Oliver-ism

Actual conversation as reported by Andreas:

"Pappa," says Oliver "I know what I want to be when I grow up".

"So, what do you want to be?" Andreas asks him. (To be 100% faithful to the actual conversation, Andreas most likely said this in Swedish).

"A policeman". OK- this is different because last week it was a teacher and a robot. "Do you want to know why, Pappa?"

"Sure".

"It is because they get donuts... lots of donuts". In case you are wondering, Oliver likes donuts. A rare food that he actually likes... but how he came to these conclusions at school are a bit beyond our understanding... but his trains of thought no longer surprise us ;)

The past few days have been busy-crazy and I have a crappy cold, so my apologies for the lack of blog inspiration . Wishing you all a great day xox

Watch out, Spiderman! One day, this kid will be carrying a revolver.... and a donut ;)

In a house full of boys...

Given the title of my blog, it is quite obvious that I am outnumbered by boys. Actually, I am very outnumbered by boys as I am the only woman in the house.... except for our dogs and one of our cats... but I am not considering the non humans that live with us in my analysis ;) Most of the time, I enjoy the simple relationship that you can have with a boy (you get angry, you freak out, it is over, you are friends again) but, sometimes, there are clear differences in the woman/man dynamics... at least in OUR house. The following observations are based on my own experiences and might not reflect a normal household ;)

1) The boys love living in a high energy environment. The crazier, the better. If it is peaceful, then something is wrong... and the peaceful co-habitant must be bothered... until things are no longer peaceful. Andreas is a master at this ;) The boys are following suit ;)

2) Love = punches. Kisses are OK but only with the woman in the house. Punches work best for all other males in the house.

3) Dogs are the most fun when they are barking.... and jumping.... and barking more.... If the dog is sleeping, pretend that you have food and get their attention. Then go back to the barking part....

4) Clothes are boring and do not deserve closet space. Camping equipment, on the other hand, is always necessary.

5) Candy is a food group... especially if it has the word "corn" in the name.

6) Dishes that are put in the sink miraculously disappear. If they are left on the table, they disappear even faster. How efficient! :P

7) The definition of a dirty house is very different between men and women.

8) If your mother loses her marbles, it is almost fun to watch and is an appropriate form of family entertainment.

9) If, in the morning, your mother says to get dressed, it is an optional request. The same applies to turning off all screen devices.

10) If the only busy person in the room is the woman, you must always ask her for food/water/help with homework/help with finding lost object, even if the father is just sitting on the couch, playing on his phone.


Happy Thursday ;) xox

My boys!

A post card from Montreal

It is snowing, ice raining but- to look at the bright side- it is not -500C ;)

Have a cosy evening...

xox

Jinxing it

Today is January 22 and, honestly, our winter- although we had a few snowstorms- hasn't really begun yet. Don't get me wrong: I am very happy! I also know that this will not last and our February might totally suck..... and March might be worse.... and April might be sad.... So far, asides from a few cold days, we have had temperatures that hover between -5C and 5C. It has been more wet and grey (sounds familiar to my Scandinavian friends?) than cold. We actually have green around our house (!!!???!!!), which keeps my winter blues at bay. The air and light almost feels spring-like (really... not just the wine speaking!). Like I said, I have lived here most of my 46+ years so I am not being naive but, considering that we just missed one month of winter, I will take it!

On another note, I am still trying to figure out where the weekend went to! Bang, all of a sudden, it is Sunday! Enjoy what little is left ;)

xox

The view beside my house :)

Three years of blogging

Today, my blog turns 3 years old. Considering I never kept a diary, I am kind of surprised with myself ;) At the beginning, I thought that I might be able to post every day but- nah- reality got in the way and maybe a couple of times a week is a more reasonable goal ;) It has been a fun time... may there be many more anniversaries :)

Anyway, happy birthday to my blog and a big thanks to all of you who still come by for a visit.

Lots of love xox

A moment of calm

The last few days have been really nuts... Not just nuts, but really nuts. I feel like there is always something to plan, something to organize. If it is not preparing class lectures or helping Alexander with his homework, it is a class-worth of cupcakes for Nicka's birthday ;)

I am taking the advice on my coffee cup...

