It's been awhile since I wrote in my Finnish Blog - so here I am!
I previously mentioned that elementary school starts at the age of 7 up until they are 19. So there are still the standard 12 grades and the education system here is quite excellent I've been told.
Well get this - students (during elementary school straight until graduation of high school) get free, nutritious and HOT lunch. Everyday until they graduate high school. That means - no purchasing of lunch bags, ziploc bags, thermoses or having to remember to pack a lunch for your kid everyday- Monday through to Friday. This also means not having to find mold in a forgotten lunch container, missing lids to plastic containers or having your child starve because they forgot their lunch bag on the bus or on the counter.
WOW. In Canada there's presently talks (if it's not done already) of having to pay for supervision in the lunch rooms.
Oh I got my hospital bills for when I delivered and stayed there. Including V�in�'s ICU visit. Per day worked out to be approximately 30 Euros (1 Euro = ~ $1.50 CDN)....these bills should be corrected tomorrow when I go to the Neuvola as I finally got paper work from the Kela stating that I was covered since August.
As well - hurrah! I finally got my Kela card!
Today I went to the S-Market downtown and Tim had requested "Finnish Danishes"on the grocery list. The running joke being that danishes are a food as well as the proper term for someone from Denmark. However these "danishes" (the edible kind) are baked by Finnish people.
Anyways - I got a bag with a couple of freshly baked danishes (mine is sitting near me on the table waiting to be gobbled up) and just noticed that the label says:
"PIKKUWIENER"
The Finnish language is a tricky one...many multiple words are combined into a single word. For example a street in English might be: "Tulip Street"
However in Finnish - it's all one word. The street I live on is "Valajankatu".
"katu" being the "street" or road.
Which makes it quite difficult while trying to translate documents in Finnish (presently working on that now) as the word on the paper may not be written as is, in the dictionary!
I may have to learn Finnish fairly soon.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
"K" is for Kela
Kela as previously mentioned is the social service system here in Finland. Such things are covered by Kela: maternity/paternity leave, compensation, un-employment, the massive maternity package with the clothing in it etc.
The big thing also covered by Kela is the health insurance as well. You get a little card with your name on it and the pharmacy (Aptekki) only bills you what is remaining to be owed that the Kela does not cover.
I was not covered until now. I will be receiving my documents some time next week - but it has been an ongoing battle with them because at first we were both (Tim and I) rejected. I was able to deliver V�in� without charge and stay at the hospital without charge - but the specialist appointments (while still pregnant) I later found out, cost me 25 Euros and some change. Got the bills in the mail. We were rejected at first because Kela didn't understand Tim's position at the university. He's doing his phD program here in Finland - however he's technically doing research for the university and therefor deemed an employee of the school too. So that's where the confusion was.
Then Tim got his lovely Kela card in the mail - and I did not. We thought for awhile maybe we were supposed to share. But that wasn't the case - I was still on the chopping block for coverage. I ended up paying full price for my inhaler anyways - as I was in desperate need of it prior to V�in�'s arrival. Thankfully they have forms that you can fill out and the Kela can credit your bank account once you file a claim. And I won't have to pay those bills from the clinic - just show them my Kela stuff and I'll be free!
OH and best part - the orthodontist gets covered by the Kela too (not sure of exact amount)!! I had no idea. We were under the assumption that Kela wouldn't cover braces - because how many insurance companies in Canada actually do?! Blue Cross does, Great West Life covers a portion and so does Sunlife (military). That's all that I know of - and braces in Canada were 205$/month or about $6000 over a span of 2-2.5 years. And the above mentioned companies only cover up to $1500.00.
The big thing also covered by Kela is the health insurance as well. You get a little card with your name on it and the pharmacy (Aptekki) only bills you what is remaining to be owed that the Kela does not cover.
I was not covered until now. I will be receiving my documents some time next week - but it has been an ongoing battle with them because at first we were both (Tim and I) rejected. I was able to deliver V�in� without charge and stay at the hospital without charge - but the specialist appointments (while still pregnant) I later found out, cost me 25 Euros and some change. Got the bills in the mail. We were rejected at first because Kela didn't understand Tim's position at the university. He's doing his phD program here in Finland - however he's technically doing research for the university and therefor deemed an employee of the school too. So that's where the confusion was.
