Yesterday.. Was Lucia Day...

Thanks to a wonderfully generous mother-in-law,I never have to make saffron bread.It's a sweet bread served after dinner.At least that's how we do it in our house.

Here's a picture of her contribution to last nights dinner.It is delish.(she made extra and as you can tell in the other photo I added kladdkaka and jeweled candy cookies to the dessert choices to make sure there were leftovers) Kidding...weeeell...may...be....not...

For dinner I made the coconut milk,Thai veggie and pork soup my family loves and served it w/warm baguettes. With the freezing temps we've had lately, soup seemed to be just what the doctor ordered.

ONE MORE WEEK,and both kids will officially begin their Christmas break.YAY!
Which means S will spend longer than 3 days with us since he started Uni.
We are all excited about Christmas but at the same time it's bittersweet.Because my Mom will NOT be joining us this year.She has planted her little rambling feet at home this holiday season and said everyone is welcome to visit her.She hasn't been home for Christmas in the last 4 years..We don't blame her for wanting to be in her own home for the holidays, we will miss her terribly..

Peace Peeps,
Mimi

Checking in....

I have finals this week and well my mind has been elsewhere.

I have two test today and I'm done.YAY! After that, I can relax..No wait..I seem to be forgetting something.

Ohhh yeah, CHRISTMAS is just around the corner....

Saturday Morning Blog.

It has been brought to my attention that I've missed a couple days posting.

Sorry Ms.B I will "try" and do better.

I had quite a few new pictures I wanted to add here and was diligently trying to do so yesterday, but for some reason they all disappeared.I use Picasa2 to handle my downloading and it somehow hid my file ;I can't find it anywhere!!!!!!!!

I could walk you through each picture. naaahh!

Things have been quite and normal this past week and for that I am thankful.

Chloe has become so clingy lately..I can't make a move without her right under my feet.
She has defiantly figured out her place in the family.She thinks she is little sis.
She knows I'm momma and P is daddy ;she knows just how far she can push us.
With E she has no boundaries.I can tell her NOT to go up the stairs and she listens.When E tells her, she runs at her, barks(as to say come on lets go) and runs directly up to E's room.
I'm happy to report all that mumbo jumbo about Hypoallergenic dogs seems to be TRUE..At least,in our case it is.E's had no noticeable allergy symptoms from being with Chloe.I'll give half credit to the hypo-allergy mumbo jumbo and half to her allergy meds.

Sorry for the short post but I have a busy day ahead of me.

Later Gaters,
Mimi

Scrambled Thoughts.

No classes for me today.So I'm home fighting a cold .

Guess what? It's SNOWING!!!Do not insert sarcasm.I don't hate the snow..Its just been so gloomy lately..My saving grace are those gorgeous Advent Lights.
The sun rises errr...lightens the skies around 9ish and begins to set around 2 ish. (By 3 it's pitch dark)But all the beautiful lights in everyones windows, coupled with the snow that has been falling makes the dark seem magical. I know, I sound all whimsical. I'm not!I want to find the "good" with it all.

I really dislike when people complain about everything.In the summer it's to hot, the midnight sun is too bright, we need a cool dark place.Can't wait for winter.Then winter arrives and it's to cold ,it's too dark we need sunshine..I just think people should put more of an effort in trying to find the "good" in things.Instead of wallowing in the bad.

Ok,enough of that!

I have recently taught myself(with a little help from a very smart guy) about rar. files and avi files.

Now there's the new(at least to me) xvid files, I now have to try and figure out..Blahhhh...

I was in the mood for hot chocolate and the only milk we had in the frig was E's lactose-free milk and P's A-fil..I decided to go with E's and just make regular hot chocolate.I didn't hate it..
Not as good as my favorite Hot White Chocolate, but not bad.

E has to go to the Health and Wellness center tomorrow for a swimming class.The reason she goes there instead of the regular community center swimming pool is due to her sensitivity to chlorine.They have VERY low concentration of it there and she has medicine she takes before she gets in.It's NOT something she wants to do.Its a requirement for all children in the Swedish school system.She just hates(as she sees it) being different.

Peace out my peeps!

Missing my Momma...

Sammy's home who has time to blog..haha

I miss my momma!

With all this snow we've been getting lately, I just had to warm myself up by adding this picture from our summer vacation.
The sign is located at the Russian-Finnish border..Momma insisted(hahaha) we take her there.From our cabin it was only suppose to take 2 hours BUUUUT 5 hours and 1 reindeer burger later we FINALLY made it to the border.

A "GOOD"nights sleep.

As most of you know I have a severe case of TMJ that prevents me from getting much sleep "IF"my night guard is slightly off..It is and my "Bettfysiolog"( bite specialist) has decided to move; leaving me with my name on a 3 year waiting list( to get into another one) and my regular dentist poor attempts at adjusting mine..Oh well, this post is NOT about all of that .It's about last nights sleep.