Have a good rest of the day xox

10

Today, my darling, sweet, grumpy, caring, empathetic, old soul middle son turns 10 years old. He has asked for a dinner of cheese burgers and ice cream and, in honour of him, it will be served ;)

Happy birthday and lots of love xox

Nicka with a very smoky campfire ;)

If I were rich ;)

If  I were rich, I would give the boys (all of them) new socks every day and have them toss them out at night so they don't end up in the laundry ;) PLEASE NOTE that I am aware that this is very un-ecologically friendly and I am just joking ;) I am not, however, joking about how much I hate sorting socks. Although I joke about the new socks every day thing, there are some times that I go to the store and pick up a few pairs just so I don't have to sort out the ones that I have at home. Kind of like a back up to my sanity.... except the procrastination pile keeps growing and growing....

Today, I faced my sock demons and emptied out 2 3 big Ikea bags of unfolded socks onto our bed (seriously- bad, I know). I have been sorting them out all day in 20 minute blocks of time that are punctuated with coffee ;) I am almost done the boys' (minus the few that really don't seem to have a match) and am now tackling my collection of black ones that all seem to look the same ;) I am seriously considering buying myself socks with very obnoxious patterns or Spiderman on them so that I can tell them apart..... Wish me luck ;)

Happy remainder of Sunday to you all xox

Why I blog...

People sometimes ask me why I blog (yes, because I actually know some of the real live people that read my blog... why they read it is another story ;) ) so I had to give it some thought. I think mostly because my friends on Facebook were sick of my long winded posts ;) I also thought that it could be fun for the boys to read when they got older... sort of like a family diary.... or a way to keep up with my friends in Denmark.... or family in Sweden.... or my mother group friends in the US who I met online when I was pregnant with Alexander... or my own family who lives nearby and that I don't see often enough.... or the lovely women who I know through my boys' schools...  or an odd way to entertain my friend Kerri.... ;)  I was also inspired by two bloggers named Brinja and Sandra, who I ended up connecting with, even though we live an ocean apart. I also met people like Catarina and Ageeth, who I met online and now consider my friends...  More recently, I feel that I visit with people like Karin, Maude  and my own beautiful Gabrielle. It is a little bit like going out for coffee...without really going out for coffee. I also enjoy that I don't have to write in any sort of coherent and scientific way... It makes the world a little smaller... and a whole lot cosier....

Thanks for coming along for the ride ;) Happy Friday evening xox

Moving

Yesterday, I moved offices.... and, yes, it is a BIG thing for me. I got a promotion from the grey windowless office that I had before to a yellow walled one with... wait... a WINDOW!!! I am so excited- I can have plants, know what time of the day it, what kind of weather there is outside and I don't fall asleep by 2:00pm!

Happy 2017 to me ;)

xox

Yes- the window is dirty and it is not always sunny outside but I LOVE it anyway :)

The snow fort

Every Canadian kid loves a good snow fort. The bigger, the better! The best forts are ones that go on and on forever. They have to be strategic so that bigger kids cannot break it or smaller kids cannot invade it. Good snow forts have the perfect snow to ice ratio. It also helps to have pretend sofas and refrigerators in it ;) A steady supply of snow food is good too. If you have a snow fort, you have to spend all recess, lunch time and after school hours to make it perfect. Actually, it is in a constant state of fixing and improving. It is always renovation time when it melts or gets buried by a snow or ice storm. Another rule is that you have to always protect your snow fort. Also, if you don't contribute to the building of a snow fort, you are not allowed in it unless you have special permission. The best thing about a good snow fort is, when the owners are not around, you can explore- even if you are not a part of it. This afternoon, while we were waiting for Nicka to come outside, Oliver got to sit in his brother's snow fort. How cool! Then he showed me his.... ice carving station and all ;)

xox

Oliver hanging out in Nicka's snow fort.... He looks blurry because he wouldn't stay still for the photo!

It is always cool to hang out in someone else's snow fort!

Oliver at his ice carving station ;)

The upcoming return of a regular schedule

Even though our holiday was really appreciated, there comes a time where a regular schedule is needed again. The boys are missing their school friends, the rhythm of a day-to-day, the regular weekly activities... and they are missing homework.... hahahaha- no, not homework- I just made that one up ;)
So, tomorrow, is back to school day. For the boys. For me. For Andreas. At the start of the holidays, I used to torture the boys by pretending that the next day was a school day. NOOOOOOOOO! they would yell. Now, I say the same thing and I think that they are OK with it. Oliver is even planning the snow fort that he will make with his friends at recess tomorrow. Nicka isn't eye rolling me as much and Alexander just nods. Yups... back to the routine. Guaranteed that tomorrow will be tough... but welcome.

