Babies..

There's something that's been on my mind for a few weeks now... babies.. 

I don't know what happened to me exactly, but I do remember it was on a Sunday evening when I was sitting at home. I suddenly got an urge to start having children.

I haven't really been one of those girls that's always wanted children. In fact, when I was younger I didn't really play with dolls and when I was a teenager I said I wouldn't have kids ever. When I got into my late teens however, my feelings started to change. I started to think 'Oh yeah, maybe some day...'. Now I'm 22, soon 23 and I'm starting to think about it more seriously.

I'm trying to think of all the reasons why we shouldn't have kids now. There are a few of course, some being: We don't have a house of our own yet. I don't have a 'fast' or permanent job. We're not married. We haven't been together THAT long (almost two years). I wonder if we're financially stable enough. Maybe I'm too young. Are we ready?

I guess the most pressing concerns are the house and us being ready. Really, the house thing isn't a very big problem. A lot of people have kids before they have a place of their own. I've been talking about this a lot with the people at work and one woman said 'Yeah, but even if you have a house you'll start thinking 'Oh, we should decorate it and get everything in order first etc''. She said that you should just have kids when you want and take the other stuff as it comes. I thought that this was actually a good point. There really is no 'perfect time' to have a child, and if you wait for such a time, you may be waiting forever..

In terms of us being ready, I guess I do feel ready, and so does Lars Erik, he's really dying for children. My mum said that if I wasn't in a happy and secure relationship then I probably wouldn't be thinking about having kids yet (maybe a reason why some people wait a bit longer, they haven't found 'the one'). But I guess I'm a bit afraid that we'll have a baby and then suddenly I'll think of all the things we wanted to do before/can't do after becoming a parent. Or like I don't realise how much it will change my life and maybe we should just enjoy being us two for a little while more..

I've also been weighing up the pros and cons of being a younger parent vs being an older parent. 

I guess I kind of know already that I want to be a younger parent because: 

I want to have the energy to chase after my child in the park 

I want to be able to get up to a crying child in the middle of the night and still manage work the next day

I want to be young and healthy enough to start a new chapter in my life after my kids have grown up

I want to be a 'young' and active grandparent

I also think of course about the biological pros to having children younger; there are less risks of chromosomal abnormalities when you have children younger, they say your body handles childbirth better, I'm probably more fertile now than I will be in ten years time and I guess its just the 'natural' way, to have children when you're young. Nature says we're ready to be parents when we get our first period, 11-12 years of age (I'm of course not suggesting that 11 and 12 year olds should be having kids, but you know what I mean :P). I also think about that if I decide to wait a few more years for example, what if I have difficulties conceiving? There are no guarantees that just because you want children, you can have them. I know of lots of people that have a hard time getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to full term, and I think that if that happens to me, I'd rather have time on my side.

Of course, there are also benefits to waiting until you're a little older to have children, and 'older' parents are just as capable as younger parents of chasing after their kids and getting up in the night etc. Also, its likely that you're more adjusted, more financially secure, more sure of your decision and have enough life experience not to resent having children, as some younger parents might.

I think when it comes down to it, age, life experience, biology etc don't mean an awful lot. In my opinion, the 'right time' to have a baby can only be decided by the parents themselves. And just because you're in your thirties doesn't mean you're any more ready to have a baby than somebody in their twenties. Its a huge change at any stage of life.

As for me, I'm not going to rush into anything just yet. I know I probably have 'baby-fever' just because I'm surrounded by cute kids all day at work :)

But we'll see... Maybe next year :D

Denmark!

Lars Erik and I knew we were going to Ireland with his family, as we booked the tickets quite a while ago. However, I wanted a little holiday just for us two to a place that was a bit more exciting for me than just boring Ireland :D After much discussion we decided on Copenhagen, Denmark. I hadn't been to Denmark before (Lars Erik had but it was many years ago and he wanted to visit again) and the flights were quite cheap and only one hour long so it seemed the perfect place for a long weekend :)

Copenhagen is a really cool, compact little city. It has just enough to keep you busy for a few days and everything of interest is more or less within walking distance. Everybody speaks fantastic English and there are loads of bikes and everybody cycles everywhere!
Also, seeing as we live in Norway, we thought everything was very, very cheap! Especially alcohol and eating out.

 On the first day we arrived we just wandered around, trying to get a bit familiar with the area. Our hotel was about a 5-10 minute walk from 'Strøget' which is like the big main shopping street and I think we saw three Irish pubs along it :P

The Dubliner

We ate lunch here at 'The Dubliner' on the first day and it was really yummy! Lars Erik had a breakfast type thing and I had Guinness and beef pie with chips!

