Canada Bound

A day and a half until we leave for Canada. I believe this will be my last post for 2010.

This year has been adventurous, to say the least. Moving to Finland has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life but it's been over 8 months and we have survived so far. We have lots of plans of travelling through Europe next year, so 2011 is already shaping up to be a great year.

We also celebrated the arrival of our son Charlie, who is now 8 weeks old and doing great. Madison survived staying at home with me the last 8 months, and looks like she'll be starting daycare in January.

Tears were shed, friends were made, family visits were had, Skype dates were plentiful. 2010 goes out with a wonderful (and busy!) visit to Canada. Can't wait to see everybody.

Wishing all of my friends and family a fabulous 2011.

Love Kim

Flu Vaccine

Tis the season for the flu vaccine and Finland does things a bit different over here. They had one week clinics where you can go, pull a number, wait in line, and then get your shot.

If you don't make it to the clinic during this one week, you have to see a doctor to give you a prescription for the vaccine. Then you go the pharmacy and get the vaccine. Literally, they hand you over the flu vaccine needle. Then you have to go the health centre with your vaccine in tow, pull a number, wait in line, and get your shot. Unless you are a medical doctor and feel the need to give it to yourself. I have to admit, I'm tempted to Google "how to give yourself the flu vaccine" just so that I don't have to drag the kids to the health centre to get my shot.

I guess I married the wrong kind of doctor :)

We had a birthday party for Maddy on the weekend at an indoor playground. Lots of bouncy castles and such. She had a wonderful time with her friends from playgroup. And they bought her a scooter, which she was so happy about. I have never seen this kid play with a toy this much before.

Finland is covered in snow and it doesn't appear to be going away any time soon, since it's -10 degrees every day. We'll have to pack our sunglasses and suntan lotion for our trip...

10 more days until we are Canada bound. It's a beautiful day.

Kim

Christmas Came Early!

Charlie slept for 7 hrs straight last night! Went to bed around 11 and when I checked the clock this morning when he woke up, I was astonished that it was 6am. Thank you Charlie!

Two more weeks until we're Canada bound. And we're celebrating Maddy's birthday tomorrow with her friends at an indoor playground. Oh happy days.

Kim

6 Weeks Later

It's been 6 weeks since Charlie was born and life with two kids definitely has its moments. Charlie confuses night and day, he screams just to be held, always starts crying as soon as we sit down for supper, and fills his diaper within 10 minutes of me changing him. But one smile on his face makes it all worth it. He's lucky he's cute.

I may be Dutch but...

black licorice does not belong in a McDonald's McFlurry.

Finland Birthing Experience

Okay, so it's been over a month and the nightmares of my labour have finally started to subside. Just kidding, it wasn't that bad. I've been meaning to document the differences between having a baby in Canada and having a baby in Finland since it's fresh on my mind.

- everybody who works in the labour ward is female
- they have like 20 birthing rooms so you are never stuck delivering your baby in the hallway.
- each labouring mother is paired with a midwife. This is the woman who is with you the entire labour, including delivery. There is no parade of ten people coming in to look at you at your "weakest moment" to catch the baby in the final minutes and then leave. Much more comfortable atmosphere
- there is an anaesthesiologist who is dedicated solely to the labour ward. This means that the longest you have to wait to get your epidural is ten minutes.
- the first hour after the baby is born is restricted for bonding time with the new parents. Meaning that once baby and momma have been cleared, everybody leaves the room and they give you an hour to try breastfeeding and to bond with your new baby. We didn't even know how much he weighed or how long he was, but we didn't care!
- they don't have to "catch" the baby - you deliver right on the bed so there's no chance of slippage.
- if you are lucky enough to get a family room, it is a private room with two single beds pushed together. Hubby can stay over and have his own bed. Siblings are also allowed to stay if you want them there. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all buffet-style in the kitchen down the hall, where you help yourself to your meals. They also have fruit available all day and the fridge is stocked with milks and juices. Husbands and children can eat for free also.
- all clothing, diapers, etc are provided by the hospital until the moment you leave the hospital. There are large rooms with shelves full of robes, pants, shirts, socks, slippers, and gowns for moms, and then hats, sleepers, diapers, and blankets for the new baby. They even give you shampoo and soap and pads and anything you would need until you leave the hospital. You just help yourself.

