American in Norway

What a super great AWESOME day... all of the " NICE" mommies will be happy to know I played nice all. day. long. Something about nice weather in Norway...brings a everyone out.. I know I have moaned A LOT about how reserved Norwegians are... - hard to take for us outgoing Americans over here.... But the weather was nice, the neighbors were out & Eva & I felt like being a little social.... We took some of the leftover cake over to the neighbors & ended up sitting out for hours on their veranda.... As the sun moved so did we... we all went over to eac h others house /veranda...(following the sun...) had a sneak peak at each others houses..FINALLY (cause I am nosey like that...) The neighbors kids ended up being over here most of the afternoon & I had the chance to snap some pictures of this little SUGAR CLUMP... Could you not just EAT HER UP? Oh my GOODNESS:... She really is THIS CUTE! I think Eva was in shock that I was taking pictures of someone else. Re...

Call me MARTHA, Miss Stewart if your N. A. S. T. Y (sorry... I have always wanted to say that...) OK so I'm not one to toot my own horn but TOOT TOOT ... party was a success... kids had a blast... Dane was all smiles & GUESS who was the FIRST guest to arrive... Mmmm hmmmm. So about 2 am this morning I came up with the bright idea of doing a GUITAR CAKE So here is the cake... Have to say I am a little proud.. as I was trying to figure this out...(an hour before the guests were arriving... I had visions of it ending up on CAKE WRECKS... but I think it turned out pretty darn good.. The kids were ADORABLE... I kept thinking they were too big to play organized games... Nooooo... they had a blast... we played musical chairs, LIMBO... a dance contest..(girls idea-& the boys went along with it---WOW...) I need to do a post on all of the things Mormor sent from America... Thanks mom... Think it is going to have to wait until tomorrow... I am P O O P E D!

Looks like I won't be invited to join this year.... damn... (opps the d word... yet another reason I won't be asked to join...sigh*) Seems like I worried some of the "NICER" mommy's out in blogland with my Wenche " RANT" **crickets** Sorry? First, for the record... Wenche is a REAL name (pronounced Vinka -kindda...I guess)... I am not misspelling WENCH.. Second... y'all who "know" me, know MY blog is a place I like to blow off a little steam.... it is a bit more therapeutic for me to write things out rather than walking around the house talking to myself... (I also really like it when y'all AGREE with me & tell me I am RIGHT...) It was suggested that MY blog was perhaps NOT the best place to vent... Ummm, OK then... - as soon as I get my ranting posts taken down I will be over to tell you how you should be writing YOUR blog . : ) allrighty then... I didn't think my post about Wench was really THAT bad... (this version...

I ♥ Faces -Silhouette... this week is a little different.. we are able to choose one photo to enter... (darn...I had two...) but I think this is my fav.... Eva out at a beach near our home... I love the yellowish clouds & her hair blowing in the wind... She was jumping up & down on the rocks (safety first i n our house...LOL) One of the things I LOVE about Norway are the LONG summer days... this shot was taken about 7 pm... Head on over to I Heart Faces , & see who else is playing! Are you playing yet? if not...WHY NOT? Sooo many neat bloggers who WOW me every week...get on over there...go on ...

I would like to dedicate this post to Wenche ...a MEAN mother... (Bare with me through this post because my head is ALL OVER THE PLACE...) So last week, Wenche's son, lets call him "PRINCE" ... shows up with invitations to his Birthday party... All of the boys in the class were invited except TWO... (yes...Dane was left out...) -this is the first time that Wenche has left Dane off of the list..but not the first time that she has excluded one or two children from the birthday party. Last year she invited the entire class boys & girls.. but left ONE little girl off of the list because she has an egg allergy & couldn't be bothered worrying about what she may or may not eat. HELLO? WHO DOES THIS? who excludes A child?- as a show of solidarity all of the little girls boycotted the party.. & Wenche was labeled a freak by the girls mothers... (or so I have heard through the grapevine...) There is a rule at school (or so I thought) that if you don't invite...

