Can You Spell Insanity?

I just finished a paper - many to go. I am taking 6 credit hours in 8 weeks, online. I always thought online classes were easier - until now. Ha! This was sort of planned, as I am embarking on my Master's Degree. What was not planned was Mark having to work 16 hour days, AND Saturdays and Sundays, for precisely these 8 weeks. This has gone on for 2 weeks now. I am feeling it. This morning I put Isak and Elina in charge of the overflowing sink. They did a good job, though the floor was wetter than the sink when it was done. 

All in all, it is going pretty well here on the homefront. I don't do any school work until the kids are in bed, which would be fine if it were not for the interrupted night's sleep I experience once I am IN bed. We miss Mark, of course. And he us. And working so much is hard on him, of course. But it is only for 6 more weeks. We have handled worse, I think. Anyone who has been through an extended and invasive construction project (that was not outsourced) can look plenty of other situations in the eye with a smile and say: you're not as bad as the house-add-on and complete interior and exterior remodel, while raising pre-schooler and toddler.

Here are some January pictures, click to enlarge:

 

 

Gott Nytt År!

The White Christmas of 2009

 Christmas Day 2009

The last time I had a white Christmas was 2001 when Mark and I spent it in Sweden. As Elina observed after last year's experience: "Christmas comes even if there is no snow, and presents too." But this year we got the full package - just not an extended family get together, because of the roads.

Leading up to Christmas (click for larger view):

 Christmas Eve Morning

Christmas Eve 2009.

 

Isak's Christmas Concert 2009

Christmas picture 2009

At least we haven't raised the bar so high it can't be outdone next year. As usual, our Christmas picture is an unplanned snapshot where everyone was wiggling. Not very sharp, either. We like to keep it real.
Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!

Lucia på denna sidan vattnet

Högkvalitativ video. Efter två övningar och en generalrepetition gick premiären för det svenska Luciatåget av stapeln. Jag ber om ursäkt att min röst hörs så tydligt. Vi bestämde att vi vuxna skulle sjunga med, och jag hade kameran 30 cm från mitt ansikte. Man kan väl säga att det är dagis-kvalitet. Men genomsnittsåldern är ju låg.

Klart bästa ögonblicket är när Lucian i mörkret inte kan hitta tejpen med krysset på, där hon ska stå, och Isak stjärngosse får (i nervositeten)  för sig att han ska stå på andra sidan än där han stått på repetitionerna. Eftersom det är ett Lucia tåg med BARA pojkar, förutom Elina, så måste ljusen ibland användas som vapen. Det tror jag alla åskådare förstår.

 The Swedish girls in Norman

A set of twins, and two Mormons, who would have thought?

Christian, 3 (gingerbreadman), Jonathan, 4 (elf), Benjamin, 8 (starboy), Elina, 5 (Lucia), Isak, 7 (starboy), Daniel, 6 (starboy), Max 3 (starboy)

What is Lucia?

I've received this question often. I hope to present you with video evidence next week from our own house, not quite at this level of excellence:

O, Tannenbaum

We got our Christmas tree up early, American style. (When I was a child we always brought the tree in on the 22nd of December, decorated on the 23rd, and then threw it out on the 6th of January, though my grandmother Erna who just died [see post below] always kept hers until Easter). Last year I kept ours until Valentines Day!! I am ashamed to admit it.

Anja visade att hon associerar julgran med dans. Detta tack vare "Pippis jul" och tog genast min hand och ville sjunga "Räven raskar över isen". Hon klarade av en någorlunda igenkännbar version av "Och får vi lov, och får vi lov..." Elina och Anja spenderade resten av kvällen liggande under granen och beundrade den. Isak tog sig för bröstet och sa längtansfullt, "Nu känner jag att det är jul." Nedräkningen har börjat. Adventsljustaken från Duka som vi fick julen 2001 står på bordet. Chokladkalendrarna öppnas varje morgon. Och på torsdag nästa vecka blir det litet Luciatåg här hemma hos oss tillsammans med de andra svenska barnen. Vi har Elina som Lucia och 3 stjärngossar (Isak 7, Benjamin 8, och Daniel 6), två tomtar (Jonathan 4, och Max 3, tror jag) och en pepparkaksgubbe, Christian 3. Anja 2, Hannah 1, och Julia 0 får medverka i framtiden, men tills dess blir det tomt för tärnor i Norman...

Class picture 1982

A friend from this photo contacted me last month. He sent this to me and wondered if it was me in the picture. Funny how MUCH I remember from that year. We did some AMAZINGLY creative games during "free play" that involved 6-8 kids each time. It was so much fun. I was 5, turned 6. Our teachers were Siri and Elsie.

One day a group of us decided to escape through the bathroom window which was up high and required climbing on the toilet. It went great until one kid stepped into the toilet bowl. It was bound to happen. My best friend was Charlotte in the navy striped shirt. She moved the summer following pre-school and I never saw her again. I often wondered what happened to her.

The boy in the glasses on the top row, Fredrik Horn, could never remember his birthday. Every so often we were asked to respond with our birthday during roll call, which was held every day. His was July 11th. The whole class knew it, but he could never remember. But what he lacked in birthday-remembering, he made up for in muscle strength. I fought (wrestled) him every week over some silly disagreement and always lost, crying. Did that stop me from trying it again next week? Not a bit.

The memories are sweet. All the girls liked the skinny boy in blue on the second row, Tommy. I was no exception. Kent-Åke (tall boy on the back row) and I ran into each other one day landing us both bawling with massive bumps on our foreheads.

No problems spotting me, right?

Three People that I Love

My grandmother has died. She was my dad's mother and I got to know her really well. In fact, I can happily say I knew all four of my grandparents well. Only my mother's mother is still alive. My mom's dad died on Oct 18 - when my first-born was 3 months. My dad's mom died on Oct 19 - when my last-born was 4 months.

I am sad I won't be there for the funeral. But I am happy that I got to see her in March and that she spent some fun time with me and Elina and Anja.

Erna Greta Sofia 1931-2009.

Taken in her mid-to-late twenties. Mother of six, ran the home business (curtain store at first, then huge egg farm) along with her husband. Artistic, vain, hard-working and smart. She taught me how to mop floors properly and gave me girly blouses and dresses growing up. Was given a life that did not fit her, according to herself. Her antics have made us laugh over and over through the years. I will miss her.

Hans-Erik 1918-1999.

Taken in his seventies. This is how I remember him. He farmed organically in the sixties and seventies when everyone else laughed at him for having flowers in his field, but it did not bother him a bit. Danced to his own tune his entire life. I was always so proud to be his grand daughter. He taught me how to eat flax seeds and other healthy foods. Books can be written about his adventures.

Arnold Johan 1932-2002.

Somewhere I should have a better picture. He was in his forties here, but looked much the same until he died, in my mind. He named his fishing boat after me, bless him, and sailed as captain of a cargo ship up and down the coast of Norway until his retirement. He taught me much about World War 2 and about his childhood. A truly kind man, and a quiet one, that I miss very much.