. After about an hour or two she started to complain about nausea and it got worse and worse. So we stopped, got Dramamine and gave her that. That made it a longer drive and when we finally arrived at the last mountain pass before our resort, the weather had gotten quite bad! It was snowing hard and the visibility was minimal.
Our resort was a left turn off a downhill road and Rick couldn't make the turn and had to turn around and go up the hill. That's the first indication we got that our tires didn't have much traction, as the van should have easily pulled up the hill and it didn't. But around 4pm we pulled in front of our cabin. Our friends had already arrived in the cabin next door.
The cabins were very cozy, with all wooden walls and a fireplace and a loft area with a bunk bed for the kids and a bedroom with a queen size for the adults. Very comfortable! The view was gorgeous too and there was a ton of snow, walls higher than ourselves!
That night it was really windy and it snowed hard and we felt like going to a cozy restaurant. So we piled in the cars and first checked out the ski resort, Canaan Valley, where we'd be going the next day and then stopped at the Deerfield restaurant. We had a wonderful (though slow service!) dinner there.
On the way out of the parking lot, Rick managed to drive one wheel of our car in a ditch. Luckily, a big truck came by and had a pulling cable and pulled us right out. We'd had enough of driving then and spent the rest of the evening watching movies and socializing in Chuck and Christine's cabin.
The following morning, the kids were supposed to be in ski school between 8 and 8:30. So we got up around 7, ate breakfast and got ready. Chuck and Rick were going to take them in our van and Christine and I were going to take their 4 wheel drive to another resort, that offered cross country skiing. But after trying for about a half an hour to get up the hill in front of our cabin on a very slippery road, Rick gave up and Chuck took the 4 wheel drive with all 4 kids to get them signed in at the ski school (this was the first time skiing for all 4 and they were very excited). He was then supposed to come back for us.
Not 5 minutes after he left, the resort people put down rocks on the slippery road and Rick was able to get the van up the road. So we drove to Canaan Valley to meet up with Chuck. We saw a part of the kids' lessons and then Christine and I took off for Whitegrass to go cross country skiing and have lunch and Chuck and Rick hit the downhill slopes at Canaan Valley.
Christine and I had a great time. We took a little lesson in cross country skiing, as neither of us had done it for years! I was glad we did, as there were quite a few hills and I wouldn't have known how to get up them without the lesson. We skied for about 2 hours in the most beautiful scenery! Then we had a very nice lunch at the very interesting little cafe there. Spinach, barley and mushroom soup, yum!
When we were done there, we drove around a bit, she allowed me to take my pictures I was itching to take and we went to check out some of the other resorts around for future trips. This is not a developed area yet and the valley was very full with deer. So when we drove along, we saw herds of them grazing along the road. They were not afraid of people at all, didn't run away and some even walked right up to our car. It was clear they sometimes get fed by the passersby.
At around 2pm we returned to the Canaan Valley Resort and went in search for our families. The first thing we saw were two very ably skiing girls, who, on further investigation turned out to be Katja and Saskia. It is so fun to see just how much they learned in one day! Katja was helping the instructor's teach, that's how well she did and Kai (who we met later) had gone down an intermediate slope already.
But the moment we saw Katja she exclaimed that Mallory had gotten hurt and that she was in first aid and that Katja was getting Mallory's shoes. This scared Christine of course, so off to the first aid we went. We had heard from another instructor, that it wasn't anything serious, but that a snowboarder had run into her and her hip was hurt. It turned out to be just a bruise, thankfully, but Mallory's ski's had been returned already and she wanted to go back out. So we decided to try tubing, to appease her and Saskia, who was also done skiing. Unfortunately, the tubing was sold out, so we had some very disappointed girls.
Since Rick still wanted to take Katja and Kai to the intermediate slope, Christine, Chuck and I took the little ones with us to look at the deer. That did it for them! They loved that, especially when a deer came within touching distance of Mallory's window.
When the others were done skiing, we went back to the cabins and ordered some take out Italian food. We were in no mood to again sit in a restaurant for 2 hours and this gave us a chance to watch some of the movies we had brought.
On Sunday morning, we cleaned up and washed the bedding and then took off to do some tubing. The previous day had been gorgeous blue sky weather, though very cold, but on Sunday it was snowing again. And the wind blew hard! The tubing was a lot of fun though, even little Saskia happily slid down the mountain on her little orange tube.
We did that for 2 hours and then had lunch and said our goodbyes. Our friends left for home and we went back to the cabin, since we had borrowed it from friends, to clean up some more. Around 3 we left for home and were home much quicker than we got there.
On Monday, Rick left for Seattle again and the kids and I went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We had such a great time, laughing and giggling all the way, I was really enjoying them, thinking how much fun it is they're getting a little older now.
Yesterday, guidelines about how to prepare ourselves in case of a chemical or biological came out and included taping up our windows with plastic and duct tape. Well, I found some rolls of paint tarp and cut those up and some rolls of duct tape. I also ordered some of the stuff they recommend and water. I figure that's all I can do, but it makes me feel better to know I did it.
Today, I went to the gym and then had to do something totally for me, so I got my nails done. Nice and frivolous ;).
Now I have candles burning and the fireplace on, as it's another cold night. Chuck and Christine are coming to keep us company on this last night (hopefully) without Rick. Off to get things ready for dinner.
Thursday, February 06, 2003
Well, Katja has been sick all week! She's finally getting better, just in time to go skiing tomorrow (well, actually, we're driving to West Virginia tomorrow and go skiing on Saturday).
This is our first ski trip in years! I can't believe how bulky all the stuff is, ski bibs, ski jackets, fleece tops! It's going to be quite cold, in the low 20's during the day (between -5 and -10 for the Europeans) and much colder at night.
We're going to the cabin of friends and Christine and Chuck are renting the cabin next door to ours. We're bringing lots of snacks and hot chocolate and movies to watch in the evening. We'll be there for 2 nights.
Christine and I are planning on trying snowshoeing, the kids are going in a day camp with lessons and the guys are going downhill skiing. Then we'll all meet back up to do some tubing.
We're expected 4-6 inches of snow here tomorrow, so we'll have to drive through the snow, which I'm not thrilled about.
This is our first ski trip in years! I can't believe how bulky all the stuff is, ski bibs, ski jackets, fleece tops! It's going to be quite cold, in the low 20's during the day (between -5 and -10 for the Europeans) and much colder at night.
We're going to the cabin of friends and Christine and Chuck are renting the cabin next door to ours. We're bringing lots of snacks and hot chocolate and movies to watch in the evening. We'll be there for 2 nights.
Christine and I are planning on trying snowshoeing, the kids are going in a day camp with lessons and the guys are going downhill skiing. Then we'll all meet back up to do some tubing.
We're expected 4-6 inches of snow here tomorrow, so we'll have to drive through the snow, which I'm not thrilled about.
Thursday, January 30, 2003
Today was a day off for the kids and Rick was out of town again last night. So I emailed my friends Christine and Jeanne, whose husbands I knew were also traveling and suggested a "poor lonely wives club" night for last night. It turned out to be so much fun! Christine and Mallory came to spend the night and Jeanne came for dinner with her boys.
All the kids played and played and we had some nice wine. Then my neighbor Lorraine called and we invited her over. We ordered Greek food and just chatted and chatted. Before the food came, my friend Mary called that she wanted to bring by the Longaberger catalog for me to look at, since I can't make it to her party on the 9th.
So, she came over and of course had some wine with us. Before we knew it, it was past 10pm and Jeanne and Mary left. Lorraine stayed longer and the kids just stayed up, bad mommies that we were!
After Lorraine left, Christine, the girls and I watched Celebrity Mole (with Frederique van der Wal, the Dutch model, who I'm sure is the Mole!). Christine fell asleep in mid-sentence, I've never seen anyone do that! So I got the girls settled, who still were not asleep and then went to bed myself.
