stop being a crazy mum

A sunny afternoon

2012-02-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

* What started off as a family outing ended up as a walk around the block. Still it was pretty amazing we got out at all in between breast feeding, nappy changing and working on the car (not me, Paul that is).

* Fika at the neighbors house and Eliza slept outside in the garden for the fist time. I'll swap her any time ; )

* Finally got our act together to rearrange upstairs, no where near finished but at least the sofas have been swapped around. Next stop second hand to find a lampshade and maybe some other bits for the downstairs lounge.

I cant stand this mess any longer!!!

2012-02-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

* Must not fall back into old habits and let the house be the messiest house in the neighborhood and it doesnt help that the rubbish collection is every other week and our wheely bin is a size S....

* Wish I could remember the site of the woman who also wrote a book on the subject of how parents with young children have the messiest houses. I have so many pictures I could post on her blog.

Energy = cleaning

2012-02-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

* Children centre at our usual time - 12 noon, celebrating Isak 1 year, so muffins for everyone ; )

* One step closer to a finished bathroom now that all the clothes and cupboards has been organized

* Even managed to give the bathroom a quick wipe down - how I love disposable wipes!

Now you dont want to say this...so grip up!

2012-02-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Top five regrets of the dying:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Taken from this Guardian Article, via Jay Parkinson.

Mini spa

2012-02-09T13:33:00.000-08:00

* Early Valentines treat from hubby - kids are in bed and I'll have an evening all to my self (Paul is on baby duty). I've been banging on about how I want/need to treat myself once a week to stay sane. At least a soak in the bath or a facial or some meditation every week.

* Candlelit bathroom, even tea lights on the bath tray.

1. Taking it all in

2. Body scrub with gloves

3. Clay mask and breathing techniques

4. Wash of mask, turn the light on and reads kicks magazine cover to cover (grab what is easy to hands, time is pressures)

Next time I'll remember to bring some frozen cucumber eye pads and chill out music and I will be complete....

Yoga and african dance

2012-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

* Didnt make the dagis run today as I had to get ready for my UN meeting - how would I manage if Paul didnt work from home???

* Eliza's frist grab!!!

* New teats, I so should have bough one S and one M yesterday (it would have saved me one extra trip to the shop).

* Stopping off at Biltema to finally pick up a mirror. Now I can see the children in the back seat, ad I can with a clear consions listen to my podcasts while driving.

* Excellent yoga section. Drums to come....

Expressing and bottle feeding success!

2012-02-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

* No more cracked nipples we're off to buy new teats for the Medela bottles. Would so recommend this brand!

* Ooutch! Reminder from Medela breast pump hire, almost 700 kr. But it was worth every penny.

* New teats works a treat, Eliza took them on the fist go, she must have been hungry. She is now a bottlefeeding baby (starting to train for tomorrows session when I'm at yoga).

Where does all the blood come from?

2012-02-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

* The activities has started - gymnastics today

* That one nipple could bleed so much that after being sick 3 times there were pure blood coming up that is scary, very scary. So me and our neighbor spent 2 1/2 hours at the hospital while Paul stayed at home looking after Mina. The journey to the hospital was horrible but on the way back (when we knew with 99.9% certainty that the blood was caused by a cracked nipple we had a really nice catch up.

No more stripes please

2012-02-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

* Productive day - finally finished painting the changing table. It didnt turn out like I saw it in my head but when does it ever....and finished the January section (almost) in my trend book and listened to several podcasts.

*Hotdogs out in the garden on the portable BBQ in -6° while admiring the logs piled up by house.

* The fire has been going all day. So nice to not to freeze your arse of upstairs!

Our fredagsmys always on a Saturday

2012-02-04T09:08:00.000-08:00

* - Of course you can watch some telly!

No guilt today - swim school in the morning and neighbor coming over to play in the afternoon

* Catching up on the news - collecting cut outs from January newspaper (dagens industri) and lisened to a couple of podcasts too

* Looking forward to homemade chicken burgers with the family in front of 'Puss in boots'

Pancake day

2012-01-26T11:41:00.000-08:00

* Feeding at 6 am, not too bad when she has slept through all night - monging on the internet until its time to get up.

* Good start with plenty of time to spare - Mina is ready, I am ready, the car is ready. We're late! What happened?!

* The investigation continues....12 tubes!! Good excuse to wolf down a bar of chocolate ; - )

* Quick look in the sale, now half the sale price. Suits my wallet and frugal lifestyle (it sucks tho)

* The idea of tasty creps and a special pancake day - what was I thinking, I would have needed all day to carry that out. Instead - a quick owen baked pancake with bacon.

The sock stays on

2012-01-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

* Woho! Upstairs bathroom is finished - shower in a mould free, clean wet room, stepping out in to a sparkling white bathroom. No more yellow - Nice!

* 8 am is no time getting up when getting 2 kids ready for at 9 am. Eliza would have non of it. Screaming the house down Paul ended up taking Mina to nursery.

* My pressures shopping time is slipping away when I sit down for a Charlotte-style-breakfast, reads the paper and change boots. Putting on more makeup, another feed and dig out an old coat that needs tidying up before getting out of the door.

* Pinched the last place in the Yoga and Mindfulness course starting on february 1st - less than 100 kr / session. Not bad!

* Updated podcast library - now I'm gonna stay on top of news and popular culture.

* F1 Pitstop at Överby shopping centre to see if I can find new slippers for hubby. No time to look for baby hat or use my vouchers at the Maxs restaurant - ended up eating no lunch today.

* The support sock will have to be part of my outfit for a bit longer - a year to be exact. Now the investigation starts.....

* Very hungry baby - long sleeps in the day is never good, it will come back and bite you in the arse at night. No 'Person of interest' and popcorn tonight either.

Knackered end of day picture

2 month appointment

2012-01-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

* Aj aj aj my hands!! It wont stop itching - to0 much water - too many nappy changes.

* 8.30 doctors appointment - why did I agree to such a awkward time. Both me and Eliza will have to go in our nighties, no time to get changed! She is perfect!

* Send off a few work emails.

* Quick tour to the shopping centre - time to get those eyes a bit more awake. New conceler and 2 new eye pencils.

* My turn to cook! Veggie mosaka also known as My little Pony Pie, yummy.

* Back on the home made face wipes drenched in olive oil and water (these are the same as I use for both the girls, staying clear of chemical as best I can).

End of day pic - still wearing my nightie

New approach

2012-01-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

Not maintaining the amount of post I had hoped for, I think I need to find a different angle....

Here is a new approach to motherhood in the first few months and beyond.

* Missed children's centre - why does all the activities take place before lunch!!

*Cant live without Vanish - 2 times I have used it already and its not even lunchtime. I dont want to know what's in it but it does what it says on the tin.

* Finally snow - Mina is sledging on the drive while I do the car windows in glories sunshine.

* Quick check to see if neighbor fancy doing the sledge slope before banishing the idea and drive into town instead.

* Combining shopping and work at Deval - got a good winter hat for Mina and a free notebook for me (and some give away catalogues).

* Health is still high on the agenda. Not managed to stay clear of the sweets but regular smoothies, home made muesli and cucumber eye masks should make up for it.

