The Friary Family

Moving, moving, moving

2012-01-31T19:01:00.009-06:00

Madeline has been very busy.

She spent most of the Christmas holidays sick. Sadly, she had strep throat, then a few colds, which turned into RSV and a stubborn ear infection. After a bad reaction to some potent antibiotics, and a lot of recovery time later....she seems to be back on track. And making up for lost time.

She started to crawl about two weeks ago. Then she quickly learned the beauty of crawling TO something and pulling herself to standing.

So that's what she spends most of her time doing these days.

Crawling. Even under her crib.

Standing.

Walking.

Watching the dog.

Moving.

She can open the fridge and helps herself to whatever she finds....
And she is determined. WOW!

Christmas Photo

2012-01-31T18:54:00.003-06:00

As many of you know, this was our "official" Christmas photo this year. Amazing how many pictures it took to actually get this shot....but it was worth it!

Sunset

2011-12-04T18:30:00.003-06:00

We had the most beautiful sunset the other day....

This picture doesn't even do it justice.....

But WOW it was amazing......

Sledding

2011-12-04T18:25:00.003-06:00

So far this fall/winter we haven't had very much for snow. But recently, we did get a small snowfall - maybe four inches or so but thought we ought to go outside and try some sledding.

Cailin used her new sled from last year and Andrew used his new sled from this year...(it might have been an early Christmas present or something, I can't remember....)

This was also Madeline's first time...

She thought it was pretty cool.

That and the dog chased them up and down the hill and she thought that was pretty funny.....

Buddies

2011-11-09T05:27:00.008-06:00

Both of the big kids have LOVED adding Madeline to our family. They both love to hold her, play with her and feed her. And they are both very kind and gentle with her as well.

However, it seems that at this point, Andrew and Madeline are tight. He spends a lot of time with her and she is mesmerized by his presence. He can make her giggle and smile just about all the time. It's wonderful to see Andrew in this new role (of big brother). He's always been a follower of his big sister (which he still enjoys immensely as well) but seeing him as a big brother has been really fun.

They sure are buddies.....

She's lucky to have that boy as her big brother.

Tubby Time

2011-11-09T05:24:00.005-06:00

Madeline loves her tubs. Ever since she had her first bath - she has always loved it. She is still in the infant/toddler tub that goes into the sink. But not for long, since she is getting so big and tall.

She has always loved taking a bath. Now she will kick and splash on command. Andrew will stand next to us and help us entertain her - not that it's really needed. But she loves her big brother and will do as he directs. He'll say "KICK!" and she will. Then they both laugh, that kind of huge belly laugh. And then they repeat it over and over and over and over......

It's awesome.....

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T05:20:00.009-06:00

The kids were really excited about Halloween this year. The weather was fantastic (for Minnesota standards...) and the kids were ready to go trick-or-treating as soon as they got home.

Cailin was going to be a cowgirl again (I think she figured out how easy it was to wear that costume...)

Andrew was going to be a Transformer named Optimus Prime. Apparently he's a good guy. We found the costume at Target on the FIRST DAY they put costumes out in September. Andrew carried the mask around for weeks, wanting to 'try it on' repeatedly.

And Madeline, although not going trick or treating, was dressed up as a Ladybug.

The kids had a party at daycare during the day where they got to dress up in their costumes and 'trick-or-treat' at daycare with each other handing out treat bags. Then in the evening, the biggins got to go trick-or-treating with our neighbors and great friends, the Frasers. The four biggins had fun with the moms going to every house in the neighborhood.

Madeline helped hand out candy with Dad at home.

It was wonderful, you looked down the block and all you could see and hear were happy, laughing children running around from house to house with their friends. It was one of those wonderful evenings that you wish wouldn't end.

But alas, the kids did the usual sorting of the candy at home. Cailin was proud to announce that she had collected 67 pieces of candy, three juice boxes and 15 miscellaneous snacks. Not that she was keeping track or anything....

Madeline's Baptism

2011-10-27T05:38:00.011-05:00

Madeline was baptized last weekend. She was quite a trooper. They were doing two baptisms and they also had the confirmation ceremony in the same service.

She was all smiles for the baptism part, then as soon as 'her' part was over and we were seated, she was out. cold. naps do a baby good!

Happy Baby!

Her Godparents are Kayla and Christopher - They will be GREAT at it too!

It was a wonderful day!

What's up?

2011-09-29T04:48:00.017-05:00

Fall has been busy in our household! School has started, we've been camping, we've been to the apple orchard as well as many other fun and busy activities. So we'll sum a few of them up right here.

First of all - we hit the apple orchard a few weeks back. Madeline went on her first wagon ride and the kids had a great time. The weather was perfect! Very warm and sunny.

Ok, and one funny story about the apple orchard. Mike bought a fresh apple pie from the apple orchard. He heated it up and had it sitting on the dining room table after dinner one night. He had one slice and then forgot to put it away. The next morning, we found the pie dish on the floor, licked completely clean - thanks to our dog Jake! He was one happy puppy after that one.

The kids love to dote over their baby sister and on this day, Dad was with them as they boarded the bus to go to school. Andrew has nicknamed Madeline "Maddle Taddles" or "Maddles" - since he likes to rhyme and all - but it has stuck.

We've done several camping trips this summer and this past month took two - one to Baker Park and one to Willow River State Park. Both times, the weather was wonderful. We played outside a lot. We took hikes, rode bikes - and played and played. The days were warm and sunny and the nights cool and clear - great for watching stars. And lots of campfires and s'mores.

Madeline is one busy girl! She is 4 1/2 months old now. She's working on adding a few teeth (all of our kids cracked their first tooth around 5 months and Madeline is on her way to match that). She's sitting up, wants to crawl, loves to be busy and loves to smile. Oh and she loves to be held....by anyone.

She also loves to eat cereal too! We just started with cereal and of course, most of it ends up on her face, hands, highchair - everywhere - as can be seen in this photo.

First Day of School

2011-09-07T05:28:00.005-05:00

The older two had their first day of school yesterday.

Cailin was VERY excited to get back at it.

Andrew was more nervous about starting Kindergarten. He's a tough egg that one. He's always got a lot going in his brain, but it's harder to decode than Cailin. She's ALL out there. She will let you know anything and everything that's on her brain. So we weren't sure what to expect with Andrew. Sometimes he's excited for an activity, then refuses to participate or even go at the last minute for some reason unknown to his parents.

But he did great! And he came home saying "I want to go to Kindergarten every day!"

Hopefully that's truly the case.

Now, we'll see how day #2 goes.......

Checking in

2011-09-05T14:58:00.006-05:00

We have been busy, busy, BUSY!

The two big kids are getting ready to start school TOMORROW. Gosh, is it really September?? We'll see how things go tomorrow and of course will report back.

Madeline is growing like a weed. She's almost four months old. Growing in leaps and bounds.

The latest is that she rolls over from her back onto her stomach. Which she usually does while in her bed trying to nap. Turns out that interrupts her sleep. Sooooo, we haven't been napping so much lately. I remember the other two going through this phase as well.

Here's a few pics taken this weekend of the squirt.

More on the other two tomorrow. No, we haven't forgotten about those guys...
;)

The Move

2011-08-07T13:57:00.008-05:00

Madeline, as we found out at her last doctor's appointment, is tall. She's very tall.

Ok, and kind of cute too.
So tall, she won't fit into her bassinet any longer. She's been sleeping in the bassinet since she came home from the hospital, but as we put her into it last night (after returning from a week-long vacation) we found that her head AND feet touch the ends.

So we busted out the crib that Cailin used when she was a baby. That was one of the few things we kept. Most of the other baby 'stuff' we donated or gave away since we were done having kids.

Whoops!

But alas, we had the crib and all of it's parts and hardware. So we put it together and Madeline took it for a spin with a nap this morning.

Now, she doesn't look so big anymore...

But I'm sure that will change. Soon. Very soon.

Kamp Dels

2011-08-07T13:46:00.006-05:00

We just returned from a week-long trip to our favorite summer water spot. It's Kamp Dels in Waterville.

The kids LOVE being in the water and at the pool.

Andrew, who last year was just getting used to being in the water, is now a full-fledged fish.

Madeline even tried out the pool briefly with her feet. She also took several naps pool-side. I thought that was a great idea too.

The weather was perfect, could not have been any nicer. It was hot for swimming and sunny for playing.

The kids are already counting the days until we can go again next year.

And by then Madeline will be a fish too I'm sure.

Annual 4th of July Camping Trip

2011-07-07T09:08:00.007-05:00

This year we we returned back to a little spot that we usually go to for the 4th of July. It's very close to home, but far enough away that you feel like you are really in the woods.

This was also Madeline's first 'official' camping trip. She handled it like a little trooper. She is not able to have sunscreen or bug spray on, so she was mostly indoors.

The big kids had fun though.

They had the kiddie bike parade again this year. Only Cailin wanted to participate. Andrew was happier back at the camper with Mom and Madeline watching the parade as it passed.

Andrew also had fun playing ladder ball, going to the playground and just playing outside.

Jake certainly enjoyed himself. We got him good and tired.

Other than a big storm Friday night, the rest of the weekend was just perfect weather-wise.

All in all a great weekend away!

Andrew turned 5!

2011-07-07T09:04:00.003-05:00

Andrew recently had his 5th Birthday.

We had a family party and he had a party at daycare.

We are planning a 'friend' party soon (when Mom gets her act together).

Andrew was most excited to get some of his favorite toys. Shocker!

But he also likes birthday cake too -
:)

Madeline - 5 weeks old

2011-06-22T09:11:00.004-05:00

Well, here she is - she's 5 weeks old already....And since some of you have asked for some updated photos - here you go!

and yes, she does smile some now which is awesome!

Snuggles

2011-06-21T12:13:00.002-05:00

Cailin loves to snuggle her little sister....

See?

Madeline's Visitors

2011-06-07T21:18:00.009-05:00

Little Madeline has been a busy girl.

She went to the doctor for a checkup. At that time she was one ounce away from 10lbs (great job gaining weight kiddo!). Sadly, she did have to get one shot. That was no fun. But she was a trooper about it.

She also has had lots of visitors.

Grandma and Grandpa Friary came for a visit.

As did Auntie Wanda and Auntie Katrine.

Madeline also didn't mind being held by Auntie Buzzy (Rayna), Uncle Dan and cousin Christopher (choppy).

Whew, all that visiting makes a girl tired.....

Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-07T21:05:00.004-05:00

Last week, Cailin officially became a 1st grader. This rite of passage included a ceremony at her school where all the kindergarten students donned red graduation caps and marched into the classroom to the traditional graduation music of "Pomp and Circumstance".

Then they performed several songs that they had practiced for weeks and weeks.

They also posed with their teachers. Cailin had two teachers this year. Her primary teacher left part way through the year on a maternity leave, so she came back for a visit on the last day and to help with the commencement ceremonies.

She also loved her other teacher, Miss Hanson who was the long-term sub that was in the classroom since February.

It was a big day, one that was a tearful one for mom. What a softie! The days do go by fast. Seems like I was just holding a newborn.

Oh, right I AM still holding a newborn, just not a Cailin newborn.....

Madeline Grace

2011-05-24T11:19:00.009-05:00

She has arrived!

Madeline Grace was born on May 17th. She was 8lbs, 13oz and 21" long.

We knew she was going to be big and since both her and her older siblings had scary deliveries, the Doctor felt it would be safest to deliver little Madeline via c-section. They also suggested we do it on the first day of my 39th week. So really, she was one week early and was still almost 9lbs!
I can't imagine how big that little peanut would have been if we had waited. And good thing we did do the c-section. She had the cord wrapped fairly tightly around her little neck and had a very large head. Heck, a very large everything. So chances were very high that she would also have gotten stuck and with that cord around her neck, that would have been scary. So both the doctor and us were happy we had gone the safe route.

Maddie and Mommy came home on Friday and spent the weekend with the two older kiddos just relaxing and enjoying our new and improved family.

Funny enough, seems the dog is the one having the hardest time adjusting. He has gone back to his puppy ways of going potty in the house and being all around very naughty. Hard not to feel sorry for the dog.

Now, on to the fun stuff. PICTURES!

Enjoy!

Cailin relaxing in mom's hospital bed. Looks right at home....

Madeline and her older siblings right after coming home.

Spring Break

2011-04-21T05:26:00.009-05:00

For spring break this past year we went to sunny, warm Mexico!

