Good morning?!
Gooood Morning!
So our dear wonderful mini's decided to make morning at 5am. Thanks.a.bunch.
Lilypops has gone back down, and has been out for about an hour now, and me and Maia have managed to watch Wall-E and we're now half way through Shrek. Snuggles on the sofa does make it more bareable lol, and so far the only hard thing has been deciding how much coffee is actually needed and what cup would be best....
Wish me luck for the rest of the day ;)
<3 Kim
This time in 2009...
...we had been parents to Maia Helene for 20 hours at 24mins!
What a difference a year makes....
...and two even more so- she finally has some hair lol =D
Now I have to say, as far as birthday weekends go, this one has been pretty good! Two days, three parties? Yes purrrlease!
Two of these parties were in honour of our dear first born, involving copious amounts of baked goods, tea and balloons. Balloons seem to be a fail safe for guaranteed fun in this house lol.
Saturday was the day for all of Maia's friends to come over and Sunday was family plus Lou. It feels like she is, bless her. And the ever fabulous Jonsson-Giles' with gorgeous Charliebear <3 Silly me, still suffering from the fog of childbirth it seems, sent the party invites via sms and to the wrong Tim...the shame!! Stupid. Charlie is very much one of Maia's little pals, but seeing the JG's on sunday was nice because we actually got to catch up, something that would have been hard with all the miniature persons running wild on saturday.
A lack of photographs could also be put down to afore mention fog, but actually, we were having far too much fun =) ..atleast we managed to film Maia blowing out her candles <3
I could never have imagined being where I am today, two years ago. I know , I know, proper cliche eh? but really, having gotten pregnant with Mark, and then engaged and planning our wedding, I felt very much like my life was sorted. I was happy as long as I was with Mark, and all his family being around and being so lovely really made things easy for me not having mum and dad around, or even Alex. Ofcourse I missed them, but I had a whole new part to *my* family that I felt very much settled and welcomed into.
And then we did what we did, as you all know ;) Upped-sticks and got on a plane for a new adventure!
These last two years have been awesome, happy and sad tears have fallen, scary and exciting things have been done, and (here's another soppy bit, sorry_ as I see Maia grow and develop into her own person, I feel she helps me grow as no one has taught me patience like that madam! haha little shite she is sometimes...I wonder where she gets it from? *shrug*
Little Lady Lily has been more settled over the weekend-she seemed calmed by all the hustle and bustle going on around her strangely enough. She's been so unsettled for weeks now, and our health visitor thinks she may have an intolerance to the milk proteins in the formula. We shall see. Its hard to get on with anything resembling housework when she constantly needs comforting, but we're gettin into the swing of things her being in a sling.
Its quite nice actually, but I do worry about her getting overly attatched and then having the nightmare of a cling-on insecure toddler? ...oh i am good at over exaggerating things in my head lol. I should be making the most of it, whatever comes my way. Lily may very well be our last mini Wilson, and I'll be damned if all I remember when thinking back, is how I wished time away. Yes, I have been guilty of that. Naughty mamma...tut tut.
You know, I started this entry with mind for it to be a light hearted and relatively short entry. Short and sweet and more regualr updates was my train of thought, but here I am again, rabbling on, and I have edited out about 4 paragraphs of twaddle already lol. I think having nosied around some other bloggs and seeing how most seem to be updated daily, and usually a few times a day, had me imagining that *I* could find the time for that...haha yes perhaps if i was really strict with my time management and only had to worry about what outfit to throw on, and what shoes go best with what. And always withthe shameless self-promotion with fancy photography and photoshopping. Some of these people are mums too, and obvisouly more accomplished than I ;)
I am signing off now I think. My head is a little sleepy, as inbetween the two Maia-orientated parties, we celebrated Johan's birthday too. Complete with babysitters for M&L and a few glasses of wine for me. Yum!
Hope you are all ok and have had fab weekends, any one started christmas shoppin yet??
