A New Addition

Andrew and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting another baby!!! Due October 18th. I guess I won't be partaking in the Vappu drinking this weekend, but that is okay. Andrew will drink my share.

And then there was 3...

So my parents left yesterday, and it was sad. I know I'm a grown woman but sometimes having your parents around makes life so much easier. Especially when your child adores your dad and he practically takes care of her the entire week :)

I had a wonderful time having them around, and I hope they feel the same way. Maddy got tons of attention, lots of walks, lots of trips to the ice cream store, a trip to the zoo, and just quality time with my parents. My parents also did a ton of work around the house and yard. Prior tenants didn't give a darn about the shape of the yard, so according to the neighbours, our yard hadn't been touched in at least 4 years (and it showed). Farmers don't know how to sit around and take it easy, so my dad was outside raking and clearing brush and installing blinds and putting up a clothes line, etc. My mom was out there too a bunch, stacking firewood and raking, and now the place looks great. We would never have done that much work to it.

I think my dad has fallen in love with Finland, or at least the biking paths. Comments that they made about Finland:
- there are rarely fat people
- everybody is outside all the time
- the biking trails are great
- go any direction for ten minutes and you find yourself in country solitude
- and saunas rock!

They did beat their record, they got up to 93!!!!

Miss you already, had a great time. But it's nice for Andrew and I to continue working on settling down into our new home and exploring more of what Finland has to offer. Starting with May Day weekend (known as Vappu), the biggest drinking weekend of the entire year. Festivities in Helsinki for the whole weekend, looking forward to what we can find.

Stay tuned...
Kim

The record has been broken!

They got up to 92 degrees Celsius in the sauna last night. Apparently my dad twitched in his sleep last night, I'm not sure if those are side effects of boiling your body. They will be here for two more nights, I don't know whether they plan on increasing their record or not.

I think they would be proud of themselves, except that Andrew told them that our friend Jussi once sat in a sauna for a few minutes that was 130 degrees Celsius - so they aren't as proud of themselves as they should be. My family is way too competitive for this country...

One Month in Reflection

It's hard to believe it, but we've been here a month! Feels like we just got here, but I have to admit that we've accomplished a lot since we've been here. We've unpacked our house, we've bought cell phones, we've already become dependent on a GPS, we've been to the Helsinki Zoo, we've had Canadian visitors, we've become permanent residents of Finland, and the list goes on.

Obviously the highlight of the past month has been having my parents come. I hope they agree with me, but I am having a blast having them here! I took my mom to the grocery store today, and it was fun to share with her the neat things we could find and also the overpriced items. My dad has had fun cycling (once so far but big plans for the next few days) - Finland has more cycling paths than roads, it's a country built for bicycles! We may have actually convinced him to come back this summer, but we'll have to see. We went to the Helsinki Zoo today, Maddy's first trip to a zoo. Not as big as Toronto, obviously, but a wonderful time was had by all. She is now asking for "more animals" so we may have to get an annual pass.

I have to admit that I was extremely scared to move to Finland. I can say that now that we have our stuff, it's been easier than I imagined. Mostly due to Facebook and Skype and a visit from my family. My friends have been awesome sending me regular emails so I still feel in the loop and not so much like I vanished off the face of the earth.

My parents have enjoyed the Finnish way of life - Andrew has introduced them to the sauna and they have been attempting to beat the latest record of how hot they can make the sauna. Thank goodness we have an indoor pool outside the sauna that is freezing cold, they make frequent dips into the pool to prevent them from passing out. Today they got to 87 degrees Celsius - not sure if they are going to stop at that or not. My dad has been sitting outside for a while "recovering" so maybe they've hit their max!!!

Looking forward to what the second month in Finland has in store for us.
Kim

Fingers Crossed!

Well, as of right now, my parents are able to fly to Amsterdam no problem. Helsinki just opened their airport today but I don't have confirmation on whether their Amsterdam to Helsinki flight has been cancelled or not.

Cleaning my house and getting some groceries just in case they make it. I've refrained from talking about their visit to Maddy just in case they don't come - I don't want to get her hopes up. But I'm hoping I get an email from Mom today that all is well and they will leave this afternoon for their adventure.

