366 Challenge 43: Friend - and Happy Birthday Wishes!

C has repeatedly said "I made 3 friends at the farm" and he sure did. Other children went into the sheeps, but 3 of them just stood against C wanted him to stroke them.

Today is also Crille's birthday. I have been looking through old school photos of him, thinking it would be hilarious with some kind of official humiliation, but I changed my mind (after talking to him on the phone yesterday and he reminded me of all he has on me!)
So instead we simply wish him a happy birthday today!

Happy birthday, Crille!

366 Challenge 306: Jump

It took much courage and will-power to make the jump into the hay. C was soo proud afterwards *and I so extremely thankful that it didn't turn out blurry, I was sitting in the hay waiting with my finger on the focus button while he was discussing with O whether he dared doing the jump or not*

Day at the farm

Today we went to Nordens Ark, a wild life reserve close to our village. We, however didn't go there for the wild life, but the farm animals. I love the contemporary Noah's Arc style barn.




C and J, comfy on their way to the barn...



C peaking down from the hay loft


C loved cuddling with the sheep. He must have sat there over 30 minutes. 3 of the sheep almost lay on top of him in the end and he was very amused by their nibbling at his coat!

Photo hunt - High

High up on the bridge to Smögen
(an island in the Swedish West Coast archipelago).

366 Challenge 146: Quirky

I love the quirkyness of old Swedish houses.

Visiting the Police station

Pretty wooden houses in Uddevalla.

Sometimes the id-thing is the great thing about Sweden. A couple of years back, I was going to surprice O with a trip abroad on his birthday. It all backfired a bit as he couldn't find his passport. But, being Swedish and planning to go to Denmark, the police at Heathrow just phoned the border police in Denmark and asked if he could fly into Denmark on his Swedish ID. Yes, that was perfectly fine. We arrived in Copenhagen on Saturday, had dinner in the evening. Sunday morning we took the train over to Sweden and picked up a new passport at the police station, got back to Denmark and then flew home.

So when we noticed two weeks ago, that Cs passport expired last year in October, we weren't too worried. It went perfectly fine to travel to Sweden on it. Today we went to the police station in Uddevalla to get a new one. The lady police helping us with the new passport application wasn't too convinced that it was a straight forward thing.

"It says here that you have emmigrated. *and to make it even more obvious she adds:*

"In bold red!"

We assured her that since we are Swedish citizens our passports are not issued by anyone else than the Swedish authorities.

"Well, ok then..." and adds then: "But it might take over a week!"

We said: "ok, then we have to just do a temporary one, because we need it next weekend".

Faced with this fact the lady exclaims in horror: "And pay 1000SEK (70pounds) just for one trip??!!" *as if we were the worst money spending people on earth.*

"Well, if it takes over a week?"

"You can pick it up on Thursday!"

*Brilliant*

C found it very, very exciting to visit the police station. I think he was expecting "badies" chained up in the corners, so maybe a Swedish small town police station was a bit of a disappointment... We measured him and he was 111cm long (J was just 92 with shoes!) He had practiced his signature all the way there in the car, but didn't notice that he didn't have to sign the actual application.

C waiting to be served at the police station.

J equipped with some broschures about the police services in the area.

366 Challenge 36: Blue

Today, we had a lovely outing, going to a local play ground, jumping around on the cliffs and having a meal outside in the sun.

Spring has arrived at the Swedish West Coast.

Snow

One of the first things we tasted after our arrival was a traditional cinnamon bun. Oh, this was a really good one! The children did the trip so well, first 1.5h by car, then bus to the airport from the long term parking, 2h plane ride and then another 1.5h by car, so maybe there wasn't that strange that when we finally sat down in the kitchen to have a snack, that it tasted like heaven...

The weather seems to be on our side, it usually never snows out here by the sea, but the day after our arrival we had quite a good amount of snow. The children and I made a snow man. Good thing we placed him on the shadowy side of the house, because most snow has mealted away today, but he is still standing!

Some ivy looking out from the snow.

Today, I've spent most of the day in bed due to stubborn sinuses *I've got to get them sorted out!*, but in the afternoon, I took the children to the play ground. There wasn't much snow around, but C threw himself in every little heap he could find. Luckily there was some at the playground...

Happy C.

J mostly wanted to go on the swing, but wanted me to take a photo of her in the snow as well...

Finally

we are here! Having had 2 sleepy days on the west coast of Sweden, we both look 10 years younger already. It's amazing how quiet it is here, almost deafening at first..


This far, we have had time to do some favorite Swedish grocery shopping, playing in the snow (!) making a snow man, watched "Solstorm" *Solar storm*, a Swedish thiller, eaten Swedish pizza and off course had an Easter egg filled with Swedish sweets.

Unfortunately I have forgotten my USB cord, so I can't load any pictures from my camera, but will buy one tomorrow.

Sign of life

I cannot believe I've been off blogging for over a week! Life has had it's way of forcing us to really think through our life situation at present.

