Playground Adventures and Waffle Day

Apparently I have a tattoo on my head that tells random people to start conversations with me.  However, this tattoo only appears when I least want it to.  Like yesterday......

I took The Minis to a nearby playground after lunch.....Spring has come to the tundra and it is glorious!  There is still a little snow, but the sun is making more of an appearance, it is warm, and the ground is finally beginning to dry out.  So, we are having a fab time....we have the playground to ourselves which is even better.  Then here comes a teenage girl and her little sister.  And the teenage girl wants to talk.  Me?  Not so much.  Here's the Reader's Digest version of our convo:


Her:  You Speak English?

Me:  Um, yes. 

Her:  And your daughter speaks English?

Me:  Um, yes. 

Her:  Wow.  When I looked at you, I didn't think you looked like someone who spoke Swedish.  Your baby is so cute.

Me:  Thanks.

Her:  Blah, blah, blah, blah.......so your daughter speaks English?  Your baby is so cute.  And you speak English?  Blah, blah, blah, blahhhhhh........


This went on for about 15 minutes before I finally told her we had to leave.  I think I know more about her than she know about herself after that convo.  She asked me about my age, where we live, where we were from, how old The Minis are, when their birthdays are, you name it she asked it.  I tried to answer her in as few words as necessary.  Now, I am pretty social, but I am not going to divulge tons of info to someone I just met at the playground.  I think she eventually got the message because then she told me everything about herself.....and that was when I decided the Q&A session was over and we had to call it a day.  Call me a buzzkill, but whatever.......

On another note, I found out recently that today is Waffle Day here in Sverige.  A whole day devoted to waffles, could it get any better???  baby girl and I had to go to Maxi after we dropped The Belle off at Dagis to get our waffle iron and accessories.  And we are having an old fashioned waffle party with the BIL and SIL tonight.  Yet another thing about Sweden that definitely does not suck.  Any holiday devoted to golden brown deliciousness is ok with me.....how about you?

Dear Facebook Friends,

Please stop using Facebook as your own political soapbox.  I know a lot of Americans do not agree with Obama's healthcare overhaul.  It is not perfect, nor will it ever be.  However, when I get on Facebook it is to socialize and see pictures of your kids.....not to hear about how you think Barack Obama and all Democrats are borne of the Devil.  If I wanted to be a part of a political debate I would call ComHem and subscribe to C-Span.  Give it a rest, please.  I will be forced to hide your posts from my NewsFeed if you don't put on your Big Girl panties and deal with something the government did that you don't happen to like or agree with.  k?thxbai

Love,
KT

Saving the Drama for Mama

On Fridays, The Belle doesn't go to daycare.  However, since last week was our transition week at Dagis this is our first official Friday off from school.  I must say, I was a little nervous this morning when I got up......mornings are not The Belle's most stellar time of day.  But she proved me wrong.  Miss "I-Don't-Eat-Breakfast" actually ate 2 bowls of polenta (the closest thing I can get to grits.....you can't take the South out of the girl...hehe) with no bribing or cajoling on my part.  That almost never happens.  I was even more confident with our day when I suggested we make Easter cookies and she enthusiastically agreed.  So we made the dough together and I put it in the fridge to let it chill before we rolled it out and cut the shapes.  Cut to an hour later.....

Me:  "Belle, come in here and let's make cookies!"

The Belle (walks in to kitchen...I have already gotten all the stuff out to cut out cookies and am pretty excited):  "NOOOOOOOooooooo!  *sob, sob. sob*"

Me:  "Wh-wh-what's the matter?"

The Belle (sobbing):  "I don't (insert gobbledygook.....some mix of English, Swedish, and Japanese)........"

Me:  "Come on!  It's going to be fun!  Mama has turned on the oven and we can roll out the cookies and cut the shapes.  Get your apron on and come here."

The Belle:  "NOOOooooooooo!  NOOOOOooooooo!!  *sob, sob, sob*

And so on and so forth.  For almost 10 minutes I tried to get her to tell me what the problem was, with no success.  I finally got sick and tired of the drama and sent her to her room because I couldn't handle the sobbing.  The sobbing with no known reason.  So finally she dries it up and comes in.

The Belle:  "I want a flower cookie"

Me:  "That's fine.  You can have one after I bake them.  baby girl and I are making the cookies now since you wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

Insert new, louder, more intense sobs here.

Me:  "Ok, Belle.  I don't think you feel good.  Let's take a nap instead."

Insert major temper tantrum here.