Then Tim got his lovely Kela card in the mail - and I did not. We thought for awhile maybe we were supposed to share. But that wasn't the case - I was still on the chopping block for coverage. I ended up paying full price for my inhaler anyways - as I was in desperate need of it prior to V�in�'s arrival. Thankfully they have forms that you can fill out and the Kela can credit your bank account once you file a claim. And I won't have to pay those bills from the clinic - just show them my Kela stuff and I'll be free!
OH and best part - the orthodontist gets covered by the Kela too (not sure of exact amount)!! I had no idea. We were under the assumption that Kela wouldn't cover braces - because how many insurance companies in Canada actually do?! Blue Cross does, Great West Life covers a portion and so does Sunlife (military). That's all that I know of - and braces in Canada were 205$/month or about $6000 over a span of 2-2.5 years. And the above mentioned companies only cover up to $1500.00.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
P.S. "PC" is for Pocket Change - not just Personal Computer!
I forgot to mention in my previous post "O is for OW and Orthodontist"....that one should always have pocket change when in Europe.
Why? (Because if I haven't mentioned it before - I apologize if this is old material) In case you need the bathroom. Or "WC - water closet" as it's known here.
When in public - whether it be Grilli 21, Hesburger, the mall or a public independent porta potty - you need to pay to use it. That's right. It can cost upwards of 50 Euro Cents (or more? I don't know). I suppose it's for the independent cleaners that come in and have to scrub and sanitize the washrooms - so it makes sense.
Thankfully in the hospital there is no charge, or in the library or majority of restaurants. I used to go into Tim's office and use the public washrooms there when I was still pregnant and V�in� was bouncing on my bladder.
Oh and while I was knitting/waiting for my turn at getting stabbed with the H1N1 - there were some senior citizens ahead of me and when the nurse called out a number (in Finnish) one elderly lady jumped up (literally JUMPED) from her seat and had her sleeve rolled up and her number in her hand like it was the winning lotto ticket. We all had a good chuckle - I think because A) she looked awfully excited to be getting stabbed in the arms and B) she was at least 70 and very spry.
I had a Hesburger combo today (Kerro-sateria the equivalent of a Big Mac Combo but messier) before my Orthodontist appointment and remembered to pack my tooth brush and tooth paste so Juha wouldn't be offended by any bits of burger stuck in my brackets. Well I also remembered to bring a 50 Euro Cents coin, and some little coins (about 40 Euro cents) with me so I could use a washroom to brush my teeth. I went to a bathroom in the mall where H&M is because I've been in there before and it's clean. I wasn't sure how clean the Hesburger one was. Well the 50 cents didn't fit in the slot and the door handle ate the rest of my change but wouldn't open up! ARGH! So maybe I was short some change - and of course with my luck - nobody was coming out of the bathroom! Ugh - needless to say - I was quite embarrassed to finally make it to the Orthodontist Office and not have minty-fresh breath.
On that note- I am going to quit my habit of going downtown and having a Kerro-sateria. NO MORE HESBURGER - maybe once a month. But that's it. V�in� had a really icky diaper last night and today he had 3 in a row. I'm blaming it on the Hesburger as I did have one yesterday (not a Big Mac style just a regular plain burger) and then I had my monsterous Kerro today. Let's see if me kickin' the Hesburger-can will help.
Thankfully my next appointment with the orthodontist is after 3pm - so I won't be eating by then!
Why? (Because if I haven't mentioned it before - I apologize if this is old material) In case you need the bathroom. Or "WC - water closet" as it's known here.
When in public - whether it be Grilli 21, Hesburger, the mall or a public independent porta potty - you need to pay to use it. That's right. It can cost upwards of 50 Euro Cents (or more? I don't know). I suppose it's for the independent cleaners that come in and have to scrub and sanitize the washrooms - so it makes sense.
Thankfully in the hospital there is no charge, or in the library or majority of restaurants. I used to go into Tim's office and use the public washrooms there when I was still pregnant and V�in� was bouncing on my bladder.
Oh and while I was knitting/waiting for my turn at getting stabbed with the H1N1 - there were some senior citizens ahead of me and when the nurse called out a number (in Finnish) one elderly lady jumped up (literally JUMPED) from her seat and had her sleeve rolled up and her number in her hand like it was the winning lotto ticket. We all had a good chuckle - I think because A) she looked awfully excited to be getting stabbed in the arms and B) she was at least 70 and very spry.
