Being Susanne Soring

5th Anniversary!

2012-02-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

Helge and I have now been a couple for 5 years! Being in love and feeling loved by my best friend makes me feel like I can do anything and there is no limit!

Melodifestivalen 2012!

2012-02-03T02:20:00.001-08:00

This one I will post in Swedish as this Eurovison Song Contest hysteria can not be understood by any non-Swedes anyway! :-)

Imorgon sätter cirkusen igång äntligen. 6 lördagar framöver är blockade i kalendern, är max peppad, snacks och bubblor planerade, program är tryckta....nu kör vi! På torsdagen innan en delfinal kan man smyglyssna på bidragen och detta är min ödmjuka åsikt efter att ha hört de 8 bidragen i en minut:

Deltävling 1 i Växjö den 4 februari

1.Sean Banan, Sean Den Förste Banan Det här representerar allt jag HATAR. Det finns inget som är och förblir så hemskt i „musik“ väg. Hur FAN kan han ens få vara med. Ta bort och gör om!

2.Abalone Dots, På väg Det här hade jag inte skämts övar att skicka till Baku. Gillar att det är på svenska och nyckelharpan. Hoppas den sätter sig efter fler lyssningar. Tänker dock: Va ska nu Timoteij göra? Det va ju liksom deras grej med etnoinstrument och snygga och skönsjungande amazoner!

3.The Moniker, I Want To Be Chris Isaak ... Näeee, förra året va det i alla fall färgstarkt och man blev glad av det. Det här är ju bara trisst! Lyssna en minut blev för länge så jag fick stänga av för att inte somna.

4.Afro-Dite, The Boy Can Dance Men gud…dom låter alltid samma. Där får man vara lullig och riktigt danssugen i goda tjejvänners lag för att uppskatta den.

5.Dead by April, Mystery Hi hi är ju egentligen my kind of music! Tänkte bara att det låter för melodiöst för att vara hårt och sen sätter skrikaren igån och det blir lite överdrivet. Kul att den gener är med dock. Det höjer festivalen.

6.Marie Serneholt, Salt And Pepper Att ha med Molly och Marie är lite som Exens revansch! Hon har en fin röst, är söt, dansar bra men det är helt enkelt för slagerigt och inte orginellt i min smak.

7.Thorsten Flinck & Rev..., Jag reser mig igen Men gud, det är inte kul att ha med och kultförklara sjuka människor, eller? Är som en stackars poet som jag lyssnar på för att jag tycker synd om honom. Snälla Sverige kultförklara inte detta! Det finns andra som förtjänar det!
8.Loreen, Euphoria Det blir ansträngande. Låter som förra årets “My hart is refusing me!” Hon visar sá mycket känsla att jag blir helt matt och vill inte lyssna vidare!

Deltävling 2 i Göteborg den 11 februari

1. Ulrik Munther, Soldiers Han låter precis som Justin Bieber! Söt och kommer säkert gå vidare. En låt som jag kan tänka mig att skrika med till med Kati och Hanna även om det inte riktigt är min smak! Kniper säkert den första Final platsen.

2. Top Cats, Baby Doll Näeee! Det här blir lite mycket Ekebo flashbacks! Då finns det bättre i den genern. Fast kul att det är varierande musik.

3. Sonja Aldén, I din himmel Jag gillar Sonja och tyckte hennes ”För att du finns” va bra men den här har ett par musikaliska övergångar för mycket och blir lite för ”mäktig” Kanske den dock växer efter fler lyssningar. Kniper nog en chans i Andra chansen ändå.

4. Andreas Lundstedt, Aldrig aldrig Näeee Andreas du kan bättre. Mycket trisst låt och han verkar inte ens själv gilla den!

5. Timoteij, Stormande hav OOOOhhh va jag blir besviken! Jag trodde Timoteij skulle ta hem det här!!! Den här kommer inte ens gå vidare till final! Trisst! Kanske kanske med mycket tur en plats i andra chansen.

6. David Lindgren, Shout It Out En lát man har hört 100 gánger! Oj…Trisst musikalstjärna försöker vara cool! Den kommer ingen komma ihåg om 10 dar!

7. Mimi Oh, Det går för långsamt Det går för långsamt för mig med! Har redan glömt den!

8. Thomas Di Leva, Ge aldrig upp Thomas är ju för söt min sina kosmiska budskap! Kul att han är med. Inte min smak. Kniper dock säkert den andra Final platsen.

Deltävling 3 i Leksand den 18 februari

1. Youngblood, Youngblood Men gud, det här är ju ManboyX5! Och nu menar jag inte 5 gånger så bra utan det låter precis som Eric Saades bidrag från förra året (som jag heller inte gillade) med 5 unga killar som gör sitt bästa att dansa snyggt. Jag blir mest stressad av dansen dock och vill skrika „Oldblood Oldblood jag vill ha Oldblood!“

2. Maria BenHajji, I mina drömmar Hi hi Maria ser ut som en annan Maria jag känner! J Som webjoker har hon verkligen kommit långt! Låter helt OK, typisk slagerlåt, mäktig, känslosam fast jag vill nog inte höra den igen, nästa!

3. Mattias Andréasson, Förlåt mig Gillar inte alls den här stilen! Bara jobbig. Det tog lång tid innan jag ens fattade att den va på svenska. Tycker verkligen att en svensk låt ska vinna men inte den här tack!

4. Love Generation, Just A Little Bit Usch! Inget jag gillar! Dom va inte bra förra året och det här har inte ändrat sig. Kattdräkterna hoppas jag ändrar sig till lördag. Om man nu ska vara med i melodifestivalen kan man inte ta på sig något finare äen skidunderkläder, tycker jag. Det finns så mycket fina stilar och kläder för ett sådant tillfälle!

5. Carolina Wallin Pérez, Sanningen Zzzzzzzzzz!

6. Andreas Johnson, Lovelight Minst dålig…även om jag tycker han är överdrivet slajmig på scen! Går nog till Final men tillsammans med vem av dom andra???

7. Molly Sandén, Why Am I Crying Får nog bli Molly…Söt och Ok men inga Waolåtar…SYND!

8. Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li, Mirakel Ta bort….Jag vet inte vad som är värst…Björn Ranelid eller Sara Li! Usch säger jag bara. Det här gör att jag börjar gilla Sean Banan!

kommande:
Deltävling 4 i Malmö den 25 februari

Roligt det här...ska bli kul och höra vad ni tycker.

Happy New Year 2012!

2012-01-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has had a healthful and joyous holiday season. I did, a nice and relaxed Christmas with our little family in our new and cozy home in Walldorf and a fun big party with good friends for New Years Eve in Lingen!

My New Year resolutions are as always: Learn something new, enjoy life, help and be nice to others, lose weight, exercise regularly, be more eco-conscious and to spend more quality time with family & friends.

