Where Mommy Lives

On Sunday we drove by my work and Inara exclaimed: "That's where mommy lives!"

Good thing vacation is less than two weeks away...

Oh, and parenting tip of the week: Put away all your kid's toys for a month and then bring them back out again. Satisfaction guaranteed!

Photography by Inara

I feel it's high time for some updates. 

Beginning with Inara:

This last week she's been a bit under the weather with a cough and a fever and she's getting a ton of new teeth, so her mood has sometimes been on the sour side. Even though she's still pretty easy going most of the time, she's also started testing us more. Needless to say, some of her favorites things to say right now are "no", "not" and "don't want to." On the other hand, she is also full of affection, saying "pat", "hug" and "kiss" both before she does it to us and when we do it to her. 

She started putting her thoughts into sentences like "Mamma berries there, Inara berries cup" when she wanted her blueberries in a cup instead of on a plate like I had mine. She's also able to recall and partially retell events of the day, like going to the store and getting bananas, eating soup for lunch or, like today, running daddy's toes over with her car, giving him a big bonk and also (strangely) making him laugh. 

She knows all the names of her classmates (and the the easier two of the teachers names) and likes pointing them out both in real life and in the school picture. They say at preschool that she acts a lot more like a child who has siblings than an only child, not budging and not letting anyone push her around (that's my girl!). I'm pretty sure she has no idea about the new baby, but we've talked about it and when I ask where the baby is, she points either to her own belly or mine. 

Andrew is still taking Swedish classes part time, but has graduated out of the "Swedish for immigrants" course and is now taking "Swedish as a second language." He feels his Swedish is progressing, but perhaps not as fast as he would like. Part of the reason is that everyone sees talking to him as a great opportunity to practice their English. He's also still working part time at the university and actually got to teach six hours of finance to the masters students, something he's hoping to do again. 

When it comes to me, my job's still pretty good even though I miss Inara when I'm there. Other than that, I feel sick most of the time and life is pretty much a party overall. It's actually not that bad, considering spring's around the corner and the people mentioned above.

Working Life

I thought I would do a quick update on working life:

I've successfully completed two days and have to say it seems like a great place to work. Even though the tasks may not be super exciting, the positive work environment makes up for it. At this point, I haven't actually started doing any of the things I'll be doing after the eight week training period, but at least that's what I imagine. The coworkers are great and I finally got my very own office. The only downside is being away from Inara. However, she seems to be doing great at her preschool and is happy to go there. I guess also that I have pretty much zero energy when the day is done.

Inara has been learning to say so many new words in the last couple of weeks that her vocabulary is up to around 80-90 words (counting duplicates in English and Swedish) and she seems to be learning new things ever day.

Some funny things that she's doing right now:

- Going "lalalala" when she's irritated. 

- Going "brrrr" and shivering as soon as she sees something cold (or sometimes warm) or gets ready to go outside. 

- Stretching her arms up in the air and yelling "jaaa!" (yes) when we suggest something she's onboard with. 

- Saying "mamma" in that condescending, teenager voice when I drop something or make some other embarrassing mistake.  

- Hushing us and saying "tyst" (quiet) while holding a finger up first to her lips, and then in the air in our direction, when we watch kid's shows together and she thinks we're narrating too much.

Here's another picture from Christmas. Inara and grandma K. watching Rudolph the rednose reindeer. Which just happens to be where she learned to go "brrrrr."

Employed!

I'm now gainfully employed! Well, starting on the 7th anyways. I'll be working as an "investigator" at the Swedish social security administration (Forsakringskassan). I'm really excited, but a little sad about being away from Inara full-time. Andrew also got extended until June at his job and passed his Swedish exam to move on to the next level. He'll work part-time and take classes part-time.

Happy times over here, just in time for Christmas and as an extra bonus neither one of us starts going to work until January.

