Amazing

While wrapping gifts yesterday I happened to see this on Oprah and had to share. It is breathtaking. (Start it at 1:00)

Announcing

Baby Lincoln

arriving 4 Dec 2009 at 11:51 am

7 lbs - 20 inches

loving every minute

3 1/2 weeks!

Today we went to the midwife and now the appointments are scheduled weekly. Which means it's close. Very close! 3 1/2 weeks to be exact. So I thought I'd pack my bag today since with Boozie I never packed it, assuming I'd have hours and hours of labor and little did we know it would only be 6 hours and we'd barely even make it to the hospital. So T threw a few random things into a bag in between holding the bucket for me to throw up in. Oh the memories. :) I finished Potential Baby Girl Nilsson's Going Home Outfit last night and thought I'd take a pic of each. I also posted a poll for you all to vote in. So what do you think we're having? Boy or Girl? Pojke eller Flicka?

House Tour Part II sneak peak

Our dining room is really making progress after we finally found a desk chair, finished my stencil plates, and hung more artwork. We're going with a black and white theme and now just need to decide on flooring under the table and we'll pretty much be set. This plate project was definitely tougher than this tutorial made it seem but the second batch turned out much better after a bit of tweaking on my part and I love them. Baby countdown: approximately 5 weeks. Eek!

House Tour Part I

This will be a very ongoing house tour because the rooms are coming together one by one, but we finally got our living room all put together, rug and all, and it feels like home!

Happy Halloween from the apa

Last night we went to a church trunk-or-treat party and Boozle was in heaven. Before the party he was getting tired and fussy so I was doubting whether or not he'd make it but as soon as I put him in his apa (monkey) costume, he started running around, making apa noises, and looking at himself in the mirror. He was a big fan. T handed out candy to the kids while Boozie and I walked around looking at all the festively-decorated trunks and kids in their costumes. We saw a dragon which Boozie thought was a crocodile and said, "Snap!" every time the little boy walked by. We saw a sheep that he said "Baaa" to and a little puppy that he barked at over and over. He shoved a donut hole in his mouth and kept saying "donut" over and over; it was a very fun night. We didn't do trunk-or-treat with him because he's so young, but he did get a pinwheel, a balloon, and one package of smarties that he thought was his fluoride pills he chews each night.

On the agenda today: carving pumpkins, lugging furniture up into our room, taking photos of our newly-decorated house, Halloween parade, gathering piles of leaves to take to the curb, etc... Hopefully it all gets done.

Few updates

Pictures are getting hung in this house and making it feel like ours. We finally found the ultimate perfect rug (we think) and it is on its way! We spotted it at overstock.com and of course, the color we wanted was sold out. I checked everyday for about 1 week and had no luck. Then, on a whim I checked early Saturday morning and there was 1 left and it was the color we needed! I still have my doubts that it is real, but we did get a tracking number and when it arrives, I guess my doubts will cease.

The craigslist-find dresser has had its gouges filled with wood filler, primed, painted, and polyurethaned and the armoire is following close behind but is still on the primer stage. The fabulous hardware has been ordered and soon enough, there will be a Ta-Da post to show everyone the final results. Just a warning: I forgot to take before pictures so you'll just have to imagine that sad sights they were. I even was inspired to follow this tutorial and make some fun stencil-y (but non-Halloween) plates for our black & white-themed dining room. I think it'll be fab.

And also, I figured out a magic way to be able to paint and prime while Boozie is awake. This darling house has a sandbox in the backyard and Boozie + sand = true love. Remember this party?

And last but not least, we have a really fun park directly across the street that can be seen from all the windows. The only downfall is that Boozle stands at the window and says "parken?" which means the park in Swedish all hours of the day. Regardless if it's raining, dark, freezing cold, etc... He doesn't care. Today that word might have been replaced with Gymboree, which may be worse because his class is only on Tuesdays and we can't just walk across the street to get there. All before his nap he kept saying "Gymbee?" over and over. Boozle is so much fun; I love being his mama.

