Stefán - Júdómaður Janúarmánaðar

Stefán is the Judo man for January - always so diligent, we could not be more proud :)

http://www.bjjudo.com/freacutettir.html

News, school, work and a phone

While procrastinating I found myself reading the news, at least there was something good to read 

At school today I learned that in Icelandic it is perfectly OK to start a sentence with the word *and*. I am still in shock. It just feels wrong. Short sentences are good. The shorter the better. Even if they begin with *and*. Just to practice I might start using this in English as well. Just for practice.

I took my fancy new 1998 model car for his first car was under my care. Looks like a whole new car. I like the colour. This is not my car, but it looks just like it.

Kasper still has a girlfriend. The same one. They are going to Japanese days at the university this weekend.

Stefán has a Judo wrestling tournament that I will be proudly watching on Saturday. I plan on filming it. Should be good.

After searching, researching and agonizing on what kind of phone to buy, I decided on the Samsung Galaxy S3 only to find out today it is sold out in Iceland, probably not coming back because it is too old and all that work was for nothing. So I bought a S4, spending more then I had wanted to but getting a great camera in the deal. Expect awesome pictures by Monday.

Unfortunately I can not thing of anything else right now, mostly because the kids are bothering me to much. I think it is time to put them to bed.

it's almost over

I have to say, this has been one of the most amazing summers.

Leópold has grown so much, sometimes I can hardly recognize him. His English is coming along beautifully and he is becoming so much fun. Even his big brothers like playing with him. A sure sign of how much he has grown up this summer is that now he is actually excited to go to school. Last year he dreaded school and even over most of the summer was telling me how he was not going back, but now he loves it. At night we can even use the fact he has school in the morning as something to make him want to go to sleep.

Stefán has really enjoyed the summer but is looking forward to starting school again. Bad news is that he has seen better days. We went in for a check up and to ask about this chicken allergy he seems to have - I mean seriously he coughs when he eats and sometimes, like when he has chicken, his throat swells up. So they tested him and say he is allergic to all grains (wheat ect) all fish (everything except mussels, they are ok), all dairy, chicken, eggs, cows, dogs, sesame seeds, SOY - basically everything. In fact we got the test results and he tested positive in everything except horse and mussel allergy's. Everything else was positive. So we have an immunologist appointment on Friday. Until then we eat rice and drink rice milk.

Kasper is nervous about school. I think he will be happy to go back but the past week he has been bouncing off the walls. We are also on a waiting list for him to get a doctor. I hate the health care system.
Kasper has spent a lot of time this sumar drawing anime. Its a new hobby of his and we are happy for him.

Davíð is doing great at work. They are evening going on a fishing trip this week, I am excited for them. Not that I like fishing, but I do like the odd get away. I hear there will be good food.
So no husband here means party at my house?

I have been keeping so busy its crazy. I am back into the couchsurfing and stuffing my living room with families from all over the world. I have nearly all my school books and am considering buying a tablet for dictionary purposes. May also be used for farmville on the bus, but I would never admit to buying a tablet for that. I am exploding in excitement to start school.

Peter. Davíð's cousin whom is currently staying with us is driving me a little crazy - but isnt that what family's for?

Rósa is doing great except they broke her spare claw. Its a little sad but I am waiting for her to chew it off herself. Dogs are good doctors.

Gerbils are all still around and having a great time chewing up the cardboard of the house.

The fish as living a little safer now that we found a new home for the killer angel fish. Although the aquarium looks very very empty......

I hope my friends are all doing well, but I have to admit I wouldn't know for sure seeing as I have not kept in contact with anyone. Its getting to the point that I would feel bad calling.

The apartment reno's are going great! I am so excited to have it emptied out and get to redesigning!

I hope one of these days some of my Canadian family makes it out to see the life I have here.

with dearest memories

 

Kasper will miss you, and so will the rest of us.

Rest in peace, our champion runner. 

Things I can check off the list

If I had a list of things to see before I die, it might look like the list of things I have seen this week.

