Daily Jamie

Austin Powers.

Palpatine And Pipe Dreams

The other day The Swede came home with a mysterious box that Mama Swede had given him.  I secretly hoped the box contained that Miu Miu handbag that I will neither ever be able to afford nor be stylish enough to pull off, but the contents were sadly not quite as exciting.  Depending on who you are, that is.  I suspect there may be a pretty significant market for these original Star Wars action figures, which is why when I saw them I said, "We're gonna be riiiiiiiioooooootch!!!"  But The Swede is nothing if not sentimental and put the kibosh on my eBay plans, declaring that Jamie would play with them just as The Swede himself had as a boy.  And with that, the handbag faded even deeper into my dreams.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Marriage Material

Big day in Sweden, folks!  REAL BIG.  Our crown princess, Victoria, gave birth to a baby girl this morning!  We don't know her name yet and we haven't seen any pictures, but I already have a feeling that she's the kind of girl that Jamie could bring home to mom.  Just give me a heads up so I can bring out the nice towels, eh?  P.S. Sorry, Sukai.  You understand, right?

Daily Jamie

The Slippery Course

Oj, oj, oj, it's all driving license all the time up in this, feels like.  The Swede has stepped in as project manager, setting deadlines and insisting I study after Jamie goes to bed and generally keeping me motivated, which is exactly what I need.  And thanks to his laying it down like a boss I have successfully completed my second and final risk class.  That is, I got to drive around for four hours today on an icy course in a car that could cause itself to fishtail with the use of nitrous oxide.  Say it with me now: SWEET!  The hours of practicing on this slippery slope and, of course, sliding and spinning like a carnival ride, taught my classmates and me that there really is no way to drive safely on ice.  Except maybe terribly slow.  And definitely NOT like a boss. 

Daily Jamie

A Vehicle Is A Vehicle

I can't help but note, as I study for my driving test, that I didn't have to learn the warning sign for dog sleds back in the States.

Daily Jamie

Big Baby Indeed

We headed back to our favorite baby store this weekend, with an actual baby in tow this time.  We love our Maxi-Cosi car seat, but Jamie's feet are hanging out of it and weight-wise he's due for an upgrade.  It's perfect timing, too, because Big Baby is having a sale on the next stage Maxi-Cosi.  A good deal plus checking a big item off of our to-do list makes a happy Swede.  One who clearly doesn't know how much drama is ahead of him with the installation.

Daily Jamie

Cruising along, just checkin' the ol' blind spot, then some jerk cuts him off.  Road rage ensues.

Daily Jamie

Not-So-Secret Semla

What's the point in doing something in secret if I'm just going to photograph it and put it on the internet later?  What can I say, I'm a blogger.

Daily Jamie

This One's A Bit Of A Downer

Have I mentioned that I'm in the process of getting my Swedish drivers license?  It's slow going, but I have a hard goal date on which I WILL have the thing in hand, so that's keeping me motivated as I shell out hundreds of dollars and check tasks off of an intimidating list, each of which I dread more than the last.  It will all be worth it, though, as when I am licensed I will have joined an elite group of a few million of the safest drivers on the planet.  Case in point, this poster in my driving risk education classroom that states that "There are two funerals every week, year round, because of drunk drivers."  Obviously that's two funerals per week too many, but we're talking about a country with the population of North Carolina - just one state out of fifty - which has an average of almost ten alcohol-related traffic deaths per week.  So, yeah, a few hours in D.A.R.E. for drivers may not be my favorite way to spend an evening, but it sure seems worth it.

Daily Jamie

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Supermom Sarianne single-handedly taught Jamie how to sit on his own in fifteen minutes this afternoon.  Of course, she was able to teach her kids to do it in five minutes.

Package Procedure

The Segersten ladies are in town, so we finally got to celebrate Julia and Sarianne's recent birthdays.  Julia's package-opening technique changes from year to year; when I first met her she tore off the paper with her teeth and now everyone has to cover their eyes until instructed otherwise while she unwraps her gifts.  One aspect of her ever-evolving method has remained the same, though:  she is terribly slow about it.  It must be because of the intense concentration that she puts into the task, which, in this case, allowed me to sneak this photo while I was clearly supposed to have my eyes closed.

Daily Jamie

What They Don't Tell You

Today I packed up a huge bag of clothes that Jamie has grown out of for Sarianne to sell.  Each little onesie and sock that I folded and packed into that bag felt like a tiny piece of my now ever-so-tender mom heart that I was seeing for the last time.  I know I'm a drama queen and I admit that it was a little ridiculous that I had to fight tears in the grocery store the first time I bought cereal for Jamie, but I'm talking about legitimate sorrow here and if you can't be bothered to feel sorry for me for at least as long as it is going to take to read this run-on sentence, then you can take your business elsewhere.  Just kidding.  Please don't.  But really, this is a lot harder than I expected.