The last couple of years have been remarkably good and I don’t know how to „top“ it. 2007 met the man of my dreams, 2008 had a son, 2009 got married, 2010 Honeymoon trip to the Seychelles, 2011 moved to our house in Walldorf. I am hoping 2012 will bring something exciting, adventurous and nice as well.

Let’s see…looking good so far!

Little Santa at the 2011 Swedish Lucia celebration!

2011-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Eriks first Lucia procession! The kids from the Swedish school Rhein-Neckar performed yesterday. He liked it alot and next year he wants to be a gingerbread-man. It was a nice traditional Lucia fest with Luciatåg, julkakor, pyssel, tombola, dans kring granen and tomte.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u4crwGyAAk&feature=colike

We moved to Walldorf!!!

2011-12-08T05:44:00.001-08:00

We moved to Walldorf!!!

After a long search we finally found our dream house where we want to live for the next couple of years. The decision was very sudden and we were sad that we had to leave Neuenheim, but now after a month we are already unpacked, all set and ready to enjoy the life in Walldorf where we also work both of us.

I prepared a bit and read about my new hometown and it has a very interesting history and is not only the city were SAP and IKEA is located.

Walldorf is of course best known as the city that headquarters the world's third largest software company SAP, but it is also the birthplace of the millionaire John Jacob Astor, at the time of his death the wealthiest man in the United States. Astor's descendants of the Astor family perpetuated the North-Americanized version Waldorf in the names of The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and Waldorf salad. It is also the origin of the name of the Waldorf-Astoria-Zigarettenfabrik and through it Waldorf education. Also SAP founder Dietmar Hopp and his family lives and are very active in Walldorf and its community.

Walldorf is considered one of the richest cities in Europe and has often been awarded as the most economically attractive community in Germany. For its inhabitants it has a good offer of really good schools, day-care, after-school activities, library, outdoor and indoor Swimming pool, a huge amount of different clubs and societies and nice restaurants and bars.

… and also if we don´t like it, Heidelberg is 15 min drive away! ;-)

Please stop by and convince yourself that we made a good choice!

Bessie Johansson

2011-10-21T04:06:00.001-07:00

I absolutely adore the colorful and happy paintings of the Swedish native art painter Bessie Johansson. I wish I could fill my house and life with all her happy little paintings.

Where monsters can grow

2011-04-18T02:20:00.000-07:00

This is a nice little poem I found on the Internet for the 19% Finns that voted "True Finns" last weekend and also for the 5,7% Swedes that elected the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) in the last Swedisch election. This is for you!

Beware of the monsters, who dwell in the mind. Who grow in the shelter, of shadows they find. Beware of the demons, who hide from the light. Who only survive, when our spirits lose sight. Those creatures can thrive, where our knowledge is low. They fill in the spaces, of what we don’t know.

Beware of the monsters, that cause us to hate. To strike out in anger, when we can’t relate. For ignorance darkens, the mind and the heart. And helps all our monsters, to tear us apart.

But learning and thinking, will strengthen us so. We won’t be the places, where monsters can grow.

Erik is now a 3-year-old!

2011-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

My little Erik is now 3 years old. He is now a little boy with a great distinct character. He speaks a lot, some Swedish but mostly German. I was a bit worried for a while that he took his time talking in real sentences but now he talks our heads off, all the time. Lots of why, and why not’s.

Now that he is 3 he stopped using pacifier and has started to go to the toilet more often. We are not quite there yet with the Potty training at night but getting there slowly! For his birthday he got a lot of Playmobil and he loves it when you sit in his room and play.

The Saturday after his birthday we had a birthday party with 7 of his friends, their parents and his grandparents came from Sweden extra for the occasion. Erik got to pick the food so that was easy, spaghetti Bolognese, ice cream cake and we had games (pin the tail on a pig), and “Fiskedam” (the kids fish for their Party bag) Erik had a lot of fun and I think the other kids did too. My parents were a bit overwhelmed by the laud 3-year-olds but other than that it was a great day!

Erik has also started “Swedish mini school”. It is a “School”, 1, 5 hour a week for the Swedish kids living in the area. For the ones under 6 it’s more of a play school. One dad plays the guitar, the kids and about 10 parents sing Swedish songs and then someone has prepared some craft or artwork project. Sometimes they read a Swedish book or so. For me its fun, Erik likes it a lot. He really looks up to the other kids there and finds it really cool to speak Swedish now. Not only Mama speaking this funny language!

Luciatåg – Performed by the kids of the Swedish school in Heidelberg

2010-12-16T06:17:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday the Swedish-German society had their annual Lucia celebration. The kids make this procession singing and performing traditional Swedish Christmas and Lucia songs and poems. It is so cute, amazing and always fills my eyes with tears how good it is every year. Some of the kids have a heavy German accent to the poems but still considering that most of them are at least bilingual it is really fantastic. I can´t wait to see Erik up there as a little “Staffan Stalledräng”, Gingerbread man or a little Santa on the stage performing when he starts the Swedish school.

After the “Luciatåg” there was music, dancing around the Christmas tree, tombola and the kids got a present from Santa. This is a highlight of the year for me and for the Swedish community in the region.

Baking Christmas cookies.

2010-12-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday it was a really rainy and grey day but me and my family had a really cozy day at home baking and listening to Christmas music.

The good thing about having a 11, a 7 and a 2- year-old is that everyone is helping but still just minor chaos is being produced. Everyone helped out from the beginning with 10 little and big hands on the dough, then with very creative shapes, colors and decorations we managed to bake a lot of very cute looking cookies that actually tastes as well.

Here are the results of the Soring baking session! Well done kids!

A season to be jolly!

2010-11-29T06:13:00.000-08:00

Weihnachtsmarkt in Heidelberg has finaly started and perfectly on time for this fantastic season came the winter wonderland weather with romantic falling snow. It’s just not right drinking your first Glühwein of the year when you are not freezing your nose off like last year. Heidelberg is just sooo beautiful when it’s all lit up, the view of the castle and the mixed smell of Pine tree, Crêpes, Gingerbread, Mulled wine and Bratwurst just makes me happy and in a holiday mood.

We started the Weihnachtsmarkt season taking a family photo with the Santa at the Lions stall on Marktplatz, then a few carrousels, sweets for the kids and Glühwein for Helge and me. After that we went ice-skating the whole family. 2-year-old, Erik was a bit reserved at first and did not like the uncomfortable skates. But as soon as we put him on the ice he was smiling constantly for one hour….He loved it and didn´t want to leave again. No fear! He said faster, faster Mama! He learned really quickly and it will not be long before he is a better skater than we are. Tre kronor, watch out here comes your future star!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-25T07:38:00.001-07:00

We just love the idea of dressing up and celebrating Halloween and as we couldn´t go to Martin´s annual Halloween party in a castle close to Frankfurt this year we decided to have our own Halloween party with a haunted house full of spiders, buffet with creepy food and drinks and lots of good friends over, all dressed up.

