Saying goodbye

A not so fun consequence of the kids going to an international school is friends moving away. This week, my friend Aparna is moving to Brazil. I realized I didn't have any pictures of her in this blog so here she is...

Looking forward to visiting her in Brazil!

From Facebook August and September

Now remember. A conversation is just several Facebook stati strung together...

This morning while listening to Montell Jordan's 'This is How We Do It' the kids decided you can say 'this is how we do it' after anything and it will make sense. Ex: Turn off the light. This is how we do it. Get ready for school. This is how we do it. You're going to be late. This is how we do it. My kids crack me up. Love them!

Finnish proverb: If you leave home without your umbrealla, you'll find yourself walking home in the rain. (*Not a real Finnish proverb. That I know of, anyway.)

Met a Finnish lady today who asked if I was Samoan or Tongan. Shocked, I answered Samoan. She then started speaking in Samoan. Which is awesome except that I don't speak Samoan.

Just learned that Dan brushes his teeth with hot water. Disturbing because A) it's hot water and B) I'm learning this after knowing him for 20 years. Where have I been?

Going to Pilates or as Derek calls it 'Pierogies'.

ESPN America is showing the Pitt-Iowa game from yesterday. Three guesses what's on our TV right now.

L and D are making cookies from a box. The instructions read 50 ml of vegetable oil. In their conversions D decided that would be about 2 cups. WHOA! Let's check that conversion again!

The past two Saturdays we've spent shopping. Dan: Are we going to have to shop *every* Saturday? Me: No, this Saturday we're going to wash windows!

It's always nice to start off the day with everyone happy, organized, and on time. Unfortunately, we did not start our day that way.

Tonight at dinner we decided umbrellas can make you look stupid. Like when they don't open. Or when they get turned inside out in huge wind. Either way we're pretty sure people are looking at you thinking, 'It's sad that person doesn't know how to use an umbrella.'

UGH! Had my first run in with a drunk getting off the tram. I literally had to push him away from me. I was told later I wasn't saying the Finnish word for 'stop' correctly. Related: I'm adding 'Punch someone in the face with no consequences' to my bucket list.

My daughter has a pretty good left hook. I know. She demonstrated on my nose. ("It was an accident, Mom!")

Today Dan will be on a plane. 10 years ago today he was on a plane. It was a clear, blue morning just like today. Except the world changed forever. 9/11. Never forget.

Sad...Dan watching a 1974 Poland/Argentina football match. Sadder...me watching it with him.

Back to Pilates after 10 years. Umm...ouch.

My wish for tonight is sleep uninterrupted by Fantasy Football drafts, emails, and/or computer checking. (Read-Next Fantasy Football draft you're sleeping on the couch, buddy.)

Derek took in a pan of brownies yesterday for his math class on fractions. He was wearing a white shirt. I can totally understand why he came home with chocolate down the front of his shirt. What I don't understand is how it got on his back.

Iowa to Utah tickets for December...check!

Every time I kill a fruit fly I think about the guy I knew from the University of Iowa who studied fruit fly brains b/c they are very close to human brains.

The more I recycle, the more I feel like I'm washing the garbage.

Lauren: Mom, how do I add a page to my Word document? Wait. I'll ask Derek.

‎30 minutes to find parking this morning due to a dog show. Curse you, cute dogs and your car-driving owners.

Dear Derek's math book. Show yourself.

Listening to the kids in the courtyard taunt each other with what I guess is the Finnish equivalent of 'nanny nanny boo boo'.

Two phrases I need to learn in Finnish to use between the hours of 12 and 4 am: 'You don't have to go home but you can't stay underneath my window talking loudly' and 'Shut up or I'm calling the police!'

Had lunch today with a gal I met in the restroom of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. You never know where you'll find a friend. :)

The entire upper school is on an overnight orientation trip. That means no kids here tonight. Dan and I have planned a hot date to Bauhaus (Home Depot equivalent).

All that free time I thought I'd have moving closer to the school? Gone. Went to the PTO meeting as secretary, came out as president.

Did Dance Central for my morning workout. After 40 minutes it asked me if I was sore or tired and did I want to take a break. Why, yes, I am a little tired now that you mention it.

You know what's great about taking care of the yard of your old house? Nothing.

Dang it! It's going to be a bit before I get used to the mail dropping through the slot in the door.