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

We're A Dalahäst Lovin' Family, That's All

Listen, I know there are a lot of you who have never been in the presence of The World's Largest Dalahäst and that's tragic.  For reals.  And I don't want to rub salt in that wound or anything, but my witty-bitty baby got to see it on the trip home from Sälen.  For a dude who doesn't necessarily appreciate things as much as I think he ought to sometimes, Jamie exhibited the proper amount of enthusiasm and reverence for this maginificent creature.  That's what I took his flailing arms and legs to mean, anyway.  Geez, I'm getting a little choked up just looking at these pictures, it's so beautiful.

Daily Jamie

February 9th

February 10th

February 11th

February 12th



Sälen Ski Weekend

Bright and early Thursday morning we packed up the car with a baby, a long weekend's worth of toys, and the coolest skiing outfit ever and headed north to Sälen in a caravan of two of The Swede's best friends and their families.  The destination: a cozy cabin in the mountains.

It was a perfect group of folks to vacation with.  Calle and his dudes hit the slopes while Sophie and I explored the resort, and Jamie and little Elvin explored each other.  

The cabin was perfect for us ten, with plenty of room for us all to watch Melodifestivalen on the sofa and lots of space around the table to enjoy the meals that we took turns fixing.

The Swede kept apologizing for the fact that I didn't get to ski because I was on baby duty, but as of 1993 - the last time I went skiing - I'm not wild about it anyway and really enjoyed a relaxing weekend in the mountains and the great company that came with it.  Already on the drive home we started talking about when we can squeeze in another weekend in Sälen before the snow melts.

Daily Jamie

Lollo & Bernie's Disco

Okay, we all miss Tenerife around here, but Jamie just can't seem to get on with life post-vacation.  He watches this video of the resort's mascots dancing on YouTube, like, every day.  Move on, dude.  Move on.

Daily Jamie

H&M's Bounty

Dear World,

You're welcome.

Love, Sweden

Daily Jamie

Like A Baby

At 3:45 this morning Jamie woke up for a snack and a new diaper.  After I fed and diapered the baby I snuck downstairs to check on my sport-loving husband who was pulling an all-nighter to watch the Super Bowl and, strangely enough, I walked into the living room the very second that the Giants won.  The Swede, however, totally missed it.  I turned off my flash and snuck this photo, but he must have heard me shuffling around because he woke up just in time to see the Gatorade shower.  He's been assuring me ever since that he only dozed off for ten, maybe fifteen minutes, though.  And based on how tired he is today, I'm inclined to believe him.

Daily Jamie

Unexpected Addition

It's that time of year again, when an ice drill may be found drip-drying in my shower.

Daily Jamie

Halv Åtta Hos Oss

Tonight The Swede and I hosted Mama and Papa Swede, Gurra and Gunilla for a dinner party to kick off the 2011 competition season.  Since it was originally supposed to happen the weekend of Jamie's half-birthday (we rescheduled when I got sick) we had a kid's circus birthday party theme, something I hinted at a while back.  We served wedge salad with bleu cheese dressing, BBQ ribs with cornbread and cole slaw and banana splits for dessert, and everyone was very enthusiastic about the meal.  If they were being nice to our faces we'll find out the truth when we count up everyone's score after their dinners.  'Cause sorry, that cornbread was straight-up burned.  But thank you for calling it crispy.

It was also the premier of Melodifestivalen, which is great because part of the scoring is entertainment.  Just in case, though, we did a pin-the-nose-on-the-clown game and trotted out our super cute baby to milk as many entertainment points as possible. 

Cornbread aside, it was an awesome evening and I can't wait for the next one!

Daily Jamie

Daily Jamie

Swedish Fashion And The Ubiquitous Red Pants

Um, how cool are these kids?  They're, like, sixth graders and they're stylin' like no dude I've ever seen in the States.  I have a handful of friends and a cousin who had baby boys over the past year and I'm thinking about suggesting an exchange program when they all get a bit older.  Jamie will go there to learn how to play baseball and they'll come here to learn how to dress.  'Cause have you ever seen a twelve-year-old pulling off, not blue jeans, but jeans that are blue?  Not me.  Nuh, uh.  Not till today.

Daily Jamie

Panic Free Environment

I don't know what happened.  I didn't nag, really, that I know of.  Which, of course, means that The Swede probably felt that he had endured my nagging for weeks.  But really, I'm pretty sure I just mentioned that we might need to swing by Ikea sometime in the near future and before I know it, The Swede is planning an after-work trip to my favorite furniture warehouse.  Easy as that!  And look, because of the late hour there weren't many people there so he didn't get the feeling of panic he usually experiences in those hallowed halls.