Young mother

I didn’t catch PULS, but I just read the article about the 23 year old medical student who is a mother of 2 and feel that people consider her a failure. I was/is also a young mother and had the same thoughts when I was younger.  Especially when I was strolling the baby around I did get a lot of disapproving looks from people considering me too young to be a mother.

It’s strange. My mother was considered old as a first time mother and needed extra follow- up when she had me. She was 25. When I got pregnant at 21 and my daughter was born on my 22^nd birthday (yes- I haven’t had a birthday in 10 years, but what a fantastic gift!) it was definitely not the norm. None of my friends had kids and it’s only in the last few years some of them (and I emphasize some) have started having kids.

Was our first planned? No, she was not, but the rest of them certainly was. When we first had one, we might as well continue. I had my second child at 25 and my third just before I turned 28. Three fantastic kids and a great partner. He was only 25 when our first was born and was considered an extremely young father (by today’s standards) There was no doubt that a lot of people doubted if we would make it, the odds were against us….

No way!

We had everything, except a degree, our own home and money. However, that’s what matters …strange!

I was studying when I got pregnant and continued during my pregnancy. Why stop? Besides my family life with an increasing number of kids, I had an active student life where I was involved with a lot of volunteer work, I finished my bachelor, a MBA and was into my second MBA when the entrepreneur spirit got the better of me.

I actually became a better student after I had kids. My grades improved and I was elected The Economics student of the year in Norway only a few months after I had my second as I was already way into my studies again. That’s great about being a student mom, but much harder as a working mom. Strange!

To be allowed to be a mom while studying is a fantastic gift. The days are flexible, and the child can grow up with “slow” mornings, long vacations and attentive parents. We didn’t have a strong economy, but do you really need much more than a small student apartment. I would definitely not been without our 5 years at Nattland Student Housing in Bergen. What a great place to live both for adults and children. Paradise!

My life situation was and still in many cases is very different from people my own age. Only half of my graduating class has a family of their own and they still live a “uncomplicated” life. The rest have typically only recently had their first child and are facing some busy years with raising, having and taking care of small kids while many are in the middle of a very important and hectic period in their careers.

It’s nice to think about that I recently could celebrate my first day in 10 years not having to change diapers anymore!!

Hiking with the kids - and Nils

It was one of those beautiful sunny Sundays that Bergen is NOT known for, so we decided to take the family on a hike to Ulriken. One of the many mountains peaks surrounding Bergen. 

We had also met up with some of our friends and their kids so it was quite the group that headed up the mountain early afternoon.

Unfortunately my big plans to finally “conquer” Ulriken faded after we spent too much time having lunch by a quaint mountain lake. However, the kids loved hanging out there playing and even swimming in the cool water. The grown-ups too had a nice time relaxing, hanging out in the sun and drinking freshly brewed coffee prepared over open flame…. 

At some point Nils realized that he had been watching enough people ascend  up to the peak and that he would get nowhere with us so he took off by himself with my camera to prove he made it to the top…

I’m just hoping the sun is shining next weekend as well so I too can climb my way to the top!

Nils posing for his American friends and family.

 Bergen is great guys!

Me and Alvin. Not even 4, and a great hiker!

Marius making espresso for all us grown ups. 

Can life be better?

August (my middle one) after a swim. Coooold 

water, but he loved it!  The only adult swimming was 

Viking Marius (our old neighbor). Can you see him?

Nils on his way to Ulriken. The tower marks the top.

A great view of the city from the restaurant on Ulriken.

And a comfy way up and down for those who 

are too lazy to walk!

National Day!

Ja vi elsker dette landet . . . (yes we love this country) states the first few words of our national anthem. The 17th of May is our national day, and in Norway celebrated with the children in focus. It’s like Christmas to them!

We got up early in the morning to put on our national costumes and head for the first (of three) parades for the day. At 08:00 the flag is hoisted while the band of my neighborhood is playing. My daughter is playing the flute and this was her first year participating in the 17th of May celebration as a flutist. All the marching bands play a central role this day, so she was kept on her toes from early morning til late evening.

Being the parents of a young flutist we are also kept on our toes. This day is a very important day to raise money for the band, so while I enjoyed breakfast with the kids, Alf headed for the school to sell hotdogs, sodas, coffees and ice-cream. Most Norwegian kids will be allowed to eat as many hotdogs and ice-creams as they want this day, so the sales are high when families are waiting for the main parade to start.

