weekend in pictures

Pizza baking, coffee jug smashing, mischief making and goofing around sums up our weekend pretty darn good. We even discovered the lillies Mark brought me have sprouted crayons. Must be a strange new cross breed especially developed for families so that they may  never run out of crayons. Bloody crayons. I can buy 5packs in one go and in less than a week I wont even get 5 together. Its like with tumble dryers and socks...where the hell do they go!?

Anyhoo...the M's are out watching football, Lily is already in bed and I have changed into myskläderna and chillin' with yet another cuppa tea. Didnt quite get the complete free time this afternoon/evening as was planned, as both kiddies were supposed to be goin to the football, but after having both ladies out snoozing for a little more than two hours today I do feel that I have had a wee break, which was ever so delightful. Nothing more gorgeous than sleeping babas for a barrel load of reasons haha ;)

Hmmphh...wonder how Mark will take the news I smashed his coffee jug. He's already bit put out that I put the machine away rather than have it out on show to make it looks less cluttered. We (read Mark) dont drink that much coffee, so the kettle and microwave are all that are needed IMO. I guess coming back to a clean kitchen and tidy house will have to suffice. HA its his turn to do the ironing too tiihiiihii. Blimmin hate the ironing, I ought to just not really.

How many of you iron your clothes??

mamma time

I fear my friends, that I have stepped into an alternate reality. You see, I have not one, but two sleeping daughters, at the same time. This hasnt happened this year (I'm 99.9% sure atleast). The fact that Maia has slept 6/7days at lunch is as perplexing to me as the Universe being unending. So used to not gettin that hour...

I realised something this morning too. A sudden, but peaceful and kinda fun thought (fun in the sense of you have to laugh at yourself as you never thought you'd find yourself in such a situation) but I quite like the just before 5am wake up calls with Maia. I mean, its bright outside. We get lots of snuggles just us, I can drink tea in peace, plan the day, and feel like I am being a lazy cow and not just rush rush rushing around to start the day at a sensible time. Only taken 6months! But it makes for easier living I guess when you go with the flow rather than fight the inevitable.

So what then, am I doing? Well, I am taking the time to browse the web, getting inspiration for fixing up things at home, drinking tea and eating a small slice of cake. Perfect. Having spotted some fabulous armchairs for the dining table, I am trying to hunt a pair down second hand online first, as I dont like to just fork out 700kr/each plus 495kr delivery from Ikea. I would rather then wait, until Ikea gets built here in Umeå (give me time to save, rather than just splurge), or I find preloved ones. I must admit, I have a penchant for pre-loved things <3

here chairy chairy chair, come to Mamma! inspiration IKEA

husband, father, friend



love, stress and admin fees

There's nothing greater, nor more beautiful than the love for your children.

They may drive you round the bend, up the wall, and halfway to China, but you'd give them your last pennies, the clothes of your back and even sacrifice your last flippin Rolo, if the need arose. Oh children, wonderful, amazing children. Gotta love them.

Currently 3/4 Wilsons are asleep. The living room is dark, infact all lights are out dans la maison. A cuppa and kanelbullar have been consumed, and I am ever increasingly convinced that the dishes will be left til the morrow. Could really do without them tomorrow though. Perhaps I can convince myself to do them. Or maybe not.

Tomorrow, even though its Friday, and therefore almost obligatory chill out day, we have an early start and all the bountiful stress that follows,with an appointment for Lily at BVC for 8month check up (eeek gone so fast!!). I may have two little ladies who dont sleep much past 5am, but the prospect of being out of the house and at said appointment for 8.15am feels a little optimistic.

After, we head onwards to town and I shall be hanging on the doors ready for Försäkringskassan to open to give them ten rounds of hell for being so disgustingly incompetent that I am pretty sure 1 deaf blind person could do the jobs of however many fools are emploed by them. Really. And here was me thinking I had moved to a civilized country. Ba ha, ha ha.

My one saving grace amongst all these frantic, panicked thoughts this eve, is that after the appointment and admin bashing, we are taking ourselves off to Linda's to play and drink tea, alternatively copious amounts of coffee. Yum.