* Gymnastic - Minas first lessen by her self, she'll be fine!

* The day of the tulip was last sunday but I continue on the theme - fresh flowers in the hall, could it be more inviting?

End of the day picture

Julgransplundring

2012-01-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Our local power station has this annual event where you after 2o days after xmas bring your tree (or in our case, more like twigs, no green left what so ever) to be recycled. They lay on loads of activities, foods games for the kids (all with an environment and recycle theme) and a guided tour of the plant. Unfortunately Mina was in a really bad mood and didn't want to go so we only dropped our tree off and went home : - (

There is nothing that sweets cant solve. Bowl for mummy and Mina

Friday the 13

2012-01-13T15:05:00.000-08:00

WHY WHY WHY can I never leave on time! Its making me so angry and in these situations I feel like to whole world is against me (well it is friday 13), we were lucky that the health visitor called and rescheduled Eliza's appointment for this afternoon, now we could go to the children's centre without stressing too much.

Mina's new boots

Eliza is wearing her new outfit she got from her cousins - and the old car seat came in handy after the cats had marked their territory in the other one. Grrrr

But the day is never that simple. I realized my medicine is finished and the weekend is up on us - what to do! After speaking to the hospital I checked with the chemist to see if I had any more prescriptions in my name butI didnt. I'm in trouble!

Of course I forgot to call back (baby / breastfeeding brain lets you forget EVERYTHING, so annoying). Thankfully my nice health visitor managed to help me out.

Finally at the children's centre.

It wasn't a good day for us today. Mina fell from a staple of chairs and wanted to go home and never come back...I do hope she change her mind - otherwise what are we gonna do on Mondays and Fridays??

Eliza had her first nap in her cot today, which was well overdue. No more carrying the push chair up and down the stairs (or getting the old one out for having one upstairs).

Got some really good advice as usual when we met up with the health visitor and she is even booking me in to a mindfullness course after I moan about how hard I find motherhood every time we meet.

Back at the chemist, again. This time to exchange the very expensive organic moisturizer I bought where the pump mechanism doesn't work.

Good for everyone in the family

Ps. My solution to worrying about if the baby is gonna ride down under the duvet is the very cute and useful sleeping pod. Placing the baby with its feet near the end of the cot is another safety proaction.

Another good piece of advice I got from my health visitor was that sometimes when the baby cry, hear it out for a little while before picking it up and try to comfort it. It might only express tiredness and it needs a little while to seattle. Of course if it escalates pick him/her up.

Shopping trip to Torp

2012-01-12T09:59:00.000-08:00

I need a new foundation TODAY, I cant hold off any longer. I have said to myself that I shall start shopping more online to save money but I have checked out different websites for a better deal but there really isn't much difference in price and then there is shipping on top...

This trip turned out to be a real treat after a near real disaster.

I met up with mum at the shopping centre (not at all planed, she was in the area when I called) which I am very glad she did as I didn't have my bank card with me (which I realized when I was trying to pay for a drink).

Mina and Eliza had some money left from xmas and I was hoping to get them something in the sale.

Mum spoiled them as usual and Mina got both new trainers and a swimsuit and a rucksack for her new activities starting this eve. Eliza got some funky socks, even I got a snakey treat ;-)

Mina in her new swimsuit

Swim school starts now

baking teacakes for tomorrows fika at the children centre

Ready for my first gymnastic session (boots at such a bargain price! reduced from 399kr to 199kr and then another 50% for having a loyalty card).

It wasn't quite what we had hoped for and this gave me an idea for a business concept. This was a trail session and the group was full but she got a place in the Thursday group 5-6 year olds (lets hope there is a bit more of what it 'says on the tin' in that one).

Oh how I miss UK supermarkets

2012-01-12T02:43:00.000-08:00

I am so happy! I can now get hold of my frugal food magazines that I love so so much.

Check out these awesome recipes from Morrison. Maybe Sainsburrys and Tesco, Waitrose has started a regular on-line magazine too??

Must investigate!

Morrisons Online-magazine

Healthy mornings

2012-01-12T01:13:00.000-08:00

I am desperately trying to get into a healthy eating regime, my sweet tooth has still got the power over me. I am not on a diet or anything and it's not the end of the world right now as I am still breast feeding but I would like to have my eating habits under control for when I stop, and for Elizas sake. I think 6 months of solid feeding should be plenty for both of us. She has really put on weight now, there is no trace of her ever having a weight problem in the past. I wonder if she has the same withdrawal symptoms as I do....I had no sweets or biscuits yesterday, not even a small piece of dark chocolate!!

A good start to the day - full of fiber and fruit with no added sugar ;-)

served with homemade whole grain teacakes

1/2 banana

1 blood orange

lingonberry

linseeds

fiber oats

yoghurt

5 am madness

2012-01-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

Now its all coming back to me. I do recall having a mad moment of getting up at crack of dawn when Mina was born. The whole sleep-when-the-baby-sleep business is still something that I am struggling with. I just cant let go of the things I know needs doing (sometimes even right in front of me, like a big pile of washing). Going to bed and having all these chores starring me in the face when I wake up. No, I cant deal with that. There might not be another opportunity to do these tasks for ages...its not like you can program the baby, yet.

So here I am writing when I should really be sleeping.

Well I might as well go downstairs and make sure Mina's outdoor clothes are dry for tomorrow, no I mean today. Think they'll have a much better chance of drying in the living room under the hot air pump then in a cold bathroom.

Ps. Who needs a smartphone more than a mum? I have just been feeding and comforting for two hours and even tho I would love an ipad - single handed devices that can easily be maneuvered to avoid being puked at or browsing the net only using the thumb when rocking the push chair are priceless. Not only can you go over the next days agenda one more time (the baby brain hasnt quite recovered yet, if it ever will, so its best to write EVERYTHING down before you forget it). The smartphone is also your best friend and babysitter for your young children. With both fun games and educational apps do you no longer need to avoid certain shelfs or drag the shopping trolly backwards when you do the weekly shop to make sure that your older darling dont spot something they want. And maybe they'll even be cooperative and nice and let you glance at your shopping list from time to time.

An active day

2012-01-09T14:31:00.000-08:00

Start afresh again...lets see how long I can go this week without eating any sweets or biscuits. I am not doing too well on the new healthy eating front but hey its ok as long as I am breast feeding, I am getting thinner and Eliza is getting bigger. Who would have thought that she wasnt getting enough milk (because I produced so much milk and my breast were about to explode there were little or no nipple at all to latch on to). You dont think producing too much milk is gonna give you such grief (I will elaborate more on this topic in another post when I am not falling asleep while typing).

Today the children's centre opened for the first time since it shut down for Christmas holiday - it was packed with overexcited kids.We all had a really nice time. Enjoying home baked bread for Fika and catching up with old school friends. Mina found a friend from her nursery group and Eliza spent most of the time in her car seat asleep.

In the evening it was time for Mina to try out the local gymnastic organization. They gave a 2 week trail period. It was kind of a football session for the very young and I think we were equally disappointed. However, Mina cheered up when I told her that we should get her a new pair of trainers. What was I thinking - turning up to a football sessions with no shoes!!!

