Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Daily Jamie

One Step Back

Jamie has a case of croup, which became pretty terrifyingly evident in the middle of the night. Terrifying, that is, if you don't know what croup is and think it sounds like your child is drowning in phlegm. I called the nurse hotline at three-thirty a.m. and they calmed me down, but I booked an appointment at the doctor first thing in the morning just to confirm that the nurses were right and it was, in fact, croup that was making Jambo bark like a seal all night long. Thing is, though, the doctors' office is, like, the only place worse than preschool when it comes to collecting germs. I mean, have you ever seen a nastier-looking tower of blocks? And you KNOW that it was sick kids playing with them. This kid got a scrub-down with hand sanitizer when we got home and I felt a little better. Until, that is, he peeled off his socks and did this:

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Daily Jamie


The Business Cas Fashion Show

The business casual is back, baby! This is my favorite outfit of the moment. It's a silky blouse that I got to help me look professional before a visit from corporate and while I didn't plan to wear it like this, I love the combo of dressy and laid-back with this sweatshirt blazer.
Another sweatshirt blazer! I wore this open over my favorite beaded tank top and thought I looked pretty cute until my husband told me that he absolutely hates the tank (this after almost six years of wearing it) so I buttoned up and liked the look even better.
This is my first peplum and it was a Christmas gift from The Swede. Invest in a peplum blouse, girls. It'll make ya feel like a lady. 

Here's the other dressy blouse I got for the visit from corporate, paired with my trusty, comfy grey jeans and fuchsia wedges...
...and here it is again, as intended, as part of the professional ensemble. And not during the same week, obvs. I'm not crazy. But I get how you might think that seeing as I'm wearing a black top and shoes and navy blue pants. This is something I never, ever thought I'd do but apparently (in Sweden anyway) you can mix black and navy. I know. Socialists, am I right?

Monday, January 27, 2014

Daily Jamie

Lil' sicky didn't get out of his jammies all day. Pretty boring for the kid, pretty cozy for his mom. 

Wanna Dance?

I've liked this song since I heard it on Despicable Me 2. I've LOVED it since I saw this video. P.S. Did I ever tell you about the time The Swede went on a business trip to Cleveland without me and saw Pharrell at the airport? SO JEALOUS.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Daily Jamie

January 23rd
January 24th
January 25th
January 26th

Company

Hey, dudes, sorry about my absence the past couple of days. Our internet was out and I don't like blogging from my phone since the layout never turns out how I want it. Anyway, let's get caught up. 
 
On Thursday we had Mama and Papa Swede, Gurra, and Gunilla over for dinner. It wasn't a celebration, really, but I wanted to mark Jamie's half-birthday with something special because I'm just like that. You may have noticed. Anyway, they were very kind about my, frankly, less-than-flavorful pierogies and we had a really nice evening. They weren't over for long since it was a weeknight, but it was fun to mix up our daily routine and host a low-key dinner party and The Swede and I both agreed we ought to do it more often.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Song

This article  was the first thing I read this morning. It showed up on my Facebook feed and it made my day.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Daily Jamie


Dumplin'

Tomorrow we're having company for dinner so I just spent the last two hours prepping from-scratch pierogies to be panfried just before our guests arrive. I've never made pierogies before so this is a little risky, but if they're any good I'll post the recipe tomorrow. Otherwise, to my guests, if you read this: take this as a warning that you may need to make a stop at McDonald's on the way home. 

Monday, January 20, 2014

Daily Jamie


Got Lots

 
It was SO not my idea to run out and make a purchase when the ice cream truck stopped on our frozen street. It was also not me who popped out onto the porch and shouted "GET LOTS!" after I begrudgingly conceded. It was me, however, who picked out the pint with the appropriate lid, because I am, if anything, a wiseacre. 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Daily Jamie


Our Newest Friend

Erin called me at two-thirty on Saturday morning. Her water had broken and she wanted to warn me that sometime in the next twenty-four hours my babysitting services would be needed. I drove the hour to their house late Saturday afternoon and hung out with Ossian while they went to the hospital. Shortly after Ossian fell asleep, and only three hours after they had left home, I got a text with a picture of Erin cuddling her new baby boy. I spent the rest of the night at their place with Ossian and then headed to meet the little guy when Svante got home. Erin was effervescent. I couldn't believe how well-rested, energetic, and normal she was. She was basically the opposite of how I was after having Jamie, so it was totally impressive to see. And then there was the baby (who doesn't have a name yet). He was so sweet and soft and tiny! He slept in my arms for over two hours while we talked about the birth, what it's going to be like to have two kids, and how awesome the ones we both already had are. I'm so excited to get to know this little guy and feel very privileged to have gotten to meet him already. Welcome to the world, little one!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Daily Jamie


Accidents Happen

Today we took Jamie out on the snow racer and he asked us to go into the fenced-in football field in our neighborhood that was covered in untouched snow. The Swede was pulling the sled and pretending that they were football players scoring goals and Jamie loved it. Then he decided to do a bicycle kick (at 1:00, but the rest isn't half bad either. You'll see.) and everything fell apart. Literally. He made a sharp turn with the sled and it turned over, spilling Jamie over into the snow. And yeah, I should have gone in to comfort him too, but I had to record this moment because it reminded me so much of the events of another snowy outing about twenty-six years ago when my sister was Jamie's age. She came down the slide, followed by my mom, too soon, who crushed her, causing her to make the exact same face Jamie made here. We have a home movie of the incident and it's a family classic. Maybe someday Jamie will have the same warm fuzzies over this picture.