This morning at the Friskole they invited parents to Morgenkaffe between 6:30 and 8:30am. We didn't make it out of the house any earlier than normal, so when we got there, I was glad to see that there was still a sign on the table downstairs that everyone was upstairs, and inviting parents and kids to come on up. They typically do after-school care upstairs, so there are several rooms with various types of toys as well as tables and chairs for homework or art projects. In the center room they have a small kitchenette with a stove, sink, and dishwasher, as well as a long island with a step in front of it -presumably so kids could participate in various learning activities in the kitchen as well. There were still many parents and small children sitting down at tables having bread and cheese as well as coffee and tea. The kids were mostly playing with the "new" toys they don't typically get to play with since their class meets downstairs. We sat down to delicious bread and some coffee and saw a few familiar faces. It was kind of a fun way to start the morning. It's a nice, relaxing way to meet some of the other parents. And the hours made it possible for people to stop by when they could and leave when they needed to in order to get to work on time. Many of those who were still there are 8:30 tended to have small children and babies, so they are probably still at home with the little ones and could take their time more leisurely than those who needed to get to work.
Yesterday, the fall rains returned. It may rain for days now! When I got to the school to pick up the boys, they each had a blue plastic bag filled with wet clothes, their rain suits were hanging up outside, and Anders was even wearing a pair of the school's pants because he'd changed through all the extra clothes we had there (both his and Torben's!). They seemed to have had a good day though! It was again a trip to the biograf for movies for the older kids. And in the afternoon they had a campfire, even though it was raining. They made some sort of bread for their snack at the fire, Anders wasn't a huge fan of the bread, and told me he threw it away after he tried it.
Svea wasn't a huge fan of the rains yesterday while riding in her stroller, though it did get her to wear her rain coat (with hood!) without protesting, so that was progress. I think we still start putting her rain pants on as well so her blanket doesn't get as wet. I'm trying to figure out if there would be a way to attach an old rain coat to a blanket to make one that's waterproof on one side. Not sure if it's possible, but it seems like a good idea. I saw a large, triangular, warm scarf at the recycle shop that might work perfectly for a lap blanket if I could figure out how to attach a coat to it...
This afternoon the boys' friend Oliver is coming over to play after school. We asked one of the teachers this morning if Oliver's mother had mentioned he was coming home with us, and she said yes, the mother had, and so had Oliver (again, and again, and again...). He is very excited. He has been telling everyone that he is coming to our house. The boys are quite popular at the school, it seems. I am glad they are having a fun time and making lots of new friends. Their Danish is getting better and better each day as well. Anders has a good grasp on much of the sentence structure, and often switches back and forth between Danish and English in the same sentence, depending on which words he knows so far in Danish. Yesterday we took a video of each of them counting...Anders got to 59 and Torben counted to 49. In another couple of months, I imagine the whole language will just click for them and they will be talking with no problems.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Crochet Afternoon
Several of the textile design students had offered up handmade crafts for the auction the other night, and some of the pieces weren't yet complete, so the instructor decided to have an "open house" afternoon in the studio where they could come work together. She invited me to come as well. There are only a few students, and they weren't really having an instruction time, so she asked if I knew how to crochet (I do, but it's pretty basic!) and told me it would be open from 1pm until dinner time, and I could come whenever I was able. I get out of the house often with the kids, but rarely for very long, so I take advantage of these sorts of opportunities to visit with other people. Even though I don't speak Danish, and hardly understand it, it is fun to be with other people doing a fun activity. And with handicrafts, I can follow along even though I don't know what the words are.
I got there about 3, when Jeff and Svea left to pick up the boys I went over. They were all very busy working on different projects. I had brought along the bag of assorted yarns I bought at the recycle shop, plus the one crochet hook I bought there. There were skeins of yarn everywhere, and big glass jars full of knitting needs and crochet hooks. You could make just about anything you wanted. The studio itself is inspiring to look at -there are handmade things on display all over, and the tables and workstations are set up to invite you to sit down and pick up whatever project you want to at any given time. There are about 8 sewing machines lines up along one wall, a low bookcase with pattern and instruction books along the opposite wall -with examples of handmade items displayed on top. And a few work tables with six or eight chairs each in the middle of the room. I would love to be a student in these classes and get to spend hours each week creating things in there!
I decided to work on "something" using the standard stitches from a granny-square, since that's basically what I know how to do. I wanted to do the things the students were working on -one was making a small basket or vase-type vessel, another was making a set of juggling balls, another was just starting on a circle and I couldn't tell what the end product would be, and the fourth was making a series of small Danish flags. I briefly looked at the pattern book, hoping that maybe the instructions (which are abbreviations in English books as well) would be the same initials or basic idea as what I understood. But, unfortunately, the words for "crochet", "double crochet", "chain", etc. are not used in the Danish book, so the abbreviations weren't c., dc., ch., and the like, and I wasn't sure what fm., cm., meant. So I went with what I knew -I wasn't there to interrupt them, afterall, and didn't want to ask for a special lesson on how to do something new that looked quite difficult. So I created a basic white and blue pattern in a circle, which ended up being sort of a ruffled hat for a doll. The teacher said it sort of looked like a "jelly fish" -which it does.
