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.

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.

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

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.

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.

What I have been up to

I have been busy this past week. It was my baby's first birthday. I was busy making a crown for her, and for everyone in my mother's group. I recieved inspiration from one of my favorite blogs. Nie Nie. Those of you that know me, know I am not very creative, but I had so much fun making these crowns. I even persevered with the fact that Denmark has crappy craft stores

Today there are good things.

Today it September 11, 2009. Eight years ago the United States of America was attacked by terrorists. Eight years ago I was single living with my parents, and not sure of my future.

Today I am living in Denmark. I have a wonderful husband, and 3 beautiful girls.

Today I went to pick up my 3 year old from her daycare, and she greeted me with her face painted like a dog. She has thought about having her face painted for several weeks now, and she has wanted to be painted like a dog for several days now. When we left we saw two elderly ladies who just had a great time with my darling's face. They laughed and smiled and loved her face. She was proud and happy to be a dog. Not only did her face make me, and her little sister smile, but everyone that saw her.

Eight years ago very bad things happened, and there are some very bad things in this world, but for me right now I have very wonderful happy things. I never imagined anything bringing me so much happiness as a proud 3 year old with a painted face.

I think we all need to have our face painted.

Much Happening

Here is a list of things going on.

- Selling our house.
We are in the process of selling our home in the much loved Seattle area. We love Washington state, and will probably love it forever. We don't love our house, and now we are going to sell it.

- Going to Crete.
We are going to spend 10 days in Crete. We are so excited. We are renting a house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a private pool.

- Bringing our lovely Tween home.
My wonderful hubby is off to bring our lovely tween daughter from her mom's house. With this there is always a bit of stress. 1- I need to get the room she will be in comfortable. 2- We need to make sure sure there are some good activities lined up for her. 3- Getting use to having a tween around. (That can be challenging in on its own).

- My sweet little baby is growing up.
My little 7 month soon to be 8 months is crawling like crazy. She has two teeth, and now she is starting to pull herself up. I am very busy running around.

- My little princess is acting more like a little devil.
I love my sweet 3 year old but she has been a big handful. With in 24 hours. She has whinned in the car all the way to the airport, gotten a pearle bead stuck on her bottom baby tooth, wrote in pen all over my friends alphabet floor puzzle, peed on the bathroom floor with her clothes on at my friends house, ate a crayon, played with my jewelery, sprayed hairspray everywhere, ate a whole container of gum, went into the baby's room and woke her up, hit me, and threw a big tantrum. I think that is all. At this point I think I am suppressing anything extra that has happened.

Life is busy!