<3 Kim
Rollercoaster
You know what? It's bloomin' hard trying to find the energy and the time to get this blog updated more frequently lol.
So where were we? Ah yes, a few weeks before Marks birthday. So lets see, what has happened since then...
Well first and foremost, Gran & Grandad came to see Maia & Lily! (and me and Mark ofcourse ;) )
As you can imagine, it was rather an emotional reunion. Mark and Maia went off in the shiny new car, which was cleaned within an inch of its life lol, to pick Gran & Grandad up. Leaving me and Lilypops at home, her snoozing outside and me pacing around, fluffing cushions, making sure Maia's bedroom was all in perfection with the guest beds made up, bathroom gleaming, and even boiling the kettle to pre heat the water so that it would be quicker to get the cups of tea done.
Maybe it was a touch OCD, a dash nervous energy, and lots of anticipation- but EVERYTHING HAD TO BE JUST SO ;) Team Wilson Jr needed to make a good first impression on Team Wilson Sr !
See, sometimes this housewifey thing does become me ;)
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't worried about how Maia would take to Gran & Grandad, after all, 15 months had passed since we last saw eachother. But thanks be to the wonderful Skype (small lie- sometimes it sucks with its rubbish connections) I think Maia just found it strange seeing them in person and not jsut on a screen, and I didnt notice her acting much different around them by the time they got back home
" Hmmm...how the heck did they get from the computer screen to my car?! "
For Mark's birthday we took a trip up to Ekorrsele, where he does his river rafting, and had a lush meal consisting of moose and root vegetable bake. We had hoped to do a bit of a guided tour, going along Vindelälven to the various rapids my dear husband likes to throw himself into, but ofcourse, the weather had other ideas and it was pretty grim with lots of rain. Miserable weather didnt make for a miserable birthday thankfully, and we all scoffed and enojyed every second of the meal; Maia, ever the adventurer, devoured that moose like it was a scrummy cupcake. That child plain and simply, loves her food.
Well back in Holmsund, there was birthday cake and whiskeys all around (well almost) and plenty of jibes about reaching old age! Poor Mark, dont think he got too much of a complex about it hahaha
Lily's christening was going to be the highlight in the week for me, a chance invite all the great friends we have made to share ( cliched as it sounds) and celebrate our new darling daughter. And yes, it was a lovely day, but to be perfectly frank it was also very difficult.
See, you get prepped for the issues and struggles with having two kids to a certain degree, but I dont think you fully appreciate how hard it really is until you are there, crying with frustration and anger. Frustration, because I know this! I have been here! Anger; why aren't you like your sister? why isn't this working for you but it did with her?
Things that seem rational and obvious just dont seem the enter the train of thoughts. Because she is her own person perhaps? Oh yea, thats true. D'oh. How on earth did that not even occur to me? I dont know. I know it now, I remember that now, I feel that now.
That last part, ''feeling'' that she is her own person, has been the most knee-jerking thing ever. For that was a long time coming for me,that realisation.
It sounds ridiculous doesnt it? How on earth does a mother not realise that each of her babies are different people? Heck, it goes beyond common sense to know that! Really, being a mother doesnt even come into it, its basic human instinct surely lol?
" I'm a cheeky little monkey me! "
I will bet, that if you are a parent, you will have at some point have felt guilty. Heck, I'd even go as far as to say that you dont know the true extent of the word until you have a sprog or two. For nothing, can be compared to the anguish when you realise that you have in some way failed your child. It's horrendous, jump off a cliff kinda bad, gut wrencher of feeling. And our oldest isnt even 2 yet...oh what joys we have to come ;)
Now that, as mentioned above, that thing called guilt, is why Lily's christening for me, wasn't the best it could have been. I mentioned in a previous entry that we've been having some fun and games with Lily and feeding, and it was the culmination of all the stress and frustration surrounding that, which made me a rather miserable cow.
