We finally got sod put down in our yard. The truck came on Friday afternoon and unloaded 5 pallets of rolled sod. Saturday we had three people come help us roll it out and water it. Our yard backs up to a ditch/brook, and we are borrowing a pump to water the grass using that water.
It may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you had no grass, you would know what we are experiencing. Now that we have grass down, our yard feels less like a waste land and more like a back yard. I am looking out over our back yard now, and it looks so peaceful and pleasant. It is very private, and the grass makes it so much more delightful. I guess it is just one more step in making this house a home.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Frustrations with Big Government
There are a lot of things I like about living in Sweden. However, there are also many things that drive me crazy. For example, the cable to our house for the phone (and Internet) was broken during the construction of our house. A man from the phone company finally came today, and he did not know where the cable was or that it was even broken. I was so confused as to how this did not get communicated to him. And don't even get me started on why it has taken over 4 months to get someone out here, not to mention that the problem should have been fixed before we moved in. Part of the problem is that there is just one company that can dig, lay, and fix the cables, and it is state-owned. It makes me miss the US and its rules on monopolies.
The pharmacies are also state-operated. There is one chain you can visit for medicine, OTC or prescription, and OTC medicines are ridiculously expensive or non-existent (at least compared to what you can find in the US). I miss being able to go to the grocery store to get Tylenol. You have to make a special trip to an Apotek (what their pharmacies are called) to get simple medicines like that.
One more thing, and then I can stop complaining. They have "free" health care here for children. When you go to the doctor, all you have to give them is the person number (kind of like a SSN in the US), and they don't ask for anything else. That is nice, except that when I had to take AJ to the doctor earlier this year, I could not get through to the doctors' offices to make an appointment. I finally was able to get him an appointment at the children's clinic in the hospital, but only after making several phone calls with my neighbor there to translate for me. We spend more in taxes here than we ever spent on health care (including premiums, co-pays, deductibles, etc.) in the US. Free my foot. And at least I could get through to my doctor and even make an appointment the same day on most days in the US.
The pharmacies are also state-operated. There is one chain you can visit for medicine, OTC or prescription, and OTC medicines are ridiculously expensive or non-existent (at least compared to what you can find in the US). I miss being able to go to the grocery store to get Tylenol. You have to make a special trip to an Apotek (what their pharmacies are called) to get simple medicines like that.
One more thing, and then I can stop complaining. They have "free" health care here for children. When you go to the doctor, all you have to give them is the person number (kind of like a SSN in the US), and they don't ask for anything else. That is nice, except that when I had to take AJ to the doctor earlier this year, I could not get through to the doctors' offices to make an appointment. I finally was able to get him an appointment at the children's clinic in the hospital, but only after making several phone calls with my neighbor there to translate for me. We spend more in taxes here than we ever spent on health care (including premiums, co-pays, deductibles, etc.) in the US. Free my foot. And at least I could get through to my doctor and even make an appointment the same day on most days in the US.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Difficult Questions
Last night at bedtime, K was talking about when AJ would be 100 years old. I told her I did not know if I would be alive when he is that old as I was not sure I would live to be 127 yrs old. This really bothered her. She couldn't understand why I would be dead and not with her. She asked me with tears in her voice and eyes, "If you are dead, who will be our Mommy?" I tried to explain that mommies and daddies usually die before their children. T had a better answer. He said that I will always be her Mommy. I also took the opportunity to share with her our beliefs about life after death. I don't know what she got out of the conversation, but she seemed to be a little more at peace about the whole concept by the time we turned out the lights.
Dr. K, OB
K has been really into babies for the past few months. In fact, we have let her watch a "baby" show that they occasionally show here. This has led to some questions as to how babies are born, but, fortunately, none as to how they get in the mommy's tummy to begin with.
K has been interested in being a doctor for a while, and she received a play doctor set for her 3rd birthday. She has used that to perform C-sections on her American Girl doll she received for Christmas from her great-grandmother. One day, I thought she was being too quiet. You who are parents know the feeling. To my surprise, she was being perfectly good. She was just in surgery. She occasionally comes out pretending to hold babies in her arms, then she tells me when they get to go home. I take this all as good news for any future babies we may have come into our family (and, no, I am not hinting at anything regarding an impeding arrival).
One of her latest babies was named LeeLocks. I don't know if it is supposed to be a take on Goldilocks or what. This baby has grown quickly as she recently celebrated her 6th birthday. K updates me on her birthday, her mom and dad's status, and any other news about her. I don't think she is an imaginary friend as K does not talk to her, just tells me stories about her. For example, K has told me that LeeLocks is staying with her while her parents travel, or, more recently, she told me that LeeLocks' daddy died in a car accident. I did not know how to take that. Today she told me that LeeLocks stays with her while her mommy goes to work to earn money. Most of her stories are about why LeeLocks is with her that day. It makes life interesting.