Of course we had to think of the kids and held back a bit on the too spooky stuff!

A better community

2010-10-04T05:55:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday it was time once again this year for some volunteering work. This SAP “initiative” went from SAPlings to Clear Purpose and now it’s called “A better community” It doesn´t matter if it keeps changing names it is still an event for SAP employees doing volunteer work in the community.

Our whole family participated in this event to make the Langgewann primary school in Ludwigshafen nicer. As it was raining in the morning many of the projects that we planned outside got cancelled but we still managed to do a good job and the students, teachers and Director were happy with their “new” school and thanked us by performing a very nice theater play and one boy played the violin at the handover ceremony. My whole family, colleagues and friends helped and we all had fun at the same time.

Race for the Cure in Frankfurt

2010-09-27T02:32:00.000-07:00

I did it! My first race in about 20 years! Sunday I participated in a Race for the Cure 5 kilometer run, to help raise public awareness of breast cancer. Every minute a woman dies of this horrible decease and this was a good way to support this great cause and help myself at the same time to stay fit. About 50 SAP colleagues from the Business women network joined and it was great to see how supportive they all where and how they backed up everyone running. I am really proud of us and will join next year again.

Swedish Election

2010-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

On my birthday, the 19th of September the Swedes went voting. 5,7% of the voting Swedes elected the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD). 17 men and 3 women will now take place in the Swedish parliament and fight to make Sweden a much more closed country. They want to cut down immigration of refugees and immigration on the grounds of family ties by 90 percent and they want Sweden to leave EU and make it harder for Swedes to study and work in Europe.

This was not what I wished for as a gift for my birthday Sweden!

1 year of Marriage

2010-07-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Helge and I have been married for 1 year! We had paper anniversary last Sunday. Over the weekend we celebrated by drinking Champagne on a blanket watching the Castle Illumination and fantastic fireworks over our romantic hometown Heidelberg. In some ways I can´t believe that it’s a year ago that we said: Ja, mit Gottes Hilfe! But on the other hand I feel like I have known my soul mate Helge my whole life.

This year has been amazing and exiting with our kids growing up so fast and learning so many new things, our fantastic honeymoon trip to the Seychelles and many memorable and loving moments. One year of marriage hardly make me a pro but I will still say for us the simple secret to a happy marriage is to remember to spend quality time alone together, have fun, knowing your partner and be supportive, having mutual respect, sharing household chores and being nice to each other.

I sure hope we will have a lot of Wedding Anniversaries to celebrate in the future!

Helge, ich liebe Dich!

Work/Life Balance in Germany. A Swede's Perspective

2010-07-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

Before my son was born, I didn't think much about work/life balance. I realize now some differences between Germany and Sweden when it comes to laws on maternity and paternal leave, paid sick child days, affordable good daycare centers, as well as schools that don't close at 12 every day and serve lunch. Things that I took for granted growing up in Sweden. Germany has slowly been changing laws, that makes it easier for women to get back to work after parental leave. Still, as I wanted to come back to work full-time after one year of parental leave like most Swedes do, I faced the mentality of how a good mother should stay home at least three years and perhaps work part-time after that.

We are really lucky at the moment with the best Kita place for Erik in Heidelberg but that’s unfortunately only till he is 3 and so our search goes on for a Kindergarten place! It is so frustrating and time-consuming to run around putting yourself on lists with 1000s of other parents for a few places offered in Heidelberg, hoping and not knowing how to plan for next year.

I really hope Germany improves and takes a way a bit of stress off parents with young children!

Glad Midsommar!

2010-06-25T00:18:00.000-07:00

On the Friday closest to the actual summer solstice (between 19 and 26 June) Swedes celebrate Midsummer's Eve. It is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden, and probably the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated.

The traditional event includes rising and dancing around a huge maypole (majstång or midsommarstång) covered with greens and flowers. The Swedes dance around the maypole with their families and friends, listen to traditional music and some even wear traditional folk costumes. In addition, many wear crowns made of wild springs and wildflowers on their heads. The year's first potatoes, pickled herring, Chives, sour cream, and possibly the first strawberries of the season are on the menu. Drinking songs are also important at this feast, and many drink heavily.

Because Midsummer was thought to be one of the times of the year when magic was strongest, it was considered a good night to perform rituals to look into the future. Traditionally, young people pick bouquets of seven different flowers and put them under their pillow in the hope of dreaming about their future spouse. In the past it was believed that herbs picked at Midsummer were highly potent, and water from springs could bring good health.

Congratulations Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel!

2010-06-23T01:26:00.000-07:00

Last saturday the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria finally got to marry her Prince Daniel. It all looked stunning and it moved me to tears to see how cute they are together. All the best for the newlyweds!

Ice Hockey WC 2010 in Mannheim’s SAP Arena

2010-05-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

At the moment hockey world championship is being played in Germany. The Swedish group, together with France, Norway, Czech Rep, Canada, Switzerland, Latvia and Italy are playing just around the corner from where I live, in Mannheim’s SAP Arena.

Yesterday evening me and my Swedish neighbor Caroline got our husbands to watch the kids, put blue and yellow colors on and went to the game Sweden vs. France.
It was great to see all the supporters from around the world partying together. It wasn´t the best game Sweden played and it was not even halfway sold-out but an enthusiastic bloc of Swedish supporters, the official mascot Urmel and a victory for Sweden 3-2 really made my day yesterday and it was great to sing “Du gamla du fria…” together with Caroline.

Sweden can wrap up first place in Group C with a win over the Czechs on Thursday. Go Sweden! I hope I get to go to at least one more game in this world championship.

Glad Påsk! Frohe Ostern! Happy Easter!

2010-04-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Eurovision Song Contest

2010-03-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

Now that I am an adult (at least sometimes as a wife and mother :-) I feel strong enough to admit as well… I am a huge ESC fan! I have always been and will always be watching this amazing and sparkling show. I am still a rocker but once a year I just have to keep lists, have Swedish food and have friends over for an ESC party! There… I said it, now I feel better and can get over to the important stuff...being my points this year:

12 Pts. Sweden (Anna is an angel with an amazing voice.)

10 Pts. Germany (Lena is so cool and crazy she should win. Germany sure deserves it.)

8 Pts. Denmark (Nice 80s duet. Sounds a bit like a Cher song)

7 Pts Ireland (Powerful song and I love the Lord of the Rings pipes)

6 Pts Belgium (Nice Guitar-song 1)

5 Pts Cyprus (Nice Guitar-song 2)

4 Pts Armenia (Nice one. Anyone know why the stone is Apricot?)

3 Pts Albania (Nice with a pop song surrounded by all the ballads)

2 Pts Portugal (At first I didn´t like it as she acted so weak but now she´s gained Power! I like that it is in Portuguese - such a nice language to sing)

1 Pt Greece (Oppa! Houh! Arrrgh)

For me May 29th in Oslo it’s not about winning. I think all countries should send what they like and not focus so much on what they think will win and so on. It’s just a colorful show that unites Europe and makes 43 countries participate and 125 million people across the world watch the Eurovision Song Contest every year.

