A little strange.

Okay.. so it is a little strange to be home without Leia.. :/ :) Knowing that she is just across town.. But it is good for both of us. Yes, I miss her. But it is good. She needs to be with other children and other adults. And I need time to myself and time to do my school work and clean and all those things I can't get done while running after her all day. :)


Here are some pictures from yesterday:








She absolutely loves that skirt. The first thing she does when she is there is get the skirt and then she wears it all day. :)

Yesterday I left her for 1 hour, and today for 2 hours, and then today I will go back and be there for lunch. And then for the rest of the week, she will be there by herself from 9-13.30. And then next week she will start her schedule (9-15.00 Tue-Thur).

Her tooth is finally showing a little! Not sure if she has a cold or not of if it is just the teething. Fredrik and I both have sore throats and we are sneezing. So not sure if we are sick or not either.. :/

It has been cold and rainy and cloudy.. :/

I finished one literary analysis, I am in the middle of the 2nd one. I am SO anxious to be done with this Swedish stuff and be done with the class. I've been putting off my SPCS work to finish the Swedish.

But now I am going to dry my hair, since Leia just stands and screams at me when I try to do it with her here, and then Swedish work, and then if I have a chance, I hope to dust off the exercise bike!

Oh yeah.. and Fredrik has to go to Lilla-Edet tomorrow... :/
Not too happy about it.. because of all the driving.. but not much to be done about it.. :P

House guests.

Today we had some guests over to our home! :) It was fantastic to have them here. Angelica came over with her daugther, Alonnika, and son, Bowen. We had some of my delicious, homemade rhubarb pie, and ended up chatting for 3½ hours. We had LOTS of fun!

We reserved Alonnika as a babysitter when Leia was only a few months old, but unfortunately we haven't had a chance to have her come over. (We need money in order to go out on a date!!) :))) But we do hope to have her come over some time in the near future.





Leia has a back tooth coming in.. :/ It has been swollen for about 6-8 weeks now, and now it is finally popping through. It has caused her to sleep poorly.. :/ But last night and today she has slept very, very well. Thank God for Baby Tylenol!!

And we all have colds. :) Leia's is much worse, and I am just getting started. Not sure if Fredrik is sick or not. I think we got it from one of the twin girls at Leia's preschool.

Hmmm..

Preschool is going great, though!
On Thursday I left her for 20 minutes. And on Friday I left her for about 45 minutes. Tomorrow she will be there for about an hour by herself. Tuesday she will be there for.. 2½ hours by herself. Then I will come back and join them for lunch. And Wed, Thurs, and Friday she will be there by herself from 9-13.30 or something like that.

On Friday it was only Leia and the little boy, so that was perfect. Gave her a chance to get used to the place more and with the teachers, without it being so crowded. I think it made a big difference for her. I think she was sad on Saturday when we got out of the car and went into the store, instead of her preschool. :( :)) She really likes it when we show up, and she smiles and runs into the room.

I am so pleased with everything. :)
We got our bill, and we'll pay 600kr/100$ a month, for her being there 18 hours a week (72 hours a month). We COULD have her there up to 25 hours if we wanted, or something like that with the same amount of pay, but I think this is good for now. With me not working, I would get pretty bored without my Leia around 25 hours a week.. :P The rest of the fee is covered through taxes by the government (Socialism isn't so bad afterall, huh?).

Fredrik is afraid of how his work week will look. He's certain that his boss is going to call him again and send him to Lilla-Edet.. :/ He has lots of stuff to get done before December. I'm trying to push him to work a little on Saturday's just so he doesn't have to be stressed during the week.

He got his vacation without a problem, so we'll be going to Stockholm the first weekend in December (the 4th). Leave on a Thursday and come home on Monday.

Okay.. that is enough for now.. Even though I know there is probably more.. I forget a lot more when I don't write every day.. but I don't have time for that right now.. :P Even though I am a speed-typer.. :P

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day !!

