Fun with Donna

Dave's cousin, Donna, came to visit. We love cousin Donna! She arrived on a Friday. Dave had the day off, for Midsummer. He took the train to the airport to meet her.

When she got here we let her rest for a bit, then we put the kids in the wagon and walked down to Pildams Park. We thought there might be some festivities going on for Midsummer. There weren't. But it was a nice walk.

The next day, Saturday, was Midsummer. Not much was open. We walked around downtown (the pedestrian mall.) We went to the Toy Muesum (it was open!) Then we went to McD's for lunch. Then back to the pedestrian mall, to ride the paddle boats.

gratuitous kid picture

Dave had to leave for Beijing on Sunday. But before he left we went down to the Vaestra Hamnen (Western Harbor).


On Monday I took Lilli to her last day of daycare (until August.) Donna and Tipton rode on to a nearby playground while I had a "How Lilli's Doing" meeting with one of her teachers. (She is doing great, by the way.) Then I rode (my bike) on to meet up with Donna and Tipton. From there we rode (our bikes) up to one of my favorite bakeries. We had a snack. Then we rode on to the beach. We found a playground at Ribersborg Beach and Tipton played for a while. Then we rode home, hopped into the car and drove to Ikea. Donna had never been to an Ikea before. Kind of cool that her first trip to Ikea was in Sweden! We hustled through the store until we got to the cafeteria. There we had Swedish meatballs for lunch. Then we came home and I hopped on my bike and picked Lilli up from daycare. Sorry, no pictures from that day.

On Tuesday we took the train in to Denmark and went to Tivoli Gardens. Tipton and Lilli are roller coaster junkies (thanks, Aunt Jenni!) So of course we went on all the (kid) rides. Twice.

We rode the Carousel. And a small rollercoaster called The Camel.

We rode in the boats. Tipton and Donna were in one boat. Lilli and I were in another boat. Tipton and Lilli did all the steering. Tipton thought it was like bumper cars (thanks, Aunt Jenni.)

Then we rode the Nautilus ride. While we were waiting in line Lilli saw other kids getting on the ride. She got a little upset. She pointed to the ride and yelled "MINE!" Lilli's not big on waiting in line.

We also rode on the airplane ride. Lilli rode with Donna.

Then we did the pirate boat ride. This is Lilli's favorite ride. Cousin Donna wasn't too thrilled, though. So the second time she stayed with the stroller and took pictures and I rode with both kids.

There was a big playground, too. We stayed there for quite some time. There was a large red mat that was suposed to be inflated - like a bouncy surface. It wasn't very inflated. But Lilli still had fun running all over it. There were your normal playground type things - stuff to climb on, slides. There was one really long, really cool looking slide. You had to climb up a spiral staircase to get to the top. But it wasn't very fast. The kids had to scoot themselves along most of it. Lilli's favorite part of the playground were the little merry-go-round camels. She could have stayed riding on those forever.

Next we rode the antique cars.

Then Tipton and Lilli and I rode the big ferris wheel. Donna waited for us with the stroller.

Then it was time for dinner. We knew where we wanted to eat - on the big pirate boat, of course! And as we were trying to find out how to get on the boat we stumbled across a restaurant called Ketchup. Too funny. Of course, I only managed to take a picture of their drink menu (Hey, Kay - they have Mojitos!) The pirate boat was pretty cool. Only, they didn't really have kid food. At least, not food that MY kids would eat. Example: We ordered the chicken for Tipton. It was like part of an actual roasted chicken - with rosemary, etc. It came with asparagus. Donna had the rooster and I had the halibut. Both were excellent. Tipton's chicken was pretty good, too. As was his asparagus.

And I have just realized that this is a VERY picture heavy post, and we're only half way through Donna's visit. So I think I end now and start another post for the second half of her trip. Here is a picture of the trip home from Tivoli, on the train.

That's what you get...

Tipton got a new bed. We moved his old bed into Lilli's room. We needed to get Lilli out of her crib.

She was trying to escape.



And we were afraid she was going to vault over the railing.

So we went to Ikea and bought Tipton a new bed. A very cool bed. With a canopy! It can be a bunk bed, but we chose the "safer" configuration of it just being a bed. With a ladder. And a really cool canopy. Tipton helped Daddy put it together

At one point Tipton finished whatever task he was doing and said

"That's what happens when you work with the Tipton!"

(I promise to post pictures of the kids "new" beds. Soon.)

Fresh Powder Scent

So the kids were playing outside in the sandbox. And Tipton knows that when he comes in from playing in the sand, he should put a little bit of baby powder on his hands and feet to help brush the sand off. And I guess he thought that Lilli should do the same, so he left the bottle of baby powder on the floor for her to use...

The scene of the crime



The prime suspect



At one point, Lilli was on her tummy making swimming motions. This picture does not show that, but it gives you a better idea of just how much baby powder is on the floor. The giant can used to be full. It is now empty.



Of course they had to track it all over the house.



Lilli scoops up a handfull of powder to sprinkle in her hair



Tipton says "Hey look, I can make footprints!"



Well, at least we found an educational use for a living room floor covered in baby powder - you can practice your letters!

Tipton Quotes

"Lilli, dont' you want to do exactly what I tell you to do?" 5.7.07

"I'm half of a big kid, because I'm about to be 18." 5.13.07

Tipton's Birthday Party

Tipton's birthday party was at The Little Gym on Saturday, the 28th. He wore his new pirate t-shirt. It's black and has a big white skull & cross bones on the front. He wore his pirate costume from halloween, and wore his new sword. (The t-shirt and sword were bought with the birthday money from Great-Grama!) Lilli also wore her pirate costume from halloween.

I made Tipton a birthday cake that looked like a pirate ship. Complete with sales and pirates and a treasure chest full of gold! I was SO impressed with myself - it's the first time I'd tried to make a cake like this. (You know, one that looks like something other than just a plain ol' cake.) It turned out really cool!

Aunt Jenni flew in just for Tipton's party. She made balloon swords and balloon animals for all the kids.

The party was great. All the kids had fun. (Although I am a little disappointed with the gym instructors. I'd never met them before. I don't think they have as much experience as the other instructors. They had trouble controlling the kids, and they lost their patience with them several times.

The party ended with the kids going on a hunt for a treasure chest. inside the chest were the party bags. I made the party bags. I cut black cloth into rectangles and sewed up the sides and sewed a place for a drawstring to go through. Then I put in the drawstring. The goodie bag contained: a small plastic treasure chest containing some candy and a toy, a compas ring, gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, Pirates of the Carribean fruit snacks, two balloons, a balloon rocket, an eyepatch, a foil wrapped chocolate car and a party blower. The kids loved them!

After the party the family and Aunt Jenni went to Pizza Hut for dinner. A rare treat to have "american" pizza. It was soooooooooo good! They just don't do pan pizza at the 'regular' swedish pizza places. Then we dropped Aunt Jenni at the train station. Tipton fell asleep on the way there. Lilli fell asleep on the way home. We put them both straight to bed (in fact, we didn't even put Tipton into his jammies!)

I think the party was a success.

Happy Birthday to Tipton!

My little boy is FIVE years old! And he is very excited to be five. The day started with him "opening" presents in the living room. (We didn't actually wrap anything, we just laid them all out on the green couch.) Of course, the first thing he saw were the new Hot Wheels Acceleracers cars. After about 10 minutes of playing with these and ignoring everything else, I demanded that he 'open' his other gifts or we would send them back. That got his attention. (We were on a time schedule - he still had school and Daddy still had to go to work!) He had presents from the Killmeyers and Grandma Suzie and Lilli and Rowan & Niall. And of course more stuff from Mommy & Daddy. He loved it all.

He had a small meltdown when we got to school - we'd forgotten his backpack. That meant that he wouldn't have a snack. I assured him that I would bring his backpack as soon as I'd dropped Lilli at daycare. And I did. I also made a little sign that said "Happy Birthday Tipton! 5!" and taped that over his locker, with some balloons. And I brought cupcakes for his class to eat at snacktime. Pink strawberry cupcakes. With neon blue cream cheese frosting and bright green sugar sprinkles. They turned out MUCH better than I thought they would. Truth be told, I dreaded making them. Of course, you can't find a strawberry cake mix over here. But my Mom found a recipe for strawberry cake. She'd made it for one of my neice's birthday. I didn't have the exact ingredients, but "made do" with what I had. It called for a yellow cake mix, a box of strawberry jello and a box of frozen strawberries. You understand why I was concerned, yes? But they were so delicious and moist that Tipton's teachers asked me for the recipe.

After school the kids played on the playground for a bit. Then Tipton's friend Samantha came home with us for lunch. Then I loaded them into the car and we left to get Lilli from daycare. Then home for more playing. Adriana picked Samantha up and Tipton and Lilli and I headed off for Tipton's class at The Little Gym. I brought the rest of the cupcakes for his classmates to have afterwards. Again, they were a big hit. Several of the mommies asked for the recipe.

We got home and the kids played outside for a while, then into the tub. Tipton requested a pizza picnic for dinner, so that's what we had. No more cupcakes, so we put his birthday candle into a bowl of strawberry ice cream. Then we 'called' Grama and Papa on the computer. Tipton showed them all the new Acceleracers cars he has. They sang Happy Birthday to him. He LOVED it! (When Lilli saw Grama on the computer she said "Papa? Papa?" She knows they go together!)

All in all, it was a good day. Tipton had fun. I cannot believe my little boy is FIVE years old. It seems like only yesterday...

Thing you thought you'd never say...

"Lilli, don't lick the toilet paper!"

