Holm Sweet Home

start at the beginning

2012-01-22T21:21:00.001+02:00

So, we went away for awhile . . . we went back to my/our hometown in Canada for Christmas, and I was super busy before we left and spent this last week settling back into routines & getting over jet-lag, so-much-so that I had no time for blogging (writing or reading).

So, here’s the beginning of our time away:

We left our house on December 18th, and drove the approximately 6 hours down to Helsinki. We decided to stay at a hotel that was located right at the airport, just to make everything a bit easier. Unfortunately, the hotel had no rooms to accommodate a family of 6, so we had to take 2 rooms instead. Sofia and Joel stayed with me while the older 2 boys stayed with Stefan. After eating a late light meal at the airport, we wet to our rooms to go to bed early enough so we wouldn’t be too tired when the alarmclock rang . . . I left strict instructions with the big boys to avoid rummaging through the packed suitcases and to put anything back if they needed to take it out . . .

At 10 to 6, we met in the hallway and headed to the check-in counters . . . One thing we noticed, Helsinki airport is definitely WAY busier in the early hours during the winter than during the summer! After being in the check-in line for about 15 minutes, I asked Mattias where his laptop was . . . . the hotel room! He and Stefan had to run back for it, which ended up putting us about 20 minutes later than planned.

After check-in, we had to head through the long line at security and then again at passport control, and almost race to our gate which we had been warned was about as far away as a gate can get. Within 5 minutes of reaching the gate, it was time to board (I had just enough time to pop one of my anti-anxiety-pre-flight-pills). The flight from Helsinki to London was uneventful. We had a 7½ hour layover in London . . . blech . . . we used the restrooms, shopped, ate, watched tv, shopped some more, sat, used the restrooms again, drank coffee and shopped yet some more.

I definitely had time to take my anti-anxiety-pre-flight-pill, which was a good thing because while we were waiting in the plane for the trip to start, the electrical system shut down and re-started twice (I just told myself that the lights and tvs were on a different system than that which powers the plane to fly) and then that we had to wait for a passengers luggage to be located and removed from the hold because he never showed up!

We arrived in Vancouver about 7pm . . . my brother and our best friends picked us up and took us to my dad’s house. After visiting for a little while, we were able to go to bed at a decent time and sleep through most of the night (I think we woke about 5am?).

First order of business was to decorate the tree that my brother got a week earlier.

While there was a busy few days of shopping for food, Christmas presents and trying to get accustomed to the time zone, we had some low-key time to play games,

hang out,

play with Moffa’s dog,

and then it was Sam’s birthday. We went out for lunch with our best friends (well, 2/3 of them):

and then had dinner at Moffa’s house, followed by a DQ ice cream cake:

Well, that’s the beginning anyway . . . more details to come as I have time to get them down on paper.

Barb

confessions

2011-12-14T20:58:00.001+02:00

I have a couple of confessions to make.

I haven’t really decorated for Christmas – which is something that I usually love to do. You see, we’re going to go to Canada for Christmas this year.

We leave on Sunday. That’s in 4 days!

I couldn’t bear the thought of having to deal with undecorating the house when we get back in mid-January, so I have only put out a few things, for at least a bit of a festive feel . . .

In the foyer. The metal item in the middle is a candle holder from an old design . . . in the 19th century the women would put these lanterns under their skirts to keep warm in church during the winter. You can see the kids’ class pictures in the background . . .

The kitchen table. Advent candles on the table, and an electric advent candelabra in the window (although I have no idea why those ones always have 7 candles instead of 4).

More of the same in the other kitchen window. Sam made the wooden advent candle holder in school.

Living room planter box. I had one string of clear lights in large plant close by, but Bruno chewed the cord apart . . .

That’s it . . . not much . . . just a little light in the dark . . .

The other confession – I’m not sending Christmas cards out this year. Difficult decision for me to make, because I love getting cards and sending them out, but with our travel plans and hoe busy everything has been, I just couldn’t do it. I hope no one drops me from their list because of it . . .

In other news . . . remember when I built this:

to keep the dogs out of trouble and in the mud room?

Well, somebody decided she wasn’t going to let gates define where she could be:

She jumped it repeatedly, so that we had to keep the door closed. Well, then it just got all stinky and humid in there.

So, I built an addition:

So far, it’s kept her in. We’ll see how long that lasts . . .

Barb

PS Another confession? The blue apron hanging on the kitchen wall was sewn by Stefan in high school.

Happy 94th Birthday Finland!

2011-12-06T21:09:00.001+02:00

Today, Finland celebrates its Independence Day. As I’m typing this, I’m listening to the TV in the background, with coverage from the Ball at the castle, hosted by Finland’s President.

For us, it’s been a day off, and a chance to catch up on things around here. Which means, I get a chance to post something here.

I’ve been avoiding blogging lately, for a variety of reasons . . . too busy, wondering if I was putting too much info out on the ‘net, couldn’t think what to post about, etc., etc.

Well, in usual form, I’ll post a bunch of pictures and try to sum up what’s been happening with us.

The puppies take up a huge amount of time and energy. I couldn’t resist taking this picture because they were laying in almost identical positions. Bella has become a jumper . . . she jumps the gate I built awhile back, so when she is inside we have to close the door to the pantry.

Bruno was feeling festive one day.

Our yard was covered in a flock of birds one day. It was very strange. You can’t tell by the photos just how many there were.

Then they took off to the neighbour’s yard.

A very popular concept around here is the Advent Calendar. I didn’t buy any this year, because we will travel before the 24th and I don’t want to haul them around with us. But, another equally popular tradition is the “Julkalender” - The Advent calendar is an annual Swedish Christmas calendar television series broadcast by Sweden's national television broadcasting company since 1960 and has developed into a living part of contemporary Swedish yuletide tradition. Every series consists of 24 episodes, broadcast daily 1–24 December. Joel and Sofia really look forward to watching each episode every day. This year, they have decided to also do their own version of it and are reading a chapter from a Christmas book every day.

Sam’s school had a Ball last Friday evening. The school holds the ball every three years. They have spent a lot of time preparing: learning about etiquette, and formal dances, like the “Weiner” Waltz, as well.

There’s a huge height difference between my oldest and youngest!

Yesterday, we had our first snow. Only about a centimetre, but it hung around all day . .. and then we got more today. Last year, we had our first snowfall on October 15th!

There’s more, but that’s all I can come up with for now. Hope I don’t stay away from blogger for so long again!

Barb

PS Tomorrow marks 3 years since we took Sofia out of Children’s Home #4 in St. Petersburg!

busy, busy

2011-11-07T21:15:00.001+02:00

Time sure flies when you’re busy! Lately, it seems like there has been something to do, or someplace to go, everyday/evening.

We’ve had unseasonably warm weather for where we live. Last year, we had our first snow in mid-October. So far, this fall, we’ve only had one day below freezing . . . and that was just barely. What this has mean for me (besides the fact that I am rejoicing in the milder weather) is that for the first time since we’ve been here, I think we’re actually prepared (yard-wise) for the snow (when it comes).

I have actually raked the yard 3 times. 3 times. That’s impressive, because I really hate raking. Here’s how a piece of our back yard looked a couple of weeks ago:

And here’s how it looked after it was raked the first time:

During this process, I have discovered that it is really hard to have OCD and rake a yard. I want to get every. single. leaf. In the pictures above, you can’t see the part of the yard to the right, where Mattias raked. Sam was working up on the roof with Stefan, and called down to me that it was obvious where I had raked . . .

12 days ago we had our final Post Placement visit from the social worker regarding Sofia’s adoption. The afternoon went quite well. I think it was the first time Sofia didn’t hide behind the sofa when she asked her some questions.

Mattias has started playing an online computer game called Minecraft. Anybody heard of it? It’s a building game, and he absolutely loves it. Sometimes, his buddy Pepsi keeps him company.

Speaking of Pepsi, last Tuesday we found out that she’s completely blind in her left eye. Surgery can run up to 1500€ and can have serious complications, so I think we will just watch her carefully for any signs of problems with the right eye. You can see the cataract in the picture below:

Two weeks ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving (a week late for us Canadians). Since we were having all of Stefan’s family over, I didn’t want to have the dog cage in the middle of the hallway that has been there since we got the puppies. We have moved them into our “help kitchen” – I guess it’s like a pantry/mud room . . . it’s a room off the kitchen with lots of storage,etc. Anyways, when we tried having them in there with the door closed, it got WAY too hot and stuffy. Then we tried a piece of wire fencing in the doorway, but they pushed it down. So, I built this:

I built this. Stefan helped a bit with the hinges and the latch, but I did most of the work. I know it’s not really square, and now it’s starting to sag just a bit, but I’m still kinda proud of myself.

Well, that’s a quick update for now. I hope to post a little more often this month, promise!

Barb

the regular check up that wasn’t

2011-10-20T14:17:00.001+03:00

Yesterday, Joel and Sofia had to leave school early to go to the dentist for their annual check ups. Joel was first in the chair, and I had to tell them about a new tooth he was getting that was really bothering him (first premolar) . . . the baby tooth hadn’t fallen out yet, but the permanent tooth had already broken through the gum above (top teeth).

After examining it, the dentist decided that the baby tooth had to be pulled so that the permanent tooth could come down in the right place. Unfortunately, the tooth wasn’t the least bit loose, so he had to have an injection of a local anesthetic before the tooth was pulled. Poor guy. First time for him. There was no cleaning. Just 2 new appointments and a referral for x-rays because he has to get a headgear . . .

Sofia’s turn. She says she has no concerns about any of her teeth, but when the dentist looks in her mouth she sees that Sofia has the same problem: a permanent tooth has erupted before the baby tooth has fallen out. And guess what? It’s the exact same one as Joel’s. No kidding. I can’t make this stuff up. So, Sofia also had to have a tooth pulled . . . but hers was bit loose, so she was only given a topical anesthetic. No cleaning for her either, but she did get her teeth brushed with flouride while they were waiting for the topical to kick in . . . She also got a form of braces: a night guard to correct the bite of her front teeth a bit . . .

Ten minutes later, here were my two not-so-happy campers in the waiting area:

At least the Tooth Fairy is generous when the teeth haven’t come out by themselves . . .

Barb

sweet surprises

2011-10-16T21:55:00.001+03:00

Every once in a while, Joel and Sofia play really well together. After all, they’re only 19 months apart in age. They have some serious sibling rivalry (which has many complicated layers to it), but there are times when their interests line up, and their moods are just right, so that they can enjoy some good times together. Yesterday, they put on a “cooking show” for me outside my kitchen window:

Then we have this adorable 6 month old puppy, Bella. How cute is she!? How often do dogs lay like this:

Some sweet surprises turn a little messy . . . Mattias told me on the phone one evening that he was making dinner (it was homework for his cooking class). Pizza was on the menu. This was what greeted me:

And, although the pizza tasted really good, school recipes don’t feed a family of six . . .

One final sweet surprise . . . while Joel and I were doing a Bible study at the kitchen table, Sofia was listening and drawing . . . and then slipped this under my telephone:

The sentiment of the drawing is over-the-top sweet, but there are some really funny aspects to the picture, too . . . why are we standing on pedestals? . . . why am I wearing green shoes with what appears to be a really short top?

Have a great week!

Barb

are you jealous?

2011-10-04T15:15:00.001+03:00

. . . of our view during breakfast last Thursday:

Don’t be.

Although we had a couple of fantastic sunrises last week, yesterday’s temperature got down to –1C/30F.

Barb

a beautiful day

2011-09-25T20:35:00.001+03:00

Today has been a beautiful day!

After days and days of rain (and I’m talking about Noah-esque proportions), the weather today was dry and the sun even came out to visit for several hours.

It was the kind of day to be outside . . . to cut the grass, put away patio furniture, clean up the gardens, move the dog run to a better location, work on the roof on the terrace, etc.

Sofia spent most of the weekend at the grandparents’ house because one of her cousins (who is the same age as her) was there all weekend. Said cousin’s older sister (who is the same age as Mattias), spent the weekend with us. Stefan’s sister and her husband went to Stockholm this weekend to run in a marathon, so their kids were staying with different family members. It worked out well for us, because we did it in exchange for letting some of our kids go to their house last weekend when Stefan and I went away . . .

Last weekend, Stefan and I went to Luleå in northern Sweden (we had gone there for a weekend last September also). It’s a nice time of the year for a little getaway, especially since Stefan’s work is soon going to be really busy. We enjoyed some time sans children and got to do some stress-free shopping.

The puppies continue to grow like weeds.

Bruno (28 weeks old):

Bella (24 weeks):

Pepsi (5 years) – she wanted a picture, too!:

For school pictures here, kids can get a “kompis photo” – a photo with their friend . . . so here is Bruno and Bella’s Kompis Photo:

It turned out pretty good. Especially when you consider the one we took 6 weeks ago:

I think they weren’t getting along that day . . . .

Since then, they have started obedience classes. They’ve been 3 times so far and have 2 more sessions. Bruno is the star of the class – he can do everything the instructor asks us to do with them. Bella is at the bottom of her class. I think she has ADHD . . . she can’t concentrate at all. She keeps looking at the other dogs to see what they’re doing.

That’s all for now!

Barb

about time

2011-09-14T21:15:00.001+03:00

So sorry.

Time slips away as the days are so busy right now . . .

I was going to post about the last day of our trip to St. Petersburg, but I only took two photos! Here’s one, from the train as we were about to leave the station heading west:

I regret that I don’t have more pictures from the restaurants that we ate at, or any of our driver, Vlad. He was awesome, and also arranged to have a second car and driver because we were so many people. He is the same young man who drove for us on our 3 adoption trips. He also translated for us.

A few days after we got home, Sofia went to her best friend’s birthday. She lives about 500 metres away, so she went by bike. The gift was in a box so big, she needed to carry it in a backpack. She also is carrying a bag with her swimsuit and towel because her friend’s house is right on the water and they were going to go swimming.

Steve sent Sofia a couple of dresses for her birthday. She’s mostly a shorts and pants/sweatpants kinda girl, but she has worn one of them a couple of times. It’s just kinda hard to wear a dress when you’re . . .

climbing trees . . .

swinging . . .

and climbing tractors.

August 16th was the first day of school for the kids:

Sam (2nd year upper secondary), Mattias (1st year high school – Grade 7), Joel (Grade 4) and Sofia (Grade 3).

