Our Monday evening..

Before this health kick we are on, Drew and I would relax at night with some ice cream, or chips/dip, or popcorn and wine/beer. Last night? Our evening snack looked like this...organic veggies, hummus and water. And you know what? It was delicious. And watching a few episodes of Weeds with my love was a great way to end our Monday.

Best argument to convince me we needed to go organic?

"You wouldn't give your baby breast milk if you had been doing a bunch of drugs, so why would you give your child milk from a cow who has been doing them?" After all the arguments for going organic this is the one that sold me.

So what was for dinner? Organic chicken nuggets, a banana, and some green beans for the little man, and this lovely salad for myself. All organic lettuce, grape tomatoes, carrots and best of all CHEESE.

Top Two Tuesday: Favorite Cities

This Might just be my favorite topic yet. There is nothing I love to do more than travel. We traveled a lot when I was younger, and I have lived in a few different countries. My two favorite cities to live in I think would have to be

1. Stockholm, Sweden. Stockholms capital, home of amazing shopping, old OLD buildings- like way older than this country. Last time I was in Stockholm I sat and had coffee and pastries in a dungeon like cafe in Gamla Stan (old town) that was from the 14 hundreds. Isn't that crazy? It had these tiny windy stairs to get down there. It was seriously amazing.

2. Sanur,Indonesia. It's a beach town on the island of Bali and it's paradise. I spent 6 months there once and then another 3 months. Granted I was like 9, but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate that I was living in a slice of heaven.

And a third local one...
Estes Park. It's the cutest little mountain town ever.

We have decided to go....

Organic. We live in Colorado where eating all organic is HUGE. But it's just not something I ever really thought about too much until the last 6 months. And even then, it was hard justifying since it costs about twice as much. We typically spend 120-140ish a week on groceries. And now we are going to try to go all organic at least in all of our food and groceries and cleaning products. AAND I'm going to try to do for $200 a week. Wish me luck!!

Our Wed. and Thursday

Wednesday we left the house early-8:30!- and headed down to the Denver Botanical Gardens. Once a month they have a free day so we decided to take advantage. I've wanted to go this summer but it's been so stinking hot that walking around in the sun looking at flowers hasn't sounded like a great idea when we have four pools within walking distance to visit instead.

A friend and her three year old son joined us and we had a great time. They had a great area for the kids to wade(or get their entire bodies wet like Jasper) and a sand for digging for bones. We brought lunch and ate there and they we were going to stop by Drew's work since its like 10 min away- but since Jasper got soaked and ofcourse I didn't think to bring clothes he was wearing his undies so that was a no go.

Yesterday a moms group I'm in got Gap to open at 8 am for MOD moms only sale! They had breakfast/coffee which is a Fabulous idea because who doesn't want to eat donuts and drink coffee while shopping? We got a lot of great stuff- but as I was looking at it afterwards I realized EVERYTHING I bought- for Jasper and myself- was black or grey..whoops! Best of all, I got Jasper some grey skinny jeans so now we can match!!

Fill in the blank Friday

1. The most adventurous thing I've ever done is...hmm this is a tough one. I guess the most adventurous thing we have ever done as a family is pack up and move to Karlstad, Sweden last year for 6 months to study abroad just the three of us. The 6 months were filled with some many trips and adventures. Actually almost every day was some sort of an adventure- especially in the beginning when we were trying to figure out what bus to get on to get to the grocery store w/o looking like complete tourists. Some other things would be parasailing in Thailand, swimming in the lake Sr. year in high school in February (in Iowa) when the water was so cold there were ice chunks floating everywhere(this might just be considered stupid, not adventurous) and lastly following my heart and transferring to Denver University from Northern Iowa to be with Drew my freshman year of college. Looks like that turned out alright since it was 5 years ago and we are planning our October wedding.


If I were a pair of shoes I would be.. a pair of cute, heeled boots. Not too high, just the right amount of height for every day wear and enough heel to pair to be able to full of a fabulous look for a night out.

