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Jodi

Jodi with babies in lap

What Do You Most Wish for Your Children?

December 11, 2017 By Jodi

I was flipping through a local magazine for moms last week when I came across an interview with the cover mom, a local business owner. One of the questions, thrown unceremoniously into the middle of the interview, was, "Your biggest wish for your kids is..." Can you guess the answer?

Shirts hanging in small shop

Are You Willing to Pay More to Shop Locally?

December 5, 2017 By Jodi

Here's a pertinent question for the holiday season: do you prefer to shop at locally-owned stores rather than big box stores or online? If so, are you willing to pay a higher price to do so? We lucked out in that our new town, Corvallis, has a great downtown and is plush with locally-owned stores....

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Boys dressed as superheroes, kinda

Making Hard Parenting Choices (i.e. Preparing for Another Big Change)

November 27, 2017 By Jodi

Although we're finally settling into a new rhythm and set of routines, we're preparing for some significant changes come January. Because we haven't had enough life-shattering change in the last few months...

Boy walking in woods with Fjallraven backpack

Repatriation: Some Thoughts

November 13, 2017 By Jodi

Most of my posts over the last six months have been about how overwhelming and difficult our international move was. (Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C.) But now that we've been here for nearly three months and finally received our stuff (two-and-a-half months after it left Sweden!), it's starting to feel like the move is over....

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Raspberry bushes at Denison Farms

A Morning at Denison Farms (Photos!)

October 31, 2017 By Jodi

It’s probably hard to believe that a couple weeks ago, I absconded one morning to a cafe for an hour of blog-planning and latte-sipping, no babies on board. I had more than a dozen ideas for posts I was excited to write—and then life happened, as it always does. Since that glorious hour of alone...

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Ultrasound picture tableaux

Prefering Privacy: A Story of Infertility and Miscarriage

October 4, 2017 By Jodi

A while ago, before this debacle of an international move began, I wrote a post about announcing pregnancies and talking about miscarriages. While I didn't get any comments about the post on the blog, I heard a lot from friends via Facebook and email, most of whom had lost a pregnancy at some point. Hearing...

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Palm trees in Hollywood

Naming What's Hard: Melancholy, Regret, and Tears at Target

September 21, 2017 By Jodi

I cried at Target yesterday. I was standing just a few feet from the customer service lane, where a helpful employee was working on my situation. It had been a successful resupply run, and my cart was full of enough diapers, wipes, toilet paper, and coffee filters to last a couple months: I wouldn't have...

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Corvallis hike view

(Meandering Thoughts About) Settling In

September 18, 2017 By Jodi

Finally, after nearly a month in our new home, we’re starting to feel settled. The boys have been at their new preschool (the local Montessori school) for just over a week, James has been going to his office every day and LOVING it, and Zoë and I are working out our routine together. She mostly...

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Surviving, But Barely

August 20, 2017 By Jodi

At last, we have arrived at our new home in Oregon! It's been a long journey, and even though we've been here for five days, it still surprises us to actually be here. Somehow it seemed like this moment would never come. But let me be honest: it hasn't been pretty, and it hasn't been easy.

Fredhalls plaskdamm

Spending All Day At the Playground

July 21, 2017 By Jodi

We needed a mini-adventure today, so we packed everyone into the car and drove into Stockholm. Our destination was a new (to us) playground in a part of town we've never visited. We stopped at the grocery store on the way down and picked up enough snacks to last us the day, and then we...

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About Jodi

I just repatriated from Sweden to the US with my British husband and three young kids. I started this site while living in Sweden to build the conversations and community we've had with loved ones around the world, and to create a space to share thoughts about life, beauty, motherhood, and everything else. read more →

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Recent Posts

Happy Second Birthday, Leif!

September 29, 2016 By Jodi Leave a Comment

leif-eating-blueberries

Today is Leif's second birthday. Tonight we are having a small gathering with neighbors and a couple friends, and this weekend we will spend a fun day doing things that Leif loves. He's still young enough that he doesn't seem to understand that it's his birthday, or what that means--but I'm sure he'll enjoy his ice-cream...

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On Being a Little Less Overwhelmed

June 13, 2017 By Jodi 6 Comments

Mountain valley in shade and sunlight

My last post was a confessional about how overwhelmed I've been feeling, in light of a new baby and an imminent international move (and, um, writing—or not writing—this blog).  Since publishing that post, we've made some pretty big steps: shown our apartment to a couple possible tenants, signed a lease on a rental in Corvallis,...

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Our weekend on Sweden's west coast

August 10, 2016 By Jodi 6 Comments

Speaking of summer, last weekend we took a train to the west coast of Sweden to spend a few days sailing with our wonderful neighbors (who we call the kids' Swedish grandparents). Henrik has had his boat Maja for forty-five years! We didn't do any actual sailing (we motored around because we didn't have the best...

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Maternity Leave in Sweden vs the US

November 25, 2016 By Jodi Leave a Comment

With August as a newborn

In my first post about having kids in Sweden, I laid out the basic benefits of having babies in Sweden: generous parental leave; chances for social connection while home with a baby; affordable, high-quality daycare, and more. Now, I want to lay out a theory I'm developing about the benefits of the generous parental leave policy.

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About Dear Sabrina

Welcome! Dear Sabrina is a lifestyle blog for the thinking woman (and man, if men read lifestyle blogs). I hope that visiting this site gives you something to think about, makes you laugh, or shows you something new. If you want to further connect, find me on one of networks below or send an email.
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