Now when both kids are asleep I am really looking forward to sit down with my husband and a big bowl of popcorn and watch the latest episode of Sherlock. It is just brilliant!

Bit by bit and its taking its time

2012-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

Its not easy getting a job finished in this house of chaos. I am really looking forward to the end of this festive season and finding a routine. It might take a few months before Eliza finds hers but at least nursery is opening again this week. Do I sound like a bad mum now? The truth is I need to get some me-time where I can organize all the paperwork and finnish the unpacking. I havent even register the birth of Eliza yet. So far she is only a number and is former known as an Aston living at our address.

I cant say I know what day of the week it is but it just feels like every day is like sunday (think I might listen to some Morrissey)

To day it took me all day to finish cutting and filing my nails. The other day I finished cleaning the upstairs toilet - it had only taken a week! It usually takes me about an hour to do a bathroom (because I am such a cleaning freak - I either do it to perfection or not at all) and one can say that I have stopped being so bloody anal about cleaning now. Hurrah for cleaning wipes! Maybe not the most eco friendly option but it gets the job done and makes it a lot easier, especially when you can only spare a few minutes here and there.

Its amazing tho how I manage to fit cocking in to the day. Now, I'm not talking about lunch and dinner. That I am blessed to have my husband doing for us (me and Mina cook our own lunches occasionally and Elizas dinner is on tap so I dont have to worry about her just yet). No I refer to the healthy smoothies and nice baking ;-)

Now I am going to enjoy a slice of my newly baked bread and maybe even read a few pages in 'How to survive the first year of motherhood' by Vicky Lovine.

Ps. Lidl sells desposable cleaning wipes really cheap and in a decent size package too.

Here is a great recipe I found on the back of a flour package - very quick n easy!

Tea cakes for breakfast.

Bake in owen for 6-8 min on 225°C

Bye bye Christmas

2012-01-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Its been a tough couple of days.

On thursday me and the girls went to see a friend in Gothenburg. This play date had been planed since before xmas but during the holiday we’d all been having colds and thought we’d better leave it to a later date. I was a little bit unsure of the way and as I am notoriously bad for not being able to read a map this got me in a bit of a knot. Google maps are great but doesnt always give you the best directions and I did not fancy getting lost. My other worry was that Eliza was sitting in the back seat (with a journey time of 1 hr and not being able to see to her or hear her as Mina demanded to listen to the Gummi Bears on full blast.

In the end I ignored the google suggestion and called my friend for a different route - which was much better! Thank God I didnt need to worry about the directions any more.

Eliza slept and slept and slept which did give us loads of time to catch up, eat lunch and have fika (yes my healthy diet is a vague memory).

Eliza slept a little more on the way home and then....of course was up all night.

She didnt settle the following day either and there was a lot of crying and interrupted sleep. Friday is a bit of a blur actually. My memory is like a sieve!

Today Mina is having her first local play date! A work colleague / friend is coming over with her son who is three. After locking to cats in and sitting in mummys lap for a long time he finally came around and they played brilliantly all afternoon. I dont know what they enjoyed most playing with Barbie or trashing the gingerbread house....

Felt so nice taking down the Christmas decoration (not that we had much this year). The big tree had hardly shredded a single pine needle not even when being pulled through the back door and it had not had any water all xmas!!! We are definitely getting that kind of tree next year. Mina’s tree however, a standard pine tree, which we got under much nicer circumstances at the yearly Christmas tree party at Grötån did not have any needles left after being put into a black bin liner to save the house from being covered in pine needles. We then finished it all off with letting off a few fire works we had left from New Years Eve. Christmas going out with a bang, a new tradition!

Christmas tree party at Grötån

Ps. Creating your own CDs for various road trips is great however make sure you have a selection of them....We’ve put together a couple of CD with the theme tunes of Mina’s favorite TV shows and she is so sweet when she is singing on the top of her voice in the back seat.

If you havnt got the latest car model and do not have control of the front and rear speakers its advisable to invest in a set of portable speakers that you can plug in to the stereo or iphone. This is to stop you going crazy when they just want to listen to the same song over and over again. And so that you and your partner can have a conversation without having to shout to each other.

How to NOT having to leave the bedroom all night (and hopefully even stay in bed)

2012-01-04T10:17:00.000-08:00

There is nothing that irritates me more than if I forget to pack any of my essentials when I am out and about. It can ruin the whole day. A bit childish I know but that just the way I am. I love being prepared for anything. I cant for example leave the house without my swiss army knife. Its the smallest version but it has proven useful almost everyday - toothpick, tweezers, nail file what more does a women need (the scissors and knife comes in pretty handy too).

So the same goes for when its time for bed. When I first came home from hospital I slept in our big comfortable bed getting up and feeding on the sofa in the bedroom 3-4 times a night, then having to go to the bathroom to do a nappy change...it was far to unpractical for my liking. I didnt like it a bit.

There was another big problem. We have to big siamese cats that sleeps in our bed and the bed is over a meeter of the ground so it would be quite a fall.

Therefore I decided I was gonna sleep in Elizas room for a little while before she got settled in her own bed (Mina didnt sleep in our bed once, this is turning into quite a different story). Eliza still hasnt slept one night in her own bed, I am still sleeping in her room and she is either sleeping in the bed with me or I am rocking the pram half the night.

But I am trying to make it a little easier by having my bedtime basket restocked every night. Below is a list of the essentials that will make your night a little more comfortable.

Basket by the bed with the following in it:

Nappies

Homemade wipes (olive oil and water wipes in a bag)

Bottom cream / nappy rash cream

Dry wipes (general usage)

Square cut out of bed protector sheet (changing mat)

2 sets of changes (preferable oncies)

Bib / flannel (to stop milk / sick from getting everywhere)

Larger towel (used when feeding laying down to stop sheets getting wet)

Blanket (covering baby while feeding and swaddle)

Breastpads

Cosy dressing gown (when you need to get out from under the duvet)

Shawl (while breast feeding)

Painkillers (sore / achie nipples / breasts)

Bottle of water

Mobile toy

Lip balm

Small bin with lid on or nappy sacks

Another sleepless night - still a domestic goddess

2012-01-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

I never used to take Mina into bed when she was a baby. I was quite persistent on the swaddling thing and from what I remembered she used to seattle pretty well in her own moses basket. This time however its different, maybe because I got to spend some time at the hospital where they suggested sleeping with the baby in the hospital bed to give it that closeness its longing for. The dummy success turned into a little of a nightmare last night tho she kept pulling it out and then couldnt seattle without it so she ended up sleeping in my bed, which by the way is a child's bed (80 cm sofa bed which occasionally folds out as a double bed) that I now have slept on for 4 weeks. Therefore (not really designed for a grownup) it has now developed a permanent ditch in which I lie in.

However I still managed to do some fantastic bake offs today. I was glad tho when my friend text me and moved back our meet up 1 hour as I find it almost impossible to be ready before lunchtime. Therefore I have now introduced a new rule to myself - I will not commit to anything before 12 noon.

