Just two more days of my work placement and then back to school again on Monday. It feels...weird. Good, but sad ('cause I've really enjoyed working) and then a bit boring ('cause I'm kinda fed up with this course at the moment)...! But...mainly good, to get back to our "normal" routine with not-so-long days etc...but then again working (not living of a student grant) would be kind of nice... Clear as crystal, don't you think?? ;)
This weekend we've been invited to my friend Tara's Halloween "do" for our little people, my first Halloween party! :D I'm really looking forward to it, even if it's more for the kids than us grown ups.
I'm NOT looking forward to Anton's birthday...I'm so sorry, but I'm really not! He's turning 4 and having his friends over for his very first party. Before we've only had family over for a small celebration and I feel totally lost now, don't know how these kids-party-things are done... I wish I was this fun&games-mom but I'm not...! I like socialising but prefer to go away rather than having people (yes, even "just" little people") at our house.
I know I'm being silly!! I know! I mean...it's not such a big deal...it's not. But...I'm looking forward to Sunday evening, when it's all over and done with. :)
E.
onsdag, oktober 28, 2009
söndag, oktober 25, 2009
Play-dates and so on...
Anton's growing up! Just one short week before he's a big 4 year old boy... 4?! Play-dates are rolling in... Yesterday he had C. over at ours and today E. called (himself! :) ) and asked if Anton wanted to come over to play. :) Which of course Anton was thrilled about! It didn't matter that Mommo was over... Kiss and bye-bye! ...She used to trump anyone and anything not too long ago... :) It is all the way it's supposed to be, I know...! I'm just having a hard time grasping that he isn't my baby anymore...he is a big boy! :)
Both him and Erin are in some sort of "testing boundaries"-phase... Or more correctly "let's not listen"-phase...! They are trying my patience something rotten and I can willingly admit to not always managing to keep my cool...! Not that it makes any difference at all if I if (when!) I get really cross...apparently it's sometimes even funny...!? :[ *not amused!*
Hoping this phase will pass quickly! :)
Tomorrow's Monday again...the weather forecast for the week is rain and mist. Hoping it'll clear and give us a crisp and sunny weekend. :)
E.
Both him and Erin are in some sort of "testing boundaries"-phase... Or more correctly "let's not listen"-phase...! They are trying my patience something rotten and I can willingly admit to not always managing to keep my cool...! Not that it makes any difference at all if I if (when!) I get really cross...apparently it's sometimes even funny...!? :[ *not amused!*
Hoping this phase will pass quickly! :)
Tomorrow's Monday again...the weather forecast for the week is rain and mist. Hoping it'll clear and give us a crisp and sunny weekend. :)
E.
fredag, oktober 23, 2009
Church of Sweden says yes to gay marriage.
Great news for all those wanting to celebrate their love with a Christian union! :) ♥
From The Local.
"The Synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden has come down in favour of church weddings for homosexuals in a vote held on Thursday morning.
The decision, which is based on a proposal from the church’s governing board, means that the Church of Sweden will conduct wedding ceremonies for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
The proposal was approved by 176 of 249 voting members.
The decision comes just three days after the 30th anniversary of the date when homosexuality stopped being classified as a disease in Sweden.
“The Synod’s decision takes a stance in favour of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people’s equal value,” Åsa Regnér, head of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) - the country's largest gay rights group, said in a statement.
In June, the church board took the first step towards permitting same-sex marriages by submitting a petition to the Church of Sweden Synod – the church's highest decision-making body.
The board proposed the church continue to perform wedding ceremonies following new legislation which came into force on May 1st and grants same-sex couples in Sweden the same legal marriage status as heterosexuals.
Current church regulations will likely continue to apply in practice, with some alterations, such as replacing “man and wife” with “lawfully wedded spouses” when a homosexual couple is married.
Individual pastors would also still be able to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Since 2007, the Church of Sweden, which counts around 74 percent of Swedes as members, has offered gays a religious blessing of their union.