It was a fun way to spend a couple of hours. I suppose if it must be useful and Svea decides she doesn't want it for a doll hat, it could be used as a dish rag. But that seems sad.
I finished with my jellyfish frilly hat about 20 minutes before dinner, and decided there wasn't time to walk home and get Jeff and the kids and come back, so I just stayed there. I was looking through some of the example projects, trying to figure out how they were made since I didn't understand the books. The teacher saw me looking over and over at various pieces, and said "I can show you how, if you want." So she did. It turns out it's actually quite a simple process to begin! She showed me how to do the square ones that are sort of like a pocket or change purse. I mentioned that I couldn't understand the pattern books, so I really appreciated the instruction. Another student said, well, we have this one also in French, but we don't understand it. I said "oh! Let me see that one please! I have more chance of understanding French than Danish." They laughed. I am going to see if I can find the same book in English when I am at a yarn store -there are some fun patterns in it. I think the French is still a bit difficult for me, and, I'd like to have one at home to work from rather than having to wait for the next open time at the studio. I think the circle stitch is the more challenging one I'd like to master. It seems to be the basis for all sorts of things.
I got there about 3, when Jeff and Svea left to pick up the boys I went over. They were all very busy working on different projects. I had brought along the bag of assorted yarns I bought at the recycle shop, plus the one crochet hook I bought there. There were skeins of yarn everywhere, and big glass jars full of knitting needs and crochet hooks. You could make just about anything you wanted. The studio itself is inspiring to look at -there are handmade things on display all over, and the tables and workstations are set up to invite you to sit down and pick up whatever project you want to at any given time. There are about 8 sewing machines lines up along one wall, a low bookcase with pattern and instruction books along the opposite wall -with examples of handmade items displayed on top. And a few work tables with six or eight chairs each in the middle of the room. I would love to be a student in these classes and get to spend hours each week creating things in there!
I decided to work on "something" using the standard stitches from a granny-square, since that's basically what I know how to do. I wanted to do the things the students were working on -one was making a small basket or vase-type vessel, another was making a set of juggling balls, another was just starting on a circle and I couldn't tell what the end product would be, and the fourth was making a series of small Danish flags. I briefly looked at the pattern book, hoping that maybe the instructions (which are abbreviations in English books as well) would be the same initials or basic idea as what I understood. But, unfortunately, the words for "crochet", "double crochet", "chain", etc. are not used in the Danish book, so the abbreviations weren't c., dc., ch., and the like, and I wasn't sure what fm., cm., meant. So I went with what I knew -I wasn't there to interrupt them, afterall, and didn't want to ask for a special lesson on how to do something new that looked quite difficult. So I created a basic white and blue pattern in a circle, which ended up being sort of a ruffled hat for a doll. The teacher said it sort of looked like a "jelly fish" -which it does.
I finished with my jellyfish frilly hat about 20 minutes before dinner, and decided there wasn't time to walk home and get Jeff and the kids and come back, so I just stayed there. I was looking through some of the example projects, trying to figure out how they were made since I didn't understand the books. The teacher saw me looking over and over at various pieces, and said "I can show you how, if you want." So she did. It turns out it's actually quite a simple process to begin! She showed me how to do the square ones that are sort of like a pocket or change purse. I mentioned that I couldn't understand the pattern books, so I really appreciated the instruction. Another student said, well, we have this one also in French, but we don't understand it. I said "oh! Let me see that one please! I have more chance of understanding French than Danish." They laughed. I am going to see if I can find the same book in English when I am at a yarn store -there are some fun patterns in it. I think the French is still a bit difficult for me, and, I'd like to have one at home to work from rather than having to wait for the next open time at the studio. I think the circle stitch is the more challenging one I'd like to master. It seems to be the basis for all sorts of things.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Mushrooms and Grasshoppers
I am quite amazed at the plants still thriving here in the fall...they really seem like summer or early spring ones, but here they are blooming in October. Jeff, Svea and I took a short walk after lunch and came across these mushrooms in someone's yard next to the sidewalk:
I'm not sure if they are the inspiration for Super Mario Brothers, or if they house Smurfs...but either way they made us laugh and filled our heads with a tune. I should have taken a picture of the zoomed-out view too, it really looked like a whole Smurf village!
I finished Svea's little scarf today, my second completed knitting project here. It's quite narrow, but long enough that it wraps three times around with some to spare, so it will work nicely. She's not quite sure she likes it, however, when Torben tried to wear it instead, she insisted it was hers. So, she may come around by the time the weather gets colder. This morning it was 12 degrees on our walk to school. Still quite nice for fall. One day last week, Jeff said it was 4. That was pretty chilly! Svea is pretty confident that she wants her blanket on her lap now each day when we go out walking with the stroller. It's pretty cute.
