Emma is OK

Yesterday was a bad day for Emma. She had a fever all day long and all she was able to do was lay on the couch, sleeping on and off. Over night, she got a bloody nose and had a couple of what seemed to be panic attacks of some sort. But, today, she is her normal self. All better. I couldn't be happier.

Bike Accident

We have been biking a lot through the forest trails since moving to Græsted. The evening before last we were biking, and almost home again when I took a turn too short and tipped my bike with Emma in it. Despite wearing a helmet she hit the side of her forhead on a rock (it was gravel so it was a smaller rock) and it bled like the dickens. I rushed her home to wash it off and it was just a little bump. She was acting fine so we weren't too concerned. Yesterday afternoon she had a fever so I gave her tylenol and it worked really well. Her fever went away and she was playing like always. But she had fever overnight and again today but this time the tylenol isn't doing much for her energy level. I just took her temp and it was 100.5 which isn't too terrible. Andreas read online that you can get a fever with a concusion so I wonder if that's what happened. Poor girl. I felt so bad. With that bike seat on the back it is near impossible to correct yourself if you feel the back portion of the bike starting to tip. I've had a couple near tips before, not while riding but just turning the bike around in the driveway. I'll keep my eye on her but I'm sure it's nothing too serious.

Emma's Trademark

This is my little girl with her "bank" (blanket). Oh, it doesn't look like a blanket, you say? That's because it's one of pappa's old shirts. I had a pile of old clothes laying on the floor of our closet, waiting to be taken to the thrift store. Emma had discovered this pile of clothes one night and became particularly interested in a soft gray shirt. She immediately fell in love with it and the two soon became inseparable. I really disliked having to drag an old shirt around to the grocery store, doctors office and everywhere else. We decided maybe it might be nice if we cut the arms and collar off so it was a little less obvious that it was a shirt. I guess I eventually came to terms with the fact that the blanket my daughter was going to carry around for the next 5 to 8 years was an old shirt, rather than a real blanket adorned with hearts and stars and other cutesy baby-ish objects. (needless to say, pappa thoroughly enjoys this little connection between father and daughter) Now, it's become an automatic habit for Emma to put the armhole of "bank" over her head and walk around as if to be wearing a cape. I thought I'd share with you a picture of this peculiar, yet adorable little quirk.

Girls are going to school!

Yes, we finally got the word late yesterday that the girls will be attending school in Gilleleje, a town not far from us. I guess the schools have had an unexpected increase in the amount of students in these reception classes, so they didn’t have the resources lined up. Hanna, Eden and I have a meeting at the school this afternoon to get them registered and to meet the teacher and head master. Then, bright and early Monday morning, off they go! Now, the next problem we need to solve is how to get them there! I'm not sure if they will be going by bus or train or what. We still haven't leased a car yet because we were waiting on an answer from the school (hate to get a car if we need to move back to the US!) so I can't drive them. And besides, Andreas would need to take the car to work to cut his commuting time in half. But I'm sure we'll get all the details today. I'm so happy! I was really starting to worry. I'm still a little concerned for Hanna since my home schooling efforts proved to be more than challenging. The long summer has done nothing for her math skills. We should have been practicing flash cards all summer. And she needs to get in to see a doctor here who can get her the meds she was taking for ADD. They help her concentration and focus IMMENSELY. This is another problem that comes with not having their CPR numbers yet, they won't be insured under the state-run health system. In Denmark, if you live here and pay taxes, you'll be insured. No separate health insurance fees have to be paid. But apparently, you also need to have your CPR number first. We might have to get some private health insurance for them until the numbers come.

School

We still have NOT heard anything from the teacher in Gilleleje. So as not to let the girls slip too far out of the loop I've been trying my hand at home schooling. Um, yeah, I couldn't do it on a long term basis. It's kind of fun playing teacher but they don't take it very seriously and get burnt out quickly. I think we got only 4 worksheets done today. Oh well, I'm trying. I hope I can get these girls into school by the end of the week or I'm going to have to send them home. They will have a slow start here the way it is being thrown into the Danish school system. I don't know what else to do. It's stressing me out a bit right now.

Grapes from our greenhouse

Dave, Andreas said he'd stomp on the grapes himself for your homemade wine.

Happy Birthday to Eden!!

Today is Eden's 6th birthday! She has requested that I make a Barbie cake for her. Naturally, I was very excited about the idea. I figured we'd use a bundt pan since it already had a hole in the middle and it would make for a pretty dress bottom. One problem, one cake mix did not grow big enough for a full dress for Barbie. So, we decided to use a round pyrex bowl for one layer and a tube pan for the second layer. We picked the silver white cake recipe and so far the first cake is in the oven. It smells great and the batter tastes great. Can't wait to see how this turns out! Should be fun! I'll also get to use my cake decorating skills with the frosting. Eden picked purple for the dress. I've looked at some examples online so I have some idea what to do. While searching I found out they actually make barbie cake pans. Nice tall pans perfect for a dress. Too bad there is no Micheal's here!