Lists are good

Happy has gone to Germany to work all ready.

Our countdown has begun as well. Movers show up on the 9th. (9 DAYS!!!!) We'll live in a hotel for the week while the kids finish up school, and then we will pack up the cats and drive to Hamburg on the 12th. (12 DAYS!!!!)

I'm only a little bit stressed, but I am compensating by making lists and it seems to be working. Once I write something on my list it's almost like I consider it "started"... like cleaning my floors. I HATE cleaning my floors so I just keep writing it on the next days list and I feel better about avoiding it.

I currently have seven lists stuck to the wall of my kitchen:
- Things to remind Happy to follow up on
- Things NOT to pack
- Things TO pack for hotel stay
- Things to do NOW and get them over with
- Things for Happy to do this weekend
- Things I need to do on specific days (There are really 12 of these lists... one for each day.)
- Names of people that have RSVP to our Movie Night and Sleepover party this Friday.

Yes... When you are feeling busy you should invite the entire school over to your house for a Movie Night. :) THEN ask the girls to stay and spend the night. :) This will be fine though, it will help the week go by faster because I've decided that waiting for the move is the worst part. I just had a scary thought.... When Scotty gets big I'll have to invite BOYS to spend the night. Boys are crazy. :) Girls just sit around and giggle.

So that is my moving plan. It really won't be hard. Really... Movers come and pack it all. I have three days of an empty house so I can clean it. ...and I have a handful of moms I know I can call if I get stuck. I don't even have to leave at a certain time; no planes to catch, no deadlines, no school until March 1st. I don't need to be anywhere in any hurry... la la la... my life is one big relaxing event. :)

So I'll go to bed now... without cleaning the floors. :)

Please Sign Here....

Michaela wants me to write something.

Whoever would like for MICHAELA to write something please say so.... Maybe if I get enough people to "sign" a petition she will start writing on her own blog... instead of telling me to hurry up and write something on mine. :)

Hamburg Welcomed Us!

Germany has decided we are good enough to live there. :) After three short hours in the "Hamburg Welcome Center" we have our Visas!

Paul even walked out with a German "Green Card"! Pretty good deal for 500 euros! (...considering we spent $5000 on his American Green Card, which they just took away because we missed one appointment, this would be a WHOLE different topic!)

Here's how our German Visas worked. In case you care. :) We showed up at 9:00am at the Hamburg Welcome Center. Actually, we showed up at 8:15 and spent 45 minutes trying to park... but once we made it inside the kids played with toys and Paul went back and forth between another room and the "kid room" so I could sign when needed. After about an hour we left to get some breakfast across the street. Andrea had a full blown meltdown which was just great; she was exhausted because we had to disturb her beauty sleep that morning at the hotel... We returned back to the Welcome Center 45 minutes later and we were handed our passports with new shiny visas in them.

My favorite part of the whole deal was when we got the visas they gave us a little bag of goodies: Hamburg pens, Hamburg lanyards, Hamburg luggage tags, and some Welcome to Hamburg books in English. :) It made me happy to get the bag. The first thing I thought when I saw the bag was, "Gee in Denmark I GAVE BIRTH and I didn't get me a "Freebie Bag". So I like Hamburg because they gave me a bunch of Hamburg paraphernalia that will sit around my new Hamburg house.... it's the thought that counts.

PS. In AMERICA... when you have a baby you get a huge basket full of fruit, non-alcoholic champagne, diapers, baby clothes, bibs, free coupons, and other baby things... even a diaper bag and insulated bag for food/milk. :)

We did go check out our house again too... just to remind ourselves what it looked like. Good thing we still liked it. Michaela and Sierra made sure they wanted the rooms they picked, and Michaela traded rooms. She switched the "sink" room for the "bookshelf" room. :) ...so now Scotty has a sink in his room. We will make it a place for his boats to play. :)

I didn't remember it being so old... but it is. It's a little ghetto-y. :) BUT IT'S CLOSE TO THE SCHOOL. ...and we can make it a perfectly fine house for us. It won't look so ghetto-y once our things are in it and it doesn't look so empty. Empty houses always look sad.

We even met the owner who gave us the full story on the house which has been owned by his family forever. Here's the story... in short.

- Used to be one big house. Top floor for servants
- After war... top two floors were given to those who lost their homes... German law said if you had space you had to share.
- Then it was an apartment for three families... (hence the kitchen above)
- Then the two top "units" were combined into one for a family.

...or something like that.

Off to make a list of what we own to give to the moving company...

I demand a REMATCH!

Dad, what game is this from? I demand a rematch! :)

per Meter

Big party this weekend... at my house. Paul is having his "Going Away Party" with his work group... and it is here. 16 adults, 10 kids... fun times. :)

Yesterday I bought new plates since at our big party last weekend I was short one plate... I had to wash one to serve the last person... we are cool like that.

Today I decided I needed a tablecloth to go with my plates. Long story. Just trust me, I needed a tablecloth. Off I go with Andrea to buy one. La la la la la...