Åsa here is the muffin recipe

So easy to make and perfect for a brunch or a picknick, pretty child friendly too ; )

Courgette and cheddar cheese muffins

1 dl grahams flour

1 1/2 dl self raising flour

1 1/2 rolled oats

1 1/2 tsp English mustard powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate soda

300 g grated courgette

6 dl cheddar cheese

75 ml milk

1 egg

5 tbs veg oil

Handfull of black olives

Heat oven to 180°C

Mix all dry ingredients then add egg, milk and oil. Pour into muffin trays (silicon trays are best) and sprinkle a little cheese, courgette on top. Top off with an olive on each muffin. Place in oven and cook for 30 min.

Later that evening I had my sister and her family coming over to check out little Eliza and the new house. This was one of those days when Eliza was very cooperative and slept a lot and baking is something that Mina enjoys so it worked out pretty well.

I was going to do an experiment, a mixture between sweet and savory and swedish and english....

BLT on gingerbread sponge cake!

This was a success - even my husband liked it (he really isnt a big fan of the whole gingerbread custom all together).

I will post this recipe another time.

6 weeks - dummy success!

2012-01-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

I found it difficult to understand couples that didnt get their baby to take the dummy, now I am a bit more understanding, but with persistent training everything is possible. Our firstborn took the dummy straight away where as this time it has been a struggle. I have bought an handful of different dummies and none of them worked. ‘Dont give up, keep trying my healthvisitor told me. And today she finally excepted it - Horrehy! This means that she can settle in my husbands arms too.

Today I managed to get two things done - taking Mina to the doctor and some shopping (that was after lunch)

Carrot pancakes

1 egg

1 dl flour

2 dl milk

dash of oil

grated carrots

(frying in butter and served with lingonberry)

1st day of 2012

2012-01-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

As of most people I also intend to start this year with some improvements to my life. They tend to be the same every year. Eat more healthily, exercise more, be more charitable, be a better wife, spend more quality time with the children, stay in touch with friends and so on....

New on the list for this year is something I am doing for myself - having less expectations on my self, try to fulfill one task per day rather than constantly starting new projects. This blog is one of my many ongoing projects for example, started back in 2008 and not much has happened since. But I am gonna make it my mission to keep this blog alive - my promise to myself for 2012.

As I am slowly adjusting to being a mother of two, which is a whole other story than just having the one - We’re a proper family now, as my husband keeps reminding me (before we were just a couple with a child) I am juggling piles of washing (its slowly coming back to me, the never ending, growing, stained mountains of baby clothes.) Thank god we have a washing machine in the house and dont have to go down to the basement from the 8th floor every time you need to do a load. And what if there is no wash slot!! I would be even crazier than I already am.

After all my loads of washing I did finally managed to have my smoothy that I have thought after all day but not managed to squeeze in in between nappy changes and feeds.

I did also however, with some help from my husband managed to get both children clean, one in the shower and the other one in the kitchen sink.

Here is the recepie of a really refreshing smoothie. Think it would work really well with milk too, must try that next time.

Avocado smoothie

Avocado

Melon

Lime

Lemon

Natural yoghurt

Honey

Ps. Remembered today why I have so many different types of bibs, everything from tiny ‘chin support’ to full bodysuit. Well if you have a pukey baby, now is the time for the

pull-over-the-head-elasticated-towel-bib. Comes in handy both when feeding and after dinner when it all comes back up again.

2nd post New Years Eve - What a night

2011-12-31T10:10:00.000-08:00

I’ve got this strange feeling that I no longer know my baby, she is not behaving in her usual way. Saying that she is only just over 5 weeks so I cant say that I know her very well at all. She wouldnt settle at all - about two hours kip. Saying that on the bright side I found a very useful and portable rocking device - my older daughters skipping rope. Saved me leaving the bedroom and going downstairs to use the threshold.

My new year promise

2011-12-31T10:09:00.000-08:00

It was a long time since I last posted anything on here. Well just under a year to be exact. But now the last day of 2011 there is a lot that I want to share. Not only have I gone and done it again, I am now a mother of two!!

Little did I know that it was gonna be just as hard the second time around. Dealing with a over excited 4 year old who is getting less attention than she is used to and dealing with a screaming baby could drive anyone crazy. How do you stay sane in this chaos. There are things everywhere, and all I do is tidying and washing. Apart from when I am breast feeding and changing nappies or rocking the push chair.I need sleep, stronger painkillers and dry/clean clothes. Well there are different hurdles second time around but who was I kidding when I thought it was gonna be easy.

I am now making it one of my promises for 2012, to write on here regularly. That is because I need to write down my feelings and ideas in order to stop being stuck in this loop of writing lists of things I want to do, everything from baby-mother survival kits to just opening my heart and cry out how very difficult it is to be a good mum.

So during the coming year I would like to share some of my deepest thoughts about motherhood and on how to survive the first year. I want to share tips on how to look good without getting no sleep and not having time to spend 1 hour in front of the mirror, healthy smoothy recipes, non chemical baby wipes and lots more.

Of course there is gonna be a lot of typical mum posts of the children but also some of my favorite mum blogs (and also some links to other sites that influences me).

Vicky Lovine - The best friends guide to surviving the first year of motherhood. I am really gonna try and find some time to finish this hilarious but very useful book this time.

Happy 2011!

2011-01-01T13:30:00.000-08:00

We took a chance (or I should say our friends did) after Mina had been sick through the night and morning but we are buggered if we are missing out on another new years eve! Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind on new years eve. This would have been the second year in a row we would have had to cancel new years eve because of a stomach bug. In all honesty I do not remember the last time we celebrated new year outside our flat or at least with friends. Of corse after 25 its not all that hanging in a bar / club at midnight, having to fight to get a taxi home or getting into a fight in the take out que. Its been quite nice and cosy being at home, just the two of us (and in later years, the 3 of us) but now it was defiantly time for some good old partying!

Late as usual we set of to Gothenburg with a car packed to the sealing and me in the back seat, just in case Mina was going to be sick and we would have had to turn around. But luckily that didnt happen.

We got to Catrin and Marcus with 30 min to spare before the GP firework display started - it was really pretty and set the sceen perfectly, even tho it was only 5pm (despite that the kids wanted to go home and I spend most of the show hunched down writing names in the air with sparklers). This was defiantly the hangout for parents with kids under 5.

Well back at the flat we had an awesome 3 course dinner and the kids truly enjoyed their sausage-meatballs-cheese skewers served with chips. With a little break between main course and dessert the little ones collapsed into bed - a bit later than usually so hopefully they will all sleep in tomorrow....yeah right.

With plenty of wine, liqueur and whiskey from a distiller Catrin and Marcus had visited in Scotland earlier that year we continued the evening with a game playing embarrassing tunes on Spotify.

We entered 2011 in true style with a bottle of Moet & Chandon and promises of doing a trip to Copenhagen in Spring.

A truly fantastic new years eve and an awesome beginning on 2011!

Of corse the kids didnt sleep in and I had for once forgotten about the day after so the morning was pretty tough but Catrin took first watch over the children and then laid on a fantastic breakfast which did made me see through the first part of the day. Then, there is nothing a dirty Mc Feast meal cant cure ; )

Lets say, I am not starting my 2011 until the 2nd January.

1st of advent

2010-11-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

Time to dig out those biscuit cutters - first ginger bread biscuits of the year.

