Why the long break???

I was pretty much burnt out the past spring and summer. I think work has took it's toll on me, since I didn't have the desire to do anything. But the summer was good to me, and my mom and brother visited us in Stockholm, so I was refreshed and focused again to go through the daily hustle.

I'll probably summarize the summer with some photos and captions.

But for now, I need to bury my face in a bowl full of chocolate and candy!

Pooper Scooper

Perry likes to take off his diapers. At first I was very excited, because this is the first sign when a child wants to start potting training. Perry is 22 months old, so he is the perfect age to start. But of course this is Perry we are talking about. This child is a slow when it comes to talking. He can only say a handful of words yet, he chooses almost never to use them. When he does try to speak, it sounds all muttled and it is hard to recognize if you are not used to the sounds he makes. Oh yea, you tell him "No" he starts laughing and continues. If you say "come here" he starts laughing and sprints away. You start getting mad and tell him he is a bad boy... he laughs. Weird child.

Anyways, last night as I was trying to get the bath ready. The tap was on, Perry was naked, I was trying to fetch the other boys to come and get ready... and after a few minutes...I find Perry squatting on the bathroom floor, scooping his poop and smearing it with a plastic shovel. I was horrified because it was everywhere! Plus, the tub was already full with hot water, and I didn't want to waste it...so I had to carry Poopy Perry down the stairs to the guest bathroom and hose him down.

Can't wait until summer where he can be naked all the time and run outside to poop. haha!

I think Poopy Perry will be a good nickname for him.

Tired of Shovelling

This winter is not only giving Sweden a bad rep, it is really freaking cold! No sunlight, snow covered everything, and all the frost and ice we have to scrape off our cars every morning...I say, it's ENOUGH!

I only have a driveway that fits 1 car, and yet I have this gigantic mountain-like snow pile in front of my door. I can't back the car out of the driveway without freaking out that I'll ram into an on-coming car. A month back I posted a pic with Elliot in front of my snow pile...and now it has doubled in size.

Please Sweden! Start having snow days...it exists and needs to be implemented here! It bad enough my husband had to sit on the commuter train for 3 hours to get to work...but when I can not drive up a hill after dropping Morgan off at school, there is a limit.

OK Spring.. ready when you are... come to me MAMA!!!!!!!

Laminate flooring.

After a total of 2 hours of removing baseboards and moving the furniture in and out...it took an additional 2 hours to click in the new laminate flooring in Perry's bedroom. We found a good laminate that resembles our hardwood floors on the first floor of our house. It took us a year later to continue our flooring projects. Those hardwood floors sucked our budget dry! We figured laminate flooring is a good alternative to the real thing in the bedrooms since there isn't as much wear and tear in those rooms.

I swear those floors are hot...but boy, did my butt hurt afterwards. I was so sore that I felt like an 80 year old. I haven't had this much pain since the first week of Volleyball training of every new season. haha! Jennifer Lopez, watch out! After doing the next 3 rooms, my ass will be HOT!

One thing that is terrible about laminate flooring is the chipping in the corners of the panels. Always buy an extra box of flooring because you will have mistakes and damaged panels. Sucks I know, but that is what you get for budget flooring.

Farmville, for reals.

I love my Avocados, so I am trying to grow my own little tree. I thoroughly searched the web and found the toothpick method, so I am trying it out. I have a few more pits in moist towels in a plastic bag, hoping they will grow roots and germinate.

I also got pineapples and mangoes ready to go. Will post up pics of them soon. Hopefully I will have a tropical rainforest in my living room, but I doubt it, since of the lack of sunlight during the winter here. We'll see how the little project goes.

To be continued...

Semlor

How can a piece of bread with almond puree and whip cream taste so good? That is a Swedish Semla. There is a special day where we eat these little suckers, and boy...did we pig out. Apparently, in the good old days, Swedes would fast, and these little treats helped break the fasting period. Some people put them in a shallow bowl with some milk, but I haven't tried that yet. I just like the quicker way, by stuffing them in my mouth in a few bites without dropping the whip cream on my lap.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Dengjang Jigae

Perry loves rice and korean food. It's so funny since he eats several portions of food. I made dengjang jigae last week and he ate just as much as I did. If anyone really knows my eating habits, they know I can eat like a freaking pig, so I was really impressed with Perry.

The rices flies across the room and he loves it! Plus he is picky about his rice. Basmati and jasmine rice is ok, but Korean rice is the best! He doesn't like how it sticks to his fingers but he can really swallow down bowls of it.

Inexpensive fun.

Buy a kid a $100 toy, and after a week, they get tired of it.

Give a kid a blanket...Priceless.