My Children Need Helmets to be Near Me

Friday afternoon. I pick Tipton up from school. He and his friend, Samantha, are the last two kids on the playground. Adriana (Samantha's Mom) and I decide it is time to leave. We hustle the kids off the playground and start heading towards our cars. I open Tipton's door for him to get in the car, then walk around the back of the car to get Lilli into her seat. I am carrying Lilli. I stepped partway into a hole with my left foot. My ankle twisted and I went down, still holding Lilli. I tried to twist further to cushion Lilli's fall, but still she hit the ground. I heard her head hit the pavement - not a sound I will ever forget. She started screaming. I started screaming. Tipton yelled for Adriana. We must have been making quite a lot of noise, because a woman from the pizza parlor across the street came running out. Adriana (and Samantha) came running back. A man drivng by (the Dad of one of Tipton's classmates) stopped his car and got out. The woman from the pizza parlor took Lilli. Adriana helped me up off the ground. Lilli looked okay at first glance - no blood, no scratches. I had twisted my left ankle pretty bad. I could barely put any weight on it. My right knee was skinned pretty bad, through my pants (which now had a hole in the knee.) Adriana put Lilli into her car seat for me. I leaned in to buckle Lilli up. Her hat had slipped down over her eyes so I pushed it back up. That's when I saw it. Lilli had a knot on her head. About two inches long, 1/2 an inch wide and popped out about an inch. (NOT an exaggeration.) I was pretty unsteady on my feet before I saw that. I started shaking. It was all I could do to say "Adriana." She leaned into the car and looked at Lilli and saw the bump. I don't remember exactly what she said. But I do remember her telling me to breathe. And that she would follow me home. Good thing, because I hyperventilated all the way home. At one point Tipton said "Mommy, is your ankle better? Because you've been staying off of it." Such a little sweetheart! Once home, Adriana got Lilli out of the car. I held Lilli while Adriana held ice on Lilli's head. After a few minutes we could see that the swelling was going down. I put on a DVD for Lilli. She started dancing as soon as the music came on, so I was pretty sure she'd be okay. Then Adriana wrapped my ankle with an ace bandage. Then Adriana started making lunch for the kids while I tended to my skinned knee. After the kids ate, Adriana helped me write out a list of things I needed/needed to know for an emergency over here. Like where our Vardcentral is. (The Vardcentral is the clinic you go to if you're sick.) The numbers for an ambulance and/or taxis. A first aid kit for the car. All things I know/had back in the US. Things you don't even think about until you need them.

Then I called the private doctor to see if I could get an appointment for me and Lilli for that afternoon. (They will speak english to me at the private doctor, not so sure about the Vardcentral.) I got an answering machine. So I called Eva. I explained my situation and she said she'd see what she could do. She called back about 5 minutes later and said that Lilli and I had an appointment for 4:00 that afternoon.

I called Dave and explained what had happened. He was in meetings all afternoon, but said he would be home by 3:30 so that he could drive us to the doctor.

Adriana left around 2:00. She had to go grocery shopping and prepare for guests she was having over for dinner that night. Bless her! I dont' know what I would have done without her! She was having dinner guests, and yet she stayed to help me! What a wonderful friend! (Her and Eva both!!)

Dave got home at 3:30 and we bundled the kids into the car. Lilli's lump still looked pretty bad, and I could barely walk. We got to the doctors office and were seen immediately. He checked out Lilli's eyes and ears and nose and throat and felt around on her head. Then he pronounced her to be fine, albeit with a lump and a bruise. Then he checked me out. I had - wait for it - a skinned knee and a sprained ankle. He said the ankle would probably hurt for about two weeks. I asked if he had crutches. He said no. I asked if I could get crutches at the Apoteket (drugstore.) He said no. He said that I would have to go to the Vardcentral to get crutches. Ugh! He did, however, write me a prescription for pain medication.

So we got back into the car and drove to our Vardcentral. It was about 4:45. The sign on the door said the were open until 5:00, but the door was locked. We rang the buzzer and a nurse opened the door. She said they were closed. Dave and I both looked at the sign on the door again. She said they took their last patient at about 3:45, then stayed open ONLY BY PHONE until 5:00. Lovely. She said we would have to go to the Jourcentral (after hours clinic.) She wrote down the address for us and we were off, again.

We drove around for a while before we found the Jourcentral. Then had to park a block away. (Meaning I had to hobble for a block. Only later did it occur to us that Dave could have dropped me and the kids off and gone to park the car.) We went in and I filled out a form and then we sat and waited. About 20 minutes later I was called to reception. The woman there looked at my form. I explained that I had already seen a doctor, a private doctor, and just needed crutches. She said that I would have to be seen by one of their doctors, because I needed to have a prescripton for crutches. A prescription for crutches???!!!! You've got to be kidding. So back out to the waiting room. For an hour. Then the woman reappears and hands me a pair of crutches and a number. They were able to contact the private doctor (to verify that I needed crutches?) When my number was called I could go up and pay. Ten minutes later I was hobbling out the door on my shiny new crutches. Now, these aren't the crutches I'm used to. I'm used to the kind that go up under the arm and have the little bar halfay down that you hold on to. No, these were like polio crutches. Like the crutch that Dr. Weaver used on ER. They are short and only come up to just below the elbow. A little plastic cuff wraps around your arm just below the elbow. Not the easiest things to use. Rather unstable. But they were better than nothing.

Dave dropped us off at home and I got a DVD playing for the kiddos and some frozen pizzas in the oven. It was well past dinner time. Dave left in search of an Apoteket to get my prescription for pain medication. He ended up at a pharmacy about two blocks from the Jourcentral. He could have gotten the prescription while we were waiting for my crutches! D'oh! It turns out the pain medication was pretty much just tylenol with codiene. Better than nothing.

ALl in all, I am less than impressed with the quality of medical care in Sweden.

It was a very, very difficult afternoon. Dave now says that he's going to get Lilli a helmet to wear when she's around me. He keeps making jokes about me dropping Lilli. My reply is always this "I did NOT drop Lilli. I held onto her all the way down!" If I'd dropped her, she wouldn't have hit her head!

What did Lilli get for her birthday? Anitbiotics!

My baby is two years old. How did that happen? When did that happen? Where is that sweet smelling little bundle that I brought home from the hospital?

Poor Lilli, though, she did not have a very happy birthday. She'd woken up Monday night with a fever and coughing. I called the doctor first thing Tuesday morning. The first appointment they had was Wednesday at 9:45. (I cannot tell you how much I miss the US medical system - never thought I would say that...) So I take her on Wednesday and the doctor prescribes something for the pain/fever and something for the cough. He said that if she's not better by Friday, to call and he will phone in a prescription for antibiotics. The cough medicine knocks her out. She spent most of Thursday asleep. Friday morning comes and she is no better, in fact her fever and cough are getting worse, she hasn't eaten anything all week and isn't drinking much. I call the doctor and he prescribes the antibiotic. Poor little thing - just what every little girl wants for her birthday - antibiotics. She was too sick to go to Little Gym. She didn't even want to eat her birthday cupcake that night at dinner.

Dave and I gave her a sandbox for her birthday. It's shaped like a boat. And the lid has roads and 'channels' and a bridges that you can roll cars/boats around on. Tipton gave her some sand toys. She was too sick to play in her new sandbox.

Sleepless Nights

We had a very long night last night. Tipton was up at 11:30 because he needed to pee. Then Lilli woke up around 1:30, screaming. I went in and got her out of the crib and rocked her for a bit. Then when she'd fallen back asleep I put her back into the crib. About 10 minutes later she'd wake up again, screaming. After the second time, D got up with her. He did the same thing I did. With the same results. The next time, I changed her diaper and offered her some water. She did not want the water. So I put her back into the crib. I laid her down and told her it was time to sleep. She screamed. I left and closed the door. After about 5-10 minutes she calmed/quieted down. Then about 10 minutes later she started screaming again. I waited about 10 minutes, then went back in and offered her some more water. Again she did not want it. I laid her back down and told her it was time to sleep. She screamed. I left the room and closed the door. (Are you seeing a pattern here?) At one point she started calling out for "Daddy! Daddy!" I'd had enough. It was around 4:30 in the morning now. I gave her a dose of motrin and made her drink a few sips of water (all without ever taking her out of the crib.) Then I laid her down in the crib and told her it was time to sleep. She cried and whimpered for another 20 minutes or so. Then my alarm went off. Lilli woke up, screaming, at 7:00.

All I can think of is that she is "adjusting" to daycare. So much stimulation (after only having me and Tipton for company.) I guess her brain just won't 'shut down' to let her sleep. I don't know. But I hope it stops soon. I got more sleep when she was a newborn.

4:36 AM

Tipton comes running into our room...

Tipton: Mommy! My nose isn't working! "sniffle sniffle sniffle"

I reach for a tissue.

Me: Come here Tipton.

Tipton, running back and forth at the foot of our bed: "sniffle sniffle sniffle"

Me: Come here Tipton.

Tipton, still running back and forth at the foot of our bed: "sniffle sniffle sniffle"

Me: Come here Tipton.

Tipton, still running back and forth at the foot of our bed: "sniffle sniffle sniffle"

Tipton stops running and says: Nevermind. I fixed it.
And goes back to his room.

Easter Holidays

Tipton had the entire week before Easter off from school, and also Easter Monday. And we've had all sorts of fun and excitement.

On Monday Tipton went to Little Gym camp in the morning. He learned to play 'balloon tennis.' His new favorite sport.

On Tuesday Tipton went to Little Gym camp in the morning. In the afternoon Eva came over with her kids. Her youngest is about Tipton's age. We all had fun playing with hot wheels cars and playing games (Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Cookin' Cookies.) Only Eva's oldest spoke/understood english but we all still had a good time.

On Wednesday Tipton went to Little Gym camp in the morning. In the afternoon Samantha came over. The kids played outside while Adriana (Samantha's Mom) and I sewed. She used my sewing machine to make some curtains.

On Thursday the kids and I went to the grocery store. I bought some plastic tennis rackets. Tipton and I played balloon tennis with a pirate balloon that I'd bought for his birthday. Lina came over in the afternoon to knit. She played some balloon tennis with Tipton, then we knit while the kiddos watched a video. Then she played some more balloon tennis.

On Friday - Dave had the day off! We drove around and found a good field for kite flying. Lilli fell asleep while the guys were flying kites (all that fresh air and sunshine was just too much for her!)

On Saturday we took the train in to Copenhagen and met up with Aunt Jenni. She changed 'lines' and is now flying into Copenhagen. So we should be seeing a lot more of her! We walked down to the pedestrian mall in Copenhagen. Jenni bought some flowers and strawberries. We ate lunch at McDonalds (of course, with two small (very picky) children where else would we eat?)