So I picked her up and deposited her on her bed, where she promptly smacked at me, which is a clear indication that #1 - she is exhausted, and #2 - she doesn't feel well.  Let me say here that I am again immensely grateful for the Swedish law which prohibits me to spank my own child.  When she hits and/or smacks me it sends me into orbit.  But since I do not want to go to jail, I follow the laws of the country and walk away.  Sometimes in a rage, but I always walk away.  And always saying the serenity prayer.  Or sometimes just "Serenity NOW!".  But I digress.....

So she is currently napping (um, Mama was right) and I am schooling on how I am going to salvage the rest of our day.  Oh, and did I mention that The International has the car today and that it is raining outside too?  This is going to be a challenge......

More Adventures with the Elderly

So if you have read any of my posts, you have come across the tale of my adventure on the bus with the elderly man who didn't care that I don't speak Swedish.  I walked away from that with the valuable lesson learned that old people just want to talk....and don't care if you speak their language.  A blanket moral, you might say, but I have yet another example that proves my theory.....

Today The Belle got to spend most of the morning at daycare without me (hallelujah!).  After baby girl and I enjoyed a quiet 3 hours at home, it was time to pick her back up.  So off we go.  As I am putting baby girl in her carseat, the tiniest Peugeot I have ever seen pulled into the parking lot.  It is full, I mean FULL, of elderly men and women.  I do not know how or why there were so many Q-Tips in there, but I digress.  Out of the passenger side pops an elderly lady who immediately makes a beeline for me.  My thoughts?  "Oh shit".  *sigh*

So Q-Tip #1 comes up to me and starts talking and talking and talking.  And she is talking VERY fast.  So, I ask her to repeat herself, because even though I don't speak Swedish, I understand quite a bit.  She repeats herself, but I am still pretty clueless.  I get the words "bil" (car), "här" (here), and "parkera" (park).  So I look at her and tell her (in Swedish) that I speak English only.  Sorry.  Does that deter her?  Um, no.  She keeps talking and talking and talking.  So I look at her and say (in English) "I am coming back"......with lots of sign language involved.  She seemed to understand.....so I thought.  She goes back over to the Peugeot clown car and starts talking again.....and I back out.  Only to have the clown car promptly pull into our parking spot.  WTF?

And let me mention that we rent our parking spot.....and also let me mention that there were probably 10 vacant spots in the parking lot that could've been used rather than ours.  And also let me mention that there is a BIG SIGN that says "Visitor Parking" as you pull in.  Um, it is in Swedish (BESÖK), but even I know what it says.  I would think that the Q-Tips, since at least one of them had a driver's license, would be able to read.  I know, that is crazy talk.....

So from now on I am going to pretend to be deaf with all elderly Swedish men and women.  But I bet they will keep on talking....

Daycare and Drama

Anyone interested in a very cute, intelligent, precocious almost 4 year old?  Lots of great qualities.....however, she does have a helluva temper.  What?  No takers??  Why am I not surprised???

We started daycare this week on an abbreviated schedule.  Hooray!!  Monday was our homevisit , which freaked me out like crazy.....I am the teacher who is used to doing the homevisits, not the slightly loopy parent that is on the receiving end, but that is another story entirely.  Anywho, it went great.  I love The Belle's new teacher.  She is my age, has 2 kids of her own that are preschool age, and speaks perfect English.  She is not a native Swede, which also gives me hope.....she moved here from South Africa when she was a kid, so she understands the big transition we are going through.  Tuesday was our first official day....I have to stay with her this week, but The Belle did great and even told me to leave when they went outside to play.  But yesterday, oh yesterday.....great first 2 hours, until I told her to go to the bathroom and wash her hands before she went outside.  Girl had a MELT.DOWN when I told her to go back in and wash her hands.  Um, hello?  What?!?  Yes, you read that correctly.  BECAUSE I ASKED HER TO WASH HER HANDS.  I was sooooo embarrassed......I wanted to snatch her up and spank her......actually no, I really wanted the earth to open and swallow me up.  Her screams were echoing throughout the entire building.  I felt some serious tears coming, but somehow I kept it together....I finally got her to calm down when I got about 1 millimeter from her face and talked to her between clenched teeth.  I threatened that we would leave and never, EVER come back.  I think she believed me (I would have, cause at that point I meant it) because she dried those tears up immediately.  At that point I began to apologize profusely to all the teachers for her tantrum.  They said it was ok, but I can only imagine that we were the talk of the teachers' lunch table after we left.  *sigh*  The Belle had another tantrum when we left because she didn't want to leave, but I am more ok with that.  Moreso because we were outside on the way to the car and not in the middle of the school building.  But it still made me exhausted......