My kids like to make a tent and play underneath while they are watching Disney Playhouse. It's really cute the first few minutes after the initial fighting to find the right place to hide/sit. Maybe it isn't a great idea when you stick 3 kids under one small blanket. Even worse, when Perry stands up and knocks the whole thing down. =)

I got a few good shots of the boys, so I wanted to share.

You know you're in Sweden when...

...People become glad when the weather is warmer by 5 degrees.
Instead of -20 degrees, it was -5 today and people were saying how much warmer it was!
Dude! If the weather is below 0, it is still freaking cold!


I am so sick and tired of the snow. Driving to work is hell, and all the shoveling is making me so sore. We have a snow pile in front of our house that is almost as tall as I am! I swear, all I see is white, and I think I am getting cabin fever! Sooner or later Polar bears will migrate south and come to Stockholm. haha!

I long for warmer weather, although the thought of my pollen allergies is making me nervous. They have been really severe the past few years. Maybe it is aggravated by my old age!

Here is poor Elliot watching me as I shovel.

Swedish employers shun foreign grads: study - The Local

Out of my frustration of finding an appropriate job for my skill level and intelligence, I stumbled upon this article in an English Swedish newspaper.
Over the past few years, I have had great difficulty in finding a Design job since the economy is very unforgiving at this moment, and also since my profession is very specialized and there are only a handful of jobs to accept.

I moved to Sweden thinking, "Hey! It is Europe, and I am really well educated, with good language skills, and heck! Everyone can speak English here." Even my in-laws were very supportive telling me it shouldn't be a problem finding a job. Alas, reality hit me, as any immigrant coming to America would find.

A. My skin is Korean, so they assume I come from Korea. I say I am American, yet everything I experienced proved otherwise.

B. I am a woman with 3 kids, so in my male dominated profession, it never goes well. I had an employer at an interview who specifically asked me if I had kids and he replied, "That's not good."

C. Everything needs to be on paper; If I were to take on another profession in Sweden, I would have to have a Swedish Education (the linked article goes into detail about that). It doesn't matter if I wanted to be a person who painted walls all day. I need a certification for that job.

Swedish employers shun foreign grads: study - The Local

Racism also plays a nice role in this wonderful equation.
Here is a perfect example.

In Sweden, when you are unemployed, you must register yourself to the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsformedlingen). There they take your credentials and appropriately help you find a job which matches your skill set. Since I have an education in the Arts, I was sent to a special division of this Employemt Service. The advisor I had, kindly reviewed my resume, and exclaimed, "You have studies many languages!" Disregarding that my Swedish is really good, my design education, and I speak fluent English, she directly points out that I can speak Korean. She told me how rare it was and how easy it would for me to go work in the tourist area of the Old Town and work at a souvenir shop for Korean tourists. I was furious! How racist can you get? I never returned again to this Agency.

In America, pride in your profession is encouraged. In Sweden, a job is a job, and just to be working and paying taxes is the main key. I believe one driven factor is that if one is working, then the government doesn't have to pay out unemployment benefits.

These articles always get me steamed up! haha.

Also, if I plan to study I would have to take Swedish A and B (High school courses) to be able to continue to a college level. These 2 course would take at least 2 years, plus what ever time it takes to get my college degree. I'll be almost 40 by the time I finished. So depressing.

*sigh*

Free Laptop.

Thanks to Morgan's creative talents, we now own our new FREE laptop.

It's a Toshiba too.
Too bad there are manufacturing issues with the keypad.

=)

Crocheting is hip

Since I started working more hours and have the kids alone during the weekdays, I have been mentally tired. The day is long, there are so many mundane chores, and I needed a fun outlet. Thanks to a good friend of mine, she willingly showed me how to crochet. I always loved working with my hands, so this was a great opportunity to make some fun stuff, as well as relaxing at the same time.

Did you know I spent hours watching crocheting tutorials on Youtube??? That is when Youtube really fills a purpose, since it is hard to find someone to sit down for several hours and teach me.

I usually crochet at least an hour before I sleep, while the kids are down. After that hour, Elliot always wakes up, then Perry, so it is not much time to get anything else really done.

After making lots of hats that look like ice cream cones, I successfully made 2. Now I am trying to make some doilies which is really awesome. So far I made 6. They are not perfect, but I am very proud of them. I am looking forward to using them for Tea time. So shabby chic. haha!

Next project...making potholders!

New Years 2010

As tradition goes, we went to our usual friend's house for New Years to celebrate. It was a great evening with great food, great company, and even more Kids than usual. Our count was 12 children.

We have been doing this the past 6 years now, so everything is down to a science. The children ate first, and while the food was still being prepared/warmed, we went outside and lighted some fireworks. The bad part was that the weather was extremely cold so lighting the fireworks was a task, since our fingers froze.