Dear neighbors, Dan is putting together the last wardrobe now. He will not be pounding until 11:45 like last night. We will be quiet the rest of our time here. Please don't hate us.

Dan and his mad putting-together skillz are making our apartment awesome.

Spent over an hour scrubbing the smaller bathroom. Related: I have an extremely low opinion of the previous tenant's cleaning skills.

Soooo having the kids get up at 'school time' today didn't work so well since I slept in until 9.

Reading about how to sort our garbage for recycling. Best use of 'explosively' and 'fragile' in a sentence: The sorting of hazardous waste prevents toxic and explosively fragile substances from descending into landfills or nature.

We're all moved in and mostly unpacked. I've spent the afternoon putting things away and wondering why we keep carting this crap around.

...and the teenager is now on FB. I told her she had to be friends with all the aunts and uncles/grandparents so they can keep an eye on her. I set her up and she did a few things and then said she'd come back to it later. She got a new phone for her birthday and it's more interesting than FB, I guess.

Derek: I don't like you using my head as a towel.

Realized this is the first time we have to move not by our choice. I'm not feeling bitter, but I'm definitely not feeling sweet either.

The dryer

Wow. I'm blogging about getting a new dryer.

We've been without one for two weeks. It hasn't been THAT bad, but we all agree that we prefer our clothes less crunchy.

We have a Turkish dryer!
The sales guy asked if we were going to use it in a small space.
Yes.
(Friend Emily pointed out that
most dryers are used in small spaces.
There aren't many ginormous laundry rooms.)

Regardless, he said not all models have a heat pump
and we needed one or it would take forever to dry.
Why, yes, we would like a dryer with a heat pump.

The instruction manuals that came with the dryer.
Each book has instructions in two languages, with the exception of Finnish. That one has it's very own book.
So...that's a total of 21 different languages.

....and this is the only one I care about.

I was happily going to start laundry when I noticed something.
In order for the delivery guys to have room, the bathroom door was wide open. Apparently, the random door closed on the bathroom door...

...like so...

...creating this hole.
GAH!
I wish I could blame the delivery guys
but I knew that stupid, random door had been
closing by itself all day.
Shoulda stuck a door stop under it.

Having fun with the Americans!

Gal on the left is Addie. She's from Illinois.
We met at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
Gal on the right is Cindy. She's from Florida. 
Addie and I met her in Helsinki at Behnford's,
a store that imports British and American foods.
I laugh A LOT when I'm with them.
Dan always says, 'Have fun with the Americans!'
(I stink at taking pics that include me.)





Seen out and about

Made of hair or mayo your slather on your hair?

Available for purchase.
Dig the fingernails.

Poor, poor pigs.

Guitars

Lauren and Derek started taking guitar lessons on Wednesday. Do you know what you need to take guitar lessons? A guitar! The guitar teacher lent us one of his*. Friday we went guitar shopping.

*After the kids had practiced with the teacher's guitar Dan asked, "Why is there a cigarette on our carpet?" Ummm, what?!? (Visions of groundings danced through my head.) It was quickly figured out that no one in the family had taken up smoking. The cigarette had fallen out of the teacher's guitar case.

At the guitar shop.
Lauren's already rockin' out.

Action shot.
Down down up up down up.
Lauren chose this Swedish Hagstrom.

Derek was immediately drawn to this Walden guitar.
Designed in the US, made in China.
Thankfully, it passed the rigorous scrutiny of his guitar teacher.

Here's how you play a G chord, Dad.

Will KISS be one of his influences?

All smiles.

The apartment complex

Alrighty. This is a Google Maps rendition of our apartment complex. The arrow shows where our apartment is, second floor.
The middle area is what we call the courtyard.
(Is there another, more appropriate name for it?) 
There is play equipment and a big sandbox.
Somewhere on the bottom floor of one of these buildings is a daycare. They are out in the courtyard a lot.

The daycare kids always wear their reflector vests even if it's sunny. They go out rain or shine.

Shine.
Trying to take pictures of them without looking like a creepy lady taking pictures of kids. Difficult.

Swings. L and D hang here some times.

Most days it sounds like there are 100 kids out there, but really it's more like 20 or 25.
Some days just hearing them makes me smile.
Others, like the day one kid cried for two hours straight,
not so much.

Life is good in Helsinki!