My preferred mode of digital communication..texting and e-mail. Neither of us have time to talk on the phone a lot during the day, but Drew and I send each other texts throughout the day. Email so I can keep in touch with my dad on a regular basis since he is always in a different country for work and I never remember where he is, let alone the time difference so e-mail is the best way to keep in touch- especially on my blackberry since I can respond right away when I get an e-mail and chances are he is still online and email me right back as well. And thirdly I'm going to have to say facebook since I like at least 10 hours away from the majority of my friends- and all of my family, and it's a great way to keep in touch with friends, especially the ones I have in Sweden.

I feel happiest when.... Jasper, Drew and I get to spend all day together going on one of our favorite outings, like to the farmers market, pool, sledding in the winter, apple picking in the fall etc.

A little dream I have for my life is.. having three or four kids (at least one a girl!) and hopefully living closer to family and having a summer house in Sweden. In my daydreams we spend 6 weeks there every summer and the occasional Christmas. What more could I ask for?

The one modern convenience I could NOT do without is......I'm going to have to say dishwasher. We went almost 7 months in Sweden and it was tough! It was more bearable since there were only three of us- and Drew and I took turns every night doing the days worth of dishes, but if we would have been busier with jobs and everything that would have been a lot more difficult!

Music, movies, TV or books: if I could only choose one to enjoy I would pick... books for SURE. I think if I could live at a library I would be so excited. I used to fantasize about being locked in a library when I was younger. I still think it would be SO much fun!

Simply Amazing.

I recently got the news that 3 of my childhood friends are going to be coming from Sweden to Iowa for my October wedding.
This. Is. Huge. Thinking of them to be willing to travel so far, and spend SO much money doing so to be there on my wedding day is enough to bring me to tears. I seriously Can't get over it.

The four of us became BFFs when we were 4-5. Two of us at first, then the other two moved to the neighborhood and my kindergarten we were inseparable. Two of them lived next door to each other, the other girl lived behind them and I was across the street. We did EVERYTHING together. Rode our bikes pretending they were horses, walked the 3-4 miles through the woods (while picking wild Swedish blueberries and raspberries) to go to the horse stable where Kerstin and her sister had a horse (keep in mind this is Sweden and we could NOT have been safer growing up there) playing dress up with our moms close, playing my little ponies, having sleep overs where of we didn't sleep at all, playing chef in my kitchen where we would mix a bunch of random ingredients and the others would have to 'guess that's for lunch', thinking we were grown ups and sitting around sipping hot tea. That was my childhood in Sweden and I seriously think I had THE best childhood that anyone could possibly have.

When my family announced when I was 11-12 that we were moving to America I was devastated. I thought my life was over. I had had the 3 best friends I could ever imagine living next door for 6 years and the thought of leaving was unbearable. I pleaded, I bargained, I threatened and sulked, but I didn't get my way. We moved to America anyway. For years these girls would get together on my birthday and call me, we sent letters, pictures and postcards- but gradually it stopped. I still thought about these girls all the time, but I had built my own life here in the states. I never stopped wondering about them, wondered what kind of girls they became, if they were friends, if Jessica- who had major health issues- was alright.

Almost three years ago one of them (Kerstin) found me on facebook. And through her I found the other two. We sent each other long messages trying to catch up over the last 10 + years. Kerstin had moved away with her family and hadn't seen/talked to the other two girls in years, and Sofie and Jessica were still the best of friends, even though Jessica had moved 3 hours south for school.

And then we got the news we had been accepted to study abroad in Sweden. It was a dream come true. Over the 6 months we were there Sofie and her fiance came to visit us in Karlstad (7 hrs away from where they lived) we went up to visit them twice, we rented a cabin in the middle of Sweden and spend the weekend with them there, Kerstin came to visit us the last weekend we were there, and two whole weekends we all met in Stockholm, all four of us, to be together. It was seriously surreal and two of the best weekends of my life.