Nam! :D

On the second day we decided to see Nyhavn and The Little Mermaid statue and try and do some shopping and see some more of the city.

First view of Nyhavn!

'Den Lille Havfrue'

Waffles and coffee!

 I had planned to visit the weekend markets while we were there and it seemed that a lot of them were open on Sunday so I thought I'd do my vintage treasure hunting that day, however this was a big mistake. The best and most central markets are held on a Saturday so unfortunately I only got to visit a couple as I wasn't aware of this beforehand. I still got some nice vintage Danish designed items though :) We also decided to visit the Tivoli on Sunday.

The 'Sky Ship' I went on this one :P

 

The Tivoli was nice though I feel it was a bit expensive for what it was. Its 95 Danish kroner in and then you pay individually per ride, or you can buy a multipass ticket for almost 300 DKK (you don't have to pay 95 kroner in when you buy the multipass) and you can go on all the rides as many times as you like. Its open late, until midnight and full of restaurants and places to eat so you can really come early and spend the whole day here. You can also go out and come back later if you wish though I think that costs 15 kroner or something. We were there on Sunday so it was really busy and the queues were long. We were waiting about 15 minutes per ride at least. Lars Erik was much braver than me as there were some things I was just too scared to go on :P

Copenhagen is a very safe city and its really nice to walk around at night, absorbing the atmosphere and enjoying the vibe. We even saw some families walking around with their kids as the clock was nearing midnight. Its also legal I'm told, to drink on the streets and unlike Norway there are no time limits regarding the sale of alcohol (in Norway you can't buy alcohol after 20.00 on a weekday or 18.00 on the weekend).

By the time Monday came we were tired from walking so much every day and ready to come home to Norway. It had been a lovely trip and it had also been interesting for me and gave me an opportunity to reflect. The biggest thing for me was being able to understand Danish (for those who don't know, Norwegian and Danish are extremely similar). It was a really strange feeling to be able to understand signs, menus, instructions etc in a language I've never studied or tried to learn. Spoken Danish was a bit more challenging but I could understand most of what they said and even Lars Erik found it a bit difficult. It was often the case that we spoke Norwegian to them and they'd speak English back to us :P
Also, it made me realise that I'm not missing anything by living in the country and not in the city. Sometimes I miss the buzz of a city, people rushing around busy, dressing out of aesthetics instead of for the weather, having something to do all the time, being able to go into a clothes shop whenever I feel like it etc. But actually, cities, while lovely to visit and probably to live in too, seem to me to be a bit shallow and superficial. Appearance is important and the focus is on different things. There's no silence and no space to think and everything is always 'going'. Like I said, cities are wonderful to visit but I was very glad to be able to come home to our little apartment in the countryside, surrounded by nature, fresh air and silence :)


Ps. If anybody is interested in visiting Copenhagen I strongly recommend the 'Visit Copenhagen' website. It has loads of current, useful tips and suggestions on everything from where to shop for antiques to where to eat if you want a typical Danish sandwich.

If anybody has any questions I'd be glad to help, just leave a comment! :)

Summer :)

Summer in Norway has been busy but relaxed at the same time. There unfortunately hasn't been much time for blogging as we try to be outside as much as possible, enjoying the sun while we can.

Work has been really nice seeing as a lot of the kids and staff are on holiday so there are just a few of us there and the tempo is a bit slower. However I found that I had a lot more responsibility seeing as a few local girls who don't usually work there come in to help out and earn some extra money in the summer and they're not familiar with the kids or the routines, so if there were questions or anything, they turned to me. It was a bit stressful but everything went well! :)

Light lunch for work :)

Also!! We FINALLY got a new bed! We have been sleeping in a single bed for over a year now and while its been cozy, its also been hot, sweaty, cramped and quite uncomfortable, so we needed a new bed badly. We ended up buying a 180cm Svane bed which cost us 10000 kroner. Its a really great bed :D

Before we put it together...

The new bed assembled!!

I have been on holiday from work since last week :) I was asked a couple of months ago when I wanted my holiday and I asked for week 28 since Lars Erik starts his holidays that week, then I was asked 'Yes, and how many weeks?', to which I replied 'Huh?.. How many weeks can I take?' 'You can take up to 4 if you want!' Wow I thought, what a difference this is to Ireland! In the few jobs I worked over there we were lucky to get one week a year and even then we had to almost beg for it! So I said I'd take two weeks as I feel that's enough of a break and if I don't work I don't get money, so I didn't want to take a whole month. I will however get 'feriepenger' or 'holiday money'. Everybody gets feriepenger, like a little extra money for your time off. However I'm not sure if I'll get it this year or next year..

