Sledding in the Garden

It snowed last night, and off and on all day. I remembered that we had little shovel-type sleds and brought them out for the kids to use. They were perfect for going down the little hill in the back yard.

Rock & Roll Song

It snowed Sunday night. And most of the day Monday. Monday afternoon we went to a friend's house. The kids played out in the snow there. Tuesday afternoon they played out in the backyard. At first, they went straight for the sandbox. Then they started pulling toys out of the shed. I took a little video of an impromptu concert by Lilli accompanied by an impromptu dance (with ribbon) by Tipton. Enjoy (You might want to turn the sound up so that you can hear Lilli singing in the background.)

Glitter - the New Lice

Had a moment of panic earlier...
I was brushing Lilli's hair after her bath, and saw that her scalp was covered in what looked like fine, black dirt.
My first thought was "OH NO - LICE!!!!"
Then I turned her head and it sparkled a little.
I asked her if her head itched. She said no.
I got out the metal lice comb. No creepy crawlies.
I asked Lilli if she'd used glitter at school. She said yes.
So - either Lilli had a sudden and complete lice infestation, or they used dark, very fine glitter at school today. And she rubbed it all over her head.

Spikey Hair

Tipton has been needing a haircut. So on Saturday we made an appointment at the place in the mall - the place where Daddy goes. Tipton had been wanting to get a mohawk. I was all for it, but Daddy said No. So Tipton decided he'd get "spikey hair" like his friend, Maxime. Over here they "paint" the kids hair when they get a haircut. Tipton chose blue.

Earmuffs

Apparently I will buy anything for 10 kronor. Last Tuesday I kept Lilli home from school. I wanted her to be on antibiotics before I sent her back to the germ factory, uh, I mean preschool. She was well enough to run around with me, though. And I really needed to get out of the house. So Sam and Lilli and I went to the Burlov Center. It's a mall, almost of US proportions. There is a really big Coop store in it. And by really big I mean about the size of a Target. A small Target. It had several rows of "10 kronor" bins. Sam and I were making our way through them. I turned around to make sure that Lilli was still following along. And she was. She also had picked up and put on a pair of giant pink flower shaped earmuffs. She looked absolutely adorable, how could I not get them for her? She had an ear infection, and they would certainly keep her ears warm (and the rest of her face, too.) And they were only 10 kronor...

Terrance the Terrible

I try to keep my Fridays "open" as play days. This past Friday was no exception. My friend, Kim, and I spent the morning at my favorite cafe (Cafe Gusto) enjoying chai lattes and croissant sandwiches while we waited for our friend, Sam, to finish with Video Club at Bladins. Then the three of us walked all over downtown Malmö. My friend, Betsy, had told me about a thriftstore type of place called "Trash Station" located a few blocks behind the Central train station. We found it easily enough. And WOW. A very organized place. Even color coded. I found a stained glass type picture of a viking. The background and the sheild and the eyes are glass. The body and face and helmet are stone/pebble. I just couldn't resist, especially when I found out the cost. Only 10 kronor (that's about $1.25 USD). We spent the rest of our walk around town thinking of possible names for my little viking. We were having lunch at the thai buffet place when it came to me - Terrance the Terrible. Terry to his friends.

Influenza

On Sunday, Jan 25th Dave was tired all day. Just exhausted. He took several naps but it didn't seem to help.

On Monday, Jan 26th Dave woke up with an awful cough. I mean, he just could not stop coughing. And he felt horrible, all ache-y. He decided to stay home. A few hours later he had a fever. That evening his fever was so high that he was shivering and hallucinating. I could stand three feet away and feel the heat coming off of him. He spent most of the asleep. Every couple of hours he would wake up and dial in to a conference call for work.

On Tuesday he wasn't any better. Still feverish. Still coughing. Still feeling really awful. He stayed home again. Spent most of the day asleep, waking up now and then for conference calls. That evening he was having trouble breathing, even after taking his inhaler three times. So he drove himself to the Jourcentralen (kind of like Urgent Care in the US. Kind of.) There they gave him several breathing treatments and prescriptions for antibiotics (since he had asthma, to ward off any secondary infections he might pick up whil having the flu) and cough medicine. He felt much better after the breathing treatments. Amazing how being able to breathe makes such a big difference. But he still felt really awful. His fever broke during the night. He got up and changed his shirt several times because it was soaked through with sweat.

Wednesday he stayed home again. No fever but he still had a bad cough and felt completely washed out. He spent most of the day asleep.

Thursday he only took two or three naps and actually logged in to work for a couple of hours.

