Happy Fall

Today for some reason I decided to dress Katherine in her Jack-O-Lantern shirt even though it is not October yet. I guess knowing it will be too cold pretty soon. It is actually short sleeved but we put a turtleneck under it. As we were walking to the park, I saw PUMPKINS outside a flower shop. I had read that there were no pumpkins in Norway so I was excited to see them. The were obviously imported from somewhere else - probably the USofA. We had to buy one. This is a "medium" pumpkin. I would say it is quite small. We did not get a "large" because I did not want to carry it back and because it cost $15!
Katherine is enjoying her pumpkin though I don't think it will make it to Halloween. She has recently learned to throw and she thinks it is a ball. Also, yesterday she randomly started saying "cheese" when I got out the camera. We never told her to do this but she has been observant. This is her "cheese" smile.

Back to the drawing board

One activity that is fun to do on a rainy day is draw. I brought a box of art supplies with us so that Katherine could have fun with crayons, markers, paint, etc. I got a broken down box to be our art mat to protect the floor. She is using some great Elmers paintbrush markers. They are washable so a good thing for a toddler who does not always stay on the page.

I also brought construction paper, glue and stickers so we had some fun with that.

On another day we pulled out the markers. After a few minutes I realized that these markers were not washable! Who has heard of such a thing? I actually did not buy them myself but won them as a door prize at MOPS so I did not even look. Well, I knew it was going to cause a huge meltdown to take them away and we were having fun so instead I took off all but the diaper and let Katherine make a mess.
Apparently she takes after her Uncle Justin and likes to draw on skin more than paper (he is a tatoo artist in Hawaii). She was covered in a rainbow of colors. The marker did wash out of clothes easily but after a bath, Katherine is still covered in marker.

These markers are going to be given to some friends who have older kids and can probably handle coloring on paper and not clothes, floors, skin, etc. We will have to buy a new package of markers before our next drawing day.

Eckeberg Farm

Hilde and I took Nikolas and Katherine on an outing to the Eckeberg stables, petting zoo and park. It was a fun outing. Katherine loves animals so she enjoyed seeing the real thing.

Playing on the playground

Look a horsie!

Sitting on the horsie
It took Katherine a LONG time to wam up to the trampoline. She sat and stood on it for quite some time before she would let another little girl bounce her on it. By the end she enjoyed it.
The goats were butting heads. I was glad that we were not actually in their pin petting them.

A peacock-He never did spread his tail feathers :(

Going to see the horse

Oink! A HUGE pig
Hilde and Nikolas on the swing

Cock-a-doodle-dooooo

Stroller madness

When we came to Norway, we brought our trusty Combi stroller with us. Combi had been in a little accident (someone ran over it when it was not left in the right place in the garage). So, Combi has a litle wobbly wheel. After a week in Norway we realized that Combi was not going to work with the wobbly wheel and the cobblestone streets. Luckily we were able to borrow a jogging stroller from some friends.



When we give the stroller back and return home with our Combi, it is still wobbly. I saw a giveaway on another blog for a new Chicco stroller. I have entered the giveaway contest and you can too. I hope one of us wins.

Hump Day

I realized that yesterday was hump day - not because it was wednesday, the middle of the week but because it was the middle of our trip to Norway. That means we are in the downhill stretch. Since I have a lot of people who keep asking when we are coming home, I have added a "ticker" on the bottom of the blog that will update with how long until we come home.

I would say that the "honeymoon" of being here is definately over. It is still fun and a great experience but the excitement has worn off. Things that were amusing and culturally different at first are challenging and annoying now. It gets lonely from time to time as we don't have the community that we do back home. But, we are doing just fine so don't worry.

Before we left, I wrote a post on the things I will miss while in Norway. Now I am updating it to be the things I do miss in Norway.

1. My car.
2. Unlimited amounts of hot water - enough to shave both legs in one shower.
3. My garbage disposal-I hate having to throw food bits in the trash-it stinks.
4. My full size washer and dryer that fit twice as many clothes and are more efficient.
5. My long comfortable couch rather than a couch you cannot stretch out on.
6. My nice queen size bed rather than a twin and a smaller than double side by side.
7. My dog Hooligan - not only do I miss the companionship but also the great job she does cleaning up Katherine's messes
8. My neighborhood.
9. My back and front yard.
10. My grocery store - there are just so many things that are hard to find here.
11. My kitchen full of all my gadgets, tools, recipes and ingredients. I feel like I am in a cooking slump. If you have an easy recipe with simple non-processed (and thus hard to find in Norway) ingredients, could you please send it my way? I know I could look on the internet but honestly, I just have not made it a priority.
12. A house with more space though I do enjoy not having as much stuff.
13. Playgroup - I sure miss time with my mommy friends and Katherine misses all of her playmates.
14. Community group-what a great fellowship we have. I sure miss our time together.
15. Mother's Day Out - I sure could use a break a few times a week and Katherine could use the time with her friends.
16. Most of all I miss my family and friends - more than I thought I would. I took for granted how many wonderful friends I have that I can call to get together any day of the week. I have not found that here. I have a few friends but it takes time to get to know people at the depth of my friends at home. Some days it can get lonely.

