frustrated.com

I am fed up and frustrated today. If only I lived closer to Gothenburg or Stockholm. It would be so much cheaper to go back and see family and friends. Almost half price! Disgusting really. I am desperate to have a proper chat and a cuppa with Amy! D*E*S*P*E*R*A*T*E.  Its hard to find good friends, and when you do, its even harder being so far away. You see, this girl is one of those rare hidden gems.  For instance, four days after giving birth to her second child, she had taken over and organised my hen night that was a mere two weeks away, phoning all the relevant people and organising venues food and decorations as well as my soon to be sister in laws.  Something that my so called friend and maid of honour was supposed to have done in the 9months since I asked her, but she was still peeved I didnt want a spa weekend and go away and leave an 8 week old Maia.. To this day, I havent spoken to her since the 8th of Feb 2010. I could go into alot of details why but I wont. The funniest thing tho was when 3months later, another friend bumped into the ex bridesmaid at the Doctors surgery and she claimed she had been too busy with work to attend the wedding or the hen night. Yea.Right! lol Im glad I can laugh now ;)

out on my hennight! poor quality photo mind lol.

Today is also one of those days where my darling little angels are trying me. The terrible twos just get more terrible, and its unbearable having a grumpy toddler sometimes haha. At least the day started lovely with Maia tip toeing into our room, first saying good morning to a sleeping Lily, then waking me up stroking my face =) I can take tantrums for those moments. Just not today! Today is being put down as one of those that best end quickly and quietly and never be thought of again. 

Loppis tomorrow, bargain hunting never fails to put be in a good mood. Oh great, Lily just wee'd on me........

bargains galore

Oooh I am on a roll it seems! Not just new shoes at the Wilson house, but new scooters, carseats, glass jars and pretty pink bowls. Bye Bye hard earned overtime money, see ya!!

Maia's scooter, gender neutral and all that. Would have had a purple tho as she loves the colour!

Lily's new car seat. Having forward facing car seat big NO NO until child 4 minimum. Safety conscious swedes.

I am impressed at my ability to stumble upon bargains at the moment. First Maia's shoes, and then today, the car seat and scooter. Scooter was half price and Carseat less than! Thank you Barnens Hus for moving yourselves to a new larger store and celebrating it by giving great deals to your customers. I like you now, I didnt before. You had a horrible pokey disorganised shop. This new one is great and your service is better, as the staff were very kind helping me with a spare part for pram wheel last weekend. They actually went back to the old unit to get it for me. Customer Service or what!

Anyhoo, time to get tidying up. In keeping with fredags mys tradition, we had tacos for dinner and ma&pa and brother came over. Tomorrow is busy and sunday too, with people coming over so it must look somewhat decent ;)  Happy friday y'all!

Maias new shoes

These little beauties fell into my shopping bag on tuesday. Now that the snow is melting, and the smell of spring is in the air, Maia needs something other than her winter boots to stomp around in. We even were as organised as to get her a new pair of wellies at the same time. I had to be careful mind, that madam certainly has a thing for shoes just like her mamma hehe. Lily is still waiting for her first pair of shoes, bless her. But once the weather is more child friendly, and Lily big enough to get out of the pram and have a play around herself I will be hot trotting it to the nearest shoe shop - fear not! No daughter of mine will EVER be without footwear ;)

For all the smell of spring that abounds, it has actually snowed a little tonight. But, it hasnt really settled, and its only due to be cold again over the weekend. Amazing, right now, anything hovering around the 5C and up mark I am considering warm. And I say its ''cold'' over the weekend, but its around 0C. Quite balmy infact. We did have -30C not THAT long ago...

Well tomorrow, it is friday again. This week spent in my sick bed and Mark ill last weekend, is making me anxious to get some socialising in this weekend. Social withdrawal symptoms. Good thing then, that we have a fika/dinner and loppis visit planned for sunday, and saturday is a girly day with Camilla, Linda & the kids as our other halves are working. Fair trade to me ;)

thoughtful thursday

It is all too easy to get lost in thing, big things like woods or little things like thoughts. Though how big a thought really is, is debatable in its own right I think. Well do that one another day.