We had terrific weather all summer, despite a prediction of a horrible summer. However, autumn is coming upon us quickly (I noticed the first leaves falling from the birch trees in early August). The last few days have been rainy and icky, so we’re hoping things dry up soon.

That’s all for now,

Barb

st. petersburg 2011, day 4

2011-09-04T21:51:00.001+03:00

I’m starting to think that pretty soon I’ll be able to post about what’s currently happening in our lives.

Until then, more pictures and details from our August trip to St. Petersburg, Russia.

On Day 4, we decided to go to Peterhof, Peter the Great’s Summer Gardens and Palaces. We had to walk over to the Neva River and take a 30 minute ride on a hydrofoil boat. While we were waiting for the boat, it started to rain. By the time we got to our destination, it was pouring.

Don’t we look a happy bunch? When we arrived at the dock, it was raining SO hard and was really windy. I was disoriented at first, and didn’t understand where we were supposed to go (I thought we had been stranded out on some type of platform!). Once we figured out how to get to the gardens, we speed walked a couple hundred metres to the entrance, thrilled that we beat most of the crowd! However, it turned out we had to pay an entrance fee and nearly everyone else figured out where to buy the tickets before we did! (We thought the entrance fee was included in our boat fee.) btw, the ticket booth has some weird glass so you could barely see the people sitting inside, especially difficult with the rain and wind.

Anyways, in this picture Sofia is especially miffed because a) she doesn’t like wearing a hood and b) she couldn’t carry one of the 2 umbrellas we were sharing between the 5 of us (it doesn’t work to have the shortest person carry the umbrella – because she won’t carry it higher than her own head).

The moods are starting to improve as the downpour lessens.

A pool fit for a princess.

One of many fountains.

Statues and more fountains.

You can see the platform where the hydrofoil boats dock in the background.

A palace fi´t for a princess . . .

Gardens and more fountains.

Still more fountains.

One of the fun fountains.

A hydrofoil boat arriving.

After we got back to the city, we walked around the Hermitage before heading back towards the hotel.

I caved and let the kids hold the monkeys that we had seen the day before.

The bigger monkey is flossing his teeth with a strand of Sofia’s hair he had plucked when Joel was holding him (you can see him examining it in the first picture).

After buying a few more souvenirs, we went over to Nevsky and found a place to eat dinner. We chose “Chatty Chicken”. Joel complained that he didn’t want to eat food that talks . . . It was a nice place, but they don’t get so many tourists . . . the manager had to go through the menu with us and tell us what they had . . . no English menus!

Later in the evening we decided to go up to the colonnade of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It was 250 steps up a spiral staircase . . . then 50 more outside:

. . . to a fantastic view! This shot shows our hotel and the church we visited yesterday.

The vendors have their shops set up in the trees on the left . . . that’s where I bought my chinchilla scarf.

Going back down the spiral staircase.

That’s all for now. The next post will wrap the trip up!

PS Ann (who commented on my last post) – yes, things pretty much shut down in the summer in St. Petersburg. For example, the Social Worker who met with us had been on vacation up until the day we met her, and our agency’s in-country director was on vacation while we were there. (And back in 2008, when we adopted, our judge was on vacation for most of September).

Barb

st. petersburg, day 3

2011-08-30T21:13:00.001+03:00

Things have been hectic around here! School has been in session for 2 weeks already. Clubs and sports are starting.

And I’ve fallen behind on my blog posts.

And my brother’s not too happy about it . . . he’s the one leaving the anonymous comments!

So, here’s day 3 of our trip to Sofia’s hometown . . .

The day started with a walk over to the Hermitage, where we couldn’t resist a photo op with a circus bear. Unfortunately for us, the circus is on tour in July and August so we weren’t able to go see it – something the kids had really wanted to do.

The courtyard, on our way through . . . we were headed over to another church.

The souvenir stands across the street from the church. This is the largest group of them I had seen in the city . .. usually there were between 5 and 12, but there must have been at least 50 here.

The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood.

Passing by the Hermitage again on our way back. There were not so many people because it was CLOSED!

A wedding couple was having their photos done in the courtyard – that’s their coach in the background. We saw quite a few wedding photo-ops during our trip,

Afternoon swim back at the hotel. The kids swam everyday.

Making a whirlpool in the hot tub.

Stefan’s mom, Sofia and Joel in the hotel lobby . . . waiting to be picked up by Vlad.

Part of our trip included getting together with Sofia’s great-grandmother, Babushka Tonya. The original plan was to go to her house, but the road was closed so she took the metro and met us on the edge of the city instead (it was a movie theatre, but there was a café we could meet in).

With the doll she got from Babushka.

We were also able to go to the children’s home . . . the social worker who had Sofia’s case was also with us. The home is now closed and undergoing renovation to become a hospital for children with disabilities as well as a kindergarten(?), but someone happened to be there and Tatyana managed to get us permission to go inside.

This was the room where we first met Sofia, and these were the chairs we sat in for our first picture together.

Sofia was really interested in playing outside in the many gardens and playgrounds, as well as acting out many of the moments we have on dvd from our first visits with her.

We got back to the hotel quite late, and since we hadn’t eaten dinner, we ate at the hotel restaurant . . . most had Caesar salad, but Mattias chose this potato salad with Ox tongue. He is an adventurous eater!

Joel, getting ready for bed. He bought this hat as well as the one Mattias is wearing in the photo below.

Our room was very room-y! To the right, there is one more folding cot!

It was a long day, but a good one!

That’s all for now!

Barb

st. petersburg 2011, day 2

2011-08-18T23:15:00.001+03:00

Ooops! I’ve been forgetting to post! It’s been a busy week, what with school starting, ya know.

Here are many pictures from our second day in sunny St. Petes:

We started the day souvenir shopping near St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Mattias did not buy this hat.

I did buy the chinchilla scarf, but not the mink coat.

The Fam, in front of the Cathedral.

In front of a statue of Peter the Great, The Bronze Horseman.

We crossed the Neva River by walking across a bridge. Of course, this started a whole discussion about the raising of the bridges at night to let boats pass. Not one discussion, but 3 . . . since each child had to re-ask because they only heard the end of the story the previous time it was told.

Sofia and Stefan’s dad.

Finally at our morning’s destination: Peter and Paul Fortress. More Top Model poses from Sofia.

Mattias and Joel doing something they probably shouldn’t . . .

Sofia and Faffa.

Joel (better get down quick!)

Cannons! Sweet!

The 12 o’clock cannon shot. It was loud!

We paid a wad of rubles to come up onto the walls of the fortress and walk around . . . so here are a bunch of pictures . . .

Some interesting chairs.

This one was a little difficult to sit on.

Does she look like a princess?

Shortly after a meltdown due to line-ups for the toilets. This pic was taken just outside the entrance to the Bastion Prison. It was a bit expensive, so Stefan’s mom asked the guard if there was anything to see. He said, “Not really.”

Walking back towards our hotel. Faffa, Fammo and Mattias.

The fortress is in the background.

A baby bear drinking cream.

The kids got to pet him.

At the edge of the Neva, across from the Hermitage.

We ate lunch at a little place across the street from our hotel – real Russian food, I think. It wasn’t much of a touristy place. She saw us outside trying to figure out what kind of food was on the sign and brought us down inside. Most of us had the lunch special: salad (choice of green or potato), soup (choice of cream of mushroom or pumpkin), authentic Russian ravioli (chicken, meat or fish) or meatballs, wedge potatoes or vegetables and coffee or special cherry drink (which was thick with cherries floating in it – I didn’t really like it).

After lunch we swam at the hotel pool. Then later we walked down Nevsky Prospect with the grandparents to a huge mall and did some window shopping. Everything was out of our price range. On the way back, we ate at Pizza Hut again.

Stefan’s parents went back to the hotel, but we went to the fountain at the Admirality.

Then the park.

Statue of Przhevalsky – I don’t know why a camel is here . . .

Our walk brought us back around the cathedral. You can see our hotel in the background – the Petro Palace.

Stefan gets mauled by the hotel’s bear.

TTFN,

Barb

st. petersburg 2011, day 1

2011-08-13T22:02:00.001+03:00

Our day started at twenty past four in the morning. At 5am, we were on our way to the train station: Me, Stefan, Mattias, Joel, Sofia and Stefan’s parents.

The first train took us to Tikkurila, just north of Helsinki.

Mattias and Joel on the first train.

Sofia got this bag for her birthday. It was made by a blog-friend of mine, Rachael, and features Matryoshka dolls.

Sofia was doing some “Top Model” poses at the Tikkurila train station.

Not so often we get a picture together (this one was taken by Sofia).

Our hotel is ½ a block down on the left. This is the Admiralty in the background.

After checking into the hotel, we decided to go on a canal cruise, starting on the Moika River. Stefan’s parents were resting at the hotel, and then for a walk in the parks near our hotel.

Moika River Embankment.

This face means: “What is she saying?” Even though we were on an English cruise, the lady’s accent was so strong and she spoke really fast (like she was reading from a script). We couldn’t even see her; she went inside and spoke from there, through a microphone with the volume up so high that it also distorted the sound.

Heading out to the Neva River.

Now several scenic pictures:

We finished off the evening with dinner at Pizza Hut. Mattias ordered the Pizza Festival; every 3-5 minutes, the server brought him a piece of pizza, but it was server’s choice, not Mattias’. The green sign meant he wanted more pizza. If he turned it parallel to the table it meant he’s thinking about it. If he turned it upside down (and a red sign showed) it meant stop, he’s done. We’ve never seen this before. Is it only in Russia, or North America, too??

That’s all for now.

Barb

sofia turned 9

2011-08-11T19:20:00.001+03:00

Whew!

What a busy couple of weeks we have had!

We just got back from St. Petersburg, Russia yesterday evening . . . but more about that another time.

This post is about Sofia’s 9th birthday, which was one week ago.

Let’s just say, it was her best birthday ever. In the past, PI (post institutional) behaviours have threatened to ruin any special celebrations, or have made special days difficult, at the least.

However, this year, on her birthday, she was as good as gold. She was thrilled with her gifts, and the traditional breakfast in bed. She didn’t complain about anything. She asked often if there was anything she could help with when getting things ready for the parties. It was great.

Here is the day in photos:

Wake up! It’s your birthday!!

Opening gifts in bed, followed by breakfast.

Her friend party started with BBQ’d burgers and hotdogs on the deck.

Then opening more gifts.

A few runs through the sprinkler.

I made a Hello Kitty cake, even if it wasn’t really the theme of the party.

Make a wish!

In the evening there was a second party with family – grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. I made a cream cake for that party (but you can see ½ of the Hello Kitty cake hiding behind).

That’s all for now.

Barb

i’m back . . . with lots of pictures

2011-07-30T22:36:00.001+03:00

I’ve been out of the blogging world for a little over a month now.

For awhile, I felt that I just needed to step away for a bit and focus on life around me.

It’s been kinda hard for me, living here, being so far away from my family and close friends. I think there’s really only two people I know who can really relate to how hard this is.

So, I wrote a bunch of stuff here, and then deleted it . . . the details are not really necessary.

Anyways, I’m ready to get back out into the world and let you know how busy we’ve been during this wonderful summer weather (despite a few thunderstorms here and there).

Awesome view from our house.

Sofia went to camp for 2 nights. I had forgotten my camera when I dropped her off, so I went back after dinner to take this picture. She had already been to the tuck shop to buy ice cream.

While Sofia was at camp, we went to Helsinki and back in one day to take our Visa applications to the Visa Application Center. We were not allowed to mail them in. Russian bureaucracy.

Joel went to camp for 3 nights. This is pick-up day.

We rode our bikes to the beach. It was Bruno’s first time there.

Bruno had a great time, but was Tired when we got home.

The ride home from the beach.

Market Day in Jakobstad during Jakobsdagar (an annual week-long event in the city). Stefan is in the background buying some books. It was a HOT day!

After spending a few hours in town, we went by boat to the grandparents’ summer cabin, where most of Stefan’s family already was. The weather eventually turned, and we experienced an electrical storm in the late afternoon.

Before the storm, Mattias and Joel tested the boats they bought while in the city.

Mattias went to camp for 3 nights. He stayed in the same cabin that Joel had stayed in. This was drop-off day.

Stefan’s sister and brother-in-law took us to their cabin for dinner one evening. We saw this sailboat on the way to the island.

Swimming. Again.

Enjoying the boat ride back to the mainland.

Ditto.

Joel and Sofia went to swimming lessons for the last 2 weeks – everyday from 9:30 to 12:30. Sofia got a pin for swimming 25m, and Joel got pins for 1km and 2km.

Swimming at the boat launch, 700m down the road from our house.

Joel jumping off the dock.

The last day of swimming lessons was celebrated with a masquerade. That was yesterday.

Today was the annual boat race in our village (old fashioned sailboats – you can see one in the background of the pic of Joel jumping off the dock). Our whole family was involved in the volunteer work to run the day.

TTFN,

Barb

. . . must . . . post?

2011-06-25T22:47:00.001+03:00

Has it been 2 weeks already?

We’ve been relatively busy . . . a bit of yardwork, working on the main entrance/sidewalk (that was torn up 2 years ago), dealing with the pool, the puppies, etc.

The weather has not been so great the last couple of weeks, and we’ve had a couple of very rainy days. However, I shouldn’t complain – because it’s only been a couple days; just tough with the puppies and their housebreaking . . .

Speaking of puppies, here they are:

(they’re fighting over a blanket, while lying on their backs!)

Other than that, nothing exciting going on really . . .

These birds showed up yesterday and sat outside our kitchen window while we were eating lunch. 6 – just like us!

This is Midsummer weekend here in Scandinavia (celebration of the summer solstice, as well as St. John the Baptist’s birthday). It is generally a huge deal, with all-night parties celebrating the midnight sun. Despite having lived here almost 6 years, it’s only the second Midsummer we’ve been here for because we’ve travelled to Canada most summers.

We spent yesterday evening at the in-laws’ summer cabin with most of Stefan’s siblings and their families. I was prepared for a mostly sleepless night afterwards because our house is on the road to the beach and usually has A LOT of traffic on Midsummer with all the partygoers coming and going, but we were pleasantly surprised by a relatively quiet night – the bad weather probably kept a lot of them away (lucky for us).

That’s all for now . . . hopefully I’ll have more interesting stuff next time!

TTFN,

Barb

the week, in a nutshell

2011-06-14T20:53:00.001+03:00

Beginning the day after school got out, we had a heat wave. It lasted 8 days. The temperatures ranged from 28-32C (82-90F), and while on the surface that doesn’t sound too hot , remember that this is a very northern country and a large portion of the year is below freezing. So, it was a bit difficult to get used to it. Yesterday, however, was 9C/48F – that’s too cold!!

