A week of Firsts

I was walking to pick up the kids yesterday and I glanced across the park.  To my surprise, the trees are bare!  When did this happen?  With the sun setting around 3:30-4:00 and the trees as naked as they are, it definitely feels like winter has arrived.  The good news, Sweden is holding on to some warmer temperatures.  Now don't get too excited, when I say warmer, I mean temperatures in the high 30's and 40's... but according to many locals, this is warm for November.

The view from my living room window

This was a week of firsts.  My friends Tatiana and Veronica asked Chase and me to join them at Junibacken.  Here's a brief description:  In this storybook house you travel in small carriages through the world of children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, creator of the irrepressible character Pippi Longstocking, among others. Lindgren's tales come alive as various scenes are revealed. Parents can enjoy a welcome moment of rest after the mini-train ride as the children lose themselves in the near-life-size model of Pippi Longstocking's house.  Unfortunately, I had to decline because they were going after school and I had Jake and Smith with me.  I do feel sorry for Chase at times.... back in Atlanta, we were always doing things with his friends.  Here in Stockholm, Chase is on the same school schedule as the boys, so we miss out on activities and play dates due to soccer, homework, and the fact that sometimes the activity is not suitable for older siblings.  These two ladies have become good friends of mine, so when they offered to take Chase, I accepted. Chase's first outing without Mommy.   He had an amazing time and I promised him that we would go back together so he could show me around.  Pippi Longstocking was one of my favorites as a kid!  

Chase at Junibacken

Jake had a first this week too.  He was scheduled for a haircut at 4:30 with Robert, downstairs.  Robert is a super nice guy and someone Steve has gotten to know really well.  Jake is really maturing here in Stockholm and with that maturity, we are starting to give him more responsibilities.  He asked if he could get his haircut alone.  Because I wasn't too confident in his choice of hairstyle, I compromised, and told him that I would walk down with him and pay Robert.  I would leave, and he could walk home afterwards.  Twenty minutes later he rang the doorbell with his new do.... so proud of his independence.

Smith's first wasn't quite as positive.  We have a family rule that if we are ever separated on the trains, the boys are to remain at the last stop that we were together, and wait for either Steve or me to come back for them.  Even though the boys know their way home, we don't want them to move from the stop.  Well... without going into detail, Smith was on the train and then jumped off because he didn't think I got on with him.  It was extremely crowded that day and I didn't see him jump off, but Jake did, and immediately told me.  At that exact time that Jake was frantically explaining, my friend Laura called and said she had Smith with her at the Hötorget stop.  The boys and I went back to the station to find him.  Laura said that he told her he had to stay there until Mom came back for him.  Way to go Smitty!!!  You really did listen!

Girls night.... MY first.  Claudette, Lori and I snuck away Friday night for a girls night out.  We went to a really fun Italian restaurant near Lori's apartment.  The differences between U.S. girl's night out and Stockholm Girl's night out... transportation.  Walking through the dark, chilly streets, planning our meeting time around bus schedules, and then walking to the restaurant.  I love it!  It was an awesome night with great friends and some live entertainment too.  

My friend here serenaded me in Italian.  

Of course, like all restaurant experiences here in Stockholm, the waiter takes a good 15 minutes to come and greet us.  The first thing he says is "Are you all finished'?  Well... I knew what he meant, but we decided to play with him a bit.  We said, no we aren't done we just arrived and need a few drinks.  He laughed and took our drink order.  We then informed him that we had no intention of ordering food yet, that we were going to take our time.  I'm glad he got our humor... he actually turned out to be really good.... once he realized we were dining American style.  

I was asked a very interesting request from Tatiana, my friend from Brazil.  She speaks very broken English.  She has lived here in Stockholm for over two years and when she arrived she spoke no English and no Swedish.  She has taught herself to speak enough English to get by, but lately has a strong desire to take her English to the next level.  I've enjoyed being with Tatiana from the first time I met her.  She's so happy and energetic and her son Pedro is one of Chase's closest friends here.  So, she approached me the other morning asking for what she considered to be a BIG favor.  I was curious because she had such a serious expression on her face.  She asked if she and I (and Veronica) could go to Fika or lunch every Friday and just speak English together.  She wants to improve her English, so what better way than to speak to women that are fluent.  She told me that she really enjoys my company and would I be willing to do it.  Of course I agreed.... it was an easy favor.  I like both her and Veronica, I like to socialize, and I really like Fika.  It's a win win.  So we met for the first time on Friday.  We had so many laughs, and in between those laughs, I also learned a lot about her and her journey.  Like I mentioned before, I'm amazed by women like Tatiana that came over here with no way to communicate.  I'm also very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with both of these ladies each week.  Cheers to new friendships!

As I'm writing this blog, I hear Smith saying, "Woow Mom... is it almost bedtime?"  I looked at the clock and it's 4:00pm and it's black outside.  No babe.... it's just the many hours of dark that we have to get used to.  He, of course, thought it was the coolest thing.  Here's a picture that Claudette took of the kids playing soccer after school at 3:45pm.

Steve and I had a first Saturday night.  We went out to dinner with our very first, 100%, born and raised in Stockholm, new friends Åsa and Jimmy.  Their son Liam, spent the night at our house while we all went out to dinner at El Nombre.  I used a babysitter (teacher from the school) that is fluent in Swedish so Liam would feel comfortable.  Our dinner was amazing!  It was one of the best meals I've eaten since I've arrived in Stockholm.  The food was a Swedish/Mexican fusion.... interesting combo right?  I wasn't so sure going in.... but it was delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised to have "American" service.  What I mean by this is, we were greeted by a nice waiter that allowed us to order a course at a time, and we never felt rushed.  As a matter of fact, we sat down around 8:00 and didn't leave our table until 1:30am.  Åsa and Jimmy were great company.  Steve and I have a lot in common with them and the conversation never slowed down.  I love talking to Swedes and learning about their culture.   It's interesting to hear their perspective on their own culture too.... it's not far from my descriptions.  Steve and I both feel like this couple will be in our lives for a while.

The boys and I laughed hysterically tonight as we played around with Photo Booth.  I'll leave you with a good laugh!