Then in April Sofie and her fiance came to visit us for three weeks here in Colorado. It was amazing for our fiances to become such good friends and I cant wait for them to have kids so our kids can grow up being friends- even thought they live thousands of miles away from eachother.

And now- 12 years after I moved away these three girls are coming across the ocean to be there for me on my wedding day. Does it get any more amazing then that?

Here's an old picture I found of I think 2nd grade- I'm in the front left corner (sitting next to my first boyfriend whose brother was MY brothers BFF and is coming to visit in a couple of weeks!!) Jessica is the girl in the white shirt and glasses, behind her is Sofie and the girl in the back row with the hat is Kerstin. And the boy with the crazy pants in the front row is Sofie's twin!

And here are also some pictures of us all grown up!

p.s if you are wondering why none of my three friend fit the 'blonde beautiful' stereotype its because two out of the three have white blonde hair but dye it dark for some crazy reason (one is a hair dresser) but I they are all three extremely beautiful.

Yep I just sit home and watch soap operas all day...or something like that.

I'm a SAHM. Or stay at home mamma for those unaware of those abbreviations. I also work. I nanny FULL TIME for a one year old boy who comes to my home 8:30-5:30 five days a week. Those friends who don't have children, or do and don't stay at home with them often wonder what I do all day.

So here it is. An example.
7:40, wake up, spend about 45 seconds getting ready.
8:00ish Jasper wakes up. I feed him breakfast- that I usually make from scratch- pancakes, or eggs, or just yoghurt and fruit
8:30 Riley Comes- we play until his morning nap.
9-10 riley naps- jasper and i do 'preschool stuff' such as work on writing our letters, numbers, or just build trains or something that J doesn't like to do when riley is around because he 'messes is up'
10-12:30/1 ish- go somewhere. Every day.
1ish- feed the kiddos lunch
1:30-3:30 MY TIME. I suppose this is when I could watch soap operas- which i have No interest in doing. This is when i check my email- blog, read blogs, maybe spend a few min. reading a book- those two hours are MINE. In that 2 hrs I also need to eat, clean up lunch messes, clean up toys, start laundry, fold laundry, let the dog out, maybe do a little pilates.
3:30- play time at home or park till 5:30 when Riley goes home.
Then I start dinner- finish laundry, walk dog, get mail, go get groceries if needed, get jasper ready for bed, read about a gazillion books and then 7:30 bed time for Jasper. Sometimes Drew gets home somewhere in there- but if he does get home before jaspers bed time he gets home at 6:30 or 7.

So nope- nowhere in my day did i sit and watch a soap opera. (once in a while I will do pilates while catching up on teen mom or pretty little liars- the only shows I have watched w/ any sort of consistency during the summer)

Oh and where do I go during our morning? Monday we went to the pool, today we went to story time at pottery barn kids and then to lunch at the food court followed by playtime on the dinos, tomorrow we are going to the botanical gardens, thursday we have a playdate for kids Ri's age followed by Jaspers gymnastics class, and friday we will go to the pool again. Next week we have the zoo and a berry patch on the schedule- plus the regular gymnastics, pool and story time.

Top Two Tuesday: Biggest Indulgences

Just two huh? This will be difficult..

I'd have to say Number 1 would be CHEESE. I'm serious. I could live off of cheese and bread. But unfortunately I'm a sucker for the expensive cheese. The $15 for of a pound kind of cheese. It's probably a good thing the awesome gourmet cheese store is 30 min. away. Brie, Edam, Gouda, Havarti, I love it ALL. I really became a major cheese snob while living in Sweden because the cheese at the grocery stores look up a HUGE isle- and every week we would try different cheeses. After coming back to the states I couldn't touch the gross, plasticy(yes i made that work up) american cheese, but now I can at least have it on a grilled cheese but not on a sandwich and DEFINITELY not on a cracker or baguette.