I had a Hesburger combo today (Kerro-sateria the equivalent of a Big Mac Combo but messier) before my Orthodontist appointment and remembered to pack my tooth brush and tooth paste so Juha wouldn't be offended by any bits of burger stuck in my brackets. Well I also remembered to bring a 50 Euro Cents coin, and some little coins (about 40 Euro cents) with me so I could use a washroom to brush my teeth. I went to a bathroom in the mall where H&M is because I've been in there before and it's clean. I wasn't sure how clean the Hesburger one was. Well the 50 cents didn't fit in the slot and the door handle ate the rest of my change but wouldn't open up! ARGH! So maybe I was short some change - and of course with my luck - nobody was coming out of the bathroom! Ugh - needless to say - I was quite embarrassed to finally make it to the Orthodontist Office and not have minty-fresh breath.
On that note- I am going to quit my habit of going downtown and having a Kerro-sateria. NO MORE HESBURGER - maybe once a month. But that's it. V�in� had a really icky diaper last night and today he had 3 in a row. I'm blaming it on the Hesburger as I did have one yesterday (not a Big Mac style just a regular plain burger) and then I had my monsterous Kerro today. Let's see if me kickin' the Hesburger-can will help.
Thankfully my next appointment with the orthodontist is after 3pm - so I won't be eating by then!
"O" is for OW! and for Orthodontist
Today I got my flu and H1N1 shots. Not sure if they have the adjuvent or not unfortunately - but at least I have it should I come in contact with a sickly person. That being said - once it fully kicks in my system - I'll be able to pass the antibodies on to V�in� via breast feeding. H1N1 is in the left arm and it hurts a lot! Hence the "OW" in my subject heading. Because I didn't have my Kela (insurance) card - I got to hang with the senior citizens while waiting for my shot.
I did a bit of shopping today - picked up some bones for the dogs, stamps for Christmas cards, printed some photos at a photo lab (that is closed during the month of December)...it's 50 Euro Cents for your first print then 30 Euro Cents for each print after that. Not too bad and done in an hour. It's a FujiFilm shop. Oh and I got a couple cute things for friends who had babies recently (can't say what in case they read this on FB).
I got lost going to the Orthodontist. The address I was given by a dental student (who kindly responded to my ad in Tori about needing these services) - was the street parallel to where the Orthodontist's office actually was and a couple numbers wrong.
I'm sure the receptionist hates my guts by now - I called 3x to figure out where the heck the office was. She even went outside to try and find me. Then the Orthodontist, Juha, actually called me and asked if I knew where I was. Thankfully - he does speak perfect English.
For those of you that have Dr. Christopher Baker for a dentist in Dartmouth (Dart. Shop Ctr.) - my orthodontist looks like him. Glasses, sandy blonde hair, nice teeth (but not as blinding white) and maybe not as tall or as many children. Very nice.
During my consultation we discussed my previous treatment in Canada and everything seems okay with him. He put a wire on my bottom teeth as they were spreading and thankfully put nice/clean/new elastics on my top teeth - as they were "very yellow". Yes it's been awhile. I was supposed to see an orthodontist by the end of September - well that didn't happen.
So he gave me an estimate of cost and it's cheaper than Canada. How sad is that?! For the next few months - he figures I'll have the braces off during the early New Year (so by March I'm hoping!) - including the cost of the permanent wires/bites (retainers) - it's about 500 Euros. SWEET. It was costing me a little over $200/month for my braces back in Canada. My consultation cost was supposed to be 16-17 Euros - but they didn't charge me....she said next time?
This would never happen in Canada. BTW my consultation fee in Halifax was $70 - just so you can compare 16 or 17 E against 70 Canadian DOLLARS. OW.
PS I got a reflector tag in the shape of a butterfly (it was slim pickings!) - so now people can see me before they hit me. It's dangling on a string on my knapsack...it gets pitch black (think midnight darkness) by 3:15pm now - if not earlier. Thought I'd share this. I feel like a "true Finn" now.
As Finnish as a Canadian can get.