After the parade we headed home for lunch and games in the neighborhood before we again headed back to school for more games, more ice-creams and hotdogs and more fun. As Oda is in 4th grade it is our responsibility to organize the school events this year, so while I was watching the kids, Alf was running the show!

My three beautiful kids in their national costumes. 

Oda, Alvin and August

Alf is selling hotdogs, soda, ice-creams and coffee 

to happy parents and kids early in the morning.

8 AM - and time for the first of three parades

 this day. Oda is playing the flute.

Look at the crowd waiting for the parade to start!

The various sports clubs participated in the 

parade in their own outfits. Meet the skiers!

Monther and son!

Oda taking part in her second parade of the day. 

Ready to go home! Daddy only have to disassemble the 

stage at school first. Note the tie under the orange workman suit!

Meet my grandmother!

Let my tell you about my grandmother Lilli. This summer she’s turning 100 ( ! ! ! ), but she still wears fashion clothes, hats and leather gloves. These days she only has two big worries...

Her Full name is Lille Eline Petrine Larsen Berntsen (What an amazing name ! ), and she was born July 21st 1910. Yes - you’ve done your math correctly. My Gran is turning 100 this summer!

Grandma Lilli is my mother’s mother, and the mom of three other children. Her husband (my grandfather) passed away before I was born, so unfortunately I never got to meet him, and she has been a widow ever since. For all the years they where together my grandmother was a house wife, while he was out on the sea (he was a captain). Well - she wasn’t always a housewife. She liked to earn her own money and worked as a hat maker for several years. The family stories say that she grew up in a wealthy family, but that the family fortune was lost during the 20’s (when so many others lost their fortunes too). But despite never being rich since her early childhood, my Grandma has always carried herself with grace. I remember her gold rings, her beautiful hats, her tailored furs, her silk gloves, her handbags and fashion dresses.

And still, only a few moths away from 100, she still cares about fashion! Years ago she picked out her funeral dress as she had to make sure that she would never be buried in something un-classy. She has to have it her way - always!

Right now the 99,8 year old lady has two main worries:

1. 
   
   (1)the (ex) love life of Swedish princess Madeleine and Jonas. She has always had a thing for the royals, and the infidelity of Jonas causing them to break off their engagement is quite emotional for her.
2. 
   
   (2)that her hair dresser will be on holiday on her 100th birthday. Who can then do her birthday perm? If you can help me find a great and nice hairdresser in Tromsø who is available on July 21st let me know! 

I just booked flight tickets for my whole family and our au-pair to go to Tromsø for her birthday party this summer. We simply can’t miss the old lady’s 100th day! It will be a great party!

 I hope I have her genes!

Grandma opening her present from us on her 

95th birthday.

Rome on Monday?

I love Saturdays! The only day of the week when I almost for certain will be at home with my family. Early Monday morning I’m supposed to fly down to Rome for Simposium 2010 to compete for the 1st prize in SIMagine. With the volcanic ash affecting the airspace in Northern Europe it doesn’t look good...

My husband is a geologist, and for years he has been telling me about the coming volcanic eruption on Iceland. That a massive eruption is already over-time and about all the previous eruption from both Katla and Hekla. Over-due in a geology timeframe, though, can be 100 years...

But perhaps it really is now? I hadn’t heard about Eyjafjallajökull before, but now this (I’ve been told) very small volcano is causing chaos all over Europe. And more worrying, there is a huge possibility that Katla will have an eruption. A big one! It might not happen now, but is supposedly due within two years. Here’s on of the articles I read  in norwegian and english(google translate). 

When Eyjafjallajökull is causing this much trouble now, imagine the trouble Katla will cause! Let’s hope the volcano(s) will calm down very soon. Iceland has had some rough years lately. First the financial crises and now this. And what is this doing to the planet? I must admit that I haven’t had the time to study the articles about the environmental impact of the eruptions, but it surely does make you worry when the empty white bucket a fellow Bergenser (i.e. a person from Bergen) placed an empty white bucket outside and an hour later it was filled with dirty water and small sharp stones...

Right now though I’m simply enjoying spending some time with my kids. And if the volcanos so wish, my time spent in Bergen will be a bit longer than planned for...

Will I make it to Rome on Monday? And if not, will SIMagine come up with another way of allowing us to present in front of the jury? A video conference on Skype perhaps? I was just really hoping to go to Rome and bring home another prestigious award...

