New Beginnings

Recently, we have moved back to the states. Our baby turned 2 years old. And we are settling in a new house.

It is interesting how you need to get adjusted again to the way things are in the states after being away for a while.

Here are some new things I have learned.

1. You can order on line with Papa Johns, and have your pizza delivered at a specific time.

2. Even though Target is open late, you really don't want to go when the kids are in bed.

3. You can go to any grocery store and get helium balloons. (Awesome)

5. Netflix on line is the best. There is no need for TV, or ever leaving your house for a movie.

6. Going to Costco once a week, still feels like a vacation.

7. This Halloween will be the best ever.

We are busy with dance classes, preschool, and all the other fun things to do.

Plus, I really love the Pacific Northwest in the fall.

War Update.

Sometime ago, I declared war on my butt. And now I have a new update. I am starting to Win. Yeah!!!

Here is what I have been doing. I have been following the South Beach Diet, and I also have been learning about Nourishing Traditions. I have found that cutting sugar out of my diet makes me feel better.

For exercise, I have been doing the Biggest Loser Workout. I really like it. It is still challenging even over two months of doing it. I have exercised around 54 days. I have also started to add some running 3 days a week. I am following this program I got from Prevention magazine.

Results that I have noticed.

I lost my Greek roll. Last year we went to Crete for 10 days. I gained this big roll around my middle that has been there since now.

I have lost around 15 pounds.

I fit in all my old clothes.

I was stronger when I added running to my program. In other words, it has been easier for me to add running. Last time I ran, I could barely run over 2 minutes at a time, and now I can run longer, and have less hip flexor pain.

I have more energy.

My future goals. I am only two weeks into my running program, but I am going to continue doing the Biggest loser DVD 3 days a week, and the other 3 days do my running program. I also do around 20 to 30 minutes of The Biggest Loser DVD after my run each time.

I am also going to watch what I eat. Now I am not 100% good like I was in the beginning, but I plan on getting that back on track here soon. Also, I feel better when I eat very few grains, and stay away from sugar.

Update

Lots has happened since I last blogged.

1 My beautiful step-daughter decided she wanted to come live with us in Denmark, and finish up the school year here at the Copenhagen International School.

2. The whole family had food poisoning. This was an adventure with a one bathroom house. (I suggest no one try it on purpose.) My 4 year old thinks she will never eat Chinese food again.

3. Maddy has been busy with 2 play performances, 1 fashion show, 1 school picnic, and lots of fun times with friends like sleep overs and going to Bakken.

4. Tim was in Fargo, ND for an extra 4 days due to the volcano. He took 4 flights to get back, and we were so happy to have him home.

5. My 1 year old is ready to be a 2 year old. She also loves to dance, climb, and run around.

6. My 4 year old is so big. She is coloring so well, and loves to do puzzles and ride her bike. She is also a big helper, and she is trying to teach us Danish.

6. I have been trying to cook healthier meals. I have been learning a lot about using raw honey instead of sugar, and soaking grains before cooking them. All interesting and new things.

The weather is getting nice, and May is a beautiful month in Denmark.

Hopefully things will become more normal now, and I can get back on track with blogging.

Quote of the Day

"I thought guys didn't like cats. Maybe only mean guys do."

This is the what my 4 year old said while watching Bolt.

My husband tries to train our girls to hate cats. That is because he hates cats. And he hates cats because when he was 10 years old he was attached by a cat with rabies. He then had to have rabies shots in his stomach.

I think I would hate cats too, if I went through that.

Needless to say they all still love cats.

