Norway - week 1

Today marks the day we've been in Norway for a whole week. It is very nice to be back, although I miss Kevin a ton already! I hope he is able to come see us later this summer, while at the same time, I know that if he is not able to, it is for a good reason which will pay off in the long run.

The two youngest girls are still adjusting to the time difference and the food change, but I think we're getting there!

Michael and Victoria have already improved immensely in their Norwegian, and it is so fun to see!! I can only imagine how great their Norwegian will be at the end of our stay here!

Well, off to get some salty foods. I had some food last night that just did not measure up, so now I have a hankering for the real deal:)

Girls Night Out with two awesome ladies!

My good friend Eli and her husband Omar came back to town with their little boy this past weekend, and last night my friend Karen and I got to go out to eat with Eli - without kids!It is soo good to be able to go out with two wonderful ladies and just talk while eating a good meal! You know those friends who listen to you when you vent, are always willing to give advice and just be there for you! These two ladies are that kind of a friend! I am blessed to have these two ladies in my life, and wish that we'd see Eli more often, and that I would be better at staying in touch. Another thing to add to my list of things to work on!
 Oh, and of course - no picture! Going to have to fix that later this week for sure!

On a side note - it is going to be a scorcher today! So, I will run my errands early, and hopefully get the rest of the stuff I can pack, packed. The kids need their shorts for a few more days, so those can't be packed until last minute, but the rest of our stuff should be ok. As long as I get the important papers taken care of, I should be ok even if I don't get their clothes packed:) It is for sure a day to be spent inside! Actually, I think they should cancel school since it is going to be dangerously hot at the schools, no AC etc.....but that is just wishful thinking on my part:) I am sure that later this summer, when my kids are getting on my last nerve and my vow to be a "thermostat" and not a "thermometer" fails, I will be glad they had these last three days of school:)


Speaking of heat -Thermostat vs. Thermometer is a parenting advice I learned yesterday. As parents we can choose to be a thermometer. Measuring the temperature as it rises. Or, we can be a thermostat, controlling the temperature. Isn't that a great picture to think of?! Now I just need to put that into my life:) Another work in progress:)

Conflict just is not a very fun thing!

I am NOT good at dealing with conflict, but lately it seems to just flourish around me! This causes stress dreams in which I always fail to keep my kids safe:( Yikes! I have to keep in mind though, that the conflicts I worry about right now, are due to actions made by others, which in turn caused them to be disappointed with the after-effects. I don't have energy to deal with adults who act like kids, throw tantrums like a 3 year old, refuse to be around us because of disappointment or hold a grudge or are jealous because of something we have accomplished. I have enough work with my own kids doing those things. We make the decisions we make because of the situations we are in, and we strive to always put our family first. If we end up disappointing you because of that, I am sorry, but that is life.
Ok, I got that off my chest now, and will look forward:) I can't afford to spend my time and energy worrying about what other people think or feel, when I know we've made the right decisions in what we have done, but it is my nature to worry about things I cannot control. It is very high on my list of things to work on, as it is mentally draining to constantly worry about other people and what they might think or feel. Kevin works hard to provide for our family, and there is no way in this world he will relent on his efforts to make sure his family is well taken care of (regardless of other people's feelings), and we are financially set. He is a gosh-darn- awesome guy and I am blessed to be his wife!

Summer, is here, and summer vacation close behind!

Spring took a long time coming, but when it did, it brought destruction and horrible weather for major parts of the country. We've been blessed to be spared here in Southern Minnesota (and I thank God he has not made me go through horrible storms yet as I am terrified of the American Storms!!). My prayers are with those people in the areas hit by tornadoes, flooding and any other disaster!

Like I said, it is finally warming up around here, and life sure is busy! I am looking forward to my first summer as a stay at home mom since 2000! And to make it even better, I am spending the whole summer in Norway with my family! The kiddos and I leave for Norway a week from Saturday, and will be there until August 30th! Kevin is staying back, dealing with house stuff, selling, buying, moving etc! We're hoping he can make it to Norway to visit us for at least a few weeks at some point during the summer. If he is unable though, at least there is Skype, FaceTime and many other ways for us to communicate.

My hope is that the kids will be able to learn more about the Norwegian culture, the family ties that are so important to me, learn to speak the language (which I really need to work on at home too!!) and just enjoy time with their cousins in Norway as well as make friends. Hopefully it will be the trip of a lifetime, with lots of time to just enjoy being a kid too!

Regardless of if Kevin is able to come visit or not, we sure will miss him! He feels bad I have to deal with the 4 kids by myself for the whole summer, but honestly, I am sure I will have an easier time there than here with all the family around, and all the stuff going on:)

The last few weeks (months) I have been packing up the house to prepare for moving into a new house. Kevin is a minimalist (less stuff = better) and rightly so, but I am afraid that if I left all the packing to him, he would make decisions to rid us of things I am not ready to get rid of:) Plus, if he has to move it all by his lonesome self, I don't want him to have to pack it all on top of that. There are days though, when I was thinking that I should just get a dumpster and toss it all out without even looking at it. Then that voice in my head started nagging me about "what if there is something important in there..."Yikes! Sure has taught me a lesson to get rid of junk as soon as it arrives (read junk mail and ads), pair down the things we have too many of (someone's trash is another person's treasure, right!), and also to label all boxes! It is very difficult to go through box after box marked with "misc":)

I am down to the last two rooms of packing though, and will leave the essentials as well as clothes for Kevin so that our house will look lived in:)

So, when my house packing ends, I will start packing our bags for the Norway trip! Need to go shopping for some essentials - butter scotch chips (can't get those in Norway, and Special K bars are a must at times!), baby gift for my lovely baby sister who is due in August (she better have that baby before I leave!), birthday gifts and other odds and ends.

I found, now that summer is here, that my summer clothes from last year are too big! Yay....or yikes! Not the time to have to go clothes shopping, but I am also excited to only be 5lbs away from my ultimate weight loss goal without really working at it. Seems like when you stop worrying about things, things take care of themselves! I decided to not think about weight loss until I was done nursing my peanut - Kaia - since I will have the rest of my life to stress about that, and voila! I have TONS of toning to do, but heck, I am just glad I did not have to go up any sizes in clothes the last three years with two pregnancies and nursing!

Anyway, rambling along, and no pictures to show for it, so I better get moving. Evenings are family time now that we're going to be apart for such a long time, and I want to make sure I am not cleaning or packing during that important time!

Ha det bra, alle sammen! (Have it good y'all!)