Early bird

This day got off to an early start, although not by choice. Hubby dearest has not quite adjusted himself to Canadian time and he decided that waking me would be a good idea.

We headed off to check out the Boxing Day sales and we actually managed to bag a little something for all of us :)

EY141

Greetings from Toronto! It may "only" be a 14 hour flight from the Middle East, but it does get interesting when you add an infant to the mix. An infant that feels that sleep is unnecessary because she much rather charm the socks of the flight attendants and our fellow passengers.

So we landed in Canada with bloodshot eyes and a broken suitcase. We also rubbed shoulders with some Saudi royals during the flight (my husband quite literally as he was sitting next to the young prince), but they were traveling so low key that we only realized as we were getting off the plane!

Twiddling my thumbs

Can't believe that with approximately 15 hours to go until our flight departs, I am actually packed and ready to go! I have a feeling I have forgotten something essential or that I will do something stupid and leave a whole suitcase behind...

I did have a helping hand when packing, our baby girl was more than happy to assist. I was happy that she hurled just outside the suitcase and not in it!

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Ungefär 15 timmar tills flyget far å allt e packat och klart! Hoppas att jag nu har kommit ihåg allt och att vi int lämnar något efter oss när vi åker iväg till flygfältet.

Jag fick ju hjälp med packandet :) Som tur var spyttade min assistent just utanför kappsäcken!

Lists and lost

I am one of those people that loves writing lists! Shopping lists, to do lists, packing lists... Anything!

Especially when packing I find it extra helpful to have it all written down, I am notoriously unorganized when it comes to packing. Now that a baby is traveling with us, I'd hate to leave anything essential behind. We have another 2,5 days until we travel and I am proud to say that I am doing quite well with the packing.

I seem to have lost our digital fever thermometer though. I have looked everywhere, twice in most places. What with having been a bit sleep deprived last week, that thing could be anywhere. Luckily we have a spare so it's no biggie!

Anyone else out there who is as crazy as I am about writing lists?

A word on advise

I have no idea what she is trying to do here...

 As a first time mum I suppose it is quite natural that I am clueless about quite a few things, but there is always someone around to provide help and guidance. While any sort of advise from someone with at least a little bit more experience is much appreciated, it can also be a bit too much sometimes. It actually already starts during pregnancy with people offering their opinions (and warnings) about what to do or not to do. But let's not go there.

The best and worse of advisers are usually the grandparents of the baby. Our own parents seem to feel that any advise they give us should be meticulously adhered to. They probably think that they cannot be wrong, because, as they like to point out "you turned out okay, didn't you?"

People will give you advise on everything: how to dress, hold or carry the baby, when to feed, what to feed (especially when it comes to the introduction of solids), the list is endless. Some people might feel very strongly about something and they can get a bit too passionate trying to share their knowledge. It all gets even more confusing when people are giving conflicting advise.

Recently I have gotten a fair share of advise on the topic of starting solids. I chose to breastfeed our daughter exclusively for the first six months, something that seems incomprehensible by most people. I had my reasons for this choice, but I will not go into that now. The problem is that some people made me feel like I am depriving our daughter of something by delaying solids. The ideas that the baby must be given certain foods at a certain age, so that she gets enough energy, gets to taste yummy foods etc.

At approximately 6,5 months I feel that our daughter has had plenty of exposure to different foods, but how much she is eating is a whole different story. I hope I'll be able to tell you a bit more in detail about starting solids in another post, I have just used it as an example and I hope I haven't gotten too far off my original topic :)

My advise to the people giving advise (haha): share your experiences and what you know, but keep in mind that all babies and children are different, one solution might not work for everyone. Also all parents are different and there are sometimes different ways to get to the same goal. New research is being done all the time, hence what was the norm ten, fifteen or thirty years ago might not apply at all today.

