The one where I pat myself on the back and make some resolutions

The holiday season sort of officially ends the day after tomorrow and not-so-coincidentally so does 2010. As much as we missed our families this Christmas, I amazed myself by giving our family a great Christmas. I did it! I threw a huge party, I baked some amazing holiday treats, I made us and some friends a traditional Christmas feast with all the trimmings and I was organized enough to get most of my shopping done well before Christmas Eve (thank you amazon). I'm not just patting myself on the back, I'm slapping myself! But I can't take all the credit..nope. Hubby was there through it all, mainly in the role of cleaning up after me and doing the ahem "manly" jobs like erecting the tree, stringing the lights and mopping up after the flash flood that occurred in our kitchen an hour before the big bash.

And now 2011 is looming. We're celebrating tonight at a house party with the little man in tow. I swear next year I'm gonna slap a TAXI sign on our VW for Christmas Eve. Trying to book a taxi (which you can apparently do here with a handful of cab companies) was a fruitless endeavor as I left that to the last minute. I even resorted to calling "companies" that I believe were fronts for other ahem businesses. Nobody wants to drive us. So I might be the only sober chick at the party. Meh...I'm telling myself I don't need to drink to have a good time...ha!

Poor Little Man has been asking to go to school nearly every day this past week. Being an only child, hubby and I are his only playmates on "off days" so feeling bad, I got out the school directory and invited some of his little girlfriends over for a playdate. They arrived with their lovely Mommy and we took to the hills with our sleds. A few lectures about sharing later and we were on our way back to the house for some fika. The 3. 4 and 5 year olds played well together. Little Man was obviously upset when they had to leave so asked for a parting hug..which he received twice. Like father like son: He went in for the kiss. The 5-year old wasn't so sure but the 3-year old came up to Little Man, pushed him up against the wall and planted a HUGE smacker right on his kisser. Careful what you wish for. Stunned for a moment, he then proceeded to do what most little boys do, he wiped it off. It was priceless.

So, 2011. I have resolved to make no resolutions. But maybe I will make a few, you know, to make some. But they will all revolve around Health & Happiness for 2011. Quitting bad habits and replacing them with good ones and one I know for damn sure....Getting back to learning Swedish. I slacked off the last half of 2010 and lately, I have realized just how important it is for me to have command of this language. So there's a concrete resolution: To learn Swedish, no matter what it takes.

What are your resolutions for 2011? How are you ringing in the New Year? My last post received no comments and I blame that on two things: 1) It's Christmas and bloggers are taking some much needed time away from their screens and 2) I've been one lazy blogger the last few months. Not that I will resolve to blog more often but I will resolve to blog when the urge hits. As it did this morning. Now off to scrub, launder and have a much-needed shower.

Love and Peace to you all! Jenn and fam.

New Year and News

Now that I'm back and away from the hustle and bustle, joy and pain of our 3-week holiday "home" in Canada, I thought I'd get back into the swing of bloggyland with an Update Post. Some short (for me) words on what's been going on:

The Holiday: In a word: emotional. It was such a wonderful time seeing hubby's son, our parents and extended family. It was just what we all needed, some three-on-everyone time. Truly made us appreciate how important family and friends are. Our little man truly relished every moment, no matter how different, loud, crazy and unscheduled things were. He truly rolls with the punches this kid. He's an amazing little traveller and as I always say, "The best part of every trip". From sitting on Santa's knee to reading to my sis-in-law's two dogs to running around with his cousin Luke to snowshoeing, skating, sledding and helping Nana with the laundry, he soaked it all up. It really was all about the kids and it was great.

Forgiveness: I'm sure you remember my post from a month back about the friend I apologized to after 10+ years? Well she did write me back folks and apart from being absolutely shocked and confused about what motivated me to apologize after so many years, she was her usual, kindhearted self and accepted my apology. Her reply was candid, honest and rather generous. I don't know that we'll continue our friendship but I do know that I'm glad I reached out and did the right thing.

Itchy Hives: No sooner had we spent the first night in my Aunt's gorgeous but extremely dry home in Northern Ontario, than I broke out in a mad case of what I think are hives. Now I do have a history of mild ezcema, but this outbreak took the cake. Almost like "bites" but not quite. I'm still taking benadryl but it's not as bad as it was, where it was keeping me up at night. Apart from the very dry air or perhaps the stress of having my Mom around, I haven't the foggiest where they came from. I think a trip to the doc is in order.

