So Much to talk about

• I finally agreed to the assistant store manager position at a rate of 300 000 ISK. a month and a review in three months. I still feel this is a very low wage considering the work involved, but I look forward to the review. I also look forward to the annual toy fair in Denmark this year, that I get to go to!
  
• Toy R Us was vandalized last night, crazy people.
• I found 30000 ISK on the ground yesterday. I was in the grocery store so I waited by it for a while, then I took it to information and asked if anyone had mentioned losing some money. She talked to everyone working and we waited by the front of the store for a while, but no one seemed to have lost it. I called the store again today and still no one has been asking about it. Now I do not know what to do, but I feel rich. This is a test.
  
• Easter holidays are here and that means it is time for our family holidays! We rented a cabin with a hot tub, sauna and b.b.q. It has everything we need for a super relaxing 4 day weekend. We leave on Friday!
• Our washing room is finally back in order, but the dryer is broken and I am a week behind on laundry. So my living room is currently filled with clothing drying racks.
• The weather is getting great! Time to kick the boys outside for the summer.
• Construction season is really going now. They are building a huge building a couple blocks from us, and it will have a lot of underground parking. This means lots of explosions! You can not just dig up this lava rock, you need dynamite. I complain about my apartment shaking every hour, but I can not imagine living right next to it.
  
• With spring comes fresh haircuts. I cut Kasper a nice mushroom cut then I had to fight with Stefán to get one too. He only wants the top, front and sides cut, but I am supposed to leave the back, he wants it long. Thats right, he wants a mullet. I was really hoping he had grown out of that. It ended up no one won this argument. I tried to convince him and it did not work, so I just started cutting the way I wanted it. He did not want this so he moved around to much. Now he has a terrible haircut, but I still think it is better then the mullet.
  

This is life

I have a dozen emails I need to reply too, but I do not know where to start. Everything seems so overwhelming and I am embarrassed of how long I have put some of these things off for.

Where to start now?

Last night we went to my in laws for dinner. It was a fabulous meal, Inga always is the best cook. She looked better then I have seen her in ages. It was good to see. But then I know that not everyday is like this. I am worried, probably over worried. It is a personality problem of mine.

I find myself thinking of all these great things we cam do to help out, then I am second guess myself. I buy puzzles that collect dust on my self. Who am I making feel better.

I am constantly telling Davíð off for not going out there enough. What if something happened? How often is enough?
He says she does not want visitors when she is sick. This could be true. But at the same time I would have thought that she would want more family there because maybe she is lonely.

I can not pretend to know what others are thinking. I do not even know what I am thinking.

I can not control everyone, although these days it looks to me like I am trying. I have to learn to admit these faults in myself.

Ah, and work, don't even get me started! Here is a conversation for you:

Toys R Us: Hey, you want to be an assistant store manager?

Me: Yes!

Toys R Us: OK, we will pay you 280000IKR a month

Me: But I make more then that now, with the overtime.

Toys R Us: As a manager you twill not be paid for overtime, it will just be one rate for the month.

Me: So I would make less?

Toys R Us: Not everything is about the money. Why don't you think about it over the weekend and make us an offer on Monday.

I went home that weekend feeling terrible, I want the job, but I am not so stupid as top sign a contract saying I will make less. I talked to the union Monday morning, they told me what I should be making.

Toys R Us: So have you thought about it?

Me: Yes, and I want 400000 a month, with a cap on the hours.

Toys R Us: That is impossible.

Me: This is what the Union says that I am entitled too.

Toys R Us: How about 300000? Why don't you think about that?

I thought about it overnight.

Me: I think 350000 is OK, with a set review time.

Toys R Us: How about 300000 with a raise in 1 year?

I don't think so.

As it stands right now they are back in Sweden thinking about it while I think about it here.

I am not greedy, I just know what will be expected out of me and I expect to be paid fairly for that.

I am particularly mad about the fact that the other assistant manager makes much more and they tell me that is different. Why is it different?

Those little, well, lets not say.

I am trying to contain my anger!

Good News!

Kasper has an official diagnosis! Everyone always knew there was something a little different with Kasper, now we know. It is Autism. The mild talking one, Asburgers (how ever you spell that) Super smart, doesn't play with other kids, talks lots and lots.

That our boy!

I miss you all and plan to do some real catching up - sooner then later!

It is Official!

I am the new assistant manager of Toys R Us!
Yippee!
Wages under negotiation tomorrow - this is all a little stress full.

I have taken the weekend off and am enjoying a great weekend at home with my boys!

Rare?

Kasper, the lucky guy, managed to catch some skin virus. I do not know where he caught it from, but I do not think it was very common.
It is a huge hassle to take care of, and if left to run its coarse, takes three years to clear up.
So we got some help from the dermatologist, who put a poison on each spot. This turns them all into blisters, then they turn into scabs.
This is why Kasper is covered in bandages here.
Do not worry, it does not hurt him at all, but it does take more then one treatment, so the good times have just started!

Real MAIL

Davíð sent his very first letter by snail mail, at the tender age of 25.
I had to tell him where to put the stamp.
I guess the one year age difference shows sometimes.