A lot of these things are petty and I appreciate that I am able to enjoy them at home. I still have so much to be thankful for and somuch more than most people in the world.

It's not Divine Cosign or JBF

One thing I love is a good bargain. Every September and February I plan my Fridays and Saturdays around the seasonal kids consignment sales. I love them. I have a group of friends that meets there for a day of bargain hunting. Almost all of Katherine's clothes and toys have been bought at consignment sales for a fraction of the original cost.

I was sad that I would be missing the sales, especially the JBF and Divine Consign sales. Where would I get Katherine's winter wardrobe? Luckily my friends came through early and we have a ton of winter clothes. Still, I was aching to go to some sales.

My friend Jennifer in Oslo told me about the Loppemarkeds. Last weekend almost every school had their Loppemarked, most to raise money for the band. I met my friend Hilde and we went to 2 sales. i could have gone to more but with walking and carrying purchases and using public transportation it was just more difficult. I had was looking for things for Katherine mainly-some hats, gloves, dress coat, rain suit and any winter items I thought we would need here. I was a bit disappointed. It was more of a garage or rummage sale and so the quality was not as high. Also there were not many kids things.

You can see in this photo what I came away with. The clothing items are a dress that will be next summer or at our rate of growth the following one, a shirt and pants outfit for Katherine and a nice wool scarf for Sam. The other items are a suitcase for getting more of our junk home, a toaster, a hand mixer and a phone. I spent a total of about $30 for all of these items so I did pretty well.

Today I found a kids second hand store and I bought Katherine a rain suit. Kids here go outside regardless of the weather and we get a bit of cabin fever so I thought it was worth it.

Frogner Park at night

Since this park (really the best in town) is so close to our house, we go there often. For once we were there in the evening and with our camera so I tried to get some good shots. It is hard at that time of day without a tripod but there are a few that turned out.

By the way, I check my stats and there are many more of you reading this blog each day than there are who leave comments-EVER. So, leave a comment sometime so I know you have been here. I love to know who has been reading.

I am so through with public transportation

Katherine and Daddy enjoying a ride on the bus.

Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful that Oslo has a well organized, thorough and efficient public transportation system since we are without a car. We ride buses and subways daily and the tram and trains at least weekly. If we were in a city like our home town with a less complete and more difficult to navigate public transportation system, I would really be going crazy. I am however, sick of having to rely solely on public transportation.

I realize how much I love my car. Here is why.

1. I am able to strap Katherine into her carseat. Though she has been known to wiggle her arms out of the strap, she has yet to get herself out of her car seat. In Oslo, we wheel her stroller onto the bus, tram or subway and within seconds she is standing in her stroller, getting all arms and legs out of the straps. She then wants to sit in your lap or even worse, crawl all over the floor which was last cleaned before I was born!
2. If I am rushed and leave the house three minutes late, I might get lucky and make all the lights and get there on time or at the worst, I arrive at my destination three minutes late. In Oslo, if I leave our apartment three minutes late, it sets a chain of events in motion that can result in missing the first leg of a complicated transportation matrix that results in me being an entire 30 minutes late. This is especially bad on Sunday when most buses, including the one that takes us to church only run twice an hour.
3. Actual travel time. For me to get to church in Norway it takes 45 minutes. I walk, take a bus, walk to a different bus and wait, take another bus and walk to the building. A few times we have been able to ride with someone else to church and it took only 15 minutes. Somehow it has been rainy the last two Sundays which adds to the fun.
4. If it is raining, I am able to load Katherine and all baby accoutrements into the car in the comfort of my garage thus remaining dry. If I am lucky the rain stops before I reach my destination or I park in a covered parking garage. At worst, I have to walk, oh maybe 100 feet if I get a far parking space. In Oslo, I have to load Katherine and all of her accoutrements into the stroller. Then I try to fasten a rain cover that was designed for out small stroller onto our borrowed jogging stroller. Even when on as good as possible, it still allows Katherine's feet to get wet and that is if she does not play with it and lift it up over her head getting all of her wet! Then I walk 1/3 of a mile to the subway to get wherever I want to go. Arriving there, I will usually have to walk more in the rain. Most rainy days I just try to stay home. I can't wait until it gets cold and that brings more adventure.
5. Running errands on the way home from something is an advantage of a car. For example, if I go visit my friend Amy, I usually stop at the 75% off bookstore by her house on the way home. Or, when I go to my dad's office, I will stop at a lot of places since it is in a retail area. In Oslo, usually where I am headed is no where near the places I would want to run errands.
6. A car is a great storage area. In my trunk I have things that allow me to be prepared for many situations. I have a stroller, sling, picnic blanket, pool floaties, Katherine's nap mat, extra diapers, beach bag with both of our swimsuits, towels and sunscreen, toys, and who knows what else. It allows me to be spontaneous. Also, when running the above mentioned errands, I have a lot of space to put purchases. I am in and out of shops all day and I don't have to think about how large the packages are or how I will get them home. In Oslo, I have the basket of my stroller and whatever I can carry for storage. By the time I put Katherine's diapers, lunch, sippy cup, our coats and the rain cover, most of the basket is full. Think what a challenge going to the grocery store would be if you could not wheel the shopping cart right up to your SUV or the trunk of your car. Thus, I go to the grocery store almost every day! I hate that.
7. My car is private. I can talk on the phone, sing with the radio, pray or talk to Katherine with no one else paying attention to what I am doing. If Katherine is in a bad mood and crying, it bothers no one but me. On public transportation, well, it is public. If Katherine is in a mood (which public transportation puts her in) then I feel like I annoy a bus full of strangers.