Ok, we didn't.

We thought about it. For about a second.

We really went up north with our great friends, the Frasers up to Grand View Lodge. Ok, ok, so it wasn't the sunny beaches with margaritas, however it was a very nice, relaxing time for everyone! Plus a whole lot closer and no passports needed.

We did a lot of swimming in their indoor pool/waterslide.

Jumped on their jumper and played the games they had set up for us.

We played in the condo.

We walked and walked the property trying out the different playgrounds. Enjoying the view of frozen Gull Lake.

And most of all, we spent time together away from everything. That was awesome too!

What Have We Been Doing?????????

2011-04-14T05:19:00.008-05:00

I'm sure you were asking....Other than NOT blogging.

Well, we've been busy (sorry it's been so long).

We spent a long weekend in Duluth. Doing our usual, playing in the pool at the hotel, visiting the train museum and enjoying the lake.

We had a girl turn 6 in February! She had a party with a small group of her friends at a place near our home. The kids jumped and exerted some energy and then had pizza and cake and played and played.

Cailin sold a pile of Girl Scout Cookies (thank you EVERYONE!).

We've also been to the zoo a few times, played outside a bunch and did the usual stuff as well - school, work, daycare.

Oh and we've been getting more and more ready to meet our newest family member as the May date fast-approaches.
:)

More to come...........

The Washingtonians Came for a Visit

2011-01-04T05:28:00.007-06:00

My brother John, sister-in-law Melissa and their adorable son Michael recently came for a visit. Not quite sure why they picked the last week in December to visit Minnesota (most folks are trying to get as far away from this part of the world at this time of year), but hey, it was awesome to see them!

The kids really enjoyed playing together. Cailin and Andrew were sooooo excited to play with Cousin Michael.

We went to a place called Pump it Up, (if you recall, we had Cailin's birthday party there previously and have gone for open jump days there) to expel some pent up energy.

We also took the light rail train downtown to visit the 8th floor auditorium at Macy's, which was still set up with "A Day in the Life of an Elf". The kids were in awe. They had a lot of fun running through the skyways (we tried to avoid the bitter winds outside by taking the handy skyways instead).

We also had a mini New Year's party together that was, well, shall we say LOUD??? My bad for buying New Year's noisemakers and streamers. Oh well, everyone had fun.

The kids also had a lot of fun just playing together at our house. We have lots of toys and I think every single one of them came out that week for an appearance. The trains were probably the most popular.

The kids liked playing with the trains, which were strewn all over our living room. We saw lots of behinds in the air as the kids were concentrating on their train play.

I wanna be a Girl Scout too!

2011-01-04T05:26:00.003-06:00

Cailin started Girl Scouts recently. She was so excited to see many familiar faces in her troop. Many of the girls go to her same school and since they are all in the same grade level, she knows most of them, so she was very excited about that.

The Daisy group had their 'swearing in' ceremony of sorts.

Now, we are beginning to sell cookies and I am a cookie mom along with another mom in the troop. That should be interesting......

The Waiting Game.....

2010-12-20T09:20:00.003-06:00

Andrew is a little bit excited for Christmas.....

He loves to open presents.

He is VERY excited to open any kind of presents, whether they are for him or for others.

Mike put several presents for the kids under the tree yesterday and Andrew has not left the side of the tree since (other than to go to sleep, eat, bathroom or daycare) - he is firmly parked next to the tree to 'watch' the presents.

Last night, before bed he asked if he could kiss the presents goodnight....

and so he did.

yes, we will be staging an intervention (as we discussed in an earlier post) soon.

(Incidentally, the cat was 'helping' him do this as you can see his long tail in the shot....)

It Snowed....a lot. A LOT

2010-12-20T08:44:00.004-06:00

A week ago, we got maybe 22" of snow in about 2 days. It was quite the storm.

Mike was able to get his money's worth out of the monster snow blower he purchased last year, that's for sure. It was a little bit of a nervous minute when he made one pass through and the snow blower broke. Then he found the bag (the one that came with the owner's manual) with all the extra parts in it. Then he replaced a few sheared pins and it was back in business. Whew, sigh of relief there.

You can see the depth of the snow on this one.

Cailin was interested in playing outside.

and getting goofy when she saw the camera.....

Andrew not so much.

He was more interested in hanging inside and watching the commotion outside from the comfort of his pajamas and the living room window.

Good news is we have more snow on the way this week!

A New Puppy.....At Grandma & Grandpas

2010-11-29T05:38:00.008-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa recently got a new puppy.

His name is Bode.

He's a 7 week-old Golden Labrador Retriever.

He's really cute.

He's really nice.

The kids love him.

And....

We get to see him when we come and visit Grandma and Grandpa!

Yeah! :)

Let It Snow

2010-11-29T05:20:00.007-06:00

We had our first big snowstorm not too long ago. Thankfully, the bulk of it came on a Saturday, so it was really nice to be home and have no need to commute about.

Last year, Andrew was a bit weary of the snow. Not so this year! He was ready to fly out the door as soon as we'd let him. Cailin was off playing at a friend's house (thankfully that was just a few houses away, so we didn't have to drive anywhere, I just put her in a sled and pulled her there).

Andrew was busy shoveling,

Making snow angels,

And building snowmen.

He was also happy to go inside and have "warm chocolate", since 'hot' chocolate would hurt his tongue.

Andrew's Announcement

2010-11-13T17:19:00.002-06:00

Andrew would like to share that he is going to be a big brother in May.

He is very excited (as you can see by his face...)

Cailin is even more excited. Well, actually, we are all very excited.

Halloween

2010-11-02T06:58:00.005-05:00

The kids had a great time on Halloween.

Andrew was planning to be this for Halloween:

Iron Man.

But then on Halloween morning, he decided that he wasn't fond of wearing the mask. I told him he could wear the costume and not the mask and he still passed. Thankfully, he chose to wear the same costume as last year - Superman. And thankfully, it still fit.

Cailin wanted to be a cowgirl.

The kids trick-or-treated with neighbors and friends, the Frasers. The dads took the kids and the moms hunkered down by a bonfire and handed out candy to the other neighborhood trick-or-treaters.

Poor Andrew got a little spooked at one house. One house was all decked out scary-style. They had scary, spooky stuff and that was too much for him. After that he decided he wanted to walk along, but didn't want to go to any more doors for candy. Later he told me his favorite part was at home, handing out 'candy to the customers' that came to the door.

No snow this year too, which in Minnesota - you never know.

End of the Season

2010-11-02T05:12:00.014-05:00

Since I haven't updated in a very, very, VERY long time. I spent some time looking through the pile of photos on the computer and realized we just finished up our camping season not too long ago.

We had three trips over the past month or so, so I do a quick summary all here in one post. I'm sure camping gets old and boring to most of you, but that's how we spent a lot of our summer vacation time. It was a pretty nice time I must say.

We started out with a trip to Baker Park in September with our neighbors and friends, the Frasers. The kids have a blast and the adults kind of like one another too, so it's a good time had by all. The weather was perfect!

We rode bikes a lot, took walks, but generally just hung out at our campsites and played with all the loot we dragged with us.

The next trip was to Wisconsin again and the weather was a little cooler. It was nice during the day but at night got quite chilly, so that made for chilly, frosty mornings.

We hiked down to the waterfalls, went biking, played at the campsite and just had a great time.

We saw this HUGE harvest moon. My camera did not do it justice. I was not prepared, I didn't have the right lens or tripod. But you get the idea.

Mike and Andrew hiked up to the top lookout vista at the falls. The water was really, REALLY high when we were there due to the recent (at that time) rains. So the water was just loud and crashing down the falls. I have been there many times, but never seen it with this much water.

Our final trip was to the local park to us, Baylor Regional Park. We usually start and finish our 'season' there. It's a great little park. The leaves were in full color and the weather was absolutely perfect!

A Visit to the Apple Orchard

2010-10-05T05:50:00.005-05:00

We recently visited our favorite apple orchard that is close to our home.

It was a cool morning a few weeks back, probably the coolest one we had this fall (at that time). So we packed up our rain boots (the grass was very wet), coats, blankets, socks, extra clothes and snacks.

We were so busy packing all of that stuff, that we forgot the camera. And about halfway there - Me: "Honey, did you grab the camera?", his response "ah no, it's sitting on the bench next to the door safe and sound" - Classic. We both forgot. Oh well.

It was a beautiful day, it was cool, but beautiful. This apple orchard has a winery attached as well, so got to walk through rolling hills of grape vines and apple trees. Then got a wagon ride and got to play with the animals.

We got a few pictures on our cell phones. Not quite like the regular camera but you get the picture (no pun intended, well kind of intended I guess...).

Andy (andrew) got to pull his own wagon.

And the kids got to hop and jump on the haybales.

We had a blast and left with LOTS of apples for munching. Sorry for the lack of photos. We'll try and remember the camera next time...
:)

The tides of a 4 1/2 year old

2010-09-27T05:46:00.003-05:00

Our son Andrew (aka Masher)is 4 1/2. He is currently experiencing all of his emotions and testing them out on us (his parents), his sister and I'm sure at daycare with his friends. He's normally a very even-keeled kind of fellow, but lately, he's been a bit more shall we say 'emotional'?

Last week, Andrew woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He was a bit out of sorts (to put it nicely) and he was getting ready to go to daycare in the morning with Mike. He was walking around the house and found this ball that he had gotten from Auntie Buzzy (in her classroom when we visited recently).

He was crabbing about something. Picked up the ball, showed it to Mike and yelled: "And this smiley face ball doesn't even make me happy right now!!"

So that pretty much sums up our world right now. I'm sure it will pass soon just like every other phase he has gone through and will go through.

Hard not to laugh when he springs that one on you.

Hoarding

2010-09-01T05:48:00.004-05:00

Our dear, sweet Andrew loves "STUFF". We call him "loot boy" because whenever he sees something, be it a toy at the store, a stick at the park or some cool rock in the backyard, that boy keeps it. Some type of treasure to him I'm sure.

His room is regularly cleaned out by the loot fairy that sneaks in when someone is not looking to remove some of the stuff he's accumulated.

I'm thinking we'll have to stage an intervention at some point in his future.

On this particular day, he decided he wanted to wear his swimsuit and then his brand new flip flops. And he wanted to wear them to bed for naps.

Silly boy.

Now, off to his room for some loot removal.........

A beautiful evening

2010-09-01T05:36:00.003-05:00

We were lucky enough to be invited to a party on the St. Croix this past weekend. Some family friends were hosting a party on a paddleboat out of Stillwater for an evening cruise.

The weather was spectacular. Warm and sunny, then clear and cool after the sun went down.

We were able to enjoy the scenery.

Visit with old friends and new.

And enjoy an evening with the kids throughly enjoying their babystitting time with Aunt Rayna (thank you, THANK YOU!!)

It was beautiful and very relaxing!

School Daze

2010-09-01T05:18:00.007-05:00

I can't believe it. I'm in a daze shall we say??? My teeny tiny baby girl is in school.

Cailin started Kindergarten on Monday of this week.

Cailin will be taking the bus from daycare four days (then from home one day) a week, so we packed up and headed to daycare to see her off for the first day.

Cailin waited for her bus patiently.
But alas, the bus forgot to pick her up. We watched it drive by us. So Mom took Cailin to school for her first day.

She took it in stride and was all smiles.

So since I was at school (I really had intended to watch her board the bus, and NOT go to school, but plans change sometimes) we watched from a distance as she was in line with her class and lead into the school.
The nice thing for mom (me) was that all the commotion of the bus missing her, gave me a much needed distraction. I was maybe a little emotional as you see that flash go before your eyes. You remember her being born and now this. I joked with a friend of mine that we were soon to be 'empty-nesters'.

So we'll have to soak these days up. In between filling out her paperwork, school picture forms, school activities, sports and fundraiser info. Whew - I'm tired already. And it's day 2.

My favorite time

2010-08-15T11:13:00.001-05:00

Of the day is snuggle time with my two favorites....

can't get any better!

A week away

2010-08-15T10:21:00.018-05:00

We spent the last week away on vacation.

