A New Record/Death Wish

I debated the last two days on whether to post this or not, just in case my parents were reading this. The sauna record was quite important when the Myderwyk folk came to Finland, and if my memory serves me correctly, the record got up to 93 degrees.

Andrew and Jussi apparently have a death wish and decided to beat the record. Not just beat the record, obliterate it.

Here is a picture of Andrew's arm, this is what his whole body looked like coming out of the sauna after they hit 128 !!!!

Add this to the list of daredevilish things he has done since we've been here, which also includes eating poisonous mushrooms.

LOTS OF THINGS!

Midsummer was great! The weather was a bit cool in Tervakoski on the lake but Maddy LOVED sleeping in the tent! We played outside a lot, and went for a long boat ride courtesy of our chauffeur Jussi. Had a wonderful weekend!

Had to go to a new part of town today for some routine bloodwork. Two interesting things happened: first, instead of getting a routine bandaid on my arm, they actually wrap your arm in gauze!!! I felt ridiculous, it was taken off immediately after I left the clinic. Whatever happened to the bandaid? Maybe they don't have them around here....

Second interesting thing, we found a new mall!!! Right down the street from the clinic. Nothing too extraordinary, it wasn't huge, but it had a bunch of good stores and a McDonald's and a toy store. Great morning!

Maddy is very Finnish right now. In Finland, kids have their nap in strollers outside, even in the winter. I have not done this with Maddy yet because (1) the winter is cold and (2) she's used to napping in her bed. However, she fell asleep on the bus on the way home in her stroller, so I left her on the porch. Threw a bedsheet on to protect her from the bugs, and she's out for the count.

Have an outing planned for tomorrow: a puppet show and a picnic on Suomelinna Island with Cindy and Sebastian. Looking forward to it. Car is booked for Thursday and Friday in the garage to get the final things fixed on it and then reinspection next Monday - I am hoping that by this time next week, everything is finalized and we finally have Finnish license plates on the car.

Attaching some pics of our weekend, plus a belly shot at 24 weeks.

Signing out,

Kim

Three Months Down!

Okay, so we've now been here for three months. There's been some progress since the Month Two update - mostly all good things, may I add.

- over 23 weeks pregnant and Baby Boy Conley is a very active boy already. Starting to affect my sleeping but it's just getting me ready for the lack of sleep I am going to endure
- met two English-speaking friends that have children that are within two months of Madison. Weekly playdates = happy mommy and happy toddler!
- have found a few more stores in the area with reasonably priced merchandise.
- found a new beach and more activities for Madison

Loving the Finnish holidays - going camping tomorrow by the lake and it's supposed to be wonderful weather. Four and a half more weeks until our next visitors come - looking forward to seeing the Conleys!

Midsummer

So Midsummer is coming up this weekend, which means it is the biggest party weekend of the entire year for the Finns. The cities are emptied and everybody goes to their summer homes and cottages for the weekend. Most stores and workplaces are closed on Friday, which means that Andrew, yet again, has a short work week due to a Finnish holiday. Woo hoo!

We may be going to Jussi and Anita's summer cottage for the weekend to endure the Finnish tradition - one could argue that it is a necessity to go to the cottage to fit into this country. Here is some background information on Midsummer.

www.finnguide.fi/calendar/calendarevents.asp?month=6&p=51

Technology

Okay, so I just got an email from the library that I have a library book coming up for renewal this week. How sweet is that? More importantly, I was able to login online and renew it without having to go to the library. Super impressed!

They also have smart traffic lights here - you know that sometimes in Canada you are stuck at a red light and absolutely nobody is coming from the other direction? That doesn't happen here. The traffic lights are smart, they monitor where cars are and adjust the lights accordingly. Smart.

Also, in parking garages, there is a sign at the end of each row that tells you how many spots are available in that particular row. Just gotta watch out for those tricky handicapped spaces!

Lots Going On...

We had a busy week! Maddy and I had our doctor's check-ups, my niece Bella turned one, we took Maddy to the zoo with Cindy and Sebastian, our car failed it's Finland inspection, we had a moose roast on the weekend at one of Andrew's co-worker's houses, we celebrated Father's Day yesterday, and today is our 7 year wedding anniversary!

We found a beach just down the street from us, we've been going there quite frequently after dinner for a stroll. One side is sandy beach, the other side is the marina. Maddy loves to look at the boats and then throw rocks in the water at the beach. On Father's Day, we went to the beach again but this time she was much more adventurous - taking off her coat and pants and socks and shoes and trying to get us to go in with her. Other children were in the water as well. Next time we go, we will be sure to bring swimsuits and toys and towels.