Sick Kids

Actually just my 4 year old. A couple of weeks ago I gave you some insight about the Danish Medical System. Well, my 4 year old started to have a cough around Thanksgiving. But we just waited it out. Sometimes it goes away. Then it did get a little better. But by the middle of December it was pretty bad again. Our doctor's office is closed around a couple of days before Christmas, and did not open until the 4th of January. On January 4th I took her to the doctor's office. I did tell her that she had a cough for around 4 weeks. Well the doctor thought she was fine because she was not running a high temperature. On the 11th I returned with my husband. We wanted to get a referral to a specialist. She has had chest problems in the past. (when she was 2 years old she had RSV) But the doctor really wanted to give her antibiotics for 5 days before doing so. Well my hubby and her got into a fight. She finally gave us a referral to the hospital. On the referral she wrote down the the father doesn't trust her medical opinion and wanted to see someone else. (Fortunately, I had my hubby with me because I would have been in tears at this point.) After waiting for almost 2 hours at the hospital the doctor came in and lectured him on not trusting the 4 year old's doctor. Finally, he asked if she was done so that she could examine our girl. Well after the doctor listened to her she decided to order a chest x-ray. She also noticed that she had a history with other problems. After the xray we found out that she had full on pneumonia. She was given 10 days of antibiotics.

We were told at the time to come back in two weeks. But they decided that it wasn't necessary for us to go back, but never told us. After two weeks we had to go back to our 1st doctor before we could go get a referral to the hospital again. Well, we had to change our 1st doctor, and we had to go the the kommune to do it. (Each area has a main center where they decide what daycare, and what doctor you should have. They also deal with trash, employment, and other neighborhood issues). It would take 14 days for the paperwork to go through.

We found out that there was a private hospital where you can pay $400 to be seen. We decided to go there to see if we could get more help. The doctor there told us it is very common for kids here to have RSV. They think that is normal especially if they are attending daycare. So now we are getting some blood work done to see if she has any allergies to things as well. We are worried about mold because our house has mold as well. (That is another thing that Danes think is normal to live with.)

Anyways, the weather has been below 38 degree F, and no were else to go because you don't want your child to get worse.

I hope everyone is staying warm and cozy, and keeping sick free.

Two New Writing Blogs

I have wanted to write for a long time. I have lots and lots of ideas, but have a hard time getting them down on paper. Two new blogs I have been reading have inspired me to write more.

I hope they inspire you as well.

/jscottsavage.blogspot.com/

/travelinoma.blogspot.com/

Facebook

This is to let everyone know why I am not on Facebook. 1st I love the idea of Facebook. I would love to connect with lots and lots of people. 2nd Facebook requires for me to give out to much of my information. Yes I can lie about my birthday, but it is scary to think that someone could use my information for bad. So for now, I am not on Facebook. But who knows what the future holds.

Good luck all Facebook people.

Friends

One of my good friends is named Lisa Forsyth. I haven't talked to her in a while. Part of it has to do with me living in Denmark. (It is hard to keep in touch with a lot of people when you are so far away.) The other part is I think we get busy living our lives, but I know that when we do get together we would pick up right where we left. She is funny and very talented.

Anyways, one of Lisa's favorite things is Barbies. She told me she feels like she never had enough Barbies when she was little. She use to make up movies with Barbies. So whenever I see movies or videos where Barbies are the main character. I think of her.

I want to dedicate this video I found YouTube. It is Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum starring Barbie. I hope you enjoy.

Danish Medical System

I have been here for almost 3 years, and I have to say that I am not impressed with the Danish Medical System. Here are some examples:

1- my 4 year old daughter use to through up once a month for over 1 year. I would tell our regular doctor, and she said it is normal "daycare sickness". Then when she was spitting up blood, and after hours doctor never came by and said well if she is still bad after the weekend go to your regular doctor. Needless to say she never had any tests done. She is better now, but we will never know what caused it.

2 - when I was pregnant with my 2nd daughter the midwifes were on strike. That didn't mean I should see my regular doctor more, it just meant that I had less prenatal care. Thank goodness I do not have any complications with diabetes and high blood pressure.

3- my hubby had a pretty hard bike reck. He crashed into a light pole really hard. He came home and almost passed out. I was able to get him into the emergency room. They did not take one x-ray, and sent him home with nothing. After 5 days his doctor suggested that he get an ulra sound treatment from a physical therapist. That was it. To this day you can feel a huge divitt in his leg.

