My day starts around 4am, when Lars wakes up convinced he will starve to death unless he has a bottle RIGHT NOW - no amount of 'crying it out' or soothing back rubs will convince him otherwise. Grandma's theory is that he's figured out how to get some extra Mommy time in a 24-hr period.
Back to bed for me, and then the alarm goes off at 5.30am and Nilsen gets up, goes to the basement to check emails, talk to the Swedes, and shower without waking the kids up. He's supposed to wake me up at 6.15 when he leaves the house to drive 30 long slow miles around the Beltway to Reston,VA and his new project mgmt job, before Washington traffic really kicks in. Instead, we have a conversation, he turns on the lights, and I fall back to sleep for an exhausted 30 mins until 6.45 when Cecilie comes creeping into our room and puts her cold feet on my belly to warm up, and we listen to Lars chatting to himself next door.
7am, we're all out of bed and Cecilie is shrieking 'GOOD MORNING LARS!' as we go in to change his diapers. 7.20 and usually we've made it downstairs where I start the kettle boiling for coffee (1st priority - and when I think about how Nilsen & I used to be so snobbish about instant coffee!). By this point Cecilie has requested her Cinderella DVD about 6 times, and we've negotiated a yes/no/maybe so. Then figure something out for the kids' breakfast, whilst saying good morning to the contractors who are ripping out Grandma's kitchen whilst I scramble the eggs. 7.45 and I'm realising I'll never get out of the house in time, especially if Cecilie continues to be so poky about finishing her toast. 7.50, we're back upstairs and I throw up the baby gate to keep Lars off the stairs, Cecilie leaps into the shower and insists no one may join her, and Lars starts banging on the washing machine with enthusiasm.
I pull kids clothes out of drawers, and hear shrieks of 'Mommy! LARS IS GETTING IN THE BATHTUB!' and find Lars' feet sticking out over the edge of the tub, head under the tap and both of them giggling. I pull him out, strip off his pajamas and take him into the shower with us and try to get clean as quickly & efficiently as possible. Then its into whatever clean black clothes are on my bedroom chair (
only black because there is no time/inclination to accessorise or coordinate). Kids into clothes, and bundle down the stairs & into the car for Grandma to drive me to Metro. Grandma is then officially in charge for the day.
A quiet 45 min. ride where I slap on some makeup & read the front page of the paper, then hike the 14 blocks to the store where I spend the day selling ceramic pigs, silk flowers and sofas to the wealthy. On a good day Nilsen can stop by on his way home and pick me up (the benefit of starting work at 7am is finishing at 4!) and we get 45 mins together to think of all the things we need to be discussing. On a bad day I do the reverse hike back to Metro, ride 45 mins home and then get picked up by one of the adults in the house and one or more unhappy, hungry children.
7pm, 7.20 and we re-enter the fray, usually with Lars ready to crash well before dinner is finished. The big question is whether or not Cecilie has napped, because if she has you know you're in for some corkers, and a very busy evening of lots of playing and stories. If not, she's falling asleep in her soup and the rush is on to get them in bed before it all ends in tears. Her newest approach to bedtime is having some time alone to read books before its time for lights out - how can I argue with reading time? Her day finishes with a few songs, and the reassurance that Grandma will be
right up to kiss her, if she can only lie still with her eyes closed.
Then its back downstairs to sort out the toys in the playroom, find all the missing pieces, watch the Olympics, and pack lunches for the next day. One for Grandpa (no place to buy lunch at his office), one for Torbjorn (ditto), and one for Kirsten (lunch in Georgetown ain't cheap!). If there was any way to cook dinner in the middle of construction, then those dishes need doing, but dinner out is probably on the menu for the next month or so.
The day ends with re-tucking blankets around sleeping cherubs, getting the bottle ready for the 4am wakeup call, and pretending to read/solve SuDoKu for 30 seconds before turning out the lights.
We keep promising that in our free time we'll get the trim painted in the Yellow House so the floors can be refinished so the kitchen can be installed so the laundry room (which currently holds all the kitchen units) can be installed so we can finally move in by the move-in date of April 30ish. This would, however, be based on the assumption that there are funds for all of this frenzied activity. Hence, Torbjorn's new job and my old(ish) job and hence the lack of free time. Hey, we're living the American Dream.
Cute kids waiting for uncle Brad to see them in the tree
Supper with super mum at Chipotle
End of a busy weekend
Statistics for the second time running (that would be the list of the best nations in the world to live in, according to the UN...)
This was the weekend of Princesses on Ice. BFF Lauren Mattison and her dad joined Cecilie and Torbjorn for an expotition into Baltimore to see Disney's finest. Ariel was the headliner, given that she's the most recent re-release on Special Edition DVD, but all the ladies were there, even a pumpkin coach made of gold. But before they could even rub the fairy dust out of their sleepy eyes, they were treated to a Princess Wake-Up Call: Cinderella called Cecilie, and Aurora called Lauren. I'm not sure what all was said, but Cecilie could not be convinced that it wasn't Lauren disguising her voice. By all accounts, the show was all that with a side of fries, dragons and evil stepmothers notwithstanding. Top it off with a giant pretzel and hot dogs, and you've got a perfect Saturday morning.
Then we headed South of the border to the Slears for a home-cooked pot roast, train building, and camping in the tent in the basement.
The Latin scholars in the crowd may take issue with the usage in this context, but as far as I'm aware it's a fancy way to say 'Sorry Guys, we suck.' (and around here, we are always looking for the fancy way to do things.)
We have borne the weight of unmet expectations for too long, and went ahead & "bought each other" our Christmas present: a new digital camera. It will be a long road, back into the good graces of our readers who have waited - and waited - for some news, any news of the Nilsens. Some photos, any photos?!?
So Halloween. The Snow Princess and her Court Jester lead us back into the world of the communicating. Lollipops were the ultimate booty, the sugar rush was intense, and Lars thought that every open door meant an invitation inside to play. Cousin Jack was here too, with his mom and dad. Jack was a fierce (but polite!) lion: at every house he would say "Trick or Treat, Rowwr!"
There is even a small photo of the Yellow House, which is quite cute but not so much improved since our last posting. Life is pretty good all in all, and we look forward to sharing news from Catonsville a little more often.
Again, everyone, sorry for the long absence!!
this might not come as a surprise, but the above is "April Fool" in French. 
in 84?!? ok, he could lose the boat shoes), his haircut would need only slight tweaking, and the car would still work for most ladies.
This year on Valentines, however, a rebuttal article was published that argued that Lloyd Dobbler from Say Anything was the ultimate 80s crush, and that John Cusak's character set the gold standard for all men who would try and follow. Interesting article, thought provoking, but I'm sorry - Lloyd's long black trenchcoat is just offputting. (just too Columbine-y...)
With no kitchen to speak of (Grandma's renovating) and the kitchen unloaded into the family room/living room, chances of a 1st birthday party were looking slim. 
In step good friends Colleen & Dan Slear who live in the neighborhood & offered to host the party at their house. Here are a few photos of the great party we had, and the good friends there. 
Kids were Petey, Will and Grace Slear, Cecilie & Lars, and Lauren Mattison. Fire Jeep kindly shared by Petey & Will.
Oh, we've got tons of it... 14 inches, or 35 cm if you like it better that way. I realize it's not SO impressive to the Norwegians among you, but it is the most snow the Nilsen family as seen in 10 years!
And the kids are loving it, Cecilie is going down the hills on her christmas present inner tube with a wheeeeeeee, and Lars is jumping up and down with joy! (at least doing jumping motions...) We might even get to keep it for a couple of days, a truly blessed Sunday.