On Friday, Jan 30, he went back to work. Dave has never missed that many days (in a row) due to illness. In all the years that I've known him he has rarely had a fever, and has never had one that a handfull of ibuprofen didn't knock out.



On Monday, Jan 26, Tipton woke up with a bad cough and a fever. I kept him home from school. He spent the day lying on the couch watching videos and/or napping. I started him on a tylenon/motrin rotation to try and keep the fever in check.

On Tuesday he still had a cough and fever. I kept him home again. Through out the day he would disappear and I would find him sound asleep in his bed. Tipton has NEVER voluntarily taken naps, so I knew he felt bad. That evening his fever hit 104 (this while on the tylenol/motrin.) I put Tipton in a tepid bath to bring down his fever. I have never been so relieved to see 103.7 on the thermometer. Dave and I discussed whether or not to take Tipton to the Jourcentralen. Dave was already going to go. But we decided to keep Tipton home. His fever was starting to come down and I didn't want to have to wake him up. Also, I didn't want to have him sit in the waiting room with all the other sick people.

Wednesday Tipton still had fever and cough. He stayed home again. Again, he would disappear and I'd find him asleep in his bed.

Thursday Tipton still had a fever and a cough but he was starting to feel better. I could tell because he said he was bored and he started arguing with Lilli.

On Friday Tipton woke with no fever. He still had a cough. I kept him home again. It was the 100th day at his school, and his class was going on a field trip to Andi's Playland. I did not want to let him loose in the germ factory. Later that afternoon his fever returned.

Saturday Tipton was fever free. He was arguing with Lilli and loudly complaining of being bored. I knew he was on the mend.

On Monday, Jan 26th I sent Lilli to school. She had been coughing a little that morning, but it was usually right after Tipton had coughed. I wasn't sure if Lilli had a real cough or was just imitating Tipton. She did not have a fever. So I reasoned that it was better for her to be away from Dave and Tipton and all of their germs. When I dropped her at school I explained to her teacher that Lilli's father and brother were home with the flu, but that Lilli didn't have a fever so I brought her to school. I told her to call me if Lilli came down with the flu and I needed to come and get her. A little over two hours later I got a phone call. Lilli had a fever and I needed to pick her up. I took her temperature when I got her home. It was 102.9.

On Tuesday Lilli woke with a cough and a fever. She spent most of the day lying on the couch watching videos. She fought against napping. Every now and then she would drift off for a few minutes while watching a video but that was about it.

On Wednesday Lilli's temperature was 103.5 and I thought "Oh, it's ONLY 103.5" It's amazing how perspective can change your reactions. Tuesday afternoon I would have freaked that her temperature was that high, but after Tipton's temperature Tuesday evening...

On Thursday Lilli still had a pretty high fever (in the 103s). But she was arguing with Tipton so I knew she was on the upswing.

Lilli still had a fever on Friday. And on Saturday.

On Sunday Lilli woke without a fever. It was the first day in a week that neither Dave, Tipton nor Lilli had a fever. To celebrate we went out for pizza. (And also because if Mommy didn't get out of the house she was going to have to kill one of them.) Lilli ate a few bites of her pizza and then said that her ear hurt. I felt her forehead. She had a fever. I judged that it was at least 103.2 (I had gotten very good at predicting exact temperatures - due to all the experience I had been getting all week.) I held her in my lap during the rest of the meal. When we got home I took her temperature. It was 103.4.

On Monday Tipton went to school and I kept Lilli home. She did not have a fever, but had complained of her ear hurting when she was eating breakfast. I called the Vårdcentralen (doctor's office) at 8:30. (They opened at 8:00 but I was running around getting Tipton ready for school and explaining to Lilli that she couldn't go to school.) They called me back around 9:30 to tell me that they didn't have any more appointments that day. They suggested that I take her to the Jourcentralen (which didn't open until 5:00pm) or call back the next day to try and get an appointment. Lilli seemed absolutely fine and played happily. But whenever she started to eat she said that her ear hurt. When Dave got home that night I took Lilli to the Jourcentralen. There were people standing around outside the building. In the cold. The waiting room was packed, not even standing room. I elbowed my way to where the 'take a number' machine and the 'entry forms' were. The triage nurse saw us pretty quickly. She said that Lilli would definitely see a doctor today, but she suggested that if we lived nearby that we should go home and wait, then come back around 9:00. At that time the waiting room wouldn't be as crowded. And there was no way they would be able to get to her before then. So we did. We went home and I put Lilli to bed. About an hour later I woke her up and we went back to the Jourcentralen. After 20 minutes we were taken to an exam room. Ten minutes later we saw the doctor. He looked in her ear and said "Infection." He said he would send a prescription for antibiotics to the Apoteket. So I carried Lilli back to the car and we drove to the Apoteket. By 9:45 we were paying for her prescription. We were home by 10:00pm.

