Can't Complain

Peter had the day off today (compensation for on-call duty) so we decided to "hire" a babysitter (the grandparents) and treat ourselves to a nice breakfast at the Zink Grill (recommended) and a spa visit including massage at Raison d'Etre at Grand Hotel (highly recommended; our third visit).

When we left the spa at 3pm we walked home through a sunny Stockholm filled with people enjoying a rare 20-degree warm autumn day. After picking up our daughter we stopped by the sushi place for some take-out late lunch/early dinner and the bakery for a treat, and got home just in time to devour both on the balcony before the sun disappeared behind the building opposite. After that we packed the car (with way too much stuff but that's what happens when you have kids) and drove out to the summer house.

And here we are, half asleep on the sofa in front of the fireplace and the TV, baby asleep upstairs. Only thing I can complain about is that there's never anything to watch on telly, most days but especially Fridays (no, not particularly interested in Idol).

Via Anna's iPhone

The World in a Magazine

Before the summer we switched our daily newspaper subscription from Svenska dagbladet (SvD) to Dagens nyheter (DN).  Not for good but for a while, until we jump on an offer from the competitor again, as you do.  SvD is really too conservative-leaning for me but I like their (neutral) reporting and layout otherwise and think it's better than DN's.  At least until now because I really like DN's new look.  At first I though the layout and the font and everything looked really strange but after just two days I could see past that.  There's a new focus and style of reporting and I also really like the Stockholm edition.

But that's not what this post was going to be about.  Instead I was going to tell you about the monthly magazine DN Världen (DN World) that DN launched almost a year ago now.  It's has really good in-depth articles as well as shorter interviews with people and snapshots from around the world.  For non-subscriber it's for sale at newsagents or on the iPad (or equivalent). The edition below was a really good one featuring a long articles about Central and South American refugees trying to get to America, and an recent edition with a special about Thai berry pickers in Sweden was also great journalism.

"Hej hemliga bokvän!"

I decided to join En bok om dagen's book exchange Pocket & prassel 6.0 even though I've been a very, a very, lazy reader lately (not just this year but especially this year. This is the second time I'm participating in a book exchange; my first time was in May.  It was a lot of fun, both to figure out what to send my recipient and to wait for a parcel from some other blogger and reader out there.

So this post is primarily for my secret book friend but, who knows, it may contain some interesting information for my regular readers too!

En bok om dagen has provided some helpful questions, see below, and my post from the last book exchange also be useful.

About books
* Which genre or author do you like the most? No particular author.  General fiction including both drama and feel good (but not too much chick lit) and crime/detective, but not fantasy or science fiction.  Lite horror à la Låt den rätte komma in but no real horror.
* Which genre or author are you curious about?  A bit sceptic about the vampire trend but maybe, maybe... Haven't read that many Nobel laureates so that's an idea.
* Is there a list of what you have read over the years? In the post from May there are links to lists from 2008 onwards.

* Anything else literary, worth knowing?  At the moment I have a little one disturbing my reading so perhaps no 1,000 page-book...  Books in Swedish and English are equally welcome.

About goodies
* What kind of sweets do you eat?  All kinds!  But prefer sour, licorice and chocolate:)

* Tea or coffee?  Both!  As far as tea is concerned I prefer black or red but not too fruity or sweet flavours.  My favourite tea is Sir Williams and my favourite coffee (or chocolate) flavour is cardamom.

Other
* Hobbies?  Blogging, magazines, film, interior design, embroidery

* Favourite film? Can't choose one but here are some lists of what I liked and didn't like in 2010 and 2009 and how many of the classics I've seen.

* Favourite music?  I like almost everything except perhaps hard rock, heavy metal and Swedish "dansband".  Not too much of a classical music listener either.
* Sign? Not an astrology fan... Favourite colour?  Currently blue and coral red (and regular red)

* Do you collect something? Not really (except books that I don' read at the same pace :)  Maybe wrapping paper and ribbon because I always save old gift wrapping.  Also like to have a stock of gift cards.  I used to "collect" shoes and handbags but now I have significantly reduced my "collection" :)

Hope that provides some inspiration!  Exciting!

The Weekend

What a lovely weekend it was! Sunny gorgeous weather and time with family and friends. Saturday we took a long walk with our friend Jessica and had lunch at Blå porten.





On our way home we stopped by the swings in Humlegården. The playground was sooo crowded but the swings located outside the main play area were free just after a short wait.