LO on the brain

So for some reason, today my mind has been filled with the new baby, little one, bambino, whatever it ends up being called. Probably because I just talked to my friend who is exactly 4 weeks ahead of me but has scheduled sections and her magic due date is 10 November! It's coming so soon. So that means this little one will be here before I know it. I can't stop looking at the tiny cloth diapers and the little projects I keep finding that I want to do or things I want to buy. Here are a few:

for sale here
wool sweater recycled booties for freezing baby feet in new jersey? yes, please.

instructions here

a tiny little wool cuddle sack that looks like a little mitten for my little one and can be made on my round loom? so stoked for this.


can be found here
and thinking this looks like the ultimate best baby soother ever. I took dinner to a couple who just adopted a baby the other week and they had this and it looks as fab in person as it does on my computer screen. Too bad it's so pricey...

Progress, finally.

2 1/2 weeks after moving into our new little house we're finally making some progress. Friday and Saturday were full of buying this sofa in beautiful seafoam color, consigning our coffee table, buying a dresser, armoire, and 2 little toy cupboards, and buying primer, paint, and wipe-on polyurethane to make them fab. So playroom, bedroom, and living room, watch out! Our new bedroom is inspired by this dresser and this color scheme:

Image from designsponge

Image from allthebestblog

So we have our work cut out for us in the few weeks left of decent weather and with Lis's help, hopefully soon we'll have a home. Then, come on visitors!

Dishes for babes

So the absolute last thing I need to be doing right now is looking for things to buy since we have no room for even our own clothes in this mini house, but I was looking for organization inspiration (since a miracle is needed to be able to fit our clothes and things in the 3 small closets in this house) and found this instead. We have the good ole' trusty Ikea plastic dishes but I'm slowly converting to glass (just bought these to replace our plastic Rubbermaid/Tupperware) and would love to see Boozie's face when I present his spinach quiche on a glass plate. He gets excited enough about using a cup without a lid. Now, back to organizing this house...

Low-rise pants wearers, watch out!

Boozie has a little obsession with bum cracks. I think he's just confused that people's pants end up low and that he can see skin poking out and is very fascinated with it. One day as T was bending over doing something, he was startled to feel a little finger exploring the exposed skin. So today at Gymboree there happened to be a mama with very low-rise jeans and a short shirt. (Not a good combo, especially for a mama that's playing and climbing with her babe, but apparently she didn't get the memo). Anyways, she was bending over and exposing and of course, piquing Boozie's curiosity. I didn't really notice. Luckily, I glanced over to see him looking with his intrigued eyes and starting to head over to her. I intercepted him and turned his attention to the various climbing-up-high-and-crouching-down-low activities of the day. Could've been bad...but hilarious. Maybe it would've taught her a lesson. :)

Crispy Fall

Fall has definitely hit New Jersey and there was really no transitional period at all. One week it was warm and sunny and the next week it was cold and rainy. Luckily this week it's been back in the 70s but at night it's in the 50s and on my run this morning at 8am it was 52 degrees! I don't even remember how to function in this type of weather. It's making me very scared for winter here. I definitely am a California girl at heart and love spring and summer and being outside all day long so the only thing that makes fall worth it is the pumpkin foods. I absolutely love them all. Pumpkin bread, cookies, cakes, pies, yum.

When I was in Sweden we wanted to teach the youth how to make pumpkin bread one evening so we went to the store and searched for canned pumpkin. We couldn't find it anywhere. We asked the store employees if they had any pumpkin in a can and they looked at us like we were completely nutso. In the end we had to buy a pumpkin and roast it and scoop it out, not knowing that canned pumpkin is actually made from little sugar pumpkins and thus, the bread wasn't tasty at all. Sad story. But here there is plenty of pumpkin in a can and delicious things to make with it. On my list this week: Pumpkin Black Bean Soup, Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal, and Pumpkin Spice No-Bake Cheesecake.

Editor's note: I wouldn't put 2 1/2 T in the oatmeal if you happen to try it out. It was a little too sickeningly sweet for breakfast. Also I'd do half water and half milk next time cos it was just too rich.