More snow

2010-11-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

It has not stopped snowing all day think its time for some fun in the snow.

So Christmas has arrived

2010-11-21T14:31:00.001-08:00

The traditional window display at NK and as usual Father Christmas was there as well!

Luckily there were many little helpers around to hand out ginger biscuits

big and small

because there was a long que to see Santa and he talked to every child for a long long time

but finally Lilly and Mina could hand over their wish lists

and get a big hug from Santa him slef.

Fathers day

2010-11-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Mum is selling the appartment block and is clearing out everything she has in the basement (where she also operates her antique store from) and going through old boxes I found my little brothers lego - I said Oh, I think Mina would really like that, but really I was thinking of Paul - Happy fathers day!

Halloween

2010-10-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

A fantastic evening spent together with Minas favorite friend, Sally, Jossan and Andreas, Johan and Julie.

The first snow of the year

2010-10-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

And the snow is here. his is early even for this part of Sweden. And not nice to drive in with summer tires!! We've been talking about changing to studded tires for days but just not got around to do it. The early snow is obviously causing some problems but at least the country doesn't come to a stand still. Mina has been to the doctor after having a reaction to the antibiotics she has been taking for her pneumonia. The doctor wasn't sure but it might even be chickenpox, poor little one, but I suppose its good to get it when you are little, apparently the younger you are the milder the symptoms.

Lilly's Birthday party

2010-10-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Minas best friend here in Sweden is also called Lilly, can be a bit confusing when we are talking about going to see Lilly.

Essential winter updates

2010-10-12T12:29:00.000-07:00

If I had more money I would have liked to have done a proper wardrobe update but with a tight budget you can still do a few smart purches to transform your current wardrobe with some of the latest fashion accessories, or more importantly seasons must-haves that suits you. I didn't spend much on new clothes (a skirt, a dress and a shirt) I have some good outer wear from previous years that I still like and you can always make some good buys in the winter sale for boots and jackets and other expensive items.

What I did spend money on however was to get my old boots re-heeled, some buttons to mend a military jacket. The rest I spent on accessories and make up. This seasons nail vanish, new fish nets (that I wear all year round), a new foundation (from light to medium cover) and a good hand cream.

Proud winner of vision 2040

2010-10-09T12:20:00.000-07:00

I have not been this excited in years, our team won the Uddevalla vision 2040. This could be the beginning of something good, maybe I could actually be part of changing Uddevalla to something better. Also well impressed with the chaos pilot that did a fantastic job getting all the contestants to achieve their very best. After an intensive day brainstorms and implementation my head was so mushed I couldn't even compose an email on the end of the first day. On day 2 me and Linda celebrated with a well deserved pint and talks about how to spend our 1000 kr prize money ; )

New hair do

2010-10-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

Shall I go for a permed fringe?

Getting a bit bord now, have had the same haircut since before summer....

Towel nappies

2010-10-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I was quite impressed when I saw the range in Ica Maxi.

And not to mention my homemade cupcake : )

Kanelbullens dag

2010-10-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Like mother like daughter!

Peace Kitty

2010-09-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Its not easy going shopping with a 3 year old, especially not with one that already knows what she wants. There is no point buying clothes I want her to wear. If she doesn't like them at a first glance she will never wear them.

But at the end we found something that we could agree on and she rooks!

Gothenburg bookfair

2010-09-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

I got some tickets from work for the bookfair but had not had time to go earlier in the week so it had to be Saturday..... not the best of days as this is when the rest of the public visits. (I didn't even make it upstairs to the graphic section.) However it worked out nicely as a family outing. Paul got to get some of his awaited SiFi novels and Mina truly enjoyed it. It was absolutely rammed with people and it took us a good hour once we got into central of Gothenburg, just to find a space in a nearby car park. I knew we should have taken the train (obviously didn't think of this until we were stuck in the traffic jam). We did an impressive pit stop tho in the only green space we passed on the way (Minas very well planed toilet visit), the car only move a few meters up the street.

After the bookfair we went to the Mac store to buy a new battery to my laptop (been working on a stationary laptop for far too long) was shocked at how much it was, electronics are so much more expensive in Sweden. Anyway now I don't have to be plugged into the main any more - and its worth any penny.

We rounded off our family outing with a trip to Andreas and Jossan for a homemade apple pie. Mina had chosen a book for Sally - Vem sover inte? by Stina Wirsén. Think Sally will become as big a fan as Mina after a little while whom herself chose a more daring title - Vem blöder?

Mina is not the only one who is a big fan - I love them too. You can read them over and over again without getting bored (compared to many other young children books) and they bring up topics that are relevant to small children is such a clever way.

I also bought a wicked colour-in book for christmas.

Yes its true, I have already started to plan for christmas.

Election day

2010-09-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

Mina and I are off to vote

and for a trip to the playground.

And then a very colorful Sunday roast with purple cauliflower.

Day out on the town

2010-09-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Today didn't quite turn out the way I had planned.

In my head, me and Mina were gonna shoot of early to the library, borrow some new books, download a film and hung out but by the time we got out, had dropped Paul off at my office to fix the Volvo, half the day had gone.

My new found, the second hand store Lady gala (which I had been longing to check out all week) shut early, before 2pm. I had time for just a quick tease. Now I have to wait all weekend and who knows if I get the time to run down in my lunch break during the week. Grrr.

The library shut at 2pm - rush in, grab a couple of books and get chucked out!

Then we did spend some lovely time in the playground in the warm autumn sun reading the new books before playing hide and seek.

Fika at Leja's cafe - No green tea with out any fruit, No read tea without fruit, so a glass of milk for Mina and a bottle of elder-flowered flavored sparkling water for me. This detox thing is starting to drive me crazy!!!

Quite a cool cafe just a shame there is no pulse.

What´s wrong with this town!

Half the places shut at 2pm and the rest by 4 on a SATURDAY. I suppose the shop nearest to Kampenhof (the bus terminal might stay open to five, WoHo....).

And so is the old volvo! I cant wait to get rid of it, stolen blikers, snapped handbrake cable and a broken horn, just a few things that needs to be sorted before we can put it up for sale.

And not to talk about the other one, who is just waiting to be picked up and taken to the scrap yard. I received the new registration documents last week so hopefully we can get rid of it next week.

The Uddevalla romance is long gone and I think I am suffering from a summer come down and junk abstinence.

No refined food for 6 days. No snacking, no fruit, caffeine, no fast food or sugar of any kind. Best I´ve done in a long time - its been hard.

I cant take it no more, I need some stimulant!

A bar of 70% fair trade chocolate saved the evening.

However we're gonna stick to the none refined diet and I'll do another detox of 2 weeks in the beginning of October and then I'll do it for 2 weeks (I will prepare a bit better next time, both mentally and stocking up the cupboard with better ingredients).

Tomorrow its election day and I have almost decided what party I´m gonna vote for, at least I am certain of what side.

But I have a few more questions to get answered before I tick my boxes.

Last nights debate was insightful, even tho it was a bit difficult to follow as Mina refused to go to bed.