Fingers crossed...

Keeping our Fingers Crossed...

Well, my parents are scheduled to be here on Thursday and I desperately want to see them! The only thing standing in my way is that darn Iceland volcano. Apparently the ash has made it's way to Helsinki, although I live 12 minutes away from Helsinki and I don't see a damn thing. KLM has done some test flights and all seemed okay, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that flights will be up and running and they get here safely on Thursday. key word: SAFELY!

I managed to find baking soda and baking powder at the grocery store, so Maddy and I baked chocolate chip cookies today. It's a nice way to be reminded of our home in London.

We've also gotten everything set up with Skype and have had several conversations with family members. We have chatted with Mom, Joe Kim and Kyra, and Rose. Very nice to see everybody's face and have a "face to face" conversation. I'm hoping that Webcams are still relatively priced and the remaining family members get their butts in gear!

Maddy was up at 5:30 this morning so I'm heading for a nap. Hoping to hear good news about the flights....

Kim

I bet my kettle can kick your kettle's ass!

I just boiled a whole pot of water in like 20 seconds! I tried it with cold water and it was like 30 seconds. Must be the 250 voltage running through this baby.

I am doing the "Tim the Tool Man Taylor" grunt as we speak.

Progress

Hello!

I logged onto Facebook this morning and stumbled upon some complaints from Londoners about how they are getting snowed on this weekend. Self discovery: I am an evil person for thinking that is great. Kinda makes up for the snowman I had to make on Easter weekend while everybody was in shorts on the deck in the County.

We went to Gigantti last night and bought some new speakers for the computer. And I installed our Webcam today, so once Maddy is up from her nap, we are going to attempt a phone call to Oma and Opa and see if we can get this to work. For all you family members out there, please log onto www.skype.com and click on "Download" on the top left of the screen - it's super easy. For those of you who can't figure it out, I also put some money on a Skype credit so we could call you on your phones instead of your computers.

Andrew pointed out an interesting fact last night: most of the people in his lab wear the exact same clothes for multiple days in a row. I could see possibly sneaking in the same dress pants two days in a row, but he's saying the same pants and shirts for 2 or 3 days in a row! One lady even wore the same dress three days in a row. I have yet to figure out the reasoning behind this but hope to post an answer for you once I make some friends :)

I've been keeping an eye on the Iceland volcano and hoping for a miracle - Mom and Pop are supposed to fly here on Thursday and I'm really really really hoping they make it.

Until next time, America. (what show is that from?? hmm...)
Kim

More Shopping Adventures

Hi all.

Maddy and I went back to the mall today to buy a few groceries. It's not that I really needed them, but it's a nice excuse for an excursion to get out of the house. I had 43 euros in my pocket and a shopping wish list of items.

The nice thing about Finland (and possibly Europe in general, although I'd have to verify) is that the price you see on the items includes tax. No guessing about what your bill will be at the end. That is nice when you have a set budget and you're not amazing at math. I pride myself on the fact that my bill came to 42,50 euros and I have 0,50 euros left for Maddy to get a mini ice cream cone from the store. (still dealing with 100% cash until my bank card comes in the mail...).

New jaw-dropping finds today:
- finally found pancake mix - it wasn't even the nice mix, and it cost 8,70 euros. That's about $15!!!
- also found the cheap pancake syrup - again, not Aunt Jemima or Old Tyme, it was some cheap looking syrup for 8,50 euros, again almost $15!

I haven't had any luck finding good-tasting chocolate chip cookies, so I decided that I was going to bake cookies for Andrew today. The only ingredient missing was chocolate chips. Well, guess what? Finland doesn't have chocolate chips. You have to buy a large chunk of chocolate and then flake off pieces of chocolate to put in your dough!!! Hmm, here's hoping he appreciates them. That is, if I decide I'm still going to make them.

Another Finnish fact - they use the 24 hour system. If you buy an alarm clock, a coffee maker, an oven, a watch, a cell phone, etc. in Finland, they go by army time - 16:00 hours, no 4:00pm. All hours on the outside of stores are all in army time. It makes sense, I guess, but sometimes I need to stop and really think about what time it is.

