Simple Monday Meal

Here is our simple meal that we had last night. In fairness, nothing is too hard to make, it just takes time. I am not sure why we decided to have a little seafood sampler, but it was excellent. We had tilapia, lobster, shrimp, muscles and pasta for the girls. Not bad for a Monday night. We ate it in our garden (driveway)




I have to admit that I felt a little guilty eating the lobster. After all, I am one right now.

Revere Beach

Solbesvär

Vi var på stranden igår, för första gången för säsongen och första gången i Boston. Revere Beach, bara några steg från blåa tunnelbanelinjen. Det var härligt. Vi kände att vi behövde rekognosera innan vi kunde ta med våra sommargäster (min bror med familj, mamma och pappa, ...) på strandbesök och vi blev glatt överraskade. En klart godkänd strand med sköna vågor, mjuk sand och massor med snäckskal. Stora, lätt 1 dm. Det kändes som att vara på solsemester.

Zoey har varit lite rädd för havet sedan vi åkte på båtutflykt i höstas. Det är inte helt klart varför, men det verkar faktiskt som om det är hajar hon är rädd för. Inte för att vi någonsin har berättat skräckhistorier om hajar, men hon har livlig fantasi. Min teori är att det var kapitlet om Pippi på Kurrekurreduttön som fick igång det. Hon har upprepade gånger under året betonat att hon är "allergisk" mot hajar. Igår var nog första gången någonsin som hon var på en riktig havsstrand och badade och hon NJÖT med HELA KROPPEN. Darrin och jag som ibland önskar att vi hade lite vildare barn fick bita oss i tungan för att inte säga ifrån när hon rullade sig i sanden tills hon såg ut som en panerad rödspätta. Hon var i och ur det ännu ganska svala vattnet i tre timmar, varav en stor del av tiden skrattande av ren och skär lycka.

Nackdelen med vårt strandäventyr kom vi på när vi kom hem på kvällen. Darrin är röd som en kräfta på ryggen och magen, och jag på benen. Vi hade noga smörjt in Zoey, och bättrade också på lagret under dagen, men för första gången i sitt liv fick även hon röda irriterade solbrändområden på valda delar av kroppen. Jag har alltid varit överförsiktig när det gäller solexponering av våra barn och det var ett uppvaknande. Solen är helt klart värre här än i Sverige och vi måste bli ÄNNU försktigare. Idag har Darrin köpt solskyddsbadkläder till båda tjejerna.

My Want List

In the next month (ish) I have several things that I will be getting gifts for. I have my birthday, my anniversary, father's day, my name's day, Swedish National Day (not really, but it does not hurt to put it in there) and guilt gifts from M (which I should be getting SEVERAL!) So I thought that I would do a list for her (and anyone else who happens to want to get me a present here or there). I will do only the top seven.

1) Star Wars
a. Fx lightsaber- in fairness, any of them would be alright. This is the one that I want though.
b. Lightsaber chopsticks- we eat sushi often, so it is more environmentally friendly to have your own chopsticks...right? Well, these are the ones. While we are talking about kitchen supplies/Star Wars things, wouldn't this be cool (pun intended) as well. For the environment, of course.
c. Storm Trooper Uniform- I am actually not sure who has the cooler house: Barney or Chuck. Since I was able to find a picture of Barney's house, I will go with him. Doesn't the Clone Trooper uniform look nice in the background? Now imagine if it was a Storm Trooper. It has been shown that Storm Troopers are 97% cooler then Clone troopers. No idea where to get one, I just want one.

d. Star Wars Lamp- This is a must. It will look excellent in my office (did I say my office, I mean our office Honey!).

2) Books
a. Star Wars pop up- Matthew Reinhart is amazing. He is a true master at popup books. His greatest one is the Star Wars one. While you are at it, you can get this one as well.
b. New England Guide Book
c. Complete Calvin and Hobbes- The greatest Sunday comic of all time!
d. Complete The Far Side- The second greatest Sunday comic of all time!
e. Myself and Strangers by John Graves-He wrote "Goodbye to a River" about the Bravos River.
f. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall- I need some type of motivation. It worked when I read "Ultramarathon Man" by Dean Karnazes, it should work again.

3) Art
a. Mo Willems- Today's best Children's book author. You have to love this guy, but I am not sure that I would not rather have Edwina or Leo.
b. Pelle Svanslos by Einar Norelius- I just like Pelle, which is totally because of Uppsala.
c. Skum- I like his pencil drawings. They are simple, but nice.
d. Sven Jonson- Ok, he is my favorite Swedish artist. When M and I first moved in together, we went to a gallery and we found one of his paintings that we both loved. We were too poor to buy it, but since then I have wanted one of his paintings.
e. Animation Cels- Bringing back my childhood. My wants are simple, Darkwing, Gargoyles, Pelle
f. James Hance- I actually don't know if I want one of his, but his work is excellent. I especially like his Star Wars/"Where the Wild Things Are" mash up.
G. John Bauer- This one might be cool, though it is hard to tell
H. This list really could go on and on and on

4) Experiences
a. James Taylor tickets- My number 1 for ever. He will even be in Boston this summer...sigh.
b. Scuba certification
c. Red Sox tickets
d. Classes for getting my pilots license- I want to fly this:

This is Jimmy's plane.