Some of you will understand this, and others wont. This part of the blog is rather mum orientated, I do apologise.
The plain truth of it, breastfeeding Lily was making us both miserable. The poor mite wasn't getting enough. We were both frustrated. I read up on the net about different teas to help things along, taking supplements, getting prescriptions from the health visitors, doing feeds from both boobs, alternating boob/feeds; you name it i tried it.
Ok, maybe thats an exaggeration because I literally cant have tried it all, but I did my best, it still wasn't happening, and this made me a rubbish mum. Imagine that, failing your child in the most basic of things - especially when we girls come pre-equipped for the job lol.
Trick me once, shame on you, trick me twice shame on me. Deja vu or what. I hadnt expected to feel as bad as I did, leading up to the decision about sticking Lily onto bottles. After all, had been through the whole process with Maia, so this time I was prepared for the fact that things dont always go smoothly. Obviously not! So how can I grieve something I never experienced? I'll be buggered if I know the answer to that one.
“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one”
Aaand breahte! Self-discussion over, thanks for making it this far guys ;)
This entry turned into more on a confessional I guess, a bit if free therapy if you will lol. The main thing is that all the Wilson's are happy, from the biggest to the littlest. Like I mentioned earlier, Maia isn't even 2 yet, so we have lots of fun and games to come, lots more guilt & frustrations. But I know all of the ''bad'' things are going to be insignificant compared to all the great times that we are going to have! <3
Take care all, and enjoy your weekends what ever you are up to. I know we will =)
<3 Kim, Mark, Maia & Lily xxxx
there be a change..
It’s a strange thing, becoming a parent. Perhaps the most life defining thing to happen to you. Whether you are single/ married/ other, surely we inevitably go through the same feelings and motions in those first few weeks of our precious child’s life? Then how come, now that we have done it once, does it feel just as daunting, epic and terrifying as it did when we first brought Maia home from the hospital? Aren’t we supposed to know it all already?
As if the lack of sleep isn’t killer enough, poor little Lilypops seems to be affected by the nightmare that is colic. We think. It is possible its more related to feeding, but that is an on-going in house investigation. Update to follow. This whole past week has been a blur of crying and feeding, if we weren’t doing one, we were doing the other. Difficult as hell trying to see to a (very) demanding baby, and looking after a toddler too. And guess what? It all starts the day Mark returned to work…lucky git!
Mark certainly was a happy boy today- he FINALLY got to go rafting! The poor thing has been a slave to the pregnancy, and therefore not having had much of a chance these last few months of summer to go up the road for a bit of wilderness adventuring and being all manly. I am very grateful for the consideration his bosses have shown, but I’m pretty sure Mark would say he’s been frustrated ;) Boys and their toys and what not. Whilst I’m at it, a bit of shameless self-promotion in a condensed action packed movie…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiP3s-S3DLM
Now, afore mentioned husband turns 25 in a little under two weeks, and I’ll be damned if I’m not having a challenge when it comes to his birthday present. For once, when I know EXACTLY what I want to get, there is a whiff of conspiracy of fate that is preventing me in getting EXACTLY what I want. Bless, I bet you are reading this, Mark, and probably wondering if what I am saying is true, or if it’s a ploy to throw you off the scent and pretend like you might not get what you want. So which is it? Stay tuned.
Dear mother and father in law shall be arriving a few days before Marks birthday, and we seem to have a fully packed schedule for the weekend. We’ve a special birthday dinner and trip for Marks birthday on the Friday, bestest Charliebear’s first birthday and party on the Saturday and Lilypop’s Christening on the Sunday. Mmmm I can taste all the yummy fika already <3
In fact, the whole autumn is pretty busy for us. Michelle and Frederik are here visiting from Denmark right now, then they leave this coming wedns, and the inlaws arrive the following wedn. When they leave there’s only a few days until GeeGee (great gran, ‘’GG’’) aka Nana, arrives and by the time she is due to go back its only a couple of weeks until Maia turns 2. So lets not even mention how quickly Christmas is coming up ;)
Right folks, thats is about all I have the time and energy for this time =) Hopefully as we settle into our new routines and life as a foursome I shall be better able to manage my time and get on here more often ;)
Much love to you all, and hope you're all having a good weekend
<3 Kim, Mark, Maia & Lily
and then there were four...