I did a bit of shopping today - picked up some bones for the dogs, stamps for Christmas cards, printed some photos at a photo lab (that is closed during the month of December)...it's 50 Euro Cents for your first print then 30 Euro Cents for each print after that. Not too bad and done in an hour. It's a FujiFilm shop. Oh and I got a couple cute things for friends who had babies recently (can't say what in case they read this on FB).
I got lost going to the Orthodontist. The address I was given by a dental student (who kindly responded to my ad in Tori about needing these services) - was the street parallel to where the Orthodontist's office actually was and a couple numbers wrong.
I'm sure the receptionist hates my guts by now - I called 3x to figure out where the heck the office was. She even went outside to try and find me. Then the Orthodontist, Juha, actually called me and asked if I knew where I was. Thankfully - he does speak perfect English.
For those of you that have Dr. Christopher Baker for a dentist in Dartmouth (Dart. Shop Ctr.) - my orthodontist looks like him. Glasses, sandy blonde hair, nice teeth (but not as blinding white) and maybe not as tall or as many children. Very nice.
During my consultation we discussed my previous treatment in Canada and everything seems okay with him. He put a wire on my bottom teeth as they were spreading and thankfully put nice/clean/new elastics on my top teeth - as they were "very yellow". Yes it's been awhile. I was supposed to see an orthodontist by the end of September - well that didn't happen.
So he gave me an estimate of cost and it's cheaper than Canada. How sad is that?! For the next few months - he figures I'll have the braces off during the early New Year (so by March I'm hoping!) - including the cost of the permanent wires/bites (retainers) - it's about 500 Euros. SWEET. It was costing me a little over $200/month for my braces back in Canada. My consultation cost was supposed to be 16-17 Euros - but they didn't charge me....she said next time?
This would never happen in Canada. BTW my consultation fee in Halifax was $70 - just so you can compare 16 or 17 E against 70 Canadian DOLLARS. OW.
PS I got a reflector tag in the shape of a butterfly (it was slim pickings!) - so now people can see me before they hit me. It's dangling on a string on my knapsack...it gets pitch black (think midnight darkness) by 3:15pm now - if not earlier. Thought I'd share this. I feel like a "true Finn" now.
As Finnish as a Canadian can get.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
After-Labour in Finland + a funny nurse appointment
So after you deliver a baby - you get a diaper bag in your room. The diaper bag is by the Libero brand and it's packed with goodies. It's lime green by the way. Each year they come out with a new color I was told.
There was a 10 pack of diapers, a package of wipes (64), a little hat, a few coupons and pamphlets, a change pad, a hardcover children's book (Ratatouille - in Finnish), a pair of disposable breast pads, a little bottle of oil for cracked nipples...and a soft toy that rattles that you can clip on to something. I think that was all! It was crazy! I don't think you get that in Halifax.
When we left the hospital they didn't inspect the car seat like we were expecting them to.
The standard stay is 2-3 days after deliver depending on the health of your child, your stitches (or c-section) and your general health as well. I checked out early after 2 days because V�in� was put in ICU - so even if I did stay in the hospital - I'd still have visitation hours between 8am-9pm. Or I could go home and use the bathroom in private (I had a room mate my 2nd night there) and eat my own food. Not that the food wasn't good - as it was really good. But I usually ended up missing their tea/snack times and breakfast as I would be nursing V�in�. Everybody got the same food - you just had to go during a certain time frame to get it and then put your dishes away afterward. Breakfast (the one time I had it) - was oatmeal and an apple. Lunch is usually a bigger meal (i.e. fish, potatos, veggies) and supper was always a soup. BLEGH. I'd prefer soup for a lunch personally - but that's alright. It was all delicious - considering it was hospital food. It's really amusing seeing a bunch of women in these robes, socks and sandals with their hair all messy and looking like they walked out of the gym (aka tired)...shuffling into a line up for food. Almost like a weight-loss club atmosphere. Haha.
Even the restaurant/cafeteria that was attached to the hospital (yet had it's own entrance as well) - didn't look like a cafeteria. Unless you counted the people eating that were wearing scrubs or some sort of medical-looking outfit.
We had an appointment at the Neuvola the other day and the nurse, Katri, asked how the labour was and so on. I told her all things considering - it went very well. 5 hours isn't a big deal compared to some women who go for at least 20 hours or more!