Celebrating the Persian New Year, Nowruz.

2010-03-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Last week Cultures@SAP organized an event for SAP colleagues and their families. This time the Persian New Year (“Nowruz”alternative spellings: Noruz, Norouz Norooz, Noruz, Nowrouz) was in focus. The Iranian community had done a great job in showing their historic country, its people, folklore, and traditions, as they celebrated the start of spring. They had traditional and modern music and dance performances, tea ceremonies, typical snacks, calligraphy, and a mini-bazaar. Family and Carrier together with the parents association had a children's corner with fun, games, and magic for the kids.

The “International Corner” highlighted spring holidays and traditions from other countries and that’s where I was representing Sweden. Wearing my Sweden-dress, I talked about how we celebrate “Valborg” and Easter and other typical signs of spring in Sweden. I had made it really colorful with a huge Easter twig with colorful feathers and other spring flowers. I told stories of the Easter witch, Easter bunny, bonfires, students singing and how Sweden celebrates the start of spring.

Nowruz has been celebrated for over 3,000 years and this year the UN recognized it as the International Day of Nowruz. In the middle of the canteen in Walldorf the Iranians had put a Haft-seen table. It’s made up of seven symbols of life and the interaction of human beings with nature. It’s also a day you visit the elders, give gifts, special foods, and house cleaning, wearing of new clothes, forgetting old grudges and embracing new things. Nowruz is a memory of old tales and epics, a celebration of rebirth and rejuvenation. Spring has arrived and the previous year with all its events, good or bad, has passed. Renewed hope anticipates new achievements.

As they say in Persian, Eid-e Haamegee Mobaaraak!

Raising a bilingual Child

2010-03-16T06:26:00.000-07:00

Our son Erik is bilingual in Swedish and German. I speak to him in Swedish and Helge, the girls, the teachers and kids at the daycare and …as we live in Germany most people around us, German.

While I was pregnant, I read some books and blogs about raising a child bilingual. I mostly read of benefits learning two languages as a child and that as a young child, the brain is constantly making new connections, making the acquisition of language much easier than it is for older children and adults. Bilingualism is supposed to benefit children in many ways, helping the development of their first language, increased ability to ‘multi-task’, focus concentration, think analytically, solve problems and fosters greater awareness of and respect for other cultures.

So we decided we want to give it a try following the “one parent, one language” rule: each parent speaking their mother tongue to him, right from birth, so that he is able to identify each language with a specific person, and thereby learns to keep the languages separate.

I started talking and singing to him in Swedish when he was in my belly already. Helge and I speak German and that makes it a bit confusing sometimes. It is really hard to be consequent when he “only” has about 80 words in his vocabulary and then to say “bil” instead of “Auto” when that is his new favorite word. He learns very fast at the moment about a word a day and a lot from his daycare too where he speaks German.

Luckily some German and Swedish words are the same or similar such as mama, papa, ja, nej, kom, saft, hund, baden, vogel, jacke, …
Other ways I am using to get him to speak Swedish is reading Swedish books, watching Disney movies in Swedish. We try to talk to “momo”, “mofa” and the family in Sweden over Skype often. We are also hoping newborn Linnéa, our Swedish neighbor will learn to talk fast! :-)

Next year I will enroll Erik in “Miniskolan” which is a Swedish playgroup/preschool organized by the Swedish School in Heidelberg so that he can hear some other kids speaking this strange language his mama is speaking at least once a week regularly.

Yesterday Erik said something that made me so happy and proud: “Mamma e fin!”

Children's Anger and Tantrum management

2010-02-26T01:49:00.000-08:00

This morning was not as I had planned it to be! Instead of smooching, playing and harmony there was screaming, anger tantrums and Erik lying on the floor, kicking and screaming. He is now 2 years and in the defiant age.

I am reading all this books and going through forums looking for advice on how to act for instance when we are food shopping and he screams so loud that everyone in the store either think that we are abusing him or some think we should do as he pleases so he stop hurting their ears and for sure all of them think we are bad parents. Or how can we have relaxed mornings like we used to have?

I am reading this really good book at the moment. It´s called “Every child can learn rules”. It describes how children in all ages needs rules, how the strategy to raise children changed over time, common parent mistakes and guidelines how to do it differently. This morning I was looking at Erik wishing I had finished the book already and knew how to convince him to get ready and not keep on lying on the floor screaming and kicking. I haven´t gotten to that part in the book yet….but sure hope I do soon!

The book says tantrums typically occur at age 2 to 3 when children are forming a sense of self. The toddler is old enough to have a sense of "me" and "my wants" but is too young to know how to satisfy the want. Tantrums are the result of high energy and low ability to use words to get needs or wants met. They typically peak between ages 2 and 3, and start to decline by 4. They usually run their course within a year.

So, ok! Let’s try to avoid a year of screaming and kicking so we can get back to having more time for smooching, playing and harmony! Do everything you are suppose to, calm ourselves, state clear rules, notice and compliment appropriate behavior, and teach understanding and empathy.

Got to go...have a book to finish! :-)

Seychelles Dream Honeymoon

2010-01-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

Where to go on a “once in a lifetime” picture perfect honeymoon? The only thing we knew for sure was that we wanted to celebrate the beginning of our new lives together just the 2 of us and that’s why we waited half a year after the wedding so that Erik would be old enough. Grandma and grandpa in Sweden were more than happy to take care of him and they did a perfect job in pampering and spoiling him. We thought a bit about going to Goa first but unsure we looked through the internet for other destinations. We booked Seychelles spontaneous on short notice, without knowing much about it.

Seychelles is an archipelago nation of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. On the Seychelles everyone speak Seychellois Creole, English and French perfectly and they are also very friendly and service minded. It is a unique honeymoon destination with stunning white lonely sand beaches, turquoise waters and nature reserves with unique and unspoiled wildlife.

January 1st, 2010 we flew from cold Frankfurt to Mahé, the main Island of the Seychelles, and were blown by the temperature change to sunny 30°C. A shuttle took us to the harbor of Victoria were we embarked our “pirate boat”, a Dutch-built schooner named S.V. Sea Pearl. After departing Port Victoria on Mahé and anchoring outside the island Praslin on the first evening we got an excellent Creole welcome barbecue dinner.

We were one of 6 young couples on the boat (5 honeymooners!), 4 German, 1 French and 1 Dutch couple. The crew included the captain, an engineer, 2 deckhands, 2 stewardesses, a dive instructor and a chef serving us amazing food 3 times a day.

From the ship we made excursions with our dinghy to the smaller and harder to reach islands Grande Soeur (beautiful beach), Aride (Bird Island), Coco Island (great snorkeling) and Curieuse (giant tortoise farm). We also visited the famous World Heritage Site, the Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve on Praslin. This ancient forest is home to the infamous double coconut, the coco de mer.

