30 September 2006

Saturday night

Firstly - feed the kids. Have them create their own pizzas! Great idea. Note to self, next time, don't believe them when they say they actually like the stuff that's on their pizzas.. Oh well, at least they looked fine...



- No, I haven't been keeping one kid from you, that's one visiting also!

Secondly - take a long walk with your visiting friend (hubby watches all 6). Stop by another friend and have her invite you in for chocolate cake. Then stop a few times to admire the HUGE frogs along the way. (Note: that one's bigger than my hand. I just didn't put my hand down to it to measure. You'll just have to take my word for it...)

28 September 2006

A meme I'd like to see!

There are so many interesting people in this world! I've been lucky enough to meet quite a few. But I haven't stopped. It's just that you've got to wade through a bunch of indifferent individuals to find them. So I've invented a checklist that I'll go through with someone before deciding if I should spend any more time on them (or their blogs, as might also apply...). In no particular order.

TO BE ANSWERED 'YES':
- do you understand the concept of irony?
- would you like to visit / have you already visited other countries?
- can you be passionate about things like music, sports, books? (And I do mean passionate, as in screaming and biting your nails off / getting goosebumps etc. - NOT as in "I kind of like this...")
- do you read / listen to books etc.?
- would you like to learn / have you already learnt another language?
- can little things amuse you as much as (or more than) a television snippet?
- do you spend a lot of time on the internet?


TO BE ANSWERED 'NO':
- do you enjoy lengthy political discussions, even if you basically agree with someone?
- are other countries overrated?
- things like puns and subtle meanings are a drag, right?
- do you think people who engage in things like music, sports, books have too little to do?
- is your best time of day watching sitcoms?
- everyone in the world should talk [fill in mother tongue] only.
- do you spend a lot of time on the internet?

For those who wonder about the rather similar last questions of each section - see first question.. And no, I'd probably not really ask anybody this. Outright.

(I'm lunching all alone in my home office, right? So I get to blog. Therefore I am...)

Quote of the day (11)

"Doing manly things,
like lifting heavy objects, and
spitting."

Dave Barry, in Natural Childbirth.

Completely out of context here, of course, but this quote lands in my head every time I see really 'macho' men in powerful excavators or carrying their kids' 3 bicycles in one hand and ditto kids in the other...

26 September 2006

Blogger acting up...

Blogger is strangling me. Seriously.
It's obvious that Blogger as we know it is about to die.

Upload a photo? "Page cannot be found"
Save as draft? "Page cannot be found"
Publish? "0%, 0%, 0% ... Page cannot be found"
etc. etc. (It will do all of this eventually, but not before I've almost broken # 15 in that last post...)

Sounds familiar? Well, that's how it's been for me lately, anyway. It's annoying. To say the least.

Now, the new Blogger in beta is supposed to be so much better. And I've got that button saying "Sign in to the Blogger in beta". And I've logged in, even made a new blog, in beta. Hurrah and all that.

But I'd rather move this blog to beta. Supposedly, that's possible. Upgrading, somehow. I've seen it done elsewhere, obviously not been able to make myself clear about what I needed to learn, though... So, here's to hoping -

- Can one move an old blogger blog to beta?
- if so, how?
- is having said "beta button" enough, or should it say something like "upgrade existing blog" somewhere too?
- and if it's not possible - could someone please tell blogger to behave...?
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One of those

I was going to steal this from Cathy. Now it turns out I've waited so long I'm stealing it from Chloe too...

ARE YOU
1. A Cuddler? Definitely. As long as I'm not with strangers.
2. A morning person? "Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast"
3. Are you a perfectionist? About things I do myself, quite a bit. Not so much others, unless it involves grammar or spelling...
4. An only child? I have an older sister, who claims I'm like an older sister to her...
5. Catholic? No.
6. In your pajamas? No. I'm working from home, but still...
7. Currently suffering from a broken heart? No, unless hubby has something he's not telling me..
8. Okay styling other people's hair? No. I cut my boys' hair, they're ok, but I never quite get the hang of Anna's plaits etc. (My own's a story all to itself...)
9. Left handed? No, 'fraid not. (Think I'd been rather more artistic if I were...)
10. Addicted to MySpace? Visited once, I think, never needed it.
11. Shy around the opposite gender? No. I'm shyer around really girly girls. What are they on? 12. Loud? I can be!