This morning, we put Mallory and Saskia in the bath together and they stayed long enough for Christine and me to work out.
After lunch, Christine and Mallory left and I took my kids and 2 friends to the Kangaroo Jack movie. Just the right thing to go to on a cold, snowy afternoon! It got bad reviews, but I loved it for the light comedy that it is and so did the kids.
All the kids played and played and we had some nice wine. Then my neighbor Lorraine called and we invited her over. We ordered Greek food and just chatted and chatted. Before the food came, my friend Mary called that she wanted to bring by the Longaberger catalog for me to look at, since I can't make it to her party on the 9th.
So, she came over and of course had some wine with us. Before we knew it, it was past 10pm and Jeanne and Mary left. Lorraine stayed longer and the kids just stayed up, bad mommies that we were!
After Lorraine left, Christine, the girls and I watched Celebrity Mole (with Frederique van der Wal, the Dutch model, who I'm sure is the Mole!). Christine fell asleep in mid-sentence, I've never seen anyone do that! So I got the girls settled, who still were not asleep and then went to bed myself.
This morning, we put Mallory and Saskia in the bath together and they stayed long enough for Christine and me to work out.
After lunch, Christine and Mallory left and I took my kids and 2 friends to the Kangaroo Jack movie. Just the right thing to go to on a cold, snowy afternoon! It got bad reviews, but I loved it for the light comedy that it is and so did the kids.
Friday, January 24, 2003
Hey, look at that! I'm back already, only one day later. I'm waiting for Rick to come home, I feel like a puppy waiting for its master. I'm tracking his flight progress on the Trip.com website. They have a flight tracker with graphics, you can see how fast the plane is flying, what the altitude is and where in the country they are. He's currently flying over South Dakota, about to enter Minnesota. It's 6pm and he's due to arrive in 2 hours exactly.
This morning I allowed Katja to miss her first hour of school. The wind chill (for those outside of the US and Canada, that's the outside temperature the way it feels when you factor in the windspeed) factor was 0 to -5 (-15 or so Celsius) and I didn't want her to have to stand in that windy cold waiting for her bus. Plus it was nice to not have to get up at 6am for one morning!
After I took all 3 kids to school, I quickly did a 45 minute workout upstairs. I talked on the phone with my sister in the meantime, so that made the time go much faster. I love talking on the phone during my workouts, the people I usually talk are already aware they may get a panting me on the phone and they know it's not because of them ;).
Then I had to pick Saskia up for her final dental appointment. The poor girl had 8 cavities and today the last few got filled. She went to a pediatric dentist, who is great with the kids. She wasn't even nervous by now and already knew she was going to choose a strawberry "nose" (the nose they put on her to administer the nitrous oxide gas). She did have some pain during the procedure this time, so we went to McDonald's for lunch and then to the mall for her to select some goodies.
She was quite aware that I was feeling sorry for her little pale face with the fat feeling lip, so I would say yes to many things she asked and she milked it for what it was worth ;). She didn't last long, though, all the medication made her feel queasy. So we went home and I finished the household chores, while she quietly played on the computer.
After school, three kids came to play, one of whom is staying for dinner. I haven't decided what to get yet. Katja and I are watching "Exotic Islands" on the Travel Channel right now, with the fireplace on and candles burning. It's a cozy atmosphere, the only thing missing is Rick, who is now over Iowa!
This morning I allowed Katja to miss her first hour of school. The wind chill (for those outside of the US and Canada, that's the outside temperature the way it feels when you factor in the windspeed) factor was 0 to -5 (-15 or so Celsius) and I didn't want her to have to stand in that windy cold waiting for her bus. Plus it was nice to not have to get up at 6am for one morning!
After I took all 3 kids to school, I quickly did a 45 minute workout upstairs. I talked on the phone with my sister in the meantime, so that made the time go much faster. I love talking on the phone during my workouts, the people I usually talk are already aware they may get a panting me on the phone and they know it's not because of them ;).
Then I had to pick Saskia up for her final dental appointment. The poor girl had 8 cavities and today the last few got filled. She went to a pediatric dentist, who is great with the kids. She wasn't even nervous by now and already knew she was going to choose a strawberry "nose" (the nose they put on her to administer the nitrous oxide gas). She did have some pain during the procedure this time, so we went to McDonald's for lunch and then to the mall for her to select some goodies.
She was quite aware that I was feeling sorry for her little pale face with the fat feeling lip, so I would say yes to many things she asked and she milked it for what it was worth ;). She didn't last long, though, all the medication made her feel queasy. So we went home and I finished the household chores, while she quietly played on the computer.
After school, three kids came to play, one of whom is staying for dinner. I haven't decided what to get yet. Katja and I are watching "Exotic Islands" on the Travel Channel right now, with the fireplace on and candles burning. It's a cozy atmosphere, the only thing missing is Rick, who is now over Iowa!
Thursday, January 23, 2003
Argh! I'm really neglecting my blog :(. Every night I think about it, but I'm too exhausted to get anything coherent out of my fingers. It's been a roller coaster these past few weeks! Today I even forgot what day of the week it was, I've been so busy!
I guess I'll start on Saturday as last week is all a blur and I completely forget what happened! On Saturday, the whole family went to watch Katja play basketball. It's her very first season ever and it's hard for her, as her teammates have mostly played for years. But she's doing well and ignoring the nasty comments of one of her teammates about how she "sucks". Well, Saturday she made a basket! And the teaser didn't. So there ;). It was fun to watch her, it was her 4th game and I hadn't be able to go to the others, because of commitments the other kids had.
After the game, we decided to get something to drink at 7 Eleven (Rick's favorite store, I'm not too fond of it). Everyone left the car, but I guess Rick expected me to stay in and I expected him to take the key out of the ignition. So I locked the door as I got out, not realizing the car was still running! Boom, all doors locked and we were locked out in the freezing cold. Then I heard from the parking lot: "Petra, do you have a problem?". It turned out to be our neighbor across the street, Linda! She was able to give me a ride home to get the spare key and drop me back off. How's that for divine intervention??
That night, we went to Christine's 40th birthday party which was a lot of fun. There were about 25 adults and 11 kids and everyone had a great time! Some a little too great, but thankfully those were neighbors and they could just walk home.
On Sunday, Rick took Saskia to a swimming pool birthday party, while I went to workout. We met back at home just long enough to say goodbye, as I had to take Katja to her tutoring session and he had to take off for the airport to go to Seattle, where he'll be until late tomorrow night.
To not be alone that night, the kids and I went to eat pizza at our neighbors two doors down, which was a nice way to spend an otherwise blah Sunday night as we're all always a little down after Rick leaves for the week.
Monday was Martin Luther King's birthday, so the kids were off from school. Christine and Mallory came over and we worked out upstairs. Then we got the kids ready and went swimming at the gym. It was a relaxing afternoon and just the right way to spend a day off from school. For dinner we ordered Chinese, one of our traditions when Dad is out (I have given up on cooking then, as no one will eat what I fix and it frustrates me more than it's worth). We have a very good Chinese restaurant that delivers, no MSG, only natural ingredients and generally very low fat. Rick does not like Chinese food, hence the tradition when he's out of town.
Katja reached a major milestone on Tuesday, as her braces came off! She has gorgeous white teeth now, very straight, it's really an amazing difference! Now she gets to watch Kai and Saskia go through the same experience. Too bad none of them inherited Rick's naturally straight teeth!
We celebrated by getting a manicure, so Katja looks sophisticated all the way :).
After Saskia's skating lesson, we went to eat at Glory Days Grill. I'm not thrilled about their food, but the kids love it, as they have special drinks (basically seven up with food coloring and toy in it) and they like their cheese fries (so do I, and I can't resist the temptation, so the calorie count for the day was out the window!).
