The 14th already! Saskia's birthday on the 11th was great, with a party at Build a Bear with 13 girls in all. Everyone made a black bear. After the party everyone got ice cream at Haagen Dasz and then we had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at the mall as a family, with my dad and one of Saskia's friends.

Yesterday we went out to Middleburg to cut our Christmas tree. It was a fun drive and, although the selection was bad, we did find a tree. A Scotch pine with long needles, not what Kai, Saskia and I had hoped for, but it looks nice and smells great.

Things to be grateful for:
1. Eating dinner at an upscale restaurant tonight (Serbian Crown) and have a great time with all 3 kids. Saskia tried French onion soup and liked it and Kai tried smoked salmon. We had a genuinely nice time talking with the kids and enjoying each other.
2. Going out with Rick for his office's Christmas party last night in full ornate: full length silver dress and he wore a tux. The party was nice, but the walk around the National Christmas tree was (like in the commercial ;)) priceless! What a sight I must have made with my red ski jacket over a silver full length skirt!
3. Kai and Katja team babysitting for friends last night. I'm so proud of my kids I'm just about bursting :).
4. The Christmas season and the family togetherness it brings. Saskia and I were exhausted from all the business of the weekend this afternoon and took a nap together. Having that little body asleep in my arms is heaven, I realize just how short the time is she'll be little anymore.
5. The cats swatting at the ornaments in the tree. They are an endless source of entertainment and they don't know what to make of all the glitter and in Sushi's case, the eggnog tastes great when it's not supervised :-O!

Man, the days fly by! I'm preparing for our St. Nicolas celebration tomorrow night, though I hope we'll be able to have it, as there is snow in the forecast! I can't believe it, two years in a row, the first snowfall on the 5th of December! Last year we had to postpone, I hope that won't be necessary this time.

Our friends Chuck, Christine and Mallory are coming, Mallory was sick with strep today, but started her antibiotics this morning, so she should be fine tomorrow night. My dad is coming too. We're giving everyone one gift with a poem and I ordered a bunch of special St. Nicolas candy.

Today and the past few days, I primarily worked on decorating the house for Christmas and writing and sending out Christmas cards. I finished both of those things today. The house looks great, if I say so myself!

Five things I'm grateful for today:
1. Saskia's supercute little voice, telling the girl that lost her arm to a shark attack surfed again today (her jazz teacher told her)
2. Ok, this is a selfish one, I realize, but Katja came home with menstrual cramps so I allowed her to cancel her math tutoring, allowing for a break for both of us (usually Thursdays are crazy with tutoring at 3:30 and dance at 4:30)
3. Kai's popularity with the boys in the neighborhood! I can't imagine I was ever worried about his social skills! He has at least one friend over every day, but usually more than one.
4. Rick and his always sunny disposition.
5. Brynna, happily asleep at my feet, keeping them warm in the cold.

Since I've been keeping a Dutch blog as well, it's been difficult to keep up with both, but today I feel I kind of miss blogging on a more personal level. The other blog is more meant to tell Dutch speaking people about our lives here. I'd like to use this blog a little more for personal thoughts, like my 5 things to be grateful for.

So, I'm starting right now:
1. the SUN! I'm so glad to be living in a climate, where cloud cover hardly ever lasts longer than a day.
2. The month of December, for some reason I am *really* looking forward to the holidays this year.
3. Our fortune, the kids took Angels off the Salvation Army tree this weekend and we're going to shop for them this afternoon. Seeing the simple wishes of those kids makes me realize how much we have to be grateful for.
4. Spending 4 fun days together with the family over Thanksgiving made it hard to start the school/workweek again, but also made me realize what a fun family we have, just the 5 of us.
5. The realization at Thanksgiving dinner that our lives are darn near perfect (the pessimist in me keeps worrying something is going to happen that will wipe the happiness away in one sweep, though :().

Well, we had quite the evening Wednesday night! Katja talks a lot on Instant Messenger, especially AIM from AOL, for which we have set strict rules: only people you know personally and have met, no going to chatrooms etc and I regularly check her buddy lists. Unfortunately, yesterday, she broke those rules and added a guy who’s supposedly a friend of a friend to her list. And then proceeded to give him her password to her Yahoo login. Needless to say, she’s offline in her room now.

