Different things make sense on different continents. (please, different continent readers, do not take offense, this is not to be considered critisism, only observations.)
Dressing like a cowboy wouldn't make sense in Europe. Listened to a radio show this morning featuring a man who loved horses and everything cowboyish that you can think of surrounding horses. The reporter asked if he also dressed like a cowboy, "No, no, no I don't. That wouldn't make sense". And, no it wouldn't. Here. In America it would.
Getting a job in a preschool and try to juggle kids and work, wouldn't make sense in America. Not as a Europeen at least. But it does here. Sweden has fabulous before and after school care, and here my degree counts, and I am recognized as an academic here. In Sweden we pay very high taxes, but we make decent salaries in ANY occupation. It makes sense. Here.
Halloween, is almost here and we are happily unaware of the ghosts and goblins, demons and graveyards that Americans so willingly invite to there home this time of year (again, try not to take offense... please). But I do miss the cuteness of Halloween, the candy and the cute outfits for kids, the trick or treating and the neighborhood traditions from our old house, pumpkinsoup with friends and pumpkin carving. There are a few Halloween parties that occur here too, and most of them are about spiders and witches, blood and mummies, but at least I can choose to be or not to be involved. In America this time of year I couldn't take my kids into a regular grocery store without them getting nightmares. Not to talk about the Party-stores! It makes sense there, but not here.
Different things makes sense in different places. What do you think? Leave a comment, here or on Facebook.
Jansson family jumpin'.....
tisdag 26 oktober 2010
torsdag 21 oktober 2010
"Livet är fullt av möjligheter, Stig-Helmer"
The above is a quote from a very classic Swedish movie, and is about the possibilities in life. There seems to be a lot of possibilities in life. It is crucial to see them, and grab them.
I had my forth job-interview yesterday, I quite enjoy going to different schools to see them from the inside. We signed the contract for the House of our Dreams last night too. Not completely without anxiety, I have to admit. It is a big commitment, and we still own a house in the States..... but as we stepped out of the agents office, they called me from one of recent interviews and offered me a job! YAY! Possibilities and choices. Not only fun, but also scary.....
Celebrated with a Falafel.
Took Emma to the ER yesterday. I picked her up the usual time, and she had then been crying nonstop for over half an hour over pain in her shoulder (!!???). Nothing in particular had happened in school, and there were no marks. But she is not typically the complaining type so I took her to the ER and it took about 2 minutes in line to be admitted, and within 10 minutes we were in waiting for the doctor. She then starts moving her arm again, and stops crying. Starts talking, asking questions etc. I then decide it is time to leave. It was pick up time at the boys school and Andreas had to take time off of work to go there. We left, the nurse just chuckled and agreed we might not need care. hm....
Later that day, she complained of pain in her back, and her neck. Pinched nerve maybe? Strained muscles?
Today is a COLD and sunny day, it snowed last night and it is time to look into getting winter tires. Andreas had to defrost the car-doors with hot water this morning. (we don't have a garage where we rent).
Wish you a good day.
I had my forth job-interview yesterday, I quite enjoy going to different schools to see them from the inside. We signed the contract for the House of our Dreams last night too. Not completely without anxiety, I have to admit. It is a big commitment, and we still own a house in the States..... but as we stepped out of the agents office, they called me from one of recent interviews and offered me a job! YAY! Possibilities and choices. Not only fun, but also scary.....
Celebrated with a Falafel.
Took Emma to the ER yesterday. I picked her up the usual time, and she had then been crying nonstop for over half an hour over pain in her shoulder (!!???). Nothing in particular had happened in school, and there were no marks. But she is not typically the complaining type so I took her to the ER and it took about 2 minutes in line to be admitted, and within 10 minutes we were in waiting for the doctor. She then starts moving her arm again, and stops crying. Starts talking, asking questions etc. I then decide it is time to leave. It was pick up time at the boys school and Andreas had to take time off of work to go there. We left, the nurse just chuckled and agreed we might not need care. hm....
