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Sweden

Getting back into it

February 1, 2019 By Jodi

I'll spare you the apologies and excuses. It's been a long time since I posted, and I've wondered over the past few months whether I will keep this up—whether I want to keep this up. Theoretically I do, practically I don't know if I can manage. Which kinda sounds like a lot of things in...

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With August as a newborn

Maternity Leave in Sweden vs the US

November 25, 2016 By Jodi

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.

Northern lights over a lake in central Sweden taken by Craig Allen

Searching for the Northern Lights

October 24, 2016 By Jodi

Today I'm excited to share another post from a contributor and photographer. I met Craig R. Allen at a party in our small town outside of Stockholm. He's an Englishman living in Stockholm with his girlfriend; about a year ago he sold everything he had to follow his dream of exploring the world--and taking phenomenal photographs of it....

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boy-playing-in-boat-preschool-in-sweden

Preschool in Sweden: the Basics

October 7, 2016 By Jodi

Let me start by saying that I never know whether to use the word daycare or preschool when referring to the place where kids spend their early years here in Sweden. I suppose that's because it's sort of a mix of what we know those two places to be in the US. While I will continue to use the word preschool here, do...

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Stockholm archipelago clouds and silhouettes

Archipelago Views: End of Summer Morning

August 16, 2016 By Jodi

We are blessed to live in gorgeous natural surroundings in the Stockholm archipelago. Just wanted to share a quick shot from a recent morning walk. Have a lovely day!

Our weekend on Sweden's west coast

August 10, 2016 By Jodi

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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baby-on-fathers-shoulders-stockholm

Having Kids in Sweden: The Basics

July 14, 2016 By Jodi

This is the first in a series of posts outlining the general structure of life in Sweden for a family.  You've probably heard or read about the amazing parental leave policy in Sweden and wondered if it's true. It is. Maybe you also heard about the affordable universal daycare and wondered whether that's true, too. It is. And while these...

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Gamla stan stockholm

Why We Moved to Sweden

May 9, 2016 By Jodi

When James asked his previous boss, who has professional ties in Sweden, what Stockholm was like, he expected some comments about the weather, the food, and some of the glowing remarks about life in Sweden (and across Scandinavia) that we've all been hearing recently. What he got, several weeks later, was a job offer.

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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

Found in the Forest | Lily of the Valley

May 31, 2016 By Jodi 1 Comment

lily_of_valley_forest

Spring takes its time arriving to our part of Sweden. We still have wide swaths of lily of the valley in the forest near our home, which I love to stoop down to smell. I just learned that it's highly poisonous (which I should have remembered from Breaking Bad!), so don't let your little ones eat it.  Its...

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

September 21, 2017 By Jodi 8 Comments

Palm trees in Hollywood

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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The Third Trimester of My Third Pregnancy in My (Late) Thirties

January 9, 2017 By Jodi 8 Comments

Climbing sledding hill in Sweden

(Nota bene: the pictures in this post have almost nothing to do with the content. This is mostly because my husband refuses to take pictures of me, also because I find selfies to be too self-aggrandizing to bother taking any, and because it's winter in Sweden and the light is shit.) I'm just over 32 weeks into this...

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Happiness Project Month 5 Wrap-Up

February 1, 2017 By Jodi Leave a Comment

Empty bench in park by James Pond

This month in my happiness project I wanted to give myself an attitude adjustment. I wanted to pause to enjoy the moment, and I wanted to work on my bad habit of complaining too much. I was fairly successful in my first goal but less so in my second. It helped that I set myself up...

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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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