This one is Indiana's




5) Clothes (the boring stuff for my parents, not that they read the blog
a. Shoes- I need a pair of brown shoes and sandals
b. Sun glasses
c. Hat- I am thinking one of these
d. Boots

6) House
a. Step ladder
b. Framing
c. Portable air conditioning- Did I mention that we had 98% humidity the other day
d. Saw horses- boring I know, but very useful. I said that everything on my list was not going to be just fun stuff. After all, I did ask for a ladder.

7) General or Other
a. Guitar- N got hers for her birthday, so it might be fun to learn together.
b. Camping espresso maker
c. Aquarium filter
d. Bike- this makes me sad. Mine is broken and I can not get the part that I need. So it looks like I am going to need a new one.

Like I said, only seven things.

Lobster Tonight...

...and that lobster is me. We went to the beach today and I get fried. I almost never get burned, and never this burned. The ironic part is that I used sun screen today. Not just a 15 or 20 spf, I am talking about a 50 spf and I am still red as a lobster.

Speaking about lobster, I think that we will have one tomorrow as a way to celebrate my sunburn...I mean memorial day.

Snail Killing

I almost pulled a M. This time with a snail though. We got one last weekend, Z's choice, and the other night it looked dead. I was about to flush it, but I could not be bothered to get it out that minute. The next morning it was moving around, it was just sleeping. I did not think about it, but of course snails go into their shells when they sleep. Glad I procrastinated a little there.

Tooth Fairy Update

I forgot one very important thing. After the tooth fell out, Z told me that I needed to start to suck my thumb now. The reason being that it tastes better when you have a missing tooth. Yesterday morning when she woke up, she was more excited about asking me if my thumb tasted good during the night then the stove that I made for them or the fact that the Tooth Fairy came. Made me smile.

A special kind of club

Sitting down at breakfast yesterday morning, my tongue felt a rough spot on a tooth in the back of the mouth. I ignored it, since I have a dentist appointment in a couple of weeks. Unconsciously I was still playing with it. I did not notice that I was until I felt something move. Of course it was the tooth. With very little assistance, a gigantic filling came out. It is not too shocking, I do have really crappy teeth.

The girls thought that this was great, especially Z. They determined that I was now a member of a special club- The Missing Tooth Club. Z is a member, so is Grandma and a friend of theirs in Texas. I feel honored to be a member. I am hoping that I am not a member for very long though. The lucky thing for me is that it is one of my back teeth. All the other members (that we know of course, we are ignoring everyone else). have one of their front teeth missing. Plus I am hoping not to be a member too long. The dentist is booked for the first part of next week.

It was determined that the Tooth Fairy would be coming. The only issue is that in Sweden they do it a little differently. They place the tooth in a glass of water and then in the morning coins will be in there and the tooth is still there. I thought that we should wait until M gets home, but Z would not have anything to do with that. It had to be last night. My favorite thing about the missing tooth though has to be the words of wisdom by Z- "You can either save the money or you can spend it on anything you want" (the last part was in a greedy little voice.

I am not nice!

So, as we were talking to M last night, Z told her that she thought that she was really, really nice. Just to see what reaction I would get, I asked if she thought that I was nice. she was quick to answer, "no". Then she thought about about it a little more and she said that I "was a little nice." It with what she said the other day. She told me that I was mean. Ironically I was being nice at that moment. So when I asked her if she actually thought that I was mean, she said "no, but you say all the time that you are a mean Dad."

School Visit

Yesterday we visited the school that the girls will be going to next year (since it was Tuesday, we skipped Swedish School). The visit went good. The girls knew one girl who was there and played some with her, which is always nice. It started of a little rough though. We went to the library before hand and were a little stressed to get there (darn toilet breaks). The invite said to be there "before 2.15, because we will be starting promptly at 2.15." So we ran to the school and managed to get there just in time. Needless to say, nothing started until 2.30. With a school that starts at 7.45, you would think that they would want to stress promptness.

We got to visit all three kindergarten classes and we got three very different impressions. The first class was the worse impression of the three. In fact, it was really bad. The class itself had no feeling in it. When you walk in some classes you think to yourself, "god, I wish I would have had this class when I was in school." That is not the feeling that I got. It felt more like the majority of classes I had in grade school in Texas (not a compliment, I promise). That was not the worse part. The teacher went up to the girls when we first got there and started to talk to them (good). Then she asked they wanted to play and listed off the things that they could play- "You can play house or dollies or princess dress up...oh and there are blocks in the back corner." Then she made comments about the mom being stay at home. I really do not want this class and I am not really sure what to do about it.

The third class that we went to was nice. The teacher focuses on art a lot. All year they look at different artists and try to copy them, which I really liked. Then at the end of the year they have a art exhibit. It is not at an art museum, like it was at one of the private schools we looked at, but it is at an external location and the community is invited to attend. The teachers were really nice and N seemed to like these teachers the best.