Thanks to mormor & aunt Ali who bought Guitar Hero for Dane's birthday, Dane has decided to go for a GUITAR HERO theme... all of the kids have to dress up like their favorite rock star... (have I mentioned there is NO ONE around here who does a THEME.. you know they think I am NUTs ...) Oh well wish me LUCK... 20.... 10 years olds fighting over ONE guitar hero... I better find something else to entertain them with...

Wow... I felt like a celebrity answering all of your questions... thanks for caring.. (or pretending-if you could really give a big &%/) : ) Here we go.... what is the wing speed of a sparrow? African or European? How did you meet your husband? Love at first sight... on a Cruise Ship... Will you always be an "American in Norway?" NO... I would like to move as soon as the kids are out of school... at least for the winters... What's the hardest thing about being an American living in Norway? Being away from my family & friends at home... everything else I can deal with... Why did you decide to raise your family in Norway instead of the US? Why did you choose to leave the U.S.? To say I wasn't thrilled to leave would be an understatement... Bjørn carried me on the plane screaming & crying.. (OK, not really...but almost..) Bjørn was ready to stop sailing & there were better job opportunities for him here in Norway. If you were to advice me on what cou...

I made it! Woo Hoo ... I. MADE.IT. You would really have to know me, to know what a huge feat it is.... I have come along way baby.... I remember how EXCITED I was when I received my first comment... (I was wondering how in the heck anyone could find me .... & why wold they want to?) First time I showed up on someones reader.... my first follower.... and my posts? ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzz (OK, maybe they still are...oh well....) but I was posting about Norwegian cake mixes & the tractor traffic on my way to work.... Just wanted to say THANK YOU ... to all of you who read AMERICAN in NORWAY... it means a lot to me... Thank you to all of my bloggy friends that I have made this year... thank you for being there to listen to me GO ON & ON & ON about my kids... listen to me bitch about everything under the sun... to offer support when I was going through the hospital crisis last year.... thanks for just being there.... & being NICE... I appreciate it more than you kno...

I can NOT believe it has been 10 TEN years since we brought this wonderful young man into the world.... There are so many things I can say about my baby boy.... He is SMART, FUNNY, KIND.. & a pain in the patootie sometimes... this is the kid who keeps mom on her toes... I just can't believe how fast time has flown. We have a big FAMILY day planned for Dane's 10 th birthday... (birthday party will be next weekend...) here is hoping for good weather ... as I mentioned in my previous post Dane has started his own blog to keep up with his English.... (Norwegian is his first written language..) American in Norway Jr. -very original blog title...I know... He gets so excited when he sees a new flag on his blog... I know he would be THRILLED if y'all would pop over & give my baby boy some birthday/ bloggy love.... I'll be back on Friday sharing Dane's big day... (I can see you all holding your breath!)

Whew...What a weekend/week. We started celebrating NORWAY took FIRST in the Eurovision !! Yea...makes me proud to be an ALMOST Norwegian... This means the contest will be coming to Norway next year...(Dane has already asked for tickets for his birthday next year...lets hope it comes to Oslo...) Sunday we had a FULL day of 17 th of may FUN FUN FUN... This was the NICEST weather I have experienced on a 17 th of May... & YES the American went bare legged & in sandals... it was SCANDALOUS (at least for my MIL) No post would be complete without my throwing my kids faces all over the post... Here are some of theBEAUTIFUL traditional outfits ... To answer s ome of your questions from my last post about the dresses.... -They are expensive because they are hand made & because of all of the silver on the dresses... -I do not have one (although I kinda wish I did) ... because I'm not Norwegian ... you can tell where everyone comes from by their dress... I would feel silly wea...