Sunday was Easter. The Easter bunny was very good to the kiddos. Lots of chocolate and tons of plastic eggs hidden all over the living room. Tipton also got a pirate figurine on a pirate horse. Lilli also got a knight on a battle horse. Those have been the coolest toys. We spent most of the day watching videos, eating chocolate and being lazy. Lilli was the first to break into the chocolate. She grabbed Tipton's chocolate bunny and started eating it from the bottom up. I guess some of the foil had torn, so she just started munching away. Tipton was upset because it was his bunny and he wanted to eat the face. So I wrestled the chocolate bunny away from Lilli and cut off the head for Tipton. Everyone was happy. Later than morning Tipton and I dyed Easter eggs. I baked a small ham for lunch, with mashed potatoes and bread. It rained all day, so we didn't get to play outside.

Monday - it rained all day. So another day trapped inside with a giant basket full of candy and two small children. Dave had the day off, and spent most of the afternoon napping on the daybed in the living room. In the morning we went to Toys R Us, to check out sandboxes. That's what we're giving Lilli for her birthday. The girl LOVES to play in the sand. The kids and I watched some videos and went grocery shopping. Lilli is still not napping, so she was really, REALLY grouchy in the evening. She ended up going to bed around 6:30, with no dinner (she wouldn't eat, we tried.) She woke up around 10:30, coughing/barking like a seal and crying. Uh-oh. I'd heard that cough before. I called the doctor first thing this morning and the earliest doctor appointment I could get was for 9:45 tomorrow morning. I'm pretty sure she has croup. Not what a little girl needs right before her second birthday!

Tuesday, today. Tipton is back to school today. Another dreary, rainy day. But a little sunshine is coming our way - Aunt Jenni will be back today! She's going to take the train in to Malmo. We'll pick her up from the trainstation, and then the fun begins! Not sure what we'll do. Maybe just hang out at home. Maybe we'll go to a few toy stores - need to get Lilli some sand toys to go with her sand box (the sand toys will be from Tipton.)

So that's what's been going on with us the past week or so.

Lilli's New Talent

Email from me to Dave:
"Just wanted to let you know that Lilli found the beer bottle cap that you left on the counter. She flung it across the kitchen. Not sure if I should reprimand her for throwing, reprimand you for leaving it on the counter, or encourage her to develop her talent... "

Email reply from Dave:
"Make sure to teach her that the path to highest velocity is to place it on the thumb and then launch it with the same motion that is used for snapping your fingers."

Humor

Tipton: Knock Knock!
Me: Who's there?
Tipton: Orange!
Me: Orange who?
Tipton: Interrupting cow!

And then Tipton laughs hysterically.

Happy Birthday to Me

Wednesday was my birthday. And it was a great day! Tipton did not want to go to school, because he wanted to stay home with me and go to my birthday party. I promised him that we weren't going to have my party until Daddy got home, and that he (Tipton) could help me with the cake after school. Lilli and I made the cake batter and cooked 2 of the three rounds for the cake while Tipton was at school. We got McDs on the way to pick Tipton up from school. I baked the third round while we ate lunch. After lunch I put Lilli down for a nap and Tipton helped me make the cream cheese frosting and frost the cake. Mmmmmm - carrot cake (with carrots, pineapple, chopped walnuts and coconut) with cream cheese frosting. Yum! I made crab cakes and french fries for dinner. Then we had birthday cake! Tipton put the candles on and Lilli supervised the lighting of the candles. I put on the birthday balloon hat that (Aunt) Jenni had made for me and blew out the candles. Dave had come home early and brought me red roses and chocolate (although he didn't need to get me anything because he had already taken me out for a nice dinner last week while Aunt Jenni was here to watch the kids.) The day was wonderful. Beautiful sunshine and lots of hugs and giggles from my kiddos. I couldn't ask for more!

Tonsilitis, Schmonsilitis

Tipton has had a cold recently. I just assumed it was a cold. He'd wake up congested and complaining of a sore throat. After about an hour he'd be fine. No fever or anything. Then on Wednesday I got a call from his school. He was having acute ear pain and I needed to come and get him. Poor, pitiful little guy. He was in a lot of pain.

When we got home I took him inside and took his temp. It was normal, or thereabouts. I gave him some motrin and had him lie down in his room. He asked if he could have a cookie. I told him that I would get him a cookie as soon as I got Lilli in from the car. I went out and got Lilli and put her into her crib for a nap, then went back to Tipton's room. He was sound asleep. He slept for three hours. When he woke up, he was absolutely fine. Throat didn't hurt, ear didn't hurt. He did NOT want to go to the doctor.

But I had struggled through the medical system and finally broke down and begged for help from Eva (our contact at Human Entrance. Eva is absolutely WONDERFUL and I'm not sure what I would do without her.) Eva was able to get us an appointment with a doctor that afternoon. So we all piled into the car and set out in search of the doctor's office.

We found it with relatively little trouble, and even found a place to park. We rushed in right on time and were seen pretty much immediately. The doctor looked in Tipton's mouth and said that his throat was very red and that he had white dots on his tonsils. He had tonsilitis. Then he looked into Tipton's ears. One was fine, but the other was not. The doctor said that his eardrum was "billowed, like a sail." So he had tonislitis and a secondary ear infection. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and something to help with the inflamation.

We walked down the street to the pharmacy, but the pharmacist did not have the antibiotic. And also, the pharmacist said that the medication the doctor had prescribed for the inflamation was no longer sold in Sweden. Niiiiiiiiice. She called the doctor and he prescribed another medication. And then the pharmacist (a very nice lady) gave me the address of a pharmacy that would have both prescriptions. We walked back to the car and found a parking ticket on the windshield (my day just kept getting better.)

So we drove over to the other pharmacy and found a parking space and went inside. It was very busy, so we took a number and waited. They called your number and you went up to the counter and got your prescription. Only, they skipped my number. And much screaming (Lilli, not me) and confusion (all me) I got my turn at the counter. I swiped my credit card to pay for the medications and the pharmacist said "Um, there is something wrong. It is telling me to call the bank." (Oh sweet mother!) I ran my card through again and it went through just fine.

We got the medications. We went home. I decided that I needed caffiene, so I opened my emergency Dr Pepper that I keep in the back of the fridge (not realizing that it was partially frozen.) It exploded all over me and all over the kitchen. If Aunt Jenni had not been with me through all of this, I probably would have just sat down in the puddle of soda and cried. I was emotionally spent. But thankfully Aunt Jenni was there. And we just started laughing.

I kept Tipton home from school the next day, and he was bouncing off the walls. He was absolutely fine. Throat didn't hurt, ear didn't hurt. He didn't even have the sniffles.

Aunt Jenni!

My friend, Jennifer Eidelbach (aka Aunt Jenni) just came for a visit. It was great. We always have fun with Aunt Jenni. Aunt Jenni can make balloon animals (she used to be a clown, seriously.) She brought all sorts of wonderful goodies - stove top stuffing, oven fry, dried canberries and these two candy filled noses. Yes, candy filled noses. "Candy Hose Nose. Candy Slime Filled. Sniffles the Leaky Nose. Catch It On Your Tongue..." Aunt Jenni is always good for some crazy fun!

We went down to the harbor and walked along by the water. We had lunch in a cute little cafe, then explored the neighboring park. It turned out to be a dog park. And although we didn't have a dog, we had two small children - so we still had lots of fun. Got lots of great pictures.

We went to the zoo. It was about an hour's drive. The furthest I've ventured out of the city. It rained on the way there, but didn't rain while we were there. It was a zoo of nordic animals. You can check it out here. Several of the exhibits were closed (I guess the animals were still hibernating) but we still had fun. Lilli "moooooo'd" at every large animal - cows, horses, buffalo, deer, moose. We ate lunch overlooking the wolves (very cool!) I can't wait to go back in the spring! Tipton fell asleep in the car on the way home. It was very cute - he'd picked out a pair of polar bear ears from the giftshop and was wearing them. Got several cute pictures of Tipton asleep in the car, wearing his polar bear ears. Also got several good "road trip" pictures (courtesy of Aunt Jenni.) You can check them out on our flickr page. (Just as soon as I update it.)

Sadly, Aunt Jenni is on her way back to the USA. We will miss her, but she promises to be back soon!

Housekeeping

You know it's time to clean the house when your almost-two-year-old piles dust bunnies onto her little plastic play dishes and pretends they are food.

So Many Things

So many things have happened since I last posted... Where to start?

1. Dave went on his first business trip - well, the first one since we moved here. It was MUCH shorter than if we had been in NC. He left on a Monday morning and was back in time for dinner on Wednesday!

2. While Dave was on his business trip, I knitted my first mitten! It turned out pretty nice. The pattern was much easier than I thought it would be. I was nervous about having to go back and pick up stitches to make the thumb, but it was pretty easy.

3. My Mom came to visit!!!! She was here for two weeks, and they went by way too quickly. I really enjoyed her visit. I miss her. We didn't do anything too terribly exciting, but she got to see what our life is like over here. And she got to see Tipton's school and meet all of his friends. She got to watch Lilli at her gym class. And she got to 'experience' what grocery stores are like over here. So now when she asks me if I have a particular ingredient for a recipe she wants me to try and I say "I don't know" - she'll understand. We did do a few fun/sightseeing type things. I took her to the 'American Food' store (where a bag of oreos costs about $15 US dollars.) I took her to the book store that sells books in english. We walked along the pedestrian mall and she got to see ice skating in one of the squares. We took her to Lund, to our favorite pizza place. Then we walked the pedestrian mall there (down to a yarn shop that I had been wanting to check out.) We took her to our favorite pizza place in Malmo, then walked down along the harbor. She got to watch the kids throw snowballs into the ocean. I took her to my local yarn store and to my favorite bakery. I showed her where the english books are in the main library and the park across from the library where the kids and I feed the ducks. It was really nice having someone to hang out with.

4. The kids and I got hair cuts. Tipton looks so much older! We got Lilli's long, soft, beautiful hair cut off. I didn't want to do it, but we really needed to. She has developed a habit of pulling out great handfulls of her hair. She was mostly bald on the right side of her head. So we got her hair cut into a little bob. Very sleek, very stylish. But I miss my baby's curls! Mom was here for the haircuts, and I'm very glad - I'm not sure I would have been able to do it without her.