Yesterday, I quickly worked out at home and then Denise and I went downtown Washington by Metro to go see the Edouard Vuillard exhibit at the National Gallery of Art.
It was a huge exhibit and he was such a versatile artist, even a photographer, so you got a fun glimpse of what his life was like. Very interesting. We had a nice lunch at the cafe in the museum afterwards.
Then we had some time leftover and decided to brave the windy freezing weather to walk to the American History museum to get a look at Julia Child's kitchen. We had to work our way through a huge Pro Life demonstration that had gathered on the street in front of the museums. Denise and I are both quite Pro Choice, so we were a little uncomfortable among so many unlikeminded people. But the march was peaceful, so we made it into the American History in one piece.
The kitchen is fun to see, I wish I had a well equipped kitchen like that, though I have to admit, I can hardly be called a cook, let alone a chef ;).
We made it back just in time to get the kids from school and it was a fun outing! At 5pm my dad came to get us to go and eat Gourmet at his house. This is something that's popular in Holland, but that I've never seen here. It's kind of like fondue, in that you cook your own meal at the table. Except you don't fry in oil or cook in bouillon, but you grill and broil. It was very good and the kids loved it too, so my dad's going to do it with them again on Valentine's Day when they're coming to stay with him.
Today was a very emotional day, though thankfully they're good emotions now. My friend C. who's been going through a very difficult divorce had to appear for a custody hearing this morning. Her ex was trying to get 50% custody (he wanted full at first, but I guess he figured that wouldn't be feasible *at all*) by trying to prove her an unfit mother. The nasty and very difficult part is, that *her* parents and sister are in *his* camp (long history of bad relationships). So her lawyers had her call all her friends to testify for her, as we could all be great characterwitnesses for her, as she truly is one of the most caring mothers I know.
Luckily, the sheer number of friends she was able to get together apparently scared her ex off and they came to a settlement without even entering the court room, he'll have the kids Wednesday nights and some weekends. Until April 1st, when the final hearing will be and I might be called up again. So, relief in our camp, as her ex is a real piece of work and so are her parents and sister! The tension was palpable and it's such a weird situation, I'm very happy for her to have such a strong and caring group of friends!
I do too, because my friends Christine, Chuck and Mallory are coming over tonight with dinner, because she knew it would be a hard day, not only because of the court case, but I haven't been able to exercise and the weather is so cold (18 degrees with wind chills in the single digits) that all my muscles are playing up :(. Thank goodness for great friendships! I'm celebrating friendships today, they truly are the family you *choose*!
Tomorrow, Saskia has to go for (hopefully her final) dental fillings again. She's become a real trooper about it, already knows what flavor nitrous oxide mask she'll choose this time.
I do know that I'll hug Rick all night on Friday night! I truly do not know how single parents do it! But I guess one always adapts to one's situation. I'm hoping to be more faithful to my blog again from now on!
I guess I'll start on Saturday as last week is all a blur and I completely forget what happened! On Saturday, the whole family went to watch Katja play basketball. It's her very first season ever and it's hard for her, as her teammates have mostly played for years. But she's doing well and ignoring the nasty comments of one of her teammates about how she "sucks". Well, Saturday she made a basket! And the teaser didn't. So there ;). It was fun to watch her, it was her 4th game and I hadn't be able to go to the others, because of commitments the other kids had.
After the game, we decided to get something to drink at 7 Eleven (Rick's favorite store, I'm not too fond of it). Everyone left the car, but I guess Rick expected me to stay in and I expected him to take the key out of the ignition. So I locked the door as I got out, not realizing the car was still running! Boom, all doors locked and we were locked out in the freezing cold. Then I heard from the parking lot: "Petra, do you have a problem?". It turned out to be our neighbor across the street, Linda! She was able to give me a ride home to get the spare key and drop me back off. How's that for divine intervention??
That night, we went to Christine's 40th birthday party which was a lot of fun. There were about 25 adults and 11 kids and everyone had a great time! Some a little too great, but thankfully those were neighbors and they could just walk home.
On Sunday, Rick took Saskia to a swimming pool birthday party, while I went to workout. We met back at home just long enough to say goodbye, as I had to take Katja to her tutoring session and he had to take off for the airport to go to Seattle, where he'll be until late tomorrow night.
To not be alone that night, the kids and I went to eat pizza at our neighbors two doors down, which was a nice way to spend an otherwise blah Sunday night as we're all always a little down after Rick leaves for the week.
Monday was Martin Luther King's birthday, so the kids were off from school. Christine and Mallory came over and we worked out upstairs. Then we got the kids ready and went swimming at the gym. It was a relaxing afternoon and just the right way to spend a day off from school. For dinner we ordered Chinese, one of our traditions when Dad is out (I have given up on cooking then, as no one will eat what I fix and it frustrates me more than it's worth). We have a very good Chinese restaurant that delivers, no MSG, only natural ingredients and generally very low fat. Rick does not like Chinese food, hence the tradition when he's out of town.
Katja reached a major milestone on Tuesday, as her braces came off! She has gorgeous white teeth now, very straight, it's really an amazing difference! Now she gets to watch Kai and Saskia go through the same experience. Too bad none of them inherited Rick's naturally straight teeth!
We celebrated by getting a manicure, so Katja looks sophisticated all the way :).
After Saskia's skating lesson, we went to eat at Glory Days Grill. I'm not thrilled about their food, but the kids love it, as they have special drinks (basically seven up with food coloring and toy in it) and they like their cheese fries (so do I, and I can't resist the temptation, so the calorie count for the day was out the window!).
Yesterday, I quickly worked out at home and then Denise and I went downtown Washington by Metro to go see the Edouard Vuillard exhibit at the National Gallery of Art.
It was a huge exhibit and he was such a versatile artist, even a photographer, so you got a fun glimpse of what his life was like. Very interesting. We had a nice lunch at the cafe in the museum afterwards.
Then we had some time leftover and decided to brave the windy freezing weather to walk to the American History museum to get a look at Julia Child's kitchen. We had to work our way through a huge Pro Life demonstration that had gathered on the street in front of the museums. Denise and I are both quite Pro Choice, so we were a little uncomfortable among so many unlikeminded people. But the march was peaceful, so we made it into the American History in one piece.
The kitchen is fun to see, I wish I had a well equipped kitchen like that, though I have to admit, I can hardly be called a cook, let alone a chef ;).
We made it back just in time to get the kids from school and it was a fun outing! At 5pm my dad came to get us to go and eat Gourmet at his house. This is something that's popular in Holland, but that I've never seen here. It's kind of like fondue, in that you cook your own meal at the table. Except you don't fry in oil or cook in bouillon, but you grill and broil. It was very good and the kids loved it too, so my dad's going to do it with them again on Valentine's Day when they're coming to stay with him.
Today was a very emotional day, though thankfully they're good emotions now. My friend C. who's been going through a very difficult divorce had to appear for a custody hearing this morning. Her ex was trying to get 50% custody (he wanted full at first, but I guess he figured that wouldn't be feasible *at all*) by trying to prove her an unfit mother. The nasty and very difficult part is, that *her* parents and sister are in *his* camp (long history of bad relationships). So her lawyers had her call all her friends to testify for her, as we could all be great characterwitnesses for her, as she truly is one of the most caring mothers I know.
Luckily, the sheer number of friends she was able to get together apparently scared her ex off and they came to a settlement without even entering the court room, he'll have the kids Wednesday nights and some weekends. Until April 1st, when the final hearing will be and I might be called up again. So, relief in our camp, as her ex is a real piece of work and so are her parents and sister! The tension was palpable and it's such a weird situation, I'm very happy for her to have such a strong and caring group of friends!
I do too, because my friends Christine, Chuck and Mallory are coming over tonight with dinner, because she knew it would be a hard day, not only because of the court case, but I haven't been able to exercise and the weather is so cold (18 degrees with wind chills in the single digits) that all my muscles are playing up :(. Thank goodness for great friendships! I'm celebrating friendships today, they truly are the family you *choose*!