We got to school to pick up the boys and Torben brought over a sand bucket with a sifter on top. I asked what was inside, and he showed us a small green grasshopper.
He was actually able to hold it in his hands for quite a long time until we assured him that we were not bringing it home with us and he should let it go. I was surprised it didn't try to jump away.
The boys had a fun time in their Danish language class this week, though they claimed they didn't learn anything; instead they just drew pictures. I think these pictures are making the trip home and getting into their scrapbooks.
This first one is Torben's.
This is Anders' picture.
I wonder whether they were learning names of parts of the body as they drew. I like how both pictures have a belly button on them, even though one is covered with a shirt. There is a definite difference in the drawing style the two boys have. It's nice to see their individuality in the things that they do.
It is already quite dark in the evenings and the mornings now, with more darkness to come. The kids did better today when I turned the lights on immediately after the alarm went off to get up, so maybe I will have to make a point to do that each day. Otherwise, it's going to be a long winter! Today they were already up, dressed, and eating breakfast at the same time as they got out of bed yesterday. And, they only had to be asked once to do each of those things. Tuesdays are almost always easier than Mondays.
I'm not sure if they are the inspiration for Super Mario Brothers, or if they house Smurfs...but either way they made us laugh and filled our heads with a tune. I should have taken a picture of the zoomed-out view too, it really looked like a whole Smurf village!
I finished Svea's little scarf today, my second completed knitting project here. It's quite narrow, but long enough that it wraps three times around with some to spare, so it will work nicely. She's not quite sure she likes it, however, when Torben tried to wear it instead, she insisted it was hers. So, she may come around by the time the weather gets colder. This morning it was 12 degrees on our walk to school. Still quite nice for fall. One day last week, Jeff said it was 4. That was pretty chilly! Svea is pretty confident that she wants her blanket on her lap now each day when we go out walking with the stroller. It's pretty cute.
We got to school to pick up the boys and Torben brought over a sand bucket with a sifter on top. I asked what was inside, and he showed us a small green grasshopper.
I wonder whether they were learning names of parts of the body as they drew. I like how both pictures have a belly button on them, even though one is covered with a shirt. There is a definite difference in the drawing style the two boys have. It's nice to see their individuality in the things that they do.
It is already quite dark in the evenings and the mornings now, with more darkness to come. The kids did better today when I turned the lights on immediately after the alarm went off to get up, so maybe I will have to make a point to do that each day. Otherwise, it's going to be a long winter! Today they were already up, dressed, and eating breakfast at the same time as they got out of bed yesterday. And, they only had to be asked once to do each of those things. Tuesdays are almost always easier than Mondays.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Eighth Weekend
On some weekday mornings, I don't get a chance to write because one of our other devices is using the outlet adapter. We brought along two...but one is only a converter and it turns out that almost all of our devices don't need to convert externally because they do it on their own, so we just need the adapter part to charge things. Depending on whether Jeff needs to show a movie, or use his computer for classes, or something else needs to charge at the time when Svea takes her nap (i.e. my writing time), I may or may not write for the day. However, then it gets to be a long time in between to summarize!
Last Thursday afternoon, Rolf -the boys always correct me that it's pronounced "Olf"- came over after school to play with the boys for a couple of hours. The three of them had a lot of fun! It was a bit of a challenge for me, since he only speaks Danish and I don't understand much of it, so sometimes I felt badly that no one could understand what he was talking about or asking for, but Anders and Torben basically would say "kom nu!" (come now!) and the three of them would be off on another adventure. They played outside with paper airplanes, trying to throw them into the open window, jumped on the trampoline, played with Lego, and coloured. All in all a good afternoon with a new friend.
Friday evening there was an auction at the højskole...the students are trying to raise some extra money for a project they are helping with in Ghana -something like an orphanage. Students and teachers offered various items or services for auction and others bid on them...Jeff is going to provide a taco bar to one of the floors of students some night after they have a party. They often order pizzas after midnight, so they were quite excited about the idea of a taco bar being brought to them! It raised 1400Kr with the various floors bidding on it! At an exchange rate of approximately 6-to-1, the students are paying more than $200 for midnight tacos. And they are really excited about it! A couple of the students offered babysitting, which Jeff "won" the bid for, so he and I are going to go out for dinner or something one of these days. He also purchased a spray-tan...I think he felt bad that no one had bid on it so he did. Not quite sure who is going to get a spray tan. He also won a hair cut from one of the students. This student apparently has some skill in this area -a couple of weeks ago during theme week when they showed others what they know, he did a workshop on hair cutting. Not sure which of us is going to get a haircut, but it was a nice thing to win at auction. The last thing Jeff purchased was mainly for the sort of sad-funny story that goes along with it. It is a string and bead necklace from Syria. One of the students said that it was from his girlfriend who is back in Syria, but he didn't really see that working out, so he figured he'd sell the necklace for this cause. It's quite pretty! I don't plan to wear it, though, until after this group of students heads home in December. It seems a bit strange.