Right now, I am sat in a typical living room for a family with small children. Its a little messy, this mornings tea cup is still on the coffetable, pillows are strewn around the floor ( Lily seems to deem her toys boring now and cushions are the the thing du jour). Said Lily is napping in her cot, Maia is at nursery and Mark still hasnt come home for his lunch. Prime time to get cracking, make the house sparkle and shine and earn a gold star or two in the Housewife league.  But whatever.

I am sat instead, getting lost in thoughts and daydreams (I havent even made myself a cuppa!?). I'm planning and scheming for what I want to do when we move upstairs to the flat above us now,how to decorate. Dreaming of the sumptious, feminine and undeniably pretty new pillows I want to buy for the sofa (alt sew my own if I can find the fabric). The new candle sticks, fancy bowls for lördags godis, new shelving and wall decorations for the kitchen diner. Rugs, photoframes, wooden letters, plants...the list goes on. Its quite boring really. Unless your me. I want to create a cosy, inviting and fun feeling in our home. Somewhere where our friends like to come because they can chill out too, eat some nice cake and enjoy some tea or coffee.

To sum me up at the moment, I want rustic, romantik and scandinavian vintage chic. Got these images from google, just to kinda give u the feel of what I mean. Though not the most rustic of kinds, but I couldnt find a pic that felt right. Sometimes, I think a picture is about the feeling you get when you see it, not just how its composed and what its showing off. Not just pleasing to the eye, but also the soul. Deep, huh!?
Anyways, best be getting on with things. A quick spruce up before I go and get Maia is a must. Else it will all feel terribly, terribly like a lot of hardwork later ;)

cough sniffle sniffle

Sickness bugs, colds and fever, sleepless nights and a near death laptop makes for rubbish blogging. Throw into the mix children feeling the same, and a husband who has a lot of work on, and it leaves you with me, the shattered, shivering and snivelling mamma.

It feels like icy tingles working from inside my bones and out, like my pores have been frost bitten, and my feet replaced by lumps of ice. But my head, it is slowly melting, my brain is falling out of my nose and the beads of  sweat n my brow give me a not so pleasant glow to my complexion. But my actual mind, is goin nuts. There is so much it throws at me, ideas and inspiration of so many things I want done as of yesterday, and the frustration of not being able to do anything it almost worse than the inside-out-shivers. Brrrrrrrrr!!

Suprisingly though, I have troopered on. Not blowing my own trumpet (gotta find the damned thing first) but I am more than a little suprised at the determination I have had to not let it beat me. My guess is, that if I had let it beat me, maybe I'd be passed this now. Should have rested when I could and now I am paying for it. But hey, I can rest when I am old, whithered and grey ;)

a thing called sleep

This whole sleep thing, or lack thereof, is really starting to get to me now. Its no longer a case of going into overdrive to get through the day, but more like running on the fumes.

I crash and burn once bedtime is done. I go to bed at 8pm. There are so many practical things I want to get done in the evenings, nevermind anything that is fun, or a bit of me time. Bedtime routines are back to normal. Its the blimming waking up through the night with them both, often several times and all the tantrum and frustration that ensues, that is slowly but surely driving me insane. I struggle to remember things, worse than when I was pregnant! Some morning we are up just gone 3am with  Maia. And she does not then sleep until bedtime. Usually its 4am. Is 9 hours sleep enough for 2 year old?? Doesnt feel like it, if I am honest.

Right now, I am in heaven. After an hour of struggling to get Maia to settle to sleep as she really was EXTREMELY tired today, she is asleep. And Lily. And they have been for an hour now. Expecting them up any sec really so maybe I'll have to finish this piece tonight....I was only able to take this hour long battle as my uncle and Mark were here to see to Lily. Otherwise Id have grown an extra limb in the shape of Maia, who with her sobbing, whining, feeling sorry for herself over tiredness, only wants to be on mamma. Poor Lily, I feel like I am not giving her anwhere near the attention she needs right now, as its not just the tiredness with Maia and me, but also the typical terrible twos we do battle with. Oh dear. Having kids really isnt all rosy and fluff fluff.

Lily is another nut to crack. She now sleeps fab during the day - twice a day for 1-2hours. Lush. Yet, since we started weaning she has begun to wake up through the night and after 2 weeks of trying various things and many sleepless nights, the only thing we have found that settles her is her bottle of milk. In my mind, she can impossibly be hungry. How did she manage to sleep 11/12hours a night on just 4 bottles formula a day? Now she has breakfast & bottle, lunch plus yoghurt, 1/2 bottle as snack, dinner, then bottle and porridge before bed. Any suggestions please please let us know lol.