Good afternoon!
Today is day 6 at Casa Wilson with the newest edition, Lily Elizabeth.
Currently, there are two little girlies happily snoozing away, and Mark and I are enjoying a spot of lunch and a well deserved cuppa! Seems like I finally have some time to update you all...
Things were rather quiet on the home front as you may have noticed, the days leading up to our due date of 24th Aug where full of anticipation and expectations. A bit of teasing from some braxton hicks, a few tears of frustration and a lot of sulking that this little bubba wasn't ''behaving'' and turning up when she was ment to!?
Second babies aren't ment to be late, especially since number one was pretty much on time, bar 29mins. That was my reasoning anyway. Poor Mark, the grief he got those 7days we were over due...I'm suprised I am still married!
Imagine, the relief when things finally started happening for real... then almost instantly followed by a stark realisation and a mental ''oh sh!t'' moment when I get smacked by waves of emotions and memories of what is still to come!
Actually, my first thoughts when I woke up, just after 1am, was ''great, here we go again! another sleepless night for nothing'' as I had by this point resigned myself to the belief that I was going to be pregnant forever. I can't remember how long before I woke Mark up, but I did make myself a cup of tea and a sarnie before jumping in the bath, which was utter bliss.
After getting out of the bath, we made another cuppa, mosied on in to a cosy-lit living room and started half-heartedly timing the contractions whilst chilling out to some nice music. And bouncing on the gym ball. Always on that gymball...was blimmin' relieved to see the end of that yesterday when we let out the air I tell thee! After week 37 I spent, sorry, wasted, too much time and energy bouncing on that thing to try and bring something on ;)
Anyhoo, so around 3am we decide to give mum and dad a tinkle to pre warn them that it was looking very likely that they would be needed for Maia duty. About 45mins after the cavalry arriving, and a bit of nagging from Mark and mum, I phoned labour ward to say that we might be on our way shortly as contractions were between 4 and 6 mins apart and lasting for more than a minute. I didn't really think, or want to believe, that things were happening, I mean after 12 hours of labour with Maia I was only open 4cm, so now after 3 hours I would hardly have made much progress... plus the fact that the contractions weren't painful to the point of crying which is how I remembered them from last time.
The very nice midwife on the phone, May, thought it best we pop by for a check up, as she doesn't ''trust you second timers one bit''. Cue mad dash by Marko for the car seat and bags and loading them in car, whilst I got more appropriately dressed, and then a swift drive to town. Arrival time at labour ward approx 4.45am.
Bibi met us at the entrance, another very nice lady who showed us into a delivery room and then nipped out to get the midwife, May, who we spoke to on the phone. A quick bit of monitoring on the CTG, with plenty of gas and air at this point, and an examination later, I cried with relief when we found out I was open a good 7cm already!! Go Team Wilson GO!
Now I don't actually have any concept of time for the rest of it, and neither does Mark. Though I can remember being a bit disappointed that there were no birthing pools available haha. Even so, I was told, there would be no time for any of that and I would have to make do with gas and air. eeeeek!
And then, finally, at 6.10am on thursday 1st September 2011, Lily Elizabeth Wilson came into the world
So far, things are going good. We are managing to get a decent amount of kip , tag teaming during the day, and trying to fiugre out the new dynamics of being a family of four and all that entails. We have even managed a trip or two out and about, although not very far or for too long hehe. We shall save that for when the weather is a bit nicer as currently it is very windy and wet outside- proper autumn! Bring on the cosy jumpers and darker evenings I say!