On Sea Pearl we also got our Scuba Diver PADI Advanced Open Water certificate and dived with sharks, turtles, colorful fish and amazing vegetation. To get the certificate we had to get up early in the morning, do our first dives directly in the Indian Ocean where Helge stepped on a Sea Urchin, read a 250 pages book, do a test and go into the water and prove you could swim instead of relaxed reading a book on deck. But it was so worth it! Darren our cool, 19-year-old, south-African Diving Instructor made all our dives worthwhile and we had so much fun learning about diving.

The last evening we had a pirate party on the Sea Pearl with good Creole cuisine, dancing, the crew had decorated the boat with palm trees and Egbert our Chef baked a wedding cake for us. It was really sad getting off the boat, getting on CatCocos to go to Praslin and to say goodbye to our new friends.

The following 4 days was more relaxed at the luxury hotel Le Duc on the island Praslin, lonely sand beaches close to the hotel (Anse Volbert) and one excursion to, Anse Lazio which is a beautiful beach great for snorkeling. We had great food with all kinds of fish, Seafood, drinking cocktails and a number of great local Seybrew beer.

The last 3 days we spend on La Digue, a sleepy island community where ox-carts and bicycles still remain the most common mode of transportation. It is famous for its cool and strange looking rock formations. Helge and I explored the island by bike. Due to the high humidity and more than 30°C biking to Belle Vue, 333 meters above sea level was really a challenge and we sure deserved our Seybrew at the Tarosa bar after that one! We also biked past a vanilla plantation, lonely white beaches, giant tortoises and a pirate shipyard.

Seychelles sure is a, “once in a lifetime” picture perfect honeymoon destination with its stunning white lonely sand beaches, turquoise waters and unique and unspoiled wildlife above and below water surface. Normally January is low season because of the rain period but we were lucky and didn´t have one day of rain. It was the most perfect 2 weeks of our lives and for our honeymoon we could not have imagined anything so perfect.

Hope in Copenhagen - Hopenhagen

2009-12-03T05:10:00.000-08:00

Hopenhagen stands for the hope that in Copenhagen December 7th-18th – during the United Nations Climate Change Conference – we can build a better future for our planet and a more sustainable way of life.

SAP is one of the 3 Founding Partners, whose support from the very beginning has made Hopenhagen possible. We create software that helps companies do right by our planet. For example, SAP Carbon Impact is an on demand, quick-to-implement solution that helps companies manage their carbon footprint for all activities.

SAP is also leading by example, with a commitment to reduce our carbon footprint internally. We have a clear Sustainability strategy and I am happy to be working for a company which active supports initiatives like Hopenhagen.

I feel that Sustainability is not just the responsibility of our political leaders and their ability to agree on regulations; it is very much the responsibility of us all. It will make a difference if we all start changing the little things such as: use your own coffee mug at work, reuse bottles, turn off the lights and unplug electronics when you don´t need it, use clean energy, air-dry your clothes, carpool or use public transport to work, recycled batteries, try to buy local products, recycle your waste and if you want you can sign this petition and become a Citizen like me:

http://www.hopenhagen.org/

Diversity@SAP

2009-10-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

I find it truly motivating and essential to be working for a global company like SAP. More than 48,500 employees from 141 different nationalities contribute to the success at SAP. Diversity is a commitment to accepting and supporting all people, regardless of their gender, creed, family status, personal relationships, work content, and other dimensions of differences.

I am a part of Cultures@SAP, an employee initiative that promotes the sense of inclusiveness and multicultural understanding. They arranged together with the Diversity and Health office an annual Diversity Event here in Walldorf. SAP colleagues and their families are invited to attend a cultural evening celebration. 20 cultural communities and among them the Swedish speaking community that I am managing show their exciting countries and its people, traditions, snacks, dance, music, and the talents of our employees. Family@SAP also offered a children's program with a clown, puppeteers, face painting, games, and prizes for the little ones.

This year the event highlighted the Indian holiday of "Diwali," or Festival of Lights, with artistic and musical performances from India but also had Hula hula dancers, a Chinese Kungfu-dance, African, Thai, Persian and Hungarian dancers, an Argentinean Tango performance and Russian balalaika player.

Representing Sweden I was up on the stage singing “We are the world” with 20 colleagues from 20 different countries and took part of a fashion show wearing my Swedish dress and I had so much fun and I really enjoyed the event with my family, friends and colleagues and can hardly wait to repeat it next year!

I am a Sustainability Champion at SAP

2009-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Macroeconomic trends such as globalization, tightened government regulations, scarcity of natural resources and climate change have increased the awareness of the impact of human activities on the environment. This has lead to the rise of the concept of Sustainability, which is defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

SAP defines sustainability as holistically manage social, environmental and economic risks and opportunities for profitability, reputation and compliance.“SAP has made a long-term, strategic commitment to sustainability. As a leader in business software, it’s our natural responsibility to both improve our sustainability performance and to enable our customers to run more sustainable business processes globally---for the sake of future generations.” Léo Apotheker, CEO of SAP, said in a statement.

I see myself as someone that cares about the environment, social justice and human rights. I try to be a role model by recycling, carpooling to work and try to involve myself in charity work when I find the time and as I heard of the sustainability Champion network I immediately thought it was something for me. I have already had good experience with clear purpose, charity work driven by SAP in the region and diversity themes as a woman, working mother and Swede at SAP. Finally I can do something and use paid work time to do so! Sustainability Champions dedicate about 10 percent of their work time to this role and receive special training and support. They support an internal communications campaign to raise awareness and inform and educate all employees about sustainability initiatives within SAP.

Sustainability champions are multipliers, role models, motivators, local representatives, points of contact for sustainability and localizers for local adaptation and applicability of sustainability efforts.

I will do my best to, walk the talk and inspire others to do the same to promote sustainability. I will think globally and contribute locally!

Summer Vacation in Sweden 2009

2009-08-28T05:49:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our annual 3 weeks summer vacation in Sweden. It was 3 great weeks that went by way to fast, with mostly good weather, priceless quality time with my family, relatives and friends and some new adventures like horseback riding, fishing and a wheel chair race at my moms work.

The first week we spend a lot of lazy days on the beach just building sand castles with the kids, BBQing with my family and going for a swim in the ocean. Except for a few jellyfish too many and loads of lady beetles in the sand it was just great and it always makes me stunned how beautiful the beaches are on the west coast in Sweden. We also had 2 crayfish parties at my parent’s house. The girls are not too crazy about crayfish but at least they helped me peel some. Great service! We also did a lot of handicrafts with my mom like necklaces, bracelets and brooches.