Sofia spent last week in a nature day-camp. She had lots of fun.

Because it was so hot, the boys and I decided to put up the pool on Monday . . . and that turned out to be a complete goat rodeo (our term for “gong show”). It’s one of those vinyl pools with the inflatable ring around the top . . . here’s how it went:

after laying out the pool in the right place on a tarp, we realized the air compressor was not at home. Sam, Mattias and I took turns blowing up the top ring while Joel held a beach umbrella over us to shield us from the scorching sun.
while the hose was filling up the pool, I went in to make lunch. After a while, I sent the boys out to pull the bottom of the pool a little flatter/get the wrinkles out.
when I looked out the window a bit later, I noticed some water outside the pool. Did the boys do that, or was there a problem?
after lunch we went to investigate and found a small hole in the bottom of the pool (which, by the way, I take full responsibility for – last August when I was taking down the pool I had to move it from under the birch tree because so many seeds were falling into it. I dragged it over to the asphalt driveway.)
we turned off the hose. Mattias and Sam stood in the ankle deep pool water and lifted up the edge of the pool. We dried the area of the small hole and put a patch on it, let it dry and then let the pool back down and “slosh” into place.
then we found another hole and did the same thing to repair it.
the next morning, the pool was filled but the top ring was flat. Had to blow that up again (and several times since – haven’t found the leak yet).
put the ladder together (which, even though it’s made of rust-resistant metal, is all rusty inside the pipes) and remember that one step is broken.
connected the pump, but couldn’t find the extension cord and voltage adapter. (the pool came with us from Canada)
found the above-mentioned items, but the adapter cord was damaged – Stefan fixed it when he got home.
on Thursday I bought an electrical air pump (like the kind for inflating air mattresses).
the kids enjoyed Wednesday – Saturday in the pool.
on Saturday the voltage adapter died.
late Sunday night the winds started up. At 1 am I had to go out and put the pool cover back on – the wind had blown it half off because the top ring is what is supposed to hold it in place.
on Monday we found a new pump, so we no longer need the voltage adapter . . . luckily it fits the pool and all the hoses we already had – only the filter is a different size.
now it’s too cold to swim.

Sam has been delaying working so far this summer – he has two tests to re-write, so he keeps saying he has to study (too often, that somehow involves the X-box). Tomorrow is the last test.

I have 2 flowers on one of my rhododendrons! I planted four last year and was worried that they might not have survived our harsh winter – all 4 have new growth.

The puppies had their first vet appointment. They are getting along really well now. It’s so much fun to watch them together – lots of rough-housing and cuddling. But, they are a lot of work – we’re going through about 2 rolls of paper towels every 3 days . . .

I think that’s about all for now. The sun has come out now this evening, so maybe that’s a promising sign for tomorrow.

Barb

and just like that, it’s over

2011-06-07T21:12:00.001+03:00

School that is.

Our last day of school was Saturday, June 4th. The last day is called “Vårfest”/Spring Festival. It begins with a service at the Lutheran Church is the school’s catchment area, followed by coffee and refreshments at the school and a program that usually includes some performances, awards, recognition and the handing out of report cards.

Local businesses and organizations give scholarships to each school to distribute to students. Joel got one for “good schoolwork”. Although he’s not an academically strong student, the award recognizes that he’s trying his best.

Sofia getting her report card.

Joel getting his report card.

Mattias and the rest of the Sixth Graders being recognized. It’s their last year at the school.

The last song of the year.

The Grade 6s wave goodbye to their elementary school years (one student is missing from the pic, though).

And a bit of puppy love thrown in for good measure.

Barb

oops . . . i did it again . . .

2011-06-02T21:54:00.001+03:00

This had actually been in the plans for awhile.

How could I simply say “no” to those eyes.

Meet Bella, Joel’s puppy:

She’s a lot of the same mixture of breeds as Max had been: Finnish Hound & Karelian Bear Dog, plus she’s also Swedish Elk Hound.

Her relationship with Bruno is, so far, a little hot and cold . . . they’re still trying to work things out.

And Pepsi is completely ticked off about the whole course of events in this house as of late.

Most of you guessed right – Bruno is a St. Bernard (with a tad of labrador thrown in).

Barb

soap box derby

2011-06-01T21:22:00.001+03:00

Two weeks ago, Joel got to compete in a soap box derby.

This is an annual event, held in the town that our village belongs to (as in, “in town”).

Mattias was slightly miffed, because he had been asking for several years to enter, but Stefan has never had time to build a car with them.

Joel got to drive The Red Lion, built by the local Lions. They built the car, then had a lottery for kids who wanted to participate but didn’t have a car to drive.

We found out on the Monday that he needed to go for a test drive on Tuesday, and then the derby was on Wednesday.

There were over 70 racers in the event. He didn’t win or place in any of the categories, but the look on his face said it all. . . .

Barb

not letting life get too dull

2011-05-29T19:25:00.001+03:00

Thanks so much for the kind words regarding Max.

When he was a puppy, I stated emphatically that he was going to be the last puppy we ever had . . . he was a LOT of work - we went through a roll of paper towel almost every day cleaning up his messes all over the house.

Pepsi had also been a difficult puppy, taking almost a year to housebreak and ridding her of a disgusting habit involving her feces. yuck.

Anyways, we never expected that Max would be gone so suddenly, at such a young age.

So, we did, in fact, get another puppy.

Meet Bruno, sleeping on Joel’s lap on the way home.

He’s Sam’s dog – Sam found him on the internet and made all the arrangements. He’s from a family in Estonia . . . the husband works in Helsinki, so the mom came over with the puppy and her kids on the ferry and met us 2 weeks ago - Stefan, Joel, Sofia and I were in Helsinki for that weekend staying at a waterpark hotel (because those 2 kids didn’t get to go on the school ski trip back in April).

Home one week.

He’s actually a fairly easy puppy (so far). And, he sleeps in Sam’s room . . . so I don’t have night-duty.

Can you guess his breed?

Barb

going back a few weeks

2011-05-25T23:00:00.001+03:00

I’ve taken a little break from social media . . . not sure if anyone noticed . . .

A couple weeks ago, our household was thrown for a loop when our young dog, Max, suddenly died. We have no answers as to what happened, I can only describe the events of that afternoon:

I came home from work at 2:30 and had a cup of coffee with Stefan
Around 3 he went back to the farm (about 5km away) and took Mattias with him
About a half hour later Stefan called me to say that Max was sick – he was drooling and throwing up
About 20 minutes later, after calling around to different vets and unable to get an appointment, Stefan called me again and said one of the vets said to take his temperature and I needed to bring him a thermometer. Max also now had diarrea.
Since I was at his parents’ house, it took me awhile to walk home, get the thermometer and drive to the farm (with Joel and Sofia in tow) and the travel kennel
By the time I got to the farm, Max was much worse . . . he was running around on his lead with his tail between his legs, his head down and a complete look of fear in his eyes. At this point, Stefan had made an appointment for Max with an emergency vet, but I didn’t know, so I had to drive home to get my driver’s license. Stefan put Max in the kennel in the van, and Mattias hopped in the back seat to sit beside him.
As soon as we got home, Joel and Sofia ran to the grandparents’ house and Sam jumped in the van with us.
When we got to the farm to get Stefan, I told him that Max had already died, before we had even reached the house.

We have no idea what happened . . . something natural like a seizure or an aneurysm . . . bitten by a snake . . . ate something, etc. Some people have asked if he could’ve eaten poison . . . since he was tied on his lead to a tree and there was no poison near him, that is probably not the case (unless it was done deliberately).

Dealing with the aftermath was difficult. All 4 of the kids grieved in very different ways. For Sofia, it was the first time since she’s been with us that something close to her has died. She cried for about half an hour and then afterwards said, “I’m still sad, but I’m not crying anymore.” Grandma told Joel it was ok to cry and be sad . . . and then he sobbed for almost 3 hours – he had lots of regrets and said he wished he knew Max better and missed that way Max leaned against his legs. Mattias didn’t want to talk about it all – he saw Max die and said he was freaked out by it. Sam was clearly upset since Max was his buddy, but handled it stoically.

Max was a great dog. I have never met a dog who wanted human touch as much as he did. The first thing he would do when he came into a room was to lean up against you and demand to be petted. Then he would go get his food dish and drop it in the middle of the kitchen floor. He thought of himself as a lap dog, despite his size, and loved to cuddle. Of course, he had some annoying habits – like barking hysterically at all animals who walked past the house and running away on occasion to check out the neighbourhood (he was able to jump the 5 foot fence at the farm). But, he was one of a kind and will be missed.

We often found him sleeping in our bed – with his head on the pillow!

He liked to be up high so he could look down on things.

My brother had asked last week why I hadn’t blogged about this yet, but at the time it didn’t seem appropriate. Our neighbour passed away the day before Max, my colleague’s father passed away the day after and a friend’s mother also passed away that week (although I didn’t know it at the time). Although losing a pet is hard, it wasn’t the right time to talk about it when people around us had just lost dear family members.

Lots has happened in the last couple of weeks, so hopefully I’ll get around to updating those of you who are still checking in on us.

Barb

walpurgis

2011-04-30T21:40:00.001+03:00

This weekend is a big celebration here in central and northern Europe – it’s a traditional spring festival, celebrating the end of the long winter and the beginning of spring. It’s named after Saint Walburga and the day is known in Swedish as Valborg. Walburga was canonized on May 1, 870 so the celebration is strongly tied to May Day.

Valborg is one of the biggest festivals held in the streets of Finland's towns and cities. The celebration, which begins on the evening of April 30th and continues to May 1st, typically centres on drinking mjöd (mead), sparkling wine and eating donuts. In our area, there are masquerades to celebrate Valborg also. There will be some who have bonfires in the evening on April 30th.

An important part of a May 1st gathering is the ceremonial donning of the student cap (graduation cap), which stems from the time when students wore their caps daily and switched from black winter cap to white summer cap.

A May 1st picnic with people wearing their student caps. Photo from Wikipedia – I don’t know these people.

Our school had a masquerade party on Friday and here’s how the Holm kids showed up:

Mattias as a Sumo Wrestler.

Joel as a convict.

Sofia as a Punk Rocker. (No way was she going as a princess)

and, a close-up of the face details . . .

Tomorrow is actually May 1st, and we have a lot going on . . . to be updated late!

Barb

suomi pop

2011-04-29T21:45:00.001+03:00

Finnish Pop.

Two weeks ago, our elementary school put on a music concert. I promised my dad I’d post a bit of the concert so he could see his grandkids singing.

Some background first. The area of Finland we live in Swedish-speaking. The children start learning Finnish in school (as a second language) in the third grade. Of the (only) 42 students in the whole school, just 2 of them speak any Finnish at home . . . so I hope you can appreciate what a feat it is that they sang 18 songs in Finnish (plus one in Swedish and 2 in English).

Just to give you an idea of how difficult the language is, here is some of the text that they are singing in the video clip:

Daa daa daa-da daa-da,
Kiitää alla autostrada,
Aina kiire, kiire jonnekin on, on, on.
Daa daa daa-da daa-da,
Hiki pintaan täytyy saada
Pojat antaa mennä siitä vain näin!

2.

Mitä sä tahdot voisit kertoo
On helpompaa kun myöntää jos tahtoo
Mitä sun täytyy oikein peittää?
Kuka sua hallitsee?

Savuna ilmaan ei voi estää
Verenä hiekkaan ei voi kestää
Kivusta nautintoon on matkaa
Pelottavan vähän - jos edes sitäkään

Se maailman tuulissa vahvistuu
Mun juuret, ne ovat täällä maassa syvällä
Multaan sä piilotit viestin

Joku hullu on keksinyt ikuisuuden
olin yksi heistä siihen turvautuen
et enää reppuselkääni tuu
ja autiotalon kukat lakastuu

Ja käsi kädessä kuljemme taloon autioon
ja se minua niin ravistaa
Ja tämä hetki saa minut pian aivovaurioon
kun talon aution kanssasi jaan
ja käsi kädessä kuljemme taloon autioon

Kesä sulle paljon antaa,
lämpö sylissään kun kantaa,
sen hetken toivot ikuisesti kestävän.
Elämä on niin kuin unta,
kukkii koko luomakunta,
sydän vain uutta tilaisuutta odottaa.
Vielä on kesää jäljellä,
vielä tulee kauniita päiviä,
vielä voit löytää ystävän,

So, Family, this is for you:

Barb

spring has sprung

2011-04-25T21:28:00.001+03:00

Today, Easter Monday, I took the youngest 3 children to the zoo.

It’s pretty much a day trip because it takes 2 hours to drive there.

We had a great time . . . the weather was fabulous (+22C/71F) and we just enjoyed ourselves taking a leisurely walk around.

Sharing Easter eggs with the wildlife.

Even the bears enjoyed the sunshine today.

Barb

PS I was playing around with Lightroom today for the first time . . .thus the funky effects on some of the photos!

He is Risen!

2011-04-24T21:38:00.001+03:00

What a beautiful message Easter holds for us!

Our day started with Easter baskets followed by an egg hunt outside.

In the afternoon, we went to the big city to watch an Easter Passion play: 7 Dygn i Jerusalem (7 Days in Jerusalem). {I linked the google-translated version of the page so you can see what it was about . . . } Fantastic music – I got goosebumps.

After a stop for dinner, (Joel couldn’t eat all his pizza)

we came home and wound the day down.

Despite the fact that there’s still snow on the ground, we are enjoying some lovely weather!

This year’s Easter Do!

Happy Easter!!

Barb

easter saturday

2011-04-23T22:26:00.001+03:00

Since Finland has a state church, Christian holidays are well recognized. On Thursday, schools were let out early to recognize skärtorsdag/Holy Thursday, commemorating the Last Supper of Jesus.Some businesses also closed early. On långfredag/Good Friday, everything is closed and many churches have special services. However, as far as secular traditions go, Saturday is the big day for kids in these parts. It is the day they get to dress up and go around collecting candy (similar to trick or treating). The main differences are:

the children usually dress up as witches (which actually look more like old ladies than the North American idea of a witch)
the children hand out homemade Easter cards or branches decorated with colourful feathers to the homes they visit
this is done at any time during the day (usually between 10am and 3pm)

Of course, since I haven’t grown up with these traditions myself, they don’t come so easily for me. . . I haven’t allowed my kids to dress up as witches (even though they’re cute witches with freckles and such) because I just can’t reconcile that symbol with Easter. And, I usually forget about the cards and branches so they’re usually done at the last minute (today I was away with Sam, so the little ones had nothing to hand out . . .).