Today is day ??? in this zombie like state. We've been like this since the end of january. Every few days I hear the sound of another screw coming loose and dropping to the floor. How I am still holding it together I dont know. Its so frustrating,especially with Maia, as she was always such an exemplary sleeper, from day 1. I shall comfot myself with the fact that this is just a phase will soon pass, but by then we shall be in the height of summer and the 24hour day light which I am slightly suspicious of and may well again cause sleep problems haha. Round and around the cicle we go, hey ho hey ho hey ho!

Anyways, I am now gonna enjoy this cuppa before my lovelies awaken. I am feeling better for writing it down and getting it out of my system lol. And y'know what- Mark is cooking dinner tonight so there is no more work for me to do at home so I can just enjoy my time with the pretties =)

little treasures

Sometimes all the tantrums, sleeplessness, and sibling rivalry is blown away and forgotten when I see my little treasures playing together nicely. I really hope they will be friend for life! <3

monday

What a fabulous start to the week! Finally, I am able to sit, take time to think, and have a cuppa tea. Let me list the things that have so far gone against me today ;

• Both girls waking up several times through the night
• Lily's pooey nappy leaking through onto me in MY bed
• Discussions with hubster over who is the most tired
• Maia swallows glass pebble
• On the phone to 1177 (NHS direct but for swe) Lily poops on me AGAIN
• No nursery for Maia
• Call doctors as 1177 were a bit crap
• Get sent to A&E

Rather busy morning, until 12noon when we left A&E. It was precautionary trip as they were wanting to check that the glass pebble hadnt lodged itself stuck somewhere, but as Maia had eaten since and not been sick or shown anything to suspect pain/suffering we were allowed home without having the xray, and for it to pass on its own accord haha. Poor bugger, but that'll teach her hopefully.

Today is also a sad day,its the funeral of an old friend very sadly passed away on our wedding anniversary. I have lit a candle in his memory, and I will be having my own moment of reflection and rememberance. Friends arent necessarily the persons we say every day, or every year. There are many who can be on the fringes of your life, but you know that they are there for you when ever you may need them.

God bless you Paul, and may you rest in peace.

first time injections

Ok, apologies for the tardiness with the update on how things went on wednesday - this lack of sleep for 5 weeks is seriously starting to mess with me head! Never have we slept so badly, not even when M&L were newborns...
Anyhoo. Wednesday - finally time for injections!
Like before the MRI, I was a bag of nerves again, not for the unknown of what it actually would be like seeing Maia being put to sleep, but because I knew how horrible it was feeling her body go all limp and floppy. In those sort of circumstances I am most definately a pessimsist, and I cant stop myself thinking about the worst possible outcomes. The phrase ''your own worst enemy'' comes to mind.

In true Maia fashion- it was a piece of cake. She loved the fuss of sitting in the hospital bed being wheeled around like a princess, and was slightly awed at the Mumin murial on the wall in the room we were in. What was really nice, was that we ended up with the same anaesthatist nurse as last time. She remembered Maia from before and I felt well chuffed when she told to doctor how incredibly great she was last time! It never fails to melt my heart when someone talks about Maia in a good way <3
Putting her to sleep was as easy as last time, no fussing, and fully accepting of the mask going on her face. Once she was out and we'd put her on the bed (she was sat in my lap) , Mark and I went to sit just outside the room where the waiting area was. My ever fantastic husband had made us  flask of tea and yummy cheese,pepper and pesto sarnies for fika, and a mere 30mins later, Maia was wheeled out ready to head for recovery ward and she'd already starting to wake up which was nice.
Once up on the ward and fully awake, she got an icelolly, and scoffed some biccies, and an hour from waking, we were on our way home, and then it was off to work for me =)

There is already a massive improvement in her movements, but her knee still cant quite stretch out straight. In time,like the next week or so, it should be able to, and hopefully we dont have to have too many injections and things can be managed more with medication. She's allowed a maximum of four  injections to each joint per year before it becomes detrimental to her. Maia is now covered in bruises from all the leaping and rolling and running she's been doing- even though we were in strict orders to keep her as still as possible until friday haha. THAT was the hardest part!

foto-friday

I love taking photos of the girls. I love sharing them with people, and yes, I love getting likes on facebook for my pictures. Because I am so goddamned proud of my daughters and when other people ''like'' them it makes me even more proud! Who would disagree?