Raspberry and white chocolate muffins :)

Holidays are big in Norway, and its normal for families to go abroad every year. Common destinations for Norwegian holiday makers include Sweden and Denmark of course, but also Turkey and 'Syden'. Syden is a term I heard once and I knew it meant 'The South' but I couldn't figure out the south of where? The south of Norway? The south pole? Where?! It means the south of Europe, somewhere warm and usually Spain. Norwegians love holidaying in warm sunny places and I think it must be because Norwegian summer is often disappointing and they need to stock up on the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D before the long dark winter.

Lars Erik and I will actually have two holidays this summer! Denmark and Ireland :) We just got back from Denmark yesterday evening (saving details on that for my next post) and we're heading off to Ireland later this week (just enough time to rest and pack again!). However, this time we won't be going alone! Lars Erik's mum and sister are coming with us to meet my family and see my home country :) I'm excited but also a bit nervous and unsure at the same time.. Of course it will be great to see my family and be 'home', but it will be scary with the parents meeting and I'm afraid that I'll be sad when we come back to Norway like I was when we visited at Easter. It was difficult to leave my family and everything familiar and easy and come back to this strange land where I have to concentrate on everything everyone says to understand anything and where everything just feels ten times harder sometimes.. I'm settled again into my Norwegian life and I love being here right now, so I really don't want that sad, angry feeling again.. We'll see..

Going to the doctor in Norway

Today I experienced my first doctor's appointment in Norway. I must admit I had been very nervous about it, wondering if I'd understand all of the medical language in Norwegian, would my doctor speak English etc.. But it went really well! :)

First a bit of information: When I finally got my person number in Norway I also received my tax card (skattekort) and surprisingly, a letter about how to go about getting a GP. There's a page online that you can log in to and see all the doctors in your community and which have available patient places. At first there were no women doctors available, but I waited a couple of months and places with a woman doctor became available, so I chose her as my GP (fastlege). You can change your GP, but I think you're only allowed to do that twice each calendar year, so its important to choose wisely.

Anyway, I had put off booking the appointment for a long time, but I decided I should just go and get it over with. I had to wait two weeks after booking the appointment to see the doctor. I'm not sure how the system works, my concerns weren't urgent so maybe they decided I could wait, and if you're very ill you get seen sooner or something.
When I got to the building, I said at the reception who I was, who my doctor was, when the appointment was for etc, and the woman told me to take a seat. I sat down and started to take a book out of my bag to read while I waited, when suddenly the doctor came out and asked me to come in! That was fast! :) She shook my hand, introduced herself, and then in English, asked how to say my name correctly. Then she asked if I spoke Norwegian and I said yes, and so we continued på norsk! :) And it went really fine! I felt relaxed and she spoke in a slow, clear way so I could understand everything she said and I knew I could always ask in English if there was something I didn't catch. We addressed all of my concerns and she gave me a one year prescription for the pill, which is the main reason I went there. I paid 180kr for the visit (about 24 euro) so it wasn't that expensive (the same visit would have cost 60 euro in Ireland!). All in all I was very satisfied, and left smiling and happy :)

The visit differed from an Irish doctor's appointment in the following ways: 1. The price. Even though Norway is super expensive, a doctor's appointment cost a third of what it would have cost in Ireland. 2. The doctor never took my blood pressure, something that struck me as odd considering I'm on the pill (I guess she was satisfied that my doctors in Ireland had been doing a good job and that seeing as I'd been on the pill so long that I had no outstanding health issues). 3. Waiting time. In Ireland you're typically waiting at least 5-10 minutes (sometimes up to 40) outside the doctor's office. Maybe I caught them on a good day today, but in general I've heard that this short waiting time is standard. 4. The approach to healthcare (as with many things in Norway) seems to be very natural. I had a few other concerns and the doctor said that I'm a healthy young girl, so there was no need to be worried about that particular problem etc. It seems like they're a bit reluctant to prescribe medication unless you really really need it, and are quite happy to let the body sort itself out. Which maybe is the way it should be :)

Update post!