Without further ado:

My Easter chicken – she used an old milk canister for collecting.

My Easter pirate (which also isn’t very Easter-ish).

That’s it for now.

Hope you are enjoying your Easter Saturday

Barb

mamma match

2011-04-18T22:11:00.001+03:00

This afternoon was the ~~dreaded~~ long-anticipated Mamma Match for Sofia’s floorball team.

It’s when the team plays against their moms. It’s the last thing they do of the season.

That’s me in the green shirt.

I realize it looks like I am totally hip-checking that small child, but really, I was only reaching for the ball.

Some people have been wondering what floorball is . . . it is quite similar to floor hockey, only the sticks are more aerodynamic . . . and the goalie is down on the floor (and uses no stick).

We lost . . . but it could be because the ref scored for the kids or he blew the whistle to change strings every time we were setting up to score (he’s their coach) . . . or maybe it had do with the goal that was scored while I was in the penalty box (for tripping . . . my own daughter . . . but I swear, it was not intentional).

And yes, we did have a couple of older brothers helping us out (thank goodness – it gave us more time to breathe between time on the court).

And tonight I am feeling really old . . . Stefan and I went out for a walk yesterday evening . . . our road is in bad shape from the harsh winters, and sorta slopes down along the edge (it is not flat, but higher in the middle). Anyways, while I was walking, I noticed that my left leg was taking deeper steps (like I was limping) because it was farther down to meet the road. I figured already then, that my hip was going to bug me today, and sure enough, after the first five minutes of floorball my left hip started aching.

Oy vey.

Where’s the heating pad?

Barb

randomness

2011-04-13T20:24:00.001+03:00

Just a photo diary of the last couple of days:

Floorball League Awards Ceremony

Sofia’s team . . . . she’s close to the middle, wearing jeans and a brown shirt.

Joel’s team . . . he’s wearing a yellow shirt.

Showing their medals (once we got home).

Flowers I received from the students in my adult English classes:

We are, actually, melting our way out of winter. The sun even came for a visit this evening:

However, there are still some Christmas lights that are stuck in the snow . . .

Barb

do you need a chuckle today?

2011-04-06T20:28:00.001+03:00

Our kids found this video today, and some parts of it had me laughing so hard. Apparently, it’s one of the worst music videos ever made (I tend to agree ). ENJOY!

Barb

history lesson

2011-04-05T22:07:00.001+03:00

It’s quite neat to live in a country that has such a rich, interesting history . . . a lot of which is the result of sharing a long border with Russia.

This evening, as a year-end field trip for my Tuesday Adult English classes, we went to the battlefield in a nearby town (Oravais).

Our lesson began outside the Furirbostället – Sergeant’s Residence which was built in 1733 and used as an officer’s residence until 1809 (I will tell you what happened in 1809 shortly).

Inside we were shown how the building was restored to represent exactly how it would have looked when it was built, displays of what life was like for the soldiers and the villagers, a miniature of the battlefield and a film about the historical events of 1808-09. We were also served coffee and sandwiches.

Some important facts in Finland’s history:

Finland was a part of Sweden for about 700 years (from the 12th to the 19th centuries) – that’s why we speak Swedish here in this area:)
During the Napoleonic Wars, Finland was invaded (1808) by Russia, at the time an ally of Napoleon I, in an attempt to pressure Sweden into altering its pro-British stance.
In 1809, one of the bloodiest, and ultimately the most pivotal battles, was fought and lost on the battlefield in Oravais. Sweden lost Finland to Russia, and the Swedish soldiers went back to Sweden.
From 1809 – 1917 Finland was a Grand Duchy of Czarist Russia.

And that’s your history lesson for today. Hope you enjoyed it:)

Barb

seven things

2011-04-02T21:32:00.001+03:00

I received a nice little surprise this week from an IRL friend who is also a blogger. . . . she sent me an award:

Thank you so much Sheri – it was a sweet thing to do.

Now I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself (and I will try to make them things not previously revealed on question blog hops):

I love Drama. I used to love being in plays as a child/teen in school and church. As a teacher, I loved putting on productions and sponsored the Drama Club for a number of years during my teaching career back in Canada.
During the summer after high school graduation, I went on a 6-week French immersion program in Quebec City. It was the first time I had flown or had been away from home for any length of time.
My digital love is video editing . . . I love making movies out of our recorded home videos and photos. Right now I am in the market for a new editing program since we have an updated computer – my old program is too full of flaws . . .
I have a hard time throwing things away/de-junking. My house (cupboards and drawers, mostly) is full of things that I don’t use/need/want but can’t bear to throw away simply because they were gifts. There’s too much sentiment attached to the items.
I hate the sound of people eating, and if I’m already feeling a little irritated, the problem is increased exponentially. I know this is my issue – not those who are eating.
I don’t like gossip. Especially in a small community where just about anything is fodder for people to talk about.
My favourite drink (besides a grande sugar free hazelnut extra hot latte from Starbuck’s, which I can’t get here), is Pepsi Max (Europe’s diet Pepsi) . . . thus, our dogs’ names:

Pepsi Max

And now I am supposed to pass it on, so here it goes to (in no particular order):

Stacy at Adventures with Aidan

Sally at 4 boys + 1 Princess = Crazy Life

Tezzie at Not Always Picture Perfect

Amy at To Russia – With Love

Phyllis at The Beadle’s New Russian Adventure

Some are new friends and some are old. Please stop by and have a visit! Tell ‘em I said, “Hi!”

Barb

things I don’t understand

2011-03-29T21:11:00.001+03:00

Take note, this is not a very deep, thought-provoking post. Just something that’s been on my mind lately.

I love me some good reality shows . . . Survivor, Top Model, Project Runway, Apprentice, American Idol and Amazing Race (which Ondrea and I thought would be really cool to apply for – our “schtick” would be that we are friends who have never actually met . . . but I don’t have a USA passport . . .)

So, sometimes, I’ll watch on MSN some recap shows of “what happened last night on TV”.

I find a lot of these shows entertaining.

However, there seems to be a whole crop of new reality shows since I moved over here, and I can’t for the life of me figure out who is watching these things. From the bits I’ve seen, they’re just crud. Please let me know if there’s something good about these shows that I’m just not understanding:

Teen Mom (and Teen Mom 2)

The Real Housewives (of most every major US city) . . . seriously, are these real housewives? . . . because I’ve never met anyone like that in real life.

Bethenny Ever After – I gotta ask . . . after what?

Why are these people famous?

From what I can tell, they mostly just act spoiled and behave badly/outrageously.

Why, as a society, are we encouraging this?

Ahh, I miss the old days when being a celebrity meant one had some talent.

And on that note, enjoy this:

Barb

wee bit of me wednesday

2011-03-23T22:42:00.001+02:00

{one} what was your first job?

I worked at a Canadian fast-food chain – Harvey’s Hamburgers. Pretty good food, but horrid uniforms – brown polyester overalls, orange & white gingham shirts and brown, orange & white hats.

{two} have you ever seen a stand up comedian?

Way back in the day (1988?) I saw Dana Carvey, plus some locals at comedy clubs. In about ‘03 I saw Jerry Seinfield. He was great

{three} when was the last time you played mini golf?

I really can’t remember . . . must be sometime in the last few years, though.

{four} what was the last picture you took?

A picture of the view from our balcony, for my other blog.

{five} burnt food: yes or no?

Yes! I love it:)

{six} if you have a pocket full of change, what do you do with it?

Either give it to one of the kids for doing a chore, or put it in a dish I keep on my bureau.

{seven} can you touch your tongue to your nose?

Nope.

{eight} do you scrapbook?

Yes, I have even facilitated some courses . . . but it’s been awhile since I’ve actually done some work in my own albums (doesn’t stop me from ordering stuff, though).

{nine} do you buy lottery tickets?

Every once in a while. Twice in the 5½ years since we’ve lived here.

{ten} do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it?

Behind it . . . I guess that’s why it usually looks like my family goes on vacation without me.

Head on over to Leigh Ashley if you want to link up and play along!!

Barb

it’s raining

2011-03-21T22:18:00.001+02:00

Not men ~~hallelujah .~~

When I left English class this evening (which I speak quite fluently, thank you very much, Tez), it was actually raining.

Do you know what this means?

Maybe, just maybe, spring is on it’s way.

Maybe, just maybe, we might be melting out of our snow drifts.

I’m afraid to get too excited, though.

I just may wake up to a fresh snowfall tomorrow morning . . . .

Barb

accident prone

2011-03-20T21:29:00.001+02:00

It’s been a busy week . . . what with work, parties, sports, activities . .

and x-rays.

Our oldest son seems to like visiting the local x-ray technician. Last Sunday afternoon, he and a friend were out snowmobiling and he got thrown from his.

The details were a little mucky, but he either landed wrong on his foot, or his foot was caught on something as he flew through the air, but here’s how his ankle looked last Sunday evening:

His fourth toe is fractured, and the doctor wasn’t sure about the ankle. She was going to have a radiologist read the x-ray, but we haven’t heard anything. He goes back in tomorrow for new x-rays. In the meantime, he has an air-cast and crutches.

And, as a stroll down memory lane, his other injuries . . . in reverse order:

July 2009 – he was biking with a friend and went over the handlebars, while we were visiting in Canada. Fractured collarbone . . . an expensive visit to the ER.

December 2008 – he tripped on a mat at school, and then a group of kids walked over him on their way to class. Broke the bone on the outside of his foot. This happened on the day before we went to Russia to bring Sofia home, so we had crutches to deal with during the whole trip

August 2006 – they were playing a game at school . . . Sam fell off a log onto the asphalt and fractured his elbow. Within 2 weeks of the cast being removed we got another call from the school to take him for x-rays again – he had fallen on the adventure playground with his arm between 2 boards . . . fortunately nothing was damaged that time.

At least he’s alternating between feet and arms

Barb

PS When the doctor showed him his x-ray last week, she pointed to some lines that show that he is still growing. (He’s 191cm now – that’s 6’3½”, an inch taller than his dad.)

drifting

2011-03-13T18:47:00.001+02:00

Some people already know from FB, but last night I had a wee accident on the ice driving home.

Nobody was hurt, and there’s no apparent damage to the van.

I was driving Joel home from a floorball tournament. He was in the backseat and Mattias was riding shotgun. At one point, about 15km from home, Mattias asked me if it was fun to drive. I said it was.

When we were about 1km from the house, we were going around a bend in the road, and the back end of the van slid to the right. As I was heading to the snow embankment on the left, I tried to correct the slide and then started heading over to the right side of the road.

Apparently, I over-corrected and drove into a snowpile on the right side of the road. So far in that I couldn’t open my door. The van’s back in slid along the road so I was sitting sideways.

Mattias got out and went back down the road a bit to alert any drivers coming around the corner while we waited for Stefan to come with the tractor and pull us out.

I went for a walk today and took some pictures:

Here’s Joel’s version of how it went down:

First I thought we were going to make it because it almost always happens that the back just turns like that but then it goes straight again. But then when you turned I thought you were going to go in the ditch but then you turned again so I thought you were going to make it. But then you turned and went in the ditch. But the drifting was fun.

And how was your day?

Barb

little sister

2011-03-06T20:02:00.001+02:00

Stefan’s little sister was just shy of her 11th birthday when I first met her.

In September, she turns 30.

But today, she participated in the biggest cross-country race in the world, Vasaloppet (Vasa Marathon) . . . . it’s 90km, classic-style (meaning they can’t skate-ski, but must do the style where the feet slide forward and the arms do most of the work). There was somewhere between 14 000 and 15 000 participants.

I am so impressed.

It was fun watching the race on TV, and keeping track of where she was on the course via the computer. She finished in 8 hours 12 minutes and 34 seconds. She was skiing for over 8 hours.

We’re so proud of her. This was a huge accomplishment. And, I have a feeling it won’t be the last time for her . . .

She has her own training blog here if you want to have a peek . . . but it’s in Swedish.

And, some background information on Vasaloppet (from Wikipedia):

Vasaloppet is an annual long distance (90 km) cross-country ski race held on the first Sunday of March in Sweden between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. It is the oldest, one of the longest, and the biggest cross-country ski race in the world.

The Legend:

In 1520, the young nobleman Gustav Ericsson Vasa was escaping from the troops of Christian II (king of Denmark, Sweden and Norway - the Kalmar Union). Much of the Swedish nobility was in opposition to the king, and had nicknamed him Christian the Tyrant. In a move to silence the opposition, Christian invited the Swedish aristocracy to a reconciliation party in Stockholm, only to have them (including Gustav's parents) massacred in what came to be known as the Stockholm Bloodbath.

Gustav was escaping through Dalarna, fearing for his life if he were discovered by the king's troops, when he spoke to the assembled men of Mora and tried to convince them to start a rebellion against King Christian. The men did not want to fight while escaping on skis, so Gustav continued toward Norway to seek refuge. He was caught at Sälen by two Mora brothers on skis. The men in Mora had changed their minds after hearing that the Danish rulers had decided to raise taxes, and they now wanted Gustav to lead the rebellion. On 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was crowned king of Sweden, having defeated the Danish king Christian and dissolved the Kalmar Union. Sweden has been fully independent ever since.

Barb

thank you SO much

2011-03-03T22:10:00.001+02:00

Thanks everybody for helping me out with my technical difficulties! It seems to have been either a problem with Live Writer (which I have re-calibrated), or a temporary glitch with blogger. Hopefully, it’s fixed now.

But, just to make sure, can I request (one last time) that you leave a comment on this post which I’m doing through Writer.

I’ll even give you something to comment about:

Introducing, How to Tan in Winter When You Live at Latitude 63+North

Step 1: Find a ideal location with good solar reflective qualities. A light-coloured brick wall directly facing the sun will do.

Step 2: Clear out the snow. Better yet, have your 13 year old son do it for you.

Step 3: Find a chair. Don’t bother trying to find one of the comfortable chaise/loungers. It’s too much trouble, and then you’ll have to put it away when it starts to snow again.

Step 4: Get a pillow or blanket to sit on so you don’t get a bladder infection.