.. to all the Pappas in Sweden!

Leia has a cold, and a tooth about ready to pop through.
I am in the beginning stage of a cold, and Fredrik is as well.
What fun! :/ :)

A break.

I'm taking a break from writing my literary analysis on Möss och Människor (Of Mice and Men) and Grabben i Graven Bredvid (The Guy in the Next Grave) to add some pictures of Leia's day at daycare on Friday:


Studyin-up about mushrooms.



LOVES pillows.



Playing dress-up with Anna-Karin. (She's looking in the mirror.)






Leia hasn't been sleeping well the last 3-4 days, so Fredrik and I are pooped. And he is also tired with all the driving to Lilla-Edet (at least 4 hours in the car a day).

Back to school work, and I will try to write again later.

Time.

There are not enough hours in the day.. :/

A few pictures.

The little boy standing is the other little boy doing his "inskolning" the same 2 weeks that Leia is doing hers. The woman sitting is Leia's teacher, Anna-Karen. The boy's mommy, Linda, is the nice gal that I've been with, but she is starting school now, and she'll be away tomorrow at least. So Theodor's Pappa (or however it is spelled in Swedish) will be bringing him tomorrow.








I think he is the only boy at the daycare! At least right now. And WOW! What a difference between him and the girls. He is very... yeah.. :/ :) He is so much more aggressive than the girls.

Leia did well today! It was great when we got there, there were only a couple of other children. But as the morning went on, more showed up, and that sorta caused her to invert a little, and she got more shy and all that. She was pretty tired and got a little whiny before we left. She is a lot younger than the others, so.. it will take her awhile to get used to everything. Now tomorrow I'll actually leave for about 15 minutes and let her be by herself. :) I hope that it will go well.

She is really well with the teachers. She doesn't care if they pick her up or carry her around, which she does NOT like from strangers. So she is great with them, and they are great with her. :) I really, really like the women. They are very laid back and easy going.

Leia doesn't do so well during the singing time. :/ They sit on their animal on the floor (Leia's is a frog) and they sit and sing a few songs, and put their little doll on a board (the one I had to make), and then they have some fruit. They do it around 10.00, and that is Leia's normal snack time, and so she is a bit hungry and cranky.. :/ :) And she doesn't sit still.. :/ She doesn't want to sit and sing, she wants to stand and dance and go around and look at everyone.. :/ :) But it will come.

Her temper has come through a couple of times when we've been there, when she isn't allowed to have something she WANTS.

I'm hoping we can at least be good acquaintances with the new Mom + Dad, because he is an electrician...! A good friend to have.. :))) Especially when we want to install electricity in our living room.

Another good day.

Leia had another good day at daycare!

Each child has a little doll, and today, the other new mom, Linda, and I, got to put yarn hair, eyes and a mouth on our child's dolls.. :/ :) Neither of us really "sew" so.. it was.. interesting. :) Leia's doesn't look too bad I don't think. The mouth was actually the most difficult.

Fredrik came home super early today so that I could go meet my Swedish teacher. He was super-nice, and actually lived in Ohio for a year. :P He was a foreign exchange student in Cleveland, during high school. He is in his 40's, and like most everyone else, has relatives and friends in the US, especially Ohio.

He commented that I am a "driven" student, as well as other Americans, something he really admires. We got along well. :) He is extremely impressed with my Swedish. And he thinks that I speak very, very well. That it is very easy to understand me and that it sounds good. That I just need to raise my confidence. ;)

I don't have to take a national test or anything like that. When I finish my last assignment, then I'm done. But we agreed to meet again, and I'll write a little something for him then, while I am at the building, to sorta end out the class with that. And give me a little spur-of-the-moment assignment to see what my writing is like without so many resources at home (dictionaries, Internet, Fredrik, etc..).

