Kitty’s Place

Here are some of the pictures from christmas. *smile*

It has been a long and fun as well as stressful holiday season so far. *laugh*

We did have Leslie’s pineapple cake and it was wonderful! On the 18th the kidlet went to his grandparents and I went in to Stockholm to the julbord at Ulla Winbladh with the Aventyret gang. It was a lovely evening all around. I had never been to Djurgården so it was fun to look around and see where things are. Now I know how to get to Junibacken and will take the kidlet after the new year. The food was wonderful and I worked hard at conversing in swedish with the others. Got home around 2100 after a stop to pick up a few little gifts at the centrum. I shopped on Thursday and Friday was the christmas party at öppna förskolan, complete with tomtegröt. By then I was really quite ill and ended up calling and leaving a message with work that I would not be in until after christmas. Saturday morning I did laundry at 0700 and then finished packing so we could go down to Sköldinge for christmas. If we hadn’t had the kidlet I would not have gone because I was not really fit to be out of bed, but how can you explain that to a 4 year old? So we headed out about 1300. We took the dog and cat and boy was there shock and confusion when we arrived at J&T’s and there were two kittens living there. *laugh* My cat growled and hid for 36 hours and the dog kept chasing the kittens because that is how he plays with cats. They of course were scared by the huge growling cat and the dog that kept running after them. Thankfully by christmas they were all friends.

We had to leave the sled at home since it would not fit in our car or farmor & farfar’s car. So we told the kidlet that Santa left a package for him at home. We had dinner and then about 2100 I took the kidlet off to bed. My little boy who never fusses about bed just sobbed his little heart out as he kissed everyone goodnight. It wasn’t until we were snuggled under the blankets that he was calm enough to explain that he couldn’t go to bed because he would miss Santa. Poor little fellow was under the impression that once we got to Jonas’ house it would be christmas. So I explained that no, we would not miss Santa, that we had 3 more sleeps until he came.

Sunday my fellow’s parents and sister arrived. We went in to Katrineholm to do some last minute shopping. It was so cold our car just refused to start. So we took farfar’s car. It was nice to be just the two of us for a couple hours. My fellow took me out for lunch and we finished off the shopping. The kidlet went to bed clutching his little toy saw in anticipation of going out to cut down the tree in the morning.

Monday we were up early and the kidlet, myself, his aunt and J&T headed out to pick out a tree in the forest. We went to the farm of a fellow that Jonas works with and went in to the woods and picked out a lovely tree. The kidlet tried to cut it with his plastic saw but it didn’t work, so then he and J cut it with the real saw. We loaded it into the trailer and took it home where we cut off 2 feet. It still was ceiling to floor, which is big, since they live in an old church and the living room (which was the chapel) has a really high ceiling. We need an extension ladder to put the star on top. My fellow’s parents were going to go in to town, but their car would not start. Ours did though, after leaving the battery in the house all night.

Tuesday morning I got up and stuffed the turkey and put it in to cook. Then I got the pumpkin pie ready to bake during dinner. It was a really quiet relaxed day. We sat down to watch Kalle Anka and then put the ham and other things that needed to be hot into the oven about halfway through the show. After it was over we sat down to dinner. It included turkey, ham, little sausages, meatballs, dressing, gravy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnip, carrot salad, jansson’s fretelse (potato gratin dish with anchovies), dilled salmon, smoked salmon, four types of pickled herring, cheeses, wasa bread, potato salad, red beet salad, red beet herring salad, seafood salad and I am sure there is something I am forgetting. It
was really a great meal.

After dinner J&T put out candles so Santa could find us. Jonas went out to check on the lights and came running back in to say he had seen Santa coming. Then we saw him out the window, carrying his sack and a lantern, walking slowly around the house. The kidlet was beside himself with excitement. Santa came in and the kidlet gave him the letter he had written to him a couple of weeks ago. Santa handed out gifts and then said he was going to go home and eat. It was really cute. We do have pictures that I will get up on a webpage soon. I gather that Jonas and neighbour did the santa thing at each other’s home. So lots of little kids were visited by Tomten. After he was gone we opened gifts. The kidlet’s best gift came from his grandparents, a 2 wheel bike. Then we sat down to pumpkin pie and coffee. It was a great christmas.

Wednesday we had a very quiet day. The kidlet went out and played on his little sled … no idea what it is called but it is shaped like a butt and has a little handle in the front. I called home in the evening and that was the best part of the day.