In other news, I have started the process of changing my UK drivers licence to a Swedish one. Thankyouplease £60 admin fee just to APPLY to change it, thieving gits. Where is Robin Hood when you need him!?

Ah well, another week gone and not alot of time for the blog. The phrase " <something> becomes you" has seen me turned into a knotted, wrangly ball of stress and nervous energy and if I am not high-fivin a potty using Maia, or soothing a seperation anxious Lily, I am quietly weeping for the fact that Bernard's Watch is not real, and I shall never ever get my hands on it, however blessedly it may be needed.

Goodnight!

Hi, Im a stressoholic

I dont think I have ever felt so stressed in my life. Like, ever.

All stressful things are over, done,dusted and gone! No boxes to pack/unpack, Maia healthy (Lily too for that). Oh well. Its's life, so its just a case of getting on with it eh. Thank god then, for parents who come and take darling daughters to the park to give me half hour breathing space. Bliss.

UPDATE:
Finally, all boxes are unpacked. And its looking very homely and I love it. The fan above the cooker installed, and the dishwasher in place awaiting to be plumbed in. Maia's room has been rearranged and toys have been sorted out. Shelf up in our bedroom and new gorgeous wall lights in place. Baked some cookies, hoovered, done paperwork and washed the kitchen cupboard doors, again. Awfullly dusty drilling into tiles haha. (By the way, thats not all today, but since last post ;) )

 Oh, and those 6 (!) Ikea bags of irnoning have been done. I now have two new bags full to get on with. The never ending joys of being independant and grown up. Cooking, cleaning and washing/ironing. I wonder how rich I have to be to get someone on a payroll to do those lovely tasks for me? Any ideas?

There. I feel a bit calmer now. Wonderfully therapeutic this blogging  business. Seeing my life in black and white somehow gets it to make more sense, which then in turn makes me realise that actually, things arent as bad and stressy as maybe I think, and that really, I am surrounded by a ton of wonderful people and things that I ought to be very grateful for. And I most definately am <3

the weekend starts here!

I would very much like it if I was able to tell you that the two pictures above represent the week that has been. A housemove, baby with seperation anxiety and a very active but under stimulated toddler does not make for a serene , sunny & blissful environment. No. Dear god no. But, we have come out the other side and we are now fit to fight! And you'd never guess what...we actually got a WHOLE nights sleep from BOTH the girls. Beejeezaz that has been a long 3months since last haha. Ho hum, just gotta hope and keep all bodily parts crossed that tonight is the same. What does one have if one was to give up hope ? ;)


So yea, THESE two images capture the week perfectly lol.
The rest of today and hopefully not too much of tomorrow we are unpacking the last 4 boxes and getting organised so we can start to really enjoy our new-but-near-identical new flat. Once we get our Xtreamer/Etrayz (cant remember which the photos are on) to work to allow me access to older photos I will do you a photo update of before,during and after the renovations in our new abode. Mark has even fashioned up a picture or two on Paint to guide you around...intriguing huh!

Hmm...what to write now? Im just time wasting now really, I am having abit of me-time cocooned in OUR bedroom.  Mark had such a nice long lie in, not getting up until I started making LUNCH for the girls, makes me not quite ready to let go of the peace hihi. I've too good (or ought that be bad) conscience that does now allow me to sit here once I have checked me bits & pieces and then re-emerge like I promised. Sigh. Oh well. Best get to it, our lovelies are in a rather pleasant mood today, and I have actually very much enjoyed having them to myself this morning (in contrast to how miserable they have been all week, but then moving house isnt easy for them either!)

Have a nice weekend! Catch u all abit later

greetings from the other side

well, we have done it now, all moved in and settled bar 4 smallish boxes that need to be unpacked. I think I might try and get that done today. If I can call unpacking fun, then it most certainly is that when faced with three ikea bags of ironing instead - having done 2 bags of ironing last night, I feel somewhat unenthusiastic to start the day the way it ended yesterday.

Speaking of end of days, Lily went into her own bedroom last night, and even if it wasnt as successful as the previous night when daddy left us in bed and took up the sofa, it was still better than the nights we have had as a threesome in our room. The motto " Keep Calm & Carry on" springs to mind, and is somewhat of a mantra at The Wilson's at the moment. Incredible the effect of sleep.

