cooking

Whats really confusing is doing a normal activity like cooking, or reading - then to find I'm in Finland and not in NZ. It's upsetting, I know I choose to be here nothing besides the whole money thing is making be stay - and the fact that when I am not thinking I do enjoy myself. Which is quite a bit of the time now, just yea. It is hard to explain, such simple things. Like doing something and realising that you cant just text Tabi or Rach and tell them what just happened. Or come home after working and argue with Jeremy or talk to Jolene and mum.

Just having people around my own age constantly who I can talk too - face to face.

ANZAC Day

Well today started off by talking to mum, she had been to the Dawn parade in Feilding. While trying to get on to hotmail I was on the MSN and saw that a helicopter had crashed on the way to a service killing at least 3 people. A truck in australia hit 6 war veterans thankfully none died.

I went to Stephanie's and made ANZAC biscuts, he over friend Michelle was there as she ws half Australian. After we managed to work out what the ingredients names were in Finnish - that took awhile!

Had Garlic bread.

Then managed to catch the two buses home! Was very proud of myself for managing it.

Swimming

Yesterday I went swimming in the pools here for the first time!

I took Mia and Cessi with me. At the start you get given locker keys without paying for them, the changing room is huge and everyone is standing next to their lockers.

Then you go through the shower/sauna room to get to the pools. Then often people get out at different points go have a sauna then come back to the pools. Then when you get out you have a shower then another sauna then another shower then you run up to the changing rooms to get changed.

Very different from the NZ experience!

Flowers

Ok so this is what happens when you agree to make stuff with kids. You become a pretty good maker with flowers! Had a great day - kids happy the whole time, watched moomin and space trainers with them. Space trainers is a swinglish show, so I understood a little.

Played outside in the rain for an hour, took them ages to want to go home from nursery as I was pushing them on the swings.

Spent 8 hours more or less constantly with them and still loving it!

Thursday 22nd April

Been here over 6 weeks now! Defiantly the longest I have ever been away from home!

Yesterday I had noddles for tea, I forgot how much I like them! Got them specially cooked as Olivia and I had not eaten yet. Where as everyone else had, had leftovers.

Including an icky fish soup and this pasta with an icky sauce.

Their dad goes away nearly every week for a few days on business trips - so just me and Ulrika as more grown up people in the house. Which is great cause it means I talk to her alot more.

Gonna go see Stephanie this Sunday to make ANZAC biscuts.

didnt get to talk to mum on the phone yesterday so was rather sad about that.

Rainy day today so will have to spend most of it inside with the kids - so fun!

Harry Potter

Well in a really big Harry Potter mood at the moment so luckily for me the family have the books in English. So I am rereading them again. Up to the second one already.

Not much else happening, working as normal they now have a tramp up which will be one of my new fav things. As the kids can spend literally hours on it which is great.

Argh not a good morning.

Oh well will be 'working' which is not that bad really fun normally - well on a good day. So the kids are great at distracting me. May be helping around 9pm tonight as both parents are playing a sport. So should be fun.

It is currently 14 degrees outside which is great.

so nice warm weather. which am starting to love :)

Leaders

So in a group of friends as a general rule most people think there should not be a friend. How then as a group of friends do you do anything? In most groups of friends there is often one person who stands up and says 'we should go and do...'

For a small think such as a party or a day trip, does not take to much organising, depending on what you are doing.

But getting a camp done, several times for a whole week - that would be a challange. You have to put yourself out there, be bitched about for not being nice. Listen to people complain how things are not fair and all that sort of stuff. Thing is though, once you have been such a strong leader within a group it can be hard to step back and not be so bossy. Everyone soon forgets that they were the awesome person who organised the camp, prob soothed out many arguments. As within a group particuarly a big group that is classified within a school as 'social outcasts' and what not people are at many different levels of maturity, have different backgrounds, so are completely different types of people.

Having a big group keep together over so many years is pretty rare, without at least half of them at least leaving. Only way to keep together is often do the big things which need a leader. Just dont ever forget what they have done for you in the past as likely they would do it for you again in a second.

AHH! Happy

So not to much happening, everything seems to be going good between me and my kids, the parents like me I think.

Starting to really like Finland and the family. Spending more time out of working hours with the kids.

spending alot of time outside, as it's becoming spring. Spring fever.

They have a sandpit, and strawberries are growing, snow is melting.

Squirrels and birds are out.

Swings are useable, freaky to find out that I was standing several feet above the ground on snow!

Still missing everyone like crazy! But is good as Mum, Rach, Rach and Tabi have skype so can talk to them :)

Just happy happy!