Number 2- and I feel lame for saying this and its so obvious but SHOPPING. It is seriously damaging to our finances to live NEXT DOOR to the best mall in the area. Biggest forever 21 in CO? Check. Hanna Andersson? Check. Gap/Baby Gap? Check. Sephora? Macys? Nordstroms? Check Check Check. Those are the stores that get most of my money. And I'm not really proud of it. And have you SEEN Baby Gaps American in Paris line? It's to die for. We will be there bright an early 8AM for a mods mom early sale that I'm lucky (or unlucky, depending on who you ask) enough to be a part of. Bye bye Paycheck- you will be going to GAP.

Closet organization and some great new products

Since I had a ton of fun Saturday I decided I needed to clean/organize on Sunday. Drew and Jasper headed to the pool- because let's face it- nothing get's done with them around- and got started! My closet was project number one. My closet was so bad I decided to take before and after pictures. Anytime I go shopping I actually Like cleaning my closet. Of course dancing to Britney Spears blasting on my computer didn't hurt either.

Is that a picture of RP in my closet AND a calendar? Yes, Yes it is. The closet is the only place in our home that is mine ALL MINE, and I like having a little eye candy in there to look at. Random fact: Every time Jasper goes in my closet he points at the picture and says PAPPA! Uhm..no Jasper that is not your father. If it was there would probably be 5 little Jaspers running around because seriously who could keep their hands off of That.

Saturday when I ran to Target w/ Jess I decided to grab a few new products to try out. Since I live in CO and it's so damn dry here I'm always looking for new moisturizers.

Products I got:
Organic Face Smoothing Polish by Botanics. I have treated my skin like absolute crap this summer. We have spent 4-5 + days a week at the pool this summer, and while I'm a nazi about putting sunscreen on Jasper, myself? Not so much. Add in the fact that we live in the Mile High City, the cholorine in the pool and the fact that CO is so dry and my skin hates me. I'm hoping this gentle exfoliant will help with that. Also helping it will even out my skin tone. I used it once and so far really like it- it doesn't dry my skin out like other exfoliants have in the past.
Garnier Moisture Rescue Gel: First reactions? I used it after the exfoliant- and the combination of the two feels awesome so far. I usually put on moisturizer 2-4 times a day, but I used this last night and so far haven't felt the need to put on any more yet!
No7 Quick Thinking Reflexion Rapide wipes- This promises to cleanse, tone, moisturize eye make-up and it did at least 3 out of 4- i don't know about the toning but it did remove make up without drying out my sin! Major bonus.
Mediterranean Mint Melon and Sugar Body Scrub- I haven't tried this yet- I will tonight, but the smell of it is Amaaazing. Can't wait to try it out!

My amazing day off.

So remember how I said I had Saturday off? As in no toddler and no fiance? Well. It was Glorious. I forgot what it's like to grab a coffee and just sit there and drink it. Slowly. And to try on clothes without an impatient three year old asking when he can go play with the dinasours. It was seriously amazing and Just what I needed.

Sat. morning started out with Jasper letting us sleep in till 8:30- a slow breakfast and I was even able to get ready ALL BY MYSELF!

My friend Jess picked me up at 9:45 and we went and grabbed coffee then headed to the mall which is like 1/2 of a mile from us. First on the list- got the bedding we wanted from Macy's at over half off!! I feel so grown up now with pillow shams and everything!

After that I was on the hunt for some amazing boots. I finally found a pair I loved that were $170.Ouch. But still, others that I found and loved were in the 300-400 price range so, really 170 was a steal. Plus I had like 100 in birthday money so really they would only be 70- AND I would wear them a Lot. My black boots from the past two years are starting to look way worn since I wear them All the time in the fall and winter. We walked around some more while I was trying to decide on the boots- ended up finding some blackish/greyish skinny jeans at Gap, a tank from there and a black lacy long sleeved from Forever 21. I was going back to get the boots when we decided to stop in Charlotte Rousse. And HOLY COW they were having a huge boot sale! ALL BOOTS WERE $25!! I figured w/ a deal like that I prob. wouldnt like any of them- but for $25 I'd at least look. And I found two pairs! That I seriously LOVED. One pair I seriously love. Like as much as the almost 200 pair, and the other pair I just like a lot. But for $25 I dont HAVE to love them! And they are flat so I can wear them even if I will be walking a lot pushing a double stroller w/ 55 lbs worth of boys in it. SCORE!!