• I have been accepted, paid the tuition for and finished the entrance exam into university
• I have taken Leópold to school with out him crying
• I have come home to see that my older children not only finished their homework, they also signed for each other in reading
• I been, myself in the gym and on the treadmill, at 7:00 a.m.
• I have a piece of tooth in my wallet*

*while I never, ever, thought I would lose a chunk of front tooth for seemly now reason, and while it makes me sad and I know it will cost a fortune to fix, it is kinda cool to look at.
On that note, my 8:30 appointment at the dentist on Friday can not come soon enough, until then, I refuse to smile.

A+

I have managed, through whinning, contacts and sheer persistance, to be admited into the University of Iceland, basically to master Icelandic, but I will do more too.
I am so excited my stomach in upset.
Things to do

Robert will be 62

My father in law is having his birthday this weekend and sent out, to everyone, this fabulous invitation.
I think I am allowed to share it with you because he said everyone is welcome, EVERYONE. It is one of those kind of partys. And while it says you dont need to bring food, I think I might try to make something and maybe you can too.
quote:
We have decided to have a party here on SATURDAY AUGUST 13 (Not Friday
the 12th, but people are welcome to arrive whenever.)

Saturdays are better days for parties than Fridays. And anyway it
won't be a facile"birthday party" but, rather, a gift-free celebration
of:(a) our acquisition of Víðihóll in its entirety, (b) the Dog Days,
July 13-Aug 13, i.e. the by-far-best time of year, (c) Inga's 60th,
(d) ok, wtf, my birth day.

We'll tell people to turn up and leave (or not) when they like. There
will be two pools, two empty houses and a bus, a former greenhouse
(now rec room, which will become a greenhouse again in 2013; great
until then for a bad weather party), lamb on a spit (no vegans
expected, but welcome to watch) and potatoes. And music.And I hope
dancing. I will try to have the lamb & potatoes ready by 6 or 7 pm. I
am not planning to serve much vitamin C or dessert.

I would like you to consider inviting friends. Call it a Dog Days
Party. It would be more fun with some of them. And they will have fun,
too.

People should just bring something to drink and sleeping bags. Of
course we will not body-search people for lettuce, tomatoes, cake,
tofu or whatever they really want to eat if meat & spuds is not
enough. A tent would do no harm, but is not a deal breaker. Family has
dibs on the housing, but there will be spare floor space for friends.

This should be memorable.

Dad/Rob

A beautiful Saturday

Today, while enjoying the amazing weather here, 18 today, with the same expected for tomorrow, my thoughts are elsewhere.

My little brother Tye is getting married this weekend.


Anyone who knows me knows my family is seriously confusing, so let me explain, Tye is the one who has the same mother as me, different fathers.

He is 5 years younger then me, so when I left Canada he was still so young. 20.

It is hard to imagine him now. Older, with a better half, a toddler following him and a baby in his arm.

I wish I was there. Mostly to help out. Thats what family is for right? I feel so helpless out here. I really wanted to do something for them.

But I am counting on my sister, Shantell. She went out on Thursday to help with the kids, probably calm some nerves. She is a super hero.

We have the same mother as well, but she has a different father, then Tye too. I know, it is confusing.

When you look at pictures, it is hard to believe that we are related at all, but we are still family. And if we can not be there, we still dream of each others weddings.

Birthday

Today will be the last of Davíð's birthday celebrations.
They started two days ago.

Friday was a Birthday with friends, poker, buckets-o-beer, load music, and a dancing baby.

Saturday was needed for some recovering, for Davíð. The boys made Davíð a giant chocolate cake that over flowed in the oven (currently feeling grateful for the self cleaning feature). They covered the cake in white icing and rat shaped candys. Good stuff. We also cooked Davíð breakfast, rather late in the afternoon and ordered Mega Week pizza for dinner.

Tomorrow is Davíð's actual birthday and Davíð's parents host another birthday party. So we will be heading out there. He's one lucky guy. And he's 29.