We started with Mike's 20 year class reunion in Pine Island. Grandma watched the kiddos and we went out for a 'date night' at the reunion. The kids went with Grandma to a picnic that her work was having that night. They had a blast. We had a wonderful time at the reunion. Mike was able to visit with many friends which was nice. Everyone was really nice too. Hard to believe, I graduated from a city school and had a very large graduation class, Mike's was 69 people. It's a very different world from where I went to school and it was awesome to meet everyone I've heard about for so long.

On Sunday, we packed up and headed to Waterville, MN where we spent the week camping at a resort. The key part of this resort is SWIMMING! And did we have an awesome week for that?! It was hot, hot HOT and very humid. We spent each and every day at one or all of the three pools.

Cailin is our resident fish.

She takes after her dad.

Cailin pretty much wore a swimsuit the entire week. She'd take off the wet one, and put on a different dry one. Well, all except for sleeping. She slept in jammies, but otherwise it was a swimsuit all week!

Andrew is always very cautious. I would say that's a little bit like mom, but I do love to swim unlike Mash. He isn't as big of a waterboy as his sister is. Many times, he'll choose to sit next to the pool and watch.

That was how the first day started out. Then the boy got brave.

And that boy grew his fins. He was fish #2 for the week. Swim, swim and more swimming.

Each day, we'd pack a cooler with snacks and drinks and lounge in the shade for snack time.

The view of our campsite from the pool.

It rained at night a few times, but the day time was sunny and hot each day.

Cailin also tried out the diving board this year. She enjoyed it a lot. That is with her lifejacket OR the huge pink swimring (and Mike in the water to catch her helped i'm sure as well).

This should be on the postcard for this place - This was how Cailin relaxed.

We also had this odd thing happen. A female cardinal was constantly sitting on the back window of our camper. She'd hang out in the trees next to the camper and then fly right up and hang out on the window ledge looking in. We thought she wanted to come home with us.

We had an awesome week.

I always feel like we have a very 'scheduled' life. It seems with work, sports, activities, school, preschool - etc etc we are always running to be somewhere at some time. It was so nice to be able to not care what time it was. To be able to just do what you want when you want to. We don't do that nearly enough. We were really able to enjoy our time together and have fun.

Now, on to that huge pile of laundry on my laundry room floor....right.

So sorry...

2010-08-11T21:11:00.002-05:00

I am so sorry I haven't updated recently.

This update won't really be an update though.

You see, I have been very, very busy.

Very busy sitting by a pool.

Very busy getting tan. Or well, as tan as I get (which isn't very tan...but kind of tan).

Very busy NOT thinking about work and not planning anything in a day.

Very busy taking turns playing in the water with Tay and Mash.

Very busy waking up when we want to and going to bed when we want to.

Very busy you see on vacation! Yeah!

Will update more very soon!

Ingredients for a Warm and Humid Summer Evening

2010-07-29T05:40:00.011-05:00

These are the ingredients we have at our house to make a Hot Summer Evening complete:

1.) Hot, humid, summer evening. Check.

2.) Girl in Pool. Check.

3.) Boy, nowhere near the pool but still in his swimsuit since he isn't a huge fan of getting wet. Check and check.

4.) Dog, looking longingly behind fence so he doesn't (a) destroy pool, or (b) bother the kids IN the pool since he would be completely in it. Check, check, check.

5.) Boy 'visiting' the sad, lonely dog to 'make him feel better cuz he can't play in the pool'. Yup, check.

6.) Makeshift slide, one that is meant for toddlers, but is really fun in the pool, even for non-toddlers. Looks silly, but ok, check!

7.) Girl, making goofball faces.

8.) Boy, making goofball faces. Of course.

Viola! happiness!

What Have We Been Up To????

2010-07-08T05:21:00.015-05:00

We've been busy of course. No shocker there.

Some boy of mine turned 4 recently and had his first "friend" birthday party. He invited about 8 of his friends over to the house.

We rented a Moonbounce (from an AWESOME company - HopHappy in MN if you ever need one - they are FANTASTIC!)

Jumped for a long, long time. (doesn't that smile say it all?? he was soooo happy)

Had a pinata to whack a few times.

Played outside and then inside for awhile since it was really hot and humid, we rotated between hot games outside and playing in the cool A/C as well so no one got overheated.

Oh and have we mentioned it's been hot here. We've been playing with water balloons too.

We've had koolaid mustaches.

We also went camping over the 4th of July weekend. The campground we stayed at had a kiddie parade which was a lot of fun for all of us.

The bugs were really, really bad and it was really, really hot. We were pretty spoiled to have our fancy digs for sleeping, so we didn't have to fight the mosquito's if we didn't really want to, but we did.

The local police department Mounted Cavalry were present to lead our parade.

The kids loved the horses and the officers were really nice.

And we had fun.

Bug bites and all.

Masher is 4

2010-06-29T05:23:00.023-05:00

I can't believe it. He's four? Today is his fourth birthday. I just need to keep repeating it I guess since I can't seem to believe it.

When I found out I was pregnant with Andrew (AKA Masher)I was a little bit surprised. Cailin was only about 7 or 8 months old, so they were going to be, shall we say close in age? We knew we wanted more children, but this soon? We must be crazy.

Well, we are crazy, but for different reasons and that boy is an amazing gift.

I was HUGE and pregnant and we knew we were having a boy. I walked in the MS Walkathon just a few weeks before I was due. It was a beautiful day but I was HUGE. Really big.

see? really big....

I remember going to my OB appointment and telling the doctor, 'look here, see the outline of his foot?' as he was kicking my stomach, I outlined his foot - 'this babe is rather large and he doesn't seem to be making any moves to come out on his own, maybe he needs a little help?? please??"
So the doctor planned an induction and he was born.

June 29th at 2:12pm.

10 and a half pounds.

Wow.

"You're right, he is big" was what the doctor said. This was after his shoulders got stuck and they had to do some fast moving to get him unstuck so we didn't have to visit the OR. But alas, he was freed, and bruised (poor babe) but no permanent damage - Thank you GOD! And he was with us.

Andrew, meet daddy.

Andrew, meet mommy.

Andrew, sit there looking cute with your finger on your face like you're thinking.

Good boy.

He slept a lot in his swing. In fact I thought he'd never grow OUT of wanting to sleep in that swing. In my more desperate moments, I'd have images of him at five years old having that swing in his bed somehow.

Yes, that swing.
Well, now he's four and guess what? He doesn't sleep in that swing anymore. He grew out of it not long after that picture.

But here he is now, at four years old.

Here he was at one.

At two.

At three

And now my big four year old!

Awww, that smile, that look melts my heart (and I'm sure will melt the hearts of many girls when he hits high school... sigh)

Happy Birthday Masher! I love you lots and lots!

Bubbles

2010-06-23T02:37:00.007-05:00

We were outside this past weekend playing and I pulled out the bubbles. The kids were having a blast. It was kind of funny because at first, Jake (our dog) was really scared of them. Not that bubbles would hurt him or anything, but he'd run away. Soon he realized that they were harmless though and decided to chase them. We all laughed and laughed.. Andrew would blow them right at him and when Jake would try to catch them in his mouth, Andrew would squeal. Bubbles, hours of entertainment for boys AND dogs. Who knew?

"You must be from outta town?!"

2010-06-22T05:31:00.011-05:00

My brother John, his wife Melissa and their son (my nephew) (obviously) recently came for a visit. They live in DC and we don't get to see them very often, so it was really fun to be able to spend some time with them here.

We had a big picnic at our house and some friend of John and Melissa's came up. Linda and her two children, Aidan and Alish came for a visit. It was so fun to meet our new friends and have some time to play and visit together.

We spent time with them in the city for a few days and then we all packed up and headed south (and east) to my mom's place in Wisconsin.

The kids read stories with their Oma.

We traveled to the local lock and dam to watch the fisherman try their hand at fishing. There were also several boats traveling through the lock, so we got to see the water go up, then the water go down. Then the water go up, and down again - you get the picture.

In order to get to the lock, you park your car (obviously - again sorry), then head across the train tracks to the water's edge. The only thing is that they have a pedestrian bridge that goes OVER the train tracks. The big hope is to be ON the bridge when a train goes by. Last fall, we did this pilgrimage and we stood on top of the bridge for a long, long, long time. Well maybe it was only 15-20 minutes or so, but that felt like a lifetime to the kids. And alas, that time we saw no trains. Which is also amazing, because it seems like a train travels through that area about one every 5 seconds, but obviously that isn't really the case. So this time we got to SEE a train go underneath. The kids were a little excited.

Then we headed to Lark Toys in Kellogg. It is quite the place. I've shared about it before, but the kids LOVE going there. They have an awesome indoor carousel and of course we had to ride on it.

Andrew was trying to talk us into buying him an 'early birthday present' of the Thomas train "Hero" from the toy store. It was a no-go and there were some tears shed as we dashed out the door (to avoid a huge scene), but we did enjoy the trip (again) to Lark Toys none the less.

Andrew and his dad mowed Oma's lawn. Turns out Oma has a lot of lawn.. But Andrew didn't mind, he was happy to be perched on top of the lawn tractor for over an hour. The first thing he said when he got off the mower is "Oma has a lot of grass - I am REALLY thirsty!". Spoken like a true farmer!

The kids played very well together and really enjoyed the time together.

Jake found Oma's pond. He decided it was fun to swim in. Turns out that pond water was pretty stinky and so was Jake. Swell.
So we gave him a bath too. And he smelled considerably better!

And come to think of it, the adults had a really nice time together as well!

"Check this out, Jake took 4th in his class...."

2010-06-03T06:16:00.003-05:00

This is the text I received from my husband this past week. I was in shock.

You see, Jake is our 8 month old golden retriever puppy, in case you are new to this blog. And you see, he's been kind of a handful shall we say (to put it nicely) since his arrival with our family.

Tuesday nights I usually take the kids to swimming at Foss Swim School, Mike takes the dog to obedience class. Needless to say Tuesdays are kind of a whirlwind in our house. So I'm at swimming and Cailin is just finishing up when I get that text.

I then said outloud 'what, he got 4th place out of 4 dogs??'. Ok, that wasn't nice, but then when Mike (and Jake) returned home, I found out that there are actually 12 dogs in the class.

Ok, so this is the same dog that in this week alone, has broken through the fence on the garden, eaten my brocoli, eaten any semi-ripe or fully ripe strawberries, destroyed my rhubard, shredded the kids' trampoline, ripped the cover off of our outdoor firepit and shredded, ripped the internet cable out of the ground and what else.....well that's probably enough for one week (hopefully). So I was a bit suprised to see that not only had he passed his class but actually received a ribbon for 4th place. wow -really?

And as it turns out, as annoying and destructive as that dog is, he's smart. He knows all of the commands and actually does them! So maybe someday he'll follow the commmand "DON'T DESTROY ANYTHING!" please? And maybe that destructive, annoying, puppy stuff WILL fade someday and I'll actually like him more?? well, we'll see about that one.

But otherwise he's doing well and for the dog lovers, of course we had to add the updated photos of him for you.

I tried

2010-06-01T06:00:00.007-05:00

to get a cute shot of Cailin on the train. On our recent trip up north, we stopped at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, which is a must-stop for our train-enthused family. I figured I'd post a few of these as my other post is a little longer.

It was funny because she was walking by this train at the museum and I thought - "Hey, that would be cute to have both kiddos posing on the steps" but Andrew would not have any part of it. He was too busy to stop playing to pose for some silly pictures.

So Cailin did pose for some. Then she got silly. Which is normal.

then we got the money shot, or at least a decent shot.

goof ball!

Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Kayaks??

2010-06-01T05:58:00.021-05:00

Well, we maybe just trains and automobiles and kayaks. Don't let the title fool you, we didn't really go on any airplanes this time, but we did do the rest! Well, we didn't really 'do' the kayaks, but we saw some daring folks using them.

Recently, we headed up north and spent some time in the Duluth area. We camped at Jay Cooke State Park which was awesome!

The scenery was amazing!

Jay Cooke has the St. Louis River running through it and man, was it gorgeous!

The weather was perfect!

The kids had fun!

The adults had fun too (you'll have to imagine it, since we had the camera in our hands most of the time, of course we don't get too many shots of the adults in this family)

They have a suspension foot bridge that goes over the river and Andrew found that it was great fun to bounce on the bridge and jump

and jump

and jump some more.

While we were jumping, or rather, while Andrew was jumping we saw a group of Kayaks pass underneath us. It amazes me how these folks can maneuver around all the rocks safely, but I'll have to admit, it sure looked like fun.