After shopping we had lunch at Jasons Deli- So delish. And then finally went to work on wedding stuff. We spent 3 freaking hours at her work place (she's a designer for a snowboarding company) trying to get the printer to print the wedding invitations- No luck. She is having someone there work on it today. So that's about all the wedding stuff I gone done..oops.

I came home around 5 to spend some time with jasper and drew- then when jasper went to bed at 7 (instead of 7:30- he was exhausted) I went back to Jessicas. We did pilates- a target run and she worked on my make up- trying to figure out wedding styles. And that was my Saturday!

Getting to Know You Sunday

1. If you could host a Reality TV show, which one would it be?

Uhm...I'm not Huge into Reality TV- and I never even watch this one, but I would Love to be on our host Amazing Race- they get to go Everywhere!

2. Do you put your seatbelt on before or after you start the car?

As I'm pulling out of the driveway

3. Shave or hair removal cream?

Shave my legs, wax my vajajaj

4. What's your favorite feature in a house?

Location location location! Where the house is located is the most important thing to me.

5. What is your favorite "Fall" scent?

Stepping outside on a crip, cool fall morning and just inhaling. I'm not sure what the scent is exactly- but I loooove it.

6. What tv show are you looking forward to seeing the most this Fall??

I can't pick just one...Grey's Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, and Private Practice..in that order.

7. Personal Shopper or Personal Chef?

I love to shop to much, so definitely personal chef. And he/she would make me delicious but super healthy meals.

8. What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of "Fall"?

BOOTS! I can't WAIT to wear them. In fact...just bought two new pairs yesterday!

I get a day off?!??

Seriously. I do. A WHOLE day. To do whatever I want! Okay not really whatever I want since I'm going to be doing a bunch of wedding stuff since the list I have to get done in the next few weeks is enough to make me have a minor panic attack whenever I think about it. But still I GET THE WHOLE DAY! I can't get over it. Do you know how long it's been since I have had the whole day to myself? I do. It has been almost 15 months. June 6th/and 7th was the last time I went all day without being with Jasper. I remember the date because we were in Sweden and I went up to Stockholm to celebrate Sweden's National Day with some friends and I stayed away for two whole days. Bringing the total amount of days I have spent all day away from Jasper to 4. In 3 years. But tomorrow makes 5!!

I feel slightly guilty being so excited to be away all day- but only slightly because it's been a rough morning with him. This terrible three deal is testing my patience.

On the agenda for tomorrow?
Farmers market in the AM
To the mall to check out the one day only Macy's Sale.
To my friends work to print out the wedding invitations- all 120 of them. Hopefully.
To a makeup consultant to come up with a 'wedding look' since my daily make up routine is moisturizer (and now eye cream thanks to this post http://www.emmiebee.com/2010/06/23/bee-beautiful-homegirl-lemme-get-you-some-eye-cream/#more-3934 and if I'm really feeling like looking cute- some mascara. So this is kind of a necessity. Or something like that.
Finding some Killer brown boots for fall. I'm kicking myself for not buying the pair that went on sale at Nordstroms to 120 down from 200- but I was buying the wedding shoes that day also and I couldn't justify spending over $200 in shoes in one day.
Back to my friends to finish the invites while drinking lots of red whine. And hope I don't spill said wine on the invites.

At least I will get one or two things crossed off my wedding to do list. Now I just need to find the time/energy/money/motivation to knock off the other 3 pages worth.

Wedding songs?

Im trying to decide on our first dance and the father/daughter dance. I have two ideas that I love for 'our dance' but no clue for the father/daughter dance!! Any suggestions for either?!?! Pretty please??

