Side Effects.

Kasper has very bad excema, combine that with the compulsiveness that comes with the Autism and you have a serious skin problem because he will not stop scratching.
So he was on antihistamines, but he still scratched.
Then the prescribed some Blue Lagoon time and stronger antihistamines.
He still has rough looking skin and a new rash has showed up.
Back to the doctors, these new circle blotches are a side effect of the4 new pills, so off those.
The Blue Lagoon is also canceled. No he goes tanning.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next 6 weeks.
After the winter darkness here in Iceland, he will have the best looking skin around.
(The rest of us look more then a little pasty)

Bumbo Chair

I love this chair.
We started putting Leópold in it at Christmas and now he is really to big for it but it was so cute.
I liked how you could put him anywhere when he was too small for the highchair.
Now he just goes in the high chair.

Mold mold

As I mentioned in a few posts now, I have switched apartments because of an mold problem.
I only saw the mold growing on the ceiling in Kasper's room but during the move out report they found mold in both bathrooms and the living room ceiling.
Makes me glad we decided to deal with the hassle of moving rather then the hassles of living in construction while they tried to get ride of all the mold.
And if they kept finding more we probably would have had to move anyways.
Done now and settling well. 

Inspection.

When ever you move rental properties the move out inspection has to be done.

To me this is one of the most stress full thing about moving.

No matter how much you clean and repair, they find something wrong. After all, there is a lot of money to be made.

I have never, in Iceland or Canada, heard of someone getting the entire deposit back.

This move was no different.

While the guys were checking for dust behind the dryer and spots on counters, I was nearly having a heart attack.

I spent so much time on the place, I even painted spots that had come up so it actually looked better then when I moved in, and that was my undoing.

In the entrance hallway, with the light shining on the wall, you could tell I had just painted.

I mean painted less then 12 hours ago.

They asked if I had been painting. I said I had. They asked where I bought the paint, I told then (the same place they buy the paint) and then they told me off for painting.

I, the tenant, am not allowed to paint. Even if there are marks on the walls.

STUPID STUPID

So they are making me pay 15800 KR, a deal they tell me. They could have charged more?

I am a little angry, mostly because it is there fault I had to move apartments, I didnt put the mold there, but I am glad it is done.

Part of me thinks I should fight it but the other part reminds me I have 3 boys to take care of and that is more important.

But I will remember this lesson for next time.

Events

The last few weeks have been so hectic that I have not been blogging as I should.

Funny how when you have so much to say, the time to say it is harder to find.

But there is lots of news with the kids.

Starting with the youngest:

Leópold turned three months, weighs over 20 pounds and is 70 centimeters long. Basically, a huge baby. He is rolling well enough and thinks he is talking up a storm. Still a charming little guy who hardly ever has a complaint.

Davíð wrote an essay about him for school, Leópold is a hero.

At Leó's check up the doctor had a speech about how we should remember that he is just a big baby and not take it personally when people look at him and think there is something wrong because he isn't walking...

Reminding us of a quote from Dr. Roseman (the pediatrician in Canada) 'Well, he is a little retarded for a 2 years old, but thats OK because he is only 6 months'. This was about Stefán, another big baby.

He (Leó) is also trying to eat everything now. Much more then my other two boys ever did. In fact he spends a good part of everyday trying to eat his own bib.

Stefán is doing great. He has a new girlfriend named Louvísa. He has assured me that she is a very good girl and is never in trouble at school.

He is still nearly attached to Einar, his bestest friend in the world. Making it nearly impossible to spend time with just him.

Today was parent teacher interviews and they went great. His teacher says his reading is great (but could be a tiny bit better), his math is amazing. He is also very very well behaved in class and always follows the rules. He is also very shy.

And besides the usual expected middle child attitude, he is very good for us too.

Kasper will take longer.

Last week we had the huge meeting about his assessment and the things that can be done to help.
The school, always on the defensive, insisted that he needed a lot of medication and that would fix everything.

He is starting new medication on Friday, but I do not think any pills can fix everything, but they might help, we will see.

Social workers were there to tell us about a few programs that will now be open to Kasper, including a support family and someone to help with his activities.

The occupational therapist was told off for not communicating more with the school.

The psychologist for Reykjanesbær gave everyone a lot of useful suggestions for everyone.

An application was put in to switch Kasper to a school for Autistic children, a great school but it is full right now, so we have to wait. Maybe someone will move...

At parent teacher interviews, everything was as expected, He is doing better all the time, always room for improvement.

