Would This Song Make the Charts in Lubbock, Texas?

Doubtful. And I can't even believe it is on the playlist here, but I have actually heard it more than once. The song title - and most of the words in the song - are "You've got the sweetest ass in the world" - and pretty much nothing else. Go figure.

(I feel I should apologize for objectionable content, but if you really want confirmation that the song exists, you will find it - where else? - on YouTube.)

How Say It BooZoo

After spending a bit of time in Switzerland, the kids have picked up a few words of French. Annika can count to five, Benjamin knows the response to "Ca va?" (which is, of course, "Ca va!"), and Christopher... well.... let's just say he's not a linguist. We have worked on "Bonjour" (Good morning) and he's getting there... A couple of days ago he kept asking me "How say it BooZoo", and got increasingly frustrated at my failure to understand. Finally we figured it out. What he meant was "How do you say it in French", which he calls "Bonjour" - or "BooZoo". Now we know.

Harbor Day!

Every year, Stocksund has its harbor day celebration. Weather can be iffy, but there's usually a good crowd and lots of exciting things to see - fire trucks, police boats, coast guard cruisers, helicopters and more. The kids had a blast this year and the weather cooperated. We just let the kids have free reign while we socialized with the neighbors, and the kids came and found us from time to time, mostly when they wanted money. We ended up taking 5, our three plus two from the neighborhood. Annika was really excited about getting to drive a real boat - I guess she doesn't remember driving ours last summer... Christopher loved the helicopter, and Benjamin was on a hunt for fish.

A Conversation Opener

Annika's school class had a garden party this evening, with parents and siblings included. When we arrived, Benjamin immediately struck up a conversation with two of the moms. "Are there any snakes here" he asked. "No, not here. Why?" they replied. "Because I want to find them and kill them." When the moms patiently explained that we don't usually hunt for snakes, Benjamin asked, "Well, what is there here that we can kill?" Really - he's actually a very sweet little guy...

Difficult Choices

Sometimes it is hard to take a slower road. I chose to give up consulting when I had children - it didn't really fit with what David and I wanted for a home life. Starting ABC Leksaker seemed like a great opportunity... though different from the path I had pursued up until now. Don't get me wrong - I love what I'm doing, and it fits the family perfectly. I can generally work from home, the hours are flexible, and what doesn't get done... well, it just doesn't.

But even at ABC Leksaker, I have made some strategic choices. First, no store. I just can't see how I could fit in the time to manage a store, and still pick the kids up by 3 (ok.. 4...) And trying to handle inventory between what's out on the web and what's in the shop - a coordination nightmare that I haven't even begun to deal with. And time? It takes time to make the warehouse ready for company - it is still a warehouse - and it takes time to provide good customer service. And time is the thing I just don't have. So no store. But... when people do come in to shop, they always leave with much more than if they shop online. And now an on-line competitor is opening up a shop just around the corner from the house (and office)...

Second, no catalog. I priced it once, and tried to calculate how large the print run would have to be to generate enough orders to cover the cost. Even at a conservative print run, we would still have to several times the orders that we currently fill, and we don't even have the stock to make that happen. But another competitor just sent out their summer catalog last week, and it was awesome. There were even things in there that I wanted to order...

So what can I do? I guess I can enjoy the results of the choices I have made - more time with the kids, but a smaller (and less profitable) company.

My Djursholm Uniform

Odd Molly is the hottest thing going in Sweden - or at least in Djursholm. I broke down and bought this "Granny sweater" (though I might not have bought it if I had known what it was called). Odd Molly isn't cheap, but it does feel wonderful to wear. And I can even imagine that I look this good in it - though my sweater is a somewhat larger size...

And then I go out to pick up the kids at some activity and three other moms are wearing the same sweater. Or until I go to Täby centrum and pass three other people in the same sweater. At least it comes in different colors! I always wondered how long it would take me to fit in here - nine years and counting!

The Cabbage Problem

I would like to do my part to save the world. Of course, driving around in our mini-van probably isn't helping... so when I heard about Årstiderna (www.arstiderna.com), fresh ecological produce delivered to your door, I signed up. I even relished the challenge of using the weekly recipies to find new family favorites.

Now for the reality. I can always manage to get through the kilo of carrots, and with planning, can make the two kilos of potatoes disappear. The occasional cucumber and bell pepper are gone before they even make it to the fridge. Apples - easy peasy. But then there are those mysterious black roots that look like dirt, that have to be cleaned and then soaked with lemon so they won't look like dirt again...

And then there's the Cabbage. I don't mind cabbage, really, I don't. But every week? I never knew there were so many different kinds. In my fridge right now, we have the past months' leftovers - a roundish pale cabbage, a pointy green cabbage, a purple and green cabbage, and half of a greenish one. Yes, folks - half a cabbage a month is about my consumption rate, but the delivery seems to be weekly.

Last week, I switched to a different box - more ready-to-eat veggies and less cabbage (I hope). We'll see how we do!