This weeks contest is your (MY favorite photo) the winner will have their photo included in a Blurb Book. Eeek I am back on forth on which photo to choose... y'all voted this one as your favorite last week... (its mine too...) - hard to believe she is only 4.5-. Head on over to I Heart Faces , & see who else is playing! Are you playing yet? if not...WHY NOT? Sooo many neat bloggers who WOW me every week...get on over there...go on ... "I am submitting this photo into the http://www.iheartfaces.com/ Blurb Book photo contest. I am granting I ♥ Faces permission to use my photo in a printed version of a book for commercial use and possibly advertising of a photo book on both the Blurb and I ♥ Faces web sites."

It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Frid ay !!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!! I'm sure Bjørns family would be thrilled to know I am posting their pictures all over the Internet ... but shhhhhh ...(we won't tell them...) Just thought you might like to see the traditional dresses... (the 2 "big" girls have the real thing...) I SOOO want Eva to have the REAL thing... (better start to save now...) the dresses cost Thousands of dollars... but you wear them your adult life... (good motivation not to gain weight...) Hoping I will get lots of great pictures this weekend to give you a taste of Norway on its big day...

So I was at work the other day when...what should I hear? E N G L I S H... AMERICAN ENGLISH... I am dorky enough to admit I get just a little bit EXCITED when I hear "American" out... So of course being the DORK that I am... I walked up & said... "Oh hey...Your AMERICAN..." (super smile...) HIM: Umm Hmm... (me, feeling a little MORE dorky...) ME: "From where?" HIM: From HOUSTON... ME: (reverting back to my sorority days...) OMG! NO WAY... I'MMMMMM from Houston.! (He's from Clear Lake...I'm from Kingwood...) Just when I think I couldn't be a bigger dork... Mr. Texas goes on to explain...but really... he is 1/2 Norwegian... Oh really? Then he goes on to explain that yes...he is 1/2 Norwegian because he has a Norwegian kid & a Norwegian Girlfriend..... Ummm..OK the DORK TABLE has just been flipped... (He is now the BIG DORK..) If you would like to march around proclaiming your "Norwegian-ess" You better.. Learn to SPEAK Norw...

Toothpaste in my hair & MUDDY bootprints on my navy suit... Looks like this is how my day is going to play out... N.I.C.E. Ever had toothpaste in your hair? It is a BITCH to get out... So now I am running around with my long ass bangs... separated...like my hair hasn't been washed, because I wasn't able to get the toothpaste out of my hair.... HOW did I get toothpaste in my hair? No freaking idea... trying to be super mommy doing 500 things while getting out the door... throw child in the car...(check) ... change of clothes for child so I can change her before the pre -school play..(check).... Rain boots & pants... (damn...) -check to see if boots are STILL muddy before your schlep them all over your Navy pants.... NOPE... OH Yes.... it is ONE of THOSE days.... I feel like crap & I am looking FUGLY ... I have bags under my eyes like (this chick) & I am having some sort of reaction to my mascara.... (anyone who knows me, knows I L.O.V.E. me some super...

The post of random questions... Stick with me, cause maybe there is something you can help me with...(lucky you!) MAY is such a crazy month... it is full of Holidays & ...birthdays... This week not only do we have school plays, but 3 birthday parties... along with 17 th of May (Norway's National day...- more about that next week..) So now, mommy has to make a mad dash to get gifts bought...clothes picked out... birthday party planned (Dane's next week) & the family vacation planned... I have a million random questions going through my head... maybe something you can help me with? (lucky you!) EXPAT QUESTION: 1.) Anyone know of any 4Th of July celebrations in the Berlin area? (told you they are RANDOM questions...) We will be kicking off our GRISWOLD- ish vacation in Berlin... Thought it would be nice if we could celebrate 4Th of July this year... Oslo has a big thing every year for the Americans .. thought maybe the Germans might have something too? (last year we blew...

