Okay so not every week....

This was just such a perfect moment on Time Square. It shows not only how mesmerized they got by all the lights and screens but how the McDonalds sign is glaring in Z's face.

The endless traveling. Zuni decides to meditate and is teaching Tilda how to. And John well he is just plane bored.

Central Park. Right after one BIG melt down happened and we almost went opposite directions. I was just relieved to be in some nature and shade.

Toys!!!!!!

 Since we didn't get to see the real one :0)

Lindsay Loo Hoo- My friend, one of my all time best friends who I haven't seen for years  I got see and say good bye to. Which is not really what you want after not seeing each other for ever. But well worth catching up for 45 min and meet her son Jackson below.

                                                             Jackson and Tilda.

                                                               Our Pile o' Bags. 10 bags and 2 bags each of carry-on (I might have had an extra bag of food and stuff;) Right before we checked in the lady said we had too much in every bag, so like any other asian family we just opened all our bags and re-packed on the spot. Until I got it down to 2 over weight bags at which point I begged and tried to explain that we weren't just traveling for fun but that this was our entire life from now on. I think more than mercy she wanted me out of the line but for whatever reason she allowed for bag 11 and 12 to be added in form of those weird plastic bags (you see the Asian and Indian families often come of the plane with) Free of Charge!!!! 

And off we went.

 Arrived in Sweden soooooo tired.

 Trying to stay awake.

 Hello I'm in Sweden now.

 A lot of relaxing. Hard to do anything useful when the entire country is on vacation, I forgot how the whole country shuts down for the summer months.

 I love a baby that sun bathes. :)

 Dinner outback at 9 pm. Aww that may be the best.

Raining days are fun when you haven't had any for 12 years.

 Since we biked everywhere for at least 4 months. Tilda didn't always get home in time for nap, but that didn't stop her. Now with the Chariot, she can just sleep in peace which may be the most wonderful investment I've ever made.

 John Morgan's Birthday Table

And the Cousins. Juni and Tilda. They have become like the twins separated at birth. They love each other and play so well. It's too cute for words.

Next post will have some city evaluations. Stay tuned.

then the epic trek across America....

 Pulling into Chicago. and stopping at the 30th gas station for diarrhea drainage (this happens when you give the kids food on the side of the road and you can't eat wheat, milk or corn) Given this fact I put a diaper on Tilda in case we didn't make it to a gas station, but even while screaming for an hour cause she had to go so bad it hurt she did let anything out for 3 days straight in the car. After this amazing test of indurance she won the diaper battle and has not worn any since arriving in Sweden.

Seeing friends in each city was a blessing this angel gave us her apartment for 2 nights so we could visit her and chicago and not spend a fortune with our huge crew.
But I dare say that traveling to big cities with small children is no way to see a big city, unless you really like to only find out about cheap, quick food around the corner (to avoid sugar crash and meltdowns) and where is the nearest toilet, and possibly how to distract from the intense energy of the city by finding a park that is overly populated to the point of having to follow your kid around cause you otherwise can't see or hear them. Only to finish that off with hours of riding subway trains and carrying stroller up and down several flights while encouraging the 5 year old that we are almost there for the millionth time.
Holy shit the only way to live in the city is with nannies and money. Or maybe other kids? Not so sensitive ones?
However I do have to say that in Chicago we did focus on the kids entirely and swam in the lake, went to the zoo and found a couple parks. I saw nothing of the city until we drove passed it on the way out (beautiful, hope I get to be there as an adult one day) and I walked by the L train. And it was much less painful than NYC.

First we left.....

So sad. Our amazing neighborhood. How could we ever leave? Well hoping for more fulfillment in our work life. But now that I miss you so I just help to think that maybe one should suffer economically and in life work just to have friends like you all...:)

Many months have passed....