5. I have turned my Mom into a knitting machine! She hadn't knit in over 30 years, but decided that she'd pick it up again since I was doing it. She had forgotten how to cast on, so she didn't knit anything until she came to visit. I showed her how to cast on. She knit a scarf for herself. Then she knit a hat for herself. Then she started knitting baby hats. She is going to give them to her church to distribute. And she's going to talk her Red Hat Ladies into knitting baby hats for the hospitals. While she was here, in addition to the scarf and hat that she knitted for herself, she knitted 11 baby hats!

6. It snowed. Well, it's snowed twice. It snowed once while my Mom was here. Not a lot, but enough to make the ground white and for the kids to play in it. And then late Tuesday night it started snowing. And it snowed all day Wednesday. Not light, fluffy snow but small, hard snow. Like really cold sand - it stung when it hit your skin. And it was snowing horizontally. So I didn't let the kids out to play in it yesterday. But today... Today Tipton and I will go out and build a great big snowman. And then probably another one - so he'll have a friend. We've got LOTS of snow. Probably about 8 inches, with drifts up to a foot and a half. Dave had to shovel the driveway so he could get his car out of the garage.

7. Lilli woke up last night with a fever. It was 100.6 last night. She was also shivering (even though her room wasn't cold.) We gave her some Motrin and I held her and rocked her until she stopped shivering and fell back asleep. I checked on her about an hour later and she stood up and smiled and grabed her Mickey Mouse doll and wanted me to pick her up. She was still warm, but she was definitely feeling better. I rocked her for a litte bit and then put her back in her crib. This morning she woke up and still had a fever (101.2) I gave her some tylenol. She only took a few sips of her milk, and didn't eat much breakfast. She wanted juice. So far she's had two cups of juice today (and it's only 9:00.) You know something's wrong if she doesn't want milk. Other than that, she seems to be fine. Her nose isn't even running. Still, I'm going to keep her inside today. Tipton and I will play in the snow when I put her down for a nap. I feel bad not letting her play in the snow, but hopefully her fever will be gone tomorrow and she can play then.

8. I've knit several more mittens. Not all the same size. I knit one that I thought would fit Lilli, but it was almost too small. So then I knit one the next size up, and it was a little big. I decided I'd better start knitting mates for all the mittens. I started with the smallest one. It matches up fairly well. Then I made the mate for the next size up. Something was wrong. Somewhere down the line I had switched needle sizes. I had three sets of dpns in my bag, when I should have only had two. I picked the wrong size. I made a guess at the correct needles and knit the mate for the first mitten I had made. I guessed wrong. So now I think I know what size needles I need to use. And I think I have enough yarn left to knit at least the correct mate for the biggest mitten (which will be MY mittens.) And on the plus side, I have several mittens that I can make into Christmas ornaments to give as gifts...

5:46am Much Too Early to be the Weekend

I don't remember torturing my Mom as a child. I don't remember waking up before the chickens to go into her room and say, over and over again until she gets up "Mommy, I can't sleep any longer!" Dave got up early but my MIL has assured me that he did not wake them up - he learned how to get his own breakfast and entertain himself until a 'decent hour.' So why then do we have a son who wakes us, every day, before 6:00am? Why is it that my almost-five-year-old wakes me up at least an hour or two before my toddler? He is exhausted when he goes to bed at night, around 7:30. We cannot keep him up any longer - he falls asleep on the floor if we try. I welcome any and all suggestions. During the week it's not so bad (who needs an alarm clock?) But it is much too early to be awake on a weekend.

Some exciting things have happened recently.
1. I think I mentioned that Dave bought a car. It's a very cute little car, I got to drive it on Friday. It is much more fun to drive than the Volvo V70. That's what I am driving.
2. Our leased car has finally arrived! We forgot to order it with the latch system, though. So it's a pain to get Lilli seat in and out. If we could fit the stroller into Dave's little Micra, I'd be driving that instead of the Volvo.
3. I have finished two curtains for the front living room windows. Just two more to go and that section of windows will be covered! Then I will finish the last curtain for our room. Then I'll need to go out and buy some fabric to make curtains for the kitchen windows - I'll do that when my Mom gets here.
4. My Mom is coming!!! She arrives on Wednesday! I am so excited - I don't know who is more excited - me or Mom. She's bringing two suitcases. One with her clothes, etc and one with stuff from "home" for us!
5. Did lots of baking/cooking on Friday. Tipton and I made two types of cookies. He also helped me make flour tortillas to go with the brisket and beans that I had cooking in the crockpot. He got to roll out the tortillas.
6. I have been making more friends. The parents of Tipton's classmates and the parents of the kids at Little Gym. In fact, they are going to make an english speaking class for Lilli's age group because there are so many of us 'english speakers.'

Tipton is standing next to me, talking. Talking non-stop. He has been pretty much since he woke up - talk, talk, talk. He told me that the #7 stacking cup is gone. I told him that it was in Lilli's room. He then started arguing with me that it is not, it's just gone. I caught myself and said "Are you arguing with me just to argue, just to hear yourself talk?" And he said "Yes." It is much, much to early to be awake, especially on a weekend.

Al Pacino's Pizza

We went out for lunch today. There is a little pizza place in Bellvuegarden. There are several shops/stores that surround a little square. There is a fountain and a sand pit and benches to sit on in the square. There is a grocery store and a video store and a flower shop and a bakery - and a pizza place. Al Pacino's Pizza. So today we tried it.

At first glance, you wouldn't know it was a pizza place. Probably because of the bar and all the video poker machines. I had to look around until I found a menu. We sat ourselves and no one came to our table to take our order. We were the youngest people in the place and I felt a bit odd being one of only two girls in the place (the other girl was Lilli.) But we stayed. Tipton was being very good. Lilli was fine once we got our food. Both kids ate a really good lunch. Tipton had three pieces of pizza! Lilli ate one entire piece and a bowl of applesauce (brought from home.)

The pizza was pretty good. And fairly cheap - Dave's not sure if they charged us the right amount. Once we got past the drinking and gambling atmosphere, it was a pleasant experience. And really, we should have known - I mean it IS called Al Pacino's Pizza. Of course there would be alcohol and gambling.

Not sure if we'll go back or not, though. Which is kind of a bummer. I was really hoping it would be some place we could go in the summer - then let the kids play in the sand pit and splash in the fountain and maybe get some dessert from the bakery.

I am always making these grand plans in my head, and reality/life/whatever always seems to mess them up. But a girl's gotta dream, right? And the whole point of coming to Sweden was to try new things, right? (Oh yeah, and so Dave wouldn't have to fly over here every two weeks.) So I'm going to make the most of it. I'm going to keep making plans and eventually one of them will stick. I'm going to keep trying new things and eventually we'll find some thing/place that we like.

The Not So Swimming Lessons

Tipton's swimming lessons started today. They did not go well. And I don't think I helped. I was really hoping that this could be something that Dave and Tipton could do together. I want them to have some guy time and thought this would be something special for just the two of them. Something for them to do together other than play video games - something to do together away from the house.

Since it was the first day, we all went down there together. We got pulled over right in front of the Aq Va Kul (place where the swim lessons were) for a traffic stop. They checked Dave's drivers liscence and swedish ID and had him take a breathalizer test. At 8:00 in the morning! Too strange.

We all went in and got Tipton changed into his suit and found where we were supposed to be. There were about 10 other kids in the class, and four instructors. The class started with a warm up and they played a few games - all outside the pool. Tipton didn't want to join in. He hid behind me. The instructors kept coming over and tried to get him to join the other kids but he wouldn't do it. I tried to get him to do the warm up exercises by me and he wouldn't do that either. So I decided we would just leave. Then Tipton changed his mind and decided he wanted to participate. He stood in the line and walked into the shower rooms. They were supposed to rinse off in the shower before getting into the pool. Tipton does not like to get his head wet, so that didn't go over very well. Then they had to sit on the side of the pool. That was about the only thing that went well. Tipton sat on the side of the pool. He wouldn't splash. He wouldn't get in.

So we left.

I was angry. I understood why Tipton didn't want to participate - the class was being taught in Swedish and it's kind of daunting when you don't understand anything (Lilli's gym class is taught in Swedish and I always feel a little lost.) And I sympathize with him. But I was angry. Angry that my plan of Tipton and Daddy having special time together was not going to happen. Angry that we had gotten up early and wasted the morning. Angry that Dave didn't really do anything to try to get Tipton to participate. It was supposed to be THEIR special time, and yet Dave didn't want to have to deal with Tipton - he would rather just follow Lilli around to make sure she didn't try to get into the pool. Angry.

When we got home Lilli wanted to play in the snow (did I mention that it snowed again last night - about an inch.) Tipton decided to play in the snow, too. Dave went inside and I stayed out with the kids. It's hard to stay angry when you're playing in the snow.

I need to work to be more patient with the kids, especially Tipton. I need to focus on what they are feeling and not what I am feeling.

When we left the pool, I told the woman at the desk that Tipton would not be taking the class. She asked why and I told her that he couldn't understand what the instructors were saying. That even though they would speak to him in english, the class was being taught in Swedish it was too much for him. She asked if we would take a class if it were taught in english and I said yes, definitely. I think Tipton would be okay if the class were taught in english.

Knitting and Stuff

1. At a friend's requestI have created a new blog, for my knitting.

2. Dave drove to work today, in his "new" car! It is a Nissan Micra. I will get a picture of Dave with his new car this weekend and post it to our flickr page.

3. I have discovered how to put links into my blog. Most every other blog I've looked at has links. I've always wanted to be able to put links in my blog but never took the time to figure out how to do it, until today. I think it's totally cool.

