Monday, October 29, 2007
Class dismissed
We finished our "Icelandic for Parents" class today. Sad to see it end. It was a great twice a week gathering where three of us (a mom from Malaysia, an au pair from Germany and me) attempted to learn some Icelandic from our patient, lovely teacher, Katrin, while trying to keep our toddlers in check.
Yesterday was snow and swim day. Isn't it everywhere? Stefan got to play outside in the snow for a long while and then we went to the pool. I got dragged up the stairs several times to go down the huge, winding slide and you know what? There was SNOW on the stairs. Not to mention it was just about 34 degrees outside. :-)
There is LOTS more snow today and it's still coming down hard as I write. It's white as rice out there. Arni RODE his BIKE, with his newly installed studded tires, to work today. It was 25 degrees and dark as night. Stefan was laying in the snow, in his snowsuit, eating snow, when I arrived to pick him up this afternoon. Time to get some sleds for the boys (and put the snow tires on the car so I don't slide down the unsalted hill that leads from our building to the street)!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Look out of the window!
"It´s SNOW!'" Stefan exclaimed this morning. Yup, the last week of October and we have snow on the ground. The mountains are powdery white and gorgeous. There´s only a bit on the ground, but it´s reason to celebrate for the little guy.
"Yippee, it´s winter!"
Ugh, scraping windshields, icy roads.....
"Can I play in it?"
It´s getting darker by the day...
"This is so fun!" he screams as he runs down the little hill from our building to the preschool gate. Unlike his mother, Stefan will be able to tell his kids someday that he walked to school in the snow as a kid.
Kids. The best reminder of how to see the world from a pure, uncluttered perspective.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
A great day, except for that trip to the ER
It was a beautiful day, in the 30's, but clear and sunny. I went to pick up Stefan from school and was going to stay for a bit to let Finnur play. I was quietly watching Stefan build a sand tower and when he finally saw me standing outside the sand area, he came running. Just before reaching me, he tripped and, as horrible luck would have it, went cheek first into the wood sand barrier. I happened to have my camera in the backpack so here's a peek a the cheek:
Does any mother get to avoid this scenario? I have been thinking of late how fortunate we've been to steer clear of the ER in the last 4 1/2 years. Of course I have been haunted by the imagine of his fall ever since and sure wish it hadn't happened. Everyone at the school was very helpful and sympathetic. They kept saying, "Can your husband come?" I had the car, so no, he couldn't come. It took a bit of deep breathing to keep from falling apart, but I didn't want Stefan to see me looking scared. I loaded the kids into the car, Stefan holding a cool cloth to his profusely bleeding face, and picked up Arni from work on the way to the ER.
It looked busy inside so we braced ourselves for a long wait. Thankfully, they had a kid's waiting room with great toys and books. I read book after book to an anxious Stefan (well, interpreted the pictures in Icelandic kid's books is more like it) while Arni entertained Finnur. Finally, a man came and called, "Stefan". I couldn't tell who this person was. Turns out it was the doctor! He spoke perfect English and so did the medical student (a young Chinese man, from Holland, named Tony - go figure) who stayed with us most of the time and kept bringing juice. We would have been done fairly fast, but a car accident came in and the doc had to leave for a while. Arni worked on getting Finnur to sleep while I tried to keep Stefan happy and his wound from dripping blood all over the place.
Finally, the doctor came back and it was time to stitch. UGH. I talked to him about using the "glue" they have now for cuts, but he said it was way too deep for that, sadly. We decided to give Stefan a suppository (no, he wasn't too amused with the nurse putting that in his bum) that within five minutes had him acting as if he'd had about six beers. It was VERY funny to hear him slurring his words and gushing at the nurse. It didn't keep him from crying and needing to be held down by four of us during the numbing shots and stitches, but he seems to have no memory of that part of the journey.
The nurse gave him lots of fun "rewards" for being brave - bubbles, stickers, etc. - but his most treasured take was a little wound care kit he got to bring home. He's been playing "nurse" (not doctor, mind you) and taking care of cuts that Arni, Finnur and I bring to the ER we have set up at home now. He hasn't complained once since getting the stitches - I think there are three - and was very proud to go to school and show off his bandage this morning. There's a great bruise developing and this morning it looked like a black eye is on it's way. I admit my biggest downer in all this is thinking about the scar that he will wear as a daily reminder of the experience. It'll add character, right?
