Taking a quick breather between dinner and bathing the little kids, and since I seem to have hit a plateau on Bejeweled, I figured I might as well do a little of that posting thing I’m doing so rarely these days. Our days of leisure are coming to an end tomorrow morning, with Tage and… Read More Sunday evening, 7 p.m.

Summer is well and truly winding down, I’m sorry to say.  On Monday my mom left for home–where I hear tell they’ve still got more summer than you can shake a stick at, by the way–and we’ve come to the final days of the kids’ and Olof’s summer vacation.  We’ve still got plenty of sunshine,… Read More The end is nigh

My boy is seven years old today.  This is his third birthday cake in less than a week, and he still hasn’t tired of it.  Me, I haven’t tired of that gap-toothed grin.

Shortly before Tage’s party was set to begin this afternoon, I went out to the front of the house to tie some balloons to the drainpipe in order to identify this as the party zone.  I was in a bit of a hurry and not paying close attention to what I did, but luckily enough,… Read More Spectacle

We’re in the middle of a little heatwave here, and I’m hoping with all my might that it lasts through the weekend, when we’re holding both Tage’s birthday party with his friends and also the family party for all three of the older kids.  It’s so much nicer when we can all be outside on… Read More Still summer

Returned home not long ago from a mini-vacation down to Umeå, where we set up housekeeping in a little cabin and spent our days shopping and eating and shopping some more.  We also–much to Lydia’s chagrin–managed to make a few non-shopping excursions, including a visit to a herpetarium (or “herpet – arium,” as I amused… Read More Surfacing

Tage has been a little slow to learn to ride a bike.  He’s a very cautious kid by nature, never one to leap headlong into anything, and it’s been hard for him just to let go and lift both feet off the ground.  We bought him a new bike last summer, hoping to encourage him… Read More Learning curve

Petra is a Mickey Mouse fan from way back, so when Onock and Tony found a source for official mouse ears they knew there was a little someone in Sweden who would appreciate a pair.  One look at the birthday girl’s face here is enough to tell you that their gift hit the sweet spot:

My mom will be arriving on Thursday for her annual month-long visit to the hinterlands, and for the past few days I’ve been trying to put some semblance of order to the house.  It’s a good thing she’s coming to see us and not the house, because around here, “cleaning” mostly involves shuffling unsorted piles… Read More Preparation