She smiles and says, "Do you think you will want another baby soon?"
Once I managed to scrape my dropped jaw off the floor - "Definitely not. I only want one right now. The pain was just a little too much for my liking."
"Oh but it gets easier with the 2nd labor and multiple labors after the first one. The first one's the hardest but after that - it just gets easier."
SHE TRIED TO SELL THE IDEA OF HAVING ANOTHER 9-10MONTH PREGNANCY/X-AMOUNT OF HOURS LABOR TO ME. This being an issue as she's not going through the pain for me. HA.
I just told her - oh well maybe in 5 years.
"So you'd like to start contraceptives soon then?" Katri
"Oh yes - as soon as possible. I don't want another baby any time soon. Thanks."
There was a 10 pack of diapers, a package of wipes (64), a little hat, a few coupons and pamphlets, a change pad, a hardcover children's book (Ratatouille - in Finnish), a pair of disposable breast pads, a little bottle of oil for cracked nipples...and a soft toy that rattles that you can clip on to something. I think that was all! It was crazy! I don't think you get that in Halifax.
When we left the hospital they didn't inspect the car seat like we were expecting them to.
The standard stay is 2-3 days after deliver depending on the health of your child, your stitches (or c-section) and your general health as well. I checked out early after 2 days because V�in� was put in ICU - so even if I did stay in the hospital - I'd still have visitation hours between 8am-9pm. Or I could go home and use the bathroom in private (I had a room mate my 2nd night there) and eat my own food. Not that the food wasn't good - as it was really good. But I usually ended up missing their tea/snack times and breakfast as I would be nursing V�in�. Everybody got the same food - you just had to go during a certain time frame to get it and then put your dishes away afterward. Breakfast (the one time I had it) - was oatmeal and an apple. Lunch is usually a bigger meal (i.e. fish, potatos, veggies) and supper was always a soup. BLEGH. I'd prefer soup for a lunch personally - but that's alright. It was all delicious - considering it was hospital food. It's really amusing seeing a bunch of women in these robes, socks and sandals with their hair all messy and looking like they walked out of the gym (aka tired)...shuffling into a line up for food. Almost like a weight-loss club atmosphere. Haha.
Even the restaurant/cafeteria that was attached to the hospital (yet had it's own entrance as well) - didn't look like a cafeteria. Unless you counted the people eating that were wearing scrubs or some sort of medical-looking outfit.
We had an appointment at the Neuvola the other day and the nurse, Katri, asked how the labour was and so on. I told her all things considering - it went very well. 5 hours isn't a big deal compared to some women who go for at least 20 hours or more!
She smiles and says, "Do you think you will want another baby soon?"
Once I managed to scrape my dropped jaw off the floor - "Definitely not. I only want one right now. The pain was just a little too much for my liking."
"Oh but it gets easier with the 2nd labor and multiple labors after the first one. The first one's the hardest but after that - it just gets easier."
SHE TRIED TO SELL THE IDEA OF HAVING ANOTHER 9-10MONTH PREGNANCY/X-AMOUNT OF HOURS LABOR TO ME. This being an issue as she's not going through the pain for me. HA.
I just told her - oh well maybe in 5 years.
"So you'd like to start contraceptives soon then?" Katri
"Oh yes - as soon as possible. I don't want another baby any time soon. Thanks."
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Do YOU use snow tires?
So it's been awhile since I've written in my blog (10 days) - I was previously writing about V�in� by simply using Facebook Notes.
Now let's talk tires. Here in Finland it is mandatory to have winter tires from December 1st until March 31st. Some people test their luck and wait until November 30th and sometimes get lucky because there hasn't been any snow. Some "All-season" or "All-weather" tires do qualify as "winter tires" but Finland has a particular criteria or rating the tire has to fulfill before it is accepted.
Yesterday we experienced our first "snow storm". Because it's not overly windy here - it just looked like "snow". The trees weren't on the verge of falling over, the power lines are all underground anyways - so no lights flickered...it was really nice and pretty.
I will take many pictures later on and post them. From our balcony the trees are coated in a thick white layer of snow and it's sooooo pretty looking!