The second class was by far my favorite. This was the class that when I walked into the classroom I thought, "I wish this was my class when I was a kid!" They were studying dinosaurs and the whole room looked like they were in dinoland. They had an incubator where they were hatching chicken eggs and had live animals all over the room. the teacher pointed out all the different things as well, but never directed the girls to the "girl toys", but did a selection. Next year's theme is the rain forest, so the room with look like a rain forest. Plus, the teacher said that they go to the local lake all the time. They also do the art exhibit, but it is not as big focus as in the other classroom. This is the class that I want my girls to be in. I am even tempted to put them into the same class.

Here is a good question, what do the girls think? No idea. The only thing that they have said is that N thinks that it is too close to the house. Hmm, we will see if she thinks that when the schools start at 7.45. Partly I think that it is too long away for them to really get it. I know that they will be excited once school starts. Still wish we would have gotten into the Spanish School, but if we get class #2, I will be happy.

Skolbesök

I morgon ska Nova och Zoey på sitt första besök på skolan som de ska börja på i september. Det blir Darrin som följer med. Jag skulle också vilja följa med. Jag hoppas hoppas hoppas att de får ett bra första intryck - jag vill så himla mycket att de ska trivas på sin nya skola. För varje dag som går känner jag mig lite mer besviken för att de inte kom in på Amigos, med hälften av undervisningen på spanska - det kändes som en fantastisk chans för oss att få att ge dem en bra start i livet. Men, nu blev det Haggerty, och det är bara att göra det bästa av situationen. Jag VILL att de ska trivas och ha det bra där.

Jag kommer ihåg första gången jag var på besök på min första skola - Korsängsskolan i Enköping. Det var den 7 maj 1985. Aldrig, aldrig kommer jag att glömma datumet, för det var dagen då Mattias kom till världen. Mamma och pappa lyfte över Markus och mig från sängen till bilen mitt i natten och körde oss till mormor och morfar i Västerås. Jag minns att jag trodde att pappa satte på mig en badmössa när han tryckte Mullemössan över huvudet, och jag minns att vi spelade Mats Pålsson i bilen på vägen. Jag minns att jag sedan låg och försökte somna om bredvid mormor, men ingen av oss kunde riktigt sova.

Mattias föddes tidigt på morgonen, någon gång mellan fem och sex tror jag. Jag fick följa med pappa till jobbet under dagen efter. Han hade ett viktigt möte i Bålsta, i en grusgrop. Jag minns att jag fick en glass, en isglass - men jag kommer inte ihåg om det var Igloo eller Popup.

Innan besöket på min nya skola - inskrivningen i skolan - så behövde vi åka hem till Oxbärsgatan och hämta papper. Det bruna kuvertet med skolpapperen låg på en hylla i syrummet, som senare kom att bli Mattias rum. Pappa och jag fick fundera en stund på hur vi skulle fylla i papperena - man skulle fylla i syskon, och vi hade ju inte bestämt namn på Mattias än! Mamma tyckte Mattias, medan jag, Markus och pappa tyckte Mats. (Numera vet vi ju hur det blev...) Pappa tyckte att vi gärna kunde skriva Mattias helt enkelt, men jag gick inte med på det eftersom vi var tre mot en, så vi skrev "(bror)". Vi tänkte att de måste väl förstå; det stod ju också den dagens datum som födelsedag.

Historien fick en liten knorr i åttan, när familjen hade flyttat till Örebro och jag var på hälsosamtal hos skolsköterskan på en helt annan skola, nämligen Lillåskolan. Hon frågade mig, något skeptiskt: "Har du en bror som heter Bror?" Så mycket för att de skulle förstå eftersom det stod dagens datum som födelsedatum!

All alone this CRAZY week

M had to go to New York this week. Some ways it was good that it was this week and others ways it was bad. Bad because it is always more exhausting when she is gone. I am amazed by the amount of energy that single parents have. One week is about all I can handle until I am ready to break. Good that it is this week because we have so much stuff to do this week that it will be easier for the girls. We are going to the Children's Museum, Aquarium, open house at the new school, doctors appointment (which is at 8.30 because I thought that M would take them, boy did that not work out as planned) and a test at Harvard. So it is a full week ahead of us. I think that Saturday will be M's day with the kids.

Money Money Money...

It's a rich man's world ( abba song for anyone that missed that).

So on Sunday mornings, the girls get their allowance. It is only two dollars, so just enough to get something at the dollar store. Several weeks ago we went to the Cambridge Science Fair and N did an experiment with a Hexbug nano. She was so mad when we would not let her keep it. We talked to her about it and explained that they were not allowed to keep the ones from the experiment and that if she really wanted one, she could save her money to get on. That is exactly what she did. She saved up her money for five weeks and bought one. She was so happy and I was so impressed. Five weeks is a long time, especially when your sister has not been saving her money. In the mean time Z has bought a fish, general toys, Elmo Easter Eggs and stuff.

Honestly, I did not think that N could do it. She likes to go shopping (way too much in my opinion) and I mean really likes to go shopping. When we were leaving though, Z went crazy. She wanted to get something as well. She wanted a Hexbug. She cried the entire way home. It was exhausting for all involved. I felt bad for her and explained that she could save her money and get one. That was not an option. She did not want to save her money, she wanted on NOW. N on the other hand told me yesterday that she wants to save her money some more to get another one.