I'm so sorry for being a lazy monster and leaving it so long between blog posts! :( Its been crazy busy here lately, like everybody is trying to make the most out of the summer (and why not, its a short summer and then its soon winter again!) and there have been lovely parties at work and invites to the homes of colleagues and barbecues and just lots of stuff! Its like we don't have an evening or a weekend free anymore, but its really just wonderful :)

I guess the biggest thing to write about right now is the farm visit with work! It was even better than I could have imagined!! The whole barnehage went and it was just an incredible experience. The weather wasn't rainy afterall, it was so sunny! I hope we created some good memories for the kids :) And unfortunately I didn't think to bring my camera (still kicking myself about that) so I don't have any pictures :( But anyway, we drove there by bus, and it wasn't that far, maybe 20-30 minutes away. It was a beautiful, picturesque place, out in the countryside but with the most amazing nature surrounding it, big hills and tall forests, lots of space! Our big group was divided in two and we started the tour. First we went into this 'room' that had lots of smaller pens. There were little pigs, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, a sheep, chickens and one HUGE pig! It was really 'hands on' like, the children were encouraged to jump in and touch the animals and everything, I hadn't expected that! Seeing as I didn't really grow up in a farm environment it was quite new to me, but I really enjoyed it :) Next stop was the cows! There was a huge room with lots of cows and we were taken behind the bars and in to touch the cows! They were huge and loud and one was even a bit too friendly! It was a calf and he somehow got hold of my finger and began sucking it! He didn't bite or anything, and then somebody explained to me that he thought he could get milk that way :D It was a new experience anyway! Then we went to drink a little and have a break whilst we waited to take a horse and cart ride :) The seats on the cart were made of bales of hay and it was really lovely to experience the Norwegian countryside in that way :) Afterwards we went to 'jump in the hay'! We climbed up many stairs inside this barn, until we finally reached the top. There was a huge 'pool' of hay and two platforms to jump from, one little and one really big!! I sat on the little one helping the children and before we went back down I thought 'I have to try jumping from the big platform'. I climbed up there and had second thoughts, but a lovely girl farmer persuaded me to jump and counted to 3. It wasn't that scary afterall :P
We went back outside to this huge field by the main house and grilled sausages :) Then we got ice cream afterwards! :D It was really one of those 'I can't believe I'm here' moments, when I sat on the grass surrounded by happy children and fresh air and the open spaces and forest in the distance. I felt super lucky :) After the rest it was play, nappy changing and getting back on the bus :) All of our kids fell asleep on the way home, and I nearly did too! We got back to the barnehage, put them to sleep in their prams and had some coffee :) The rest of the day melted away and I got to go one hour early! Everything really was just perfect :) Its a day I'll never forget.


The farm visit was a couple of weeks ago now, and there has been lots of stuff happening since! We had a lovely barbecue party at work one evening. We got nice food, had nice conversation and even got a little gift of a flower! I didn't expect that and I just thought it was such a kind, sweet gesture :) Here's a picture:

There have also been many barbecues, many invites and many visits, so we've been kept busy! :)

I have also been back into my favourite shop, the used-stuff-market and found some more cool things:

I don't know if you can see, but it says 'Norge' on the jars :)

And on the top!

 Yes, I found some cool 'Norgesglass' glass jars :) They're kind of 'collectable' in a way. They were produced from 1908-1978 by Christiania GlasMagasin, if I'm not mistaken. I think they're just super cool :) I also found that yellow tablecloth you see in the pictures, which is bright and summery and lovely and also a really cool old pot! We needed a new, big pot and were thinking of buying one in IKEA when we visit this week, but then yesterday I spotted that pot (Lars Erik's mum has the exact same one too, and I've used it before so I know its good). Its Norwegian made, and in good condition, but I kind of had to wonder is it.. hm, 'normal' to use used kitchen pots and stuff. I thought yeah, if I wash it well then why not? I use used glass jars for food and if you eat in somebody else's house then there's not really much difference! Plus, it was a bargain for only 30 kroner (4.30 euro or something!)!

I've also been knitting my 'hood-scarf' or I guess we'd call it a snood in English. Its coming along well I think!

Its incredibly simple to knit and will be finished in no time! :)

Unfortunately, I've also been sick :/ Really sick actually. I think its some kind of chest infection. I was off from work almost all last week. I've had a fever and been coughing a lot, with lots of pain in my throat and lungs. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow so we'll see what she says. I'm not sure if I'm well enough for work tomorrow yet and I think I've infected Lars Erik :D But I've been sleeping really well! I always sleep well with a fever :D

After 3 days stuck inside the house I needed a walk, so on Thursday evening we went around our neighbourhood and I got some nice pictures:

It was midsummer here yesterday which means that its started getting darker earlier now. We used to have almost 24 hours daylight (it got 'dark' for maybe one hour between 1am and 2am) but now it gets dark earlier and its proper dark too. Its amazing how quickly it changes, I noticed it for the first time on Friday night. It was strange to experience darkness again. And a bit hm, 'sad' in a way. I feel a bit like now that its midsummer, we're heading towards winter again. And I do love winter! But summer hasn't been long enough yet. We do still have July, which is usually the hottest and best month, so I'm keeping myself optimistic with thoughts of that :) 

Anyway, I think that's about everything that's been happening here! I hope I'll be back to full health for the week ahead and able to enjoy the next few weeks of summer!