I got V�in�'s documents from the Public Registar (Mastraati)'s office yesterday. We had it translated by Taneli during supper last night and V�in� is considered born "out of wedlock". Yes- they still use that term here...for those of you that don't know what that means - it means a child born to a parent(s) that are "not legally married". Not sure what the procedure is in Canada and how it affects a child - however here for us, it is a major issue.
As the mother - I am the legal guardian. As of right now- Tim has "nothing" to do with V�in� as he's not considered a parent or legal guardian until a paternity test is taken - either via court order or by him volunteering. Or by us proving our marriage - which we're still working on.
So if a father is not a legal guardian - does he have to provide for the child? No - he doesn't. From what I understand and have read (hospital provided tonnes of pamphlets) V�in� or I cannot accept any sort of monetary support from Tim given his birth out of wedlock scenario.
It's a fairly interesting system to say the least - however in terms of proving our marriage - that's stupid and a very lengthy process (which has been mentioned in previous blog posts).
On a lighter note - today we have an appointment with Katri, our Neuvola nurse (building behind us), to see how much weight Mr. V�in� has gained and so forth. Should be fun!
Now let's talk tires. Here in Finland it is mandatory to have winter tires from December 1st until March 31st. Some people test their luck and wait until November 30th and sometimes get lucky because there hasn't been any snow. Some "All-season" or "All-weather" tires do qualify as "winter tires" but Finland has a particular criteria or rating the tire has to fulfill before it is accepted.
Yesterday we experienced our first "snow storm". Because it's not overly windy here - it just looked like "snow". The trees weren't on the verge of falling over, the power lines are all underground anyways - so no lights flickered...it was really nice and pretty.
I will take many pictures later on and post them. From our balcony the trees are coated in a thick white layer of snow and it's sooooo pretty looking!
I got V�in�'s documents from the Public Registar (Mastraati)'s office yesterday. We had it translated by Taneli during supper last night and V�in� is considered born "out of wedlock". Yes- they still use that term here...for those of you that don't know what that means - it means a child born to a parent(s) that are "not legally married". Not sure what the procedure is in Canada and how it affects a child - however here for us, it is a major issue.
As the mother - I am the legal guardian. As of right now- Tim has "nothing" to do with V�in� as he's not considered a parent or legal guardian until a paternity test is taken - either via court order or by him volunteering. Or by us proving our marriage - which we're still working on.
So if a father is not a legal guardian - does he have to provide for the child? No - he doesn't. From what I understand and have read (hospital provided tonnes of pamphlets) V�in� or I cannot accept any sort of monetary support from Tim given his birth out of wedlock scenario.
It's a fairly interesting system to say the least - however in terms of proving our marriage - that's stupid and a very lengthy process (which has been mentioned in previous blog posts).
On a lighter note - today we have an appointment with Katri, our Neuvola nurse (building behind us), to see how much weight Mr. V�in� has gained and so forth. Should be fun!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
I'm terribly excited.
I'm sorry - we haven't had the baby as of 9:46pm.
HOWEVER! We are the proud new owners of a kettle. Boo-yeah!
Anybody that knows Tim - knows he has to (and loves to) drink a lot of fluid - his fluid of choice being loose-leaf green tea. His tea pot I got him a couple of years ago holds 1 full liter - he drinks at least 3-5 of these a day.
He's been using pots to boil water - which was annoying as heck for awhile as we only had 1 large pot and 1 little pot. And if I wanted to make mashed potatoes in the big pot and carrots in the little one - well I had to wait for Tim to finish boiling his water. Thankfully Jessica came to the rescue and found some pots that they no longer needed (due to possible gluten contamination) - so we now have plenty of pots.
This evening we went out to the City Market (aka the massive grocery store with a massive cow in the dairy section - complete with udder and working bell) and as I was mosey-ing about - I saw a kettle. Not an electric one - which is fine. But a kettle that wasn't 40-50 Euros! It was 9,95E!!!! I'm super excited. Now I'm able to enjoy hot beverages too without fear of spilling hot water all over myself or worse, on the dogs waiting at my feet! And it whistles but not one of those ear-splitting-nails-down-a-chalkboard whistle. Just a light whistle to let you know that your water is done.
Other gems of the night include a tea steeper (now I can finally enjoy the loose leaf tea Jessica gave me for women who want to breast feed - I previously kept forgetting to pick one up downtown), some cereal (some apple/cinnamon muslix concoction - quite delicious), 2 WHOLE FRICKIN' KGS WORTH OF CARROTS (I love carrots so much), a large bag of dog food and some bulk candy. I took a bite of a light brown octopus - and it was salty with a hint of licorice...ick.