My advise to those parents who get their fair share of other people's opinions, hints and tips: pick and choose. I believe that the baby's parents know the child the best, regardless of how inexperienced they may be, and sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling. Some of the advise you get will be priceless, other things might not feel right and then it's probably best to pass on that.

I am fortunate to have lots of friends and family around me that are very helpful and supportive, all of them in their different ways. I do like to point out that this post is in no way meant to criticize anyone. I am grateful for all the advise (past, present and future), but at the same time I hope that people will understand that sometimes I might opt to go a different way, my own way.

A wee tour of Scotland

When we visited London we also decided to do a quick tour of Scotland. It later turned out that our tour was far too short and we plan to go back for another visit! Scotland had us both mesmerized with it's beautiful landscape, tons of history and you have to love the Scottish people and their accent that is to die for!

Här kommer några till foton från vår snabba rundtur av Skottland. Det visade sej vara en alltför kort visit, så vi kommer definitivt att åka tillbaka dit. Där finns så mycket att uppleva, ett vackert landskap, massor av historia och dom vänliga skottarna som alltid har glimten i ögat. För att inte tala om den skotska brytningen!

Edinburgh

At The Elephant House, I guess you could call this the J.K. Rowling view
I J.K. Rowlings fotspår på The Elephant House.

Stirling Castle
Slottet i Stirling

Misty mountains
Dimhöljda berg

I could not believe my eyes when I first saw the snow capped mountains!
Snötäckta bergstoppar i början på November!

Sheep, loads of them - everywhere!
Massor av får, överallt!

St Andrews Cathedral
Ruinerna av av katedralen i St Andrews

The Old Course, St Andrews

Happy 95th!

Today marks 95 years since the declaration of Finnish independence. Thought I'd share a few photos from my last trip to Finland.

I hope you have all had a great day, mine has been a bit so-so. It included a teething baby, a broken bottle of sweet chili sauce, some burnt dal among other things. But life is good.

För att markera Finlands 95-årsdag tänkte jag dela med mej av några av de mpnga foton jag tog under min senaste Finlandsresa.

Här i Saudiarabien har vi "firat" med en tandproducerande baby, en söndrig flaska sweet chili sås på köksgolvet och en kastrull med vidbrända linser. Men allt känns bra sist och slutligen.

We did some moose spotting - as usual
Lite av vårt sedvanliga älgbongande

Lovely London

I am one of those people that dislikes Paris, but oh how I love London! I've been to London quite a few times, but I still got to experience quite a few new things this time around. We also did a day trip to Windsor to see the castle, the Queen was there but she completely ignored us... I hear she does that to a lot of people. We did get to see a waxy version of her at Madame Tussaud's.

Några foton från vår Londonvisit, en av mina favoritstäder som alltid har nåt nytt att erbjuda fast jag varit där flera gånger. Vi gjorde också en liten dagsutflykt till Windsor och besökte drottningens weekendresidens. Hon var på plats men ignorerade oss totalt... men vi fick se henne avbildad i vax på Madame Tussaud's istället!

Would you ever happen to catch a glimpse of the queen looking out of one of the windows at Windsor Castle?
Ingen drottning som tittar ut genom fönstret på slottet i Windsor

Emirates Air Line

The sun setting over Windsor
Solen börjar gå ner över Windsor

The cathedral at Windsor Castle

A little crooked house in Windsor
Ett hus i Windsor lite käckt på svaj

'Tis the season... for teething

The moment I have been waiting for the way some people wait for Christmas, our daughter's first tooth. Ever since she started drooling like a maniac a little over a month ago i have been expecting that first tooth to come any second! So last Friday, there you go, a tiny but hard little lump on the bottom gum! other than suffering from the mother of all diaper rashes, she has been her usually sunshiny little self!

I'm just wondering, is it normal to be so excited about your child's first tooth, or is it just me?