AND
Next week is more fun:

June 6th I send 2/3 of my boys away for 5 days of summer camp fun and I will be enjoying my 8 year wedding anniversary. (A true measure of my old age) and (as if this was not enough) I am taking my citizenship exam at 8:15 a.m. FEEL THE STRESS!"#"

June 7th I will still be with only one kid, and relaxing from the day before while volunteering for the Salvation Army's second hand store and celebrating my 30th birthday. Feel free to come see more for some coffee and cake :D


June 7th is also Gulli and Kiddi's birthday's, funny because they are twins, and live upstairs from me.

***I did not put my birthday on Facebook for a reason - I might cry if no one calls me, but sends me facebook messages, I want hugs, not messages! (greedy, I know)

I also have a birthday wish, and I dont often ask for something but I really really need good runners for my walks and I really really want these: shoes but I know they are expensive, so if any family reads this I would be so happy to help with buying them.

And I promise not to ask for anything else :D

Jordyn Leigh Patricia

My brother Tye and his partner Amanda have given me a neice, at last! OK, this is not about me.
Welcome Jordyn Leigh Patricia, 6lb 11oz and 18 in tall, or 3.1 kíló's and almost 46 cm tall. Here are the first pictures:

Finally a neice?

Our family is full of little boys. My sister has two, I have three, I even even have lots 4 step brothers but now my half brother, Tye, is having, or his girlfriend is having, a little girl, we think.
I am not up to date on the news. All I know is she went in yesterday to be induced and naturally Tye has not been to a computer yet to give me the news, but I am sure its good and I am so excited anyways.
Please send you congratulations to Tye, Amanda (his girlfriend) and there older son Austin.

I'm still blushing.

I actually thought I had more time to prepare myself for moments like this. I was wrong.
'The Talk' went like this:
S: I know what you and dad do. You guys are having sex all the time.
k: (being rather caught off guard) Well thats not true, not all the time, otherwise we would have hundreds of babies.
S: So, that's how you get the babies?
k: yes....
S: So you have had sex three times then?
k: well, thats a personal question
S: Whats a personal question?
k: That means I don't want to talk about it.

I admit I could have handled that better, maybe, but I admit that in school I was one of the kids that could not stop giggling every time the teacher even said puberty in sex ed. And somethings never change.

Our newest family member

is a super cute multi color bunny, with out a name because we can not agree on one yet and without a picture because he will not come out from under the couch.
but trust me, he's a cutie.
Even Rósa, our dog, is smitten, refusing to leave the front of the couch with her head stuck under the edge.
We got to know each other fairly well after I put her in a tomato box and carried her under my arm onto the bus, like I seriously bought all those tomatoes, trying to keep the lid down and hide the nose that kept trying to poke through the handle spots.
The entire time Leópold was squealing with joy and pointing at the box.
I am sure at this point you might have guessed that animals are not allowed on the bus, and I even had to go through a transfer.
But the great escape was successful and I managed to smuggle my little bunnie home.
Feel free to come by and meet the little guy, as soon as he comes out.

Laga.is

Davíð has offically started his own business, Laga.is. He fixes everything!
We are so excited for him!
and you can like it on Facebook :)

Flu of Death 2010, and other great (not so great) moments of the week.

Lets start with last Sunday,

We went to Övar's first birthday party, a fabulous event with great food at Stína's. Övar being  Leópolds cousin of nearly the same age. And I forgot the gift at home. To be fair we did stay out with ther inlaws :) the night before, but I should learn to plan a little better. I planned to mail it to her on Monday. We live in different city's.

There was no school on Monday because of Winter holidays. The first day of winter was on Saturday, so I guess we needed a four day weekend, alright. So I go downtown, forget the gift at home again, then I take Kasper to the dentist while forgetting to transfer myself money to pay for the appointment. So I had to call my father in law to borrow 3500 ikr until I could get home. I was feeling a little silly.