Hope you have a smooth transition back to daily life.... See you on the other side ;) xox

5 steps

I have been dared by my friend and fellow blogger (Caribou Beach) to post 5 steps to know the real me... so, because I don't like to let dares go by, here it is:

1) I don't like games or high maintenance people. Just hang with me... and keep it simple.

2) I appreciate a person with a good sense of humour... the more sarcastic, the better ;)

3) You are allowed to be silent when we are together.

4) I appreciate honesty, even if- at the moment- I don't like what you are saying. I will get over it.

5) You don't need to try to outdo me. I am already your biggest fan...

PS: If you like wine and/or coffee, we will get along fine. Playing soccer helps too ;)

A flower from Oliver :)

Another 10 random facts

1. I love to look at webcam sites. It makes me feel like I am travelling... ok... bare with me ;)

2. I am thinking about taking Swedish lessons because my husband is not very good at letting me practice with him. He just says that I sound Danish and switches back to English ;)

3. A student of mine brought me a box of chocolates yesterday... and there are only a few left in the box now. I didn't share with the boys... but I was nice and let Andreas have some ;)

4. For New Year's, I bought a nice bottle of champagne. I could get used to it ;)

5. I love our pets but am not a fan of fur on carpets and mystery wet spots on the floor ;)

6. I never seem to learn that saying "Be calm!" to our boys usually has the opposite effect!

7. I have a weak spot for soft and stretchy jersey fabrics. Heaven!

8. I love online shopping... more for the package that comes in the mail than the item that I actually ordered ;)

9. Although it is not always evident on this blog, I am a bit uptight about grammar. To make me feel better, I prefer to think that my students misuse their/there/they're in papers just to bug me... but,unfortunately, that is probably not the case ;)

10. I am pretty excited about 2017. I like fresh starts and feeling like something new is happening.


Here are some random photos to go with my random facts:

Alexander and Nicka around the time that Oliver was born

A picture from Copenhagen

Alexander and his wacky hair ;)

On the highway... yes, I was in traffic... but not moving...

Oliver on a mission

Oh! I miss the peonies in our garden!

Oliver with his kindergarten buddies

On a ferry ride back from Oka

The Swedish coast

Our Christmas card photo from last year (I think)

Relief!

This morning, as I was rushing to leave the house, I pulled on my snow pants so I could manage the cold/long walk into work. Funny- the pants were really tight. Maybe it was the pants that I had on underneath? All the way into work, I started to stress out because the snow pants were REALLY tight- especially around my legs. OK- I know that, over the holidays, I was less active than usual. OK... there was more food too... OK... there was also more wine.... and chocolate... Did I mention that I was also less active? ;) Anyway, by the time I got into my office, I had a whole plan going on in my head about getting back on track and getting back into shape. Slipping off the pants, I noticed that the lining was a bit lighter than I remembered. Also, the tag was from a different brand... and had AB written on it... and was boys' size 14. What a relief! They are Alexander's pants!!! My day just got a whole lot better :)

Wishing you all a happy day! xox

Happiness is.... mistakenly wearing your kid's pants ;)

My last day of holidays

Tomorrow, I am back to work. The boys have a few more days off. I am jealous ;) Actually, I am feeling a mixture of sadness and excitement: sad that the holidays are over because I have really enjoyed my time at home with the boys. I also feel excited to start a new year, a new semester, new courses and new adventures. A bit of a mix....

Wishing you all a great evening... I will be appreciating mine xox

Spending too much time together? ;)

Between having guests over, the boys at home, a shedding Christmas tree, shedding animals and regular day to day living, I am spending a lot of time with my vacuum cleaner lately. Maybe even too much time ;) Anyway, yesterday- while I was vacuuming (again!)- I looked down and saw this heart. At least, my vacuum appreciates the together time ;)

Sending you all lots of love ;)

Welcome to 2017!

Today, the sky was a beautiful blue and the sun was almost warm. Andreas and I managed a long walk with the dogs and the boys spent the day sledding with some neighbourhood friends- great ways to start the new year. We may end up drinking a glass of champagne later, toasting in 2017 (we were so full from dinner last night that we couldn't manage to drink it then) ;)

Hope you all had a good transition to 2017! May it be a good one for you all! xox

Happy 2017!