my life in england

helg och snuva

2011-10-16T15:16:00.001+01:00

hmm skulle ju börja blogga igen men så blev vi sjuka, först J och A, sen lilla L stackarn. har glömt hur tufft det är att ha en snövlig bebis! torsdag natt blev ganska sömnlös så va helt död på fredagen. men idag mår vi alla äntligen lite bättre och vi har varit ute en stund i det sköna höst vädret. härligt med sol och sitta på stranden och samla sten och snäckor : )

Lilla L har invigit sin nya overall som jag fyndade på ebay och den fina mössan som jag köpte när han låg i magen!

var tog värmen vägen?

2011-10-05T16:55:00.001+01:00

vi har haft helt underbart väder den sista veckan, riktig britsommar, men idag känns det att set är oktober- dags att plocka fram vinterkläderna : )

oj vilka stora bilder- kanske bättre med medium?

2011-10-05T12:28:00.001+01:00

funkar det?

2011-10-05T12:24:00.001+01:00

hej hej, kollar om det funkar att mobil blogga. vill så gärna börja igen! så mycke har hänt, Axel har hunnit bli 3 och har fått en lillebror- Lukas!

Var tog det har aret vagen???

2009-12-14T12:41:00.002Z

Shit va tiden har gatt fort nu i host, borjade nytt jobb i Sept och sen dess har det bara rusat fram. Kands (om inte annars sa ser det ialla fall ut) som vi nyss flyttade och Ax borjade dagge. Men nu jobbar jag bara 3 dagar till, sen ar det J's jobb julfest, Ax dagge julfest, lite luncher imellan och sen bar det av till Sweden! Ska bli sa skoj att aka hem och fira jul. Forra julen hade vi ju vinterkraksjukan pa besok sa detta aret sak vi isolera oss dagarna innan ju har jag tankt mig, far angest av bara tanken att vi ar sjuka detta aret me!

Axel blir battre och battre pa att ga och borjar tycka det ar riktigt skojjigt, det tycker vi ocksa och klappar i handerna! en frokis pa dagge berattade fragandes att han alltid klappar handerna nar han gor nagot duktigt ha ha.

Fixar med statisik har pa jobbet, sa trakigt, och har redan atit 2 lussekatter idag som jag bakade (och verkligen lyckades med) igar. Hittade riktig jast och inte bara pulver, vilken skillnad!

Vi forsokte ta julkort pa Axel igar, men det ville inte han, sa det blir inget kort i ar, Axel har redan fatt sitt forsta julkort av en kille pa dagis som heter Reef, tyvarr har jag ingen aning om vem han ar, men har nu kopt nagra kort sa jag kan ge ett tillbaka, engelskmannen och deras Julkort!!!!!! aarrrrgggggg

Nej, nu maste jag sluta skolka och borja jobba!

Friday

2009-11-20T10:12:00.003Z

Then it was friday again, its raining here and so dark. A perfect day to be inside and watch movies, but unfortunately I'm at work with no movies in sight, oh well. I'm off to IKEA tomorrow with my lovely friend Clair to buy a table and some chairs etc. We use our garden furnitures to eat on (inside, not in the garden ha ha), but it looks really quite funny and the chairs are not so comfortable. What are you guys doing this weekend?

oh and Axel can now stand up and take some steps

2009-11-17T20:05:00.002Z

our beautiful boy is getting better and better every day, so nice to see him trying to walk instead of crawling super fast : ) and he knows how to kiss now with a smooch sound as well, lovely!

The move went well + Passport moan

2009-11-17T09:26:00.005Z

The move went really well, we decided to do it the posh way and got a removal company to lift, drive and unload (we did pack out stuff tho ; ). It's so nice to be in but we have been so so busy, not sure where the time has gone. The first weekend we just moved and cleaned our old flat. Then I worked a lot last week and had my official interview for the job I'm doing already, I got it!! so now I have work until end of July, but hopefully later of course. Then my old London uni friends came over on the weekend and now it's Tuesday. I'm off tomorrow but my and Ax have to go up to London to get a new passport for myself. I managed to break my old one (well, there is a 3cm rip in one of the corners by the photo). The passport was wrongly constructed when I bought it 2002, after they took them back in Sweden, but as I haven't really been home more than a week in time since then, I never changed it, which i regret now!! Instead of paying £35 for a new passport, I will now have to pay £124 + train fair to London + go and pick it up (or alternatively pay £19 to get it sent to the consulate here in Brighton. I hate having to spend money on things like this, but I got no choice of course, don't want to be left at Gatwick when we go home for Christmas!

Moving day tomorrow!

2009-11-06T19:48:00.000Z

Wish us luck, we are moving tomorrow and we can't wait!! Sitting in a living room with loads of boxes drinking a beer and eating crisps, not much else to eat here : )

Shit va lange sen sist!

2009-11-02T09:48:00.003Z

Nu va det riktigt lange sen sist jag bloggade, borja nytt jobb och sant tar pa krafterna. Men nu kanner jag mig mer stabil och provar pa att smyg blogga fran jobbet : )

Vad har hant pa sistonde? Vi packar for fullt, flyttar pa Lordag vilket kanns riktigt bra, forutom att vi maste punga ut over £2300 i forsta hyra, deposit etc. Men men, det ska nog ga bra, lite har, lite dar, lite pa mr credit card sa ska det nog ga vagen. Jag har dromt lite mardrommer pa sistonde med nya huset, kommer liksom inte riktigt ihag hur det ser ut vilket ar lite orovackande. J undrade om dar finns kyl och frys? Jag har ingen aning.... men diskmaskin finns dar ialla fall, det vet jag! Sen tror jag att jag kommer ihag att vaggarna ar lite gula sa de maste vi mala over, pallar inte mer beige pa vaggarna (vi har den fargen i hela lagenheten just nu, fraga inte varfor vi inte har malat...)

Ax trivs utmarkt pa dagis, han alskar sin dagis froken och hon alskar Axel (lite orovackande ha ha). Men det ar ju bra pa ett satt, och han har inte ledsen nar vi lamnar, tvartom, superglad! Oftast lamnar J pa dagis, men han skar sig igar stackarn (lagom till flytten), riktigt djupt sa han ska till sjukskoterskan idag sa hon kan se om det behover sys. Vi fick nya knivar som brollopspresent, men jag ar nastan lite radd for dem, tacka vet jag de gamla trubbiga.

1 manad av sjukdomar!!

2009-10-09T16:59:00.002+01:00

Jag blir galen!!! Nar Axel borjade dagis sa va vi redan lite sjuka (tror tom att vi gar min mamma Swineflu), sen har det bara escalerat. Det borjar bli pinsamt pa jobbet, som for ovrigt gar bra, hur mycke kan en familj vara sjuka pa en manad. Nar vi har tagit oss ur denna downward spiral sa ska jag borja skriva mer i bloggen!

Hus!

2009-09-28T20:45:00.002+01:00

Efter mycke letande och stor frustration sa har vi antligen hittat ett hus att hyra, ett jattefint litet radhus ala Engelsk stil, sa himla glad och hoppas att allt gar vagen nu sa vi kan flytta i November. Antligen kommer vi kunna sitta och ata vid ett matbord, och Ax far ett eget rum : ) Jag kommer sjalvklart att ta en massa bilder nar vi har flyttat in!

Onsdag

2009-09-23T10:07:00.002+01:00

Today is my first day off as a working woman, so nice to be off in the middle of the week I must say, feels almost a bit privilege ha ha, and I know I am, privilege that is. I watched the news yesterday about all these immigrants who tries desperately to enter UK ever day hiding in lorries in, they now got evicted from their campsite in France. These are people without any paperwork, id cards or passports. They have fled their country, maybe left their families behind for what... A dirty campsite and countries who wont let them in, life isn't fair.. I must remember this before I start complain about our living situation. At least we have a roof over our heads and live in a nice, warm (but small) flat.

Me and Ax are seeing Jo and Iz today, fun fun fun!

Svenska brollopsfesten i bilder

2009-09-19T22:06:00.009+01:00

En helt underbart trevlig dag som inte slutade forren efter midnatt vilket ar ovanligt hos oss nu for tiden ha ha. Helt underbart vader pa Hven!

Vi at lunch pa Turist Garden pa Ven - nyfangad rodspatta - kan verkligen rekommenderas!

James och Jess (J's bror och hans tjej, och sa skar vi "brollopstartan")

Mina kusiner spelade - jadrans duktiga killar. Och tva sota kusiner!

Mingel och min och Js mormodrar, sa kul att de traffades fast de inte kunde prata med varandra ha ha (min mormor kan valdigt lite engelska, men sa ar hon ocksa 82!)

Min mamma med Ebbisen och lite mer mingel.

(clicka pa bilderna sa blir de storre)

Axels 1 ars kalas

2009-09-19T21:15:00.005+01:00

Vi hade 1 ars kalas for Axel forra helgen, vadret va underbart och vi hade en harlig eftermiddag med vara vanner : )

(Click on the photos to make them bigger)

long time and all that..

2009-09-09T15:19:00.002+01:00

It's been a while since I last updated my blog, I just haven't had the energy, the time or wanted to. I really liked it before so I hope to start writing a bit more in the future. So what's happened in my life recently? Quite a lot : )

Well - we got married which was absolutely lovely, had a great day and 2 wonderful week in the big house we rented on Ven with my family coming to visit and the family party, Ax starting to craw properly and not just eeling.

Job situation - I got a job!!! yayyye It's a 3 months temporary contract but I hope I can turn it into permanent before Christmas. It's a job working for a Sexual Health, Alcohol and drug advice service at the universities here in Brighton. I used to volunteer there when I was at Uni so to be able to work there and get a salary is like a dream come true : ) I start on Tuesday and I'm so so excited!

Nursery - Axel got a space at a nursery in the area where we hope to move soon (as soon as we find a place!!) which is about 10min walk from where we live now so pretty close in the mean time. He is having his 3rd settling in session today and they haven't called me yet so I think it's going well. He really seems to like it so that's promising. He will have to be there for the 4 days when I'm at work so it's important that he likes it there, I would have liked to have worked for only 3 days but you can't be too picky in this climate and I already got it down from 5 to 4 days a week. It's crazy how expensive nurseries are here in England - we pay £40 PER DAY, and that is not even considered that much, I know some couples who pay over £50 per day!!

House situation - We love to move as soon as we can as this flat is driving us crazy, it's too small and no storage place what so ever! we really need an attic to store all Ax old toys etc. Unfortunately there isn't much out there at the moment - it's a busy time for students in Brighton so the good houses goes quickly and one estate agent told me that there isn't many properties out there in general cos the buy to let market is really low at the moment and many landlords have sold their properties. We would have loved to buy a place but they cost over £200,000 (for a very small 2 bed house) and as you will need at least 30% deposit to be able to get a reasonable good mortgage.. well we don't have 60k at the moment (or ever ha ha). That's about 800 000 sek. So stupid!! Oh well, we will just continue saving until the market changes and then buy, soon hopefully...

I'm thinking about starting to write in Swedish instead, I think most of my (few but still) readers are Swedish so it would be more natural that way, shout if you don't agree!

Holiday photos

2009-08-17T10:32:00.003+01:00

We went to Ven for 2 weeks for our honeymoon/Sweden summer holiday. I'm not from Ven but we always go for a day every summer but to be able to rent a beautiful big house for 2 weeks was just magic. We had a great family party with lunch on the veranda of the local restaurant and then we walked to our rented house and had alternative wedding cakes, music and presentations, bbq (in the evening) and drinks. The weather was great so we could all sit outside in our garden (which was lucky as you can't always count on nice weather in Sweden). All in all, just fantastic!

