Looks like we’re raising another Nintendo addict (don’t you love the look on her face?). At least she also appreciates the value of a good book.

This afternoon, Tage’s pre-school had their Lucia program, and we’ve hardly been able to get the boy out of his Santa outfit since. It occurred to him a couple of hours ago that he couldn’t really be Tomten (or “Tompen,” as Petra so endearingly says) without a beard, so he went on a search. He… Read More Santa Baby

Today I am officially seven months pregnant, just two months away from my February 13 due date. I’ve been trying to convince myself that those months will fly by before I’ve had time to notice, but I can’t help looking back two months and thinking just how long it’s been since mid-October, and then I… Read More Mission 78% Accomplished

Last night Lydia asked me to help her wrap a present she’d gotten for her best friend. As I deftly cut and folded and tucked and taped, she marveled, “You’re, like, the queen of wrapping paper.” Though preening inwardly and preparing to have my ego stroked a bit, I kept my eyes demurely on the… Read More Cue deflation.

This afternoon, Lydia and I stopped at the grocery store after I picked her up from spending the night at a friend’s house. The bakery had a special on saffron buns, so I picked out four, and Lydia chose a glazed doughnut for herself. An hour or so after we’d eaten them, Tage came in… Read More Do you *see* the kind of injustice she endures?

One of the many ways in which I am not a perfect mother is my approach to holiday decorating. I just have a really hard time seeing it as a fun and cozy family activity. It’s amazing, really, that I manage to make it through each year without doing more than superficial physical or psychological… Read More Fa la la la la, blah blah blah blah

I think every pregnant woman suspects at one time or another that she’s carrying an octopus, or an acrobat troupe, or, at the very least, twins. Some days it seems that it’s simply not possible that it’s just one baby doing all the flipping and flopping and kicking and jabbing that goes on in there.… Read More Powerful tiny fists

Our cat, Åsa, was hit by a car and killed last night. We got her, and her sister Pia–who died the same way in almost exactly the same place three-and-a-half years ago–two weeks after Lydia and I moved to Sweden. I have a little empty feeling now that they’re both gone. Counting Ola, we’ve now… Read More Bad Tidings

Today Tage’s been playing an Interactive Storybook game on the Nintendo DS. He came to me a few minutes ago to show me the story he was working on, warning me that it was “a little scary.” “Here,” he said, “listen,” and I leaned in close as the narrator told of a son’s plans to… Read More The Good Son