Santa came to visit us again this year, you know, the true one!

Monday afternoon I went to my parents house, they always spend Christmas alone by option so we exchange gifts in the afternoon before Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner as usual is at my MIL’s house, we missed my younger BIL who got married last year and spend the Christmas Eve at his wife’s house.

With four kids in the house aged 3 to 12 we have a hard time while waiting for Santa. As time goes by they get really impatient and we always have to call Santa at around 23pm.

Here’s the proof that Santa exists!!!

I did a small pause from posting, I wanted to post but I also thought I owed my kids some extra attention on this holiday. Furthermore I felt so exhausted that I had to take a few naps and I slept many hours during these last few days.

I already have the results of the blood tests but I have to show them to the doctor. Anemia is on its minimum value and the iron reserves in the body are less then half the normal value, so I don’t know what the doctor is going to say. I will know that today or tomorrow.

I had to go to the doctor today. I’ve been too exhausted, I know why: too much work in the office too much work at home. I’ve been having a lot of headaches, nauseous and I was afraid there was something wrong with my arterial tension.

When as soon as the doctor saw me, she told me I’m too white meaning I’m probably anaemic. I have some urgent blood test to do tomorrow once this should be checked soon because from time to time I have anaemia.

Arterial tension was 8-13 which are the values I had 7 years ago when I had my big depression. Before going into antidepressants (which I don’t wanna take) I’m going to try a treatment based in supplements: magnesium, iron and a complex for lost of memory and attention. My memory is affected and I often forget things.

I know this is just from being exhausted, I have to organize myself (don’t know how). I’m alone at work because my co-worker fired herself. I’m alone doing 2 people jobs, I have a house to clean, laundry, two kids to take care of, cook, etc. etc. I’m going nuts and I can’t avoid it. I’m just exhausted.

I won’t be working 24 or 26 so I have 5 days to get some rest and than again next week 5 more days, than a whole year of leaving home at 8.30 and arriving at 19:00 at home. I just hope I win the lotto soon or I will get crazy.

Sunday we went to visit “Christmas Village” in Obidos with my nephews, sil and bil.

Obidos is a medieval walled village with old small houses and a lot of stores. This village is open to public and from time to time events take place inside the town walls. Starting December 8, a Christmas Village is open to public (against a payment) inside the village itself.

It never snows here therefore kids only have visual contact with snow through TV. This Christmas Village was built taking in consideration all the elements related to Christmas so, although artificial, there is snow there. The pictures you are about to see are real pictures but the scenario is specially made for the occasion. For the kids this was a lot of fun.

There was a ice skating rink where for 30 minutes we could try what we never have around here: Ice Skating. Dani, although falling a few times, felt very comfortable Ice Skating.

There were a lot of other activities available like Pony ride, gnomes around us, snowman, etc. We had a great time although it was windy and cold.

After my daughter’s Christmas party, I had a word with her teacher. As a point of reference is the fact that she’s the youngest preschooler on that school, she told me she’s a very smart girl, very talented, she already draws as if she was older, she always colors inside the lines, etc. etc.The thing that really upset me and made me very sad is the fact that, the image she has from me is from the mother that arrives home and has to cook and is in the kitchen. The teacher said: “your daughter misses you”. Oh boy!! that hurt.

Working from 9 to 18:30, arriving home at 19-19:10 leaves me little time to be with her and my son, I admit it, but there is nothing I can do to avoid it. My bosses don’t want to change anything on my schedule, for them I could leave at 19 or 20:00 they don’t care. I have this job for 13 years, I have my status, my salary and with my age, I can’t afford losing it, I can’t live without it, without the salary, I would if I could.

I have to adjust time, make it longer, at least try.

• Instead of spending the lunch time blogging in the office I will start coming home and do some laundry, prepare dinner in advance so that I have less to do when I arrive home at night.

• Establish bath time to prevent me from saying 10 times that it’s bath time.

• Leave blogging, checking emails and twitters for after the kids are asleep (if I’m still awake)

What else can I do?

