13-9 Days before Christmas

Day 12 of Advent: Play Scrabble!

I never thought to play with Marshall before until I saw a friend's picture on Facebook.  And then it dawned on me, of course he can play!  I mean, let's be honest, the majority of the words I play are in the 3-4 letter range anyway.

And we had a great time! For a little while.  After a while he got tired.  But frankly, Scrabble can only hold my attention for a little bit too.  Unless I am winning.  (Which I was.....Sorry, I'm not one of those moms who lets her kids win.  I mean, I helped him out a lot, but heck, I got the opportunity to use a Z on a double word tile.  What kind of example would I be setting if I didn't seize that one?  How will he ever know how to play?)  In any case, Marshall and I are perfect Scrabble partners. (And to his credit, he was only losing by about 10 points.)

Day 13 of Advent: Sankta Lucia Day!

Our first Sankta Lucia Day in Norway.  It was lovely with a procession to the school and a play organized by the Norwegian teacher.  Marshall was a poor person.  He was very proud of his role. :) But he thought that Trygve was the star.  He was the governor that killed Lucia with his sword after the flames parted and didn't burn her, only to trip and fall on his own sword while walking away.  I asked Marshall if he didn't think that Tiril (who was actually Sankta Lucia) was the star, but he insisted that nope, it was indeed Trygve.  (I think it was the plastic sword, Halloween cape, and painted moustache that sealed the deal for him.

(pictures to follow once they are retrieved from the school camera I was using)

Day 14 of Advent:  Movie Night with Tone

Tone is our wonderful babysitter.  Every time she comes the kids go batty with excitement.  And frankly, so do mom and dad.  So basically it's a win-win for everyone.

But tonight she was here to watch Marshall while I attended the AaIS julebord! I love my colleagues and we had a splendid time.  So much laughing and story telling.  And I made them sing.  (Of course I did.  I was told that at julebord people traditionally stand up and sing something or give a speech.  And am I ever one to back down from a challenge?  So I made up a slightly amusing twist on the 12 Days of Christmas.  Don't you worry colleagues, I'm already thinking about how to improve for next year.)

Ms. Aniva fell in love with the cat and the little girl.

Day 15 of Advent:  The Big Night out in Ålesund

For a special treat,  Marshall and I spent Saturday night at a hotel in downtown Ålesund.  Now those that know Ålesund and where we live were quite perplexed by our choice, but it really did make sense.  We were thinking about going to some fancy ski resort for a night, just the two of us.  Something special to celebrate our mother-son week.  But they were so far away and time started running short.  And that's when I realized that the draw for the resort was a) the indoor pool and b) the overnight at a hotel.  And heck, I can do that right here in Ålesund and the drive time is about 15 minutes.  Why add stress to a holiday season when you don't need to, right?

And Marshall was ecstatic.  He had the whole evening planned out.  First we would go swimming.  (No pictures of this, but trust me, Marshall went swimming.  I stood bravely for a long time and did one lap for him.  Despite being indoors, the water was very very cold.)

Next we would head to the Chinese restaurant for dinner.

Then we would walk around the city a bit.

Look! High fashion Bunad.  Bunad Blue Steel, if you will.

Finally, we would sit in bed and read for a while.

And to top it all off (and vying for first place in Marshall's opinion), a buffet breakfast in the morning.

We had a great night.  I love that Marshall is still so enthusiastic over the little things.  "Mom, the bathroom comes with FREE toilet paper!!!" I love that we can keep it simple and still plan an evening of his dreams.

Day 16 of Advent: Play Christmas Connect Four

What makes it Christmas Connect Four?

CLEARLY, a Santa Hat.