DO YOU
12. Bite your nails? No. My sister had to bite mine though, one summer we'd forgotten to bring the nail scissors on holidays. She had long experience biting nails and took the job...
13. Get paranoid at times? Nope.
14. Currently regret something that you have said/done? No. I only regret things I haven't done.
15. Curse frequently when you get mad? I don't curse. But I do get mad...
16. Enjoy country music? Sometimes.
17. Enjoy jazz music? All the time.
18. Enjoy smoothies? On occasion, if served me.
19. Enjoy talking on the phone? I used to love it. Now I'd rather msn people...
20. Have a lot to learn? Luckily, yes! I love learning new things.
21. Have a pet? I've got 5 kids. nuff said.
22. Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person? No.
23. Have all your grandparents died? Yes. My "last" grandfather died last year, aged 96.
24. Have at least one sibling? Yes
25. Have been told that you are smart? Yes. And stupid.
26. Have had a broken bone? My nose. Twice.
27. Have Caller I.D. on your phone? Yes. Phones don't come without these days. I answer all calls regardless...

HAVE YOU
28. Changed a diaper? No. Of course not. Hubby gladly did all 20+ daily diaper changes for the quads all by himself...
29. Changed a lot over the past year? I don't think so.
30. Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? No.
31. Had surgery? Just the caesarean. And the five follow-up ops to finally make the stitching hold and the infection to go away... (That was the quads - Jakob was born naturally, luckily. I'd rather have had 4 more natural births...)
32. Killed anyone? Not IRL. On paper, though...
33. Had your hair cut within the last week? No. I cut it myself when despair hits.

LAST PERSON WHO
1. Slept in the bed beside you? hubby.
2. Saw you cry? Jakob, I think.
3. Went to the movies with you? Honestly can't remember... But hubby & I are going to the movies with another couple this week. If we can find a baby-sitter, that is...
4. You went to the mall with? hubby. He actually likes shopping. Better than I do..
5. You went to dinner with? hubby. This summer. To a Greek restaurant in Norway where the waiters were ecstatic about meeting "a fellow countryman" just because I threw in a few Greek phrases... It was good fun, though :)
6. You talked to on the phone? My brother. Or "brother", as it were...
7. Said 'I love you' to you and meant it? hubby. And all the kids last night at bedtime.
8. Broke your heart? Noone. Ever. I don't think.
9. Made you laugh? My friend S. On msn. He's hilarious!

WOULD YOU RATHER
1. Pierce your nose or tongue? Why choose?
2. Be serious or be funny? Funny. I can't do serious.
3. Drink whole or skimmed milk? Skimmed milk. Not that it helps...
4. Die in a fire or drown? Drown. Also there's a greater chance, I spend more time in the water than around fires...
5. Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents of course! Plus I don't think I've got any enemies. Or was that enemas...?

ABOUT YOU
1. What time is it? 18.00 (= 6:00 PM)
2. Name? Scholiast
3. Nickname(s)? Scholi.. Also "little wolf" "old eagle" "little poppy" etc. among friends...
4. Where were you born? Svolvær, Lofoten.
5. What is your birthdate? November 2nd.
6. What do you want? TIME. And a house in Crete. At least somewhere to rent in the summer that'll fit all 7 of us... (Somewhere like this...)
7. Where do you want to live? Boringly, I think - right here. But half the year or so in Greece..
8. How many kids do you want? I think we've pretty much detonated our baby bomb by now...

24 September 2006

Class of '81

Some of us have kept in touch after school, first with the unavoidable Christmas cards, later with occasional text messages and e-mails. When I was still single I'd be home at least once a year, after the quads we've all been there once, I was once more - on a junior high school reunion.

But yesterday a childhood friend, J, came by. She was down south for a work seminar.
You can see us both in this photo, along with the rest of a clearly pastel influenced bunch of pre-teens...