We went to Duluth and checked out the Lake Superior Train Museum (we always have to stop there)

and the Aquarium.

We had a wonderful time, can't wait to go back!

Somewhere over the.....

2010-06-01T05:43:00.003-05:00

Rainbow....

We had a very pretty sky not too long ago. I don't have a wide angle lens, but this was yet another moment I thought - "Gee, I'd really like to get me one of them wide angle lens thingys..." or something like that.

Off to the Zoo

2010-05-27T05:21:00.009-05:00

It's one of our favorite things and the Minnesota Zoo can be enjoyed year-round, so we often find that on really cold, frozen tundra days OR really nice spring weather days, it's a great destination.

So a few weeks back, we headed down for a trip. The kids wanted to ride on the monorail (which for those of you unfamiliar is an elevated electric train that travels throughout the zoo's acreage so you can see the exhibits from up high, there are walking trails on the ground that follow most of the same route since the zoo is HUGE, so we had to walk that too). The last time we were at the zoo, the Monorail was closed due to 'technical difficulties" so the kids were excited to ride on it today.

We visited the farm they have there, and since it's spring time, they have all the farm babies now on display as well.

We of course have our favorites - the big fish tank and the dolphin tanks. We got to see them working with the dolphins, but no shows since they are on hiatus for awhile.

Andrew was more willing on this particular day to pose for photos. Cailin, not so much. You just never know whose going to be hammy when we have the camera out.

We stayed so long, longer than usual that we even ate lunch there and then spent more time running around. It was a beautiful day!

Not Me! Monday

2010-05-03T05:31:00.006-05:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was not me that was nursing two sick kids this past week and while caring for said sick kid #2, carrying him into the bathroom from where he was resting in my bed, having him throw up all over the bathroom floor didn't say out loud "glad THAT didn't happen in my bed two minutes ago - WOW". That would not have been me, I'm sure I would have been most concerned about my poor, sick, uncomfortable child.

And it wasn't me who took a recovered child #2 to the local flower store to pick up some vegetables to plant in our garden that apologized to some nice lady in the store when my son yelled at her "DON'T LOOK AT ME!". Nice. I'm sure that could not have been me OR it could not have been MY child!

And it was not me that hasn't completed a Not Me! entry in well over two months. Nah - couldn't be me. I'm sooooooooooo organized and would not have forgotten every single funny story that when it happens I think 'hmmm I have to remember this for monday...." yeah right, I am so not forgetful!

Happy Monday!

Definition of "Perfection"

2010-05-02T20:05:00.004-05:00

In My World:

enough said.

The View From Here

2010-05-02T19:37:00.016-05:00

I love this time of year.

The tulips (my favorite flower) are blooming.

The lilacs are blooming (also a favorite and a Minnesota classic).

Our new crab apple tree is about to burst into bloom.

We pulled out the dead stuff that didn't make it. :( like my sad lilac.

My Azalea bushes survived (even with the dog doing his best to destroy them)and are in full bloom.

We planted the garden.

Strawberries are blooming.

Tomatoes are planted.

Lilacs on my table.

Spring is awesome! New life planted, blooming and growing. Love it!

A Day in the Country

2010-04-19T20:31:00.010-05:00

We went down to Pine Island to visit Grandma and Grandpa Friary recently. With all the recent nice weather, we were itching to get the camper out of our driveway and do some camping.

Plus, with the new family addition, we weren't sure how he was going to handle camping (and sleeping) in our camper. So we decided to try things out in familiar territory so that if things went horribly wrong, we wouldn't be too far from comfort.

We spent one of the days out at Grandma and Grandpa's new country retreat. Out in the country near where the old family Mosher farm used to be, they have land. On that land, they built a shed, kind of a fancy schmancy shed as far as sheds go.

It also has an awesome view and lots of land to roam. Well, the neighboring land is owned by other relatives. But hopefully they like us still and are ok with us wandering a bit on their land... :)

It was a beautiful day and we spent some time wandering through the tall grass.

The dogs loved it. All three of them. No, we did not adopt any MORE dogs, the other two goldens belong to Grandma and Grandpa. Sometimes it was hard to tell at a distance who was which dog.

We played in the shed on tractors and rode our bikes around too.

It was a beautiful day!

Dresses

2010-04-19T20:18:00.009-05:00

When I first found out that I was having a baby girl several years back, I was excited. Excited for many reasons, but one was so I could buy all those really cute girl baby/toddler clothes they have now. I remember when I was little that the clothes weren't exactly as cool as they are now.

But to my dismay, Cailin REFUSED to wear any kind of dresses. She hated them. I had so many adorable dresses that went on to another family having never been worn by Cailin. "Oh well, maybe someday...." I'd think.

But that has all changed lately. One day she says to me "Mom, why don't I have any dresses? I'd like to wear a dress today..." So off to the store I went and bought a few dresses.

There was a craft fair in town recently and there is a vendor that I love that goes every time. She makes really cute tie-dyed stuff.

So I bought her a dress. (just ignore the sweatshirt - it was a bit chilly on this particular day)

And, she actually is wearing the dresses I bought for her.

And she looks really cute in them to say the least.

Wish I could wear stuff like that and look cute like her.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-06T05:20:00.010-05:00

This year (as with most years) we began the Easter Weekend with coloring of the eggs. The kids LOVE to do this activity and when I was at the store I wasn't sure which coloring kit they'd like, so I bought two. That was more than enough and we got to coloring.

Mike helped with the eggs.

Then Cailin and Andrew had to show off their hard work.

Andrew thought we should hide the eggs in the backyard until I reminded him that it was only Thursday (a few days away from the arrival of the infamous bunny) and that our dog Jake would make sure nothing was left if we put them outside. And I don't even want to think about what that would look like if Jake ate one dozen colored, hard-boiled eggs. yuck!

Cailin woke up bright and early Sunday morning and thought that the Easter Bunny had indeed arrived since it was morning. It was painful to her to wait until Andrew woke up, who surprisingly, decided to sleep in. Once both kids were up, it was the instant search for the baskets that were well-hidden. Cailin found her basket and then helped Andrew find his.

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to our Aunt Rayna's house for the family gathering. We were thrilled to see Joey who was back from college for spring break, as we were excited to see everyone else. We all had a late lunch together and then set off on our big egg hunt. They have a large yard, so it was a big search and lots of fun!

Cailin was 'directing' her little brother - as usual on the ins and outs of egg hunting.

And they were successful in finding all of their candy-filled eggs. Then of course they needed to enjoy their goodies!

Then we played and played and played and played and played. Needless to say by the time we got back home, the kids were fired up on sugar, filthy from playing outside all day and absolutely exhausted. It was an awesome day!

Springtime in Minnesota

2010-03-28T20:27:00.013-05:00

You can tell those first warm days in Minnesota when EVERYONE is outside. It's still got a little bit of a chill in the air, but everyone is outside. Walking, doing yard work, cleaning, playing - you name it, anything that can be done outside is done outside especially on those first few nice days in the spring.

It's awesome because we don't have bugs yet and it's not one thousand degrees out, or 100% humidity levels, so you can be outside and comfortable. You can be warm but not hot and not worry about getting eaten by mosquitoes the size of my uncles Dachshund.

So this past weekend, we joined the bandwagon and spent as much time outside as possible.

March hasn't been a great month for me. I have been working through some medical stuff and then finally this past week was home ill with a high fever and strep throat for a few days. That knocked me out once again. But let's hope this is all behind us (and that I didn't get anyone in my family sick unknowingly). So there have been a few weekends where mommy has been laid up and not up for playing outside. That seemed to be the hardest for the kiddos - But that is leaving with the tides of March (or so I hope...)

Saturday was cooler and overcast most of the day, so we bundled up and headed outside. We had our first fire of the season in the backyard and of course had to make s'mores. The kids found that if they climbed up into the tree house on our swing set that the dog couldn't get up there

Even though he tried to, the slide proved too slippery for him to master....yet at least.

We had to install a fence around our vegetable garden as Jake has found this is an awesome place to play, dig and do other unmentionables, so we put up a fence to keep his mischievous paws out.

Then Sunday was much warmer. The sun was out and we hit two playgrounds in the area plus our own backyard.

Andrew was up first from his nap well he actually didn't nap today for some odd reason, so he was up within the hour wanting to go outside again. And hey, who could resist? So we headed out back for more playtime and he had to show off his skills on the glider and monkey bars.

So here's to many more warm, sunny spring days ahead. Full of smiles and good health!

Jake update

2010-03-28T20:17:00.005-05:00

Many have been asking how our puppy Jake has been doing.

Well, he's grown!

He's getting a little bit better with not being naughty all the time.

He starts 'puppy school' in two weeks (not that we're counting).

And he's still pretty well loved......well most of the time.....when he's not trying to eat our shoes or well, eat us...

I guess we'll keep him.....for now.
;)

Area Flooding

2010-03-22T10:39:00.007-05:00

This past weekend, we went downtown Shakopee to play at the playground at Huber Park. It's an awesome playground adjacent to some great bike and walking trails that follow the Minnesota River Valley.
What I had forgotten about (not sure why I forgot)....was the spring flooding this year has had a great impact on many communities, including Shakopee.

The main road to travel from Shakopee over to Chanhassen/Eden Prairie - highway 101 is closed because it is underwater. This picture was taken Saturday and the waters have slowly been getting higher and will do so for the next few days. The waters are expected to crest on Wednesday of this week.

And the park which usually has a very nice scenic view of the river is now almost completely under water. The current is incredible. The city has obviously blocked off access to a great deal of the park and the police department has been making regular rounds to make sure looky-loos don't get too close.

It's something pretty amazing to see in person. The power of water - especially at this stage.

Our house is probably in one of the highest points in town, so we are safe from the rising waters, thankfully. It has however impacted our travels greatly. Now the closest way to cross the river is via 169 which is a haul from our place.

We did enjoy our time at the playground and another benefit is that this was a great opportunity to talk with the kids about nature and being able to see what can happen first hand. Real-life classroom style!

Kindergarten

2010-03-22T05:33:00.005-05:00

Cailin will be starting kindergarten in the fall - I just can't believe it. So this past week we had our Kindergarten orientation.

We got to tour the school, tour the three kindergarten classrooms AND take a bus ride on a school bus. Big Fun! Cailin has been on a school bus before, but this was Andrew's first ride. He was a bit nervous, but then exited the bus saying it was his favorite part!

The principal was responsible for giving the school tours. He split the whole group into three smaller groups, so that we did each event in phases so the groups weren't too large. We had the school tour with the principal last (or second to last just before the milk and cookies) and it was kind of a funny moment, because I caught a small glimpse of what my child will be like in school. At the first stop, the principal had a small group of the soon-to-be kindergarten kids up front with him, with the parents following behind. So the principal told the kids, "why don't you kids be up front here with me so you can be sure to see and hear everything I say..." and then by the last stop, my sweet, assertive daughter announces as we arrive "Ok, kids - all kids up front so you can be sure to hear and see well!!!" I felt every parent turn towards me and laugh...Yup, that's my kid!! My little rule-follower. She'll be such a good little student!! Of course that is happening at the same moment as my son turning to me and saying "MOM, I WANT MILK AND COOKIES NOW PLEASE!!!!". So you can see the difference between my two kids??? I'd like to think I was like Cailin in school, well maybe a good combination of both her and Andrew? hmmmm

The kids finished up the evening with cookies and milk in the cafeteria.

Is it Spring Yet??

2010-03-22T05:28:00.005-05:00

That's what Andrew keeps asking. Think he has spring fever??

(In case you can't tell, he has his water shoes on, his knee pads and biking helmet as well as his most favorite shorts from last year....)

The weather has been really nice the last two weeks. We've had days in the 50s and 60s (for those of you not living here in the frozen tundra...) That's downright balmy for us!

We've spent a lot of time in the backyard playing (those pictures coming soon) and even having our first campfire and s'mores!!

MIA

2010-03-22T05:17:00.003-05:00

Yes, I will admit it. I have been Missing in Action (MIA). Things have been a little busy around here and I have been under the weather a bit.

But NOW all is good again! I am feeling back to myself and ready to be back on the computer chronicling our lives.

Sorry for the delay, but we have been busy, so we're excited to share!!

:)

The Big "Jump"

2010-03-01T18:29:00.010-06:00

I bet you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Anyone inside the family has some knowledge about this "event".