I like to know my stuff, otherwise what´s the point to vote if you don´t know what you are voting for. Last time I voted I was 18 years old - a lot have happened and a lot has changed for me personally and in politics. But one thing is sure, living in a different country and have been part of a different culture for such a long time has definitely left its marks.

Detox week

2010-09-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Day 1

Today is the first day of my detox week, and I have not been very organized.

I am no beginner. Back in my holistic days I used to do this on regular basis. Everything from full moon fasts to Ayurvedic 50 day detox. But now its so much harder.

For one, I don't seam to have the self control I used to have and secondly its impossible to be selfish when you have a family. What you need these days is preparation and planning.

However this type of detox I am doing is quite humane and shouldn't be too hard to follow but the start wasn't too good.

Before I got to work this morning I rushed into the supermarket to pick up some yoghurt and a grapefruit for my breakfast. Ate it during the Monday meeting, then for lunch I picked up a vegetarian salad from Cactus that i wolfed down cos my lunch break was somewhat a little late (I was both hungry and stressed). Only had a handful of nuts for snack.

And when it came to dinner-time Mina had decided not to go to bed so I dint get to sit down until 8.30pm, and then in front of 24.

So to summerize my first day, I did stick to smaller portions (apart from dinner, but it was a healthy lentil salad so not too bad). I didn't snack (apart from nuts), I didn't have any fruit. But I did eat while working, watching telly and didn't slow down before, during or after eating.

So on a scale from 1-5 I'll give myself a 2.

Lets see if I can do any better tomorrow.

Cleaning Sunday

2010-09-12T12:57:00.001-07:00

We're doing a pretty good job of sticking to our rota we made about a month ago (Paul is way better at it then I am but then he gets to show off that and tell me off which make him feel good and I really don't mind a bit of earache). I have moaned at him for so long about housework I don't mind being nagged at, makes me open my eyes and be a bit more considerate of how he must have felt doing a full time job, being the household earner. Now its my turn, but I really hope one of his many projects will pay off soon, it would be nice to have a bigger buffer. However its so much better then when we lived in London, at least now we don't have to count our pennies every week to work out what we could afford to eat.

Today was also one of the many many family gathering / birthday parties which take up a large part of our free time. And it always seams to be on Sunday afternoons! Maybe I've gone and become more British than I thought but why can't parties be held on a Saturday? or is it that the most immediately family, which consist of 18 people, only are around on Sundays?

It is always a bad day for us as F1 (which is the only sport that Paul follows, thank god) always seam to fall on the same time as these f***ing parties.

So the question always comes up - Do I have to go? and I always answer - Yes you do! which is never a good start for a day of formal fun.

Don't get me wrong these parties are very nice and with good food etc etc and I used to be very jealous that I couldn't attend when I was living abroad but now they seam to be every other week!! And when we left today (which took just over 1 hour, leaving that is) I found out that we had another 2 coming up before xmas - that is one a month from Aug right up to xmas!

I am so glad I have decided to quit my saturday job at Smögen (seams like I have found some clients in town, much better) cos I just would not have enough time to do anything with my family or let alone myself.

Moan moan moan....

Another topic that came up over dessert was why I missed London. I couldn't help getting frustrated that my mum and sister didn't get where I was coming from so me and Paul had a long discussion about it in the car on our way home and then it came to me, they wouldn't understand cos they had never seeked out what it would be like living in a different place, not longed to be part of something bigger, they were perfectly happy living in a small town for the rest of their lives.

There is nothing wrong with that and at times I even envy them for not being so pertinacious as I am. But of course they don't understand where I am coming from, and they never will.

What surprised me tho was my mums reaction to my disappointment of my romanic view of Sweden. If she was in my shoes, she wouldn't stay for a second longer then she needed to. It almost sounded like she couldn't wait for me to move away again - No, I know that is not true, but maybe she too finds it a bit strange to have her daughter on her doorstep. I mean, 12 year is a long time....

However it felt good talking about it and I got some rally good tips on how to bring some of our British traditions into our Uddevalla life. The butcher on Södra Drottninggatan Wattson and Olsson and apparently there is an eastern supermarket near by. It is also worth checking out Dalaberg and their local shops (which is just up the road from us). With this new search engine I found quite a few ecological farms that sells both cuts of meet and vegs, maybe worth doing a trip once a month picking up some meet. Bet both Paul and Mina would love that.

It feels weird, I am doing what I used to do in England, searching out people and places that reminds me of home and a culture that I miss and I never thought it would be the British.

Mina is doing her part in our new cleaning routine - microfiber cloths are just the best invention!

The pizza marathon

2010-09-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is It's (Erik)birthday bash, in Ljungskile, Pizzeria Bella Mare who does awesome pizzas. It is a good call to get all the immediately family members (18 to be exact) to meet at the pizzeria, it is getting rather crowded to bring everyone home.

Anyway as the food on the menu is Pizza we thought we give it a go to get Mina to eat some. What if she gets to make shapes and then make mini pizzas herself - would she dare to try one then?

N0!

But at least we had fun making them!

Mina fell asleep on the sofa while we were watching old episodes of Top Gear, (when Hammond had short hair and mascara so they must have been old but just as hilarious), waiting for Xfactor to start.

Minas home made pizzas. They look really good don't they?

Friday night in

2010-09-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

Paul's turn for an afterwork ( I had one last week and ended up on an after party at my neighbor and didn't come home until 4am so I am not expecting him any time soon) and even when he is not here to cook for me he makes sure I get fed (I was lucky coz there were no bread or cereal in ;-) Mina and I had a girls night in dancing the night away (wearing ear muffles)

Mina and I had a girls night in dancing the night away (wearing earmuffs)

Perfect Skin for CHEAP!

2010-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite make up artist blogs. Great tip from Kandee on how to get a flawless face and great contour with drugstore products.

Cats and teddy bears

2010-09-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

Teddy bear camouflaging - useful for indoor cats only!

Autumn picknick

2010-09-05T12:12:00.000-07:00

Its definitely getting colder, especially in the mornings and I have spotted both red and yellow leafs. Will this be our last picknick? better make the most of it.

Still in a T

Plastic slide = Electric hair

No more dummies

2010-09-04T04:46:00.000-07:00

This must be Mina's happiest day, she has got her very first bike! A hard price to pay - no more dummies, thats the only way to get your hands on a bike I had said.

And she did it! I am a very proud mum. She payed with all her dummies and after she had handed over her dummies to the cashier she realized what she had done and burst out in tears, it was heartbreaking. But an ice cream later and a bike to build she soon forgot all about the dummies (until nighttime).

From this sad...

to this happy!

The week of cleaning

2010-08-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we sat down and wrote up a rota on how to get a little bit more organized and try to stay on top of the cleaning so we could be more spontaneous and invite friends over without me having a panic because the flat is a shit tip.

We did really well, for 3 days but today it fell through. However, we managed to have one guest witness our tidy home : -)

Its not too bad, and tomorrow I will do a little bit of extra housework. I promise!

Swedish folkfest

2010-08-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

I don't think Uddevalla can take any more festivities - this is the 3rd weekend in a row and the least popular by the looks of things. How can you compete with Class 1 Grand prix, last weekend and Fjordfestivalen, the week before that. I hope that next weekends activity Utomhusbion (outside cinema) will be more successfull.