Miss M is showing a keen interest in wanting to snap away herself, but I guess at her age it's just imitation. It's something I'll be sure to encourage at least, and she as our old camera to take pictures on and she's actually rather careful with it, unlike most of her other toys lol. My ickle chicken <3

Anyhoo, best get off and start getting ready, we're off to the Watt'ses for St Paddy's Day, and Im already thinkin about co-ordinating us all in green, sad I know. But hey, life's for living and laughing ;)

out with the old, in with the new

Here's the latest edition to the Wilson household - an XL sofa! hehe. As you can see, the old one was rather scabby looking come the end. The covers were ill fitting and split at the seams, and we tried patching up, and covering with throws to make it better. But throws arent exactly childfriendly, it looks scruffy the second u sit down and the springs/slats at the bottom were gone.

Now I am just awaiting a new coffee table, same colour but smaller square size to fit in better. Actually wanted  round one, but I cant have it all. It wont mak a difference to life really but it would have been nice...;) Numbero Uno on list of things to do- sew new cushion covers suitable for spring/summer. Flowery, feminine, cosy and inviting colours/patterns I have in mind - to go with the new decor when we get round to moving upstairs to the flat above; hopefully by mid April so we can get organised before sister in law and brood arrive =) I CANNOT WAIT!!

normal service...

...to resume shortly when children re learn what sleep is and mamma & daddy get to catch up on theirs. and the housework. and, and and and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Mini Update:

• Computer almost completely dead. Wedged power lead at odd angle to keep laptop runnnin, but failing to actually charge. Almost as annoying as the  little sleep. Almost.
• Maia had cortisone injections yesterday- all went great, hardest bit is keeping her from being over active for 48 hours. Try doin that when she finally feels like she can move normally. Incredible how differently she moves now, and much more fluidly. Poor baba suffering for so long :(
• Lily is practicing gettin up on her knees, not long off crawling I recon.

Yea, lots happening at Casa Wilson, or not. Dinner needs getting on with now and Lily is due some food too.

Five minutes go way to quick when they belong to just me. Wouldnt you mothers out there agree?

indecisiveness on a monday

Good morning world!

If you were at home with the Wilsons this very moment, you would be struck by the calmness that has enveloped us this morning. Maia slept until 6.20am and came dozily, but smiling out of her bedroom, rather than waking up screaming and being unconsolabe for the first 20mins or so. Litttle sister however made morning at 5.40am. But I guess thats the best we've had in a long while, and where I had some alone time with Maia yesterday morning, me and Lily had snuggles in bed before getting up.

Daddybear was already up and getting ready for the day ahead, and sadly realising that he actually starts a little later today lol. Its hard keeping track of time and the days when you enter the realms of sleep deprivation haha.

Eugh...it is gonna be a hard slog now until we leave for förskolan, miss L is ready to go back down for a nap, so I guess I am going to have try getting her to drop off in the pram to save the hassle of waking the poor bugger up. Dya know, we are actually planning on going to playgroup today. Shock horror.  To be hones, I would rather stay in and bake some bread -  a bit of savoury wouldnt go amiss after yesterdays sugarfest lol. Mmmm delicous warm bread when Mark comes home for lunch! But then, its only 1.5hours of my time at group?? Decisions, decisions!?

How often did/do you go baby groups? Was there a difference between your first & other children?

cupcakes

Guess what we have been doing today? Yup, you guessed it - baking ;) We got a bit carried away and made far more than we can eat, so methinks I will be dropping some in to the girls at work in the morning. Oh how they will love me haha. Cupcakes truly are perfect for fika! Please note- hubster & Maia take credit for the decoration ;)

Dear Lilypops missed all the fun and slept out on the porch the whole time- methinks the brunch at mormor and grandads tired her out, bless her.

 Oh yea..and check this out! Random discovery when getting the frozen raspberries out, a smashed up beer bottle?! How odd. I was the last one to get a beer out last night, pretty certain I didnt close the freezer draw THAT hard?? Did I??

