Just the four of us

Rare and relatively recent photo of all four us. (October 2007)

Just trying to learn the various amazing things I can do with a blog. Uploading pictures! Woo hoo!

Name that blog

What a freakin' pain in the ass.

While trying to name this blog, I learned three very important things about myself.


1. Giving things (and people) names is a debilitating process that leaves me stressed and on the verge of a mental breakdown. (Very unhealthy. Note to self: I must not have more children. I cannot get pet. Otherwise, I will end up in the hospital muttering to self.)
2. I am decidedly uncreative.
3. I really do overthink things to the nth degree.

These things should not have surprised me. . .or anyone who had to deal with me when deciding names for my children. . .at all. Yet, they did. Surprise me. Apparently, I'm a little slow on the uptake. The painful thought-process behind naming this blog went something like this. . .

So what does one name a blog? Should probably be short. Easy. Should represent the blog. What will I be blogging about? My kids mostly. Being a mom. Being a mom in Norway. Play on that? Good start. Mamma in the Arctic? Nah. Polar Mommy? Sounds too much like BI-polar Mommy. A little too close to home, really. Snow. Ice. Stars on Ice. How about Mommy on Ice? Hmmmm. Sounds like Mommy is taking illegal substances. Not the image I want to convey. Let's try a different tack. What about my heritage? My mom is from Okinawa. Churakagi. It means 'beautiful face' in Okinawan. My kids, my mother, my grandmother. They are the beautiful Okinawan faces in my life. Perfect. I love the name. It embodies my children. Pays homage to my ancestry. Done! Wait, no. It's so hard for non-Okinawans to say. To remember. I'll be lost on the Internet! No one will ever find me! "So what did she name her blog again? Chamakagi? Churikuga? Chimichanga? What the hell was it?" Churakagi, out. Now what do I do? I need a cool name. A fun name. One that people will click on if they see it on a list of millions. A name that stands out. I need to be creative. Let's see. Mommytopia. Taken. Mommy Zen, Zen Mommy. Taken and taken. Aha! Momjeans.com Funny AND creative. Brilliant. Taken. #$%^&! Aargh! Some of these pages are blank or have one post on them! What the hell is wrong with people! How dare they hog up the cool names and not even post! This is taking me all flippin' day! Why? Why is this so hard for me?!?! Deep breaths. Poise.

Around and around and around I went. Trying names. Giving up. If they weren't taken, I found something else wrong with them. Too boring. Too long. Too cliche. At this point, everything is cliche. My head swam with all of these crazy names in my head. They all began to sound the same. I couldn't really focus on any of them, or anything else for that matter. I was so intent on finding a name that I was glued to the computer. I stared mindlessly into the void. I refused to leave.

It was turning into my hunt for a wedding dress all over again. I remember casually looking for a dress at first. How hard could it be? I just wanted a simple, white dress. Nothing too frilly or fancy. We were having a very small wedding so the dress should not cost more than the ceremony. Simple. But I just couldn't find The One. At some point, they all began to look the same. I couldn't really tell one from the other. One night I showed a few that I thought might be nice to my husband-to-be. Even he, who was not concerned with the clothes I wore on our wedding day, could see that I was dress blind. After the third or fourth 80's style monstrosity from Ebay, he gently told me to step away from the computer and take a break.

In the end, I had to remind myself that ten people will be checking in here, not ten thousand. Those ten people like me, like my husband, like my kids. They care about what we're up to. They will find me on the big ole internet. Churakagi it is.

Now that was easy.

Who we are

Considering that the few people reading this blog have all met me in real life(Hi, Mom!), true introductions are probably unnecessary. However, a little background info about us can't hurt, just in case. Just in case, what? I dunno. Just in case we aren't who you thought we were?

I'm Miki -- a 29-year-old mother of two. Oh, did I say 29? I meant 32. Uh, 34. Eh-hem. Anyway, my husband and I have been married for five years. I'm American. He's Norwegian. We live in Norway. We'll call him Seven. His real name is only five letters long, but is a virtual tongue-twister for Americans. I don't know why that is. I was scared of it, too, the first time I heard it. I don't think anyone in the U.S. ever pronounced his name right on the first try when meeting him.

Him: Hi, I'm Svein. (pronounced svane)
Random American: Hi, Sven. Nice to meet you.
(All Americans know that tall, blond Scandanavian men are called Sven.)

Him: Hi, I'm Svein.
Different American: Huh?

My Dad: So how's Svin?
Me: Uh, Dad. Svin actually means pig in Norwegian. It's SVEIN.

And so it went. Our favorite was when we were introduced at a formal dinner.

"This is Lt. so-and-so (I was in the Air Force once upon a time) and her husband Seven."
My husband Seven. My husbands don't have names anymore. Just numbers. "Ugh! Six was such a jerk. Kicked him to the curb. Meet Seven!" Maybe you just had to be there, but we laughed and laughed. So we're all getting nicknames for this blog, his is Seven.

So about me. Hmmm. It's not that I don't have interests. I just don't really have time for interests. Have I mentioned that I have two kids? Before kids, I loved to read. I loved to travel. I loved to write. I loved to write about travelling. And reading. And whatever random thing came into my head. Now, I love to ramble write about my kids. That's why I have a blog. So I can ramble on and on and on write about my kids -- and, of course, the other random things that come into my head.

The stars of my blog. . .

Nicky is our mini man. He's four going on 44. Sometimes I think he must have lived before. He's so wise beyond his years. He's sensitive, observant and remembers everything. He's got a wonderful, wry sense of humor that he reserves only for those he's comfortable with. He's a fantastic big brother (most days!) and takes very good care of his little sister. He also screeches like a banshee if one drop of water gets into his eye when he's in the bath. He hates, HATES water in his eyes. One of his many wonderful quirks.

Laney is our sunshine girl. She's 2. She's a charmer, and she knows it. She loves to laugh and to make others laugh. It's good that she likes to be the center of attention, because she just always is. There is something magnetic about her. She is also very helpful. She loves to come in and help me use the toilet. It's a little disconcerting to fight off her helpful little hands when I'm, um, finishing up. "No, thanks, Laney. I don't need help. Hey! Stop that. No more helping Mommy!" Then she cries and directs her "Mean Mommy!" eyes at me. She IS just trying to help after all.

Sometimes, it's a little sad to think that my kids will grow up so far away from my friends and family. I hope that they (you) will get to know them through this blog since many won't really ever know them in person. They are such fantastic little people.

And wait! There's more! I'm more than just a mommy. Sometimes I forget that. I'm also a wife. A daughter. A potato-shaped woman. A friend. Maybe I'll be able to record some of those adventures here too.

Unless I get distracted. . .or overwhelmed. . .or just don't finish what I start.