The biggest difference was the interruptions. In Canada, the nurses would barge into your room at any hour of the day or night, no matter whether you're sleeping or not, to check heart rates and blood pressure. In Finland, they would say next time you are up, buzz us and we will come check his blood pressure. The nurses work on your schedule, not theirs.

I am also going to point out an earlier blog entry where I got a humongous maternity box from the Finnish government full of clothes, blankets, snowsuits, hats, toys, bibs, etc. Plus the hospital gave us a goodie bag when we left, and the neuvola (clinic) gave us a Pampers goodie box at his first check-up. Who needs a baby shower??

Contractions aside, it was an enjoyable experience and a relaxing atmosphere.
But no, I am not ready to do it again any time soon.

Randoms

This is how you know that your daughter is watching too much tv. We were at the registry office yesterday and Maddy started freaking out that Swiper the Fox was going to come and steal her baby brother. (Thanks Dora, you've made my child paranoid).

Charlie is one month old today! After a very rough sleeping week, he was generous last night and only woke up once beween midnight and 8. Thank you Charlie!

Today we received Charlie' Canadian passport in the mail. Props to the Canadian embassy here in Finland. I am usually very good about coming up with ways to complain, but I have nothing negative to say about them. Speechless for once.

Less than a month until we are Canada bound!!

Happy first birthdays to my nephew Jack and my niece Chloe, as my family celebrates with them this weekend. Hard to miss the big events but I am there in spirit.

xoxo Kim

Getting the Hang of it

So Charlie is about 4 weeks old and things are settling down here, finding our routine. He still confuses his days and nights sometimes but we'll get the hang of it eventually. He feels heavier and his neck is definitely stronger, he holds his head up by himself now.

Today was a beautiful sunny day and I had a wonderful time taking the kids outside this morning. Maddy played with her bubbles while I washed the outside windows, and then we took the dog and Charlie for a walk in the stroller while Maddy rode her bike. She's getting very good at pedalling all by herself, which is a good thing because I can't exactly hold the leash for the dog, push Charlie in the stroller and push Maddy on her bike all at the same time.

Some days are easier than others staying home with two young kids, but days like today make me realize how lucky I am.
It's a beautiful day.
Kim

Happy Halloween

It's true that there are many positive things about living in Europe. But I have to admit that I feel a bit guilty about Madison missing Halloween this year. I did buy her some candy at the grocery store today so hopefully that makes things a bit better.

Charlie is doing very well, he is now 8 lbs 7 oz and growing fast. He gained 12 ounces in the past week!!!! I guess we have the whole feeding thing down pat, it appears.

Maddy is still quite smitten with her brother, and for that I am very thankful.

40 more days until we are in Canada! Looking forward to some family time and seeing some of my friends.

One thing I don't miss about Canada - those 200 kids that banged on my door every year looking for candy.

Kim

Hanging in there

Charlie is two weeks old and things are going well. He's feeding more often and has now reached his birthweight again, which is great news. It's been an adjustment having two kids at home instead of one, but most days Charlie is sleeping while Maddy is napping so that Momma gets a little break.

Hard to believe it's almost November! 45 more days until we fly home to Canada. I miss my parents but it's been nice running my own show over here and beginning our new adventure.

Charlie is focusing on us more and he gave Andrew two ginormous smiles this morning before he left to work. Adorable. Can't wait to show him off to everybody. And Maddy continues to be pretty smitten with her "baby brother".

It's a beautiful day.

Kim

Knock on Wood...

So it's been a week since we've been home with our new little man and I don't want to jinx anything, but he is pretty much perfect.