I was thinking about old days and feeling rather nostalgic driving down to get her from the boat. The radio somehow picked up my vibes, and suddenly Kiss' "I was made for loving you" came on. It was THE hit in our class the year this photo was taken. I was screaming along at the top of my lungs! And suddenly I felt like I was 12. Away with my class for a week at a school camp, staying up past curfew to "collect" goodnight hugs from the boys (we kept a list), listening to Kiss during daytime and the hushed whispers of the girls in my room at night.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, backing up the car to park. I could see the 12-year-old still lurking.

22 September 2006

Typo of the day (not mine):

(No limiting "collateral damage", thank you!)

"Gunsmiting - to design, build, repair or modify firearms"

I was looking to translate a bunch of education-related terms for our dictionary when this definition popped up. (No, the definition is not the typo.) Thus creating a perfect link to Graham's tell-all post...

Today

This is now, at home in Lofoten. It's cold, but impossibly beautiful.

Down here it's another humid, grey day, but with images like these... I can dream, can't I?

20 September 2006

Four's company, three's ... lonely

This morning Thomas stayed at the house. They've all got slight colds these days (hubby's worst off - he's actually stayed at home two days, something he never does..), but Thomas is coughing more than the rest, still slightly asthmatic and takes longer to get well.



So, the usually unproblematic "morning delivery" suddenly brought Mathias to his classroom alone. That is - Anna and Filip were in the next room, doors between open, and some of his class mates were there. But he couldn't have felt lonelier if I'd set him off on a different planet.

"I'll be so scared alone", he said. I thought he meant in the cloakroom, and stayed behind for a minute. But he continued "at break".

I tried comforting him with how all first grades have breaks together, and that Wednesdays they even all go for a hike in the woods together, but he was inconsolable. Eventually I had to leave, while he was crying his little heart out, and the assistant (bless her!) was holding him back...

(Hubby went to get him early, as he had clearly been missing Thomas so. Mathias was utterly bewildered, though. "Why do I have to go home so soon?" Sigh... Photo from Just4twins, who have their own quad line!)

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18 September 2006

Incessant curiosity

A middle-aged couple stopped and commented at me taking this photograph on my way to work this morning. I found it intriguing they'd used rows of inner doors instead of windows (as you can see) - the couple found it intriguing I had looked up and noticed... This afternoon I started Greek classes again. The undying curiosity, could I possibly learn Greek properly one day? I thought there wouldn't be any - there are only 5 of us at advanced level - but they decided they'd go through with it. One of the other pupils is my dad, we've been taken these classes together on and off for years, it's very nice meeting out of the family circle as it were. Two other guys we've also had classes with several times before. One of them has an apartment in Rethymnon and a cabin on Gavdos. *sigh* Now, the last one, a woman, I've never seen before. Apparently she was Norwegian, but she had a Greek name and spoke with an unmistakable Cretan accent. *double sigh*

Now, when will I be going back home?

17 September 2006

Conversation of the day (1):

- What is it you fear even more than spiders?

- erh, bats?!!

- Exactly. And now you're watching a documentary on ... ?

- erh, bats...

- I rest my case!

I really, really hate bats, they're so - leathery, unpredictable, gross and ... absolutely fascinating...

The weekend

We went to Lillehammer for the weekend, or Øyer, to be more precise. (I just thought you might have heard about Lillehammer, as Olympic hosts in 1994. But then your all so annoyingly young...)We were staying here, traditional building style, nice view of surrounding hills (well, mountains of sort - the downhill and other alpine competitions were held here).
But we weren't there just for the scenery or to get away from home. We were joining a triplet gathering (there are none for just people like us), 11 families altogether, about 40 kids (yes, some had siblings, like us. But only one sibling younger than the triplets...). We had a grand time :) We'd met quite a few of the families on similar gatherings before, but it has only been one day things, and we've been spending most of our time running after the kids.