Finally the adults got to eat, and what a fest it was! Lobster bisque/soup with homemade raisen bread and parmasan. Then we had beef fillet with mashed potatoes with an artichoke sauce and veggies. For desert we had chocolate ganache??? I forget what it is called. But it was good. =)

Anyways, it was a great party, and the perfect way to start the new year.
Hope everyone had a great one too!

Lucia

The 13th of December, we celebrate Saint Lucia. I am assuming it is a Catholic tradition, but really, I do not know. It is confusing since there are Pagen and protestant traditions, but anything with a Saint, is usually Catholic. The weird part is that the Swedish Church is protestant. Anyone know?

Anyways, we have Luciatåg, meaning Lucia train. There are four figures, the Gingerbread man, Saint Lucia, Santa Claus, and a dude with a big duntz cap with a star on it, called Star Guy. haha.

Lucia bears candles, and everyone follows and they all sing Swedish Christmas songs.

It's really cute with all the kids, but the more I think of the thing, the weirder is seems.

Here are the kids, Elliot is the Gingerbread man, and Perry is Santa.

Morgan was with me watching the whole show. =)

Winter chicken.

All three of my children has worn this hat in the beginning of winter. It is so ugly, that it is AWESOME. It really is a bad cruel joke that everyone thinks is cute.

I wanted to post it up since I love winter hats with pom poms, funny things that dangle and good old kitsch.

Have a good laugh, and enjoy the cold weather.

Holy COW!

My in-laws annually order beef from a farm up north. It's great since the animals are treated well, and there are no weird chemicals or what not. It's pretty eco friendly. They have been doing it for decades, and now we ordered some meat for the first time. I had no idea how much we were getting. I still get confused when people talk about kilos and not pounds. So we got 2 huge boxes filled with meat. The first box had different cuts of meat, and the second was ground beef.

Now brace yourself, I am talking about a whole box of just ground beef. "What does that look like?" you ask?

Here is a pic. It's a little blurry since Perry kept on trying to jump in the box and touch it.


I was overwhelmed at the amount of meat. Still am.

Sick day Tally.

In 4 weeks, the kids have been home for 3 weeks. 1 week in daycare.
I feel like November and October has just flew by and got wasted, which isn't so bad since winter in Sweden is dark and dreary.

2 weeks of the flu and 1 week with a stomach flu or some kind of food poisoning. I am exhausted and waiting for the sick season to end.

I am longing for December, so Advent can start and we can decorate. Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here, so all the stores are pimped up with Christmas items already. I am planning to sew some fun Christmas themed curtains (which I've never thought was necessary, but lots of people do it here). Christmas is a big deal here, and there is SO MUCH tradition.

I just hope no one will be sick again anytime soon, I am slowly getting grouchy with all my whining babies. haha. Need some Christmas cheer. Or a big fat Turkey.

The quest of a dry bed

Day 1.

It is a disaster!

5pm Last drink of water.
8pm Peed in his lined nappy pants. LOTS
10pm Peed. (In the toilet since he refused to sleep in his bed. He knew tonight was different and couldn't sleep)
1am Peed in his Nappy pants again in bed. Kim tired and exhausted, put on pull up diapers.
8am Elliot woke up, and his diaper is wet.

Where does all the liquid come from????

Swine flu vaccine under age 3.

On Sunday I went to take Perry to get his Swine flu vaccination. They offer it once a week in my town, since the supply is low and they are trying to be fair by giving it out in batches. Apparently the week before it was chaotic since people waited in line for hours to get the shot. This Sunday I thought I would be smart since there were only 500 shots, so I went to the clinic 1 hour early. To my surprise, there were hundreds of people already there. The line was so long, that it curved around the mall. Did I mention it was raining too?

I stood on line for almost an hour when someone asked me if Perry was getting vaccinated. Apparently, the information was wrong on the internet and they were not vaccinating children under 3 since they had no life saving devices if something went wrong. No one was informed and there were only families with small children there. I was pissed. They could have put up a sign.

It's almost like watching a bad movie...people are starting to panic here since there are not enough vaccine to go around and many families with children are still not vaccinated yet.

The thing that pisses me even more off, is that we already got our shot, but at the time, kids under 3 couldn't get it. Now a week later, they changed their mind. Today I read the paper and they are discussing it over, that maybe it is not safe. What the hell???

Housekeeping Tip #10: Bleeding laundry

If you got a new pair of jeans, or a nice red sweater, and you don't want to waste water and energy by washing it separately. You can use salt so the color won't bleed out. In general you can use salt for all bright colored clothing, or just your regular color load.

Add it to you detergent when you put it in the washer. I use about 1-3 tablespoons depending on the size of the load.

The salt will also help clearing out the chalk in the water in your machine. Chalk build up does suck, and kills your washer... so use a little salt once in a while to keep it kicking!