The students were gone this weekend, so we had some of our meals at home. We don't cook very often, and we almost always eat communally with many other people, so sometimes it's nice to be at home with our family. Saturday afternoon, Jeff went to the Friskole for a clean-up / work day. There was some sort of child care available if I wanted to go too, but I didn't imagine the kids would be cooperative staying indoors if we were outside so we stayed home. The older children from the school -0 grade and up- were actually required to be there to help as a regular school day. Jeff built part of a tee-pee on the playground. Then, around 5pm, families were invited to a høstfest -a harvest fest- where there were various games for teams of families. The first activity was a potato sack race where two team members had to jump together across the field, around a cone, and back again. We did alright on that one, coming in fourth I think. Only the last team to finish was eliminated. The second game was carrying a potato on a spoon across the field, through a hula hoop, around the cone twice, and under a balance beam and back again. I carried Svea while I did this one -she wasn't too impressed. It bothered her that there was a potato on the spoon. We did well on this one too, and the bottom two teams were eliminated but we got to carry on. The third game was funny...each team had a "cow" (who held a rubber glove with the thumb tied off), a "milker" (who was supposed to get milk out of the rubber glove), and then parents who pushed their kids in wheelbarrows across the field to fill a small plastic cup with milk from the cow and then bring it back to fill up a bucket at the start line.
We had some challenges with this one, and our cup and our bucket had leaks in them. We were out after this game. The team next to us had twice as much milk as we did! Ah well. We got to play on the playground for a little while while the other teams finished. There was a slalom ski race that I saw, and then one final game.
Then we all headed inside for supper. There were all sorts of fall foods, squash, kale salad, bread, potatoes, carrots, ham, sausages. It took quite a long time to get to eat, but it was delicious once we sat down to supper! The head of the party said that this was the first time they'd done one of these, and they were expecting to have about 50 people sign up...but there were 130! They don't really have a kitchen at the school, so, it took a long time to prepare dinner. She said to expect some fundraising in the near future to construct a kitchen. We stayed until about 7:45 and then Svea really needed to get to bed so we went home. The original message said that the festivities could carry on until 1am. I'm not sure who would stay that late, but the party was definitely still going when we went home.
Sunday morning we made scrambled eggs for breakfast after sleeping in until after 8. The kids were so tired from all the playing on Saturday! Then they played outside some more -the boys were out climbing the apple tree in their pjs and rain boots trying to pick some more to make cider. It was fun to watch them through the window as they worked together to figure out the best way to get the apples. Torben fell from the tree, and from where I was watching it looked like it could have been a bad fall...I called out to him to see if he was alright, and before I could even walk away from the window to go out there, he was up and running inside. I decided that was a good sign...he wasn't hurt too badly. And his run was just what you'd expect from a 5yr old running in fleece footies and rain boots...He got a scratch on his arm but was out again playing in a few minutes. Whew. From the looks of the fall, I was sort of expecting a cast. At least apple trees are close to the ground!
We were hoping to go apple picking this weekend, but it's very foggy so we decided to stay home. The boys played with Lego a lot, and when Svea woke up from her nap we all decided to go for a walk. There is a big rock next to the sidewalk that we walk past each time we're going to the grocery store that says Bakke Garden, with a paved path next to it. Anders always asks to go down that path and we don't usually have time on our way to get groceries. So today we made a special trip just to do that. The path is closed to vehicles except for bikes, and seems sort of like an alley to get to the back yards of the houses in that neighborhood. It was very quiet and peaceful walking through it. I'm amazed at how many flowers are in bloom in October here! The gardens look like it's the high point of summer still. I noticed yesterday even the rose vine in our backyard has a new bud on it, almost ready to bloom. I guess the flowers never give up hope in a beautiful day. Back home we see fall colours as the leaves turn to oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. Here, it seems. the fall colours aren't so much different from the summer colours. There are still new flowers in vibrant purples, electric yellows, lipstick reds and all sorts of shades of orange. It's gorgeous.
The path ended at a street, and we decided to just take the sidewalk along the road and see where we ended up. We hadn't ever walked up there before, but the boys thought they had seen all of it before. The yards and houses all look quite familiar here. There are some variations, but not many. As we walked down the road, we happened upon a small playground operated by the county. Jeff said there really aren't many of those around, and he was surprised to see it. We decided to stop and play a while.
The slide was the perfect size for Svea -but also not too small for the boys. Anders was the first to go down the slide, and he discovered that it hadn't been used in a while when he hit the bottom and got soaked. Oops! Always best to check the slide for a pool of water before sliding down...
The boys really liked this teeter-totter toy. There were actually places for four people to sit, and Torben even managed to play on it by himself for a while. The springs were made such that any configuration of riders would make it work. Genius!