However, the guy decided to contact me on my account with an age/sex check and I thought it was Katja at first (though weird behavior for her). When we both realized who the other was or was not in my case, he proceeded to write threats of rape and a bullet through my head.
So, I called the police. They sent out an officer, who thankfully really made sure Katja was aware of how dangerous what she had done is. She created a case and said a detective would be on it. I don’t know how far they’ll take it, but I’m glad they took it seriously.

We also wrote the Yahoo abuse address, hopefully they’ll work on it too. I have to say that in six years daily Internet usage nothing like this has ever happened and it’s very scary when the words come across your screen!
Katja is definitely a child who needs to feel before she believes and it’s always worried me about her. I hope this sends a strong message to her, that all our warnings aren’t so ridiculous as she thinks.

I have to admit, I feel like all my time is being consumed parenting my daughters these days. It’s exhausting! I’m almost wishing I only had boys (my sister has similar trouble with her stepson, but somehow it feels less scary with a boy, is that sexist of me or what?).
The guy had been very sexually explicit with Katja too, so yesterday we basically talked about what is or is not appropriate to talk about with boys and how we need to be our bodies’ protectors etc. Sigh!

This morning a detective from the police department came by to pick up the chats between Katja and “Chris” and asked if he could come by to talk to us and Katja this evening.

When he arrived tonight, he first said that his hunch was, that this was someone Katja knew, but after talking to her, he was convinced it’s not. He talked to her for a long time and Katja said he was quite stern with her (yay!). He told her about some of his experiences with this that didn’t end so well.

He took her computer with him to be analyzed and is subpoena-ing AOL and Yahoo for information on that screenname. He says it can take a few months. If it is an adult posing as a teen, the FBI will get involved. If it’s indeed a 16 year old boy, the local police and his parents will be informed.
Phew!

I also took Kai and Saskia to the eye doctor and Kai turns out to need glasses, about which he was quite upset. Saskia’s eyes are still fine, but he said the readings were thus, that she probably would need correction at some point as well. None of the kids inherited Rick’s excellent eye sight, unfortunately. I did find out that Kai is not colorblind like Rick, because that gene is passed on by the mother. The girls however have a 50 percent chance of passing the gene to an eventual son.

And with all that, we painted our bathroom peach and have started on the kids’ bathroom, a bright sea green, we’ll finish that tomorrow.
Phew, I’m exhausted!

I painted all day today and it looks great! I painted the area around the tv and fireplace in the family room dark blue. Saturday, if it works out, Rick and I will paint the rest of the walls there a lighter blue.

And Dina, our housekeeper, and I painted the powder room pueblo rose and aztec dawn (rosy brown and ochre yellow). Beautiful!

It's finally really fall here, cool and crisp. The leaves are turning nicely too. So I'm hoping to go for walks with Brynna and take pictures.

This afternoon, Saskia's teacher called. Saskia's been easily distracted and a little insolent in class. Her teacher is the sweetest lady! She was worried about Saskia and therefore called. We brainstormed and are going to try a snack in the morning, as Saskia is very susceptible to mood changes when she's hungry and she's not a big breakfast eater.

Tonight was the ice cream social at school and Rick went with the kids. It's too cold outside for me. I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed after this, yay!

I'm uploading some pics of our paintwork:

This is becoming kind of a weekly update, I guess. The past week was nice, as it was rather "normal". I feel we finally got back into a schedule (makes me wonder when the next disruption will be ;)).

I got a boatload of things done, like getting the car cleaned inside and out, which was long, long overdue. I got my hair cut in a way that I really like. And all 3 kids are set for winterclothes.

I also selected paint for our family, which I'd like to paint blue with white trim.

We've been back from our vacation since Tuesday night. It was a complete blast! Maybe because I didn't have high expectations, but everything from the resorts to the landscape to the people and the things we did was fantastic. I'll write a short trip report about it and put it online soon.

Rick picked up some kind of stomach thing on the last day and is still not feeling his old self. I thought I might have too, when I woke up with severe stomach cramps yesterday morning, but now I think that was because I ate something super spicy on Wednesday night and for some reason my intestines can't handle that anymore.