Birthday for a King

T turned 31 on Saturday so I planned a super fun-filled day. We woke up at 5 am and headed over to this gigantic hot air balloon festival. Seeing how Boozie loves airplanes, helicopters, birds, and anything in the sky really, we knew he'd be in heaven. And he was. After walking through 2 fields of mud in my new gladiator sandals, we were finally there (mud-coated feet and all) and watched the AT&T balloon lead the way, quickly followed by over 100 other balloons. Boozie kept pointing and whispering "bop", which is his word for ball. There was an Energizer bunny hot air balloon, Darth Vader helmet, barn with animals heads sticking out, a golf ball, a giant panda bear, a strawberry (one of Boozie's favorite fruits and favorite balloons), a barrel with pirate paraphernalia poking out the top, and many many others. It was breath-taking. Now T would like to go up for a ride in one. Maybe next birthday.

Then we ate the breakfast for all true Northeasterners, bagels. T had a bagel with cream cheese and lox and I longingly drooled over it and thought good thoughts for the bambino in utero as I ate my multigrain bagel. Then it was time for presents. T was spoiled this year with Yankees vs Red Sox baseball tickets, a Canon Rebel XSi camera, and a few other gifts. So as he played with his new gadget, Boozie and I decided it was naptime. Staring up in the sun at all the balloons made my damaged corneal epithelial cells need some rest.

Apparently the 5am wake-up call was a lot for Boozie because he slept for over 3 hours. When he finally woke up, we headed out for delicious Indian food (Boozie's favorite was the mango lassi, of course) and onto Alstede Farms where we got to see animals, eat homemade ice cream, and buy freshly-picked peaches and blueberries. Yum. All in all it was a fabulous day. And here is documentation of T's new hobby:

Menus Shmenus

Ever since we moved to New Jersey it's been hard for me to cook. We're temporarily in a furnished apartment with a "fully-stocked" kitchen but the "fully-stocked" aspect is definitely up for argument. Apparently, fully-stocked means 6 place settings, 3 aluminum pans, 1 cookie sheet, 3 plastic slotted spoons, 2 horrid knives, and a few odd Pyrex pieces. So basically, if you're a businessman that eats out every meal but might buy a Hot Pocket or a Hungry Man dinner once in awhile, you'll have everything you need.

Try frying or scrambling an egg without any type of nonstick pan. Very hard. Don't use butter because it will burn before your pan is even warm enough to cook the egg. Don't use oil because the egg will still stick. You have to use a bit of each and the egg will just take longer because the pan has to be much cooler.

Try making T's birthday cake without a mixer, wooden spoon, etc... Instead of hand mixing everything, I made some peanut butter Rice Krispie butterscotch chocolate bars that were a big hit. But I digress, it's annoying to try to plan meals when you have such limited supplies. How did they ever do it before Wusthof, All-Clad, Calphalon, etc... existed?

But this week I sat down today and looked at some of my favorite menu idea websites and came up with a pretty good menu with some good variety: vegetarian chili, whole wheat pancakes, zucchini gratin, Chinese salad. And now here's to hoping I get them all made this week. Wish me luck. And if you've made any fab recipes lately that require minimal kitchen tools and are meat-free, feel free to send them my way.

The Beloved Woobie

Anyone who knows me well knows I still have the blanket that my grandma gave me when I was born. More than just have it, I love it, I cherish it, and I love to sniff it. It used to be white with pink bunnies and something blue with white seashells crocheted around it as the trim. Now it has a few very faded bunnies (maybe only I can tell they're bunnies now) and tiny patches of light blue. Much of the trim has come undone and is very thin, the blankie itself is very thin, and Lis is always trying to convince me to get a LimaBeanHome custom duvet made for it to protect it. I just can't imagine covering it up and not being able to sniff it directly each night before I go to bed. I don't like it to be on the floor so each night and morning it remains folded in a rectangle or square on the top of my pillow, just in case.

So when Boozie was born we got a little blankie from Trav's aunt and it seemed to be the perfect blankie, or woobie as we like to call it. Boozie was uninterested. I bring it along on vacations and he doesn't really care if it's there or not. When I excitedly pull it out of the suitcase he looks for something better. So I thought he wouldn't be attached to anything, which T was very pleased about, and I was a little sad about but thought it was fine. But we were wrong.