The Bank Thief

We have been robbed. It was the work of a cunning little bank thief. She went after the bank with a knife and a determined look on her face. She has been identified by authorities and has a history of this sort of activities. Her reason for stealing is pure pleasure. Oh, what is happening to the people in this world?



The real story- Z has realized that if she uses a knife in the coin slot of her piggy bank, the coins will fail out. This is much more exciting then her normal way of getting coins, which is taking them from me. Ironically she just gets them out and then asks N if she wants them. At least she is giving.

A Sick Lazy Day

All of us are a little sick. Well, all of us except M. Somehow she has managed to stay healthy. It is not like we have the stomach bug, just a little sick. Sick enough where we did not go out yesterday, but not sick enough where we did not need to be entertained. So it was one of "those" days.

The funny thing is that the kids have such different needs when they are sick and bored. Z is pretty good at finding entertainment herself. In fairness, this usually involves a big mess which I will be cleaning up, but she does it on her own. N on the other hand needs to be entertained. So our day was filled with dress up and pedicures (for her, not me). For the record, I give a pretty good pedicure.

The top three things for them during the day were the Tea Party in the afternoon, the penguin movie and playing with the dinosaurs. I figure that I could have had it worse. I could of ended up looking like Elmo.

Tuesday Night TV

The best thing about Tuesday is Monday night TV. With no TV, we watch it the day after on the internet. Even if we had a TV, we would still have to watch one after. The only two shows we watch (actually three, but I hate to admit that we watch Glee) are Chuck and How I Met Your Mother. Both of with just had their last show of the season.

Best Chuck in a while. It was entertaining, good, well thought out. It could have been the final for the show (and almost was). Well worth watching. The only negative part was that (spoiler if you watch it and have not yet) Morgan at the very end.

How I Met Your Mother has gotten long. Seriously, he needs to finally meet her. Plus, if they ruin Barney, I will be very disappointed.

That is it for TV until September for us. Now what will be eat our ice cream with.

Swedish vs. Spanish

This is when I wish we could do voices on a blog. I can imagine the loud speaker with the echo effect going, "Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday! Come on down for the Royal Rumble Swedish vs. Spanish!" Not that their is any question of which one would win in this house (Swedish), more just a Tuesday thing.

Speaking of Tuesday, who gives a 4 and 5 year olds homework? Seriously, it drives me crazy. When did we start getting homework? I am guessing 2nd grade, not preschool anyway. N likes it, for the most part. Though neither of them do it exactly they way they should. Yesterday N had a hard time hearing the difference between K and G (we needed the K). I don't know if she really could not hear or if she was just tired. Z can just be stubborn (wonder where she gets that from, I am going to say M). Not much else after that.

Our Spanish was very limited yesterday. We listened to some Spanish music and danced to it (N really is a natural dancer, it is one of the skills that I was talking about the other day). Then M read some Spanish picture books. That took a whole lot longer then expected.

Next Tuesday we are skipping Swedish School. We have a open house at our new school and can not make it to both. So we will skip the homework until the week after. Why do today what you can do next week. Hmm, maybe M should be in charge of the homework.

Beautiful Sunny Weather

Today is beautiful out! Ok, not really. It is suppose to be. It is Tuesday and it is Swedish School. This week N is the "Star of the Week", which means that she gets to bring something to show and picks the story that the class listens to. More importantly to me is that M gets to take them so that she can read the story to the class. That means that today is my free day and since M will be taking them, it is suppose to be sunny and beautiful.

The problem is that M has to work and will be coming only for the story time, so I get to go. Since I am going, it is pouring down rain. Since August, I have had only two nice weather days on Tuesday. Once M came with, the other I was on my own. Not to sound too much like a complainer, but I am getting a man cold.

Spanish Week

Yesterday marked the first day of Spanish week. The girls really want to learn it, so we are going to encourage it (even if it was my WORSE subject in school and still have nightmares about it). Before we show pictures of yesterdays stuff, here is something leftover from Green week. N asked where food comes from and from there we (mainly N, but I want some credit) came up with this activity. We mapped where our food came from last week. Not as much international stuff if one compares to what we had in Sweden. Kids enjoyed it and it was really interesting, even to me.

Back to Spanish. We started off reading about Picasso and looking at some of his art. Then we looked at the map below. Red indicates countries that have Spanish as a first language, blue is English and green in Swedish (hard to see, I know). Good results, though Z was a bit disappointed that no large country in Africa spoke Spanish.


We then played a game. We said the Spanish word and then sounded out the Swedish or English word. When they figured it out, they got to place the post-it notes on it. We are planning on playing this one everyday this week. So by the end of the week, the entire house will be covered in Post-it notes.



Still looking for more ideas if anyone has them.

TarMarket and Polar Bears

For some reason that I am unable to explain, Z believes that the name of Target is TarMarket. I do not know why, but that is what she calls it. Yesterday on our way to Target, it was a bit grey and cold. Z picked out a pair of shorts and a summer dress. M said to her that she needed a pair of tights to do under the shorts because it was too cold to just wear that.

Z was very quick to reply with, "Mamma, I swam in ice water in Sweden." Which is a very true statement (both her and I did, we had to push the huge ice blocks out of the way before we could get into the water). How can on argue with that. She got to wear her shorts without tights.

