So, first I thought I had a mild case of food poisoning, then I thought Claes was getting the swine flu (Because there are no other illnesses out there to get these days, right?).
After hearing a weak "mommy", in the darkness of 2 am, followed by a gigantic cascade all over our bedroom carpet. Followed by a very sleep deprived night, alternating between comforting, emptying buckets, changing sheets and freaking out over getting vomited on, I now know better.
It´s not food poisoning. It´s not the swine flu (well, the jury´s still out on that one). It´s a stomach bug.
One down, two to go. I´m stocking up on Pedialyte and plastic gloves. Not to mention air fresheners.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Home sweet home
Back in business.
So, all the suitcases are finally unpacked - But several of mysterious unpacked-but-yet-not-put-in-place piles remain. I HATE unpacking stuff! Dont know what it is, and why unpacking has to be so much more terrible than packing - It's the same stuff, just reversed after all.
We all survived the first few jet-laged days just fine. Actually it was not that bad at all this time; No one woke up before 4.30 am any day and Sven, who I had suspected would be the worse, has slept all nights more or less! I actually haven't minded getting up around 5.30, it's a very nice feeling to feel rested and awake at that time of day. Guess it has something to do with the fact that I've been going to bed at 8 pm :-)...
Other than the unpacking, it has been a pretty uneventful week. The two major things happening has been that Mathilda finally, finally, finally has a loose tooth (She has been waiting for this for the past year I think, and was so sad that she never got to be on the "We lost a tooth this month"-chart in Kindergarten.) and that Elias got a big boy bike as a belayted 4th birthday present. Yesterday was therefor spent biking around the neighborhood cul-de-sac with a lot of "wiggling, wiggling" inbetween. The big question now is: Will the tooth fall out before school starts!?
So, all the suitcases are finally unpacked - But several of mysterious unpacked-but-yet-not-put-in-place piles remain. I HATE unpacking stuff! Dont know what it is, and why unpacking has to be so much more terrible than packing - It's the same stuff, just reversed after all.
We all survived the first few jet-laged days just fine. Actually it was not that bad at all this time; No one woke up before 4.30 am any day and Sven, who I had suspected would be the worse, has slept all nights more or less! I actually haven't minded getting up around 5.30, it's a very nice feeling to feel rested and awake at that time of day. Guess it has something to do with the fact that I've been going to bed at 8 pm :-)...
Other than the unpacking, it has been a pretty uneventful week. The two major things happening has been that Mathilda finally, finally, finally has a loose tooth (She has been waiting for this for the past year I think, and was so sad that she never got to be on the "We lost a tooth this month"-chart in Kindergarten.) and that Elias got a big boy bike as a belayted 4th birthday present. Yesterday was therefor spent biking around the neighborhood cul-de-sac with a lot of "wiggling, wiggling" inbetween. The big question now is: Will the tooth fall out before school starts!?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Update
Time flies and especially fast when you have a lousy internet connection and have to sit in the middle of the stairs to get a choppy wireless connection. I miss my blogs and I barely check mail. But in a way it has its relaxing charm as well, being offline so much.
The kids are turning into Swedish summerkids, which is lovely to see! Walking barefoot on gravel, dirty toes and fingers blue from blueberry picking in the woods at the country house. Ok, I bribed them a little with the blueberries, as I wanted to get enough berries to make a pie. I had to bribe them with a candy each, but it was so worth it - not having to pick all the berries my self :-).
Sven is reluctantly beginning to walk. He has mastered a full six steps - but that was close to a week ago, and after that adventure he quickly regressed back to crawling. But I am pretty confindent he will get a hang of it by the time he starts college...
Claes arrives tomorrow, after three weeks in Charlotte and we are all VERY eager to see him! Especially me :-)!!
The kids are turning into Swedish summerkids, which is lovely to see! Walking barefoot on gravel, dirty toes and fingers blue from blueberry picking in the woods at the country house. Ok, I bribed them a little with the blueberries, as I wanted to get enough berries to make a pie. I had to bribe them with a candy each, but it was so worth it - not having to pick all the berries my self :-).
Sven is reluctantly beginning to walk. He has mastered a full six steps - but that was close to a week ago, and after that adventure he quickly regressed back to crawling. But I am pretty confindent he will get a hang of it by the time he starts college...
Claes arrives tomorrow, after three weeks in Charlotte and we are all VERY eager to see him! Especially me :-)!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Back to normal
Well the Swedish summer has returned to normal. After almost two weeks of fantastic weather, today was cloudy, slightly drizzling and high of 63 - Now that's so much more familiar ;-).
Hopefully the sun will return soon again, so that we can go out to the house in the archipelago. Being there is pure peace for the soul... And even more so if Sven isn't there ;-).
Hopefully the sun will return soon again, so that we can go out to the house in the archipelago. Being there is pure peace for the soul... And even more so if Sven isn't there ;-).