It's been really nice fall weather the past couple of days and so I decided to decorate for Halloween with Saskia and her friend Laura. The girls really helped and it looks great. I'll add a couple of pictures of it here.

Tonight we'll again have 2 kids sleeping over, Kai and Saskia's friends. I don't have the heart to say no to these sleepover requests, when the kids are so close and enjoy them so much. I have to say, though, these particular people get a free night without kids quite often and keep saying they'll take ours next, but so far that hasn't happened. But I don't want to deny Kai and Saskia fun time with their best friends, who happen to be this girl and boy, so I keep finding myself saying yes and thinking the parents will just jump in and say "oh, but now it's our turn to take them". But no such luck. Oh well, it's not the end of the world, I guess.

Katja will be going to the weekly middle school night at the Community Center Teen Club. I'm so glad she likes to do that, as I think it's a great alternative to hanging out at the malls. Not that I'd allow her to do that, but this is just a nice place for them to go to.

Yay, we're almost off to Mexico. We're staying near Cancun at an all inclusive resort. Strangely enough, I'm not all that excited. I'm sure I will be when I get there. I think it's because life is just getting into a rhythm and here we go again. But it's an award for Rick's team at work, his company pays for it and it's a nice chance to spend family time together. It'll be great. I feel conceited thinking I'm not looking forward to it! And that's not the entire truth, it just takes so much work to travel, but once there it is going to be fun. Ok, enough convincing myself.

I worked hard at getting my summer stuff in order today too. I still had hundreds of pictures to work through and I needed to empty my flashcards for new pictures. So Aruba pictures can now be viewed here.

I'm off to bed now, better sleep well, we have to get up at 5:30!

Just got back from a fun dinner out with Rick. Katja babysat. It's nice to have a child old enough to do that! We had dinner at Neisha's a Thai restaurant. We've eaten there before and ordered the usual appetizer of salmon rolls. They're absolutely delicious! Then I had Thai Sukiyaki and it was very good, quite spicy!

Two Dutch ladies sat next to us having dinner. It's funny to be able to understand someone's conversation when they're oblivious to the fact that you can. Not that they said anything remarkable. Too bad kind of, I always think it would be fun to have someone make a snide remark about you and then show them that you understand them perfectly well. We've had that happen a few times in Holland.

After dinner, we went shopping. Katja has turned me on to low rise jeans from the Gap. She was mortified at the thought I'd wear classic fit. And to be honest, the low rise is much more flattering. At least from the Gap. So I got another pair tonight and a jeans shirt, the first ever in my life, but it looked so good, I couldn't pass it up! I'll be the Western girl yet!

Then we got a towel for the dog to lie on, as cheap as possible and new casual silverware, as we seem to have lost almost all of our forks of the old one. Who knows where they went!

Today was kind of quiet otherwise. I worked out hard, highly necessary and then went to Trader Joe's to get ingredients for quesadillas for the kids. I also got this really delicious bar of mozzarella and prosciutto, since the doctor told me to eat more protein. Oh and I got turkey jerky too. Love that stuff!

Kai needed material for his mealworm project, he needs to make a maze. So we went to Michael's and of course, besides the stuff he needed, I had to get some Halloween and Fall stuff.

Time for bed now, it'll be a nice and cold night!

Pff, last week was definitely not one of my better ones physically. I just can't understand what brings on such a major flare. If I could, I could prevent it.

Thursday was the worst day, I had to take Saskia to the dentist at 11am and therefore did not really work out. Christine and I went for a quick half hour walk, but, stupidly, I felt I was entitled to a day without serious exercise, but came to regret it. Frustrating, that I always really have to get my muscles working and heart pumping to receive the benefit of a workout.

At the dentist, I couldn't even stand. I felt myself getting annoyed at a little boy who was sitting in the only chair available for adults there. Of course I didn't say anything, but I had to bite my tongue. And that's just so not like me to feel upset with a little kid! But I was almost desperate.

The day only went downhill from there, I tried to take an hour's nap, but even that didn't do any good. Thank goodness Christine told me to take Saskia to dance and Katja to tutoring, because it is my job, or I'd have canceled both. And she was right, I have to make sure I at least get the kids to their after school activities, as it is for their health and benefit. But, oh boy, was it tempting to give in to the fatigue and mysery.