In the second week we went to Astrid Lindgren Park in Vimmerby, Småland. The park features well-known settings from the best-loved stories of Astrid Lindgren like, Pippi, Emil, Madicken, Ronja, Rasmus, Brother Lionhart, Karlsson-on-the-Roof and many other popular characters. There is theatre all day long, both on stages and in improvised performances all around the park. It was so cool for me to see my favorite characters from my childhood and educational for Helge and the girls. They knew some of Astrid Lindgren´s stories before but now they have even more fun reading about them. Old classics tend to get lost in today’s world of Disney movies and computer games.

The last weekend of our vacation we spend on a small Island on a lake called Nömmen in Småland. We slept in tents, cooked our food on a campfire and fished pike, perch, Zander and crayfish. The kids really enjoyed it and caught fish and ran around on the island discovering things. Being around so much fresh air really made us tired but at night we actually also got some grown up time after the kids went to sleep and had some food and drinks in front of the campfire with my parents, sister and her family and aunt and uncle and their families.

Helge and the girls get so much better in Swedish every time we are there and I am so very happy and grateful about how well my family gets along.

The best day of my life!

2009-07-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

I am now a married woman named Susanne Soring!!!

My first wedding day (in Germany you have two celebrations, in the town hall and then in the church) was filled with small disasters such as forgetting the rings, flat tires, forgetting my passport and being late but other than that it was a lovely ceremony in a beautiful surrounding in the old town hall in the old part of Heidelberg. Afterwards we toasted at the “Marktplatz” and then we walked up past the castle to the Marienhütte were our party location was. Our friends and family helped us set up everything for the big day the next day.

The big church wedding day started at 9:30 as my sister came and picked me up to go to the hairdresser and then we went to church where I saw my handsome Helge, the very cute kids and all of our 150 family and friends.

The church was beautiful. Karolina sang, Peter played the guitar and my sister read from the bible in 2 languages. The only thing that we missed was the kiss! Hmmm, good thing that we have a lifetime together to catch up!

Outside we toasted with everyone and then we went up to the castle with our family to take pictures. Unfortunately Erik was not in a good mood but I hope we still got some good pictures.

When we came to the party location everyone had gotten a name tag so everyone knew how they were related to us and a flag saying where they were from. Our Toastmasters Caroline and Barrett had done a great job taking care of our guests while we where gone. The BBQ, Salad buffet and all the rest of the buffet tasted really good.

My dad and sister held very moving speeches, the Swedes sang songs. The live band Fast Forward played our song “Das Beste” and Helge and I danced our first dance as a married couple. At 10 we all walked down the hill to the castle terrace holding torches. Friends of mine have told me that they could see our lights all the way to Neuenheim and that it looked really cool when we walked down through the forest. Standing on the terrace with all the torches overlooking the illumination of the castle and the fireworks was really a magical moment.

When we got back we cut the cake (very good job –THANKS Maria) and then Fast Forward played till 4 in the morning and we danced and had so much fun! Helge and I left the party at 5 to go to our secret hideaway for the night. Very nice! The best Day ever!

My surprise Bachelorette Party!

2009-07-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

One week before our wedding, morning at 9 on Saturday 4th of July, I am about to change Erik’s diaper when Helge says to me: There is someone at the door for you! All of sudden I see my twin sister standing at the door with Lone and Caroline. It made me so happy!

They dressed me in a medieval dress and asked me to come with them and we walked down to the Neckar shore where the rest of the girls were waiting with the biggest and best breakfast ever. Under the trees we drank Sekt, talked and ate.

My first challenge was to make a flower crown to wear for the day and then Svea read me my goddess and angels cards and I had to make a “suitable for marriage” test.

Later on we took a boat trip from Heidelberg to Neckarsteinach and back and on the boat I got to paint a glass vase with my impressions of the day!

It is very hot on the boat and I drank a Radler but the groom to be next to us and his “friends” drank some Croatian schnapps and he had to throw up next to us. I guess he doesn’t have as many precious memories of his bachelor party as I do!

In the afternoon we once again went down to the Neckar shore for a BBQ and once again the girls have really done a great job. The food was just wonderful with plenty of leftovers that I had to hand out to strangers. Hmmm really embarrassing - where is that Croatian Schnapps when you need one? ;-)

In the evening we went in to town and heading for the “untere Strasse” we met many other bachelorette/bachelor parties. Heidelberg is just full of them in the summer! Me and my dear party people partied outside Destille and then even though we started early in the morning we still danced in the cave till late!

I really have the best friends ever that made this a really cool day for me with many happy memories and fun. THANKS ladies, you are the best!

Rock am Ring 2009. I am soon 35 why do I do this to myself?

2009-06-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Just got back from this years Rock am Ring, Germany’s most popular open-air rock festival (100.000). This year being a mother, soon 35, engaged to be married in about a month and really liking my clean, dry and cozy home and especially my lovely comfortable water bed I ask myself why do I do this to myself?

This year was not my favorite lineup but still not to bad with e.g. The Killers, The Prodigy, Placebo, Billy Talent, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Korn, Guano Apes, MIA., and Chris Cornell

Camping in rain in the middle of nowhere, not showering, drinking beer out of cans, portaloos, being awoken by idiots shouting "bollocks" from tent-to-tent at 4am might not sound too good to the most of you but we actually paid good money to do so. ;-)

We were a great group of 5, got to spend some real quality time with my brother Mike, did not get too wet thanks to Carsten’s great idea with the pavilion, got to see 10 good bands and had so much fun laughing a lot. Thanks guys! See you again 2010! Rock on!

Do I ever grow up? :-)

VOTE in the EU Election!

2009-05-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

The 7th European Parliament elections are due to take place in June 2009. 375 million Europeans will be eligible to elect 736 MEPs to represent them.

I have always taken huge pride in being entitled to vote and in 2004 I was surprised to hear that only 45.6% thought it important enough to decide who represent them in the European Parliament for the next 5 years. In Sweden it was even worse 37.2%! (Germany: 43%)

Being a Swede, living and working in Germany and having studied as a Erasmus student in Spain I feel really European and I will elect a MEP that help me shape the Europe that I want to live in: A place were people don't have to choose between career and family, were equal opportunities and pay for men and women goes without saying and no form of unfair discrimination is tolerated. Other important areas were I want my elected MEP to represent my opinion is how to fight the economic crisis, improving education, climate change, energy, ensuring food safety etc

Join me June 2009! You decide. By voting!

Clear Purpose - Together for our Community

2009-04-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday SAP organized their annual volunteer initiative for SAP employees. 350 SAPlings where working in over 35 projects worldwide. Last year I painted a homeless shelter in Heidelberg and as this was such a good experience I definitely wanted to joint this great initiative again.

Charitable organizations often need external support. But this does not mean financial aid only. On the contrary, there is often a lack of helping hands! Painting walls, renovating rooms, planting a garden, creating a webpage or marketing strategy for a charitable organization, taking a trip with handicapped people to a museum, know-how in the fields of IT and business economics, is also urgently needed. Many of these activities can be completed with the right number of volunteers on a single day.

The activities focus on education, environment, animal shelter, technology and know-how transfer and people in special circumstances.