Step 5: Get a big ol’ pair of sunglasses to protect your eyes from the sun blasting off the snow – your eyes are unaccustomed to such brightness after a ridiculously long, dark winter. (And don’t forget to wear a toque (that’s Canadian for woolen cap) because your hair is wet from the shower.)

Step 6: Enjoy a good book and some moments in the sun while you soak up some vitamin D!

Barb

PS. What you don’t see is first the water dripping off the gutter onto my knees and then later chunks of snow were falling off the roof onto my lap. I put the book away, but still sat there for 30 minutes anyways.

i need your help

2011-03-02T13:02:00.002+02:00

After about of week of not getting any blog comments (and, frankly, feeling pretty sad about it) I decided to look into it a little bit and found out people are having problems leaving comments.

So I'll go with that being the reason it's so quiet around here.

Anyways, as you may remember, our computer crashed. Now, we're running with Windows 7 (instead of XP), and I have had to reinstall everything. I've noticed a few bugs: 1) my blogger log-in page is in Finnish - and for the life of me, I can't get it to default to English (grrrr), and 2) Windows Live Writer (which I use for writing my blog posts) is a new updated version for 2011.

So, I'm wondering is Point #2 is my problem.

Therefore, I am writing this post the old-fashioned way through Blogger.

Please, PLEASE, leave a comment on this post (and also try the last few, too) so I can figure out what the problem is.

If it won't let you comment, please send me an email at barbiejane67@yahoo.ca and let me know . . . also tell me if you are using IE or Firefox as your browser (in case that makes a difference).

The silence is deafening.

Barb

a couple hours in the pit

2011-02-28T21:26:00.001+02:00

The ball pit, that is.

I took the youngest 3 to a playground-climbing-fun-house-type-thingy today. Our first time at one in Finland.

It was 65km away.

We got there about 20 minutes after it opened, and it was b-u-s-y. It got even busier during the 2 hours we were there. I guess everyone had the same idea as us.

Stefan’s sister-in-law and here family showed up a few minutes after us. Completely coincidentally.

The kids had a sweaty blast, and that was the whole point.

Happy Monday!

Barb

PS. Looking at the pictures you can’t tell how busy it was, so you’ll have to trust me on that one.

PPS. Sorry for the crummy quality of the photos . . . . I forgot to take my camera, but found the old one in the glove compartment. And, there’s no editing because I can’t figure out the new stuff I have on my computer since I got it back.

my oscar take

2011-02-27T23:50:00.001+02:00

For the first time ever, I have seen all the movies nominated for Picture of the Year. Here’s what I thought of them, starting with my favourites ad working my way down the list:

The King's Speech – Stefan and I both liked this film. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were great. I love period pieces. I know all the buzz is that it’s the Oscar favourite, and I hope it wins.

True Grit – This one is probably getting bonus points because it was the only one we saw in the theater, and that always makes movies better. I thought Jeff Bridges was really good.

The Social Network – I really enjoyed the quirky, socially awkward-ness with which Mark’s character was portrayed. I thought it was well written.

The Fighter – Generally, I liked this movie. I found some of the relationships hard to figure out. I think Christian Bale did a fantastic job (hope he wins for best supporting actor).

Inception – I was really confused at first, but by the time the concept had settled itself in my brain, I really liked the movie. I’m not really sure how Sato(?) went from being a bad guy at the beginning to a good guy, though. . . .

Toy Story 3 – Another great animated film. Joel has watched it many times.

127 Hours – I thought this was basically a pretty good movie, except for the parts when I had to look away . . . . plus, I was confused about who some of the people were that Aron was thinking about . . .

Winter's Bone – Just okay for me. The storyline could’ve been laid out better so the audience would have a better idea why the girl was in danger when looking for her dad. And, I understand he was “cookin’”, but was it ever known what exactly he was cookin’? Did I miss that? Or am I too naïve?

Black Swan – Sorry. I just didn’t get it. Too dark. Too depressing. And I had no idea what she was imagining and what was real. I didn’t like that. At all. But Natalie Portman will probably win Best Actress.

The Kids Are All Right – I was going to say I hated it, but that would be unfair . . . I could not get past the first 10-15 minutes. The sex scenes were gratuitous and explicit and not necessary. I turned it off.

Well, that’s my little opinion. I originally thought I might get up early to watch the Oscars live on TV, but as midnight nears, I’m thinking I’ll probably enjoy sleeping more and just read the headlines online in the morning;)

G’nite!!

Barb

breaks

2011-02-26T20:53:00.001+02:00

Well, I seem to have taken a week’s break from social media . . . I was off Facebook and Blogger this past week, sorta intentionally, but also just cuz we’ve been kinda busy.

We are now on Sportlov (Sports Break) – the nordic version of Spring break. I actually started at 1.15pm on Thursday (since I no longer work on Fridays). So far we have no real plans other than dental appointments.

Mattias went to a birthday party last night and spent 5 hours today at an outdoor event in a local village . .. sledding, snowmobiling, etc. Joel has gone to a sleepover at a friend’s house. Tomorrow, we’re expecting guests (did ya know that Teres?) when my broken and now fixed computer gets returned . . . I’m soooo dumb. I got myself a trojan horse on my computer when I was trying to find a good link for the last few minutes of a CSI episode. *banging head on wall* I know better than to just indiscriminately click on links.

Which brings me to backing up data: I had all photos up to September 2010 onto the external hard drive, so I started to panic a bit. Fortunately, I haven’t deleted pics on my camera since mid-November . . . so it would’ve only been about 6 weeks lost. But our co friend assured me he would be able to save everything on my computer:) Yay!

So, now I’m working on the old computer. Which is frustrating because the screen isn’t wide enough . . . I can’t see everything I’m typing.

And the spacebar doesn’t always respond.

I actually have to edit/proofread.

Back to our plans. I think I will wake up ridiculously early on Monday to watch the Oscars. They air at about 3am here:)

Stefan and I go to the dentist on Tuesday. Then, his niece’s 9th birthday in the evening.

On Wednesday, Mattias is getting more orthodontic work done – train tracks on the bottom.

Hopefully, we’ll spend some time with relatives visiting Monäs from Sweden.

Hmmmm . . . that’s about it for now.

Nice stream of consciousness, eh? (Do you like that touch of Canadian flair?)

Gotta go . . . Melodifestivalen starts in 8 minutes:)

Barb

happy friday!

2011-02-18T21:57:00.004+02:00

Stefan and I are in Helsinki for the weekend! His parents arrived home from their holiday in Israel in the wee hours between Thursday and Friday, so we took full advantage of available babysitters and took off for a couple days. Our main purpose is to go to the boat show tomorrow.

Here's something I haven't done for awhile:

1. Have you worn the same outfit more than one day in a row?
I'm pretty sure I have, but I can't remember exactly. Probably some days when I've just been at home, without any plans of seeing anyone outside the family.

2. If you had to choose any LARGE city to live in, which would it be?
Uhm, Vancouver, of course. The most beautiful city in the world. Except, maybe, when it's raining.

3. Fly or drive with the kids on vacation?. I choose driving. Anyone who knows me IRL knows how much I hate flying. Lately, I take prescription drugs for anxiety when flying, and while that is very helpful for me, it's not so helpful for anyone else in my travelling party:) I have actually looked into how it would work for us to drive to EuroDisney in Paris from here in middle Finland:)

4. What is your idea of "spring cleaning"?
Let me preface this by saying I hate cleaning, but I love me a clean house. In the spring, it becomes abundantly clear that the windows need cleaning, and I also try to make sure to get all the bedding done, including airing out the duvets and pillows, and I'll usually rearrange furniture while doing some thorough cleaning.

5. What is the best book you have ever read?
Just like Mama M, I love reading and getting totally engrossed in books while reading, but once done, I forget what it was about. This actually works out quite well for me because I can reread books on my bookshelf with only a vague recollection of the characters and plot:)

weird stuff

2011-02-15T22:54:00.001+02:00

Yesterday evening when I drove home from work the temperature was –29C/-20F. Yikes. That’s cold.

This morning (late morning . . . 11am) when I went to work, it was –23C/-9F.

Really? Is this necessary?

And, it was snowing. Just a bit. But seriously.

Really?

Here’s what that looks like (although you can’t see the snow falling):

It’s just as cold this evening . . .

So yesterday, I gave the kids each a small gift for Valentine’s day. Mattias got a bag of candy . .. about 350g . . . a mix of ju-jube-type candy, chocolate and salty licorice.

When I got home from work in the afternoon, I was greeted with, “Mom, we’ve got a problem. Max ate Mattias’s whole bag of candy.”

Well, except for the first few from when he opened the bag.

Max went into his room and took the candy off the desk.

Brat.

So, the rest of the evening we kept an eye on him . . . wondering if he was going to be sick all over the place.

Instead, he decided to play dress-up:

This morning I heard strange noises after the kids left for school. I jumped up and said to Stefan, “I think we’ve got a problem.” I assumed Max was into something again.

This was what I found:

Pepsi found the candy bag that Max emptied yesterday and got it stuck on her head.

And how was your day??

Barb

these days

2011-02-13T21:32:00.001+02:00

These days, we’ve been coping with the ridiculously cold weather. However, we have been blessed with blue skies, so that makes it MUCH easier to deal with:) Today was –27C/-16.5F . . . Wednesday was only –3C/+26F, but the very next day was so cold (colder than –15C/+5F which is the cold boundary) that Sofia’s riding lesson was cancelled. Yesterday was only –12C/+10F, but it was SOOOO hard to be out in it for 3 hours for Max’s second, and final, crate class. Sam and I were so cold.

Today is day 13 of my LCHF (low carb high fat) lifestyle. I’ve done pretty well . . . yesterday was hard when Sam and I had to stop and eat after the class . . . but I’m down 5 pounds (at least I was the last time I weighed myself). I’ve been getting lots of tips and recipes online. This is what I made for dinner on Friday night:

Feta cheese stuffed chicken with oven-roasted vegetables. Tonight I made spinach salad and pinenut meatballs with feta dip, but forgot to take a picture.

Friday evening, Mattias went to a Valentine’s Disco. It was at another school, about 30km/18 miles away. Most of his class went, so they were able to all go together. Fun!

When he got home, he said, “Mom, aren’t you going to take a picture of me?” So, here he is in´his disco-going outfit. He tells me the look is “Rocky-inspired”, but I haven’t seen the movies, so I don’t know . . . .

Anyways, hoping it warms up here soon. I’m really looking forward to spring!

Barb

wee bit of me, again

2011-02-09T20:32:00.001+02:00

{one} ice: crushed or cubed?

Cubed. For no particular reason.

{two} what is your worst traffic pet peeve?

Well, since I HATE passing on single lane roads/highways, etc., I’d have to say it’s all the tractors that I have to pass . . . Hate it. But I can’t drive 40kmh all the way to town.

{three} what room in your house best represents your personality?

The kitchen, probably, since it’s the only room that has been really renovated since we moved in.

{four} do you save old birthday cards?

Yup. I find them all over the place. It’s becoming a bit of problem. The kids have all theirs, too . . . in boxes with their school work, art, reports, etc.

{five} when was the last time you went on a picnic?

I honestly can’t remember . . . unless you count bringing a packed lunch to a soccer tournament and eating it on a blanket on the grass . . . then it would be last summer.

{six} do you regularly check your horoscope?

nope, never.

{seven} when you’re home, what do you wear on your feet?

Usually socks, but sometimes my “inside shoes” when the floors are dirty because I hate feeling crumbs on my feet (the crumbs are from Pepsi who will only eat her dog food in the middle of a room, never at her bowl).

{eight} what’s your favorite gambling game?

None.

{nine} have you ever written (or started writing) a book?

Yes, in high school . . . didn’t get past the first paragraph though;)

{ten} what is your favorite musical?

Joseph. Saw it starring Donny Osmond, circa 1997 . .?

If you want to play along, head on over to Leigh Ashley and hook up!

Barb

firsts

2011-02-06T21:18:00.001+02:00

This week has brought us a few new firsts . . . .

This is the first week of a new diet for me. It's been awhile since I've dieted, but some of the stress of the past year has let some pounds creep back up on me. In an effort to get back to my post-Atkins weight of 6 years ago, I'm trying the LCHF lifestyle. It's low-carb, and very similar to Atkins, but was founded by a Swedish doctor and I think it's easier for me to find food and recipes for it over here in Scandinavia.
Thursday marked the first time I have driven (myself) in a snowstorm/blizzard. The top speed I got to was 40kmh/25mph. There were sections of the road where I had no clue where I was, despite having driven the route hundreds of times.
Yesterday was Max's first class for his crate-training course. According to the instructor, he appears to be the most troubled by his crate so we have lots of practice to do before heading back again next Saturday.
Thursday was Sofia's first riding lesson. She liked it a lot, so we'll be going back again next week. It was cute to see her leading her pony out of the stable.

As you can see, it was snowing quite a bit during the lesson, but Sofia still had fun learning how to make the pony stop, walk and trot.

Barb

what i'm loving wednesday

2011-02-02T21:28:00.003+02:00

Here's what I'm loving this wonderful Wednesday . . . .

that the days are growing longer by about 6 minutes every day
that the temperature has been milder the past few days (-2C)
that the sun has come out the last two days to visit us
that nobody in the family has been wearing their "grumpy pants" much these days
that a teacher at the secondary school told me how awesome our oldest son is
that my husband is recuperating very nicely from his knee surgery on Monday

Hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday, too!

wee bit of me

2011-01-26T19:54:00.001+02:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve participated . . . time to get back into a blogging groove!

{one} how tall are you?

I used to be 5’9”, but apparently age has some shrinking effect . .. I’m 5’8½” now.

{two} besides bills, what do you spend most of your money on?

~~Ordering scrapbooking materials online.~~ Food. Easily.

{three} what are your three favorite websites?

Right now that would be SideReel, Facebook and MSN.

{four} what brand of tennis shoes do you prefer?

I have absolutely no preference. Whatever’s on sale.

{five} what food can you absolutely not stand to eat?

Fish. Which is ironic, since I married a fisherman (that’s what he was doing professionally when we met).

{six} How many pairs of jeans do you own?

Several. Most are too small right now – only 2 pairs are wearable – I’m hoping to fix that problem soon.

{seven} if you could have any job, what would it be?

I think I would like to work on a cruise ship:)

{eight} have you ever ridden in an ambulance?

Just once . . . waaaay back in 1987 when I was in a head-on collision . . . funny, I don’t remember too many of the details anymore.

{nine} how many pillows do you sleep with?

