Chilly days are here.....

This past weekend we accomplished a lot of things that have been lingering over our heads.  Steve hung most of the pictures on the walls and built Smith's desk, while I cleaned and organized the apartment.  Sunday morning Smith had practice,  I offered to take him so I could go for a run.  Smith had mentioned to me once that he didn't like when I ran during his practice because he was nervous that I would get lost and not come back for him.  After reassuring him that I wouldn't get lost, and I would always come back for him, we agreed that I would go running and he would not worry at all.  I dropped him at practice and headed out on the trails.  The first 45 minutes were great, I was so proud of myself for knowing where I was the entire time.  As I approached the soccer field, I felt strong, so decided to go a little longer.  There was a path that veered off so I decided to take it.  That was a mistake.  One thing about Stockholm, there comes a point in a road where you can go uphill or change directions on the same road and go downhill.  I used to think that both up and down eventually lead to the same place.  This is so far from the truth.   I should have used my prior knowledge, because I took a path down, and ended up in the woods.  There were lots of people walking and running, so I never felt unsafe, but I had no idea how to get back to the field.  One big mistake, I didn't know the address to the field, so I had to put the closest t-bana stop in .... knowing that I could find my way to the field from the train.  Keep in mind it's now 10:20 and his practice is over at 10:45.  Google maps was saying that I was a good 15 minutes from t-bana.  So I started running (sprinting at times) up the hills, and each time I looked at my map, the little dot had moved off course.  Aghhh!!  I was a little panicked... but was determined to find my way.  I was most nervous about the promise I had made to Smith!!!  I decided to go by instinct and look around at where I thought I was.  I knew I had to go uphill because I  ran downhill to get myself into this mess.  20 minutes later, I found the field.  Smith's practice had just ended and he had no clue that his fear of me getting lost, almost came true.  My 45 minute run turned into an hour and 15 minutes.... finishing off with sprints up hills.

Sunday afternoon, Jake had a game.  It was a beautiful day for soccer.  Weather was sunny and 50 degrees.  The leaves are starting to change color and the field was in a very nice part of Sweden.

Behind the boys is a beautiful path

Really nice facility... Jake is in black 

Corner kick for Jake

Another amazing thing about Sweden, the dogs.  They are allowed pretty much anywhere in the city.  It is not unusual to see dogs in restaurants, stores, parks, and even trains.  Here's a picture of a very big dog riding the train.  They don't bark at people or bother anyone.  I don't know what the Swedes do to train their dogs, but Americans need to learn from them.  I heard they go to "Doggy Kindergarten"....  Jake is so much calmer around dogs here in Sweden than he was in the U.S.

As the weather begins to turn, I am realizing that we are not prepared with the proper clothing.  The coats, sweaters, gloves and hats that we brought, are appropriate for September and possibly October weather.  It's already in the 30s and 40s (Fahrenheit) and might reach 50 for a few hours each day if the sun is out.  Clearly, I had no clue, nor can I imagine how cold it's actually going to get.  That was a good thing!!!  I am not sure I would have agreed to moving here if I completely understood how cold it actually gets!  So now, I will be shopping for the serious winter gear.  I have been asking around for the popular name brands along with where to find them.  Unfortunately, the prices are almost double what I would pay back home, so I'm doing a lot of ordering online and shipping to Bebop and Kiki's house.  We will be visiting them at the end of October, and will be bringing at least two empty suitcases with us.  Considering I'm already cold, this is going to be a long winter.

Speaking of clothing, Jake had a growth spurt in the past two months because all of the sweatpants and jeans we brought with us, are too short now.  We spent Thursday afternoon shopping for him.  Oh, how I miss Old Navy and Gap right now.  I paid a lot of money for basic sweat pants.  We will be hitting the malls in Florida for the rest of his clothing.    Boys do not like shopping unless it's for balls, cleats and toys, so  you can imagine the fun we had... plus it was their day off, so they were not thrilled with Mom that day.  I rewarded them for their effort with some hot cocoa.