I kept Lilli home the next day, Tuesday Feb 2. I wanted her to be on antibiotics for a full 24 hours before I sent her back to the germ factory - uh, I mean school.

I am very fortunate and VERY thankful that I did not get the flu. I'm not sure what we would have done if I had. Well, I imagine it still would have been me running to the store for orange juice and taking care of everyone... But still. It could have been much worse. I could have gotten the flu. Or they could have had the stomach flu. Or the Winter Vomiting Sickness. And let me tell you, Dave TRUELY appreciates me. Maybe it was just the high fever, but several times a day all week long he would tell me how much he appreciated me and how he didn't know what they'd do without me...

I'm just glad I was able to take care of them, and that my family is healthy again!

January

We usually go to McDonalds for lunch on either Saturday or Sunday. Tipton always asks to play a game on Daddy's phone while he waits for his lunch to magically appear on the table before him. One day Daddy decided to take pictures of the kids instead of letting Tipton play with his phone. So they started posing. This is my favorite pose.

One of Grandma Suzie's last days here we decided to walk around downtown. Unfortunately, it was -5 C (19 F). Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! But Grandma Suzie and the kids were good sports. The kids especially thought it was cool that all of the fountains had frozen.

One of the stores we went into had a bunch of Knights dress up stuff. Including body 'armor.'

Lilli was watching me do yoga on the Wii and decided that she wanted to give it a try.

Christmas is never just one day for us. Especially being so far away from our family, it tends to stretch out for several weeks as the packages trickle in.

Cousin Donna sent Tipton an Agent's legos set. She chose it because it had "Sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads!" Tipton thought that was pretty cool, too.

Cousin Donna gave Lilli a very pretty tea set. We have been having many, many tea parties. Lilli is a most gracious hostess.

We have these giant red and white striped knit stockings. When the kids were small enough we'd put them inside the stockings. Now they are too big. But Lilli has found another use for them. They make very fashionable hats.

And this last one is just a sweet picture.

The Rest of December 2008

At long last - the last of the December photos!

Santa Claus brought Tipton a giant Mars Mission lego set. As soon as all the other presents were opened, Tipton got down to work building his new Mars Mission space ships. All by himself!

About two hours later...

He needed Daddy to help him with some of the fiddly bits towards the end, but for the most part he did it all by himself!

Caught in the act! Lilli tears into her chocolate santa.

Grandma Suzie gave Lilli a sleeping bag. It came in a backpack that had a pocket with a water bottle and a pocket with a flashlight. Lilli loves flashlights.

Mommy and Daddy gave Tipton and Lilli a Knight hooded towel and a Princess hooded towel to wear for dress up.

And of course we had to call Grama Kay and Papa to wish them a Merry Christmas. The kids were really funny, talking over each other trying to tell them what all they got for Christmas. They were sooooooooo excited.

I don't think Grama Kay and Papa understood a word they said, but they sure were cute!

A couple of days later we went ice skating. It was a new experience for Grandma Suzie - an outside skating rink! And no, she did NOT go ice skating. She sat on a bench and cheered us on and took photos. And froze.

Last year Lilli didn't want to get out on the ice. She was content to just run around the oustide of the rink. But this year, with a little coaxing, we got her out on the ice. And she really enjoyed it!

Of course, Tipton had a great time! That ice skating class he took last year really paid off.

A couple of last random photos...

We have a Playmobil nativity scene. Last year the kids kept wandering off with the baby Jesus and the angel and the kings. And after retrieving them for the fourth time I decided to just let it go. So this year when they were setting it up Tipton asked "Where is the baby Jesus?" I told them to search through all the Playmobil stuff in the playroom. The next thing I knew Mary and Joseph were no longer staying in a stable - they were staying at a Comfort Inn. Complete with beds with covers, a crib, a wood burning stove, a high chair, a table with dishes, a nightstand with books, chairs, a pupet theater, a music player, a stroller, a vase with flowers, Santa riding a donkey...

When Dave and I were first married I made counted cross stitch Christmas stocking for us. Then when Tipton was born I made one for him. He didn't have it for his first Christmas, but I had it ready in time for his second Christmas. And this year I finally finished Lilli's stocking! So I leave you with a shot of all four stockings. (The little pink one on the side is Lilli's old stocking - Grandma Suzie used it this year.)