Only one – I toss the other 2 on the floor when I’m done reading.

{ten} on a scale of 1-5, how organized are you?

8. Ask any of my former colleagues. Some say it borders on OCD. However, in my own house, every.single.person.works.against.any.organizational.system.i.set.up.

Now it’s your turn. Head on over to Leigh Ashley and link up!!

Barb

love this kid

2011-01-25T21:42:00.001+02:00

Today, he got home an hour before me so he called his dad and decided to take his DS and go visit him at the farm (Sofia was already there because that’s where the bus dropped her off).

He jumped on his kicksled and kicked it the almost 5km to the farm. I’m impressed. I’m still hurting from my trip to the store on Saturday. Did I mention it was about –13C/8.5F? Why the cheesy grin, you ask? I told him to overdue the smile because the flash was making him close his eyes . . .

This evening he was doing his Finnish homework – trying to get through it without any help. But, he wanted to show me how he’s learning to do handwriting . . . he kept coming over to show me whenever he had a new combination.

Barb

it’s cold

2011-01-23T18:57:00.001+02:00

Well, it’s just been the usual around here . . . busy with work, school, activities, lighting candles because the heavy snow on the tree branches has caused the power to go out, shoveling . . .

We’ve had a few more snowfalls since the last picture post, so there’s even more of that fluffy white stuff;) the temperature has been all over the place . . . yesterday was only –1C (30F) and today has been –17C (1.5F).

Yesterday I needed to get some milk from the store, so I decided to get a bit of exercise and take the kicksled instead of the car (the local shop is about 1km away, and I didn’t want to walk and carry milk). The only kicksled we have is the one Joel got for his 5th birthday, so it’s a little too small for me.

(I have no idea who these people are, but you get an idea of the sizes of the kicksleds.)

It wasn’t really the best idea, because it was very uncomfortable to bend over so much, but I eventually made it to the store just to find out that the power was out and I couldn’t shop, so back home I went.

At least I got some exercise and fresh air.

Barb

snow day

2011-01-19T21:20:00.001+02:00

As I said earlier on Facebook today, we had 40cm of snow overnight, and awoke to this:

Max is not so sure about all this snow . . . .

At this point, Mattias had been the only one to walk the sidewalk . . .(he’s standing beside the far lamppost)

Sofia is about to “swim” out to catch the bus!

That’s one of our tractors, snowed in. And, yes, it was still snowing at this point.

My garden. Somewhere under all that snow are the Christmas lights . . .

At school. The roof above the door gives you an idea about the total snow fall so far this year.

Mattias and a friend in our driveway. Mattias is 5 foot 5 inches tall.

And that, my friends, is how our yard looks after the “4cm” snowfall that was predicted;)

Barb

christmas crafts

2010-12-29T21:16:00.001+02:00

Two weeks ago, we had craft day at school. All the teachers chose a craft to be in charge of, and the students got to choose 2 they wanted to complete – one before lunch and one after.

Here are the finished products in our home:

Joel made this “tomten”/elf. Mattias also made one, but it is on the outside door and it’s too cold for me to go out and take a picture. It says “Merry Christmas” in Swedish.

Joel and Sofia made these hand-dipped candles.

Mattias and Sofia made these clove-scented One of Mattias’ Rudolfs. Sofia also made them.

oranges.

Mattias made this light ball. Sofia and Joel also made them (Sofia’s is black and she gave it to Sam while Joel’s is red and he gave it to his grandma.

Have a great Wednesday!

Barb

PS – Stefan and I celebrated our 17th anniversary today:)

our christmas

2010-12-26T23:52:00.001+02:00

The days just fly by . . .

As usual, we celebrated a traditional Scandinavian Christmas on Christmas Eve at Stefan’s parents’ house. We got there in time to watch “Kalle Anka” (Donald Duck), which is a staple of the traditional evening. It is broadcast at 4pm, runs for an hour, and consists of:

Santa’s Workshop
Clown of the Jungle
Pluto's Christmas Tree
Mickey’s Trailer
Ferdinand the Bull

Small bits of these films are included as well:

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves
Cinderella
Lady & the Tramp
Jungle Book
Robin Hood

(I’m not really sure what most of those have to do with Christmas, though . . .)

Joel is watching Santa’s workshop.

Mattias, Faffa, Sam and Sofia are watching, too.

This year, it was just us and the grandparents. Stefan’s siblings all had other plans. Stefan’s mom made a traditional “Julbord” (Christmas table – meaning Christmas smorgasbord).

Christmas dinner in Finland usually includes: rice porridge sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, baked ham, meatballs, sausages (the cocktail weiner-kind), carrot casserole, rutabaga casserole, several sorts of fish (including pickled herring and dill cured salmon), potatoes (scalloped), salads, “julmust” (a soda drink that is a non-alcoholic alternative to beer, although some say it tastes like root beer, only sweeter, I don’t agree) and bread. Stefan’s mom usually switches out the ham for beef.

After dinner, we exchanged gifts with the grandparents, and then came home so the kids could open their other gifts (we didn’t have a “Jultomten” this year (you can read about who that is here).

I opted for a real tree from the forest instead of our artificial tree. I realize it looks more like a Charlie Brown tree, but I missed the feeling of a live tree.

Joel bought gifts for Pepsi and Max.

Max had chewed his broken by the end of the evening.

Mattias got new “trick” skiis and Sofia is jumping for joy.

On Christmas Day, we opened the rest of our gifts in the morning and then spent the rest of the day preparing a traditional North American Christmas dinner. All of Stefan’s family came, except his youngest sister and her husband (he was working, and she was with him).

The kids’ table (of course, I forgot to take a picture of the adults’ table . . .) You can see a bottle of the “Julmust” on the table:)

After everyone left, we called my dad and brother in Canada and had a chat with them. My brother was supposed to be here for Christmas, but his flight through London was cancelled last week. He’ll be coming the first week in January instead.

Well, that’s about all for now. I plan to post some pictures over the next few days of some of the things we’ve been doing the last two weeks.

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Barb

two years

2010-12-08T20:57:00.002+02:00

Two years ago today, we walked into Children’s Home #4 in St. Petersburg, Russia as a family of five, and left a few hours later as a family of six.

We have not celebrated, per se, this year like we did last year. The day has really been downplayed, actually. We’ve talked a little bit about it, but have not put a lot of focus on it.

You see, the last 7 weeks have been great, but for several months leading up to mid-October things had not been going so well. I don’t want to go into a lot of detail, out of respect for Sofia’s privacy. Since then, I’ve done A LOT of reading about trauma and how it affects so many things in one’s life and I think we’re coming to grips with things here in our house.

One of the things I’ve read though is that triggers bring back memories – and even if those memories really should be good ones (like finding your forever family), they can also be associated with bad memories (leaving everyone you know, not understanding what anyone is saying to you, etc.) and frustration.

Because Sofia came home so close to Christmas, I’ve noticed that there is an association between Christmas and that upheaval in her life. I’ve noticed that some of her more challenging behaviors are trying to make a comeback. But, I’ve also noticed that she is consciously trying to avoid making bad decisions (and I have become a better parent to her and her needs – I have become much more patient and understanding). (A friend recommended the following book to me: The Boy Who was Raised a Dog. I found it to be very helpful for our family!) She actually told me yesterday, “Ya know, Mom, sometimes when I’m mad and then I want to say something bad, now I think about it and then don’t do it.”

Anyways, the point of all this is that even if we don’t make a big celebration of it, we are so very happy to have Sofia here in our lives!

December 8, 2008 December 8, 2010

Barb

i’m a dork

2010-12-07T09:04:00.001+02:00

Last year, I posted (in a roundabout way) about how I missed the deadline for my permanent residency here in Finland. As a result, I had to start over from square one – first a one-year permit, then a three-year and finally permanent residency (unless I forget to apply again). . .

So, Stefan called me last night.

“Have you checked the expiry date on your residence permit?”

I dig out my passport. December 9, 2010. Dork.

Mattias asks, “Does this mean they’ll send you back to Canada?”

~~Me: “One can only hope.”~~

Guess I’ll be going to town today . . . .

Earlier in the day yesterday, I was driving with the 4 kids . . . they had been being rotters for awhile, so I made the comment, “It’s a good thing I haven’t decorated much for Christmas yet, because we don’t have to celebrate it.”

Joel, bottom lip quivering (which could have been totally just for the effect), asks, “You mean you’re not going to celebrate Jesus’ birthday?”

Yesterday was Finland’s independence day, so we had a holiday from school. It was nice to have an extra day to sleep-in . . . life has bee busy as usual. I received an email from my university professor that she received my papers (the day after I mailed them) and will read them when she gets a chance (?). Now, I just have to wait for the interview and then I’m all done:)

Barb

PS. The photos have nothing to do with the text, just some pretty pictures from last week when it was –17 Celsius (that’s 1.4 Fahrenheit).

done

2010-11-30T21:42:00.001+02:00

After months of ~~procrastinating~~ working hard, I have finally finished writing all the papers I was required to by the Finnish Board of Education (in my endeavour to have my teaching credentials recognized here).

These two papers are the last, and were taken to the post office today and sent off to my professor for reading.

Whew. I’m so glad that’s done:)

Barb

wee bit of me wednesday

2010-11-24T21:34:00.001+02:00

It’s that time again. Fun questions this week!

{one} what kind of camera do you have?
A digital Panasonic Lumix. But I really, really want a digital slr!

{two} you just won $1000 and you have to spend it on yourself on one item. what do you buy?
Ahem. A digital slr camera:)

{three} if you had to choose, would you rather live with your parents in the same house forever or 5000 miles away?
Tricky question. I live 5000 miles from my dad . . . Does it count that we all go and live with him for several weeks nearly every summer? Besides, I don’t know if he could stand us for much longer periods of time than that:)

{four} is your christmas tree up yet?
Nope.

{five} do you bring reusable bags to the grocery store?
Yessir. Grocery bags run about 0.18€ each (about 25 cents?) so it’s worth it to use reusable ones!

{six} which would be worse: listening to the same song on replay for the rest of your life or having to eat the same meal everyday for the rest of your life?
Tough one. I’m gonna go with the same meal.

{seven} name 3 things you are thankful for this season.
My family, my house and my friends.

{eight} do you dye/highlight your hair? if so, do you do it yourself or have it done at the salon?
Yes… usually at the salon! But, sometimes, in between, I’ll use a colour rinse to cover the gray . . . I LOVE getting my hair done.

{nine} would you rather watch a movie at home or at the theater?
The theatre! I love to take any chance to get out. And movie popcorn rocks!

{ten} would you rather win $1000/week for life or $5 million all at once?
$1000 a week. That would be awesome:)

Barb

we have ice

2010-11-20T11:12:00.003+02:00

I know.

You are already getting tired of posts about the weather. But, really, there’s nothing much more I got up my sleeve (poor English was intentional there).

We woke up to this, this morning:

(in my defense, I did try to make it a little more interesting by spicing things up with some Photoshop actions)

Mattias already is asking if he can go walk on the ice.

I don’t think so.

In an effort to distract myself from the weather (and put off working on those papers that are due very soon), I’ve been playing around on JibJab.

Enjoy. Starring Sam, Mattias and Joel.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Barb

old man winter

2010-11-18T21:23:00.001+02:00

Well, it looks like winter has officially arrived.

I was going to do a post on Monday about how it’s actually good to have snow now . . . reasons like:

the snow makes it appear to be lighter during these long, dark days of winter
it’s a little easier to see the road when the snow is piled up along the edge
I’d rather drive on packed snow than black ice

But then, it warmed up on Monday, a bit. And then it got colder again. That means the roads are now covered in slush that’s frozen again. Ya know . . . it’s like driving on a washboard . . . and if your tires find their way out of the ruts, who knows where you’ll go. Needless to say, I’ve been “white-knuckling” most of my driving these past couple of days.

However, the kids are enjoying it.

(it’s –8 C here, and she’s waiting for the school bus to come with her brothers so she can check if she left her gloves on it earlier when she had her ride home)

Sorta.

It was better earlier in the week when it was a little warmer and better snow for building with. It’s too cold now – the snow doesn’t pack.

Did ya know that they actually have a special word here for the kind of snow that makes good snowmen? Blidsnö.

Oh. And Sunday was Father’s Day in these here parts. Joel made a cake.

He did it all himself. It has a green tractor on it.

Right.

That’s all I’ve got for now:)

Barb

just in case you felt you didn’t know enough about me . . .

2010-11-10T20:43:00.001+02:00

My friend Tezzie participated in this last week, and I thought it looked like fun. Head on over to Leigh Ashley if you want to join in!

{one} do you collect anything? if so, what and how long have you been collecting?
I used to collect spoons, but since we moved here 5 years ago, the spoon rack has not been put up (it holds about 100). I started back in high school.

{two} what is one cleaning tip that you swear by?
Bleach. I don’t feel the house is clean unless it smells like an aquatic center.

{three} who would you call for bail money?
I’m pretty sure I’ll never actually have to call someone for bail money, but it would definitely be Stefan ~~and I would sure be in a lot of trouble~~.

{four} what is one thing you miss about being a kid?
Laying on the floor to watch TV. Seriously, way to difficult to get back up these days (and hardwood’s not so comfy, either).

{five} name a few of your guilty pleasures.
Nachos. Coffee. Reality TV.

{six} how early do you start your holiday shopping?
I like to start early, but then I forget about those gifts and proceed to overspend. Then, as Christmas nears, I remember that I stashed gifts someplace, but have a lot of trouble remembering where.

{seven} what is a family tradition that you would like to pass on to your significant other/children?
This is a hard one to answer because of our move across the world; our traditions are not so personal for our family, but reflect our mixture of cultures. When we lived in Canada, we opened most of our gifts on Christmas Eve like they do here in Scandinavia. Since we’ve moved here, we’ve brought over some of our North American traditions like Christmas stockings and an Egg Hunt at Easter.

{eight} what do you consider your greatest achievement?
My kids.

{nine} what do you do to pamper yourself?
Pedicures. Massage. Getting my hair done. Specialty coffee. Did I mention pedicures?

{ten} if you were to start your own restaurant, what would it be called?
Would it be terribly cliché if was something with the “holm” theme? Like “Holm Cookin’”? Yuck. That’s a terrible name for a Mexican restaurant, don’t ya think?

fredag’s mys (på lördag)

2010-11-07T20:41:00.001+02:00

Last night, Mattias was at a party, Joel was at a friend’s house and Stefan was at the farm, so Sofia and I had “fredag’s mys” on Saturday.