Thursday we went in to the city and did some shopping, bought a couple half priced christmas decorations for next year. It was another quiet day. We had talked about seeing the Two Towers that night but I really was in pain and knew I would not enjoy it, so I passed.

Friday we made our way home. I am still feeling horrible but have finished with the steroids and antibiotics. I guess I am going to have to go back to the doctor, since my lungs are not in good shape and I need to get them sorted out. Today I have been terribly homesick for my parents, to the point that I spent a good part of it sobbing. I guess it is a combination of christmas and their anniversary date that did it. I even saw a man at the mall that I could have sworn was my dad. It will pass of course, it always does. *smile* Christie Blatchford did a piece in the National Post about christmas after both your parents are gone that kind of got to me too.

Tonight we are going to have dinner with my fellow’s parents and tomorrow I will go in to work. My fellow does not go back to work until after the new years so we will likely go skate shopping Monday or Tuesday.

Was up before 0700 Saturday and did laundry. Then we went and picked up the computer with a nice new motherboard in it. Met up with my fellow’s mom and sister on the bus at 1420 and we headed in to Stockholm. We left my fellow and the kidlet home to fend for themselves. *smile* We went to see Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” performed by the English Theatre Company at the Vasan on Vasagatan. It was fabulous! It has been years since I was a live show anywhere and it was extra nice to hear all those songs in english. *smile* I will definitely go to see this group again.

After the play was were planning on going to the chinese restaurant beside the theatre but it was closed for a private party, so we came back to Märsta and went to the local chinese restaurant. It was while we were on the train that I realized I had forgotten to eaten all day, just had a tea and a coffee. *laugh* So we had a nice dinner and I got home a bit past 2100. Was in bed by 2230 and slept for 12 hours straight.

Today my fellow took me in to work and then we stopped at MAX in Barkaby for dinner. So the poor fellow has not had a meal cooked by me all weekend. Tomorrow I am doing lasagna and will try ’s pineapple cake. That should make up for it. *smile* Still am feeling really bad, lots of coughing and chest stuff from the asthma, so am heading off to bed again and hoping for another good sleep.

Tomorrow we have the kidlet’s 4 year old checkup at BVC. Should be interesting. *laugh*

We were up bright and early to go to the Lucia celebration at öppna förskolan. First order of business was to call vårdcentralen for an appointment. Last week I had a cold on Friday and while the cold was gone the next day, my asthma started acting up. I called Wednesday and was told as long I could breathe to call Thursday morning at 0800, since they only book same day appointments now. Thursday morning I called from 0800 to 1030 and only got busy signals. Then I called again for an hour in the afternoon and still never got through. I really love the swedish medical system. *laugh* So this morning I just kept hitting redial for 45 minutes straight and finally got through.

We met up with farmor and farfar at playgroup and the kids did the Lucia thing. This year the kidlet wore the red tomte suit, instead of the star boy outfit he wore last year.

Last year’s celebrations.

After the kids did the march in and sang the songs, they marched out. Then we ate lussekatter and pepparkakor, drank julmust and glögg and had lots of fun. I did take pictures and will upload them when the other computer is fixed. I have no usb port on my old girl here so no way to get them off the digital cam. *laugh* I had an 1130 appointment with the doctor. The nurse said my doctor was free and she would book me with her, but I ended up with another doctor. He spoke little english so thank goodness it was not him I saw the first time my asthma kicked up 18 months ago. He says I have a bacterial infection in both lungs, he wrote prescriptions for my puffers, steroids and antibiotics. He relied a lot on the notes from my previous visit and I think the fact that she blew me off and I was back in such bad shape two days later scared him, because he pondered long over how much steroid I should have and which antibiotic. *grin* Got to keep them on their toes. So I came away with 700 :- worth of drugs to buy. (that is around $70 US)

We came home, took out Susan for a long walk and then I did some cleaning and cooking before my fellow came home. I get so tired from the steroid/antibiotic combo that I have to keep going or I just sleep. *smile* We took in the other computer to get the motherboard replaced and then came home and have been vegging since. We watched Back to the Future III. Last week we watched II. I had never seen either, even though I love the original movie. How can you go wrong with a cutie like Michael J Fox and a talent like Christopher Lloyd (the Reverend Jim is an all time favourite of mine).

