Finnish School is Out!

I attended the kids’ last day of Finnish school because there was an awards ceremony. Since the school encourages only Finnish to be spoken, I’m screwed because my Finnish vocabulary is limited to, “Where is your pacifier?” “Take your fingers out of your mouth,” and “put your pants on.” None of those are suitable replies when people speak to me. Or if they are, I don’t want to be a part of that conversation.

During the ceremony Little Finn runs out of the room where all the parents and kids have gathered to sing and receive awards. The Finn follows. I’m left alone with the older kid as the program begins.

Finn Girl’s teacher stands up. What’s she saying? I have no clue in it’s another language! Well, Finn Girl and her teacher have the same name, Suvi, which means summer in Finnish. We’re singing a song about summer during in the program.
Her teacher says something that sounds like Suvi (finnish language puts different endings on nouns and it confuses the hell outta me), but I don’t know if she’s talking about herself, Finn Girl, summer or the song. After the third time the teacher says Suvi, a parent hissed at me in English that Suvi needed to go up front to accept her certificate. Awkward, indeed.

Here’s Little Finn completely avoiding class. We’re all doing some hokey-pokey-like dance. Yup, us grown-ass adults shaking our legs and twirling around like morons while our 2 year old gives zero shits about the class. Pretty much sums up how he felt about his class all year.

Look, here’s the certificates they received. I don’t understand what’s written on them. The Finn says they signify the kids completed that year’s class. Ok, sounds good. I’ve learned Google and Bing do not translate Finnish well, so I’ll take his word for it.

The kids were excited school was over, but I will miss it.  It was the only time I got the house all to myself!

 

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

Living in Washington has provided several learning opportunities. I’ve learned parking spaces labeled “compact” are the SAME SIZE as regular spots. Businesses are required to label a certain amount for compact cars. My SUV is long enough to cover the “compact” writing so no one notices. Problem solved. I’ve also learned oh-so-much about garbage, recycling, and toddler’s gross habits.

Sorting garbage is a way of life here. We have three garbage bins in our garage. One for trash, recycling, and food/yard waste. Which leaves approximately three inches left to park your car in the remainder of the garage.

Little Finn’s love of trash reminded me of this guy. I think they smell alike some days, too.

We recycled in Ohio, but that was amateur compared to Seattle. Detergent bottle empty? Finished with that yogurt container? Changed your door knobs? They can all be recycled! Our bin is overflowing every week. Of course, with a toddler who adores playing in the trash, I usually end up with plastic containers, beer bottles and paper bags scattered about the house. It’s like the kid is practicing to be a homeless bum. If he starts putting brown paper bags around the empty beer bottles I’m taking him to therapy.

The food waste bin has been the most useful, yet difficult to use. We keep a small trash can under the sink and dump it into the larger bin in the garage. The trash can fills up quickly with food scraps and funky smells. Finn Girl is ALWAYS the first to notice. “Mom, it smells like dirty diapers. Mom, it stinks like dead ponies. (What? I have no idea what that means or where it came from.) Mom, why am I smelling something bad? It hurts my nose.” Finn Girl’s teenage years will require me to be heavily medicated. The overdramatic holding of the nose as she flees from the kitchen or the cries that come from her throwing her scraps in the yard waste trash are comical, but only if you’ve had a cocktail. Otherwise it’s irritating.

I am proud to say we have only one or two bags of trash weekly. In Ohio it was easily 5-7 bags. That kinda change would make uber earth conscious Alicia Silverstone happy. Now if only I could get on board with her whole vegan diet we’d be BFFs. Sharing the best use for hemp hearts. Talking about our organic, freshly composted gardens and how to make our own kumbucha. But I can’t. I love the animal flesh. And cheese. Life would be sad without cheese.

The Finn is loving all the recycling and yard waste bins because he grew up dividing his trash like he had a severe case of OCD. I, on the other hand, am accustom to throwing everything in the garbage. The only thing we recycled in the Midwest were glass jars that my mom would fill with bacon grease that would be used for cooking later.

Cubes of trash sold for $50-$100/each. There’s hope for Little Finn’s trash habit.

We’re all adapting and enjoying the changes. I’m hopeful that Little Finn’s obsession with garbage will morph into some sort of weird, new-age art and we can count on him to fund our retirement. If not, guess The Finn will keep his day job.

Top 10 Reasons You Know You’re Married to a Finn

 

1. 

   Perfect size coffee mug for husband.

   Long periods of silence are his norm and not uncomfortable. (Makes for a really awkward meal when you’re sitting with the fin-laws for dinner. I’ve never ate faster in my life than when in Finland.)

