Tuesday Aug 13th

Another busy day for us today.  The good news is that the boys all woke up naturally...  No prying heads off pillows.  It looks like we are finally adjusting to the time change.  We didn't have anywhere to be this morning, so we played a little Uno and watched some T.V.  Here's a picture of us at our fancy dining room table.

Claudette planned a get-together at Vasta Parken ( a new park for us) with some of the SIS (Stockholm International School) families.  Many of them have been in Sweden for a year or more and others just arrived, like us.  It was great to meet new people and learn some new tips about living in this city.  Did you know that shoes are not only removed when you enter a home, but you also need to bring a spare pair when you go to the gym and certain restaurants?   I laughed picturing everyone in a fancy restaurant walking around without shoes.  From what I understood though, you wear your snow boots ( or "outside shoes") to the restaurant, check them like a coat, and switch into your nice shoes while you eat.  Personally, I think this is insane.  Am I supposed to bring a suitcase with me everywhere I go in order to carry 5 pairs of shoes.  That stresses me out more than getting lost.  

The boys had a great time at the park today.  It was nice for them to play with kids that speak English.  However, I did realize that play has no language.  It amazes me how easily kids accept one another and are able to communicate and play as if there's no language barrier.  Smith and Chase had to endure another 90 minutes while Jake had his second tryout.  Smith was really excited to tell me that he met another friend there and they had fun together.  

Speaking of Jake's tryout, besides the torrential downpour in the first 20 minutes ( not having a car and trying to find shelter for me and the boys was loads of fun) he did great again.  He has his final tryout this Thursday.  The boys on the team were super nice to him, one in particular ran to him when we arrived and waited for him so they could run on the field together.  I'm so happy my boys are meeting friends.  Even little Chase made a friend with a cute little Swedish girl on the platform.  She kept waving to him and he was playing back with her.  Don't worry Nat, he only has eyes for you!

I mentioned yesterday that I feel like we are still on vacation, one of the reasons is not exercising.  LT friends hold your ears....  But I can't find the time right now with the kids home.  I know that is not an excuse, but the gyms here don't have childcare so unless I leave them home alone, it's not happening for me.  I'm a morning person, but I'm thinking tomorrow night after dinner I'll hit the pavement.  Starting Tuesday (the first full day of school) this girl will be back on schedule!  I miss my workout routine SO much!!!!

Tonight we met Steve for dinner at a new restaurant.  There are so many restaurants here, but when you have 3 boys in tow you have to choose wisely.  For starters, we rarely have a clue what we are ordering (check out the menu tonight).  

This menu actually had some English translation and we still struggled.  So with three VERY picky eaters, we have to be sure we are not ordering a whole fish with head still on.  We had the nicest waitress tonight.  She came by a few times as Steve and I had our translator app out looking up every other word on the menu.  We asked for recommendations and off we went.  When she learned that we moved here and we are trying to learn Swedish, she was so helpful and even started quizzing us and speaking simple Swedish words.  I didn't love my dinner, but I really enjoyed the experience.  The restaurants have an amazing vibe.... Tons of people sitting inside and out.  Tables outside are either set up under heaters or have blankets on all the seats.  All the tables sit on the sidewalks so there's lots of action happening as we eat.  In case you haven't noticed, I LOVE city life.  I am a city girl at heart and feel so in my element here.  

The restaurant was attached to a cool little store that reminded me of a smaller version of Fresh Market.  I browsed around after dinner to pick something up that I could cook for dinner tomorrow night.    I chose salmon and cod with broccoli.  I also bought Swedish pancakes and various other necessities like milk.  Which leads me to the section on my pet peeves about Sweden.  Today I will post a picture.

Does this need to be the only size milk you sell?  I heard that they sell milk in a larger containers but I'm yet to find it.  Based on the size of some of the boys at Jake's soccer practice today, I know these kids are drinking their milk.  So who thought this was a good idea!  

Another strange one, restocking the grocery shelves.  It doesn't happen very often here.  I guess I need to shop in the morning before they run out of rice and veggies or there's a chance we're eating fish with the head attached for dinner that night.  

And finally, it rains so randomly around here.  I left the house with beautiful blue skies, took the train a few stops and came out to pouring rain. Everyone just ignores the rain, continues what they 're doing, the rain stops 10 minutes later, sun comes out...  And it's as though nothing happened.  Remember yesterday when I mentioned the low humidity and nice hair....  Well this does not make for nice hair.  I have to say, Swedish women and girls are naturally very pretty so they slick their hair back and off they go.  This girl needs to learn that trick.

We have two more days until we move into our apartment.  Smith asks us every morning when we are leaving this place.  He's so annoyed by the fact that he can stand at the bathroom door and see the kitchen, living room, front door and bedroom.  He also wants to know why the shower and toilet are attached.  This makes me laugh so hard!!!  They aren't actually attached, but to this seven year old, they are!!!  The bathrooms are and probably always will be the thing that annoys me the most.

I'll leave you with this quote from my littles munchkin...."Mommy, I really like Sweden... can we take it home with us?"