Later that day, she complained of pain in her back, and her neck. Pinched nerve maybe? Strained muscles?
Today is a COLD and sunny day, it snowed last night and it is time to look into getting winter tires. Andreas had to defrost the car-doors with hot water this morning. (we don't have a garage where we rent).
Wish you a good day.
tisdag 19 oktober 2010
A time for everything.....
It is poetry time in the Jansson blog:
A Time for Everything
1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
a time for war and a time for peace.
There is a time to own, and a time to sell. Time to sell is here. If you are a praying person, please pray our house in the USA will sell. It is getting increasingly stressful to have two costs of living. We have taken a step of faith and placed a bid on a house here in Sweden, we trust in a higher power, The Highest Power as a matter of fact, to sustain us in that decision. In my little tiny human mind, I do not understand why our house in the US is not selling, but I can only choose to trust...... it is crucial the house sells THIS YEAR!
Thanks for reading, thanks for helping, thanks for understanding.
måndag 18 oktober 2010
Picture-time!
lördag 16 oktober 2010
Availability and choices
One of the main reasons we wanted to move to Sweden, was so we could offer the proximity of family to our kids. Having lived without extended family around, our own little family have created pretty strong bonds. We have created our own family traditions and never really had to deal with others expectations. Which is both good and bad. Good part is, very few conflicts in the matter. Bad part is, sense of loneliness at times.
Our children have not really realized what they were missing out on until we went home last year in the spring for my niece's wedding. That's when they realized, "Hey, we've got cousins! We've got aunts and uncles!" And everywhere they went, they felt a sense of belonging and felt loved, even if these were in many cases people they had never met before.
Andreas and I saw the move coming already then, so we went to visit the school they are now in, just to have something to refer to in case the move would become reality. And good thing we did. Because here we are.
The house we are working on buying right now is situated on the plain of Skåne, wide open view of farms and fields. It is located exactly 10 miles from Landskrona and 10 miles from Lund. Right in between work/school and family. My sister and her family lives there, and since proximity to family was an important factor when we moved back, we might just as well be CLOSE. We love the country side, horses and plains.
When we had been here just a few weeks, my dad suffered a minor stroke. My mother in law got on the train to watch the kids (Andreas was on a business trip) and my sister and I, niece and her baby, were able to go see him for the day. (4 hour drive). We since then have been with Andreas' parents one weekend, my parents one weekend, been able to attend two weddings and are getting ready for our next weekend trip next weekend! We love it here. And we have 14 years to catch up on.
We do realize that Christmas can be a stressful time when you have family in at least two different cities, and as we have never had to deal with that before in our married life, we have now announced that we are going to be staying put for Christmas. In our new house!!! YAY! Anyone who'd like to visit will be more than welcome to come stay with us!
Today is a beautiful autumn day, and we are getting ready to go for a photo shoot outside. Pics available later.
Our children have not really realized what they were missing out on until we went home last year in the spring for my niece's wedding. That's when they realized, "Hey, we've got cousins! We've got aunts and uncles!" And everywhere they went, they felt a sense of belonging and felt loved, even if these were in many cases people they had never met before.
Andreas and I saw the move coming already then, so we went to visit the school they are now in, just to have something to refer to in case the move would become reality. And good thing we did. Because here we are.
The house we are working on buying right now is situated on the plain of Skåne, wide open view of farms and fields. It is located exactly 10 miles from Landskrona and 10 miles from Lund. Right in between work/school and family. My sister and her family lives there, and since proximity to family was an important factor when we moved back, we might just as well be CLOSE. We love the country side, horses and plains.
When we had been here just a few weeks, my dad suffered a minor stroke. My mother in law got on the train to watch the kids (Andreas was on a business trip) and my sister and I, niece and her baby, were able to go see him for the day. (4 hour drive). We since then have been with Andreas' parents one weekend, my parents one weekend, been able to attend two weddings and are getting ready for our next weekend trip next weekend! We love it here. And we have 14 years to catch up on.
