Busy Monday

It's 9:00 and I'm praying that my children will go to sleep.  They are all in bed, EXHAUSTED.  Lets hope!

We had a very busy day today.  We headed to Solna to get our residence card.  I'm not even sure what that is exactly, just that we all need one.  Since it was my first time leaving downtown, Steve wrote out specific directions.  These directions were so detailed that Chase could have led us there.  We made it, on time!  This place reminded me of an American DMV.  The cliental was similar...  But the workers were MUCH nicer.  The boys were all fingerprinted.  Let's hope this is their first and last time being fingerprinted!  :)  The highlight of the trip was the mug shot.  I went first and smiled.  Big mistake!!!!!  Apparently Swedes can't smile on their resident card.  Chase had to retake his five times because his eyes were shut or his teeth were showing.  The whole process took about an hour and we were on our way.  

We then headed to Steve's office in Kista.  We had lunch together and it was the grossest food I have ever eaten....  but the company was fabulous! Here's a picture of a really cool building next to Steve's building.  Not sure if this picture will do it justice. The sky  was amazing today.  Big, white, fluffy clouds with a perfect blue backdrop.  The temperature reminded me of a Fall day in NY.  The high was 65 degrees.  The air had a crispness to it and because the humidity was so low, my hair looked good.  Hee hee.... girls, you'll appreciate this.  I actually wore a sweater and jeans tonight.  

I bet you are all wondering about my navigational skills and how I traveled  today.  Let me start by saying that having three boys and all the energy that comes with that (they run backwards on escalators, slide down the stroller ramps and try to figure out the best way to jump the tracks), along with a language barrier and large crowds made for a challenging day.  However, I told Steve that I needed to figure this thing out for myself.  So I studied my train map and tackled it head on.  It's amazing how your brain works.  Whenever I'm with steve I take a backseat and let him lead us around.  Nothing was sticking.  As soon as I was on my own, my brain kicked in.  Survival!!!!  I learned that the trains are color coded and to switch lines you should always know the name of the last stop on that line.  Since all the names have at least 15 letters and only one vowel, I decided to make up my own "American" pronunciation based on an English word.  It works great for me.  I'm sure the Swedes are laughing at me when I say them aloud.  My other secret to my travel success is to teach Jake as I learn.  I'm positive that the next time we get lost, Jake will find us the way home!  The part I'm most proud of today is getting all of us to Jake's tryout.  I had Steve tell me the train stop (we had to switch lines) and I was able to get us there ON TIME!  This probably doesn't seem like much to all of you, but if you had my navigational skills, you would be very excited!!!!

Speaking of tryouts, I'm so proud of Jake.  We arrived a few minutes early so he was able to watch some of the older teams practice.  The facility was amazing, right next to the pro facility.  When it was time for Jake to head down to the field (alone) and practice with the team, he didn't hestitate.  The entire practice was in Swedish and he did awesome.  They invited him back for a second tryout.  This is the top team in Stockholm, so whether he makes it or not, we are really proud of his courage and self confidence today.  I'm not sure I could have done what he did at his age.  Here are some pictures before and during practice.   

This is what Chase and Smith did for 90 minutes.  Meghan, does this scene look familiar?

I still feel like I'm on vacation.  Of course not being in our apartment is a huge reason, but there are other factors as well.  Since we are still waiting on our personal numbers, there isn't much you can do here without it.  I can't get a new cell phone (yes, I'm still screaming into the phone because the speakers are shot), which means I can't get a local phone number and I don't have Internet service outside of my home.  Google maps would be so helpful as I get lost.  I've been paying with cash for everything because we haven't been able to open a bank account until today.  I can't wait to get my bank card so I can swipe and go.  The positive, I've learned the currency.  Thanks to Claudette, I can now convert cost to American dollars by taking 15% of the Swedish  price. If something cost 1000 kroner, it's equal to $150.  Clothing is more expensive here so I won't be shopping as much as I would like to.    I'm embarrassed to say that I still can't say my address.  Many of you have been asking for it, but I don't know it completely yet.   I keep forgetting how to write it.  Be patient, I'm  learning.  

The lifestyle here is so fascinating to me.  I love to wake up in the morning and hang out on the balcony.  I love watching the hustle and bustle of the city, admiring the fashion sense, and seeing the difference in the culture compared to the US.  This morning I was amazed at the women riding their bikes to work in heels and dresses.  That's impressive!  Here's a picture of my view. 

Another custom that I love is removing shoes before entering someone's home.  I believe this is because it gets very dirty here, especially in the winter.  I have trained my boys to take their shoes off in our home, but I never required guests to do it.  In America it seemed rude, although I hated thinking of all the nasty places the bottom of shoes have been before walking all over our carpets.  So I am more than thrilled to have shoes removed...  The challenge will be handling the clutter at the front door.  Remember the size of the apartments here?

I'm going to need a mani/pedi soon and I haven't been able to look for a place yet.  We have to keep our toes pretty if we are removing our shoes at everyone's house.  The other necessity that I'm on the prowl for are hand wipes.  I am a bit of a germaphobe. Spending this much time in a train station might require therapy.  The kids don't share this phobia and therefore touch EVERYTHING in their reach.  I'm constantly looking for bathrooms to wash their hands, but wipes would be much easier.  Speaking of my kids, did I mention that we're loud!!!!  I'm not sure if it's an American thing, a boy thing, or a Payne family thing.... BUT WE ARE LOUD!!!!

I will close with this...  The boys mentioned many times today how much they miss their friends and were thinking of them today, the first day of school in Fulton county.  We wish all the little buddies out there a fabulous school year.  

And.....  All three boys are asleep by 10:30 tonight!  I think we're over the hump!  Perhaps it was their dinner tonight......