I think I shall leave it there for now, seems a rather long entry as it is lol.
Take care & until next time!
<3 Kim, Mark, Maia & Lily
Let's bake and eat cake!!
What you are about to read below will give you an idea of how hard it really is to live in a country such as this...
Fika is both a Swedish verb and noun that roughly means "to drink coffee/tea/lemonade," usually accompanied by something sweet.
Definition
Fika is a social institution in Sweden; it means having a break, most often a coffeebreak, with one's colleagues, friends, date, or family. The word has quite ambiguous connotations and can mean anything from taking a break from work or other activities, to going on a date - always including something to eat accompanied by a drink, such as cookies, cakes and even candy. This practice of taking a break, typically with a cinnamon roll or some biscuits or cookies, or sometimes a smörgås or a fruit on the side, is central to Swedish life, and is regularly enjoyed even by the government.[2]
Although the word may in itself imply "taking a break from work," this is often emphasized using the word fikapaus ("fika pause") or fikarast ("fika break"), with kaffepaus and kafferast, respectively, as near synonyms. Fika may also mean having coffee or other beverages at a café or konditori (a "patisserie-based coffeehouse").[3]
Traditionally, fika requires sweet, baked goods, especially cinnamon rolls.[4] According to Helene Henderson, author of The Swedish Table, one needs three items minimum to avoid insult to Swedish guests; "to impress, serve a variety of seven freshly baked items--and be ready to talk about the weather."[1]
Fika is also combined in words such as fikabröd ("fika bread") which is a collective name for all kinds of biscuits, cookies, buns, etc that are traditionally eaten with coffee. Non-sweetened breads are normally not included in this term (even though these may sometimes be consumed with coffee). Fika is also used as a noun, referring to fikabröd and coffee combined.
I figured I'd share some of my recipes, and as we all know, I am not a Delia, Nigella or anything remotley resembling a master baker, BUT, these recipes work for me and if I can make them work I am pretty darn sure the rest of you can too! So, here goes...
Sockerkaka; aka sponge, literally - sugarcake.
225g butter ( usually the packet will have little measures by 50g on them so use that as a guide ;) )
3 eggs
2.5 dl sugar
4 dl flour
2 tsp (teaspoon) baking powder
Preheat oven to 175-200C and leave cake for about 30-40mins (if baking isnt your forte, like me, it might take some guessing as to which temp your oven works best with and then you know how long to keep it in for etc )
Easy peasy ; add all the ingredients together BUT melt the butter first! Doesn't matter what order you add them in, as long as the butter is melted hehe. First time I did this I couldn't quite work out how the cake was gonna turn out with lumps of butter in it...muppet me!
Once all ingredients are added together pour into a greased tin (having used butter) and put in your preheated oven for the required time. Me finds middle of the oven is our best bet =)
Kladdkaka; aka chocolate mud cake, literally gooey cake
150g butter
2.5 dl sugar
1 dl cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla sugar
2 eggs
2 dl flour
Preheat oven to 175C, baking time 12-14mins
Again, simples! Make sure you melt the butter and mix it all together and add to your tin.
The whole point of this cake is for it to be messy; hence the name gooey, and its pretty much a fail safe option and really is quick and easy to whip up and get in the oven ready for your second cuppa when you have guests around ;) Or, perfect to finish off after having guests for dinner as its always a luxury to have homemade dessert. Top it off with some whipped cream and maybe even some berries. We like just the cream. Dont over complicate ;)
Chokladbollar; aka chocolate balls, literally chocolateballs!...please, no Chef jokes ;)
100g butter ( ROOM TEMP, not melted this time )
1.5 dl sugar
3 tbs (tablespoons) cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar
2 tbs water
5dl instant oatmeal
Mix the sugar and butter together first then add the rest of the ingredients. Roll into little balls and then, roll those little balls in pearl sugar/ coconutflakes / or those colourful little sprinkles and you are done!