The ruling by the Synod, which has 251 delegates - two of which were absent from Thursday's vote, puts Sweden among the first countries in the world to allow gays to marry in a major church.
Representatives from the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Sweden, however, were disappointed by Thursday’s decision.
“It is with great sorry that we receive news that the Church of Sweden’s Synod has today decided to wed same-sex couples that it will be referred to as marriage. This is a step backwards, not only from Christian tradition, but also from all of the major world’s religions views of what marriage is,” write Vicar Fredrik Emanuelson of the Catholic Church and Father Misha Jaksic, coordinator of the family of Orthodox Churches at the Christian Council of Sweden (CCS), in a joint statement.
“We don’t wed same-sex couples in our churches and faith communities because doing so stands in clear opposition to the church’s tradition and to our entire view of creation.”
In moving ahead with the decision to perform same-sex marriages, the Church of Sweden also ignored concerns expressed earlier this year by the Church of England in a strongly worded letter to Swedish archbishop Anders Wejryd that the move could lead to “an impairment of the relationships between the churches”.
Church of England spokesperson Steve Jenkins confirmed that relations between the two churches may be headed for a turbulent phase in the wake of the decision.
“Those concerns remain,” he told The Local, referring to the letter from English bishops Christopher Hill and John Hind.
He added that he didn’t know of any plans by the English Church to issue a formal statement in response to the Church of Sweden’s decision."
From The Local.
"The Synod of the Lutheran Church of Sweden has come down in favour of church weddings for homosexuals in a vote held on Thursday morning.
The decision, which is based on a proposal from the church’s governing board, means that the Church of Sweden will conduct wedding ceremonies for both heterosexual and homosexual couples.
The proposal was approved by 176 of 249 voting members.
The decision comes just three days after the 30th anniversary of the date when homosexuality stopped being classified as a disease in Sweden.
“The Synod’s decision takes a stance in favour of an inclusive view of people. Regardless of whether one is religious or not, this affects the entire social climate and the view of people’s equal value,” Åsa Regnér, head of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU) - the country's largest gay rights group, said in a statement.
In June, the church board took the first step towards permitting same-sex marriages by submitting a petition to the Church of Sweden Synod – the church's highest decision-making body.
The board proposed the church continue to perform wedding ceremonies following new legislation which came into force on May 1st and grants same-sex couples in Sweden the same legal marriage status as heterosexuals.
Current church regulations will likely continue to apply in practice, with some alterations, such as replacing “man and wife” with “lawfully wedded spouses” when a homosexual couple is married.
Individual pastors would also still be able to refuse to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
Since 2007, the Church of Sweden, which counts around 74 percent of Swedes as members, has offered gays a religious blessing of their union.
The ruling by the Synod, which has 251 delegates - two of which were absent from Thursday's vote, puts Sweden among the first countries in the world to allow gays to marry in a major church.
Representatives from the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Sweden, however, were disappointed by Thursday’s decision.
“It is with great sorry that we receive news that the Church of Sweden’s Synod has today decided to wed same-sex couples that it will be referred to as marriage. This is a step backwards, not only from Christian tradition, but also from all of the major world’s religions views of what marriage is,” write Vicar Fredrik Emanuelson of the Catholic Church and Father Misha Jaksic, coordinator of the family of Orthodox Churches at the Christian Council of Sweden (CCS), in a joint statement.
“We don’t wed same-sex couples in our churches and faith communities because doing so stands in clear opposition to the church’s tradition and to our entire view of creation.”
In moving ahead with the decision to perform same-sex marriages, the Church of Sweden also ignored concerns expressed earlier this year by the Church of England in a strongly worded letter to Swedish archbishop Anders Wejryd that the move could lead to “an impairment of the relationships between the churches”.
Church of England spokesperson Steve Jenkins confirmed that relations between the two churches may be headed for a turbulent phase in the wake of the decision.
“Those concerns remain,” he told The Local, referring to the letter from English bishops Christopher Hill and John Hind.