Oh and massive tubes of tooth paste, bottles of body wash and shampoo etc. All the usual stuff :)
In the car on the way home I read "Mr. Brown Can Moo - Can You?" to Sulevi and he's in the phase of repeating certain things and "Mr. Brown" was the chosen phrase for the night. (The other night was "Gruffalo")
When Taneli and Sulevi dropped us off - Sulevi told me he loved me. It melts my heart... :)
When we walked in - all was peaceful and the dogs were excited to see us. Which is nice.
Oh and of course Loki had to show that he missed us by leaving an empty bag of this soft/sweet square bread (I didn't even get the chance to take a picture of it yet!) that reminded us of the potato bread we tried with Taneli a few days ago! Here's the crazy part...
The bag was not torn and Tim had left the plastic tag on it - which I just found still in a circular shape. Loki was able to pull off a small plastic tag off the bread bag and eat the contents of the bag without ripping a single hole in the bag. (I am secretly impressed and proud - with the exception of him stealing food.)
Thankfully Tim had an ice-cream cone from the City Market to keep his mind off the missing bread and as well he had consumed more than 5 pieces of the bread (unlike the poor Domino cookies from last week).
Well that's all for now!
HOWEVER! We are the proud new owners of a kettle. Boo-yeah!
Anybody that knows Tim - knows he has to (and loves to) drink a lot of fluid - his fluid of choice being loose-leaf green tea. His tea pot I got him a couple of years ago holds 1 full liter - he drinks at least 3-5 of these a day.
He's been using pots to boil water - which was annoying as heck for awhile as we only had 1 large pot and 1 little pot. And if I wanted to make mashed potatoes in the big pot and carrots in the little one - well I had to wait for Tim to finish boiling his water. Thankfully Jessica came to the rescue and found some pots that they no longer needed (due to possible gluten contamination) - so we now have plenty of pots.
This evening we went out to the City Market (aka the massive grocery store with a massive cow in the dairy section - complete with udder and working bell) and as I was mosey-ing about - I saw a kettle. Not an electric one - which is fine. But a kettle that wasn't 40-50 Euros! It was 9,95E!!!! I'm super excited. Now I'm able to enjoy hot beverages too without fear of spilling hot water all over myself or worse, on the dogs waiting at my feet! And it whistles but not one of those ear-splitting-nails-down-a-chalkboard whistle. Just a light whistle to let you know that your water is done.
Other gems of the night include a tea steeper (now I can finally enjoy the loose leaf tea Jessica gave me for women who want to breast feed - I previously kept forgetting to pick one up downtown), some cereal (some apple/cinnamon muslix concoction - quite delicious), 2 WHOLE FRICKIN' KGS WORTH OF CARROTS (I love carrots so much), a large bag of dog food and some bulk candy. I took a bite of a light brown octopus - and it was salty with a hint of licorice...ick.
Oh and massive tubes of tooth paste, bottles of body wash and shampoo etc. All the usual stuff :)
In the car on the way home I read "Mr. Brown Can Moo - Can You?" to Sulevi and he's in the phase of repeating certain things and "Mr. Brown" was the chosen phrase for the night. (The other night was "Gruffalo")
When Taneli and Sulevi dropped us off - Sulevi told me he loved me. It melts my heart... :)
When we walked in - all was peaceful and the dogs were excited to see us. Which is nice.
Oh and of course Loki had to show that he missed us by leaving an empty bag of this soft/sweet square bread (I didn't even get the chance to take a picture of it yet!) that reminded us of the potato bread we tried with Taneli a few days ago! Here's the crazy part...
The bag was not torn and Tim had left the plastic tag on it - which I just found still in a circular shape. Loki was able to pull off a small plastic tag off the bread bag and eat the contents of the bag without ripping a single hole in the bag. (I am secretly impressed and proud - with the exception of him stealing food.)
Thankfully Tim had an ice-cream cone from the City Market to keep his mind off the missing bread and as well he had consumed more than 5 pieces of the bread (unlike the poor Domino cookies from last week).
Well that's all for now!
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