4. I made a new cookie today. Banana Oatmeal. They are okay. They'd be better if they weren't so dry. Think I need to add a little more oil/butter/shortening. The recipe calls for shortening, but I have yet to find that over here so I used butter. And I don't think I used enough. All this to say that I made a new cookie. I am trying to get the kiddos to eat better. So I am trying to make healthier snacks, etc for them. I got this recipe out of a cookbook called Feed Me I'm Yours. This is the third recipe I've made from this book. The first recipe was called Bacon and Egg Cookies. I liked them, but nobody else did. The second recipe was called Cereal Bars. Tipton did not like them, but every body else did. In fact, Dave liked them so much that he's asked me to make some for him to take in to work. I think these Banana Oatmeal cookies might be good if I broke them up in a bowl, put them in the microwave for a few seconds and poured milk over them. I might try that for breakfast tomorrow... Tipton has requested that I make the Bite of Apple Cookies recipe next. Might try that this evening.

5. Tipton read his fifth book today! He is getting really good at reading. He is wonderful at sounding out words. Today I remembered that there was another CD with phonics games on it. So after we finished our phonics lesson Tipton played phonics games on the computer.

Oh Joy, Oh Happy Day!

Dave is (finally) buying a car! And we are all so very, very excited. He will no longer have to ride the bus. I will no longer have to hear him whine about riding the bus. To be fair, he does spend at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours every day walking to/waiting for/riding the bus. And now his commute will be about 20 minutes.

Yesterday after Lilli's nap the kids and I drove to Lund to get the tire fixed. We have been driving around on the spare tire for over a week - very, very bad. The kids and I stood outside and played in the snow while they fixed the tire. It only took about 20 minutes. We had about an hour to before we had to pick up Dave, so we went to the mall and I let the kids run free in the toy store.

The girl with the car came by a little before 7:00. Dave took it for a test drive. It was fine. In fact, it was great - perfect, wonderful! This morning I am going to walk to the bank to get a check. She will come back tonight and we'll give her a check and she'll give Dave the keys. And tomorrow Dave can DRIVE to work. He is so excited. He couldn't sleep last night because he was so excited.

Oh, and not only is Dave getting a car, but the girl said she would love to babysit for us! Woo-hoo! Oh joy, oh happy day!

Snow Day

It snowed! It finally snowed! I am sure I will regret saying that, wishing for snow. But for now it is still new and exciting - for me and the kids. We went out to get in the car Monday morning and it was starting to snow. Tipton was SOOOOOOOOO excited! He has been asking me when it will snow for the past two months. By the time I got back from taking Tipton to school there was at least an inch on the ground. Lilli and I played in the snow in the front yard. It was her first snow! She liked to stomp around in it and try to catch snowflakes with her tongue. After lunch, while Lilli was napping, Tipton and I went out into the backyard and played in the snow. I am amazed that we did not wake up Lilli. I showed Tipton how to make a snow angel. Then we had a snowball fight. Then we made a little snowman - we put it up in Tipton's window. Then more snowball fights. We were outside for at least two hours. And Lilli slept the entire time! I'm glad that I got to spend individual time with the kids in the snow. It was a good day.

Ho Hum Cherry-O

Whoever invented the game Hi Ho Cherry-O ought to be shot. Or better yet - should be forced to play the game with a four-year-old. Now, I was very excited when I got the game for Tipton. I remember playing the game as a kid, and loving it. It was one of my favorite games. What on earth was I thinking? The game goes on forever. Whenever someone gets close to winning (and thereby ending the game) they spill their bucket, or get attacked by a bird. And then it starts all over again. It's like the little kid equivalent to Monopoly. All that to say Tipton and I had a marathon gaming session yesterday. We started with 4 rousing games of Candy Land. Then moved on the the mind-numbing Hi Ho Cherry-O, twice. Next was the always exicting 3D-Labyrinth, Jr (or as Tipton calls it "the spooky maze game.") We played that a few times, until Tipton got upset that he didn't draw the card for the crystal ball - funny how that happens when I shuffle the cards and don't let him stack the deck...) It was a good lesson, though. He learned that you can still have fun, even if not everything goes the way you want it to. Will he remember this lesson the next time we play? Who knows. We ended our game marathon with a marathon game of Chutes and Ladders, I swear the game went on for 30 minutes. But it was still better than Hi Ho Cherry-O.

I really like that Tipton is able to play games now. I like to play games. Dave and I have a ton of games. I'm hoping that we'll get back into the gaming habit while we're over here in Sweden. Maybe I should start scheduling a Game Night. It could be a family game night - we could start with Ele-fun - Lilli's favorite game. She loves that it has an elephant. She loves that butterflies shoot out of the elephant's trunk and rain down on her. She hasn't quite mastered catching the butterflies in her net, but she's quick to grab them off the floor and put them into her net. Then after Lilli goes to bed we could play one or two of Tipton's games. He's getting quite a collection. When I was unpacking all of our games, I set several aside that I think Tipton is old enough to play. Maybe we could play one of his games and one of the 'new' games. Then after Tipton goes to bed Dave and I could play a game - something that involves strategy or maybe on that doesn't involve any thinking at all. Just something.

In other news, we're actually supposed to get snow tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited. Tipton has been asking when it's going to snow. Lilli has never seen snow. I want to be able to play in the snow and teach them how to make snow angels and have a snowball fight and build a snowman. I want to go sledding. But then there's another part of me, the nervous part... Will I be able to drive in the snow? We still have the spare tire on the rental car - I am supposed to take it to Lund tomorrow - will I be able to? Will we be snowed in, will we have enough food and milk? We go through a lot of milk. But I know we'll be fine. I can always take the car another day. I can keep Tipton home from school so that we can play in the snow. And maybe we'll have another marathon game session.

What a great week...

It's cold and dreary and raining - and this has been the best week!

Monday Tipton's school extended it's hours, so he now goes from 8:15 to 12:00. It is amazing what I can get done in that extra 45 minutes. Also, Tipton is now supposed to take a sandwich in his snack, in addition to fruit, since they are spending more time at school. So with a little experimentation, Tipton will now eat two kinds of sandwiches: Cheese with butter and cream cheese with jelly. Almost doubling the number of foods Tipton will eat.

Tuesday at Tipton's Little Gym class I was recommended for a playdate. The mother of one of the girls in his class said that the mother of one of the boys in her daughter's class at school was wondering if she could have my name and info so that we could get the boys together to play!

Wednesday at Lilli's Little Gym class I made a 'date' with her gym instructor, Lina. Lina is going to meet me at Anita's (a yarn shop) on Monday morning. She is going to translate for me - she knows the owner, and the owner doesn't speak much english. Hooray! A translator! Also, the mother of one of the girls in Tipton's school class called and set up a playdate for this Friday. Also, I got a phone call from the president of the American Woman's Club. I am now a member - just need to pay my dues for the year. I can't wait to go to my first meeting/event!

Thurday, today: Lilli and I went for a walk/stroll this morning (before it started to rain.) We walked down to the yarn shop, just to see how long it would take to get there (not long, only about 25 mintues.) Also, I got a box from my friends, the SuperMommies! Inside were books (for me and the kids - in English!), construction paper, fritos and oreos, yarn and knitting patterns (among other things.) It was sooooooo nice to get a box from home!

And tomorrow, well, tomorrow will be good to. After Tipton's school we're going over to his friend's house to play for a little while. Which means I'll actually get to be around another adult that speaks english!

What a great week.

January 16, 2007

My original plan was to keep a daily diary of our experiences here in Sweden. And while we were still living in the apartment I did just that. I wrote it down on actual paper with an actual pen. Then we moved into our house and had internet access. No more writing down. I started entering my dialy logs into the blog. With every intent to keep up to date and make a new (current) entry for every day. But just got too busy. What with the unpacking and the re-packing/preparing for our trip back to the US for the holidays... It was just kind of crazy. And then when we got back from our trip, there was more unpacking...

But now we are settling into a routine. However, I am not going to go back and enter in all of my handwritten logs. So here is a quick summary:

In November: My mood got worse and worse. I felt completely cut off from all of my friends and family - could not contact them by internet or phone. Had no one to do things with. Just me and the kids all day, every day. I was so lonely it still makes me cry to think about it. I hit rock bottom one day... I just could not stop crying. I cried on the way to take Tipton to school. I cried in the library while trying to check my email (Lilli screamed the entire time so I wasn't able to check it.) I cried while strolling around the duck pond with Lilli. I cried while washing the dishes. I cried all day long - I just couldn't stop. I was still crying when Dave came home from work. It totally freaked him out. That night he booked our flight home for Christmas. And we started 'borrowing' an unsecure internet connection. After that I felt a little better. Still random bouts of crying, but didn't have another all-day crying fest.

In December: Our stuff arrived and we moved into our house. Oh joy! Oh happy day! I don't know who was more excited - me or the kids. Tipton was at school when our stuff was unloaded. Lilli was with me. She got very excited when her little rocking chair was brought off the truck. She spent 20 minutes just sitting in it, rocking, climbing out, climbing back in and rocking some more. When Tipton got home he spent an hour playing with his Geo Trax. I've never seen Lilli so happy as when I unpacked the beanbag. She dove for it before it even hit the floor. (No doubt about it, she is definitely Dave's child.) It was a busy 10 days of unpacking and doing laundry and repacking to go on our trip to VA for Christmas.

Our trip to VA: We took a car, two trains and an airplane to get to VA. The kids did remarkably well, considering how much time they had to spend confined to a seat. We were all very, very happy to get off the airplane. It was great to see everyone at Christmas. We all had a very happy Christmas. Tipton got lots of hot wheels stuff. Lilli got lots of baby doll stuff. Dave and I got to relax and eat all the junk food we can't get over here in Sweden. The plane ride back was okay. It could have been better, but then it could have been a whole lot worse. Lilli did not have a seat and the plane was full. So she sat on my lap the entire time. But of course I don't mean sat. I mean she wiggled, she stood, she slept. And she is a very restless sleeper. Needless to say I did not get much sleep on the plane. It was nice to be 'home' again, though.