It is time to walk this bundle of blonde fur and then I am off to bed. Laundry time at 0700 and then we are off to Stockholm at 1430 to go to the theatre and see “A Christmas Carol”. Fun day ahead. *smile*

So after a morning at öppna förskolan we went in to Stockholm. The kidlet wanted to bring his “purse” with him. I wondered why but it all became clear when he then put christmas toy ads in the little red bag we found in a book store last year. *laugh* He was actually pulling out ads and showing strangers on the trains what he wants Santa to bring him. Kids are the best. *laugh*

We stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch and then went on to see Lisa. She adjusted me some and I do feel better. After my spill on the ice last Thursday evening I called her for an appointment. Not a chance I am getting into the shape I was in last fall again. The kidlet was good as always and Lisa put a red heart sticker on his cheek. He thought that was the cats meow. We will go back next Tuesday again and hopefully I will not need another chiropractor visit for a long while after that. We did talk some about getting inserts for my boots. As soon as my back goes out just a touch, I get pain in my heels that makes it hard to walk. I can live with a bit of back pain, have been since the initial injury 11 years ago, but the walking thing sucks since we walk loads here. *smile*

After that visit we went and did some shopping. There are some cute shops around Östermalmstorg. When we first got there we could smell smoke and it was almost hanging in the air. After we saw Lisa and walked back to where the subway station is, the smoke was still strong. About 10 minutes later we saw 3 firetrucks roaring past. So I guess the fire was a big one. We got some small gifts, a toy horse for Llywellyn and some ornaments for an ornament exchange. Then we hopped back on the subway and went to Grays, who were completely out of evaporated milk. Since I use it in my tea, I was sad. But I did get frozen jalapeno/cheddar poppers to surprise my fellow with, so it was a good trip. I will pop into the Gamla Stan store Friday to see if they might have a can or two. From there we went to the used book store and the kidlet got 3 books, two christmas books and a book by Astrid Lindgren. He certainly entertained the shop owner when he parked himself on a chair and went through the books cover to cover before agreeing to buy them. *laugh*

Then we headed back to Central Station and caught the train to Märsta. We stopped in Upplands Väsby so I could talk to the fellow at the place where we bought the other computer. In 17 months it has just up and quit working 4 times now. The first time he replaced the motherboard, the second time he upgraded the bios even though he was not sure that was the problem, the third time they had it in the shop for 6 days and could not find any problem, since it worked for them, but they added a second fan in case it was heat related. So this time it quit about 3 weeks ago. It boots up, gets to the WinXP login screen and then within 10 seconds shuts down. So I went in to suggest he come here and see the problem, since never have they been able to replicate it in the store. He said no, he would change the motherboard again for us but he suggested we go for a better motherboard and pay the difference. He said that running it every day all day was hard on it, since it was being used more like a server would be used instead of a normal personal computer. I said that this computer I am using is a Pentium 200 that is well over 5 years old, runs 24 hours a day and has never been any problem. His response was that manufacturers today are producing a lower quality product so they can sell the boards cheaper and increase sales. I can see that this might be true to a point, but I still don’t think we are “power users” who are wearing out our computer every few months. I use this machine, my fellow uses his laptop and the other computer is basically used for downloading pics from the digital camera and the kidlet to play games on. So I will talk it over with my fellow when he gets home and see what he thinks. I think we just have a lemon of a computer, since his uncle bought the same machine as we did at the same time and thiers has worked fine.

When we came home we found a slip saying we have a “big letter” from Canada, waiting for us at the local supermarket. We got a slip yesterday as well, also a big letter from Canada, so tomorrow we will go and pick them up. This will be the first time I have gone to ICA to get our mail, so it will be an experience. *laugh* I really do want to know what purpose the post office will serve in the future, now that all large packages are being delivered by a private firm, stamps can no longer be purchased at the post office and small packages come to the local store/gas station etc. I see they have a new sign up about being able to do some banking through them, so perhaps that will be thier new focus. *smile*

Well that has been a lot of babbling when I actually sat down here to do a quick entry. *laugh* I miss my fellow, imagine how much I will post next week when he is away for 2 days, rather than the evening like tonight. *smile*

So here we are at week 50, which means the year is almost over. *yikes* One of the things I had a hard time getting used to here was that the week starts on Monday, not Sunday and that each week is numbered. So instead of saying “we are having vacation July 14 - 28th” you say “we have vacation weeks 19 & 20″. It isn’t a big deal looking at it here, but swedes have this built in calendar from speaking in weeks all their lives. So someone will say, “when shall we take that cruise, week 28?” and while my fellow knows immediately what date that is, I have to fumble with the daytimer. *laugh*

