My New Norwegian Home

I am here! Just a little busy these days with the adorable, chubby person I fell in love with from the time she was the size of a rice grain. Some days can be overwhelming and frustrating. The vast majority of days are exciting and I really look forward to waking up to my daughter smiling at me when I'm too tired to hold my eyes open. I learn a lot from Pia, she teaches me something new every day. Many days I am taught patience. I completely enjoy being a mom to my wonderful little girl. My sweet baby.  She's a very cheeky little girl.  I guess I should have written this a few months ago, but oh well, better late than never! To be perfectly honest I've been working on this post for about a month, but it's been stop and go. I think I'll make this a 3 part post. One on pregnancy, one on labor and one about how huge breastfeeding is here in Norway. With Pia being my first child, the only experience I have with being pregnant is from Norway. I really have n...

She's here!!! She's healthy and cute! Weighing in at 3.2 kg or 7 lbs. 2 oz. and measuring 49 cm or 19 inches, Miss Pia Sand came into the world on September 18, 2013 at 02:49 after about 15 hours of labor followed by a C-Section. It is such a relief to no longer be pregnant and finally have Pia in our life! :-) And life with a newborn isn't as crazy as I thought it would be, but regardless, we're still pretty busy with her. We're trying very hard to adjust her to a schedule. So far her scheduling is very loose as we're still getting to know and understand this little person.  I haven't written much about this, but being pregnant in Norway has been an interesting experience at least. Most particularly when it comes to health care. The first time my husband joined me for an appointment, I nudged him as we were leaving the doctor's office to tell him I felt like I was stealing - because being pregnant in Norway I didn't have to pay an...

Despite it being a winter wonderland *I'm joking!*, the 5 Nordic countries generally lead the world as the happiest countries. Last week, CNN posted a report on the  World's Happiest Nations .  Denmark leads the world with 1st place, which isn't surprising. Norway is number 2. Sweden is number 5, followed by Finland as number 7 and Iceland as number 9. So what makes these nations so happy? Just from my own experience of living here, I can easily say that generally Norwegians at least are a laid-back, easy going group of people. Is this a natural disposition or is it the society that encourages it?

The latest craze here in Norway, which is making itself international is  this video and song.  This is from Norwegian comedians Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, who have a TV show which premiers in the fall here called I Kveld med Ylvis. Earlier in the week when I first heard it on the radio I couldn't quite understand what I was listening to. At first I certainly didn't realize this was a comedy song and I was under the impression it was just something strange on the radio. I was curious and wanted to google it later, so I wrote down what I thought the lyrics were in a note on my phone. Let's just say I didn't understand the word they were really using was fox !!! Enjoy!!!! :-)

Friday last week I took my driver's test. It really wasn't as bad as I thought and I have had an American driver's license for 8 years, so I felt quite prepared. I felt extra prepared since in the previous months my husband would criticize my driving until I fully understood the Norwegian driving rules -particularly the roundabouts and yielding from the right traffic rules. Of course paying for a few driver's lessons were an extra help as the instructor pointed out my strong and weak points when driving and told me everything they look for on the test. :-) Even though the whole driver's test cost roughly $731 total - including the driver's lessons I paid for, it was still MUCH MUCH cheaper than it would have been if I had waited to take it. Plus, had I waited I would have had more tests to take such as driving theory and " glattkjører " or slick driving. I think it should be STRONGLY encouraged for new coming Americans in Norway to take their driver...

Americans love food. It's a stereotype, it's a fact of life. Food is awesome! After following the Americans in Norway group on Facebook, I've realized a common complaint among Americans is the lack of food variety in Norway. I'm guilty of complaining of the same thing - A LOT. I've made compromises, but for the most part, I've come to terms with it and do as Teddy Roosevelt once stated, "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." This means making a lot of things from scratch and that's okay because I could desperately use the cooking experience and homemade meals are generally healthier. ****Just a side note of advice from one expat to another: Depending on my mood, sometimes it's not a great idea to replicate a family recipe. Even if I follow the recipe EXACTLY, it never tastes the same. It's frustrating and if you're homesick at the time, it just doesn't go over well.***** Due to our daughter's approaching due ...

Just last week this interview was featured in Norwegian news articles after it became popular on the blog  A Cup of Jo . I find it interesting from both a cultural and personal perspective after reading what this American woman from Cincinnati has to say about parenting in Norway. Last month when in the US, my husband, Arild pointed out to me many times the difference between parenting in Norway and the US. Though many things about both countries are similar, there is clearly a difference when it comes to parenting. Arild would tell me during his observations in the US that parenting is done the same way in Norway and it's "done by the books" whereas, in the US it seems to be vastly individual and parents just raise their children the way they see fit. Of course I've been quite aware of some of the typical parenting since living here like children only eating candy on Saturdays, children's bedtimes being at 7 and being outdoors at daycare. I haven't really f...