Another reason to move back..

I want to move back to Sweden for a couple of years. I'm working on getting Drew on board..this might help!

http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/the-world-s-best-countries.html

Sweden is ranked 3rd best country in the world to live in! The US doesn't even make top ten, which kind of surprised me.

Top Two Tuesday

Today's top two Tuesday is Character you would want to play..

Number 1 for me would be Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars (my favorite summer show) I think she is beautiful, get's to wear some awesome clothes AND has a secret love affair with her super hot English teacher. I have always had a thing for teachers, so basically I guess that would be living out my fantasy.

Number 2 would be Kristen Steward (though I'm not a huge fan) but she gets to play opposite Rob Pattinson, my 'freebie' celeb. Who I am madly in love with.

Yeah so these picks def. make me sound shallow, which I promise I'm not, I just love those boys.

Getting to know you

1. What kind of athlete has the hottest body?

I sort of have a thing for soccer players, so I'm going to have to go with them.

2. Are you a planner or a procrastinator?

oh man I'm probably the biggest procrastinator you will ever meet. I seriously can NOT get anything done until last minute. Take my October wedding coming up in just over 2 months- ask me how much is done? yeahhh....not much. In my sr. year AP english class we spent ALL year working on a topic for a 15 pg paper- like Major research paper. We had to go to a college town an hour away to use the university library and everything ( okay i went mainly to check out the college boy hotties) and we had months and months to write it. When did I start mine? The last day of spring break- about 20 hours before it was due. And it was Easter. My mamma was Not happy with me. Guess who was also at the library writing that paper with me- DREW. Aka the fiance. Aka my baby daddy. Looks like we are a match made in heaven..

3. Diet or regular (soda)?

Regular for suuurrreee can't touch the diet stuff. Except for once in a while I will have a craving for diet coke- which is weird because I don't even really like coke. I'm more of a pepsi girl.

4. What's your one "must have" for Fall?

I'm on the hunt for a killer pair of brown boots- I have an amazing black pair I got in Sweden a year and a half ago and really need some good brown ones. I also LOVE skinny jeans and scarfs. Its the only reason I'm looking forward to fall.

5. What's your favorite fast food restaurant?

Not a huge fast food lover but I'd have to say sonics of KFC. I do love KCF mashed potatoes and biscuits. Yum.

6. What do you think is the sexiest profession for a guy?

I've always had a thing for my male teachers...but a doctor in scrubs in pretty sexy too...hello mcdreamy

7. Did you wear braces?

Nope. I think my family must have pretty decent genes when it comes to teeth because none of my siblings (five of us) or my parents have ever had braces or any sort of teeth issues (minus some caveties and my brother knocking his front tooth out on his dirt bike)

8. Would you rather have a guy that's super sexy or kind?

For a lasting relationship I'd have to go with kind ofcourse..but if you aren't looking for a relationship? Sexy for Suuure.

Feeling the BURN today

My. Arms. Are. Sore. Like Really sore. I did more arm exercises than normal yesterday because I was distracted watching The Hills last night on netflix. Definitely a little embarassed that I spent like 4 hrs on that show instead of doing everything else that I should have been doing, but oh well. Life.

New plan to keep Jaspers AND my Swedish up- whenever we go on walks, which we do pretty much every day, Only speak Swedish to him the whole time during our walks. We did that for like 40 min. today on the walk and it was fun! It was good to force myself to speak, and it's good for Jasper to keep hearing it. He mostly responded in English- but still, he understood it all I think! Can't wait for September so he can begin his Swedish class every other Sunday again! Time to go grill hot dogs and make green been casserole- YUM.

Maybe if I write it down I'll follow through with it?

Here's hoping. I'm getting married in just over two months. HOLY CRAP HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? I have SO much left to do. And I think I was born with out that gene that all women seem to have that makes them like planning this kind of stuff. Soo not me. I just want to show up, not do everything before hand.