Tomorrow, Saskia has to go for (hopefully her final) dental fillings again. She's become a real trooper about it, already knows what flavor nitrous oxide mask she'll choose this time.
I do know that I'll hug Rick all night on Friday night! I truly do not know how single parents do it! But I guess one always adapts to one's situation. I'm hoping to be more faithful to my blog again from now on!
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Well, I should just make this a weekly blog, as, much as I'd like to, it seems I don't get to it anymore during the week! And then it's suddenly Saturday again.
Last week was interesting, as on Sunday we woke up to a forecast of less than an inch of snow later in the day. Well, it started snowing around 11am and by the time it was all over in the evening, we had 5,5 inches (about 14 cm for the metric people) on the ground! And of the most beautiful type of snow, the fluffy stuff that sticks to the trees and everything.
Despite my still very sore throat, which was supposed to be viral after all and which I was trying to ignore, I really felt like going to Washington to take pictures. It's so rare we have a pretty snowfall and all the monuments and buildings would be so beautiful. So, I asked Kai to come with me, as he loves going downtown and we walked and walked, as I took pictures of everything (visible online at http://community.webshots.com/user/petrarick, album winter2002). Kai was such a trooper! We must have walked several miles and he only complained once, but then was fine again after a short cab ride from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol.
Because of the snow, the kids' schools were delayed by two hours on Monday morning. This meant, that they would stay in school until 3:10, instead of the normal Monday dismissal time of 12:45. So, that opened up time for Christine and me to have a really relaxing day. I quickly worked out at home and then we went for a walk around their pond (where I took more pics, it's rare I'm without a camera these days!) ending with a nice lunch at the Panera bakery in their neighborhood. We shopped a little in the shopping center (I got some new pillows for our family room) and then walked back to her house, where we chatted and had tea. It had been so long since I'd had a day where I wasn't running in 10 different directions, I felt very relaxed when I got home (except for that pesky sore throat still!) and was a much better mom for the kids that afternoon, for my feeling.
On Tuesday, after our workout, Christine and I took a friend out to lunch at the Sweetwater Tavern (yes, how decadent, lunch out 2 days in a row ;)) and then I went to Michael's for some craftsupplies. At the store, I suddenly felt overwhelmingly ill and my throat felt worse than ever. So, I decided that, if this was still the case on Thursday, I would go back to the doctor to get tested for strep again. When I came home, there was a message on my answering machine from the doctor's office: the second lab test *had* come back positive for strep and they were phoning in an antibiotic. Next time I have such pain in my throat, I'm going to insist on another in-office test, if the first one came back negative. That type of a sore throat has always turned out to be strep for me, even if the doctors said my throat didn't look that red. I was very annoyed that now I had to walk around feeling yucky for 5 more days and in the meantime could have infected a whole bunch of people!
On Wednesday, since nothing major was going on, Rick insisted I took a sick day. It was weird! I haven't had a day where I didn't do anything or didn't go anywhere in ages! It was strangely fun. I stayed in bed until the kids were in school, Rick took them there. Then I got up and walked on the treadmill a little, but not as vigorous as normal. I couldn't help but do some laundry, but otherwise left the house for what it was. And then I just read and watched tv and computered a bit.
When the kids got home, they did have 3 playmates, but that's usually easier anyway, as they play well together.
For a while, Rick and I had been talking about updating our will, as, until yesterday, my mom was both executrix and guardian in our old will and I was panicking at the thought that the kids would end up with her, if anything happened to Rick and me!
So on Thursday we finally went to see a lawyer to update the will. The permanent document will take a couple of weeks to get ready, but we went back to sign a codicil to our current will, changing the executor and guardians. Phew, quite a relief, that thought had been bothering me for a while now. Not that we're planning to die soon, but you just never know, so better have everything taken care of.
Yesterday, I taught Artsmart in Kai's class. The artist was Pierre Bonnard and the kids loved the project: imagining themselves sitting somewhere in their bedroom, looking out the window and drawing what they see, both in the room and outside. They almost all took the entire time allotted for the project and really put their hearts in it, which doesn't always happen, on some other projects, some kids just quickly draw something and then are done.
Today I had a workout with Christine, then rushed off to get Katja's team pictures for basketball taken. Now I have a quiet moment, so here is my blog update :). We're gearing up for quite a few business trips of Rick's again, starting next Wednesday through Friday, he comes home for 2 nights and then leaves again for the week! Oh well, we did have him home for 2 weeks around Christmas.
Last week was interesting, as on Sunday we woke up to a forecast of less than an inch of snow later in the day. Well, it started snowing around 11am and by the time it was all over in the evening, we had 5,5 inches (about 14 cm for the metric people) on the ground! And of the most beautiful type of snow, the fluffy stuff that sticks to the trees and everything.
Despite my still very sore throat, which was supposed to be viral after all and which I was trying to ignore, I really felt like going to Washington to take pictures. It's so rare we have a pretty snowfall and all the monuments and buildings would be so beautiful. So, I asked Kai to come with me, as he loves going downtown and we walked and walked, as I took pictures of everything (visible online at http://community.webshots.com/user/petrarick, album winter2002). Kai was such a trooper! We must have walked several miles and he only complained once, but then was fine again after a short cab ride from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol.
Because of the snow, the kids' schools were delayed by two hours on Monday morning. This meant, that they would stay in school until 3:10, instead of the normal Monday dismissal time of 12:45. So, that opened up time for Christine and me to have a really relaxing day. I quickly worked out at home and then we went for a walk around their pond (where I took more pics, it's rare I'm without a camera these days!) ending with a nice lunch at the Panera bakery in their neighborhood. We shopped a little in the shopping center (I got some new pillows for our family room) and then walked back to her house, where we chatted and had tea. It had been so long since I'd had a day where I wasn't running in 10 different directions, I felt very relaxed when I got home (except for that pesky sore throat still!) and was a much better mom for the kids that afternoon, for my feeling.
On Tuesday, after our workout, Christine and I took a friend out to lunch at the Sweetwater Tavern (yes, how decadent, lunch out 2 days in a row ;)) and then I went to Michael's for some craftsupplies. At the store, I suddenly felt overwhelmingly ill and my throat felt worse than ever. So, I decided that, if this was still the case on Thursday, I would go back to the doctor to get tested for strep again. When I came home, there was a message on my answering machine from the doctor's office: the second lab test *had* come back positive for strep and they were phoning in an antibiotic. Next time I have such pain in my throat, I'm going to insist on another in-office test, if the first one came back negative. That type of a sore throat has always turned out to be strep for me, even if the doctors said my throat didn't look that red. I was very annoyed that now I had to walk around feeling yucky for 5 more days and in the meantime could have infected a whole bunch of people!
On Wednesday, since nothing major was going on, Rick insisted I took a sick day. It was weird! I haven't had a day where I didn't do anything or didn't go anywhere in ages! It was strangely fun. I stayed in bed until the kids were in school, Rick took them there. Then I got up and walked on the treadmill a little, but not as vigorous as normal. I couldn't help but do some laundry, but otherwise left the house for what it was. And then I just read and watched tv and computered a bit.
When the kids got home, they did have 3 playmates, but that's usually easier anyway, as they play well together.
For a while, Rick and I had been talking about updating our will, as, until yesterday, my mom was both executrix and guardian in our old will and I was panicking at the thought that the kids would end up with her, if anything happened to Rick and me!
So on Thursday we finally went to see a lawyer to update the will. The permanent document will take a couple of weeks to get ready, but we went back to sign a codicil to our current will, changing the executor and guardians. Phew, quite a relief, that thought had been bothering me for a while now. Not that we're planning to die soon, but you just never know, so better have everything taken care of.