This time we a) went to a playland (part of the building compound we were staying at), where all the kids (8 months - 14 years old) played literally for hours! And b) all the parents who could stand the cold night outside stayed up talking when the kids were in bed. It was great fun, good to know people with similar experiences and who don't go "AAAAAAWWWWWWW" by seeing more than one kid in a pram...

But the kind of things people will say to parents like us...?!!? I'll probably get back to that...


Example of bunch of kids...

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September serendipity


1 year of blogging and 10,000 hits on the same day :)

Here you can see me greeting visitor no. 10,000 - Sam - as he arrives at my castle. (My blog is my home and my home is my castle, right?)

16 September 2006

Are you coming?

I've set the tables, put the kettle on and distributed the snack bowls evenly. I've pulled out all the board games from where they've been hiding, set iTunes to shuffle, sent kids and hubby off to wherever fancy takes them, and now everything's ready.


It's my one year bloggiversary today*, and you're all invited!
(But MoncriefSpeaks - if "Mark part V" is still missing, you're staying in the sitooterie...)

For sentimental reasons, my very first post. Bless you.

* I'm posting this one day too soon, but we're going away after work so I had to post it now...

15 September 2006

Put pen to pencil! As someone once said...

(Click on any image to enlarge)
Jakob describes Greece - Portugal, 3-1 (and 83 minutes played). As you can see, in detail, Nikopolidis (oh yes, he's big in our house, they're always fighting to be Nikopolidis if they're goalkeeping!) is very pleased about the save whereas the hitherto unnamed Portuguese is not...
Filip is only slightly influenced by his oldest brother, as you can see... But it's a different game - Vålerenga (Norwegian premier league) plays England (sic!) and even though Paul Harrison saves, the Vålerenga player doesn't seem too disappointed...
Another rip-off - but in his own style! - Mathias' football match. And this one, Liverpool's Peter Crouch, does score. Against whom, he didn't say. (Mathias, that is, not Crouchie...)
Thomas is very eager to play football, not quite so eager to draw it. But here's himself, and a four-legged statue on a colourful carpet, and lots of writing! (And how did you guess his dad's a big Toto fan...?)

The drawings were all addressed to me, which does something to a mother's heart...

Anna was enjoying our babysitter's attention - a 16-year-old friend - to the full last night, and didn't make any drawings..

- The babysitting was due to PTA meeting in all first grades last night. We've got kids in 2 classes, so naturally there were 2 of us going!

The meetings apart, I was most fascinated by the "class rules". They go "we shall be nice to eachother", "we shall not make fun of others" etc. - stuff you might guess. But no. 3 is my definite favourite:

"we shall not bite or strangle eachother"

Wonder if the class or the teacher came up with that one?

My Scandinavian bias - and Denmark

Just a quick note to come clean and say I'm actually 1/8 Swedish - one of my grandfathers (not this one) was from Stockholm. But even though he was great fun, and provided us with dozens of Swedish books when we grew up, I'm no more pro-Swedish (as you might have thought reading this) than I am -Danish. Which we'll be coming to shortly. And anyway, among my great-great-great-grans there are a lot of Danes. A lot.

Ah, the Danes... What with the tradition of Danish pastry for breakfast, beers for lunch (not that I'd have had one, but still) and a very laid-back mentality, what's not to like? Add the plethora of aqualands, zoos and fun fairs scattered across the country, and voila - pure holiday nation!


Norwegians - although happily naive, as I mentioned earlier, are always trying to fit in, trying not to be different, yet trying to seem like suave globetrotters at the same time. It's not working. The Danes, though, seem to be just that. Denmark (at least Jutland, the only part I've been to) seems like a cross between Britain and Norway somehow. Here's a typical Danish Tudor house :)


An intriguing point is that Danes also happen to love Norwegians (I suspect it's a little like having a 'simpleton' sibling - although they do it without condescension, unlike the Swedes...). They don't understand us, though, and might as well think we're talking Swedish, so when travelling in Denmark - bring a Norwegian flag! (Why they don't like Swedes I don't know, that's for someone else to blog about..) Norwegians - insecure and all - love the Danes for loving us, and admire their European flair. Although we'd never admit to it...
We laugh openly at them when they flock to our mountains to learn skiing, but we secretly love them for choosing our country to spend time in... (They also provide a steady income for doctors working extra over Easter, as they tend to fall down and break something while learning...) Photo: Example of Norwegian mountain, Norway's highest - Galdhøpiggen, 2469 metres (8100 feet) above sea level.