Next order of business, recycling.  I told you that I would figure out a way to recycle here in Sweden.  Since our apartment complex sent a letter to each family warning us that pizza cartons and large garbage bags were strictly prohibited down the shoot, and those caught would be fined, I thought I needed to start doing my part now.  The boys earn Swedish Kroner for their allowance money and i've added recycling to the chore list.  Once a week, Jake and Smith have to walk across the park and sort the recycle.  Since this is a new job,  today was the perfect day to teach them.  Before playing, we all walked down together and learned how to read each bin.  They actually liked sorting it, so I think this will be a job they will actually do without complaining.  

Now for the fun stuff.  

Jake "coaching" his brothers.... forcing them to do drills

Smith and Chase playing hockey

Now for the MUCH NEEDED haircuts.  Steve has been using Roberto, the hairdresser in our building to cut his hair, so I decided to make an appointment for the boys.  Jake was tired of his long hair and having to comb it so often.  He was also frustrated with it in his eyes during soccer.  He sat down and told Roberto the exact hairstyle he wanted.  Check him out... you can see his cute face now.

Look at the amount of hair that was cut

The boys and I made our way to the butcher after haircuts to pick up something for dinner.  Taylor and Jones, a great butcher, English speaking owners, who I believe are American.  We decided on burgers for  Smith and Chase, lamb sausage for Steve and I, and after Jake and the owner chatted about hotdogs, he suggested two dogs that he was confident Jake would love.  Dinner was a hit!  We went into ICA on the way home to pick up milk and some other staples.  As we were waiting on line to pay, the woman in front of me was having a problem paying.  There was a line of customers behind me and we were all waiting patiently.  The cashier and customer paying decided to move to the next register, but the cashier never felt the need to tell us what was happening.  Of course, I wouldn't have had a clue if she did fill us in, but I knew based on the lady behind me, that I was NOT  the only one confused.  At that moment, the lady behind me asked the cashier if she was closing her register and moving over.  She must have answered yes, because everyone darted to the next register.  The lady behind,  looked me in the eyes, and raced to the front of the line, as all the others followed her.   Nobody cared that I WAS IN FRONT OF THEM... and now waiting behind them to check out.  Unfortunately, I've encountered this type of behavior many times in the past few months.  I had to take a deep breath and move on... not an easy thing for me to do!

Since we moved in, we have been passing Amy's Cafe.  It's a cute little place about 25 yards from our apartment.  Since many people close their shops and go on vacation for most of the summer, we have been waiting anxiously for this little cafe to open.  Finally, this week, Amy appeared.  It is common for cafe menus to be written on a board outside the door.  This week, Amy's was there... and it was in English!  She had her daily soups written on the board.... I was so excited to try all of them.  I love soup... and I REALLY love soup in the cold weather.  I told the boys that Amy was going to be my best friend and that I would be eating lunch there regularly.  So, after haircuts, I promised the boys a trip in for a treat.  As soon as we walked in, we knew this place was special.... they were all speaking English.  We quickly joined into conversation, and Amy and I became fast friends.  She is American, along with the customer eating soup.  We all chatted and had a great time until Amy sprung the news on me.  She was in process of selling her cafe because she is moving back to the states.... West Palm Beach, to be exact.  Two people are bidding right now.  She's hoping to sell it to the man that wants to keep it a cafe and continue to keep the American flare.... but someone else is bidding to make it sushi.  I do love sushi, but I already have a great sushi restaurant on the opposite end of my apartment.  I want this cafe.... I want my soup!!! I NEED my soup this winter!  I will stop in next week to see who won the bidding war.... she was hoping to settle today.   

Friday, the boys were off from school.   Steve worked a half day and we decided to go to Skansen.  If you visit me with your children, we will definitely go here.  It is beautiful, and so fun for the kids.  We bought a season pass because we heard that it's awesome for the holidays.  I can't wait to see it decorated for Christmas.  We were only able to visit the zoo today because of time... but we'll be back. 

 Instead of taking a ferry or tram, we walked most of the way.  It was a chilly day, but still nice.  We walked along the water, past all the boats and cruise lines.  Bebop, we thought of you the entire time.  I took some pictures so you could see the boats.