“What’s that?” you ask?

Fredag’s mys (translated as Friday coziness) is a concept here in parts of Scandinavia where family and friends gather on Friday evenings after a successful week and celebrate the beginning of the weekend with snack foods, takeaway, finger foods, candy, and watching television. According to ethnologist Charlotte Hagström at Lund University, fredag’s mys is a modern rite. It can also relieve stress. (I got that info from the Swedish version of Wikipedia.)

A Swedish chip company uses the concept to promote their potato chips:

Anyways, Sofia and I had fredag’s mys. I lit candles. We ate popcorn. We drank Root Beer. And we watched a video.

Barb

if not for the power lines

2010-11-03T15:13:00.001+02:00

These photos would be kinda pretty, I think.

I took them last week, but haven’t really had any time for posting.

The reflection of the rising moon was so beautiful.

I thought the lighting in these morning shots was so pretty.

You can see here that it was snowing that day.

Remember the fridge calendar I put up at the beginning of October? Here’s what it looked like when I took it down Monday morning . . .

btw, I have a second calendar (the company sent me another because the first one hadn’t arrived within its projected arrival date). Does anyone want it? People here don’t really want it because the Finnish week starts on Mondays, so it’s too confusing . . .)

Barb

s is for . . .

2010-10-24T16:21:00.001+03:00

Snow.

Which we seem to be having plenty of lately.

This photo was taken last week, October 14th.

Summer tires.

Which were still on my van until about an hour ago, despite the snow.

Santa Claus.

Who we went to visit this weekend.

Up at the Arctic Circle.

Sam didn’t go with us.

And, yes, it was snowing up there, too.

Funny story. While we were waiting for our turn to go in and see Santa, we were looking at the gallery of photos on the wall. Prominently placed was a photo of Conan O’Brian on Santa’s lap. Beside the photo of Finland’s president with Santa.

Finns are a bit obsessed with Conan (maybe obsessed is too strong of a word, but they are BIG fans). So, he came over for a visit a couple of years ago.

Barb

before and after

2010-10-17T21:48:00.004+03:00

Saturday morning: Saturday evening:

Now she can brush it herself (which is a huge bonus). It doesn’t show very well in the photos, but she got some highlights done as well.

Barb

PS - I should have mentioned that Sofia has begged to have her haircut for about forever, but I have dreaded having it done. I let her choose the length this time (the hairdresser, of course, knew enough not to offer it to be very short). If it had been left completely up to Sofia, she would have asked for it "above the ears".

oj! they were right about it

2010-10-12T22:46:00.002+03:00

By they, I mean the fine people at the weather bureau. By it, I mean the snow predicted for today.

That’s right folks, it snowed today.

Last night, at my English class, we were talking about the forecast. One of my students made a funny comment: “In Finland, we have 9 months of winter. And 3 months of not-so-good-skiing.”

This was what the kids delightedly begged me to look at this morning:

About 20 minutes later, while they were out waiting for the bus, Sam came running up the hill to announce something we couldn’t see in the dark . . .

Can you guess what Stefan is doing here?:

He is dumping the trampoline from the tractor scoop into the trailer. The strong winds blew it away during the night. It was about 200 metres down the road in a neighbour’s field. It’s garbage now; the frame is bent out of shape. Stefan says there were springs scattered all the way along the path it took, and some big gouges in the ground at places (it must’ve been airborne).

Speaking of strong winds, we’re running out of water:

For some meteorological reasons, the water level goes down as the wind blows in towards land . . . All that mud is usually underwater . . .

That’s all for now!

Barb

here comes the weekend

2010-10-08T19:57:00.001+03:00

So, last night I finished all the invitations! At the end I asked Joel to help – so he sat for over an hour and put the little “pillow-cushions” on the back of all the pieces I was putting on the front of the invitations. What a life saver! Otherwise, my fingers surely would’ve cramped up and I would’ve parked myself on the couch!

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada this Sunday. I’m sad. Turkey dinner is my favourite meal of all-time and i simply don’t have time this year to make one. Maybe we’ll make up our own turkey day later on this fall.

I realize that I forgot to post some photos of the weekend that Stefan and I went away to Sweden for some shopping and RnR, way back on September 12th . . .

We went to visit an old church village – walking around and looking inside the old Lutheran church.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day.

Unfortunately, I have no photos from inside any of the stores, IKEA, etc., or the flat of Root Beer we bought . . .

That’s all for now,

Barb

contrary to popular belief . . .

2010-10-05T09:09:00.001+03:00

. . . I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I have been incredibly busy. We have been incredibly busy.

And last week I was s.i.c.k. Well, not so sick I couldn’t do my job(s), but I had a stinkin’ head cold that wouldn’t let me sleep (despite the NyQuil) more than 4 or 5 hours most nights, so I was tired almost every day and my nerves were fried.

Fried nerves don’t cooperate well with a child who is still having PI issues and decided that last week was going to be a doozy of a week (I really don’t want to be specific about the issues because of said child’s privacy, maybe one day I’ll do a private post about it).

In the last 2 weeks I have been to 2 teachers’ professional inservices in the evenings (here in Finland, teachers must do 2½ of them every year on their own time – an evening inservice counts as a ½ one – there are no Pro-d days).

I have taught English classes at night, 2 nights per week. I have had a Scrapbooking workshop every other Thursday evening. Joel and Sofia have Floorball practices on Monday and Wednesday evenings. Luckily, we are blessed to have other families who are helping with the driving:)

Mattias went to weekend sports camp last weekend. That same weekend, I took Sam to the big city (Vaasa) so I could get my hair done and we could get him some new clothes. It was really nice to just spend a few hours with him. That doesn’t get to happen so often.

This past Friday, I took Joel and Mattias to another big city (Kokkola) to get a new printer and microwave. They also got haircuts because yesterday was picture day at school.

But, I was so excited yesterday to get a long-awaited package in the mail:

I just put it on the freezer this morning, so it is a blank slate – soon to be filled with all our events, colour-coded (of course). Also, on the freezer, you can see Sam’s, Sofia’s and my school schedules – they are there for Stefan . . . .

And, I have been working on a big project that I took on about 6 weeks ago – a friend asked me to make her wedding invitations. The design process took a while, and I have spent lots of time fiddling around on Photoshop and Microsoft Office Word 2007 (which has been lots of fun figuring out what these programs can do). The cards would probably be done right now, but I ran out of adhesive on Sunday night . . . off to town this afternoon to get more . . . (98 invites, 3 languages . . .)

The weather was nice on Sunday, and I was a little tired from sitting and cutting and taping, so we loaded the kids in the van and went out to enjoy some nature and fresh air:

I’m not sure why I’m feeling so overwhelmed this fall. I was working the same hours 2 years ago (autumn 2008 while we were waiting for our court date), but maybe it’s just that teacher prep is more prep than I had as an assistant, the invitations, the fact that Sofia demands a lot of attention and time, or the papers that I am writing (or should be at this very moment). I was so mad at myself last night when I forgot to take along my reading material for during the kids’ floorball practices:

Anyways, I promise to post a little more often, and get around to reading and commenting on others’ blogs. Soon. I hope.

PS. I don’t have time for photo editing, so the pics are straight out of the camera:)

TTFN,

Barb

what's the deal?

2010-09-14T21:12:00.005+03:00

This past week, I have started receiving a whack of spam comments.

Something new for me.

What's the deal? Is it spam through blogger or my email address that's attached to my account? Any chance I can stop it?

Stefan and I had a lovely weekend away. We spent one night in Luleå and one night in Haparanda. When we arrived home, the back of the van was full of shopping bags (and the 3rd row was folded down!). We got cheap stuff like shower gel, laundry detergent, bleach, etc. Things we can't get in Finland . . . like Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Root Beer, "pop tarts", "fruit loops", "cinnamon toast crunch", jell-o gelatin, Runts and weed & feed for the lawn (not allowed to use pesticides here). And some early Christmas shopping got done at lower prices. We also took a quick run through Ikea so I could get some recycling containers I have been coveting.

Yesterday was back to the grindstone . . and the workload has increased . . the schedule has turned insane . . . My adult English classes started last night ( and tonight) and Joel and Sofia both started FloorBall last night. This was how my day went yesterday:

6:20 - wake up and shower
7:00 - wake the kids
7:15 - write a list for Stefan about where he needs to be, what he needs to do, and when
7:30 - make sure everyone has eaten, brushed their teeth and looks presentable
7:40 - scoot them out the door for the bus & then finish getting self ready
7:55 - drive to work (the kids are already there by bus;.>)
8:10 - 1:15 - work, during which I have 2 unpaid prep blocks on Mondays
1:30 - 3:55 - staff meeting (it was long because it was the annual year-plan meeting)
4:00 - meet hubby in Munsala where he has driven the kids to meet me
4:30 - 5:30 - watch 2 of my kids at their first Floor Ball practice in Nykarleby
5:35 - drive the kids home, brush teeth and freshen up a bit
6:05 - drive back to Nykarleby and prepare classroom
7:00 - 8:30 - English class
8:35 - drive to grocery store to get milk and snacks
9:05 - home for the night

No, it won't always be that bad.

But, but man, was I tired today.

flowers, and things that go bump in the day

2010-09-09T22:22:00.001+03:00

Since Sunday, we’ve had some beautiful autumn weather around here, and I took the opportunity to get out and do some much needed weeding on Sunday afternoon.

If you remember, last year we had to dig new drainage around our house, so we’ve been doing new “landscaping” around here (I use the term loosely because we don’t really know what we’re doing). We put in a new garden at the front of the house and re-did the one beside the driveway. During the summer, we have slowly acquired new plant. So far, they all seem to be doing well. And, despite the fact that autumn starts to make itself known around here in mid-August, some of my newly planted flora are blooming:

Aren’t azaleas supposed to bloom in the spring?

As for the “things that go bump” . . . you see those rocks in the background against the house? While I was gardening, I found a dead bird there. The kids and I heard it when it smashed into the window a few days prior, but didn’t know where it ended up . . . For some reasons, birds often fly into our windows (and it’s not because they’re clean!) . . . there are actually some little feathers on the window by the kitchen table right now from a different bird . . . A while back, Sofia wished a bird would fly into her window. One did, that very day . . . and others since . . . those ones end up on our pallet sidewalk outside the front door. Mattias wishes Sofia would take back her wish now;->

btw, I think this is the kind of bird . . .

PS Stefan and I are off for the weekend . . . the kiddos are farmed out, and we’re going to use the time to recharge our batteries before the next few months begin. See ya next week!

Barb

my surprise

2010-09-07T18:51:00.001+03:00

On Sunday, Stefan was gone all day, handing out food samples at a Food Expo. He is on the board of the local fishermen’s association and a few years ago they devised a plan to do something with the tons of “junk” fish they had been catching – the fish no one really wants to eat. Anyways, they now have these fish cakes/patties that they’re marketing.

On his way home, he texted me that he had a surprise for me. I didn’t get excited until after I confirmed that it wasn’t fish-related.

This was what he brought me:

When we lived in Canada, I loved my crock-pot! But we had to sell it when we moved here – the whole different voltage, different contacts, thing, ya know? And then, I couldn’t buy a new one . . . because I’ve never seen one here before. This is something new (thus, the fella selling them at the food expo).

So, now I have a new crock pot to cook in. I’m really looking forward to it.

Anyone got any good recipes???

Barb

some things are meant to be

2010-08-29T22:22:00.002+03:00

After a somewhat difficult weekend, this video put some things into perpective:

Barb

a ride to the beach

2010-08-26T21:01:00.001+03:00

I think I have fulfilled my quota for exercise for the year;->

After dinner Joel, Sofia and I rode our bikes to the beach . . . I think it’s about 1½km to there from our house.

There, we walked around a bit and then rode home.

I have pictures to prove it.

Yeah . . it was cold . . . thus the gloves and toques . . .

Barb

it’s about time . . .

2010-08-24T22:10:00.001+03:00

. . . I came up for air and visited my blogging friends . . .

Life’s been busy as usual . . . I took the children to the zoo about 10 days ago . . . I wanted to make sure we got in at least one trip this year when the weather was warm . . . The day went really well, other than our picnic “fiasco” . . . we took along sausages to grill at the fire pit. However, the wood was all damp, and previous picnickers had put out their fires with water, so we couldn’t get them to roast. So, after being there for 40 minutes, we decided to not bother trying to eat them, and move along. About 200 meters later, we came across some gas grills and decided to go for it. Picnic #2:

Look out Gordon Ramsey . . . here comes Sam!

Waiting for the food to cook.

Beautiful spot for a picnic!

Last weekend I took down the swimming pool – not because it was getting too cold to swim, but because nature knew that Fall is coming and the Birch tree seeds are falling constantly . . . very messy. It’s a big job to take it down, dry it out and fold it up for storage, but it’s done (still have the cover to wash and store and the ladder to take down though).

School is now in its second week. For the first time, ever, I have no “first day of school” photo. Sam is in his first year of Senior High, Mattias is in his last year of Elementary, Joel is in 3rd Grade and Sofia in 2nd Grade.

I have also gone back to work. I’m teaching at the younger kids’ school. For lack of a better term, I’m the relief teacher – covering classes when the teacher is teaching somewhere else. I teach Sofia’s class one block a week (religion), Joel’s class 6 blocks a week – 3 of which are team teaching a large group that also includes Mattias’ class, Mattias’ class 6 blocks a week, and the grade 1’s 4 blocks a week. In a couple weeks, my adult English classes will start, as well as Scrapbooking. I think this fall may be a little overwhelming . . .

On the attachment front with Sofia, the summer continued to have ups and downs. In hindsight, it always seems so obvious that inappropriate behaviours are a result of insecurities that she feels, but as parents we’re still learning to work through these episodes in ways that are best for her and not the ways we expect to deal with it, or have always dealt with behaviours like these with the boys (read: we still haven’t figured out what we’re doing). Recently, after incidents, when the air has cleared and everyone has calmed down, Sofia has begun to ask us to tell her “her story”. She asks often why we picked her, why a girl, why not a baby, etc.? She loves to her about the first letter we got – our referral – and the info that was included (even though some of it was wrong – it said she had curly hair). She loves to hear about how we planned the first trip and then our thoughts during that trip. However, she doesn’t seem to have too many memories of it herself – she relies on our memories and the pictures/video. I think, for Sofia, this is her birth story.

