This past weekend was an especially fun one. The Swede and I left work early on Friday afternoon so that we could get into the city in time to catch a bus out to a gallery in the archipelago. The Swede had gotten us tickets to a dinner theater about the history of the julbord, starring the folks who did last year's Julkalender program that I was so wild about. We had an amazing time; the show was wonderful and I learned a lot, but the julbord wasn't nearly as delicious as Mama Swede's.
On Saturday, The Swede was fishing so Jambo and I indulged in our ice-fishing-season tradition of going to the movies. We saw a cozy Swedish film about an old man and his cat at Christmastime. I fell asleep eight times. After we and The Swede got home, I was able to take a real nap, a necessity because my choir had our midnight Christmas concert on Saturday night. It was lovely and despite being the middle of the night and in a church out in the country, the pews were filled.
Then, on Sunday, Linda came over with the girls for our Fourth Annual Christmas Craft Day. This year we made pipe-cleaner candy canes with our names on them and tiny wooden angels. We also threw stuffed animals at each other. Guess which part Jamie liked best.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Gateway To Toys
Jamie has already been to the dentist a couple of times, but this was his first appointment where they actually got in there and looked more closely at his baby teeth before they start falling out. As the parent chiefly in charge of his oral hygiene, I had some buy-in in this appointment, but we swapped preschool drop-off/pick-up schedules and The Swede took him instead. Apparently Jamie really enjoyed it, surely partly because he knew he'd get a toy at the end. Because we need more of those in December.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Lucia 2016
Today was Jamie's final Lucia celebration for awhile since he'll be in kindergarten next year. He spotted us in the crowd this afternoon right away and we could see that he was nervous and shy but he sang his little heart out. He also held Axel's hand throughout the whole little concert. It feels like this was just yesterday.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
This has been the best December, snow-wise, in years. After the gigantic snowstorm we had back in November, everything melted quickly but since then we've gotten a couple of dustings. Yesterday we woke up to this beautiful sight, though, and it continued to come down all day.
We have what's got to be one of the best sledding hills in the whole community just a couple of footsteps from our front door, so we bundled up, threw Jambo on the snow racer, and found the hill totally deserted. Jamie rode down a few times, I took a turn, the ice fisherman in our lives tested the ice, and we threw a whooooooole lotta snowballs at one another. We were all soaking wet when we came home and our hallway floor and radiator are still covered in snow pants and gloves and hats. We spent the rest of the day wrapping presents and putzing around the house and watching the Nobel Banquet and commenting on all of the gowns.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
Lately
Here's a bit of what we've been up to around here lately. Last Friday, we had our company Christmas party and my colleague Emelie and I decided to plan a bunch of little events throughout the day leading up to the party in the evening. Here we are preparing goody bags with candy and notes about how much we appreciate each of our coworkers. Our activities were a hit and we had an awesome time out that night. The Swede was on a fishing trip, and was missed both at the party and at home, but it was still one of the highlights of the work year.
December is my favorite month as a parent, mostly because it is incredibly easy to wake Jamie up for school in the morning. Every day leading up to Christmas Eve, he gets a small gift from Farmor and this year the theme has been Pokémon. He's gotten dozens of (apparently) exclusive cards and little figurines, all of which he's been very excited about. The best so far, though, has been an analog Batman watch that he somehow actually knows how to read. He's been announcing the time every half hour since he got it on Friday morning.
Last weekend, Erin and the boys came over to play and they each decorated a sugar cookie. It was a bit of an aesthetic disaster, but they tasted very good.
I baked about three dozen and decorated the rest later in the week and we just ate the last one a few minutes ago. Good thing I froze another whole batch of dough!
December is my favorite month as a parent, mostly because it is incredibly easy to wake Jamie up for school in the morning. Every day leading up to Christmas Eve, he gets a small gift from Farmor and this year the theme has been Pokémon. He's gotten dozens of (apparently) exclusive cards and little figurines, all of which he's been very excited about. The best so far, though, has been an analog Batman watch that he somehow actually knows how to read. He's been announcing the time every half hour since he got it on Friday morning.
Last weekend, Erin and the boys came over to play and they each decorated a sugar cookie. It was a bit of an aesthetic disaster, but they tasted very good.
I baked about three dozen and decorated the rest later in the week and we just ate the last one a few minutes ago. Good thing I froze another whole batch of dough!
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
A Little End-of-November Update
Oh boy, you guys, I am really sorry. The blogging is bad, but life is good. Jamie is in a particularly harmonious period and it's a treat to be around him. He's smart and funny and The Swede and I find ourselves shaking our heads over how wonderful he is and how proud and lucky we are that he's ours. Speaking of The Swede, my heart still skips a beat when I see him. He still surprises me with brilliant and hilarious comments; it's no wonder his son is becoming such a clever, entertaining person. Our home is all decorated for Christmas already, so even though it's dark by three in the afternoon, paper star lanterns and candles and strings of lights are illuminating our little house. There's a dusting of snow on the ground and the ice will be forming on the lakes soon, so it's the most hopeful time of year for my husband. We had a beautiful First Advent service at church on Sunday, complete with a children's choir and singers from several other choirs in our community, including yours truly. The Swede and Jamie came and listened and I'm hoping it was a first step toward getting Jamie to sing in the children's choir when he gets older. Oh, and Jamie has enthusiastically watched The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, and Berenstain Bears Christmas with me! Next up: Charlie Brown, Sesame Street, Garfield, Claymation, Muppets, and best (yet hardest to sell) of all, Emmet Otter. Indeed, it is a hopeful time of your for us all.