I found one I wanted. It was too expensive. 180 kroner. $35. I kept looking, no way would I pay $35 for a tablecloth!!! I found the same one at another store... still too expensive but cheaper than the last store so I decided I'd buy it since I was a bargain shopper and obviously found a deal at only $30. AND my husband has told me numerous times that if it will make me happy I can buy it. :) So he had technically pre-approved this purchase.

Following my husband's recommendation to buy things that make me happy, I told the saleswoman I wanted to buy the tablecloth. She rolled it off and cut it for me... and as she was cutting I realized that the price was... per meter. I needed four meters.

So because my husband told me to buy this tablecloth I accidentally spent $100. At least I'm happy, right Happy?

Tablecloths here must be a cool thing to have in Denmark though. Stores have lots of these big rolls outside their stores and the tablecloths are rolled up like wrapping paper on them. There are a zillion different patterns and colors and most are pretty darn tacky. I wonder if most people use tablecloths on a daily basis. Why are there so many choices? We hardly ever use a tablecloth. We only use them when we bring out out the not pretty folding table...

Nobody better spill anything on my tablecloth that's all I have to say.

(it's not purple, it's dark blue...) :)

My weekend!

Scotty had his first sleep over!!!! We are friends with a great Swedish family... (remember Andrea's FIRST babysitter?). They have two girls and a boy who is in the 2-3 grade class at school, Johan... and Scotty thinks Johan is super cool because he likes to play video games as much as he does!

So when the girls were invited to stay the night little Scotty tagged along and had a great time! :) He did not miss mommy's night-night hug, I didn't get a 3:00am call saying a little boy wanted his mommy, I didn't even get a second glance when I walked in the next morning. I felt so unloved! :) It's okay, I still have Andrea... she can't stand to be without me. :) ...but I know enough to know that kids that don't NEED you are even better!

This was the night I went to a Wii party with the other moms. I haven't laughed so hard since I've been here! It was so funny!! We played Wii Fit Plus and a hilarious dancing game. Too funny!! :) I don't know if I was more tired from flapping like a bird or from laughing so hard!

Wii Party was Friday night. Saturday night was dinner at my place with the above mentioned Swedish family and some other unexpected guests.. :) It was crazy and crowded, but fun. Sunday was our big toy sale in which the kids made 550 kroner... another crazy and crowded event. :) Sunday was also Michaela's piano recital. She did really well. I couldn't see very well... because the recital was held in a piano store. :) This made me smile. Here's a video of them all playing together. I still can't believe she can use both of her hands to play and follow the music. :)




After my crazy crowded weekend I was happy to send all kids to school today. I was not so thrilled to discover that all surfaces outside had turned to ice though. Everything was just ice; the sidewalks, the driveway snow, parking lot, I almost fell on my butt 8 times. When I picked Scotty up from bornehaven he was sliding down the ice hill on HIS butt with all the other boys. They were just crashing into the pile of sleds at the bottom. They must have decided you slide just as easily without a sled. :) None of the kids on the playground were walking. They were all sitting in various spots, playing. It was really too slippery for anyone to walk anywhere. :) Tomorrow we will ice skate on the driveway.

I also need to mention that my wonderful husband took my HUGE shopping list AND all four kids to Bilka tonight. Only one who has done a huge shopping trip at Bilka can fully appreciate this. I stayed at home, took a shower, vacuumed, finished the laundry and ate a bowl of Frosted Flakes. :) Thanks Happy!

I confess...

I finally did it... and despite being embarrassed while actually doing it I will now admit to it in hopes of helping others with the same problem.

I bought a pair of pants... for myself, ...size 12-13, ...years old.

I HAD to...

I have tried on countless pants and they are all flopping off the end of my feet. I'm just too short!! It's silly how tall people think I should be. I'm not that short. I'm 5' 3''... okay well 5' 2.5". I've seen shorter. :)

Over the past two years all my pants have come from stores which have special "short" pants for me. I'm okay with being labeled "short"... I've been "short" all my life and gotten pretty used to it. I even like it. ...except when buying pants!!!

Here in Denmark I've only found one store, Esprit, that sells "short" pants and even then only they only carry them in some styles. Frustrating!

However, to go with my new high-stylin' boots I got for Christmas, but haven't worn yet, I needed new pants. SHORT ones...

Which brings me to learn about these things called "leggings"! Wow! they look like jeans, but they aren't. I may be fashion-challenged or perhaps I just don't pay attention.. maybe I spend too much time picking out cute fuzzy pink things for Poozle instead of myself. SO. I'm now the proud owner of a pair of "not-really-jeans". :) ...and they will fit in my high-stylin boots. :) HA! I wonder where I will debut my new outfit!! Maybe my husband should take me out on a date?

Back to my initial confession. Yes, I did buy 12 year old pants just so they would be the right lenght. I do feel a little better knowing they don't fit perfectly in the waist because I have hips. :) After all, I have given birth four times... hopefully unlike any other 12 year old :)