I didn't think he was going to let me leave. And he shook my hand, and took my hands in both of his... and for ahile I thought he was going to ask me out on a date..
Just kidding.. :P But he did freak me out a little. :P

Then Fredrik, Leia and I drove to 3 different places before we finally found the right spot for her BVC appointment...... They are building onto the Familjcentralen (the family center). They are building onto the normal BVC building, so they have split the employees into two different places. But Fredrik went to the vårdcentralen first (the normal health clinic), and that wasn't right at all. Then we went to one of the children's places, and that was wrong. By the time we got to the right place, we were 15 minutes late (also because my teacher wouldn't let go of my hand......). And we passed Leia's doctor on the stairs, luckily... so we got her appointment. She screamed almost the whole time. :D As soon as we took her clothes off. She is just not good with the doctor. She hates being poked at.

Her weight:
11,5 kg (25½ lbs)

Her height:
79 cm (31 ins)

Head circum:
47 cm (18 ins)


The BVC nurse did a few hearing tests with bells, and she thought Leia had extremely good balance for her age, and thought she moved very well. And she got her 3rd immunization shot.

That is all for today.. :P
I spent about 1½ hours writing a poem in Swedish..... :/ It wouldn't have taken so long, but there were certain requirements/guidelines that I had to follow about "plot." It was "lots" of fun!!!!!!

Oh yeah.. Fredrik has to go to.. Lilla Edet for the next 3 days. His boss called him this afternoon, and she asked him to go for the rest of the week, and he said that he couldn't tomorrow, that he has too much other stuff to do. So they agreed for Thursday and Friday. She called back later and said that he has to go tomorrow too... :/ He doesn't have a choice. They need to do more sediment analysis for the ground for a railroad that is being built. I suppose Fredrik has to tell them where to do some of the drilling. It is a 2 hour drive in each direction.. so.. blah.. :/ :) So he will be getting lots of work hours the next 3 days and coming home super late, and possibly leaving early. So I am longing for the weekend, for when we will get to see our Pappa again.. :P

Happy Election Day!!

May the best man win.. ;)

Daycare!

Leia had her first day of preschool today! And she did fabulous. :)) We are so proud of her. She played SO well with the other children, she did well with the teachers, and she could have cared less if Fredrik and I was there or not. :)) She ran around like crazy and one of the teachers was running around after her taking more pictures of her than I do.. :D

They showed us around soon after we got there and the place looks nice. When we were there for their Open House, they had a lot of work still yet to do, but the place looks great!

They go out for walks in the forest and parks 2 days a week. There were lots of adorable artwork from the children all around the room.


Some pictures of the 1½ hours we were there today:











Leia looking in the mirror with one of the 3 teachers.



Leia's drawer where her drawing, papers and artwork will go. Her's is the bottom left. They had given her the symbol of a frog! Everything that is Leia's will have a frog. Including her spot to sit at singing time at 09.30 every day, and her coat rack, etc..

The entrance, where the children keep their shoes, extra clothes, diapers, etc, etc.. You can see Leia's spot, there on the end with the "girly" jacket. ;)


Above their clothes, as you can see, is a picture and a description of the child and the child's family. Each child has a little family booklet that the teachers make, including a picture of Leia's home, a picture of her parents, a few pictures of her playing at home, probably a picture of Caesar, etc. So one day one of the women will come by and take some pictures of us at home! And then she will have a folder, with past artwork and drawings, and medical information, her pick up/leave schedule, etc..

Fredrik and I are extremely pleased. Leia was so happy and content. :) I don't think we could be any happier with the place.

Another child was there this morning to start his "inskolning." The mom is sorta young, and she isn't from Åmål either. Her boyfriend is from here, but she says they have outgrown his immature friends that just want to go to parties all the time, etc.. And she said they have had a horrible time meeting other parent-friends. So we could relate to each other. :) She was very, very nice and I look forward to the next two weeks that we'll be at the förskola together!