My mom (God love her) is a little crazy. And I say that with the utmost respect of course. She is a wonderful, intelligent, loving and caring woman. So about a month ago, I didn’t really know what to think when she told us that she had signed up to jump into the Mississippi River the last weekend in February. I couldn't’t believe it. I asked her if she meant in Louisiana where it’s warm. She said “Nope, In Wabasha, MN”.

Hmmmmmm

Well, we found out that it was a fundraiser for the group home she works part-time with – Great River Homes. They work with adults with developmental disabilities and in partnership with Grumpy Old Men Days in Wabasha, they have the “Grumpy Plunge” as a fundraiser.

So mom collected donations and yes, she got several and made the big jump this past weekend.

The weather was downright balmy for the last weekend in February, now maybe not ‘balmy’ for jumping into the Mississippi River or anything, but it was very well-attended and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Cailin and I made the trip down to cheer her on – for moral support, since I was not doing any jumping into the Mississippi River anytime soon (yes I am chicken).

You can see Cailin sitting in the snow (all in pink) waiting for the jumpers to arrive. Plus all the fans that arrived to observe the big jump. There was an Emcee who was narrating the entire event and introducing the jumpers as they arrived.

The view up the river - notice the ICE on the side. Brrrrrrrrrrrr

There were two 'rescue divers' in the water to help any jumpers that might need assistance. I noticed there was quite a current, so hopefully no one was going to float away. I thought this picture was funny, because the two nice gentlemen had just climbed in and they were 'clearing the ice' from the jump site. WOW! No thanks!

Then there was this GUY - yes a guy, he was one of the top fundraisers in this event. He sure looked cute!

Mom dressed as a clown and jumped with two co-workers from the group home (also dressed as clowns). She's dressed in the red and white striped outfit. Here's Mom with her grandaughter Cailin.

Then getting ready to jump.

Mom asked for a countdown and

In they went.

She wore those nice clown shoes. Turns out those don't do well in water. So Mom needed some help climbing out from the two nice rescue diver guys.

It was a really fun time. She also is vying for the dubious title of "Oldest Jumper" but hasn't heard for sure if it's her or not. Gotta be proud about that! That's the stuff of legends.

Mom has already said out loud "I think I might do that again next year"

Really????

Cailin and her pets

2010-03-01T18:20:00.005-06:00

Cailin loooooovvvves her animals. She loves to hold them, snuggle them and anything else they will allow.

Mac, our HUGE white cat is a little weary of the kids. He isn't super fond of their loudness, their quick movements or them always wanting to touch him. He's perfectly happy being a lazy bum on the bed most of the day.

He has grown to 'tolerate' Cailin's presence though, which I never thought would happen. She has charmed herself right into his world as well. She is really good and gentle with him. She never hurts him and lets him go when he complains. She's just persistent about trying to convert him to like her more.

Now we see this happen quite a bit.

Amazing.

Although I'm not sure if he really likes it yet. But he better get used to it.

Not Me! Monday

2010-02-22T07:31:00.005-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was NOT me that woke up this morning singing a song in my head from Yo Gabba Gabba first thing. My daughter loves that show and we have several that are recorded on our DVR, she watched the same episode a few times this past weekend. That would have been really odd for me to be singing Yo Gabba Gabba, not me. Especially first thing. And so I'm sure it wasn't me that actually sang it outloud with the motions when getting ready. That would have been really weird.

It also wasn't me that was hosting a kid birthday party for my daughter this weekend and did not tell my son "please be nice to your sister and try not to kill her today in front of all of your friends...." That would have been a really weird thing to say to him. Of course he would behave perfectly anywhere right? right.

And it wasn't me that actually contemplated getting a slice of Baker's Square French Silk pie, because I've been wanting a piece for over a month. That would be really odd. And it wasn't me that then settled on having popcorn for dinner. That wouldn't be very healthy now would it.

And last but never least, it was not me that allowed my son to wear his Superman Halloween costume to the grocery store when we went grocery shopping this past weekend. That would have been really odd of me to let him go out to the store like that. It also would not have been me to encourage him by saying "Superman, can you fly over to that shelf and grab me a package of yogurt please?" "Thanks for zooming so fast Superman!" Nope, not me.

Happy Monday!

Where has the time gone??

2010-02-18T13:40:00.015-06:00

It's been five years. Five years? Yes, five years ago TODAY!

You were so wished for, hoped for. We were so excited about your upcoming arrival.

Five years ago today, you made your entrance. You were our first child, the first grandchild. So much excitement. Pretty much your ENTIRE family was at the hospital to meet you that first day and to join your mom and dad in welcoming you into this world.

So now, you are five. You are so mature, so beautiful, so thoughtful, so brave, so smart, so many other things. I am just so tickled that you are MY girl!

I just love watching you grow, learn and experience life. You are so full of life!

Some days I just can't believe it was only five years ago, while at the same time, I can't imagine a life without you in it, as it seems like you've always been with me.

I am so thankful every day for you (and your wonderful brother too) and that I was chosen to be your mama.

Happy Birthday Big Five Year Old!

Your mama loves you noodles and noodles, bunches and bunches (inside joke sorry...)
:)

Pretty Flowers

2010-02-15T05:27:00.004-06:00

I worked at Bachman's for years and years and years. And it was always a joke with my husband when we started dating, he'd say "you don't want me to give you any flowers, you work at a flower store - you see flowers all the time, you don't want any more....."

Of course I'd respond with "D'uh! Who doesn't want flowers??? Maybe that's one of the reasons I do work at a flower store....because I like flowers so much???"

He is so funny.

I do get flowers throughout the year, but he always comes through for Valentines Day. He always remembers my favorites.

Aren't they pretty????

Love it!

Jake

2010-02-15T05:20:00.004-06:00

Jake is getting bigger every day. He is listening to commands that we've worked with him on (amazing!)

He's calming down, ever so slightly (ok, only a teeny, weeny little bit calmer maybe)

And he's lost his puppy coat (yes, that means a lot of shedding) and growing in his adult coat.

And no matter how many times he steals Cailin's stuffed lion or Andrew's stuffed snoopy - both kids would NEVER trade him for anything!

Lutsen!

2010-02-09T19:03:00.010-06:00

After Duluth, we met up with our neighbors and good friends, the Frasers who were kind enough to host us at their family cabin in Lutsen. The drive up was beautiful! I always forget how incredibly beautiful Lake Superior is. The drive up the coast is just wonderful.

We went to the resort to swim in the pool and we had the whole pool to ourselves. They have a slide that dumps into the pool and Cailin and her buddy Caleb went up and down that thing about 50 times. Andrew then got up the courage to try as well as long as mommy caught him (which I did...). So he had fun too.

Andrew was trying so hard to make his 'monkey cheeks' (what they learned at swim lessons to keep the water out of the mouth/nose).

We went out for a great dinner at the resort as well at Papa Charlies. The resort seemed actually kind of quiet and the snow wasn't fantastic, but it has been a very odd winter and we have more snow at home then they do up in Lutsen if you can believe that - or at least they did BEFORE yesterday's snowstorm.

We headed up to Grand Marais to check it out - we went and threw rocks into the lake, shopped at the most well-stocked Ben Franklin store I've ever seen (they had anything and everything you could possibly want and/or need there) and some other cute shops. Plus the town itself is really quaint. And the weather was fairly warm as well, which helped!

The kids played and played.

Andrew's favorite is playing foosball alone or with others, he didn't seem to care.

We went sledding outside on the HUGE hill leading to the creek and also on the side of the house in the courtyard area. There were a few minor mishaps where some kids accidentally hit trees during the sledding expeditions, but no permanent injuries were had - thankfully!

After the kids went to bed, the adults got to hang out, play games, watch movies, chat and have a blast too! The kids and adults all had a wonderful time. None of us were ready to leave to return home.

Duluth Waterpark Getaway

2010-02-09T18:37:00.010-06:00

We were heading up north to spend some time with our friends, the Frasers at their family cabin in Lutsen. We decided to head up one day earlier and spend one night in Duluth at the Edgewater Water Park Hotel. We also had to hit our usual 'haunts' which include Grandma's Restaurant and the Lake Superior Train Museum (which ROCKS!)

We checked into this place and got into our room, then the kids wanted to hit the pool IMMEDIATELY! So we got changed and headed down.

This is what we found!

They have two enclosed water slides (which you can see in the photo) and Cailin could not get enough of the larger slide. You could ride with a partner on an large two-person tube down the slide and Cailin thought it was fantastic. She was in heaven in that pool and was purple and a prune by the time we convinced her to get out.

The way to the top of the slide was to climb up three flights of stairs (carrying your inter tube) and then riding down. Cailin would get out of the pool and run right back to the stairs. It was great exercise for me and Mike to go with her all those times!

Andrew was a bit more cautious (shocker!). He was much happier watching from the side. He sat with me or Mike (whoever was not riding with Cailin) and just watch. He did like to sit next to the red eye cave guy - his eyes were red lights that flashed on and off and he was mesmerized by that for some reason. He asked me to take his picture next to the 'red eye guy', so I obliged.

They also had a lazy river and kids play area which we all used.

The larger pool was closed - as they had some sort of 'incident' as they reported at the front desk so it was completely empty when we arrived and there were four people inside with huge boots on scrubbing the sides. They filled it back up, but we were on our way out before it was open, which was too bad, since it looked pretty fun too!

After swimming for two days here, we got packed up and ready to continue North to meet up with our friends in Lutsen.

Unsure

2010-02-09T18:31:00.004-06:00

I was busy packing things up since we were heading out of town to go to Duluth and Lutsen (future posts...) So I was startled when I turned around and saw this:

Unsure - That's really the only thing I can say about this posting is that I'm unsure as to what Masher (Andrew) was thinking here. He had on his cape and bike helmet. Then for awhile, he even had his knee pads on as well.

Goof ball!

Not Me! Monday

2010-02-01T05:34:00.008-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was not me who was putting the size 9 sneakers on my son this week and thought 'man, these seem a little snug, we might want to go look at some new shoes'. And then of course it wasn't me who was SHOCKED to see when we got to the shoe store (4 days later) that indeed his feet were a touch above a 10 1/2! That could not have been me, I would have certainly noticed that those suckers were THAT small if I had paid closer attention. (poor guy never complained an ounce..) And we did not walk out of the store with size 11 shoes that fit wonderfully.

sigh.

And it wasn't me who actually felt a tinge of sadness this morning when I woke up to no puppy in our house (since he's on Holiday with grandma and grandpa this week), I guess that would mean that I like the puppy? Not me, no way?! Ok, maybe just a little....

And it most certainly wasn't me that tried to bribe my child with everything under the sun possible for her to loosen her steel-tight grip on the chair at swim lessons last week so she'd get into the pool. (more on this in another post to come) That would not have been one of my better parenting moments, so I would never have done that. And it most certainly would NOT have been embarrassing to have that blood-curdling scream ripping through the entire pool area during this 'discussion/negotiation' I was having with my dear sweet, strong-willed almost 5-year old. And it was not at all embarrassing to have every single parent's eyes looking at me with the 'what did you do to your kid' look. (come on, all of you parents out there have gotten the 'look' at some point....or at least you KNOW that look..)

sigh...again.

And it wasn't me who snuggled up in bed with my girl last night way past bedtime to enjoy a little special 'cuddle time' with her just because she asked. Gotta love that girl! :)

Happy Not Me! Monday to you all!!

On "Holiday"

2010-02-01T05:27:00.006-06:00

Our dog, Jake is now officially "On Holiday". We are heading out of town this week for a few days. We have someone watching our house and now someone watching our furever pet Jakey. Grandma and Grandpa have kindly offered to watch our boy Jake for the week.

Incidentally, he is in fact sitting on our couch while enjoying his treat...why sit on the floor when you can sit on the cozy couch right?

He's gotten a little bit better in all departments (biting, walking on a leash, piddling in the house, not trying to attack the cats - etc), so it is with amazement that we were all a little sad to drop Jake off at Grandma and Grandpa's house for the week.

Grandma and Grandpa are sort of the animal whisperers in the family I must say, so maybe we'll return to a perfectly mannered puppy!! Well, either way, he will be well-cared for there, that's for sure and he'll have two other goldens to play with too. Hopefully he'll get wiped out if nothing else.

So enjoy your "Holiday" Jake! I think it's going well, well at least I haven't gotten any phone calls demanding we come back and get him.......yet.

