Keeping my chin up!

Everything feels kind of rough right now... Having a hard time motivating myself to do anything really, school is uninspiring and things are feeling quite blah! :P
To lift my spirit a little bit I've been, whilst studying, looking at photos on the computer and seeing what beautiful kids we have and what a sweet hubby I've got things feel a little less rubbish.

Thought I'd post some of my favourite pics here too so that I can find them quickly even if I'm not at home! :)

One of my favourite first photos of Anton. He's about a week old. November 2005

Double doodie action! :) January 2007

Silly face that always makes me laugh! :) June 2007

I don't think they come any cuter than this! August 2007

Breakfast girly, with one of many failed attempts of a "pony tail"! :D July 2008




Making 15s! :D September 2008

Spring bouquet from lovely hubby! March 2009

Kiddies fall asleep on top/beside an already sleeping Dad.
SO cute! March 2009

Anton having a blast with Dad and Vaari. 29th March 2009.

Erin on the slide! :) 29th March 2009

Having a picnic at the 4H "farm". 29th March 2009.

E.

Summertime!

"Spring forwards, Fall backwards" - that's how Stephen taught me how to remember which way the clocks turn. :) That time has come around again and again we have the problem of the little ones not understanding the whole concept of the clock ;P and when they're supposed to nap or go to sleep at night...and just because there's a fuss about sleeping they not "only" fall asleep the understandable hour late but almost two hours late...! Which makes the whole day (or week) slightly frustrating...before they're (we all are) too tired to fight it anymore...most of the time we "win" but they too have managed to beat us on occasion.

*deep breath*

Going back into the "battle zone"!

E.

...

I skipped school on Friday!?! :O I knoooow...bad, bad, baaaad E!
I just really needed a break from "it all" and by giving myself a long weekend I hope I've gotten that break. I'm also glad I left my school books etc in my locker on Thursday, might have been tempted to look through the material again and I don't think that would have done me any good.
So yesterday I chilled out, as much as I could, all day and we ended our "tgif" watching "Stuart Little"...skipped through most of it as E&A preferred having a looong bath to watching the movie.
I've started spraying a leave-in conditioner in Erin's very curly hair to make it easier to brush. She (understandably) hates having her hair brushed but it just can't be left without a brush-through! The new conditioner seems to be working well, no more tears or screaming in the mornings and it also makes her hair less frizzy and therefore more curly...supercute! :D

...Today's my birthday...turning 28 feels like no different from 27 (which I thought felt much "older" than 26)...mainly waiting and looking forward to turning 30...and being a "thirty-something" which I think I've been since I was about 14... *lol*
My niece Julia turned 5 yesterday and today we had a small get-together at my sister's for our two birthdays...my sis is having 13 (!?) little kiddies over for the party tomorrow, very VERY brave! Wish you the best of luck! ;) It's good she's got a few grown up helpers at hand... :)
I got lovely earrings and a cute notebook and a beautiful orchid! I'm a bit envious of Julia's Tinkerbell-dress though! ;)

Hoping for some sunshine tomorrow so that we can go visit the pot-bellied pigs again. :)
Time to get kiddies ready for bed!

E.

*black out!*

Well, not really but as good as...
Time to write the essay in the auditorium today and I felt fairly confident and not stressed at all. This essay is in no means the "be all and end all" of the course we're doing right now, an important part yes but nothing to get overly stressed about.
I know the material we've been given to analyse, I know the different theories and... I know this! Still...when we were handed the papers and were told what we were specifically to write about my brain just...stopped working... :/ Total...not even panic (that would have felt slightly "normal") just...blank... I read the text 3 times and listened to our teachers instructions and read it again and felt tears welling up in my eyes.
What the hell?! I KNOW this!! Deep breaths and trying to organise my thoughts, even choosing the lowest grade assignment ("just" a pass) to make it easier for myself and still...nothing...!?!
Tears running down my face at this point and I'm not getting anywhere...spoke with my teacher and she was fine, she knows too I know the stuff but of course needs it on paper too..."Don't torture yourself about it...we'll sort something else out. Take it easy 'til we go on a break and then decide what you want to do..."
Felt like such a...*sigh* I don't know...I still don't know...all I know is that all my class mates are writing their essays at the moment and I'm at home. What a... :(
So not what I was expecting for today...!

E.

Taking a break!

