I learned from the best...

This blog entry is a bit personal... for my European father Johan. Johan is Fredrica's godfather in Stockholm. Since you probably haven't met Johan... let me start with a picture... This is at his son Karl's wedding. Proud papa Johan is on the right.

So... how shall I say this. Johan is a perfectionist. Me... not so much, although I have it in me! The stories I could tell are numerous... but the relevant one is from a few years ago. Johan had decided that he was tired of looking at cables along the living room wall.

He bought some white tubing to put along the baseboard to run the cables through so they would be hidden from sight. He meticulously carved holes in the stripping to allow the various cords to come out at the right place. TV and VCR in the middle of the living room, speakers at either corners.

It's important to understand that the tubing is rectangular... several cords can fit but they lay next to each other in the tubing. Johan realized after the project was 99% done that he hadn't laid the cables down in the perfect order so when the speaker cable had to come out for the TV it had to lay across another cable. There was ... just enough room for the tubing to still snap into place.

But Johan had to redo the whole thing. I told him in looked perfect. Yes he replied, but I know it's not!

So... I know I'm not the perfectionist you are Johan (can you spot the corner I cut from looking at the picture?). But I think I did pretty good... and I think the painting job matches the walls nicely.

Click on the pictures to get a close look at the work.

Before

After

Our New Home

Last month, we bought a home in San Diego. We're so excited. It's a perfect house for starting a family!

It's located is in a really nice quiet neighborhood. There are lots of families and kids around. We seem to be the only resident without a dog...

You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.


One thing that sold us on the house if the backyard. It is just the right size. Enough grass for kids to play. A nice sized deck for parties. The landscaping is already nice... and there is a perfect place for a greenhouse. Check back on that later!




So... when are you coming by for a barbecue? This is just off the master bedroom. Like the kitchen, the master bedroom looks onto the backyard.





This picture doesn't do the kitchen justice... It is completely redone... tile floors, new cabinets, new oven and refrigerator.It is a real joy to cook in. (yes... it is gas). Remember to click the picture to get a closer view.





The best part of the kitchen (and perhaps the whole house) is the breakfast area at the end of the kitchen. It opens right up on the garden. It's so nice we end up eating most our meals there.

Isabella has her own room

Dining Room

Living Room... has started to become a playroom as well

If you want to see even more pictures... click here

Back in the saddle again....

I taught my first yoga class in over 7 month on Wednesday in La Jolla. Isabella and I have been going to mommy and me yoga class since she was 8 weeks old and really been enjoying it.

Everyone is so impressed with how calm Isabella is and how she engages with me in every pose. We also do yoga for the babies and since Isabella was 6 weeks old she has been doing back bends on her own and now she does bridge pose pretty much on her own. So not to brag, Isabella is a true yogini and the teacher's favorite baby to demonstrate on.

Anyway, our teacher asked me if I would be interested to teach some of her classes in June when she is away at an ashram with her 6 year old son. She told the owner of the yoga studio and a couple days later she called me and asked if I could teach a prenatal class that Wednesday!!! Their teacher was sick and it's hard to find someone with a background and education in prenatal yoga. I loved it and had so much fun and it felt like I never been away. Now I'm looking forward to teaching for Arati in June, I will be teaching both mommy and me and hatha classes. It sure beats cleaning, shopping, changing diapers and folding laundry, even with cute helper like this.

Happy Mother's Day

A special mother's day wish from James and Isabella... to all the special mother's in our life.

Mother's Day is not for another couple of weeks in Sweden...

We love you all. Enjoy the little video message below.

Happy Mother's Day!




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The Cat is Back... (and with a new haircut)

I have just returned from a week in Mountain View (near San Francisco). I participated in an incredible leadership training program that Intuit runs for its up-and-coming leaders. It is modeled on the management leadership training at GE which is where our CEO came from.

Fredrica was amazing. A real hero... a whole week on her own taking care of the baby. When I got home early Friday evening, Isabella was sleeping. Fredrica and Jessica went out for dinner (and a well-deserved drink!).



When Isabella woke, I was so excited to see her. When she looked at me, she frowned and started crying. She didn't recognize me 100%! It took a little holding and singing and playing for her to warm back up to me.

When she meets someone new, she really stares at them. She seems to already be able to assess people! Her look here almost catches her innocent thoughtfulness.



At 6 and a half months, so much is changing so fast. You really notice even a week away. She had improved a lot with her hands. He is able to grab things noticeably better than when I left.

That night I was eating a slice of pizza. She was singularly focused on grabbing it from me! Fredrica gave her a biscuit to hold and chew on. That only lasted a second... she could tell the pizza was much more interesting.


Six and a half months is just an incredible age. She is so animated and really just exploring the world. Enjoy this little video -- it gives you a sense of what she is like, exploring her world around her...


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To see more pictures from May click here. To see all our pictures click here.

When the cat's away the mice will play...