We are all well (well, nothing has happened healthwise since last time I wrote), it's other things that has escalated beyond "oh, it will probably sort itself out". That together with a very manic work situation (due to potentially 2 weeks in Sweden starting Sunday *yeay*) has made me put the camera on the shelf for a little while. I am having so many ideas (and hopefully a larger amount of blissfull moments to reflect) during our time in Sweden, so I will soon be back in the game.

I've had quite a good Tuesday. O took a later flight this morning, so instead of waking up without him, he was here saying goodbye this morning, going to work, almost "normally". It gave our day a very good start. Also, yesterday I managed to track down one little bottle of nasal steroids that made such a difference in my life earlier this year (when my prescription was to be renewed, it was out of stock and something wrong with the production line, so nowhere to be found). But, stubborn as a goat, I called round to all pharmacies in our city and manged to find one, so now I am much better again. Really coping quite well, actually.

Comment of the day: J has not had her usual little nap in the car on our way to pick-up and was quite tired today. At 7pm she *who usually HATES going to bed, screaming and kicking along the way*, says: "De e mitt i NATTEN, MÅSTE gå och lägga oss!" ("it's the middle of the night, HAVE TO go to bed now!"

Croc angst

The last week as been absolutely manic. All deliveries has arrived at once, so really should have worked around the clock. O has been in the Big City as usual and out of the blue *been waiting since December* I get an appointment to have a 24h bloodpressure check. So Wednesday I wasn't allowed to take any pain killers whatsoever, in the evening, the kids and I, headed for the hospital to have it installed on my arm. C, who's had his fair share of "mummy in hospital" when he was around 3-4years old completely freaked out when we were there and it was a good thing I managed to get hold of his coat, as he was dashing out of the room. Afterwards he told me "mamma, I wouldn't run away, I would have waited for you outside the hospital." *Well, good to know..*

He explained later that he got so so scared when the lady told me that I had to stop whatever I was doing as the monitor beeped. He was thinking what would happen if I was crossing a street, having to stop. I could have been hit by a car! Luckily there were some cute rabbits just by our car when we were leaving, so they together with remembering some really funny Mr Bean moments he managed to calm down.

So during Wednesday evening, night and Thursday I had my pressure checked every 15 minute (30min apart at nighttime). I was also supposed to do all the things I cannot really do, so didn't really sit down those 2 days at all. It was a while since I experienced such a bad headache, but hopefully it is now all registered with the monitor and help won't be far away!

As I logged off at 6pm last night, I had my weekly mission no 2 head. Making a "Giant Crocodile outfit". If I am not very good at cooking, really bad at gardening, I am absolutely worse when it comes to sewing.., but I decided to have a go, so I disected a cuddly lizzard from IKEA, sew it on the back of a green top C had. When O came home late last night, he had brought a green cap, which he sat down with to sew paper eyes and teeth on. At midnight we were finished and here is C this morning with his crocodile outfit. He felt very cool indeed and is roaring in this picture..

My ferocious croc

366 Challenge 142: Shiny

I have hardly touched the camera this weekend mostly working, but I just realized that I took this picture last weekend. J and I was waiting for O to pick C up from a birthday party and she was really grumpy from just waking up, not in the mood for being photographed. I turned my lens to her shoes. Red shiny shoes, I bought these when she was a little baby and they are still too big, but we both love them, so she has worn them this winter. I was supposed to have posted the picture in colour, but then I tried it in greyscale and liked it better this way.

ok, we have another move ahead..

We went on the viewing yesterday morning. My mind was set on "it's going to be grubby and extremely dated, so keep your head cool". It was neither "mindblowingly fresh and beautiful" nor "terrible and grubby". It was in between. Beautiful with some things not really to my taste, but some other things truly winning us over. It also had a lovely kitchen, high ceilings and lots of privacy. A very homely "housey" flat.

In short, we really liked the feel of it.

So the day was spent throwing ourselves head over heals in front of another couple who had started negociating rent, but not completely made up their mind yet. And we got it!

It has mostly carpet *which is not my preferred option of flooring*, but the children's rooms where not and nor where the kitchen or downstairs hallway (or bathrooms!).

Children's rooms

There were a lot of old-fashioned curtains, which changed or just simply removed will make a lot of difference:

Looking at the above picture everything is so proportionate that you can't really see the ceiling height, but look at the picture below, when O is standing by a the window in the neighboring room:

The main part of the flat is on one floor, but there is a bonus with a converted loft and a little viewing point at the top of the house, where you, if you squeeze yourself up there, can see the sea!


We've had some set backs this week regaring O starting to work up here, so we really needed this positive injection into our life. Now I am focusing on new house, new beginnings rather than what could have been. I am so looking forward to get out of this situation, where we are constantly waiting for someone to keep their promise (regarding key to garden outside) and also we won't have anyone above us, so no more noisy parties upstairs!