Happy 3rd Finniversary To Us!

Today is the 13th and that means 3 years ago today:

• I was 26 weeks pregnant with our first child.
• We were at the Halifax International Airport and they didn't charge us for travelling with the dogs because they had no idea how to.  (Due to the delay in the American airport we had to re-check our luggage and dogs and then we paid...thankfully it was only once!)
• We were re-routed to Connecticut airport instead of JFK for whatever reason and ended up missing our remaining flights...
• We got on the wrong trains in Helsinki to Jyv�skyl�...
• We finally gave up and left our dog's kennel boxes at some random train station :(.  Which totally sucks because we have bigger dogs and they were quite expensive (even second hand!)...
• Some tall stranger with long hair was running towards us when we got to the JKL train station and I nearly peed myself because I thought we were about to be robbed...(typical Nova Scotian thinking) - turned out to be my husband's supervisor there to pick us up and help us move to our flat.

Fast-forward 3-years:

• We have 2 boys...and gave them super Finnish names since they were born here.
• I am a champ at looking for cloth diapers and love using them - probably not something I would have done in Canada to be honest!
• We still have our dogs!  One is 9 and the other is almost 5.
• We still do not speak fluent Finnish - but we're working on that...
• We have not been to all of Finland - especially the super tourist-y places like Lapland (Northern Finland) for example...working on that one too.
• I've been to Ikea only once (it's a Swedish company).
• We still do not own or have rented a car - no need for one really.
• I have had 1 piece of black licorice and still do not like it...and no, we haven't tried salmiakki - a very strong black licorice.  Despite being advised to have a piece every now and again to increase my blood pressure during the second pregnancy - I have some sort of fear and often think of it as "Salmi-yucky".
• I still do not drink coffee...but the hubby says it is better than the stuff in Canada...
• I have a K Plussa card and an S Bonus card but require a Finnish ID card (55� - thinking about it) to spend the benefits earned on the green S Bonus Card....working on that one too.
• I've fought with Kela and won some things and lost others and still have a love-hate relationship with them.
• I should probably get new glasses with my eye sight going down the drain...I've had the same pair for over 4 years and clearly my sight is crappy.
• I'm learning how to ride a bike here...yup.  That's work in progress anyway.
• I still order my book from The Book Depository and DVDs from Play.com - because it's so much cheaper than buying here sometimes!  And a wider selection of English books - that's for sure!
• I've had a wide range of experiences with meeting people, other dog owners and of course the local drunks...
• I have made quite a few friends - despite doctors or random strangers believe to be true.  It's not hard - well, some friends took a bit of poking and prodding but now we chat quite regularly now - even in person! (HA you know who you are!)
• I admit I'm pretty good at faking Finnish - or at least the cultural part where you firmly nod your head and say "Joo..." (yes) and nothing else after that.
• We love it here!  And we really do hope to make this a permanent home for us and our family - as it would make things a lot easier - especially when it comes to learning Finnish! :D
  
  Here's to another few more!