Me and Mina had a quick look around and then headed over to the new city playground.

Stocking up for the weekend

2010-08-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

It is Friday lunch time and I have an errand to the shops when I suddenly remembered that it's Friday - That means Fredagsmys as we Swedes like to call it (cosy Friday). This tradition seems to be holy in this country where hardly anyone over 25 does anything but snuggle up at home with a bottle of wine and OLW crisps (or fresh prawns when the price isn't rocketing thanks to the norwegians).

The state controlled Systembolaget (off license) have stricked opening hours but have in later years expanded their opening hours and allows us to drink even on a Sturday - you have until 2pm.

I was however pleased I remembered to pay them a visit so I could surprise Paul with a nice bottle of wine, and that is exactly what I did - a nice looking bottle of wine.

I usually dont buy wine by the design on the label but....I saw

and thought of quality.

Paul saw...

and got fag cravings....

At least I was in right section 'new world' white, who know what I would have picked up otherwise, horrible German table wine maybe? I was under a spell and mesmerized by the change. It was so stylished and modern....

I remembered when all bottles were in display cabinets. You politely tock a ticket, waited in line (for up to an hour if it was a friday) to be served by a lady who asked you for an 8 digit number out of an catalogue. She would then disappear back into the stock room to go and get your order.

It so turned out that our local Offie, is one of the most successful shops in the country (again the norwegian has somtehing to do with this too) and therefor turned into the most stylished and modern of them all. I must admit I was a little busy taking it all in, sharing with friends this new discovery so I am not sure how good this bottle of wine really is but at least we can cuddle up on the sofa and join the rest of the swedish population.

Class 1 Swedish Grand Prix weekend

2010-08-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

First Swedish grand prix in Sweden, and it's in Uddevalla!

There were a lot of action in the first race where one boat flipped over on the first lap. Another one spun and was hit by another boat on the first lap of the restart. That was 3 out of 6 boats out of the race even before the first lap had finished. Talking about a dangerous sport.

It took some time before we actually got to the boats because there was this massive big destruction - a Circus! (as Mina calls it) No it was Axel's funfair.

This is how hooked Mina was on the whole racing thing, and this is only the small boats, the F2

Day 2

These boats are enormously large! Time to get ready for race no 2

Paul put in a great deal and saved the race again and again. Head of media, Head of IT, app developer just to mention a few rolls he mastered this weekend. He was also a wonderful husband and father who got us free passes everywhere in the race village.

Its not only mum and dad who is obsessed with the iphone.

Now - potential new user. Young teaches younger.

Skydiving one of the teams main hobby

and the flowers Mina got from one of the parachuter guy.

Food fighting

2010-08-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

When did I last sit down and finish my meal with no interruptions (apart from sitting down for dinner after 9pm)?

When M was little she used to eat everything we ate, but now every mealtime is a fight. After spending the weekend at the summerhouse and Ms first sleep-over at Mormor and Morfar I feel I have to give up. It fills my heart with sorrow to stock up the fridge with 'children friendly' crap food. It goes against my principles but I suppose we need some sanity in this house.

The fights cant go on! So the fridge is full of food I know she will eat. That includes fish fingers, meatballs (mamma scan of course) and korv to mention a few 'healthy' meals . I suppose the food they eat at nursery is not home cocked and therefore the pallet of our children change thereafter.

I have many great children's cookbooks but when are you gonna find the time to cook all these extra meals!?

Today is a great example.

We come home at about 5 pm, she is both hungry and tired but she doesn't want to eat real food. So we argue for a while until she sits down with a ball of cereal.

So, during her cereal feast I try to sort out all other house tasks such as the washing up, but only gets half way when I have to run off for a potty run.

Anyway, I just wanted to say its not easy being a good mum all the time. Once I've got the house in order after our mini vacation (and that will take most of the weekend, I can assure you) I will do what I used to do when M was very little, I will stay up all night batch cooking. I make really good meatballs and fish fingers I can do too but as for the black pudding...NO.

And not before then, will I feel like a good mother again.

One year on

2010-07-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have definitely chilled out A LOT. However, will I ever stop being a crazy mum, probably not. As we are now living in Sweden (coming up to 1 year in Aug) we can afford to have Mina at nursery for a mere 140 swe kr per month. This will go up now when I have a proper job to a maximum of 1200 kr!!! That is still a ridiculous small amount of money compared to english prices of 500 kr per day!

But of course its not easy being a mum, there are alway new challenges. We are now facing potty training and that has been a rocky ride (been at it for months). Today we even ended up in the hospital checking to see if she had urinary infection (not all without reason, we had been told there were many trips to the toilet at nursery and once they even thought they had spotted blood). What is a poor little girl to do - it felt horrible getting her to leave a sample (she didnt want to go on the big toilet, especially not on command) at the hospital after she had been such a big girl and had been dry all day. Ahhh how I wish we could have spent the evening at home celebrating this success, instead we spent most evening in A&E waiting for a urine sample test to come back.

The test came back and we were checked out - thankfully the result was negative but I'm keeping a close eye just in case. Thats what crazy mums do.

Feeding the animals

2010-02-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here is me trying to be a bit helpful in this harsh environment for all the poor animals. The birds especially finds it difficult to find food so me and Mina made these apples to hang up in the trees.

Lucky the banks of snow were so high we could reach up.

That's what I call a snow storm!

2010-02-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

I called up and canceled my massage shift in Smögen, no way am I driving right out to the coast on those small windy roads, not even with our Volvo 745 estate!

Its lovely we've had snow since 16th of December, over 2 month, and I'm loving it! And the funny thing is, Paul is starting to see where I was coming from all these years back in England when I've been talking about needing to have PROPER gear.

(he loves his proper goretex boots btw)

Last time I saw anything like this was back in 2006 when I was snowed in in Gothenburg

Finally reached the shops

This is what two month of snow will do to your car

Wait for the plough! There is no point trying to master this amount of snow, not even in a Volvo. Told you so. See now you're stuck. (Not the only one in the car park but by far the most stubborn one and I have been keeping an eye on hoping he was gonna give up before he blocked the road).

Much nicer staying in snuggling up with a warm, soft bony cat and a bottle of välling (even if it's drunk cold)

Vollyboll hurts

2010-02-15T14:58:00.000-08:00

After 15 years I returned to my old gymnasium to see if I still had it in me. Well I was shocked that they were still playing in the same place as I used to over a decay ago. But things had changed and it wasn't the popular sport it used to be, the current team didn't even have a coach and was struggling to get enough player to attend the matches.

A picture of my brused arm the day after, and I was wearing a long sleeve top! Dont remember it hurting so badly.

My romantic husband

2010-02-14T14:55:00.001-08:00

Breakfast in bed. I do have the most romantic husband and I love him so much.