He sleeps all day. Seriously. He wakes up every 3-4 hours to feed, and goes back to bed. He has awake time for 1-2 hours in the evenings, cluster feeds and then gives me about 7 or 8 hours of sleep with a feed in between.

Madison is still pretty excited about Charlie being here. She likes to pass me diapers, throw out the dirty ones, get me my nursing pillow, or help bath him. She loves to hold "my baby brother", and loves to tell me when he's making noises through the baby monitor. She's a wonderful big sister so far.

And it only took a week before she started "breastfeeding" her dollies!!!

My parents left today to return to Canada, so now I am officially by myself with two kids during the day. I know Maddy will miss her Opa, since he loved to take her outside and play with her. I hope I'm not too boring for her.

We are extremely thankful for our two beautiful children and my wonderful parents who came all the way to Finland to help out. Less than two months before we will be back in Canada. I can't wait to show off my little man!!!

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

Baby Charlie, Welcome to the World!!

We are thrilled to announce the safe arrival of our son Charlie Jacob Alexander Conley!! Born on October 12 at 1:10am in Helsinki, Finland. 3466 grams, or 7 lbs 10.25 ounces for you Canadian folk.

We are home and both doing very well. Charlie is an amazing addition to our family and Madison is thrilled to be a big sister. I am super happy that my parents are here to help, it has been quite relaxing for the most part so far.

Our Finnish experience at the hospital was very positive. The staff were great, we were very well taken care of, and the laughing gas was wonderful :)

It's a beautiful day.

Kim

Catheter??

Just about 39 weeks pregnant and Baby Boy has dropped significantly. You can tell just by looking at me. It's nice that he's not booting me in the ribs anymore, but he is now placed so wonderfully onto my bladder.

I am pretty sure I am visiting the washroom at least every half hour. Judging by the amount of water and toilet paper I am going through, I think there's gotta be a more efficient way to do this. Perhaps a catheter is easier and more environmentally friendly?????? Just a thought.

Oh Mister Sun, Sun, Mister Golden Sun...

Summers in Finland are lovely. Check the weather page and it tells you that the sun rises at like 3:30 in the morning and sets after 11:30pm. Length of day is like 20 hours.

Weather page this morning:
Sun rises 7:35am and sets 18:41. Length of day is 11hr, 6min.

Boo.

Getting Close...

Over 38 weeks pregnant today and I had a doctor's appointment this morning to see how Baby Boy Conley was doing.

Every single appointment I've had so far in Finland, I have never waited longer than ten minutes. In actuality, many of my doctors/nurses have actually taken me into their office earlier than my booked appointment time.

So this morning, when I had to wait 25 minutes to see the doctor, I found myself extremely annoyed!! Despite the fact that the doctor apologized profusely for keeping me waiting.

I guess this is what happens when you've been spoiled by the Finnish healthcare system. Canada has a lot to learn.

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

P.S. For those of you wondering, he is weighing 7 pounds and I am 1cm dilated. We're getting close...

Paris Travels

After London, we spent 4 nights in the City of Love. It was a wonderful trip, I am very thankful that we got to go, especially before the baby comes. And seeing Mona Lisa was really exciting for me because it was on my bucket list. The Louvre was amazing, the Eiffel Tower was breathtaking and every corner you turned there was another building worth snapping pictures.

Here are a few of my favourite Paris pictures:

London England Travels

Posting a few of my favourite pictures from our trip to London, England. 4 great nights in an amazing city!!! Maddy's favourite had to be the London Eye, the London Aquarium, and feeding the ducks in the park by Buckingham Palace.

Six Months Down!

So we've now been here for six months! Hard to believe half a year has gone by. Although if I look back on the life we've made here so far, I'd say we're doing pretty well. Andrew is enjoying his job, I'm 37 weeks pregnant, our apartment is in good shape and we've made a few friends. We've also done some travelling, of course, to Estonia, Paris, and London.