It all started around 10:00pm last night. We were sitting watching TV waiting on S 's train to arrive in Långsele a 20 minute drive from here at 00:45. Any who,everyone was getting really sleepy and P had control of the remote which left us watching old reruns of Dallas.God knows why we all sat and watched it we have 5 tv's in the house.
After a disagreement with P about who speaks with the strongest southern draw (I chose Sue Ellen) I decided to take a shower. I went downstairs to the laundry room cleaned it put a load of laundry in ;gods knows he is coming home.I decided to go with P to pick up S. E was feeling better and hadn't been out of the house all week.
It was snowing hard and I figured he needed my navigational skills to help him drive.
hahaha

After a long discussion on why I shouldn't go out in snow boots,heavy coat,gloves and my PJ's
Ahh the PJ's ,P wanted me to put on jeans "just in case" the car breaks down and we have to walk..I ask him has the car(which is only 3 yrs old) been giving you trouble he replied"no?" I wore the PJ's under my coat.

Any who we get to the train station about 20 minutes early.It gives us time to watch all the people dredging through the snow with their luggage and make up wild stories on why and where they were all going..Heck,it's almost 1 am shouldn't they all be asleep?

So the train pulls in and I realize we are parked at the front of the train and S must have been on one of the cars at the rear..So after what seemed like 30 minutes, but P tells me we've only waited 5 I have him pull down to the rear of the train..(keep in mind its been snowing (A LOT)

And guess what? No S ,No Bobo he isn't on this train..What??? I have been sending him hourly sms check in's since he left Luleå almost 7 hours ago. Where in the world could he be?

I start to call him, no answer, I look around no Bobo our tiny little 6ft tall 180 lb baby has disappeared..Oh God what do we do,I knew I should have listened to P and NOT worn these damn PJ's .I now have to get out in front of all these people and do a search for our missing son.I ask P to pull back around to the front of the train..maybe, just maybe someone saw something.Like when a band of gypsies stole our baby or when a dirty old creepy man forced him to jump the train and live like a hobo for the rest of his life.
Yes,we had to get back around to the other side of the train station to get information .
Reluctantly P starts to pull out and suddenly through the snowy windshield, we see a tall, burly looking guy trying to wave us down,I yelled stop "maybe that tall man has some information on S". As we approached and the windshield clears I see its our baby.He has escaped his captors.
As he loads his luggage into the back of the SUV he ask his dad"why in the world did you keep pulling around the train station? "I had to walk back and forth". Then I say" Hello son" he replies
"Oh never mind!".

The drive home was a lot of questions about have you been eating,hows the Linear Algebra going? How much Laundry did you bring me? ya know, normal chit chat.
We arrive home and he raids the fridge,I tell him he is losing weight and he should eat more, argues with me on how he is 18 umm..no 19 and wants a large tattoo on his shoulder, he goes upstairs attacks E with pillows and screams earth quake as she is trying to fall asleep,decides at the ripe old age of 19 he is losing his hair,eats some chocolates,comes down make us examine his hair line,and scurries off to bed.

Yes,last night I had the best sleep I've had in ages.

Peace!

Winter Wonderland

Thanksgiving was great.I can't believe I almost passed up celebrating this year.

We spent the weekend decorating the house inside and out.It's absolutely gorgeous.I'll take pictures and post them later.

E is sick AGAIN..Poor little feller. We went out and about on Saturday.She started with the sniffles and sneezing that night and well she's missed the past two days of school.

Oh well, such is life, with a sickly allergy stricken kiddo!

Oh and S is coming home tomorrow for a long weekend..I can't wait to see what he brings me..NOT!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

Well dinner will be served tomorrow.
Maybe not the most traditional of all Thanksgiving dinners but we will be celebrating.
We have way to many things to be thankful for NOT to celebrate in style.
On the menu
Chicken and Dumplings (due to E's new found search for her inner southern soul)
Baked Chicken with Curry Seasoning
Sweet Potatoes (from Israel) maybe made into a pie not sure yet.
Green beans/corn
Tossed green salad
For Dessert
Russian Tea Cakes
Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Someone make her stop ...PLEASE!!

Ok,I offended our sweet little E with the post about her losing the "American"in her.

I didn't mean too I swear I didn't.But I did and now I'm paying for it..

How you ask? I'll tell ya..Her inner voice has been speaking to me and it has a southern draw.
Well at least she thinks it does..
She'll be chatting away in Swedish to her dad and I'll walk in the room, she suddenly switches languages and acknowledges my presents by saying"Hey,Sweet Thang"How ya'll doin' over thar?

My southern roots run deep..But to hear E speak with a southern draw is just so wrong.

Her Aunt L loves speaking to her on the phone because of her accent..L is going to kill me now!!!

Oh the joys of motherhood.

Back Home...

Back home after a short 3 day-2 night trip up north.

S was hopping in the shower just as we arrived. (We arrived late due to a four car accident on the highway earlier in the day)

He told us to make our selves at home and pointed out there were drinks in the refrigerator.

About a half hour after we arrived, I was sitting trying to relax.

We were very tired and with the temperature hovering around -12 the decision to order in was unanimous.