I realize that she ask for my unconditional attention, I guess too much attention, she wants me to leave everything behind to give her all the attention. Sometimes I have to refuse because I have other things to do and she has to understand that. It’s like: I give one finger and she demand the hand.

Of course this is always my forever dilemma, and for those that followed my other family blog know that, I always wanted to be a WAHM but that it’s not possible here unless I had married a very rich man and that’s not the case.

I have to continue to search ways to manage and organize my time, but what I realize is that time goes by, kids are growing up and I’m missing it all.

Catherine school Christmas party did not start the way I thought. I thought she would be happy to see me there and do her best but as soon as she saw me she started crying because she thought I would leave without her.

I was called to the backstage by her teacher because she just wanted her mom. She wanted to sit with me and therefore she missed two of her actuations.

On her third and fourth actuation she was comfortable with my assured presence and she went to stage and even sang a song in French. Each year, through school interchange, one teacher from another country comes to this school and teaches a second language to the preschool kids.

I was only able to make 15 seconds movies with a borrowed camera once my camera broke down. Comparing with other years (my son also attended this school while in preschool), this year the kids behave and sang very well and it was a really nice show.

After the show, parents, students and teachers gather around to eat something. All the food was brought to school by the parents.Once I still had time before going to work I went with her to a local park to play a little. The problem was after, when I had to take her to daycare for the afternoon, a little crying, and sadness from my side for not being able to stay with her the afternoon.

The conversation with the teacher on my next post.

Tuesday I had an emergency school meeting because there were some complaints from a mother whose daughter is on my son’s class.

She complained that her daughter was traumatized because she didn’t like one of the school assistances. She complained that her daughter once came home from swimming class without her leggings. Also the school assistant uses a whistle to gather the students and this mother thinks that a whistle is not appropriate for school.

Of course she was the only one complaining, her daughter is a spoiled kid that gets dressed in slow motion and she was advised to send a training suit on the day her daughter has to attend swimming lessons. It seems this mother sends her daughter to school all dressed up even on swimming lesson day.

I had to leave the meeting in the middle because my DH was working and I needed to pick up the kids at the daycare, but it seems serious issues were talked after I left regarding other students from my son’s class.

One is a very problematic kid with a very disturbed family. Her father is already old, is alcoholic and drank most of the time. The kid has serious problems at home, his mother can’t control him and he gets out of control at school where he insults the teacher, call her names, defies her and many other things. His mother was already called to be warned about him but it seems it isn’t working.

School board wants to find a solution for this kid once he disturbs the class and causes a lot of troubles; however, he gets good grades. He’s 8.

There are 4 more kids that cause some trouble and fortunately my son is not among them. This is a very problematic class and I’m worried that my son belongs to it.

An issue I have to follow very closely.

Today it is Dani’s school trip to Lisbon. He is very excited and yesterday he was thrilled to go to bed so that “today” comes quickly.

Yesterday at night we prepared the snacks and lunch for the trip. Once he has to be in the meeting point at 7.30am and Catherine only has school at 9am, DH is taking Dani there.

I also prepared snacks for Catherine Christmas school party and today I am going to buy a cake before going to the party ( I work so, buying is the best choice when there is a lot to do).

More details about the trip and party in future posts.

We decided to make a change in the house. We are doing it the wrong way but for now it’s the better choice.

We have 1 suite and 2 rooms in the house. The suite is ours and one room for each kid nothing strange here. We have central heating provided by heaters on the walls all over the house that works through gas supply. We have all the conditions to have a warm house during winter and the kids have their own space as well as we have.

The problem is: gas is very expensive and we cannot afford to turn on the heating system. We manage to warm up the house by lighting up the fireplace in the living room and one electric oil heater in each room. Although electricity is cheaper than gas, the price has been rising and paying for 3 heaters all night connected will be a heavy bill for us.

What my DH just did was, move my son’s bed from his room to our dressing room and now we are all in the suite. We stay in the master room and my son and daughter sleep in the dressing room on my son’s bed. This allows us to have only one electric oil heater turned on instead of three. With this, we hope to save some money.