Hi all!
Sorry the inability of being able to post properly got the better of me.
I'm going to give it another go. For my own sanity and hopefully keeping in contact with my only friends in the world right now.
Let's get right to business.
In the passing months I have imagined everything, done some things and mostly nothing has changed except really interesting opportunities without it leading to anything.
We have been poor, and falling through the cracks, then finally we got a little help from the government, and Judson got a part time job where he has to live elsewhere for 5 days and home 10 days. Not so convenient but since we have spent every waking hour together for at least a year it hasn't been devastating. The girls have gotten friends, her best friend is the daughter of one of my classmates and good friend from jr high. It's so bizzare to me to have my kids play with kids of my friends, but they all think it's normal because this happens to them all the time, whereas I have been on the other side of the earth missing that whole connection thing.
The girls have been attending Mulle and Knytte which are kid classes to learn about nature and how to take care of it. Might have been the one big reason I wanted to be here this fall, so Zuni wouldn't miss this. And it was as great as I had remembered it as a kid.
Given that we have no idea what's next ....STILL.
We have decided to try and find somewhere that we like to live and create our work from there.
(BTW we have found out that the best way for us to do theatre here is to do shows for schools and theatres and tour it all over, but do it ourselves since we don't know anyone, and this we can do anywhere)
So we have taken to traveling to villages and towns and kind of interviewing it.
The girls give their feed back and as we have done this I'm finding what and how I decide if I like a city.
Here are my criteria and questions I ask myself:
1. Do feel happy here?
2. How far from a Montessori School
3. Are there kids (kids toys in yards) close enough for the kids to run outside to play with?
4. Is it beautiful?
5. In case of house looking is it big, does it have a beautiful yard, does it have possible Theatre studio?
6. How far to AA/Alanon meetings
7. How far to a big city (for dancing and shopping)
8. What is the library like.
9. Cafe?
10. What are the childrens activities like
11. What's the swimming pool/s like?

Does it sound like I want to live on an old Swedish farm with renovations done to make all modern inside with a studio out back and big yard, close enough to one of the big cities that we can drive Zuni to Montessori school, and go to AA, and have a buddhist community and live off our theatre work, but in a neighborhood that is full of kids that she can run out and play with, but still not too far away from my parents so that they can help? Oh and this city exists but it's not near my parents and it barely has a snowy winter........
Is it too much to ask?
Well we keep looking and meanwhile we keep getting dragged down to a area that is nearby but neither Judson and I are feeling a pull too. But my only friend in Sweden lives there and Judson got a part time job with her husband. And this morning this woman calls me out of the blue and wants me to take her place to run her theatre including childrens and adult theatre as well as mentally and physically handicapped theatre and any project I can think up in my little head, for a year. And I'd get paid way more than I ever have, which is considered a low pay:)
Amazing and I'm finally getting friends here and so are the kids:(
Oh well off I go for an interview paid by the unemployment agency tomorrow. (I'll bring my criteria)

I'll also start posting photos from the passed few months to try and fill you in.

The hardest thing for me has been not to have the support of you my lovely friends and mammas.
And I want to keep in contact so I'm breaking the barrier I've had with hate for all IT related things such as building a blog... for YOU!!!

Well it's harder than you

Day 10 in Sweden Day 19 from Boulder

A lot has happened. Mostly I've struggled to try and post pictures. I'm sure I'll figure it out and mostly I just want to get started. We took off twice from our neighborhood cause Zuni forgot her flipflops......that was just the beginning. Or the end really. The packing and the cleaning was epic in the most literal way. I had 2 magical friends and then there were at least 3 more still who come with more magic and 10 still who supported in and out with their own ways. My 2 first top saviors literally cleaned my kitchen, Lizi Watt cleaned what I had dreaded for months like she was born to do it in between family and insane performance and rehearsals, you must have glorious things coming your way for you service to us. And Guen Donahue spent days cleaning and helping in so many ways including child rearing and then slammed dunked the most amazing deed by taking our food and then surprising us by making us amazing road food:) And then our neighbors who kept lending a hand and solving problems. At one point Kathy found me walking in circles starring off into the distance and all I could say was I don't know if it's ever going to end and I don't know where to start, she led me back into the house and started picking up stuff and asking me questions, slowly things disappeared and magic accured.
I cried all the way to Kansas. After saying bye to everyone and our neighbors who effectively have been our family for the last 7 years. I thought what the fuck have we/I done. This is perfect, these people are so wonderful why are we leaving. But after the hellish/and fun ride we took across the country I was so happy to arrive in our little swedish paradise and next time I'll tell you the rest. But just to not leave you hanging too much, I'm glad we moved but I just miss you terribly and so far the change is big, but feels just perfect at the same time.
I love my niece and am so glad to be near her and my family.
Today was rainy here and we made a veggie garden!!!!