Sort of like going to the zoo...

...except really close and FREE. Okay, so not completely like going to the zoo, but the kids loved it. Elina was in charge of the activity for Family Home Evening and so we went to Petsmart! Our poor, deprived kids had never set foot there. We have an audio book called "The Pet Store Mystery," that the kids love to listen to. It is in Swedish and like many other things that feature Sweden (books and movies), these things don't always exist in the US. When Elina learned that there ARE pet stores in the US, and in Norman, even, she about flipped! Besides, Petsmart is at least 5 times bigger than any pet store found in Scandinavia. I sometimes feel so bad when I realize how their little minds interpret their dual world.

We checked out fishes, water snails, hermit crabs, parakeets, finches, rats, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, snakes, frogs, turtles and bearded dragons (Elina: "Where are their wings?"). And at Petsmart there are always people with dogs walking around the store. And then we had to check out all the pet supplies.

Then we met our good friend, Martina, who was shopping for dog treats.

Nike (knee-keh)

Swedish pronunciation of the name of the goddess of speed, strength and victory. It also happens to be the traditional Greek pronunciation of the same name, Νίκη. This is now the name of Isak, Elina and Anja's sweet, new cousin, born September 26th in Borås, Sweden - same hospital as Isak. 7 lbs, 19 3/4 inches. Aren't newborns the best?

Walking to School

It is still very warm in Oklahoma, 88 Fahrenheit yesterday at 4 pm (31 Celcius), but the mornings have been much cooler (55 F, 12 C). So when we walk to school at 7.40 a.m a jacket is in order. Check out the tired faces! Elina's and Anja's jackets were a gift from Mormor and Morfar in Sweden.

The Weekend

The weekend brought cooler weather. At least Sunday did. It was somewhat like Scandinavian summer. Isak declared, "This is my favorite type of weather."

Lucky for Mark that I am only 5 lbs (2,5 kg) above my "married weight" these days. (He said to write he couldn't manage this during pregnancy, though. [I've gained 60 lbs each time])

We played over at our friends Inger and Steve's house. It was like a pre-Halloween rally. Elina donned a much-to-small dragon costume. Isak found a kimono (??), and Harry Potter took off his robe to climb a tree, while Snow White looked on.

Anja had a good time, too.

Phase One

The robe is done. Only the rest to go.

Game Day

Welcome to campus living. We live in a tiny residential pocket surrounded on all four sides of the campus. This is how it looks during football games. (Seen from the front, everyone who has not been inside our house expects something very small, and though it is by now means the Taj Mahal, I can reveal that it is a four bed, two living, three bath house, which extends toward the back). We used to have another tree in the yard, right where that little black is parked. We took it down two years ago as it was mistletoe infested. Now we have an extra parking spot. Perhaps by the end of this season we will have earned enough parking there to have paid for its removal.

Uncle Craig (center) and Uncle Jim (red shirt) paid us a very quick visit. They actually went to the game, something we rarely do.

Sewing THE Costume

Because the world has seen much greater seamstresses than myself, I am starting NOW on the important Halloween project to ensure that it will be complete in time. It is a head-to-toe Obi-Wan Kenobi outfit as seen above, complete with the Jedi robe with hood in brown fleece, the Jedi tunic in beige linen, the dickey (underneath the tunic), pants, belt, and faux boots of my own design. I bought the fabric a while ago but have been very daunted at the prospect of making this thing because all the child size Jedi-like sewing patterns are out of print.

Anja is going to be Yoda!


With the left-over fleece from Isak's robe I patched together a blanket for Elina. That is what she wanted. (Still don't know for certain what she will be for Halloween). I made the blanket yesterday and after every seam she asked if I was done. I don't know how I am going to be able to make this costume, except late in the evening hours because between Elina and Anja I have more help than I need. Elina randomly reverses for me without warning, and suddenly helps me accelerate by crawling under the table and pressing her hand on the pedal. "I want to help you do it faster!" Anja's favorite is stepping on the fabric I am cutting or on the pattern paper. She's 15 months old and knows that she is not allowed. So she sticks out one foot at the time, slowly, then the other. She's very sneaky, but what can I expect with two older siblings to teach her the ropes?