Suprisingly I have had no sugar today, besides fruit. As my family are very healthy. Lollies and cakes and such are for special occasions only.

Oh may get to go to Iceland in August with the family!

Naww just got dragged out of my room to 'eat' the food Jasse and Cessi had made for me and Ulrika.

Saturday 10th April 2010 - Been here a whole month now!

Ok so great day today, talked on skype to Tabi, played games with mum on skype.

Ate pineapple lumps with the family along with Karl Frazer chocolate and some yummy peppermint candy that I do not know the name of.

Around this time it was 2pm, so I was saying bye to the parents the conclusion of the conversation was that if the person I was meeting was strange and hurt me or whatever I was to ring them up straightaway. Which is so lovely of them!

Caught the train into Helsinki again, met Szandra. Walked to the harbour where the water is horrible looking. Not clean New Zealand blue mucky green, well water there was as it was all frozen. Went to the muumi (moomen) museum. Which as I think I mentioned before a popular cartoon character here. Szandra took some phtos, she is lovely and from Hungary 22 years old and has 4 kids. Well looks after them she as an au pair in Espoo. Got a new SD card. Had bird for lunch which I did not like. Had an african type fish thing for tea which was yum!

10 Friendship commandments as stated by Creme

Thou shall always remember their birthday
Sometime friendships are about the big moments - how you react when they're going through tough times, how you handle your first fight, how she picks you up when you are at you lowest point - and sometimes it's about the little moments. Remembering your bestie's birthday or another important dates shows that you pay attention to her life and you're thinking about her. Those are the kind of little details that can make a big difference.

Thou shalt never be a fair-weathered friend

A fair-weathered friend is someone who sticks by yourside when things are going well for you but mysteriously disappears whenever you are going through troubling times. You don't ever want to be this kind of friend. Friendship isn't always fun and easy, sometimes it's sticking with someone when they feel like the rest of the world is abandoning them and being there to brighten their world.

Thou shalt bring cheer to a best friend's life

At the end of the day, the two biggest things you want from a friend is:

a) Someone who is unfailingly kind and

b) someone who makes you laugh so much you snort water though your nose.

If you've got a friend who excels in both of those categories, grab onto them and never let go!

Thou shalt indulge thy friend's never-going-to-happen crush

So, your friend is in love with Glee's Cory Monteith and 100% convinced the two of them belong together. There comes a certain point in Crush Land where logic no longer applies and in this case it's best you just nod and agree. There's no harm indulging her.

Thou shalt never date their ex-boyfriends

You can say, "It's ok, I've asked her and she says it's fine," until you're blue in the face, but you know what? It's rarely, if ever, ok to date your bestie's ex-boyfriend and chances are, she's totally not okay with it. At best it's going to be awkward at its worst, it's going to make you look disloyal. Move on, and find someone else!

Thou shalt always keep in contact

If you've moved away from your bestie or if she's gone to a different school, it can seem all too hard to maintain your super-close friendship now that there's a distance between you. No,no and no! Technology has made keeping in contact easier than ever, so don't get lazy and start drifting apart. Make your friendship a priority and get creative - remember the awesome times you had together and always make an effort to stay in touch.

Thou shalt never talk behind their back

Loyalty is the most important qualities a friend can have, but it's one of the rarest out there. One easy way to work out if what you are saying is appropiate? Ask yourself if you'd be comfertable saying it about her if she was standing next to you. If the answer is no, either rephase or let it go!

Thou shalt always let them know you love them

Don't ever put your friends in a position where they have to question how you feel about them. They should always know how much you love spending time with them and how much fun you have when they're around. Feeling like you're been taken for granted can kill a friendship pretty fast, so never miss an opportunity to tell your bestie how lucky you feel to have her.

Thou shalt be honest when it matters

There are certain situations where honesty is defiantly the best policy. It may not always be what your bestie wants to hear, but part of your BFF job description is to stop them from doing things that you know are going to end badly. Whether she likes it or not, she's still going to valu your opinion and if she's doing something wrong or acting in a way that's going to hurt her, make yourself heard. As Dumbledore says, "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."

Thou shall never let a boy come between you

Both of you liking the same boy or you neglecting your bestie because your new boyfriend are pretty awful situations, and too many friendships end over a boy. There are plenty of fish in the sea, so why risk ruining your friendship over some guy? Boyfriends will come and go but best friends are forever - learn those words and live by them!

Care Package

I have the most amazing mum ever! Her and her friends Carole sent me a care package which arrived today. Today I have been out of New Zealand for a whole month! So was rather great getting it today.

I got pineapple lumps, socks, lindor choc, peanut butter, a magazine, and 2 mocha sachets..