We've had a few nice sunny days outside, hitting around 10 or 11 degrees. Maddy enjoys being outside so we've done that quite a bit. Again, a nice excuse to get out of the house.

7 more days until my parents come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Counting Down

Super excited that my parents will be here in 9 days!!! Gotta start planning stuff for us to do.

House is almost unpacked. Slowly room by room.

Got a bank account today, woo hoo. They mail you two letters after you open an account: one has your debit card, the other has your PIN. I can't even pick my own PIN! Hopefully I don't forget what it is.

Maddy is really starting to like the bus. I sat her in a seat today (instead of riding in the stroller) and she loved looking out the window. Good news if we ever want to try a train ride of some sort.

Nap time, woo hoo. The other day, it was warmer in Espoo than it was in London, Ontario. No offence to you Londoners but it brought a smile to my face.

L8R.
Kim

Lighting it up!

Since my house is covered in ash and sut, I decided that I would finish burning the rest of the boxes today so that I can finally clean my house really well.

Okay, so maybe it is kinda fun...

Blog Etiquette??

Hello all.
So apparently blog etiquette states that your posts should be short. Not a huge novel like mine. I will keep this in mind while I try to summarize all of my events.

We took a road trip around Helsinki today! We parked at Olympic Stadium and went up the tower. Maddy was mostly interested in watching the soccer game playing at the field, but it was neat to see the city. Looking forward to exploring it more once my parents get here.

Andrew got the computer going. Apparently out of everything we brought, the computer is the one thing that runs on 240 watts. Which means he has now started downloading a bunch of North American shows that we've been missing. Shh, don't tell the feds!! Last night we got caught up on Survivor.

Unpacking is going well. Floor plan is coming together, although I'm tempted to stick my dog and his bed in my walk-in closet. That would be my number one choice if it weren't for my fear of having dog hair, slobber, and stink on my nice clothes. We'll find room for him somewhere.

The weather was nice today, I think it hit 11 degrees. The snow is just about gone and Maddy has been enjoying bike rides down the street (thanks Oma and Opa!!).

That's it for now. Is that short enough???
K

Potties, Power Plugs, and Pyromaniacs

Hello all!!!

I am having a great day, I hope you are too. Yesterday I unpacked the entire kitchen, it was so nice to cook dinner using my own stuff!!! I missed my potato peeler, I have been craving potatoes so I'm going to make mashed potatoes tonight, yum! I did manage to find room for everything, although there are still a pile of boxes in the living room and I'm hoping that none of them are for the kitchen.

This morning marks the official beginning of Maddy's potty training (again). She had a go of it for a while in the winter but lost interest, so I think she wasn't really ready. Now that her potties have made it across the big pond, we are going to start at it again. We had a great start, she peed in her potty three times this morning!!!!!! Let's hope we keep this going.

It is so wonderful to have our things, but I'm glad that we're too busy to notice that we can't use our TV/entertainment unit/surround sound/Playstation 3. Andrew did a bunch of research and ordered a whole pile of transformers/converters/adaptors, whatever we need to use the appliances we brought from Canada in the European plugs here in Finland. Not only does Finland use a totally different plug than us, they also run on 240 Hz while Canada runs on 120 (I might have this wrong, I'm sure Andrew will correct me) so this means that we also need transformers so that when we do plug our stuff in, it doesn't fire up in smoke. So, he ordered everything online but it is free shipping to Canada and it would have cost around $500 in shipping charges alone to Finland, so we shipped it all to my parents house and they are going to bring it when they come (two weeks!). It's a good thing that we're too busy to actually want to sit down and watch tv, because we can't.

For the last week, Andrew has been following me around looking for things to burn. Now that we have an open fireplace, he's gotten a pyro itch, I believe. He'll start up a fire for like 5 pieces of paper just to start a fire. Anyways, now that we have our stuff here, he spent about 2 or 3 hours last night burning boxes and paper, so I'm pretty sure the itch is gone. And there's still plenty more where that came from!!!