Nu är väntants tider förbi, vår dotters första tand har sett dagens ljus! Det är nog ännu bara några hårda små knottror som knappt syns, men en tand i alla fall. Hittills har tandsprickningen gått bra, hennes humör är på topp som vanligt. Enda sidoeffekten är ett obehagligt blöjeksem som tom. gav upphov för en liten läkarvisit, men det är nu också på bättringsvägen.

Är det normalt att man blir så till sej av barnets första tand? Eller är det bara jag? Jag antar att dethär är ett typiskt "första barnet" syndrom, det lugnar väl ner sej sen...

The day everything changed

The entry to my hospital room
Ingången till mitt rum på sjukhuset

Today marks exactly six months since the birth of our beloved daughter. Like any new parent I can tell you that those months have flown by. There has been tears, crying, sleepless nights and more laundering than I ever thought possible. There has also been smiles and laughter and most importantly, there has always been love. Me and my husband feel eternally blessed for this gift that we waited for so long.

I have scheduled this post to come online at 4.38 am, the time our daughter was born (just in case anyone wonders about the wird hours of the day that I seem to spend blogging).

Idag är det exakt se månader sen vi välkomnade vår älskade dotter till världen. Ett halvår som har gått i ett huj. Månader som har fyllts med skrik, tårar, sömnlösa nätter och ofantliga mängder med byk. Men dagarna har också fyllts av leenden, skratt och viktigast av allt, kärlek. Vår dotter är en gåva som vi väntade länge på, det går inte i ord att beskriva hur tacksamma vi är.

Dethär inlägget kommer att komma upp på bloggen klockan 4.38 på morgonen, samma klockslag som vår dotter föddes.

Here comes the the rain again

This is the second time in a week that we are getting some rain, that deserves mentioning on the blog! Today's rain was just a drizzle, but it did cause our gardener to abandon our backyard where he had been busy digging his way to China in order to fix a broken pipe.

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Idag kom den andra regnskuren på en vecka, något av ett mirakel i denhär delen av världen. Det var egentligen bara en mycket lätt skur, men likväl ansåg trädgårdsmästaren att det var bäst att avbryta reparationen av det brustna vattenröret.

No hard feelings

Our daughter is nearing her 6 month birthday. That meant that another round of immunizations were due. Some crying was to be expected and this time was no different. But the crying did not last long and when we left the treatment room our little girl actually smiled at the nurse, as if to say that she is not holding a grudge against her!

My Mission Impossible

"This house will self destruct in 60 seconds" That is the impression I have been having since coming back. It feels like it never ends, just as you feel one room is starting to look presentable, you walk into the next one and realise there's a few hours worth of work right there. I'll admit to being the laziest and most reluctant housekeeper there ever was. Hats off to those women who do it while juggling hobbies, work and more than one kid!

Whatever works

To each their own sleeping style, I guess...

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Var och en har sin favoritställning, själv är jag en "sova på magen"-typ. Vår dotter kör sin egen variant!

Reality bites

Ever since our daughter was born (and before that even) I have had the privilege of being surrounded by family, both my in-laws as well as my own parents. needless to say that they have helped tremendously with cooking, laundering, nappy changing, cleaning, baby sitting. Whatever I have asked for, they have been there to help.

Now I am back in Saudi Arabia you could say that reality is kicking in with a vengeance. Not only is the family support gone, but I have also become a part time single mother. Let me explain why.

My husband is working on a large scale project here in Saudi Arabia and his primary place of work is located some three hours drive from where we live. Up until now my husbands office has been located off site, which meant that he only had to drive 10 minutes to get to work! But now all that has changed and my husband is now living part time in the middle of the Saudi desert. He will be home for 3 or 4 nights a week, but it goes without saying that getting used to this new living arrangement will take some time to get used to.

Meanwhile I am grateful for all the help that I have received so far, thank you all for all that you have done!

