Every weekday I put the alarm at 7.15 to have time to do all the morning preparations in a not-so-stressful pace before going to the kindergarten bus with our son. (Although sometimes I treat myself to a little snooze if I managed to prepare his clothes and bags the night before.) On Saturdays however, we […]
Every time I take the bicycle to the kindergarten to drop off or pick up my son, we stop by the biggish pond on our way. There are a lot of lotus growing there, and hiding among them are carp fish. We park the bike by the fence, and each time there are carps coming
Here comes the alphabet rain, said my son one day when we were playing. It was raining outside and we had just finished a board game where you roll the dice and go around looking for letters that you need to create the words you have on the game tile in front of you. The
A big patch of rain passed by and left behind 15 degrees lower temperatures. Suddenly, I found myself turning off the air conditioner, finding the long sleeved pajamas from my son, and having cold feet in the literal sense for the first time in many many months. Of course, with a rapid change in weather
Even though it has been a very hot summer, we have been trying to do a lot of fun’s things during this year’s summer holiday. Since 35 degrees and sun is not well suited for outdoor play in the park, we have explored fun activities appropriate for a hot summer. Thus we have visited the
When typhoon number 10 of this year, or Shanshan as it is called, approached Kyushu the other day, the anticipated trajectory would put us close to its path and as the typhoon grew in strength, businesses and the city government prepared for its arrival. And so did we. Many shops and medical clinics contacted its
Every now and then, my son and I try our hand on cooking something new. Japanese gyoza dumplings are a favorite of my son’s. We normally buy frozen vegetable and minced meat gyoza at the grocery store. They are pre-made so we only need to fry them, but there is something about making things from
What do you want to do today, we asked our son last Sunday. It is summer holiday and we thought we were going to do something special, a little family excursion to our son’s liking. He did not hesitate – I want to go to Fukuoka tower, he said. Fukuoka Tower is located by the
It is adorable to see how love and nursing instincts express themselves in the behavior of a little toddler. While we have ample opportunities to experience everyday love, the additional feelings that come out when mom or dad is feeling under the weather are so cute in the way they show up. Not long ago
Children’s curiosity never ceases to fascinate me. Neither does the thought process of my son and every time he shares his thoughts with me I feel so grateful. It is exciting to see how his logic is evolving while at the same time being a part of a child’s world where no rules of nature
Alfons Åberg is one of the most popular children’s book characters in Sweden, created by Gunilla Bergström who sadly passed away three years ago. The first Alfons-book was written in 1972 and I grew up listening to stories about Alfons Åberg, and have continued that tradition with my son who also has come to love
We live in a part of the world where seismic activity and volcanos are part of life. We live in a house where dinosaur-books and water-play is a common feature in everyday activities. We are a family where we use three languages in our conversations. Unsurprisingly, this all gets mixed, and sometimes in the cutest