2. Shows minimal emotions. (Besides the birth of our children I’ve rarely seen strong emotions. Bonus: He’ll never need Botox because no frown lines.)
3. Asks to put sauna in house.
4. Wants to put real burning candles on the Christmas tree. (So many answers to this. Why? How? Fire hazard! Death and destruction!)
5. Correctly pronounces name of everything in IKEA. (Equally useful and annoying. Especially when he corrects the workers on their pronunciation.)
6. Drinks unhealthy amounts of  oh so strong, super strength black coffee (We make a separate pot for my parents when they visit because they can’t drink it.)
7. Totally forgets about Thanksgiving (It’s an American holiday, remember? I fed Finnish kids a Thanksgiving meal one year. You should’ve seen their reaction to stuffing.)
8. Looks at his feet or anywhere else besides your eyes when speaking to you.
9. Hatred of all things Sweden. (It’s an ongoing national rivalry. Think Hatfield vs. McCoys, but with countries.)
10. Tries to put our children down for a nap in a stroller outside during winter. (Yes, they do this in Finland with heavy duty prams and layers of warm blankets. Over here it’s a great way to get your child kidnapped or have child protective services called for child abuse.)

Field Trip to Crystal Mountain

“Let’s go check out Crystal Mountain today!” I said. “Okay,” said the Finn. Or I could’ve stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil and had the same amount of fun. Why did we think taking a five year old and two year old to a ski resort would be enjoyable? I blame it on the third cup of coffee I was throwing back. I was high on caffeine and unattainable dreams. I was yearning for an adventure.
I dress the kids and throw a shit ton (yes, that’s an exact amount) of snacks into my mom-bag. You know the one. Purchased from a thirty-one party with a trendy chevron pattern and monogrammed “M” on it. I mean how else do middle class moms tote their stuff around?
I put the bag in the car, and come back three minutes later to find Little Finn running around naked throwing his snow boots at the dogs. Finn Girl is sobbing in a heap on the floor wailing that her socks don’t fit and socks will never fit her correctly. My dear husband is sending work emails while ignoring the kids who are on the verge of revolting against clothing. I quickly debate how long I could survive on the snacks I just threw in the car if I quietly slip out the back door and run away.

The tears have dried up by the time arrive at Crystal Mountain 90 minutes later. It’s covered in a perfectly even, thin blanket of snow. It’s like a salt shaker shook the same amount of snow on each pine tree branch. It reminds me of winter in Finland.
Twenty minutes and $50 later we’re on the gondola chugging up the mountain. The snow coats the trees thicker the further up we go. We stop at the top and step out to see Mt. Rainier boldly sticking her peak out above the clouds. Layers of mountains surround her. Each covered in varying amounts of snow and sharp jutting edges. I’m hypnotized by the scenery. Completely unaware that I’m blocking the path to the slopes until I’m hit in the shin by a snowboard.
Oh yeah, this is a ski resort. You’d think I’d learned to ski after spending almost 10 years with a guy who grew up competitively downhill skiing and cross country skiing, but alas, I haven’t. I can cross country ski on flat surfaces. That’s it.

The kids make snow angels and eat snow from a mom-approved clean pile. Then the Finn hits our daughter in the face with a snowball. In front of the restaurant that’s at the top of the mountain. Awesome. The adults in the restaurant laugh while Finn Girl breaks down in tears and says she’s ready to go. I tried to snap a quick family photo, but this is what you get. Little Finn face down in the snow crying.
I throw back a latte on the way home and my caffeinated dreams take over. Maybe next time I’ll take ski lessons and we can all go skiing as a family. Or maybe the kids can take ski lessons and I’ll sit in the lodge with a drink. Yes, that sounds more like it.

Pannukkau (Finnish Pancake)

I have a love/hate relationship with Finnish desserts. Several are so delicious it’s hard to eat just one serving. This is one of those desserts.
I was introduced to this recipe on our last visit to Finland. My sister-in-law whipped up a big pan of Pannukkau (pronounced pawn-a-cock-ku. Yes, seriously.) for dessert. Imagine if crepes and pancakes had a baby….pure heaven! Typically served warm with ice cream, it’s a quick and delicious treat. It can be topped with whipped cream and berries or simply powdered sugar.
There’s several variations of this recipe. I made this recipe last night and the Finn said it tasted just like he remembered.
I thought it was great. I may or may not have had three servings last night.