Thursday night was Back To School Night and I had Rick go alone. It really should be called "Let's pounce on parents to volunteer some more" night and I'm trying to scale back the volunteering, doctor's orders. But I'm the worst at saying no, so I'd rather hide. Cowardly, I know.

Yesterday was a much better day, thankfully and today isn't too bad either. Saskia had a birthday party at Build A Bear from 1 to 3pm. Very cute, they made a curly bunny (Saskia started out with a meltdown, because she wanted the pig, but all was well in the end, as she got to dress her bunny in Halloween clothes).

I tried to find some more jeans at the Gap, but they didn't have my size. I need Long and it seems like that is one of the most popular lengths. So I'm going to another mall tomorrow, as I really want more jeans.

Tonight we're getting a friend of Saskia's for a sleepover and Kai is prepping for his second sleepover in a row elsewhere. We're in prime sleepover season it seems!

I feel a whine coming on, when I really have no right to. But what is better than an internet journal for something like that. Firstly, I really have nothing to whine about, which I'm super well aware of.

However...the pain is getting to me! Ok, I admit it, I'm just going through the motions of living right now and feeling like a truck has hit me all along. And the frustrating part is: no one can tell! I don't like to complain (though I do so more online than in real life and interestingly, I get a lot more understanding online than in real life, hmmm), mainly, because I'm always afraid to be discarded as the one "who is always sick" and "who can never do anything".

On orders of the rheumatologist, I have been working hard to diminish my commitments, so I have energy for the kids and Rick when they get home from school and work. Last year, I did way too much during the day, leaving me exhausted by 3pm and not the mother and wife I want to be.

But, oh boy, is it ever hard! Once you're in the volunteering mill, the word "no" barely gets accepted and if it does, than grudgingly so. One person had the audacity to tell me that sitting in child sized chairs all afternoon handing out fund raiser gift wrap orders "would take my mind off things". Um, well, it would rather do the reverse as sitting is painful as is, let alone sitting in those torturous chairs!

And yesterday, a neighbor who had seen my webpage claimed "there is someone with too much time on her hands". WTF? That page has taken me 6 years to create! But she's envious of me, because I've finally had to hire a housekeeper two days a week to alleviate the big household tasks and she feels she can't afford one. And yes, it is a luxury, I'm well, well aware. I'm super lucky that we're well enough off to be able to afford it (which is something else: in Holland, people with fibromyalgia get subsidized household help). This is something I've kept at bay for years, thinking it was a waste of money and why can't I do it myself. But, humiliating as it is, the fact is: I can't do it all myself. And Rick got stuck with the brunt of it after work and it's not like he doesn't have a busy job. So this was the solution for our family to take away a stress we didn't need. Just because my neighbor has a second house and a boat and therefore can't afford household help doesn't mean she should be jealous of me. But then again, she doesn't see me when the pain is so bad I can't sit, lie or stand and Rick does and unfortunately so do the kids.

This is getting to be a long ramble, but I'm so sick of judgmentalness! My best friend, who also has fibromyalgia, was told by a neighbor (guy) on Sunday, that he wouldn't mind trading with her, so he could have an excuse to do nothing. EXCUSE ME??? Nothing??? Guess who's having his daughters over at her house playing almost every day and making a mess?

I've long been aware, that it's almost impossible to know what it's like to live with chronic pain and fatigue if you don't have it yourself. I understand that. There are many such occasions in life. But where in the h*** is the empathy?

Do I have to really walk with a limp or lay myself up in bed to be taken seriously? According to my rheumatologist I'm doing everything I can do to function as well as I can with this disease. I'm guessing people see me exercise and think, well it can't be that bad, if she can run and lift weights, but what they don't see is the pain I have to bite through every time I do.

I've been having very serious burning pain on the right side of my body, all the way from my neck to my heel. According to the rheumatologist all par for the course, but it's so exhausting, because I can't get away from it. Nothing really helps, not even the exercise, not any kind of painkiller and I've tried just about all.