In Finland, parents are given by the state a baby box complete with a mattress, clothing and basically everything a baby could need. This is to ensure all children get an equal start in life despite social background. Here in Norway, while parents don't receive a governmental baby box, parents can however, go to various websites and order free baby boxes which have coupons and free samples. The samples include things like diapers, wipes, diaper cream, hand sanitizer, baby laundry detergent, a coupon for a onesie, pacifiers, bibs, socks, lotion and many other baby related necessities. I have recently picked up 2 baby boxes and a diaper disposal. A list of the sites can be found here: www.bam.no www.libero.no www.barnashus.no  - you can sign up for a diaper disposal here www.apotek1.no  - you can pick up a baby box at your local pharmacy www.vitusapotek.no  - you can pick up at your local pharmacy www.rimi.no www.babybox.no

Well, I've been back in Norway for a couple of weeks now. I have so many topics of ever-changing life in Norway, but I lack the energy to do much of anything these days - let alone write in my blog. So I've kind of been neglecting this blog and just hope for the best in a couple of months. Someone please  tell me you can feel human again after a baby is born, right? Right? Or does that happen sometime 18 years in the future? However, here I am for now and we had a fantastic time going back to Kentucky, but it is good to be back home in Norway. There are no Amish in Norway, but even so, I'm not sure what his fascination with the Amish is all about?  I kind of really missed Kentucky farmland... I've been back to Kentucky twice since my big move and both times I've begun to notice more and more differences between each place. What was most fun was bringing along my husband for this trip and listening to him grumble at some of the cultural diffe...

I've gone over a month without posting anything and that is partly due to a recent trip to Kentucky. This is just a quick post to let my regular readers know I am still here, just a bit slow! :-) However, a recent interview of mine has been published on Blog Expat  and can be viewed  here. Thanks for being patient! :-) Evelyn

We have finally found a name for our Miss "Beansprout." Our guidelines were these: 1) It couldn't be a popular name. 2) It has to be pronounced the same or very similar in both Norway and the US. 3) It couldn't have any more than one spelling. 4) No ÆØÅ or rolling Rs. Mom has to be able to pronounce her daughter's name. ;-) After going through baby books, websites, suggestions from friends and family and other lists of names, we found the name - something simple, cute and feminine and it's a short and sweet name for a short and sweet little girl. :-) We were sitting at home and struggling with finding a name we both agreed on until I finally remembered watching some Norwegian-American dating show on TV several months ago (these type of shows bore me, so I only watched a few minutes) and I remember a girl on the show being named the name we chose and I thought it was adorable. So I blurted the name and Arild agreed with me on the name. We tossed the nam...

This past Friday was a big day for Norway. It was the 17th of May or in other words the National Day where Norway gained its independence from Denmark 199 years ago by making their own constitution. Today it's celebrated with parades of bunad-wearing school children, marching bands, eating cake, ice cream, waffles and hot dogs all day. Yep, this pretty much explains it! From:  http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/17%20mai I was very excited to be here to finally celebrate my first 17th of May in Norway! We went to the city center in time to watch the children's parade and left right as the Russ were beginning their parade. Ate ice cream, then went to my husband's old elementary school where we thought there would be a local parade. Instead there was no parade, so we ate cake. Afterwards we went and ate more ice cream and hot dogs. That sums up our 17. mai! We were also bombarded by a couple of sugar crazed 9-10 year olds who were wondering if we were Russ. Apparently Russ g...

I could say a million things about mine and my husband's one year anniversary. I could go on and on, but I'll just stick to something simple. It's been a year, a really great year! 2 years ago on May 18th Arild made his first visit to the US and that's when we met in person. When I met him, it felt like I had known him my entire life. 1 year ago we exchanged vows and said our I Dos. (Actually I had forgotten to write the "I Do" part in our vows, so it was never said!) I'd like to think only good things have happened for us since meeting 2 years ago. If it weren't for my husband, the thought of moving to Norway would have never even crossed my mind. He's the sole reason why I'm living 4200 miles away from the US and would have only dreamed of living elsewhere. Anyways, I think I'll just save the writing and say the rest in pictures! Reunited on May 12, 2012. How we spent our May 17th last year.  Married. May 18, 2012! ...