¨

 Wonderful news on Miss Maia! If any of you missed it on facebook, Maia has been given an almost all clear!
We saw her doctor on tuesday, and to be honest, I went there fearing the worst. Since her cortisone injections 5 weeks ago her knee still cant straighten out 100% and I was convinced that she was going to need immune suppressants (meaning then that any colds infections could make her actually quite ill, and there would be a lot of time of work needed). But lo and behold, her bloods were as good as could be, no signs of infection or inflammation in her body, and now we are to finish her course of meds she is already on and then stop them and see how it goes over the summer and if it flares up again when the cold arrives. Maia will also be getting physio for her knee as its stiffness due to lack of proper use since October that is causing her to not be able to use it properly =)

In other news, terrible two's and the constant testing from Maia is tiring, but also intriguing. Intriguing for seeing this little person finding her feet in the world, becoming her own person and exploring everything and anything around her. Her vocab seems to have expanded tenfold in just a few week, and she's making little sentances (though not usually more than 3/4 words). The day of hotly debating what to wear/eat draws ever near! Actually, we already to debate food. All she wants is "doooooosss" (smörgås/sandwich). My favourite word of hers at the mo is "apelpin" (apelsin/orange) for the way she crinkles up her nose when she says it and her tone of voice lol. My wonderful, fantastic little terror <3

on the move

Now if only, I could get the kiddies to stay like this all day; that is, still, playing and not fighting. Or maybe I should say disturb eachother. Its not like its fisticuffs at dawn...
Anyhoo, not moving next week/weekend. Moving the likes of now. All cleared out and done by tuesday. FINALLY! But, at the same time, "oh balls". Im not very organised, quelle surprise!

I dont think that it matters too much that I am utterly disorganised this time. We are after all, only moving upstairs haha. Geewizz, easier moves will be hard to come by! It means that we can literally jsut take drawers out of the chest and move things up bit by bit rather than take-from-drawer-into-box-into-same-drawer-again-after-just-a-flight-of-stairs. Much easier.

The only annoying this is finding a new suitable home for paperwork and all the odds and sods that still havent got a proepr home since we unpacked them 18months ago. We have masses of storage still upstairs but we are losing one rather large built in unit, that is the very definition of organised chaos and all new odds and sods that I have accumelated since our arrival in swedenland has also ended up there. Only myself to blame I know, and there is no way in hell I want Mark to sort it out (or himself wanting to for that) as we tend to see differently on what things to keep and what to throw. Also sorting out the girls wardrobe, what can/cant/will/wont be used even if its in the right sizes etc etc- 2months maketh enough of a difference in certain sorts of clothes for the ages and seasons.

Mr Practicality would probs keep it all and I would store half.  I love how different me and Mark can be, yet how well it works for us. Bless, we do drive eachother round the bend a few times a week haha. How different are you and your partner? One practical the other not so? One good with money, the other constantly shopping lol?

TGI Friday! Have a fab weekend everyone! Keep you updated with pictures <3

what to do?

It seems my wish for Devon rain came true. At least, we have had rain since yesterday lol.


I'm not really sure what we are doing today, yesterday felt like tuesday even though I was at work, and today feels like a friday so  to be perfectly honest I am a bit all over the place.

What I would like to do is go out and buy bedding for Maia to go with her new room when we move next week. I have seen this awesome funky purple owl duvet set that I have just fallen in love with, and I'm pretty sure Miss M will like it too ( what with it being purple haha)

What I ought to do today is the 4.5 Ikea bags of ironing plus the 2 loads hanging up downstairs and hopefully hang another load. And then as well, actually put the clothes away and not just leave them neatly folded in the bags for anoher couple of days. God I am a lazy cow sometimes

But my friends, what I probably will do today, is stare and the bags of ironing, ''plan'' how and what to start sorting through and get ready to move next week (and not actually do it). I doubt I will make it to the shops today, and I'll more than likely get a little frustrated that the potty training is going slower than I would like. Ideally, Maia would just know what to do now. Like magic, just like *that*;)

So friends, what would you LIKE to do today? What OUGHT you be doing? and what WILL you actually do?

thrilling tuesday...