Cindy, myself, and two other foreign mommies have formed our own little playgroup. Every Friday we get the kids together at one of our houses to socialize and watch the kids play.

My parents will be here in 10 days and will be staying for almost two weeks. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Baby Boy decides to make his arrival while they are here so that they don't miss out on the big event....plus we need them to watch Maddy while we're in the hospital, he he.

The weather has reverted to "typical Finland weather" and apparently this summer was quite rare to have such wonderful days. It's around 10-12 degrees every single day now, mostly cloudy, sometimes a bit of rain. I guess this is the typical weather. It's getting dark out earlier now, by 7:30pm currently, which is a big change from taking the dog out at 11pm and it still being light out.

Half a year gone by, it's been an adventure so far. And judging by the things we have coming up (a second child, a visit from Oma and Opa, and a trip to Canada), I'd say that the next six months are going to be even more exciting.

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

Lovin my Fam

Four more weeks until my due date and I find myself starting to think about the birthday gifts and Christmas gifts that need to be purchased.

For this, I am grateful to have lots of brothers and sisters. I can usually sucker at least one of them to go in on a gift together. All I have to do is mail a cheque and they have to do the dirty work like picking up the gifts, wrapping them and delivering them.

Hmm, suckers!

A Room Fit For a Princess

So Andrew left this morning on his business trip, which leaves Madison and I with the car for three and a half days. This is a rare treat for us because usually we are carless. It's not usually a big deal because whenever I do need the car for something, Andrew is usually willing to take the bus to work the odd day. But now we have the car all to ourselves!!

Girls Day number 1 - trip to IKEA! We left most of our nice paintings and pictures in Canada so that we wouldn't have to lug them back and forth. Plus our apartment here is temporary, we're only here for two years. But it's been bothering me in the back of my mind that her room is white. No paintings, no colourful blankets. Just white walls and her toys on the floor. So as a treat to myself, we bought her a rug, curtains, a wall flower nightlight, blankets and pillows, all matching (of course). Minimal damage was done, in my opinion, and her room is going to look fabulous.

It's funny how once you become a parent, doing nice things for your children can feel like you've done something great for yourself as well.

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

A Sigh of Relief

Today was a productive day in the Conley household, a big thanks to my hubby for getting his to-do list done.

The crib is up, the bedding is on, the drawers are organized, hospital bag is packed and we are basically ready for baby to come.

The bad news is that Andrew is leaving to the States on a business trip tomorrow morning for 4 days. I think I'm going to lay on the couch with my legs crossed until he gets back. Not only have I threatened his life but his boss' as well if this baby decides to come when he is gone. I'm pretty sure Maddy will not make a very good labour coach....

Golden Oldies

Maddy has recently expressed an interest in the Care Bears and I have to admit that it makes me happy to know that she gets joy out of things that brought me joy when I was a kid.

However, in my memory, the Care Bears animation was tip-top and now the Care Bear stare doesn't look as pretty as I remember :)

Finnish Maternity Leave

In Finland, the government will not allow you to begin your maternity leave any less than one month prior to your expected due date. Which means that every single expectant mother takes their last month of pregnancy off of work. Quite a different view from Canada, where most women I know, including myself, try to work as close to their due date as possible so that they can spend more time at home with the baby.

On the day where my sister Rose goes back to work for the first time since my nephew Jack was born, I officially start my maternity leave today.

It's a beautiful day :)
Kim

Back to Reality

Poor Maddy had the stomach flu in London for two days. Both Andrew and I were thankful that we didn't catch it when we were in Paris.

Unfortunately I caught it when we got back to Finland, which has interfered with my plans on cleaning the house, unpacking, and finally getting the apartment ready for Baby Boy Conley's arrival in the next 5 weeks. Have lost 4 pounds since our trip.

On a brighter note, my parents have finally booked their flights! They will be here on October 8th, staying until the 21st!!! Fingers crossed Baby Boy doesn't decide to make an early appearance, since Maddy's sitters won't be here yet and he might not yet have a bed to sleep in...

