Small kitchen improvements

We don't have the money to do a full kitchen renovation but it is fun to do some small, inexpensive improvements from time to time. A while back, we had our kitchen cabinets painted white (they used to be an 1980's wood stain before). Today, I re-arranged the table, bought a small "coffee bar" (which freed up a lot of counter space!) and ordered a cool retro garbage pail in red (find it here... cool gadgets!). It is way cosier and seems bigger... cheaper than buying a new house ;)

Can you tell that I am supposed to be correcting exams but am doing a better job at procrastinating? ;)

XOX to all!

The coffee bar (with wine as a backup) ;)

Our newly positioned kitchen table

The pail of my dreams... ;)

Family portrait

Two posts in one day (?)... but I couldn't help but posting a picture of the five us where we actually look like ourselves ;) No closed eyes, strange expressions, tongue sticking out or nose picking (yes, this is actually a concern on photos...yuck!). What do you expect from a family of three, I mean four, boys? ;)

I have decided to brave Boxing Day but later this afternoon... yes, I am a sucker for punishment ;) I'll let you know about the chaos!

My unexpected Christmas present

An unexpected Christmas present arrived for me....... 6 degree C weather and MELTING SNOW!! I am so excited! It also rained (which I love as well) but I can appreciate that not everyone is such a fan...... The wind is warm, green is coming back and being outside actually feels good :) I am aware that this is a small break but it is a well appreciated one!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I am debating going out for Boxing Day but am not sure if I am brave enough ;) xox

Merry Christmas!

Today, Christmas was at our house so this is probably one of the first moments I have to sit down....yes, with a hard earned glass of wine and some chips- hmmmm...... classy ;) We were all spoiled by Santa (with a little help from MasterCard) and had a good day with family. The boys made us beautiful homemade gifts- from Alexander, we got a Lego copy of ourselves (seriously, it is great!). From Nicklas, we got some homebaked cookies (which I promptly ate!) and from Oliver, a big wet kiss! Hope you all had/have a very Merry Christmas... from our house to yours! xox

Andreas and me.... in Lego form :)

Getting ready for the festivities....

Québec City

Sometimes, we like to take short overnight trips to nearby places. Even a quick night away is like a little holiday. This time, we went to Québec City. It is about 3 hours east of Montréal so there is enough time to get there before the boys start asking "are we there yet?" EVERY 30 SECONDS!!!!! We went on an ice slide and I think that Andreas got scared ;) The hotel (Manoir Victoria) is really cosy and in the beautiful old city (the boys loved the pool!). The only thing missing was the beach ;)

New haircuts!

Yesterday, the boys got new "Christmas" haircuts :) To save myself hassels, I brought them to the barber. We walked in and all 3 got their cuts at the same time.... bang, bang, bang! We were out in 20 minutes. BEST IDEA EVER!!!! When it is me doing the cutting, it is hours of stress/begging/bribing and cleaning up...  So, haircuts at Joe the Barber is MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

Hope you are all having a good week :)

My ears just got bigger ;)

No more mop top ;)

Don't mess with the bangs! ;)

Cosy..... and 300 posts!

This weekend has been all about being cosy! I really needed a day or so in order to recharge my batteries..... This next week will be filled with corrections, other day-to-day craziness and other stresses. I am really looking forward to having 2 weeks off with Andreas and the kids... until they start their fighting and then I will be writing something else ;)

By the way, this is my 300th blog post!!!!!! Thanks for bearing with me.... it has been fun :)

Cool dudes... at the dentist?

Alexander had his first sleepover birthday party last night.... and, even if the younger boys stayed upstairs, everyone is tired today. Not a good day for having to go to the dentist ;) Surprisingly, all three boys did well and were very cool on top of it all! Oliver would only get on the dentist chair if he was sitting on my lap so I ended up in the pictures... but not looking so cool ;) That is what happens when you become a 40years+ mother... you are not so cool anymore. Maybe it was because I didn't get the cool sunglass eye protectors? Anyway, whatever it is, I embrace my non cool status... haha!

Wishing you all a great Saturday night :)

UGH... too.... much.... white!

I warned you all- I am a winter-complainer ;) Sure, sometimes snow looks pretty but only when you are inside and don't have to leave.... ever..... but, usually, I do have to get things done so I am not a fan! Too much shovelling-wet-icy-cold-hard-to-drive-hard-to-walk-have-to-dry-snowpants-on-a-regular-basis-and-cannot-wear-sandals kind of weather ;)

Hope you will all bear with me ;) xox

Shades of white....