All this with moving apartments and the rest of everyday life, clearly we are swamped. But what should we expect with three kids?

Cat Person

I was always a cat person, At least I thought I was and the main reason for this being laziness.

Cats are easier to clean up after.

No walks.

Once a week you just empty the entire litter ox into a bag and your done.

In fact that is the main reason I never wanted a dog, I never wanted to pick up after one.

YUCK YUCK YUCK.

I have a dog now and it still bothers me, but I put on a good show about it in front of the kids. 'Just put your hand in the bag and use it as a glove to pick up tje poo'

But inside I am gagging.

When I am alone I usually take her to the field and pretend to not pay attention, no one will notice there.

Today I found a bog of someone who feels the same way, it was funny.

Here is The Nervous Breakdown.

Couldn't have said it better myself

While sorting though my emails, many of which are from Couchsurfing, I came across this post in the Iceland group, and laughed myself silly.

It is painfully true and put into word so well that I must share.

Thank you Hannah , for the post.

AGHH!
Let me clarify on the vegetable situation. I've been traveling around Iceland for a few months now, and I have been eating everything, I have no dietary restrictions. However, I tend to always try to eat at least a fairly healthy, fairly balanced meal. I soon found that was impossible to get, especially out on the farms where i worked, and it might be the same in Norway. Always potatoes, always lots of dairy, and SO much meat. Sheep every every every day of my life. However, out on the farms, i've seen salad a total of twice.
The thing is, there are veggies, at the supermarket, but they are very very very low quality vegetables. I have never seen so many bruised browned rotten flavorless vegetables before. Of course, it's very hard to get veggies out here, and that's understandable. But beware, do not expect to be eating high quality, all organic veggies to support your diet. They are also fairly expensive. The further from Reykjavik you get, the worse the quality and the higher the price.

(not entire post, if you want to read more click here.)


I should also mention that it is considerably better in the summer.

On my way to becoming Icelandic

At least as close as I can get without eating rotten shark or speaking clear Icelandic. (I can understand and mumble lots)

Today I printed out the forms to apply for citizenship, something I have been waiting a very long time for, and the process is actually fairly simple.

I need proof of Icelandic lessons, no problem.

I need proof from the National Registry for at least three years, consider it done.

Pass an Icelandic exam, I can bluff my way through anything.

I think this will take about a week, maybe two.

Then it will just be waiting, and that will be exciting.

No more applications to stay every year.

No more 'Beware of the foreigner' Identification card that I am supposed to carry around.

I look forward to having a say in these crazy politics.

I find the whale rather tasty.

I already have an Icelandic sheep dog,
perhaps I should look into getting a horse.

OK, not serious about the horse.

But I am prepared to take on my share of the national debt.

Just call my Kólín :)

Just a few mushroms.

First I should apologize for not blogging in weeks. We are still alive and well, just getting through a small crisis.

You see a few weeks ago we noticed mold growing on the ceiling in Kasper's room. Since Kasper is allergic to mold we moved him into our room while we waited for the offices to open after Christmas holidays.

When they opened the problem was looked at and while we were assured this was not the deadly black mold, they would need to do work on the place and could not guarantee it would not come back. I guess there is a problem with the insulation.

Anyways, we switched apartments and moved about 100 meters over to a building that has never had mold.

Also the same building as my friend Lizzy.

Also an even bigger apartment. 150 meters! Thats three times the size of our place in Reykjavík.

So I have been in moving chaos and have a lot to catch up on, but its coming :)

New Years - worst pictures ever

The tricky thing with New Years is as the night goes on, the photos get worse and worse because of the drinking involved.
Because I did not even remember that I had a camera until after 1, the pictures are really bad.
These are the only pictures worth salvaging. Believe it or not, the rest were worse.
Good news is that I had a great time, made it home and only owe one person an apology. I think you could call that a successful night.

The strange shower man.

This is the shower gel I bought, but then could not use.
It is just too strange to have this guy staring at me,
then Davíð put words in his mouth.
Now we just use it on the dog. She doesn't mind.

A little more Canadian

Although I was a little upset that the parcel from my dad did not arrive before Christmas, I still tore into it. Super excited.
My home looks a little more Canadian now, with Davíð and I drinking Tim Horton's coffee from Edmonton Eskimo's travel mugs, the kids using Edmonton Oiler's towels.
I also got a Team Canada shirt and chips!
And Kraft Dinner! Which was gone in less then 12 hours. Yum Yum Yum.
Its the little pieces of home that make it all OK.
Thanks Dad.
Best Christmas gift ever.