Anders had fun on this climbing rope too. It was just tall enough that he could climb up, but not so tall that he would get hurt if he fell. He tried the monkey bars, but they were a bit too difficult.
The slide was fun for all of them.
The stairs in the back were more like a plank with crossbars, but after one try with help even Svea figured out how to climb it herself. She was very pleased with herself, and very excited that she could manage the whole routine of the slide completely on her own.
This large hill was also in the middle of the field. And off to the right was a soccer field with nets. Behind where Jeff and Torben are standing, there were several picnic tables, a picnic shelter, and a large fire pit with a grilling grate on top. Quite a nice little find for a Sunday afternoon walk!
We kept our adventures close to home this weekend, but still had a lot of fun exploring and being together as a family. Sunday night the students were back, so we went to dinner at the højskole. It was pizza night! The pizzas were quite a bit different from what we are used to back home, but it was very good. Svea and I ate ham and pineapple. Anders wanted pepperoni, which also had sundried tomatoes, peppers and mushrooms. He took most of the "extras" off. Torben wanted sausage, and that had several extras on it as well. There was also some with pulled beef and lettuce, tuna and pineapple, olive and sundried tomato, and some others that I couldn't quite identify. They were thin crusts and just a light amount of cheese, but very good. The kids all enjoyed it. The students did too. This may be the first night there were no leftovers.
Last Thursday afternoon, Rolf -the boys always correct me that it's pronounced "Olf"- came over after school to play with the boys for a couple of hours. The three of them had a lot of fun! It was a bit of a challenge for me, since he only speaks Danish and I don't understand much of it, so sometimes I felt badly that no one could understand what he was talking about or asking for, but Anders and Torben basically would say "kom nu!" (come now!) and the three of them would be off on another adventure. They played outside with paper airplanes, trying to throw them into the open window, jumped on the trampoline, played with Lego, and coloured. All in all a good afternoon with a new friend.
The students were gone this weekend, so we had some of our meals at home. We don't cook very often, and we almost always eat communally with many other people, so sometimes it's nice to be at home with our family. Saturday afternoon, Jeff went to the Friskole for a clean-up / work day. There was some sort of child care available if I wanted to go too, but I didn't imagine the kids would be cooperative staying indoors if we were outside so we stayed home. The older children from the school -0 grade and up- were actually required to be there to help as a regular school day. Jeff built part of a tee-pee on the playground. Then, around 5pm, families were invited to a høstfest -a harvest fest- where there were various games for teams of families. The first activity was a potato sack race where two team members had to jump together across the field, around a cone, and back again. We did alright on that one, coming in fourth I think. Only the last team to finish was eliminated. The second game was carrying a potato on a spoon across the field, through a hula hoop, around the cone twice, and under a balance beam and back again. I carried Svea while I did this one -she wasn't too impressed. It bothered her that there was a potato on the spoon. We did well on this one too, and the bottom two teams were eliminated but we got to carry on. The third game was funny...each team had a "cow" (who held a rubber glove with the thumb tied off), a "milker" (who was supposed to get milk out of the rubber glove), and then parents who pushed their kids in wheelbarrows across the field to fill a small plastic cup with milk from the cow and then bring it back to fill up a bucket at the start line.
We had some challenges with this one, and our cup and our bucket had leaks in them. We were out after this game. The team next to us had twice as much milk as we did! Ah well. We got to play on the playground for a little while while the other teams finished. There was a slalom ski race that I saw, and then one final game.
Then we all headed inside for supper. There were all sorts of fall foods, squash, kale salad, bread, potatoes, carrots, ham, sausages. It took quite a long time to get to eat, but it was delicious once we sat down to supper! The head of the party said that this was the first time they'd done one of these, and they were expecting to have about 50 people sign up...but there were 130! They don't really have a kitchen at the school, so, it took a long time to prepare dinner. She said to expect some fundraising in the near future to construct a kitchen. We stayed until about 7:45 and then Svea really needed to get to bed so we went home. The original message said that the festivities could carry on until 1am. I'm not sure who would stay that late, but the party was definitely still going when we went home.
Sunday morning we made scrambled eggs for breakfast after sleeping in until after 8. The kids were so tired from all the playing on Saturday! Then they played outside some more -the boys were out climbing the apple tree in their pjs and rain boots trying to pick some more to make cider. It was fun to watch them through the window as they worked together to figure out the best way to get the apples. Torben fell from the tree, and from where I was watching it looked like it could have been a bad fall...I called out to him to see if he was alright, and before I could even walk away from the window to go out there, he was up and running inside. I decided that was a good sign...he wasn't hurt too badly. And his run was just what you'd expect from a 5yr old running in fleece footies and rain boots...He got a scratch on his arm but was out again playing in a few minutes. Whew. From the looks of the fall, I was sort of expecting a cast. At least apple trees are close to the ground!