It snowed again today... and will keep snowing into tomorrow.... ugh! Here are some of the shades of white that was in my Tuesday.... including our cat ;)

Boy Christmas

This is the perfect Christmas decoration for boys.... We've been checking out this display at Hewitt every year since Alexander was 2 years old :) What more can a boy ask for... trucks, Christmas lights and big presents! Always a big Christmas hit....

Christmas tree

Happy 2nd Advent!

We put our tree up today! There is absolutely nothing cosier than Christmas lights :) I am now having a beer and enjoying the evening.... until I have to get back to finishing the last of my final exams (which is due tomorrow- ugh!)... After all that, the students better appreciate my exam.... haha!

Hope you all have a great start to the week.... xox

Ten years!

Ten years ago today, Andreas and I were married. It was a very small and impromptu event, given that Alexander was only a few days old at the time. A close friend of Andreas', who conveniently is a Swedish judge, married us in Malmö (just over the Øresund from Copenhagen). It was a lovely day with a friend of mine and a friend of Andreas' acting as the witnesses. We also had a good friend of ours taking good care of Alexander, just a few feet away.
Ten years already! May there be many more xox

More snow...

Ugh! Winter is back again!

The boys liked their gifts day 2 (Lego mugs, perfect for hot chocolate) and day 3 (sports bands... looking very cool). This was my first non-teaching day and, I have to say, that I felt so FREE! I am sure that my smiles were as big as the students' ;) I am not really finished because I still have lots of grading to do but it really helps not to have to prepare classes/give classes/prepare classes/give classes... (you get the idea).

It is cold, snowy and wintery looking. On that note, I am looking forward to a hot bath and, hopefully, a few moments of calm.... who am I kidding? ;) Good night to all!

New mugs for hot chocolate... yum!

Snow!

December 1: gift success :)

Considering that this advent calendar (ie: pakke kalendar) is new, I am always a bit worried that the boys would change their mind and decide that this was a bad idea.... Anyway, day #1 and they LOVED it. Alexander and Nicklas got mini Christmas Lego sets and Oliver got a set of matching headband and wristbands (OK... I have NO idea why he loves these things so much but he always tries to steal Alexander's). Better still, they are a BATMAN headband and wristbands. So, after opening his present, he wanted to wear them all evening long... and bedtime...... and for daycare this morning ;)

I am just hoping that this "early success" lasts... ;)

Here is our fashion king, Oliver, sporting his new headband ;) Gotta love him!!! Andreas took this picture and I think that he peed himself laughing for at least an hour.....

Happy 1st Advent!

Just when I thought that things couldn't become crazier, they did.... but I'll save that story/stories for another time...

For now, I just want to wish everyone a very happy 1st advent! This year, we decided to follow a more Swedish tradition where small gifts are given every day (from December 1 - 24) and on Christmas (ie: December 24), a "special" gift is given. The gifts can be a new book, small toy, gift card for small amount, fun school supplies, candy.... I thought that it could be fun to do something new and introduce the boys to a bit more of their family traditions and culture. Anyway, flash forward to last night when I was up to 1:30 in the morning, wrapping 24 small gifts for each boy. Just to save you the math: THAT WAS 72 FREAKING GIFTS TO WRAP!!! I started off wrapping each gift with a bow, tag and careful/thoughtful presentation. By the time I hit December 18, the wrapping consisted mostly of tape and tissue paper ;) Andreas deserted me somewhere around, hmmmm, maybe DECEMBER 2???!!!! The rest of the evening was me, the cats trying to undo any sort of wrapping that I did, a bottle of beer (OK... multiple bottles of beer) and 72 small packets.

Would I do it again? Actually, yes :) The boys, hesitant at first because they weren't sure if this "new" tradition was a rip off or a good thing, really appreciated seeing all the small gifts. It makes the house a bit more festive. Andreas bought the boys a small tree for their room so we will be decorating it this afternoon. The big tree is next weekend...

Hope you all have a great day xox

That was a lot of wrapping!!!

Nicka's part of the table top

I didn't notice it before but there is even a little Alexander peaking out :)

The plant is left over from our usual home decor and not a really crappy kid present ;)