Last Christmas our best friend Ems gave Boozie a little sock monkey. We put it in his crib because he had nothing other than the blankie that he didn't love and we thought he might like a safe toy in there. Again, he didn't really seem to care either way but lately he's really been loving stuffed animals and the sock monkey has become his best woobie. Some nights we go in there to check on him and he's snuggling the monkey or lying on top of it with his arm around it. There's nothing sweeter to see. Each morning when I get him up he goes to find his large stuffed ape and hugs it and lies his head on it for 5 minutes or so. The Swedish word is "apa" and he sometimes says it over and over, most likely thinking of his gorilla or sock monkey. So even though he doesn't love his woobie, he still has his little monkey and I love it. Maybe when it's old, tattered, and ratty I'll think otherwise; but, probably not.

Upon Further Request

A horrific mousse-free pic of Boozie's new 'do after I washed it all out in the bath. Still cute, curly, and long.

A World of Firsts

Before

Boozie's having tons of firsts up here in Jersey. First time at the Atlantic Ocean, first time to walk, and most recently... first haircut! Very sad. There's not as much humidity up here so his curly locks have turned into hair in the eyes. So I found a funny kid's haircut place called Snip-Its in Princeton and off we went, coupon in hand. They blew bubbles and played music and he loved it. I saved his hair in a baggie. What a mama...

After
Not so sure about all the mousse and crazy styling. But it does look cute now.

He walks!

Well, it's been many months since a lot of his friends started walking but today was the day that he decided to join the ranks of the upright peeps. I say "decided" because he has been very coordinated and strong walking by holding my pinky for weeks now and I knew he could do it; he's just stubborn like mama and didn't want to fall, I think. So I tricked him by holding a toy and he held onto the other end and then he would walk to me. Then after a few times I let go of the toy and he walked to me, holding his little toy, unknowing that he was doing it alone. Then when Papa came home, he improved on his skills and now can walk from Mama to Papa with a huge proud grin on his face. The only grins bigger are ours. To celebrate we got Japanese food for dinner and Boozie ate more than we did. It's his second try at Japanese and I think it's his favorite type of food so it turned out to be a good congrats meal.

My little baby is getting so big. Good thing there will be another little mini in December so I don't get too sad that these little milestones are over.

Doesn't get any better than this

[insert contented sigh] Right now I'm sitting and eating exactly what I used to eat in Sweden everyday for 1.5 years: thinly-sliced mild sourdough rye bread topped with butter, prast cheese, thin cucumber slices, and thin tomato slices. I'm in heaven. Thank you, only-30-minute-away Ikea. The only thing missing is this seasoning salt that we ate sprinkled on top and I have no idea how I would locate it. Boozie also loved Ikea and learned a new word while we were there, kaka, which means cookie. I bought some Anna's pepparkakor and Boozie really wanted some and learned to ask for them.

It is warm and sunny outside and as soon as Boozie wakes up, we're going swimming. We had a fabulous past weekend and are already planning our next weekend trip for this weekend: H&M and the beach. We are definitely loving living here, in case it wasn't obvious.

Boozie has been amazing us with all the words he picks up. He loves to repeat us; he's our little parrot. He now has even included some English words in the mix:
-klocka (clock/watch)
-kaka (cookie)
-buh-bye
-um
-so
-no

And a few pics from our fab weekend in the City:


The rooftop deck at our hotel, The Pod.

Rooftop deck

We thought a carousel ride in Central Park was a good idea. Boozie thought otherwise.

Jersey City on the Hudson River waiting for the fireworks to start.

New Joy-zee

Our first weekend up here has been great. We've enjoyed a fabulous park right by our house, a toasty coconut Dunkin Donut, swimming in the pool 4 feet from our front door, and now we'll be heading into the city to enjoy the sights, watch the Yankees play ball, and see the nation's largest patriotic pyrotechnic display over the Hudson River. The best part of it all was the lady at Dunkin Donuts gave Boozie 3 free donut holes and he proceeded to shove them in his mouth whole so half was still sticking out; he just couldn't wait to try them, I guess. Anyone want to come visit?