Z-1
M-0

Hola

Last weeks theme was local plants and flowers. It went pretty good. It was a little tougher towards the end. We had a field trip planned for the end of the week, but we could not go because of the gas company. Then the weekend was a bit of a flop (from the theme point of view). No field trip on Saturday because we did not have the energy to fight with the girls to get ready and Sunday it just rained all day, so the garden did not get built. So, in some ways it was really successful. In other ways it was not. I am ok with that.

This weeks theme is Spanish. The girls have been desperate to learn Spanish ever since we applied to go to a 50% Spanish school (we did not get accepted). Not that I am great with language, but we are going to try it. This is what I have for this week-

- A map with all the countries that have Spanish as their first language colored in
- Post it notes game with words in Spanish, English and Swedish on it
- Food from Spanish speaking counties all week
- Books, music and movies in Spanish

That is about it. Any suggestions? I thought about flags from the different countries that speak Spanish, but otherwise I am short of ideas. Given the fact that language has never been my strong point, my ideas are limited.

Where does she get that from

As we were sitting at the table the other morning, Z spilled some milk (...again, but it was not worth crying over). I would love to say that it was the first time, but that is not possible. I think, though I am not sure, that it was the first time that meal. Anyway, I am getting off track. In a joking voice I called her silly Z. Then she said that she was just like Mamma, Uncle Markus and Mormor (M's mother). I guess we know what side of the family her spills come from. Perhaps that means that only M should clean up the spills...probably not.

Vattentätt argument

Jag har inte berättat så mycket om vår Sverigeresa än. Det var en fantastiskt härlig vecka. För mig började den hos Markus och Annica med fina Alisias dop och slutade med påskhelg i Venjan. Det var underbart att få vara med på dopet. Alisia var bara några veckor gammal när vi flyttade. Nu hade hon utvecklats till en fantastiskt social niomånadersbebis som inte hade något alls emot att jag höll henne framme vid altaret, fastän vi inte hade träffats på så länge. När Zoey var nio månader var det bara Darrin och jag som dög - vilken annan vuxen som helst fick henne att explodera i total skräck.

Jag hade nu i och för sig orutinerat dagen till ära tagit på mig inte mindre än två halsband. Hur snabbt går det egentligen att glömma bort niomånadersbebisars halsbandsbeteende? Jag vet inte hur många halsband Nova hann ha sönder innan jag blev smart nog att sluta använda dem. Alisia njöt i alla fall i fulla drag av att få äta halsband under dopceremonin, och jag njöt av att ha en nöjd och gosig brorsdotter i mina armar, äntligen.

Vi hade osedvanligt varmt aprilväder under vår Sverigevecka. I Venjan tillbringade vi en stor del av tiden på stranden i solskenet. Nova krattade is och hjälpte våren på vägen. Darrin och Zoey blev så sugna att de till och med badade bland isflaken. Det la Zoey tydligen på minnet. I morse var det 16 grader och jämngrått i Boston. Vi skulle cykla till Target. Zoey valde Thomasshorts som kläder. Jag föreslog att hon skulle sätta på ett par tajts under, "så att hon inte skulle vi för kall".

-Mamma, sa Zoey världsvant, jag badade faktiskt i ISVATTEN i Sverige.

Det var förövrigt inte den enda lärdomen Zoey drog från Sverige. Häromdagen när hon skulle duscha ville hon också plötsligt ha trosorna på sig - "som Markus"! :-)

Cappuccino Time

My favorite part of the day has to be cappuccino time. When I don't get it, I miss it. For the most part, the girls leave me alone during it. Of course I should have never said that. Right when I finished the sentence Z started to scream and cry. Oh well, the first have of Cappuccino Time was peaceful.

Do parents actually see their kids?

This is a serious question. Do parents actually see who their kids are, both the good and the bad? We are quick to see the bad, which is perhaps just human nature. Though are we as quick to see the good in our kids. I do not mean that they behave properly, but as in talents.

Here is an example. We were at Swedish School last week when a lady stopped me and told me that Z was "so good". I said thanks and did not think anymore about it at that point. A couple of minutes after we headed home, I started to wonder what she meant by the fact that Z was "so good". Did she behave in class, which was not normal? Was her Swedish excellent (which it is compared to the other kids in her class)? Did she do something else which was good? I have no idea and I did not ask this week either. Then a couple of days later she was singing on the bus (something that drives me CRAZY) and the lady in front of us turned around and asked which music school we sent Z to, "because she has a beautiful voice." Had I ever thought that Z had a voice, yes. I probably thought that it was nice because I am the parent and not because it was so nice. The same thing with N and dancing. I do not know how many people have told me that N is a natural dancer. Maybe it is just easier to see other kids this way.

The next question is, if they have these talents, what can one do about it? Do you send them to music/dance/art class? Do you ignore it? Maybe try and develop it yourself? There has to be passion for one to be good, but maybe the passion can be developed.

Oh, the great questions of parenthood! Maybe if I figure out the answers, I'll write a parenting book.

I am a Tiger Mom (or maybe just a kitten mom)

I just finished "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom" by Amy Chua and I have to say that I loved it. I could not put it down. I put a request in at the library not long after it came out and it finally came out. When it came out, it was discussed and criticized consistently in the media which is what peaked my curiosity.