Anyway. My dress is strapless. Which means I have to do SOMETHING about these arms! Everything else is covered up and sucked in and looks great I think. But the arms? There is no hiding these in a strapless stress so its time to tone up! Any advice??

I have 5 lb weights that I have been working with during the nap time the past 4 days, and I'm going to try to do it every day for two weeks in a row- so ten more days. AND I haven't had any pop in the past 4 days either- which is SO good for me since I usually need two to get through the day. So for the next 10 days I need to continue to do the arm excersizes And NO POP.

Wish me luck!!

Nipples

'Mamma! I has three nipples now!' Jasper, after he thought he had grown an extra nipple during our trip to Iowa. Turns out it was just a mosquito bite.

'Mamma, boys has nipples and flickas(girls in Swedish) has boobies' He is so insightful.

'Mamma, titta (look in Swedish) that big boy (very large man) has big boobies like a flicka!' Try explaining quietly to a just turned three year old why the man has boobies like a girl...and then let me know how you were able to explain it in simple terms, because I was at a loss. When all else fails- distraction always works.

I miss you Sweden.

When I left Sweden last July i felt like I was saying goodbye to a best friend. And I had already done that. I had already said goodbye to my amazing friends that live there. I had already said goodbye to my grandma, and uncle, and cousins. I had said goodbye to our adorable little apartment right in the heart of Karlstad. I had said goodbye to the amazing isles of cheeses at the local grocery store, and all of my favorite breads and candies. I had said goodbye to the tire swing where Drew proposed, to all of our favorite parks we took Jasper to, and so my favorite spot to read under neath the old tree next to the river. But when we were at our hotel that we were staying at the night before leaving (connected to Arlanda airport) I took a walk outside to say goodbye to an old friend. Sweden. And I broke into tears thinking how I was going to miss everything about her. I get to nostalgic thinking about Sweden,the beautiful old buildings, the meadows filled with flowers, and I get homesick. I didn't feel that way about America when I was in Sweden. I missed my family, my friends and that was it. I didn't miss America. I suppose its because I didn't move here till 5th grade so when I think about my amazing childhood I think about Sweden. I'm rambling now, but I just wanted to say that Sweden, I miss you.

Top Two Tuesday

Today's Top Two is TIPS

1. My first tip has to deal with traveling with a baby. We live 11 hrs away from our families so we travel quite a bit and we have been doing it with Jasper since he was 6 weeks old. We also spent almost 7 months in Sweden last year so traveling to get there and back- and all of the traveling we did while we are there has helped us figure what to do and what not to do.

While traveling in the car we always make sure to bring a lot of toys, books, way more snacks/formula/juice etc. than you think you will need. When we drive we usually have one of us sit in the back w Jasper to keep him entertained. But last week I made the trip by myself so I wasn't able to sit in the back and entertain him, but a portable DVD player did the trick for me now that he is older.

Flying in my opinion is the most difficult way to travel with a child. On our 9 hr flight from Chicago to Stockholm Jasper was kind of a mess. He wasn't able to sleep AT ALL so we had to take turns walking him up and down the isle (when I say take turns, I mean Drew had to do it since I am a horrible flyer) and there isn't much else you can do when your child refuses to sit still. Main thing- bring an extra pair of clothes for everyone in your carry on! On our flight from Chicago to Des Moines last summer the air went out! ANd it was seriously probably 90 degrees in there and everyone was SOAKED in sweat. Jasper seriously smelled like throw up afterwards, so Im SO glad we had extra changes of clothes for All of us or it would have made for a long car ride home.

Train travel (at least in Europe) is a breeze with a child. At least our son. THey have special places to put your large prams and there were usually seats right next to that area, so we would keep him strapped in facing a window and he would be happy for hours. It's when he is NOT strapped in that is the problem (like on an airplane) When he would get bored we would walk up and down the train, go to the food card, or find new seats for a while. And he always made friends on the train- everyone always loved him! We went by train all through Sweden, weekend trips to Stockholm, and to Norway while there so we became experts at train travel.