:)

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeessssssse!

2010-02-01T05:21:00.003-06:00

This is what Andrew says everytime the camera comes out. He's kind of a ham bone. I remember his older sister also going through this phase. But it seems like lately...

THIS is the type of photo we get. I can't really photoshop that to improve it now can I.....

So now I'm left to try and sneak photos when the boy is busy with something and most of them are profile shots.

But that's ok, he's still cute!

Not Me! Monday

2010-01-25T08:55:00.001-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was not me who thought it was a good idea to send the kids into Cailin’s bedroom to play with her new makeup set that she got for Christmas. Because it wasn’t me who thought it would be nice to enjoy the few minutes of peace and harmony all the while the makeup was being painted on the carpet “by accident”. I would most definitely have known that I might find a bigger mess to clean up and carpet to scrub if I had thought about it fully.

And it wasn’t me who enjoyed a piece of Cheesecake when my girlfriends and I went out for lunch knowing that it would take lots and lots of extra miles on the treadmill to work it off. I would most certainly have passed on the indulgence knowing that I’d have to ‘pay for it’ later on the treadmill.

And it wasn’t me that was working in the kitchen and smashed my thumb somehow on a knife, causing a severely bruised thumbnail. That would not be very smart of me, considering I stabbed myself at Halloween cutting a tendon, nerve and vein. I would have been much smarter and much more careful in the kitchen after such an incident.

And finally, I’m sure it could not have been me that heard my dear sweet child say in perfect context “dam it!” when we were baking last weekend. Because that is something that we don’t say in our house. And I’m most certainly NOT blaming my mom for saying that (we actually don’t really say that in our house….we say other things by accident but not that), that wouldn’t be very nice.

Happy No Me-ing!

And Happy Monday!

And drumroll please.......

2010-01-12T07:01:00.003-06:00

The answer to all of your questions is YES, she did get back into the pool last night at swim lessons.

As many of you know, we had some struggles with our last swim class last year. We registered and paid for Cailin to attend a 10 week session and she went the first time and refused to go back a second time. And when I say refused, that's totally what I mean. It was the kicking and screaming kind of refused.

Not this time though! Yeah!! She did complain that she didn't want to go, but when we got there, she saw her teacher and ran right over. She was the first one in the pool too! This might not seem like a huge deal to others, but it was a big deal to us. We were holding our breath to see if she'd do it. And we're hopeful that she'll keep it up!

They do such a nice job at Foss I must say! The teacher is absolutely perfect for her group. He's funny but still getting the lesson done.

She was very proud of herself, she spent most of the class dunking her head underwater with her 'monkey cheeks' as they call it.

Awesome! I couldn't be more proud...
aw shucks, right??
;)

Minnesota Zoo - Take 2

2010-01-10T21:01:00.004-06:00

And for another Take 2 - we did the Minnesota Zoo again. We have a family membership so it only seemed right to take FULL advantage of our membership and go two weeks in a row.

The kids definitely needed to get out of the house and so did mom and dad.

My absolute favorite (and the kids enjoy it a lot too) is the big tropical fish tank they have in the Tropics section.

And check out the big Zebra Shark sitting on the bottom of the tank. Cool!

We tried riding on the Monorail, but it was experiencing some "technical difficulties" so we opted out for the day.

Maybe we'll go next weekend too - we'll have to see how many weeks in a row we can go....but it is wonderful entertainment!

Swim lessons.....Take 2.

2010-01-10T20:48:00.004-06:00

Cailin took swim lessons previously through a local community education program last year. She went the first time and seemed to have a great time, but then would NOT get back into the pool. Not really sure what was up. The only thing we could deduce from the experience is that the lessons were in the regular lap pool at the high school in that area. So it was cool and also they had these clear Plexiglas risers that the kids would stand on (since the water was 5ft deep there and the kids are obviously not 5ft tall...) And that seemed to spook her a bit.

So this time we went for the big guns. We registered with Foss Swim School. They have a great reputation and everyone I have ever talked to that attended there loved it. Plus, they offered a guarantee, so we figured we'd give it a try. Nice warm pool, small class sizes, lots of class options. Seems like a good idea.

Cailin was a little nervous to get into the pool with her two new friends in her class. Her teacher's name is Eric and he seems like a really nice guy. He was all about the comedy on the first night which worked like a charm with the kiddos. All while having them practice kicking, floating on their backs and general water familiarity. I was amazed. How come it never is that easy when I have her in the pool??? Well, that's why their job is right?

Now the big test is whether or not she'll get into the pool tomorrow night for class #2. We'll see???

Did I really say that???

2010-01-07T08:04:00.004-06:00

Top 10 sentences (or partial sentences) that came out of my mouth in the last week:

You ARE a cute puppy, but you may not chew on my Coach purse.

Andrew, stop tackling your sister.

Cailin, why don’t you just MOVE out of your brother’s way so he doesn’t pummel you?

Honey, didn’t I SAY it wasn’t a good idea to take the kids to the grocery store after dinner??? Go ahead….Tell me I’m right….

Cailin, you are not going to drown in the swimming pool during your swim lessons, your swim teacher won’t let that happen….

Can someone tell me why the dog is chewing on the door?? He has like a thousand dog chews and toys....

Honey, I’m sorry I ruined your life, but that’s what moms have to do sometimes, it’s our job….

You have to wear socks, it’s –18 degrees outside, I’m sorry, you can’t go barefoot.

It’s not ok to try to ride on the puppy like he’s a horse. I know it seems like he likes it, but it’s not nice…..

Andrew, stop ramming your cart into other carts, no this is not Wii Super Mario Brothers, this is Cub Foods.

Slight resemblence?? Maybe??

2010-01-04T10:14:00.013-06:00

Andrew looks a TON like his daddy. It's kind of freaky if you look at pictures of Andrew as a babe and Mike as a babe, it's no question who Andrew's daddy is. Wow.
See?
Mike as a child:

(Sorry, this picture is not a very good quality photo, it was one of those school-sized wallet photos that was scanned and cropped. It didn't do very well in the conversion, but you get the picture - ok no pun intended...)

Andrew as a child, well he is still a child - duh! this was from a few months ago:

But, we do think he has a slight resemblence to my father, Robert. My dad died when I was 13 years old. So the pictures we have of my dad are very old (not that I'm very old, just the pictures of my dad that is...).

We have this one in a frame in our living room and Mike and I were talking this past weekend that altough Andrew is quite a spitting image of his own dad, that he does have some similarities with my dad. He even got my dad's dimple. The dimple is hard to see in the picture, but is awesome in person. So if nothing else, he does resemble my father with that dimple. The dimple I wanted so very much - lucky boy!

I remember wanting dimples so very much when I was a child just like my dad and would push with my pinkies deeply into my cheeks to try and make dimples of my very own. No such luck. I guess it was like that episode of the Brady Bunch where Peter wanted to be taller (wasn't it Peter) and so he would hang from the monkey bars in his back yard hoping to make himself taller. Well, I was under the same belief that I could make my own dimples. Well, I still don't have any dimples.

So I thought I'd ask you - what do you think? Can you see it too? Maybe just a little bit??
:)

Just a little fun for the day....

Not Me! Monday

2010-01-03T16:27:00.008-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was not me that when at the store yesterday, the -19 degree day, it wasn't me that was picking out the cutest little summer shirts and shorts for the kiddos. No, that wasn't me. It's really freaking cold here and there is no reason to be out shopping for summer tidbits, that would be certainly odd. And when I was at the checkout it wasn't me that actually pondered a response when asked "are you going somewhere warm?". It certainly was NOT me that was thinking about coming up with some fantastic story in about 3 seconds that sounded better than 'no, I just like to plan ahead and thought these were really cute'.....That would never have been me.

And it wasn't me that let Andrew take his nap today in his new MN Vikings coat. (hey - he's a fan ok?? no big deal...)

Ok, well it really wasn't me that told him it was ok, it was most surely my husband who did that. But when he told me about it, the first thing I didn't think of was to grab the camera and take a couple pictures as he slept soundly in his warm winter coat in his warm cozy bed. That would have been extrememly irresponsible and kind of silly of me to do.

Happy Monday-ing to you all!

Changing Musical Tastes??

2010-01-03T07:07:00.012-06:00

One of the changes I've experienced since becoming a mom is how much my style in music has changed. Of course there are many other, more obvious things that have changed since we've been blessed with these two incredibly wonderful, healthy kiddos that we have, but this particular area was one that was somewhat unexpected I should say. I still love my oldies (can't believe I'm even saying that...) Clapton is my #1 favorite of all time. Loaded everything I had on my iPod when I got it and even have my very own Clapton Playlist.

But I did add other playlists to that very same iPod. Seems like it's pretty handy to have a playlist labeled "kiddo music" on there too for long or boring car rides or for that long wait wherever we may be, I hand one or both of them the earbuds and they just love the music.

But what I didn't expect is that there would be times that I'd 'sneak' some songs from that 'kiddo music' list myself. When no kids were around. What? Preposterous... Ok, but true.

Usually in times when I just wanted to smile for no particular reason or when I was missing my mashers. So one of the catchier toons is from the Tv show, "The Wonder Pets". It's on NickJr for anyone who hasn't heard of it. It's a cute show, something about a baby chicken, baby hamster and baby turtle that have some sort of magical powers and they can fly out of their cages and work together (learning cooperation) to help others (sharing). Anyway, it's a cute show, but they sing this song that the kids also sing a lot. During bath time, at the dinner table, whenever, I'll catch the kids singing it. Here's an example of how it goes from Andrew
And now Cailin's version (sung with her typical 'enthusiasm' - ok, just loud!

I won't bore you with my version, but it's quite a catchy tune, wouldn't you say?

Go Wonder Pets!

A Pine Island Christmas

2010-01-01T19:15:00.011-06:00

The weekend before Christmas, we headed down to Pine Island for the Friary side Christmas. We first went to the Kruse farm (Mike's maternal grandmother's side) to celebrate. We saw a bunch of folks and ate and ate and opened presents.

Cailin and Andrew helped with passing out the presents to everyone. I was amazed at how well Cailin was reading names this year.

And the kids had fun seeing everyone.
Wanda and the ham-bone Choppy(Christopher).

The we scooted up to Grandma and Grandpa's place (Mike's parents), which thankfully is only a few short miles away from the Kruse farm for dinner. Great Grandma Bea was already there and the kids were so excited to see everyone.

Andrew really liked opening the presents. He didn't care if it was for him or not, he just liked the process of opening the presents. He kept asking "Does that one say 'happy birthday Andrew' on it mommy?".

The dogs had a blast of course. At one point it seemed to be complete bedlam. There was paper everywhere and the dogs were taking turns ripping it to shreds (Jake's favorite thing about Christmas). Then poor Buster (the older dog at Grandma and Grandpas) was wiped out and took a quick nap.

Some of the presents were wrapped in bubble wrap and that kept Andrew entertained for a while.

He also was content sitting on Grandpa's lap 'helping' him unwrap his presents. He's a very good unwrapper by the way....

Here Great Grandma Bea and Wanda are busy examining gifts.

We had some pretty tired kiddos that got all ready for bed in a hurry and were happy to go to bed. No naps had been a lot that day, so everyone was very ready to pack her up for the night. We stayed at Grandma's overnight and continued the festivities the next morning.

The next morning, we opened up stockings and Andrew was once again content 'helping' everyone open up their presents.

The girls posed for a picture, Wanda, Grandma and Katrine (all in matching sweatshirts of course - the holiday tradition).

The we packed up the truck and headed back to the cities. It had snowed overnight and was still snowing Sunday morning as we packed up. It sure was pretty with a fresh coat of snow on the ground and not too bad for driving either.

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

2009-12-31T05:26:00.010-06:00

And it was one of the few nights my kids were excited to go to bed! But before we could do that we needed to make sure the milk and cookies were set out with care for soon old Saint Nick would soon be there.

Each child wanted to pick out a 'special' cookie that we had made just for Santa.

Then We had to place said cookies and said glass of milk next to the tree. I was worried that a dog or cat may destroy what was left for dear old Santa, so we weren't sure if we should do plastic or glass, plastic or glass....hmm we decided Santa deserved the real thing, so glass it was.

