Awkward pregnancy photos

After seeing this and this  blog post and laughing so hard,  I thought to myself "yeah, I should make some that funny". Only then was it that I looked back at my pregnancy photos from Saule and realized "THEY WERE THAT FUNNY!" Ok maybe not quite that funny, but very funny. At least I can laugh when I look back at my monster belly. I hope I get such quality shots again this time....

Here are a few of my favorites-

Oh yeah....i'm going to eat this entire melon with my eyes closed.

Cue "Bay Watch" theme song....

"Do these cows make my butt look big?"

"Yeah, take the belly pictures right here honey- with this cart of onions and all the trash. make sure you can see the busses in the background."

This is the pregnant swamp thing.

"Can I offer you a light snack? No? Suits me fine I'll eat it all myself."

Melons.  Every pregnancy photo should feature a melon. 

Im not sure which part of this I like best- the look on Pollo's face or the fact I felt the need to lift up my shirt....nice background though....

Dont just sit there! Strike a silly pose! Show up your pits! Linea  negra! crazy hair!

Its almost like Eve playing peek-a-boo. 

And save the best for last- taken just hours before I went into labor--- Kung-foo Panda!

The company is getting bigger......

Things around here just keep getting bigger. Saule,  the rain drops,  my belly..... We are expecting a new addition on April 18, 2012 and we are all very very excited! Look forward to lost of posts to come soon.

Update from summer 2011

Well here we are again, entering the season of cold weather and blogging. Lots has happened since my last post. We had a fantastic summer traveling around the North East USA. We took all back roads and  discovered some really nice places in N.H. and Maine. Much of our camping was in free spaces in really neat little hidden camping areas. We really enjoyed the trip, the nature was fantastic even if we never did see a moose for all our searching! Saule says we just looked in all the wrong places....

Here we are at home visiting NanaPappy. Really we didnt have to go any further then the backyard to find really beautiful nature. We all had a great time over the forth of july weekend at the local parade in Hyde Park. We spent a few really nice days at the local swimming hole, and saw some lawn concerts that were allot of fun. Mussels, corn on the cob, real fresh tomatoes, icecream- it was everything a summer should be! 

Saule and Noah her doll really enjoyed cooling off at the swimming hole . 

Auntie Lina was working at Cape Cod this summer- the place where Pollo and I met. We had a really great visit with her, and as always her and Saule got an incurable case of the giggles. 

It didn't take much driving to feel like we had entered the wacky America we both were missing. We explored covered bridges, giant chairs, and lots of great people watching.

Hours of moose hunting and still no moose. But we sure did have a fantastic time sitting in the wilderness watcing the world go by. This marshland was home to a family of wood ducks.

Bath time in the morning. More moose tracks and still no moose!  This was N.H. free camping at its best.

We pushed the volvo to its limits up Mt. Washington. It was really interesting to watch the change in habitats on the way up the mountain. Saule wasnt a fan of the weather at the top. 

Tide pooling in Maine. 

We spent a week in Acadia camping and hiking. 

More hiking

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When we  made it back to Denmark the weather here was still nice and we were able to have a few really fun days out. This is in the Deer Park that we had visited the last winter. 

Saule the scientist. 

Banana Bread Recipe

I have been slowly creating this recipe, changing others I found online to be more to our taste. This is a very banana-ie, moist, thick bread :)

When we ended up with 30lbs of Banana's this week I was able to perfect it. I have been doubling this recipe and doing it in a spring form pan, but any type of pan (or muffins would be fine)



Ingredients:

 1 cups all-purpose flour
 1 cups whole wheat flour
 1/2 cup bran flakes

 2 tablespoons flax seeds
 1 teaspoon baking soda
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup butter (or coconut oil)
 1/2 cup sugar  (Or honey or maybe none at all if the bananas are really good and ripe)
 2 eggs, beaten
 ~8 mashed overripe bananas

nuts or raisins if you like

Directions

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a pan.

 In a large bowl, sift flours,  baking soda and salt. Mix in bran and flax.

In a separate bowl, cream together soft butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Add nuts if you like. Pour batter into prepared pan.

 Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

A few pictures of the weekend

Saule with her homemade Easter basket. Inside she had honey, jelly, capers (which she loves), a "wishing crystal", a change purse I painted- she was thrilled and tried it all at once.

This is only a very small part of the huge fields near our home

Our Easter tree

A remote beach we rode our bike to.

Nap time

Saule spent almost the entire weekend naked, but she did do this fashion show this morning. She likes to try clothes on, at least for the bike ride through the city.

Easter dress

Our art project of the day

Where did my body go?!

For some reason we are the only people who keep the windows open in our area....maybe its a Danish thing?

These two always like to sleep late. We bed share and I wouldn't have it any other way. I sneak out in the morning and do yoga.

Kalvebod Faelled Vestamager

Give a kid a fish and you entertain him for a day; teach a kid to fish and you entertain him for a lifetime.

Imagine- just outside the hustle and bustle of the downtown wide open spaces, apple orchards, and tiny ponds. There is a place loaning (for free) nets and buckets and laminated ID pages filled with pictures of pond critters. The kids are going wild. Saule and I took off our shoes pulled up our pants, and waded in in search of water bugs, snails, frogs, and fish. The excitement in the kids eyes, the way they chased each other around the banks, got muddy, and shared their catch with us was fantastic! It reminded me of when I was little and used to play for hours in our pond in the yard. How much fun we had. 

That's what is happening today, and everyday at Kalvebod Faelled Vestamager. This wonderful park is a huge expanse of open space just a short peddle from the airport and the downtown. Fields, orchards, and ponds are left in their most natural, sometimes overgrown state leaving room for lots of waterfowl, birds, deer, and other animals. This is a birding hot spot, complete with guides, blinds, and other friendly birders!

There is a nature center "Naturcenter Vestamager" which has a fantastic array of exhibits about Danish wildlife and ecology, a natural playground built from tree limbs, a child size stork nest up a ladder, a chicken coup complete with about 2 dozen hens and chicks.  There is also a bee hive with a glass viewing window, a "fox den" complete with props, rooms filled with stuffed animals (real ones), and all of this is housed in the middle of an enormous field in a lovely open glass sided building. There is a scope set up with bird books nearby. 

The park is huge and flat and stretches as far as you can see. There is no way we could explore it all in just one day. So at Saule's request we are going back tomorrow.

Finding your tribe

I recently posted the following message online, and I am re-posting it here in an effort to attract even more people. We have since started a facebook group called "Copenhagen Alternative Parenting Group". Please feel free to join the group!
 "I'm looking to connect with families that have more in common than just being from someplace other than Denmark and having kids. Its nice to meet other English speakers- but its also nice to have something to talk about :) 

Are you interested in attachment parenting, baby wearing, extended nursing, mothering.com lifestyles? 

Maybe you like to travel off the beaten path, or have a passion for serious camping/biking/trekking/bungee jumping/etc with your kids? 

Maybe you home school or have considered doing so?

Maybe you dream of living off the grid, or giving it all up and moving into a tee-pee or a bus or a house boat? 

Maybe you raise worms under the kitchen sink, or tomatoes in window boxes, or goats in your backyard?

Maybe you are just feeling like the mainstream is not your stream and are seeking other ideas and fresh conversation?

Or maybe you are really open minded and mesh well with other people seeking the road less traveled? 

If you think this might be you- please email me or join our new facebook group. I look forward to meeting you. "