Daily Jamie

Yuck It Up, Clowns

Jamie has figured out who the funny one in the family is.

Daily Jamie

Mamma Got Her Hair Did

Oh, yeah.  No need to adjust your monitor resolution.  I did, in fact, just become a blogger who takes bathroom self-portraits.  Feel free to unfollow.  Who could blame you.  But really, my photographer husband has no interest in taking pictures of me where one of the cats or a houseplant or something isn't in the foreground so I have been put in the unfortunate position of having to take pictures of my reflection in the john.  Because today I got my hair cut by family friend and stylist Angelika, who made me feel like a million bucks and like I'm not losing a brush-full of hair a day due to postpartum hair loss.  Which, by the way, not to gross you out, but I totally am.  But, obviously, so did Katie Holmes, so I'm in stylish company.

Daily Jamie

Things I Forgot In The Shadows

Remind me to plant lots of pansies next spring since they are apparently incredibly hearty.

Daily Jamie

November 26th

November 27th

Coziness In And Out

The daylight hours are just fewer and fewer these days and the darkness tempts you to stay holed-up indoors, even if it is fifty-two degrees outside, like it is here.  We fought the urge for a couple of hours this afternoon, though, taking a short drive a bit further out into the country to a Christmas market in a huge old barn.  It smelled like warm drinks and was dimly lit, which of course made us want to go home and light some candles and get all holed-up.  Now it's five o'clock, it's been dark for hours, we're in our pajamas, all three, and we're going to watch movies in bed until we all fall asleep.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Thankful For The Slide

Linda took over the camera for a few minutes at öppna förskolan to record Jamie's first slide.  So, in honor of the Thanksgiving tradition of over-indulgence, here are way too many pictures of this milestone for your enjoyment.

At least someone had fun.

Daily Jamie

I Earned It

So apparently I shop at H&M a lot.  A whole lot.  I have an H&M Club card that I scan every time I buy something there and, while I can't say I especially enjoy knowing how much I've spent since I got the card, I'm sure appreciative of the five-hundred kronor in free shopping I've just earned myself.  That's, like, eighty bucks, which'll getcha, like, up to ten items!  All that hard work has really paid off, and just in time for the holidays.     

Daily Jamie

The Good Old Place

Jamie and I stopped by the old neighborhood on our way home from an appointment this morning.  It was decorated for Christmas and all the people out and about gave it a city feeling that Kungsängen, for all its charm, never has.  And my heart hurt a bit, because as wonderful as life is right now, it was also really, really good those two years in Sundbyberg.

Daily Jamie

Flirting

Jamie and Sukai got together again today and it seems that the latter is finally starting to notice what a hunk my son is.  I say this because the moment he sat down next to her, she began engaging in some pretty major flirting, trying to hold his hand and stealing his pacifier.  Like a dude, Jamie was oblivious.  It's clear that I have my work cut out for me in teaching him about girls.  And Sukai could use a little instruction on playing it cool.

Daily Jamie

November 19th

November 20th

A Very Cabin Thanksgiving

It was back out to the cabin this weekend, this time with an extra special element for me: Thanksgiving dinner.  I don't cook for others often, especially folks who are used to Mama Swede's awesome cooking, so I was rather nervous.  I was representing American food in general here, after all, for six people who haven't been to the States yet, so the pressure was on.  I made sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing and opened a can of cranberry sauce, plus pumpkin pie for dessert and Mama Swede made the turkey and gravy.  Everything turned out great and everybody said that they enjoyed the meal, though they were a little out of it thanks to a major dose of tryptophan.  Nerves aside, it was a lot of fun for me and sweet of everyone to indulge me.

Daily Jamie

Matching Pippi sweaters by Mama Swede.

I've Never Done This Before

I've made pie before, but never the crust.  I'm very nervous.

Daily Jamie

Pounding

Dudes, I have a headache.  It may be sleep deprivation.  At any rate, I just don't have it in me to try to be clever today, but I'll catch you back here tomorrow!

Daily Jamie

Are you mad?

Thanksgiving Pilgrimage

Jamie and I woke up earlier than usual this morning, bundled up and headed to the other side of Stockholm to get some supplies for Thanksgiving.  I did some research online first so that I was sure that we would be able to find what we needed and I'm glad I did because from our door to the door of The English Shop took one and a half hours.

But, as you can see, it was worth the trip because we got the canned pumpkin, condensed milk and stuffing that you can't find anywhere else, plus some other fun items.  And please don't judge me for using Stove Top Stuffing, okay?  I'm not an awesome cook.  Also, you can't call me cheap because it cost about $10 a box.  Yeah.

Oh, and P.S. they apparently LOVE Jamie Oliver at The English Shop. 

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Cuteness In The Aisles of Ikea

Jamie and I swung by Ikea again today because I stupidly forgot to pack a curtain rod I had purchased on Saturday.  Thank goodness it was super cheap and fit easily on Jamie's stroller, so it was no problem to go get a new one.  Since we had all the time in the world, we decided to check out the new grocery section, which didn't have anything particularly special, except for these cute alphabet crackers that only had the letters I, K, E and A.  Clever, Ikea.   

Daily Jamie

Father And Son

It's Father's Day here in Sweden, so thank you to my husband for being the best role model I can imagine for my son.

Daily Jamie

Kid-Sized Ikea

The Swede was the sweetest husband ever this morning.  He drove me to Ikea and then killed an hour window shopping with the baby while I went buck wild.  It was the longest I've ever been away from Jamie since he was born (the kid is insatiably hungry) and as luxurious as that totally selfish hour was, he was still on my mind, as evidenced by the baby-sized Ikea bag I purchased for him.  You know, in case he ever decides to pitch in and help out with the copious loads of laundry he is so adept at creating.

Daily Jamie

Anniversary

A year ago today our lives changed forever when we learned that we were going to become parents.  We thought it was great news at the time.  Now I know it was The Best News Ever.  

Daily Jamie

Wonderland

There is a magical place in our community called open preschool where parents can bring their babies and kids to play and learn.  It's essentially a fully-outfitted preschool, stocked with all the toys and arts and crafts materials you can imagine.  They have a kitchen and dining room that can be used freely, special areas for playing along with quieter rooms... everything.  On top of which, they offer classes on things like baby massage, cooking nutritious food for your children, and language development, which I signed up for today.  I had been there last Friday for the daycares' portrait day and gotten a little taste of what they have to offer, but today I got the full experience, including a tour.  Linda invited me to meet her there this morning and we sat in a circle with a dozen other moms and babies and sang songs and made a toy out of an empty soda bottle, glitter and beads.  It was an awesome place to meet up and it's only going to get better the more the babies are able to move around and play, so I have a feeling I'll be spending much more time there in the next several months.

Daily Jamie

Bumbo Babies

Several years ago, when my niece Hayden was just a baby, my sister sent me this photo of her sitting in a Bumbo seat.  I had never heard of Bumbo before, but this picture was just about the cutest thing I'd ever seen and from that point on I knew I needed to have children, if only for the Bumbo.  Fast forward almost five years and I finally do have my own Bumbo and, more importantly, the sweet little munchkin to go with it.

Daily Jamie

When I Hate Loving Sweden

Jamie and I went for a walk to watch the sun set.  At 2:30 in the afternoon.  I don't know if I'll ever get used to this.



Daily Jamie