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.