Gdipe extravaganza code

For all you that were interested in the gdiaper extreme clearance sale, I just got the code for us all to use. It's g544Nilsson and if you add the "Everyday g's 6 pack" to your cart and then enter the code, it will be reduced from $70 to $40. So fab. And another new thing is they started selling gcloth. So if you aren't intimidating by washing (and it's not bad at all), you can get gcloth for home (which after your first investment is free since you never have to buy more) and the flushies for out and about. And if you want a $2 off coupon, let me know and I'll send you one cos I have many.

First Limabeanhome-like Creation

Anyone who knows Bean knows she's very talented. She has a bag-making business and she makes fabulous products. I have many of her produce bags and canvas bags and am always getting compliments on them. So at our quarterly Enrichment women's church meeting when they said we could learn how to make a bag, I jumped at the chance. It took me a bit longer than one evening because I wanted to get lots of feedback so I lined it with duckcloth along with the lining fabric to make it thicker and did a few other modifications and even though it's nowhere near as good as Bean's, I think it turned out pretty good.


Isn't the fabric wild and fun?

Inside

Gdipe extravaganza

Everyone knows I love gdiapers and anyone within the sound of my voice has heard me rave about them and try convince you to use them. :) They're so easy to use, easy to wash, and good for the environment, etc... They're offering a sweet deal that I just couldn't not tell my fellow blog friends about. Especially you with babies on the way. They have a starter kit that comes with 6 gpants (the cloth outer cover w the waterproof snap-in liner) that is usually $70 that with a special code is only $40. I still can't believe it. So I'll get the code in a week and I'll send it to anyone who's interested.

And... the latest news which I think is now a good time to share is Boozie will soon have a sibling to play with! Well, not too soon, but in December. I'm almost 15 weeks so I'm into the 2nd trimester and feeling great. Actually the first was great too. Only a few days of nausea but that was when I was in the back seat of the car in New Jersey on windy small country roads; I might have been nauseous either way. So the big question... Will we find out what it is? Nope. It was too fun to wait the whole time with Boozie so we're planning on waiting again. So, since we use gdiapers and I just finished my too-skinny-for-g-diapers newborn stash, I thought I'd share some fun cloth diaper pictures and get you excited to start your own gdiaper stash. :)

some tiny newborn cloth diapers

Boozie's first gdiaper- a red one worn on Valentine's Day

"New" Toy

A few weeks ago we had a Garage Sale to try to declutter and get rid of junk before we move up to New Jersey. I was very hesitant because it seemed like such a hassle, I don't like bartering with people, and it didn't seem like the time would be worth the 50 cents for my shirt. But the whole neighborhood was doing it so we didn't have to advertise or anything so we went along. Surprisingly, it was a big success and we only ended up with 1 little suitcase of clothes left. During the yard sale I decided to walk around and check out the other neighbors' goods. T said, "Don't buy anything. We're trying to get rid of stuff!" But there were a few things I just couldn't resist. :) And isn't Boozie glad I didn't resist this fabulous Radio Flyer scooter? He looves it.

Some dear friends hosted a farewell BBQ in our and some other friends' honor who are also moving. It was filled with good food, friends, and lots and lots of sand. Boozie decided that our next house must have a sandbox.




And last but not least, our house has been on the market about a month now and we got one offer that we rejected and have shown it tons, but no buyers yet. Wish us luck. And while I'm tidying the house getting ready to show it, Boozie likes to untidy any way he knows how...

It's my lucky day

A few years ago T & I went to an outdoor clearance sale at a yoga company based in Salt Lake called Hugger Mugger. They had tons for sale and we bought mats and an exercise ball. T still hasn't done his first session of yoga, but maybe someday his will be able to be unwrapped and used. Maybe on the New Jersey shore...