Mamma & Maia mys now that Lily is snoozing. Today, its snowing. Blimmin ridiculous! I'd rather have a months worth of Devon rain than this. Im so over it lol.

Today we arent going very far. In the midst of potty training, bad weather and lots of clothes, going outside isn't very appealing. So instead, its cuddles on sofa (sitting on one of them waterproof sheets haha), painting, a bit of tidyin, reading and lunching. Then this afternoon, going to pick up washing from mums, have a cuppa and come home to do dinner. Then bath and put the kids to bed. Maybe read another book somewhere in that list too. Who knows. What a thrilling day my friends!

The decoarating went rather fab, and all but the kitchen/diner is now finished upstairs. I do believe there is some wallpapering to be done, kitchen units to paint, fridge and freezers to be built in and new floor laid. Not too bad than haha. Hopefully 2 weeks time we will have moved!

However well it did go and end up looking in our bedroom,  husband and I can never work together as a painting and decorating team. Im too impatient and he is too meticulous. Such a perfectionist. That isnt a problem really, but it is when  I seriously over estimated how *fun* it would be, and therefore was in a grump. Poor suffering husband ;)

DIY Queen

This is my excited face! You can tell cant you, that I am mustering all my enthiusiasm and energy for when Mark returns from his errand and we're skip hopping it up the stairs to the flat and decorating our bedroom.

And guess what? Miss L got her bedroom decorated too. Mamma got all creative yesterday and we've now mde feature walls in their bedrooms and not just by painting one a different colour...intrigued? Well blame blogger or my rubbish internet connection as I still cant get pics uploaded haha.

Today we've been for fika with the JG's, another swenglish family, and as always, we had a fabulously chilled out, fun and relaxing time. Yes, 3 kids, 1 cafe, and 4 parents catching up on the gossip actually worked out rather well. No tantrums and no owners asking us to leave lol. Not that that has ever happened, but I sometimes still struggle with the adaption from the English to Swedish way of life. Sweden is more accepting of kids in public places than the UK I would say. But yea.

 Oh, and just so you know, yesterday ended better than I had expected and I went to bed all fuzzy and glowing with love and pride and calmness. I am so proud of my girls, they and Mark are my whole world. Thought I'd mention that incase you were wondering if I'd been carted off somewhere haha. It was just a string of moments lasting until the late afternoon when Lily went for her sleep and I got a chance to catch my breath ;)

Hope everyone had a great Easter Weekend! Mucho love xx

confessions of a failure

mamma and maia both want the dummy! haha

Today, it is like I have been a spectator in my own life. As if the real me, has been stuck inside, behind a glass wall, and I am forced to watch this irritable, miserble, failing mother shout at my otherwise wonderful children. Its not fun, I'll tell you that for free.

Blimmin'heck. I know I'm not the first, nor the last, to have days where I fall short on the sort of mother I want to be. I cant always live up to others expectations or my own for that matter. But then again, why should I live up to any at all? Expectations of how to behave, how to raise your children, what you must and must not do, by when, how etc etc etc....Why do I let it consume me? Why do we as a whole conform to these so called rules? Who made them? Society? Or is it ingrained in our very making, that we as human beings are by nature designed to conform?

Does it make us feel safe, knowing what we are expected to do? Because then, we can measure ourselves in term of how successful we are. We all like feeling like we are doing something right, if not brilliantly so. I cant imagine anyone ever setting out to be a mediocre parents. We all want to be the best.

It is easier to fault others than yourself. Ofcourse it is. Its not very pleasant to realise ones short comings and face them head on. Why would you even bother, ignorance is bliss?  If its a quirk of your personality that you get extremely irritable and moody after only a little sleep, no end of sleep training on your part will ever cure that. Your body copes with what it can, and when it cant cope, you cant cope. Something has to give. Which in my case, is my patience.

Yeah, ok, like 99.99% of everyone else then. But so what, it doesnt make it any easier, when the simple fact is I would rather not lose my temper, raise my voice or be this miserable cow that I am today. Knowing other people also get like it makes not one iota of difference because its now, sadly, a blight on this day which could otherwise have been very pleasant.

