A Fleet of Feathers

Benjamin excelled - again - at creativity on the Christmas holiday. While all the cousins were jumping on the trampoline, Benjamin became admiral of a feathered fleet in the bird bath...

While Visions of Sugarplums...

We came home from a night out to find Benjamin, asleep in his Santa hat. I'm sure the dreams were excellent!
In case you are interested, Christmas is already here, if you go by Benjamin's Christmas calendar. I bought each of the children an open-each-day-get-a-piece-of-chocolate-calendar, explained the concept, and then let them decide how they wanted to do it. Annika is - of course - sticking with the program, a piece a day. Benjamin and Christopher lasted a week before they started delving into the future. Benjamin finished his last piece -the 18th - today. Christopher has a few left, but is a bit unclear on the numbers past 10, so I don't expect his to last much longer. At least we won't have to take them with us on holiday!

Officially Five!

Poor Christopher has a mid-summer birthday, and one that falls in the same month (June) as Benjamin's. Last year, we never managed to organize a party for him with all the school finishing ceremonies and summer vacation... but he never forgot. So FINALLY he got his party on Saturday - nearly six months late - but better late than never!

We rented the local swimming pool, not the big one where the party has to compete with a few hundred other kids, but the little one where we had the whole thing to ourselves. It was perfect - and what a haven on a cold and rainy (and muddy) day. I had no idea what energy could come from 10 small boys and 2 smallish girls. Actually, the girls played quietly in one corner of the pool while the 10 boys splashed, jumped, dove, balanced, climbed and swam in the rest. The kids played so hard in the pool that when we said it was time to come out, they all came immediately, without protest. I think they were just so tired...

Why I Wish it was Colder...

... because this is what the boys' outerwear looks like on a daily basis when I pick them up from school. If only it would freeze...

The Wisdom of Swedish TV

December is a dark month. We are approaching the shortest day of the year, and nowhere is it more obvious to me than here. I drop the kids off in the dark... and pick them up in the dark... and I am surprised to see blue sky and sun. If I do see the sun, it is always an afternoon sun, low in the sky with long shadows. It is hard to get up in the cold and the dark... and even harder to get the kids up...

But on the first of December, the Christmas calendar begins on Swedish TV. The "julkalendar" is a TV show in 24 episodes, 15 minutes each, shown on channel 1, the children's channel and - if you miss the 3-5 times a day on those two - online. There's even a calendar for sale (we have three) that follows the show, so that you can open the daily door with the show's host. Each year is a different show, and some years are better than others. (It must be hard to do a 6-hour 24-part show where each 15-minute segment ends in a climax...)

The first opportunity to watch the daily show is at 7.15, perfect timing for breakfast and school. In fact, if SVT had surveyed mothers in Sweden (which they may very well have done), they could hardly have picked a better time and length to get the kids going in the morning. Unlike the rest of the year, when it is a struggle to get everyone dressed and to the breakfast table, all I have to say the whole month of December is "It's 7.05 - 10 minutes to julkalendar" and the kids are up and dressed like a shot. Thank you, Swedish TV. (And here are my little vegetables, glued to the latest episode.)