I like volunteering for projects involving people so I picked the “Waldpiraten” (Forest Pirates) project. It’s a camp in Heidelberg that focuses on the needs of children in remission from cancer as well as their siblings. Providing specially developed learning activities after intensive cancer treatment, children regain their energy for life and self-confidence.

The children and youth had prepared a design for a mosaic bench and started it years ago. But the work didn’t get done and the stones that the children had put on the bench started to loosen so they needed us to repair what they had done and continue their work so that they finally can see their picture designed bench. Me and my colleagues were working hard and were really absorbed by the creative work. I loved it! We also got to know Cris and Luca from the German Childhood Cancer Foundation that instructed us, prepared lunch and showed us around the camp.

This day was so much fun and motivating learning about mosaic work, forwarding team spirit with new SAP colleagues and additionally supporting a good cause and getting to know the terrific work that Cris and Luca does for the German Childhood Cancer Foundation

http://www.waldpiraten.de/

Majblomma.

2009-04-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

This years Majblomma is announced and the selling has started!

Majblomma (May Flower) is traditional Swedish charity pin sold by school children in April-May every year since 1907; originally to collect money for people suffering of tuberculosis. Today the Mayflower Charity Foundation is Sweden’s largest Child help organisation. The aim is to improve the situation for children in Sweden and to fight child poverty. The vision is that children should have the right to participate on equal terms with their friends both in school and at their leisure time. The idea was that everyone could contribute by buying the small flowers from children – “Children helping children”

The Majblomma is of different color every year. This year I really like the colors as it looks like the one in 1974 when I was born and I have a foible for all shades of red.

When I was a kid we went around selling these and the first day you needed to be fast or else most people had already bought from someone else. This was always fun and everyone bought one and liked the idea. Too bad no kid will come knocking on my door in Heidelberg this year. I would have bought 10!

Spring has arrived and Erik’s first ice cream – Heavenly!

2009-04-03T02:20:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally arrived to Heidelberg! Yesterday, after work, I was out walking with Erik at the Neckar shore. The air was warm and everyone I met was smiling! I heard the high school graduates singing happy songs and partying as their exams are over, birds singing, children playing and was stunned at the delight vision of spring flowers blooming and trees in bud. It was just heavenly.

Feeling “high” on spring I decided to get Erik and me an ice cream. In our quarter we have the best Italian ice cream store and they are now opened for the season so I got a cone of Stracciatella for me and Erik got his first own cone of yoghurt ice cream.

With a big smile on my face I watched Erik overexcited as he got to hold his own cone and eat it in the most delightful way, without a thought to the cold stickiness dribbling down his chin and hands. Simple, primal joy!

The mess that goes with Erik eating the ice cream on his own sure gave me a hard time getting rid of the stains on his new spring jacket, but that’s OK. The more important thing was that my messy ice cream eater enjoyed every moment slurping on the melting ice cream. Pure happiness!

Glad Påsk!

2009-04-02T06:58:00.001-07:00

Press freedom, Democracy and Human rights are must haves!

2009-03-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

I have been reading about Dawit Isaak now for while in the Swedish papers without really taking action or thinking much about it. Today, I just couldn’t scroll past it anymore so I signed a petition on the internet.

Dawit Isaak is a Swedish-Eritrean journalist playwright, and writer. He arrived in Sweden as a refugee from the war in Ethiopia in 1987.When Eritrea gained independence, Dawit returned to his native country. He got married and had children. Eventually he became a part-owner of the country's first independent newspaper, Setit, where he came to work as a reporter.

In 2001, Dawit was arrested in Eritrea for demanding democratic reforms in a series of letters to the president Isayas Afeworki. He had covered the confrontation between the president and the reformers. In April 2002, he was hospitalized due to torture in prison. The Eritrean government denies that he has been tortured but does not allow anyone to visit him. Dawit and the other journalists that were imprisoned at the same time have not been tried before a court and 4 of the others have died in prison.

EU is supporting Eritrea with €120 million even though they are one of the world's most oppressive, totalitarian and aggressive regimes. I think it is important to help poor countries but I think we must put some pressure on those regimes so that press freedom, democracy and human rights are assured first.

Today, Dawit has been imprisoned for 2746 days. That is in my opinion 2746 days too long. His condition is doing worse as he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. If you believe in democracy and think what Eritrea are doing to Dawit is wrong you can like I have, sign this List:

http://www.freedawit.com/

Hope it helpes. Free Dawit Isaak!

Earth Hour

2009-03-30T01:03:00.000-07:00

Did you all participate in the earth hour on Saturday? For the ones of you that haven’t heard of it: (including most Germans I guess, as I didn’t read about it at all in the German papers or hear about it on the radio)

Earth Hour is a global event organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Well, after a bit of persuasion my family finally accepted that we turn of the DVD, Computer and all lights. Kathi was moaning a bit at first as she was about to buy her 3rd Barbie dress on eBay. Johanna just found it pretty cool that we where putting up candles everywhere! Erik was already sleeping so he didn’t notice much of the earth hour.

I really enjoyed the silence and the nice atmosphere as we were playing a board game in the candlelit kitchen and afterward we all snuggled together in our bed and Helge was reading stories to us from Brothers Grimm’s book of fairytales.

For me, it can be earth hour every week!

Swede at heart

2009-03-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

I was born and raised in Sweden but choose to move to Germany to study and ended up staying here. Germany is great, I like it a lot! Heidelberg is an amazing city and Germany is a tremendous country. Now I enjoy my life as a …Heidelberger, BUT I am still a Swede at hart!

Being a Swede and living abroad has made me even more Swedish. I attend Swedish events organized by the Swedish-German Society in Heidelberg such as Lucia, Midsummer, Kräftskiva (Crab parties) and other traditional events like “Allsång” (sing-a-long with Swedish songs), follow the news in the internet papers, vote in all Swedish elections and stream the number one TV show in Sweden “Eurovision Song Contest” on the internet. I bake and cook Swedish and always cheer for Sweden at sport events. I don’t think I would be like that and celebrate the Swedish National Day, or even know why we celebrate it, if I still lived in Sweden.

It’s really important for me that my son grows up with both nationalities, that he speaks both languages and feel that he loves and is comfortable with both. Since he was in my belly I have been singing children songs to him like: trollsången, vargsången och trygga “räkan”.

So why am I still a Swede at heart and very proud to be one? I like the Swedes that put on rubber boots when it rains to go berry picking, that knows the true meaning of teamwork, that can laugh at themselves, that can sit fishing quietly for hours and the next day go party like there was no tomorrow. I believe in hard work, that you can fly our national flag without being a nationalist, our monarchy, good education for everyone, gender equality and I love the Swedish nature!

Pope Benedict XVI has spoken...again!