And we even traveled by ship to finland. And on this trip we could have left everything except for a bottle of milk and his pram for entertainment because there were So many places to go on the ship that we didn't need a single toy or book to entertain him.

Tip number 2 deals with kids clothes buying. I have a major shopping habit thats starting to become dangerous. But what I have been doing lately is buying a size up for Jasper than the size he is in, so when the clothes are brand new they are Slightly big- and then they fit a lot longer! I thought this would maybe save me money so I wouldn't buy him more clothes- well SO didnt happen, but it does mean he has even more options!!(Both the bedrooms at our apartment are master size closets- you could seriously fit a bed in there- and his is completely full except for one shelf that his father gets) so this kid is NOT lacking in close. But if you hold up a 3T and a 4T shirt, at least in boys, there is Maybe 1/3 of an inch different at the bottom, so not much difference at all so I'd rather buy the next size up. It works for us!

Can't wait to read all the other tips.

Vacaaaay

Jasper and I have been back for a few days now from our 10 day trip to Iowa. It was so great to see a lot of friends, my mom, brothers and sister and niece. It was a busy, but amazing ten days. Some highlights

*FAMILY TIME
*Seeing an old friend from UNI for dinner
*Going out with one of my bridesmaid and another friend in Des Moines because they were going to be gone for my bachelorette party
*TWO bridal showers! We have so many amazing people who support us and recieved so many great gifts
*Spending time with a friend who is leaving for a year to teach English in Belgium! (Beyond jealous by the way)
*Playdate with another bridesmaid and her soon to be 4 yr old daughter
* IOWA SWEET CORN. It does Not get any better than that. I can't even tough corn out here in CO because it doesn't Begin to compare to what I grew up on.
*Bachelorette Party. Way to many shots. Way to much alcohol, but a whole lot of fun.
*Dress fitting! Minus needing it hemmed 3/4 of an inch everything else fits perfect. But seriously- $100 just to get the dress hemmed?
*Jaspers PIPPI party- Pippi came and delivered a cake for him, it was too cute.
*Seeing my 'city boy' running around naked out in the country at my moms house. Priceless.
*Enjoying simple time watching my mom and son interact. He LOVES his Dammy (grammy) and its so hard living 10.5 hrs away from all family.
*And the fact that I get bragging rights for surviving 21 hrs in the car with a 2 year old BY MYSELF without major problems.. a portable DVD Might have had something to do with it.

All in all an amazing trip. And now I have been busy unpacking, washing a TON of clothes, writing a billion thank you notes, and preparing for a Possible move! We Might be moving to Denver Sept. 1st. Going to look at a house to rent tonight. Update later!

My baby is THREE!?!?!?

I'll blog about our ten day vacation soon, but first I have to get over the shock of my BABY BOY turning THREE today.

I have no idea where the past three years have gone, and they have been the best three years of my life. Every day with my baby boy is an adventure and I'm so lucky to be able to spend all day every day with him.

At three Jasper is in the 75th percentile for heigh and 50th for weight. I think he is going to be tall and skinny like uncles and grampa!

He is swimming under water by himself! And not just under water. He can swim about 10 feet All. By. Himself!

He is talking- a LOT. Full sentences, but still has his own words for some things like biti is blanket for example and I Love it.

His favorite toys to play with are thomas trains and big trucks. He is Alll boy.

His favorite movies are PIPPI, Nalle (swedish movie) and All Dogs Go to Heaven- which he calls ' Lotsa dogs go to heaven'

And now he is awake so I'm going to get my birthday boy!

Top Two Tuesday ( and we are back from vacation!)

Todays Top Two is Top Two simple pleasures

1. Starbucks Carmel Macciato. It's a simple thing that I do for myself a couple of times a week, and yes I do hate the $4.50 price tag for a little drink but oh does it bring me pleasure.

2. Cuddling with Jasper. It doesn't happen very often anymore now that he is a BIG BOY but when he does it's heaven.