Today my mum, my friend Malin with kids, and I (and Isolde of course) went to a children's bazar in Södertälje. I didn't find shoes in Isolde's size but some other things I was on the lookout for, e.g. a toy mirror and a baby snow sleigh. In terms of clothes I only bought a knitted sweater and a hat - Isolde has inherited about three wardrobes full from Malin's Elvina and Helena's girls and I've done my fair share of shopping so... The rest of the day Isolde and I hung out at my parents. My dad and brother had been out mushroom picking so they were busy cleaning them while my mum was playing with her grandchild and I got a well-deserved rest :)





Via Anna's iPhone

Friday

• Window shopping (and a few minor errands) downtown - check.
• Plan and buy tonight's dinner - check.
• Enjoy sunny autumn afternoon on the balcony with a coffee (Anna) - check.
• Pick and try to eat flowers on the balcony (Isolde) - check.
• Water plants on balcony (Anna) and play with water can including scratch nails on the metal (think blackboard) (Isolde) - check.

Via Anna's iPhone

Twins?

Isolde plays with her best friend who lives in farmor & farfar's (Peter's parents) wardrobe :)





Via Anna's iPhone

Isolde on Tape

Just thought I'd show you some recent videos with Isolde, as I realised I haven't shown much moving image of her. The first video is from our second visit to the children's library that I told you about a couple of weeks ago and the second one is from our friends' house when we visited last weekend.

Fun Day

Isolde tries the trampoline for the first time and the swing for the second time. Both are a hit.




Via Anna's iPhone

Silly Walk

Wonder if Isolde will walk like this once she starts walking?


-Via Isoldes padda

This Week

Monday: Second week of baby song and dance. The "class" is about 1 ½ hours long with a main 45 minute session, followed by fika for the adults and playtime or food for the babies, before a 10-15 minute session with softer/calmer music. Isolde loves it so far. First time she just sat there for the first 15 minutes with her mouth open but last time she was participating more actively almost right from the beginning. Lotta, who runs it has eight (and a "bonus" child) children and has worked full-time with baby rhythmics for almost 20 years so she knows how to captivate the little ones.

Here's a picture of Isolde on top of the toy pile at break time.



Monday evening featured some baby free time for me, as I went out for dinner and a movie (Bridesmaids) with some girlfriends. I haven't been out much at night as Isolde has rejected the bottle (but would've taken it eventually if we had insisted harder, I'm sure) and besides time has flown and I haven't felt the need to go out without Peter yet and I've wanted to spend time with Peter and Isolde. So most of the baby-sitting by the grandparents for example has been during the day. But now she's able to go to sleep on just oat cereal, though when I'm home I breastfeed her before bed. So Peter put her to bed her regular bedtime and when I got home at 23:30 she was still sound asleep.

Tuesday: Tuesday is the standing mummy group day. We always meet at 1pm and walk somewhere where the kids can play and we can have coffee. During spring and summer our regular hangout was been Rosendal garden (or lately, The Museum of Etnography) but with autumn and cooler temperatures on the way we'll have to move indoors. Yesterday we started with coffee at Mocco, then walked to Room for Children/the children's library at the Culture House where we hung out for a while. Isolde got her first library card and borrowed three books!

The padded play pen at the library is great!



Wednesday: Today we took a drive to the Södertälje area to visit Malin and meet little Jack (11 days old today) for the first time! He was so tiny! Can't imagine now that Isolde was ever that small but in fact she was smaller! Isolde tried to steel Jack's dummy even though she's a thumb sucker :)



Next stop was my friend Maria and we made a spontaneous visit her cousin and her boys, (almost) 5 and 1 years old, something we've been talking about doing for ages. Isolde was not at her best though because she's about to get her first tooth! Exciting! That's probably why she was cranky yesterday too and didn't sleep well last night. But when I checked for any signs of teething yesterday there was nothing but today there are clear signs!

What about the rest of the week?

Thursday: Tomorrow we have a quick "trade" meeting to pick up a harness for the high chair - it's through the Facebook group I told you about earlier. After that we're having lunch with Peter's cousin Sandra who's expecting a baby next month but is on sick leave for pregnancy related difficulties. Thursday is also Isolde's swim lesson at 5 pm.

Friday: No plans so we'll just take it easy, do some chores at home and the like.

A (work) week in the life of a baby and her mum!


Via Anna's iPhone

Must Have

Isolde just had to get this at H&M today. Even if she won't be able to wear it until next autumn (smallest size was 86). She insisted.



Via Anna's iPhone

Sweet News

Just heard that my blog (and now also IRL) friend Petra has given birth to a baby boy today! Sweet Pea is finally here! All children are little miracles but some are a little more longed for because they took a bit longer in the making.