Nothing beats days like today, where we have set our own pace and gone with the flow. We've caught up on housework (well almost, Im nipping down basement to hang last load of washing in  sec) as well as spent lots of time together- something very much appreciated and needed now when Mark is working so much. Short term pain, long term gain. Must keep remembering that lol. Anyhoo, the washing awaits, and its my turn to make the brews, so I'll love you and leave you, and hope you have all had as lovley a weekend as we have :)

Ps- here's the flowers the sweet old lady gave me yesterday :)



FACT

bright & breezy sunday morning

Good morning good people!  We have had a rather pleasant morning so far, Maia waking up minus the foul temper, so we got some lovely 1-1 time for an hour before Lily woke up :) Though I have a sneakin suspicion either Lily or I will develop proper colds today- both been coughing lots thru the night :( Here's hoping the anti-oxidants in my giant green tea cuppa does something haha.

Today I think we will more than likely spend a chunk of time outdoors, and Im quite itchy to get baking. Wonderful cousin Michelle got me a cupcake book for Christmas, and I am still to try a recipe out ;)

What do you guys like doin on a sunday?



morningmys on the sofa <3

the day after the night before

Today started off with a shock. A pleasant one, but still a shock. I woke up and Mark was laying next to me!

 
After our cancelled anniversary date on tuesday, we went out last night instead. And rather than the parents sitting over at ours minding the girls, they got to have a sleep over! Its been a rather intense 3weeks where both are sleeping worse than crap and by the time one drops back off, t'other wakes up....you can imagine, what awesome fun we are having. NOT.  The thing that makes it so unusual for me to wake up next to my beloved is that  Maia seems to time it impeccably to about half hour or so before Marks alarm is due to go off , so therefore he just gets up with her and starts the day earlier. Bless.

The chilled out start to the day really did set the tone . After picking up dear offspring from mothers, and after some lunch and finger painting, the girls and I met mother and Skyedog for a walk to the shops. And much to my surprise, on the walk back, I didnt end up with just one sleeping child- but two!

with the babas sleeping..

.. mamma grabs best chair she could find..

...and settles down to a lovely view and warm bit of sun...

..spends some time watching Josh and Kieron working..

...and then make Mark snap me sunbathing, just for the blog, because Im so cool ;)

So that is what we have been doing this afternoon, enjoying the outdoors. We even had an unexpected visitor, a very sweet and lovely older lady who Mark did some work for in her garden during the summer. She brought me tulips and some homemade apple-cinnamon cake, and a little tin with a cartoon bobby standing guard outside Downing Street for Maia to have, and inside was 10kr (£1) each for Maia & Lily to put in their piggybanks :)

Anyhoo,Im now going to make some hot chocolate with whipped cream and snuggle into sofa. I suspect it wont be long til bedtime haha.

Happy weekend!

things to do with an old sofa

1. Make a home-sized soft play area, and invite friends over to play. CHECK

2. Build a fort. CHECK

3. Get rid of cushions - .......NOT YET. I will, soon. When I am absolutely sure I cant use them, for lets say new balcony furniture. Y'know, build a frame, get some weatherproof material, cover cushions, paint wood.. et voila! Funky home made outdoor seating.

Or am I being daft? Any other ideas guys? Hate to get rid of perfectly good cushions ;)

two years

Today, we have been married two whole years <3 Friends for ten years, together for four, with 2 amazing daughters and the rest of our lives ahead of us. Becoming Mrs Wilson is one of the best things I ever bleedin done ;)

Today has been a lovely day, Linda & Camilla came over this morning and we had lunch and had a pampering sess painting our nails- even Maia got in on the action hehe.

Very much looking forward to our dinner date tonight and cant wait to get all glammed up - too long since lol

early start

A 5am head start does not exatly inspire me to be more efficient. Quite the contrary.

This last week or so, bedtime with Maia has become somewhat of an issue. She just.does.not.want.to.go. VERY unusual for her! Normally, we can just carry her through to her room, put her in bed, tuck her in, kiss on the head and leave. 12hour snooze. Fab.