Right this will make you around 35 balls or so. Amazingly good to freeze and defrost, so if you fancy being super domesticated, double all your ingredients and you shall have a nice stockpile for when friends and family pop over and they shall be oh so impressed!
If you want to spice things up you can exchange the water for coffee, or different liquoers =)
So there you go guys'n'gals! my three ''go to's'' when it comes to baking hehe. Am about to try my hand at a cake I made for dad last week again, will post the progress and pics, this one surely is death by chocolate as it requires TWO whole chocolate bars. YUMMY!
Happy baking everyone! Let us know how you get on =)
<3 Kim
the waiting game...
So this is the first update in a while... I wish I could tell you we've been up to all sorts of fabulous and thrilling adventures, but we haven't.
We've actually been taking it rather easy and chilled out, borderlining extreme boredom at some times haha, as dear little Maia passed on her horrid cold and I really took a knock! Out for best part of the week with dear Marko even having to take time off work to be at home to take care of Maia =) Bless him, he really does know how to look after us! <3
Mark is very busy working on the house, its starting to look really smart now. Nice new wooden stairs leading to front door rather than the horrid concrete ones, and the balconies are off, new cycle shed up, old one down, new paths made out ( not quite done yet though) and tomorrow they start working on the final side that needs to be clad in wood. We've even aquired some amazing and rather large plantpots that look ''oh-so-fah-bhu-lush'' and very very pretty =D
Had a mini practice getting to the hospital yesterday, when I experienced some really not very nice pain in the side of my tummy, that didnt let off for just over an hour and we were advised to go in just to check on things.
Being hooked up to the monitor was all very reassuring as everything is A-OK, as good as can be with madam and she's even partly engaged now which is a bit of a whoop whoop! Also, showed some promising signs of a few mini contractions, though very irregular, but least it is a start!
So, the first thing on the agenda when we got back home was for a bit of a kip, spot of lunch and then a jolly good tidy up! Only thing that isn't done to a satisfactory level is the laundry, but least the floors have been properly mopped and bags are all packed waiting with the carseat ;)
Today I am off to see the midwife again, after last weeks appt little lady still wasnt in a satisfactory position so we troopered off for another scan ( yay ) which showed her to at least have been head down. And now, after yesterdays adventure things are defo where they should be =)
I am hoping after my mini ''mini breakdown'' last week and discussion about all the fears of her not engaging and ending up with a section etc etc, the midwife might take pity on me and do a sweep as appears to not be so common (sorry, bad use of word for lack of a better) as back in the UK until AFTER you hit 40weeks, and we are 39 on wedns. Also, here, I will not be classed as overdue until gone 42 weeks. Crazy sh*t.
Methinks that is all for the moment, a very quick summary of what is and has been going on at Casa Wilson =)
I shall endeavour to update a little bit more frequently haha, it's just sometimes hard to write about doing sod all and chilling out ;) Not that I am complaining about that my friends!
Hope you have all had great weekends and aren't too disheartened about it being monday again already! You never know, hopefully we might all have something to celebrate by the end of the week <3
Much love to you all, take care!
<3 Kim
reflections
So, this is somewhat unusual. It's sunday evening which means its the end of the weekend; the second in a row where we haven't really done much, seen anyone, or had any plans. It feels a little bit strange to be honest! Maybe it shall do us good, though I doubt it will become the norm haha =)
This week in general hasn't been very ''normal'' - Maia has actually been poorly and off nursery with a stinking cold and eye infection and successfully managed to make mamma and daddy poorly too! Mark and Maia are ok now, but I'm still suffering and feeling more miserable than usual ; glad there is only 4.5 weeks left until D-Day!
Speaking of which, I am now officially on leave! Feels great knowing I will be able to take things easier and at my own pace ( or as much as I can with Maia in tow + the cold I have at the moment ) but it also feels strange to not be going to work tomorrow.