I truly love my life, I see all the beauty in it: Rick's love, the kids' love, nature, the pets, but when the pain takes over, like today, I can't help but feeling worthless and yes, I admit it, a little depressed. I'm trying hard to not let it get me down, especially not in front of the kids, because I don't want them to remember a mother who was always in pain. But I can't always do it!

I just got very frustrated suddenly this afternoon. I had a bear of a night with the kids staying awake till 11pm, arguing, because they were afraid of the storm outside and we all slept in one room, since Rick is out of town. Then the stupid dog woke me up at 12:50am to go outside. I swear she never does this when Rick is home! Katja, who was sleeping next to me in bed, had to get up again for school at 6:20am and I get up with her, because she likes the company. So I'm beyond exhaustion and in so much pain, I couldn't even lay down for a nap because it hurts too much. And yet I still have to take Katja to tutoring, have 3 kids playing in my house with the necessary messes and have to feed them tonight. It all seems like monumental tasks! I hate my body!

Ok, pity party over. Somehow it feels wrong to write so much about this, without the disease, my life would be darn near perfect, so is it right for me to complain about that one part? Probably not, but it does feel good every once in a while, especially since I always downplay how I feel in real life.
Well, on to having too much time on my hands: working on the PTA website for the school.

Wow, what a weekend. Ok, what a 4 day weekend is better put! We survived the storm fine, just 2 trees down, neither one touching the house, which had been my big fear. I was glad I prepared by getting extra flashlights, batteries, water and filling the bathtub, as we were without power for 26 hours (minimal compared to most of our neighbors!) and still can't drink the water until further notice.

The schools are starting two hours late tomorrow and Rick is going out of town, so life is returning to normal. I went around the neighborhood yesterday to record some of the damage on film and that can be seen here.

Today, we went to Great Falls, that too was quite a sight and also recorded on film here.

This was definitely the worst storm I have experienced in almost twenty years here and really my entire life!

It's getting down to the wire. We just got the message, that the schools will be closed tomorrow and that several of them will be set up as shelters. I hope so that they won't be necessary!

Meanwhile, we've secured as well as we can all loose items outside. I just put some bottles of water in the freezer, so we can keep food cold a while longer in case of a power outage. I think we have enough candles, flashlights, water and definitely enough food.

Hopefully we'll keep power, that's my main concern. The sunset clouds are bright red, in Dutch we say "evening red means water in the shed" (creative translation as the true Dutch word wouldn't rhyme in English), so it looks like it will come true this time.

Well, I have to admit to getting nervous about the hurricane. I went out to get extra batteries and water today and for the rest we could probably survive for weeks on all the food we have in the house, because I already had a stash in case of a terror attack (yes, I know, but still better be safe than sorry). It's funny how I always have this sense of sillyness when I buy extra emergency supplies. This morning too, I purposely also got some other stuff, so it didn't seem like I was one of those panickers.

Tomorrow we'll secure the lawn furniture and other loose stuff in the yard and then that's really all we can do. I do pray, though, that the storm weakens more, so that overall damage will be limited.

Besides all this, I've been feeling terrible physically, so bad that Rick had to massage me with mineral ice last night. The rheumatologist, whom I saw yesterday, didn't have anything new to recommend, so that was a little bit of a disappointment. I did like that she commended me for the way I was taking care of myself. But that doesn't help me on bad days.

I have to admit to feeling a bit down with all this. Can't wait for Saturday, when all this weather stuff is supposed to be over and hopefully, we'll still have power.

Wednesday was my 42nd birthday! It will forever be the day before September 11th, I'm afraid. But I decided to make this a memorable birthday: all 3 of us girls would get our ears pierced. I never did yet, because my mother didn't like it and then I never got around to it. Now the girls had been asking and so I thought it would be a great thing to do on my birthday. So here we are, all pierced ;).

On September 11th, I took my pc over to Christine's house and worked on my pictures there, while the others did Creative Memories. I don't have the patience for that, but I have plenty of pictures on the computer and I didn't want to be alone on that day.

The weather had been gorgeous all week, so we had good hopes for Friday, since that was the day of my party. Wouldn't you know it, it started pouring down rain around noon :(. And Rick had arranged for sand art for the kids. We ended up having that in the garage. The party was great! We ordered food from Schwan's and some from Giant. And we had the sand art and a roulette table. There were about 30 people and it was very, very nice!

