There is some good things that has come out of this Corona lockdown and if I in this post would mention something I would say reading in general and JK Rowlings new book in particular. The idea to the story  "The Ickabog" JK Rowling came up with many years ago but it never got published because she had focus on other book project at the time. When this Corona pandemi came and put scare in to the world and lock us at home across the globe she decided to rewrite bits and publish it for free. It is a story for children not a new Harry Potter with magic no it is an entirely different story. Over seven weeks one or a few chapters at the time will be published. In addition to the story JK Rowling is encouraging her readers to illustrate the story and gives suggestions what to illustrate. Also an official competition for the drawings which publishers will pick for the printed version. I was very excited to start reading the story for the kids and together draw something from each ch...

Det har varit mycket åhh nej är det dagis idag inte bara det senaste året här i Tyskland utan hela dagistiden faktiskt. Det är mycket ska bara som 5-6 åring och behov om att påminnas om varje steg och varje moment för att få kläder på sig, håret borstat, äta frukost, bli färdig med frukosten och sedan borsta tänder, få på sig skorna, komma ihåg cykelhjälm och cykeln. Nu har nedräkningen till sommarlovet börjat och tack och hej till Mila's dagistid som snart är förbi Helt galet hon börjar skolan och ska aldrig mer gå på dagis. Så till hösten får jag tjata på en skolunge ist och dessutom börjar hon en timme tidigare då - herregud hur ska vi klarar det ?! Hur ska jag klara det?

This is Mila 6 year old illustration I made for her birthday invitations this year or actually last year as she is born in December. We left for Christmas break in Sweden early December and mid November I realized that we should organize a birthday party here with her new friends in Germany. She has managed well in only four month that we have been living in Düsseldorf to find good friends to play with and feel more and more comfortable with. Other half Swedish kids living here that I have found from a Swedes in Düsseldorf page on Facebook and also a friends from Kita.  Also I have realized with all my movings that pretty soon you belong in the new environment more in away then the place and the environment you just left. Close friends will always or hopefully be there but the everyday social circle is in the new place and no longer in the old place.  She really wanted her party in one of those big indoor playgrounds. I know they are a lot of fun but no not this ...

Conversation at the dinner table about attractions of Africa. Mila asked me what we can see if we go to Africa.

Time flies too fast. Our little baby just turned 4 years old, F O U R Y E A R!!! How that happened ?! It is crazy what a big girl she is now. So sweet, funny, extra super intelligent, bad mood when tired, creative and the bestest girl in the whole world. Me and L agreed the other day that she gives us more love then we can ever ask for. She tells us how much she loves us like 100 times each day in both Swedish and English. In the morning, in the car, in the busy super market cue, mocking out the stable, on the walk, when I leave her at daycare and when I pick her up she looks at me and with the sweetest voice she says "Mamma! Jag älskar dig!!" Please let her continue feeling that love for us forever and please please keep telling us it sounds so sweet and heartwarming. Yes of course she also tells me sometimes that I am stupid and "a bajskorv" ( a turd)  but not as often as she tells me how great I am and the best mamma in the world. It is overwhelming how much...

In my sketchbook I started an illustration on the theme Mila loves horses. I know I am really bad in drawing horses in general and in drawing horses legs in particular. And so Mila gave me a helping hand and finished my drawing. Great cooperation,  right :) 

I loved to write and illustrate books when I was a child or actually I still love it and dream of making childrens books. Mila has already started to follow my footstep but in a slightly different genre then myself. Mila is more into science-fiction//horror.

I have started on an illustration some weeks ago. I still have to go over it with second layer of colors to make it more rich and alive. If  I will get around to it. I have got inspiration from different books and characters. I love children books and I read for Mila and Filip every night without a fail. I buy a lots of books both new and second hand. I have been able to read a different story every night until now when Mila only wants to read one particular book "Märtar galloperar". It is about a girl called Märta who is learning how to canter on a pony.... I have now read this book every evening for over 2 weeks.. Sometimes even two times per night. I wonder what will happen if "Märta galloperar" goes missing for a while!? I might try that very soon if I only can remember to make it go missing before I am already trapped in the sweetest way. Laying there in the bed with one kid on each arm and gets this very loved book handed over to me and with a very sweet vo...

Our sweet and very intelligent girl Mila turned 3 years old in December. I can't believe how fast she is growing up and what an amazing little person she is growing into. She has been playing birthday for the past half a year so I wanted her day to be as she wanted and expected it to be. I prepared the house ready for her big day with colorful lights, signs and glitter. Fishing from the fishpond that I had created the night before was a success and is a Swedish tradition for birthday parties and was a very important element of her celebration. Unfortunately pappa Loren couldn't be with us but was on the phone from Moscow from early in the morning ready to sing Happy Birthday for our sleeping beauty. I woke up at 6 and made 2-3 attempts to wake her up by singing Happy birthday in different languages and versions and a tray with candles and presents but she was sleeping so sweet that me and Filip had to wait another 2-3 hours before she wanted to open her eyes. We had an awesome ...