The moose was good, it tasted very similar to beef - perhaps because it was in roast form. I was nervous but it was fine. The dinner party was quite fancy, with folded napkins and china plates. Not exactly the setting for a two and a half year old and a clumsy pregnant woman. I'm not sure we should expect another invitation anytime soon :)

New vocabulary this week out of Madison: "Nothing", "What?", "Okay my way" (when we're in the car"), "tomorrow" (as in "do you want to have a nap?"), and "later".

Dutch and Proud!!

Is it wrong of me to be completely amused by the Dutch "scandal" involving the World Cup? I think it's hilarious. I will continue to cheer for the Netherlands in Saturday's game. Go Orange Go, and that includes the orange minidresses.

Go ORANGE Go!!!!

Today is the first game that Netherlands plays in the World Cup. Andrew has figured out how to watch the games live off the Internet (ssshhh......it's kinda....what's the word...illegal?) but I'm hoping that I can figure it out this afternoon so that I don't miss the game. I don't have an official jersey and I don't know who the players are, but I carry a Dutch passport and if Canada can't win it, I'm cheering for Holland.
GO ORANGE GO!!!

Keeping Busy!

Flipping through the calendar, I notice a huge difference between the number of entries in April vs. June. Our dates are starting to fill up, which is a good thing!!! Doctor's appointments, playdates with Cindy and Sebastian, and other activities that allow us to cross things off our "to-do list".

Maddy had her first Finland check-up today, and I am yet again impressed with the level of service they provide. I also had a prenatal check-up, so combined we were there for two hours with the nurse! They are so thorough and friendly, not like the Canadian health system where you wait in the room for an hour and then see the doctor for five minutes.

Things they checked with Maddy: her height, weight, eye sight, hearing, dexterity and hand-eye coordination (by stacking blocks, doing puzzles, drawing a picture), her vocabulary, her sleeping patterns, her eating habits, walking on her tip toes, jumping, etc. They also thoroughly went through her immunization record from Canada to ensure she's up to date on her vaccinations. Overall prognosis: Maddy is in excellent health, her vocabulary is very broad, and her coordination is great. Wonderful to get good news.

I am also feeling well. I have to admit I was a little shocked when I stepped on the scale - I don't notice a difference in my body over the past 6 weeks but the scale begged to differ......

The car is getting it's inspection this week from a Finnish registration station and we're keeping our fingers crossed that all goes well. We got three month temporary stickers when the car came off the shipping container but our three months is almost up. We had adjustments made to the car, so hopefully we'll be approved and can get our Finnish license plates.

I'm beginning to understand why Europeans go grocery shopping more often than the "North American way" of once a week. All milk products are only good for a week from the day it is packaged to the expiry date. So if you buy this stuff in the store (milk, yoghurt, whipped cream, etc.) it's going to expire within the next few days. Also the bread doesn't last very long either, you might have 4 or 5 days until expiry.

Tucker is getting ticks, it's quite disgusting. He's had three already since we've been here. The internet says they can get them in wooded areas, which hello, we live on a one acred treed lot so he's basically a sitting duck. I've been doing some research and there are monthly products out there that should prevent the ticks from infesting him. So another agenda item the next few weeks is to find him a vet and get him a treatment that is suitable for the area and the types of ticks he is getting.

Oh, the joys of being at home. Did I mention it is a million times easier to go to work than it is being at home and going through my to-do list?? It keeps getting longer......

Until next time.
Me

Wonder how many they sell...

I found a shelf at the grocery store yesterday that had reindeer and kangaroo meat for sale. For real. I did not partake, as (1) I have no desire to eat those animals and (2) I'd have no idea how to cook it.
Andrew had a reindeer steak the other night with his work dinner. He is much more brave than I

Nothing Much is New

Maddy is doing well. She'll be two and a half years old this week. She enjoys going on Skype and talking to our family, mostly to show off her dancing skills. Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" is usually her song of choice. Priceless! We finally got Andrew's mother on Skype so Maddy was very happy to finally see Grandma. They will be coming to visit the end of July for one week.

I've finally figured out how to take our videos off the video camera, so I've been posting them onto my Facebook page. Latest one is of her singing the alphabet, she's almost pronouncing all of the letters, although "LMNOP" is still quite jumbled. We'll get there.

Andrew had some business associates from the US come to Finland for a couple of days, and they were schmoozing with them. First dinner was at a restaurant on an island, you have to take a special ferry to get there. Last night he decided to try a special kind of mushroom that is poisonous unless it is cooked perfectly correctly. Not exactly what a father of 1.5 should be ordering, but that's just my opinion. A little too risky for my liking.

At home with the flu today, here's hoping Maddy takes it easy on me.

Cheers.