Under the Surface

Another round of swimming lessons and here she is again, this time all by herself:

As usual, I'm a little irritated to have seen Christmas decorations in stores for weeks now, but I'm also very excited this year. I normally adopt a "take it or leave it" kind of an approach to the holidays, but this year, I'm just so happy for Inara and about all the fun we're going to have. I can't help but think about what she'll experience this Christmas and for years to come. I'm also super happy that she's going to get to see grandma and grandpa Kartchner in just a few weeks. Finally those faces she's got used to seeing on the computer screen will be here in real life. Like last year, we'll give people almost all homemade gifts. This year, I've got an early start on making everything, so hopefully I'll get it all done with some time to spare. 

My interview went pretty well, I think. I'll find out in a couple of weeks weather I get a second interview. 

Good News

We're pretty excited to say that Andrew got a part time position at the university! This works out pretty well since he'll also be able to continue his Swedish classes part time.    

I'm borrowing most of these pictures from our friend Reagan who really made our impromptu Halloween celebration by bringing decorations and the cutest little gnome.

  

The Stubborn Lion

I've been a little out of the blogosphere (what a funny word) the last week, since I've been kinda busy helping my dad move, working on my Swedish driver's license (a ridiculously long and expensive process), looking for jobs, working on craft stuff that I've been wanting to do for a long time, and of course, spending time with Inara. 

Today, I actually had the benefit of taking a lion to preschool. She wanted to wear her costume (which was part gift and part my mom's quick creation), but refused to have her picture taken. Since I have a personal rule of not messing with lions (especially not in the morning), no picture was taken. One of our friends and her son is coming over for some last minute pumpkin carving this afternoon, so hopefully I'll be able to sneak one then. 

Things are moving a little bit on the work front. Andrew might have a prospect, but it's not completely sure yet, so I can't say more right now.  I'm going to work extra at a hotel in town this weekend and we'll see where that leads. I also have an interview next week (please keep your fingers crossed) and I'm hoping to get another interview for a job that I really, really want. So, that's the update. Since I don't have any Halloween pictures yet, you'll have to make due with this taken the other day:

Published!

I can't help but brag a little. The article I co-wrote after my second Kenya trip has now been published in the Journal of African Ornithology! You can't read it here, but I doubt you would really want to unless you are very interested in conservation, ecology, or birds. Still, feels neat to see my name there. 

Beautiful Life

I read the other day that the my alma mater, University of Washington, is ranked 23rd in the world. Guess I'm still waiting to see that reflected in my career development. I didn't get that job I interviewed for, in case you're wondering.

But hey, the sun is shining, we're going walnut hunting this afternoon, Inara just went down for her nap and I plan to enjoy a cup of coffee shortly. Life's still beautiful. 

Besides, how can you not smile when this little person wakes you up by giving you huge, slobbery, snotty kisses, patting your head reassuringly. 

 

Lost

I’m on my way back to the island. The interview went ok. Not a catastrophe and not a shoe in. On the plus side was that the interviewer was from the island and on the minus side that she wasn’t expecting me. Turns out she didn’t ever get my email confirming that I would be there and because I didn’t want to be a pest, I didn’t double check. So, I got there at 1.00 pm and rescheduled for 5.00 pm. Although it offered an opportunity to see my beloved cousin Cajsa for a little while, it also gave me a chance to get super nervous. I’ll find out how it went at the beginning of the week. 

Oh, and she asked me what animal I would be. I said orca whale. Not sure if that was good or bad.

Other than that I had a great trip. I stayed with my friend Ragnhild and her son, saw a couple of other old friends for dinner and two cousins separately. It was really strange to be away from Inara for so long for the first time ever. I missed her terribly, but also enjoyed just being me for a few days. Not just somebody’s mom. It’s such a large part of my identity and I think it’s good to be reminded of who else I am. When I talked to Inara on the phone, she actually said "kolla" (check it out) several times, rather than just breathing into the receiver and pressing random keys.

Unfortunately, the trip ended on an extremely negative note. As I was waiting for the bus to the boat, I realized that I wasn’t wearing my ring. I felt sick. It’s like losing your wallet times ten. I knew I had it at the coffee shop I was at last, but they hadn’t seen it. This meant that I had lost it either on the street, or in the subway. Gone forever in other words. I’ve been really mad at myself since I knew it was too big and I shouldn’t have worn it anymore.