He added that he didn’t know of any plans by the English Church to issue a formal statement in response to the Church of Sweden’s decision."
Work, school and stuff.
So, week 3 (of 4) of my work placement has come to an end and I can't believe how quick it has gone! Only 5 more days of work and then back to school again...
My artsy assignment with the kids went really well! :) All of us enjoyed making a bit of a mess and the end results were really good! :) Taking over my supervisor's daily routines also, no problems at all. "Finally" my teachers visit on Thursday, all good! No "complaints" from me or my supervisor...
My cold is very persistent! Going from runny nose to cough to nose to throat and cough with runny...and so on and so on...
I'm thinking it'll stick for the rest of the work placement and another two weeks after that...since my immune system has to get reacquainted with the school environment again! *sigh* Oh well, I'm thankful it is just a cold and not anything that has forced me to stay at home. Also, my big sister said that she'd heard that if one has had the cold virus one's body is better equipped dealing with the "new" (apparently we're not calling it the swine flu any more) flu...! :)
On Monday this week I also got my application in for the spring term (more on my plans for the future here!). The total of points I've applied for is 600. I'll only need 400 (or possibly just 350?) for the spring term but a few of the courses (Creative writing and History of culture and ideas) that I'm really wanting to do might not get the go-ahead due to the fact that there's not enough interest. I've also applied to do more maths, natural science, philosophy, psychology and history... :D I'll have a hard time choosing which ones not to do if I'm accepted into all of them!
Not so great that I missed the cut off date for studying over x-mas/new year, i.e. getting my study grant over the school holidays. Which means less than half my study grant in December which in turn means that our x-mas/new year is looking kind of (very!)...poor...! :/ We'll see what we can do to sort it out, but...not looking great at the moment and it's really giving me a bit of a stomach ache thinking about it...
Ending on o positive note! My phone's fixed! S ordered the LCD-display from China for a fraction of the price it'd have cost me to get it sorted in Sweden and got it working again! :D He did mess up one of the speakers in the process but the phone works! :) SO pleased! :D
♥ E.
My artsy assignment with the kids went really well! :) All of us enjoyed making a bit of a mess and the end results were really good! :) Taking over my supervisor's daily routines also, no problems at all. "Finally" my teachers visit on Thursday, all good! No "complaints" from me or my supervisor...
My cold is very persistent! Going from runny nose to cough to nose to throat and cough with runny...and so on and so on...
I'm thinking it'll stick for the rest of the work placement and another two weeks after that...since my immune system has to get reacquainted with the school environment again! *sigh* Oh well, I'm thankful it is just a cold and not anything that has forced me to stay at home. Also, my big sister said that she'd heard that if one has had the cold virus one's body is better equipped dealing with the "new" (apparently we're not calling it the swine flu any more) flu...! :)
On Monday this week I also got my application in for the spring term (more on my plans for the future here!). The total of points I've applied for is 600. I'll only need 400 (or possibly just 350?) for the spring term but a few of the courses (Creative writing and History of culture and ideas) that I'm really wanting to do might not get the go-ahead due to the fact that there's not enough interest. I've also applied to do more maths, natural science, philosophy, psychology and history... :D I'll have a hard time choosing which ones not to do if I'm accepted into all of them!
Not so great that I missed the cut off date for studying over x-mas/new year, i.e. getting my study grant over the school holidays. Which means less than half my study grant in December which in turn means that our x-mas/new year is looking kind of (very!)...poor...! :/ We'll see what we can do to sort it out, but...not looking great at the moment and it's really giving me a bit of a stomach ache thinking about it...
Ending on o positive note! My phone's fixed! S ordered the LCD-display from China for a fraction of the price it'd have cost me to get it sorted in Sweden and got it working again! :D He did mess up one of the speakers in the process but the phone works! :) SO pleased! :D
♥ E.
söndag, oktober 18, 2009
Snow and stuff...