I did figure out some information about recycling. They do have a recycling program here in Finland, but you actually have to take your bottles and glasses and stuff to the grocery stores. They have special machines (look kinda like vending machines) that you feed in your bottles and you get money back. I'm all for recycling, but I would do it for free, not because I get paid for it. But anyways, now I have to start saving all my recyclables and then bring them with me next time I go to the store. It likely adds up, each beer can is 0.15 euros and one big plastic bottle of pop is 0.40 euros. Hmm, I wonder how Canada's recycling programs would differ if they implemented this type of incentive....

I unpacked Maddy's room this morning, holy cow she's got tons of toys. I guess I never realized how much she had because we had it spread out amongst three floors of house. Here we are in a single storey house and we're trying to fit most of it into her bedroom. Hmm, yeah, that's so NOT happening!

Anyways, there's tons to do but I think I'm going to nap instead. Yup, that sounds better. Hope everybody is doing great. 12 more days until my parents get here!!!
Kim

YIPPEE!!!

Okay, folks, everybody calm down. Things are fine. Our stuff is here. I am breathing my sigh of relief.

I read my latest blog entry and WOW, I was really fired up. Thanks for letting me vent, apparently I really needed it. The one negative thing that we've experienced so far with dealing with this container situation, so I was very stressed up but very relieved that things turned out.

So yesterday was crazy, the house is complete mayhem, but MY STUFF IS HERE!!!!! I had totally forgotten how much stuff we brought. We definitely have way too much furniture and not enough house. We're going to have to do some rearranging this weekend and perhaps store some extra pieces in the garage. We decided we are not going to park the car in the garage but we will use it for storage instead. Yes, the Conleys are becoming ONE OF THOSE people!! Those people with a big garage but park in the driveway. I am reminded of my adorable subdivision in London, where we were practically the only people on the street who actually parked IN the garage. How quick we are to judge, and how quickly I have fallen into the same hole.

On a bright note also, Canadians have figured out how to call me!! We had an issue with our phone number, both Moms were trying to call us and it wasn't working. Nothing a little "Google" can't fix - look up how to call Finland from Canada and figured out you have to drop a zero if you're calling a cell phone. Who knew??? It was very nice to hear Mom's voice, other Mom's voice, and Fred. The computer we've been using has pretty slow internet, so Skype kept cutting in and out and was frustrating.

And, my parents are coming to visit in two weeks!!!!!! Taking a quick glance around this place, I'd say that I'll definitely have things for them to do when they are here! ha ha. No seriously, I'm going to try to do some research and figure out nice things to do - some exploring in Helsinki and such. But if my dad happens to pack his chainsaw and cuts down a few trees so we have firewood for the fireplace, I ain't gonna complain!

So, back to my furniture being here, BEST SLEEP EVER!!! What a difference! I don't think I mentioned this before but Finnish people buy two mattresses and then put them together. This includes married people. They buy two mattresses, including two separate sheets, blankets, etc. and then put the mattresses side by side. Apparently the reason they do this is that each person can choose the firmness of their own mattress. So we've been spending the last two weeks on individual mattresses with individual blankets and sheets. Weird. And of course somebody ends up getting stuck in the crack that develops between the two mattresses. SO NICE to have my one giant mattress and my giant blanket and sleep under the covers with my hubby.

And I can't even describe how elated Tucker is to have his bed. I had to drag him out of bed last night to go outside and have a walk before bed!!!!!! At least I don't have to worry about him sneaking into Maddy's bed anymore.

Okay, I need to stop procrastinating. I started unpacking and thought a blog entry was a perfect excuse not to work. But Maddy is napping and I should really try to get stuff done. Especially since a few days ago, she officially started the "terrible twos" and I am not finding the "off switch" very easily. It's gonna be a long two years if this keeps up. Good thing Opa is coming soon and he can whip her back into shape! YEAH RIGHT, he spoils her more than anybody :)

Until next time,
Kim

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Okay, so the container never made it to the warehouse yet, which means that the people never got to unload everything and inspect it!!!!!!!!!!!! The stupid container has been there since Friday morning and it is now Wednesday morning and the damn thing is still sitting somewhere in the port.