I also think, that a lot of the extreme behaviours we’re seeing right now are coming to a head, and soon we may see the light at the end of the tunnel . . . I think this because of her wanting to hear her story so much.

Anyways, that’s all for now. Hope to check in again sooner next time;->

Barb

8 is great

2010-08-09T15:11:00.001+03:00

It’s been a busy week around here. Last Monday was my birthday, followed by Sofia’s 8th birthday on Wednesday. Between July 13 and August 16, Stefan’s family celebrates 8 birthdays (next year it will be 9 because grandchild #11 is scheduled to make his/her debut tomorrow).

It is still difficult for us to separate within Sofia whether difficult behaviours are a result of personality or PI. The time leading up to her birthday last year was extremely difficult, so this year we really tried to downplay it so the excitement wouldn’t be too much for her to bear (like last year). It wasn’t so easy though because from mid-July she had been asking how many days until we turned the calendar, how many days until her birthday, etc. I don’t need to go into details about behaviour issues, but it was a bit better this year, so hopefully it will be even smoother next year:->

Without further ado, some pictures:

We had the “friend party” in the afternoon, with 10 classmates. The plan had been to have an outside party – play in the sprinkler, swim in the pool, play badminton & croquet, etc. However, it POURED rain all day, so the party was indoors . . . and I had nothing planned. They amused themselves playing board games, Twister, and spying & running and shrieking all over the house.

I forgot to take a picture of the cake until after the first cut;-> Sofia chose a High School Musical theme. The cake didn’t turn out exactly hw I wanted because the icing was too runny and wouldn’t do as I wanted.

In the evening we had a party for the family. I made 2 cakes for that one. Again, the icing made problems for me on the Barbie cake . . . I couldn’t keep her out too long because her dress was melting off . . . a little risque for a family party;->

On Friday we went to a waterpark for the day. We had perfect weather!

Mattias

Joel (they come down this one HEAD first!)

MAYBE we can blame it on the sun melting the ice cream too fast?!?!

Almost everyone at the park screamed on this one – the boats came down SOOOO fast! (this is Mattias and Joel)

Sofia.

Yesterday we had a wicked thunderstorm right in the middle of the day. This is what it looked like at 11am:

One minute later.

Two minutes later.

Can you see the rain spilling over the gutter? bouncing off the driveway? It was w.i.l.d.

That’s all for now folks. Only one more week of summer vacation for us.

Barb

oh, bother

2010-07-31T22:05:00.002+03:00

Wow . . . so we’ve been back in Finland for 2½ weeks already and I haven’t posted anything! In fact, I haven’t really even been reading blogs . . . I have lots of catching up to do!

I will try to keep my ~~boring~~ words to a minimum, and mostly use pictures to give you the 411 on what’s been going on:

Kilmer Ladies luncheon at Denise’s house on a stinkin’ hot day! This group has been meeting for dinner about 6-7 times a year for almost 14 years. Once upon a time, we all worked at the same school together!

Tradition dictates that once a year, the Holm and deGraaf kids pose for a picture on Grandma Southey’s rock. So far, we’ve only missed 2008 (I think).

My dad taught Sam how to wash the gutters (yes, this is the man who recently had a stroke!).

Sam finished washing the gutters with Steve’s supervision and then washed most of Steve’s too.

Steve took the kids and Roseangela to the BC Lions season opener.

I gave the boys haircuts with my dad’s hair trimmer (we have since bought our own since returning home). The “mohawks” were just goofing around for the pictures – they were shaved off after photos!

Joel, Uncle Steve and Sofia. Family photo.

We spent an hour or so at Sapperton Park with the deGraafs before our evening flight.

Speaking of which, the flights home went extremely well. I am SOOOO happy I went ahead and took the anti-anxiety medication. It actually allowed me to even enjoy the flights. There was a young woman across the aisle from me who looked completely freaked out and was even crying at times. I’m not sure if she was scared of flying, or if she had something else on her mind, but Joel said to me, “She looks like how you usually look.”!

Sofia’s headphone jack was jammed, so Mattias let her move into his seat, and he went and sat on the other side of the cabin between 2 strangers. What a trouper!

The day after we got home, I had committed myself to sell homemade cards and hairbows at a local craft fair in our village (no pictures). Mattias made Coconut Balls to sell, and he and Joel also sold some old toys. They sold everything they brought and were so pleased with themselves! I think they’ll be willing to part with more of their ~~junk~~ stuff next time!

Joel and Sofia just took swimming lessons for the past 2 weeks, from 9:30-12:30 every week day! Sofia earned her “beginner’s badge” and Joel earned his “beginner’s and interest badges” and pins 25, 50, 100 and 200 meters.

We finally put up, and are using, the swimming pool.

I have written one of my papers for my Finnish teaching degree (while the kids were at swimming lessons). I’m just waiting to hear from my professor how I should send it to her. If you want to read it, I can send you a copy (hahahahaha).

Today we had the 10th Annual Monäs Rodden here in our village. It’s a sailboat race, and all the boats are old-fashioned wooden ones. The weather wasn’t so great, but many people still came. Stefan helped direct parking traffic and I sold coffee and doughnuts.

Well, that’s all for now . . . I have muffins in the oven and then I’m going to do some chillaxin’ . . . I’m all tuckered out! I’ll soon be making the rounds in blogland and visiting people again.

Have a good Saturday!!

Barb

privileged

2010-07-05T08:20:00.005+03:00

Today, we were priviliged to attend a performance by the African Children's Choir at our old church. It was absolutely amazing . . . such a blessing to see the joy on the children's faces.

A few pics (in reverse order;->):

Here are some other things we've done this weekend:
Sam is helping Dad wind up the extra line after we replaced his clothesline.

One of my little monkeys, Joel.

My other little monkey, Sofia (and some random kid who said "I'm good, aren't I?" after every trip across the bars).

happy birthday . . .

2010-07-02T08:38:00.004+03:00

. . . CANADA! 143 years and you're looking great (although we could've done without the rain today . . .).

We celebrated at the local park (Queen's, for those of you who want to know):

My post was going to end here, but something happened at bedtime which deserves mention. Those of you who have been around for awhile know that our journey through attachment has not always been easy. As can happen with adopting an "older" child, our attachment issues stem from our daughter's difficulty to trust completely that we love her, accept her and will never abandon her. There have been times when she has lashed out physically but mostly vocally. Last summer had been a very difficult time. Generally, there are waves of good days and bad days. And, it's the same between her and the boys. Without going into details, Sofia can say some hurtful things to them when she's mad.

However, as I was tucking her into bed tonight she said something that brought tears to my eyes.

Happy tears.

Something she'd never said before.

She said, "Mom, can you tell Joel that I love him?"

meet taco

2010-07-01T09:21:00.005+03:00

This is my Dad's newest chihuahua. He's had him for about 8 or 9 months, and he absolutely loves the kids:

My Dad was not doing so well on Sunday and Monday. He was very dizzy and very tired. He's feeling better now. In fact, this is what I saw this morning when I got off the phone with Stefan:
Yes, that's right. He was trimming his hedge with the weed whacker.

Yesterday evening we went to the park. Joel found a cool place to hang out:
Hope you're all having a good week!

summer daze

2010-06-28T09:34:00.004+03:00

Yesterday I met my good friend at the park with 3 of her kids and all of mine. A few shots of their good times:
Sofia, Sarah and Joel. What's a girl to do when she doesn't have sunglasses?
Clay and Sam, best friends since the beginning.

No photo of Mattias yet. He spent the afternoon in the pool. This morning he informed me that his forehead was burnt by the sun so he can't flirt with his eyebrows now because it hurts.

Dad had been doing quite well most days since we've been here, but today he was dizzy and very sleepy. He was in bed by 7 tonight, even after napping in the afternoon.

That's all for now.

Barb

safe and sound

2010-06-23T08:43:00.003+03:00

We have landed safely in Vancouver after a fairly uneventful trip.

I will try to make sure to post about how things are going. Dad looks pretty good, he came to the airport with my brother and our best friends to pick us up.

Besides Stefan, someone else really didn't want us to leave:
She spent about an hour there Monday evening.

long, long time ago . . .

2010-06-20T21:03:00.001+03:00

I posted, then disappeared.

A week ago we returned home from our trip to Sweden where we visited a zoo and Astrid Lindgren’s World with one of Stefan’s sisters and her family.

In Tiger World, they have prints in the cement depicting different “encounters” the tigers have had.

Troll Family.

The sign speaks for itself . . .

The Safari drive.

Pippi Longstocking.

Cousins.

Sleeping on the ferry on the way home (our cabin only had 4 beds, so Mattias volunteered to sleep on the floor [under the bunks]).

When we were about an hour and a half away from home, Sam called (he didn’t go on vacation with us) to say that my dad had had a stroke. He’s fine physically, as far as I know, but is having some difficulty remember certain words. He has been home from the hospital for a few days now and wants to see us, so the kids and I are flying back to Canada on Tuesday for 3 weeks.

Please pray for my dad’s health and for a safe trip for us (I really don’t like flying so I’ve already got the anti-anxiety meds out).

I’ll let ya know how things go.

Barb

skolavslutning (school year end {assemblies})

2010-06-13T20:28:00.003+03:00

This is being posted one week late because we went away on holiday to Sweden for 7 days.

Last Saturday was the last day of school for all 4 kiddos.

First up was the ceremony at the elementary school:

Sofia, reading her poem about summer.

Joel reading his summer poem.

Sofia and some of her classmates wait in front to receive their report cards.

I know the quality of the photo is bad, but I think it’s so funny that Joel and his classmates are already comparing their reports before they even sit down.

Mattias and his classmates. Mattias received another bursary this year (30€) for doing his school work responsibly.

Another bad quality photo (darn the point and shoot) . . . Sam and the rest of the Ninth Graders ceremoniously enter the room where the high school ceremony is held. They are the important ones this year as they are “graduating”. Grade 9 is the last year of mandatory schooling in Finland. After this they choose where they want to go next . . . senior high, technical school, trade school, etc.

Sam, receiving his report card from his teacher and the principal (as he towers over them). His report card folder actually contains all the reports he has through his school years in Finland. The final page is his high school final report, which takes into account all reports he has received in high school and looks at trends (has he improved?). This final report is what the schools for next year consider when deciding whether or not to admit students to their programs.

Sam’s class (the smallest one, at only 14 students). Of the 100-something students in Grade 9, almost all the boys wore suits.

Sam’s class.

The little ones in their new outfits. This picture was supposed to be taken in the morning, but because I had my time all mixed up and they missed the morning bus and I had to drive them, we didn’t have time for this picture until late afternoon . . .

Sofia’s Hairdo.

Thanks to all who left a comment awhile back on the hair blog to get instructions for the ribbon braid. I was going to do it, but Sofia ended up with more casual clothes and that hairdo was too fancy . . . so we’ll save that one for a dressier occasion!

Barb

PS. I think I’ll get my 20 000th visitor overnight;->

the russians are coming

2010-06-04T12:24:00.001+03:00

disclaimer: This is late in being posted because I left my camera in the hotel lobby, but it arrived yesterday in the mail!

Last Saturday we took a day trip down to Helsinki to meet up with a delegation from St. Petersburg. They were guests of our adoption agency, and we took the opportunity to meet them and send along some things to Sofia’s great grandmother.

First off, let me say that it wasn’t so easy. For days beforehand, Sofia was really uneasy about it . . . vascillating between wanting to go and not wanting to. There were behaviour issues, but at least we knew what was behind them and were able to deal with it a bit better. In fact, her and I made a little game of it – she would suggest that she’ll go back to Russia with them and I would vehemently protest, “You absolutely can’t do that! You must come back with us! We’d miss you too much!” She just wanted to hear those words repeatedly to reassure her that she wouldn’t be going back to Russia.

It takes about 6 hours to drive to Helsinki from our house, and we stopped at a mall a little over half way there to eat lunch and buy new clothes for the kids for the year end school assemblies. About an hour before reaching the big city, we stopped once more so I could do Sofia’s hair. When we were getting ready to leave, Sofia was very sulky and even ran and hid behind a sign. The discussion didn’t go very well, until finally she said, “I’m scared to see them.” It was a huge breakthrough that she could articulate her feelings that way and we could hug and talk it out. I was so proud of her.

We met them in the hotel lobby where they were staying, and once they arrived it was a whirlwind of conversations and details, etc. A rep from our agency was there to translate and it got very confusing with 4 languages: English, Swedish, Russian and Finnish!

Anyways, the delegation included G (who had power of attorney for us once we had agreed to meet Sofia for the first time – she was the one who ran around the city with all our papers), T (the children’s home’s Social Worker), the SW for the city (who spoke in court for us saying it wouldn’t work for Sofia to be adopted by a local family), another worker from the home who I thought was the music teacher (but I’m not sure) and another woman I recognized (I think she was a doctor, maybe).

Let me tell you, they were SO excited to see Sofia – of course, they called her Nastja, or Nastinka, the whole time. But, they were very aware of how these children feel in situations like this. In fact, without me saying anything, they told her they were going back to Russia the next day and she would be going home with us, not them – they were only visiting.

Sofia didn’t talk at all, she was so nervous. She sat on my lap mostly and played with my fingers. But she did nod or shake her head when asked yes/no questions. T brought some gifts for her which included a puzzle, some chocolates and some books from the Hermitage. Apparently, they had been on a field trip to the Hermitage and Sofia remembered.

She was happy to show them the things she made for her great grandmother (which T will take back to her).

She cross-stitched her name using the Russian alphabet.

She drew a picture of her with her great grandmother, then wrote “Nastja and Babushka Tanya” in Russian.

She drew hearts on the back of the picture.

I made a 36-page digital photo album for her – here are only a few pages.

We visited for almost an hour. As soon as we stepped out of the hotel, Sofia started talking again and sharing the chocolates. The ride home wasn’t as smooth as we expected (we thought things would be perfect now that she knew she was coming back home with us) – but in fairness, it was a long day and lots of driving. Sunday’s behaviour was pretty bad too – lots of testing.

However, on Monday morning, while getting ready for school, she said, “It was fun in Helsinki, right, Mom?”. She was talking about the visit, for sure, because we didn’t do anything else while we were there. And, each night we’ve been looking through a different one of the books she got. The text is in Russian, but we’re looking at the pictures and she’s telling me about the things she remembers, and I tell her what I remember from visiting the Hermitage in 1992.

Maybe one day she’ll be ready to go back for a visit, but for now we’re content with how things are:->

Barb