At dinner last night the phone rang and The International answered it.  It was The Belle's teacher.  My stomach dropped like a brick....I knew she had called to tell us not to come back anymore.  BUT, everything is ok.  She actually told The International that everyone thought I handled The Belle very well, and that not to worry, they see behavior like that all the time.  And also to tell us she would be absent today and to bring The Belle later than planned.  Whew....dodged a bullet with that one.

So please send positive thoughts our way in another hour or so.  I have to stay today, and today I will have baby girl with me too.  Is 10:00am too early for an aperitif???

Bus Adventures, Speaking Swedish, and the Elderly

So today the Minis (both girls) and I went to the market to pick up a few things.....milk, bread, ham, cheese.....the Swedish essentials really.  Since The International took the car today, we rode the bus and used his bus pass.  No problems, easy ride there....found everything we needed with no preschool tantrums....able to get our bags in the stroller with both Minis in their seats.....even caught the bus back home at the right time with just a few minutes' wait.  So KT, I hear you say, where is the adventure?  Well friends, let me explain.....

While we were waiting on our bus home, also at the bus stop were 2 elderly persons...one man, one woman, maybe about 70 years old.  The little man was talking and talking and TALKING to the lady.  I figured they were together because he was talking and talking and TALKING.  Um, no.  When the bus came, she could not get away from him fast enough.  And, of course, since I had the stroller and the Minis I got on at the middle door.  But I wasn't safe......here he comes with his little cart, straight towards me.  Uh-oh.  I looked at him and in broken Swedish said, "Jag betala" (I need to pay).  He just stares at me.  So I take out my bus pass and repeat myself.  So he points to the space beside the Minis to park his cart.  Okay, I think, whatever.  Hopefully he will sit down.  Um, no.  He stays put with his cart.  At this point I know it is going to get interesting.  So I scan my bus pass and come back.  He is already trying to start a conversation with The Belle.  Great.  She is just staring at him like he is a nut (which I'm pretty sure he was, but I digress).  And when I get back, he starts to talk to me.  So I just straight up look at him and say, "Jag talar engelska. Mycket svenskt litet. Förlåt" (I speak English.  Very little Swedish.  Sorry).  However, he is not deterred.  He proceeds to have a one-sided convo with me for the rest of the bus ride.  But the best part of all of this was when The Belle looked up at me, pointed at him, and said, "Mama, he has a boo-boo on his face!" (which he did).  I started to laugh......so I looked away and saw a 20-something girl sitting behind us and she was laughing too.  Good times. 

So the moral of our story today?  Old people don't care if you don't speak their language, they just want to talk.  Apparently.  At least that's what I got out of today's adventure.  That, and a great laugh.....

Fun Times in the Fresh Air.....Not

Have you ever seen the screaming kid in public with the mom who acts like she can't hear or see what is going on?  Yep, that was me.

Yesterday we took the whole family out for a walk.  2 parents, 2 kids, 2 dogs, 1 stroller (well, the stroller isn't a member of the family, but should be).  About 2 minutes into our family time, The Belle decides to start crying because The International won't let her walk one of the dogs.  Let me go ahead and say that one of our dogs weighs 75 pounds and has the patience of Job.  He loves The Belle and lets her do anything to him.....cover him with blankets, put hats on him, ride him like a pony, you name it.  Our other dog is about 25 pounds, but can just barely contain his dislike of The Belle.  Of course, little dog is the one she wants to hold the leash of and walk.  So, to maintain order and enjoy the day, The International lets her "hold" the leash.  10 minutes later, The International asks her to stop.....the dogs are excited and it is taking all of his energy to keep them in check.......and.....

Cue the sparkles, cue the music, it was time for the Temper Tantrum of the century. 

The Belle had one of the worst tantrums I have ever seen.  EVER.  We have a double stroller and it took both The International and me to get her into it and strapped in.  The whole time she is crying and screaming at the top of her lungs, "LET ME OUTTA HERE!!  LET ME OUTTA HERE!!!".  For the rest of the walk.  I'd say we were about 10-15 minutes away from our apartment.  She screamed the entire time.  And what did I do?  I walked.  And walked.  And said the Serenity Prayer over and over in my head.  And was extremely grateful to the Swedish government for making it illegal to spank my own child, because it could've gotten ugly.  *sigh*

Let me say, I taught school for 10 years, 7 years in one of the poorest schools in the state.  I CAN get children to behave.  Children that don't have the sense that God gave a goat.  Children that other classroom teachers couldn't get to behave, I could get through to.  But my own child?  Not so much.  Frustrated is not the word to describe it.... *double sigh*

I'm not sure if The International will ever suggest any family time again after yesterday's episode.  And to be honest, who can blame him?