That evening I started to feel very very ill, in a violent and disgusting way. A few hours later I was woken up by Stefán, equally ill and even more disgusting. I spent the rest of the night being sick or helping the sick kiddo.

I could hear the phone ringing while I was lying in bed, but there was nothing I could do about it. On Tuesday, I was nearly dead. The violence that came with the illness was gone, but I was drained. I couldnt walk further then 10 steps, Stefán and I spent most of the day sleeping while Leópold got only basic care from me. I even missed sending Kasper to school. It was my fault he slept in and he still has not forgiven me.

I did get him to school, he seemed healthy enough, until he was sent home from after school care and he puked all over the car.

By evening I could see straight, with the help of Poweraide, I assessed the damage. I had to literally shower down and scrub the entire bathroom, terrible. The laundry pile had turned into a mountain over night, it grew eyes, attitude and an awful smell.Kasper slept and slept.

Wednesday - everyone seemed fine. The boys stayed home, relaxing, watching cartoons and napping. I even went on a much needed grocery shopping trip, the house was looking normal again and things were looking up. By evening the boys were bickering, a sure sign of good health, so I made plans for them to go back to school in the morning.

Leópold falls asleep early, then starts throwing up and the scary thing was that he was not even awake while he was being sick. So I was awake all night with the little guy, making sure he didn't choke, cleaning him up, changing his clothing - and he slept through it all. I would rather he was awake and crying, I think, then I would at least see some life in him.

Thursday morning Leópold started to look better, at least he stopped ugly stuff, and was sleeping soundly. I sent the other two off the school. Less then an hour later the school calls, they are sending Kasper home, I guess he has a fever. I must have missed it. Kasper comes home and goes back to sleep. I really thought he was doing better.

Stefán is totally healthy and in school, but I kept Kasper home on Friday. Not taking any more chances. Leopold is better. The laundry is actually caught up. The weekend is looking good. Kasper was even invited out for a sleep over with a friend, but I thought it might not be a good idea. I took them to the library then  out to see this new movie in the theater with pizza at home after. Everyone was happy.

Everything looked normal again on Saturday morning. Cartoons, cereal, coloring, then Kasper fell asleep before lunch. After sleeping 12 hours at night I don't think he needs naps.  He woke up in time for dinner, ate a few bites, and fell back asleep for the rest of the night. Everyone else was fine.

***I should mention that I made homemade chili for the first time, and it was amazing! I'm hooked.

Today is Sunday, Halloween in many parts of the world, and usually a family day around here. The kids and I woke up this morning. Davíð slept in, this is a usual thing so I thought nothing of it, until he started getting really sick. Now he is sick, he has not left the bed all day, with the exception of running to the bathroom and is burning up with a fever. Now being all manly as he is he is refusing medication for the fever or even to call in sick for work tomorrow. Some times I want to shake that guy around. There is no way he is going to work in the morning.

I tried to take the kids to see a show with a hundred model ships but we missed they bus and since there is only 2 buses a day on the weekends that pretty much killed that idea. So we went to the indoor playground instead. It was really nice and everyone had a great time. Then we went home and heard form other kids that the base would be doing the American Halloween thing. I knew they did it last year, it had been a lot of fun, but there was posters advertising it beforehand so I just assumed it would not be happening this year. I was wrong. Keiler sent out emails to everyone living on the base explaining to rules what to expect. Kids were supposed to dress up and go out between 6 and 8 to get candy. Adults were supposed to get decorating the hallways and buy candy. I got the message an hour before the store closed.

Lucky for me I was not the only one dashing to the store at the last minute, so I caught a ride with a friend of Kasper's dad. His name is Stefán. He doesn't speak English. So we went to the store, I grabbed a bunch of candy, and sandwiches for a quick supper (I knew the boys would be in a hurry). Get to the cashier and I forgot my wallet. It was really great. I had to borrow cash from someone who I don't actually know, and who could not understand what I was talking about. But he did it, and I bought the stuff. I did manage to get his banking information out of him and transferred him the money after he dropped me off at home. But I still feel stupid.