New Years Eve: From our experience, it seems that every single store has a giant sale on New Year's Eve. And nothing stays open late (you can forget about going out to dinner on New Year's Eve.) We drove downtown and walked around the pedestrian mall, looking at all the Christmas decorations. We had been told to expect a lot of fireworks on New Year's Eve. But we were not prepared for what happened. Starting around 4:00 we could hear and sometimes see random fireworks going off. They started to pick up in intensity and frequency around 7:00/8:00. By 10:30 they REALLY started to pick up. By 11:30 it was pretty much non-stop fireworks, in every direction. And we're not talking the little piddly ones you can buy in the grocery store in the US, we're talking bottle rockets and professional quality stuff. They were still going strong at midnight, at 12:30. Around 12:45 they started to slow down. When I got up around 3:30 I could still hear fireworks going off (even though it was raining.) It was wild, insane. We stood in the backyard with the video camera pointed at the sky and turned in a circle, trying to capture it all - everywhere you turned there were fireworks. For over an hour. Amazing.

2007: I have almost all of the boxes unpacked. I have started making curtains for all the windows in the house. So far I've made one for Lilli's room and one for Tipton's room. I still have many, many curtains to go...

Tipton is learning how to read. Grama Kay and Papa gave him Hooked On Kindergarten for Christmas. Last week we started doing the phonics part. We do phonics for about 15-20 minutes after lunch, after I put Lilli down for a nap. Yesterday he read his first book!

Lilli is starting to say more words. I have been making an effort to read to her more often. She really does love books. I have signed her up for the Veggie Tales book club. She LOVES Veggie Tales.

Dave is still looking for a used car. As soon as he does, I think our lives will settle down a little more. He won't have to be so rushed in the mornings (won't have to catch the bus.) And he will get home earlier (won't have to wait for the bus.) And hopefully we can spend our weekends doing fun things and exploring (instead of looking at cars.)

We are flying my Mom out to visit in February (merry christmas, Mom!) The kids and I are very excited about her visit, but probably not as excited as she is. This will be her first trip out of the US. And Dave, being the world's greatest son-in-law, burned some of his frequent flier miles to fly her first class/business class!

Now that I've caught you all up on the past month, I promise to make more frequent/regular entries into the blog. And now, I must go update photos on the flickr page...

November 20, 2006

Tipton's first day of school! I was very nervous, but Tipton seemed fine. I was able to find the school and find parking with no problem. The classroom I was less sure about... But there were several helpful teachers around and we found it. I stayed for a few minutes - helped Tipton into his 'inside' shoes and waited until some of the other kids arrived. I left when Tipon went into the other room to play. He didn't seem at all nervous or scared. He just wanted to play with the legos! Lilli and I spent the morning grocery shopping, then came home. I baked a chocolate cake to celebrate Tipton's first day of school. Then we left to go get Tipton. he was happy to see me and Lilli. He had a good day. He likes school. I met the mommy of one of the girls in his class, Samantha. Samantha speaks fluent english and is very excited to have someone to talk to. She is the same age as Tipton, in fact her birthday is April 13th (same as Lilli's!) We got McD's for lunch (more celbrating his first day.) I made lasagna for dinner (for me and Dave) and frech toast for Tipton and Lilli.

Day 18 : Things I've Learned
1) How to get to Tipton's classroom
2) It takes about 15-20 minutes to drive to Tipton's school from the apartment.
3) The cake mixes are smaller/less than I'm used to, but if I make them with milk instead of water and add an egg and butter - they taste pretty good. Also, I springled powedered sure on it because I didn't have any frosting (couldn't find any in the store).
4) The lasagna I made is yummy! Dave had seconds. He said it was teh first thing I've made over here that "tasted right."
5) I seem to be missing a page of the instructions for the felted slippers that I'm making for Tipton. Grrrrrr...

November 19, 2006

Sunday. We loaded the kids in the stroller and walked down to Folkets Park. Tipton was much more daring/confident on the playgound this time. (Probably because there weren't a lot of big kids running around.) He climbed almsot to the top of the smaller clmibing tower. From there we walked to Triangeln (a mall) and ate lunch at McDonald's. Then we looked for "playground pants" for Tipton. "Playground pants" (what I call them) are plastic/rubber/nylon type pants that you pull on over your regular pants. That way your 'good' pants don't get wet/muddy/ruined when you play on the playground (because the playground is pretty much always wet.) We found a pair with Spiderman on them and Tipton was thrilled. Then we walked home. Then we drove to Lund. Dave had set up ameeting with the volvo dealer to talk about leasing a car. They had a block table there and the kids were very well behaved. We came back to Malmo and Dave wanted to go to the Telia store. We parked by neat playground. The kids and I hung out there while Dave discovered that Telia is closed on Sundays. From there we drove to Ikea. We dropped Tipton at the play area and Dave, Lilli and I walked around the store. I got plastic bowls and forks/spoons/knives for the kids. Dave got lightbulbs for the light in the living room. It was a very busy day. A good day.

Day 17 Things I've learned
1) There si a 'short cut' through Folkets park to get to the playground in the back
2) Telia is closed on Sundays
3) Ikea stays open until 6:00 on Sundays
4) There is a really neat playground behind the pedestrian mall
5) There is a walking path on Kungsgatan that will take me to Amiralsgatan, and there is acool palyground along the path.

November 18, 2006

Saturday. Dave went upstairs to check the laundry we had hanging on the line to dry. It was all still pretty we. So he threw it into the dryer - we were up early enough that we had a few hours before the first scheduled laundry time. Oh, and the stuff we thought was cream of wheat is actually oatmeal. But the directions say to make it with mil. So I did. And sicne it was plain I added som syrup. It was pretty good. Lilli LOVED it! She ate the entire bowl. After breakfast we went to ICA Maxi. We found ricotta cheese! So I think this week I will make lasagna. Then we laoded the kids in the stroller and walked to the harbor. We saw a few swans! Lilli LOVED the 'birds.' Tipton liked th ewaves. Both kids ended up walking for a while. It was a good time and I wish I'd brought the camera. We came home and ate lunch. Then Dave and Lilli took a nap. Topton watched a video. Then we drove out and looked at a car that we might lease. For dinner we had french toast. Tipton ate 2 1/2 pieces! Then we had an early bedtime for the kiddos - all that sea air wore them out.

Day 16: Things I've Learned
1) We can get the yogurt that Tipton likes at Hemkop (a grocery store down the street.)
2) We can get instant oatmeal here - just not the kind we're used to.
3) There are swans in the harbor!

November 17, 2006

Laundry Day - Part 2
Had a much bette experience with the laundry today. Our time was 8-12. I was abl eto get everythign (that we needed) washed, and about 1/2 of it dried. Only 2 of the 3 washers were working. And only 1 of the 2 tumble dryers was working.I figured out how to use the 2 drying cabinets. And I hung up clothes on the clothesline in the room at the end of the hall. The kids were really good while I was doing laundry. Pretty much they watched videos for four hours. But I was able to leave them in the apartment while I ran upstairs to change the laundry. However, the afternoon did not go as well as I had planned.. I had wanted to laod the kids into the stroller and walk to the library (figuring Lilli would fall asleep on the way there and I would be able o check my email.) But we couldn't go because it was raining, hard. If it was just a light mist I would have gone. But it was just too long a distance to walk in that hard of a rain. (Dave had the car.) So we stayed home and I was grumpy. The evening was better. Dave brought Martin home for dinner. (Martin is a coworker who used to live in RTP but now lives in Atlanta and was working in Sweden this week.) I made spaghetti and meatballs. Got some really good rolls from the grocery store. The guy were late getting home (predictable) but we had a pleasant evening. Martin is thinking about moving to Sweden for 18 months. As soon as we get internet access he is going to give my email address to his wife.

Day 15: Things I've Learned
1) I CAN do laundry here without breaking down and crying!
2) How to use the drying cabinets.

November 16, 2006

This morning I loaded the kids into the stroller and we walked down to the pedestrian mall. To the Telia store. I put moreminues on my cell phone. I no longer feel quite so claustrophobic. Then we ate lunch at Burger King. Lilli had fallen asleep on the way downtown. She woke up as Tipton and I were finishing our lunch, so she ate hers in the stroller on the way home. We weren't home for long, though. Had to be somewehere by 1:30 to meet with a woamn about Tipton starting school. I thought it was going to be like a physical, but it wasn't. They wrote down his visa number, made a photo copy of his swedish ID number, made a copy of his sot record and asked if he had any helath problems. That was it. It took longer to find parking than it did for the actual meeting. When we got hom ewe watched Madagascar, then made more leaves for our Thankful tree. Also, I called my Mom during the video. Itw as great to talk to her. I don't think I've ever gone this long without being able to talk to my frinds and family. It's starting to get to me. i've cried at least once every day for the pst three days. Little thngs make me cry - both the kids being winey at the sam time, a song, thinking abou tthe last time I crie,d etc. I've been trying to stay positive and upbeat for Dave's sake. I know things will be better once Tipton starts school and our stuff arrives and we move into the house. I just have to hold it together for another couple of weeks.

Day 14: Things I've Learned
1) There's a long way and a short way to get to the pedestrian mall. I took the long way there and the short way back.
2) Where the Telia store is - important fo radding minues to my cell phone!
3) Tipton will start school on Monday!!!!

November 15, 2006

Tried to be less negative and more patient with Tipton. yeserday was stressfull for both of us becaue eh wasn't listening to me. Today we both tried harder. And while we weren't perfect, things were definitely better.

Dave took the car today. So the kids and I walked everywhere. I really love having a stroller and riding board! First we walked back to Babyproffsen. I bought a rain bonnet for the stroller and one of those little fleecy pouches to put Lilli in when it gets cold (colder.) Then we walked down to Folkets Park. We went into the bulding/lobby for the reptile house. It was hot and smelled like bird poop and insence. Tipton didn't want to go in to see the lizards, etc. I was kind of relieved - the smell was making me queasy. So we walked towards the back of the park. We saw the little ponies. And the giant playground There must have been a school group there, because there were a LOT of kids! We stayed for about an hour. Then it was too rainy to play and the kiddos were getting hungry. Before we left the park, I put the new rain bonnet on the stroller. It works great (and it's got reflective strips!) We spent a lazy afternoon watching a video and wrestling on the couch. (Lilli had napped in the stroller on the way to the park.) Then we colored. I drew and colored about two dozen leaves. And a big tree trunk. Tipton and I taped the tree trunk to the wall, then cut out the leaves.Before he taped the leaves onto the tree, I wrote down things that we were thankful for onto them. I'm hoping to make this a Thanksgiving tradition.