Ok, Denmark did rule Norway for about 400 years. We call it the 400 year-long night. And they did more or less thrust their language upon us, even though we pronounce it very differently - but the ancient Norse was lost during those 400 years. But then - after 91 years in union with Sweden, Denmark seemed like a real charmer, and our first modern king (Haakon VII*, 1905) was in fact the Danish prince Carl, we just adopted him...

A funny thing - the kids didn't understand any Danish when we were there, and the Danish kids we met didn't understand any Norwegian - even though to me, they're the same, just different. And watch out for compliments.. "Nice / sweet" in Danish means "funny / strange" in Norwegian [rar], and the word for "happy, cheerful person" in Danish, means "sourpuss" in Norwegian [grinebiter]... You wouldn't want them mixed up on a date!

Example of Danish mountain, Denmark's highest "mountain" - Himmelbjerget, 147 metres (482 feet) above sea level...

Norwegians tend to say that Danish is like our language, except the Danes talk with a potato stuck down their throat. To me, the sound of the Danish language feels like a hug! I could listen to it forever.

(* He was the first modern king of Norway, but took the name Haakon - a name used by six kings in the viking era - so he added a VII (7) and was immediately embraced as one of us.)

14 September 2006

Local fauna - and a grand day out

They say summer's over, but last night was beautiful - even captured by phone cam.


"The mothers" in Jakob's class get together sometimes, last night only 5 of us met, but we stayed till closing time and enjoyed ourselves no less... Quite possibly the last night enjoyed at an outdoor place in a very long time.


This morning, walking to school, we met these cute creatures: 1 froggy (mum-size, about 3 inches /7,5 cms long) and 1 blindworm (or should I say ex-blindworm, it was thoroughly flattened by a car...) of about 8 inches (20 cms). It's one of only two snake types existing in this country, it's tiny and not in the least dangerous, but I was still grateful a car had had the thoughtfulness of completely bereaving it of all life before we arrived...

And now, for work. Home, that is...

12 September 2006

Where I was and what I was doing

20 years ago
I started my last year in high school, and moved to my mother's place to stay for 6 months because my dad was away studying. I'd been living with him alone since I was 12, but since there were just a few kilometres separating their homes it wasn't that big a change. Except for the curfew rules...

15 years ago
I'd just returned from summer school in Thessaloniki, where I'd gone straight from my ancient Greek studies. Now I returned to do Latin, and was taking notes in Greek. Fat lot of help that does me now if I want to check out some Latin!

10 years ago
We were newly-weds dancing the days away. And working? Yeah, I guess we must have been.. And planning that we'd have somewhere between 4 and 10 kids (seriously).

5 years ago
We did have between 4 and 10 kids... After one year joint maternity & paternity leave, I spent this autumn home alone with the quads (Jakob being in kindergarten). The first day I cleaned the entire house. (Admittedly a smaller one than we have now.) The second day I went for a long walk - with three in the special pram and one on my back. From the third day onward there was always at least one sick(-ish), and I don't think I left the house until my hubby had another 5 months paternity leave from March... Not the 7-8 months I'd rather repeat. (Did you know that with 4 babies, the first one will wake up when the last one is put to bed...)

1 year ago
I was enjoying working life as a legal secretary (here in the lift at my old job) , still contemplating whether I ought to quit, though, so I could spend more time at home when the quads started school. And I was still high from our holidays in Crete in May, so I lived through the winter!

1 month ago
Still holidays :) Just back from Denmark.

Yesterday
Home, working, dinner, blogging, you know how it works...

Update: Yes, Julie, we did talk about 50 kids. At least. At one stage. But only because I wanted to name one son Ossian (admittedly, long before we knew we were having any...), and hubby said - ok, son no. 50 can have that name...