We were hoping to go apple picking this weekend, but it's very foggy so we decided to stay home. The boys played with Lego a lot, and when Svea woke up from her nap we all decided to go for a walk. There is a big rock next to the sidewalk that we walk past each time we're going to the grocery store that says Bakke Garden, with a paved path next to it. Anders always asks to go down that path and we don't usually have time on our way to get groceries. So today we made a special trip just to do that. The path is closed to vehicles except for bikes, and seems sort of like an alley to get to the back yards of the houses in that neighborhood. It was very quiet and peaceful walking through it. I'm amazed at how many flowers are in bloom in October here! The gardens look like it's the high point of summer still. I noticed yesterday even the rose vine in our backyard has a new bud on it, almost ready to bloom. I guess the flowers never give up hope in a beautiful day. Back home we see fall colours as the leaves turn to oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. Here, it seems. the fall colours aren't so much different from the summer colours. There are still new flowers in vibrant purples, electric yellows, lipstick reds and all sorts of shades of orange. It's gorgeous.
The path ended at a street, and we decided to just take the sidewalk along the road and see where we ended up. We hadn't ever walked up there before, but the boys thought they had seen all of it before. The yards and houses all look quite familiar here. There are some variations, but not many. As we walked down the road, we happened upon a small playground operated by the county. Jeff said there really aren't many of those around, and he was surprised to see it. We decided to stop and play a while.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Sick Day
Tuesday night at dinner, Torben said he wasn't feeling very well and he didn't really eat much. As Jeff and I were getting ready to go to bed, Torben came walking down the stairs with his pillow, sort of whimpering and crying that he really wasn't ready to get up yet. We told him that was good, because it was 10:00 at night and there was a lot of sleeping time left! He asked to sleep in our bed, and I noticed he had a definite fever. Not only does he get hot like you would expect from a fever, but he also cannot stop talking! He talks and talks and talks, and most of it doesn't make any sense. Every time he gets a fever he is like that. Doesn't matter if it's 99 or 104, he just has a lot to say about nothing. So, it took a while for him to fall back asleep, but then he slept well.
In the morning, he woke up and said he was feeling OK, then got up to get a drink and came back and laid down again, and then said he had been feeling good, but once he got a drink he didn't feel good anymore and could he just stay there for 6 more minutes. His fever was less -almost gone- but I decided he would do well to have a rest day at home. Anders and Jeff got dressed and headed off to school, and Torben, Svea and I sat on the couch in our comfy clothes and watched a movie for a while. When Svea took her nap, Torben and I got out the Duplo blocks and decided to build a castle.
Our castle also had a flower garden, and a gated pasture for all the animals. I accidentally took my picture before all the animals returned "home" so only the polar bear is there now.
The blue blocks under the fenceposts are water for the animals to drink, of course.
We also had to sort all the blocks into piles by colour before we could build anything. Apparently there are a lot of rules involved in free play!
We played for quite a while with the Duplo, and when Svea got up she played with it as well. They really are great toys! It's nice that the boys don't feel they are too old to use the big ones. I rather like that there is a princess set and a zoo set here, so we can build castles and have lots of animals as well, in addition to a plethora of regular bricks.
Today Svea is wearing the Canucks suit that Byron, Diane, and Rebecca Grant bought for the boys before they were even born. It's fun how Svea gets to wear it now too. She's not quite big enough for it, but will certainly grow into it over the winter.
I love the serious, far-off stare she gets when she's looking intently at something.
I also love this little smile. She was taking a picture in messenger to send to Papa Randy and always gets a smile when her Grandmas or Papas are on the phone.
I would have thought that by October, we'd be nearing the end of blooming season here. But, there seems to be a whole new crop of flowers bursting forth with amazing colours now! The crocus are out in abundance, mostly light purple ones. At home we see those in February or March, so I was surprised to see them at the end of September. The rhododendron have buds on them -which I definitely wouldn't expect going into winter- and these flowers just opened up all over town.
And the looks of the fruitbowl have changed over the last few weeks. Gone are the honey melons (they are still available, but instead of being 4.98Kr they are approximately 17Kr each now) and apples and pears are in abundance. I love these small pears! They are so very sweet, and they even scented the whole kitchen with a beautiful fragrance. Jeff walked in and said "what smells so good in here?" It's the fruit! The pears are very small...maybe six bites each. They are approximately 1Kr each when you buy them by the kilogram package. So far we have bought 3Kg this week. The apples are also very delicious right now. Jeff thinks he found an orchard where we can go pick our own, so that will be a fun activity to look forward to sometime soon.
Thursday, both boys are back at school. It's culture week here and the boys are going for a walk at school today to see some of the interesting things on display around town. Yesterday, Anders and Jeff came across a traditional dance going on in the street when they were coming home from school. There have been flags up lining the entire main street, and there is art work in most of the store windows.