Yesterday, I taught Artsmart in Kai's class. The artist was Pierre Bonnard and the kids loved the project: imagining themselves sitting somewhere in their bedroom, looking out the window and drawing what they see, both in the room and outside. They almost all took the entire time allotted for the project and really put their hearts in it, which doesn't always happen, on some other projects, some kids just quickly draw something and then are done.
Today I had a workout with Christine, then rushed off to get Katja's team pictures for basketball taken. Now I have a quiet moment, so here is my blog update :). We're gearing up for quite a few business trips of Rick's again, starting next Wednesday through Friday, he comes home for 2 nights and then leaves again for the week! Oh well, we did have him home for 2 weeks around Christmas.
Saturday, January 04, 2003
I have to write about a party we went to tonight, that is so "typical" American! It was a "re-gifting" party, everyone had to bring a gift they received for Christmas, but didn't like.
Now, I seriously didn't get anything I didn't like, believe it or not, so I went in my book closet and since I buy way more than I ever read, I decided to give 2 paperbacks that looked good, but weren't. And then we went to my dad's house this afternoon to take back some pans and plates he brought for New Year's Eve and he selected something out of my mother's extensive (and tacky!) gift closet for Rick's gift: a number puzzle.
We got to the hostess' house and there were nice hors d'oeuvres and drinks and everyone was chatting. Then she came around and gave everyone a number 1 through 40. Number one selected a gift and unwrapped it. Number 2 would select a gift too, but could choose to either unwrap that or swap with number 1, who would then have to keep number 2's gift. Most gifts were ok, definitely not things you'd have high on your list, but ok.
Some notable exceptions: large monkeys in the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil poses (horen, zien en zwijgen for the Dutch audience), very ugly and they were candle holders to boot. And they were much swapped! I'll never understand those Americans ;). They were the ugliest things possible (but that made it so funny too)!
The last gift was swapped at least 10 times, I ended up with it first, but then my friend whispered to pass it on, as it was her gift and she knew it was awful (some weird glass bottle). I lost my calendar in the swap (not great, but wouldn't have been bad) and ended up with cookies, jam and a little jar for jam. It was ok, but I donated it to our hostess who collects things with berries on them.
We had a lot of fun, Rick ended up with a book and doll called "Mr. Right". He, oops, "forgot" it on the couch.
Besides all this, we cleaned up most of the Christmas stuff, the tree is still standing but only has lights and a few ornaments on it. And this afternoon we went to see the "Wild Thornberry's Movie", very nice story for an animated feature.
Now, I seriously didn't get anything I didn't like, believe it or not, so I went in my book closet and since I buy way more than I ever read, I decided to give 2 paperbacks that looked good, but weren't. And then we went to my dad's house this afternoon to take back some pans and plates he brought for New Year's Eve and he selected something out of my mother's extensive (and tacky!) gift closet for Rick's gift: a number puzzle.
We got to the hostess' house and there were nice hors d'oeuvres and drinks and everyone was chatting. Then she came around and gave everyone a number 1 through 40. Number one selected a gift and unwrapped it. Number 2 would select a gift too, but could choose to either unwrap that or swap with number 1, who would then have to keep number 2's gift. Most gifts were ok, definitely not things you'd have high on your list, but ok.
Some notable exceptions: large monkeys in the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil poses (horen, zien en zwijgen for the Dutch audience), very ugly and they were candle holders to boot. And they were much swapped! I'll never understand those Americans ;). They were the ugliest things possible (but that made it so funny too)!
The last gift was swapped at least 10 times, I ended up with it first, but then my friend whispered to pass it on, as it was her gift and she knew it was awful (some weird glass bottle). I lost my calendar in the swap (not great, but wouldn't have been bad) and ended up with cookies, jam and a little jar for jam. It was ok, but I donated it to our hostess who collects things with berries on them.
We had a lot of fun, Rick ended up with a book and doll called "Mr. Right". He, oops, "forgot" it on the couch.
Besides all this, we cleaned up most of the Christmas stuff, the tree is still standing but only has lights and a few ornaments on it. And this afternoon we went to see the "Wild Thornberry's Movie", very nice story for an animated feature.
Thursday, January 02, 2003
Wow, the new year has started! It feels like we're slowly waking up from a long dream. I can't believe it's the second of January!
I've been sick (now with a throat and gland infection) and feeling very tired. Relatives and friends have celebrated the holidays with us, which was great. I do feel somewhat down, because my mother was not there and the chances of her ever being there again are slim to none. My dad had trouble with it too as did my siblings.
Anyway, I'm feeling very weak and listless, so this is not a long entry. I do want to wish my readers (if there are any) a very happy and healthy 2003!
I've been sick (now with a throat and gland infection) and feeling very tired. Relatives and friends have celebrated the holidays with us, which was great. I do feel somewhat down, because my mother was not there and the chances of her ever being there again are slim to none. My dad had trouble with it too as did my siblings.
Anyway, I'm feeling very weak and listless, so this is not a long entry. I do want to wish my readers (if there are any) a very happy and healthy 2003!
Wednesday, December 25, 2002
Our Christmas started last night. Actually, for me it started yesterday afternoon, when I saw the first snowflakes fall, while I was visiting my friend Claudia to drop off her Christmas gift. The forecast was for rain and yet, by the time our guests arrived around 4pm, the grass and roofs were white.
We had my dad, Rick's dad (who's staying here from last Sunday until Saturday), my brother, sister in law and their 2 children (2 and 6) and our friends Christine and Chuck and their daughter over for a Christmas Eve buffet. Rick's dad made Polish pirozhki's (sp?) and Rick made homemade meatballs. We also had seafood, different cheeses, fruits and vegetables. My diet has definitely been shot! Especially with the cognac Rick's dad is sharing with us, yum!
The kids were adorable. Athena, my two year old niece, was into everything, especially our ice skating scene in the living room. Kai played with her a lot, despite his ear pain (more later about that!). Sandy, my 6 year old nephew, Mallory, my friend's 8 yo and Saskia played and did crafts. All the kids got to open Christmas pj's and wear them around the house. Rick and I got Christmas pj's too and Rick's dad ski socks, which he is wearing now (he never wears pajama's). Katja went to church with her friend, unfortunately, I had no chance to join them.
After the guests left, Kai's earaches, which he had been complaining about since the morning already, got much worse and he was crying with pain. I placed a call to the doctor, but when the doctor on call called back, she couldn't offer any more suggestions than what I had already done (warm oil in the ear, Motrin, Tylenol and Sudafed). Kai was just miserable, crying in pain, not able to lie down or sit up. I felt so powerless, not able to alleviate is pain at all!
We had him sit with us, as we got the Santa gifts out and the stockings ready (thankfully, he doesn't believe in Santa anymore, just in the spirit of giving). But at 12:30, we were all very tired and had to go to bed. Kai could not sleep and cried till 3:30, Rick and I did not know what to do to get him comfortable enough to sleep. Around that time though, both his eardrums must have burst. Clear, but bloody, discharge came from both. It did alleviate the pain a bit though and he fell asleep, as did we, exhausted.
Unfortunately, he woke up again at 7:30 and commented on the white world outside. This woke Saskia up and we had the hardest time to keep sleeping till 8:30, by which time it was raining outside and we were bummed. By the time we got downstairs though, it had changed to snow again and looked gorgeous.
We had coffee (after opening our stocking gifts laced with Amaretto ;)) and Christmas stollen with clotted cream and started unwrapping gifts. Because our tradition is to unwrap the gifts one person at a time, so the giver gets full enjoyment of the reaction, it took more than 2 hours to unwrap them all. Kai, meanwhile, was feeling terrible and I called the doctor, who promised to come to his office to see Kai as it sounded bad to him.