They assured me that "it should" make it to the warehouse today if it didn't come yesterday, but there is no way for them to speed up the process or flag it as a high priority. This means that the van we booked now has to be booked for tomorrow (hopefully!!), the guy we booked to help move has to be rescheduled, and Andrew is now going to work today instead of taking the day off. I'm super frustrated. On top of that, we had a horrible sleep last night and I need my bed!!!! Even poor Tucker misses his bed, the poor guy has been sleeping on a blanket on the hardwood floor, and last night he snuck into Madison's bed with her!!!

Here is keeping my fingers crossed that we get a phone call today saying that our container showed up at the warehouse. I'm really trying to stay positive but this is ridiculous. We have been without our stuff since March 3rd!!!!!!!!! They assured us it would be there by March 24th. They blame the port strike on the "backlog" of shipments, but then we also read our invoice and found out that they are now charging everybody a 130 euro (like $180) "strike surcharge" to help make up the hit on the economy for their stupid strike. Like my subject line says, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHH".


Okay, enough venting, it won't help the situation. Here's a new story for you. At my new supermarket yesterday, there was a tiny little section that seemed to be the imported food from North America. There was Pop Tarts for like 6 euros (over $8), Fruit Loops for over 5 euros, and the best one was a box of Betty Crocker Supermoist chocolate cake mix for 7.60 euros (like $10)!!!!! I will learn how to bake from scratch, thank you very much.

P.S. Alison, you're going to have to help me with that one.

Signing off. Here's hoping we get good news today and we can get our stuff tomorrow.
Kim

Riding the Bus!

Well, we did it!!! We figured out how to take the bus, and we were free! Woo hoo for not getting lost and woo hoo for it not costing us anything.

We went to the shopping mall that's a few kilometers away. I discovered a HUMONGOUS supermarket in the basement, which is now my new grocery store. Luckily I had Maddy with me and the stroller, so there was a limit of how long I could be in there and how much stuff I could buy and take with me. Thankful to grab dog food (poor pup out of food) and milk. Frosted Flakes for dinner tonight, just kidding ;)

Just called the shipping company and my container hasn't made it to their warehouse yet. Poor guy could hear the panic in my voice when I am explaining that we have people who booked tomorrow off and have made arrangements to pick up our stuff. Here's hoping that when he calls me back, he's got good news. For his sake and mine.

Naptime. Out.
Kim

A Rainy Day

Hello all.
Andrew started work today, so it's weird for him not to be around. I'm sure we'll get used to it quickly though. It's disappointing that he had two weeks off and we never even got to unpack our stuff, but it's out of our control.

Today is a weird day because it's my first day at home with Maddy by myself but it's also our last day in an empty house. Those two factors combined, I had these huge expectations of being outside all day and possibly exploring a large part of the area on foot with Maddy in her stroller. Well...it's pouring rain outside today so that's a big bummer. I may possibly take her on the bus today, we'll have to see.

The bus system here is quite amazing. There is a website on the bus system, where you can put your starting address and where you want to go and it tells you which bus to take, which bus stop to get on, how long it takes, distance travelled, etc. And since there are a million busses driving around, there are actually several different options presented to you as well. Andrew had to take the bus today to work since we don't have our car yet, and he knew exactly which bus stop to get on, including maps, and where to get off and how long it would take.

Another cool thing about the busses is that you can buy a bus travel card and swipe it like a debit card to pay for your ride. No worrying about carrying change or anything like that. Just swipe your card.

But, perhaps the best part is the bonuses for parents with children. All kids under 7 are free. However, if you can fit your kid into a stroller, then the parents are free too!!! So that means that I could take the bus every morning to Helsinki, explore the city with Maddy, and then take the bus back home all free of charge!!! Neat, huh? The funny thing about that is that parents around here squeeze their children into strollers just so that the parents' ride is free! Jussi says that you'll see 7 year old kids (who clearly do not fit into their stroller) get shoved into strollers merely to save the mom two bucks. Who am I kidding, I'd like do the same thing.