Shopping: Couldn't believe the prices of everything as compared to the prices of everything here. Couldn't resist overspending and overpacking a bit and feeling rather guilty that I didn't do more. Just no time. Can't believe I forgot the essentials: Kraft Peanut Butter and Old Tyme Maple Syrup.

Jet Lag: It's amazing. We adjust in NO TIME when we land but coming back is altogether opposite. Little man only slept for 2 hours on the 12-hour trip back and after getting him to bed around 7pm local time, he was up between 12 and 2:30am and slept in until 11:30am Saturday morning! Same thing again last night! I'm still kicking myself for not setting the alarm this morning and am wondering how I'm gonna manage to get him up for school at 7am if he pulls the "I'm wide awake and ready to party" again tonight.

Homeless: We are STILL looking for a place to live for the end of February and time is running out. After months of searching, I finally found a great place but the posting went up on Friday, I responded Saturday and still haven't heard back. Getting pretty stressed about this. Demand seems far greater than supply.

Well that's about all for now. Will likely come back in a few days to expand on one or more of the above topics.

Happy New Year Everyone! SJ

On our way "home" or "back"?

Well it's been a hectic, fun-filled time with family and friends back "home" in Ontario, Canada. More on that later.

But now I'm sitting in my sister-in-law's dining room, severly overweight bags packed and proudly sporting an extra 10 lbs of holiday goodness. Counting down the hours until the waterworks begin and we head down to the airport for our very long journey "home". Not sure where "home" is anymore but it sure doesn't feel like Sweden, especially after being "home" for 3 weeks..sigh.

I haven't blogged, I haven't surfed and I've barely facebooked for 3 weeks. Instead, I had meaningful conversation and loads of laughter and nasty amounts of forbidden food with most of the people that mean the most to us in this world. And it felt good. It felt real good. By this time, I'd usually be eager to hop on the plane and get home to the comfort of our space and our stuff. But this time, even after sleeping on couches and too-small beds with little privacy, I don't want to leave.

I think it's soon time for another big change in our lives. But we'll see. We'll roll with it and we'll fly.

Happy New Year to All of You!

Thanksgiving in Canada

Well, we're not in Canada. We're in Sweden. Another holiday passing without the comfort and craziness of being surrounded by those we love. And this is also the first holiday in a long time without our dear Tanja (little man's Montenegrin Nanny). So, just me, the boy and Dada and an 8lb turkey. I've always had a turkey mentor close to me on such special occasions. But this time, it was me on my own with the big bird.

It went well. The bird was great. All the side dishes perfectly timed. I am the champion my friends. We stuffed ourselves and now, it's over.

For over three years now, with the exception of being home for the holidays on a few occasions, we've celebrated our traditional holidays in other countries. And this is the first time we were truly alone. It was nice and it was sad. Thank God for Skype though.

And speaking of being thankful, here's my list of things to be thankful for. Of course I'm thankful for the usual: health, happiness, husband, child, parents/extended family, roof over head, food, etc. so here's a list of stuff I'm thankful for lately.
1. Thanks to the makers of Play Doh for inventing a product that is forcing me to create bad interpretations of a Stegasaurus, a turtle, a tiger, a shark and...repeat. Oh and also, big thanks for that distinct play-doh odour.
2. Thanks to my brain for finally realizing that the little guy's bad potty aim was a direct result of him standing on a bench to pee. Removal of bench = pee IN toilet.
3. Thanks to the neighbour lady for letting me crash my son's first official playdate with her daughter. She actually thought I was leaving..bahahahahahhaaha.
4. Thanks to my husband for being creative and making Play Doh creatures that actually resemble the real thing!
5. Thanks for living in a country where a clothes dryer and a dish washer are staple appliances. I challenge ALL you friends in developed countries to live without either of them for over two years. It CAN be done, but it's not pretty.
6. Thanks to all the North Americans in Sweden who overhear me speaking English and immediately begin chatting up a storm.
7. Thanks to the lady I cornered in the grocery store today for a) not freaking out because a random stranger was speaking to her, and in English and b) for being 100% sure that the box she pointed out to frantic me was indeed cornstarch. FYI: It was NOT.
8. Thanks Swedish businesses for booking appointments for me. "You have an appointment for your winter tire change at X o'clock on X date." "Your child has a dentist appointment at...." I seriously love this. I always leave these things to the last minute anyway. Swedes are so bloody efficient.
9. Thanks to all those wonderful law breakers who post free streams to my favourite TV shows.
10. Thanks to me for remembering to pack that little liquid strainer thingy from Montenegro. Otherwise, we would have had gravy flavoured with turkey bits and clumpy flour.

What are you thankful for lately?