Day 13: Things I've Learned
1) How to get to Folkets Park, and that they have a really cool playground
2) That I have no more minutes left on my cell phone - waaaaaaaaaah!
3) That what I had though twas a little single serving of cottage cheese with fruit sauce was actually a single serving of rice pudding with fruit sauce. Really, really good rice pudding. Called Risifrutti. Must find more...

November 14, 2006

The morning started off rough. The kids were both whiney all morning, and I was feeling very homesick/cut off from the world. And I sat down on the couch and cried for about 10 minutes. But the kids were great - instead of being freaked out by it, they tried to cheer me up.

Then we went to Toys R Us. It was a treat for the kids and a chance to let them run through a toy store that I was (somewhat) familiar with. I followed along behind them and wrote down the things that they were interested in. I have no idea how we're going to do Christmas. I have no clue what we will do - will we spend it here alone? Or will we fly to VA? Anyway, then we came home for lunch and to give Lilli time for a short nap. We left at 1:30 to drive to Soderkulla to meet with the director. The meeting went well. On Thursday I take Tipton to meet with some sort of nurse. And if all goes well, he will start school on Monday! Tipton got to see his classroom (the students and teachers had already gone home.) There will only be 5 other kids in his class. From there we went to Coop Forum. I bought a laundry basket (among other things) Then home. Made beef tacos for dinner, and the spicey refried beans that I'd gotten at Gray's the other day. Very good!

Day 12: Things I've Learned
1) How to get to TRY - valuable info for cold, wet days (of which there are many here)
2) That Tipton will start school on MONDAY 8:15-11:15. he need sto bring a snack (preferably fruit) and "inside shoes."
3) Fajita seasoning is good in pretty much everything. It sure livened up beef tacos!

November 13, 2006

Got our Swedish ID#s today. Called Eva to let her know. She is going to print out the forms we need to get the IDs. Also, Eva mailed me some brochures of places to take the kids. Very cool.

This morning the kids and I walked down to the baby store (Babyproffsen). I bought a stroller for Lilli to ride in and got a board that attaches to the back for Tipton to stand and ride on. Spent way more money than I had planned to on the stroller, but the smaller/cheaper stollers can't have the riding board attached to them. But anyway, the stroller works great. We drove to Triangeln and walked down to Gray's. Found lots of good stuff at Grays! They have poptarts, but I didn't buy any. I did buy a bottle ofA1 sauce for Dave. And a package of Oreos for the kiddos (cost 95SEK - that's roughly $12 uSD!) And a bottle of pancake syrup and a can of refried beans. Then we went to the toys tore (a treat for the kids since they were being so good.) It rained on us on the way back to the car. Need to go back to Babyproffsen and buy a rain canopy for the stroller. We stopped at the "McDrive" on the way home and got lunch.

Clair Potter from Soderkulla called. I'm meetingwith her tomorrow at 2:00 to talk about when Tipton can start school. This afternoon we had some excitement when Tipton tripped and smacked his nose on the floor. When he stood up, crying, his nose was GUSHING blood! There was blood all over the floor, on the balloon he was holding, all over his face. It was a good 5 minutes before the bleeding stopped.

Day 11 Things I've Learned
1) Need to get a rain bonnet for the stroller
2) I can buy poptarts at Gray's (for a small fortune)
3) Having a stroller with a riding board opens up a whole new world of things to do/places to go with the kids!

November 12, 2006

Slept much better last night - not having to worry about waking the kids. We took the kids back to the park beside the library. Brought the soccer ball and ran Tipton around. Lilli really likes the big slide but it's really hard to get her up there. Need to find a park with a slide that Lilli can go down! Then we went to he library. Dave took Tipton back to the kids books. He trie dto take Lilli too, but she went nuts so she stayed with me. I got on the internet. Sweet, sweet internet. The library has computers that you can use for free, for up to 10 minutes. I checked my gmail and sent Mom and Kay emails. then I logged onto SuperMommies and posted a "hello" to the group. I couldn't really do much esle because Lilli was going nuts. But it was really, REALLY nice to get onto the internet! I felt connected again! We came home for lunch and Lilli an Dave took naps. Tikpton and I watched a video and played phonics bingo. Oh and it rained. Then it sleeted - for like an hour. Man, if it were any colder we'd have about 3 feet of snow. Lilli hasn't been eating well/much the past few days. Dave is very concerned. So I had him look into her mouth this evening. I swear she is getting all the rest of her teeth - all at once! It's no wonder she just wants to drink milk and eat yogurt - the cold feels good.

Day 10: Things I've Learned
1) I can get on the internet at the library!
2) There is a store called Gray's that sells "American foods" down on the pedestrian mall. Need to go check that out.

November 11, 2006

Cold and rainy! We drove to Lund for lunch - we went to the pizza place across from the train station. Tipton ate a great lunch. Lilli was NOT happy. Her teeth were bothering her. The pizza was excellent, though. We walked by a toy store taht I would like to go back to and check out. When we got home Dave went out to run a few errands. Then we drove to the grocery store - the one that had corn tortillas. We found lasagna noodles, but not ricotta cheese. I am so close to being able to make lasagna... just need to find some ricotta cheese. Oh, we moved our bed into the living room. MUCH better! Didn't have to worry abou twaking the kids every time we rolled over or got up to use the bathroom...

Day 9: Things I've Learned
1) Where to get lasagna noodles
2) How to get to downtown Lund, the pizza place
3) That my "space boots" (as Dave calls them) keep my feet warm and dry
4) That the ICA wieth the corn tortillas and lasagna noodles is close to where we will be living, and there is a post office inside it.

November 10, 2006

The kids and I drove down to the main library. We played at the big playground next to the library. Then we went to the library and found where the english books are, and where the english books are for kids. Also found out what we need to borrow books (a swedish ID # or a passport.) Then we went back to the playground. Then home for lunch. Lilli fell asleep in the car on the way home, and slept for over 2 1/2 hours! We went to the grocery store after she woke up and it was VERY crowded! I was all prepared when I walked in, but quickly abandoned my list and just started grabbing random stuff. It was a madhouse! I guess the thing to do on Friday afternoons, around 4:30, is to take off work early and go grocery shopping!! I made frozen pizza for dinner. (We sure do seem to be eating that a lot...) Both kids ate well. Tipton ate good all day - he's an eating machine! Must be hitting a growth spurt. Even with the chaos of the grocery store, the afternoon/evening was much less stressful than yesterday! We were all in bed by 10:00.

Day 8: Things I've Learned
1) Where the english books are in the main library. And where to park for the library.
2) To never go to teh grocery store late on a Friday afternoon.
3) What mozzerella cheese is called in Swedish: riven ost
4) Jasmin rice tastes more like the rice that we're used to. So from now on I'll be buying only jasmin rice.

Novembet 9, 2006

Dave took Jenni to the train station early this moring. The kids were sad when they woke up - they missed Aunt Jenni. We had a quiet morning at home - played cars and colored. Then Dave came and picked us up. We met Eva at the tax office to apply for Swedish IDs. Then we went to look at a house. It has 3 bedrooms, ahuge living room, a huge bonus/playroom, a laundry room/hall a long kitchen with room for a table, a bathroom with a shower and separate tub and two sinks, and a half bath. It has a smallish back yard and a driveway and a garage. (The garage isn't really big enough for a car, but we can keep bikes and outside toys in it.) We drove around the neighborhood and then Dave dropped me and the kids back at the apartment.

At 4:00 the kids and I went up to the top floor to start the laundry. Have I mentioned that in the apartment building we're in, you have to sign up for a time to do laundry? M-F you can choose between 8-12, 12-4 or 4-8. Only one person can do laundry at a time. S/S you can choose between 9:30-12 or 12-3:30. Anyway... I was feeling pretty good that I figured out how to work the washing machines (very different than what I'm used to. Also, the washing machines here only hold about 1/3 of what I would consider a normal load.) Then I got totally stressed out when I couldn't get the dryers to work. Ended up calling Dave and askin ghim to come home and help. I was freaking out because our laundry time was only from 4-8, and it was already 5:30 and I didn't even have 1/2 the clothes washed! Dave came home and was able to get the dryers working. But when we went back to check on the clothes they were still really wet. And hot. It seems there is a sign on two of the washers saying that you will need to put the clothes into a separate machine to spin the water out of them before putting them into the dryer. So we did. By the time we figured taht out it was almost 8:00 - and we were just starting to dry our first load of laundry! Fortunately there was no one scheduled after us (because no one is supposed to do laundry after 8:00.) So we just continued with our laundry. Only we couldn't get one of the washers to work, so now we were down to just two washing machines. And there were only two dryers. It was after midnight by the time we were finished. And we still had to hang up some of our clothes to dry, and we didn't get everything washed! It was a very stressful evening. And Tipton didn't go to bed until 9:30 because he didn't have any clean/dry jammies!! The next available time slot to do laundry was the 17th from 8-12. Hopefully things will go much smoother (especially since there's someone scheduled right after us!)

Day 7: Things I've Learned
1) How to work the washing machines
2) The washing machines (and dryers) are much smaller thatn what I'm used to
3) How to work the dryers
4) That I have to run the clothes through a separate machine befoer I can put them into the dryer
5) That there is a room next to the laundry room that I can use to hang up wet clothes to dry
6) I NEED to have access to the internet - so that I can feel connected to the rest of the world. It would also be nice to have access to weather reports and a translator...

November 8, 2006

Jenni and the kids and I went exploring. We piled into the car and drove around town. Drove all over the area that Dave wants us to live in. Then we drove to Lund, to the mall. Ate lunch at McDonald's. Then let the kids run free in the toy store. After a while we went in search of a "treat." Walked around the mall until we found a food court. Ate our treat, then got back in the car and headed home. The kids wateched a video while Jenni walked down to the internet cafe (She had to check on her flight out.) When she got back, she and Tipton walked to the grocery store and I got dinner started. I made chicken tacos, and they were really good! Tim (Dave's friend from work) was in town, so he came over. We all played Uno with Tipton.