OK, taking a break from the studying for a moment...head starting to spin with all this stuff, development theories, Freud, Piaget, socialisation, Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs" etc and so on...!
*wishing I could take a deep breath with my brain*

*breathe in, breathe out*

:)

Since I'm studying at home I've also got a wash on and a dishwasher needing emptied! ;) I always get the most house work done when I'm supposed to do something else, like studying...! I wonder why that is...? *lol*
It all seems to get done eventually so I should probably stress less about it not getting done and the perhaps it'd be done quicker, easier and much sooner...? Hmmm...sounds good doesn't it...? How unfortunate the the rational part of my brain don't seem to communicate very well with the irrational... *lol*

COOOLD again this morning! -10C!? "Only" -5C when I took Erin to dagis (S took Anton for a check-up at the dr's) and with the sun beaming at us we didn't mind the cold that much... :D
-5C (or even +10C) in the spring always feels sooo much warmer than -5 in the beginning of the autumn... The temperature is the same but in March/April I'll happily leave my coat at home when it's 10 degrees outside but in Sept./Oct. I'd be putting on an extra jumper under the same coat and throwing on a woolly scarf and hat too! I guess we just long so much for the summer that we just don't mind freezing our behind off... :)

E.

New car!

Well...yes it's true... :) We're "swapping" our old Audi A4 for an (equally old) Ford Galaxy. Stephen's getting the "new" car tomorrow.

Our Audi was supposed to be a good deal between S and his boss (the car is boss's daughters old car) and a price hadn't been set until the other day when we finally found out how much he wanted for it... Way too much and if that price had ever been an option we would never had accepted it! So, S's boss got grumpy with us for questioning the price and wanted it returned and he's more than welcome to have it back...we found a more spacious car for a better price.

Best wishes to B and getting his daughters car sold!

This morning we got a visit from my cousin T, who's flown in from Finland for a job interview (!?!), my sister Anna had picked him up from the airport and they had time to spare before the interview and stopped by for a coffee.
*fingers crossed for T* Hope the job is yours!! :)

Didn't get as much studying done as I would have wanted to but tomorrow's another day! ;)

E.

Brilliant Spring!

The weekend was sooo lovely...warm weather and sunshine! :) Total mood lifter! :D

Anton got to spend Saturday with Mommo in Gothenburg, go to the cinema with cousins (and best friends!) Elsa and Julia + aunties A and S... AND, hold on to your seats ;) he spent the night at Mommo's too...! His first night away from both mommy and daddy. It went really really well and he even treated his Mommo with a looong lie in... ;) He woke at 7 rather than the usual 5.30! :) What a treat!

Erin was a bit upset about not getting to go too but she'll have her turn and since it went so well with Anton, mum feels more at ease taking them both next time...
We went to visit a 4H "farm" with Erin as a compensation and she got super exited about the pot-bellied pigs! :D Cutie-pie! The ducks where good fun too and she was happy to have a look at the horses too but preferred doing in at a distance... :)

Sunday - Anton was returned safely ;) and was accompanied by two plastic snakes, one for him and one for Erin - Mommo had tried convincing him of getting her something else (not so worm:y!) but he knew she wanted one too! ;) He's been wanting one since his friend at dagis brought his with him one day..."Samma som Kalles mask!" (="same as Kalle's worm")
As the sun was still shining after nap-time we took a nice "long" walk to the playground before dinner. Good weekend over all! :)

Monday...nah! School's really just not great right now...we did really well on our assignment and now have Thursdays essay to look forward too...studies at home both today and tomorrow and I think I know what I need to know so that's not the problem...that things are too difficult...more the fact the the disorganisation is driving me crazy!

Now I need to get some of that studying done! ;)

E.

TGIF!

Finally Friday! The sun is shining and the assignment for Monday is done! This yucky week has finally come to and end and I'm going to leave my schoolbooks in my locker over the weekend and just ENJOY the lovely weather we've been promised. :)

I'm going to try to let next week start on Monday afternoon (since we're done with the Mon. morning assign.!) and not, not, not think about the essay we're writing in the auditorium on Thursday... :/

Movie night tonight...what'll we watch...? Chicken Run perhaps...? :)

Even if the week has been unreal studywise it's been fairly good family- and otherwise... :) The weather's been good, somewhat cold in the mornings, the kids have not had any terrible tantrums and I've gotten to drive some as well! :) I had a really good drive yesterday and felt really really chuffed when S commented on my manoeuvering of the roundabout as "...Perfect!". :D

E.

My happy pills! :)

I've got the best cure for ending a yucky day...!

Pick Erin up from dagis, get a HUGE cuddle and sniff her warm (sometimes still baby-smelling!) neck, it'll lift you spirits I guarantee! :)

Posting pics of ones cute little "helpers" is a good boost just before bed and when they're already asleep and might not appreciate a neck-sniff. It'll will put a smile on your face and you'll dream sweet dreams all night long! ;)

Stephen explains...

Erin tests "quality" of plaster with fingers. ;)

Anton is already an expert, he's done this once or twice before! :D

My adorable lovelies chilling out on the sofa. MissE Curls more interested in whatever is on the tv than me and Mr Chatterbox keeps on chatting... :D

Sweet dreams!

E.

...

Having a generally yucky day today! :( Still have ten minutes left of my lunch break and maybe just about an hour left of the school day all together but still feel just BLAH!

