The honeymoon is over...

So, I couldn't really stay away from work! Take a look at the logo of my new employer - Scandinavian Airlines Systems. I'm excited to have joined the Shanghai SAS team as their Key Account Manager, Corporate Accounts for the next 12 months. I will work out of SAS Puxi office and will commute from Pudong by train each day. It's going to be exciting to get back in the work force and to work for a Swedish company - a first in my professional career.

Work starts May 9th and heading to a kick-off event in southeast China; Chongqing where the food is really spicy! Should be fun & hot!!

Lovisa

Sports Day event at Max's school!

Max's school recently hosted a Sports Day Event with all the children and parents involved! We were blessed with a beautiful & sunny day and the kids were "competing" in several different activities including flower picking, jumping sack, running with an egg on a spoon, rope pulling and many other fun things!

Max loved the good times and was presented with a Diploma and medal afterwards for his achievements. It was truly a lovely day filled with laughter and fun times for both children and parents.

Afterwards Max & I went to Tomson's Golf across the street to hit golf balls and back home, Max slept for 3 hours - I don't blame him, we were all pooped after such a big day!

To see the pictures from this day, click here.

Cheers!
Lovisa

Big Achievements!

Huge announcements:

Max now poops on the toilet....

Emmy now sleeps through the night...

Life couldn't be better!!!!!!!!!!!

Deceptively Delicious!

The book Deceptively Delicious by Jerry Seinfield's wife; Jessica Seinfield might have been the best thing since sliced bread! I was going crazy with Max not eating his vegetables and felt miserable about having to nag all dinner long to have him eat his veggies, and he always refused to touch them. And it's not a 3 year old thing, he's been pretty good with spitting out his healthy greens since he was a baby, but as long as it's been finely pureed, he's been OK with them.

I was also starting to worry that his habit would be picked up by his sister, so when my sister Signe came to visit us in Shanghai she had brought this wonderful book which has been a true eyeopener to understand how to "cheat" your little ones by adding pureed vegetables to the most delicious recipes! So, today for breakfast and dinner (he eats lunch at school) I pack the dishes full of pureed sweet potato, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin or butternut squash etc. and Max has never eaten this much food in his life...

He loves everything we've done and only one dish failed miserably as I thought I had bought Tofu at the market but in fact I ended up with some slimy Japanese rice pudding which I still tried to use in place of Tofu... but that didn't work! I highly recommend this book for any picky toddlers and wish you the same success I've had!

Lovisa

Emmy is a big girl now!

This is one of my favorite Emmy things, a cute little pink chair in the Arne Jacobsen "Sjuan" design she received as a gift on her Christening Day! She's now big enough to sit on it and climbs up on it whenever she sees it. I hope she will one day appreciate this chair as much as I have adored it during her childhood.

Lovisa

Wow - Tiger Woods lives in our house!

....I know, all parents who've invested in golf clubs for their little ones think their kid is going to be the next Tiger - and sadly enough we're no exception...

Of course, it's all play & fun and there's no expectations on Max having some major breakthrough, simply having a fun time while at the driving range hitting balls. And he sure seems to love it!

However we can't help but seeing a serious case of talent here - just take a look at the back swing and the focus of this little 3 year old!

Juicy strawberries!

Max & I recently took a mom & son day and headed to an all organic Strawberry farm about 30 minutes from our house. We ended up picking 5 kg (10 lbs) of the most sweet and juicy strawberries we've tried since arriving in China - oh so good!

We managed to make some homemade strawberry jam and froze the rest after eating strawberries for 3 days straight!

I am still amazed at the many different things we keep experience here in Shanghai and finding an all organic strawberry farm 30 minutes from our house was the last I'd imagine finding moving here!

Lovisa

Phuket, Thailand vacation!!

What a wonderful place on earth - Phuket, Thailand or more precisely, Le Meredien on Phuket Thailand! Voted the nicest resort in Phuket with the only private beach on the island we considered ourselves very lucky and happy to have a full week of excellent weather, food and R & R at this amazing place. The kids loved the beach and the pool and all the fun the Penguine Kids Club had to offer and we loved the massages, having fun with the rented wave runners, hitting some golf balls, relaxing and just hanging out at this sooo kids friendly resort. We had baby-sitters watching the kids during their 2 hour naps in the afternoons and went for dinners at night either at one of the resorts 10 restaurants or had the babysitter take the kids while we ventured out on town to some of the renowned restaurants Phuket had to offer. All in all it was one of our top vacations ever!


Click link below to view the pictures from our great time in Thailand (warning: contains many cute kids pictures...):

http://picasaweb.google.com/tedestedt/ThailandVacationApril2008

Our little circus at home!

How cool is this!! Ms. Yi is practising acrobatic moves on little Emmy who's loving every moment of it.

Spring is in the air...

...at least in my back yard! The trees have blossomed, the perennials are newly planted and everything smells so fresh - spring is here in one of the most polluted cities in the world!

It's hard to imagine 20 million people living here in a city with more cars than there are roads (it seems) and where a persistent large grey cloud rarely breaks up to let us see the beautiful blue skies... but I can still hear the birds singing in the morning, smell the scent from the cherry tree and the newly cut grass and hear the waterfall at the end of the little canal outside our house... The only reason I don't think I just woke up in the English country side is because I also hear the constant sound of construction from 9 new high rises going up behind our compound - this is Shanghai in a nut shell!