Pannukkau (Finnish Pancakes)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons butter

1. Preheat the oven to 425.  Place butter in a 9×13 and put into the oven to melt and become slightly bubbly. (Should take no more than five minutes).
2. Whisk eggs until fluffy.
3. Add remainder of ingredients while continuously beating the mixture.
4. Pour batter into pan.
5.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and bubble up near the sides.

Cut into squares and top with ice cream, berries or whatever your heart desires.
Enjoy!

Hyvää isänpäivää! (Happy Father’s Day!)

Father’s Day in Finland is always celebrated the second Sunday in November. The Finn is in Seattle with his new job, but he attended the Finnish School’s Father’s Day celebration today. In honor of the day, the kids and I thought it would be nice to surprise him with a card at the event. I mean, some new guy at the school with no kids lurking around looks like creepy, right?
The principal of the Finnish School was kind enough to let me mail a homemade card that she would give to the Finn for us, but unfortunately it didn’t arrive in time.

 

Finns celebrate the tradition similar to Americans with cards, food and time spent as a family. Here’s a couple things they do differently:

• Seeing the Finnish flag waving in the air honoring you and other dads. It is custom to fly the flag on Father’s Day.
• Watching ice hockey on TV. Finland has been playing Sweden on Father’s Day in Helsinki for years. It’s a rivalry as big as Seahawks vs. 49ers!The kids and I hope the Finn enjoyed his Finnish Father’s Day!

New Beginnings in a New City

I’ve been busy. Real busy. Since my last post the Finn accepted a new job, we put our home on the market, sold it and bought a new one. We’re moving to Seattle in a mere few weeks!

The Finn and I took a couple trips (sans kids!) to check out our new surroundings. The best finds thus far are discovering an area of town called Finn Hill and a local Finnish school. We’ve eager to get the kids into weekly Finnish lessons, and a beginner class for me. (Having your husband teach you a new language is NOT the way to go).

Looks like the Seattle area has a heavy Scandinavian influence that we’ll be looking into. I’m also excited about all the fresh seafood, which was a staple item in my husband’s diet growing up.

Check out the school below:

http://www.finnishschoolofseattle.org/

 

Berry Picking in Finland

Red currants

We’re  in Finland visiting and soaking up the last bits of summer.  The long, sunshine filled days are quickly being replaced with biting winds and darkness. We decided to get in one more berry picking session before frost claimed the berry bushes.  We headed to the fin-law’s garden where gooseberries, red, black and white currants awaited us. A quick trip into the marsh on their property revealed blueberries to add to our collection, too.  We ate more berries than we collected, but it was fun and the kids enjoyed it.

The berries grow plentiful in this region of Finland and have many uses. My mother-in-law makes the standard jams and juices, but also freezes batches of them to use on cakes and desserts. She even dries out some of the leaves from the bushes to use for tea.

While we don’t have a garden of berries at home, I did take advantage of a local you pick berry patch this summer. I made my first batch of black raspberry jam and froze the leftovers to enjoy later this w

White currants

inter when I’m craving fresh fruit.

I’ll share more about trip into the marsh in another post. A quick 10 minute jaunt turned into a 45 minute hike of horrors.

 

 

Learning to Speak Finnish

I’ve been married to my Finnish husband for 7 years and have yet to learn his native language. Why? Did you see the list above?! That sh*t is crazy!
If I had my husband read all those words I wouldn’t hear a difference in any of them. The double vowels and consonants fall on deaf ears.  It sounds like I’m practicing my Lamaze breathing when I recite the vowel sounds, and my mouth makes weird shapes when I pronounce the words.

But the time has come. We’re making our third trek to Finland soon, and I desperately want to learn key words and phrases.

Before we leave my goal is to learn some basic Finnish as well as teach my daughter key phrases or words.
Off to make some flash cards and warm up my mouth. Pretty sure I look like the picture below when speaking Finnish.

Finnish Winter

Given our recent below zero temperatures and snowfall I thought it was appropriate to share what a typical winter in Finland looks and feels like.

In northern Finland, the Lapland area, snow falls as early as September. Average snowfall in Lapland is around seven feet with temperatures hovering around freezing. Southern Finland has a more varied and warmer climate. It only accumulates 2.5-3 feet of snow and is a bit warmer. Winter is the longest season in Finland, lasting for about 100 days in southwestern Finland and 200 days in Lapland.

North of the Arctic Circle, part of winter is the period known as the “polar night”, when the sun does not rise above the horizon. In the
northernmost corner of Finland, the polar night lasts for 51 days. In southern Finland, the shortest day is about 6 hours long.

Short, dark, cold days were a constant during our visit. But when the sun did shine it was beautiful and made the snow sparkle and shimmer. Check out the photos of Mother Nature at her finest.