We do realize that Christmas can be a stressful time when you have family in at least two different cities, and as we have never had to deal with that before in our married life, we have now announced that we are going to be staying put for Christmas. In our new house!!! YAY! Anyone who'd like to visit will be more than welcome to come stay with us!
Today is a beautiful autumn day, and we are getting ready to go for a photo shoot outside. Pics available later.
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| Kids "helping" to put the trampoline together |
torsdag 14 oktober 2010
Job hunt. (AKA fitting in to Swedish society....)
I have lived in the US for all the years my kids were little where most moms in my secluded part of the world of Suburbia were home with the kids. In America, taxes are lower and it is ok to make more money, generally.So plenty of moms to hang out with during the day.
In Sweden taxes are higher and higher incomes are pretty unusual,( meaning high enough to be able to live off of one salary). On the other hand we won't have to save for college here, healthinsurance is included in your taxes and I have maternity leave to use up for two of the kids, even if they weren't born here! All parents also get a child allowance every month. But in general both parents work, if not for the money then so she won't be oppressed. (I do have the right to be a little bit cynical in both directions..... don't take offense!)
So, most other moms work from when the child turns 1. The maternity leave pays for one of the parents to be home with 80% of income until then. Hence not so many activities for stay at home moms as in the US. I do hang with a couple of other moms from the boys school who also are home. They don't really have a choice though as they are all from other countries, and it is much harder to find work for them than for me.
I have been exploring my options for a couple of weeks now. I wanted the kids to land properly in their schools and activities before I started looking around for something to do. Because honestly, there is only so much laundry and cleaning to be done in a day, and the kids are all in school until at least 1.30 pm. I have been to three job interviews now, been offered one job and am waiting to hear back from the most recent one. There is a HUGE demand for pre-school teachers so the ball is definetly in my court. I am looking to work part time ,when the kids are in school anyway.
I have been going back and forth on whether I am ready to commit to a job, or if maybe I am just spoiled having lived in a society where you are almost expected to be home, now having moved to a place where I am more expected to work. I think I have decided, all by my self, no peer pressure, to get a job.
(you probably think this is the easiest thing in the world, OF COURSE I should look for a job, or OF COURSE you should stay home). Not that simple.
Anyhow, today is Thursday, the kids love Thursdays, its Horse back riding- time!
In Sweden taxes are higher and higher incomes are pretty unusual,( meaning high enough to be able to live off of one salary). On the other hand we won't have to save for college here, healthinsurance is included in your taxes and I have maternity leave to use up for two of the kids, even if they weren't born here! All parents also get a child allowance every month. But in general both parents work, if not for the money then so she won't be oppressed. (I do have the right to be a little bit cynical in both directions..... don't take offense!)
So, most other moms work from when the child turns 1. The maternity leave pays for one of the parents to be home with 80% of income until then. Hence not so many activities for stay at home moms as in the US. I do hang with a couple of other moms from the boys school who also are home. They don't really have a choice though as they are all from other countries, and it is much harder to find work for them than for me.
I have been exploring my options for a couple of weeks now. I wanted the kids to land properly in their schools and activities before I started looking around for something to do. Because honestly, there is only so much laundry and cleaning to be done in a day, and the kids are all in school until at least 1.30 pm. I have been to three job interviews now, been offered one job and am waiting to hear back from the most recent one. There is a HUGE demand for pre-school teachers so the ball is definetly in my court. I am looking to work part time ,when the kids are in school anyway.
I have been going back and forth on whether I am ready to commit to a job, or if maybe I am just spoiled having lived in a society where you are almost expected to be home, now having moved to a place where I am more expected to work. I think I have decided, all by my self, no peer pressure, to get a job.
(you probably think this is the easiest thing in the world, OF COURSE I should look for a job, or OF COURSE you should stay home). Not that simple.