Oh, and the bill? $25. I'll update if we get another bill down the road, but I am sure a big fan of socialized medicine so far!
Does any mother get to avoid this scenario? I have been thinking of late how fortunate we've been to steer clear of the ER in the last 4 1/2 years. Of course I have been haunted by the imagine of his fall ever since and sure wish it hadn't happened. Everyone at the school was very helpful and sympathetic. They kept saying, "Can your husband come?" I had the car, so no, he couldn't come. It took a bit of deep breathing to keep from falling apart, but I didn't want Stefan to see me looking scared. I loaded the kids into the car, Stefan holding a cool cloth to his profusely bleeding face, and picked up Arni from work on the way to the ER.
It looked busy inside so we braced ourselves for a long wait. Thankfully, they had a kid's waiting room with great toys and books. I read book after book to an anxious Stefan (well, interpreted the pictures in Icelandic kid's books is more like it) while Arni entertained Finnur. Finally, a man came and called, "Stefan". I couldn't tell who this person was. Turns out it was the doctor! He spoke perfect English and so did the medical student (a young Chinese man, from Holland, named Tony - go figure) who stayed with us most of the time and kept bringing juice. We would have been done fairly fast, but a car accident came in and the doc had to leave for a while. Arni worked on getting Finnur to sleep while I tried to keep Stefan happy and his wound from dripping blood all over the place.
Finally, the doctor came back and it was time to stitch. UGH. I talked to him about using the "glue" they have now for cuts, but he said it was way too deep for that, sadly. We decided to give Stefan a suppository (no, he wasn't too amused with the nurse putting that in his bum) that within five minutes had him acting as if he'd had about six beers. It was VERY funny to hear him slurring his words and gushing at the nurse. It didn't keep him from crying and needing to be held down by four of us during the numbing shots and stitches, but he seems to have no memory of that part of the journey.
The nurse gave him lots of fun "rewards" for being brave - bubbles, stickers, etc. - but his most treasured take was a little wound care kit he got to bring home. He's been playing "nurse" (not doctor, mind you) and taking care of cuts that Arni, Finnur and I bring to the ER we have set up at home now. He hasn't complained once since getting the stitches - I think there are three - and was very proud to go to school and show off his bandage this morning. There's a great bruise developing and this morning it looked like a black eye is on it's way. I admit my biggest downer in all this is thinking about the scar that he will wear as a daily reminder of the experience. It'll add character, right?
Oh, and the bill? $25. I'll update if we get another bill down the road, but I am sure a big fan of socialized medicine so far!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Making connections.......see what I'm up against?
So, I've been trying to tell people that Icelanders can be very shy and stoic when you don't know them. Now, I have proof to show you! The below link is to an interview on NPR with Sigur Ros, a pretty famous Icelandic band. Now you can see what I mean!
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/when_good_interviews_go_bad.html
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/when_good_interviews_go_bad.html
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
There are some distinct advantages...
to having a preschool in your backyard. This morning, we forgot to bring Stefan's rain boots when we went to school. After Finnur went to sleep an hour later, I ran the rain boots over to him on the playground. (miraculously, it wasn't raining, but it's still pretty muddy out there). Total round trip time = four minutes. Afi and Amma came for dinner last night as they were in town running some errands. Amma brought the boys some new, much needed snowsuits! Stefan stayed in his for quite some time, playing an astronaut flying to Mars.
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Great Rain Escape
We did it, finally took a day for just the two of us. Granted, we were traveling with 25 other people, but we were kidless. They had a blast with their Uncle Toti, Aunt Thora and cousin Heidrun and I'm pretty sure they didn't miss us much at all.
It was a lovely day, at least where we were - three hours from the city. (Did I just write "lovely"? It was in the 40's!) The key is that it wasn't raining and there was little wind, and I've quickly learned - or should I say re-learned from my Iowa days - that it's all about how you dress.
Back in Reykjavik, it was total yuck, the September usual (by the way, it's been the WETTEST September EVER on record).
You can see more of the day at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tucsondi/sets/72157602212045366/
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