Her "inskolning" will be 2 weeks. Including time when I will leave for 10-30 minutes, and then end the last 3 days next week where I will leave her by herself for the entire time. So hopefully it will all go well! I'm glad Fredrik was there with me today. Tomorrow it will just be Leia and I.

Fredrik got ahold of two fireplace fixers today, but one was in a meeting, and the other had bad reception.. So he will call them again tomorrow. :/ :) One said he couldn't start until after Christmas. So, we'll see what they have to say, and all that other stuff..

I'm going to meet my new Swedish teacher tomorrow for the first time. Since they switched teachers on me, I haven't met this one, and I am almost done with my class. So I think we should meet before I finish. :P

He told me that I was "suverän" which means "supreme" or "superb" or "excellent" ... his response to my sammanfattningar (summaries/analysis) to Swedish stories that I wrote. I have a feeling my degree in English literature helps me to write such good papers in Swedish...... :P

Fredrik and I fixed Leia's schedule for the next 6 weeks with the daycare. We picked Tuesdays-Thursdays, 09-15.00.. 6 hours a day for 3 days a week.

That is enough for tonight ! :P

Word morphing.

Leia's "deh" has gone through several changes over the past few days. It went from "deh" to "deck" and now it is at "dack." :)) But sometimes it sounds like "duck." :)))

So we are anxious for the "t" to replace the "d." We are counting this as her 2nd word, after Mamma. It isn't bad for her to have her 2nd word now. Being bilingual, it can be a good 6 months inbetween her getting out her first and second words.. :/ So hopefully we can keep pushing her to get out more words.

Fredrik has been trying to get ahold of the fireplace guy, but it seems like no one wants us to get our fireplace fixed..... The number isn't working, and the website isn't either.. So, he'll keep trying, and hopefully we can get something started. We are extremely anxious to see how long the process is going to take. We don't think the fixing will take very long, but the drying of the cement or whatever they use might take awhile. And after it is all done, someone will have to come and test it.

It is -6 degC at 7 in the morning (21 degF). We are waiting for snow to show up.

Fredrik had a ½ day on Friday, because All Saint's Day (November 1st) is a holiday in Sweden. So he was home by 12.30, and that was very nice. And he took tomorrow off, to be with us on Leia's first day of daycare. We hope her.. inskolning (assimilation) goes quickly, so that I don't have to join her for weeks until she gets used to everything.. :/

We think she will really like it, but she is attached to us. :/

We ended up having 2 trick-or-treaters on Saturday! Even though Halloween had passed, it was still nice to have someone knock at the door. :) They were older, maybe 12, a boy and a girl.

I've started my final Swedish assignment. I've done about ½ of it, the easy half. I have to write two papers for two novels that I read in Swedish. And I have to write a poem.. ehh... I don't like writing poems in Swedish...... :/ You can't just translate. I have to think in Swedish then.. :P And it is easier to go back and forth then to only work in Swedish.

Hmm...
Leia's favorite toys right now.. water bottles and paper milk cartons.. :P She is very attached to them. I think we have about 10 water bottles under the couch that we can't reach.. :/ Get them out once a week when we vacuum.

I keep dreaming about our neighbor...... blue/gray house. I think it is because Fredrik and I talk about him all the time. We see him in his house by himself, and he looks so lonely (probably isn't). And we are so curious as if to if/when he is going to sell his house.

I dreamt we had connecting houses, with a thin wall inbetween, but also a door that connected the two houses (on the second floor). And Fredrik decided that he was going to invite him over for dinner and watch a movie with us...... And Fredrik kept calling him "broccoli"... NOT "broccoli-man" or something of the sort.. just "broccoli." It was... weird. :/

And I'm certain we'd never invite anyone to watch movies with us, not the God-awful B-rated movies we end up watching...... :/ :D We watched some horrible movies this weekend.. :))) But it is fun though. We watched "Labyrinth" with Leia today for the first time, and "The Goonies."

Hmmm...
That is enough for tonight.. :P
I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty, I always do.