We Survived!!!

Happy to report that we made it back from 9 days in London and Paris safe and sound. It was a wonderful trip!!!!! I think Andrew and I both were surprised at the difference of travelling as a couple versus travelling with a child. We made sure we did things that would interest Maddy (London Aquarium, London Eye, Children's Museum, Hyde Park, Jardin de Luxembourg) as well as things that we could do while she was napping in her stroller (Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Louvre) and overall it was a fabulous trip.

Pictures will be posted on Facebook in the next couple of days. We got some really great shots.

Now that I'm 34 weeks pregnant, I think it's time to settle down, take it easy and get ready for the next addition to our family. So maybe we'll be done travelling until our big trip to Canada in December.

Pleased to announce that my rings still fit on my fingers, my shoes still fit on my feet, and I only happened to lose Andrew's passport once during our trip.....

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

Paris and London, here we come!!!

Leaving tomorrow morning. SUPER excited!!!!!!!!! Will blog all about it when we get back. Take care, everybody.

Paper Facts

Two interesting things about Finland that I have learned in the past week:

- instead of a three-hole punch, they have two-hole punches

- instead of 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of paper, they have 8 1/2 x 12-ish size paper. It's a little bit longer.

Things I thought were standard around the world. Huh.

What The....?

Some pregnant women crave chocolate. Others crave peanut butter mixed with pickles. You know, the regular yummy stuff.

I am craving tomatoes.

I don't even like tomatoes!!! What the ...... ????

Paying too much in rent???

Yesterday we were invited to our landlords' farm in Parola, which is about an hour and a half away. They are a very sweet couple and have treated us very nicely since we moved here. We knew they were pretty well-off but had no idea how "well" they are doing.

He is a retired radiologist and they now own the largest Hereford cattle farm in all of Finland. Andrew said they have like 600 cattle. Their house is on a huge plot of waterfront, they grow tons of their own vegetables (Alexia, you would have been so jealous!) and they also have their own vineyard. They converted their barn into a countryside reception hall, basically, for all of their "dinner parties" they have. They also invite the entire village to their home several times a year for celebrations. And he has an African room in the barn, complete with his own bar and a giraffe skin.

They have three horses, which Maddy absolutely adored, particularly their little pony, and loved watching Daddy feed them apples. The farmer took Andrew and Maddy in their Gator through the farmland and Maddy loved to yell at the cows to "watch out" as they were driving through the pasture.

Great lunch, even better dessert, great company, and a wonderful visit. And it never hurts to get on the good side of your landlords, especially when they are loaded...

Am I A Baby?

32 weeks pregnant and I am just starting to feel myself slow down a bit. I am hoping that I can keep up my energy at least for the next two weeks while we are away on our trip but it's out of my control for the most part. I am proud to say that my rings still fit on my fingers, a big accomplishment compared to my pregnancy with Maddy!!!

Big clinic appointment on Wednesday - the doctor needs to check me out and make sure that I am okay before writing me a note saying that I am fit to fly. EasyJet will not let me board the plane after 27 weeks of pregnancy without this document.

Highlight of my day yesterday: Madison grabs her belly and yells "Ouch, the baby hurt me!!!". It was hilarious. Andrew says that she is mocking me for being a baby, I just say that she's imaginative.

In my defence, the little rascal does catch me by surprise sometimes and gets me in one of my vital organs. Or maybe I am just a baby....

Getting excited...

One week from today, I will be touring the streets of London, England for 4 days before spending another 5 days in Paris, France. The flights and hotels are booked, the high-speed train from London to Paris through the Chunnel is booked, and we've done all the research on how to get to/from airports, train stations, subways, etc.

Only thing to figure out is what the heck we're going to do while we're there. I am trying to stay positive but it will be interesting to see how well a 33-week pregnant woman and a two year old girl fare as travel companions. Perhaps we'll leave this up to Andrew to decide. :)

Or maybe some things are better left unsaid?