I love the buildings in this city

Chase was so anxious to see the bear at the zoo, so we headed that way first.  We climbed a lot of hills and passed so many beautiful things.  I absolutely loved it.  There is so much history here.  I took a bunch of pictures because it would be too hard to put Skansen into words.

We were very close to this bear

Not quite as cute as Rudolph

Bison

Lots of log cabins to climb

Camp Sami.... this was  really cool.  Many homes and 'buildings" made of logs.  The Sami was an Indian tribe and this was their village.  

The rain and chilly temps that moved in late afternoon did not stop us from having a great time.  We ended the day with a visit to the coffee house.  It was so nice inside and a much needed break from the rain.

Jake had a game at 6:30.  He has another one tomorrow and two more on Sunday.  Between games Sunday, Liam, Jake's new buddy is coming over.  Liam speaks very little English, so Jake usually plays at his house, where Liam's parents can translate when needed.  The boys decided they wanted to play at our house this weekend.  Tonight we found out that Liam downloaded a translator app on his phone to help him speak to us while he's here.  So cute!!!

We met an American at the zoo today that has been living here for two years.  Her advice for us to get through the cold, dark winters was to take a lot of Omega oils.  She said depression sets in quickly.  It's so interesting to hear different perspectives on the winter months.  Some people feel like this woman today, and others love the winters and tell me how beautiful it is here.  I wonder how the Payne's will feel about the winter....

Fun In The Rain

It has been a busy week.  I survived my first week alone without steve.  He was in Amsterdam from Thursday til Tuesday.  My major fear of moving here was based on the days I would be alone.  I have to say...  It wasn't bad.  I have a good network of ladies here already, and I know I can call on them in time of need.
A nice thing about the location of my apartment is the Italian restaurant below me.  The boys love their pizza and I love their seared tuna salad.  That is my go-to when I don't have time to cook.  I leave the boys in the apartment, run downstairs to pick up my order, and I'm back in 3 min.  The owners know us now too!
Monday, Lori and I went to the beauty school for mani/pedis.  Rumor had it that the beauty schools are less expensive.  It was a nice place, but not cheaper than most of the nail salons.  I will say that my nails did dry faster than any other pedicure I've ever had.  I put my boots on less than an hour after she painted my toes.  I was sure they would be smudged when I got home.  NOPE.... perfect.  Ann, my technician, owns her own salon.  She was at that school to get an international certification for her business.  I loved that she was experienced in everything, so I made an appointment for a facial and massage in the next few months. Can you believe a facial is only about $60 for 90 min but a mani pedi is $100. AND.. they aren't even in spa tubs. It seems that here in Sweden, maybe all of Europe, the salons have all services under one building.  We learned so much from her.  She gave us the scoop on tipping (tips are not expected on beauty services), and she also recommended a hair salon here in Stockholm. I'm not sure I'll use it, since the cost of a haircut is $150-200 and highlights start at $300. 

Pedicure time

Lori getting a manicure

Ann giving me a manicure

After nails, I had an appointment for a haircut (I booked it a week ago).  I stumbled across this place in my travels, and after talking to the owner, I felt good about it.  Even though the hairdresser didn't speak English, she told me she would translate and it wouldn't be a problem at all.  She went on and on about how fabulous he was.. so I made an appointment. When I arrived on Monday for my appt... the owner was NOT there.  I was so scared! But Karam and I somehow understood each other, and my hair turned out pretty good.  The experience was NOTHING like my Level Spa Salon days with Jade and Andrea...  But my hair is still long, so I'm happy.  I couldn't begin to explain how strange the whole ordeal was... but I will say the entire haircut was finished in 20 min. It was pouring rain that day so my hair didn't stay pretty for very long!  