In the morning, he woke up and said he was feeling OK, then got up to get a drink and came back and laid down again, and then said he had been feeling good, but once he got a drink he didn't feel good anymore and could he just stay there for 6 more minutes. His fever was less -almost gone- but I decided he would do well to have a rest day at home. Anders and Jeff got dressed and headed off to school, and Torben, Svea and I sat on the couch in our comfy clothes and watched a movie for a while. When Svea took her nap, Torben and I got out the Duplo blocks and decided to build a castle.
The blue blocks under the fenceposts are water for the animals to drink, of course.
We also had to sort all the blocks into piles by colour before we could build anything. Apparently there are a lot of rules involved in free play!
We played for quite a while with the Duplo, and when Svea got up she played with it as well. They really are great toys! It's nice that the boys don't feel they are too old to use the big ones. I rather like that there is a princess set and a zoo set here, so we can build castles and have lots of animals as well, in addition to a plethora of regular bricks.
Today Svea is wearing the Canucks suit that Byron, Diane, and Rebecca Grant bought for the boys before they were even born. It's fun how Svea gets to wear it now too. She's not quite big enough for it, but will certainly grow into it over the winter.
Lost Tooth #2
Torben's second tooth has been loose for over a week -each day we thought surely that was the day it would finally break free. But no, it kept hanging on. Despite all the apples, pears, sandwiches, and playing, it just stuck itself right there. Finally, he could actually bend it so it was perpendicular to his gums and we said "really, you could pull that tooth out and it wouldn't hurt a bit" and he agreed. So, out came the tooth.
They are such tiny teeth that kids lose when they're 5! As of yet, the tooth fairy has not been invited for any of the four teeth lost between the boys. Anders wanted to save his to show Grandma and Grandpa, and then they got misplaced. Torben lost both of his once we were here in Denmark, and they are resting comfortably inside a piece of aluminum foil on the counter -because there's no way that could go wrong... We were told the going rate here is 20Kr per tooth. So, if Anders is going to write a note to the tooth fairy to please have mercy because his teeth got lost, and Torben is going to put his two under the pillow, the tooth fairy is going to have to cough up some serious coinage!
They are both saving their Kroner to buy something "big". Anders still wants the Qatar Airways soccer jersey he saw at the Sportigen this summer, and he's almost saved up enough to get it. He was counting his Kroner last night and has 137...he needs 150 and Jeff said we'd make up the 50Kr difference so he could get it. I enjoy watching him save and calculate to get something he really wants. I think it will mean a lot more to him than if we had bought it for him the first time he saw it on the rack outside the store. This is our eighth week here, and he has been saving this whole time, and is still talking about using it to buy the same shirt. In many (most) instances, he is not very patient and we are still trying to teach him that, so I'm sort of surprised, and delighted, that he is able to wait and not fritter away his money before he gets what he said he wanted to save for. Torben hasn't decided yet what he is going to use his for, but he's saving them just the same. And Svea doesn't have quite as many as the boys do, but hers are being saved safely in a jar as well.
We got a text message from one of the moms at school that her son really wanted to play with Anders, and would it be OK if he came over after school one day. So, that will be fun. The boys are very excited to have Rolf come over to play. Their other friend, Oliver, also wants to come and play, so maybe we will invite him to come next week. There are almost a dozen kids who are 5yrs old in their school, and several who are 4 as well. The 2 and 3 yr old classes are smaller, but all of them are together during the day for the most part, unless they go to a field trip or birthday party -there seem to be a lot of both of those!
They are such tiny teeth that kids lose when they're 5! As of yet, the tooth fairy has not been invited for any of the four teeth lost between the boys. Anders wanted to save his to show Grandma and Grandpa, and then they got misplaced. Torben lost both of his once we were here in Denmark, and they are resting comfortably inside a piece of aluminum foil on the counter -because there's no way that could go wrong... We were told the going rate here is 20Kr per tooth. So, if Anders is going to write a note to the tooth fairy to please have mercy because his teeth got lost, and Torben is going to put his two under the pillow, the tooth fairy is going to have to cough up some serious coinage!
They are both saving their Kroner to buy something "big". Anders still wants the Qatar Airways soccer jersey he saw at the Sportigen this summer, and he's almost saved up enough to get it. He was counting his Kroner last night and has 137...he needs 150 and Jeff said we'd make up the 50Kr difference so he could get it. I enjoy watching him save and calculate to get something he really wants. I think it will mean a lot more to him than if we had bought it for him the first time he saw it on the rack outside the store. This is our eighth week here, and he has been saving this whole time, and is still talking about using it to buy the same shirt. In many (most) instances, he is not very patient and we are still trying to teach him that, so I'm sort of surprised, and delighted, that he is able to wait and not fritter away his money before he gets what he said he wanted to save for. Torben hasn't decided yet what he is going to use his for, but he's saving them just the same. And Svea doesn't have quite as many as the boys do, but hers are being saved safely in a jar as well.