So, after everything was unwrapped and everyone (more than) happy (highlights: Kai - a microscope, Katja - a gold necklace with her birthstone Aquamarine and Saskia - Barbie Talking Townhouse, for me it was a beautiful opal/tanzanite ring Rick got me (and heartstrings: Katja got me a silver ring and Saskia a beautiful box with a heart she had made from the iron together beads.), Rick took him to the doctor. Our diagnosis of 2 ruptured eardrums was correct and the doctor was really amazed according to Rick, as it is unusual to rupture both eardrums. He now has antibiotics and numbing eardrops. He threw up when he got home and saw literally green. But then he took a bath and Rick gave him Motrin and suddenly he was eating, drinking and playing. I can't say how happy I was to see that, after the completely sick boy we had last night!
I took pictures of the snow and the sunset and the Christmas decorations tonight with my new camera filters and tonight we just had leftovers. And we've just been talking about stuff. Kai is now starting to enjoy his Christmas, he's playing with toy after toy!
One really dark spot though is my friend Claudia's life right now. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Her husband has left her and her two daughters and is playing totally hardball. But the worst things is that her parents are completely taking his side and today it came to a head and her dad tried to remove her from his house by physical force and when that didn't work, he had her arrested. She called me in total distress and I worry about her. She is a wonderful mother and a very strong woman at that (you'd have to be for going through what she has!), but this is all very much to handle for one person! I'm trying to be a good friend but I fear I can't be of much support.
Tomorrow we're going to my dad's and will exchange gifts with my siblings and their families and have Christmas dinner. At least it looks like Kai will be much better!!
Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a great day!
We had my dad, Rick's dad (who's staying here from last Sunday until Saturday), my brother, sister in law and their 2 children (2 and 6) and our friends Christine and Chuck and their daughter over for a Christmas Eve buffet. Rick's dad made Polish pirozhki's (sp?) and Rick made homemade meatballs. We also had seafood, different cheeses, fruits and vegetables. My diet has definitely been shot! Especially with the cognac Rick's dad is sharing with us, yum!
The kids were adorable. Athena, my two year old niece, was into everything, especially our ice skating scene in the living room. Kai played with her a lot, despite his ear pain (more later about that!). Sandy, my 6 year old nephew, Mallory, my friend's 8 yo and Saskia played and did crafts. All the kids got to open Christmas pj's and wear them around the house. Rick and I got Christmas pj's too and Rick's dad ski socks, which he is wearing now (he never wears pajama's). Katja went to church with her friend, unfortunately, I had no chance to join them.
After the guests left, Kai's earaches, which he had been complaining about since the morning already, got much worse and he was crying with pain. I placed a call to the doctor, but when the doctor on call called back, she couldn't offer any more suggestions than what I had already done (warm oil in the ear, Motrin, Tylenol and Sudafed). Kai was just miserable, crying in pain, not able to lie down or sit up. I felt so powerless, not able to alleviate is pain at all!
We had him sit with us, as we got the Santa gifts out and the stockings ready (thankfully, he doesn't believe in Santa anymore, just in the spirit of giving). But at 12:30, we were all very tired and had to go to bed. Kai could not sleep and cried till 3:30, Rick and I did not know what to do to get him comfortable enough to sleep. Around that time though, both his eardrums must have burst. Clear, but bloody, discharge came from both. It did alleviate the pain a bit though and he fell asleep, as did we, exhausted.
Unfortunately, he woke up again at 7:30 and commented on the white world outside. This woke Saskia up and we had the hardest time to keep sleeping till 8:30, by which time it was raining outside and we were bummed. By the time we got downstairs though, it had changed to snow again and looked gorgeous.
We had coffee (after opening our stocking gifts laced with Amaretto ;)) and Christmas stollen with clotted cream and started unwrapping gifts. Because our tradition is to unwrap the gifts one person at a time, so the giver gets full enjoyment of the reaction, it took more than 2 hours to unwrap them all. Kai, meanwhile, was feeling terrible and I called the doctor, who promised to come to his office to see Kai as it sounded bad to him.
So, after everything was unwrapped and everyone (more than) happy (highlights: Kai - a microscope, Katja - a gold necklace with her birthstone Aquamarine and Saskia - Barbie Talking Townhouse, for me it was a beautiful opal/tanzanite ring Rick got me (and heartstrings: Katja got me a silver ring and Saskia a beautiful box with a heart she had made from the iron together beads.), Rick took him to the doctor. Our diagnosis of 2 ruptured eardrums was correct and the doctor was really amazed according to Rick, as it is unusual to rupture both eardrums. He now has antibiotics and numbing eardrops. He threw up when he got home and saw literally green. But then he took a bath and Rick gave him Motrin and suddenly he was eating, drinking and playing. I can't say how happy I was to see that, after the completely sick boy we had last night!
I took pictures of the snow and the sunset and the Christmas decorations tonight with my new camera filters and tonight we just had leftovers. And we've just been talking about stuff. Kai is now starting to enjoy his Christmas, he's playing with toy after toy!
One really dark spot though is my friend Claudia's life right now. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Her husband has left her and her two daughters and is playing totally hardball. But the worst things is that her parents are completely taking his side and today it came to a head and her dad tried to remove her from his house by physical force and when that didn't work, he had her arrested. She called me in total distress and I worry about her. She is a wonderful mother and a very strong woman at that (you'd have to be for going through what she has!), but this is all very much to handle for one person! I'm trying to be a good friend but I fear I can't be of much support.
Tomorrow we're going to my dad's and will exchange gifts with my siblings and their families and have Christmas dinner. At least it looks like Kai will be much better!!
Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a great day!
Monday, December 23, 2002
Here we are sitting in a very cozy room with Dad in law here, the first of the relatives to arrive for the holidays.
On Saturday we had a great party here with lots of friends and their kids. About thirty people came. Unfortunately, Rick had invited 20 people from his office and about 6 said they could not make it and one came, the rest just didn't show! I really dislike that, when you clearly ask for an RSVP so you can decide how much food to make and people just don't show.
Thankfully, we had just enough food, as I decided not to defrost everything at once, like Rick wanted me to. It was truly a great evening and I felt so blessed with all my friends!
Yesterday, Rick and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas Eve buffet, we'll have my dad, my brother and family, Rick's dad and Christine, Chuck and Mallory over. So a nice big group again.
In the afternoon, Katja had her first tutoring session for math and I went for my workout in the meantime. Then we went to get some last Christmas presents, I'm finally done, had to buy for over 20 people!
In the evening, after dinner, the church across the street had a living Nativity pageant. Very nice! They have a donkey, a calf, sheep and goats. A man narrates the story of the birth of Jezus and adults and kids re-enact it. The baby "Jezus" was very cute, sleeping in his mom's arms with a pacifier in his mouth :).
Today we're all going for a workout, Dad in law included and Katja too!! Then it's wrapping time and I'd like to get my peppermint bark made, as well as the gingerbread house.
On Saturday we had a great party here with lots of friends and their kids. About thirty people came. Unfortunately, Rick had invited 20 people from his office and about 6 said they could not make it and one came, the rest just didn't show! I really dislike that, when you clearly ask for an RSVP so you can decide how much food to make and people just don't show.
Thankfully, we had just enough food, as I decided not to defrost everything at once, like Rick wanted me to. It was truly a great evening and I felt so blessed with all my friends!
Yesterday, Rick and I went grocery shopping for our Christmas Eve buffet, we'll have my dad, my brother and family, Rick's dad and Christine, Chuck and Mallory over. So a nice big group again.
In the afternoon, Katja had her first tutoring session for math and I went for my workout in the meantime. Then we went to get some last Christmas presents, I'm finally done, had to buy for over 20 people!
In the evening, after dinner, the church across the street had a living Nativity pageant. Very nice! They have a donkey, a calf, sheep and goats. A man narrates the story of the birth of Jezus and adults and kids re-enact it. The baby "Jezus" was very cute, sleeping in his mom's arms with a pacifier in his mouth :).