Tuesday was "Jog day" at all the Swedish schools here in Stockholm.  I had signed up to volunteer in all the boys' classes.  The weather had mercy on us, it stopped raining long enough for all the runs to finish. Then the skies opened up.  Second grade went first, so I walked to the park with Smith's class. The students often leave the campus for school events.  The jog was in Humlegärden park, about 1/2 mile from the school.  I ran 1km (just under a mile) with Smith, then met Jake's class at the starting line.  We ran 3km (just under 2 miles) together and then I veered off to meet Chase's class.  We ran about 600 meters together.  It was so fun!  Most of the teachers were dressed in running clothes and they all ran.  All three of my boys's teachers are runners, so it was fun to be with them.  They all promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle everyday in their classrooms.  It's very refreshing!!!  After the run, they stayed in the park and had the choice of playing on the playgrounds or joining the principal for a game of soccer.  They staggered the classes so they weren't all playing at the same time.  Here are some pictures of Jog Day in the park.

Smitty cruising along

Ms. Nalli, Smith's teacher, stretching out the class after their run

Smith and his friend Jorge after the run

Jake before his run

Jake's teacher and his P.E. teacher explaining the route around the park

Jake pacing himself.... looking strong

Chase and Mommy crossing the finish line

Chase running fast through the course

After the jog, I quickly ran home and jumped in the shower to meet the "lunch club" for our first lunch.  Remember I mentioned the various groups that the PTA put together?  Lunch Club is one that I joined.  It's a great way to meet new people, and try new restaurants around Stockholm.  Here are some pictures of our group at Boqueria.  It was a tapas restaurant, but since I couldn't understand most of the menu, I went with roasted chicken.  I know this is a bit boring, however, I'm sure the other items on the menu contained gluten and/or dairy, and I didn't want to take any chances.  I attached some photos of the ladies I dined with, along with some of the food that came to the table.  

Baby Delilah is a part of many of our groups

Lori, Claudette and Tessa

Since most all of us are  non Swedes, it was fun to see the look on our faces when the food arrived.  It never looked like what we thought we ordered.  

Here Claudette ordered pulled pork (left) and tortilla (right)

After lunch we walked to the school to pick up the kiddos.... pouring rain again!

Since I still hadn't bought Jake and Smith rain boots, the three of us headed to Stadium after school to shop.  Jake warned me ahead of time that the Stadium (similar to Dick's or Sports Authority) we were going to, did NOT carry children's attire.  I, of course, did not trust that he knew what he was talking about.... and sure enough, 10 minutes later, soaking wet, we discovered how correct he was!  I thought I knew the location of the Stadium that did carry children's clothes, so I decided to jump on the bus.  After riding for five minutes, Chase yells out, "we are near our house, Mommy!"  Low and behold, he was right.  We were on Kungsholmen, our island.  I decide we should get off at the next stop, because I recognized where were and I didn't have a clue where this bus was heading.  I no longer possessed the confidence I had before entering the bus.  Jake is insisting that we stay on one more stop because it would drop us closer to home.  Once again, I didn't listen to my little Jakey.... and we both realized he's correct as we are walking in the pouring rain, and watching the bus stop, about 300 yards from our apartment.  My sons are now officially better navigators than I am!  That didn't take long!!!  One thing I'm learning about Stockholm, if you wait until the season arrives to buy seasonal clothing, you are out of luck.  They don't seem to practice "restocking their shelves".  Here we are on Saturday, still searching for rain boots in their sizes.  We arrived home at 5:30, soaking wet, with tons of homework to complete.  I boiled some water, we all enjoyed some hot chocolate, and had a good laugh.

Since Steve was home from his trip, we decided the following day during lunch, we would go to the bank and attempt for the sixth time to get an additional bank card.  The banks here are run a bit differently than ours in the states.  There is one bank teller, so upon entering, you must take a number (similar to when I was a kid and my mom would pull a number on the cold cut line or at the butcher).  Of course lunch time is the popular time at the bank, so we had four people in front of us.  The line was not moving quickly!  Behind the teller, were two ladies at their desks.  One lady was working... the other lady, doing her nails.  For those of you that know Steve, could you imagine how happy he was!!! It was finally our turn... and we did get the manager who knows us.  After reminding him of our story, he was actually happy for us that we had all the paperwork, both people present, and he was finally going to issue us our card.  Hahaha... too good to be true!  After apologizing for the misunderstanding, he explained that he couldn't issue me a card in my name because I didn't have a job here in Sweden.    Thankfully, I remembered Lori telling me that she doesn't have her name on the card, it's her husband's duplicate card.  So, I asked if that was a possibility, and he replied, "of course".  So... we waited four weeks to get another card when I could've ordered one the day we got here.  Perhaps someone at the bank could've told us this!!!  Aghhhhhh   So now I have my card, but our bank account is empty.  Another long story that I won't go into.  Something to do with a pin code that was issued that doesn't work.  Thankfully, we are still able to use our American bank card (paying a small fee each time, of course) until we receive our Pin code here to bank online.  Did I mention there are three devices plus three pin codes to bank online.   We might not be official at the bank, but we are now officially residence in our apartment complex.  Until this week, I had a handwritten name card on the door, in order to receive mail.  The other day, this appeared.  