K has been interested in being a doctor for a while, and she received a play doctor set for her 3rd birthday. She has used that to perform C-sections on her American Girl doll she received for Christmas from her great-grandmother. One day, I thought she was being too quiet. You who are parents know the feeling. To my surprise, she was being perfectly good. She was just in surgery. She occasionally comes out pretending to hold babies in her arms, then she tells me when they get to go home. I take this all as good news for any future babies we may have come into our family (and, no, I am not hinting at anything regarding an impeding arrival).
One of her latest babies was named LeeLocks. I don't know if it is supposed to be a take on Goldilocks or what. This baby has grown quickly as she recently celebrated her 6th birthday. K updates me on her birthday, her mom and dad's status, and any other news about her. I don't think she is an imaginary friend as K does not talk to her, just tells me stories about her. For example, K has told me that LeeLocks is staying with her while her parents travel, or, more recently, she told me that LeeLocks' daddy died in a car accident. I did not know how to take that. Today she told me that LeeLocks stays with her while her mommy goes to work to earn money. Most of her stories are about why LeeLocks is with her that day. It makes life interesting.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Foxes and Reading with K
Our excitement for the morning included spotting a fox in our backyard and making cookies. I must admit the fox caused more excitement as we make cookies pretty regularly. Unfortunately, the fox was quick, and he/she did not stay in our yard for long. By the time I got AJ to the window, the fox was gone. It did not stop him from looking longingly out the window for about 5 minutes, though. Meanwhile, K was saying excitedly, "F-O-X, fox! F-O-X, fox!" I guess she is learning something from her spelling lessons after all.
On another note, for those of you who are wondering how well K can really read (probably just family), I went online to do a home reading level test. I had her take 3 to assess her reading level more accurately. She is reading at a 4th grade level, or as well as an 8-yr-old, depending on what test results you go by. This was good for me to find out as I look at purchasing or borrowing more children's books for her to read.
On another note, for those of you who are wondering how well K can really read (probably just family), I went online to do a home reading level test. I had her take 3 to assess her reading level more accurately. She is reading at a 4th grade level, or as well as an 8-yr-old, depending on what test results you go by. This was good for me to find out as I look at purchasing or borrowing more children's books for her to read.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Life in General
Okay, so some of you probably wonder what life is like for me here. There are a multitude of questions to answer. The Swedes wonder if I like it here, and I usually answer that I do. I don't like everything about living here (like taxes -- 25% sales tax, over 50% income tax, enough said), but I like enough about being here to be happy.
I think part of my happiness comes from the friendliness of our neighbors. They have helped us in so many ways through this transition, and they help us when we feel like stupid Americans who can't speak the language. Plus, our kids play well together. That has been such a blessing. I know that K was not happy about leaving her friends, but she has adjusted, and she is slowly developing friendships. As to how they communicate: they speak Swedish to her, and she speaks English to them. The hard part is when there is some sort of conflict. I can't help run interference, and she has gotten the short end of the stick more than once. Overall, she does well, though.
Once or twice a week we go to what translates to "Open Preschool". This is another source of friendships for K, and even AJ to some degree. It is mostly unstructured, then we all sing Swedish kids songs and have fika (but without the sweets). They serve coffee, tea, saft (kind of like putting naturally flavored syrup in water to make a beverage), crackers, and cheese. I also usually bring some fruit to give to my kids. Some moms bring food and feed their babies lunch. Most of the moms who go have babies 18 months or younger, depending on what their maternity leave allows (one year to 18 months is typical here). I think I am the only true SAHM, which is fine with me. With the high cost of everything here, most homes have to have both parents working to afford, well, life.
The days we don't go to the "Open Preschool", we stay home and have home school. K is doing so well with her reading. For those of you familiar with the McGuffey Readers, she finished the first reader, and she is now on the second one. I like the format of these books for a couple of reasons. First, they are broken down into short (manageable) lessons, and, second, they usually teach a good moral lesson. We also do spelling, writing, and simple math. I am just counting by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's with her now. We also have done some number ordering (smallest to largest, for example). Once I get a little more organized, I will start teaching her some basic addition (she knows some, but we have not done anything really structured). As for AJ, I am working on teaching him to read. It is hard to say what he knows, but I know he can read several words. He knows his colors and several shapes. He is also very good at all our wooden puzzles. Some days he is really into learning words, and others he has a mind of his own, which is fine. Of course, all our "school" time still leaves plenty of unstructured playtime for the kiddos, and we also try to bake and paint every week. Oh, and the kids are great about helping me clean (for the most part).