Today we're all going for a workout, Dad in law included and Katja too!! Then it's wrapping time and I'd like to get my peppermint bark made, as well as the gingerbread house.
Thursday, December 19, 2002
Time is downright flying! There is so much to do and so little time to do it! And now Rick is throwing some "must see" movies in the mix too. Help!!!! I told him he can't expect me to keep going and not collapse at some point. Those movies can wait. His argument is, that they then go to a small theater, well, worse things have happened, sigh!
But with this griping, we had a wonderful day together today. We left right after the kids went to school, got ourselves a McDonald's breakfast and drove to Front Royal to go on the Skyline Drive for a hike. Unfortunately, Skyline Drive was closed due to snow and ice (even though it's just about all melted!). Fortunately, there was a trail (Dickey Ridge) right before the park entrance. We walked the whole trail, it was great, it was mostly along a mountain stream, so I got beautiful waterfall pictures.
After our walk we drove to Middleburg a quaint little town west of us, where we had lunch at the old Red Fox Inn. After the great meal, we went to Chrysalis vineyard for a tasting and we bought a case of wine, because their wines are truly delicious.
Then we still had time to stop by the British Pantry to get some British stuff for Christmas. A fun day together and something I wish we could do much more often!
But with this griping, we had a wonderful day together today. We left right after the kids went to school, got ourselves a McDonald's breakfast and drove to Front Royal to go on the Skyline Drive for a hike. Unfortunately, Skyline Drive was closed due to snow and ice (even though it's just about all melted!). Fortunately, there was a trail (Dickey Ridge) right before the park entrance. We walked the whole trail, it was great, it was mostly along a mountain stream, so I got beautiful waterfall pictures.
After our walk we drove to Middleburg a quaint little town west of us, where we had lunch at the old Red Fox Inn. After the great meal, we went to Chrysalis vineyard for a tasting and we bought a case of wine, because their wines are truly delicious.
Then we still had time to stop by the British Pantry to get some British stuff for Christmas. A fun day together and something I wish we could do much more often!
Friday, December 13, 2002
Well, we had the party and it was a huge success! Everyone came and then some, as Kai and Katja had a friend over too, so at one point there were 21 kids! The magician was great, he really knew how to do crowd control, as especially one little boy kept getting up and trying to get things and all he needed to do was say "Will, sit down" and the boy would listen. The highlight of the show was when he pulled a live bunny out of a hat, which the kids could pet afterwards. Though many kids thought the goldfish Saskia got for a gift during one of the tricks was pretty cool too. Rick and I were less thrilled, it's not like we need another pet!
We had pizza and cake afterwards and after 2 hours everyone went home again. Saskia was very happy, she got great gifts (many crafts, yay!) and she loved the magician.
Yesterday I ran around all day. After my workout
We had pizza and cake afterwards and after 2 hours everyone went home again. Saskia was very happy, she got great gifts (many crafts, yay!) and she loved the magician.
Yesterday I ran around all day. After my workout
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Saskia's birthday and an icestorm! Well, we won't forget her 7th birthday for sure. Yesterday the prediction was for some ice, but today of course it looks worse than they predicted, so now we have to determine whether we will have her party this afternoon, at 4, or will postpone it will Monday.
I'd prefer today, but I guess we'll make the call around noon.
The schools are closed and all my plans for today scratched. There shouldn't be too many more of these days before Christmas, or things will not be ready. On the other hand, sleeping in in the middle of the week is something I can easily get used to! And thankfully Rick's early morning meeting was canceled, as I was worried about him having to walk to the metro, not because of his walking, but because of crazy drivers.
Now let me wax poetically about my 7 year old! I can't believe she's 7! My baby! I'm so glad to see she's keeping her sunny personality. She has a smile for everyone and chats readily with kids and adults. She's overall a very happy child. Her smile went through a change recently though, when she lost both front teeth at the same time and now the adult teeth are growing in.
She is still petite, hasn't gone through a major growth spurt yet, like Katja at her age. She is in size 6X, which is usually still big on her.
She is 100% girlish, plays with Barbies and Fashion Polly's, loves beautiful clothes, make up and hair things. We just recently redecorated her room to a more "grown up" theme. She chose a blue to aqua pattern with little white flowers and natural wood for her furniture. I painted her window wall aqua. This also marked the first time in years that she's sleeping in her own bed and not in a sleeping bag next to my bed. In the beginning, I really missed that little body next to me.
Kai and she are like water and oil many times and then suddenly are the best of friends. We know several families who have kids of the same ages as the two of them, so frequently brothers and sisters are playing together.
She's an eager learner at school, reading quite well already and happily doing her homework every weekend. She is just a delight to have, very cuddly and quick to kiss her mommy and daddy. A true gift to us!
I'd prefer today, but I guess we'll make the call around noon.
The schools are closed and all my plans for today scratched. There shouldn't be too many more of these days before Christmas, or things will not be ready. On the other hand, sleeping in in the middle of the week is something I can easily get used to! And thankfully Rick's early morning meeting was canceled, as I was worried about him having to walk to the metro, not because of his walking, but because of crazy drivers.
Now let me wax poetically about my 7 year old! I can't believe she's 7! My baby! I'm so glad to see she's keeping her sunny personality. She has a smile for everyone and chats readily with kids and adults. She's overall a very happy child. Her smile went through a change recently though, when she lost both front teeth at the same time and now the adult teeth are growing in.
She is still petite, hasn't gone through a major growth spurt yet, like Katja at her age. She is in size 6X, which is usually still big on her.
She is 100% girlish, plays with Barbies and Fashion Polly's, loves beautiful clothes, make up and hair things. We just recently redecorated her room to a more "grown up" theme. She chose a blue to aqua pattern with little white flowers and natural wood for her furniture. I painted her window wall aqua. This also marked the first time in years that she's sleeping in her own bed and not in a sleeping bag next to my bed. In the beginning, I really missed that little body next to me.
Kai and she are like water and oil many times and then suddenly are the best of friends. We know several families who have kids of the same ages as the two of them, so frequently brothers and sisters are playing together.
She's an eager learner at school, reading quite well already and happily doing her homework every weekend. She is just a delight to have, very cuddly and quick to kiss her mommy and daddy. A true gift to us!
Monday, December 09, 2002
Well, it did snow! We got 6 inches and it stayed cold, so there is a lot left of it. The kids had 2 snowdays off from school and that was a lot of fun.
We had a little bit of an adventure with Saskia though, as she sledded down a hill into a deckpole with the back of her head. Afterwards, she got a huge bump and complained of a headache. When she was still complaining of a headache the next morning, we took her to the doctor. They didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I hate to think what could have happened! After Katja's hitting the wall sledding at the school with her head last year, the new rule in this house is sledding with a helmet on!
We had a superbusy weekend, on Saturday we celebrated Sinterklaas with Chuck, Christine, Mallory and my dad. We had postponed from Thursday because of the snow. On Thursday the five of us did a mini celebration, giving each other a small gift with a poem and eating some Sinterklaas candy. Saturday's celebration was great! The poems were very funny and everyone had a good time.
Yesterday, we first took Brynna, our dog, to the vet, as she was panting and trembling and wanting to lie in my lap and when we let her outside, she was lying in the snow. Clearly, something was wrong. The vet did bloodwork (to the tune of $$$$!), but couldn't really find anything wrong with her, except for what she always has: elevated liver enzymes. Today, she was still as bad, so we took her to our own vet, where she still is. She seems to have pain near her back, so now they're giving her pain medication, see if that helps.
The vet yesterday would keep her for a few hours, so in the meantime we went shopping for our Salvation Army tree angels at the mall. The kids each select an angel their age and we buy toys and clothes for them. I'm always happy to see how much effort the kids put into selecting something their "angel" would like.
After all this and picking Brynna up again, we went to the Santa Clause 2 movie. It was a cute movie, lots of loose ends at the end though, like, what was Mrs. Clause going to do with her life now?