My 4th story is what happened to a little boy. Here is the reference from another blogger. I refer you to her post on the subject so you can also read about her experience, and she has references to the article as well.

Here is the story. A 14 month old boy had swallowed a small battery. The doctors never took an x-ray, and they thought the parents were not sure. The parents tried 11 times in 2 weeks to have someone help them. No one did. Needless to say the boy had died, and when the autopsy proved that the battery was the cause of death. The parents are Danish, so it goes to show that I am getting the typical Danish medical care, and that I am not treated worse as a foreigner.

Manna Bread

Over at 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven. Jen talked about her journey of going vegan. Well, I have not decided to go vegan, but I was very intrigued with the idea of eating food in its natural raw state. Plus, I like the idea of feeding my children good nutritional food. So I decided to make manna bread. Here is what mine looked like. It took me a week to sprout the wheat. I think I was trying to sprout to much, but overall it tastes great. I also made sprouted wheat bonn bonns. I cannot get mine to form into balls, but my 1 year old enjoyed it. My 4 year old did not like it, but I think she needs to learn to eat other foods. I enjoyed it and look forward to having more tomorrow. I also made almond milk. I was able to make some great shakes with bananas, and blueberries. My 1 year old thinks this tastes great. My 4 year old thought it was okay, but she did drink the small cup that I gave her. I also learned that we could use flax seed as an egg substitute. Anyways, I am having fun learning new ways to make good food.

Denmark Like and Dislike list

Here is a new list from another friend of mine.

could you keep my name anonymous?

5 things I like:

-how social and nice everyone is...hyggeligt dinners, good conversation
-how green everything is in summer and spring--there are so many trees, even as you drive along highways
-in general, they are more healthy--there is less fast food, everyone gets outdoors a lot, they are more environmentally friendly
-house decor
-how everyone gets into Christmas so much

5 things I didn't like

(These were hard to think of for me!)

being away from all our family
not speaking the language--my fault! (I appreciated that they all spoke perfect English!)
I missed my garbage disposal
pickled herring

I missed not being able to run to the grocery store after 8 pm!

Learning Letters

I have been worried about my 3 year old learning her letters. So I asked. Suzanne over at thejoyfulchaosreviews.blogspot.com. She was so nice and gave me some suggestions. The biggest thing was to make it into a game. She suggested using whip cream on the table, or even cherrios. Well, I decided that my 3 year old should use nail polish on paper. She loves to have her nails painted, and I have lots of nail polish sitting around. Well, I wish I would of taken pictures. She only did 3 letters, but she learned the letter "B", and she also painted it. She then wanted to write letters on paper for hours. She didn't need to paint them just write them. She now can write up to 11 letters, and she knows about 6 more than that. So I am glad to for the great advice. Thanks Suzanne

Twilight Series

I am a big fan of the Twilight Series. I can't wait to see New Moon. Today I saw a great article on CNN. I really enjoyed the article and agreed. It basicly says that teenagers don't need a lot of sex related media to be popular. I quite agree. That is why I enjoy Stephenie Meyer as a writer. She is able to capture all the feelings of romance without all of the sex. Romance has many different aspects. Thank you for doing a good job Stephenie. I can't wait to see what other things you write.

Denmark Like and Dislike list

I have decided to ask a few of my friends who have moved from Denmark to give me a list of things they like and a list of things they dislike about Denmark. I decided to add dislikes so that you can get an idea of some of the strange things that go on here. Like small refrigerators, and having to shop 3 times a week. Also, all the stores close at 5:30 on Saturday. Or going to the store with a list of 5 things only to find 3. Lately, I have found myself staring at the shelf for something like brown rice, or a can of artichokes, or vanilla ice cream I keep staring I guess hoping those things will magically appear. I am spending like 5 minutes looking. Anyways, I am telling you this because you would never know unless I tell you, or someone shares with you their dislikes of Denmark.