Congratulations!!!


Via Anna's iPhone

Summer Remnants

We're spending the weekend at Peter's family's country house and today felt almost like summer with sunshine and shorts weather, even though autumn has definitely arrived; the evenings are chilly, the nights cold and the leaves will start turning soon. We spent most of the day on the grass with books, magazines and toys - and adults and child fighting over the iPhone... - except for a nice walk in the forest (didn't find any mushrooms though). Peter went for what's probably the last swim of the year - the water was 17 degrees. Actually he didn't spend that much time on a blanket compared to Isolde and me as he cleaned the car (mum - tell dad!) as well as the pram and cut the grass.




Via Anna's iPhone

8 Months Old Today!

Two of Isolde's favourite pastimes/toys right now: standing up against furniture and hogging all the remotes. Another favourite - but not with mum - is screaming and roaring at a very loud volume, sometimes because it's just so much fun, but more often out of frustration because she wants to crawl but hasn't really figured it out yet.



Via Anna's iPhone

Child at Heart

Peter's dessert at Pont Nouveau tonight. I had strawberry compote with goat cheese ice cream, which was tasty but definitely not as well presented.



Via Anna's iPhone

Homemaker*

I've been quite the little housekeeper lately. Last night I made spaghetti bolognese that was a suitable meal for all three of us (Isolde has mostly been eating ready-made baby food except for the first introduction to food - more on that below - but I have always planned to make my own) and today I finished painting the chest of drawers (needed four layers!) and started a batch of sour-dough (another plan for my parental leave but never got around to it before the summer) and pickled some beet root.

As I said above, the aim has been to make home cooked food for Isolde and I did start her off on homemade purées but when we were still struggling to get her to eat more than a couple of spoons after almost two months of trying I started buying jars (in addition to reducing breast-feeding). That way I was able to try different dishes (I never bought the simple first purées but the complete meat, fish or vegetarian meals). It was a relief to see her eat and it's also been convenient during the summer when I've wanted to be outdoors instead of inside cooking. But now when she's a very good eater and the post-summer routine is back it feels like a good time to start making my own food. I have also grown tired of constantly carrying home jars from the shop and also seeing how much glass it generates (though we recycle, I know many who don't and that makes me both angry and sad...). I will certainly still buy ready-made food too but I will try to serve more home-made than bought meals. In terms of home-cooked, it's easiest to give her whatever we're having, if it's suitable of course. I used my regular recipe for the spaghetti bolognese but didn't add any salt and pepper (added it when we were eating instead). But soon-to-be 8 months old can eat onion, garlic and herbs!

Isolde was a bit sceptic at first but then munched on as usual. She didn't eat as much as when she eats ready-made food but apparently jar food has a lot of added (unnecessary) water. She drinks water from a sippy cup now so she doesn't necessarily need that much fluid from the food she eats anyway.

First ever attempt at making sour-dough. Will keep you posted on success or failure!

First ever attempt at pickling beets - but I've pickled herring before - but it's not difficult at all, just a bit messy with the red colour.

* Though I don't like the expression "homemaker". Just call it what it is, housewife or stay-at-home-mum, instead of using euphemisms trying to make it a professional category. It's not that I don't think being a stay-at-home parent is hard work but it's not a profession as such.

Sack 'N Seat

Our newest baby related purchase is a Sack 'n seat, a foldable baby seat for use when there's no high chair around - which is often the case when visiting friends who don't have children or going to less baby friendly cafés or restaurants. We used it for the first time on Sunday (except for a trial session at home) and we can definitely recommend it. It folds into a small sachet that's easily stored in the nappy bag or underneath the pram. The bag it comes / is folded in, is part of the chair so it can't be lost. This chair is considered much safer than other portables fitted/hung onto the table and it also fits most types of chairs. The price is very reasonable, 199 SEK, and we got it on sale for 149 (Jollyroom.se).



Via Anna's iPhone

New Buddy!

Isolde's little friend Jack has arrived! Congratulations to happy parents Malin and Ronny and proud big sisters Filippa and Elvina!


-Via Isoldes padda

Insomnia

Can't sleep even though I don't have any reason not to. I.e. I can't blame the baby because she's sound asleep. Think it was the coffee after 8pm that did it, though usually it doesn't affect me so I don't know... Maybe the combination of coffee and a long to do-list? Luckily I have a pregnant friend (due any day now) who also suffers from insomnia, resulting in many text messages back and forth. And I just read that we're not alone.


-Via Isoldes padda