I know that I am very lucky to have a car - heck our family has three cars and only two drivers. Most people in the world do not have a car and have to face challenges to get where they need to go. I am very lucky. Still, I am ready to have my car back.

Wallet Update

Dad's wallet was left/lost/stolen in Copenhagen almost 2 weeks ago. We have had a horrible time trying to reach the lost and found and airport police. They told me that if they find a wallet they mail it to the address on the ID. No one had ever attempted to use the credit card so we thought it was lost and someone took the cash and then trashed the wallet. Well, Saturday mom and dad received the wallet in the mail. Everything was there except the cash. We will never know what happened and how it got from where dad lost it (probably at the security check when he was pulled aside to be "frisked") to when he received it in the mail. We are just excited that he was only out about $150 and that he still has his ID, checks, SS Card (take it out of your wallet now Dad!) and all the other stuff you keep in your wallet. Thanks for your prayers.

Feed the Ducks

Monday Katherine and I went out to visit Karen and Colin. Karen is pregnant, due this week. I am amazed by how great she looks and how much energy she has. From her house we walked to a park that has trails and a small lake. I bet we walked over 2 miles.

Colin in his cool shades

Katherine on the trail

Karen and Colin feeding the ducks

Katherine feeding the ducks

She was not too sure what to think when they got close.

Norway in a Nutshell (Part 2)

On Saturday we had a relaxing morning because our boat through the fjords did not leave until 1:20. There is not much to the town of Flam except for the fjord so we walked around, took pictures, went in a few souvenir shops and ate lunch.

A beautiful backdrop

The quaint town of Flam

Do we look Norwegian or what?

The boat was a little crazy. It was very crowded with several Japanese and tour buses. It was very crowded. All of the inside spots were taken but it seemed to be a pretty nice day. We sat on the top deck. It was about the most unchildproof place I have been in Norway so we tried to put our chairs in a circle with Katherine in the middle. You can imagine how well that worked. She literally could have climbed through the railing and fallen overboard - it was that bad. When the boat started, there was a flock of seagulls following us and a group of tourist feeding them bread. Katherine enjoyed watching that. After about 10 minutes of trying to keep her safe, we put her in the backpack. That was a life saver.

After not too long she fell asleep in the backpack which was actually a very good thing. Once the ferry was going, it was windy and actually a bit cold. We found a place out of the wind on the staircase leading to the level where the cars can travel. I was the cheesy tourist scrambling about the boat trying to find the best shot of the amazing scenery - waterfalls, cliffs, mountains, villages - it was all gorgeous.

You have to love digital cameras. I took 145 pictures before during and after our boat trip. I feel I did a pretty good job of narrowing them down in this post and to spare you, I even posted a lot of the scenery ones smaller. You can click on any picture to see it full size. As a wanna be photographer, it was frustrating because I feel that these pictures do not do it justice. It was overcast and foggy so every pictures looks more drab than I remember it. Notice that the first one has a rainbow.

Katherine stayed asleep for the bus ride back up to the train. I was so glad as she is a squirmy toddler who does not want to stay in her seat.

The road was really steep. The grade was 20% at times. This is the bus in front of us. The driver said that at this point the back of the bus was 3 meters lower than the front of the bus.

The train ride back showed how much snow had been received overnight.
It was a gorgeous trip. It was heavy on the travel but that was the only way to see the beauty. I now see why every guidebook says you have to do this trip if you are in Norway. I agree and am glad we risked it with a toddler.