Feels a bit weird being back, I have started to look for work and we have to move from our little flat before we go crazy, but I need to get a job first... aarrrrgggg oh well, just get to crack on!

Wedding photos..

2009-08-17T10:26:00.003+01:00

Here are some wedding photos, we had a fantastic day and our holiday was just amazing, so hard to be back in the real world again ha ha.

I'm now married!!!

2009-07-20T20:24:00.005+01:00

(the photo is taken in the register office just after we signed the book)

I should be getting the proper photos on Thursday, then I will put up many more of them!

We had a fantastic day - the first of two and we look forward like crazy to the Swedish family "do". I'm so tired today but will write much more about the wedding another day!

Saturday night...

2009-07-04T21:46:00.003+01:00

The wedding is getting closer and closer, not even 2 weeks to go!!! We have written a long list of things that needs to be done before the English ceremony and party and the Swedish holiday and family party. The wedding dress is beautiful and ready, my lovely future mother in law have made it and I'm really happy with the result. I got the pink shoes and they are comfy, we got the rings, the hairdresser is booked etc etc, and still the list seems to never end.. But a lot on the list is things for us to do in the flat and not so much the wedding. I can see why a lot of couples wait to have babies until they are married, so much to plan but when you have a baby there is so much else to plan and do as well.
Ax is growing and developing so quickly is crazy, he can now go from sitting to lying on his tummy eeling backwards really fast pulling and tasting everything in his tracks. He is trying to lift his bum up so he might be figuring out how to proper crawl soon. We lowered the cot today as he can now pull himself up holding on to the bars, and suddenly he looks so so little again, bless him. So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, he can clap his hands and wave, he laugh loud and launches forwards like he wants to hug you. He gets really angry when you take something away from him and he loves to eat the same fruit that I eat, apples, melon and bananas, not in small pieces but in good finger food pieces, or even better, eating an apple as it is with my help holding it for him. The front teeth is coming now I think, but he is in good spirit so far, hope it wont hurt too much.

Summer break

2009-06-28T20:01:00.003+01:00

I have decided to take a break from the blog over the summer. The wedding is getting closer and closer and then we are of course going to Sweden for a couple of weeks : ) I might write a bit and put some pictures in (of the wedding for example) but otherwise I will be back in September!
Here are some pictures from my Sweden trip.

Long time no see

2009-06-14T08:12:00.003+01:00

I have been a bit bad updating my blog but it has been a busy week. The week started with my tooth out on Monday, went really well and haven't had any pain afterwards so it was probably already half way out, such a relieve to be able to chew on both sides again!! One of my dearest friends Emelie of 15 years came and visit us with her lovely baby daughter and her boyfriend on Tuesday. They were over from Sweden visiting Ian's family all over England, a proper road trip. Was really really nice seeing them all and we had a lovely afternoon and evening and then lunch the next day in Lewes, I love Lewes and every time we go there I get inspired to move there, but it's quite expensive to buy (of course it's England for God sake!!), and renting is also expensive, but a girl can dream : )

Lewes 2006

I bought some more wedding stuff on Thursday and met J for lunch and before I knew it was Friday. I took the bus to Sing and Sign on Friday with the Ergo baby carrier we borrowed for my Sweden trip, it worked really well and Ax was sleeping like a little baby on the way home, so sweet and lovely to have him so close snoozing away, almost tempting to use it a bit more just to be close : ) I rounded off the "working week" but catching up with Kirsty over a burger at GBK and some nice rose wino, was really quite tipsy when I walked home just before 11, but a great night!

We went to an alternative christening on the beach yesterday, it was a bit cloudy to start with but then sun came out. We covered Ax with 50+ sunscreen, shade and a sun hat, but I manage to forget myself, so I'm a bit red today. I have been so good up to now using sun factor 15 whenever it's been sunny and not burnt myself at all. But it's so deceiving when it's sunny and cloudy (at one point it was even raining a little bit). Oh well, it's not that bad and I will definitely wear loads on protection today to compensate for yesterday : )

The blackout blinds are working, Axmax woke up 6.30 two days this week which must be a record of some kind, but he woke up at 6 today of course as it was my day to go up early : )

or maybe yellow??

2009-06-05T08:40:00.004+01:00

Also, how about hair jewellery of some sorts?

* I found the shoes at random bloggs but they are not for sale anymore unfortunately.

Pink shoes - need your advice!

2009-06-04T18:22:00.005+01:00

I'm thinking of having pink shoes to my white (short) wedding dress to spice it all up a bit. I found two that I like, what do you guys think? Feel free to come with suggestions ; )

Boring or nice?

Crazy or funky?

Proof of damage.

2009-06-04T16:26:00.006+01:00

Axel is feeling much better, think he has forgotten about the whole incident now, well he probably moved on pretty swiftly, talking more myself I guess. So scary when your baby hurt himself, and even more scary of J when I called him at work crying saying that Axel fell, there is blood ha ha.

Here you can see the damage on the left side of his nose, but nothing broken!

You can really see that Ax is my child - I'm "famous" for having my camera smile that I put on automatically as soon as a camera is in the room and Axel is the same, always a smile in front of the camera!!

oh, and Axel has been saying da da da da da the whole day amongst other things, sometimes it sounds like he is mumbling complaints to himself. Note to myself - have to say ma ma ma ma a bit more every day!

First minor accident and I'm already a wreck...

2009-06-04T11:49:00.002+01:00

Ax had his first little blood accident today, he sat on his play mat and reached for a toy when he tipped over and must have landed with his nose on one of the plastic cubes he got. I was on the phone trying to book a room on Ven for some of J's family when it happened. First I didn't see the blood so picked him up and comforted him while I asked the girl on the phone to wait, but the I saw that there was some in his nose and got super nervous and told her that I was going to call her back, called J and was a bit (read: quite a lot) upset on the phone. But Axel got his dummy and stopped crying and the blood stopped as well. It wasn't as much as a nose bleed but still, really flipping scary! I was ready to call the ambulance, but I don't think they would want to come and check out a nose. He is sleeping in his pram now next to me, need to hear him breath now to calm myself down a bit. My lord it's scary when things like this happens, I would be ok if it was a scratch on his arm or something, we could have put a plaster on it and kissed it better, but when it's from the nose aaarrrrrggggggg. I know children hurt themselves, and that there is always a first for everything, I need to get used to this.

Otherwise I think this week has gone super quick with friends visits, chill out on the patio working on my tan with Ax under the umbrella in the shade, had my eyebrows waxed, gone shopping and tomorrow it's Friday with sing and sign and then an afternoon with Ruth, very nice!
Next week is going to be even more busy with me taking out my stupid tooth finally on Monday, then one of my best friends from Sweden is coming with her family on Tuesday to Wednesday, then I'm seeing Jo on Thursday, going to sing and sign on Friday just in time for the weekend again. And the it's almost time to pack for mine and Ax's Sweden trip, can' wait!!!! So we have a well deserved break today which is much needed, the weather isn't too bad either so as soon as Ax wakes up and have some lunch we will move outside in the fresh air, but I think he will have to sit in his inflatable ring so he doesn't fall over again, one fall is enough for one day!

Rise and shine?

2009-05-30T06:15:00.002+01:00

Axel woke up at 5 yesterday, I was hoping it wouldn't happen again but of course it happened today as well, I really hope this is not a new pattern or something aarrrrgggg, it is awful to have to go up this early, you have that sort of feeling that you get when you are going to go travel and have to wake up on all strange hours to go to the airport. I'm was (still am ) so tired and tried to get him to sleep a bit longer (of course), first in his own bed (which seldom works at that time of the morning) and then in our bed - which he NEVER does so I don't understand why oh why I feel the desperation to try it every time this happens anyway?! I think we need a couple of blackout blinds so we can pretend it's night for a bit longer, our wooden blinds aren't just not up to scratch. But as we sold the car an IKEA visit is not the easiest now, darn, we should have thought about this before we started to rely on J's mum to go, oh well... I need to drink some tea now, my head is hurting.

Ohh I forgot...

2009-05-26T10:41:00.004+01:00

Any idea how to get a little boy to start crawling forward and not just backwards?

Wedding colour scheme, any ideas??

2009-05-26T10:06:00.005+01:00

We are having our first (of two) wedding party here in Brighton after the ceremony in the evening for all our friends. No food or speeches, just bubbly, mingling and (hopefully) some dancing. It's not long to go now so we need to start planning the decoration of the place, J happened to look at a play in the same room last week and came home telling me that the walls where blue which I must have totally blocked out as I thought they were a bit plainer. However, when we got there this weekend to have a second little peek and to take some photos we realised that the walls where in fact lilac (but on the photos we took they look blue so they must be magic walls ha ha. I was thinking of having a pink summery theme but I'm not so sure now, all I know is that I don't want a drastic look (you know a bit like James Bond-ish), instead I would like a very soft, romantic, summer cottage beach look with wild flowers and soft light. But that's not gonna happen here in Brighton with lilac walls : ), but thankfully we are actually having our second (family) party in Sweden in a summer house so I get a bit of that in the end. Anyway, back to the subject, anyone got ideas about any colours that goes nicely together with lilac? I was looking for some inspirational pictures online and found this photo, classic!

I wonder on which planet the designer lives cos this is just plain horrendous ha ha, then again maybe it is for older people getting married as I just noticed that the chairs are actually rocking chairs?!?!

I also found a site that teach you how to make a cupcake stand, perfect! Now I just have to find Polysthyrene cake dummies!

Long weekend

2009-05-26T09:58:00.003+01:00

Had a nice long weekend with some sunshine : )

Axel on the swings for the first time, not sure if it was a hit or miss, gonna try and find a proper baby swing for him so he can actually swing and not just sit in it while J "moves" it a bit : )

Nice to eat grass and to try the slide (with a little help from dad).

Axel a bit sceptical of his mum ha ha.

Sunny morning?

2009-05-24T08:26:00.004+01:00

I've been a bit slack lately with the blog, don't have much to write really, everyday is the same here, play, food and walks, maybe see a friend or two. The weather has not been the best, but I hope today will bring sunshine, it looks promising! It's a long weekend here in UK with Monday off which is nice. We just chilled out yesterday, I had some time for myself while Ax and J was out and about but managed to sleep most of it, damn. Haven't been sleeping so well lately, not sure why, just toss and turn a lot before finally sleeping and then waking up if Ax stirres. I went to the Job centre last week to see if I could get some job seeker allowance while I'm looking for work, what a depressing place, and flipping weirdos! They didn't wanted to help me with the pram up the stairs (health and safety apparently), and the lift they got was only for staff!?!?! Then I had to sit and wait for a long time even tho the specifically told me on the phone that it was crucial that I was there on time. After all this waiting I don't seem to be eligible as I strangely enough haven't paid enough National Insurance for 06-07 aaarrrrrggggg (typ A kassa). Oh well, I was a bit upset afterwards and think I might not go there again, it's such a negative place and don't think it's for me really, just gets you down, I have been positive that everything will be fine, I have never had a problem finding work before, so why now, would be a shame if they change my frame of mind with their negativity, and as we don't have a nursery place for Ax until Sept it would be hard for me to find alternative nursery care over the summer anyway, but we'll see. Enough depressing things, and here's for hoping that the recession will soon end!!!!

Axel clapping part two!

2009-05-21T17:46:00.002+01:00

The mobile video function isn't the best, he usually don't move in slowmotion (although I must admit I wish he did sometimes : )

Axel clapping!