Expect pictures of the finished product in October some time. Probably the 30th, at midnight.

Something funny: Elina said today she wanted to eat "Chevrolet." After some inquiry on my part she climbed onto the counter top, opened the cabinet and pointed to a can of Ravioli.

Ankdammen

Second Day of School

There's a tradition in the Fisher family that we always take pictures the second day of school, rather than the first. (You get better pictures without the swarms of parents, plus the student is usually more relaxed). So, too, this year. Granted, I did bring the camera at pick-up yesterday, a deviation from former years. Anyhow, here are two pictures taken this morning at drop-off inside Isak's classroom. He didn't really want me to do it. Wanted to go in by himself. How different from two years ago when he clung to my leg and had to have several hugs and kisses before I could leave. Sigh.

The teacher called me at 9 a.m. YIKES! What is wrong? But all she said was that Isak was cold, having left his hoodie with me after sweating while walking to school this morning. The AC is really cold in the school. When I ran errands half an hour later I dropped off the hoodie and found a completely quiet class in rapt attention at Mrs. Neff's instruction. No one moved. Not even the-student-who-should-have-had-an-exorcism from Isak's Kindergarten class last year. I'm very impressed with this teacher.

The new early morning wake-up takes its toll on all family members. This is Anja, below, at 10.00 a.m. My plan was that she would nap when Elina goes to school, at noon. Fat chance! Elina re-configured her limbs and played with her while she was asleep.

At noon it was time for Elina to go to class for the second time. She took her new girl friend (green dress and pig tails) firmly by the hand and told her where to sit. I have not seen this side of Elina before.

Första Skoldagen

Elina visar stolt upp sin ryggsäck och sin hund

Glada "Madison Bulldogs" efter första dagen i skolan

Isak började första klass idag, och Elina började pre-K. Isak går från 7.55 på morgonen till 14.40, medan Elina går 12.00 till 14.40. Elina stegade glatt in i klassrummet och var den naturliga ledaren för den grupp flickor som "lagade mat" i lek-köket. Hon var noga med att instruera den flicka som föreslog att de skulle ha te-kalas: "Bara ört-te, då!"

Jag vet inte vem som mest nervös, jag eller Isak. Jag var ganska lugn tills jag fick se Isaks läroplan i måndags kväll på back-to-school night, upprop ungefär. Läroplanen är ett tjockt häfte som delades ut till oss föräldrar med allt de kommer att lära sig under 4 stycken 9-veckors perioder, plus så kallade "sight words" som de ska lära sig utantill eftersom engelska inte har några konsekventa stavnings regler. Isak ska redan kunna läsa enklare böcker, vilket han kan, men ändå! Matematiken är det också stort allvar med, likaså OÄ och samhällskunskap. De kommer att få läxor hemskickade i en pärm varje måndag som ska lämnas in på fredagar. Och det värsta av allt: De får BETYG! De får betyg i allt möjligt, hälften av vilket är baserat på uppförande och arbetsetik, olika moment som tex "listens attentively," och "cooperates with teacher," "stays on task," "cooperates with peers," och "produces neat work," "completes task on time." Plus allt det akademiska som ska utvärderas. Varje fredag har de stavnings-prov. Det känns bra att han får en bra utbilding, men samtidigt lite överdrivet när han är så ung. De långa skoldagarna känns jobbigast. Men de har en hel timme musik eller idrott efter lunch (musik 2 gånger, idrott 3 gånger per vecka, och tvärtom följande), så det är inte bara stillasittande vid skolbänken.

Utav 5 stycken första klasser i skolan lyckades Isak hamna med de två elever som vi bad att han skulle få slippa. Man får lov att önska sådant i slutet på läsåret men pga att vi var i Sverige glömde Isaks lärare att nämna just våra önskemål vid klassuppdelningen. Vi får se hur det går. Isak var i alla fall nöjd med den första skoldagen, och det var Elina också.

Hemvägen.

"Jag vill visa alla barnen min fina hund!"