Quote of the day (10)


"Photography cannot replace painting before you can photograph heaven and hell"

Edvard Munch said that. (I'm sure he'd be pleased about the returned paintings...)

11 September 2006

9/11

I wasn't going to blog about this date. But how could I not?

5 years ago, on this day, I was home minding the kids. Hadn't watched any news or listened to the radio or turned on my computer all day. Some time I managed to leave the kids to themselves and call my cousin, whose birthday it is today - and was then too, of course. She told me thanks, and I'd better turn on my tv. So I did, and was just in time - if that was a good thing - to watch the second tower fall down.

I was thinking about a couple of friends in New York. I was thinking about the people falling / jumping off the towers. But I was mostly thinking that Bruce Willis ought to show up and rescue the world right about now. He didn't.

On the news today (in addition to all the programmes about 9/11), there was a report from Sweden, about how the politicians needed armed police guards with them at all times. They hadn't started that 5 years ago, though, but since 9/11 - 2003, when a Swedish minister was assassinated at a shopping centre.

The world's moving in on us. But yesterday I saw one of the Norwegian cabinet ministers on the street. Noone else around, obviously no security people with him. I saw the Prime Minister the other week, he did have two security guards right behind him although they could hardly keep up with him on his bike.. And today I saw another minister, going to work, apparently. Pinstripe suit a little unusual (we're a very casual nation), otherwise he looked like the guy next door. And again, no security around.

Police in Norway aren't even armed. Hopefully, we can keep it that way a little while longer.

10 September 2006

Endekiversary flowers


My hubby brought me these on our get-togethiversary, very nice, don't you think? The red ones are some African kind, rare around here at least. I like them a lot!

- But as my hubby asked the florist to put together something for his wife on a special occasion, she immediately suggested roses. He said no, he thought perhaps something different. "Oh. Not that special, then" the florist replied curtly...

She wasn't to know, of course, but he brings me flowers a lot - roses quite a few times - and wanted something different. Does it really have to be roses to be special?
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09 September 2006

25 years ago today!

According to our sources (a cartoonist's calendar), today marks the exact 25 year-anniversary for one extraordinary event - Norway beat England at football for the first time! The Norwegian commentator - even more than the rest of an ecstatic nation - went completely berserk. These are his exact words (in Norwegian...):


And if needs should be... A
translation of sorts here. It was, of course, a great day, a day to be remembered. And even though I'm an England fan at heart, this piece of commentary is worth remembering! (More match facts here and you can hear a clip right here.) Posted by Picasa

In 2002 The Observer voted it best sports commentary ever! If only everyone would be this enthusiastic about their work...

07 September 2006

While we're talking about movies..

1) The first movie you remember seeing on the big screen
The very first one? It was Robin Hood - the cartoon - and it was the big opening night at Radio City Music Hall, New York City! I was 5... I didn't remember much of the film (until I saw it again once it came to Norway), but I remembered thinking (even at that age) the can-can dancers and the throwing of frisbees over the audience and everything before the film started was a bit over the top...

2) Movie from which you can quote multiple lines in your sleep
You may know that I've got a very good memory for quotes. Had it been possible, I'd major in quotes. PhQu, if you like. Still, which one to choose... Sleepless in Seattle just now, just saw it again the other day!

3) Director (dead or alive) that you’d most want to have dinner with
Erh, actually, he's a producer, not a director - but he's gorgeous, good fun and a great producer - listed among Hollywood's top 100 people to know if you want to make it in the film world (despite being a Norwegian), so I think I'd have to say Harald Zwart.

4) Movie that should have won an Oscar but didn’t
Can't really say. I don't know which movies do win the Oscars...

5) Movie that didn’t disappoint despite being the adaptation of a book
Tough one. I've only seen one LOTR film, that fitted neatly in with my own images of the book, so perhaps I'll say this one. (Or I could mention quite a few that did disappoint...)

6) Movie you were dragged to by someone else expecting to hate, but which you loved
Can't remember ever having to be dragged, I used to love going. I would now too, given time & opportunity..