2009-05-21T17:41:00.002+01:00

Sorry about the bad quality, we got a little clapper in our family!

Sweden here I come...

2009-05-19T14:05:00.002+01:00

I managed to book my short weekend trip to Sweden last night, been meaning to do it for a long time, think I got mixed emotions! Me and Ax flew a week before J at Christmas and it was a bit too long for my taste, both being away from J and have Ax alone, I salute all the single parents out there, I get tired after just a couple of days! But hopefully I will feel different this time, Axel will be older and not so demanding (well at least he will sleep a bit better) than last time. I will only be in Sweden for 6 days (with almost 2 of them travel days) so not too long really. The only negative thing with that is that we wont have time to see any friends unfortunately, and then of course when we all go in Aug we will spend all our time on the island chilling out. Oh well, that's the way it is some years. I'm flying out the day before Midsummer and I'm super excited to celebrate a proper Swedish Midsummer for a change, it was about 10 years since last time I celebrated in Sweden. I have of course been to a couple of different constellations here in UK, but it just isn't the same.

Eventful Friday.

2009-05-17T21:51:00.004+01:00

We placed the ad for the car on Thursday night in Auto Trader (the ripoff company of the century, they charge £40 to have an ad in for a couple of weeks, bonkers) however, on Friday morning this garage from Southampton called and said they wanted to buy the car, so J biked home from work, cleaned the car a bit before they arrived and then manage to sell the car to them, we got quite a good price and it was super easy, almost too easy maybe but as their was a couple of minor faults (crack in the back bumper, no instruction manual etc) we had a feeling it would be hard to sell to a private person. And of course the price we advertised the car for is a really tricky price, a bit too much for a private person to just pay without any guarantees so all in all, we are very happy with the sale, although I have walked around the whole day thinking that I would have liked to have driven somewhere today, typical.. the grass is greener and all that! On top of selling the car we also noticed that our timer on the hot water tank was broken in the morning, our landlord was on his way to holiday so we had to call another electrician who could come out, and while trying to arrange that I also went to Sing and sign with Axmax, and had lunch with R. I was sooo tired in the evening ha ha, can't imagine how it will feel when I go back to (a) work. So unfortunately I didn't write about the Friday theme, and to be honest, I haven't had any inspiration lately. Maybe next week, in the mean time I will just read the other Friday bloggers blogs : )

Super duper bra blogg!

2009-05-14T22:30:00.002+01:00

Just saw that this blog is back online again (prob have been for a while but I have missed it!)

http://www.fyranyanseravrosa.blogspot.com/

It's in Swedish, which is a shame as it is super duper good!

Play and Auto Trader

2009-05-14T21:47:00.004+01:00

And then it's Friday tomorrow again, this week has gone super quick, Axel is still snotty poor thing but sleeps well in the night so can't complain really. We went to our new friend F today for a play date, was really nice to see where they lived and for Axel to play with other toys, he is really getting fed up with the toys we have which I admit is mostly for smaller babies, so we might have to invest in some new toys for older babies on the weekend : )
J is putting in an ad on Auto trader to sell our car and being really irritated, don't think either of us want to sell the car, but it's too expensive and as we are only using it for leisure we simply can not justify keeping it, it's a bit upsetting but I think we will feel relieved when it's sold and we have paid it off (which will take a while as it's hard to sell cars at the mo so we will have to sell it for a bit less than it's worth arrrggg).. enought ranting from me, now I'm gonna forget about that and move on and just be happy that we had the car for as long as we did and it was great when J took his driving licence to practice and then to practice some more when he passed his test and we live so central we don't really need it!

- Axel checking our the baby walker we found outside a charity shop, we felt that we deserved some charity ourselves so we took it home (and washed it of course). He don't really want to hold it yet, but like prodding it with his little finger bless him, and I will return it to the charity shop when he can walk unaided : )
- Axel with Joda ears (with a little help from his dad!) and with lemons which was fun, and even more fun when J juggle them

I ♥ the apprentice

2009-05-13T20:02:00.001+01:00

It's just getting better and better for each week!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice/

6 year anniversary dinner

2009-05-12T21:35:00.003+01:00

Forgot to write about our anniversary dinner on Sunday night at the new Jamie Oliver restaurant. We usually buy each other presents and cards etc on our anniversary but this year we thought to try something new, scrap the pressies and actually, we didn't give each other any cards either (how Swedish!!) instead we decided to spend the pot on a nice meal out just the two of us (J's mum came to baby sit which was nice). What a place, the service was absolutely superb, the food was yummy and the restaurant was really nice, all fresh and new but rustic with an "Italian twist". We splashed out with 3 courses, sides and a beer or two and was pleasantly surprised when we got the bill, very reasonable. We had a great night and I'm very happy that I got a blog to write things like these in for me to go back and have a look at later as we can't for our lives remember what we did last year!?! ha ha

The food, I had truffle pasta and J had homemade hamburger

Sick bay, Saturday and wedding to-dos

2009-05-09T21:53:00.007+01:00

J's been ill for the last couple of days, got the flu bless him and Axel is a bit poorly as well, I think I had it last week but I thought it was hay fever, it's the same symptoms really, except I'm feeling a lot better now so probably not as the that yellow sticky things from the trees are still everywhere. As a result of snotty noses and constant sneezes we have just been chilling out the last couple of days, went to Sing and sign with Ax yesterday, it's a bit like signing up to a gym membership, you know what you signed up to but still every time you go you feel embarrassed that you haven't practice or done any work at home at all. Kinda hard to learn all the signs if you only practice for an hour each week, and still I forget to practice. I have plans to start exercising as well next week, but I just can't see it happening ha ha, my friend R suggested it as she wants to start as well so maybe if she force me (which she wont, she is such a darling and would never push anyone which is a real shame... for me ; )

We managed to walk to the park today as the sun was shining and our flat started to feel like a prison. The wind was a bit chilly so Axel had his hat on. He must have been the only one in the whole of UK today, but then again, that doesn't say much, you can see small children with no tights on under their skirts or even shorts in December!! Mental..

J's mum is coming tomorrow as me and J are celebrating 6 years together, where did the time go?? We are going out tomorrow night for some dinner and sweet talking : ) gonna try the new Jamie Oliver restaurant just opened here in Brighton, can't wait! Axel woke up at 5.17, well probably a bit before but this was the time when I looked and realised that he would not fall asleep again, it's just painful waking up that early so I better go to bed.

Here are some photos from today -

Just realised that Axel looks a bit like the child on the porridge package bless although the side comb is the other way ha ha.

Weddings to-dos (for myself really as I have been sitting thinking about it tonight)

* Find a florist

* Find a hairdresser

* Do a Mac makeup test

* Pick up the wedding rings and arrange for the name and date to be written in them

* Buy Sweets, snacks, bubbly etc

* Do a play list

* Go and have a look at the venue again (can they supply champagne glasses?)

* Buy decorations - balloons, helium canister, ribbons, weights, table linen, petals etc.

* Make a cupcake stand (or buy)

This is all I can think of right now.. flipping heck, I really must start to work through the list now!!! Thank God we are having a very relaxed and forgiving party ha ha.

I decided to skip the Friday theme as it was about buffet which I must admit I have never done myself, my suggestion is to buy it from somewhere, much easier!

Lovely Weekend and Show and Tell: Valborg och Första maj (a bit delayed)

2009-05-04T20:26:00.005+01:00

It's a new month and Musikanta is deciding on the Friday theme, the first theme was Valborg/ forsta maj Friday just gone. Valborg is an old Swedish tradition where we have large bonfires against witchcraft and evil spirits (at least that what it said on Wiki). As English people don't celebrate Valborg and me not being really sure why we are celebrating it in Sweden, I have simply stopped acknowledge it. But I remember all the Valborgs when we stood by the harbour waiting for the most annoying and arrogant Åhus scouts trying to lit the bonfire on a barge out on the water (I went to the scouts for half a year and hated it and all the leaders, still have a phobia about camping which I blatantly fully blame them for ha ha). Before they finally managed to lit the rain soaked timber (sometimes they actually didn't even manage it, talk about anti climax) our toes where like ice taps and our ears felt like they where going to fall off. Unfortunately the fired didn't warmed us up either as it was a bit too far out for that, so double anti-climax! During my teenage years the occasion (like all occasions) was celebrated with home burnt alcohol and parties at someones summer cottage (still freezing), sometimes great, sometimes just crazily bad with boy problems and tears. Thank God I grown up and don't have to do that anymore!

1 May (equivalent to the English May Day which is today), the big day to demonstrate, which I must admit I have never done, get a bit scared of crowds and riot police , (there was a confrontation just 10min walk from where we live!!!) and no wonder when you read the news papers online tonight and look at the pictures. My friend A warned us this morning about promised trouble in Brighton today, not a nice place to be with a small child. We went to J's mum instead and had a good time, but we both were super tired and still recovering after the real celebration this weekend - out good friends Wedding on Saturday!

What a fantastic day which started with the civil ceremony at noon followed by a lovely dinner and speeches, slide shows and presentation of a "book" specially made for the happy couple. We didn't get home until 11 in the night (well evening), tired but happy. So excited that we are next (only 2 1/2 months to our wedding), B and T looked so happy the whole day, the weather was great and no major incidents, all in all a great wedding!

The happy couple before the ceremony (a bit nervous)

P & K in Pavilion Garden

Me and J

J and Axmax just before the ceremony

Other Friday bloggers -

Nilla,Simone,Desiree,Annika,Anne,Petra ,Millan,Anki,Marianne , Victoria, Cecilia,Leopardia,Strandmamman, Jemaya, MiaD, Lena, Erica, Marie, Saltis, Lia, Marina Jennie, Anna, Moster Mjölgumpa, Sparkling, Taina, Christel, Musikanta, Sara, Under ytan, Marskatten, Emma, Västmanländskan, Lena W, Victoria V, Norrsken och stjärnfall, I am Annika, Birgitta, Maisoui, ,Inga-Britt, Bollebygdsbo

.

2009-05-03T06:53:00.001+01:00

Just to clearify that it is too early to go up at 5.30 after being to a wedding the evening before arrrggggg

Grey Thursday

2009-04-30T10:05:00.003+01:00

Sorry about the Swedish blog posts, has some sad news in our family, and when things like that happens I realised that the only language I wanted to write in was Swedish, I guess my Swedish roots are stronger than I sometimes think.
It's a new day, the sky is grey and we have just chilled out this morning, spoke to my family and played with Ax who is having a nap at the mo. I need to change my mood cos I have to go out and buy a white cardigan, some tights and maybe a new small bag, and a pair of shoes for the wedding we are attending on Saturday here in Brighton. So nice to dress up, and I can use all of it on my wedding and party afterwards which is a bonus!
Really looking forward to it, my lovely friend K is coming in the evening to babysit, it's a bank holiday weekend here so we might go an visit J's mum one of the days as well, so all in all a great weekend to look forward to! I'm gonna try and go to the hairdressers as well today, haven't cut my hair since.. oh my, hold tight, before Christmas I think!! It's about time!!!

Axel hasn't slept so good the last couple of night, but last night we gave him some Calpol in his sleep before we went to bed and he slept much better bless him, he is getting his second tooth which I think hurts a bit extra in the night, but I can feel it now so hopefully the worse has passed and we can all get a better night sleep! I took some photos yesterday trying to get him to show the camera his first tooth, not the easiest!