We got a text message from one of the moms at school that her son really wanted to play with Anders, and would it be OK if he came over after school one day. So, that will be fun. The boys are very excited to have Rolf come over to play. Their other friend, Oliver, also wants to come and play, so maybe we will invite him to come next week. There are almost a dozen kids who are 5yrs old in their school, and several who are 4 as well. The 2 and 3 yr old classes are smaller, but all of them are together during the day for the most part, unless they go to a field trip or birthday party -there seem to be a lot of both of those!
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Winter Weather Wear
From what I can understand, we won't see as much snow here as we are used to back home. However, I noticed in the last couple of weeks that snow suits -the one piece ones used for snowmobiling- were showing up in the stores, so it seems that something like that will be necessary for the kids. I brought along the one pair of snow pants we had in the correct size from home; ones that weren't too puffy but were more like ski pants, and figured we'd find another pair somewhere if we needed it. I was a bit surprised by the snow suits in the stores, though, as I had thought it wouldn't be weather that necessitated these. I was thinking it would be cold and slushy, but not super cold here. Turns out, though, that we were able to find two of these one-piece snow suits that look almost brand new at the recycle shops here in town. We got one at each of the recycle shops this week; the only ones there, and they were the size we needed. What luck! They both say size 116-120, or 6yrs, but they are quite different in actual physical size. That worked out well, since Anders is still bigger than Torben is.
They had fun trying them on yesterday when they got home from school. I'm not sure why they decided to pick up the weights as well, but it made for a fun picture. I'm glad we were able to find these that will keep them warm when they are playing outside this winter. I wasn't quite sure how the rain suits were going to work over warmer clothes. It would be great if they will still fit next year -but I'm not holding my breath for that.
I don't remember if I brought along snow pants for Svea. We did buy her a pair of rain pants, which she wore once. She seems to prefer to have her blanket on in the stroller instead. I never thought, when I ordered the grey and purple carseat canopy, that we'd still be using it long after she had outgrown the bucket car seat! But she loves it as a lap blanket and it's a perfect size for her. I am pretty certain we are going to have to get bigger shoes for her while we're here. I brought along several pair of bigger sizes than she was wearing when we came, and she's already wearing all of them. We've had to put three pair away because they are two small. Probably, though, although she loves wearing my clogs, they are a bit too big still. She looks like such a big kid in this picture! I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
These are her favourite shoes, and they go with everything. Usually she takes them off as soon as we come in the front door, but for some reason she decided to keep them on while giving her babies a ride in the stroller.
It's not winter weather here yet, but it's definitely fall -at least in the mornings. This morning when we took the kids to school, it was super foggy and the boys kept saying they couldn't see anything, and asking how we were going to manage walking to school if we couldn't see. My hair was damp from the fog and mist by the time I got back home. And I noticed on the bank sign that the temperature was 6. Low 40s is chilly for a morning walk, but it was quite nice. By the afternoon it will probably be close to 20 or so, and I will need to switch out my sweater for a cooler shirt.
We frequently all walk together to take the boys to school in the morning. Someone this morning mentioned how we make lots of people smile when they see all of us walking together. I guess it's not typical for the entire family to walk the kids to school. Generally, at the boys' school, the parents do bring the kids every day and pick them up, but it's usually just one parent, and not typically both parents and the baby. I enjoy it, though. I think it's nice for our whole family to walk together when we can. We'll see how that works out when it starts raining sleet and ice in a few months and it's dark all day...
I don't remember if I brought along snow pants for Svea. We did buy her a pair of rain pants, which she wore once. She seems to prefer to have her blanket on in the stroller instead. I never thought, when I ordered the grey and purple carseat canopy, that we'd still be using it long after she had outgrown the bucket car seat! But she loves it as a lap blanket and it's a perfect size for her. I am pretty certain we are going to have to get bigger shoes for her while we're here. I brought along several pair of bigger sizes than she was wearing when we came, and she's already wearing all of them. We've had to put three pair away because they are two small. Probably, though, although she loves wearing my clogs, they are a bit too big still. She looks like such a big kid in this picture! I can't believe how fast she is growing up.
It's not winter weather here yet, but it's definitely fall -at least in the mornings. This morning when we took the kids to school, it was super foggy and the boys kept saying they couldn't see anything, and asking how we were going to manage walking to school if we couldn't see. My hair was damp from the fog and mist by the time I got back home. And I noticed on the bank sign that the temperature was 6. Low 40s is chilly for a morning walk, but it was quite nice. By the afternoon it will probably be close to 20 or so, and I will need to switch out my sweater for a cooler shirt.
We frequently all walk together to take the boys to school in the morning. Someone this morning mentioned how we make lots of people smile when they see all of us walking together. I guess it's not typical for the entire family to walk the kids to school. Generally, at the boys' school, the parents do bring the kids every day and pick them up, but it's usually just one parent, and not typically both parents and the baby. I enjoy it, though. I think it's nice for our whole family to walk together when we can. We'll see how that works out when it starts raining sleet and ice in a few months and it's dark all day...
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