It's a beautiful day.
Kim

My Big Fat Finnish Wedding

Do you remember the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding who put Windex on any cut or bruise to cure himself?

My daughter, little miss Dr. Conley Jr., has found her own remedy. Chapstick.

Andrew's lips hurt the other day and he asked Maddy to put chapstick on his lips to make them feel better. Of course, she interprets this as chapstick being the cure of all boo-boos.

It is much more fun watching her rub chapstick on her elbows and knees than telling her the truth :)

To Do List

Most women of the household have a continuing list of things to do - a pile of bills to pay, dusting, washing windows, craft projects they'd like to get done, etc.

Added to my list since we've moved to Finland: a "to be translated" pile of mail. Thank goodness for Google Translate!

Better Days

Okay, so I'm calming down now. Had a few stressful days but attempting to let some things slide around here so that my blood pressure doesn't get too high.

My wonderful husband came home early today, entertained Maddy so I could cook dinner in peace, and then took her to the beach for a couple hours. I am in heaven right now! Quickly posting on my blog before I sweep the floors, mop, do dishes, finish laundry, iron, and scrub marker off my walls. It will be so nice to get caught up on some housework!!!!

Two things that I'd like to mention:

- when Canada Post ships packages surface mail, it really goes surface. It's not like you pay cheaper rates and they fly it over anyways. Oh no, it's going on a boat. A very slow boat. Two packages received via surface mail have taken between 6 and 8 weeks. Today I received one that was sent June 25th. (thank you Kristyn!!!!)

- it's starting to get darker earlier now, and I'm really starting to notice it. It was enjoyable to take the dog for his last walk of the day at 11pm and it still be light out. It is now dark by 9pm. It's going to be difficult in a few months when it's dark by 4pm. Gulp!

Now back to work. It's a beautiful day.
Kim

Testing my Patience...

This past week has been a difficult one. Maybe I will blame it on the pregnancy, or maybe my patience has finally decided to pack its suitcase and get outta here.

Madison's listening skills have diminished severely and it feels like I have spent the entire last week nagging and yelling. The only way I am getting results out of her is if I use some form of threats ("if you don't come here, we're not going to the park today", for example).

Feeling like a bad mommy and a nagging wife.

Maybe I'll do a better job next week?

A Home Fit For Tucker

We have booked a 9 day trip to France and England at the end of this month!! As excited as I am for our upcoming adventure, I am once again knee deep in plans for flights, hotels, travelling arrangements to/from airports, how to get through the Chunnel, what fun things to do with Madison, etc. And as a dog owner, I also have to find a home for my pup.

The trick is finding a place that makes me feel as least guilty as possible for deserting him while I explore everything that Europe has to offer.

I visited a kennel today and I have to admit that I am very happy. I know he only really needs a place to sleep, a place to pee, and some food to eat, but this place is great and I feel comfortable leaving him there. Insert sigh of relief. Maybe he won't hate me after all...

Insult or Compliment???

I can't figure out if this is an insult or a compliment:

"Since we've moved to Finland, your cooking has improved immensely".

Thoughts??

30 Weeks Down, 10 To Go!!!

So I'm heading into my final stretch of my pregnancy and I'd like to say that I've handled myself quite well.

Unless you count the fact that I washed my hair last night and forgot to rinse out the conditioner.....and the fact that it took me three hours to notice. Hmm...I'm blaming it on pregnancy brain.

Maybe Kim had a good reason to worry?

Sad news, a Russian man just died during the world sauna championships held in Finland (see story below).

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100808/world/eu_finland_sauna_contest_death

At the world championship, the person to stay in the sauna the longest wins. The sauna is kept at 110 degrees celsius, with water added to the stove every 30 seconds. Although I have personally reached 128 degrees celsius, we did not dare to add water to the stove. However, we did thrash ourselves with birch branches in the sauna, but that's a story for another time and place.

Good news, a Finlander ended up winning the competition.