Axel keeps prodding things to feel them, so sweet and sometimes he even has his finger ready while he sleeps ha ha : )

Ett till svenskt inlagg

2009-04-29T20:41:00.003+01:00

Nu har jag läst mitt senaste inlägg, och det känns inte bra, lite som det är en polare typ, och det är det tyvärr inte utan denna tragiska och helt onödiga sorg finns mitt i min familj. Fan också. Nu vill jag bara åka hem och vara nära nära de mina. Jag känner att jag inte kan skriva mer om det här av respekt till min familj, men känner ett stort behov av att prata, tänka på det, sitta tyst och fundera. Ändå så står det bara Käraste på kortet jag har börjat skriva, vad skriver man till någon i sorg?

Min blogg skulle va pa Engelska så att alla kunde förstå, ta del och läsa, men idag finns bara ett språk att skriva på, känns säkrare och tryggare på något sätt. Konstigt de där.

Svenskt inlagg.

2009-04-29T17:11:00.004+01:00

Morgonen började med ett riktigt tråkigt och ledsamt samtal från M, de har sorg i sin familj, och jag är sa ledsen for deras skull och känner mig helt tom. Tycker livet är allt bra svårt ibland, orättvist och obegripligt. Att någon går bort för tidigt och helt onödigt, varför. Blandade känslor, ledsamhet, ilska och frågetecken.

Känns svårt och tungt att inte vara nära, stötta och trösta. Havet i mellan Sverige och England känns överväldigande en dag som den här. Tänk att livet är så skört, och vad döden ställer till det. En händelse som en familj får leva med för alltid, ett slag i ansiktet för de som så innerligt vill leva. Varför.

Lunch and song, all day long...

2009-04-28T10:54:00.002+01:00

It's Tuesday today, we have decided to stay in the flat for at least over the summer to really enjoy our little patio and not to feel too poor as we have a wedding (small but still) to fund, most things are bought already but there will always be things we need right before, flowers, hair, makeup etc. And my maternity pay will end in May and then I will try and get job seekers allowance over the summer while I apply for jobs in the sunshine. Believe it or not, as you only get about £118 a week (which you have to pay tax for) while being on maternity leave it's not much of a difference from being on job seekers (like A kassa in Sweden). I'm in a way lucky that I don't have a contract with a workplace, cos you only get maternity pay for 39 weeks here so the rest of the weeks you will have to fund yourself if you want to stay at home for a year which in my Swedish eyes is pretty reasonable that you want to. But if you don't have a job to get back to you (I really hope I got this right) can start with A kassa straight away after your mat leave runs out.
We found a nursery for Axel but he can't start until he is one in September so I can't really start anything before then, but I can always apply. I haven't heard anything from the job I applied to earlier, they said to leave it 3 weeks, but I have a feeling there must have been hundreds who applied for it and probably many more who got years of years of experiences. It's ok tho, don't really want to work full time when Axel is so little, maybe next spring but not before. The recession is really bad here, I heard on the news that there was over 200 applicants when the council advertised for rubbish bin collectors... the council was shocked as they normally only get a hand full of applicants for jobs like these (before the recession). Oh well, I guess I just have to be a house wife for the time being until something turns up, not too bad really ; )

We are going for lunch at my old work today and then to playgroup singing, nice!

Remind me to go to bed earlier!

2009-04-27T09:52:00.005+01:00

We had a lovely weekend with sunshine, relaxation with good food and friends! It started with Swedish school which was nice, but we have decided (again!!) to sell our car as we simply don't use it enough, and it's stupid to have it just standing here waisting money when we could do much more fun with the money so I'm not sure if we will go there anymore. It's really nice but it's quite far out and not that many others who have babies, I met two girls there which I'm gonna text and see if they would like to meet up in town instead. But it's really good when your children are a bit bigger so they can learn, upkeep and meet other Swedish speaking children, and I guess by then we will have a car again. The afternoon was spent just chilling out in the park the 3 of us. We drove to the countryside yesterday for a nice pub lunch with some good friends, had a real catch-up and a stroll after all the food. I love English countryside, and definitely when it's a sunny warm spring day with all it's blossom and green. But my nose do not seem to like as much, even tho I take hay fever tablets every morning I still need to sneeze all the time, but it's worth it ; ) It's rain and wind today so we are just gonna stay inside and relax, nice!

I was super good yesterday evening and put loads of my paperback books on Ebay, no use saving them after you read them, just collecting dust : ) I also put quite a lot of Swedish books on, gonna be interesting to see if anyone will bid on them! BUT I stayed up way too late which was not a good thing as Axel slept really bad and woke up just before 5!! Good that I got such a nice fiance who took him and let me sleep, but tonight I'm going to bed much earlier so I can take him tomorrow morning. Why do babies go up at 5????? I will remind him about that when he is 15 and it's almost impossible to get him out of bed before 2 in the afternoon!

Can I have a pair of ear plugs please...

2009-04-24T17:32:00.005+01:00

Axel's been doing these scream noises all day, it's like he's testing his voice over and over, not so nice and hope it will pass soon!!! Otherwise we have had a nice day out and about, met B for lunch in the park and then me and Axmax stayed there for a couple of hours, a bit windy but ok.

We rented Australia so gonna watch it tonight, eat tacos and drink some wine with cheese and crackers. We had some good news with J's job today so we will stay in Brighton for at least another year or two, feels good to have decided that and we are going to look at 2 bigger flats tomorrow (more to see what we can afford than actually rent them) after the Swedish school. We have also decided that we will sell the car, so unnecessarily to have a car when we hardly use it, many decision on a Friday afternoon but it's all good : )

I have been a bit slack with the Friday themes lately, but I will jump onboard again in May I hope!

Cosy Thursday

2009-04-23T21:44:00.004+01:00

Had a nice day today, went to see J (he wanted to show Axel off at work : ) and had lunch with him and his work colleagues then went into town and did some errands and bought some summer vests, so nice being out and about now when the weather is nice. J is at work tonight on a games night with beer, pizza, X-box and Wii games. I have watched my favourite program with Kirstie Allsopp and chilled out in front of the telly. Axel is so good going to bed at 7 without any fuss, beautiful boy : ) I had a little look at wedding bouquets online, there really are so many nice ones out there, must go and ask a couple of different florists to see what they got and what they can do in July, I want the bouquet to look really natural and summery, we really should decide on a colour scheme, I like summery pink but I'm not sure what J thinks. I found a pair of shoes at Debenhams, gonna go and see if they got them in the store. Getting excited now, less than 3 months to go and I'm enjoying the none stress that comes with a small 'no must' wedding and party!

Wedding inspirations!

I want flowers in my hair (but my messy bun a bit on the side) need to get some pictures so I can show the hairdresser (when I find one!)

Sunny Wednesday

2009-04-22T08:44:00.012+01:00

Went up with Axel this morning at 6am on the dot, must admit that J normally goes up that early with me rising from the bed at 8-9ish : ) But it's quite nice to go up a bit earlier so I might start doing that, I think I get in a better mood... cease the day sort if feel to it : ) Gonna go to Lewes today to see my lovely friend J and Iz, we are going to the park with some other mums which will be nice!

Thought I do a little "who am I" list this morning as I have already showered and had breakfast and now just killing time until we are off. I have translated it from Swedish so excuse my weird translation in places ; )

1. How old will you be in 5 years? I'll be 34

2. Who have you spent at least 2 hours with today? hmm, it's still pretty early so I guess only J and Axmax so far.

3. How tall are you? I'm 165cm in my passport, had a tall day that day I think even though the scary police admin lady really pushed down the wooden measuring stick on my head.

4. What's the last movie you seen? Not sure actually, went in to Blockbusters yesterday to see if anything nice has been released lately.. nothing!!! (so any tips are happily received, could do with a nice movie night in)

5. Who did you last call? My sister A which was a while back.

6. And who called you? My mum I think

7. What do you like the best, call people or text? I'm a real text person when it comes to arranging to meet friends, but I talk to my family in Sweden by phone.

8. Are your parents married? Nope, but my dad is married to another lovely lady.

9. When did you last saw your mum? Over Easter so not that long ago.

10. What's your eye colour? Scandinavian Blue ha ha

11. When did you wake up this morning? At 6am bright and early by a very happy little boy : )

12. What's your favourite Christmas carol? Fairytale of New York (like everyone else, and I like to sing along with it like I was drunk, why is that!?!)

13. Where's your favourite place? I will be a bit vague and say by the sea (in general really)

14. Where's is you least favourite place? I don't usually go to places I don't like so I'm not sure.

15. Where do you think you will be in 10 years? Either England or Sweden or maybe even US, who knows, only time will tell but I like adventures : )

16. What scared you in the night as a child? I was (and still am) a bit scared of the dark and have to half run skip to the bathroom in the night if I have to go which I try to avoid by not drinking so much in the evening.

17. What made you laugh recently? Axel makes my laugh all the time.

18. How wide is your bed? 160cm

19 Do you have a PC or a laptop? Both, but the PC is so old so we only use it to play music on it.

20. Do you sleep with any clothes on at night? Always a t-shirt, if not I always seem to dream that I'm naked??

21. How many pillows do you use? What's with all the bed questions???? Two if anyone is interested. But I used about 4 when I was pregnant.

22. Which countries have you visited? Sweden, Norway, Denmark, England, Scotland, Ireland, Greece, France, Germany, Holland, South Africa and Mozambique

23. Where have you lived? I grew up in Skane, then London, Oslo, Dublin, London again and finally Brighton.

24. Are you a social person? Definitely, crave company at all times.

25. What's you favourite ice cream? GBs "Sandwich", daim ice cream is pretty nice as well.

26. What's your favourite desert? I'm not too fussed, anything sweet really, but I don't like tiramisu.

27. Do you like Chinese food? It's ok, but I like Thai better

28. Do you like coffee? No, only the smell.

29. What do you drink for breakfast? Tea and c-vitamin tablet drink

30. Do you sleep on a particular side? Shouldn't this question be with the other 100 sleep questions?? the answer is left.

31. Can you play poker? Not really, only know the basic rules.

32. Do you like to snuggle? of course

33. Are you an addictive person? oh yes... I get addictive to most things so I try to avoid any routines.

34. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? My old boss, but he was a bit older ; )

35. Would you like (more) children? Yes, would like 3 I think.

36. Do you know any other languages? Apart from Swedish and English I might be able to understand a bit of German if the person speaks really slow and do not use any hard words, so nothing to brag about ha ha.

By this time I gave up, the questions never ends!!! 12 hours later and on the sofa again...

37. Have you ever been driven in an ambulance? No

38. What do you prefer, the sea or a swimming pool? Nothing's better than the sea!

39. What do you prefer to spend money on? Well, we don't have any money so that's easy haha, well if I had money I would travel a bit more.

40. Do you own any expensive jewellery? My engagement ring was a bit over budget, but I love it so that's ok ; )

41. What's your favourite program? Kirstie's new program - love it, love her, love Thursdays...

42. Can you roll your tongue? Yes

43. Who is the most fun person you know? Axel at the mo, but he doesn't know it.

44. Do you sleep with any teddies? Ehhh no.

45. What's your ring tone? Chasing cars with Snow Patrol which I've meant to change for quite a while.

46. Do you have any clothes from when you where a little girl? Some I guess..

Nooooooo, I GIVE UP this list NEVER ends!!!!!

Here is a photo of Axmax today in the park -

He looks a bit red, but fear not, he got sun cream on and was in the shade or had his big hat on the whole time, no tanned baby here (just a mum who is a tiny bit burn, should have taken on factor 40 an hour earlier!)