I know this is not a good choice especially for the kids that are going to get used to sleep on the same space we do (although we are separated by one wall we are connected by an opening between the two rooms) but for now and during winter and these freezing nights it’s the best choice we have to save money and help us with our monthly bills.

Things to do until Saturday:

Tomorrow:

• Catherine has ballet class
• Dani has swimming pool class
• Buy more Christmas presents during lunch break
• Buy Christmas presents for office party. The bosses are offering a present to each employee son or daughter (only 6 children) and I’m the one in charge of buying those presents.
• Prepare Dani bag for the trip tomorrow. He’s taking two snacks (one for the morning and one for the afternoon) and lunch.
• Prepare sandwiches for Catherine Christmas party

Thursday:

• Dani is going on a school trip to Lisbon to watch a show in the Coliseum.
• Christmas party of Catherine at 11am. Have to request to leave work at 10:30am, by some sweets and be in the party at 11am.
• Prepare some snacks for Dani to take to school on Friday for a lunch with the schoolmates.

Friday:

• Nothing schedule - maybe more shopping if I’m not able to buy all the presents tomorrow in 45 minutes.

Saturday:

• Office Christmas party at 8pm

I hope I’m not forgetting anything.

I’ve been having a rough time. I can’t get organized and I spend a lot of time thinking what I have to do, what did I forget, preparing clothes, snacks for school, cooking, making the beds, cleaning, work 8 hours a day in the office, get Christmas presents, etc. etc. etc..

I have a lot to blog about but then, as days go by it seems that things to write about are not that important anymore.

The cold weather has prevented me from staying up at night blogging in a cold room, I’m really better under the blankets.

I’ve been very tired, very nauseous lately, I guess I’m anemic again. I have tendency to get anemia because I skip some meals during the day, sometimes because I spend my lunch time writing, others because time just goes by in the office and I don’t remember to eat. Yeap, I know what you are thinking…, so looking at a computer screen all day at work is already hard, blogging at night even worse for my eyes and head.

I also spend too much time reading other people blogs instead of writing on my own blogs. I don’t comment a lot but I read a lot and when I realize I haven’t blog myself because I was reading the posts I have on my feed reader

At work is getting more and more difficult to write posts because I always have people around my desk.

I think it is a matter of organization but I haven’t had the time yet to organize myself. Complicate!! I have to schedule myself for “organization time”, meaning, I have to get organized to organize myself. Confusing?? That’s the way I am.

I’m starting to use Outlook tasks to write up at least work events. My cell phone doesn’t have tasks option so what can I do to get organized? Maps? Event Calendars? Any ideas??

This week we had movie sessions at home almost daily. The movie: Surf’s Up has been watched continuously. Dani loves it and I must say, although I’m a little tired of watching it everyday, I love it each time I watch it.

Like the movie Happy Feet this movie is about Penguins but these ones Surf. There is one particular scene that makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it. Right in the beginning of the movie, when we see Antarctica environment with all the Penguins, ice, fog, real cold Antarctica weather and the Subtitle: Summer.

Here’s is the Plot Summary:

This story follows a teenage rock hopper penguin named Cody Maverick from his hometown of Shiverpool, Antarctica, where all of the other penguins think he’s nothing but a surfing fool, to the “Big Z Memorial Surf Off” on Pen Gu Island. Young Cody is determined to win the most important competition in the world of penguin surfing in honor of “Big Z,” a deceased surfing legend whom he has idolized since childhood. But the waves in Pen Gu are different than in Shiverpool, and the competition is steep. The current champ, egotistical Tank Evans, isn’t just about to let this little penguin knock him from first place without a fight. When Cody wipes out and encounters Geek, a recluse aging former surfer, living in the jungle, he learns some important lessons about life and surfing, and even teaches Geek a thing or two. Written by Anthony Pereyra (hypersonic91@yahoo.com)

My son really like this movie specially because it teaches that we should fight to reach our goals and we shouldn’t give up when we want something.

Surf’s Up is available at Amazon.