Tomorrow, I would like to wake up and be mamma. Mamma who likes to play, WANTS to play, and would win in the patience race with any so called saint. The mamma who makes everything into something fun, the mamma always smiling, brushing off any negative feelings with wave of an arm and not caring much for what others think or say. I'm not asking much eh!

But what I would like most of all, and not just for my own sakes, is that somehow my children will re-learn how and what sleep is, because it is not only mamma Wilson who gets grumpy with little and bad sleep. No no, the kids fall into that 99.99% too haha. Who'd have thought it! ;)

Easter weekend

I am getting seriously fed up with the photo uploader here on blogger.  Incredibly, utterly and completely peeved with it too. It just does *NOT* work.. The past few days I have spent HOURS waiting for pictures to upload and they never do.

So my lovelies, you'll have to use those pretty little heads of yours and imagine us enjoying Easter. Starting Good Friday evening off with 2 bowls of crisps. some popcorn, little bowl of sweets, candles and a cuppa. Good TV in the way of Vampire Diaries and Game of Thrones. Perfect. Being married to the wonderfully amazing man that I am, it is very easy to forget about the days of a few drinky-poos down the pub, and look forward to the cosy *Fredagsmys* as per swedish tradition.

And in keeping with a new, unwelcomed tradition, this Easter is the second year running we are unwell. Last year we all had a sickness bug. This year, an irritating, lingering, energy zapping cold. Mark who had planned on working some more yesterday to get our new flat finished sooner was laid in bed until it was time for easter lunch and I came back to pick him up. Didums. The kids & I had fun though, egg painting and going for a walk with grandad, great uncle Simon and Skyedog. I even fitted in a bit of sunbathing on Ma&Pa's patio, albeit with my wintercoat on, hood over my head (for snuggly factor mind, NOT cold) and a blanket (again, MYS factor). Dont tell anyone, but I even made like a pensioner and had a kip there and then, sitting in the sun lounger dressed as I was. Mad, but very very calming and relaxing. There is a lot to be said about fresh air and sleeping outside, and if my 20mins powernap is anything to go by, its not very hard to see how or why children benefit so much for sleeping outside in their prams as long as possible.

That is my humble opinion anyways ;) More fresh air on the agenda today I dont doubt, but at the mo the mercury is showing -6C but its blue skies and bright sun which is amazing. Hoping to fit in a trip to the DIY store and get the wallpaper for our bedroon and paint for Maia's. Then soon, maybe towards the end of the week, I can start slowly moving stuff upstairs to the new flat. I have to say, it feels rather luxurious and less stressful moving within the same building haha.

shopping=happpy??

Mamma did grab herself a bargain today. Dress and blazer H&M sale and belt from Lindex, in the sale too. Fabulous. Wish it would have brightened my mood tho with regards to how I see this flabtastic bouncycastle  a.k.a my body. But hey, a new day tomorrow and a new mood at that. I am sure, infact convinced, this whole trying-to-not-have-sugar-to-achieve-drean-body thing is what is making me miserable. So apologies. Im off for fika in hour once me&L have picked up big sis at nursery and then we shall all be having fun. ´

I cant wait for this bankholiday and the chance to spend time just the four of us. Mark has been working so much recently, it will be nice if easter can be relatively stress free. But, I have  sneaking suspicion that dear hubster will be working a little at some point anyhoo, him and work is like me and suagar at the mo- we get twitchy if we dont get enough haha ..... or something along those lines.

clothes crisis

When I was pregnant with Maia, we knew that by becoming parents we were going to have to sacrifice, give up and change a lot of things in our lives. ¨

My changing body? No problem. If anything, it made me feel more ok about myself, as now there was a genuine reason why I wasnt the toned statuesque high end specimen of the female form that I had wanted to be, but never found the motivation or dedication for. Once Maia was born and our wedding drew nearer, I was astonished how quickly I had gotten back to my pre pregnancy weight and that my tummy looked more like before than the mum-tum I had expected. Ideal.