Party Weekend

2009-04-19T21:41:00.002+01:00

What a great weekend! Started Friday night with J's friend S came to visit, it was the first time he met Axel so Axmax got some lovely gifts and an additional person grinning at him the whole time, he loves when people smile at the moment : )

We bought some Thai take away and some alcohol and then we chatted, gossiped and played board games, perfect ending on a rainy day. J and S stayed up late talking but I was so tired by midnight, not used being up that late anymore... Probably good cos Axel woke up at 5.30 and wanted to talk and play : ) After a nice English breakfast and a shower we headed into town for some shopping and a stroll, bought the Cath Kidston shoes (even nicer in reality) and returned some stuff I bought when mum was here. I'm really into dots at the moment, don't understand where my addiction originate, but I hope it will past soon cos otherwise our home will be full of dotted things ha ha. oh, I bought some side plates (blue with white dots of course) on sale, very nice indeedy.. To finish off a great day I went to my friend Clair's 30 birthday party, was super fun, catch up with some old friends from Uni, danced and had a good time, lasted to just after 11 when I ordered a taxi and went home to my boys.

Me yesterday on my way out

We just chilled out today, planning the future, went for a drive to check out some different areas to see if we like them (to live) and then we bathed Axel and now we sit here with a laptop each (super romantic... not). But we are so close at the moment which is lovely, we are celebrating 6 years in May and it's just getting better and better : )

Axel in the bath today, super red hair at the moment so will be interesting to see what colour it turns out to be, I'm hoping for red but I have a feeling it might turn blond in the summer, but we'll see!

rain rain rain...

2009-04-17T14:38:00.002+01:00

What a rainy day... I went out in the rain to look at two houses just to see what we can get for our money, the first house was not so nice, no personality at all, big but no thanks.. BUT, the second house was just lovely, not big or fancy, just nice.. It's on the top of biggest hill in Brighton, the second room is a single (good for Axel but that's about it), it's a bit too expensive, the parking is awful in that area, but it was something with it that I really liked... On the plus side - it has a nice cosy living area come dining area with room for a big table and at least 6 chairs, nice wood flooring in the living room, good kitchen, nice little secluded Patio, good big bathroom with double glazing, and the main bedroom was a good size too, there is a attic space for storage and I happen to meed the owner and she was lovely, they have a baby as well which made it easier for me as the second room was already a nursery, not that I can't see through things like that, once an estate agent always an estate agent!! It's a real shame that we can't buy as you need a good deposit (rightly so) which we don't have. We could have bought a similar place for the same monthly outgoings in the same area, please shout if anyone would like to invest in us with a prospect of a nice turnout in 5 years when we sell it : )
I might get J to have a look at it next week and if it's still on the market maybe we could put in a silly rental offer and see what they say, there are soooo many flats available at the mo so I think they would be open for a deal.. Either way, it felt really good to have a look at what's out there.

Another exciting thing is that I applied for my first job last weekend wooooo, I hope I get an interview, might find out next week, but it's ok if not, just good to start applying for jobs in general!

Shopping problems...

2009-04-17T10:24:00.004+01:00

Well.. not really a problem more that I must not buy anything at the moment, but there is so much nice stuff out there, really summery bright with a lot of dots : ) and I really want to cheer our place up a bit, and myself for that matter, as I was preggies last summer and I'm not sure where my summers clothes are, I seem to only have dark wintry clothes in drawers. Oh well, I must look for them this weekend and see what I got before I go out spending money we don't have.

I need to buy a new pair of shoes as my old ones broke, I wanted to buy a yellow pair of converse, but not sure if they even exist in the UK, so might just buy a pair of these (a bit cheaper as well so that's good) -

It's raining today, grey and damp. This flat feel sooo small when the weather is like this, Axel is sleeping at the mo, think his second tooth is on its way so he is a bit tired and is drooling everywhere ha ha, but he is such a lovely little boy, it's just getting better and better for each week!

I would love these pillows for our sofa, would look lovely now in the spring and summer!

I feel a bit better already just window shopping a bit at home, gonna go and have a look at two houses for us, a bit too early for us to move but I want to have a look at what we can afford in the area : )

Oh, and it's going to be sunshine this weekend, I'm going to a party on Saturday night which will be a lot of fun, so all good !

Easter and Today

2009-04-15T20:57:00.002+01:00

Had a good time with my mum here over Easter, went to Windsor one day and on the Monday the day was shining so we walked to the Marina and back which was quite a trek. So hard to have visitors in our flat, can't wait until we get somewhere bigger, it's really getting to us now.. And the neighbour upstairs have moved their living room around so they have their TV just above our bedroom so I have had to sleep with earplugs which isn't ideal, if anything, I really want to be able to hear if Axel wakes up. I must go up and ask them to turn it down a bit , but I hate doing things like that.. Just want to move instead : ) I applied for my first job yesterday, would be surprised if I get an interview, but you never know, maybe maybe. It's was a good exercise to write the application at least, forgot how hard they are to do but will apply for all interesting jobs from now on!

J's mum and grandma came over today, they brought lunch with them and then we headed out and had a look in the laines and had coffee and dessert at Jamie Oliver's new restaurant here in Brighton, was lovely and the food looked sooooo yummy, think J's mum will babysit on the 10 of May so me and J can go there and eat a 3 course dinner and celebrate our 6 year anniversary!

Cleaning with a grumpy boy = almost impossible

2009-04-09T17:05:00.004+01:00

As my mum is coming tonight I thought I try and clean a bit today, tidy everywhere, clean the bathroom and hoover for her arrival. Axel on the other hand seemed to have a totally different agenda (or he just don't like to be around people that clean hence trying with everything he's got to distract the person - me). After having a couple of weeks where he has just been so happy and charming he decided to change today just in time for my mum arrrgggg, crying, don't want to sleep, don't want to sit and play on the mat, don't want to eat, don't want to be carried and on it goes. So why am I sitting here blogging when I should take this opportunity when he's finally asleep to clean? I feel exhausted to be frank, and all my cleaning powers have vanished. But, I did manage to tidy quite a bit and the bathroom looks spik and span and I will try and get J to hoover when he gets home.

I bought a second hand Maclaren buggy to have in the car and when I travel, it's quite nice, not new but it does the trick and it's a limited edition from a NY designer Kate Spade, who knows, it might go up in price one day, until then I will just use it ; ). Me and Axel took it for a spin around the block this arvo, he wasn't too impressed, and I think we'll have to try it a bit more before he'll give it the thumbs up.

I might not update the blog over Easter so have a fantastic Easter and make sure you eat as much eggs and chocolate as you wish, after all, it's only Easter once a year ha ah ; *

Supermarket shop...

2009-04-08T17:37:00.004+01:00

Before we had Axel we rarely went to do a BIG supermarket shop, maybe every 3 months or so, it always cost us a fortune but we were happy leaving the store knowing that we had food for a foreseeable future. Now I go to the supermarket (ASDA today but it can vary- I'm a Sainsbury's girl myself, but a bit too expensive for my bank account at the mo, at least so I thought) maybe once or twice a month, I always seem to spend around £100, it really doesn't matter what I buy which really irritates me!! But then again, I always end up buying things that I would actually normally buy, like today for example a scale and a bowl came with me home. With this in mind I have started to wonder if it is cheaper to do a big shop with the car?? I never buy things like that when I go to Sainsbury's with the buggy (i.e I have to carry it all home by hand), maybe Mr Oliver's shop is the best in the end?? I'm very excited that my mum is coming tomorrow, hope that the weather will continue to be really nice so we can be outside most of the time, out flat is pretty small with three adults and one baby in it, and when I told mum that Axel wakes up at 5.30 each morning I could hear the fear in her voice ha ha.. as we don't have a second bedroom I'm not sure how we will solve it all yet : )

Axel on our patio (6 April 09)

The end of the tunnel and more cup cakes!

2009-04-06T21:18:00.005+01:00

After a tough weekend with tooth ache like someone just hit you in the face, to the point when you almost feel a bit nauseous cause you are off balance as your ear is hurting of the pain(actually, I have never been hit in the face IRL, but I imagine that's how it feels like). I took full strength ibuprofen, paracetamol and codeine and still pain.. arrrggg!! For you guys who follows my blog will know that I have been on weekly visits to my dentist trying to fix a flipping hole (that I didn't even knew existed until he told me), but it's never been good and I have started to forget how it feels like to eat on both sides like a normal person, I've had enough and it's coming out next week!! I got some penicillin and some better anti-inflammatory tablets and I'm feeling a little bit better, well, it's bearable. Hope it's better tomorrow.

I made a new batch of cup cake icing with some frozen sponges from last week. I think I've nailed it!! - I'll make the actual cup cakes the day before (as they were a bit dry today after being in the freezer for a week) and then ice them on the day. And I've found the most amazing "icing" receipt, I can't take any credit for it, I found it at the my friend R's house last Friday while having lunch, she got loads of nice cook books including Nigella Lawson's Love Buns. No butter, more like soft meringue topping that melts in you mouth. We had one each today to test and now I'm just craving the other 4 in the fridge ha ha... Evil business this cake making malaky, must go for a fast walk tomorrow ; )

Nigella says that you should just take a dollop and swirl it over... must practice on the swirling bit!

Friday Show and Tell - Yellow

2009-04-03T11:02:00.003+01:00

Västmanländskan is the host for April's Show and Tell. Today's theme is Yellow!

Axel only allows me to write max one posting a day and as I've already written one below and he has slept now for over an hour and will wake up any minute now I have decided to SHOW more than tell today. I've started to like yellow more and more, unfortunately I can't wear yellow as I look really weird in it : ) but here are some picture's I found online (click on them if you want to know where I found them).

Ohh, and isn't this bunch of flowers just lovely - might have something similar for my wedding.

Other Friday bloggers- Nilla, Simone, Desiree, Annika, Anne, Petra , Millan, Anki, Marianne , Victoria, Cecilia, Leopardia, Strandmamman , Jemaya , MiaD , Lena , Erica , Marie , Saltis , Lia , Marina , Jennie , Anna, Moster Mjölgumpa , Sparkling , Taina , Christel , Musikanta , Sara , Under ytan , Marskatten , Emma , Västmanländskan , Lena W , Victoria V , Norrsken och stjärnfall

Wedding planning and cup cakes

2009-04-03T10:18:00.006+01:00

Me and J are getting married in July after 6 years and 1 child together : ) I can't wait being married to J, I already feel we belong together, he is my best friend and I look forward to our future, more babies and travels. I can't (and don't want to) picture my life without him by my side. As we live in England (including most of J's family) and my family living in Sweden we always knew that our wedding would be slightly complicated. We started looking for places in Sweden quite a while back, lovely castles and restaurants but realised quite quickly that it would be too expensive for our economy. We spoke back and forth about different alternatives, but the only thing we could agree on was that the most important thing was that we got married. So with that in mind we decided to get married in the registry office here in Brighton where we live. A small ceremony with some drinks down the pub with a couple of friends and then a "honeymoon/ summer holiday" in Sweden in a rented cottage. All sounded good and low key, BUT.. I realised pretty soon that I didn't really looked forward to it as I felt that I wanted it different (as I hope I'll only get married once). I'm a very social person so the low key theme just wasn't for me. So the drinks with friends down the pub have now become a party for friends in a lovely function room above a pub, pints are now bubbly, snacks and cupcakes, decorations, balloons and music. I have changed my mind a couple of times with the dress (J's mum is sewing a white one for me as well at the mo as I'm not sure about the flowery dress for the England party).
The relaxing honeymoon in Sweden has changed as well. My mum started to say that maybe she could do a surprise party for us which sounded nice, until she started to ask me things after just one day. So to avoid the whole "surprise which isn't a surprise at all as I have arrange the whole thing really" we decided to have a lunch in a restaurant in Ven with my family and J's family who's coming over from England. We are then going to BBQ back at ours with drinks and mingle. So a bit of a change, but now I look forward to it soooo much I'm almost exploding. And I feel that we really got the best of both, we are going to celebrate for weeks which feels amazing and much better than spending a ridicules amount of money on one day!