Happy weekend and week ahead everyone! :)

Good weekend :)

*I started writing this blog post a few weeks ago and never finished it! Its been super busy and crazy here, so I'm going to finish and post this now and then write an update post on everything else that's been going on here :) *


Its been a great weekend! :) We got a lot done but we also had time to relax and 'kose oss' :)

On Friday after work I made these delicious little beauties!:

So called 'Nanaimo bars'! :) They were super yummy! I got the recipe from this great blog here: http://jeff-in-norway.blogspot.no/2012/02/canadian-desserts.html

While we were waiting for the Nanaimo bars to cool in the fridge we ate sausages for dinner!

In Norway sausages are 'cooked' by boiling them in water. A little tip is to boil them in water with a stock cube added for extra flavour ;)
Then you get a 'lompe'; a cold potato pancake, place the sausage on it and then drown it in ketchup, mustard, and 'crispy cooked onion'. YUMMY! :)

On Saturday we got up early and went to the shop 'Expert' which is just 10 minutes down the road. They were having a so called 'Lørdagskupp', like a 'Saturday bargain', which was a bathoom scales for only 100kr and seeing as we don't have one at the moment we decided to buy that one! At the last Expert lørdagskupp we came too late and they were sold out (of clock radios for 40kr :P), so in an attempt to avoid another disappointment we went early! The shop opened at 10 and I expected a queue out the door, but when we got there, there was nobody! No cars in the car park and nobody in the shop :P So we got our scales :)

Then we went to the post office to send a parcel to my sister at home in Ireland and also to return *another* pair of wellies. These ones were too big after the last ones being too small! So I ordered another pair at the weekend and I just hope they'll get here before Friday, because I'm going 'på tur' to a farm with work and its predicted to be rainy and of course mucky if its a farm so wellies would be useful :P Anyway, I'm super excited about the farm! Maybe even more than the kids! :)

Then we just had a bit of a wander around, something we don't do that often, and it was actually so lovely! In 'Nille' I found this!!:

 A MOOMIN BAG!!! Anybody that knows me knows I am obsessed with Moomin (should do a post on that soon actually), so to find this just made me so happy! It'll be perfect for travelling :)

I also found this in another local shop! Its a few knitting patterns of cool stuff in Norwegian colours! I really want to make that scarf! The pattern doesn't look too difficult and I'm only working 4 hours tomorrow so I might get started then!


And! I also joined our local library! I had been in there once before and they have loads of books (obviously being a library) in Norwegian and English, but also lots of audio books (good for listening to and practicing Norwegian) and Moomin books and just lots of great stuff! Also, the bigger library in town has DVD box sets of Desperate Housewives and stuff that you can borrow!  Plus, books are so expensive in Norway (300kr/40 euro at least, even for a small one), so it just makes sense to join the library :)

Here are the books I borrowed and my 'lånekort', borrowing card :)

We also went into one of my favourite shops, the 'bruktmarked'; used market. Its a shop that sells cool used old stuff! I love finding hidden treasures, like these:

 I fell in love with this cute little jar thingy! It was only 15 kroner (2 euro) so I had to have it! It now stores our dishwasher tablets :)

 Also, I had been searching for a cool big glass jar to keep flour in, and had looked in 'normal' shops without success. Then I spotted this in the used shop and it was only 10 kroner, perfect! :)


On Sunday then we took it easy :) We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the kitchen table...

And a little later I started baking! I decided to try Jamie Oliver's 'Sexy Swedish Buns'. I love watching the episode of Jamie Oliver when he's in Stockholm! Its just like a beautiful little reminder of how wonderful Scandinavian culture is :)

It was looking a little messy at this stage!!

Here they are 'proofing' again, before they go into the oven :)

Fresh out of the oven! :)

And here they are soaked in lovely vanilla sauce!

It really was a fantastic weekend :) I'm looking forward to many more similar ones!

Hope you are all having great weekends too! :)