Second pregnancy, and with it, a sugar craving. Still, no real body issues. At my heaviest in each pregnancy I weighed 86kgs. Thats ok. But the one thing now, with hindsight, I wish someone would have told me, or suggested I do, was to save for my POST pregnancy wardrobe. I wish it was something that I had thought of between pregnancy 1 & 2. Bugger.

It seems like an utterly shallow problem. Ofcourse the only thing that matters is that your children are happy and healthy, and that you have a good support network around you, and if in a relationship, that that too is happy and healthy and weathers the strains in early parenthood. It feels almost forbidden to me, and selfish, to feel that it matters how I look too. Because who really cares? Your looks certainly do not reflect on your ability to parent, and perhaps I am damaged along with so many others with thinking that my appearance has some importance in this world?

At first, I was a little bemused, that in the interval between having Maia and falling pregnant with Lily, I got down to a stone less than what I weighed before. And yet, my clothes and especially trousers/jeans, did not fit. A stone less and they are still too tight!? Really? UNFAIR.

So fast forward to today, and I am in a pickle. The majority of clothes in my wardrobe are pre children, and altough not proper maternity wear, things that were bought with a growing bump in mind. In other words, items somewhat lacking in the form fitting, and unable to flatteringly silhouette my new body and making me look and feel good. The odd new bits that have been brought when not pregnant are ones for quick fixes and poor quality (that means cheap haha) and lose their shape and are about as shapeless as can be. Because once those precious little darlings are here, your well earned pennies are spent and prioritised on other things.

Todays advice friends, is plan for post baby wardrobe, not just new prams cots and teeny weeny outfits only good for a week. For I would really like for you to not feel as crap about yourselves as I do today. But fear not, my ever wonderful boss gave me a bonus yesterday so I am off to the shops to buy a new dress ;)

Happy Easter, and hope u all have a good one =)

lazy lunch

It is not everyday we get to eat lunch together. More practical for me, Maia&Lily to eat at the same time in keepin with the routine and Mark just munches what ever left overs are in the freezer when ever his lunch break happens to fall timewise. But today, after a really stressy moody morning on my part, the three older Wilsons ate lunch together. Yummy! I have to say, brie and lingonberry is just the same as if it was cranberry. Deliciously moreish.

Now I really have to have a clean up before its time to do dinner. There seems to have been an explosion of stuff everywhere. It doesn't help that we have a rocking cot and our old coffee table out in the hall waiting to be removed and stored elsewhere, oh and a car seat that now has no use. And the pram(normally lives just outside the door in the stairhall) Things seem to gravitate and hang of these items like flies to sh!t. Give.me.strength. I DO NOT WANT TO DO HOUSEWORK TODAY. no no no no no no no no no no no no no NO!!

Notice how I have the time to touch up photos (even if it literally does take just a few mins) rather than actually get cracking. Damned those lazy parasites that have dug themselves even deeper into me today. And you know what, I cant even blame anyone else for the mess. No children or husband related things strewn about, just plain old lazy mamma today. Bugger.

tuesday

Thought I'd show you what I got at loppis on sunday - four candle sticks and a bowl =) The two taller ones are now on the coffee table and the littler ones are in out bedroom. The bowl is still standing next to the easter decs, because I actually quite like it there haha. It makes the bookcase look a bit more part of the house, rather than the empty shell bereft of use until we move. And I am glad to say that move we will, in only a matter of weeks! In true form, this bankholiday will be spent doing a bit of DIY, choosing paints/wallpaper for our bedroom and Maia's room. Lily's we are leaving for the minute and bringing in colours with accessories - hard to decorate after personality when you are 7months old, where with Maia we know and she can tell us to an extent what she likes. Purple, purple and more purlpe hahaha. Oh I cant wait. Must get round to getting the renovation pictures up so you can see before during and after we move =)

Despite the incredible amount of snow that fell on sunday, yesterday was a very pleasant sunny day and today looks like its heading in the right direction too. Shame then, that we're in the midst of potty training and Im a bit anti getting all the clothes on incase any accidents happen whilst out. It is -10C after all, and any little damp patches can get very brrrrrrr lol. Right, time to get brekkie on the go!

sun streaming through dining window yesterday