After the painful production of about 70 invitation cards for both events I promised myself not to do anything handmade again, unfortunately that only lasted about a week and until we reached the cup cake booking. They charge an absolute fortune for cupcakes here in Brighton so J's mum said that maybe she (and M) could make them which is lovely, except I can't just leave it to them, no.. instead I have made some myself to get the perfect sponge and the perfect icing (not there yet, but think I know the perfect receipt now so must try it next week). I made some Swiss meringue buttercream icing yesterday(a bit too buttery for my taste) but I used a cheep and nasty nozzle from Tesco's so the decoration bit looks a bit weird so I'm now on the hunt for some nicer nozzles, oh and some scales oh and a bowl for water baths!!! Actually, maybe £1.50 per cake is starting to look pretty reasonable ha ha, we only need about 80 of them top ; )

Cup cakes made yesterday evening!

Tuesday

2009-03-30T12:56:00.010+01:00

Had a really nice weekend, we went to the Swedish school on Saturday morning, they got a Swedish teacher there for adults as well so J came along, he thought it was great so gonna try and continue with it every Saturday. Next week the whole school will do some Easter decorations and then eat Semlor (a very Swedish tradition - basically a sweet bun with some whipped cream and a paste similar to marzipan with some icing sugar dusted on top, they are lovely). It's really nice to get out in the morning and get going instead of just chilling at home on the weekends. We went for a walk on the Downs with J's work on Sunday which was nice - was a sponsored walk for Breast cancer research in UK, it was quite cold and muddy but the views on the downs are just stunning and it was for a good cause! I felt the weekend went much slower (or maybe the same speed, but on the Sunday night it felt like we done loads) much more than last weekend when we ended up doing nothing which gives me slight anxiety on Sunday evenings ha ha.

Axel tooth has come through now and I can see the second one just under the skin, hopefully both should be out soon so we can have the usual happy Axel back, feel so sorry for him at the mo, must hurt a bit, but giving him some Calpol and extra cuddles and kisses which I think helps... Me on the other hand - my tooth is still not ok, I can not eat on one side and got ache, sharp pain and pulsating pain a lot. Not good, going to the dentist tomorrow AGAIN!!, feel a bit embarrassed going there so much, but J keeps telling me that it's them that should be embarrassed for not fixing my tooth correctly in the first place, so I keep telling myself that, it's even come to the point when I just want them to take it out or do a root canal - anything really to stop this underlying pain arrrgggggghhhhh.

J's mum is coming over today which will be nice, gonna go and have some lunch with J, I thought the weather would be better (it's cloudy and a bit cold), oh well..

Axel can now sit up all by himself without falling after a while, happened last week and now he is just practicing and practicing, so fascinating how quick they learn something new when they figure out how to do it!

Show and Tell: Om jag vann tio miljoner skulle jag...(If I won 10 millions I would....)

2009-03-27T22:14:00.009Z

It's the last Friday in March and Erica’s' last week to decide on the theme, been really nice and upbeat subjects (although I missed the one last Friday).

I've been thinking about this week’s theme quite a lot, I love thinking "IF" day dreams, actually, I love to daydream in general, walking and thinking happy thoughts while feeling the warmth of the sun in my face. My friend Anneli introduced me to it many years ago when she told me she always daydreamed (even long stories and complex scenarios), we were working at Kodak developing photos and in great need of some dreams : ) I gave it a try and realised I loved it! Anyway, back to Show and Tell. As I live in Brighton where a one bedroom tiny flat costs around 2 million kronors I’ve decided to change the currency to British pounds (that way I can get almost 11 times as much for my money ha ha, which is a bit shite as it used to be almost 14 times when I was studying and got Swedish student loan, typical!). I actually play the lottery twice a week (on standing order so I never miss it), and I still believe that we will win the big bucks one day : )

My wish list if I won 10 million pounds-
* I would buy a lovely Victorian house, nothing too big and fancy, maybe 3-4 bedrooms, a nice double reception room and a big kitchen in the back facing the big secluded garden.Lots of room for children to play in, in a nice little village with a post office and a country pub.
I actually found my dream home while searching for pictures – isn’t it just perfect – relaxed, white and airy!
(click on the picture to see more photos of the house)

* A funky penthouse apartment in London would also be on my wish list, central with nice views and housekeeping (butler) services so we don’t have to clean or fill the fridge before we arrive (this is so much dreaming I have no clue if it actually exist, but I wouldn’t be surprised, everything is possible in London for the right money). A nice bathroom (en-suite and child free) with big floor to ceiling windows and a massive bath is crucial as I love to bath, even more so with a view. The feeling of being in the middle of the city but totally in your own bubble where no one can disturb you, maybe even some nice jazz music in the background, heaven!!

* I would buy an old Silver Porche, just like the one Dylan had in Beverly Hills 90210

* It would be wonderful to have a (summer) house in Sweden where I grew up for my family to be able to use as much as they want, somewhere remote, next to the sea in Skane where we could spend our summers and celebrate Christmas.

* Imagine being able to travel all over the world, see amazing places, experience different cultures and explore.

There are lots of other things I would like and do, but the time is getting late and as I have a teething baby at the mo so I must go to bed and try and get some hours sleep before the night shift start with an upset baby, poor thing.

Västmanländskan is the host for April with some great themes (sorry for the rough translation)-
3 april – gult (yellow)April är ju påskmånad och då är färgen gul aktuell. Vad betyder gult för dig? Gult är fult? (Yellow is associated with Easter, what does yellow mean to you?)

10 april – långsamt (slowly)Långfredagen. Förr i världen årets långsammaste dag. Vad är långsamt för dig? (Long Friday – Used to be the slowest (and boriest) day of the year, what is slow for you?)

17 april – vårtecken (Spring signs)Nu borde våren ha kommit i nästan hela landet. Vilket är ditt bästa/största/viktigaste/första vårtecken?
(The spring should be with us by now, whats your best/biggest/ most important/ first spring sign?)24 april – övergivet (abandoned)
Sista temat ut för april lämnar jag helt öppet för tolkningar.
(The last theme is open for own interpretations.)

Other Friday bloggers- Nilla, Simone, Desiree, Annika, Anne, Petra , Millan, Anki, Marianne , Victoria, Cecilia, Leopardia, Strandmamman , Jemaya , MiaD , Lena , Erica , Marie , Saltis , Lia , Marina , Jennie , Anna, Moster Mjölgumpa , Sparkling , Taina , Christel , Musikanta , Sara , Under ytan , Marskatten , Emma , Västmanländskan , Lena W , Victoria V , Norrsken och stjärnfall

Nursery, a tooth and my dress

2009-03-25T08:33:00.004Z

After a week of lovely spring weather it's starting to get a bit cloudy and colder but we can't complain, March has been fantastic, from my birthday the 2nd to yesterday really, and I hope it will continue in April and over Easter weekend when my mum is coming, England is perfect this time of year : ) I went to see two nurseries this week, they were both nice (much better than the other one I saw a while back), and I think I will book a place for him at one of them that's on the way to J's work and town, J should have a look at it as well, but I think it will be good. The only problem is that we are not sure what will happen after the summer, we are toying with several different alternatives. The only thing we are sure about is that we need more space, a bedroom for Axel as we seem to wake each other up (and lying reading in the dark using your mobile as a torch is just not OK in the long run ha ha). And I would love to have space for a kitchen table so we can all sit down and eat together, is that too much to ask ; )

Axel is really growing and developing now with rapid speed, being quite happy in general which is very nice. Yesterday I felt something sharp in his mouth, but I can't see the tooth just yet, but it's definitely there and on it's way. The last two nights have been a bit hard for him I think, waking up a couple of times poor thing, but it's enough me just giving him the dummy and he is off again which is lucky as I don't want to start feeding him in the night again.

Oh, I think I forgot to write it before but I found my wedding dress (and bought it). J's mum was suppose to make one for me, but then I walked past Monsoon where I had seen a dress a while ago that I liked (flowery) and now it was on sale. I tried it on and it's lovely! Very pleased with my find, just hope no one will turn up with the same dress on the party (but I have decided that it doesn't matter even if as it's not a traditional wedding dress as such anyway ha ha). And I can have in on the family lunch in Sweden as well which is great! Now I just have to find a pair of nice shoes and a white cardigan and maybe a little bag to go with it, book a time at the hairdressers to get my hair styled in the morning of the day and a time at the Mac shop that my friend R tipped me off about. If you book a session with them it cost £25 but you are allowed to choose things for the whole amount and they will teach you exactly how to do the makeup so you can do it myself on the day (and be able to practise before and then of course use the makeup afterwards). I think it sounds great!! We also need to think about decorations for the party, will have a good browse around the web for inspiration later on.

Here are some photos from the weekend and yesterday!

Sunday heat on our patio.

Axel and J on Sunday

Axel is starting to like being on his tummy more and more

Doing the penguin move

Lovely Sunshine and Swedish school

2009-03-21T19:36:00.005Z

What a lovely week, I'm starting to enjoy motherhood more and more for each day that goes by, maybe it's the sun but I'm feeling really balanced and happy. Looking forward to a nice spring and summer, sun, ice cream, our wedding and then all new things in the autumn, got a strong believe that everything will be just fine and work out (lets hope so at least!!). I met up with Ruth on Friday, went to Wagamama where we had lunch with our two for one voucher, had a good chat and then we went into town to buy some sun blinds for the car and bought some new sunglasses (sun, sun, sun ha ha). Had some tea in Mark and Spencer's (never been there before I had Axel, but they got a great cafe and good changing facilities : ) And then we walked home, I met Ruth at Worthing hospital pre-labour course day, we live really close to each other and our boys are born only a month apart, lovely!

Axel has started with Swedish Välling in the evenings at 7 before he goes to bed, and it's doing wonders, he has now slept from 7 in the evening to 6ish in the morning two night in a row (knock on wood). He did however wake up at 5.30 today when it was my morning, so weird being up that early, nothing on telly, not even the early news!! only a little smiley baba : ) But at least it's a bit lighter in the mornings so it doesn't feel like you wake up in the middle of the night ("you know that going to the airport in the middle of the night feeling"). But I must admit, J does almost all morning shifts bless him, soooo sweet, before he goes to work around 8 he gives me a tired Axel to snuggle up with (on Friday we managed to sleep to 9.30.. not bad!!) And I love smelling his lovely hair and skin in the morning, all warm and cosy.

After a nice morning me and Ax went to the Swedish school in Portslade, was really nice meeting other Swedish mums and dads, have a look around, sitting in the sun with a cup of tea. Definitely gonna go next Saturday, was so nice speaking Swedish to other adults and not just Axel. And there is a Swedish Teacher for partners so I'm gonna drag along J next week : )

After driving home with a screaming Axel who was so tired and lost his dummy (and I couldn't find it and didn't wanted to turn around in my seat as I was driving), it was lovely to find the flat cleaned and hoovered, and a sunny patio. We have just chilled today, I made Swedish waffles with strawberry jam and cream, and now I'm enjoying a nice glass of wine and some cheese puffs. All in all a nice day, hoping for sunshine tomorrow so we can go out, I'm gonna meet Kirsty I think, she's just been away travelling so excited hearing about her trip!