After a few hours of mourning, I'm trying to focus on the positive. It's pretty difficult, but there is something. When I told the people I saw while I was there, they all rallied around me and asked what they could do to help find it. It’s amazing to know that I have such great friends and family. The same thing happened when I found out on short notice that I was going to Stockholm. Andrew, my mom, my friend and even a lady who hemmed my pants two hours before I needed to go, all made my trip possible.

I didn’t have my camera and I’m the owner of a dumb phone (about the only one left in this hemisphere), so I don’t have any pictures from the trip. Instead, I’ll give you this very sentimental shot:

This Just In!

Last night, I got an email about an interview in Stockholm tomorrow, so here I am on the boat. Please keep all fingers and toes crossed for me!

Orchard Dreams

The finished product of our cider making efforts. Here's some of the non-alcoholic variety:

I also decided to dry some apples, which I've only done in a dehydrator before, so we'll see how it works out. Inara seemed to think it was pretty interesting.

We've pretty much realized that we need to buy an orchard and start our own cidery. So, if anyone has one for sale, let us know. Cheap is a definite plus.

I also may have gotten a part time job which will turn into a full time position early next year. I'll give some more information soon, as I'm still considering my options.

Shame

When I walk into the local unemployment office (arbetsformedlingen), I always sort of hope that nobody I know will see me and when I'm in there I have an intense urge to explain myself. I just want to say something like: "Well, you know, I'm not like the rest of the people here. I actually have an education and work experience and this whole unemployment thing is just sort of a little snag I'm working through". And then I wonder why I feel this way. Where are these feelings of shame coming from and why does it make me feel less crappy to wrongfully assume that I'm somehow better than the other poor souls in there? I'm not sure, but I don't like it.  

Speaking of shame, the other night I was thinking to myself that maybe I should just apply for a cashier job at an outlet store where I used to work before I met Andrew. Then, I realized that they probably wouldn't hire me seeing my degree on my CV, thinking I will just ditch them the first chance I get, so I would need to take that out and replace it with just my high school diploma. And then, I thought: "Have I gone mad!? I worked way too hard for that to take it out!".

So, I guess I'll keep on trucking, my CV remaining intact. I do still have hope. It seems improbable that I wouldn't eventually find something. 

Andrew hasn't heard anything either, in case you're wondering. 

On our way to the park this morning.

Also, for those of you who speak Swedish, I found this post which raises some other issues concerning unemployment:

http://ekstromsofia.blogg.se/2012/september/hur-gar-jobbsokandet-da.html

Play and Work

The list of things that I would rather spend my time doing than applying for jobs is very, very long. First off, it's extremely time consuming. Let me just say that trying to accomplish anything thought intensive, while keeping an eye on a one year old, is pretty much impossible. That leaves those precious couple of hours at night after cleaning up / putting Inara to bed + running (Andrew and I alternate nights for the two) to get it done. Writing a good cover letter customized for the position can easily eat up that entire time. 

Second, I loathe the thought of being judged solely based on those two pages worth of CV and cover letter. I constantly picture some HR person picking my application up from a tall stack of papers (although they probably just read them electronically), rolling their eyes and chuckling a little before dropping it straight into the paper shredder and emailing me one of those apologetic, run-of-the-mill responses. I realize this is not the attitude to have, but how can you stay positive when you get no positive feedback? 

Basically, I just want a decent a job, where I'm wanted, that I can take a break from at night. I'm thinking I need to hire an assistant to handle the application process. That would be some great job creation and I would be able to refer to my assistant for all job related matters. 

Don't get me wrong. Having been able to spend this entire summer together as a family has been truly awesome and something I would recommend to anyone who would be willing to get rid of all their stuff and live a more basic life. Unfortunately, it's difficult to put reality aside when you know that the fun can't go on forever. 

We actually had a lovely day yesterday consisting of playing in the sand on the beach, throwing rocks in the water, a simple picnic, and home made ice-cream. Can't complain too much about that.

Homemade sugar+sweetener-free wild strawberry ice-cream!