Day 6: Things I've learned
1) Where to find corn tortillas (at the ICA Malmborgs in the area that we hope to be living.) The texture is off (too slick) but the flavor is almost right.
2) Realized that any toys/books I buy for the kids here will be in Swedish.
3) Also realized that we ahve done NO Christmas shopping. Yikes!
4) Identified the can opener in the kitchen AND figured out how to use it! (It's just this little piece of metal.)

November 11, 2006

My second day 'solo.' Got the kids up and dressed early because Jennifer E. was supposed to arrive around 8:00. Dave checked her flight status - her flight had been diverted to Ireland! A man on the flight (in her row!) had a heart attack and they had to get him off the plane. While waiting for her to arrive, the kids and I went to ICA Maxi (a grocery store.) Then we went to the train station to pick up Jenni (she took the train from Copenhagen.) Then back to the apartment. I fed the kids lunch. Jenni napped on the couch while they watched a video. Then we all walked down to the park. We played on the playground. There were some other kids, which was nice for Tipton and Lilli. Then we walked to the grocery store (AG's.) Then home. I made "swedish enchiladas" for dinner. Had to use flour tortillas, but they were still pretty good (the texture was a little off.)

Day 5 Things I've learned
1) How to get to the train station

November 6, 2006

My first day 'solo.' Lilli slept through the night and woke up around 7:30!!! Woo-hoo! I woke Tipton up around 8:45. Our first adventure of the day was figuring out the parking meter. Dave had said that it would take coins and credit cards. I tried my credit card but it wasn't working. I stopped someone and asked them what the machine was saying (because of course it's in swedish) and they said that it wouldn't take the credit card. D'oh! Our next adventure was to find Ikea. I was a little off on our location and we almost ended up off the map. I discovered another shopping center, though (if I can ever find my way back there again.) After pulling over twice to check the map we found Ikea! Got what we needed there. Let Tipton play in the kids area for 1/2 an hour, then headed home for lunch. Lilli napped in the car while I was trying to find Ikea, so she wouldn't take a nap after lunch. We watched a movie, then walekd over to the grocery store. The wind was so strong that it kept knocking Lilli over. Very funny. (I would catch her, of course.) Dave got home early because he wanted to get me a SIM card/swedish number for my cell phone. I made nuggets and fries for the kids and "swedish salsa chicken" for me and Dave. (Had to tweak the recipe a bit...ended up using cream of asparagus soup, milk, white cheddar and salsa for the sauce. The sauce was pretty good but the rice was strange - the texture was off. I'll have to try different rice... After dinner we played and wrestled with the kids.. Then we colored/finger painted to calm down. Had Lilli in bed by 8:00. Tipton took longer to go to bed. He kept saying he was hungry and thirsty. Dave and I went to bed at 11:00. It took us a while to fall asleep. I guess we're all still getting used to the time change. Then Tipton had to pee. Then Lilli was "restless" so Dave kept getting up to check on her. And she woke up and wanted me. Grrrrrrrrrr. Finally got back to sleep a little after 1:00am zzzzzzzzzzz

Day 4 things I've learned:
1) The parking meter won't take my credit card, but I'm not sure why
2) I can drop Tipton at the play area at Ikea and then do my shopping! They won't take Lilli, though, because she's not old enough (have to be at least three.)
3) My exact location on the map
4) Uncle Ben's rice has a very strange texture - very un-rice-like.
5) Cheddar cheese in Sweden is pretty good - when you can find it. You have to peel the rind of off it!

Still haven't found apple sauce, canned/jarred fruit or seedless grapes.

November 5, 2006

Another late morning. Ate a quick breakfast then got dressed and headed to the park with the kids and the new soccer ball. The park is just one block down. Nice big open spaces - we played soccer. There is also a nice playground there. Tipton's favorite thing was a kind of see-saw that spins around. Lilli liked it, too. After the playground we played some more soccer. Then home for lunch. Fed the kids nuggets. Tipton wouldn't eat his until I told him there were like the ones from Wendy's - then he loved them. Lilli didn't eat. Dave and I had frozen pizza. After lunch we drove to Nova Lund (a big mall in Lund.) Found 2 winter suits/coats for Lilli. One is really cute and warm. The other is waterproof and has reflective strips. Then I drove home - my first time driving in Sweden!) made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. Pretty good - used swedish meatballs, ha ha! Conviced/threatened Tipton to eat his buttered noodles and two bites of meatball. Lilli wouldn't eat anything. Made her a grilled cheese, but she wouldn't eat that either. We've decided to "back" the kids into the time change. So tonight we're not going to put them to bed until 10:00. Then hopefully Lilli won't keep me up for hours in the middle of the night. (Especially since Dave has to go to work tomorrow!) It's only 6:30 now - it's going to be a long evening. But hopefully the fresh air at the park and the later bedtime will help them to sleep.

Day 3: Things I've learned
1) Lilli wears a size 80 (or the next size down) in snow suits.
2) ugn = oven in swedish
3) How to get to/from the mall in Lund

No Mr. Clean Magic Erasers

November 4 2006

Day two of our adventure - the first full day in Sweden. Started last night... Lilli woke up at 9:30 adn would not go back to sleep. I took the first shift. We watched Madagascar on the laptop and she ate cheerios and drank milk. Then Dave took the second shift. Lilli went to sleep around 1:00am. Tipton got up around 10:00. Dave got up with him. I got up shortly thereafter. We woke Lilli around 10:45 - do NOT want a repeat of last night. We ate breakfast and got dressed. Left the house around noon. Drove to a mall. Took forever to find a parking space. Looked for a coat for Lilli. Checked several places. Coats were either too big or too small. Ate lunch at McDonalds in the mall. Dave bought something from the electronics store. Came back to the apartment briefly to use the potty and take some headache medicine. Then drove to Lund. Saw the building where Dave works. Went to another grocery store (Willy's.) Then drove back to Malmo. Went to Coop Forum (a super walmart-type store.) Again, the coats were either too big or too small. Bought a nightlight and a step for Tipton (so he can reach the bathroom sink.) And some food storage containers. Then came home. had anoother gormet dinner of grilled cheeese sandwiches. I'm hoping to actually cook tomorrow.) Put Lilli to bed at 8:00. She cried for a few minutes but settled down. Read Tipton several books. Put him to bed around 9:00. He came right back out because he was hungry. He ate yogurt, 1/2 a banana and an instant breakfast. Brushed his teeth and he was back in bed by 9:30. He came back out at 9:45. So now he is practicing his reading/spelling/writing. It's after 10:00. Dave adn I are going to bed soon. We bought a soccer ball at Coop Forum, too. There is a park down the street that we plan on taking the kids to tomorrow. Gonna have them run around. It has been too long since they've gotten to play outside. Hopefully that will help with the jet lag. Lilli has been very cranky. She wants only me (will have nothing to do with Dave!) And she wants me to hold her ALL the time.

November 5, 2006 2:30am
Just put Lilli back to bed... Tipton was awake until 11:30. Lilli woke up around 12:30. I've been up with her ever since. Held/swayed/sang to her the entire time. She wanted milk. She didn't want milk. She just wanted to hold her sippy cup. Finally put her to bed with the almost empty sippy cup. (I'm a bad mommy, but a very sleep deprived mommy!)

Day two: Things I've learned
1) Street signs over here SUCK. They are small, off to the side (usually on a building) but not always on the same side. They are not lit and do not have reflective paint. Most are impossible to read (if you can even find them!)
2) I haven't found any boxes of tissues. They come in little pocket packs/travel packs. But you can get a sleeve of 10 of them. Very strange.
3) Lilli should wear about a size 70/74 coat. Infant coats go up to 68. Then the coats seem to skip to size 86. Amazing. Frustrating. If we ever get internet connection I am going to order her a coat from LL Bean or Land's End!
4) I have not knitted since we got here, but you can buy yarn and knitting needles in the grocery store across the street from our apartment!

No clorox wipes, very small selection of lotions/hand creams, can't find boxes of tissues or ziplock bags.

November 3, 2006

We're here! We're in Malmo, Sweden. Our flight was good. It took the kids a while to fall asleep, but once they did, theyslept pretty well. The flight attendant brought a little sleeping bag that we put on the floor for Lilli to sleep in. Very cute. There was a taxi waiting for us, but it was a station wagon. We ended up riding in two taxis. Dave rode in one and I rode in the other one with the kids. We had too much luggage for one taxi! Our temporary apartment is nice. Small, but once. One large bedroom - big enough for a queen bed, twin bed, pack-n-play, dresser, chair and 2 end tables. Once we got settled in we walked to the grocery store. Got the essentials - milk, toilet paper, frozen pizza. Then wecame homeand ate lunch. Then Dave went in to work, to pick up the rental car. Lilli went down for a nap. Tipton played with the sticker book that Grama Kay got him. Finally convinced Tipton to take a nap. The 3 of us slept for about two hours. Then Dave came home and we went to another (large) grocery store. Bought food for the week (planned a few dinner meals) and then came home. Made teh kids grilled cheese and us tuna sandwiches. Then bathed the kids and put them to bed. Dave and I showered and checked in with our parents. Now off to bed!

First Day: Things I've learned in Sweden
1) 1 carton of milk is about 1/2 a gallon. Milk comes in paper cartons, in 1 1/2 liters.
2) You have to buy bags to put your groceries in at the checkout, or bring in your own bags.
3) You have to 'rent' grocery carts. You put in either a 5 kronar or 10 kronar coin. You get it back when you're done and you've returned your cart. That's one way to make sure people return their carts!
4) You have to pay to use toilets. Not all of them, but some of them. Like at the large grocery store we went to. 5 kronar.
5) You buy juice in syrup form. What a shock! Like, it's one part 'juice' to 7 parts water!
6) The bread here is different, more dense.

No corn tortillas. :(

Farewell Wilbur

Wilbur died. It came on suddenly and hit him very hard. He was very sick. It was a rare disease called Sclerosing Encapsulating Peritonitis.

Wilbur was a great kitty. The kids loved him, and he loved them. He never scratched or hissed at them, even though they pulled his tail, poked him in the ears and sat on him.

We miss him.

Click here for pictures of Wilbur.
http://www.dropshots.com/jmiddleton5