I could hear everyone discussing the choices from the online menu of the restaurant that delivered in his area.

Chloe was running around, I can only imagine she had the feeling of being in the movie *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and finding the Golden ticket*.

Anyway, I was trying to relax, I was really tense and wanting to get the images from the accident, the words to the new Måns Zelmerlöw song, the fact that every time someone walks across S’s floor there’s a loud crunching sound, and the sight of his kitchen out of my head. I wanted NO I needed to relax and NOT think about all of this. When suddenly P crunches-sorry walks up behind me and breaks my concentration by saying

“Tonight we dine in hell” still laying back with my eyes closed I said “Honey it’s not that bad”. The room goes silent, even little Chloe stops munching down on the crunchy bits scattered about S’s floor. I open my eyes to see everyone looking at me and Per pointing to a poster on Sam’s wall from the movie 300 in big bold letters it says

*Tonight We Dine in Hell*. Embarrassed I just sat back and continued to sip on my BOWL of cranberry juice.

His disabilities go way beyond what we first expected, the list now includes washing machines, dish washing, mops and vacuum cleaners .In all fairness, inside his refrigerator was immaculately clean, and his food cabinets, his desk, video games and DVD collection were in perfect order.

I have to say he was the perfect host. He took us shopping and pointed out the things he needed for the apartment, his favorite place for lunch, the warm pair of boots he had his eye on and even helped his dad carry 2 of the 7 shopping bags up 3 flights of stairs. No one mentioned the elevator had been installed since our last visit. (New apartments)

All and all it was a pleasurable weekend and we will miss him terribly.

It sure was hard for us to say goodbye to him this morning…He was snoring SO freaking loud!

You know we love you Bobo!!!

A parents' concern....

What to do? Should I seek out professional help?

Let me start by saying I accept them for who they are;I do NOT see their faults..Do I?

I'll start with S our19 yr old self confident,handsome,reliable son studying Aero-Space Engineering at one of the top universities in Sweden,he can work Differential Calculus and Linear Algebra like it's going out of style.Has excellent computer skills and speaks two languages fluently.
Here's my concern ....this is hard for me...he...doesn't...know...how....to ...use...a...washing machine... He comes home for weekend visits with huge pieces of luggage bursting at the seams with nothing more than loads upon loads of dirty laundry.We are planning a trip up to Luleå to see him this weekend he was all excited about us coming.I know ;I could tell the excitement in his voice when he ask" what time do I book the student laundry facilities for you"? Poor kid, he doesn't even know he has this problem..Should I tell him or should I do what any "good mother" would do..Sweep it under the rug and hope the rest of the family or none of his friends finds out...

Now take E our beautiful 13 daughter,she's funny,smart,has the kindest most gentle heart of any other human on the planet.Her Aunt D says when she sneezes tiny butterflies come out of her nose.She's that precious.
Here's our concern....she doesn't understand the definition of the word....BUDGET...She has her set allowance every month.For things like phone bills,clothing,nail polish, girlie stuff pink stuff ya know;anything NOT related to school...But how in the world does she end up going shopping with 150 bucks spends 300 comes home with 7 shopping bags,(that dad had to carry around the mall, while trying to stay discreetly behind her in case her friends show up) and 148 bucks STILL in her purse..She spent 2 bucks on a drink because dad didn't have change. Which she insisted he promised to pay her back..As I sat there holding my receipt for toilet paper, laundry detergent, and a toilet bowl brush..I wondered if it's too late to get her help for this problem?

Life's tough for parents with children who have these types of learning disabilities.

Day two.

It's snowing outside.

I had some soup for breakfast,I never eat breakfast.

I had a BIG test I was suppose to take today ,but didn't.No reason, other than the fact that I didn't "feel good",I'm NOT sick or anything just not feeling "good".
Maybe it's the weather or the fact that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I'm not sure what to do.
This time last year we had a big ta-do all planned .Mom was here from the states,S was still home his ex-girlfriend H was here,we had P's mom,aunt and uncle over.It turned out so nice.

This year mom is back home,S has moved off to University and the older folks just don't feel much like socializing.

To me, Thanksgiving (I say this now because I live so far away from my family) is a family thing.
It just doesn't feel the same celebrating with people NOT from the USA.It doesn't mean the same to them and to me that feels strange..Maybe I'm the strange one :)

So for now,we have no big plans..I know I want to keep the feeling alive for Es' sake- she seems to have lost so much of her "American", I know that probably doesn't make sense to a lot of people but its more of a feeling I have, than an actual thing I can put my finger on.
I want to keep that alive and kicking in her!
I've actually never worried about this w/ S.When he's cut he bleeds red,white and blue.

So for now our Thanksgiving plans are still up in the air...
I'll let you know what I come up with!

Until next time,
Mimilou

I'm baaack!

OK ,OK ,I know I'm not the best blogger in the world,but hey I try!
I'm making my final attempt..If this blog fails I'll quit!!! I'll quit I tell ya!
Who am I kidding? I'll keep this up and you people will keep coming
back for more Mimi!!!