7) Movie that scares the crap out of you no matter how many times you see it
I don't see that kind of films - at all. My sister always saw horror movies, even if she had to go alone, just "because everyone sees this one". She'd sit in the cinema screaming, and come over to sleep in my bed. So when I was old enough, I just didn't go there..

8) The movie that makes you bawl no matter how many times you see it
La vita e bella. I sometimes avoid seeing it again when it's on television, but it's such a fantastic film, I sit through it at times anyway.

9) The movie that still has you rolling on the floor with laughter no matter how many times you’ve seen it
Any of the Blackadder and Python films (and related, such as A fish called Wanda)

10) Movie that fills you with a special joie de vivre
Much Ado About Nothing, no doubt. Kenneth Branagh must have been Shakespeare in a previous life, and Shakespeare is such fun!

06 September 2006

I wish...

Unfit

I feel a totally unfit mother. Again. And I'm not just talking about physically, where at least there's potential for betterment.

This morning Jakob was furious. Again. And I do mean furious. It feels like he has been raging for the past 4 years or so. He always regrets and says he's sorry. And then continues his rage 5 minutes later. He's mad at everyone in the family in turn, but mostly me. So there's obviously a connection here.

When other people are sad, frustrated, slightly annoyed, bored, scared or indeed furious - Jakob is just furiuos. There's only on and off. He drew this in school, the task was "emotions". You can tell he really knows about rage...

Don't get me wrong. He's the sweetest boy there is, loving and gentle and so concerned about other people's - mine including - well-being, and I love him to bits! But when something's slightly not right with the world, off he goes. I don't even get mad myself anymore when he does this (wonder where he got it from...), I just get sad. It's obvious I'm a complete failure as a mum, otherwise he wouldn't do this.

And now at least one of his little brothers seems to be turning into him. Had it but been all his excellent sides - and not this! I'm at my wits' end here, I'll be posting a "Vacancy: mom" next (- not here, IRL).

04 September 2006

One of those days...

This morning, I lost my slice of bread - spread facing downwards, of course - but, lo and behold - the table was just as clean! Mysteriously. So I thought it was going to be one of those days. Luck is on my side and all that.

After work (at home) I went into town, met up with my friend C, we left her son S (my godchild) in one corner of a pizza place to celebrate a classmate's birthday, then sat ourselves in the opposite end of the pizza place. We talked, enjoyed our pizza, enjoyed our conversation, enjoyed eyeing up the young but gorgeous waiter (who was obviously used to this because he wasn't in the least embarrassed...), and had just ordered our desserts -- when the waiter mentioned, casually, in passing, that one kid in the birthday over there had hurt himself, and they'd been trying to call his parents.

C: "Well, can't be me, my phone's right here, see? Hasn't been ringing."
gorgeous waiter: "no, probably not, they'll find them. His name's S by the way"
C: "That's mine!"

- And off we went. Around the corner, on a couch, we were met by this (his white shirt not lessening the first impression of shock): There was a doctor in the place - pure luck - and he taped him up as best he could while we waited for an ambulance.

Eventually the ambulance arrived, they put S on a stretcher and in the car, we went with him.
Then - straight into the emergency ward. Where we waited. And waited. Actually only about 45 minutes, but it felt longer...
Cute doctor stitched him up. 2 cuts - one got 4 stitches, the other needed 12. (Now I've seen subcutaneous fat, nerve fibres and a muscular attachment too. Not something I'd like to repeat..) During the whole ordeal, S said nothing, only winced a few times - mostly when he had his 6 shots of local anaesthetic - and although he was swetting like mad under the green cloth, needed to go to the bathroom and actually felt a lot of the stitching, he lay still. Like broccoli (as Julia Roberts would have said in Pretty Woman..). His mum patting his head under the cloth and me walking to and fro, frantically changing between nausea and curiosity, the nurse assisting and pretending we weren't in the way...
When we finally made it home to their place, and S was put in bed - way past his bedtime - we felt completely drenched.. So it was actually one of those days... Surely, it's a bit much just to keep us from munching desserts that we don't need?
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