The mice (Fredrica and Isabella) have been having fun and sometimes not so fun while the cat (James) has been in the Bay Area for the week. I take my hat of for anyone who is a single parent because it's a lot of work when you have to do it all by your self. Usually when Isabella has one of those days when everything is wrong and mommy just can't do anything right at the end of the day when daddy gets home I can take a moment to breathe. Off course Isabella decided to have a crappy day when he was away and wake up at 4am (which she almost never does), refuse to eat or sleep during the day. My friends Jessica and Andrea have both been such angels have helped me out. Andrea during the day and Jessica came over both Tuesday and Wednesday night so I could cook dinner, water our garden and clean up the house from the day. Off course we happens to have a heat wave to at the same time which means we're stuck at home (although did venture out for one mommy and me yoga class) and I had to water the garden twice a day and move some plants out of the sun.

Well we are proud of our self how well we done but we can't hardly wait for dad to come home tomorrow, yeahhhh!!!!

Sunny day for golden dal soup and carrot bread

Saturday was a fabolous sunny and warm day and we went to buy some more plants for our garden. Our favorite place to go for plants is Cedros Garden in Solana Beach. Mia who owns it is just so great and helpful and all her plants are top quality. Before we left and between Isabella's naps and feeding we cooked a yummy lunch together made mostly out of leftovers and digging deep into the refridgerator and we created golden dal and a yummy carrot bread (all vegan off course).

Soup:
Serves 2 people

• 1/2 tbs olive oil



• 1/2 yellow onion finely chopped



• 1 large garlic clove pressed



• 1 cup cooked red lentils



• 2 ripe red tomatoes chopped



• 1, 5 tbs Liquid amino's or soy sauce



• spices; whatever you fancy, we used 1 tbs turmeric, cayenne pepper, cumin, paprika and coriander.
• 1cup hot water or more if you feel the soup is too thick.
  Add more soy sauce or liquid amino's if need more salt.

Satay the garlic and onion in the oil in a sauce pan until soft and add tomatoes and cook until soft. Add water, lentil and spices and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Easy breezy beautiful golden dal.

Carrot bread:

• 1/4 cup finely grated carrot



• 3/4 cup unsweetened rice milk



• 1/4 soy sour cream



• 50g milk free margarine



• 1,5 cups spelt flour



• 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour



• 1 tsp honey



• 2 tsp baking powder

Pre- heat oven to 350F
Add all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Melt margarine in sauce pan, add milk, sour cream, honey and carrots. Add everything together and work the dough until smooth. Add more garbanzo bean flour if it's too sticky. Make 3 round cakes and put them onto a cooking sheet. Use a sharp knife to cut a cross onto cakes. Bake for about 20 minuets but use a tooth pick to check, it should be clean after poking the bread. Enjoy with dal or any soup or simply just with tea. they're best when warm.

Isabella Rolls Over

Amazingly, we caught Isabella rolling over from her stomach to her back the first time! She's been trying for some time.

No one was more surprised than mom -- as you can hear toward the end...



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Hand me down toys are the best...

One of Isabella's favorite toys we received from our friends Sylvia and David. She really comes alive because there is so much to touch and move and bang.

Some buttons will play songs -- she stomps her feet like she's trying to find the rhythm. Her leg strength is starting to build ... it's fun to see her slowly get around to the different toys. She is definitely able to entertain herself for a while these days -- great for when mom is cooking!




Isabella is not the only one growing. Her toys are too! Another favorite from Sylvia and David is this little cuddly caterpillar. She loved it because you can make it vibrate. It's still a favorite today because she's learning how to grab onto it and hold it by herself. This is a photo at 2 weeks old ... you can click to make bigger. Click here to see other photo of this age.


Now... she loves this big caterpillar (again thanks David and Sylvia). She's using it to build her leg muscles. We're also giving her lots of time on her tummy ... helping her to build the strength to roll over. Mostly it's a lot of frustration and she generally gives up before she rolls over... but she's making progress every day.

Watch out mom and dad... I'll be crawling in no time. Start baby proofing the house now!!!






Here is a picture of David with Isabella. We spent the weekend with David and Sylvia on their ranch in Julian. More pictures from that weekend. Not to digress... but what a fun weekend! We went horse back riding and got to race g0-carts on an outdoor track -- with a view you wouldn't believe!!!

This past weekend... we had perfect weather. We barbecued on the deck of our new house and enjoyed the sun. Isabella seems especially happy outside. Do you think she's related to mom and cousin Cindy -- she never likes to have anything on her feet. Everytime we put socks on her... she finds a way to kick them off.

Cousin Chrissie Saves The Day...

So..... we found the perfect breakfast table and chairs for our kitchen at IKEA. This is especially important in our new house because the kitchen is really one of the most inviting parts of the house and we just tend to spent a lot time there... I'm writing this posting from there!

So, we found the perfect table and chairs... but IKEA only had two chairs so we figured we get the other two later. Only to be told later, no more are coming in for 5 months!

After checking just about every IKEA in CA... one store had some near Los Angeles. Our cousin Chrissie lived only about 10 minutes away and came to our rescue. Another good excuse to come visit for the weekend!

And what a marvelous weekend... Perfect San Diego weather. We spent a lot of time in the garden. We also had our first barbecue at the new place!

Isabella loved Chrissie! She was so motherly -- you're going to be a great mom one day Chrissie!





We also had Isabella's first visit to Balboa Park. It was just for a stroll... We will have to go back to visit all the wonderful museums and zoo. It's so nice to have the Park just 15 minutes away!

In this shot we in front of the fountain outside the Ruben H Fleet Space Museum and IMAX theater.