What You Do...

...When you don't have a sandbox in the yard:

...When the weather is nice and there are lingon berries to be picked:

 ...When you got a new toy with wheels:

...When mom and dad forget to water those poor plants:

...When you've had to take your summer garden out of commission:

...When you miss daddy while he's at work:

Green tip #2: Don't use fabric softener. Basically, what you do is you get your clothes nice and clean, then you doze them with chemicals and perfume that aren't good for you or the environment. I haven't used it all my adult life. When I was younger it was  a question of saving money, but later I couldn't stand the smell.  If you still want your laundry to smell peachy, I do know of people who use essential oils instead, but haven't tried it myself.

A T-Rex and a Dragon

This Halloween, we were invited to a friend's house for food and trick or treating. The latter is starting to catch on in Sweden, but isn't that common yet. However, our friend had set up a route where the neighbors had been notified ahead of time and given treats to give out to the kids. We had a ton of kids and parents, so it got a little crazy, but turned out great.

Inara had requested to be a T-Rex, so I did what I could with what I had at home (if you're pondering T-Rex's resemblance to David Bowie in his glam-days, it's because Inara picked the fabric) and limited time after work the night before. Fortunately, she's three and still thinks most things are awesome.

We had a hard time getting a good picture of her, but maybe you get the idea:

Inara wanted Alba to be a triceratops, but since time was short, she got to be a dragon:

 

We're hoping that we trained the neighbors this year and that next year we don't even need to prep them. 

As you might already know, I started working in October, so between that, sick kids and everything else, I don't have much time to post. I'm going to try to get better though. Working has been fine. Both Andrew and I have chosen to work only four days a week for now. That way, the girls only have to be in preschool three days a week, which feels like a good number of hours. I think I could keep working only four days (or less) for the foreseeable future. It feels a lot more humane somehow. 

It's probably not news for most of you that I'm interested in environmental issues and lately I've been more involved in making our own lives and the community more sustainable. I'm not saying that I'm perfect by a long shot, but I do truly believe that even the little things can make a difference if we all come together.  So, I was thinking that I would start adding a little sustainability tip at the end of every post. Hopefully, those of you who read can add on and also suggest tips for future posts.

Green tip #1: Minimize your use of fleece fabrics. I just recently learned this. Apparently, when you wash your fleece clothes, tiny plastic particles are released into the water causing all kinds of damage to the wildlife and ultimately making their way back into our drinking water. I will keep the fleece I currently own, but will avoid buying any new products. 

Hope you all had an awesome Halloween!
 

Going for a ride...

Inara has figured out her kick bike just in time for winter. Maybe next year right? At least we were able to film an obscenely long video of it. Enjoy:

Going for a Spin

Don't watch this if you're like me and get dizzy from the mere thought of spinning...

Photoshoot

We literally have a million pictures of the kids and obviously not half as many of ourselves. Especially not together, so I thought I would share these pictures Inara snapped about two months ago.

One!

Last weekend, we invited my family over for a small birthday party for Alba. It seems like this year has went by so fast and I am amazed at how that little baby who was born just a year ago is now this talking, walking and laughing little person with her very own personality. 

Some preparations:

 

The table is set (I feel I have to point out that I've made the table!)

The guests waiting for Alba to wake up from her nap.

When she got up she seemed very confused by all the people who had managed to sneak in while she slept.

 She woke up a bit more after getting her first present.

She was still too sleepy to open anything, but fortunately Inara came to the rescue.

 

Cake!

Inara was coaching Alba on how to blow her candle out and ultimately helped her do it. 

Alba said no to the hat, but I figure it's only about 30 years off. My uncle figures he's funny. 

 

A smile at last!

And now, she's about yey big:

On the Fence

Alba ate her yoghurt all by herself today:

 

And before bed, Alba and Inara spent some time checking out the street behind our house (a favorite past time, but this is the first time Alba was able to climb the fence by herself). 

Judgement

I'm back and better than ever! Well, at least the hole in my belly was replaced by a fine mesh net when I had my hernia fixed almost a week ago. The surgery went well and I'm still a little sore and can't do a lot, but definitely recovering. I'm looking forward to hopefully being rid of the pain permanently once I'm completely healed. 

Andrew took a couple of days off last week and this week I've been very fortunate to have my mom here helping me with Alba while Inara is at preschool. I actually think that one of the most valuable lessons I've learned from this (except don't lift too heavy right after giving birth) is not to judge others. I think about what it must look like to people to have my retired mom carry not only my baby for me, but also my groceries, when we're shopping. Or what it might look like when my mom's weeding the garden while I'm sitting in a lawn chair watching. I don't care much what people think about this, but I have made a promise to try to not judge others so easily when I really have no idea what's behind that mom yelling at her kid in the store or that guy being so rude in the parking lot. 

In other news, Inara moved up to a different group at preschool. She's the youngest, but seems to be adjusting well. Her first week back she had to talk to the group about something she did this summer and she apparently had no problem sitting in front of everybody telling them about the hedgehog in our backyard, finishing with: "And that's the end of that story."

Alba is walking like a champ, still has no teeth and will be starting preschool in a week. 

Andrew started classes at work and has quite a lot of students this semester. He's also going to the Netherlands for work this month. 

(I've gotten some questions as to whether my children own pants and the answer is yes and I challenge you to convince them that that particular item of clothing is even vaguely worth their time).