It feels different to going on maternity leave last time. Back then, it was a relief, a big whoop-di-whoop at finally being on the home stretch to becoming a mother, romanticising about beautiful lazy days spent with my newborn baby, becoming a yummy domestic goddess, having coffee with friends and being oh-so-good at socialising my little bundle at all the playgroups to avoid the dreaded unsociable monster child that can't be taken anywhere...
The rose-tinted spectacles are well and truly off. My dream of being that yummy mummy domestic goddess ,that not only bakes and cooks her husband a lovely meal each night, but does everything with gorgeous hair, polished pinkies and a killer outfit, is gone. Not so much gone perhaps, but taken a turn down the more realistic path ;)
I don't enjoy cooking. I rarely paint my nails. And the definition of a killer outfit...well, put it this way, like all new mothers experience after the first flush of newness, a little bit of sick on your jumper, or a loving cuddle turned snotwipe on your shoulder, isn't the end of the world.
It will be an interesting journey, transitioning from mother of one to mother of two, our fabulous family of three to four. One I am very much looking foward to, without as much dread as I had anticipated. After all, twice the amount of kids = twice the amount of love.
I wonder how Maia will take to it all. Not alot of things seem to faze her, she takes it all in her stride bless her :) If anyone has any tips on how to best deal with any jealousy issues please pass them on ;) Personally I think she will make a great big sister, but ofcourse I am biased!
Mark is really looking forward to watching the kids growing up, interacting with eachother, ganging up on us, and seeing them becoming their own persons. He's already planning for when he takes them on their first rafting trip, and can't wait to show them and teach them all the practical things that he loves. If they turn out even half as good as their daddy with regards to practical things I will be one more than proud mother <3
This weekend I have been reflecting alot on our lives and the directions they are going in. I'm sure I am far from alone in doing this, after what has happened in Oslo and Utoya. Our thoughts are with the poor families affected, words just seem to fail when trying to describe how hearing about a situation likes this makes you feel. I hope that man wakes up to reality and is tortured by his guilt for the rest of his life, and maybe then he can have an inkling of the pain and suffering he has afflicted on so many people. Loser!
Hope all is well with everyone, take care!
<3 Kim
nesting, creating, livin' & learning..
After my midwife appointment yesterday I've been feeling a whole lot of things, tired mostly. It's ever so exciting knowing that we are now only 6 week away until madam is due, and hearing her little heartbeat thudding away is as amazing everytime as hearing it for the first time. Can't believe these 9 months are almost up!! Just wish the next few weeks will hurry the hell up and for everything to be a-ok. Turns out, she is very comfortable lying sideways, even with the midwife trying a little bit of gentle pursuasion, she was wanting to stay put.
I'm not sure what the guidelines are back in the Uk, as it was never an issue with Maia as she was engaged from very early on, but here madam has until week 36 to turn the right way else it will be a more than gentle pursuasion to try and get her the right way. Funsies. Cue then, an already emotionally charged mother, thinking the worst and imagining all sorts of worst case scenarios involving a c-section! gaaaaaarrrrrghhh!!
Now it all feels rather silly, trivial even, seeing it written down in front of me. I do know that the main thing is that we are both happy and healthy and growing as we are ment to. But I figure, an over active imagination never did anyone any harm ;) ...and anyway, life is about learning and living through whatever is thrown at you, and this can all be put away with the rest of the luggage we accumulate over time =)
Mark has been very much engrossed in his new bit of stuff...a Canon EOS 1100D no less ;) He's been out and about here in Holmsund honing his photography skills and having plenty of fun mucking around shooting pictures of Maia, who loves it as much as daddy does! With all these possible new masterpieces, I shall have to find some more wallspace to display it all. I already have a collection of frames waiting to be filled with pictures of our foursome...