Daily Jamie
| November 22nd |
| November 25th |
| November 27th |
| November 17th |
| November 18th |
| November 19th |
| November 20th |
| November 21st |
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Emelie's Salon
I had booked a trim with my hairdresser for next week, but cancelled it yesterday when I looked at my bank account and realized I'm broke as a joke. Good thing I have a brave colleague who volunteered to bring in her hair scissors and trim my split ends! She did it in five minutes during our lunch break and had so much fun that she literally giggled the whole time. Poor Andreas will never take a scissor to my head again.
Monday, November 14, 2016
One For The Books
Oh, you guys. The Swede and I just enjoyed a weekend at our favorite hotel in Dalarna and I cannot even tell you how amazing it was. But I'll try.
We dropped Jambo off with Mama and Papa Swede and cousin Anne and took the afternoon off of work on Friday so that we would arrive before it got dark (it's about a three-hour drive and the sun is setting before three thirty these days). We checked in, threw our bags in our room, and headed to the spa. It was packed, but still amazing to just relax and go by our own schedule.
On Saturday morning, it was six degrees Fahrenheit but the sun was shining so we took a walk around Tällberg. It was the first time I'd ever seen it in winter, besides just passing through, and it took my breath away, just like it always does in the summertime. We spent the rest of the day at the spa, reading magazines and relaxing in the hot tubs and sauna. The Swede and his parents had booked a facial/full-body treatment/massage for my birthday and it was beyond words. I felt very spoiled.
The whole weekend had us both feeling spoiled, in fact. We ate really good food and held uninterrupted conversations and slept late and it was kind of one of the best things we've ever done.
By Sunday morning we were really missing Jambo, though, so we hit the road earlier than we expected and surprised him. He hugged us so tight when he saw us that it just made the whole weekend that much better. I feel so lucky, my friends. So very, very lucky.
We dropped Jambo off with Mama and Papa Swede and cousin Anne and took the afternoon off of work on Friday so that we would arrive before it got dark (it's about a three-hour drive and the sun is setting before three thirty these days). We checked in, threw our bags in our room, and headed to the spa. It was packed, but still amazing to just relax and go by our own schedule.
On Saturday morning, it was six degrees Fahrenheit but the sun was shining so we took a walk around Tällberg. It was the first time I'd ever seen it in winter, besides just passing through, and it took my breath away, just like it always does in the summertime. We spent the rest of the day at the spa, reading magazines and relaxing in the hot tubs and sauna. The Swede and his parents had booked a facial/full-body treatment/massage for my birthday and it was beyond words. I felt very spoiled.
The whole weekend had us both feeling spoiled, in fact. We ate really good food and held uninterrupted conversations and slept late and it was kind of one of the best things we've ever done.
By Sunday morning we were really missing Jambo, though, so we hit the road earlier than we expected and surprised him. He hugged us so tight when he saw us that it just made the whole weekend that much better. I feel so lucky, my friends. So very, very lucky.
Friday, November 11, 2016
My Life Flows On In Endless Song, Above Earth's Lamentations
On Wednesday morning when I woke up and turned on the TV (we discovered this week that we get CNN) things were looking grim. I went on with my routine and when I finally opened the curtains there was well over a foot of snow on the ground and it was still coming down. It was breathtaking in its beauty, but wildly inconvenient for traffic. My twenty-minute commute turned into an hour, at the end of which Swedish public radio announced that America's next president had been chosen. That night I had choir practice and I was remembering 9/11, when I was at Marietta College and all classes had been cancelled - except choir practice. The conductor said that this is when we need to sing most of all. I'll never forget that. The weather prevented all but a handful from attending practice on Wednesday, but I was there. I needed to sing.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Grease Monkeys
One thing that's kind of a pain about Sweden is that they don't have all-weather tires and you have to, by law, change to studded tires between the first of December and end of March and up to a month longer on either end if the weather requires it. With a forecast of snow and below-freezing temperatures this past week, we had to get on top of things and change the tires on both of our cars. Thankfully we had help.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Fall At Steninge Slott
Oh my gosh, we had the best weekend! Saturday was full of Halloween fun in addition to Jamie's usual morning gymnastics class, and I also spent a few hours rehearsing with my choir in preparation for Sunday's concert.
Before the concert, though, The Swede and Jamie and I drove out to Steninge Slott, a beautiful little Baroque palace with lovely grounds made even lovelier by the fall colors and the gradually sinking sun shining through the trees. It was a perfect, crisp fall day and we were all glad to be outside, particularly after the cloudy month that was October.
There was a lot of exploring, and we played tag, and, of course, a little Pokémon Go.
Before the concert, though, The Swede and Jamie and I drove out to Steninge Slott, a beautiful little Baroque palace with lovely grounds made even lovelier by the fall colors and the gradually sinking sun shining through the trees. It was a perfect, crisp fall day and we were all glad to be outside, particularly after the cloudy month that was October.
There was a lot of exploring, and we played tag, and, of course, a little Pokémon Go.
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