Peace, Andrew

Pesapallo

Kim, Madison and I went to our first Pesapallo game this week. Pesapallo is a Finnish form of baseball. Although, they use gloves, bats, bases, and balls like baseball, the rest of the rules are very different. Pesapallo is very fast-paced compared to baseball and there is more strategy involved. But, hitting seems fairly easy in Pesapallo, it is more about placement, then power. In fact, if you hit it too far in the air, it doesn't count as a hit. Some of the many strange rules include, i) you get to have 3 hits for every at bat and you get to choose when you want to keep your hit and run (but the runners on base can run with every hit), ii) if someone catches a fly ball, you are not out, simple "harmed" and have to miss the rest of your hitting turns, iii) everyone slides into the bases face first every time, iv) the distance between the different bases varies considerably, v) the pitcher stands beside the plate and also serves as the catcher, vi) the sausages you purchase in the bleachers come without buns, etc. Too many difference to list, but we enjoyed the game, it was very interesting and quite entertaining. Here are a couple links showing a few aspects of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_umyXoyXEkQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOySN9qT8cA&feature=related

Werdna, sreehc

To Snip or Not To Snip

During my recent visit to the hospital for an appointment, I posed the question about circumcision. And was surprised to find out that hospitals in Finland do not even offer the service. It is so rare in Finland that you have to go to a private clinic and find a doctor who will actually do it for you.

Andrew and I have yet to research the pros and cons and decide what we'd like to do for Baby Boy Conley, but it struck me as a surprise that in Finland, almost nobody does it, and in Canada, almost everybody does it. Hmm...

Canada Bound - Four Months!

Happy to announce that I have booked our flights home for Christmas. We'll be in Canada from December 11th to January 1st. Yes, we are travelling on Maddy's third birthday, but she's young enough that she won't know the difference.

Now I just have to win the lottery so that we can pay for the tickets...

Huh?

So I got a bill in the mail this week from the Internet company and it was too low. They were charging me about 60% of what my bill was supposed to be.

I called their customer service line and she informed me that they recently lowered the prices of their Internet service in Espoo. I'm getting the same speed, but for about 40% less.

Huh? Maybe Finland isn't so bad after all...

Canadian Visitors

Andrew's parents were just here for a week, it went by so fast it's all a blur! We had five full days with them, so we made the best of it. Andrew took the time off work so we decided to make it a fun visit instead of a work visit. One day at Linnanmaki Amusement Park, one day at the Helsinki Zoo, two days in Tallinn Estonia and then one day doing a Helsinki City Tour and visiting Suomenlinna Island. Although I'm almost 7 months pregnant, I think I managed to keep up with everybody and make it through the day (and hopefully keeping the waddling to a minimum...). Most importantly, Andrew's parents got to spend some well-deserved quality time with their granddaughter.

Picking them up from the airport, Madison was so excited! I wasn't even allowed to use the bathroom in the airport just in case they came through the gates, she didn't want to miss them. When she saw Grandma, she screamed in delight and ran to them - pretty sure the entire airport was watching. Wish I had videotaped it, it was adorable.

What is also wonderful is that they brought over a huge pile of stuff for us - like worse than Christmas. The usual things that we cannot buy in Finland (BioOil, Kraft Dinner, President's Choice white cheddar, good chapstick, rockets candy, chocolate chips, diaper genie refills, etc.). But we got spoiled rotten - tons of clothes from Grandma and Grandpa and Nic and Alexia for the new baby and for Maddy. And then all of my nephew Jack's clothes that he has outgrown - PERFECT! This baby is totally set. Cannot thank my dear family enough for everything.

Cutest gift - a nursery rhyme book for Maddy that is recordable - so Alexia programmed the book with her voice to read the nursery rhymes to Maddy so she can read her a story before bed. How adorable.

Loved having Andrew's family here - but it's hard to say goodbye. Seeing familiar faces makes homesickness even worse. Hard to accept the fact that the next time we see them, Maddy will be three and I will have a son!!!

It's a beautiful day.

Kim