A Fig in Sweden

winter golf

We were eating breakfast Saturday morning when Lewis said, "Our neighbor is going golfing."

This may not seem like such an alarming announcement. BUT IT SNOWED THE NIGHT BEFORE AND WAS STILL JUST OºC OUTSIDE!!

I ran for the camera to document the lunacy. This guy beats out my parents for the most-in-love-with-golf award. (By the way, congrats to my mom who recently won a Jeep for shooting a hole in one!!)

A few hours later, we drove to Malmö and passed lots of other crazy Swedes on the golf course.

the belly and the pram

I've already gained about 30 pounds and I still have two months to go. This could be bad. The good news is it looks like Tito has a lot of room, as you can see.

And now we're ready to tote him or her around Älmhult when he decides to vacate his current cush pad.

Yes, the stroller has arrived! If you remember, Lewis ordered it for me for my birthday in August. It took 3 months to show up. I'm glad we ordered it a bit early even if I felt a little ridiculous at the time. At about $600, this is one of the least expensive models available in Sweden. Good thing I had my heart set on this one and not the one that costs $1200. Most prams start at $1000. They don't do the car seat stroller thing here like they do in the states. Cars are such a minor part of the culture/everyday life in Sweden. Much more common to hop on the train with your pram. And, you know, the Swedes like style and brands. Bugaboo and Urban Jungle are big. I think those models are expensive no matter where you buy them.

Anyway, my beloved stroller has the pictured bassinet for the early months. And then I can change that out for a seat when the little peanut gets older. I like that this is one of the off-road varieties, so it will be really handy on the trails when we move back to Colorado. I think we'll use the bassinet in our bedroom the first couple of months, too. The baby's room is just off our room, but I've been hearing more and more that it's a good idea for the baby to sleep close. So we'll either move the crib into our room or use this bassinet next to my side of the bed.

I start month 8 on Tuesday, so just 8 weeks to go! Oh, and we have a boy's name finally. Dylan. My sister's baby names book said Dylan is "sensitive with a rock-and-roll heart." Sounds good to us.

looking (and sounding) Swedish

About a week ago I told Lewis that I really wanted it to snow. He looked at me like I was crazy. I mean it is only November.

I told him that I wanted it to snow so it would stop raining.

He said I was beginning to sound like a Swede.

Well, I got what I asked for this morning, when we woke up to a thin white coating on everything.

It does seem a bit early in the year for such cold temperatures. (This isn't Colorado... once the cold weather sets in, it doesn't leave.) I'm sure I will be eating my words when we still have snow everywhere in March April. I have a feeling we're in for a tough winter.

Which reminds me, I better start feeding the birds.

11-11 make a wish

A few snow flurries swept through Älmhult on Friday night and we woke up to a freezing house this morning (53 degrees!). It's minus 3C outside. There's ice on the steps, which poor Tilly slipped on after her morning pee. And even Tito is ready for winter with a new slightly used snowsuit (my best find on Tradera so far – only 51kr when it normally sells for 500kr at Polarn O Pyret!).

Every time Lewis sees the snowsuit hanging it strikes him that we'll have a little person in our house who fits into it. The reality is starting to set in. After 12.5 years together as a couple, we will now have a third person around all the time. It IS a bit weird when I think of it that way. Just two months until my maternity leave starts (and that includes about 2 weeks off at Christmas.) So I feel like it's really getting close.

Not sure if I have explained how the Swedish system works when it comes to maternity leave. I just filed all the paperwork with the government. Basically, I get 80% of my salary for a year + 1000kr per month to help with expenses (roughly $175). Most Swedes put the 1000kr aside for the baby in his or her own savings account. We're thinking we'll do the same thing. Of course, we may need to dip into it if things get tight! Sorry kid!

I need to be off for a year because the Swedish daycare system does not accept babies until they are a year old. If Lewis had a job, he could take parental leave at 80% pay to watch the baby if I wanted to go back to work before 1 year. Technically we get 480 days total of paid leave, which we can split between the two of us. 60 of those days stay with dad, but Lewis can give me the rest of his days. Yes, it's a bit complicated. Imagine us having to navigate through all of this in Swedish!

I've been really struggling with the fact that I will be off for a whole year. I really love my job and it's hard to leave. BUT, I know that this is an opportunity that I wouldn't have in the U.S., so I plan to really take advantage of it and enjoy it. And then when Lewis finishes school in September, I'll still have 3.5 months of maternity leave left, so we can spend that time together as a family as he looks for a job. Really cool.

And all this because one night I was looking for chairs on the IKEA website. It was two years ago today that I boarded a plane for our new life in Sweden. I felt like my heart was being ripped out when I stood inside DIA and looked at the Rocky Mountains for the last time. Leaving all of our friends and our home. Leaving a life where we were really, really happy. And we will be happy to come back whenever that is.

But this is home for now. And we love it actually. I love that there is virtually zero stress in our lives. I love that Lewis is able to get a degree in a field he is passionate about. I love that our marriage is even stronger. I love that we are starting a family here.

I hope we will continue to be so lucky...