This week was another fun one to play... this weeks theme is LAUGHTER.... Finally a NEW KID makes it onto my blog... this is my god daughter Sofie... Cute... NO? & talk about a GREAT LAUGH... Every time she starts to laugh it just CRACKS me up! I was at a loss of LAUGHING adults... I didn't have many to choose from ... & the ones I had, I figured my friends would kill me... I am entering this one for Dane... : ) We spent most of the weekend on the beach... sun was shining. Dane (9) Eva (4.5) & I were all armed with cameras taking pictures.... stay tuned for Dane's great photo blog debut... (my kid rocks...seriously) Head on over to I Heart Faces , & see who else is playing! Are you playing yet? if not...WHY NOT? Sooo many neat bloggers who WOW me every week...get on over there...go on ...

OK this is TOTALLY STOLEN from my little sister.... ali explains it all... (at least I am giving you credit this time around...) Seeing as we have the same mother... & we grew with the same "Life Lessons..." (I just heard them all about 12 years before my baby sister....) The Best Life Lessons My Mother Ever Taught Me: Beauty/Hygiene Edition Put your lipstick on… you’ll feel better. (usually said when I’m feeling fug) Always wear clean underwear It’s better to be over-dressed than under-dressed It hurts to be beautiful (as a child, this was usually said as she was pulling my ponytail tight) Always put your best foot forward… your first impression may be your last if your mother can’t tell you then who can? (usually relating to a bad outfit choice or hairstyle) Finally a little tidbit from my GRANDMOTHER... (my mom's mom...) "Just remember Meri T ... (she always called me Meri T.) a stiff peter has no conscious!" (this on still makes me giggle...) HA...

I just won a trip to AGENTINA! WOO HOO! Just got the call from my office... I am the lucky girl who gets to go to Argentina for a week to learn about all of the different wines.... WOO HOO... it will be a working/drinking/learning "work" vacation.. Not going until Nov-Dec... AFTER my trip to America... could this YEAR be more promising? Can you tell I am a little excited?

It's Friday, It's Friday, Thank Goodness it's Frid ay!!! YIPPEE!I'm playing Candid Carrie's Friday Foto Fiesta Finish again this week .So after you're done here, go over there and check out who's playing thi s week!!! 13 years ago this month (16th of May)... I landed in Oslo... First time in Norway & unable to speak the language.... I was 25, bright eyed & bushy tailed & ready to run off & marry my dashing Norwegian Officer after having spent only eight weeks sailing with him.... C R A Z Y!!!! Love Boat.. THE FINAL CHAPTER... ": As a mother now... I have to shake my head... ( Kids- mommy will seriously FREAK OUT , if either of you ever do the CRAZY things mommy did...) The first picture is my first summer here...(morning after our wedding...) We were married out on the island HVALER (pictured in my last post) (I did tell y'all that we had viking horns for the American's & Cowboy hats for all of the Norwegians... -here is...

Tuesday.... 9 hour work day... pick kids up...feed kids....drive "big" kid to boy-scouts.... G R E A T... not a regular scout meeting... somewhere 1/2 drive time... no idea where I am going... Should we just skip it? I'm tired & really don't feel like spending 2 hours in the car driving drop/pick him up for a 2 hour meeting... Crap... OK... I'll take him... threw kids in the car... along with my camera & started driving... Dane's meeting was at Kjøkøy Fort... (I had no idea what it was when I dropped him off....) The fortress was built by the Germans during the 2. World War. W O W ... it is so easy to forget all of the history around here... My mother in law still tells stories about when the Nazi's came to town...took over houses...the schools...threw her father in jail.... (this is a whole other post I have been brewing in my head....) The fort is located out on a chain of islands.... the sun was shining & reflecting off of the water.... in...

What a F-U-N week to play! There were several pictures that I really wanted to use this week, but ended up throwing this one out there & am hoping for the best... One of the things I LOVE about the challenges on I ♥ Faces, is going through & finding picture that will work for a challenge.... I had forgotten about this photo... I LOVE this one of Bjørn & Dane... the looks on both of their faces just MELTS-MY-HEART- Sigh... & bonus...daddy was wearing his baseball hat so it COUNTS! Head on over to I Heart Faces , & see who else is playing! Are you playing yet? if not...WHY NOT? Sooo many neat bloggers who WOW me every week...get on over there...go on ...