First, why did I like it. I am not sure. It is really not my style of book. I think that it was because it was similar to a train wreck. If you are driving down the road and see a train wreck, you want to look away. The only problem is that you can't, you're drawn to the wreck and just keep looking at it. The book is a bit like that. You keep asking yourself, "did she really just do/say that?" and then wait to see what she does next. It is important to note that the book itself is amazingly well written. Not surprising though. Amy is a professor at Yale. What I mean is that it has a rhythm or a beat to it that makes it just a nice read.

Secondly, I think that she as a very good point about western parents. In many respects, we are too weak on our kids. Her kids are amazing piano and violin players and she makes them (oh, and she totally makes them) practice for 4 to 6 hours a day. When I was learning to play, my parents would make me practice 4 to 6 minutes a week...maybe. I am not saying that they should have made me practice more. In fact, I am pretty sure that I would have fought like a crazy person to make sure it did not happen, though I wish they would have have. The same with school. When we moved to Texas from Minnesota, I was so far ahead that I did not need to do homework or study. Then when it came time that I needed to, I did not know how to. I am not suggesting that western parents should raise their kids like a Tiger Mother, it can not be very much fun for the parents or the kids (the author would say that that is a very western thought, parenting is not about being fun), but maybe in some ways we should. In the same breath, if western parents should be more like Asian parents, then Asian parents should be more like western parents.

Lastly, it was very interesting to me when she mentioned that it was mainly Asian and eastern European families that pushed their kids with music. A young lady that I ride the bus and train home with from Swedish School is a piano teacher. She said that 80% of the music students on scholarship at the top music schools in Boston are either Asian or from Eastern Europe. The train was early this week, so we had a couple of extra minutes, so we talked a little about this book and her observations. On a side note, did you know that a piano teacher in Boston gets paid $60-80 an hour to teach piano. When I heard that, I really wish my parents would have pushed me more to be a great player (so that I could teach music on the side, not for the love of music).

In conclusion (I feel like I might have been doing a book report, so I might as well finish that way), I would totally recommend reading it. It will get one thinking, which is always a good thing. M just started it last night and I am looking forward to her finishing it so we can discuss it over music school brochures and private school applications.

Kung Carl Gustaf på MIT?

Jag har varit på ett par lunchseminarier/diskussioner de senaste veckorna i Pappalardorummet på fysikinstitutionen på MIT. Första gången jag var där såg jag ett foto på väggen och tänkte "det var väldigt vad den där gamla professorn var lik svenske kungen". Idag, när jag var tillbaka på samma plats, såg jag att det fanns minst fem kort på samma mycket Carl Gustaf-like professor i olika positioner, alltid med handen i lämplig annan äldre professors hand. Det tog en stund, men till slut slog det mig. Det VAR faktiskt kung Carl Gustaf. Bilderna är helt enkelt från Nobelprisceremonier med MIT-fysiker genom åren!

Going Green

We are going with themes again, until summer anyway. This week is plants, animals and being "green". Yesterday we went out to the forest and picked leaves and flowers. We built a leaf press and when they have dried, we are going to laminate them (my friend Maja would be jealous about that). Basically we have something planned everyday with the highlight being on Saturday and Sunday. We are going to go to the botanical gardens to see the lilac and build our own little garden.

I think that I am the most excited about that one. When we moved in, we were told that we were not allowed to go into the backyard. We did not like this, but we understood that. Well, they have agreed (it was their idea actually) to give us the end of the driveway as our little garden area. We are going to have a couple of plants with flowers and a big one with herbs and tomatoes. Everyone in the family is excited. M is most excited that we are going to have a little table out there as well which we can take out coffee on. I just have to design it out this week and let Doug take a look at it.

Swedish School

Today is Tuesday, which means it is Swedish School...and it looks like rain. Anyway, last week after class Z said that her teacher was "really, super nice...like a crocodile." This week I wonder what she is going to say and is being as nice as a crocodile a good thing? I told one of her old teachers from Sweden and she thought that it was a very good thing, in Z's mind. I think that she is right, at least I hope so.

MIT's Festival for Art, Science and Technology

Here are some pictures from the MIT's Festival for Art, Science and Technology. It is the grand finally of the 150th birthday of MIT. I wish I still had the map with all the names of the pieces and the artists, but I don't. So just enjoy the pictures.

USA-mors dag

I går var det Mors Dag i USA. Jag blev ordentligt firad. Alla tre kom in med frukost på sängen och sjöng fint för mig. Nova och Zoey hade ordnat med presenter. Nova gjorde sin på svenska skolan för två veckor sedan (hennes fröken är världsbäst på att hitta på kul pyssel) och har längtat till "mammas dag" sedan dess för hon var så sugen på att ge mig den. Hon har också pratat om det tillräckligt många gånger för att göra mig mycket nyfiken, men inte avslöjat något. (Det är lite sorgligt att hon har blivit så bra på hemligheter; nu vet man aldrig vad man inte får veta mer!) Det visade sig vara ett karottunderlägg:

Zoey var nog lite avundsjuk på Novas present, för hon gjorde en alldeles själv och slog in i paket med klistermärken på: Ett sillyband, en chokladpeng och en flirtkula som hon hade målat med tuschpenna. Hon har flera gånger mycket detaljerat beskrivit för mig hur hon själv tillverkade chokladpengen av papper och choklad, fast det ju egentligen är en köpt chokladpeng. Min fantasirika dotter!

