Saskia is home!

Saskia has officially been discharged from the hospital. She doesn't have much of an appetite, but is getting back to her old smiley self. More when I have time. (Lilian is super sick too, someting totally different so I will be home today and tomorrow too! Yeah!) I'll try to type more during naps and between loads of laundry. We managed to capture a couple pictures of Saskia at the hospital yesterday after they disconnected the IV. They are pretty darn cute. Thanks for all your love and support everyone.

While we are thanking God...

I just keep giving thanks over and over again that I have such healthy, strong girls, it is all I can do.

Saskia's stomach flu has not gotten any better, at 11am this morning she was admitted to the hospital for observation with a diagnosis of gastroentitis (sp). By 7pm, she had still only been able to keep down about 4.5 ounces of water in the past 48+ hours. Her lack of wet diapers and tests showed that she was nearing the danger zone for dehydration, so she was put on an IV drip. Erik and I are taking 6 hour shifts with her at the hospital. I just got home from mine, and so will keep this short to try to get some sleep.

She was a different baby today than yesterday. Much more subdued and whimpery. It is painful to watch, even my HS principal cried when he saw her during visiting hours. However, she manages to scream like the dickens anytime a nurse or doctor comes within 10 feet of her, so she still has some spunk.

Hopefully with the IV fluids on board, she will finally get a good night sleep, and be back to her old self sooner rather than later. She was sleeping like a baby when I left her around midnight tonight.

I thank God everyday for my children's health and happiness, today I have found myself choked up with gratitude again and again. I am so blessed. This is merely a blip on the radar.

Please pray, send happy thoughts or whatever it is you do, for the health and welfare of all kids everywhere.

Thank God for Socialized Health Care

Saskia has been unable to keep anything down since 3am. After the 6th round of puking at 7am and the sight of little blood specks in the vomit, sent us straight to the ER. This is the second time we have visited the lovely public hospital since our arrival in HK. We couldn't be more impressed with the care we have received.

Saskia was quickly triaged to URGENT, seen by two doctors, x-rayed, poked and prodded, and diagnosed with a bad stomach virus all for about $12 US. Amazing. We were given the option of admitting her for observation and rehydration, but opted to try at home first.

She still hasn't kept anything down (and has vomited a total of 13 times) and it promises to be another long night. However, no major signs of dehydration yet, so we will stay home and avoid the hospital IV as long as possible. She is such a great kid and is in surprisingly good spirits, considering.

We will keep you posted.

On being 34...

So I just turned 34, but I am already thinking about what it will be like to turn 35. I know some of you have just turned 35, or will be turning later this year, so maybe you can fill me in. It seems a more epic age than any other I have encountered. I don't think it seems that way because it feels old, as you all know I LOVE getting older (I know I am weird that way). But being 35 seems, well, grown up. Just one year to go, and FINALLY, I will be a grown up .

YIPPEE!!! I hope it is all I've built it up to be.

The hardest thing about being abroad...

...is that I miss you all so freaking much. I wish I were in the financial position to live in the best of both worlds, where I could live the expatriot life, and satisfy my itch for travel and adventure, but afford to buy a ticket back to the US whenever I want to.

I wish I were able to hop on a jet and cuddle and sip a beer with baby Clark and Jenny, have a glass of wine with my sister, clean Heather's bathrooms, add a snowy crown to Heather Melver Underpants Snow Queen in the Griffin back yard, catch up with Dahli in her favorite MN coffee shop, watch the Obama innaugaration with Kelly in Chicago, and walk the Mall with Noreen and our girls in DC. (I think that covers all of you who check in regularly).

My point being. I miss you, and the little moments that make life what it is.

More updates this weekend on our EVENTFUL trip to Saudi. I will say that it looks like we will be moving this summer. And that I will be joining the ranks of the SAHM's in our crowd. I am counting the days! Thank God for large miracles.

Flat on my back....

The good news is that I am home from work for the next 5 days. The bad news is that it's because I sprained my ankle.