It's been a while... I'm busy with my work placement and really enjoying it! :)
I have realised though, that I think I'm more of a school teacher than a nursery teacher. I'm not overly great with the discreet pedagogical way of teaching little people which the nursery staff are fantastic at. They manage to get loads of stuff, maths and so on, into childrens everyday playtime fun. I think I'm more suited at the more direct teaching that happens in a school environment...
Time flies and I only have two more weeks left. Next week my teacher is coming for a visit, I'm also going to be in charge (on my own but under supervision!) of an artsy activity with the kiddies and I'll also get to do one of the teachers normal everyday routines with mealtime, "nap"-time and so on... :) Busy busy...!
Last week we had out first snow!?! VERY early indeed and I have a feeling that this winter will be a cold one! I'm thinking - one for the record books kind of cold... :/
The kids went crazy when they saw the snow, which was more like sleet - but that didn't matter to them! :D It all melted away quite quickly but the mornings are very cold and frosty so it'll not be long before it'll stay... Also, winter tires need to go on the car a.s.a.p. or we'll not be able to get anywhere. :/ :)
I think it's time to get all the outdoor toys tidied away and make sure that the winter friendly stuff is close at hand. :) Project for today perhaps?
Stephen is feeling better too...getting on with the work downstairs. Feels like we're at the point where we're talking about fine tuning his meds rather than adding/changing to anything new. :) Looking forward to having this year over and done with.
♥ E.
I have realised though, that I think I'm more of a school teacher than a nursery teacher. I'm not overly great with the discreet pedagogical way of teaching little people which the nursery staff are fantastic at. They manage to get loads of stuff, maths and so on, into childrens everyday playtime fun. I think I'm more suited at the more direct teaching that happens in a school environment...
Time flies and I only have two more weeks left. Next week my teacher is coming for a visit, I'm also going to be in charge (on my own but under supervision!) of an artsy activity with the kiddies and I'll also get to do one of the teachers normal everyday routines with mealtime, "nap"-time and so on... :) Busy busy...!
Last week we had out first snow!?! VERY early indeed and I have a feeling that this winter will be a cold one! I'm thinking - one for the record books kind of cold... :/
The kids went crazy when they saw the snow, which was more like sleet - but that didn't matter to them! :D It all melted away quite quickly but the mornings are very cold and frosty so it'll not be long before it'll stay... Also, winter tires need to go on the car a.s.a.p. or we'll not be able to get anywhere. :/ :)
I think it's time to get all the outdoor toys tidied away and make sure that the winter friendly stuff is close at hand. :) Project for today perhaps?
Stephen is feeling better too...getting on with the work downstairs. Feels like we're at the point where we're talking about fine tuning his meds rather than adding/changing to anything new. :) Looking forward to having this year over and done with.
♥ E.
söndag, oktober 11, 2009
No drama weekend...
:) Yeah...its been so rare lately to have a 'normal' weekend (without stress or irritation or tiredness and/or so on) so when one comes along, like this one, I feel grateful. Grateful for things ordinary, for everyday happenings like getting the house tidied together and going to see friends for a few hours on a Sunday afternoon... :)
It's also quite telling of the rough year we've had and...yeah... One should never take anything for granted but I miss being able to...
I'm grateful for being able to be grateful of the 'little things' and at the same time wishing I didn't need to be grateful... Not sure I'm making any sense...? :)
Anyhoot...! I've had a lovely weekend and I hope you've had one too.
E.
It's also quite telling of the rough year we've had and...yeah... One should never take anything for granted but I miss being able to...
I'm grateful for being able to be grateful of the 'little things' and at the same time wishing I didn't need to be grateful... Not sure I'm making any sense...? :)
Anyhoot...! I've had a lovely weekend and I hope you've had one too.
E.
torsdag, oktober 08, 2009
*sniffles*
I knew I was going to get a cold when starting my work placement at a nursery...! I mean... one grown ups, fairly untried, immune system has nothing to put up against a herd of little people mixed bag of germs. I thought was going to beat it by taking my echinacea pills (which usually works a charm!) before I even started work or had a premonition of a cold, i.e. last weekend, but noooo! 3 days into my work placement and I've got a runny nose (which about 86% of little people have) and nasty cough to go with it. No fever as of yet but today, day 4, I'm feeling reeeally rough! I'm hoping to make it 'til the weekend before I collapse in bed... really, really really don't want to be off sick when I'm only there for four weeks.