We did the öppna förskolan thing this morning. I wrote out christmas cards and the kidlet played. We practiced Lucia songs and I got a copy of the words to all the ones we will sing on Friday, so I can practice here too. *laugh* After playgroup, we went to Märsta Centrum to pick up our pictures from Canada. They came out really great and we did get pics of most everyone there. (now if I said that to my fellow, he would come back with “you got pictures of most everyone in Canada?”. Ahhh, the things I have to put up with. *laugh*) We had lunch there and then shopped some more. The package to Luleå was going out tonight and we still had to get a gift for the 2 year old. The kidlet picked out a book for her. Then we had to get a small gift for the grötmöte my fellow is going to on Wednesday. I really despise having a set price. This was 20 :- and it is hard to get something that is suitable for either a man or a woman without being cheap looking. I ended up with two whimsical santa candle holders and green tapered candles. The price for the party at playgroup is 15 :- and it was also tough to find something that could be fun for kids age 1 - 5. I got a Magic Echo Microphone, like the one the kidlet got when we were in Canada. Some parent is going to curse me later. *laugh*

So the next couple of weeks will be busy. My fellow has a meeting tonight, work julbord tomorrow night, grötmöte Wednesday (gröt is a thin porridge that is served at christmas time here, suffice it to say, I am glad he has the meeting, not me *smile*) and another meeting Thursday. I have a chiropractor appointment tomorrow, school Wednesday, Lucia parade Friday morning and then work Friday afternoon. Saturday I am going to see “A Christmas Carol” performed at an english theatre, with my fellows’ mom and sister. The following week is my julbord Wednesday, playgroup party Friday and my fellow has to fly to Göteborg for two days. It will be a relief to have christmas and get a break. *laugh*

The kidlet is going to his grandparents Wednesday evening. He and farmor are going to bake lussekatter (saffron buns). If farfar is going to keep him on Thursday, I am going to finish the christmas shopping. He wants skates, skis and sled. I know who it will be that will be skating, skiing and sledding with him and it won’t be his “why can’t we live in Jamaica where it is warm?” father. *laugh* The kidlet picked out a card with a picture of Santa on it and wrote in it. Then he sealed it up, wrote on the envelope and covered it with stickers of Santa. It is his letter to Santa. I suggested we mail it but he said no, he is going to save it and give it to tomten in person. This is going to be a fun christmas. *smile*

Have not done so much the past couple of days. Thursday I went back to bed after my fellow went to work and slept another 4 hours. Then I basically puttered around until farmor brought the kidlet home about 1700. He had been swimming with farfar and they picked him up a Happy Meal and he brought it home with him. My fellow had been at a political meeting in the morning, so he worked late to make up the time. We had a late dinner of korvgryta about 2000.

Friday we went to öppna förskolan. David was there and the boys had a big goodbye here. David is going to the Phillipines with his parents and they will be there for 6 months. I don’t think either of them understand the time but I am sure they will be happy to see each other next summer again. I was feeling icky in the morning but by the time we got home here around 1300 I was running a fever and had a really bad cough. Today they are both gone but I am having pain when I breathe so I guess my asthma is flaring a bit from whatever the bug was. I did go to bed early and slept late.

Tonight we had my fellows’ parents for dinner. They arrived without his sister and cousin (who we thought were coming as well) but with gifts. A poinsetta for my fellow, an Amarylis plant for me and planter with 2 plants that look like they might be hyacinths, in that nice moss stuff, with a Santa in it, for the kidlet.

I made tacos and they were really a nice change. Since they don’t eat meat we used quorn for thiers. It doesn’t really have the same consistency as ground beef but it is still a passable substitute. After dinner we had an ice cream cake and coffee. We had a card for his mom since it was her birthday on Wednesday. There were scratch tickets in the card and she did win on one of them. We also showed them the pictures we had taken of the kidlet in October. The upshot of that was that we are going to order more. *laugh* There are two poses and each pose had an 8×10, 5×7, 3×4 and 4 wallet size. If we doled out one each to everyone who should get one, we would have 0 left. But of course, since both are so cute, they wanted one of each for themselves and one of each to send over to Egypt. I also want more wallet size, so will go ahead and order more Monday. If we get the other computer fixed soon I will scan and upload them.