Today I've been busy with mundane stuff such as childcare, laundry and tree decorating.
Funny things they say: Saskia and I were in the car together after dropping Katja off for basketball practice, when Saskia said: "Mammie, why are people people?" and then she went on to say "I always think that when I'm in the bathroom and sometimes when I'm not in the bathroom, but I don't know the answer" :). Needless to say, I don't know the answer either. If anyone has a good one, I'd like to hear it!
We had a little bit of an adventure with Saskia though, as she sledded down a hill into a deckpole with the back of her head. Afterwards, she got a huge bump and complained of a headache. When she was still complaining of a headache the next morning, we took her to the doctor. They didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I hate to think what could have happened! After Katja's hitting the wall sledding at the school with her head last year, the new rule in this house is sledding with a helmet on!
We had a superbusy weekend, on Saturday we celebrated Sinterklaas with Chuck, Christine, Mallory and my dad. We had postponed from Thursday because of the snow. On Thursday the five of us did a mini celebration, giving each other a small gift with a poem and eating some Sinterklaas candy. Saturday's celebration was great! The poems were very funny and everyone had a good time.
Yesterday, we first took Brynna, our dog, to the vet, as she was panting and trembling and wanting to lie in my lap and when we let her outside, she was lying in the snow. Clearly, something was wrong. The vet did bloodwork (to the tune of $$$$!), but couldn't really find anything wrong with her, except for what she always has: elevated liver enzymes. Today, she was still as bad, so we took her to our own vet, where she still is. She seems to have pain near her back, so now they're giving her pain medication, see if that helps.
The vet yesterday would keep her for a few hours, so in the meantime we went shopping for our Salvation Army tree angels at the mall. The kids each select an angel their age and we buy toys and clothes for them. I'm always happy to see how much effort the kids put into selecting something their "angel" would like.
After all this and picking Brynna up again, we went to the Santa Clause 2 movie. It was a cute movie, lots of loose ends at the end though, like, what was Mrs. Clause going to do with her life now?
Today I've been busy with mundane stuff such as childcare, laundry and tree decorating.
Funny things they say: Saskia and I were in the car together after dropping Katja off for basketball practice, when Saskia said: "Mammie, why are people people?" and then she went on to say "I always think that when I'm in the bathroom and sometimes when I'm not in the bathroom, but I don't know the answer" :). Needless to say, I don't know the answer either. If anyone has a good one, I'd like to hear it!
Wednesday, December 04, 2002
Yay, it's going to snow! Woohoo!!! I can't remember a time since I've lived in the US that it snowed substantially this early in the season. And just right to get us into the Christmas spirit too!
I've been so busy, I've just been wiped out every evening and haven't been good about updating my blog. On Saturday, I went to Target after my workout and suddenly I felt so tired I just couldn't go on. So I went home and took a nap, because that night we had dinner at our friends' house. That dinner was a lot of fun, they have kids the same sexes and ages as ours and they had prepared cardboard and paper houses for the kids to decorate with cookies and candy. They loved doing it! And it was interesting to see the differences in the age groups. The oldest girls finished the whole thing, but the younger children did parts and then lost interest.
On Sunday, Katja and I went shopping, as she has lost some weight and needed new jeans. I also found shoes to wear with my rhinestone pants, so the outfit for the Christmas party is complete now.
Monday I designated to put up the Christmas lights outside and rake the leaves, as the weather was predicted to become very cold the rest of the week. And right they were! It's been downright frigid!
Yesterday Katja had an orthodontist appointment and was told, that as long as she would wear rubber bands diligently, her braces can come off next month! The problem is, she hates those rubber bands :(.
After that we went to the mall and got our "angels" from the Salvation Army tree. Each child chooses an angel their age and on the weekend we'll go shopping for them. I find it a nice way to make the kids think of someone else during this season of receiving for them.
Today, Christine and I shopped and I went to Michael's this morning. I also went early yesterday, before the bible study. and got materials to make my "Rudolph" door hangers. They couldn't be easier to make: get a pine broom, separate the top in half and hold together with a small red bow, for the "ears", then glue on large plastic eyes and a large red pompom for his nose. Tie a bow around the stem and hang on the door. They look very cute (we have double doors).
This afternoon I filled velours stockings with stuffed animal filling and sewed the top shut, for pillows in our family room, the kids love them!
Tomorrow, if it is a snow day, we'll be putting together a gingerbread house and a miniature tree. I so love doing crafts with the kids this season!
And during this season, it's especially important to remember all the things we have to be grateful for, so I'm starting my 5 things that made me happy again:
1. Having Saskia tell me the story of Hanukkah in detail, as she's learned it in school and showing such interest in other cultures and religions.
2. Doing fun holiday stuff with the kids and seeing how they're really appreciating the traditions. When we were driving at dark the other night, they asked if we could look at lights and play "I spy", as "always". I try to incorporate lots of traditions in our lives, because I think those are the things that they'll remember into adulthood, not how many gifts they got.
3. Having Katja cherish lying in bed with me in the early morning before school so much, that she was almost excited about Rick being out of town yesterday.
4. Watching scientific programs with Kai and discussing them together afterwards.
5. Getting a drawing from Saskia with 4 little hearts with the words "I love you Mom and Dad" written in them!
I've been so busy, I've just been wiped out every evening and haven't been good about updating my blog. On Saturday, I went to Target after my workout and suddenly I felt so tired I just couldn't go on. So I went home and took a nap, because that night we had dinner at our friends' house. That dinner was a lot of fun, they have kids the same sexes and ages as ours and they had prepared cardboard and paper houses for the kids to decorate with cookies and candy. They loved doing it! And it was interesting to see the differences in the age groups. The oldest girls finished the whole thing, but the younger children did parts and then lost interest.
On Sunday, Katja and I went shopping, as she has lost some weight and needed new jeans. I also found shoes to wear with my rhinestone pants, so the outfit for the Christmas party is complete now.
Monday I designated to put up the Christmas lights outside and rake the leaves, as the weather was predicted to become very cold the rest of the week. And right they were! It's been downright frigid!
Yesterday Katja had an orthodontist appointment and was told, that as long as she would wear rubber bands diligently, her braces can come off next month! The problem is, she hates those rubber bands :(.
After that we went to the mall and got our "angels" from the Salvation Army tree. Each child chooses an angel their age and on the weekend we'll go shopping for them. I find it a nice way to make the kids think of someone else during this season of receiving for them.
Today, Christine and I shopped and I went to Michael's this morning. I also went early yesterday, before the bible study. and got materials to make my "Rudolph" door hangers. They couldn't be easier to make: get a pine broom, separate the top in half and hold together with a small red bow, for the "ears", then glue on large plastic eyes and a large red pompom for his nose. Tie a bow around the stem and hang on the door. They look very cute (we have double doors).
This afternoon I filled velours stockings with stuffed animal filling and sewed the top shut, for pillows in our family room, the kids love them!
Tomorrow, if it is a snow day, we'll be putting together a gingerbread house and a miniature tree. I so love doing crafts with the kids this season!
And during this season, it's especially important to remember all the things we have to be grateful for, so I'm starting my 5 things that made me happy again:
1. Having Saskia tell me the story of Hanukkah in detail, as she's learned it in school and showing such interest in other cultures and religions.
2. Doing fun holiday stuff with the kids and seeing how they're really appreciating the traditions. When we were driving at dark the other night, they asked if we could look at lights and play "I spy", as "always". I try to incorporate lots of traditions in our lives, because I think those are the things that they'll remember into adulthood, not how many gifts they got.
3. Having Katja cherish lying in bed with me in the early morning before school so much, that she was almost excited about Rick being out of town yesterday.
4. Watching scientific programs with Kai and discussing them together afterwards.
5. Getting a drawing from Saskia with 4 little hearts with the words "I love you Mom and Dad" written in them!