We said our prayers and everyone scooted off to bed. The funny part is that recently Andrew has been in the habit of waking up sometime during the night and turning his bedroom light on. Sometimes he gets up, sometimes he just falls back asleep. But many nights, I'll see his light on from under the door and I'll sneak in there and he's out cold with the light blaring. So I was sure to tell the kids that on THIS night, that no one should be awake, because if Santa arrives and he sees that children are awake and/or out of bed, he may very well pass right on by the house to go the next one.

So the next morning, the kids slept in for once. I was shocked. But then I realized that maybe they didn't just sleep in, maybe they were just a little freaked to come out too early in case Santa hadn't arrived as of yet.

So a little after 7am, Cailin crept out and into our room. The first thing she said was "mom, was Santa here?". I said "I don't know, should we go look?" And off she cruised, with me in tow. Once she spied the tree with presents and the stockings lined up full, she squealed "HE'S BEEN HERE MOMMY! HE'S BEEN HERE!".

(you see we had the tree pretty much baricaded because the dog would like to try to grab a branch with it's teeth and attempted repeatedly to pull it over. So we had all sorts of furniture blocking the tree, this was one of the first times we actually had the tree open and in full-view for all. It didn't last long though, at least until the dog woke up and emerged from his kennel.....)

Now we waited until the rest of the family arose and the kids got to work on opening their Santa presents. They were very excited to get a Wii system, a few games and the accompanying pieces.

Proof that Santa had polished his yummy cookies and milk.

We of course spent time talking about the other meaning of Christmas....The kids even sang an inspiring version of "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus. Of course, that was not caught on film which was a bummer.

Puppy update

2009-12-21T07:04:00.003-06:00

I kind of, sort of got in trouble for bashing poor, cute, little sweetie pie Jake (our puppy). Yes, he is cute. Yes, is sweet. BUT, he is kind of a handful! He's tried pulling the Christmas tree down, so now we have that barricaded off. He's harassed the cats non-stop, so they are pretty much in hiding, well except one that is quite a feisty one, Ripley. She's like a thousand years old and is feisty to say the least. She stands her grand and has 'taught' the puppy to respect her authority (quoting Cartman from South Park).

Otherwise, the puppy is doing well. He has assimilated into our family well. The kids love him. Although they are not thrilled when he nibbles their toes, or rips their clothes when playing. We watch him closely around them so no one gets hurt. The kids have learned a lot about how to care for an animal and to be kind to animals as well as they love him to pieces.

He also loves the snow, which is good, because like I've said before, living in Minnesota, we get a lot of snow. He likes to roll around in the snow, bury his entire head in the snow and just make a total mess of himself in the snow. So that's all good.

Winter Fun

2009-12-21T06:51:00.008-06:00

Whew! It's been really busy in our house these past few weeks. Turns out that having two kids, working full time (thankfully), getting ready for the holidays, battling colds AND having a puppy keeps one very, very busy!
:)

But we did find some time to get out and play in the snow. Last weekend, Andrew wanted to go out and do some sledding. We have a small hill on the side of our house that dumps directly into our now dormant garden. So that has become our sledding hill in our yard. It's kind of nice not to have to go anywhere to go sledding.

I remained in the house with Cailin since she was getting over a cold/fever. She was very upset that she couldn't go sledding and I was deemed 'the meanest mommy ever' for not letting her go out with her 102.9 fever. Man, I AM mean! Well, that was until she got to watch a movie and snuggle on the couch with me, then I was told "this is exactly what I wanted mommy!". Aaaah, the mind of an almost five year old. As I tell her, 'it's hard being 5!".

Ok, so back to sledding, Cailin was all situated with her movie and then Andrew, Mike AND the puppy Jake went outside to play. Last year, Andrew didn't like being in the snow. He's kind of a sensitive kid. Not just sensitive in his feelings, like he is very sensitive to certain textures as well as things that are cold. So he wasn't a big fan of the snow last year. Well, that was last year. Big boy has grown up a bit!

Getting ready for the first run, Masher not sure what to expect:

Now, on run 3 or 4, enjoying himself.

And now, with the dog:

And yes, the dog liked sledding as well. We had to drag Masher in the house. I kept reassuring Masher that the good news is that since we live in Minnesota, we have months of snow and winter weather ahead of us, so there will be plenty of days to go sledding again......
right.....

Not Me! Monday

2009-12-07T05:23:00.006-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

I'm sure you know it was not me that ignored the laundry once again. Oops. I'm sure it just slipped my mind. And it isn't me that still hasn't done anything about Holiday cards as of yet. The organized part of me would never have allowed this much time to go and not have even thought of doing a holiday card yet. No way, couldn't be me. I'm sure if I had neglected to do so as of yet, I'd be all over that very soon. I'm sure. Right?

And it wasn't me that was playing doctor's office with my kids (the innocent kind, not the adolescent kind) and actually dozed off while I was in for 'routine surgery' as my daughter told me. I would never have fallen asleep while we were playing, even if it was for just a few minutes. And it surely wasn't me who was laughing as my daughter used the VeggieTales manger scene as the music (it plays a song of a Veggietale signing "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem")to put me to sleep. Well that laughing must not have been right before I actually dozed off. That must have been a mistake.

And most certainly it wasn't me that used distraction as a means to solve a disagreement between my two kids. You see that would have been the easy way out, instead I'm sure I would have sat with both of them, and thoughtfully discussed the offense and come up with some lengthy peace agreement rather than said "Hey, Andrew - look! The Fraser's turned their Christmas lights on, let's go see". (wow good timing Frasers - thank you!)

It was NOT me that was in a meeting last week at work only to look down and see that I might have had two different socks on. D'OH! Then it also wasn't me that thought back to when I was getting dressed that morning, (running late because of the puppy) that maybe getting dressed in the dark was maybe not such a good idea?? I have got to get to that laundry....

And I'm sure it wasn't me that instead of getting ready for work as I should am sitting on the computer seeing what y'all are up to. (and hearing the dog scratching at the door) Nope, wasn't me either!
;)

Happy Monday!

Before AND After

2009-12-06T19:29:00.011-06:00

I started doing some Christmas baking this past weekend. We usually attend a few Christmas gatherings over the next few weeks and it's nice to arrive with a plate of homemade cookies in hand. At least, that's what I'm told ("we'd love to have you and oh, if you could bring some of your cookies, that would be great...").

So I had some 'help' getting cookies started this weekend. My kitchen looked like it had been a part of some type of explosion.
So here is the before:

And AFTER we made cookies....

We were making gingerbread cookies. All was well until I busted out the sprinkles. I made some frosting and then the kids wanted to try EVERY kind of sprinkle we had. We left some looking pretty nice and neat, but some we just let the kids go to town. Some had close to an inch of sprinkles (on top of the frosting).

We also had a few casualties. These didn't make the journey. They were broken in the process and left aside to enjoy by the kids. I actually think they broke a few on purpose just to have some to munch on this weekend.

Too bad the dog doesn't understand the idea of licking up the remnants yet. I had to do that myself. Well, not lick them up, but sweep them up at least.

The kids then had to sample their cookies and after about fifteen minutes of creating designs (and destroying the kitchen) they got bored and disappeared to play in their rooms together.

It's all clean now at least for the moment.

Relax and Enjoy the Ride

2009-12-02T21:08:00.006-06:00

I am just exhausted almost every day. Many days I'm already in bed by now, exhausted. And I only have two kids!

So how do people do it. I mean, I love it, don't get me wrong, but it seems like most days I'm flying by the seat of my pants to get it all done. I work full time, my husband does as well, we have a four year old and three year old, cats and now a puppy. We have a house that needs cleaning, laundry that needs cleaning - you know - all that stuff. So I sit here at 10 minutes after 9 in the evening and think 'what am i doing on the computer? The house is a disaster, the puppy is chewing on an Easter basket that he found god knows where, the dishwasher needs emptying, the laundry needs folding and I NEED to go to bed to start this all over again in a few short hours.'

But I remind myself that a messy house or unfolded laundry does not make unhappy children or an unhappy family. I try to remind myself that the clothes will get folded eventually and that the dishes will find their way back to the cabinet soon. But moments like this

don't come along too often. We put our Christmas tree up and both kids eagerly helped. We listened to nice music and they just played so cooperatively (which believe me at 3 and 4 can be a miracle some days). It was really awesome.

So I just need to remind myself to relax. Just relax about the small stuff and enjoy the fun stuff. Because time does move quickly and as Ferris Bueller said in 1986 (not that I'm dating myself at all) "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it". So I guess I'll try and remember that as I trip over the Easter basket in the hall.
:)

Happy Wednesday!

Swimming anyone?

2009-12-02T05:21:00.004-06:00

Yes, it seems like an odd time of year to be discussing this, however, Cailin and I stopped by the Foss Swim school in Chanhassen the other day to get her registered for winter swim classes.

You may recall that Cailin had swimming lessons previously and only entered the pool once. Yes, once. My little fish, only went into the swimming lesson pool one time. Otherwise refusing to go. She got a little freaked out by the set up, so we decided to try another venue.

Most of the kids have swim goggles and Cailin was all excited to get her own swim goggles. As soon as we got home, little mash (aka Andrew) found said goggles and decideded to try them on.

Thirsty boy, drinking his milk!

Funny but he figured those out quickly!

I guess he'll be up next for swimming lessons.

Not Me! Monday

2009-11-30T05:17:00.007-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

It was not me who went Christmas Shopping the day after Thanksgiving primarily to go 'people-watching' - that would have been really silly to go out on a day like that and not want to shop???

And it certainly wasn't me who was put on a timeout by her 4-year old because I said out of frustration we had a very 'stupid' puppy after it pooped on my carpet within 10 seconds of returning inside from going potty (for the third time...). That would not have been one of my better parenting moments, so I'm sure that could NOT have been something I would have done, as it would have been a bad example to set for my witnessing 4-year old. Bad mom, Bad mom!

And it wasn't me who kept piling my dirty clothes up higher because I didn't want to do another load. It wasn't me who said "I'll get to it tomorrow" to keep playing with my monsters, only to have the pile so high, it actually caved and tipped over. That would never have been me.

And it most certainly wasn't me that pulled out the "I'll call Santa and tell him who has been naughty...." phrase this past weekend and smiled slightly when it actually worked. No way, wasn't me.

Happy Monday everyone!

Let's Play Hockey

2009-11-29T09:24:00.005-06:00

My little man is a sports fan. At 3 1/2, he is already way into sports. Being a sports fan myself (as well as Mike of course) we really do enjoy and embrace his little habit.

This morning he got up and said "Mama, I want to be a hockey player today". I said, "Ok, honey, what are you thinking you'd like to wear to be a hockey player?". He pulled out his Minnesota Wild stuff of course. And I was briefly suprised at how much Wild stuff that boy has.

He went to his bedroom and pulled out his Wild hockey pants, his Wild Jersey, His Wild sock and then asked me to grab his Wild hat off the hook hanging in his room. I told him I didn't think we had any Wild underwear, but he was ok with that.

This was the end result.

Cute boy.

Then he began skipping around the room in a circle and singing the Wild song (he's been to a game already this year with Dad, so he knows the drill...). "In the state, the state of hockey....".
:)

Not so bad for 3 1/2 huh?

Black Friday

2009-11-29T09:10:00.007-06:00

I ventured out with the thousands of other shoppers on Friday morning to see what it was all about. I had never shopped on the day after Thanksgiving, but was invited to join my two sister in-laws for the Friday festivities.

They picked me up just before six (we had a bit of a misunderstanding about the time, and I was patiently waiting for a little while outside until they arrived) and we headed off to Rochester for the big day.

Since I had never participated in the Black Friday Shopping excursion, my sister in-laws were very helpful in walking me through their process. This is kind of a summary of how they do the planning for their outing. First they get the HUGE Thursday paper and pull all the ads. They do a quick once over and glance to see if anything jumps out. Then make a list of items they need to get for certain people - Johnny needs socks, Jane needs a blanket - etc. Then they go through a second time, in great detail to see which stores need to be on the stop list. They are both so organized, I'm actually rather jealous at how organized they are.

After we arrived at the mall(sister in-laws coupons in hand), I was shocked at how busy the mall really is at 6am! Wow! I could not believe this many people really go out shopping at this time of day. Yes, I am naive. I headed off to Caribou to get a hot tea and that line was even huge - took about 20 minutes to pick up my drink. Everyone was very nice. I read on Facebook some pretty interesting stories - about how folks witnessed angry, upset people - one person even said 'melee'. Well, no such luck in Rochester MN. Pretty tame. It was crowded but everyone was pretty chipper, or at least what I saw. I'd totally do it again it was awesome people watching - and I found a few small things at a good price too.