Will go in to the city tomorrow to work. I was telling Seija tonight that I would be finished with SFI this coming week, since the class on the 18th is going to be a party. That is the date of the julbord (christmas party) for Aventyret and I want to go. She asked where it was and I didn’t remember so my fellow read the invitation to her, since it was beside him. Apparently it is a really nice place (Villa Winbladh on Djurgården?) so she said she fully understands why I prefer it over a potluck party with my SFI class. I just feel bad that I did not get to go the past 2 years and was determined not to miss it this year. I think it is nice that they consider me one of the staff and always invite me to anything they have. I only go there 3 hours a week to clean and most often after all the others have gone home. I also think it is sweet that they actually have a picture of the kidlet up on the wall there. *laugh*

Time to go out with the “wee dog” and then snuggle into some warm pj’s. *smile*

So yesterday the kidlet asked for a sandwich like the one in the computer game he was playing. The last time he asked I made him a peanut butter and raspberry jam one. So I said “do you want peanut butter?” and he replied “yes, but the just the brown peanut butter, not the red peanut butter.”. Does this mark me as a failure for a mom? My child does not know what is on a basic pb&j sandwich? *laugh*

It was class night tonight. I got 68% on the practice test and anything over 60% allows one to write the national provning. The teacher asked me if I wanted to write but I said no. I know I am not ready for it. She was relieved with my decision and then said that she felt I should come back next term. Her reasoning was that I really need more grammar and practice and since I am a housewife, it is not imperative I get the SFI paper right away. Of course her next comment was to call me a lyxfru … luxury wife is the literal translation. *laugh* I thought that was a good fit for me. *grin* We do seem to be getting along better this time around, so I was able to laugh along with the rest of the group. One of my classmates has been in Sweden for over 25 years and has worked fulltime in a school office for almost 20 years. She is taking SFI because while she is fluent verbally, she is not proficient in her written swedish. She also will be back next term. Once I got to know a lot of these people I began to feel less like a failure. I always assumed everyone in my class has been here only as long as I have and most of them speak much better than I do. But many of them have been here a long while and are trying to improve the written skills they do not utilize in their daily jobs.

Which reminds me of the ongoing story of custody. Today I phoned and spoke with the court lady. She checked the computer and yes, I have sole custody here. So she told me that I needed to get forms from Skattemyndigheten (tax office) to give the kidlets’ dad joint custody here in Sweden. She gave me the number and I called them. The first woman I spoke to listened to about one minute of my swedish, asked me what other language I spoke and then switched me someone who could speak english. I explained what I needed and the man said ok, he would send out the forms and could he have the kidlets person number so he could verify our address. When that was done he said “so can you tell me once more what form you want, just to make sure I send the proper one”. So I began to explain again that I wanted shared custody with my sons father and he said “you want to give your boyfriend your son?” … then I knew I was butting my head against a wall. So I started simply. I said in Sweden when a baby is born to a sambo couple, only the mother has any rights to that child .. right? He said yes. So then the mother can sign a paper giving the father rights too … right? He said yes. So my swedish man came to Canada to live, we had a child together while living there, now we are living in Sweden and I would like to give him rights to our child in Sweden, just like if he had been born here and we filled in those papers. A light went on and the man got all excited and said “NOW I understand!”. So the paperwork was being sent out this afternoon. I am curious if it will be the right papers. *laugh* This is the same agency who told us in May 2000 that they would have their lawyers look at the situation and advise us on what we needed to do to make my fellow the kidlets father “legally”. *laugh* No one seems to care that he is the joint custodial parent in the country where the child was born. Ah well, it has been good practice with my swedish.

While I was on a roll, I called BVC (barnvärdcentralen), the children health clinic. The kidlet needs a 4 year old checkup. My doctor in Canada told me that as long as he was healthy, the next checkup he would need would be this year. From what I understand they do a 3 year checkup as well, so last year I called and spoke to a very rude woman who said they would contact me when he needed to be seen. Since he was seen by a pediatrician
anyway, I let it go. But this year I was determined he needed to be seen. So I called and explained that he needed a checkup. They asked me his nurse’s name. I said he didn’t have one. They said he must, all children have a nurse. I said he had never been seen there, they asked how long we had lived at this address. Then I was put through to another woman who said that someone will call me tomorrow to set up an appointment right away. So I guess this year, since I speak better swedish, my son is important to them. *laugh*

The kidlet is away at his grandparents tonight. I sent him with the gift he picked out for farmor and the card he picked out and paid for himself. He printed Farmor on the envelope and his own name on the card. I am sure she will like her birthday gift from him. *smile* I love how they love him so much. His grandfather could hardly wait to give him a big hug when he came to pick him up. It is only 5 days since they saw the kidlet last, but they miss him.