Aside from catching this cold it's been good! :) Kids are (mostly) lovely, staff's great and I'm getting into the swing of things...
Now my own little ones want my attention so I'll go and catch you up on the work placement stuff later!
E.
Aside from catching this cold it's been good! :) Kids are (mostly) lovely, staff's great and I'm getting into the swing of things...
Now my own little ones want my attention so I'll go and catch you up on the work placement stuff later!
E.
måndag, oktober 05, 2009
First day of work placement!
Last night, just before bedtime I started getting really nervous about my work placement. Had about a thousand "what ifs" in my head and really didn't sleep very well all night.
It felt like first day of school (but going all on my own!) going to the nursery and trying to find the right door. Of course I got the "wrong" one first (it was locked) and I felt embarrassed an awkward...! :)
Turns out to be a really good day. An outing to the woods nearby, some colouring and listening to stories etc and so on... :) I think it'll be alright! ;)
I have assignments to do during the 4 weeks I'm there but both my supervisor and I thought it'd be best just to get into the flow of things first before trying to get my schoolwork sorted.
Early start tomorrow and I can guarantee you I'll be in bed early too...!
E.
It felt like first day of school (but going all on my own!) going to the nursery and trying to find the right door. Of course I got the "wrong" one first (it was locked) and I felt embarrassed an awkward...! :)
Turns out to be a really good day. An outing to the woods nearby, some colouring and listening to stories etc and so on... :) I think it'll be alright! ;)
I have assignments to do during the 4 weeks I'm there but both my supervisor and I thought it'd be best just to get into the flow of things first before trying to get my schoolwork sorted.
Early start tomorrow and I can guarantee you I'll be in bed early too...!
E.
söndag, oktober 04, 2009
I suck!
*whining warning!*
:[ I suck! I DO! I really really do!
I dream of being this domestic goddess, doing homely things with no effort. Or at least to be some sort of an apprentice to The Domestic Goddess...! I love decorating and good food and freshly baked bread... I'd love to be able to do beautiful things with our garden and having a beautiful home would
(I imagine) give me great pleasure and a sense of pride.
BUT...!
I suck at any of these homely things I try and do! I can't bake, I can cook just enough to get us by. My attempts at sewing ends up being rubbish! (cause of this rant!) My gardening skills are enough to mow the lawn about half of the time it's "required" to be done...! :(
In my head I've got these great ideas and if my purse would allow me to sit and order people about we'd live in this gorgeous "country cottage"-style house with a lovely, purposely wild grown, garden.
But...! Since we don't have money growing of our badly managed trees in the garden I instead have bland, boring home and a sad looking garden which I'd rather not have to deal with, which shows since most of the time it's a right mess too!!
e.
:[ I suck! I DO! I really really do!
I dream of being this domestic goddess, doing homely things with no effort. Or at least to be some sort of an apprentice to The Domestic Goddess...! I love decorating and good food and freshly baked bread... I'd love to be able to do beautiful things with our garden and having a beautiful home would
(I imagine) give me great pleasure and a sense of pride.
BUT...!
I suck at any of these homely things I try and do! I can't bake, I can cook just enough to get us by. My attempts at sewing ends up being rubbish! (cause of this rant!) My gardening skills are enough to mow the lawn about half of the time it's "required" to be done...! :(
In my head I've got these great ideas and if my purse would allow me to sit and order people about we'd live in this gorgeous "country cottage"-style house with a lovely, purposely wild grown, garden.
But...! Since we don't have money growing of our badly managed trees in the garden I instead have bland, boring home and a sad looking garden which I'd rather not have to deal with, which shows since most of the time it's a right mess too!!
e.
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