2009-03-18T03:29:00.000-07:00

I get so mad when I read about all these “good” people in the world. Here we go again… the pope has said something wise and path breaking! I wouldn’t mind at all what he has to say if it wasn’t for the fact that what the lead of the Catholic Church and his disciples has to say really matters to a lot of people in the world. So Pope Benedict XVI, PLEASE dip your tongue in your brain before you speak!

The Pope said on his way to Africa Tuesday that condoms were not the answer in the continent's fight against HIV. "You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms, "On the contrary, it increases the problem."

There are nearly 22 million people in that area who are HIV positive. The pope, claiming to be a leader on morality, goes to Cameroon to argue against condom usage? He is putting his own religious dogma over the lives of millions.

Two week ago, I heard of a 9-year-old girl in Brazil, pregnant with twins after being raped by her stepfather. Though there are strict restrictions on abortion in Brazil, doctors concluded that the girl's immature hips made childbirth exceedingly dangerous. Catholic Church leaders unsuccessfully fought to force the girl to carry the baby to term and then have a cesarean. What's more, as part of the debate, church leaders condemned a judge for following the law, lashed out at the doctors treating the victim, and even excommunicated the young girl's distraught mother and DID NOT excommunicated the man who raped this little girl and impregnated her.

Hearing all this makes it really hard for me to keep my faith. Even though I believe in a total different god then the pope does. The Catholic Church for me, in particular, is so useless. For me, there is little of value in its philosophy and rather it is one of the most harmful, emotionally stunted, purely wrong 'philosophies' ever to exist.

Being a working mom, daycare centers and work-life balance!

2009-03-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

When I was on parental leave the first year of my sons life I missed him when he was sleeping in his bed in his room and I sometimes went in there just to take a peak at my adorable, flavorsome and fantastic son. After a year filled with highly valued moments following every step of Erik’s development with lots of new experiences, new mommy friends and so much fun I was really nervous about going back to work and leaving my son at a daycare center. It doesn’t help either when you hear from a lot of moms around you: Reeeeally you start working that much….I could never do that I am staying home 3 years and then start working 25%! Arggg! At that point of time you really don’t need anyone else telling you are the worst mom ever!

When we got the best one there is in Heidelberg I was very relieved. In Germany there are not enough places for all kids and most of them are bad and have strange opening hours. Who can keep a normal job if the daycares are open 8 in the morning till 2 in the afternoon, I wonder?

I still wasn’t sure about start working again and was all nervous and not until Erik was accustomed to the new atmosphere, the very nice teachers, lovely atmosphere and my first working days were over I could really start enjoy work, be productive and not just sit around holding back my tears at work.

Erik is very happy in his “Kita” and when we bring him in the morning he crawls off in high speed to start playing with all the toys and new friends. In the evenings when we come and get him he mostly come crawling at me with a big smile what just makes my heart jump. There are also days when he looks at me and keeps on playing. That is not so nice and makes my mommy heart weep but on the other hand I am happy he is having such great time there.

Now I really cherish the time I have with the kids better and think we found the best work-life balance that is perfect for us!

Our children are funny artists.

2009-03-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

Being around children you hear the funniest things all the time. What they say are so direct and straight to the point it really warms your heart and makes you see life with new eyes.

Once when we were visiting the Bentheim castle in Emsland we stood with the girls around this wishing well and gave them a coin to through in the well and told them to wish for anything they wanted and not to tell anyone afterwards because then it wouldn’t come true. Me, pregnant and all, had one BIG wish that came true! Little 3-year-old Johanna came out of the castle all bubbly and excited, looked up at us and then just couldn’t hold it any longer she said with a huge smile on her face: I wished for a rubber duck!

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about simple and direct.

A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm. ~Bill Vaughan

Speaking of green worms I remember our walks that always took us hours because Johanna decided she wanted to bring all the snails she found on the rainy street with her home and was so hart broken and furious when they didn’t all fit on her little bike and didn’t want to stay on it. Or all the cherished treasures that she found along the way that needed to be brought back home.

All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ~Pablo Picaso

Our children are also true scientist, just one big question mark. What? Why? How? I never cease to amaze at the recurring miracle of what our children gives us. A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer and a life with children is never a boring one!

Zodiac Year: Tiger- Thats me!

2009-03-12T04:04:00.000-07:00

I don’t believe in astrology or horoscope and I would never pay to hear a fortune teller or likewise tell my how to act in life. Still I catch myself reading them and laughing at how perfect I think it fits me or want it to fit me. In our western horoscope I am a Virgo, what I find to be the most boring of all signs. Who wants to be: Practical, efficient, critical, work and service oriented, common sensed, modest, health conscious, mentally active, helpful and flexible?

Not me! That’s why I find the Chinese astrology much more fun! There I am a Tiger! Now we are talking!

Tiger people are difficult to resist, for they are magnetic characters and their natural air of authority confers a certain prestige on them. They are tempestuous yet calm, warm-hearted yet fearsome, courageous in the face of danger yet yielding, soft and mysterious. They enjoy a life full of challenges and unexpected events, like visiting unusual places and meeting interesting or outstanding people. Other people in their area are easily attracted by the tiger's enthusiasm and way of life. Tigers find pleasure in the unpredictable, and while other people would rather make a backward step, they are not afraid to explore the new and unusual. Their friends usually secretly admire their determination and optimism.

Born to lead, Tigers can be stubborn if they realize they’re not in charge. They have a slight tendency to be selfish but overall, Tigers are extremely generous. They’re very intelligent and they’re always on alert. Tigers are very charming and are well-liked by others. They are not motivated by money or power. The best jobs for Tigers are those that will lead them towards positions of leadership.

Creative in their passion, Tigers will never bore their partners. They’re expressive, polite and trustworthy, but watch out. Tigers tend to dominate their relationships. This tendency is instinctive and when monitored closely, such behavior can be kept under control. Partners need to be equally active to keep up with the Tiger’s sense of adventure.

So now you know …watch our: I am a tiger! waooorrrggg!

My perfect happy family!

2009-03-12T02:47:00.000-07:00

The people that know me know that I am not very conservative but I still always pictured my life to be in the following order: First come studies and then come work and career, then love and marriage followed by a baby in a baby carriage. The perfect happy family!

Two years ago I changed my life monumentally. I met the man of my dreams and went from restless party girl working long hours to a settled and happy fiancée, working mother and bonus mom to two wonderful girls.

Many people were surprised and asked us: Are you sure you want to have a child this early in your relationship? Don’t you want to enjoy life before it gets destroyed by sleepless nights, no fun, changing stinky pampers, physical and emotional changes and enormous changes in your cuddly and cute relationship.

I just have to say to those people who thought that: That does not apply to our life… its great! I have a very happy relationship, a son that is easy to take care of and sleeps at night in his own bed, is hardly ever sick and laughs a lot. The girls love their brother and help us to take care of and spoil him. The children are a wonderful part of our life and I have the perfect happy family that I always wished for.

“When you view a baby's smile, your brain gets a natural high.”