Yesterday, I was a little hungover, I have to admit, so I took a long nap in the afternoon. Then I went out to dinner with my friend Ann and 2 of her other friends. Ann has moved to Philadelphia and came to visit with her daughter, who's Katja's age. We had Mexican and it was a lot of fun chatting till late in the night.

When I came home, Rick informed me Saskia had really missed me. I hate hearing that, because of course she was asleep by then and I couldn't go and cuddle with her (well, I could, but she didn't wake up). Poor buddy!

This morning we got up early and took off for the Renaissance Festival. It was great, as always. I have to say, though, it's amazing what people will wear! Some of it is really too much! I loved the little babies and toddlers in Medieval clothes though and I saw a lot of slings and very well loved kids. A great atmosphere there! No yelling parents, just families having fun together.

The food was awesome, I especially liked the fried pickles. Kai got himself a lifelike little dragon to sit on his shoulder and all the kids got their hands in wax. Much, much fun!

Afterwards, Christine, Chuck and Mallory came over for pizza and that was a good end to a great day!

Wow, I've been a US citizen for 4 years today! That was such a weird 3 days 4 years ago: first I got sworn in as a US citizen on the 9th (9-9-'99, how can one forget?), then my 38th birthday on the 10th and my sister's wedding on the 11th (yes, she got married on 9/11 :(, it's annoying now, as it will forever be "the" date. For me my birthday will always be the day before. I turned 40 the day before 9/11/2001, how's that for a milestone.)

I'm tired tonight. I think the season is getting to me already, I always feel so much worse in fall and winter, it's annoying. Saskia is looking for Halloween costumes online and she just said she might want to be a devil, how appropriate :D.

We visited the orthodontist with Kai and Saskia today and it looks like both will need braces within a year. $$$!

Yesterday, we went canoeing on the Shenandoah river. I can't wait to do it again! And I can't believe we haven't tried it before. It was so much fun! And the weather was gorgeous, as was the scenery. It was remarkably simple: we paid, then got life jackets and they took us by van and dropped us off with our canoes 3 miles away from the boat house and then we canoed with the stream back.

We also quickly visited the Skyline Drive, but it was crowded, we saw no animals and we had to leave soon, because Katja needed more school supplies.

Today, I had our new housekeeper starting. I had a terrible night, as my medicine to help me sleep through ran out. I didn't think it would make a difference immediately, but it did! Though it might have been because I stayed up to finish the Da Vinci Code book, reading until midnight and then the premise kept me thinking. I recommend this book to everyone!

Morning came too soon and my sister called at 7am too. So I quickly got 20 minutes of exercise in, before the doorbell rang and there was Dina. I'm so grateful for her! Within a week of putting out feelers for a two day a week housekeeper, she came to introduce herself upon recommendation of the (wonderful) housekeeper of the neighbors.

She only needed a little guidance, though I stayed home all day to help if need be. She was very self sufficient and got a boat load of work done, cleaning and laundry. Yay! This was the right day to have her too, as I got a quick nap in too, even as Saskia had a friend over to play. It does make me feel somewhat like an invalid, but so be it.

Meanwhile, I made an appointment with the rheumatologist again, as I would like to hear her opinion again. The pain and fatigue do seem a lot worse, but then again, I know that happens in the fall every year. But who knows, new treatment may have surfaced.

Saskia started tap dancing today. She did enjoy it and yippeeeee, a parent suggested car pooling. I wish I could find a car pool for Thursdays, though as I'm running around like crazy then.

I fed my probably least healthy meal to the family: storebought quiches. At least I redeemed myself by also serving fresh spinach. But they all loved it. It's just that I just read a Self magazine article about the most healthy foods and the homemade stuff almost always won. This was not only not home made, but it had 50% of RDA of saturated fat per serving. Hmm, I think even a pizza from Pizza Hut has less.

Tonight I helped Kai with math, I love decimals. Two more days till my birthday. I feel like a little kid. Too bad it will now always be the day before September, 11th. Sigh!

Gorgeous weather today and just like yesterday, Christine and I went for a long walk. We keep discovering new parks and are amazed at how many parks there are!!! I hope they won't all get torn down due to sprawl and crawl!