Our very own nameplate on the door

Speaking of mail.... sometimes I wish they would take our mail to someone's else's house.  It's all in Swedish, so I have to translate it before I have a clue what it says.  I don't think there's a way to scan the paper into google translate (if there is.. please tell me).  I have to type the entire document into the translator.  Keep in mind, there are additional letters in the Swedish alphabet, so typing quickly is very difficult.  Reading mail usually takes me close to an hour.  

More rain on Thursday.... 

The five of us walking to the train stop

the boys are all wearing their rain gear, but they refused to let me get a good picture

and I had the pleasure of  taking "outdoor fit" that day.  I was trying to think of excuses to skip... but then decided it might be fun.  I met Lori and Nancy outside of school and we walked over together.  We realized quickly we were lacking in the wardrobe department.  Everyone around us was prepared for the workout with awesome, sporty rain pants and water proof backpacks.  Not the three of us rookies... we were soaked before the workout began.  Despite being wet, I'm really glad I didn't talk myself out of it. It was a great workout, AND... a lot of fun!  There was something liberating about running up and down hills with rain pouring in my eyes!  Our instructor Prenille, took a picture for me.

After the workout, we raced home to shower.  We were meeting Claudette on Sodermalm, her island, to do some shopping.  I am still looking for rain boots, she has a great gluten free bakery outside of her apartment, and I needed file folders and trays for my "office".  The great thing about shopping here, the malls are underground.  

The weeks have been flying by since I moved here.  Friday was here before I knew it and the rain had stopped.  I took the boys to school and decided to go for a run.  I chose a different part of Kungsholmen to run.  I ran along the water and decided to see where it led.  I ended up in a part of town that I didn't realize was that close to my apartment.  Another new discovery.  After my run, it was time to recycle.  I decided that I would set up a place in my house to keep the recycle.  Twice a week, I would walk across the park to dump it.  I offered the boys extra Kroner each week if they recycled for me.  Friday I had a lot to recycle.  I had a few large boxes left over from the move and one box with styrofoam peanuts.  First I walked and dumped all the recycle from the food containers.  Then I returned with the large boxes.  I wish I could have taken a picture of myself carrying it across the park.  I was cursing the whole Swedish system the entire way!!!  I brought my scissors so I could break down the boxes there.  I didn't want the peanuts all over my house.  Hey.... don't condemn me, at least I'm recycling!  

The cool air has arrived... and the sweaters and boots are now officially out.  The weather is tricky here.... there is a small window of time during mid afternoon where it's a bit warmer.  Layers are the key.  I left my house at 3:00 wearing a long sleeve shirt and a light sweater.  I felt a bit warm at times.... but by 4:30, I was cold.  This is why people are always carrying big bags.... one for shopping and two for holding their clothing.  My Friday was successful.  I was able to organize my desk, handle some paperwork and clean the house.  Did I mention I hired a house cleaning service.  They will either start this week or next.  Ericsson even pays some of it!  

I'll close with some pictures of the boys.  They like the European look here and keep asking me to buy them colored skinny jeans and converse sneakers.  I love little boys in these clothes, so I caved.  Check out Smith and Chase.  For some reason I don't have a picture of Jake.  

Chase in his orange skinny jeans.  It was too wet outside for his converse

Smith in his converse sneakers at school