So the exercise ball was fabulous and then somehow in one of our moves, the plug to stop it up got lost. This is pretty much the most important part of the ball. We searched and searched but could never find it. Last pregnancy I was so bummed that when we were in Target one day, T contemplated taking one that was out of its box and on the shelf all alone. He resisted. We've debated buying another ball but it seemed dumb since the ball was still fully-functional. So I went online to their website today and asked a live chat customer service rep if I could order a replacement plug. She said they don't stock them. She said she'd ask the warehouse if they happened to have any extras lying around. They didn't. So I asked if the only way to get one is to buy a brand new ball and she said yes. Bung. They're not cheap.
Then she typed this:
"Well I had someone else look and they found ONE left in there [sic] desk drawer(lol). Anyway give me an address to send it and we will send it to you. Just to let you know though we don't normally supply these"
How fab is that? She's shipping it out to me today for free. So all you yoga peeps, definitely support Hugger Mugger because their customer service has me sold for life!
Also, if you're into yoga, there's a great website called Yoga Today that has a new free yoga work-out everyday. I've done a few and they're great.

Bean's Produce Bags

Here's the #1 reason to use Bean's produce bags and not the plastic bags for bulk: Little fingers can poke holes in the bags and empty them onto the kitchen floor. Then it's a sandbox on the kitchen floor.

Var Svenska pojke

So for all of you interested in how this whole bilingual baby thing has been working out, I thought I'd share a little. He definitely understands Swedish much better than English, which is to be expected since he's with me all day almost every day and is exposed to much more Swedish. All the words he says are Swedish, with a mixture of Boozie-isms thrown in. His list of words so far:
-umpa (sock)
-ampa (lamp/light)- his favorite thing to do is turn lights on and off and he recently discovered the touch lamp in his bedroom; he looves it. it's the first thing he says when I get him out of his crib.
-bop (ball. Although the Swedish word for ball is similar to English so who knows how he came up with the -p ending. It's adorable though)
-mama
-papa
-daaa-t (it's his own word for egg. we're not sure where he got it)
-detta (this)
-titta (look)
And I think that's all.
He also looves dogs and barks whenever any dog-looking animal goes by, is in a book, etc... This includes birds, elephants, zebras, lions, etc... This morning at breakfast he realized there are dogs on his pajamas and he was very distracted by them while trying to eat his oatmeal.

the big apple

Well, it's official. We're moving. Not to the big apple, but close by: to New Jersey. So it's a 45-min train ride to the big apple. Any takers? T got a great job offer with Verizon so off we go. We're not sure when we'll go, but most likely in the next month or so. And we'll be staying here for 6 months courtesy of Verizon. The extra bonus? A maid comes once a week. Sign me up. :) So meanwhile, we have to get our house all spic and span. Mulch, weeding, touch-up projects, refinishing the deck, restaining the fence. Fun times. So while I do that, Boozie gets to enjoy the plentitude of mud and his pool. He's a big fan.



(And for all of you who are wondering: no, we haven't cut his hair yet.)

Other updates: he stands! Mostly while he holds onto things, but we've caught him a few times standing all by himself for a few seconds at a time. Where's my baby going? He's going to pick up and walk away soon. Sad.

The Entertainment Book Curse

One evening when T and I were first married we went up to Ogden, Utah to see my cousin perform in a ballet recital. Afterward we decided to use our Entertainment Book because there were tons of coupons for restaurants in Ogden. It was about 9:00 so we figured some of them might be closed. We chose one and decided to call first to make sure they were still open. No answer. We were close to the next restaurant so we just drove to that one. Out of business. Called the next one. No answer. On and on until we eventually settled on a Denny's-like substitute. How pitiful.

Fast forward about 5 years to today. We want to use our Little Rock Entertainment Book so we pick out a sandwich shop close to our house and go online to look at their menu. After finally choosing our sandwiches, T drives over there only to find out it went out of business! We're jinxed. What is it with Entertainment Book restaurants and going out of business? The only thing I can think of is that they must be on their last leg and that is their last try at marketing. Sad luck for us, though.

busy busy

It's been forever since I posted here and there are a few reasons:
1) It's mid 70s here in Arkansas and Boozie and I are taking advantage by running, planting flowers, pruning, weeding, and throwing dirt.
2) I got a sewing machine for Christmas and I have discovered the sewing love. So far I've made 2 tiny skirts, a tiny tunic, and an even tinier diaper (small stuff requires less time and less fabric). So fun! (Don't look too close, Bean)




3) Boozie has discovered how to tear the house apart in 10 seconds or less. Every container is filled with toys, balls, travel shampoos, etc...