Anyhow, today is Thursday, the kids love Thursdays, its Horse back riding- time!
måndag 11 oktober 2010
House hunting
"Kids, we are going to look at another house...." " NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
Well, imagine if you were 5,6 or 8 years old, and had to go through house after house.... we have now looked about 40 houses. We have come to the conclusion, that if we are going to be able to afford what we would like, then we have to look outside of the city. The city offers shoe-boxes, fixer-uppers and no land.
In my first blog I told about how we found the house we now rent, well, a house came up on the market across the street from where we rent, and we fell in love! It was the only house that spoke to both of us during the showing. It is a fabulous house! I will post pictures once we have signed the contract, hehehe.
Our main criteria was that a house we buy, wherever it is, it can't be a house where we can not grow. Not meaning babies, but rather where the kids can have friends over at all ages, even as teenagers, and where we easily can have guests over, and if in the country side, it has to be attractive for people to drive out there. We have found it! We being very wise and thought we have to sell the other house first before we bid on anything, but another family was also interested in it, and started bidding, way under asking price! So we countered, and they pulled out! YAY! So a step of faith, yes, but we are convinced that this is where we are supposed to be! And under asking price! (In Sweden prices always go UP from asking price, not down as in the US)
To be continued about my job situation! (have alot to write, but want to keep them short)
Well, imagine if you were 5,6 or 8 years old, and had to go through house after house.... we have now looked about 40 houses. We have come to the conclusion, that if we are going to be able to afford what we would like, then we have to look outside of the city. The city offers shoe-boxes, fixer-uppers and no land.
In my first blog I told about how we found the house we now rent, well, a house came up on the market across the street from where we rent, and we fell in love! It was the only house that spoke to both of us during the showing. It is a fabulous house! I will post pictures once we have signed the contract, hehehe.
Our main criteria was that a house we buy, wherever it is, it can't be a house where we can not grow. Not meaning babies, but rather where the kids can have friends over at all ages, even as teenagers, and where we easily can have guests over, and if in the country side, it has to be attractive for people to drive out there. We have found it! We being very wise and thought we have to sell the other house first before we bid on anything, but another family was also interested in it, and started bidding, way under asking price! So we countered, and they pulled out! YAY! So a step of faith, yes, but we are convinced that this is where we are supposed to be! And under asking price! (In Sweden prices always go UP from asking price, not down as in the US)
To be continued about my job situation! (have alot to write, but want to keep them short)
fredag 8 oktober 2010
Swedish identity
Yes, we are Swedish, all of us. Although two out of five are also Americans. It took two weeks to be acknowledged by the swedish authorities, 6 weeks for the kids to receive their personal number and now we are also acknowledged by the health insurance. So, all is good! It takes some time to move continents, but it is not too bad actually, we haven't encountered any real problems.
The kids go to school in English, at international pre-school and international school. There are plenty nationalities at those schools. I got the use of an ICA-kort (like Jewel-card) explained to me by a french mom, in french. Which brings us to the question: What is it like to come back after 14 years?
For those of you who knew me well before we moved, know that I was not only excited to move back, but also fearful. A bit. In hindsight, I don't know what I feared, I love it here! We have started over in a new part of Sweden, we live 15 minutes from my sister and her family we live in the countryside, close to horses and meadows. In my sisters town is also where we go to church. The kids and Andreas go to school and work in the cutest town ever (Lund) 15 minutes in the opposite direction, which provides us with everything we need and a lot of history. (The cathedral is over 1000 years old!)
It is interesting however to feel like a foreigner in ones own country. I speak the language, but there are a lot of things I don't know how they work! I didn't even know where to buy stamps anymore, as there are no post offices anymore! Sometimes I think it would make more sense if I didn't speak Swedish, when I try to figure everything out. People would probably think I'm less strange.......
Lund is a very nice place. We live 15 minutes outside of Lund, 5 minutes from the trainstation. Every other conversation in Lund is in English, there is a very large community of English speakers thanks to the University.