(Chokladpengen är inte med på bilden för den var redan uppäten.)

Efter frukost packade vi matsäck och åkte till Boston Common för årets Make Way For Ducklings-aktivitet - tydligen en klassisk Mors Dagstradition i Boston. Make Way For Ducklings är en barnbok som utspelar sig i Boston Common. När jag var här på intervju i januari förra året lyckades jag köpa med mig just den boken hem till tjejerna efter ett tips i bokhandeln på flygplatsen, så det var deras första intryck av Boston! Aktiviteterna i parken innefattade ballonger, ansiktsmålning, tatueringar - och framförallt en trollkarl. Nova, som hade sett mycket fram emot ansiktsmålningen och alltid ber om ballonger när de säljs på stan, hann varken med ballonger eller målning - hon var helt trollbunden av trollkarlen. Det var härligt att se. (Hon räckte till och med upp handen för att få vara med som medhjälpare. Som synd var blev hon inte utvald, men det kändes som en seger i alla fall. Zoey har varit med och spelat teater på Barnmuséet ett antal gånger redan -Nova har aldrig vågat och bara velat titta på.)

Efter trollkarlen blev det parad ner till Make Way For Ducklings-statyn en bit längre ner i parken. Inte lika populärt med våra barn (för mycket väntande) men ändå en kul upplevelse. Det var massor av folk och mer än hälften av alla barn var utklädda till ankungar.

På kvällen blev det mysmiddag hemma med risotto och, framförallt, pilgrimsmusslor till förrätt. Darrin hade till och med varit och frågat efter ett vin som särskilt skulle passa till pilgrimsmusslor och det kändes superlyxigt. Vilken härlig dag! Det värsta är att nu måste jag nog hitta på något mysigt till Fars Dag också - jag har själv aldrig tyckt att Mors Dag var viktig, men Darrin är desto mer intresserad :-)

The park just became a pain

The city turned the water on at the parks on Friday. That officially means that it is going to be a pain in the (wet) butt to go to the park. The girls were the first to play with/in it. In fact, in the afternoon Z stripped down naked before I had a chance to say no. One huge difference between Sweden and the States, in Sweden kids will play naked in the water until they are much older. Not here.

A normal weekend

Some would say that we plan too many things for the weekend. I am not so sure about that. In fact, I would say that we plan just the right amount of things for the weekend. Just enough to keep us busy, but leaving enough time just to enjoy the time. take this Saturday for example.

- Girls sleep in
- breakfast in bed for the girls
- I go to the store to get some stuff
- We go to the Fresh Pond Day with activities and crafts before lunch
- Come home for lunch
- Go to the Science Fair at Cambridge Library (in the pouring rain, I might add)
- Home for a nice dinner
- Back out to MIT for a special light program
- Walk home along the Charles, get home about 10.30

See, a nice relaxed day. The amazing thing though is that the kids did not kill other or we did not want to kill the kids.

Försommartecken

På väg hem från tandläkaren häromdagen cyklade jag förbi en blommande syren. Darrin hade med en bukett utslagna liljekonvaljer hem från svenska skolan i tisdags (tjejerna kallar dem "bröllopsblommor" eftersom jag hade dem i min brudbukett). Nu är det inte bara vår längre, utan försommar!

Mother's Day Hint #3

I am pretty sure that Police Officer Micheal will be there to assist us.

Lazy, raining, bad day yesterday

Yesterday did not go as planned...at all. In the morning we were suppose to go to the park (with the strollers, yea!), but I could not get Z ready until after 11. So that did not happen. Then in the afternoon we were suppose to go to the Natural History Museum, but that did not happen either because it was raining (and I could not be bothered to make the kids go to another museum when I would have to get them in all of the rain clothes and such). So instead we stayed home in the afternoon. The girls did do some really cool art though.

Instead, here are a couple of pictures from the Museum of Science on Sunday. The electricity show was excellent, I highly recommend it. Both M and I learned stuff in it.


We were not there too long. Mainly my fault. I had to run home again after we had already left. We did get to play with the magnets though, which was a good continuation from my . Mr. Magnet the day before.

More tattoos

Here are a couple of the girls new tattoos from yesterday. They are dolphin crazy at the moment.






My favorite has to the finger one, maybe the stomach one. I think the finger one though

Spring is in the air

It is spring in the Boston area. I would like to point this out only because they got snow yesterday in Stockholm, mwaaahahaha (evil laugh! The laugh is very important and all too often is forgotten)! Most of these were taken yesterday between our place and the neighborhood park. It really is a beautiful time right now.










Just don't ask me what they are. I know one is a crab apple tree and one is tulips. Other then that, no idea.