The food here is pretty good, we can't complain. There are actually a few things that are better here than in Canada. The first obvious one is ice cream. The ice cream is amazing over here, so creamy, and it's not very expensive. I actually may enjoy this ice cream better than the gelato we bought in Italy. The pizza is better, the crust is tastier and their toppings are better quality. The hot dogs are tastier too. And I've already talked about the candy. I'm sure as we learn to broaden our horizons and expand our menu a bit more, we will discover more food along the way that we can enjoy for the next couple of years.

Ooh, the rain stopped. Perhaps we can squeeze in a walk after all. Or perhaps I'll just need to go for a bus ride.

Have a good day, everybody!!!!
Kim

Countdown is on!!!

Hello my dear family and friends.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families. You're likely all still in bed and/or hobbling around with your pants undone because you overindulged in the Easter treats again. To this, I say GOOD FOR YOU!

I am super excited for this week - Andrew goes to work tomorrow for the first time, I am excited for him to start his new position at the lab and kick some butt. Hoping that he makes some new friends (that have lovely nice wives and children of Maddy's age...). I also want him to be challenged in the way that allows him to gain the experience we hope he achieves so that when we get back to Canada, he's totally kick-ass and everybody wants to offer him a sweet job (preferably close to the Picton area - fingers crossed for Ottawa, tee hee).

On Wednesday, our stuff is here!!!!!!!!!!! It's been sitting in Helsinki since Friday morning but of course Easter weekend was here so we have to wait until Tuesday for Customs to unload and inspect. Here's hoping they don't find all the cocaine we stashed inside the seats and tires. Will keep you posted :) As long as everything is fine, Andrew can take the day off on Wednesday with a friend (who happens to own a humongous cargo van) and bring everything home. Yippee!

It will be nice to have our car too. We're just about out of milk and that is one item that I hate to run out of. They don't sell the bags of milk here, you have to buy cartons. It takes up so much room in the fridge and I think we have a milk elf because it has disappeared.

Good news! Andrew figured out how to post pictures on my blog. Yippee for him! Please enjoy my not-so-lovely snowman and Andrew's roaring fire!!!!!

I have already become accustomed to being a stay-at-home mom again, or at least how I do things around here. Naps when Maddy naps is the big one, and also wearing jogging pants everyday. It's such a shame, I like all my regular clothes, but it seems like a waste to wear them when I'm just going to be playing outside all day or lounging around watching cartoons and reading alphabet books. Hmm.

The one thing we have to get used to is the time difference compared to Canada. If I sign into Facebook in the morning here, everybody is still sleeping. There is nobody to chat with. And I can't call anybody on Skype, again because you're all sleeping. Maddy wants to call Opa and Oma and I have to explain to her that they are still in bed. She likely thinks that Opa and Oma sleep for 16 hours a day because we can't call them all morning!!!

Anyways, I think it's time for a nap. Maddy will be up in one and a half hours, which gives me the perfect time to snuggle into my mattress and have a nap. Did I mention I can't wait for my bed to get here???

Signing out,
Kim

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to everyone!!!

It is our first holiday away from our family and it's hard to be away. However, Finland still celebrates Easter so we managed to find ways to have our own celebrations.

Maddy and I built a snowman on Easter morning. Yeah, that's right, a snowman. While the rest of you Canadian folk were working on your tans, we were playing in the snow. Who's laughing now? Probably you. But nonetheless we had a good time. It mostly consisted of Maddy watching me do everything, which is why it turned out as one ugly snowman - I'm not the most creative. Andrew felt it was necessary to come take a picture of it, so if I figure out how to post pictures, I will share the Conley Snowman with you.

While we were outside, Andrew was in the house with the Easter bunny planting chocolate eggs around the house. As much as it sucks not having our things arrive yet, I have to admit it was much easier to spot the eggs when the house is empty!!! She had a good time with it. We also tried some traditional Finnish food, mammi, which is an Easter pudding. It consists of malt, rye flour and something else. We tried it at Jussi's house, and it is not good.