This part of Sweden offers lots of horse back riding classes. There are horses EVERYWHERE! Must be something in the Swedish history I have missed or something, but there were never this many horses around where I grew up! (4 hours north of here) . So all kids take horse back riding classes in the local pony-school. They love it!
The kids go to school in English, at international pre-school and international school. There are plenty nationalities at those schools. I got the use of an ICA-kort (like Jewel-card) explained to me by a french mom, in french. Which brings us to the question: What is it like to come back after 14 years?
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| over 1000 years old |
It is interesting however to feel like a foreigner in ones own country. I speak the language, but there are a lot of things I don't know how they work! I didn't even know where to buy stamps anymore, as there are no post offices anymore! Sometimes I think it would make more sense if I didn't speak Swedish, when I try to figure everything out. People would probably think I'm less strange.......
Lund is a very nice place. We live 15 minutes outside of Lund, 5 minutes from the trainstation. Every other conversation in Lund is in English, there is a very large community of English speakers thanks to the University.
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| First horse back riding class |
torsdag 7 oktober 2010
To blog or not to blog, that IS the question.....
I have been thinking of entering this whole world of bloggin', but haven't been sure it's been for me. Integrity, time etc. are things I am not sure I am willing to share/spend. But maybe I am. A tribute to our awesome God who brought us here. Here goes:
Jansson family arrived safely in Sweden about two months ago now. We arrived with 12 checked pieces of luggage, one cat and one dog three children, three car seats and one stroller. It was a sight. The dog and the cat went through some extensive and expensive preparation to be able enter one of just a couple of rabies free countries. At the customs, the customs agent looked at me puzzled. I had just put a whole stack of papers in front of him declaring that we were moving countries and had brought pets. He asked me: Where does it say "Rabies shots?" I reply, Here, pointing at the word among a whole lot of other shots and tests shown in the paper. He then replies"Ok, you can go". We were in.
We went straight from the airport, where grandma and grandpa picked us up in two cars and one trailer, (Thank you!) to see a house we were interested in. Great house. We then went to my sisters house for BBQ and to stay the first couple of nights.
After 5 nights with them, I said, no, we HAVE to move into the tiny shoebox provided for us by the relocation company, and where we were not allowed to bring pets. I had a gut-feeling this was wrong, and not the thing to do, but we had no choice! So we called a pet boarding place and, yes they had space and then we went over there to leave them.
At check in we started talking (in good American spirit, I still talk to everyone everywhere. Swedes are more quiet, private....) and I explain the situation to her, and she says: "Well, I have a house I am looking to rent! My parents have stayed there all summer, but they left this morning!"
Praise God! We moved in the next day! To be continued.......
Jansson family arrived safely in Sweden about two months ago now. We arrived with 12 checked pieces of luggage, one cat and one dog three children, three car seats and one stroller. It was a sight. The dog and the cat went through some extensive and expensive preparation to be able enter one of just a couple of rabies free countries. At the customs, the customs agent looked at me puzzled. I had just put a whole stack of papers in front of him declaring that we were moving countries and had brought pets. He asked me: Where does it say "Rabies shots?" I reply, Here, pointing at the word among a whole lot of other shots and tests shown in the paper. He then replies"Ok, you can go". We were in.
We went straight from the airport, where grandma and grandpa picked us up in two cars and one trailer, (Thank you!) to see a house we were interested in. Great house. We then went to my sisters house for BBQ and to stay the first couple of nights.
After 5 nights with them, I said, no, we HAVE to move into the tiny shoebox provided for us by the relocation company, and where we were not allowed to bring pets. I had a gut-feeling this was wrong, and not the thing to do, but we had no choice! So we called a pet boarding place and, yes they had space and then we went over there to leave them.
At check in we started talking (in good American spirit, I still talk to everyone everywhere. Swedes are more quiet, private....) and I explain the situation to her, and she says: "Well, I have a house I am looking to rent! My parents have stayed there all summer, but they left this morning!"
Praise God! We moved in the next day! To be continued.......
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