Saturday, July 4, 2009
I'm loving It
Dinnertime at McDonnald's. I am ordering Happy Meals for the kids (Oh, McDonnald's here are miles ahead of the US when it comes to nutricious thinking for the kids. Not only can you choose between fries and apple slices - There are also bread sticks, bean salad (not that I know how many children eat bean salad, but hey, it's an option :-)), only skim milk, no chocolate milk option and all meals come with a choice of apple slices or carrots even if you order fries. Not bad!) and Mathilda wants a cheeseburger but without mustard, pickles and onions (yes my daughter is a picky eater, but hey, she's eating meat!!! Good golly!)
Me:... And then I would like a Happy Meal with a cheeseburger, only ketchup on it...
Girl behind counter....Uuuuuhh....Uuuummm... So you don't want the meat and cheese then?...
Noooo, that's why I ordered a cheeseburger when all I actually wanted was a hamburger bun with ketchup...
She eventually got it, but I think she double checked with me like three times first. I just smiled and thought happy thoughts....
Me:... And then I would like a Happy Meal with a cheeseburger, only ketchup on it...
Girl behind counter....Uuuuuhh....Uuuummm... So you don't want the meat and cheese then?...
Noooo, that's why I ordered a cheeseburger when all I actually wanted was a hamburger bun with ketchup...
She eventually got it, but I think she double checked with me like three times first. I just smiled and thought happy thoughts....
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
A day at the zoo
Today the kids and I went with my old friend, and Elias's god father, Henrik, to Skansen, which is an outdoor museum combined with zoo. For anyone interested in Swedish history, and what Sweden used to look like, it is a great place! The animal exhibits are primarily Nordic/Swedish animals such as Moose, Brown bear, Wolfs and Seals.
It was a very hot day, so none of the animals were really out and about unfortunately (but understandibly), but we did get to see a mother Brown Bear and her year-old cubs playing around which was pretty cool. The kids also enjoyed petting a cow and getting Lynx face paintings. Most of all, however, they enjoyed getting ice cream and going for some rides at the small children's amusement area. So much for trying to expose them for Swedish culture :-).
Afterwards, I had promised to take the kids on the subway, a promise they made sure I kept (despite hoping that a day at Skansen would make them forget it, I had no such luck). So while Henrik took the car (and Sven, thank god) a stop further down town, I took Mathilda and Elias through escalators and train. They both thoroughly enjoyed it, and when asked what his favorite animal had been at the Skansen, Elias replied "I don't know, they were not so fun. But riding the subway was really exciting and my favorite part! When can we do it again?"
Oh well. I shouldn't complain, at least they are easily entertained...
It was a very hot day, so none of the animals were really out and about unfortunately (but understandibly), but we did get to see a mother Brown Bear and her year-old cubs playing around which was pretty cool. The kids also enjoyed petting a cow and getting Lynx face paintings. Most of all, however, they enjoyed getting ice cream and going for some rides at the small children's amusement area. So much for trying to expose them for Swedish culture :-).
Afterwards, I had promised to take the kids on the subway, a promise they made sure I kept (despite hoping that a day at Skansen would make them forget it, I had no such luck). So while Henrik took the car (and Sven, thank god) a stop further down town, I took Mathilda and Elias through escalators and train. They both thoroughly enjoyed it, and when asked what his favorite animal had been at the Skansen, Elias replied "I don't know, they were not so fun. But riding the subway was really exciting and my favorite part! When can we do it again?"
Oh well. I shouldn't complain, at least they are easily entertained...
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
There's nothing more beautiful
Before we arrived in Sweden, June was going down in history as the one of the wettest and coldest June's on record. It rained the first day we were here and then that was the end of that.
We have had a week and a half of beautiful weather! It's been pretty hot, for being here, with almost 86 degrees, but clear blue skies and pleasantly cool nights. Thank god for that since there's no A/C (Installing a/c would be a very costly investment for the two days/year when it's needed.). We sleep with all windows open and I try to create a cross draught (is that what its called?), but that comes with another problem; The fact that it gets light at 3 am and that the sun rises around 30 minutes later! We have shades in our bedroom, but in order to get the kids to no go bonkers at 5 am, we really need to keep all light sources to a minimum. We have put Sven's bed in the walk in closet, which, with the small window covered, is the darkest room by far. And this far it seems to work, he is basically sleeping until 8 am or so, so no complaints.
Anyways, I wasn't going to write about closets, because there really isn't much more to say about them, a closet's a closet, but I was going to write about how beautiful the Swedish summer can be. Perhaps you have to be born into it, and the long dark winter that preludes it, but to me there's just nothing more wonderful than Sweden this time of year. Everything is fresh, lush, green and just bright. People are happier and Stockholm is breath taking with all the water glimmering, sail boats and oh yeah, all the Russian and easter European tourists. They glimmer too. Perhaps not as crisp as the ocean, but with all the (fake) bling bling they put on they're quite a site too :-).
Oh and just so no one thinks I'm lazy: My spell checker doesn't work in blogger. Don't know why, but it's on strike. So sorry.