Missing the turkey but mostly the cherry cheesecake. I hope the Myderwyk clan had a nice dinner today. Hopefully Bella feels better soon so that she can see her cousins while everybody is down.

On another note, I think I have the laundry situation figured out. Most Finnish people do not have dryers, and they also feel the need to have the washing cycle last approximately two hours. When Anita and Jussi were in Canada, they were surprised the cycle only lasted 20 minutes, at which point Anita was handwashing all the clothes because she felt the clothes were still dirty. We, on the other hand, thought we were doing something terribly wrong when we ran our first cycle and it lasted two hours!!!! We also had to learn how to use fabric softener in the wash, since the clothes were drying sorta crunchy and not very soft. Now we have it all figured out!!!!

Going to finish my dinner. Hope all is well. Happy Easter!!!
Kim

A Review of our First Week in Finland

Hello my dear family and friends.

It's hard to believe that we have been here for over a week now. It's gone by really fast but it's amazing how quickly we have adjusted to our new life here. We have adjusted to the time change, although getting up at 7am (which was my usual wake up time) now seems to be WAY TOO EARLY! I guess being unemployed will do that to you.

We've had an interesting few days since the last time I posted. We tried to accomplish as much as we possibly could before the rental car had to be returned. I will miss my BMW. I will also miss driving around Mom's new Nissan - the Sonata has some big shoes to fill :(

Andrew and I are both officially permanent residents of Finland. Andrew had a busy day on Thursday with the Relocations Services company (provided by his new employer) that was consulted to help him relocate to Finland. He registered himself as a resident, opened a bank account, got a bus card, and learned many valuable things about living in Espoo (pronounced "ESPO"). The culture, which stores to shop at, which clinics to take Maddy, etc.

Unfortunately my experience was not as pleasant as Andrew. Good thing I had my TomTom with me (our new GPS) but waiting in the police station for 3 hours to get my permanent resident card was hardly enjoyable. I was thankful at the time that I didn't bring Maddy with me, until I finally made it to the teller and they didn't let me register her because they needed to see that she was actually in Finland. Which means that we get to go back :)

After that horrible morning, I had a productive afternoon - registered with the Population registration office, got my travel card, signed up our new cell phones for service, got a modem for our Internet and got a million brochures at the Espoo tourist information station.

Now that the rental car has been returned, our first day carless was productive as well. We decided to actually clean the house - however, our container has our brooms and mops and cleaners, but my OCD kicked in and I mopped the entire apartment on my hands and knees. The good news is that I can eat off my floor, the bad news is that I'm sure my back will hurt tomorrow. Oh well!!! Now that the snow is finally beginning to melt, we brought Maddy outside to play in the snow. Tucker has been listening quite well so we've been testing him a bit and letting him out in the yard without a leash. It's not fully fenced in but it's an acre lot and I still feel sorry for him for putting him through the plane ride.

In addition, today we finally used the pool and sauna. I KNOW, over a week and we hadn't tested it out yet!!! I was on pool duty with Maddy and Andrew was on sauna duty. I think I pulled the short straw because the pool was 14 degrees and freezing!!!! I don't think there's a heater on it. Andrew enjoyed it, he sat in the sauna for 20 minutes at a time and then jumped in the pool and then back into the sauna to do it all over again. The Finnish people are different - this is basically a ritual for them. We are trying our best to fit in, although I angered the "sauna gods" today. You are supposed to go in the pool, the shower, and the sauna completely naked. Considering that we share our pool and sauna with the tenant upstairs, a single mom with 3 sons that are 12, 20, and 21, there is no way in hell I am prancing around that common area without clothes on. Until we find a lock that prevents them from coming in, this chick is going to continue pissing off the sauna gods!!!!

We have learned some interesting things about the Finns - some are good and some are strange. They hike with walking sticks - not the wooden fancy sticks you can buy from Green Earth or shops in the Caribbean - they are like ski poles but the bottoms are just rubber. Everybody walks with these sticks, one in each hand. I told Andrew that we can't judge until we have tried it, but it seems quite strange. I understand using a hiking stick if you're climbing a mountain, but this is like walking down the sidewalk. Will keep you posted.