Jag är nyss hemkommen till Saudiarabien och måste erkänna att det känns som om jag är tvungen att acklimatisera mej på nytt igen. Under de senaste sex månaderna har jag haft så gott som konstant sällskap omkring mej i form av min svärfamilj och mina egna föräldrar. Dom har alla hjälpt mej otroligt med allt som kan tänkas, tvätt, matlagning, städning, blöjbyten, barnvaktning och en massa annat. Närhelst jag har behövt det har hjälpen funnits till hands!

Nu är det andra bullar som gäller, jag har nämligen blivit ensamstående mamma på deltid. Innan nån nu börjar undra, så ska jag förklara vad jag menar.

Min man jobbar nämligen med ett storskaligt projekt som betyder att hans huvudsakliga arbetsplats ligger mitt i öknen, tre timmars bilväg från var vi bor. Hittills har hans kontor tillfälligt funnits bara ett par kilometer från vårt hem, men det gäller alltså inte mera. Min man kommer att vara hemma 3 eller fyra nätter i veckan, men resten av tiden så kommer jag och lilltjejen att vara på tumis. Jag håller fortfarande på att vänja mej vid själva tanken, förhoppningsvis så vänjer jag mej så småningom när man börjat komma in i nån sorts rutin med vardagen.

Samtidigt tänker jag med tacksamhet på all den hjälp som har erbjudits mej hittills, tusen tack alla!

The homecoming

Back home after 2 months away, my house greets me with a layer of dust, dishes in the sink and a group of plants that are just barely clinging on to life!

Totally Tartan... and other themed hotel rooms

Just wanted to share a photo from I couple of the hotel rooms we've stayed in over the few days.

Just the other night we stayed in a small hotel in St Andrews. That hotel room was decorated in a golf theme, it was on pillows, walls and the curtains. Still quite tastefully done though.

Earlier in the week we spent the night in Sterling and our hotel room there was a an overload of tartan. The same dark blue and green fabric had been used to cover the floors, curtains, seats, armchair and the headboard. Now, I don't mind the tartan patterns, but that was just too much!

Has anyone come across seething similar, either a tastefully decorated hotel room or something that was completely off the charts in weirdness?

St Andrews

We spent the last day of our Scottish adventure in St Andrews, admiring the cathedral and castle ruins. We also took a very brief walk on The Old course, probably the closest to playing golf I'll ever come!

Glencoe

Just sharing the view from our window this morning.

Edinburgh

Finally got to visit Edinburgh, a beautiful town and the castle - impressive.

Lots of hills as well which is always good for the glutes!

Moving on later today, before that we are going to squeeze ourselves and a scary amount of gear into one of the smallest rental cars ever! Wish us luck!

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Jag har velat besöka Edinburgh i flera år och nu e vi äntligen här. En verkligt mysig stad med ett mycket imponerande slott.

Snart åker vi vidare, men först ska vi klämma in oss i världens minsta hyrbil med en grym mängd väskor och saker.

License to pack (and blog)

My husband went to see the latest Bond movie, meanwhile I get to stay at the apartment and pack. Tomorrow we leave London and embark on our Scottish adventure!

Autumn colour

One of my friends in Saudi Arabia urged me to enjoy the colour green while visiting Finland. Saudi Arabia displays various shades of beige, but hardly anything else so it truly is one of the things to enjoy while traveling.

Luckily for me autumn in Finland provides many other colours as well, countless shades of yellow, orange and red. And the smell of autumn leaves, divine! It's been really rainy during the past month, but I have enjoyed another visit to my beloved home country - weather and all!

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En av mina vänner i Saudiarabien uppmanade mej att njuta av allt grönt under resan. Det låter kanske konstigt, men Saudi Arabien erbjuder egentligen bara på färgen beige. Eftersom jag int lämnat Mellanöstern sen början av mars var ett liter landskapsombyte mycket efterlängtat.

Den finska hösten har bjudit på många nyanser av gult, orange och rött. Och doften av höstlöv, härligt! Det har varit en skön Finlandsvistelse, trots allt regn!