The way little Filip looks at his big sister is amazing. She just has to look at him and he laughs out load and want to be with her so much. Even if Mila is in a lets say delicate mood he smiles to her. They are very cute together and as he is growing they are really connecting in the sweetest way. When he wakes up in the morning he turns to her to pull her hair or touch her face and when she wakes up she first want to hold him. It is a blessing to see them together and I hope they will stay friends forever.

Mila is born in Prague and spend her baby time in parks, cafées and restaurants socializing with other city kids. So when we moved here to the deep Swedish forest this spring she was far from impressed with living close to nature. Not that she was scared or anything but simply just didn't know what to do. Me born in this forest tried to convince her that there is plenty of cool things to play without fancy playground toys. But she continue to long for the city life. At one point she very loud complained every time coming here that she wanted to be in Prague, Moscow, Stockholm or anywhere but here. Heart breaking. We have now been here for over 5 months and slowly but surely this city chick has turned into a real country girl. The other day I asked her " Do you want to go in to town and play in a park or go out in the forest to pick blueberries?" and as fast as she could she put on her rubber boots and said "picking blueberries!"

If I don't get a chance to draw, paint, sew or illustrate I will become crazy. But I am mean like crazy crazy and not very nice crazy.  So I am happy and the rest of my team probably even more happy that even our newest little member gives me some time ( not a lot but at least a little time here and there)  Here is a memory of May illustration I have made lately The illustration started like this   And with some more color like this.. I will go through the memories 1 ) Mila started sometime ago to ask me like a billion times a day about all sorts of objects " What does this sound like?" Not a problem when she ask about sounds of cat, dog, horse, car etc even though sometimes she doesn't agree of the sound that I make ( she is asking me even though she knows and will correct me like she is checking me on my sound intelligence...) The problem is that she also ask about noises of very quiet objects like a sandwich, a cucumber, a leaf, a tree etc. Somet...

Here is a sign that I am still around even though very much in the baby bubble combined with entertaining a 2,5 year old, a building project and million other things that needs to be done. Busy indeed but not complaining and so far things is really working better then expected. Baby Filip is a sweet baby and as baby number two he has to come along on different activities from day one or at least from day five. Loren has been back in Moscow working but are here this week which is great that we are all together. Today I am home alone with baby Filip who currently is sleeping and when he is not sleeping he is eating and/or farting. Mila & Loren are having a daughter-father date day at IKEA Örebro buying a bed for Mila, a PINK bed she has ordered ( I am keeping fingers crossed that they won't find a pink but a white...)  Mila is sharing my drawing & painting interest and it is amazing to follow her development and techniques. Here is a self-portrait combined wit...

Last day of April, an old Swedish celebration called Valborgsmässoafton. Witch craft, fire and a lot of drunk people if I would make a very short summary of what this tradition represent. This year it was very windy and pretty cold so we decided to give the big public outdoor fire and fireworks a miss and instead enjoyed a nice warm fire inside at my mothers summerhouse. Loren tried to recovery from a nasty cold with a good book, honey, lemon and paracetamol. I tried to sit and do as little as possible hoping the baby would want to enter the world. And Mila enjoyed hanging out with mormor and Sofie at a horse show. Also we took the opportunity to take our pony Spot for some nice hacks in the forrest. Spot is 35 years young and still full of energy and happy to have a new little rider ( normal ponies are lucky if they make it to 25...) Mila was super excited and managed very well on this crazy old pony and I managed to walk in his power speed to make sure little rider would be safe and...

I have been thinking to write this post since I arrived to Sweden and Mila started at daycare here. This is a post about marketing, linguistic development, Swedish political correctness and whether or not we have to change. And what this got to do with daycare you might wonder.. When I was a kid ( 30 years ago) I went to daycare and we all called it dagis in swedish (cute short easy to say term that everyone used for daycare/kindergarten) I loved my dagis and my dagis teacher and I have a lot of great memories from this time. I am not sure about exactly when but a few years ago it became big no no to call dagis dagis. This super important role that all the people have taking care of kids is (or was?) a low paid job as it is dominated by women. And I guess as a strategy trying to higher the status and the salaries was to start to use the name förskola //preschool//  ( which previously was mainly used for the year just before you actually start school at 7) and a higher criter...

We keep saying "Did you sleep well?" // "Sovit gott?" and she keeps asking us " Woke up good?" //  "Vaknat gott?" Yeah the more I think about it she is right why all this focus on the sleeping and not on how we wake up. Amazing the insights a two year old can give. 

On a snowy day me and Mila went to the Swedish school to go sledging and drink hot chocolate with fellow swedes. Funny how the outdoor plastic cups ( skogsmulle kåsa) still looks the same as when I was a kid. Mila was happy after one time down the hill and told me that I could go by myself next time.... On our Thursday eating dinner out day Mila from out of the blue thanked the waiter in perfect Russian "Spasiba!" and there me and my two year old are on the same level of Russian knowledge... Loren has been practice counting with Mila & on the way home the other day she pulled of her glove very determined (only -5 outside) and counted perfectly her little fingers in English and then Swedish (her granddad who is professor in Mathematics will be pleased with this progress soon ready for algebra..) My baby bump is getting bigger and bigger, week 26 now I think ( with Mila I knew exactly what week and read everything about each weeks development and this time I read...