Maybe this one will be one for the wall, we're also trying to get the hang of PS CS5 to be able to edit the photos all nice =)
Mark was very pleased with this shot, I call it beginners luck, he says its a latent talent of his coming to life ;)
I think this weekend will be devoted to taking more shots, perhaps I will get a chance to play too and try be all artistic like my wonderful husband. He really deserves an award this week for putting up with me! I tried making it up to him by cooking some dinner this evening, but I never seem to make it taste as good as he does?! Saying that, he enjoys it, and i endure it. It's one item on my to do list- not to necessarily enjoy cooking, or even like it, but to not hate it would be a start ;)
Maybe that will be a weekend project too!
Whatever you all may be doing, hope you enjoy your weekends! Mine starts tomorrow ;)
Take care & love to all,
//Kim
Hello world!
Created firstly as a base and more personal area to keep our friends and family updated on our new lives in northern Sweden, but who knows what it may turn out to be !
We hope to chronicle our journey that is now about to start after our first year here, settling into jobs, nurseries, and preparing for the much longed for arrival of darling daughter no2, due August 24th =)
This first year has been a real adventure; for Mark more so I would think. He's taken on the challange of learning a new language, doing incredibly well, and I think maybe he suprised himself with how blimmin' clever he actually is!
He's gotten his full Whitewater Rafting licence, spending lots of time away in Ekorrsele which has also introduced him to the varied and beautiful wilderness of the wild north. He's munched on moose/elk, reindeer, fish caught fresh from the river he rafts, and learnt abit about authentic nordic cuisine. He's also got himself a skidoo licence, so a snowmobile is now high on the wish list!
His next project involves a turn to the artistic rather than the practical... perhaps the creative side of him was stirred when we had our intensive sewing phase, which has been somewhat put on hold as he & I both are very busy now over the summer months!
It's been a big year for Maia since moving here, she's learnt to crawl, walk and even talk! my oh my, where the heck did the time go?!
To be fair, it would have been a big year for her anyways ;) The whole process of growing up, every month, week even, bringing a new challange and phase for her, learning new things all the time.
We were so incredibly lucky when it came to the time of her starting nursery. Originally, she was in a queue for the nursery along the road that we live on, but they are a very popular nursery, so she got a temporary placement with a childminder who also lived near by.
As chance would have it, her childminder had led a swenglish life herself for some time, so knew through personal experience what it is like trying to raise a child with more than one language. I had been a bit concerned with how Maia might have been percieved if she was babbling babyspeak in english rather than swedish and been labelled as ''slow'' !?
I needn't have worried though, its fascinating to see her carrying out tasks whether we ask her in swedish or in english, and listening to her speaking is great =) There isn't a massive range in her vocab as of yet, about 15-20words, most she knows in both languages and to me, thats pretty great!
For me, this year since last july has been one big rollercoaster! Especially in the last few months....
Pregnancy the second time around hasn't been as easy as when we were expecting Maia. Nausea up until week 18/19 and juggling work with a busy homelife and energetic toddler = more tired and emotional mamma this time around! I am incredibly grateful that I have such a caring & considerate husband haha, thankfully he's not told me to bugger off and that he's sick of me =)
I got to start off gently into the role of being a working mother, puzzling together working hours as to when I could get a babysitter for Maia, which was shared between my dad and brother thanks to their flexible working days. Over here, the parental leave is very different from the Uk, and therefore it's almost unheard of for a child needing to be in a nursery/childminders before the age of one, I think the average is around 18 months once mums and dads have used up all the available days to stay at home.
It was really fab having the chance to ease myself into it, so once it came to Maia starting with her childminders at the end of november I felt ready to start working fulltime again. Now I have only 2 weeks left until I go on parental leave, and I am well and truly on the countdown as working during a hot summer heavily pregnant is taking its toll haha, lovely swollen feet that ache all helps that special glow you're supposed to have ;)
Take care friends, much love to you all =)
<3 Kim