I just keep hoping and wishing for inspiration but keep feeling less and less interested in this course...but do I really want to "give up" after doing half of it (because finishing earlier than that isn't an option) ??? Nah, I don't think so...and the autumn term is hopefully, hopefully!, better...at least we'll have a months placement at a nursery and be out of school but... *sigh* Do I want to force myself through this 'til then?? Would it not be better to do the individual courses instead in the autumn...? Or... :/ I don't know...It just feels...blah right now...and has been since we started... :(

Lots to think about...
Better go now!

E.

Settling in...?

As you might have noticed my blog has been changing "clothes" about every two days...I think I like something but end up loosing interest in the look after a few days. I've really tried to stay away from the girly flowery scrapbook stuff but not managed too well as you see...I think I have to embrace my inner scrapbook flower girl *lol* and perhaps I've found a look that might last a wee while... :) Thanks for the patience and hopefully you'll like this new look too... :)

Talking of new looks, here's mine...not an overly great pic (taken yesterday) but Anton's cute and you get the gist of my new hairdo - short and brown rather than blonde and longer... ;)

The weekend has gone by too fast, again! I'm not thrilled about school at the mo and the weekends seem to woosh by way too fast!
Studying different development-theories at the moment - Freud, Mahler, Piaget etc. which is all interesting enough but the organising of our assignments is as per usual confusing at best. Feels like we constantly keep our fingers crossed hoping we get it right rather than feeling confident of what exactly is expected of us... Is it really that difficult to communicate the assignments clearly?! Apparently so since we're still in the dark even after asking for clarifications from our teacher...hmmmm...! :/

We had a really good evening at my sisters watching the Melody Festival after the kids had gone to sleep. My favourite was Agnes "Love, Love, Love" or possibly the Greek song "Alla", even though I'm not sure how we ended up with a Greek song...(?) but hey, "La Voix" won and it's not even slightly Swedish either sooo I'm not sure what exactly my point is... ;)

I got to drive both to my sisters and home again so got a good deal of practising done! :) Feeling less nervous but still far faaaar from confident! :) I think Stephen is glad to get out of some of all the driving, and I'm happy to oblige. :D

I've got a wash that needs hanging before I'm off to bed so better go!

E.

New haircut and colour!

Yay! How fabulous! ;) Feels like a ton of weight has lifted of my shoulders after the hairdresser cut it "all" off! *phew* What a relief. :) Now "back" to chocolaty-brown shade...hoping to settle in a slightly lighter brown shade later. Much, much shorter and a fringe (bangs? in am. eng.?)... Haven't "styled" it myself yet so still a little bit too "fluffy" for my taste and for taking a pic and posting it but perhaps tomorrow.

Tomorrow we're going to my Big Sis's to watch Melodifestivalen. It's tradition to come together and oooh and aaah over all the songs and singers, make fun of what they wear or how their song is performed...some of us LOVE it and others HATE it but the "haters" still can't stay away from the tv. ;) We eat rubbish and enjoy a really "good" tv-event together on my sisters HUGE sofa! :) Good, GOOD fun! :)

Hoping the weather is good enough for me to drive! :)

Snow, snow, snow...

Just as I thought spring might finally arrive the snow starts falling... Hoping for rain tonight to wash it all away! I'm DONE with snow for now...come back again in November! Pleeeease!?! :)

I've finally got an appointment at the hairdresser in about an hour! Cut and colour if she has time...might leave this very short blonde-spell behind me, too much up-keep for me I think... We'll see what the hairdresser suggests.
Wish me luck! I seem to be one of those people who need luck for sorting out my hair...too often that I've not been happy with the end-result. :/

S picked me up from school today, nice, and brought a bunch of flowers with him, very nice! xxx

Tummy-bug...

This season is not the greatest one to be a student-mom, it's one thing after the other with the little ones and today I'm missing another day of school...Anton's got a tummy bug (both ways if you're interested) and I have to be home at least tomorrow too and if Erin gets the bug (which is a high possibility) I might be home with them for the week.

I know it's not really a problem, not at all the end of the world! :) ...I'll get the assignments from my classmates or from the teacher over e-mail but I do feel I miss stuff when the little kiddies have something once a week...

Keep your fingers crossed that Anton's "done" and that Erin (or I!) won't catch the bug next! :)

Introducing...