Is very excited. I really needed sock but they are extremly expensive here!

Argh

The SD card for my camera is broken :(

Julia went to the confectionery factory two days ago so she brought some to take it home. Naturally she shared some, tutti frutti lollies!

Was Olivia's Birthday party thankfully the 10kids who were just her friends went to an adventure park or something with Lasse. They came back for cake and lollies, which the whole family shared in.

You cant begin to help but love the family though, particuarly the 3 kids I take care of all the time.

Later that day

Yea decided I dont think I could handle being a mum.

Seeing kids crying and not being able to help is a bit to hard... Happened to me alot today. There was nothing I could do...

The 3 children that ate their snack today managed to all spill it, Cessi was naturally why she was being naughty. She was not impressed when I laughed at it.

Wednesday 7th April 2010

Monday I did not do much mainly watched movies which was great fun!

Also watched a movie 'with' Rachel T! We both had Alice and Wonderland (new one) playing at the same time, while commenting to each other.

Yesterday I woke up at 6.30am, got straight up to. Went for a walk and got chocolate! Was raining during my walk cause that makes the snow melt! They do not have peanut butter here though :(

Managed to work 6 and 1/2 hours! from 11.30 - 6pm as the Dad's away and the mum had to work late.Made a 'telescope' also watched my first muumi who is the famous lil kid show here. Been around for 65 years. Ulrika encouraged me to still go for my normally night walk a lot later though then normal so I did.

When I got back I found out they had a death in the family. Well wording was they had an unfortunate incident in the family, Olivia was the only one in the room so I instantly something had happened to her...

So I did all I could to help as I am no good at what to say when people have just lost someone.

Got to watch a movie again with Rach though!

And a episode with Bones

Snow actually looks like the snowflakes you make when you are little! It's snowing again today :) Rather annoying though as it finally finished, I can now walk safely most places.

Managed to open my on door and walk outside from it today! All the snow is more or less gone from there.

In the second photo you could not see the wood when I first came!

Easter Sunday

6.22pm

Home alone which is good cause I am not really in the mood for people. a homesick unfortunately!

Yesterday I talked to Tabi which was great on msn for a lil while, miss her alot at the mom. She sounds like she has finally found someone that is worth half of her.

Been talking even more to Ulrika as it was just and the youngest two home, finding that good.

I attempted to catch the 1.03pm bus but missed it by just 20second. Thankfully Monday -Saturday buses run every 15 mins. So I just caught the next one.

At Helsinki I got a new Pandora bead, so I now have 5 :)

Posted the journal of to Rachel T, at the post office and most stores here you do not line up. You go up to this ticket thing, out pops out a number and you wait for that number to be called and then you can go up.

Managed not getting lost this time when I went to Kamppi, were I caught a bus to Steph's.

Went to the grocery store with her - which mean two more buses!

We watched nearly all the Harry Potter movies in a row, besides the last 20mins of the last movie as I was starting to just fall asleep.

Got to have a cat sleep in the same bed! Eeyore swapped between me and Stephanie most of the night. We planned a bit of our UK trip to. Looking forward to that!

Still wanna go back to NZ now... oh well hopefully it passes again soon.

Good Friday

Well it has been, no work. Only 2 kids at home. Cessi and Jasse as the others have gone away to their grandparents with Lasse. So just four of us at home.

Had teddy bear pasta for lunch - which Jasse does not seem to like eating, so he plays with it instead.

Sometime after this I went for a walk, through a very slushy forest. Not the smartest idea, ended up knee high at one stage in snow. Feet soaked through from falling on the snow and going straight into the water. Was great fun though! Saw 2 squirrels playing and saw several birds...

Came back and had mumee, a malt and rye easter pudding as well as minature easter eggs!

Have had the two lil ones in and out of my room.

Had pasta and some yummy cheesy bacon pasta sauce for tea.

Now my room has become a part of the play area!

Thursday 1st April 2010

Had a great day today!

Well for the most parts had two major low points but that was just kid related and yea...

Had a pancake with bacon cooked in it with jam on top for tea.

Got given lots of drawings today :) My room is starting to become messy because of the children.

Serious as an au pair you get paid for only certain hours but you are joining a family. So naturally kids treat you like an older sister.

Not to many bruises just yet thankfully.

Weekend is starting to look good should be doing a harry potter movieathon, joys of having one friend in Finland.

The snow is now turning into slush, and I swear is alot more dangerous then snow! Cause the ice underneath it crack and what not. All slippery.

Picture is of my lil devil at times Cessi.

Made cheese scones today with Julia. Had this big panckae type thing with bacon cooked in it and jam on top for tea. Was cooked in the oven.

Love you all