En fot på var sida av Atlanten

I går morse när jag hämtade tidningen möttes jag av den stora nyheten om Osama Bin Ladens död. Debatten om händelsen väcker en instinkt till liv i mig som jag har svårt att definiera. Det irriterar mig att läsa DNs hemsidas version av historien. Det känns som om deras rapportering är helt fokuserad på att få amerikanerna ("dem") att framstå som orättmätigt skadeglada folkrättsförbrytare. Jag vill instinktivt säga ifrån, försvara. Samtidigt håller jag ju med, i sak. Jag tycker också att det är fel att döda. Jag är mot dödsstraff och tycker att alla har rätt till rättegång.

Jag känner igen känslan från tiden då George W Bush var president. Jag tyckte inte heller om Bush, men det drev mig till vansinne när svenskar kategoriskt uttalade sig om hur hemsk han var, utan att ha särskilt bra grepp om detaljerna. Varför tar svenskar sig rätten att uttala sig oförbehållsamt kritiskt mot USA? Och varför retar det mig så mycket? D röstade på Bush. Kanske tog jag det som personlig kritik mot honom när folk kritiserade? Och kanske känns det indirekt som kritik mot mitt val av nytt hemland, när folk ohämmat kritiserar USA idag. Hursomhelst, det får mig att känna mig kluven, irriterad och obehaglig till mods på ett sätt som är svårt att sätta fingret på.

På tal om Osama Bin Laden:

Framsidan på Boston Globe igår citerade en anhörig till ett av 11 september-offren som sa "I am glad they got him. I just wish they would have caught him alive". Dagens framsida inkluderade bland annat rubriken"For students who were preschoolers during 9/11, Bin Laden death raises more questions than joy".

Min chef gör ibland svepande (och ganska roliga) uttalanden om allt mellan himmel och jord. Häromveckan råkade en av doktoranderna säga att han "hoppades" (att han skulle få ett projekt klart inom den närmaste tiden). Chefen slog ner som en hök: "Hope? I can't live on hope. Hope is for people like Obama." Under dagens möte kom samma ämne upp igen, men innan vi ens hann nämna Obamas namn bröt en av studenterna in: "He caught the man. You have to give him that."

Mother's Day Hint #2

Here is today's hint. It involves a bird boat, or is it a boat bird. I don't know. That is the hint though.

Tattoos for all my kids

Another one of the things that they had at the MIT open house this weekend was airbrush tattoos. Both of the girls got one. I thought that they did a good job on picking the one that fits them. N got the dolphins and the heart.


Where as Z picked the Zebra yellow. M likes it so much, she things that we should let Z get it permanently (I hope she is kidding, but I am not totally for sure).


Speaking about M. She wants to get one now. I am not sure anymore, I can not think of one that I feel strong enough about to want to get a tattoo for the rest of my life. Must be getting old.

Bad Hair Day...or Cheap Bastard

I have been cutting my own hair for about 8 years. It started when M and I were really (and I do mean really) poor. Plus I am lazy, so just using the clippers on it is easy, fast and convenient. It usually works like this, I have a day where my hair is driving me crazy, I moan and complain about it in my head all day. Then at some point during the day I break. Usually it is right when I am in the middle of something. This past week was when I was in the middle of cleaning the bathroom.

It started off fine. I determined that I would do a three all over and then a 2 on the sideburns. Simple stuff, should not be a problem. Only issue was that I accidently did a 1 on the sideburn area, which means that I had to redo the whole head to try and make it even. It is hard enough just to do a 3 in the back of the head, but trying to use a 2 and 3, very hard. Especially when we do not have a mirror to assist with the cutting.

So not great, but it could not be too bad. When M got home, she did not even notice that I cut my hair the first day and not the second day until N pointed it out. So it must be alright. I asked about the back and she thought that it was alright, not great, but alright. I found it hard to believe (I am good, but not that good), so I decided to take a look:


So after that, I know look like this anytime I go out of the house:

Mother's Day Hint #1

Ok, so the girls talked to M about Mother's Day this morning, so I thought that I would have a little fun with her and give her hints on what we will be doing on Sunday. I could/should say that is she does not guess it, then she does not get it, but I am not that mean.

So hint number one- we will not be going whale watching, but it does involve an animal that can go into the water.

MIT Open House

One of the things that I love about Boston/Cambridge is that their is always something going on. I am sure that all big cities have this going for it, but Boston is excellent for that. Much more then other big cities I have been in.

Case in point, this weekend was crammed pack with things to do. Saturday was the start of Cambridge Science Week and it was also an open house at MIT to celebrate their 150 anniversary, Native American Pow Wow at Harvard, Art Day at Harvard and I am sure a whole lot more.


We decided to go to the open house at MIT (shocking, I know). It was a bit overwhelming the number of activities that they had planned. We tried to investigate before hand, but honestly, the website was crap in trying to figure out what was going on. So we just went there and found a couple of things. We all had our different favorite ones. I liked the blimp races, though I was the only one. M liked Mr. Magnet (an older guy who did magnet experiments for the younger kids. Both girls got to help out, which they were excited about). Z's was the bouncy castle and slide and N's was using the pedometer to see if she could win an ipad (we didn't, or I should say she didn't).


It was a lot of fun and it was the first time they have had an open house like this at MIT for 40 years or something, so that is cool. I would of liked to take the girls to the Pow Wow though. It took me back to my OA days and it is a very cool part of our history/culture. In fairness though, we did not know it was happening until I happen to be walking by and heard the drums. Oh yell, next time.