Midsommer's Eve

As a parent with small children, at times it is difficult to see the end, the beginning or anything in between. We had a lazy weekend, I think from sheer exhaustion, more than from anything intentional. It is hard to leave the house as a tired parent.... and hard to stay home as a tired parent. Going out has benefits for the kids, and staying in has benefits for the parents. Lots more to say about this, but Rowan is screaming in the background... what, another interruption from an offspring, no....!

This weekend was a holiday. It was Midsommer (Swedish for mid-summer). Friday was Midsommer Eve, and is a big deal. It celebrates the beginning of summer. Last year we went to Skansen, the open air museum. This year we went to Rob's co-worker friend's house. We went to the festivities in their neighborhood and then back to their house for this fabulous feast consisting of pretty much all fish, potatoes and schnapps (with drinking songs, to boot), how swedish! They have two children, one Rowan's age, the other is eight. It was great to experience this holiday with them. Here are some pictures:

On a car ride; Joel in the back, Calyxao and Saniya in the front.






Raising the Midsommer pole.

The people in the traditional dress lead the dancing.


Saniya and Rowan being cute.

Dancing around the midsommer pole.

Rob is traveling to France next weekend for a few days. Maybe he can say hello to you all before he goes... hint, hint.....

Yasmiene

Quote of the Day

When Saniya took a sip of seltzer water for the first time, she said "oooohhhh, it makes my eyes wrinkle".

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Pictures from the island of Grinda

On the Ferry. It was called the "Cinderella", ooolala.

Getting off the ferry on Grinda.

Rob and Rowan as the boat pulled away.

The ice cream boat that delivers to the islands.

Saniya with the sheep. The chicken coop and pigs are in the dwellings behind.

The crew making a sheep visit.

Rob and Rowan at the beach.

Two funny beach shots.

Never Ending Daze

These long days make me hazy, foggy, like one too many cups of coffee that are just starting to wear off. I love the light, don't get me wrong, but the long days mean so so so much to do with kids. It can be exhausting. This is definitely a country that comes to life with the summer. All the events and theme parks are in full swing. The islands are a maze of opportunity in itself. The city has tons of outdoor activities, parades, concerts and festivals, and then there are the normal going to the park things that offer extra activities in the summer. I think it has to do with the fact that the country works very little in the summer. All of July is basically a national vacation month. Then, it is normal to take extra time to do all of these fun adventures on top of taking July off. It is standard and encouraged to use your vacation time on, well, vacation. So, it is fun. But, as we feel our time is limited here we are trying to see things that we would not try to see all in one summer if we knew we would be here for, say, another five years. It is good, though, if this is my biggest dilemma in life right now; how to manage too much fun!

So, we LOVED the island; Grinda. Soooo relaxing and peaceful. Our cabin was great and there were great beaches for the kids. There was an awesome cafe right by the water with fabulous, yummy food. And, as important as the food, the atmosphere was perfect for having kids. Two thumbs up on a relaxing family get away.

Rob is gone this weekend. He is at a conference in Tällberg. It is in central Sweden, in the province of Darlana, and is very traditionally swedish, or so one says. Rob called this morning and concurred. He said "it is sooo classically swedish here." I said, "like what", he said, "you know the little red wooden houses and the old streets and our hotel is from the 1400's or something". Classic.

Saniya's school is out for the summer in two weeks. I think it will be all about parks and picnics during the weekedays this summer. I am looking forward to having her with me again. Even though it is a ton of work and she kills me with the "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy", not really to ask me anything just to kind of sing song it to pass the time. Then I have to pull the "QUIET, PLEASE, I heard you the first time" and feel bad because I remember when my mom used to do that to me. Ah, the full circle of life again. Anyways, that was a tangent. It will be a fun and busy summer. We will keep you posted on what happens.

A last note. Rowan is really talking quite a bit now. He was not really talking before, just a few words here and there, and just in the last week or two he is saying back everything you say to him. It is so great!

Yasmiene

Let's see.....

Let's just do a little update. It has been awhile. Rob's mom just left and we had a good visit. Seeing family is so important for kids to help them understand the outer world and their identity in it. Rob and I definitely feel the passing of the torch. We have become our parents, and our parents are the grandparents that come and are jolly, bring treats and extra fun! It is interesting to be reminded of the full circle of life. I think back to my times with my grandparents and relive it a bit when I see Saniya and Rowan with Mary or my Dad.

Rob is working a lot. He is excited about his experiments of late. So, that is good, but annoying as the partner that is picking up the kid slack. Rowan is still kind of a hand full. He is the middle of the toddler tantrum phase. He is exactly like those Huggies commercials where they look cute cruising around. Oh, but the farce of TV land. Really though, it is all manageable and we are healthy. That is the most important.

On that note, I kept Saniya home from school yesterday to go to the doctor. There have open hours everyday and you take your child then, instead of making an appointment. The wait was an hour. What a pain. Ok, so Saniya has been saying she needs to use the bathroom constantly for a few weeks. So, I thought I would check for an infection. The tests were negative and she is fine. But, I am reminded of her age, in that she is discovering gender differences and is really into her bodily functions. The doctor reminded me this is very normal for her age. We, then had to have a long talk about not saying you need to go to the bathroom if you are bored with what is going on at the time when we are out. Ahhhh, the perils of parenting.

We are off to Grinda, a small island in the archipelago, this weekend. We have a cottage there. It is a 1 km x 3 km island with no cars, beaches and lots of walking paths. We are excited to take the ferry there and just relax. There are cafes to eat in, or the cottage has a kitchen so we can cook if needed. Sounds perfect. Here are some pixs.

http://www.coolphotos.de/schweden/grinda/index.html

This site is German, I found a better site for pixs a few weeks ago, but can't find it now. That is how it goes.

One last thing is that today is National Sweden Day. Yeah! It is a new holiday (the last three years), but is to celebrate themsleves. These people have more holidays, I tell ya. Anyways, there is traditional dancing and singing in the old square in Gamla Stan (the old town), so we are going to check that out. Also, the park near us has lots of kids activities so we may get over there to check that out as well. We'll keep you posted on how it was.

Ok, check with you all later.

Yasmiene