Well, that should give you all a fairly good idea of what my day-to-day life is like. Nothing that different than what I would do in AR, except that we are learning Swedish in the midst of it all. :) Hej då for now.
I think part of my happiness comes from the friendliness of our neighbors. They have helped us in so many ways through this transition, and they help us when we feel like stupid Americans who can't speak the language. Plus, our kids play well together. That has been such a blessing. I know that K was not happy about leaving her friends, but she has adjusted, and she is slowly developing friendships. As to how they communicate: they speak Swedish to her, and she speaks English to them. The hard part is when there is some sort of conflict. I can't help run interference, and she has gotten the short end of the stick more than once. Overall, she does well, though.
Once or twice a week we go to what translates to "Open Preschool". This is another source of friendships for K, and even AJ to some degree. It is mostly unstructured, then we all sing Swedish kids songs and have fika (but without the sweets). They serve coffee, tea, saft (kind of like putting naturally flavored syrup in water to make a beverage), crackers, and cheese. I also usually bring some fruit to give to my kids. Some moms bring food and feed their babies lunch. Most of the moms who go have babies 18 months or younger, depending on what their maternity leave allows (one year to 18 months is typical here). I think I am the only true SAHM, which is fine with me. With the high cost of everything here, most homes have to have both parents working to afford, well, life.
The days we don't go to the "Open Preschool", we stay home and have home school. K is doing so well with her reading. For those of you familiar with the McGuffey Readers, she finished the first reader, and she is now on the second one. I like the format of these books for a couple of reasons. First, they are broken down into short (manageable) lessons, and, second, they usually teach a good moral lesson. We also do spelling, writing, and simple math. I am just counting by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's with her now. We also have done some number ordering (smallest to largest, for example). Once I get a little more organized, I will start teaching her some basic addition (she knows some, but we have not done anything really structured). As for AJ, I am working on teaching him to read. It is hard to say what he knows, but I know he can read several words. He knows his colors and several shapes. He is also very good at all our wooden puzzles. Some days he is really into learning words, and others he has a mind of his own, which is fine. Of course, all our "school" time still leaves plenty of unstructured playtime for the kiddos, and we also try to bake and paint every week. Oh, and the kids are great about helping me clean (for the most part).
Well, that should give you all a fairly good idea of what my day-to-day life is like. Nothing that different than what I would do in AR, except that we are learning Swedish in the midst of it all. :) Hej då for now.
Springtime in Sweden
Springtime in Sweden begins when they have a week of temperatures above freezing. Coming from AR, this was a very different definition than what I am used to. The good news is that it finally does feel like spring. A couple of weeks ago, the ground was covered with little white wildflowers they call vit sippor. We had many in our backyard, and they were also all over the place along the paths where the kids and I go walking. Most of them are gone now, but I can still see a couple out my back window. The trees are also finally green or blooming, and there are birds and squirrels running around. I did not realize how much I missed the sounds of the birds singing until I heard them again.
We have a lot of nature near where we live. There is a large lake close by, and there are many trails to and around it. I think it is great to have a place to walk outside that is peaceful and beautiful, and the kids like to be able to walk and run around without having to worry about cars. Now that the weather is a little warmer (but still cool enough to wear a light jacket in the evenings, and, sometimes, during the days), we have been spending more time outdoors, and I hope we are able to do so throughout the LONG summer days (I think in June there are only about 2-3 hours of real darkness). Of course, summer is a ways away. We supposedly had frost this week, and I don't think we are free from that risk until late June.
Enough ramblings about the weather and nature. It is just so nice to see life outside again.
We have a lot of nature near where we live. There is a large lake close by, and there are many trails to and around it. I think it is great to have a place to walk outside that is peaceful and beautiful, and the kids like to be able to walk and run around without having to worry about cars. Now that the weather is a little warmer (but still cool enough to wear a light jacket in the evenings, and, sometimes, during the days), we have been spending more time outdoors, and I hope we are able to do so throughout the LONG summer days (I think in June there are only about 2-3 hours of real darkness). Of course, summer is a ways away. We supposedly had frost this week, and I don't think we are free from that risk until late June.
Enough ramblings about the weather and nature. It is just so nice to see life outside again.
Finally Have Internet
Well, for those of you who have given up hope of ever reading a new post on my blog, this should come as good news. We finally have Internet at home. No, the cable that was broken during the construction of our house is not fixed (even though we have lived here more than 4 months). I don't know if it is a socialist society problem or what. We have Internet thanks to the generosity of a man Timo works with via a USB device. We still hope to get that cable fixed, but at least we have something for now. :)
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