Well I have managed to connect to the internet from my own computer again. YAY! Today I just dragged and have been all weepy over nothing at all. It will pass though. *smile*

Finally went to city hall here to ask about the paperwork needed to be filled in to give my fellow shared custody of the kidlet here in Sweden. I find it bizarre that because we are not married, under swedish law I have sole custody until I sign papers giving him rights, but in Canada where the child was born we have full joint custody. Anyway, when we moved here the tax office said they would contact their lawyers about this but have never ever gotten back to us about it. So I went to the kommun huset and asked what needed to be done. The only reason I am writing about this is that none of the women at the reception area spoke english and I had the whole conversation in swedish! Hooray for me! They directed me to another building and I spoke to a woman there who seemed to be like a family services worker. She said that this paper I was told about is only used for newborns here in Sweden and I will need to talk to someone in the family court about how to adjust his status here. She also did not speak english but after a few minutes one of the other women who did speak english came in and we finished the conversation in english. So tomorrow I have to call and make an appointment to speak to someone at the family court. I wouldn’t even worry about this except that if anything happened and I died suddenly, it could be a real problem for my fellow from a legal standpoint.

So after a productive visit there, we went to McDonalds where the kidlet had a Happy Meal and I had coffee. Then we shopped for cards and gift for farmor, since her birthday is tomorrow. When we got home I put the water on in the kitchen sink to get the dishes done, came into the living room when the kidlet called me and flooded the kitchen when I didn’t get back there quick enough. *laugh* Oh well, you can’t have a totally problem free day, life would be boring then.

I really haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. *laugh* For some reason I am having a problem with accessing livejournal. I could not get to the site on the weekend and not until the afternoon yesterday. Then it stopped working again before I could update. Ahh well, such is life online. *laugh* I had to telnet to the server and am reading and updating from there.

Hmm, what has gone on in the past week. Not so very much. We did öppna förskolan the first 3 days of the week. Shopped some and played some. Wednesday evening the kidlet went off to his grandparents and I went to swedish class. I could not find my dictionary or my grammar text but in the end it didn’t matter, since we wrote a practice test of the national provning (the big national test that you have to pass to get the SFI certificate). We did 3 sections in the 3 hours we were there and while there were definitely areas that need improvement, I did a gazillion times better and found it much easier than when I did the practice test last year. One of the things I missed almost an entire section of was focused on reading small newspaper articles and then matching the article to the crime they were talking about. I only knew two of the 9 crimes listed. *laugh*

Thursday I went christmas shopping for the kidlet since he was with farfar for the day. First though I went to öppna förskolan to have an application for preschool faxed to the kommun. Everyone looked at me oddly when I showed up without child. *laugh* I am really not sure about this preschool thing at all. While I was in Canada an application came. Apparently a new law goes into effect in January 2003 where all 4 & 5 year olds are entitled to 15 hours a week of preschool. To me it smacks of daycare and how things went in Canada where first we had kindergarten, then prekindergarten and eventually we had 3 year olds in school 1/2 days. I do not want the kidlet in school or daycare until he is school age. So I was not sad that the application date was past when I got home. My fellow however thinks it would be a good thing and wanted me to contact the woman in charge of the program and see if his name could still be added to the list. So I did, much against my wishes.

I did talk to one of the other moms and she is not real positive about this either. So we agreed that if we were not satisfied with the situation when we see how it is set up, we will not send our kids. My fellow thinks it would be nice for me to have that 3 hours a day break but I chose to stay home with my son and have not asked for a break. I wonder if this is a bit political, since education is his area of interest. But regardless, I did send in the application and if it is a good setup and the kids are properly supervised, we will try it a couple days a week. As well as going in to Stockholm to shop for the kidlet, I finally went in to the used book store I have been eyeing up for weeks. That was lots of fun. The kidlet ended up spending Thursday night with his grandparents as well, so Friday I got to clean uninterrupted. That was a nice change. *laugh*

The weekend was quiet, I worked, called Eric on Saturday and Aunt Maud called her Sunday. Sunday was the first of advent so I got our candle holder set up with that icky moss and the step lights and the star up in the windows. Yesterday I went to the new ÖoB that opened in Märsta and got a step ladder so I can get our christmas curtains hung.

Well now I get to see if this will actually work. *laugh*