Wedding rings!

2009-03-18T18:03:00.002Z

The sun's been shining all week here in Brighton and the Brits strips off like it's July ha ha.. Me and J have this competition every year where we have to spot the first person wearing flip flops. I won that competition today (although we have both seen people with flippisar earlier - the competition states that we must be together when spotting one). After a nice stroll into town today we met J outside the jewelers where we went on the weekend and decided on our rings, I know it's a bit early but it's nice to get everything sorted well in time! And I think we learned something with the invitation cards- never make anything yourself!!! ha ha : ) We are still producing stupid cards and I'm getting nervous that some people might get pissed off as they haven't received their cards yet even tho others have. But there's no bias or prioritisation, instead we are just ticking people off the list while making the cards. But I hope we will have sent them all out by the end of the week, then I can show the cards here : )

As I have a solitaire ring (one diamond) as my engagement ring I wanted a plain d shaped ring as my wedding ring. Unfortunately it's still quite expensive as I got a platinum ring, but my estate agent sale face came on and I got our two rings down in price nicely, so that feels good!!! J's ring is in Palladium (looks like platinum and wont go yellow after a while) gonna be interesting to see how long it will last as it's quite a new metal, the jewelers don't know. But if it get really ugly after a while, then he can hopefully upgrade his ring (if we both work). But for now it's good, and I think it's better than white gold, but of course it's a matter of taste : )

Gonna go and look at 2 nurseries next week, want to find one as I want to start working in September. Hope it's better than the last one I saw which was awful! But I got one of them recommended so I'm quite hopeful. The only tricky bit is that we will move soon, was hoping in May, but think we might wait until I got a job so we can see how much money we have to spend on rent, I must admit I'm a bit bored with Brighton, the arty Brightonians, the low wages and the expensive rents and houses. I got ants in my pants and want to move somewhere else exciting, need to work on J tho, he seem to like it here...oh well..

Fredags tema - dromdag (dream day)

2009-03-14T19:15:00.004Z

My dream day - My idea of a dream day has changed during the years, when I was younger it probably was a day in town with some friends and then going out in the evening- shopping, chatting and dancing!
My dream day today would be to wake up around 9-10, not being tired after I've slept the whole night looking forward spending a day with J and Axel, maybe even breakfast in bed! The weather is nice (think I got a bit of SAD, hate winters and cold, and don't get me started on snow!), I love "Indian summers" when the air is still warm but it's the end of September when you are wise enough to appreciate every day like it was the last before the autumn. We take our bikes and ride down to the (strangely enough almost empty sand beach!!), we have lovely food with us to eat and snack on. The water is clear and warm, and there is a bit of a breeze so you don't get too hot while building sand castles on the beach and playing beach tennis.

In the late afternoon we bike and buy some ice cream, lots of different flavours with cream on top in a newly baked waffle, still warm and tasty. Then we bike home and shower all the salt and sand off, but the skin still smells of beach and sun, I love that smell.

We open a bottle of wine, Axel goes to bed without and fuss after a busy day (actually, he never make a fuss in the evenings so that is not a dream, but a reality). A couple of friends come over and we put some nice meat and veg on the bbq, with some nice special potato packages and a lovely salad. Instead of dessert we have a cheese platter and unpack the board games, maybe a new nice edition of TP, plenty of candles and some good background music.

Ohh, I can't wait until the summer is here, we are going to rent a house on Ven for 2 weeks (as our honeymoon) in Aug, and I will try to appreciate each day, even if it's only Aug : ) like it's the last sunny day of the summer, magical!

Ven 2004

Vill ni se fler fredagstemare så får ni klicka er vidare här nedanför! (more Friday bloggers below)

Nilla, Simone, Desiree, Annika, Anne,Petra , Millan, Anki, Marianne , Victoria, Cecilia,
Leopardia, Strandmamman, Jemaya, MiaD, Lena, Erica, Marie, Saltis, Lia, Marina, Jennie, Anna, Moster Mjölgumpa, Sparkling, Taina, Christel, Musikanta, Sara Under ytan, Marskatten, Emma, Västmanländskan, Lena W

Axel 6 months today!!

2009-03-11T20:45:00.007Z

Axel is 6 months today, so surreal, it was just yesterday he was born and tiny, now he is almost 70 cm and 8 1/2 kg! I got some inspiration from another blogger to write down some facts about Ax, mostly for me to look back upon. So here we go..

At 6 months Axel can almost sit up unaided - the "play ring" has helped sooo much. He can sit in it for "longer" periods playing with his toys which he is starting to like more and more now as he can pick them up and hold them much better sitting up.

Axel loves to sit in his high chair watching the fishes in the aquarium and he loves books more than anything else, "read them", chew them and shakes of excitement when we look in magazines.

He's tried quite a lot of different food, parsnip, carrot, broccoli, but his favourite is butternut squash. He also like bananas and apples.

He "talk" a lot, trying out different noises and facial expressions, a tries to charm you into smiling, and smiles a lot himself. He rarely cries, only is he hit him self accidentally with his toys trying to maneuvering them towards his mouth, or if he is over tired.

Axel sleeps through most nights now which is nice, although early mornings in this household with Ax waking up at 6 the latest. But he is so good in the evenings, falls asleep at 7 without "our help", he always sleeps on his side with a muslin as a comfy blanket. He sleeps a couple of times during the day, mostly in the mornings before lunch.

He loves it when we sing and laugh out loud when we I do movements with his arms to go with the song. I think I'm gonna buy a small cd player so we can easily listen to music in the living room without having to turn on the PC.

And he loves the camera, smiles and wants to touch it all the time, lucky for me as I can not stop taking photos of him!!!

No teeth yet, but he is chewing away on everything and you can feel the teeth just underneath the skin so soon maybe.

We went swimming for the second time today and Axel dipped his head, got a bit surprised but I think he liked it. I, on the other hand thought it was much nicer when J came along so I think we will be starting to go to the pool on the weekend so we can go all 3 of us.

I'm enjoying motherhood more and more for each day, maybe because I'm getting more confident, but also cos Ax is getting more and more fun and not so much baby anymore which I like weirdly enough.

Fredags tema - Blogg plats (blog space)

2009-03-06T18:33:00.007Z

Erica is the host for the Friday - Show and Tell in March. The first theme is "where do you blog?"

I would like to say that I blog while sitting on the beach or at least that I blog all over the place, however, this is not the case. I always blog from our living room sofa. There are many reasons why, the first one is that we live in a one bedroom flat so not that many other places to sit, the second more annoying reason is that our laptop's battery is not working properly so we always have to sit by a socket, and as we live so small we don't really have many spare sockets. So not exciting at all!

Had a lovely day with Jo and Iz today and look forward to the weekend, we are eating Fajitas tonight with some nice wine, perfect Friday night!

Axel today in his sitting ring, brilliant invention and an Ebay catch!

Vill ni se fler fredagstemare så får ni klicka er vidare här nedanför! (more Friday bloggers below)

Nilla, Simone, Desiree, Annika, Anne,Petra , Millan, Anki, Marianne , Victoria, Cecilia,
Leopardia, Strandmamman, Jemaya, MiaD, Lena, Erica, Marie, Saltis, Lia, Marina, Jennie, Anna, Moster Mjölgumpa, Sparkling, Taina, Christel, Musikanta, Sara Under ytan, Marskatten, Emma, Västmanländskan, Lena W

Walks by the sea and Baby swim

2009-03-04T22:02:00.005Z

Started the day with a walk to the sea with B and Bo, it's so nice living close to the water, must walk down more often now in the spring before it gets bonkers down there packed with turists and Londoners. Had a sandwich watching the world go by talking to B, such a luxury being off with Axel on days like these and he is so cute at the moment. It was a really exciting afternoon, we went to the baby swim for the first time today, J came as well which was great, so nice to be able to share Axel's firsts together all three of us. You are not allowed to take photos at the pool but I managed to take one before the lady told me off : ) Axel loved it and I've book us in for next week again, he didn't mind getting water in his face and was smiling most of the time : ) It was really warm by the pool as it's specially for babies hence the fogginess.

What a fantastic day : )

2009-03-02T20:18:00.003Z

Had a lovely day with lunch at the Marina and cake with friends!

My Birthday!

2009-03-02T08:47:00.002Z

The time has come, another year has gone by - and what a year!!! I got engaged (one year tomorrow), had Axel, met a lovely bunch of girls, and, well grew older : ) I'm on my last year of the twenties and this year I'm really gonna try to remember to enjoy writing a "2" in front of my age ha ha. J took today off so I got song, presents and breakfast in bed from him and Axel, for the first time since I don't know did I not lie awake waiting for them to come in, I was sound asleep, and no it wasn't 6 in the morning J took that shift, and then woke me up at 8 (so a proper sleep-in for me). The best "present" must be the handmade card they did this morning with Axel's hand, so nice and I love it when thoughts have been put in a present, might even frame it : ) I got some cards in the post last week from Sweden that I saved for today, nice nice.

Lovely cards and 'Sweets from my sweets, sugar for my darling....

The sun is shining and it's real spring weather in the air, I'm gonna jump in the shower and then we are heading out for some fun, gonna buy some cake on the way home to have for the girls and babies this arvo, this day is going to be great - I'm loving it!

Friday Show (and not so much telling) on a Sunday

2009-03-01T09:21:00.002Z

After a week of tummy bugs and me washing everything thinking it will make me feel better - my new super practical drying rack is simply indispensable to me!

Catch up

2009-03-01T08:45:00.008Z

I started to feel a bit fluie last Sunday and got some tummy craps in the afternoon which turned to more sinister gastric "whateveritscalledIcanneverremember", I even had some fever so I think it was more towards the Winter Vomiting bug (my tummy thought it was so much fun last time so requested an encore) - can't believe that I've had it twice in the space of 2 months when I didn't have it for 10 years before!! Anyway, lets not dwell in that, I was starting to feel a bit better come Tuesday when I was so hungry I decided to eat a Big Mac, yes - how STUPID of me to even think that I could eat at all, so after another two days of tummy ache minus the puking thank God I'm almost back to normal. The whole week reminded me of how I felt the first 3 months when I was pregnant with Axel, it was dreadful, I was constantly feeling queasy, nauseous and tired. The best contraception really, one week of that is enough for me for a loooong while, even more painful with a baby that could not give a monkeys that you are feeling shite : )

After a week of illness the flat really needed a good clean so me and J scrubbed, washed, hoovered and organised away yesterday, so nice to be in a more tidy clean flat, I even finished the half complete cabling job that's been driving me bonkers for ages so now we live in a - cable all over the floor - free living room: ) We then went to see J's uncle and his partner for a walk on the pier and some nice Thai food, unfortunately Axel is not feeling so good at tho moment, got a nice whisky voice and think he even had some fever last night poor thing so he got a bit upset after a while in the restaurant so me and J took turns to push the buggy outside (and we left to go home just after 8 so no late night ha ha , but it was the first time we were in restaurant in the evening with Axel so I think it was ok anyway.

Today we are planning to continue with the invitation cards and then have some tea and cake with J's family before they head back to Primrose Hill. It's my birthday tomorrow and J's taken a holiday day, he's been working so much he can really do with a break, just gonna spend time as a family and do fun things, hope the weather is good!