Summer holiday and potty training

2009-06-18T05:43:00.000-07:00

So we've reached the potty training years. I was in no rush but after a friend came over and showed how it was done Mina was ever so keen to start. The potty had been part of the furniture's for a while and only sat upon occationally but now she ment business. It went extraordionary well and the following weekend she was almost dry, with only a few accidents, then it turned the other way. She stopped even being bother going. Now we're on the second attemt and it was going ok (using the new approach of just putting her on the potty without asking). Its now been two weeks and its still a round to the potty every 15 min (when she sits in the buggy she is dry for up to an hour). How long is this gonna go on for? I am going slightly crazy and its very difficult getting anything done, let alone leaving the house. Yesterday I had to do some arrends and put a nappy on so I didn't have to take her out and put her on the potty in the shop every 15 min. When we got back I took it off again. I don't know if this confused her but she must have wet 6 pants in under an hour so the nappy came back on. Today she is at nursery with no nappy and about 10 set of changes so we will se how it goes. I can just say, its nice to have a 'dry' day.

Good mums are no Sir Allan Sugar candidates

2009-06-03T15:45:00.000-07:00

Being the best mum you can will only take you so far. How can you be a good mum when you cant even get a job for yourself.?
OK, we might be in a recession but lets face it, first time mothers, or should I say women in their 30's who have not been climbing the career ladder since graduation, have never been a hit on the job market.
What annoys me the most is that it seam to be impossible to even get a foot in the door, just the same old automated email response. Thank you for applying, we've had an overwhelming response but......unfortunately you've not been successful. WHY WHY WHY??? I have everything they've asked for - Am I too good?!
I never advertise that I have a small child as I know it will be looked upon as a risk rather than a strength and besides, this is illegal, to discriminate against women in a particular age 'baring' group but I know it still exists. Who will find out if your CV's don't even get to right desk.
However I think I am going to change my tactics. Pretending being 'old me' doesn't get me anywhere, you can probably read between the lines when looking at my employment history - from career hungry to part timer. Yeah it is definitely time to take a new approach.
After all who is not going to give it its all after being at home for 2 1/2 years....

You know you're a mad mum when...

2009-05-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

you get excited over cleaning the bathroom. I don't know what excite me the most - having friends over or actually preparing for having friends over. I cant find the time between all the cooking, washing and tidying so I invite people over, then I have to do it, it sort of gives me an excuse to give the house a proper going over. Luckily for my family, I invite people on regular basis (my husband is not so amused when getting told last minute that he has to cook up a feast for all the friends I have invited over to celebrate one of my many Swedish traditions and more).
However, our house now sparkling clean after having two lots of gatherings this Saturday (spontaneous catch up with friends from Brighton and the unmissable cheesy Eorovision song contest).

My new best friend - just wet and wipe

2009-05-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am completely in love with Duzzit, the sponge eraser. I've long been hooked on on the firbre clothes and always include them when giving gifts, new baby, new house, getting married you name it. You always want more fun-time and spend less time with your rubber glowes.....
I came back from a friends house earlier this evening, helping her to move into a 6 bedroom house in the country and she is so efficient when it comes to moving, she will have that house in order in a few days. Wathcing her wizzing around with a sponge and duster (I was mainly there to look after her son, having my own daughter with me as well) I got a real urge to clean my own house?!. I bought the sponge a while ago but havent found the time...well I will be including these in my gift packs from now on - absolutely amazing results, maybe not as environmently friendly as I first thought after reading the directions for use, but it is a stain remover after all.

I dont know what to do with myself

2009-05-14T02:30:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the job....of course it upsets me but at least I KNOW after weeks of being in the 'reserve bank' - suppose employers can do what they want these days when people are so desperate for work. I don't know how I'm gonna afford to keep my girl at nursery (and its only 1day per week), I have lost all means of income, and all in the last month. Its ridiculous how expensive it is to have your child at nursery - what I used to pay for 2 days / week is the equivalent of what my Swedish friends pay for a full-time placement per month!!
Well, what shall I do? Whenever I have a day when I can be productive (when Mina is at nursery that is) I run around like a headless chicken. Starting new tasks, trying to tie up on going projects, cleaning the house etc etc.
So what will I achieve today? and where should I start? Looking for work, rewriting my CV, clean the house, do the weekly shop, continue with my online training course, homework for my evening course, advertise my business to the local community, paying the bills.......or should I have a rest?

Staying clear of the news

2009-05-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

My biggest downside of motherhood is my hyper sensitivity. The news of this little 2 year old girl who was raped has just made me turn off the radio (which is on constantly in my house) because I just cant cope with it, its sooo awful, there's just no words.

Still reading the Sunday paper

2009-04-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

You can never just sit down and finish a task when you've got a toddler running around in the house. Let alone such an luxurious thing as reading the paper. So I will rant on about last weeks topics as I slowly finish each section of the paper, it usually takes me until the end of the week. I read an interesting article about open air nurseries, to me not anything new, as these nurseries are inspired by principles used in Scandinavia where we have a fresh-air education and the children learn by exploring the world around them. But unfortunately not everyone can fit their children into the only London based Chelsea nursery.

Big fat mama - shame on you!

2009-04-28T05:51:00.000-07:00

Maybe there really should be a test, that you have to pass of course, before being allowed to have children. Just look at the link below and you might agree. Its just not fare, these poor kids future is already ruined (if someone doesn't give mama a big slap). And what is it that is so difficult about open a jar of baby food??? Junk food

Even I converted to jared baby food eventually, after being a complete food snob and would rather skip a meal and stick to the breast if I couldn't find organic vegetables that I then stayed up all night cooking which Mina then didn't eat anyway. It didn't help attending a weaning session where baby jar food was compared with fast food. And that is so not true! For all your mothers who would like to keep a little of your sanity - jar food is absolutely fine, no other products are more researched and pure. And hey, they do organic ones too!

Bless you mummy

2009-04-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

Not all days are a frustrating battle (and no days are without a big bunch of toddler love).

Today we're having a strictly staying-at-home-day. The weather is horrible, we're skint (cant wait for payday, well husbands payday actually), got a lovely leftover roast chicken in the fridge and my husband did all the washing-up last night so I have only minor house cores.

Mina is having a nap so I have forced myself to some ME time (reading the paper and blogging). I find it almost impossible to switch off, there is always something in the house that needs doing but at least I have my little helper. Mina has been charge of the laundry - filling up the washing machine, hanged up the washing and when folding clothes Mina matched the socks, bless her she is only 2. And when I sneezed she goes: Bless you mummy!

When she wakes up were going to bake a loaf of bread and have some more quality mummy-daughter-time.

Here is the result

London public transport is not for us

2009-04-25T13:39:00.000-07:00

It gets me soooo angry traveling on the under/overground with a push chair ( I cant imagine how the wheelchair users must be feeling).

Taking the overground train from Camden town is just a joke, they've all got fancy electric gates which could accommodate a double buggy but what's the point when you're then faced with about 40 steps and all strong males runs pass you!? I wont go on, just want to add that I was welcomed with another 25 steps at my end destination. After a quick pit stop I fought my way on to a packed bus and know I had to get off to face another battle of stairs at my next underground station. So here are some useful sites to keep those legs strong.

Running to keep fit and Log it

I need a day off to create this....

2009-04-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

Mina is at nursery, first day back after Easter break. Phuw!

Some ME time. I therefore thought I spent today creating this 'crazy mum' blog.

Somewhere where I can share my crazy thoughts and rant on about mother hood and the difficult task of getting your own life back.