Happy moments

So I guess some of you may be wondering where I've been lately... I've been really busy! Between the family, school and everything else that makes up my life, I've had little time to get my thoughts organized enough to get them down in my blog. But in between all of the musts and needs, there are many happy moments worth remembering, so I'm going to write a few of those down.

The other day Alvin stood in front of the mirror looking at himself up and down as if in awe. Then he said: "I've never been this tall and handsome - and I'm only six years old!" (His original words in Swedish were: "Jag har aldrig varit så lång och ståtlig - och jag är bara sex år!") My little boy is starting to realize that he is growing up...

Lovisa has always been very helpful, especially around the kitchen. Lately, she has started making lunch boxes for Jens as soon as we have some left overs, which is good, because we do try not to throw away food. The other day we were in a hurry so Lovisa, Egon and I had oatmeal for lunch. I know that's sad, but what makes it even more sad (and really funny at the same time) is that after Lovisa had finished, she took out a lunch box and scooped up the about five spoon fulls that was left in the pot and put it in the fridge. I don't think I need to add that it never was eaten.

One Sunday at Church, Alvin and Ivar got a lollipop from a cousin. They really enjoyed them, but Lovisa, who didn't get one was very upset and lay crying on the floor. So Ivar ate a couple of bites off his lollipop and then gave the other half to his little sister. I thought that was a really unselfish thing to do, and I was so proud of him.

2-year-old, Egon felt Jens' chin and asked: "Do you have a beard?" ("Har du skägg?") Jens said he did and that he needed to shave. Egon put his little hand on his own cheek and said: "I'm smooth. I have shaved." ("Jag är len. Jag har jakat mig.")

Today Jens and I were listening to Spotify on the computer. I got nostalgic and put "Now that I've found you", a really cheezy song with Michael Bolton, that we danced to at our wedding. So we started dancing in our small guestroom/office. Lovisa came in and Jens picked her up and danced with her. It was such a sweet moment, and it made me appreciate all of the blessings, especially the four little people blessings, that have come into my life since Jens and I met almost 9 years ago.

Cute question

Lovisa is such a cute little girl! Tonight, as I lay beside her in her bed for a little while, she turned to me and asked: "How many grandchildren would you like to have when you grow up?" What cute question! And how nice to know that I don't need to grow up until I'm a grandma! I was starting to feel a little bit worried about the fact that, as a mother of four, I still don't feel like I've "grown up"...

Lovisa is always talking about how many children she wants to have. The latest number was 90. I think she has about 15 names picked out already! It always makes me smile when she talks about her childbearing future, but I try not to discourage her. Life and biology will do that all by themselves. I just think it's great that she thinks that being a mother is something that great to her! It really is the best job in the world!

Blueberries

Our adventurous trip to Öland part 2

The day we arrived at the camping site was a sunny day! How promising! We met up with my sister, Merit and her family, who were spending time at her husbands family's summerhouse on the island. We starting putting up the tent, which took a little while, since it was the first time we did it... As we were working on that the sky got darker and darker, and pretty soon the first drops of rain started coming down. As soon as the tent was up it started raining for real! And it kept on raining... Pretty soon the rain turned into the worst thunderstorm in years on the island... Water started flooding the tent, but luckily the part of it where we were going to sleep remained dry.
The rain continued the next day, and we started to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into. Six people in a tent in lashing rain?!
The following day it started to clear up and the whole camping idea didn't seem so bad after all.
We spent the week swimming in the pool and in the sea, playing in a huge playground, visiting rock formations on a beach, playing beach volley ball and spending time with some friends, who were there the same week. It did rain some more, but we really enjoyed ourselves, and Jens and i were pretty darn proud of ourselves for having pulled it off!

Our adventurous trip to Öland part 1

This year we decided to do something we've never done before. We packed our car and headed down to Öland for a week in a tent! What an adventure that turned out to be! To sum it up in a few words: car breakdown times two, seeing old friend, rain, rain, rain, sun, and lots of fun! So let me back it up for you. One sunny thursday morning, only about an hour and a half after the scheduled (or at least hoped for) departure time, we started what we thought was going to be a seven hour trip down to Kalmar, including potty and food breaks. I wish we had taken a picture of the car with all of our stuff crammed into it. We felt pretty good about ourselves as the car rolled down the hill...until it stopped after about five minutes and wouldn't start. We had to get Jens dad to tow us to the nearest garage to get it fixed. About an hour later the mechanic got it started again, without even knowing what he had done. We were happy to be on our way again and not having had to pay for the sort-of-car-repair. After that incident, the drive went smoothly. The kids were pretty happy and we didn't have to stop too many times. Then about twenty minutes from Kalmar the car broke down again and there was smoke coming out from underneath it. We were stranded at a bus stop and had to call my friend, Ragnar, who we were going to stay with for a couple of nights. Luckily, he had access to a minivan and was able to pick us up. After that he and Jens took the car to another garage. As it turns out, the car hadn't been fixed at all the first time, and I consider it a real blessing that it made it almost all the way to Kalmar! The kids were such good sports through the entire ordeal. The whole thing really seemed to be one big adventure to them. We got the car back friday afternoon, right before they closed and were able to drive it to the camping site on Öland the next day as planned...

In the meantime we spent the Friday enjoying beautiful weather in Kalmar in the company of our friend, Ragnar. We went to a playground/farm where the kids ran around for hours. Ragnar bought us all ice-cream! Thanks again for that!

Hold the presses!!

After several days of eating difficulties, bleeding gums, and emotional turmoil, Alvin lost his front tooth, last Friday, July 4th at approximately 3:30 PM.
The proud 6-year-old comments on the event:
"I'm going to have mommy teeth now!"

Dressing up

Watch out for the hairy Spider Girl!


And her little less hairy Spider Brother.

Mommy's little angel...

Notice the skirt...!

Mom and son date

We have a reward system in our house, where the kids collect marbles in a jar. Every time they help out around the house, or do other nice things that require a little effort, they get to put a marble in their jar. When the jar is full they get do chose an activity to do with mom or dad.

A week or so ago it was Ivar's turn to chose an activity and he chose to go miniature golfing with me!



We had a lot of fun, and Ivar really did great for not having played before. I, on the other hand, didn't do so well. And it wasn't just to be nice to Ivar either...

Finally summer!

After a few weeks of cold weather summer finally arrived! We rode our bikes to a lake nearby and the kids went in for the first swim of the year. The water was pretty cold, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. Lucklily we have had some really warm weather for a while now, and the lakes have warmed up enough for me to get in the water!

Egon has turned 2!

On June11th our baby Egon turned two! Where did time go?
Egon is such a sweet little boy. He has the cutest smile that makes my heart melt. Egon is always up to something and rarely has time to just sit still. He loves to play with his brothers and sister and enjoys "helping" his mommy in the kitchen... He is very affectionate and loves to cuddle and kiss for a minute or so, before a new adventure calls for him. At the same time he is an extremely strong-willed child and gets very upset when he doesn't get his way. He is great with balls and learned how to kick a soccerball as soon as he could stand on his own. This is a talent he did not inherit from either his mom or his dad...
Egon is a happy little boy and I really can't imagine what life was like before he came along. I'm so glad he did! Happy birthday, Egon!


Egon was so excited to get a soccerball for his birthday. Nothing could get his attention away from it...

...although the red wheel barrow came pretty close!