Here are some pictures from this week -

Axel in his green top with Wilma the worm and Axel the next day with his bunny

ok I admit, I'm being lazy

2009-02-27T10:41:00.002Z

but I think it's ok after a tummy week : ) We are all much better now, but my tummy is still sore and I only eat porridge and yogurt, but I realise that I must start eating a more varied diet soon, just not today. I will skip the Friday theme today - Indispensable and concentrate on being with Axel and getting better instead. The sun is shining here today so we will head out soon for some much needed fresh air!

Closed due to Tummy bug

2009-02-25T19:17:00.003Z

Hope we all feel better soon, this has dragged on since Sunday!

Show and Tell - Coffee

2009-02-20T10:52:00.006Z

This month Fritt ur hjartat decide the themes -
6 februari VÄSKOR (Bags)
13 februari NÄRMAST HJÄRTAT (Closest to the heart)
20 februari KAFFE (Coffee)
27 februari OUMBÄRLIGT (indispensable)

I only got two things in common with coffee, I used to work at Starbucks when I first came to London 10 years ago, and secondly – I love the smell of coffee but not too keen on its taste. So, instead of writing around a subject I feel no real love towards I’m going to mingle with my real love – Mr TEA : ) When I first arrived to this strange and wonderful country I laughed at the obsession English people seemed to have for their tea (they even call their dinner tea sometimes which is really quite confusing). It’s estimated that 165 million cups are enjoyed by the Brits every day (http://www.tea.co.uk/factsheets.php). For many years I was an observer and only drank the occasionally cup now and again, but when I started working in an Estate agent’s my working colleagues got me hooked, I became a real tea drinker – no wonder as every time you make a cup for yourself it’s usual office policy to ask your fellow colleagues if they want a cup (yes that’s correct, it can quite quickly spiral out of control if you are more than 5 people working – in fact it would be really interesting to know the statistics of how many hours a week able educated workers makes tea each week and how much companies actually pay their workers in wages whilst making tea- think we’re talking about hours and billions : ).

When I moved down to Brighton and studied, I drank an enormous amount of tea in front of the Laptop and then it just spiralled out of control when I started working with me having up to 8 (big) cups per day. Unfortunately, research shows that caffeine might harm the foetus so when I fell pregnant I cut down to only 2 cups a day, it was painful but of course worth it : ) The moment I had Axel and was in the care of NHS (the National health service) they “made” me a tea member again by rolling in the tea trolley about 10 times a day (at least lol). It tasted divine, even more so just after giving birth being so tired and hungry all the time after 9 months of nausea. There are these advert on the telly about Brits wanting their own tea whilst abroad, and yes, I confess, I am one of those people, I do bring proper English brew with me when I go to Sweden (the closest Sweden comes to “proper” tea is Konsum’s Blå vitt English breakfast tea). And not just that, I sneak with the bags in the kitchen, not because I’m embarrassed, oh no, I sneak cos I’m afraid of not having enough for my whole trip should they be placed on the breakfast table for everyone to use – spoken like a proper addict! Anyhow, after all this writing about tea I must go and make myself a cuppa before the little one wakes up ; )

Imagine owning one of these combined tea makers and alarm clocks, brilliant!

Hope you all have a great weekend, I'm hoping the paper cutter will arrive today before I head out so I can start with the invitations tomorrow. J might have to work this weekend but that's ok, we could do with some extra pennies (who couldn't!). But we are having a couple (well, just us) evening, some nice food, wine and a good chat, a date at home : )

Här är fler Fredagsbloggare (more Friday bloggers) : Nilla , Anna, Desiree, Annika, Anne, Petra ,Anna-Saltis ,Millan, Anki, Marianne, Victoria, Lia, Cecilia, Leopardia, Marina, Marie, Strandmamman, Ulrika, Jemaya, MiaD, Ingabritt, maisoui, Moster Mjölgumpa, Erica, Taina, sparkling, Christel, ,emma, jennie, musikanta,

Thursday before Friday: )

2009-02-20T10:44:00.002Z

Had a nice lunch with the girls yesterday and then went to Sainsbury's, but on my way there my flipping dentist called and said they found another hole in one of my teeth, so have to book a time and pay them another 90 bloody pounds.. arrrhhgggg! Was not a happy shopper, but managed to only buy things that was on offer so our food bill was cheap at least : )

Creativity overflow!

2009-02-17T21:56:00.002Z

Lately I've had the urge to create - this blog, crochet and now wedding invitations. Maybe it's because I'm not working at the mo, think my brain is in need for some good games of TP instead of all this creativity, unfortunately our edition is an American one from 1984 so really flipping hard and not really enjoyable after hours of play and only two small "pluppar" (probably in the entertaining and literature genre). Me and J spent yesterday evening ohhing and ahhing over different fonts and designs for the invitations, ordering paper cutting machines and glues, now we feel a bit lost just waiting for the stuff we ordered, just want to kick off the Ford production line real soon, bring it on!

Axel got a cold poor thing.

2009-02-16T17:39:00.004Z

Ohhh the weekend went too fast! Had my hair done Saturday morning, so nice to sit and just do nothing for a 2 hours, just read my book and some gossip magazines and sat and watched the world go by. I got lovely tulips when I got home (Valentines day) and some chocolate and I gave J two pocket books (one being the best every first instalment of the Stieg Larsson trilogy books- a must). We went for lunch at some friends house but then Axel got a bit warm so we went home. He got even worse in the evening and the night was slightly painful with Ax waking up every hour. Then everything got worse on Sunday, Axel still had a cold, when we were going to go to Homebase the car refused to start even tho it's actually quite new - the battery was flat cos we never use it.. Gonna MOT it on Wednesday and then we are going to sell it, no use waisting money on a car we never drive and we live so central anyway we can walk or take the bus almost everywhere otherwise we can always hire a car over the weekend should we fancy a mini road trip. We where all a bit off spirit but manage to buy some "ingredients" for our wedding invitations (and I bought the last bits today so the production will commence soon : ). But J and his friend manage to get the car rolling when we got back which was great, and then we ordered some take away to cheer ourselves up and watch a movie called "Definitely, maybe" which was just perfect for a lazy evening : )

Last night was even more painful unfortunately. Axel woke up every hour and then by 4 he had had enough poor thing, I couldn't get him to sleep again so I pushed him in the pram in the living room while lying on the sofa from 4 to 6 in the morning when I woke J up and he took over. But Axel finally fell asleep again with his daddy on the sofa and they both slept to 7.30 which was nice for them. I really really hope he will sleep a bit better tonight!

Me and Axel on Friday the 13th Feb

(hard to get both of us looking in the photo)

Axel's first -

He tried Butternut squash puree for the first time today and loved it (well he has liked everything so far).

- He also tried to drink cooled boiled water for the first time from a cup, went ok, he mostly just bit the cup (but he seemed to get some water and he really enjoyed playing with the cup which is the most important thing so far).

Fredags tema - Closest to the heart

2009-02-13T17:20:00.008Z

This month Fritt ur hjartat decide the themes -
13 februari NÄRMAST HJÄRTAT (Closest to the heart)
20 februari KAFFE (Coffee)
27 februari OUMBÄRLIGT (indispensable)

Narmast Hjartat- been thinking about this topic and decided that I want to write about two special people that are very close to my heart - Jonathan and Axel. I feel so lucky and happy that I have got a chance to get to know them both, who would have known that we would be here 6 years on, and still very much in love. I will celebrate with both my boys tomorrow and look forward to the 17 July when I will have to privilege to become J's wife.

"All that I am I give to you, and all that I have I share with you"

More Friday bloggers (fler Fredagsbloggare): Nilla , Anna, Desiree, Annika, Anne, Petra ,Anna-Saltis ,Millan, Anki, Marianne, Victoria, Lia, Cecilia, Leopardia, Marina, Marie, Strandmamman, Ulrika, Jemaya, MiaD, Ingabritt, maisoui, Moster Mjölgumpa, Erica, Taina, sparkling, Christel, ,emma, jennie, musikanta,

Nicer Thursday

2009-02-12T19:47:00.003Z

Had a much nicer day today, walked for about 2 hours (a bit longer than I thought when I set out!!), returned some books that I meant to do long time ago and applied for Axel's Swedish personal id number at the Swedish Consulate in Hove. Feels so good doing things like that, tick off the list : )

Boring Wednesday

2009-02-11T20:49:00.003Z

Went to see Angelina Jolie's new movie - Changeling today, was quite good but unfortunately the sound was just too high in the cinema (even tho it was suppose to be their "big scream" baby movie of the week i.e specially for new mothers and babies). Axel started to cry a couple of times cos he got scared, not nice. We left a bit before the movie ended (we both had enought) but then he calmed down a bit so we stood just by the entrance where the sound was a bit less. Think I'm gonna go and complain tomorrow and see what their procedures are cos I would like to go again but not with the current volume. It's the new Woody Allen movie next week, but we'll see.

Been feeling a bit low lately, we have to move to a bigger flat cos it's really quite hard to live in a smallish one bedroom flat with Axel and the bathroom is really mouldy which isn't nice. BUT to be able to afford to move to something bigger we will have to sell our car as we have a loan on it that we pay every month. It's OK I guess, just so depressing. And J is working long hours (no, not overtime unfortunately) at the mo so me and Axmax are alone a lot, the recession is really here, cuts everywhere and no jobs for me to apply to, and if there are any the pay is really bad and a lot of competition which feels so daunting, might just have to stay home in the autumn and wait for the wind to change. Enough complaining for one night! Hope tomorrow will be better : )

in the land of playgroups

2009-02-10T16:37:00.003Z

Had a good day out and about today (no rain which was nice), went to Costa for a cup tea with A & S and then on to a playgroup with song and bubbles. Axel liked everything except this parachute sheet that we had over the babies bless him, maybe he was just tired cos he fell asleep on our way home. Can't believe it's already quarter to 5, where did this day go??

Rain rain rain

2009-02-09T20:26:00.005Z

It's been raining nonstop today and the hairdresser's where fully booked so we have just stayed inside eating sweets and longed for warmer weather : )

Åhus beach (where I grew up)

I'm loosing my hair : (

2009-02-08T11:19:00.003Z

When I was pregnant with Axel I developed this lovely shine non-greasy hair, just the kind of hair you wish for. After a while you take it for granted that it will stay that way, you deny the knowledge of anything else (that kind of feeling when you have borrowed a CD and had it for so long that you forget that you have to give it back and when you do you feel like you have given 'your' CD away and feel a bit cheated even tho you know that it wasn't yours to start with!). My lovely hair is going down the drains.. literally... And it's become really dark - mouse coloured. J's mum is coming over today and babysit so me and J can go out eating or go to the cinema, hope she can stay tomorrow so I can highlight my hair, I'm also very tempted to cut it in a bob, we'll see : )

oh oh oh Axel laugh with a sound today - isn't life just wonderful : )

2009-02-07T21:00:00.004Z

Axel about 2 weeks old (Sept 08)

A lovely day in Brighton!

2009-02-07T20:36:00.005Z

The sun was shining today in Brighton and it felt like spring. We set out to look at wedding party places, went to see about 7 and now have a couple of good contenders, nothing fancy, just a nice function room in a pub to celebrate with our friends but some of the room did not even have any windows which I find a bit disturbing, definitely come July with the light summer evenings... ohhh I can't wait! We are going to make our minds up this week and then get cracking on producing some homemade invitation cards, well try at least... if they are really bad we can always say that Axel did them and he is not so familiar with the scissors and glue just yet : )

Me and Axel in a lovely little cafe (who charged too much for a party unfortunately)

Friday night

2009-02-07T20:28:00.003Z

Went out with the girls last night, nice food, drinks and company!