But alas, nay! No more 7-7 :( Saying that, she hasnt slept til 7am bar a few occasions since the summer, but at least she has been getting 10+hours a night which we cant moan about, especially since bedtime has been so ''easy''. Now these 5am starts are the norm. Luxury is 6am lol. No sooner do we get a chance to relax and start enjoying our evenings again now that Lily has the same routine etc at night as Maia (so both in bed at 7) that something comes and bites us on the a$$. So at the minute, we are putting back Maia's bedtime by half an hour and having quality time just us 3 once Lily is in bed. Maybe its us being too optimistic to expect them to go down at the same time at the moment given their age difference?? We wont even go into the battle of  getting Maia down for a daytime nap, and I am sad to say I think that luxury has disappeared for this mamma. Sigh.

Anyways, to make a special thing of it, last night we snuggled down to watch the Lion King when Lily was asleep. I had forgotten how good Disney is! When the girls get a bit older, I would really like for us to have friday/saturday night as a movie night, where they get to choose what to watch and stay up later. Oh yes friends, I am already planning ahead for all the mys on our brandspanking new sofa, with a double divan for extra super duper cosying up an snuggling. My, sorry OUR,  first ever  NEW sofa! Im in love already haha.

 

Do you guys do/look forward to doing special things with your kids when they are older? If so, what?

friday feelin

Today has been a total chill out- and rather unexpectedly so. The plan was to head to BusPlaneten at Strömpilen and meet some mums for a gossip and play sess, but Lilsan is feelin the effects of her jabs yesterday and is running a temp, bless her. So, what did we do instead? Buy a sofa!

What the..!? How did that happen?? Well, it is much needed, cant even say this one is on its last legs as they fell off a couple of months ago! Ooooh I cant wait until we move to the flat above, new sofa, new balcony done and spending lazy summer evenings lapping up the 24 hour light and drinking some rose ;) One dreams of such times now we have had some tantalisingly warm weather, 6 degrees above freezing would you believe. Crack out the flipflops.

TweedleDum & TweedleDee have been a dream today. Lily has been chattering away like a nutter, all "aaaaah babababoohhh" and "aaaaaiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaahhhoh!" -ing, like she is having the most enthralling conversation. And maybe she is. I dont speak baby THAT well ;) Even though the jealousy pops up now and then, Maia is incredibly loving and caring towards her little sister. She always want Lily to join in whatever she is doing, or she comes and joins Lily playing on her mat. Makes it easy to snap my beauties together without too much troube haha. I bet they will hate me always wanting to take their pic when they hit their tweens lol. Note that the following photo may be offensive to those of a more sensitive  nature and who think that dressing siblings similar is a crime. Its not. Its cute. And practical ;)

In the typical Wilson friday tradition, children are asleep, and mamma & daddy are half asleep or already snoring on the sofa. No fredagsmys here with sweets and good tv haha, though hubster might argue that tv is indeed good...because he chooses what to watch.

Who rules the remote at you place?

6 months

Today, our dear Lilypops is a whole half a year old. Incredible how much love this little person can bring, how she's made our family complete and how flippin cute she is!

Lily now eats proper food, sleeps well at night, and is on the move! A cheeky knee keeps finding itself half raised when she's having tummy time, she rolls around and around and around and around, and zooms around and bounces in the walker in fits of squeals and giggles. Being in the walker is perfect for the curtain pulling that seems to be the skill du jour.

 Its better than I imagined, having two scrummy, yummy, funny little girls. I cant imagine what our family dynamic would be if we had one of each lol. Now shoot me down in flames, but I'm guilty of dressing them the same (well its only 1 top that they both have  the same lol) and I try to co-ordinate outfits, so they look well put together and cute. Its also very practical to have them wear the same colours at the same time; makes for washing to be organised, apparently. Never seem to quite get ontop of it tho, but hey ho ;)

Seeing my children blossoming into these delicious little people is a feeling hard to put into words, but something that every parent will be able to relate to. I look forward to the days - although I am sure I will come to curse them - when we can have proper conversations, gain a better insight into the wonderful way that they see the world and the people around them. We have only been here about 18months, but we have truly been lucky to have met so many incredible people, for which we are all very grateful for. It makes it easier when we miss and wish for the chance of a quick cuppa with you bestest people back in the UK. There will be one heck of a tea party when we see you at Christmas!

Anyhoo, I shall leave you with a pic of Lily from today, lookin rather Spring-y in her Marks&Sparks gear from GeeGee <3