I will keep the names of the people I have asked anonymous. Just know that everyone I have asked have kids, and have lived her for over 1 year.

Here is my 1st Guest.

As for your question....Five things I hated about it and five I liked? Well, I guess here goes.

Hated:

1. The people were very rude and closed off, insincere, arrogant,

2. The Ward

3 The weather

4 Having to go shopping so many times a week (I hate grocery shopping) It took too long.

5 The schooling they got at the international school, Doctors

Liked:

1 the architecture

2 the long lunches with friends and the friends that I made over there.

3 the travel

4 the horse back riding

5 the streets of Copenhagen

If I had to do over again. I would wait till my kids were grown and then just go with Scott I might have had a different view of it then. To visit Copenhagen I like it but to live there I don't think I would recommend it.

Good Fairy

Lately, I have been overwhelmed with kids and house work. My Honey was out of town, and I was extra overwhelmed. I started to think, "Why can't I have a Good Fairy?" Like on Cinderella. I already have my Prince Charming, but boy would I love a Good Fairy to help me out. The things a Good Fairy would do would: Clean your whole house while you were sleeping, Clean all leaves in the yard while you are sleeping, Make a delicious meal to come home to while you are running around doing town getting things done. When we were kids we had Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny. I think as an adult I need something magical to look forward to as well. I really like the idea of getting extra help, and then I started to realize that I have many Good Fairies in my life. My Honey is my Good Fairy whenever he does the dishes, makes me a cake, does laundry, or puts the kids to bed. My Mother T is a great Good Fairy. She helped out with my two girls when they were born. She makes delicious food, and cleans, and laughs. She is a lot of fun.

The other day I had taken a long train ride, and I was on my way home. An elderly man started to talk to me. As usually, I had to tell him that I speak English. He then asked if he could borrow my mobile phone. His battery died, and he was trying to call his wife. He even said he would pay me. Of course, I had him use my phone, and I would not even consider having him pay me. He called his wife, and then told me I had saved his life. He was so apprieciative. He continued to thank me as I left. That day I was that man's Good Fairy. And it felt great helping someone.

I think I spend to much time feeling sorry for myself, and I feel like my mountain of responsibilities gets bigger everyday. But I realized that others need help as much as I do. Even something small goes a long way. But if you happen to be lost in the woods and a sweet little fairy helps you get out, will you please send her my way. I would love to have her give me a visit.

War Update

Today, I have not lost any weight since last post, and have exercised a total of 5 days.

That leaves 100 more days to go!

Painted Nailes

Isabella Frickadella loves to have her nails painted. If I plan things well, I can usually use it as a reward. But lately she just nags me. Well, the other day she found my nail polish, and tried to paint her own nails. I am very, very, very lucky the only mess was on her nails. But overall, she gets so much happiness in having her nails painted. I may need to tell her that I pulled the nail polish from the trash, and paint her nails.

War Update

Since my last post I have lost 4 pounds, and I have exercised an additional 5 days. So now I have 105 days to go.

I went on the South Beach Diet for around 1 week. I decided to go off of it for a few days. The excuses are: I have been sick, and so have my kids. I am having a hard time exercising the past few weeks. I gained 1 pound on the strictest phase of the diet.

So now I am going to not be so strict for a few days, then get right back on it. I am going to blog about my weight until I have exercised 105 total days. We will see how things look by then. Hopefully I will get my rear in gear.

Shoes

Isabella calls Mary Jane shoes, "Mary James". It is really cute

Sick, sick, sick

I have been sick for over 1 week. Last Sunday Isabella, came down with croup. Here in Denmark, they call it sea lion cough. I like that because her cough does sounds like a sea lion. So we have had that to deal with plus I am not 100% myself. Thank goodness for my sweet honey. He has taken care of Isabella at night. Sometimes with croup you can stop breathing, and that is pretty scary. Plus, there is a good chance Christina is going to get it as well.

Hopefully, Isabella will get well, and I can be back myself.