First day of school

..... and they are back at school!!!

The day started with lots of excitement to see new friends, meet new teachers, wear new clothes, have new haircuts, have new school supplies... wonder how long that will last for? ;) Anyway, I am excited for them!

Happy return to school! Wishing you all a great day xox

First day of high school! PS: no more uniform!

First day of grade 1

First day of grade 4

The third child

Recently, I saw some t-shirts that are perfect for our family- OLDEST child: I make the rules; MIDDLE child:  I am the reason why we have rules and YOUNGEST child: The rules don't apply to me. How true!!

With Alexander, we kind of made up rules as we went along. As our first, we were suddenly shaken from our sense of perfect family to reality ;) Our expectations of a happy, sleeping baby were smashed by a happy, always awake baby ;)

With Nicklas, we had a definite character from day 1. Nicka has his own sense of what he thinks and what he wants. The rules that we set up from our experiences with Alexander suddenly do not work well any more..... There is no shy-boy-in-the-middle at our house ;)

Flash forward to our third: Oliver honestly thinks that rules do not apply to him. He listens only when he wants to. He eats only when he wants to. He definitely does (or, at least, tries to do) things his way. Oliver speaks his mind... and to anyone who is in listening range.

Yesterday, we went to the mall to run some errands. One thing on our to-do list (Andreas' to-do list) was to get our TV services upgraded. While we were at the shop, Oliver discovered their video game demonstrators. The whole shop got to hear about his gaming adventures and what he thought of the products. He went from complaining about having to be there with us to not wanting to leave. I am sure that the store was relieved when we finally did head out ;)  Rules definitely do not apply to him ;)

Happy Tuesday and, in our universe, the last day before back to school xox

A new toy!

Yes, Oliver, tell EVERYONE what you are seeing...

AND what you think about it!

Yes, your mother is still watching you ;)

On to the next game!

WAY too easy ;)

We're done here ;)

For sure!

Very busy weekend!

Today, I picked up Oliver (aka Captain America) from his friend's house. He got into the car and said "Mamma, it has been one very busy weekend!" Kid- you are SO right! Between 9 soccer games, 1 dinner out, a trip to the Swedish Consulate to finally get Oliver's Swedish citizenship, meetings at work, the time between Friday and Sunday has passed so quickly!
Next week: getting ready for back-to-school!

Wishing you a good start to the week xox

One busy weekend!

High school!!!!???!!!!

Yesterday, we took Alexander to pick up his schedule (for him) and pay his school fees (for me... ugh!) at his new high school. When we first went into the building, he led the way. I found myself wondering where my little guy went... who is this big, mature young man? Within 5 minutes, he started to fool around... hiding in lockers... bugging his brothers... jumping up on wall heaters.... trying to climb up walls... Oh yeah! There is my kid ;) He is still in there! ;)

Happy Wednesday xox

My big boy....

... who still likes to scare people by hiding in lockers ;)

My Google tendencies

I have kids. One thing that any mother can tell you is that you end up Googling (is that a word now?) pretty strange stuff. For example, we Google things like "How do you get a marble out of a child's nose?" For the record, this was one of my actual searches. Another one: "What do you do when your kid only eats Goldfish Crackers?" "What the h*ll is Pokemon Go?"

Today, I have another one: "Why do my kids' soccer cleats smell like cat pee?"

Apparently, I am not the only one. This is, actually, a very popular topic on discussion boards. Who knew it? AND, the majority of people who experience it DO NOT EVEN HAVE A CAT!!!! Kitties, you are OFF the hook! From my very unscientific research, apparently it comes from the sulfur in sweat... which is amplified with a wet environment.... which is amplified when your kids sweat a lot.... which is amplified with a wet environment.... which is amplified when the cat decides to pee in the shoe (just kidding... I always wondered how our super old cat could negotiate herself into the shoe). As I read, apparently, it is NOT the cat.... just the sweat... and the shoe.... even the ones that you spend a million dollars on (or it seems like they are a million dollars... and supposedly made of gold) ;)

I cannot wait until the boys finish their games this weekend. The shoes will get Lysol'd and put on the winter boot dryer. Bye-bye, cat urine smell! May it only be found in the litter box ;)

PS: for the record, my soccer cleats smell like roses... ;) Roses and cat pee ;)

Alexander's NEW cleats which, for the moment, still smell only like boy sweat....

Ahhhh.....

This morning, Andreas decided to take the boys and his parents (who arrived from Sweden last night) out for a bit of park time. Since I am actually working from home, I decided to stay here and get some writing done.... yes- both work... and my blog... ;) After they left, I couldn't figure out what was wrong... it was almost like I forgot something... something seemed out of place.... I felt a bit uneasy.... and then I realized- wow- it was QUIET! I am not used to QUIET! Now that I know this, I am starting to enjoy it and the uneasiness is disappearing..... ahhhhh.....

Hope you are also enjoying your day! Happy Friday :)

Picture of quiet ;)

Aging and the art of applying makeup

I am 46 years old and feel really good about it. This is probably the most physically trained I have been in years. I love my job. I have a wonderful family. I am thankful. Ahhh...

One thing that I cannot do anymore, though, is put on makeup. If you are above the age of 40, you understand how your eyes change. You can't see if you have glasses on. You can't see if you take them off. You can't see if you have your contacts in. You resist the bi-focals. You end up dreaming about the bi-focals ;) Anyway, I am so happy that many celebrities and fashionistas are posting instagram photos of themselves without make up on because I have given up wearing it. May I add that it is not in an effort to "free my face" but- simply- because I cannot see up close enough to put the damn stuff on. After countless mascara accidents and free form eyeliner jobs, I have decided to default into the makeup free category. You now know my secret... please keep it from the fashion police.... for once, I would like them to think that I am a part of a trend ;)

Happy day to you all! xox

Me, before makeup.

Me ,with makeup... pretty darn close ;)