Lokakuu

Today I'm going to make an exception and post pictures I didn't take. This is what our kitchen floor looked like a week ago. This winter it will be heated instead of freezing cold! My husband did it all by himself, even all of the electric wiring. He also did the photography except for the last two pictures. I was too stressed out by the conditions to come to think of taking out the camera. Everything including furniture, dishwasher, stove, and fridge had to be removed. Since those everyday things you take for granted were missing (well, the fridge was on, but it was in the hallway), I deeply appreciated the fact that we at least had warm running water in the whole house. Our mothers helped by taking care of the girls for a few days and my father-in-law gave us his time and experience and spent two days helping with the project.

Here are a few other things that have happened during October:

- all three kids have been sick for a full month, 1-3 at a time, meaning doctor visits and badly slept nights
- one of them had a birthday
- I went to a class reunion and got to give a summary of my adult life to at least a dozen people
- my daughter started orthodontic treatment that will last for at least a year
- the same daughter had a gymnastic performance and I spent hours sewing hundreds of sequins to her outfit
- we have been trying to get the baby used to finally sleeping in his own bed, in the hopes that he would then wake up less during nights
- last week I only got a few hours sleep several nights in a row, meaning I had to rest during nap time to survive, meaning nothing else got done

So here is reason for our exhaustion and for skipping last Monday's post. We've been taking it easy this weekend and I feel slightly better. Next  weekend we are throwing a birthday party. Oh please, may no one else get sick this week!

The aluminum anniversary (really!)

Well, today marks the day, ten years ago, when Lara and I last visited, which was for the occasion of my wedding.  So I thought this picture would be perfect to celebrate this blog, and this day!  I also enjoy remembering a time when I wasn't shorter than every one of my cousins....sigh!
(Post-edit:  This photo is from the album in my last post, from 26 years ago....which means I am...what?  Older than 26?  How did this happen???)

Please stand by...

Uh-oh!  Lara is currently out of the office.  Please enjoy Amy's Finnish retrospective, circa 1985!

Well, here is something funny!  For international travel on January 31st, can you guess when our grandmother purchased these tickets?  January 9th, of course.  Can you imagine??

And how about a little quiz for our readers...who can guess the price for two round-trip tickets from Washington, DC to Turku, Finland in 1985?  Winner gets a free slice of apple pie at my house!

Last LAST trip...

Seriously, this is really the LAST trip to the beach this year.  Let me just say that it was sunny and in the 60s!  That doesn't even seem possible now that, just a few days later, the rain has returned.  But it was sunny and warm enough for the boy to chase the waves up and down a nearly empty beach, and to just plain wear himself out.

---

Too tired for words. In any language. If I feel any better next week, I'll tell you why.

Return

Something about living here makes me feel like a frog...as wonderful as summer is, home is a place that is cool and damp. Let's see how long into this seven-month rainy season I can keep up this positive attitude!

Puiden keskellä

Last week the weatherman said we would have one perfectly sunny day in the middle of an otherwise rainy week. I decided in advance that we would go to the nearby woods on that day. It turned out that I only got a few hours sleep the night before, so I was feeling pretty desperate when the day came. But I decided to stick to the plan anyway, because I knew I would feel a little less tired in the crisp air. There's something very therapeutic and comforting about being surrounded by trees. It has such a lifting effect even on the little ones.

(I hope all you non-Finnish readers took note of the rye bread! It's an essential Finnish thing, something we miss when we are abroad. And the knitted mittens, waterproof outdoor wear, and rain boots are all must-have items for any Finnish kid.)

Celebration

Every night, just before bedtime, I have been letting the boy use one sparkler left over from the Fourth of July.  They were on top of the fridge, and I had forgotten all about them until he pointed up and asked what they were.  Last night, we used the last one.  I suppose it's the perfect kick-off to the holiday season!  I know people joke about how lame it is that the stores carry Christmas decorations earlier each year (September this year!!), but I love it.  Halloween!  Thanksgiving!  Birthdays!  Let's get started!

Vaaleanpunainen

My younger daughter (two and a half) recently began to draw and paint figures. There's a certain spot on our living room wall that needs something framed on it, and I believe I've now found the right picture. The little girl's first family portrait!

Left to right: big sister, little brother, daddy, herself, and mommy. I love it how she payed attention to the proportions of baby brother (the dark green one) compared to the rest of us. And what I found especially interesting was that she painted all the females of the family pink! When her daddy asked her why she had painted him black, she replied: "No, täytyy tehdä sitten uusi!" (I'll just have to make a new one!) And in her next portrait a few days later... we were all pink.