I had decided last year that I wanted to be an assistant coach this year for basketball and softball, in the hopes of feeling confident enough to coach on my own someday soon. Our good friend Dave Dreidger agreed to take me on as his prodigy this year. So not only am I an assitant basketball coach this year, but the team I am coaching is the HS Varsity boys.

Monday was the first day of tryouts. Dave had me doing drills with the senior boys, while he worked with the juniors. Fortunately, they are not that strong of a shooting team, so I was not totally humiliated. I even made several baskets. Besides messing up a few drills, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Really looking forward to the season, enjoying the hard exercise, and layer of sweat I was working up. Thinking about what great shape I would be in when the season ended in March.

Unfortunately, since I haven't played basketball in 15 years, I don't have basketball shoes anymore. I was going to buy some this past weekend, but we were so busy with company that was in town that we didn't get around to it. I figured Monday was just the boys trying out and that I wouldn't have to do much. So I just wore my running shoes, and my ankle paid for it...

Fortunately, it happened during the last drill of the day. I stopped, but my ankle popped, and all of a sudden I couldn't walk on it. I tried to play it off like it was no big deal, but when I got home Erik insisted we go to the hospital. For the whole hospital experience you can check out HKM tomorrow, with flip footage! Long story short, I am home on doctor's orders, trying to mend up enough so that I can go on a school trip to China next week. I don't know if that is going to happen, but we will see.

The upside of all of this was that I got to watch the election results pour in this morning. Go Obama!

Things Fall Apart

Two nights ago, my amazingly beautiful three year old came into our room at 1am. Chills, fever, the full nine yards. I spent the night cuddled up with her in her bunk bed, soothing her into fitful spurts of sleep. At 6am when the alarm went off I woke to intense gut wrenching guilt.

One or the other of the girls has been sick at least once a month this school year. This means I have been staying home with them, at least once a month. Even though we have Lilian in our lives, I feel like it is my duty as Momma to be there to cuddle my babies when they are under the weather. But as a professional woman trying to make her way in the world I feel like a total slacker. Finally I decided to head to work for an hour or two to take care of the biggest items on my professional plate and then to come back home to cuddle with my girl. Agh, guilt. Either way guilt. I am so tired of guilt.

One of the BIG things I needed to deal with at work, was a presentation at a faculty meeting about self care, and being a wick burner. The idea is that a candle burns it's wick all the time, but that the wick of an oil lamp only burns if the oil runs out. I basically ended up crying my way through the presentation, because my self care is in SHAMBLES right now, and I was so emotionally wrecked at having left Anika at home.. Fortunately (and unfortunately) this is a huge issue at our school and it sparked a really important discussion. Also fortunately, this Christian school is super family friendly, and full of lots of other wick burners like me. So there was a lot of love in the room.

The second BIG thing I had to do was my performance evaluation. Of course. Contracts come out in about a month. So I sat down with the Elementary School Counselor, Middle School and High School Principals and my supervisor the Director of Admission and Student Services. I was still super weepy (totally professional) and emotionally wiped out. My two biggest areas of growth were that I show too much initiative, and that I care too much, which ends up burning me out. Big F-ing surprise.

So today I am home with my girl, again. I don't feel guilty about missing work. Well not too guilty anyway. And I am loving the extra cuddles.

Who's driving anyway?

So I am having difficulty keeping up with my life these days. In some ways it doesn't even really feel like my life anymore. I know it's me, and I go through the motions, get through my day, but in the end I feel out of control. It's like someone else is in the driver's seat and I am just along for the ride. Now, don't get me wrong. I actually love just about everything about my life, and wouldn't have it any other way. But it is disconcerting to feel like it all just keeps moving, regardless of what I am thinking or doing.

As you can imagine. I am tired. Alot. I am happy alot too though, which is good. Sometimes I wonder: "Who is in control here?" , "Do I even whant to get back in the drivers seat?". I feel like I should, but the reality is that I just don't know