Jaspurr D'Cat

After the vet had given him the all-clear and commented on what a pleasant patient he was we brought "the Cat" home. The vet also said he wasn't as terribly skinny as we'd thought, he could still do with gaining a little bit of weight as long as he didn't get fat (of course!). :)
So...what to call him? The Cat just didn't sound right... Erin thought that he could be called Apa (monkey) or Bajs (poop) *lol* but nooo...don't think so. Anton thought Katten (the Cat) was fine. We considered Elvis for a short while but finally settled on Jaspurr D'Cat. ;)

He's the nicest, most easy-going and sleepy cat I've ever known! :) Nothing seems to bother him...he gets on really well with us, kiddes, Ossie and Charlie (who now will occasionally growl at each other, but rarely at J!?). Jaspurr's been out and about too and came back...I thought he might have been on his way back to where ever he's come from now that he was fed and had gotten shelter for a few days but no, he returned to us. :)

We still have to get some house rules explained to him, like it's not OK to eat from the dirty dishes in the sink etc., but I think that'll come with time. :) Right now we're just happy he's settling in and getting on so well with every one.

Welcome home Jaspurr! :)

Downstairs...

So, here are some fairly recent pics of our downstairs. Our work in progress... :) Use all of your imagination and you'll be able to see how brilliant it'll be in the end! ;)

First, new windows in the kids room, window on left used to be small poky basement window

(smaller than the one on the right, which was not there before).

HUGE difference in light in-take with 2 windows!

New "big" window in kids room and doorway to the left, which takes you to our back hallway and leading to our bedroom.

And Charlie! :)

Door into kids bedroom, from "playroom"

and an Erin. :)


Playroom wall with doors, stairs upstairs on right. Door frames have been removed and door handles will be changed to smaller knobs and all of it painted in one colour to "hide" the doors.

All still needs plastered and painted. Kids room and stairs will get carpet. Floor in playroom is almost done, waiting for delivery of remaining floorboards...slight miscalculation! ;)

Feeling pretty chuffed!

Straight from daring the "proper" roads and driving 30 km/h (20 mph) and then onto the motorway at 110 km/h (70 mph) (or more like 90-100 km/h (60:ish mph) but still really really FAST!) the very next day!
Yes, it's TRUE! I'm almost a proper "learner driver" now...feeling quite chuffed with myself for managing such a feat. :D
OK, OK... I didn't actually do the tricky city driving before or after the motorway... S stopped at a suitable place for me to take over and at the end guided me to a good place to stop where he could take over again. :) I still did about 80 km (50 miles) all and all today.

Arriving home today we were greeted by a very noisy, scruffy-looking cat. He came up to us with a few very loud and decisive MEOWs = see me! hear me! help me! for those of you who don't speak cat. Poor thing was sooo skinny and after calling the vet and the police (apparently it's police business to take care of lost cats?) and then the animal shelter, since neither vet nor police showed any interest, we decided to feed him and give him shelter 'til we can find out who (if anyone) owns him. The animal shelter will get in touch with the vet in our neighbourhood (not the one we initially spoke to!) and hopefully the vet be able to help the cat and us.
We're hoping that "The Cat", as we call him, is chip marked (no collar or other markings) and has a home and someone who misses him...otherwise I'm not sure what we'll do...or perhaps I do know but won't admit it! :I

Now I'm going to bed, feeling smug as an alley cat about my driving "skills" and we'll see whether S will join me in our bed or "The Cat" downstairs ("he's lonely!")... ;)

Nightynight!



P.S. Anton got an appoinment at Dr's this morning and was given some cough meds. He hasn't gotten any worse so will be going to nursery tomorrow! :)

Driving!

Yay! Got to drive some today again and was even brave enough to go out on the "proper" road this time (the distance between the gp's and home, not even 2 km!) and it was scary and FUN! :)

I just sat down at the computer after putting kiddies down for the night and was supposed to finish off some schoolwork but... :/ hmmm...I'm still getting to that, takes such an awful long time to open that folder and don't get me started with the word document! ;P

Anton's been much better, no fever from about lunchtime and forwards...he's coughing some now, laying down in bed...not sure what to do about tomorrow and school and nursery. Just have to wait and see I guess... Most likely I'll stay at home and get in touch with the doctor to hear what can/should be done...

Fever still...

Anton still has a fever and his cough is sounding worse too. :/ Which both are worse in the evening/night time... Yesterday during the day he seemed fine, except for the cough and occasional complaining of sore tummy (which I think he gets from all the coughing). He played well with his cousins who were over for LittleSis's birthday "celebrations". :)
Very nice, as always, to have visitors - especially when they bring cake! ;) I like these really casual get-togethers on birthdays rather than "huge" parties where I need to plan what to wear, or worse go shopping for something new, and are the kids allowed too or not? and if not what about a babysitter etc. etc.
I don't mean to say I don't like parties, because I do! :) , but I like it when things are kept fairly casual with as little stress as possible...for both party planner and guests.

...

Hopefully this fever is only this "three-day-fever" (called what in English? Couldn't find it myself when I did a super quick search) that the little ones can get...and nothing worse...I think Erin had a fever for about 3 days too... Anton's third day is today so we'll see... *fingers crossed*
I'll call the doctor again tomorrow to see what they advise if he's still coughing this badly and still has a fever... :/