To document this proud moment, we took a picture.

Just when I thought

- Things should be getting better now - everything crumbles.

The house fund decieded to move the laundry room to the attic and turn the current laundry room into a bike room. The whole idea is a pretty one, but it is a lot of work and a huge expense.

We hired the plumber who started last weekend. He hooked up a drain in the attic to the building sewer pipes. The washing machines will need a drain.

Davíð tests it out by dumping 4 liters of water down our new drain.

A very angrey crazy man who live across the hall from us comes out screaming because his bathroom is flooding.

What went wrong?

Well, it looks like some genius attached his bathroom fan to the sewage pipe instead of a fresh are pipe.

This explains the bad smell.

Now whose problem is this?

His apartment is owned by the city, so we say they should fix it.

The city said it is our work that started this, so we should fix it.

The crazy man says, no one is coming into my apartment to fix anything, you just can not move the laundry room upstairs.

No matter what we do, no one is happy.

Stupid

Now the question is:
What is next? After this
there can be no more denying the problem

Kissing Cousins?

It is true, I am surrounded by inbreeding.
(BBC)

Dressing up

for our Halloween, the only differences being:
-this is in February
-kids go to stores to sing for candy, not houses
-most kids take the day off school so they can get out for candy bright and early, like around 8.
- and it is called Öskudagur (Ash Wednesday)



Here are my boys ready for the big day, we actually made them go to school because we are big meanies.

Kasper was Darth Vader, he earned the voice changing helmet which made the costume that much cooler.
Stefán was a Optimus Prime, or Optimus Crime and Stefán calls him.

Only 12 Transformers costumes made it to Iceland, and Stefán is lucky enough to have a parent working in the store that was selling them.

Bollurdagar and New Decorations

Today is Bollurdagar, a day for eating things in balls. The most common being a donut type thing topped with chocolate and filled with whip cream and jam. As you can see we had our own made for 7:00 a.m. and had a fabulous sugar filled breakfast.
Kasper's School even had fish balls for lunch and more of the donut things for snack.

I also got some toy store decorations from work and am in the process of redecorating our apartment with a very kid friendly theme.
These are the buns before we filled them. They do not taste good at all on there own. Actually, they are terrible.
And here is the jam filling. We ran out of jam so we borrowed this stuff from Agata. Blueberry!
Stefán would not finish his and wanted bananas fir breakfast instead. Fair enough.
And Kasper is Kasper. Need I say more?
I brought home these Knights signs because I liked the castle tops. I want to put them in the windows.
Kasper is showing off his Darth Vader mask/voice changer. I admit it, I have been playing with it too.
Care Bears floor decals, how cool is that? I have two, they are like the door mats I do not have! Real door mats get on my nerves because they always get caught on the door.
The boys favorite, Ninga Turtles. Most of my co-workers wanted this one, but I won because I am the only one with little boys.
Last but not least, here is the remains of the whip cream that Davíð slaved away on. We do not have a mixer, so be amazed, this was whipped with a spoon!

Icies

I was looking up information on our dog today and was surprised to see a large online communities dedicated to Icelandic Sheep Dogs. Funny how an Icelandic dog has such a huge following in the states. They call them Icies, I thought it was funny. They even have a map. It looks like more Icelandic sheep dogs live in other countries then live in Iceland.

A ray of light

I always complained about the policy of throwing away toys. There is often nothing really wrong and they go into the garbage.

I always said that people needed these toys for there kids.

Today I had a secret laugh.

A coworker went outside to see a mob standing around our garbage bin with one guy standing inside throwing out toys to the others.

They were told off, and they left. But they will be back. I know they will, only next time they will come at night.

I know this because the mob grabbing the toys were Polish construction workers. They are over worked, under paid (both often to the point of being illegal) and have often moved here with a family to try to make a better life for themselves.

This is why I know they will be back. Some children will be very happy to get these toys, even if the box is crumpled. I was happy that our toy stash has been discovered, and I laughed to myself.

These toys deserve a second chance and children in small apartments, like my own, are smiling tonight, because Dad brought them a toy.

The Red River Path

Our house (apartment building) has a blog site now to keep everyone updated on events and it also gives a place for everyone to complain.

A day with pictures

This is what happens when kids get the camera, seriously unflattering pictures.

Here are a few teddy bears, in the dungeon.

Although I am not exactly sure what they have done,

I am trusting Kasper in that they deserve this.

Stefán enjoyed some indoor time, thanks to a nice storm, and caught up with a little Elmo online.

He did try to brave the weather for a while, but it was windy.

Here I am again, trying to relax on my weekend off.

To be fair, I am recovering from the flu.

I think the only reason Davíð took this one is to make fun of what he calls the third eye. Most people will just see this as a nice zit between the eyes.

And here is the culprit. Ill get a good one of him one of these days.

Davíð rented a lift and fixed the eves on the building. I am so proud.

Here is some more with Stefán outside.

He really is a brave little guy.

Looking Good

Thanks Stefán