Yes, I'm alive!!

Can you call this a blog any longer, if I update every two months?!?!?

We're alive and kicking. Life goes on, nothing special has happened (no, I'm not pregnant even though it is that time of the year again! But our boys will be getting two more cousins this year!!!). This autumn that started in September/October hasn't turned into a winter and that seems to have sucked all the juices out of me. I don't know how I would've survived this winter if we hadn't Clara, our au pair, to help us. Even though she takes care of most of the laundry, cleaning and cooking, I don't have any energy left at nor after work :-(

Well, what has happened:

Risto turned six two days before Christmas and consideres himself so grown up. He is talking about starting school next August and is really looking forward to it. We have decided to put Risto into a Swedish speaking school that's only 2 km from our home. The best part is that two of his best friends will come to that school, too. And there are only 100 pupils. The nearest language immersion school was an institution of 600 pupils, so we decided against it.

Christmas came and went. We were nine around the table; our family, Clara, MIL, SIL and her hubby. When Santa came with his HUGE sack of presents, Tuomas was nowhere to be seen. I thought that he had hid himself, but SIL informed us that they were downstairs in the bathroom. When Tuomas finally came to the living room, he wasn't shy at all but informed Santa and his helper:"Well, you see, you know, 'cause I was in the toilet peeing and pooing, that's why I wasn't here!" Risto sang to Santa (but said that his helper had a fake beard) and Jaakko was suspicious of the dude in red. Jaakko reached a new milestone on the 27th: bye-bye to the pacifier. I lied and told him that it was given to the lion babies in Africa! Luckily he has his rag to comfort him and now he doesn't miss the plastic yucky thing at all.

The first week of January I was on a 4-day business trip and Clara was in charge of picking up the boys from day care. She did a great job even though our little angels (especially Tuomas) gave her a hard time, not obeying, running away, calling her names (I wasn't really proud when I heard that Tuomas had called her 'you shitty German'). When I came home Thursday evening I bumped into Clara in our yard. DH had come home already and she said that she had to go for a walk just to calm down.... I think they were all glad to have me back!

Tuomas turned 4 at the end of January. He's a big boy, 114 cm tall and 22 kg. Height estimate is still closer to 2m than 1,9m.

The first week of February took us all to Lapland to ski. DH and Clara drove our car and I flew with the boys. The first morning Risto was outside playing in the snow before 8 AM. The first day Risto and Tuomas had a down hill skiing lesson. Risto learned quickly, but Tuomas, being just four, wasn't too interested; he was happy just riding his sled down the hill. The next day Risto tried snow boarding (was quite good!), but decided that he liked skiing more. By the end of the week he was able to ski down from the top of the mountain! DH had booked me a snow boarding lesson, too. I wasn't really jumping up and down from excitement having snow boarded the last time almost 6 years ago and remembering it to be extremely painful for my knees, bum, elbows and head. And it didn't add to my excitement when DH realised that he had left my boots at home. I looked quite sour even in the ski shop when DH literally had to pay for his bad memory: new boots and a new board... But my instructor was absolutely great and now I'm really into snow boarding!!! I've actually dreamt about it. But the greatest thing was that I could snow board with Risto, we were both equally fast coming down(ok, I was a bit slower but I had to fasten the buckles every time coming off the ski lift.). Clara, DH and I took turns baby sitting Tuomas and Jaakko who enjoyed the play ground at the bottom of the slopes. We met a Welsh family at the play ground's camp-fire and I gave them a real surprise by speaking (fluent?!?!?) Welsh. That was fun!

My head is full of crafts and redecorating ideas. I'll just have to wait for the spring sun to get more energy.

I have loads of pictures to put on this blog. Patience, my dears, patience!

Over and out!

Mother of the Millennium

Christmas is a busy time, but I don't seem to have the brain capacity to cope with all this hullabaloo. If ever there is a "Mother of the Millennium" I won't rank very high:

Saturday. I was doing the grocery shopping with Clara (our au pair, more about her later!) when it dawned on me that Risto was supposed to be at a friend's birthday party that had already started! I quickly called Timppa and asked him if he could take Risto. He was not happy about dressing up three boys and driving Risto to the party. But DH was quick and I doubt Risto even realized that he turned up late! The icing on the cake was that the birthday present was with me in the shop...

Monday. Jaakko's Christmas party at day care. I realized that he was the only one not dressed in christmasy clothes, unless you call a bright lime green t-shirt with a chameleon on it christmasy. Nor did he wear a red Christmas gnome hat like all the other kids. Plus the battery of our camera died.

Tuesday. Tuomas' Christmas party. Clean clothes, 1 point for that. But several minus points for not charging the battery of the afore mentioned camera!! That was a real shame since this time Tuomas participated in the singing and dancing and wore a costume. At the spring party he was not co-operating. And I didn't get his happy face recorded... luckily another mother promised to send me some pictures and also handed her camera to me to take some pictures myself.

Tuesday continues. I went to work after the party (I'm still here.... um... working), but forgot to turn on the sound on my mobile phone. When I finally remembered to turn it on I had several un-answered calls: one from Jaakko's day care and three from DH. Oops! Luckily DH was running errands with Clara and was close to the day care when they called him (since I didn't answer) about Jaakko having an eye infection and needing a doctor. 26 minutes (yes twenty-six!!) after DH got the call from the day care he walked out of the doctor's office with a prescription for antibiotics. TWENTY-SIX... it has to be a world record!

Now Clara, our Christmas angel i.e. au pair, is at home with Jaakko fixing dinner for us. Yesterday she cleaned the whole house, made delicious lieb-küchen (probably mis-spelled it, but German gingerbread with almonds, orange and lemon zest and oh-so-delicious!!), chocolate cookies and just helped with everything. We all love her. Jaakko calls her Kala (fish) or Kaala (since it's too difficult for him to pronounce) and Tuomas after a couple of days of calling her "the German" now manages to call her Craala. Close enough! In just the few days that she's been with us (she arrived on Friday and already at the airport took the boys in control!) she has proven to be the answer to our prayers. Great with the kids, wonderful help in the kitchen and around the house and also great company for us adults. I'm off to a rock concert with her on Wednesday!

So everything is fine!

Paris in November

I was in Paris last week on business from Tuesday to Thursday.

Just close your eyes.

Think about Paris around Christmas time.

Can you feel it?

You take the metro to your hotel, in Paris. Just keep the image of Paris behind your closed eyes. Ok? Ready to continue?

You walk to your hotel. In Paris. Christmas time (I think the end of November can be called Christmas time...)

You walk to your room. In Paris. Hear the jingle of Christmas bells?

Your draw the curtains.....

A room with a view.

I should've known that something bad would happend when I saw the view. I caught a terrible cold, I'm still wearing the same pyjamas I put on last Friday (did you really want to know that.....) and I haven't been this sick in months. Merci Paris! Well, it was nice, business-wise and leisure-wise.

Utility room, before and after

"Utility" room, before.
Utility room, after. I see a difference, a change for the better. And I just simply love it. Now, if I could only get a sewing room...... me want, me want, me want.

"Mothers of Three Sons" Club

Unfortunatel my sister won't be able to join this club, since this morning at 01:27 GMT+1 time she did something unheard of in our family. She gave birth to a

*************GIRL*******************************

"Felicia" weighed 3,7 kg and was approximately 50 cm tall. Apparently everything went well, since I spoke to my sister at 13:30 GMT+2 time and she was on her way home with her daughter!!!

Unfortunately no photos yet!