I was super excited because I had actually done a majority of my shopping online. Since most of the Thursday deals were also available online, I got some big ones (husband and others) purchased without getting out of my jammies.

Now that is my kind of shopping!
:)

Road Trip!

2009-11-29T08:51:00.008-06:00

We headed down to Pine Island where Mike's parent's live (and where he grew up) for Thanksgiving. We packed up the kids and the two of us and then we had to pack....the dog. I grew up with dogs at different times in my life but never really had a puppy that I can recall. I never realized how much STUFF a dog or rather, a puppy has. It's kind of crazy, they need almost as much stuff as a baby!

Wow.

So we pack the dog.

We pack, his food, his 'reward' treats (something new I learned about when doing the potty training thing with the puppy), his toys; squeaky toys, chew toys, pull toys, ball toys - ok, lots of toys. We also had to bring somewhere for him to sleep because apparently puppies like to sleep in crates or kennels. So we have this HUGE (or as they say out east uge) crate that folds down. Now don't forget the bedding to go into the crate, the leash, the collar, to water dish, the food dish.

Check, all packed.

We got the kids all settled in the truck, got their movie in the player, buckled up. I grabbed my purse, made sure my overnight bag made it into the truck (because that has happened before) and hopped into the truck.

Mike looked at me. "forget something?" Nope I think we're good I say.

Um, what about the dog?

Oh right, the dog. Can't forget that little guy.

He was kind of a hit at Thanksgiving. The kids were in their glory showing off their new pup to all of the family. And I was in all my glory happily 'sharing' the pup with family. Grandma and Grandpa have offered to take him. I offered to take them up on their offer. Mike, not so much. Well, I didn't see much of the pup this weekend, as he was with Grandma and Grandpa most of the time.

This was a common site this weekend - Grandpa holding Jake (the puppy).

Or Cailin holding Jake.

We also got to get together with the cousins. Sheila and Darin were in town from Pensylvania and Kelly came down with Alex, Lauren and Catherine. We all met up at Uncle Dale and Auntie Janet's house in Rochester. Mike's two sisters and brother in law also joined us. So it was a big group - great to see everyone! The kids were very sad to go.

Andrew passed out cold in the car seat even before we hit the highway. He was pooped out!

Everyone slept well, ate way too well and played well. It was a wonderful Thanskgiving!

Oh, and I promise that not every post is going to be about the dog. Really, we do have other things going on in our lives.....
:)

Seriously????

2009-11-23T21:24:00.003-06:00

Ok, so we have this new puppy. Day two is less 'cute' than day 1 was I have to admit. Don't get me wrong, he still is cute, but the reality of puppy-ownership hit home today as my husband trotted off to work leaving me at home with the two mashers and the puppy. Mike kept reassuring me, it wasn't that much work, and heck we've done the infant thing twice, so how hard could it be? he says to me.....

Seriously?

Mike and I have decided to take turns on the overnight patrol and yes, tonight is my night. I happily laid in bed last night trying to pretend not to hear the comings and goings of Mike with the puppy during the night. But it is TOTALLY like an infant. In the sense that you need to get up a few times during the night to make sure the puppy gets out and goes potty (not that you put an infant outside of course - just the getting up all the time stuff) and then when it whines and you don't know why. 'is it hungry? is it thirsty? is it just bored and needs to be held?' Oh heck I don't know.

This is my FIRST experience with a puppy. I was hoping to adopt an older, wiser dog as my first go-round. Now, it'll be initiation by FIRE. Not that I worry or anything. Anyone who knows me knows that I need to plan things out and this wasn't exactly the plan. But oh well, here we are. So a learning I shall go. Right?

I spent every moment of today (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration) online reading about golden retriever puppies, how they eat, when they eat, how to 'crate them', how to housebreak them, how to discipline them, how to do everything with them. I had no idea.

So now, I'm a little wiser and of course a little more sleep deprived and of I go for my shift on the puppy watch for the evening. After I finish my glass of wine (i'm hoping that'll help my mood as I dredge out in the rain with my cute, adorable, small bladdered puppy - not that I mind of course).

Wish me luck!
:)

Big Decisions

2009-11-22T08:59:00.004-06:00

Mike and I have been having 'the talk'. Should we have another child or not? We are blessed with two wonderful, healthy, fantastic kids already, so it's a big decision. We both love the idea of NOT being out numbered by our kids (yes, that's pretty chicken, we know).

Mike has also really wanted a dog for some time. So lately the conversation has been "Do we have another child or do we get a dog?" Sounds crazy right? Can't or shouldn't really compare the two I know it's pretty odd. But that's what's been talked about in our house. Cailin wanted a baby (our daycare lady has one due any day now, so that's on her mind). Andrew votes for the dog.

We signed up with a golden retriever rescue organization that places golden retrievers that have been surrendered for numerous reasons. We liked that idea. Mike has grown a little impatient however with the process. You sign up, you get approved - great idea - just not on Mike's timeline.
It's really a great organization, but the key is patience, you need patience to wait for just the right dog for your family. I was all on board with the 'patience' thing. Then Mike saw some info online about puppies that were available.

Soooooooooo, last night Mike got a fire lit in him and found a farm outside of Kenyon MN that had Golden Retriever puppies available. And soooooooooo he decided to go on a MISSION! He was just going to take a quick look. Yeah, right I know.
This is how it turned out:

Let me introduce you to the newest Friary - Jake Maximillian Friary. He's an 8 week old Golden Retriever.

And yes, we are CRAZY!!!! But he is cute....

And yes, we have a Very, very expensive trip in our schedule for today to PetSmart.

More to come........

Not Me Monday

2009-11-16T05:47:00.009-06:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. (www.mycharmingkids.net)

I will try to get to this once a month, it seems like weekly has been difficult for me to do, but try I will to get to this at least once per month....

I'm sure it wasn't me that allowed my child to wear her striped Halloween tights with a large t-shirt over it, just because she wanted to. It looked kind of crazy to be going out in public, but I would never allow her to dress like that in public I'm sure.

It also certainly wasn't me that has been secretly praying that my 9-month pregnant daycare provider hold off on having that third child just a couple more days so it's more convenient for me? Now that wouldn't be very neighborly of me to hope she remains pregnant and uncomfortable a few more days just because I don't really have another daycare plan for the next four days?? ('oh please, don't go into labor until after 4:30 on Thursday - thanks')We love our provider, and that would be terribly rude.

It was not me who didn't exactly tell the entire reason for last week's doctor visit to the kids. I should have told the kids that the sole reason for our trip into the pediatrician was for the H1N1 flu shot, but I'm sure I just forgot to tell them. I'm sure I didn't tell them that we were just going to 'visit' the doctor for a quick check up, because that would not have been the whole truth. I would not have shielded them from that information to hopefully avoid the HUGE meltdown at the door of the pediatrician's office when they indeed found out that they were getting a shot, even if it was just the nasal spray immuniziation. I'm sure the visit went just fine - tears and all.

And it certainly could not have been me that allowed the kids to run around the house in their swimsuits last night just because they wanted to. It's November in Minnesota - how crazy would that be to allow that. And there is no way it was me that allowed the kids to take their nighttime tubs while still wearing their swimsuits. That would be very irresponsible I'm sure.

Well either way, I'm sure none of those behaviors would have been anything like what a responsible parent would do. So I'm absolutely sure none of those thing would have been done by me. Right?
;)

Oh, and Happy Monday!

A Whole Lotta Nothing

2009-11-16T05:19:00.009-06:00

I know, I know "lotta" isn't a real word, but it was kind of fun to use, so please forgive me.
What I'm trying to say is some folks have been asking - "so what are you guys up to these days?" and I guess the answer is a 'whole lotta nothing'.
We've been very busy, just with nothing huge or monumental (thankfully) or anything really just out of the ordinary.

We've been very busy enjoying every last bit of this late warm fall we've been having. After having 3" of snow the last time we camped in October, it's been in the 50s or 60s almost every day the last two weeks.

So we've been having s'mores by our campfire in our backyard..

We've been enjoying Popsicles.

We've been swinging on the swing set.

We've been running around the backyard playing "Mr. Fox" (seems made up to me) and "Red Light, Green Light"

We've been strapping the helmets on and going for bike rides - sorry no pictures with that, now that wouldn't be safe now would it? ;)

And on the days it has been too cold to play outside, or too rainy - we've been busy inside playing any game a 4 or 3 year old brain can invent. Including this one, which was their "fort in Cailin's bed game..."

Or just snuggling with the kittys. That's one of Cailin's favorites.

And of course, we are still doing the usual stuff - gymnastics for Cailin, Preschool classes for Andrew, Volleyball for Mike and running for me.

All in all, it sure feels like we've been super busy and it's been a great kind of busy, a fun kind of busy!

Stellan

2009-11-06T08:35:00.002-06:00

Stellan is in Boston now... please keep this family in your prayers!
www.mycharmingkids.net

Halloween

2009-11-01T10:29:00.003-06:00

We started Halloween off with a bang this year by me (Karen) sort of, kind of stabbing myself in the hand while carving pumpkins. It was pretty nasty, only a small cut, but managed to cut an artery, tendon and a nerve. All that stuff in a 1/2" spot. After an ER trip and a planned surgerical consult to come, we had an uneventful weekend and Halloween.

Cailin wanted to be Olivia the Pig. She's a charecter in a children's book series and tv show. She decided she didn't want to wear the pig mask, but after much 'discussion', we got a few pictures full-costume. Then off went the mask for trick-or-treating.

Andrew was Superman. He LOVED his costume. We went to visit our neighbors and friends, the Frasers and Caleb was also Superman.

Grandpa and Grandma came up. They had dinner with us and then daddy, Grandpa, Grandma, Cailin and Andrew went door to door trick or treating while mommy stayed home to give candy out to the masses.

The kids met up with the Fraser kids and they all went together trick or treating for a long time. They came back with LARGE piles of loot! It really was a perfect night!

First Ribbon

2009-10-30T05:21:00.018-05:00

I remember getting my first ribbon in an activity. It was for swim lessons when I was a little kid. I was scared of my teacher and therefor, not a huge fan of going to lessons, but my parents FORCED me to go, which for swim lessons, it was a good thing. I am now a very proficient swimmer, so thank you Mom and Dad for following through on that. Anyway, I digress.....It was a cool green ribbon for completing my first class. I was so proud! I hung it up in my bedroom and over the years, my ribbon collection grew! Some were the "Participation" ribbons. You ALL know what I'm talking about - it's like 'thanks for participating, but you didn't make it in the top three, so thanks anyway.' Ok, kidding - And then there were the fancy blue, red or yellow (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) ribbons. Our elementary school did a big spring track meet kinda thing (go Birchview!). So I was able to collect a few of every color throughout my elementary, junior high and high school years. You'd get them for sports as well as for academic participation.

Last night, Cailin got her FIRST ribbon. She's 4 1/2 and has been doing gymnastics for the last three months. She got a yellow ribbon

- it was a 'participation' ribbon, but it was funny - even at her tender age, she realized the importance or maybe the significance of that little ribbon. She was GLOWING after she was presented with that thing.

They even did a cute little ceremony where they had all the children 'display' a little routine for the proud, eager, camera-holding parents (including myself).

Sorry that the pictures are so far away. I forgot my zoom lens at home and they wanted the parents outside the classroom so as not to 'distract' the students....so most of these shots are from behind the glass.....

4 year old gymnastics is kind of funny. Kids at that age are still getting more aware of their balance as well as they are still somewhat distractable. It's great exercise. Plus, Cailin loves gymnastics. She loves to practice at home. Thankfully we have lots of comfy furniture so she can tumble, flip and sommersalt all she wants at home and hopefully will remain uninjured.
What kind of gymnastics do they do with 4 year olds you ask? Well, here's a couple of samples...

Floor exercises

Uneven parellel bars and rings (that's Cailin hanging on the rings)

Balance beam

Vault and springboard

Mike had volleyball so he was unable to join us. That meant that Andrew tagged along and sat with mom to watch gymnastics. He had to entertain of course. He had a good time making friends with the other brothers that were 'watching' as well as their parents.

Talk to the hand....