Alvin and I enjoying PhotoBooth on my orange Mac. 

Great fun!

SPRING IS (FINALLY) HERE!

Three weeks ago I left Norway covered in snow and headed for the US. When I got back 10 days later spring had arrived. Can you imagine? All the snow had melted, the grass is getting green, the trees are blossoming. It’s such a great feeling!

Don’t get me wrong - I’ve really enjoyed the winter. This winter has been special. We’ve had snow for longer than I can remember, and the kids have had the chance to go skiing or snow sledging every day. If you thought that white winters were normal in Norway, I must disappoint you. In some parts of Norway snow  for weeks and weeks is definitely the norm, yes, but on the west coast the normal winters consist of a few rainy days, a couple of colder days, great white snow for a few days, rain again (resulting in terribly wet snow), a few days without snow - but still rain, a couple of great cold and sunny days. And just about then the cycle starts over again. I would say that the great white beautiful winter days people think of when they hear about Norway are experienced 10-15 days a year on the west coast.

But this year we had a terrific winter with white snow, cold days and sun or falling snow for weeks and weeks in a row, and I loooved it! Now though, I looove that spring has arrived!

After work today my kids and I had a picnic on the balcony. My mom had made us an apple cake on Sunday, and today we enjoyed the left overs and a sweet melon in the sun. Such a good feeling! I love spending time with my kids, and unfortunately I’m not able to do that as much as I would have liked to due to traveling and busy time schedules. 

Once the testing is all over and the commercial phase has started, I hope to be able to bring my kids with me on business travels now and again. I remember the business trips my father took me along with him on when I was a kid with great pleasure, and I believe my kids will enjoy it too. I know I will enjoy having them there! 

Bergen - the most beautiful city I know! Enjoy!

. . . have to admit to that rainy days - well - are quite common!

In the mountains skiing

Once a year we go to the mountains (Geilo) with Society of Petroleum Engineers. My husband is a board member there, and in February/March each year they invite the families of all the board members for a weekend skiing. The kids love it, and so do we!

Last year I tried downhill skiing for the first time. It was so much fun! So much fun in fact that we ended up buying alpine skies for the whole family. The skis have been waiting in the basement for almost a year now, and this weekend it was time for the kids to give it a go. And - they did  brilliantly! Started out in the children’s slope, but after a while Oda was ready to master the big slopes.

If you have never been skiing, you should try it. It’s great fun, and everyone can do it. If I can manage, so can you!

Oda on her way up to the big slopes together with 

me. She soon got much better than me as well....

Have you seen anything this beautiful?

From the bottom of the hill it looks pretty easy. 

From the top it doesn’t....

Even Alvin tried downhill skiing. He felt so cool 

and grown up with his new skis on. Just 

like his older sister and brother.

Alvin is enjoying life in the snow

Yes - the kids are snow bathing! Can you believe it?

Alvin liked cross country skiing much better than down hill.

 I love this ‘learn-how-to-ski” product connecting the young 

child with an adult. It even provides a small back pack for 

the child to keep an extra pair of gloves in!

Happy Birthday August!

Six years ago we were blessed to be able to welcome August to the world. I had a quick delivery with Oda (less than an hour after we came to the hospital), but August found his way out even faster. While the delivery of Oda was really tough, the delivery of August was just perfect!

August was supposed to be called Alvin August, but Oda cried when she heard the name. Not the tantrum type of cry, but the heartbroken one. She wanted his name to be Ask - after her kindergarden boyfriend. I loved the name Ask too (my baby boy’s name had to begin with an A as all the men in my husband’s family have names starting with an A), but Ask was the other boy’s name. Not my sons, I felt. But Oda continued to be heartbroken.

After two and a half month of not having a name, the official deadline from the government naming your child came closer. We sat dwon with our 3,5 year old Oda and discussed her baby brothers name over breakfast. We told her that she could name her baby brother. We told her what names we liked, and she told us what names she liked. Then we walked her to kindergarden.

When she came home that afternoon she stated that she had been thinking and that her baby brother was going to be called August. Not Alvin August. We gave him Severin as his middle name after his great grandfather.

And now little August Severin has turned 6. Happy birthday my son!

My prince!

Alvin is not exactly too happy to about not getting any 

presents. Doesn't quite understand birthdays yet...

Loving opening his presents. Pokemon is the best!