Grocery store updates - we're doing okay so far. Thank goodness for our translator computer that Andrew's lab gave us. Cooking instructions are quite difficult in foreign languages - it's been a guessing game when the translator can't find the words. In addition, we thought we bought prime ground beef burgers tonight and we found out as we were cooking them that they were lamb! Whoops.

They measure ingredients in deciliters. So the instructions for the macaroni tonight was adding 5 dl of water to the pot. What the hell is a dl? It's a tenth of a liter. So I have to think of 5/10 of a liter, which is half a liter, and then remember that 250ml is a cup so it's actually 2 cups. Or at least I hope I got that right...it tasted good anyhow.

Items we haven't found so far in the grocery store:
- Aunt Jemima or Old Tyme syrup for pancakes or French toast - I know you're going to shake your head at me but I love the cheap syrup!! The fancy maple syrup does not cut it for me! Might have to add that to the list of items for Mom and Pop to bring up in three weeks.
- Diaper Genie refills - Finnish people just throw dirty diapers in the garbage. There are no actual containers or mechanisms of disposing diapers any differently. The Diaper Genie company should actually try to tap into this market, they'd likely make a killing. The refills have already been added to the list of "must have" items Mom needs to bring me :)
- blocks of marble cheese - Theresa, I know you're shaking your head at me right now but Finnish people like the fancy cheese. I prefer the cheap $6 bar of Black Diamond marble cheese.
- Gillette Fusion razor cartridge refills - they have them here but crazy expensive!!!!
- pancake mix - I'm going to have to ask Mom how to make her crepes because since I've lived away from home, I have always used pancake mix.

However, the hot dogs here are better. They are tastier. We have also enjoyed the candies - aisles of candy galore, and not just chocolate bars. These are like the droppies and fun candies that all my aunts used to bring us over from Holland. Not doing anything for my figure but loving the candies!

We went to Jussi's house the other day for a visit. This is a guy that Andrew worked with in London, who did his post-doc in Canada and then returned to Finland for a job at VTT. That is the same place that Andrew is now working too. He has been an immense help - mattresses, blankets, plates, pots, pans, playpen, etc. so that we've been able to survive here without our container. Not only that, but which stores to shop at, where to go, etc. Anyways, it was so nice to see familiar faces. Anita took me to the grocery store and I picked her brain on what things were and whether I could find certain items.

One interesting thing I learned at Jussi's is that kids take their naps outdoors. Even in the winter. So they bundle their small children in their snowsuits, throw them in their stroller and put them outside to sleep. They had Elsa sleeping in her stroller on the balcony. My parents had always said that it's healthy to sleep in the cold, but I always figured they made that up because we lived in an old 1870's home and my parents were too cheap to replace the windows. Now I guess they were right - or at least they are as crazy as Finnish people :)

The container landed today in Helsinki, much to our relief. The bad news is that today is Good Friday, of course, and everything is closed. That includes Monday. So, Customs will unload our container and inspect all of our stuff on Tuesday, and we can go on Wednesday and pick it all up. SUPER EXCITED to get our stuff, it will be amazing to furnish this place. We have such a beautiful house and it will make it so much better to have stuff to put in it.

One last thing before I go. I talked to my parents last night on the phone. I know it had only been a week since I talked to them but it was so amazing to hear their voices. I've lived away from home since I was 17, and usually always called at least once a week. But this is different - I can't describe it. I think I just needed that comfort of knowing they were supporting our decision and were happy to hear from us. Looking forward to calling again this weekend and hearing from the rest of my family as they celebrate the Easter weekend.

Love my GPS. And I love YouTube - we've been downloading nursery rhymes and Barney clips and Backyardigans episodes to entertain Maddy (since all her toys are on the boat). Andrew started our first fire today in the fireplace - all of our boxes from IKEA. It was awesome. Chris, we were thinking about you since you love fire so much.

Okay, I'm signing off. Time for bed. Miss you all, love you all, Chat soon.
Happy Easter (or Happy Eastern as the Finnish people say - don't ask me why).
Kim