The kids dressed up, went out and got candy for the 2 hours they were allowed. It was a great success, especially considering it was a last minute thrown together Halloween. The kids brought home lots of interesting things including several baggies of popcorn, loose candies and marshmallows (things that are OK in Iceland and nowhere else). We even ran out of candy 10 min. early, and I was a little sad because I was looking forward to the leftovers.

Oh well, maybe next year.

Home Sick

Spent far to much of today crying.
Winter is coming, it is getting dark, windy rainy and generally discusting.
At the boys birthday parties last week I realized how lonely I am out here, at the very least I need my sister. No one should have to go years and years with out having coffee with a sister.
I always wanted the boys to have a great family, a huge great family, and they do, but they are all over the place and it makes me sad.
And my brothers, dont get me started, they are all grown up, 2 are engaged now with babies on the way.
Thats the order we do things in our family, get a baby then get married. I suspect this might not be the same in other families, but it works for us.
Imagine all these additions to our family, more cousins for the boys, sister in laws for me, and I have not met either of them before.
My cousins are having babies, it's an epidemic. 
Even my Dad had some amazing news for me, wedding bells in his future, amazing.
There is so much great news, and I really am so happy for everyone, and I miss you all so so much.
And thanks to my friends for the helpful suggestions.
One friend suggested a small bank fraud to take a 6 month holiday in Canada, while another suggested packing our backpacks and making a run for it, this country is getting more backwards all the time.
I am not actually going to do either, but have become more determined then ever to find a way to be closer with my family across the ocean.

Survival of the double birthdays

The party was last night, the official ending, 26 hours ago and just now I can say things are back to normal. Mostly.

Stefán let things get a little to his head and still has not gotten over it, each hour he gets better.

And the living room is still full of day room furniture, even more then usual, but I might like it this way.

Rósa the dog has been sleeping most of the day in recovery, she was a good host and I think she took the time to greet everyone.


Our party included:
14 adults
2 ten year olds
1 nine year old
2 eight year olds
3 seven year olds
1 five year old
1 four year old
1 three year old
2 two year olds
3 one year olds
and one little baby

All this and amazingly enough, no one spilled anything on the carpet.
My father in law thinks this is a sign of a boring party :)

Nearly all the food was eaten, even though at first I was thinking I may have over done it.

Both boys got such nice gifts, they are both very lucky. Thank you too all my friends and family for that, and even Kasper was happy at the end of the night.

And now that the party is done, the pictures being sorted and the house looking more like a home then a kindergarten, I am happy that this only happens once a year.

See you next year.

So so behind - back to Facebook

This having three boys takes more time and energy then one might think,

but I have big plans,

as soon as I think of a good name I will go back to Facebook and create a page for the entire family. And I will not use it for Farmville, I promise.

Then Davíð can get his facebooking fix, and we can properly advertise this kids upcoming birthday parties.

Look for your upcoming friendship request :)

Just need a good name......

Walking

Its true, Leópold has learned to walk.
On Friday he took his first steps, almost by accident.
Yesterday he refused to even try, then today I saw him walking around holding on to the hose for the vacuum. He seemed to think it was holding him up.
Then after dinner he walked from the table to the couch.
My baby is growing up so fast, and this is a new record for my kids at 9 months and 3 days.

Nanna and Grandpa

Davíð's Nanna and Grandpa are coming to town - thats right, flying to Iceland, on Tuesday!
I wonder if he knows how lucky he is, not many people are still getting visits from Grandparents overseas when they are his age. Davíð's I mean.
Nanna, a.k.a. Mona, and I have meet twice. Once she came out to see us in Edmonton, and again when she came with Grandpa, a.k.a. George, to Iceland, nearly four years ago.
I am really looking forward to this visit, because I would really like to get to know them better.
Even if I have heard hundreds of stories - personal experience is the best. 
I am also extra excited for the kids, especially Kasper and Stefán, who will benefit the most from spending some time with them.
4 days to go.