For a while, I got to be a stay at home mom and I realized that it is hard work!!! A full time stay at home mom is a superwomen in my book. But, staying at home with the little ones definitely has its rewards as well...and at the end of the day, the rewards outweigh all the hard work.
I sometimes wondered if I cared for the same kids from day to day.... sometimes, from hour to hour as well. I got served cake and multiple refills of juice one minute...only to get kicked out of the playroom with: "Weave me awone" the next minute. Anyone, who ever considered attending an anger management class, should instead stay at home with their little kids. The first objective would be to keep it cool for one hour and go from there!!
This summer was very eventful: going from busy days at work and daycare in Texas to an international move with a couple of apartments on the way and all the chaos that comes with it to our "home" in Norway where the kids got to spend a lot of time at home with mom and each other. The kids have handled things very well and have adapted to the new life style, and they seem less restless now. While they miss their friends and family in TX and soon will miss the sun too, the freedom and nature makes turns out to be a big plus in their minds. Of course, it helps that they only go half a day in school and daycare and get to spend more time at home.
I wish, I'd have taken notes of all the things, the kids say. Here are a few: Benjamin, out of the blue told his dad: "Babba, do you know that when you die, you turn into one of those flying thingies." and "Mamma, when you die, can you swing?". Annika has a wicket sense of humor and likes to tease her older brother. The other night we went to bed late and I ended up putting the kids to bed at the same time. Annika to my right and Benjamin to my left. They finally settled down and Benjamin was halfway asleep. All of a sudden, I see Annika's hand slowly reach around me and hit Benjamin. Benjamin was irritated and told Annika to stop. Annika's reply was simply: "Sshh, go to sweep, Ben!!". This happened one more time and I finally had to stop her. It's sometimes very hard to discipline your kids when you want to laugh so bad.
Benjamin attends a welcome class at a local school. There are about 8 kids in the class: One Texan, One Lithuanian, Two Icelandic and Four Polish kids. The welcome class is for kids who do not speak Norsk and it follows the regular curriculum some and at the same time emphasizes Norsk. There is singing, stories, games, movies, trips in addition to the regular classes. This week, Benjamin came home with a library card, two books and a dvd. Homework is awesome and is usually completed within 30mins after he comes home from school. He understands amazingly well Norsk, but is still not saying very much. The teacher says that Benjamin is very social at school, very friendly and talkative. He does very well with homework, all though he has to concentrate on writing the letters and numbers well and not rush through the pages. And finally, he is doing very well in Math and is solving all the tasks for 1st and 2nd grade. So, we have a couple of websites to practice on, this way our little math whiz will get his challenges.
Annika has now attended daycare for 2 week. It started great. She woke up in the morning and wanted to know when we could go to school. Not a tear shed. Then the excitement wore off and reality set in: This week, she cried her heart out when I left in the mornings. But... she is always smiling from ear to ear when I pick her up and she tells me about her fun day. Annika goes to an outdoor daycare. It's a setting where they have a little house for indoor activities as well as a covered bbq pit. Otherwise, most of the day is spent outside. It is very relaxed with a total of 5 teachers for 17-20 kids. The kids are from 3 through 6 years old and all play with each other. Soon, Annika will join the other kids for walks and bus trips!! I had a start up meeting with the daycare director today. The director wanted to know about Annika, personality traits, her first years etc. so that they can get to know her better and help her out when there are problems. Of course, the director commented on Annika being headstrong, determined, independent and some temper (!) as well as good motor skills........yeah, we know all about all those things, especially the temper.....
All in all, the kids have done great and I hope to hear some Norsk soon.
