First full day in Stockholm

Slowly but surely we are recovering from jet-lag.  Yesterday was crazy.  Here is a picture that says it all.  Chase was playing on the i-touch and 3 seconds later I took this picture.

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We are realizing quickly that our children are not used to city living!  This thought occurred to us last night as we were walking to a restaurant (in the rain) and Smith was cruising along in his own world ( those of you that know Smith, know that he's my free spirited child) and decided to sprint across the street after Jake.  My heart hit my shoes when I heard Steve scream STOP and looked up to see a car swerve and miss hitting Smith by 1/2 inch.  It was at that moment that I realized we need to teach our boys how to walk in the city.  My second clue was today traveling by train.  As most of you know, trains, buses and feet will be our primary forms of transportation.  We are in the train station and Chase takes off into the crowd running next to the tracks. As if that wasn't enough, we are  sitting on the train and I look over to see Smith climbing the railing. Needless to say, we sat the boys down for their first lesson in City Living 101.  Aghhh. 

We did have  fun today, despite the much cooler temperatures (65 degrees). We hung out at the park across the street from our permanent apartment (we move in one week from today).  The boys met their first Swedish friends and I met MY first Swedish friend, Brit.  She's an English teacher at the local middle school and she was a wealth of information for us.  Not only were her boys great little soccer players, but she told me where I could find lactose-free yogurt.  :) She gave us the neighborhood "skinny" that only a local could do.  The pictures below are the boys at the park.  That tire thing was a favorite!!!  It went so fast.  Guess who's at the top of that pole????  Think back to the train.

Shawn  Brown, that one is for you..

My biggest obstacles at this point are restaurant menus and grocery store labels.  It's a very strange feeling to not have a clue what you're ordering at a restaurant.  I'm quickly learning the Swedish words for chicken, cheese, shrimp and salad, but that's the extent of my Swedish.  I've been eating the same things over and over because they are safe.  I'm hoping to be fluent in menu reading soon.  As for the grocery stores, that's hilarious.  Today it took me about four minutes to pick out yogurt.  I actually saw someone laugh at me.  He wasn't being rude, just wondering why I was dominating the refrigerator for so long.  My gluten and lactose allergies are not helping me get acclimated in my new country.  

Well, it's getting late and I should probably get some sleep.  I had to tear the boys out of bed this morning at 11am.  They slept hard and did not want to wake up.  I'm actually paying the price for letting them sleep in so late, they are still awake laughing and fooling around in bed.  Tomorrow I will wake them up at 8:00 so a normal bedtime will be welcomed.  

Before I forget, if you write a comment on this blog, write your name.  Three comments came in so far and I don't know who they're from.  

Here's a picture of the boys' favorite pastime....  People watching from our balcony.  Chase was yelling "Hi people" over and over from this spot today.  I'm sure our neighbors will be happy to see us leave next week!

Until tomorrow......