We have had a week and a half of beautiful weather! It's been pretty hot, for being here, with almost 86 degrees, but clear blue skies and pleasantly cool nights. Thank god for that since there's no A/C (Installing a/c would be a very costly investment for the two days/year when it's needed.). We sleep with all windows open and I try to create a cross draught (is that what its called?), but that comes with another problem; The fact that it gets light at 3 am and that the sun rises around 30 minutes later! We have shades in our bedroom, but in order to get the kids to no go bonkers at 5 am, we really need to keep all light sources to a minimum. We have put Sven's bed in the walk in closet, which, with the small window covered, is the darkest room by far. And this far it seems to work, he is basically sleeping until 8 am or so, so no complaints.
Anyways, I wasn't going to write about closets, because there really isn't much more to say about them, a closet's a closet, but I was going to write about how beautiful the Swedish summer can be. Perhaps you have to be born into it, and the long dark winter that preludes it, but to me there's just nothing more wonderful than Sweden this time of year. Everything is fresh, lush, green and just bright. People are happier and Stockholm is breath taking with all the water glimmering, sail boats and oh yeah, all the Russian and easter European tourists. They glimmer too. Perhaps not as crisp as the ocean, but with all the (fake) bling bling they put on they're quite a site too :-).
Oh and just so no one thinks I'm lazy: My spell checker doesn't work in blogger. Don't know why, but it's on strike. So sorry.
Welcome
Ok ok ok - I have thought about it long enough and since I have also come to terms with the fact that despite my stubbornness to only blog in Swedish - no english speaking person can understand a word of it, I am giving in and giving blogging in English a try :-).
But I must first force all the loyal what, three perhaps, readers to read the following disclaimer:
First: I am lousy english speller and I'm more than certain that my grammar sucks as much too. So, if you are going to be terribly offended by the misshandling of your beautiful language please don't be. Just laugh at me and move on. I will try my best to remember the spell checker, but I won't promise that I will use it as frequently as I should (It makes me very depressed to see everything I write underlined with red squiggly lines. Seriously, it's like there's a little evil english teacher inside my computer and all I can expect at the end of a post is a big fat F or something. Gaaah!). If you want perfect grammar this isn't the blogg for you and unfortunately nor is my Swedish one either. I just write and post, rarely do I read through and I most certainly should.
Second: Don't expect frequent updates. Again, I will try, but since I now have three blogs to juggle (the Swedish one, that takes priority as it is the oldest. There's also a food one, called "Food porn". Don't get excited, there's nothing but recepies there. In Swedish. Sorry.),
limited time in between Sven's crazy explorations and last but not least have yet to figure out how to get mobile blogging to work... Let's just say it's all a work in progress.
Third: I tend to write long posts. I know I should be quick and witty and update fifteen times a day, but that's just not me (Again, once I get a hang of the mobile thing, I can go really wild and crazy. But not there yet.). So it's ok if you don't want to read it all. No offence taken.
I think that's about it. No wait, there's one more thing! If I write for you, will you keep a dialog going and levae comments? There's nothing lonelier that thinking that no one cares about what you write... Well, it's ok if you don't, but please say so at least :-)! Thanks!
Now sign your name on the dotted line below, where you basically promise to leave me every earthly posession and your youngest child in the fine print, and you may continue to the next post. Yeeeeaaaayyyy, let's hang out!!
But I must first force all the loyal what, three perhaps, readers to read the following disclaimer:
First: I am lousy english speller and I'm more than certain that my grammar sucks as much too. So, if you are going to be terribly offended by the misshandling of your beautiful language please don't be. Just laugh at me and move on. I will try my best to remember the spell checker, but I won't promise that I will use it as frequently as I should (It makes me very depressed to see everything I write underlined with red squiggly lines. Seriously, it's like there's a little evil english teacher inside my computer and all I can expect at the end of a post is a big fat F or something. Gaaah!). If you want perfect grammar this isn't the blogg for you and unfortunately nor is my Swedish one either. I just write and post, rarely do I read through and I most certainly should.
Second: Don't expect frequent updates. Again, I will try, but since I now have three blogs to juggle (the Swedish one, that takes priority as it is the oldest. There's also a food one, called "Food porn". Don't get excited, there's nothing but recepies there. In Swedish. Sorry.),
limited time in between Sven's crazy explorations and last but not least have yet to figure out how to get mobile blogging to work... Let's just say it's all a work in progress.
Third: I tend to write long posts. I know I should be quick and witty and update fifteen times a day, but that's just not me (Again, once I get a hang of the mobile thing, I can go really wild and crazy. But not there yet.). So it's ok if you don't want to read it all. No offence taken.
I think that's about it. No wait, there's one more thing! If I write for you, will you keep a dialog going and levae comments? There's nothing lonelier that thinking that no one cares about what you write... Well, it's ok if you don't, but please say so at least :-)! Thanks!
Now sign your name on the dotted line below, where you basically promise to leave me every earthly posession and your youngest child in the fine print, and you may continue to the next post. Yeeeeaaaayyyy, let's hang out!!
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