Speaking of parks, it's almost like a park in our backyard. We have our resident squirrel, a pair of American goldfinches, who love our sunflowers, numerous Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies, as well as Monarchs. It's finally nice enough to sit outside!

Christine and Chuck lent me a book "The Da Vinci Code" and it's great! I can barely tear myself away. The subject, with lots of mystery, history, art history and puzzles is right up my alley!

Just now I heard Rick panicky calling my name from the basement and that he was bleeding profusely. Scared the you know what out of me! Turned out he had cut his toe badly, which bled very heavily. But I had visions of blood spurting from an artery, the way he was calling! Phew!

And Saskia has been playing with her friend Mallory and is trying to convince me that she really wants an American Girl doll, sigh!

A quiet day today, I've decided I'm going to try to have way more of those than last schoolyear. I want to make it so I have energy left to spend quality time with the kids when they come out of school and not be so exhausted from volunteering and other stuff, that I'm not able to do things with them.

So, after a workout at the gym, Christine and I went to Whole Foods Market for lunch, their salad bar is delicious! Then we did some shopping for meals and went home. I had a delicious 45 minute nap. I've been feeling so achy and rundown, it really helped to refuel my body. It's a goal of mine to really give in to my exhaustion by napping more. Hopefully I'll feel well enough tonight to sit at the dinner table for a change!

This afternoon we signed Saskia up for jazz lessons, she's starting tomorrow and is so excited, she's wearing her leotard already. The poor child has been suffering a lot from headaches, though, she came out of school complaining of one. Her nose is also stuffed up, so it could well be her sinuses. It's so humid and wet here, I think we're all having trouble with the mold.

As always my house is a magnet for playing kids and as I'm writing there are 6 kids in the house, only 3 of them mine ;). I like that they love our house so much, but I do despair at the messes they make.

Tonight's dinner is barbecue chicken in the crockpot (yummy, Kai's request, he loves it), mashed potatoes and vegetables. I'm ashamed to admit it's the first home cooked dinner in a looooong time!

Well, the first day of school is over. It started very early (6am), with Katja making her toilette in order to leave at 6:45. When one is an eighth grader, there are many necessary things. She's so cute, though (oops, don't let her read this, she doesn't like to be called "cute"). She came home with a huge smile and clearly had had a great day. And her smile lights up a room, that's not just a proud mom writing!

Saskia came skipping out of school and, with some loyalty to her old teacher, admitted that her new one was almost nicer than her first grade teacher. Good, as I had requested this lady, who keeps getting teacher of the year awards, so she must be doing something right. She is just known for genuinely enjoying the kids and making them enjoy school. Well, after one day, she's proven herself to Saskia so far, Saskia felt the schoolday was too short! Yes, you read it right.

Kai, on the other hand, seems to have a general boredom with school. He was not happy last year and I'm going to have to watch him. I requested Katja's old teacher for him and got her. Mainly because this lady is a grandma, who retired and then came back to teaching. She has a great sense of humor and her philosophy is that 6th grade should be fun, as it's the last year they can be children. Yet, she also managed to teach Katja quite a lot. So, I hope Kai will have an equally fun year with her.

Meanwhile, I'm in the process of finding someone to help me in the household. More than just the cleaning ladies I have now (who charge an arm and a leg for just basic vacuuming and dusting). My fibromyalgia is really getting worse and I want to use what little energy I have on my family and not on the household! I'm lucky that we can afford help, though. I was a little bummed to read that people with fibromyalgia get government subsidized help in the Netherlands. Not that I really need that, but it does mean the disease is taken seriously there. Here, I feel I constantly have to apologize and make up excuses, as "I'm in pain and exhausted" just doesn't seem enough. Even on Thursday, I was roped into volunteering, even after saying no and giving the reason. I was told this "would keep my mind off things". Little do they know that worming myself into a child sized school chair for hours on end to organize a gift wrap fund raiser is pure torture for me and certainly won't "take my mind off things".

Ok, done ranting. When the volunteering call comes, I'll just have to say "no", right? But that's one of the hardest words for me to utter! Help!

Oh well, we'll cross the bridge etc. I'm pretty pooped tonight, so I'll leave it at this and am going to cuddle with my little second grader :).